RISC OS in Russia

Howard Laurence Ward tells the story of the adoption of RISC OS in the USSR

Overview

Howard Laurence Ward Communications is a group of experienced professional academics, educationists, industrialists, information technologists, lawyers, managers and physicians who practise together to provide international consultancy as Howard Laurence Ward Communications.

Based around the world, Howard Laurence Ward Communications is able to respond quickly and cost-effectively to clients' needs and cultural mores.

Consultants based in the United States of America, Canada, Russia, Perth and Sydney are native to those countries which they serve, as are those based around Oxford and in the European Community.

Wherever possible we promote the use of British RISC OS computer technology. There is a small travelling network of RISC computers which is used to promote the 'Best of British' hardware and software. To this end we freely demonstrate RISC OS software on behalf of software houses which have provided their software to us for this purpose and which we deem to be worthy of the platform.

Professor Howard Laurence Ward

During the twelve years when I headed the Computer Education Unit and co-directed the Oxfordshire Schools Science, Maths and Technology Centre in Oxford I saw two people cry. The first was a student who burst into tears when one of her very large computer programs didn't debug as she expected, and the second was the Rector (equivalent of a British Vice Chancellor) of a prestigious Moscow University.

It was a quite common practise of the British Council to bring foreign academics to visit so that they could be shown what we later named 'The Best of British'. In those days, back in the early 1990s, Acorn computers boasted that they were the fastest fourth-generation computers on the market. And they were. We ran a 3km network of some 140 Archimedes without need of a network manager, which ran 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. They had six external gateways and the largest collection of this platform's software available to anyone anywhere. On a day when we were in the process of contributing to a film for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) which was to be distributed in the Baltic States, I was given ten minutes' notice that we were about to have another 'Foreign Visit'.

The film's director was particularly interested to include shots of a multimedia project which Safeway plc had commissioned us to write and which was to be given to the 87 ITT (Initial Teacher Training) establishments in England and Wales, with Safeway's compliments. It consisted of some 2000 interactive screens of trialled lesson plans, evaluations, resource details, follow-up material, case studies, masses of copyright-free graphics, video and so on. And he had chosen to film a particular sequence which showed a class 1 of primary school children using computers in their daily school routine; but using them as tools.

These children attended a school which we used for research, because it had an AMCOM BBC 'B' and Master network of 38 computers. As there were fewer than 90 children in the school at that time, it was easy to see why they could see and use the computers as tools. The client computers were distributed around the three classrooms and connected to a server attached to a 200Mb Winchester of software. They each had their own work area on the network and there was a wealth of peripherals such as printers, colour printers, light pens, Concept Keyboards, Turtles, touch-screens and, of course, local email.

The visitors were from Moscow and, happily, their arrival coincided with the film crew's lunch-break. After the formalities were completed, we began to show the delegation what we were doing that day; a colleague turned on the video sequence that was to feature in the FCO film, whilst the rest of us hurriedly began to boot-up various programs and peripherals that we thought might interest the visitors, none of whom spoke any English.

The Russians' interpreter spoke excellent English and deftly moved around the delegation translating our explanations and instructions. Two hours later, our visitors were proving difficult to assemble to move on to their next appointment, such was their keen interest. They had over-stayed their allotted time and the film crew was anxious to continue with their work. The interpreter was translating the delegation's farewell speech when she suddenly stopped in mid-sentence: the Rector was crying.

After what seemed an eternity, the Rector put his hand on my arm and looked me straight in the eyes. His voice was tired and without officiality. He asked me the question, "Will you help us to give our children the same technological opportunities as your children, our students the same technological opportunities as your students and my colleagues the same technological opportunities as your colleagues?" He didn't wait for an answer but repeated the question by fax a fortnight later. Less than a month after the visit, I was in Moscow.

After a week of being shocked by the poverty on the streets and the total lack of resources at the university, I took my new Russian colleagues to the British Council's offices in Moscow to establish personal contacts. After the visit, the Russians were very quiet and had to be cajoled into telling me what was wrong. I was asked what was wrong with British computers. Not understanding their line of questioning, I asked for further clarification. I shall never forget the response: I was asked to explain why the British Council was using American Compaq computers instead of Acorns!

By the time I returned to the UK, I was determined to provide all the technological help that could be mustered. After a meeting with the then Foreign Secretary, Douglas Hurd, the FCO and DTI personnel, I met with senior staff at Acorn to tell them of the Russian preference for RISC OS over Apple and Microsoft operating systems and to solicit their aid in establishing a computer laboratory of 25 machines in Moscow. I have to report that Acorn was not in the slightest bit interested in the project.

