Acorn Archimedes

The Acorn Archimedes was Acorn Computers Ltd's first general purpose home computer based on their own 32-bit ARM RISC CPU, and spawned a family of very capable machines with various options. Acorn Archimedes - Description; Early models. The first models were released in June 1987, as the 300 and 400 series. The machines differed primarily in that the 400 series included more expansion slots (four instead of two) and a ST506 controller for an internal hard drive. Both models included the Arthur OS (later ver ...

Including:

• Acorn Archimedes - Description; Early models
• Acorn Archimedes - The A3000 and A5000
• Acorn Archimedes - A new range and a laptop
• Acorn Archimedes - Significance and impact

Read more here: » Acorn Archimedes: Encyclopedia - Acorn Archimedes

The first models were released in June 1987, as the 300 and 400 series. The machines differed primarily in that the 400 series included more expansion slots (four instead of two) and a ST506 controller for an internal hard drive. Both models included the Arthur OS (later versions to be called RISC OS, see below), BBC BASIC and an emulator for Acorn's earlier BBC Micro, and were mounted in two-part cases with a small central unit, monitor on top, and a separate keyboard and three-button mouse. All models featured onboard 8 ch ...

See also:

Acorn Archimedes, Acorn Archimedes - Description; Early models, Acorn Archimedes - The A3000 and A5000, Acorn Archimedes - A new range and a laptop, Acorn Archimedes - Significance and impact

Read more here: » Acorn Archimedes: Encyclopedia II - Acorn Archimedes - Description; Early models

Battle Chess is a computer game version of chess released for the PC, Apple IIGS, Commodore 64, Amiga, CD32, Atari ST, Apple Macintosh, Acorn Archimedes and Nintendo Entertainment System in which the chess pieces came to life and battled one another when capturing. There were 35 animations, one for each possible combination of battle (thus there was no animation for the King-takes-King battle). The rook, for example, would turn into a rock monster and kill a pawn by crushing him. Introducing this new twist to a classi ...

Including:

• Battle Chess - External link

Read more here: » Battle Chess: Encyclopedia - Battle Chess

The BBC Micro, affectionately known as the Beeb, was an early home computer. It was designed and built by Acorn Computers Ltd for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). In the early 1980s, the BBC started what became known as the BBC Computer Literacy Project. The project was initiated largely in response to an extremely influential BBC documentary The Mighty Micro, in which Dr. Christopher Evans from the National Physical Laboratory predicted the coming (micro)computer revolution and its impact on the ...

Including:

• BBC Micro - Background
• BBC Micro - Market impact
• BBC Micro - Description
• BBC Micro - Hardware features Models A and B
• BBC Micro - Software and expandability
• BBC Micro - Successor machines and the retro scene
• BBC Micro - Specifications
• BBC Micro - Trivia

Read more here: » BBC Micro: Encyclopedia - BBC Micro

Acorn Computers was a British computer company established in Cambridge, England, in 1978. The company produced a number of computers which were especially popular in the UK. These included the Acorn Electron, the BBC Micro and the Acorn Archimedes. Acorn's BBC Micro computer dominated the UK educational computer market during the 1980s and early 1990s, drawing many comparisons with Apple in the U.S. Though the company was broken up into several independent operations in 2000, it leaves an impressive legacy, particularly in the ...

Including:

• Acorn Computers - Prehistory
• Acorn Computers - CPU Ltd 1978–83
• Acorn Computers - The microcomputer systems
• Acorn Computers - The Atom
• Acorn Computers - BBC Micro and the Electron
• Acorn Computers - Acorn Computer Group plc 1983–85
• Acorn Computers - New RISC architecture
• Acorn Computers - Financial problems
• Acorn Computers - Olivetti subsidiary 1985–98
• Acorn Computers - BBC Master and Archimedes
• Acorn Computers - ARM Ltd
• Acorn Computers - Set-Top boxes
• Acorn Computers - Network Computers
• Acorn Computers - Final break up of Acorn 1998–2000
• Acorn Computers - Footnotes

Read more here: » Acorn Computers: Encyclopedia - Acorn Computers

Abuse is a computer game developed by Crack dot Com, and published by Origin Systems/Electronic Arts. It was released in 1996, and runs on DOS and Linux operating systems. An improved port of the game was released for Mac OS by Bungie Studios and for the Acorn Archimedes by R-Comp Interactive. Abuse computer game - Description. The protagonist of the game, Nick Vrenna, has been falsely incarcerated in a prison where illegal experiments are taking place. A prison riot occurs and the experiment goes ho ...

