Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!lll-winken!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!sdd.hp.com!think.com!laird From: laird@think.com (Laird Popkin) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy Subject: Re: NeXT Press Release Message-ID: <1991Apr24.201148.25808@Think.COM> Date: 24 Apr 91 20:11:48 GMT References: <11306@uwm.edu> Sender: news@Think.COM Distribution: comp Organization: Thinking Machines Corporation, Cambridge MA, USA Lines: 30 In article <11306@uwm.edu> gblock@csd4.csd.uwm.edu writes: >From article , by melling@cs.psu.edu (Michael D Mellinger): >> >> In article <11299@uwm.edu> gblock@csd4.csd.uwm.edu (Gregory R Block) writes: >> >> >> Yes, then again, PostScript is not entirely dependent on integer >> performance. Actually, from what I've seen, not much at all on >> integer performace. >> >> Then why doesn't someone put an i860 in a laserprinter? >> >> -Mike > >I'd love to tell you, but if you can't figure it out, you're not worth >the breath. Or the wasted keystrokes. > >Greg Actually Postscript benefits from an FPU. But most of the "cool new RISC procesors" are simply too expensive to justify their use in laser printers. There _are_ some printers based on some of the less expensive RISC chips (e.g. AMD 29K) and some high end imagesetters (the $100K machines) using things like 68040's and i860's. For 99% of the DTP work that's going on, the increased cost of _anything_ over a dirt cheap 68000 with no FPU isn't worth it. The merket for $10K laser printers is pretty small. But as the high rformance chips keep getting cheaper, they are migrating into embedded applications such as printer controllers. - Laird Popkin