Wow, 49 years... I was 9 years old then, and just starting to learn about electronics beyond crystal radios and battery/lamp circuits. For my 9th birthday, I got a soldering iron and a few years later I was building microcomputers with parts bought at hamfests with lawn-mowing money. Later I worked at GM on a Calma GDSII system an early CAD system that was developed for IC layout. The division I worked in actually used the system to design hybrid circuits made of ceramic with the traces and components screened on and fired in ovens. Flip chips (upside down IC dies soldered directly to the substrate) were designed in another area. We mostly made modules for use underhood such as voltage regulators for alternators. This was in the '80s at Delco Electronics in Kokomo, IN. My path veered away from design and into IT after that. I still live in Kokomo...
I never tire of seeing die shots, especially the old ones where everything was manually drawn by hand. Each chip has its own quirks and personality depending on the skill of the designers and the general layout rules followed at the company. GI chips aren't the most dense and efficient, but they are among the prettiest. 8)