Acorn was out of the equation. Obviously, I had to adopt another strategy. The regulations concerning aid to the Eastern Bloc and any government funding that might be forthcoming precluded the purchase of hardware of any description. But it didn't preclude establishing such enterprises as would lead to attracting funds to make the hardware purchases. We decided that the Russians needed to establish what was described in the regulations as a 'small business'. If their university staff could become experts in enterprise training, they could then sell this expertise. The problem with this was that the Russians lived in a Command economy and not a Market one. First, we had to teach them Enterprise strategies and awareness.

The most economical way to effect change in any country is to teach its children. The most economical way to teach the children is to teach their teachers. And the most economical way to teach their teachers is to teach the university staff who train them. We approached the authorities in Moscow who gave us permission to begin the conversion process with the university staff. The FCO funded the venture and, during the next year, we provided lectures, workshops, seminars visits to business, education and industrial sites in the UK so that the Russians could write case study material in Russian for Russians. Translating 'our' text books, written for our social and business mores, was not, we decided, acceptable. We met much opposition in every quarter but especially from the new government committees which were springing up faster than we could count them. The teetering Communist Government was producing chaos. It is still somewhat difficult to believe that the 'New Education For Russia Committee' had twelve co-chairs and each had their own particular agenda!

We had submitted a proposal for further funding of half a million pounds to the FCO's Joint Assistance Unit (JAU) which was to be matched, either directly or in kind, by British Business. On the education side, we had written and proposed a distance learning Master's degree in Business Education Liaison, which was to be awarded jointly by a Russian and a UK university, and organised both physical and email links between Russian and British schools. Then, and perhaps coincidentally, shortly after Douglas Hurd resigned as Foreign Secretary, our project was refused any further government aid. We all felt totally and completely abandoned. Everything stopped.

Well, almost everything. Many people had new friends and colleagues, most of whom wished to continue to work together for mutual understanding and to work towards the installation of RISC OS computers in Moscow State (V.I.Lenin) University. Those of us who know RISC OS can readily understand how an intelligent and educated people should desire such an operating system. Now, several years later, we have installed the first Kinetic Risc PC in Moscow and the Russian staff are ecstatic. However, they still need a computer laboratory in the university and a RISC OS Centre there also, for the promotion of RISC OS in Russia to Russians. Their technical reasoning is impeccable, upon which I shall not dwell as I assume that those of our fraternity are already aware of this fact.

The above scenario of the Russians' visit to Oxford those many years ago and the ensuing consequences, reinforces the need to attract again an active interest in getting RISC OS into Russia amongst and around RISC OS Foundation members. As another Russian Rector, Professor Sergey Atanasyan, said to me only last week, "Perhaps when Russia adopts RISC OS your government will finally awaken to it, yes?"

The same Rector has promised us office space and staff in Moscow. It is possible that within the next few weeks he will also approach the SOROS Foundation for funding, although I do not hold much hope in that direction. (George Soros was the man who created 'Black Wednesday' by amassing a fortune of billions of pounds at the Government's expense on the Stock Exchange. He used that money to create a Foundation to give technological and business aid to the Third World.) If RISC OS is to prevail, maybe the RISC community needs to make a big effort here. It is an irony that the British people, who have money, do not appreciate RISC OS computers and the Russians, who have no money, do. Perhaps the Rector is right: perhaps if we can get RISC into Russia our Government might awaken.

Professor Sergey Atanasyan

There are excellent programmers in Russia. It is possible that through a RISC Centre, 'new' languages and programs could be written; but before we could start, there is the problem of programming tools...

For fast development an IDE (Integrated Development Environment) is required: it is a vital tool for rapid and robust programming. There are certainly options available. One big problem is that Acorn's C/C++ compiler software does not truly support C++, due in part to limitations in its exception handling.

We are open permanently to new ideas and suggestions for attracting in-kind aid and funding. Roy Heslop of CTA/RiscStation has already written us a letter of support. Perhaps you may be able to lend your own expertise in this matter? Are you or your employers interested in forging links with Russia? Did you know that the 1991 Financial Services Act actively promotes tax concessions to any UK business which donates plant (meaning any equipment) to Education? Do you really think that a big supermarket chain 'gives' computers to schools? Apparently it has a win (income)-win (tax concession) situation already approaching its tenth year.

It has been suggested to us that this article could be the first of several. Perhaps you, the reader, might not only think of ways to help us but also to suggest the slant for any such future writing? We may be contacted via email at hlwc@cwcom.net and look forward to reading your suggestions.