[NTLK] Can the Newton's ARM processor ever be upgraded?

[Doug]

Spitballing… could an Arduino or RaspberryPi or some powerful PLC ever
be programmed to substitute for the StrongArm? I could see the core
code blazing, but having its serial communication throttled
appropriately.

Could the SA-1110 be added in and have the Arduino or the Pi or the
PLC be the translator sitting between the 1110 and the SA-110?

…or would the best approach be about asking Apple nicely enough for
the ROM source?

Doug

> The StrongARM was pretty much custom made for Apple. Acorn and DEC
> were able to throw it together very quickly fo Apple who then changed the
> entire design of the MP. The internal coprocessor was geared toward Apple's
> requirements.

> The SA-110 had a successor, the SA-1110(*). I downloaded the specs, and
> they integrated pretty much everything that Apple had solved with external
> custom chips. The SA-1110 had a PCMCIA controller on board, LCD output
> drivers, serial ports, and so on.