Other retro computers
Other retro computers mentioned in passing — C64, Apple II, TRS-80, Atari, MSX, etc.
112 threads · 923 messages · 2001-12-21 → 2026-10-05
Other retro machines come up in this group mostly as comparison and context, not as the main subject, and almost every thread here drifted in from somewhere else. In the Yahoo era (2007–2012) the comparisons were about where the 2068 stood: newcomers asked whether the ZX Spectrum, ZX81 or +2 were ever sold in North America (Peter Lakatos noted the ZX81 was sold before the TS1000, whose board can switch PAL/NTSC), and the 2012 "What if Timex stayed in the market" thread set the 2068's styling against "ugly" Ataris and Commodores, argued over the keyword keyboard versus the Radio Shack MC-10, CoCo and Apple II, and pointed to the QL as Sinclair's actual next step.
The groups.io era (2021→) is far chattier and leans on members' lives across platforms. Adam Trionfo (a Bally Astrocade and Atari 8-bit/C64 veteran) brings an Apple IIGS analogy to the "what would a next-generation Timex look like" discussion that became the Timex Computer 3256 prototype thread (with Johnny Red/João Encarnado supplying Portuguese press coverage and a detour into the Commodore 65's $20–80K prices). The Albuquerque meet-ups mix Timex with Carl Miles's Kaypro II and a US-model Sinclair QL. Randy Kindig of the Floppy Days podcast picked up a QL from the Bill Miller sale, and Ryan's ZX Spectrum 48K from the same collection became a long Carl Miles repair thread that ended with a vDrive ZX emulating Microdrives. Other history threads draw in Computer Shopper prices, the 1983 Sears Wish Book (Atari 800XL at $250, TI-99/4A at $99, the 2068 at $180), the NYT coverage of Timex quitting computers on February 22, 1984, and Z80-versus-6502 history (Jeff Burrell on CP/M and VisiCalc, François Lanciault on Fidelity Chess Challengers).
A newer arc compares the 2068 with modern recreations of other machines. The 2025 Commodore 64 Ultimate announcement led to orders and a debate, led by Josef Jelinek, about why the group gets more excited by the new C64 than by the Spectrum Next, N-Go and XBerry Pi. David Anderson's answer was C64 nostalgia for the breadbin case and a much larger user base. Several Spectrum Next owners also post here. In 2026 the influence goes both ways: Jon ported the GEOS-like ZXDesk to the 2068 and found that a Commodore 1351 mouse would only work in joystick mode, Charlie Day's Super2068 ROM borrows from QL SuperBASIC, Jon's Elite cartridge conversion borrowed its loading screen from the C64 and Amiga versions, and Eastern Bloc Spectrum clones (the Pentagon, Czechoslovak machines) came up around Jaroslav Švelch's Gaming the Iron Curtain.
Many entries are pure drift: the Bill Miller Collection sale, the RGB monitor adapter thread (which wandered into CRT refresh rates), Robotics nostalgia (VIC-20 robot arms, a Sync article on ZX81 robotics), the 16 MB memory question (Atari ST GEM, 386 RAM boards), an MSD Commodore user-port RS-232 adapter David identified, Adrian's Digital Basement ZX81 repairs that turned into Crazy Eddie's memories, the American-museum discussion, and the Yule Log video.
Key threads
- What if Timex stayed in the market (#1674 on groups.io) — Yahoo-era (2012) comparison of the 2068's design and keyword keyboard with Atari, Commodore, MC-10, CoCo and Apple II machines.
- Other Sinclairs (#2020 on groups.io) — 2007 thread on which Sinclair models reached North America, NTSC vs PAL, and running UK Spectrums in the US.
- Timex Computer 3256 Prototype (#819 on groups.io) — Starts from an Apple IIGS analogy for a next-generation Timex, then documents the unreleased Portuguese TC 3256 and compares it with the Commodore 65.
- C64 (#224 on groups.io) — The Commodore 64 Ultimate announcement, and a debate about why the C64 revival draws more excitement than the Spectrum Next, N-Go and XBerry Pi.
- ZX Spectrum 48K Repair - Jan 2024 - Ryan got a ZX Spectrum 48K from the Bill Miller Collection... (#736 on groups.io) — Carl Miles's long repair of a converted Spectrum 48K, ending with a vDrive ZX Microdrive emulator.
- ABQ User Group Meeting - Sat. Feb. 3, 2024 (#742 on groups.io) — Albuquerque meet-up notes that mix Timex work with a Kaypro II and a US-model Sinclair QL.
