Calculating Change: 1960s HP 9100A Ads

An ad for the HP 9100A including some of the first uses of the phrase desk-top computer and personal computer.

Share this piece of history

Date: ca. 1968

The notion of a computing machine so small and cheap it could qualify as an individual or personal device was hard to grasp in the 1960s. Hewlett-Packard ads were designed to make the 9100 seem both capable and user-friendly. These ads included some of the first uses of the phrase “desk-top computer” and “personal computer” in reference to a commercially available electronic device.