<s>
RISC	B-Operating_System
iX	I-Operating_System
is	O
a	O
discontinued	O
Unix	B-Application
operating	I-Application
system	I-Application
designed	O
to	O
run	O
on	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
workstations	B-Device
based	O
on	O
the	O
Acorn	B-Device
Archimedes	I-Device
microcomputer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Heavily	O
based	O
on	O
4.3BSD	B-Operating_System
,	O
it	O
was	O
initially	O
completed	O
in	O
1988	O
,	O
a	O
year	O
after	O
Arthur	O
but	O
before	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
introduced	O
in	O
the	O
ARM2-based	O
R140	O
workstation	B-Device
in	O
1989	O
,	O
followed	O
up	O
by	O
the	O
ARM3-based	O
R200-series	O
workstations	B-Device
in	O
1990	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Acorn	O
chose	O
BSD	B-Operating_System
4.3	O
as	O
the	O
basis	O
for	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
iX	I-Operating_System
due	O
to	O
its	O
academic	O
origins	O
,	O
these	O
being	O
considered	O
as	O
making	O
the	O
software	O
more	O
appropriate	O
for	O
Acorn	O
's	O
principal	O
target	O
market	O
of	O
tertiary	O
education	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SunOS	B-Operating_System
and	O
NeXTSTEP	B-Application
systems	O
were	O
given	O
as	O
examples	O
of	O
other	O
"	O
modern	O
high-performance	O
workstations	B-Device
that	O
use	O
BSD	B-Operating_System
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
reasons	O
for	O
choosing	O
BSD	B-Operating_System
included	O
better	O
integration	O
of	O
networking	O
and	O
connectivity	O
tools	O
in	O
comparison	O
to	O
System	B-Operating_System
V	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
Acorn	O
had	O
licensed	O
Sun	O
Microsystems	O
 '	O
NeWS	O
in	O
1987	O
,	O
broad	O
industry	O
adoption	O
of	O
the	O
X	B-Operating_System
Window	I-Operating_System
System	I-Operating_System
,	O
including	O
Sun	O
's	O
belated	O
endorsement	O
,	O
resulted	O
in	O
X11	B-Operating_System
technologies	O
featuring	O
in	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
iX	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
RISC	B-Operating_System
iX	I-Operating_System
1.2	O
upgraded	O
the	O
X11	B-Operating_System
server	I-Operating_System
to	O
release	O
4	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
certified	O
to	O
conform	O
to	O
the	O
X/Open	O
Portability	O
Guide	O
3	O
Base	O
profile	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Peculiarly	O
,	O
the	O
system	O
console	O
featured	O
a	O
two-cursor	O
text	O
copying	O
mechanism	O
inspired	O
by	O
Acorn	O
's	O
own	O
earlier	O
8-bit	O
range	O
including	O
the	O
BBC	B-Device
Micro	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
system	O
implemented	O
transparent	O
demand	O
paging	O
of	O
compressed	B-General_Concept
executable	O
programs	O
,	O
allowing	O
the	O
constituent	O
pages	O
of	O
these	O
compressed	B-General_Concept
executables	O
to	O
be	O
loaded	O
into	O
memory	O
by	O
the	O
existing	O
demand	O
paging	O
mechanism	O
and	O
then	O
expanded	O
in	O
place	O
for	O
execution	O
,	O
taking	O
advantage	O
of	O
the	O
availability	O
of	O
sparse	O
files	O
(	O
files	O
with	O
zero-padded	O
regions	O
)	O
to	O
reduce	O
the	O
disc	O
space	O
occupied	O
by	O
these	O
pages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
these	O
remedies	O
,	O
the	O
workstations	B-Device
offering	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
iX	I-Operating_System
were	O
regarded	O
as	O
being	O
hampered	O
by	O
the	O
memory	B-General_Concept
management	I-General_Concept
unit	I-General_Concept
(	O
MMU	O
)	O
using	O
32KB	O
pages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
hardware	O
supporting	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
iX	I-Operating_System
also	O
did	O
not	O
have	O
direct	O
memory	O
access	O
capabilities	O
for	O
disk	O
operations	O
,	O
meaning	O
that	O
the	O
CPU	O
would	O
spend	O
time	O
servicing	O
interrupts	O
related	O
to	O
disk	O
transfers	O
resulting	O
in	O
"	O
a	O
definite	O
reduction	O
in	O
,	O
but	O
not	O
a	O
complete	O
loss	O
of	O
,	O
available	O
CPU	O
power	O
