Altwasser graduated at
Trinity College, Cambridge, with a degree in
engineering in June 1978. He was hired by
Sinclair Research in September 1980. His first assigned job was to write some programs to demonstrate the capabilities of the new 8
kB ROM and 16 kB
RAM expansion for the
ZX80. After that, he worked on the
printed circuit board of the
ZX81. Jupiter Cantab launched only one major product, a
home computer called the
Jupiter Ace. The
Ace was a failure both in the UK and in the U.S. markets. In 1983 "Buyers Guide Home Computing Weekly" was advertising the ZX81 for £39.95, and the Jupiter Ace for £89.95. The company went bankrupt in November 1983. In 1986 Altwasser became the engineering director at
Amstrad. The same year Amstrad, already itself a successful home computer manufacturer, bought Sinclair Research's computer business. Altwasser left Amstrad in 1992, taking on a number of director and executive jobs in other companies, such as Network Development Manager at
RM plc from September 2000 to May 2003. As of 2011 he gives his occupation as a reader at
Portishead parish. == References ==