Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Happy Birthday! X86 Turns 30 Years Old

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the break-out-the-chips-and-dips dept.

javipas writes "On June 8th, 1978 Intel introduced its first 16-bit microprocessor, the 8086. Intel used then "the dawn of a new era" slogan, and they probably didn't know how certain they were. Thirty years later we've seen the evolution of PC architectures based on the x86 instruction set that has been the core of Intel, AMD or VIA processors. Legendary chips such as Intel 80386, 80486, Pentium and AMD Athlon have a great debt to that original processor, and as recently was pointed out on Slashdot, x86 evolution still leads the revolution. Happy birthday and long live x86."

25 of 362 comments (clear)

  1. Intel's anniversary too by suso · · Score: 4, Funny

    Intel's own 40th anniversary is coming up on July 18th. I guess the microcomputer industry is officially over the hill.

    Nice self-reference double entendre Taco!

    1. Re:Intel's anniversary too by canuck57 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Intel's own 40th anniversary is coming up on July 18th. I guess the microcomputer industry is officially over the hill.

      Sure beats being under the hill.

  2. Might want to check your FPU by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    The story is a few days early. I think you may have a rounding bug somewhere.

    1. Re:Might want to check your FPU by somersault · · Score: 5, Funny

      I did wonder how they weren't sure how certain they were. Perhaps they weren't certain how certain they were but were certain how right they were. These guys should be building quantum CPUs by now with such confuddling principles of certainty.

      --
      which is totally what she said
    2. Re:Might want to check your FPU by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Happy Birthday! X86 Turns 29.991803 Years Old.

    3. Re:Might want to check your FPU by everphilski · · Score: 2, Funny

      Slashdot's got to be early on a few news articles to make up for being behind on so many.

      Oh wait, did I say a few? ;)

    4. Re:Might want to check your FPU by MiniMike · · Score: 5, Funny

      I thought it was early so they could dup it in time for the real anniversary.

    5. Re:Might want to check your FPU by somersault · · Score: 2, Funny

      There's a jahookin' load more where that came from!

      Although I don't think I invented confuddling (confuzzling is another good variation), and it was my sister who invented jahookin' :P Everyone should embiggen their vocabulary from time to time, though unfortunately a lot of people will just question the cromulence of any new words :/

      --
      which is totally what she said
    6. Re:Might want to check your FPU by Kazymyr · · Score: 2, Funny

      No, you may want to check your FPU, because in fact it's 29.99178607283015423929907821484 years.

      --
      I hadn't known there were so many idiots in the world until I started using the Internet -Stanislaw Lem
  3. Happy 29.9999999876547542 by Shadow+Wrought · · Score: 5, Funny

    Signed,
    your great-great-great grandson,
    Pentium

    --
    If brevity is the soul of wit, then how does one explain Twitter?
  4. Happy Birthday by marto · · Score: 5, Funny

    .model small .stack .data
    message db "Happy Birthday!", "$" .code
    main proc
          mov ax,seg message
          mov ds,ax
          mov ah,09
          lea dx,message
          int 21h
          mov ax,4c00h
          int 21h
    main endp
    end main

  5. Happy Happy Birthday by triffid_98 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Happy birthday my Intel overlords, and a pox on whomever designed that ugly memory map.

  6. Re:Its hard to believe ... by Rhapsody+Scarlet · · Score: 2, Funny

    We've been using it for 100% of mine. The 80386 was still shiny and new when I was born.

    See, this is one the reasons I come to Slashdot. Other discussion boards make me feel so old because I remember using my old 486DX2/66.

  7. Re:Itanium sank by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Itaniums were great processors. I have a bank of surplus ones installed in my oven as a replacement heating element.

  8. What other discussion boards? by Futurepower(R) · · Score: 2, Funny

    What other discussion boards?

  9. Re:How Long? by B3ryllium · · Score: 3, Funny

    Hrm, I wonder what this HAL thing is ... must be a virus! I'd better remove it.

  10. June 8th by coren2000 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Why couldn't the poster wait for June 8th to post this story... its *MY* birthday today dang it... x86 is totally stealing my day....

    Jerk.

  11. Happy birthday! by Nullav · · Score: 5, Funny

    Now die, you sputtering son of a whore. :D

    --
    I just read Slashdot for the articles.
  12. Re:How Long? by meadowsoft · · Score: 5, Funny

    I wouldn't do that, Dave...

  13. Report to Carousel by xPsi · · Score: 5, Funny

    X86 Turns 30 Years Old Happy Birthday! But do not be alarmed. That flashing red light on your palm is a natural part of our social order. On Lastday, please report to Carousel for termination at your earliest convenience. The computer is your friend. Oh, wait, you ARE the computer...
    --
    i\hbar\dot{\psi}=\hat{H}\psi
  14. Re:Die already ! by timster · · Score: 3, Funny

    Nonsense -- it's the LACK of a plural second-person pronoun in "proper" English that is disgusting (and inefficient). "Y'all" is the best hope we have for fixing this bug, and y'all should start using it as much as possible.

    --
    I have seen the future, and it is inconvenient.
  15. not fair, this is too Do$$y by CDMA_Demo · · Score: 4, Funny

    09 and 21h are MS-DOS interrupts. I bet that wasn't around when the first x86 appeared on the planet....try again mr. jedi

  16. So? by Bluesman · · Score: 4, Funny

    What's so special about this?

    Wake me up when it turns 32.

    --
    If moderation could change anything, it would be illegal.
  17. Happy Birthday! by ucblockhead · · Score: 4, Funny

    I will declare a far pointer in its honor.

    --
    The cake is a pie
  18. Re:Its hard to believe ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    The thing that makes this statement funny to me is that my dad lived on a farm and there was a sizeable hill between his house and the school about a mile away, and was something like a hundred feet. So when it did snow, he literally had to walk uphill both ways... in the snow :P