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Written by Bill Gates, Paul Allen, and Monte Davidoff , without access to an actual Altair computer or even an 8080 CPU (they used a self made 8080 simulator running on a PDP-10 minicomputer), it fit nicely into 4 KB of memory leaving enough room — several hundred bytes — for BASIC programs. The historic interpreter was later expanded to MITS 8K BASIC, and eventually, Altair Disk Extended BASIC (for use with MITS' floppy disk drive). As the home computer revolution took hold in the early 1980s, Microsoft BASIC became the most prolific programming language in the world, counting installations.
Altair BASIC was also the source of controversy in the late 1970s. At that time, most computer owners traded programs with each other with no thought to buying programs. This had been the norm within the Homebrew Computer Club. When Gates and Allen finished Altair BASIC, they wanted to sell it. But just before it shipped, John Draper managed to get hold of a paper tapePunched tape is an old-fashioned form of data storage, consisting of a long strip of paper in which holes are punched to store data. The earliest forms of punched tape come from weaving looms and embroidery, where cards with simple instructions about a ma containing the program, and went on to make lots of copies and give them away for free. He went so far as to state that he'd give it to anyone, as long as that person would make two new copies and give them away.
This made Bill Gates furious and he went on and wrote the famous Open Letter to HobbyistsThe Open Letter to Hobbyists was an open letter written on February 3, 1976 by Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft. In the letter, Gates expresses frustration over the fact that most computer hobbyists who were currently using his company's Altair BASIC to the computer community denouncing piracy. He had two problems: that Draper had acquired a tape and copied it, and that the tape that he had gotten hold of was an early buggy version, making Altair BASIC look bad.