I realise the ZX Spectrum might not be the most important computer in the history of computing, but it is 100% the most important computer to me. That thing changed my life.
The Spectrum (and ZX81) had a big effect on a whole generation of Brits. I know my folks could not have afforded a C64 or BBC Micro but they did manage fifty quid in Currys to start my lifetime of coding.
Likewise. At the time my folks could just about stretch to a ZX81 plus 16k RAM Pack[0], but not a wobble stopper[1] - so we fashioned one out of corrugated cardboard and gaffer tape. A few years later I scored an upgrade to the ZX Spectrum+ which was an absolute revelation - what with stuff like colour and sound.
I learnt BASIC through typing out listings from ZX Computing Monthly, Sinclair User, Your Sinclair, and others, borrowed from the local library. I forget the name of the magazines which had multi-platform listings, for the Electron and Vic-20 and MSX and others.
i was fortunate enough to have access to a bbc-micro (acorn) machine while growing up. and spent many a pleasant evenings programming 2d function plots, with zoom and scale, taylor series expansion of trigonometric functions, learning about matrix multiplication, solving small simultaneous equations using gauss-jordan...at some point in time i just stopped studying any ‘fundamental’ subject f.e physics/maths/chemistry much to the annoyance of my parents so much so that i was banned from using the machine. but guess what, i continued writing programs on notebooks by hand, and would run sims to trace their execution...to say that i was obsessed would be such an understatement. i think i was intoxicated on the whole thing... :)
I think the 8-bit generation of computers were very important to a lot of folks, and Sinclair was amazing for packing so much in such a low cost computer. A lot of folks wouldn’t be in computing without Sinclair.
Every single programmer I've known from the UK that was from working-class roots started on a Spectrum, so I'd argue that, at least for one country, it's among the most important in history.
My Mum was a single Mum and we couldn't afford games. My first programming books were for programming games. That started my programming career which from the age of 8 is still going 35 years later. It's amazing how far we've come since then.
Thinking back we had about 20-50 games for our Spectrum. I know I bought a few of the budget games for £2.99 from WH Smiths, or similar places, but most of the games we owned were copied on blank audio cassettes.
I'd estimate at least 80% of the games I "owned", and my friends played, were copied. Though I'm hazy on how they arrived. I know my dad would bring some home from the post-office where he worked, and I'd swap taped copies of some games with friends at school.
For me too, got one for my 10th birthday (and got it working again a couple of years ago). For me it was my father who "forced" me to read the Basic manual before I was allowed to use it by my self.
