Electric Dreams - The 1980s 2 of 3

[Music] over the last 40 years technology has developed with dizzying speed but how has technology changed us how has it transformed our homes and what has it done to our families to find out the Sullivan Barnes family are taking part in a unique experiment they've been stripped of all their modern technology and their own home has been turned into a time machine what on Earth are they done with our kitchen what you think already they've lived through the digital Wilderness of the 1970s black a white they're fast forwarding through the years at the rate of one a day now they're entering the 80s but can modern kids get to grips with Prehistoric Electronics wait wait wait why why can't you be more patient nothing ever works and will the80s bring them labor saving musthaves or time wasting boys [Music] toys it working has progress always been for the better and has it fulfilled our electric [Music] dreams we'll always be together however it seems we'll always be together together in [Music] electric for one household in Reading it's still the 1970s but not for much longer and that's a relief for some some of them I have to say the technology has been pretty poor for self-confessed Gadget freak Adam the80s have got to be better than the decade he's just lived through what a total waste of time what on Earth were they thinking did though mom George's faced challenges too she feels the simpler life of the 70s had its upside we've really spent quite a lot of time around the table as a family that's partly because the kids haven't been kept busy by their usual electronic gadgets Adam's daughter Steph and George's children heish and Ellie have no idea what lies ahead for them in the 1980s nor does 2-year-old Jude not surprising really even the eldest wasn't born until 1995 I don't know what to expect really I hope our 80s lifestyle doesn't mean that everybody's got massive distractions can their Newfound closeness survive the coming onslaught of 80s Electronics elsewhere in reading the family's very own technical support team are assembling vintage 80s [Music] equipment Gia milinovich is a technology writer with a lifelong passion for computing well this is when things get very exciting for me obviously this is the first time that computers make it into the home and there's loads to choose from they may cause the family some problems however because they're not quite as easy to use as modern computers Tom wriglesworth is in charge of all audio and Communications devices it's going to be a busy decade for him in the 1980s consumer electronics were getting smaller more personal and more portable it meant for the first time you could live in a world of your own to put it all in context Dr Ben hore is a sociologist who specializes in the history of domestic technology this technology gets sold to people as being con venient labor saving how labor saving was it and as they prepare 's equipment to send into the family home the team face a constant challenge this era's technology often went wrong and when it broke it was hard to fix the family's been dressed up for the 80s and they're about to find out how their house has been similarly transformed for many people in this decade home became increasingly important as more time and money was spent there oh wow digital age has arrived hey look and as the new conservative government exhorted Britain to buy their houses Laura Ashley was telling us how to decorate them very tasteless really it's just you know the whole flowery stuff just drives me bonkers though they're marching into the digital future their Decor heading in the other direction this Cod historical style was nostalgic for Less high-tech times looks a lot like a granny home or a great aunt or something yeah I have to agree with you on not and look at that is that an answer machine in 1980 Britain's phone system was still run by the post office and many people had only ever seen an answering machine on The Rockford Files hello family welcome to your new house I hope you like the decco hope you like floral and drapes and uh good luck with all the new technology that we've supplied you with including the anone which youve clearly found and mastered see you soon bye and a really nice stereo look at that it's got all sorts complete leap of Technology isn't it I mean this is this is proper separates high-fi this is this is more like it 80s appliances were less likely than their predecessors to be hidden away behind the doors of cabinets the latest technology was a status symbol to be proudly displayed look how much thinner it is now was it it was a massive thing wasn't it I hope we have more channels we did last time I don't think you get another Channel until 1982 stuff it's nice to have extra space spread out a little bit more for a decade when building house extensions became common the family have more space in the' 70s this was the living room but now a lounge has been created next door it's a set aside dining area it's a little bit of a status thing isn't it I'm going to impress people in here but the kitchen's no bigger and still a long way from high tech Chic there has been some progress with the white goods fridge freezer y we have freeer inside the house wow no ceramic hob Adam oo they're really difficult to clean go go go upstairs too it's all [Music] change oh my God look at that how completely cheesy is that oh we've got an upstairs phone darling we can make private phone calls