Looking for Microcontroller Recommendations

[RogerN]

Years back I played some with PIC microcontrollers but I've heard that
manufacturers are making better microcontrollers for less money.

Not looking for professional ICE or anything but maybe something competitive
with Microchips in circuit programmer/debugger. I was considering buying
Microchips ICD3 with PICDEM 2 board for $230, but thought maybe something
would be a better choice. I'm considering Atmels line but wanted some input
on others worth checking into.

Any recommendations on favorite microcontrollers that I can get up an
running with for a reasonable amount of dollars?

Thanks!

RogerN

 

[MooseFET]

On Jan 13, 6:22 pm, "RogerN" <re...@midwest.net> wrote:

Years back I played some with PIC microcontrollers but I've heard that
manufacturers are making better microcontrollers for less money.

Not looking for professional ICE or anything but maybe something competitive
with Microchips in circuit programmer/debugger.  I was considering buying
Microchips ICD3 with PICDEM 2 board for $230, but thought maybe something
would be a better choice.  I'm considering Atmels line but wanted some input
on others worth checking into.

Any recommendations on favorite microcontrollers that I can get up an
running with for a reasonable amount of dollars?

About $100 will get you going on the silabs devices.
You get:
8 input MUX to a ADC
2 DACs
A collection of counters
128K of code space
a few K of RAM
A couple of UARTs
A SPI port
A couple of comparators

Thanks!

RogerN

 

[David L. Jones]

RogerN wrote:

Years back I played some with PIC microcontrollers but I've heard that
manufacturers are making better microcontrollers for less money.

Yes, PIC included. They have everything from 8bit 6pin chips that cost
cents, to 32bit processors that cost about $5.

Not looking for professional ICE or anything but maybe something
competitive with Microchips in circuit programmer/debugger. I was
considering buying Microchips ICD3 with PICDEM 2 board for $230,

Forget the ICD3, the PICkit3 is all you need for program and debug, it's
essentially the same as the ICD3 but much cheaper.
The PICkit 3 on it's own is only $45, or a bit more with a demo board
included.
See my review:
http://www.eevblog.com/2009/10/21/eevblog-39-pickit-3-programmerdebugger-review/
Don't take in all the negative stuff, that's only in comparison to the older
PICkit2, it's actually a good programmer/debugger and is all you will need.

Atmel have a similar priced ISP programmer, but it doesn't do debug.

Don't touch third party or kit programmers, really, they are not worth the
hassle.

but
thought maybe something would be a better choice. I'm considering
Atmels line but wanted some input on others worth checking into.

Atmel and PIC are essentially the "big two" (argue away...), you'd probably
only go with something else unless you have a specific need.

Any recommendations on favorite microcontrollers that I can get up an
running with for a reasonable amount of dollars?

The Arduino is arguably the easiest system to get up and running, and it's
all the rage, see my review:
http://www.eevblog.com/2009/11/21/eevblog-45-arduino-picaxe-and-idiot-assembler-programmers/
It uses an Atmel.
There is the PICAXE too, but you probably want something more than that.

All other raw micros (PIC, AVR, MSP430 etc) and their associated development
systems are about as equally annoying to get running for the beginner.

Dave.

--
================================================
Check out my Electronics Engineering Video Blog & Podcast:
http://www.eevblog.com

 

On Jan 13, 9:22 pm, "RogerN" <re...@midwest.net> wrote:

Years back I played some with PIC microcontrollers but I've heard that
manufacturers are making better microcontrollers for less money.

Not looking for professional ICE or anything but maybe something competitive
with Microchips in circuit programmer/debugger. I was considering buying
Microchips ICD3 with PICDEM 2 board for $230, but thought maybe something
would be a better choice. I'm considering Atmels line but wanted some input
on others worth checking into.

Any recommendations on favorite microcontrollers that I can get up an
running with for a reasonable amount of dollars?

Thanks!

RogerN

230$ just about gets you two of these
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110438783848&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

 

[IanM]

"RogerN" <regor@midwest.net> wrote in message
news:xsmdnTA5VsCDHdPWnZ2dnUVZ_jednZ2d@earthlink.com...

Years back I played some with PIC microcontrollers but I've heard that
manufacturers are making better microcontrollers for less money.

Not looking for professional ICE or anything but maybe something
competitive with Microchips in circuit programmer/debugger. I was
considering buying Microchips ICD3 with PICDEM 2 board for $230, but
thought maybe something would be a better choice. I'm considering
Atmels line but wanted some input on others worth checking into.

