BBC Model A to Model B+128
Type	8-bit Microcomputer
Released	Late 1981
Discontinued	1986
Processor	MOS Technology 6502
Memory	16 KB (KiB) - 128 KB
OS	BBC MOS

The BBC Microcomputer System was a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers Ltd for the BBC Computer Literacy Project operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1929x1338, 205 KB) Summary BBC Micro. ... 8-bit refers to the number of bits used in the data bus of a computer. ... The Commodore 64 was one of the most popular microcomputers of its era, and is the best selling home computer of all time. ... The MOS Technology 6502 is an 8-bit microprocessor that was designed by Chuck Peddle for MOS Technology in 1975. ... A kilobyte (derived from the SI prefix kilo-, meaning 1000) is a unit of information or computer storage equal to the decimal 1024 bytes (2 to the 10th power, or 1,024 bytes based in the binary system). ... According to the International Electrotechnical Commission a kibibyte (a contraction of kilo binary byte) is a unit of information or computer storage. ... The Commodore 64 was one of the most popular microcomputers of its era, and is the best selling home computer of all time. ... For an account of the words periphery and peripheral as they are used in biology, sociology, politics, computer hardware, and other fields, see the periphery disambiguation page. ... Acorn Computers Ltd. ... This article is an overview article about the Crown chartered British Broadcasting Corporation formed in 1927. ...

While twelve models were eventually produced in the range, the term BBC Micro is often colloquially used to refer to the first four (Model A, B, B+64 and B+128); see BBC Master and Archimedes for detail on the later eight models. A BBC Master 128 with monitor and disk drives. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Background

The symbol of the BBC Computer Literacy Project. It appeared on all BBC Micros.

In the early 1980s, the BBC started what became known as the BBC Computer Literacy Project. The project was initiated partly in response^[1] to an extremely influential ITV documentary series The Mighty Micro, in which Dr Christopher Evans from the National Physical Laboratory predicted the coming (micro) computer revolution and its impact on the economy, industry, and lifestyle of the United Kingdom. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... This article cites very few or no references or sources. ... Dr Christopher Riche Evans (1931 – October 10, 1979) was a British psychologist and computer scientist. ... The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) is the national measurement standards laboratory for the United Kingdom, based at Bushy Park in Teddington in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. ... A BlueGene supercomputer cabinet. ...

The BBC wanted to base its project on a microcomputer capable of performing various tasks which they could then demonstrate in their 1981 TV series The Computer Programme. The list of topics included programming, graphics, sound and music, Teletext, controlling external hardware, artificial intelligence, etc. It decided to badge a micro, then drew up a fairly ambitious (for its time) specification and asked for takers. The Commodore 64 was one of the most popular microcomputers of its era, and is the best selling home computer of all time. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Logo from The Computer Programme The Computer Programme was a TV series originally broadcast by the BBC (on BBC2) in 1982. ... Computer programming (often shortened to programming or coding) is the process of writing, testing, and maintaining the source code of computer programs. ... Computer graphics is a sub-field of computer science and is concerned with digitally synthesizing and manipulating visual content. ... A BBC Ceefax page from January 9, 2007. ... Garry Kasparov playing against Deep Blue, the first machine to win a chess game against a reigning world champion. ...

The BBC discussed the issue with Sir Clive Sinclair, who tried to offer the unsuccessful Grundy NewBrain micro to them, but it was rejected. The BBC made appointments to see several other British computer manufacturers, including Dragon^[1] and Acorn. Sir Clive Marles Sinclair (born July 30, 1940), is a British entrepreneur and inventor of, among other things, the worlds first pocket calculator, in 1962 and the beloved ZX Spectrum computer in 1982. ... The Grundy NewBrain was a microcomputer sold in the early-1980s by Grundy Business Systems Ltd of Teddington and Cambridge, England. ... The Dragon 32 and Dragon 64 were home computers built in the 1980s. ... Acorn Computers Ltd. ...

