<s>
The	B-Device
BBC	I-Device
Domesday	I-Device
Project	I-Device
was	O
a	O
partnership	O
between	O
Acorn	O
Computers	O
,	O
Philips	O
,	O
Logica	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
BBC	O
(	O
with	O
some	O
funding	O
from	O
the	O
European	O
Commission	O
's	O
ESPRIT	O
programme	O
)	O
to	O
mark	O
the	O
900th	O
anniversary	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
Domesday	O
Book	O
,	O
an	O
11th-century	O
census	O
of	O
England	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
project	O
also	O
incorporated	O
professionally	O
prepared	O
video	O
footage	O
,	O
virtual	B-Application
reality	I-Application
tours	O
of	O
major	O
landmarks	O
and	O
other	O
prepared	O
datasets	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
1981	O
census	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
project	O
was	O
stored	O
on	O
adapted	O
LaserDiscs	O
in	O
the	O
LaserVision	B-General_Concept
Read	I-General_Concept
Only	I-General_Concept
Memory	I-General_Concept
(	O
LV-ROM	B-General_Concept
)	O
format	O
,	O
which	O
contained	O
not	O
only	O
analogue	O
video	O
and	O
still	O
pictures	O
,	O
but	O
also	O
digital	O
data	O
,	O
with	O
300	O
MB	O
of	O
storage	O
space	O
on	O
each	O
side	O
of	O
the	O
disc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Data	O
and	O
images	O
were	O
selected	O
and	O
collated	O
by	O
the	B-Device
BBC	I-Device
Domesday	I-Device
project	I-Device
based	O
in	O
Bilton	O
House	O
in	O
West	O
Ealing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Viewing	O
the	O
discs	O
required	O
a	O
BBC	B-Device
Master	I-Device
AIV	O
-	O
an	O
Acorn	B-Device
BBC	I-Device
Master	I-Device
expanded	O
with	O
a	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
controller	O
and	O
the	O
65C102	O
"	O
Turbo	O
"	O
co-processor	B-General_Concept
-	O
which	O
controlled	O
a	O
Philips	O
VP415	O
LaserVision	O
laserdisc	O
player	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
user	O
interface	O
consisted	O
of	O
the	O
BBC	B-Device
Master	I-Device
's	O
keyboard	O
and	O
a	O
trackball	B-Device
(	O
more	O
specifically	O
the	O
Marconi	O
RB2	O
Trackerball	O
rebranded	O
by	O
Acorn	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
application	O
software	O
for	O
the	O
project	O
was	O
written	O
in	O
BCPL	B-Language
(	O
a	O
precursor	O
to	O
C	B-Language
)	O
for	O
portability	O
between	O
different	O
hardware	O
and	O
software	O
platforms	O
,	O
although	O
the	O
software	O
required	O
additional	O
patches	O
to	O
run	O
on	O
the	O
RM	O
Nimbus	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
Amiga	B-Device
version	O
of	O
the	O
system	O
was	O
considered	O
but	O
not	O
initiated	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Aside	O
from	O
the	O
difficulty	O
of	O
emulating	B-Application
the	O
original	O
code	O
,	O
a	O
major	O
issue	O
was	O
that	O
the	O
still	O
images	O
had	O
been	O
stored	O
on	O
the	O
laserdisc	O
as	O
single-frame	O
analogue	O
video	O
,	O
which	O
were	O
overlaid	O
by	O
the	O
computer	O
system	O
's	O
graphical	O
interface	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
BBC	O
later	O
announced	O
that	O
the	O
CAMiLEON	O
project	O
(	O
a	O
partnership	O
between	O
the	O
University	O
of	O
Leeds	O
and	O
University	O
of	O
Michigan	O
,	O
led	O
by	O
Margaret	O
Hedstrom	O
and	O
managed	O
by	O
researcher	O
Paul	O
Wheatley	O
)	O
had	O
developed	O
a	O
system	O
capable	O
of	O
accessing	O
the	O
discs	O
using	O
emulation	B-Application
techniques	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
