As of May 31, 2023, we have updated our Code of Conduct.

Questions tagged [altair-8800]

The tag has no usage guidance.

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
19 votes
3 answers
2k views

How did the Altair 8800 front panel load the program counter?

My understanding is that when you toggle in an address on the Altair 8800 front panel switches and then press the EXAMINE switch, it loads the program counter with that address, or at any rate does ...
cjs's user avatar
  • 23.9k
14 votes
1 answer
1k views

Why is the original Altair BASIC (for the 8080 CPU) source code not available on-line?

As described by The Register in 2001, around 1987 journalists and others started asking Bill Gates for a copy of the source code for the original version of Altair (eventually Micro-Soft) BASIC, ...
cjs's user avatar
  • 23.9k
8 votes
1 answer
702 views

Why did the Altair use 100-pin edge connectors?

The Altair 8800 was based on what came in later years (much to the displeasure of MITS) to be known as the S-100 bus, because it had 100 lines, because MITS found 100-pin edge connectors were ...
rwallace's user avatar
  • 55.7k
1 vote
1 answer
293 views

Why was the SWTPC 6800 Computer System cheaper than the Altair?

In 1974, Intel released the 8080, which basically was the first microprocessor good enough to build a serious computer around. That led to the Altair 8800 the following year, which was the beginning ...
rwallace's user avatar
  • 55.7k