Latest news with #Altair8800
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Check out Microsoft's original source code from 50 years ago that Bill Gates calls 'the coolest code' he's ever written
Bill Gates is taking a look back at the code that started it all. The Microsoft cofounder this week published the code that became the first product of the company. Take a look at Microsoft's origins as the company turns 50 this month. Microsoft is turning 50 this year, and Bill Gates is looking back at how the company got its start. The Microsoft cofounder published a blog post on Wednesday about the code that would become the company's first product, which was the Altair Basic, an interpreter that translated code into instructions that the Altair 8800 microcomputer could read. "That code remains the coolest code I've ever written to this day," Gates wrote. "It's amazing to think about how this one piece of code led to a half-century of innovation from Microsoft. Before there was Office or Windows 95 or Xbox or AI, there was the original source code — and I still get a kick out of seeing it, even all these years later." At the end of his post, he included a PDF of the original source code for the Altair Basic — all 157 pages of it. You can check it out here. In his blog post, Gates noted that late Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen finished part of the code on a flight to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where Microsoft was originally based. Gates shared other details on the source code, fittingly, in his memoir "Source Code," which came out in February. Gates reflected on his childhood through his career into today in the book. He wrote that he was disinterested in school growing up, noting that his preschool teachers called him "rebellious" and said he showed a "complete lack of concern for any phase of school life." Gates also wrote about his approach, decades later, to recruiting Steve Ballmer to Microsoft, saying he and Allen had agreed to a split of 64% and 36%, respectively, but Gates ended up giving a 4% stake to Ballmer to convince him to quit business school for Microsoft. Gates' ex-wife, Melinda French Gates, has her own memoir, "The Next Day," out later this month. Read the original article on Business Insider
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Check out Microsoft's original source code from 50 years ago that Bill Gates calls 'the coolest code' he's ever written
Bill Gates is taking a look back at the code that started it all. The Microsoft cofounder this week published the code that became the first product of the company. Take a look at Microsoft's origins as the company turns 50 this month. Microsoft is turning 50 this year, and Bill Gates is looking back at how the company got its start. The Microsoft cofounder published a blog post on Wednesday about the code that would become the company's first product, which was the Altair Basic, an interpreter that translated code into instructions that the Altair 8800 microcomputer could read. "That code remains the coolest code I've ever written to this day," Gates wrote. "It's amazing to think about how this one piece of code led to a half-century of innovation from Microsoft. Before there was Office or Windows 95 or Xbox or AI, there was the original source code — and I still get a kick out of seeing it, even all these years later." At the end of his post, he included a PDF of the original source code for the Altair Basic — all 157 pages of it. You can check it out here. In his blog post, Gates noted that late Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen finished part of the code on a flight to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where Microsoft was originally based. Gates shared other details on the source code, fittingly, in his memoir "Source Code," which came out in February. Gates reflected on his childhood through his career into today in the book. He wrote that he was disinterested in school growing up, noting that his preschool teachers called him "rebellious" and said he showed a "complete lack of concern for any phase of school life." Gates also wrote about his approach, decades later, to recruiting Steve Ballmer to Microsoft, saying he and Allen had agreed to a split of 64% and 36%, respectively, but Gates ended up giving a 4% stake to Ballmer to convince him to quit business school for Microsoft. Gates' ex-wife, Melinda French Gates, has her own memoir, "The Next Day," out later this month. Read the original article on Business Insider
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bill Gates Shares Original Code That Started It All As Microsoft Celebrates 50 Years: 'That Was The Revolution'
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) founder Bill Gates nostalgically looks back on the computer code he wrote 50 years ago, which played a pivotal role in the creation of the tech giant. What Happened: Gates reminisced about the early days of Microsoft in a blog post. He and his late high school friend, Paul Allen, were inspired by a 1975 article about the Altair 8800, a minicomputer powered by a chip from the then-unknown tech company, Intel (NASDAQ:INTC). This prompted them to assure Altair's manufacturer, Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems, that they had developed software to operate the hardware, even though they had not yet written the code. Don't Miss: 'Scrolling To UBI' — Deloitte's #1 fastest-growing software company allows users to earn money on their phones. After two months of rigorous effort, Gates finished the code that laid the groundwork for Altair's first operating system. This code later formed the basis for Microsoft's suite of software, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and the Windows operating system. 'That code remains the coolest I've ever written,' Gates mentioned in his blog post, which also provides an option to download the original program. 'That was the revolution,' he added in his official YouTube video, 'That was the thing that ushered in personal computing.' 80 per share. Why It Matters: As Bill Gates nears his 70th birthday in October, he has been reflecting on his past. His February memoir delves into his early years and his relationship with the late Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) co-founder, Steve Jobs. Gates' reflection on the early days of Microsoft comes at a time when the company is thriving more than ever. Despite Gates' initial fears about Microsoft's future when he stepped down as CEO in 2000, the company has charted an impressive course over the years. The co-founder once expressed a deep concern about Microsoft's future when he stepped down as CEO. He worried the company might lose its famed standard of excellence and that the chance to guide it back might one day be missed. Despite these early misgivings, Microsoft is now worth $3 trillion and continues to thrive. Microsoft holds a momentum rating of 36.54% and a growth rating of 64.54%, according to Benzinga's Proprietary Edge Rankings. For an in-depth report on more stocks and insights into growth opportunities, sign up for Benzinga Edge. Read Next: Are you rich? Here's what Americans think you need to be considered wealthy. These five entrepreneurs are worth $223 billion – they all believe in one platform that offers a 7-9% target yield with monthly dividends Image via Shutterstock Send To MSN: Send to MSN UNLOCKED: 5 NEW TRADES EVERY WEEK. Click now to get top trade ideas daily, plus unlimited access to cutting-edge tools and strategies to gain an edge in the markets. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? This article Bill Gates Shares Original Code That Started It All As Microsoft Celebrates 50 Years: 'That Was The Revolution' originally appeared on Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Bill Gates Celebrates Microsoft's 50th Anniversary, but Admits It's a 'Bittersweet' Milestone
