9 ms·

BBC Computer Literacy Project 1980 – 1989

155 points by open-source-ux 7y ago

markb139 7y ago
My career got started because of these programmes. I even spent 5 years working as an engineer at the BBC. There were plenty of BBC micros around performing ad-hoc tasks.
29athrowaway 7y ago
Watch the 2009 docudrama "Micro Men" from BBC Four.
- timthorn 7y ago
  Or watch Chris Curry, Steve Furber and Hermann Hauser watching "Micro Men": http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/news/55409/ http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/news/55409/
  - 29athrowaway 7y ago
    The pub "fight" scene and the Mensa flirtation scenes are the best. There's no way that actually happened.
dijit 7y ago
Here’s something seldom talked about, and maybe it’s only my experience. I was born ‘89 and in the midlands of the UK, so I missed these programmes (although my mother didn’t and even as a non-techy person could write BBC basic on a C64, which is where I got my interest). But growing up there were quite literally no resources to learn anything about computers or programming. All courses in school were “computing” which was Microsoft excel and word courses; if you were really lucky it would be Microsoft access. They were specifically tailored for office work, not understanding computers. As I aged, I found courses on networking (specifically Cisco) in college, however they all closed the year before I could take them. I did manage to take a college course but I had to commute 4.5hrs a day for 2 years to take it, which was quite demanding. And I was in the last group who could ever take that course. (It closed the year after I started, I was literally the last group in). And there the only thing they taught me programming related was Visual Basic. (Although they did teach me to crimp Ethernet cables). Does anyone else have this experience in the UK? Did I just grow up in a bad area for computer science? (I believe shortly after I left school they did start having lessons in programming though- maybe I am part of a weirdly lost generation)
- tambourineman88 7y ago
  I was born in '88, also in the midlands, and had a very similar experience. I can't recall even encountering a computer until high school and then as you say it was just learning basic word processing and making posters in Publisher etc. The good news is I have a younger brother born in '98 and his experience was entirely different. They were using computers all through primary school and were taught Python at high school. It's amazing the difference just ten years can make.
- afandian 7y ago
  Yes with a twist - a couple of years older than you which meant my school was selling its then-old BBCs for a fiver when I was eight years old or so. I got started, programming on a BBC Master as a child. An amazing spec for its time, and just as educational as it was a decade earlier.
- laurieg 7y ago
  This mirrors my experience exactly. I was really interested in computers and I wanted to learn to program so I could make games. When I was 10 I went to the library and managed to get hold of a book on C. I took it home, studied it and then typed the programs into Notepad on Windows 95. I had no compiler and no internet. It was literally years before I actually ran a program I had written.
  - dijit 7y ago
    I had the same experience, but the library only had a book on COBOL and the CD with the compiler was missing, so I could write, but never run my code. Didn't help that there was no internet at home, but that's not the fault of the curriculum.
- pjc50 7y ago
  I'm just about old enough to remember the BBC project itself, and yes: it was basically the only effort to teach people to program, which was part of why it was so unique and impressive. Computing GCSE was largely useless.
ETN21 7y ago
I remember this!
exogeny 7y ago
Interesting to learn about this and compare it to the American experience. I was born in 1982, and my educational computing history was all Apple; Apple II, then the Mac, then the Performa, and then I can't quite remember. But Apple all the way through. We had nothing close to what's being described here, which I have to give the BBC a lot of credit for. In the earlier ways of my education, there wasn't much more to computer classes than letting us play games like Oregon Trail and SimCity. Later in middle school (for me, 1994-1996), we were introduced to Hypercard and MacPaint and WordPerfect as entry points into the computer as a professional tool. Hypercard in particular really stands out for me as a formative moment. It wasn't until high school (1997-1999) that elective classes were available for programming and multimedia art. Much like some of you, I learned to "program" virtually by purchasing C and C++ books and learning things on paper, with no compiler and no way to actually run the things I was learning. But I consider myself very blessed to have been raised in the time that I was, in a school district that I consider to be fairly ahead of the curve in allowing and introducing computers to the students. With all of that said, 99% of the most useful (and fun!) exploration came from my simultaneous discovery of the BBS, art (ANSI/ASCII), and demoscenes. But that is a whole other comment!
contingencies 7y ago
