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Preserved from the Timex/Sinclair 2068 Yahoo Group (2001–2019), which is no longer online. Text reproduced from the archive.org archive; email addresses masked.
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1. (no subject)
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think many US folks realise that Commodore hardware was literally <br>
several times more expensive in Europe than in the US, and both <br>
European and imported machines with disk drives were too expensive for <br>
the mass market 'till the mid to late '80s.<br>
<br>
That is why Sinclair developed the low-cost Microdrive stringy floppy <br>
rather than a disk interface, which while well-intentioned was a <br>
mistake, as it meant that no disk standard emerged on the Sinclair <br>
platform till the +3 in '87, by which time tape was destined to be the <br>
dominant software delivery platform and hence development platform.<br>
<br>
Even with a standard disk platform on the C64, the price was too high, <br>
and European developed Commodore software was also delivered on tape <br>
as a result IIRC.<br>
<br>
> It didn't matter what they were going to introduce - they were <br>
> destined to fail because they didn't have the money/resources to <br>
> ensure that what they released was going to be a success.<br>
<br>
I am sure there is an element of truth in this, but a few million <br>
units sold would have helped establish a significant revenue stream. <br>
Nonetheless, Sinclair proved that you can mismanage even a substantial <br>
cash flow and leave a company floundering!<br>
<br>
Fred<o:p></o:p></p>
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