Aug 09, 2020 mits altair 8800 a kitbuilt minicomputer offered at a fraction of the price of its rivals, the bluehued altair was a bridge between roomsized business systems and the compact home computer. Not long after intel introduced its 8080 chip, a small firm in albuquerque, new mexico, named mits micro instrumentation and telemetry systems announced a computer kit called the altair, which met the social as well as technical requirements for a small personal computer. It is over 20 years since the debut of the altair 8800 computer in the pages of popular. We cleaned the exterior and interior of the chassis. Even if you have little or no experience in computer oper ation and organization, a careful reading of this manual will prepare you for operating the altair 8800. The downside is that the book feels like an extended series of newspaper articles rather than a great history. The mits altair ran an intel 8080 processor at 2mhz the direct ancestor of the processor likely inside your desktop or laptop computer, but several million times less powerful it came standard with 256 bytes of ram not, gigabytes, not megabytes, not kilobytes just 256 bytes. The story goes that while visiting gates, allen saw a popular electronics story describing the mits altair 8800, the worlds first minicomputer kit to rival. The mits altair was the first 8080 based kit microcomputer. The altair 8800 was originally designed to be a doityourself kit computer that would be sold to to a few hobbyists and computer enthusiasts.
It was designed by mits founder and president ed roberts in 1974. The altair 8800, was first featured in the januaryand february1975editions of popular electronicsmagazine, although this early design bore little resemblance to the finalized version released just a few months later. Before the altair the history of personal computing. It has been released in early 1975 and its creator ed roberts set a milesto. Heres solomons version, from his digital deli book, which was also. A history of home computers through vintage photography.
With another author or a great editor this book could have reached a much wider audience. Altair 8800 complete history of the mits altair 8800 altair 8800 in contrast with the first microprocessor based personal computer micral, the mits altair 8800 was extremely successful market product. Besides the altair models, the other popular flipswitch computer of this period was the imsai 8800, essentially a clone of the altair, which can be seen on the back of the ced title war games. The mits altair was first personal computer based on the intel 8080 generalpurpose microprocessor, and the first personal computer to get wide notice among enthusiasts. The rest of the book is a good recounting of datapoint and its contribution to computer history. But it all started with the altair, and bill gates sometimes richest guy on earth got his first big break on the altair. Micro instrumentation and telemetry systems mits altair 8800. I didnt write it, and i dont know who did, however ill be happy to assign credit if anyone can identify the source.
History and architectures by raul rojas and ulf hashagen, isbn 97802626877. My two loves finally came together in 1981 when i built a sinclair zx81 yes it was a relatively simple kit, but it impressed the heck out of everyone when i showed them the computer that i built in part, that was the impetus for this project. The mits altair is widely accepted to be the computer that first kicked off the personal computer age. Microsofts history with basic altair 8800, trs80 color computer. Before the mits altair, owning a computer was not something individuals did.
Altair 8800 project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Air force officer who headed mits, decided to design a small, affordable computer around the intel 8080. The reaction to the altair was unexpected by either the magazine or by mits who designed it. Altair 680 computer from 1975 popular electronics magazine. This movie came out in 1983, when both the mits and ims associates had been gone for several years, but the imsai cpu with its blinking lights made a. Before the altair the history of personal computing larry press, communications of the acm, september, 1993, vol 36, no 9, pp 2733. You can buy a vintage mits altair 8800, one of the worlds first successful desktop computers, on ebay, but a good one will. Altair 8800 complete history of the mits altair 8800. Edward roberts introduces the mits altair, the first. My two loves finally came together in 1981 when i built a sinclair zx81 yes it was a relatively simple kit, but it impressed the heck out of everyone when i showed them the computer that i built. He is sharing with us an excerpt from their book for kids, beginning microsoft. The altair was developed by micro instrumentation and telemetry systems mits, a nearly bankrupt company in albuquerque, new mexico.
For more information the quite informative book the first computers. Roberts sold mits in 1977 and retired to georgia where he farmed, studied medicine and eventually became a smalltown doctor living in cochran, georgia. The altair 8800 is a microcomputer designed in 1974 by mits and based on the intel 8080 cpu. The altair was featured on the cover of the january 1975 issue of popular electronics, and was sold by mail order.
They developed a basic language for the altair computer and. A little mits history altair technical information 3. Other than being a little dirty and dusty the system is in very good condition. Mits altair 8800 the altair 8800from micro instrumentation telemetry systemsmits of albuquerque, nm, is considered by many to be the first personal computer a computer that is easily affordable and obtainable. It is based on the intel 8080 cpu and the backplane is the s100 bus. Altair 8800, mits micro instrumentation and telemetry systems.
An appendix condenses the instructions into a quick reference listing. Altair 8800 microcomputer national museum of american. There are somewhat different variations on the exact history of the decision to go with. Micro instrumentation and telemetry systems wikipedia. Popular electronics magazines cover featured a picture of the altair 8800 computer the worlds first microcomputer which used the new intel 8080 processor sold mail order by a tiny company in albuquerque, new mexico. Bill gates and paul allen joined mits to develop software and altair basic was microsofts first product. Mits altair computer notes magazine june 1977 volume 3 issue 1 original vtg book. Com includes an april 1977 addenda, appendix b on cpm basic similar to microsoft basic reference manual for mits, jan and july 1977 mits altair production test procedures altair 8800b systems altair 680b systems. Mits pc b apple ii c altair d dos pc e wintel pc ibm this problem has been. I stan veit was the first and last computer editor of popular electronics magazine, and i. Since mits has now earned an important place in microcomputer history, i hope this account. Published as a typein program in the selfpublished book called 33 programs and projects for the altair 8800.
