1980s Personal Computer Ads From The Vault Are Hilarious

Retro computer ads are our favourite.

During the early 1980s, the computer finally made its way into the home in a big way. Obviously, most of us didn’t know how to use these things, and software and hardware companies were only too eager to tell us what we had to buy.

From dot-matrix printers for the home to word processing software for small businesses. The booming 1980s provided consumers with seemingly unlimited resources to purchase whatever technology was put forth. Then let’s check out some of the sale items.

The advertising for Personal Computers, whether it was software or hardware, promised the moon. The promises of personal computers began to wane as consumers began to appreciate the true capabilities of a computer. The above advertisement literally promotes the idea that your PC can serve as a crystal ball.

Check out: Jackbox games on a TV.

Juki Printer, 1983

How you printed your screen in 1984

Although we take it for granted today, printing your screen was not an option on early Apple computers. To make hard copies of graphics and text, you would have needed something like this FingerPrint printer interface card (complete with a “touch-sensitive button” to be added to keyboards).

Apple IIc, 1984

Schools in the U.S. began to use Apple computers by 1984. Advertisements like these advertised their popularity in American homes.

Flight Simulator II, 1984

The SubLogic Flight Simulator has been in use since 1977 and is one of the most successful and enduring computer programs of all time. Commodore, Apple and Atari platforms were all supported by SubLogic’s software. Meanwhile, it licensed Microsoft Flight Simulator, an IBM PC compatible version, in 1982.

Ghostbusters, the Computer Game, 1984

Of course, one of the hottest movies of 1984 had its own computer game. It was designed and programmed by Activision co-founder David Crane, known for the game Pitfall.

Atarisoft, 1984

North Star Computers, 1982

The North Star Horizon here, one of the earliest multi-user computers with a built-in drive, played an important role in multi-user computing in the 1980s and 1970s.

Its technology did not keep up with current technology. North Star had disappeared by 1984.