The crazy world of 8-Bit personal computing truly kicked off in 1972 with the release of the Intel 8008 microprocessor. The impact of which can still be felt today — in fact, some of the designs of modern “x86” processors are built upon the foundation that the 8008 built.
But did you know…
Another company managed to get a working 8-Bit microprocessor before Intel?
The Intel 8008 had almost no design similarities to the Intel 4004 (and was not a successor)?
The initial functional design of the Intel 8008… was not actually made by Intel?
It’s all true. The history of the Intel 8008 — the CPU that formed the basis for the 8080, 8086, and the entire x86 processor family — is wild and woolly. To say the least.
So buckle up, buttercup. This is one heck of a ride.
Not based on the 4004
Let’s get this out of the way, right up front.
The Intel 4004 microprocessor was released in 1971 (the year before the 8008). The 4004 is a 4-Bit processor, while the 8008 is an 8-Bit processor.
These facts led many to believe that the 8008 was an upgraded, 8-bit version of the 4004. An easy assumption to make.
However…
The 8008 microprocessor was not based on the 4004. The 8008 was, in fact, a completely different design — not originally designed by Intel — that happened at roughly the same time as the 4004.
The Intel 4004 - Photo credit: Thomas Nguyen
These two chips are wildly different — the fact that the “4004” and “8008” have similar names is nothing but marketing.
So, if the 8008 was not originally designed by Intel… where the heck did it come from?
Well… San Antonio, Texas. Obviously.
Computer Terminal Corp
A company down in Texas named “Computer Terminal Corporation” was building a programmable computer terminal with an 8-bit CPU design.
A truly cool looking machine, with a massively widescreen CRT monitor: The Datapoint 2200.
Fun historical tidbit: One of the goals of the Datapoint 2200 was to replace the IBM Punch Card. Towards that end, the widescreen monitor on the Datapoint 2200 was almost exactly the same dimensions (displaying 12 rows of 80 characters) as those Punch Cards.
An IBM Punch Card
But this was 1969.
Which meant that there were no off-the-shelf CPUs that those nerdy Texans could use to build their 8-Bit machine. So they did what any good nerds would do… they built their own CPU design — using a wide array of individual components — on a large board.
A shot of the “core CPU board” of the Datapoint 2200. Photo courtesy: oldcomputers.net
The result is an “8-Bit CPU” (on a big ole’ board) powering the world’s first personal computer.
Historical Argument Time: Whether or not the Datapoint 2200 qualifies as the first “personal computer” has been debated for decades. One thing is certain… it is the first mass produced, programmable computer terminal. You could program in BASIC and run your programs locally. And, considering the size of the machine, it fits the definition of a Personal Computer — before any others were mass produced — in the opinion of The Lunduke Journal.
Obviously, this approach to the CPU board had some down-sides.
The vast number of individual an unique components on the CPU board for the 2200 meant that shortages or changes in any individual part could cause delays, re-designs, or wild pricing fluctuations. Plus it meant that building each CPU board was a time-intensive process. Then there was the heat issue. That board generated a lot of heat.
A Datapoint 2200 with the case removed. Photo courtesy: oldcomputers.net
To resolve these issues, Computer Terminal Corporation began working with two companies. Both competing to shrink large portions of the Datapoint’s 2200 8-Bit CPU into as small a number of chips as possible.
Those companies: Intel and Texas Instruments.
The TMX-1795 & Intel 1201
Intel and Texas Instruments were in a fierce competition to build the first 8-Bit microprocessor… based (very, very closely) on the designs of the Datapoint 2200. Both companies were, quite literally, miniaturizing the 2200’s CPU board design into a single chip.
It was a race. And these companies needed to move fast.
The first company to complete a functional microprocessor was Texas Instruments, with the TMX-1795.
The TMX-1795 CPU. Photo courtesy: Computer History Museum
Unfortunately for Texas Instruments, Computer Terminal Corporation was disappointed by the performance of the TMX-1795 (as it performed far slower than the Datapoint 2200’s larger, custom CPU board).
A few months later, Intel would also cross the finish line: providing the Intel 1201 CPU for evaluation to be used in the Datapoint 2200.
The Intel 1201, just like Texas Instrument’s offering, was simply not performing well enough.
In the end, Computer Terminal Corporation opted to not use either microprocessor — sticking with their larger, in-house designed board for the final release of the Datapoint 2200.
Texas Instruments, which had accomplished something truly remarkable — the development of the world’s first 8-Bit microprocessor (based on the design of the Datapoint) — opted to shelve their TMX-1795 entirely. It never went into production and never got any public release… existing only as a handful of demo and prototype units.
