Editing Acorn Electron (section)

==History==
[[File:Hard reset Acorn Electron.gif|thumb|BASIC prompt after switch-on or hard reset (soft reset was similar but did not contain the Acorn trademark).]]

After [[Acorn Computers]] released the [[BBC Micro]], executives believed that the company needed a less expensive computer for the mass market. In May 1982, when asked about the recently announced Sinclair [[ZX Spectrum]]'s potential to hurt sales of the BBC Micro, priced at £125 for the 16K model compared to around twice that price for the 16K BBC Model A, Acorn co-founder [[Hermann Hauser]] responded that in the third quarter of that year Acorn would release a new £120–150 computer which "will probably be called the Electron", a form of "miniaturised BBC Micro", having 32 KB of RAM and 32 KB of ROM, with "higher resolution graphics than those offered by the Spectrum".<ref name="popcompweekly19830506">{{cite news |url=https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1982-05-06/page/n4/mode/1up |title=Sinclair Spectrum stuns BBC |work=Popular Computing Weekly |date=6 May 1982 |access-date=28 September 2020 |page=5}}</ref> Acorn co-founder [[Christopher Curry (businessman)|Chris Curry]] also emphasised the Electron's role as being "designed to compete with the Spectrum... to get the starting price very low, but not preclude expansion in the long term."<ref name="practicalcomputing198210">{{cite news |url=http://chrisacorns.computinghistory.org.uk/docs/Mags/PC/PC_Oct82_CCurry.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://chrisacorns.computinghistory.org.uk/docs/Mags/PC/PC_Oct82_CCurry.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Chris Curry of Acorn |work=Practical Computing |date=October 1982 |access-date=18 October 2020 |pages=62–63, 69, 71 }}</ref>{{rp|pages=63|quote=The Electron is designed to compete with the Spectrum. The idea is to get the starting price very low, but not preclude expansion in the long term.}}

===Development===
In order to reduce component costs, and to prevent cloning, the company reduced the number of chips in the Electron from the 102 on the BBC Micro's motherboard to "something like 12 to 14 chips"<ref name="smith20130823">{{cite web |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/08/23/acorn_electron_history_at_30/ |title=Acorn's would-be ZX Spectrum killer, the Electron, is 30 |publisher=The Register |work=2013-08-23 |access-date=12 January 2015 |last1=Smith |first1=Tony }}</ref>{{rp|page=1|quote=Central to cutting the cost of the new machine was reducing the chip count. In place of the BBC’s various ancillary logic chips, the Electron would employ a single Uncommitted Logic Array (ULA) chip, a trick Sinclair had employed in the ZX81 and Spectrum; the ZX80 had used off-the-shelf TTL parts. “That allowed us to take a machine which had 102 chips on the motherboard and reduce it to something like 12 or 14 chips,” says Furber, “basically an order of magnitude reduction in the complexity of the motherboard.”}} with most functionality on a single 2,400-gate [[Uncommitted Logic Array]] (ULA).<ref name="popcompweekly19830901" />

The operating system ROM locations 0xFC00-0xFFFF contain the details of some members of the Electron's design team, these differing somewhat from those listed in the corresponding message in the [[BBC Micro|BBC Model B]] ROM:<ref name="acornuser198309_credits">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser014-Sep83/page/n30/mode/1up | title=The Elk's 'MOS' Roll Call | magazine=Acorn User | date=September 1983 | access-date=19 October 2022 | pages=29 }}</ref>

