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Tonight we're going to paint a picture of success,

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peopled with characters who have imagination,

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confidence in themselves,
faith in the future

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and a very positive attitude to life.

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Which means, simply, that they
never, ever take no for an answer.

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Like Joe Radley, driller of fine holes
for the electronics boom.

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Like George Taylor, who has turned
£15 of holiday money

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into a 3 million pound business.

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Like Clive Sinclair, electronics wizard

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who could beat the Japs and the Americans
at their own game.

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I consider it very much my role
to foresee the future.

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For example, I anticipate totally automatic personalised cars

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powered by electricity drawn from
internal batteries or the mains.

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That's a very real goal.

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Starting in the early 1960s
Sinclair has introduced a world

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to a series of remarkable
technological advances.

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Miniature amplifiers,
personal in-ear radios

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and his real breakthrough,
the world's first slimline pocket calculator.

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Sinclair went on to produce dozens of models

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before foreign manufacturers
flooded the market.

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Undaunted, Sinclair moved on to
the world's first digital quartz watch

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but faulty components spelt disaster.

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Faced with financial ruin, Sinclair had to
turn to the government for help -

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selling a share of his company
to the National Enterprise Board

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in order to fund future projects.

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What we've brought in is public investment,
and business know-how -

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and we're confident that the portable
television we've developed together

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will be a great success.

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This is claimed to be the world's first
truly commercial pocket television.

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It's been launched by an English company
in London today -

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in America, later this week.

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This is one of the things we hope will
be making money for Britain

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this year, and in years to come.

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Whether it does or not,
you can at least say

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that it works, and that
it goes into your pocket.

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The answer is no.

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But why?

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Have you even looked at these accounts?

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We're in no position to throw away
taxpayers' money on concept products!

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This is not a concept product.

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It's dreamland, Clive.

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We're running a proper business here.

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Not an amusement arcade!

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There is no more research money
for the car.

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I'm sorry.

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Nothing personal, Clive.

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Who are these people?

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What do they think they're running here?

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What's the point of funding an invention
if you can't stomach the inventor?

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Clive...

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Jesus Christ!
What the bloody hell's the matter with you?

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I don't give a shit about components.
Just get it working!

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What the bloody hell
do you think I pay you for?

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Fuck's sake, I'm surrounded
by incompetence!

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The top end, I've got people who
don't know their arse from their elbow...

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I'll have a word with him.

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...at the bottom end, there are people
who can't even answer a fucking telephone!

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Yes, maybe later.

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Come on - pub.

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Cheers man.

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I've had enough of these
Bolshevik penny-pinchers.

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And bugger technical instruments!

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We've taken technical instruments
and hi-fis as far as they can go.

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I've watched the pocket calculator
we invented

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be hijacked by the Japanese
and their ugly plastic grot.

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I'll be damned if they take away my car.

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They don't have the first idea about
Sinclair Radionics.

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Can't they see we exist to push barriers?

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We won't be constrained like this.

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What's that line from Browning...?

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"A man's reach must exceed his grasp,
or what's a heaven for?"

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Who's that for?

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No grudges, you know me.

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As inventors, we're obliged to dream.

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To be unconstrained in our quest for progress.
Always to be pushing at the barriers.

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And we must never forget that allied to
innovation is a clear Sinclair aesthetic.

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Practicality, simplicity and elegance
are the pillars of my vision.

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Remember that, boys.
Elegance, above all.

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Excuse me, Clive. I'd like you to meet
a friend of mine - Hermann Hauser.

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Hermann, this is Clive Sinclair.

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A pleasure to meet you.

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German?

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I'm Austrian. A common error.

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I was just talking about the importance
of elegance in innovative design.

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As with your Black Watch?

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Oh - yes.

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But your watch didn't work properly.
Elegance and functionality, no?

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Hermann's doing a PhD at the Cavendish.

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It's on oxidisation.

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Yes, well some of us didn't go to university,
did we, Chris.

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We prefer the cut-and-thrust
of the real world

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but I'm sure watching things rust
has its interest.

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I'm sorry, you'll have to forgive him.

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Chris, Clive here.
I'd like to have a word with you in private.

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Meet me in the Rolls in five minutes.

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We've had six months of this state control,
and it's been even worse than I thought.

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This interference in my business
is intolerable.

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I've asked you here because
I trust you, Chris.

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I want you to consider yourself freed
from your employment at Sinclair Radionics.

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What?

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Don't worry, you'll still work for me.

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I hold another company name:

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Science Of Cambridge - it's a shell,
no more than that,

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but I want you to start operating it.

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Right...?

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I've rented a property in King's Parade -
probably start with a couple of small projects.

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There are some of those calculator chips
down in the store,

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do help yourself to those.

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Okay. I mean, I have been speaking to Hermann
about a basic micro-computing kit.

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Yes, yes. What you'll be doing
is preparing the ground

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for me to move in when this Stalinist
shibboleth crumbles, as it surely will.

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You, Chris, will be keeping the flame alive.

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He'll drive you up the wall,
but there is something about him.

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An absolute belief in what he's doing,
and he's loyal to his staff like nobody else.

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You know, he took me and Jim on
when we were just kids.

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And this whole thing, starting this company,
it's been great.

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A real chance to show what I can do.

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He's coming to see the new
computing kit tomorrow.

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I think he's going to like it.
Now, whose move?

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What is a pawn?

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A piece whose only function
is to protect the king.

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To lay down his life, if necessary,
as part of a greater plan.

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But the object of the game -
this is to kill the king.

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Now are you a pawn, Chris,
or a bigger piece on the board?

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Checkmate.

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No, it's not.

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Oh, maybe you're right.
I don't really know the rules.

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CPU... RAM chips...
8-digit LED display...

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5 volt regulator...
It's a basic micro-processing system.

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It's a kit. To make your own computer,
at home.

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Whatever for?

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Right, well - you can find out how chips work,
how to program using computer language -

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once they've got that, they'll want more powerful
computers - computers we can produce.

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Hardly going to have IBM quaking in their boots.
It's a bloody ugly thing.

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But it's better than nothing.

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Some people like putting these together,
I suppose.

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Is this the best furniture you could find?

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Er, yes.

139
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Well it doesn't exactly smack
of the Sinclair brand.

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Still, it won't be long until I'm out of this
NEB cage, then I can really get cracking.

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Start work on some serious products.

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We've got to face facts.
Sales of the television have been disappointing.

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With a little more time,
and further investment -

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What? More money?

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As I keep telling you...

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innovation is not something you can
pay for in Green Shield stamps.

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Excuse me, we've pumped nearly
8 million into Sinclair Radionics.

148
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For what?

149
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The taxpayer has to get something back
for their investment.

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There are some areas of the business
we can salvage.

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Salvage?

152
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It's time to break this business up.

153
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We're calling in the receivers.

154
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It'll be wonderful to be running
my own company again.

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It's marvellous.
It's been a terrible time for Clive.

156
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So nice to see him happy and relaxed again.

157
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So a brave new future lies before us.

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I've mapped out a number of new products
the company might set about developing.

159
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Those communists at the NEB have got
the instruments and the calculators,

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but I've held on to the television.

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The car is still mine.

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I was going to suggest that we try developing
a new upgraded micro-computer.

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00:13:06,619 --> 00:13:11,390
Chris, it's an amusing little gizmo
aimed at a few hobbyists.

164
00:13:11,590 --> 00:13:12,892
No, it's something I want to pursue.

165
00:13:13,125 --> 00:13:14,660
Well, it's not exactly the Commodore PET.

166
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No, it's not meant to be. It's a brand new-

167
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Did your Prussian friend put you up to this?

168
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I don't know what you mean.

169
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I don't wish to discuss it any further.

170
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I wonder why that is?

171
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I beg your pardon?

172
00:13:31,377 --> 00:13:34,880
I'm sorry Clive - but I've always believed in
what you've been trying to do,

173
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now I'm asking for the chance
to take this forward.

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I feel I can do something with this,
it's a worthwhile project-

175
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It's pointless! Amateurish! Ugly!

176
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All I'm asking is that you allow me
the chance to develop the idea.

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No.

178
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But why?

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Because we haven't got the funds to waste.

180
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We have to concentrate on developing
authentic Sinclair products,

181
00:14:03,409 --> 00:14:05,311
like the television, the electric car.

182
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The car? Christ's sake Clive, not the car.

183
00:14:12,151 --> 00:14:14,420
Get out of my bloody house.

184
00:14:20,492 --> 00:14:21,660
Get out!

185
00:14:36,408 --> 00:14:38,344
Is everything all right?

186
00:14:38,644 --> 00:14:42,982
It's nothing.
He'll be back at work tomorrow morning.

187
00:14:53,192 --> 00:14:57,296
I can't believe what I said.
You don't know what he thinks of that car.

188
00:14:57,897 --> 00:14:59,531
Christ, what have I done?

189
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Freed yourself.

190
00:15:01,934 --> 00:15:04,203
You had a taste of being the boss,
and you liked it.

191
00:15:04,603 --> 00:15:05,604
There's no going back.

192
00:15:05,871 --> 00:15:07,506
So what am I going to do?

193
00:15:08,240 --> 00:15:11,343
My father wants to know if I'm
coming back to work in the family firm.

194
00:15:11,644 --> 00:15:12,645
What are they in?

195
00:15:13,812 --> 00:15:14,647
They make wine.

196
00:15:14,947 --> 00:15:15,948
Oh really? I didn't know that.

197
00:15:16,582 --> 00:15:18,350
But I like Cambridge.

198
00:15:18,751 --> 00:15:22,454
I've been thinking of starting a business
here. Computers interest me.

199
00:15:23,689 --> 00:15:25,424
Maybe you could do with a partner?

200
00:15:26,592 --> 00:15:31,664
Seriously? You'd give all that up
to go into business with me?

201
00:15:32,765 --> 00:15:35,267
Have you ever tried Austrian wine, Chris?

202
00:15:35,768 --> 00:15:36,368
No.

203
00:15:37,002 --> 00:15:40,539
If you had, you might understand.

