HP41 History : Introduction in 1980 magazine

[Mark Power]

Hunting through the loft I came across this article from Practical Computing Magazine, published in the UK in January 1980:

http://hpcc.org/calculators/hp41_intro_pcm.pdf

I disagree with some of the comments in the article, but it is nevertheless an interesting perspective on how mainstream computer (hobbyist) publications viewed the introduction of the HP41.

Also fascinating is the preceding page of the magazine, which is at the end of the PDF (Reverse Magazine Notation), which talks about the New Tandy TRS-80 Model II which could provide 64K RAM and 2MB storage for a mere £4000. Also covered is the the price reduction of the TRS-80 4K RAM Model I to £385 and the launch of the Microwriter.

I bought a HP41CV in 1983 with about 2K of RAM for about half the price of that TRS-80 4K Model 1. Was that good value? It certainly seemed like it to me as I could carry the 41 with me, plug it into a digital cassette drive that I bought second hand, have all my programs in continuous memory, etc.

Shameless plug: of course if you are interested in this stuff you should really join HPCC.

[Sylvain Cote]

(04-17-2016 12:43 PM)Mark Power Wrote:  Hunting through the loft I came across this article from Practical Computing Magazine, published in the UK in January 1980: http://hpcc.org/calculators/hp41_intro_pcm.pdf

Thanks, I did not have this one 8-)

(04-17-2016 12:43 PM)Mark Power Wrote:  Shameless plug: of course if you are interested in this stuff you should really join HPCC.

Already have and the last (special) issue containing extract from Geoff upcoming book is fantastic.

Sylvain

[Steve Simpkin]

(04-17-2016 12:43 PM)Mark Power Wrote:  Also covered is the the price reduction of the TRS-80 4K RAM Model I to £385 and the launch of the Microwriter.

I bought a HP41CV in 1983 with about 2K of RAM for about half the price of that TRS-80 4K Model 1. Was that good value? It certainly seemed like it to me as I could carry the 41 with me, plug it into a digital cassette drive that I bought second hand, have all my programs in continuous memory, etc.

Thanks for the article. I vividly recall buying the TRS-80 "User’s Manual for Level I" book in 1977 (http://www.trs-80.org/level-1-basic/). It was my first introduction to computers and BASIC. I also bought my first HP that year, a HP-25 so it was a big year for me