Similar to the Commodore 64 in the US, the Sinclair ZX Spectrum was many people’s first taste of home computing. When you think the Raspberry Pi has just launched with a processor clocked at 500 times the speed for a measly £35, it demonstrates how much more powerful computers have become. The model A cost from £235 when it launched in 1981, about £880 in today’s money. The original model A and B Micro featured a 2MHz 8-bit processor, a MOS 6502, and came with 16KB to 32KB of memory. It was also extremely expandable, with room for additional language ROMs, an interface for second processors and other add-ons. The BBC Micro booted directly to a command prompt where users could start programming in Basic, and was sold alongside guides that would walk you through writing your first programs.
Acorn BBC MicroĪ hit in the 1980s, this is the PC that inspired Pi co-creator Eben Upton to learn about computers when he was a child.Ī total of 1.5 million machines were sold, with the PC adopted by most schools in the UK and enjoying moderate popularity among home users. The Atom was launched in 1980 and sold until it was superseded by the Acorn Electron in 1983. A disk drive was also available for the machine but cost twice the price of the computer. The machine came with 2KB of RAM and 8KB of ROM, optional colour graphics, support for the Basic programming language, and a proper keyboard. Acorn AtomĬambridge-based Acorn introduced its first home computer, the Atom, for an affordable £120 if you were willing to build it from a kit, £170 if not. To see a gallery of these classic British computers visit this article.
With more than five million of the credit-card sized computers out the door, the £35 board has moved closer to snatching sales crown from the Amstrad PCW, which shifted eight million units during the 1980s and 90s.īut just what sort of competition was the Pi up against? TechRepublic takes a look the gems produced by the British computer industry since the country’s computing boom three decades ago. The Raspberry Pi has become one of the best-selling British computers of all time. The machines that defined British computing: From the Spectrum, BBC Micro and Amstrad to…the FlanĪs the Raspberry Pi edges closer to becoming the best-selling British computer of all time we take a look at the classic machines to come out of the UK.