Including:

• Abuse computer game - Description
• Abuse computer game - Following
• Abuse computer game - Modifications and editing
• Abuse computer game - Distribution methods and later developments

Read more here: » Abuse computer game: Encyclopedia - Abuse computer game

Archimedes (Greek: Αρχιμηδης ) (287 BC–212 BC) was an ancient mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer and philosopher born in the Greek seaport colony of Syracuse. He is considered by some math historians to be one of history's greatest mathematicians, along with possibly Newton, Gauss and Euler. Archimedes - Discoveries and inventions. Archimedes became a popular figure as a result of his involvement in the defense of Syracuse against the Roman siege in the First and Second Punic Wars. He ...

Including:

• Archimedes - Discoveries and inventions
• Archimedes - Writings by Archimedes
• Archimedes - Quotes about Archimedes
• Archimedes - Named after Archimedes
• Archimedes - Notes

Read more here: » Archimedes: Encyclopedia - Archimedes

Wolfenstein 3D (commonly abbreviated to Wolf 3D) is a computer game that is generally regarded as having popularized the first person shooter genre on the PC. It was created by id Software and published by Apogee Software on May 5, 1992 for DOS. The game was inspired by the 1980s Muse Software computer games Castle Wolfenstein and Beyond Castle Wolfenstein for the Apple II. It has been ported to many systems, including 3DO, SNES, Game Boy Advance, Acorn Archimedes, and the Apple IIGS.< ...

Including:

• Wolfenstein 3D - Overview
• Wolfenstein 3D - Storyline
• Wolfenstein 3D - Legal issues
• Wolfenstein 3D - Technical implementation
• Wolfenstein 3D - Legacy
• Wolfenstein 3D - Trivia
• Wolfenstein 3D - Bosses

Read more here: » Wolfenstein 3D: Encyclopedia - Wolfenstein 3D

An early use of the term appeared in a November 3, 1962, New York Times article reporting John W. Mauchly's vision of future computing spoken to a meeting of the American Institute of Industrial Engineers that previous day. Mauchly told the gathering, "There is no reason to suppose the average boy or girl cannot be master of a personal computer." ^{See also:}

Personal computer, Personal computer - History, Personal computer - Architecture, Personal computer - Motherboard, Personal computer - Central processing unit, Personal computer - RAM - memory, Personal computer - Hard disk drive, Personal computer - PSU - Power supply unit, Personal computer - Graphics - Video card, Personal computer - Non IBM-compatible personal computers, Personal computer - Notes

Read more here: » Personal computer: Encyclopedia II - Personal computer - History

The gameplay in Lemmings was radically new for its time. Rather than controlling the actions of the tribe of lemmings, the player must choose from a list of preset options. Individual lemmings continue to do whatever they are doing until instructed otherwise. That is, a walker will continue to walk until he is assigned an order (or dies). The main difficulty in surmounting the puzzles of Lemmings is not only in solving the puzzles, but also in executing them in an efficient way. Some levels are easy to see and plan but when actually attem ...

See also:

Lemmings video game, Lemmings video game - Gameplay, Lemmings video game - Ports, Lemmings video game - Screenshots of different ports, Lemmings video game - Sequels, Lemmings video game - Allusions, Lemmings video game - Similar Games, Lemmings video game - Similar Games Screenshot Gallery

Read more here: » Lemmings video game: Encyclopedia II - Lemmings video game - Gameplay

The gameplay in Lemmings was radically new for its time. Rather than controlling the actions of the tribe of lemmings, the player must choose from a list of preset options. Individual lemmings continue to do whatever they are doing until instructed otherwise. That is, a walker will continue to walk until he is assigned an order (or dies). The main difficulty in surmounting the puzzles of Lemmings is not only in solving the puzzles, but also in executing them in an efficient way. Some levels are easy to see and plan but when actually attem ...