now we've come from a decade where there's been nothing private about the phone it's right in the middle of the house do you like the style of the phone yeah I like it it's very girly the only bit of masculinity I can see in the house is that HiFi that feels really rugged and manly oh my good goodness Ellie and Steph's room isn't exactly Macho either I love it during the ' 80s kids started to spend more time in their bedrooms you freak me out they're horrible there was now more to keep them entertained upstairs hey hey look we've got a tape player yay we didn't have any technology in our old room in the 70s hh's room is littered with electronic toys during the early ' 80s recession much of Britain couldn't afford technology like this but families with disposable income were increasingly spending it on their children I think 1980s girls should go and be playing in their room with their little scary dolls and ponies what are you doing with it nothing is not your personal property the other male of the family is also marking his territory I'm absolutely convinced that the man of the house would have gone out and bought himself a decent Hi-Fi the children of the house would not have been allowed near this kind of high-fi Kit cuz it would have been so expensive ad I would be you might be no I would be no you would be I'm going to leave you to it okay bye you let me know when it's not working by oh please God may we be able to make it work it's not working girls that no it's it's it's just a button we need to press that needs to be on come on you stupid thing everything's on [Music] ah to let you know that it was working good I'm glad you managed to work it out yes don't touch it again without my permission back at the workshop the tech team are preparing their first delivery microwave ovens are now found in over 90% of British homes but in 1980 only 6% of households had one a basic microwave then cost over 30 times more in real terms and yet that that wasn't the main reason they hadn't caught on there was a real fear around them in the beginning of the'80s so it's a slow and difficult take up even though the technology was available from the mid '70s the radiation at the heart of microwave cookery sounded uncomfortably similar to radioactivity for many consumers at a time of widespread nuclear paranoia today many scientists are worried that the safety levels aren't good enough this F was encouraged by a widely seen television [Music] program microwaves uh can kill a person uh for example if uh you had the intensity required uh to cook something you could cook a person I was literally baked in a microwave oven there's a host of unknown consequences including Cancer birth defects things of this sort UK micro wave sails plummeted immediately after the documentary aired potential purchasers were particularly anxious that radiation would somehow Escape through the oven's walls or door I suggest we give them this a microwave leakage detector knowing that the safety fears eventually proved groundless the tech team dispatched the oven to the house go it's heavy the family's challenge is to use their delivery as a household would have done in 1980 at that time microwaves were being sold as the time saving replacement for the traditional oven so we've got to do a menu for tonight created entirely with the microwave of them an exciting prospect for anybody about to embark on it but first following commonplace advice in 1980 the family makes sure the oven won't cook them if it gets into the red it's dangerous run for your life I've heard before that you is can be harmful standing in front of the microwave who told you that you oh there you g see cuz I heard that when I was first using microwaves so I probably just passed on the big FIB it's fine what's all the fuss about there might be meals that you could do quite nicely many cookbooks were published at the time dedicated solely to the new art of microwave Cuisine they promised food which not only cooked much faster but also tasted better some of my dinner guests have exclaimed that my microwave cooked vegetables are the best they've ever tasted what are we making for dinner then roast chicken in the microwave even the most Evangelical cookbooks had to admit microwaves couldn't brown meat or poultry they suggested slaving your roast in ketchup gravy mix or paprika it's to give it a bit of color to try and persuade yourself that it looks a bit more something akin to the color bird that you're used to eating from an oven roast so I guess that's the feather of course only one dish at a time can fit into the microwave so none of the trimmings George is preparing can begin cooking till the chicken's completed its 40 minute spin hello chicken it looks like fake tan that's had a bit of time sweating on the Dance Floor microwaves were even recommended for baking so making pudding should be a piece of cake wow that is funy looks W it's good being able to see it isn't it yeah careful only when every single dish has had its moment in the oven can the family finally have their dinner is that nice Jude always yes of course you always I looked at my watch at 20 6 and thought 40 minutes brilliant we'll be eating at 7 8:52 on my digital watch nearly 9:00 let's be honest throwing a thr a chicken in the oven with a few roast potatoes is at least as easy and probably less less bother I'm surprised that this actually tastes if you're not eating the skin absolutely fine not as nice as the oven but