Acorn Communicator
Encyclopedia
The Acorn Communicator is a business computer
developed by Acorn Computers in 1985. The system sold in very low numbers to companies requiring a computer with a built-in modem
. As a dedicated Prestel
terminal with built-in word processing
and spreadsheet
capabilities, the Communicator found a niche market amongst travel agents
in the United Kingdom
and Italy
, who used Prestel
(and similar networks) as probably the earliest online booking service.
The machine used the Ferranti
-manufactured "Aberdeen" gate array developed for the Electron
, which was the largest ULA
ever developed at that time.
The system used a 16-bit
Western Design Center
65816
chip rather than the 8-bit
MOS Technology
6502
, which was used by all of Acorn's previous offerings. The communicator boasted 512 kB
of memory, which was expandable to 1024 kB.
The Communicator contained a full office software
suite, including View (word processor), ViewSheet
(spreadsheet), and a fully featured Prestel
terminal, plus (of course) Econet
and many of the interfaces found on the BBC series of computers. The system software
that bound the packages together was a mixture of BBC Basic
and assembler
. The software development team was led by Paul Bond, a keen pilot who would occasionally fly team members in his Cessna
when things were quiet.
First versions of the Communicator were monochrome
-only; later (but before first customer delivery), a daughterboard
provided full colour.
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
developed by Acorn Computers in 1985. The system sold in very low numbers to companies requiring a computer with a built-in modem
Modem
A modem is a device that modulates an analog carrier signal to encode digital information, and also demodulates such a carrier signal to decode the transmitted information. The goal is to produce a signal that can be transmitted easily and decoded to reproduce the original digital data...
. As a dedicated Prestel
Prestel
Prestel , the brand name for the UK Post Office's Viewdata technology, was an interactive videotex system developed during the late 1970s and commercially launched in 1979...
terminal with built-in word processing
Word processing
Word processing is the creation of documents using a word processor. It can also refer to advanced shorthand techniques, sometimes used in specialized contexts with a specially modified typewriter.-External links:...
and spreadsheet
Spreadsheet
A spreadsheet is a computer application that simulates a paper accounting worksheet. It displays multiple cells usually in a two-dimensional matrix or grid consisting of rows and columns. Each cell contains alphanumeric text, numeric values or formulas...
capabilities, the Communicator found a niche market amongst travel agents
Travel agency
A travel agency is a retail business that sells travel related products and services to customers on behalf of suppliers such as airlines, car rentals, cruise lines, hotels, railways, sightseeing tours and package holidays that combine several products...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, who used Prestel
Prestel
Prestel , the brand name for the UK Post Office's Viewdata technology, was an interactive videotex system developed during the late 1970s and commercially launched in 1979...
(and similar networks) as probably the earliest online booking service.
The machine used the Ferranti
Ferranti
Ferranti or Ferranti International plc was a UK electrical engineering and equipment firm that operated for over a century from 1885 until it went bankrupt in 1993. Known primarily for defence electronics, the Company was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but ceased trading in 1993.The...
-manufactured "Aberdeen" gate array developed for the Electron
Acorn Electron
The Acorn Electron is a budget version of the BBC Micro educational/home computer made by Acorn Computers Ltd. It has 32 kilobytes of RAM, and its ROM includes BBC BASIC along with its operating system....
, which was the largest ULA
Gate array
A gate array or uncommitted logic array is an approach to the design and manufacture of application-specific integrated circuits...
ever developed at that time.
The system used a 16-bit
16-bit
-16-bit architecture:The HP BPC, introduced in 1975, was the world's first 16-bit microprocessor. Prominent 16-bit processors include the PDP-11, Intel 8086, Intel 80286 and the WDC 65C816. The Intel 8088 was program-compatible with the Intel 8086, and was 16-bit in that its registers were 16...
Western Design Center
Western Design Center
The Western Design Center , located in Mesa, Arizona, USA, is a company developing and manufacturing MOS 65xx-based microprocessors, microcontrollers , and related support chips...
