Computing Nostalgia

[Ditto]

Courtesy of BBC archives, far too many of us could reminisce over these old programmes.

It's all part BBC's Computer Literacy Project 1980 - 1989

 

Which ones do you remember?

[azc]

They show these over on https://www.twitch.tv/oldtimeycomputershow along with a lot of other classic computing and gaming programmes. Good stuff.

[synaesthesia]

Many of them, I have a large and growing collection of classics My current favourite is a BBC Master which belongs to my school, have been re-learning basic on it

[Dos_Box]

Many of them, I have a large and growing collection of classics My current favourite is a BBC Master which belongs to my school, have been re-learning basic on it

 

One of my big regrets was not buying up loads of old home computers in the early 2000's before the retro-gaming scene pushed up prices.

I do have a nice collection of Sinclair machines though

[synaesthesia]

One of my big regrets was not buying up loads of old home computers in the early 2000's before the retro-gaming scene pushed up prices.

I do have a nice collection of Sinclair machines though

 

Absolutely, I'm gutted I didn't do the same!

 

I did pick up a random Amstrad 286 laptop before Christmas for £20, unbeknownst to me containing a special and rather rare card meant for hardware emulation of a Sinclair QL!

[Dos_Box]

Absolutely, I'm gutted I didn't do the same!

 

I did pick up a random Amstrad 286 laptop before Christmas for £20, unbeknownst to me containing a special and rather rare card meant for hardware emulation of a Sinclair QL!

 

You are so lucky! QL's are getting silly expensive and collectable now and your laptop sounds like a very collectable item.

 

ETA: Do you any pics of it? I'm just trying to look it up and coming up with nothing. This is the kind of thing that a pic of it on the net would go around the world I suspect.

Edited March 6, 2024 by Dos_Box

[mikes]

I used my ZX Spectrum so much I wore out the video output port (it went all fuzzy) then it ended up in the bin :-(

Loved watching those old "Computer World" programs, the world was so different back then, crazy to think it's how my parents experienced things when they were my age! Things you take for granted like the first episode introducing this funny new stripey thing that will soon be on all our products called a "bar code". What did they do before that, just rely on the stickers and hope people didn't change them?

[Dos_Box]

I used my ZX Spectrum so much I wore out the video output port (it went all fuzzy) then it ended up in the bin :-(

Loved watching those old "Computer World" programs, the world was so different back then, crazy to think it's how my parents experienced things when they were my age! Things you take for granted like the first episode introducing this funny new stripey thing that will soon be on all our products called a "bar code". What did they do before that, just rely on the stickers and hope people didn't change them?

 

Pretty much that. There would be someone with a price label gun labeling up every item, then the cashier would have to look at it and enter it manually at the till.

Supermarkets were always full of the sound of some poor soul manually pricing up hundreds of tins and packets. And if the price changes, guess what?!

Barcodes were like black magic when they appeared.

[synaesthesia]

You are so lucky! QL's are getting silly expensive and collectable now and your laptop sounds like a very collectable item.

 

ETA: Do you any pics of it? I'm just trying to look it up and coming up with nothing. This is the kind of thing that a pic of it on the net would go around the world I suspect.

 

The laptop itself isn't anything particularly exciting, the card sold recently on Ebay - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/266424590801

The laptop is https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/46565/Amstrad-ALT-286-Laptop-Computer/