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Castle buys RISC OS - press release |
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Richard Goodwin |
Message #44062, posted by rich at 10:31, 4/7/2003 |
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From this news story...NEWS RELEASE
Castle buys RISC OS technology from Pace
4th July 2003
Castle Technology Ltd today announced the purchase of the RISC OS technology from Pace Micro Technology plc. The transaction involves the payment of an undisclosed cash sum, ongoing technical support for Pace's existing products and the grant of a licence back to Pace for intellectual property rights. Castle, based in the UK, have been developing and supplying RISC OS products for over 10 years and this acquisition will ensure that RISC OS products continue into the future.
Castle have also formed a joint venture with Cambridge based Tematic Ltd who will develop, market and support an embedded version of RISC OS which has been designed for use in the new generation of smart multimedia products for the high volume consumer electronics market, while Castle will continue to service the desktop market.
Anthony Dixon, Company Secretary of Pace commented, "We are delighted to have concluded this transaction with Castle. This allows Pace to maintain the necessary intellectual property rights and technical support for our RISC OS based IP gateways through these new licence agreements. We wish Castle every success for the future".
Jack Lillingston, Castle's Managing Director, said, "The purchase of this technology combines perfectly with our expertise in manufacturing and marketing RISC OS computers (illustrated by our recent success with the launch of the IYONIX pc). This deal will allow us to be at the heart of exciting new products." Jack concluded, "RISC OS provides a proven, small-footprint solution, for cutting edge products such as handheld media devices; we are all very excited with this new development and relish the future for RISC OS"
About RISC OS
RISC OS development was started in 1988 by Acorn Computers Ltd, Cambridge and acquired by Pace in 1999. RISC OS is a unique combination of hardware and software technology developed for desktop computers . It is also deployed in a number of commercially successful, consumer electronics products including Pace's DSL4000 gateway, Internet TV devices and a variety of specialized embedded systems. Over 1 million units have been shipped with this technology.
RISC OS technology is ideal for the new generation of ARM-based smart embedded devices because it is the most sophisticated and highest performance software environment currently available. It has been designed specifically for high volume, low-cost products that need to support a market-winning set of features with the absolute minimum memory and processor requirements.
About Castle Technology Ltd
Castle is the leader in the field of RISC OS desktop products, with a 10-year track record of year on year growth and a proven expertise in this area. In 1999 Castle took over the production of the Acorn range of desktop computers. Their latest development is the IYONIX pc - the first desktop computer in the world to use Intel's XScale processor. Castle is based near Ipswich in Suffolk. For further information please visit Castle's web site at http://www.iyonix.com/
About Tematic Ltd
Tematic Ltd offers comprehensive production-ready design solutions for consumer electronic companies. The Tematic team has a proven track record for creating and delivering innovative products for their clients. Tematic can provide a complete, fastest time-to-market solution for companies who need to turn their ideas into revenue generating products in the shortest possible time. Tematic's web site is at http://www.tematic.com/
About Pace Micro Technology plc
Pace Micro Technology plc (LSE: PIC) is a leader in digital television technology. The Company's primary focus is the development of innovative home gateway (set-top box) solutions for operators, broadcasters, telecommunications companies and retail markets worldwide. In addition, Pace develops edge of network devices for service providers, in particular digital IP gateways for low-cost integrated voice and data services. Pace's head office is in Shipley West Yorkshire, with further offices in Bracknell, Cambridge, the USA, France and Hong Kong. For further information, please visit Pace's web site at http://www.pace.co.uk/
Pace Contacts:
Amanda Duffield
Pace Micro Technology
+44 1274 537093
amanda.duffield@pace.co.uk
Helen Kettleborough
Pace Micro Technology
+44 1274 538005
helen.kettleborough@pace.co.uk
Castle/Tematic Contacts:
Jack Lillingston
Castle Technology Ltd
+44 1728 723200
jack.lillingston@tematic.com
________
 Cheers,
Rich.
