"K6LHA" Len Anderson wrote...
Almost ALL developments in electronics began as industry projects, even
the IC. There is some controversy in the industry whether Intel or TI
made the "first IC." Intel's first IC was for an Asian customer to use
in a four-function calculator.

Intel's first commercial IC products were static (volatile) RAM chips (like
the
3101) which replaced the magnetic cores used even in solid-state computers
of the era (1960s). It wasn't until 1971 that Intel marketed the first
monolithic
microprocessor product, the 4004. Originally designed, as Mr. Anderson said,
for the (now defunct) Japanese customer Busicom for a desk calculator.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Busicom