Is the ZX81 / Timex Sinclair 1000 actually bad? Let's fix these to find out. | Adrian's Digital Basement
People make fun of the ZX81/Time Sinclair 1000. It was a super cheap computer which had some questionable corners cut. Let's see if these three machines work, fix them if they don't and then see if these computers are worthy of praise or live up to their bad expectations.
"People make fun..."
Do they? They were massively popular in the UK and are generally remembered quite fondly by people who used them as kids.
Learning basic, playing games.
Sure, we griped about stuff, but folk gripe about everything.
This sort of retro-focussed content that makes weird assertions about how people felt and feel gets recycled way too often.
I still remember to this day when I bought my ZX81 for 999SKR at the local bookshop Quidings. My father wanted us kids to do motocross, but I hated it sold mine to my bigger brother and had the funds for the computer.
The 1KB RAM was a little bit on the low end but with an expansion card you could do and learn a lot.
Went on with the C64 and so on ...
Yes. I like his work, but this is rather glib - and as you point out, not at all representative of how people felt and feel about the Zx81.
IIRC (it's been a while) I played with a Sinclair being demo'ed at Kmart. Truly hated the keyboard. I wanted the TI 99/4a but it was ~$400. A few months later the 99/4a price crashed to $99 and the parents bought me one. Wrote my first BASIC programs on it, saved to cassette tape.
About 10 years ago I found the 99/4A in storage. The KB was also terrible compared to any keyboard these days, but still better than the Sinclair to my young fingers. Def not knocking the Sinclair, talking about personal preference.
We used to joke in the 80's that you needed 2 ZX's. So you could at least use them as snowshoes. C64 fanboi ftw :).
As a ZX81 user I find that really funny. XD