More on the History of Computers
Here is more of Ken Polsson's research on the History of Computers that I published last month. This month includes more of his timeline. Here again, he did research from book and magazine sources from many years reading. These included Byte, PC World, PC Magazine, InfoWorld, PC Computing, and many more. He also searched the Web on company sites, researching history through their information as well. Here are 1970 to 1976 and the birth of the microcomputer. Enjoy!
Microprocessors, Computer Kits, Pocket Calculators
1971 (Summer)
Steve Wozniak and Bill Fernandez build a computer with lights and switches, from parts rejected by local companies. They call it the Cream Soda Computer.
Intel renegotiates its contract with ETI, gaining Intel the right to market the 4004 microprocessor openly.
1971 November
Intel introduces its 4-bit bus, 108-KHz 4004 chip—the first microprocessor. Initial price is US$200. Speed is 60,000 operations per second. It uses 2300 transistors. It can address 640 bytes. Documentation manuals were written by Adam Osborne.
Intel announces the first microcomputer, the MCS-4 system. It uses the 4004 microprocessor, 4001 ROM chip, 4002 RAM chip, and 4003 shift register chip.
1971 (month unknown)
Electronic News publishes an ad from Intel promoting the 4004 chip.
The National Radio Institute introduces the first computer kit, for US$503.
The Kenback Corporation introduces the Kenback-1 computer, for US$750. It uses a 1KB MOS memory made by Intel.
Niklaus Wirth invents the Pascal programming language.
IBM introduces the "memory disk," or "floppy disk," an 8-inch floppy plastic disk coated with iron oxide.
Wang Laboratories introduces the Wang 1200 word processor system. This is the first word processor.
Intel introduces the 1101 chip, a 256-bit programmable memory, and the 1701 chip, a 256-byte erasable read-only memory (EROM).
1972 (month unknown)
Gary Kildall implements PL/I on the Intel 4004 processor.
National Semiconductor introduces the IMP-16 microprocessor.
The People's Computer Company is founded.
Bill Gates and Paul Allen form the Traf-O-Data company. They had developed an 8008-based computer hardware/software system for recording automobile traffic flow on a highway.
5.25-inch diskettes first appear.
Xerox decides to build a personal computer to be used for research. The result is the Alto computer.
Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs begin selling "blue boxes" (devices to subvert the phone system and make free calls).
1972 August
Scelbi Computer Consulting Company begins design work on what would be the Scelbi-8H processor.
1972 October
The first issue of People's Computer Company is released.
1972 November
Intel releases its 108-KHz 8008 chip, the first 8-bit microprocessor. It accesses 16 KB of memory. The processor was originally developed for Computer Terminal Corporation (later called DataPoint). It uses 3500 transistors.
Atari is founded by Nolan Bushnell, and ships Pong, the first commercial video game. The name Atari means "check" in Japanese, Nolan Bushnell was a big Chinese chess player.
1973 (Spring)
Scelbi Computer Consulting Company offers the first computer kit in the U.S. using a microprocessor, the Intel 8008-based Scelbi-8H, for US$565, with 1KB programmable memory. An additional 15KB is available for US$2760.
1973 (month unknown)
IBM introduces the IBM 3340 hard disk unit, known as the Winchester, IBM's internal development code name. The recording head rides on a layer of air 18 millionths of an inch thick. The disk had four fourteen platters and had a capacity of 70 MB.
1973 (month unknown)
David Ahl protests Digital Equipment cutbacks of educational products, and is fired. He is soon rehired.
Gary Kildall begins consulting work at Intel.
Bob Metcalfe invents the Ethernet connectivity system.
The Alto workstation computer is built at Xerox' Palo Alto Research Center. It uses the advanced Smalltalk language, a mouse input device, and the Ethernet technique of linking Alto computers to each other. Less than 2000 are built in total.
1973 May
Design work is completed on the Micral, the first non-kit computer based on a microprocessor (the Intel 8008). Built in France, the Micral is advertised in the U.S., but is not successful there.
1973 June
The term "microcomputer" first appears in print, in reference to the Micral.
1973 (month unknown)
Gary Kildall creates PL/M for the Intel 8008, based on PL/I.
Stephen Wozniak joins Hewlett-Packard.
1973 (September)
Don Lancaster designs the TV Typewriter and publishes construction details in Radio Electronics magazine. The components cost about $120 (plus a TV) and could display 16 lines of 32 characters.
1973 (Late)
Gary Kildall writes a simple operating system in his PL/M language. He calls it CP/M (Control Program/Microcomputer).
1974 April
Intel releases its 2-MHz 8080 chip, an 8-bit microprocessor. It can access 64KB of memory. It uses 6000 transistors.