The Acorn team had already been working on an upgrade to their existing Atom microcomputer. Known as the Proton, it included better graphics and a faster 2 MHz MOS Technology 6502 CPU. The machine was only in prototype form at the time, but the Acorn team, largely made up of students including Roger Wilson and Steve Furber, worked through the night to get a working Proton together to show the BBC.^[2] The Acorn Proton not only was the only machine to come up to the BBC's specification, but also exceeded it in nearly every parameter^[1]. The Atom was Acorns first computer to be aimed squarely at the home market. ... MOS Technology, Inc. ... The MOS Technology 6502 is an 8-bit microprocessor that was designed by Chuck Peddle for MOS Technology in 1975. ... Die of an Intel 80486DX2 microprocessor (actual size: 12×6. ... Sophie Wilson, formerly Roger Wilson, is a British computer scientist. ... Stephen Byram Furber was born in Manchester, England, in 1953. ...

The BBC is rumoured to have originally rejected the Proton, claiming that it did not portray the modern computer age correctly (the original specification called for a Z80 CPU running CP/M). [1] Acorn countered this by submitting the Proton again, this time with the function keys painted a bright orange^{[citation needed]}, and no other changes. It was accepted. One of the first Z80 microprocessors manufactured; the date stamp says well before July 1976. ... CP/M was an operating system originally created for Intel 8080/85 based microcomputers by Gary Kildall of Digital Research, Inc. ...

Market impact

The machine was released as the BBC Microcomputer in late 1981 and became affectionately known as the Beeb. The machine was popular in the UK, especially in the educational market. As with Sinclair's ZX Spectrum, also released later in 1982, demand greatly exceeded supply. For some months, there were long delays before customers received the machines they had ordered. A brief attempt to market the machine in the United States failed, due largely to the predominance of the highly similar Apple II family^{[citation needed]}. The success of the machine in the UK was largely due to its acceptance as an "educational" computer – the vast majority of UK schools used BBC Micros to teach computer literacy and information technology skills^[1]. Some British Commonwealth countries, like India, started their own Computer Literacy programs and used the BBC Micro^[3]. 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Sinclair Research Ltd is a consumer electronics company founded by Sir Clive Sinclair in Cambridge, England (originally as Sinclair Radionics in 1961) to sell hi-fi equipment, calculators, radios and other products. ... The ZX Spectrum is a home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The 1977 Apple II, complete with integrated keyboard, color graphics, sound, a plastic case and eight expansion slots. ... Swapna Agrawal is a student of the Department of Lib. ... Information technology (IT), as defined by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA)is: the study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware. ...

Research Machines had, until this time, been one of the leaders in UK educational computer market. One of the main advantages which helped the BBC Micro in the educational market was its durable construction. The machine's casing and keyboard was solidly built compared to that of the ZX Spectrum, being able to cope with all the abuse that schoolchildren could throw at it. Research Machines is the former name of the group of companies now known as RM. RM specialises in providing products and services to schools, colleges, universities and government education departments & agencies. ...

The Model A and the Model B were initially priced at £235 and £335 respectively, but rising almost immediately to £299 and £399 due to increased costs. [2] Acorn anticipated the total sales to be around 12,000 units, but eventually more than 1 million BBC Micros were sold.

The cost of the BBC Models was high compared to competitors such as the ZX Spectrum and Acorn attempted to counter this by producing a cut down version (although it did have the 32k RAM of the Model B rather than the 16k of the Model A), intended more for game playing, the Acorn Electron in 1983; games written specially for the Electron's more limited hardware could usually also be run on the Model B. Look up RAM, Ram, ram in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... An original press advertisement for the Acorn Electron The Acorn Electron was a budget version of the BBC Micro educational/home computer made by Acorn Computers Ltd. ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Description

Hardware features, Models A and B

The Model A had 16 KB of user RAM; the Model B had 32 KB of user RAM. One particularly nice feature of the hardware was that the RAM was clocked twice as fast as the CPU (4 MHz), with alternating access given to the CPU and the video display circuits. This gave the BBC Micro a fully unified memory address structure with no speed penalties. Most competing micros with memory mapped display incurred CPU speed penalties depending on the actions of the video circuits (e.g. the Amstrad CPC and to a lesser extent the ZX Spectrum) or kept video memory completely separate from the CPU address pool (e.g. the MSX). A kilobyte (derived from the SI prefix kilo-, meaning 1000) is a unit of information or computer storage equal to the decimal 1024 bytes (2 to the 10th power, or 1,024 bytes based in the binary system). ... Random access memory (usually known by its acronym, RAM) is a type of data storage used in computers. ... MegaHertz (MHz) is the name given to one million (106) Hertz, a measure of frequency. ... The Amstrad CPC was a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad during the 1980s and early 1990s. ... The ZX Spectrum is a home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd. ... Sony MSX 1, Model HitBit-10-P MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s. ...

