Editing RISC iX (section)

=== A680 Technical Publishing System ===

Prototyped for an Olivetti product but unreleased, the A680 contained an [[ARM2]] processor, 8&nbsp;[[Megabyte|MB]] [[random-access memory|RAM]], a 70&nbsp;MB hard drive running from an onboard [[SCSI controller]], and either a 40&nbsp;MB cartridge tape drive or a single 2&nbsp;MB floppy drive. Up to four "podule" expansion cards could be fitted, although one slot was occupied by the laser beam printer (LBP) expansion card supporting a directly driven low-cost [[laser printer]] as an alternative to a [[PostScript]] printer connected via the serial port.<ref name="ATPS_TRM_part1">{{cite book |url=http://chrisacorns.computinghistory.org.uk/docs/Acorn/Manuals/Acorn_TechnicalPublishingSystemTRMPt1.pdf |title=Acorn Technical Publishing System Technical Reference Manual |publisher=Acorn Computers Limited |date=July 1988 |access-date=11 February 2021 |issue=B}}</ref>{{rp|pages=2}} The system was meant to run [[Adobe FrameMaker|Frame Technology's FrameMaker]] under the "Acorn UNIX" operating system and NeWS graphical environment.<ref name="ATPS_TRM_part1" />{{rp|pages=4}} To support 8&nbsp;MB of RAM, dual memory controller (MEMC) units were employed.<ref name="ATPS_TRM_part1" />{{rp|pages=10|quote=Two memory sizes are supported: 4 Mbyte (single MEMC), or 8 Mbyte (dual MEMC).}}

The A680 was reportedly the first target for RISC iX and differed in certain ways from the Archimedes and R-series models. For instance, no other machine from [[Acorn Computers]] featured integrated [[SCSI]].<ref name="chris_riscix_computers"/> However, it is rumoured that overheating from the SCSI controller was one reason for the machine to never be released.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}