1981: Inventor CLIVE SINCLAIR on the ZX80 and TV80 | Pacesetters | Retro Tech | BBC Archive

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  • Опубліковано 25 лис 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 224

  • @nigelcarren
    @nigelcarren 2 роки тому +130

    I respect any man who starts his run in his hallway instead of waiting until outside! 🏆🇬🇧

    • @simonrussell4986
      @simonrussell4986 2 роки тому +16

      The only way you could get me to run 6 miles before breakfast would be to move my kitchen to the other side of town.

    • @lewis7515
      @lewis7515 2 роки тому +5

      I like the way he kind of tumbled out of there like there was no guarantee he wasn't ending the day with a heart attack

    • @nigelcarren
      @nigelcarren 2 роки тому +2

      @@simonrussell4986 🤣😂 Simon, that suggests to me that you are NOT a Weetabix with cold milk kinda guy?
      So... With that in mind, what time is breakfast mate? Two of everything for me please, I am happy to do all the heavy lifting! 🥓🥓🍳🍳🍅🍅🧀🧀☕☕🇬🇧

    • @simonrussell4986
      @simonrussell4986 2 роки тому +1

      @@nigelcarren Ha ha! Two of everything coming right up!

    • @katewolfspirit6722
      @katewolfspirit6722 2 роки тому

      @@simonrussell4986 Alternatively, for me it would be for someone to let loose a very angry rhino, you wouldn't see my arse for dust! ;-))

  • @Theoriginalborgy
    @Theoriginalborgy 2 роки тому +110

    As a Brit growing up in the 70-80's as well as ZX Spectrum (I still own and use a ZX Spectrum 128K) owner this man was a household name and legend,
    A man ahead of his time the C5 was 35 years too early in this world of electric scooters, bikes and trikes.
    RIP Sir Clive, affectionately known as Uncle Clive. :(

    • @purefoldnz3070
      @purefoldnz3070 2 роки тому +1

      very strange man, he never used computers or the internet. RIP.

    • @ojbeez5260
      @ojbeez5260 2 роки тому +2

      Bald Ginger Santa

    • @pauloliver6813
      @pauloliver6813 2 роки тому +7

      Yep- you are correct about the C5. He was a visionary, and not given enough credit. It's a pity the Spectrum never sold abroad as they could have- in an alternative universe it could be Spectrum, not Apple. But...The main difference between the C5 and all the e-scooters etc is that they were exclusively designed for the road. E-scooters operate at the expense and danger to pedestrians; the C5 was a danger to its driver. A serious consensus is needed about the use of e-vehicles on pavements and roads.

  • @jameshardy6277
    @jameshardy6277 2 роки тому +32

    The sound of a ZX Spectrum loading Manic Minor or Jet Set Willy will always hold a special place in my heart. I feel very blessed to have be a kid/teenager through the 80's & 90's.

    • @masterkamen371
      @masterkamen371 9 місяців тому

      Meanwhile kids in the 90s in the Balkans: 💀

    • @jameshardy6277
      @jameshardy6277 9 місяців тому

      I couldn't give a f**k! about the Balkans. I'm done with apologising for growing-up / living in a functioning country. I often see people like you turn an innocent comment into some political BS. Go find some happiness mate! @@masterkamen371

    • @volo870
      @volo870 Місяць тому

      ​@@masterkamen371Kids in the Balkans were also happy to experience the Speccy! War does not stop kids' curiosity.
      I recommend learning the story of Warajevo emulator. It's war during the day, Speccy during the night! 🙄

    • @masterkamen371
      @masterkamen371 Місяць тому

      @@volo870 Nearly anyone who had interest in computers already owned a C64 by 1991 or played with them in school. At least those in Croatia and Slovenia did.
      I feel quite sorry for the Bosnians. For a rather large minority, a ZX Spectrum would still be a wonder today.

    • @volo870
      @volo870 Місяць тому

      @@masterkamen371 We, Ukrainians, enjoyed Spectrums way into the 90s. It was spectrums and famiclones pretty much till 1995.
      C64 was an oddity smuggled from Germany in the 80s. Absolutely no software for it. Even when recently buying my very own C64 - found a Speccy cassette stuck into it!

  • @ForViewingOnly
    @ForViewingOnly 2 роки тому +66

    Any vintage computing enthusiasts watching this will recognise scenes that were reproduced in the BBC's excellent docu-drama 'Micro Men'.

