Sir Clive Sinclair has died • Hacker News Board

Re: Sir Clive Sinclair has died

#341

Post by MrGilbert » Fri, Sep 17, 2021, 7:30 AM UTC

Chris_Newton wrote: post #293

jarvist wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Raspberry Pi 400 is basically this. https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/raspberry-pi-400/

The 400 isn’t quite what I had in mind. I was thinking more of a device usable even by the under-10 group, with a simpler and more robust physical design and, crucially, the kind of instant-on, guided programming environment the early home “PCs” had. With early Sinclair systems, each key on the keyboard would act like modern auto-complete: you would start typing and keywords would appear almost magically. On the BBC…

I think I know what you are after - I wonder how much a TI-Nspire CX II-T could fill the gap, allowing for on-device python programming since 2020.

OTH... Taking a RPI400, and build a stripped-down linux system which resembles Sinclair BASIC could prove to be a fun exercise.

Edit: I just realized how expensive the ZX81 was here in Germany back in 1981 - it'd set you back 450€ by todays value.

Re: Sir Clive Sinclair has died

#342

Post by 2a0c40 » Fri, Sep 17, 2021, 7:37 AM UTC

LD HL,(16396)

Re: Sir Clive Sinclair has died

#343

Post by a-dub » Fri, Sep 17, 2021, 7:41 AM UTC

Cosi1125 wrote: post #338

GekkePrutser wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah I (or rather my parents) got an Atari 800XL and it totally got me in tech. But yeah Atari was much better known for its having consoles (5200 and 7800 I think). I was never interested in those. Especially because the Atari was very unpopular in Europe. The C64 was king. That also made it more expensive which was why I got the 800XL. But it also meant much less software around which is how I started programming.

> the Atari was very unpopular in Europe It depends on your definition of "Europe" ;-) The 8/16-bit Atari was (and still is, in some circles) extremely popular in Germany, Poland, and former Czechoslovakia.

speaking of the atari st, sometime in the late 80s a mail-order atari st software/accessory retailer in the us (i think it was w. brown enterprises or something like that) used to distribute their catalog monthly or quarterly in newsprint had a throwback sinclair special one year at christmas. for $40, you could get an unassembled zx-81 kit where everything had to be soldered in place by hand.

as an enthusiastic eight year old, i was perhaps not as good at soldering as i would have liked. good thing i was lucky enough to have the st to start with.

Re: Sir Clive Sinclair has died

#344

Post by onion2k » Fri, Sep 17, 2021, 7:42 AM UTC

marttt wrote: post #304

ghoul2 wrote: post #101

RIP Sir. I was gifted the 48K when I was 6 yrs old - it changed my life. I am here because Sir Sinclair built a machine whose setup instructions said: Now that you have set up the computer, you will want to use it. The rest of this booklet tells you how to do that; but in your impatience you will probably already have started pressing the keys on the keyboard, and discovered that this removes the copyright message. T…

> "You cannot harm the computer in this way. Be bold." What an empathetic, caring, tactful way to teach tech to kids. The whole instruction is like that, a really well composed message. No hypes or overpowering, just guiding children to quiet explorations.

It's also an important message to parents, telling them that it's OK to let their kids play with an expensive piece of tech without the danger of them breaking it.

Re: Sir Clive Sinclair has died

#345

Post by creativenolo » Fri, Sep 17, 2021, 7:42 AM UTC

RIP As Charlie Brooker put it, "the ginger bearded midwife to the computer revolution."

I still want a Spectrum, remember when I bought them, and flicking through the cassettes at the village newsagents.

Re: Sir Clive Sinclair has died

#346

Post by foldr » Fri, Sep 17, 2021, 7:46 AM UTC

foldr wrote: post #109

Doctor_Fegg wrote: post #37

The Spectrum and ZX81 are (rightly) the computers for which Clive Sinclair is remembered. But it was his unsuccessful follow-up, the QL, which inspired a certain Linus Torvalds to write Linux: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_QL#Legacy

My Dad had a QL at home and even had a small business selling software for it back in the day. It was a bit of a daunting machine for me as a child (I got more mileage out of the BBC Micro), but I have fond memories of playing around with it, and loading games off of microdrives.

You can see the ad for his software on the top left of page 35: https://sinclairql.speccy.org/archivo/docs/mags/QLWorld_1986...

Re: Sir Clive Sinclair has died

#347

Post by brulard » Fri, Sep 17, 2021, 7:47 AM UTC

headmelted wrote: post #184

brulard wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I got an Atari and I'm in tech. Why should that be any different?

EDIT: I should clarify I meant an Atari game system. I was just talking about my own experience, but since you ask (and I’m certain this will bore but you did ask): I got into tech due to having access to that computer, at that time, in an environment that otherwise wouldn’t have been amenable to learning about it at all. In my case - our family Spectrum was later replaced by a SNES and after that a PS1. After the 48…

Thank you for clarification, as other commenter pointed out, Atari computers (like 800 XE/XL) were quite popular in central europe and I haven't seen a game system (like 2600) around, even didn't know until much later that something like that existed.

Re: Sir Clive Sinclair has died

#348

Post by brulard » Fri, Sep 17, 2021, 7:49 AM UTC

Cosi1125 wrote: post #338

GekkePrutser wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah I (or rather my parents) got an Atari 800XL and it totally got me in tech. But yeah Atari was much better known for its having consoles (5200 and 7800 I think). I was never interested in those. Especially because the Atari was very unpopular in Europe. The C64 was king. That also made it more expensive which was why I got the 800XL. But it also meant much less software around which is how I started programming.

> the Atari was very unpopular in Europe It depends on your definition of "Europe" ;-) The 8/16-bit Atari was (and still is, in some circles) extremely popular in Germany, Poland, and former Czechoslovakia.

100% this - Atari was quite popular in central europe.

Re: Sir Clive Sinclair has died

#349

Post by brulard » Fri, Sep 17, 2021, 7:55 AM UTC

PapaSpaceDelta wrote: post #181

brulard wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I got an Atari and I'm in tech. Why should that be any different?

For a lot of us Brits Sir Clive's machines were our first glimpse of the future. If that doesn’t sound like you, then just stand aside while we mourn our hero.

I respect that. Atari computers for me and Commodores for some were a first glimpse of the future as well. I didn't expect downvotes for honestly asking how would having Sinclair differ from my experience.

Re: Sir Clive Sinclair has died

#350

Post by marco_craveiro » Fri, Sep 17, 2021, 7:55 AM UTC

PapaSpaceDelta wrote: post #181

brulard wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I got an Atari and I'm in tech. Why should that be any different?

For a lot of us Brits Sir Clive's machines were our first glimpse of the future. If that doesn’t sound like you, then just stand aside while we mourn our hero.

Actually, may I say it was the same for most eastern Europeans. Most of the programmers I know in Portugal started with a ZX Spectrum.