AFAIK C's machine model is not that linear (see my other comment). On the other hand, what most CPUs offer as an abstraction (through their instruction set) is very much so.
There are couple of arguments like that floating around and it just doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The C model is in fact a usable abstraction (and easy enough to peel off when required), otherwise it wouldn't have stuck around for so long. No amount of "network effects" and "free beer" arguments can discuss this away.
There is an argument that instruction sets might have developped a linear address space abstraction because of C, but I doubt it. Binding the IR closer to a specific physical layout would be very bad for portability and longevity of the code.
There are couple of arguments like that floating around and it just doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The C model is in fact a usable abstraction (and easy enough to peel off when required), otherwise it wouldn't have stuck around for so long. No amount of "network effects" and "free beer" arguments can discuss this away.
There is an argument that instruction sets might have developped a linear address space abstraction because of C, but I doubt it. Binding the IR closer to a specific physical layout would be very bad for portability and longevity of the code.