From aglover@acorn.co.uk Fri Apr 15 18:07:18 1994 Path: doc.ic.ac.uk!agate!howland.reston.ans.net!EU.net!uknet!acorn!not-for-mail From: aglover@acorn.co.uk Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.announce,comp.sys.acorn Subject: Acorn Risc PC Press Releases Followup-To: comp.sys.acorn Date: 15 Apr 1994 09:17:34 +0100 Organization: Acorn Computers Ltd, Cambridge, England Lines: 371 Approved: aglover@acorn.co.uk (Alan Glover) Message-ID: <2oliiu$b3d@acorn.acorn.co.uk> NNTP-Posting-Host: acorn.acorn.co.uk Xref: doc.ic.ac.uk comp.sys.acorn.announce:299 comp.sys.acorn:25956 PR28/15.4.94 Acorn Computers Launches the Risc PC Range Acorn Computers, the leading supplier of 32-bit RISC based personal computers, has today announced a new family of Acorn products. The Acorn Risc PC is based on a new architecture offering significantly increased speed and graphics, and enhanced functionality and connectivity. The Risc PC's improved performance is enabled by: the ARM 610 RISC processor; full 24-bit colour support; unique second processor capability, offering users access to other environments such as DOS or Windows; and an innovative modular case design allowing easy and low-cost expansion. This is all supported by the latest release of RISC OS, Acorn's acclaimed operating environment. Compatible with over 90% of existing RISC OS software, the Acorn Risc PC will be launched with over 3,000 software applications already available. Sam Wauchope, Managing Director of Acorn Computers comments: "The launch of the Risc PC marks a major leap forward in technology for Acorn and its customers. The innovative design of the Risc PC offers exceptional performance and value for money. In terms of speed, graphics and true multimedia, the Risc PC is the best personal computer available today. Risc PC's compatibility with existing software, coupled with a guaranteed low-cost processor upgrade path, and simple and effective expansion with industry standard memory and peripherals, ensures that existing and new Acorn customers have their investment protected for the future. As the requirements of our users develop, Risc PC will be able to cope with and exceed these." Acorn is committed to the innovative use of technology and works with industry partners and customers to provide appropriate systems for its target markets. As a result, Acorn has developed a product line-up that matches both the market's expectations and open system requirements. Initially three product configurations will be offered. Founded in 1978, with 1992 revenues of #48.2m, Acorn Computers is the premier supplier of IT solutions to UK education and has been the leading provider of 32-bit RISC based personal computers since 1987. In 1990, Acorn established an associate company, Advanced RISC Machines (ARM) in a joint venture with Apple Computer and VLSI Technology Inc to develop and exploit further Acorn's RISC processor technology. Acorn works closely with a strong community of other industry partners, users and software developers to provide innovative technology solutions for the education, consumer, publishing and international markets. Acorn Computers Limited is part of the Acorn Computer Group plc, which went public on the USM in 1983. --- PR29/15.4.94 A wealth of applications available today for the Acorn Risc PC Acorn Computers, the leading supplier of 32-bit RISC based personal computers, will launch its range of Risc PC systems with a multitude of applications already available to run on it. Thousands of existing RISC OS titles are available to Risc PC users. The backward compatibility of the Risc PC means that over 90% of existing RISC OS applications run with the new architecture. In addition, the Risc PC's unique dual processor capability will allow access to software from other environments, most notably with Windows or DOS. Offering existing Acorn users excellent investment protection, users will be able to run software in every application category from the day the Risc PC is launched, from education to consumer, business, the home, and print and publishing. The advanced technology of the Risc PC, with features such as 16 million colours and increased processor speed and memory, will improve the performance of existing RISC OS applications, as well as openingthe door to a host of new applications. In addition to the existing base of applications, Acorn has been working with independent software developers to develop new solutions which will take advantage of the new architecture. For example, Risc PC will demonstrate the full capabilities of multimedia applications with increased RAM and the Full Motion Video on Acorn Replay. Risc PC's true 24-bit colour, delivering 16 million colours, will also greatly improve graphics applications. Sam