Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!cbmvax!daveh
From: daveh@cbmvax.UUCP (Dave Haynie)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: 68030 and 68040 specs
Message-ID: <3293@cbmvax.UUCP>
Date: 10 Feb 88 06:20:35 GMT
References: <1432@sugar.UUCP>
Organization: Commodore Technology, West Chester, PA
Lines: 32

in article <1432@sugar.UUCP>, ssd@sugar.UUCP (Scott Denham) says:
> Summary: 68040 rumors....

> 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. 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!

Yuck!  Barf-a-bunga!  

I can't possibly imagine Motorola tainting a perfectly good, modeless 
architecture like the 680x0 with something as foolish as '286 emulation in
hardware.  Even as a joke.  Seesh, even the PC[lone] people these days admit
that the '286 is brain damaged.  I mean, if they want to emulate it in 
software, fine, I can choose not to run that stuff.  Or pay a few extra
dollars and buy a real '286 and hand it in somewhere.  MOS had a chip with
a similar concept a few years back, called the 7502.  I won't go into any
details, but there's a good reason you've never heard of it.

Fortunately, considering the relative merits of PC Week and the Motorola
chip designers, I'm sure that's total bunk.  

On another tack, I'm sure Motorola doesn't relish an Intel microcode suit,
even if Intel's a smaller company (guess they're smaller than NEC too, for
that matter).  
-- 
Dave Haynie  "The B2000 Guy"     Commodore-Amiga  "The Crew That Never Rests"
   {ihnp4|uunet|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh      PLINK: D-DAVE H     BIX: hazy
		"I can't relax, 'cause I'm a Boinger!"