Salora Manager

Salora – The computer in borrowed plumes

In the early 1980s, home computers flooded the world at an accelerating pace. One interesting step of the early computer era was the Salora Manager. It was a home computer that was not technically Finnish, but was sold under a Finnish brand name. Salora Manager was the Finnish version of the VTech Laser 2001 computer and offered consumers an affordable gateway to the world of information technology shortly before the Commodore 64 and MSX standard became widespread. The idea was quite clever. Many households had Salora radios and televisions, which had a good reputation and an existing distribution network in Nordic countries. So why not offer to consumers Salora home computers as well, the Salora marketing department must have thought. The project was launched, and the devices were named Salora Fellow and Salora Manager.

Salora Manager used a BASIC interpreter developed by Microsoft. Programs were loaded from C cassettes, but a 5.25-inch floppy disk drive was also available. There were also a few cartridge games, such as Auto Chase. The cassette drive was not built-in, but connected separately – often using a standard home stereo cassette player. The machine’s user interface opened into the BASIC development environment. Users could write programs and draw graphic patterns, for example. A small selection of games and programs was released for the Salora Manager. Since the device was based on the VTech Laser 2001, all of its programs worked on the Salora Manager – either on cassette or manually coded through the BASIC interpreter.

Salora Manager was obviously targeted at beginners and families who wanted an affordable way to get acquainted with computers. It was also a teaching tool and a platform for programming practice, rather than a gaming machine. Salora Manager failed to establish itself as the home computer market developed and quickly consolidated around a few options. In 1984–1985, it was overtaken by technically superior machines with a wider range of games, such as the Commodore 64 and MSX devices. The Salora Manager had a short life cycle, but it fulfilled its purpose in introducing Finns to information technology. Today, the Salora Manager is part of Finland’s information technology history. It is particularly valued as a domestic brand and a symbol of the spirit of the times. In retro collections, the machine is an interesting curiosity – a reminder of a time when information technology was still new, exciting, and somewhat experimental. Salora Manager was part of the global VTech company, but in Finland it gained its own identity. It brought affordable home computers to Finnish homes at a time when computers were not yet commonplace. Salora Manager is an important part of the traveling I love 8-bit® computer exhibition organized by the Kallio Computer Museum, where visitors can try out the device. A few years after Salora Manager, Nokia began its global conquest with its own mobile phone products. Despite the modest background, Finns were able to to develop world-class consumer products in information technology just few year after the unlucky Salora Computers.