Written by the late Ed Roberts and published just a few short months before the introduction of the Altair 8800, this historic book contains a wealth of information on early electronic calculators and desktop computers, with an emphasis on MITS' own product line (models 816, 908, 1200, and 1440, in particular). Covering everything from core and delay-line memories to the latest in large-scale integration, the book is loaded with dozens of schematics, as well as countless photos of vintage equipment - e.g., Wang 452 & 700, HP 9810/9820, HP-35, and Friden 1152, among others - plus many behind-the-scenes shots taken at MITS headquarters in Albuquerque, New Mexico. You get a rare glimpse into what the Altair's designers were up to right before the 8800 was released. Around 20 pages are devoted to the MITS Programmer (shown above), A 512-byte instruction sequencer with a hex keyboard and display that interfaces to a MITS 816 or 1440 calculator. With its conditional branch instruction and limited subroutine capability, the programmer/calculator combo could arguably be considered MITS' first general-purpose personal computer.

Overall, the book is in very good condition. Softcover, approx. 200 pages. First edition, First printing. Copyright 1974. This item ships WORLDWIDE.