New view on the world: Pioneer designs 3-D camera lenses with micro

If the 3-D camera and viewing system invented by [Eric] Howlett really catches on, it will be due in part to … Sinclair ZX80. [The] 3-D lenses could not have been designed and perfected without the use of the calculators and computers — at least not by Howlett. “My nemesis in school always was making some stupid mistake in calculating, either positive or negative,” Howlett says. “The Sinclair doesn’t make mistakes. It may take five minutes to get a number, but it’s always right – that was mind-blowing to me.” A year later [in 1981] when Howlett once again plunged into calculating, he invested $350 in a Sinclair ZX80 with 16K of plug-in memory. “That’s when I realized the difference between a computer and a calculator. With the Sinclair and cassette tape, there was no problem – I could write recursive programs.” The Sinclair microcomputer was twice as fast for scientific purposes as the TRS-80 Howlett purchased in July 1982.