    • @MatthewNorthMusic
      @MatthewNorthMusic 2 роки тому +2

      @@MonVonalot Agreed what I was about to say Armstrong played the roll perfectly.

    • @gcooper642
      @gcooper642 2 роки тому +3

      I thought Alexander Armstrong played him very wooden, but watching this makes ne realise he played him accurately

    • @Spookieham
      @Spookieham 2 роки тому

      An excellent drama with great actors and a very good script.

    • @sinkler245
      @sinkler245 2 роки тому +2

      @@MonVonalot I’m too baked for this

    • @Edgel-in6bs
      @Edgel-in6bs 2 роки тому +1

      A slightly dramatized version of events. But a brilliant programme nonetheless.

  • @ericdickison7995
    @ericdickison7995 2 роки тому +7

    Zx81 was my first computer, then went onto the Speccy 48k, and I still have it to this day.
    Happy days….

    • @alanquinn99
      @alanquinn99 Місяць тому

      I had a Spectrum 16K.. and saved a LOT of pocket money for the 32K RAM pack. Sir Clive was a man ahead of his time, we desperately need that kind of innovative entrepreneurial spirit in the UK in 2024. He was a man you could make his ideas a reality.

  • @benlachenal771
    @benlachenal771 2 роки тому +23

    How Sinclair runs out of his house on his jog was pretty amazing 😂

  • @robintyson591
    @robintyson591 Рік тому +6

    Highest admiration Sir Clive. The thing I remember most were the books. SERIOUS manuals - very thick - detailing BASIC programming language. Must have taught and inspired hundreds of thousands.

    • @rodcambridge9040
      @rodcambridge9040 Рік тому +1

      Ha! I remember these, too. The ones I had with my spectrum were orange in colour. A great way to get started in BASIC!

    • @alanquinn99
      @alanquinn99 Місяць тому

      @@rodcambridge9040 Mine were orange too. Great manuals, well written. Logical and sensible. I learned a command a day age 12. I wish I make a career in software now instead of mechanical... life choices!

  • @jonathancauldwell9822
    @jonathancauldwell9822 Рік тому +3

    The ZX81 and ZX Spectrum were my introduction to the world of computing and led to my 30-year career in software development. To see those machines still being supported and used to this day shows the effect this man had on so many. Requiescat in pace Clive, you were ahead of your time

  • @snotwurfit
    @snotwurfit 2 роки тому +9

    Some of my most enjoyable times as a kid was playing on my ZX Spectrum 48k. I had been excited at the prospect of getting a ZX81 for Xmas, but was blown away when I unwrapped the Xmas wrapping paper and saw Spectrum on the box.
    I even look back at all those hours getting tape load errors, rewinding the cassette, turning the volume down and trying again -with affection.
    SCS -a great inventor

  • @welshlad6427
    @welshlad6427 2 роки тому +12

    The ZX81 was one of the best things I had as a young teenager. So many great memories playing games like Manic Miner with my mates. Loved it……..other than loading the games on my cassette player. Now that was frustrating 😂 Clive Sinclair thank you, you legend ❤

    • @georgeprout42
      @georgeprout42 10 місяців тому

      The cassette player was due to cost. Someone at school would buy a game, use their portable "ghetto blaster" double tape deck to make a copy and go back for a refund shortly afterwards. "My mum also bought this for me earlier". By the end of the week we all had copies. We shouldn't be known as generation X, we were generation R. As in the R tape loading error generation.

  • @MrAlwaysBlue
    @MrAlwaysBlue 2 роки тому +19

    RIP Sir Clive. A truly Great Briton.

  • @fidelcatsro6948
    @fidelcatsro6948 2 роки тому +44

    a man ahead of his time🐱👍🏿
    (1940-2021)

    • @Anthony_Matabaro_Tech
      @Anthony_Matabaro_Tech 2 роки тому +4

      Yes he was, the world will miss him, RIP Sir Clive Sinclair 👍🏿

    • @carlbirtles4518
      @carlbirtles4518 7 місяців тому

      He also created the infamous C5.

  • @a1white
    @a1white Рік тому +3

    And a year later the ZX Spectrum was released and was a huge seller, sold on the high street, it was revolutionary, introducing the concept of a personal computer for an affordable price.

