Rest In Pieces

Sydney Morning Herald

Saturday August 9, 2003

MITS Altair

Born: 1974, Died: 1978

It had no monitor, keyboard, disk drive or software. From the outside it looked like a box with lights and switches and, since it came in kit form, most users had to assemble it themselves. Yet the Altair was nonetheless the first personal computer. It launched Bill Gates's career (he wrote a version of BASIC, a programming language, for it) and it inspired Apple to build its first computer. The Altair was created by Ed Roberts, who ran a small calculator company called MITS. Roberts believed he would sell only a couple hundred units but after it appeared on the cover of Popular Electronics magazine he received more than 4000 orders in three months. During the late '70s, more sophisticated PCs came on the market and the Altair sadly passed away.

© 2003 Sydney Morning Herald

Back to News Index | Back to Home