The REAL Sir Clive Sinclair: Portable TV's, Black Watches and C5's, Oh my! - Kim Justice

[@Kim_Justice]

If you liked this then think about having a gander through my social media, and get yourself on my Patreon: www.patreon.com/KimbleJustice

[@BillAnt]

Loved it at 10:39 ! heh At 15:03 Jack Tramiel was also a hard driving business guy, seems like they all have similar attributes. At 16:58 Mr. Bean running for British office. lol

[@sotirisvog1367]

It's unfortunate that as of today, the world of the home computers lost a legend. Remembering Sir Clive Sinclair by rewatching this

[@dazzadizzy5308]

Yeah agreed ,I didnt look at the date of this video , so sad ,I feel quite emotional about this :o( its where it all started ...the zx81!

[@sotirisvog1367]

@@dazzadizzy5308 yes, indeed. I remember my tutor on the second year (Graphic Design), years ago, telling me that the Spectrum home computers were what inspired him to become a visual artist! A pole of inspiration, indeed.

[@grantd165]

Back here to watch this again after hearing the news. Thanks for everything Clive.

[@AdmV0rl0n]

I watched this on the day of Sir Clive's passing. I laughed. Thank you. I cried. The man changed my life. Thank you sir Clive.

[@SionynJones]

What a legend rip Clive Sinclair

[@Nostalgianerd]

The Micromatic looks like my house thermostat control.

[@MitchQuadrupleTree]

Being an American, I think these documentaries you make provide a great window to a side of video gaming I was unaware of before. Thank you for these, and keep up the wonderful work.

[@kduhtdkzrt]

I never knew about the Mirco Men documentary. Thankfully someone uploaded the full length movie, so far it's an absolute recommended watch.

[@steved8193]

"You may wonder these days just why anyone would want to wear a radio on their wrist". I still wonder why anyone would want to wear an iWatch.

[@pqrstzxerty1296]

I just get a brick with a strap, and paint a Apple on it.... just as good.e

[@rwappersonal]

I recognise that picture of hte QL with the Kludge (from my website).... In fact, the main reason for microdrives failing now (some 35 years later) is that the small felt pad disintegrates - once replaced, it is surprising how reliable the cartridges can be - although realistically a disk or SD card is much more reliable, and useful as the later software needed extra memory, toolkits and the pointer environment....

[@Evilkingus]

Your videos are the greatest - This is a fact that nobody can dispute! Your true interest and knowledge is felt through every second of all of your videos. I can't wait for the next (and next and next...).

[@Larry]

Clive really suffered the same thing George Lucas did, he had no one to challenge him at his companies, be honest and tell him something was a terrible idea. But I've tried a C5 years ago, Hoseasons bought a ton of them for their holiday camps to replace those twin pedalo things with the deckchair roofs. They're great fun to use, but you do feel intimidated going near vehicles, even motorbikes. Surprised hipsters never took them up, they love all that eco friendly shit.

[@Swissair171]

Probably because hipsters value their lives.

[@lordpolvo222]

we must like the same youtubers Larry. you seem to pop up in comment sections everywhere haha!

[@georgehenson2412]

Sinclair was just a frugal guy, same as Jack Tramiel. He cared about ideas, not products. That's why the product guys got the unreasonable demands. I don't think that's like George Lucas because Lucas wanted control. Sinclair wanted an image more than anything.

[@Nostalgianerd]

Chris Curry tried to tell him, but due to his apparent stubborn nature, decided to abandon ship instead and setup Acorn.

[@channex8179]

The man was a tit! With a bad temper and a huge ego if I had been working for him I would have been sacked quickly I would have said fuck off you stupid bald twat think about what your saying!!!

[@Swissair171]

According to my calculations, a gigabyte of memory for the ZX81 would have cost *£3,125,000* (and that's 1981 money)!

[@seankayll9017]

and would have put a serious strain on the local electricity supply, assuming the cooling system could stop it catching fire.

[@ChristinaGXL]

Watching this after his passing really makes this quite emotional. He followed his heart and managed to become a huge success while being true to himself and that is such a rare thing. Sure it didn't last for all that long but he did well enough to carry on pursuing his ideas and dreams and that's a win in my book.

