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The BBC Micro and Acorn Archimedes were very sophisticated -- with the Archimedes being lauded as more powerful than the Amiga. The ZX Spectrum was garbage in

The BBC Micro and Acorn Archimedes were very sophisticated -- with the Archimedes being lauded as more powerful than the Amiga. The ZX Spectrum was garbage in comparison with some of these other machines, but it was much, much cheaper, and enabled British people in lower income brackets to get involved with computing at home than would otherwise have been able to. There's a vibe to the Spectrum scene that's as British as meat pie and Queen Elizabeth -- of doing a lot with a little, and of being able to obtain cheap games for your cheap computer, or even write your own, that look grotty compared to the posh kids' computers but are still fun.

djaychela 4y ago
I don't think "garbage" is appropriate. Yes, the spectrum definitely didn't have the expandability or build quality of the BBC, but the only people who cared about that at my school were those who owned BBC Micros (one of which was a good friend at school). Most of us were happy with our cheap speccies because they meant we were able to have computers, play games and write software. Don't get me wrong, there was no comparison in the hardware - the keyboard was poor, there was next to no expansion capacity compared to the BBC, and there wasn't the graphics or sound quality. But it didn't matter for the most part, and while the BBC had some quality games (Acornsoft's versions of arcade games and Frak! spring to mind), the games we cared about were as good on the spectrum if not better (Manic Miner springs to mind). No-one talked about the issues in the way they do now. Only the kids with C64s and BBCs cared about the colour clash issue with the spectrum's colour attributes. It's clearly visible in games like Jet Pac, but no-one cared. We were living the dream, and there's a reason why I've got a spectrum in the house to this day!
- bitwize 4y ago
  Compared to other systems of its era, the ZX Spectrum is positively rinky-dink. But that quality is part of its charm, its low price enabled a scene to flourish, and that scene that emerged around it embellished that charm. That's what I was getting at.
youngtaff 4y ago
> British people in lower income brackets to get involved with computing at home Both my parents had good well above averagely paid jobs and we still had a Spectrum

djaychela 4y ago

I don't think "garbage" is appropriate. Yes, the spectrum definitely didn't have the expandability or build quality of the BBC, but the only people who cared about that at my school were those who owned BBC Micros (one of which was a good friend at school). Most of us were happy with our cheap speccies because they meant we were able to have computers, play games and write software. Don't get me wrong, there was no comparison in the hardware - the keyboard was poor, there was next to no expansion capacity compared to the BBC, and there wasn't the graphics or sound quality. But it didn't matter for the most part, and while the BBC had some quality games (Acornsoft's versions of arcade games and Frak! spring to mind), the games we cared about were as good on the spectrum if not better (Manic Miner springs to mind). No-one talked about the issues in the way they do now. Only the kids with C64s and BBCs cared about the colour clash issue with the spectrum's colour attributes. It's clearly visible in games like Jet Pac, but no-one cared. We were living the dream, and there's a reason why I've got a spectrum in the house to this day!

bitwize 4y ago
Compared to other systems of its era, the ZX Spectrum is positively rinky-dink. But that quality is part of its charm, its low price enabled a scene to flourish, and that scene that emerged around it embellished that charm. That's what I was getting at.

youngtaff 4y ago

> British people in lower income brackets to get involved with computing at home Both my parents had good well above averagely paid jobs and we still had a Spectrum