<s>
Acorn	B-Device
Archimedes	I-Device
is	O
a	O
family	O
of	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
designed	O
by	O
Acorn	O
Computers	O
of	O
Cambridge	O
,	O
England	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
systems	O
are	O
based	O
on	O
Acorn	O
's	O
own	O
ARM	B-Architecture
architecture	I-Architecture
processors	O
and	O
the	O
proprietary	O
operating	O
systems	O
Arthur	O
and	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
models	O
were	O
introduced	O
in	O
1987	O
,	O
and	O
systems	O
in	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
family	O
were	O
sold	O
until	O
the	O
mid-1990s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ARM	B-Architecture
's	O
RISC	B-Architecture
design	O
,	O
a	O
32-bit	O
CPU	O
(	O
using	O
26-bit	O
addressing	O
)	O
,	O
running	O
at	O
8MHz	O
,	O
was	O
stated	O
as	O
achieving	O
4MIPS	O
,	O
which	O
provided	O
a	O
significant	O
upgrade	O
from	O
8-bit	O
home	O
computers	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Acorn	O
's	O
previous	O
machines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dissatisfaction	O
with	O
the	O
branding	O
arrangement	O
was	O
voiced	O
by	O
competitor	O
Research	O
Machines	O
and	O
an	O
industry	O
group	O
led	O
by	O
a	O
Microsoft	O
representative	O
,	O
the	O
British	O
Micro	O
Federation	O
,	O
who	O
advocated	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
"	O
business	O
standard	O
"	O
operating	O
systems	O
such	O
as	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
name	O
"	O
Acorn	B-Device
Archimedes	I-Device
"	O
is	O
commonly	O
used	O
to	O
describe	O
any	O
of	O
Acorn	O
's	O
contemporary	O
designs	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
same	O
architecture	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
architecture	O
can	O
be	O
broadly	O
characterised	O
as	O
involving	O
the	O
ARM	B-Architecture
CPU	O
and	O
the	O
first	O
generation	O
chipset	O
consisting	O
of	O
MEMC	O
(	O
MEMory	O
Controller	O
)	O
,	O
VIDC	O
(	O
VIDeo	O
and	O
sound	O
Controller	O
)	O
and	O
IOC	O
(	O
Input	O
Output	O
Controller	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Having	O
introduced	O
the	O
BBC	B-Device
Micro	I-Device
in	O
1981	O
,	O
Acorn	O
had	O
established	O
itself	O
as	O
a	O
major	O
supplier	O
to	O
primary	O
and	O
secondary	O
education	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
Kingdom	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Attempts	O
to	O
reproduce	O
the	O
same	O
dominance	O
in	O
other	O
sectors	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
in	O
home	O
computing	O
with	O
the	O
BBC	B-Device
Micro	I-Device
and	O
Acorn	B-Device
Electron	I-Device
,	O
and	O
in	O
other	O
markets	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
and	O
West	O
Germany	O
,	O
had	O
been	O
rather	O
less	O
successful	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
microprocessor	B-Architecture
and	O
computing	O
technology	O
making	O
considerable	O
advances	O
in	O
the	O
early	O
1980s	O
,	O
microcomputer	O
manufacturers	O
were	O
obliged	O
to	O
consider	O
the	O
evolution	O
of	O
their	O
product	O
lines	O
to	O
provide	O
increasing	O
capabilities	O
and	O
performance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Acorn	O
's	O
strategy	O
for	O
business	O
computing	O
and	O
for	O
introducing	O
more	O
capable	O
machines	O
involved	O
a	O
range	O
of	O
"	O
second	O
processor	O
"	O
expansions	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
Z80	O
second	O
processor	O
running	O
the	O
CP/M	B-Application
operating	I-Application
system	I-Application
being	O
a	O
product	O
to	O
which	O
Acorn	O
had	O
committed	O
when	O
securing	O
the	O
BBC	B-Device
Micro	I-Device
contract	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Meanwhile	O
,	O
established	O
platforms	O
such	O
as	O
CP/M	B-Application
running	O
on	O
Z80	O
processors	O
were	O
being	O
challenged	O
by	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
running	O
PC	B-Operating_System
DOS	I-Operating_System
and	O
computers	O
running	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
operating	O
systems	O
on	O
Intel	O
processors	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
8088	O
and	O
8086	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Systems	O
using	O
the	O
Motorola	B-Device
68000	I-Device
and	O
other	O
processors	O
running	O
the	O
Unix	B-Application
operating	I-Application
system	I-Application
were	O
also	O
becoming	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Drawing	O
on	O
previous	O
work	O
by	O
Xerox	O
,	O
Apple	O
had	O
launched	O
the	O
Lisa	B-Device
and	O
Macintosh	B-Device
computers	I-Device
,	O
and	O
Digital	O
Research	O
had	O
introduced	O
its	O
own	O
GEM	B-Application
graphical	O
user	O
interface	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Acorn	O
's	O
strategy	O
ostensibly	O
evolved	O
to	O
follow	O
the	O
lead	O
of	O
Torch	O
Computers	O
-	O
the	O
subject	O
of	O
an	O
uncompleted	O
acquisition	O
by	O
Acorn	O
-	O
who	O
had	O
already	O
combined	O
BBC	B-Device
Micro	I-Device
hardware	O
with	O
second	O
processors	O
(	O
and	O
modems	O
)	O
to	O
produce	O
their	O
Communicator	O
product	O
line	O
and	O
derivatives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1984	O
,	O
Acorn	O
presented	O
the	O
Acorn	B-Device
Business	I-Device
Computer	I-Device
(	O
ABC	O
)	O
range	O
,	O
building	O
around	O
the	O
BBC	B-Device
Micro	I-Device
architecture	O
and	O
offering	O
models	O
with	O
different	O
second	O
processors	O
and	O
capabilities	O
,	O
thus	O
responding	O
to	O
and	O
anticipating	O
the	O
current	O
and	O
future	O
trends	O
in	O
computing	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ultimately	O
,	O
only	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
variants	O
-	O
the	O
Acorn	B-Device
Cambridge	I-Device
Workstation	I-Device
-	O
would	O
reach	O
the	O
market	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
a	O
somewhat	O
different	O
form	O
to	O
that	O
originally	O
planned	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
demise	O
of	O
the	O
Acorn	B-Device
Business	I-Device
Computer	I-Device
left	O
Acorn	O
purely	O
with	O
a	O
range	O
of	O
8-bit	O
microcomputer	O
products	O
,	O
leaving	O
the	O
company	O
vulnerable	O
to	O
competitors	O
introducing	O
16-bit	O
and	O
32-bit	O
machines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
increasing	O
dominance	O
of	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
in	O
the	O
business	O
market	O
and	O
advocacy	O
for	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
such	O
software	O
in	O
the	O
education	O
sector	O
left	O
Acorn	O
at	O
risk	O
of	O
potential	O
exclusion	O
from	O
its	O
core	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Meanwhile	O
,	O
competing	O
machines	O
attempted	O
to	O
offer	O
a	O
degree	O
of	O
compatibility	O
with	O
the	O
BBC	B-Device
Micro	I-Device
,	O
enticing	O
schools	O
to	O
upgrade	O
to	O
newer	O
,	O
more	O
powerful	O
non-Acorn	O
machines	O
while	O
retaining	O
access	O
to	O
software	O
developed	O
and	O
purchased	O
for	O
Acorn	O
's	O
"	O
aging	O
machine	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Acorn	O
's	O
ability	O
to	O
respond	O
convincingly	O
to	O
these	O
competitive	O
threats	O
was	O
evidently	O
constrained	O
:	O
the	O
BBC	O
Model	O
B+	O
was	O
merely	O
a	O
redesigned	O
BBC	B-Device
Model	I-Device
B	I-Device
(	O
with	O
some	O
heritage	O
in	O
the	O
ABC	O
endeavour	O
)	O
providing	O
some	O
extra	O
memory	O
but	O
costing	O
more	O
than	O
its	O
predecessor	O
,	O
being	O
labelled	O
as	O
a	O
"	O
stop	O
gap	O
"	O
by	O
Acorn	O
User	O
's	O
technical	O
editor	O
,	O
expressing	O
frustration	O
at	O
opportunities	O
not	O
taken	O
for	O
cost	O
reduction	O
and	O
at	O
a	O
general	O
lack	O
of	O
technological	O
innovation	O
in	O
that	O
"	O
Acorn	O
has	O
never	O
shown	O
interest	O
in	O
anything	O
as	O
exciting	O
as	O
the	O
68000	B-Device
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
commentators	O
in	O
response	O
to	O
the	O
B+	O
suggested	O
that	O
Acorn	O
pursue	O
the	O
second	O
processor	O
strategy	O
more	O
aggressively	O
,	O
leveraging	O
the	O
existing	O
user	O
base	O
of	O
the	O
BBC	B-Device
Micro	I-Device
while	O
those	O
users	O
were	O
still	O
using	O
the	O
machine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1986	O
,	O
Acorn	O
introduced	O
the	O
BBC	B-Device
Master	I-Device
series	I-Device
,	O
starting	O
with	O
the	O
Master	B-Device
128	I-Device
which	O
re-emphasised	O
second	O
processors	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
internally	O
fitted	O
"	O
co-processors	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
competitiveness	O
of	O
these	O
co-processors	O
proved	O
to	O
be	O
constrained	O
by	O
hardware	O
limitations	O
,	O
compatibility	O
and	O
pricing	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
Master	O
512	O
system	O
featuring	O
a	O
Master	B-Device
128	I-Device
and	O
80186	O
co-processor	O
comparing	O
unfavourably	O
to	O
complete	O
IBM	O
PC-compatible	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Attitudes	O
towards	O
Acorn	O
and	O
its	O
technological	O
position	O
changed	O
somewhat	O
in	O
late	O
1985	O
as	O
news	O
of	O
its	O
RISC	B-Architecture
microprocessor	B-Architecture
development	O
effort	O
emerged	O
,	O
potentially	O
encouraging	O
Olivetti	O
to	O
continue	O
its	O
support	O
for	O
the	O
company	O
at	O
"	O
a	O
critical	O
stage	O
"	O
in	O
its	O
refinancing	O
of	O
Acorn	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Subsequent	O
commentary	O
suggested	O
the	O
availability	O
of	O
this	O
microprocessor	B-Architecture
-	O
the	O
Acorn	B-Architecture
RISC	I-Architecture
Machine	I-Architecture
-	O
in	O
future	O
computers	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
in	O
an	O
evaluation	O
board	O
for	O
the	O
BBC	B-Device
Micro	I-Device
,	O
although	O
such	O
a	O
board	O
-	O
the	O
ARM	B-Architecture
Evaluation	O
System	O
-	O
would	O
only	O
be	O
announced	O
in	O
mid-1986	O
at	O
a	O
cost	O
of	O
£4500	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
eve	O
of	O
the	O
announcement	O
of	O
Acorn	O
's	O
32-bit	O
ARM-based	O
microcomputer	O
products	O
,	O
prototypes	O
designated	O
A1	O
and	O
A500	O
were	O
demonstrated	O
on	O
the	O
BBC	O
television	O
programme	O
Micro	O
Live	O
exhibiting	O
BASIC	O
language	O
performance	O
ten	O
times	O
faster	O
than	O
a	O
newly	O
introduced	O
80386-based	O
computer	O
from	O
perennial	O
education	O
sector	O
rival	O
Research	O
Machines	O
,	O
with	O
suggestions	O
made	O
that	O
the	O
machines	O
would	O
carry	O
the	O
BBC	O
branding	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Acorn	B-Device
Archimedes	I-Device
was	O
variously	O
described	O
as	O
"	O
the	O
first	O
RISC	B-Architecture
machine	O
inexpensive	O
enough	O
for	O
home	O
use	O
"	O
,	O
powered	O
by	O
an	O
ARM	B-Architecture
(	O
Acorn	B-Architecture
RISC	I-Architecture
Machine	I-Architecture
)	O
chip	O
and	O
"	O
the	O
first	O
commercially-available	O
RISC-based	B-Architecture
microcomputer	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
400	O
series	O
included	O
four	O
expansion	B-Device
slots	I-Device
and	O
an	O
ST-506	B-Device
controller	O
for	O
an	O
internal	B-Device
hard	I-Device
drive	I-Device
,	O
whereas	O
the	O
300	O
series	O
required	O
the	O
addition	O
of	O
a	O
backplane	B-Architecture
to	O
gain	O
expansion	B-Device
slot	I-Device
capabilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
two	O
slot	O
backplane	B-Architecture
could	O
be	O
added	O
to	O
the	O
300	O
series	O
as	O
an	O
official	O
upgrade	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
possibility	O
of	O
4-slot	O
backplane	B-Architecture
being	O
available	O
from	O
third	O
parties	O
,	O
but	O
a	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
expansion	B-Device
card	I-Device
was	O
also	O
required	O
for	O
these	O
machines	O
,	O
occupying	O
one	O
slot	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
series	O
included	O
the	O
Arthur	O
operating	O
system	O
(	O
later	O
replaced	O
by	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
as	O
a	O
paid-for	O
upgrade	O
)	O
,	O
BBC	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
programming	I-Language
language	I-Language
,	O
and	O
an	O
emulator	B-Application
for	O
Acorn	O
's	O
earlier	O
BBC	B-Device
Micro	I-Device
,	O
and	O
were	O
mounted	O
in	O
two-part	O
cases	O
with	O
a	O
small	O
central	O
unit	O
,	O
monitor	B-Device
on	O
top	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
separate	O
keyboard	B-Device
and	O
three-button	O
mouse	B-Device
(	O
the	O
middle	O
one	O
used	O
for	O
pop-up	O
context	O
menus	O
of	O
the	O
operating	O
system	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
400	O
series	O
models	O
were	O
replaced	O
in	O
1989	O
by	O
the	O
A410/1	O
,	O
the	O
A420/1	O
and	O
A440/1	O
,	O
these	O
featuring	O
an	O
upgraded	O
MEMC1a	O
and	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Earlier	O
models	O
which	O
shipped	O
with	O
Arthur	O
could	O
be	O
upgraded	O
to	O
by	O
replacing	O
the	O
ROM	B-Device
chip	I-Device
containing	O
the	O
operating	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
the	O
ROM	B-Device
chips	I-Device
contained	O
the	O
operating	O
system	O
,	O
the	O
computer	O
booted	B-Operating_System
instantly	O
into	O
its	O
GUI	O
system	O
,	O
familiar	O
from	O
the	O
Atari	B-Device
ST	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
the	O
A310	O
being	O
limited	O
to	O
1MB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
officially	O
,	O
several	O
companies	O
made	O
upgrades	O
to	O
2MB	O
and	O
4MB	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
smaller	O
upgrades	O
augmenting	O
the	O
built-in	O
RAM	B-Architecture
and	O
the	O
larger	O
upgrades	O
replacing	O
it	O
entirely	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
400	O
series	O
were	O
officially	O
limited	O
to	O
4MB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
,	O
but	O
several	O
companies	O
released	O
8MB	O
upgrades	O
that	O
provided	O
an	O
extra	O
MEMC	O
chip	O
plus	O
4MB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
to	O
complement	O
an	O
existing	O
4MB	O
of	O
fitted	O
RAM	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Speculation	O
gathered	O
pace	O
about	O
new	O
machines	O
in	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
range	O
in	O
early	O
1989	O
,	O
with	O
commentators	O
envisaging	O
a	O
low-cost	O
,	O
cut-down	O
model	O
with	O
512KB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
to	O
replace	O
the	O
A305	O
in	O
a	O
fashion	O
reminiscent	O
of	O
the	O
Master	O
Compact	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Such	O
speculation	O
also	O
raised	O
questions	O
about	O
the	O
300	O
series	O
if	O
a	O
low-cost	O
model	O
were	O
to	O
become	O
available	O
with	O
support	O
for	O
up	O
to	O
2MB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
,	O
given	O
the	O
limitations	O
of	O
the	O
300	O
series	O
to	O
a	O
maximum	O
of	O
1MB	O
(	O
at	O
least	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
upgrade	O
availability	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
)	O
,	O
this	O
potentially	O
making	O
the	O
older	O
models	O
look	O
"	O
pretty	O
stupid	O
"	O
according	O
to	O
one	O
commentator	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
speculation	O
evolved	O
to	O
more	O
accurately	O
predict	O
a	O
machine	O
with	O
1MB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
aimed	O
at	O
junior	O
or	O
primary	O
schools	O
,	O
albeit	O
incorrectly	O
predicting	O
a	O
separate	O
disc	O
drive	O
unit	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
commentators	O
more	O
correctly	O
identified	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
an	O
internal	O
drive	O
and	O
even	O
a	O
single	O
"	O
special	O
"	O
podule	O
slot	O
,	O
but	O
suggested	O
the	O
inclusion	O
of	O
a	O
TV	O
modulator	O
and	O
a	O
possible	O
price	O
of	O
£399	O
for	O
a	O
512KB	O
"	O
Archimedes	B-Device
205	O
"	O
machine	O
aimed	O
at	O
the	O
home	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Concurrently	O
with	O
these	O
rumoured	O
product	O
development	O
efforts	O
,	O
work	O
had	O
commenced	O
on	O
a	O
successor	O
to	O
the	O
Arthur	O
operating	O
system	O
,	O
initially	O
named	O
Arthur	O
2	O
but	O
renamed	O
to	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
2	O
for	O
launch	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
number	O
of	O
new	O
machines	O
were	O
introduced	O
along	O
with	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
2	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
May	O
1989	O
,	O
the	O
300	O
series	O
was	O
phased	O
out	O
in	O
favour	O
of	O
the	O
new	O
BBC	O
A3000	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
400	O
series	O
being	O
replaced	O
by	O
the	O
improved	O
400/1	O
series	O
models	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Having	O
been	O
developed	O
in	O
a	O
"	O
remarkably	O
short	O
timescale	O
of	O
nine	O
months	O
"	O
,	O
the	O
machine	O
was	O
the	O
"	O
major	O
learning	O
vehicle	O
"	O
for	O
an	O
integrated	O
CAD	B-Application
system	O
introduced	O
at	O
Acorn	O
,	O
and	O
it	O
was	O
reported	O
that	O
the	O
A3000	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
home	O
microcomputer	O
to	O
use	O
surface	O
mount	O
technology	O
in	O
its	O
construction	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
machine	O
being	O
built	O
at	O
Acorn	O
's	O
longstanding	O
manufacturing	O
partner	O
,	O
AB	O
Electronics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
A3000	O
used	O
an	O
8MHz	O
ARM2	O
and	O
was	O
supplied	O
with	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
and	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
on	O
of	O
ROM	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
the	O
previous	O
models	O
,	O
the	O
A3000	O
came	O
in	O
a	O
single-part	O
case	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
BBC	B-Device
Micro	I-Device
,	O
Amiga	B-Device
500	I-Device
and	O
Atari	B-Device
ST	I-Device
computers	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
keyboard	B-Device
and	O
disc	O
drive	O
integrated	O
into	O
a	O
base	O
unit	O
"	O
slightly	O
smaller	O
than	O
the	O
Master	B-Device
128	I-Device
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
the	O
machine	O
's	O
desktop	O
footprint	O
,	O
being	O
larger	O
than	O
a	O
simple	O
keyboard	B-Device
,	O
the	O
case	O
was	O
not	O
designed	O
to	O
support	O
a	O
monitor	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Acorn	O
offered	O
a	O
monitor	B-Device
stand	O
that	O
attached	O
to	O
the	O
machine	O
,	O
this	O
being	O
bundled	O
with	O
Acorn	O
's	O
Learning	O
Curve	O
package	O
,	O
and	O
PRES	O
announced	O
a	O
monitor	B-Device
plinth	O
and	O
external	O
disc	O
drive	O
case	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
new	O
model	O
sported	O
only	O
a	O
single	O
internal	O
expansion	B-Device
slot	I-Device
,	O
which	O
was	O
physically	O
different	O
from	O
that	O
of	O
the	O
earlier	O
models	O
,	O
although	O
electrically	O
similar	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
external	O
connector	O
could	O
interface	O
to	O
existing	O
expansion	B-Device
cards	I-Device
,	O
with	O
an	O
external	O
case	O
for	O
such	O
cards	O
being	O
recommended	O
and	O
anticipated	O
at	O
the	O
machine	O
's	O
launch	O
,	O
and	O
one	O
such	O
solution	O
subsequently	O
being	O
provided	O
by	O
PRES	O
's	O
expansion	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
only	O
intended	O
to	O
be	O
upgradeable	O
to	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
,	O
third-party	O
vendors	O
offered	O
upgrades	O
to	O
along	O
with	O
expansions	O
offering	O
additional	O
disc	O
drive	O
connections	O
and	O
combinations	O
of	O
user	O
and	O
analogue	O
ports	O
,	O
both	O
of	O
these	O
helping	O
those	O
upgrading	O
from	O
Acorn	O
's	O
8-bit	O
products	O
,	O
particularly	O
in	O
education	O
,	O
to	O
make	O
use	O
of	O
existing	O
peripherals	O
such	O
as	O
5.25-inch	O
drives	O
,	O
input	O
devices	O
and	O
data	O
logging	O
equipment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Simtec	O
Electronics	O
even	O
offered	O
a	O
RAM	B-Architecture
upgrade	O
to	O
8MB	O
for	O
the	O
A3000	O
alongside	O
other	O
models	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1996	O
,	O
IFEL	O
announced	O
a	O
memory	O
upgrade	O
for	O
the	O
A3000	O
utilising	O
a	O
generic	O
72-pin	O
SIMM	B-General_Concept
module	O
to	O
provide	O
