



Lot 40
ALTAIR 8800 8-bit microcomputer by MITS, c.1974, metal case with removable top, face panel with 36 LEDs, 25 switches, additional power supply and interface cables at back,
3 – 4 November 2021, 13:00 PDT
Los AngelesSold for US$2,167.50 inc. premium
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ALTAIR 8800
8-bit microcomputer by MITS, c.1974, metal case with removable top, face panel with 36 LEDs, 25 switches, additional power supply and interface cables at back, containing 7 modules:
1. MITS CPU BD, REV 1.
2 & 3. MITS 4K Static BD, Rev-2, 1976.
4 & 5. MITS 88 SIOB Serial TTL with attached Modem BD.
6. MITS 4K RAM, REV) 2.
7. Custom board with empty sockets.
THE COMPUTER THAT INSPIRED GATES AND ALLEN TO FORM A MICROSOFT.
MITS ALTAIR 8800 holds the distinction of being the first microcomputer to catch on with the hobbyist market. It was originally offered in kit form for $439 or assembled for $621. Bill Gates (then in his sophomore year at Harvard) and Paul Allen came across the December 1974 issue of Popular Electronics which featured the Altair on the cover and decided to join the computer revolution by writing a BASIC interpreter that would run on Altair's Intel 8080 microprocessor. "It would become the first commercial native high-level programming language for a microprocessor. And it would launch the personal computer software industry" (Isaacson p 332).
Isaacson. The Innovators. NY: [2014].
1. MITS CPU BD, REV 1.
2 & 3. MITS 4K Static BD, Rev-2, 1976.
4 & 5. MITS 88 SIOB Serial TTL with attached Modem BD.
6. MITS 4K RAM, REV) 2.
7. Custom board with empty sockets.
THE COMPUTER THAT INSPIRED GATES AND ALLEN TO FORM A MICROSOFT.
MITS ALTAIR 8800 holds the distinction of being the first microcomputer to catch on with the hobbyist market. It was originally offered in kit form for $439 or assembled for $621. Bill Gates (then in his sophomore year at Harvard) and Paul Allen came across the December 1974 issue of Popular Electronics which featured the Altair on the cover and decided to join the computer revolution by writing a BASIC interpreter that would run on Altair's Intel 8080 microprocessor. "It would become the first commercial native high-level programming language for a microprocessor. And it would launch the personal computer software industry" (Isaacson p 332).
Isaacson. The Innovators. NY: [2014].