In the articles in this issue, mims chronicles the development of the micro and talks with h. Micro instrumentation and telemetry systems was an american electronics company founded in albuquerque, new mexico that began manufacturing electronic calculators in 1971 and personal computers in 1975. In spite of slow delivery, people all over the country started to put together computers. It focuses on very early developments in the us, germany, britain and japan. At this point in time, there were no computer or electronic stores to buy your own computer. We will try to fix it with some contact cleaner, and maybe replace it with one of the spares that came with the first altair. Owning a piece of computer history can be expensive and not much fun. The story of the first true personal computer has many versions.
Dec 20, 2014 the cover story proclaiming the launch of the altair 8800 finally appeared in the january 1975 issue of popular electronics. The mits altair 8800 is a microcomputer designed in 1975 based on the intel 8080 cpu. Mar 12, 2021 mits and altair history first offered to the public in january 1975 by mits in a popular electronics frontpage article, this is an image of an altair 8800computer. Recently i started reading a biography of bill gates isbn10. Since system may not have been powered on for years or even decades, the first project is to reform the capacitors in the power supply. The mits mobile was literally a showroom on wheels that would travel from city to city showcasing the mits product line. The intel 8080 is a complete central processing unit cpu on a single lsi chip using nchannel silicon gate mos technology. The designered roberts intended to sell only a few hundred to hobbyists, but he was surprised when he sold thousands in the first month. Cover, page1, page2 mits mas christmas catalog from dec75 byte 4. It was first introduced in the january, 1975 issue of popular electronics magazine as a construction project. It is over 20 years since the debut of the altair 8800 computer in the pages of popular electronics magazine, but everyone connected with it tells a completely different story. Computer photo history ibm 360 eniac apple 1 univac. But what could you actually do with an altair 8800. Interest grew quickly after it was featured on the cover of the january 1975 issues and was sold by mail order through advertisements there in radioelectronics, and in other hobbyist magazines.
Interest grew quickly after it was featured on the cover of the january 1975 issue published in late november 1974 of popular electronics, and was sold by mail order through advertisements there, in radioelectronics, and in other hobbyist magazines. When we were fiddling with the front panel we noticed that toggle switch for bit 12 doesnt toggle. Mits purchased a camper van in april 1975 and outfitted it with an altair system complete with floppy disk, a teletype model 33 and every accessory mits produced. Computer photo history ibm 360 eniac apple 1 univac pdp8f johnniac altair. Bill gates and paul allen complete basic and license it to their first customer, mits of albuquerque, n. History of computersthe rise of the microcomputer wikibooks. It represents a significant milestone, but it tends to be overhyped, and its historical significance is often overplayed. Mims is one of the founders of mits micro instrumentation and telemetry systems, the company that produced the altair, the first successful personal computer.
Barry yarkon and colleagues describe the first desktop publishing on microcomputers the altair back in 1976 as well as other history. Stan veits book on the topic of the history of personal computers gives a nice. Images and information about altair 8800 computers, mits, pertec, and related topics. The altair 8800 computer system is designed around intels 8080 microprocessor. Mits altair 8800 b am radio music fool on the hill demo. Mits altair 8800 worlds first personal computer youtube. A kitbuilt minicomputer offered at a fraction of the price of its. The article inspires paul allen and bill gates to develop a basic interpreter for the altair. The architecture allowed for up to 64k of ram, but anything so large was just crazytalk. His daughter named the new machine after the star altair. Shows how to load a bootloader, run the bootloader, boot mits 8k basic, load a craps game and run it on a mits altair 8800 microcomputer. Mits succeeded where other, more established firms had failed, and it was their machine that inaugurated the personal computer age. Mits altair 8800 computer steves computer collection.
Heres solomons version, from his digital deli book, whi. The mits altair 8800 is a microcomputer designed in 1974 based on the intel 8080 cpu. Interest grew quickly after it was featured on the cover of the january 1975 issue published in december 1974 of popular electronics, and was sold by mail order through advertisements there, in radioelectronics, and in other hobbyist magazines. It was the first microcomputer to sell in large numbers. The comprehensive, userlovable menu of computer lore. The book was originally published in 1984 but has had two afterwords added.
Altair 4176, 7176, 8177 retail price lists, 20 pgs microsoft basic reference manual, jan 1977, 128 pgs for basic cpm version 4. Sep 04, 2016 mits altair programming tutorial by mihai pruna i always wanted to learn to program a computer in machine code just 1s and 0s, the true language of computers. Up until this point, mits was known for selling calculators and model rocket components telemetry. Altair 8800 microcomputer national museum of american history. This chip uses a separate 16line address and 8line bidirectional data bus configuration to greatly. If any immediat probleme wits h mits softwar are e encountered, feel free to give us a call at 505 2657553. Digital retro goodreads meet your next favorite book. Mits 1st altair convention notice 1976 assembling an altair from dec75 byte 150k pdf northstar microdisk advertisement from jan 77 byte 78k jpg.
May 09, 2000 the mits altair 8800 appears on the cover of popular electronics. The mits altair 8800 is considered to be the first successful personal computer. In contrast with the first microprocessor based personal computermicral, the. Micro instrumentation and telemetry systems industrycomputer hardware foundeddecember 1969. This material was in my collection of altair notes as a text file. The mits altair 8800 was designed in 1974 by ed roberts and bill yates at mits in albuquerque, new mexico. Jan 08, 2015 the altair 8800 microcomputer was featured on the cover of the january 1975 issue of popular electronics. The mits altair is perhaps the most famous early computer.
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