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Intel has released final specs for the Arc-A770 graphics card: so what?
by Kevin Hofer
Intel 4004: A desktop calculator helps the microprocessor achieve a breakthrough
24.2.2020
Translation: machine translated
Computers were rare in the mid-1960s and early 1970s. Most people saw the giant machines as a threat to their jobs. However, the same did not apply to desktop computers. And so it was that a desktop computer project became a milestone in the history of universal computers.
The Busicom project
Two people had a significant influence on the development of the microprocessor: Robert Noyce and Tadashi Sasaki. Sasaki designed a single-chip CPU in 1968. He proposed splitting the chipset into four parts: ROM, RAM, shift register and CPU. According to his own statement, this idea was suggested to him by an unknown woman. Sasaki presented the design to Intel and Busicom in the same year.
It is precisely this chipset design that Intel wants to see in Busicom's desktop computers: Instead of a specialised chip, a universal chip. Intel engineer Ted Hoff and Busicom engineer Masatoshi Shima are developing the chipset together. Shima has already developed a proposal in advance. Ted Hoff simplifies this design based on Sasaki's idea. In a few months, two teams, one led by Hoff and one by Shima, develop the specifications of the chipset.
Intel's 4004: The first universal computer
The 4004 clocked at 500 to 740 kHz. It had considerable limitations. As a 4-bit processor, it could only generate 24 or 16 different combinations or "words". To distinguish between the 26 letters of the alphabet and up to six punctuation marks, the computer had to combine two 4-bit words. The 4004 was produced until 1981.
That's it for another chapter in the history of computing. Next time, we'll continue with the microcomputer. <p
Kevin Hofer
Senior Editor
kevin.hofer@digitecgalaxus.chFrom big data to big brother, Cyborgs to Sci-Fi. All aspects of technology and society fascinate me.
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