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Many think the Apple II and Radio Shack's TRS-80 represent the beginning of the personal computer era. Indeed, Byte Magazine labeled these two microcomputers, along with Commodore's PET, all of which debuted in the same year, as the "1977 Trinity." So it's not unusual for the casual observer to cite those units as "the first."
But that's wrong. Those in the field generally recognize the Altair 8800 as the first actual personal computer. Coming out in 1974, its use of an Intel microprocessor, the S-100 computer bus, and Microsoft's founding product (Altair BASIC) became the template upon which a future industry thrived.
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Christopher Carosa
Chris Carosa has been writing a weekly article and monthly column for BenefitsPRO online and BenefitsPRO Magazine since 2011 and is a nationally recognized award-winning writer, researcher and speaker. He’s written seven books, including From Cradle to Retire: The Child IRA; Hey! What’s My Number? – How to Increase the Odds You Will Retire in Comfort; A Pizza The Action: Everything I Ever Learned About Business I Learned By Working in a Pizza Stand at the Erie County Fair; and the widely acclaimed 401(k) Fiduciary Solutions. Carosa is also Chief Contributing Editor of the authoritative trade journal FiduciaryNews.com and publisher of the Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel, a weekly community newspaper he founded in 1989. Currently serving as President of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and with more than 1,000 articles published in various publications, he appears regularly in the national media. A “parallel” entrepreneur, he actively runs a handful of businesses, including a small boutique investment adviser, providing hands-on experience for his writing. A trained astrophysicist, he also holds an MBA and has been designated a Certified Trust and Financial Advisor. Share your thoughts and story ideas with him through Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/christophercarosa/)and Twitter (https://twitter.com/ChrisCarosa).
