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Altair at 50: Remembering the first Personal Computer

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Re: Altair at 50: Remembering the first Personal Computer

#41

Post by ebruchez »

SoftTalker wrote: post #29
ebruchez wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the interesting aspects of the Altair was that it was based on a bus called the S-100 bus. You would have a CPU card and a memory card at least, but everything else was optional. The serial board was separate, and strictly not absolutely necessary to play with the computer, since you could enter simple programs directly from the front panel.

I remember S-100 from when I was a kid. Never was hands-on with that hardware but there were all kinds of ads for cards in Byte magazine and others. Seemed like you could get a card for almost anything in S-100 protocol.

That's right. There are still S-100 enthusiasts who are maintaining and developing S-100 cards, see http://www.s100computers.com/ (does not seem to respond correctly to HTTPS right now).

Re: Altair at 50: Remembering the first Personal Computer

#42

Post by mixmastamyk »

berlinbrowndev wrote: post #2

Cool I always thought the first PCs were like the TRS or Commodore 64 computers.

Commodore had the PET in the late 70's, and the Vic-20 before the 64 in the early 80s.

Apple had the II in the late 70s, and before that was the Altair.

Re: Altair at 50: Remembering the first Personal Computer

#43

Post by pan69 »

jodydonetti wrote: post #34

Olivetti P101 (1965) https://www.fondazioneadrianolivetti.it/en/p101-cecam/

It's an interesting one. Some people call it a Personal Computer others call it a calculator. However you classify it, it was certainly a interesting and important stepping stone and it's a shame that a lot of European innovations are often forgotten or skimmed over:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programma_101

Re: Altair at 50: Remembering the first Personal Computer

#44

Post by twoodfin »

danbruc wrote: post #6

Cost the equivalent of $2359 back then, right now you can get a few on eBay for around $5000. Or you can get a mini replica kit for $150. [1] [1] https://altairmini.com/en/home

Lest you worry you (or your parents) should have stashed away a few Altairs, that $397 in a tax-advantaged retirement account investing in the S&P 500 would be worth more than $70k today.

Re: Altair at 50: Remembering the first Personal Computer

#45

Post by kabdib »

CarVac wrote: post #32

My dad has an IMSAI 8080 which is a neat piece of hardware. It still works, though a few LEDs failed. Unfortunately for him, in university one of his professors advised him not to go into computers for a career...

in 1977 or so my dad (a college professor) advised me not to go into computers

a couple of decades later (i hadn't listened, and had been working for high-tech Silly Valley for quite a while) he apologized :-)

Re: Altair at 50: Remembering the first Personal Computer

#46

Post by b112 »

reaperducer wrote: post #35
b112 wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did he use all the money, or some?

The property records are probably online. Go nuts.

My point was, buying a peanut farm != spending every penny you owned on the peanut farm. It simply could have been what he desired, enjoyed. He could have socked away way more.

The comment I replied to alluded to said peanut farm being (forgive me) peanuts compared to a coastline.

Re: Altair at 50: Remembering the first Personal Computer

#47

Post by rahen »

berlinbrowndev wrote: post #2

Cool I always thought the first PCs were like the TRS or Commodore 64 computers.

"Personal computer" can refer either to a small-form computer, in which case the Olivetti P101 was likely the first in 1965 (the PDP-8/E was also a contender), or to a microprocessor-based computer, in which case the Micral N holds that title in 1973.

The Altair, in 1975, was the first commercially successful personal microcomputer.

Re: Altair at 50: Remembering the first Personal Computer

#49

Post by Sharlin »

MBCook wrote: post #38
Sharlin wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What caught my eye was the headline about CCDs as successors to video camera tubes. Charge-coupled devices being, of course, the sensor technology now used by essentially all of the billions of digital cameras on the planet.

Hasn’t basically everyone switch from CCD to CMOS sensors these days? I don’t know the technical difference other than what each stands for.

Oops, indeed. I got the two mixed up.
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