RIP Sir Clive Sinclair

In the US the name Sinclair is more associated with gas stations and partisan media outlets than computers. We had only the Timex Sinclair series States-side, of which the major models were the T/S 1000, a rebadged ZX-81, and the 2068, which was an upgraded but partially incompatible ZX Spectrum. (There was also the T/S 1500, a more upmarket version of the T/S 1000 roughly analogous to calling the Cimmaron by Cadillac a more upmarket Cavalier, and two minor non-American spinoffs of the T/S 2068, the TC2068 and UK2068.) These sold quite poorly in the United States because of the dominant position of the obviously superior Commodore 64 (I'm bracing for the comments from Martin), despite at least one retailer selling T/S 1000s at firesale prices so customers could get a rebate on a Commodore purchase. (Commodore reportedly used some of them for doorstops.) In the UK and Europe, however, they were a hit because they were cheap, and they introduced a generation to computers that may not have been able to afford them otherwise. My T/S 1000's keyboard has crapped out and I'm not even sure where my 2068 is, but on the announcement of Sir Clive Sinclair's death from cancer at 81, hats off, gentlemen, and godspeed.