ductor that they had each independently produced chips containing several complete electronic circuits. The chips were hailed as a generational breakthrough because they had four desirable characteristics. Reliability - They could be used over and over again without failure, whereas vacuum tubes failed ever fifteen minutes. Chips rarely failed -- perhaps one in 33 million hours of operation. This reliability was due not only to the fact that they had no moving parts but also that semiconductor firms gave them a rigid work/not work test. Compactness - Circuitry packed into a small space reduces equipment size. The machine speed is increased because circuits are closer together, thereby reducing the travel time for the electricity. Low Cost - Mass-production techniques has made possible the manufacture of inexpensive integrated circuits. That is, miniaturization has allowed manufacturers to produce many chips inexpensively. Low power use -- Miniaturization of integrated circuits has meant that less power is required for computer use than was required in previous generations. In an energy-conscious time, this was important. The Microprocessor Throught the 1970’s, computers gained dramatically in speed, reliability, and storage capacity, but entry into the fourth generation was evolutionary rather than revolutionary. The fourth generation was, in fact, furthering the progress of the third generation. Early in the first part of the third generation, specialized chips were developed for memory and logic. Therefore, all parts were in place for the next technological development, the microprocessor, or a general purpose processor on a chip. Ted Hoff of Intel developed the chip in 1969, and the microprocessor became commercially available in 1971. Nowadays microprocessor...
