Sir Clive Sinclair released the ZX80 thirty years ago this week. A small plastic home computer that cost a mere £79.95 in kit form (and £99.95 assembled) that was to fundamentally change the ways in which we interacted with our TVs for ever.

In a recent interview to celebrate the thirty year anniversary, Sir Clive made the remarkable admission that he doesn't use a computer these days and that he despises the distractions of email.

ZX profits and email nightmares

Sir Clive also recalls how the ZX80 and its successor the slim black ZX81 made Sinclair and amazing £14m profit in a year, which he admits would still "be a lot today."

"The sad thing is that today's computers totally abuse their memory – totally wasteful, you have to wait for the damn things to boot up, just appalling designs," Sir Clive told The Guardian. "Absolute mess! So dreadful it's heartbreaking."

Rather shockingly, Sir Clive adds that he doesn't use a computer or email at all, but that "the company does."

He continues: "Well I find them annoying. I'd much prefer someone would telephone me if they want to communicate. No, it's not sheer laziness – I just don't want to be distracted by the whole process. Nightmare."

Via The Guardian