Microcomputers – The First Wave: Responding to Altair (opens in new tab)

This being the PDP-11, even if you don't have any RAM, I'm sure the registers are mapped into memory somewhere contiguous where you can still run code from them :)

I can't imagine these being cheap - those relics are no longer being made.

I remembered Don Tarbell's name, but it took me a few minutes to remember why. I didn't read forward until I remembered it was the tape controller. But I didn't think he was so influential to be leading the article.

“In those days spirits were brave, the stakes were high, men were real men, women were real women and small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri were real small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri.”

― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

I've always been fascinated by the history and technology of microcomputers. It's similar to how enthusiasts feel about classic muscle cars. With microcomputers, you can understand every aspect of the technology, from the transistors and gates on the silicon to the components on the board, and all the way up to computer languages and the user interface. It feels like I could work on any part of it with just a bit of time. My daily driver is an M4, and I find any new trend in computing worth exploring. However, my retro computers always keep me company.