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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.

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1 A CALCULATING RISK Inventing the First Microprocessors.- Busicom and Intel.- Hoff Makes his Case.- Faggin Ascendent.- The 4000 Family.- Finding a Market.- The 8080.- Giving Credit.- 2 A REVOLUTION IN MINIATURE The Importance of the Microprocessor.- The Pervasiveness of the Microprocessor.- 3 FIRE, WATER, EARTH AND AIR Fabricating the Microprocessor.- Crystals.- The Blueprint of a Revolution.- The Swinging Gate.- Going Flat.- A World Apart.- Layers of Meaning.- Shedding Light.- Picking the Winners.- Legging it Out.- Final Exam.- 4 THE CITIES OF THE PLANAR How the Microprocessor Works.- Touring the Silicon City.- The Silicon Metronome.- Counting Bits.- Exchanging Notes.- Simple Minds.- Making Sense.- Taking Control.- Getting Help.- Going Green.- Relating to a Noisy World.- A Story of People.- 5 HISTORY I: BEGINNINGS The First Decade.- Making the Cut.- 6 HISTORY II: THE PC ERA The Second Decade.- Abiding by the Law.- Off the Beaten Path.- An Unexpected Threat.- Spinning out Threads.- 7 HISTORY III: BREAK-OUT The Third Decade.- A Forgotten Player Returns.- A Peripheral Revolution.- Blue Chips.- Courting the Microprocessor.- An Inside Game.- Taking Stock.- A Bitter Bug.- Order in the Court.- Towards the Millenium.- 8 THE FUTURE: DREAMS OF LIGHT The Microprocessor in the 21st Century.- Substrate.- Other Substrates.- Production.- Software.- The Burden of the Past.- Green Thoughts.- Architecture.- Organization.- Beyond Semiconductors.- Footnotes.

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Michael S. Malone is an award-winning writer and Editor at Large of Forbes ASAP, the world´s largest circulation business and technology magazine. He also has a weekly column on ABC.com called "The Silicon Insider" and is the author of a number of books on business theory and history. As the nation´s first daily high-technology reporter for the San Jose Mercury News, Malone covered the rise of Silicon Valley. He is a regular contributor to The Wall Street Journal and has also been a columnist for the New York Times and a contributing editor for Upside and Fast Company.

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