Intel, on the other hand, had other ideas…
The deal with Intel
Not long after the Intel 1201 project had been dropped… Seiko approached Intel about the idea of using this new 8-Bit CPU in a desktop calculator. But… who owned the rights to the 8-Bit 1201 chip? Intel or Computer Terminal Corp?
Luckily for Intel, the deal with Computer Terminal Corporation was extremely vague. In fact, it existed entirely as notes on a purchase order. There was no other contract, whatsoever. Seriously.
One of the most critical deals in all of computer history exists as nothing more than a few lines on a purchase order. How crazy is that?
But, as luck would have it, we have an actual copy of that purchase order.
This purchase order was uncovered and preserved by the sales rep
Note the purchase amount: $3,000,000. That’s for 100,000 Intel 1201 chips… at $30 each.
Now here’s where everything gets a bit... funky. We're getting into brutal, cut-throat business here.
See that note scribbled at the top of the Purchase Order? “P.O. on hold - awaiting customer schedule.”
The reason for that note: Due to financial issues, Computer Terminal Corporation put a small delay on the CPU project. But then, when the project resumed, Intel missed the deadline (regardless of the delay). And the chip, when delivered, performed far slower than expected.
Plus… No Intel 1201 chips were ever delivered.
So… who owed who money? Based on the wording in the Purchase Order… it wasn’t at all cut and dried. This could have turned into a long legal battle to settle that question.
Intel used this opportunity to pressure Computer Terminal Corporation into giving the entire intellectual property of the 1201 chip to Intel… in exchange for simply dropping the matter entirely.
Intel would then, almost immediately, turn around and begin selling a slightly modified 1201 CPU (now called the “8008” for marketing purposes).
The 8008’s legacy
That new 8008 CPU would eventually lead to the 8080, 8086, 80286, and the full line of x86 processors that would almost totally define Intel and the PC industry for the next several decades.
While the 8008 was not the only 8-Bit CPU to exist — the Z80, the 6502, and so many others appeared in the years that followed — the impact that it had on the world of computing is truly mind-boggling.
And the company that did all the initial design — Computer Terminal Corporation — didn’t see a penny for it. They, literally, gave it to Intel. And, boy-oh-boy, did Intel run with it.
Because it deserves to be marveled at… here is a detailed die shot of the Intel 8008. Ain’t it purdy?
The world’s first 8-Bit CPU… really wasn’t the world’s first. Texas Instruments beat Intel by a few months… but they never went into production.
Historical Tidbit: Even though the TMX-1795 never went into production, Texas Instruments filed several patents on it over the course of the next few years. And, being as both the TMX-1795 and the 8008 were based on the exact same system (the Datapoint 2200)… this laid the groundwork for lawsuits galore.
And Intel isn’t really the company responsible for creating the instruction set and architectural design of the 8008 — which formed the basis of almost their entire processor line for decades. That honor goes to Computer Terminal Corporation… of San Antonio, Texas.
Wild, right?
Explains why this poor lady, from an original Datapoint 2200 advertisement, has the "I just got forced into giving away all of our hard work to Intel" look.
Groupthink, Tech Journalism, & The Lunduke Journal
Why The Lunduke Journal uses the "10th Man Rule" to counter groupthink in the Tech Industry. (And why you'll definitely disagree with Lunduke sometimes.)
Non-Woke "Political Protest Forks" like XLibre & Redot are thriving. Non-DEl Linux Distributions like Open Mandriva are as well. But Woke projects? Not doing so well.
Ads are filling the entirety of the Web -- websites, podcasts, YouTube videos, etc. -- at an increasing rate. Prices for those ad placements are plummeting. Consumers are desperate to use ad-blockers to make the web palatable. Google (and others) are desperate to break and block ad-blockers. All of which results in... more ads and lower pay for creators.
It's a fascinatingly annoying cycle. And there's only one viable way out of it.
Stick it to Big Tech, 50% off everything at The Lunduke Journal
What The Lunduke Journal does is unique among Tech Journalists.
Because of you, The Lunduke Journal has been able to shine a light on the shady practices of Big Tech corporations and Tech Foundations alike. Been able to publish massive leaks from whistleblowers and do real, deep, investigative journalism on everything from Open Source projects to the biggest Big Tech firms.
Stories which have had a real, measurable impact on the world of Tech and Computing. (And, of course, we’ve had a little nerdy fun along the way.)
If those organizations had their way, The Lunduke Journal would be wiped off the face of the Earth.
But, luckily, they don’t have that power. Thanks to you.
To every one of you who grabs a new subscription this week — and those who have already subscribed — I owe you a high five.