  • @equinoxxee
    @equinoxxee 2 роки тому +23

    Thank you for these archive images.
    Sir Clive Sinclair was a very brilliant and forward thinking man.
    Thank you Clive for everything you have invented!
    RIP Sir Clive Sinclair

    • @purefoldnz3070
      @purefoldnz3070 2 роки тому +1

      very strange man. Never used a computer or the internet.

    • @Anthony_Matabaro_Tech
      @Anthony_Matabaro_Tech 2 роки тому +1

      I could not agree with you more, RIP Sir Clive Sinclair, a top man, ahead of his time, I loved my Spectrum. 👍

  • @kildogery
    @kildogery Рік тому +3

    Sinclair was basically Kickstarting every product.
    So far ahead of his time and a bona fide genius.

  • @doctorsocrates4413
    @doctorsocrates4413 8 місяців тому +1

    I would never have got into computing if it were not for the 48k spectrum..i then went on to have an amiga500...but the spectrum was my first ever computer and i hold it dear to my heart for all the great childhood memories it held...clive was a genius...rest well clive.x

  • @johned2769
    @johned2769 4 місяці тому +1

    What a visionary. Man, i loved growing up in the 80s. It felt exciting with inventors like this.

  • @Conceptualcreatures
    @Conceptualcreatures 2 роки тому +22

    The world needs more like him

  • @scottyc7220
    @scottyc7220 2 роки тому +14

    My first computer was a ZX81, spent hours typing in programs from magazines.
    Had to be careful not to move it as my 16k rampac would move and crash, great memories.

    • @Anthony_Matabaro_Tech
      @Anthony_Matabaro_Tech 2 роки тому +3

      I loved my Spectrum, RIP Sir Clive Sinclair

    • @XenonJohnD
      @XenonJohnD 2 роки тому +4

      Remember mounting the ZX81 and rampac on a wooden board then soldering very many little link wires between the connections until I had a reliable wobble free rampac. Added a keyboard later, bought as a kit at the first ever Sinclair show in London. Ugly but it was reliable.

    • @scottyc7220
      @scottyc7220 2 роки тому +2

      @@XenonJohnD You reminded me, I had a rubber keyboard that was stuck over the original one.
      Was still awful, but at the time thought it was better.

  • @icvideoservices
    @icvideoservices Рік тому +1

    An absolute legend. Sir Clive changed my whole life by getting the Spectrum to market at a price a single parent could afford.
    I learned a bit of programming on it and it led to a great career in IT

  • @TopOfThePopsFan
    @TopOfThePopsFan Рік тому +6

    Couldn't afford the assembled ZX80, so I bought the kit and assembled myself. Worked first time. Still have it.

    • @monteceitomoocher
      @monteceitomoocher 6 місяців тому

      Me too!, wish I'd kept it, collectors item now, happy days back then.

    • @markeustace199
      @markeustace199 4 місяці тому

      surprising how many Irish schools used it to introduce tech to students - our school had just one! for the whole school 🙄🙄 Which really shows the importance the Irish education system placed on science! in secondary school we had gasp a BBC computer with the game Geordie Racer and Pigeon Street on it! and a crude 3d tech graphics program - our tech graphics teacher almost cried with awe at the high tech blistering future and that was in the late fricking 90's because Ireland does education on the frickin' cheap!

  • @CricketEngland
    @CricketEngland 2 роки тому +34

    Who would have thought that Sinclair pioneered the flat screen TV

    • @EllRiver
      @EllRiver 2 роки тому +5

      Well he didn't, he had the idea. But he ran his company into the ground in the late 80's

    • @CricketEngland
      @CricketEngland 2 роки тому +1

      @@EllRiver well you could say the same about the C5 doing that too so it was just his TV’s

    • @annother3350
      @annother3350 2 роки тому +4

      @@EllRiver having the idea and building it is pioneering

    • @EgoAlters
      @EgoAlters 2 роки тому

      The first flat panel/flat screen TV came out in the 50s, the Aiken Tube.

    • @CricketEngland
      @CricketEngland 2 роки тому

      @@EgoAlters I know that I never said he invented them

  • @firsteerr
    @firsteerr 5 місяців тому +1

    sir Clive was an electronics genius who also recognized other genius AND knew the price point was king

  • @AtheistOrphan
    @AtheistOrphan 2 роки тому +14

    I received a Sinclair ‘Grey Watch’ (the date version of the Black Watch) for Christmas 1977 and thought it was the absolute cat’s pyjamas. Wish I still had it.

