# Canonical recap data for Personal Computer Revolution Begins (1975)
# Source: https://recap.at/1975/altair-8800-launch
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: altair-8800-launch
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1975/altair-8800-launch"
title: Personal Computer Revolution Begins
aliases:
- Altair 8800 launch
- Home computer birth
- Microcomputer revolution
subtitle: The Altair 8800 and subsequent early microcomputers democratized computing power, shifting control from corporations to individuals and enabling the software industry.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1975-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1975
decade: 1970
country:
name: United States
slug: united-states
summaryShort: Home computers were a class of microcomputers that entered the market in 1977 and became common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a single, non-technical user. These computers were a distinct market segment tha
summaryLong: Home computers were a class of microcomputers that entered the market in 1977 and became common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a single, non-technical user. These computers were a distinct market segment that typically cost much less than business, scientific, or engineering-oriented computers of the time, such as those running CP/M or the IBM PC, and were generally less powerful in terms of memory and expandability. However, a home computer often had better graphics and sound than contemporary business computers. Their most common uses were word processing, playing video games, and programming.
lede: In 1975, the personal computer moved from hobbyist fantasy to purchasable reality. The Altair 8800, released by MITS in April, cost $395 and arrived as a mail-order kit—and suddenly ordinary people could own a machine that, months earlier, only existed in engineering labs. This moment cracked open the market that would eventually make computing personal rather than institutional.
heroImageUrl: "https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1661793422829-e1f648ab4a15?crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&fit=max&fm=jpg&ixid=M3w5NjI1OTZ8MHwxfHNlYXJjaHw0fHxQZXJzb25hbCUyMENvbXB1dGVyJTIwUmV2b2x1dGlvbiUyMEJlZ2luc3xlbnwwfDB8fHwxNzgxNzI1NTcxfDA&ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=80&w=1080"
heroImageCredit: Dan Counsell on Unsplash
importance: 90
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Altair 8800 price
  value: $395 as a kit ($2,100 in 2024 dollars)
- label: Release date
  value: April 1975
- label: Processor
  value: Intel 8080
- label: Base memory
  value: 256 bytes
- label: Magazine feature
  value: Popular Electronics cover, January 1975
- label: Manufacturer
  value: Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS), Albuquerque, New Mexico
- label: First month orders
  value: Approximately 4,000 units
timeline:
- date: 1975-01-01
  title: Altair 8800 on Popular Electronics cover
  description: The MITS Altair 8800 appears on the cover of Popular Electronics magazine, described as the 'World's First Minicomputer Kit to Rival Commercial Models.' The article generates immediate national interest.
- date: 1975-04-01
  title: Altair 8800 shipping begins
  description: MITS begins shipping the Altair 8800 to mail-order customers at $395 for the base kit. Response exceeds production capacity within weeks.
- date: 1975-07-01
  title: Altair BASIC released
  description: Bill Gates and Paul Allen's Microsoft ships Altair BASIC, the first software product for the machine. Gates had founded Microsoft specifically to write this interpreter.
- date: 1975-10-01
  title: Apple Computer Company formed
  description: Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, energized by the Altair's success, found Apple Computer Company in Los Altos, California. Wozniak is working on the Apple I design.
- date: 1976-04-01
  title: Apple I released
  description: Apple Computer ships the Apple I, a fully assembled personal computer priced at $666.66. Unlike the Altair, it requires no soldering or assembly.
- date: 1977-04-01
  title: Apple II launches
  description: Apple releases the Apple II with color graphics, built-in keyboard, and a cassette drive. It becomes the first commercially successful mass-market personal computer.
- date: 1977-08-01
  title: Commodore PET ships
  description: Commodore Business Machines releases the Personal Electronic Transactor (PET), another fully assembled, consumer-ready computer priced at $495–$795.
- date: 1981-08-01
  title: IBM PC released
  description: IBM enters the personal computer market with the IBM PC, starting at $1,565. Its open architecture and compatibility standards reshape the industry's trajectory.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_computer"
  title: Personal Computer Revolution
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: The Altair 8800's release triggered a cascade of entrepreneurship and tinkering that rewired the entire electronics industry. What started as hobbyist kits in garages—including one where Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were building the Apple I—became the foundation for an entirely new category of consumer electronics. Within a decade, personal computers had moved from curiosity to necessity.
categories:
- tech-launch
taxonomy:
domain: technological
eventTypes:
- tech_launch
canonicalClasses:
- creation
- transformation
impactRadius: civilizational
velocity: cascading
predictability: emergent
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: birth
metaDescription: "1975: The Altair 8800 launches, beginning the personal computer era and reshaping how humans access technology."
wikidataQid: Q473708
peoplesVoice:
- source: Steve Jobs, Apple Computer Co-founder
  voiceType: developer
  context: Jobs articulated Apple's vision for personal computing at the launch of the Apple II in April 1977, positioning it as a consumer device.
  excerpt: The Apple II is the first personal computer to come in a carrying case. It's going to be a reality that computers for that every person will be as common as black and white television sets are today.
  sentimentLabel: predictive
  significance: 88
  attribution: Apple II launch presentation, April 1977
  publishedAt: 1977-04-16
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Gary Kildall, CP/M Creator and Digital Research Founder
  voiceType: industry
  context: Kildall spoke to the emerging competitive landscape as multiple microcomputer platforms sought operating system standards in 1977.
  excerpt: The real question isn't whether computers will be in homes - it's whose operating system will be the standard that ties them all together.
  sentimentLabel: skeptical
  significance: 65
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Computer Decisions magazine, 1977
  publishedAt: 1977-07-01
  originalLanguage: en
- source: David Ahl, Creative Computing Magazine Editor
  voiceType: media
  context: Ahl championed home computing culture and documented the grassroots enthusiasm emerging in mid-1977 through editorial coverage.
  excerpt: We are witnessing the birth of a new industry. Young people are building computers in garages, and they're going to change everything.
  sentimentLabel: celebratory
  significance: 72
  attribution: Creative Computing Magazine editorial, August 1977
  publishedAt: 1977-08-01
  originalLanguage: en
- source: An Unnamed IBM Executive
  voiceType: skeptic
  context: IBM executives dismissed the personal computer market in 1975-1977, viewing microcomputers as toys rather than serious business machines.
  excerpt: There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home. We dominate the mainframe market, and that's where real computing happens.
  sentimentLabel: dismissive
  significance: 78
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Fortune Magazine retrospective, 1985
  publishedAt: 1976-06-01
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Ted Nelson, Computer Pioneer and Visionary
  voiceType: expert
  context: Nelson articulated the philosophical implications of personal computing accessibility in speeches and writing during the mid-1970s.
  excerpt: The computer revolution will not be about technology - it will be about the liberation of information and thought from centralized control.
  sentimentLabel: supportive
  significance: 68
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Nelson's writings and lectures, 1975-1977
  publishedAt: 1976-03-01
  originalLanguage: en
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260608083735/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_computer"
  capturedAt: 2026-06-08
  label: Personal Computer Revolution
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_computer"
