BBC Micro
series of microcomputers by Acorn
The BBC Micro or the Beeb was an 8-bit home computer from 1981. Acorn Computers developed and built the BBC Micro. Over 1.5 million units were sold during its lifespan. For many children in the UK, the BBC Micro was their first exposure to computers because many were in schools. An estimated 80% of schools in the UK had a BBC Micro computer.
 BBC Micro Model A/B (standard configuration) | |
| Manufacturer | Acorn Computers |
|---|---|
| Type | 8-bit home computer |
| Release date | 1 December 1981 |
| Introductory price | £235 Model A, £335 Model B (in 1981) |
| Discontinued | 1994 |
| Units sold | Over 1.5 million |
| Media | Cassette tape, floppy disk (optional) – 5.25″ (common) (SS/SD, SS/DD, DS/SD, DS/DD), 3.5″ (rare) (SS/DD, DS/DD), hard disk also known as 'Winchester' (rare), Laserdisc (BBC Domesday Project) |
| Operating system | Acorn MOS |
| CPU | 2 MHz MOS Technology 6502/6512 |
| Memory | 16–32 KiB (Model A/B) 64–128 KiB (Model B+) |
| Storage | 100–800 KB (DFS) 160–1280 KB (ADFS floppy disks) |
| Graphics | 640×256, 8 colours (various framebuffer modes) 78×75, 8 colours (Teletext) |
| Sound | Texas Instruments SN76489, 4 channels, mono TMS5220 speech synthesiser with phrase ROM (optional) |
| Input | Keyboard, twin analogue joysticks with fire buttons, lightpen |
| Connectivity | Printer parallel, RS-423 serial, user parallel, Econet (optional), 1 MHz bus, Tube second processor interface |
| Power | 50 W |
| Predecessor | Acorn Atom |
| Successor | Acorn Archimedes |
| Related articles | Acorn Electron |
Nine models of the BBC Micro were produced, and the Model B was the most common, the BBC Master series with an upgraded 128KB of RAM and other refinements and various other models such as RAM upgraded Model B's and a version for North America that outputted an NTSC video signal.