The ZX81 and the Birth of My Career

I can still remember the day that Mr. Martin first introduced me to computing. It was a Monday morning, my favorite day of the week, because I loved school and always looked forward to going back in.

Something was different on this day; there was a small TV screen in the corner of our classroom at Bounds Green Junior School and connected to it was a curious little black square box with a white keyboard and red ‘ZX81’ logo emblazoned on it. 

“This is a computer,” he said, as he proudly sat next to it with a big grin on his face, “and you’re going to learn all about it!”

It was a Sinclair ZX81, and our form teacher had bought it with his own money.

Remembering the first time that I used it still gives me goosebumps! Mr. Martin taught us the principles of basic and after creating my first “Hello, world!” program in Basic there was no stopping me:

10        PRINT “Hello, World!”

20        GO TO 10

I quickly graduated from that to understanding about INPUT, DEF FN and FN commands and learning about registers. I explored the power of the PEEK and POKE commands, where you could interrogate the contents of a certain address in RAM and set the contents of a register, sometimes with catastrophic results!

But my love affair with computers started at the end of the day when Mr. Martin treated a few of us to the experience of playing our first game. It was called ‘Catacombs’ and because of the 8-bit, 1K RAM limitations of the computer, it was pretty simple – an asterisk marked your position as a player as you moved around a 2D ‘dungeon’ looking for food (represented by an F) or gold (￡), while avoiding Ogres (O) and Goblins (G). 

Arguably this one of the first RPGs (Role-Playing Games) and that experience must have rewired my synapses, because I have enjoyed playing RPGs and MMORPG (Massive Multiple Online Role-Playing Games) ever since, with Cyberpunk 2077 being the latest RPG in my collection.

But the most profound impact is how this early experience shaped other parts of my life; the familiarity that I developed with computers propelled me into a professional career that has seen me working for some of the world’s largest tech companies, including Apple, Google and IBM.

Forty years after learning the basics on my ZX81 it’s my great privilege to be Chief Digital Officer of T-Mobile in the US. The way in which my early experiences broadened my horizons inspires me to create digital experiences and products that inspire future generations.

Providing access to technology through computers, smartphones and the Internet is a powerful way for us to create new opportunities for people in every part of the world. I’m proud that T-Mobile is championing this with its push to bring 5G For All, which that means we’re driving more broadband, affordable home internet and wireless services to small towns across the country – adding more local stores and creating 7,500 jobs over the next few years in your local communities.

I hope that this creates opportunities and helps children to develop the same life-long passion for technology that makes me who I am today.

I’m fascinated to know, what are your earliest memories of your interactions with technology and how has that influenced your career?