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Comment by quickthrower2 | Hacker News Reader

Oh wow! I had to cringe at the "Why Pay $4000 For A Complete Accounting System" ad. That's probably the worst copy I have seen.

First it rambles on about a very boring history of this company took over that company that licensed this thing that ...

Then just incase you haven't fallen asleep and you still want to buy, they put you off by telling you you'll get bad support and a buggy product.

Then finally past that hurdle, and if anyone is left with their wallet open, thinking of spending their hard earned $100, it inflates the price to $450 because there is some technical dependency on some runtime thingy.

I wonder; Did anyone buy?

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Followed by a full-page ad for a Forth interpreter! Those were the days. I suspect many companies like this could make money for lack of competition, but I dunno, I was 10 years old then.

Yeah now there are so many free programming languages, you have to pay me (with $ or an awesome language) to use your interpreter!

It's interesting how free software drove huge advancements. In the early 386 days few people used Unix because a seat license would cost more than the computer.

At first I thought we were attaining a critical mass, when enough free software was available for us to build even more, better free software but now I realize it's more like an exponential curve I can't quite see where it ends.

And if feels great.

The side effect of it is that the majority of RAD like tools are only available in enterprise space, because only those companies are willing to pay for developer tools.

Hence why companies like Qt or JetBrains are selective what they allow with their free versions.

Then we get Electron apps, because many devs don't feel like paying for such tools.

I occasionally thumb through these old magazines, and I'm always impressed with how many small technology businesses were making niche products and placing these ads in the 80's. What I find more astonishing is how geographically diverse they were. For example, of the 14 ads in this article with addresses, only 3 were from the Bay Area.

It got me interested in the backstory. InfoWorld covered it in 1981:

https://archive.org/stream/Infoworld-1981-01-19#page/n2/mode...

https://archive.org/stream/Infoworld-1981-06-22#page/n5/mode...

Presumably the Peachtree of today (now "Sage 50") traces its lineage back to the COBOL product mentioned in the second article.

Edit: I also turned-up this fun little gem, too: http://deramp.com/downloads/mfe_archive/040-Software/Retail%...

Omikron's ad for the hardware product reviewed in the column (that let TRS-80s run CP/M software) in 1981 is a lot more colorful.

http://www.trs-80.org/omikron-mapper/

And the obituary for George Gardner, the man who founded Omikron. He led a very interesting life.

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/times-standard/obituary.asp...

Killed by CO poisoning from a faulty heater. Wow-- that sucks!

Yeah but all the ads were bad until well into the 90s. You'd be happy to thumb through them all, searching for a highlight that you could afford, or a terrible ad for some tape game (pg214), that eventually became MS Flight Sim, or just on the way to the listings!

I remember buying FS back in the early 80’s. It was using CGA graphics by then.

Back then Peach Tree Software was the package. So getting it for $100 would seem like a steal. The context is lost a bit now so it wasn't as bad as it may first appear. Although still not great.

I think my favorite ad is the Ceco ORIGINAL SMOKE SCREEN, if only for the...

  FULLY     JUSTIFIED    TEXT
  IN   A   MONOSPACE     FONT
  ALL  OF   IT    CAPITALIZED
  LIKE                  THIS.

https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1980-07/1980_07_BYT...

I take it back. Industrial Micro Systems outdid them:

Hard and Fast...

https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1980-07/1980_07_BYT...

Do any other old-timers remember HARDHAT Software's WHATSIT? (Wow! How'd All That Stuff get In There)?

https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1980-07/1980_07_BYT...

Microsoft had two ads with two different logos!

https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1980-07/1980_07_BYT...

Who could forget Smoke Signal Broadcasting or Pickles & Trout?

https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1980-07/1980_07_BYT...

"And now the news... CompuServe announces the availability of international, national, and regional news through your personal computer or terminal... A 300-baud modem is all your personal computer or terminal needs to access all the services available via local phone calls in more than 175 North American cities from 6 PM to 5 AM weekdays, weekends and most holidays. And the basic charge is only $5.00 an hour, billed in minute increments, to your charge card. Want more information? Write."

https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1980-07/1980_07_BYT...

But you'll need this: "Put your computer in touch with the world. AJ [Anderson Jacobson] makes it possible for only $185 with the A 242 acoustic data coupler."

https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1980-07/1980_07_BYT...

Or "A Modem Inside a Telephone. A switched-network, 300 bits-per-second (bps) full-duplex Bell 103/113-compatible modem, housed inside a standard telephone set, is now being produced by Racal-Vadic."

https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1980-07/1980_07_BYT...

JADE Computer Products offered Knockout Prices, certified by Kid Jade herself!

"Bargain prices on magnificent magnetic media. 5¼ double sided, double density, box of 10. $39.95"

https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1980-07/1980_07_BYT...

If you weren't into the newfangled "glass teletypes", you could get "The DATA-TRANS 1000. A completely refurbished IBM Selectric Terminal with built-in ASCII Interface. $1495"

https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1980-07/1980_07_BYT...

It was 100 per pkg, or all four for 350. The main point was 90% off a competing product.

I found the candor refreshing.

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