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 a

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!