Micro Electronic Era

Into the 1970's

• 1971-- The floppy disk is introduced.
• 1972 -- Cray Research is founded.

• 1972 -- Pocket Calculator is introduced.

 Microprocessors - 1971
• A microprocessor -- also known
as a CPU or central processing
unit -- is a complete computation
engine that is fabricated on a
single chip.
• The first microprocessor was the
Intel 4004, introduced in 1971.
• The 4004 was not very powerful
-- all it could do was add and
subtract, and it could only do that
4 bits at a time. But it was
amazing that everything was on
one chip.
 Microprocessors

• The first microprocessor

to make a real splash in
the market was the Intel
8088, introduced in 1979
and incorporated into the
IBM PC (which first
appeared around 1982).
 Microprocessors

• If you are familiar with the PC market and its

history, you know that the PC market moved
from the 8088 to the 80286 to the 80386 to the
80486 to the Pentium to the Pentium II to the
Pentium III to the Pentium 4.
• All of these microprocessors are made by Intel
and all of them are improvements on the basic
design of the 8808.
Processing Chips Become Faster
Birth of Personal computers - 1971

• Kenbak I - 1971
– Very primitive, just flashing
lights and buttons
– about $750

• MITS Altair - 1975

(pictured)
– 256 byte memory
– 2 MHz Intel 8080 chips
– Just a box with flashing
lights
– cost $395 kit, $495
assembled.
 Altair - the Microcomputer
• MITS - Altair
• Uses the Intel 8080
• Cover of Popular Electronics
– Jan. 1975
• MITS hires Allen (and Gates)
 Apple computers – 1977

• Founded 1977
• Apple II released 1977 -
widely used in schools
• Macintosh (left) - released in
1984, Motorola 68000
Microchip processor
• Macintosh is first commercial
computer with graphical
user interface (GUI) and
pointing device (mouse)
 Apple
• Steve Wozniak (the Woz)
• Steven Jobs
• Homebrew Computer Club
• Apple I - MOS 6502 chip
• 1976 Mike Markkula bought in
– Apple Founded
• 1977 the Apple II
• 1984 the Macintosh
Personal computers – IBM PC 1981

• IBM-Intel-Microsoft joint
venture
• First wide-selling personal
computer used in business
• 8088 Microchip - 29,000
transistors
• 4.77 Mhz processing speed
• 256 K RAM (Random Access
Memory) standard
• One or two floppy disk drives
 IBM PC
• Built on the Intel 8088
• Operating System from Microsoft (and
others)
• Put together with existing components
• Open to cards and software
• Released in 1981

An IBM Clone
Early Laptops
Modern Personal
Computers
Computers Today Include more than PCs.
PDAs