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IMSAI 8080 |
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| IMSAI 8080 | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | IMS Associates, Inc., later IMSAI Manufacturing Corporation |
| Type | Hobbyist computer |
| Casing | Aluminum |
| Production | December 1975 |
| Discontinued | 1988 |
| CPU | Intel 8080/8085A @ 2 MHz/3 MHz |
| RAM | 256/4K bytes on a 4K board (static), 16K, 32K, 64K Dynamic RAM |
| Expansion | 22-slot motherboard S-100 bus |
| Software | First commercial supplier of Digital Research's CP/M (Control Program/Monitor), later followed by derived IMDOS, BASIC, FORTRAN |
| Storage | Optional cassette or
5 1/4" and 8" floppy drives, hard drives (CDC Hawk- 5 MB fixed, 5 MB removable |
The IMSAI 8080 was an early microcomputer released in late 1975, based on the Intel 8080 and later 8085 and S-100 bus1. It was compatible with its main competitor, the earlier MITS Altair 8800, by which it was inspired. The IMSAI is largely regarded as the first "clone" computer. The IMSAI machine ran a highly modified version of the CP/M operating system called IMDOS. It was developed, manufactured and sold by IMS Associates, Inc. (later renamed IMSAI Manufacturing Corp). In total, between 17,000 and 20,000 units were produced from 1975 until 1978.
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In May 1972, William Millard began business individually as IMS Associates (IMS) in the area of computer consultancy and engineering, using his home as an office. By 1973, Millard founded IMS Associates, Inc. Millard soon found capital for his business, and received several contracts, all for software.
In 1974, IMS was contacted by a client which wanted a "workstation system" that could complete jobs for any General Motors new-car dealership. IMS planned a system including a terminal, small computer, printer, and special software. Five of these work stations were to have common access to a hard disk, which would be controlled by a small computer. Eventually product development was stopped. Millard and his chief engineer Joe Killian turned to the microprocessor. Intel had announced the 8080 chip, and compared to the 4004 to which IMS Associates had been first introduced, the 8080 looked like a "real computer". Full scale development of the IMSAI 8080 was put into action, and by October 1975 an ad was placed in Popular Electronics, receiving positive reactions.2
IMS shipped the first IMSAI 8080 kits on December 16 1975.3 In 1976, IMS was renamed to IMSAI Manufacturing Corporation because by then they were a manufacturing company, not a consultancy firm. By October 1979 the IMSAI corporation had gone bankrupt, and the 'IMSAI' trademark was acquired by Thomas "Todd" Fischer and Nancy Freitas (former early employees of IMS Associates), who continued manufacturing the computers under the IMSAI name as a division of Fischer-Freitas Co. Support for early IMSAI systems continues to this day.
The IMSAI 8080 was used for
An IMSAI 8080 and an acoustic coupler type modem were among the hacking tools used by the main character in the 1983 movie WarGames. However, even by 1983 the acoustic coupler was out of date. It was selected over a more modern model so that the audience would immediately recognize it as the device that interfaced with the telephone.
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