The January edition of Popular
Electronics featured the Altair 8800 computer kit, based on Intel´s 8080
microprocessor, on its cover. Within weeks of the computer´s debut,
customers inundated the manufacturing company, MITS, with orders. Bill
Gates and Paul Allen licensed BASIC as the software language for the
Altair. Ed Roberts invented the 8800 — which sold for $297, or $395
with a case — and coined the term "personal computer." The machine came
with 256 bytes of memory (expandable to 64K) and an open 100-line bus
structure that evolved into the S-100 standard. In 1977, MITS sold out
to Pertec, which continued producing Altairs through 1978.
The visual display module (VDM)
prototype, designed in 1975 by Lee Felsenstein, marked the first
implementation of a memory-mapped alphanumeric video display for
personal computers. Introduced at the Altair Convention in Albuquerque
in March 1976, the visual display module allowed use of personal
computers for interactive games.
Tandem computers tailored its Tandem-16,
the first fault-tolerant computer, for online transaction processing.
The banking industry rushed to adopt the machine, built to run during
repair or expansion.
Source: - www.computerhistory.org
