IMSAI ads didn't show how good it looked

[Floppies_only]

Gang,

I get my internet access at the public terminals at the University of Washington. One day several years ago I mis-remembered that Byte magazine had the listing for Spacewar on the 8085, so I looked to see if the University library had it, and they did, in the Engineering library.

Recently my eBay searches for IMSAI have turned up old Popular Electronics magazines for sale, so I went to see if the Engineering Library had those, too. They did, and I looked at the issues that were supposed to feature articles on the IMSAI. There weren't any, although I did make some copies of other stuff (CB Radio expanded to 40 channels, computer interupts explained, but not very well, "How to select a hobbyist computer").

The November, 1976 issue of Popular Electronics had a one page ad for the IMSAI. "if you thought a rugged, professional yet affordable computer didn't exist,

think
IMSAI
8080."

It has a picture that takes 1/4 of the page to show the computer sitting on it's right side with the cover removed and three cards installed and one card halfway installed. There is a very small picture, two inches wide, showing the computer's front panel.

In April of '77, IIRC, they had a four page ad that didn't show the front panel. I remember seeing two other ads that were tiny and in the back of the magazine, listing prices for certain boards.

I suspect that the ad agency that handled the account either wanted to emphasise the usability of the computer, and so they didn't make a point of really showing off the front panel (so people wouldn't think that all they could do with it is flip switches), or else they didn't understand the attractiveness of the front panel. Personally, I think it's very attractive.

Oh, in the four page ad they listed a video board (for 1100 bucks!), a 53-key keyboard, and a narrow width printer as IMSAI peripherals. There was more but I misplaced my Xeroxes of the ad.

Byte magazine had no article on the IMSAI, and I don't recall finding any ads, either.

I just feel cheated, as if they had done a better job of advertising, there would have been more IMSAIs for us to get our greedy little hands on :)

Sean

[alltare]

Sean-
Hmmm, I recall that 'everyone' knew about IMSAIs back then, and there was plenty of information about them, including lots of ads. For quite a while, the two big names were Altair and IMSAI. I think you may be looking in the wrong places for articles. Rather than Popular Electronics, try looking at old issues of Byte (they HAD to have articles about the IMSAI, I'm sure), Interface, Interface Age, Kilobaud, Personal Computing, and other early computer mags.

By the way, I liked the looks of IMSAI's front panel- certainly classier than the Altair 8800/8800a and at least on a par with the 8800b. I particularly thought that those nice looking wide IMSAI paddle switches would be easier to use than Altair's toggle switches. I thought so until I actually got my hands on an IMSAI to play with for awhile, when I quickly realized that because there was almost no space between the paddles, I could not tell by touch where one switch ended and the next one began, so I always had to glance at the front panel as I entered code from a written listing. With the Altair, there was enough space between switches that I could sort of tell which ones were which without looking at them, and could therefore enter code 'by feel' quite a bit faster.