On 5/23/24 12:53, Dave Dunfield via cctalk wrote:

> I've just passed on my "Mits Altair 8800" - this is a very historic system
> from the 70s - it is:
>   First Personal Computer (long before IBM PC)
>   First S100 buss system
>   First system Bill Gates wrote code for (long before Microsoft)

I don't think the "first" applies in this case.  The MCM/70 used an 8008
and was complete computer with storage and display--something the MITS
8800 was not.

I spent the weekend soldering together my 8800 (CPU, SIO and 2x 4K DRAM)
system, cursing the cheap white wire in the process.  Finally got it
running with a TVT.

I couldn't wait to show it to a female working in my section.  She
dropped by my apartment, took one look at the thing sitting on my
kitchen table and burst out laughing.  "That's not a computer; it's a
toy!" was her withering reaction.

I don't know if my male ego ever recovered from that.  And I *hated* the
DRAM boards.

I do, however, still have the MITS box.  Haven't run it in nearly 40 years.

--Chuck

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