4MB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
expansions	O
based	O
on	O
ST506	B-Device
,	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
and	O
IDE	B-Protocol
technologies	O
were	O
also	O
offered	O
by	O
a	O
range	O
of	O
vendors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
"	O
British	O
Broadcasting	O
Corporation	O
Computer	O
System	O
"	O
branding	O
,	O
the	O
"	O
main	O
market	O
"	O
for	O
the	O
A3000	O
was	O
schools	O
and	O
education	O
authorities	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
educational	O
price	O
of	O
£529	O
–	O
not	O
considerably	O
more	O
expensive	O
than	O
the	O
BBC	B-Device
Master	I-Device
–	O
was	O
considered	O
to	O
be	O
competitive	O
and	O
persuasive	O
in	O
getting	O
this	O
particular	O
audience	O
to	O
upgrade	O
to	O
Acorn	O
's	O
32-bit	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
retail	O
price	O
of	O
£649	O
plus	O
VAT	O
was	O
considered	O
an	O
"	O
expensive	O
alternative	O
"	O
to	O
the	O
intended	O
competition	O
–	O
the	O
Commodore	O
Amiga	O
and	O
Atari	B-Device
ST	I-Device
–	O
but	O
many	O
times	O
faster	O
than	O
similarly	O
priced	O
models	O
of	O
those	O
ranges	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Amiga	B-Device
500	I-Device
,	O
it	O
was	O
noted	O
,	O
cost	O
a	O
"	O
not-so-bargain	O
"	O
£550	O
once	O
upgraded	O
to	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
relative	O
affordability	O
of	O
the	O
A3000	O
compared	O
to	O
the	O
first	O
Archimedes	B-Device
machines	O
and	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
helped	O
to	O
convince	O
educational	O
software	O
producers	O
of	O
the	O
viability	O
of	O
the	O
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
appeal	O
of	O
the	O
A3000	O
to	O
education	O
may	O
also	O
have	O
motivated	O
the	O
return	O
of	O
Microvitec	O
to	O
the	O
Acorn	O
market	O
with	O
the	O
Cub3000	O
monitor	B-Device
:	O
a	O
re-engineered	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
Cub	O
monitor	B-Device
that	O
was	O
popular	O
amongst	O
institutional	O
users	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
BBC	B-Device
Micro	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
Having	O
been	O
"	O
nowhere	O
to	O
be	O
seen	O
"	O
when	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
was	O
released	O
,	O
Microvitec	O
had	O
sought	O
to	O
introduce	O
its	O
own	O
Cubpack	O
range	O
of	O
IBM	O
PC-compatible	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
for	O
the	O
education	O
market	O
offering	O
some	O
BBC	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
compatibility	O
,	O
building	O
on	O
an	O
estimated	O
80	O
percent	O
market	O
share	O
for	O
14-inch	O
colour	O
monitors	O
in	O
the	O
sector	O
,	O
and	O
aspiring	O
to	O
launch	O
an	O
"	O
interactive	O
video	O
workstation	O
"	O
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
Marketing	O
efforts	O
towards	O
home	O
users	O
continued	O
in	O
1990	O
with	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
The	O
Learning	O
Curve	O
:	O
a	O
bundle	O
of	O
A3000	O
and	O
application	O
software	O
priced	O
at	O
£699	O
plus	O
VAT	O
,	O
requiring	O
a	O
SCART	B-Protocol
capable	O
television	O
,	O
or	O
bundled	O
with	O
a	O
colour	O
monitor	B-Device
and	O
Acorn	O
's	O
monitor	B-Device
stand	O
for	O
£949	O
plus	O
VAT	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
software	O
,	O
having	O
a	O
retail	O
value	O
of	O
around	O
£200	O
,	O
consisted	O
of	O
the	O
second	O
,	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
compliant	O
version	O
of	O
Acorn	O
's	O
First	O
Word	O
Plus	O
,	O
the	O
hypermedia	O
application	O
Genesis	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
PC	B-Application
Emulator	I-Application
software	O
,	O
with	O
an	O
introductory	O
video	O
presented	O
by	O
Fred	O
Harris	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
price	O
of	O
this	O
bundle	O
was	O
£747.50	O
which	O
also	O
included	O
a	O
television	O
modulator	O
developed	O
by	O
the	O
bundle	O
's	O
distributor	O
,	O
ZCL	O
,	O
designed	O
for	O
use	O
with	O
"	O
any	O
TV	O
set	O
"	O
and	O
offering	O
a	O
"	O
monitor	B-Device
quality	O
"	O
picture	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
A540	O
,	O
introduced	O
in	O
late	O
1990	O
,	O
was	O
an	O
anticipated	O
consequence	O
of	O
Acorn	O
's	O
Unix	B-Application
workstation	O
development	O
,	O
offering	O
the	O
same	O
general	O
specification	O
as	O
Acorn	O
's	O
R260	O
Unix	B-Application
workstation	O
(	O
running	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
iX	I-Operating_System
)	O
but	O
without	O
built-in	O
Ethernet	O
support	O
and	O
running	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
2	O
instead	O
of	O
Unix	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
Acorn	O
's	O
first	O
machine	O
to	O
be	O
fitted	O
with	O
the	O
ARM3	O
processor	O
as	O
standard	O
,	O
supporting	O
up	O
to	O
16MB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
,	O
and	O
included	O
higher	O
speed	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
and	O
provision	O
for	O
connecting	O
genlock	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
hardware	O
design	O
featured	O
memory	O
modules	O
,	O
each	O
providing	O
their	O
own	O
memory	O
controller	O
and	O
4MB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
,	O
and	O
a	O
processor	O
module	O
providing	O
the	O
ARM3	O
and	O
a	O
slot	O
for	O
a	O
floating	O
point	O
accelerator	O
(	O
FPA	O
)	O
chip	O
,	O
the	O
latter	O
offering	O
the	O
possibility	O
(	O
subsequently	O
unrealised	O
)	O
of	O
processor	O
upgrades	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
existing	O
A400/1	O
series	O
regarded	O
as	O
"	O
a	O
little	O
tired	O
"	O
,	O
being	O
largely	O
unchanged	O
from	O
the	O
A400	O
models	O
introduced	O
four	O
years	O
previously	O
,	O
the	O
A5000	O
was	O
regarded	O
(	O
by	O
one	O
reviewer	O
,	O
at	O
least	O
)	O
as	O
"	O
the	O
biggest	O
leap	O
forward	O
for	O
Acorn	O
since	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
in	O
1987	O
"	O
,	O
introducing	O
a	O
combination	O
of	O
the	O
ARM3	O
processor	O
and	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
3	O
for	O
the	O
first	O
time	O
in	O
a	O
new	O
Acorn	O
product	O
,	O
being	O
"	O
the	O
machine	O
the	O
A540	O
should	O
have	O
been	O
-	O
smaller	O
,	O
neater	O
,	O
with	O
higher	O
capacity	O
drives	O
and	O
all	O
the	O
same	O
speed	O
for	O
about	O
half	O
the	O
cost	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
A5000	O
initially	O
ran	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
3.0	O
,	O
although	O
several	O
bugs	O
were	O
identified	O
,	O
and	O
most	O
were	O
shipped	O
with	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
3.10	O
or	O
3.11	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
A5000	O
featured	O
the	O
new	O
25MHz	O
ARM3	O
processor	O
,	O
2	O
or	O
4MB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
,	O
either	O
a	O
40MB	O
or	O
an	O
80MB	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
and	O
a	O
more	O
conventional	O
pizza	B-General_Concept
box-style	I-General_Concept
two-part	O
case	O
(	O
HxWxD	O
:	O
100mm	O
×	O
430mm	O
×	O
340mm	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
IBM-compatible	O
PCs	B-Device
offering	O
increasingly	O
better	O
graphical	O
capabilities	O
,	O
they	O
had	O
not	O
merely	O
matched	O
the	O
capabilities	O
of	O
Acorn	O
's	O
machines	O
,	O
but	O
in	O
offering	O
resolutions	O
of	O
1024	O
×	O
768	O
in	O
16	O
or	O
256	O
colours	O
and	O
with	O
24-bit	O
palettes	O
,	O
they	O
had	O
surpassed	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
A5000	O
(	O
along	O
with	O
the	O
earlier	O
A540	O
)	O
supported	O
the	O
SVGA	O
resolution	O
of	O
800	O
×	O
600	O
in	O
16	O
colours	O
,	O
although	O
the	O
observation	O
that	O
"	O
Archimedes	B-Device
machines	O
have	O
simply	O
not	O
kept	O
pace	O
"	O
arguably	O
remained	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
A5000	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
Acorn	O
machine	O
to	O
adopt	O
the	O
15-pin	O
VGA	B-Protocol
connector	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
Archimedes	B-Device
to	O
feature	O
a	O
high	O
density	O
capable	O
floppy	B-Device
disc	I-Device
drive	I-Device
as	O
standard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
natively	O
supported	O
various	O
formats	O
including	O
DOS	B-Device
and	O
Atari	O
discs	O
with	O
formatted	O
capacities	O
of	O
720KB	O
and	O
1.44MB	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
native	O
ADFS	B-Device
floppy	B-Device
format	O
had	O
a	O
slightly	O
larger	O
capacity	O
of	O
800KB	O
for	O
double	O
density	O
or	O
1.6MB	O
for	O
high	O
density	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
later	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
A5000	O
featured	O
a	O
33MHz	O
ARM3	O
,	O
2	O
or	O
4MB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
,	O
and	O
an	O
80	O
or	O
160MB	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1992	O
,	O
Acorn	O
introduced	O
the	O
A4	O
laptop	B-Device
computer	I-Device
featuring	O
a	O
slower	O
24MHz	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
ARM3	O
processor	O
(	O
compared	O
to	O
the	O
25MHz	O
ARM3	O
in	O
the	O
A5000	O
)	O
,	O
supporting	O
a	O
6MHz	O
power-saving	O
mode	O
,	O
and	O
providing	O
between	O
2.5	O
and	O
4	O
hours	O
of	O
usage	O
on	O
battery	O
power	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
machine	O
featured	O
a	O
9-inch	O
passive	O
matrix	O
LCD	B-Device
screen	I-Device
capable	O
of	O
displaying	O
a	O
maximum	O
resolution	O
of	O
in	O
15	O
levels	O
of	O
grey	O
,	O
also	O
featuring	O
a	O
monitor	B-Device
port	O
which	O
offered	O
the	O
same	O
display	O
capabilities	O
as	O
an	O
A5000	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
notable	O
omission	O
from	O
the	O
machine	O
was	O
a	O
built-in	O
pointing	B-Device
device	I-Device
,	O
requiring	O
users	O
to	O
navigate	O
with	O
the	O
cursor	O
keys	O
or	O
attach	O
a	O
conventional	O
Acorn	O
three-button	O
mouse	B-Device
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Logitech	B-Device
mouse	I-Device
bundled	O
with	O
the	O
machine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
other	O
expansion	B-Device
ports	I-Device
available	O
on	O
the	O
A4	O
were	O
serial	O
and	O
parallel	O
ports	O
,	O
a	O
PS/2	B-Device
connector	O
for	O
an	O
external	O
keyboard	B-Device
,	O
a	O
headphone	O
connector	O
,	O
and	O
support	O
for	O
an	O
Econet	O
expansion	O
(	O
as	O
opposed	O
to	O
an	O
Econet	O
port	O
itself	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
No	O
other	O
provision	O
for	O
expansion	O
was	O
made	O
beyond	O
the	O
fitting	O
of	O
the	O
Econet	O
card	O
and	O
a	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
A4	O
effectively	O
fit	O
an	O
A5000	O
into	O
a	O
portable	O
case	O
,	O
having	O
a	O
motherboard	O
"	O
roughly	O
half	O
the	O
size	O
of	O
a	O
sheet	O
of	O
A4	O
paper	O
"	O
,	O
adding	O
extra	O
hardware	O
for	O
power	O
management	O
and	O
driving	O
the	O
LCD	B-Device
,	O
the	O
latter	O
employing	O
an	O
Acorn-designed	O
controller	O
chip	O
using	O
"	O
time-domain	O
dithering	O
"	O
to	O
produce	O
the	O
different	O
grey	O
levels	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Just	O
as	O
the	O
processor	O
could	O
be	O
slowed	O
down	O
to	O
save	O
power	O
,	O
so	O
the	O
12MHz	O
RAM	B-Architecture
could	O
be	O
slowed	O
to	O
3MHz	O
,	O
with	O
various	O
subsystems	O
also	O
being	O
switched	O
off	O
as	O
appropriate	O
,	O
and	O
with	O
power	O
saving	O
being	O
activated	O
after	O
"	O
more	O
than	O
a	O
second	O
or	O
so	O
"	O
of	O
user	O
inactivity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
A4	O
's	O
case	O
itself	O
was	O
used	O
by	O
Olivetti	O
and	O
Triumph-Adler	O
models	O
,	O
particularly	O
the	O
Triumph-Adler	O
Walkstation	O
which	O
did	O
integrate	O
a	O
built-in	O
pointing	B-Device
device	I-Device
,	O
this	O
being	O
described	O
as	O
an	O
"	O
all-but-unusable	O
touchpad	O
mouse-controller	O
"	O
by	O
one	O
reviewer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
launch	O
pricing	O
of	O
the	O
A4	O
set	O
the	O
entry-level	O
model	O
with	O
2MB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
at	O
£1399	O
plus	O
VAT	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
higher-level	O
mode	O
with	O
4MB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
and	O
60MB	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
at	O
£1699	O
plus	O
VAT	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Peripherals	O
for	O
the	O
A4	O
were	O
eventually	O
produced	O
,	O
with	O
Acorn	O
providing	O
the	O
previously	O
announced	O
Econet	O
card	O
,	O
and	O
with	O
Atomwide	O
providing	O
Ethernet	O
and	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
adapters	O
utilising	O
the	O
bidirectional	O
parallel	O
port	O
present	O
on	O
the	O
A4	O
(	O
and	O
also	O
the	O
A5000	O
and	O
later	O
machines	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Atomwide	O
also	O
offered	O
the	O
"	O
Hi-Point	O
"	O
trackball	O
peripheral	O
modified	O
to	O
work	O
as	O
an	O
Acorn-compatible	O
mouse	B-Device
which	O
attached	O
to	O
the	O
side	O
of	O
the	O
unit	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1992	O
,	O
several	O
new	O
models	O
were	O
introduced	O
to	O
complement	O
the	O
A3000	O
and	O
to	O
replace	O
the	O
low-end	O
A400	O
series	O
models	O
-	O
the	O
A3010	O
,	O
A3020	B-Device
and	O
A4000	O
-	O
thus	O
starting	O
a	O
transition	O
from	O
a	O
range	O
of	O
machines	O
of	O
different	O
vintages	O
that	O
still	O
included	O
the	O
A3000	O
(	O
at	O
the	O
low	O
end	O
)	O
and	O
the	O
A540	O
(	O
at	O
the	O
high	O
end	O
)	O
to	O
a	O
range	O
that	O
purely	O
featured	O
more	O
recently	O
designed	O
models	O
including	O
the	O
A5000	O
as	O
the	O
high-end	O
offering	O
and	O
the	O
A4	O
portable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Launched	O
alongside	O
the	O
Acorn	O
Pocket	O
Book	O
,	O
a	O
distinct	O
product	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
Psion	B-Application
Series	I-Application
3	I-Application
,	O
the	O
machines	O
supposedly	O
heralded	O
"	O
a	O
changed	O
company	O
,	O
with	O
new	O
direction	O
"	O
and	O
the	O
availability	O
of	O
Acorn	O
products	O
in	O
mainstream	O
high	O
street	O
stores	O
including	O
Dixons	O
,	O
John	O
Lewis	O
and	O
Argos	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
mail	O
order	O
catalogues	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
new	O
models	O
utilised	O
the	O
first	O
ARM	B-Architecture
system-on-chip	B-Architecture
-	O
the	O
ARM250	O
microprocessor	B-Architecture
-	O
a	O
single-chip	O
design	O
including	O
the	O
functionality	O
of	O
an	O
ARM2	O
(	O
or	O
ARM3	O
without	O
cache	O
)	O
,	O
the	O
IOC1	O
,	O
VIDC1a	O
and	O
MEMC1a	O
chips	O
all	O
"	O
integrated	O
into	O
a	O
single	O
giant	O
chip	O
"	O
and	O
fabricated	O
using	O
a	O
1	O
micron	O
process	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
Acorn	O
representative	O
indicated	O
that	O
this	O
solution	O
was	O
pursued	O
to	O
meet	O
retailing	O
deadlines	O
,	O
whereas	O
an	O
ARM	B-Architecture
representative	O
denied	O
that	O
any	O
"	O
serious	O
delays	O
"	O
had	O
occurred	O
in	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
the	O
ARM250	O
,	O
indicating	O
that	O
the	O
mezzanine	B-Device
board	I-Device
had	O
nevertheless	O
been	O
useful	O
during	O
the	O
design	O
process	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
inadvertent	O
advantage	O
that	O
the	O
mezzanine	B-Device
board	I-Device
conferred	O
was	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
upgrade	O
the	O
ARM2	O
on	O
the	O
board	O
to	O
an	O
ARM3	O
,	O
this	O
being	O
a	O
popular	O
upgrade	O
for	O
previous	O
ARM2-based	O
models	O
that	O
was	O
incompatible	O
with	O
the	O
ARM250	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
performing	O
such	O
an	O
upgrade	O
involves	O
modifications	O
to	O
both	O
the	O
"	O
Adelaide	O
"	O
mezzanine	B-Device
board	I-Device
and	O
the	O
ARM3	O
upgrade	O
board	O
employed	O
in	O
the	O
upgrade	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
machines	O
fitted	O
with	O
an	O
actual	O
ARM250	O
processor	O
,	O
the	O
closest	O
alternative	O
to	O
an	O
ARM3	O
upgrade	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
performance	O
enhancement	O
was	O
the	O
Simtec	O
"	O
Turbo	O
RAM	B-Architecture
"	O
upgrade	O
which	O
provided	O
4MB	O
of	O
faster	O
RAM	B-Architecture
and	O
gave	O
a	O
40	O
percent	O
improvement	O
in	O
overall	O
system	O
performance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
machines	O
were	O
supplied	O
with	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
3.10	O
or	O
3.11	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
A3010	O
model	O
was	O
intended	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
home	O
computing	O
machine	O
,	O
featuring	O
a	O
TV	O
modulator	O
(	O
for	O
use	O
with	O
traditional	O
PAL-standard	O
televisions	O
,	O
SCART	B-Protocol
televisions	O
already	O
being	O
supported	O
by	O
all	O
of	O
these	O
models	O
)	O
and	O
standard	O
9-pin	O
joystick	B-Device
ports	O
,	O
while	O
the	O
A3020	B-Device
targeted	O
the	O
primary	O
and	O
middle	O
school	O
educational	O
markets	O
,	O
featuring	O
an	O
optional	O
built-in	O
2.5-inch	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
and	O
a	O
dedicated	O
network	B-Operating_System
interface	O
socket	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Meanwhile	O
,	O
the	O
A4000	O
was	O
aimed	O
at	O
the	O
secondary	O
education	O
and	O
office	O
markets	O
,	O
offering	O
a	O
separate	O
adjustable	O
keyboard	B-Device
to	O
comply	O
with	O
ergonomics	O
regulations	O
deemed	O
applicable	O
in	O
these	O
markets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Technically	O
,	O
the	O
A4000	O
was	O
almost	O
functionally	O
identical	O
to	O
the	O
A3020	B-Device
,	O
only	O
differing	O
in	O
the	O
supported	O
hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
size	O
(	O
3.5-inch	O
in	O
the	O
A4000	O
)	O
,	O
this	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
machine	O
's	O
different	O
casing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
the	O
resemblance	O
to	O
the	O
A5000	O
,	O
the	O
A4000	O
along	O
with	O
the	O
other	O
models	O
only	O
provided	O
a	O
single	O
"	O
mini-podule	O
"	O
expansion	B-Device
slot	I-Device
,	O
just	O
as	O
the	O
A3000	O
did	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1996	O
,	O
IFEL	O
announced	O
a	O
memory	O
upgrade	O
for	O
the	O
range	O
utilising	O
a	O
generic	O
72-pin	O
SIMM	B-General_Concept
module	O
to	O
provide	O
4MB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pricing	O
started	O
at	O
just	O
under	O
£500	O
including	O
VAT	O
for	O
the	O
Family	O
Solution	O
bundle	O
:	O
an	O
unexpanded	O
A3010	O
with	O
no	O
monitor	B-Device
(	O
to	O
be	O
used	O
with	O
a	O
television	O
)	O
,	O
combined	O
with	O
the	O
EasiWord	O
word	O
processor	O
and	O
one	O
game	O
(	O
initially	O
Quest	O
for	O
Gold	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
existing	O
Learning	O
Curve	O
bundle	O
,	O
updated	O
to	O
incorporate	O
the	O
A3010	O
upgraded	O
to	O
2MB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
in	O
place	O
of	O
the	O
A3000	O
,	O
included	O
an	O
Acorn	O
colour	O
monitor	B-Device
,	O
the	O
PC	B-Application
Emulator	I-Application
and	O
a	O
suite	O
of	O
Genesis	O
hypermedia	O
applications	O
for	O
a	O
price	O
of	O
£799	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
A4000	O
Home	O
Office	O
bundle	O
combined	O
the	O
A4000	O
with	O
Acorn	O
colour	O
monitor	B-Device
,	O
Icon	O
Technology	O
's	O
EasiWriter	O
2	O
"	O
professional	O
word	O
processor	O
"	O
and	O
Iota	O
's	O
Desktop	O
Database	O
application	O
for	O
a	O
price	O
of	O
around	O
£1175	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
retail	O
pricing	O
of	O
the	O
A3010	O
was	O
notable	O
as	O
making	O
it	O
the	O
cheapest	O
of	O
any	O
Archimedes	B-Device
machine	O
sold	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
games	O
consoles	O
gaining	O
popularity	O
,	O
Acorn	O
apparently	O
attempted	O
to	O
target	O
the	O
"	O
games	O
machine	O
plus	O
"	O
market	O
with	O
the	O
A3010	O
by	O
appealing	O
to	O
"	O
the	O
more	O
knowledgeable	O
,	O
sophisticated	O
and	O
educationally	O
concerned	O
parents	O
"	O
,	O
this	O
against	O
a	O
backdrop	O
of	O
established	O
competing	O
products	O
having	O
been	O
heavily	O
discounted	O
:	O
the	O
Amiga	B-Device
A500	I-Device
having	O
been	O
reduced	O
