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The Intellec computers were a series of early microcomputers
Intel did not market the Intellec as a general-purpose microcomputer, but rather as a development system. As the first microprocessors were intended to run
Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...
produced in the 1970s as a development platform for their processors. The Intellec computers were among the first microcomputers ever sold, predating the Altair 8800 by at least two years.
Introduction
The first series of Intellecs included the Intellec 4 for the4004
The Intel 4004 is a 4-bit central processing unit (CPU) released by Intel Corporation in 1971. Sold for US$60, it was the first commercially produced microprocessor, and the first in a long line of Intel CPUs.
The 4004 was the first significa ...
, the Intellec 4 Mod 40 for the 4040, the Intellec 8 for the 8008
The Intel 8008 ("''eight-thousand-eight''" or "''eighty-oh-eight''") is an early byte-oriented microprocessor designed by Computer Terminal Corporation (CTC), implemented and manufactured by Intel, and introduced in April 1972. It is an 8-bit ...
, and the Intellec 8 Mod 80 for the 8080
The Intel 8080 (''"eighty-eighty"'') is the second 8-bit microprocessor designed and manufactured by Intel. It first appeared in April 1974 and is an extended and enhanced variant of the earlier 8008 design, although without binary compatibil ...
.
The Intellec 4 and 8 were introduced at the June 1973 National Computer Conference The Joint Computer Conferences were a series of computer conferences in the United States held under various names between 1951 and 1987. The conferences were the venue for presentations and papers representing "cumulative work in the omputerfield ...
in the New York Coliseum
The New York Coliseum was a convention center that stood at Columbus Circle in Manhattan, New York City, from 1956 to 2000. It was designed by architects Leon Levy and Lionel Levy in a modified International Style, and included both a low bui ...
. The Intellec computers were sold not to the general public, only to developers, and a very limited number were built. The Intellec 8 retailed for $2,395.
Features
The Intellecs haveresident monitor
In computing, a resident monitor is a type of system software program that was used in many early computers from the 1950s to 1970s. It can be considered a precursor to the operating system. The name is derived from a program which is always pre ...
s stored in ROM
Rom, or ROM may refer to:
Biomechanics and medicine
* Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient
* Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac
* ...
s. They also included an assembler, linker, and debugger, as well as the ability to act as an in-circuit emulator. Additionally, a PL/M
The PL/M programming language
(an acronym of ''Programming Language for Microcomputers'')
is a high-level language conceived and developed by
Gary Kildall in 1973 for Hank Smith at Intel for its microprocessors.
Overview
The language incorpor ...
compiler, cross-assembler and simulator were available, which allowed writing programs in a higher-level language than assembly. FORTRAN compilers were also available. The Intellec 8 supported a Teletype
A teleprinter (teletypewriter, teletype or TTY) is an electromechanical device that can be used to send and receive typed messages through various communications channels, in both point-to-point and point-to-multipoint configurations. Init ...
operating at 110 baud, a high speed punched paper tape reader and a CRT terminal
Terminal may refer to:
Computing Hardware
* Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together
* Terminal (telecommunication), a device communicating over a line
* Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output dev ...
at 1200 baud.
The Intellec 8 is able to address up to 16K of memory and came with 5K pre-installed. The Intellec 4 came with 1K of PROM and 4k of RAM for instruction memory, as well as 320 4-bit words of data memory, expandable to 2560 words. The Intellec 8 ran with a two-phase clock of 800kHz, resulting in an instruction cycle time of 12.5us. The Intellec 4 ran at a slower clock rate of 750kHz, but had a faster instruction cycle time of 10.8us. Both systems were available in "Bare Bones" editions, which omitted the front panel, power supply, and completed chassis; instead, it is designed to mount into a rack. Both systems also weighed .
