Abstract
The initial domestication of the computer in 1980s Britain was accompanied by its configuration for educational benefit, as part of a wider culture of computer literacy. Among the most popular British home computers were those of Sinclair. Originally intended to introduce people to computing, Sinclairs low-cost and basic capabilities Have led to write them off as undistinguished introductory computers or as mere video game machines. Closer attention to the role of users, peripheral manufacturers, software producers, and computer magazines, however, reveals a complex picture that shows the Sinclair computer was much more flexible in its use and representation.
In this essay, the author demonstrates how the initial conception of a simple introductory computer was subverted by the activities of different groups of users with alternative ideas. Although gaming eventually came to dominate Sinclair computers’ identity, the author argues that the process was more contested when considering other categories of users who had quite different views on the utility of a basic computer. The chapter demonstrates how users remade Sinclair’s computers into new forms as their ideas of computing developed and how these user practices in turn influenced the design and representation of subsequent machines. It thus “closes the loop” between technology production and technology use by showing how the practices of popular computing helped to shape its artifacts.
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsNotes
- 1.
For standard accounts of personal computing’s hobbyist roots, see Martin Campbell-Kelly, William Aspray, Nathan Ensmenger, and Jeffrey R. Yost. 2014 [1996]. Computer: A history of the information machine. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, ch. 10; Paul E. Ceruzzi. 2003 [1998]. A history of modern computing. Cambridge, MA/London: MIT Press, ch. 7.
- 2.
An oft repeated though apparently unverified claim. For one prominent instance, see the Conservative General Election Manifesto (1983). For discussion of the figures behind the claim, see Thomas Lean. 2012. Mediating the microcomputer: The educational character of the 1980s British popular computing boom. Public Understanding of Science, first published online on 30 October, 2012 as doi:10.1177/0963662512457904.
- 3.
- 4.
To save a lengthy diversion into a complex company history, already well covered by Adamson and Kennedy, in this essay I refer to the producer of Sinclair computers simply as Sinclair. In fact Clive Sinclair left the troubled Sinclair Radionics in 1979, to join Science of Cambridge, previously set up as a “lifeboat company” for him. Science of Cambridge became Sinclair Computers in 1980 and then Sinclair Research in 1981. It was bought by Amstrad in 1986.
- 5.
Steven Levy. 1984. Hackers: Heroes of the computer revolution. Garden City, NY: Anchor Press/Doubleday.
- 6.
David Ian Skinner. 1992. Technology, consumption and the future: The experience of home computing. PhD thesis, Brunel University.
- 7.
Leslie G. Haddon. 1988b. The roots and early history of the British home computer market: Origins of the masculine micro. PhD thesis, University of London.
- 8.
Neil Selwyn. 2002. Learning to love the micro: The discursive construction of educational computing in the UK, 1979–89. British Journal of Sociology of Education 23: 427–443.
- 9.
Haddon, The roots and early history of the British home computer market, ch. 7; Skinner, Technology, consumption and the future.
- 10.
Christina Lindsay. 2003. From the shadows: Users as designers, producers, marketers, distributors, and technical support. In How users matter: The co-construction of users and technologies, ed. Nelly Oudshoorn and Trevor J. Pinch, 29–50. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
- 11.
Paul Kriwaczek. 1997. Documentary for the small screen, 237. Oxford: Focal Press.
- 12.
Thomas Lean. 2008a. From mechanical brains to microcomputers: Representations of the computer in Britain 1948–1984. In Science and its publics, ed. A. Bell, S. Davies, and F. Mellor, 179–200. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 190–192
- 13.
- 14.
Skinner, Technology, consumption and the future, 68.
- 15.
Advisory Council for Applied Research and Development. 1978. The applications of semiconductor technology. London: HMSO.
- 16.
Christopher Evans. 1979. The mighty micro: The impact of the computer revolution, 96. London: Victor Gollancz.
- 17.
Bruce Everiss, interview (2007).
- 18.
Adamson and Kennedy, Sinclair and the sunrise technology, 69.
- 19.
Clive Sinclair, interview (2008).
- 20.
Lindsay, From the shadows, 32–37.
- 21.
Clive Sinclair, interview (2008).
- 22.
Adamson and Kennedy, Sinclair and the sunrise technology, 87.
- 23.
Paul Atkinson. 2005. Man in a briefcase: The social construction of the laptop computer and the emergence of a type form. Journal of Design History 18: 191–205.
- 24.
Rick Dickinson, interview (2008).
- 25.
These examples of slogans are drawn from various Sinclair ZX80 and ZX81 adverts over the 1980–1982
period, found in the popular press.
- 26.
Rick Dickinson, interview (2008).
- 27.
Lean, Mediating the microcomputer.
- 28.
