4004

Early chip engineer Victor Poor dies at 79

Victor Poor, one of the founding fathers of early computer innovation, died Friday at the age of 79. He was one of the handful of engineers who helped develop Intel's first single chip microprocessor -- the 4004. Poor continued to be instrumental in microprocessor and computer advancement throughout his life.

According to the New York Times, Poor died of pancreatic cancer in Palm Bay, Fla.

Poor, who was a self-taught engineer, began working with Intel in 1969 when he met with well-known engineer Stanley Mazor to discuss the idea of building a processor for a programmable terminal, according to … Read more

Netgear brings dual-band 450Mbps to a gaming adapter

LAS VEGAS--Netgear announced today at CES 2012 its first dual-band 450Mbps adapter, the N900 Video and Gaming 4-Port Wi-Fi Adapter (model WNCE4004).

It connects Ethernet-ready devices, such as desktop computers, printers, and game consoles, to an existing Wi-Fi network. The adapter comes with four network ports, meaning you can add up to four wired devices to the Wi-Fi network at the far end of the connection.

The fact that it supports dual-band and the higher 450Mbps speeds means that you can use it with any existing wireless networks without having to worry about compatibility or performance degradation.

Netgear says that … Read more

UnbeatableSale.com has the RCA Opal M4004 4GB MP3 Player for $47.54, after $9.51 savings.

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The 10th Vintage Computer Festival passes into history

I had a great time over the weekend at the 10th Vintage Computer Festival, which took place in the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif.

In addition to the exhibits of vintage computers--including the largest collection of Radio Shack Pocket Computers I've ever seen--and the marketplace, where I managed to avoid buying any slide rules, Vectrix video games, or Cray supercomputer circuit boards--there were several notable presentations.

On Saturday, Tim McNerney spoke about his work to reimplement the Intel 4004 microprocessor, which led to a 130x-scale working model of the chip composed of individual transistors on a large … Read more