Vintage computer ads that show how far we’ve progressed, 1970-1990

It's tempting to read vintage magazine ads because nothing gets old faster than tech news and commercials.

In this article, we've collected some vintage computer ads to provide you with a look at what was in the tech headlines before the era of smartphones, tablets, and high-end laptops. It's amazing how far we've come.

Did you know that your phone already has more processing power than all the Apollo 11 computers in the lunar lander that put mankind on the Moon? Did you know that the first HDD introduced by Seagate in 1979 was only 5MB and cost $1500 USD?

Browsing these old computer ads may actually reveal some of these changes, from the 1950s when giant computers were only for industrial and business users, to when they became ubiquitous to the average consumer.

It's tempting to read vintage magazine ads because nothing gets old faster than tech news and commercials.

In this article, we've collected some vintage computer ads to provide you with a look at what was in the tech headlines before the era of smartphones, tablets, and high-end laptops. It's amazing how far we've come.

Did you know that your phone already has more processing power than all the Apollo 11 computers in the lunar lander that put mankind on the Moon? Did you know that the first HDD introduced by Seagate in 1979 was only 5MB and cost $1500 USD?

Browsing these old computer ads may actually reveal some of these changes, from the 1950s when giant computers were only for industrial and business users, to when they became ubiquitous to the average consumer.

In 1984, the Apple Macintosh made its presence felt in the personal computer market. For $2500, computer users could own an Apple Macintosh that had many additional features compared to computers of the previous decade.

Introduced in an advertisement during the 1984 Super Bowl, the Apple MacIntosh quickly became popular with its 128 Kb of RAM and its pre-installed 3.5" floppy disk drive.

Users were pleased to use unique MacIntosh programs including MacWrite (for word processing), Aldus PageMaker (for desktop publishing), and the MacPaint program (ideal for editing images). The MacPaint program also showed users the importance of using a mouse with a personal computer.

In addition to these capabilities, the Apple laser printer quickly became the preferred printer for computer owners of all brands.

The 1980s provided a perfect bridge between the start of the personal computer revolution in the 1970s and the flourishing of computers during the 1990s.

During the 80s computer companies took risks to help create more convenient models with increasing capabilities that everyone could take advantage of.

As a result of his technical design and hard work, the next decade was able to become what many refer to as "the age of the personal computer".

Home computers were usually sold already built in stylish metal or plastic enclosures. However, some home computers also came as commercial electronic kits, such as the Sinclair ZX80, which was both a home and home-made computer because the buyer could assemble the unit from a single kit.

Advertisements in the popular press for early home computers were full of possibilities for their practical use in the home, from listing recipes to personal finance to home automation, but these were rarely realized in practice.

For example, to use a typical 1980s home computer as a home automation device, the computer would have to be turned on at all times and dedicated to this task. Use tedious data entry required for personal finance and databases.

If there was no packaged software available for a particular application, a home computer user could program one—provided they had invested the requisite hours into learning computer programming, as well as the specifications of their system.

Since most systems come with the BASIC programming language included in the system ROM, it was easy for users to start building their own simple applications.

Many users found programming to be a fun and rewarding experience and an excellent introduction to the world of digital technology.