NCs, STBs & Prototypes

[RiscPC ]  [Computers]  [Phoebe ] 

Introduction

This section contains details of the various Network Computers (NC), Set Top Boxs (STB) and prototypes that Acorn produced in the mid 1990s. With the exception of the NCs these devices were never widely available. Some, such as the Stork laptop and NewsPAD tablet compouter, were prototypes producted in very limited numbers for demonstration purposes. They would only have been mass produced if comissioned by a third party. Others such as the STBs were used in various public trials and were produced in large numbers but never mass produced.
 
The computers are:

• NetStation 
• Set Top Box 1
• Set Top Box 20
• Stork laptop
• NewsPAD
• Set Top Box 22
• CoNCord
• FastNC
• DeskLite 

NetStation

In the mid-1990s Acorn worked for Oracle developing the reference design for the Network Computer or NC. The Acorn design became the Netstation. An NC was originally designed to run a web browser and to run applications in the browser window (e.g. using Java). As a result the NC has no local storage (apart from a smartcard which can be used to store user specific data.

The following models were produced:

• TNS10 - 8MB, 10baseT Ethernet NIC
• TNS11 - 8MB, ???

The NetStation needs to load its configuration and programs from a server, it uses Bootp to discover its network configuration and then loads its applications.

Alternatively an IOMEGA ZIP drive can be connected to the Netstation and the Netstation can boot from the Zip drive. The Argo Zip Driver was commissioned by Acorn from Argo and is described in the Argo Zip Driver .

My Netstation has Microlynx Topcat installed in the Ethernet podule ROM so it expects to discover a Windows NT4 server with Topcat installed. I have a copy of Microlynx TopCat, which was developed with Acorn's support to enable an NC to load its configuration from a Windows NT4 server and to use share directories for storage, and have it installed on my NT4 server along with simple TCP/IP services. The NetStation searches for a Bootp server on power on, is assigned an I/P address and boots RISC OS from the server.
 
Here are some pictures:

 Acorn NetStation with AKF60 Monitor

 NetStation front

 NetStation back

 NetStation serial no.

 NetStation open

 Acorn 10BaseT Ethernet podule

The Network Computer User Guide is available HERE .

Specification:

 Set Top Box 1

Acorn Online media was formed in 1994 to provide set top boxes to the cable and television industries. The first prototype was based on the RiscPC. [Wanted] 

Specification:

   Meridian Remote Control

 The Meridian Remote Control is an Online Media badged remote control build for AOM by Meridian Audio Ltd. It is powered by a PP3 battery. It was used with the STB1. The serial number is MSP102694.
 
Here are some pictures:

  Acorn Online Media Meridian Remote Control (top)

  Acorn Online Media Meridian Remote Control (front)

 Set Top Box 20

Acorn Online Media's second set top box (STB) was the STB20 which was used in trials with Cambridge Cable, here is the announcement News from Online Media . The STB20 was based around the ARM7500 processor. with 32MB memory.

I have been unable to run the usual hardware configuration and benchmarking tools on the STB20, because there is no way to load the software. There is no floppy disc drive or connector for one. There is an Ethernet card, but it is not configured when the STB20 boots so I can't connect to that. I have tried using an Atomwide parallel SCSI adaptor on the printer port, but I am short of suitable SCSI devices to try, and none I have tried work. It looks as if I will have to connect a second IDE disc with the files I require to activate the Ethernet card. or get some authentic DB25 male to DB25 male connectors and try my Syquest 270MB drive.
 
Here are some photographs:

 STB20M with TV set on top

 STB20M remote control

 STB20M with startup logo

 STB20M menu

 STB20M showing RISC OS Desktop

 STB20M rear view

 STB20M label and serial number

 STB20M with top off

 Seagate hard disc from STB20M (multimedia ready)

 STB20M motherboard

 STB20M i-cubed EtherLAN 550 podule

 STB20M podule connector

Specification:

 Stork

The Stork was a compact portable RISC based sub-notebook computer producted by Acorn RISC Technologies in mid-1996. It was a technology demonstrator design which Acorn hoped to license to 3rd parties who would customise it as they wished. Only a few were made, exact number not known but probably less than 50. Since the computer was never a finished product, it was reportedly tempremental and in need of lots of TLC to keep it working. There were rumours that deals had nearly been closed with various unnamed companies, but none of them came to anything so the Stork remained an interesting prototype and the A4 remained Acorn's only portable.

I bought my Stork off ebay (see Drobe story about the auction and the Stork pictures ). It was not working and although I asked no-one was able to repair it. Apparently the jigs and tools needed are no longer available and few, if any, now know how it works . So it is one of the few non-working computers in my collection.
 
Here is an Acorn publicity photograph:

 Acorn publicity photograph of the Stork

Here are some photographs of my Stork:

 Stork laptop

 Stork left hand side

 Stork back view

 Stork right hand side

 Stork open

 Stork keyboard

 Stork bottom

 Stork bottom open

 Stork battery pack

 Stork floppy disc

Specification:

 NewsPAD

The NewsPAD was a technology demonstrator developed by Acorn. It was a tablet-style portable computer with a touch screen and had a 40MHz ARM7500FE with 8MB RAM (expandable to 256MB). I have not seen a NewsPAD, and suspect only a few prototypes were made. The othe possibility is that they were used in Spain, less the Spanish page on the phograph below. [Wanted] 

Here is a Acorn publicity photograph:

 Acorn publicity photograph of the NewsPAD

Specification:

 Set Top Box 22

The Set Top Box 22 was a development of the Acorn Set Top Box.
 