    • @speedbird737
      @speedbird737 2 роки тому +1

      I felt the same when I had to iphone v1 a whole year before any one in the UK!

    • @AtheistOrphan
      @AtheistOrphan 2 роки тому +1

      @@speedbird737 - Cheers Nigel. I remember I was only 12 and was the toast of the playground!

    • @annother3350
      @annother3350 2 роки тому +2

      @@speedbird737 When you had that iphone my Nokia already had 3G, USB on-the-go and I could transmit music to any nearby FM radio receiver

    • @speedbird737
      @speedbird737 2 роки тому

      @@annother3350 and you had to use a crappy keyboard to type in messages and no apps - bad screen and no google maps integration or touch screen functionality like the iPhone lol

    • @annother3350
      @annother3350 2 роки тому +1

      @@speedbird737 on 2G it wasn't worth surfing the net, Grandpa

  • @svenred6eard757
    @svenred6eard757 2 роки тому +2

    Love the running shorts

  • @martinbennett9908
    @martinbennett9908 Рік тому +3

    Got my first computer -a 48K Spectrum - for Christmas 1982, and I have had a fantastic career as a games programmer all my life. Thank you Sir Clive.

  • @mattfranks4335
    @mattfranks4335 2 роки тому +6

    My favourite bit was the ginger comb over .

  • @MoroccanAnwar
    @MoroccanAnwar 2 роки тому +5

    THIS MAN WAS AHEAD OF HIS TIME!!

  • @SWR112
    @SWR112 2 роки тому +2

    Sir Clive was ahead of his time what we need is a Sir Clive for batteries in EV’s to take them next level. Mail order was just Amazon of its time. Imagine if he had started Amazon and had its cash he’d have probably came up with some scary ideas. He got computers in peoples houses I had many fun hours in front of a ZX81 early 80’s with a warm keyboard 😂. The spectrum 48k was king in its day. Many of the developers in charge today started on one of his machines. Glad he seen tech like the EV and phone and computers mature till his death 2021. He’s refreshingly honest, he did need someone to look after the business with hindsight.

  • @Eon119
    @Eon119 2 роки тому

    Thank goodness he had the drive to push products out (good or bad) as well as the skills to invent.

  • @MatSmithLondon
    @MatSmithLondon 2 роки тому +14

    Similar aims as Raspberry Pi, in terms of making computing smaller and more affordable. Lovely. It's impressive how he managed to start running BEFORE actually leaving the building.

    • @mrpositronia
      @mrpositronia 2 роки тому +2

      Raspberry Pi was indeed inspired by the BBC Micro, which was made by Acorn, a company founded by ex-Sinclair Radionics' Chris Curry. So, it's a spiritual successor to that original idea of home-learning machines. 😁

    • @dronespace
      @dronespace 2 роки тому +2

      @@mrpositronia home learning goodness ❤️

    • @annother3350
      @annother3350 2 роки тому +1

      he was escaping the wife

    • @Anthony_Matabaro_Tech
      @Anthony_Matabaro_Tech 2 роки тому +1

      @@mrpositronia Yes it is, and those of us old enough to remember the Spectrum, appreciate what the PI is trying to do, RIP Sir Clive Sinclair

  • @markdaly1903
    @markdaly1903 2 роки тому +9

    Sir Clive Sinclair was a revolutionary in terms of computers and the tech industry. but he was torn apart over his idea about electronic scooters and the idea bankrupted him but his idea has come to pass..

    • @markdaly1903
      @markdaly1903 2 роки тому

      when he appeared on Tv, tomorrows world, his prototype did not work and the press tore him apart

  • @mach5406
    @mach5406 Рік тому +4

    1:08 evidently the most important part of this video 😂

  • @pauloliver6813
    @pauloliver6813 2 роки тому +1

    The journalist Neil Lyndon appeared on one of the most famous programmes in British TV history. Channel 4 After Dark with Oliver Reed on Masculinity. I remember watching it live, and it is still utterly fascinating.

    • @Ozymandias1
      @Ozymandias1 2 роки тому +1

      Oliver Reed was an alcoholic who often appeared on sets ad on tv when drunk. He died during a drinking contest with sailors. Bur he did live a full life.

