• Re: alternative history 16:32 far pointers in OpenWatcom C/C++

    From John Levine@3:633/10 to All on Tue Nov 4 20:39:08 2025
    According to Kaz Kylheku <643-408-1753@kylheku.com>:
    On 2025-11-04, geodandw <geodandw@gmail.com> wrote:
    The 68000 was a very nice processor for its time. It's too bad IBM
    didn't use it in the PC.

    That would have been so much better even if it still had had a shitty >CP/M-like OS with drive letter names and whatnot.

    The reports I heard said that until fairly late in the design process
    that IBM PC was an 8 bit system. Then they decided to make it a 16
    bit system, but keep the 8 bit bus. So they needed a 16 bit chip with
    an 8 bit bus. Intel could provide 8088 in quantity but Moto only had
    samples of the 68008, so they went with Intel. Too bad.

    --
    Regards,
    John Levine, johnl@taugh.com, Primary Perpetrator of "The Internet for Dummies",
    Please consider the environment before reading this e-mail. https://jl.ly

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)