AKA: anita's wereld, De eerste en enige geluidloos werkende elektronische bureau-rekenautomaat ter wereld.,
Date of intro: apr-1963,
Classification: / Documentation / Article,
Related with: (Resellers): PROCENTO, N.V., SUMLOCK ANITA ELECTRONICS: Anita MKVIII (version-1),
Publisher-1: PROCENTO, Language: Dutch,
Info: Anita’s Wereld (“Anita’s World”) is a four-page promotional newspaper published in April 1963 by N.V. PROCENTO, the Dutch distributor of ANITA electronic calculators, with a stated circulation of 50,000 copies. It introduces the machine, explains its development and operation, and illustrates its use in business and industry.
The newspaper presents ANITA as a major advance over mechanical calculators, emphasizing silent operation, speed, simple controls, automatic decimal positioning and an illuminated twelve-digit display. It gives a selling price of 3,750 Dutch guilders, including a twelve-month guarantee and annual service visits for four years.
While acknowledging early supply and quality difficulties, PROCENTO reports that expanded production in Portsmouth has improved availability.
An interview with Mr. KITZ, the driving force behind ANITA’s development, traces the idea to his study of calculating machines around 1950.
Development at Control Systems began in 1956, and a first prototype was demonstrated in late 1958.
The interview describes the challenges of producing affordable electronic circuits, reliable keyboard contacts and a readable numerical display.
It also explains the progression from the initial prototypes to the MkVII and MkVIII models.
A technical article explains how ANITA performs arithmetic through electrical pulses, control circuits and ring counters using cold-cathode gas-filled tubes.
Manufacturing reports describe modular printed-circuit assemblies, automated soldering and rigorous inspection.
According to the newspaper, each machine contains more than 1.800 electronic components and 4.000 solder joints, and undergoes 48 hours of continuous automatic testing.
Practical applications occupy a substantial part of the issue.
Examples include vehicle operating costs at road-building company Bruil, engineering calculations at FOKKER, milk-production analysis, foreign-exchange calculations, invoice checking and industrial costing.
The Dutch news agency ANP used ANITA to calculate election percentages, reportedly more than three times as quickly as with mechanical calculators.
De BIJENKORF department store also praises its speed, ease of use and quiet operation.
Other stories describe KHRUSHCHEV Nikita watching an ANITA demonstration at the British Trade Fair in Moscow, a machine surviving a fall from a desk with mainly damage to its casing, and specially developed packaging for transport.
An article on workplace noise reinforces the selling point of silent calculation.
The issue also includes a short history of calculating machines, profiles of Control Systems and Procento, and advertisements for other office equipment.
The publication combines technical explanation, customer examples and sales promotion, offering a vivid contemporary view of the transition from mechanical office calculators to electronic calculation.