Fueling the inventive spirit

In 1938 …Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard rented a small garage where they launched a technology giant: Hewlett-Packard. The same place where HP's first patented product was created: an audio oscillator that set the tone for the company's future inventions.

Now, in 2005 ... marks the completion of a year-long restoration project of the same garage that now reflects an era that defined a Fortune 50 company — and a company that defined an industry.

The Palo Alto garage at 367 Addison Avenue is generally regarded by historians, engineers and others — in and outside of the high-tech industry — as one of the most significant artifacts of the electronics industry's early days in Silicon Valley. And that's exactly why HP made a commitment to preserve this piece of history as a visual reminder of the industry's grass-root beginnings.

The restoration, which began in January of this year, included the garage, as well as the house where Dave and Lucile Packard once lived and a shed where Bill Hewlett spent his bachelor days before he married Flora in 1939.

To this day, HP is known for its technologists — people that find innovative technology solutions that deliver true value to customers. Consider our first invention, the HP 200A audio oscillator, an electronic instrument used to test sound equipment. Oscillators were once complex, expensive, unstable and prone to distortion. Bill Hewlett solved this by adding a light bulb to the design — creating a legacy of simplifying technology and lowering costs for customers that still continues today.

That's why we at HP fuel our inventive spirit with ongoing investments in innovation. In fact, HP helps set the pace for innovation in the industry today — generating 11 patents per day — faster than any time in our history. That adds up to 25,000 patents in the current portfolio with more on the way.

And it all started with that light bulb — one big idea in a small garage lighting the way for the next generation of HP inventors.

HP has always been a company of inventors: people who bridge the gap between ideas and solutions.

Some highlights:

1942: The HP 200A audio oscillator, an electronic instrument used to test sound equipment, is the first to receive an HP patent. Oscillators were once complex, expensive, unstable and prone to distortion. Bill Hewlett solved this by adding an incandescent lamp to the design - giving birth to HP's commitment to simplify IT.

1984: HP introduces the first mass-marketed personal inkjet printer: the HP ThinkJet. HP-developed thermal inkjet technology delivers a high-quality, low-price personal printing experience, spelling the end for noisy dot-matrix printers. In 2004, HP wins the Corporate Innovation Award from the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) for this technology.

1986: HP becomes the first major computer company to introduce a precision architecture based on reduced instruction set computing (RISC). The HP Precision Architecture family marked the first commercial application of RISC architecture. This represented HP's most expensive R&D effort at the time, underscoring HP's commitment to focus on innovation that truly make a difference.