Corrections to trivia

From: Allison J Parent <allisonp_at_world.std.com>
Date: Tue Oct 6 16:12:54 1998

< ::It was Intel's competitors - notably Motorola and especially MOS
< ::Technology - who were responsible for driving microprocessor CPU cost
< ::to the hundred-dollar-level and below. That's when times really bega
< ::a-changin'.

Tim is right as is was MOS Tech. that lobbed the biggest shot by offering
the 6502 for a mere $20 (single unit price!) at one of the computer shows.

< I agree with this. The 6502 architecture and the 6800/68000 series did m

Where did zilog fit in... they certainly improved on the 8080, they did
it cheaper and had a design that was easier to use too. Forced intel
to emphasize the 8085 that didn't extend the instructionset of the 8080
any significant amount.

< to advance low-cost computing than anything Intel did. Intel seemed perf
< satisfied to stay in the high-end market until relatively recently.

I strongly disagree. The following were Intel chips aimed at low to mid
end applications/markets.
 
 8048/9 series
 the 8088 and 80188 parts (8bit bus lower cost to use design with)
 8051 series

That may not be the total list either.

The market that intel couldn't or didn't care to be in was the $1 single
chip microprocessor market where TMS1000, COPS, uCOM4 and other 4bitters
can and did have a distinct presence.

Allison
 
Received on Tue Oct 06 1998 - 16:12:54 BST