The Changelog: Software Development, Open Source

Altair 8800 and the dawn of a revolution (Interview)

Mar 11, 2020

Discover the story of the Altair 8800, a quirky machine that sparked the personal computer revolution. Learn how a microcomputer kit transformed a struggling business and ignited a tech frenzy. Dive into the debates between hobbyists and the nascent software industry, featuring a pivotal letter from Bill Gates on software sharing. Hear about the collaborative spirit at the Homebrew Computer Club that fueled innovation and the emergence of the open-source movement. It's a fascinating look at the dawn of computing!

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ANECDOTE

Altair 8800's Origin

Ed Roberts, co-founder of MITS, developed the Altair 8800 to save his failing electronics company.
It was initially a kit computer aimed at hobbyists, built around the Intel 8080 microprocessor.

ANECDOTE

BASIC for Altair

Bill Gates and Paul Allen, after seeing the Altair on a magazine cover, realized its potential and offered to write BASIC for it.
Despite not having actually started yet, they developed a BASIC interpreter in weeks and successfully demoed it.

ANECDOTE

Homebrew and the Altair

The Homebrew Computer Club first met to see the Altair, sparking Steve Wozniak's interest.
Members initially struggled with programming, demonstrating its early stages.

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We partnered with Red Hat to promote Season 4 of Command Line Heroes — a podcast about the people who transform technology from the command line up. Season 4 is all about hardware that changed the game. We’re featuring episode 3 from season 4 — called “Personal Computers: The Altair 8800 and the Dawn of a Revolution.” This is the story of personal computers and the revolution that took place in the PC era.

Learn more and subscribe at redhat.com/commandlineheroes.

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Show Notes:

The Altair 8800 is why we have computers in most homes today. It was initially designed for hobbyists. But a few visionaries saw massive potential in this strange little machine—and worked hard to make others see it too. What they created led to so much more than anyone could have ever imagined.

Forrest Mims tells us how his co-founder, Ed Roberts, planned to save their struggling electronics company. His idea? A microcomputer made for hobbyists. That computer led to a fateful phone call from Bill Gates and Paul Allen. Dan Sokol and Lee Felsenstein recall the unveiling of the Altair 8800 at the Homebrew Computer Club, and how it sparked Steve Wozniak’s eureka moment for the Apple I. We then hear from John Markoff about an infamous software heist that set the stage for the debate about whether code should be proprietary. And finally, Limor Fried reflects on how this story continues to influence today’s open source hardware movement.

First Invite to the Homebrew Computer Club by Fred Moore
The Altair story; early days at MITS by Forrest M. Mims III
WIRED article on the Altair by Randy Alfred
Video: Demo of the Altair by Don Russ
PC Mag article on Altair by Michael J. Miller

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