07/24/2025
A groundbreaking technological advancement from 1975 was the release of the Altair 8800, widely regarded as the first commercially successful personal computer. Developed by Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS), the Altair 8800 was sold as a kit that hobbyists could assemble themselves.
What made it a big deal was that it sparked the personal computer revolution. It inspired tech enthusiasts like Bill Gates and Paul Allen, who created a version of the BASIC programming language for the Altair, leading to the founding of Microsoft. The Altair 8800 demonstrated that computers could be accessible to individuals, not just large corporations or research institutions, paving the way for the modern PC industry.