Subj : IBM PS/2
To   : Forest Moore
From : Janne Johansson
Date : Tue Oct 02 2018 12:21:42

On 2018-10-01 16:37, Forest Moore : All wrote:
> Hi all,
> I have an IBM PS/2 Model 30 286, which I know isn't a popular computer
> among
> retro enthusiats

> But what I'd like to know is what people have against the PS/2 these
> days.

I can't speak for everyone of course, but old PCs impress me very little.

Not only because most other computers of the same era was
in my personal view better designed than x86s, but also because the
x86s haven't really left the 640k mode, booting from the first sector of
the first drive on the first bus. True, they flip to protected mode or
long mode soon enough but there is still this legacy in them that still
allows you to run a very recent PC in the same limited way like your 286
up there.

Of course, this says more about the lack of progress on the platform
itself than your PS/2, but anyone wanting to have the bogged down
limited env. of 80s x86 can just make sure BIOS boot is enabled and boot
some old crap from an emulated diskdrive (over PXE, CD or whatever) and
get all the old weird limits imposed on you. In 2018, on a recent PC.

Also, code and programs made for I don't know, NES, C64, ZX Spectrum,
Playstation 1 or Jupiter Ace are by design running in a fixed frame of
performance. If those programs can perform Miracle X in Y time, it will
be an accomplishment. If one x86 PC wants to do X in Y time, its just a
matter of sticking the correct amount of cards in, and pay the cashiers
and its there for you.

Not trying to diss the people that coded awesome stuff for MSDOS-like
OSes in their time, but any "X in Y time" is fixable on PC just by
waiting and buying a new computer in 6-9 months and performance was
doubled, turning any former accomplishment into a "meh" more or less.

So, kudos to:
https://trixter.oldskool.org/2015/04/07/8088-mph-we-break-all-your-emulators/

....but PC miracle coding is just often slightly less impressive than for
all the fixed architectures history provided for us, in my humble opinion.

---
 * Origin: - nntp://news.fidonet.fi - Lake Ylo - Finland - (2:221/6)

.