It has been inspiring to read the tributes paid to Sir Clive Sinclair, the quixotic British inventor of the ZX Spectrum personal home computer, who died last week. For countless users, the launch of Sinclair’s cheap and clunky machine in 1982 was their first encounter with the magical possibilities of computers. “An absolute genius with just the right amount of barminess to be a proper British boffin,” one commenter wrote on The Register’s memorial page.
ZX Spectrum個人家用電腦的堂吉訶德式英國發明家克萊夫?辛克萊爵士(Sir Clive Sinclair)最近去世,大家的悼詞讀來令人鼓舞。對無數用戶來說,辛克萊在1982年推出的那臺廉價而笨重的機器,是他們這輩子第一次領略到電腦的神奇可能性?!敖^對的天才,恰到好處的瘋癲勁兒使他成為真正的英國怪才?!庇萍夹侣劸W站The Register紀念頁面上的一條評論寫道。