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| Atom |
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BBC-B |
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BBC Master |
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Electron |
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Data Devices |
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Acorn Extras |
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| Consoles |
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CBM / PET |
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VIC 20 |
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64 |
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SX-64 |
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16 |
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| Plus/4 |
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128 |
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128D |
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Datassettes |
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Disk Drives |
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Printers |
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| ZX 80 |
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ZX 81 |
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16K Spectrum |
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48K Spectrum |
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Spectrum+ |
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Spectrum 128 |
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| Spectrum +2 |
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Spectrum +2A |
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Spectrum +3 |
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QL |
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Sinclair Extras |
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Cambridge Z88 |
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| Acorn |
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Commodore |
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Sinclair |
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Computer Magazines |
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PCN Magazines |
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CBM Paperwork |
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| Acorn |
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Commodore |
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Sinclair |
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Emulators |
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Links |
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| Introduction |
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| Acorn Computers. |
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| Acorn's first product for the consumer market
was the Atom, launched in 1980. It was available
as a kit or ready built. This was to be followed
by the Proton, which would be aimed at the home
user but could easily be upgraded for industrial
or scientific use. |
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| Also in 1980, the BBC had proposed a computer
literacy project which would be based on an a single
computer. Specifications were drawn up and a suitable
partner was sought. The UK government owned a company
called Newbury Laboratories which was developing
a computer called the New Brain, but it soon became
clear that the computer would not be ready in time
for the project. |
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| The Proton impressed the BBC enough for them to
award the contract to Acorn and so in 1982 the BBC
Micro was born. The BBC A had 16KB memory while
the BBC B had 32. Both versions had more options
for connecting to the outside world than most home
computers of that time and there was room on the
circuit board to add further chips. |
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| While schools up and down the country acquired
large numbers of BBC Micros, the price was much
higher than its rivals and it was physically a big
machine. As a result, a simpler, smaller version
was developed in 1983, named the Electron. This
sold in large numbers but 1984 saw a collapse in
the home computer market and Acorn being rescued
by Olivetti. Following this, the BBC Master was
launched and was a success but this would mark the
end of development for eight-bit computers. Acorn
would go on to produce excellent 16 bit computers
for home and business. |
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| The Commodore Years. |
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| In 1982, after months of visiting shops that sold
computers, I bought my first VIC-20. I quickly realised
that its limited memory and small screen would not
do what I wanted and bought a Commodore 64. |
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| This was the start of a hobby that would span
fifteen years and make the computer part of my daily
life. During this time I learned to write my own
software and to adapt other people's to my needs. |
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| Over the years I have collected a range of 8-bit
Commodore computers and peripherals to go with them.
Had I joined the computer revolution earlier, I
would have bought a PET. I now have two. |
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| My collection includes PETs, the VIC-20, the first
colour home computer, the 64 in both of its forms,
the SX-64, claimed to be the world's first portable
colour computer, 128s and the ill-fated C16 and
Plus/4. |
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| This is by no means a definitive collection, but
it provides a view of those early days of the computer
revolution. Nor does it include the Amiga as I went
straight from the 8-bit Commodores to a PC. |
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| But the 1980s was the time when men in white lab
coats were replaced by people working in their own
homes. The mysterious world of computing was a mystery
no more. These really were 'computers for the masses'. |
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| The Sinclair Collection. |
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| The story of the Sinclair computer range is the
story of the early days of home computing in the
UK. Clive Sinclair was a British entrepreneur who
had produced radios, calculators and watches. Always
innovative, his ideas caught the attention but were
not always commercially successful. |
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| The first computer from the Sinclair stable was
the MK14 board for hobbyists in 1978 and the last
was the PC200 in 1988 although neither of these
was a truly Sinclair product. In between there was
an exciting eight years which saw home computing
transformed from an interest for the few to something
few could imagine living without. The brand wasn't
just popular in the UK either. In North America,
Sinclair computers and derivatives were produced
by Timex and in communist eastern Europe the Spectrum
was copied by several manufacturers. |
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| The MK14, produced by Science of Cambridge, was
a board holding a machine code monitor in ROM, 256
bytes of RAM, a calculator style keyboard and display,
and I/O ports. Although we would not recognise it
as a computer in the modern sense, without it there
might never have been a UK computer industry. It
not only led an initially unenthusiastic Clive Sinclair
to the Sinclair ZX range but the MK14 was developed
by Chris Curry who left the company to form Acorn
Computers of BBC fame. |
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| From the very basic ZX80 through the millions
of Spectrums to the failure of the QL, the Sinclair
range found its way into the homes and hearts of
the nation. Many are still there. The ones here
found their way into mine . . . . |
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| There's a bonus in the shape of the Cambridge
Z88 portable computer, Sir Clive's very last computer,
designed after the sale of Sinclair to Amstrad. |
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| |
