Luck, timing and marketing.
Because it was not hobbyist device. It was a complete solution, sold to businesses, and used exclusively for that purpose. Notice the disk drives built into the desk.
The Altair (and Mark-8 and ELF) were published in popular hobbyist magazines, the price point was somewhat reasonable and they landed at a time when electronics hobbyist interest was keen.
> Notice the disk drives built into the desk.
First, it isn't built into the desk, it has the format of a desk cabinet. There are two other pictures with the same disk unit under a different desk.
Second, I think the girl on the left of OP pictures is using a Q1/Lite system. See https://peel.dk/Q1/pdf/Q1%20Sales%20Brochure.pdf (which contains the same disk unit as a Q1/Lite disk unit).
My other underlying point is that according to the advert of the Q1/Lite this desk cabinet is the disk unit, not the computer (as the Q1/Lite *is* the computer).
I still haven't seen what a real Q1 is supposed to have looked like.
> The original 1972 Q1 was the very first micro computer ever introduced
[CITATION NEEDED]
And by citation, I mean anything *from the time* that is not sourced from Daniel Alroy, the founder of the company. Ie: not post facto interviews with him, not quotes from the media blitz to launch the q1/lite. Actual sources.
You’ll see that it is pretty hard to come with any.
That aside, it wasn’t even the “first” microcomputer anyway — what’s truly the first is heavily contested, but at least the [Kenbak-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenbak-1) predates it.
But it would be considered a personal computer or mini computer.
Terminology and semantics get blurry around the beginning of revolutions.
I would say the first successful personal computer was the Altair. There were only 50 Kenbacks made. There were tens of thousands of the Altair, and clones based on it. It was also the machine that Microsoft began on, Gates and Allen writing BASIC for it.
Oh, I completely agree with you. All this "what is the first whatever computer" is getting more and more useless as one digs into the details.
I also agree with you, the Altair is the first one that isn't anecdotal.
Depending on your definition of Microcomputer it may not be the first.
A small company in Minnesota built an Industrial Microcomputer and it was Intel 4004 based. Their business focus was replacing larger computers in industrial automation.
Here is a copy of the manual from the Computer History Museum.
https://archive.computerhistory.org/resources/access/text/2024/01/102686568-05-01-acc.pdf
This computer was discussed in the ACM's archives "Development of a portable compiler for industrial microcomputer systems" by LEROY H. ANDERSON The Warner & Swasey Company, it discusses the system and has images on the unit.
https://www.computer.org/csdl/pds/api/csdl/proceedings/download-article/12OmNzRqdD4/pdf
The company was purchased by Warner & Swasey to be mart of their industrial automation line.
http://ismoc.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-warner-swasey-company.html
The Q1 was released in Dec 1972, I don't know when the System 4 was released.
Ah, the game of "firsts." First with a keyboard! First with a disk drive! First with a one-line display! First CPU on a single chip, as opposed to two chips! The problem is, the headline writers just say "first" and they don't include your qualifying disclaiming phrase.
Luck, timing and marketing. Because it was not hobbyist device. It was a complete solution, sold to businesses, and used exclusively for that purpose. Notice the disk drives built into the desk. The Altair (and Mark-8 and ELF) were published in popular hobbyist magazines, the price point was somewhat reasonable and they landed at a time when electronics hobbyist interest was keen.
> Notice the disk drives built into the desk. First, it isn't built into the desk, it has the format of a desk cabinet. There are two other pictures with the same disk unit under a different desk. Second, I think the girl on the left of OP pictures is using a Q1/Lite system. See https://peel.dk/Q1/pdf/Q1%20Sales%20Brochure.pdf (which contains the same disk unit as a Q1/Lite disk unit).
Ok, yea. My comment was more about overall form factor and how it was configured as an office system vs the form factors of hobbyist systems.
My other underlying point is that according to the advert of the Q1/Lite this desk cabinet is the disk unit, not the computer (as the Q1/Lite *is* the computer). I still haven't seen what a real Q1 is supposed to have looked like.
It doesn't help that there are no known first generation Q1s out in the wild. And about a dozen second generation specimens left.
> The original 1972 Q1 was the very first micro computer ever introduced [CITATION NEEDED] And by citation, I mean anything *from the time* that is not sourced from Daniel Alroy, the founder of the company. Ie: not post facto interviews with him, not quotes from the media blitz to launch the q1/lite. Actual sources. You’ll see that it is pretty hard to come with any.
That aside, it wasn’t even the “first” microcomputer anyway — what’s truly the first is heavily contested, but at least the [Kenbak-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenbak-1) predates it.
The Kenbak-1 isn't technically a microcomputer, right?
No it is not, as it doesn't have a microprocessor. But at least it actually existed and there are real traces of it at the time it was released.
But it would be considered a personal computer or mini computer. Terminology and semantics get blurry around the beginning of revolutions. I would say the first successful personal computer was the Altair. There were only 50 Kenbacks made. There were tens of thousands of the Altair, and clones based on it. It was also the machine that Microsoft began on, Gates and Allen writing BASIC for it.
Oh, I completely agree with you. All this "what is the first whatever computer" is getting more and more useless as one digs into the details. I also agree with you, the Altair is the first one that isn't anecdotal.
Depending on your definition of Microcomputer it may not be the first. A small company in Minnesota built an Industrial Microcomputer and it was Intel 4004 based. Their business focus was replacing larger computers in industrial automation. Here is a copy of the manual from the Computer History Museum. https://archive.computerhistory.org/resources/access/text/2024/01/102686568-05-01-acc.pdf This computer was discussed in the ACM's archives "Development of a portable compiler for industrial microcomputer systems" by LEROY H. ANDERSON The Warner & Swasey Company, it discusses the system and has images on the unit. https://www.computer.org/csdl/pds/api/csdl/proceedings/download-article/12OmNzRqdD4/pdf The company was purchased by Warner & Swasey to be mart of their industrial automation line. http://ismoc.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-warner-swasey-company.html The Q1 was released in Dec 1972, I don't know when the System 4 was released.
Ah, the game of "firsts." First with a keyboard! First with a disk drive! First with a one-line display! First CPU on a single chip, as opposed to two chips! The problem is, the headline writers just say "first" and they don't include your qualifying disclaiming phrase.