Acorn Network Computer

Last updated
Acorn Network Computer
Acorn-Netstation.jpg
Acorn NetStation NC
Developer Acorn Computers, Oracle
Manufacturer Acorn Computers
Release dateAugust 1996;28 years ago (August 1996)
Discontinued2006
Operating system NCOS on 4096 KB ROM)
CPU ARM 7500FE processor at 40 MHz; approx 35.9 MIPS
Memory4096 KB 12 MHz RAM
Predecessor Acorn Computer Group
Related Acornsoft

The Acorn Network Computer was a network computer (a type of thin client [1] ) designed and manufactured by Acorn Computers Ltd. It was the implementation of the Network Computer Reference Profile that Oracle Corporation commissioned Acorn to specify for network computers (for more detail on the history, see Acorn's Network Computer). Sophie Wilson of Acorn led the effort. It was launched in August 1996.

Contents

The NCOS operating system used in this first implementation was based on RISC OS and ran on ARM hardware. [2] [3] Manufacturing obligations were achieved through a contract with Fujitsu subsidiary D2D. [4]

In 1997, Acorn offered its designs at no cost to licensees of RISC OS. [5]

Hardware models

Original model

The NetStation was available in two versions, one with a modem for home use via a television, and a version with an Ethernet card for use in businesses and schools with VGA monitors and an on-site BSD Unix fileserver based on RiscBSD, an early ARM port of NetBSD. Both versions were upgradable, as the modem and Ethernet cards were replaceable "podules" (Acorn-format Eurocards). The home version was trialled in 1997/98 in conjunction with BT. [6]

The Home NC and Corporate NC both used the ARM 7500FE and supported PAL, NTSC and SVGA displays. They had identical specifications. [7] [8] The Office NC used a StrongARM SA-110 200 MHz processor. [9] The ARM7500-based DeskLite was launched in 1998. [10]

StrongARM

Acorn continued to produce ARM-based designs, demonstrating its first StrongARM prototype in May 1996, [11] and the Office NC 6 months later. [12] This evolved into the CoNCord, launched in late 1997. [13] [14]

New markets

Further designs included the Set-top Box NC (STB NC), the ExecPhone NC, and the NC TV. [12] [15]

Later versions

The second generation Network Computer operating system was no longer based on RISC OS. NC Desktop, from Oracle subsidiary Network Computer Inc., instead combined NetBSD and the X Window System, featuring desktop windows whose contents were typically described using HTML, reminiscent of (but not entirely equivalent to) the use of Display PostScript in NeXTStep. The product ran on ARM, StrongARM and x86 architectures and could be run on traditional personal computers. [16] NC Desktop was the recommended software solution for products based on the StrongARM-based Digital Network Appliance Reference Design (DNARD). [17] Later NCs were produced based on the Intel Pentium architecture such as products from Accton Technology Corporation [18] and UMAX Data Systems. [19]

Usage

The NetStation was planned to ship with a smart card to enable internet banking. [20]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the graphical user interface</span>

The history of the graphical user interface, understood as the use of graphic icons and a pointing device to control a computer, covers a five-decade span of incremental refinements, built on some constant core principles. Several vendors have created their own windowing systems based on independent code, but with basic elements in common that define the WIMP "window, icon, menu and pointing device" paradigm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MIPS Technologies</span> American fabless semiconductor design company

MIPS Tech LLC, formerly MIPS Computer Systems, Inc. and MIPS Technologies, Inc., is an American fabless semiconductor design company that is most widely known for developing the MIPS architecture and a series of RISC CPU chips based on it. MIPS provides processor architectures and cores for digital home, networking, embedded, Internet of things and mobile applications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acorn Computers</span> British computer manufacturer

Acorn Computers Ltd. was a British computer company established in Cambridge, England, in 1978. The company produced a number of computers which were especially popular in the UK, including the Acorn Electron and the Acorn Archimedes. Acorn's BBC Micro computer dominated the UK educational computer market during the 1980s.

