| Hallas to study history of Acorn PhD |
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Published: 3rd Sep 2006, 16:22:23GMT Source: drobe.co.uk
By the Drobe news desk
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| Page 1 of 1 |
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| He gets backing for new book from Acorn and ARM founders |
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 Foundation editor Richard Hallas has left his magazine to embark upon a five year PhD study documenting the history of Acorn. In a touching farewell editorial, Richard, pictured, will tell his readers he plans to eventually write a book using his academic research.
He must spend his first year back at university completing a masters degree in the history of science and technology, then three years working on the history of Acorn and its influence on the "wider history of computing", before spending the fifth and final year penning his book.
Richard has also called for anyone who thinks they can assist in his research, from obscure technical documentation to interesting in-jokes, recollections and anecdotes, to contact him.
In the following interview with Drobe, Richard, 37, reveals the motivation behind his latest long term project, and how it all came about.
Is it really true that you're going to start a PhD into the history of Acorn?
 I hope so; that's a major part of my plan. However, I'm obliged to do an MSc first, so the PhD itself is actually a year away. I'd hoped that I'd be able to start on the PhD this year, and that the fact that I've got two Bachelor degrees already, one in music, the other in computational mathematics, would have exempted me from having to spend an extra year on an MSc, but it's a requirement of the university. Luckily, I'll be able to do my MSc project in a related area - the BBC Domesday Project - so it'll help with the overall research.
Which university are you going to?
Manchester: birthplace of the Baby, the world's first stored-program computer, home of the UK National Archive for the History of Computing, and current employer of Steve Furber, designer of the ARM micro-architecture.
It was Steve Furber, in fact, who put me in touch with the right people in Manchester, and with [Acorn co-founder] Hermann Hauser for some funding.
What will your work entail?
A one-year full-time MSc first of all, the dissertation for which should be something about the BBC Domesday Project. The precise aspect of study is to be decided, but I was told that the overall subject was considered to be ideal for an MSc dissertation.
Then, assuming all goes to plan, a three-year PhD on Acorn and its position in the history of computers.
| "I'm not expecting the book to sell like Harry Potter, but I do feel that there's much more potential, given all of Acorn's interesting aspects and the BBC connections, for a book about it to sell well than there would be for one about a lesser company." |
Finally, based on the research that I've accumulated whilst studying for the MSc and PhD, and having completed the PhD, it's my intention to write the definitive history of Acorn in book form.
The book is actually the motivation for the entire project, and I've had it in mind for several years, but have had great difficulty in getting it off the ground. I wrote a detailed outline quite some time ago and have a fairly clear idea already about what I want to do with the book - although obviously, it'll be refined as my research reveals things that I don't know at present. Attracting a decent publisher, though, proved to be a futile struggle.
Given that I couldn't a publisher interested in the book, it struck me that if I could do some academic research in the field, then (a) it would be more useful in the long run as it would serve the academic community, (b) I'd hopefully get a PhD in the process, which would be nice, and (c) doing research for the PhD would provide me with the material I needed for my book along the way.
The problem was that I needed some funding, as working in the RISC OS world these days isn't the ideal way of getting rich. I will still need further funding in the future, in fact, but Hermann Hauser is providing significant help in financial and other ways, and it's his initial assistance which has got this project off the ground.
Why have you decided to do it?
Because someone really ought to do it, and you know what they say about what to do if you want a job to be done properly...
Seriously, I've been involved in the Acorn world for a long time, I have a reasonable knowledge of it, am very interested in it, and have known some of the people who helped to shape it. I also have access to certain useful resource material, and hope to be able to acquire lots more during my research. I've also had an ambition to write a book for a long time, and can think of no more worthy topic on which to write one than the UK's greatest computing innovator. I like to think that I'm a decent writer, and hope that I'll be able to make a good job of producing the definitive book on the subject.
| "I don't want to see Acorn being overlooked and ending up as nothing more than a historical footnote; I want to try to preserve a record of its achievements for the future and help to establish its true importance." |
The absence of any kind of decent history of Acorn, which was a terrifically important company, and should have been far more successful than it ever was, based on its achievements, has struck me as a matter of deep injustice for a long time. There are books on some extremely obscure aspects of computing history, and yet no publisher seemed remotely interested in anything about Acorn, despite its huge importance and influence. Even many people who know a great deal about computers are totally unaware of what Acorn achieved, and the general public won't have a clue.
Yet I feel that there's an extremely interesting story to be told, and surely there's a 'popular' - rather than niche or academic - market for a good book here, even if it sells mainly to the generation of kids who grew up with the BBC Micro. It shouldn't be forgotten, for example, that the Domesday Project involved the participation of a million school children and their families and teachers. I'd hope that a percentage of them would be sufficiently interested in reading about the project, with the benefit of hindsight, to want to buy the book. I'm not expecting it to sell like Harry Potter, but I do feel that there's much more potential, given all of Acorn's interesting aspects and the BBC connections, for a book about it to sell well than there would be for one about a lesser company.
