20 GOTO 10: 10101001 facts about retro computers

Do you know what secret messages were hidden in Commodore BASIC? Why the highest score possible in Pac-Man is 3333360? That Steve Wozniak set the price of the Apple ][ computer at $666.66? Or why the Amstrad CPC 472 had an 8K chip that was never connected? From 0 to 2147483647, and from Acorn Atoms to VIC-20s, 20 GOTO 10 takes us on an adventure through the history of retro computers and games consoles – one number at a time. By following the ‘GOTO’ instructions at the end of each entry, you’ll create a unique journey through this treasure trove of forgotten geek lore and fascinating trivia. With any luck, you’ll discover the number used to grant infinite lives in Jet Set Willy on the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, the reason a single digit might require seven bytes of memory, and how – through numbers – we can understand more than just the internal workings of our favourite retro machines.