Microcosm Ltd is a UK company established in 1979. Its early claims to fame included Silicon Disk System

Silicon Disk System

The Silicon Disk System was the first commercially available RAM disk for microcomputers.It was written by Jerry Karlin in 1979/80. Karlin was joined by Peter Cheesewright and their company Microcosm Research Ltd marketed the product for a number of years. The product was available as a standalone...

 in 1981 and Microcache (the world's first page cache

Page cache

In computing, page cache, sometimes ambiguously called disk cache, is a "transparent" buffer of disk-backed pages kept in main memory by the operating system for quicker access. Page cache is typically implemented in kernels with the paging memory management, and is completely transparent to...

, or disk cache, for microcomputers) in 1982 .

Since 1989, it has concentrated on software copy protection systems, firstly with CopyControl (a software-based copy protection system), then Dinkey Dongle

Dongle

A software protection dongle is a small piece of hardware that plugs into an electrical connector on a computer and serves as an electronic "key" for a piece of software; the program will only run when the dongle is plugged in...

 (small hardware copy protection keys that connect to parallel

Parallel port

A parallel port is a type of interface found on computers for connecting various peripherals. In computing, a parallel port is a parallel communication physical interface. It is also known as a printer port or Centronics port...

 or USB ports) and, more recently, CopyMinder (software-based copy protection that uses the Internet

Internet

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...

 where possible to provide an 'intelligent' copy protection system).

History

• 1979 – Microcosm Limited was established
• 1981 – Silicon Disk System (the world's first RAM disk
  RAM disk
  A RAM disk or RAM drive is a block of RAM that a computer's software is treating as if the memory were a disk drive...
  
   for microcomputers) released
• 1982 – Microcache (the world's first page cache
  Page cache
  In computing, page cache, sometimes ambiguously called disk cache, is a "transparent" buffer of disk-backed pages kept in main memory by the operating system for quicker access. Page cache is typically implemented in kernels with the paging memory management, and is completely transparent to...
  
  , or disk cache, for microcomputers) released
• 1989 – CopyControl floppy disk
  Floppy disk
  A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...
  
   protection released
• 1994 – CopyControl UnLock-It software based protection released
• 1995 – Microcosm receives Ziff-Davis Europe award (finalist, best UK product) for CopyControl 1.65
• 1995 – parallel port
  Parallel port
  A parallel port is a type of interface found on computers for connecting various peripherals. In computing, a parallel port is a parallel communication physical interface. It is also known as a printer port or Centronics port...
  
   Dinkey Dongle
  Dongle
  A software protection dongle is a small piece of hardware that plugs into an electrical connector on a computer and serves as an electronic "key" for a piece of software; the program will only run when the dongle is plugged in...
  
   released
• 2000 – USB port Dinkey Dongle
  Dongle
  A software protection dongle is a small piece of hardware that plugs into an electrical connector on a computer and serves as an electronic "key" for a piece of software; the program will only run when the dongle is plugged in...
  
   released
• 2005 – CopyMinder Internet-based software protection released
• 2008 – The world's first driverless combined Flash Drive and dongle
  Dongle
  A software protection dongle is a small piece of hardware that plugs into an electrical connector on a computer and serves as an electronic "key" for a piece of software; the program will only run when the dongle is plugged in...
  
  released