Michael Slater collection on microprocessors
Finding aid prepared by Bo Doub, Kim Hayden, and Sara Chabino Lott
Processing of this collection was made possible through generous funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, administered
through the Council on Library and Information Resources' Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives grant.
Computer History Museum
1401 N. Shoreline Blvd.
Mountain View, CA, 94043
(650) 810-1010
research@computerhistory.org
March 2017
Title: Michael Slater collection on microprocessors
Identifier/Call Number: X4062.2007
Contributing Institution:
Computer History Museum
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
10.42 Linear feet,
8 record cartons and 1 manuscript box
Date (bulk): Bulk, 1987-1999
Date (inclusive): 1977-2000
Abstract: The Michael Slater collection on microprocessors contains conference proceedings and other publications focusing on microprocessor
technologies and industry trends. The collection spans 1977 to 2000, with most of the material dating from 1987 to 1999 when
Slater founded and led the company MicroDesign Resources (MDR). The collection contains conference material, analyst reports,
manuals, and specifications documenting microprocessors and microcomputers in the 1980s and 1990s. An expert in microprocessor
equipment, Slater founded the well-known newsletter Microprocessor Report used by engineers and industry professionals. In
1999, Slater left MDR and it was acquired by Cahners, becoming part of the analyst group In-Stat.
creator:
Slater, Michael, 1955-
Access Restrictions
The collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
The Computer History Museum (CHM) can only claim physical ownership of the collection. Users are responsible for satisfying
any claims of the copyright holder. Requests for copying and permission to publish, quote, or reproduce any portion of the
Computer History Museum’s collection must be obtained jointly from both the copyright holder (if applicable) and the Computer
History Museum as owner of the material.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of Item], [Date], Michael Slater collection on microprocessors, Lot X4062.2007, Box [#], Folder [#], Catalog
[#], Computer History Museum.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Michael Slater, 2007.
Biographical/Historical Note
Michael Slater was born in 1955 in Los Angeles. He attended UC Berkeley, earning his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering
in 1977. While at UC Berkeley, Slater developed an interest in microprocessors, and after graduating, he went to work at Hewlett-Packard,
where he developed circuit designs for microprocessor-based systems and wrote training manuals. In 1980, Slater left HP to
teach at various institutions, including University of Santa Clara, and started working on freelance electronic design projects
under his company Gryphon Engineering. In 1987, Slater wrote Microprocessor-Based Design: A Comprehensive Guide to Effective
Hardware Design, and founded his next company, MicroDesign Resources (MDR). That same year, Slater began editing and publishing
the Microprocessor Report newsletter, which provided current microprocessor information and analysis, and in 1988 he founded
the MDR conferences Microprocessor Forum and Embedded Processor Forum. MDR was acquired by Ziff-Davis in 1992 and Slater left
the company in 1999, the same year it was acquired by Cahners. In 2010, the Linley Group purchased Microprocessor Report,
which it still publishes as of March 2017. After leaving MDR, Slater continued his freelance work, now under the business
name Topaz Web Solutions, and he founded Fotiva in 2000. After Fotiva was bought by Adobe, Slater worked as Adobe’s director
of digital imaging research until 2006. In 2007, Slater founded Webvanta, a website development company, and ran it until
his death on June 19, 2016.
Scope and Content of the Collection
The Michael Slater collection on microprocessors contains conference material, analyst reports, manuals, and specifications
collected by Michael Slater, primarily during his time as principal analyst at MDR from 1987 to 1999. The collection as a
whole spans 1977 to 2000. Topics that are prominent in this collection include microprocessors, microcomputer industry trends,
RISC architecture, and transputers. A little over a third of the collection is made up of proceedings from conferences and
other events -- especially the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) and COMDEX (Computer Dealers' Exhibition).
Many of the events in this part of the collection were organized either by Microsoft or Intel. This collection also contains
Slater’s collected newsletters, analyst reports, books, and technical papers. Analyst reports cover computer industry trends
and forecasts for various technologies and the newsletter with the largest holdings in this collection is MDR’s Technology
Roadmap. The last part of this collection comprises manuals, specifications, and product descriptions for microprocessor-related
products, with equipment from Advanced Micro Devices and Intel being especially well-documented.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into 3 series:
Series 1, Conference and symposium material, 1978-1998, bulk 1988-1998
Series 2, Reports, books, and newsletters, 1979-2000
Series 3, Manuals and product descriptions, 1977-1996
Separated Material
Physical objects and ephemera were separated from the main collection. These objects are made up of binders and folders for
MDR’s annual Microprocessor Forum with chips embedded in their covers. To view catalog records for the separated material
search the CHM catalog at
http://www.computerhistory.org/collections/search/ .
Related Resources at CHM
Slater, Michael oral history, 2016-05-16, Lot X7807.2016, Catalog 102738141.
