Log-in to add movie to favourites

Movie added to favourites

Movie removed from favourites

The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

Sinclair ZX Spectrum. This film goes into all the finer details of how and why the ZX Spectrum was created, what impact the computer had as well as the various versions

Director

Anthony Caulfield, Nicola Caulfield

Year

Genre

Box Office

N/A

Production

Gracious Films

Awards

N/A

Homepage

https://www.graciousfilms.com/products/the-rubber-keyed-wonder

Cast information not available.

No reviews yet

Be the first to share your thoughts on this movie

Explore 845 Clips

My father was always thinking about the next - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

My father was always thinking about the next

They were pretty much constantly in his mind - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

They were pretty much constantly in his mind

He played poker and cards a little bit, - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

He played poker and cards a little bit,

So, uh, that was where his heart was. I think - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

So, uh, that was where his heart was. I think

So what really interested him was to come up - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

So what really interested him was to come up

Clive Sinclair we knew about - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

Clive Sinclair we knew about

You knew who he was, some great British inventor, - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

You knew who he was, some great British inventor,

People wanted to know what was he gonna say, - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

People wanted to know what was he gonna say,

And by attracting - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

And by attracting

Clive started in journalism, so he would write - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

Clive started in journalism, so he would write

And one of the first products he did - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

And one of the first products he did

That was like 1958, which was a predecessor - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

That was like 1958, which was a predecessor

It was a matchbox size radio - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

It was a matchbox size radio

But, um, this product was hugely successful by mail order. - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

But, um, this product was hugely successful by mail order.

PLA always had a very strong preference for mail order. - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

PLA always had a very strong preference for mail order.

There isn't a lot of inventory sitting out there, - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

There isn't a lot of inventory sitting out there,

Part of the reason why this was so low cost was - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

Part of the reason why this was so low cost was

So he'd buy these transistors for next to nothing, - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

So he'd buy these transistors for next to nothing,

I think the strategy was to make things were small, - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

I think the strategy was to make things were small,

So you had to make them - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

So you had to make them

So if you wanted to build a set a PA system in the, - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

So if you wanted to build a set a PA system in the,

And one of his early customers, in fact was Alan Sugar. - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

And one of his early customers, in fact was Alan Sugar.

So Alan Sugar used to turn up at the Sinclair office, - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

So Alan Sugar used to turn up at the Sinclair office,

And that was quite something - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

And that was quite something

Later on, - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

Clive always read an enormous amount of technical journals - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

Clive always read an enormous amount of technical journals

All the technical stuff. He would read the the literature - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

All the technical stuff. He would read the the literature

But his bookcase at home was heaving with techie stuff. - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

But his bookcase at home was heaving with techie stuff.

I know when he designed the square eel, which was one of the - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

I know when he designed the square eel, which was one of the

And, you know, he could read that style of book like a novel - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

And, you know, he could read that style of book like a novel

The executive calculator builders the world's slimmest - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

The executive calculator builders the world's slimmest

It's a really, really nice design - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

It's a really, really nice design

And it sold incredibly well - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

And it sold incredibly well

It was very interesting because they had to turn it on - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

It was very interesting because they had to turn it on

So these things were quite big - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

So these things were quite big

I think that if you had told Clive - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

I think that if you had told Clive

He'd had a small TV previously in the late sixties - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

He'd had a small TV previously in the late sixties

He had ideas about semiconductors, about televisions, - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

He had ideas about semiconductors, about televisions,

So Clive was thinking about those things years, years ahead - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

So Clive was thinking about those things years, years ahead

This is the newest way to tell the time - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

This is the newest way to tell the time

Its electronic, its moving parts digital - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

Its electronic, its moving parts digital

So you are sure that time is right. In - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

So you are sure that time is right. In

One of the suppliers pulled out, uh, which caused lots - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

One of the suppliers pulled out, uh, which caused lots

Very unfortunate for Sinclair - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

Very unfortunate for Sinclair

The black watch very easily got zapped - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

The black watch very easily got zapped

So if you had too much nylon in your carpet, your watch - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

