🧠 Before RISC vs. CISC. Before ARM dominance. Before the cloud. There was the Bellmac 32.

Now officially recognized as an IEEE Milestone, the Bellmac 32 helped define what 32-bit computing would become:

💾 Built in 1977 by Bell Labs, it was one of the earliest 32-bit microprocessors

🔐 Introduced memory protection and supervisor/user modes — setting the stage for modern OS security

🌐 Powered Unix systems, 5ESS telecom switches, and early internet infrastructure

🛠️ A foundational workhorse, now honored for the impact it had behind the scenes

It didn’t make headlines like the 8086 or the 68000 — but it should have. Hats off to the engineers who helped shape the future and are finally getting the recognition they deserve.

#IEEE #BellLabs #TechHistory #Microprocessors #Bellmac32

https://spectrum.ieee.org/bellmac-32-ieee-milestone

@viznut I appreciate the fast pacing, sync with audio and video, and the delicate illustrations of those rascals #DonaldTrump & #ElonMusk . At the same time, I love how #microprocessors don't age: decades old hardware can still fight problems of now. #commodore64

Modern 6502

https://www.mikekohn.net/micro/modern_6502.php

#HackerNews #Modern6502 #RetroComputing #Microprocessors #Technology #Innovation

🤔 Ah, the #nostalgia of cramming ancient silicon with non-existent commands! 🕵️‍♂️ Let's all gather 'round the microcode campfire and be regaled by tales of yore, where #microprocessors were so basic, they didn't know how to say "no." 😂 Remember kids, if it's undocumented, it's basically magic! ✨
https://www.righto.com/2023/07/undocumented-8086-instructions.html #techhistory #undocumentedmagic #siliconstories #HackerNews #ngated

Intel released a new CPU on March 22, 1993. Instead of a part number, it had a brand name. Calling it Pentium instead of 586 helped Intel's problem with clones. https://dfarq.homeip.net/what-came-after-486/ #CPUHistory #ComputerArchitecture #Innovation #TechThrowback #1990sTech #Microprocessors #RetroComputing

These editions are about 20 years apart

#ComputerScience #CompSci #Microprocessors #Intel #electronics #AssemblyLanguage

"Yes, you heard it right: Apache NuttX now supports the Python interpreter on ESP32-S3!

NuttX is a platform that can run applications built with programming languages other than traditional C. C++, Zig, Rust, Lua, BASIC, MicroPython, and, now, Python."

https://developer.espressif.com/blog/2025/03/nuttx-python-esp32s3/

#NuttX #ESP32 #Microprocessors #Python #OperatingSystems #Embedded

Has anyone had experience with one of these little logic analyzers? Are they... reasonably useful for basic, low-speed microprocessor I/O debugging? i'm looking to put together a lab kit for a microprocessors course at minimal cost to the students, so $300-400 for, e.g., an Analog Discovery 3 is quite steep an ask.

https://www.amazon.com/HiLetgo-Analyzer-Ferrite-Channel-Arduino/dp/B077LSG5P2

#electronics #maker #microprocessors

A System For The Sixties: The RCA Studio II

https://nicole.express/2024/radio-keith-orpheum.html

#computers #retrocomputing #microprocessors #games #technology #rca #cosmac #chip8

A very deep dive.

"This is the story of how Apple made a mistake in the ROM of the Macintosh Classic II that probably should have prevented it from booting, but instead, miraculously, its Motorola MC68030 CPU accidentally prevented a crash and saved the day by executing an undefined instruction."

https://www.downtowndougbrown.com/2025/01/the-invalid-68030-instruction-that-accidentally-allowed-the-mac-classic-ii-to-successfully-boot-up/

#Computers #Microprocessors #InstructionSets #ComputerHistory #RetroComputing

Very interesting talk by Sophie Wilson about the future of microprocessors.
#sophiewilson #microprocessors
https://youtu.be/MkbgZMCTUyU

Nvidia and AMD rush to stockpile graphics cards ahead of Trump tariff that could raise prices by 40% #chips #Nvidia #AMD #Microprocessors #hardware #AI

https://www.techspot.com/news/106110-nvidia-amd-rush-stockpile-graphics-cards-ahead-trump.html

