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[[Bill Godbout]] Electronics in Oakland, CA was the parts supplier to many of the hobbyists and students from [[University of California, Berkeley|Berkeley]]. [[George Morrow (computers)|George Morrow]] approached Godbout with several Altair compatible designs that Godbout agreed to produce and sell.<ref name = "George Morrow 1979">{{cite journal | last = Williams | first = Tom | title = Hazards & Opportunities in the Micro Market: Interview with Thinker Toy's George Morrow | journal = Intelligent Machines Journal | volume = 1 | issue = 3 | page =2 | date = February 14, 1979 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Ez4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA2 | issn = 0199-6649 | publisher = InfoWorld Media Group, Inc.}}</ref><ref name = "Altair clones">{{cite book | last1 = Freiberger | authorlink1 = Paul Freiberger | first1 = Paul | first2 = Michael | last2 = Swaine | authorlink2 = Michael Swaine (technical author) | title = Fire in the Valley | publisher = McGraw-Hill | year = 2000 | edition = 2nd | pages = [https://archive.org/details/fireinvalleymaki00frei_0/page/123 123–129] | isbn = 0-07-135892-7 | url = https://archive.org/details/fireinvalleymaki00frei_0/page/123 }}</ref> The October 1975 Byte magazine carried an advertisement headlining "Get your MITTS on a Godbout RAM kit." <!-- The ad actuality use "MITtS" --> The 4K byte Altair compatible board was $131.07.
Godbout also sold components to [[Processor Technology]] for their 4K Static RAM board and serial / parallel interface board. [[Lee Felsenstein]] designed an Altair compatible video board that provided 16 lines of 64 upper and lower case characters on a black and white television. This $160 board became very popular and led to the Processor Technology [[Sol-20]] Computer in 1976.<ref name = "VDM-1">{{cite magazine | date = February 1976 | title = Introducing VDM-1|magazine= Popular Electronics | volume = 9 | issue = 2 | page =100}} Processor Technology Video Display advertisement. Features 16 lines, 64 characters, upper and lower case. $160</ref>
The [[IMSAI 8080]], the first "clone" of the Altair computer, was released in December 1975.<ref name = "ComputerLand">{{cite book | last = Littman | first = Jonathan | title = Once Upon a Time in ComputerLand: The Amazing, Billion-Dollar Tale of Bill Millard | publisher = Price Stern Sloan | date =1987 | page = 18 | ___location = Los Angeles | isbn = 0-89586-502-5}} "Later that day, December 16 [1975], United Parcel Service picked up the first shipment of 50 IMSAI computer kits for delivery to customers."</ref> It corrected many shortcomings of the original Altair 8800 by providing a larger power supply, a 22 slot motherboard, and easier wiring of the front panel. Ed Roberts reviewed the IMSAI in his April 1976 column in ''Computer Notes'', and agreed that the IMSAI was in some ways better than the original Altair. Roberts also pointed out that the new Altair 8800B was superior to the IMSAI 8080 and the upgraded Altair 8800A fixed the same issues that the IMSAI did.<ref name="CN April 197 p36">{{cite journal|last=Roberts |first=Ed |title=Ramblings from Ed Roberts |journal=Computer Notes |volume=1 |issue=11 |page=3 |publisher=MITS |___location=Albuquerque NM |date=April 1976 |url=http://startup.nmnaturalhistory.org/gallery/notesViewer.php?ii=76_4&p=3 |url-status=unfit |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323162008/http://startup.nmnaturalhistory.org/gallery/notesViewer.php?ii=76_4&p=3 |archivedate=March 23, 2012 }}</ref>
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