More than 60 years ago, integrated circuits created a revolution in electronics that transformed the entire world. How are chips made? And why do we keep getting better at making them?
The ALTAIR 8800 was a landmark in computing – the first ‘microcomputer’, built around Intel’s breakthrough 8080 microprocessor. I remember it from the cover of Popular Electronics:
![](https://i0.wp.com/nextbillionseconds.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Popular_Electronics_Cover_Jan_1975.jpg?resize=570%2C760&ssl=1)
You could buy the ALTAIR 8800 in kit form, or fully assembled:
![](https://i0.wp.com/nextbillionseconds.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Altair_Computer_Ad_May_1975.jpg?resize=768%2C1024&ssl=1)
All of which led Paul Allen and Bill Gates to write ALTAIR BASIC, and sell it through their new company: MICROSOFT.
![](https://i0.wp.com/nextbillionseconds.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Altair_Computer_Ad_August_1975.jpg?resize=780%2C1024&ssl=1)
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