Besides, the longer that time goes on without anyone setting the matter straight, the greater the danger of things being forgotten and Acorn's achievements lost to history. I don't want to see Acorn being overlooked and ending up as nothing more than a historical footnote; I want to try to preserve a record of its achievements for the future and help to establish its true importance.
It takes years, and the benefit of hindsight, for things to be put into their true historical perspective, but I feel that this is an ideal time for this work to be done. Acorn has been gone for a few years, and the world has moved on significantly in the intervening period, but it's close enough to the events for all the key people and information to be around and accessible, and ripe for preservation. I hope that my book will allow people, both now and in the future, to understand just how important Acorn really was, and how much we lost with its untimely demise.
Links
Richard Hallas's website
Foundation magazineRelated articles
ROS fan loses Acorn domain in dispute
New Acorn reveals PC laptop website
Thank Acorn for embedded tech growth says Oregan exec
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tamias (+5.1)
3/9/06 6:05PM |
Best wishes to Richard for his book - it sounds like a very interesting project and, as he says, it would be an injustice to Acorn not to have something to amalgamate all their achievements in this way. Let me know when it's available in a bookshop near me  |
hEgelia (+8.4)
3/9/06 6:10PM |
What a courageous and marvelous plan! I'm sure many of us have wondered if such a book would ever appear and now I believe the time will indeed come. I'm especially happy with the support Herman Hauser is giving Richard, which ofcourse ultimately serves to immortalize his own 'baby'.
I sincerely must congratulate and thank Richard and wish him great success in achieving his goal. I hope it may inspire others. |
markee174
3/9/06 6:43PM |
I trust it will be written with TechWriter  |
druck (+14.1)
3/9/06 8:50PM |
Hopefully any book can go even a small way to dispelling the Microsoft sponsored myth that even the BBC bought in to, hook line and sinker, on recent reports about the 25th anniversary of the PC. If you didn't know better you would have come away with the impression that Bill Gates invented the IBM PC, Windows, the internet and the World Wide Web back in 1981.
If it had been CNN or Sky News you wouldn't have been surprised at such a load of cobblers, but this was the same BBC who teamed up with Acorn to produce machines which educated an entire generation of children in Britain and around the world, developed OS and processor technology which was unrivaled for many years, and whos ARM spin off is used in many billions of devices from cars to mobile phones. But no, from the BBC you'd never have know that the UK played any part in the computer industry whatsoever, Bill Gates did it all.
We can't let Microsoft rewrite the history of personal computers without a wimper, Acorn's story needs to be told, so best of luck to Richard. |
sascott (+4.0)
3/9/06 9:44PM |
Nice one Richard. Best of luck to you on this venture. If the book does come out, I'll buy it |
moss (+4.0)
4/9/06 1:21AM |
This is absolutely wonderful. I've often thought that someone should do a proper documentary on Acorn (and perhaps someone will one day) - but a book is equally as brilliant, and indeed could go into a lot more depth.
Best of luck with it, Richard. |
timephoenix (+2.0)
4/9/06 9:46AM |
Good luck Richard. I'd always hoped that someone would write a definative history on Acorn - I've always found it to be a really interesting story. It's got so many ups and downs, from the high-flying days of receiving the Queen’s Award, 300 active dealerships and promos with Linford Christie and Steve Brackford, to the many crisises, such as the company's near death in 1985 and its eventual dismemberment. Will be a great read I'm sure, and if you're content in Foundation is anything to go by, you're the right man for such a task.
Interesting to see Mr. Hauser has contributed money towards the project. If only he would open his checkbook to RISC OS developers  |
tamias
4/9/06 12:09PM |
In reply to timephoenix:
I sadly suspect rather more copies of the book will be sold to rather more people for his investment, than new RISC OS machines would be. |
MikeCarter (+2.0)
4/9/06 12:20PM |
Good luck Richard. It will be nice to show people what Acorn/RISC OS was/is realy about rather than search many different websites to get a definitive history. |
chrisj (+2.0)
4/9/06 1:37PM |
In reply to Tamias:
True, but then again, I don't imagine that Richard will fail to mention whatever of the successor companies are still around in five years time, and maybe some of the people who read the book will be interested enough to investigate....
