IMSAI Advert - December 1976

This is the computer that famously appeared in the nerd-classic film 'WarGames'^[1], as used by Matthew Broderick's character David Lightman.

It was chosen because it was looked more like how people still expected computers to operate, despite having been released seven years before the film was made - it definitely had tons of geek cred, what with its programme-by-switches interface.

This advert appeared in the December issue of Popular Electronics, along with its contemporaries the Altair 8800 and 680. The fully-assembled price of $931 equates to nearly £7,570 in 2024 terms - the cost of a good second-hand car.