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History of the
Microprocessors
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YEAR 1968 was
marked as one of the most significant years in the history of technology. The invention
of the microprocessor ranks in the same league as the invention of the steam engine,
and the automobile, or airplane. The microprocessor has changed the world and opened
an entire new way of thinking. Microprocessor-based computers quickly replaced their
predecessor, the ENIAC, which had 18,000 vacuum tubes.
It started when many talented Silicon Valley engineers left Fairchild Semiconductor
in the late 60ís to create startups that the Fairchild offspring were dubbed "Fairchildren."
Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore were among many, that left Fairchild Semiconductor
to start their own company called INTEL (integrated electronics). Later that year
their colleague Andy Grove joined as well.
Intel engineers had some great ideas, but the funds were very limited. Bob Noyce
came up with the one-page business plan and presented it to Art Rock, the San Francisco
venture capitalist who had helped start Fairchild Semiconductor.
Based on the two partnersí sterling reputations and technology
track records, Art Rock lined up the cash they needed, a whopping $2.5 million in
less than two days.
Intel was a fast-growing company with first-year revenues of $2,672.
Intelís first commercial product was the 3101 Schottoky biopolar 64-bit static random
access memory (SRAM) chip, and it was moderately successful.
Development at Intel got more interesting when Japanese calculator maker Busicom
proposed design of 12 custom chips for their calculators.
Intel did not have the money and manpower to do the job and almost turned down the
order; when one of the engineers Ted Hoff came up with a brilliant idea to build
one chip that will function as twelve singles.
Noyce and Moore embraced Hoffís solution and so did Busicom. They decided to fund
the chipís development. Intel went ahead with designs for general-purpose logic chip
that could be programmed to take instructions. This meant that intelligence could
be programmed by software and it didnít have to be burned into hardware, saving both
time and money. In the end it was decision that would change history by making programmable
intelligence so cheap it could it could be embedded into household appliances and
so powerful that people could have computers of their very own. After nine months
of hard work Intelís first microprocessor was born ó the 4004. It measured 1/8th
inch wide by 1/6th inch long and consisted of 2,300 MOS transistors. The little microprocessor
had as much computing power as the ENIAC, which had filled 3,000 cubic feet with
18,000 vacuum tubes.
Intel soon realized that Busicom owned the rights to their great invention. Intel
bought the design and marketing rights to the 4004 from Busicom for $60,000. A short
time later Busicom went bankrupt.
Within a decade, the microprocessor was hailed as one of the top inventions in American
technology history; ranking with the invention of the light bulb, the telephone,
and the airplane.
Intel owned all the rights to the microprocessor and was concerned weather they will
be able to sell it to anybody other than Busicom. The question was weather there
were enough applications out there other than the calculator to make it worthwhile.
To ensure their success Intel took on the challenge of educating the engineering
community about potential of the general-purpose programmable chip. Intel organized
several educational seminars and sold manuals to get the word out. As one of the
insiders recalled, "In the early days, there were weeks when we sold more manuals
than microprocessors."
After releasing the first microprocessor it took years for the investment to pay
off. Processors were primarily used in industrial applications until 1974, when the
first personal computer was introduced to the public. The 8080 processor became the
brains of the first personal computer ó the ALTAIR, which was named for a destination
of the Starship Enterprise from Star Trek television show. Computer hobbyists could
purchase a kit for the Altair for $395.
Within months, it sold tens of thousands, creating the first PC back orders in history.
In 1976 Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak design the Apple. It was a kit computer; customers
the workings and built their own case. Many leaders in mainframe computer companies
did not believe that personal computers were powerful enough to have a market. Sales
of the Apple I and other PCs that followed proved them wrong.
Two years later IBMís new personal computer division made the 8088 the brains of
their new hit product ó the IBM PC. The 8088ís success propelled Intel into ranks
of the Fortune 500, and Fortune magazine named the company one of the
"Business Triumphs of the Seventies."
Since then, Intel has been a leading Microprocessor manufacturer.
In 1982, the 286, also known as 80286, was introduced and within six years there
were an estimated 15 million 286-based personal computers installed around the world.
1985 brought Intel 386 microprocessor which featured 275,000 transistors, more than
a hundred times as many as the original 4004. It was a 32-bit chip and was "multitasking,"
meaning it could run multiple programs at the same time.
The next generation of processors was introduced in 1989 when the 486 made it appearance
on the market. The 486 really meant going from a command-level computer into point-and-click
computing. The Intel 486 processor was the first to offer a built-in math coprocessor,
which speeds up computing because it offers complex math functions from the central
processor.
Computers were getting faster and more intelligent than ever. In 1993 Intel designed
first Pentium processor, which allowed computers to more easily incorporate "real
world" data such as speech, sound, handwriting and photographic images. Pentium
family soon entered new stages creating Pentium Pro (1995), Pentium II (1997), and
finally Pentium III (1998).
Today, we are surrounded with microprocessors that are used in almost all electronic
devices. They became a big part of our life, and existing without the processors
for some of us seem to be impossible.
Peter Wilk
is a Multimedia student.
His interests include digital music composing,
3D graphics design, Webpage design,
Snowboarding and Mountainbiking.
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