Steve Vickers is a British mathematician and computer scientist. In the early 1980s, he wrote ROM firmware and manuals for three home computers, the ZX81, ZX Spectrum, and Jupiter Ace. The latter was
Steve Vickers
ZX Spectrum 48k
ZX80
Videos
The Sinclair ZX80 is a home computer launched on 29 January 1980 by Science of Cambridge Ltd.. It was one of the first computers available in the United Kingdom for less than a hundred pounds. It was
Steve Vickers (computer scientist)
…a PhD at Leeds University, also in mathematics. In 1980 he started working for Nine Tiles, which had previously written the Sinclair BASIC for the ZX80. He was responsible for the adaptation of the 4K ZX80 ROM into the 8K ROM used in the ZX81 and also wrote the ZX81 manual. He then wrote most of the…
ZX80
Inside the ZX80: The Z80 is the large chip in center. 4K ROM is the medium-sized chip in the upper right. 1K RAM is implemented by two chips in the upper left. The video modulator is the metal box at the top.
Upgraded ZX80 showing the ZX81-style replacement keyboard overlay for use with the 8K ROM