10 fun tech ads through the years

Editor's note: We originally published this look at tech ads throughout the years for Computerworld's 40th anniversary. It's just as fun -- maybe even more so -- a decade later for our 50th.

It's rare for us to spend an hour-long staff meeting in nonstop laughter.

But that's pretty much what happened when we gathered to go through old print issues of Computerworld as part of our 40th anniversary celebration.

The original idea of hauling those Computerworld issues out of storage was to look at important stories we've covered. But we couldn't get over the ads!

"80 Mbytes of storage for less than $12,000!" boasts one. In another, a woman in hot pants touts a modem that's, yes, "maybe even sexy." There's even a campy B movie celebrity hawking development software.

It was too much fun not to share. So after one of the best meetings ever, we bring you 10 of our favorite, most entertaining IT ads from Computerworld throughout the years.

1. Such a deal

You could purchase this 80MB disk system for less than $12k -- and even better, 300MB for under $20k!

Not very irresistible today, but apparently a bargain back when this was published. So good, in fact, that prices were valid only for resellers buying at least 40 systems.

Any idea when that was published? (Answer on the next page).

Page Break

80MB storage for < $12k ad date: May 16, 1977

The issue's top stories

Mainframes Not Always a Must, Citibank Officer Advises Users

NEW YORK - Many users only "think they need" a large mainframe to process their daily information workload. But given the capabilities of today's "superminis," such an assumption can be quite incorrect, according to Linda Ewen, systems vice president at Citibank -- an organization here that recently traded its central DP facility for a minicomputer in each department.

'DS/3000' Lets Users Process Data on Any HP 3000-II in Net

Hewlett-Packard Co. has introduced a communications software product which reportedly allows any terminal tied to one HP 3000 minicomputer to access and process data on another 3000 in a data communications network.

2. What the heck is electronic mail?

That's the question posed in this Honeywell ad, which explains: "Simply put, it means high-speed information transportation.

"One of the most advanced methods is terminals talking to one another.

"Your mailbox is the terminal on your desk. Punch a key and today's correspondence and messages are displayed instantly."

Who knew?

Want to hazard a guess when this one published? Headline hint from the issue: "Happy [10th] Birthday, Mr. Chip." (Answer on next page).

Page Break

What's e-mail? Ad date: November 16, 1981

The issue's top stories

Happy Birthday, Mr. Chip

A birthday will be celebrated this week for one of the most influential, prodigious and mind-boggling 10-year-olds in history -- the microprocessor.

Unlike most other technological discoveries, the "computer-on-a-chip" has touched nearly every facet of human life, rivaling the discoveries of the telephone, television and even electricity. Small and seemingly invisible, microprocessors and their "intelligence" play an indispensable role in space travel and exploration, energy conservation, education, genetic engineering, office automation, robotics and a host of other areas.

The microprocessor is also responsible for fostering an entire industry, estimated to be worth more than $6.5 billion with about 220,000 to 250,000 employees worldwide.

Bell Moving to Digital Net by '84

While several of AT&T's competitors struggle to put digital termination systems on the air, the telephone company is rapidly converting its familiar analog telephone network into an end-to-end, all-digital system capable of competing against the DTS operators.

Release No. 9 of Multics Announced by Honeywell

Honeywell, Inc. has announced Release 9 of its Multics operating system, featuring four new software offerings, enhancements to existing software, support of new hardware and communications improvements. Multics Release No. 9 (MR9) is available for existing or new Multics systems of Honeywell's Series 60, Level 68 (DPS and non-DPS) and DPS 8/70M hardware product lines.

3. Speeds up to 4800 bps

These modems are "all performers," this ad not-so-subtly boasts -- from 1,200 bit/sec. all the way up to 4,800 bit/sec. The model's hot pants along with those top data-transmission speeds give a clue as to the era it published. Can you guess?

Page Break

4800 bps modem ad date: November 17, 1971

The issue's top stories

Univac 9700 Offers Compatibility, Price

Univac stressed IBM compatibility and a high price/performance ratio when it introduced its medium-scale, disk-oriented 9700 last week.