Related Collections at Other Repositories
Stanford University, Computer Science Department, HCI Group, CS547 seminar video recordings, Call Number SC1217.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Computer Industry
Microcomputers
MicroDesign Resources
Microprocessors
Conference and symposium material, Series 1,
Bulk, 1988-1998
1978-1998
Series Scope and Content
This series comprises Slater’s collected proceedings, presentation material, and pamphlets from various microcomputer-related
conferences, symposia, forums, seminars, and courses. Much of this material directly involves Slater as an attendee or speaker
of the documented events. For instance, the MCS-86 seminar notebook has Slater’s name on the cover and in some of the notes.
Also, this series contains material from a MicroDesign Resources course titled "Fundamentals of Microcomputer Technology:
Personal Computers from the Inside Out,” which was taught by Slater. Events that are especially well-documented in this series
include the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC), COMDEX (Computer Dealers' Exhibition), and the Hot Chips symposium
held annually in Silicon Valley. Printed slides from Bill Gates’ presentation titled “Microsoft’s Vision for Computing” are
included with material from WinHEC 1994. Some of the records from WinHEC and the Intel Developer Forum are accompanied by
CDs containing audiovisual documentation of conference proceedings and samples of software applications. This series is arranged
chronologically.
102773943
Microcomputer seminars
1978; 1989
102773944
COMDEX program and exhibits guides
1987-1999
102773945
Hot Chips symposium material
1989-1993
102773954
Transputer research and applications : proceedings of the first and second conferences of the North
American Transputer Users Group (NATUG)
1990
102773946
The Semiconductor Outlook forum
1990-1991
102773947
PCI, Agenda, and ISA implementation conferences and workshops
1990-1995
102773948
Microsoft Win32 Professional Developers Conference
1992
102773949
The Personal Computer Outlook
1992-1994
102773950
Microprocessor Forum 1993
1993
102773951
Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC)
1993-1998
102773952
Intel Analyst Forum : Intel Advanced Research and Development Labs
1997
102773953
Intel Developer Forum
1998
Reports, books, and newsletters, Series 2,
1979-2000
Series Scope and Content
This series is made up of analyst and technical reports, books, and newsletters that focus on microprocessors and the computer
industry. Material dates from 1979 to 2000. Included are analyst reports that discuss computer industry trends, microprocessors,
RISC architecture, and technology forecasts, and technical reports and papers about various technologies, including ethernet
and microcomputing. Reports are from market research firms like Electronic Trends, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, and Price Waterhouse,
and companies like Xerox PARC, Intel, and IBM. Newsletters include MicroDesign Resources’ Technology Roadmap reports series
and the SPEC Newsletter. Books concentrate on RISC and other computer architectures and microcomputing. This series is arranged
alphabetically by folder title.
102773507
32-bit microprocessors
1986
102773505
Analysis of cache performance for operating systems and multiprogramming
1989
102773500
Computer industry : critical trends for the 1990s
1990
102773509
Data communications for microcomputers : with practical applications and experiments
1982
102773502
Design automation market study : a survey of current use and planned growth of CAE/CAD
systems
1991-05
102773511
Ethernet local network : three reports
1980-02
102773510
Guide to RISC microprocessors, A
1992
102773506
High-speed memory systems
1983
102773493
IBM Power Personal Systems reports and articles
1993
102773498
Information appliance market
1998-1999
102773495
Intel microprocessor information kit
1985
102773494
Intel MMX Applications press kit
1996-1997
102773504
Microcontrollers : the next five years
1991-02
102773514
Microprocessors and microcomputers : selected reprints from Computer
1979
102773503
Personal computer design guide : a survey of integrated solutions
1993
102773508
Programmable logic devices : technology and applications
1988
102773513
Readings in computer architecture
2000
102773515
Reduced instruction set computers
1990
102773499
RISC analyst reports
1988-1989
102773491
SPEC newsletter
1992-03; 1992-06
102773496
Technology forecast
1993; 1998
102773501
Technology primer, The
1999
102773492
Technology roadmap reports
1995-1996
102773497
Ten-year forecast
1991-1992
Manuals and product descriptions, Series 3,
1977-1996
Series Scope and Content
This series contains manuals, specifications, and product descriptions for a variety of microprocessor-related products dating
from 1977 to 1996. Included is material on Clipper, ISA, Micro Channel, and RISC architectures; microcontrollers; embedded
processors; interfacing; microprocessors; and transputers. About half of this series is made up of material from Advanced
Micro Devices and Intel. Other companies with material in this series include Fairchild, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, Hitachi,
IBM, Intergraph, Motorola, National Semiconductor, NEC, and Microsoft. This series is arranged alphabetically by folder title.
102773474
Advanced Micro Devices
1978; 1987-1992
102773516
AT&T 92K Hobbit family
1992
102773475
Clipper architecture
1986; 1991
102773477
Hewlett-Packard
1986; 1994
102773476
Hitachi
1985-1988
102773490
Intel
1988-1996
102773479
Interfacing
1981; 1989
102773480
ISA system architecture
1993
102773481
Micro Channel
1992
102773482
Motorola
1977-1992
102773483
National Semiconductor
1980-1989
102773484
NEC Corporation
1989
102773485
Processors
1990-1992
102773486
Rambus Technology
1993
102773487
RISC architecture
1992-1994
102773488
Transputers
1990-1993
102773517
Western Design Center
1991
