How the ZX Spectrum became a 1980s icon | Hacker News Reader

How the ZX Spectrum became a 1980s icon

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In 1985, my parents went to West Germany with an organized tour and smuggled a ZX Spectrum for us. At the same time, they sent me to a computer - focused daycamp at a community center. Yes, of course, we played games, I was ten but I learned ZX Spectrum BASIC, too.

Jump forward twenty years and I got my first Western programming job for the then-unimaginable 5000 USD a month. This company also happened to be headquartered in Vancouver where I decided to immigrate to and they helped me doing so. And when this company got acquired four years later, I got a salary high enough to buy my own apartment on the beautiful seashore of Vancouver.

Thanks Speccy for what my life could become.

Well done Clive Sinclair, your parents and you!

My father went to West Germany on a business trip with instructions to purchase Spectrum. Sadly, he returned with Atari 800 XL. I say sadly because any software was very hard to find in ex Yugoslavia while stuff for Spectrum was widely spread (all pirated, of course), even transmitted on FM radio.

Although I didn't move to Canada, it lead to the similar outcome of a good IT career. In essence, cheap home computers opened our eyes as to what oportunities exist, and that we are not bounded by borders where we were born in. I'm sure there are many success stories from East Europe which started with Spectrum, C64, or even Atari 800XL.

In my case, I started with the ZX-81 and never emigrated, but I can relate to everything else. Thanks to Sir Clive, I have a great career and lots of fun with hobbies that are mostly related to computers. 10/10 would do it again!

Rick Dickinson, the Sinclair designer guy, was simply a genius. It helped a lot for the success, the ZX81 and the Spectrum being just beautiful objects.

On a side note, I think one of the most iconic manual cover for a computer is the ZX81 one. Designed by John Harris, it's a masterpiece. I think he designed the Spectrum manual too but it was not so great.

We had beautiful computers at the time. I would say, in order of appearance, the Atari VCS, the ZX81, the Spectrum, the Commodore C128 and the Amiga 500 (inspired by the C128), the Apple IIc Plus. The original Macintosh eventually. It was just like having a piece of art at home.

The Spectrum Next, still designed by Rick, is beautiful too.

Laser focus to the main topic, I remember that the Sinclair appeal in Latin America was the price and that low barrier to entry enables much more success, like top Spanish magazines focused on the Sinclairs and the Commodores. It is important to memorialize that even if your family can afford a more expensive device most conscious parents found that these were expensive game devices more than a computer. Even programming was about being fun, not an industry! The first one I saw was a father who was an accountant and complemented its kids fun with calculations he should do, so the father learnt how to develop software in the same way, kind of, you learn how to program an HP-15C calculator [0]. I knew several accountants at that time that followed that route before even using VisiCalc.

Thank you for highlighting Rick Dickinson [1], it's probable very difficult to communicate to newer generations how form factor or plain aesthetics played in the 80s where a desktop PC is just a box. This clearly include calculators like the HPs ones. For the ones with sensitive clear memories, touching and using this devices make an echo in your spirit. Even when you think that the ZX81 had a membrane keyboard, there was something "mystic" about finding devices with such different design. We might even use the "kinky" term for devices like the Casio CZ-101 [2].

The Show Must Go On [3].

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP-15C

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Dickinson

[2] http://weltenschule.de/TableHooters/Casio_KX-101.html

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Show_Must_Go_On_(Queen_son...

I was a Casio guy, having the fx-850p. It was a very nice object I enjoyed a lot but HP ones had their own touch for sure.

Talking about design, some of the Nintendo Game & Watch series were particularly lovely. It's the first "computer device" I can think of which was elegant.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/keithmidson/8082061808/in/phot...

https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/mickey-mouse-game-watch-nintend...

I haven’t specifically mentioned the fx-850p to keep the comment brief, but it’s obviously included in the point about form factor. Having a "calculator-computer" with BASIC was a blast! While others followed the notebook trend, CASIO maintained the idea of a calculator-sized computer, which was brilliant. If it weren't for those Japanese companies, we'd probably have far fewer devices to discuss today. Don't forget PSION (UK) either! Beyond today’s economies of scale, it was fantastic to have such variety. For instance, I’d love a modern calculator with Python functionality in a small display and compact size—not talking about the HP Prime, though I do like it as well.