Technology Makes Move Out of Core City Feasible

CLEVELAND -- Technological advances in data transmission have made it "increasingly feasible to consider remote data processing operations," when computer installations are faced with expansion or rebuilding, a DP consultant stated. Roy S. West, staff consultant for EDP facilities with Austin Co. here, said remote operations present a "valid alternative" to the "congestion, insufficient parking space, inadequate mass transportation, deteriorating property values, threats to property, and crime in the streets."

4. You can see words on the screen!

The software touted here runs "on most Z80/8080/8085 microcomputers with CP/M, 48K and terminal with addressable cursor."

Not only do you get all the features of a high-priced word processing system, but "with WordStar, you have a true screen image of what your printout will look like before you print it! With WordStar, you'll erase, insert, delete and move entire blocks of copy."

Cool, indeed!

Do you know about what year MicroPro would be advertising WordStar on CP/M?

Page Break

WordStar ad date: January 26, 1981

The issue's top stories

Welcome Home!

Hostages' release from Tehran came after several major U.S. banks moved billions of dollars through a computer-driven funds transfer network to a Bank of England escrow account in London. The banks involved generally observed a Treasury Department request that the details of the electronic funds transfer (EFT) be kept secret as the 52 returned hostages began a "decompression" period last week. Former President Jimmy Carter had ordered U.S. banks to freeze Iranian assets pending resolution of the crisis.

Equipment Vendors Favor Bell Settlement, But Carriers Balking

Independent manufacturers of on-line computer systems and intelligent terminals are willing to go along with a proposed settlement of the Justice Department's antitrust suit against AT&T, but specialized carriers are not. At least that is what knowledgeable sources said last week, several days after argument in the "antitrust trial of the century" was halted by presiding judge Harold H. Greene. The interruption came when attorneys for both sides told the judge they had agreed on essential details of a negotiated settlement.

DP Staffers Remain Tops in Demand

The computer industry remains the land of opportunity for job seekers, as computer experts were rated the most sought-after employees in the U.S. again this year. According to a nationwide survey of new hires conducted by Fox-Morris Personnel Consultants in conjunction with National Personnel Consultants, Inc., computer professionals were named as the employees most in demand for the fourth year in a row.

5. Could you be suffering from ... COBOLitis?

"You say you don't know your process from your loop? Or your CASE from your GOTO? No doubt, you're suffering from COBOLitis," says this ad from the folks at Yourdon Press.

Page Break

COBOL training ad date: November 13, 1978

The issue's top stories

Software Bug Delays Election News

At the height of last Tuesday's election coverage, the computer system operated by the News Election Service (NES) to tally and report raw returns in election precincts nationwide went down intermittently, delaying election coverage nationwide from one to one and a half hours, according to election news managers at local, state and national levels.

DP-Set Work Quotas Spark Union Walkout At Safeway Warehouse

RICHMOND, Calif. - A computer system installed by Safeway Stores, Inc. to increase productivity at one of its warehouses here has sparked a strike by warehouse employees that is now entering it s 17th week.

Bank's DP Consultant Held in $10.2 Million EFT Heist

LOS ANGELES - The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) last week arrested computer consultant Stanley Mark Rifkin on charges of using Fedwire, the Federal Reserve's electronic funds transfer (EFT) system, to steal $10.2 million from the Security Pacific Bank here.

6. Your very own mainframe!

"Everyone needs to use the computer? With The Personal Mainframe, up to 512 users can work interactively at their own terminals," says an ad for this system that touts computing availability beyond the glass-enclosed data center.

How do you know when you need this system? "When people are waiting in line for their applications. When some people need a decision-making tool and others need a number-cruncher."

Do you know when Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC) would have been advertising the DECsystem-10 or DECSYSTEM-20?

Page Break

DEC 'personal mainframe' ad date: November 9, 1981

The issue's top stories

Ethernet Scores High At Transamerica Corp.

