The Computer History Museum, home to the world’s largest collection of computing-related artifacts and stories, will hold a unique evening event for the press and general public on Monday November 13th 2006 with the Intel Museum as co-presenter. The 35th Anniversary of the Intel® 4004 Microprocessor Celebration Event and Lecture will take place at 6:00 p.m. with a member reception lasting until 7:00 p.m. at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA.. A public panel discussion will immediately follow at 7:00 p.m. and conclude after audience Q&A at around 9:00 p.m..
The evening not only acknowledges the 35th anniversary milestone of the 4004, but it also acknowledges one of the most important innovations in the computing industry that we have ever seen. And the event promises to be a milestone in itself in that on this historic occasion, the museums will reunite several key figures behind the 4004 in this public forum.
The Computer History Museum and the Intel Museum invite you to mark the 35th anniversary of one of the most important products in technology history. Introduced in November 1971, the Intel® 4004 microprocessor was an early and significant commercial product to embody computer architecture within a silicon device. And it started an electronics revolution that changed our world.
There were no customer-programmable microprocessors on the market before the 4004. It was the first enabling technology that propelled software into the limelight as a key player in the world of digital electronics design. Intel, which had been making memory chips, used the 4004 as a technical and marketing launch pad to develop an expertise in microprocessors that, in quick time, made it a market leader.
This strategy allowed it to emerge as the most influential designer and producer of microprocessors—the engine of the information age—for over three decades.
In celebration of this milestone anniversary and the November 15, 2006 opening of Intel Museum’s new exhibit entitled, “The Intel 4004 Microprocessor,” Intel 4004 designers Ted Hoff and Federico Faggin take center stage with an historical perspective on the evolution of the 4004, from a special-order from Japanese calculator manufacturer Busicom, to a mass-produced device.
Additionally, Tim McNerney, who assembled and led a talented team of engineers and designers to create the Intel 4004 35th anniversary exhibit with the Intel Museum and the Intel Corporate Archives, will be invited to speak at the conclusion of the panel. He will address the process of reverse-engineering of the Intel 4004 schematics and the Busicom141-PF calculator ROMs that led his team to uncover elegantly crafted layers of a computational system that makes optimal use of hardware and software. This special anniversary program will be moderated by industry veteran and Intel alum, Dave House.
More information on the 4004 can be found at http://www.intel.com/museum/archives/4004.htm
Computer History Museum and the Intel Museum Present:
35th Anniversary of the Intel® 4004 Microprocessor
Sponsored by the Intel Corporate Archives and the Intel Museum
Speakers: Ted Hoff, Federico Faggin, Tim McNerney, and Dave House, moderator
Free. Suggested donation of $10.00 at the door from non-members. To register or for more information on the event, please visit the museum's Web site at www.computerhistory.org/4004_11132006 or call (650) 810-1005.
The Computer History Museum Presents Speaker Series is an exclusive platform for open, passionate discussions for presenting the computing revolution and its impact on the human experience. These landmark presentations and panel discussions present inside stories and personal insights of top information age leaders from industry, government and academia, and assist the Museum in bringing computing history to life.
Currently in its first phase, the museum brings computing history to life through its popular speaker series, seminars, oral histories, workshops and Web-based educational resources for students, scholars and the general public. The museum also offers self-guided and docent-led tours of “Visible Storage,” where nearly 600 objects from the collection are on display, including such rare objects as the Cray-1 supercomputer, the Apple I, the WWII ENIGMA, the PalmPilot prototype, and the 1969 Honeywell “Kitchen Computer.” A new exhibit, “Mastering The Game: A History of Computer Chess,” opened in September 2005, providing an exciting, interactive look at 50 years of innovation and work in computing and computer chess software. Please check the Web site for open hours.
Future phases will feature full museum exhibits including a timeline of computing history, theme galleries, extensive Web-based exhibits and collection-related information, expanded education programs, a research center, and much more. For more information, please visit www.computerhistory.org or call (650) 810-1059.
