>>> I'm using a PIC16c84, and i'm going to need more memory than it
>>> offers, I was considering either a floppy drive, zip drive, ...
>>
>> IDE hard drive using Programmed I/O (PIO) to access.
>> IDE is little more than a simple 16 bit bus implemented using 2 ports.
>
> Byron (or anyone): where is a description of the IDE spec?

IDE stands for Integrated Drive Electronics (I think).  It's the
marketing name that caught on.  However, all the standards stuff
is under ATA (AT Attachment, if I recall correctly) interface.
I have a spec for it but I don't remember the site.  Try one of
the search engines (like Alta-Vista) or a standards body.

You might also contact one of the major drive manufacturers and
buy a full manual for one of their IDE/ATA interface drives.  The
real trick is ensuring that it has the interface hardware details
_and_ the programming information before purchase.


> I have a few drives lying around and would like to see if it is
> feasible to interface them to homebrew systems i.e. non-IBM.

Certainly.  Newer low-end Macintoshes use IDE drives too (in my
opinion, a real lose since I really like SCSI).

                                                Lee

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