> So which processor was chosen, the fast cheap Intel or slow expensive Motorola. > > > > > * Like many other companies it was driven by marketing and I was just an > engineer. I didn't design the system, I was just saddled with it. The cra= zy > thing was, the customer had already bought the system and we were already > well on our way to shipping it. To me it just seemed like a time wasting > exercise.* > I might be tempted to frown on such unprincipled acquiesence by a person of such high standards as a professional engineer. Howeverrrrrrrrrrr, I'm "aware of" a very similar exercise 'much closer to home'. Much. A very large by NZ standards corporation, in fact the then largest (cough), made a decision to upgrade certain points of public access to some of its bread and butter systems in time to have everything working nationwide for a large prestigious "Commonwealth wide" quad-annual sporting event [tm]. Specs were written (presumably), orders were placed, whatever wheels were required to be set in motion to make it all happen were set in motion. And then they set out to get financial approval at whatever level it was decided was required. Given the level of expenditure the level was probably as high as you could (and still can) go in NZ (although the organisation concerned no longer has that approval path available). They looked around for a suitably qualified and competent suc... engineer to marshall the available facts and provide a suitably robust cost justification. Not running away fast enough and/or not knowing what was coming were probably high on the list of requisite qualifications. Level of expenditure has now faded from my memory (how would I know? :-) ) but I assume it was some millions of dollars. It took very little time for the suc ... er engineer given the task to realise that, given the terms of reference, the expenditure was utterly incapable of being financially justified. This was reported back, and no doubt came as no surprise to the higher powers, and probably made them comfortable that said suc ... engineer knew what he was doing. Terms of reference were re re re adjusted until it all fit[ted]. Interesting. But, not quite as bizarre as it may have seemed. The investment was small in the order of things' and replaced what was seen as an old style worn out .... public front in the area concerned with new modern pretty more reliable etc whatever gear. Overall it was probably good PR. I imagine that the people who approved it at highest level were well enough aware of the relative merits and/or didn't care. They had a very very efficient financial razor gang at their right hand, who were not known for letting people spend money on prettiness without cause. But, still interesting. That was 20+ years ago*. Some of the then new equipment etc may still be being used. Russell * Googles - 24 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990_Commonwealth_Games The *1990 Commonwealth Games* were held in Auckland , New Zealand from 24 January-3 February 1990. It was the 14th Commonwealth Games, and part of New Zealand 's 1990 sesquicentennial celebrations. --=20 http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .