Great days...

Last week's Single File caused a tiny bit of controversy when I handed the ZX Spectrum computer the dreaded 'one star' rating in the guide.

Of course, I didn't really mean it. As we had a Commodore 64 when I was a kid, I remember the arguments about which computer was the best and I was just trying to wind Speccy owners up by labelling the machine as the worst. And boy did it work. I was inundated with angry Spec heads (well, three of them) accusing me of blasphemy.

But, regardless of which machine you had, weren't those days great? Don't you get all nostalgic and misty-eyed when you are transported back to the 80s? For me, having a Commodore goes hand in hand with watching Top Of The Pops when it was still good, reading my sister's copies of Smash Hits and Look In, taping songs such as "19" by Paul Hardcastle off the Top 40 countdown on Radio One and eventually falling in love with Kylie Minogue as she belted out "I Should Be So Lucky" in 1988.

Yesterday (October 10) saw the first anniversary of "Radiohead Day" where people were able to download their "In Rainbows" album for whatever price they wanted. An incredible and startling event. And obviously something that could never have happened in the pre-internet days when Commodores and Spectrums ruled most households.

Yes, technology has moved on and it is amazing. But despite the improvements - and maybe this is just the sad old git in me wearing rose-tinted specs - I think I preferred having to wait ages for a computer game to load on the tape deck or going into a proper record shop to buy vinyl or cassettes when I wasn't taping the songs off the charts...