8-Bit Stories

Home Computing in 1980's Britain

Michael John Nurney, John McDermott, James Sachs , Allister Brimble

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English

Independent Publishing Network
10 August 2025

History of engineering & technology; Computing: general; Computer hardware; Operating systems

Series: Stories

Summary
Details

Join me on a trip down memory lane as we look at the highs and lows of the UK computer scene. With giants like Atari, Commodore, and Texas Instruments taking on our tiny British companies. Could Sinclair and Acorn take on the American muscle of Commodore? Well, for a considerable amount of time, they did, but why did the multi-million-selling Spectrum disappear? Why did the government-endorsed BBC Microcomputer fail to sell into most UK homes?

Why did the Acorn Electron fail? Given the might of Commodore and Atari, did the Dragon 32 or Oric Atmos ever stand a chance? With millions of pounds on the line, can they even survive the year? Late releases, missed deadlines, and financial disasters all await our fledgling companies. Can the strange 8/16-bit hybrid Ti99/4 beat the Commodore VIC-20? Is the Oric 1 better than a Spectrum 48k? We look at a year-by-year history of the 1980s and the computers and companies selling here in the UK.

What happened to the global dominance of UK computers... Amstrad managed to capture some of the European markets, along with Sinclair and Acorn. Ultimately, Commodore International would dominate the home computer scene, while Atari would briefly control the console market until the Japanese arrived, but what happened to MGT, Tangerine, Lynx, and Dragon Data? What became of Amstrad or the Enterprise64? The UK home computer (8-bit) scene is covered from 1980 until 1988.

By: Michael John Nurney
Contributions by: John McDermott, James Sachs, Allister Brimble, Clive Townsend
Imprint: Independent Publishing Network
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Volume: 1
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
ISBN: 9781836887508
ISBN 10: 1836887507
Series: Stories
Pages: 363
Publication Date: 10 August 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active