Altair 8800

MITS Altair 8800
	Altair 8800 Computer with 8-inch floppy disk system
Developer	MITS
Manufacturer	MITS
Release date	December 19, 1974
Introductory price	Kit: US $439 ($2600 in 2024); Assembled: US $621 ($3600 in 2024)
Units sold	25,000
CPU	Intel 8080 @ 2 MHz

The Altair 8800 is a microcomputer introduced in 1974 by Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS) based on the Intel 8080 CPU.^[2] It was the first commercially successful personal computer.^[3] Interest in the Altair 8800 grew quickly after it was featured on the cover of the January 1975 issue of Popular Electronics.^[4] It was sold by mail order through advertisements in Popular Electronics, Radio-Electronics, and in other hobbyist magazines.^[5]^[6] The Altair 8800 had no built-in screen or video output, so it would have to be connected to a serial terminal (such as a VT100-compatible terminal) to have any output. To connect it to a terminal, a serial interface card had to be installed. Alternatively, the Altair could be programmed using its front-panel switches.

According to the personal computer pioneer Harry Garland, the Altair 8800 was the product that catalyzed the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s.^[7] The computer bus designed for the Altair became a de facto standard in the form of the S-100 bus, and the first programming language for the machine was Microsoft's founding product, Altair BASIC.^[8]^[9]

^
Reimer, Jeremy (2005-12-15). "Total share: 30 years of personal computer market share figures". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 2012-06-07. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
- Jeremy Reimer (2012-12-07). "Total Share: Personal Computer Market Share 1975-2010". Jeremy Reimer.
^ Rojas, Raúl (2001). Encyclopedia of computers and computer history. Chicago [u.a.]: Fitzroy Dearborn. ISBN 1-57958-235-4.
^ Dorf, Richard C., ed. The engineering handbook. CRC Press, 2004.
^ Copyright catalogs at the Library of Congress. January 1975 issue of Popular Electronics was published on November 29, 1974. File:Copyright_Popular_Electronics_1975.jpg
^ Newscientist Sept 21 gallery: March of the outdated machines
^ Young, Jeffrey S. (1998). "Chapter 6: 'Mechanics: Kits & Microcomputers'". Forbes Greatest Technology Stories: Inspiring Tales of the Entrepreneurs. New York: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-24374-4.
^ Garland, Harry (March 1977). "Design Innovations in Personal Computers". Computer. 10 (3). IEEE Computer Society: 24. doi:10.1109/c-m.1977.217669. S2CID 32243439. There is little question that the current enthusiasm in personal computing was catalyzed by the introduction of the MITS Altair computer kit in January 1975.
^ Ceruzzi, Paul E. (2003). A History of Modern Computing. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. p. 226. ISBN 0-262-53203-4. "This announcement [Altair 8800] ranks with IBM's announcement of the System/360 a decade earlier as one of the most significant in the history of computing."
^ Freiberger, Paul; Swaine, Michael (2000). Fire in the Valley: The Making of the Personal Computer. New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-135892-7.

[1] Reimer, Jeremy (2005-12-15). "Total share: 30 years of personal computer market share figures". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 2012-06-07. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
Jeremy Reimer (2012-12-07). "Total Share: Personal Computer Market Share 1975-2010". Jeremy Reimer.

[2] Jeremy Reimer (2012-12-07). "Total Share: Personal Computer Market Share 1975-2010". Jeremy Reimer.

[2] Rojas, Raúl (2001). Encyclopedia of computers and computer history. Chicago [u.a.]: Fitzroy Dearborn. ISBN 1-57958-235-4.

[3] Dorf, Richard C., ed. The engineering handbook. CRC Press, 2004.

[4] Copyright catalogs at the Library of Congress. January 1975 issue of Popular Electronics was published on November 29, 1974. File:Copyright_Popular_Electronics_1975.jpg

[5] Newscientist Sept 21 gallery: March of the outdated machines

[Young_1998-6] Young, Jeffrey S. (1998). "Chapter 6: 'Mechanics: Kits & Microcomputers'". Forbes Greatest Technology Stories: Inspiring Tales of the Entrepreneurs. New York: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-24374-4.

[7] Garland, Harry (March 1977). "Design Innovations in Personal Computers". Computer. 10 (3). IEEE Computer Society: 24. doi:10.1109/c-m.1977.217669. S2CID 32243439. There is little question that the current enthusiasm in personal computing was catalyzed by the introduction of the MITS Altair computer kit in January 1975.

[Altair_announcement-8] Ceruzzi, Paul E. (2003). A History of Modern Computing. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. p. 226. ISBN 0-262-53203-4. "This announcement [Altair 8800] ranks with IBM's announcement of the System/360 a decade earlier as one of the most significant in the history of computing."

[Altair_Impact-9] Freiberger, Paul; Swaine, Michael (2000). Fire in the Valley: The Making of the Personal Computer. New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-135892-7.

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