from
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)
Archimedes
Acorn Archimedes
<computer> A family of {microcomputers} produced by {Acorn
Computers}, Cambridge, UK. The Archimedes, launched in June
1987, was the first {RISC} based {personal computer}
(predating {Apple Computer}'s {Power Mac} by some seven
years). It uses the {Advanced RISC Machine} (ARM) processor
and includes Acorn's {multitasking} {operating system} and
{graphical user interface}, {RISC OS} on {ROM}, along with an
interpreter for Acorn's enhanced {BASIC}, {BASIC V}.
The Archimedes was designed as the successor to Acorn's
sucessful {BBC Microcomputer} series and includes some
backward compatibility and a {6502} {emulator}. Several
utilities are included free on disk (later in ROM) such as a
{text editor}, paint and draw programs. Software emulators
are also available for the {IBM PC} as well as add-on {Intel}
processor cards.
There have been several series of Archimedes: A300, A400,
A3000, A5000, A4000 and {RISC PC}.
Usenet FAQ
(ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/acorn/).
Archive site list
(http://cs.vu.nl/~gerben/acorn/acorn-archives.txt).
HENSA archive (ftp://micros.hensa.ac.uk/). Stuttgart
archive (ftp://ftp.uni-stuttgart.de/pub/systems/acorn).
See also {Crisis Software}, {Warm Silence Software}.
(1998-04-03)