Like many others here, I look forward to buying a copy of the book when you've finished it, Richard - best of luck! |
torbenm (+2.0)
4/9/06 2:28PM |
I'm definitely also on the buyer's list for the book. While I have been following Acorn since I bought my BBC B shortly after it was released, I'm sure there is a lot I have missed (and even more I have forgotten),
I hope the book will also cover some of the companies that sprung up around Acorn, such as Watfor, Superior Software, etc., that supplied hardware and software specifically for use with Acorn computers, as well as taking a look at the competition (Sinclar, Commodore, etc.). |
pscheele
4/9/06 11:26PM |
There is a splendid book about the history of pc's: "Digital Retro" from Gordon Laing (http://www.ilex-press.com). It describes the developement of pc's from the MITS Altair 8800 till the NeXT Cube. And the Atom, the BBC Micro, Electron and the Archimedes are described in it as well. With lots of pictures and interesting backgrounds and stories.
I hope that Richards book will be as interesting. Although five years... I'm looking forward to it! |
RichardHallas (+2.0)
5/9/06 12:34PM |
Very many thanks for all the positive comments so far on this article, and to those people who have emailed me privately with offers of help. I've had a couple of very useful offers already, though more would of course be most welcome. I'd like to make a few comments in response to things people have said here so far.
In reply to markee174:
I agree that TechWriter is a splendid piece of software, and I've used it in the past (for my OU maths degree, actually!). However, I'm much more likely to use Ovation Pro (RISC OS version; I won't be moving to Windows under any circumstances), as it's the better page-layout package. All the work for the book will of course be done under RISC OS, though; it would be hypocritical to use any other platform to produce the book, even if I wanted to!
In reply to druck:
I'm in complete agreement with what you say, and your description of recent BBC coverage is the sort of thing that's provided me with a strong motivation for this project. Sadly, I wasn't in the least bit surprised by the PC-idolising attitude that was apparent in its coverage of the PC's 25th anniversary. It reflects my own experiences when I approached the BBC about a book that would help commemorate its achievements with the Computer Literacy Project. Sadly, the BBC is no longer the organisation it was a quarter of a century ago.
In reply to torbenm:
Clearly it will be appropriate and necessary for me to talk to some extent about other non-Acorn computers, and also to cover some important third party companies (Eidos and Sibelius spring to mind as being particularly noteworthy ones), plus of course the Acorn spin-offs like ARM and Online Media etc. But at this stage I'm not expecting to devote a vast amount of coverage to such things; my intention is to focus primarily on the Acorn story and the factors that influenced it, or were influenced by it. I do agree that what you mention is important, and I certainly won't ignore such aspects, but it would be all too easy to let matters run away and end up with a book that was unmanageable and ineffective if I tried to cover too much. The Acorn story is a big, multifaceted topic, and I fear that my book will turn out to be huge even without considering the competition. Of course, that's not to say that there isn't room for a separate book covering the UK computer industry of the 1980s in more general terms; I'm firmly of the opinion that there's another good project there, should the opportunity present itself.
In reply to pscheele:
I've got a copy of Digital Retro, and I agree that it's a nice book, but it's not at all what I have in mind to produce myself. Digital Retro is a coffee-table book: big page-area, vast numbers of pictures, surprisingly little text, and the sort of thing that you can dip into, read a nugget and put down again. It's a useful pictorial overview of computers of the 1980s, with brief summaries and anecdotes. It is not, however, a detailed history. What I'm expecting to produce is a 'reading book' with lots of text and relatively few pictures: something that will provide ample detail about all important aspects of Acorn's history in a comprehensive and accurate way. I'm not saying that it'll be a dense mass of facts and figures; it needs to be an interesting read and to tell a good story, so that people will want to keep on reading it and won't be bored by it. But it will be the sort of book that you pick up and read for lengthy periods, rather than a picture-book that you glance at for a few minutes.
Final recap: I'd be most grateful to hear from anyone who may be able to help me in any way, and I'm particularly interested in (a) personal recollections from people who worked at Acorn, or were involved with it directly in some way, and (b) obscure documentation, such as the internal Acorn newsletters (someone scanned a few of these recently, but I'd like a full set), old press releases, internal technical documentation and suchlike. I can be contacted via email at [Email: Richard [at] Hallas.net ] or by phone on 01484 460280. |
moss (+3.0)
5/9/06 12:45PM |
One thing to remember is the extensive use the BBC (and indeed other companies) made (and, indeed makes in some cases) of Acorns - in editing, onscreen graphics, you name it. I know there was a RiscPC controlling BBC THREE's output until recently (not sure if it is since they moved out of White City). That's an important piece of Acorn's history to cover. |
Cogs (+3.0)
5/9/06 7:53PM |
I came by this article a while back if anyone wants a good read. I doubt it will be useful research material for Richard as it is entirely unreferenced and is unlikely to contain anything new. Still, it may be of interest to readers of Drobe in the meantime:
< URL: [Link: www.gsb.tt] >
Incidentally, I just found it online. It has nothing to do with me, so any errors and omissions don't either. |
JGZimmerle
5/9/06 11:12PM |
@Cogs: This was certainly a very interesting read. Thanks for the link. |
AW (+1.0)
6/9/06 7:08PM |
Godspeed Richard! |
AMS
6/9/06 8:17PM |
Richard best of luck with your research and I, like others here, will happily look forward to its publication and wish you every success.