[@rossfindlay8253]

I'm not really into computers but the history and especially the way you put your videos across are engrossing well done thoroughly enjoyed this it could have been a BBC 4 documentary

[@gridrunnersshack6337]

RIP Clive.

[@nationharris]

what an epic thing to wake up to. I've been really interested in the whole Sinclair thing and have watched all your vids on the matter, thanks Kim!

[@Joe40oz]

Kim, you are an absolute machine! Thanks for all the hard work! Going to watch this while I'm having my lunch!

[@Bavvo69]

I don't think you realised juat what a game changer that 'ludicrously complex one touch command system' was for some of us. In a lot of ways that command system was genius. You literally had all the commands for Basic in front of you like a massive cheat sheet from the moment you unpacked it , with syntax and error checking built in (a bit like predictive text). This massively eased the learning curve and even I at ten years old managed to create some crude games and code, which ultimately helped me to a lifetime career in IT. Thank you Sir Clive, your contribution was certainly appreciated by me. Now I want to go and see if I can resurrect my old Spectrum 🙂

[@lemonwedge9237]

RIP Sir Clive Sinclair

[@Fightingbadgers]

Haha, I love this guy, total disregard for logic, my kind of man. Plus, I learned game programming on the Spectrum, so it's all close to the heart. Very nice documentary Kim :)

[@RichardTroupe]

I really enjoyed this fantastic video. Well done again Kim! A few notes on the Sinclair QL... The Sinclair QL could have, and should have, been a revolutionary step in the right direction if it wasn't for Sir Clive's penny pinching. With proper market research, and in consultation with game and business software developers, the QL would have had a focused purpose that could have sold millions before the Amiga or Atari ST were even out of the blocks. The QL was initially intended to be a 'luggable'/portable design with a built-in flat screen monitor and dual microdrives. The money wasted on flat-screen research was astronomical and partly hindered what the machine should have been capable of as the power needed to limited to enhance the portability aspect. The technology just wasn't there for what Sir Clive wanted. The decision to opt for the Motorola 68008 (with an 8 bit bus) as opposed to the Motorola 68000 (16 bit) was ultimately foolhardy and there wasn't that much difference in cost per unit by 1985. It ultimately hindered the hardware. The same also applies to the insistence on using the relatively slow and extremely unreliable microdrives; Sinclair's persistent want for microdrive use went against what the industry was moving towards. A floppy disk interface would have been much more beneficial. Q-DOS, the OS bundled with the machine, should have been developed further with an emphasis on a fully functionable GUI. If the 68000 had been utilised, this could have been possible as there were companies already developing GUIs for computers via separate software packages at the time. This would have made the machine an attractive, intuitive computer for not only big business, but also the home: machines could have been flying off the shelves if it was shown how simple and easy computing can be, whilst simultaneously being powerful. The reliance on BASIC was a mis-step: Sir Clive claims that he wanted to move away from bedroom programmers yet kept BASIC commands as the primary OS functions. An almost nonsensical move. Overall, the QL could have been a really, really good computer had Sir Clive conducted some market research and consulted with software companies at the time. Hell, perhaps even Sinclair Computers would still be around today with a prevailing modern OS standard...

[@Kim_Justice]

There's definitely a lot of could be's with the QL...it's so close to being there, if not for those baffling decisions you mention. I do think it would have struggled in the business market that Sir Clive was aiming for even if it had been a good computer, of course - IBM already had such a strong grip, and Sinclair could have never hoped to compete with them...at best, it would have been fighting for #2 with the Macintosh. Even the GUI might have actually hurt it in that regard...some say that back then, a lot of businesses actually looked down on computers with GUI's as not being serious machines, and it took until Win 3.0 to change minds. Not entirely sure just how much truth there is in that, of course - it's more that people were waiting for the right GUI to come along. GUI's weren't immediately a revelation - hell, the Apple Lisa died on its arse when it was released. A video on the whole business computer war might well be a good one, if there's interest...it's a good story.

[@sonicnurse]

+Kim Justice there is a lot of interest!

[@t4kpics431]

Richard Troupe

[@timlong7289]

You're right, the QL had massive potential, even with its questionable design decisions it was still an excellent learning tool that got me started on my career path in computer programming. The micro drives were awful but there were disk drives available if you wanted them and there were some really good language compilers and toolkits available. The QL basic was even pretty good as I remember. For the budding computer scientist, it was an amazing playground. Not so attractive to the home user who might have struggled to find a use for it and too under-engineered to be a serious business tool.