204
00:16:07,900 --> 00:16:10,903
As the Americans would say,
a golden handshake.

205
00:16:11,403 --> 00:16:13,906
Good luck with your future endeavours.

206
00:16:31,223 --> 00:16:33,993
Ten thousand pounds, you say?

207
00:16:35,928 --> 00:16:38,330
What sort of business did you say it was?

208
00:16:39,665 --> 00:16:41,100
Computers.

209
00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:48,207
Oh, I say, how interesting.
Very science fiction.

210
00:16:51,410 --> 00:16:54,980
Well, we like to help new concerns
where we can.

211
00:16:55,381 --> 00:16:59,485
Just need to check a few bona fides.
You know how it is.

212
00:17:00,019 --> 00:17:03,088
Tell me again, which college were you at?

213
00:17:06,492 --> 00:17:08,293
That one.

214
00:17:11,530 --> 00:17:15,601
Jolly good. Thought as much,
just by looking at you.

215
00:17:25,644 --> 00:17:27,880
A fresh start.

216
00:17:38,824 --> 00:17:40,893
Goodbye, old friend.

217
00:17:53,972 --> 00:17:56,108
Better.

218
00:18:03,649 --> 00:18:08,821
Now they say in business that the key to success
is to use the resources you have,

219
00:18:09,088 --> 00:18:13,025
well here in Cambridge we have one
resource in abundance -

220
00:18:14,393 --> 00:18:16,528
Cambridge Processor Group.

221
00:18:19,765 --> 00:18:22,000
They build computer systems for fun.

222
00:18:24,269 --> 00:18:26,071
Our secret weapon.

223
00:18:43,622 --> 00:18:49,962
Steve - Steve Furber?
Could we have a word?

224
00:18:55,868 --> 00:18:58,570
That's him - Roger Wilson.

225
00:18:58,804 --> 00:19:00,272
Spent the summer holiday
building and programming

226
00:19:00,539 --> 00:19:03,942
a computerised cow feeding device
for a farm up in Harrogate.

227
00:19:14,019 --> 00:19:16,221
The computer journals you asked for.

228
00:19:18,624 --> 00:19:20,926
You said you wanted all of them.

229
00:19:22,060 --> 00:19:23,862
Thank you, Nigel.

230
00:19:37,242 --> 00:19:39,845
It's nearly two thousand pounds!

231
00:19:49,721 --> 00:19:51,423
Still too much.

232
00:19:58,230 --> 00:20:00,232
So expensive!

233
00:20:03,268 --> 00:20:05,771
But why so expensive?

234
00:20:22,454 --> 00:20:25,324
We must observe the British tea ritual.

235
00:20:27,059 --> 00:20:28,160
Thank you.

236
00:20:30,095 --> 00:20:33,031
So. We all know the MK14?

237
00:20:33,532 --> 00:20:37,869
Mmm. Sinclair. I saved up for one of his
hi-fi kits when I was a kid.

238
00:20:38,337 --> 00:20:40,339
Looked nice. Matt black, System 2000.

239
00:20:40,339 --> 00:20:43,609
System 3000. System 2000 was in silver,

240
00:20:43,742 --> 00:20:47,779
20 watts as opposed to 40 watts
in the System 3000.

241
00:20:49,081 --> 00:20:51,316
Whatever it was called.
Never bloody worked.

242
00:20:52,985 --> 00:20:53,885
Anyway.

243
00:20:54,353 --> 00:20:56,455
We all want to go with the 6502 processor.

244
00:20:57,022 --> 00:20:59,891
Of course. It's the only choice.

245
00:21:00,292 --> 00:21:01,927
For the moment.

246
00:21:02,227 --> 00:21:03,729
Plus, a whole new look.

247
00:21:03,962 --> 00:21:05,530
That's right. We'll start with kits,

248
00:21:05,731 --> 00:21:08,800
but we want to market this with a proper
ready-made moulded keyboard

249
00:21:09,134 --> 00:21:11,103
and built-in assembler.

250
00:21:11,536 --> 00:21:15,107
The products we produce are going to be
led by you, the engineers.

251
00:21:16,341 --> 00:21:20,178
And so I'm pleased to announce that Nigel
will be heading the new computer division -

252
00:21:20,612 --> 00:21:25,817
not just a division, but an entirely new
company: Sinclair Computers.

253
00:21:31,123 --> 00:21:34,526
A new company, gentlemen.
A new beginning.

254
00:21:34,893 --> 00:21:38,664
Perhaps we should remind ourselves
of the secret of the Sinclair success.

255
00:21:38,830 --> 00:21:42,100
That is, being first to market.

256
00:21:42,501 --> 00:21:46,338
Letting people know what they want,
before even they know about it.

257
00:21:46,805 --> 00:21:49,041
Now the MK14 has been a modest success,

258
00:21:49,374 --> 00:21:52,344
as I knew it would be,
appealing to a specialist interest,

259
00:21:52,744 --> 00:21:56,448
And yes, there are companies
making more advanced computers

260
00:21:56,748 --> 00:22:00,452
but these are affordable only for use
in offices or laboratories.

261
00:22:01,486 --> 00:22:07,192
But is the personal computer
not a desirable notion?

262
00:22:07,659 --> 00:22:12,130
Something every citizen would quietly crave
if he actually knew what it was?

263
00:22:12,564 --> 00:22:14,533
This is my vision.

264
00:22:14,966 --> 00:22:19,404
A computing device in every home in Britain.

265
00:22:23,041 --> 00:22:26,611
I quote. "Personal computers will become
steadily cheaper.

266
00:22:26,978 --> 00:22:32,017
Prices could drop to around a hundred pounds within the next five years."

267
00:22:33,018 --> 00:22:34,152
Poppycock!

268
00:22:34,720 --> 00:22:38,123
Because, gentlemen, we are going to
achieve that in a matter of months.

269
00:22:38,457 --> 00:22:40,092
Price is the key.

270
00:22:40,525 --> 00:22:42,694
Whatever happens, I want a computer
that we can sell

271
00:22:42,928 --> 00:22:45,630
for the magic sum of ninety-nine pounds.

272
00:22:45,897 --> 00:22:47,632
At that price, the man on the
Clapham omnibus will want one

273
00:22:47,866 --> 00:22:51,370
even if he has absolutely no idea
what to do with it!

274
00:22:51,803 --> 00:22:54,973
Beg, borrow or steal components.

275
00:22:55,207 --> 00:22:57,175
But one thing is clear in my mind.

276
00:22:57,909 --> 00:23:02,280
It has to look like this.

277
00:23:05,784 --> 00:23:07,819
Now just imagine a future where anybody

278
00:23:08,053 --> 00:23:11,022
could go and buy a computer kit
to program at home.

279
00:23:11,223 --> 00:23:14,760
We could sell, what, eight thousand,
maybe even ten thousand computers?

280
00:23:16,528 --> 00:23:19,231
What programming language are you proposing?

281
00:23:19,431 --> 00:23:20,499
Which one's the best?

282
00:23:21,233 --> 00:23:23,468
They all have their limitations.

283
00:23:24,136 --> 00:23:26,338
Then why don't you write us a better one?

284
00:23:26,605 --> 00:23:30,208
Look, I've heard Sinclair might be developing
a new computer of his own.

285
00:23:30,776 --> 00:23:31,710
Is that true?

286
00:23:32,177 --> 00:23:34,646
I don't know. We don't speak.

287
00:23:35,013 --> 00:23:37,616
Besides, with the team we've assembled
I'm 100% certain

288
00:23:37,949 --> 00:23:39,951
that we're way ahead of Sinclair.

289
00:24:00,405 --> 00:24:02,541
Good evening, and welcome
to The Money Programme.

290
00:24:02,908 --> 00:24:04,976
Tonight we enter the world
of the microchip,

291
00:24:05,243 --> 00:24:08,280
and report on a story of British
perseverance and invention.

292
00:24:08,780 --> 00:24:13,385
We ask: will the personal computer be
Clive Sinclair's ticket to a fortune?

293
00:24:14,453 --> 00:24:17,789
It took Sinclair just nine months to
develop the ZX80,

294
00:24:18,089 --> 00:24:21,393
and he began to sell it by mail order
in March this year.

295
00:24:23,295 --> 00:24:26,164
It costs 99 pounds, measures
nine by seven inches

296
00:24:26,498 --> 00:24:28,467
and weighs just twelve ounces.

297
00:24:28,700 --> 00:24:32,604
All you have to do is add an ordinary TV
and a cheap cassette recorder.

298
00:24:32,971 --> 00:24:35,774
Eventually there will be some
two hundred programs available,

299
00:24:36,107 --> 00:24:39,978
mostly educational; some technical,
and many suitable for children.

300
00:24:47,686 --> 00:24:51,056
Jesus, it's like trying to read Braille
through a pair of gardening gloves.

301
00:24:52,023 --> 00:24:55,961
Clumsy programming language - limited.

302
00:24:56,428 --> 00:25:03,068
Z80A processor - big ROM.
Nice bit of circuitry there.

303
00:25:05,203 --> 00:25:06,137
Ah.

304
00:25:06,471 --> 00:25:07,672
Well?

305
00:25:07,973 --> 00:25:11,610
It's like we thought. It's clever.
Done on the cheap, but clever.

306
00:25:12,010 --> 00:25:16,248
So, we know what we're up against.
We produce something better.

307
00:25:16,414 --> 00:25:20,051
Better keyboard - bigger memory.
Smarter chip - and improved language.

308
00:25:20,285 --> 00:25:24,022
I know. But the genie is out of the bottle.
He's done it - he's got there first.

309
00:25:24,322 --> 00:25:29,861
It's a working computer for less than a ton.
It's brilliant. A clear run on us.

310
00:25:30,161 --> 00:25:34,232
Look at the positive.
Clive is playing his hand first.

311
00:25:34,499 --> 00:25:39,671
If he is bluffing, we will know.
If he is holding the full house, we will be able

312
00:25:40,005 --> 00:25:45,310
to look through the pack and find
the three aces with which to beat him.

313
00:25:46,011 --> 00:25:48,246
You don't play cards either, do you?

