Middle-age microprocessing
Posted by Courtney E. Howard
Intel Corp. celebrated its 40th anniversary last week (July 18th). “Since its founding in 1968, Intel has introduced countless examples of technology innovation -- its crowning breakthrough being the introduction of the microprocessor,” says an Intel representative. Its first 16-bit microprocessor, the 8086,
was introduced 30 years ago under the slogan: “The Dawn of a New Era.” Boy, whoever came up with that slogan hit the nail on the head!
The 8086 was introduced on June 8th, 1978, and yet its influence in the mil-aero industry, among others, will continue indefinitely.
"Intel has a 40-year history of serial technology breakthroughs and innovation," says Paul Otellini, Intel CEO and president. "When we introduced the microprocessor no one could have predicted that the market for PCs would be greater than 350 million units a year. Over the next 40 years, Intel technology will be at the heart of breakthroughs that solve the big problems of health and environment. For Intel this is just the beginning of its journey."
Today’s processor architectures are based on the x86 instruction set, which lies at the core of various chips from Intel, AMD, and others.
Popular, and perhaps even legendary chips--including the Intel 80386, 80486, and Pentium and the AMD Athlon--owe a debt to the original 8086 processor.
Hmm. Is the microcomputer industry over the hill or in its prime?
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
