Modern computers have benefited from transistors in the form of integrated circuits (IC). The IC was invented in 1959 when Texas Instrument engineers found they could squeeze multiple transistors onto the same base. While the original IC contained only six transistors, many today have counts in the multimillions.
Intel, founded on July 18, 1968, began business as a manufacturer of semiconductor (transistor) memory. Their goal was to make semiconductor memory affordable; they accomplished this feat in the early 70's. This goal changed when Intel (contracted by Japanese manufacturer Busicom) designed a single chip that could perform different instructions depending on the instructions given. After buying the rights to their own design from Busicom, Intel produced the 4-bit 4004 microcomputer set (later called a microprocessor). Featuring 2300 transistors and executing 60,000 operations per second, Intel's unique design delivered as much computing power as the 1942 ENIAC. By 1989, Intel's microprocessor family grew to include the 8008, 8080, 286, 386, and 486. Each featured additional transistors that allowed for more complex functionality. The first Pentium processor was introduced in 1993, closely followed by the Pentium I, II, II, and IV. Though other manufactures have introduced microprocessors into the PC market (AMD, Cyrix), Intel's processors were the first to be found in personal computers.
The Altair is considered to be the first personal computer, featured in the January 1975 issue of Popular Mechanics. Based on Intel's 8080 processor, the Altair featured a power supply, a front panel with a number of lights, and 256 bytes of memory. IBM followed closely, introducing their first personal computer in 1975. Their model, the 5100, included 16K of memory, a built in display, a built-in BASIC interpreter, and a tape drive for storage. IBM's price tag of $9,000 loomed far above the Altair's asking price of $395.
