<s>
Micro	O
Instrumentation	O
and	O
Telemetry	O
Systems	O
(	O
MITS	O
)	O
was	O
an	O
American	O
electronics	O
company	O
founded	O
in	O
Albuquerque	O
,	O
New	O
Mexico	O
that	O
began	O
manufacturing	O
electronic	O
calculators	B-Application
in	O
1971	O
and	O
personal	O
computers	O
in	O
1975	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1971	O
,	O
Roberts	O
redirected	O
the	O
company	O
into	O
the	O
electronic	O
calculator	B-Application
market	O
and	O
the	O
MITS	O
816	O
desktop	O
calculator	B-Application
kit	O
was	O
featured	O
on	O
the	O
November	O
1971	O
cover	O
of	O
Popular	O
Electronics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
calculators	B-Application
were	O
very	O
successful	O
and	O
sales	O
topped	O
one	O
million	O
dollars	O
in	O
1973	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
brutal	O
calculator	B-Application
price	O
war	O
left	O
the	O
company	O
deeply	O
in	O
debt	O
by	O
1974	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Roberts	O
then	O
developed	O
the	O
first	O
commercially	O
successful	O
microcomputer	B-Architecture
,	O
the	O
Altair	B-Architecture
8800	I-Architecture
,	O
which	O
was	O
featured	O
on	O
the	O
January	O
1975	O
cover	O
of	O
Popular	O
Electronics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Paul	O
Allen	O
and	O
Bill	O
Gates	O
saw	O
the	O
magazine	O
and	O
began	O
writing	O
software	O
for	O
the	O
Altair	O
,	O
later	O
called	O
Altair	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Roberts	O
wanted	O
to	O
design	O
a	O
new	O
electronic	O
calculator	B-Application
kit	O
but	O
his	O
partners	O
wanted	O
out	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
His	O
first	O
real	O
experience	O
with	O
computers	O
came	O
while	O
at	O
Oklahoma	O
State	O
University	O
where	O
engineering	O
students	O
had	O
free	O
access	O
to	O
an	O
IBM	B-Device
1620	I-Device
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Roberts	O
 '	O
office	O
at	O
Weapons	O
Laboratory	O
had	O
the	O
state	O
of	O
the	O
art	O
Hewlett-Packard	B-Device
9100A	I-Device
programmable	O
calculator	B-Application
in	O
1968	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
July	O
1970	O
,	O
a	O
semiconductor	O
company	O
,	O
Electronic	O
Arrays	O
,	O
announced	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
six	O
LSI	O
ICs	O
that	O
would	O
make	O
a	O
four-function	O
calculator	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Roberts	O
was	O
determined	O
to	O
design	O
a	O
calculator	B-Application
kit	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
other	O
officers	O
and	O
scientist	O
at	O
the	O
lab	O
were	O
interested	O
in	O
this	O
state	O
of	O
the	O
art	O
calculator	B-Application
kit	O
and	O
helped	O
with	O
the	O
design	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Forrest	O
Mims	O
wrote	O
the	O
assembly	O
manual	O
in	O
return	O
for	O
a	O
calculator	B-Application
kit	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
MITS	O
816	O
was	O
known	O
as	O
a	O
"	O
four-function	O
"	O
calculator	B-Application
;	O
it	O
could	O
add	O
,	O
subtract	O
,	O
multiply	O
and	O
divide	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Thousands	O
of	O
calculator	B-Application
orders	O
came	O
in	O
each	O
month	O
,	O
in	O
contrast	O
to	O
poor	O
results	O
for	O
previous	O
kits	O
that	O
MITS	O
had	O
offered	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
steady	O
flow	O
of	O
calculator	B-Application
sales	O
allowed	O
MITS	O
to	O
run	O
full	O
page	O
advertisements	O
in	O
Radio-Electronics	O
,	O
Popular	O
Electronics	O
and	O
Scientific	O
American	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
June	O
1972	O
Radio-Electronics	O
,	O
MITS	O
announced	O
a	O
14	O
digit	O
calculator	B-Application
(	O
Model	O
1440	O
)	O
with	O
memory	O
and	O
square	O
root	O
function	O
for	O
$199.95	O
kit	O
and	O
$249.95	O
assembled	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
calculators	B-Application