  • @DuckAlertBeats
    @DuckAlertBeats 2 роки тому +9

    Lolol the way he came bowling out of his house for a run there 😂

  • @jayme69
    @jayme69 10 місяців тому

    Singlehandedly put the UK on the map as a world leader in Home Microcomputers and in turn birthed the bedroom coders movement which contributed immeasurably to the video games industry we know today. #Legend

  • @mrmshifan
    @mrmshifan 2 роки тому +5

    World was not ready for him

  • @gazuk2000
    @gazuk2000 Рік тому

    Proper love, anything like this me. Thanks so much for posting on here. It's really interesting and I can't believe how far we have come regarding technology, still I bet great even better future technology still to arrive. Please control post more videos like this. Massive respect to you making your channel. I've sub and liked the video.

  • @RasheedKhan-he6xx
    @RasheedKhan-he6xx 2 роки тому +1

    Thank you for the ZX Spectrum, 48K no less!

  • @videogamebookreviews
    @videogamebookreviews 2 роки тому +7

    He's a fan of book jenga, it seems. 2:33

  • @bondbug73
    @bondbug73 2 роки тому +6

    The early 80's was a great time for such individual tech such as personal computers. Got too samey nowadays.

    • @TheStevenWhiting
      @TheStevenWhiting 2 роки тому

      Today we have the Pi so just so just as good even better with all the easy access to knowledge.

    • @Anthony_Matabaro_Tech
      @Anthony_Matabaro_Tech 2 роки тому +1

      Yes it has, lack of creativity and to much going back to the well - (Kind of like modern movies, all remakes and reboots, and not good ones at that)

  • @speedbird737
    @speedbird737 2 роки тому +7

    flat panel and small tvs will never happen - crazy idea ;-)

  • @shaunsiz.itsbetterbytube2858
    @shaunsiz.itsbetterbytube2858 2 роки тому

    At 5.46 sir clive said "we would suggest that the home will or would be run by computers" a very enjoyable video

    • @CasinoWoyale
      @CasinoWoyale 5 місяців тому +1

      You evidently have poor hearing. He said "we wouldn't suggest".

    • @shaunsiz.itsbetterbytube2858
      @shaunsiz.itsbetterbytube2858 5 місяців тому

      @@CasinoWoyale well what would we do without people like you. I bet you were a hoot at school

  • @mart4995
    @mart4995 Рік тому +1

    Great man, tragic combover.

  • @ninaevans4501
    @ninaevans4501 Рік тому

    Sleep well in the arms of God now Sir Clive. You have truly enriched all our lives.
    Of those of us who remember, as teens and younger children we were.
    Your computers developed quite a stir.
    As a closed chapter the times so moved on, our love for Uncle Clive still lives on.
    ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️👍👍👍👍👍🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡

  • @carlbirtles4518
    @carlbirtles4518 7 місяців тому

    4 years after this, he infamously launched the Sinclair C5.

  • @legin3753
    @legin3753 2 роки тому +7

    Genius

  • @michelprins
    @michelprins 11 місяців тому

    great guy i loved my zx48k

  • @retrotap
    @retrotap Рік тому

    Brave question at the end, I thought it was going to turn dark.

  • @gama3302
    @gama3302 2 роки тому +1

    I remember my ZX81.

  • @edwardfletcher7790
    @edwardfletcher7790 2 роки тому +1

    Here in 2022, we finally have really cheap 4K flat screen TV's 😁

  • @scotishjohn
    @scotishjohn 2 роки тому

    Great guy remember my ZX spectrum

  • @scaredyfish
    @scaredyfish 2 роки тому +2

    “One computer can do pretty much the same as any other”
    *so long as you can fit it in 1kb of RAM.

  • @videogamebookreviews
    @videogamebookreviews 2 роки тому +8

    The ZX80 was not the first personal computer. 1:47 ... Ah, gently corrected by Sir Clive (although the "without any sacrifice" bit is not really truthful) 3:52

    • @speedbird737
      @speedbird737 2 роки тому +1

      sacrifice sound, graphics, proper keyboard, etc lol

    • @andygilbert1877
      @andygilbert1877 2 роки тому +2

      It was certainly the first one many, many of us saw though. Kickstarted my interest for sure!

    • @tjmarx
      @tjmarx 2 роки тому +2

      The part where it claimed computers were all pretty much the same thing had me belly laughing. But even better when he said he didn't feel computers would run the home.