- Christmas wish lists (#815 on groups.io) — 1983 Sears and Radio Shack catalogs put 2068 prices next to the Atari 800XL and TI-99/4A, and Adam tracks down 22 of the 25 2068 titles Sears listed.
- What makes Z80 special? (#1376 on groups.io) — Jeff Burrell's history of the 8080/Z80 against the 6502 (CP/M, VisiCalc), plus dual-CPU machines like the C128 and BBC Micro.
- 2068 mouse was ZXDesk 2068 port (#8 on groups.io) — Jon's port of the GEOS-like ZXDesk and an evaluation of Commodore 1351 and trackball input on the 2068.
- Mourning the "Death" of Timex Computers - February 22, 1984 (#156 on groups.io) — NYT coverage of Timex leaving the market, set against the wider 1984 home-computer bust at Atari and others.
All threads (112)
↳ marks a thread where this topic begins mid-conversation — the link jumps to the message where it starts.
| Thread | Msgs | Activity | Started by |
|---|---|---|---|
| ⭐ Bill Miller Collection ↳ #4605 📎 | 169 💬 | 2024-01-13 | Timothy Swenson |
| ⭐ ZX Spectrum 48K Repair - Jan 2024 - Ryan got a ZX Spectrum 48K from the Bill Mil 📎 | 65 💬 | 2024-02-13 | Carl Miles |
| ⭐ Timex Computer 3256 Prototype 📎 | 47 💬 | 2023-12-09 | Adam Trionfo |
| ⭐ ABQ User Group Meeting - Sat. Feb. 3, 2024 📎 | 40 💬 | 2024-02-08 | Adam Trionfo |
| ⭐ My New 2068 Toys/RGB Monitor Adapter Works - Hooray! 📎 | 26 💬 | 2024-05-17 | Adam Trionfo |
| ⭐ What makes Z80 special? | 12 💬 | 2022-04-14 | Adam Trionfo |
| ⭐ Introducing Super2068 ↳ #9663 | 10 💬 | 2026-08-15 | Charlie Day |
| ⭐ Elite TS2068: A Spectrum to TS2068 Cartridge Conversion ↳ #9635 📎 | 9 💬 | 2026-08-11 | Adam Trionfo |
| C64 📎 | 31 💬 | 2025-10-22 | Adam Trionfo |
| An American museum? | 27 💬 | 2024-08-19 | David Anderson |
| Why people stuck with their Timex computers for so long 📎 | 23 💬 | 2026-01-21 | Adam Trionfo |
| What if Timex stayed in the market | 21 💬 | 2012-08-22 | Marvio Santos |
| Other Sinclairs | 17 💬 | 2007-06-16 | Al Hartman |
| Good Morning and a strange question | 16 💬 | 2023-11-11 | Adam Trionfo |
| Robotics 📎 | 12 💬 | 2023-11-14 | Adam Trionfo |
| 2068 mouse was ZXDesk 2068 port ↳ #9925 📎 | 11 💬 | 2026-10-05 | Adam Trionfo |
| "Gaming the Iron Curtain Book" and Eastern Bloc Spectrum Clones 📎 | 10 💬 | 2026-01-04 | Brett Hallen |
| Long Shot… 📎 | 10 💬 | 2023-09-27 | David Anderson |
| ZX81 and TS1000 on Adrian’s Digital Basement 📎 | 10 💬 | 2025-04-07 | Timothy Swenson |
| Timex/Sinclair Yule Log | 10 💬 | 2024-12-04 | David Anderson |
| Mourning the "Death" of Timex Computers - February 22, 1984 📎 | 9 💬 | 2026-02-05 | Adam Trionfo |
| Events and Organzations 📎 | 9 💬 | 2024-02-26 | John Mobley |
| Old Spectrum Newbie TS2068 ↳ | 9 💬 | 2002-09-26 | William McBrine |
| CoCoFEST! 📎 | 8 💬 | 2023-05-16 | John Mobley |
| The Sinclair QL and HiSoft BASIC for the Atari ST and Amiga | 8 💬 | 2026-01-07 | David Anderson |
| Those Russian Sinclair Computers 📎 | 8 💬 | 2022-02-23 | Adam Trionfo |
| VCF East 📎 | 7 💬 | 2026-04-21 | SuperMikeNJ |
| retro TV/Monitor 📎 | 7 💬 | 2024-02-22 | Paul Holmgren |
| Sat. May 13, 2023: ABQ User Group Meeting ↳ #3613 📎 | 7 💬 | 2023-05-23 | Adam Trionfo |
