Love those comments! :o
Click on the link below for all of them.
https://www.reddit.com/r/britishproblems/comments/22rr45/alan_sugar_is_lying_about_the_importance_of_the/ (https://www.reddit.com/r/britishproblems/comments/22rr45/alan_sugar_is_lying_about_the_importance_of_the/)
In fairness, Sugar was talking out his hole there. The Amstrad was considerably more expensive than it's 8bit counterparts.
But then, the other machines didn't come with a monitor, so you had the problem of trying to find the TV when it was free. Anything that was saved on a Speccy or a C64 ended up going onto a portable television anyway.
But it's reddit, so expect rationale, reasoning and accountability to go out the window in one foul swoop.
It was cheap if you think what it offered.
A monitor, a fast drive, a REAL keyboard and a human basic.
Plus it was quality made (except the monitor)
Quote from: VincentGR on 22:18, 15 April 18
It was cheap if you think what it offered.
A monitor, a fast drive, a REAL keyboard and a human basic.
Plus it was quality made (except the monitor)
None of that mattered to the consumer market in 1985.
It is a valid point though.
Quote from: Shaun M. Neary on 01:09, 16 April 18
None of that mattered to the consumer market in 1985.
It is a valid point though.
The monitor did matter, because most households only had one TV that they didn't want hogged by a kid on a computer.
Bryce.
Quote from: Bryce on 09:13, 16 April 18
The monitor did matter, because most households only had one TV that they didn't want hogged by a kid on a computer.
Bryce.
I meant more the keyboard, fast drive etc.
The monitor was the selling point for my mother for the reason you stated. :)
Well many friends bought a cpc after they saw mine and the drive was the first reason.
And don't forget that with the tuner we had a tv too in our bedrooms ;D
A lot of people didn't have drives either though, we had built in tape decks which kicked the crap out of the unreliable external ones that had to fiddle with the volume knobs! :laugh:
From what I understood, that tuner was bloody awful :laugh:
Actually the tuner was decent, only the speaker could be better.
I had a little TV back in the days, so I never owned the tuner. Actually, the 6128 was in a separate room, sitting on its own desk, and it certainly felt like a "proper" computer with the black case, black monitor, disc drive and printer :) In my case, and since I was a small kid, my fathers chose the machine for me. Those were the days when you would buy a computer in the same place you were buying the vacuum cleaner (ironically, it is the same now). They picked the Amstrad because it had a drive, came with a monitor and it was able to display very bright and cheerful colors compared to the alternative (the Speccy) :D .
he made "Well rounded and fully equipped computers affordable".
so yes that's a thing.
Also many parents were reluctant to have their children have a TV in their room, monitor was a safer choice, and later they had TVs anyway... ;D
Think about it...
ZX speccy48 + AY soundchip addon + 16ko RAM expansion + Tape drive + Monitor + hardkeys keyboard expansion (yeah, this somewhat existed) + Joystick plug expansion... what was the price ?
and still no numbers keypad.
And no "proper" resolution, no extra video modes...
CPC can actually manage 192x256x16 (/ 27) video mode.
Yeah somewhat just like SAMcoupé indeed...
or 360x256x4 (PCW ?) and so on...
Macintosh : expensive as hell, no colours, small screen.
C64 : external disk drive with a metric ton weight and sluggishness of a tape drive.
Speccies : have to wait for Amstrad to somewhat make it right.
Sinclair QL : srsly ? tape-cartridges ?
ST : no disk drives on first ones, more expenssive too and came for cheap later.
Amiga : pleaze, 1987 was after and far from cheap.
AppleIIgs : no in-built disk drive and expensive too.
What about the myriad of 8bit systems in the likeness of the cute Oric Atmos and so on...
they disapeared or were on the US market or other sides of the world's market.
Who did purchase a PC without monitor and drive ? oh and it was far from cheap until the PC1512.
And you could equip with at least 4-5 PCWs for the price of a single Macintosh...
CPC set the standards for what a family or children's room computer should be.