it's not horrible it's better than I thought it would be yeah though the cake looks the business the proof of a pudding traditionally lies elsewhere almost like it's a stale cake into radiation kind of rock solid it's almost like it's not cooked even ly all the way through is it it's classic microwave cooking really isn't it where it tends to heat one part of the dish more than another the family won't be chucking out their regular oven just yet right in the middle the kids end their first day in the80s by settling down in front of the new TV there's one novelty waiting for them oh it's massive it's huge heavy it's quite heavy quite heavy for be like a mobile phone yeah hello I have only one thing to say you turn if you want to the ladies not for turning this is another wrong type the links are far too fine the hair gets through since only 2% of households had video recorders In 1980 this was as much control over the TV as most people had play with a new day comes a new year and a new delivery from the tech team an increasing amount of technology in the 80s was designed to entertain us so this is D no matter how young says spell ah can you find speak and spell cost £120 in today's money but sold well because parents could be persuaded it was educational for the older kids the Primitive ancestors of the world's bestselling handheld electronic games well that's Nintendo don't think they'd be around in the 1980s don't get what are you supposed to do it's not very good compared to the games in 2009 but since you don't have that then it's good enough heish quickly figures out the benefits of having pocket sized Tech it's mine and it belongs to me nobody else has the right to play it dad's new toy would have cost nearly £300 in today's money wow the Sony Walkman look look how big that is guys for the same amount in 2009 he could buy two MP3 players with room for 60,000 songs solid state oh lovely though new new [Music] Polaroid they're all rapidly silenced by their individual gizmos even Jude where you going for sound walking about with a head full of music in my pocket and I'm going to use it [Music] stereo out the street Sony launched the world's first personal stereo in the dying months of the70s the designers initially worried it was antisocial so early wans were fitted with two headphone sockets as it turned out we all loved being cut off from the world around us soon every other manufacturer brought out their own version of the wman so much better than having nothing having something like this to take take my mind away from the the bordedom of it is is is a must I I find it difficult I don't think I'd do as much exercise without some entertainment it's not one of those things that you need to have but it sure is nice to have in the decade where Margaret Thatcher would claim there was no such thing as Society the family are already enjoying technology they don't have to share in the' 70s you'd like play together rather than playing on your own or something but now cuz they brought in like this kind of thing and um tape players you can go on off on your own it's good to have your own like kind of bubble and you can do what you want really instead of all being together at the same time which is kind of gets a bit annoying [Music] While most of the economy was deep in recession British Computing was a miraculous exception a manufacturing industry that wasn't sacking everyone if it's got a keyboard a manual and computer written on it it'll sell that's the word around the exploding market for personal or home computers that simply plug into a television set we're the world's largest producer of computers we make more than the whole of Japan put together technological innovation had met 80s entrepreneurialism the perfect mix for a leader who was a science graduate as well as a free market evangelist Prim Minister this is a small home computer the Sullivan Barnes family are going to experience microcomputer Mania so the tech team needs to check up on the choice available in 1982 J's come to meet Simon Webb from the national museum of computing we got about 3,000 items in the collection from this vast array they select a few models of the right vintage some faded rapidly Into Obscurity there's a dragon there Dragon 32 this was a Welsh company that produced this others however found their way into millions of homes what made a machine successful was the availability of software and this is where machines like the Spectrum sort of w out because there were huge number of software titles available for it the spectrum's main British rival was made by Acorn although it cost three times as much it had heavyweight backing the BBC branded it and the government paid for one to go into every school in Britain so I suppose the main issue with early 80s computers was that none of them were compatiable that's right this was what really was unsustainable everybody doing their own thing so it wasn't until the mayb MPC really sort of established a standard that all these machines started sort of dying out you know navigating a path through such incompatible Hardware was often tricky but the Sullivan Barnes family will have to make this tough choice just as early ' 80s consumers did Jia set up a computer fair for them this is the astonishing new zedex Spectrum full eight colors sound generation high resolution Graphics High resol [Music] solution all of these machines had much less memory and power than a modern mobile phone at a much