Classic original issue of Popular Electronics magazine from January 1975, Volume 7, No. 1, 112 pages, 8.25 x 11, with the iconic front cover picturing the Altair 8800 microcomputer, with lead article text reading: “Project Breakthrough! World’s First Minicomputer Kit to Rival Commercial Models…‘ALTAIR 8800,’ Save over $1000.” The related article by H. Edward Roberts and Williams Yates, entitled “ALTAIR 8800 MINICOMPUTER, PART I, The most powerful minicomputer project ever presented—for under $400,” runs from page 33 to page 38 and contains comprehensive technical information on the Altair 8800, including figures, a parts list, and the machine’s various applications. In fine condition, with light edgewear. Encapsulated by CGC with a grade of 5.0 (OFF-WHITE TO WHITE pages).
This issue of Popular Electronics proved hugely important to the success of the Altair 8800 and to the home computer revolution. It helped launch the Homebrew Computer Club in Menlo Park, California, which Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak attended just a couple of months later, and it was the very magazine that Paul Allen excitedly brought to his friend Bill Gates' Harvard dorm room, exclaiming ‘This is happening without us!’ Both the Apple I and the birth of Microsoft promptly followed. As of today, there are only two issues in the CGC Census, and only one newsstand edition (the offered magazine).