A BBC Horizon (1978) episode at https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/9d86b9d9acd846addced1578b0a1167f https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/9d86b9d9acd846addced1578b0a1167f quite clearly poses many of the questions currently in vogue regarding automation, its limits and its social impact. Amazing in some ways how little has changed. (Although perhaps television is far less lucid and the majority of people are no longer capable of sustained, rational debate?) Real time trading systems don't exist yet in American banks. It takes man-years of work to prepare even simple software programs. Software is now a major cost in computers, often as much as 40% of any new application. Some people believe that we must change from hardware to software: that we should stake our future on the chips - not by making them, but by programming them - and that we should use our software skills to develop high technology industries around them. What will happen then to the men in today's jobs? Can we all live on the wealth of automatic factories and the earnings of an elite band of 60,000 software engineers? It's time to think about the future... (49:50s) Undoubtedly, I think we're already in to a second industrial revolution. (51:30s) Silicon Valley, I am told, is filled with British experts. (1:06:10s) If, in fact, the silicon chip enables you to be more efficient, and proficient, then it equally assumes you have higher profits. (1:09:30s) In the long run we could build a better society [...] it depends on how wealth and income is shared. In the short run there is going to be tremendous social upheaval and I think no one would disagree with that. (1:11:10s) Another one broadcast exactly 40 years ago today ... https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/44f192e61ad3dbcbccd2311a15be4fd9 https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/44f192e61ad3dbcbccd2311a15be4fd9
Wildgoose 7y ago
I was born in 1965 and was an early micro-hobbyist from the end of 1978 onwards. I remember wanting an Acorn System One which was basically a hex keypad attached to a Eurocard. Unbelievably primitive. In 1980 (aged 15) I got an Acorn Atom, (the predecessor of the BBC computer), with a great keyboard, 8K ROM and 2K RAM. Built-in BASIC and a built-in 6502 Assembler as well. These computers were functional but bare-bones. You really could comprehend how everything fitted together. I was really blessed to be part of that generation at the very beginning. The BBC computer literacy project was fantastic for replicating my experience to those immediately following me in school. The UK was an early world-leader in the number and quality of its programming talent. The real tragedy was this was followed by the utterly useless national "ICT" curriculum in schools which was essentially all about teaching kids how to use Microsoft Office, and probably discouraged an entire generation of kids from getting involved in software. This still makes me angry.
- Zenst 7y ago
  After the atom they did the bbc micro and then the electron which was supposed to be a cheaper version of the bbc micro, though interesting history on that with issues I vaugly recall. http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/33746/Acorn-Atom-TRANSFERRED-TO-HANDLING-COLLECTION/ http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/33746/Acorn-Atom-TRAN... has some nice nostalgia content to compliment this. FOr me 1967, zx81 was first computer, school was a ICL 2902/3 via acoustic coupler and teletype connection that was painful and with bad lines, 30 minutes handshake was kinda how it felt to get connected. Then RM machine and in last year at school we got our token BBC micro that the teacher was overprotective with, almost had to let him know which key you was going to press in advance. >The real tragedy was this was followed by the utterly useless national "ICT" curriculum in schools which was essentially all about teaching kids how to use Microsoft Office, and probably discouraged an entire generation of kids from getting involved in software. This still makes me angry. Totally and completely agree and to some extent, still feeling that today. 90's was painful - how many times did you have the convo about work and you would say you work in IT and some peon would say, aha yes I can do that - I know Word. Some painful times back then, as they proceeded to ego rub all down your sanity. I would also add that games in many ways did curtail people exploring computers a bit as in the early days, you had to write your own or type them in, today, none of that and in many respects - totally shut out of modifying them to learn. But some exceptions, just not the norm.
saw-lau 7y ago
Thank you so much for posting this - can now work through all of the programmes while stuck indoors! Such wonderful nostalgia.
bane 7y ago
This was an amazing project for its era. There are millions of people who can trace their livelihoods to this project, and billions of people who can trace something they use everyday directly to it as well. I know its fashionable for Brits to kind of beat up on themselves for how the computing industry shook out, but from this project came ARM and modern mobile computing. And without the inspiration from this time, we wouldn't have the Raspberry Pi series. It's an incredible global legacy that actually worked as it should have even if precisely the effect of it wasn't what was intended.
midnightclubbed 7y ago
When were these programmes shown on regular British TV? '72 here and don't remember it at all. We had a classroom full of BBC Micros at school but for the most part they were used to play games. My introduction to computing was through the ZX Spectrum home computer and the electronics magazines of the time. By the time I chose my GCSEs I don't recall a single hour of computer instruction given by the school so I question how useful The BBC Micro project really was. Given that the GCSE Computer Science syllabus (or whatever it was called in the 80's) didn't cover anything I hadn't already self-taught myself I skipped and continued to learn on my own time. It didn't help that the GCSE was in BBC basic (even at 15 I knew this wasn't something used by 'real' computer programmers) and the math teacher who taught that class was barely computer literate. Turns out Electronics GCSE was largely filled with metalwork kids throwing components at each other but the teacher was enthusiastic and knowledgable. Side note - I had initially thought that Systems Analyst was a good career path to pursue only to be told by my secondary (high) school careers councilor that software was a dead end because 5th generation languages would make programming obsolete within 10 years. I'm still waiting.
