ATARI REVEALS ITS NEW VCS VIDEO GAME CONSOLE (JULY 1977)

A new generation of games was born in the summer of 1977, a new concept revolutionizing leisure will let small leading and foreseeing companies make billions of dollars. Although the Atari VCS is not the first video game console ever, it will become a star while beginning in November of 1977. Millions of young players will hold it as mankind’s best invention ever. The first console idea was developed in 1975 by Atari and Warner Bros, its parent company. Initially the console was set to come with an integrated ROM game, but at the last minute, Atari preferred a cartridge version. This game was “Combat”. Most importantly, this first cartridge will allow console owners to wait a few months for the release of new games. A first series of 8 will be followed later by many, among them, the famous “Space Invaders”, a title giving Atari global success and will cash in more then $100 millions. In two years, Atari sold more than 25 million consoles and earn $5 billion in sales, mostly from cartridges and optional accessories. Many third companies will also encounter success, such as Namco and its “Pacman”. In 1982, the VCS becomes “2600” until Atari is sold in 1984, followed by new versions “5200” and “7800”. However, the 2600 continued to be produced and new games will appear until 1991. The VCS/2600 console thus lived for 14 years, a record longevity never equaled since by any console or computer. Thanks to the Albert's Museum for the picture.

LEAR-SIEGLER INTRODUCES THE ADM-3A VIDEO DISPLAY TERMINAL (VDT) (JUNE 1977

Did you know each time you visit the Old-computers home page, you see a Lear-Siegler ADM-3A terminal... displaying a READY message and a blinking cursor...The ADM-3A was one of the first affordable serial display terminals manufactered by Lear-Siegler, Inc of Anaheim California.Why ADM? Nobody knows, maybe American Dream Machine or Awful Dumb Monitor or Advanced Display Module or, more seriously, Anaheim Division, Manufacturing...Why 3A? We know... Because this version quickly replaced a previous one, called ADM-3, which only displayed upper-case letters. The 3A version did not display upper-case letters, but an optional chip set allows them to be displayed The product was originally sold in assembled form for $1,195. A kit version would appear few months later, at $995. It could be ordered with a white, green, or amber tube background colour.The ADM-3A quickly met with great success thanks to its reliability and low price.Some models were also manufactured with a graphics add-on card of about the same size as its motherboard. With that card installed, the terminal emulated Tectronix 4014 graphics quite well. The setup of this 'Dumb machine' (as Lear Siegler advertised) was done using... 32 dip switches (!) located at the left of the keyboard. Among them, 11 was used for the communication rate (from 75 to 19200 bauds), others for parity, display configuration, character set, etc.Thanks to Sebastien Richter and his website for the system image.

COMMODORE INTRODUCES THE PET (JUNE 1977)

The PET 2001 (Personal Electronic Transactor) was the first computer unit ready to plug in to a mains supply and use. This concept, added to a futuristic design, caused an enormous sensation at The 1977 Summer Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago. In fact, a first PET model was presented during the January CES, but it never worked properly.The PET was the first computer sold by Jack Tramiel. A legend says that, one day, Chuck Peddle, the designer of the 6502 microprocessor, accosted him in a corridor and asked him to forget hand held calculators and think about a desktop computer. Tramiel said, "Build it" and Chuck built the PET computer based on the 6502 microprocessor! The PET name would be used only until the 4000 series as Philips, the owner of the registered PET name, would require Commodore to use a different name. Commodore would choose the CBM logo for the later systems. Original sale price of the 4 KB PET was $495. Several hundred orders later, the price would go to $595 for the 4 KB version and $795 for the 8 KB. Several thousand orders later Jack Tramiel decided to double the price and to market the computer in Europe. The sales won't weaken.Within a few months, many dealers wanted to sell the PET. But Tramiel dictated his terms: To pay cash on order and wait for the computers for about five months, to have a clean credit history and good retail and service departments.While being very demanding with the dealer network, Tramiel approached the big retail chain stores, and within a few weeks, the dealers were in direct competition with the household names.The PET system would become the father of a large family of PET/CBM computers including the 2000, 4000, 8000 series, then the 500, 600 and 700 series in 1983.