during	O
disc	O
transfers	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
RISC	B-Operating_System
iX	I-Operating_System
was	O
either	O
supplied	O
preinstalled	O
on	O
new	O
computer	O
hardware	O
or	O
was	O
installed	O
onsite	O
from	O
a	O
portable	O
tape	O
drive	O
by	O
Granada	O
Microcare	O
,	O
who	O
would	O
take	O
the	O
installation	O
tape	O
away	O
with	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Upgrades	O
to	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
iX	I-Operating_System
1.2	O
from	O
earlier	O
versions	O
started	O
at	O
£349	O
for	O
R140	O
machines	O
,	O
and	O
new	O
installations	O
for	O
A400-series	O
machines	O
started	O
at	O
£999	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Installations	O
required	O
100MB	O
of	O
space	O
on	O
suitable	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
or	O
network	O
storage	O
,	O
with	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
and	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
card	O
bundles	O
being	O
offered	O
from	O
£1699	O
for	O
R140	O
machines	O
and	O
from	O
£2326	O
for	O
A400-series	O
machines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Once	O
installed	O
a	O
backup	O
of	O
the	O
core	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
to	O
three	O
floppy	B-Device
disks	I-Device
was	O
possible	O
,	O
allowing	O
future	O
reinstallation	O
through	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
remote	O
filesystems	O
or	O
backup	O
media	O
to	O
transfer	O
files	O
to	O
a	O
machine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
documentation	O
concerning	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
iX	I-Operating_System
1.2	O
availability	O
,	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
could	O
be	O
used	O
on	O
the	O
R140	O
,	O
R225	O
and	O
R260	O
,	O
being	O
pre-installed	O
on	O
the	O
R260	O
,	O
accessible	O
via	O
a	O
fileserver	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
an	O
R260	O
)	O
on	O
the	O
R225	O
,	O
and	O
as	O
an	O
upgrade	O
from	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
iX	I-Operating_System
1.15	O
or	O
earlier	O
on	O
the	O
R140	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
A540	O
,	O
being	O
practically	O
identical	O
to	O
the	O
R260	O
,	O
could	O
support	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
iX	I-Operating_System
as	O
delivered	O
,	O
whereas	O
A400-series	O
machines	O
required	O
an	O
Acorn	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
card	O
,	O
with	O
older	O
A400-series	O
machines	O
also	O
needing	O
a	O
memory	O
controller	O
upgrade	O
and	O
"	O
all	O
the	O
appropriate	O
field	O
change	O
orders	O
"	O
to	O
have	O
been	O
performed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
RISCiX	B-Operating_System
is	O
not	O
compatible	O
with	O
later	O
Archimedes	B-Device
machines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
machines	O
were	O
designed	O
specifically	O
to	O
run	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
iX	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
unreleased	O
machine	O
,	O
built	O
internally	O
by	O
Acorn	O
for	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
iX	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Prototyped	O
but	O
unreleased	O
,	O
the	O
A680	O
contained	O
an	O
ARM2	O
processor	O
,	O
8MB	O
RAM	B-Architecture
,	O
a	O
70MB	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
running	O
from	O
an	O
onboard	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
controller	O
,	O
and	O
either	O
a	O
40MB	O
cartridge	O
tape	O
drive	O
or	O
a	O
single	O
2MB	O
floppy	B-Device
drive	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
system	O
was	O
meant	O
to	O
run	O
Frame	B-Device
Technology	I-Device
's	I-Device
FrameMaker	I-Device
under	O
the	O
"	O
Acorn	O
UNIX	B-Application
"	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
support	O
8MB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
,	O
dual	O
memory	O
controller	O
(	O
MEMC	O
)	O
units	O
were	O
employed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
