5 Oct
1998
5 Oct
'98
12:36 p.m.
Sam Ismail <dastar(a)ncal.verio.com> wrote:
It is a microprocessor, just not
"single-chip", as you'll notice I
specified once you re-read my message above.
OK, so by that definition the LSI-11 is microprocessor based, and is the
correct answer to the trivia question about the frist microprocessor-based
Unix system.
I'm not sure how useful a definition it is. Why, for instance, isn't my
PDP-8/I considered to be microprocessor-based? It has a multi-chip
processor. So did the IBM 360/30, for that matter.
Is the difference based on the number of chips? If so, where is the
dividing line?
While I would be the last person to want to downplay the significance of
the F-14 computer, I personally think that the word 'microprocessor' is
only useful if it refers to a single monolithic IC, in which case Ted Hoff
and Intel get credit for the first one.
Eric