🚀 go-pugleaf

This machine is an ICM3216.  They're great little boards.  The university
program is very good, as National applies some of their muscle to disk/tape
drive distributors to get you good prices.  There are lots of things coming
out (or already available) for the ICM series: the UofToronto 4.2 port already
discussed here; an 8 port serial board (with upgraded license for the extra
users); a graphics board from National; the ICM-332-1 mentioned here which is
supposed to be about 1.5 Mips (compared to .8 Mips or so for the ICM-3216).
(As I'm talking about performance I should point out a bug in the Dhrystone
data for ICM-3216 (out by a factor of 3 - unfortunately)).

  I have students who have bought the system.  One is adding a floppy disk &
controller directly to the Minibus to make a very cheap back-up medium.
Another is building a very nice graphics system using the TI 34010 chip
(connected to the CPU via the minibus which will run up to 6 Mbytes/sec in
this configuration).

  NS32xxx is FAR from dead.  Lots of people seem to be designing in 32xxx
rather than 680xx chips into new products (appliances and multi-computers).

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* Stay tuned to National next week (or so) for some VERY exciting news. *
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-- 
	../Dave Mason,	TM Software Associates	(Compilers & System Consulting)
	..!{utzoo seismo!mnetor utcsri utgpu lsuc}!tmsoft!mason