See also:

Lemmings video game, Lemmings video game - Gameplay, Lemmings video game - Ports, Lemmings video game - Screenshots of different ports, Lemmings video game - Sequels, Lemmings video game - PlayStation Portable Remake, Lemmings video game - Allusions, Lemmings video game - Similar Games, Lemmings video game - Similar Games Screenshot Gallery

Read more here: » Lemmings video game: Encyclopedia II - Lemmings video game - Gameplay

List of home computers by category - MOS Technology 6502-based. Acorn Computers Ltd Acorn Atom Acorn Electron BBC Micro (plus an optional, faster, 6502 in external coprocessor module) BBC Master (65C02) Apple Computer Apple I Apple II, II+ (incl Bell & Howell), IIe Apple IIe Enhanced, IIe Platinum (65C02) Apple IIc, IIc+ (65C02) Apple III, III+ (Synertek 6502A)

The game is set on the planet Titan in the year 2142 and details the journey of Conrad B. Hart, an agent for the Galaxia Bureau of Investigation, and his attempts to recover his lost memory and save the world. Fitting into the cyberpunk genre, there are government conspiracies, bleak world views, cybernetic enhancements, all squeezed into the dystopian society the game presents. The game also seems to borrow themes from certain films, i.e. the deadly spheres in Phantasm, and many of the ...

See also:

Flashback: The Quest for Identity, Flashback: The Quest for Identity - Storyline, Flashback: The Quest for Identity - Related Software

Read more here: » Flashback: The Quest for Identity: Encyclopedia II - Flashback: The Quest for Identity - Storyline

In Wolfenstein 3D, the player is a soldier attempting to escape from the eponymous Nazi stronghold; there are many armed guards, as well as attack dogs. The building has a number of hidden rooms containing various treasures, food supplies, and medical kits, as well as three different guns and ammunition. Wolfenstein 3D was originally released as shareware, which allowed it to be copied widely. The shareware release contained one episode ("Escape from Wolfenstein"), consisting of 10 missions (levels). The commercial relea ...

See also:

Wolfenstein 3D, Wolfenstein 3D - Overview, Wolfenstein 3D - Storyline, Wolfenstein 3D - Legal issues, Wolfenstein 3D - Technical implementation, Wolfenstein 3D - Legacy, Wolfenstein 3D - Trivia, Wolfenstein 3D - Bosses

Read more here: » Wolfenstein 3D: Encyclopedia II - Wolfenstein 3D - Overview

While the RISC philosophy was coming into its own, new ideas about how to dramatically increase performance of the CPUs were starting to develop. In the early 1980s it was thought that existing design was reaching theoretical limits. Future improvements in speed would be primarily through improved semiconductor "process", that is, smaller features (transistors and wires) on the chip. The complexity of the chip would remain largely the same, but the smaller size would allow it to run at higher clock rates. A considerable amount of effo ...

See also:

RISC, RISC - RISC design philosophy, RISC - Pre-RISC design philosophy, RISC - Meanwhile..., RISC - Early RISC, RISC - Later RISC, RISC - Alternative term

Read more here: » RISC: Encyclopedia II - RISC - Meanwhile...

SimCity was originally developed by game designer Will Wright. The inspiration for SimCity came from a feature of the game Raid on Bungeling Bay that allowed players to create their own maps. Wright soon found he enjoyed creating maps more than playing the actual game, and SimCity was born. The game sparked a new paradigm in computer gaming by creating a game that could neither be won nor lost. This was not immediately recognized by the game publishers, who did not foresee the possibility of successfully ma ...

See also:

SimCity, SimCity - Description, SimCity - Objective, SimCity - Ports and versions, SimCity - Parodies, SimCity - Legacy, SimCity - Criticism

Read more here: » SimCity: Encyclopedia II - SimCity - Description

The show was loosely based on the French show Fort Boyard, but ended up substantially different. It was filmed on a very large set, divided into four 'zones' (originally Aztec, Medieval, Future and Industrial—Industrial was replaced by Ocean from series 4 onward). A team of six contestants would enter the 'maze', and choose to play games of various sorts—three or four in each zone. Games were classed as 'physical', 'mental', 'skill' or 'mystery' (usually one of the other three). These were typically puzzle games, often involving d ...