No	O
other	O
machine	O
from	O
Acorn	O
Computers	O
included	O
integrated	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
rumoured	O
that	O
overheating	O
from	O
the	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
controller	O
was	O
one	O
reason	O
for	O
the	O
machine	O
to	O
never	O
be	O
released	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Based	O
on	O
the	O
A440/1	O
,	O
the	O
R140	O
uses	O
the	O
same	O
8MHz	O
ARM2	O
processor	O
and	O
4MB	O
RAM	B-Architecture
,	O
also	O
providing	O
a	O
60MB	O
ST506	B-Device
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
,	O
with	O
the	O
option	O
of	O
adding	O
a	O
second	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
using	O
the	O
same	O
internal	O
controller	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
adaptor	O
was	O
available	O
(	O
priced	O
at	O
£299	O
plus	O
VAT	O
)	O
for	O
other	O
storage	O
peripherals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
the	O
hardware	O
is	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
Archimedes	B-Device
series	O
,	O
Acorn	O
's	O
podule	O
expansions	O
could	O
be	O
added	O
,	O
although	O
appropriate	O
drivers	O
would	O
have	O
needed	O
to	O
be	O
written	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
time	O
of	O
initial	O
release	O
in	O
1989	O
,	O
the	O
cost	O
of	O
the	O
R140	O
was	O
£	O
3,500	O
for	O
a	O
standalone	O
workstation	B-Device
without	O
Ethernet	O
connectivity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
the	O
additional	O
cost	O
of	O
the	O
Ethernet	O
expansion	O
( £449	O
plus	O
VAT	O
)	O
,	O
a	O
network-capable	O
workstation	B-Device
could	O
be	O
configured	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Supplied	O
with	O
RISCOS2	O
in	O
ROM	O
,	O
the	O
machine	O
would	O
boot	O
that	O
OS	O
then	O
could	O
either	O
automatically	O
boot	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
iX	I-Operating_System
totally	O
removing	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
from	O
memory	O
or	O
continue	O
running	O
RISCOSoptionally	O
being	O
rebooted	O
into	O
RISCiX	B-Operating_System
at	O
any	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
ordinary	O
A440/1	O
with	O
at	O
least	O
4MB	O
RAM	B-Architecture
and	O
a	O
suitable	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
could	O
also	O
run	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
iX	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Based	O
on	O
the	O
A540	O
,	O
the	O
R260	O
originally	O
contained	O
a	O
26MHz	O
,	O
(	O
later	O
33MHz	O
)	O
ARM3	O
processor	O
,	O
8MB	O
RAM	B-Architecture
(	O
upgradable	O
to	O
16MB	O
)	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
adapter	O
and	O
a	O
100MB	O
or	O
120MB	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
(	O
typically	O
a	O
Conner	O
CP30100	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
booted	O
in	O
the	O
same	O
style	O
as	O
the	O
earlier	O
R140	O
,	O
but	O
was	O
normally	O
configured	O
for	O
customers	O
to	O
boot	O
straight	O
into	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
iX	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
similarly	O
configured	O
A540	O
could	O
run	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
iX	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
well	O
as	O
industry-standard	O
Ethernet	O
,	O
Acorn	O
's	O
own	O
Econet	B-Device
was	O
supported	O
,	O
facilitating	O
connectivity	O
between	O
Econet	B-Device
and	O
IP-based	O
Ethernet	O
networks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Moreover	O
,	O
the	O
Econet	B-Device
interface	O
on	O
a	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
iX	I-Operating_System
workstation	B-Device
could	O
be	O
treated	O
as	O
a	O
"	O
Unix	B-Application
networking	O
"	O
interface	O
,	O
permitting	O
TCP/IP	O
requests	O
to	O
be	O
sent	O
over	O
Econet	B-Device
to	O
hosts	O
capable	O
of	O
handling	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1991	O
,	O
with	O
Ethernet	O
becoming	O
more	O
widespread	O
on	O
campus	O
networks	O
,	O
Acorn	O
offered	O
a	O
Network	O
Gateway	O
Starter	O
