MITS - Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems
10 hours ago
- #Personal Computing Origins
- #Altair 8800
- #MITS History
- Henry Edward Roberts enlisted in the USAF in 1962, became an officer in 1968, and was fascinated by a Hewlett-Packard 9100 calculator, which sparked his interest in computing.
- Roberts co-founded Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS) in 1969 with Forrest Mims, Stan Cagle, and Robert Zaller, initially focusing on model rocketry telemetry products.
- MITS struggled until shifting to electronics kits, like the Opticom infrared communicator, which gained attention through a Popular Electronics article.
- Roberts bought out his partners in 1970, refocused on calculators, and released the successful 816 calculator kit in 1971, turning MITS profitable.
- After calculator market saturation led to debt, MITS developed the Altair 8800 microcomputer in 1974-1975, featuring Intel 8080 processor and open bus for expansion.
- The Altair 8800 was featured in Popular Electronics in January 1975, receiving massive orders and establishing the S-100 bus standard.
- Paul Allen and Bill Gates created Altair BASIC for the Altair 8800, leading to Microsoft's founding in April 1975 and pioneering software for personal computers.
- MITS expanded with products like Altair 680 (Motorola 6800-based) and hosted the first personal microcomputer conference in 1976, but faced competition and market shifts.
- Roberts sold MITS to Pertec for $6 million in 1977, achieving his personal goals, and later became a doctor and farmer.
- MITS and the Altair 8800 were foundational to the personal computer industry, influencing hardware standards, software development, and the growth of the microcomputer market.