Welcome! This is the home of a research and documentation project for one of the first microcomputers, the 1975 Sphere 1 from Utah.

Learn more and try out a virtual Sphere! Book coming soon!

About Sphere

The Sphere 1 was launched in 1975 by Mike Wise of Bountiful, Utah. It was an all-in-one integrated microcomputer based on the new Motorola 6800 platform. It was ahead of its time; it was also delayed, somewhat difficult to use and frequently flaky. The company disappeared by 1977, and Sphere was soon a punchline, then a footnote.

The Sphere computer may have been at its heart a hobbyist's machine, but its design and capabilities prefigured the mass-market computers that would become ubiquitous a few years later.

About this project

I'm Ben Zotto, a research historian, engineer, and writer from California. I'm working on the story of Sphere-- a unique computer, and the unique company who built it and the people who used it. Working on a forthcoming book that will document hundreds of hours of research; sign up for updates!

As part of this research, I've built a virtual web emulator for the standard Sphere configuration, including the first new game for the Sphere in 40+ years. 👾 😂 Try computing like it's 1975.

VIRTUAL SPHERE EMULATOR RESOURCES SIGN UP FOR UPDATES!

Do you have Sphere hardware, software, paperwork or stories?

I'd dearly love to hear from you. Sphere systems and kits were produced in small numbers; they were often unloved even in their time and are now very obscure. Some material has been thankfully preserved, but there's plenty I haven't had the opportunity to study and archive. If you're looking to get your old Sphere stuff to a good home, have some unseen material in a closet, or have stories of working with or for these computers, let's talk.

Copyright © 2022 by Ben Zotto.

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