FabSwingers.com forum: Sir Clive Sinclair

By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

RIP to a computer pioneer and a true visionary. Maybe if we stopped laughing long enough to listen to what you trying to do with the C5, we’d be further down the road of environmentalism.

I’ll play a game of Jet Set Willy in your honour.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Purrrlleeess let his coffin be a

C 5

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By *inky Biscuit DunkerMan
over a year ago

Gloucestershire

I bought my first Golf ball as a result of Sir Clive.

Only those who played Daly Thompson's Decathlon on the original rubber keyboard Spectrum will know why

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By *exy BeckyCouple
over a year ago

Torrox, Spain

His vision of electric transport systems were way ahead of his time.

Be it bikes or cars, the C5 showed the way. As is often the case, the initial idea needs development to become acceptable. Diesel cars were laughed at when they started to become popular.

And who can forget the ZX81..

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By *ockosaurusMan
over a year ago

Warwick

"Purrrlleeess let his coffin be a

C 5"

I really shouldn't laugh, but that thought of that really tickled me.

R.I.P

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Think I still have a zx spectrum somewhere

Was my parents and they gave it to me when they got the nes

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

aww really

RIP

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By *bsinthe_boyMan
over a year ago

Luton

I own what is believed to be the world's oldest functioning Sinclair ZX81 - ULA chip dated 12 week of 1981 (March), one of the first off the production line. Has the original klutzed ROM with no patch. Beautiful issue 1 motherboard. Still in regular use 40 years on.

Those computers gave so many their first taste of programming and gaming. 3D Monster Maze can still almost cause me to shit my pants.

RIP "uncle" Clive.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Absolutely a pioneer and a visionary. So often those who are way ahead of their time are mocked instead of listened to. RIP Sir Clive

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By *riskynriskyCouple
over a year ago

Essex.

"His vision of electric transport systems were way ahead of his time.

Be it bikes or cars, the C5 showed the way. As is often the case, the initial idea needs development to become acceptable. Diesel cars were laughed at when they started to become popular.

And who can forget the ZX81..

To be fair a lot of us are still laughing at diesel cars and a lot of people are making millions suing Diesel car makers...

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By *as4121Man
over a year ago

dartford

Was sad to hear this - had a big influence on the UK and world, not just the products Sinclair produced but probably kickstand the software industry in the UK at least, he was always looking ahead be it calculators, computers, transport ...

RIP Sir Clive.

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By *bsinthe_boyMan
over a year ago

Luton

World's smallest radio in the 60s... Smallest TV in the 70s... First flat screen pocket TV in the 80s as well as the calculators, hi fi, computers and electric trike and bike.

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By *iscreet-is-paramountMan
over a year ago

somewhere only we know.

Too ahead of his time. If he dreamt up the c5 now, it would likely make him enough to buy his shares back off Alan .

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By *hloevtTV/TS
over a year ago

norwich

"His vision of electric transport systems were way ahead of his time.

Be it bikes or cars, the C5 showed the way. As is often the case, the initial idea needs development to become acceptable. Diesel cars were laughed at when they started to become popular.

And who can forget the ZX81..

RIP an amazing man.

I had the zx80, spent so long prodding the keyboard just to get my name to scroll up the screen !

Sad thing is I still have it !

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By *bsinthe_boyMan
over a year ago

Luton

I wish I'd got a ZX80! But am happy I still have a ZX81 and Spectrum 48K set up and running.... Each with 4Gb storage

I'm thinking... If Sir Clive couldn't invent a viable electric vehicle.... Who can?

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By *hloevtTV/TS
over a year ago

norwich

"I wish I'd got a ZX80! But am happy I still have a ZX81 and Spectrum 48K set up and running.... Each with 4Gb storage

I'm thinking... If Sir Clive couldn't invent a viable electric vehicle.... Who can?"

Don't think the gigabits had been invented in the 80,s lol , thought the expansion on the zx81 was measured In K ram ? Yes I'm a sad nurd x

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By *reat me rightWoman
over a year ago

Rotherham

Where I lived as a child there was a couple who each had a C5. Used to tickle me seeing them tootling up and down the road

RIP

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By *bsinthe_boyMan
over a year ago

Luton

"I wish I'd got a ZX80! But am happy I still have a ZX81 and Spectrum 48K set up and running.... Each with 4Gb storage

I'm thinking... If Sir Clive couldn't invent a viable electric vehicle.... Who can?

Don't think the gigabits had been invented in the 80,s lol , thought the expansion on the zx81 was measured In K ram ? Yes I'm a sad nurd x "

The RAM of both the ZX80 and ZX81 is expandable to 64K though 16K was the norm back in the day.

I've got modern interface cards with SD card storage for instant loading of software. Both have 4Gb SD cards for storage. Am considering networking the speccy to ftp directly from World Of Spectrum online.

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By *bsinthe_boyMan
over a year ago

Luton

PS nerds are sexy

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

But his Quantum Leap computer was a total flop. Shame as it was ahead of its time.

He wanted the spectrum to be adopted as the BBC computer but was pipped at the post by Acorn that was run by a former protege of his that he had argued with.

A documentary on him please, BBC.

PS, I had one of his programmable calculators.

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By *elvet RopeMan
over a year ago

by the big field

I had the zx80, spent so long prodding the keyboard just to get my name to scroll up the screen !

IIRC, it was actually quick and easy, something like

10 pntscn “your name”

20 goto 10

Then hit run and watch the screen fill with a column of text- or add a semi-colon after the text and it filled the whole screen.

I know there was also a way to lock it so the bloke in Dixon’s had to cycle the power to get rid of it ??

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By *bsinthe_boyMan
over a year ago

Luton

Getting geeky... The ZX80 couldn't send display signals while the CPU was operating code... So actually scrolling something on the screen was very difficult. Needed machine code.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

I'm glad some people have mentioned the ZX80. There was also the Sinclair QL.

BBC4 a while back produced a dramatisation of the competition between Sinclair and Acorn, called Micro Men.

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By *bsinthe_boyMan
over a year ago

Luton

"I'm glad some people have mentioned the ZX80. There was also the Sinclair QL.

BBC4 a while back produced a dramatisation of the competition between Sinclair and Acorn, called Micro Men.

I remember it well. Its on that famous video sharing site....

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By *ubal1Man
over a year ago

Newry Down

There was a superb obituary dedicated to the life of Sir Clive in today's (London) Times; one of the best I have read in a long time; a visionary, a pioneer, but also rather unscrupulous at times too.

And he liked the ladies too; one of his wives was 36 years his junior!

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By *toobguyMan
over a year ago

Manchester

I had the zx80, spent so long prodding the keyboard just to get my name to scroll up the screen !

IIRC, it was actually quick and easy, something like

10 pntscn “your name”

20 goto 10

Then hit run and watch the screen fill with a column of text- or add a semi-colon after the text and it filled the whole screen.

I know there was also a way to lock it so the bloke in Dixon’s had to cycle the power to get rid of it ??"

That was my first and only successful programming I have ever done. Remember thinking I was a genius at the time getting my name all over the screen.

RIP Sir Clive.

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