🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <Summers-0409951343580001@arclan-ara-gw-2.arc.nasa.gov>,
David P. Summers <Summers@Ethyl-the-Frog.ARC.NASA.gov> wrote:
>It is true that  68000 machines are slow by todays standards.  But that
>is unavoidable and different than forced obsolesence.  I was able to
>use my Plus for years after 286 machines become "obsolete".  Sure it
>was slow, but it did what it had to well enough that spending $1000-$2000
>on a new machine wasn't justified.

Well, technically speaking, even the 8086 systems of the 80's are still
usable if one discounts the speed problem.  A friend of mine is running
PPP on one to connect to his ISP.  Windows 3.1 will still run on a 286
system, abet rather slowly.  :-)  Each upgrade of the Intel x86 series
(286, 386, 486) was to provide new features, which the main-stream software
developers then took advantage of.  I would guess that the initially superior
quality of the 68000's design allowed Motorola to avoid making backward
incompatible changes for a longer period of time.  I'm curious: does the
68040 not incorporate any new opcodes compared to the 68030, or do software
developers just refrain from using them (or provide multiple versions of
routines that would be affected)?

Max
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