The 50th anniversary of the MITS Altair 8800 commemorates its significance in computer history. Signed by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1975, the deal to provide a BASIC interpreter for the Altair symbolized their entry into the tech industry. The Altair, featuring an Intel 8080 microprocessor, was modular and affordable for hobbyists. Despite only having 1 kB of RAM initially, users could expand it to run Microsoft's BASIC. Ed Roberts' marketing efforts positioned the Altair as a revolutionary machine, paving the way for future developments in personal computing.
The MITS Altair ticks a lot of boxes, though, and set the pattern for a lot of the future computer industry. It used an Intel 8080 microprocessor, not a bunch of discrete parts.
Kitting one out well enough to run CP/M would have cost $4,000 or more. With 1 kB of RAM, all you could do was toggle 8080 instructions into the 8800 using the front-panel switches.
If you spent another $264 for the 4 kB memory board in kit form, it could do something much more interesting. It could run BASIC, the famous Microsoft 4K BASIC.
MITS founder Ed Roberts is no longer with us, but his business acumen in getting the new machine on the front cover of the January 1975 Practical Electronics magazine inspired Gates and Allen to set up a business.
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