Submission + - Intel releases 4004 microprocessor schematics
mcpublic writes: "Intel is celebrating the 35th anniversary of the Intel 4004, their
very first microprocessor, in a way they've never done before, by
releasing the chip's schematics, maskworks, and users manual to the
public for non-commercial
use. This historic revelation was championed by Tim
McNerney, who designed the Intel Museum's newest interactive
exhibit. Opening on November 15th, the exhibit will feature a
fully-functional, 130x scale replica of the 4004 microprocessor
running the the very first software written for the 4004. To create a
giant Busicom 141-PF calculator for the museum, 'digital
archeologists,' Fred Huettig, Brian Silverman, and Barry Silverman,
first had to reverse-engineer the 4004 schematics and the Busicom
software. Their re-drawn and verified schematics plus an animated
4004 simulator written in Java are available at the team's unofficial 4004 web site. Digital
copies of the original Intel engineering documents are available by
request from the Intel Corporate
Archives. Intel first announced their 2,300 transistor
'micro-programmable computer on a chip' in Electronic
News on November 15, 1971, proclaiming 'a new era of integrated
electronics.' Who would have guessed how right they were?"
