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In January 1972, ''Popular Electronics'' changed its editorial focus in an attempt to attract more advertising revenues. Reviews of stereo equipment and [[citizens' band radio|citizens band radio]] were featured; experimenter and constructions projects were gone. Dan Meyer, Don Lancaster, Forrest Mims, [[John Simonton]] and many other authors immediately started contributing to the competing ''[[Radio-Electronics]]'' magazine. The June 1972 cover story was "Experimenting with a $32 Solid State Laser" by Forrest Mims. Another article in that issue was "Experiments with Op-Amps" by B.R. Rogen; this was a [[pseudonym]] of ''Popular Electronics'' technical editor, Les Solomon.<ref>Mims (1986), 168.</ref> Solomon wrote articles for ''Radio-Electronics'' while working for ''Popular Electronics''. Lou Garner, the longtime solid-state editor, moved to ''Radio-Electronics'' for a year.<ref name = "Garner 1973">{{cite magazine | last = Garner | first = Lou | title = The state of solid state |magazine= Radio-Electronics | volume = 44 | issue = 1 | page =55 | publisher = Gernsback | date = January 1973}} Describes the expanded TMS0100 family of "calculator-on-a-chip" MOS/LSI integrated circuits. The article includes an illustration of a chip layout.</ref> Several MITS kit projects were featured in ''Radio-Electronics'' including the ITC 1800 Integrated Circuit Tester (May 1972), the Model 1700 Function Generator (July 1973), the Model 1440 Calculator (July 1973) and the 88 VLCT Computer Terminal (November 1974).
''Radio-Electronics'' had a smaller circulation than ''Popular Electronics'' but led the way with innovative construction projects between 1972 and 1975. John Simonton's first modular electronic music synthesizer was featured on the cover of the May 1973 issue.<ref name = "Simonton 1973">{{cite magazine | last = Simonton | first = John |
Art Salsberg became the editor of ''Popular Electronics'' in 1974 with a goal of reclaiming the lead in projects. He wanted to publish a computer project that was more functional and elegant than the Mark-8.<ref name = "Salsberg 1984">{{cite magazine | last = Salsberg | first = Arthur | title = Jaded Memory |magazine= InfoWorld | volume = 6 | issue = 46 | page =7 | date = November 12, 1984 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=oy4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA7 | issn = 0199-6649 | publisher = InfoWorld Media Group, Inc.}}</ref> Les Solomon knew MITS was working on an Intel 8080 based computer project and thought Roberts could provide the project for the always popular January issue.
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=== Products ===
The Altair 8800 was modeled after early 1970s [[minicomputer]]s such as the [[Data General Nova]]. These machines contained a CPU board, memory boards, and I/O boards; the data storage and display terminal were external devices. The [[Teletype Model 33|Teletype Model 33 ASR]] was a popular terminal because it provided printed output and data storage on punched paper tape. More advanced systems would have 8-inch floppy disks and a video terminal that would display 24 lines of 80 characters such as the [[ADM-3A]]. (No graphics were available and lower-case letters were a $75 option.)<ref name = "ADM-3A">{{cite magazine | last = Hawkins | first = William J. |author2=Orlando Guerra | title = Computer add-ons - kits you build for your home unit |magazine= Popular Science | volume = 212 | issue = 5 | pages =64–68 | date = May 1978 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=rwAAAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA64 | issn = 0161-7370
The Altair 8800 kit came with a front panel, a CPU board with the Intel 8080 microprocessor, 256 bytes of RAM, a 4-slot backplane and an 8-amp power supply for $439.<ref name = "MITS Price List">{{cite magazine | author = MITS |date=August 1975 | title = Worlds Most Inexpensive BASIC language system |magazine= Popular Electronics | volume = 8 | issue = 2 | page =1 | publisher = Ziff Davis}}</ref> A 1k byte memory board was $176 and the 4k byte was $264. The serial interface board was $124 and the parallel interface was $119. There was a special price for an 8k byte system with [[BASIC]] for $995. The Teletype Model 33 ASR was $1500.
