Inside the Intel 4004
This issue we’re celebrating a significant 50th anniversary that’s been overlooked by many. That milestone was the announcement by Intel of “a new era of integrated electronics” as it was heralded in the November 1971 issue of Electronics News. The advertisement was for the Intel 4004, the world’s first microprocessor.
It’s no surprise that this breakthrough didn’t make it into the newspapers. Somewhat more surprising – given that computing and microprocessors are now synonymous – is that it seems much of the computing industry barely gave it a second glance, either. After all, compared even to the primitive computers of the early ’70s, it would have looked like a toy – and we’ll see something of its basic nature later on.
Indeed, few would have envisaged that a microprocessor would ever become the basis of general-purpose computers. It was designed to do a particular job, namely to power an electronic calculator, and even when Intel decided to promote it beyond these humble beginnings, most engineers considered it as just a replacement for discrete digital electronics chips. But no matter how basic its impact at the time, it started an industrial trend that continues to drive innovation today.
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