| Looks like Retro Games is coming out with a new "The Spectrum" computer later th 📎 | 6 💬 | 2024-08-27 | Carl Miles |
| Timex and States and Capitals | 6 💬 | 2026-04-03 | David Anderson |
| Neat YouTube Video about early computer Emulation including the ZX81 / TS1000 an | 6 💬 | 2023-01-04 | Carl Miles |
| Didatik Gamma | 6 💬 | 2010-01-09 | Mark Scheck |
| My 2068 and MC-10 | 6 💬 | 2025-04-28 | Christian Mann |
| Robots and Timex Computers 📎 | 6 💬 | 2025-01-29 | Adam Trionfo |
| Home Computing Pioneer Sir Clive Sinclair passes away Age 81 | 6 💬 | 2021-09-17 | Luis Alberto D'Ardis |
| Sinclair related but not a personal computer... 📎 | 5 💬 | 2024-01-13 | Carl Miles |
| ABQ Retro Computer Meetup Video Overview 📎 | 5 💬 | 2025-07-30 | Adam Trionfo |
| Tom Woods and the Astrocade? | 5 💬 | 2022-06-14 | Adam Trionfo |
| A little bit of Timex Sinclair history.. 📎 | 5 💬 | 2022-03-21 | Scott Hardin |
| TS 2068 AI conversions | 4 💬 | 2026-10-02 | Josef Jelinek |
| QL picture on television | 4 💬 | 2012-07-24 | Mark Scheck |
| 5.25 floppy drive for a Tandy 1000 HX | 4 💬 | 2025-08-19 | Christian Mann |
| Zilog Acquired by Littelfuse | 4 💬 | 2022-06-22 | Adam Trionfo |
| BASIC Games; was: Re: Compute magazine | 4 💬 | 2025-04-19 | qwertyfan2000 |
| Brazilian CP400 Computer | 3 💬 | 2015-08-09 | alhartman6 |
| A Star Wars TI-59 Calculator Game | 3 💬 | 2024-07-20 | Adam Trionfo |
| For the PASCAL afflicted | 3 💬 | 2025-10-21 | David Anderson |
| 8 Bit Workshop | 3 💬 | 2022-09-14 | David Anderson |
| Familiar loading noise and font in Netflix's "Choose or Die" | 3 💬 | 2022-04-19 | zxspectrum128 |
| Home Console BASIC in Japan | 3 💬 | 2022-02-08 | David Anderson |
| Custom Timex/Sinclair Controllers? 📎 | 3 💬 | 2023-07-23 | Adam Trionfo |
| Z88 & ZX81 On TV today! | 3 💬 | 2008-01-03 | doidy1 |
| Tim and Paul’s Rhode Island Road Trip | 2 💬 | 2023-03-25 | David Anderson |
| Simple Telephone System for the CoCoFEST! | 2 💬 | 2024-04-30 | John Mobley |
| One Per Desk Computer/Telecommunications Terminal 📎 | 2 💬 | 2024-01-02 | Adam Trionfo |
| Linux in TS computers. | 2 💬 | 2025-06-11 | Christian Mann |
| CP/M on the Timex or Atari? | 2 💬 | 2022-04-18 | Adam Trionfo |
| RC2014 Pro - Homebrew Z80 Computer Kit | 2 💬 | 2023-09-27 | John Mobley |
| Somewhat related to Adam’s lite exploration 📎 | 2 💬 | 2022-02-28 | David Anderson |
| CP 400 | 2 💬 | 2023-05-31 | John Mobley |
| S-100 connection | 1 💬 | 2026-06-29 | David Anderson |
| Explaining computers 1982 | 1 💬 | 2026-06-10 | David Anderson |
| The Elwro 800 Junior emulator | 1 💬 | 2006-02-06 | Jarek Adamski |
| Spectrum Handheld by hypermegatech | 1 💬 | 2026-04-30 | Adam Trionfo |
| Sinclair QL anyone? | 1 💬 | 2005-04-29 | senen71 |
| Z80 is Being Discontinued | 1 💬 | 2024-04-19 | Adam Trionfo |
| Talking to an AI about a Classic Game Console or Computer | 1 💬 | 2022-12-06 | Adam Trionfo |
| "Lemonade Stand" for Timex and C64 Computers | 1 💬 | 2025-09-18 | Adam Trionfo |
| BackBit MicroSD Cart on my Atari 8-Bit Computer 📎 | 1 💬 | 2022-09-01 | Adam Trionfo |
| The right Time for Looking into the Timex 1000 Game Changer Interface to the Ata | 1 💬 | 2023-10-18 | kevin.personal |
| RCR Episode 266: The Apple II Age (And a word form Timex) | 1 💬 | 2023-08-15 | John Mobley |
| Christmas wish lists 📎 | 21 💬 | 2023-12-11 | Adam Trionfo |
| A terrible mistake.. | 7 💬 | 2026-02-28 | Christian Mann |
| Joining Ryan 📎 | 7 💬 | 2023-11-21 | Ryan Gray |
| Update on the 8 bit game consoles. | 7 💬 | 2025-05-03 | Christian Mann |
| Not really related to Timex or Sinclair, but this is a documentary about the cre | 7 💬 | 2023-06-16 | Adam Trionfo |
| From a parallel universe | 6 💬 | 2022-10-02 | David Anderson |
| genius 1980s inventions that failed massively | 6 💬 | 2023-12-15 | larry lorenson |
| Added storage capacity and a few subgroups | 6 💬 | 2023-12-05 | David Ellis |
| My ASD is showing again and I am on a DE-HOARDING binge today - but this came to 📎 | 6 💬 | 2025-05-29 | Thomas Hynes |
| Recent finds via the Retrocomputing Roundtable Podcast 📎 | 6 💬 | 2025-05-25 | Adam Trionfo |
| I am sure that the Cleaning Fluids have really effected me today - But I nailed 📎 | 6 💬 | 2025-05-17 | Thomas Hynes |
| Book Nook Segment on Atari Show 📎 | 5 💬 | 2023-01-02 | Adam Trionfo |
| Bally/Timex connection | 5 💬 | 2022-10-07 | David Anderson |
| Tear-Jerker 2000 Cartridge; or Adam's Away-Image 📎 | 4 💬 | 2022-04-06 | Adam Trionfo |
| QL birthday | 3 💬 | 2024-01-17 | Mark Scheck |
| 8 bit game consoles. | 3 💬 | 2025-04-29 | Christian Mann |
| MiPS | 3 💬 | 2023-07-27 | Mark Scheck |
| Retro Directory | 2 💬 | 2023-05-13 | John Mobley |
| Ferranti/Astrocade Connection, well... kinda; was: RIP Jim Guerin, one of the pe | 2 💬 | 2023-03-02 | Adam Trionfo |
| Added "Star Wahs" by Dale from Astrogames' Tape A3. | 2 💬 | 2023-02-22 | Adam Trionfo |
| Timex Data-Link Watch 📎 | 2 💬 | 2026-01-08 | Adam Trionfo |
| British computers in America ft. Timex Sinclair | 2 💬 | 2025-11-14 | T2 |
| Robots built using the RCA 1802 processor/ELF computer 📎 | 2 💬 | 2025-11-06 | David Anderson |
| Another off-topic? | 2 💬 | 2025-11-05 | Ricardo Calcagno |
| 8bitnews email | 2 💬 | 2022-10-18 | David Anderson |
| Computes Gazzette 📎 | 2 💬 | 2025-07-21 | SuperMikeNJ |
| Zoom meeting with Jeri Ellsworth | 2 💬 | 2023-11-03 | David Anderson |
| Giant Cassette Tape Recorder 📎 | 2 💬 | 2022-03-29 | Adam Trionfo |
| 8-Bit Guy... | 1 💬 | 2018-05-27 | alhartman6 |
| Just watched an Apple video | 1 💬 | 2014-07-02 | Mark Scheck |
| Need a Second Life - Yes you do, but in my explorations I found something cool 📎 | 1 💬 | 2026-02-05 | Thomas Hynes |
| Before it gets recycled | 1 💬 | 2024-02-25 | Paul Holmgren |
| Not the Q*Bert Mini-Arcade, but the Dragon's Lair One | 1 💬 | 2022-09-25 | Adam Trionfo |
| PyThon learn programming stuff "Books" | 1 💬 | 2025-09-09 | Paul Holmgren |
| Computer parts for sale or trade. | 1 💬 | 2025-06-24 | Christian Mann |
| CNN Article on vintage computing... | 1 💬 | 2001-12-21 | Louis Florit |
| Last update on the 8 bit consoles. | 1 💬 | 2025-05-16 | Christian Mann |
| Floppy Days Podcast with Forrest Mims III | 1 💬 | 2023-10-14 | John Mobley |
| New episode of Floppy Days Podcast with TS2068 content | 1 💬 | 2023-09-25 | Floppy Days Podcast - Ra |
| Terminal Emulator Idea | 1 💬 | 2023-09-18 | John Mobley |