Nice report from Thames News (the local TV news for London), from 1988 featuring a CPC 464.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=an1fUP9QA-M (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=an1fUP9QA-M#)
Of course they chose the right computer for the task, not one with useless hardsprites, shitty colours and terrible Basic... nor the one with stupid unique colour clashy video mode in quite low attributed resolution... (yeah, 256x192x2/8 IS low rez compared to 192x256x16... or 384x272x4 a,d so on...)
They took the one solid gold standard of futuristic computing... the one fully equipped with sweet 640x200 display and best Basic. :laugh:
it got, if they ever did make any money out of it
Most likely sponsored by Amstrad. The BBC/Acorn computers were the first choice in UK media at the time, because the BBC owned them and sang their praise at every possible oportunity.
Bryce.
Well, the BBC micros were perhaps more exepnsive as well...
Monocolour CPC464 was cheapdirt cheap and came fully equipped.
Tape+Monitor
Z80 may also be a bit faster for some sort of calculus I guess.
Quote from: Bryce on 21:19, 10 January 15
Most likely sponsored by Amstrad. The BBC/Acorn computers were the first choice in UK media at the time, because the BBC owned them and sang their praise at every possible oportunity.
Bryce.
An odd accusation. Why would Thames News (an ITV regional show) care what the computer it was? In fact the report clearly states the school was receiving sponsorship from the Lawn Tennis Association.
As for the BBC showing bias, outside of the computer literacy programme (for which the BBC Micro was conceived) and Micro Live, there was no preferential treatment (although obviously the BBC supported their own micro as per the agreement at the start). Other computers popped up all over the place. One of the original characters in Eastenders (Colin the designer) had a CPC 464, a CPC turns up in Only Fools and Horses, and in Grange Hill, Luke Gonch has a PCW.
There was even a plotline in Eastenders where GX4000's were being sold on the market.
The BBC Literacy program was quite a big thing and influenced choices in many schools, even in Ireland. This made it very difficult for "the others" to get even close to the publicity that the BBCs got. Computer TV shows were also quite focused on BBC Computers even outside of the BBC. Of course other computers popped up in series etc, but as soon as it had anything to do with learning or schools in the UK, you could almost be certain that it was going to be a BBC.
Bryce.
When you have to include a machine in a TV thing, to have the cheaper yet complete machine was best choice.
To have a computer with extra TV and extra diskdrive was so often more expensive than a CPC or PCW... and the amstrad's monitors look great and serious, nice on TV.
Where there BBC micro or ZX Spectrum monitors ?
There were a number of third party monitors for the BBC including the legendary Microvitec Cub.
BBC
Acorn BBC Micro Model B + Cub Monitor & Twin Disk Drive - Computing History (http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/6039/Acorn-BBC-Micro-Model-B-Cub-Monitor-Twin-Disk-Drive/)
The BBC A and B was developed by Acorn, now ARM, for the BBC for the governments computer literacy programme of the early 1980s
, part of this was the TV show also made by the BBC.
BBC - Computer Literacy Project - Computing History (http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/7182/BBC-Computer-Literacy-Project/)
Quote from: Bryce on 21:19, 10 January 15
Most likely sponsored by Amstrad. The BBC/Acorn computers were the first choice in UK media at the time, because the BBC owned them and sang their praise at every possible oportunity.
Bryce.
Yes, first choice by TV, but NOT by researchers! 8)