{{boxquote|(C) 1983 Acorn Computers Ltd. Thanks are due to the following contributors to the development of the Electron (among others too numerous to mention):- Bob Austin, Astec, Harry Barman, Paul Bond, [[Allen Boothroyd]], Ben Bridgewater, Cambridge, John Cox, [[Christopher Curry (businessman)|Chris Curry]], 6502 designers, Jeremy Dion, Tim Dobson, Joe Dunn, [[Ferranti]], [[Steve Furber]], David Gale, Andrew Gordon, Martyn Gilbert, Lawrence Hardwick, [[Hermann Hauser]], John Herbert, Hitachi, [[Andy Hopper]], Paul Jephcot, Brian Jones, Chris Jordan, [[University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory|Computer Laboratory]], Tony Mann, Peter Miller, Trevor Morris, Steve Parsons, Robin Pain, Glyn Phillips, Brian Robertson, [[Peter Robinson (computer scientist)|Peter Robinson]], David Seal, Kim Spence-Jones, Graham Tebby, Jon Thackray, Topexpress, Chris Turner, [[Advanced Disk Filing System|Hugo Tyson]], John Umney, Alex van Someren, Geoff Vincent, Adrian Warner, Robin Williamson, [[Sophie Wilson|Roger Wilson]].}}

Additionally, the last bytes of both the BASIC ROM and the Plus 3 interface's ADFS v1.0 ROM include the word "Roger", thought to be a reference to [[Sophie Wilson|Roger Wilson]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbcbasic.co.uk/bbcbasic/history.html |title=A History of BBC BASIC |last=Russell |first=R. T.}}</ref> The case was designed by industrial designer [[Allen Boothroyd]] of Cambridge Product Design.

===Release===
Reports during the second half of 1982 indicated a potential December release,<ref name="acornuser198209">{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser002-Sep82/page/n6/mode/1up |title=Acorn drops hints on Electron |magazine=Acorn User |date=September 1982 |access-date=18 October 2020 |page=3}}</ref> with Curry providing qualified confirmation of such plans, together with an accurate depiction of the machine's form and capabilities, noting that the "massive [[Uncommitted Logic Array|ULA]]" would be the "dominant factor" in any pre-Christmas release.<ref name="acornuser198210">{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser003-Oct82/page/n6/mode/1up |title=Electron to use add-on modules |magazine=Acorn User |date=October 1982 |access-date=18 October 2020 |page=3}}</ref> As the end of the year approached, the machine itself was pictured in press reports.<ref name="yourcomputer198212_electron">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/your-computer-magazine-1982-12/page/n20/mode/1up | title=First glimpse of Acorn's Electron - the 32K £150 Spectrum rival | magazine=Your Computer | date=December 1982 | access-date=5 January 2024 | pages=21 }}</ref> With the ULA not ready for "main production", however, the launch of the Electron was to be delayed until the spring.<ref name="acornuser198211">{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser004-Nov82/page/n5/mode/2up |title=Electron launch delayed |magazine=Acorn User |date=November 1982 |access-date=18 October 2020 |page=4}}</ref>

By June 1983, with the planned March release having passed, the launch of the Electron had been rescheduled for the [[Acorn User|''Acorn User'' Exhibition]] in August 1983,<ref name="popcompweekly19830602">{{ cite news | url=https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1983-06-02/mode/1up | title=The Electron cometh... slowly | work=Popular Computing Weekly | date=2 June 1983 | access-date=30 December 2020 | page=1 }}</ref> and the machine was indeed launched at the event. The company expected to ship the Electron before Christmas, and sell 100,000 by February 1984.<ref name="popcompweekly19830901">{{ cite news | url=https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1983-09-01/mode/1up | title=Electron launched... at last | work=Popular Computing Weekly | date=1 September 1983 | access-date=30 December 2020 | pages=1, 5 }}</ref> The price at launch{{snd}}£199{{snd}}remained unchanged from that stated in an announcement earlier in the year, with the machine's nickname within Acorn{{snd}}the "Elk"{{snd}}also being reported publicly for perhaps the first time.<ref name="acornuser198307_elk">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser012-Jul83/page/n6/mode/1up | title=Electron set for battle at £199 | magazine=Acorn User | date=July 1983 | access-date=21 August 2021 | pages=5 }}</ref>