to	O
£299	O
,	O
for	O
instance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
bundle	O
effectively	O
reduced	O
the	O
price	O
of	O
the	O
A3010	O
to	O
£399	O
including	O
VAT	O
,	O
reportedly	O
making	O
it	O
"	O
the	O
cheapest	O
Risc	B-Architecture
machine	O
yet	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Learning	O
Curve	O
was	O
revised	O
to	O
feature	O
Acorn	O
's	O
own	O
Advance	O
integrated	O
suite	O
,	O
together	O
with	O
the	O
PC	B-Application
Emulator	I-Application
and	O
DR	O
DOS	B-Device
6	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
bundle	O
was	O
also	O
made	O
available	O
in	O
conjunction	O
with	O
the	O
A4000	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Home	O
Office	O
bundle	O
was	O
updated	O
with	O
Iota	O
's	O
DataPower	O
replacing	O
Desktop	O
Database	O
,	O
and	O
with	O
Colton	O
Software	O
's	O
PipeDream	O
4	O
and	O
Acorn	O
's	O
PC	B-Application
Emulator	I-Application
being	O
added	O
to	O
augment	O
EasiWriter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
time	O
of	O
these	O
product	O
revisions	O
,	O
the	O
A3020	B-Device
had	O
become	O
absent	O
from	O
related	O
promotional	O
material	O
,	O
even	O
material	O
aimed	O
at	O
the	O
educational	O
purchaser	O
,	O
although	O
it	O
remained	O
in	O
Acorn	O
's	O
price	O
list	O
presumably	O
for	O
the	O
interest	O
of	O
institutional	O
purchasers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Production	O
of	O
the	O
A3020	B-Device
and	O
A4000	O
ceased	O
in	O
1995	O
,	O
with	O
remaining	O
stocks	O
to	O
be	O
sold	O
during	O
1996	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
their	O
lack	O
of	O
conformance	O
with	O
newly	O
introduced	O
European	O
Union	O
electrical	O
and	O
electronics	O
regulations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
left	O
the	O
A7000	B-Device
as	O
Acorn	O
's	O
entry-level	O
desktop	O
system	O
,	O
and	O
appropriate	O
pricing	O
adjustments	O
were	O
expected	O
,	O
particularly	O
as	O
faster	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
A7000	B-Device
were	O
anticipated	O
(	O
and	O
eventually	O
delivered	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
the	O
A7000+	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
A7000	B-Device
,	O
despite	O
its	O
name	O
being	O
reminiscent	O
of	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
naming	O
conventions	O
,	O
was	O
actually	O
more	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
Risc	B-Device
PC	I-Device
,	O
the	O
line	O
of	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
computers	O
that	O
succeeded	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
in	O
1994	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
lacked	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
the	O
DEBI	O
expansion	B-Device
slots	I-Device
and	O
multi-slice	O
case	O
that	O
characterized	O
the	O
Risc	B-Device
PC	I-Device
(	O
though	O
by	O
removing	O
the	O
CDROM	B-Device
,	O
a	O
backplane	B-Architecture
with	O
one	O
slot	O
could	O
be	O
fitted	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Reminiscent	O
of	O
the	O
BBC	B-Device
Micro	I-Device
upon	O
its	O
release	O
,	O
the	O
earliest	O
Archimedes	B-Device
models	O
were	O
delivered	O
with	O
provisional	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
Arthur	O
operating	O
system	O
,	O
for	O
which	O
upgrades	O
were	O
apparently	O
issued	O
free	O
of	O
charge	O
,	O
thus	O
avoiding	O
the	O
controversy	O
around	O
early	O
ROM	B-Device
upgrades	O
for	O
the	O
BBC	B-Device
Micro	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
software	O
was	O
issued	O
free	O
of	O
charge	O
for	O
registered	O
users	O
,	O
although	O
Acorn	O
indicated	O
that	O
it	O
would	O
not	O
produce	O
a	O
"	O
definitive	O
"	O
word	O
processor	O
for	O
the	O
platform	O
,	O
in	O
contrast	O
to	O
the	O
BBC	B-Device
Micro	I-Device
where	O
the	O
View	O
word	O
processor	O
had	O
been	O
central	O
to	O
Acorn	O
's	O
office	O
software	O
range	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
Acorn	O
did	O
also	O
announce	O
a	O
port	O
of	O
the	O
1st	B-Protocol
Word	I-Protocol
package	O
,	O
First	O
Word	O
Plus	O
,	O
for	O
the	O
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
software	O
companies	O
immediately	O
promised	O
software	O
for	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
,	O
most	O
notably	O
Computer	O
Concepts	O
,	O
Clares	O
and	O
Minerva	O
,	O
with	O
Advanced	O
Memory	O
Systems	O
,	O
BBC	O
Soft	O
and	O
Logotron	O
being	O
other	O
familiar	O
software	O
publishers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
in	O
early	O
1988	O
,	O
many	O
software	O
developers	O
were	O
reportedly	O
holding	O
off	O
on	O
releasing	O
software	O
for	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
until	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
a	O
stable	O
operating	O
system	O
,	O
with	O
Acorn	O
offering	O
to	O
lend	O
Arthur	O
1.2	O
to	O
developers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
order	O
to	O
make	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
more	O
attractive	O
to	O
certain	O
sectors	O
,	O
Acorn	O
announced	O
a	O
£	O
250,000	O
investment	O
in	O
educational	O
software	O
and	O
indicated	O
a	O
commitment	O
to	O
business	O
software	O
development	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Autodesk	O
released	O
AutoSketch	O
for	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
in	O
1988	O
,	O
having	O
launched	O
the	O
product	O
in	O
March	O
the	O
same	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
,	O
AutoSketch	O
was	O
reported	O
to	O
run	O
at	O
about	O
five	O
times	O
the	O
speed	O
of	O
a	O
"	O
standard	O
PC-compatible	O
machine	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
Acorn	O
had	O
restricted	O
itself	O
to	O
supporting	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
its	O
View	O
word	O
processor	O
under	O
BBC	O
emulation	B-Application
on	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
,	O
View	O
Professional	O
-	O
the	O
final	O
iteration	O
of	O
the	O
View	O
suite	O
on	O
Acorn	O
's	O
8-bit	O
computers	O
-	O
had	O
been	O
advertised	O
as	O
a	O
future	O
product	O
in	O
June	O
1987	O
for	O
November	O
availability	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
View	O
Professional	O
,	O
like	O
the	O
View	O
series	O
,	O
had	O
been	O
developed	O
for	O
Acorn	O
by	O
Mark	O
Colton	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
company	O
-	O
Colton	O
Software	O
-	O
delivered	O
the	O
successor	O
to	O
this	O
product	O
as	O
PipeDream	O
for	O
the	O
Cambridge	B-Device
Computer	I-Device
Z88	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
mid-1988	O
,	O
Colton	O
Software	O
announced	O
PipeDream	O
for	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
,	O
priced	O
at	O
£114	O
,	O
following	O
on	O
from	O
the	O
announcement	O
of	O
a	O
version	O
for	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
,	O
establishing	O
a	O
long	O
history	O
of	O
product	O
development	O
for	O
the	O
platform	O
,	O
leading	O
to	O
PipeDream	O
4	O
in	O
1992	O
,	O
followed	O
by	O
PipeDream	O
's	O
eventual	O
successor	O
,	O
Fireworkz	O
,	O
in	O
1994	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Much	O
early	O
software	O
had	O
consisted	O
of	O
titles	O
converted	O
from	O
the	O
BBC	B-Device
Micro	I-Device
,	O
taking	O
advantage	O
of	O
a	O
degree	O
of	O
compatibility	O
between	O
the	O
different	O
series	O
of	O
machines	O
,	O
with	O
Computer	O
Concepts	O
even	O
going	O
as	O
far	O
as	O
to	O
produce	O
a	O
ROM/RAM	O
hardware	O
expansion	O
for	O
use	O
with	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
existing	O
BBC	B-Device
Micro	I-Device
series	O
products	O
,	O
and	O
Acorn	O
also	O
offering	O
such	O
an	O
expansion	O
alongside	O
a	O
BBC-compatible	O
interfacing	O
expansion	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
element	O
of	O
Acorn	O
's	O
early	O
marketing	O
strategy	O
for	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
was	O
to	O
emphasise	O
the	O
PC	B-Application
Emulator	I-Application
product	O
which	O
was	O
a	O
software-based	O
emulator	B-Application
for	O
IBM	O
PC-compatible	O
systems	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
8088	O
processor	O
running	O
"	O
legal	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
programs	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PC	B-Application
Emulator	I-Application
in	O
its	O
initial	O
form	O
shipped	O
with	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
3.21	O
and	O
required	O
a	O
system	O
with	O
4MB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
to	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
provide	O
the	O
"	O
full	O
"	O
640KB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
for	O
DOS	B-Device
programs	O
,	O
with	O
early	O
versions	O
of	O
Arthur	O
only	O
providing	O
384KB	O
to	O
DOS	B-Device
on	O
1MB	O
systems	O
,	O
but	O
with	O
Arthur	O
1.2	O
aiming	O
to	O
provide	O
the	O
more	O
usable	O
512KB	O
to	O
DOS	B-Device
on	O
such	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
emulator	B-Application
was	O
described	O
as	O
having	O
"	O
very	O
few	O
compatibility	O
problems	O
"	O
and	O
was	O
reported	O
by	O
diagnostic	O
utilities	O
as	O
providing	O
an	O
80188-based	O
system	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
performance	O
of	O
the	O
emulated	B-Application
system	O
was	O
regarded	O
as	O
slow	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Commentators	O
were	O
disappointed	O
with	O
the	O
incoherent	O
user	O
interface	O
provided	O
by	O
the	O
software	O
platform	O
,	O
with	O
"	O
Logistix	O
looking	O
like	O
a	O
PC	O
,	O
First	O
Word	O
slavishly	O
copying	O
GEM	B-Application
"	O
and	O
"	O
101	O
other	O
'	O
user	O
interfaces	O
 '	O
"	O
amongst	O
the	O
early	O
offerings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
result	O
was	O
the	O
lack	O
of	O
a	O
"	O
personality	O
"	O
for	O
the	O
machine	O
which	O
risked	O
becoming	O
a	O
system	O
that	O
would	O
"	O
never	O
look	O
as	O
easy	O
or	O
as	O
slick	O
as	O
the	O
Mac	B-Device
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Alongside	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
visual	O
and	O
behavioural	O
consistency	O
between	O
applications	O
,	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
user	O
environments	O
had	O
also	O
evolved	O
from	O
running	O
a	O
single	O
application	O
at	O
a	O
time	O
,	O
moved	O
beyond	O
"	O
desk	O
accessories	O
"	O
(	O
or	O
pop-up	O
programs	O
)	O
,	O
normalised	O
the	O
practice	O
of	O
switching	O
between	O
applications	O
,	O
and	O
had	O
begun	O
to	O
provide	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
run	O
different	O
applications	O
at	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
Macintosh	B-Device
having	O
already	O
done	O
so	O
with	O
its	O
MultiFinder	O
enhancement	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Computer	O
Concepts	O
,	O
having	O
begun	O
development	O
of	O
various	O
new	O
applications	O
for	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
,	O
was	O
sufficiently	O
frustrated	O
with	O
Arthur	O
and	O
its	O
lack	O
of	O
"	O
true	O
multi-tasking	O
"	O
that	O
it	O
announced	O
a	O
rival	O
operating	O
system	O
,	O
Impulse	O
,	O
intended	O
to	O
host	O
those	O
applications	O
on	O
the	O
machine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Remedying	O
various	O
criticisms	O
of	O
the	O
early	O
operating	O
environment	O
,	O
Acorn	O
previewed	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
(	O
or	O
,	O
more	O
formally	O
,	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
2	O
)	O
in	O
late	O
1988	O
and	O
announced	O
availability	O
for	O
April	O
1989	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internally	O
at	O
Acorn	O
,	O
the	O
realisation	O
had	O
dawned	O
that	O
multitasking	O
had	O
become	O
essential	O
in	O
any	O
mainstream	O
computing	O
environment	O
where	O
"	O
the	O
user	O
is	O
likely	O
to	O
use	O
lots	O
of	O
small	O
applications	O
at	O
once	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
one	O
large	O
application	O
alone	O
"	O
,	O
with	O
other	O
graphical	O
environments	O
such	O
as	O
Hewlett	O
Packard	O
's	O
NewWave	B-Application
and	O
IBM	O
's	O
Presentation	B-Device
Manager	I-Device
being	O
considered	O
as	O
the	O
contemporary	O
competition	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Reactions	O
to	O
the	O
upgraded	O
operating	O
system	O
were	O
positive	O
and	O
even	O
enthusiastic	O
,	O
describing	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
as	O
giving	O
software	O
developers	O
"	O
the	O
stable	O
platform	O
they	O
have	O
been	O
waiting	O
for	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
a	O
viable	O
alternative	O
to	O
the	O
PC	O
or	O
Mac	B-Device
"	O
,	O
also	O
crediting	O
Acorn	O
for	O
having	O
improved	O
on	O
the	O
original	O
nine-month	O
effort	O
in	O
developing	O
Arthur	O
in	O
the	O
following	O
twelve	O
months	O
leading	O
up	O
to	O
the	O
unveiling	O
of	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
a	O
modest	O
upgrade	O
cost	O
of	O
£29	O
,	O
users	O
received	O
four	O
ROM	B-Device
chips	I-Device
,	O
three	O
discs	O
including	O
several	O
applications	O
,	O
and	O
documentation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
New	O
facilities	O
in	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
included	O
co-operative	B-Operating_System
multitasking	I-Operating_System
,	O
a	O
task	O
manager	O
to	O
monitor	B-Device
tasks	O
and	O
memory	O
,	O
versatile	O
file	O
management	O
,	O
"	O
solid	O
"	O
window	O
manipulation	O
(	O
"	O
the	O
whole	O
window	O
moves	O
-	O
not	O
just	O
the	O
outline	O
"	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
adaptive	O
rendering	O
of	O
bitmaps	O
and	O
colours	O
,	O
using	O
dithering	O
where	O
necessary	O
,	O
depending	O
on	O
the	O
nature	O
of	O
the	O
selected	O
screen	O
mode	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Amongst	O
the	O
selection	O
of	O
applications	O
and	O
tools	O
included	O
with	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
were	O
the	O
Draw	O
graphics	O
editor	O
,	O
featuring	O
vector	O
graphics	O
editing	O
and	O
rudimentary	O
manipulation	O
of	O
text	O
(	O
using	O
the	O
anti-aliased	O
fonts	O
familiar	O
from	O
Arthur	O
)	O
and	O
bitmaps	O
,	O
the	O
Edit	O
text	O
editor	O
,	O
the	O
Paint	O
bitmap	O
editor	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
Maestro	O
music	O
editor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
available	O
,	O
Acorn	O
launched	O
new	O
and	O
updated	O
applications	O
to	O
take	O
advantage	O
of	O
the	O
improved	O
desktop	O
environment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
these	O
,	O
deferred	O
until	O
after	O
the	O
launch	O
of	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
,	O
was	O
Acorn	O
Desktop	O
Publisher	O
,	O
a	O
port	O
of	O
Timeworks	B-Application
Publisher	I-Application
,	O
which	O
introduced	O
a	O
significant	O
improvement	O
to	O
the	O
anti-aliased	O
font	O
capabilities	O
through	O
a	O
new	O
outline	O
font	O
manager	O
,	O
offering	O
scalable	O
fonts	O
that	O
were	O
anti-aliased	O
on	O
screen	O
but	O
rendered	O
at	O
the	O
appropriate	O
resolution	O
when	O
printed	O
,	O
even	O
on	O
dot-matrix	O
printers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
First	O
Word	O
Plus	O
was	O
also	O
updated	O
to	O
support	O
the	O
new	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
desktop	O
environment	O
,	O
albeit	O
retaining	O
its	O
own	O
printer	O
drivers	O
,	O
being	O
positioned	O
as	O
complementing	O
Acorn	O
Desktop	O
Publisher	O
whose	O
emphasis	O
was	O
on	O
page	O
layout	O
as	O
opposed	O
to	O
textual	O
document	O
creation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
part	O
of	O
an	O
effort	O
to	O
grow	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
share	O
of	O
the	O
home	O
market	O
,	O
Acorn	O
introduced	O
a	O
bundle	O
called	O
The	O
Learning	O
Curve	O
,	O
initially	O
featuring	O
the	O
A3000	O
,	O
optional	O
monitor	B-Device
and	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
applications	O
(	O
First	O
Word	O
Plus	O
,	O
the	O
PC	B-Application
Emulator	I-Application
,	O
and	O
Genesis	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Acorn	O
's	O
document	O
processing	O
applications	O
also	O
began	O
to	O
see	O
broader	O
competition	O
around	O
this	O
time	O
,	O
with	O
Impression	B-Device
from	O
Computer	O
Concepts	O
and	O
Ovation	O
from	O
Beebug	O
also	O
providing	O
competitive	O
solutions	O
for	O
desktop	O
publishing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
in	O
1990	O
,	O
PipeDream	O
3	O
became	O
the	O
first	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
PipeDream	O
integrated	O
suite	O
,	O
descended	O
from	O
Acorn	O
's	O
View	O
Professional	O
but	O
developed	O
and	O
marketed	O
by	O
Colton	O
Software	O
,	O
to	O
be	O
made	O
available	O
for	O
the	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
desktop	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
launch	O
of	O
the	O
A5000	O
in	O
late	O
1991	O
brought	O
a	O
new	O
version	O
of	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
to	O
the	O
market	O
:	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
3	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
delivered	O
a	O
range	O
of	O
enhancements	O
to	O
the	O
operating	O
system	O
including	O
multitasking	O
filer	O
operations	O
(	O
meaning	O
that	O
file	O
copying	O
,	O
moving	O
and	O
deletion	O
no	O
longer	O
took	O
over	O
the	O
computer	O
)	O
,	O
support	O
for	O
reading	O
and	O
writing	O
DOS	B-Device
format	O
discs	O
,	O
the	O
provision	O
of	O
various	O
bundled	O
applications	O
(	O
Alarm	O
,	O
Calc	O
,	O
Chars	O
,	O
Configure	O
,	O
Draw	O
,	O
Edit	O
,	O
Help	O
and	O
Paint	O
)	O
,	O
commonly	O
used	O
outline	O
fonts	O
,	O
and	O
software	O
modules	O
in	O
ROM	B-Device
(	O
instead	O
of	O
needing	O
to	O
be	O
loaded	O
from	O
accompanying	O
floppy	B-Device
discs	I-Device
into	O
RAM	B-Architecture
)	O
,	O
the	O
removal	O
or	O
raising	O
of	O
limits	O
on	O
windows	B-Application
and	O
tasks	O
,	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
"	O
iconise	O
"	O
windows	B-Application
and	O
pin	O
them	O
to	O
the	O
desktop	O
background	O
(	O
or	O
pinboard	O
)	O
,	O
desktop	O
session	O
saving	O
and	O
restoring	O
,	O
screen	O
blanking	O
support	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
printing	O
and	O
networking	O
improvements	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Providing	O
the	O
bundled	O
applications	O
and	O
other	O
resources	O
in	O
ROM	B-Device
saved	O
an	O
estimated	O
150KB	O
of	O
workspace	O
,	O
thus	O
being	O
beneficial	O
to	O
users	O
of	O
1MB	O
machines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
bundled	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
3	O
applications	O
were	O
enhanced	O
from	O
their	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
2	O
versions	O
in	O
various	O
general	O
ways	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
keyboard	B-Device
shortcuts	O
,	O
but	O
also	O
with	O
new	O
,	O
specific	O
features	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
printing	O
system	O
was	O
also	O
updated	O
to	O
support	O
multiple	O
printers	O
at	O
once	O
,	O
but	O
in	O
this	O
first	O
version	O
of	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
3	O
background	O
printing	O
was	O
still	O
not	O
supported	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
somewhat	O
visually	O
obvious	O
improvement	O
delivered	O
in	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
3	O
was	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
"	O
3D	O
window	O
borders	O
"	O
or	O
,	O
more	O
accurately	O
,	O
dedicated	O
bitmaps	O
for	O
window	O
furniture	O
,	O
allowing	O
different	O
desktop	O
styling	O
effects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
late	O
1992	O
,	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
3	O
was	O
itself	O
updated	O
,	O
becoming	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
3.1	O
(	O
as	O
opposed	O
to	O
the	O
initial	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
3.0	O
provided	O
with	O
the	O
A5000	O
)	O
and	O
being	O
made	O
available	O
for	O
all	O
existing	O
Archimedes	B-Device
machines	O
,	O
although	O
A300	O
series	O
and	O
the	O
original	O
A400	O
series	O
machines	O
needed	O
a	O
hardware	O
modification	O
to	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