could	O
be	O
controlled	O
by	O
upcoming	O
programming	O
unit	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
meet	O
the	O
demand	O
for	O
assembled	O
calculators	B-Application
,	O
an	O
automated	O
wave	O
solder	O
machine	O
was	O
installed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1973	O
MITS	O
was	O
selling	O
every	O
calculator	B-Application
they	O
could	O
make	O
,	O
110	O
employees	O
worked	O
in	O
two	O
shifts	O
assembling	O
calculators	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
functionality	O
of	O
calculator	B-Application
ICs	O
increased	O
at	O
a	O
rapid	O
pace	O
and	O
Roberts	O
was	O
designing	O
and	O
producing	O
new	O
models	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
MITS	O
7400	O
scientific	O
and	O
engineering	O
calculator	B-Application
was	O
introduced	O
in	O
December	O
1972	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
featured	O
trigonometric	O
functions	O
,	O
polar	O
to	O
rectangular	O
conversion	O
,	O
two	O
memories	O
,	O
and	O
up	O
to	O
a	O
seven-level	O
stack	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
kit	O
with	O
a	O
three-level	O
stack	B-Application
was	O
$299.95	O
and	O
an	O
assembled	O
unit	O
with	O
a	O
seven-level	O
stack	B-Application
was	O
$419.95	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
next	O
month	O
the	O
Series	O
1200	O
four-function	O
pocket	O
calculators	B-Application
were	O
announced	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
the	O
same	O
size	O
as	O
a	O
desktop	O
calculator	B-Application
and	O
could	O
hold	O
256	O
programming	O
steps	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
limited	O
to	O
emulating	O
calculator	B-Application
key	O
presses	O
and	O
simple	O
sequence	O
branching	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
combination	O
of	O
the	O
MITS	O
7440	O
calculator	B-Application
and	O
the	O
programmer	O
was	O
not	O
nearly	O
as	O
sophisticated	O
as	O
the	O
HP	B-Device
9830	I-Device
calculator	I-Device
but	O
$400	O
for	O
both	O
kits	O
was	O
a	O
fraction	O
of	O
the	O
HP	O
price	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Trig	O
functions	O
,	O
3	O
-	O
(	O
7400A	O
)	O
,	O
5	O
-	O
(	O
7400B	O
)	O
,	O
or	O
7-level	O
stack	B-Application
(	O
7400C	O
)	O
Dec	O
.	O
1972	O
$339.95	O
$419.95	O
1206	O
Handheld	O
,	O
6	O
digit	O
display	O
,	O
12-digit	O
calculation	O
,	O
4-function	O
,	O
Jan	O
.	O
1973	O
$49.95	O
$59.95	O
1209	O
Handheld	O
,	O
9	O
digit	O
display	O
,	O
12-digit	O
calculation	O
,	O
4-function	O
,	O
Jan	O
.	O
1973	O
$69.95	O
$79.95	O
1212	O
Handheld	O
,	O
12	O
digit	O
,	O
4-function	O
,	O
Jan	O
.	O
1973	O
$89.95	O
$99.95	O
1230	O
Handheld	O
,	O
12	O
digit	O
display	O
,	O
4-function	O
,	O
Jan	O
.	O
1973	O
$89.95	O
$99.95	O
1240	O
Handheld	O
,	O
12	O
digit	O
display	O
,	O
4-function	O
,	O
memory	O
Jan	O
.	O
1973	O
$119.95	O
$149.95	O
7440	O
Desktop	O
,	O
14-digit	O
,	O
scientific	O
Mar	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bowmar	O
Instrument	O
Corporation	O
introduced	O
the	O
"	O
Bowmar	O
Brain	O
"	O
,	O
a	O
four-function	O
pocket	O
calculator	B-Application
,	O
in	O
September	O
1971	O
and	O
the	O
$179	O
calculator	B-Application
sold	O
over	O
500,000	O
copies	O
in	O
the	O
first	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bowmar	O
then	O
developed	O
the	O
"	O
901B	O
"	O
calculator	B-Application
that	O
was	O
priced	O
at	O
$120	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
1972	O
,	O
Texas	O
Instruments	O
(	O
TI	O
)	O
introduced	O
the	O
TI-2500	O
portable	O
four-function	O
calculator	B-Application
that	O
also	O
sold	O
for	O
$120	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
901B	O
and	O
the	O
TI-2500	O
both	O
used	O
the	O
TI	O
TMS0100	O
family	O
of	O
"	O
calculator-on-a-chip	O
"	O
integrated	O
circuit	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
semiconductor	O
companies	O
such	O
as	O
National	O
Semiconductor	O
and	O
Rockwell	O
began	O
selling	O
calculators	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
early	O
1974	O
,	O
Ed	O
Roberts	O
found	O
he	O
could	O
purchase	O
a	O
calculator	B-Application
in	O
a	O
retail	O
store	O
for	O
less	O
than	O
his	O
cost	O
of	O
materials	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Commodore	O
acquired	O
their	O
IC	O
supplier	O
,	O
MOS	B-Architecture
Technology	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Texas	O
Instruments	O
won	O
the	O
price	O
war	O
but	O
their	O
calculator	B-Application
division	O
lost	O
$16	O
million	O
in	O
1975	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Roberts	O
had	O
developed	O
several	O
test	O
equipment	O
products	O
such	O
as	O
a	O
Waveform	O
Generator	O
and	O
a	O
Digital	O
Voltmeter	O
so	O
he	O
attempted	O
to	O
appeal	O
to	O
kit	O
builders	O
again	O
by	O
featuring	O
the	O
test	O
equipment	O
and	O
digital	O
clocks	O
in	O
the	O
advertisements	O
,	O
instead	O
of	O
calculators	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Roberts	O
had	O
looked	O
at	O
the	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
4004	I-General_Concept
for	O
calculators	B-Application
and	O
thought	O
the	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
8008	I-General_Concept
was	O
limited	O
and	O
difficult	O
to	O
work	O
with	O
,	O
so	O
he	O
chose	O
the	O
most	O
recent	O
8080	B-General_Concept
as	O
the	O
basis	O
for	O
his	O
machine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Reviews	O
of	O
stereo	O
equipment	O
and	O
citizens	B-Application
band	I-Application
radio	I-Application
were	O
featured	O
;	O
experimenter	O
and	O
constructions	O
projects	O
were	O
gone	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
MITS	O
kit	O
projects	O
were	O
featured	O
in	O
Radio-Electronics	O
including	O
the	O
ITC	O
1800	O
Integrated	O
Circuit	O
Tester	O
(	O
May	O
1972	O
)	O
,	O
the	O
Model	O
1700	O
Function	O
Generator	O
(	O
July	O
1973	O
)	O
,	O
the	O
Model	O
1440	O
Calculator	B-Application
(	O
July	O
1973	O
)	O
and	O
the	O
88	O
VLCT	O
Computer	O
Terminal	O
(	O
November	O
1974	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Don	O
Lancaster	O
's	O
TV	B-Device
Typewriter	I-Device
in	O
September	O
1973	O
and	O
Jon	O
Titus	O
's	O
Mark-8	B-Device
computer	O
in	O
July	O
1974	O
were	O
the	O
catalyst	O
of	O
the	O
home	O
computer	O
revolution	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
wanted	O
to	O
publish	O
a	O
computer	O
project	O
that	O
was	O
more	O
functional	O
and	O
elegant	O
than	O
the	O
Mark-8	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Les	O
Solomon	O
knew	O
MITS	O
was	O
working	O
on	O
an	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
8080	I-General_Concept
based	O
computer	O
project	O
and	O
thought	O
Roberts	O
could	O
provide	O
the	O
project	O
for	O
the	O
always	O
popular	O
January	O
issue	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Altair	B-Architecture
8800	I-Architecture
was	O
modeled	O
after	O
early	O
1970s	O
minicomputers	B-Architecture
such	O
as	O
the	O
Data	B-Device
General	I-Device
Nova	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
machines	O
contained	O
a	O
CPU	B-General_Concept
board	O
,	O
memory	O
boards	O
,	O
and	O
I/O	O
boards	O
;	O
the	O
data	O
storage	O
and	O
display	O
terminal	O
were	O
external	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Teletype	B-Application
Model	I-Application
33	I-Application
ASR	I-Application
was	O
a	O
popular	O
terminal	O
because	O
it	O
provided	O
printed	O
output	O
and	O
data	O
storage	O
on	O
punched	O
paper	O
tape	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
More	O
advanced	O
systems	O
would	O
have	O
8-inch	O
floppy	O
disks	O
and	O
a	O
video	O
terminal	O
that	O
would	O
display	O
24	O
lines	O
of	O
80	O
characters	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
ADM-3A	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Altair	B-Architecture
8800	I-Architecture
