16 Facts About BBC Micro

1.

British Broadcasting Corporation Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, is a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers in the 1980s for the BBC Computer Literacy Project.

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2.

Introduction of a specific microcomputer to a more general computer literacy initiative was a topic of controversy, however, with criticism aimed at the BBC for promoting a specific commercial product and for going beyond the "traditional BBC pattern" of promoting existing information networks of training and education providers.

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3.

Key feature of the BBC Micro's design is the high-performance RAM it is equipped with.

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4.

The prototype BBC Micro exceeded the CPU's specifications, causing it to fail.

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5.

The separate RGB video out socket was an engineering requirement from the BBC to allow the machine to directly output a broadcast quality signal for use within television programming; it is used on episodes of The Computer Programme and Making the Most of the Micro.

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6.

BBC Micro platform amassed a large software base of both games and educational programs for its two main uses as a home and educational computer.

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7.

Should one want or need to do some assembly programming, BBC Micro BASIC has a built-in assembler that allows a mixture of BASIC and assembler for whatever processor BASIC was operating on.

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8.

Acornsoft C did not run on the original BBC Micro models, requiring the extra resources provided by the B+ and Master series machines.

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9.

Furber said in 2015 that he was amazed that the BBC Micro "established this reputation for being reliable, because lots of it was finger-in-the-air engineering".

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10.

The Archimedes came with 65Arthur, an emulator which BYTE stated "lets many programs for the BBC Micro run"; other emulators exist for many operating systems.

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11.

In music videos from the 1980s featuring Vince Clarke, a BBC Micro is often present or provides text and graphics such as a clip for Erasure's "Oh L'Amour".

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12.

Black Uhuru used the Envelope Generator from SYSTEM software running on a BBC Micro, to create some of the electro-dub sounds on Try It (Anthem album 1983).

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13.

BBC Micro was used extensively to provide graphics and sound effects for many early 1980s BBC TV shows.

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14.

In 2013, NESTA released a report into the legacy of The BBC Micro, looking at the history and impact of the machine and The BBC Computer Literacy project.

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15.

In June 2018, the BBC Micro released its archives of the Computer Literacy Project.

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16.

BBC Micro had a lasting technological impact on the education market by introducing an informal educational standard around the hardware and software technologies employed by the range, particularly the use of BBC BASIC, and by establishing a considerable investment by schools in software for the machine.

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