[@RetroGod1982]

Could you create a video on the shortcomings and failings of Sinclair as told in this book. Its a great read and I think your documentary style would do this story justice . The Timex, Spectrum and QL chapters are very interesting and maybe a separate video focussing on the QL would make for interesting viewing. Sinclair and the Sunrise Technology: retropdfs.wordpress.com/2013/11/30/sinclair-and-the-sunrise-technology-epubmobi-now-available/

[@charlestodd5515]

RIP Sir Clive 2021

[@MicahBuzanANIMATION]

Your videos are always so insightful and well made.

[@Zallestial]

R.I.P Clive :

[@aidennwitz]

Kim, you're officially the best nostalgia YT journalist ever.

[@lucasoheyze4597]

No he isn't

[@Naedlus]

Farewell, good knight

[@fieryphoenix8428]

33:20 Theme from the first Robocop game?

[@PanNexus]

Kim, fantastic job! Once again great material, great writing, superb execution.

[@LeoLoikkanen]

Just Wanna give a shout out to Linus Torvalds, one of the rare QL owners in Finland, who had to mail order all the RAM paks and other things from the UK. In the late 80s

[@theeveshamgamer]

Great work as always Kim, Very informative.

[@fluffibuni8663]

A very entertaining video, loved the footage of 3D Monster Maze and the Splitting Image trucker clip lol. A week's trial of a ZX80 from a friend at school who wanted to sell it on to fund his purchase of a ZX81, convinced me to go straight to a 16K ZX81, and then a 48K Spectrum ... a great time of gaming, writing my own programs and getting into computer tech, and now I'm over 25 years in the IT industry. Sinclair represented the potential that anyone could be successful in the fledgling computer industry at a time when much of the country was looking for a spark of hope in the future ... not necessarily the right guy, but the right inspiration at the right time.

[@MarJay1980]

As soon as you said the words Jack Tramiel, I heard the first few bars of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor in my head... Keep up the good work by the way, I really enjoy these documentary style vids and yours are so well researched and put together. They really are a joy.

[@lucasoheyze4597]

Weirdo

[@MarJay1980]

@@lucasoheyze4597 Thanks for commenting on a 5 year old comment. I'm pleased that you've done everything else there is to do in the world that means the only thing left is to trawl youtube for old comments to troll. I look forward to reading your scientific paper on the cure for cancer, and also look forward to reaping the benefits of your ideas on fixing climate change.

[@tahustvedt]

The sinclair logo is one of my favourite designs. It's so brilliantly simple and stylish. The red logo on my ZX Spectrum +2 looks fantastic.

[@jakublulek3261]

Sinclair Research bussiness reminds me strongly about British automotive industry. Brilliant ideas, impressive people behind scenes, appealing products but everything trashed by disastrous mismanagement and abismal quality issues.

[@Kapi.23]

people shitted on the watch for the battery life of 10 days? and nowadays everyone wants an apple watch...

[@Colddirector]

Pedro Cortes tbh actual watch enthusiasts are quite mixed on the Apple watch and other smartwatches. The total lack of standardization combined with the terrible battery life combined with the tbh quite soulless feeling lcd screen makes it a fun gimmick, but not really something I'd wear on my wrist for years on end. Even the humble Casio f91w is a reliable, durable classic thats just as wearable now as it was 20 years ago, can you really say the same for an Apple Watch? But the key difference is that apple watches are rechargeable and provide a hell of a lot more features up to and including voice calls, while the sinclair watch just provides you the watch function with a non-rechargable battery thats notoriously difficult to replace.

[@wisteela]

Rest in peace, Uncle Clive

[@nikkiheald9744]

3:25 - the Starglider theme!! I loved that music!

[@KadeemG61]

R.I.P Clive Sinclair, one of the true gaming pioneers that gave us the ZX Spectrum.

[@nostalgiacreep]

big fan of your work kim, ive watched piles of it. just a request, can you tell me what music is playing at 9:24? its absolutely filthy!

