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For us, the Spectrum was everything the Apple ][ was to you. But the BBC Micro used a lot in education is probably what you should really be comparing the Apple

by memsom 6y ago

For us, the Spectrum was everything the Apple ][ was to you. But the BBC Micro used a lot in education is probably what you should really be comparing the Apple ][ to. It was better than the Apple ][ in many ways. It had most of the features, but it had some really innovative stuff. Not least the Tube - that allowed a co processor - but could be anything. The BBC Micro was 6502, but the Tube allowed Z80 so you could run CPM. It was also the tool that Acorn apparently used developed the ARM processor prototypes. The main issue with the Apple ][ was that it stayed more or less the same for its entire life, and the way is was got dated. The difference between the PET and the C64 is that the design evolved (but the basic fabric was pretty similar.) I know there was the Apple 2 GS later, but that was a lot later and probably a little too late. IMO the European computer scene was very different from the US, and in many ways more advanced. Because there was constant innovation and competition. That drove things forward, and affected the US computer manufacturers indirectly as they wanted to sell in to this market. So we had all the US computers (Commodore, RadioShack, Atari, TI etc), but also (at least in the UK) Sinclair ZX80/ZX81/ZX Spectrum (TS1000 and most other Timex machines were based on this range), Tangerine Oric 1/Atmos, Amstrad CPC/PCW/NC, Camputers Lynx, Dragon 32/64, Enterprise 64/128, Grundy Newbrain, Jupiter ACE, Memotech MTX range, Acorn Atom/BBC/Electron/Archimedes (latter, for which they invented and used the ARM processor). Our 80's 8bit journey was rich and varied.

rbanffy 6y ago
> I know there was the Apple 2 GS later, but that was a lot later and probably a little too late. The IIgs is a weird thing. It's a new computer with an Apple IIe built-in, a bit like the C-128, which was essentially a C-64 with two other computers built-in. In many aspects, the Apple /// was more of an Apple II than the IIgs. The gs was also limited in performance so it wouldn't cannibalize Mac sales. A slightly faster 65816 would run rings around the 68000 in the Mac.
- icedchai 6y ago
  In the late 80's, the IIgs was often grouped with the Amiga and Atari ST. You'd often see games (like Marble Madness, Zany Golf...) available for all three. The game situation on early Macs was not good. I wanted a IIgs for a while, but a BBSer convinced me the Amiga was a better choice.
Angostura 6y ago
> For us, the Spectrum was everything the Apple ][ was to you I really doubt that. I had a Spectrum at home with the microdrives and the Sinclair printer (silver paper, remmber that?). I used Apple 2s at school and taught with them at summer camp. I loved both machines and learned both 6502 and Z80 machine code thans to them. We also had the gorgeous BBC Micros with the Tube coprocessor and disk drives. The Spectrum was never going to be a business PC - just the keyboard tells you that. Not even the rather nice QL had a poper business keyboard.
- memsom 6y ago
  But the Speccy was to us in the UK, what the Apple][ was in the US. The funny weird home grown computer that everyone still seems to love despite it being old, quirky and obsolete. The +2, +2A/B and +3 has much more standard keyboards. The BBC dominated Schools in the part of the UK I lived in. I never saw an Apple ][ - I think the only one I ever saw in real life was in a museum.

by memsom 6y ago

rbanffy 6y ago

> I know there was the Apple 2 GS later, but that was a lot later and probably a little too late. The IIgs is a weird thing. It's a new computer with an Apple IIe built-in, a bit like the C-128, which was essentially a C-64 with two other computers built-in. In many aspects, the Apple /// was more of an Apple II than the IIgs. The gs was also limited in performance so it wouldn't cannibalize Mac sales. A slightly faster 65816 would run rings around the 68000 in the Mac.

icedchai 6y ago
In the late 80's, the IIgs was often grouped with the Amiga and Atari ST. You'd often see games (like Marble Madness, Zany Golf...) available for all three. The game situation on early Macs was not good. I wanted a IIgs for a while, but a BBSer convinced me the Amiga was a better choice.

Angostura 6y ago

> For us, the Spectrum was everything the Apple ][ was to you I really doubt that. I had a Spectrum at home with the microdrives and the Sinclair printer (silver paper, remmber that?). I used Apple 2s at school and taught with them at summer camp. I loved both machines and learned both 6502 and Z80 machine code thans to them. We also had the gorgeous BBC Micros with the Tube coprocessor and disk drives. The Spectrum was never going to be a business PC - just the keyboard tells you that. Not even the rather nice QL had a poper business keyboard.

memsom 6y ago
But the Speccy was to us in the UK, what the Apple][ was in the US. The funny weird home grown computer that everyone still seems to love despite it being old, quirky and obsolete. The +2, +2A/B and +3 has much more standard keyboards. The BBC dominated Schools in the part of the UK I lived in. I never saw an Apple ][ - I think the only one I ever saw in real life was in a museum.