On This Day - 10th January

On 10 January 1983, the first episode of the BBC's Making the Most of the Micro was broadcast. The ten-part series formed the next stage of the BBC's Computer Literacy Project, following The Computer Programme, which had introduced viewers to computers and the newly developed BBC Micro during 1982.

Presented by Ian "Mac" McNaught-Davis, the series took a more practical look at microcomputers and their uses. Rather than simply explaining what computers were, the programmes demonstrated programming, graphics, databases, business applications, music, computer control and communications.

The opening programme, "The Versatile Machine", looked at how computers could be adapted to perform a wide variety of tasks. One particularly striking example was Richard Gomm, who was almost completely disabled from birth and used a microcomputer to control equipment around his room, write philosophy and poetry, and provide entertainment. McNaught-Davis also began a systematic exploration of how a microcomputer worked and how its capabilities could be expanded.

The series continued with programmes covering BASIC programming, strings and word processing, graphics, databases, business applications, sound, computer control, animation and telecommunications. It reflected the rapidly expanding range of things that British home and personal computers were beginning to make possible in the early 1980s.

The first episode was broadcast on BBC1 at 11:35pm, with the series also receiving daytime transmissions on BBC2. Making the Most of the Micro ran for ten episodes through to 14 March 1983 and was subsequently followed by Making the Most of the Micro Live and, later, Micro Live.

On 10 January 1985, Sir Clive Sinclair unveiled the Sinclair C5, a small battery-powered three-wheeled electric vehicle, at Alexandra Palace in London. Sinclair presented the C5 as a new form of inexpensive personal transport that could provide an alternative to the conventional car for short journeys.

The C5 was powered by a 12-volt electric motor and rechargeable battery, with pedals allowing the driver to provide additional power. Its low, open design and compact size made it unlike almost any other vehicle on British roads. The C5 was priced at £399, with Sinclair hoping to establish a new mass-market form of personal transportation.

Despite considerable publicity and considerable public interest, the C5 failed to achieve the sales Sinclair had hoped for. Concerns about its weather protection, road safety and limited range contributed to disappointing demand, and production ended later in 1985.

The C5 nevertheless became one of the most memorable products associated with Sinclair. It demonstrated that Clive Sinclair's ambitions extended well beyond computers and remains an unusual chapter in the history of British technology.

Your Spectrum magazine was relaunched as Your Sinclair with its January 1986 issue. The magazine had originally launched in January 1984 as Your Spectrum and had become a monthly publication later that year. The change of name reflected plans to broaden its coverage to include the Sinclair QL and future Sinclair computers, although the magazine continued to concentrate heavily on the ZX Spectrum. The first Your Sinclair issue was numbered 1, beginning a new numbering sequence separate from the 21 issues of Your Spectrum.