Most people of my age group, in the UK, know the Acorn built BBC Micro well. For some of us (myself included) it was their first introduction to computing. In fact I still regard the keyboard as the best of any computer at that time, and still better than most nowadays too, with the keys being big, chunky and distinct. The machine was basic by today’s standards, but had a certain affinity with it’s users, which was helped by the great peripherals available for the machine – the huge external 5 1/4 inch floppy drives and the 8 colour monitor. The machine appeared in schools all over the UK, mainly because of the BBC’s backing and TV shows such as “Micro Live” and “The Computer Programme.” Of course, a certain amount of government push helped move things along as well. Because of this The BBC Micro was instrumental in teaching the school children of the time about computers and their newly-evolving uses. Acorn went onto other projects that were also taken on with government funding in schools, with the Archimedes.
Things have moved on with PCs being more prevalent in schools today, but it’s important not to forgot the heritage and where a lot of IT professionals first got bitten by the bug. The Computer Conservation Society have organised a reunion for the people responsible for the creation of the BBC Micro. The original Acorn and BBC teams are all meeting up at the National Science Museum in London, tonight. [SHOW ME]