Im working on an update to Wikipedia on floppy disk drive controllers there is a nice section on WD but nothing on Intel/NEC
Anyone know the history of how the NEC µPD765 and the Intel 8272 became compatible devices? AFAICT it was IBM's August 1981 adoption of the NEC µPD765 in the PC that drove the industry to standardize on the device. The earliest dates I can find for the two devices are: Jan 1981 8272 listed in Intel catalog (not in 1979 catalog) 1979 µPD765 listed in NEC catalog <http://www.bitsavers.org/components/nec/_dataBooks/1979_NEC_Microcomputer_C atalog.pdf> Dec 1978 µPD765 Data Sheet <http://www.bitsavers.org/components/nec/_dataSheets/uPD765_Data_Sheet_Dec78 .pdf> As described in the 1978 data sheet the NEC device was 8-inch FD compatible and of course the PC used 5¼-inch drives but I suspect the differences could be worked around It may well be that they were compatible in previous versions (µPD372 and 8271) Any recollections and links would be appreciated Tom
