Title: The Battle of Britain’s Home Computers Speaker: Gareth Halfacree Date: Thu 19th March 2015 Time: 14:30 Location: Fellows Library of the Science Museum, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2DD And Also: Date: Tue 15th March 2016 Time: 17:30 Location: The Conference Centre. Manchester Museum of Science and Industry, Liverpool Road, Manchester. M3 4FP



About the seminar

The late 70s and early 80s were a revolutionary time for computing, with new production techniques and the introduction of very-large-scale integration (VLSI) lowering the cost of hardware to the point where the personal computer was finally possible. The UK was at the forefront of this technology, with names both familiar and otherwise - Sinclair, Acorn, Tangerine, Apricot, Dragon and Amstrad to name but a few - working hard to exploit this new market and fend off foreign invaders from the US and Japan. The lecture will cover some of the biggest moments, technologies and personalities from this pivotal transitional period that led to, as Commodore founder Jack Tramiel famously put it, “computers for the masses, not the classes” and an impact that can still be felt today.

About the speaker

Gareth Halfacree is a freelance technology journalist, author and erstwhile system administrator. Best known for the Raspberry Pi User Guide, he writes a regular column for Dennis Publishing’s Custom PC Magazine dubbed Hobby Tech, which covers vintage computing, hobbyist electronics and open hardware subjects.