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When the January 1975 issue of ''Popular Electronics'' reached readers in mid December 1974, MITS was flooded with orders. They had to hire extra people just to answer the phones. In February, MITS received 1,000 orders for the Altair 8800. The quoted delivery time was 60 days but it was many more months before the machines were shipped. By August 1975, they had shipped over 5,000 computers.<ref name = "Byte Oct 1975">{{cite magazine | last = Green | first = Wayne |date=October 1975 | title = From the Publisher .. Are they real? |magazine= BYTE | volume = 1 | issue = 2 |pages=61, 81, 87 | publisher = Green Publishing}} In August 1975, Wayne Green visited several personal computer manufacturers. A photo caption in his trip report says; "Meanwhile, at MITS, over 5,000 Altair 8800's have been shipped. Here is a view of part of the production line."</ref>
The Altair 8800 computer was a break-even sale for MITS. They needed to sell additional memory boards, I/O boards and other options to make a profit. The April 1975 issue of the MITS newsletter, ''Computer Notes'', had a page-long price list that offered over 15 optional boards.<ref name="Price List April 1975">{{cite journal|title=Updated Price List |journal=Computer Notes |volume=1 |issue=1 |page=6 |publisher=MITS |___location=Albuquerque NM |date=April 1975 |url=http://startup.nmnaturalhistory.org/gallery/notesViewer.php?ii=75_4&p=6 |url-status=unfit |
The Intel 8080 did not have dedicated circuitry to support [[dynamic random-access memory]] (DRAM) because in 1975, this type of memory was still a new technology. MITS wanted to use DRAM because it consumed less power than static RAM. However, they had several design and component problems that led to a high failure rate with their 4K Dynamic RAM board. By July, new companies such as [[Processor Technology]] were selling 4K Static RAM boards with the promise of reliable operation.<ref name = "Homebrew July 1975">{{cite journal | title = Hardware | journal = Homebrew Computer Club Newsletter | volume = 1 | issue = 5 |pages=2, 5 | date = July 5, 1975 | url = http://www.digibarn.com/collections/newsletters/homebrew/V1_05/index.html}}</ref> MITS released its own 4K Static RAM board in January 1976.<!-- CN Jan 1976 page 11 -->
The only floppy disk drives that were readily available in 1975 were IBM compatible 8-inch drives. MITS selected the Pertec FD400 disk drive which could store over 300,000 bytes of data.<ref name="Floppy Disk July 1975">{{cite journal|last=Durston |first=Tom |title=Altair Floppy Disk |journal=Computer Notes |volume=1 |issue=1 |page=5 |publisher=MITS |___location=Albuquerque NM |date=July 1975 |url=http://startup.nmnaturalhistory.org/gallery/notesViewer.php?ii=75_7&p=5 |url-status=unfit |
=== Marketing ===
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The first full page advertisements for the Altair computer appeared in the February issues of ''Popular Electronics'' and ''Radio-Electronics'' magazines. Soon MITS was advertising in technical journals such as the IEEE [[Computer (magazine)|''Computer'']],<ref name = "Computer May 75">{{cite journal | title = The Computer Company you can afford. | journal = Computer | volume = 8 | issue = 5 |page=16 | publisher = IEEE | date = May 1975 | doi = 10.1109/C-M.1975.218951}}</ref> and general interest magazines such as ''Scientific American''. MITS was also the most prominent advertiser in the new hobbyist computer magazines such as ''[[Creative Computing]]'' and [[Byte (magazine)|''Byte'']].
[[David Bunnell]] joined MITS as a technical writer in the calculator heyday. In April 1975 he created a newsletter so the MITS staff could easily communicate with the customers. The newsletter, ''Computer Notes'', was available to customers and other interested readers.<ref name = "Byte Nov 1975 Clubs">{{Cite journal | title = Clubs and Newsletters: Altair User's Group | journal = Byte | volume = 1 | issue = 3 | pages =77–78 | publisher = Green Publishing | ___location = Peterborough, NH | date = November 1975}}</ref> It was a large format newsletter; 11.25 by 15.5 inches (286 by 394 mm), and each issue had 8 to 24 pages. In January 1977, it switched to a smaller magazine format and the last issue was produced in January 1978. Bunnell started ''Personal Computer'' magazine in October 1976 and went on to a successful career as a magazine publisher.<ref name="CN June 1976">{{cite journal|title=Personal Computing |journal=Computer Notes |volume=2 |issue=1 |page=20 |publisher=MITS |___location=Albuquerque NM |date=June 1976 |url=http://startup.nmnaturalhistory.org/gallery/notesViewer.php?ii=76_6&p=20 |url-status=unfit |
''Computer Notes'' featured a wide variety of authors. Bill Gates and Paul Allen were regular contributors to the early issues. They wrote about Altair Basic and general software topics. Ed Roberts wrote a monthly "Letter from the President" column where he would answer customer questions and even review competing products. MITS engineers, such as Tom Durston and Steve Pollini, would give technical descriptions of new products. Altair owners would contribute software and hardware suggestions and occasionally a complete article.