    • @fattomandeibu
      @fattomandeibu 5 місяців тому

      It was the first computer for under £100. I guess they liked their hyperbole as much back then as they do now.

  • @craiggilchrist4223
    @craiggilchrist4223 2 роки тому +2

    I always noticed about Clive. He hardly ever blinks lol.

  • @fl00d69
    @fl00d69 2 роки тому +3

    SMART MAN!

  • @PaulTaylor1
    @PaulTaylor1 Рік тому +2

    I don't really like Elon Musk, but he shares something with Uncle Clive. If you have a vision, there's nothing like a room full of accountants and market experts to kill it dead. Sometimes the world needs people who ignore all that and just do what they think should be done. IMHO it will always fail in the end, but the classic moments gifted to the world in between are worth it for those of us whose lives were changed by them.

  • @renewklear
    @renewklear Рік тому

    A very smart gentleman. I wonder what he would say if he were alive now to his “we don’t think computers will run our homes” statement. Or in a conversation with a ChatBot 😅

  • @TheStevenWhiting
    @TheStevenWhiting 2 роки тому +3

    4:01 Be honest Clive. You sacrificed the keyboard, the ZX80 keyboard was always bad. And because of the way the machine was coded, you'd get the screen blank every time you typed a character.

    • @nebojsatomcic
      @nebojsatomcic 2 роки тому

      He had fixed blinking issue with the ZX81 :D

    • @TheStevenWhiting
      @TheStevenWhiting 2 роки тому +1

      @@nebojsatomcic I thought it was still an issue? Been so long I can't remember. I'd get random urges in the 80s in middle school to go home and type in a program from a box on my brothers ZX81. It lasted for a short while then I'd get bored. Mainly cause the code was always poorly typed in the book and my diagnostic didn't exist so when it didn't work I'd get annoyed and give up :)

    • @XenonJohnD
      @XenonJohnD 2 роки тому +2

      There was one space invaders game for the ZX80 that somehow worked without the screen blinking. I used it as the demo program to sell my ZX80 to someone ready for my upgrade to the ZX81.

  • @scottishwildcat
    @scottishwildcat 2 роки тому +4

    Sadly that flat TV was a commercial flop, not least because it launched around the same time as the first pocket LCD TVs. Watching it back now, I’d actually forgotten the Sinclair one still had a CRT in it, I thought it had an LCD screen too.

    • @mikiex
      @mikiex 2 роки тому +1

      Even pocket LCDs weren't that popular at least in Europe, but they obviously sold enough for the large Japanese companies to keep making them

  • @fffffffffffffffffark
    @fffffffffffffffffark Рік тому

    That code is hilarious, it doesn't calculate anything 😆 Clive was a legend though. Bring back the C5!

  • @mrrolandlawrence
    @mrrolandlawrence 2 роки тому

    wow running shorts were short back then. also the irony of CS not really getting on with the internet & didnt even have an email address.

  • @triggerhappystrange5496
    @triggerhappystrange5496 2 роки тому

    Interesting see just how far Data/Info storage tech has come in decades later! Funny how mention that we will hang Televisions on walls, as motority do today!😊

  • @lifeafterdev
    @lifeafterdev Рік тому +4

    Better than Steve Jobs 🧠

  • @Geert365
    @Geert365 2 роки тому

    7:54 That is indeed (i think) quite the tongue twister.

  • @gower1973
    @gower1973 2 роки тому +3

    We have automated assembly of the flat tubes, cuts to two women in a lab making them 😂

  • @davidlloyd3116
    @davidlloyd3116 2 роки тому

    I loved Jet Set Willy,

  • @Danuk1996
    @Danuk1996 2 роки тому +3

    that 4k tv is amazing

    • @AtheistOrphan
      @AtheistOrphan 2 роки тому

      Er, there was no ‘4k tv’ featured in this video! (It wasn’t invented until decades later). I take it your comment was meant as a joke?

    • @Danuk1996
      @Danuk1996 2 роки тому +1

      @@AtheistOrphan I know mate it was a joke lol

    • @AtheistOrphan
      @AtheistOrphan 2 роки тому

      @@Danuk1996 - I thought it might be, but you do get some VERY dense people posting comments here! Peace.✌️

  • @andreasj2429
    @andreasj2429 2 роки тому +1

    1:56, what's the name of the street? it looks pleasant.

