I think if you can find that colleague of yours again and then say “who is laughing now?”
Regards, Tarek Hoteit AI Consultant, PhD +1 360-838-3675 > On May 23, 2024, at 16:05, Chuck Guzis via cctalk <cctalk@classiccmp.org> > wrote: > > On 5/23/24 12:53, Dave Dunfield via cctalk wrote: > >> I've just passed on my "Mits Altair 8800" - this is a very historic system >> from the 70s - it is: >> First Personal Computer (long before IBM PC) >> First S100 buss system >> First system Bill Gates wrote code for (long before Microsoft) > > I don't think the "first" applies in this case. The MCM/70 used an 8008 > and was complete computer with storage and display--something the MITS > 8800 was not. > > I spent the weekend soldering together my 8800 (CPU, SIO and 2x 4K DRAM) > system, cursing the cheap white wire in the process. Finally got it > running with a TVT. > > I couldn't wait to show it to a female working in my section. She > dropped by my apartment, took one look at the thing sitting on my > kitchen table and burst out laughing. "That's not a computer; it's a > toy!" was her withering reaction. > > I don't know if my male ego ever recovered from that. And I *hated* the > DRAM boards. > > I do, however, still have the MITS box. Haven't run it in nearly 40 years. > > --Chuck >