Rick Dickinson, ZX Spectrum designer, RIP

[Zane Healy]

> On Apr 26, 2018, at 5:47 AM, Liam Proven via cctalk <cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote:
> 
> He not only did the ZX 80, ZX 81, ZX Spectrum and the QL, but also the Z88,
> the Spectrum Next and others -- along with a lot of other stuff.
> 
> I know this is a rather USA-centric list, so probably most of you started
> off with things like the Apple II, the first sub-$1000 home computer. But
> in Britain and Europe back then, we were a lot poorer, and $1000 was an
> impossibly large amount of money -- many months of pay in a good job.

My first computer was supposed to be a ZX81.  I worked all Summer painting the house to earn it.  As it happens, my payment was a VIC-20 with a tape recorder.  The ZX Spectrum has always fascinated me, and nearly 20 years ago, I traded a Tek cartridge with a list member for a ZX Spectrum 2+.  I still dream of having time to get that system up and running.  Even though I’ve never run it, it’s still one of my favorite pieces in my collection.

Zane