Editing Phoebe (computer) (section)

==Development==
In November 1996, the design of what was to become Phoebe 2100 was started. The design took into account a number of perceived weaknesses of the [[RiscPC]] design, a slow memory architecture, limited I/O capability, limited expansion, and not adhering to industry standards.<ref name="clan-aug-1998"/> To overcome these weakness a number of design objectives were created: harness the full potential of the [[StrongARM]] CPU, support multiple processors, add support for [[Conventional PCI|PCI]] expansion, offer the best possible graphics, run existing RISC OS applications, and provide enhanced RISC OS functionality. An additional design objective of reusing the same case as the [[RiscPC]] was dropped due to power supply requirements and electrical interference problems.<ref name="clan-aug-1998"/>

To provide for these new capabilities Acorn had to design two new support chips for the system;

* '''VIDC20R''', a new revision of the VIDC20 video chip used in the [[RiscPC]]. Using a shrink of the process to [[600 nanometer|0.6 μm]], a 100% performance increase was gained. Due to this being logically the same chip as the previous generation there would be no issues with software compatibility.<ref name="clan-aug-1998"/><ref name="dev-19971112"/>
* '''IOMD2''', the new IO chip had to support multiple processors, included message passing and multiple bus mastering, and was manufactured using a [[350 nanometer|0.35 μm process]]. Throughout development and prototyping the IOMD2 were developed on a large [[field-programmable gate array|FPGA]].<ref name="clan-aug-1998"/>

During 1997 and 1998, Acorn regularly took prototype and mock-up hardware to various Acorn computer shows, including Acorn World October 1997,<ref name="dev-19971112">[http://www.marutan.net/wikiref/Acorn%20Registered%20Developer%20Docs/DSNEWS/ART/1997/1997_11.12 Dave Walker - Acorn Developer News 12/11/97] Acorn World Aftermath, Clan Beta CDs, Phoebe, Tons of Other Stuff</ref> Wakefield Acorn Spring Show May 1998<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chrisacorns.computinghistory.org.uk/docs/Acorn/PR/Pheobe_2100.pdf|title=chrisacorns.computinghistory.org.uk|website=chrisacorns.computinghistory.org.co.uk}}</ref> and the Acorn Southeast Show June 1998.<ref name="clan-aug-1998">{{cite web|url=http://www.iconbar.com/forums/viewthread.php?newsid=1082#cn5|title=The Icon Bar: Clan Newsletters|website=www.iconbar.com}}</ref>

By May 1998, Acorn started to offer their 'Registered Developer' scheme members the chance to pre-order a pre-launch prototype for testing and development, these were offered at a £950 (excl. [[value-added tax|VAT]])<ref>[http://www.marutan.net/wikiref/Acorn%20Registered%20Developer%20Docs/DSNEWS/ART/1998_05.13 Dave Walker - Acorn Developer News 13/05/98] Phoebe availability, Java 1.2 JDK, etc etc</ref> a significant discount on the public price of £1500 (ex VAT) revealed in June.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chrisacorns.computinghistory.org.uk/docs/Acorn/Clan/Acorn_Clan_Phoebe2100NewAcornWorkstation.pdf|title=chrisacorns.computinghistory.org.uk|website=chrisacorns.computinghistory.org.uk}}</ref>

On 15 September 1998, the first Phoebe 2100 motherboards with silicon (rather than FPGA) based IOMD2 chips were powered up. They successfully ran at the full [[front-side bus]] speed of 64&nbsp;MHz, and the improved performance of the video chip was also seen; however, various bugs in the sound DMA were reported and general system instability was noted. As such, no shippable prototypes were yet available to send to the 'Registered Developers'.<ref>[http://www.marutan.net/wikiref/Acorn%20Registered%20Developer%20Docs/DSNEWS/ART/1998_09.15 Dave Walker - Acorn Developer News 15/09/98] Stop Press: "She's Alive!", Server availability problems, Softloadable Ursula Bugs, Use on A7000+, MIDI Manager specs, etc etc</ref>

Two days later, on 17 September 1998, the development of Phoebe 2100 was cancelled.

Development was expected to cost £2.1 million.<ref name="clan-aug-1998"/>