Any recommendations on favorite microcontrollers that I can get up an
running with for a reasonable amount of dollars?

If I get to choose, I use Z8XP

http://www.zilog.com/index.php?option=com_product&Itemid=26&mode=showFamilyDetails&familyId=6&parent_id=2

with this dev kit (~$50)

http://www.zilog.com/index.php?option=com_product&Itemid=26&mode=showProdDet&productId=Z8F04A08100KIT&businessLine=1&familyId=6

 

[Jan Panteltje]

On a sunny day (Wed, 13 Jan 2010 20:22:56 -0600) it happened "RogerN"
<regor@midwest.net> wrote in <xsmdnTA5VsCDHdPWnZ2dnUVZ_jednZ2d@earthlink.com>:

Years back I played some with PIC microcontrollers but I've heard that
manufacturers are making better microcontrollers for less money.

Not looking for professional ICE or anything but maybe something competitive
with Microchips in circuit programmer/debugger. I was considering buying
Microchips ICD3 with PICDEM 2 board for $230, but thought maybe something
would be a better choice. I'm considering Atmels line but wanted some input
on others worth checking into.

Any recommendations on favorite microcontrollers that I can get up an
running with for a reasonable amount of dollars?

Thanks!

RogerN

There are no better micro controllers then PICs.
Next step up is a x86

 

[Falk Willberg]

RogerN schrieb:

Years back I played some with PIC microcontrollers but I've heard that
manufacturers are making better microcontrollers for less money.
^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

There is no such thing as a "better microcontroller". Some are cheaper,
more powerful, have more/less PINs, UARTs, RAM/ROM etc...

Not looking for professional ICE or anything but maybe something competitive
with Microchips in circuit programmer/debugger.

AFAIK is Atmel's Jtag protocol proprietary. On the other Hand an
SPI-Programmer can de made from a parallel port and a few wires.

MSP430-series: Cheap, free toolchain including in circuit debugger.

ARM: In circuit debugger with OpenOCD, free toolchain.

Any recommendations on favorite microcontrollers

I hate/like them all ;-)

that I can get up an
running with for a reasonable amount of dollars?

Atmel AVR: Programmer is 50˘ (LPT and wires) controller <1$.

Falk

 

[Frnak McKenney]

On Wed, 13 Jan 2010 20:22:56 -0600, RogerN <regor@midwest.net> wrote:

Years back I played some with PIC microcontrollers but I've heard
that manufacturers are making better microcontrollers for less
money.

Not looking for professional ICE or anything but maybe something
competitive with Microchips in circuit programmer/debugger. I was
considering buying Microchips ICD3 with PICDEM 2 board for $230,
but thought maybe something would be a better choice. I'm
considering Atmels line but wanted some input on others worth
checking into.

Roger,

Texas Instruments' MSP430 low-power 16-bit MPU series has a lot to
offer, and they've released a number of inexpensive (relatively
speaking <grin!&gt development/experimentation kits:

http://focus.ti.com/mcu/docs/mcuprodtoolsw.tsp?
sectionId=95&tabId=1203&familyId=342&toolTypeId=1

(Or just go to www.ti.com and check under Microprocessors,
then MSP430/Tools_and_Software)

The lowest-entry-cost package is the ez430-2013, a USB plug-in kit
for $20US with a detachable processor board. It's a good kit for
learning the MSP430 instructions and internals, but you'll want to
solder a header onto the detachable F2013 board when you get around
to attaching peripherals. What's really nice is that if you're not
yet set up to etch your own PC boards you can pick up additional
boards from TI at $10/3 and just wire them into a project. (The
spare boards are also handy if you discover you aren't the world's
greatest solderer. <grin!&gt

If you want to play with RF links, there's the ez430-RF2500T for
$50US, a two-board kit (wireless is kinda silly with only one board,
but not every EVK-maker seems to realize this).

But it's hard to get excited by a bare-bones CPU/MPU, and you can
code only so many LED-flashers before you start getting bored. This
may explain TI's latest MSP430 offering, the eZ430-Chronos: a
development kit built around a sports watch. (These were in
considerable demand and just started shipping, but the backlog may
be gone by the time you make your decision.)

