Home computers of yesteryear advertisement thread

*Haggler* · 23-07-2009, 4:28 PM

Comments and discussion welcomed, let's hear those purchase stories and the prices you paid, if you weren't around when some of these computers were released then here is your chance to see what you've missed, if you were around then i think there will still be some that you never heard of.

I have now edited this first post and linked to the individual advertisement posts in this thread, should you wish not to read the complete thread (and why not?) you can now just click on the name to view that individual advert, this should make for another nice resource thread.

ADP Imagination machine
Amstrad cpc 464
Amstrad Cpc 664
Apple II
Atari 400 and 800
Atari 600XL
BBC Micro
Camputers Lynx
Commodore 64
Commodore Amiga 500
Commodore Amiga 1200
Commodore Vic 20
Dragon 32
EACA EG2000 Colour Genie
Enterprise 64
Franklin ace 1000 & 1200
Grundy Newbrain
Jupiter ace
Mattel Aquarius
Memotech MTX500
Memotech MTX512
Oric 1
Oric atmos
Quasar QDP-300
Sam coupe
Sharp MZ700
Sinclair ZX 80
Sinclair ZX 81
Sinclair ZX spectrum
Sinclair ZX spectrum +2 and +3
Sinclair QL
Texas Instruments TI-99/4A

*Haggler* · 23-07-2009, 4:29 PM

Sinclair ZX 81

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZX81

*Haggler* · 23-07-2009, 4:30 PM

Sinclair ZX spectrum

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZX_Spectrum

*Haggler* · 23-07-2009, 4:31 PM

Sinclair QL

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_QL

*Haggler* · 23-07-2009, 4:36 PM

Commodore Vic 20

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_VIC-20

*Haggler* · 23-07-2009, 4:37 PM

Commodore 64

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_64

*Haggler* · 23-07-2009, 4:45 PM

Amstrad cpc 464

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amstrad_CPC

*Haggler* · 23-07-2009, 4:46 PM

Amstrad Cpc 664

*Haggler* · 23-07-2009, 4:47 PM

Dragon 32

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_32/64

*Haggler* · 23-07-2009, 4:50 PM

BBC Micro

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_Micro

SyStemDeMoN · 23-07-2009, 5:26 PM

Awsome adverts mate.

My brother had a ZX81, and I used to love using it.

My 1st experince at learning to program, from the book that came with it.

When my dad's friend brought his sinclair 48k around, we were gobsmacked. It made noise and had colour ! The games were actually playable.

When I got a bit older I had one of the first 128+2 for christmas. It was awsome(at the time).

Loved the BBC's, when my dad brought me one home he had 'acquired' from work when they were updating there comps to wordprocessors, i was in awe. I finally had floppy discs, like on tele!!

The BBC was the main catalyst that gave me the interest in programming. you could do so much in BASIC, true it had line numbers, but it did allow you to build and call procedures.

The acorn archimedes in my mind was destined to take over the world. The PC's at that time were incredibly expensive, slow and hard to use, were as the Arc was fast, easy to use but still expensive

*Haggler* · 23-07-2009, 7:01 PM

Enterprise 64

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterprise_(computer))

*Haggler* · 23-07-2009, 7:03 PM

Oric 1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangerine_Computer_Systems

*Haggler* · 23-07-2009, 7:04 PM

Oric atmos

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangerine_Computer_Systems

pault2007 · 23-07-2009, 7:10 PM

I'm ashamed to say that, at 29, I don't remember any home computer adverts in the papers.

I can remember when my local John Lewis sold Apple Mac Performas(?) and Amstrad PCW computers (the ones that looked really business-like).

I think the Apple Macs were £1,000-£2,000 and the Amstrad's £500 but can't remember for sure.

The Spectrum looked a really good deal at the time.

What was it like in the department stores in the 80's and 90's - could you buy quite a lot of old computers in Argos, Currys etc or were a lot of them only mail-order?

P.S. I wonder why the Sinclair ZX-81 advert asked you to contact a Cambridge address but the Spectrum 48k and QL asked you to contact a Camberley, Surrey address?

I thought Sinclair was solely based in Cambridge (my home town).

*Haggler* · 23-07-2009, 7:17 PM

EACA EG2000 Colour Genie

Colour Genie - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

*Haggler* · 23-07-2009, 7:17 PM

Mattel Aquarius

Mattel Aquarius - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

pault2007 · 23-07-2009, 7:22 PM

Anyone remember the free Spectrum 48k computer with Renault 9 car advert?

I don't.

http://www.gamesetwatch.com/yourcomputer-renault.jpg (so that I don't get told off about copyright)

pault2007 · 23-07-2009, 7:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Haggler

EACA EG2000 Colour Genie

Colour Genie - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Another computer I'd never heard of.

How many are there?

*Haggler* · 23-07-2009, 7:28 PM

Quite a few, i have now added wikipedia links to all the computers posted so you can gen yourselves up if need be, should make for an interesting read anyway, i'll post a few more if i get chance later.

*Haggler* · 23-07-2009, 10:35 PM

Camputers Lynx

Camputers Lynx - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

*Haggler* · 23-07-2009, 10:36 PM

Grundy Newbrain

Grundy NewBrain - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

SyStemDeMoN · 23-07-2009, 11:33 PM

Wow theres a couple I remember from there, but some I dont.

Your a retro lover to the extreme, do you any of these rare examples ?

*Haggler* · 24-07-2009, 8:24 AM

Nope none of them, i have never been the collecting type and would only own them if they were going to get some use, just imagine trying to get hold of some software for some of the rarer examples.

Updated the first post with links to the individual adverts.

buzlightyear · 24-07-2009, 8:41 AM

Thanks for those, will have a read of them, my dad has the 48k speccy, with the printer, that smelt real bad when it was printing, I will read on what that paper was. The QL wasnt as fun, didnt get to play games on that.
He also had the Radio Shack computer that I think was a TLS80 had a big old
screen, we had about 3 games on that. I could play space invaders before i could talk.