Post #139,299
2/2/04 10:28:40 AM
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Sometimes Intel skips a chip
like the 80186, they made it but did not distribute it very much. I think only a few computer makers used the 80186 chip like Tandy. Intel and others skipped the 80186 and went right to the better 80286. I remember hearing that the Itanium was almost ready or used in a few systems, but I never saw it. Maybe used in beta hardware?
Toss the Itanium in with the Pentium Pro and 80186 chips in that big silicon boneyard. :)
"Lady I only speak two languages, English and Bad English!" - Corbin Dallas "The Fifth Element"
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Post #139,301
2/2/04 10:36:31 AM
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Not all micros are for PCs.
80186 was used a lot as embedded controllers. I used them in communication controllers, and I saw them in a lot of other products. Nice chip for some applications. There's more to life than desktop systems.
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Post #139,308
2/2/04 11:05:42 AM
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Re: Not all micros are for PCs.
The proto-PC looked a lot like the IBM PC but was based on the 80186 and had 8-in floppy drives, with BASIC and optional APL in ROM. Forgot the designation, but remember it was numeric. Used the same 5150 (?) green screen as the IBM PC.
-drl
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Post #139,313
2/2/04 11:40:08 AM
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Yup...
They went with the 8088 because the 8 bit bus was compatible with existing printers and such. It was also a few cents cheaper than the 186 and let them charge for extra comm features. IBM was big on synchronous protocols at the time and they could charge for an extra adapter card if you wanted to talk to the frames.
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Post #139,357
2/2/04 3:51:53 PM
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Re: Yup...
IIRC the 80186 had and onboard PIC and integrated clock as well, but this was not a good thing for use in a general device.
I looked for info on this system and I could not find it. It was as close as possible to a PC, without being a PC. I strongly suspect it was a prototype and not a production model. My employer did a lot of business with IBM and the government, and a lot of "edge" equipment was scattered around. Could it have been a Xenix machine?
-drl
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Post #139,389
2/2/04 5:59:34 PM
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Curiously enough, I have a 1991 16/32 embedded processors ma
manual on my shelf. Ok, I'm a fucking packrat. Sue me.
First page describes it as a "high integration 16-bit microprocessor"
Integrated feature set:
enhanced 8086-2 CPU
2 independent DMA channels
PIC
3 programmable 16-bit timers
Programmable memory and Peripheral Chip-select logic
Programmable wait state generator
local bus controller
They had a CMOS version which, compared to current Xeons, pretty much ran for free. They had good development tools, with the notable exception of Mark Williams C, which sucked dead gophers.
I had a lot of fun with them. Oh well, times change. Now just hang a bigger power supply on and throw hardware at the problems. Times don't necessarily change for the better...
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Post #139,487
2/3/04 12:31:05 AM
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I looked at the timeline
[link|http://www.ox.compsoc.net/~swhite/history/timeline-PRODUCT.html#139|http://www.ox.compso...-PRODUCT.html#139]
1979 IBM announced it was working on a PC to compete with other Microcomputers.
[link|http://www.ox.compsoc.net/~swhite/history/timeline-CPU.html#146|http://www.ox.compso...line-CPU.html#146]
1981 the 80186/80188 chips were released. Question mark here.
[link|http://www.ox.compsoc.net/~swhite/history/timeline-PRODUCT.html#147|http://www.ox.compso...-PRODUCT.html#147]
1981 the IBM PC was released with the 8088 CPU.
Intel timeline:
[link|http://www.intel.com/pressroom/kits/quickrefyr.htm|http://www.intel.com...ts/quickrefyr.htm]
80186 did not come out unil 1982. One year after the IBM PC did. Unlikely it was used as a prototype for the IBM PC unless the 80186 CPU was a prototype itself back then and shared outside of Intel. Maybe IBM went with the 8088 because the 80186 would not be in production until a year later? The 80188 was a 8 bit bus, IIRC.
If memory serves, before the IBM PC was the IBM Displaywriter. [link|http://www-1.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/pc/pc_8.html|http://www-1.ibm.com...bits/pc/pc_8.html]
Check out the other systems that existed before the IBM PC, it shows that IBM was trying to make desktop computers before the IBM PC.
"Lady I only speak two languages, English and Bad English!" - Corbin Dallas "The Fifth Element"
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Post #139,488
2/3/04 12:33:09 AM
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Re: I looked at the timeline
I didn't say it was the prototype for the PC - I said it may have been a prototype for a machine that was never produced. You may not enjoy reading but it's a valuable skill.
-drl
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Post #139,505
2/3/04 2:04:29 AM
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Sorry my mistake
I thought when you said it was as close to a PC without being a PC that it was a prototype before the PC was released. It had to become a prototype after the PC was released based on the Intel timeline. No mention of it at IBM that I can find.
"Lady I only speak two languages, English and Bad English!" - Corbin Dallas "The Fifth Element"
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Post #139,508
2/3/04 2:22:43 AM
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Re: Sorry my mistake
It's definitely not in the list of released machines as far as I know - I've looked several times. I thought it was a really cool thing because it had APL in ROM. It would boot like a PC but instead of BASIC coming up, it would be APL.
-drl
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Post #139,334
2/2/04 1:57:04 PM
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Itanium... available for at least 2 years in IBM products.
More in HP products.
Itanium is called IA64 (Linux has a port for IA64)
Even Debian has a whole arch for it.
Itanium2(Also runs IA64 Code but quite a bit faster) has also been available for a while... not sure how long...
Itanium AND Itanium2 have sold about 7000-8000 Processors. Considering how much these babies cost... That is still quite a bit of money, but not enough to cover the R&D of a Dead Product.
--
[link|mailto:greg@gregfolkert.net|greg],
[link|http://www.iwethey.org/ed_curry|REMEMBER ED CURRY!] @ iwethey
"Lately, The only thing keeping me from being a
Serial Killer is my distaste for manual labor."
-- Dilbert Calendar, January 4, 2004
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