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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices
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To: combjelly who wrote (544665)1/18/2010 2:40:16 PM
From: i-node  Read Replies (3) of 1574097
 
Most of the early computers were built on government grants. When transistors, and later ICs were developed, the government was the major consumer of them. In fact, it was because of government programs like the Apollo program and the Minuteman program that ICs became commercially viable. They were the only market for $1000 ICs in the early 1960s and consumed all of the production in the early years.

What is your point? This was not the government pouring money into "research" for unknown objectives. There were very specific applications in mind for which computers were developed. And while the first few UNIVACs did go for government applications -- BOUGHT AND PAID FOR -- within a very short period (maybe a year or two) they were rolling them out for corporate applications.

AFAIK, the early concepts of ICs were for commercial applications. I believe the earliest relevant patent referred to a "hearing aid" as an example application.

I have heard that the Apollo program was the first to employ integrated circuits but I've never seen any evidence of this. There were certainly consumer electronics on the market before '69 having ICs, one of which was the aforementioned hearing aid application which was mid-60s.

The point is that the government did not hand anyone a sackfull of money and say, "Go create an integrated circuit" -- the way you people are advocating they should do with alternativer energy.
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