Introduction

Why a web site devoted to computers no longer built and of no obvious use? Perhaps to the younger ones (and I include anyone under 40 in this), it is a very good question. Probably the answer is simple; if you were there you would understand! From what I recall, I have had something like 5 MS-DOS/Windows computers and two laptops at home and another dozen or so over various jobs. The fact I cannot even recall them says it all. Modern computers are boring! When I switch on, I know what will happen. It will show a screen inviting me to enter setup; it will then beep and enter whatever version of windows it runs (or even MS-DOS6 for one of my laptops) and then I start work. It will have a very similar screen, the same keyboard, same type of mouse, probably a similar amount of memory. It is very difficult to get excited. No wonder items like a Linux Netbook are seen as exciting and yet all it means is an alternative to Windows.

During the 8 bit era, things were so very different. Every computer looked totally unlike those before it. Even those built by one manufacturer could look quite different. There were still similarities. Processor was normally a Z80 or 6502 or similar (more on processors later). Memory would normally be anything from 1 KB (kilobyte or about 1/1000000 of the amount in a 1GB laptop or PC). The vast majority did not have a Disk Operating System (such as MS-DOS or Windows). The system booted into a program called BASIC (more later) which gave options to load and save files, load and save data etc. As for what you loaded or saved to, this was commonly a cheap cassette recorder and standard audio cassettes although this site will include floppy disks and technologies such as endless tapes (see Sinclair Microdrive and Rotronics Wafadrive).

What may also be little known is the effect the UK industry had on this era. It would be wrong to say we led the world (compare the UK101 of 1979 with the Apple II released two years earlier) but within 10 years we had a very varied and fascinating hardware industry, a computer in very many UK homes and a lot of young people who could rightly call themselves computer programmers.