The Microprocessor A Biography [Paperback]

Despite being an intimate part of our lives, most of us know almost nothing about the computer on a chip . As a result, we are constantly making crucial business, political and personal decisions based on the future of the microprocessor, while intellectually standing in the dark. If we can understand how the microprocessor came into being, the state it is in today and where its future lies, we can learn a whole lot more about where we are now and where we are going. Now, for the very first time, Michael S. Malone tells the complete story of this amazing invention in his well-known and witty style. However, this is anything but an electronics textbook. Rather, it is a riveting and incisive adventure story about extraordinary people and the legendary companies they have built. It is a tale of huge success and devastating failure, steadfast partnerships and bitter rivalries - plus a liberal sprinkling of greed and wealth. Malone closes with a tantalising look into the future: emerging technologies, new software, and even speculation about what might lie beyond the microprocessor era.This book is not what it seems. It appears to be about technology, but it is really about people. It looks like a history book, but it is really an adventure story. Even its title is an oxymoron. These ambiguities are intentional, the paradoxes planned. The micro? processor is not only a supremely important invention, but also a Rosetta Stone of our culture. To see how a microprocessor is made is to understand our cur? rent limits of technology; to understand how it works is to appreciate the present sophistication of engineering; and to know how it is used is to discern the underlying social forces that are transforming our world. Even the events surrounding the microprocessor industry-the new marketing techniques, the litigation, the business partnerships-regularly set precedents that are soon followed by other industries. Thus the microprocessor, more than any other product, decodes anl#.