
Intel 4004 is announced, November 15, 1971 - ColinWright
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/edn-moments/4401541/Intel-4004-is-announced--November-15--1971?_mc=sm_edn&hootPostID=bb26124c8ce81ebfc63e8bbda3c037e4
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jacquesm
Note how it started off with a fairly humble application, a calculator and it
grew into the industry giant we're familiar with today.

[http://www.vintagecalculators.com/html/busicom_141-pf_and_in...](http://www.vintagecalculators.com/html/busicom_141-pf_and_intel_4004.html)

~~~
SixSigma
and people still reach for their phones to use the calculator even when they
were already operating a mind bogglingly quick calculating machine. Or even
get up to go find a desk calculator!

~~~
eru
> Or even get up to go find a desk calculator!

They are used to its UI.

~~~
gaius
Yep. For any calculation of up to a dozen or so numbers it's far easier,
quicker and more pleasant to use my HP than the computer, and even more so
when in a meeting or on the phone. UI matters, physical interfaces matter.

[http://aviation.stackexchange.com/q/22729/8205](http://aviation.stackexchange.com/q/22729/8205)

~~~
ggreer
I used to use a TI-83+, but now I've gotten into the habit of opening a Python
or Node.js REPL for math. That way, I can copy-paste values to and from emails
or chat. It also helps that I already know the syntax and math libs.

I tried bc[1] as well, but it has some really annoying defaults. For example:
While it's capable of arbitrary precision, it calculates out to zero decimal
places unless you tell it otherwise.

1\. [https://www.gnu.org/software/bc/](https://www.gnu.org/software/bc/)

~~~
gaius
I've tried that but for me a REPL for calculating occupies an annoying middle
ground: not as efficient as a calculator for quick calculations and not as
powerful as say MathCAD for exploratory work. IPython's a step in the right
direction.

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pvg
A striking thing is that the 4004, 8080, Z80, 6502 and Apple ][ all came out
in a shorter timespan than that of the iPhone release till now.

~~~
petra
Actually microprocessors and microcontroller we're pretty obvious ideas at the
time, engineers knew they we're coming , and they didn't even deserved a
patent.

It's probably just at the time tech and design tools matured enough to such
complexity, and the potential market was ready.

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ghshephard
The Die Shot,
[http://m.eet.com/media/1129709/12650-click_here_for_larger_i...](http://m.eet.com/media/1129709/12650-click_here_for_larger_image_pdf_6_1_mbytes_.pdf)
is gorgeous.

~~~
agumonkey
Someone should make an attempt at it with contemporary tools.

ps: ah, well, there are [http://www.4004.com/](http://www.4004.com/)
[http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardware/2011/11/15/intel-
celeb...](http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardware/2011/11/15/intel-
celebrates-40-years-since-first-proce/1)

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orionblastar
The start of a new era. I was just an infant when it came out. By the time I
got into computers the 6502 and 8080 were out, by the time I was a teenager
the 8086/8088 came out but all my family could afford was a Commodore 64.

I learned the 8088/8086 instruction set in college when I learned assembly
language. I was too young for the 4004 chip. But it changed everything.

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p1mrx
No multiply instruction. Less RAM than an Apollo Guidance Computer. Lame.

~~~
kabdib
... fits on a fingernail (minus supporting circuitry), uses a fraction of the
power. And orders of magnitude less costly.

And with transistors that big, it's probably rad-hard, too. Bonus!

(The first micro I saw with a multiply instruction was the 68000, which
shipped 8 years after the 4004).

~~~
mtgx
Are you comparing ARM with Intel now?

~~~
nitrogen
Unless I'm missing something clever here, I think it's worth noting that the
68k line was from Motorola.

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foobarian
I know it's an old chip from the 70s, but is that really a wood panel on top
of the case?

~~~
Turing_Machine
It does look sort of like wood in that picture, but I think it's just matte-
finish gold (or gold-plated) metal.

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userbinator
There's a full simulator and set of schematics(!) for the 4004 and its
associated support chips at [http://www.4004.com/](http://www.4004.com/)

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nickpsecurity
Movie subtitle: "And so began a legacy of horrors that would never be topped
in semiconductors..."

(Especially if you're in INFOSEC.)

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TazeTSchnitzel
It's been 44 years... oh, is that the joke? 4004 -> 44?

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kadder
About time