John Radcliffe, and Robert Salkeld. 1983. Towards computer literacy: The BBC computer literacy project.. London: BBC Education.
- 29.
Acorn co-founder Chris Curry was an important figure in Sinclair’s original move into computing in the late 1970s, before leaving to found Acorn. The rivalry between the two Cambridge-based companies, including a 1984 pub fight between Chris Curry and Clive Sinclair over Acorn attacking Sinclair computers’ reliability in advertisements, has already been explored in the BBC’s Micromen. A serious academic comparison of the two firms is long overdue.
- 30.
For an idea of the BBC’s thinking behind the BBC Micro, see: Radcliffe and Salkeld, Towards computer literacy, 13.
- 31.
Clive Cookson. 1982. The times guide to information technology. The Times, January 14.
- 32.
Maureen McNeil. 1991. The old and new world of information technology in Britain. In Enterprise and heritage: Crosscurrents of national culture, ed. John Corner and Sylvia Harvey, 120–124. London: Routledge.
- 33.
Adamson and Kennedy, Sinclair and the sunrise technology, 9–14.
- 34.
Ibid., 85–86.
- 35.
Margaret Thatcher. 1982. Speech opening conference on information technology, London.
- 36.
Department of Education and Science. 1981. Microelectronics education program: The strategy. London, Department of Education and Science.
- 37.
Lucy Hodges. 1985. Average school has nine micros. The Times, January 25.
- 38.
Thomas Lean. 2008b. ‘The making of the micro’: Producers, mediators, users and the development of popular microcomputing in Britain (1980–1989). PhD thesis, University of Manchester.
- 39.
Jean Farrington, interview (2007).
- 40.
Adamson and Kennedy, Sinclair and the sunrise technology, 109–110.
- 41.
Lindsay, From the shadows, 37–40.
- 42.
Anon. 1981a. Home computers. Which?, July, 376.
- 43.
Gowling Marketing Services. 1984. The attitudes of parents and children to home computers and software. Liverpool: Gowling Marketing Services.
- 44.
Selwyn, Learning to love the micro.
- 45.
Levy, Hackers, chs. 10 and 11.
- 46.
Skinner, Technology, consumption and the future, 254.
- 47.
Ibid., 255–257.
- 48.
J. Johnson. 1983. Letters: Illustrations waste space. Sinclair User, June, 17.
- 49.
Claudia Cooke. 1983a. User of the month: Retiring to the sea, the ship and his Sinclairs. Sinclair User, April, 48.
- 50.
Mark Patterson, correspondence (2005).
- 51.
For a good example of the mechanics of this activity, see Chris Bourne. 1985. Fool’s gold from the funny farm? Sinclair User, January, 138.
- 52.
For an atmospheric insight into the early British home computer software industry, connected with Sinclair’s rival Acorn but typical of the time, see Francis Spufford. 2004. Backroom boys. London: Faber and Faber, ch. 3.
- 53.
Lean, From mechanical brains to microcomputers, 195–196.
- 54.
Anon. 1981b. Home computers. Which?, August, 439.
- 55.
Ralph Bancroft. 1984. What the retailers said when they looked at the spectrum. The Times, December 4.
- 56.
Haddon, The roots and early history of the British home computer market, 125.
- 57.
Bill Johnstone. 1984. More small firms buy computers. The Times, June 14.
- 58.
Paul Ceruzzi. 1999. Inventing personal computing. In The social shaping of technology, 2nd ed, ed. Donald MacKenzie and Judy Wajcman, 66–68. Buckingham: Open University Press.
- 59.
Claudia Cooke. 1983b. User of the month: Taking the strain out of calculating wages. Sinclair User, August, 78–79.
- 60.
Claudia Cooke. 1983c. User of the month: Leading athletes quest for gold is boosted by ZX-81. Sinclair User, September, 84–85.
- 61.
John Heritage. 1984. Sinclair business user: A systematic start. Sinclair User, July, 120.
- 62.
Chris Bourne. 1984. Digging up the past. Sinclair User, August, 110–111.
- 63.
Nicola Serge. 1984. User of the month: Paddle your own canoe with the ZX81. Sinclair User, February, 58–59.
- 64.
Alan Proctor. 1984. Sinclair business user: ZX-81 in the antique shop. Sinclair User, November, 163–164.
- 65.
Paul Jenkinson. 2007. Spectrum hardware page. http://www.worldofspectrum.org/hardware/. Accessed 15 Oct 2007.
- 66.
Franco Frey. 1984. Dk’tronics revisited. Crash,, October, 52–53.
- 67.
Cooke, User of the month: Leading athletes quest for gold is boosted by ZX-81.
- 68.
Proctor, Sinclair business user: ZX-81 in the antique shop.
- 69.
