UK Exhibition to Celebrate the Legacy of Acorn Computers and the BBC Micro
Acorn World is an exhibition and gathering on 12-13 September 2009 that will celebrate the legacy of Acorn Computers, Cambridge (1978-1999); creators of the BBC Microcomputer and ARM Microprocessor.
Huddersfield, United Kingdom, August 24, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Acorn Computers became a household name when the machine being developed as a successor to the Atom (their flagship home computer) was adopted by the British Broadcasting Corporation as the system that would be used to promote the Computer Literacy Project. Over the years that followed, Acorn drew some of the UK's most talented computer and software engineers to its Cambridge base.
Acorn World is an exhibition and gathering at the Cedar Court Hotel, Huddersfield on 12th-13th September 2009 that will celebrate the importance and legacy of this uniquely British company.
Over the course of the weekend, the Emley Suite at Cedar Court will be populated with numerous examples of Acorn computers, charting the company's rise from the less well-known Acorn System series and Acorn Atom; through the various iterations of the BBC Microcomputer and the Electron to the ground-breaking Archimedes and RISC PC range; both of which were developed to take full advantage of Acorn's now-ubiquitous ARM technology, which has been estimated to be prevalent in 90% of mobile and embedded devices currently on the market.
On Sunday afternoon, Professor Stephen Furber - a principal designer of both the BBC Microcomputer and ARM microprocessor - will give a talk on the Heritage of the BBC Micro. This will be preceded by a presentation from RISC OS Open Ltd - the volunteer group who continue to make improvements to Acorn's original Graphical Operating System, RISC OS.
The installations on display will be augmented by many original peripherals and one such piece that warrants a special mention is the BBC Domesday System, the visionary project devised by the BBC which was inspired by William the Conqueror's historic 1086 Domesday survey. It was the culmination of several years' data collection from UK school and charity groups, and comprises of - what was then - cutting edge laserdisc technology accessed through an upgraded BBC Micro Master Series computer. The final result was a system that could search a wealth of UK data which foreshadows many similar web applications popular today, such as Google Maps.
Amongst the many features now available as standard in modern computers that Acorn were amongst the first to pioneer, were Local Area Networks. Acorn's first home microcomputer, the Atom, was launched with a demonstration of Acorn's Econet networking technology. Acorn World will see the implementation of one of the most remarkable Econet networks ever built. As well as networking the standard Acorn machines, recent custom work by hobbyists should allow the Econet network to link up modern computers, even PCs running BBC Micro emulators. If that wasn't ambitious enough, a Viewdata-based Bulletin Board System will be run from the event, with the intention that anyone with a Windows or Linux PC and internet connection can download free emulator software that will enable them to dial-in to the BBS and interact with visitors.
As well as examples of original Acorn hardware, there will be several designers on-hand who have continued to create modern hardware upgrades for 8-bit machines, such as the USB interface for the BBC Micro.
Most pupils at UK schools in the 1980s will remember the classic games Chuckie Egg, Frak, Granny's Garden and the legendary Elite, many of which will be available to play at Acorn World. There also will be a presence from Retro Software; the Acorn-focused publishing label that recently launched Zap - the first commercially-released BBC Micro game in years.
This event forms part of the Retro Reunited Classic Gaming convention and weekend tickets cover entry to both events. All proceeds will be donated to the Shelter charity and it is anticipated that tickets will sell out in advance.
For further information or to buy tickets, please visit http://www.acornworld.co.uk
For press enquiries, please contact dave.moore@acornworld.co.uk
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Acorn World is an exhibition and gathering at the Cedar Court Hotel, Huddersfield on 12th-13th September 2009 that will celebrate the importance and legacy of this uniquely British company.
Over the course of the weekend, the Emley Suite at Cedar Court will be populated with numerous examples of Acorn computers, charting the company's rise from the less well-known Acorn System series and Acorn Atom; through the various iterations of the BBC Microcomputer and the Electron to the ground-breaking Archimedes and RISC PC range; both of which were developed to take full advantage of Acorn's now-ubiquitous ARM technology, which has been estimated to be prevalent in 90% of mobile and embedded devices currently on the market.
On Sunday afternoon, Professor Stephen Furber - a principal designer of both the BBC Microcomputer and ARM microprocessor - will give a talk on the Heritage of the BBC Micro. This will be preceded by a presentation from RISC OS Open Ltd - the volunteer group who continue to make improvements to Acorn's original Graphical Operating System, RISC OS.
The installations on display will be augmented by many original peripherals and one such piece that warrants a special mention is the BBC Domesday System, the visionary project devised by the BBC which was inspired by William the Conqueror's historic 1086 Domesday survey. It was the culmination of several years' data collection from UK school and charity groups, and comprises of - what was then - cutting edge laserdisc technology accessed through an upgraded BBC Micro Master Series computer. The final result was a system that could search a wealth of UK data which foreshadows many similar web applications popular today, such as Google Maps.
Amongst the many features now available as standard in modern computers that Acorn were amongst the first to pioneer, were Local Area Networks. Acorn's first home microcomputer, the Atom, was launched with a demonstration of Acorn's Econet networking technology. Acorn World will see the implementation of one of the most remarkable Econet networks ever built. As well as networking the standard Acorn machines, recent custom work by hobbyists should allow the Econet network to link up modern computers, even PCs running BBC Micro emulators. If that wasn't ambitious enough, a Viewdata-based Bulletin Board System will be run from the event, with the intention that anyone with a Windows or Linux PC and internet connection can download free emulator software that will enable them to dial-in to the BBS and interact with visitors.
As well as examples of original Acorn hardware, there will be several designers on-hand who have continued to create modern hardware upgrades for 8-bit machines, such as the USB interface for the BBC Micro.
Most pupils at UK schools in the 1980s will remember the classic games Chuckie Egg, Frak, Granny's Garden and the legendary Elite, many of which will be available to play at Acorn World. There also will be a presence from Retro Software; the Acorn-focused publishing label that recently launched Zap - the first commercially-released BBC Micro game in years.
This event forms part of the Retro Reunited Classic Gaming convention and weekend tickets cover entry to both events. All proceeds will be donated to the Shelter charity and it is anticipated that tickets will sell out in advance.
For further information or to buy tickets, please visit http://www.acornworld.co.uk
For press enquiries, please contact dave.moore@acornworld.co.uk
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Acorn World
Dave Moore
+44 7776 212330
www.acornworld.co.uk
Dave Moore
+44 7776 212330
www.acornworld.co.uk
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