Dan Frydman remembers clearly how the computer he used at school in the 1980s changed his life. Now 38, he was one of the generation who grew up with classroom computers that almost anyone could use to write self-contained programs – the equivalent of today’s smartphone apps.The computer was the BBC Micro, a computing revolution dressed in light brown plastic. Made by Acorn Computers of Cambridge, the first version, released in December 1981, included a simple programming language called BBC BASIC which even very young children could follow. And with coin arcades offering video games such as Space Invaders, this was their chance to create their own – free – version.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/jan/10/bbc-micro-school-computer-revolution