See also:

The Crystal Maze, The Crystal Maze - Format, The Crystal Maze - Popularity, The Crystal Maze - Highlights, The Crystal Maze - Cultural references, The Crystal Maze - Spin-offs

Read more here: » The Crystal Maze: Encyclopedia II - The Crystal Maze - Format

Floppy disk - Origins the 8-inch disk. See also: Table of 8-inch floppy formats In 1967 IBM gave their San Jose, California storage development center a new task: develop a simple and inexpensive system for loading microcode into their System/370 mainframes. The 370s were the first IBM machines to use semiconductor memory, and whenever the power was turned off the microcode had to be reloaded ('magnetic core' memory, used in the 370s' predecessors, the System/360 line, did not lose its ...

See also:

Floppy disk, Floppy disk - Background, Floppy disk - History, Floppy disk - Origins the 8-inch disk, Floppy disk - The 5¼-inch minifloppy, Floppy disk - New formats no standard, Floppy disk - The 3½-inch microfloppy diskette, Floppy disk - Floppy killers, Floppy disk - Structure, Floppy disk - Current situation, Floppy disk - Compatibility, Floppy disk - More on floppy disk formats, Floppy disk - Using the disk space efficiently, Floppy disk - The Commodore 64/128, Floppy disk - The Commodore Amiga, Floppy disk - The Acorn Archimedes, Floppy disk - 12-inch floppy disks, Floppy disk - 4-inch floppies, Floppy disk - Auto-loaders, Floppy disk - Floppy mass storage, Floppy disk - 2-inch floppy disks, Floppy disk - Ultimate capacity speed, Floppy disk - Usability, Floppy disk - The floppy as a metaphor, Floppy disk - Floppy trivia

Read more here: » Floppy disk: Encyclopedia II - Floppy disk - History

Floppy disk - Origins the 8-inch disk. In 1967 IBM gave their San Jose, California storage development center a new task: develop a simple and inexpensive system for loading microcode into their System/370 mainframes. The 370s were the first IBM machines to use semiconductor memory, and whenever the power was turned off the microcode had to be reloaded ('magnetic core' memory, used in the 370s' predecessors, the System/360 line, did not lose its contents when powered down). Normally this task would be left to var ...

See also:

Floppy disk, Floppy disk - Background, Floppy disk - History, Floppy disk - Origins the 8-inch disk, Floppy disk - The 5¼-inch minifloppy, Floppy disk - New formats no standard, Floppy disk - The 3½-inch microfloppy diskette, Floppy disk - Floppy killers, Floppy disk - Structure, Floppy disk - Current situation, Floppy disk - Compatibility, Floppy disk - More on floppy disk formats, Floppy disk - Using the disk space efficiently, Floppy disk - The Commodore 64/128, Floppy disk - The Commodore Amiga, Floppy disk - The Acorn Archimedes, Floppy disk - 12-inch floppy disks, Floppy disk - 4-inch floppies, Floppy disk - Auto-loaders, Floppy disk - Floppy mass storage, Floppy disk - 2-inch floppy disks, Floppy disk - Ultimate capacity speed, Floppy disk - Usability, Floppy disk - The floppy as a metaphor, Floppy disk - Floppy trivia

Read more here: » Floppy disk: Encyclopedia II - Floppy disk - History

Elite is often credited with inventing the space trading genre. This genre melds space-borne combat with a "buy low, sell high" freight transport system whose profits are used to purchase ship upgrades. The game provides eight galaxies each with over 2,000 planets to explore. The player, initially Commander Jameson, starts at Lave Station with 100 Credits and a lightly armed trading ship, a Cobra Mark III, to his name. Most of the ships that the player encounters are similarly named after snakes, or other reptiles. Credits can ...

See also:

Elite computer game, Elite computer game - Description, Elite computer game - Sequels, Elite computer game - Conversions and Clones, Elite computer game - Open release, Elite computer game - Trivia, Elite computer game - Screenshots

Read more here: » Elite computer game: Encyclopedia II - Elite computer game - Description