MITS purchased a camper van in April 1975 and outfitted it with an Altair system complete with floppy disk, a [[Teletype Model 33]] and every accessory MITS produced. The "MITS-MOBILE" was literally a showroom on wheels that would travel from city to city showcasing the MITS product line. They would hold seminars at hotel conference rooms that would draw crowds of over 200 people. The most notable seminar was at Rickey's Hyatt House in Palo Alto, California in early June 1975, where a member of the [[Homebrew Computer Club]] left with an unreleased copy of Altair BASIC.<ref name = "Homebrew June 1975">{{cite journal | last = Moore | first = Fred | title = It's a Hobby | journal = Homebrew Computer Club Newsletter | volume = 1 | issue = 4 | page =1 | date = June 7, 1975 | url = http://www.digibarn.com/collections/newsletters/homebrew/V1_04/index.html}}</ref> After retail computer stores were established in most cities, the "MITS-MOBILE" was retired.<ref name="CN April 1976 p5">{{cite journal|title=MITS Mobile Caravan Seminars |journal=Computer Notes |volume=1 |issue=11 |page=5 |date=May 1976 |url=http://startup.nmnaturalhistory.org/gallery/notesViewer.php?ii=76_4&p=5 |url-status=dead |
The first (and only) World Altair Computer Convention was held in Albuquerque, New Mexico in March 1976. The convention, organized by David Bunnell, was an overwhelming success; with 700 people from 46 states and seven countries attending.<ref name = "Byte Jun 1976">{{cite journal | title = The Albuquerque Happening | journal = Byte | volume = 1 | issue = 10 | pages =36–37 | publisher = Byte Publications | ___location = Peterborough, NH | date = June 1976}}</ref> Many of the attendees would go on to become leaders of the personal computer revolution.
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[[File:Altair 8800b Computer Front.jpg|thumb|right| Many companies made boards that could plug into the Altair / S-100 bus.]]
Owners of mainframe systems and minicomputers could purchase additional memory, interface boards and peripherals from third party suppliers; so it was predictable that owners of the Altair 8800 computer would do the same. MITS's delays in delivery of systems and accessories accelerated the formation of Altair compatible suppliers. The first ones started appearing in mid-1975 and by July 1976 complete computers systems were readily available.<ref name = "Byte July 1976">{{cite journal | journal = Byte | volume = 1 | issue = 11 | title= Advertisements | publisher = Byte Publications | ___location = Peterborough NH | date = July 1976}} Numerous advertisers in the issue claim Altair compatibility.</ref> The technical manuals for the Altair 8800 provided electrical schematics of the 100 pin computer bus allowing others to design compatible boards. There was not a proper technical standard at the time and some "compatible" boards did not work with other "compatible" boards. Later, the industry developed the [[S-100 bus]] standard.<ref name = "S100 Bus">{{cite journal | last = Morrow | first = George |
[[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 |
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 |
Altair computers were only available from the 20 or so authorized Altair computer dealers, but the IMSAI 8080, Processor Technology Sol and many other clones were sold by hundreds of newly opening computer stores.
