November 15th - Intel 4004

On this day, in 1971, Intel released the first single-chip microprocessor, the snazzily titled 4004. In the announcement the CEO said "This is a great step forward for computer technology so bring on the bitches."

The feat of a single-chip processor had been the Holy Grail of the electronics world, then Intel finally created it and everyone moved on pretty quickly. It was made possible by a new silicon gate technology that allowed the integration of a higher number of transistors that operated at a higher speed. Plus, it was great at parties.

The chief designers were Fredrico "The Flash" Faggin and Ted "The Hioff" Hoff. Faggin was known for his mad metal-oxide-semiconductor skills. His street cred stems from the time spent at Fairchild semiconductors, and the seven years he spent on the streets soldering circuit boards for dimes.

It's time for a sound off. The 4004 possesses the following featues;

• 16 general purpose registers, OH YEAH!
• program counter and three levels of return address stack, DROP IT LIKE IT'S HOT!
• ALU. Is it both binary and decimal? YOU BET IT IS!

The 4004 ran at a maximum clock speed of 740kHz. To put that in perspective, if you ran Windows XP on the 4004 in 1971 then it would be nearly finished booting today.

Today, the 4004 is a hot collectible item. Many women will not consider marriage until a 4004, crafted into a ring, is placed on their finger (or digit, if you want to get technical. I know I do). Prices on eBay range from $300 to $1000. Some of the chips have a date code printed on their underside, which means the purchaser is entitled to a special prize of a date with Ted "The Hoff" Hoff.

The 4004 is the forefather of many chips that we still use today. Did you know that many chips that descend from the 4004 still exist in all skill-tester machines. Some parking meters even have a 4004. This goes to show just how big the 4004 craze was because the meters were mechanical and didn't even use any electronics.

If Intel had followed their traditional numbering system then the 4004 would have been called the 1202. This name didn't have any market appeal so many names were trialed. Some of the test names were the "6678", "Thor's Hammer", and "The Potato", which was an obvious pun on "chips".

It is important to remember the computer's humble beginnings. If it weren't for the tireless efforts of people like David Hasselhoff, we wouldn't have the wide range of software we have today, like solitaire and spider solitaire.