Re: [Discuss-gnuradio] TI vs Freescale DSP for open-source development

[Jeff Brower]

Don-

> Hi Jeff: interesting reply. I remember when TI and MOT did exactly the
> opposite. TI had the 9900 processor series that was much better than
> anything on the market, and essentially blew it off. MOT had the
> 6800/68000 series, that became moderately successful. The most crippled
> processor of the time, the Intel, won the day. Now the TI processors
> thrive, MOT is in the dumper, and Intel is king of the heap. A real riot
> to watch history as it happens, huh? Think also of the lovely alpha chip,
> and the downfall of mighty DEC. sigh.

Yes things look much different years after the heat of the battle.  Clarity is 
gained in small increments.

I know some of the TI execs from the early 1980s (in fact one works with me, he 
was Gen Mgr of Consumer Products at
the time).  The general conclusion is that TI guys learned a hard lesson with 
the 9900 and applied it well over time. 
They never ventured forth again without solid development tools and other 
supporting software.  But on the other hand
they took nearly 10 years to support Linux after major players started 
embracing it... oh well.

-Jeff