Nosher.net

Here is a selection of adverts scanned from Nosher's own collection of early computer magazines (from 1976 upwards), as well as a few ads bought from eBay. They provide an interesting glimpse into the early computer industry - an industry that was then made up of tens or even hundreds of unique and diverse computer companies all producing their own things, few of which were directly compatible and most of which have long since fallen by the wayside. Contrast that to the current hardware industry made up of tens or hundreds of generic PC manufacturers all producing more-or-less the same thing. Oh, and a certain fruit-based manufacturer producing their own thing which is largely incompatible with anything else (yes, I know about being able to run most Linux stuff on them, but you get the point). Oh, wait... not that different then.

Nosher's own collection of vintage hardware is mostly Commodore-based, and so these adverts are particularly focussed on Commodore, although there should be something for fans of other computer systems of the time.

Why not also check out the commodore.ca Commodore Computer Advertising site for more Commodore adverts.

All adverts are © copyright their original owners, and appear here purely for academic and historical interest.

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	NCR 1962 Why we chose the 'NCR' computer From the days when computers basically took up whole rooms, comes the NCR 390 - introduced in 1962 as a cut... (more)
	Bendix 1962 Communications Engineered: The Bendix G-20 Computer System Hot on the heels of Bendix's valve-based G-15 computer came the G-20, built with... (more)
	Elliott July 4, 1962 Trad? Not the Elliott 503! The Elliott 503 was built by Elliott Brothers, a British computer company, as a much faster, but software-compat... (more)
	IBM November 18, 1964 IBM System/360: Getting smaller... thinking bigger A great advert which perfectly encapsulates the entire computer industry in one photo. I... (more)
	Commodore 1974 "Four Calculators in One - The Complete Computer!" From back in the day when a calculator could cost a week or two's wages, and when they w... (more)
	Commodore November 13, 1975 "Britain's fastest-selling calculators have The CBM Touch - more counting power for your money." Commodore was at this point primarily a ca... (more)
	Commodore October 28, 1976 "CBM Scientifics - the best value in Britain" This advert, from the year of the long, hot, summer of 1976, features another one of Commodor... (more)
	MITS Altair December 1976 "MITS Altair 680 - The Small Wonder of the Micro-World" The Altair 680 was a small programmable computer, one of the first three based on t... (more)
	MITS Altair December 1976 "The Legendary MITS Altair 8800" Perhaps the most famous early computer is the MITS Altair 8800. This advert is for the "b" revision, and a... (more)
	IMSAI December 1976 "If you thought a rugged, professional yet affordable computer didn't exist, think IMSAI 8080" This is the computer that famously appeared ... (more)
	Cromemco January 1977 "Cromemco Z-1: This is the industry's most powerful microcomputer" This advert is for a Z-80-based machine on an S-100 bus, similar in form... (more)
	IMSAI January 1977 "Experience the excitement of owning the finest personal computer - IMSAI 8080" Another advert for the IMSAI 8080, as used by Matthew Brode... (more)
	MITS Altair May 1977 /ability - It Comes Naturally With The Altair 8800b Another nice advert for the later-model Intel 8080-based Altair 8800b, showing several ... (more)
	Compucolor Corporation July 1977 "Now $2750 - America's lowest-priced personal computer system with color graphics" Yet another Intel 8080-based personal computer, which up... (more)
	Intel November 1977 "Intel delivers SDK-85. It's the qickest way to sink your teeth into 8085 design" Back in the 1970s, probably almost every time a new CPU c... (more)