[@buffplums]

I love the humour of the presenter so many funny little quips and the funny images that you can miss so easily…. Lots of Easter eggs

[@PooperScooperTrooper]

This popped up up in suggested. I clicked it. I realised I watched it already (already hit like). I watched it again. Brilliant stuff, love the choice of finishing music, one of my fave speccy 128 tunes :-)

[@merkyuk]

R.I.P Sir Clive

[@bolshevikproductions]

Most local council bought both the speccy and micro at the beginning. I remember them both at school.

[@Bob_Beaky]

I wish we lived in a world where everyone rode about in C5's and still used Speccys.

[@mcenglish4654]

Brilliant take on this important story and love your other videos.

[@DoubleMrE]

Well done! --This was a broadcast quality doc. Thanks for posting!

[@SilkyBadger]

Great vid Kim, a small correction, the spectrum had the "dead mans fingers" keyboard, not the ZX80/1 I eventually went into the stratosphere with my speccy and got a DKtronics capped keyboard for it, because the DMFboard was as, if not more, unresponsive than that of the ZX80/1

[@mUbase]

Excellent video. :) One thing I'm going to say though is that it was the ZX Spectrum that had the "Dead flesh" keyboard. The ZX80 was more of a "chiclet" keyboard (after the chewing gum.) :)

[@RobertLock1978]

I know it's not directly relevant to the video, but what is the clip starting at 6:04 from? Looks hilarious, and It was perfect for the story, too :D

[@Miesiu]

29:12 - Was there built-in 2 pcs microdrives ? Can someone remind me ?

[@peter486]

Kim i can listen to you all day you are a talent. your voice is so captive. and storytelling is amazing , never stop doing this.

[@EmberwolfXR]

I’ve been watching kim for a long time, but I love coming back to this video. It’s just as good as the movie MicroMan. And more Informative..

[@tonynature]

top marks once again KJ, as a geeky 42yr old there are so many questions over which I've over often pondered regarding the disappearances of 1st (maybe 2nd if you count pong and such others) home computing and gaming industry giants. It would seem foresight and vision above all are great deciders in surviving the technology market.

[@spart361]

Thanks for another fantastic documentary! Carn't wait for the next one....

[@melomonster007]

What's the name of the song that plays at the end? I know its from Neverending story but what's the name of the file?

[@shkeni]

Very cool video. My very first computer was a Sinclair 128 and to this day it's to me one of the most beautiful there's ever been. Always wanted to know more about Sinclair himself, thanks!

[@jasinere35]

I too had one but I had was the 128+2 only one of the games I got with it worked but the other 200 were just wasted tape space & wouldn't even load in

[@SteveHazel]

holy smokes. i had no idea. a zx81 was the very first pc i ever owned and learned z80 assembly language on. buuuut i never looked back after getting my c64. although going from z80 to 6510? yikes :(

[@riverhuntingdon6659]

I remember changing umpteen "Sinclair IC 12'" amplifier chips in Fidelity Music Centres. They were apparently Texas Instruments rejects. Fitting the real McCoy to the set often fixed it for good. They must've known the IC12 was duff, as it didn't even need unsoldering from some designs, being plugged into the circuit board. Examples that spring to mind were the "Fidelity RadioMaster" which HAD to be used with fairly high impedance speakers, of 15 ohms. Many people mistakenly connected extension speakers in parallel, as they'd done with their old usually valve stereograms, reducing the impedance and then BUZZZZZ! POP ! I recall making that sound to people who brought these in and they'd ALWAYS say "Yes, that's it ! " Those sets and many Sinclair products were rubbish, to be brutally honest.

[@really-america]

What ever is said, the spectrum opened the computing door to so many (may be British) people. I will always look back on those days with fondness and Kim Justice thank you for some excellent KZbin content.

[@KarlHamilton]

What's that tune at 16:52 ????

[@JoPeTuYaTroJoueY]

haha did i see well !? you put a How2Basic short video in your documentary !! :p nice eggs smashing !

[@TudenJamir]

great video! really liked it.

[@pqrstzxerty1296]

I like to see a doc on the Sinclair golf cart (4 wheeled C5), also Sinclair involvement with Casio Timex, with the watch and calc; and then why Casio Timex paid of Clive's bankrupcy as a thankyou for their industry for the chip transister and digital warch and calulator.

