25 Jun
2000
25 Jun
'00
12:48 p.m.
Hello Ernest
On 24-Jun-00, you wrote:
Regards
--
Gary Hildebrand
ghldbrd(a)ccp.com
Based on what the current computer industry knows about building
computers,
would it be possible to build a better Z80 based
computer today, using the
same chips that the builders in, say, 1979 had available?
I heard someone say that the manufacturers did the best they could with
what
they had to work with "back then," and I
started to wonder if we could do
it
better today. Has our understanding of how it all
works improved enough to
do it better now, using the same chips, etc.?
Just curious,
Ernest
IMHO, it should be possible, if they wanted to build one. But the
proliferation of wintel boxes proves that the market moved elsewhere. I
think VW found that out when they phased out the original Beetle. The new
Mexican built Beetles are better than the ones from the 50's and 60's but do
you really want one that bad?
Or another example is vacuum tubes. The only place they still thrive today
is in esoteric audio amplifiers. Look at the prices of them though . . .