Before Apple and IBM popularized personal computers in the late 1970s, Hewlett-Packard engineered an advanced desktop machine a full decade earlier that changed expectations of what computing could be. Marketed humbly as a "programmable calculator" but functioning as one of the world‘s first personal computers, 1968‘s Hewlett Packard 9100A deserves appreciation as a pioneering breakthrough that shaped everything that followed.
Join me on an obsessive retrospective of the 9100A‘s game-changing origins, capabilities, and influence – including why this largely forgotten system deserves more credit for kickstarting the desktop computing revolution…
How 1960s Innovation Birthed the 9100A Personal Computer
Today, we take powerful compact computers for granted. But in 1965, most perceived room-sized mainframes and primitive calculators as the only options. When Hewlett-Packard was approached separately by two inventors with conceptual calculator devices, only they recognized the potential to spawn something completely new.
Inventor Calculator Inspirations: Custom Wired Circuits to Silicon
Thomas E. Osborne had built a unique calculator from hundreds of discrete transistors and diodes – painstakingly custom wiring each component on circuit boards in his basement through nights and weekends. Maverick physicist Malcolm McMillian conceived his own compact calculation device called ANITA – short for "A New Inspiration to Arithmetic."
Rather than dismissing Osborne‘s ambitious hobbyist project or McMillian‘s unconventional idea, HP saw opportunity. Recruiting both inventors as consultants to their labs, HP aimed to combine the strengths of these inventions using the latest integrated circuits to enable power unprecedented in a desktop machine.
Hybrid Innovation: Blending Two Visions into One
"We decided the way to go was to use integrated circuits," Osborne later recalled. This silicon revolution provided the tiny building blocks necessary to realize their vision. With McMillian focusing on architectural aspects and interaction concepts while Osborne designed critical hardware circuits, their hybrid innovation took shape.
The result after years of engineering was 1968‘s Hewlett-Packard 9100A – the world‘s first "personal computer." Well, HP modestly branded it only as a "desktop calculator." But let‘s examine why this machine thoroughly disrupted everything about computing…
The 9100A Desktop Calculator: Pioneering Personal Computing Power
While traditional sixties calculators could only handle basic math, the 9100A represented extreme sophistication miniaturized for single users…
Groundbreaking Memory and Processing
Its specialized ferrite core memory drive provided 448 bytes of working RAM – plus additional read-only storage equivalent to roughly 12 Kilobytes today. This enabled both data storage manipulation impossible on other compact devices.
Rather than just adding/subtracting, the 9100A‘s logic circuits delivered capabilities like roots, exponents, logs, trigonometric functions, integrals, algebraic notation, and more power than contemporary calculators.
It could store 196 pre-programmed instruction steps – turning human workflows into automated sequential processes.
Ease of Use Years Ahead of its Time
- The built-in alphanumeric CRT display let you visualize programs, memory contents, results and operation – no more blind number-crunching!
*Magnetic card readers made loading programs and data lightning fast compared to tedious switches or wired connections. - Peripherals like external tape memory, hardcopy printers, XY plotters and storage drives could also connect through innovative I/O interfaces.
A Personalized Calculating Experience
Weighing just 25 pounds, the 9100A sat comfortably on any desk or lab bench – making advanced computing available anywhere for the first time versus centralized mainframes. The input and output were designed for interactive conversations, allowing revolutionary ease of use by a single user.
Price and Performance Defying Conventions
At roughly $5,000 in 1968 (over $38,000 today), it was hardly cheap. But the 9100A delivered computational power and programmability exceeding room-sized systems that cost millions!
This redefined expectations on accessibility, form factors, and the economics of advanced information processing. Ultimately, the roots of affordable personal machines can be traced to the 9100A‘s packaging breakthroughs.
Let‘s examine how this calculating tour de force evolved over the pivotal early 1970s…
Rapid Improvements Establish Personal Computing Milestones
While the pioneering 9100A sold mainly to scientific and academic customers, HP continued enhancing it to meet widening needs. Improved models set important records in capability and adoption that paved the way for general personal computing.
1971: 9100B Boosts Memory and Program Lengths
The upgraded 9100B increased working memory by 75% to 784 bytes and boosted maximum program storage over 4X to 800 steps. Display improvements added arrow indicators to register contents and supported alphanumeric labels – easing interfaces and comprehension.
1972: 9830A Crushes Computer Barriers With BASIC
The 9830A series shattered perceptions on personal machine limitations by including the popular BASIC programming language used on minicomputers and mainframes – bringing it to the desktop for the first time.
With its optional 32 kilobytes memory and tape drive for data storage, the 9830A could run lengthy programs – not just calculating.
Users could build interfaces, analyze experiments, control instruments, manage business data and more – starting at just $5,800!
For many technical professionals without dedicated computer access, the 9830A provided their first hands-on programming experience that shaped careers.
As HP engineer John Minck reflects, "We decided it wasn‘t a calculator at all – it was a small computer." The personal computing revolution was already underway.
The 9100A Legacy: Personal Computing for Professionals
While hobbyists started tinkering with microcomputers in the mid-70s, the business world did not embrace truly personal systems until the 1981 release of the IBM PC. Its validation led to the rapid enterprise adoption that changed daily life.
But Hewlett-Packard had quietly achieved most hallmarks of personal computing over a decade earlier – stoking a appetite for interactive desktop machines.
The First Taste of Hands-On Power
For early adopters of the 9100A series, these machines represented their first taste of computing freedom versus depending on centralized IT priesthoods. Programmers and engineers could explore hands-on without bureaucracy or restrictions. Many pioneeredideas that reshaped their industries.
Inspiring the Next Generation of Innovators
The new possibility of desktop machines supporting custom calculations, experiments, and programs fired imaginations. Reading about the latest 9100A peripherals and programming tricks undoubtedly inspired young technologists like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates exploring early computers.
HP proved what was possible. The next generation took this to the masses.
Birthing an Industry
While HP ultimately exited the general computing market they helped create, the concepts proved commercial viability. The 1969 birth of Intel to supply processors for the 9830A is one direct impact. But broader inspiration sparked billions in investments chasing HP‘s vision to birth entire personal computing industry.
The epoch-defining Apple II, Commodore PET, and IBM PC all owe debts to scrappy HP engineers who built the world‘s first personal computer and identified this opportunity years ahead of competitors and customers.
Conclusion: The 9100A – The Overlooked PC Pioneer
In only a decade, pioneering desktop systems like the 9100A dissolved centralized computing power into accessible personal machines that now dominate life and business. Odds are that you carry more computing resources than even the most advanced 9830A configuration in your pocket daily.
Yet how often do we acknowledge the early visionaries who defied conventional wisdom to prove this was possible? The unsung Hewlett-Packard team rapidly evolved calculating machines into the first programmable personal computers worthy of the name during a pivotal window from 1968-1972.
So as we appreciate how far technology has advanced, let‘s remember the largely forgotten 9100A that first put that power onto desks and into inquisitive minds – birthing the personal computing revolution.
