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I think he's still a bit worried about Acorn catching on.

How about this for a Connection (a point in history from which things have never been quite the same)?

Secondly, here is a (partial) list of machines that were based around the 6502 processor.

Now this is as classic as you can get. It must of been one of the earliest portable computers ever made

Just in case there were any doubters (?) ... see this link!

In similar vein, I can't remember if I've linked to this one before, but you'll find some very "interesting" kit shown here.

OK, here's today's "gem".

Why were the early hard-drives called "Winchesters"? Well, the preferred version is that the first device IBM produced using this technology had two platters, each with a capacity of 30 MB. The product was called the "3030", and by a kind stroke of fate this was also the name of an early lever-action rifle manufactured by Oliver Winchester (subsequently famous for the Model 73 that helped win the Wild West).

Less romantic chroniclers will point out that IBM happened to have a factory in the New Hampshire town of Winchester.

Which version do you prefer?

Here's today's essential reading!

OK, here's today's bulletin. Of course there were no computers about when I was at school (all that came twenty years later), but today I'm playing around with the Archimedes and A-series Acorn machines for the first time.

Even the standard A310 is brilliant for its day. Evolving onwards from the good old BBC Model B (and Master), Acorn did the sensible thing (skipping 16-bits) by jumping straight to their 32-bit ARM processor. Clever stuff. RISC OS2 from 1988 is the one I'm looking at (I still reckon that Arthur is a much better name for a computer operating system)! But also a pre-Windows WIMP "desktop"!

That A4000 is really nice! RISC OS3 from 1992. A very versatile machine. Ctrl+Shft+F12. Kids who had all that available were just so lucky!

Then there's the A5000. More of the same. Who needs a PC? Especially if you've also got the MEU? The Multimedia Expansion Unit ... which had a CD-ROM drive, SCSI connectors, and various audio outputs. And all back in the early '90's, remember.

What do they have in the schools today, I wonder? Not British kit, that's for sure.

I'm still working my way through my pile of Acorn A-series boxes (giving them the "once over", as it were). This has been my first excursion into this line of kit, and I must admit to being impressed with it, especially considering when the stuff was made (late '80's and early '90's). I love to see kit that is cleverly designed and nicely made. And where else would you find computers with VLSI chips with names like Albion, Anna and Arabella? A real touch of class, surely. But, there again, it is British after all!

Geoff

There's a ZX81 plus 16K RAM pack up for sale on ebay at the moment, finishes Tuesday. Starting bid £1.99!

Dicky