# Altair 8800 **Entity class:** System **Research spine:** [[research/Chronology of Signals, Silos, and Sovereign Software - Research|Chronology of Signals, Silos, and Sovereign Software]] ## Definition The Altair 8800 was a 1975 build-it-yourself microcomputer whose switches-and-lights interface became an early platform for the personal-computing software industry. ## Chronological Proximity Its 1975 appearance immediately preceded [[wiki/Microsoft BASIC|Microsoft BASIC]] and the commercial separation of software from hardware. ## Relational Proximity Bill Gates and Paul Allen supplied [[wiki/Microsoft BASIC|BASIC]] for the Altair, creating the company that later controlled the operating-system and enterprise layers. ## Collection Routes [[collections/The Civilian Intelligence Marketplace|The Civilian Intelligence Marketplace]] · [[collections/Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and the Intelligence Environment|Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and the Intelligence Environment]] · [[wiki/Signals, Silos, and Sovereign Software|Signals, Silos, and Sovereign Software]] ## Sources / Provenance - [[research/Chronology of Signals, Silos, and Sovereign Software - Research|Chronology of Signals, Silos, and Sovereign Software - Research]].