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The excellent Micro Men docudrama (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micro_Men https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micro_Men) has somehow been on Youtube since 2013: htt

by tpmx 5y ago

The excellent Micro Men docudrama (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micro_Men https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micro_Men) has somehow been on Youtube since 2013: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXBxV6-zamM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXBxV6-zamM (1h24m) Micro Men, working title Syntax Era, is a 2009 one-off BBC drama television programme set in the late 1970s and the early-mid 1980s, about the rise of the British home computer market. It focuses on the rivalry between Sir Clive Sinclair (played by Alexander Armstrong), who developed the ZX Spectrum, and Chris Curry (played by Martin Freeman), the man behind the BBC Micro. (Sinclair didn't exactly like it though.)

hyperpallium2 5y ago
Your reach should exceed your grasp, or what's a heaven for? A key quote from the documentary. "Reach" is what you can just touch with your fingertips outstretched; "grasp" is what you can firmly close your hand on and grip.
- pitspotter2 5y ago
  Thanks! I've heard that quote a few times but till now never grasped the full meaning. A link to the quote in the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXBxV6-zamM#t=5m9s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXBxV6-zamM#t=5m9s
empressplay 5y ago
"Games! Games! Everywhere I go games! This is what my lifetime of achievement has been reduced to! Clive Sinclair the man who brought you Jet Set f**ing Willy!" -- Clive Sinclair (fictional), Micro Men
- easton 5y ago
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3l_NV9oQ1c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3l_NV9oQ1c
simonw 5y ago
Micro Men is so good. I met the director once at an event and asked him if it would ever be released on DVD or equivalent and it sounded like that was unlikely, so it's great to see it available on YouTube.
timthorn 5y ago
The Centre for Computing History videoed Chris Curry, Steve Furber and Hermann Hauser watching Micro Men and chatting for the tenth anniversary of its broadcast: https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/55810/Micro-Men-10th-Anniversary/ https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/55810/Micro-Men-10th...
jecel 5y ago
It is interesting to watch the video of the actual interview that they recreate in the movie. The movie Sinclair seems a bit upset while the real life one was smiling a lot and being very friendly.
alexfoo 5y ago
I had the best of both worlds in my upbringing. My father knew Clive Sinclair thanks to the Cambridge tech/hifi scene at the time, and we also used to live near him in Madingley. Somewhere in my dad's shed there's a ZX81 with a single digit serial number (amongst a lot of other similar machines: Jupiter Ace, ZX80, various Spectrums with weird and wacky keyboards, Dragon 32, Commodore 16 Plus/4, etc). A bit later we also lived next door to Franni and Geoff Vincent who were part of the Acorn team that designed and built the BBC Micro. They used to let me come round (aged 8 or so) and use their Model B whenever I wanted. Sir Clive Sinclair had a HUGE influence on my life. RIP.

by tpmx 5y ago

hyperpallium2 5y ago

Your reach should exceed your grasp, or what's a heaven for? A key quote from the documentary. "Reach" is what you can just touch with your fingertips outstretched; "grasp" is what you can firmly close your hand on and grip.

pitspotter2 5y ago
Thanks! I've heard that quote a few times but till now never grasped the full meaning. A link to the quote in the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXBxV6-zamM#t=5m9s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXBxV6-zamM#t=5m9s

empressplay 5y ago

"Games! Games! Everywhere I go games! This is what my lifetime of achievement has been reduced to! Clive Sinclair the man who brought you Jet Set f**ing Willy!" -- Clive Sinclair (fictional), Micro Men

easton 5y ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3l_NV9oQ1c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3l_NV9oQ1c

simonw 5y ago

Micro Men is so good. I met the director once at an event and asked him if it would ever be released on DVD or equivalent and it sounded like that was unlikely, so it's great to see it available on YouTube.

timthorn 5y ago

The Centre for Computing History videoed Chris Curry, Steve Furber and Hermann Hauser watching Micro Men and chatting for the tenth anniversary of its broadcast: https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/55810/Micro-Men-10th-Anniversary/ https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/55810/Micro-Men-10th...

jecel 5y ago

It is interesting to watch the video of the actual interview that they recreate in the movie. The movie Sinclair seems a bit upset while the real life one was smiling a lot and being very friendly.

alexfoo 5y ago

I had the best of both worlds in my upbringing. My father knew Clive Sinclair thanks to the Cambridge tech/hifi scene at the time, and we also used to live near him in Madingley. Somewhere in my dad's shed there's a ZX81 with a single digit serial number (amongst a lot of other similar machines: Jupiter Ace, ZX80, various Spectrums with weird and wacky keyboards, Dragon 32, Commodore 16 Plus/4, etc). A bit later we also lived next door to Franni and Geoff Vincent who were part of the Acorn team that designed and built the BBC Micro. They used to let me come round (aged 8 or so) and use their Model B whenever I wanted. Sir Clive Sinclair had a HUGE influence on my life. RIP.