RETRO TECH: In 1982, this $500,000 computer helped choose your Christmas presents
In 1982, this store computer told you whether Aunt Mary should get a sweater because she “looked like Princess Diana.”
Christmas might be more than *** month away, but there are already quite *** few shoppers agonizing over the age-old question, what do I buy everybody? This year there is *** place you can turn to for answers. Why not ask *** computer? *** Birmingham department store has become the first in the country to put the latest technology to work for confused shoppers. So we said, why don’t we utilize our computers which we’ve just installed, as well as. Our gift ideas and turn the catalog again and make it inside of the store, becoming *** living catalog that we would tell our customers the kind of gift that they would. like to buy for their mother, their father, their son, their uncle. Even though there are trained assistants ready to help out computer shy patrons, the process is *** simple one. Just type in the person you’re buying for mother, father, sister, or brother, the age bracket they fall under, how much you’re willing to spend, and last but not least, which celebrity out of *** list of 12 well-known male and female personalities your loved one most resembles. And here’s *** list of gift suggestions for my mom. The only hard part about it was deciding which famous person she takes after. Actually, she’s *** cross between Nancy Reagan and Diane Cannon. The entire computer shopping venture has cost Parisian around $500,000 but the store is convinced the investment is *** sound one. The novel attraction has already boosted sales, and company executives say this could help give them an edge in *** Christmas season dampened by *** depressed economy. Jenny Burleson, Channel 13 News.
RETRO TECH: In 1982, this $500,000 computer helped choose your Christmas presents
In 1982, this store computer told you whether Aunt Mary should get a sweater because she “looked like Princess Diana.”
Deciding what to buy loved ones is a universal holiday dilemma. Today, you might Google gift guides or even ask ChatGPT; 40 years ago, shoppers consulted a $500,000 in‑store computer.In 1982, a Birmingham department store installed a computer that offered personalized gift suggestions. To use the machine, customers answered a short questionnaire about who the gift was for, their age, budget and celebrity look-alike—choices included President Reagan, Robert Redford and Princess Diana. The computer then printed a tailored list of suggestions from the store’s catalog.Watch the video to see this retro computer in action!If you enjoyed this video, check out our archival playlist:
Deciding what to buy loved ones is a universal holiday dilemma. Today, you might Google gift guides or even ask ChatGPT; 40 years ago, shoppers consulted a $500,000 in‑store computer.
In 1982, a Birmingham department store installed a computer that offered personalized gift suggestions. To use the machine, customers answered a short questionnaire about who the gift was for, their age, budget and celebrity look-alike—choices included President Reagan, Robert Redford and Princess Diana. The computer then printed a tailored list of suggestions from the store’s catalog.
Watch the video to see this retro computer in action!
If you enjoyed this video, check out our archival playlist:
