I bought my first one while I was going through US Navy technical schools back in the mid-seventies - a Texas Instrument model with red LED display. I remember hesitating about buying it because of the cost. Having just looked up the history of TI calculators and enlisted pay rates back then, I see that sold for about $25, and my monthly basic pay was just over $400. So it wasn't a trivial buy.
Adjusted for inflation, $25 in 1976 is worth about $120 today. It's pretty amazing how you can now buy a not totally awful smartphone for around that price.
My HP calculator from 1982 is still used to this day (I've had to change the batteries several times). I did almost all of Engineering school, and many engineering jobs with that programmable calculator.
Hundreds of dollars back then... and what you got was not anything like what you consider a PC these days. You often had to use a TV as a video screen as most PCs did not come with any output device.
What technology were you impressed by that is now laughably outdated?
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I thought pocket calculators were pretty amazing.
I bought my first one while I was going through US Navy technical schools back in the mid-seventies - a Texas Instrument model with red LED display. I remember hesitating about buying it because of the cost. Having just looked up the history of TI calculators and enlisted pay rates back then, I see that sold for about $25, and my monthly basic pay was just over $400. So it wasn't a trivial buy.
Adjusted for inflation, $25 in 1976 is worth about $120 today. It's pretty amazing how you can now buy a not totally awful smartphone for around that price.
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olderdude-xx
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Meatballsandwich
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My HP calculator from 1982 is still used to this day (I've had to change the batteries several times). I did almost all of Engineering school, and many engineering jobs with that programmable calculator.
If mere calculators were that expensive back then, I can't even imagine how expensive PCs were in the late 70s.
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olderdude-xx
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Hundreds of dollars back then... and what you got was not anything like what you consider a PC these days. You often had to use a TV as a video screen as most PCs did not come with any output device.