Finally, I often think about a "dumb" calculator with a great form factor, a keyboard and display combo, that functions purely as a Bluetooth or Wi-Fi terminal for a computer we already own or even connecting to the cloud.

Not sure I agree having had them. The keyboards instantly remind how both are horrible to use and that is the overwhelming memory.

> The keyboards instantly remind how both are horrible to use and that is the overwhelming memory.

The keyboard was cost effective. We need to remember that constraints exist.

And also an upgrade on the ZX81 which was far more basic. Long time ago but if memory serves it was some sort of membrane to indicate key positions which you had to press fairly hard to get to work.

The infamous thump-sensitive keyboard

My memory on the Sinclairs is their keyboards too, horrible, that was the reason I didn't take them serious as a kid (they felt like a Fisher toy), used a ViC20 in a department store to learn coding and then bought an Amstrad CPC - mostly because of the 80 character screen vs. the C64.

> used a ViC20 in a department store to learn coding

How long did you spend in that department store? How did you charm the personnel into letting you keep at it?

The personnel didn't bother with us, they didn't know why the computers where there. Sometimes we even made a joke, coding a 5 minute delay, then some loud sound, turning sound up, blocking RUNSTOP/RESTORE and then waited behind some clothes until the computers started very loud sounds and the personnel didn't know how to turn them off.

Another department store squatter here along with my brother. It was crazy to think this is how we learned to program, but it made sense at the time. We went for the ZX Spectrum and eventually wrote our first commercial game for it [1] with the rubber keyboard, it never bothered me.

[1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bgi6gndpTTs

Love it!

I had ZX Spectrum+ which I think had a much better keyboard. I never used the original ZX Spectrum with rubber keys, so I can't really compare.

Don’t forget Steven Vickers. The user manual he wrote for ZX Spectrum was my first programming book. It was really well written!

Interestingly, Vickers co-created another interesting machine from the 80s - Jupiter Ace which used Forth instead of Basic.

The Sinclair devices were popular because they were dirt cheap. A BBC micro was three times the price of a Spectrum.

I was just looking this up earlier for a different conversation, and the 125GBP original 1982 price of the Spectrum would have been 430 quid in today's prices. (You can get a cheap laptop for half that price today.) It brings home why Sinclair thought it so important to keep the costs as low as possible -- it might have been three times cheaper than the competition, but that was more because the competition was a seriously expensive piece of kit rather than because the Spectrum was truly "dirt cheap".

Heh - this!

ZX-Spectrum with 16K RAM cost £100. With 48K RAM it cost £130. The keyboard was bad. Basic commands were assigned to combinations of keys, not typed letter by letter. The cpu was Z80A at almost 4MHz!

Most popular, as it was very compact. Could be smuggled across customs hidden under the coat. Usually from West Germany. :-) My then country (YU) had banned importing a computer more expensive than 50 DEM (25 Eur). Knew of many kids that had ZX-Spectrum.

Commodore-64 had 64K RAM (not all addresable at once), much better keyboard. It cost £200. Basic programs could be typed normally. Learned Basic and 6502 assembler on it. The cpu was 6510 at almost 1MHz, had few memory mapped io ports too.

My parents relented after 2 years of pestering and bought me one from an authorized dealer. They were not rebelious enough to risk smuggling of ZX-Spectrum clandestine op. :-) The excise and duty paid were astronomical. It cost them £470 or sth like that. Eternally grateful to my parents for that. It changed my life. Knew couple of kids with C64 in addition to 2 of my closest friends.

BBC Micro B was £400. It was exclusive, like royalty, I knew of only one kid that had it.

Trip down the memory lane. :-)

With Commodore-64 you also had to buy their tape recorder (same thing as with Atari 800XL), while Spectrum worked with any existing recorder, which every house already had at the time.

Indeed - correct!

The advantage of the C64 tape recorder was it reliability and the motor being pilot by the computer. With personal tape recorders there was a lot of problems due to heads miss aligned.

As I remember from that time, all C64 users also had tiny screwdriver for adjusting head azimuth. Could be related to pirated tapes in ex Yugoslavia, copied on who knows what kind of equipment.

