Acorn User
Encyclopedia
Acorn User magazine was founded by Acorn Computers
in 1982, contract-published by Addison-Wesley, to coincide with the launch of the BBC Micro
. It covered the range of Acorn home computers, the BBC Micro and Atom
at first and later the Electron
, Archimedes
and Risc PC
.
The first issue was dated July/August 1982. From the April 1984 issue, the magazine came under the control of Redwood Publishing, a company recently founded by Michael Potter (a former publisher at Haymarket Publishing), Christopher Ward (a former editor of the Daily Express
and a non-executive director of Acorn) and Chris Curry
(one of the founders of Acorn).
In 1989, the name changed to BBC Acorn User, reflecting the fact that the commercial arm of the BBC, BBC Enterprises, took control of Redwood to expand its publishing activities. The magazine lost the BBC branding when it was sold to Europress, publisher of rival title The Micro User
, coinciding with its January 1994 issue.
The magazine later incorporated Acorn Computing and Archimedes World magazines. Even when compatible hardware was released by RiscStation, Castle, MicroDigital, and Advantage 6 the magazine continued with the Acorn name whilst covering the extended range of hardware.
At the time of its closure in Spring 2005, it was the second-oldest still-published computer magazine in the UK.
In 2004 the magazine was acquired by Finnybank Ltd, which had previously purchased the RISC OS
Acorn Publisher magazine: the two magazines were replaced by Qercus.
Acorn Computers
Acorn Computers Ltd. 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...
in 1982, contract-published by Addison-Wesley, to coincide with the launch of the BBC Micro
BBC Micro
The BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, was a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers for the BBC Computer Literacy Project, operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation...
. It covered the range of Acorn home computers, the BBC Micro and Atom
Acorn Atom
The Acorn Atom was a home computer made by Acorn Computers Ltd from 1980 to 1982 when it was replaced by the BBC Micro and later the Acorn Electron....
at first and later 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....
, Archimedes
Acorn Archimedes
The Acorn Archimedes was Acorn Computers Ltd's first general purpose home computer to be based on their own ARM architecture.Using a RISC design with a 32-bit CPU, at its launch in June 1987, the Archimedes was stated as running at 4 MIPS, with a claim of 18 MIPS during tests.The name is commonly...
and Risc PC
Risc PC
The RiscPC was Acorn Computers's next generation RISC OS/Acorn RISC Machine computer, launched on 15 April 1994, which superseded the Acorn Archimedes. The Acorn PC card and software allows PC compatible software to be run....
.
The first issue was dated July/August 1982. From the April 1984 issue, the magazine came under the control of Redwood Publishing, a company recently founded by Michael Potter (a former publisher at Haymarket Publishing), Christopher Ward (a former editor of the Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
and a non-executive director of Acorn) and Chris Curry
Chris Curry
Christopher Curry is the co-founder of Acorn Computers, with Hermann Hauser and Andy Hopper.-Early life:...
(one of the founders of Acorn).
In 1989, the name changed to BBC Acorn User, reflecting the fact that the commercial arm of the BBC, BBC Enterprises, took control of Redwood to expand its publishing activities. The magazine lost the BBC branding when it was sold to Europress, publisher of rival title The Micro User
The Micro User
The Micro User was a British specialist magazine catering to users of the BBC Microcomputer series, Acorn Electron, Acorn Archimedes and, to a limited extent, the Cambridge Z88...
, coinciding with its January 1994 issue.
The magazine later incorporated Acorn Computing and Archimedes World magazines. Even when compatible hardware was released by RiscStation, Castle, MicroDigital, and Advantage 6 the magazine continued with the Acorn name whilst covering the extended range of hardware.
At the time of its closure in Spring 2005, it was the second-oldest still-published computer magazine in the UK.
In 2004 the magazine was acquired by Finnybank Ltd, which had previously purchased the 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...
Acorn Publisher magazine: the two magazines were replaced by Qercus.