What was the use case for this thing? I can't even imagine what it would be used for. They give examples in the commercial:

https://youtu.be/-7Xj2263lhA

But this all seems like stuff that would be better suited to a calculator and a sheet of paper, and it looks like they had relatively small calculators back then. I just don't get it.

>What was the use case for this thing?
To decrypt CERN messages

>>106111077 (OP)
lmao theres one of these for sale on ebay
35,000
https://www.ebay.com/itm/388696571844?_skw=ibm+5100+computer&itmmeta=01K1M4QHXK22W8NNS4Y24186W4&hash=item5a801effc4:g:l9wAAeSwbvhocVtQ&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA8MHg7L1Zz0LA5DYYmRTS30nep0tg7bW19VISyWF%2BJI4Vf8VVyE%2BeH1dlDmvMq0xFToupOkuDVQ8Su34cGIWXNdvpTvcPLcReR5%2BvDG7ueCEkq46lj3yF%2FYzwm0hWdNbv%2FNbXwNzt0SJTJ0J1kG5bHtC3T3gx8nv6nIQ3EFQDGP6%2BMUZBrBMjEsIb9X9Ehc82Z6K9TOVVhW0TgIKG5tHtw4KOLqYqOTBb5yVbhhPfTmZiagSSiq%2FK2jAzLh4n3HRtHFOtutVbEW%2BwG%2BHFguhnhyRVpIyZV%2B6vXW87wxDJWTRVYQRwCYdXTeNI7hjHOt%2B3Kg%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR_ie3oSNZg

>>106111338
That's not too bad. The original price was about $50k in today's dollars.

>>106111077 (OP)
Tearing SERN a new one.
>>106111338
Fix your link, nigger.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/388696571844

>>106111077 (OP)
What is so difficult to understand? It as a general purpose computer that supported two languages, BASIC and APL.
Long before my time it was understood if you purchased a computer you would have to write your own software. So do you remember the guys in advertisement that ran the print shop?
They probably wrote a bit of software for the 5150 in BASIC that they could use to estimate the cost of a given job based on a few inputs.
If you were having to do all that calculation by hand it would be a huge people and time saver.
One guy with the computer might be able to replace a few people.

>>106112497
>If you were having to do all that calculation by hand it would be a huge people and time waster
sorry about that, but you get the idea

>>106111285
>>106111677
/thread

>>106111285
>>106111677
>>106112511
NOBODY GIVES A FUCK ABOUT YOUR FAGGOT ASS ANIME GET OUT OF MY THREAD.