#Altair 880 emulator for mac software
#Altair 880 emulator for mac code

You wouldnвЂ™t normally call an Apple computer a PC, even though these days thatвЂ™s technically correct вЂ“ but more on that later. ThereвЂ™s a standard set down for PCs and PC-compatible equipment.

#Altair 880 emulator for mac software

If you buy a PC from the store, you expect it to work with all the add-ons, printers, and software that you are familiar with. In the modern sense of вЂњPCвЂќ, we mean something a little different. The term вЂњPCвЂќ is derived from the initial letters of the phrase вЂњPersonal ComputerвЂќ, and so the Altair 8800 could be considered the first PC. When there are ten, twenty, or fifty options, it becomes a very large headache.

If there are two systems, you have to double your investment by creating the same thing twice, in two different ways. If there was one system, you could develop software (or add-on hardware) for it and sell it to everybody. In computing terms variety causes a big problem вЂ“ fragmentation. There were so many variations that there was an option for everyone, and variety is the spice of life, right? By the last two years of the 1970s, 16-bit processors were available, including the Intel 8086, but were rarely used вЂ“ although they were technologically more advanced, they were also more expensive.ДЄs we headed into the 80s, you might have been forgiven for thinking that everything looked bright and rosy for all these computer systems. The majority of these systems were based on the MOS 6502 processor or the Z80, which were 8-bit microprocessors. Companies like DEC, Olivetti, Sharp, HP, and others also entered the fray. The home computer scene became dominated by a few major players вЂ“ Tandy, Atari, Commodore, Apple вЂ“ with others snapping at their heels. Computers like the TRS-80 become available, and weвЂ™re slowly edging towards modern computers. Color graphics (although very low resolution) were something brand new вЂ“ and being able to use it at home was something very special. In 1977, the Apple II was released, and could be plugged into a home TV.

#Altair 880 emulator for mac code

Of the two, the Zilog chip was more powerful, being capable of running any code written for the 8080 and having extra instructions available too.

The Cray 1 supercomputer launched, and the Zilog Z80 microprocessor was developed, as was the Intel 8080. The Altair 8800 is available by 1975 for home hobbyists to build вЂ“ the Altair is significant to this story as it was called a вЂњpersonal computerвЂќ, and was the first such device to use this name. Room-sized mainframe computers still dominated in the business arena, with terminals being used to connect to them. But the computer landscape in the 70s is as unrecognizable to us today as it might have been if Babbage had witnessed it. Keyboards seemed to be the most suitable way for a human to interact with a computer, as proven by their continued use today. For a while, computers had been programmed with levers, then switches, then punched cards, and now with keyboards and pointing devices like the mouse. Many styles and systems had come and gone, and nothing seemed to pass the test of time. In the 100 years or so since his death, computer technology had advanced so far as to be unrecognizable. In fact, the idea of a programmable analytical engine вЂ“ a basic computer вЂ“ was pioneered by Charles Babbage, an inventor who died in 1871. The concept of the computer had been around a very long time by the 1970s.