Acorn Computers

History

1978: Formation of CPU

The history Acorn is connected with other known British company — Sinclair Research where the well-known ZX Spectrum computer was created. Future co-founder of Acorn Chris Carry made the career in Sinclair Radionics (later — Research). In those days Carry and Sinclair were friends and together worked on the pocket calculator and other projects, but in 1978 in ZX80 prototype set-up time (one of predecessors of ZX Spectrum) they so strongly disagreed rather future computer that Carry abandoned Sinclair and his company. And soon based own — together with the entrepreneur, the inventor and the investor Herman Hauzer. The firm was called Cambridge Processor Unit, or just^[1].

Hauzer already managed to recruit by then one ingenious student of the Cambridge university — Roger Wilson. That was literally fallen in love electronics, for memory quoted reference books of components and wrote execute-only programs without uniform error — at least such is a legend. Wilson had a small experience of this work — for it was registered unless creation of the automated cows feeder on the basis of the MOS Technology 6502 chip. But when Hauzer suggested Wilson to participate in creation of the electronic notebook (which so and was not born then), that immediately agreed.

Herman Hauzer and Chris Carry at the beginning of Acorn

Carry brought with itself into new firm of one more student of Cambridge — the second-year student Steve Ferber. Ferber, as well as Carry, worked for Sinclair earlier and was engaged in development of MK14 set from which anyone could assemble the unpretentious home computer. At first Ferber had to combine work in CPU with study, but it had no doubts that after obtaining the diploma he will be able to continue to do favorite thing — to construct computers.

1979: Renaming into Acorn

In 1979 CPU was renamed into Acorn (that is translated as "acorn"), allegedly to be registered in the phonebook to Apple. But the most important — the firm that year released the first product, Acorn System 1. It was very modest computer for scientific computations which had the one-line LCD display and being on sale for 80 pounds sterling. For comparison, ZX80 which too was considered as extremely cheap assembled cost one hundred.

Acorn System 1 looked very modestly — not at once will tell that it is the computer

1981: Deliveries to schools of the BBC Micro computer

True success waited for Acorn in 1981 when together with BBC Carry and Hauzer managed to win the tender for deliveries of computers to the British schools — BBC Micro so was born. Clive Sinclair participated in the tender too and was so enraged by defeat that attacked the former friend and the colleague Chris Carry in one of the Cambridge pubs and otkhlestat its newspaper contracted into a tubule.

BBC Micro in England is known not less, than ZX Spectrum

1983: Start of development of own processor

Except for a ridiculous quarrel with the father of ZX Spectrum, case at the company in 1983 went not bad: BBC Micro was sold in polutoramilliardny copies, and the profit of Acorn jumped up from three thousand pounds to nearly nine million. Bill Gates even suggested Hauzer to port MS-DOS and the corporate BASIC interpreter on BBC Micro, but Hauzer refused.

The command of own developers Acorn grew, and founders thought that it is time to pass to a new round of development: instead of computers on the basis of eight-bit chips to release machines is more powerful — with sixteen-bit the central processor.

As option processors of National Semiconductor were considered, but Robert Wilson visited the Israeli headquarters of this company and remained is dissatisfied:

"There about hundred people, and all the same continually errors work on the chip".

Afterwards Wilson went to the American firm Western Design Center where saw exactly antiput picture: processors were developed by small groups of engineers, and almost in house conditions. Wilson asked a question: and whether it is necessary to buy someone else's processor if it is possible to make own? The example of WDC showed that it is not as difficult as can seem.

The idea to Acorn was admitted favourably, and work began to boil. Wilson thought up a set of instructions, and Ferber with a small command developed architecture of future processor. Then the fatal decision to use the modern principle of RISC was made.

Scheme of one of the first RISC processors

1985: Release of the first ARM processor

The ARM processor (Acorn RISC Machine) first in the history was released in 1985, but the computer on its basis did not appear. It was sold as addition to BBC Master — this advanced version of BBC Micro had a special interface for connection of coprocessors. Set for development of programs for RISC was also included in the package.

