History of Computers - Hewlett-Packard
Page created by: Jodi Rybarczyk
Hewlett-Packard is a multinational, American, technological corporation. HP manufactures a variety of electronic instruments, but their most popular products are printers.
Contents
Overview
In 1935, the company Hewlett-Packard began humbly in a Palo Alto garage, during the Great Depression. William Hewlett and David Packard were two recent electrical-engineering graduates from Stanford University. With a mere $538 capital investment, the young men set out to create a company under the guidance of Stanford professor Frederick Terman, who envisioned a Western electronics industry [1] Terman served as their mentor; he even proposed the HP200A precision audio oscillator, their first marketable product. The HP200A introduced an incandescent lamp into the design, effectively solving the problem of regulating the output of the circuit without causing distortion. [2] The HP200A resulted in HP's first big sale. The Walt Disney Company purchased eight oscillators to fine-tune the movie soundtrack for Fantasia.
Bill and Dave formalized their partnership on January 1, 1939. The company gradually began to pick up more orders for electronic instruments, especially with the beginning of World War II. From the 1940s until well into the 1990s the company concentrated on making electronic test equipment. HP followed a unique business model that was unlike any other company of the time. David Packard insisted on a decentralized, egalitarian system that has since been termed "the HP way." [3]
Significance
Hewlett-Packard technology has evolved over the years. Today, HP manufactures a variety of products, ranging from printers, calculators, digital cameras, scanners, PDAs, servers, computers, laptops, among others. HP is responsible for many of the major breakthroughs in history of computer technology. Additionally, HP introduced society to a new type of business model, a model of equality, and proved it too could be successful.