- M2Ys4U 7y ago
  > When were these programmes shown on regular British TV? '72 here and don't remember it at all. Throughout the '80s. There's a timeline on the website: https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/timeline https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/timeline
anentropic 7y ago
I got my first taste of programming thanks to this! Around age 8, my school had BBC Micros and they taught us to solve picture-drawing puzzles using the LOGO language.
SuperGent 7y ago
I recently contacted the BBC regarding this as I was involved in the curation of a temporary exhibit at The National Museum of Computing.[0] David Allen, the producer, along with a couple of others involved, were very friendly and keen to see this acknowledged for helping the home computer boom in the UK. For me personally, I don't think I would be where I am today without these programs. [0] https://www.tnmoc.org/news-releases/2020/1/21/reliving-britains-heyday-in-1980s-home-computing-at-tnmoc https://www.tnmoc.org/news-releases/2020/1/21/reliving-brita...
bloopernova 7y ago
Such "great" memories, such amazing games. I remember being at school, aged around 7 or 8 (I was born mid-70s) and we had an assignment to draw stars with a certain number of points, using the BBC Micro. I followed the instructions, but I think I intentionally drew the last line of the star to be off-by-one degree (or maybe 5? I don't recall). From there the loop would begin again. I made some pretty Spirograph-style patterns on the screen and got a enthusiastic-yet-confused well done from my teacher. My teacher for 2nd year Junior school was Mrs Hurley, Elizabeth Hurley's mum. My big brush with fame was that my mother threatened me with adoption by the Hurley family. I'm not sure how much she actually discussed with them, but my memory of that period is patchy at best. Yes, my mother was not a nice person to me growing up. I also remember my chip and board designer father being disappointed in ~10 year old me for wanting to play games instead of learn assembly and other very difficult tasks. I think for my 11th birthday I got a "create games in machine code" or similar book, with a "go on then" pat on the back. Definitely left a lot to be desired in the motivational and emotional support departments, my parents. (sorry to be all personal and emotional, just this post dredged up some memories that had lain dormant for a long time)
simon_kun 7y ago
'78 reporting in. We had a BBC Micro in our school library in Derbyshire. That coupled with the Speccys and c64's floating around at the time are probably a large part of why I'm sitting here in SF working at a senior level in big tech. Thanks BBC.
djaychela 7y ago
Having seen this I was wondering just what an impact this project had on the software industry in the UK, but the comments have this pretty much covered. I'm not directly involved, but I've always had an affinity for computers since my junior school had one, and I got to take home the manual for the BBC one summer holiday - came back full of ideas of what I could do with it. I was allowed by my form teacher (who was a maths teacher) to use it as much as I wanted during break and lunch times, and whenever I finished the Friday afternoon maths exercises I could go on the computer (handily I finished them early, I was good at it back then). Amazingly in my secondary school (from ages 11-16), computers were 'only for the kids who were bad at maths' - the (grammar) school I went to had a really regressive policy, and looked down on them. Crazy - I had a ZX Spectrum (couldn't afford a BBC!), and did programming in my spare time. Never wrote a single line of code at school, despite wanting to. Fell by the wayside, alas, and now at 48 I'm trying to make up for it, but the BBC project had such potential for all kids in my era.
leoc 7y ago
This wave of computer-literacy programming was actually started by a series from the BBC's commercially-funded rival ITV, Christoper Evans' The Mighty Micro.http://www.retro-now.com/the-mighty-micro-itvs-forgotten-computer-program/ http://www.retro-now.com/the-mighty-micro-itvs-forgotten-com... https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqrLFTwrYemNYgb-hPXd3Kiwe0L8vuyIr https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqrLFTwrYemNYgb-hPXd3... (Evans also appears as a guest in the CLP's The Silicon Factor. https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/b5047fb21312089c95fdf482cda3c697 https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/b5047fb21312089c95fdf482cda3c697) I wonder if anyone has chased down people who remember Dick Brodner's circa-1980 home-automation setup in his Chicago house https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/e0417b82d1c1a84345852bf21916073e https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/e0417b82d1c1a84345852bf21916073e , or found out what became of it or if anything remains of it?
29athrowaway 7y ago
ARM processors, such as the one in every iPhone and many other mobile devices, are descendants of the processors used in Acorn computers, the manufacturers of the BBC Micro.
lucidguppy 7y ago
The Spectrum Next needs to be mass produced. While the raspi is wonderful - we need an 80's machine with all the pain points removed.
flobosg 7y ago
I remember reading about the project and the BBC Micro in a nice writeup at the Two-Bit History blog: https://twobithistory.org/2019/03/31/bbc-micro.html https://twobithistory.org/2019/03/31/bbc-micro.html
joedunn 7y ago
I worked on the bbc machine (and its precursors). Was employee 21 at Acorn. Wish I could say I contributed significantly, but not really. I was there though! Wrote some of the Atom OS among many other things. And the “filing system” that wrote files to cassette tape. Now that was a startup (Acorn, I mean).