kit	O
came	O
with	O
a	O
front	O
panel	O
,	O
a	O
CPU	B-General_Concept
board	O
with	O
the	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
8080	I-General_Concept
microprocessor	O
,	O
256	O
bytes	O
of	O
RAM	O
,	O
a	O
4-slot	O
backplane	O
and	O
an	O
8-amp	O
power	O
supply	O
for	O
$439	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Teletype	B-Application
Model	I-Application
33	I-Application
ASR	I-Application
was	O
$1500	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
was	O
a	O
special	O
price	O
for	O
an	O
8k	O
byte	O
system	O
with	O
Altair	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
(	O
Microsoft	O
first	O
ever	O
product	O
)	O
for	O
$995	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bill	O
Gates	O
,	O
and	O
Paul	O
Allen	O
wrote	O
Altair	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
with	O
Monte	O
Davidoff	O
contributing	O
the	O
Floating-point	B-Algorithm
arithmetic	I-Algorithm
routines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Altair	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
initial	O
developed	O
from	O
February	O
1975	O
to	O
May	O
1975	O
and	O
announced	O
by	O
MITS	O
in	O
July	O
1975	O
,	O
the	O
4k	O
version	O
on	O
paper	O
tape	O
for	O
$150	O
,	O
the	O
8k	O
version	O
with	O
cassette	O
support	O
for	O
$200	O
and	O
the	O
Extended	O
16k	O
version	O
with	O
disk	O
support	O
(	O
December	O
1975	O
)	O
for	O
$350	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
February	O
,	O
MITS	O
received	O
1,000	O
orders	O
for	O
the	O
Altair	B-Architecture
8800	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Altair	B-Architecture
8800	I-Architecture
computer	O
was	O
a	O
break-even	O
sale	O
for	O
MITS	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
8080	I-General_Concept
did	O
not	O
have	O
dedicated	O
circuitry	O
to	O
support	O
dynamic	O
random-access	O
memory	O
(	O
DRAM	O
)	O
because	O
in	O
1975	O
,	O
this	O
type	O
of	O
memory	O
was	O
still	O
a	O
new	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MITS	O
was	O
also	O
the	O
most	O
prominent	O
advertiser	O
in	O
the	O
new	O
hobbyist	O
computer	O
magazines	O
such	O
as	O
Creative	B-General_Concept
Computing	I-General_Concept
and	O
Byte	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
David	O
Bunnell	O
joined	O
MITS	O
as	O
a	O
technical	O
writer	O
in	O
the	O
calculator	B-Application
heyday	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
wrote	O
about	O
Altair	B-Language
Basic	I-Language
and	O
general	O
software	O
topics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Altair	O
owners	O
would	O
contribute	O
software	O
and	O
hardware	B-Architecture
suggestions	O
and	O
occasionally	O
a	O
complete	O
article	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MITS	O
purchased	O
a	O
camper	O
van	O
in	O
April	O
1975	O
and	O
outfitted	O
it	O
with	O
an	O
Altair	O
system	O
complete	O
with	O
floppy	O
disk	O
,	O
a	O
Teletype	B-Application
Model	I-Application
33	I-Application
and	O
every	O
accessory	O
MITS	O
produced	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
most	O
notable	O
seminar	O
was	O
at	O
Rickey	O
's	O
Hyatt	O
House	O
in	O
Palo	O
Alto	O
,	O
California	O
in	O
early	O
June	O
1975	O
,	O
where	O
a	O
member	O
of	O
the	O
Homebrew	O
Computer	O
Club	O
left	O
with	O
an	O
unreleased	O
copy	O
of	O
Altair	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Owners	O
of	O
mainframe	O
systems	O
and	O
minicomputers	B-Architecture
could	O
purchase	O
additional	O
memory	O
,	O
interface	O
boards	O
and	O
peripherals	O
from	O
third	O
party	O
suppliers	O
;	O
so	O
it	O
was	O
predictable	O
that	O
owners	O
of	O
the	O
Altair	B-Architecture
8800	I-Architecture
computer	O
would	O
do	O
the	O
same	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
technical	O
manuals	O
for	O
the	O
Altair	B-Architecture
8800	I-Architecture
provided	O
electrical	O
schematics	O
of	O
the	O
100	O
pin	O
computer	O
bus	O
allowing	O