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By early February the program coding switched from legal pads to the PDP-10 and a preliminary version was completed by March 1975.<ref>Manes (1994), 71. "A much later version of the source code memorializes the date as February 9, 1975, but the project almost certainly began earlier - during Harvard's January 'reading period' …" [[:File:Altair Basic Sign.jpg|Source code display in museum]]</ref> Gates and Allen had been in contact with Roberts and MITS and the older looking Paul Allen would travel to Albuquerque in March. MITS needed more time to get a computer with 7k bytes of memory working, and they needed more time to get the software finished. When Allen arrived at MITS it took a day to get the software running; Allen remembers this being caused by computer memory problems<ref>Manes (1993), 75.</ref> while Roberts remembers the delay was due to software problems.<ref>Young (1998), 163.</ref>
The April 1975 issue of the Altair Newsletter, Computer Notes, had a banner headline "Altair BASIC - Up and Running". The software was to begin shipping on June 23, 1975.<ref name="CN April 1975">{{cite journal|title=Altair BASIC - Up and Running |journal=Computer Notes |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=1, 3 |publisher=MITS |___location=Albuquerque NM |date=April 1975 |url=http://startup.nmnaturalhistory.org/gallery/notesViewer.php?ii=75_4&p=00 |url-status=unfit |
On July 22, 1975 MITS signed a contract for the Altair BASIC with Bill Gates and Paul Allen. They received $3000 at signing and a royalty for each copy of BASIC sold; $30 for the 4K version, $35 for the 8K version and $60 for the expanded version. The contract had a cap of $180,000. MITS received an exclusive worldwide license to the program for 10 years. They also had exclusive rights to sub-license the program to other companies and agreed to use its "best efforts" to license, promote and commercialize the program. MITS would supply the computer time necessary for development; a PDP-10 owned by the Albuquerque school district.<ref>Manes (1994), 82–83.</ref> Paul Allen left his job at Honeywell and became the Vice President and Director of Software at MITS with a salary of $30,000 per year.<ref>Young (1998), 164.</ref><!-- Also Manes, pg 76. Allen left MITS in Nov 1976. Manes, pg 103 --> Bill Gates was still a student at Harvard and just a contractor with MITS. The October 1975 company newsletter gives his title as "Software Specialist".<ref name="Computer Notes Oct 1975">{{cite journal|title=Contributors |journal=Computer Notes |volume=1 |issue=5 |page=13 |publisher=MITS |___location=Albuquerque NM |date=October 1975 |url=http://startup.nmnaturalhistory.org/gallery/notesViewer.php?ii=75_10&p=13 |url-status=unfit |
The price of Altair BASIC to customers who purchased additional memory and I/O boards from MITS was $75. Users may have gone along with that if the memory board were reliable. Customers bought the computer from MITS, and working memory from companies like Processor Technology. Rather than pay $500 for BASIC, they would acquire bootleg copies of the software. Only about ten percent of the early customers actually purchased BASIC.<ref>Manes (1994), 90. "Roughly 900 copies had been accounted for between July and year's end." "MITS was shipping maybe a thousand machines a month, yet BASIC was selling in the low hundreds."</ref> With a royalty due of $30 per copy, Gates felt that the computer hobbyist were stealing money from him. In February 1976 Bill Gates, "General Partner, Micro-Soft", wrote an "[[Open Letter to Hobbyists]]" that was sent to every computer publication insinuating that the hobbyists were thieves.
MITS had announced a new computer based on the [[Motorola 6800]] microprocessor in November 1975, the Altair 680. The machines were supposed to ship in January 1976, but hardware design problems delayed shipment until May.<ref name="CN Apr 1976">{{cite journal|last=Pollini |first=Steve |title=680-b ready for production |journal=Computer Notes |volume=1 |issue=11 |page=8 |publisher=MITS |date=April 1976 |quote=MITS is now ready to begin full production of the Altair 680b |url=http://startup.nmnaturalhistory.org/gallery/notesViewer.php?ii=76_4&p=8 |url-status=unfit |
The January 1976 issue of MITS's newsletter, Computer Notes, carried an ad for 8080 BASIC. The last paragraph stated: "Licenses for source listing and rights to distribute the binaries are also available to OEM buyers. Write or call Mr. Paul Allen at the MITS plant in Albuquerque for more detailed information."<ref name="CN Jan 1976">{{cite journal|title=8080 BASIC |journal=Computer Notes |volume=1 |issue=7 |page=6 |publisher=MITS |date=January 1976 |url=http://startup.nmnaturalhistory.org/gallery/notesViewer.php?ii=76_1&p=6 |url-status=unfit |
There was no longer a business requirement to remain in Albuquerque so Microsoft wanted to relocate to a larger city that would be more attractive to new employees. The San Francisco bay area was considered but Allen and Gates decided to return home to Seattle. Microsoft moved to Bellevue, Washington in January 1979.
