The microprocessor is a computer processor of arithmetic, logic, and control circuitry on a single integrated circuit. The ...

We recently looked at the origins of the integrated circuit (IC) and the calculator, which was the IC’s first killer app, but a surprise twist is that the calculator played a big part in the invention ...

Microprocessors are wondrous devices: They integrate the brain of a computer onto a single electronic component. The computing power that once required a room full of equipment now fits onto a ...

You've probably heard this story before, or perhaps lived it: Once upon a time, computers were huge. In the 1960s, a computer with the capability of, say, an Apple II, required a room full of heavy, ...

For Jim Scherrer, founder and president of the Compuseum, the 6502 microprocessor chip made Montgomery County’s MOS Technology the “vanguard of personal computing.” The 6502 chip was created by MOS ...

As NPR marks its 50th anniversary, we look back at an innovation that also changed the world in 1971: the unveiling of the first commercially produced microprocessor. NPR turned 50 this year. And to ...

The processors in today’s computers have grown tremendously in performance, capabilities and complexity over the past decade. Clock speed has skyrocketed, and size has dwindled, even as the number of ...

Guest author Ken Shirriff is a Silicon Valley-based computer enthusiast who enjoys reverse-engineering old chips and restoring classic equipment such as the Xerox Alto. Shirriff wrote the Arduino ...

As hackers and makers we are surrounded by accessible computing in an astonishing diversity. From tiny microcontrollers to multi-processor powerhouses, they have become the universal tool of our art.

The CPU, or Central Processing Unit, is a key component of your system that enables it to function. Whatever you see on your screen is processed by the CPU. It’s the core of your computer; you can ...