others	O
to	O
design	O
compatible	O
boards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
,	O
the	O
industry	O
developed	O
the	O
S-100	B-Architecture
bus	I-Architecture
standard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
$160	O
board	O
became	O
very	O
popular	O
and	O
led	O
to	O
the	O
Processor	O
Technology	O
Sol-20	B-Architecture
Computer	O
in	O
1976	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
IMSAI	B-Device
8080	I-Device
,	O
the	O
first	O
"	O
clone	O
"	O
of	O
the	O
Altair	O
computer	O
,	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
December	O
1975	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
corrected	O
many	O
shortcomings	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
Altair	B-Architecture
8800	I-Architecture
by	O
providing	O
a	O
larger	O
power	O
supply	O
,	O
a	O
22	O
slot	O
motherboard	O
,	O
and	O
easier	O
wiring	O
of	O
the	O
front	O
panel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Roberts	O
also	O
pointed	O
out	O
that	O
the	O
new	O
Altair	O
8800B	O
was	O
superior	O
to	O
the	O
IMSAI	B-Device
8080	I-Device
and	O
the	O
upgraded	O
Altair	O
8800A	O
fixed	O
the	O
same	O
issues	O
that	O
the	O
IMSAI	O
did	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Altair	O
computers	O
were	O
only	O
available	O
from	O
the	O
20	O
or	O
so	O
authorized	O
Altair	O
computer	O
dealers	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
IMSAI	B-Device
8080	I-Device
,	O
Processor	O
Technology	O
Sol	O
and	O
many	O
other	O
clones	O
were	O
sold	O
by	O
hundreds	O
of	O
newly	O
opening	O
computer	O
stores	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
S-100	B-Architecture
bus	I-Architecture
was	O
used	O
throughout	O
the	O
1980s	O
until	O
it	O
was	O
overtaken	O
by	O
the	O
IBM	O
PC	O
ISA	B-Architecture
bus	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
's	O
engineer	O
,	O
Tim	O
Paterson	O
,	O
designed	O
an	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
8086	I-General_Concept
CPU	B-General_Concept
system	O
on	O
two	O
S-100	O
boards	O
in	O
1979	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
,	O
then	O
in	O
nearby	O
Bellevue	O
,	O
Washington	O
,	O
used	O
the	O
prototype	O
machine	O
to	O
test	O
their	O
8086	B-General_Concept
version	O
of	O
BASIC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Digital	O
Research	O
had	O
promised	O
to	O
deliver	O
an	O
8086	B-General_Concept
version	O
of	O
their	O
CP/M	B-Application
operating	I-Application
system	I-Application
by	O
December	O
1979	O
but	O
missed	O
that	O
date	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SCP	O
needed	O
a	O
disk	O
operating	O
system	O
to	O
sell	O
its	O
8086	B-General_Concept
products	O
so	O
Patterson	O
wrote	O
QDOS	B-Operating_System
,	O
a	O
"	O
Quick	B-Operating_System
and	I-Operating_System
Dirty	I-Operating_System
Operating	I-Operating_System
System	I-Operating_System
"	O
in	O
three	O
months	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
would	O
later	O
purchase	O
QDOS	B-Operating_System
from	O
SCP	O
for	O
$	O
50,000	O
and	O
use	O
it	O
as	O
the	O
basis	O
for	O
the	O
IBM	B-Operating_System
PC	I-Operating_System
DOS	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
saw	O
the	O
Altair	B-Architecture
8800	I-Architecture
computer	O
in	O
the	O
January	O
1975	O
issue	O
of	O
Popular	O
Electronics	O
and	O
knew	O
it	O
was	O
powerful	O
enough	O
to	O
support	O
a	O
BASIC	O
interpreter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
wanted	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
first	O
to	O
offer	O
BASIC	O
for	O
the	O
Altair	O
computer	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
software	O
development	O
tools	O
they	O
had	O
previously	O
created	O
for	O
their	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
8008	I-General_Concept
microprocessor	O
based	O
Traf-O-Data	O
computer	O
would	O
give	O
them	O
a	O
head	O
start	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
