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Intel 8008
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Components
Intel's 8008 microprocessor made its debut. A vast improvement over its
predecessor, the 4004, its eight-bit word afforded 256 unique arrangements of
ones and zeros. For the first time, a microprocessor could handle both
uppercase and lowercase letters, all 10 numerals, punctuation marks, and a host
of other symbols.
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HP-35
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Computers
Hewlett-Packard announced the HP-35 as "a fast, extremely accurate
electronic slide rule" with a solid-state memory similar to that of a
computer. The HP-35 distinguished itself from its competitors by its ability
to perform a broad variety of logarithmic and trigonometric functions, to store
more intermediate solutions for later use, and to accept and display entries in
a form similar to standard scientific notation.
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Wozniak's "blue box"
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Networks
Steve Wozniak built his "blue box," a tone generator to make free
phone calls. Wozniak sold the boxes in dormitories at the University of
California Berkeley where he studied as an undergraduate. "The early
boxes had a safety feature -- a red switch inside the housing operated by a
magnet taped onto the outside of the box," Wozniak remembered. "If
apprehended, you removed the magnet, whereupon it would generate off-frequency
tones and be inoperable ... and you tell the police: It's just a music
box."
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Software & Languages
Nolan Bushnell introduced Pong and his new company, Atari video games.
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