I think it would be fun to compare computers of old, and how much they cost, to the modern generation. I’ll bet ten years ago you could get a smokin’ Pentium 166 with a CD-ROM drive for a couple grand.
The Internet wayback machine has some very old Dell web pages saved, but where can I find more, like an old catalog. Any ideas?
From an article in a 1994 newspaper
For several years, Dell has printed a multipage advertisement in PC Magazine, often in the back gatefold. Your local library may have old issues of this or another computer magazine that you can look at to compare prices and systems.
I know it’s not quite what you’re looking for, but I’ve got a Gateway 2000 magazine from the Summer of 1995 that has such goodies as:
[ul]
[li]a laptop (no specs given, but based on the picture it’s running Windows 3.1) for $4499[/li][li]another laptop with a 486 DX4 processor, 10.3" color display, 8 MB RAM (expandable to 24 MB), 1.5 MB Video RAM, 540 MB hard drive, 3.5" diskette drive, 14.4 modem, an “integrated pointer,” Office 4.3, DOS 6.22, and Windows 3.11 for $3499[/li][li]a desktop with a 75 MHz Pentium, 8 MB RAM, 1 GB hard drive, 32-bit PCI graphics accelerator with 1 MB DRAM, 4X CD-ROM, 16-bit sound card, 14.4 modem, 3.5" diskette drive, 15" monitor, DOS 6.22, and Windows 3.11 for $2199[/li][li]a 2 GB hard drive for $799[/li][li]a 28.8 fax/modem for $149[/li][li]a programmable keyboard for $45[/li][li]14.4 fax/modem PCMCIA card for $159[/li][li]for a laptop, an external floppy drive for $109[/li][li]an Epson Stylus color ink jet printer for $529[/li][li]17" monitor for $639[/li][li]4X 3-CD changer for $299[/li][li]Windows 95 on diskette for $109[/ul][/li]
Also included in the magazine are the address for a Gateway Usenet group and numbers for Gateway’s BBS and download service.
There are several features about Windows 95, too. “So you will be able to enjoy the benefits of true multitasking, like downloading a file from the Internet, formatting a diskette, and working on an Excel spreadsheet - all at the same time!”
Concerning laptops: “Things like a CD-ROM drive integrated in a standard-sized [six pound] notebook computer are almost within grasp.”
I have no Dell catalogs. What I do have is the December 2006 invoice for my Micron Millennia P166. (Woohoo! I got a computer!) With upgraded memory (16MB to 32MB), hard drive (1.2G to 2.1G) and the addition of an Iomega Ditto 3200 tape drive it cost $2400, delivered. It came with Win95, MS Works, 12X CD-Rom and a 15" Micron .28 SVGA monitor. It did not come with a modem; that was acquired later for about $170.
december 2006?? Is that a typo?
Yes, that’s a typo. It’s from 1996.
Here’s an archive of their website from 1996: http://web.archive.org/web/19961221053419/www.dell.com/products/optiplex/index.htm
this page contains a choice selection of historical computer prices.
$3400 for a 10Mb harddrive!!
I happen to have a selection of 1986 and 1987 Family Computing magazines. Hints for Zork II, what tax software to buy, rating the IBM clones…
I’ll post some stuff when I find them.