My career got started because of these programmes. I even spent 5 years working as an engineer at the BBC. There were plenty of BBC micros around performing ad-hoc tasks.

29athrowaway 7y ago

Watch the 2009 docudrama "Micro Men" from BBC Four.

timthorn 7y ago
Or watch Chris Curry, Steve Furber and Hermann Hauser watching "Micro Men": http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/news/55409/ http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/news/55409/
- 29athrowaway 7y ago
  The pub "fight" scene and the Mensa flirtation scenes are the best. There's no way that actually happened.

dijit 7y ago

Here’s something seldom talked about, and maybe it’s only my experience. I was born ‘89 and in the midlands of the UK, so I missed these programmes (although my mother didn’t and even as a non-techy person could write BBC basic on a C64, which is where I got my interest). But growing up there were quite literally no resources to learn anything about computers or programming. All courses in school were “computing” which was Microsoft excel and word courses; if you were really lucky it would be Microsoft access. They were specifically tailored for office work, not understanding computers. As I aged, I found courses on networking (specifically Cisco) in college, however they all closed the year before I could take them. I did manage to take a college course but I had to commute 4.5hrs a day for 2 years to take it, which was quite demanding. And I was in the last group who could ever take that course. (It closed the year after I started, I was literally the last group in). And there the only thing they taught me programming related was Visual Basic. (Although they did teach me to crimp Ethernet cables). Does anyone else have this experience in the UK? Did I just grow up in a bad area for computer science? (I believe shortly after I left school they did start having lessons in programming though- maybe I am part of a weirdly lost generation)

