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Acorn BBC

Acorn & ARM-processors: How British schools contributed to their huge success The Acorn BBC Micro, better known as the BBC Micro, was a British home computer that became extremely popular, particularly in the United Kingdom in the 1980s. The device was developed by Acorn Computers in collaboration with the BBC, and its purpose was to …

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Salora Fellow

Salora’s first effort enter to computer markets The early 1980s witnessed a surge of personal computers entering the European market, many designed to challenge the rising popularity of British and American systems. Among the more unusual entries was the Salora Fellow, a Finnish home computer produced by Salora, an electronics company better known for televisions …

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Sinclair ZX Spectrum +

New edition of the British success story In the early 1980s, the home computer revolution in the United Kingdom was based primarily on the mega popularity of one machine. That machine was the Sinclair ZX Spectrum. Released by Sinclair Research in 1982, it became a cultural icon. It introduced a generation of users to information …

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Sinclair QL

The missed opportunity The Sinclair QL (Quantum Leap) was a computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research, a company founded by British entrepreneur Sir Clive Sinclair, and released in 1984. The Sinclair QL differed significantly from the company’s popular ZX Spectrum; it was aimed at more serious users, such as small businesses and technically oriented …

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Sinclair ZX Spectrum +3

Sinclair ZX Spectrum +3 The Final Chapter with a Touch of James Bond By the end of the 1980s, Sinclair Research had established the ZX Spectrum as the cornerstone of the home computer market in the UK and parts of Europe. Its affordable price and versatile software library had made it a cultural icon. In …

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Commodore Plus 4

A misstep in the home computer market by Commodore The history of personal computing in the 1980s is filled with both groundbreaking successes and notable miscalculations. One of the more fascinating case studies in this regard is the Commodore +4, a machine that attempted to bridge the gap between home and business computing but ultimately …

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Salora Manager

Salora was the computer in borrowed plumes In the early 1980s, home computers flooded the world at an accelerating pace. One interesting step of the early computer era was the Salora Manager. It was a home computer that was not technically Finnish, but was sold under a Finnish brand name. Salora Manager was the Finnish …

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Memotech MTX-512

The home computer from Memotech: It’s not MSX. It is MTX! In the early 1980s, Britain became one of the most vibrant and competitive home-computer markets in the world. From the modest ZX81 to the BBC Micro, personal computing in the United Kingdom was experiencing a golden age. Every few months, a new micro appeared …

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Atari XEGS

The last 8-bit endeavor from Atari By the mid-1980s, the home-computer and videogame-console markets were undergoing significant change. The dramatic crash of the videogame market in the United States beginning in 1983 underscored how saturated the market had become and how difficult it was for incumbents to revive growth. Meanwhile, the 8-bit home-computer market (machines …

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Atari Jaguar

The story of a 64-bit Atari Jaguar The dream that flopped In the annals of video game history, few consoles embody the paradox of ambition and failure as clearly as the Atari Jaguar. Marketed boldly as the world’s first “64-bit” gaming console, the Jaguar aimed to re-establish Atari as a major force in the gaming …

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