This was when you could still buy the Apple II as a kit with just the motherboard. Also the floppy drive wasn’t released until the year after this ad.

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Introducing Apple II.

The home computer that’s ready to work, play and grow with you.

Clear the kitchen table. Bring in the color T.V. Plug in your new Apple II? and connect any standard cassette recorder/player. Now you’re ready for an evening of discovery in the new world of personal computers.

Only Apple II makes it that easy. It’s a complete, ready to use computer—not a kit. At $1298, it includes features you won’t find on other personal computers costing twice as much.

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Designed for Science

In many ways the E. R. A. 1103 is the most advanced data-handling system yet devised. By tremendous speed, large storage capacity, and great programming versatility, the system assures ideal handling of the most intricate computations.

Adding to its very high speed is an exceptionally fast memory-reference system which keeps the system’s 17,408 internal storage registers directly accessible. Computing time is reduced still further — as is programming time — by use of a simplified form of two-address logic.

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IBM Leadership in action…

Parade with a purpose

Today, an almost endless parade of IBM punched cards serves business, industry, and government in widely varied roles—as vital aids in routine record keeping, as checks and money orders, airline tickets, utility bills, insurance premium notices, and many, many other kinds of accounting documents.

But even more significant than the part they play in your daily life—these millions of IBM punched cards are vital evidence of real progress in better business methods.

They represent the solution to practical business problems.

IBM’s on-the-job experience and continued progress in advanced equipment design are helping American industry work better and faster—at less cost.

International Business Machines Corporation
New York 22, N. Y.

sensational new “fact-power” unleashed by Remington Rand UNIVAC

Yesterday, “impossible”… today, an accomplished fact —

Now, for the first time, a commercial or industrial firm can have — first thing any morning — complete facts and figures, analyzed and summarized, on its previous day’s performance … in production, in sales, in procurement or any other major or minor activity.

The almost unbelievable feats of Remington Rand Univac in computing, sorting, classifying and reporting business data enable management executives to formulate “fact-powered” decisions in the merest fraction of the time previously required. Also, highly pertinent analyses and forecasts that were never even attempted before, are now easy and almost completely automatic. Univac has cleared the way for phenomenal improvements
in the coordination of business facilities.

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Operation in Real-Time . . .
In the field of missile development, there’s only one commercially available digital computer capable of real-time performance — the famous Univac® Scientific. It’s the ideal system for flight simulation and for on-line data reduction. It solves complex problems from purely sensed data at speeds that are compatible with real-time control.

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The remarkable transistor observes its 10th birthday

In 1948, Bell Telephone Laboratories announced the invention of the transistor. In 1958, the transistor provided the radio voice for the first United States satellite.

To advance the transistor to its high level of usefulness, Bell Labs solved problems which, in themselves, approached the invention of the transistor itself in scientific achievement.

First, there had to be germanium of flawless structure and unprecedented purity. This was obtained by growing large single crystals —and creating the “zone refining” technique which reduces impurities to one part in ten billion.

The junction transistor, another radical advance, spurred transistor use. Easier to design, lower in noise, higher in gain and efficiency, it became the heart of the new electronics.

An ingenious technique for diffusing a microscopically thin layer on semiconductors was created. The resulting “diffused base” transistor, a versatile broadband amplifier, made possible the wide use of transistorized circuits in telephony, FM, television, computers and missiles.

In telephony the transistor began its career in the Direct Distance Dialing system which sends called telephone numbers from one exchange to another. For Bell System communications, the transistor has made possible advances which would have been impossible or impractical a brief decade ago.

BELL TELEPHONE LABORATORIES

WORLD CENTER OF COMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

The first four notes of Beethoven’s Fifth.
Musical notes like these never existed before 3M invented the Digital Mastering System.

It uses computer technology to record every nuance of a piece of music in binary numbers. So that when reproduced, every note can be heard with such uncanny crispness and clarity, you can hear music the way Beethoven wanted it to be heard.

At 3M, by listening to people’s needs, we’ve pioneered over 400 products to serve the needs of the communication arts field. We’ve developed everything from videocassettes to lithographers tape to photo offset plates.

All because at 3M, we’re in the business of hearing. So let us hear from you.

3M hears you…

FOR THE MATHEMATICIAN who’s ahead of his time

IBM is looking for a special kind of mathematician, and will pay especially well for his abilities.
This man is a pioneer, an educator—with a major or graduate degree in Mathematics, Physics, or Engineering with Applied Mathematics equivalent.

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Announcing the ERA Computation Center
for Programming, Problem Analysis, Machine Computation

A Complete New Computing Service … for industries and government agencies confronted with large-scale data-processing problems.

Flexibility of Service … permits you to utilize the facilities you need … ERA specialists will handle your problems from problem analysis to final results . . . various services may be purchased singly or in any combination.

The ERA 1101 Computer … is the core of the new ERA Computation Center. ERA’s extensive experience in programming and operating the 1101 assures efficient processing of your problems.

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These are pretty sweet. I would love to have a kit-built paper tape reader at home.

They’re Here!
THE NEW HEATHKIT PERSONAL COMPUTING SYSTEMS

H8: 8-bit Computer $375

H11: 16-bit Computer

H9: Video Terminal

H10: Paper Tape Reader/Punch

The new VALUE-STANDARD in personal computing systems! Play exciting and challenging computer games, exercise your imagination and ingenuity with do-it-yourself creative programming, store and retrieve personal records like taxes and budgets, solve complex mathematics and scientific problems almost instantly, control your home appliances for best energy savings and efficiency — literally thousands of fascinating, exciting and practical applicatons. The Heathkit computer systems are low-priced, versatile and reliable — they’re the ones to have for REAL power and performance!

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“This is the story of an incredible product. So incredible that we know of no future consumer product that will have such a far-reaching technological impact on society.”

This is a ridiculously over-hyped ad for the Bally Home Library Computer, a fairly interesting if somewhat unsucsessful game console/home computer system. The $10,000 IBM 5100 computer they are constantly comparing it to was actually a full-on portable workstation with a keyboard, CRT, and tape drive that was capable of emulating an IBM mainframe. I am sure, however, that the Bally had better games.

One really interesting thing is the mention of the DIAL-A-BARGAIN® ORDERING SYSTEM:
“Our technicians have programmed JS&A’s main computer so you can use the Bally to access our computer directly when Bally’s dual tape decks become available. With a special module and cassette, you will be able to 1) call our computer on our toll-free number, 2) place an order, and 3) find out when it will be shipped. Since you communicate directly with our computer, your order is processed immediately and can be shipped within a few hours after receipt.”

I don’t know if they ever actually deployed this system, but if they did it would be an impressively early and complete eCommerce system.

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Liquid levels monitored hundreds of miles from your central office by Bendix electro-span!

Important storage reservoirs for water, crude oil, gas, brine and other liquids are located in many remote and isolated sections of this country. It takes crews of men stationed at these points to keep a constant check of volumes and to open and close valves to balance supply and demand. The work is lonely, expensive to maintain, and sometimes dangerous.

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