THE WHATIS.COM WORD-OF-THE-DAY September 24, 2003 Altair
________________ SPONSORED BY: Microsoft The Quick Guide to Windows Server 2003. Get the latest information on installation, new features and training. Click here! http://WhatIs.com/r/0,,18806,00.htm?microsoft ________________ TODAY'S WORD: Altair See our complete definition with hyperlinks at http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci927695,00.html The Altair was the world's first personal computer (PC) to attract a substantial number of users. When it appeared on the cover of the January 1975 issue of Popular Electronics, the Altair 8800 ignited the (still accelerating) personal computer boom. A company called MITS (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems) in Albuquerque developed the Altair and sold it for $395 as a kit or $495 assembled. In the first three months after its debut, MITS received 4000 orders for the new computer, which it referred to as a "minicomputer." The first Altairs shipped without an operating system with an Intel 8080 processor (the first 8-bit chip) on the CPU card, 256 bytes of memory, and toggle and switch LED panels on the front. In general, the buyer didn't know how the computer might be used or what it might be able to do (simple games and mathematical problems, as it turned out). There was no keyboard or application software: data was input by manipulating switches on the front for each bit. The units were thought of as hobby kits, somewhat like the ones sold to ham radio enthusiasts. Because the computer kits relied on the skill of the person assembling them as well as the integrity of the parts, most of the early machines didn't work. However, this is where the "hobby" aspect came into play: people tinkered with their kits and eventually got their systems to (more or less) work, a situation that is still familiar to many computer component purchasers today. Among the many whose imaginations were piqued by the appearance of the Altair 8800 were the young Paul Allen and Bill Gates. They adapted BASIC, a mainframe programming language, for use with the Altair. Allen immediately went to work for MITS and Gates followed soon after. The pair left in 1976 to devote more time to their burgeoning software company, Microsoft. In the meantime, other microcomputer manufacturers were bringing products to market, many of which were more functional than the Altair. MITS soon foundered. Among the factors cited in the company's downfall were: problems with quality control, too many projects being rushed to market, and an ill-advised refusal to let retailers that sold Altair sell any other brand. ______________________ RELATED TERMS: personal computer http://searchwin2000.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid1_gci214279,00.html processor http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci212833,00.html memory http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid40_gci212546,00.html LED http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci213613,00.html BASIC http://searchvb.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid8_gci213805,00.html ______________________ SELECTED LINKS: Take a tour of the Virtual Altair Museum. http://virtualaltair.com/ The Smithsonian has more information about the Altair in their Computer History Collection. http://americanhistory.si.edu/csr/comphist/objects/altair.htm ______________________ TODAY'S TECH NEWS: MS LICENSING MESSAGE SLOWLY GETTING THROUGH With Licensing 6.0, Microsoft set out to make its licensing easier for customers to understand. The program's message is starting to succeed, experts say, albeit slowly. http://searchwin2000.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid1_gci929004,00.html ANALYST FIRM URGES CAUTION ON SUN'S LINUX STRATEGY In a recent report, the Aberdeen Group compares Sun's and Hewlett-Packard's Linux strategies and cautions that Sun's bias toward Solaris and the perception it isn't serious about Linux could hamper its movement into the enterprise Linux space. http://searchenterpriselinux.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid39_gci928968,00.html CISCO PINS GOVERNMENT HOPES ON LOW-COST TOOLS Cisco has added new products to its Catalyst 6500 Series line of multilayer switches, courting governments and data centers with lower operational costs and increased density. http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid7_gci928973,00.html >> Catch up on all the latest IT news at http://searchtechtarget.techtarget.com/ _____________________ QUIZ: DO YOU SPEAK GEEK? | Routers Are you a real know-IT-all? How many router-related terms can you guess without peeking? >> Click here http://searchcio.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid19_gci928703,00.html ______________________ SECRET WORD-OF-THE-DAY | What is IT? It's all about dominance: this communications protocol model describes a relationship in which one device or process controls one or more other devices or processes. >> See if you're right! http://search390.techtarget.com/gDefinition/0,294236,sid10_gci783492,00.html _____________________ WHATIS.COM POLL | Offshore outsourcing Do you think the government should take steps to control offshore outsourcing? Vote in our poll to let us know what you think about this controversial issue. >> Vote now! http://whatis.techtarget.com/poll/1,289525,sid9,00.html ______________________________ RECENT ADDITIONS AND UPDATES [1] view http://searchdatabase.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid13_gci928676,00.html [2] PayPal http://searchwebservices.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid26_gci927888,00.html [3] transistor-to-transistor logic http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci927618,00.html [4] Words-to-Go glossary: outsourcing http://searchcio.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid19_gci928601,00.html [5] ICT http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci928405,00.html ____________________________________________________________________ ::::::::::::::::::: WHATIS.COM CONTACTS ::::::::::::::::::: LOWELL THING, Site Editor ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) MARGARET ROUSE, Associate Editor ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) IVY WIGMORE, Assistant Editor ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) ::::::::::::::::::::: ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER :::::::::::::::::::::: This newsletter is published by TechTarget, the most targeted IT media. http://www.techtarget.com Copyright 2003 TechTarget. 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