The computer has developed over the past fifty years or so first slowly and then with great rapidity as new developments signaled changes in structure and operation. Computers have been made smaller and more powerful until many people have on their desk at home a computer more powerful than the largest mainframe of the 1950s. These advances have been made by a number of new and developing companies, notably those in the so-called Silicon Valley near San Francisco. These companies are in fierce competition for new designs, more powerful hardware, more versatile computer chips, and more inventive software. The underlying principles of computers are well understood, and every computer thus shares certain characteristics. Different companies develop different advantages, however, in terms of the specific design of their components and other features developed through extensive and costly research and development. Computers are relatively new and involve a number of features making them and their software difficult to protect from encroachments by other manufacturers and designers. Computer companies have had to develop a number of legal and corporate strategies to protect their discoveries, and the legislation and case law are still developing in this area.
The period from 1970 to the present is referred to as the fourth generation of computing, the period dominated by the microchip on which can be placed over 15,000 circuit elements. In 1971, Intel Corporation introduced the first microprocessor chip, which contained all the major logic circuitry of a computer on one chip. The 1977 the personal computer was becoming established. Microcomputers began to attract real business in 1979. Creative developments in software design fueled the sale of hardware, and through the 1980s the microcomputer eclipsed the mainframe and mini-computer markets (Dologite, 1992, pp. 375-376).
Advanced Micro Devices has become one of the leadi...