We recently looked at the origins of the integrated circuit (IC) and the calculator, which was the IC’s first killer app, but a surprise twist is that the calculator played a big part in the invention ...

The first general-purpose processor of the modern age came off the line today in 1971 to power a calculator. It changed the world. Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year ...

The Intel 4004 is considered the first microprocessor, but its creation by Intel came down to a combination of hard work, the right timing, and just plain luck. Our team tests, rates, and reviews more ...

The advent of microcomputers in the 1970s has dramatically changed our society. Since then, microprocessors have been made almost exclusively from silicon, but the ever-increasing demand for higher ...

As NPR marks its 50th anniversary, we look back at an innovation that also changed the world in 1971: the unveiling of the first commercially produced microprocessor. NPR turned 50 this year. And to ...

The story of the first microprocessor, one you may have heard, goes something like this: The Intel 4004 was introduced in late 1971, for use in a calculator. It was a combination of four chips, and it ...