Pack	O
featuring	O
the	O
R140	O
equipped	O
with	O
Econet	B-Device
and	O
Ethernet	O
adapters	O
at	O
a	O
price	O
of	O
£2499	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
licence	O
for	O
the	O
TCP/IP	O
Protocol	O
Suite	O
included	O
to	O
allow	O
Archimedes	B-Device
computers	O
to	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
communicate	O
with	O
such	O
Ethernet-based	O
networks	O
via	O
the	O
gateway	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Similar	O
Econet	B-Device
gateway	O
capabilities	O
were	O
eventually	O
extended	O
to	O
computers	O
running	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
with	O
Acorn	O
's	O
TCP/IP	O
Protocol	O
Suite	O
product	O
and	O
with	O
the	O
broader	O
Acorn	O
Universal	O
Networking	O
(	O
AUN	O
)	O
suite	O
of	O
technologies	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
device	O
driver	O
update	O
eventually	O
provided	O
a	O
similar	O
means	O
of	O
routing	O
TCP/IP	O
communications	O
over	O
Econet	B-Device
networks	O
for	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
machines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1989	O
,	O
Acorn	O
announced	O
support	O
for	O
the	O
R140	O
from	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
application	O
software	O
vendors	O
,	O
including	O
Informix	B-Application
,	O
along	O
with	O
applications	O
such	O
as	O
Uniplex	O
,	O
Q-Office	O
(	O
from	O
Quadratron	O
)	O
,	O
Tetraplan	O
,	O
Sculptor	O
(	O
from	O
MPD	O
)	O
,	O
Sea	O
Change	O
(	O
from	O
Thomson	O
)	O
,	O
Recital	O
(	O
"	O
a	O
dBase	O
compatible	O
relational	O
database	O
"	O
)	O
and	O
Q-Calc	O
(	O
"	O
a	O
Lotus	O
,	O
key-compatible	O
spreadsheet	O
"	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Applications	O
for	O
school	O
administration	O
and	O
financial	O
management	O
-	O
SIMS	O
and	O
SCRIPT	O
(	O
a	O
COBOL-based	O
school	O
administration	O
system	O
)	O
-	O
were	O
also	O
offered	O
in	O
a	O
bundle	O
with	O
the	O
R140	O
workstation	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
database	O
application	O
development	O
tool	O
DataFlex	B-Application
was	O
announced	O
for	O
the	O
R140	O
in	O
mid-1990	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
Acorn	O
stating	O
an	O
intention	O
to	O
offer	O
a	O
Unix	B-Application
system	I-Application
from	O
as	O
early	O
as	O
1982	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
National	B-Device
Semiconductor	I-Device
32016	I-Device
platform	O
being	O
the	O
proposed	O
vehicle	O
for	O
such	O
a	O
product	O
,	O
technical	O
difficulties	O
with	O
the	O
32016	B-Device
's	O
chipset	O
led	O
to	O
the	O
Acorn	B-Device
Cambridge	I-Device
Workstation	I-Device
-	O
the	O
surviving	O
product	O
from	O
the	O
Acorn	B-Device
Business	I-Device
Computer	I-Device
range	O
-	O
shipping	O
with	O
a	O
proprietary	O
Acorn	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
instead	O
of	O
the	O
planned	O
Xenix-based	O
Unix	B-Application
offering	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
the	O
ARM	B-Architecture
chipset	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
Acorn	O
was	O
finally	O
in	O
a	O
position	O
to	O
deliver	O
its	O
own	O
system	O
capable	O
of	O
running	O
Unix	B-Application
,	O
announcing	O
work	O
as	O
early	O
as	O
the	O
autumn	O
of	O
1987	O
on	O
an	O
"	O
upmarket	O
ARM-based	O
workstation	B-Device
to	O
run	O
the	O
Unix	B-Application
operating	I-Application
system	I-Application
"	O
for	O
release	O
in	O
mid-1988	O
to	O
compete	O
with	O
Sun	O
and	O
Apollo	O
models	O
in	O
the	O
higher	O
education	O
market	O
,	O
featuring	O
a	O
built-in	O
WE32206	O
"	O
arithmetic	O
co-processor	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
eventually	O
bringing	O
the	O
R140	O
to	O
market	O
alongside	O
the	O
second	O
iteration	O
of	O
ARM2-based	O
Archimedes	B-Device
400-series	O
models	O
and	O
the	O
R225	O
and	O
R260	O
to	O
market	O
alongside	O
the	O
high-end	O
,	O
ARM3-based	O
Archimedes	B-Device
540	O
,	O
all	O
within	O
the	O
space	O
of	O
a	O
couple	O
of	O
years	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
introduction	O
of	O
the	O
R225	O
