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From: tac@cs.brown.edu (Theodore A. Camus)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: The Sixth Generation
Message-ID: <38961@brunix.UUCP>
Date: 7 May 90 01:54:58 GMT
References: <76700193@p.cs.uiuc.edu> <422@dg.dg.com> <1990May3.153742.9750@utzoo.uucp> <6058@scolex.sco.COM>
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Reply-To: tac@cs.brown.edu (Theodore A. Camus)
Organization: Brown University Department of Computer Science
Lines: 26


Various ramblings: 

> The invisible hand of Adam Smith right now is full of Intel x86 machines,
> and I *refuse* to believe that those are the world's best computer
> architecture!

> Even if the x86 never existed, there are still all those VAXen out there,
> which kinda blows the theory out of the water.

> Also, how would you define "best"?  


Unbelievably, I am yet to hear to phrase "software/peripheral compatibility".
If you had a software package that only ran on a x86, and the choice between a 
AT or a Cray 3 to run your package, which would you say would be the "best" ?  

All-too-often people do not consider software and peripheral availability
as a factor in a machine's value.  Thus a new computer company may fail,
despite a seemingly better technology.


  CSnet:     tac@cs.brown.edu                          Ted Camus  
  ARPAnet:   tac%cs.brown.edu@relay.cs.net             Box 1910 CS Dept
  BITnet:    tac@browncs.BITNET                        Brown University
  "An ounce of example is worth a pound of theory."    Providence, RI 02912