Thread by @kevinbaker, Looking through old computer magazines again. Maybe a thread. A software piracy [...]

Looking through old computer magazines again. Maybe a thread.

A software piracy warning from the from the European Leisure Software Publishers Association (1990)

Avoid the

"Living in the 90s is all about convenience -- TV dinners, remote controls, automatic cars, automatic cat-feeding bowls and delay-action plant food."

Maybe piracy isn't all that bad? Who's to say?

lol, one of those is the marianne williamson bbs

online has always been rude. 1992.

an adult bbs called..."Garlique?"

1994.

1984

thought processing.

from Online Today, 1985

artificial intelligence

let's forget powerpoint and keynote or whatever and go back to this.

Intecolor 8001 (1976)

interested in the keyboard here.

also 1976. real into this whole look.

more of the Sol Terminal Computer.

Ted Nelson /// Byte magazine t-shirts

"Psychedelic Cat" /// Patriotic Motif

Two stills from "Using Computer Graphics as a Medium
for Artistic Expression: A Portfolio of Explorations" Both created with a "cybernetic crayon."

Byte (Dec 1976)

always love an altair ad. Byte (Dec 1976)

My favorite cover of Byte. (Jan 1977)

This was the exact aesthetic of all the electronics in the factory my dad worked when I was a kid. Down to the instruction binder.

More Ted Nelson for @niftynei

Jan 1977

Southwest Technical Products Corporation's logo is a kind of industrial modernism that we've mostly left behind.

This is an incredible ad. I love the case. I love the SF font, I love the background. It's an appeal to three different kinds of late 1970s US masculinities. (Feb 1977)

rest in peace the hobbyist mystique (Feb 1977)

"OK MACHINE & TOOL CORPORATION"

okay, I think there might be a lot going on here. jesus christ

Kentucky Fried Computers
Berkeley, CA

"A COMPUTER IN EVERY POT"

THE COMPUTER ROOM
Salt Lake City, Utah
1977

MULLEN COMPUTER BOARDS
1977

I miss the days when this was how a tech company told you that they were a tech company.

Nothing has changed. We will always be "confused about printers" (Feb 1977)

When I log in.

Also when I log in. (Feb 1977)

late 70s tech normcore.

This computer was UNASHAMED to be American

"The 6800 will never win any beauty prizes. It is like the Model T and the DC-3: not pretty, but beautiful in function."

the flame gradient background really brings the computer's whole "casino obelisk" look together?

I'm always saying this.

most people online, tbh.

bring

this

tech

look

back

Home Computing, 1977.

Home Computing, 1977

"BASIC: The handle for the tool"

What I find interesting about this ad is the uses of tool affordances as synonyms for affordances of BASIC. Doing a lot of work to define programming as masculine here.

1977

"If you are serious about computing, call or write today."

1977

6800 OWNERS UNITE!

TV Mod Kits, 1977.

Used computer terminals. (They were apparently old airport ticketing terminals.)

Who exactly do you think this ad was directed at?

this was all there from the beginning, folks.

Power. (June 1977)

(Why are they all dressed like they're in a cult?)

Another Sol-20 ad.

Apple II ad, 1977.

This whole thing smacks of gender.

Personal Computing Conference, 1977

"Big Plans for 'Big D'"

"Beyond state-of-the-art capabilities, handsomely housed in a fine piece of functional furniture." 1977

1977

Another POLY 88 ad. 1977

I especially like when these old ads go to great pains to domesticate the personal computer.

Byte (July 1977)

The Model Trains issue

Video RISK

1977

More computerized model trains. 1977.

"4 USERS ON 1 MICRO?!"

Another domesticated personal computer setup from PolyMorphic Systems. 1977.

"It's like adding a room to your brain!"

And this guy's shirt (or robe????) is just wild.

snoopy + star trek?

more domesticated personal computers.

A Wisconsin minicomputer fair. (Byte, Nov. 1977)

Most of the PolyMorphic System ads I've seen in Byte from this era were aimed at home users. But here's one aimed at small business.

Computerized primary election returns, 1977. (Unlike the Iowa Caucus app, it seemed to have worked.)

"dumb terminal fun club" 1977.

Berkeley's own North Star Computers. 1977.

Suitcase computer. 1977

TRS-80!

1977.

BYTE cover (Dec. 1977)

(cc @trekonomics)

part of the "computers of star trek" feature.

I like this look too. 1977.

This looks so boring, but I have to know more.

"Art-by-computer™ - an unusual gift idea." 1978.

"computer in a notebook" 1978

When I log in.

(Jan. 1984)

July 1985

A company I worked for in the 2000s still had probably 40 of these in a closet from the mid-1980s, never unboxed.

July 1985

July 1985.

Fucking crush those Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheets with NUMBER SMASHER.

July 1985.

Copy feels forced.

July 1985

Crunch for Macintosh.

THE AT&T 6300!!!

For the AT&T 6300, see also: https://twitter.com/kevinbaker/status/1202785096798883842?s=20

https://twitter.com/kevinbaker/status/1202785096798883842?s=20

July 1985

Weird peripherals are my fave.

July 1985

So much Escher-inspired computer advertising.

Byte, July 1985.

Another computer mag fav: mobius strips

Byte, July 1985.

My hands hurt just looking at this thing.

Byte, July 1985.

Hi, Gem!

Byte, July 1985.

How did any computer users escape the 1980s without terrible RSIs?

Byte, July 1985.

Not going to lie, I adore this one, especially the red-on-black display.

Byte, July 1985.

Tag yourself.

Byte, July 1985.

"The combination of News/Retrieval and Dow Jones Software makes personal investment decisions easier by giving you a clear, organized picture of the facts."

stonks, baby!

This company was just around the corner from the factory my dad worked at. There was a big tech corridor in Gwinnett county (Scientific Atlanta, Peachtree Tech, etc) that I'd like to do some work on, eventually.