It is interesting how all the date codes are 2 weeks apart. It almost looks like part numbers with the pattern (at first glance).
As this calculator is 20+ years older than me, can someone enlighten me as to why the dates would be like that? The only thing I can think of is that the manufacturing runs were done sequentially instead of all at once. Was that a common thing for ASICs back then?
I’m also curious why calculators were such a common thing then, yet they still cost over $1000 (in today’s money). I get it makes calculations quicker, but $1000 just seems excessive. Was it just the cost of manufacturing justified by the cost savings (in time) for businesses who bought them?
> The only thing I can think of is that the manufacturing runs were done sequentially instead of all at once. Was that a common thing for ASICs back then?
It still is common. It's more efficient to make a batch of 1000 widget-Xs and then a batch of 1000 widget-Ys, rather than 1 X and 1 Y and then 1 X, and so on. It saves changeover time for the machines in the process, in this case things like the wirebonders and so on. Not so much the wafer fab if the process was identical, though in those days it may have also been worth it there too.
> I’m also curious why calculators were such a common thing then
The magnitude of the speedup is really pretty huge. Slide rules helped but were only ~3 digit accurate; that's not always good enough. Sit down and do something like solve a simple quadratic equation with non-integral coefficients without any calculator assistance and you'll start to get an idea how bad it can be....
Most calculators at the time were mechanical and also very expensive. So there was money to be made with expensive alternatives. Everything is expensive at first (low volumes, new factories and processes, research and development), so if a market can't support that it won't get made at all.
As this calculator is 20+ years older than me, can someone enlighten me as to why the dates would be like that? The only thing I can think of is that the manufacturing runs were done sequentially instead of all at once. Was that a common thing for ASICs back then?
I’m also curious why calculators were such a common thing then, yet they still cost over $1000 (in today’s money). I get it makes calculations quicker, but $1000 just seems excessive. Was it just the cost of manufacturing justified by the cost savings (in time) for businesses who bought them?