- Reverse engineering the 386 processor’s prefetch queue circuitry (righto.com)
In 1985, Intel introduced the groundbreaking 386 processor, the first 32-bit processor in the x86 architecture. To improve performance, the 386 has a 16-byte instruction prefetch queue. The purpose of the prefetch queue is to fetch instructions from memory before they are needed, so the processor usually doesn’t need to wait on memory while executing instructions. Instruction prefetching takes advantage of times when the processor is “thinking” and the memory bus would otherwise be unused.
- Phoenix (spacecraft) (Wikipedia)
Phoenix was an uncrewed space probe that landed on the surface of Mars on May 25, 2008, and operated until November 2, 2008. Phoenix was operational on Mars for 157 sols (161 days). Its instruments were used to assess the local habitability and to research the history of water on Mars. The mission was part of the Mars Scout Program; its total cost was $420 million, including the cost of launch.
