(C) 1998 by Mr.Beeper
Music by Ironman
All our readers - and those who have already
works with speccy, and those who are just thinking about
purchasing it, will certainly be interestno learn about the
history of this a remarkable machine, its triumphant
rally in the markets of the world on a new stage of its
popularity, but in our country, about
ups and downs experienced by its creator, Sir Clive Sinclair.
Clive Marlz Sinclair was born on July 30, 1940 Still in high
school he began to publish good articles popular British
magazines to Fight hams. After school, Sinclair did not began
to enter the university, and was adopted in one of these
journals as an assistant to deputy editor and a time worked in
publishing. In 1961, Clive decided to go in business
and registered his first company -
Sinclair Radionics. Even then, having established
mikrousiliteley production, and then
calculators and miniature amplifiers,
Sinclair has set himself two tasks: the minimum size and
minimum price. In 1979, Commodore released
their first home computer with the PET
low at the time worth $ 700
pounds. Newspapers then were predicting that prices for
personal computers fall below £ 100 is not
earlier than 5 years. However, a
six months, the firm Sinclair Research Ltd. - New brainchild of
Clive Sinclair - released Computer ZX-80 price of 99 pounds.
Sharp lower prices contributed to the idea of using the
monitor instead of your TV, I as an external storage -
household tape.
ZX-80 broke the conventional wisdom about the computer as
what - it accessible only elected -
first 8 months from start of production
has sold about 20,000 computers. In
March 1981, a new model ZX-81
the price is already 66 pounds, and in a few easy months, and a
printer to ney.Pravda these parameters will cause you in the
best If a smile: black and white screen, a ROM size of 8
kilobytes of RAM - 1 KB! (Although and the expansion of up to
16 kilobytes). But for beginning 80_h it was a revelation.
In 1981, "For great achievements in the
computerization of the country "(as we have said
would be in those years), Sinclair was granted the title of
nobility.
A period of takeoff Sinclair -
Entrepreneur U.S. firm Timex
bought the license to produce all its
development, the company acquired Mitsumi
With incredibly right rasspostranenie
ZX-81 in Japan. Decisive breakthrough in the front
has a contract through the implementation of computers
British bookselling chain. For one year
turnover of the firm Sinclair Research Ltd.
grew from 4.6 million to 30 million funtov.A Clive
Sinclair has already prepared a new model -
ZXSpectrum. was developed two versions of it,
differing amount of memory operatovnoy - ZX-Spectrum SXSpectrum
16 and 48. The screen has a color, the amount of ROM increased
to 16K, which greatly increased the possibility of internal
operational system. Popularity ZX-Spectrum has surpassed all
expectations - a week before sold out 15,000 computers.
Spectrum initially intended to be used for teaching
programming. However, firms spetsializiriyuschiesya in software
development, fast assessed the possibility of the machine. For
it became produced not only a language translator
programming, and excellent game. The result was a kind of
positive feedback Contact: Spectrum better buy, the
actively writing for it program, and
more appeared high
programs, the higher the demand for
computer.
Excitement around the brainchild of Sinclair embraced and
firms that manufacture computer peripherals: for ZX-Spectrum
rasrabatyvayutsya disk systems, interfaces for connection light
pen, joystick printers. Not remained on the sidelines and
publishers - are published magazines such as "Sinclair User",
"Your Spectrum". In One of them, the Spectrum was first called
"Speccy" (Speccy).
Although by 1984, Atari,
Commondore and Amstrad began to produce
computers that surpasses the capabilities ZX Spectrum, the
market has already been displaced in the favor of the Spectrum.
Speccy bought more than 30 countries worldwide. In the same 1984
Sinclair released a ZX-Spectrum +, distinguished by an improved
keyboard, and a the end of 1985 - ZX-Spectrum 128
has 128K of RAM, 32K ROM
three-channel sound processor, and
This is fully compatible with previous
models. The new machine has been enthusiastically
met as fans Speccy, and
software developers.
It seemed that Sinclair is insured against failure,
but the surprise of many, in 1986 the firm
Sinclair Research Ltd. sells all of the rights
the production of Spectrum-compatible
the company's computers AMSTRAD. Cause
this were financial and organizational
difficulties encountered in the development of new
Model Sinclair QL. This model was conceived as a cheaper
alternative to the U.S. IBM PC and has a very high
characteristics: 32-bit processor,
128K RAM capacity, expandable to 4 megabytes, good graphics and
sound. But while developing it made some mistakes, for example,
the use of external memory mikrodrayvov (storage
on koltsevoy tape) and not more
convenient storage - disk drives. Domestic
computer, this machine was not due to the relatively high
prices, and professional - because of insufficiently developed
hardware. Moreover, firms that produce software that did not
support that in general a good model. A Pity, because of its
concept of Sinclair QL at least three years ahead so popular
now in the West Computers Commodor Amiga and Atari ST.
Situation was aggravated by the company and the lack of
practical acumen Clive Sinclair. Being an excellent engineer, he
he failed to become a good businessman -
nor to take off, or even in heavy
times he did not admit that the profit of firm
from the sale of a computer than 1
pound sterling. Having sold all rights to
production and sale of its products,
Sir Clive Sinclair has resigned from the firm Sinclair
Research Ltd., Leaving behind a research laboratory in
Cambridge and a famous name. It is now common on the pages of
various journals in connection with Sinclair's new
developments, which, however, have no relation to Speccy.
Subsequent models in the Spectrum - ZX Spectrum +2 (1986) with
built-in floppy drive - already released by Amstrad. Their main
advantage over the Spectrum 128 is a full keyboard, while
While the built-in tape drive and
regarded by some as "loads."
More so that the floppy is not a standard size (3 inches) and
small capacity (180K). Spectrum 3 + partially lost
compatibility with the Speccy (approximately the level of
ordinary Soviet DIY). But it is not great loss, since it was for
his disc versions of system, application
and game programs, significantly higher than those designed to
work with tape recorder and mikrodrayvom. However, recently the
firm Amstrad has announced the phasing out production of
computers Spectrum +3, citing the fact that consumers prefer to
buy them, rather than the more expensive own design firm. Until
now, Time Amstrad continues to produce only
Spectrum +2, since this machine has no
analogues in the firm.
To be continued ...
