I worked with the Intel i960CA parts and the i960MX parts, while working for Applied Microsystems Corporation (now defunct.)
Applied made high-end in-circuit emulators. My team worked on software for execution trace disassemblers. We had wide and deep memories and could record something like 16,384 bus cycles in emulator (trace) memory.
Once we had some bus cycles to analyze, we’d sort out what the processor had done when it ran (an execution trace) and show it. It was a great tool for answering questions like “How did I get here?” when your embedded code jumped off into the weeds.
The i960CA was relatively simple to work with. The i960MX was a lot more complicated, as I recall.
Re:The Itanic Has Sunk
by bashinator on Friday July 30, 2021 @10:46AM
(#28008542)
I believe Data General AViiON mainframes used m88k CPUs. One came through a used computer shop I worked at in the early 2000s.
Some NCD X terminals used M88k CPUs.
Re:The Itanic Has Sunk
by the_only_law on Friday July 30, 2021 @09:56AM
(#28008002)
I’ve been trying to hunt down some X terminals recently. So far have only found some HP ones.
I used to have both a 15" all-in-one model, and a separate pizza-box style model with a 17" monitor. IIRC, both were 88k CPUs.
Re:The Itanic Has Sunk
by tenebrisalietum on Friday July 30, 2021 @10:20AM
(#28008269)
I think either the i860 or i960 was a CPU used in Adaptec PCI cards in the 90s.
I recall Wikipedia saying one of them (I tend to confuse the two) was popular in RAID controllers, so that sounds plausible.
Re:The Itanic Has Sunk
by justthisonce666 on Friday July 30, 2021 @08:58AM
(#28007440)
While I was musing about such matters, now, the TI C80 MVP, that was an interesting one to write software for.
I managed to miss the magic that is the 88k thankfully. Who actually used it? Linotype? Tek workstations maybe?