ARM is a family of RISC instruction set architectures (ISAs) for computer processors. Arm Ltd. develops the ISAs and licenses them to other companies, who build the physical devices that use the instruction set. It also designs and licenses cores that implement these ISAs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Risc PC</span>

Risc PC was a range of personal computers launched in 1994 by Acorn and replaced the preceding Archimedes series. The machines had a unique architecture unrelated to IBM PC clones and were notable for using the Acorn developed ARM CPU which is now widely used in mobile devices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RISC OS</span> Computer operating system by Acorn Computers Ltd

RISC OS is a computer operating system originally designed by Acorn Computers Ltd in Cambridge, England. First released in 1987, it was designed to run on the ARM chipset, which Acorn had designed concurrently for use in its new line of Archimedes personal computers. RISC OS takes its name from the reduced instruction set computer (RISC) architecture it supports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phoebe (computer)</span> Proposed computer by Acorn, cancelled 1998

The Phoebe 2100 was to be Acorn Computers' successor to the RiscPC, slated for release in late 1998. However, in September 1998, Acorn cancelled the project as part of a restructuring of the company.

The Network Computer was a diskless desktop computer device made by Oracle Corporation from about 1996 to 2000. The devices were designed and manufactured by an alliance, which included Sun Microsystems, IBM, and others. The devices were designed with minimum specifications, based on the Network Computer Reference Profile. The brand was also employed as a marketing term to try to popularize this design of computer within enterprise and among consumers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RISC iX</span> Discontinued Unix operating system

RISC iX is a discontinued Unix operating system designed to run on a series of workstations based on the Acorn Archimedes microcomputer. Heavily based on 4.3BSD, it was initially completed in 1988, a year after Arthur but before RISC OS. It was introduced in the ARM2-based R140 workstation in 1989, followed up by the ARM3-based R200-series workstations in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">QEMU</span> Free virtualization and emulation software

QEMU is a free and open-source emulator. It emulates a computer's processor through dynamic binary translation and provides a set of different hardware and device models for the machine, enabling it to run a variety of guest operating systems. It can interoperate with Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) to run virtual machines at near-native speed. QEMU can also do emulation for user-level processes, allowing applications compiled for one processor architecture to run on another.

The Acorn Online Media Set Top Box was produced by the Online Media division of Acorn Computers Ltd for the Cambridge Cable and Online Media Video on Demand trial and launched early 1996. Part of this trial involved a home-shopping system in partnership with Parcelforce.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A9home</span>

The A9home was a niche small-form-factor desktop computer running RISC OS Adjust32. It was officially unveiled at the 2005 Wakefield Show, and is the second commercial ARM-based RISC OS computer to run a 32-bit version of RISC OS. When the Iyonix PC was withdrawn from sale, the A9home remained the only hardware to be manufactured specifically for the RISC OS marketplace.

Network Computer Reference Profile was a specification for a network computer put forward by Oracle Corporation, endorsed by Sun Microsystems, IBM, Apple Computer, and Netscape, and finalized in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acorn A7000</span>

The A7000 and A7000+ were Acorn Computers' entry level computers based somewhat on the Risc PC architecture.

RISCOS Ltd. was a limited company engaged in computer software and IT consulting. It licensed the rights to continue the development of RISC OS 4 and to distribute it for desktop machines from Element 14 and subsequently Pace Micro Technology. Company founders include developers who formerly worked within Acorn's dealership network. It was established as a nonprofit company. On or before 4 March 2013 3QD Developments acquired RISCOS Ltd's flavour of RISC OS. RISCOS Ltd was dissolved on 14 May 2013.

NCOS is the graphical user interface-based operating system developed for use in Oracle Corporation's Network Computers, which are discontinued. It was adapted by Acorn Computers from its own RISC OS, which was originally developed for their range of Archimedes desktop computers. It shares with RISC OS the same 4 MB ROM size and suitability for use with TV displays.

RISC OS, the computer operating system developed by Acorn Computers for their ARM-based Acorn Archimedes range, was originally released in 1987 as Arthur 0.20, and soon followed by Arthur 0.30, and Arthur 1.20. The next version, Arthur 2, became RISC OS 2 and was completed and made available in April 1989. RISC OS 3 was released with the very earliest version of the A5000 in 1991 and contained a series of new features. By 1996 RISC OS had been shipped on over 500,000 systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VirtualAcorn</span>

VirtualAcorn is the brand name of several commercial emulators of Acorn Computers computer hardware platforms.

