Warm greetings - The Rise and Fall brainchild of Sir Clive Sinclair. History ZX Spectrum. View from the outside.

<b>Warm greetings</b> - The Rise and Fall brainchild of Sir Clive Sinclair. History
ZX Spectrum. View from the outside.

           Warm greetings



   The "Hot greetings" to expand their
border. Now we offer you here
more translated articles on the history of the Spectrum 
computer. I must say that in 1994 year in the journal 
"ZX-Revue" has published this kind of article. But there we 
could meet, so to speak, with the official point of view on 
this subject, as amended "ZX-Revue" was in fact time to go to 
Sir Clive Sinclair directly and get all the materials from its 
agents. 


  This paper - a third-party opinion. History,
written in 1990, the 50-th anniversary of Clive
Sinclair. Authors of the article tried to give
objective assessment of his work during the decade.



            Story of survival,

      or Where are the Spectrum?

 The first publication in the magazine (C) "Crash"

           # 78 (July 1990).

        Re: (C) EMULATE # 3

  Translation: (C) STEP CREATIVE GROUP, 1996


   This year, Sir Clive Sinclair, the fiftieth anniversary. Ten 
years ago he produced the first computer brand

"Sinclair ZX". For the first computer ZX80
followed by a ZX81, and behind him - the great ZX
Spectrum. Six incarnations Speccy
still remains the most famous and beloved. Crash has decided to 
publish the story of the most popular computer in Britain ... 


   Spectrum - the best and most famous of all computers ZX. But 
it is worth recall and other computers, to create

who had a hand in Sir Clive Sinclair, in
including those which appeared when
The ZX was not even in the project.


   In the late 70's Sinclair got into serious financial 
difficulties. For Sale calculators and electronic watches came 
from badly. Ever since the 60's he tried to

produce and throw away the market PDA
TV (after all, this TV
has been developed, but proved too expensive, unreliable and 
time-consuming in production). 


   For television project required
money. One option to improve the financial condition of the 
firm, was the beginning of the production of computer NewBrain. 
Britain's Labor government supported the company of Clive 
Sinclair's Sinclair Radioniks "by acquiring a large stake. For 
a while it helped the company maintain the status quo - but 
then the company and the government lost rapport. Under 
Pressure Radioniks "broke up. Then Clive Sinclair has founded a 
new company, "Science of Cambridge".




   The right to sell computer NewBrain
Company Newbury Labs, then Grundy. One
the time of his going to produce a major project "BBC Micro", 
but it's too late to hit the market and the sale did not go. 


   And the firm "Science of Cambridge" Clive
Sinclair and his engineer Chris Curry have combined their 
experience and invented a terrible kind of wrist calculator. 
Its keys can be pressed in three different directions for 
different functions - a clear sign! 


          CHEAP AND USELESS

          --------------------
   Then they imagined the same computer system has not yet been 
surpassed by the cheapness and worthlessness - MK-14. It used 
the processor is called SC / MP. Basically, he was selected 
because until Sinclair has used this chip firms

she took care of all costs for design.



   MK-14 includes a built-in calculator, a display and 
keyboard, 0.25 K of memory - and no housing. It sold 10000 
pieces MK-14, and Sinclair realized that computers - a good 
opportunity to improve financial position of the firm. "Science 
of Cambridge "changed its name to the familiar" Sinclair 
Research ", and Chris Curry left it and founded the firm "Acorn

Computers ".


   In 1980 came the first computer
ZX - ZX-80, designed by Jim Westwood. Software for him written 
by John Grant. ZX-80 looks to a tee like a computer, although

the casing was made of bent plastic, the keyboard is not 
attached, and the size of was only a quarter of the claimed in 
advertising. 



   On it you could program in BASIC, using as a normal 
household TV screen, and load the program on tape. But needed 
more weight improvements. Y ZX-80 was only 1K of memory, and he 
could only work with integers in the range -32768 to 32767. 
What's worse all, its screen is cleared when you press a key or 
run the program! 


   Nevertheless, ZX-80 was a success and even
gave rise to "clone" - PC "CompShop
Micro Ace ". In the same year he worked for expandable memory 
up to 16K (Inclined off at the most inopportune moments), and 
Various ingenious devices to avoid overheating the machine. 


               SUCCESS ZX-81

               ----------
   Less than a year, as the ZX-80 was modified. Now it is used 
specially manufactured chip to difficult pirated copy machine.


Has been enhanced to display - now
programs could show something in progress, although the speed 
of the program at the same time dropped to a quarter

normal speed ZX-80. And complement and
ZX-BASIC, so it can work with text
and real numbers (although the square roots initially did not 
want to take correct).



   The result of all these was usovershenstovany ZX-81: new, 
improved model, launched in the market in March 1981 at a price 
of 30 pounds less than ZX-80! Cloned PC Micro Ace

sunk into oblivion. However, the firm Acorn
Computers, founded by a former colleague of Sinclair Chris 
Carr, caught the contract BBC - the fact that the ZX-81 was

Only black and white display.



