80x86 and x86 research

[Windblows User]

I know the drill. I know to Google first, do all that you can, then come here.

I have Googled, I've printed out several sites with information, history, and current apps/mods of the x86 architecture and the 80x86 families by Intel. I've sat down and interviewed people who were there when x86 was introduced. Heck, I've even printed out information from Intel and AMD websites. I've gone 8 of the whole 9 yards, so to speak.

I'm not asking for someone to answer any questions I have on 80x86, or the x86 ISA. I'm asking if one, or several, of you who are rather knowledgable on the subject to send me a PM so we can set up a date/time that I can e-mail you with questions and pick your brain on the topic. An 'interview' about x86 -- what it was, where its from, and what its become today.

I have to write a paper on the subject, and I know enough to BS my way through the paper, but I think that if you're going to write on any subject or topic you need to know that subject/topic inside and out. There are still things about x86 that are still a little confusing. Maybe by asking people with first-hand experiance on the issue, I can clear my misunderstandings and, more than likely, learn more than I would from reading page after page of documents and text-book-ish history lessons.

So, are any of you interested in helping me out?

[nummish]

Don't get too bent out of shape by the standard jumping down your throat over the googling. It happens half out of frustration as people say, but it also half the time tends to be race akin to frost pisting on slashdot.

That said, what is your paper on? x86 is kind of vague, and could range from impact in the industry to a overview of memory management specific to the processor.

I know it sounds frustrating, but almost all the technical information you'll want is available in the (very very large) Intel Pentium Manuals. But if you have a thick skin, and can take the shots, don't be afraid to ask questions for clarity on certain topics. Be sure to include dead ends you may have encountered in your own research, so people have an idea of what you've tried to figure out on your own.

[Windblows User]

Ok, I understand the whole 8 bit pretending to be 16, then upgrading to 16 bit systems. Then those, I assume, emulate 32 bit systems via x86's memory allocation/management.

What do we use now/where is x86 now?

Can someone clarify the whole long words command thing?

Basically, I'm pretty sure of what it all is, but if someone could explain it to me in english so I can make sure I'm not mistaken.

As I understand it, computers were/are like a linear, line-by-line programming language (like PHP). PHP is not an OOP language, but you can trick it into being OOP, or emulate OOP. x86 does something like that, and finds ways to exploit memory allocation giving us more than what is there. Does anyone understand that?

[Etherlite]

Tony Hawk: One day they're little shredders, the next day they're thrashing and grinding their way to college
Homer: Yah, sometimes I make up words too...