The processing unit in this chipset, the Intel 4004, was destined to become the world’s first monolithic commercial general-purpose microprocessor. This prompted Intel engineer Marcian ‘Ted’ Hoff to come up with a more efficient design that was comprised of only four chips. Intel, however, determined that Busicom’s design was too complex and, crucially, couldn’t be realized using Intel’s standard 16-pin packaging. The Japanese company wanted Intel to design and manufacture these chips. Busicom had come up with a fixed-purpose design requiring twelve ICs, three of which were special-purpose processing units. While the startup waited for the memory business to take off, however, it needed all the business it could get.Īnd so, in 1969, Intel accepted a contract from the Japanese manufacturer Business Computer Corporation to manufacture the chips for its 141-PF calculator. In October 1970, Intel introduced the 1103 DRAM, which laid the foundation for becoming the world’s largest memory company later in the decade. Instead, their focus was firmly on memories. Gordon Moore and Bob Noyce didn’t found Intel in 1968 to design microprocessors. Fifty years ago, on 15 November 1971, a prophetic advertisement in Electronic News appeared to announce “a new era of integrated electronics.” The debut of Intel’s 4004 ushered in the revolution of the general-purpose programmable processor, and, by extension, the modern computer age.
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