Presented by Mark Russinovich and Scott Hanselman, this Ignite 2025 breakout session connects decades of computing innovation, illustrating how architectural patterns from early PCs shape today's Azure-based app development and cloud scaling.

Connecting Computing Eras: From Altair 8800 to Azure Cloud Architecture

Introduction

Join Mark Russinovich and Scott Hanselman for a live, demo-driven session at Microsoft Ignite 2025, bridging historical computing innovation and modern cloud architecture.

Chapter Highlights

• Bootloaders Across Eras: Examines progression from 28-byte boot programs to UEFI and bootloaders powering Azure systems.
• Abstraction Layers: Explores the transition from direct machine code to assembler languages, emphasizing the importance of abstraction in scalable systems.
• Programming Histories: Mark Russinovich shares his early programming career, including BASIC magazine hex programs and screen dump techniques.
• Demo: Altair Boots into CP/M: Live demonstration of booting the Altair emulator, running a classic infinite loop in BASIC, and highlighting errors common in early computing.
• Tech Community Evolution: Insights into Sysinternals Newsletter as a pre-social media tech hub for programmers.
• Open-Sourcing Zork: Microsoft/Xbox partnership highlights open-source releases of classic games, connecting historic software with modern cloud ecosystems.
• Modern Terminal Resurgence: Explains why terminal interfaces are returning in cloud-native development and DevOps workflows.
• Live Bridge to Altair: Shows complex, multistep pipelines bridging physical computing devices and modern emulators—illustrating the evolution and inefficiencies of integration.

Key Themes

• Historical perspective informs current best practices in cloud app architecture
• Lessons from early abstraction, boot processes, and open-source communities shape modern scaling and deployment on Azure
• Embracing the resurgence of terminal interfaces in today’s development workflows

Practical Takeaways

• Understanding REST APIs' roots in abstraction—from toggle switches to cloud endpoints
• Using historical mistakes and successes to inform error handling, scaling, and developer experience in cloud computing
• Leveraging open-source practices and emulator pipelines for modern app delivery

Additional Resources

• Microsoft Ignite On-Demand Sessions
• Sysinternals Tools and Community Archives
• Altair 8800 emulator projects and open-source references

Speakers

• Mark Russinovich
• Scott Hanselman

About the Authors

Mark Russinovich is the CTO of Microsoft Azure; Scott Hanselman is a developer advocate and educator at Microsoft.