Reviews were generally favourable, starting with positive impressions based on the physical design of the computer, with one reviewer noting, "The Electron is beautifully designed and built{{snd}}quite a shock compared to the BBC. Its designer case will look great on the coffee table." Praise was also forthcoming for the Electron's keyboard which was regarded as being better than most of its low-cost peers, with only the [[VIC-20]] being comparable.<ref name="pcn19830825_electron" /> In one review, the keyboard was even regarded as better than the one in the BBC Micro.<ref name="yourcomputer198309_electron" /> The provision of rapid BASIC keyword entry though the combination of the {{keypress|FUNC}} key with various letter keys was also welcomed as a helpful aid to prevent typing errors by "most users", while "touch typists" were still able to type out the keywords in full.<ref name="yourcomputer198309_electron" />

Reviewers also welcomed the machine's excellent graphics compared to its rivals, noting that "the graphics are much more flexible and the maximum resolution is many times that of the Spectrum's". The provision of screen modes supporting 80 columns of readable text and graphics resolutions of 640×256 was described as "unrivalled by every machine up to the BBC Model B itself", although the absence of a [[teletext]] mode was considered regrettable. Although valued for its low memory usage characteristics in the BBC Micro,<ref name="pcw198310_electron">{{ cite news | url=https://archive.org/details/PersonalComputerWorld1983-10/page/160/mode/2up | title=Electron | work=Personal Computer World | date=October 1983 | access-date=22 October 2021 | last1=Mann | first1=Steve | pages=160–163, 165, 167 }}</ref> one reviewer considered the absence of a "software simulation of a teletext screen" to be a "lazy omission" even if it would have to be "awfully slow and take up piles of memory".<ref name="pcn19830825_electron">{{ cite news | url=https://archive.org/details/Personal-Computer-News/PersonalComputerNews025-31Aug1983/page/n25/mode/2up | title=Electronic theory | work=Personal Computer News | date=25 August 1983 | access-date=23 October 2021 | last1=Phillips | first1=Max | pages=24–46 }}</ref>

While its speed was acceptable compared to its immediate competition, the Electron was, however, rather slower than the BBC Micro with one review noting that games designed for the BBC Micro ran "at less than half the speed, with very significant effects on their appeal".<ref name="popcompweekly19830825">{{ cite news | url=https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1983-08-25/page/n13/mode/2up | title=How does it compare? | work=Popular Computing Weekly | date=25 August 1983 | access-date=30 December 2020 | last1=Brain | first1=Keith | last2=Brain | first2=Steven | pages=14–15 }}</ref> The reduced performance can be attributed to the use of a 4-bit wide memory system instead of the 8-bit wide memory system of the [[BBC Micro]] to reduce cost. Due to needing two accesses to the memory instead of one to fetch each byte, along with contention with the video hardware also needing access, reading or writing RAM was much slower than on the BBC Micro.<ref name="acornuser198309">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser014-Sep83/page/n27/mode/2up | title=Speed - The Big Difference | magazine=Acorn User | date=September 1983 | access-date=30 October 2020 | last1=Beverley | first1=Paul | pages=26–27}}</ref>{{rp|page=26|quote=As you can see, in the worst case, the Electron takes 4.3 times as long to run the same program as the BBC micro.}} Reviewers were also disappointed by the single-channel sound, noting that "BBC-style music" and its "imitations of various musical instruments" would not be possible, the latter due to the inability of the sound system to vary the amplitude of sounds.<ref name="yourcomputer198309_electron">{{ cite news | url=https://archive.org/details/your-computer-1983-09_202007/page/57/mode/2up | title=Review Electron | work=Your Computer | date=September 1983 | access-date=22 October 2021 | last1=Cryer | first1=Neil | pages=56–57, 59 }}</ref>

