My first computer back in 1984 was the 48K version of the original Sinclair ZX Spectrum; one year later we sold it to my cousin and bought a Commodore 128 – but that’s for another post.
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I recently bought this computer at the local flea market. I still wonder why Olivetti put that thing on the market when the Commodore 64 and Sinclair ZX Spectrum were selling like hotcakes. And it wasn’t even something Olivetti designed or produced – it was just a rebadged Thomson MO6.
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Samsung made only one computer that was compatible with the MSX standard; it was rebranded and sold in Italy by Fenner, keeping the existing model name. There are two revisions of the Samsung SPC-800; the Fenner computer corresponds to the second revision of the South Corean model. Continue reading
It’s time to show some love for Atari since my VCS post is almost 4 years old. I took some pictures of my Atari 400, a North American NTSC model produced at the very beginning of 1983. Continue reading
In the eighties many companies tried to compete in the growing home computer market with one or more products. Some companies made history, other had a niche following, some others didn’t succeed or were successful in a few countries only. Continue reading
Very uncommon here in Italy, this system was quite successful in the US in the early Eighties. I thank Ciro from the TI99 Italian User Club for having helped me to find a TI-99/4A in good condition: the metal of the upper case can be scratched very easily. Continue reading
Here in Italy the Apple II family of computers wasn’t very common. The Apple II was used by my parents’ generation rather than my own, mostly because it was much more expensive than more “popular” alternatives. The configuration of this Apple IIe is fairly standard for the times: third party Centronics printer interface, Apple 80 columns + 64KB RAM expansion, mouse interface, and floppy controller; DuoDisk and monochrome monitor. Continue reading
About a year ago I bought this Commodore 64 from eBay US. I got it cheap because the seller didn’t advertise the fact that it was a “silver label”, and there were 4 pictures of the (not so good-looking) box before seeing an actual photograph of the computer. So I was the only person who bid on the item! It’s a bit yellowed on the right side and a most of the hooks are missing on the back, but otherwise it is in good working condition. Continue reading
One of the few MSX of my collection. The computer was quite dirty, but since the internal components were tightly fitted, I didn’t want to disassemble it completely.
I have to thank my English aunt for this computer (she shipped it to me in Italy) and one of her walking companions, the original owner. Some time ago I received an e-mail from my aunt, who wrote “I think you will be amazed by what I have”, and included a detailed list of all the items she was given: the computer in its original box, a tape reader, magazines, games, books; the box arrived a few days later… and I really was amazed! Continue reading