In 1958 the integrated circuit was developed by a young engineer at Texas Instruments named Jack St. Clair Kilby. He put together a few transistors and capacitors, linking them with a thin layer of ...

NPR turned 50 this year. And to celebrate, we're marking some of the big events of 1971. If you're listening to this on a smartphone or on the internet or in a car full of computer chips, that is only ...

Fifty years ago, the ground-breaking model inspired Bill Gates, Paul Wozniak and Steve Jobs to create Microsoft and Apple ...

Thirty years ago, on June 8, 1978, Intel Corp. introduced its first 16-bit microprocessor, the 8086, with a splashy ad heralding “the dawn of a new era.” Overblown? Sure, but also prophetic. While the ...

A microprocessor incorporates most or all of the functions of a central processing unit (CPU) on a single integrated circuit (IC). The first microprocessors emerged in the early 1970s and were used ...

When the microprocessor and inexpensive ROM memory arrived in the early 1970s, building small, stored-program computing systems became practical. System designers learned that with the rapidly growing ...

Typically when you’re replacing parts in an old computer it’s either for repairs or an upgrade. Upgrades like adding a more capable processor to an old computer are the most common, and can help bring ...

Semiconductor chips are the building blocks of modern computation. From smartphones to the vast datacentres powering the ...