   ZX-80 was collected at home, but for the new
ZX-81 is no good - too large
sales. Therefore, Sinclair concluded
contract with Taymeks, which owned a big factory in Scotland. 
Under the contract, to pay for the production of ZX-81 Taymeksu 
allowed to sell it in the U.S., paying Sinclair 5 percent of 
income. 


   ZX-81 spending a good - both British and American version, 
which developed in 1982 and named

TMS-1000. But Sinclair has continued to make
Contract BBC - and that's the summer of 1982 he announced that 
he is preparing to release a new PC - ZX SPECTRUM, with color 
display, suitable for serious programming, with 16 or 48 
kilobytes of memory. Additional 32K expected placed on a 
special sockets inside your computer, so that they could not 
disconnect. 



       Spectrum: CHEAP AND MIGHTY

       --------------------------
   "Iron" for the Spectrum was developed by Richard Altvasserom 
and software software adapted from the ZX-81 Stephen

Vickers. For Spectrum invented a new
chip that can display color images without slowing down the 
speed of your computer. However, in the last minute 
modifications needed to get right to work the keyboard.

The result was a modification of the "dead cockroach":
chip was attached to the "back", with his
legs!


   For its time, Spectrum was unbeatable inexpensive and 
powerful vehicle: 125 pounds for a 16-Kbyte or 175 pounds

48-Kbyte. 48-I model was a huge success: it sold out in eight
times better than the 16 th! Therefore, Sinclair released
new version - Issue 2 - which is already
All 48K of memory mounted on a socket.


   In addition, the second model had blue buttons instead of 
gray, as in the first Spectrum to inscriptions on them better 
read the electric light. 


   Meanwhile Altvasser and Vickers left the company Sinclair 
and founded his own company "Jupiter Cantab". They began to 
release "Jupiter Ace" - small fast computer, a cross between 
Spectrum and ZX-80. Project failed.



   Sinclair Spectrum again updated in 1983.
At this time, became louder BEEP, a better scheme
and less bounce keys, which is why, for
Unfortunately, no longer go to many games
sloppy interviewers keyboard. The result of these alterations 
was the infamous Third Edition. 


   And at this time in the U.S. ... Taymeks, struck success 
TMS-1000, tried to release a "continuation" - TMS-1500, 
16-kilobyte version. 


   It failed, and then Taymeks launched the TMS-2068 - Super 
Spectrum with graphics like the SAM Coupe and sound like

128 of the Spectrum. This model also failed, unable to 
withstand competition in the U.S. market. In addition, TMS-2068 
differed bad software compatibility. In February 1984 he has 
Taymeks surrendered. 


   Rubber keyboard Spectrum unanimously hated by all, and 
Sinclair attempted to develop something prettier. The result of 
this attempt was the Spectrum Plus.



   Amazingly, Plus-modification fully maintained software 
compatibility. In the new building we used exactly the same

board, which in the old Spectrum. Spectrum
Plus a great time diverges
Although the procedure interviewers keyboard
still required to press keys on the
one - perfect for the rubber keypad -
but now annoying.


         The trouble starts

         ----------------------
   Since 1982, Sinclair hatched plans
to create a super-Spectrum. Most of the
1983rd year, he developed a portable
business computer, but at the last moment
all the disparate collection of development exists in "Sinclair 
QL". QL was in advertising, has been designed, manufactured and 
we will make this thing work! " - it was all in that order. In 
1985, split the main company-distributor Sinclair, Prism. Price 
for QL cut in half. Sinclair, who is now dedicated to

"Knights" is steadily approaching bankruptcy, and published 
advertisements tricycles electric vehicles. Robert Maxwell went 
into the his firm, sniffed and went back.



   By this time, the Spectrum, even with the new
keyboard, seemed to have some kind of perversion. Users began 
to demand more memory, all the best interface and

sound.


   From new development and something of
TMS-2068 concocted a Spectrum Plus 128.
Money for the 128-rd came from Spain, so
there and started production.


   In January 1986, Spectrum Plus 128 went on sale in Britain. 
Sold it at bargain prices, and all debts of the company

grew. In March, the bank closed the account Sinclair.
Staff of the company paid a large salary merchant in exchange 
for their shares in shares of the company.



            FORWARD TO AMSTRADU

            ----------------
   April 7, 1986 Amstrad bought
manufacturing rights for Spectrum and "non-production" QL just 
5 million pounds. Another 11 million had been paid for the 
balance of the shares. 


   According to unconfirmed reports, only by "Sinclair 
Research" was issued in April million standard Spectrum.



   A 128-x in circulation must be something
about 500 thousand, and a major proportion of their "Amstrady 
Plus, the first issue. Part of the state Sinklerovskoy company 
spread to the firm Amstrad, and has developed a model of the 
Plus 2: 128 th in the new building and "Glued," as the boss 
Amstrada Alan Sugar, cassette drive. And yet

a year later came the first in the full sense
"Amstrad Spectrum - plus 3, minus sinklerovskie chips plus disk 
system" Amstrad CPC ". This Plus 3 was really a new 
development, and therefore was hardly compatible with the old 
Spectrum and the wealth of programs for it. 


