Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!sun-barr!oliveb!amiga!cbmvax!daveh
From: daveh@cbmvax.UUCP (Dave Haynie)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Benchmarks (was: Re: A2620)
Message-ID: <7098@cbmvax.UUCP>
Date: 19 Jun 89 15:31:36 GMT
References: <41426@bbn.COM>
Distribution: na
Organization: Commodore Technology, West Chester, PA
Lines: 39

in article <41426@bbn.COM>, denbeste@bbn.com (Steven Den Beste) says:

> Generally speaking, I've found that technical people divide into the
> Intel-philes and the Motorola-philes. The correlation isn't 1.0, but I've 
> found that more often than not an Intel-phile is an EE and a Motorola-phile
> is a programmer. 

Interesting observation.  I know of one case where it happened.  My Dad
managed a group that had to decide between the two for a rather long term
project.  All the EE types wanted to use Intel something-or-others, all
the CS types wanted 680x0s.  Looking at the difference between 1/2 a year
of hardware work vs. three years of software work, they picked Motorola.

The way hardware folks split is often based on what they used to fool around
with.  I used to design 6502 family systems, so I felt right at home with 
the 680x0 systems even before I got a job designing them.  Lots of designers
cut their teeth on 8080s or Z-80s, and for them the obvious next move would
very likely be Intel.

> Ironically, here Motorola got trapped. Their designers had to make the
> 68000 work with the 8-bit peripheral chips from the 6800/6809, because when the
> 68000 was released its own family of chips wasn't available yet.

> As a result, 68000 hardware tends to be somewhat more baroque, even though it
> isn't a multiplexed bus.

Not really.  Talking to a 6800 peripheral kicks the 68000 into a special bus 
mode which has nothing really to do with it's normal bus mode.  This wasn't
necessary to talk to 6800 peripherals, just made the job easier on hardware
folks.  The 68020/30 machines dropped these three magic 6800 support pins,
but it's a relatively simple thing to recreate them if you have any 6800
or 6502 peripherals to talk with.

> Steven C. Den Beste,   BBN Communications Corp., Cambridge MA
> denbeste@bbn.com(ARPA/CSNET/UUCP)    harvard!bbn.com!denbeste(UUCP)
-- 
Dave Haynie  "The 32 Bit Guy"     Commodore-Amiga  "The Crew That Never Rests"
   {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh      PLINK: D-DAVE H     BIX: hazy
              Amiga -- It's not just a job, it's an obsession