When you think of the Intel 8080 CPU, the computer that springs to mind probably doesn’t look like the Interact. The prebuilt Interact, designed for home use, with an integrated keyboard and tape drive, doesn’t look much like an Altair 8800 from four years before. In this blog post, we’ll explore the Interact, an obscure 1978 computer whose maker went bankrupt after just a year, but the system still found ways to survive into the early 1980s.
The Interact Model 1 home computer
The Interact Model 1 was a capable computer for the price, at the time of its release. It was based on an Intel 8080 CPU, which was a bit unusual for 1978. That’s the same computer used in the Altair, the computer that ran Microsoft’s first product.
The Interact backed it up with 8K or 16K of RAM, and it had sound and graphics capabilities along with a built-in tape drive for storage and a keyboard. Other than two control ports and its RF connector for a television, it had no external I/O ports or expansion ports. It used a hybrid chicklet/membrane keyboard with a nonstandard layout. The number keys across the top were arranged from 2 to 0, with 1 on the right of the zero key. And by the right, I don’t mean it was on the correct side, I mean the wrong side.
Manual typewriters often omitted the 1 key, so that explains not putting the 1 key where we expect it today. But computers need that key. Putting it next to the 0 key seems an odd choice though.
The keyboard wasn’t the only odd thing about the Interact. Its display had no text mode. So it generated 17 columns by 12 rows of text on its bitmapped display like a modern computer does, just at 112×78 resolution. It could display up to 4 colors at a time.
Yes, some things about the system seem odd today. Would I have been complaining at the time? Probably not a lot, and here’s why. In four years, the same 8080 CPU went from living in a system like the Altair where the operator flipped switches on a metal panel and decoded output in octal from a series of red LEDs to a system with a keyboard, bitmapped graphics, and sound. What a time to be alive.
Sales figures and cancelled plans
The founder of Interact Electronics Inc was Ken Lochner, who was one of the original developers of the BASIC programming language based out of Dartmouth College. It was his second company. Previously, Lochner founded the successful computer time-sharing company Cyphernetics, which he sold to ADP in 1975. The engineers’ names were Rick Barnich and Tim Anderson.
Initially, Barnich and Anderson planned to offer four models, with the two higher-end models including a mechanical full-travel keyboard. Those models never materialized, although a third party keyboard upgrade did reach the market.
Developing the Interact cost over $1 million. Introduced in June 1978, the Interact cost $450 for the 8K version or $550 for the 16K version. It didn’t sell well, and Interact went out of business at the end of 1979.
How many machines sold is not clear. Micro Video, a partner of Interact, said in 1982 that it was around 7,000 units. It’s possible that a majority of those sales happened after Interact Electronics closed its doors.
Second life as a liquidation special
After Interact went out of business, the unsold inventory ended up in three places. Micro Video, a reseller who used the Interact as a character generator, bought about 1/3 of the inventory, and later acquired the rights to manufacture it and put the machine back into production.
Some additional inventory was liquidated through Newman Computer Exchange, a combination storefront/mail order dealer based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Newman sold working units for $299 or $249 depending on the configuration, and inoperable units for as little as $45.
The remaining inventory was liquidated by Protecto Enterprizes, a mail order dealer based out of the Chicago area, by advertising in the back pages of magazines like Popular Science. Protecto sold the machine alone for $299, or in a bundle for $399 that included software and technical documentation, including developer information and service information. Protecto went on to sell the APF Imagination Machine when it ran out of Interact computers to sell.
A few retail stores throughout the United States also reportedly had stock and were selling the Interact home computer after 1979.
Maybe because of the low closeout price, the Interact gained a following among tinkerers. They found they could use the controller ports to interface to the outside world, and used it for home automation projects.
The late 70s weren’t the easiest time in the computer industry, but there were machines of that era that did sell well, including the Apple II, TRS-80, and Atari 400/800. The Interact soon faded into the shadows behind those more popular machines. A few thousand people got their start in computing with an Interact, likely at a bargain price. The reason you hear more stories about the Apple, Atari, or TRS-80 is because they were more common.
David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He started his career as a part-time computer technician in 1994, worked his way up to system administrator by 1997, and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He invests in real estate on the side and his hobbies include O gauge trains, baseball cards, and retro computers and video games. A University of Missouri graduate, he holds CISSP and Security+ certifications. He lives in St. Louis with his family.