The Origins of Computing: A Pivotal Moment in History

In 1975, a machine was invented that would go on to change the course of history and shape the future of computing. This machine, created by Bill Gates and his team at Microsoft, was initially met with skepticism by Steve Jobs, who saw its potential but wanted something more sophisticated. However, it's this machine that sparked the creation of the Apple I and II, which would go on to become iconic symbols of innovation and design.

The Machine Behind the Revolution

Microsoft's first computer, built in 1975, was a rudimentary machine with no keyboard or screen. It relied on switches at the bottom for input and access to the data bus, allowing users to toggle in binary code and receive output in the same format. Programming this machine was a slow and laborious process, requiring users to remember op codes and patterns rather than numbers. Despite its limitations, the machine sparked creativity and innovation among computer enthusiasts.

The Homebrew Club: Where Creativity Took Off

One of the first notable examples of what this machine could do was at the Homebrew Club, where Steve Dumpier set up his machine on a table and began to toggle in code. His creation, a program full of delay loops, was intended to play the Beatles' "Penny Lane" on an FM radio. However, due to interference from the processor and circuitry, the sound quality was poor. Despite this, the Homebrew Club members were fascinated by what they had achieved, and it sparked a wave of creativity among those who used the machine.

MITS: The Company Behind the Machine

The machine that changed the course of history was built by MITS (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems), a company founded by a man named Ed Roberts. Roberts had previously worked on telemetry systems and remote control systems, but after realizing he needed more money to continue his work, he came up with an idea for a new product: a computer that could be built and sold to enthusiasts. The machine proved to be incredibly successful, selling hundreds of units to electronics hobbyists who were eager to learn about computing.

The Impact of MITS Computers

MITS computers inspired a generation of hackers and tinkerers who took the machines apart and rebuilt them from scratch. They wrote their own software and created custom modifications to unlock the potential of the hardware. This DIY ethos sparked a sense of community among computer enthusiasts, who shared knowledge and ideas through clubs like the Homebrew Club. As the machine evolved, so did its capabilities, leading to the development of new technologies and innovations that transformed the world.

The Serial Number 3: A Glimpse into MITS' Technical Marvels

One of the most fascinating aspects of MITS computers is their technical intricacies. The Serial Number 3, built in the early days of the company, showcased the impressive craftsmanship of its designers. With a simple circuit board and a massive 16k memory expansion option, this machine was capable of running complex programs and performing calculations at an incredible speed. Despite its age, the Serial Number 3 remains an iconic symbol of the pioneering spirit that defined MITS' early years.