It's interesting how one generation basically had the same experience at the same time, but how it varied from place to place.

The UK was very into ZX - first the ZX80 and ZX81, and then the Spectrum. For that generation, in the UK, Spectrum is the start of everything.

I was an Apple child myself (a function of the machine my dad brought home), a BBC Micro at school (because... education), but in the mid 80s the Apple switched to IBM, and I've been on the PC track ever since.

I've met other groups for whom Vic 20, Commodore 64 and especially Amiga hold that first-love status. I'm just blessed to be that generation where the hardware was there at the right time.

It's crazy how fast things moved back then. Home computing went from Spectrum/C64 to Amiga/Atari ST in a few short years, and the advance was gigantic. Nowadays, I lament that my 2012 PC will lose support when Windows 10 reaches end of life next year - there's not anything especially different or exciting in this year's PC. Yes, it's faster for some use cases, but for 90% stuff it's the same thing.

In 2024 doing AI @home is clearly a new exciting thing but it require a good budget to be pleasant to use.

I started programming due to the ZX Spectrum

https://blog.steve.fi/how_i_started_programming.html

But yes they were everywhere when I was a kid, the BBC was in schools, and a few people had different things, but the Speccy was cheap and cheerful enough that it was the machine of choice.

In my friend group - those with a Commodore 64 were at the top. The Vic-20 was the middle and the Sinclair the bottom. My one friend with a Tandy Color Computer had no idea what he was doing, his family just had money.

I don't recall the ZX80 being particularly popular though it was the first computer for under £100. It wasn't until the following year that the ZX81 was released (£70) which could support moving graphics that opened the door to gaming even though it was severely limited and the display was only in black and white.

I remember being mightily impressed by 3D Monster Maze on the ZX81

https://www.zx-gaming.co.uk/games/monstermaze/default.htm

ZX80 iirc had to be built by the owner. Possibly the '81 too (memory fading but my brother was the "softie" in the family and I was the engineer so I got to solder them together for him). The spectrum came pre-built, significantly expanding the target market. The '80 followed on from Sinclair's previous products which were mostly user-assembled (MK14 and some of the calculators). The very first Acorn computer also iirc was self-assembled.

As I recall, the ZX81 came as either a kit (mail-order) or pre-built. My first computer was a pre-built ZX81 bought from WHSmiths.

Along with getting a ZX Spectrum+ in 1985, we got a subscription to "Input" magazine.

It's tagline: “Learn programming for fun and the future”

https://archive.org/details/inputmagazine

It had tutorials on BASIC ... and introduced the strange and mysterious world of machine code via PEEK and POKE (!)

The Spectrum was my first computer. I grew up in Latin America, where the Spectrum was popular, and I have such fond memories. BASIC is available within a couple of seconds and it has an incredible selection of games.

Speaking of games... I've lived in US for a long time and I'm intimately familiar with both the US gaming history (My dad had an Apple II) and the current gaming market. With this said, if you like videogames, you should absolutely try Spectrum games; not the conversions, which are generally poor, but the homegrown British games from the 1980s.

The Spectrum-centric, British gaming culture from the 1980s is the closest thing we have to a gaming culture from an alien civilization. I mean no offense to my British friends here, it's actually a compliment to its uniqueness. The Spectrum scene was very much like the current Steam-centric indie gaming scene, but with a particular British (let's not forget Australia and Spain) flavor that is hard to emulate.

So many homegrown games, so many small 1/2-people gaming shops, so many amazing gems unlike everything else you've ever played. If you are a serious gamer, you owe yourself to spend a few weeks looking into the Spectrum library.

By the way, you can get a taste of it in Black Mirror's "Bandersnatch" episode.

When I was 10 I had a BBC Micro and one of my friends had a ZX Spectrum, really remember going to each others houses and playing games. It was amazing hearing the Ghostbusters theme on the spectrum https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMIphX8Ipak ... the game itself was pretty confusing but fun to try and figure out

It's me or they did the first karaoke here? In any case the first @home karaoke for sure.

Loads of inexpensive quality games - so kids wanted one, but also programmable with a decent enough BASIC for the era - so parents could see it as an educational tool too.

Plus, cheap enough to be affordable for most families.

I can still smell the unboxing of my +3 on Christmas Day.

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