Computers are now an essential part of our lives and social communication, but back in the 1970s and 1980s only the University and research centres had such equipment.
In the late 1970s we had video games to entertain us – at the time they were very expensive in Malta. There were also companies that started producing computers such as the Exidy Sorcerer, Commodore PET, KIM-1, IMSAI, Tandy TRS-80, and Altair 8800, which barely made it to Malta because of their price tag and their availability was mainly limited to the US.
In the early 1980s Spectrum, Commodore, Amstrad and Atari started producing so-called home computers which were more affordable. Home computers were a quarter of the cost of a PC and there was no need for a proper monitor as they could be hooked up to a TV and used by all the family. Compared to a PC, these had superior graphics and sound, and they could do a multitude of things from playing games to automated control of other house equipment.
The PC in the 1980s was specifically used by businesses and they cost around €2,000, but today home computers have vanished as PC capabilities, especially graphics and sound, have improved.
Back in the 1980s, we had very few computer shops, and they were more like clubs. We would go every evening or Saturday mornings to exchange games with friends or buy the latest game.
I was lucky enough to live next to one in Sliema where we were able to use different home computers. Shop owners knew that this practice was key in spreading computers in homes and increasing sales.
We used to invite other school mates to come over to play games in the shops or we would end up at one of our friend’s house and write programs or games from magazines such as The Home Computer Course or Input. All major computer companies did well in Malta, but the bestsellers were the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spectrum 48K. The Acorn BBC and the Atari 800XL did well too, but people started to buy the Commodore 64 due to its superior sound, compared to graphics of the Atari 800XL and the price tag of the Acorn BBC.
The Acorn BBC was mainly sold in some companies and schools due to its capability of networking using the econet port.
By the end of the 1980s, the Maltese market was booming with home computers and sales were high on games, magazines, and peripherals. The only limitation was that computer shops were still selling the same models, and the only new machines were the Dragon 32, Commodore 128, the Spectrum 128K and the Apple II.
Sales of these models were not so good as the older 8 bit Home computers were still dominant and cheaper. An example of this was the Commodore 128, which was being sold for around €600, almost four times the minimum wage at the time.
Other models made it to Malta: the Oric-1, Commodore Plus/4, Commodore 16, Spectrum+, Atari 600XL and Amstrad CPC464, but sales were very low for these machines. The Amstrad was gaining popularity but the main issue was software and its high cost since Amstrad computers were sold with the monitor. The Apple II was not as popular as these machines and were very expensive at the time, especially peripherals. Only a few machines were sold and mostly were bought for their good educational and business software.
The end of the decade saw the introduction of the Amiga and Atari ST. Their main features were their 16-bit microprocessor, memory expansion and the graphical user interface. The 16-bit microprocessors were invented in mid-1970s and were mostly used in mini computers such as the HP2100 and DEC PDP-11. In the beginning of the 1980s Texas Instruments used a 16-bit processor for its TI99/4, but it was not a great success due to its high price tag and lack of software.
Maurizio Banavage probably has Malta’s largest private collection of vintage personal computers.