24 Dec
2013
24 Dec
'13
1:01 p.m.
On 23/12/2013 22:38, jim s wrote:
On 12/23/2013 11:18 AM, Al Kossow wrote:
> On 12/23/13 11:03 AM, ben wrote:
>
>> Have microcomputers really died off?
>>
>
> As far as semiconductor manufacturers are concerned, yes.
>
I am not sure thats true. Depends on what you mean by "microcomputer"
but technology and its implementation is evolving all the time. So no
one builds things in "huge" 19" racks any more, there isn't any need
for
such a big box. I mean what is the Raspberry PI model A if it isn't a
Microprocessor? It might not have switches and lamps but what else is
missing? Before you say "a bus" it has a SPi bus which is the nearest
thing to a traditional bus you get these days. It will also run the
Acorn RISC/OS that was written for the Archimedes "bare metal"...
.
At chip level there is a whole and diverse range of parts available. At
the lowest level you have the 8-bit PIC chips which are not perhaps full
microprocessors but which allow a hige range of systems to be built with
comparative ease. I have an Antenna Analyzer and Capacitance/Inducance
meter both of which use PIC chips as the main motive power. I guess
these are kind of equivalent to 4-bit Microprocessor. Then there are the
Basic stamp, the multi core propeller, and the AT/Mega chip used in the
Aruduio, the ARM chip used not only in the PI but also in the Beagle
Board...
So instead of the H* trainers you might get a PIC trainer board like this:-
http://www.mikroe.com/easypic/
but thats not a full computer. There is also stuff like the Parallax and
Basic Stamp:-
http://www.parallax.com/microcontrollers/getting-started
Beagle Boards...
http://beagleboard.org/
FreeScale has Coldfire boards....
And that's before we start on FPGA's with "embedded cores". ....
... I have the Nexys-3 which can be an IBM1130, IBM/360.,ZX Spectrum or
6809 with Flex09 depending on how I program the logic....
Dave
G4UGM
NMOS, +5v
logic, and TTL is dead, dead, dead.
The people tinkering with 8 bit micros are using NOS parts
which will all dry up in our lifetimes. I use NOS Harris
6120s as an exampe
One of my buddies who is probably one of the top schlockers
won't
store these parts anymore, and calls them 1 mil parts, for what he can
get for them.
the people who carry these have either very very cheap storage, or
some business model which covers the costs of covering the storage of
the parts from another part of the business they run.
Cindy, who posts here is an example of a slower motion model of what
will happen or is happening to the people who stock the nos parts.
The book business had a heavy one time contraction when accounting
rules caused a purge on 'remaindered' books and a lot of old stock
went away. I don't know if that is an issue for the people who have
all the treasures we covet, but some should be carrying the inventory
value on their books, and if they are doing that they are paying taxes
on it. Another reason treasures go away.
thanks
jim