Computer shops in and around Leeds from the past.

Post by **mhoulden** » Fri 21 Mar, 2014 2:13 am

Google suggests the place at 15 Boar Lane was a company called ComputerCare Ltd which still exists. The bright blue front comes from when it was occupied by a gift shop called Hippy Potter Mouse. Long before that it was offices for the Leeds Gas Light Co.

Leodian · Post by **Leodian** » Fri 21 Mar, 2014 12:46 pm

mhoulden wrote: Google suggests the place at 15 Boar Lane was a company called ComputerCare Ltd which still exists. The bright blue front comes from when it was occupied by a gift shop called Hippy Potter Mouse. Long before that it was offices for the Leeds Gas Light Co. Cheers mhoulden . Ah yes the Hippy Potter Mouse shop, which I recall looked fun from the outside though I never had a reason to go in as it looked like it was for babies/young children.

microbytemob · Post by **microbytemob** » Fri 21 Mar, 2014 1:22 pm

does anyone remember the one in the alley next to topman it started out as a computer shop but gradually they brought arcade machines in mainly sf2 turbo challengers & then started selling a hole heap of japanese merchandise anime stuff etc the name has slipped my tounge at the moment , was about 94/95 it was`nt open very long

jonleeds · Post by **jonleeds** » Fri 21 Mar, 2014 8:16 pm

microbytemob wrote: jonleeds wrote: microbytemob wrote: this is quite a good chat talking about the old computer shops in leeds back in the days, i used to work in microbytes many mooons ago,im still into old skool retro gaming big style, i actually build & sell retro arcade cabinets , retro consoles etc with over 20,000 games plus on them , it started out as a hobby , i still have everything i owned from when i used to work in microbytes!!! Hi Microbytemob, I used to use the Microbyte shop down the County Arcade and I'd also go to the Wakefield shop too, my old man used to do quite a bit of work for Michael Robinson the bloke who owned Microbyte so I was lucky enough to be given an Amiga 500 when they first came out. Did you get along to the vintage computer fair at Leeds town hall last weekend? I was gutted to have missed it as I'd kept the date in my diary since hearing about it last year. Also whats the name of your facebook group? hi there yeah micks son paul came out with us a few times, & we went to micks hosue once or twice back in the days!!!yeah i went to the leeds town hall not that good tbh i know it was the first time , not many traders & very over priced!!i sold a few retro gaming consoles down there , they went down a treat!!!what years did you used to go there, i worked in the quarter that had 2 shops with the atari st centre upstairs, & i worked in teh victoria quarter when it got reduced to one shop, facebook group is microbytes but its purely invites only!! I thought the vintage computer games fair might have been a bit of a disappointment which was half the reason I never ended up going, although I could have done with taking a few of my old computer bits to raise some cash. I think it was the mid-80s when I was going to Microbyte to buy games for my Commodore Plus 4, it was slightly later when I got my first Amiga tho. Last thing I remember Microbyte were doing was selling public domain software under some software label.

Jogon · Post by **Jogon** » Sun 23 Mar, 2014 10:37 pm

Sorry not read all of thread, Tandy /Radio Shack was good up in the Merrion? Unsure whether computers or whether I grew up before all that.Calculators came out after I'd left school, and digital watches were massive with red numbers Slide Rules: - I'm still not sure how to use it 40years on, or is it that I've forgotten..?

Leodian · Post by **Leodian** » Mon 24 Mar, 2014 12:37 am

Jogon wrote: Sorry not read all of thread, Tandy /Radio Shack was good up in the Merrion? Unsure whether computers or whether I grew up before all that.Calculators came out after I'd left school, and digital watches were massive with red numbers Slide Rules: - I'm still not sure how to use it 40years on, or is it that I've forgotten..? I've got a small slide rule somewhere but I never did master how to use it. I've also got a logarithmic and other tables booklet (1958 edition based on a 1908 first edition) from my school days. I wonder if anyone uses log tables nowadays!

jonleeds · Post by **jonleeds** » Mon 24 Mar, 2014 7:08 pm

I collected vintage calculators for a while, especially sought after were the early models with the red LED displays. Sinclair, Commodore, Olivetti, Texas Instruments and Sharp were the ones to look out for amongst others, some of them sell for fantastically ridiculous prices. Same with vintage digital watches. A couple of years ago I bought a 'Satlex Calcupen' digital calculator / penfrom the 1970s for £1 from the airport car boot sale. It was in gaudy gold coloured metal with the red LED display. Luckily it still worked and had its original case and instructions. I got over £170 on eBay for it, what a result!

liits · Post by **liits** » Mon 24 Mar, 2014 7:28 pm

I've still got both of mine, God only knows why.

BarFly · Post by **BarFly** » Mon 24 Mar, 2014 8:03 pm

I've still got my dad's old slide-rule but I have to admit I can only multiply with it and then only when I mess around with it for a while to work it out.

Leodian · Post by **Leodian** » Mon 24 Mar, 2014 8:09 pm

Hi liits. :My logarithmic and other tables booklet is also by Frank Castle, so that must have been the one commonly used. The many tables in it include such as 'Radians to Circular Functions', 'Hyperbolic or Naperian Logarithms' and 'Exponential and Hyperbolic Functions' that I doubt meant much to me when I was at school and still don't now! Hi also Barfly. Your post came in while I was still composing mine. Slide rules (and possibly log tables) must seem positively pre-historic to today's pupils/students!