First Microprocessor (was Re: Corrections to trivia)

On Thu, 8 Oct 1998, Doug Yowza wrote: His name is Gilbert Hyatt. Try: 4942516 : Single chip integrated circuit computer architectur Issued: Jul 17, 1990 http://www.patents.ibm.com/details?&patent_number=4942516 Also, 4121284 : Computerized system for operator interaction Issued: Oct. 17, 1978 http://www.patents.ibm.com/details?&patent_number=4121284 (interesting to me because it was filed in my home town) The first "personal computer"? 5594908 : Computer system having a serial keyboard, a serial display, and a dynamic memory with memory refresh Issued: Jan. 14, 1997 Now before you scoff, this one is really interesting because some machines were allegedly built in 1970 (but based on a two-sided PCB prototype of the Hyatt "microprocessor"). It was called the Contourama IV, and was built by Micro Computer Inc., a start-up that Hyatt spear-headed in 1968 (and was dissolved in 1971). Apparently it was the size of a small refrigerator. It never worked very well and the start-up failed disastrously. That's all the information I have, which I got from an article in West magazine, December 2, 1990 (the article is several pages long and is mainly about Hyatt's microprocessor patent). Sam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ever onward. Coming in 1999: Vintage Computer Festival 3.0 See http://www.vintage.org/vcf for details! [Last web site update: 09/21/98]