314
00:25:48,480 --> 00:25:49,981
No.

315
00:25:52,551 --> 00:25:55,887
So it goes well,
but we still need to push on.

316
00:25:56,421 --> 00:25:58,189
Progress on the ZX81?

317
00:25:58,690 --> 00:26:03,128
Our first specs are done, and we start work
on an initial prototype next week.

318
00:26:03,929 --> 00:26:05,764
What about that bloody screen flicker?

319
00:26:06,031 --> 00:26:07,899
Hopefully not.

320
00:26:14,873 --> 00:26:23,081
Jim, I was wondering if you'd had
any contact with Chris.

321
00:26:24,883 --> 00:26:26,985
I'm always in the lab.

322
00:26:29,888 --> 00:26:33,291
I hear he might be going to market
with a new product.

323
00:26:33,592 --> 00:26:36,261
Well I have... He hasn't...

324
00:26:37,929 --> 00:26:39,965
I'm not really sure.

325
00:26:40,765 --> 00:26:44,769
It seems a shame he's not still with us.
He'd have enjoyed this.

326
00:26:51,743 --> 00:26:53,011
That's all.

327
00:27:13,031 --> 00:27:16,968
2K of RAM, twice as much as the ZX80 -

328
00:27:17,335 --> 00:27:21,373
8K of ROM, again double what the
Sinclair computer offers

329
00:27:21,806 --> 00:27:25,010
and a proper integrated keyboard
that won't give you arthritis.

330
00:27:25,844 --> 00:27:30,982
The Acorn Atom is the product that serious computer users have been waiting for.

331
00:27:31,349 --> 00:27:33,485
You seem intent on attacking Clive Sinclair.

332
00:27:34,185 --> 00:27:37,889
That's not personal. It's a vastly
superior product, that's all.

333
00:27:38,123 --> 00:27:39,524
You're attacking him again.

334
00:27:39,858 --> 00:27:41,960
It's about computers, that's all.

335
00:27:46,731 --> 00:27:50,402
It pains me to say it, but many of these
companies won't survive this gold rush

336
00:27:50,769 --> 00:27:52,937
in the personal computing market.

337
00:27:53,738 --> 00:27:55,974
There may be many clever people
in the industry,

338
00:27:56,141 --> 00:27:58,910
but business acumen is thin on the ground.

339
00:27:59,144 --> 00:28:00,812
Far too much what I call 'kite flying' -

340
00:28:01,046 --> 00:28:05,684
that is to say, people announcing products
that just aren't ready.

341
00:28:06,351 --> 00:28:08,286
But make no mistake - I welcome competition.

342
00:28:08,486 --> 00:28:12,824
We are a market leader, but we
don't take our position for granted.

343
00:28:14,259 --> 00:28:20,932
Great, OK. Can I ask you about the new
RAM pack attachment?

344
00:28:21,733 --> 00:28:27,305
Yes - well, it was thought that we might
do something to boost the machine's memory.

345
00:28:27,539 --> 00:28:31,042
Yes, right. Because a lot of our readers are
saying that the connection's not that good -

346
00:28:31,509 --> 00:28:33,211
that they fall off.

347
00:28:36,414 --> 00:28:39,951
We are aware of this issue.
Our engineers have looked into it -

348
00:28:40,151 --> 00:28:44,389
and I am informed that the use of a piece
of blue-tack about the size of a runner bean

349
00:28:44,856 --> 00:28:47,292
will resolve the problem.

350
00:28:47,659 --> 00:28:48,093
Blue-tack?

351
00:28:48,326 --> 00:28:49,561
Quite so.

352
00:28:50,428 --> 00:28:54,165
Well that's genius!
You see, our readers would love that.

353
00:28:54,666 --> 00:28:56,201
Which magazine did you say?

354
00:28:57,802 --> 00:28:59,170
Sinclair User.

355
00:28:59,404 --> 00:29:03,575
Ah, yes, well - you have my blessing.

356
00:29:19,924 --> 00:29:20,725
Clive!

357
00:29:21,860 --> 00:29:23,027
Chris.

358
00:29:23,661 --> 00:29:26,164
Everything going well?

359
00:29:29,534 --> 00:29:31,569
I've given up.

360
00:29:37,575 --> 00:29:39,377
What's the progress on the new machine?

361
00:29:39,377 --> 00:29:40,645
All the boys in the lab are doing their best -

362
00:29:40,912 --> 00:29:43,214
Well they need to do better.
Getting it out quickly is vital.

363
00:29:43,815 --> 00:29:45,784
It needs to trump the '80,
but also to obliterate the competition.

364
00:29:46,017 --> 00:29:48,419
We need to keep our rate. Cynthia,
take a memo. To all staff:

365
00:29:48,620 --> 00:29:52,524
In this competitive environment, we cannot
afford information to leak out

366
00:29:52,791 --> 00:29:54,192
about our new products.

367
00:29:54,492 --> 00:29:58,863
Be hereby notified that work on the ZX81
is top secret.

368
00:30:51,082 --> 00:30:53,384
Prizegiving at the boys' school today.

369
00:30:59,724 --> 00:31:03,061
Do you mind? I'm reading.

370
00:31:11,703 --> 00:31:14,505
"A plan to make Britain the most
computer-literate country in the world."

371
00:31:15,240 --> 00:31:16,507
That's quite a thought.

372
00:31:16,808 --> 00:31:18,643
They're making a TV series about computing,

373
00:31:18,977 --> 00:31:21,512
and they want their own machine
to use in demonstrations.

374
00:31:21,846 --> 00:31:25,016
It's the biggest free advertising campaign
in history.

375
00:31:25,250 --> 00:31:29,120
Whoever gets the licence to produce it,
they'll make a fortune.

376
00:31:30,855 --> 00:31:33,291
Hello, Acorn Computers.

377
00:31:35,260 --> 00:31:36,961
It says they already have a favourite.

378
00:31:37,228 --> 00:31:38,529
Yeah. The Newbrain.

379
00:31:38,863 --> 00:31:39,931
In Newbury.

380
00:31:40,365 --> 00:31:43,968
Newbury Newbrain. But why them?
It's the wrong machine.

381
00:31:44,302 --> 00:31:46,504
What they want is something closer
to what we're doing.

382
00:31:46,871 --> 00:31:49,574
Yes. But the same thought will be
crossing the mind of -

383
00:31:51,342 --> 00:31:56,247
Someone on the line for you.
Says he's an old friend. Clive.

384
00:32:31,416 --> 00:32:32,183
Chris.

385
00:32:32,183 --> 00:32:32,817
Clive.

386
00:32:33,551 --> 00:32:34,953
Are you well?

387
00:32:35,219 --> 00:32:35,887
Yes, fine. You?

388
00:32:36,220 --> 00:32:39,724
Thriving. You don't object to my
choice of venue?

389
00:32:39,924 --> 00:32:43,528
I like these places.
They're traditional. And honest.

390
00:32:43,861 --> 00:32:45,897
Quintessentially British.

391
00:32:47,031 --> 00:32:50,268
I took the liberty of ordering for you.

392
00:32:52,904 --> 00:32:57,909
Their oxtail soup is warming
and nutritious.

393
00:33:28,172 --> 00:33:29,807
Very filling.

394
00:33:36,381 --> 00:33:37,782
Business going well?

395
00:33:38,049 --> 00:33:39,283
Yes, fantastic.

396
00:33:39,550 --> 00:33:43,921
Good. I'm pleased there's room left
in the market for niche products.

397
00:33:44,222 --> 00:33:46,190
No, the cream will always rise to the top.

398
00:33:46,457 --> 00:33:48,526
But cream can go sour.

399
00:33:51,696 --> 00:33:53,464
Not if it's kept cool.

400
00:33:53,765 --> 00:33:58,102
Well let's hope your cream can withstand
the heat of the kitchen.

401
00:34:00,671 --> 00:34:02,573
You wanted to talk?

402
00:34:03,808 --> 00:34:08,546
I don't know if you'd heard,
but there's this BBC computer project.

403
00:34:08,813 --> 00:34:12,450
That - yes, I think I read something
about it somewhere.

404
00:34:12,884 --> 00:34:15,219
I'm sure it won't amount to much,
but I wanted to discuss it

405
00:34:15,453 --> 00:34:18,456
in case you had any concerns.

406
00:34:19,323 --> 00:34:20,491
Concerns?

407
00:34:20,858 --> 00:34:23,561
Clearly it amounts to a breach
of their non-commercial charter.

408
00:34:23,895 --> 00:34:24,762
It's outrageous.

409
00:34:25,096 --> 00:34:29,367
Any machine bearing the BBC logo
would carry an enormous advantage.

410
00:34:29,534 --> 00:34:30,401
You think?

411
00:34:30,701 --> 00:34:33,871
Their patronage of the Newbury project
is intolerable.

412
00:34:34,372 --> 00:34:37,308
At the very least it should be
an open competition for the contract.

413
00:34:37,508 --> 00:34:38,576
At the very least.

414
00:34:38,843 --> 00:34:43,281
Well it seems only fair, especially for
smaller companies like yours.

415
00:34:43,881 --> 00:34:45,650
Very altruistic.

416
00:34:46,551 --> 00:34:50,021
Assuming you were intending on bidding?

417
00:34:51,289 --> 00:34:55,326
I hadn't really given it much thought.
What about you?

418
00:34:56,027 --> 00:35:00,865
I think we should both write to the BBC
making our feelings clear.

419
00:35:01,065 --> 00:35:05,503
It is in both our interests that Cambridge
remain at the heart of the computer industry.

420
00:35:06,337 --> 00:35:08,272
You're asking for my help?

421
00:35:08,539 --> 00:35:12,977
I'm looking to join forces,
for the common good.

422
00:35:13,945 --> 00:35:17,248
This is about doing the right thing.

423
00:35:20,218 --> 00:35:23,988
So he's sitting there, suggesting
that we should - I don't know -

424
00:35:24,856 --> 00:35:28,493
join forces to stop them - but I can't believe
that he's not actually pitching for the job.

425
00:35:28,860 --> 00:35:30,461
So there would be competition?

