23 May
2024
23 May
'24
4:04 p.m.
On 5/23/24 12:53, Dave Dunfield via cctalk wrote:
I've just passed on my "Mits Altair
8800" - this is a very historic system
from the 70s - it is:
First Personal Computer (long before IBM PC)
First S100 buss system
First system Bill Gates wrote code for (long before Microsoft)
I don't think the "first" applies in this case. The MCM/70 used an 8008
and was complete computer with storage and display--something the MITS
8800 was not.
I spent the weekend soldering together my 8800 (CPU, SIO and 2x 4K DRAM)
system, cursing the cheap white wire in the process. Finally got it
running with a TVT.
I couldn't wait to show it to a female working in my section. She
dropped by my apartment, took one look at the thing sitting on my
kitchen table and burst out laughing. "That's not a computer; it's a
toy!" was her withering reaction.
I don't know if my male ego ever recovered from that. And I *hated* the
DRAM boards.
I do, however, still have the MITS box. Haven't run it in nearly 40 years.
--Chuck