Rear of the BBC Micro. Ports from left to right: UHF Out, Video Out, RGB, RS423, Cassette, Analogue In and Econet.

The machine included a number of extra I/O interfaces: serial and parallel printer ports, an 8-bit I/O port, four analogue inputs and an expansion connector that enabled other hardware to be connected. Additionally, an interface called "The Tube®" allowed a second processor to be added; several types of processor were offered by Acorn. It was later used in third-party add-ons, including a Zilog Z80 board and disk drive that allowed the BBC machine to run CP/M programs. In 2006, a kit with an ARM7TDMI CPU running at 64 MHz, with 16MB of RAM was released for the BBC Micro and Master, using the Tube interface in the same manner as older CPUs had [3]. Possibly the most well-known software^{[citation needed]} to run on the Tube was an enhanced version of Elite (see below) and a CAD package which required a second 6502 CPU and a 5 dimensional joystick called a "Bitstick". The Model A and the Model B were built on the same PCB and a Model A could be upgraded to a Model B without too much difficulty. Users wishing to run Model B software needed only to add the extra RAM and the user/printer 6522 VIA (which many games used for timers etc) and snip a link, a task which could be achieved without soldering. To do a full upgrade with all the external ports did however require soldering the connectors to the motherboard. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2048x994, 104 KB) Summary Rear of BBC Micro. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2048x994, 104 KB) Summary Rear of BBC Micro. ... Energy Input: The energy placed into a reaction. ... A male DE-9 connector used for a serial port on a PC style computer. ... It has been suggested that LPT, Centronics and IEEE 1284 be merged into this article or section. ... An analog or analogue signal is an allergy continuous in both time and amplitude. ... One of the first Z80 microprocessors manufactured; the date stamp says well before July 1976. ... Disk storage is a group of data storage mechanisms for computers; data are transferred to planar surfaces or disks for temporary or permanent storage. ... CP/M (Command Processor for Microcomputers) was an operating system for Intel 8080/85 and Zilog Z80 based microcomputers. ... The ARM7TDMI processor is a 16-bit/32-bit RISC CPU designed by ARM, and licensed for manufacture by an array of semiconductor companies. ... Elite is a seminal space trading computer game, originally published by Acornsoft in 1984 for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron computers. ... This article is about computer-aided design. ... Part of a 1983 Sinclair ZX Spectrum computer board. ... Rockwell 6522 VIA The 6522 Versatile Interface Adapter (VIA) was an integrated circuit made by MOS Technology, as well as second sources including Rockwell and Synertek. ...

An apparent oversight in the manufacturing process resulted in a significant number of Model Bs producing a constant buzzing noise from the built-in speaker. This fault could be partly rectified by a soldering-capable person, by soldering a resistor across two pads.[4]. (De)soldering a contact from a wire. ...

Hardware features: B+64 and B+128

Acorn introduced the Model B+ in mid 1985, increasing the total RAM to 64 KB and including floppy disk support as standard, but this had modest market impact. The extra RAM in the Model B+ BBC Micro was assigned as two blocks, a block of 20 KB dedicated solely for screen display (so-called "Shadow" RAM) and a block of 12 KB of 'special' Sideways RAM. The much-needed memory increase provided by this new 1985 'Beeb' was a welcome development, but was seen as an eighteen months or so too late to challenge the increased specifications of new rival microcomputer systems.^{[citation needed]}. The B+128 came with an additional 64 KB ( 4 × 16 KB "Sideways" RAM banks) to give a total RAM of 128 KB. The abbreviation KB can refer to: Kilobyte (kB), equal to 1,000 bytes, or Kibibyte (KiB), equal to 1,024 bytes. ... Shadow RAM, on the Acorn BBC Microcomputer and Master-series microcomputer is a special framebuffer implementation to free up main memory and permit double-buffered graphics. ... The Sideways address space, on the Acorn BBC Microcomputer and Master-series microcomputer was Acorns bank switching implementation, providing for permanent system expansion in the days before hard disk drives or even floppy disk drives were commonplace. ...

