Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!ames!ll-xn!mit-eddie!uw-beaver!microsoft!mattb From: mattb@microsoft.UUCP (Matt Bamberger) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac Subject: Re: MAC 88000, or why not a Intel 386-based MAC Summary: 'cause the 80x86 sucks, that's why Message-ID: <1617@microsoft.UUCP> Date: 15 Jul 88 21:20:28 GMT References: <261@hodge.UUCP> <370STORKEL@RICE> <925@garth.UUCP> <153@pitstop.UUCP> <17556@glacier.STANFORD.EDU> Organization: Microsoft, Inc., Redmond, Washington Lines: 30 A couple of reasons: 1) The 80386 is simply not a very good microprocessor. It doesn't clean up a lot of the junk left over by the original 8086 design, and it has little to offer that the 680x0 doesn't already have. It's no faster than the 68020, and it's a lot slower than the 68030 and the 88000. The 68030 includes some mmu functions, and offers a good deal of function that isn't available on the 80x86. In addition, the 68881/68882 are substantially more powerful than their 80x86 equivalents. 2) One of the cornerstones of the Macintosh philosophy has been compatibility: everything works with everything else. Bringing out an 80386 Macintosh would at the very least require two versions of all software, and would very likely cause major problems with even data portability. Add to this the almost certain problems that would arise with Nubus cards designed for one processor or the other, and you're looking at total chaos. 3) Macintosh software doesn't run on IBM architectures. Never has, never will. Even if it were written in 80386 native code, the PS/2 is missing a couple hundred K of ROM. And IBM software already runs on the Macintosh, under either software or hardware emulation, so what's the point? The point is, the 80386 has nothing to offer the Macintosh that it doesn't already have, and it would destroy the universal compatibility that Apple has struggled so hard to achieve over the last few years. -mattb DISCLAIMER: my opinions are my own, not Microsoft's. Matt Bamberger "And priests in black gowns (206) 882-8080 were walking their rounds ...uw-beaver!microsoft!mattb And binding with briars my joys and desires"