5 ms·

> I'm reminded that chips like the Intel 8080 and Motorola 6800 were not intended to be general-purpose computers, and were originally designed mostly to be emb

> I'm reminded that chips like the Intel 8080 and Motorola 6800 were not intended to be general-purpose computers, and were originally designed mostly to be embedded controllers and as building blocks for "real" computers like terminal and disk controllers. While the proposed use cases were things like that, I'd push back on saying that they weren't "intended to be general-purpose computers". I have the original 8080 manual in front of me, and it's very clear they considered them computers to be applied to problems (the first chapter is literally "The Functions of a Computer"). Oh, and the 8080 manual clearly identifies it as the "Intel 8080 Microcomputer Systems" and the 6800 calls it the "Benchmark Family for Microcomputer Systems"

tomcam 2mo ago
> I have the original 8080 manual in front of me In case anyone's wondering what makes HN so damn great
- dmd 2mo ago
  I've still got my well-thumbed https://archive.org/details/c64-programmer-ref https://archive.org/details/c64-programmer-ref I spent pretty much all of the 1988-9 school year (I was 10) inhaling it.
  - kstrauser 2mo ago
    That’s the greatest manual I’ve ever touched. It taught me a huge chunk of what I know about hardware, from bitmap graphics to assembler and addressing modes, to IO. I knew that if you wanted to make your BASIC programs go faster, you wrote parts of them in assembly. Fortunately no one bothered to tell me that this was supposed to be harder so I charged ahead, soaking it up like a sponge. Seriously, it was fantastic.
Mr_Minderbinder 2mo ago
> I have the original 8080 manual in front of me, and it's very clear they considered them computers to be applied to problems (the first chapter is literally "The Functions of a Computer"). They considered them computers to be applied to a narrow set of problems. That chapter only touches on general computer processor concepts, not applications specific to that processor. From the first page of that manual - “Applications of the 8080 span from large, intelligent systems terminals to decompression computers for deep sea divers.” Table 0-2. Microprocessor Applications from the introduction has the following applications listed: “Intelligent Terminals, Gaming Machines, Cash Registers, Accounting and Billing Machines, Telephone Switching Control, Numerically Controlled Machines, Process Control.” Clearly the intention was embedded or “dedicated” use. It is obvious both from the design and capabilities of the processor as well as the fact that a market for general purpose computers with microprocessors did not exist. Even the “superminicomputer” market was in its infancy in those days. Not a single one of those listed applications is a stand-alone computer system, let alone one that could tackle the whole array of problems expected of computers then. That they call it a “Microcomputer System” is irrelevant; it does not mean what you are suggesting.
- ChickeNES 2mo ago
  > From the first page of that manual - “Applications of the 8080 span from large, intelligent systems terminals to decompression computers for deep sea divers.” > Table 0-2. Microprocessor Applications from the introduction has the following applications listed: “Intelligent Terminals, Gaming Machines, Cash Registers, Accounting and Billing Machines, Telephone Switching Control, Numerically Controlled Machines, Process Control.” Thanks for making my point for me! Very much a general purpose computer then.
  - Mr_Minderbinder 2mo ago
    I have not, you are simply confused about what general purpose means in this context.

tomcam 2mo ago

> I have the original 8080 manual in front of me In case anyone's wondering what makes HN so damn great

dmd 2mo ago
I've still got my well-thumbed https://archive.org/details/c64-programmer-ref https://archive.org/details/c64-programmer-ref I spent pretty much all of the 1988-9 school year (I was 10) inhaling it.
- kstrauser 2mo ago
  That’s the greatest manual I’ve ever touched. It taught me a huge chunk of what I know about hardware, from bitmap graphics to assembler and addressing modes, to IO. I knew that if you wanted to make your BASIC programs go faster, you wrote parts of them in assembly. Fortunately no one bothered to tell me that this was supposed to be harder so I charged ahead, soaking it up like a sponge. Seriously, it was fantastic.

Mr_Minderbinder 2mo ago

> I have the original 8080 manual in front of me, and it's very clear they considered them computers to be applied to problems (the first chapter is literally "The Functions of a Computer"). They considered them computers to be applied to a narrow set of problems. That chapter only touches on general computer processor concepts, not applications specific to that processor. From the first page of that manual - “Applications of the 8080 span from large, intelligent systems terminals to decompression computers for deep sea divers.” Table 0-2. Microprocessor Applications from the introduction has the following applications listed: “Intelligent Terminals, Gaming Machines, Cash Registers, Accounting and Billing Machines, Telephone Switching Control, Numerically Controlled Machines, Process Control.” Clearly the intention was embedded or “dedicated” use. It is obvious both from the design and capabilities of the processor as well as the fact that a market for general purpose computers with microprocessors did not exist. Even the “superminicomputer” market was in its infancy in those days. Not a single one of those listed applications is a stand-alone computer system, let alone one that could tackle the whole array of problems expected of computers then. That they call it a “Microcomputer System” is irrelevant; it does not mean what you are suggesting.

ChickeNES 2mo ago
> From the first page of that manual - “Applications of the 8080 span from large, intelligent systems terminals to decompression computers for deep sea divers.” > Table 0-2. Microprocessor Applications from the introduction has the following applications listed: “Intelligent Terminals, Gaming Machines, Cash Registers, Accounting and Billing Machines, Telephone Switching Control, Numerically Controlled Machines, Process Control.” Thanks for making my point for me! Very much a general purpose computer then.
- Mr_Minderbinder 2mo ago
  I have not, you are simply confused about what general purpose means in this context.