accept	O
the	O
larger	O
2MB	O
ROMs	O
,	O
employing	O
a	O
special	O
daughterboard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Various	O
bugs	O
in	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
3.0	O
were	O
fixed	O
and	O
various	O
other	O
improvements	O
made	O
,	O
making	O
it	O
a	O
worthwhile	O
upgrade	O
for	O
A5000	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
VAT-inclusive	O
introductory	O
pricing	O
for	O
the	O
upgrade	O
was	O
£19	O
for	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
3.0	O
users	O
and	O
£49	O
for	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
2.0	O
users	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
upgrade	O
package	O
including	O
ROMs	O
,	O
support	O
discs	O
and	O
manuals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
limitations	O
of	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
became	O
steadily	O
more	O
apparent	O
,	O
particularly	O
with	O
the	O
appearance	O
of	O
the	O
Risc	B-Device
PC	I-Device
and	O
the	O
demands	O
made	O
on	O
applications	O
taking	O
advantage	O
of	O
its	O
improved	O
hardware	O
capabilities	O
(	O
although	O
merely	O
highlighting	O
issues	O
that	O
were	O
always	O
present	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
when	O
contrasted	O
with	O
the	O
gradually	O
evolving	O
Windows	B-Application
and	O
Macintosh	B-Application
System	I-Application
software	I-Application
,	O
these	O
competitors	O
offering	O
or	O
promising	O
new	O
features	O
and	O
usability	O
improvements	O
over	O
their	O
predecessors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Two	O
fundamental	O
deficiencies	O
perceived	O
with	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
were	O
a	O
lack	O
of	O
virtual	O
memory	O
support	O
,	O
this	O
permitting	O
larger	O
volumes	O
of	O
data	O
to	O
be	O
handled	O
by	O
using	O
hard	B-Device
disc	I-Device
storage	O
as	O
"	O
slow	O
,	O
auxiliary	O
RAM	B-Architecture
"	O
(	O
attempted	O
by	O
application-level	O
solutions	O
in	O
certain	O
cases	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
cooperative	B-Operating_System
multitasking	I-Operating_System
as	O
opposed	O
to	O
preemptive	B-Operating_System
multitasking	I-Operating_System
to	O
allow	O
multiple	O
applications	O
to	O
run	O
at	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
former	O
relying	O
on	O
applications	O
functioning	O
correctly	O
and	O
considerately	O
,	O
and	O
with	O
the	O
latter	O
putting	O
the	O
system	O
in	O
control	O
of	O
allocating	O
time	O
to	O
applications	O
and	O
thus	O
preventing	O
faulty	O
or	O
inconsiderate	O
applications	O
from	O
hanging	O
or	O
dominating	O
the	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1994	O
,	O
the	O
FileCore	O
functionality	O
in	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
was	O
still	O
limited	O
to	O
accessing	O
512MB	O
of	O
any	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
,	O
with	O
this	O
being	O
barely	O
larger	O
than	O
the	O
largest	O
supplied	O
Risc	B-Device
PC	I-Device
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
at	O
the	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Filing	O
system	O
limitations	O
were	O
also	O
increasingly	O
archaic	O
:	O
77	O
files	O
per	O
directory	O
and	O
10-character	O
filenames	O
,	O
in	O
contrast	O
to	O
more	O
generous	O
constraints	O
imposed	O
by	O
the	O
then-	O
"	O
imminent	O
"	O
Windows	B-Application
95	O
and	O
then-current	O
Macintosh	B-Application
System	I-Application
7	O
release	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
adverse	O
financial	O
results	O
and	O
a	O
restructuring	O
of	O
the	O
company	O
in	O
late	O
1995	O
,	O
Acorn	O
appeared	O
to	O
be	O
considering	O
a	O
more	O
responsive	O
strategy	O
towards	O
customer	O
demands	O
,	O
potentially	O
offering	O
rebadged	O
PC	O
and	O
Mac	B-Device
products	O
alongside	O
Acorn	O
's	O
existing	O
computers	O
,	O
while	O
cultivating	O
a	O
relationship	O
with	O
IBM	O
whose	O
PowerPC-based	O
server	O
hardware	O
had	O
already	O
been	O
featured	O
in	O
Acorn	O
's	O
SchoolServer	O
product	O
running	O
Windows	B-Application
NT	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
context	O
of	O
such	O
a	O
relationship	O
,	O
the	O
possibility	O
was	O
raised	O
of	O
"	O
bolting	O
a	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
'	O
personality	O
 '	O
on	O
top	O
of	O
a	O
low	O
level	O
IBM-developed	O
operating	O
system	O
"	O
to	O
address	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
's	O
deficiencies	O
and	O
to	O
support	O
virtual	O
memory	O
and	O
long	O
filenames	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
this	O
time	O
,	O
IBM	O
was	O
pursuing	O
its	O
Workplace	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
strategy	O
which	O
emphasised	O
a	O
common	O
operating	O
system	O
foundation	O
supporting	O
different	O
system	O
personalities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
mid-1991	O
,	O
the	O
PC	B-Application
Emulator	I-Application
was	O
eventually	O
updated	O
to	O
work	O
as	O
a	O
multitasking	O
application	O
on	O
the	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
desktop	O
,	O
requiring	O
2MB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
to	O
do	O
so	O
,	O
and	O
supporting	O
access	O
to	O
DOS	B-Device
files	O
from	O
the	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
desktop	O
filer	O
interface	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
emulator	B-Application
itself	O
permitted	O
access	O
to	O
CD-ROM	B-Device
devices	O
and	O
ran	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
3.3	O
with	O
a	O
special	O
mouse	B-Device
driver	O
to	O
permit	O
the	O
host	O
machine	O
's	O
mouse	B-Device
to	O
behave	O
like	O
a	O
Microsoft	O
bus	O
mouse	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
CGA	O
,	O
EGA	O
,	O
MDA	O
and	O
partial	O
VGA	O
graphics	O
support	O
was	O
implemented	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
emulated	B-Application
system	O
could	O
run	O
Windows	B-Application
3	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
technically	O
compatible	O
with	O
1MB	O
systems	O
,	O
and	O
with	O
2MB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
considered	O
necessary	O
for	O
multitasking	O
operation	O
,	O
offering	O
facilities	O
to	O
capture	O
the	O
emulated	B-Application
display	O
as	O
a	O
bitmap	O
or	O
as	O
text	O
,	O
4MB	O
was	O
recommended	O
to	O
take	O
advantage	O
of	O
such	O
features	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
a	O
high	O
resolution	O
multiscan	O
monitor	B-Device
and	O
VIDC	O
enhancer	O
to	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
display	O
most	O
of	O
the	O
emulated	B-Application
screen	O
without	O
needing	O
to	O
scroll	O
its	O
contents	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Regarded	O
as	O
a	O
"	O
programming	O
wonder	O
"	O
,	O
the	O
PC	B-Application
Emulator	I-Application
was	O
nevertheless	O
regarded	O
as	O
being	O
"	O
too	O
slow	O
for	O
intensive	O
PC	O
use	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shortly	O
after	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
the	O
updated	O
PC	B-Application
Emulator	I-Application
,	O
a	O
hardware	O
PC	O
compatibility	O
solution	O
was	O
announced	O
by	O
Aleph	O
One	O
,	O
offering	O
a	O
20MHz	O
80386SX	O
processor	O
and	O
VGA	O
display	O
capability	O
,	O
effectively	O
delivering	O
Acorn	O
's	O
envisaged	O
PC	O
podule	O
in	O
updated	O
form	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
low-cost	O
alternative	O
to	O
Acorn	O
's	O
PC	B-Application
Emulator	I-Application
called	O
FasterPC	O
became	O
available	O
in	O
1993	O
,	O
priced	O
at	O
around	O
£20	O
but	O
with	O
DOS	B-Device
not	O
included	O
(	O
to	O
be	O
provided	O
by	O
the	O
user	O
at	O
an	O
estimated	O
additional	O
cost	O
of	O
£50	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
software	O
provided	O
PC	O
emulation	B-Application
outside	O
the	O
desktop	O
environment	O
,	O
with	O
considerable	O
performance	O
benefits	O
claimed	O
relative	O
to	O
Acorn	O
's	O
product	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Regarded	O
as	O
being	O
"	O
considerably	O
faster	O
than	O
the	O
Acorn	O
emulator	B-Application
when	O
displaying	O
graphics	O
"	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
two-times	O
speed	O
improvement	O
observed	O
for	O
various	O
tested	O
programs	O
,	O
the	O
product	O
was	O
considered	O
appropriate	O
for	O
gaming	O
,	O
albeit	O
at	O
lower	O
than	O
VGA	O
resolution	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
also	O
unable	O
to	O
run	O
Windows	B-Application
3.1	O
:	O
the	O
Aleph	O
One	O
PC	O
expansion	B-Device
cards	I-Device
being	O
the	O
only	O
solutions	O
able	O
to	O
do	O
so	O
at	O
that	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Having	O
considerably	O
improved	O
graphical	O
capabilities	O
compared	O
to	O
those	O
provided	O
with	O
Acorn	O
's	O
8-bit	O
machines	O
,	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
art	O
packages	O
were	O
released	O
for	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
to	O
exploit	O
this	O
particular	O
area	O
of	O
opportunity	O
,	O
albeit	O
rather	O
cautiously	O
at	O
first	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Favourably	O
received	O
as	O
being	O
"	O
streets	O
ahead	O
"	O
of	O
art	O
software	O
on	O
the	O
BBC	B-Device
Micro	I-Device
,	O
it	O
was	O
considered	O
as	O
barely	O
the	O
start	O
of	O
any	O
real	O
exploitation	O
of	O
the	O
machine	O
's	O
potential	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Typical	O
of	O
software	O
of	O
the	O
era	O
,	O
only	O
months	O
after	O
the	O
launch	O
of	O
the	O
machine	O
,	O
Artisan	O
provided	O
its	O
own	O
graphical	O
interface	O
and	O
,	O
continuing	O
the	O
tradition	O
of	O
BBC	B-Device
Micro	I-Device
software	O
,	O
took	O
over	O
the	O
machine	O
entirely	O
even	O
to	O
the	O
point	O
of	O
editing	O
the	O
machine	O
configuration	O
and	O
restoring	O
it	O
upon	O
exiting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Clares	O
released	O
a	O
successor	O
,	O
Artisan	O
2	O
,	O
two	O
years	O
later	O
to	O
provide	O
compatibility	O
with	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
,	O
replacing	O
special-purpose	O
printer	O
support	O
with	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
system	O
's	O
printer	O
drivers	O
,	O
but	O
not	O
making	O
the	O
software	O
a	O
desktop	O
application	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Clares	O
also	O
produced	O
a	O
256-colour	O
package	O
called	O
ProArtisan	O
,	O
also	O
with	O
its	O
own	O
special	O
user	O
interface	O
(	O
despite	O
the	O
impending	O
arrival	O
of	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
)	O
,	O
costing	O
considerably	O
more	O
than	O
its	O
predecessor	O
( £170	O
,	O
compared	O
to	O
£40	O
for	O
Artisan	O
)	O
,	O
offering	O
a	O
wider	O
range	O
of	O
tools	O
than	O
Artisan	O
including	O
sprays	O
,	O
washes	O
and	O
path	O
editing	O
(	O
using	O
Bézier	O
curves	O
)	O
to	O
define	O
areas	O
of	O
the	O
canvas	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
programs	O
also	O
offered	O
similar	O
path	O
editing	O
facilities	O
to	O
ProArtisan	O
,	O
with	O
it	O
being	O
noted	O
that	O
Art	O
Nouveau	O
's	O
limitations	O
in	O
this	O
regard	O
might	O
be	O
remedied	O
by	O
using	O
the	O
support	O
already	O
present	O
in	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
and	O
provided	O
by	O
the	O
Draw	O
application	O
functionality	O
,	O
as	O
ProArtisan	O
2	O
eventually	O
demonstrated	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1989	O
,	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
was	O
provided	O
with	O
the	O
Paint	O
application	O
on	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
accompanying	O
application	O
discs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
early	O
1991	O
,	O
in	O
the	O
context	O
of	O
remarks	O
that	O
,	O
at	O
that	O
point	O
in	O
time	O
,	O
the	O
Paint	O
application	O
bundled	O
with	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
was	O
"	O
the	O
only	O
true	O
Risc	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
art	O
program	O
"	O
operating	O
in	O
the	O
desktop	O
and	O
not	O
restricting	O
users	O
to	O
specific	O
display	O
modes	O
,	O
Longman	O
Logotron	O
released	O
Revelation	O
,	O
an	O
application	O
running	O
in	O
the	O
desktop	O
environment	O
,	O
providing	O
interoperability	O
with	O
other	O
applications	O
through	O
support	O
for	O
the	O
platform	O
's	O
standard	O
Sprite	O
and	O
Drawfile	O
formats	O
,	O
with	O
vector	O
graphics	O
import	O
being	O
provided	O
by	O
a	O
companion	O
tool	O
,	O
and	O
utilising	O
the	O
system	O
's	O
printing	O
framework	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
further	O
version	O
update	O
was	O
delivered	O
as	O
the	O
Revelation	O
ImagePro	O
product	O
,	O
being	O
considered	O
"	O
the	O
best	O
art	O
package	O
that	O
I	O
have	O
used	O
on	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
"	O
by	O
Acorn	O
User	O
's	O
graphics	O
columnist	O
in	O
late	O
1992	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
a	O
reduced	O
price	O
of	O
£135	O
,	O
and	O
with	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
desktop	O
contributing	O
to	O
overall	O
ease	O
of	O
use	O
,	O
the	O
package	O
was	O
considered	O
by	O
one	O
reviewer	O
as	O
"	O
the	O
best	O
art	O
package	O
around	O
at	O
the	O
moment	O
for	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Late	O
in	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
era	O
,	O
this	O
being	O
prior	O
to	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
the	O
Risc	B-Device
PC	I-Device
,	O
a	O
consensus	O
amongst	O
some	O
reviewers	O
formed	O
in	O
recommending	O
Revelation	O
ImagePro	O
and	O
ProArtisan	O
2	O
as	O
the	O
most	O
capable	O
bitmap-based	O
art	O
packages	O
on	O
the	O
platform	O
,	O
with	O
Arcol	O
Desktop	O
and	O
First	O
Paint	O
also	O
being	O
reviewer	O
favourites	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
the	O
Risc	B-Device
PC	I-Device
and	O
A7000	B-Device
,	O
offering	O
improved	O
hardware	O
capabilities	O
and	O
built-in	O
support	O
for	O
24-bit	O
colour	O
,	O
the	O
art	O
package	O
market	O
changed	O
significantly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
platform	O
and	O
hardware	O
requirements	O
of	O
such	O
packages	O
were	O
generally	O
beyond	O
Archimedes	B-Device
era	O
machines	O
,	O
demanding	O
8MB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
or	O
24-bit	O
colour	O
display	O
modes	O
(	O
using	O
2MB	O
of	O
dedicated	O
video	O
RAM	B-Architecture
)	O
in	O
some	O
cases	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
was	O
supplied	O
with	O
the	O
Draw	O
application	O
,	O
offering	O
a	O
range	O
of	O
tools	O
for	O
creating	O
diagrams	O
and	O
pictures	O
using	O
vector	O
graphics	O
primitives	O
,	O
also	O
permitting	O
the	O
incorporation	O
of	O
bitmap	O
images	O
and	O
text	O
into	O
documents	O
,	O
and	O
managing	O
the	O
different	O
elements	O
of	O
documents	O
as	O
a	O
hierarchy	O
of	O
objects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Described	O
as	O
"	O
effectively	O
an	O
enhanced	O
Draw	O
"	O
,	O
the	O
program	O
improved	O
on	O
Draw	O
's	O
text	O
handling	O
by	O
allowing	O
editing	O
of	O
imported	O
text	O
,	O
continued	O
DrawPlus	O
's	O
support	O
for	O
layers	O
and	O
object	O
libraries	O
,	O
provided	O
efficient	O
handling	O
of	O
replicated	O
or	O
repeated	O
objects	O
,	O
and	O
introduced	O
masks	O
that	O
acted	O
as	O
"	O
windows	B-Application
"	O
onto	O
other	O
objects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
version	O
of	O
Draw	O
was	O
also	O
developed	O
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
by	O
Oak	O
Solutions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
significant	O
introduction	O
to	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
 '	O
software	O
portfolio	O
came	O
with	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
ArtWorks	O
by	O
Computer	O
Concepts	O
in	O
late	O
1992	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Described	O
in	O
one	O
preview	O
as	O
"	O
perhaps	O
the	O
easiest	O
to	O
use	O
,	O
but	O
most	O
advanced	O
graphic	O
illustration	O
package	O
,	O
on	O
any	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
today	O
"	O
,	O
ArtWorks	O
provided	O
an	O
object-based	O
editing	O
paradigm	O
reminiscent	O
of	O
Draw	O
,	O
refining	O
the	O
user	O
interface	O
,	O
and	O
augmenting	O
the	O
basic	O
functionality	O
with	O
additional	O
tools	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Aimed	O
at	O
professional	O
use	O
,	O
and	O
complementing	O
its	O
sibling	O
product	O
,	O
the	O
Impression	B-Device
desktop	O
publishing	O
application	O
,	O
24-bit	O
colour	O
depths	O
and	O
different	O
colour	O
models	O
were	O
supported	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
key	O
selling	O
point	O
of	O
the	O
package	O
was	O
its	O
rendering	O
speed	O
,	O
with	O
it	O
being	O
reported	O
that	O
redraw	O
speeds	O
were	O
up	O
to	O
five	O
times	O
faster	O
in	O
ArtWorks	O
on	O
an	O
ARM3-based	O
machine	O
than	O
those	O
experienced	O
with	O
CorelDRAW	B-Application
running	O
on	O
a	O
486-based	O
IBM	O
PC-compatible	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ArtWorks	O
would	O
have	O
broader	O
significance	O
as	O
predecessor	O
to	O
the	O
Xara	O
Studio	O
application	O
and	O
subsequent	O
Windows-based	O
products	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
document	O
processing	O
and	O
productivity	O
or	O
office	O
software	O
applications	O
were	O
addressed	O
by	O
a	O
few	O
packages	O
released	O
in	O
the	O
Arthur	O
era	O
of	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
,	O
bringing	O
titles	O
such	O
as	O
First	O
Word	O
Plus	O
,	O
Logistix	O
,	O
and	O
PipeDream	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
not	O
until	O
the	O
availability	O
of	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
that	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
would	O
see	O
the	O
more	O
compelling	O
software	O
developed	O
for	O
the	O
platform	O
being	O
delivered	O
,	O
with	O
Acorn	O
even	O
delaying	O
its	O
own	O
Desktop	O
Publisher	O
to	O
take	O
advantage	O
of	O
this	O
substantial	O
upgrade	O
to	O
the	O
operating	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Alongside	O
Acorn	O
Desktop	O
Publisher	O
,	O
Computer	O
Concepts	O
 '	O
"	O
document	O
processor	O
"	O
Impression	B-Device
and	O
Beebug	O
's	O
Ovation	O
provided	O
a	O
small	O
selection	O
of	O
solutions	O
in	O
the	O
realm	O
of	O
desktop	O
publishing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Acorn	O
pursued	O
the	O
publishing	O
industry	O
with	O
software	O
and	O
hardware	O
system	O
bundles	O
,	O
with	O
Impression	B-Device
typically	O
featuring	O
prominently	O
,	O
even	O
in	O
the	O
era	O
of	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
 '	O
successor	O
,	O
the	O
Risc	B-Device
PC	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ovation	O
was	O
eventually	O
succeeded	O
by	O
Ovation	O
Pro	O
in	O
1996	O
,	O
offering	O
stronger	O
competition	O
to	O
Impression	B-Device
Publisher	O
-	O
itself	O
the	O
professional	O
package	O
in	O
the	O
range	O
that	O
had	O
developed	O
from	O
Impression	B-Device
-	O
and	O
to	O
industry-favoured	O
applications	O
such	O
as	O
QuarkXPress	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Amongst	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
word	O
processor	O
applications	O
,	O
one	O
enduring	O
product	O
family	O
for	O
the	O
platform	O
was	O
developed	O
by	O
Icon	O
Technology	O
who	O
had	O
already	O
released	O
a	O
word	O
processor	O
,	O
MacAuthor	O
,	O
for	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
Macintosh	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
existing	O
product	O
was	O
ported	O
to	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
and	O
released	O
as	O
EasiWriter	O
in	O
1991	O
,	O
fully	O
supporting	O
the	O
outline	O
fonts	O
and	O
printing	O
architecture	O
of	O
the	O
host	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Icon	O
followed	O
up	O
to	O
EasiWriter	O
with	O
an	O
enhanced	O
version	O
(	O
"	O
EasiWriter	O
's	O
big	O
brother	O
"	O
)	O
in	O
1992	O
,	O
TechWriter	B-Protocol
,	O
featuring	O
mathematical	O
formula	O
editing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
products	O
were	O
upgraded	O
to	O
provide	O
mail-merge	O
capabilities	O
-	O
a	O
noted	O
