‘My role in the personal computer revolution’

Innovation—and a healthy dose of trial and error—shaped my journey from a curious teenager to a pioneer in the personal computing revolution. My love of radio-controlled model airplanes wasn’t just about building and flying. Sure, the occasional crash into my neighbor’s tomato plants was thrilling, but the real magic lay in the intricate electronics and feedback control systems. This curiosity led me to Case Institute of Technology, which gave me the tools to turn my hobby into a career (and occasionally baffle my professors).

One day, I stumbled upon a small, dim lab tucked away in the basement of the Bingham Building. I overheard graduate students discussing control systems while assembling electronic printed circuit boards to be part of digital logic simulators in classrooms. I introduced myself and reticently mentioned my obsession with feedback control systems. To my surprise, they offered me a job helping to make the boards. Things really took off when they steered me toward a dynamic control systems class. The professor’s textbook-in-progress was delivered via mimeographed notes, which smelled strongly of ethanol—a perk for 8 a.m. classes.

Then came graduation and my ROTC assignment to the Air Force Weapons Laboratory in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The lab boasted a CDC 6600, the fastest computer on Earth—essentially the Ferrari of its day, minus the sleek design. Armed with knowledge from my control systems classes and the Algol programming classes on the Burroughs computer under Professor Fred Way III, I managed to impress the laboratory staff by transitioning smoothly from Algol to Fortran. Before long, I was contributing to the design of an advanced, atomic-tipped anti-bomber missile. I analyzed the control system on the CDC 6600, earning the unofficial title of “The Lieutenant Who Actually Knows Stuff.”

The real fun began at a local airport, where I met Ed Roberts, a fellow pilot and Weapons Lab engineer with a shared passion for electronics and flying. Between flights, we cooked up the idea of starting a company in 1969. Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS) was meant to help us offset the costs of owning our own airplane.

The name may sound fancy, but we were just two nerds building toys for other nerds. Our first products were hobbyist kits, including the groundbreaking first-ever-kit-based calculator. Then came the microprocessor developments of the early 1970s. When Intel unveiled the 8080, it was like Christmas for engineers. With our experience making calculators, we took advantage of this little chip. We created the Altair 8800, the world’s first personal computer kit.

The Altair made the cover of the January 1975 issue of Popular Electronics, which got the attention of Bill Gates and Paul Allen. It wasn’t long before the two teenaged coders knocked on our door with a programming language they called BASIC.

MITS BASIC, later renamed Microsoft BASIC, became popular among personal computer enthusiasts. The Altair was a hit, too, turning MITS into Intel’s largest customer. Gates and Allen went on to start their own company, making the rest of us look like underachievers.

MITS not only led the way for Microsoft, it ignited a wave of innovation, inspiring iconic companies and personal computers like the Radio Shack TRS80, Atari, PET, Commodore, and of course Apple and the IBM PC. We played a pivotal role in the personal computing revolution. Our employees gather for reunions in Albuquerque and Seattle to reminisce about those heady days.

Looking back, I owe so much to my time at Case. The education I received there not only prepared me for this adventure, it gave me the confidence to tinker, crash, and eventually succeed. Today, the Smithsonian Institution recognizes the Altair as the spark that ignited the personal computer era. And to think it all started with a love of breaking—and occasionally flying— model airplanes.

If you want to tell Robert about your Altair, or share memories of those “heady days,” email us at casealum@casealum.org.