Flo Barker. 1984. Programs lighten the load of a methodist minister. Sinclair User, January, 102–103.
- 70.
Clive Sinclair, interview (2008).
- 71.
Haddon, The roots and early history of the British home computer market, ch. 7.
- 72.
Haddon, The roots and early history of the British home computer market.
- 73.
Clive Sinclair, interview (2008).
- 74.
Rick Dickinson, interview (2008).
- 75.
Lindsay, From the shadows.
- 76.
Thomas Lean. 2004. ‘What would I do with a computer?’ The shaping of the Sinclair computer 1980–1986, 99. MA thesis, University of Kent.
- 77.
Mark Patterson, email (2005).
- 78.
Haddon, The roots and early history of the British home computer market, ch. 8.
- 79.
G.A. Rooker. 1983. Letters: Technical uses need promoting. Sinclair User, October, 19.
- 80.
Bancroft, What the retailers said when they looked at the spectrum. Peter Large. 1984. Indian summer of cheaper micro. The Guardian, December 20.
- 81.
David Thomas. 1991. The Amstrad story, 123–124. London: Pan Books.
- 82.
Adamson and Kennedy, Sinclair and the sunrise technology, 153–182.
- 83.
The Spectrum’s color display was essentially a monochrome bitmap image beneath an overlay which divided the screen into blocks of different colors. This saved on memory as it was unnecessary to store information on what color each pixel was, but it could cause color clash where the underlying bitmap image moved from a block of one color to one of a different color, appearing to change color itself in the process.
- 84.
Between the original ZX Spectrum and Spectrum+2, Sinclair had developed the Spectrum into the Spectrum+, little more than re-cased Spectrum with a new keyboard, and Spectrum 128, with extra memory, improved audio capabilities and other improvements.
- 85.
James Sumner. 2005. Retrieving micro histories: The strange case of the domestic microcomputer. Paper presented to University College London seminar series, London.
- 86.
David Womble, correspondence (2008).
- 87.
Paul Collins, personal communication (2008).
- 88.
David Edgerton. 2006. The shock of the old: Technology and global history since 1900. London: Profile.
- 89.
Martijn van der Heide, et al. 2010. World of spectrum. www.worldofspectrum.org. Accessed 10 Jan 2010.
- 90.
For discussion of the extent and reasons for this diversity of computer design, see Lean, The making of the micro, 217–232.
- 91.
Chris Owen. 2010. Planet Sinclair: Clones and variants. http://www.nvg.ntnu.no/sinclair/computers/clones/clones.htm. Accessed 10 Jan 2010.
- 92.
Adamson and Kennedy, Sinclair and the sunrise technology, 133–136.
- 93.
Brian Bagnall. 2006. On the edge: The spectacular rise and fall of Commodore. Winnipeg: Variant Press.
Bibliography
Adamson, Ian, and Richard Kennedy. 1986. Sinclair and the sunrise technology: The deconstruction of a myth. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Advisory Council for Applied Research and Development. 1978. The applications of semiconductor technology. London: HMSO.
Atkinson, Paul. 2005. Man in a briefcase: The social construction of the laptop computer and the emergence of a type form. Journal of Design History 18: 191–205.
Bagnall, Brian. 2006. On the edge: The spectacular rise and fall of Commodore. Winnipeg: Variant Press.
Bancroft, Ralph. 1984. What the retailers said when they looked at the spectrum. The Times, December 4.
Barker, Flo. 1984. Programs lighten the load of a methodist minister. Sinclair User, January, 102–103.
Bourne, Chris. 1984. Digging up the past. Sinclair User, August, 110–111.
Bourne, Chris. 1985. Fool’s gold from the funny farm? Sinclair User, January, 138.
Campbell-Kelly, Martin, William Aspray, Nathan Ensmenger, and Jeffrey R. Yost. 2014 [1996]. Computer: A history of the information machine. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Ceruzzi, Paul. 1999. Inventing personal computing. In The social shaping of technology, 2nd ed, ed. Donald MacKenzie and Judy Wajcman, 66–68. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Ceruzzi, Paul E. 2003 [1998]. A history of modern computing. Cambridge, MA/London: MIT Press, ch. 7.
Cooke, Claudia. 1983a. User of the month: Retiring to the sea, the ship and his Sinclairs. Sinclair User, April, 48.
Cooke, Claudia. 1983b. User of the month: Taking the strain out of calculating wages. Sinclair User, August, 78–79
Cooke, Claudia. 1983c. User of the month: Leading athletes quest for gold is boosted by ZX-81. Sinclair User, September, 84–85.
Cookson, Clive. 1982. The times guide to information technology. The Times, January 14.
Dale, Rodney. 1985. The Sinclair story. London: Duckworth.