higher price even the cheapest Spectrum cost over £300 in today's money while the model the BBC cat plugging would have set you back a whopping 900 quid for 32k J's invited some guests to help the family decide Simon manner is now a professional comedian but in the ' 80s published soft software for the ZX Spectrum it still works how do you stop it Patrick boset preferred the BBC micro he wrote a book about programming when he was a teenager as a follow-up to his bestseller you can do the cube you're a whiz kid in this area now What's Happening Here uh well you're controlling a car it's a racetrack ah then you've crashed I think you should buy the BBC computer because you'll have a lot of fun out of it it's got tremendous games but when you get bored of playing the games there's so much more you can do Beyond it things like word processor and good software just for doing letters and business stuff I recommend this Sinclair zedx Spectrum partly because it's cheap and so many people have it and there are so many people out there writing games for it the spectrum is very good fun for games it's effectively a toy the BBC computer it's got It's got the the stench of school about it but most of the games will be fun with counting or um isn't geography nice that sort of thing so uh much better to stick with the Sinclair have fun and let education worry about itself Simon's spectrum is definitely sounding cooler but Patrick wins back the family's attention by demonstrating some of his old programming skills when you tell it to run that what he's written is basic in both senses of the word but it's enough to Intrigue the kids it's simple stuff but it's worth a go all right guys I brought you here to choose one computer which one do you want to choose BBC which one do you want to choose BBC which one BBC it's your decision I was going to say the BBC actually I am really surprised because in in the80s kids really really just wanted the Spectrum and it was kind of seen as being a bit you know swatty to have the BBC micro but look at heish he's he's not even paying attention to this he's just programming it's got games and word processing as well and you can print things off or something so and you and heish quotes like some um what was it uh PR testing I think it's cool [Music] but a home computer is not what everyone in the house wants George is worried the kids will spend as much time on it as they do on their modern PCS I guess it depends how capable the computer is but if it's got computer games I think that will be that will be the first start down the slippery slope to to the kids regressing back to to the naughties everything's just fine as it is that you do it that you permission to get in where where do you think it should go in my bedroom I would not let you put in the B bedroom no it's not going in your bedroom no question of it going in your bedroom I'd like it in the spare room you got to put it somewhere where everybody can use it it won't fit on that desk why can't it be on there because I want to be able to sit and relax in this room without having a computer here there's enough Gadgets in this room already the decision is spare room right yeah it's just the we uhhuh uh-huh that's the data loading device I want to load a software which is cool and an instruction manual haven't got a monitor have we definitely need a monitor hold the tech team hi sish we need a monitor for the computer the tech team have to break the news that the average family in 1982 plugged the computer into the TV okay then okay thanks bye a dedicated monitor then cost more than most computers mom they said you have to plug it into the TV stop there no no you'll have to take it back unplug it and put it in the cup when you don't use it no but that's not option I'd rather you put the TV upstairs in my room no absolutely no I think we should have a computer but we'll we I think it's relatively easy to unplug and plug it is it's literally just like plug call out the cord it's not like there's anything to watch on the television anyway is there okay well I think my votes quite clear so I'll let you vote do we have the computer down here or do we take the TV upstairs to the computer and don't have a TV down here well those are the choices the sitting room's quickly taken over by the boy's new toy right should we do the typical boy thing and just plug it in or should we read the guide I'm not particularly interested to watch the computer being installed it has to be in the sitting room not very pleased about it but you know I'm resigned to it it's that's how it's going to be we won't be playing it because yeah because hey Mission dad will be dominating it and Dad will say the man of the house would normally have the computer I'm back oh hi babe how was school good heish can't wait to show the computer off to his school friend Dan put that there since it's not allowed to stay out overnight that means setting up the hardware all over again great [Music] look it's a masterpiece the common belief in the early ' 80s was that to use computers everyone would need to learn programming what instead by the time these teenagers were born many tasks require little more than a click of a mouse o this one no for wait wait yet surprisingly heish is more excited by the prehistoric micro than any of the technology he encountered in the 70s comma one and then press return a yeah like her mom Ellie can't see the point zero zero I have no idea what they're doing anyway