    • @michaelturner4457
      @michaelturner4457 3 місяці тому

      King's Parade, Cambridge. Sinclair had an office at no.6.

  • @alangiles2763
    @alangiles2763 2 роки тому +1

    The Black Watch........oh dear 🙂

  • @fredcatcreedy980
    @fredcatcreedy980 2 роки тому +1

    Only a real man with fly out of his hallway in those shorts and ginger comb over.

  • @paranoidgenius9164
    @paranoidgenius9164 Рік тому

    "......... flat screens that can be hung on a wall......" Amazing prediction!😃

  • @lilacfloyd
    @lilacfloyd 2 роки тому +2

    Kickstarter etc. is the new mail order.

  • @Ad0akes
    @Ad0akes 2 роки тому

    Still got my 128k+2 😁

  • @zx50
    @zx50 2 роки тому

    It's nearly the size of today's phones, especially the larger sized iPhones.

  • @PlaAwa
    @PlaAwa 2 роки тому +1

    RIP

  • @Edgel-in6bs
    @Edgel-in6bs 2 роки тому

    I had a zx80...81....speccie. The QL didn't do it for me. A genius, however - an overused word, but this is a literal one.

  • @makara80
    @makara80 2 роки тому +1

    Of the ZX80 and rival machines,
    Interviewer: ‘Is it as efficient as the others?’
    Sinclair: ‘Oh yes very much so’
    …Er, now that’s not quite true is it Clive! 😂
    The ZX80 may well have been far cheaper than it’s competitors but only with _substantial_ compromise to features and design…

    • @Gazdatronik
      @Gazdatronik 2 роки тому

      He was probably gauging its efficiency by part count

  • @MatSmithLondon
    @MatSmithLondon 2 роки тому

    Does the presenter, Neil Lyndon, remind anyone of Jez from Peep Show? e.g. at 0:18 or 1:55

  • @anonUK
    @anonUK 2 роки тому +9

    RIP Clive Sinclair. The man who brought you Jet Set ******* Willy.

    • @diablobarcelona
      @diablobarcelona 2 роки тому +3

      It was Mathew Smith who brought us the likes of Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy - not Sir Clive.

    • @anonUK
      @anonUK 2 роки тому

      @@diablobarcelona
      ua-cam.com/video/V3l_NV9oQ1c/v-deo.html

    • @CastleKnight7
      @CastleKnight7 2 роки тому +2

      @@diablobarcelona But without the Sinclair ZX Spectrum 48k…

    • @scottishwildcat
      @scottishwildcat 2 роки тому +3

      Indeed, Sir Clive always hated his computers being used for games.

    • @diablobarcelona
      @diablobarcelona 2 роки тому +1

      @@CastleKnight7 Indeed - but Sir Clive did was not the one that "brought" us Jet Set ***** Willy ;-)

  • @retrorambles517
    @retrorambles517 2 роки тому

    A great ideas man, poor business man

  • @20thCB
    @20thCB 2 роки тому

    A little known fact about Sir Clive is that his wife would wind him up in the hallway before pushing him out the door!

  • @deanteasdale8261
    @deanteasdale8261 2 роки тому +1

    Does anyone know why the ZX81 ended up with that dodgy 16k pack attached by pins that kept shutting it down if you breathed etc? 😄

    • @paulwesterman
      @paulwesterman 2 роки тому +1

      yeah only 1K on board and the only expansion was through a card edge connector - a poor connection method that was very prone to vibration, dirt, etc. Best fix I saw was two edge connectors connected with a ribbon cable

    • @martinhughes2549
      @martinhughes2549 2 роки тому +6

      Blutac solved that problem!

    • @deanteasdale8261
      @deanteasdale8261 2 роки тому

      @@martinhughes2549 Blutac, now that's a praiseworthy invention 😄

    • @SabretoothBarnacle
      @SabretoothBarnacle 2 роки тому +2

      "Blutac, that's genius. Our readers would love that"
      "What magazine did you say you're from again?"
      "Sinclair User"
      "Well you have my blessing"
      #throatlump

    • @Ozymandias1
      @Ozymandias1 2 роки тому +1

      Sort of like worn out micro usb connectors. I’m glad more manufacturers use usb-c now.