Wauchope, Managing Director of Acorn Computers, comments: "The launch of the Risc PC with such a huge number of software titles available to run on it will greatly benefit users. Risc PC's phenomenal capabilities will also offer software developers an elegant and suppotive development platform, paving the way for a whole new generation of multimedia software development." Every Risc PC will be shipped with an application called !Products, a database giving users information about running existing RISC OS applications on the Risc PC. Information is included on approximately 850 current applications detailing whether they will run without amendments, if any minor configuration changes are needed or an upgrade is required. In the very few cases where an upgrade is required, details are provided of how to obtain this. Founded in 1978, with 1992 revenues of #48.2m, Acorn Computers is the premier supplier of IT solutions to UK education and has been the leading provider of 32-bit RISC based personal computers since 1987. In 1990, Acorn established an associate company, Advanced RISC Machines (ARM) in a joint venture with Apple Computer and VLSI Technology Inc to develop and exploit further Acorn's RISC processor technology. Acorn works closely with a strong community of other industry partners, users and software developers to provide innovative technology solutions for the education, consumer, publishing and international markets. Acorn Computers Limited is part of the Acorn Computer Group plc, which went public on the USM in 1983. --- PR30/15.4.94 Acorn Computers launches biggest ever marketing campaign with the Risc PC. Acorn Computers, the leading supplier of 32 bit RISC based personal computers, is launching its new range, the Risc PC, with its biggest ever marketing push. The launch marks a major leap forward for Acorn and, by exploiting the latest in the ARM 32-bit RISC processor designs, Acorn has opened the door to a world of opportunities in multimedia and innovative multiplatform technology. The Risc PC will have revolutionary implications in Acorn's strongholds of education and the home, but increasingly also in Acorn's newest target market - the use of multimedia for professional purposes. The campaign will include direct mail, national, trade and regional press advertising and a three day London-based launch event. Mike O'Riordan, Sales and Marketing Director of Acorn Computers, comments: "The campaign will illustrate that, with the Risc PC, Acorn has produced a product range which is innovative in both technology and design. The products are fully capable of meeting users' needs today and also provide the technology and upgrade path to meet their requirements tomorrow. In sheer speed, graphics, video performance and in multimedia, the Risc PC is unrivalled by any other personal computer. Furthermore, Acorn's unique second processor capability, which permits the user to run an Intel or other processor alongside Acorn's own processor whilst sharing memory and other facilities, means those who need to access, for example, DOS or Windows applications can do so while exploiting the unique advantages offered by the Risc PC." Acorn's marketing campaign is built around the theme 'A world of opportunities' which serves to highlight the wealth of opportunities that the new range will offer for users, and also for Acorn and its developer community. In addition the theme reflects the fact that the Risc PC's innovative design will present further opportunities for Acorn to expand its programme of industry partnerships. Acorn has already established a number of highly successful joint initiatives with major players, including Novell, Apple, Psion and Kodak, and the Risc PC now opens up the field for wider opportunities on the international stage. Founded in 1978, with 1992 revenues of #48.2m, Acorn Computers is the premier supplier of IT solutions to UK education and has been the leading provider of 32-bit RISC based personal computers since 1987. In 1990, Acorn established an associate company, Advanced RISC Machines (ARM) in a joint venture with Apple Computer and VLSI Technology Inc to develop and exploit further Acorn's RISC processor technology. Acorn works closely with a strong community of other industry partners, users and software developers to provide innovative technology solutions for the education, consumer, publishing and international markets. Acorn Computers Limited is part of the Acorn Computer Group plc, which went public on the USM in 1983. --- Technical Overview Key Benefits of Risc PC ----------------------- The world's most cost-effective, efficient 32-bit RISC computers. Low cost processor upgrade strategy, protecting the users investment today and into the future. RISC OS - a