Post #4011330

2026-07-22 11:12 UTC

@zzt@mas.to @lproven@social.vivaldi.net @davidgerard@circumstances.run @denisbloodnok@mendeddrum.org More broadly I think Sinclair had learned quite early that you can cheap out on electronics if it still does something _amazing_ for the price (calculators, ZX80, 81, Spectrum). But the QL and the TV80 didn't do something amazing; and you just can't do that with mechanical parts in the same way. Broms and Birdys aren't just expensive because the bosses are greedy, it does take good quality parts and careful manufacturing to make it work.

Replies (1)

@lproven@social.vivaldi.net 2026-07-22 11:50

@RogerBW@discordian.social @zzt@mas.to @davidgerard@circumstances.run @denisbloodnok@mendeddrum.org Without disagreeing, the QL was amazing in its own way. It launched 2wk *before* the Mac, with the same amount of RAM -- 128kB -- but for 1/3 of the price. The Mac's Toolbox was in ROM, but the OS needed much of that paltry non-expandable RAM... while most of the QL's RAM was usable because QDOS ran direct from ROM. Oh, and the QL took up to 640kB. The low RAM ceiling meant that with a single 400kB drive the Mac was unusable... but the QL had twin 100kB drives. Small, slow, but 2 of them. It was a fully natively multitasking OS, in 1984. In true Sinclair style, the QL was cut down too far, and some of the compromises couldn't be worked around. Apple bet on the right trend: a GUI. Sinclair bet on the wrong one: multitasking. But the QL-compatible Q68 is still on sale today, and the Spectrum Next (3rd batch on order now) has a native QL mode. https://www.theregister.com/on-prem/2024/01/16/the-sinclair-qls-legacy-at-40/407726

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