THE Z80-A BECOMES AVAILABLE IN PRODUCTION QUANTITIES (MAY 1977)

At its new manufacturing facilities in Cupertino, Zilog announced the manufacture of the Z80-A in February 24 1977. The Z80-A has a standard clock rate of 4 Mhz. which is made possible by a new technology developped by Zilog. Single quantity prices are $65 for the ceramic package and $59 for the plastic version. According to Zilog, the Z80-A is considered to be the fastest standard microprocessor. Its instructions cycle is 1 µs, and its throughput is 60% above the one of the Z80.From now, it becomes available in production quantities for computer manufacturers. The standard Z80 at a clock rate of 2.5 Mhz. wil be continued at a reduced price.

MITS - ALTAIR COMPANY IS SOLD TO PERTEC (MAY 1977)

MITS (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems) was founded in 1968 by Ed Roberts and two friends. MITS first made radio control devices, then calculators and in 1975 the Altair 8800 and 8800a microcomputer kits. The 8800 system was sold for $397, a very attractive price. It is now considered by many to be the first real personal microcomputer any computer hobbyist could buy and use at home. Therefore, MITS and the Altair truly created the personal computer industry and changed the way many people live and work. The Altair 8800 was also the first computer using a built-in Basic interpreter written by two guys working at MITS and called Bill Gates and Paul Allen. Though the company maintained its lead as the primary seller, in 1976 MITS was in trouble. The company had grown too big too fast and had too many projects going on at the same time. Computers hardware quality was not good, products were failing, and customers were complaining. Communication within the company began to deteriorate. Paul Allen and Bill Gates both left MITS to develop their own company, Micro-Soft. Many manufacturers copied the Altair concept and one's heard about modern easy-to-use computers called Apple or Commodore. In May 1977, Ed Roberts decided to sell MITS to Pertec for $6 million, a larger company that manufactured disks and tape drives for minicomputers and mainframe computers. Sadly, the sale of the company did not solve problems. The Pertec management team came in with new ideas and a new way of working and MITS people began to leave the company. Even Roberts became fed up with Pertec and left too. Pertec continued making Altairs small business System for about a year after the acquisition, moving away from the "Hobbyist Computer" image of the 8800. Computer production ceased definitively in July 1978.

MITS - ALTAIR COMPANY IS SOLD TO PERTEC (MAY 1977)

MITS (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems) was founded in 1968 by Ed Roberts and two friends. MITS first made radio control devices, then calculators and in 1975 the Altair 8800 and 8800a microcomputer kits. The 8800 system was sold for $397, a very attractive price. It is now considered by many to be the first real personal microcomputer any computer hobbyist could buy and use at home. Therefore, MITS and the Altair truly created the personal computer industry and changed the way many people live and work. The Altair 8800 was also the first computer using a built-in Basic interpreter written by two guys working at MITS and called Bill Gates and Paul Allen. Though the company maintained its lead as the primary seller, in 1976 MITS was in trouble. The company had grown too big too fast and had too many projects going on at the same time. Computers hardware quality was not good, products were failing, and customers were complaining. Communication within the company began to deteriorate. Paul Allen and Bill Gates both left MITS to develop their own company, Micro-Soft. Many manufacturers copied the Altair concept and one's heard about modern easy-to-use computers called Apple or Commodore. In May 1977, Ed Roberts decided to sell MITS to Pertec for $6 million, a larger company that manufactured disks and tape drives for minicomputers and mainframe computers. Sadly, the sale of the company did not solve problems. The Pertec management team came in with new ideas and a new way of working and MITS people began to leave the company. Even Roberts became fed up with Pertec and left too. Pertec continued making Altairs small business System for about a year after the acquisition, moving away from the "Hobbyist Computer" image of the 8800. Computer production ceased definitively in July 1978.

APPLE II, FIRST DELIVERIES (MAY 1977)

The Apple II system is really available and delivered for $1295. The system was introduced in April at the West Coast Computer Fair, just after the Apple Computer Company was incorporated and Apple employees move from Jobs' garage to an office in Cupertino, California. Apple logo is designed by Rob Janoff. The first Apple II advert is designed too (picture). Apple Computers wil be the first company to advertise for a personal computer in general public magazines. The Apple 1 production is stopped ten months after its introduction. 175 Apple 1 kits had been sold for $549 each to only one customer, Paul Terrell, manager of the Byte Shop chain, who sold them for $666.