the beginning
vnomis: how did you start to develop computers? why did you do it?
perry: when the first 8-bit microprocessors came out (approx 1974). although they were intended as logic replacements (e.g.: traffic light controllers - which of course they have now done) they were so expensive that it seemed to me the best use was as what i called a "mini-computer emulator". i had done minicomputer programming at school and university, and making a minicomputer in a briefcase was an extension of that programming work and fitted well with my main business at the time which was electronic circuit design (increasingly using ttl chips)
roland and amstrad
vnomis: in which of the amstrad computers development did you collaborate?
perry: all of them from cpc to the 3000 series pc; my last one was the portable that was like a modern laptop, but a bit fatter (much later than the ppc).
vnomis: when did you leave the company?
perry: in 1990
vnomis: why did you leave amstrad?
perry: in the early days i was solely responsible for getting the computers designed. with time the designs became more complex, and more people became involved, to the point that I wasn't able to "make a difference" any more
the original cpc
vnomis: i've heard that the original cpc proyect, in which you weren't involved, had two 6502 chips in it. is that true? which is the real story about that computer? and about its specifications?
perry: it had one 6502 as cpu and another to run the sound and cassette port. it was a very low-spec machine
cpc questions
vnomis: why could the amstrad computers not be pluged to a tv as with other 8-bit computers?
perry: because alan sugar said that people would not be happy for the family tv to be hijacked by the games computer. the idea was that the games computer was 100% complete and a freestanding unit
vnomis: did it make the quantity sold, less than that for other computers?
perry: we think it sold more because of this.
vnomis: did amstrad think that the 3" disk format could be a standard for other companies?
perry: not particularly - although at the time all the uk-based personal computer companies had chosen it as well. we were careful to use a floppy disk controller and disk format that would be compatible with other sizes of disk - indeed many of the development machines had a 'normal' 5.25" disk drive attached which helped transfer programmes from the very early ibm pcs used to develop the software
projects
vnomis: I've read about the project of a colour joyce-pcw computer which would be full cpc compatible. how far did the development of this computer go?
perry: we did about half of the design work, and none of the production engineering (although it would have shared much of the components of the black and white pcw). the was planned to be a cpc-compatible mode, but in other ways it was enhanced - more colours, bigger screen and easier to scroll. some of these ideas were used later in the games console.
vnomis: which is the project you developed that you are most happy with it?
perry: pcw8256
vnomis: which was your most difficult project in which you was involved?
perry: the one which caused the most stress was the ppc- getting the software for it done in time
vnomis: which was the project that you'd like to be finished in those days and never was released?
perry: the colour joyce was the only project we didn't finish. there were several we didn't start! the feature i'd most have liked to incorporate at the time was a speech synthesis chip. with hindsight, a plug-on modem for the pcw.
vnomis: did amstrad have any project for a 16-bit computer like the commodore amiga or atari st? if the answer is the affirmative, could you give me any information about its development?
perry: no. there were often plans to make a pc-compatible games machine, but the build cost was too high.
vnomis: how far did the development of the pc-compatible game machine go? could it have been as the microsoft x-box but in the 80's?
perry: no, it would have been very little different to a business pc- the added feature being a cdrom drive years before these were shipped standard.
vnomis: why did amstrad launched a 8-bit cpc+ computer instead an enhanced 16bits version or a version with a ez80 chip in it?
perry: backwards compatibility of software
sold units
vnomis: which was the amstrad computer that never could reach the amstrad's sold units expectations?
perry: of the 8-bit machines, the pcw9000 never sold as many as was expected. the only real blockbuster 16-bit was the 1512 (which actually carried on sale after the 1640 had been withdrawn).
vnomis: how many units of the pc1512/1640 were sold?
perry: don't know for sure, perhaps 2 million ?
vnomis: have you got any kind of development material relating to amstrad computers? could you publish it?
perry: no.
the end of amstrad computers era
vnomis: why did amstrad leave the computer pc market?
perry: they bought viglen and moved their computer operations to that company
vnomis: why do you think about amstrad, and with the exception of apple, is the only 8bit computer company that is still alive?
perry: because both companies did what no other could - which is successfully have at the same time a computer for use by in the home and by enthusiasts, and ones for use in business. it is very difficult to be expert at both types, and for people to be happy to buy from a mixed supplier. also amstrad had much business in satellite dishes, mobile phones and other equipment which kept the company running when the computers were less popular
collectors
vnomis: what do you think about people that still use the cpc's? and about the computers collectors?
perry: i am very pleased there are so many people using and collecting the cpc. it means that it's a real classic - like a vintage motor car!
the cpc472
vnomis: regarding the amstrad cpc472 model which was released only in spain. did you made the development of that model? did you know anything about the existence of that model?
perry: that number is not familiar, but I did do every cpc. i heard a rumour that there were "clones" in spain, perhaps. was this unit a clone. what date was it available?
vnomis: as you can see in the files i've sent yo you, the amstrad cpc472 wasn't a clone computer. it was released in spain by the amstrad oficial
distributor indescomp at the end of 1985. did you have got any information about it?
perry: i have never heard of it.
vnomis: now that you have seen the amstrad cpc472 board and you told me that you never developed it, could you tell me what modifications were made to the cpc464 to include 8kb of memory more?
perry: the modification (which was not designed through my team in brentwood) is probably an 8k version of the modification later used to add 64k to
make the 6128. the Z80 processor can only 'see' 64k of memory at a time,so all memory additions have to be some form of bank switching
anecdotes
vnomis: have you got any other kind of comment on 'the amstrad computer story' that could be of interesting?
perry: every project we did was done in a very short timescale. one result was that the user manuals had to be ready for printing (a long process in those days) before the software was finished. i remember the unpacking instructions in the pcw manual were difficult because the cardboard box and foam inserts had not been finalaised yet. and of course you had to
start writing the manuals a long time before that. there used to be some criticism of the manuals and people would say "we can do a better job".
however, every time we asked one of these people to write a manual before the product was finished, they'd say "are you crazy, deliver us a finished computer and then we'll work out how much we'll charge and how long it will take"
vnomis: have you got any anecdotes that you can tell me to publish it around amstrad computers development?
perry: one that is still valid today: when we started there were league tables of the best sellers, and in the uk these were cbm, sinclair, acorn, atari, tandy, apple. we used to wonder how me could overtake as many famous names, and it was inconceivable that any of them would ever drop
out of the business. the company which actually won was none of these, nintendo
present
vnomis: in which are you working now? anything related to computers?
perry: my job is to represent internet service providers is discussions with lawmakers. See http://www.linx.net/contact/roland
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Roland Perry |