426
00:35:31,295 --> 00:35:33,631
With him as odds-on favourite?

427
00:35:33,865 --> 00:35:34,866
There wouldn't be time for a competition.

428
00:35:35,099 --> 00:35:38,903
The BBC want this machine ready in weeks,
in time for the broadcasts.

429
00:35:38,903 --> 00:35:41,105
And Clive knows that!
He's ready to step in -

430
00:35:41,405 --> 00:35:44,408
And if Clive gets it,
he'll have the whole market in his pocket.

431
00:35:44,809 --> 00:35:47,778
It'll be curtains for us, and every other
computer business in the country.

432
00:35:48,246 --> 00:35:50,581
And he wants me to help him win
the bloody contract!

433
00:35:51,415 --> 00:35:53,251
We'll have to throw our hat in the ring.

434
00:35:53,484 --> 00:35:55,186
But he's got a huge advantage.

435
00:35:55,386 --> 00:35:57,822
I mean, he's already manufacturing
god knows how many computers a week.

436
00:35:58,022 --> 00:36:02,460
2,076 per week - 8,996 per month.

437
00:36:03,828 --> 00:36:06,164
On average.

438
00:36:07,965 --> 00:36:09,600
But the Atom is a superior computer.

439
00:36:09,901 --> 00:36:10,568
No question.

440
00:36:10,902 --> 00:36:12,136
Absolutely.

441
00:36:12,370 --> 00:36:15,273
Quantity is his strength - quality is ours.

442
00:36:15,473 --> 00:36:19,410
We just have to convince the BBC
that they need what we've got.

443
00:36:26,184 --> 00:36:29,287
I finessed his real intentions from him -

444
00:36:30,087 --> 00:36:34,091
if there's a BBC contract in the offing,
he'll bid - I'm sure of it.

445
00:36:34,792 --> 00:36:37,628
Even though he knows he hasn't
got a chance.

446
00:36:41,299 --> 00:36:45,102
Our next machine, gentlemen,
will win hands down,

447
00:36:45,536 --> 00:36:50,942
because we know so much better what is
needed, and how to do it, than the BBC.

448
00:36:51,242 --> 00:36:53,611
I don't know if it will be that simple, Clive.

449
00:36:54,045 --> 00:36:56,814
We're pretty well-advanced with
the development already -

450
00:36:57,081 --> 00:36:59,850
the BBC's specs are quite different
to what we're doing.

451
00:37:00,184 --> 00:37:02,486
Well tell them what they want -
not the other way around.

452
00:37:04,055 --> 00:37:08,659
An affordable but elegant machine
with a few basic functions -

453
00:37:08,893 --> 00:37:10,561
just as we're developing.

454
00:37:10,928 --> 00:37:12,530
We are the computer experts.

455
00:37:13,064 --> 00:37:16,601
They can stick to making Doctor Who,
and Home With Mother.

456
00:37:17,702 --> 00:37:19,870
29... 30...

457
00:37:22,607 --> 00:37:28,980
Don't worry. When the Newbury project fails,
they'll come to us.

458
00:37:33,851 --> 00:37:36,687
We are expanding even quicker
than anticipated.

459
00:37:36,988 --> 00:37:40,224
Well, things do seem to be going well.

460
00:37:42,727 --> 00:37:44,962
Fifty thousand pounds.

461
00:37:47,865 --> 00:37:50,701
Doing the old college proud, eh?

462
00:37:52,937 --> 00:37:59,910
And so it is with great pride
that I take on this role

463
00:38:00,144 --> 00:38:07,285
of president of this organisation
of like-minded individuals.

464
00:38:08,019 --> 00:38:12,723
Where to be clever, is to be among friends.

465
00:38:13,724 --> 00:38:15,693
Thank you.

466
00:38:34,945 --> 00:38:35,579
Mr Sinclair?

467
00:38:36,080 --> 00:38:37,214
Excuse me.

468
00:38:37,815 --> 00:38:38,349
Yes.

469
00:38:38,616 --> 00:38:40,484
We'd love to congratulate you
on your speech.

470
00:38:40,751 --> 00:38:42,887
My name's Susan, and this is
Mindy, and Barbara.

471
00:38:43,220 --> 00:38:43,721
Hello!

472
00:38:44,388 --> 00:38:49,060
Hello. And you're enjoying
the symposium?

473
00:38:49,560 --> 00:38:53,331
Oh yeah - everyone's very lovely,
and all these clever people.

474
00:38:53,698 --> 00:38:58,769
It's so inspiring that you can develop
so many projects at once.

475
00:38:59,103 --> 00:39:04,608
Quite. Sinclair Research is making significant
progress with the portable television,

476
00:39:04,942 --> 00:39:09,613
the home computing system,
and - what I'm most proud of -

477
00:39:09,880 --> 00:39:13,284
the personal electric transport.

478
00:39:13,951 --> 00:39:16,454
Well, I'm just full of admiration for any man

479
00:39:16,787 --> 00:39:20,591
that can take care of three things
at the same time.

480
00:39:21,092 --> 00:39:24,929
Good, good. That's good, because
as president -

481
00:39:25,429 --> 00:39:33,337
I really want to promote the organisation
as being fundamentally social.

482
00:39:34,705 --> 00:39:38,409
What you were saying about being able
to put every book ever written

483
00:39:38,743 --> 00:39:41,946
into a machine the size of a sugar cube -
were you serious?

484
00:39:42,179 --> 00:39:47,251
Oh, absolutely, yes. This quest
for miniaturisation is a major credo of mine -

485
00:39:47,585 --> 00:39:53,057
to reduce the size of something -
making it more efficient and convenient -

486
00:39:53,424 --> 00:39:56,460
that's right at the heart of
everything I do.

487
00:39:57,428 --> 00:40:04,535
Still, it's nice to get your hands
on something - big, once in a while.

488
00:40:06,404 --> 00:40:07,271
See you later.

489
00:40:16,747 --> 00:40:19,250
No, I appreciate you calling me back.

490
00:40:20,418 --> 00:40:24,622
It's not easy to actually speak to
someone from the BBC.

491
00:40:29,527 --> 00:40:31,295
Acorn Computers, customer help desk.

492
00:40:31,762 --> 00:40:38,469
Well, quite. What I want to stress is that we're
doing some really interesting work here -

493
00:40:38,736 --> 00:40:40,738
Have you actually plugged it in?

494
00:40:41,138 --> 00:40:45,142
- and all we're saying is that we should get
the same chance that Newbury's getting to -

495
00:40:49,980 --> 00:40:52,483
When did they pull out?

496
00:41:17,641 --> 00:41:18,576
Afternoon sir.

497
00:41:18,809 --> 00:41:20,411
Ah, yes, hello.

498
00:41:20,611 --> 00:41:21,946
Did the speech go well?

499
00:41:22,112 --> 00:41:25,149
Yes. It seemed to create some interest.

500
00:41:25,583 --> 00:41:29,620
That's nice. Nigel told me to
give you a message -

501
00:41:29,920 --> 00:41:33,424
he said the Newbury Newbrain is out of the race.

502
00:41:33,657 --> 00:41:35,826
I knew it! Have the BBC called us yet?

503
00:41:36,126 --> 00:41:38,162
Yes, they wanted a proposal from us

504
00:41:38,562 --> 00:41:39,897
As I predicted.

505
00:41:40,331 --> 00:41:47,771
And also proposals from Dragon, Oric,
Camputer - and Acorn.

506
00:41:48,672 --> 00:41:51,342
Get me Acorn on the phone, now.

507
00:41:54,512 --> 00:41:58,282
This is Clive Sinclair -
I'd like to speak to Chris Curry.

508
00:41:59,216 --> 00:42:01,485
He's bloody where?!

509
00:42:11,262 --> 00:42:14,064
He's sharper than a serpent's tooth.

510
00:42:14,331 --> 00:42:16,000
Yes, but he's nowhere near ready.

511
00:42:16,166 --> 00:42:17,201
How do you know?

512
00:42:17,601 --> 00:42:21,705
Well everyone knows. They're not like us Clive -
they don't operate in secret.

513
00:42:21,972 --> 00:42:23,340
Cocky like that.

514
00:42:24,742 --> 00:42:28,846
Very well. Let him make a fool of himself,

515
00:42:29,146 --> 00:42:33,217
 then these broadcasters will have to
come grovelling to me.

516
00:42:34,218 --> 00:42:35,619
How long?

517
00:42:37,454 --> 00:42:38,255
Four days.

518
00:42:38,589 --> 00:42:39,523
Four days?

519
00:42:39,823 --> 00:42:41,592
They want the programme on the air
in the new year.

520
00:42:42,192 --> 00:42:43,294
Four days!

521
00:42:43,494 --> 00:42:47,164
Christ! I know, but I was standing there
with my foot in the door -

522
00:42:47,364 --> 00:42:48,465
what was I supposed to say?

523
00:42:48,666 --> 00:42:55,105
"Don't come, because the computer I'm trying
to sell you doesn't actually exist."

524
00:43:00,010 --> 00:43:03,080
Is there any chance? By Friday?

525
00:43:04,281 --> 00:43:05,616
What will Roger and Steve say?

526
00:43:05,950 --> 00:43:06,817
What do you think they will say?

527
00:43:07,017 --> 00:43:09,186
They'll say it can't be done.

528
00:43:11,188 --> 00:43:14,124
Perhaps they just need a little encouragement.

529
00:43:21,832 --> 00:43:25,903
Roger! Hermann. I have a question for you.

530
00:43:26,136 --> 00:43:31,442
Can you adapt the new machine
for the BBC spec? We've got a week.

531
00:43:32,776 --> 00:43:34,712
I understand.

532
00:43:37,748 --> 00:43:39,283
He says it cannot be done.

533
00:43:39,817 --> 00:43:41,552
I knew it. Bugger!

534
00:43:45,623 --> 00:43:49,226
So, I ask you Steve.
You think it can be done?

535
00:43:49,660 --> 00:43:54,531
No? I'm surprised when you tell me this.

