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total of 320 4-bit words), and four EPROM s (to store a total of
1,024 8-bit words). The board was supported with rudiment-
ary software and design aids which were developed in-house, as
well as by a select group of early Intel customers and university
researchers brought together by the marketing group.
The SIM 4-01 board and an inexpensive MP 7-01 EPROM
programmer, also developed by Hoff's engineers, caught the
attention of marketing. According to Hoff, marketing originally
suggested just giving the SIM 4 and MP 7 boards to important
customers, but he opposed that idea, “feeling that we would
soon want to stop such a drain on resources. Besides, we could
sell them at a modest profit while our customers would find it
much cheaper to pay such a price than try to develop their own
version.” Although intended by Intel as a program development
and marketing aid to showcase Intel's new semiconductor de-
vices, the SIM 4-01 was a general purpose 4-bit computer - the
first microprocessor-based computer ever designed and manu-
factured. In spite of its limited computing power, the SIM 4
board was incorporated directly into a number of low-volume
products. For instance, in 1973, Action Communication Sys-
tems of Dallas developed a high-speed dial-up communications
controller in which Intel's SIM 4 boards were used as front-end
processors. 2
Kutt was well aware of the microprocessor and EPROM de-
velopments at Intel. On the very day of KSI 's incorporation,
Hank Smith, who was in charge of Intel's Micro Computer Sys-
tems Group, signed a shipment invoice for a SIM 4-01 develop-
ment system, an MP 7-01 EPROM programmer, and a 4004
chip set, together valued at $1,231. The shipment was destined
for KSI . In spite of Hoff's objections to making the SIM 4-01 a
free gift to Intel's customers, Kutt's order was delivered to him
at no charge. In fact, the board received by Kutt was one of
the earliest versions of the SIM 4, bearing the model name Intel
4004 μ-Computer.
 
 
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