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Andrew |
Message #44105, posted by andrew at 09:17, 7/7/2003, in reply to message #44062 |
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Castle should rename themselves Acorn and lets get down to where we were and how things should have been all along. None of this disparate mucking around with parts of the platform. |
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Gavin Smith |
Message #44108, posted by SparkY at 09:41, 7/7/2003, in reply to message #44105 |
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Couldn't agree more. Have already told Jack this. The Acorn brand is strong. The Acorn nut logo is strong. Yes, people will be interested in Acorn computers for nostalgic reasons but these are the same people who used to own RISC OS machines but let them go, possibly due to lack of improvements, Acorn dying etc - we now have a much faster machine to offer them. More people are likely to want to find out about a new Acorn machine than a new RISC OS machine.
Even just think of the press coverage of Acorn being reborn. Mmm.
Becoming Acorn again is the next obvious step - you know it makes sense!
[Edited by SparkY at 10:41, 7/7/2003] |
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Andrew |
Message #44110, posted by andrew at 10:31, 7/7/2003, in reply to message #44108 |
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Petition? |
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John Hoare |
Message #44115, posted by moss at 11:03, 7/7/2003, in reply to message #44108 |
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Even just think of the press coverage of Acorn being reborn. Mmm. This is a rather interesting point. Would it get a lot of coverage? If it was timed with the release of an exciting new product, perhaps... hmmmmmm. |
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Gavin Smith |
Message #44120, posted by SparkY at 11:29, 7/7/2003, in reply to message #44110 |
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Petition? I've been thinking of putting together a clear and simple webpage, outling our points and the strong business arguments we have for using Acorn as the platform's name. With Castle purchasing RISC OS, this changes slightly, and I'd like to see Castle themselves being renamed Acorn, rather than just using the term to talk about the platform.
I'll try and get a rough draft up for tonight and let you know. Yeah, a petition might be a good idea.
I do think the British press would be interested if Acorn came back from the ashes - British computer companies are hardly swamping the market, and many of the writers and readers of the newspapers and magazines, will have grown up with Acorn. I do think we'd get a lot of column inches out of it. |
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Andrew |
Message #44124, posted by andrew at 12:00, 7/7/2003, in reply to message #44120 |
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Sounds a great idea - keep us in the know!
Ever since Acorn broke up there's been avagueness and a lack of centrality in my view.
Acorn was a computer company as you say that made a recognisable independent product not just a bit of a product which is why I agree it would make a strong brand name again. |
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Gavin Smith |
Message #44126, posted by SparkY at 16:45, 7/7/2003, in reply to message #44124 |
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Latest Drobe article states that "With this in mind, are Castle the next Acorn? Unfortunately, Castle don't own the Acorn nut logo although they were allowed to use it with their RiscPCs and A7000s but Castle would prefer to remain as just Castle, rather than Acorn Mark II."
Have emailed Chris and Jack to clarify if he stated this directly. Next question for you chaps - how do I get in contact with the big HH himself? Ideally the petition campaign would focus on Castle adopting the Acorn name and nut, but if they don't, then I still think they're extremely worthwhile to represent the platform as a whole. The Acorn nut is better than Linux's penguin or Apple's erm apple, IMHO.
Please email me if you have contact details for HH. |
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Gavin Smith |
Message #44132, posted by SparkY at 08:52, 8/7/2003, in reply to message #44126 |
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Just to keep you updated Andrew, Jack wrote back to me with his reasons why he isn't overly interested in turning Castle into Acorn - mainly financial I believe. I've been having a think, and the first step is definitely to get in touch with HH and try and talk to him about the Acorn name and nut - I'll report back when I get in touch with him. (Anybody need some venture capital while I'm at it?) |
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Andrew |
Message #44134, posted by andrew at 09:32, 8/7/2003, in reply to message #44132 |
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Thanks for that. I thought the Acorn logo was owned by Element 14 then Pace and so now there's no reason why Castle shouldn't own it?
