I can't seem to find the message, but someone mentioned
that following the "Optimizing Squeak" thread is like
a course in computer architecture.

With this thought, I found a couple of good links today
in comp.arch that give a good overview of the architectures
modern processors.  They are:

   http://www.cse.msu.edu/~crs/cps920/
   http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/9498//cpuwar.html

Greg Gritton