Re: why bookworm isn't called deb12?
On Fri 07 Jul 2023 at 16:08:44 (-0500), John Hasler wrote:
> Bret writes:
> > With bits and bytes, one strange thing that I remember, is that, in
> > 1985, in Australia, a particular computer was introduced, that had a
> > 32 bit processor with 8 bit buses. It was a Motorola 68008 CPU, and, I
> > could not understand why a company would produce a 32 bit CPU wit 8
> > bit buses.
>
> That processor was targeted at embedded systems and it made sense in
> some applications. I don't understand why anyone would put it in a
> desktop.
Perhaps be thankful that they did, though:
"Linus Torvalds has attributed his eventually developing the Linux
kernel, likewise having pre-emptive multitasking, in part to having
owned a Sinclair QL in the 1980s. Because of the lack of support,
particularly in his native Finland, Torvalds became used to writing
his own software rather than relying on programs written by
others. In part, his frustration with Minix, on the Sinclair, led,
years later, to his purchase of a more standard IBM PC compatible on
which he would develop Linux. In Just for Fun, Torvalds wrote, "Back
in 1987, one of the selling points of the QL was that it looked
cool", because it was "entirely matte black, with a black keyboard"
and was "fairly angular". He also wrote he bought a floppy
controller so he could stop using microdrives, but the floppy
controller driver was bad, so he wrote his own. Bugs in the
operating system, or discrepancies with the documentation, that made
his software not work properly, got him interested in operating
systems. "Like any good computer purist raised on a 68008 chip,"
Torvalds "despised PCs", but decided in fall 1990 to purchase a 386
custom-made IBM PC compatible, which he did in January 1991."
Cheers,
David.
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