tambourineman88 7y ago
I was born in '88, also in the midlands, and had a very similar experience. I can't recall even encountering a computer until high school and then as you say it was just learning basic word processing and making posters in Publisher etc. The good news is I have a younger brother born in '98 and his experience was entirely different. They were using computers all through primary school and were taught Python at high school. It's amazing the difference just ten years can make.
afandian 7y ago
Yes with a twist - a couple of years older than you which meant my school was selling its then-old BBCs for a fiver when I was eight years old or so. I got started, programming on a BBC Master as a child. An amazing spec for its time, and just as educational as it was a decade earlier.
laurieg 7y ago
This mirrors my experience exactly. I was really interested in computers and I wanted to learn to program so I could make games. When I was 10 I went to the library and managed to get hold of a book on C. I took it home, studied it and then typed the programs into Notepad on Windows 95. I had no compiler and no internet. It was literally years before I actually ran a program I had written.
- dijit 7y ago
  I had the same experience, but the library only had a book on COBOL and the CD with the compiler was missing, so I could write, but never run my code. Didn't help that there was no internet at home, but that's not the fault of the curriculum.
pjc50 7y ago
I'm just about old enough to remember the BBC project itself, and yes: it was basically the only effort to teach people to program, which was part of why it was so unique and impressive. Computing GCSE was largely useless.

ETN21 7y ago

I remember this!

exogeny 7y ago

Interesting to learn about this and compare it to the American experience. I was born in 1982, and my educational computing history was all Apple; Apple II, then the Mac, then the Performa, and then I can't quite remember. But Apple all the way through. We had nothing close to what's being described here, which I have to give the BBC a lot of credit for. In the earlier ways of my education, there wasn't much more to computer classes than letting us play games like Oregon Trail and SimCity. Later in middle school (for me, 1994-1996), we were introduced to Hypercard and MacPaint and WordPerfect as entry points into the computer as a professional tool. Hypercard in particular really stands out for me as a formative moment. It wasn't until high school (1997-1999) that elective classes were available for programming and multimedia art. Much like some of you, I learned to "program" virtually by purchasing C and C++ books and learning things on paper, with no compiler and no way to actually run the things I was learning. But I consider myself very blessed to have been raised in the time that I was, in a school district that I consider to be fairly ahead of the curve in allowing and introducing computers to the students. With all of that said, 99% of the most useful (and fun!) exploration came from my simultaneous discovery of the BBS, art (ANSI/ASCII), and demoscenes. But that is a whole other comment!

contingencies 7y ago

A BBC Horizon (1978) episode at https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/9d86b9d9acd846addced1578b0a1167f https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/9d86b9d9acd846addced1578b0a1167f quite clearly poses many of the questions currently in vogue regarding automation, its limits and its social impact. Amazing in some ways how little has changed. (Although perhaps television is far less lucid and the majority of people are no longer capable of sustained, rational debate?) Real time trading systems don't exist yet in American banks. It takes man-years of work to prepare even simple software programs. Software is now a major cost in computers, often as much as 40% of any new application. Some people believe that we must change from hardware to software: that we should stake our future on the chips - not by making them, but by programming them - and that we should use our software skills to develop high technology industries around them. What will happen then to the men in today's jobs? Can we all live on the wealth of automatic factories and the earnings of an elite band of 60,000 software engineers? It's time to think about the future... (49:50s) Undoubtedly, I think we're already in to a second industrial revolution. (51:30s) Silicon Valley, I am told, is filled with British experts. (1:06:10s) If, in fact, the silicon chip enables you to be more efficient, and proficient, then it equally assumes you have higher profits. (1:09:30s) In the long run we could build a better society [...] it depends on how wealth and income is shared. In the short run there is going to be tremendous social upheaval and I think no one would disagree with that. (1:11:10s) Another one broadcast exactly 40 years ago today ... https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/44f192e61ad3dbcbccd2311a15be4fd9 https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/44f192e61ad3dbcbccd2311a15be4fd9

Wildgoose 7y ago

I was born in 1965 and was an early micro-hobbyist from the end of 1978 onwards. I remember wanting an Acorn System One which was basically a hex keypad attached to a Eurocard. Unbelievably primitive. In 1980 (aged 15) I got an Acorn Atom, (the predecessor of the BBC computer), with a great keyboard, 8K ROM and 2K RAM. Built-in BASIC and a built-in 6502 Assembler as well. These computers were functional but bare-bones. You really could comprehend how everything fitted together. I was really blessed to be part of that generation at the very beginning. The BBC computer literacy project was fantastic for replicating my experience to those immediately following me in school. The UK was an early world-leader in the number and quality of its programming talent. The real tragedy was this was followed by the utterly useless national "ICT" curriculum in schools which was essentially all about teaching kids how to use Microsoft Office, and probably discouraged an entire generation of kids from getting involved in software. This still makes me angry.

