Acorn System 1

Summary

After a disagreement Chris Curry leaves the British company Sinclair and, together with his colleague Hermann Hauser, establishes Cambridge Processor Unit (CPU) in December 1978. To separate business units, they establish Acorn Computers. The name “Acorn” is not chosen without reason, because it stands in the phone book before the competitor Apple.

In January 1979, the founders introduced their first product: a computer consisting of two boards called Acorn Microcomputer — later renamed Acorn System 1. The computer is based on the 6502 CPU from MOS Technology and uses it with a clock rate of 1 MHz. It is primarily intended for industry and research, but due to a rather low purchase price (80 £) the system 1 is also attractive for private hobbyists.

Within the system series, Acorn still produces up to the Acorn System 5. A little later, the British company also designs a beginner-friendly home computer with the Acorn Atom.