Re: SGI files for chapter 11

In article <op.s9f7k8sizgicya@hyrrokkin>,
"Tom Linden" <tom@xxxxxxxxxx> writes:
On Fri, 12 May 2006 07:08:08 -0700, Bill Gunshannon <bill@xxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

In article <XO%8g.2$54.545@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
"Michael D. Ober" <obermd.@.alum.mit.edu.nospam> writes:


"JF Mezei" <jfmezei.spamnot@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:446395FE.61195AC@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Malcolm Dunnett wrote:
However that same thinking suggested that the 80x86 architecture
could
never keep up either and was doomed. I'm not a chip designer, but
Intel
certainly seems to have found ways to get those speed enhancements
without
sacrificing binary compatibility.

That is because the 8086's instruction set was much simpler than VAX's.
Intel didn't steal Vax tricks for its 8086, they stole Alpha tricks to
embed into the 8086.


Since the 8086/8088 processors were on the market long before the Alpha
was
even on the drawing board, you must mean Intel "stole" from the Alpha
for
later processors. Actually, the 8086 to 80286 were partially based on
the
IBM mainframe processors. You could even go so far as to write
emulation
code on the 8086 that was nearly a one-to-one match for the BAL
instruction
set IBM designed.

Which may be what gave us the PC-370. Boy I wish I had a couple of them
for
my collection!!

Are you sure about that? My recollection is that iwas a three chip set
made
by Motorola based on the 68000.

I don't know, I never got to see the inside of one and I only saw the
outside once. :-) I always assumed it was pure IBM. But, I've been
wrong before.

bill

--
Bill Gunshannon | de-moc-ra-cy (di mok' ra see) n. Three wolves
bill@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx | and a sheep voting on what's for dinner.
University of Scranton |
Scranton, Pennsylvania | #include <std.disclaimer.h>
.

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