The new B+ was incapable of running some original BBC B programs and games, such as, for example, the very popular Castle Quest. A particular problem was the replacement of the Intel 8271 floppy disk controller with the Western Digital 1770 — many game software programmers in particular had used copy protection techniques which involved direct access to the controller, and simply wouldn't run on the new system^{[citation needed]}. A floppy disk is a data storage device that is composed of a disk of thin, flexible (floppy) magnetic storage medium encased in a square or rectangular plastic shell. ... Copy prevention, also known as copy protection, is any technical measure designed to prevent duplication of information. ...

There was also a long-running problem late on in the B/B+'s life infamous amongst B+ owners, when Superior Software released Repton Infinity, which refused to run on the B+. A string of unsuccessful replacements were issued before one compatible with both was finally released.

Software and expandability

Computer game Mr. Mephisto.

Large numbers of games were written for the Beeb, including the original version of the classic Elite. A range of hardware add-ons and expansions was available, and the machine had provisions for floppy disk drives and networking hardware. There were also sockets for the addition of extra ROM chips. The built-in ROM-resident BBC BASIC programming language interpreter was by far the most sophisticated of its time, and wholly supported the machine's educational focus. Advanced programs could be written without having to wade into the jungle of assembly language programming (necessary with many competing computers). Should one want, or need, to do some assembly programming, BBC BASIC featured a built-in assembler. Image File history File links MrMephisto_1_BBCMicro. ... Image File history File links MrMephisto_1_BBCMicro. ... Mr Mephisto for the BBC Micro Mr. ... Elite is a seminal space trading computer game, originally published by Acornsoft in 1984 for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron computers. ... A floppy disk is a data storage device that is composed of a disk of thin, flexible (floppy) magnetic storage medium encased in a square or rectangular plastic shell. ... Econet is an abbreviation of Economy Network. ... Read-only memory (usually known by its acronym, ROM) is a class of storage media used in computers and other electronic devices. ... BBC BASIC was developed in 1981 as a native programming language for the MOS Technology 6502 based Acorn BBC Micro home/personal computer, mainly by Roger Wilson. ... An interpreter is a computer program that executes other programs. ... An assembly language is a low-level language used in the writing of computer programs. ...

When the BBC Micro was released competing PCs used Microsoft BASIC, or variants typically designed to resemble Microsoft BASIC. BBC Basic had the following advantages:

• Support for named procedures, rather than relying upon GOTO/GOSUB;
• Support for IF .. THEN .. ELSE
• Support for high-resolution graphics (albeit with a clumsy syntax);
• Support for four-channel sound (again, with a clumsy syntax);
• In-line support for machine code, rather than requiring the use of a DATA statement and the use of POKE to get the machine code data set-up;
• Long variable names (Microsoft BASIC at that stage supported long names, but with only the first two characters recognised, so that effectively it was limited to two-character names);
• Support for pointer-based programming, like C, although using a different syntax.

Although appropriate content was little-supported by television broadcasters, telesoftware could be downloaded via the optional Teletext Adapter and the other alternative teletext adaptors that emerged. Telesoftware was the broadcasting of programs for home computers via Teletext. ... A Cheese Wedge for the BBC Microcomputer was a peripheral in a box with the same profile and styling as the main computer. ...

As the early BBC micros had ample I/O allowing machines to be interconnected, and as many schools and universities employed the machines in an 'Econet', numerous networked multiplayer games were created. With the exception of a Nethack game and a tank game (Bolo, for example), few rose to popularity; in no small measure due to the limited number of machines aggregated in one place. It has been suggested, but not verified, that the world's first networked multiplayer game was written for the BBC computer, a strategy wargame of some kind. A relatively late but well documented example can be found in this dissertation based on a ringed RS-423 interconnect. Econet is an abbreviation of Economy Network. ... This article is about the role-playing game. ... Bolo is a video game originally developed for the Apple II computer by Synergistic Software in 1982. ... RS-423 is a standard for serial communications, similar to RS-232. ...

Successor machines and the retro scene

In 1986, Acorn followed up with the BBC Master series, which offered memory sizes from 128 KB and many other refinements which improved on the 1981 original. It attracted more interest than the B+ upgrades^{[citation needed]}, although at heart it was essentially the same 6502-based BBC architecture, with many of the upgrades that the original design had intentionally made possible (extra ROM software, extra paged RAM, second processors) now included on the circuit board. 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A BBC Master 128 with monitor and disk drives. ...

