Xref: utzoo comp.misc:1852 comp.sys.m68k:733 comp.sys.mac:12184 comp.sys.ibm.pc:11466
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!nuchat!splut!jay
From: jay@splut.UUCP (Jay Maynard)
Newsgroups: comp.misc,comp.sys.m68k,comp.sys.mac,comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: The New Chips
Message-ID: <366@splut.UUCP>
Date: 6 Feb 88 04:00:39 GMT
References: <4746@watdragon.waterloo.edu> <4227@utai.UUCP> <1029@edge.UUCP> <161@spked.UUCP>
Organization: Confederate Microsystems, League City, TX
Lines: 30
Keywords: Intel IBM
Summary: The PC wasn't _designed_ in '82...

In article <161@spked.UUCP>, croft@spked.UUCP (Steve Croft) writes:
> Just a clarification on a point by Doug Parde...  he stated that the 80286
> wasn't even thought of when IBM came out with the PC...
> 
> I can't state when the 286 work began, but do know from documentation that
> it was well into design by 1982...  in fact, the design of the 386 began in
> 1982...  I would assume that intel *was* working on the 286 at the time the
> PC came out...

Well, you're right.
Unfortunately, this isn't too relevant: you must compare the chips available
at the time the PC was being designed, not when it came out (despite what
some PC-bashers on the net would like to believe, it wasn't rushed out the
door in 6 months).

The PC's basic design was set down in 1979, I believe. Certainly not later
than 1980. Selecting a processor was one of the first decisions to be made,
and was influenced primarily by two facts:
1) There was a mountain of CP/M software that could be fairly simply
transported, and much more simply than it could have been ported to the
68000. This made it much more likely to get software support early on.
2) The 8086 family of chips was a complete set, that could be wired together
to produce a complete machine. There were few-to-none support devices for
the 68000 available. Needless to say, this was also true for the 286...

-- 
Jay Maynard, K5ZC (@WB5BBW)...>splut!< | GEnie: JAYMAYNARD  CI$: 71036,1603
uucp: {uunet!nuchat,academ!uhnix1,{ihnp4,bellcore,killer}!tness1}!splut!jay
Never ascribe to malice that which can adequately be explained by stupidity.
The opinions herein are shared by none of my cats, much less anyone else.