deficiency	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
release	O
of	O
EasiWriter	O
-	O
and	O
both	O
provided	O
convenient	O
table	O
editing	O
,	O
with	O
TechWriter	B-Protocol
also	O
offering	O
automatic	O
footnote	O
handling	O
,	O
being	O
promoted	O
as	O
"	O
a	O
complete	O
package	O
for	O
producing	O
academic	O
and	O
technical	O
documents	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Upgraded	O
"	O
Professional	O
"	O
editions	O
of	O
EasiWriter	O
and	O
TechWriter	B-Protocol
were	O
released	O
in	O
1995	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
latter	O
adding	O
the	O
notable	O
feature	O
of	O
being	O
able	O
to	O
save	O
documents	O
in	O
TeX	B-Application
format	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Targeting	O
machines	O
with	O
only	O
1MB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
,	O
various	O
traditional	O
word	O
processing	O
features	O
such	O
as	O
a	O
spelling	O
checker	O
and	O
integrated	O
help	O
were	O
omitted	O
,	O
but	O
as	O
a	O
frame-based	O
document	O
processor	O
it	O
was	O
considered	O
"	O
excellent	O
value	O
for	O
money	O
"	O
when	O
compared	O
to	O
the	O
pricing	O
and	O
capabilities	O
of	O
some	O
of	O
its	O
competitors	O
,	O
even	O
appealing	O
to	O
the	O
home	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Similarly	O
,	O
Softease	O
's	O
"	O
object-based	O
"	O
document	O
processor	O
,	O
Textease	O
,	O
also	O
had	O
potential	O
appeal	O
beyond	O
the	O
educational	O
market	O
,	O
freeing	O
the	O
user	O
from	O
having	O
to	O
design	O
page	O
layouts	O
using	O
frames	O
,	O
instead	O
permitting	O
them	O
to	O
click	O
and	O
type	O
at	O
the	O
desired	O
position	O
or	O
to	O
drag	O
and	O
drop	O
graphical	O
objects	O
directly	O
into	O
the	O
page	O
,	O
providing	O
a	O
user	O
interface	O
paradigm	O
reminiscent	O
of	O
the	O
Draw	O
application	O
provided	O
with	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Aside	O
from	O
the	O
hybrid	O
word	O
processor	O
and	O
spreadsheet	O
application	O
,	O
PipeDream	O
,	O
being	O
released	O
in	O
versions	O
3	O
and	O
4	O
for	O
the	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
desktop	O
environment	O
,	O
Colton	O
Software	O
released	O
a	O
standalone	O
word	O
processor	O
,	O
Wordz	O
,	O
in	O
1993	O
,	O
with	O
plans	O
for	O
companion	O
applications	O
and	O
a	O
degree	O
of	O
integration	O
between	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PipeDream	O
itself	O
was	O
later	O
updated	O
to	O
version	O
4.5	O
,	O
conforming	O
more	O
closely	O
to	O
the	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
look	O
and	O
feel	O
,	O
being	O
initially	O
offered	O
as	O
an	O
upgrade	O
for	O
users	O
of	O
version	O
4.0	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
its	O
origins	O
as	O
one	O
component	O
in	O
an	O
application	O
suite	O
that	O
was	O
never	O
delivered	O
as	O
envisaged	O
,	O
a	O
cut-down	O
version	O
of	O
Schema	O
2	O
was	O
later	O
incorporated	O
into	O
Acorn	O
's	O
Advance	O
application	O
suite	O
alongside	O
variants	O
of	O
Computer	O
Concepts	O
 '	O
Impression	B-Device
Junior	O
and	O
Iota	O
Software	O
's	O
DataPower	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
number	O
of	O
database	O
applications	O
were	O
made	O
available	O
for	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
,	O
with	O
Minerva	O
Software	O
following	O
up	O
from	O
its	O
early	O
applications	O
on	O
the	O
system	O
,	O
DeltaBase	O
and	O
System	O
Delta	O
Plus	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
desktop-compliant	O
Multistore	O
in	O
early	O
1990	O
:	O
a	O
relational	O
database	O
with	O
a	O
graphical	O
"	O
record	O
card	O
"	O
interface	O
and	O
report	O
generation	O
functionality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
broadly	O
similar	O
approach	O
,	O
albeit	O
without	O
any	O
claimed	O
"	O
relational	O
"	O
capabilities	O
,	O
was	O
offered	O
by	O
Digital	O
Services	O
 '	O
Squirrel	O
database	O
manager	O
software	O
,	O
emphasising	O
customisation	O
of	O
the	O
presentation	O
of	O
data	O
and	O
reporting	O
,	O
but	O
also	O
introducing	O
a	O
flowchart-based	O
method	O
of	O
querying	O
,	O
this	O
feature	O
causing	O
one	O
reviewer	O
to	O
regard	O
the	O
product	O
as	O
"	O
the	O
most	O
innovative	O
database	O
manager	O
on	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
"	O
with	O
its	O
usability	O
being	O
comparable	O
to	O
FileMaker	B-Application
on	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
Macintosh	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
version	O
of	O
PinPoint	O
would	O
eventually	O
be	O
made	O
available	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
,	O
ostensibly	O
aimed	O
at	O
market	O
research	O
as	O
opposed	O
to	O
education	O
,	O
as	O
its	O
producer	O
attempted	O
to	O
broaden	O
its	O
audience	O
and	O
availability	O
for	O
different	O
platforms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Being	O
compared	O
to	O
the	O
contemporary	O
DOS-based	O
Paradox	B-Application
software	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
regarded	O
as	O
having	O
more	O
of	O
an	O
emphasis	O
on	O
"	O
database	O
applications	O
"	O
than	O
actual	O
databases	O
,	O
also	O
being	O
considered	O
as	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
contemporary	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
application	O
,	O
Archway	O
,	O
as	O
a	O
kind	O
of	O
"	O
application	O
generator	O
"	O
tool	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
DataPower	O
,	O
S-Base	O
and	O
Squirrel	O
were	O
all	O
subsequently	O
upgraded	O
,	O
S-Base	O
2	O
being	O
enhanced	O
with	O
features	O
to	O
simplify	O
the	O
setting	O
up	O
of	O
applications	O
and	O
consequently	O
being	O
regarded	O
as	O
"	O
without	O
doubt	O
the	O
most	O
powerful	O
database	O
management	O
system	O
available	O
for	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
"	O
due	O
to	O
its	O
programmable	O
nature	O
,	O
Squirrel	O
2	O
gaining	O
relational	O
capabilities	O
and	O
being	O
recommended	O
for	O
its	O
"	O
amazing	O
flexibility	O
"	O
and	O
for	O
its	O
searching	O
and	O
sorting	O
functionality	O
,	O
with	O
DataPower	O
being	O
recommended	O
more	O
for	O
"	O
the	O
majority	O
of	O
users	O
"	O
for	O
its	O
usability	O
and	O
"	O
attractive	O
graphs	O
and	O
reports	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Amongst	O
these	O
were	O
Chartwell	O
from	O
Risc	B-Architecture
Developments	O
and	O
the	O
Graphbox	O
and	O
Graphbox	O
Professional	O
packages	O
from	O
Minerva	O
Software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
CD-ROM	B-Device
and	O
the	O
broader	O
adoption	O
of	O
multimedia	O
,	O
Acorn	O
announced	O
a	O
full-motion	B-Application
video	I-Application
system	O
called	O
Acorn	O
Replay	O
in	O
early	O
1992	O
,	O
supporting	O
simultaneous	O
audio	O
and	O
video	O
at	O
up	O
to	O
25	O
frames	O
per	O
second	O
in	O
the	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
desktop	O
or	O
in	O
"	O
a	O
low	O
resolution	O
full	O
screen	O
mode	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
certain	O
other	O
full-motion	B-Application
video	I-Application
technologies	O
,	O
Replay	O
offered	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
read	O
compressed	O
video	O
data	O
from	O
mass	O
storage	O
in	O
real	O
time	O
and	O
to	O
maintain	O
a	O
constant	O
frame	O
rate	O
,	O
all	O
on	O
standard	O
computing	O
hardware	O
without	O
the	O
need	O
for	O
dedicated	O
video	O
decoding	O
hardware	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
compression	O
techniques	O
employed	O
by	O
Replay	O
reportedly	O
offered	O
"	O
compression	O
factors	O
of	O
between	O
25	O
and	O
40	O
"	O
on	O
the	O
source	O
video	O
data	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
software	O
decompression	O
requiring	O
a	O
computer	O
with	O
2MB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
or	O
more	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Given	O
a	O
slower	O
access	O
medium	O
such	O
as	O
CD-ROM	B-Device
or	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
,	O
video	O
could	O
be	O
played	O
back	O
at	O
up	O
to	O
12.5	O
frames	O
per	O
second	O
,	O
with	O
up	O
to	O
25	O
frames	O
per	O
second	O
from	O
a	O
hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
800KB	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
could	O
reportedly	O
hold	O
12	O
seconds	O
of	O
video	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Software	O
developers	O
would	O
engage	O
the	O
services	O
of	O
a	O
suitably	O
equipped	O
company	O
to	O
convert	O
source	O
material	O
to	O
digital	O
form	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
Replay	O
software	O
then	O
used	O
to	O
process	O
the	O
video	O
frame	O
by	O
frame	O
,	O
employing	O
image	O
compression	O
techniques	O
and	O
"	O
a	O
form	O
of	O
Delta	B-Algorithm
compression	I-Algorithm
"	O
,	O
ultimately	O
producing	O
a	O
movie	O
file	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Acorn	O
's	O
introduction	O
of	O
Replay	O
prompted	O
comparisons	O
with	O
Apple	O
's	O
QuickTime	B-Application
system	O
which	O
was	O
already	O
broadly	O
available	O
to	O
users	O
of	O
Macintosh	B-Application
systems	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Replay	O
's	O
advantages	O
included	O
the	O
efficiency	O
of	O
the	O
solution	O
on	O
existing	O
hardware	O
,	O
with	O
even	O
an	O
entry-level	O
A3000	O
upgraded	O
to	O
2MB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
being	O
able	O
to	O
handle	O
2MB	O
of	O
data	O
per	O
second	O
to	O
achieve	O
the	O
advertised	O
12.5	O
frames	O
per	O
second	O
playback	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
contrast	O
,	O
a	O
Macintosh	B-Application
system	I-Application
with	O
2MB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
was	O
reportedly	O
unable	O
to	O
sustain	O
smooth	O
video	O
playback	O
,	O
although	O
audio	O
playback	O
was	O
unaffected	O
by	O
the	O
dropped	O
video	O
frames	O
,	O
whereas	O
a	O
4MB	O
system	O
could	O
achieve	O
15	O
frames	O
per	O
second	O
from	O
a	O
CD-ROM	B-Device
drive	O
,	O
although	O
such	O
a	O
system	O
was	O
more	O
expensive	O
than	O
Acorn	O
's	O
ARM3-based	O
systems	O
that	O
could	O
more	O
readily	O
achieve	O
higher	O
frame	O
rates	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
QuickTime	B-Application
was	O
also	O
reported	O
as	O
only	O
able	O
to	O
play	O
video	O
smoothly	O
at	O
1/16th	O
of	O
the	O
size	O
of	O
the	O
screen	O
,	O
also	O
favouring	O
32,000	O
colour	O
display	O
modes	O
that	O
were	O
available	O
on	O
Macintosh	B-Application
systems	I-Application
with	O
68020	O
or	O
faster	O
processors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Opportunities	O
were	O
perceived	O
for	O
making	O
compilations	O
of	O
video	O
clips	O
available	O
on	O
CD-ROM	B-Device
for	O
multimedia	O
authoring	O
purposes	O
,	O
although	O
educational	O
developers	O
felt	O
that	O
the	O
true	O
value	O
of	O
the	O
technology	O
would	O
be	O
realised	O
by	O
making	O
video	O
like	O
other	O
forms	O
of	O
information	O
,	O
permitting	O
its	O
use	O
in	O
different	O
contexts	O
and	O
works	O
and	O
thus	O
offering	O
children	O
"	O
control	O
over	O
the	O
media	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Indications	O
that	O
this	O
situation	O
would	O
change	O
were	O
present	O
in	O
the	O
QuickTime	B-Application
market	O
,	O
with	O
it	O
already	O
supporting	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
short	O
movies	O
in	O
conjunction	O
with	O
video	O
digitiser	O
cards	O
and	O
editing	O
tools	O
such	O
as	O
Adobe	B-Operating_System
Premiere	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Support	O
for	O
video	O
authoring	O
on	O
the	O
desktop	O
emerged	O
in	O
1993	O
with	O
the	O
Replay	O
DIY	O
product	O
from	O
Irlam	O
Instruments	O
:	O
a	O
single-width	O
podule	O
suitable	O
for	O
A540	O
and	O
A5000	O
computers	O
with	O
2MB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
or	O
more	O
,	O
these	O
being	O
the	O
only	O
models	O
available	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
with	O
the	O
necessary	O
performance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
recording	O
,	O
no	O
preview	O
would	O
be	O
shown	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
hardware	O
would	O
digitise	O
the	O
audio	O
and	O
video	O
input	O
,	O
transfer	O
the	O
data	O
to	O
the	O
computer	O
's	O
memory	O
,	O
and	O
this	O
would	O
then	O
be	O
sent	O
straight	O
to	O
a	O
hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Further	O
developments	O
in	O
the	O
video	O
authoring	O
domain	O
were	O
brought	O
to	O
the	O
platform	O
by	O
Eidos	O
,	O
who	O
had	O
developed	O
an	O
"	O
offline	O
non-linear	O
editing	O
system	O
"	O
around	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
in	O
1989	O
,	O
involving	O
the	O
digitisation	O
of	O
source	O
video	O
and	O
its	O
storage	O
on	O
hard	B-Device
disks	I-Device
or	O
magneto-optical	O
media	O
for	O
use	O
with	O
editing	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Together	O
with	O
the	O
Eidoscope	O
software	O
,	O
based	O
on	O
Eidos	O
 '	O
professional	O
Optima	O
software	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
claimed	O
that	O
"	O
no	O
other	O
computer	O
platform	O
has	O
anything	O
to	O
match	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
convenience	O
and	O
sheer	O
usability	O
"	O
and	O
that	O
these	O
developments	O
would	O
"	O
encourage	O
a	O
lot	O
more	O
Archimedes	B-Device
users	O
to	O
have	O
a	O
go	O
at	O
making	O
movies	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
,	O
Acorn	O
continued	O
the	O
practice	O
established	O
for	O
its	O
earlier	O
machines	O
of	O
offering	O
languages	O
in	O
addition	O
to	O
BASIC	O
,	O
albeit	O
priced	O
somewhat	O
higher	O
than	O
the	O
earlier	O
implementations	O
,	O
these	O
including	O
Pascal	O
,	O
C	O
,	O
Prolog	O
,	O
Fortran	O
and	O
Lisp	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
Acornsoft	O
languages	O
such	O
as	O
BCPL	O
and	O
Comal	O
were	O
not	O
ported	O
to	O
the	O
new	O
platform	O
and	O
had	O
to	O
be	O
run	O
under	O
emulation	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
Smalltalk-80	O
implementation	O
was	O
also	O
made	O
available	O
by	O
Smalltalk	O
Express	O
costing	O
£620	O
,	O
offering	O
the	O
familiar	O
window-based	O
environment	O
,	O
but	O
requiring	O
a	O
4MB	O
machine	O
and	O
a	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Acorn	O
had	O
always	O
emphasised	O
its	O
implementation	O
of	O
BBC	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
in	O
its	O
earlier	O
machines	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
was	O
delivered	O
with	O
an	O
enhanced	O
version	O
,	O
BASIC	O
V	O
,	O
that	O
provided	O
additional	O
control-flow	O
structures	O
such	O
as	O
while	O
loops	O
,	O
case	O
statements	O
,	O
and	O
multi-line	O
if	O
statements	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Various	O
commands	O
were	O
also	O
added	O
for	O
sprite	O
plotting	O
and	O
manipulation	O
and	O
to	O
enable	O
,	O
confine	O
,	O
disable	O
and	O
read	O
the	O
position	O
and	O
state	O
of	O
the	O
mouse	B-Device
pointer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Assembly	O
language	O
support	O
was	O
included	O
,	O
as	O
it	O
had	O
been	O
in	O
the	O
BASIC	O
provided	O
by	O
Acorn	O
's	O
8-bit	O
models	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
language	O
updated	O
to	O
describe	O
instructions	O
for	O
the	O
ARM	B-Architecture
processor	I-Architecture
instead	O
of	O
the	O
6502	O
(	O
or	O
other	O
processor	O
families	O
)	O
familiar	O
from	O
the	O
earlier	O
machines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
arrival	O
of	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
brought	O
the	O
possibility	O
of	O
developing	O
desktop	O
,	O
or	O
WIMP	O
,	O
applications	O
in	O
BASIC	O
and	O
other	O
languages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Being	O
available	O
as	O
standard	O
,	O
BASIC	O
was	O
a	O
natural	O
choice	O
for	O
many	O
developers	O
of	O
desktop	O
applications	O
,	O
although	O
"	O
the	O
complexity	O
of	O
the	O
Wimp	O
"	O
and	O
the	O
need	O
to	O
defer	O
to	O
operating	O
system	O
functionality	O
described	O
in	O
the	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
Programmer	O
's	O
Reference	O
Manual	O
,	O
this	O
consisting	O
of	O
"	O
a	O
staggering	O
52	O
Wimp	O
calls	O
"	O
,	O
required	O
some	O
mitigation	O
by	O
tutorials	O
seeking	O
to	O
guide	O
programmers	O
through	O
the	O
mechanisms	O
and	O
techniques	O
involved	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
the	O
performance	O
of	O
the	O
supplied	O
BASIC	O
interpreter	O
had	O
been	O
regarded	O
as	O
competitive	O
,	O
various	O
BASIC	O
compilers	O
were	O
produced	O
for	O
the	O
system	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Dabs	O
Press	O
 '	O
Archimedes	B-Device
Basic	O
Compiler	O
(	O
ABC	O
)	O
and	O
Silicon	O
Vision	O
's	O
RiscBASIC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
BBC	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
on	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
was	O
considered	O
as	O
a	O
vehicle	O
for	O
cross-platform	O
game	O
development	O
by	O
David	O
Braben	O
and	O
other	O
developers	O
before	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
was	O
released	O
,	O
Braben	O
being	O
the	O
author	O
of	O
the	O
three-dimensional	O
Lander	O
game	O
supplied	O
with	O
the	O
machine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
the	O
BBC	B-Device
Micro	I-Device
had	O
been	O
used	O
as	O
a	O
development	O
host	O
for	O
the	O
Commodore	O
64	O
version	O
of	O
Elite	O
and	O
reportedly	O
by	O
Commodore	O
to	O
assist	O
Amiga	O
development	O
"	O
in	O
the	O
early	O
days	O
"	O
,	O
a	O
similar	O
role	O
was	O
anticipated	O
for	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
in	O
game	O
development	O
,	O
this	O
role	O
also	O
having	O
the	O
potential	O
to	O
expose	O
games	O
developers	O
for	O
established	O
platforms	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Amiga	O
,	O
Atari	B-Device
ST	I-Device
,	O
and	O
the	O
Sega	O
and	O
Nintendo	O
consoles	O
)	O
to	O
the	O
Acorn	O
machine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ability	O
to	O
cross-assemble	O
code	O
in	O
the	O
BASIC	O
assembler	O
for	O
processors	O
other	O
than	O
the	O
ARM	B-Architecture
was	O
devised	O
,	O
and	O
support	O
from	O
key	O
individuals	O
at	O
Acorn	O
was	O
secured	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
management	O
were	O
reluctant	O
to	O
incorporate	O
support	O
for	O
other	O
systems	O
in	O
its	O
product	O
,	O
thus	O
curtailing	O
the	O
effort	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
BASIC	O
and	O
ARM	B-Architecture
assembly	O
language	O
by	O
some	O
software	O
houses	O
,	O
notably	O
at	B-Operating_System
Computer	I-Operating_System
Concepts	O
whose	O
developers	O
regarded	O
the	O
ARM	B-Architecture
processor	I-Architecture
as	O
having	O
been	O
"	O
designed	O
to	O
be	O
programmed	O
in	O
Assembler	O
"	O
and	O
where	O
Impression	B-Device
and	O
ArtWorks	O
were	O
implemented	O
in	O
ARM	B-Architecture
assembly	O
language	O
using	O
the	O
BASIC	O
assembler	O
,	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
higher-level	O
languages	O
such	O
as	O
C	O
became	O
increasingly	O
desirable	O
for	O
productivity	O
and	O
portability	O
reasons	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Desktop	O
Debugging	O
Tool	O
(	O
DDT	O
)	O
was	O
described	O
as	O
"	O
a	O
rather	O
impressive	O
line	O
by	O
line	O
debugger	O
"	O
supporting	O
breakpoints	O
and	O
watchpoints	O
and	O
allowing	O
conventional	O
application	O
code	O
(	O
as	O
opposed	O
to	O
modules	O
)	O
to	O
be	O
stepped	O
through	O
by	O
"	O
actually	O
stopping	O
the	O
desktop	O
"	O
,	O
with	O
control	O
over	O
this	O
activity	O
exercised	O
through	O
desktop-like	O
windows	B-Application
operating	O
separately	O
from	O
the	O
actual	O
desktop	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Initially	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
announced	O
the	O
availability	O
of	O
T	O
's	O
CFront	B-Device
to	O
its	O
registered	O
developer	O
community	O
,	O
this	O
translating	O
C++	O
code	O
for	O
further	O
compilation	O
by	O
Acorn	O
's	O
Desktop	O
C	O
product	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Acorn	O
followed	O
up	O
by	O
offering	O
a	O
new	O
product	O
,	O
replacing	O
Desktop	O
C	O
,	O
that	O
integrated	O
CFront	B-Device
3.0	O
to	O
support	O
C	O
and	O
