In June 1980, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago, a few hundred people encountered something that would barely register on the radar of the American computer industry but would prove irresistible to a certain type of enthusiast. The Sinclair ZX80 wasn’t the show’s star attraction—that honor belonged to products from established companies with established […]
The Sinclair ZX-80 Comes to America Read More »
Ed Simpson, publisher of Home Business News, wrote and published book called Cash From Your Computer in 1987. It featured vignettes about small businesses using, featuring, or organized around small (home) computers. In one section, he wrote about Rick Duncan, publisher of T/S Horizons. Rick Duncan is the owner of T/S Horizons, a publication for
T/S Horizons in Cash From Your Computer Read More »
The Timex/Sinclair went from product announcement to in stores in just under a year. And then Timex left the market. A few examples of computers released during this timeline are included for context.
Timex Sinclair 2068 Timeline Read More »
There were six of us in the whole startup: myself, Billy Skyrme (director), Bob Behler (engineering), Carlos Dragovich (production), Margot Murphy (marketing) and Dan Ross (VP). All of these names where characters in a maze game I wrote called Grimm’s Fairy Trails. I was the Software Manager for Timex Computers. I was there at the
George Grimm on Timex Read More »
When the Timex/Sinclair 2068 finally reached store shelves in the fall of 1983, it arrived bearing the weight of considerable expectations. After the phenomenal success of the T/S 1000—which had sold 550,000 units in just five months—and the delays and confusion surrounding what had originally been announced as the “T/S 2000,” the computing press and
Timex/Sinclair 2068: A Computer in Search of an Audience Read More »
An unlikely savior, David Higgenbottom, a body shop owner turned computer enthusiast, embarked on an audacious journey to resurrect the defunct Timex/Sinclair computer business in 1984.
The Man Who Tried to Save Timex Read More »
In the early 1980s, when home computers were just beginning to find their way into households across America, two engineers in North Carolina created something remarkable: an analog interface that could transform a Timex/Sinclair computer into a sophisticated scientific instrument. They called it VOTEM—short for VOltage and TEMperature—and it would eventually find its way aboard
VOTEM: The $40 Computer Peripheral That Went to Space Read More »
Masterfile and Pro/File 2068: two distinct solutions to 1980s home computing data management. One offered a structured approach, the other a radical, associative design. Explore their innovative differences.
Database Showdown: Masterfile vs. Pro/File 2068 Read More »
The Sinclair ZX81 and Timex/Sinclair 1000 computers, despite their limited hardware specifications, attracted several FORTH language implementations in the early 1980s. Two notable versions — Tree-Forth (originally called Pluri-Forth) by Tree Systems (1983) and ZX Forth by Artic (1982) — took distinctly different approaches to bringing this powerful programming language to these machines. Background: The
Comparing FORTH Implementations: Tree-Forth vs. ZX Forth Read More »
The Timex/Sinclair 1000 and Sinclair ZX81 played a role in 1980s robotics experimentation and education, offering hobbyists and students an affordable platform for controlling mechanical devices and learning fundamental programming concepts. A Complete DIY Robot Build One of the most comprehensive examples of Timex/Sinclair robotics appeared in the July/August 1983 issue of SYNC magazine. Bruce
Robotics with Timex/Sinclair Computers Read More »
What began as an off-hand comment about showing some of our favorite computers at the 20th Vintage Computer Festival Midwest turned into a semi-coordinated group display and weekend of fun for more than a dozen members of the Timex Sinclair Online User Group. Among those who attended: And new members we met at the show:
A Timex/Sinclair Gathering at the Vintage Computer Festival Midwest 20 Read More »
