I remember with great fondness when I got an Amstrad CPC 464 for Christmas. It was the biggest (and most expensive) Christmas present I had ever received. It felt like a proper computer what with its colour monitor, good quality keyboard and built in cassette player. It came with a chunky manual that covered BASIC programming and laid out things in a clear and concise manner.
These days you’d be lucky to get anything at all with a new computer. Modern PC manufacturers (even Apple) only ever include a single piece of paper at best – you’re generally expected to know what to do.
The Amstrad CPC464 was Amstrad’s finest product. It had a great selection of games, it was great for learning to program in BASIC, and it was built to last. Never failed once.
It’s 30 years old today. You can read all about its development and success over at The Register.
