I have keyboad and displays.
type computer add-on
country USA
The Bloomberg Terminal — The Most Powerful Financial Tool in History
The Bloomberg Terminal is not a conventional personal computer but rather one of the most important and powerful information systems ever created — a proprietary hardware and software platform that gives financial professionals real-time access to market data, news, analytics, and communications tools used by traders, investment bankers, portfolio managers, and financial analysts worldwide. Developed by Michael Bloomberg following his departure from Salomon Brothers in 1981, the Bloomberg Terminal transformed the financial industry by democratising access to the real-time data that had previously been available only to the largest institutions.
Origins — Michael Bloomberg’s Vision
Michael Bloomberg was fired from Salomon Brothers in 1981 after the investment bank was acquired by Phibro Corporation. With his $10 million severance payment, he founded Innovative Market Systems — later renamed Bloomberg L.P. — with a vision of providing financial data, analytics, and news to Wall Street professionals in real time. The first Bloomberg terminal was installed at Merrill Lynch in 1982, and by the mid-1980s the system had become indispensable to the financial industry. Today, approximately 325,000 Bloomberg terminals are in use worldwide at an annual subscription cost of around $24,000 per terminal — making Bloomberg L.P. one of the most profitable privately held companies in the world.
The Hardware
The Bloomberg Terminal’s distinctive hardware — with its two screens, specialised keyboard covered in colour-coded keys, and biometric fingerprint reader — is immediately recognisable on any trading floor worldwide. The keyboard features a unique layout with dedicated keys for Bloomberg functions, coloured sections for different types of operations, and the famous ”GO” key that executes commands. The dual-monitor setup allows traders to monitor multiple data streams simultaneously — a practical necessity in fast-moving markets where milliseconds can determine profit or loss.
Cultural Significance
The Bloomberg Terminal has become one of the most iconic pieces of professional equipment in modern business history. Its distinctive yellow-on-black interface (chosen for clarity and reduced eye strain during long trading sessions) is instantly recognisable in films and television depictions of Wall Street and financial trading. The terminal represents the intersection of technology and finance — a system so deeply embedded in global financial infrastructure that major investment banks, hedge funds, and central banks worldwide depend on it for their daily operations. Having a Bloomberg display and keyboard in a museum collection is a remarkable testament to the breadth of computing history.