sound oh comma one Electronics weren't just found in the home in the early 80s they were saturating every aspect of popular [Applause] [Music] culture good evening Ellie good evening Steph hello so 1983's delivery from the tech team is the technology which soundtracked the era the synthesizer it it means nothing to me this so I've got a couple of chaps um outside I'd like you to meet you will be able to explain a lot more how it works how it works yeah just give me one second okay yes playing live tonight in Adam and George's dining room the keyboard players from one of the most successful synth pop groups of the decade Hi family it's Chris Cross and Billy Cy from alter no these guys were our Idols absolutely smacked by that though Adam was a huge fan they don't mean as much if he weren't even born at the time in 198 three and what we started doing B sounds [Music] right know that kind of thing but with a drum machine it was so new so it was that [Music] exciting you recogniz that yes that I do recognize this ultrav Vox broke new ground not only with their synthesized sound but also with their [Music] visuals as well as ostentatious pop videos the80s brought the world the satellite Network to show them on MTV we made our own videos and it was really new our music was it's quite fil to start with but that was a a real big shift in in our records were were sort of promoted and and and these guys made some great videos um so you you kids have got a challenge for this decade you've got to make your own pop video with what with what exactly we haven't got a camera not yet not yet you haven't it's only 1983 by the end of the decade you'll have enough I'll give you enough things to make you own pop vide the good thing in the ' 80s was everyone used to mime it was so sural having two absolute 80s music icons in our house that sounds like Indian Ellie gradually started to catch on what a big big deal it was don't think we were so all struck don't think H and St gave no they were monkeys did they so we just had half a pot band and our half isn't that pretty cool it's cool but I have no clue who on Earth they were it's like in G years and we have kids and we'll just like oh these are the people from Scouting For Girls and that just yeah [Music] whatever as Britain reached the year of allw world's nightmare Big Brother wasn't watching us yet but we were watching more television was now broadcasting at breakfast time and on a fourth Channel and Technology was giving us far more Choice over what we watched and when a video cassette recorder was now found in almost a third of British households even though just as with home computers consumers were caught in the crossfire between conflicting Technologies the real video War isn't fought against Invaders from outer space it's battled out on the high streets of Britain it's all a matter of format the tech team have to decide which tape format the family will get with hindsight VHS clearly seems the most futureproof choice but back in 1984 betamax still held a quarter of the market hello I'm Gia hi Andy Andy Hayne has pieced together an entire history of the video recorder and he keeps it in his garden shed wow oh my goodness it's nice to know someone who knows looking Andy currently has 74 machines and not just the two formats everyone remembers he also has a staggering 19 Alternatives such as the laser disc player just amazing technology there a great big laser tube in there it's not a solid state laser it's a gas laser a huge great laser tube inside very rare because there's very few of those still working in the world that I know of what other formats were there in the 80s Phillips developed video 2000 and these used tapes that he could turn over so right from the start you had three hours on a side so six hours total do you have a a tape they're pretty much the same size as a VHS cassette it looks like an audio cassette and I'm very tiny well in fact Phillips invented the audio cassette as well so there this was their video equivalent of an audio cassette by the time they got to the market VHS and bet were already fighting their war and they kind of ends up being Al also ran everyone knows the story that bet Max was it superior quality but VHS went out what's your take on that whole thing it was largely marketing there only be Max they presented it as a quality system VHS was a little bit more aimed at the average man in the street and when you're talking about hundreds of pounds thousands of pounds in today's money there was obviously a temptation to rent if there was two formats fighting VHS was easier to rent the tapes were easier to rent when that became popular and uh it very quickly pushed BX down and so was there actually a difference between the picture quality between the two of them in a laboratory yes for the average person probably not no The Logical Choice then in 1984 is the VHS when the tech team send their choice to the house they add an extra video treat for the kids oh wow it's one of the very first camcorders from The Firm that invented VHS Di's being cameraman and you can be like the pop girls there's 136 pages of instructions as seeing as you want to be the cameraman thank you Mammoth manuals became a common site during the 80s though technology now offered Advanced features it hadn't yet cracked making them easy to use where's the on switch na it goes somewhere that's quite heavy to test drive the video player Ellie fetches a gift from the night before