Share this page!

Enter URL or ID to Unroll

You can paste full URL like: https://x.com/threadreaderapp/status/1644127596119195649
or just the ID like: 1644127596119195649

How to get URL link on X (Twitter) App

  1. On the Twitter thread, click on or icon on the bottom
  2. Click again on or Share Via icon
  3. Click on Copy Link to Tweet
  4. Paste it above and click "Unroll Thread"!
  5. More info at Twitter Help
Pulp Librarian Profile picture
@PulpLibrarian
May 18, 2021 • 12 tweets • 4 min read • Read on X
Scrolly
Time for a pulp countdown now, and today it's my top 10 forgotten home microcomputers!

Let me just plug this tape recorder in and tune the TV set...
At #10: the 1982 Sharp X1! Possibly the most '80s looking 1980s computer ever created, it sold very well in Brazil. MSX really was the future once...
At #9: the 1982 Oric! rashed games more times than it loaded them and felt like typing on bubble wrap. Blakes 7 fans bought it because it sounded a bit like Orac...
At #8: the 1981 Texas Instruments TI-99/4A! This was basically bludgeoned to death by the VIC-20 in a ruthless price-cutting war, as payback for TI cornering the pocket calculator market in the 1970s and nearly bankrupting Commodore...
At #7: the 1978 Philips Videopac G7000! I know, I know, but it said it was a 'computer' on the box. Look, it's in big letters and everything...
At #6: the 1979 Luxor ABC 80! The most powerful computer ever made in Sweden...
At #5: the 1982 EG2000 Colour Genie. Dads with mullets thought it was like a Tandy CoCo. Kids knew it wasn't...
At #4: the 1983 Spectravideo SV-318 and SV-328. Said it was an MSX but wasn't really. Had a built-in joystick in the worst place ever for left handers. No software. No sales support. Even Roger Moore couldn't shift 'em...
At #3: the 1984 Oric Atmos! This was huge in Bulgaria I understand. Which is nice...
At #2: the 1984 Sinclair QL! "There's no comparison chart" because nobody had one delivered on time. Launched the term 'stringy floppies', which were as bad as they sounded...
And at #1: the 1983 Mattel Aquarius. From the makers of Barbie came the 'future proof' home computer, packing all the technology the mid-1970s had left behind.

It lasted 4 months before production ceased...
More tech from the World Of Tomorrow* anither time...

(*hours of business may vary)

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with Pulp Librarian

Pulp Librarian Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @PulpLibrarian

Pulp Librarian Profile picture
Jul 26
What are the pulp archetypes? Pulp novels are usually written quickly and rely on a formula, but do they use different archetypal characters to other fiction?

Let's take a look at a few... Image
The Outlaw is a classic pulp archetype: from Dick Turpin onwards lawbreakers have been a staple of the genre. Crime never pays, but it's exciting and trangressive!

Some pulp outlaws however are principled... Image
As Bob Dylan sang "to live outside the law you must be honest." Michel Gourdon's 1915 hero Dr Christopher Syn is a good example. A clergyman turned pirate and smuggler, he starts as a revenger but becomes the moral magistrate of the smuggling gangs of Romney Marsh. Image
Read 28 tweets
Pulp Librarian Profile picture
Jun 30
Given the current heatwave, I feel obliged to ask my favourite question: is it time to bring back the leisure suit?

Let's find out... Image
Now we all know what a man's lounge suit is, but if we're honest it can be a bit... stuffy. Formal. Businesslike. Not what you'd wear 'in da club' as the young folks say. Image
So for many years tailors have been experimenting with less formal, but still upmarket gents attire. The sort of garb you could wear for both a high level business meeting AND for listening to the Moody Blues in an espresso bar. Something versatile. Image
Read 16 tweets
Pulp Librarian Profile picture
Jun 29
Time once again for my occasional series "Women with great hair fleeing gothic houses!"

Let's see what's in the library... Image
The Voice of the House, by Margaret Erskine (an Inspector Finch Gothic Mystery). Ace Gothic, 1973.

She'll fall over if she leans like that. Image
The Three Sisters of No End House, by Mona Farnsworth. Ace Gothic, 1972.

I said she'll fall over if she leans like that! Image
Read 10 tweets
Pulp Librarian Profile picture
Jun 27
Today in pulp I look back at the publishing phenomenon of gamebooks: novels in which YOU are the hero!

A pencil and dice may be required for this thread... Image
Image
Gamebooks are a simple but addictive concept: you control the narrative. At the end of each section of the story you are offered a choice of outcomes, and based on that you turn to the page indicated to see what happens next. Image
Gamebook plots are in fact complicated decision tree maps: one or more branches end in success, but many more end in failure! It's down to you to decide which path to tread. Image
Read 22 tweets
Pulp Librarian Profile picture
Jun 18
Time for a pulp countdown now, and today it's my top 10 public relations campaigns! Image
At no 10: prunes! Let's get this party started. Image
At no 9: butter! Don't suffer from a lack of it. Image
Read 12 tweets
Pulp Librarian Profile picture
Jun 15
You know what I haven't done in a while? Bad book covers!

Let's change that... Image
Ooh you little lyre... Guardian Angels, by Joseph Citro. Zebra Books, 1988. Image
How I answer the door in the mornings... Encounters With Aliens, by George W. Earley. Charter House, 1978. Image
Read 13 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

Send Email!

:(