[@dazzadizzy5308]

If we are of the 70s 80s era Sir Clive had a big impact on our lives he did mine . The exciting of typing a basic zx81 game to see things moving on your screen and the achievement of creating your own feeling you were a genius :o). Then the zx spectrum that brought colour and sounds text adventure games like the hobbit , twin kingdom valley , arcade games like manic miner that blew you away seeing for the first time in whsmith. Farewell and RIP Sir and you are every bit worthy of the Sir title 😢.

[@NickDixon]

Jim Westfield's code-name for the Sinclair Black Watch shown at 10:40.

[@MonsieurC64]

What is the background music playing at the end ?

[@buffplums]

Brilliant videos Kim

[@andymath1523]

Had ZX81, Spectrum 16k then upgraded it to 48k interface 1 then a microdrive ,I found microdrive fairly reliable unlike cassettes 10min of loading the halts with tape loading error . Did amaze me how microdrive actually worked when you looked at how cheaply they were made

[@liverush24]

I was standing in my local branch of Comet in 1987, contemplating buying a new C5 from there for just £75. There was one on display in the middle of the shop. I had the cash in my pocket, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I wish I had.

[@roytofilovski9530]

The zx computers were amongst the first inexpensive home computers anywhere in the world. That is a huge accomplishment.

[@Gxpblog]

Another fantastic video Kim! Amazing documentary. Very interesting :)

[@bigkivzero]

Excellent work Kim!

[@madblank]

You should post the songs in the ending credits. I know them, but can't remember what were the games.

[@adamweishaupt2846]

Oh come on, you could have put a graphic content warning on the intro. I didn't need to see Sir Clive jogging in his microscopic shorts! :)

[@Syklonus]

If you consider the mere sight of a man's legs to be "graphic" then you either have some tolerance issues, a fear that you might be gay, or are just easily disturbed. Whatever it is, maybe the internet isn't for you.

[@rkstr9965]

This might explain where Borat got his inspiration for a swimsuit ...

[@carrauntoohil86]

@@Syklonus You must be a right laugh at parties

[@BazzaHSpeccymad]

I have a z88 with a serial number of 0000012 😄

[@robertturner2000]

The machine that allowed Douglas Adams to write "Last Chance To See"

[@pqrstzxerty1296]

... and no more was ever made passed sn 12. ☺☺☺ I aways wanted a QL, but I would replace the microdrives with a 3.5" floppy or a eeprom reader writer. I looked at buying a z88 on ebay but they are getting pricey. I know Seiko (as now Epson) did a version clone of it.

[@michaeljarcher]

@@robertturner2000 Can't possibly be true, Adams was famous for being a Mac lover, since 1984, Last Chance To See was published in 1990 long after the Z88 (which for sure he did own) was amongst the cobwebs of his technology pile.

[@frederickbowdler8169]

His advertising was brilliant and appealed to the person with a shed .Building it yourself gave you ownership and stake in the design and product.

[@104d_3rr0r_vince]

38:58 Mackintosh?

[@dans.8198]

Yep. Apple should take note and spell it right.

[@TheChugnut]

Haha, that JAM sketch "Symptomless Coma" makes every better.

[@pixelninja5646]

you get a like just for nailing that crazy name at the end so well, plus the fact it was a well researched and informative video

[@darkpoethd9913]

Very fond memories of seeing the QL in wh Smith in the arndale in Manchester. I remember pressing the keys and looking at the box for QL chess :) Great retrospective

[@PooperScooperTrooper]

Great video dude! You gotta love Sir Clive..because, if nothing else he gave us the speccy,

[@JoPeTuYaTroJoueY]

another crazy work by you Kim ! congratulation, you manage to gives meaning and interesting trivia independently of the subject of the documentary ! that's the sign of genius ;) Shared on TuYaTroJoueY ! ++

[@RobertBlow]

Kim, fantastic stuff. Loved this. Take care.

[@LouerTube]

What's the film you keep showing? Looks interesting.

[@speakerwizard]

Kim, you do realise you now have to do Chris Curry and Acorn with the journey to ARM don't you!? ... Please ;) Keep up the good work, the vids just get better and better.

[@DeeDeeKL]

funny story... years ago, my friend was telling me "hey, remember that dude from that and that?.. he was clearing up some house demo and brought in some weird mini cars" ... yop.. two C5s.. one in mint condition and the other more in a scrap yard one ...