powerful, muli-tasking operating system, tried and tested by millions of users. A wealth of powerful applications software from personal productivity tools to true multimedia. True 24-bit colour delivering 16 million colours. Low cost access to DOS and Windows applications. Lightning fast manipulation of still and moving images. High-performance multi-channel stereo sound as standard on all models. Modular and upgradeable computer systems that grow with users needs The ARM 610 processor --------------------- Like its predecessor the ARM 3, the ARM610 is designed by Advanced RISC Machines (ARM) Limited and is a 32-bit RISC CPU with a 4 KB cache. The new processor gives the Acorn Risc PC exceptional performance, particularly in full-colour modes (when fitted with VRAM). For example, it is approximately twice as fast as the Acorn A5000 in 16 colour VGA mode. Future upgradeability is guaranteed as faster versions of the ARM 600 and future generations of the ARM700 (Q4 1994) and ARM800 will be available for use in the Acorn RISC family for seamless migration. Risc PC can address up to 256MB of memory, and although current technology limits its physical memory to 128MB using commercially available DRAM, the Risc PC has more than enough RAM to load and manipulate the largest full-colour images and combine them with text, graphics, video and sound. Risc PC also supports up to 2MB of VRAM. Dual processor facility offers full 486 PC capability ----------------------------------------------------- The Risc PC's open architecture makes it possible to fit a second processor to the computer, sharing all the memory, input and output facilities of the main ARM610 processor. This represents a tremendous cost advantage over traditional processors mounted on an expansion card, which often required memory to be duplicated. Any processor may be used, provided its card contains all necessary arbitration logic. The first of these second processors to be offered on the Risc PC will be a 25/33 Mhz 486SX PC card including DOS and Windows. With a PC Card fitted, the Risc PC will behave just like an ordinary 486 PC with Windows and a graphics accelerator offering SVGA video (800 by 600 with 16 million colours). A special Application Specific IC (ASIC) is currently being developed embodying all the speed dependent PC logic. Performance will be further enhanced by an optional 32KB or 128KB secondary cache on the processor chip, which will be managed by a cache controller included in the ASIC. It is expected that even higher performance PC cards, using the P24T type Pentium processors, will soon be introduced. Other uses of the dual processor capability are also being planned by independent developers. DMA Extended Bus Interface (DEBI) --------------------------------- The Risc PC can take two single-width expansion cards in its standard configuration, plus two more for every centre-section added to the system. The DEBI bus also supports Direct Memory Access (DMA), so data can be read >from and written to system RAM by expansion cards, without interrupting the CPU. The new DEBI bus makes it possible to implement even higher performance expansion cards handling large amounts of data, such as video-capture and direct-drive printer cards, which can have substantial on-card buffer memory, directly addressable to the ARM processor. Acorn and multimedia -------------------- Acorn has consistently been a pioneer in the development of multimedia, >from the earliest days of the BBC Micro, with sound, colour and graphics, to the latest innovations in full motion video and in the natural integration of CD-ROM technology with computers. As described above, every Risc PC comes with full 24-bit colour capability; the support for up to 256MB RAM and 2MB of VRAM; and a large hard disk (minimum of 210MB). Stereo sound and video playback are also standard. An integral CD-ROM drive providing Photo CD support is also available as an added option. This all makes the new Risc PC the ideal choice for multimedia applications. The Risc PC has eight channels of stereo sound as standard and has a built-in speaker and stereo headphones socket. This is complemented by Acorn Replay - Acorn's full motion video system. A world leader, Acorn Replay has made it possible for thousands of users to put together multimedia publications on Acorn computers at low cost. Acorn Replay's playback software, ARPlayer, is included with every Risc PC, together with a number of movies demonstrating the capabilities of Acorn Replay. Acorn's heritage in multimedia means a strong base of multimedia authoring applications already exist. These enable the user to combine video, audio, text and images in hypertext-linked documents which can be designed for interactive training, reference and project