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Microsoft turns 50 today

Allan

Allan

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In high school I learned to run programs from IBM punch cards, a grueling process that makes me appreciate the magic of Windows even more.

Today Microsoft is 50 and a surprise for us is that Bill Gates has released the source code for Altair BASIC, the start of it all.

It's 157 pages that will be a fascinating read for computer geeks.

 
I hand-built my first computer in 1975 (an IMSAI 8080) and ran Altair BASIC on it.

I had a support question about it and called Microsoft and spoke to "Bill". It was a decade later before I realized I probably got technical support from Bill Gates himself.

My brush with greatness.
 
eman623 said:
I hand-built my first computer in 1975 (an IMSAI 8080) and ran Altair BASIC on it.

I had a support question about it and called Microsoft and spoke to "Bill". It was a decade later before I realized I probably got technical support from Bill Gates himself.

My brush with greatness.
Click to expand...
What did the IMSAI 8080 kit cost?
 
I don't go that far back. I was a Commodore 64 kid.

But on another anniversary tidbit, More Cowbell turns 25 today!:D

 
eman623 said:
Not sure. It was a birthday present from my dad. He was an EE and we built it together.
Click to expand...

I looked it up. You had a very generous Dad!

1000032384.webp
 
Allan said:
I looked it up. You had a very generous Dad!

View attachment 67563823
Click to expand...
It was money well spent. I was 14 at the time and fell in love with it. Within a month I knew I was going to be a software engineer. 50 years later I'm still in the biz.

In my 20's and 30's my dad and I started a two-person engineering company. He did the HW and I did the SW. We ended up selling the company (and our designs) for a huge bundle of cash. Fun times.
 
eman623 said:
It was money well spent. I was 14 at the time and fell in love with it. Within a month I knew I was going to be a software engineer. 50 years later I'm still in the biz.

In my 20's and 30's my dad and I started a two-person engineering company. He did the HW and I did the SW. We ended up selling the company (and our designs) for a huge bundle of cash. Fun times.
Click to expand...
Any time parents succeed in instilling intellectual curiosity they've done their job well.
 
Allan said:
What did the IMSAI 8080 kit cost?
Click to expand...
As I recall it was $4,000 but I could be confusing it with something else.

I was deep into word processing on the fly as a reporter in the 80's. My main tool as a toy, a lap top before laptops were invented. A Tandy I believe from Radio Shack. It did not print out so I would have to read from the computer when doing my reports.

It was a "game changer" in field reporting. I was laughed at by my peers in '84 but by '88 I was leader of the pack and spending a fortune on batteries.
 
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