On Thu, 9 Mar 2000, H. Peter Anvin wrote:
> No, it really isn't. The i386 is a *very* different architecture than
> the 8086, i186, or i286. The name IA-32 is a very recent construct.
The whole 'i' naming is new too, though most people were never aware of
it. The parts used to be known as 8086, 8088, 80286, 80386, 80486. The
'i' stuff appeared when they tried to sue a clone maker (AMD) for calling
a part 486 and were informed by a judge that they couldn't trademark a
number. Then they redid all their docs and pretended the 80x86 numbers
never existed.
I don't remember them ever calling a part i286 or i186, but they may have
relabeled them as well..
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