[@EgoShredder]

I think the C5 was popular in some other countries, where automotive traffic is not an issue, e.g. in pedestrianised areas only. Oh and I would love to acquire a nice working QL computer, as they seem pretty good and quirky.

[@MattHayesVinyl]

Outstanding video. Absolutely fascinating. I had both a Spectrum 48K and, later, a +2A (made by Amstrad but badged as Sinclair) back in the 80s. Horrendous yet somehow wonderful pieces of kit. My best friend's family in the 80s had a C5. They kept covered up in the garage. I think it was to preserve it and not out of embarrassment. I remember being allowed to give it a spin several times. It was a piece of junk with hindsight but, back then, it seemed so futuristic and out of this world.

[@little_fluffy_clouds]

That boastful QL magazine ad at 33:02 is so sad. 128K RAM, but the microdrives only have 100K capacity. QDOS, "which may well become the new industry standard," is driven by a BASIC command shell when there's literally no computer at that point used in business or professional markets which is driven by BASIC. It boasts about its Motorola 68008 32-bit processor, except the 68008 has an 8-bit data bus and a 20-bit address bus, so it's a flat-out lie to call it a 32-bit CPU. I remember the launch of the QL and there was a cloud of doom and gloom around it from the start, it was almost as if everyone except Sir Clive was already convinced it would flop.

[@maxheadrom3088]

I admire Clive - he is what would happen if Steve Jobs and Elon Musk were one person in a country without an endless source of venture capital. Those cheap and bad computers licensed in Brazil in a time when an Apple II would cost the same as a luxury car. I have a question: did Sir Clive really wanted to save the world with electric cars? Most young people don't know it but Steve Jobs only became a commercial success when he sold Apple's soul to the devil. I own no Apple device with the white logo - only the rainbow ones that I can open, fix, add things, and appreciate how Jobs was important in the process of helping Woz's ideas become products. Excellent video! Micro Men was quite faithful ... and out of that era came a processor that has sold som 10 fold the world's population - and the whole European industry of game design. (Please, do correct me if I'm wrong!)

[@buffplums]

Clive to me back in the 70s although I never had the money to buy anything let alone any Sinclair products, was a bit of a hero and legend. I always thought everyone was a bit harsh on him but in those days with no internet or SM alike we now have, unless you knew the person you didn’t get to see the other side of them. But even though he has been slated so many times particularly for his electric car, at least he was out there and no one probably knows to the degree of how much his ideas sparked off others, even if to just simply fix the design … I think he does have a definate place in the history of electronics and not as anything derogative, he does deserve some credit.

[@AumchanterPiLetsPlay]

Yesss. I am back and so are you with the amazing docs. Where do I go in the channel to hear my name sung out? x

[@Kim_Justice]

While the singing has been retired, your name is sung loudly in plenty of videos before this one! also please check your Patreon messages :)

[@AumchanterPiLetsPlay]

Cool. I'm so embarrassed. I haven't looked at them ... ok. Cheers. :) Lovely doc on Clive. I love these. Thanks. As good as ever. Peace.

[@simony2801]

I remember the launch of the c5, nobody could quite believe that Sinclair had made something so ridiculous. So was he a marketing genius or just lucky with the spectrum and everything else was a disaster. He comes across as a bit of a bully in the 80s.

[@Kainlarsen]

I see the Jam 'Symptomless Coma' sketch in there...

[@Archimedes75009]

I haven't seen any video from you about Acorn ... Is it on your list of future releases ?

[@StuartWoodwardJP]

I had a Microdrive attached to my Spectrum and it was blindingly fast compared to the cassette tape.

[@markenetube]

I got one on the cheap when they were dumping old stock. Good while it worked. Bloody thing kept getting tangled

[@radjandric7097]

My Atari 800XL came with Atari 1010 cassette tape unit, slow as molasses, 600baud. Took 15 min to load Ghostbusters from tape. Disk drive 1050 was more expensive than the main machine.

[@Tim_3100]

I must admit I chuckled when sinclair said "he's bloody where?" in micro men

[@davedogge2280]

£50 for 16KB of memory ... a bargain. An ex-manager of mine whose name was also (by coincidence) Sinclair used to play bridge with him and she said he was ok. Strangely deep insight into computing history Kim has.

[@twicks1833]

Great video, look forward to the next :)