Differences between version 13 and predecessor to the previous major change of Acorn.
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Newer page: | version 13 | Last edited on Friday, August 15, 2003 5:41:34 pm | by AristotlePagaltzis | Revert |
Older page: | version 12 | Last edited on Sunday, August 10, 2003 5:53:13 pm | by CraigBox | Revert |
@@ -1,20 +1,34 @@
-A
now disfunct, innovative british system design company - and the story of an underdog who didn't but did win, kinda. See also [FOLDOC|http://foldoc.doc.ic.ac.uk/foldoc/foldoc.cgi?query=acorn]
+!!!Acorn is..
+
+a
now disfunct, innovative british system design company - and the story of an underdog who didn't but did win, kinda. See also [FOLDOC|http://foldoc.doc.ic.ac.uk/foldoc/foldoc.cgi?query=acorn]
+
+!!!Electron
(One of?) their first products was the Electron computer. It plugged into the television, had 16 KB of memory, and ran [BASIC] in [ROM]. You could load programs from cassette tape via a normal audio tape deck, or you could type them in. A floppy disk, even a harddrive, were available as insanely expensive expansion modules. The [CPU] was a 6502B, just slightly different from what powered the hugely successful [Commodore64] home computer. Unfortunately, neither graphics nor sound capabilities could hold a candle to those of the [Commodore64].
''I had one of those.. *sigh* memories..'' --AristotlePagaltzis
-The next model was the Acorn
[BBC]. Because they were British, schools in the UK used the [BBC] computers. Some schools in NewZealand followed suit. The BBC Model B also had a 6502 processor. This was probably mid-to-late 80's to early 90's.
+!!!
[BBC]
-After that
was the Acorn Archimedes
. They
were very popular with some
schools as they were the successor to [BBC] model B micros
in a lot of classrooms before
the rise of
the [PC
]. Their
[CPU
] was [Acorn]'s own, later incredibly successful [ARM] chip. Their OS was called RiscOS, which
had a [GUI] and
was very well designed. Eventually, though, schools and the public started using the cheaper mass
-produced drivel that still haunts us today
.
+The next model
was the Acorn [BBC]
. Because they
were British,
schools in the UK used
the [BBC
] computers
. Some schools in NewZealand followed suit. The
[BBC
] Model B also
had a 6502 processor. This
was probably mid
-to-late 80's to early 90's
.
-''I DTPed
our Te Awamutu College school magazine on an Archimedes (A3000?) back when a [GUI] was __seriously__ cool...'' --GreigMcGill
+The BBC's graphics and sound hardware were well accessible under [BBC] [BASIC] with the powerful plot and envelope command, respectively. They were both far ahead of anything any other computer in this class had to offer. What really set the [BBC] apart was the modularity of its operating system and its use of interrupts. There was a MOS for all the basic functions like video graphics, buffered keyboard input, vectored interrupts, buffered sound. 16k ROMs were available to accomodate networking routines and many different programming languages ([BASIC], LOGO, [Pascal], [Forth], you name it).
+
+!!!Archimedes
+
+This success was followed by the Acorn Archimedes. Their design was a decade ahead of most competition, at its heart [Acorn]'s own new [CPU], the [ARM] chip, that would later become incredibly successful. The OS, called RiscOS, had a slick [GUI] and well thoughtout design to match the hardware it was runnning on. Unlike much of the competition, the machine had plenty of cycles after besides managing the [GUI], which was further enforced by the fact that the [API] was friendly enough for writing graphical applications even in [Assembler]. It was a joy both to use and develop for (whether that be software or hardware). The Archimedes superseeded the [BBC] model B micros in a lot of classrooms before the rise of the [PC]. Eventually, though, schools and the public started using the cheaper mass-produced drivel that still haunts us today.
+
+
''I [DTP]ed
our Te Awamutu College school magazine on an Archimedes (A3000?) back when a [GUI] was __seriously__ cool...'' --GreigMcGill
+
+!!!RiscPC
An attempt to counter the rising popularity of the then so-called "[IBM] compatibles" was called [RiscPC] and ran the [StrongARM] series [CPU]s. These too ran RiscOS and had a novel system design consisting of modules. To update the hardware, you didn't have to open the case, you just added a new module just as you do to "update" your stereo system. Unfortunately...
+
+!!!The sad and happy end
In the end, [Acorn] Computers Ltd. was shut down (accompanied by much mourning in the connaissant geek community), as [WinTel] machines dominated the market and drove them out of business.
However, the [CPU] design was sourced out to the newly funded [ARM Ltd.|http://www.arm.com], an IntellectualProperty only company that holds the rights to the [StrongARM] architecture. Even [Intel] have licensed it, and a huge market share of hand held and embedded devices nowadays run on [StrongARM] derivatives. So, in a way, "the king is dead - long live the king"...
----
Part of CategoryCompany and CategoryOldComputers