C++	O
compilation	O
,	O
albeit	O
without	O
support	O
for	O
exceptions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Feedback	O
from	O
developers	O
had	O
been	O
negative	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
citing	O
poor-quality	O
code	O
and	O
slow	O
compilation	O
times	O
,	O
with	O
developers	O
apparently	O
wanting	O
"	O
a	O
true	O
native	O
C++	O
compiler	O
with	O
good	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
environment	O
support	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Apart	O
from	O
a	O
port	O
of	O
the	O
GNU	O
C++	O
compiler	O
,	O
itself	O
requiring	O
at	O
least	O
4MB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
to	O
run	O
,	O
the	O
only	O
significant	O
competition	O
to	O
Acorn	O
's	O
C	O
and	O
C++	O
products	O
were	O
the	O
Easy	O
C	O
and	O
Easy	O
C++	O
products	O
from	O
Beebug	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
former	O
being	O
announced	O
in	O
late	O
1993	O
as	O
a	O
Risc	B-Architecture
Developments	O
product	O
costing	O
£49	O
plus	O
VAT	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Easy	O
C++	O
compiled	O
C++	O
source	O
code	O
directly	O
to	O
ARM	B-Architecture
object	O
code	O
and	O
supported	O
both	O
templates	O
and	O
exceptions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ultimately	O
,	O
the	O
stated	O
lack	O
of	O
a	O
suitable	O
C++	O
compiler	O
and	O
accompanying	O
class	O
libraries	O
for	O
the	O
platform	O
led	O
prominent	O
development	O
houses	O
to	O
focus	O
on	O
products	O
for	O
other	O
platforms	O
and	O
to	O
abandon	O
plans	O
to	O
release	O
new	O
software	O
for	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Charles	O
Moir	O
of	O
Computer	O
Concepts	O
justified	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
Xara	O
Studio	O
,	O
a	O
graphics	O
application	O
described	O
as	O
effectively	O
"	O
ArtWorks	O
for	O
the	O
PC	O
"	O
,	O
indicating	O
that	O
only	O
the	O
larger	O
market	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
software	O
could	O
make	O
the	O
necessary	O
investment	O
in	O
such	O
a	O
sophisticated	O
application	O
worthwhile	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
Windows	B-Application
development	O
could	O
leverage	O
C++	O
and	O
platform-specific	O
class	O
libraries	O
,	O
Computer	O
Concepts	O
had	O
expected	O
Acorn	O
to	O
deliver	O
comparable	O
tools	O
and	O
resources	O
to	O
make	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
such	O
software	O
possible	O
on	O
the	O
Acorn	O
platform	O
"	O
to	O
no	O
avail	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ben	O
Finn	O
of	O
Sibelius	B-Device
Software	I-Device
indicated	O
that	O
Sibelius	B-Device
7	O
had	O
been	O
a	O
"	O
completely	O
new	O
piece	O
of	O
software	O
"	O
written	O
in	O
C++	O
,	O
in	O
contrast	O
to	O
earlier	O
versions	O
written	O
in	O
assembly	O
language	O
,	O
primarily	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
difficulties	O
of	O
implementing	O
requested	O
features	O
in	O
such	O
a	O
low-level	O
language	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
portability	O
of	O
C++	O
software	O
also	O
permitted	O
Sibelius	B-Device
to	O
be	O
made	O
available	O
for	O
the	O
PC	O
and	O
Mac	B-Device
platforms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
with	O
Acorn	O
unable	O
to	O
provide	O
a	O
suitably	O
updated	O
C++	O
development	O
suite	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
was	O
unable	O
to	O
deliver	O
its	O
new	O
product	O
on	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Archimedes	B-Device
machines	O
(	O
and	O
their	O
equivalents	O
running	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
iX	I-Operating_System
)	O
used	O
the	O
VIDC1a	O
video	O
chip	O
to	O
provide	O
a	O
wide	O
variety	O
of	O
screen	O
resolutions	O
,	O
expanding	O
on	O
those	O
available	O
on	O
the	O
BBC	B-Device
Micro	I-Device
,	O
including	O
the	O
following	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
introduction	O
of	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
brought	O
support	O
for	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
new	O
display	O
modes	O
including	O
the	O
following	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Resolution	O
Mode	O
Availability	O
1280	O
×	O
976	O
22	O
A440	O
running	O
the	O
Arthur	O
operating	O
system	O
,	O
this	O
mode	O
being	O
dropped	O
from	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
1152	O
×	O
864	O
23	O
A440	O
running	O
Arthur	O
,	O
A400/1	O
series	O
running	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
,	O
A540Given	O
as	O
1152	O
x	O
900	O
for	O
A400/1	O
series	O
and	O
A540	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Apparent	O
confusion	O
about	O
monochrome	O
monitor	B-Device
support	O
upon	O
the	O
launch	O
of	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
models	O
led	O
Acorn	O
to	O
clarify	O
that	O
the	O
A400	O
series	O
had	O
"	O
extra	O
circuitry	O
"	O
offering	O
two	O
additional	O
display	O
modes	O
"	O
of	O
up	O
to	O
1280	O
by	O
976	O
in	O
monochrome	O
,	O
and	O
160	O
columns	O
by	O
122	O
lines	O
of	O
text	O
,	O
but	O
only	O
using	O
a	O
special	O
monitor	B-Device
"	O
,	O
this	O
being	O
connected	O
using	O
two	O
BNC	O
sockets	O
(	O
one	O
for	O
signal	O
and	O
one	O
for	O
sync	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Taxan	O
Viking	O
R140	O
product	O
bundled	O
the	O
existing	O
Viking	O
product	O
with	O
appropriate	O
cabling	O
and	O
produced	O
a	O
"	O
rock	O
steady	O
"	O
66Hz	O
mode	O
23	O
display	O
,	O
albeit	O
with	O
mouse	B-Device
pointer	O
corruption	O
at	O
the	O
extreme	O
right	O
of	O
the	O
screen	O
due	O
to	O
"	O
a	O
bug	O
in	O
the	O
VIDC	O
chip	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
expansion	O
to	O
speed	O
up	O
the	O
VIDC	O
chip	O
in	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
from	O
24MHz	O
to	O
36MHz	O
was	O
announced	O
by	O
Atomwide	O
in	O
1990	O
,	O
offering	O
higher	O
resolution	O
display	O
modes	O
for	O
machines	O
connected	O
to	O
multisync	O
monitors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
VIDC	O
enhancers	O
were	O
supplied	O
by	O
some	O
monitor	B-Device
vendors	O
together	O
with	O
the	O
appropriate	O
cable	O
for	O
Archimedes	B-Device
machines	O
,	O
although	O
fitting	O
the	O
device	O
still	O
required	O
approved	O
service	O
work	O
to	O
be	O
performed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
potentially	O
significant	O
difference	O
between	O
the	O
different	O
product	O
ranges	O
was	O
the	O
role	O
of	O
the	O
VIDC	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
ColourCard	O
employing	O
a	O
"	O
video	O
switch	O
"	O
that	O
permitted	O
the	O
VIDC	O
to	O
generate	O
an	O
output	O
signal	O
independent	O
of	O
the	O
card	O
for	O
traditional	O
display	O
modes	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
card	O
only	O
generating	O
output	O
for	O
enhanced	O
modes	O
,	O
whereas	O
the	O
State	O
Machine	O
cards	O
were	O
entirely	O
responsible	O
for	O
output	O
and	O
thereby	O
provided	O
emulations	B-Application
of	O
the	O
traditional	O
modes	O
,	O
this	O
leading	O
to	O
a	O
"	O
letter-box	O
"	O
effect	O
for	O
some	O
modes	O
in	O
early	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
State	O
Machine	O
software	O
and	O
also	O
causing	O
compatibility	O
issues	O
with	O
software	O
,	O
particularly	O
games	O
,	O
that	O
accessed	O
VIDC	O
registers	O
directly	O
to	O
configure	O
the	O
display	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Alongside	O
bandwidth	O
constraints	O
,	O
a	O
fundamental	O
limitation	O
to	O
the	O
size	O
of	O
VIDC	O
framebuffers	O
was	O
imposed	O
by	O
the	O
memory	O
controller	O
,	O
limiting	O
the	O
size	O
of	O
framebuffers	O
transferred	O
to	O
the	O
VIDC	O
through	O
DMA	B-General_Concept
to	O
a	O
specific	O
512KB	O
physical	O
memory	O
region	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
State	O
Machine	O
's	O
ColourBurst	O
card	O
,	O
announced	O
together	O
with	O
its	O
G16	O
card	O
,	O
employed	O
memory	O
mapping	O
techniques	O
to	O
provide	O
1MB	O
of	O
video	O
RAM	B-Architecture
instead	O
of	O
the	O
512KB	O
of	O
earlier	O
cards	O
and	O
thus	O
supporting	O
larger	O
screen	O
modes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ColourBurst	O
was	O
,	O
when	O
reviewed	O
in	O
late	O
1993	O
,	O
the	O
first	O
24-bit	O
colour	O
card	O
available	O
for	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
,	O
also	O
supporting	O
various	O
upgrades	O
including	O
the	O
"	O
video	O
switch	O
"	O
capability	O
absent	O
from	O
earlier	O
cards	O
,	O
PAL	O
encoding	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
professional	O
capabilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Coincidentally	O
,	O
ARM	B-Architecture
Limited	O
announced	O
the	O
VIDC20	O
-	O
the	O
successor	O
to	O
the	O
VIDC10	O
in	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
-	O
at	O
around	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
as	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
the	O
Computer	O
Concepts	O
and	O
State	O
Machine	O
product	O
ranges	O
in	O
late	O
1992	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
late	O
1993	O
,	O
rumours	O
about	O
Acorn	O
's	O
next-generation	O
system	O
(	O
eventually	O
released	O
as	O
the	O
Risc	B-Device
PC	I-Device
)	O
,	O
particularly	O
24-bit	O
colour	O
support	O
,	O
led	O
to	O
suggestions	O
of	O
improved	O
support	O
for	O
higher	O
colour	O
depths	O
in	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
,	O
accompanied	O
by	O
the	O
observation	O
in	O
the	O
context	O
of	O
State	O
Machine	O
's	O
ColourBurst	O
card	O
that	O
"	O
it	O
seems	O
unlikely	O
that	O
another	O
manufacturer	O
will	O
release	O
such	O
a	O
powerful	O
device	O
before	O
the	O
launch	O
of	O
Acorn	O
's	O
new	O
baby	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Meanwhile	O
,	O
State	O
Machine	O
announced	O
the	O
ClusterCard	O
for	O
33MHz	O
A5000	O
models	O
,	O
plugging	O
into	O
the	O
memory	O
controller	O
socket	O
and	O
supporting	O
upgrades	O
to	O
8MB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
alongside	O
graphics	O
enhancements	O
offering	O
1MB	O
or	O
2MB	O
of	O
video	O
RAM	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ClusterCard	O
,	O
employing	O
the	O
G335	O
Cluster	O
Module	O
was	O
reported	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
first	O
graphics	O
card	O
for	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
series	O
not	O
requiring	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
VIDC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
compatible	O
systems	O
leaving	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
"	O
well	O
behind	O
the	O
competition	O
in	O
the	O
display	O
stakes	O
"	O
,	O
the	O
ClusterCard	O
was	O
seen	O
as	O
attempting	O
a	O
solution	O
similar	O
to	O
a	O
local	O
bus	O
architecture	O
on	O
the	O
A5000	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
potential	O
to	O
"	O
transform	O
the	O
A5000	O
into	O
a	O
serious	O
graphics	O
machine	O
,	O
with	O
possibly	O
as	O
good	O
a	O
display	O
potential	O
as	O
the	O
next	O
Acorn	O
series	O
equipped	O
with	O
VIDC20s	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
launch	O
of	O
the	O
Risc	B-Device
PC	I-Device
in	O
1994	O
demonstrated	O
Acorn	O
's	O
successor	O
to	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
,	O
to	O
which	O
State	O
Machine	O
responded	O
with	O
a	O
product	O
called	O
ColourView	O
,	O
"	O
an	O
all-new	O
replacement	O
for	O
the	O
original	O
G8	O
and	O
G16	O
State	O
Machine	O
graphics	O
cards	O
"	O
,	O
offering	O
16	O
bits	O
per	O
pixel	O
desktop-compatible	O
screen	O
modes	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
modular	O
version	O
also	O
available	O
for	O
the	O
ClusterCard	O
without	O
the	O
1MB	O
framebuffer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
late	O
1990	O
,	O
Millipede	O
Electronic	O
Graphics	O
announced	O
an	O
imaging	O
product	O
called	O
APEX	O
(	O
Archimedes	B-Device
P3	O
Expansion	O
)	O
featuring	O
"	O
four	O
P3	O
(	O
pixel	O
pipeline	O
processor	O
)	O
chips	O
,	O
together	O
with	O
an	O
Arm3	O
processor	O
running	O
at	O
27MHz	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
support	O
for	O
"	O
broadcast	O
quality	O
graphics	O
at	O
32	O
bits	O
per	O
pixel	O
"	O
,	O
hardware	O
support	O
for	O
windows	B-Application
and	O
sprites	O
,	O
emphasising	O
real-time	O
image	O
combination	O
and	O
manipulation	O
,	O
the	O
product	O
was	O
aimed	O
at	O
professional	O
users	O
and	O
priced	O
accordingly	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
version	O
providing	O
4MB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
projected	O
to	O
cost	O
£2750	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nevertheless	O
,	O
a	O
licensing	O
agreement	O
had	O
been	O
reached	O
with	O
Acorn	O
to	O
"	O
enable	O
Risc	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
graphics	O
functions	O
to	O
be	O
fully	O
emulated	B-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
up	O
from	O
this	O
earlier	O
product	O
,	O
Millipede	O
offered	O
an	O
"	O
all	O
new	O
Apex	O
Imager	O
"	O
video	O
card	O
in	O
early	O
1994	O
featuring	O
the	O
four	O
custom	O
chips	O
,	O
ARM3	O
,	O
FPA	O
,	O
and	O
16MB	O
of	O
video	O
RAM	B-Architecture
on	O
a	O
double-width	O
podule	O
costing	O
£3975	O
,	O
this	O
being	O
virtually	O
unchanged	O
from	O
the	O
pricing	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
product	O
from	O
1990	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Apex	O
hardware	O
was	O
used	O
by	O
the	O
Eidos	O
video	O
capture	O
and	O
compression	O
solution	O
,	O
Thumper	O
,	O
which	O
ran	O
on	O
a	O
Risc	B-Device
PC	I-Device
and	O
was	O
able	O
to	O
process	O
"	O
MPEG	O
1	O
resolution	O
video	O
at	O
full	O
PAL	O
frame	O
rate	O
in	O
real	O
time	O
"	O
,	O
being	O
regarded	O
in	O
early	O
1995	O
as	O
"	O
the	O
best	O
digitiser	O
for	O
our	O
needs	O
on	O
any	O
platform	O
"	O
by	O
Eidos	O
 '	O
managing	O
director	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Previous	O
Eidos	O
capture	O
solutions	O
used	O
A540	O
machines	O
with	O
8MB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Archimedes	B-Device
was	O
capable	O
of	O
producing	O
eight-channel	O
,	O
8-bit	O
,	O
stereo	O
sound	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
video	O
controller	O
chip	O
being	O
responsible	O
for	O
sound	O
generation	O
,	O
it	O
having	O
direct	B-General_Concept
memory	I-General_Concept
access	I-General_Concept
capabilities	O
to	O
independently	O
stream	O
audio	O
data	O
to	O
the	O
output	O
circuitry	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Archimedes	B-Device
did	O
not	O
provide	O
hardware	O
support	O
for	O
floating-point	O
arithmetic	O
as	O
standard	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
system	O
was	O
designed	O
so	O
that	O
one	O
might	O
be	O
added	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
floating-point	O
co-processor	O
instruction	O
set	O
architecture	O
having	O
been	O
defined	O
by	O
Acorn	O
for	O
programs	O
to	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Accompanying	O
this	O
,	O
a	O
software	O
module	O
providing	O
an	O
emulation	B-Application
of	O
such	O
a	O
co-processor	O
,	O
handling	O
these	O
additional	O
instructions	O
in	O
software	O
written	O
using	O
conventional	O
ARM	B-Architecture
instructions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
co-processor	O
was	O
described	O
as	O
a	O
"	O
cut-down	O
"	O
ARM	B-Architecture
with	O
only	O
eight	O
registers	O
available	O
instead	O
of	O
sixteen	O
,	O
offering	O
instructions	O
to	O
transfer	O
values	O
to	O
and	O
from	O
memory	O
(	O
supporting	O
single	O
,	O
double	O
,	O
extended	O
double	O
and	O
packed	O
binary-coded	O
decimal	O
representations	O
)	O
,	O
to	O
transfer	O
values	O
between	O
the	O
main	O
CPU	O
and	O
co-processor	O
,	O
to	O
transfer	O
status	O
information	O
from	O
the	O
co-processor	O
,	O
to	O
perform	O
unary	O
and	O
binary	O
operations	O
on	O
values	O
,	O
and	O
to	O
perform	O
comparisons	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
first	O
generation	O
of	O
Archimedes	B-Device
300	O
and	O
400	O
series	O
machines	O
,	O
only	O
the	O
400	O
series	O
had	O
the	O
appropriate	O
expansion	O
capability	O
to	O
add	O
a	O
floating-point	O
unit	O
(	O
FPU	O
)	O
or	O
co-processor	O
,	O
although	O
the	O
emulator	B-Application
was	O
supported	O
on	O
all	O
models	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
FPU	O
expansion	B-Device
card	I-Device
was	O
delivered	O
for	O
the	O
R140	O
workstation	O
and	O
400	O
series	O
in	O
1989	O
,	O
priced	O
at	O
£599	O
plus	O
VAT	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
WE32206	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
"	O
protocol	O
converter	O
chip	O
"	O
being	O
used	O
to	O
translate	O
between	O
the	O
ARM	B-Architecture
and	O
the	O
WE32206	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
WE32206	O
card	O
was	O
also	O
offered	O
for	O
Acorn	O
's	O
Springboard	O
expansion	B-Device
card	I-Device
for	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
compatibles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
Acorn	O
had	O
expected	O
that	O
interfacing	O
the	O
ARM	B-Architecture
to	O
an	O
existing	O
FPU	O
chip	O
would	O
be	O
"	O
a	O
much	O
quicker	O
route	O
"	O
to	O
delivering	O
a	O
hardware-based	O
floating-point	O
solution	O
than	O
developing	O
a	O
new	O
co-processor	O
,	O
the	O
complexity	O
involved	O
in	O
developing	O
the	O
custom	O
gate	O
array	O
responsible	O
for	O
interfacing	O
to	O
the	O
WE32206	O
was	O
apparently	O
greater	O
than	O
anticipated	O
,	O
taking	O
two	O
years	O
to	O
deliver	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
BASIC	O
programs	O
compiled	O
using	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
BASIC	O
Compiler	O
achieved	O
over	O
nine-fold	O
speed-ups	O
for	O
certain	O
benchmarks	O
,	O
unlike	O
those	O
running	O
on	O
the	O
standard	O
BASIC	O
interpreter	O
whose	O
floating-point	O
routines	O
avoided	O
using	O
FPU	O
instructions	O
,	O
thus	O
delivering	O
no	O
real	O
performance	O
improvements	O
with	O
the	O
FPU	O
fitted	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Archimedes	B-Device
models	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
ARM3	O
processor	O
supported	O
a	O
completely	O
new	O
"	O
arithmetic	O
co-processor	O
"	O
or	O
"	O
floating-point	O
accelerator	O
"	O
known	O
as	O
the	O
FPA	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Availability	O
remained	O
unclear	O
,	O
with	O
ARM	B-Architecture
releasing	O
technical	O
details	O
indicating	O
that	O
the	O
chip	O
,	O
at	O
134,000	O
transistors	O
was	O
reportedly	O
"	O
Arm	B-Architecture
's	O
most	O
complex	O
IC	O
to	O
date	O
"	O
and	O
comparing	O
its	O
performance	O
at	O
"	O
around	O
4MFLOPS	O
"	O
to	O
the	O
MIPS	O
R3010	O
floating-point	O
co-processor	O
,	O
whilst	O
claiming	O
a	O
substantial	O
power	O
consumption	O
advantage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
programs	O
such	O
as	O
Draw	O
and	O
ArtWorks	O
—	O
a	O
Computer	O
Concepts	O
product	O
—	O
used	O
their	O
own	O
arithmetic	O
routines	O
instead	O
of	O
the	O
floating-point	O
emulator	B-Application
(	O
FPE	O
)	O
and	O
,	O
as	O
anticipated	O
,	O
were	O
therefore	O
unable	O
to	O
take	O
advantage	O
of	O
the	O
accelerated	O
floating-point	O
instructions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
various	O
free	O
of	O
charge	O
or	O
low-cost	O
programs	O
ported	O
from	O
other	O
systems	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
POV-Ray	B-Application
,	O
plus	O
selected	O
native	O
applications	O
such	O
as	O
Clares	O
 '	O
Illusionist	O
and	O
Oak	O
Solutions	O
 '	O
WorraCAD	O
,	O
did	O
exhibit	O
substantial	O
performance	O
gains	O
from	O
the	O
FPA	O
with	O
speed-ups	O
of	O
between	O
five	O
and	O
ten	O
times	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Basic64	O
interpreter	O
bundled	O
with	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
which	O
was	O
"	O
much	O
slower	O
than	O
Basic	O
V	O
normally	O
"	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
former	O
using	O
the	O
FPE	O
and	O
the	O
latter	O
providing	O
its	O
own	O
floating-point	O
arithmetic	O
routines	O
,	O
ended	O
up	O
"	O
slightly	O
faster	O
"	O
due	O
to	O
observed	O
speed-ups	O
of	O
around	O
four	O
to	O
around	O
eleven	O
times	O
,	O
with	O
non-trigonometric	O
operations	O
benefiting	O
the	O