This $50US kit includes the watch, a USB RF access point for
communicating with the watch, and a USB programming/debugging
board/interface. The watch, in addition to its 96-segment LCD
display, has a pressure sensor, temperature sensor, a 3-axis
accelerometer, and five buttons. You can find more details in TI's
ez430-Chronos Development Tool User's Guide PDF.

TI provides the source code for the pre-installed application
software. You don't _have_ to use TI's code, but having software to
look at that exercises each of the peripherals means that you don't
have to start coding from scratch, and sometimes it takes working
code and some experimenting to really understand the fuzzier areas
of a part's data sheet. <grin!>

If you're just getting started you'll probably have questions. TI
has a number of MSP430 technical documents available, a set of
TI-hosted fora, and recently set up a MSP430 "wiki". There is a
Yahoo MSP430 group, a 'web site called DesignMSP430
(www.designmsp430.com), and several collections of overciews and
university course labs and notes scattered across the 'web.

Another option is to choose one of the mushrooming Arduino-class
boards: inexpensive boards based on the Atmel AVR series, available
in a variety of form factors. Many are designed to accept
peripheral boards (ethernet, USB, motor control, etc.) known as
"shields". The original site seems to be:

www.arduino.cc

but you can also obtain parts and information from:

www.robotshop.us
www.sparkfun.com
www.makershed.com (check the Arduino menu)

Hope this helps more than it confuses. <grin!>


Frank McKenney
--
"They [the Congress] seemed, some little while ago, to be at a loss
for objects whereon to throw away the supposed fathomless funds
of the treasury." -- Thomas Jefferson, letter to Thomas Ritchie
--
Frank McKenney, McKenney Associates
Richmond, Virginia / (804) 320-4887
Munged E-mail: frank uscore mckenney ayut mined spring dawt cahm (y'all)

 

[Joel Koltner]

"Falk Willberg" <Faweglassenlk@falk-willberg.de> wrote in message
news:hincej$9tn$1@news2.open-news-network.org...

AFAIK is Atmel's Jtag protocol proprietary.

More of the newer data sheets contain everything you need to know to program
over JTAG. Older data sheet didn't, although back in 2001 or thereabouts I
worked at a place where we wanted to program AVRs in-circuit via JTAG, and at
the time Atmel was willing to hand over the programming information if you
signed an NDA with them.

Hence if anything I'd say Atmel is one of the easier parts to use if you want
to program via JTAG.

That being said, the JTAG standard itself is a bit more complicated than SPI,
so given the option, I'd chose the later.

---Joel

 

[Falk Willberg]

Joel Koltner schrieb:

"Falk Willberg" <Faweglassenlk@falk-willberg.de> wrote in message
news:hincej$9tn$1@news2.open-news-network.org...
AFAIK is Atmel's Jtag protocol proprietary.

More of the newer data sheets contain everything you need to know to
program over JTAG.

I am still curious if debugging is possible as well, using free tools
like OpenOcd. Price is not a great issue, but as I am running Linux, I
hesitate to buy tools that can be run under Windows only.

....

Hence if anything I'd say Atmel is one of the easier parts to use if you
want to program via JTAG.

That being said, the JTAG standard itself is a bit more complicated than
SPI, so given the option, I'd chose the later.

Same here. I have an ARM-board here, where programming via JTAG is
annoyingly slow.

SPI seems to be the fastest way to program an AVR, besides parallel
programming, which I never tried. But some USB- and serial Programmers
manage to make SPI unusuable slow, because their serial communication
with the SPI-Master is 19k2 only...

Falk
PS: An almost free AVR-Development board is described here:
http://home.arcor.de/wehrsdorf/Oled-Display-Recycling.html
Originally it is a blood sugar meter, containing a dot-matrix
OLED-Display, all needed voltage converters, three pushbuttons, a
controller atmega168p, a 32768kHz crystal and an IrDa-Interface.
One of them is serving now as a pocket watch for a mentally handicapped
person, who has an idea of "time of day" but is unable to understand the
hands on a clock.
The display now says "It is a quarter to six o'clock" which means that
her favourite TV-show will start soon ;-)
The idea was stolen from http://www.qlocktwo.com/

 

[Joel Koltner]

"Falk Willberg" <Faweglassenlk@falk-willberg.de> wrote in message
news:hio3ac$hll$1@news2.open-news-network.org...

PS: An almost free AVR-Development board is described here:
http://home.arcor.de/wehrsdorf/Oled-Display-Recycling.html

Nice idea, I like it!

