🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <7183@utzoo.UUCP> henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer) writes:
>> And what about the new family jewels?  Should I feel vindicated that Mot
>> has finally decided that on-chip memory management is a good idea?  ...
>
>Only when Intel decides that on-chip caches are a good idea.  The 68030
>has *both*.  So does the Clipper, by the way.  The MIPS chip set likewise
>does the MMU and half (the hard half) of the cache.  Where's Intel?
>
>
>> ...what about performance?  Why would a new, ultra-high end user choose
>> the 68030 over, say, the Clipper, or the MIPS chips, each of which
>> (if you believe the numbers) should exceed the 68030's performance (with
>> the promise of delivering more sooner) and are available, in some semblance, 
>> today?
>
>Probably no particularly good reason except compatibility.  I notice,
>however, that the line of argument has shifted slightly:  we don't hear
>the word "Intel" any more.
>-- 
>				Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
>				{allegra,ihnp4,decvax,pyramid}!utzoo!henry

	Hi, I just would like to bring up a new topic to think about.
I find that working at the chip level can be a great joy but *most* consumers
do not. They mostly run programs and only care if they run -fast enough-.
As far as writing programs go the compiler is where the real sweet occurs
yet compiler writers are *few* compared to end users. Then we have
to weigh just how many *good* applications can be addressed with only
a compiler rather then an assembler. This problem is more complex
-to be sure- but I would say that the compiler that is most mature
is the winner (at the time). That is because a buggy compiler can
cause much pain to developers... Market competition has to occur
to 'debug' the compilers etc.... What I am getting at is by no means the
fault of hardware design -just the first in high volume to market wins-...
I have a 68K and an 8086! but I can use both... Ok everybody -
lets here it for 'to each his own' (any cheers?). I think most people
don't get down to the hardware level like the rest of us. Well for now I'll
think about getting so sleep and dream of some *real* cpu's not like
the toys we have today but say in 10 years. (You know 10 years from
now when we have the computing power of a CRAY in a kid's toy.....:-)


# Mike Gore 
# Institute for Computer Research.
# These ideas/concepts do not imply views held by the University of Waterloo.