The INTELL company has introduced a new product - a 128 megabyte,  64 bit  wide Write-Only Memory. For decades, computers have been plagued with the problem of bits that never make it to their destination or they were dropped from the bus. The traditional approach has been to send them to the 'bit bucket'. To date, no one has figured out what to do with these bits. With the introduction of the type WOM-1 WRITE-ONLY Memory, it will no longer be necessary to provision the bit bucket as these stray bits can be captured and possibly recycled for future use. The monolithic, multi-dimensional nature of this new design makes it a truly amazing ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).

APPLICATION INFORMATION

The WOM-1 is incredibly easy to use. Connect each data input of the chip to each respective data bus in the system. Select the type of clock depending on the required precision and affix a suitable heat sink. The sense input must be connected to the CPU's 'overflow' signal or to the parity error generator output. When the WOM-1 senses an imminent bit drop, it will enable all of the bus inputs thus capturing the bit(s) that would otherwise be lost. An auto-incrementing, self-adjusting, internal algorithm guarantees that all captured bits will be stored in their own exclusive location and will not be violated by any other bits.
 

WOM-1 PINOUT DIAGRAM

 

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

* Bus types: Easily adaptable to computer buses 8 to 64 bits wide.
* Speed: From keystroke speed to the speed of light.
* Clocking: For regular applications, a standard crystal clock can be used. In precision applications, the use of an atomic clock is highly recommended. Leading and trailing edge clocking are both supported.
* Packaging: Recycled plastic in a non-standard, 71 pin DIP configuration.
* Operating temperature: -55 C to +125 C or just short of meltdown.
* Cooling requirements: For normal applications (up to 32 bits), a standard, black-fin aluminum heat sink will provide adequate heat dissipation. For high performance applications (more than 32 bits), the kitchen sink is recommended, preferably filled with ice cold water.

* Power requirements (Vcc): +8 to +64 volts DC depending on the number of bits to be salvaged.

* Restrictions: Cannot be used with an "E I E I O" bus. This is a very specialized bus used in agricultural computers and developed by inventor Old Macdonald .

So far, INTELL's R&D department has not yet figured out what to do with all of those saved bits, but everyone is sure that they will become more valuable with time. Computer historians will one day be able to delve into these chips and give future generations a glimpse into the computer technology of the 1990's. To facilitate easy extraction of the WOM-1 device, it should be used in with the special socket developed exclusively for INTELL.

PRICING

In order to attract interest in this product it will be priced at $1.98 per unit for the first production year. Once the usefulness of the device is determined, the price will rise to $99.99 per unit in quantities.

AVAILABILITY

Beta evaluation samples will be provided free of charge to system developers randomly selected by lottery.  Due to the very specialized nature of this device, INTELL will be accepting orders on an annual basis with delivery scheduled for April 1 of each production year starting in 1998. For additional information, contact Miss April Foole, Senior Corporate Sales Director, INTELL ASIC Division, Atlantis, USA or call (400) 401-0498.