most	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
early	O
1990	O
,	O
Aleph	O
One	O
introduced	O
an	O
upgrade	O
board	O
for	O
Archimedes	B-Device
A300	O
and	O
A400	O
series	O
models	O
featuring	O
the	O
ARM3	O
processor	O
which	O
had	O
been	O
designed	O
by	O
Acorn	O
but	O
was	O
sold	O
independently	O
by	O
VLSI	O
Technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
the	O
ARM2	O
employed	O
by	O
current	O
models	O
could	O
reportedly	O
be	O
run	O
at	O
20MHz	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
only	O
ever	O
run	O
at	O
8MHz	O
due	O
to	O
external	O
limitations	O
,	O
these	O
being	O
the	O
speed	O
of	O
the	O
data	O
bus	O
and	O
of	O
the	O
"	O
relatively	O
slow	O
"	O
,	O
but	O
correspondingly	O
relatively	O
inexpensive	O
,	O
RAM	B-Architecture
devices	O
in	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
also	O
released	O
a	O
"	O
turbo	O
RAM	B-Architecture
"	O
upgrade	O
for	O
ARM250-based	O
machines	O
to	O
provide	O
similar	O
performance	O
benefits	O
to	O
an	O
ARM3	O
upgrade	O
,	O
replacing	O
the	O
RAM	B-Architecture
with	O
a	O
faster	O
type	O
that	O
then	O
permitted	O
the	O
processor	O
to	O
be	O
run	O
at	O
a	O
higher	O
frequency	O
,	O
thus	O
pursuing	O
the	O
alternative	O
approach	O
to	O
enhancing	O
system	O
performance	O
(	O
increasing	O
both	O
the	O
processor	O
and	O
memory	O
speed	O
)	O
to	O
that	O
pursued	O
by	O
ARM3	O
upgrades	O
(	O
introducing	O
a	O
faster	O
processor	O
with	O
a	O
cache	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
employing	O
a	O
16MHz	O
clock	O
signal	O
,	O
as	O
envisaged	O
by	O
Acorn	O
in	O
the	O
design	O
of	O
the	O
A3010	O
,	O
in	O
conjunction	O
with	O
dynamic	O
RAM	B-Architecture
devices	O
with	O
a	O
70ns	O
access	O
time	O
,	O
the	O
upgrade	O
provided	O
a	O
total	O
of	O
4MB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
and	O
a	O
40	O
percent	O
performance	O
improvement	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
standard	O
RAM	B-Architecture
upgrades	O
,	O
the	O
turbo	O
upgrade	O
needed	O
to	O
be	O
fitted	O
at	O
a	O
suitable	O
facility	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
board	O
was	O
priced	O
slightly	O
higher	O
than	O
a	O
standard	O
RAM	B-Architecture
upgrade	O
at	O
£129	O
plus	O
VAT	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
"	O
super	O
turbo	O
"	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
board	O
with	O
20MHz	O
crystal	O
and	O
45ns	O
dynamic	O
RAM	B-Architecture
devices	O
was	O
reviewed	O
and	O
apparently	O
available	O
subject	O
to	O
component	O
availability	O
,	O
reportedly	O
achieving	O
12.25	O
MIPS	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
revenues	O
from	O
ARM3	O
upgrades	O
allowed	O
Aleph	O
One	O
to	O
pursue	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
IBM	O
PC-compatible	O
podule	O
expansions	O
and	O
eventually	O
the	O
PC	O
processor	O
card	O
for	O
the	O
Risc	B-Device
PC	I-Device
,	O
these	O
having	O
"	O
a	O
higher	O
intellectual	O
content	O
than	O
Arm3	O
upgrades	O
"	O
and	O
being	O
more	O
difficult	O
for	O
potential	O
competitors	O
to	O
make	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Plans	O
were	O
indicated	O
to	O
develop	O
a	O
PowerPC	O
processor	O
card	O
for	O
the	O
Risc	B-Device
PC	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Neither	O
the	O
PowerPC	O
upgrade	O
for	O
the	O
Risc	B-Device
PC	I-Device
nor	O
the	O
earlier	O
ARM600-based	O
upgrade	O
for	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
series	O
appeared	O
,	O
with	O
Acorn	O
itself	O
abandoning	O
plans	O
to	O
combine	O
newer	O
ARM600	O
or	O
ARM700	O
parts	O
with	O
FPA	O
devices	O
to	O
provide	O
improved	O
floating	O
point	O
performance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Launched	O
in	O
early	O
1992	O
,	O
the	O
podule	O
fitted	O
with	O
1MB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
cost	O
£595	O
,	O
whereas	O
a	O
4MB	O
version	O
cost	O
£725	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Known	O
as	O
the	O
386PC	O
,	O
the	O
expansion	O
was	O
"	O
in	O
effect	O
,	O
a	O
PC	O
within	O
your	O
Archimedes	B-Device
"	O
whose	O
RAM	B-Architecture
could	O
be	O
upgraded	O
from	O
the	O
minimum	O
of	O
1MB	O
,	O
the	O
price	O
of	O
this	O
configuration	O
having	O
fallen	O
to	O
£495	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
of	O
its	O
review	O
,	O
to	O
the	O
maximum	O
of	O
4MB	O
,	O
with	O
this	O
configuration	O
also	O
being	O
offered	O
at	O
a	O
reduced	O
price	O
of	O
£625	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Integration	O
of	O
the	O
PC	O
system	O
involved	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
providing	O
display	O
,	O
keyboard	B-Device
and	O
disk	O
support	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
initial	O
version	O
,	O
the	O
supplied	O
386PC	O
application	O
would	O
put	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
into	O
dedicated	O
display	O
mode	O
and	O
thus	O
take	O
over	O
the	O
display	O
,	O
but	O
subsequent	O
versions	O
promised	O
operation	O
of	O
the	O
PC	O
in	O
a	O
window	O
,	O
much	O
like	O
the	O
updated	O
PC	B-Application
Emulator	I-Application
from	O
the	O
era	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Separate	O
serial	O
and	O
parallel	O
ports	O
were	O
fitted	O
on	O
the	O
expansion	B-Device
board	I-Device
due	O
to	O
limitations	O
with	O
the	O
ports	O
on	O
existing	O
Archimedes	B-Device
machines	O
,	O
but	O
integration	O
with	O
those	O
ports	O
was	O
also	O
planned	O
for	O
subsequent	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
product	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Watford	O
Electronics	O
,	O
in	O
association	O
with	O
"	O
prolific	O
ex-Computer	O
Concepts	O
hardware	O
expert	O
"	O
Chris	O
Honey	O
,	O
announced	O
a	O
PC	O
podule	O
in	O
early	O
1992	O
,	O
this	O
effectively	O
delivering	O
"	O
a	O
stand-alone	O
PC	O
"	O
within	O
the	O
host	O
computer	O
and	O
potentially	O
allowing	O
two	O
independent	O
users	O
with	O
their	O
own	O
keyboards	B-Device
and	O
monitors	O
,	O
although	O
the	O
PC	O
system	O
would	O
be	O
accessible	O
via	O
a	O
desktop	O
window	O
and	O
have	O
access	O
to	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
partitions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
late	O
1992	O
,	O
Aleph	O
One	O
reduced	O
the	O
price	O
of	O
the	O
386-based	O
card	O
by	O
£100	O
,	O
also	O
upgrading	O
the	O
processor	O
to	O
a	O
25MHz	O
part	O
,	O
and	O
introduced	O
a	O
card	O
featuring	O
a	O
25MHz	O
Cyrix	B-Device
486SLC	I-Device
processor	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
new	O
card	O
retaining	O
the	O
maths	O
co-processor	O
option	O
of	O
the	O
earlier	O
product	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
upgraded	O
Windows	B-Application
drivers	O
reportedly	O
allowed	O
even	O
the	O
386-based	O
card	O
to	O
exceed	O
the	O
graphical	O
performance	O
of	O
such	O
a	O
486-based	O
clone	O
,	O
effectively	O
employing	O
the	O
host	O
Archimedes	B-Device
as	O
a	O
kind	O
of	O
"	O
Windows	B-Application
accelerator	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
subsequent	O
review	O
moderated	O
such	O
claims	O
somewhat	O
,	O
indicating	O
a	O
Windows	B-Application
performance	O
"	O
not	O
noticeably	O
better	O
than	O
an	O
average	O
un-accelerated	O
386SX	O
PC	O
clone	O
"	O
,	O
although	O
acceleration	O
support	O
was	O
expected	O
to	O
improve	O
,	O
with	O
device	O
drivers	O
for	O
various	O
direct	O
drive	O
laser	O
printers	O
also	O
expected	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
product	O
was	O
priced	O
at	O
£495	O
for	O
the	O
1MB	O
version	O
and	O
£595	O
for	O
the	O
4MB	O
version	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
future	O
revision	O
of	O
the	O
product	O
anticipated	O
that	O
would	O
support	O
up	O
to	O
16MB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1993	O
,	O
Aleph	O
One	O
collaborated	O
with	O
Acorn	O
to	O
produce	O
Acorn-branded	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
PC	O
cards	O
for	O
use	O
with	O
the	O
A3020	B-Device
and	O
A4000	O
which	O
used	O
a	O
distinct	O
"	O
mini-podule	O
expansion	O
system	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
25MHz	O
386SX	O
and	O
486SLC	B-Device
cards	O
were	O
offered	O
in	O
this	O
profile	O
to	O
provide	O
DOS	B-Device
and	O
Windows	B-Application
compatibility	O
,	O
branded	O
as	O
the	O
PC386	O
and	O
PC486	O
,	O
priced	O
at	O
£275	O
and	O
£499	O
respectively	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Acorn	O
also	O
offered	O
bundles	O
of	O
the	O
A4000	O
with	O
a	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
and	O
each	O
of	O
the	O
cards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Coincidentally	O
at	O
this	O
time	O
,	O
with	O
speculation	O
building	O
about	O
future	O
Acorn	O
computer	O
products	O
,	O
Acorn	O
's	O
product	O
marketing	O
manager	O
had	O
been	O
reported	O
as	O
suggesting	O
that	O
such	O
products	O
"	O
would	O
have	O
an	O
empty	O
Intel	O
socket	O
for	O
customers	O
to	O
add	O
PC	B-Operating_System
Dos	I-Operating_System
and	O
Windows	B-Application
compatibility	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ultimately	O
,	O
Acorn	O
would	O
release	O
the	O
Risc	B-Device
PC	I-Device
with	O
dual	O
processor	O
capabilities	O
and	O
support	O
for	O
using	O
a	O
"	O
low	O
cost	O
( £99	O
upwards	O
)	O
plug-in	O
486	O
PC	O
processor	O
or	O
other	O
CPUs	O
"	O
alongside	O
an	O
ARM	B-Architecture
processor	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Redesigned	O
PC	O
cards	O
were	O
released	O
in	O
1994	O
,	O
introducing	O
the	O
option	O
of	O
a	O
faster	O
50MHz	O
486SLC2	B-Device
processor	O
for	O
a	O
reported	O
doubling	O
of	O
the	O
performance	O
over	O
the	O
fastest	O
existing	O
cards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Up	O
to	O
16MB	O
of	O
SIMM-profile	O
RAM	B-Architecture
could	O
be	O
fitted	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
local	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
controller	O
was	O
added	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
supplied	O
software	O
was	O
also	O
upgraded	O
to	O
support	O
Windows	B-Application
in	O
a	O
resolution	O
of	O
at	O
up	O
to	O
16	O
colours	O
,	O
and	O
optional	O
network	B-Operating_System
driver	O
support	O
was	O
available	O
to	O
use	O
the	O
card	O
as	O
a	O
Novell	B-Operating_System
NetWare	I-Operating_System
client	O
and	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
for	O
Workgroups	O
3.11	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Reported	O
performance	O
was	O
better	O
than	O
the	O
previous	O
generation	O
of	O
cards	O
but	O
"	O
still	O
slow	O
compared	O
to	O
all	O
but	O
the	O
most	O
basic	O
of	O
modern	O
PCs	B-Device
,	O
but	O
certainly	O
usable	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Windows	B-Application
User	O
benchmarks	O
rated	O
the	O
performance	O
as	O
similar	O
to	O
a	O
fast	O
386SX-based	O
system	O
or	O
a	O
"	O
standard	O
"	O
386DX-based	O
system	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
faster	O
processor	O
yielding	O
a	O
more	O
favourable	O
rating	O
,	O
but	O
with	O
the	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
and	O
graphics	O
tests	O
bringing	O
the	O
overall	O
rating	O
down	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Use	O
of	O
a	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
fitted	O
directly	O
to	O
the	O
card	O
,	O
using	O
its	O
own	O
dedicated	O
IDE	B-Protocol
interface	O
,	O
was	O
reported	O
as	O
providing	O
up	O
to	O
ten	O
times	O
the	O
level	O
of	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
performance	O
relative	O
to	O
using	O
the	O
system	O
's	O
own	O
drive	O
,	O
but	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
SmartDrive	B-Application
caching	O
software	O
made	O
any	O
resulting	O
performance	O
difference	O
marginal	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
range	O
of	O
podules	O
providing	O
access	O
to	O
parallel	O
processing	O
capabilities	O
using	O
Inmos	B-General_Concept
Transputer	I-General_Concept
processors	O
were	O
announced	O
by	O
Gnome	O
Computing	O
in	O
late	O
1989	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Aside	O
from	O
a	O
"	O
Link	O
Adaptor	O
"	O
podule	O
for	O
interfacing	O
to	O
external	O
Transputer	B-General_Concept
hardware	O
,	O
the	O
"	O
TRAM	O
Motherboard	O
"	O
podule	O
combined	O
the	O
Link	O
Adaptor	O
's	O
interfacing	O
logic	O
with	O
the	O
hosting	O
of	O
up	O
to	O
four	O
"	O
TRAMs	O
"	O
(	O
Transputer	B-General_Concept
plus	O
RAM	B-Architecture
modules	O
)	O
,	O
providing	O
a	O
complete	O
development	O
system	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
offered	O
was	O
a	O
"	O
Transputer	B-General_Concept
Baseboard	O
"	O
podule	O
featuring	O
a	O
T425	O
or	O
T800	O
with	O
up	O
to	O
8MB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
single	O
podule	O
with	O
four	O
TRAMs	O
,	O
each	O
employing	O
a	O
T800	O
processor	O
,	O
was	O
stated	O
as	O
giving	O
40MIPS	O
of	O
performance	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
hypothetical	O
160MIPS	O
available	O
on	O
an	O
Archimedes	B-Device
with	O
four	O
podule	O
slots	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Digital	B-General_Concept
signal	I-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
capabilities	O
were	O
provided	O
by	O
the	O
Burden	O
Neuroscience	O
56001	O
DSP	O
Card	O
,	O
originally	O
developed	O
by	O
the	O
Burden	O
Neurological	O
Institute	O
as	O
in-house	O
hardware	O
for	O
use	O
in	O
conjunction	O
with	O
Archimedes	B-Device
systems	O
but	O
marketed	O
by	O
The	O
Serial	O
Port	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
podule	O
itself	O
offered	O
a	O
32MHz	O
Motorola	B-General_Concept
56001	I-General_Concept
digital	O
signal	O
processor	O
together	O
with	O
192KB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
,	O
two	O
16-bit	O
analogue-to-digital	O
converters	O
,	O
two	O
16-bit	O
digital-to-analogue	O
converters	O
,	O
and	O
serial	O
communications	O
capabilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
CD-ROM	B-Device
technology	O
was	O
introduced	O
to	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
range	O
in	O
1990	O
with	O
the	O
launch	O
of	O
Next	O
Technology	O
's	O
CD-ROM	B-Device
solution	O
for	O
the	O
A3000	O
and	O
earlier	O
Archimedes	B-Device
models	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Combining	O
an	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
interface	O
and	O
CD-ROM	B-Device
drive	O
and	O
supplied	O
with	O
a	O
sample	O
disc	O
for	O
a	O
total	O
price	O
of	O
£995	O
,	O
the	O
solution	O
provided	O
a	O
filing	O
system	O
so	O
that	O
standard	O
CD-ROM	B-Device
media	O
could	O
be	O
browsed	O
and	O
read	O
like	O
any	O
other	O
kind	O
of	O
disc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
limitation	O
experienced	O
on	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
was	O
with	O
the	O
content	O
on	O
various	O
CD-ROM	B-Device
titles	O
,	O
this	O
often	O
being	O
designed	O
for	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
and	O
featuring	O
DOS-only	O
software	O
to	O
offer	O
search	O
and	O
database-related	O
functionality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Next	O
Technology	O
aimed	O
to	O
remedy	O
this	O
situation	O
by	O
offering	O
a	O
service	O
to	O
let	O
users	O
create	O
their	O
own	O
CD-ROMs	B-Device
at	O
around	O
£300	O
per	O
disc	O
,	O
leading	O
to	O
the	O
initial	O
conclusion	O
that	O
schools	O
and	O
institutional	O
users	O
would	O
benefit	O
from	O
the	O
format	O
much	O
more	O
than	O
home	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Two	O
years	O
on	O
from	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
CD-ROM	B-Device
products	O
,	O
adoption	O
of	O
the	O
technology	O
was	O
still	O
at	O
a	O
"	O
tentative	O
state	O
"	O
,	O
with	O
£8million	O
having	O
been	O
spent	O
on	O
equipment	O
and	O
an	O
estimated	O
3,000	O
drives	O
deployed	O
in	O
UK	O
schools	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
significant	O
technology	O
in	O
the	O
delivery	O
of	O
multimedia	O
content	O
,	O
the	O
focus	O
had	O
shifted	O
from	O
merely	O
using	O
CD-ROM	B-Device
as	O
a	O
cheap	O
storage	O
medium	O
for	O
large	O
amounts	O
of	O
graphics	O
and	O
text	O
to	O
aspirations	O
of	O
providing	O
"	O
high-quality	O
,	O
full-screen	O
graphics	O
coupled	O
with	O
hi-fi	O
stereo	O
sound	O
"	O
on	O
CD	O
media	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
principal	O
challenge	O
identified	O
as	O
being	O
able	O
to	O
deliver	O
compressed	O
video	O
that	O
either	O
a	O
computer	O
or	O
a	O
drive	O
could	O
decompress	O
without	O
compromising	O
video	O
quality	O
or	O
introducing	O
incompatibilities	O
between	O
different	O
manufacturers	O
 '	O
products	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
laserdisc	O
technology	O
,	O
which	O
had	O
been	O
used	O
several	O
years	O
earlier	O
by	O
Acorn	O
for	O
interactive	O
video	O
applications	O
,	O
notably	O
in	O
the	B-Device
BBC	I-Device
Domesday	I-Device
Project	I-Device
,	O
was	O
still	O
seen	O
as	O
being	O
a	O
"	O
promising	O
rival	O
"	O
to	O
CD-based	O
video	O
formats	O
,	O
having	O
finally	O
"	O
become	O
successful	O
in	O
multimedia	O
training	O
"	O
and	O
by	O
then	O
"	O
being	O
aimed	O
at	O
well-heeled	O
home	O
video	O
enthusiasts	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Reservations	O
about	O
the	O
read-only	O
nature	O
of	O
CD-ROM	B-Device
discs	O
was	O
also	O
seen	O
as	O
a	O
"	O
wounding	O
flaw	O
"	O
,	O
leaving	O
users	O
to	O
consider	O
alternatives	O
for	O
convenient	O
bulk	O
storage	O
,	O
with	O
magneto-optical	O
drives	O
emerging	O
at	O
this	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nevertheless	O
,	O
CD-ROM	B-Device
adoption	O
was	O
seen	O
as	O
inevitable	O
,	O
particularly	O
given	O
the	O
format	O
's	O
benefits	O
for	O
holding	O
large	O
amounts	O
of	O
text	O
and	O
making	O
the	O
searching	O
of	O
such	O
text	O
convenient	O
,	O
and	O
with	O
government	O
initiatives	O
having	O
helped	O
to	O
make	O
an	O
estimated	O
100	O
titles	O
available	O
for	O
both	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
and	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
dual-function	O
nature	O
of	O
the	O
media	O
and	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
use	O
drives	O
to	O
play	O
audio	O
also	O
made	O
such	O
products	O
generally	O
attractive	O
purchases	O
,	O
particularly	O
for	O
home	O
users	O
and	O
with	O
Photo	O
CD	O
also	O
regarded	O
as	O
an	O
attraction	O
,	O
although	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
Philips	O
 '	O
CD-i	B-Device
and	O
Commodore	O
's	O
CDTV	B-Device
risked	O
a	O
level	O
of	O
confusion	O
in	O
this	O
market	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
presenting	O
another	O
challenge	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
compatibility	O
for	O
Acorn	O
's	O
own	O
products	O
and	O
technologies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
the	O
video	O
and	O
memory	O
capabilities	O
of	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
machines	O
were	O
generally	O
unable	O
to	O
take	O
advantage	O
of	O
the	O
higher	O
colour	O
depths	O
or	O
the	O
largest	O
sizes	O
of	O
the	O
scanned	O
images	O
on	O
Photo	O
CD	O
media	O
,	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
future	O
hardware	O
from	O
Acorn	O
,	O
featuring	O
the	O
next	O
generation	O
of	O
video	O
controller	O
from	O
ARM	B-Architecture
and	O
supporting	O
24-bit	O
colour	O
displays	O
,	O
was	O
anticipated	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Support	O
for	O
multi-session	O
CD-ROMs	B-Device
entailed	O
some	O
upgrades	O
to	O
existing	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
interfaces	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
drives	O
with	O
the	O
appropriate	O
capabilities	O
such	O
as	O
Acorn	O
's	O
own	O
Multimedia	O
Expansion	O
Unit	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Archimedes	B-Device
was	O
launched	O
with	O
provision	O
for	O
an	O
optional	O
Econet	O
module	O
to	O
be	O
installed	O
,	O
this	O
module	O
being	O
the	O
same	O
as	O
that	O
used	O
by	O
the	O
Master	O
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Acorn	O
introduced	O
Ethernet	O
connectivity	O
with	O
the	O
launch	O
of	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
R140	O
Unix	B-Application
workstation	O
,	O
also	O
offering	O
expansion	B-Device
