A history of the microcomputer industry in 300 adverts

Processor Technology: New 16K RAM Fully Assembled

More bits per buck than ever before on a fully burned-in and tested board unconditionally guaranteed for one year, says the advert about what is apparently a breakthrough price fo...

Three Atari Video Computer Systems Must Be Won!

Here's a nice competition advert which featured in a March or April edition of the comic 2000AD, and which offered the chance to win one of three Atari VCS2600 (sometimes known as...

Exidy: Announcing the new Sorcerer

The Sourcerer, launched in 1978, was originally manufactured by Exidy of Sunnyvale, California, but was cancelled in 1979. It was however popular enough in Europe and ended up b...

Weetabix: 100 Dragon Home Computer Sets to be Won!!

In the year that Dragon Data went in to receivership comes this "proxy" advert from Weetabix, in what would have been quite a good prize bundle at the time. Each of the 100 sets...

Vector 4: The Versatile Computer with the features you need for Today and Tomorrow

This advert is for the curious-looking Vector 4, from Vector Graphics of the US, as distributed by long-time UK distributor Almarc Data Systems. Contrary to the company's name, ...

Torch - The Computer to Set the World Alight

After former chartered accountants Martin Vlieland-Boddy and Peter Harris had been applying their finance-gained skills to bring technology to the world of management consultancy,...

SWTPC 6800 - Complete with 2K of memory

This is a straightforward advert from SWTPC - South West Technical Products Corporation, which originally made its name as a supplier of electronics kits - for the company's Motor...

Adler 1630: Because computer professionals need a professional computer

This computer doesn't seem to exist - at least there doesn't seem to be any information on it, although ribbons for its printer still seem to be available. OldComputers.com ment...

Newbrain: No other micro has this much power in this much size for this much money

This machine is possibly best known as the computer that might have been the BBC Micro, as chosen by the BBC for its influential Computer Literacy project, if its owners had only ...

Osborne 1: The only personal business computer you can take anywhere

The Osborne 1, launched at the West Coast Computer Faire in March 1981 (with the first machine shipping in July), is often credited as being the first computer designed specifical...

WHSmith: What Would I Do With a Computer?

This advert is a small A5 4-page booklet produced by UK newsagent chain WHSmith and demonstrates nicely how such regular high-street shops were very much part of the early home co...

RAIR: When it's time to stop playing games and get down to business

RAIR by name and rare by nature, if the lack of information about either the machine or the company (apart from at oldcomputers.com) is anything to go by. The company did, howev...

Just How Big a Difference is there Between Digital and Other Personal Computer Manufacturers?

This advert is primarily worth including because it has a nice picture of the Grand Canyon in the background. It's not for any particular machine, rather it's to advertise DEC a...

Dragon: Fire Your Imagination

This is a nice A5 landscape booklet, produced as sales material for the Dragon 32 probably around the time that the Dragon was released in August 1982. The Dragon 32 was first a...

Qume - A New Range of Video Terminals

Whilst the world of small-business and home computers was in a raging turmoil with hundreds of random machines coming and going, one thing remained a constant - the world of the t...