However, Acorn had produced their own 32-bit RISC CPU in 1985 and were working on building a personal computer around it. This was released in 1987 as four models in the Archimedes series, with the lower-specified two models (with 512 KB and 1 MiB respectively) released as BBC Microcomputers. 32-bit is a term applied to processors, and computer architectures which manipulate the address and data in 32-bit chunks. ... Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC), is a microprocessor CPU design philosophy that favors a smaller and simpler set of instructions that all take about the same amount of time to execute. ... CPU can stand for: in computing: Central processing unit in journalism: Commonwealth Press Union in law enforcement: Crime prevention unit in software: Critical patch update, a type of software patch distributed by Oracle Corporation in Macleans College is often known as Ash Lim. ... 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

The last model, the BBC A3000, was released in 1989 as essentially a 1 MiB Archimedes back in a single case form factor. The BBC closed the Computer Literacy Project two years later^{[citation needed]}. 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Form factor refers to the linear dimensions and configuration of a device as distinguished from other measures of size (for example Gigabytes; a measure of storage size): in computing, form factor is used to describe the size and format of PC motherboards (see AT, ATX, BTX), but also of hard...

As of 2005, thanks to its ready expandability and I/O functions, there are still numbers of BBCs in use, and a retrocomputing community of dedicated users finding new things to do with the old hardware. A BBC B+ was observed running the communications link in an unattended water pumping station in Oxhey in 1995. They still survive in a few interactive displays in museums across the country (often with no maintenance since they were first built)^{[citation needed]}. There are also a number of BBC Micro emulators for many OSes, so that even the original hardware is no longer necessary. 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Apple II is one of the most collected computers in the world, and is popular amongst hobbyists. ... Oxhey is a suburb of the borough of Watford in the county of Hertfordshire, England. ... An emulator reproducing a console games playable atmosphere on a Windows computer. ...

Specifications (Model A to Model B+128)