Many called XLibre & Redot nothing more than “political protests” that would quickly die and be forgotten. Boy were those naysayers wrong.
Over the last year, we’ve seen a couple of high profile forks, of large Open Source projects, which were inspired — in part — by a desire to move away from the political discrimination and Leftist Extremism within the original projects.
At the time, when each of these forked projects were started, many predicted that they would go nowhere. That they were nothing more than “political protest forks” — and they would die out quickly.
Let’s check in on both of those project to see if that has happened.
XLibre - The Xorg Fork
Since officially launching, at the end of June (last month), the XLibre project has published a handful of official releases (now up to version 25.0.0.5)… with a significant number of changes and fixes.
In fact, considering the significant new features (such as XNamespace Extensions), the first release of XLibre is larger (in every way I can think to measure) than any Xorg release in the last decade. With the number of contributors growing.
How about Operating System support? Many predicted that XLibre would be ignored by every Linux distribution on the planet. That it would go nowhere and nobody would use it.
According to the “Are we XLibre yet?” wiki, a number of systems have already (officially) adopted XLibre. Including: Devuan, Artix, GhostBSD, and (my personal favorite) OpenMandriva.
This is important to note: All of that support has occurred even though XLibre has only existed for one month. Several systems already officially supporting it is nothing short of “crazy impressive”. Borderline unprecedented.
In addition, a number of systems have 3rd party repositories which allow users to install and use XLibre. Including: Arch, FreeBSD, Gentoo, NixOS, Slackware, and (seriously) macOS.
In short: Growing group of developers. Rapidly growing platform support. New releases which put the original project (Xorg) to shame.
Redot - The Godot Game Engine Fork
The Redot project — which forked off of Godot back in October of 2024 — had a stable release (4.3.1) back in June, and just had a new test release (4.4 Alpha 2). Both with both new features and fixes.
In fact, Redot has had 13 releases since the project started late last year.
With an absolutely massive number of commits since then.
In short: Steady, new releases. New features and bug fixes. Both stable and testing releases.
These Projects are Thriving
It’s hard to look at either of these projects and come to any conclusion other than they are absolutely thriving.
At this point, it’s looking like those who predicted rapid failure for these “Political Forks” were not only wrong… but wildly, obscenely wrong.
Why The Lunduke Journal uses the “10th Man Rule” to counter groupthink in the Tech Industry.
If my audience always agrees with me — 100% of the time — I’m probably doing something wrong.
That’s core to the ethos of The Lunduke Journal.
Any Brand X Tech Journalist can publish articles and shows filled with ideas, and facts, which their audience is known to already approve of. It’s easy to play it safe. To tell people — and corporations — what they want to hear. To pander.
We have enough Tech Journalists who do exactly that. Heck, we’re lousy with ‘em.
Put another way: The Lunduke Journal is not here to make friends. Not here to win some “Tech Reporter Popularity Contest”(tm).
Why The Lunduke Journal Exists
The Lunduke Journal exists to tell the truth about the Tech Industry (and world of Computing) — as I see it — no matter what. To tell the stories the other Tech Journalists are terrified of touching, for fear of losing that afore mentioned popularity contest.
The Lunduke Journal publishes leaks from major corporations — royally ticking off all of Big Tech in the process.
The Lunduke Journal shines a light on the discriminatory, DEI, & woke practices of Tech — causing nearly every Tech Industry person, with a Left-leaning political stance, to label me enemy number one (often attacking me, with wildly vulgar statements, in a desperate attempt to discredit me).
The Lunduke Journal investigates the shady business practices of Open Source Foundations and organizations — resulting in nearly every leader within the Free and Open Source world to either fear or despise me (often both).
In fact, The Lunduke Journal publishes stories — ranging from investigative pieces to pure opinion and analysis — which will, undoubtedly, infuriate (or at least annoy) every single nerd on this green Earth of ours.
Prefer Linux, Windows, or Mac? Left, Center, or Right politically? Pro or Anti-Government control over Tech? Star Wars or Star Trek?
Never fear. There will surely be a Lunduke Journal story which you will strongly disagree with. Just give it a little time.
Let me tell you why.
The Tenth Man Principle
Groupthink can be a very dangerous thing. Especially when you already agree with the consensus of the group.
There is a concept where, if 9 men all agree on something — an idea, a fact, a strategy — it is the duty of the 10th man to take a different approach. To pursue a contrary idea or strategy.
In some ways this is a variation on “Playing Devil’s Advocate”, but I prefer the “10th Man Principle” — it is more focused on challenging an entrenched consensus.