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In 1976, MITS had 230 employees and sales of $6 million.<ref name = "Altair Sales 1976">{{cite news | last = McElheny | first = Victor K. | title = Computer Show: Preview Of More Ingenious Models | work = The New York Times | pages = D1, D5 | date = June 16, 1977 | quote = J. David Callan, head of Pertec's Microsystems division, which includes the Altair line and Icom, of Canoga Park, Calif., maker of computer peripheral equipment for such small computers, said that Altair sales totaled about $6 million last year.}}</ref><ref name = "SCCS Interface 1976">{{Cite journal | title = Here Comes PCC | journal = SCCS Interface | volume = 1 | issue = 10 | pages =26–29 | publisher = Southern California Computer Society | ___location = Santa Monica, CA | date = January 1977}} Interview with Ryal Poppa, president of Pertec Computer Corporation, about the acquisition of MITS.</ref> Roberts was tiring of his management responsibilities and was looking for a larger partner. MITS had always used [[Pertec Computer]] Corporation disk drives<ref name = "Small Systems 1978">{{cite book | last = Boonham | first = J. C. | title = Small Systems Computer Sourcebook | year = 1978 | pages = 68–69 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=RsAOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA68 | isbn = 978-0-470-26295-5 | publisher = Taylor & Francis}}</ref> and on December 3, 1976, Pertec signed a letter of intent to acquire MITS for $6 million in stock.<ref>Manes (1993), 101.</ref> The deal was completed in May 1977 just before the National Computer Conference in Dallas, Texas. Roberts got $2 million and the other 500 MITS shareholders (including the Altair co-designer, William Yates) split the rest.<ref name = "Albq Journal Dec 1976">{{cite news | title = Company Planning to Buy City Firm | work = Albuquerque Journal | page = B-6 | date = December 15, 1976}} MITS had approximately 500 shareholders and annual sales of $6 million.</ref><ref>Young (1998), 174.</ref>
Pertec was eager to increase sales to small businesses through the 26 Altair Computer stores across the United States. The marketing toward hobby/home user was curtailed. The November 1977 issue of the MITS newsletter, Computer Notes, was the last produced by the Albuquerque staff. There was one more issue produced by the Pertec staff in [[Chatsworth, California]].<ref name="Computer Notes - Last">{{cite journal|title=Publication notes |journal=Computer Notes |volume=3 |issue=7 |page=2 |publisher=Pertec Computer Corporation. |date=January–February 1978 |url=http://startup.nmnaturalhistory.org/gallery/notesViewer.php?ii=78_1&p=2 |url-status=unfit |
In August 1979, Pertec agreed to sell a 45% stake to [[Philips#United States|North American Philips]] for $37 million. Before the deal was complete, Pertec agreed to be acquired by the West German computer company, [[Triumph-Adler]], for $120 million. In 1978, Pertec had sales of $150 million and Triumph-Adler had sales of $466 million.<ref name = "Philips 1979">{{cite news | agency = Reuters | title = Pertec in Accord On Philips Stake | work = The New York Times | page = D4 | date = August 22, 1979}}</ref><ref name = "Triumph-Adler 1979">{{cite news | agency = Associated Press | title = A German Concern Is Seeking Pertec | work = The New York Times | page = D4 | date = October 23, 1979}}</ref>
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== Works cited ==
*{{cite book | last = Ceruzzi | first = Paul E. | title = A History of Modern Computing | publisher = MIT Press | year = 2003 | ___location = Cambridge, MA | isbn = 0-262-53203-4 | url = https://archive.org/details/historyofmodernc00ceru_0 }}
*{{cite book | last = Manes | first = Stephen |
*{{cite book | last = Mims | first = Forrest M |
*{{cite book | last = Roberts | first = H. Edward |
*{{cite book | last = Young | first = Jeffrey S. | title = Forbes Greatest Technology Stories: Inspiring Tales of the Entrepreneurs | url = https://archive.org/details/forbesgreatest00youn | url-access = registration | publisher = John Wiley & Sons | year =1998 | ___location =New York | isbn = 0-471-24374-4}} Chapter 6 "Mechanics: Kits & Microcomputers"
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