 

[John Larkin]

On Wed, 13 Jan 2010 20:22:56 -0600, "RogerN" <regor@midwest.net>
wrote:

Years back I played some with PIC microcontrollers but I've heard that
manufacturers are making better microcontrollers for less money.

Not looking for professional ICE or anything but maybe something competitive
with Microchips in circuit programmer/debugger. I was considering buying
Microchips ICD3 with PICDEM 2 board for $230, but thought maybe something
would be a better choice. I'm considering Atmels line but wanted some input
on others worth checking into.

Any recommendations on favorite microcontrollers that I can get up an
running with for a reasonable amount of dollars?

Thanks!

RogerN

The future seems to be the ARM architecture.

John

 

[Nico Coesel]

"RogerN" <regor@midwest.net> wrote:

Years back I played some with PIC microcontrollers but I've heard that
manufacturers are making better microcontrollers for less money.

Not looking for professional ICE or anything but maybe something competitive
with Microchips in circuit programmer/debugger. I was considering buying
Microchips ICD3 with PICDEM 2 board for $230, but thought maybe something
would be a better choice. I'm considering Atmels line but wanted some input
on others worth checking into.

Any recommendations on favorite microcontrollers that I can get up an
running with for a reasonable amount of dollars?

I'd go for an ARM based controller nowadays. NXP has a very nice
lineup and they can be programmed through the serial port (no hassle
with JTAG).

--
Failure does not prove something is impossible, failure simply
indicates you are not using the right tools...
nico@nctdevpuntnl (punt=.)
--------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Jan Panteltje]

On a sunny day (Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:39:11 -0800) it happened John Larkin
<jjlarkin@highNOTlandTHIStechnologyPART.com> wrote in
<777vk5tsp8r9616jnjcoaemmve2tc9j1nb@4ax.com>:

On Wed, 13 Jan 2010 20:22:56 -0600, "RogerN" <regor@midwest.net
wrote:


Years back I played some with PIC microcontrollers but I've heard that
manufacturers are making better microcontrollers for less money.

Not looking for professional ICE or anything but maybe something competitive
with Microchips in circuit programmer/debugger. I was considering buying
Microchips ICD3 with PICDEM 2 board for $230, but thought maybe something
would be a better choice. I'm considering Atmels line but wanted some input
on others worth checking into.

Any recommendations on favorite microcontrollers that I can get up an
running with for a reasonable amount of dollars?

Thanks!

RogerN


The future seems to be the ARM architecture.

John

I bought a book on ARM in the eighties? I was also the future then ;-)
But somehow x86 grabbed it.

 

[Nico Coesel]

John Larkin <jjlarkin@highNOTlandTHIStechnologyPART.com> wrote:

On Wed, 13 Jan 2010 20:22:56 -0600, "RogerN" <regor@midwest.net
wrote:


Years back I played some with PIC microcontrollers but I've heard that
manufacturers are making better microcontrollers for less money.

Not looking for professional ICE or anything but maybe something competitive
with Microchips in circuit programmer/debugger. I was considering buying
Microchips ICD3 with PICDEM 2 board for $230, but thought maybe something
would be a better choice. I'm considering Atmels line but wanted some input
on others worth checking into.

Any recommendations on favorite microcontrollers that I can get up an
running with for a reasonable amount of dollars?

Thanks!

RogerN


The future seems to be the ARM architecture.

No, today is the ARM architecture!

--
Failure does not prove something is impossible, failure simply
indicates you are not using the right tools...
nico@nctdevpuntnl (punt=.)
--------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Jan Panteltje]

On a sunny day (Thu, 14 Jan 2010 23:39:59 GMT) it happened nico@puntnl.niks
(Nico Coesel) wrote in <4b4faaef.439250062@news.planet.nl>:

John Larkin <jjlarkin@highNOTlandTHIStechnologyPART.com> wrote:

On Wed, 13 Jan 2010 20:22:56 -0600, "RogerN" <regor@midwest.net
wrote:


Years back I played some with PIC microcontrollers but I've heard that
manufacturers are making better microcontrollers for less money.

Not looking for professional ICE or anything but maybe something competitive
with Microchips in circuit programmer/debugger. I was considering buying
Microchips ICD3 with PICDEM 2 board for $230, but thought maybe something
would be a better choice. I'm considering Atmels line but wanted some input
on others worth checking into.