CAMiLEON	O
project	O
transferred	O
the	O
text	O
and	O
database	O
files	O
stored	O
on	O
the	O
Domesday	O
laserdiscs	O
to	O
a	O
Linux-based	O
computer	O
using	O
an	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
connection	O
to	O
the	O
player	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
modified	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
Free	O
Software	B-Application
emulator	I-Application
,	O
BeebEm	O
,	O
was	O
then	O
used	O
to	O
access	O
the	O
archived	O
data	O
,	O
with	O
enhancements	O
introduced	O
to	O
support	O
emulation	B-Application
of	O
the	O
Turbo	O
co-processor	B-General_Concept
,	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
communication	O
and	O
laserdisc	O
player	O
functionality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
data	O
comprising	O
around	O
25,000	O
images	O
was	O
loaded	O
onto	O
the	O
BBC	B-Device
Domesday	I-Device
Reloaded	O
website	O
which	O
went	O
online	O
in	O
May	O
2011	O
and	O
offline	O
in	O
June	O
2018	O
,	O
being	O
hosted	O
in	O
archived	O
form	O
at	O
the	O
National	O
Archives	O
thereafter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
stated	O
objective	O
of	O
the	O
group	O
is	O
to	O
create	O
hardware	O
and	O
software	O
to	O
permit	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
BBC	B-Device
Domesday	I-Device
system	O
without	O
the	O
need	O
for	O
the	O
rare	O
and	O
expensive	O
specialist	O
hardware	O
employed	O
by	O
the	O
original	O
system	O
,	O
also	O
providing	O
support	O
for	O
the	O
original	O
hardware	O
,	O
releasing	O
developments	O
under	O
Free	O
Software	O
and	O
open	O
hardware	O
licences	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Centre	O
for	O
Computing	O
History	O
has	O
undertaken	O
a	O
similar	O
project	O
to	O
preserve	O
the	O
data	O
from	O
the	O
Domesday	B-Device
Project	I-Device
and	O
made	O
it	O
available	O
online	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
emulator	B-Application
has	O
since	O
been	O
made	O
available	O
in	O
collaboration	O
with	O
the	O
Domesday86	O
project	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
deputy	O
editor	O
of	O
the	O
Domesday	B-Device
Project	I-Device
,	O
Mike	O
Tibbets	O
,	O
has	O
criticised	O
the	O
UK	O
's	O
National	O
Data	O
Archive	O
to	O
which	O
the	O
archive	O
material	O
was	O
originally	O
entrusted	O
,	O
arguing	O
that	O
the	O
creators	O
knew	O
that	O
the	O
technology	O
would	O
be	O
short-lived	O
but	O
that	O
the	O
archivists	O
had	O
failed	O
to	O
preserve	O
the	O
material	O
effectively	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
initial	O
decision	O
to	O
only	O
support	O
the	O
entry	O
of	O
text	O
in	O
English	O
for	O
the	O
Domesday	B-Device
discs	I-Device
led	O
to	O
a	O
dispute	O
involving	O
Welsh	O
schools	O
in	O
areas	O
where	O
local	O
education	O
authorities	O
supported	O
both	O
English	O
and	O
Welsh	O
as	O
first	O
languages	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
as	O
many	O
as	O
13,000	O
schools	O
showed	O
an	O
interest	O
in	O
collecting	O
and	O
submitting	O
data	O
,	O
these	O
schools	O
mainly	O
covered	O
urban	O
areas	O
,	O
leaving	O
"	O
large	O
gaps	O
of	O
knowledge	O
"	O
in	O
rural	O
areas	O
,	O
and	O
leading	O
the	O
Domesday	B-Device
Project	I-Device
team	O
to	O
reach	O
out	O
to	O
the	O
Women	O
's	O
Institute	O
,	O
Scout	O
Association	O
,	O
Guide	O
Association	O
and	O
to	O
farmers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
likely	O
that	O