536
00:43:54,765 --> 00:43:58,702
Because Roger told me that he thought it was
possible to do it in a few days.

537
00:43:59,003 --> 00:44:04,341
Yes, he seemed to believe so.
But I will tell him that you disagree, no?

538
00:44:11,548 --> 00:44:16,120
Roger! Hermann again.
Now, I need your advice.

539
00:44:16,520 --> 00:44:19,256
Steve says he thinks he can do it.

540
00:44:19,523 --> 00:44:22,926
No, he really does.
He seemed very confident.

541
00:44:23,227 --> 00:44:26,730
No, I didn't tell him that you said
it was impossible.

542
00:44:27,097 --> 00:44:30,601
Do you want me to call him back
and tell him that now?

543
00:44:31,869 --> 00:44:37,007
Okay. See you tomorrow.

544
00:44:39,343 --> 00:44:41,979
Sehr gut.

545
00:44:47,484 --> 00:44:49,420
They'll fall flat on their faces.

546
00:44:49,720 --> 00:44:51,922
We need do nothing,
and the contract is ours.

547
00:44:52,222 --> 00:44:54,591
That's what we're going to do? Nothing?

548
00:44:54,792 --> 00:44:57,728
Of course not! Never stand still.

549
00:45:01,899 --> 00:45:04,768
The BBC will be here on Friday morning.

550
00:45:06,537 --> 00:45:11,909
We need to be able to show them
a working prototype that fits this spec.

551
00:45:13,010 --> 00:45:15,212
I know you can do it.

552
00:45:15,746 --> 00:45:18,082
I'll make the tea.

553
00:45:35,099 --> 00:45:36,500
That one.

554
00:46:14,872 --> 00:46:18,842
What if we move the space bar to here?
We could just lose all of this.

555
00:46:21,011 --> 00:46:23,280
At the moment I can't see
how that's linking up -

556
00:46:28,252 --> 00:46:30,420
Kebabs, everyone!

557
00:46:57,981 --> 00:46:59,149
That one.

558
00:47:30,380 --> 00:47:32,649
Goodnight sir.

559
00:47:37,254 --> 00:47:40,824
This was the spectacular scene
only a few days ago.

560
00:47:41,425 --> 00:47:44,094
Three and a half thousand
special guests -

561
00:47:52,369 --> 00:47:54,104
All right - now we need to wire up
the whole thing.

562
00:47:54,304 --> 00:47:54,905
Good.

563
00:47:55,205 --> 00:47:56,807
Miss one connection, then it won't work.

564
00:47:57,007 --> 00:47:58,442
Shouldn't take too long, should it?

565
00:47:58,775 --> 00:48:00,711
Well - I've done the first seven.

566
00:48:00,978 --> 00:48:01,845
Great.

567
00:48:02,145 --> 00:48:05,182
About three thousand to go.

568
00:48:40,284 --> 00:48:42,052
This time. Come on.

569
00:48:45,789 --> 00:48:50,827
Christ! Dammit. Must be some kind of
contact failure, I don't know.

570
00:48:51,094 --> 00:48:53,163
I thought we had it working?

571
00:49:05,409 --> 00:49:06,310
It must be something -

572
00:49:07,044 --> 00:49:10,147
They're here. I'll try and stall them.

573
00:49:10,380 --> 00:49:11,648
We've had it.

574
00:49:15,052 --> 00:49:18,255
Well - very good of you to come.

575
00:49:20,424 --> 00:49:24,761
We do really appreciate the opportun-
sorry, the opportunity to-

576
00:49:26,029 --> 00:49:29,766
sorry, this thing's about to break.

577
00:49:31,702 --> 00:49:33,603
This is the wire to the development system?

578
00:49:33,804 --> 00:49:35,172
Yes.

579
00:49:36,273 --> 00:49:38,508
You've used a clock wire for this?

580
00:49:40,978 --> 00:49:45,983
This is a breakthrough for us, I hope,
and the BBC as well.

581
00:49:46,249 --> 00:49:48,285
To - have you here.

582
00:49:48,552 --> 00:49:52,990
Sorry, wrong door. This - that can't be.

583
00:49:53,223 --> 00:49:56,660
I'm so sorry, gentlemen -
I feel very embarrassed.

584
00:50:01,665 --> 00:50:05,702
What if the wire is causing a skew
on the internal clock?

585
00:50:08,505 --> 00:50:10,240
It's directly beneath - I'm so sorry.

586
00:50:10,574 --> 00:50:13,777
Why are they going upstairs? It's absolutely
downstairs. Ridiculous.

587
00:50:14,211 --> 00:50:14,978
If we cut this cord -

588
00:50:15,145 --> 00:50:17,614
But that's its backup life support!

589
00:50:18,048 --> 00:50:20,283
At the moment of birth,
if the child is to prosper -

590
00:50:20,751 --> 00:50:22,886
the cord must be cut.

591
00:50:23,987 --> 00:50:25,389
No, no, no!

592
00:50:28,692 --> 00:50:32,696
Here we are, gentlemen. As you can see,
we're only able to show you a -

593
00:50:33,030 --> 00:50:36,533
- Fully functioning prototype.

594
00:50:40,670 --> 00:50:45,108
Marvellous! Let's see what she can do.

595
00:51:14,571 --> 00:51:15,172
Yes, sir?

596
00:51:15,472 --> 00:51:20,644
Cynthia - I'm not taking any calls.
Except from the BBC.

597
00:51:45,702 --> 00:51:46,703
Hello?

598
00:51:47,704 --> 00:51:49,206
Yeah.

599
00:52:15,732 --> 00:52:17,534
Clive Sinclair.

600
00:52:18,568 --> 00:52:22,172
Ah yes - I was expecting your call.

601
00:52:28,311 --> 00:52:29,546
You've- ?!

602
00:52:30,013 --> 00:52:34,084
Bloody fucking hell!

603
00:52:36,086 --> 00:52:37,020
Hey, what are you thinking-

604
00:52:37,254 --> 00:52:39,089
Sorry, that wasn't my aim.

605
00:52:53,136 --> 00:52:58,208
I'd like to add the government backing
to the BBC computer literacy programme,

606
00:52:58,441 --> 00:53:04,781
and I'm proud to announce that the BBC Micro
will be at the heart of a new government initiative

607
00:53:05,081 --> 00:53:08,752
to put a computer into
every school in the country.

608
00:53:09,186 --> 00:53:13,456
The exclusive manufacturers of the
BBC Micro, Acorn Computers,

609
00:53:13,823 --> 00:53:18,128
tell me they have already taken twice
the number of anticipated orders.

610
00:53:18,428 --> 00:53:20,730
The public is excited by this new technology,

611
00:53:21,064 --> 00:53:23,166
and Britain is at the forefront of it.

612
00:53:23,400 --> 00:53:25,735
Can we just see you using
the machine, minister?

613
00:53:25,969 --> 00:53:28,071
Yes, yes, of course.

614
00:53:28,805 --> 00:53:31,508
If you remember, it's the Return key.

615
00:53:35,545 --> 00:53:38,014
Isn't that absolutely marvellous?

616
00:53:44,087 --> 00:53:46,189
Why even bother with them?

617
00:53:46,489 --> 00:53:51,661
Demand for the ZX81 has been phenomenal.
Our only problem is how to meet the orders.

618
00:53:52,028 --> 00:53:56,933
We're having to step up production -
turnover's looking like over 30 million -

619
00:53:57,334 --> 00:53:58,301
it's incredible.

620
00:53:58,501 --> 00:54:00,103
I want the Spectrum brought forward.

621
00:54:00,270 --> 00:54:03,406
It's still in the developmental stage, Clive -
I'm sorry, I don't know-

622
00:54:03,573 --> 00:54:07,244
We'll meet them head on. Acorn may have
their friends in government and at the BBC,

623
00:54:07,644 --> 00:54:10,580
but Sinclair understands what the
man in the street wants.

624
00:54:11,214 --> 00:54:16,219
Simplicity. Affordability. Elegance.
Elegance above all.

625
00:54:16,486 --> 00:54:21,424
This new BBC micro looks like it was
invented by a blind Bulgarian bricklayer.

626
00:54:22,492 --> 00:54:24,160
It's not funny.

627
00:54:25,028 --> 00:54:28,064
The next computer has to do
everything theirs does, and more.

628
00:54:28,331 --> 00:54:30,533
And it has to be half the price of theirs.

629
00:54:31,167 --> 00:54:33,003
We start taking orders now.

630
00:54:33,503 --> 00:54:38,575
If Chris Curry wants a battle - well, let's
show him what we've got up our sleeve.

631
00:54:40,777 --> 00:54:46,149
High resolution graphics.
Up to a massive 48K of RAM.

632
00:54:46,416 --> 00:54:49,986
Sound and full eight-colour capability.

633
00:54:50,287 --> 00:54:59,229
All available from £125. I give you,
the Sinclair ZX Spectrum.

634
00:55:14,411 --> 00:55:16,446
Well let's take a look at a typical office of today,

635
00:55:16,746 --> 00:55:18,748
and what are the first things you see, apart
from the man working in it?

636
00:55:18,882 --> 00:55:21,818
It's the filing cabinets. Now, what's going to
happen to them, Mac?

637
00:55:22,018 --> 00:55:23,453
Well, most of them are going to go, Chris,

638
00:55:23,687 --> 00:55:26,923
along with invoices and bills, those are all going
to be sent through by the computer.

639
00:55:27,023 --> 00:55:29,392
What about our old office friend,
the faithful typewriter?

640
00:55:29,592 --> 00:55:31,294
Are we going to say goodbye to that as well?

641
00:55:38,001 --> 00:55:39,703
So a secretary's job will really be enhanced,

642
00:55:39,936 --> 00:55:44,607
as she's able to help her boss in understanding
the speed at which his business is changing

643
00:55:44,841 --> 00:55:50,980
We've done 10 CLS? All right -
20 PRINT "WHAT IS YOUR WORD

644
00:55:51,348 --> 00:55:52,982
space, question mark -

645
00:55:53,216 --> 00:55:55,585
Does that mean you're going to
do away with paper altogether?