65816
WDC 65816/65802
The W65C816S is a 16-bit microprocessor developed by the Western Design Center . The W65C816S is an enhanced version of the WDC 65C02 8-bit MPU, itself a CMOS enhancement of the venerable MOS Technology 6502 NMOS MPU...
chip rather than the 8-bit
8-bit
The first widely adopted 8-bit microprocessor was the Intel 8080, being used in many hobbyist computers of the late 1970s and early 1980s, often running the CP/M operating system. The Zilog Z80 and the Motorola 6800 were also used in similar computers...
MOS Technology
MOS Technology
MOS Technology, Inc., also known as CSG , was a semiconductor design and fabrication company based in Norristown, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is most famous for its 6502 microprocessor, and various designs for Commodore International's range of home computers.-History:MOS Technology, Inc...
6502
MOS Technology 6502
The MOS Technology 6502 is an 8-bit microprocessor that was designed by Chuck Peddle and Bill Mensch for MOS Technology in 1975. When it was introduced, it was the least expensive full-featured microprocessor on the market by a considerable margin, costing less than one-sixth the price of...
, which was used by all of Acorn's previous offerings. The communicator boasted 512 kB
Kilobyte
The kilobyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. Although the prefix kilo- means 1000, the term kilobyte and symbol KB have historically been used to refer to either 1024 bytes or 1000 bytes, dependent upon context, in the fields of computer science and information...
of memory, which was expandable to 1024 kB.
The Communicator contained a full office software
Office suite
In computing, an office suite, sometimes called an office software suite or productivity suite is a collection of programs intended to be used by knowledge workers...
suite, including View (word processor), ViewSheet
ViewSheet
ViewSheet was a spreadsheet program produced in the 1980s by Acorn Computers for use with their series of microcomputers. It was distributed as a pre-installed ROM with some computer models. ViewSheet was written by Mark Colton.-Description:...
(spreadsheet), and a fully featured Prestel
Prestel
Prestel , the brand name for the UK Post Office's Viewdata technology, was an interactive videotex system developed during the late 1970s and commercially launched in 1979...
terminal, plus (of course) Econet
Econet
Econet was Acorn's low-cost local area network system, intended for use by schools and small businesses. Econet is rumoured to be an abbreviation of Economy Network, but Acorn were always careful to stress the Greek root, oikos, meaning "house"....
and many of the interfaces found on the BBC series of computers. The system software
Computer software
Computer software, or just software, is a collection of computer programs and related data that provide the instructions for telling a computer what to do and how to do it....
that bound the packages together was a mixture of BBC Basic
BBC BASIC
BBC BASIC is a programming language, developed in 1981 as a native programming language for the MOS Technology 6502 based Acorn BBC Micro home/personal computer, mainly by Sophie Wilson. It is a version of the BASIC programming language adapted for a U.K...
and assembler
Assembly language
An assembly language is a low-level programming language for computers, microprocessors, microcontrollers, and other programmable devices. It implements a symbolic representation of the machine codes and other constants needed to program a given CPU architecture...
. The software development team was led by Paul Bond, a keen pilot who would occasionally fly team members in his Cessna
Cessna
The Cessna Aircraft Company is an airplane manufacturing corporation headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, USA. Their main products are general aviation aircraft. Although they are the most well known for their small, piston-powered aircraft, they also produce business jets. The company is a subsidiary...
when things were quiet.
First versions of the Communicator were monochrome
Monochrome
Monochrome describes paintings, drawings, design, or photographs in one color or shades of one color. A monochromatic object or image has colors in shades of limited colors or hues. Images using only shades of grey are called grayscale or black-and-white...
-only; later (but before first customer delivery), a daughterboard
Daughterboard
A daughterboard, daughtercard or piggyback board is a circuit board meant to be an extension or "daughter" of a motherboard , or occasionally of another card...
provided full colour.