Altair-8800

The January 1975 issue of the magazine "Popular Electronics" featured the forerunner of the first personal computer, the Altair 8800, which had been designed by Ed Roberts and his company MITS. It was available as a kit for $397, making it the first computer that ordinary consumers could afford and marking the advent of widespread PC use.Incidentally, the Altair's name comes from a TV series. The twelve-year-old daughter of editor Les Solomon said: "Call it Altair. That's where the Enterprise is heading tonight." Photo: Jan Braun, HNF