  • @sixpackpilot
    @sixpackpilot 2 роки тому

    @4:44 I guess mr. Sinclair was fully focused on developing efficient, cheap, compact computers and could not care less about following a clean-desk policy in his office. Probably saw the computer as the only viable solution for the mess on his desk. Physically filing the lot or throwing away trash never was an option.

    • @Ozymandias1
      @Ozymandias1 2 роки тому

      Computers at the time had nowhere near the memory to store the contents of those files. Clear desk policies hadn’t been introduced, by the end of the 90s people still had lots of paper and personal stuff (such as family photos) on their desk. Now that is often not allowed and you often can’t listen to the radio too and talk to colleagues about anything but work-related things and aren’t allowed to use a mobile phone and you can only go to the loo during your lunch break, making office life dull and a drag compared to the past. I doubt those policies make work more efficient, rather the employees will look at job sites at home to try to find another job that gives them more satisfaction.

  • @HOLLASOUNDS
    @HOLLASOUNDS 2 роки тому

    Smart man indeed.

  • @cubleycat
    @cubleycat 2 роки тому +4

    There are some XZ80s for sale on ebay at almost £800!

    • @nigeljames6017
      @nigeljames6017 2 роки тому +2

      Not being nasty, but it was the ZX80.

    • @speedbird737
      @speedbird737 2 роки тому

      with the fake vent on top lol

    • @andygilbert1877
      @andygilbert1877 2 роки тому +1

      For working ones. They must be a real rarity as I don’t remember mine lasting long! Luckily the ZX81 came along, that died too. Luckily along came the Spectrum, which lasted a bit longer, then died. Did I mention my QL? 🤣

    • @speedbird737
      @speedbird737 2 роки тому

      @@andygilbert1877 I kept to commodore (VIC20, C64,CD32,AMIGA500,etc) never had any issues all worked flawlessly

    • @mattmid7012
      @mattmid7012 2 роки тому

      Wish I'd kept mine. I can't even remember what happened to it now.

  • @DavidMFranks
    @DavidMFranks 2 роки тому

    Really clever guy. But I'm a bit afraid of him - I have a recurring dream where he keeps me hostage in a castle......

    • @annother3350
      @annother3350 2 роки тому +1

      ...and you have no chance in outrunning him?

  • @808music3
    @808music3 2 роки тому

    Good for Clive Sinclair. Sometimes bringing too early and to cheap saturates the business market. It can be seen in Chinese products.

  • @johnmc3862
    @johnmc3862 2 роки тому

    Wow he was so posh!

  • @AtheistOrphan
    @AtheistOrphan 2 роки тому +7

    Encouraging children to get coding 42 years ago!

  • @gigteevee6118
    @gigteevee6118 Рік тому

    The UK Steve Jobs….we’d have no Raspberry Pi without his vision of cheap computing for all either!

  • @lewis7515
    @lewis7515 2 роки тому

    2:23 - Reagan and Carter show up to call Sinclair a four-eyed get.

  • @wojciechturek1601
    @wojciechturek1601 2 роки тому

    Never heard about this person however what a brain
    81 is when I was born

  • @TruculentSheep
    @TruculentSheep 2 роки тому +2

    Wonderful, but note how he can't quite bring himself to mention computer games in any form.

  • @taylordooley3765
    @taylordooley3765 2 роки тому

    I wonder if he would be happy if he saw how the masses use computers these days.

    • @Ozymandias1
      @Ozymandias1 2 роки тому +1

      He wasn’t too happy about the Spectrum being used mainly for games. That’s why he started workon the QL which was supposed to be a business computer. Not realizing that businesses at the time wanted real keyboards and floppy drives instead of the QL’s quirky keyboard and Microdrives.

  • @maciej3373
    @maciej3373 Рік тому

    "You can use it at work" he says, while a grown man is attempting to write a program on a keyboard with keys the size of a quarter of his fingertips.

  • @sheaintheavyshewasmymother8500
    @sheaintheavyshewasmymother8500 2 роки тому

    Unless somebody invents computers and UA-cam!! And mobiles or summat!

  • @nathancox6249
    @nathancox6249 2 роки тому

    Games😁😁

  • @qwertykeyboard5901
    @qwertykeyboard5901 Рік тому

    It's ashame my mtv specimen died from both me killing it and the thing committing suicide.
    Those things are NOT easy to work on!

  • @gmf121266
    @gmf121266 2 роки тому

    Nice tech shame about the C5...