#Tech #Computer #RetroTech #Retro #RetroTechnology #RetroComputers #VintageComputer #RetroComputing #Magazine #VintageAds #Motorola #Microprocessors #Exorciser #Exordisk #Micromoduli #Exormacs #Exorset30

Нужна поддержка community! :ablobcatbongosit:

Накидайте пожалуйста ссылок на ресурсы (форумы, книги и пр.), где сидят мастодонты электроники и микропроцессорной техники?!
Изучение медленно двигается, нужна поддержка неравнодушных к технологиям и подпитка энергией от горящих своим делом людей.
Интернет не заменяет этой потребности и на ИИ нет особой надежды. Из всего множества видео нашел только канал Дмитрия Забарило, где есть полное пояснение по теме и отсылки к основам, но мне и этого мало, меня тянет узнать что там ниже. :ablobcat_yummy:
И ещё я забыл название книги по программированию на языке С, там были эксперименты на тему битов и упоминалось что якобы (не дословно) это может быть скучным для большинства, но не для энтузиастов. Никто не встречал такую книгу? Я коснулся темы битовых полей и узнал что на разных "аппаратах" поведение одного и того же кода может быть не предсказуемым.

#c
#gcc
#clang
#programming
#electronics
#microcontrollers
#microprocessors

📉 Intel: Our balance sheet is a smoking ruin, but we think our new chips work

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/08/07/intel_boots_18a_chips/

#intel #microprocessors #business #electronics #cpu

Superconducting Microprocessors? Turns Out They're Ultra-Efficient (2021)
https://spectrum.ieee.org/new-superconductor-microprocessor-yields-a-substantial-boost-in-efficiency
#ycombinator #hardware #superconductor #microprocessors

Is Artificial Intelligence good for humans?: https://www.aurianneor.org/is-artificial-intelligence-good-for-humans/

#AI, #ArtificialIntelligence, #aurianneor, #brain, #clip, #co2 #co2emission #computer, #cost, #DALLE, #ecology, #electricity, #EMDR, #energy, #environment, #facebook, #FeiFeiLi #generativeartificialintelligences, #google, #ChatGPT , #HumanBrainProject, #humans, #LLM, #microprocessors, #microsoft, #neuralnetworks, #OpenAI, #personaldata #program, #REM, #SamAltman, #slavery, #TSMC, #work

Felt just a bit sad about this news. The #Z80 was the second microprocessor that I ever coded #assembly on after the Intel x86. I remember burning an EPROM with a Z80 program that controlled the brightness level of an LED in one of my early practical microprocessor exercises in college.

https://www.techspot.com/news/102684-zilog-discontinuing-z80-microprocessor-after-almost-50-years.html

#Zilog #microprocessors

Google just released its AI chip rival to Nvidia
https://qz.com/google-ai-chip-nvidia-axion-arm-microsoft-1851397201
#ycombinator #Google #Nvidia #Application_specific_integrated_circuits #Amazon #Fabless_semiconductor_companies #Arm_Holdings #Electronic_design #Technology #Internet #Tensor_Processing_Unit #Blackwell #Graphics_processing_unit #Processor #META #AI_accelerators #Microprocessors #Facebook #Microsoft #ALPHABET #Quartz

Someone asked me about the PGA chip sitting on my Mac Studio in a recent toot showing some little glass figurines I brought back from Murano, Italy. They asked if it was a 386. It is, in fact, a ceraminc PGA 68-pin MC68HC000RC12. I didn't have a very clear shot of this chip I recently picked up off eBay, so I took one this morning to share with the person who asked -- and it turned out a rather striking image, to my eye.

I thought I'd share.

(I recently purchased the chip in new condition on eBay because of its nice, square purple ceramic and gold appearance (just to have as a desk bauble) and with a nod to the many MC68K systems I've used over the years -- and still use today.)

#coinforscale #Motorola #CPU #microprocessors #chips #hardware #Mac #Lisa #Amiga #AtariST #MegaDrive #AtariJaguar #PalmPilot #FreeScale #MC68000 #MC68K #ceramic #photo #coin #technology #vintagecomputing #retrocomputing