Zenst 7y ago
After the atom they did the bbc micro and then the electron which was supposed to be a cheaper version of the bbc micro, though interesting history on that with issues I vaugly recall. http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/33746/Acorn-Atom-TRANSFERRED-TO-HANDLING-COLLECTION/ http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/33746/Acorn-Atom-TRAN... has some nice nostalgia content to compliment this. FOr me 1967, zx81 was first computer, school was a ICL 2902/3 via acoustic coupler and teletype connection that was painful and with bad lines, 30 minutes handshake was kinda how it felt to get connected. Then RM machine and in last year at school we got our token BBC micro that the teacher was overprotective with, almost had to let him know which key you was going to press in advance. >The real tragedy was this was followed by the utterly useless national "ICT" curriculum in schools which was essentially all about teaching kids how to use Microsoft Office, and probably discouraged an entire generation of kids from getting involved in software. This still makes me angry. Totally and completely agree and to some extent, still feeling that today. 90's was painful - how many times did you have the convo about work and you would say you work in IT and some peon would say, aha yes I can do that - I know Word. Some painful times back then, as they proceeded to ego rub all down your sanity. I would also add that games in many ways did curtail people exploring computers a bit as in the early days, you had to write your own or type them in, today, none of that and in many respects - totally shut out of modifying them to learn. But some exceptions, just not the norm.

saw-lau 7y ago

Thank you so much for posting this - can now work through all of the programmes while stuck indoors! Such wonderful nostalgia.

bane 7y ago

This was an amazing project for its era. There are millions of people who can trace their livelihoods to this project, and billions of people who can trace something they use everyday directly to it as well. I know its fashionable for Brits to kind of beat up on themselves for how the computing industry shook out, but from this project came ARM and modern mobile computing. And without the inspiration from this time, we wouldn't have the Raspberry Pi series. It's an incredible global legacy that actually worked as it should have even if precisely the effect of it wasn't what was intended.

midnightclubbed 7y ago

When were these programmes shown on regular British TV? '72 here and don't remember it at all. We had a classroom full of BBC Micros at school but for the most part they were used to play games. My introduction to computing was through the ZX Spectrum home computer and the electronics magazines of the time. By the time I chose my GCSEs I don't recall a single hour of computer instruction given by the school so I question how useful The BBC Micro project really was. Given that the GCSE Computer Science syllabus (or whatever it was called in the 80's) didn't cover anything I hadn't already self-taught myself I skipped and continued to learn on my own time. It didn't help that the GCSE was in BBC basic (even at 15 I knew this wasn't something used by 'real' computer programmers) and the math teacher who taught that class was barely computer literate. Turns out Electronics GCSE was largely filled with metalwork kids throwing components at each other but the teacher was enthusiastic and knowledgable. Side note - I had initially thought that Systems Analyst was a good career path to pursue only to be told by my secondary (high) school careers councilor that software was a dead end because 5th generation languages would make programming obsolete within 10 years. I'm still waiting.

M2Ys4U 7y ago
> When were these programmes shown on regular British TV? '72 here and don't remember it at all. Throughout the '80s. There's a timeline on the website: https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/timeline https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/timeline

anentropic 7y ago

I got my first taste of programming thanks to this! Around age 8, my school had BBC Micros and they taught us to solve picture-drawing puzzles using the LOGO language.