LOS ANGELES -- The initial results from the first commercial Ethernet beta test site are positive, according to Transamerica Corp., which flipped the switch on the Xerox Corp. baseband local-area network at its building here March 4.

Installation Goes Easily, First 3081 Users Report

IBM's 3081 processors are easy to install and problems can be diagnosed quickly, some first users of the top-of-the-line CPUs have reported. One user said the processor operates slightly better than IBM's announced performance claims; two others said their processors were too new to evaluate performance.

IBM to Replace TNF-Bearing Units

IBM is removing the controversial, mutagenic and possibly carcinogenic trinitrofluorenone (TNF)-bearing photoconductors from the 3800 laser printer, 3896 tape-to-document converter, Copier and Copier II.

DOD Draws Fire for Failing to Cope with DP Problems

The Department of Defense is apparently unable or unwilling to resolve the information resources management problems besetting its military command and control DP systems -- systems that are "essential elements of U.S. national security," according to congressional investigators.

7. What 'mobile' used to mean

Well before the era of handhelds or even laptops came "briefcase portability." This system features interactive CRT terminal, control unit, keyboard, acoustic coupler and 5-in. video monitor.

Click through to the next page to see when "portable" meant "able to be lugged around in a briefcase."

Page Break

Portable computing ad date: May 17, 1976

The issue's top stories:

IBM Decries Justice's Use of FBI as 'Coercive'

The government's use of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to interview people who will be called as witnesses by IBM in the current antitrust trial is "coercive," "unconstitutional" and an abuse of government power. So charged IBM's lead attorney in a recent closed-door meeting with Judge David N. Edelstein, who is hearing the case.

Unchecked Government Output Costs Millions

Government computer applications routinely churn out checks, pay bills and make requisitions for more than $40 billion annually -- and no one seems to be checking that the output is correct. At least that's the conclusion of a report the General Accounting Office (GAO) recently submitted to Congress.

Two Bombs Rock Maine Utility

AUGUSTA, Maine - Two powerful explosive devices were detonated on floors above and below the DP center of the Central Maine Power Co. (CMP) here last week, but the computer installation remained intact. The bombs contained sophisticated timing and ignition mechanisms; the closest device exploded "within 50 feet" of the utility firm's DP center, according to officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Even if the installation had been knocked out, DP operations could have continued by utilizing backup plans, according to Raymond Pelletier, CMP DP manager. . . . The dual blasts apparently were set by an extremist group calling itself the "Fred Hampton Unit of the Peoples Forces," according to a letter left in the offices of the Kennebec Journal, the local daily newspaper.

8. It's small and light at only 11+ lbs.

"MultiSpeed is multi-talented. It's small. Light. And gives you the option of running at a clock speed of either 9.54 or 4.77 MHz," boasts this ad from NEC showing what a laptop of its day was like. It weighed in at 11.2 lb. with 640K of memory, dual 720K drives and five built-in programs.

Any idea when a company would be boasting about an 11-lb. laptop?

Page Break

NEC laptop ad date: April 6, 1987

The issue's top stories:

OS/2 to bind PC to hosts, leap 640K wall

Ending more than a year of industry uncertainty, IBM last week announced a graphics-oriented operating system that builds on Microsoft Corp.'s Windows, serves as a major component of IBM's System Application and, in some releases, adds a built-in gateway to minicomputer and mainframe environments.

IBM stakes claim to next PC standard

IBM attempted to regain control of the corporate microcomputer standard last week by announcing a formidable array of systems-oriented microcomputers and operating systems software. The company showcased eight configurations of its Personal System/2 series, including three systems based on the Intel Corp. 80386 processor, that are called the Model 80s and are closely linked through enhanced communications abilities.

Cullinet plans SQL-based line

Cullinet Software, Inc. told its customers last week in a coast-to-coast teleconference that it plans to offer an SQL-based data base management system for mainframes, departmental computers and personal computers. Cullinet said it will also soon offer an expert system development environment for the Digital Equipment Corp. VAX, with a later version aimed at allowing Cullinet customers to embed expert systems in their mainframe Cobol applications, according to John Landry, chairman of Distribution Management Systems, Inc., the Lexington, Mass., firm in the process of being acquired by Cullinet.

