[vcf-midatlantic] Altair 8800 50th birthday...

[Herbert Johnson]

> On Thu, Apr 25, 2024, 12:34 PM William Sudbrink v wrote:
> 
>> Based on what I have read, along with a few discussions I have had with
>> people involved in the early S-100 "scene", around now is the 50th
>> birthday (or conception day) of the Altair 8800. Certainly, next year
>> could properly be called its 50th birthday.Anyway, I'm thinking about
>> "painting the show blue" with Altairs and IMSAIs for the next few
>> vintage computer festivals.
>>
>> Anyone else interested? -  Bill S.

> On 4/25/2024 1:54 PM, Neil Cherry via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
>> Not a bad thing.  And swtpc 6800 also 50 yrs

>> On 4/25/24 13:09, Bill Degnan  wrote:
>> Yea, a little love for the SWTPCs! :-D

I'm sympathetic to Bill Sudbrick, to celebrate MITS Altairs and IMSAIs.

I was in EE college when I copied the Popular Electronics MITS Altair 
articles, to make transparencies of the PC boards layouts they 
published. I've supported S-100 for three decades plus. S-100 systems 
were produced for twenty years, hundreds of companies. So recognition of 
them as leaders is a good idea. But leaders of *what*? - there's some 
better idea to celebrate, reflect upon.

Neil and Bill Degnan also have a point. The SS-50 was also a popular 
architecture in the era. It also led to dozen of companies' products. 
But why mention SS-50 and S-100 together? There's some better idea in 
mind that suggests why.

I'm thinking this through. I'll say more on my Web site. But my short 
argument for the better idea, is something like this.

These mid-1970's computers, were part of a new idea about computing. 
Standard busses, open architectures, established and open operating 
systems - based on then-new 8-bit microprocessors. Circuitcard-based 
systems expandable at the cost of a single circuit board, or the cost of 
a few chips on a board. Microprocessors were inside powerful chips that 
were a lot easier to program, cheaper to produce in volume. Hardware 
costs falling, and dramatically. And all this "cheaper faster better" 
brought millions of people into computing, using computers themselves - 
more productivity, falling costs.

All of that is kind of a package, that started to happen about fifty 
years ago. We take computers and micros for granted today, like fish in 
water. But *little of that was true* fifty years ago. I was *there*, I 
know this. (But there's a counter argument, for earlier computers. 
That's OK! Bring it on! They all make the same case, points of progress 
to a result, that's my point! ;)

And by the way? I and my 1970's colleagues, we won't be "here" for 
personal accounts on the 75th anniversary. Some of us already left the 
building. So don't dally on one brand a year.

I think those are better ideas to have some celebrations about. Not just 
a blue birthday cake on one day, or a row of IMSAIs and Altairs at one 
event (there aren't that many kinds). That's what I'm thinking about. 
Thanks to Bill Sudbrink for starting the idea of using the MITS Altair 
8800 50th birthday. but I'd call it a trail marker.

Regards Herb Johnson

-- 
Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA
https://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net
preserve, recover, restore 1970's computing
email: hjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT com
or try later herbjohnson AT comcast DOT net