Things I found interesting in the first year of Byte Magazine
I recently cataloged the first year of BYTE Magazine from 1976 (recently donated to the Computer Museum) and I wanted to talk about some of the things I found interesting.
I'll starting with my favourite: the August 1976 issue on computer voice synthesis. I have always found the process and history of voice synthesis remarkably interesting and seeing that it was possible in 1976 is incredibly amazing. The article shows how the computer attempts to emulate human speech using diagrams and in-depth explanations.
My next favourite is an article about light pens. The article appears in the January 1976 issue where there is an article on how to build your own light pen for your home microcomputer and CRT monitor using a standard pen you would have laying around your house. The instructions are extremely easy to understand and read and they go incredibly in depth on how everything works and what components do what. There are several diagrams that are scattered throughout the article and a few images of the light pen being used on a home computer. They also show that the framerate of your computer can affect how well the light pen will work and discuss what framerate is the best to use with the pen.
Lastly, an Altair convention was first mentioned in the Feb 1976 issue, where you can find an invitation for the first world Altair convention. The Altair 8080 was a microcomputer designed in 1974 and was famously featured on the cover of Popular Electronics in January 1975 as a computer you could build.
The convention was held at the new MITS factory in Albuquerque New Mexico, with a competition for the most innovative Altair demonstrations with the winner receiving “thousands of dollars in Altair equipment.” The entire event was free to attend. There was an update in the June 1976 issue, where the winner of the most innovative Altair demonstration is announced, and it is revealed that BYTE won an award.