   Sir Clive Sinclair continued his work;
Now he was selling a laptop computer
Z88, designed by Jim Westwood and uses all the same processor 
Z80. By latest information, Sinclair plans

production of electric C-15! ..



   The exhibition PC Show in 1988, the year
Amstrad introduced his own car - "Sinclair Professional PC 200. 
The car has received many critical reviews - Mainly because no 
one knew for whom it actually is: it is old enough to play 
poorly (only 4 colors and prikidochnaya price around 350 pounds 
- extremely expensive), but for serious work still is not 
powerful enough. Quite not what it was when Sinclair.



         How to clone Spectrum

         -----------------------
   At Christmas 1989, the year had
announcement about the car, which is really waiting for all - 
"SAM Coupe" firm Miles Gordon Technology. 256K RAM, four-color 
modes, good speed, and compatibility with most of the classic 
Spectrum games. Initially, the chip ROMs were carried out 
"fleas", but in April, MGT has released a new ROM chips to 
users can install them yourself. 


   In May 1990 the first signs of real support for the program 
- "Champions of the Earth" ("Defenders of the Earth") Company 
Enigma Variations, written specially for SAM Coupe, a week or 
so led by the hit parade. Looks like it went well, and "iron" 
sold out well ... 


          (To be continued)


APPENDIX:


         MILESTONES OF DEVELOPMENT

         ----------------------

                 * 1980 *


                  ZX-80

Price 100 fs, 4K ROM, 1K RAM; only integers, very limited 
graphics, screen 32x24. Total sold about 50,000 units. 


             MICRO ACE (clone)

Price 80 fs, 2K RAM.


                 * 1981 *


                  ZX-81

Price 70 fs or 150 $; 8K ROM, 1K RAM; handles floating point 
numbers, the slow but continuous display; black and white 
display. In the first year sold 500,000 pieces.



                 * 1982 *


              TIMEX TMS-1000

Price $ 100; licensed ZX-81 - in the U.S.
was a huge success.



               ZX SPECTRUM

Price 125 fs (16K) or 175 fs (48K);
16K ROM, 16K/48K RAM; color graphics and
much-improved display controller.
Spectrum sold 60,000 the first release.
Their distinctive features: the gray keys, 32K
RAM on a separate sockets, the chip
"Dead cockroach".

The price for ZX-81 is reduced to 50 fs
The price for TMS-100 lowered to $ 40.


                 * 1983 *


               JUPITER ACE

Price 80 fs; 8K ROM, 3K RAM.

Sold 3 million the third model
Spectrum: a new chip to display ULA consumes less power, louder
BEEP; less bounce keys, the incompatibility of the keyboard 
port. 


              TIMEX TMS-1500

Price 80 $; 8K ROM, 16K RAM; ZX-81 with the best
keyboard - for sale did not go.


              TIMEX TMS-2068

Price 150 $ / 200 $; 24K ROM, 16K/48K RAM;
connection allows the pages of 8K
extended up to 256K. Enhanced BASIC-sound
and a much better display, but bad compatibility. UK version
PAL TV-adapter and not sold.


                 * 1984 *


              SPECTRUM PLUS

Price 180 fs; Boards third model (with minor changes) and a 
separate button RESET; new case and keyboard. 



                 * 1985 *

Price Spectrum Plus is lowered to 150 fs;
version at 16K and with a rubber keyboard
withdrawn from sale.


               SPECTRUM 128

180 fs; 32K ROM, 128K RAM in the pages of
16K; RGB; old building, there is no key
word-tokens, three-channel sound, uncomfortable editor screen; 
port MIDI / serial. The project was funded by "Investronica".



                 * 1986 *


             SPECTRUM PLUS 2

Price 140 fs and the old 128-th in the new building, with a 
better keyboard and "pasted" cassette drive. In the first year 
sold 250,000 units. First Amstrad Spectrum. 



                 * 1987 *


             SPECTRUM PLUS 3

Price 249 fs, 3-inch floppy drive; 64K
ROM with a built-disk system
AMSDOS; first a radical reworking of
1982. Former 128-e was better
compatible with existing hardware and
programs than the Plus 3 - in the early models of improvement 
were connected, but not built into.


The price of Spectrum Plus 3 drops to 199
fs; some outlets lowered its
even lower - to 180 fs


                 * 1988 *


       SPECTRUM PLUS 2 (remake)
64K ROM, 128K RAM; to view the same old Plus 2, but less 
compatible. 



       SINCLAIR PROFESSIONAL PC 200

16-bit peotsessor 8086 with a clock frequency of 8 MHz, 512K 
RAM, 3.5-inch floppy drive to 720K. Medium-resolution 
four-color CGA-graphics at 320x200 pixels. Was never truly 
popular. 


                 * 1989 *


                SAM COUPE

The company produces computer MGT SAM
Coupe. It is compatible with the vast
the majority of Spectrum Software
software - an obvious candidate for vsebritanskuyu popularity.


                 * 1990 *

Amstrad holds a secret meeting in
France. Further announcements are expected.

                  _ _ _