Usage
Intel did not market the Intellec as a general-purpose microcomputer, but rather as a development system. As the first microprocessors were intended to run embedded system
An embedded system is a computer system—a combination of a computer processor, computer memory, and input/output peripheral devices—that has a dedicated function within a larger mechanical or electronic system. It is ''embedded'' ...
s such as in calculators, cash register
A cash register, sometimes called a till or automated money handling system, is a mechanical or electronic device for registering and calculating transactions at a point of sale. It is usually attached to a drawer for storing cash and other ...
s, scientific
Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
instrumentation
Instrumentation a collective term for measuring instruments that are used for indicating, measuring and recording physical quantities. The term has its origins in the art and science of scientific instrument-making.
Instrumentation can refer to ...
, computer terminal
A computer terminal is an electronic or electromechanical hardware device that can be used for entering data into, and transcribing data from, a computer or a computing system. The teletype was an example of an early-day hard-copy terminal and ...
s, printer
Printer may refer to:
Technology
* Printer (publishing), a person or a company
* Printer (computing), a hardware device
* Optical printer for motion picture films
People
* Nariman Printer (fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist
* James ...
s, plotters, industrial robot
An industrial robot is a robot system used for manufacturing. Industrial robots are automated, programmable and capable of movement on three or more axes.
Typical applications of robots include welding, painting, assembly, disassembly, pick ...
s, synthesizers, game consoles
A video game console is an electronic device that outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can be played with a game controller. These may be home consoles, which are generally placed in a permanent location connected to a ...
, and so on, the Intellec was used for programming programmable memory chips used by embedded systems, e.g. the 2048-bit
The bit is the most basic unit of information in computing and digital communications. The name is a portmanteau of binary digit. The bit represents a logical state with one of two possible values. These values are most commonly represente ...
(256-byte
The byte is a unit of digital information that most commonly consists of eight bits. Historically, the byte was the number of bits used to encode a single character of text in a computer and for this reason it is the smallest addressable uni ...
) Intel 1602A programmable read-only memory (PROM) or erasable 1702A EPROM
An EPROM (rarely EROM), or erasable programmable read-only memory, is a type of programmable read-only memory (PROM) chip that retains its data when its power supply is switched off. Computer memory that can retrieve stored data after a power s ...
chip Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is a type of immunoprecipitation experimental technique used to investigate the interaction between proteins and DNA in the cell. It aims to determine whether specific proteins are associated with specific genom ...
s which were plugged into a ZIF
ZIF, ZiF or Zif may refer to:
* Zero insertion force
Zero insertion force (ZIF) is a type of IC socket or electrical connector that requires very little (but not literally zero) force for insertion. With a ZIF socket, before the IC is inserte ...
socket on the Intellec-8's front panel
A front panel was used on early electronic computers to display and allow the alteration of the state of the machine's internal registers and memory. The front panel usually consisted of arrays of indicator lamps, digit and symbol displays, t ...
.Freiberger & Swaine (2000). ''Fire in the Valley: The Making of The Personal Computer (Second Edition)'', McGraw Hill, . The chip-programming socket is the green device in the lower right corner of the Intellec's front panel.
Intel also marketed the Intellec microcomputer development system as a system for developing ''other'' OEM
An original equipment manufacturer (OEM) is generally perceived as a company that produces non-aftermarket parts and equipment that may be marketed by another manufacturer. It is a common industry term recognized and used by many professional or ...
microcomputers.
See also
*Intel System Development Kit Each time Intel Corporation, Intel launched a new microprocessor, they simultaneously provided a System Development Kit (SDK) allowing Computer engineering, engineers, university students, and others to familiarise themselves with the new processor' ...
* List of early microcomputers
This is a list of early microcomputers sold to hobbyists and developers. These microcomputers were often sold as "DIY" kits or pre-built machines in relatively small numbers in the mid-1970s. These systems were primarily used for teaching the us ...
* ISIS (operating system)
ISIS, short for Intel System Implementation Supervisor, is an operating system for early Intel microprocessors like the 8080. It was originally developed by Ken Burgett and Jim Stein under the management of Steve Hanna and Terry Opdendyk for the ...
References
Early microcomputers Intel products {{Microcompu-stub