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From: ForthNet@willett.pgh.pa.us (ForthNet articles from GEnie)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.forth
Subject: Forth Engines / Harris
Message-ID: <2123.UUL1.3#5129@willett.pgh.pa.us>
Date: 17 Dec 90 00:23:30 GMT
Organization: String, Scotch tape, and Paperclips.  (in Pgh, PA)
Lines: 41

Category 6,  Topic 15
Message 223       Sat Dec 15, 1990
F.SERGEANT [Frank]           at 17:21 CST
 
 Thanks to Phil Koopman & Marty Fraeman for posting more details on the 
realities of the semiconductor manufacturing business.
 Phil, I can understand that you have had "ENOUGH ALREADY!!" of  discussions
of the RTX and what Harris should or shouldn't have done or  now do.  However,
all sorts of topics on the Forth net are taken to  absurd extremes and I don't
particularly see why this should be any  different.  No one has to reply to a
topic he is no longer interested  in (although I do appreciate the details you
supplied).
 I want to make it clear that I was not asking that Harris lower the  price of
the RTX to $15 each in singles because they owed anything to  me or the Forth
community. No, no, no!  I was suggesting a strategy  that I thought might have
been in Harris's *own* interests.  I see from  your & Marty's comments that
there are a number of reasons why they  cannot/will not try out my suggestion
and why it might not have worked  if they had.  They possibly have made the
best choice.  Regardless, it  is *their* choice to make!  I have never
suggested otherwise.  I may be  wrong, but I want to be wrong for the right
reasons.  This very  strategy was successfully employed for the 6502, if what
I've heard is  correct.  Considering the advances in semiconductor
manufacturing  technology that presumably have taken place since the 6502 was 
introduced, and having heard that the NOVIX chip, upon which the  RTX2001A was
based, had "around 4000 gates,"  I assumed that the  RTX2001A even with its
added on-board stacks should fall into the  relatively cheap to produce
microprocessor category.  As I've said from  the outset, I'm merely
speculating.
 Also, my hope was that such a low price would have attracted customers  from
all over who needed the speed (or who could trade off that speed  to eliminate
other hardware in the system).  I am not referring to  Forth enthusiasts, just
ordinary users of microprocessors.  "Making 'em  an offer they couldn't
refuse."  Anyway, I'm not asking that Harris do  this now.  I think it is too
late.  Maybe Harris never could have done  it.  You are speculating that my
idea would not (have) work(ed), but we  know for sure that the approach Harris
took also did not work.  It  doesn't seem unreasonable to me to suggest
alternatives.
  -- Frank
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