1980's computers

i still have my (parents') zx spectrum!! although haven't got it out of the box for quite a while... fav program was manic miner - i found a linux emulator again a few years ago that let me run it, although i've lost it again now. brilliant! we had a zx81 before that, with the plugin 4k extra ram module at the back.

does anyone remember prestel? kind of like the precursor to the internet: you got it via the phone line onto your computer and were able to browse through it on the tele?

My mate was a ZX 128k man, I'd go round there in the holidays to play Gauntlet, A Bard's Tale and Manic Miner. We'd have to both use the keyboard for two-player games because his Kempston interface was shit. They all were, they had the structural integrity of an Indian skyscraper.