Here is an Acorn publicity photograph:

 Acorn publicity photograph of the Set Top Box 22

Specification:

 CoNCord

The CoNCord was Acorn's second generation NC (Network Computer) based on the Digital StrongARM CPU. There are a set of 4 publicity photographs from Acorn which are all the evidence I have seen of CoNCord. I suspect these may have been design concepts and a final CoNCord not acually produced or was to be licensed to potential manufacturers. But see the FastNC for more details.
 
Here are the photographs:

Specification:

  FastNC

The FastNC or Office NC (see photographs below) is also, reportedly, the CoNCord, although it is in a NetStation case and doesn't look like it would fit in any of the wing designs for the CoNCord.
 
A correction from Piers Wombwell "It does fit! Measure the gap between the LEDs and smartcard slot in the photos, and it'll match with any NC. The same with the (vertical on an NC, horizontal on the coNCord) alignment of the slot and the LEDs - slightly off centre. They were design mock-ups and never produced. The Acorn logo was stuck on with blue-tac. I think it was actually one of the enamelled lapel badges". Piers should know as he had the NC from Acorn (see below).

The FastNC is very similar to a RiscPC with a 200MHz Digital StrongARM CPU, IOMD21 and VIDC20. It has RiscOS 3.71 on a card which is a bit like a PMCIA card and fits (badly, the flap doesn't close properly) into the smartcard slot at the front of the case. The FastNC has an Acorn 10baseT Ethernet podule.

I bought the FastNC from Piers Wombwell on ebay in October 2005. Here is his description from the ebay auction:

 Absolutely unique. Acorn's Fast NC, serial number 1

Network Computer Inc (NCI) Reference Design

This was the first Fast NC (as we called them), or Office NC as Oracle/NCI called them. I was working on porting Java to RISC OS, and needed to do demos. Java demos needed a rather more powerful processor than a standard NC could provide, so I was given the first StrongARM NC off the production line.

There were a couple of earlier prototypes (with serial numbers A, B...), but they were unreliable, so I returned mine :-) I doubt they exist anymore.
 
Specification: 

• DEC StrongARM-110J (probably 200MHz)
• 16M SIMM (I would imagine it could take more)
• 2M VRAM (soldered to the motherboard)
• RISC OS 3.7 on a flash ROM card
• IOMD21
• VIDC20r1
• Acorn 10bT Ethernet podule

This is essentially a RiscPC squeezed into an Acorn NC box. It boots to a RISC OS 3.7 desktop. It runs all StrongARM compatible software that I ever tried (admittedly I haven't tried all that much).
 
Sockets: 

• Power in (almost anything - PSU included, though)
• VGA out
• Left and Right audio phono sockets
• Keyboard (PS/2)
• Mouse (Quadrature)
• Parallel
• 10bT ethernet (on-board podule)

Note: This needs a network to boot. It needs a server serving IP addresses using BOOTP. I can give instructions of how to set this up on FreeBSD (absolutely trivial). It does not need any software sent over the network, though obviously it's not all that much use without software, and there's no hard disc or floppy interface. The ROM includes !Alarm, !Chars, !Draw, !Edit, !Help, !Paint and !Printers. The ROM also includes NFS.

Here are some photographs:

 FastNC from front

 NCI Office NC logo

 FastNC right hand side

 FastNC back

 FastNC right hand side

 FastNC bottom

 Fast NC with the cover off

 FastNC with facia removed

 FastNC without Ethernet adaptor

 Fast NC motherboard from front

 FastNC motherboard from back

 FastNC motherboard back

 FastNC Smartcard

 Acorn 10BaseT Ethernet Adaptor

Specification

 DeskLite

Probably Acorns very last product, it was launched in June 1998 as a very thin client which as specificaly designed to support Citrix Systems WinFrame and MetaFrame (see www.citrix.com for more details of Citrix ). The idea was a sub $200 client which could provide access to the full range of Microsoft applications. Acorn produced a refernce design to license to other manufactures. The design is based on the ARM7500FE.

In November 2005 I bought a prototype from William Turner in an ebay auction. Here is his description:

 This has to be one of the rarest pieces of late Acorn kit - Rarer still than the FactNC recently auctioned - From 1998, it's the Acorn Desklite (no, I couldn't find any pictures on the web either)!
 
 Promoted as a Citrix ICA client, it was heralded as a sub-$199 thin client (See Cirrus logic Press Release)
 
 It appears to be a cut down NC-type design, with a 7500FE processor, on-board ethernet and A7000-style connectors. It even has (on the reverse side of the PCB) an NC-style flashrom connector, though I don't think it takes the same images.
 
When connected to a network, it obtains an IP address and NT/LanManFS boot mount via bootp, and then looks for !Boot on that mount. Setting !Boot to contain "*desktop" brings up a plain grey screen, which I guess means it's missing some of the WIMP modules. Whether they can be softloaded, I don't remember. No !Boot or mount, and it drops to the supervisor prompt.
 
 On the front are a green led, an orange led and a headphone socket. On the rear are: Ethernet, keyboard, mouse, VGA and power.
 
 To power this item, you will need a >5v DC power supply - I booted and tested this item OK with a 7.5v DC supply.

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0CGN/is_n119/ai_20800572

 DeskLite from front

 DeskLite from left hand side

 DeskLite from back

 DeskLite, open, from right

 DeskLite, open, from left side

 DeskLite motherboard

Specification