The case was designed by industrial designer Allen Boothroyd of Cambridge Product Design Ltd.^{[citation needed]} CPU can stand for: in computing: Central processing unit in journalism: Commonwealth Press Union in law enforcement: Crime prevention unit in software: Critical patch update, a type of software patch distributed by Oracle Corporation in Macleans College is often known as Ash Lim. ... MOS Technology, Inc. ... The MOS Technology 6502 is an 8-bit microprocessor that was designed by Chuck Peddle for MOS Technology in 1975. ... MegaHertz (MHz) is the name given to one million (106) Hertz, a measure of frequency. ... MOS Technology, Inc. ... The MOS Technology 6502 is an 8-bit microprocessor that was designed by Chuck Peddle for MOS Technology in 1975. ... MegaHertz (MHz) is the name given to one million (106) Hertz, a measure of frequency. ... Different types of RAM. From top to bottom: DIP, SIPP, SIMM 30 pin, SIMM 72 pin, DIMM, RIMM RAM redirects here. ... A kilobyte (derived from the SI prefix kilo-, meaning 1000) is a unit of information or computer storage equal to the decimal 1024 bytes (2 to the 10th power, or 1,024 bytes based in the binary system). ... A kilobyte (derived from the SI prefix kilo-, meaning 1000) is a unit of information or computer storage equal to the decimal 1024 bytes (2 to the 10th power, or 1,024 bytes based in the binary system). ... A kilobyte (derived from the SI prefix kilo-, meaning 1000) is a unit of information or computer storage equal to the decimal 1024 bytes (2 to the 10th power, or 1,024 bytes based in the binary system). ... Shadow RAM, on the Acorn BBC Microcomputer and Master-series microcomputer is a special framebuffer implementation to free up main memory and permit double-buffered graphics. ... The Sideways address space, on the Acorn BBC Microcomputer and Master-series microcomputer was Acorns bank switching implementation, providing for permanent system expansion in the days before hard disk drives or even floppy disk drives were commonplace. ... A kilobyte (derived from the SI prefix kilo-, meaning 1000) is a unit of information or computer storage equal to the decimal 1024 bytes (2 to the 10th power, or 1,024 bytes based in the binary system). ... Shadow RAM, on the Acorn BBC Microcomputer and Master-series microcomputer is a special framebuffer implementation to free up main memory and permit double-buffered graphics. ... The Sideways address space, on the Acorn BBC Microcomputer and Master-series microcomputer was Acorns bank switching implementation, providing for permanent system expansion in the days before hard disk drives or even floppy disk drives were commonplace. ... Read-only memory (usually known by its acronym, ROM) is a class of storage media used in computers and other electronic devices. ... Read-only memory (usually known by its acronym, ROM) is a class of storage media used in computers and other electronic devices. ... Acorns Machine Operating System is the computer operating system that powers the Acorn BBC computer range: the BBC Micro (MOS 0. ... BBC BASIC was developed in 1981 as a native programming language for the MOS Technology 6502 based Acorn BBC Micro home/personal computer, mainly by Roger Wilson. ... Read-only memory (usually known by its acronym, ROM) is a class of storage media used in computers and other electronic devices. ... Acorns Machine Operating System is the computer operating system that powers the Acorn BBC computer range: the BBC Micro (MOS 0. ... The Disc Filing System (DFS) is a computer filing system developed by Acorn Computers Ltd. ... BBC BASIC was developed in 1981 as a native programming language for the MOS Technology 6502 based Acorn BBC Micro home/personal computer, mainly by Roger Wilson. ... A computer keyboard is a peripheral partially modeled after the typewriter keyboard. ... A function key is a key on a computer or terminal keyboard which can be programmed so as to cause an operating system command interpreter or application program to perform certain actions. ... Look up din in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Ultra high frequency (UHF) designates a range (band) of electromagnetic waves whose frequency is between 300 MHz and 3. ... Television encoding systems by nation PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is a colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in large parts of the world. ... An RF modulator (for radio frequency modulator) is a device that takes a baseband input signal and outputs a radio frequency-modulated signal. ... Graphics are visual presentations on some surface such as a wall, canvas, computer screen, paper, or stone to brand, inform, illustrate, or entertain. ... The Motorola 6845 (commonly MC6845) is a video address generator first introduced by Motorola and used in the CGA and EGA video adapters, Amstrad CPC and BBC Micro. ... A Video Display Controller or VDC is an integrated circuit which is the main component in a video signal generator, a device responsible for the production of a TV video signal in a computing or game system. ... A BBC Ceefax page from January 9, 2007. ... Mullard Limited was a British manufacturer of electronic components. ... Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN), better known in the electronics industry (and popularly) as TI, is an American company based in Dallas, Texas, USA, renowned for developing and commercializing semiconductor and computer technology. ... The SN76489 Programmable Sound Generator (PSG) is a TTL compatible four-channel sound chip from Texas Instruments. ... A sound chip is an integrated circuit (i. ... Magnetic tape has been used for data storage for over 50 years. ... Typical 60-minute Compact Cassette. ... The Kansas City standard (abbreviated KCS) for storage of digital (micro)computer data on an ordinary compact audio cassette is also known as the BYTE standard, from its connection with BYTE magazine, or the Processor Technology CUTS (PT Computer Users Tape Standard). ... Disk storage is a group of data storage mechanisms for computers; data are transferred to planar surfaces or disks for temporary or permanent storage. ... A floppy disk is a data storage device that is composed of a disk of thin, flexible (floppy) magnetic storage medium encased in a square or rectangular plastic shell. ... The Disc Filing System (DFS) is a computer filing system developed by Acorn Computers Ltd. ... A floppy disk is a data storage device that is composed of a disk of thin, flexible (floppy) magnetic storage medium encased in a square or rectangular plastic shell. ... A floppy disk is a data storage device that is composed of a disk of thin, flexible (floppy) magnetic storage medium encased in a square or rectangular plastic shell. ... Western Digital Corporation (NYSE: WDC) (often abbreviated to WD) is a manufacturer of a large proportion of the worlds hard disks, and has a long history in the electronics industry as an IC maker and a storage products company. ... The WD1770 is the first in a line of floppy disc controllers produced by Western Digital. ... The Disc Filing System (DFS) is a computer filing system developed by Acorn Computers Ltd. ... Typical hard drives of the mid-1990s. ... The Advanced Disc Filing System (ADFS) is a computing file system particular to the Acorn computer range, although the Linux kernel does have support for this format. ... Look up din in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... RS-423 is a standard for serial communications, similar to RS-232. ... Centronics logo 23 June 1986 Centronics logo 1971 Centronics Data Computer Corporation was a pioneering American manufacturer of computer printers, now remembered only for the parallel interface that bears their name. ... IDC is an initialism that can stand for: IDC scripting language, used in IDA Pro Interactive Disassembler indirect costs, in financial contexts, otherwise known as facilities and administrative costs Interdisciplinary Center, a college in Herzliya, Israel Insane Detail Club, a group of people at Scifi-meshes. ... The Logo programming language is a functional programming language. ... Joystick elements: 1. ... A light pen is a computer input device in the form of a light-sensitive wand used in conjunction with the computers CRT monitor. ... IDC is an initialism that can stand for: IDC scripting language, used in IDA Pro Interactive Disassembler indirect costs, in financial contexts, otherwise known as facilities and administrative costs Interdisciplinary Center, a college in Herzliya, Israel Insane Detail Club, a group of people at Scifi-meshes. ... IDC is an initialism that can stand for: IDC scripting language, used in IDA Pro Interactive Disassembler indirect costs, in financial contexts, otherwise known as facilities and administrative costs Interdisciplinary Center, a college in Herzliya, Israel Insane Detail Club, a group of people at Scifi-meshes. ... The MOS Technology 6502 is an 8-bit microprocessor that was designed by Chuck Peddle for MOS Technology in 1975. ... One of the first Z80 microprocessors manufactured; the date stamp says well before July 1976. ... A Cheese Wedge for the BBC Microcomputer was a peripheral in a box with the same profile and styling as the main computer. ... The 320xx or NS32000 is a series of microprocessors from National Semiconductor (NS, Natsemi). They were likely the first 32-bit general-purpose microprocessors on the market, but due to a number of factors never managed to become a major player. ... // Look up network in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Motorola (NYSE: MOT) is an American multinational communications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. ... Allen Boothroyd is an industrial designer. ...