In conclusion, the story of the MITS computer is one of innovation, creativity, and community. From its humble beginnings as a rudimentary machine to its evolution into a powerful tool for computation, this machine has left an indelible mark on the history of computing. Its impact can still be seen today in the many technologies that have followed in its wake, and it serves as a testament to the power of human ingenuity and collaboration.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthis is one of our pride and joys it's the aler 8800 and it's commonly referred to although argued it's the first personal computer there were machines that went before it it's unquestionable uh but this one is considered the first for a couple of reasons firstly the qu EAS is solding uh there was lots of them uh made they were kit form um you could also buy it uh ready made as well the most important thing about it is the two strands of computing that is sort of created uh in that Bill Gates saw this machine and thought this is fantastic um we can write software for this it's not very usable as it is we're going to write a basic interpreter for it and Microsoft was born uh on the other side of the fence people like Steve Jobs uh well not people like Steve Jobs Steve Jobs actually saw this machine and and thought well okay this is a start but it's not the computer I want this I want a machine that you could actually type on and comes up on the screen that's where I see it going and it spurred Steve Jobs and Steve wnac uh into creating their machine the Apple 1 and then the Apple 2 and then everything else Apple um so it's a really really important machine um and a pivotal point in history or from this one machine in 1975 it's an American machine made by a company called mits and uh these guys were originally sort of producing uh sort of telemetry systems remote control systems things like that um but they were having a very hard time and uh the the guy uh behind mits sort of decided that you know he had to go to the bank and say I'm going to need some more money otherwise we're going to hit the wall um but I do have an idea for a new product and it's a computer that you can build and uh yeah the uh he thought he might sell a few of them um but ended up selling huge numbers of them to a bunch of computer enthusiasts basically and actually not so much computer Enthusiast they weren't at that time they were Electronics enthusiasts they didn't know they were computer enthusiasts until this thing had hit so um yeah and it sold a lot more than expected uh and uh you know mits went on to produce sort of this version and sort of later versions as well um but really did inspire you know that generation into hacking these things and making them do really more than they were capable of at the time and hence the computer industry grew in its original configuration it was really really rudimentary uh you had no keyboard you had no screen you had these switches down the bottom here so you had access to the data bus there um and you could toggle in data and you had access to the address bus and you could single step load code into it and the data is shown out on these lines here so you programmed it in binary and you got your answers back in binary you'd have the instructions set for the the processor um you could then uh look up the op codes they would have a binary repres representation uh you toggle those in steps in the next location put the next up code in it's you know very very rudimentary machine code programming um and as you got to know this machine and the the op code set for that uh processor you started to remember these things uh and you remembered the kind of the pattern more than the actual uh the the numbers but you remember those patterns you could toggle in things reasonably quickly um but still hideously slow in today sort of comparisons so one of the first things um that people remember doing with it uh of any great sort of shakes um was toggling in some code which is basically just a lot of delay Loops um a guy called Steve dumpier uh took it to the Homebrew club and uh set it up on the on the table started toggling in his code and um ultimately got everybody sort gathered around him said right going to run the code um and this sort of Program full of delay Loops you know how your your phone through and you get the buzzing noises when somebody's going to ring you they used an FM radio at the time the interference created by the processor and the circuitry interfere with the radio so the longer the delay Loop the lower the buzz was on the radio and the shorter the delay Loop the higher the buzz was so yeah doing that you got it to play the fall on the hill the old Beatles tune at the time and people were you know this is fantastic you know we've got this commuted to do something and this one of the early stories that uh sort of came about from the the out here um but it's a really intriguing machine because of uh you know these stories that are associated with the the people that were using it um and uh and the stories of The Homebrew Club at that time um which you know created a whole group of people that created machines that changed their lives here's the big rear veal so this is the internals of our serial number three um and it's quite drastically different it has a simple circuit board inside just one circuit board with all the components on um and it had this connector at the back which allowed you to increase it to a massive 16k of memory uh with that ramp packthis is one of our pride and joys it's the aler 8800 and it's commonly referred to although argued it's the first personal computer there were machines that went before it it's unquestionable uh but this one is considered the first for a couple of reasons firstly the qu EAS is solding uh there was lots of them uh made they were kit form um you could also buy it uh ready made as well the most important thing about it is the two strands of computing that is sort of created uh in that Bill Gates saw this machine and thought this is fantastic um we can write software for this it's not very usable as it is we're going to write a basic interpreter for it and Microsoft was born uh on the other side of the fence people like Steve Jobs uh well not people like Steve Jobs Steve Jobs actually saw this machine and and thought well okay this is a start but it's not the computer I want this I want a machine that you could actually type on and comes up on the screen that's where I see it going and it spurred Steve Jobs and Steve wnac uh into creating their machine the Apple 1 and then the Apple 2 and then everything else Apple um so it's a really really important machine um and a pivotal point in history or from this one machine in 1975 it's an American machine made by a company called mits and uh these guys were originally sort of producing uh sort of telemetry systems remote control systems things like that um but they were having a very hard time and uh the the guy uh behind mits sort of decided that you know he had to go to the bank and say I'm going to need some more money otherwise we're going to hit the wall um but I do have an idea for a new product and it's a computer that you can build and uh yeah the uh he thought he might sell a few of them um but ended up selling huge numbers of them to a bunch of computer enthusiasts basically and actually not so much computer Enthusiast they weren't at that time they were Electronics enthusiasts they didn't know they were computer enthusiasts until this thing had hit so um yeah and it sold a lot more than expected uh and uh you know mits went on to produce sort of this version and sort of later versions as well um but really did inspire you know that generation into hacking these things and making them do really more than they were capable of at the time and hence the computer industry grew in its original configuration it was really really rudimentary uh you had no keyboard you had no screen you had these switches down the bottom here so you had access to the data bus there um and you could toggle in data and you had access to the address bus and you could single step load code into it and the data is shown out on these lines here so you programmed it in binary and you got your answers back in binary you'd have the instructions set for the the processor um you could then uh look up the op codes they would have a binary repres representation uh you toggle those in steps in the next location put the next up code in it's you know very very rudimentary machine code programming um and as you got to know this machine and the the op code set for that uh processor you started to remember these things uh and you remembered the kind of the pattern more than the actual uh the the numbers but you remember those patterns you could toggle in things reasonably quickly um but still hideously slow in today sort of comparisons so one of the first things um that people remember doing with it uh of any great sort of shakes um was toggling in some code which is basically just a lot of delay Loops um a guy called Steve dumpier uh took it to the Homebrew club and uh set it up on the on the table started toggling in his code and um ultimately got everybody sort gathered around him said right going to run the code um and this sort of Program full of delay Loops you know how your your phone through and you get the buzzing noises when somebody's going to ring you they used an FM radio at the time the interference created by the processor and the circuitry interfere with the radio so the longer the delay Loop the lower the buzz was on the radio and the shorter the delay Loop the higher the buzz was so yeah doing that you got it to play the fall on the hill the old Beatles tune at the time and people were you know this is fantastic you know we've got this commuted to do something and this one of the early stories that uh sort of came about from the the out here um but it's a really intriguing machine because of uh you know these stories that are associated with the the people that were using it um and uh and the stories of The Homebrew Club at that time um which you know created a whole group of people that created machines that changed their lives here's the big rear veal so this is the internals of our serial number three um and it's quite drastically different it has a simple circuit board inside just one circuit board with all the components on um and it had this connector at the back which allowed you to increase it to a massive 16k of memory uh with that ramp pack\n"