https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/03/egad-7-key-british-pcs-of-the-1980s-americans-might-have-missed/ Skip to main content * Biz & IT * Tech * Science * Policy * Cars * Gaming & Culture * Store * Forums Subscribe [ ] Close Navigate * Store * Subscribe * Videos * Features * Reviews * RSS Feeds * Mobile Site * About Ars * Staff Directory * Contact Us * Advertise with Ars * Reprints Filter by topic * Biz & IT * Tech * Science * Policy * Cars * Gaming & Culture * Store * Forums Settings Front page layout Grid List Site theme light dark Sign in Fish and microchips -- Egad! 7 key British PCs of the 1980s Americans might have missed These bedrocks of the UK computer industry didn't get much love in the states. Benj Edwards - Mar 24, 2023 11:00 am UTC A modified Sinclair ZX81 advertisement with color added in the background. Enlarge reader comments 149 with Share this story * Share on Facebook * Share on Twitter * Share on Reddit If you grew up in America, the early history of home computers in the UK might not be familiar to you. But Great Britain produced innovative personal computers that were as equally successful and influential as their counterparts from Atari, Commodore, and Radio Shack in the United States. Further Reading RIP Sir Clive Sinclair, creator of UK's famed ZX Spectrum gaming computer To gain insight into the 1980s British PC landscape, we consulted veteran British game developer Kevin Edwards, who helped us identify the top seven most significant platforms. Having worked on over 40 games released between 1983 and 2022, Edwards developed titles such as Wolverine for the NES, Ken Griffy Jr. Baseball for the Super Nintendo, and many games in the Lego Star Wars series. In fact, his first game, Atomic Protector, debuted for the BBC Micro 40 years ago. Sinclair ZX81 (1981) A Sinclair ZX81 computer advertisement. Enlarge / A Sinclair ZX81 computer advertisement. Sinclair Research As a follow-up to the pioneering ZX80, the Sinclair ZX81 continued Sinclair's trend of making computing accessible to the masses with its low price and simple design. Developed by a firm founded by British inventor Sir Clive Sinclair, the ZX81 sold in kit or pre-assembled form. It featured a 3.25 MHz Z80 CPU, 1KB of RAM, and a built-in BASIC programming language. Despite its black and white graphics and flat membrane keyboard, the ZX81 sold over 1.5 million units. Notable software for the ZX81 includes 3D Monster Maze, a pioneering first-person 3D game, and Flight Simulation, one of the earliest flight simulators. "The ZX81 was one of the first and most popular home computers," Kevin Edwards said. "Very affordable, and they gave many people their first taste of using a real computer." In 1982, after a brief stint under its original name in the 'States, the ZX81 re-emerged in the US as the Timex-Sinclair 1000, which the company marketed as "the first personal computer under $100." Advertisement BBC Micro (1981) An image of the BBC Micro from a 1980s brochure. Enlarge / An image of the BBC Micro from a 1980s brochure. BBC Acorn Computers, in partnership with the British Broadcasting Corporation, developed the BBC Micro with the goal of promoting computer literacy and programming skills in the UK. With over 1.5 million units sold, it was a great success. "The BBC Micro was massive in schools, colleges, and universities," Edwards said. Further Reading UK museum seeks BBC Micro experts to help maintain its classic '80s PCs The BBC Micro featured a 2 MHz 6502 CPU and a range of configurations from 16KB to 128KB of RAM. Over the years, developers such as Edwards created a rich software library for the platform, including educational software and the highly influential space trading game Elite, which introduced 3D graphics and liberating open-ended gameplay to a generation of British gamers. Believe it or not, Fourth Dimension Systems launched a limited release of the BBC Micro in the US in 1983, but it failed to impact the heavily competitive American PC marketplace. Sinclair ZX Spectrum 48K (1982) An advertisement for the Sinclair Spectrum 48K personal computer. Enlarge / An advertisement for the Sinclair Spectrum 48K personal computer. Sinclair Research Following the success of the ZX81, Sinclair Research released the ZX Spectrum, which represented an even bigger UK blockbuster for Sinclair with over 5 million units sold. It featured a 3.5 MHz Zilog Z80A CPU, 48KB of RAM, and color graphics, making it an excellent and enduring platform for games and educational software. The "Speccy," as it's often nicknamed, inspired both a series of official follow-up machines and unauthorized clones released all over the world. Further Reading The underground story of Cobra, the 1980s' illicit handmade computer "The Spectrum was popular because of the great selection of games that were written for it," said Edwards. Notable games--almost all of which shipped on cassette tape--include the iconic Jet Set Willy and Manic Miner, both of which helped define the genre in the UK. And always remember, Americans: it's pronounced "zed-ex Spectrum," owing to how Britons pronounce the letter Z. In 1983, the ZX Spectrum came to the US in heavily modified form as the Timex-Sinclair 2068, although it fared very poorly in the market. Page: 1 2 Next - reader comments 149 with Share this story * Share on Facebook * Share on Twitter * Share on Reddit Benj Edwards Benj Edwards is an AI and Machine Learning Reporter for Ars Technica. For over 16 years, he has written about technology and tech history for sites such as The Atlantic, Fast Company, PCMag, PCWorld, Macworld, How-To Geek, and Wired. In 2005, he created Vintage Computing and Gaming. He also hosted The Culture of Tech podcast and contributes to Retronauts. Mastodon: benjedwards@mastodon.social Twitter @benjedwards Advertisement Promoted Comments [avatar] redstarwilly Great memories! My first computer was a ZX81 as a hand-me-down from my next-door neighbour. I remember begging my parents to give me PS5 to buy a 16K RAM pack - which would wobble at the most inconvenient time and lose everything. I've been a software developer now for more than 25 years, but when I was looking for my first job in the industry I went for an interview at a company making Point-of-Sale systems. They were in Huntingdon, just down the road from Cambridge. I was chatting to the interviewer and things seemed to be going well. We got onto the subject of my first programming experiences, which led onto talking about the ZX81. I made a joke about the wobbly RAM-pack on the '81, and how often it reset the machine. The interviewer stood up with a huge grin on his face. "Hang on," He said and disappeared out of the room. A couple of minutes later he reappears with another guy, who was looking a bit pissed off. He sat down opposite, leaned over towards me and said something along the lines of, "It wasn't my fault." Turns out he'd designed the RAM-pack and, from what I could see, was fed up with having to justify himself. From what I gathered, it was a running joke amongst his colleagues that, after 15 or so years, he no longer found very funny. Anyway, he explained the reset problem was known about from the start and could have been easily taken care of, but Clive Sinclair was so focused on costs that he refused to allow a capacitor to be part of the design. A single capacitor, that probably would have cost a couple of pennies at most, would have smoothed over the power supply interruption to the RAM-pack when it wobbled. March 24, 2023 at 11:56 am Channel Ars Technica - Previous story Next story - Related Stories Today on Ars * Store * Subscribe * About Us * RSS Feeds * View Mobile Site * Contact Us * Staff * Advertise with us * Reprints Newsletter Signup Join the Ars Orbital Transmission mailing list to get weekly updates delivered to your inbox. Sign me up - CNMN Collection WIRED Media Group (c) 2023 Conde Nast. All rights reserved. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated 1/1/20) and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement (updated 1/1 /20) and Ars Technica Addendum (effective 8/21/2018). Ars may earn compensation on sales from links on this site. Read our affiliate link policy. 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