- After all these years I’ve finally realized that there are a lot of folks who are really interested in the early days of Atari and video games. So I’m writing this stuff down as best I can remember it. — Doug Neubauer, June 20, 2009
- Reverse engineering standard cell logic in the Intel 386 processor (righto.com)
The 386 processor (1985) was Intel’s most complex processor at the time, with 285,000 transistors. Intel had scheduled 50 person-years to design the processor, but it was falling behind schedule. The design team decided to automate chunks of the layout, developing “automatic place and route” software.1 This was a risky decision since if the software couldn’t create a dense enough layout, the chip couldn’t be manufactured. But in the end, the 386 finished ahead of schedule, an almost unheard-of accomplishment.