It is now almost over a decade and a half since microcontrollers have no longer been limited to digital I/Os. Mixed signals, control bus memory, separate timers, and counters have pushed their way into traditional microcontrollers with a speed that is only limited by the die size and functionality required, and most certainly price.
It is an undisputable fact that in data acquisition, speed and accuracy are directly related to the actual hardware and processors used and, depending on the speed and accuracy intended, a user must use proper hardware/software. In other words, proper instrumentation is the key to meaningful Data Acquisition. However, speed and accuracy at any given time in history have been relative terms. The terms high speed and accuracy have been highly relative throughout recent years and what we mean by speed and accuracy today is far different from what they meant just a few years ago.