the	O
Domesday	B-Device
Project	I-Device
will	O
not	O
be	O
completely	O
free	O
of	O
copyright	O
restrictions	O
until	O
at	O
least	O
2090	O
(	O
assuming	O
no	O
further	O
extensions	O
of	O
copyright	O
terms	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
BBC	O
Master-based	O
system	O
used	O
to	O
deliver	O
the	O
Domesday	B-Device
Project	I-Device
content	O
,	O
known	O
as	O
the	O
Domesday	O
Advanced	O
Interactive	O
Video	O
(	O
AIV	O
)	O
System	O
,	O
was	O
also	O
intended	O
as	O
a	O
platform	O
to	O
support	O
other	O
interactive	O
video	O
applications	O
,	O
integrating	O
with	O
programming	O
languages	O
such	O
as	O
BASIC	O
and	O
Logo	O
via	O
the	O
operating	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virgin	O
's	O
North	O
Polar	O
Expedition	O
title	O
,	O
in	O
contrast	O
to	O
Ecodisc	O
,	O
provided	O
the	O
software	O
to	O
support	O
interaction	O
on	O
separate	O
floppy	O
disks	O
instead	O
of	O
as	O
LV-ROM	B-General_Concept
content	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
priced	O
at	O
£199	O
plus	O
VAT	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
reportedly	O
a	O
"	O
testbed	O
for	O
CDI	B-Device
applications	O
"	O
planned	O
by	O
Virgin	O
Publishing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Having	O
received	O
one	O
unfavourable	O
verdict	O
that	O
the	O
title	O
offered	O
"	O
a	O
tired	O
question	O
and	O
answer	O
format	O
in	O
what	O
should	O
be	O
an	O
innovative	O
new	O
medium	O
"	O
,	O
a	O
response	O
to	O
this	O
particular	O
review	O
attempted	O
to	O
address	O
such	O
criticisms	O
by	O
noting	O
the	O
limitations	O
of	O
the	O
interaction	O
method	O
employed	O
by	O
the	O
Domesday	O
system	O
,	O
the	O
tightly	O
coupled	O
sound	O
and	O
video	O
capabilities	O
of	O
the	O
medium	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
need	O
to	O
deliver	O
and	O
improve	O
the	O
software	O
without	O
involving	O
the	O
"	O
expensive	O
and	O
complex	O
LV-ROM	B-General_Concept
mastering	O
process	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
response	O
also	O
questioned	O
the	O
future	O
of	O
the	O
LV-ROM	B-General_Concept
format	O
,	O
in	O
contrast	O
to	O
Laservision	O
and	O
CD-ROM	O
,	O
also	O
indicating	O
that	O
CD-I	B-Device
would	O
remove	O
various	O
restrictions	O
experienced	O
with	O
the	O
laserdisc	O
medium	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Volcanoes	O
disc	O
(	O
priced	O
at	O
£194.35	O
)	O
employed	O
"	O
new	O
AIV	O
features	O
like	O
hypertext	O
"	O
and	O
had	O
graphical	O
content	O
that	O
was	O
created	O
on	O
Archimedes	B-Device
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Acorn	O
's	O
success	O
in	O
the	O
interactive	O
video	O
market	O
was	O
reportedly	O
hindered	O
by	O
Acorn	O
's	O
financial	O
difficulties	O
of	O
1985	O
putting	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
"	O
support	O
or	O
commitment	O
"	O
into	O
question	O
,	O
even	O
leading	O
to	O
the	O
BBC	O
taking	O
over	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
the	O
Domesday	B-Device
Project	I-Device
's	O
retrieval	O
software	O
from	O
Acorn	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
instance	O
,	O
a	O
system	O
was	O
offered	O
by	O
Eltec	O
Computers	O
and	O
the	O
British	O
Nuclear	O
Forum	O
consisting	O
of	O
a	O
BBC	B-Device
A3000	I-Device
,	O
LaserVision	O
406	O
player	O
,	O
genlock	O
card	O
,	O
and	O
three	O
discs	O
designed	O
by	O
educators	O
at	O
Newcastle	O
University	O
aimed	O
at	O
secondary	O
schools	O
.	O
</s>
