The whole personal computer market was growing explosively back then, in the UK as well as the US. The first British computer magazine was Personal Computer World which made it's debut in 1978 with the British NASCOM-1 (Z80-based kit) on the cover. Sinclair's SC/MP-based MK-14 had come out the year before. The UK was only slightly behind the US, with the Apple I and KIM-1 having come out in 1976, then Apple II and Commodore PET 1977.
Acorn's first venture was a microprocessor-based fruit machine controller, but back then it was a no-brainer for anyone in the electronics business to get into computing, so pre-BBC we have the Acorn Atom and Sinclair ZX-80 both introduced in 1980.
We can really think the BBC for the foresight in coming up with a national computer education program, and doing it the way they did - by asking for proposals from British companies to build something to their specs (including a color display).
However, even without the BBC no doubt Sinclair and Acorn would both have developed follow-on products to the ZX-80 and Atom. The Apple II was revolutionary in having a color-display, but it was certainly pretty basic, and screaming for someone to do better, which of course Acorn (BBC micro) and Sinclair (ZX Spectrum) both did.
I got my first job out of college at Acorn. I just wrote to them and said I'd like to work for you, and after a token interview they said yes. I guess I can thank the BBC for that since it was the sales of the BBC micro that was causing Acorn to grow so fast. At that time they had just moved out of the Cambridge marketplace location to the old water works on Cherry Hinton Road.
Acorn's first venture was a microprocessor-based fruit machine controller, but back then it was a no-brainer for anyone in the electronics business to get into computing, so pre-BBC we have the Acorn Atom and Sinclair ZX-80 both introduced in 1980.
We can really think the BBC for the foresight in coming up with a national computer education program, and doing it the way they did - by asking for proposals from British companies to build something to their specs (including a color display).
However, even without the BBC no doubt Sinclair and Acorn would both have developed follow-on products to the ZX-80 and Atom. The Apple II was revolutionary in having a color-display, but it was certainly pretty basic, and screaming for someone to do better, which of course Acorn (BBC micro) and Sinclair (ZX Spectrum) both did.
I got my first job out of college at Acorn. I just wrote to them and said I'd like to work for you, and after a token interview they said yes. I guess I can thank the BBC for that since it was the sales of the BBC micro that was causing Acorn to grow so fast. At that time they had just moved out of the Cambridge marketplace location to the old water works on Cherry Hinton Road.