8 Bit Stories: Computing in 1980s Britain (Black&White edition) (Home computing in Britain)

Join me on a trip down memory lane as we look at the highs and lows on the UK computer scene. With giants like Atari, Commodore and Texas Instruments taking on the tiny British companies. Could Sinclair and Acorn take on the American muscle? Well, for a considerable amount of time – they did but why did the multi million selling Spectrum disappear? Why did the government endorsed BBC Micro fail to sell in to most UK homes? Why did the Electron fail? Given the might of Commodore and Atari, did the Dragon 32 or Oric ever stand a chance in this hostile environment? With millions of pounds on the line, can they even survive the year? Late releases, missed deadlines and financial disaster all await our fledgling companies. Can the strange 8/16 bit hybrid Ti99/4 beat the Commodore 64? Is the Oric 1 better than a Spectrum 48k? We look at a year by year history of the 1980s and the computers, and companies selling here in the UK. What happened to the global dominance of UK computers…well it never happened. Amstrad managed to capture some of the European market, along with Sinclair and Acorn too. Ultimately Commodore International would dominate the home computer scene, while Atari would briefly control the console market until the Japanese arrived but what happened to MGT, Tangerine, Lynx and Dragon Data. What became of Amstrad or the Enterprise64? We take a look at the computers and hardware from Sir Clive Sinclair, Jack Tramiel, and a whole host of tech giants fighting tooth and nail for your cash. Why did some make millions and many more disappear into obscurity? Load a C15 in our datasette and hit play. This could take a while The UK home computer (8 Bit) scene is covered from 1980 until 1988. Full colour Hardback and Paperback editions are available. Low cost black and white paperback is available too. (images are black and white) Revised Version – ASIN: B0D2TV54HR | ISBN13: 9798893793246 | ISBN-13: 979-8893793246