ultrav Vox livein concert oh it's smaller hopefully it still fits side ra a bit way a bit it's too small heish you know why it's too small Ellie cuz that is a VHS and you're trying to put a betax in it you know Blu-ray and normal DVDs yes you're not trying to put a Blu-ray into a normal DVD play it's not going to work hi the task of finding a tape the machine will actually play quickly gets passed on need to go and get a video any preference for VHS something [Music] good tricky third gear Adam and his 80s escort may have quite a journey ahead of them it feels quite strange to me having got back from quite a long day of working to be off in the car in search of a of a film when in modern day I'm a m M of a DVD film club so I get DVDs through the post which is very good cuz you don't even have to go out from the door but video rental shops were a boom business in the early ' 80s the UK boasted precisely none at the start of the decade a couple of years later it had 25,000 as a result many Cinemas [Music] closed I'm looking for EHS videos films okay uh we haven't done them for about 3 to four years they've sort of gone out DVD as taken over now so we only stock DVD I promised the kids I'd get them a film tonight cuz we've only just got a video recorder um so is there anywhere around here I could possibly get one I can't know there's one other video shop we can go to might as well give that a go before we give up all hope dad is at the video shop still after about 2 hours literally cuz he doesn't have a phone with him we can't like call him up and say where are you we're a bit bored now Adams finally found an old independent store hello with no VHS tapes on its shelves either but the owner does keep a few under the counter its ex rental stock he's selling off oh I'm just going to get rid of the pound each back in 1984 very few people bought rather than rented buy those thank you very much how much would that be the average retail price then was £60 that's £50 in today's money kids what is that shh it's coming on sh it's not coming on it doesn't look any different to the screen look before before you put it in though really does it was it working earlier when we got it here it was at one point Ellie neglects to mention her earlier vigorous attempts to force a betax tape into the VHS machine it's not going around so there's clearly something not right with it you try pressing a button called play is it rewind nothing ever Works wind up no good it's not working having spent all that time rushing around trying to get these videos and then put not to work was a little bit of a let down to be honest with you the next day the tech team collect the broken machine for repair here you go so what's the um problem well it doesn't work um the early VHS machines weren't incredibly reliable and and one of the suggest questions was that you get it serviced every 6 months really really every 6 months every 6 months in fact 25% of VHS machines needed to be repaired in their first year of life for other formats the rate was even higher stick the uh cable on the top oh that is heavy it is heavy but CPR for the VCR isn't the only reason J's come to call okay Adam I've got you a surprise I've got you a new set of wheels really now that is good news it is okay Adam here's what we've got [Music] you you're joking that is unbelievable I didn't think there would be that many that actually work still there's so many 198 5 saw the launch of the C5 the most famous technological flop of the decade oh man I'm cop smack creating an electric vehicle had been the dream of Clive Sinclair long before he made his fortune with computers and calculators we've got Chaos on in our on our roads I don't believe that the forms of Transport we have today can long survive Sinclair's plan was to use the profits from the C5 to production of a full-sized electric car but less than 17,000 were ever sold these enthusiasts would like to persuade Adam their Motors are more than just a retro joke so what's his top speed around 15 mph you can get a little bit more if you really pedal crazy but 15's about the going rate why do you think it didn't succeed in 1985 if it have been released now where where cities have got more cycle paths and areas where you could actually use these sort of things it might have been a different story to the one that turned out you know IDE ahead of its time so this is the 1985 vision of the future everyone has a C5 and I'm going to send you out shopping in one of these to get the um experience of the future [Music] fabulous Adam quickly has to supplement the engine with pedral power 25 years later climate change has put electric vehicles firmly back on the agenda but the c5's Visionary concept was let down by its execution a common fault of 80s technology you feel quite intim idated cuz you're so small in this traffic couldn't really see myself using this a full time not in the main traffic just just too dangerous I think I just wouldn't feel safe and then you kind of factoring the weather conditions in England why would you have this I don't know it's a shame really cuz it's really fun most people in 1985 came to the same conclusion whoever brought out that well once putting up a wall and shoot the failure of the C5 was proof that consumers were wising up about new technology clearly not everything Innovative was worth buying you can't go thinking nothing's [Music] wr's going Drive Sinclair lost millions and had to sell his own name we