Galileo was an unreleased 32-bit operating system that was under development by Acorn Computers as a long-term project to produce "an ultra-modern scalable, portable, multi-tasking, multi-threading, object-oriented, microkernel operating system", reportedly significant enough to Acorn's strategy to warrant a statement to the financial markets.

References

  1. ↑ Technology and the School Library: A Comprehensive Guide for Media Specialists and Other Educators, Odin L. Jurkowski, Lanham, Md. : Scarecrow Press, 2010, p.31
  2. ↑ Loosemore, Tom (1996-10-04). "Five Go Nuts in Cambridge". Wired UK . Guardian Media Group/Wired Ventures. pp. 44–47. Archived from the original on 18 May 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-04. [Ellison's] proposed Network Computer needed things Acorn already possessed in spades: a cheap, powerful processor in the form of the ARM 7500; a compact ROM-based operating system, RISCOS; TV compatibility.
  3. ↑ "Acorn Group spurs NC clone market by giving away nc hardware production and reference designs". PR Newswire. 1997-08-19. Retrieved 2011-06-07. A scaled down version of RISC OS was licensed to Oracle to form its NCOS(TM).
  4. ↑ "Acorn announces immediate availability of Acorn NC". PR Newswire. 1996-11-05. Retrieved 2011-06-07. In England, Acorn has contracted with D2D, a division of Fujitsu/ICL to manufacture the Acorn NC.
  5. ↑ "Acorn Group spurs NC clone market by giving away nc hardware production and reference designs". PR Newswire. 1997-08-19. Retrieved 2011-06-07. Acorn Group has decided to offer its Network Computer hardware production and reference designs at no cost to licensees of its information appliance operating system, RISC OS.
  6. ↑ "Acorn and BT trial consumer NC". ZDNet . June 11, 1997. Retrieved December 15, 2011. The trial will combine Acorn's NC technology with BT's communications network and will be centred around BT's laboratories in Martlesham, Suffolk. [...] "our aim with this trial is to prove the technology and services over a six month period, ending in March 1998 [...]"
  7. ↑ "Acorn Home NC". Acorn Computers. 1997-06-26. Archived from the original on 1998-02-02. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
  8. ↑ "Acorn Corporate NC". Acorn Computers. 1997-06-12. Archived from the original on 1998-02-02. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
  9. ↑ "Digital's StrongARM Microprocessors Take CPU Lead in Network Client Market". ARM Ltd. 1996-11-13. Archived from the original on 1998-05-12. Retrieved 2011-05-25.
  10. ↑ "Acorn, Boca launch DeskLite thin-client". telecompaper. 8 September 1998. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
  11. ↑ "Acorn demonstrates first ever StrongARM Network Computer". PR Newswire. 1996-05-20. Retrieved 2011-06-07. The StrongARM NC prototype [...]
  12. 1 2 "Acorn Computer Group unveils Rrange of new NC devices". PR Newswire. 1996-11-05. Retrieved 2011-06-07. today demonstrated a variety of network computing devices including the Acorn NC, the Office NC, the Set-top Box NC (STB NC), the ExecPhone NC, and the NC TV.
  13. ↑ Davis, Jim (1997-10-06). "Acorn launches fast home NC". CNET.com . Retrieved 2011-06-10. [...] one of the fastest set-top boxes today, one with a 233-MHz processor [...] new Concord network computer [...]
  14. ↑ "StrongARM speed captured on the television screen". Times Higher Education . 17 November 1997. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
  15. ↑ "Network computers announced at oracle open world". Telecompaper. Retrieved 2011-06-10. Acorn Computer Group announced the NC TV, Set-Top-Box NC, ExecPhone, and Office devices [...]
  16. ↑ Halfhill, Tom R. (July 1997). "Good-Bye, GUI HELLO NUI". Byte. pp. 60–64, 66, 68, 70, 72. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  17. ↑ DIGITAL Network Appliance Reference Design User’s Guide. Digital Equipment Corporation. November 1997. pp. 1-2–1-3. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  18. ↑ Cox, John (29 September 1997). "New NCs bolster Java and multimedia apps performance". Network World. p. 22. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  19. ↑ Ohlson, Kathleen (29 September 1997). "Another NC contender enters the ring". Network World. p. 22. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  20. ↑ Clark, Etelka (March 19, 1997). "Banking on it". Personal Computer World . Retrieved April 10, 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.