[Info-vax] VAX vs. MV/8000 [was Re: Hard links on VMS ODS5 disks]

[terry-...@glaver.org]

On Sunday, August 27, 2023 at 8:46:01 AM UTC-4, Dan Cross wrote:
> Again, this is almost exactly what x86 does today. x86 is 
> otherwise a dumpster fire of bad design, but the approach they 
> took with the 64-bit extensions is spiritually closer to what 
> DG did with Nova, Eclipse, and MV than what DEC did. 

Intel has proposed X86-S which jettisons most of the 32-bit and
16-bit parts of the architecture. That might let them clean up their
microarchitecture (or at least provide a larger microcode patch
area 8-).

I expect there will be unpleasant surprises if S-mode processors
make it to operating system developers (outside of "most favored
nation" ones like Microsoft).