and	O
R260	O
renewed	O
the	O
enthusiasm	O
of	O
some	O
commentators	O
who	O
conceded	O
that	O
the	O
earlier	O
ARM2-based	O
R140	O
,	O
alongside	O
competition	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
80386	O
,	O
68020	O
and	O
68030	O
processors	O
,	O
were	O
underpowered	O
to	O
run	O
"	O
wedding-cake	O
configurations	O
"	O
of	O
the	O
X	B-Operating_System
Window	I-Operating_System
System	I-Operating_System
,	O
Motif	O
,	O
X.desktop	B-Application
and	O
other	O
software	O
,	O
but	O
considered	O
Acorn	O
's	O
ARM3	O
products	O
,	O
alongside	O
competition	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
80486	O
,	O
SPARC	B-Architecture
and	O
88000	O
processors	O
,	O
to	O
be	O
more	O
capable	O
of	O
such	O
tasks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nevertheless	O
,	O
Acorn	O
discontinued	O
R260	O
production	O
in	O
1993	O
,	O
shortly	O
after	O
announcing	O
the	O
floating	O
point	O
accelerator	O
unit	O
,	O
which	O
had	O
been	O
promised	O
for	O
1991	O
and	O
repeatedly	O
delayed	O
,	O
and	O
subsequently	O
offered	O
no	O
new	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
iX	I-Operating_System
system	O
products	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
there	O
were	O
expectations	O
that	O
Acorn	O
's	O
corporate	O
parent	O
,	O
Olivetti	O
,	O
might	O
have	O
provided	O
opportunities	O
for	O
ARM-based	O
Unix	B-Device
workstation	I-Device
products	O
,	O
leveraging	O
its	O
relationship	O
with	O
AT&T	O
as	O
the	O
proprietor	O
of	O
Unix	B-Application
,	O
it	O
became	O
apparent	O
that	O
T	O
's	O
own	O
interests	O
lay	O
with	O
products	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
SPARC	B-Architecture
architecture	O
,	O
with	O
AT&T	O
also	O
having	O
an	O
ownership	O
stake	O
in	O
Sun	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Olivetti	O
's	O
own	O
workstation	B-Device
strategy	O
was	O
incoherent	O
at	O
the	O
turn	O
of	O
the	O
1990s	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
company	O
announcing	O
products	O
based	O
on	O
MIPS	O
and	O
Alpha	O
architectures	O
before	O
settling	O
on	O
Intel	O
's	O
architecture	O
once	O
again	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Olivetti	O
itself	O
had	O
previously	O
made	O
a	O
workstation	B-Device
,	O
the	O
CP486	O
,	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
Intel	O
80486	O
running	O
SCO	O
Unix	B-Application
or	O
Xenix	B-Application
and	O
offering	O
support	O
for	O
the	O
Weitek	O
4167	O
floating	O
point	O
unit	O
and	O
Intel	O
i860	O
"	O
application	O
accelerator	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
machine	O
was	O
available	O
in	O
1989	O
and	O
described	O
as	O
the	O
basis	O
of	O
a	O
"	O
high-cost	O
authoring	O
workstation	B-Device
"	O
in	O
a	O
European	O
initiative	O
,	O
but	O
was	O
rather	O
more	O
expensive	O
than	O
Acorn	O
's	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
iX	I-Operating_System
workstations	B-Device
,	O
costing	O
$	O
16,250	O
for	O
a	O
configuration	O
with	O
4MB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
and	O
150MB	O
hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Crude	O
hardware	O
performance	O
comparisons	O
based	O
on	O
Dhrystone	O
benchmarking	O
under	O
like-for-like	O
environments	O
-	O
taking	O
results	O
from	O
CP486	O
benchmarks	O
run	O
under	O
DOS	O
and	O
from	O
Archimedes	B-Device
benchmarks	O
run	O
under	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
-	O
indicate	O
that	O
the	O
CP486	O
(	O
rated	O
at	O
25456	O
Dhrystones	O
per	O
second	O
)	O
was	O
several	O
times	O
faster	O
than	O
the	O
R140	O
(	O
similar	O
ARM2-based	O
machines	O
producing	O
a	O
rating	O
of	O
approximately	O
6000	O
)	O
and	O
was	O
still	O
considerably	O
faster	O
than	O
the	O
R260	O
(	O
rated	O
at	O
22425	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Of	O
more	O
relevance	O
to	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
iX	I-Operating_System
itself	O
,	O
in	O
the	O
context	O
of	O
the	O
workstations	B-Device
developed	O
for	O
European	O
initiatives	O
,	O
the	O
Chorus	B-Operating_System
system	I-Operating_System
