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The Altair 8800 made its debut as the first computer on the cover of Popular Electronics in the December 1975 issue. In two months the little computer company MITS was struggling with thousands of requests for the Altair 8800. When people got their computer, it wasn’t exactly in its perfect form, they would have to assemble the computer themselves as if it were a model car kit. People using the computer would enter programs by flipping switches on the front panel of the computer. No software was sold for this little computer, and the owners would have to write and make their own software.

This basic computer only had 256 bytes of memory, but the average computer today has two times that much, and the Altair 8800 cost $395.00. The way the computer turned out made it almost useless for any real problem solving. However, the system for the Altair 8800 was designed to be expandable with slots to plug in cards or computer chips. Expansion boards or chips were sold to add more memory and to attach printers.

One of the most popular companies was the Tele-Type Corporation who made the ASR-33, another computer. The ASR-33 came with a printer, keyboard, and a storage device for memory. The company MITS would soon release newer versions (8800A & 8800B) with more slots and more memory. The 8800A looked the same as the original 8800 except the logo nameplate. These computers added, subtracted, and played only a few games.