[nikital]

> 8051s love talking to each other after all, otherwise USB would not exist.

Can anyone explain what the author meant by that? I thought 8051 is just an ISA, is there something special there for cross IC communication compared to other ISAs? And what the the connection to USB?

[segfaultbuserr]

Due to its historical influences, 8051-based microcontrollers and cores are still widely used in a huge number of embedded devices and ASICs everywhere - motherboard EC, Ethernet, Wi-Fi controllers, this also includes the peripheral devices that plug into USB ports, like a mouse, a keyboard, a sensor, or industrial controllers, or whatever, so the first part of the joke is most communications via USB are just 8051s talking to each others. The second part of the joke is that even USB ASICs themselves, like USB hubs or host controllers, are often powered by 8051 cores.

[caust1c]

I think the author's simply referencing the fact that it's a common chip used in many usb controllers and make it easy to build peripherals that work with USB standards.

[repiret]

In my experience, most USB controllers use an 8051 to implement the USB protocol at the level in between the link and URBs.

[megous]

Just look at the beauty that is EZ-USB FX2LP for one example.