Corrections to trivia

From: Sam Ismail <dastar_at_ncal.verio.com>
Date: Tue Oct 6 02:21:38 1998

On Mon, 5 Oct 1998, Doug Yowza wrote:

> > > So the F14 CADC is a microcomputer. The LSI-11 is a microcomputer.
> > > The Z80 is a CPU as is the 80586.
> >
> > I think this is the most intelligent description to be applied since I got
> > involved in this whole debate earlier this year.
>
> You mean avoiding the issue altogether? I think it's always good to name
> things. Microprocessor is a useful name. What isn't always useful is to
> try to define "first".

Who's avoiding the issue? I think "microcomputer" most aptly defines what
the F14 chip set is, taken as a whole. The 4004, the equivalent of the
F14 CADC's SLF, also needed a bunch of support chips to make it useful
(4001, 4002, 4003, etc. not to mention a bunch of TTL, which the CADC did
NOT need, requiring only the chips in its basic set) and therefore,
putting it all together, was a "microcomputer". I still think the SLF is
a "microprocessor", and quite likely the first even though you think
that's not important (there's gotta be a Big Bang somewhere).

> To me, "microprocessor" means something that was heavily influenced by the
> 4004 or its relatives, and that's a useful distinction. Is there a better
> word for that?

That's ludicrous, since as I explained in a previous message, the
single-chip CPU was simply the next step. There was nothing really
special about the 4004 that "influenced" later designs. It was one of
many. In fact, there were all sorts of designs coming out around the time
of the 4004, 4040, 8008, etc. in the 1971-1974 timeframe. Most of them
were way better than Intel's efforts. Intel just happened to have the
most staying power, which is why we have the Pentium II today and not the
10th generation 6502, or F8, or AMI 7200, etc.

Sam Alternate e-mail: dastar_at_siconic.com
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Received on Tue Oct 06 1998 - 02:21:38 BST

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