JR Olson | On 01, Apr 2013
When Radio Electronics Magazine featured the Mark 8 computer on the cover of their July 1974 issue, it marked a point of departure for the final journey of the computer from the world of industry and science into the average home.
The Pump is Primed
Computers had begun to assume a place in the popular culture of the time, and there was a thirst among early adopters of high technology to explore computing. TV programs like Star Trek, Batman and Twilight Zone featured computers on a regular basis. The space program was in full swing and everyone was aware of the role computers played in the recent moon landings.
The introduction of integrated circuits during the 1960s made microprocessors available at low cost for the first time. Prior to the early 1970s, processing circuitry required large numbers of circuit boards and point-to-point wiring, which produced a lot of heat and took up a lot of room. The smallest and most advanced computers of the time were the size of a small refrigerator, with many others taking up the same amount of room as an entire kitchen.
High Technology for the Masses
The Mark 8 computer was actually a set of plans detailing how to construct the computer from parts. Builders could purchase the Intel 8008 processor used for the central processing unit (CPU) from Radio Electronics Magazine. Popular Electronics? editorial staff realized Radio Electronics had scooped them on a story of huge proportions for their audience. They began to develop a project of their own to counter the Mark 8.
Members of the staff had connections to a small company of engineers in Albuquerque, New Mexico called MITS Incorporated. The magazine asked Ed Roberts, the head of MITS, to design a microcomputer for a Popular Electronics project. Roberts managed to strike a deal for Intel 8080 chips for 75 dollars apiece. These chips usually cost over 300 dollars at the time. The 8080 series was superior to the 8008 for use as a CPU and made the project feasible. MITS was already offering calculator kits that came complete with all the parts. This gave the company the experience needed to produce a computer in kit form, which they called the Altair 8800.
A New Era Begins
Historians generally trace the beginnings of the personal computer?s ascent to Popular Electronics? introduction of the Altair in January 1975. MITS immediately outsold their 200-unit capacity and eventually produced thousands of these kits. Because the Altair included every part needed in its kit, it was a huge success over the Mark 8. Probably the most important aspect of the Altair was its architecture, which used a large backplane with slot connectors. Both the CPU and expansion cards for drives were installed via these connectors. This is the first use of this technology in that way, and every desktop personal computer today employs this same basic design.
Rags to Riches
Altair computers used the Basic programming language. The version preferred by users was Altair Basic, created by two young programmers, Bill Gates and Paul Allen. Gates and Allen saw the beginnings of a huge market and started a new company to program operating systems. They called their fledgling startup Microsoft. By the time the Apple II and the IBM PC came on the scene in the early 1980s, Microsoft was in position to take advantage of this emerging market and made Bill Gates the richest man on the planet.
MITS enjoyed a commercial success with the Altair 8800, and sold out to Pertec in 1977 for 6.5 million dollars.
PC-History: MITS Altair 8800 by Stan Veit, Computer Editor for Popular Electronics
Computer History Museum: 1975 in the Timeline of Computer History
Josh Hansen is a freelance writer who contributes articles for honeywellaidc.com. To learn more about various tech topics, including barcode scanning technology, click here.
J. Rex Olson is a freelance writer based in the greater metropolitan area of Seattle. He enjoys writing for the sake of writing, and likes to contribute material on a wide range of topics and issues. When not writing he loves playing basketball and taking in a symphony.
Source: http://thetechscoop.net/2013/04/01/revisiting-mits-altair-8800/
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