HP Memory Project - Going Forward
Back to Presentation SelectorSome Thoughts on the Possible Evolution Paths for the HP Memory Project
by Marc Mislanghe, October 2012.
The HP Memory Project is now 15 years old. The overall HP Memory Project concept started from my realization that having had the good fortune to work for the world's most successful High-Tech Company, I needed to create some shareable work of gratitude.
The main objective of the project has always been (and still is), to create a place worth visiting. It will provide a home for exhibiting, preserving and explaining all of the contributions made by HP to the sciences of measurement and computing during the second half of the 20th century, the "Golden Years" of High Tech. This goal is constantly kept in mind while collecting all necessary artifacts.
The following chapters will inventory the currently available resources, and suggest some of the many ways in which they could be used to create such a place . . .
. . . A walk through 60 years of tangible engineering success!
. . . Pioneering - Inventing - Innovating
...And a little light bulb. Quality audio signals at a surprisingly low price
Better insights on signal distortion and multiple signal applications
of power and frequency. Building an entire product line to meet customer's expanding needs
Exploiting the microwave technology that emerged from WWII systems
It started with a 10 MHz scaler, and someone had the clever idea of adding a time base
One of the most popular signal generators of all time, covering an extremely important band of frequencies
An abrupt jump in scope technology yielding a 100-fold increase in bandwidth for ultra-fast digital waveforms
A highly-creative start for 50 years of HP Leadership in Spectrum Analysis
Designed for Instrument Control and data acquisition on the factory floor, it became the building block for HP's entry into Time-Share systems, and in later decades for HP's dominance in mid-sized computing
It popularized the 'Smith Chart' and 'S' Parameters which became the industry standards, with a slogan 'Stamp out Slotted Lines.'
To reach performance that couldn't be achieved with those currently available on the market
HP was a technology pioneer in light-emitting diodes, for both lamps and alphanumeric displays
The first portable cesium-beam frequency standard and atomic clock. They set the world's time standards, coordinating international time to within a millionth of a second
Transcendental functions and Reverse-Polish Nomenclature (RPN). A marvel for scientists and engineers, multiplying their time and computing power
It brought untold computing power to the fingertips of the common engineer, at a very affordable price
A fast growing product line which covered finance and other 'consumer' markets
By coordinating with the IEEE, an industry standard was created for the benefit of the engineering community
...Or the product was too early for its time
An advanced low-power microprocessor that contains the equivalent of about 38,000 transistors
Another step forward in signal analysis and Instrument Systems automation
The dramatic new digital technologies need new analysis tools. It was time to create the Logic State Analyzer concept, and open the new 'Data Domain' of Measurements'
The first low cost, 'self-contained' desktop calculator including a graphic display, printer and tape recorder
The rapid growth of microprocessors changed the rules. More Software, less Hardware
A breakthrough product line whose production numbers in 2006 surpassed 100 million units
HP considered new measurement products for surveyors a good extension of its measurement mandates, as in Medical equipment and Chemical Analysis
Using a novel 'grit wheel' paper drive technology, HP launches a new line of large, drafting-quality plotters
It spells 'the end' for noisy dot-matrix printers. Priced for everyone's office desk and PC
Enormous microwave analysis power, leveraged with creative software
The first low cost inkjet printer to use fundamental color compression and half-toning algorithms
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, they maintained a constant HP leadership in scientific, HP-UX workstations
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