Acorn Network Computer

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 operating system used in this first implementation was based on RISC OS and ran on ARM hardware. The NetStation was available in two versions, one with a modem 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).

pecification

*Memory: 4096k 12 MHz RAM.
*Processor: ARM 7500FE processor at 40 MHz; approx 35.9 MIPS.
*Operating system: a development of RISC OS on 4096k ROM.

Later versions

The second generation Network Computer operating system was no longer based on RISC OS, and instead consisted of NetBSD 1.2.1 code. Later NCs were produced based on the Intel Pentium architecture, although Acorn continued to produce ARM-based designs, including the StrongARM-based ConNCord.

External links

* [http://www.khantazi.org/Archives/MachineLst.html#NC The Full Acorn Machine List: NC]