646
00:55:55,785 --> 00:55:58,421
Are the stationery doors finally going to close?

647
00:55:58,655 --> 00:56:02,258
No, they're not. Because people really do still
like to read things on paper and not on screens-

648
00:56:02,492 --> 00:56:06,563
30 INPUT WORD$ , return

649
00:56:07,030 --> 00:56:09,032
Three... two...

650
00:56:12,102 --> 00:56:16,406
- A lot of the time they are used for manipulating
data - characters, words and letters and so on.

651
00:56:16,806 --> 00:56:19,342
And we can show you some of the instructions
on here.

652
00:56:19,843 --> 00:56:20,610
You'll recognise that -

653
00:56:20,944 --> 00:56:23,480
I'm beginning to recognise what looks like
the beginning of a program -

654
00:56:23,680 --> 00:56:24,581
yes, a computer program.

655
00:56:24,848 --> 00:56:25,815
Well the first one is probably new to you -

656
00:56:26,015 --> 00:56:29,786
it's CLS, which is a very concise way
of saying "clear screen".

657
00:56:29,986 --> 00:56:31,988
And that's a bit of your standard BASIC -

658
00:56:32,188 --> 00:56:32,856
- that's right, yes -

659
00:56:33,056 --> 00:56:34,991
- computer jargon. Well I think I -

660
00:56:38,728 --> 00:56:39,896
Afternoon, Clive.

661
00:56:41,264 --> 00:56:43,266
Just do it properly next time, all right.

662
00:56:45,502 --> 00:56:46,403
Good lad.

663
00:56:59,883 --> 00:57:03,820
Since the Department of Industry launched its
multi-million pound Micros In Schools scheme

664
00:57:04,187 --> 00:57:07,424
with a great fanfare, there's now at least one in
every secondary school

665
00:57:07,857 --> 00:57:09,993
and one in almost half the primaries.

666
00:57:10,293 --> 00:57:13,530
Britain, it is said, is ahead of
anyone else in the world.

667
00:57:13,863 --> 00:57:19,903
You can buy a pet, an apple, an acorn,
a tangerine - even a new brain.

668
00:57:20,103 --> 00:57:22,872
In fact, computers suddenly seem
to be everywhere.

669
00:57:25,408 --> 00:57:27,243
I'm sorry, did you say -

670
00:57:27,610 --> 00:57:29,379
Million.

671
00:57:30,180 --> 00:57:36,352
As you can see, we are experiencing growth
at an exponential rate.

672
00:57:36,653 --> 00:57:39,522
I'd have to make a call.

673
00:57:42,625 --> 00:57:44,127
Which college was it again?

674
00:57:45,829 --> 00:57:48,698
In six years, Acorn, who make the
BBC Micro and Electron

675
00:57:49,332 --> 00:57:51,768
has grown from a small company
to a multi-national

676
00:57:51,968 --> 00:57:54,571
with a turnover of more than 90
million pounds.

677
00:58:03,146 --> 00:58:04,681
I think you've been doing
computers for six months?

678
00:58:04,981 --> 00:58:05,348
Yeah.

679
00:58:05,682 --> 00:58:07,050
And you're completely fascinated by it?

680
00:58:07,450 --> 00:58:09,853
My mum can't keep it under control.

681
00:58:13,623 --> 00:58:17,494
Hello again. People in Britain are at
the forefront of the computer revolution

682
00:58:17,927 --> 00:58:21,231
with titles like Manic Miner,
Hungry Horace and Chuckie Egg,

683
00:58:21,531 --> 00:58:24,701
computer games have become the
latest craze to sweep the nation.

684
00:58:24,934 --> 00:58:28,404
According to a survey today, British children
spend more time using computers

685
00:58:28,671 --> 00:58:30,073
than anywhere else in the world.

686
00:58:30,306 --> 00:58:34,377
Sinclair has sold hundreds of thousands
of its ZX Spectrum computers.

687
00:58:34,811 --> 00:58:39,148
This is a small home computer.

688
00:58:39,549 --> 00:58:41,618
If you press that button - R -

689
00:58:42,285 --> 00:58:44,420
- it's a game of chess.

690
00:59:02,405 --> 00:59:05,642
So what can the average user
actually do with a home computer?

691
00:59:06,009 --> 00:59:09,946
An exciting variety of useful applications.

692
00:59:10,380 --> 00:59:12,148
So not just games?

693
00:59:12,448 --> 00:59:15,618
No, absolutely not.

694
00:59:16,019 --> 00:59:17,687
What do you use your computer for?

695
00:59:17,987 --> 00:59:19,389
Mainly games.

696
00:59:39,342 --> 00:59:40,543
You know, we can't cope with this demand.

697
00:59:40,843 --> 00:59:44,180
Then take on more people - boost production.
Can somebody get that phone?

698
00:59:44,480 --> 00:59:47,150
We'll need a further cash injection to expand
at the rate we are growing.

699
00:59:47,350 --> 00:59:49,819
Exactly - and I know how to get it.

700
00:59:51,521 --> 00:59:53,222
A share issue.

701
00:59:53,456 --> 00:59:55,024
What, we float the company?

702
00:59:55,258 --> 00:59:58,227
Computers. Cutting edge technology.
The city will love us!

703
00:59:58,661 --> 01:00:00,663
Come on! What can go wrong?

704
01:00:29,258 --> 01:00:33,029
And then you just delete it by pressing
these two buttons here together.

705
01:00:34,364 --> 01:00:37,867
So you press this button here -

706
01:00:38,368 --> 01:00:42,271
And this button here - no, sorry, no,
this button -

707
01:00:42,605 --> 01:00:44,307
yes, that's right, this button here -

708
01:00:44,540 --> 01:00:47,043
and you see the thingy flashes on the screen
there, that's perfectly normal -

709
01:00:47,810 --> 01:00:54,350
then all you need to do is press enter,
and it changes - colour. Changes colour.

710
01:00:54,884 --> 01:00:57,387
What else can you do on it?

711
01:00:57,820 --> 01:01:03,092
Me? I can change the border to another colour -
let's try blue.

712
01:01:03,259 --> 01:01:04,661
Can you play games on it?

713
01:01:04,861 --> 01:01:09,699
Yes! Yes you can. Hundreds of games
for the Spectrum.

714
01:01:11,067 --> 01:01:14,771
Excuse me. Do you have any games
for the BBC Micro?

715
01:01:15,271 --> 01:01:18,808
Yes, somewhere - yes we do.

716
01:01:51,407 --> 01:01:55,144
Making the most of your
establishment connections, more like.

717
01:01:55,745 --> 01:02:01,984
Oh yes - so respectable.
No games for the Micro.

718
01:02:02,585 --> 01:02:07,290
Damn the BBC - and the government.
And all the rest of your lackeys!

719
01:02:07,623 --> 01:02:12,895
People seem to forget that
this is just a fad. Nothing else!

720
01:02:13,129 --> 01:02:15,865
All this nonsense about
computers replacing shopping.

721
01:02:16,065 --> 01:02:19,469
Saving people a trip to the bank.
These things won't save the world!

722
01:02:20,269 --> 01:02:22,872
It's nonsense - nonsense!

723
01:02:25,208 --> 01:02:26,609
So that's the plan.

724
01:02:26,843 --> 01:02:28,144
We pump the money from the share issue

725
01:02:28,511 --> 01:02:31,447
into a pared-down version of the BBC Micro,
the Electron -

726
01:02:31,681 --> 01:02:34,617
we drop the price - produce on a big scale -

727
01:02:34,817 --> 01:02:37,987
and go head-to-head with
Uncle Clive's Spectrum.

728
01:02:38,588 --> 01:02:41,424
We go downmarket?

729
01:02:41,991 --> 01:02:47,663
Look. The squeeze is on in this industry,
in case you didn't notice.

730
01:02:47,897 --> 01:02:52,168
There's a rival machine launching every week -
we have to keep growing.

731
01:02:52,735 --> 01:02:54,937
So there we have it, gentlemen -
a new strategy.

732
01:02:55,271 --> 01:02:59,175
Alongside an upgraded Spectrum,
we launch the Quantum Leap, or QL.

733
01:02:59,342 --> 01:03:02,178
A new computer designed for use
in the office.

734
01:03:02,411 --> 01:03:05,615
With a proper keyboard, and functions
for business and education.

735
01:03:05,882 --> 01:03:11,053
An upmarket computer.
A serious computer.

736
01:03:11,854 --> 01:03:14,991
Do we need to change tack now, Clive?

737
01:03:15,191 --> 01:03:18,027
I mean - the success of the Spectrum
has been -

738
01:03:18,227 --> 01:03:21,230
You've got a company valued at
£136 million.

739
01:03:21,430 --> 01:03:23,866
You're talking about making a
computer from scratch.

740
01:03:24,000 --> 01:03:27,203
New hardware, new operating systems -
it will take years-

741
01:03:27,470 --> 01:03:29,872
We're announcing in three months.

742
01:03:33,376 --> 01:03:36,212
And anyway, this spec -
I mean, it's a backwards step for us.

743
01:03:36,412 --> 01:03:38,347
We should be working on
improving the hardware.

744
01:03:38,548 --> 01:03:41,217
16-bit technology - our own processor.

745
01:03:41,484 --> 01:03:44,620
Look - computers are for the
common man now.

746
01:03:44,821 --> 01:03:47,290
Games. Entertainment.
That's where the money is.

747
01:03:48,624 --> 01:03:55,665
WH Smiths are ready to order
one hundred and twenty thousand.

748
01:03:57,133 --> 01:03:59,168
Peripherals like the Microdrive
are selling well,

749
01:03:59,402 --> 01:04:02,738
and really, logic suggests that we
expand into building our own software

750
01:04:02,972 --> 01:04:03,873
for the Spectrum.

751
01:04:04,040 --> 01:04:05,608
Exactly. I mean, the games market alone-

752
01:04:05,908 --> 01:04:08,644
Games! Games!
Everywhere I go, games!

753
01:04:08,911 --> 01:04:11,180
This is what my lifetime of achievement
has been reduced to.

