Hewlett-Packard 9100A

The HP-9100A from Hewlett-Packard was a computer that was first referred to in the literature as a personal computer (PC) in an advertisement in 1968 , although it does not have much in common with today's understanding of a personal computer.

Nevertheless, at a time when access to computing power was only possible indirectly (by handing punch cards to operators in a data center), it represented the dawn of a new age (ad text : 9100A puts answers just a touch away ), in which Apple I. and Apple II , TRS-80 , PET and IBM PC , which correspond to today's understanding of the PC, only became conceivable.

Steve Jobs , founder of Apple Computer , said in an interview with Daniel Morrow in April 1995: “I saw my first desktop computer at Hewlett-Packard which was called the 9100A. It was the first desktop in the world. "

The HP-9100A had:

Permanent magnetic core memory for up to 196 program lines and sixteen variables (0..9) (a..f)
Three-level stack
UPN ( reverse Polish notation ) as arithmetic notation
Complex, trigonometric and hyperbolic functions
Calculation range: 10 ⁻⁹⁸ to 10 ⁹⁹
Screen for displaying three lines (X, Y and Z registers)
Integrated magnetic card memory for recording programs
Control structures (branches, flags, GOTO instruction)
Printer, plotter, extended memory etc. as options

The price for the basic device was 4,900 US dollars or 19,600 DM in 1968 , which is about double the average gross annual salary of the time. Based on today's average annual income (29,569 euros), this corresponds to a price of approx. 59,000 euros.

It is noteworthy that this performance was achieved without the use of integrated circuits. A few years later, HP brought out the first technical and scientific pocket calculator HP-35 in 1972 , which William Hewlett referred to as the "pocket-sized HP-9100A". It cost $ 395 and was a huge commercial success, with the world's first HP-65 programmable calculator following in 1974 .

Hewlett-Packard was fined $ 900,000 to pay Olivetti for intellectual property infringement . During the negotiation it was found that technical solutions such as the magnetic card and the architecture of Olivetti's Programma 101 had been copied for the HP-9100 .

literature

Powerful computing genius. In: Science , 10/1968, pp. 58-59
First PC. In: Wired , 12/2000

Web links

More details about the HP-9100A in the Museum of HP Calculators (English)
The First PC , Wired, December 8, 2000
HP-9100A emulator, Linux

Individual evidence

↑ Olivetti Programma P101 / P102 . Old Computers. Archived from the original on June 9, 2016. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved November 12, 2014: “The P101, and particularly the magnetic card, was covered by a US patent (3,495,222, Perotto et al. Of March 1st 1965) and this gave to Olivetti over $ 900,000 in royalties by HP alone, for the re-use of this technology in the HP9100 series. " @1@ 2

↑ Pier Giorgio Perotto: 3,495,222 Program Controlled Electronic Computer (multiple) In: United States Patent Office . Google patents. February 10, 1970. Retrieved November 12, 2014.

[1] Olivetti Programma P101 / P102 . Old Computers. Archived from the original on June 9, 2016. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved November 12, 2014: “The P101, and particularly the magnetic card, was covered by a US patent (3,495,222, Perotto et al. Of March 1st 1965) and this gave to Olivetti over $ 900,000 in royalties by HP alone, for the re-use of this technology in the HP9100 series. " @1@ 2

[2] Pier Giorgio Perotto: 3,495,222 Program Controlled Electronic Computer (multiple) In: United States Patent Office . Google patents. February 10, 1970. Retrieved November 12, 2014.