their	O
friend	O
,	O
Paul	O
Gilbert	O
,	O
was	O
building	O
the	O
computer	O
,	O
Allen	O
wrote	O
a	O
program	O
that	O
ran	O
on	O
a	O
DEC	B-Device
PDP-10	I-Device
time-sharing	B-General_Concept
computer	O
that	O
simulated	O
the	O
8008	B-General_Concept
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
also	O
modified	O
DEC	O
's	O
macro	B-Language
assembler	I-Language
to	O
produce	O
the	O
machine	O
code	O
for	O
the	O
8008	B-General_Concept
microprocessor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Traf-O-Data	O
software	O
could	O
be	O
written	O
and	O
debugged	O
before	O
the	O
computer	B-Architecture
hardware	I-Architecture
was	O
complete	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Harvard	O
had	O
a	O
DEC	B-Device
PDP-10	I-Device
that	O
was	O
available	O
for	O
student	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
Allen	O
modified	O
their	O
development	O
software	O
for	O
the	O
new	O
8080	B-General_Concept
microprocessor	I-General_Concept
,	O
Gates	O
began	O
writing	O
8080	B-General_Concept
assembly	B-Language
language	I-Language
by	O
hand	O
on	O
yellow	O
legal	O
pads	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
early	O
February	O
the	O
program	O
coding	O
switched	O
from	O
legal	O
pads	O
to	O
the	O
PDP-10	B-Device
and	O
a	O
preliminary	O
version	O
was	O
completed	O
by	O
March	O
1975	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
April	O
1975	O
issue	O
of	O
the	O
Altair	O
Newsletter	O
,	O
Computer	O
Notes	O
,	O
had	O
a	O
banner	O
headline	O
"	O
Altair	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
-	O
Up	O
and	O
Running	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
July	O
22	O
,	O
1975	O
MITS	O
signed	O
a	O
contract	O
for	O
the	O
Altair	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
with	O
Bill	O
Gates	O
and	O
Paul	O
Allen	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MITS	O
would	O
supply	O
the	O
computer	O
time	O
necessary	O
for	O
development	O
;	O
a	O
PDP-10	B-Device
owned	O
by	O
the	O
Albuquerque	O
school	O
district	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
price	O
of	O
Altair	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
to	O
customers	O
who	O
purchased	O
additional	O
memory	O
and	O
I/O	O
boards	O
from	O
MITS	O
was	O
$75	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MITS	O
had	O
announced	O
a	O
new	O
computer	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
Motorola	B-Device
6800	I-Device
microprocessor	O
in	O
November	O
1975	O
,	O
the	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
machines	O
were	O
supposed	O
to	O
ship	O
in	O
January	O
1976	O
,	O
but	O
hardware	B-Architecture
design	O
problems	O
delayed	O
shipment	O
until	O
May	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Paul	O
Allen	O
rewrote	O
their	O
8080	B-General_Concept
simulator	O
to	O
support	O
the	O
6800	O
microprocessor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ric	O
Weiland	O
,	O
a	O
high	O
school	O
friend	O
of	O
Gates	O
and	O
Allen	O
,	O
converted	O
the	O
Altair	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
's	O
8080	B-General_Concept
assembly	B-Language
language	I-Language
to	O
6800	O
assembly	B-Language
language	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Weiland	O
and	O
Marc	O
McDonald	O
were	O
impressed	O
with	O
the	O
new	O
MOS	B-General_Concept
Technology	I-General_Concept
6502	I-General_Concept
microprocessor	O
that	O
was	O
a	O
derivative	O
of	O
the	O
6800	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
modified	O
the	O
6800	O
development	O
system	O
to	O
support	O
the	O
6502	B-General_Concept
and	O
"	O
cranked	O
out	O
"	O
a	O
6502	B-General_Concept
edition	O
of	O
BASIC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
January	O
1976	O
issue	O
of	O
MITS	O
's	O
newsletter	O
,	O
Computer	O
Notes	O
,	O
carried	O
an	O
ad	O
for	O
8080	B-General_Concept
BASIC	O
.	O
</s>
