Re: 11 most influential microprocessors of all time

[e p chandler <epc8@juno.com>]

On Sep 2, 9:19 pm, Nick Westgate <nick.westg...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Sep 3, 2:49 am, Ken Gagne <kga...@gamebits.net> wrote:
>
> > The Apple II's 6502 is on page 8 as the fifth most important microprocessor
>
> To avoid a stack overflow in your brain, here's the list:
>
> 1. Intel 4004 (1971) / Busicom 141-PF Calculator (1971)
> 2. Intel 8080 (1974) / MITS Altair 8800 (1975)
> 3. Acorn Computers ARM2 (1986) / Acorn Archimedes (1987)
> 4. Intel 8088 (1979) / IBM PC 5150 (1981)
> 5. MOS Technology 6502 (1975) / Apple II (1977)
> 6. Zilog Z80 (1976) / Radio Shack TRS-80 Model I
> 7. AMD Opteron 240 (2003) / IBM server hardware
> 8. RCA COSMAC CDP 1802 (1976) / NASA Voyager 1 (1977)
> 9. AIM PowerPC 601 (1992) / Apple Power Macintosh 6100 (1994)
> 10. Motorola 68000 (1980) / Apple Macintosh (1984)
> 11. Intel Pentium (1993) / Brand-name processors
>
> Cheers,
> Nick.

The PDP-8 deserves to be on the list, even though it was rated as a
mini-computer at the time. The 8 and its cousin, the LINC made
computers affordable at a time when computers were so expensive and
intimidating that Digital did not sell them as computers but as
"Programmed Data Processors".

The PDP-8 lived on in word processors, photo-typesetting and
industrial control.

Not that I would want to program a PDP-8 today. It has only 6 memory
reference instuctions and a group of microprogrammed "operate"
instructions. (set, clear, test and skip). The rules for composing
instructions were really baroque!

The 65xx is low level and messy enough for me.

If you are looking at architectural influence, then the PDP-11
deserves to be on the list. It begat the VAX, Alpha and VMS. VMS begat
Windows NT.
[WNT is one letter off VMS just as HAL is one letter off IBM.]

--- elliot







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