History
Back in the last month of 1979, passing by a supermarket, Here in Toulouse, I fall on a video tape running in front of the calculator's department. T'was the HP41.
Some years before, I fell on a news paper article : Hewlett-Packard was calling back it's brand new HP65 calculator for a known bug : in a very precise state, this very expensive box (more than one thousand bucks) gave a wrong result. The writer quoted that very few people where sending back they calculator, kidding all the day showing this bug to everyone.
HP had got a million dollars free advertisement campaign... and I first learn about it. I called my dealer and in November 29, 1974 I got a nice brochure and a nice FF5304 price, much too expensive for me. I have this brochure in front of me right now, on may 8, 1999. One can admire the munificent leather-like case and the magnetic cards denoting the included magnetic card reader, an accessory now unknown (snip !).
Back in November 1979. This new HP41 calculator did alphanumeric labels and entry. At the moment, this was stunning. IBM PC was not even in project... I had just a little money unused... I ordered one. I had to wait 4 month to get the marvel and this begun a long time - not yet finished - love story.
to be continued... one day or another...