The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and the German-speaking parts of Europe.
Amstrad was a British electronics company, founded in 1968 by Alan Sugar at the age of 21. The name is a contraction of Alan Michael Sugar Trading. It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in April 1980. During the late 1980s, Amstrad had a substantial share of the PC market in the UK. Amstrad was once a FTSE 100 Index constituent, but since 2007 has been wholly owned by Sky UK. As of 2006, Amstrad's main business was manufacturing Sky UK interactive boxes. In 2010, Sky integrated Amstrad's satellite division as part of Sky so they could make their own set-top boxes in-house.
V for Vendetta is a British graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd. Initially published between 1982 and 1985 in black and white as an ongoing serial in the British anthology Warrior, its serialization was completed in 1988–89 in a ten-issue colour limited series published by DC Comics in the United States. Subsequent collected editions were typically published under DC's specialized imprint, Vertigo, until that label was shut down in 2018. Since then it has been transferred to DC Black Label. The story depicts a dystopian and post-apocalyptic near-future history version of the United Kingdom in the 1990s, preceded by a nuclear war in the 1980s that devastated most of the rest of the world. The Nordic supremacist, neo-fascist, outwardly Christofascistic, and homophobic fictional Norsefire political party has exterminated its opponents in concentration camps, and now rules the country as a police state.
The Amstrad PCW series is a range of personal computers produced by British company Amstrad from 1985 to 1998, and also sold under licence in Europe as the "Joyce" by the German electronics company Schneider in the early years of the series' life. The PCW, short for Personal Computer Word-processor, was targeted at the wordprocessing and home office markets. When it was launched the cost of a PCW system was under 25% of the cost of almost all IBM-compatible PC systems in the UK, and as a result the machine was very popular both in the UK and in Europe, persuading many technophobes to venture into using computers. However the last two models, introduced in the mid-1990s, were commercial failures, being squeezed out of the market by the falling prices, greater capabilities and wider range of software for IBM-compatible PCs.
The CPC 464 is the first personal home computer built by Amstrad in 1984. It was one of the bestselling and best produced microcomputers, with more than 2 million units sold in Europe. The British microcomputer boom had already peaked before Amstrad announced the CPC 464 which they then released a mere 9 months later.
Alan Michael Sugar, Baron Sugar is a British business magnate, media personality, author, politician and political adviser. In 1968, he started what would later become his largest business venture, consumer electronics company Amstrad. In 2007, he sold his remaining interest in the company in a deal to BSkyB for £125m.
The Amstrad NC100 Notepad was an A4-size, portable Z80-based computer, released by Amstrad in 1992. It featured 64 KB of RAM, the Protext word processor, various organiser-like facilities, a simple calculator, and a version of the BBC BASIC interpreter.
Locomotive Software was a small British software house that did most of its development for Amstrad's home and small business computers of the 1980s. It was founded by Richard Clayton and Chris Hall on 14 February 1983.
The GX4000 is a video game console that was manufactured by Amstrad. It was the company's short-lived attempt to enter the games console market. The console was released in Europe in 1990 and was an upgraded design based on the then still-popular CPC technology. The GX4000 shared hardware architecture with Amstrad's CPC Plus computer line, which was released concurrently. This allowed the system to be compatible with the majority of CPC Plus software.
The Apprentice is a British business-styled reality game show created by Mark Burnett, distributed by Fremantle and broadcast by the BBC since 16 February 2005. Devised after the success of the American original and part of the international franchise of the same name, the programme focuses on a group of businesspeople competing in a series of business-related challenges set by British business magnate Alan Sugar, in order to prove themselves worthy of a prize offered by him. To observe candidates as they undertake these tasks, Sugar is aided by two close business associates who act as observers with little involvement in what is conducted – these roles are currently performed by Karren Brady and Claude Littner.
Amsoft was a wholly owned subsidiary of Amstrad, PLC, founded in 1984 and re-integrated with its parent company in 1989. Its purpose was to provide an initial infrastructure of software and services for users of Amstrad's range of home computers, the Amstrad CPC and, from 1986, the ZX Spectrum. Many people's first contact with software on an Amstrad home computer would have been an Amsoft title, as several titles were included in the sales bundles.
Founded in 1969 by Dennis Baylin, Betacom is an electronics company specialising in audio and visual products. In 1992 Sir Alan Sugar's Amstrad purchased a 29.9% stake in the company from Canon Street Investments PLC. A rights issue and subscription increased Amstrad's shareholding in Betacom to 71.3%. Betacom, a UK-based domestic telephone supplier provided Amstrad with a foothold in the developing telecommunications market.
Viglen Ltd provides IT products and services, including storage systems, servers, workstations and data/voice communications equipment and services.
The first series of British reality television series The Apprentice (UK) was broadcast in the UK on BBC Two, from 16 February to 4 May 2005. After securing the rights to creating a British version of American original, the BBC commissioned a total of twelve episodes, a standard that would be used for consecutive series. It is the only series not to feature a boardroom scene after a candidate quit the programme following a task. Alongside the twelve episodes that were produced, two specials were also created and aired alongside this series – "The Story so Far" on 2 April, aimed at bringing viewers up to speed on the series; and "You're Hired!" on 7 May, aired after the series finale, with a format that would be later adapted for use in The Apprentice: You're Fired when it began the following year.
Timothy Campbell is an English businessman best known as the winner of the first series of the British version of The Apprentice, a BBC TV reality show in which contestants competed to win a £100,000-a-year job working for businessman Alan Sugar.
Nicholas Radbourn Hewer is a retired English television presenter, company director (2010) and former public relations consultant. From 2005 to 2014, he appeared as Alan Sugar's adviser in the British television series The Apprentice. From 2012 to 2021, he presented the Channel 4 programme Countdown with Rachel Riley and Susie Dent.
The Amstrad E-mailer is a Personal Communication Centre that is a landline phone device, launched in March 2000.
Bordan Tkachuk is a British business executive, the former CEO of Viglen, also known from his appearances on the BBC-produced British version of The Apprentice, interviewing for his boss Lord Sugar.
Claude Littner is an American-born British business executive and the former chairman of Viglen, Powerleague, ASCO and Azzuri Communications. He is also the Deputy Chairman of Blacks Leisure and former chief executive of Tottenham Hotspur. He is also known from his appearances on the British version of The Apprentice, interviewing for his former boss Alan Sugar. Littner became one of Sugar's aides from the 2015 series onwards.
Roland was a game character developed in 1984 by Alan Sugar, CEO of Amstrad, and Jose Luis Dominguez, a Spanish game designer. The character was named for Roland Perry, a computer engineer who worked for Amstrad. The idea was to have one recognizable character in a number of different computer games in a bid to have the Amstrad CPC compete with the ZX Spectrum and the Commodore 64.
