Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!sundc!pitstop!sun!pepper!cmcmanis
From: cmcmanis%pepper@Sun.COM (Chuck McManis)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: 68030 and 68040 specs
Message-ID: <41167@sun.uucp>
Date: 5 Feb 88 20:15:55 GMT
References: <30785R38@PSUVM> <1432@sugar.UUCP>
Sender: news@sun.uucp
Reply-To: cmcmanis@sun.UUCP (Chuck McManis)
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Mountain View
Lines: 39

In article <1432@sugar.UUCP> ssd@sugar.UUCP (Scott Denham) writes:
> In PC-Week several weeks ago Spencer Katt reported some interesting 
> rumors about work going on at Apple with prototypes of the '040. According
> to this source, the chip will include full on-chip emulation of the Intel
> '286 instruction set as one sub-mode.

I consider this proof positive that Spencer Katt has a serious drug problem.
Consider the amount of money that NEC is spending on the lawsuit with Intel
over the V series, and they even had a license to make 8086s ! If Mot ever 
gave one of their chips the attributes of an Intel chip two things would
happen :
	1) Intel would slap a lawsuit on them so fast the the sonic boom
	   would be heard in Japan.
	2) Every loyal 680x0 programmer in the WORLD would send a letter
	   bomb to Motorola, causing the largest explosion since the bombing
	   of Hiroshima. 

> He reckons that given timely marketing of a MAC-II (MAC-III?) based on 
> this chip, with PC-DOS capability on-chip, Apple could really kick some 
> big blue a.. I'm inclined to agree!

The Intel series chips have a mindset that is *completely* different from
the Motorola chips. And even if it was '286 compatible that is only ONE
TENTH the battle, you also have to emulate all of the silly peripherals
that are inside an IBM PC/AT. I can't understand why, a) Spencer would
even bother reporting a rumor like this since it is obviously untrue, and
b) why anyone would get anything more than a good laugh out of reading
it. I agree with Scott that if such a chip could be produced in quantity
by this summer, and designed in and machines ramped up, and the lawsuits 
won, and the software issues taken care of, this thing would give all the
clone makers and IBM fits. I also think that if John Sculley could part
the pacific ocean and create a land route to Japan, that would also give
the clone makers and IBM fits. Finally, the chances of either event 
happening are about the same. :-)


--Chuck McManis
uucp: {anywhere}!sun!cmcmanis   BIX: cmcmanis  ARPAnet: cmcmanis@sun.com
These opinions are my own and no one elses, but you knew that didn't you.