3 Nov
1998
3 Nov
'98
4:36 a.m.
On Mon, 2 Nov 1998, Jason Willgruber wrote:
Part of it may have been the dippy little keyboard
that it had, or the
fact that it only came with 1k or RAM (standard). If it had a larger
keyboard, instead of the tiny plastic membranes, then the idea *MAY*
have caught on.
I wouldn't consider the ZX81/TS1000 machines failures (although I'm sure
that there are some former Timex managers who would strongly disagree).
In 1981, the $149 ZX81 was several times less expensive than anything else
on the market. At the time, I couldn't afford an Apple II or a TRS-80,
but I could afford a ZX81. The ZX81/TS1000 gave hundreds of thousands of
people the chance to own their own computer.
By 1983-84, the street price of the T/S 1000 (which came standard with 2K
of RAM) had dropped from $99 down to $19. At $19, the T/S 1000 was cheap
enough for hardware hacking and embedding in all sorts of (noncritical)
things.
In retrospect, finding ways around the ZX81's faults was a lot of the fun.
I ripped the ZX81 out of its case, connected a surplus keyboard, replaced
the abysmal RF modulator, added heat sinks to the ULA and 7805, and
piggybacked RAM chips, resulting a very usable computer that didn't bear
much physical resemblance to the original.
Of course, for every happy ZX81 owner, there were probably a dozen who
found the computer most useful in its handy "doorstop mode". Turning
potential computer users off by its awkwardness was probably the ZX81's
biggest failure.
--
Scott Ware ware(a)xtal.pharm.nwu.edu