A history of the microcomputer industry in 300 adverts

The New Electron from Acorn. Ask any child at school why it's worth £199

The Electron was first announced in 1982, launched in 1983, but was beset with production delays which meant it didn't really start shipping until early 1984. That could explain why this advert from...

The Link from Panasonic. The portable computer that lets you take the advantages of an office computer anywhere you go.

It's an advert from Matshushita Electric Industrial Co., trading as Panasonic, for its awkward-to-search-for "The Link" portable computer. Pitched less as a full-on microcomputer than perhaps Sharp's...

Sharp: The Amazing Pocket Computer in Living Color

Sharp's PC-1500 was - like Epson's HX-20 and Tandy/Radio Shack's Micro-Executive Workstation - one of several LCD-based hand-held computers around at the time, although Sharp's model looks a little more...

Simplify your bookkeeping with this $3432 Radio Shack TRS-80 Computer System

Here's another advert from Tandy/Radio Shack for the Model III variant of its TRS-80, or Trash-80 - the original version of which had been launched back in 1977. It was not uncommon for companies to...

Omninet: The Corvus Connection

Corvus was founded in 1979 with a few million dollars of venture-capital seed money in order to build disk drives for Apple. However, as disk drives were often more expensive than the computers they...

Three out of every four computers going into schools are BBC Micros

Acorn churned out a lot of adverts around this time which were broadly similar: a BBC Micro doing something, with reams of text explaining it. This one - whilst even more wordy than usual - is interesting...

Research Machines: Graphics machine

There weren't many constants during the microcomputer explosion, but if there was one it was possibly this: Research Machines' 380Z. First launched in 1977, it was still going here in 1983, and would...

What can 16 CP/M user have in common?

This advert almost didn't make it in as it's one of those text-heavy layouts with not much apparently going on. However, it's worth an entry because it's for a microcomputer which took the idea of "multi-processor"...

At £1,795 it can only be a Miracle

The Miracle, from Portico, was another British-built Z80 machine running CP/M, but is clearly aiming at the Osborne/Kaypro "luggable" market. When the Osborne 1 launched in 1981, it completely reset...

Future Computers: Here is your future

Future Computers Limited had been created in 1983 as a result of venture-capital funding from MGM/APA, and additional funding from BTG - the British Technology Group. Each had apparently invested £400,000...

The Galaxy 1 Computer - The cost-effective solution to your computer needs

The Galaxy 1, from Amersham-based Gemini Microcomputers, was a Z80 - or actually twin Z80, with one just to do the video - microcomputer which was based around the company's older multiboard system. ...

Informex Wicat Multi-User System 150

WICAT had been founded in 1980 as a division of the World Institute for Computer-Assisted Teaching, and concentrated on multi-user systems for educational institutions. The multi-user Wicat System 150,...

Nascom means performance. Nascom means solutions

Nascom - now owned by car-parts-to-semiconductors industrial conglomerate Lucas Industries, or at least its Lucas Logic division - is still trundling on with its re-packaged Nascom 2 motherboard in a...

TI's Home Computer. Unbeatable value. Unrivalled software.

The original TI99/4 had been released back in 1979 and was the first ever 16-bit home computer, running TI's own TMS 9900 CPU. It didn't get off to a good start in the UK, as early models of the micro...

NEC turns 28 years of computer experience to your personal advantage

NEC's PC-8000 - known as the PC-8001 outside of Europe - was part of NEC's PC-8000 range. It was only the third fully-assembled microcomputer specifically made for the Japanese market, being beaten only...