754
01:04:11,347 --> 01:04:15,151
Clive Sinclair, the man who brought you
Jet Set fucking Willy!

755
01:04:15,284 --> 01:04:17,386
My lad's up to level eight.

756
01:04:18,221 --> 01:04:19,422
I mean, apparently there's even a game now

757
01:04:19,689 --> 01:04:23,192
about me trying to get a knighthood,
for Christ's sake!

758
01:04:23,659 --> 01:04:28,698
This is a serious company, dammit,
making serious technological advances.

759
01:04:29,265 --> 01:04:34,070
Sorry to interrupt, but I really thought
you should see this.

760
01:04:36,939 --> 01:04:39,442
Congratulations!

761
01:04:40,776 --> 01:04:42,812
I've been -

762
01:04:43,846 --> 01:04:47,250
given a knighthood!

763
01:05:00,863 --> 01:05:07,303
The QL, or Quantum Leap, represents just that
in the home and business computer market.

764
01:05:07,536 --> 01:05:11,307
With its brand new operating system
incorporating SuperBASIC

765
01:05:11,540 --> 01:05:15,111
and innovative built-in Microdrive
data storage system,

766
01:05:15,344 --> 01:05:18,781
and yet another revolutionary keyboard,

767
01:05:18,981 --> 01:05:25,588
it really is sheer professional power
in the Sinclair style.

768
01:05:30,226 --> 01:05:33,696
With all these features, you could be
forgiven for expecting to pay

769
01:05:33,963 --> 01:05:36,065
quite literally thousands of pounds.

770
01:05:36,299 --> 01:05:44,607
But no - the Sinclair QL will sell for merely 399.

771
01:05:46,142 --> 01:05:49,812
Just before I hand you over to our
Head of Computing, Nigel Searle,

772
01:05:50,346 --> 01:05:52,148
just to fill you in on some details -

773
01:05:52,448 --> 01:05:54,216
let me be the first to say,

774
01:05:54,483 --> 01:06:00,456
the future is here -
and it's ready to ship in 28 days.

775
01:06:07,330 --> 01:06:09,932
No I understand that, yes.

776
01:06:15,371 --> 01:06:18,574
Yes - no, that's no problem.

777
01:06:19,041 --> 01:06:22,712
We're fully geared up to produce
that volume.

778
01:06:25,481 --> 01:06:28,084
Definitely - yes, you have my word.

779
01:06:29,618 --> 01:06:31,587
No, thank you.

780
01:06:32,388 --> 01:06:34,423
Okay. Bye bye.

781
01:06:34,623 --> 01:06:37,760
WH Smiths have confirmed the Electrons.
I knew it!

782
01:06:38,027 --> 01:06:39,428
It says here the market might have peaked.

783
01:06:40,029 --> 01:06:42,164
Do we want to run the production
lines that hard?

784
01:06:42,431 --> 01:06:44,934
Hermann, they've just ordered 120,000
computers.

785
01:06:45,167 --> 01:06:47,336
Does that sound like it's peaked?

786
01:06:47,536 --> 01:06:51,374
Chris - remember you've got meetings with the
lawyers and accountants later this afternoon.

787
01:06:51,807 --> 01:06:53,042
Right.

788
01:07:04,253 --> 01:07:06,222
Thank you.

789
01:07:12,361 --> 01:07:14,663
Is that the payroll?

790
01:07:16,132 --> 01:07:18,267
Christ.

791
01:07:19,268 --> 01:07:21,003
Again.

792
01:07:28,010 --> 01:07:30,579
No, no, no. Needs more power on the start up.

793
01:07:30,946 --> 01:07:32,148
That'll drain the battery.

794
01:07:32,348 --> 01:07:36,752
Then spend more improving the battery!

795
01:07:37,386 --> 01:07:40,489
Twelve million quid out of the coffers for this.

796
01:07:41,223 --> 01:07:43,325
Well he's a genius, remember?

797
01:07:43,793 --> 01:07:45,928
Trying to.

798
01:07:55,004 --> 01:07:58,541
Clive. Sorry to interrupt again.

799
01:07:58,841 --> 01:08:00,009
About the Quantum Leap.

800
01:08:00,309 --> 01:08:02,144
Christ, not again.

801
01:08:02,378 --> 01:08:04,180
We can't keep advertising it.

802
01:08:04,346 --> 01:08:07,249
The phones are ringing off the hook with people
wanting to know where their machines are.

803
01:08:07,550 --> 01:08:09,418
Well get the bloody things out then.

804
01:08:09,585 --> 01:08:10,886
We're not ready.

805
01:08:11,053 --> 01:08:13,456
The Microdrives aren't working.
Half the memory's hanging out of the back.

806
01:08:13,656 --> 01:08:15,224
Well employ more people on the job!

807
01:08:15,424 --> 01:08:17,259
Clive! More people isn't the issue.

808
01:08:17,460 --> 01:08:19,728
We need more time to iron out
all the problems.

809
01:08:19,895 --> 01:08:21,363
For fuck's sake Nigel.

810
01:08:21,630 --> 01:08:27,336
We announced the QL will be shipping
in 28 days. It will be!

811
01:08:28,137 --> 01:08:30,272
That was sixty days ago.

812
01:08:41,150 --> 01:08:43,652
Sales of the Spectrum have slumped.

813
01:08:43,886 --> 01:08:47,022
In December 1983 every child
wanted one for Christmas.

814
01:08:47,323 --> 01:08:51,760
And by December 1984, every child
who wanted one - had one.

815
01:08:52,294 --> 01:08:55,331
There are currently some 600 home
computer manufacturers in Britain.

816
01:08:55,631 --> 01:08:58,200
How many of them will still be around
by this Christmas?

817
01:08:58,567 --> 01:09:01,003
Well certainly less than 600, that's for sure.

818
01:09:01,270 --> 01:09:03,372
And the market is very fragmented.

819
01:09:03,572 --> 01:09:06,909
It cannot contain anything like that number
over a long period.

820
01:09:07,943 --> 01:09:09,545
The cheapest of all is this one -

821
01:09:09,712 --> 01:09:12,148
made by the newly-knighted
Sir Clive Sinclair.

822
01:09:12,248 --> 01:09:14,683
It's survival of the fittest.

823
01:09:15,384 --> 01:09:19,855
Who's most innovative - who best meets
the end users' requirements.

824
01:09:20,055 --> 01:09:23,993
It's a tough marketplace for our rivals,
but as far as Acorn are concerned,

825
01:09:24,360 --> 01:09:28,564
an interest in our computers
is still in the ascendancy.

826
01:09:28,764 --> 01:09:31,367
At Sinclair Computing, we've recently developed

827
01:09:31,700 --> 01:09:36,372
a truly groundbreaking machine -
the Quantum Leap.

828
01:09:36,605 --> 01:09:42,144
Just recently we received our biggest ever order
for our latest product, the Electron.

829
01:09:42,444 --> 01:09:46,215
We've already taken a huge number of orders
from eager consumers -

830
01:09:46,482 --> 01:09:48,817
consumers who want the very best.

831
01:09:49,018 --> 01:09:52,688
The QL, or Quantum Leap computer
designed for the upper end of the market

832
01:09:52,988 --> 01:09:56,425
has been dogged by production
and marketing problems.

833
01:09:56,625 --> 01:10:01,630
From next week, the Sinclair QL -
now priced at just under 400 pounds -

834
01:10:01,897 --> 01:10:04,266
is to be reduced by fifty percent.

835
01:10:04,533 --> 01:10:06,669
And although Sinclair originally
promoted this machine

836
01:10:06,936 --> 01:10:09,538
as being capable of more serious applications

837
01:10:09,738 --> 01:10:13,409
it failed to make any inroads
into the business computer market.

838
01:10:13,742 --> 01:10:15,911
And that's where Amstrad comes in.

839
01:10:16,312 --> 01:10:20,649
We are business men - we're not made up
by a team of ex-graduates

840
01:10:20,849 --> 01:10:23,819
who are throwing a few electronic components
in a plastic box.

841
01:10:24,019 --> 01:10:27,623
To make matters worse, the boom in
schools buying computers has also passed -

842
01:10:28,023 --> 01:10:32,361
and it was demand from schools which helped
catapult Acorn from being a two-man outfit

843
01:10:33,028 --> 01:10:35,831
to a turnover of 93 million pounds.

844
01:10:36,098 --> 01:10:38,367
I believe with the right products
at the right price,

845
01:10:38,601 --> 01:10:42,605
then market demand will just
keep growing and growing.

846
01:10:43,005 --> 01:10:46,375
And so for 1985 the most serious
computer game of all

847
01:10:46,642 --> 01:10:49,011
is being played by the companies themselves,

848
01:10:49,345 --> 01:10:54,617
trying to turn around the continuing
and devastating slide in their industry.

849
01:10:55,784 --> 01:10:57,853
Well you see, the way it works is this.

850
01:10:58,053 --> 01:10:59,888
We send them out, and the shops
order them.

851
01:11:00,022 --> 01:11:01,123
Jesus Christ.

852
01:11:01,423 --> 01:11:02,758
And the shops order them
when they need them.

853
01:11:03,225 --> 01:11:04,126
Aha?

854
01:11:04,827 --> 01:11:08,230
The thing is - they needed them
three months ago, not now.

855
01:11:08,464 --> 01:11:11,467
Smiths ordered 120,000 Electrons.

856
01:11:11,667 --> 01:11:15,004
Did you get that order in writing?

857
01:11:15,604 --> 01:11:21,710
Now, if it was your CD players -
we can't send them out quick enough this year.

858
01:11:24,413 --> 01:11:28,083
Some people have been waiting three months
for their QLs. And they're the lucky ones -

859
01:11:28,217 --> 01:11:31,420
The ones we're actually managing
to deliver just don't work.

860
01:11:31,687 --> 01:11:34,056
We can't keep advertising it, Clive.

861
01:11:34,290 --> 01:11:37,059
People trust Sinclair. They trust me.

862
01:11:37,259 --> 01:11:39,728
If they don't work, give them
another one that does.