1974 (spring)
In a desperate act to save his failing calculator company, MITS company owner Ed Roberts begins building a small computer based on Intel's new 8080 chip, with plans to sell it for the unheard of price of US$500.
1974 July
Radio Electronics magazine publishes an article on building a Mark-8 microcomputer, designed by Jonathan Titus, using the Intel 8008.
1974 August
Motorola introduces its 6800 chip, an early 8-bit microprocessor used in microcomputers and industrial and automotive control devices.
1974 September
Hal Singer starts the Micro-8 Newsletter for enthusiasts of the Mark-8.
Bravo is developed for the Xerox Alto computer. It is the first WYSIWYG program for a personal computer.
Despite being US$300,000 in debt, Ed Roberts is able to borrow an additional US$65,000 from the bank to complete work on what would be the Altair.
Creative Computing, the first magazine for home computer hobbyists, is founded.
1974 November
Hal Chamberlin and others begin publishing The Computer Hobbyist magazine.
1974 Late Fall
Railway Express loses Ed Robert's only prototype Altair computer, en route to New York for review and photography for publishing by Popular Electronics.
Les Solomon, publisher of Popular Electronics, receives Altair number 0001.
Lauren Solomon, 12 year old daughter of Les Solomon, publisher of Popular Electronics, suggests the name "Altair" for Ed Robert's new microcomputer. Altair was the name of where Star Trek's Enterprise was going that night on TV.
1974 December
Scelbi sells its last Scelbi-8H, discontinuing hardware to concentrate on software.
Popular Electronics publishes an article by MITS announcing the Altair 8800 computer for US$439 in kit form. It uses the Intel 8080 processor. The Altair pictured on the cover of the magazine is actually a mock-up, as an actual computer was not available.
Sixteen year-old Brian Smither purchases and assembles the calculator kit (shown in the lower-left corner of the magazine cover) complete with the 10 memory register add-on chip. His mother has a conniption fit and grounds him for two weeks believing such things will never to lead to anything useful.
1974 (month unknown)
Ted Nelson publishes Computer Lib.
Texas Instruments introduces the TMS1000 one-chip microcomputer.
Gary Kildall, of Microcomputer Applications Associates, develops the CP/M operating system for Intel 8080-based systems.
Southwest Technical Products Company introduces the TVT-11 kit for US$180, and ASCII keyboard kit for US$40.
Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie develop the C programming language.
The RCA 1802, running at a blazing 6.4 MHz appears, considered one of the first RISC chips.
Engineer David Ahl suggests Digital Equipment produce an inexpensive version of its PDP-8 minicomputer, for US$5000. Top management call the idea foolish.
Gary Kildall and John Torode begin selling a disk operating system for microcomputers.
The first copy of CP/M is sold.
Xerox releases the Alto computer.
1975 January
Cromemco is founded, by Harry Garland and Roger Melen. The company is named after the Crowthers Memorial dorm at Stanford.
Harry Garland and Roger Melen receive Altair number 0002. They had proposed in December to attach their Cyclops camera to the Altair, for use as a security camera.
1975 February
Paul Allen meets with Ed Roberts to demonstrate the newly written BASIC interpreter for the Altair. Despite never having touched an Altair before, the BASIC works flawlessly.
Bill Gates and Paul Allen license their newly written BASIC to MITS, their first customer. This is the first computer language program written for a personal computer.
1975 March
Fred Moore and Gordon French hold the first meeting of a new microcomputer hobbyist's club in French's garage, in Menlo Park, California. 32 people meet, including Bob Albrect, Steve Dompier, Lee Felsenstein, Bob Marsh, Tom Pittman, Marty Spergel, Alan Baum, and Steven Wozniak. Bob Albrect shows off an Altair, and Steve Dompier reports on MITS, and how they had 4000 orders for the Altair.
Ed Roberts hires Paul Allen as director of software at MITS.
1975 (Summer)
Wavemate releases the Jupiter II computer kit.
Southwest Technical Products releases the M6800 computer kit.
Microcomputer Associates releases the JOLT computer kit.
Gates' and Allen's Traf-O-Data company is renamed Micro-Soft.
IBM's John Cocke begins work on project "801", to develop a scalable chip design that could be used in small computers as well as large.
IMSAI begins working on the IMSAI 8080.
1975 April
The second meeting of Fred Moore/Gordon French's computer hobbyists group is held at the Stanford AI lab. 40 attend. The name for the group is chosen: Bay Area Amateur Computer Users Group—Homebrew Computer Club.
Bill Gates and Paul Allen found Micro-Soft (the hyphen is later dropped).
Bob Marsh and Gary Ingram found Processor Technology.
