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Back in 1982 the Timex Corp. and Sinclair research (of Britain,) teamed up and produced the Timex Sinclair 1000. It was a low-priced introduction to home computers. It sported 2K of onboard RAM, (yes, 2K! 2 kilobytes of memory!) You could also purchase a 16K add-on memory module called a RAM Pack, (lower right in the picture,) which increased the memory to 18K. I believe there was also a 64K RAM Pack available later. The ones sold in Britain were known as the ZX 81. It had no display but you could hook it up to the VHF antenna connections on the back of your television set. It also didn't have any sound. The operating system was a modified version of the BASIC computer language and it gave a lot of people, including me, their first taste of computer programming.
There were a number of programs that you could buy for it. They were all on cassette tapes. What you would do is connect the unit to your TV set, plug your cassette tape player into it and put whatever program you might have into the tape player. You had to turn the volume off on your cassette player because the programming code was just one continual screeching sound. I had a cassette tape that had a few different programs on it. All of the characters in the programs were block-headed type graphics, but they actually would walk across the screen and even jump up and down. Cool stuff back then.
I remember this costing me $29, as the store I bought it at was getting rid of them. I believe the original selling price was $99. I also bought the 16K RAM Pack for $25. I've kept it all these years in good condition thinking that someday it would be worth something, and I was right. They're selling for about 10 bucks on eBay! Win a few, lose a few. Ironically, these things have somewhat of a cult following, and I've even heard of clubs dedicated to the TS-1000!
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timex
sinclair
ts1000
computer
Added: 4th September 2007
Views: 445
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Posted By: jimmyjet |
 
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On September 24, 1960, during the final showing of Howdy Doody, Clarabell, the clown who never uttered a word in all the years we had watched him, finally spoke to us, "Goodbye Kids".
Children everywhere were elated and heartbroken at the same time. We miss Clarabell, but we especially miss the man behind the face of the clown, the man with the biggest heart of all, Bob Keeshan.
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clarabell
howdy
doody
bob
keeshan
childrens
programming
Added: 16th September 2007
Views: 535
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Posted By: Sophia |
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Many of us are guilty of using run-on sentences in our comments, making it all but impossible for anyone else to figure out what we're really saying. Please make it easier for those of us who are truly interested in what you're trying to say.
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the
electric
company
punctuation
pbs
70s
childrens
programming
Added: 7th October 2007
Views: 505
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Posted By: Sophia |
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This special aired on CBS from its debut in 1965 through 1999, and has aired on ABC since 2000. At one time it was shown only once a year, but like several other beloved holiday specials such as How the Grinch Stole Christmas, it is now shown several times between Thanksgiving and Christmas. When it was first broadcast, a full 50% of the televisions in the United States were tuned in. A Charlie Brown Christmas won an Emmy and a Peabody award, and is considered by many to be a timeless holiday classic.
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charlie
brown
christmas
charles
schultz
christmas
programming
Added: 1st December 2007
Views: 665
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Posted By: Sophia |
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A clip from the late 40's TV series, 'The Morey Amsterdam Show', also featuring a young Art Carney. This scene features some then-topical jokes about late 40's TV. 'The Morey Amsterdam Show' was a sitcom/variety show that aired on the DuMont Television Network. The show ran from 1948-1950, and almost every episode is preserved at UCLA. This is quite lucky, since very little TV programming from the 40's still exists, and little DuMont Network programming still exists. The DuMont Television Network broadcasted from 1946-1956, and is largely forgotten. Some popular DuMont TV programs included 'Captain Video and His Video Rangers', 'Life is Worth Living', 'Rocky King Detective', 'Cavalcade of Stars' and 'The Plainclothesman'. It's believed that some time after DuMont went out of business, Its archive was dumped into an upper NY bay. Still, Some DuMont broadcasts still exist, including over 200 kinescopes at UCLA, and more at the Museum of Television and Radio.
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Morey
Amsterdam
Art
Carney
40's
television
shows
dumont
network
Added: 14th January 2008
Views: 316
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Posted By: Naomi |
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Although actress Irish McKenna got the title role in 1953, Anita Ekberg was originally to star, but backed out at the last minute when her contract was bought up by John Wayne's production company, Batjac Productions. Debra Paget also tested for the role.
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sheena
queen
of
the
jungle
kids
programming
50s
tv
Added: 6th April 2008
Views: 156
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Posted By: Naomi |
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This clip shows the start of late night television. Starting with Broadway Open House, hosted by Morey Amsterdam and Jerry Lester, with the blonde bombshell Dagmar in 1950, late night programming began. In 1954 the Tonight Show debuted with comedian Steve Allen, and then in 1957 the witty Jack Paar took over. Classic comedy clips include Zsa Zsa Gabor, Shirley MacLaine, Johnathan Winters, and Charley Weaver (Cliff Arquette).
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inventing
late
night
tv
conan
obrien
steve
allen
morey
amsterdam
jerry
lester
jack
paar
dagmar
50s
television
Added: 7th April 2008
Views: 162
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Posted By: Naomi |
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As videoholic showed us, nothing quite compares to those local television shows. In Miami in the 50's and 60's we had Charlie Baxter, a newscaster, who had fun playing ghoulish 'MT Graves' down in his dungeon every Saturday afternoon on WCKT Channel 7. The program began with the cell door rising up to the sounds of screeching and squeaking and a loud clank. In the background, eerie music played, and human screaming and shrieking could be heard. M.T. climbed out of the coffin to greet his viewers at the beginning of each program, and climbed back into it at the end, saying his greetings and farewells to his fans. My dad, who did painting for several TV stations back then, took me with him one Saturday and I got to sit in the audience. What a thrill that was! It just goes to show that it doesn't take much to entertain a kid.
Tags:
local
programming
mt
graves
charlie
baxter
wckt
channel
7
miami
Added: 29th May 2008
Views: 124
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Posted By: Naomi |
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