The Intel Trinity

[Recorded: July 24, 2014]
In today’s world of Google, Facebook, and Twitter, the digital age has all but forgotten its beginnings and the man who created the device upon which all of these empires rested, the scientist behind two of the greatest inventions of the last century. Once hailed as the “Mayor of Silicon Valley,” Robert Noyce and his colleagues, the "Traitorous Eight,” sparked the technological revolution that we are still reaping the rewards from today. Noyce would eventually go on to cofound Intel, one of the most valuable companies in the world. Now, in his comprehensive and entertaining new book, The Intel Trinity: How Robert Noyce, Gordon Moore, and Andy Grove Built the World’s Most Important Company, well-connected and trusted technology writer Michael S. Malone brings to life the story behind the company that made possible the personal computer, the Internet, telecommunications and the personal electronics revolution.
On a warm September morning in 1957 seven key employees of Shockley Transistor of Mountain View, California decided to quit their jobs and strike out on their own, marking the beginning of what would become Silicon Valley. These men would go on to form Fairchild Semiconductor and revolutionize the way we work and live. Drawing on unprecedented access to the Intel archives and on interviews and oral histories from its earliest days through the present, Malone reveals how each member of the founding Intel trio brought different things at different times. Noyce was the charismatic leader and the most respected high-tech figure of his generation. Gordon Moore set the law that accelerated the pace of innovation-the biennial doubling of computer chip performance. Andy Grove was the greatest and most ferocious businessman of his generation. Together, these three achieved Intel’s historic success.

[@kasimirdenhertog3516]

Good talk, touches on most points mentioned in the book in an entertaining way. I’ve just finished reading The Intel Trinity, the most captivating part is about Andy Grove’s background, which is vividly described by Malone. He frames the ‘trinity’ in a convincing way, perhaps he elaborates/speculates on the intra-personal a bit much. Would’ve liked to read more personal experiences from all of these interviews he had with Noyce, given the fact he’s the reporter that spent the most time with the man.

[@statebased]

"you got punished for not being enough of a risk taker under Steve Jobs and Cook is not that guy... I think the age of Apple as the most exciting company on the planet is probably done".

[@EntropyConcept]

(Meanwhile in 2021)

[@statebased]

@@EntropyConcept That a good comment! I quoted that statement out of the video because it "resonated" six years ago. Yet now, with practically free money, major governmental powers that hustle each other, the game is not just to take big risks.

[@MiVidaLoca1024]

I would credit Intel's 808x success on the fact the IBM chose this chip family for the IBM PC. The Motorola 6800 and 68000 had much cleaner architectures.

[@adrianmonk4440]

REMEMBER INTEL 8088/ 8086 to 80386 (& beyond (stuck with architecture)) HAD 16 SECTIONS OF 16,384 BYTES OF MEMORY ADDRESSING. THIS IS BC AT THE TIME OF INITIAL DESIGN THEY COULD NOT CONCEIVE OF CODE LARGER THAN THAT.
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They used segment registers and "LOGICAL" memory on disk to work around that limit.
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Windows 10 Operating System (64 Bit). etc. has 12.6 Gigabytes (GB) of CODE. AI software could use the web &/or cloud for more, Especially for image recognition.
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The game is still firmware / software married to hardware. For example, Apple designs many of its phone ICs or contracts them to make its firmware / software, & phone HW, System PROPRIETARY.

[@bretwebber7484]

Wazzup 😊!