I built a miniature Altair 8800 replica. I'd be interested to know people's thoughts on it.
You can see my description of it, along with a video demo, at my blog, http://galacticstudios.org/altair. But the short version is that I scored a small Optima case on eBay, built a miniature Altair 8800 front panel, and put a Mini-ITX board in it (plus an SSD and a hard drive).
What Mike has done is much nicer than what I did in a few ways. His replica is more accurate, his front panel software is better, his rear panel is great (mine is such an ugly kludge, I was too embarrassed to show it in my blog), and he owns the design for his case so that he can manufacture more of them. My Altair 8800 PC is a one-time thing.
But mine has one advantage over his: it's much smaller - 1/4 the volume of an Altair 8800! It's small enough to qualify as a Small Form Factor (SFF) PC.
My thoughts - and I'd be interested to know if anyone agrees with them - are that people who buy Altair replicas are seeking nostalgia and geek cred. If all they wanted was to run 8080 software, they could download a free emulator from the web. But $600 and 2000 cubic inches is a lot to dedicate to Hunt the Wumpus and Zork. So putting your regular desktop PC into it is really important. (In my case, I have no interest in running old software. I just want the nostalgia and the blinkenlights.)
But even then, the size of an Altair 8800 is an issue. Most people with desktop PCs shove their PC under the desk, out of the way. But an Altair PC needs to be displayed! I couldn't spare that much desk space. But for me, a miniature Altair 8800 replica that could hold a Mini-ITX board gave me everything I wanted.
How about you? Why do you want an Altair 8800 box? Would your urge be satisfied by something smaller?
I've occasionally thought about starting a business making and selling micro-Altair PC cases. But my PC is not a good prototype. I would have to start from scratch, and that's a lot of work.
Mike, if you're reading this, you're most of the way there. You've got great front panel software and you have the design for a full size panel. Swap the 5mm LEDs for 3mm and swap the switches for micro switches (I can give you the part number if you need it). I presume you have the CAD drawings for the case and a company to manufacture it. Just cut down the size - which will also cut the cost.
Would people be interested in this? Would they prefer it to a full-size case? Would it actually appeal to more people, e.g. the SFF community and the case mod community? I don't know. I've done zero market research. But I'd love to hear what people here think.
- Bob Alexander