@argv_minus_one@mastodon.sdf.org
Post #1057666
2026-02-07 04:19 UTC
@fluidlogic
I don't think you could buy any 8- or 16-bit computers in 1994. That was well into the 32-bit era.
The beginning of the end of the 16-bit era was 1986. That's when the 386 came out. It was obsolete in 1989, so that's when I'd say the 32-bit era had begun in earnest.
Replies (2)
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@fluidlogic@oldbytes.space 2026-02-07 09:56
@argv_minus_one yes, they overlapped. In 1992, Atari released the Falcon and Commodore released the Amiga 4000.
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@lackthereof@beige.party 2026-02-07 14:53
@argv_minus_one You could definitely buy major name consumer grade 286 desktop PCs in 1990. My dad replaced our family's z80-based Heathkit with a 286-based Packard Bell on or around that year. A lot of people just didn't use Windows back then, and the extra cost of a 386 had little advantage if you weren't doing gui+multitasking. It wasn't the 386 that ushered in the end of 16 bit computing, it was windows 3.1... which could run on a 286 but was painfully restricted there.