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Micro Men

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Sorry, this programme is not available to watch again but we do have these Clips.

Last broadcast on Wed, 14 Oct 2009, 21:00 on BBC HD (see all broadcasts).

Synopsis

Affectionately comic drama about the British home computer boom of the early 1980s.

Legendary inventor Clive Sinclair battles it out with ex-employee Chris Curry, founder of Acorn Computers, for dominance in the fledgling market.

The rivalry comes to a head when the BBC announce their Computer Literacy Project, with the stated aim of putting a micro in every school in Britain. When Acorn wins the contract, Sinclair is furious, and determines to outsell the BBC Micro with his ZX Spectrum computer.

Home computing arrives in Britain in a big way, but is the country big enough for both men?

Photo: Sinclair C5

Inventor Clive Sinclair (Alexander Armstrong) takes a spin in the Sinclair C5.

Photo: Acorn Computers

Chris Curry (Tim Freeman) and the team at Acorn Computers show off their latest innovation the Acorn Atom - the precursor to the BBC Micro computer.

Electric Dreams: Time Tunnel

Reminisce about the games, gadgets and gizmos of the 70s, 80s and 90s in the Electric Dreams' Time Tunnel.

Explore the Time Tunnel

Electric Revolution

This series was part of Electric Revolution - a BBC Four season that charted the rise of today's globally-linked, instantly-gratified digital culture.

Find out what else was shown in Electric Revolution

Memoryshare: Share your memories of early personal computers

BBC Memoryshare is a living archive of memories from 1900 to the present day. Why not contribute your memories of the early days of personal computing?

Read about a Memoryshare contributor's first Acorn computer

Credits

Clive Sinclair
Alexander Armstrong
Chris Curry
Martin Freeman
Hermann Hauser
Edward Baker-Duly
Steve Furber
Sam Phillips
Roger Wilson
Stefan Butler
Jim Westwood
Colin Carmichael
Nigel Searle
Derek Ridell
Valerie
Rhona Croker
Cynthia
Anne Beth Hayes
Ann Sinclair
Nicola Harrison
Director
Saul Metzstein
Producer
Andrea Cornwell
Writer
Tony Saint

Broadcasts

  1. Thu 8 Oct 2009
    21:00
  2. Thu 8 Oct 2009
    23:55
  3. Sat 10 Oct 2009
    22:00
  4. Mon 12 Oct 2009
    22:00
  5. Wed 14 Oct 2009
    21:00

More details

Duration

80 minutes

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