Two versions of our IMSAI Series Two SE "short" chassis.
This configuration is 6 1/2" shorter in depth than the full-length
IMSAI Series Two and original IMSAI 8080. It is otherwise identical in height and width
dimensions.
Lower
Left: Configured for S-100 bus with IDE hard drive
Lower
Right: Configured for ATX motherboard with IDE hard drive
How many IMSAI 8080's were made?
According to a July 2002 e-mail from the IMSAI 8080 creator Joe
Killian,
"I remember passing the 17,000 mark. I believe it never went past
20,000" [between December of 1975 and September 1979].
Fischer-Freitas Company produced another 2100+ machines between November
1979 and June 1986. These machines can be identified by the
Fischer-Freitas Company back panel label.
Systems produced after June of 1980 were supplied with the one-piece front
panel masked which consisted of a laminated Mylar mask assembly adhered to a
clear acrylic backing panel.
I have long stated that IMSAI produced more computer systems than any other
up until the closure of the founding company in 1979. My information
was based on an early communication from our old friend Stan Veit.
Before his death, Les Solomon (former Technical Editor for
Popular Electronics magazine) informed me (through mutual friend Stan
Veit) that he doubted over 12,000 Altairs were produced. Since no other
production estimates seemed to exist, it was from this statement that I made
my assumption.
Ed Roberts, founder of MITS (the firm that introduced the
pioneering Altair 8800) offers an opposing claim, excerpted from an e-mail
reply to IMSAI's former Chief Engineer Joe Killian after their first
communication ever on June 28, 2004. An excerpt follows:
(Ed Roberts:) "By the time the first IMSAI's appeared the
8800B was in production and was a significant improvement over the earlier
designs in a number of ways. For some reason the A and B seems
to have gone unnoticed in the history of personal computers even though
there were close to 30,000 of the B's manufactured. The
Altair 680 and its variants also have disappear into history even though
there were well over 10,000 of these models produced."
Until his first-ever contact with me on June 27, 2004, Ed Roberts has
remained relatively silent over the years regarding much of his early
history. I will continue to offer, as made available, additional
insight and clarification of the early Altair/Roberts history that may have
been omitted or mangled in other published histories of the beginnings of
the microcomputer industry.
I had copied the Roberts e-mail and my reply to
IMSAI creator Joe Killian, who then made the first-ever contact with
former mega-competitor Ed Roberts. Joe copied me on his e-mail
to Ed, and one of the more profound statements made by Joe speaks volumes of
the burgeoning growth that followed the introduction of the Altair:
(Joe Killian:) "Your card size, bus connector and signal
definitions were copied, by IMSAI, Processor Tech, and countless others,
either for complete systems or add-in boards. This was the sincerest
form of flattery, done because I and others saw supporting your design as
the best business path to pursue. I do think that this support in the
form of add-in cards and alternate platforms using the same bus was
fortuitous for all of us, in that it snowballed into the fledgling
industry's standard. I've always sort of felt that my choice of
using your bus, and thus IMSAI quickly being out there as a second MITS
compatible machine, tipped the balance on the part of all the others wanting
to enter the microcomputer market.
"Without such a standard, I would guess that neither MITS nor the
industry would have taken off nearly so quickly. Nothing else from
your machine was copied in the design of the IMSAI (save the use of the 8080
chip, of course). By contrast, I had the dubious privilege along the
way of examining a competing chassis that copied my IMSAI chassis right down
to holes I put in for options that we never used."
A letter from Ed Roberts
(6-27-2004) A major brouhaha recently erupted when a
well-meaning friend e-mailed MITS founder Ed Roberts (of pioneering
and epic Altair 8800 fame) text of a newsgroup post that claimed IMSAI was
the first to use what later became known as the "S-100 bus", an interconnect
method using a specific electrical interconnect and board outline for
microcomputer use. Prior to the introduction of the IBM PC in 1983,
the "S-100 bus" was the most popular and prolific microcomputer platform in
the world, served by many hundreds of manufacturers and software providers.
That founding honor has always been attributed to Ed Roberts and his
pioneering Altair 8800, first announced in the January, 1975 issue of
Popular Electronics magazine.
The Altair bus structure, an original design created by Ed Roberts
and cohort Bill Yates for a personal computer designed around the
Intel 8080 microprocessor, became the de-facto bus standard for a
revolutionary modular method of building and enhancing system performance of
then-new microcomputer systems.
It was later modified in small but improved ways by a group of
after-market and competitive manufacturers in order to enhance and expand
capabilities and performance. By the end of 1976, it was now generally
recognized as the "S-100 bus", an appellation attributed to Cromemco
co-founders
Roger Melen and Harry Garland sometime in the latter part of
1976. In 1978 it became an officially recognized bus standard, now
referred to as the IEEE-696 bus. Many of us who were involved in one
manner or other in those first days of microcomputers still affectionately
refer to the bus as the "Roberts bus". This reference was always used
as a kind of humorous "secret society" buzz phrase, although "Altair/IMSAI
bus" became the generally accepted notation in the first part of 1976.
