January-February 1984 Touchscreen: The Inside Story on HP’s Newest Personal Computer
- HP 9845C desktop computers used for special effects in movie “War Games.” 2
- HP 150 personal computer puts company in fiercely competitive market; if it doesn’t succeed, will hamper HP’s overall performance. 3 7
- Still making HP’s original product for 45 years, the 200A audio oscillator. 8 9
- HP 2100 on board NASA weather observatory flights. 11 13
- HP donated 10 HP-86 PCs to San Diego school to improve computer literacy. 14
- Colorado Ballet uses HP Series 200 computer and 7585 plotter. 15
- HP employee picnic in Frankfurt, Germany. 15
- Computer security hot topic; HP forms permanent subcommittee on computer security. 16 19
- HP 280 Rappaport-Sprague stethoscopes best in class. 20 21
- John Young discusses board’s Far East tour and year-end results. 22-23
- HP Labs established in Stoke Gifford, England. 24
- HP has new program to lease equipment. 24
- New products include HP 1000 Model A600 computer, 2250 software, 41CX calculator, 3577A network analyzer, 3092A/3093A industrial terminals, VisiCalc program. 24
March-April 1984 YHP’s Battle for Worldwide Competitiveness
- HPDESK plays big role in company’s internal message strategy. 2
- Yokogawa-Hewlett-Packard (YHP) 20 years in Japan; wins Deming Prize award for all-around quality in Japanese industry; YHP is mix of Japanese and American business styles. 3 9
- HP International Users Group “fan club”; computer groups provide valuable feedback. 10 12
- HP Way insert (8 pages)- “There’s Something Special About This Place.”
- Ergonomics; West German government regulation requires display units with detached keyboard, which leads to design change of HP’s computers; HP dispels fears about radiation emissions from terminals; primer on ergonomically correct terminal setup. 14 17
- HP 27 handheld calculator used by California podiatrist to develop mathematical models to explain bunion and forefoot deformities. 19
- New building for HP in Boeblingen, Germany. 19
- HP’s corporate cashier invests HP’s excess operating funds. 20-21
- John Young reflects on future of company’s culture. 23
- HP and Samsung announce joint venture to develop and manufacture HP products in Korea. 24
- HP places third among 250 largest U.S. companies by Fortune magazine. 24
- New products include HP 8510 network analyzer, HP 7586B drafting plotter, HP 78720A arrhythmia monitoring system, 78532A monitor/terminal. 24
May-June 1984 The Echo Eaters of Cupertino
- Oakland A’s use HP 3000 for ticket operations, accounting and marketing applications. 3 5
- HP in Singapore; site has 2,500 employees in manufacturing; labor shortages in the 70s improved to substantial gains in skill levels; HP Singapore in the forefront of moving to more automation, low-tech to high-tech. 6 10
- Annual shareholders’ meeting is “more like an extended family than official meeting” says John Young. 11
- HP avoids layoffs through employment ups and downs; Hewlett reflects on how Great Depression affected his and Packard’s views on how to run a company; did not want to run a hire-and-fire operation. 12 13
- Striking French truck drivers blocked HP’s computer facility in Grenoble, France. 14
- Walter Cronkite visits HP to learn how automation is changing the company. 15
- HPSA cuts classical records. 15
- Every HP computer product must meet FCC regulations for EMI (electromagnetic interference) levels; HP simplifies and automates procedure to create new home for EMI testing—a semi-anechoic chamber. 16-19
- Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf visits HP in Palo Alto and Cupertino. 21
- John Young defines 10 strategic issues for fiscal year. 22-23
- New products include HP 7550A graphics plotter, 7090A measurement plotting system, 4951A protocol analyzer, 4937A transmission impairment measurement set. 24
July-August 1984 UK’s David Baldwin: Architect of Success
- HP IC experts travel to 52 divisions to present capabilities of company’s six IC centers. 2
- HP in UK; HP adds 700 jobs to Queensferry, Scotland; HP growth in UK evident in sales, manufacturing, research and increased corporate prestige; HP’s first office software activity. 3 9
- HP packages world’s best-selling game software for HP 150 and 110. 10
- Customers who sign up for HP 3000 training courses get ticket to world’s fair. 10
- HP garage appears in cartoon in San Jose Mercury News. 11
- HP 3000 computer used in German elections. 11
- Organization chart shows new corporate structure. 12 13
- Matrix management; teamwork imperative. 14 15
- Entrepreneurial alumni; HP employees who’ve left to start their own firms. 16-19
- HP crossword puzzle contest. 20 21
- John Young discusses recent organizational changes and their effect on the company. 23
- HP announces joint venture in China and Mexico. 24
- The Medical Group, Sunnyvale, Calif., manufacturer of ultrasound equipment became the HP Sunnyvale Medical Operation. 24
- HP Labs reorganized. 24
September-October 1984 HP Down Under
- HP operations in Australia and New Zealand. 3 7
- HP’s customer telephone response centers; company created database of all software questions and solutions known to HP, which is available to support engineers. 8 9
- HP’s Computer User’s Catalog dates back to the 1940s and is printed in five languages. 11 13
- Just in Time (JIT), Japanese manufacturing process: bring just enough material directly from supplier to production, make one product at a time(instead of pushing batches through each stage), stop the line when anything goes wrong. 14 17
- Cardiologist programs HP-15C to evaluate patients for heart conditions. 18
- HP competes in Corporate Cup National Championships in San Jose. 19
- Answers to HP crossword puzzle contest. 19
- HP offers leasing program to help customers acquire equipment; makes sales easier. 20 22
- John Young stresses importance of marketing. 23
- HP Hellas is new entity in Athens, Greece. 24
November-December 1984 HP: Behind the Scenes at the Summer Games
- Len Cutler of HP Labs’ Physical Sciences Lab awarded Morris Leeds Award from IEEE for contributions to advanced time standards. 2
- HP involved in Olympic games in Los Angeles; performed all drug tests; used HP 150 to do daily smog graphs printed on HP 7475 plotter. 3 5
- HP in the Netherlands and Belgium. 6 10
- HP’s profit-sharing program helps company’s corporate objective that employees should share in company’s success. 11
- Doctoral student at University of Calif., San Diego, uses HP portable computer for field work in New Guinea. 12
- HP plotter used in study of Stradivarious violins. 13
- Winners of HP crossword puzzle contest. 13
- HP designs workstations to accommodate left-handed users. 13
- Museum Science & Industry in Los Angeles asks HP to provide vision of factory of the future. 14 16
- HP Touchscreen computer used by Italian voters on Fiat plant. 17
- Motorola’s first Quality Award given to HP. 18 19
- Data codes part of “corporate glue” that holds HP divisions together; uniform and timely information available throughout company. 20 21
- John Young discusses survey of employee attitudes. 23