work. Networking ---------- The preferred means of networking is Ethernet and Acorn supports both thick and thin media. Additional multi-session cards will enable one or more protocol stacks (e.g. TCP/IP and IPX) to be run simultaneously regardless of the type of media. The use of industry standards enables Acorn users to run mixed network environments with different types of machines where they are running standard software. Full 24-bit colour ------------------ The Risc PC offers a choice of up to 16 million colours and up to 1600 by 1200 resolution. Industry standard TIFF and JPEG 24-bit colour images can be loaded into the Risc PC, decompressed on the fly and displayed as RISC OS bit image files. Made possible by a new ARM VIDC20 video chip, a new colour picker or palette allows the user to work in one of the three colour modes - RGB, CMYK and HSV. Optional CD-ROM drive --------------------- The Risc PC has an empty 5.25" drive bay, ready to receive an optional CD-ROM, providing an integrated, neat CD-ROM solution. Both RISC OS and (using a PC card) DOS CD-ROMs can be used. Acorn Replay movies can be played from CD-ROM, and (subject to copyright) images copied from both RISC OS and DOS format disc, translated into sprites, edited and used in RISC OS applications. The optional CD-ROM drive enables the user to read Kodak Photo CD-format discs, while the video performance of the Risc PC ensures that none of the original picture quality is lost. Once displayed on the computer, PhotoCD images can be edited and dropped into multimedia publications. New, versatile case design -------------------------- The Acorn Risc PC range features an innovative case design. Leading design house Cambridge Product Design has combined contemporary styling and ergonomics to produce a product that is both aesthetically pleasing and practical. Constructed in a high-impact-resistant plastic, which is usually used in the manufacture of visors and riot shields, the case is robust and hard wearing. To cut down electrical emissions, the inside has been metal sprayed. The case's modular construction makes upgrading simple as the Risc PC can be taken apart in seconds without any tools. The Risc PC supports an almost limitless range of configurations and upgrades (memory, disc drives, CD-ROM drives, expansion cards, network cards and even additional processors) and therefore this ease of access is important. The base system contains a 3.5" floppy disk drive, a hard disk (at least 210 MB), one vacant bay for a 5.25" device (e.g. CD-ROM), two available expansion slots and a space for a networking card. Each additional system layer, or 'slice', enables the user to add an additional 3.5" device, a 5.25" device and two more expansion cards. Up to six additional slices can be added in total (the maximum number of expansion cards per system is eight.) Adding extra devices or cards is achieved very simply. Cards are slotted directly into the back of the computer; network cards and additional 3.5" or 5.25" devices involve simply removing the lid and plugging in. Monitors -------- The AKF60 Super VGA 14" monitor is included as standard with all initial Risc PC confirgurations. As an option, users of any of the Risc PC models can upgrade to an AKF85 17" monitor. The AKF85 will provide a high quality alternate monitor for users needing up to 1600 by 1200 resolution. Initial Product Configurations System Configuration RRP ex VAT Acorn Risc PC 600 2MB DRAM #1249 210MB hard disk Acorn Risc PC 600 4MB DRAM #1399 1MB VRAM 210MB hard disk Acorn Risc PC 600 8MB DRAM #1699 1MB VRAM 420MB hard disk _______________________________________________________________________________ aglover@acorn.co.uk, moderator of comp.sys.acorn.announce. Submissions to announce-request@acorn.co.uk, other related mail to announcer@acorn.co.uk. From pbondar@acorn.co.uk Thu Apr 21 11:02:56 1994 Path: doc.ic.ac.uk!aixssc.uk.ibm.com!watnews.watson.ibm.com!newsgate.watson.ibm.com!uunet!pipex!uknet!acorn!not-for-mail From: pbondar@acorn.co.uk (Peter Bondar) Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn Subject: Risc PC Update - availability Date: 21 Apr 1994 08:46:48 +0100 Organization: Acorn Computers Ltd, Cambridge, England Lines: 11 Message-ID: <2p5b18$fjg@acorn.acorn.co.uk> NNTP-Posting-Host: acorn.acorn.co.uk Just a note to advise all planning to attend the Acorn User Show in Harrogate. The Risc PC range of products will be demonstrated by Acorn, dealers, software and hardware developers. Although dealers can (and will) take orders it is not planned to sell and distribute Risc PCs at the show. All dealers will be sent Risc PCs for demonstration purposes in April with product available for sale in May and June. Peter Bondar, Product Marketing Manager, Acorn Computers Ltd.