A Strange Coincidence- I
joined the Air Force in early 1964 to escape Columbus, Georgia, where
my step-dad had been assigned some 9 months earlier. After
graduating Basic Training I was assigned to Cryptographic Equipment
Repair School at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.
I have recently discovered that Ed Roberts, co-founder of MITS
aka Altair fame was an instructor there at that time. It is
likely that Ed was one of my instructors during the 9 months I
attended the 3-story windowless brick Crypto structure where classes
were taught. Because of my previous experience and knowledge I
was able to by-pass the first 6 weeks of training, with special
acknowledgement of tutoring and prompting in vacuum tube electronics
from an unknown instructor who felt I had the basics and drive to
continue without failure. If that instructor was Ed, I extend my
gratitude and good fortune. If not, I still extend my gratitude
and good fortune. I was later assigned to Clinton-Sherman Air
Force Base in Burns Flat, Oklahoma, the state where Ed Roberts was
born and raised. Who might have surmised in that early period
that our paths would intertwine and eventually cross some 40 years
later?
The first e-mail- I was
enjoying a pleasant early Sunday morning sitting on the patio, reading
the paper, sipping coffee, and listening to the tomatoes grow when I
heard the plaintiff call of my e-mail alert. There on the
Subject line read the following:
"Thief of intellectual property"
The sender was Ed Roberts, founder of MITS, the company that
produced the pioneering Altair 8800. Now, had the word "theft"
been used instead, I would have been more objective in reading the
content. But use of the term "thief" just hit me wrong.
The text content was curt and sharply worded, accusing me of
"rewriting history". He didn't include citation of such
malfeasance, nor an explanation of where this rage was coming from.
This was personal! I never had occasion to speak or otherwise
communicate with him before, having assumed he was living a bucolic
life on his farm and enjoying a well-earned rest and retirement.
I considered three possible approaches to my rejoinder; one
profane, one patronizing, but settled on the moderately chosen
"polite, but firm" choice. I found my reply to flow from the
heart, chiding him for jumping on erroneous information, but leaving
the door open for reconciliation. I also made clear that I would
correct any misinformation, cite my original source of information,
and credit the corrections to those providing it. The lengthy,
but respectful reply was one of my better works.
He replied back soon thereafter, apologizing for possibly jumping
the gun with insufficient information. It seems that someone
misinterpreted an old post to a newsgroup by me that told of
pre-Altair efforts by Joe Killian and Bill Millard to produce a
microcomputer for business use. The e-mail sent to Ed included
the following from a newsgroup post...
-----------------------------------------
"I went to your site and saw a technical error. You list the
Altair as the first S-100 computer. It is not, the Altair
originally had no bus. When they started shipping they adopted
the IMSAI S-100 bus (see
www.imsai.net) which pre-dated the Altair by several months.
The Altair was better known but actually second."
-----------------------------------------
No wonder he went ballistic! Actually,
that article told of an early predecessor to the IMSAI 8080 that
was developed prior to the announcement of the Altair, but tentatively
based on a DEC bus instead of what became known as the S-100 bus,
introduced by MITS in the Altair. The article was sent to Ed by
a "well meaning friend", and subsequently incensed Ed to the point of
"Attack Mode".
Ed's later reply was tendered in a polite and conciliatory fashion;
not in the gruff manner depicted in computer history books and the
Turner Network Television movie "Pirates of Silicon Valley".
I hope to nurture the line of communication with him, and to clarify
much of the misinformation that has propagated over the years about
him and the Altair.
I wish to state for the record that the Altair 8800, introduced in
the January 1975 issue of Popular Electronics magazine, paved
the way for many companies (including IMSAI) to produce improved and
add-on components and systems which eventually developed into the
phenomenon known as "the computer revolution". Altair was first,
IMSAI was better, proven by the large number of systems and kits sold,
and acclaimed acceptance by users and value-added resellers alike.
I replied to Ed that I have always rejected the notion that the
IMSAI 8080 was the first "computer clone" since it doesn't resemble
the Altair in any way other than choice of bus and cabinet color.
Color choice was carried over from Bill Millard's days working
for, and with IBM. But history is written by authors and
preserved according to relevance and "spin". -trf
Happily, all
seems to be reconciled, with the unexpected result that
Ed Roberts and IMSAI 8080 creator Joe Killian have "virtually"
met and communicated in a polite and respectful manner for the first time
ever, a direct result of my having copied e-mail communications to each
during resolution of the misunderstanding. A further benefit is
revelation of significant details that add to the collective history
of the earliest "personal computers". Ed has offered correction of
several distortions of history which I have posted to the comp.os.cpm
newsgroup. Hopefully, those opposing viewpoints and corrections will
propagate. I will provide additional information as time and necessity
dictate.
