Home Hardware Peripherals Software Publications Projects
NEW

On This Day - 5th October

« Previous Day Next Day »
1984

Micro Live begins as a regular BBC series

Following the success of the earlier Making the Most of the Micro Live specials, the BBC's Micro Live returned on BBC Two as a new live monthly series devoted to the rapidly developing world of home and personal computing.

The first regular programme was broadcast on 5 October 1984, presented by Ian McNaught-Davis and Lesley Judd. The programme featured reports, computer demonstrations, software reviews, computing news and telecommunications, with American reporter Freff providing reports from the United States.

Among the features in the first programme were a look at new software releases, computer printers and the Micro Live bulletin board, which viewers with a modem could access during the programme.

The series became an important part of the BBC's Computer Literacy Project and continued to cover developments across the rapidly expanding home-computer industry, including the ZX Spectrum, BBC Micro, Commodore, Amstrad and other contemporary systems.
Source: BBC Computer Literacy Project — Micro Live, Series 1, Episode 1
The BBC Computer Literacy Project archive records the first episode of the regular series as broadcast on 5 October 1984 at 18:00, with a duration of 47 minutes. Ian McNaught-Davis and Lesley Judd are specifically credited as presenters. The programme was produced by David Allen and directed by Patrick Titley.

The BBC Year Book 1986 describes the Computer Literacy Project as going “live” in autumn 1984, with Lesley Judd joining Ian McNaught-Davis to present Micro Live, a 50-minute monthly programme covering subjects including word processing, data processing, robotics, artificial intelligence and communications.
BBC Micro Live BBC Computer Literacy Project Ian McNaught-Davis Lesley Judd Fred Harris Computers Home Computers Television BBC Two Computer Education Telecommunications 1984
BBC Computer Literacy Project — Micro Live, Series 1, Episode 1

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
Page Revised: 07/09/2026

Mister Spectrum © 2022–2026 Kevin R. Carr