Here are the ten greatest microprocessors ever built:
4004
6502
6809
Z80
68000
8086
ARM1
TMS32010
PowerPC
R3000
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Ruminations on the semiconductor industry from David Manners
Well this is a funny list to be sure. Just what criteria were used to rank these? The 4004 might have been the first thing that could be called a microprocessor, but there was not a lot of greatness about it; the 8080 was arguably the first 'great' microprocessor.
As for the TMS32010, wasn't that a DSP chip?
As the first commercial microprocessor isn't the 4004 entitled to be regarded as great?
As for the 8080's claims, surely the 8086 as the first in the most lucrative microprocerssor family in history outdoes the 8080?
And the 32010 earned greatness because it was the DSP which launched the DSP industry. As for whether a DSP is a microprocessor, I think it is, but you can argue that till the cows come home.