Ken Hopkins gets his Altair kit assembled and working. It has 256 bytes of memory and the only I/O are the front panel lights and switches.
1975 May
The 3rd meeting of the Homebrew Computer Club is held.
The Amateur Computer Group of New Jersey is formed.
1975 June
The 4th meeting of the Homebrew Computer Club is held at the Peninsula School in Menlo Park. Steve Dompier plays the music "Fool on the Hill" and "Daisy" using the Altair and a radio.
MOS Technology announces the MC6501 at US$20 and the MC6502 at US$25. At this point, the Intel 8080 costs about US$150.
Bob Marsh delivers the first Processor Technology 4KB memory boards for the Altair. These used static memory and were much more reliable (and cost less) than the MITS dynamic memory.
The Southern California Computer Society is formed.
The National Computer Conference is held in Anaheim, California.
Paul Terrell signs a deal with MITS in which Terrell would receive a 5% commission on every Altair sold in Northern California, for promoting and selling the Altair.
1975 July
Bill Gates and Paul Allen sign a licensing agreement with MITS for their implementation of the BASIC language.
Bill Gates and Paul Allen ship 4K and 8K versions of BASIC v2.0.
Dick Heiser opens Arrow Head Computer Company, subtitled "The Computer Store," in Los Angeles, selling assembled Altairs, boards, peripherals, and magazines.
1975 September
IBM's Entry Level Systems unit unveils "Project Mercury," the IBM 5100 Portable Computer. It is a briefcase-size minicomputer with BASIC, 16KB RAM, tape storage, and built-in 5-inch screen. Price: US$9000. Weight: 55 pounds.
The first issue of Byte magazine is published.
1975 October
MITS releases a version of MicroSoft BASIC 2.0 for its Altair 8800, in 4K and 8K editions.
Pittsburgh Area Computer Club formed by Eric Liber and Fred Kitman.
1975 November
MITS announce a Motorola 6800-based Altair.
1975 December
Paul Terrell opens the Byte Shop, in Mountain View, California, one of the first computer stores in the US.
IMSAI hires Ed Faber as Director of Sales.
Lee Felsenstein and Bob Marsh begin work on a complete computer, 8080-based with a keyboard and color video display capabilities built-in.
1975 (month unknown)
IMSAI announces the IMSAI 8080 microcomputer.
Zilog is founded.
Sphere Corporation introduces its Sphere I computer kit, featuring a Motorola 6800 CPU, 4KB RAM, ROM monitor, keyboard, and video interface, for $650.
1976 January
David Jackson founds Altos Computer Systems.
Paul Terrell begins signing dealership agreements, allowing Byte Shop franchises to open elsewhere in the US.
1976 February
Lee Felsenstein and Bob Marsh deliver the first Processor Technology Sol computer to Popular Electronics magazine publisher Les Solomon.
Ken Hopkins writes his first computer article. The article describes how bubble sorts work and include assembly code for 8080. Article is first printed in the Pittsburgh Area Computer Club newsletter. Other user groups across the country reprint the article.
Bill Gates write software routines for BASIC on the Altair to use diskettes for storage.
David Bunnell publishes an open letter from Bill Gates to the microcomputer hobbyists, complaining of software piracy. This letter is said to establish the personal computer software business. It was triggered by the widespread illegal distribution of Altair Basic.
1976 March
Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs finish work on a computer circuit board that they call the Apple I computer.
Paul Terrell incorporates Byte, Inc.
The First World Altair Computer Convention is held in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Bill Gates give opening address.
1976 April
Midwest Affiliation of Computer Clubs (MACC) formed by computer clubs in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Dayton, Columbus, Louisville, Toronto, and Detroit to provide wider support than a single group could provide.
1976 (Early)
The first issue of Dr. Dobbs Journal of Computer Calisthenics and Orthontia – Running Light Without Overbyte is published by People's Computer Co. (Later shortened to Dr. Dobbs).
Hewlett-Packard begins Project Capricorn, to build a computer-like calculator.
Stephen Wozniak demonstrates the Apple I at the Homebrew Computer Club.
1976 April
Bill Gates writes a second open letter to computer hobbyists, condemning software piracy.
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak form the Apple Computer Company, on April Fool's Day.
The National Semiconductor SC/MP 8-bit microprocessor appears, providing early advanced multiprocessing.
1976 (Spring)
Polymorphic Systems introduces the Poly-88.
Gary Kildall founds Intergalactic Digital Research.
MITS unveils the Altair 680, based on the Motorola 6800 microprocessor.
IMSAI begins shipping the IMSAI 8080.