Display modes

• Mode 7 was a Teletext mode and extremely economical on memory: it also made the computer useful as a Prestel terminal, which made it popular with travel agents, banks and stock traders for a while^{[citation needed]}. Train time displays at UK stations were driven by BBC Master computers until around the late 1990s when they were gradually phased out.
• Modes 0 to 6 could display a choice of colours from a logical palette of sixteen, though only eight colours were available; the eight basic RGB colours (0-black, 1-red, 2-green, 3-yellow, 4-blue, 5-magenta, 6-cyan, 7-white) and eight colours in a flashing state, (8-black/white, 9-red/cyan, 10-green/magenta, 11-yellow/blue, 12-blue/yellow, 13-magenta/green, 14-cyan/red, 15-white/black)
• 

  

  Screen mode 6 with a blue background, showing the filler lines
  Modes 3 and 6 were special software (framebuffer) text modes. To save RAM, the count of lines was reduced from 32 to 25. As this would reduce the height of the frame, filler rows were created between each line of text when the frame was output, where no pixels were read from the framebuffer. This creates characteristic black lines between the rows of text when a different background colour is set, and a blank gap at the bottom of the display with the left-over pixels. The screen mode is otherwise held in memory as a regular graphics mode.
• In addition, the BBC B+ and the later Master allowed 'shadow modes', where the framebuffer was stored in 20 KB of extra RAM mapped to location 0x8000 onwards ('shadowing' the BASIC ROM mapped to that area), instead of taking up the user memory below 0x8000. This feature was enabled by setting bit 7 of the mode variable, i.e. by requesting modes 128–135.

A BBC Ceefax page from January 9, 2007. ... Prestel, the brand name for the British General Post Offices Viewdata technology, was an interactive videotex system developed during the late 1970s and commercially launched in 1979. ... A representation of additive color mixing—In CRT based (analog electronics) television three color electron guns are used to stimulate such an arrangement of phosphorescent coatings of the glass, the resultant reemission of photons providing the image seen by the eye. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

Optional extras

• Serial ROM cartridge filing system via a slot to the left of the keyboard - usually fitted as part of the Speech Upgrade
• Speech synthesis hardware based around the Texas Instruments TMS5220 - standard on US model. The speech chips featured sampled words spoken by BBC newscaster Kenneth Kendall.(Very few people bothered with this upgrade - the synthesiser's vocabulary was rather limited, and some games programmers succeeded in producing more versatile software speech synthesis using only the standard sound hardware)
• Reset Button (It is doubtful if anyone ever added this, as a complete hardware reset can be accomplished by pressing <CTRL+BREAK> on the keyboard at any time, even if the machine has crashed.)

