altair
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Altair
A microcomputer kit introduced in late 1974 from Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS). It sold for $400 and used an 8080 microprocessor. In 1975, it was packaged with the Microsoft...
Dictionary
Definition: Altair
A microcomputer kit introduced in late 1974 from Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS). It sold for $400 and used an 8080 microprocessor. In 1975, it was packaged with the Microsoft MBASIC interpreter written by Paul Allen and Bill Gates. Although computer kits were advertised earlier by others, an estimated 10,000 Altairs were sold, making it the first commercially successful microcomputer.
Altair 8800 Computer
The first successful microcomputer and the first commercial computer that came with a Microsoft product. (Image courtesy of The Computer History Museum, www.computerhistory.org)
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Additional Results
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Altair PBS Works on IBM's acquisition of Platform Computing
Altair's executives comment on IBM's move and explain why the industry should care.
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Vintage Computer Advertisements from the late 1970s
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I remember the Altair and it changed the world
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Ed Roberts, MITS Altair creator dies, age 68
Ed Roberts, the man who created the machine which would jumpstart an entire industry died on April 1, 2010 at the age of 68.
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Photos: Cracking open the 1974 Altair 8800
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One billion PCs shipped since the Altair
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