Bill Gates felt a range of emotions ahead of Microsoft's 50th anniversary. In a blog post published two days before the actual milestone on Friday, April 4, the billionaire philanthropist — who co-founded the company in 1975 with his childhood friend Paul Allen — said he was "excited" to celebrate, but admitted that "reaching this milestone feels bittersweet." "I always love reflecting back on Microsoft's history and dreaming about its future," he wrote. "But it's also hard to believe that such a significant piece of my life has been around for a half-century." Related: Why Bill Gates Is Telling All About Life Before His Billions, from Trying LSD to Being Put in Therapy by His Parents (Exclusive) For Gates, 69, who has spent a lot of time reflecting on the early years of his life for his memoir Source Code, which came out in February, it's easy to remember the company's beginnings. Before Microsoft was even Micro-Soft (yes, that's a thing), Gates and Allen, who died in 2018, shared a love of computers. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. "The story of how Microsoft came to be begins with, of all things, a magazine," Gates wrote in his blog post. The cover of the January 1975 issue of Popular Mechanics featured a photo of an Altair 8800, which Gates described as a "groundbreaking personal computer kit that promised to bring computer power to hobbyists' 'When Paul and I saw that cover,' Gates continued, 'we knew two things: the PC revolution was imminent, and we wanted to get in on the ground floor.' The two friends knew that software would be the key to shaping how people interacted with computers, so they reached out to the company behind the Altair 8800 and told them they already had a version of BASIC – a programming language that's easy for even beginners to use – that would work for the machine. The only problem? They hadn't actually built that software just yet — but after 'lots of sleepless nights,' they did. And that software, which is made out of code, became Microsoft's first product. Related: Bill Gates Feared Getting Kicked Out of Harvard During His Sophomore Year. Here's What He Says Happened And in honor of the milestone anniversary, Gates shared a link to download that original source code. "Computer programming has come a long way," he added, "but I'm still super proud of how it turned out." Read the original article on People
Euronews
04-04-2025
- Business
- Euronews
The 50-year-old code that reshaped the world: Bill Gates on the 'revolution' that started Microsoft
ADVERTISEMENT Even as he grows older, Microsoft founder Bill Gates still fondly remembers the catalytic computer code he wrote 50 years ago that opened up a new frontier in technology. Although the code that Gates printed out on a teletype machine may look crude compared to what's powering today's artificial intelligence (AI) platforms, it played a critical role in creating Microsoft in April 1975 - a golden anniversary that the Redmond, Washington, company will celebrate on Friday. Gates, 69, set the stage for that jubilee with a blog post reminiscing on how he and his old high school friend - the late Paul Allen - scrambled to create the world's first "software factory" after reading an article in the January 1975 issue of Popular Electronics magazine about the Altair 8800, a minicomputer that would be powered by a tiny chip made by the then-obscure technology company, Intel. Related AI employees? Microsoft launches autonomous agents to onboard workers or manage help desk The article inspired Gates, who was just a freshman at Harvard University, and Allen to call Altair's maker, Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems, and promise the company's CEO Ed Roberts they had developed software that would enable consumers to control the hardware. There was just one hitch: Gates and Allen hadn't yet come up with the code they promised Roberts. 'The coolest code I've ever written' Gates and Allen tackled the challenge by latching onto the BASIC computer language that had been developed in 1964 at Dartmouth College, but they still had to figure out a way to make the technology compatible with the forthcoming Altair computer, even though they didn't even have a prototype of the machine. After spending two months working on the program with little sleep, Gates finished the code that became the basis for the Altair's first operating system. "That code remains the coolest I've ever written," Gates wrote in his blog post, which includes an option to download the original programme. Related Microsoft claims its new AI correction feature can fix hallucinations. Does it work? The code would go on to provide the foundation for a business that would make personal computers a household staple, with a suite of software that includes the Word, Excel, and PowerPoint programs, as well as the Windows operating system that still powers most PCs today. "That was the revolution," Gates said of the code in a video accompanying his post. "That was the thing that ushered in personal computing". Gates' recollection of the code is part of a nostalgic kick that he has been on this year as he prepares to turn 70 in October. The trip down memory lane included the February release of a memoir exploring his early years as an often-misunderstood child with few friends and a hailing of the 25th anniversary of the philanthropic foundation he created after stepping down as Microsoft's CEO in 2000. Related Who is Mustafa Suleyman, Microsoft's new AI chief, and what does his appointment mean for Big Tech? The tech giant initially stumbled after Gates' departure but has been thriving under CEO Satya Nadella, and has amassed a market value of about $2.8 trillion (€2.5 trillion). In his memoir, Gates also reflected on his tempestuous relationship with fellow PC pioneer, the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, whose company will be celebrating its golden anniversary next year. "Fifty years is a long time," said Gates, whose personal fortune is estimated at $108 billion (€98 billion). "It's crazy that the dream came true".
