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  • A history of the microcomputer industry in 300 adverts

    Acorn,  Acornsoft,  ACT/Apricot,  ACT/Computhink,  Aculab,  Advance,  Advance Memory Systems,  Ai Electronics,  Alpha Micro,  Altos,  Amstrad,  Apple,  Asda,  Atari,  BASF,  BCL,  Bendix,  Bondwell,  British Micro,  Bromcom,  Butel-Comco,  Bywood,  C/WP-Cortex,  CAL,  Cambridge Computer,  Camputers,  Canon,  Casio,  Casu Electronics,  Cifer,  Climax International,  Coleco,  Columbia,  Comart,  Commodore,  Compaq,  Compucolor Corporation,  Compukit,  CompuServe,  Computer Facilities,  COMX,  Corvus,  Cromemco,  Cyber Electronics,  DAI,  Data General,  Dataindustrier/Luxor,  Dell,  Digital,  Digital Group,  Digital Research,  Dragon Data,  Durango,  Dynabyte,  EACA/Genie,  ECD,  Elliott,  Enterprise/Elan,  Epson,  Equinox/Parasitic,  Euro-Calc/Plessey,  Exidy,  Ferranti,  Fortronic,  Fortune,  Franklin,  Fujitsu,  Future,  GEC,  Gemini Micro,  Globe Business Machines,  Goldstar,  Goupil,  Gulfstream/Bytec,  Hayes,  Haywood,  Heathkit,  Hewlett-Packard,  HH,  Hitachi,  Hotel Microsystems,  Iasis,  IBM,  ICL,  Imagine,  IMSAI,  Intel,  Intertec,  IO Research,  Iotec,  ITCS,  Ithaca InterSystems,  ITT,  Jarogate,  Jupiter Cantab,  Kaypro,  Kontron,  Laskys,  Limrose,  LSI,  Mattel,  Memotech,  Metacomco,  Micro Networks,  MicroDaSys,  Micromation,  Micronet,  Micronix,  Microsoft,  Microtanic, Midwest Scientific Instruments (MSI),  Miracle Technology,  Mission,  MITS,  Mitsubishi,  Morrow Designs,  MOS Technology,  Multitech,  Namal,  Nascom/Lucas,  NCR,  NEC,  Netronics,  Newbury Laboratories,  Newbury/Grundy,  Newtons Laboratories,  North Star,  Noval,  Novation,  Ohio Scientific,  OKI,  Olivetti,  Olympia,  Onyx,  Opus,  Orb Micro,  Oric,  Osborne,  Pace,  Panasonic,  Pearcom,  PerSci,  Pertec,  Philips,  Polymorphic,  Portico,  Prism,  Processor Technology,  Psion,  Quantum,  Qume,  RAIR,  Rank Xerox,  RCA,  Research Machines,  Rockwell,  Sanyo,  Schneider,  Scicon,  Seiko,  Semi-Tech/Pied Piper,  Sharp,  Shelton,  Shugart,  Sinclair,  Sirius/Victor,  Smoke Signal,  Sord/CGL,  Soroc,  Space Byte,  Spectravideo,  SWTPC,  Tandata,  Tandon,  Tandy/Radio Shack,  Tangerine,  Tatung,  Tava,  TDI/Sage,  Telcon/Zorba,  TeleVideo,  Texas Instruments,  TLF,  Torch,  Toshiba,  Toyo Menka,  Transam,  Transtec,  Triumph-Adler,  Tulip/Compudata,  Tycom,  U-Micro,  Vector Graphic,  Victor,  VisiCorp,  Wang,  Wells American,  Wicat,  Wren Computers,  Xcalibur,  Yamaha,  Zen,  Zenith Data Systems,  Zilog

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A history of the microcomputer industry in 300 adverts

adverts home | a-z index | industry connections | timelines | by year | by model | by CPU | next 15 adverts | previous 15 adverts

Commodore advert thumbnail

Commodore

January 1982

VIC-20 Colour Computer - What VIC-20 Can Do For You

This nice gate-fold sales material was made for the VIC-20 a few months after its UK launch. It's full of archetypal 80s people looking at screens, and the blurb contains informa...

