An Open Letter to Hobbyists; in Computer Notes
Albuquerque: MITS, 1976. First Edition. Wrappers. Vol. 1, Issue 9. February 1976. Folded wrappers. On page 3 is the highly important statement outlining what became the Microsoft business model and clarifying distinctions between proprietary vs. open–source software. Some toning to the extremities and the fold line, else near fine. Near fine. Item #1013
In the beginning era of personal computing, computer hobbyists were buying hardware (the actual computers), but there was no software. In 1975 Gates and Paul Allen approached MITS (the creators of the new and popular microcomputer Altair 8800) president Ed Roberts to demo an emulator and interpreter. They reached a deal with MITS to develop and sell their software as Altair BASIC. The hobbyists were a close-knit community, so the early releases of this new and essential software were openly shared and Gates estimated in this letter that only 10% of the current users actually paid for it. In this letter he attempts to explain that the hobbyist community desperately needs new software, how much work it takes to write and test it and the lack of incentive to develop new software if it is not paid for.
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