Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems
| Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems | |
|---|---|
| legal form | |
| founding | December 1969 |
| resolution | May 1977 |
| Reason for dissolution | Sold to Pertec Computer Corporation |
| Seat | Albuquerque , New Mexico , USA |
| management | Ed Roberts , Forrest M. Mims III |
| Branch | computer |
Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS) was a computer company founded in December 1969 in Albuquerque , New Mexico , USA by Ed Roberts and Forrest M. Mims III . The MITS company had been producing desktop computers (often as a kit) since 1971, but was overtaken economically in this area of business by the American company Texas Instruments in 1972 . MITS also manufactured control units for model rockets and remote-controlled model airplanes . Only later did the company become known for the development and sale of the first successful Altair 8800 personal computer and is often referred to as the company that founded the home computer market.
Development of the Altair 8800
In the early 1970s, MITS had almost gone bankrupt due to declining sales of desktop computers. To counteract this development, MITS developed the Altair 8800 in 1973 and 1974, one of the first mass-produced hobby computers for private individuals. The computer used the 8080 - microprocessor from Intel . The Altair 8800 was printed on the cover of the American computer magazine Popular Electronics when it went on sale in January 1975 , which strongly supported sales of the device.
MITS was soon overwhelmed by the large number of orders for the Altair 8800 and a short time later ran into delivery and quality problems. Shortly after the Altair 8800 was released, many other companies began bringing similar computers to market - such as: B. IMSAI , Processor Technology , Cromemco . Roberts tried to force the shops in which the Altair was sold to sell his device exclusively, but this failed. MITS was sold to Pertec Computer Corporation in May 1977 for $ 6.5 million , which in 1979 was in turn taken over by the German company Triumph-Adler .
1975 worked for Bill Gates and Paul Allen for a short time at a BASIC - Interpreter for MITS and wrote Altair BASIC for the Altair 8800, the 4 KB memory got along until their own company in the same year Microsoft established.
