Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has released the company’s original source code as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations. The code, written by Gates and Paul Allen in 1975, was created using a PDP-10 mainframe at Harvard in BASIC. Gates, who still enjoys looking back on it, called it “the coolest code I’ve written to this day.” The duo’s inspiration for writing the code came from an Altair 8800 ad in Popular Electronics magazine.
Gates and Allen initially claimed they had a version of BASIC that could run on the Altair but were unable to do so. They then built a BASIC interpreter to translate the code into something the computer could understand, alongside a third friend, Monte Davidoff. To overcome technical limitations, Allen simulated an Intel 8080 chip using the PDP-10.
The release marks Microsoft’s humble beginnings, with Gates stating that “Before Office, Windows 95, or Xbox, Microsoft began with this code.” A PDF version of the code is available for public viewing, offering a nostalgic look back at the company’s early days.
Source: https://uk.pcmag.com/migrated-3765-windows-10/157414/too-basic-bill-gates-releases-microsofts-original-source-code