Sir Clive Sinclair dies age 81

[Blackpool Rock]

Possibly unfairly best remembered for the C5 which was a flop but let's not forget he made home computers accessible for Millions of people by bringing the price down, had a ZX81 and Spectrum myself

Wasn't aware he had cancer for about 10 years.

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I also seem to recall there was a tabloid expose about him taking an escort to some posh function, loads of other people did the same but clearly our gutter press wanted his head.
Recon he was a punter just like us   

[FiveKnuckles]

 

ZX Spectrum. days of load by tape    bombjack, commando, wheelie.   few others can't remember

[lamboman]

Possibly unfairly best remembered for the C5 which was a flop but let's not forget he made home computers accessible for Millions of people by bringing the price down, had a ZX81 and Spectrum myself

Wasn't aware he had cancer for about 10 years.

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I also seem to recall there was a tabloid expose about him taking an escort to some posh function, loads of other people did the same but clearly our gutter press wanted his head.
Recon he was a punter just like us   

Spectrum was indeed ground breaking,he will always be remembered for the C5 though which is a bit unfair.

[radioman33]

Remember the c5 doubt anyone uses calculators much now as on their phones.

[Rick2468]

Remember the c5 doubt anyone uses calculators much now as on their phones.

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[suttonporksword]

Social status as an 80s kid in my street was by how good your computer was. I was so proud to have saved up for a spectrum 128k but most of my mates had the superior co..adore 64, but I was happy with my lot. Daley Thomson's olympic challenge was a joystick breaker, perhaps a sign of what was to come in my life!

[PunterNumber69]

The story of the revolution he started. He had a bit of a temper.

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RIP

[Marmalade]

Met him briefly once. Seemed a thoroughly nice chap. 

[mr.bluesky]

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  Showing my age now but remembering how great it was when electronic calculators first came out. If you had a scientific version you thought you were the dogs bollocks although you never actually understood what most of the key pads were for or how to use it properly (or was that just me) The instruction booklet that came with them used to be about half an inch thick because it was printed in about 50 different languages.

[MilleMiglia]

  Showing my age now but remembering how great it was when electronic calculators first came out. If you had a scientific version you thought you were the dogs bollocks although you never actually understood what most of the key pads were for or how to use it properly (or was that just me) The instruction booklet that came with them used to be about half an inch thick because it was printed in about 50 different languages.

A definite +1 from me.

[timsussex]

yes had one of the first Spectrums - delivered several weeks late IIRC - very frustrating
Still got one of his white RPN calculators in a box somewhere
Before calculators he sold modular amplifiers

[Moby Dick]

Didn’t bother with the ZX80, got the ZX81 (before the spectrum became available)
I seem to recall it was around £80 with its 1kb memory.
Upgraded to 16kb with a plug in box at the back but then when you pressed the keys to hard the power cable would fall out, another 15minutes loading your favourite game for it to do it again.

Kilobytes not mega or giga bytes.



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[king tarzan]

ZX Spectrum. days of load by tape    bombjack, commando, wheelie.   few others can't remember

Had some terrible games though..

[Blackpool Rock]

They went through a brief history of what he did on the news last night and before the Spectrum which was probably his best offering he also did pocket calculators (As already mentioned) but also a watch which was a flop.

At the end of the day he was perhaps seen as a slightly "madcap" inventor and many of his ideas flopped however i'm sure every inventor has a high failure rate but the focus tends to be on the things which achieve commercial success.

Other inventions such as the C5 were derided but what about if he invented it 5-10 years ago but an improved version using modern technology, with the move towards green transport etc and increased use of cycle lanes perhaps it could have take off.
Same with his lightweight foldable electric bike that could be taken on public transport, what a great idea for the modern world.

I'm thinking he was perhaps one of those visionary people with ideas ahead of the time he was living in 

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[Josey Wales]

Some remarkable achievements in the world of personal computers and other gadgets. And he seems to have found a bit of time to enjoy himself as well..

His obituary says in 2010 he married Angie Bowness, a former Miss England beauty queen and pole dancer, 34 years his junior, whom he had met at Stringfellow’s nightclub (although they had divorced by 2017).

And a keen poker player appearing in the first three series of the Late Night Poker show on Channel 4 – winning the first series final of the Celebrity Poker Club spin-off.

RIP

[Watts.E.Dunn]

Yep and she said in the Daily Heil;

I've dated men like Robbie Williams and Prince Albert. Clive Sinclair might be twice my age but beats them all hands down

So whos to blame him! Odd old bloke he was, remeber taking a lot of stuff back for repair at their shop in Fitzroy street, very poor quality control and shite relaibility. That seems to be a trademark of sorts!

In some ways he reminds me of John Logie Baird good ideas but poorly implemented if only Jon had gone down the obviouly better electronic route!!

Lovely old film about that quite accurtate bit of comedy history but it showed how awkward the Baird system was in operation!...

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[Marmalade]

Perhaps the most valuable tool society could learn from Sir Clive Sinclair — Creativity!

[tynetunnel]

The watch was called Black Watch and it launched in 1975. There were a huge number of advance orders, but quality control was poor and the majority were returned. Design faults included:

• The chip could be damaged or destroyed by static electricity
• The quartz timing crystal was temperature sensitive, causing the watch to run at different speeds depending on the season
  
• The batteries were extremely difficult to replace and only lasted ten days
• The control panel (instead of buttons) often malfunctioned, and
  
• The case tended to fall apart

Other than that, it was perfect!