>
> > "640K ought to be enough for anybody." -- Bill Gates, 1981.
> He wasn't the only one to make prediction error.
> Intel has done his mistake in hardware.
The Intel processor was developed more or less for ITT's "new"
electronic switching system, an all new multi-processor based telephony
switch. The idea was to have multiple blocks of ROM based code that would
be allocated per phone connection, and executed as need to process
telephone calls. It was decided that in a high page demand multi-task
environment, (many tasks, often interrupted and switched between before
any task finished,) a segmented memory architecture would be cheaper than
using a large number of independent processors running off of one bank of
ROM. I worked on this project for ITT in their Shelton, CT Advanced
Technology Center. Intel delivered the 8086 for this project. As it became
clear that the code segments were growing larger than the 16K(?) page
which the 8086 addressed, and more memory was going to be needed, ITT
persuaded Intel to stretch the product with the 80186, which let one
address larger segment blocks and more memory.
Some years later, after spending an incredible amount of money on
this software project, ITT decided that it had not managed the project well,
mis-designed the system, and with no light at the end of the tunnel, shut
it down. Contractors were, from what I understand, given a two hour
notice. This was one of the largest software project failures on record.
Meanwhile, Lomas Data Products, Godbout Electronics, and others had
produced boards using the 8086 processor, and IBM did a project to see how
long it would take to make a new computer. Don Estridge in Boca Raton used
this processor to make IBM's third small scale personalized computer. The
first was in the mid 70's, and was never marketed. The second was,
running of a tape cartridge and using built-in APL or optional BASIC. There
was also the Display Writer, but was intended as a word processing system,
and priced rather high. IBM also had a 68000 based laboratory automation
computer, which it stole that awful keyboard from. This third
personalized computer was marketed more effectively...
> The 8086 has only 20 lines to address memory. Guess how much
> it is 2^20 (2*2*2*2*2... 20 times) 1Mb aka 1024Kb=640K+384K...
> Motorola 68000 that was older (I mean it was designed before
> 8086) had 32 lines!!!!
> Furthermore some of the addressing space is used by ROM and
> by the video adapter...
They blindly copied the S-100's memory allocation, simply adding a
zero. They, I think before Bill, assumed that 64k would be jut about the
maximum anyone ever needed. I mean, this was a small business computer.
After this, one would migrate to the AS400 or a 370 based mainframe.
> Another urban legend narrates that Intel paid some engineers at
> IBM... ???
The person who made the decision was, according to my IBM sources,
fired when IBM found he had more property than they expected could have
been purchased on his IBM salary. IBM has strong policies against outside
employment or income sources. In general, IBM tends not to fire people,
preferring to think that people learn from their mistakes, and after
some refractory period pumping software sludge, can again become good IBM
employees, all the wiser for their experiences. Most IBM employees have
never worked for another company, and think that the world ends at the
edge of IBM. This makes them very dedicated and loyal to the company, and
to each other, willing to cooperate with other IBM'ers all over the world,
whom they have never seen or even heard of. Working at IBM is, at times,
like all the best parts of working in a religious order or a religious
retreat, without the need to worship. I have always enjoyed my assignments
at IBM.
Don Estridge died in an airplane accident in Texas, when a storm
generated microburst, a rare small sized downdraft, slammed a commercial
jetliner into the ground as it was landing. I believe it was at the Dallas
- Ft. Worth airport.
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