bought the Clair computer business uh we bought the Sinclair brand name other British computer manufacturers had already gone bust there was no place for eccentric innovators anymore the last big British player in Computing was Alan Sugar's amstrad and they outsourced their manufacturing to the Far [Music] East that night the family Ascent an 80s invention which conquered the world at least until MP3s came along um um we have a letter it says Dear Sals family here's your compact dis player the arrival of the CD saw people getting rid of their records so please remove yours and the turntable into the garage regards the technical support ke a bit sad to get rid of this though Dad we're not going to use it we have a CV to couldn't we just put it on top no we couldn't because it would break I'm not happy to get rid of the V cuz I know that that's a it's got a different richer sound but once a new player is plugged in Adam admits the advantages I can remember getting my first CD player and being amazed at how I could just skip tracks and go backwards and forward so quickly really like that D Straits 1985 album Brothers in Arms was the world's first million selling compact disc but it wasn't just the ability to hear protracted guitar riffs with Crystal Clear Clarity that helped CDs take [Music] off lessons had been learned from the computer and video format Wars European and Japanese manufacturers have agreed on a single compatible system so one Maker's discs will play on another's machine nice sticky though with hindsight not all the claims made for the new technology ring true make sure it's nicely spread around there bit of coffee anyone who's heard a CD jump due to a single fingerprint won't want to try this at home a quick wipe down let's see how it sounds BL eyes so you think you're going to miss the vinyl Adam it's my collection you know it's just nice to have them it's just it's me and I don't want to get rid of me really full of most Britains weren't so attached to their vinyl by 1988 more CDs were being bought than records Adam's collection is laid to rest in the garage which is fast becoming a grave yard for discarded technology oh what a shame never mind progress most of the LPS I've now got on CD cuz I went and bought them again how stupid are we to go out and buy the same the same music Twice The Tech Team have also sent back the video recorder is it working yeah Will guaranteed it's working any second now here it yes can up please unlike the contentious computer a video brings everyone [Music] [Applause] [Music] together you need to plan instruction s somewhere there there you go the following night Georgie is still still full of praise for technology that for once enhances Family Life having the video called for us as a family is is going to be a really good thing because we won't be scheduling the meals around the TV viewing times because there's a particular program everybody wants to watch we can video when it's on and and watch it later because actually know this is time for us to sit down for a meal together as a family right now though the whole family clearly isn't together the mail side is noticeably absent from the kitchen wouldn't be at all surprised to find that Adam's in the sting room he's been itching to get back to the computer so wait wait wait why why can't you be more patient what are you going to run just be you have to be patient otherwise it definitely won't work 5 days after getting the micro Adam and heish still haven't managed to load in any of the games which are stored on cassettes load the appeal is the challenge it's the it's the man against machine thing I'm not going to be beaten by this inferior technology star tape it's not capitals won't accept oh blast but other members of the family aren't getting so much as a looking stop stop let what we do is rewind I'm playing with the computer oh searching we're in I haven't tried going on the computer yet cuz I've doing things too busy they're not as interested in the computer the girls I mean they do different things on the computers so they're much more into kind of communication rather than playing games or [Music] something several hours later Adam finally gets a game to load yes I was finding it quite frustrating that it wasn't working you know I think we've forgotten how how basic everything really was how you know and how awkward things were should we turn it off now no I thought the deal was that you weren't going to have this out if I wanted to be in the sitting room or if anyone wanted to watch Teddy or anything that we put it away in the cupboard it's taken 5 years to do this I'd also forgotten how rubbish the games are some of the games really are so basic that they don't even have the Retro appeal let's try that again or should we not try it again one one more we'll try one more another night another year the second half of the decade is racing by in a home with ever more technology all the family have plenty to keep them busy oh at last what what are you doing m m and Adam since there's still only one phone line no conversation can be entirely private Mommy's going to be late [Applause] home I'll see you later bye with Georgie late back from work there's no chance of a family dinner tonight fortunately 1987 saw the launch of microwavable plastic chilled ready meals were a godsend for the increasing number of households where both parents worked the microwave had finally found its true purpose in our kitchens how ESP