Acorn Network Computer
Encyclopedia
The Acorn Network Computer was a network computer
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 Computers Ltd#Network Computers). Sophie Wilson
of Acorn led the effort. It was launched in August 1996.
The NCOS
operating system
used in this first implementation was based on RISC OS
and ran on ARM
hardware. Manufacturing obligations were achieved through a contract with Fujitsu
subsidiary D2D.
In 1997, Acorn offered its designs at no cost to licensees of .
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 and both used the and supported PAL
, NTSC
and SVGA displays. They had identical specifications. The used a StrongARM
SA-110 200MHz processor.
prototype in May 1996, and the 6 months later. This evolved into the CoNCord, launched in late 1997.
1.2.1 code. Later NCs were produced based on the Intel Pentium architecture.
Network computer
Network Computer is a trademark of Oracle Corporation that was used, from approximately 1996 to 2000, to market a range of diskless desktop computer devices. The devices were designed and manufactured by an alliance, which included Sun Microsystems, IBM, and others...
designed and manufactured by Acorn Computers Ltd. It was the implementation of the Network Computer Reference Profile
Network Computer Reference Profile
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.-NC1:...
that Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing hardware systems and enterprise software products – particularly database management systems...
commissioned Acorn to specify for network computers (for more detail on the history, see Acorn Computers Ltd#Network Computers). Sophie Wilson
Sophie Wilson
Sophie Wilson is a British computer scientist. She is known for designing the Acorn Micro-Computer, the first of a long line of computers sold by Acorn Computers Ltd, as well as the instruction set of the highly successful ARM processor.- Life and career :...
of Acorn led the effort. It was launched in August 1996.
The NCOS
NCOS
NCOS was the graphical user interface-based operating system developed for use in Oracle's Network Computers. It was adapted by Acorn Computers from its own , which was originally developed for their range of Archimedes desktop computers...
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
used in this first implementation was based on RISC OS
RISC OS
RISC OS is a computer operating system originally developed by Acorn Computers Ltd in Cambridge, England for their range of desktop computers, based on their own ARM architecture. First released in 1987, under the name Arthur, the subsequent iteration was renamed as in 1988...
and ran on ARM
ARM architecture
ARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by ARM Holdings. It was named the Advanced RISC Machine, and before that, the Acorn RISC Machine. The ARM architecture is the most widely used 32-bit ISA in numbers produced...
hardware. Manufacturing obligations were achieved through a contract with Fujitsu
Fujitsu
is a Japanese multinational information technology equipment and services company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is the world's third-largest IT services provider measured by revenues....
subsidiary D2D.
In 1997, Acorn offered its designs at no cost to licensees of .
Original model
The NetStation was available in two versions, one with a modemModem
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...
for home use via a television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, and a version with an Ethernet
Ethernet
Ethernet is a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks commercially introduced in 1980. Standardized in IEEE 802.3, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies....
card for use in businesses and schools with VGA monitors and an on-site BSD Unix
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
fileserver based on RiscBSD, an early ARM port of NetBSD
NetBSD
NetBSD is a freely available open source version of the Berkeley Software Distribution Unix operating system. It was the second open source BSD descendant to be formally released, after 386BSD, and continues to be actively developed. The NetBSD project is primarily focused on high quality design,...
. Both versions were upgradable
Upgrade
The term upgrade refers to the replacement of a product with a newer version of the same product. It is most often used in computing and consumer electronics, generally meaning a replacement of hardware, software or firmware with a newer or better version, in order to bring the system up to date...
, as the modem and Ethernet cards were replaceable "podules" (Acorn-format Eurocards).
The and both used the and supported PAL
PAL
PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...
, NTSC
NTSC
NTSC, named for the National Television System Committee, is the analog television system that is used in most of North America, most of South America , Burma, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and some Pacific island nations and territories .Most countries using the NTSC standard, as...
and SVGA displays. They had identical specifications. The used a StrongARM
StrongARM
The StrongARM is a family of microprocessors that implemented the ARM V4 instruction set architecture . It was developed by Digital Equipment Corporation and later sold to Intel, who continued to manufacture it before replacing it with the XScale....
SA-110 200MHz processor.
StrongARM
Acorn continued to produce ARM-based designs, demonstrating its first StrongARMStrongARM
The StrongARM is a family of microprocessors that implemented the ARM V4 instruction set architecture . It was developed by Digital Equipment Corporation and later sold to Intel, who continued to manufacture it before replacing it with the XScale....
prototype in May 1996, and the 6 months later. This evolved into the CoNCord, launched in late 1997.
New markets
Further designs included the Set-top Box NC , the , and the .Later versions
The second generation Network Computer operating system was no longer based on RISC OS, and instead consisted of NetBSDNetBSD
NetBSD is a freely available open source version of the Berkeley Software Distribution Unix operating system. It was the second open source BSD descendant to be formally released, after 386BSD, and continues to be actively developed. The NetBSD project is primarily focused on high quality design,...
1.2.1 code. Later NCs were produced based on the Intel Pentium architecture.