In the second of our series of articles looking at people who have upgraded from 32K Acorn computers, Del Williams of Cardiff discusses the Acorn A3010.
What was the first computer you owned/used?
My first one was the Electron which I purchased at the time it appeared back in 1983. Not being able to justify the £399 for a BBC, in those days, the release of the Electron allowed me to get onto the computer ladder and at a reduced price of £180.
What computer(s) was(/were) in use before the upgrade?
Only the Electron at home with occasional use of BBCs, PCs and some dedicated machines at work.
What finally convinced you to upgrade?
The fear of being left behind; gloating workmates; envy of other platforms output; redundancy money - mind you, the choice of what machine caused much soul searching with the main contenders being the Archimedes and PCs. As a relatively small home user, the pressure to upgrade was not too great as I found the Electron more than adequate for my needs.
To what machine was the upgrade and why?
The release of the new range of Archimedes machines (A3010, A3020 & A4000) finally swayed me to stay in the Acorn camp and, again as with the Electron nine years previously, the bottom of the range A3010 was chosen. Mainly due to financial considerations but also, I suspected, it would be more than adequate for me. The tug-of-war between the Archimedes and a PC had gone on for quite a while and the dropping PC prices made it favourite as it had with nearly all the old BBC enthusiasts around me, who abandoned the Acorn cause in droves. Onward compatibility did come into the equation somewhere!
What is the computer used for mainly and is the available software range adequate?
As secretary of a Sports Club, word processing is by far the most used item of software, for correspondence, minutes, reports, notices, etc, etc. Databases are obviously used for membership lists and mailing, while clip-art is extensively used in most aspects of DTP, which most of the better WPs are these days. No. 1 son gives it the usual key-bashing against the aliens but also does quite a bit of his school projects using the WP.
Any Electron-user who reads one of the Acorn mags will be aware of the software available. Its range, quality and quantity might be subjective, but any Electron upgrader will be impressed and would consider oneself in a different world. It will never compete with the PC and Mac platforms for sheer volume and choice, but quality might be a different story. The in-built RISC-OS 3.10, ARM2.5, BASIC V, PAINT, DRAW and EDIT, together with numerous other goodies leaves one with a very useful tool without further software purchases.
Is the current system easy to use?
My present system is quite simple and comprises the A3010, upgraded to 4 Megs, with built-in 3.5" multi-format DD, mouse and joystick, AK17 colour monitor and a LC10 mono printer.
The GUI, or WIMP environment is a delight, although Acorn has received some criticism over its icons and video displays. The early problems that users experienced with printer drivers have been ironed out and there is a 'new look' 3D icon package available. Generally speaking, after the initial operators learning curve, everything is sweetness and light. With a much more sophisticated and powerful machine, there are bound to be new techniques, methods and procedures to get used to, but the machine and the software are a lot more user-friendly.
Is a Hard Disk necessary?
For me no - but I'd love to have one. It could be a case of what you've never had, you never missed. Talk to anyone who used a computer professionally and they'll tell you it's a must, especially with PC disk packages now reaching double figures. It would be similar to upgrading from tape to disk and we all know what a boon that was. The practical niceties are well know, but the Acorn world prices, being almost double that of the PC world, are a bit prohibitive.
Can old 8-bit software be used on the Archimedes?
To a large extent, yes. The Archimedes has BASIC V and a BBC emulator, so all correctly coded stuff should be OK. View and Viewstore work without any problems and you can even get PD programs to utilise the same keys as the BBC. The difficulty might be in porting programs over, especially from the Electron, which hasn't got a serial port. There are interfaces about (and software) for the earlier machines to use 5.25" drives, but I have found it easier to transfer all my requirements using using a BBC and a serial cable, as the A3010 has a serial port.
What kind of support is out there for the new machine?
The support in the form of third parties, mags, clubs, user groups and PD is quite good. A lot of the old BBC-type firms are still there producing various peripherals and software, plus a few new ones have entered the scene to replace the inevitable lost causes. There are five main mags that can be had off the shelf, or by subscription, a couple of national clubs, hosts of local clubs and a very active PD scene with about a dozen main Dealers, plus a few fanzine disk outfits.
What are the drawbacks for any potential upgraders?
None if there's plenty in the coffers. A completely new computer world can be opened up no matter what avenue of upgrading is taken. Once the decision to upgrade has been made then the only difficult decision left is to what! For some this may be easy, but remember the days of £1.99 games and £9.99 software packages are gone. New or second hand is to be given some thought and if the latter is chosen, make sure it's to the latest OS 3.10, which avoids some annoying software problems. Don't expect much for your old Electron as £4.00 in a Car Boot Sale seems about par for the course.
What about future upgrades?
If I'm restricted to keeping the A3010 for nine years like the Electron, then the only upgrading would be luxuries like a HD of about 100 Megs and a Scanner to enhance my DTP output. As with all computer matters, nothing remains static for long and the imminent release of a new range of Acorn machines might be a means to achieving an upgrade, not to the new machines which I suspect will be outside my tarif, but allowing cheaper possibilities in the present range and/or the second-hand market.
What has been the main advantage of the upgrade?
Modern software and all the bells and whistle therein. The WIMP environment and the increased speed and quality of the resultant output. A pleasant surprise of the upgrade has been the vastly improved quality of my old LC10 printer. I did assume that I would have to upgrade the LC10 to obtain reasonable standards, but with the outline font system as used on the Archimedes I now get 24-pin type quality, which suffices for me. Although, it might be nice to have a more modern inkjet, bubblejet or even a laser and get into colour.
Are there any further points to make about upgrading?
Only do it now - which might make Will and his corgi the sole survivors of EUG. I left it too late resulting in a bigger knowledge gap to close which has made me become more of an operator than a techie. Programming the WIMP and ARM code are no longer attractive, as were Electron BASIC programs or a simple bit of machine code. This also happened thirty years ago when I did my last upgrade from the slide rule to the CASIO, but I think I made the right choice. Not the horrendous MS-DOS for me.
Footnote
I've prepared this little missive on an A3010 using View but not on my own machine. It went caput for the second time last week and is away at the menders. The Electron never broke down in the nine years I had it. There must be a moral there somewhere!
Del Williams, EUG #13