Department of Education and Science. 1981. Microelectronics education program: The strategy. London, Department of Education and Science.
Edgerton, David. 2006. The shock of the old: Technology and global history since 1900. London: Profile.
Evans, Christopher. 1979. The mighty micro: The impact of the computer revolution, 96. London: Victor Gollancz.
Frey, Franco. 1984. Dk’tronics revisited. Crash, October, 52–53.
Gowling Marketing Services. 1984. The attitudes of parents and children to home computers and software. Liverpool: Gowling Marketing Services.
Haddon, Leslie G. 1988b. The roots and early history of the British home computer market: Origins of the masculine micro. PhD thesis, University of London.
Heritage, John. 1984. Sinclair business user: A systematic start. Sinclair User, July, 120.
Hodges, Lucy. 1985. Average school has nine micros. The Times, January 25.
Jenkinson, Paul. 2007. Spectrum hardware page. http://www.worldofspectrum.org/hardware/. Accessed 15 Oct 2007.
Johnson, J. 1983. Letters: Illustrations waste space. Sinclair User, June, 17.
Johnstone, Bill. 1984. More small firms buy computers. The Times, June 14.
Kriwaczek, Paul. 1997. Documentary for the small screen, 237. Oxford: Focal Press.
Large, Peter. 1984. Indian summer of cheaper micro. The Guardian, December 20.
Lean, Thomas. 2004. ‘What would I do with a computer?’ The shaping of the Sinclair computer 1980–1986, 99. MA thesis, University of Kent.
Lean, Thomas. 2008a. From mechanical brains to microcomputers: Representations of the computer in Britain 1948–1984. In Science and its publics, ed. A. Bell, S. Davies, and F. Mellor, 179–200. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Lean, Thomas. 2008b. ‘The making of the micro’: Producers, mediators, users and the development of popular microcomputing in Britain (1980–1989). PhD thesis, University of Manchester, Manchester.
Lean, Thomas. 2012. Mediating the microcomputer: The educational character of the 1980s British popular computing boom. Public Understanding of Science, first published online on 30 October 2012 as doi:10.1177/0963662512457904.
Levy, Steven. 1984. Hackers: Heroes of the computer revolution. Garden City, NY: Anchor Press/Doubleday.
Lindsay, Christina. 2003. From the shadows: Users as designers, producers, marketers, distributors, and technical support. In How users matter: The co-construction of users and technologies, ed. Nelly Oudshoorn and Trevor J. Pinch, 29–50. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
McNeil, Maureen. 1991. The old and new world of information technology in Britain. In Enterprise and heritage: Crosscurrents of national culture, ed. John Corner and Sylvia Harvey, 120–124. London: Routledge.
Owen, Kenneth. 1978. Microelectronics: This could be man’s greatest leap forward. The Times, October 10.
Owen, Chris. 2010. Planet Sinclair: Clones and variants. http://www.nvg.ntnu.no/sinclair/computers/clones/clones.htm. Accessed 10 Jan 2010.
Proctor, Alan. 1984. Sinclair business user: ZX-81 in the antique shop. Sinclair User, November, 163–164.
Radcliffe, John, and Robert Salkeld. 1983. Towards computer literacy: The BBC computer literacy project. London: BBC Education.
Rimmer, Bryan. 1978. Tomorrow’s world. In the eye of a needle. Daily Mirror, September 21.
Rooker, G.A. 1983. Letters: Technical uses need promoting. Sinclair User, October, 19.
Selwyn, Neil. 2002. Learning to love the micro: The discursive construction of educational computing in the UK, 1979–89. British Journal of Sociology of Education 23: 427–443.
Serge, Nicola. 1984. User of the month: Paddle your own canoe with the ZX81. Sinclair User, February, 58–59.
Skinner, David Ian. 1992. Technology, consumption and the future: The experience of home computing. PhD thesis, Brunel University.
Spufford, Francis. 2004. Backroom boys. London: Faber and Faber, ch. 3.
Sumner, James. 2005. Retrieving micro histories: The strange case of the domestic microcomputer. Paper presented to University College London seminar series, London.
Thatcher, Margaret. 1982. Speech opening conference on information technology, London.
Thomas, David. 1991. The Amstrad story, 123–124. London: Pan Books.
van der Heide, Martijn, et al. 2010. World of spectrum. www.worldofspectrum.org. Accessed 10 Jan 2010.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer-Verlag London
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Lean, T. (2014). “Inside a Day You Will Be Talking to It Like an Old Friend”: The Making and Remaking of Sinclair Personal Computing in 1980s Britain. In: Alberts, G., Oldenziel, R. (eds) Hacking Europe. History of Computing. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-5493-8_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-5493-8_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-4471-5492-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4471-5493-8
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)