Title
Zilog Z8000 microprocessor oral history panel
Catalog Number
102658075
Type
Document
Description
Key members of Zilog's management and the design team for the Z8000 microprocessor discuss the efforts to design, produce, and market the device in the second half of the 1970s and early 1980s. The Z8000 microprocessor embodied at a very early stage many design features and approaches that later became widely adopted in microprocessor technology, and the oral history panel discusses these in detail. The panel also chronicles the competition between the Z8000, the Motorola 68000, and the Intel 8086 microprocessors, covering technical comparisons and business realities. Discussed in particular depth is the competitive stance that Zilog's backing firm, Exxon Enterprises, took toward IBM in this period, the effect of this stance on IBM's selection of a microprocessor for its IBM PC, and the consequences of that selection on the competitive success of the Z8000. Throughout the discussion, the panel offers information and insight into the corporate history of Zilog, including its strategy, growth, constraints, and role in the development of microprocessor technology.
Date
2007-04-27
Contributor
Brock, David C., Editor
|
Faggin, Federico, Interviewee
|
Peuto, Bernard L., Interviewee
|
Shima, Masatoshi, Interviewee
|
Slater, Michael, Moderator
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Ungermann, Ralph, Interviewee
|
Publisher
Computer History Museum
Place of Publication
Mountain View, CA, USA
Extent
27 p.
Category
Transcription
Subject
semiconductor history; Zilog, Inc.; Faggin, Federico; Peuto, Bernard; Shima, Masatoshi; Ungermann, Ralph; Zilog Z8000; Zilog Z80; Zilog Z8; Microprocessors; Microcontrollers; IBM; Motorola Inc.; Intel; Olivetti; Microprocessor architecture; Logic design; Exxon; AMD
Collection Title
Oral history collection