1974
The Altair 8800 is launched
MITS launches the Altair 8800, a microcomputer based on Intel's new 8080 microprocessor.
The machine was announced through the January 1975 issue of Popular Electronics, whose cover described it as the “World's First Minicomputer Kit to Rival Commercial Models.” The issue went on sale during the week before Christmas 1974, bringing the Altair to the attention of thousands of electronics enthusiasts.
Designed by Ed Roberts and Bill Yates of MITS, the Altair 8800 was sold primarily as a kit. The basic machine contained the Intel 8080 processor, 256 bytes of memory and a front panel of switches and LEDs. There was no keyboard or screen: programs were entered in binary using the switches, with results read from the LEDs.
The basic kit cost around $400, putting a programmable computer within reach of electronics hobbyists in a way that previous computers had not. The response was enormous. Roberts had expected to sell only a few hundred machines, but MITS received thousands of orders, creating a new market for microcomputers and expansion hardware.
The Altair's open expansion bus became the basis of the S-100 bus, while the machine's popularity helped inspire the formation of computer clubs, specialist computer shops and an entire microcomputer industry. It also led directly to Altair BASIC, developed by Paul Allen and Bill Gates and licensed to MITS in 1975.
The Altair 8800 therefore represents a major turning point between the earlier experimental and hobbyist computers and the rapidly developing personal-computer industry of the mid-1970s.
The machine was announced through the January 1975 issue of Popular Electronics, whose cover described it as the “World's First Minicomputer Kit to Rival Commercial Models.” The issue went on sale during the week before Christmas 1974, bringing the Altair to the attention of thousands of electronics enthusiasts.
Designed by Ed Roberts and Bill Yates of MITS, the Altair 8800 was sold primarily as a kit. The basic machine contained the Intel 8080 processor, 256 bytes of memory and a front panel of switches and LEDs. There was no keyboard or screen: programs were entered in binary using the switches, with results read from the LEDs.
The basic kit cost around $400, putting a programmable computer within reach of electronics hobbyists in a way that previous computers had not. The response was enormous. Roberts had expected to sell only a few hundred machines, but MITS received thousands of orders, creating a new market for microcomputers and expansion hardware.
The Altair's open expansion bus became the basis of the S-100 bus, while the machine's popularity helped inspire the formation of computer clubs, specialist computer shops and an entire microcomputer industry. It also led directly to Altair BASIC, developed by Paul Allen and Bill Gates and licensed to MITS in 1975.
The Altair 8800 therefore represents a major turning point between the earlier experimental and hobbyist computers and the rapidly developing personal-computer industry of the mid-1970s.
