The Evolution of Personal Computers
There is some argument about what was actually the very first personal computer. Some
say it was the MITS Altair 8800 (see Figure 1-6), and others claim it was the Apple. It may
depend on the definition you use for just what a personal computer is, or was.
The Altair 8800 was a kit computer that fast became the favorite of hobbyists looking
to get a computer all their own. Ed Roberts and his company, MITS (Model Instrumenta-
tion Telemetry Systems), developed this early personal computer kit, which was named
theAltairbyhisdaughterafteraplanetarydestinationontheTVshowStarTrek.Thesoft-
ware for the MITS was a BASIC programming language written by a fledgling company
called Microsoft. However, like nearly all early personal computers, the Altair 8800 did
not have off-the-shelf application software, and users had to write their software them-
selves using the BASIC language interpreter. While this was a challenge, to those kindred
spirits looking to get in on the computing craze, it wasn’t a problem.
In 1978, after seeing a demonstration of the Altair 8800, two young computer enthusi-
asts, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, set out to build their own computer and developed a
computer they named the Apple I. Like its predecessors, the Apple I established a follow-
ing that encouraged its young developers to continue. The Apple II soon followed (see
Figure 1-7), bolstered by what may have been the first killer application, an early spread-
sheet program called VisiCalc, and became a commercial success.
It wasn’t long before nearly every mainframe and minicomputer manufacturer leaped
into the personal computer market. IBM, Digital Equipment, and others soon had their own
PCs in the marketplace. The IBM PC and its extended technology (XT) and advanced tech-
nology (AT) versions soon became the standard for computers using Intel microprocessors,Chapter 1: The Personal Computer^9
Figure 1-6. The Altair MITS is thought to have been the first personal computer