So if you had too much nylon in your carpet, your watch

I think even getting too close to a television - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

I think even getting too close to a television

There's a problem they fixed quite soon, - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

There's a problem they fixed quite soon,

A design modification was made, - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

A design modification was made,

And this made it very, very difficult to assemble - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

And this made it very, very difficult to assemble

But again, when sold in kit form, - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

But again, when sold in kit form,

It was a story where somebody sent back a black watch - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

It was a story where somebody sent back a black watch

If it was too easy to put together, - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

If it was too easy to put together,

So the actual people were sort - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

So the actual people were sort

That was when cl thinking about doing computers quite early - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

That was when cl thinking about doing computers quite early

So the Mark 14 I think was a sort of almost stopgap product - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

So the Mark 14 I think was a sort of almost stopgap product

And there was a couple of other products around at - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

And there was a couple of other products around at

But really what client had been planning for years is - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

But really what client had been planning for years is

So back in the middle of the seventies, - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

So back in the middle of the seventies,

Clive Sinclair realized he could, uh, try to, - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

Clive Sinclair realized he could, uh, try to,

Well, it was a new market which was dominated - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

Well, it was a new market which was dominated

It seemed to me that the prices then being charged were such - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

It seemed to me that the prices then being charged were such

So I set about seeing if there was some way - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

So I set about seeing if there was some way

Let me tell you about the most exciting ad - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

Let me tell you about the most exciting ad

And it was just like suddenly there was something that was - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

And it was just like suddenly there was something that was

And as it happened, you know, it was a full six months - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

And as it happened, you know, it was a full six months

But this is Sinclair in a nutshell, wasn't he, uh, - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

But this is Sinclair in a nutshell, wasn't he, uh,

Because there was this amazing chip - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

Because there was this amazing chip

Clive had a good idea of what was going on with some - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

Clive had a good idea of what was going on with some

So his goal had been, well, I'm just gonna make something - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

So his goal had been, well, I'm just gonna make...

I knew what computers were, I didn't understand - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

I knew what computers were, I didn't understand

I knew they could make decisions for you - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

I knew they could make decisions for you

But how it was done wasn't clear to me - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

But how it was done wasn't clear to me

That, that was my moment - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

That, that was my moment

And then discovering - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

And then discovering

So you've got this little display here, - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

So you've got this little display here,

And you have these little bubbles - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

And you have these little bubbles

And it's based around this chip here, - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

And it's based around this chip here,

And if you wanna program this thing, - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

And if you wanna program this thing,

So you were typing in hex codes here for the op codes - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

So you were typing in hex codes here for the op codes

You got involved in the assembly process - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

You got involved in the assembly process

MK 14 was a, uh, - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

MK 14 was a, uh,

What you without face, you look so young. Yeah, 1969. - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

What you without face, you look so young. Yeah, 1969.

So I was like 1110 in 79 - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

So I was like 1110 in 79

And what you've gotta remember is this was completely new. - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

And what you've gotta remember is this was completely...

I sort of envy my kids 'cause of their youth - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

I sort of envy my kids 'cause of their youth

But I wouldn't change it for what we had, - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

But I wouldn't change it for what we had,

And then that extraordinary change happening - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

And then that extraordinary change happening

Never seen A day winning on my pillow in the - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

Never seen A day winning on my pillow in the

Crazy music playing in the - The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

Crazy music playing in the

The Rubber-Keyed Wonder poster

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Sinclair ZX Spectrum. This film goes into all the finer details of how and why the ZX Spectrum was created, what impact the computer had as well as the various versions

User Rating: 0.0 (0 ratings)

Director: Anthony Caulfield, Nicola Caulfield

Writer: Anthony Caulfield, Nicola Caulfield

Production: Gracious Films

Genre: documentary

Year: 2024

MetaScore: N/A/100

ImdbRating: N/A

BoxOffice: N/A

Released: 03 Oct 2024

Awards: N/A

Homepage: https://www.graciousfilms.com/products/the-rubber-keyed-wonder