Plaion Launches Retro ZX Spectrum Computer

[WonkoTheSaneUK]

I had the OG Spectrum that this re-imagines, but much preferred the BBC Micro that followed it because the BBC split the cassette audio data into small blocks with builtin checksums.
This meant that if loading a game failed, you only had to rewind the tape for a few seconds instead of having to completely start over.

 

[Noci]

I remember the original from the eighties, my brother in law owned one. It was my first introduction with PC's and PC games.
Data storage on tapes , you needed a cassette deck and TV of your own.

(bought my first desktop in 1993)
We've come a long way since then.

 

[Ruru]

This is an odd statement. The Speccy can be simulated/emulated by a potato and provide a brilliant experience. If you'd watched Noel's video review you would have a better understanding of the attention to detail and refinement this device offers.

Yeah, those older 8-bit systems aren't hard to emulate. I remember having no issues playing NES games with a Pentium II 400 as a teen back in the day.

Data storage on tapes , you needed a cassette deck and TV of your own.

Never had a floppy drive with C64, all I had was the cassette drive and oh lord how long it took to load games. Some games even needed flipping the cassette during the loading of a game.

 

[lexluthermiester]

I remember having no issues playing NES games with a Pentium II 400 as a teen back in the day.

Same here, though the SNES and other 16bit system emulation didn't run well until the Pentium 3 & Athlon days.

 

[Nelly]

Amstrad also made computers, although mainly PCs, although they had one with a Sega Mega Drive built in as well...

Amstrad Mega PC - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I guess I was wrong about the mainly PCs part, but these were really before I started using computers and I didn't grow up in the UK...

Amstrad CPC - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

In 1993 we was using the Amstrad PC1640HD20 in a training centres where I lived in the UK to do Business Admin qualification. We used obviously Dos based Wordperfect 5.1, Dbase III and Lotus 123 with WYSIWYG for printing. I think this 086 model was manufactured between 1986-1994, we used Hewlett Packard 550c Inkjets printers.

 

[Noci]

In 1993 we was using the Amstrad PC1640HD20 in a training centres where I lived in the UK to do Business Admin qualification. We used obviously Dos based Wordperfect 5.1, Dbase III and Lotus 123 with WYSIWYG for printing. I think this 086 model was manufactured between 1986-1994, we used Hewlett Packard 550c Inkjets printers.

Inkjet? Very high tech for that time, I used Dot-matrix printers in that time and still quite a while after

 

[Nelly]

Inkjet? Very high tech for that time, I used Dot-matrix printers in that time and still quite a while after

My first job when aged 18 was a trainee purchase ledger clerk in Feb 93, for a national company head office. We had an industrial dot matrix/line printer for purchase/returns daybooks, remittances and statements, it was in a huge metal cabinet, apparently it cost a thousand or two I remember back then.

The manager and assistant manager had 386 PCs with colour monitors, I was kinda in awe, as the 18 or so other clerks including me had to make do with green screen terminals lol.
Something like this for the whole office.

 

[lexluthermiester]

My first job when aged 18 was a trainee purchase ledger clerk in Feb 93, for a national company head office. We had an industrial dot matrix/line printer for purchase/returns daybooks, remittances and statements, it was in a huge metal cabinet, apparently it cost a thousand or two I remember back then.

The manager and assistant manager had 386 PCs with colour monitors, I was kinda in awe, as the 18 or so other clerks including me had to make do with green screen terminals lol.
Something like this for the whole office.

Good lord! That takes me back... Little bit too far back...