Which is where The Lunduke Journal comes in.
When I sit down and read Tech News — and listen to Tech Podcasts or Videos — and 90% of the coverage is all repeating the same position… whenever an extreme consensus has been reached… a red flag is raised. The 10th Man Principle is triggered.
My job is then to take whatever that topic is — a piece of breaking Tech news, a historical fact, an opinion on how Tech should be governed, etc. — and spin it around. Look at it from a completely different angle — and pursue that new line of thinking.
This isn’t about simply being contrarian for the sake of being contrarian.
I must investigate that topic rigorously. Focus on known, verifiable facts. Challenge any assumptions made (by myself or others) in whatever that consensus is. Dig deep. Dig where others have not. See where that investigation leads.
Sometimes that investigation leads to nothing overly interesting or worth publishing. Other times… the results are illuminating and profoundly valuable.
If you’ve followed The Lunduke Journal for any length of time, you’ve seen the results of this ethos. Over and over again.
And I Love It
There are, obviously, some challenges with this approach. To put it mildly.
Corporate sponsorship is — for reasons I clearly do not need to explain — impossible.
Luckily, The Lunduke Journal has an amazing (and generous) audience which keeps the lights on, making corporate sponsorship completely unnecessary. So Big Tech can kiss my tuchus.
On that note, getting employees of any Corporation or Foundation to talk “on the record” is simply not going to happen. In fact, many organizations have firm (and, often, stated) policies of “Don’t talk to Lunduke… ever”.
But, you know what? The brave whistleblowers within those companies have proven far more enlightening than any official statement from an executive could hope to be.
Oh, and that “Tech Journalism Popularity Contest”(tm)? Pshht. Forget about it. Not a chance. Not as long as I continue with the “10th Man Principle”.
If I’m doing my job right, the list of people who consider me an enemy of whatever entrenched, consensus position they hold… will continue to grow.
While, at the same time, the rag-tag group of Lunduke Journal supporters — those amazing nerds who see the need for this work (even though, on occasion, I publish something which challenges one of their deeply held convictions… or, perhaps, because of it) — will also continue to grow.
Selfies, Drivers Licenses, & Locations. All made publicly available by the developer.
The “Tea App” — an online dating app marketed as a dating tool that “protects women” — has been hacked. And a lot of data has been exposed. An extreme amount.
Not the first major breach this year. And it certainly won’t be the last.
First published over on 4Chan (of course), the “hack” of Tea App wasn’t even really much of a “hack”. The developers of Tea App apparently simply left the user data open for the world to download at their leisure.
And Tea App was becoming pretty popular — which means roughly 60 GB of user data was made available before the developers finally thought about locking things down.
What kind of data was made publicly available — because, presumably, the developers simply didn’t think about “security” much — by this Tea App Hack?
Selfies. Drivers licenses. All manner of private information which will, no doubt, be exploited by unscrupulous types over the days to come.
Even worse — meta data appears to have been preserved on uploaded photos. Meaning that many of the user selfies included location data (in addition to the address on the drivers license). Which said unscrupulous types have already begun using to create maps of Tea App users.
The developers of Tea App have put out a statement which says 59,000 images used for “account verification” were made available (read: Government ID). Which would already be catastrophic… however a quick look at details of the data (including the file size alone) would suggest that number could be much, much larger.
Here is the full statement from the developer:
Which brings us to an important lesson which we — as humans — never seem to learn:
If user data is stored, it will get hacked.
It’s simply a matter of time.
There are currently close to 15 Billion (with a B) accounts listed on Have I Been Pwned. And those are simply from hacks and breaches which were reported to that one website.
The reality is, the vast majority of hacks and data breaches are never made publicly known. Either by the people doing the hacking, or by the company / government which got hacked.
As systems continue to grow ever more complex and interconnected — and more systems become AI-developed (aka “Vibe Coded”) — these hacks and breaches become easier to pull off.
Combine that with the ever-expanding quantity of data — and the growing number of services storing it — and we are quickly reaching a point where everyone will have at least some of their data breached at some point. For some people it will happen regularly. Repeatedly.
And those will just be the breaches we find out about.
The only way to minimize the damage of such hacks & breaches is to minimize the amount and type of data stored, long term, by a service.
Need pictures of government ID for age verification? Delete that picture immediately after verification.
Need payment and shipping information? Delete all of it immediately after payment is processed and shipment is verified.
Need location data (GPS, IP, etc.)? Delete it immediately once done with it.
You get the point. Unless a piece of personal data is absolutely 100% necessary, delete it.
It’s hard for a hacker to obtain files… that aren’t there.
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