On This Day - 1st December

On 1 December 1981, Acorn Computers launched the BBC Microcomputer, better known simply as the BBC Micro or "Beeb". The machine had been developed for the BBC's Computer Literacy Project, which aimed to introduce people to computing through television programmes, books, courses and hands-on use of a home computer. Acorn's design, originally known as the Proton, was selected by the BBC after competing against proposals from several British manufacturers.

The BBC Micro was built around a 2 MHz MOS 6502A processor and was initially offered in two versions. The Model A had 16K of RAM, while the Model B provided 32K. Both machines featured BBC BASIC in ROM, a sophisticated set of graphics modes, sound, cassette and printer interfaces, and expansion connections that made the computer considerably more flexible than many contemporary home micros. The Model A originally cost £235 and the Model B £335, although these prices were subsequently increased.

Production difficulties, particularly with custom chips, meant that supplies were initially limited and many customers had to wait until 1982 for their computers. Once production increased, the BBC Micro became enormously successful in British schools and homes. It was used extensively throughout the BBC's Computer Literacy Project, allowing viewers to follow programming demonstrations on their own machines.

The BBC Micro became one of the defining British computers of the 1980s. More than a million machines were eventually sold, and its influence extended beyond the computer itself through BBC BASIC, educational software, networking and the development of Acorn's later machines. Its success also helped establish Acorn as one of Britain's most important computer companies.

The Hobbit, an illustrated text adventure based on J. R. R. Tolkien's novel, is released for the ZX Spectrum by Melbourne House.

Developed by Australian programmers Philip Mitchell and Veronika Megler at Beam Software, the game placed the player in the role of Bilbo Baggins and recreated the world of Tolkien's The Hobbit as an interactive adventure.

One of its most remarkable features was its Inglish parser, which allowed players to type much more natural sentences than the simple two-word commands common in earlier text adventures. Characters such as Gandalf, Thorin and the other dwarves also acted independently, meaning that events could continue to unfold even while the player was deciding what to do.

The game was designed for the 48K ZX Spectrum and was supplied with a copy of Tolkien's novel. Its combination of literary licence, graphics, animation and advanced text processing made it one of the most ambitious early Spectrum games.

The Hobbit went on to become a huge commercial success and is regarded as one of the landmark adventures of the early home-computer era. World of Spectrum records it as the first Spectrum game to sell a million copies.

In December 1990, Amstrad discontinued production of the ZX Spectrum +3, bringing the production run of its disk-based Spectrum to an end after just over three years. The +3 had been introduced in 1987 as the most advanced member of the Spectrum family, combining 128K of RAM with a built-in 3-inch floppy disk drive and support for CP/M.

The decision to discontinue the +3 was reportedly connected with Amstrad's relaunch of its own CPC range. The Spectrum +3 was effectively competing within Amstrad's own home-computer product line, while the simpler +2B was allowed to remain in production because it was considered less of a direct competitor to the CPC machines.

The end of +3 production did not immediately mean the end of the ZX Spectrum. Other Amstrad Spectrum models continued to be produced, with the +2B remaining available until 1992. Nevertheless, the discontinuation of the +3 marked the end of the final disk-based Spectrum model and the beginning of the final chapter of the Spectrum's commercial life.