ALPHA Timepoint is in alpha Talk to Us
Sign In Get Started
R

Release of the Intel 4004 microprocessor

Engineers and executives at Intel headquarters unveil the Intel 4004, the world's first commercially available microprocessor, marking a pivotal moment in computing history.

Setting

Intel Headquarters conference room, Santa Clara, California. The room is a mid-century modern corporate space with large windows overlooking the Silicon Valley landscape. A long wooden conference table dominates the center, surrounded by chairs. The walls are adorned with technical diagrams and early computer blueprints.

Characters

The figures in this scene as an entity network — co-presence links everyone in the moment; speakers who trade lines are bound tighter. Turn the resolution dial to reveal depth the engine actually computed.

TNGF
SELECTED
Ted Hoff
primary
A slender man in his early 30s with a neatly trimmed beard and short, dark brown hair. His wire-rimmed glasses sit slightly askew on his nose, and his intelligent eyes gleam with quiet excitement. His hands are expressive, often gesturing when explaining technical concepts.
Federico Faggin
primary
A slender Italian man in his early 30s with thick, dark hair combed neatly back, deep-set intelligent eyes, and a neatly trimmed mustache. His hands are expressive, often gesturing when explaining technical concepts.
Intel Executive
secondary
A middle-aged man in his late 40s, with a well-groomed appearance, slightly receding hairline, and a confident posture. He has sharp features, a clean-shaven face, and wears wire-rimmed glasses that give him a professional yet approachable look.
Lab Technician
secondary
A young man in his late 20s with a lean build, short brown hair neatly combed, and wire-rimmed glasses. His hands are slightly calloused from working with delicate electronic components, and he has a focused, attentive demeanor.
Press Photographer
background
A middle-aged man with a wiry frame, sporting a short beard and slightly tousled hair. His keen eyes are frequently squinting behind round, wire-rimmed glasses as he adjusts his camera settings. He has a slightly hunched posture from years of carrying heavy equipment.

Dialog

Ted Hoff Gentlemen, what we have here is more than just a chip—it's an entire computing system shrunk onto a single piece of silicon. You see, this changes everything.
Federico Faggin Allora... the silicon gate technology allows us to pack 2,300 transistors here—more than ENIAC had in an entire room!
Intel Executive This represents a paradigm shift for our industry. At $60 per unit, we're not just selling components—we're selling the future of computing.
Ted Hoff Imagine every cash register, every calculator—eventually every home appliance—with its own brain. That's what this enables.
Federico Faggin The beauty is in the architecture—four-bit words may seem small, but the instruction set... it's like giving a painter the perfect set of brushes.
Intel Executive We'll position this as the 'computer on a chip' to Busicom and other clients. The marketing potential is extraordinary.
Ted Hoff Just wait until someone realizes they can program this for purposes we haven't even imagined yet. That's when the real revolution begins.

Chat with Characters

You've used your 3 free turns

Sign in to keep chatting with characters from this moment — unlimited turns.

Sign in to Continue
— Sign in for unlimited

Causal neighbors · 629 linked moments

Invention of the Microprocessor
Invention of the Microprocessor
1971 · contemporaneous
Invention of the Microprocessor
Invention of the Microprocessor
1971 · contemporaneous
I
Intel 4004 microprocessor released
1971 · contemporaneous
I
Invention of the Perceptron
1957 · same figure
I
Intel 4004 microprocessor released
1971 · same figure
P
Publication of Moore's Law by Gordon Moore
1965 · same figure
F
First point-contact transistor demonstrated
1947 · same figure
F
First Program Run on the Pilot ACE
1950 · same figure
A
Assassination Attempt on Ronald Reagan
1981 · same figure
U
United Nations Charter Signing
1945 · same figure
G
Garry Kasparov wins the 1985 World Chess Championship
1985 · same figure
R
Release of the Rogers Commission Report
1986 · same figure
R
Release of GPT-2 Model
2019 · same figure
S
Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster
1986 · same figure
A
Apollo 11 Launch
1969 · same figure
E
EDSAC First Operation
1949 · same figure
A
Adolf Hitler appointed Chancellor of Germany
1933 · same figure
D
Deep Blue defeats Garry Kasparov
1997 · same figure
A
Apple WWDC 2019 keynote
2019 · same figure
I
Invention of the Integrated Circuit
1958 · same figure
A
AlphaGo defeats Fan Hui
2015 · same figure
S
Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster
1986 · same figure
M
Moore's Law paper published
1965 · same figure
AlphaGo defeats Ke Jie
AlphaGo defeats Ke Jie
2017 · same figure
S
Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster
1986 · same figure
D
Deep Blue defeats Garry Kasparov – Game 6
1997 · same figure
I
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty Signing
1987 · same figure
D
Deep Blue Defeats Garry Kasparov
1997 · same figure
F
First COBOL Compiler Execution
1960 · same figure
I
Invention of the point-contact transistor
1947 · same figure
S
Space Shuttle Columbia STS-107 Launch
2003 · same figure
Nobel Prize in Physics 1956 awarded to transistor inventors
Nobel Prize in Physics 1956 awarded to transistor inventors
1956 · same figure
V
Vladimir Kramnik defeats Garry Kasparov in the 2000 World Chess Championship
2000 · same figure
D
Dawon Kahng and Martin Atalla present the MOSFET
1960 · same figure
D
Deep Blue defeats Garry Kasparov – Game 6
1997 · same figure
F
First ARPANET Message
1969 · same figure