I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised that Hermann Hauser would support you in this, which suggests that he still as a "soft spot" for the Acorn scene and what it meant to people here.
It is sad to reflect that perhaps Acorn should have made better use of "self-publicity" when it would have counted.
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moss (+1.0)
7/9/06 6:00PM |
I think you'll find they certainly came up on the radar of Apple, seeing as they went into business together on two occasions - ARM, and Xemplar! |
AMS (+1.0)
7/9/06 8:55PM |
In reply to moss:
You'll probably find that the "float" of ARM was to soothe Apple's worries about using a chip from a compeditor (it also meant Apple could influence future developments of that chip - who knows the more cynical might think they'd use the oppertunity to steer ARM development away from the desktop market and leave Acorn floundering). As for Xemplar it was set up with an Apple man at the head (used to be a big wig in Apple's Cork (Ireland) operation) - who knows maybe it was a way to "steer" some educational institutions towards Apple rather than Acorn.
I'd be interested in what Richard Hallas discovers about that phase in Acorn's history.
From my slightly jaundiced perspective Apple generally do what benefits apple, taking the ARM out of Acorn's control and having a direct sales route into Acorn's main customer base was a real coup for Apple - and an enormous own goal for Acorn. Yet another case of Defeat snatched from the jaws of victory methinks.
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druck (+1.0)
8/9/06 10:18AM |
JWoddy: "Acorn certainly scored some firsts but I am not sure they had much effect or influence on the computer industry, I doubt they even came up on the radar of Microsoft, IBM, Intel, Apple"
Well see above for Apple, and back in 1982 Bill Gates came to see Hermann Hauser, "We showed Bill Gates the Econet network and he said 'What's a network?'", so Acorn were definately on Microsoft's radar, but luckily they didn't know what a radar was either. |
torbenm (+1.0)
8/9/06 10:29AM |
In reply to AMS:
I doubt ARM would have survived long without being separated from Acorn, Few companies would use a processor whose fate rest with a competitor. This is one of the things that killed DEC's Alpha processor (it was practically only used by DEC, so when DEC folded, there were no users anymore). Though we can dream of Acorn holding on to ARM and sweeping the competition away by using a vastly superior processor, this is not really a realistic scenario.
The lack of licensing was one of the things that prevented first BBC-clones and later Archimedes clones from expanding Acorn's systems into a wider market. And if ARM wasn't made more accessible, the same would have happened to it. |
druck (+2.0)
8/9/06 10:42AM |
In reply to Jwoody:
its not the type of wire thats important in a network, its the vision of what to do with it. Gates didn't understand it and didn't ship any native support until Windows 3.11 for Work Groups, giving Novell a free reign from the days of DOS up to NT. Acorn had Econet file and print servers, messaging and synchronisation, while Microsoft users were standing in a queue for the machine with the printer clucthing their 5.25" floppies. |
druck (+2.1)
8/9/06 12:40PM |
In reply to Jwoody:
you seem to be lacking any point to miss, as I said the wire isn't important, its whats done with it, and Acorn pioneered the services that Novell went on to bring to the PM, and Microsoft eventually "got" 10 years later. There was influence there.
In reply to torbenm:
Thats not what happened to Alpha. DEC brought a clear cut patent infringement suit against Intel, but due to the good old American payola legal system, they lost. In the settlement Intel bought the chip business and Compaq bought the rest. Intel then set about killing off the fastest chip of the era to replace it their dismal failure of the Itantium. (Conning HP, now owners of Compaq, in to give up their PA-RISC and joining the Itanic sinking ship in to the bargin). A chip 20 years in gestation, slower than the last 5 year old neglected alphas for the first 2 generations, the last of major chips to go to dual core just this year, and now with such a small market share RISC OS could claim to be more of an industy standard. |
dgs (+2.0)
8/9/06 12:41PM |
In reply to JWoody:
"it did not become the industry standard therefore Acorn did not influence anything"
On this logic, Xerox PARC didn't influence anything either, and neither did Apple's first GUI systems. In other words, your logic is totally flawed. Quite apart from that, your comment above about Acorn not even being on the radar of other companies, is also demonstrably incorrect, as others have shown.
There may be an argument for saying that Acorn didn't have as great an influence as Richard Hallas has suggested, but what you've said so far just isn't convincing at all. In fact, it suggests that more people than I'd thought will learn things from Richard's book!
dgs |
Walks
8/9/06 1:26PM |
Unless I am mistaken, the Econet was influenced by the Cambridge Ring network that was developed at Cambridge Uni in the late 70's |
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