BBC Micro
Hacker ApprovedShares rank 8 of 16 home computers by recommenders
People recommend it as a 1980s home computer with BASIC built in, a hacker favorite that is a good way to start programming, and a virtual version works today.
People recommend it as a 1980s home computer with BASIC built in, a hacker favorite that is a good way to start programming, and a virtual version works today.
10 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 10
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 6 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 10 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 6 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Common in schools, nostalgic childhood memories
“every school had at least one BBC Micro”
Comment from 24 Jul 2026 in “The IBM PC, Part 1: Arrival” “the BBC Micro stole my heart”
Comment from 11 Jan 2026 in “Happy 50th Birthday KIM-1” “the same opportunities that I had, instead of a school where the playground has lots of very carefully manufactured play equipment”
Comment from 7 Apr 2026 in “My Experience as a Rice Farmer” Built-in BASIC, good for learning
“I'd recommend you use a (virtual) BBC Micro to start you off with.”
Comment from 30 Nov 2025 in “LLVM-MOS – Clang LLVM fork targeting the 6502” “which simply came with BASIC builtin, no license required”
Comment from 24 May 2026 in “Childhood Computing” Fun to tinker and program
“It was a hackers dream of a computer, really.”
Comment from 15 May 2026 in “Ask HN: One mistake or hack that taught you the most?” “I could make that thing sing in an hour.”
Comment from 13 Mar 2026 in “"This Is Not the Computer for You"” Sophisticated and historically important for its era
“That CPU was a foundation of the home computer and console revolution: BBC, Commodore, Atari”
Comment from 19 Nov 2025 in “Programming the Commodore 64 with .NET” “astonishingly sophisticated for an 8 bit home computer”
Comment from 27 Apr 2026 in “Music of the BBC Microcomputer System”
Other home computers people recommend
The four most recommended other home computers, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commodore 64 | 121 | 18 | 87% | 12 | 41 yrs18 owners | Approved |
| Commodore Amiga | 60 | 14 | 81% | 11 | — | Approved |
| ZX Spectrum | 31 | 8 | 79% | 10 | — | Approved |
| TI-99/4A | 26 | 8 | 76% | 6 | — | Approved |
| BBC MicroThis page | 10 | 0 | 100% | 6 | — | Approved |
What people said
9 of the 10 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“every school had at least one BBC Micro”
“which simply came with BASIC builtin, no license required”
“It was a hackers dream of a computer, really.”
“astonishingly sophisticated for an 8 bit home computer”
“the same opportunities that I had, instead of a school where the playground has lots of very carefully manufactured play equipment”
“I could make that thing sing in an hour.”
“the BBC Micro stole my heart”
“I'd recommend you use a (virtual) BBC Micro to start you off with.”
“That CPU was a foundation of the home computer and console revolution: BBC, Commodore, Atari”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.