What if you had to pick out a 1980s era computer for use in your home today? BBC show Electric Dreams walks us through the history with a “time traveling” family.

Electric Dreams is a show based on the novel premise that an average British family is starting, technologically speaking, in the 1970s and progressing over a month to the year 2000–restricted each step of the way to using technology available only in the era they are emulating.

In the above video clip they’ve reached 1982 and visit the National Museum of Computing to pick out a vintage computer. It’s interesting to see the kids interact with the computer and experience programming for, presumably, the first time. Have a vintage computer memory (mine is programming on a Timex Sinclair); let’s hear about it in the comments.

Electric Dreams – The 1980s ‘The Micro Home Computer Of 1982′ [via O'Reilly Radar]

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