Ed Roberts offered an "unbiased" review of the IMSAI 8080 in
early 1976. My thanks to
Michael Holley for these interesting links to a review of the IMSAI
8080 by Ed Roberts published in the April 1976 MITS publication
"Computer Notes:
Ramblings_from_Ed_Roberts_April_1976.htm
ComputerNotes_Apr1976.pdf
Obituary...
Bruce Van Natta, early IMSAI co-founder and later visionary for
MicroPro International's WordStar word processing program was found
murdered in a cabin on his rural Redding, California property on September
21, 2003. Bruce's eccentric genius and enigmatic, but sometimes
abrasive and challenging character endeared him to some, but alienated
others. Bruce worked closely with IMSAI Chief Engineer Joe Killian and
IMSAI founder Bill Millard to bring about one of, if not
the most successful
of the first "personal computers". More detail surrounding his death
can be found at the Redding, California Searchlight newspaper link:
Dead man was tech pioneer
06-29-2004- It's strikes me as ironic that Bruce was murdered by a man
named Morrow (no relation to another personal computing pioneer).
The sentencing phase of Bruce's murderer is set:
50-year sentence for murder
George Morrow, early Silicon Valley
North personal computer pioneer (Micro Stuff, ThinkerToys, Morrow Micro
Designs, etc.) passed away on May 7, 2003 at age 69. I knew
him as a fellow attendee of the old Homebrew Computer Club meetings, but
more frequently as another Mike Quinn
Electronics customer. More detail at...
http://msnbc-cnet.com.com/2100-1008_3-1000732.html
Adam Osborne-
March 18, 2003 at age 64 ...
As an early industry pundit for budding microcomputer industry
publications, Adam was a harsh critic of manufacturers and their level of
customer service. For him, IMSAI was "low hanging fruit"; an easy
target, and often taken to task for one failing or another. Nancy
and I were somewhat befriended by him when we took over production of
IMSAI products in late 1979, and his positive comments helped us enjoy
better customer relations than our predecessors...
Obituary in San Jose Mercury News
Les Solomon: In memoriam: A
genuine computer pioneer
It is with great sadness that I pass on news that the man probably most
influential in the launching of the Altair and subsequent S-100 bus
industry has passed away. An e-mail received from our good friend
Stan Veit gives us the general details as follows:
"On Sat October 19, 2002 Les Solomon, "the Father of The
Personal Computer" ( or as Les said, * "At least
the midwife") passed away. Les had been sick , was on dialysis and
oxygen when he broke his hip in a fall. He seemed to be getting
better and was planning to return to Florida, but he took a turn for the
worse and died. He had asked not be put on extreme life support
and just closed his eyes Saturday evening. He is survived by his
second wife Marlene who took such wonderful care of him. Les acted
as father and grandfather to her children and they were at his side.
Les was 80 years old.
"Les lived many lives during his lifetime. He was part the OSS during
World War II being sent by the U.S. Army into Occupied Holland as a
radio operator with the Dutch underground. He was one of a group
of Americans who brought Jewish survivors of the Nazi Death Camps into
Israel on an old LST under the guns of the British Navy. He fought
in the Jewish War of Independence in 1947.
"After WW II he attended Utrecht University in Holland under a
scholarship from the Dutch government graduating as an Electrical
Engineer. Les returned to the US and worked for GE. He also
developed electronic projects published in Popular Electronics
magazine. He finally joined that magazine as technical editor and
later Technical Director. Les is credited with assisting in the
development of the Altair project that produced the first practical home
microcomputer. He also worked on other major computer projects for the
magazine including the Penny Whistle modem, The [Processor Technology]
SOL Computer ( named after him), and many others.
"I met Les when he came into my computer store The Computer Mart of
New York with a computer powered by two lemons in series, using an RCA
1802 CPU! We became lifelong friends writing a book together and
working on many projects after I went to work at Popular Electronics
magazine. I will miss him. When I moved we would visit with each other after he began to spend his
winters in Florida. The Computer Industry has lost a visionary and
a person who saw the future when others doubted if there was any future
in those little boxes. -Stan Veit"
The world is just
a little poorer today, given the loss of someone as insightful and of
resource to promote a new realm of computing and thinking, putting the
design and development of an entirely new technology into the hands of
common people with uncommon ideas and goals. Thank you Les...
-trf
* An e-mail received on
6-27-2004 from MITS Altair founder Ed Roberts
corrects the reference to Les being the "midwife" as erroneous. A
portion of his e-mail states...
"Your site mentions Mr. Solomon as being the "midwife" of the Altair.
This is not true, he had absolutely nothing to do with the concept or
design of the Altair. Indeed, he thought it a bad idea. Art
Salsberg who was managing editor at Pop Electronics was the individual
responsible for publishing the article."