On Sun, 7 Jan 2007, Scott Quinn wrote:
My guess has to do with processors: i80486 binaries
can run just fine
on Pentium+ systems.
so can 8088 binaries. (With occasional exceptions that don't typically
show up in common usage (such as PUSH SP))
But not all Pentium+ binaries will run on 8088, or even i80486.
There seemed to have been a cultural difference between Motorola and
intel.
Motorola would design each major generation from scratch, thus producing a
much better processor, but without legacy software.
intel, OTOH, would bend over backwards to try to maintain 4004
compatibility.