1987: The Archimedes computer on ARM 2

The following incarnation of the processor — ARM 2 was waited by much more interesting destiny: it formed the basis of the unique machine under the name Archimedes which for the first time went on sale in 1987. ARM 2 had 32-bit architecture, and the address bus supported 26 discharges, and thus could be addressed up to 64 MB of RAM (huge space for those times and frivolous on present). ARM 2 frequency now too will hardly strike somebody and 1985 8 MHz could consider an average value. Intel which left approximately at the same time 80368 worked at twice bigger frequency, but it does not mean, what is twice more effective. the 386th issued only one million transactions more — five against four at ARM 2. Here it, advantage of RISC!

Archimedes cost decent money — from 800 pounds sterling (taking into account inflation and in terms of today's rubles not less than hundred thousand would turn out), but enjoyed a certain popularity thanks to the power, the good video adapter (the modes up to 256 flowers) and the eight-channel sound card. In fact, it was such British Macintosh — the workstation for publishing houses and television stations.

1984: Crash in the PC market, Olivetti redeems 80% in Acorn

Though Archimedes was also issued under the name of Acorn, the company was not by then Hauzer and Carry's private business any more. After successful 1983 the 1984th when the market of home computers got oversaturated followed awful. It had tragic effects for many players: Atari and Commodore replaced owners, and in Apple (for the first time) faced bankruptcy perspective.

In Acorn were not ready to this situation too: the company only just went public, and the money earned on it became enough to meet demand which was continuously growing until. As a result in the warehouses Acorn 250 thousand computers which to sell suddenly accumulated it was unreal.

And here on the horizon the Italian firm Olivetti appeared. Its management already made earlier attempts to pass from production of typewriters to computers. From 1983 to 1985 rolled models on the basis of Zilog Z8000 and Intel off the production lines Olivetti 8088. But ARM, Archimedes and its RISC OS operating system seemed for managers of Olivetti a tidbit: it is always better to have own technologies — at least at that time so it seemed.

The bargain as a result of which passed 80% of stocks of Acorn to Olivetti was soon concluded, and Herman Hauzer became the head of research division. The second founder of Acorn Chris Carry, having received dividends from sale, preferred to found the new company — General Information Systems. As of 2014 it still functions and is engaged in smart cards, electronic money transfers and security systems.

Italians, however, too expected the future incorrectly: in the late eighties the victorious procession of IBM PC and its clones began. It became clear that all incompatible with PC will appear on an ash heap of history soon, and the companies instead of cultivating the technologies, in large quantities passed to assembly of computers from ready components.

Hauzer was not proud too that he sold the company. In one of an interview he complains: it would be possible to arrive as IBM — to give the chance to third-party firms to make components and to assemble computers. And then, perhaps, Acorn and ARM, but not IBM and Intel would appear in the center of the new industry. But the necessary decision was not made in time, and IBM was not fated to become British to Acorn company. But Hauzer had a backup plan.

1990: Participation in creation of ARM company

The fact that in Olivetti refused the idea to develop own computer platform did not mean death for ARM at all. Hauzer found a method to select processor business in separate company and found two partners interested in it. In the 1990th year the consolidated enterprise was called as well as architecture of the processor — ARM, but interpretation was replaced with Acorn RISC Machines with Advanced RISC Machines.

For whom at that moment could partnership with the developer of RISC processors be necessary? Obviously, the firm releasing devices on their basis. Apple became it: there in 1990 just designed future Newton handheld, and the ARM processor perfectly suited for it thanks to the profitability in relation to battery power.

As the third partner VLSI Technologies company was selected. This is the direct successor of VLSI Project who was engaged in design and production of integrated microcircuits. The fact that VLSI could provide own automated design engineering system was important for future joint venture.

VLSI needed the new customer of processors. It in pure form the embodiment of the idea of Conway and the MFA when the developer and GSI producer work separately (and in this case even are on different sides of the Atlantic Ocean). Acorn taught by failure, Hauzer introduced one more amendment: instead of releasing a product, it suggested to be engaged only in design of processors and to sell intellectual property — i.e. designs of chips and the license for their production.

If Intel is well-known that it has tens of the plants worldwide, then ARM by 2014 have no. It did not prevent ARM not only to rise in one row with Intel and AMD, but also to turn slowly into serious threat for them.

Continuation in the section the History of ARM company.

Notes