Busicoms

Busicoms refers to a series of early desktop electronic calculators produced by the Japanese company Busicom. These machines, introduced in the early 1970s, were significant for their compact size and advanced features for the time, utilizing integrated circuits. The Busicom 141-PF, released in 1971, is particularly notable as it was the first mass-produced calculator to incorporate a microprocessor.

The development of the microprocessor for the Busicom 141-PF was a collaborative effort between Busicom and Intel. Intel engineers, including Federico Faggin, Ted Hoff, and Stanley Mazor, designed the Intel 4004 chip, which was a groundbreaking achievement. This single chip performed the functions of a central processing unit (CPU), paving the way for the modern computer.

Busicom faced financial difficulties and eventually outsourced the production of its calculators. The intellectual property rights to the microprocessor technology developed by Intel were eventually transferred to Intel, a move that proved immensely beneficial for Intel's future. The Busicom calculators themselves were relatively short-lived in the market as technology rapidly advanced, but their legacy is cemented by the foundational role they played in the development of microprocessors and the subsequent personal computer revolution.