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From: hl.rogers@ofc.Columbia.NCR.COM (hl.rogers)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: IBM PC prehistory
Message-ID: <457@ofc.Columbia.NCR.COM>
Date: 5 Jan 90 16:50:27 GMT
References: <1546@aber-cs.UUCP> <33896@mips.mips.COM> <21559@uflorida.cis.ufl.EDU> <1989Dec30.235854.14254@world.std.com> <10131@microsoft.UUCP> <250@dg.dg.com>
Reply-To: hl.rogers@ofc.Columbia.NCR.COM (H. L. Rogers)
Distribution: na
Organization: NCR E&M Columbia, Columbia, SC
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<Actually, the options available at the time were:
<
<	Z80 (IBM marketed an S100 Z80 CP/M machine in Europe for 4 months)
<	808[05] (No real advantage over the Z80 and some real disadvantages)
<	808[68] (Could address more memory, had no real installed base)
<	68000   (Not really very solid yet as I recall)
<	Z8000   (Not shipping in quantity for larger address space)
<	TI 9900 (Not really an option)
<	6809	(Fast, ready, but not that much better than the Z80)
<
There were also some successful bit-slice micros available
from National and AMD.  These micros had 4 years of shipping
experience during this time.  Of course, this approach was
simply too expensive for the personal computer concept, as 
was the 68K and 9900.  It really all boiled down to cost and
schedule, or maybe schedule and cost.
-- 
---
HL Rogers    (hl.rogers@ncrcae.Columbia.NCR.COM)
Me?  Speak for my company??  HA!
"Call 202/653-1800 for a good time!" - John Matrow, 1989