In recent years, software giant Microsoft has been releasing the source code for some of its oldest operating systems under MIT open-source licenses. Examples include MS-DOS and GW-BASIC, and now another blast from the past has been added to the collection. Somewhat surprisingly, though, this one is really old and just so happens to be a version of its first-ever software product.
Specifically, it's a port of BASIC, the OS that founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen developed for use on the Intel 8080-powered Altair 8800. As explained in a Microsoft blog, the version that's just been released on GitHub was created for computers using MOS Technology 6502 processors (via The Register).
