Programmable calculator to use magnetic strips were the HP-41C and TI-59. Continuous memory does not lose its content when the calculator is switched off. With continuous memory the user can, for example, change batteries without losing the entered programs. Compact Cassettes offered a simple, inexpensive alternative to magnetic cards. Usually, an interface module, such as the Casio FA-1, was used to connect the calculator to an ordinary cassette recorder and digital data were encoded as frequency-shift keyed audio signals. Sharp and Hewlett-Packard also sold dedicated micro- or mini-cassette recorders that connected directly to the calculator. These set-ups, while being more practical and
General Electric Company General Electric Company The General Electric Company, or GEC, was a major UK-based industrial conglomerate involved in consumer and defence electronics, communications, and engineering. The company was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. In December 1999, GEC's defence arm, Marconi Electronic Systems, was amalgamated with British Aerospace to form BAE Systems. The rest of GEC continued as Marconi plc. The financial troubles that followed the bursting of the dot-com bubble in 2001 led to the restructuring in 2003 of Marconi plc into Marconi Corporation plc. In 2005, Ericsson acquired the bulk of Marconi Corporation plc, along with its principal