[This article is reproduced from the first issue of the magazine (February 2000).]
Welcome to the first issue of Foundation RISC User!
At the time of writing, it's a little over a year since Acorn's momentous decision to close down its desktop computing business to concentrate exclusively on digital TV and NC devices. At the time, I suspect that we were all in a state of shock; whilst it was widely known that Acorn had been flying close to the wind financially for some years, we all expected to see the Phoebe Risc PC 2 appear before Acorn decided on its own future.
With hindsight, it was possibly the best decision Acorn could have made. It may surprise you to read that, but the irony of the situation is that with Phoebe massively over-budget and coming in under-specified, and RISC OS lagging behind that project, Acorn's decision paved the way for the beginning of a new era in the history of one of the UK's last bastions of British computing!
So it was that RISCOS Ltd was formed to take the RISC OS operating system (note the capitalisation and spaces, folks!) forwards.
In many ways the last twelve months have been very long, and yet, from another perspective, they have also flown by. We've certainly had our work cut out: taking a highly unfinished operating system and not only completing it but also enhancing it above and beyond its original design is no mean feat. But when you consider that we also had to find investment, set up RISCOS Ltd from scratch, sort out the legalities of the OS licence, set up Web sites, publicise the products and much more, you'll realise that we've really had to face a daunting amount of work!
It's for that reason that we'd like to thank you for your considerable patience in our handling of the Foundation. We really appreciate your support, and the huge positive impact that Foundation members bring to the RISC OS marketplace; not forgetting that without you, there would be no marketplace in the first place! Now that RISC OS 4 "consumer version" is finished, the pressure has eased a little. Not a lot, but a little. As a result, we are now working hard to give you the Foundation that you deserve. This CD magazine is the first of many, and we hope that you like what you see.
We are aware that many of you have not received all of the previous Foundation newsletters, due either to problems with failed emails or the lack of any kind of email access. The newsletters are available for download from the Foundation Web site (your attention is drawn to its existence at http://www.riscos.com/) and are also contained in the News area of this CD (RISCOS Ltd section) for ease of reference.
So, what of the future? The rest of this CD will give you insight into the past, present and future of RISCOS Ltd and the RISC OS marketplace, and at the time of writing we're busy beavering away to ensure that RISC OS 4 works well on the various new hardware designs that are emerging, to ensure that the reliability, compatibility and longevity for which RISC OS is renowned is maintained on future hardware. It's an exciting time, both for RISCOS Ltd and the RISC OS marketplace!
To close, we'd like to reiterate our thanks for your perseverance, both with RISC OS and with the Foundation, during the last twelve months. We understand that it has been a difficult time of waiting and praying for RISC OS users, and we hope that you can now look forward with us to a new, brighter, RISC OS-using future.
Enjoy the CD!
Andrew Rawnsley
(Former) Technical Director, RISCOS Ltd