A history of the microcomputer industry in 300 adverts

Introducing the Tandy Micro Executive Workstation

Proving that it's possible to stretch out a model name to any possible extreme, comes the "Micro Executive Work Station" (MEWS), otherwise known as the TRS-80 Model 100 - the TRS-80 being a 1977-vintage...

The Jupiter Ace: Clever enough for Forth, dumb enough to sell for £90

The Jupiter Ace, launched in August 1982, was an unusual entry into the canon of early 1980s British home computers. Although it was Yet Another Z80 Machine, it was different in its choice of Forth as...

ZX Spectrum - 16K or 48K RAM from only £125!

This advert is part of an impressive four-page spread that appeared early in 1983 for the Sinclair Spectrum, launched at the end of April 1982 but which took eight weeks until first deliveries actually...

If it isn't Shugart, it isn't Minifloppy

The apocryphal story tells of a meeting in a restaurant with a customer who complained that the 8" floppy drives of the day were just too big for the smaller "personal computers" that had been appearing...

Sol. The small computer that won't fence you in

An interesting advert, nicely shot on a dried lake somewhere in the American south west, that's quite honest, for a change, about the fact that it's not particularly cheap and which disparages the often...

Why Apple II is the world's best selling personal computer

According to The Register, Apple has long since possessed an alternative view of reality, with Steve Jobs being known as "Old Reality Distortion Field, because when he appeared, facts became fallacies...

PerSci delivers the Dual-Headed Diskette Drive

Peripheral Sciences - or PerSci - with its dual-headed dual-floppy unit, was going up against companies like Shugart which had just introduced the 5¼" floppy. Ignoring their size, these huge 8" drives...

Smoke Signal Broadcasting: Hail to the Chieftain

Founded in 1976 as a supplier of plug-in boards for SWTPC's 6800 micro, Smoke Signal Broadcasting is a bit of an obscure entry in the canon of early computing. The machine in the advert - The Chieftain...

The Sharp MZ-80 Computer System - Now Available On Earth

This advert from Sharp continues the company's long-running theme which implies some sort of extra-terrestrial origin for its computer. This particular micro, which had actually been around since October...

Seeing is believing: ACT Sirius 1

In the year that the IBM PC was finally launched in the UK comes this advert for the ACT Sirius 1 - a machine designed by 6502 and Commodore PET legend Chuck Peddle, and of which Peddle said "Eats Apples...

North Star's Advantage is easy to see

The North Star advantage was launched in 1982 and came with dual 360K 5.25" floppies (for a total storage of 720K), an optional 5Mb Winchester and hi-res graphics. It contained the Zilog Z80A processor...

Take Your Pick of the Litter - Novation

Up until the back end of the 1990s, the Modem was the only affordable way that people at home could connect to the Internet - and various other networks, databases, dial-ups or bulletin-board systems...

Rainbow 100 - It's The Complete System for Complete Solutions

No collection of adverts about the early computer industry would be complete without at least one featuring Digital - otherwise known as Digital Equipment Corporation or DEC. This was the company that...

Franklin's Baker's Dozen!

The Franklin 1200 was an update of Franklin's earlier 1000 model, and both were unofficial Apple II clones. The company always referred to its machines with the acronym ACE, which stood for Apple Compatible...

VIC-20: The Waiting is Over. The Rush has Begun

This is the advert that formally kicked off Commodore's launch campaign in the UK for the VIC-20 - the 6502-based colour computer which became the first ever to sell a million units, going on to sell...