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On This Day - 31st October

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1991

Micronet 800 closes

After more than eight years providing online news, information, software, games, messaging and discussion services to British home-computer users, Micronet 800 closes.

The service had launched in 1983 as a specialist computer service on BT's Prestel network and became one of Britain's largest online communities, reaching around 25,000 subscribers at its peak.

By 1991, however, membership had fallen to around 10,000. Changes to Prestel's charging structure had made evening and weekend access more expensive, damaging the service's appeal to home users. British Telecom concluded that Micronet was no longer large enough to operate cost-effectively.

Members were offered an introductory membership to CompuServe as an alternative.
Source: Acorn User, No. 113, December 1991; BT Tymnet closure notice
British Telecom announced in September 1991 that Micronet 800 would close on 31 October 1991. The closure notice stated that, although Micronet had more than 10,000 members and remained the UK's largest online service specialising in microcomputing, it was not large enough to maintain a cost-effective service.

The service had reached approximately 25,000 subscribers at its peak. Its decline was associated in particular with changes to Prestel's charging arrangements, which introduced charges during periods that had previously been effectively free apart from the telephone call.
Micronet 800 Micronet Prestel BT British Telecom Telemap Online Services Viewdata Videotex Home Computing Bulletin Boards Telesoftware Modems 1991

Also in this month

Other historical information recorded for October.

Spectrum sales top 500,000
1983

Spectrum sales top 500,000

Sinclair Research announced that sales of the ZX Spectrum had passed half a million machines. The figure covered mail-order and retail sales between April 1982 and August 1983. Sinclair said the Spectrum had sold faster than the ZX81 over comparable periods and promised continued support through new peripherals, including the recently launched ZX Interface 1 and Microdrives.
Source: Sinclair User October 1983
Sinclair User Issue 19 reported that Sinclair Spectrum sales had exceeded 500,000. The figures covered sales from April 1982 to August 1983 and included both mail-order and retail sales. The article compared this with 400,000 ZX81s sold between March 1981 and July 1982. It also mentioned the August launch of the ZX Interface 1 and Microdrive, with a joystick and cartridge interface planned for later in the year.
ZX Spectrum Sinclair Research Spectrum Sales Sinclair Sales ZX Interface 1 Microdrive ZX81 Sinclair Hardware Sinclair Peripherals UK Home Computers
Sinclair User Issue 19
Deus Ex Machina Released
1984

Deus Ex Machina Released

Automata released Deus Ex Machina, an ambitious multimedia work created by Mel Croucher and programmed for the ZX Spectrum by Andrew Stagg. Designed as an experience combining computer graphics, narration, music and a separate synchronised audio soundtrack, the 48K Spectrum program follows a lifeform through creation, birth, development, adulthood and death. The soundtrack featured contributions from performers including Ian Dury, Jon Pertwee, Frankie Howerd, Donna Bailey and E. P. Thompson. Croucher later described Deus Ex Machina as “the best game you never played”, a phrase subsequently used as the title of his book about the project and its creation.
Source: Sinclair User, November 1984; Your Spectrum, December 1984; Mel Croucher interview; Deus Ex Machina: The Best Game You Never Played in Your Life
Contemporary Sinclair User and Your Spectrum material documents Automata's Deus Ex Machina as a highly unusual 48K Spectrum production combining a computer program with a separate synchronised audio soundtrack. The work was created by Mel Croucher and programmed by Andrew Stagg, with contributions from Ian Dury, Jon Pertwee, Frankie Howerd, Donna Bailey and E. P. Thompson. In later interviews and his book about the project, Croucher reflected on Deus Ex Machina and described it as “the best game you never played”. The commonly cited release period is October 1984, although an exact day has not yet been established from contemporary evidence.
Deus Ex Machina Mel Croucher Andrew Stagg Automata Ian Dury Jon Pertwee Frankie Howerd Donna Bailey E. P. Thompson ZX Spectrum 48K Spectrum Multimedia Interactive Audio Soundtrack Music Experimental Software Art Software Simulation Adventure Philosophy Political Commentary
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