SuperGent 7y ago

I recently contacted the BBC regarding this as I was involved in the curation of a temporary exhibit at The National Museum of Computing.[0] David Allen, the producer, along with a couple of others involved, were very friendly and keen to see this acknowledged for helping the home computer boom in the UK. For me personally, I don't think I would be where I am today without these programs. [0] https://www.tnmoc.org/news-releases/2020/1/21/reliving-britains-heyday-in-1980s-home-computing-at-tnmoc https://www.tnmoc.org/news-releases/2020/1/21/reliving-brita...

bloopernova 7y ago

Such "great" memories, such amazing games. I remember being at school, aged around 7 or 8 (I was born mid-70s) and we had an assignment to draw stars with a certain number of points, using the BBC Micro. I followed the instructions, but I think I intentionally drew the last line of the star to be off-by-one degree (or maybe 5? I don't recall). From there the loop would begin again. I made some pretty Spirograph-style patterns on the screen and got a enthusiastic-yet-confused well done from my teacher. My teacher for 2nd year Junior school was Mrs Hurley, Elizabeth Hurley's mum. My big brush with fame was that my mother threatened me with adoption by the Hurley family. I'm not sure how much she actually discussed with them, but my memory of that period is patchy at best. Yes, my mother was not a nice person to me growing up. I also remember my chip and board designer father being disappointed in ~10 year old me for wanting to play games instead of learn assembly and other very difficult tasks. I think for my 11th birthday I got a "create games in machine code" or similar book, with a "go on then" pat on the back. Definitely left a lot to be desired in the motivational and emotional support departments, my parents. (sorry to be all personal and emotional, just this post dredged up some memories that had lain dormant for a long time)

simon_kun 7y ago

'78 reporting in. We had a BBC Micro in our school library in Derbyshire. That coupled with the Speccys and c64's floating around at the time are probably a large part of why I'm sitting here in SF working at a senior level in big tech. Thanks BBC.

djaychela 7y ago

Having seen this I was wondering just what an impact this project had on the software industry in the UK, but the comments have this pretty much covered. I'm not directly involved, but I've always had an affinity for computers since my junior school had one, and I got to take home the manual for the BBC one summer holiday - came back full of ideas of what I could do with it. I was allowed by my form teacher (who was a maths teacher) to use it as much as I wanted during break and lunch times, and whenever I finished the Friday afternoon maths exercises I could go on the computer (handily I finished them early, I was good at it back then). Amazingly in my secondary school (from ages 11-16), computers were 'only for the kids who were bad at maths' - the (grammar) school I went to had a really regressive policy, and looked down on them. Crazy - I had a ZX Spectrum (couldn't afford a BBC!), and did programming in my spare time. Never wrote a single line of code at school, despite wanting to. Fell by the wayside, alas, and now at 48 I'm trying to make up for it, but the BBC project had such potential for all kids in my era.

leoc 7y ago

This wave of computer-literacy programming was actually started by a series from the BBC's commercially-funded rival ITV, Christoper Evans' The Mighty Micro.http://www.retro-now.com/the-mighty-micro-itvs-forgotten-computer-program/ http://www.retro-now.com/the-mighty-micro-itvs-forgotten-com... https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqrLFTwrYemNYgb-hPXd3Kiwe0L8vuyIr https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqrLFTwrYemNYgb-hPXd3... (Evans also appears as a guest in the CLP's The Silicon Factor. https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/b5047fb21312089c95fdf482cda3c697 https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/b5047fb21312089c95fdf482cda3c697) I wonder if anyone has chased down people who remember Dick Brodner's circa-1980 home-automation setup in his Chicago house https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/e0417b82d1c1a84345852bf21916073e https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/e0417b82d1c1a84345852bf21916073e , or found out what became of it or if anything remains of it?

29athrowaway 7y ago

ARM processors, such as the one in every iPhone and many other mobile devices, are descendants of the processors used in Acorn computers, the manufacturers of the BBC Micro.

lucidguppy 7y ago

The Spectrum Next needs to be mass produced. While the raspi is wonderful - we need an 80's machine with all the pain points removed.

flobosg 7y ago

I remember reading about the project and the BBC Micro in a nice writeup at the Two-Bit History blog: https://twobithistory.org/2019/03/31/bbc-micro.html https://twobithistory.org/2019/03/31/bbc-micro.html

joedunn 7y ago

I worked on the bbc machine (and its precursors). Was employee 21 at Acorn. Wish I could say I contributed significantly, but not really. I was there though! Wrote some of the Atom OS among many other things. And the “filing system” that wrote files to cassette tape. Now that was a startup (Acorn, I mean).