MOS Technology Inc. announces the KIM-1 Microcomputer System, with 1-MHz 6502 CPU, 1KB RAM, 2KB ROM monitor, 23-key keypad, LED readout, cassette and serial interfaces, for US$245.
1976 May
Digital Research copyrights CP/M, its industry-standard microcomputer operating system, created by company founder Gary Kildall.
The Trenton Computer Festival is held, in New Jersey.
1976 June
The Western Digital MCP-1600 3-chip CPU appears.
The Texas Instruments TMS 9900, one of the first true 16-bit microprocessors, appears.
The first Computerfest is put on by the Midwest Affiliation of Computer Clubs in Cleveland, Ohio. This show was put on entirely by volunteers following the ham radio convention format. Vendors and computer clubs had booths inside and there was a flea market outside with computer related items.
First Altair Disk Basic system shown at Computefest after Fred Kitman of Pittsburgh Area Computer Club convinces Ed Roberts to send the only working unit.
The Apple I computer board is sold in kit form, and delivered to stores by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Price: $666.66.
Paul Terrell orders 50 Apple computers from Steve Jobs, for his Byte Shop.
Zilog releases the Z-80, an 8-bit microprocessor whose instruction set is a superset of the Intel 8080.
1976 July
Microsoft refines and enhances BASIC to sell to other customers including DTC, General Electric, NCR, and Citibank.
Several computer hobbyist clubs hold their first convention at the Personal Computing Festival, (PC'76) at the Shelbourne Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Processor Technology unveils the Sol-20 to the public at PC76. It is sold in kit form, using the Intel 8080 CPU.
Apple I computer shown at PC76. The computer was sold in kit form without a case. The demo unit featured a hand-built walnut enclosure.
1976 August
Paul Terrell receives his order for 50 Apple computers.
iCOM advertises their "Frugal Floppy" in Byte magazine, an 8-inch floppy drive, selling for US$1200.
Steve Wozniak begins work on the Apple II.
The bus of the Altair is named (or renamed) the S-100 bus by Dr. Dobb's Journal.
1976 September
Computer Shack is incorporated. The name is later changed to ComputerLand, due to objections from Radio Shack.
1976 October
Commodore International buys MOS Technology.
Mike Markkula, ex-marketing wizard at Intel, visits Steve Jobs' garage, to see the Apple computers.
Steve Wozniak decides to remain at Hewlett-Packard, but is soon convinced that he should leave and join Apple Computer permanently.
1976 November
The tradename "Microsoft" is registered with the Office of the Secretary of the State of New Mexico "to identify computer programs for use in automatic data processing systems; pre-programming processing systems; and data processing services including computer programming services." The application says that the name has been in continuous use since November 12, 1975.
ComputerLand opens a pilot store in Heyward, California, as a retail outlet and a training facility for franchise owners.
Paul Allen resigns from MITS to work full-time at Microsoft.
1976 December
Bill Gates drops out of Harvard.
Michael Shrayer completes writing Electric Pencil, the first popular word-processing program for microcomputers.
Shugart announces its 5.25 inch "minifloppy" disk drive for US$390.
Dick Wilcox demonstrates his Alpha Micro, a multi-user CPU board, at a meeting of the Homebrew Computer Club.
Don French and Steve Leininger are given official blessings to develop a microcomputer for Radio Shack.
Steve Wozniak and Randy Wigginton demonstrate the first prototype Apple II at a Homebrew Computer Club meeting.
1976 (month unknown)
Advanced Micro Devices and Intel sign a patent cross-license agreement.
Fairchild introduces the Channel F, the first programmable (via plug-in cartridges) home video game system. Price: US$170.
Kentucky Fried Computers is founded by Chuck Grant and Mark Greenberg in Berkeley (they later changed their name to NorthStar).
Tom Snyder's "Tomorrow" TV show features the Sol computer, playing a game called "Target."
U.S. Robotics is founded, in Skokie, Illinois by Casey Cowell and two college friends from the University of Chicago after they invented an acoustic coupler. The company name was taken from the name of a company from the Isaac Asimov novel, I Robot.
Steve Wozniak proposes that Hewlett-Packard create a personal computer. Steve Jobs proposes the same to Atari. Both are rejected.
Warner Communications buys Atari from Nolan Bushnell for US$26 million.
Lore Harp and Carole Ely form Vector Graphic Incorporated, selling memory boards for S-100 bus systems.
George Morrow founds MicroStuf.
Processor Technology releases VDM, a video display module. It works on the Altair, IMSAI, Sol, Polymorphic computers, and any other with an S-100 bus.
Next month, I will publish more of Ken Polsson's research into "Home Computers" from 1977 through 1980. My thanks to Ken and all his research. This is fascinating.