Tatung advert thumbnail

Tatung

September 1984

A Complete Colour Micro With No Hidden Extras for Around £499

Designed entirely by Tatung UK, an offshoot of Taiwan's largest company, the Einstein was aimed vaguely at the business market, but with a Zilog Z80A processor could also emulate ...

Torch advert thumbnail

Torch

September 1984

From only £764 the new Torch Graduate will upgrade your BBC Model B to a powerful 16 bit busiess computer

Here's something of a curiosity from the days when it was quite common to hybridise computers, like the Commodore C128 with its own native mode, a 6510/6502 equivalent for C64 com...

Acorn advert thumbnail

Acorn

September 1984

The Electron has added even more strings to its bow

Here is another advert for the Acorn Electron, or rather software from Acornsoft for the Electron, featuring a dude rather self-consciously dressed up as Cupid. The Electron, la...

Acorn advert thumbnail

Acorn

September 1984

Hey Prestel. A new dimension for the BBC Micro

Here's another advert that shows that the world of 'on-line' was alive and well long before the advent of the Internet. Prestel was a UK electronic information system set up by ...

Commodore advert thumbnail

Commodore

November 1984

Commodore 64: Are you only using 1/10th of your brain?

Another UK advert for the Commodore 64, extoling the virtues of more software and peripherals like printers, joysticks and colour monitors. Somewhat disingensouly, it suggests t...

Sinclair advert thumbnail

Sinclair

1984

Mentathlete - the Sinclair ZX Spectrum

This is a slightly abstract advert for the ZX Spectrum, which appeared on the back of a home computer course. It shows an all-metal dude, like the T-1000 in Terminator 2, reaching...

Acorn advert thumbnail

Acorn

March 1980

"The perfect lead.. Acorn Microcomputer System 1"

Acorn's "System 1" - formerly known just as the Acorn Microcomputer - was launched in March 1979 and appears here in an early-1980 advert selling for £75 in kit form (or about £47...

Commodore advert thumbnail

Commodore

March 1984

"When You Have An Enormous Memory, There's No End To The Things You Can Do"

From the time when 64K was still quite a lot of memory for a home computer, comes this advert from Commodore featuring a cute baby elephant with a whole pile of software piled on ...

Tandy/Radio Shack advert thumbnail

Tandy/Radio Shack

October 1978

TRS-80 - The biggest name in little computers. Complete and ready to go NOW!

It's another advert for one of the "1977 Trinity" - the Z80-based Tandy TRS-80. A year after its launch, the Level-II system had appeared, with an expanded BASIC in ROM, now at ...

Sinclair advert thumbnail

Sinclair

September 1978

MK14 - the only low-cost keyboard-addressable microprocessor!

What would become the home-computing part of the Sinclair empire was at this time operating under the moniker of Science of Cambridge, whilst the Sinclair name itself was still at...

Sinclair advert thumbnail

Sinclair

June 1978

MK14 - the only low-cost keyboard-addressable microcomputer!

This is the second-earliest reference in this collection - and the first to mention an actual computer - to the company that would become Sinclair, which did so much to kick-start...

Nascom/Lucas advert thumbnail

Nascom/Lucas

June 1978

Nascom 1 Microprocessor Z80 kit

Nascom, the computer company which was eventually acquired by car-parts maker Lucas was, for a while, the UK's biggest supplier of computer kits. It was established by Lynx Elec...

Sinclair advert thumbnail

Sinclair

June 1978

The new Sinclair DM235 digital multimeter. 3.5 digits. Under £50!

Sinclair Radionics, the company that was based in St. Ives, Cambridgeshire, was in some financial difficulties during the mid 70s, and was part-nationalised by the National Enterp...

SWTPC advert thumbnail

SWTPC

November 1977

SWTPC announces first dual minifloppy kit under $1,000

South West Technical Products Corp was a company that started out producing project kits, but here is offering a complete Motorola 6800-based system with 4K memory and floppy disk...

adverts home | a-z index | industry connections | timelines | by year | by model | by CPU | next 15 adverts | previous 15 adverts

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