Developments in microelectronics in the early 1970s meant that computers at home seemed about to become commonplace.

The kitchen computer would hold all of the family's recipes and keep a record of food in the larder; the study computer would manage the family finances; and the kids' computers would educate and entertain them.

Engineers, enthusiasts and budding entrepreneurs set about making home computers a reality, and although the first machines were extremely limited, later models significantly affected life at home, at school and at work.

This is the story of the first commonplace home computers - the Sinclairs, Commodores, Amstrads, Acorns, Apple Macs, and the earliest versions of Microsoft Windows - that helped to make the computer an indispensable item in the British home.