Despite some uncertainty about Acorn's target demographic for the Electron, some noted the potential for the machine in education given its robustness,<ref name="yourcomputer198309_electron" /> but also given its price, noting that the high price of BBC Model B machines seemed "rarely justified by their actual practical applications in schools". The introduction of the Electron was seen as potentially leading to competition between Acorn's different models within the schools market rather than creating a broader audience for them, although the potential for more computers in schools, giving more "hands-on" experience for students, was welcomed.<ref name="popcompweekly19830825" /> Nevertheless, reviewers anticipated that the Electron would sell well at the lower end of the market, with projected sales of 100,000 units by Christmas 1983,<ref name="practicalcomputing198310_electron">{{ cite news | url=https://archive.org/details/PracticalComputing1983October/page/n65/mode/2up | title=Electron | work=Practical Computing | date=October 1983 | access-date=22 October 2021 | last1=Maude | first1=Neville | pages=68–70 }}</ref> helped by the Electron's software compatibility with the BBC Micro and the already established reputation of its predecessor.<ref name="yourcomputer198309_electron" /> With parents potentially being convinced of the Electron's educational value, some reviewers foresaw a conflict between parents and "discerning children", the latter merely wanting to play games and preferring models with sound and graphics capabilities more appropriate for gaming.<ref name="popcompweekly19830825" />

Although Acorn had based its expansion into the United States on the BBC Micro, the company did have plans to introduce the Electron at a later time,<ref name="acornuser198311_us">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser016-Nov83/page/n10/mode/1up | title=US quashes launch doubts | magazine=Acorn User | date=November 1983 | access-date=7 February 2022 | pages=7 }}</ref><ref name="electronuser198403_us">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/ElectronUserVolume1/Electron_User_01-06/page/n8/mode/1up | title=US release next year? | magazine=Electron User | volume=1 | issue=6 | date=March 1984 | access-date=11 February 2022 | pages=9 }}</ref> with Chris Curry having indicated "a very heavy push overseas" involving both the BBC Micro and Electron.<ref name="practicalcomputing198210"/> A model for the US market was described in an official book, ''The Acorn Guide to the Electron'',<ref name="acornguide">{{ cite book | url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/64174269 | title=The Acorn Guide to the Electron | last1=Cryer | first1=Neil | last2=Cryer | first2=Pat | publisher=Penguin Books | isbn=0140078061 | date=1983 | oclc=64174269 }}</ref> but this model was never produced.<ref name="electronuser198502a" /> The Electron was distributed in various other markets and was reviewed by home computing publications in countries such as Norway,<ref name="hjemmedata198409">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/hjemmedata_09-1984/page/n5/mode/2up | title=Vi presenterer BBC jr. Electron | magazine=Hjemmedata | date=September 1984 | access-date=11 September 2024 | pages=6–7, 36–37 }}</ref> West Germany,<ref name="happycomputer198409">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/Happy.Computer.N11.1984.09-Cartman/page/n17/mode/2up | title=Very British, Indeed | magazine=Happy Computer | date=September 1984 | access-date=11 September 2024 | pages=18–22 }}</ref> and New Zealand.<ref name="bitsandbytes198404">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/nzbitsandbytes-2-07/page/n23/mode/2up | title=Cut-down BBC for about $800 | magazine=Bits & Bytes | last1=Forer | first1=Pip | date=April 1984 | access-date=11 September 2024 | pages=22–24 }}</ref>

