Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!oakhill!eric
From: eric@oakhill.sps.mot.com (Eric Quintana)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: What's in the '586?
Message-ID: <1991May15.161816.22653@oakhill.sps.mot.com>
Date: 15 May 91 16:18:16 GMT
References: <1991May14.002130.4740@vax5.cit.cornell.edu> <42347@cup.portal.com> <1991May15.132623.25795@vlsi.waterloo.edu>
Organization: Motorola Inc., Austin, Texas
Lines: 24

ward@vlsi.waterloo.edu (Paul Ward) writes:

>In article <42347@cup.portal.com> mmm@cup.portal.com (Mark Robert Thorson) writes:
>>A novel method has been developed for reducing the cost of floating-point
>>performance to the end user.  Each 586 has 100 bytes of EPROM for
>>storing passwords unique to each chip.  When a user decides to upgrade
>>to hardware floating point, he simply calls Intel and buys the password
>>for enabling the on-chip FPU.  Each password is good for 10 gigaflops,

>Novel !!  I'll say.  This is going to be a real winner.  We'll sell you the
>FPU, but you can't use it unless you pay us.  No thanks.

>BTW, don't give me this crap about it benefitting the end-user.  It will cost
>Intel EXACTLY the same amount to manufacture the chip, whether or not the
>consumer uses the FPU.  

>Paul Ward

Before this gets out of hand, PLEASE reread the original article.
It sure looks like a joke to me (and very funny too).

-- 
Eric Quintana                       eric@oakhill.sps.mot.com
Motorola Microprocessor Design      (512) 891-2915