The first "home" computer, the Altair, was available as a kit for hobbyists to build. Can you answer these questions about it?
1. What processor was the computer built around?
2. My Mac Book that I use in class is 64-bit, and has a processor speed of 3.0 GHz.How many bits was the first "home computer," the Altair, capable of processing and what was it processing speed?
3.How much did it cost, as a kit and fully assembled?
4. What programming language did it use?
5. How many mother boards did the Altair have?
6. Which magazine announced the launch of the Altair?
7. Bill Gates (Links to an external site.) recalls that, when he and Paul Allen (Links to an external site.) read about the Altair in the January 1975 issue of the magizine that announced the Altair, they understood that the price of computers would soon drop to the point that selling software (Links to an external site.) for them would be a profitable (Links to an external site.) business. Did they really have software to sell when they read the article?
8. What computer system did Gates and Allen use to develop the first version of BASIC?
9. How did they load BASIC onto the Altair?
10. The computer system Gates and Allen used to develop BASIC is famous in its own right. Why should it be famous to "gamers?"