===Production and volume delivery===
Production difficulties at [[Astec]] in Malaysia delayed the machine's introduction, forcing Acorn to look to other manufacturers such as AB Electronics in Wales and Wongs in Hong Kong (an original equipment manufacturer making over 30 million circuit boards a year, along with power supplies and plastic housings, for companies such as [[IBM]], [[Xerox]], [[Atari]], and [[Apple Inc.|Apple]], including units made for Acorn for the BBC Micro<ref name="popcompweekly19831201">{{ cite news | url=https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1983-12-01/page/n14/mode/1up | title=Go east young man | work=Popular Computing Weekly | last1=Kelly | first1=David | date=1 December 1983 | access-date=30 March 2021 | page=15 }}</ref>). By October 1983, Acorn had received orders for more than 150,000 units, but had production targets of only 25,000 a month before Christmas, meaning that the existing backlog would take more than six months to fulfil. Demand for the Electron was high but only two of [[WH Smith]]'s London branches had inventory.<ref name="popcompweekly19831110">{{ cite news | url=https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1983-11-10/mode/1up | title=Acorn shoots itself in foot | work=Popular Computing Weekly | date=10 November 1983 | access-date=30 December 2020 | pages=1, 5 }}</ref> Ultimately, manufacturing in Malaysia ceased with the anticipated but unspecified number of units having been produced,<ref name="electronuser198405a">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/ElectronUserVolume1/Electron_User_01-08/page/n7/mode/1up | title=No close-down | magazine=Electron User | date=May 1984 | access-date=14 January 2021 | page=8 }}</ref> this having been originally reported as 100,000 units.<ref name="electronuser198311a">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/ElectronUserVolume1/Electron_User_01-02/page/n2/mode/1up | title=Production rate is doubled | magazine=Electron User | volume=1 | issue=2 | date=November 1983 | access-date=20 January 2021 | page=3 }}</ref> Acorn's marketing manager, Tom Hohenberg, admitted in early 1984 that "a lot of the trouble stemmed from the ULA" in getting production to the desired levels,<ref name="electronuser198405">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/ElectronUserVolume1/Electron_User_01-08/page/n6/mode/1up | title=Deliveries improve | magazine=Electron User | date=May 1984 | access-date=14 January 2021 | page=7 }}</ref> but that such difficulties had been resolved, although Acorn faced an order backlog of almost a quarter of a million units.<ref name="electronuser198404">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/ElectronUserVolume1/Electron_User_01-07/page/n4/mode/1up | title=Production problems still dog Acorn | magazine=Electron User | date=April 1984 | access-date=14 January 2021 | page=5 }}</ref>

As the company increased production during 1984, however, the British home computer market greatly weakened. Hohenberg later noted that after the 1983 Christmas season, Electron deliveries had increased to meet a demand that was no longer there, with the market having "completely dried up".<ref name="retrogamer57">{{ cite news | url=https://archive.org/details/retro_gamer/RetroGamer_057/page/36/mode/2up | title=Retroinspection: Acorn Electron | work=Retro Gamer | issue=57 | last1=Goodwin | first1=Stuart | pages=36–41 }}</ref>{{rp|page=39|quote="We had this warehouse in Wellingborough," Hohenberg recalls. "Before Christmas, the trucks were lining up at one end wanting to take the few Electrons we had away to stores, but now the trucks were all at the other end, delivering, and the market had completely dried up. Seeing Electrons piled floor to ceiling... it was very depressing."}} Acorn's Christmas 1984 sales were greatly below expectations and by March 1985 the company had reduced the Electron's price to £129.<ref name="electronuser198503a">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/ElectronUserVolume2/Electron-User-02-06/page/n4/mode/1up | title=Acorn slashes price of Electron by £70 | magazine=Electron User | volume=2 | issue=6 | date=March 1985 | access-date=15 January 2021 | page=5 }}</ref> With the company's unsuccessful expansion into the United States abandoned,<ref name="electronuser198502a">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/ElectronUserVolume2/Electron-User-02-05/page/n6/mode/1up | title=American operation takes a £6m blow | magazine=Electron User | volume=2 | issue=5 | date=February 1985 | access-date=15 January 2021 | page=7 }}</ref> Acorn's financial situation had deteriorated sufficiently to prompt [[Olivetti]] to rescue the company by taking a 49.30% ownership stake.<ref name="electronuser198504">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/ElectronUserVolume2/Electron-User-02-07/page/n4/mode/1up | title=New-look Acorn attacks on four fronts | magazine=Electron User | volume=2 | issue=7 | date=April 1985 | access-date=15 January 2021 | page=5 }}</ref> Renewed efforts were made to sell the machine, bundling it with Acorn's own expansions and software, such as one package adding the Plus 1 expansion, joysticks and a ROM cartridge game to the base machine for a total price of £219.<ref name="electronuser198504a">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/ElectronUserVolume2/Electron-User-02-07/page/n4/mode/1up | title=Electron not to be axed - and that is official | magazine=Electron User | volume=2 | issue=7 | date=April 1985 | access-date=15 January 2021 | page=5 }}</ref> Acorn committed to supporting the machine "until the end of 1986", continuing to supply it (as the Merlin M2105) to British Telecom as part of the Healthnet communications system, with small-scale manufacturing continuing while existing stocks were being run down.<ref name="acornuser198505a">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser034-May85/page/n10/mode/1up | title=Electron marches on | magazine=Acorn User | date=May 1985 | access-date=23 January 2021 | page=9 }}</ref>