Any recommendations on favorite microcontrollers that I can get up an
running with for a reasonable amount of dollars?

Thanks!

RogerN


The future seems to be the ARM architecture.

No, today is the ARM architecture!

Writing from the ARMchair I suppose...

 

[Falk Willberg]

Joel Koltner schrieb:

"Falk Willberg" <Faweglassenlk@falk-willberg.de> wrote in message
news:hio3ac$hll$1@news2.open-news-network.org...
PS: An almost free AVR-Development board is described here:
http://home.arcor.de/wehrsdorf/Oled-Display-Recycling.html

Nice idea, I like it!

Pharmaceutical company give them away including a few test strips. The
test strips are 50 Eurocent to 1 EUR each.

Some people sell the devices on ebay: 360224657755

Falk

 

[John Larkin]

On Thu, 14 Jan 2010 23:38:45 GMT, Jan Panteltje
<pNaonStpealmtje@yahoo.com> wrote:

On a sunny day (Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:39:11 -0800) it happened John Larkin
jjlarkin@highNOTlandTHIStechnologyPART.com> wrote in
777vk5tsp8r9616jnjcoaemmve2tc9j1nb@4ax.com>:

On Wed, 13 Jan 2010 20:22:56 -0600, "RogerN" <regor@midwest.net
wrote:


Years back I played some with PIC microcontrollers but I've heard that
manufacturers are making better microcontrollers for less money.

Not looking for professional ICE or anything but maybe something competitive
with Microchips in circuit programmer/debugger. I was considering buying
Microchips ICD3 with PICDEM 2 board for $230, but thought maybe something
would be a better choice. I'm considering Atmels line but wanted some input
on others worth checking into.

Any recommendations on favorite microcontrollers that I can get up an
running with for a reasonable amount of dollars?

Thanks!

RogerN


The future seems to be the ARM architecture.

John

I bought a book on ARM in the eighties? I was also the future then ;-)
But somehow x86 grabbed it.

x86 has - for now - won on the desktop, but there are around 100
embedded uPs for every PC, and the embedded chips aren't x86. Some
netbooks are ARM+Linux, and that may be an increasing trend.

There's no justification for putting a hundred dollars (or more) worth
of power-hogging x86 CPU into a web browser or a cell phone. Some of
the low-end ARM chips cost well under a dollar now, and there is some
awesome stuff for $5 or so.

I'm sorta hoping that Intel will be the next DEC, except that I miss
DEC.

John

 

[Jan Panteltje]

On a sunny day (Fri, 15 Jan 2010 03:35:11 -0800) it happened John Larkin
<jjlarkin@highNOTlandTHIStechnologyPART.com> wrote in
<n9k0l59pcncno9800o9c9h6n6ee9cnoh4s@4ax.com>:

The future seems to be the ARM architecture.

John

I bought a book on ARM in the eighties? I was also the future then ;-)
But somehow x86 grabbed it.

x86 has - for now - won on the desktop, but there are around 100
embedded uPs for every PC, and the embedded chips aren't x86. Some
netbooks are ARM+Linux, and that may be an increasing trend.

There's no justification for putting a hundred dollars (or more) worth
of power-hogging x86 CPU into a web browser or a cell phone. Some of
the low-end ARM chips cost well under a dollar now, and there is some
awesome stuff for $5 or so.

I'm sorta hoping that Intel will be the next DEC, except that I miss
DEC.

John

I dunno, the ARM netbooks had a lot of trouble few month ago running some
applications (in Linux), I think some applications still use extensive asm,
a simple example present on all those netbooks is the mpeg2 / H264 / mpeg4 ... long list... drivers.
That would all have to be re-written for 'RISC' architecture is asm, and as you probably know
x86 has many many special instructions specifically for multimedia,
Let's look at an old one here:
# cat /proc/cpuinfo
processor : 0
vendor_id : AuthenticAMD
cpu family : 6
model : 3
model name : AMD Duron(tm) processor
stepping : 1
cpu MHz : 959.526
cache size : 64 KB
fdiv_bug : no
hlt_bug : no
f00f_bug : no
coma_bug : no
fpu : yes
fpu_exception : yes
cpuid level : 1
wp : yes
flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 mmx fxsr syscall mmxext 3dnowext 3dnow
bogomips : 1920.77
clflush size : 32

So, mmx, 3dnow, give the x86 an incredible speed advantage over ARM, as ARM will have to to a zillion asm instructions
for every high level x86 instruction.
It is possible (I did not keep up after that book in the eighties) that ARM also added some special multimedia
capabilities, but then again there is the overhead of re-encoding.
So I do not expect ARM to make big inroads into personal computing and especially multimedia soon.
Why do you think Apple left their old architecture for ix86? Multimedia likely!

