Traf-O-Data

Traf-O-Data was a business partnership between Bill Gates, Paul Allen, and Paul Gilbert that existed in the 1970s. The company's goal was to read the raw data from roadway traffic counters and create reports for traffic engineers. The company was not successful.

History

Traf-O-Data was a venture by childhood friends Bill Gates and Paul Allen. The idea was to process the data gathered by traffic counters, roadside devices used by traffic engineers to determine traffic patterns. The company was started in 1972, while Gates and Allen were still in high school.

The company's first product was the Traf-O-Data 8008, which was based on the Intel 8008 processor. The machine was able to read the hole-punched tapes used by traffic counters and produce a report on the traffic patterns it had recorded.

Despite the innovative idea, the company was not successful. The machine had technical problems, and the market for such a device was not as large as Gates and Allen had hoped. The company was dissolved in 1980.

Legacy

While Traf-O-Data was not a successful venture, it was a learning experience for Gates and Allen. They used the knowledge they gained from this project when they founded Microsoft in 1975. In a 2000 interview, Gates referred to Traf-O-Data as a "fun project" and a "great learning experience."

See also

• History of Microsoft
• Bill Gates
• Paul Allen

References

Traf-O-Data Resources
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