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For what it is worth, Intel does refer to the 4004 as the "first general-purpose": "That’s when the Intel® 4004 became the first general-purpose programmable p

For what it is worth, Intel does refer to the 4004 as the "first general-purpose": "That’s when the Intel® 4004 became the first general-purpose programmable processor on the market—a "building block" that engineers could purchase and then customize with software to perform different functions in a wide variety of electronic devices." https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/history/museum-story-of-intel-4004.html https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/history/museum-story... "The 4004 would replace that system with a general-purpose chip that could be mass produced and then programmed through its software to perform specific functions, such as those of a desktop calculator. That idea could make computing cheaper, more powerful and smaller in one fell swoop. It could, in other words, facilitate the modern information age. In 1969, the Nippon Calculating Machine Corporation approached Intel to design 12 custom chips for its new Busicom 141-PF printing calculator. Intel's engineers proposed a new design of just four chips, including one that could be programmed for use. That programmable chip, later known as the Intel 4004, became the first general-purpose microprocessor." https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/history/virtual-vault/articles/the-intel-4004.html https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/history/virtual-vaul...

adrian_b 2y ago
What they say now is irrelevant, because it is retconned with the purpose of increasing the apparent importance of what they have done in 1971 vs. what they have done in 1972. Moreover, you can be pretty certain that whoever has written that text has never read the datasheets of Intel 4004, to be able to evaluate whether it was "general purpose" or not. Even at its launch in 1971, when Intel has begun to offer for sale the 4004 because Busicom was unable to pay the price desired by Intel for 4004, the Intel marketing has attempted to present the 4004 as much more general purpose than it really was, in order to find customers for it, in order to ensure the profitability that could not be provided by Busicom. During its design, 4004 has never been intended to be general-purpose, because the plan was to sell it to a single customer. Only after the delivery to the intended customer the Intel marketing has made great efforts to find other possible applications for it.

adrian_b 2y ago

What they say now is irrelevant, because it is retconned with the purpose of increasing the apparent importance of what they have done in 1971 vs. what they have done in 1972. Moreover, you can be pretty certain that whoever has written that text has never read the datasheets of Intel 4004, to be able to evaluate whether it was "general purpose" or not. Even at its launch in 1971, when Intel has begun to offer for sale the 4004 because Busicom was unable to pay the price desired by Intel for 4004, the Intel marketing has attempted to present the 4004 as much more general purpose than it really was, in order to find customers for it, in order to ensure the profitability that could not be provided by Busicom. During its design, 4004 has never been intended to be general-purpose, because the plan was to sell it to a single customer. Only after the delivery to the intended customer the Intel marketing has made great efforts to find other possible applications for it.