the venerable 80186 (and 80188)

On 27 Dec 2009 at 7:48, Peter C. Wallace wrote: I still use a MAD case for one of my XT-compatible systems. Sometime around 1986, Haltek had a pile of their cases and (incompatible) motherboards. Took a little drilling for standoffs and installation of a different power supply connector, but it's a very sturdy and compact case. Add to your list, the Durango Poppy--a combo 186/286 system, witth the 286 supplied as an optional upgrade (the socket was on all systems). I think the release date was about 1983-84, with the 286 upgrade and Xenix coming later. And don't forget the systems that used the NEC V40 and V50; similar (integrated peripherals, not totally PC compatible), but not pin- compatible with the 188/186. The 186/188 found its way into a *lot* of peripherals, including USR modems and a number of high-end tape systems. Somewhere, I remember that the 186 could be used in a very PC- compatible mode if you were willing to forego the integrated peripherals. Were there any PC accelerator cards made with the 186? I believe there may have been. --Chuck