why sell a computer with only 1k of ram?

Anything relating to non Sinclair computers from the 1980's, 90's or even before.
MrPixel
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Re: why sell a computer with only 1k of ram?

Post by MrPixel »

:)
i appreciate it..but i am dead tired. me and my mother just came from jackson and i bought a linux PC for 27 dollars. so, excuse my disinterest for now...please
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5MinuteRetro
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Re: why sell a computer with only 1k of ram?

Post by 5MinuteRetro »

MrPixel wrote: Fri Apr 13, 2018 12:26 am the TS1000 had only 1k of ram, up to 16k maximum and i can't figure out why they would sell such a misleading product for 100 dollars. "Now the power is within your reach" went the advertisements. but that "Power" was only available with the expansion. you would've had a better chance with the zx81(despite it's slow refresh speed, i prefer it, if only for simplicity's sake)

what were they thinking? :lol:
I've been on holiday so a bit late to this but the answer, in a word, is... marketing. Yes, Sir Clive's crew could've made the ZX81 with 16K of RAM built in but then it'd have to have retailed at £/$149.95 (or whatever). But, at that time, getting a home-computing product down below £/$100 was a crucial psychological barrier. Something had to give. Well, lots of things gave -- and the RAM quotient was but one. Basically, *everything* about the ZX81 was about hitting that price point. If Sir Clive couldn't hit that price point, the ZX81 wouldn't have happened.
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MrPixel
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Re: why sell a computer with only 1k of ram?

Post by MrPixel »

that explains it
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