The ZX Spectrum Vega+: a Design Classic for the Millennial Gaming Market
9th April 2018Back when computers were the size of cars and getting smaller everyday, a British consumer electronics company called Sinclair Research was on the brink of a minor revolution in home computing.
It was 1980 and if your perm wasn’t tight and your computer wasn’t 8-bit, you were going nowhere. Thanks to the Sinclair ZX80, quickly followed by the ZX81 and the Spectrum, would-be programmers of the future could get their hands on a genuine home computer they could play games on, write code with and save code to – albeit it on cassette tape.
Fast forward to 2018 – almost 40 years since the first Sinclair computer launched – and there’s a buzz in air. In fact, there’s a buzz on the net, which is like the metaphorical air – but digital.
The people have spoken (with their wallets) and a brand new, handheld Sinclair computer has received £512,000 in consumer-led funding on Indiegogo. Crikey, it’s going to have 1000 licensed games on it, including Horace Goes Skiing, Humpty Dumpty 2 and Chopper Mission. No wonder Sinclair beat their funding target in under 48 hours!
Since Sinclair’s black boxes of the 80s, the computing world has seen Amstrad Computers come and go, the rise of Apple, its fall and subsequent meteoric rise. Windows’ continued ubiquity and chokey reliability…
It’s seen small technology companies make behemoth computers for world governments. Now those same companies are behemoths that make small computers for you and me.
It seems there’s room for nostalgia in even the most cutting edge of industries. And the Sinclair ZX Spectrum Vega+ is the leanest offering available if you’re after a slice of the rose-tinted pie.
It’s especially marked since the late, great designer of the original Sinclair computers, Rick Dickinson, died earlier this year after losing a battle with cancer.
Here’s the rub, however. The Vega+ is overdue, by many months in fact, and IndieGogo is sending round some big, bald men if they don’t release a market-ready version soon. There are working prototype videos on the net, so Retro Computers Ltd. – the company behind the Vega+ – have clearly been busy. But, just like in the 80s, the Vega+ seems to be on strike, for now.
Indos Computer Services is a professional, cutting edge IT provider and troubleshooting specialist in the St Albans, Watford and Hemel Hempstead area. Despite offering IT services for the 21st century, we remember when the ZX Spectrum was the latest offering, as we’ve been in the industry since 1980. With so much experience and a mission to provide jargon-busting, affordable IT to small and medium businesses, we’re best placed to keep you up and running in the digital world. Contact the team today for more information about any of our services.
