On Fri, Apr 9, 2021 at 11:35 AM Paul Ruizendaal via TUHS <
tuhs@minnie.tuhs.org> wrote:

> > On 09/04/2021 11:12, emanuel stiebler wrote: > You're comparing a z80
> SBC running CP/M? Or are you thinking of 68000 SBCs?
>
> Z80 CP/M machines were still competitive in 1981-1983 (Osborne, Kaypro)


> > I've never seen a 68k SBC. Have I missed out something along the way? Is
> there a community for 68k SBC's? Kind regards, Andrew
>

There is an active community around DIY 68k SBCs these days. Some
representative examples:

https://www.eejournal.com/article/wallowing-in-68k-nostalgia/
https://www.ist-schlau.de
https://www.bigmessowires.com/category/68katy/
https://github.com/74hc595/68k-nano
http://mc68k.blogspot.com/2012_10_01_archive.html

There are even a couple of fairly advanced 68030 design floating around:

https://www.retrobrewcomputers.org/doku.php?id=boards:sbc:gryphon_68030:start
https://www.retrobrewcomputers.org/doku.php?id=boards:ecb:kiss-68030:start

(I have a soft spot for 68k.)

        - Dan C.

Well, Rob Pike designed one: http://doc.cat-v.org/bell_labs/blit/
>
> I guess the original hacker scene for the 68K was around Hal Hardenberg’s
> newsletter: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DTACK_Grounded
>
> The ready-made 68K SBC’s only arrived 1984-1985:
>
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_QL (I think Linus Torvalds owned
> one)
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_ST
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh_128K
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amiga_1000
>
> All these machines are rather similar at the hardware level - 68K
> processor, RAM shared between CPU and display. Only the Amiga had a
> (simple) hardware GPU.
>
> What set the SUN-1 apart was its MMU, which none of the above have.
>
> What influenced the timing was probably that Motorola made the 68K more
> affordable by the mid-80’s.
>
> Paul
>
>