(MCA) IBM' s proprietarY 32-bit bus, used in high-end PS/2personal computers. Micro Channel is designed for multiprocessing. It eliminates potential conflicts that arise when installing new peripheral devices. MCA is *not* compatible with either EISA or {XT bus architecture} so older cards cannot be used with it. As with the ROMBIOS in the first IBM PCs, figuring out the Micro Channel' s secrets has been an arduous task of reverse engineering ever since the PS/2 line was announced. ConsequentlY, the MCA has never become as wide spread as the competing EISA standard. (1996-08-16)