863
01:11:40,029 --> 01:11:41,730
Look, stop fretting, Nigel!

864
01:11:42,097 --> 01:11:45,367
Our advertising campaign will
guarantee healthy sales.

865
01:11:45,567 --> 01:11:48,671
If Curry wants to muscle in on the Spectrum
market with his ugly tat,

866
01:11:48,904 --> 01:11:51,106
then I'll be damned if we don't respond.

867
01:11:51,307 --> 01:11:55,444
I'll chop him off at the knees
in his own territory. Here, take this.

868
01:11:56,445 --> 01:11:59,815
Sinclair QL commercial, take 17.

869
01:12:04,887 --> 01:12:07,923
Harrods. Asda and Dixons might be next.

870
01:12:08,457 --> 01:12:09,992
What?

871
01:12:10,693 --> 01:12:13,329
They can't all be pulling their Electron orders.

872
01:12:13,529 --> 01:12:14,963
Well, not yet.

873
01:12:15,331 --> 01:12:17,900
Jesus, Hermann, I've got suppliers
all over me for money.

874
01:12:18,067 --> 01:12:19,368
Well, we cash in more of the stock.

875
01:12:19,668 --> 01:12:20,969
No - can't do that.

876
01:12:21,603 --> 01:12:24,073
Or what about using some of
the advertising budget?

877
01:12:24,206 --> 01:12:25,808
No way - that's vital.

878
01:12:25,974 --> 01:12:28,544
We have to advertise on TV
like IBM and Commodore -

879
01:12:28,744 --> 01:12:30,979
we can't spare a penny of that money.

880
01:12:31,213 --> 01:12:34,583
Going to have to find it from somewhere else.

881
01:12:38,253 --> 01:12:40,456
This is the new Acorn Electron.

882
01:12:40,689 --> 01:12:43,125
It's powerful. It's versatile.

883
01:12:43,459 --> 01:12:45,928
And it's only 199 pounds.

884
01:12:46,328 --> 01:12:48,364
But there's one feature that will make it
particularly welcome

885
01:12:48,630 --> 01:12:49,898
in homes all over Britain -

886
01:12:50,099 --> 01:12:53,669
it speaks the same language as
most schoolchildren - BBC BASIC.

887
01:12:53,869 --> 01:12:57,072
The Electron. Now your children can
teach you all they know.

888
01:12:58,974 --> 01:13:01,143
The Acorn Electron can be found
at local Acorn dealers

889
01:13:01,410 --> 01:13:03,712
and major high street stores.

890
01:13:05,080 --> 01:13:07,049
Jesus.

891
01:13:12,421 --> 01:13:14,890
Just thought I'd check on you.

892
01:13:20,763 --> 01:13:22,364
What are you getting for Christmas, Valerie?

893
01:13:22,631 --> 01:13:25,534
Oh - one of those new CD players.

894
01:13:25,768 --> 01:13:29,872
That's if Simon can find one in the shop.
What about you?

895
01:13:30,406 --> 01:13:33,342
I'll be happy with an empty warehouse.

896
01:13:34,376 --> 01:13:35,978
I brought something for you to eat.

897
01:13:36,545 --> 01:13:39,448
Oh! Just like old times.

898
01:13:43,352 --> 01:13:45,053
Very good!

899
01:13:49,091 --> 01:13:51,927
It was fun then, wasn't it?

900
01:14:30,165 --> 01:14:32,734
Dangerous, walking in traffic.

901
01:14:33,001 --> 01:14:34,770
Keep to the side, if I were you.

902
01:14:35,137 --> 01:14:38,373
That's the place for pedestrians.

903
01:15:28,490 --> 01:15:31,126
Are you sure? You want to go
with the one knocking Sinclair?

904
01:15:31,293 --> 01:15:34,730
Just run it. I want full pages everywhere.

905
01:16:45,367 --> 01:16:47,269
What the fucking hell is all this about then?

906
01:16:47,402 --> 01:16:47,869
What?

907
01:16:48,003 --> 01:16:51,106
You fucking buggering shit bucket!

908
01:16:52,908 --> 01:16:54,409
All right - all right.

909
01:16:55,711 --> 01:16:57,813
Jesus Christ!

910
01:17:00,215 --> 01:17:01,249
I'm fine.

911
01:17:01,416 --> 01:17:02,985
Ridiculous.

912
01:17:03,452 --> 01:17:04,720
Don't do that again.

913
01:17:19,901 --> 01:17:21,703
Get out, and stay out.

914
01:17:25,907 --> 01:17:27,309
Still got that temper, Clive.

915
01:17:27,442 --> 01:17:29,845
Someone needs to teach you a lesson.

916
01:17:30,646 --> 01:17:36,284
That's funny. Because everything I learned,
I learned from you.

917
01:17:36,551 --> 01:17:38,020
You learned nothing.

918
01:17:38,387 --> 01:17:42,491
You took, and you took -
and you gave nothing.

919
01:17:42,691 --> 01:17:45,761
You wouldn't listen to me.
What choice did I have?

920
01:17:46,094 --> 01:17:49,297
We could have been the British IBM,
but you wouldn't listen to me when you should've

921
01:17:49,464 --> 01:17:51,166
- and now look at us.

922
01:17:57,072 --> 01:17:59,408
Shares in the Acorn microcomputer company

923
01:17:59,641 --> 01:18:02,244
were suspended on the stock market
this afternoon.

924
01:18:02,444 --> 01:18:05,414
It follows rumours of financial problems
at the company.

925
01:18:05,614 --> 01:18:07,282
Share prices in Acorn
have been under pressure

926
01:18:07,482 --> 01:18:10,452
since the city heard that they had
made a big loss in America.

927
01:18:10,952 --> 01:18:13,822
For some months now, it has been known
that Britain's most famous inventor

928
01:18:14,089 --> 01:18:16,792
Sir Clive Sinclair has had financial problems.

929
01:18:17,092 --> 01:18:21,063
His company Sinclair Research brought
computers out of the lab and into the home,

930
01:18:21,463 --> 01:18:23,965
and was a runaway success in the
early eighties.

931
01:18:24,266 --> 01:18:27,969
But the market has slumped
as rapidly as it peaked.

932
01:18:32,841 --> 01:18:35,043
And just before the weather -
and you'll like this Barry -

933
01:18:35,243 --> 01:18:36,912
Will I indeed? I'll be the judge of that!

934
01:18:37,045 --> 01:18:39,047
It was a battle of the boffins
in a Cambridge pub last night

935
01:18:39,247 --> 01:18:40,682
Ha ha! Tell me more.

936
01:18:40,882 --> 01:18:44,920
As two rival computer clever-clogs
came to blows over a business disagreement.

937
01:18:45,120 --> 01:18:46,188
Fisticuffs, Greg?

938
01:18:46,388 --> 01:18:49,791
Eyewitnesses reported the pair of eggheads
having a crack at each other!

939
01:18:49,925 --> 01:18:52,561
Yolk on the carpet, Greg!

940
01:18:54,663 --> 01:18:58,133
It's official - we're a joke.

941
01:18:59,601 --> 01:19:02,370
Hope all the people we have to lay off
see the funny side.

942
01:19:02,571 --> 01:19:04,139
We're not a joke, Chris.

943
01:19:04,306 --> 01:19:06,641
The bottom has fallen out of
the whole market, that's all.

944
01:19:06,808 --> 01:19:08,410
It's the same for everyone.

945
01:19:08,710 --> 01:19:09,978
It's the same for Clive.

946
01:19:10,178 --> 01:19:12,614
Does that make you feel better?

947
01:19:13,648 --> 01:19:15,183
No, it doesn't.

948
01:19:17,586 --> 01:19:20,188
I'll go and start letting everyone know.

949
01:19:20,322 --> 01:19:21,923
What are they all going to do?

950
01:19:22,190 --> 01:19:24,826
They are clever people.
They'll think of something.

951
01:19:25,360 --> 01:19:28,163
Maybe they already have.

952
01:19:34,202 --> 01:19:36,538
Chris. It's Clive here.

953
01:19:36,705 --> 01:19:39,407
Clive Sinclair. We haven't spoken in months

954
01:19:39,608 --> 01:19:43,645
and I wondered if - if you weren't too busy

955
01:19:43,845 --> 01:19:49,050
just wondered if you might like to
meet up for a drink.

956
01:19:49,851 --> 01:19:53,889
Like the old days. If you're around.

957
01:20:08,136 --> 01:20:10,205
No grudges.

958
01:20:13,108 --> 01:20:17,245
I've always predicted the computer boom
would come to an end.

959
01:20:17,646 --> 01:20:22,350
Now it belongs to ghastly barrow-boys
like this Amstrad fellow.

960
01:20:24,686 --> 01:20:28,290
But we adapt, Chris. We move on.

961
01:20:28,490 --> 01:20:30,659
Businesses come, businesses go.

962
01:20:31,626 --> 01:20:34,362
This was but one step on a greater journey.

963
01:20:34,563 --> 01:20:37,465
And you know - ultimately -

964
01:20:37,966 --> 01:20:42,871
The path of the future
will always be laid by the amateur.

965
01:20:43,271 --> 01:20:46,408
The quiet chap - scuttling off to his shed

966
01:20:46,641 --> 01:20:52,647
to work on that idea that he and he alone knows
will change the world.

967
01:20:52,881 --> 01:20:55,050
That's the British way.

968
01:20:55,450 --> 01:20:58,687
That's what made this
the greatest country on Earth.

969
01:20:58,920 --> 01:21:05,927
"A man's reach must exceed his grasp,
or what's a heaven for?"

970
01:21:06,094 --> 01:21:08,096
True enough.

971
01:21:08,830 --> 01:21:13,468
But you know, the future still needs inventing.

972
01:21:14,502 --> 01:21:17,572
I've been looking into the possibility -

973
01:21:17,772 --> 01:21:21,409
of a flying car.

974
01:21:23,645 --> 01:21:26,214
Time, gentlemen, please.

975
01:23:47,322 --> 01:23:52,027
Subtitled by Matt Westcott
http://matt.west.co.tt/ - @westdotcodottt