By autumn, retailers appeared eager to discount the computer, with prices in stores as low as £100, reportedly less than the distributor prices of the summer months.<ref name="electronuser198509">{{cite magazine| url=https://archive.org/details/ElectronUserVolume2/Electron-User-02-12/page/n4/mode/1up | title=Great sale is on | magazine=Electron User | volume=2 | issue=12 | date=September 1985 | access-date=15 January 2021 | page=5 }}</ref> As the Christmas season approached, [[Dixons Retail]] acquired the remaining Electron inventory to sell, bundled with a [[cassette recorder]] and software, at a retail price of £99.95.<ref name="electronuser198511">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/ElectronUserVolume3/Electron-User-03-02/page/n4/mode/1up | title=Dixons in pre-Xmas coup | magazine=Electron User | volume=3 | issue=2 | date=November 1985 | access-date=15 January 2021 | page=5 }}</ref> This deal, from the perspective of a year later, apparently played a significant part in helping to reduce Acorn's unsold inventory from a value of £18&nbsp;million to around £7.9&nbsp;million, and in combination with "streamlining corporate activities and reducing overheads", had helped to reduce Acorn's losses from over £20&nbsp;million to less than £3&nbsp;million.<ref name="electronuser198606_bacon">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/ElectronUserVolume3/Electron-User-03-09/page/n4/mode/1up | title=Electron sales saved Acorn's bacon | magazine=Electron User | date=June 1986 | access-date=18 October 2021 | volume=3 | issue=9 | pages=5, 7 }}</ref>

The deal effectively brought to an end Acorn's interest in the Electron and the lower-cost end of the home computing market, but empowered third-party suppliers whose "inventiveness and initiative" was noted as being in contrast with Acorn's lack of interest in the product and the "false promises" made to its users.<ref name="electronuser198805mm">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/ElectronUserVolume5/Electron-User-05-08/page/n54/mode/1up | title=The micro that outgrew Acorn | magazine=Electron User | volume=5 | issue=8 | date=May 1988 | access-date=23 January 2021 | last1=Dunkerley | first1=T. | pages=55–56 }}</ref> However, Acorn subsequently released the Master Compact{{snd}} a model in the [[BBC Master|Master series]] of microcomputers with fewer BBC Micro-style ports and a similar expansion connector to that used by the Electron{{snd}} with the home audience specifically in mind.<ref name="acornuser198610">{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser051-Oct86/page/n7/mode/2up |magazine=Acorn User |title=Acorn gives birth to Master Compact |date=October 1986 |access-date=4 September 2020 |page=7 |quote=Acorn's philosophy is to aim the Compact at the home environment with parents buying a computer that their children can 'grow' into.}}</ref> Indeed, prior to its release, the Master Compact had been perceived as the successor to the Electron.<ref name="electronuser198609_brother">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/ElectronUserVolume3/Electron-User-03-12/page/n4/mode/1up | title=Electron's big brother is due any day now | magazine=Electron User | volume=3 | issue=12 | date=September 1986 | access-date=17 January 2021 | page=5 }}</ref> Superficial similarities between the Compact and [[Acorn Communicator]], together with technical similarities between the Electron (particularly when expanded in the form of the Merlin M2105) and the Communicator, may also have driven rumours of an updated Electron model.<ref name="electronuser198606" /> A more substantial emphasis on the "home, music and hobby sectors" came with the appointment of a dedicated marketing manager in 1989 following the launch of the BBC A3000 in the [[Acorn Archimedes]] range.<ref name="acornuser198909">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser085-Aug89/page/n10/mode/1up | title=New BBC home service | magazine=Acorn User | date=September 1989 | access-date=1 November 2020 | pages=7 }}</ref>