9. Remember these?

Every office used to have them, but we haven't seen one in years. It's called a "typewriter." And in this ad, readers are told that a "little ball turns an ordinary Selectric typewriter into the only bilingual input device in the world.

"So, instead of a big, expensive data preparation center and the expensive personnel that go with it, all you need is a couple of Selectrics (which you may already have), a few DF-2 elements and our Optical Page Reader."

Clearly, this ad ran in Computerworld before the era of Google Translate.

Page Break

Selectric ad date: May 17, 1972

The issue's top stories:

Bell 'Unplugs' User's MCI Line

A Microwave Communications Inc. (MCI) data user has had his interstate MCI line disconnected by Illinois and Southwestern Bell without prior notice. The Illinois Telephone Co. said a switch installed by MCI, allowing the user to alternate his Bell modem between MCI's line and a Bell System dial-up line, was a violation of a state tariff, but the issue may have to be decided by AT&T on an interstate level.

MCI, the new specialized carrier providing service between Chicago and St. Louis, installed the switch to give Sweetheart Cup Corp. a dual capability. With the switch in one direction the Bell 202C-11 could be used to transmit via MCI line from Chicago to St. Louis. And with the switch in the other position, the 202 data set was used to transmit via Bell dial-up lines to Wilmington, Del. But the phone company objected to the use of a Bell modem on an MCI line.

13 Models Beef Up Burroughs 700s

Burroughs nearly doubled the number of medium-scale computers offered to its users last week with the introduction of 13 models in the 700 Series, including its first solid-state memory systems.

10. Mistress of the Dark

Remember Elvira, Mistress of the Dark? Besides appearing on TV in features like Elvira's Movie Macabre Halloween Special, Elvira also invited Computerworld readers to "cut through paper-based CASE [computer-aided software engineering] methods with LBMS" software.

"The scariest thing about CASE is the several hundred pounds of books that land on your desk and for which you've paid fifteen gazillion dollars, when you buy off on a CASE development methodology," she writes.

Do you know when Elvira was popular?

Page Break

Elvira ad date: November 11, 1991

The issue's top stories:

IBM delays notebook arrival in U.S.

IBM will fail in its effort to bring a notebook computer to the U.S. market in 1991, the company confirmed last week. It is now targeting the first quarter of 1992, sources close to the company said. IBM currently ships three notebook computers in Japan and two in Europe. IBM had said it planned to base its first U.S. notebook on IBM Japan's Personal System/2 Model 55note, and it expected to ship a product in the fourth quarter.

PC software promo war escalates

Another wave of pricing deals hit the desktop software market last week, including Microsoft Corp.'s added competitive upgrade offerings and a Borland International, Inc. promotional offer of freebies with the purchase of a mainline product. . . .

"These competitive upgrades are an early warning of price pressure," said Raymond Strong, a senior systems analyst at Westinghouse Electric Corp.'s marine division in Sunnyvale, Calif. "It's my feeling that the whole pricing structure for software is under pressure."

Also last week, Lotus Development Corp. removed a restriction on its competitive upgrade offering to 1-2-3 for Windows following complaints about its qualification policy, which should give the plan more widespread appeal.

Banking giant buys into outsourcing

NCNB Corp., the nation's largest superregional bank, last week handed over its mainframe processing operations to Perot System Corp., extending a long-term relationship between the two firms. No financial terms were disclosed for the multiyear agreement, but one analyst estimated the deal could be worth $200 million if it is a 10-year contract, the typical length of such outsourcing pacts. NCNB declined comment at press time. Within the next month, Perot Systems plans to hire 200 NCNB information systems employees and acquire NCNB's mainframe data centers in Richardson, Texas, and Charlotte, N.C., sources said.

For a different kind of stroll down memory lane, see more on Computerworld's 50th anniversary or 2007's The top 10 dead (or dying) computer skills.