Then there is that power issue you mention, sure, but my last encounter with an ARM was on the SkyStar1 PCI satellite
receiver card, and that was a power hog so bad it needed an extra fan, and I finally was glad to get rid of it, and replace
it by a new card that uses the PC's processor only....
I am not sure if it was the ARM that got so hot or the TI 7010 chip in retrospect, but for me it associated ARM with power hog.
I know about the latest netbooks with ARM appearing on the various exhibitions, but why bother?
As I wrote in an other post, for embedded, you can use PIC, and then the next step up is a small motherboard (and they come very small these days)
with a x86, maybe Intel Atom or something along that line, AMD second source almost.
readily available, all software almost or completely for free, portability, asm or C, or even your Power Basic.
Unless your PowerBasic is written in C without inline asm, will it appear on ARM? Well maybe it already does, seems a lot
of extra work for no gain.
What is a Watt?
That is even if it saves a Watt or 2, what is the total power consumption of the thing you are making?
If you are controlling a 700 kV HV cross ocean DC line with 10GW power?
I write that because I just did read the 700kV line here has been operational for some time, and I did not know about it!
And now they are planning more all over Europe to make it possible to distribute wind power
and maybe solar power so there is always some power, and always there is
some wind somewhere.... but no sun at night, solar eclipses... mm let's have nuclear power please.
Drifting of topic, what was the topic?

 

[MooseFET]

On Jan 15, 3:35 am, John Larkin
<jjlar...@highNOTlandTHIStechnologyPART.com> wrote:

On Thu, 14 Jan 2010 23:38:45 GMT, Jan Panteltje



pNaonStpealm...@yahoo.com> wrote:
On a sunny day (Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:39:11 -0800) it happened John Larkin
jjlar...@highNOTlandTHIStechnologyPART.com> wrote in
777vk5tsp8r9616jnjcoaemmve2tc9j...@4ax.com>:

On Wed, 13 Jan 2010 20:22:56 -0600, "RogerN" <re...@midwest.net
wrote:

Years back I played some with PIC microcontrollers but I've heard that
manufacturers are making better microcontrollers for less money.

Not looking for professional ICE or anything but maybe something competitive
with Microchips in circuit programmer/debugger.  I was considering buying
Microchips ICD3 with PICDEM 2 board for $230, but thought maybe something
would be a better choice.  I'm considering Atmels line but wanted some input
on others worth checking into.

Any recommendations on favorite microcontrollers that I can get up an
running with for a reasonable amount of dollars?

Thanks!

RogerN

The future seems to be the ARM architecture.

John

I bought a book on ARM in the eighties? I was also the future then ;-)
But somehow x86 grabbed it.

x86 has - for now - won on the desktop, but there are around 100
embedded uPs for every PC, and the embedded chips aren't x86. Some
netbooks are ARM+Linux, and that may be an increasing trend.

There's no justification for putting a hundred dollars (or more) worth
of power-hogging x86 CPU into a web browser or a cell phone. Some of
the low-end ARM chips cost well under a dollar now, and there is some
awesome stuff for $5 or so.

I'm sorta hoping that Intel will be the next DEC, except that I miss
DEC.

As I have pointed out before the 8051 in fact out performed the 8088
on many operations.

A simple 32 bit Arm like processor would be just about the ideal
processor
for viewing web pages and working on documents etc. It can address
enough
memory and fling bytes around efficiently. For viewing a video a
little
hardware help could make it ok for that job. When something like
LTspice
is being run, a little more is needed:

Programs like LTspice need to be able to do long floating point
operations
and move the floats to and from memory quickly. For this it seems
that
having a second processor that does this would be the way to go. The
user
interface of the program could run on the integer machine. When the
floats are needed, the second machine gets powered up and handed the
problem.
It would mean that the power consumption would shift up and down.

The $100 lap top that is being shipped to 3rd world countries does
this
sort of thing only more so. Most of the time, it is running just a
small
microcontroller. When the user does something that needs to be
responded
to, the CPU chip gets powered up just for as long as it takes.