was	O
to	O
be	O
used	O
as	O
the	O
basis	O
of	O
the	O
Unix	B-Application
operating	I-Application
system	I-Application
provided	O
,	O
this	O
having	O
been	O
ported	O
to	O
the	O
ARM3	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
computational	O
performance	O
terms	O
,	O
Acorn	O
's	O
R140	O
compared	O
unfavourably	O
with	O
other	O
1989	O
models	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Sun	O
SPARCstation	B-Architecture
1	I-Architecture
and	O
Digital	O
DECstation	B-Device
3100	I-Device
,	O
particularly	O
with	O
regard	O
to	O
floating-point	O
performance	O
,	O
although	O
such	O
disadvantages	O
could	O
perhaps	O
have	O
been	O
somewhat	O
overlooked	O
in	O
an	O
entry-level	O
workstation	B-Device
costing	O
around	O
or	O
approximately	O
$	O
,	O
compared	O
to	O
for	O
the	O
DECstation	B-Device
3100	I-Device
,	O
or	O
for	O
the	O
entry-level	O
DECstation	B-Device
2100	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
R260	O
compared	O
more	O
favourably	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
integer	O
performance	O
with	O
its	O
contemporaries	O
employing	O
processors	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Intel	O
486	O
and	O
Motorola	O
68030	O
,	O
but	O
comparing	O
less	O
favourably	O
with	O
68040-based	O
models	O
and	O
newer	O
models	O
from	O
traditional	O
RISC	O
workstation	B-Device
vendors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
point	O
of	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
floating-point	O
hardware	O
for	O
the	O
R260	O
in	O
1993	O
,	O
the	O
performance	O
of	O
the	O
R260	O
was	O
decidedly	O
uncompetitive	O
with	O
the	O
final	O
MIPS-based	O
DECstation	B-Device
models	O
and	O
contemporary	O
SPARCstation	O
models	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1994	O
,	O
the	O
Risc	B-Device
PC	I-Device
launched	O
with	O
an	O
improved	O
chipset	O
that	O
was	O
amenable	O
to	O
running	O
Unix	B-Application
,	O
and	O
amidst	O
a	O
certain	O
level	O
of	O
interest	O
in	O
the	O
"	O
large	O
potential	O
"	O
of	O
Unix	B-Application
running	O
on	O
the	O
new	O
machine	O
,	O
the	O
independent	O
RiscBSD	O
initiative	O
was	O
announced	O
in	O
August	O
1994	O
to	O
bring	O
"	O
a	O
base	O
of	O
BSD4.4	O
-	O
probably	O
the	O
NetBSD	B-Device
flavour	O
"	O
to	O
this	O
hardware	O
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Meanwhile	O
,	O
another	O
initiative	O
,	O
ArcBSD	O
,	O
sought	O
to	O
port	O
FreeBSD	O
to	O
"	O
all	O
32-bit	O
Acorn	O
machines	O
with	O
sufficient	O
RAM	B-Architecture
and	O
hard	B-Device
disc	I-Device
space	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
not	O
developed	O
with	O
any	O
significant	O
Acorn	O
involvement	O
,	O
RiscBSD	O
eventually	O
became	O
NetBSD/arm32	O
(	O
being	O
imported	O
in	O
NetBSD	B-Device
1.2	O
)	O
and	O
was	O
used	O
in	O
a	O
Risc	O
PC-based	O
product	O
sold	O
by	O
Acorn	O
's	O
education	O
joint	O
venture	O
,	O
Xemplar	O
,	O
called	O
NCServer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
product	O
evolved	O
to	O
employ	O
server	O
hardware	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
Simtec	O
CATS	O
board	O
,	O
providing	O
access	O
to	O
files	O
and	O
applications	O
stored	O
on	O
the	O
server	O
via	O
an	O
HTML-based	O
interface	O
,	O
with	O
RISC	O
OS-based	O
network	O
computers	O
being	O
able	O
to	O
run	O
the	O
NCWorks	O
suite	O
of	O
applications	O
customised	O
from	O
various	O
familiar	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
applications	O
such	O
as	O
Draw	O
,	O
Paint	O
,	O
EasiWriter	O
,	O
DataPower	O
and	O
Schema	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
NetBSD	B-Device
support	O
for	O
Acorn	O
machines	O
was	O
eventually	O
provided	O
by	O
the	O
acorn32	O
port	O
for	O
Risc	B-Device
PC	I-Device
and	O
A7000	O
family	O
models	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
the	O
acorn26	O
port	O
for	O
Archimedes	B-Device
,	O
A-series	O
and	O
R-series	O
models	O
,	O
thus	O
bringing	O
a	O
more	O
modern	O
Unix	B-Application
variant	O
to	O
Acorn	O
's	O
original	O
Unix	B-Device
workstations	I-Device
.	O
</s>