it stand for a minute aren't I it I'm sure be but being able to eat at different times and in different places had a downside for family life what a day the last thing that I want to eat now is this stuff I like to eat as a family and the idea of individual portions of not very nice food is really disappointing technology designed to take less time can mean less time spent with other people with 1988 the weekend arrives [Music] now then how's your pop music how's your decision making on pop music what's the little otter thing the kids are seeking inspiration from Saturday morning TV for the pop video they've got to make really weird look so young I have a really good ide we'll go through the whole of like the routine of the day and like the different scenes we just keep changing clothes like as we walk through different RS we pause it we pause it and then we change and then we come in again why wanton you to do I want you to be the same dist in apart so it's not like Steph goes halfway and then you start coming get closer Ellie get closer go heish is clearly confident about directing as well as how to use the camcorder rub okay stay where you are step stay you come a bit more mastering an unfamiliar and Antiquated piece of technology apparently isn't hard for a young and curious mind no you need to be alongside so you can high five Steph all you have to do is this it's not hard getting your sisters to do as they're told is an altogether bigger challenge just stop just stop on high [Applause] five 1989 as the last day of the decade Begins the family are preparing to host a dinner party me a pen of paper to write down the recipe oh quick hold that I really want this recipe George's surfing teletext the closest 80s homes came to the worldwide [Music] web as well as seax Cuisine the dinner guest will also be treated to the kids pop video that's provided the family work out how to connect the camcorder to the TV that does not exist that cover they've come to realize that moments like these were an inevitable byproduct of this decade's designs the most annoying thing and the most frustrating thing about the 80s technology has been that nothing works and it's really annoying there's the bit Mo we do take things for granted in 2009 cuz you just kind of plug it in and turn it on and then it works rather than having to program it or do like or fiddle with all the switches or anything like that we're certainly sent in a lot and as the tech team reflect on their 80s experience they've come to the same conclusion it wasn't really plug in play in the 1980s the ideas and concepts of the technology was there but the hardware wasn't actually up to speed and the early adopters were just left banging their head against the wall it's not this cable no no this is let me look at the photo let me look at the photo throughout the decade the boys have been noticeably more Hands-On with technology a gender gap has opened in the home so it's near the cable at the bottom the techn itself becomes time consuming just the attention and and care that you need to put into it to make it work perhaps Georgie isn't interested in technology in the 80s because she's she's kind of waiting for it to do something that she actually wants it to do yes I mean one of the things in the ' 80s that they talked about was a big gender divide around technology technology really was just about the hardware and it wasn't about socializing which it is about today and women are much more interested in the social side of Technology connecting with other [Music] people tonight's social event happily has something for the whole family the premiere of the kids 8s epic [Applause] [Music] ready the 8S childood is quite good actually to be honest it wasn't bad and it wasn't as boring as the 7s are you worried about that's really [Music] cool the 8S has been a lot more similar to the 2000s but I we still have a long way to go good really good then the kids are packed off upstairs so the adults can indulge in the 80s ritual of the formal dinner party so it seems appropriate now to make a toast so here's 1980s love to see you coming and at least for one member of the family any hardware hassle has been compensated for by the chance to revisit his Salad Days this was technology that I was all struck by 20 years ago I thought it was fantastic the reality of it is is that it's been it's been a bit rubbish thank you but it's been fun investigating it and fun hitting it banging it and getting frustrated with it see you bye bye thanks for coming safe [Music] home next time the family experiences the communications revolution of the '90s oh it works but as the pace of change goes into overdrive oh BL me not another one what price family life this is what I've been dreading lots of different entertainment media choices around the house and everybody being off doing their own [Music] thing and you can continue your journey through the decades online with the BBC and the open University visit bbc.com co.uk electricdreams [Music] and electric dreams concludes on Tuesday at 9:00 next tonight on BBC 4 brand new drama tells the story of two Brits who battled it out in the race to Corner the UK's rapidly expanding home Computing Market Chris Curry and Clive Sinclair go head-to-head in microman oh

Channel: Nick Ranger

Views: 74,137

Keywords: Electric, Dreams, the, 80's, of, 1980, 1980s

Id: 7tRErIeqLzg

Length: 58min 57sec (3537 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 13 2012