MITS Altair 8800 computer, serial no. 222514K, complete with its original white ceramic and gold Intel 8080 CPU (marked "C8080-8 / N6162"). The rear panel bears the affixed MITS, Inc. 'Creative Electronics' serial number label. Often credited with igniting the 'microcomputer revolution,' the Altair 8800 was the first commercially successful personal computer. Interest in it grew after it was featured on the cover of the 1975 issue of Popular Electronics, and it was sold by mail order as both a hobbyist kit and as a fully assembled unit. When Bill Gates and Paul Allen read about the Altair in Popular Electronics, they saw the opportunity to start their own computer software company and developed Altair BASIC—the very first product created by 'Micro-Soft.' Accompanied by two Altair user manuals.
From the personal computer-history collection of Roger Wagner.