The TMS5220 is a speech synthesizer chip created by Texas Instruments in 1979. ... Kenneth Kendall (born August 7, 1924) is a British broadcaster and journalist. ...

Trivia

• The BBC Domesday Project, a pioneering multimedia experiment, was based on a modified version of the BBC Micro's successor the BBC Master.

• Musician Vince Clarke of the British synth pop bands Depeche Mode, Yazoo, and Erasure used a BBC Micro (and later a BBC Master) with the UMI music sequencer to compose many hits.^{[citation needed]} In music videos from the 1980s featuring Vince Clarke, a BBC Micro is often present or provides text and graphics such as the clip for Erasure's Oh L'Amour.

• Queen used the UMI Music Sequencer on their record A Kind of Magic . The UMI is also mentioned in the CD booklet. Other bands who have used the Beeb for making music are A-ha and the reggae band Steel Pulse.

• The BBC Micro provided in-game graphics for the BBC TV show "The Adventure Game", where the BREAK key on the keyboard was covered by a plastic box to prevent accidental pressing.

• Numerous 80s episodes of Doctor Who feature text, graphics, and sound effects generated by a BBC Micro computer. Such episodes include The Five Doctors (first broadcast in 1983) and The Twin Dilemma (first broadcast in 1984).

The BBC Domesday Project was a partnership between Acorn Computers Ltd, Philips, Logica and the BBC to mark the 900th anniversary of the original Domesday Book, an 11th century census of England. ... A BBC Master 128 with monitor and disk drives. ... Vince Clarke (born Vincent John Martin, South Woodford, Essex, England, July 3, 1960) is an English pop musician and songwriter, who has been involved with a number of successful pop groups, including Depeche Mode, Yazoo, and Erasure. ... Depeche Mode are an electronic band formed in 1980 in Essex, England. ... Yazoo (known as Yaz in the U.S.) was a short-lived but highly successful English synthpop duo from Basildon, Essex that had a number of top ten hits in the British charts in the early 1980s. ... Erasure is an English synth pop duo band consisting of keyboardist Vince Clarke and singer Andy Bell. ... A BBC Master 128 with monitor and disk drives. ... In the field of electronic music, a sequencer was originally any device that recorded and played back a sequence of control information for an electronic musical instrument. ... A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music, most commonly a song. ... Queen is an English rock band, formed in 1970 in London by Brian May, Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor, with John Deacon joining the following year. ... The correct title of this article is . ... Steel Pulse is a well-known roots reggae musical band. ... Main title caption. ... Doctor Who is a long-running British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC, (and a 1996 television movie). ... The Five Doctors was a special movie-length episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, produced in celebration of the programmes twentieth anniversary. ... The Twin Dilemma is is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts from March 22 to March 30, 1984, the first to star Colin Baker in the title role. ...

See also

• BBC Master and Archimedes the next generations
• Risc PC, the next generation Archimedes
• Richard Russell
• BBC Micro and Acorn Electron games
• Prism Micro Products

A BBC Master 128 with monitor and disk drives. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Risc PC (codenamed Medusa) was Acorn Computers Ltds next generation RISC OS/Acorn RISC Machine computer, launched in 1994, which superseded the Acorn Archimedes. ... Richard Thomas Russell is the creator of the BBC BASIC for Windows computer language and the author of the Z80 and MS-DOS versions of BBC BASIC. He graduated in 1973 in physics at Oxford university in the UK. The same year he started at the British Broadcasting Corporation as... Prism Micro Products Limited was a British company (Registered No. ...

External links

• BBC Micro page on dmoz
• The BBC Lives!
  • BBC Microcomputer System User Guide (PDF, 2.6 MiB)
• Stairway to Hell
• Only The Best BBC Micro Games
• BBC Micro page on Videogame Junkie
• Complete schematics of a Model B
• BeebWiki — BBC Micro Wiki
• Sprow's BBC Mecca
• Acorn and the BBC Micro: From education to obscurity
• See videos of the BBC Micro in action

A mebibyte (a contraction of mega binary byte) is a unit of information or computer storage, abbreviated MiB. 1 MiB = 220 bytes = 1,048,576 bytes = 1,024 kibibytes 1 MiB = 1024 (= 210) kibibytes (KiB), and 1024 MiB equal one gibibyte (GiB). ...

References