Jarogate Advert - April 1985
From Practical Computing
How much persuasion do you need to buy a world-beating business computer?
With an amusing still from what looks like a 1930s film featuring a Vickers Machine Gun comes this advert from Jarogate, of Brixton, London, for its Sprite 286 multi-user system.
Unlike Jarogate's earlier multi-user systems which required a separate processor card plugged into an S-100 backplane for each user, this one seems to be making more use of the multi-tasking abilities of Intel's iAPX 285, otherwise known as the 80286.
The system ran either Concurrent CP/M with the addition of PC Mode, or Microsoft's Xenix - a version of Unix.
At first, supporting up to 18 users on a single server with one CPU seems to be a bit of a stretch, however it appears that the basic system supported just two users, with additional "intelligent 8-port" expansion units required for more users.
The entry-level two-user system retailed for £4,995 - or about £20,000 in 2026.
The company was back a few years later with its Sprite 386 Powerstation, which was based on Intel's 80386 and which supported up to 64 users.
This model came with up to four 80186 processors as terminal front-ends and retailed for around £15,000 for the basic system, up to £50,000 for the full 64-user system[1]. That's around £167,700 in 2026.
Date created: 30 January 2026
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Sources
Text and otherwise-uncredited photos © nosher.net 2026. Dollar/GBP conversions, where used, assume $1.50 to £1. "Now" prices are calculated dynamically using average RPI per year.
