When America Got Its First Home Computer: The 1960s-70s Tech Revolution

The incredible true story of how America got its first home computers in the 1960s and 1970s. From massive room-sized mainframes to the groundbreaking Altair 8800 that appeared on Popular Electronics in December 1974, this is the revolution nobody saw coming.

Discover how the transistor, integrated circuit, and microprocessor made personal computing possible, and meet the hobbyists, engineers, and entrepreneurs who turned a $397 computer kit with no keyboard or screen into the foundation of the modern digital age.

🕐 TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 - Introduction: The $397 Computer That Changed Everything
2:30 - The World Before Home Computers (1960s Mainframes)
12:00 - The Seeds of Revolution (Transistors, ICs, and Microprocessors)
25:00 - December 1974: The Altair 8800 Sparks a Movement
30:00 - 1977: The Year Computers Went Mainstream (Apple II, TRS-80, PET)
37:00 - Conclusion: How a Revolution Changed the World

📚 KEY TOPICS COVERED:
• The invention of the transistor (1947) and how it changed computing
• The integrated circuit revolution of the 1960s
• Intel's 4004 microprocessor (1971) and the 8080 (1974)
• Ed Roberts and MITS: The company that bet everything on a computer kit
• The Altair 8800: How it appeared in Popular Electronics and sold thousands
• Bill Gates and Paul Allen's first product: Altair BASIC
• The Homebrew Computer Club and Silicon Valley culture
• The 1977 Trinity: Apple II, TRS-80, and Commodore PET
• How computers went from $1 million machines to $1,300 home devices

🎯 WHY THIS MATTERS: The personal computer revolution transformed human civilization. Understanding how ordinary people gained access to computing power—previously reserved for governments, universities, and corporations—helps us appreciate the world we live in today.

This video is meticulously researched with historical accuracy, covering the real story of how:
✓ The 1960s laid the groundwork with transistors and integrated circuits
✓ The 1970s saw hobbyists build computers in garages
✓ The "1977 trinity" made computers accessible to everyone
✓ A revolution that nobody predicted changed absolutely everything

🔗 RELATED TOPICS: #TechHistory #ComputerHistory #Altair8800 #AppleII #SiliconValley #1970s #Innovation #PersonalComputer #VintageComputing #retrotech

📖 SOURCES: This video is based on extensive research from computer history archives, vintage electronics magazines, interviews with pioneers, and historical documentation from the Computer History Museum, MIT archives, and contemporary sources from the 1960s-1970s.

If you enjoyed this deep dive into tech history, please like, subscribe, and hit the notification bell for more fascinating stories from America's past!