> without byte-wide memory access, you'll quickly realise how annoying it is to work with actual bytes. For example, any string handling, unless you decide to u

> without byte-wide memory access, you'll quickly realise how annoying it is to work with actual bytes. For example, any string handling, unless you decide to use UTF-16 instead. I think a sweet spot is 16-bit address and 8-bit data Even if you don't want to call it UTF-16, you can just ignore the upper byte of your 16-bit cells and pretend they only store bytes when that's more convenient for you: for practical purposes you won't end up with any less memory available than if your cells were only 8 bits wide, but you have the option of using more when you need it.