cards	I-Device
for	O
Archimedes	B-Device
models	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1992	O
,	O
Atomwide	O
also	O
introduced	O
Ethernet	O
cards	O
for	O
the	O
traditional	O
Archimedes	B-Device
expansion	B-Device
bus	I-Device
and	O
for	O
the	O
internal	O
expansion	B-Device
slot	I-Device
in	O
the	O
A3000	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Numerous	O
vendors	O
offered	O
Ethernet	O
expansion	B-Device
cards	I-Device
,	O
such	O
as	O
Ant	O
Limited	O
(	O
via	O
Atomwide	O
)	O
,	O
Digital	O
Services	O
,	O
i-cubed	O
,	O
Oak	O
Solutions	O
,	O
and	O
Risc	B-Architecture
Developments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
networking	O
approaches	O
were	O
available	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
sharing	O
of	O
hard	B-Device
drives	I-Device
using	O
a	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
bus	O
,	O
and	O
emerging	O
technologies	O
such	O
as	O
Asynchronous	O
Transfer	O
Mode	O
were	O
deployed	O
on	O
the	O
Acorn	O
platform	O
,	O
notably	O
in	O
SJ	O
Research	O
's	O
Nexus	O
product	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
way	O
of	O
offering	O
continuity	O
with	O
the	O
BBC	B-Device
Micro	I-Device
and	O
the	O
user	O
port	O
,	O
1MHz	O
bus	O
port	O
and	O
analogue	O
port	O
that	O
were	O
provided	O
by	O
the	O
earlier	O
range	O
of	O
machines	O
,	O
Acorn	O
announced	O
an	O
I/O	O
podule	O
at	O
the	O
launch	O
of	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
,	O
this	O
being	O
fitted	O
with	O
the	O
6522	B-Device
VIA	O
featured	O
in	O
the	O
BBC	O
range	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
possibility	O
of	O
upgrading	O
the	O
podule	O
to	O
provide	O
a	O
MIDI	O
port	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
ROM	B-Device
podule	O
was	O
also	O
announced	O
with	O
the	O
anticipation	O
that	O
users	O
upgrading	O
from	O
the	O
earlier	O
machines	O
would	O
choose	O
to	O
fit	O
their	O
application	O
and	O
language	O
ROMs	O
in	O
their	O
new	O
machine	O
,	O
these	O
running	O
under	O
the	O
6502	O
emulator	B-Application
provided	O
with	O
the	O
operating	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
early	O
1988	O
,	O
Computer	O
Concepts	O
announced	O
its	O
own	O
ROM/RAM	O
podule	O
that	O
was	O
capable	O
of	O
accepting	O
seven	O
chips	O
,	O
each	O
with	O
a	O
maximum	O
capacity	O
of	O
128KB	O
,	O
supporting	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
installed	O
RAM	B-Architecture
as	O
"	O
a	O
RAM-disc	O
filing	O
system	O
"	O
with	O
optional	O
battery	O
backup	O
to	O
retain	O
the	O
contents	O
with	O
the	O
machine	O
powered	O
down	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
also	O
announced	O
the	O
availability	O
of	O
its	O
existing	O
BBC	B-Device
Micro	I-Device
productivity	O
suite	O
for	O
use	O
with	O
the	O
board	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Acorn	O
also	O
released	O
its	O
ROM	B-Device
and	O
I/O	O
podules	O
in	O
the	O
first	O
half	O
of	O
1988	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Model	O
Memory	O
(	O
RAM	B-Architecture
)	O
Hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
space	O
ARM	B-Architecture
processor	I-Architecture
(	O
single	O
core	O
)	O
Launch	O
date	O
UK	O
retail	O
price	O
at	O
launch	O
Notes	O
BBC	B-Device
Archimedes	I-Device
305	O
512	O
KB	O
ARM2	O
July	O
1987	O
£799	O
BBC	B-Device
Archimedes	I-Device
310	O
1	O
MB	O
ARM2	O
July	O
1987	O
£875	O
BBC	B-Device
Archimedes	I-Device
310M	O
1	O
MB	O
ARM2	O
July	O
1987	O
£960	O
Includes	O
PC	O
emulation	B-Application
software	I-Application
Acorn	B-Device
Archimedes	I-Device
410	O
1	O
MB	O
ARM2	O
July	O
1987	O
£	O
1,399	O
Announced	O
but	O
not	O
produced	O
Acorn	B-Device
Archimedes	I-Device
440	O
4	O
MB	O
20	O
MB	O
ARM2	O
July	O
1987	O
£	O
2,299	O
BBC	O
A3000	O
1	O
MB	O
ARM2	O
May	O
1989	O
£649	O
This	O
model	O
was	O
the	O
last	O
BBC-branded	O
microcomputer	O
until	O
the	O
BBC	B-Device
Micro	I-Device
Bit	O
Acorn	B-Device
Archimedes	I-Device
410/1	O
1	O
MB	O
ARM2	O
June	O
1989	O
£999	O
Improved	O
MEMC1A	O
memory	O
controller	O
over	O
previous	O
4x0	O
model	O
Acorn	B-Device
Archimedes	I-Device
420/1	O
2	O
MB	O
20	O
MB	O
ST506	B-Device
ARM2	O
June	O
1989	O
£	O
1,099	O
Acorn	B-Device
Archimedes	I-Device
440/1	O
4	O
MB	O
40	O
MB	O
ST506	B-Device
ARM2	O
June	O
1989	O
£	O
1,299	O
Improved	O
MEMC1A	O
memory	O
controller	O
over	O
previous	O
4x0	O
model	O
Acorn	O
R140	O
4	O
MB	O
47	O
MB	O
ST506	B-Device
ARM2	O
June	O
1989	O
£	O
3,500	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
iX	I-Operating_System
workstation	O
Acorn	B-Device
Archimedes	I-Device
540	O
4	O
MB	O
(	O
max	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
mid-1987	O
Personal	B-Device
Computer	I-Device
World	O
preview	O
of	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
based	O
on	O
the	O
"	O
A500	O
Development	O
System	O
"	O
expressed	O
enthusiasm	O
about	O
the	O
computer	O
's	O
performance	O
,	O
that	O
it	O
"	O
felt	O
like	O
the	O
fastest	O
computer	O
I	O
have	O
ever	O
used	O
,	O
by	O
a	O
considerable	O
margin	O
"	O
,	O
indicating	O
that	O
the	O
system	O
deserved	O
success	O
in	O
the	O
education	O
market	O
and	O
might	O
have	O
more	O
success	O
than	O
Acorn	O
's	O
earlier	O
models	O
in	O
the	O
business	O
market	O
,	O
comparing	O
favourably	O
to	O
the	O
Mac	B-Device
II	I-Device
or	O
IBM	B-Device
PS/2	I-Device
80	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Acorn	O
had	O
predicted	O
sales	O
of	O
20,000	O
Archimedes	B-Device
machines	O
by	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
1987	O
and	O
120,000	O
by	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
1988	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
imminent	O
arrival	O
of	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
for	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
,	O
later	O
coverage	O
around	O
the	O
start	O
of	O
1989	O
praised	O
the	O
desktop	O
and	O
supplied	O
applications	O
,	O
noting	O
that	O
"	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
is	O
everything	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
 '	O
original	O
Desktop	O
should	O
have	O
been	O
but	O
was	O
n't	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
looked	O
forward	O
to	O
future	O
applications	O
from	O
Acorn	O
and	O
third	O
parties	O
,	O
only	O
lamenting	O
that	O
it	O
was	O
"	O
a	O
shame	O
that	O
this	O
impressive	O
environment	O
was	O
not	O
in	O
place	O
at	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
 '	O
launch	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
's	O
still	O
not	O
too	O
late	O
for	O
it	O
to	O
turn	O
some	O
heads	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
introduction	O
of	O
the	O
A3000	O
,	O
launched	O
with	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
fitted	O
,	O
delivered	O
better	O
than	O
expected	O
sales	O
for	O
Acorn	O
,	O
with	O
an	O
estimated	O
total	O
of	O
50,000	O
Archimedes	B-Device
and	O
A3000	O
systems	O
having	O
been	O
sold	O
by	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
1989	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
early	O
1991	O
,	O
100,000	O
Archimedes	B-Device
machines	O
had	O
been	O
sold	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
A3000	O
being	O
the	O
largest	O
selling	O
computer	O
in	O
UK	O
schools	O
,	O
with	O
Acorn	O
's	O
Archimedes	B-Device
and	O
Master	B-Device
128	I-Device
accounting	O
for	O
53%	O
of	O
sales	O
in	O
an	O
eight-month	O
period	O
during	O
1990	O
,	O
and	O
with	O
the	O
32-bit	O
machines	O
"	O
outselling	O
the	O
Master	B-Device
128	I-Device
by	O
a	O
factor	O
of	O
two	O
to	O
one	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
mid-1992	O
,	O
a	O
reported	O
180,000	O
Archimedes	B-Device
machines	O
had	O
been	O
sold	O
,	O
again	O
due	O
to	O
strong	O
A3000	O
sales	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
1994	O
and	O
the	O
launch	O
of	O
the	O
Risc	B-Device
PC	I-Device
,	O
over	O
300,000	O
Archimedes	B-Device
machines	O
had	O
been	O
sold	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
A3000	O
had	O
become	O
the	O
fourth	O
best	O
selling	O
computer	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
Kingdom	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
launch	O
of	O
the	O
StrongARM	O
J233	O
variant	O
of	O
the	O
Risc	B-Device
PC	I-Device
in	O
1997	O
,	O
over	O
600,000	O
Archimedes	B-Device
,	O
A-series	O
and	O
Risc	B-Device
PC	I-Device
systems	O
had	O
been	O
sold	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Archimedes	B-Device
was	O
distributed	O
to	O
varying	O
degrees	O
outside	O
the	O
UK	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Enquiries	O
about	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
range	O
were	O
reportedly	O
handled	O
for	O
the	O
US	O
and	O
Canada	O
via	O
Olivetti	O
Canada	O
,	O
with	O
distribution	O
and	O
servicing	O
in	O
Canada	O
being	O
undertaken	O
by	O
Comspec	O
in	O
association	O
with	O
Olivetti	O
Canada	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Italy	O
,	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
was	O
promoted	O
and	O
distributed	O
by	O
G	O
.	O
Ricordi	O
&	O
C.	O
,	O
previously	O
appointed	O
as	O
Acorn	O
's	O
exclusive	O
distributor	O
in	O
the	O
country	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Acorn	O
's	O
original	O
claims	O
for	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
noted	O
a	O
performance	O
of	O
4	O
million	O
instructions	O
per	O
second	O
(	O
MIPS	O
)	O
,	O
these	O
reportedly	O
being	O
equivalent	O
to	O
DEC	O
VAX-11/750	O
instructions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
initial	O
Archimedes	B-Device
310	O
model	O
achieved	O
a	O
Dhrystone	O
score	O
of	O
4901	O
(	O
)	O
,	O
delivering	O
competitive	O
performance	O
against	O
more	O
expensive	O
contemporary	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
such	O
as	O
the	O
Compaq	B-Device
Deskpro	I-Device
386	I-Device
(	O
priced	O
from	O
$	O
6,499	O
including	O
40MB	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
)	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
Compaq	O
achieving	O
a	O
score	O
of	O
3748	O
(	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
A	O
VAX-11/780	O
running	O
VAX/VMS	B-Operating_System
4.2	O
produced	O
the	O
baseline	O
Dhrystone	O
score	O
of	O
1757	O
corresponding	O
to	O
,	O
this	O
also	O
being	O
used	O
to	O
calculate	O
MIPS	O
ratings	O
for	O
Dhrystone	O
2	O
benchmark	O
results	O
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
level	O
of	O
performance	O
made	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
one	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
powerful	O
home	O
computers	O
available	O
during	O
the	O
late	O
1980s	O
and	O
early	O
1990s	O
,	O
with	O
its	O
CPU	O
outperforming	O
the	O
Motorola	B-Device
68000	I-Device
found	O
in	O
both	O
the	O
cheaper	O
Amiga	B-Device
500	I-Device
and	O
Atari	B-Device
ST	I-Device
machines	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
more	O
expensive	O
Macintosh	B-Device
and	O
Amiga	B-Device
2000	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
an	O
68000	B-Device
has	O
a	O
performance	O
rating	O
of	O
around	O
,	O
the	O
68000-based	O
Amiga	O
1000	O
reportedly	O
achieved	O
around	O
when	O
benchmarked	O
as	O
a	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Performance	O
improvements	O
would	O
be	O
delivered	O
over	O
time	O
for	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
and	O
its	O
competitors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Upgraded	O
Amiga	O
models	O
also	O
offered	O
steadily	O
improving	O
performance	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
Amiga	O
2500/20	O
appearing	O
in	O
1988	O
and	O
the	O
Amiga	O
2500/30	O
appearing	O
in	O
1989	O
,	O
these	O
delivering	O
approximately	O
and	O
respectively	O
,	O
with	O
an	O
Amiga	B-Device
2000	I-Device
upgraded	O
to	O
a	O
68030	O
processor	O
achieving	O
a	O
performance	O
rating	O
of	O
around	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
increasing	O
performance	O
deficit	O
relative	O
to	O
the	O
x86	B-Operating_System
architecture	I-Operating_System
was	O
somewhat	O
reduced	O
with	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
the	O
ARM3	O
in	O
1990	O
:	O
an	O
Archimedes	B-Device
system	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
A410/1	O
upgraded	O
to	O
use	O
a	O
ARM3	O
could	O
achieve	O
a	O
Dhrystone	O
score	O
of	O
18367	O
(	O
)	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
ARM3-based	O
A5000	O
achieving	O
a	O
reported	O
,	O
rising	O
to	O
in	O
its	O
variant	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
development	O
of	O
ARM	B-Architecture
technologies	O
having	O
been	O
transferred	O
to	O
ARM	B-Architecture
Limited	O
as	O
a	O
separate	O
company	O
,	O
the	O
performance	O
advantages	O
of	O
Acorn	O
's	O
ARM-based	O
computers	O
,	O
maintained	O
by	O
the	O
transition	O
from	O
the	O
ARM2	O
to	O
ARM3	O
,	O
eroded	O
somewhat	O
in	O
the	O
early	O
1990s	O
relative	O
to	O
competitors	O
using	O
processors	O
from	O
established	O
vendors	O
such	O
as	O
Intel	O
and	O
Motorola	O
,	O
as	O
new	O
ARM	B-Architecture
processors	I-Architecture
gradually	O
arrived	O
offering	O
more	O
modest	O
performance	O
gains	O
over	O
their	O
predecessors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
ARM	B-Architecture
Limited	O
focusing	O
on	O
embedded	O
applications	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
noted	O
that	O
"	O
the	O
large	O
performance	O
lead	O
Arm2	O
and	O
Arm3	O
once	O
enjoyed	O
"	O
over	O
contemporary	O
Intel	O
processors	O
was	O
over	O
,	O
at	O
least	O
for	O
the	O
time	O
being	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
introduction	O
of	O
the	O
68040	O
,	O
and	O
particularly	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
the	O
80486	O
with	O
its	O
subsequent	O
evolution	O
,	O
put	O
ARM3-based	O
Archimedes	B-Device
models	O
at	O
an	O
increasing	O
performance	O
disadvantage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
Amiga	O
4000	O
with	O
68040	O
CPU	O
(	O
or	O
a	O
suitably	O
upgraded	O
Amiga	B-Device
2000	I-Device
and	O
3000	O
)	O
could	O
achieve	O
a	O
reported	O
,	O
whereas	O
Compaq	O
Deskpro	O
486/25	O
and	O
486/33	O
models	O
achieved	O
a	O
reported	O
and	O
with	O
25MHz	O
and	O
33MHz	O
80486	O
CPUs	O
respectively	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
486DX2	O
CPUs	O
at	O
50MHz	O
and	O
66MHz	O
during	O
1992	O
raising	O
this	O
to	O
as	O
much	O
as	O
around	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Against	O
such	O
performance	O
ratings	O
only	O
Acorn	O
's	O
Risc	B-Device
PC	I-Device
600	O
(	O
to	O
)	O
fitted	O
with	O
an	O
ARM610	O
CPU	O
would	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
respond	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
by	O
the	O
time	O
of	O
its	O
introduction	O
in	O
1994	O
,	O
two	O
years	O
after	O
the	O
reported	O
incorporation	O
of	O
the	O
ARM610	O
in	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
Newton	I-Device
,	O
such	O
performance	O
had	O
already	O
been	O
surpassed	O
by	O
Pentium-based	O
models	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Compaq	O
Deskpro	O
5/66M	O
Model	O
510	O
delivering	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
,	O
emulating	B-Application
floating-point	O
arithmetic	O
instructions	O
in	O
software	O
,	O
achieved	O
Whetstone	O
benchmark	O
results	O
comparable	O
to	O
Acorn	O
's	O
earlier	O
Cambridge	O
Co-Processor	O
product	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
6MHz	O
NS32016	O
CPU	O
with	O
NS32081	O
floating-point	O
unit	O
,	O
such	O
levels	O
of	O
performance	O
were	O
rather	O
less	O
impressive	O
in	O
comparison	O
to	O
contemporary	O
systems	O
equipped	O
with	O
hardware	O
floating-point	O
support	O
,	O
merely	O
reaching	O
a	O
performance	O
level	O
"	O
within	O
a	O
factor	O
of	O
two	O
or	O
less	O
"	O
of	O
IBM	B-Operating_System
PC/AT	I-Operating_System
systems	O
equipped	O
with	O
a	O
80286	O
CPU	O
and	O
80287	O
floating-point	O
co-processor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Already	O
in	O
1988	O
,	O
a	O
20MHz	O
Compaq	O
system	O
with	O
a	O
80386	O
CPU	O
and	O
80387	O
co-processor	O
would	O
achieve	O
around	O
or	O
around	O
20	O
times	O
the	O
performance	O
of	O
the	O
ARM2	O
emulating	B-Application
floating-point	O
instructions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
claimed	O
performance	O
of	O
Acorn	O
's	O
Floating	O
Point	O
Accelerator	O
(	O
FPA10	O
)	O
,	O
available	O
for	O
ARM3-based	O
Archimedes	B-Device
systems	O
,	O
was	O
originally	O
5MFLOPS	O
,	O
subsequently	O
revised	O
to	O
"	O
around	O
4MFLOPS	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
may	O
ostensibly	O
have	O
been	O
broadly	O
competitive	O
with	O
the	O
MIPS	O
R3010	O
(	O
as	O
claimed	O
by	O
ARM	B-Architecture
)	O
in	O
some	O
systems	O
under	O
benchmark	O
testing	O
,	O
with	O
an	O
A5000	O
fitted	O
with	O
FPA10	O
reportedly	O
achieving	O
around	O
4.3MFLOPS	O
,	O
compared	O
to	O
various	O
R3000/R3010	O
-based	O
systems	O
achieving	O
between	O
5.4	O
and	O
9.7MFLOPS	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Acorn	O
's	O
considerable	O
presence	O
in	O
primary	O
and	O
secondary	O
education	O
had	O
been	O
established	O
through	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
 '	O
predecessors	O
–	O
the	O
BBC	B-Device
Micro	I-Device
and	O
BBC	B-Device
Master	I-Device
–	O
with	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
supplementing	O
these	O
earlier	O
models	O
to	O
see	O
Acorn	O
's	O
products	O
collectively	O
representing	O
over	O
half	O
of	O
the	O
installed	O
computers	O
in	O
secondary	O
schools	O
at	O
the	O
start	O
of	O
the	O
1990s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
mid	O
to	O
late	O
1990s	O
,	O
the	O
UK	O
educational	O
market	O
began	O
to	O
turn	O
away	O
from	O
Acorn	O
's	O
products	O
towards	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
compatibles	O
,	O
with	O
Acorn	O
and	O
Apple	O
establishing	O
a	O
joint	O
venture	O
,	O
Xemplar	O
,	O
to	O
market	O
these	O
companies	O
 '	O
products	O
in	O
the	O
education	O
sector	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
a	O
strategy	O
to	O
uphold	O
their	O
market	O
share	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Archimedes	B-Device
was	O
used	O
by	O
music	O
composers	O
and	O
scorewriters	O
to	O
run	O
the	O
Sibelius	B-Device
scorewriting	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Between	O
1994	O
and	O
2004	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
and	O
Risc	B-Device
PC	I-Device
models	O
were	O
used	O
for	O
teleprompters	O
at	O
television	O
studios	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Archimedes	B-Device
models	O
saw	O
use	O
in	O
other	O
commercial	O
broadcasting	O
applications	O
including	O
scheduling	O
and	O
CD	O
jukebox	O
control	O
for	O
the	O
Asda	O
supermarket	O
chain	O
's	O
in-store	O
satellite	O
broadcast	O
radio	O
channel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
performance	O
and	O
adaptability	O
of	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
range	O
led	O
these	O
machines	O
to	O
be	O
used	O
in	O
various	O
entertainment	O
venue	O
applications	O
and	O
solutions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tecnation	O
's	O
Bitbopper	O
utilised	O
video	O
digitisers	O
,	O
genlock	O
and	O
MIDI	O
cards	O
in	O
Archimedes	B-Device
440	O
computers	O
,	O
integrating	O
audio	O
and	O
video	O
inputs	O
under	O
the	O
control	O
of	O
a	O
"	O
light	O
jockey	O
"	O
and	O
producing	O
audiovisual	O
output	O
via	O
venue	O
entertainment	O
system	O
installations	O
,	O
utilising	O
projectors	O
,	O
displays	O
and	O
other	O
effects	O
equipment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Laser	O
Grafx	O
's	O
Prisma	O
system	O
employed	O
Archimedes	B-Device
440	O
and	O
A5000	O
machines	O
to	O
control	O
laser	O
effects	O
installations	O
at	O
music	O
concerts	O
and	O
nightclubs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
range	O
of	O
Archimedes	B-Device
and	O
Risc	B-Device
PC	I-Device
models	O
were	O
used	O
to	O
control	O
various	O
aspects	O
of	O
the	O
Quasar	O
laser	O
tag	O
gaming	O
experience	O
,	O
being	O
introduced	O
in	O
an	O
upgrade	O
to	O
the	O
systems	O
known	O
as	O
Chromaburst	O
,	O
itself	O
subsequently	O
being	O
replaced	O
by	O
a	O
more	O
conservative	O
solution	O
using	O
PC	O
compatibles	O
.	O
</s>
