Central processing unit
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1984.0774.001
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- OBJECT TYPE
- MICRO/INTEGRATED CIRCUIT/48 K
- DATE
- 1975–1977
- ARTIFACT NUMBER
- 1984.0774.001
- MANUFACTURER
- MITS Inc.
- MODEL
- ALTAIR 8800B
- LOCATION
- Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States of America
More Information
General Information
- Serial #
- 5400025A
- Part Number
- 1
- Total Parts
- 1
- AKA
- N/A
- Patents
- N/A
- General Description
- NON-FERROUS METAL CASING/ SYNTHETIC CASING FRONT/ METAL SWITCHES/ METAL & SYNTHETIC WORKING PARTS
Dimensions
Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.
- Length
- 43.0 cm
- Width
- 45.5 cm
- Height
- 17.8 cm
- Thickness
- N/A
- Weight
- N/A
- Diameter
- N/A
- Volume
- N/A
Lexicon
- Group
- Computing Technology
- Category
- Digital computing devices
- Sub-Category
- N/A
Manufacturer
- AKA
- MITS
- Country
- United States of America
- State/Province
- New Mexico
- City
- Albuquerque
Context
- Country
- Canada
- State/Province
- Ontario
- Period
- C.1977 TO 1984
- Canada
-
AMERCAN DEVELOPED & MANUFACTURED TECHNOLOGY WHICH ENABLED ALMOST ANYONE TO PURCHASE & OPERATE THEIR OWN COMPUTER, BECAUSE IT WAS INEXPENSIVE. DESPITE TECHNICAL LIMITATIONS WHICH SEVERELY CURTAILED ITS ABILITIES, THOUSANDS OF ALTAIRS WERE SOLD. THIS EXAMPLE WAS USED IN CANADA BY NATIONAL DEFENCE FOR COMPUTER TRAINING. - Function
-
PROGRAMMABLE MACHINE CONTAINING MICROPROCESSOR WHICH ACCEPTS & PROCESSES DATA, USUALLY USED BY INDIVIDUAL FOR BUSINESS OR PERSONAL COMPUTING. THIS EXAMPLE WAS USED BY MILITARY TO TRAIN SUPPLY MANAGERS FOR COMPUTERIZED SUPPLY SYSTEM. - Technical
-
ALTAIR 8800B WAS SLIGHTLY LATER VERSION OF 8800 WHICH APPEARED IN 1975, BASED ON INTEL 8080 MICROPROCESSOR. IT WAS FIRST FULL FLEDGED PC ON MARKET & IT LAUNCHED PC INDUSTRY, DESPITE SUCH LIMITATIONS AS 256 BIT MEMORY, INPUT VIA TOGGLE SWITCHES, & OUTPUT VIA FLASHING LIGHTS. VERY SOON INCREASED MEMORY, BASIC INTERPRETER, & PERIPHERALS WERE AVAILABLE. - Area Notes
-
Unknown
Details
- Markings
- GREY LABEL ON BACK READS 'MITS INC./ CREATIVE ELECTRONICS/ SERIAL NO. 5400025A'/ WHITE OUTLINE LETTERING ON FRONT READS 'mits' & 'altair 8800b'
- Missing
- N/A
- Finish
- TEXTURED PALE GREY & MEDIUM BLUE PAINTED CASING/ BLACK FRONT PANEL/ PLATED METAL SWITCHES
- Decoration
- PALE GREEN LINING AROUND FRONT PANEL EDGE/ PALE GREEN, PALE BLUE, & MEDIUM BLUE STRIPES & LETTERING ON FRONT PANEL/ MITS LOGO ON FRONT
CITE THIS OBJECT
If you choose to share our information about this collection object, please cite:
MITS Inc., Central processing unit, between 1975–1977, Artifact no. 1984.0774, Ingenium – Canada’s Museums of Science and Innovation, http://collection.ingeniumcanada.org/en/id/1984.0774.001/
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