front panel display for a modern PC

[dwight elvey]

> From: cclist at sydex.com
>
> On 2 Mar 2008 at 7:18, dwight elvey wrote:
>
>> The cost of a mask ROM was expensive to develop.
>> The IMSAI and Altair were created just after Intel created the floating
>> gate EPROM. It was a step the lead to the end of the front panel.
>> I consider the EPROM to be more significant to computing than the
>> 4004 was. Others were on the way to creating their own uP's. It
>> was the EPROM that lowered the development cost making even the
>> shoe string shops able to create products.
>
> EPROM dates from 1971, before the 8080. Even then, the bipolar PROM
> was around (PROM dates from 1956, albeit not as an IC). Indeed, my
> first front-panel substitute 8080 system used bipolar TTL PROM and
> not an UV EPROM.
>

Hi
 I'm quite aware of when the first EPROMs were made. I worked at
Intel for a number of years. What I meant was the use of EPROMs
as a way to debug code. Bipolar PROMs were an expensive way
to debug code for small shops.
 Even EPROMs were expensive until the 2716s dropped below
10 in cost. Programming EPROMs didn't get covenient until
the 2732 ( or was it 2764 ) came with the faster programming
algorithms.
 There was a transision time before thinking changed and front
panels lost their glitter. 
Dwight

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