I'm sure Castle could just brand any new machine an Acorn, they did with the A7000s and RiscPCs didn't they? |
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Malcolm Ripley |
Message #44136, posted by mripley at 10:14, 8/7/2003, in reply to message #44124 |
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Renaming yourself Acorn would be very bad marketing move. Everyone here knows all about Acorn so that's not a problem. Everyone not here (i.e potential new customers) do not have a warm cosy feeling about Acorn and so using that name to sell new computers will fail miserably. What is needed is a brand new 21st century warm cosy friendly image. You know, the opposite to the overbearing, pain in the butt feeling people get about microsoft. I think the cute friendly squirrel approach is quite good. Remember that most people haven't a clue about a computers so anything which attracts them is good. |
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Andrew |
Message #44137, posted by andrew at 10:59, 8/7/2003, in reply to message #44136 |
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Acorn was well respected for reliability and longevity. |
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David Boddie |
Message #44161, posted by davidb at 19:43, 8/7/2003, in reply to message #44136 |
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What is needed is a brand new 21st century warm cosy friendly image. You know, the opposite to the overbearing, pain in the butt feeling people get about microsoft. How about a penguin?  |
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Mark Scholes |
Message #44169, posted by mavhc at 22:17, 8/7/2003, in reply to message #44161 |
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What is needed is a brand new 21st century warm cosy friendly image. You know, the opposite to the overbearing, pain in the butt feeling people get about microsoft. How about a penguin?
We need something that eats apples, kills penguins and breaks windows, how about an evil child? |
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fwibbler |
Message #44183, posted by fwibbler at 12:20, 9/7/2003, in reply to message #44169 |
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Hmmm, something like this ? |
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Gavin Smith |
Message #44186, posted by SparkY at 15:04, 9/7/2003, in reply to message #44169 |
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We need something that eats apples, kills penguins and breaks windows, how about an evil child? Oak trees are stronger than apple trees, theoretically an acorn might choke a penguin if it tried to swallow one, and if you throw acorns *very* hard, it would break windows
(I'll get me coat) |
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Mark Quint |
Message #44192, posted by ToiletDuck at 16:26, 9/7/2003, in reply to message #44186 |
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or the tree could fall over and smash a window  |
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Paolo Fabio Zaino |
Message #44342, posted by Paolo Zaino at 16:36, 12/7/2003, in reply to message #44192 |
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Time is passing by and i still think what i was thinking when, some years ago, i started to read posts on here...
RISC OS world need companies specialized in different sectors for "simulate" a big company as Microsoft and others are.
RISC OS world have to "fight" with the GNU world so big and so full of good developers, with Microsoft world so right organized for companies, with Apple world so kool and so full of good ideas. We will see... |
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Gavin Smith |
Message #44350, posted by SparkY at 10:30, 13/7/2003, in reply to message #44342 |
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Paolo, to win the "fight", all we have to do is survive and with the Iyonix and RISC OS now being owned by Castle (who obviously have plans for it), I think we can survive and grow our little niche market slightly. We're doing well, IMHO. |
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Andrew Ellis |
Message #44352, posted by Andrew Ellis at 12:56, 13/7/2003, in reply to message #44350 |
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Paolo, to win the "fight", all we have to do is survive and with the Iyonix and RISC OS now being owned by Castle (who obviously have plans for it), I think we can survive and grow our little niche market slightly. We're doing well, IMHO. I agree.
About two years ago I posted a comment on one of these forums and asked if the RISC OS market was slowly dying. I have to admit that is my worst nightmare! But it certainly looks like I have been forced to eat my words. The future for RISC OS definatly looks very bright.
________
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Andrew |
Message #44369, posted by andrew at 10:41, 14/7/2003, in reply to message #44350 |
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Paolo, to win the "fight", all we have to do is survive and with the Iyonix and RISC OS now being owned by Castle (who obviously have plans for it), I think we can survive and grow our little niche market slightly. We're doing well, IMHO. Very sensible yes and well put. I wouldn't want RISC OS computers in every hell-hole office around the world been abused and being infected with viruses by a few scummy little east-Asian idiots.
[Edited by andrew at 11:42, 14/7/2003] |
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Mark Scholes |
Message #44389, posted by mavhc at 16:34, 14/7/2003, in reply to message #44369 |
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Paolo, to win the "fight", all we have to do is survive and with the Iyonix and RISC OS now being owned by Castle (who obviously have plans for it), I think we can survive and grow our little niche market slightly. We're doing well, IMHO. Very sensible yes and well put. I wouldn't want RISC OS computers in every hell-hole office around the world been abused and being infected with viruses by a few scummy little east-Asian idiots.
[Edited by andrew at 11:42, 14/7/2003]
Yay, racism. |
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Andrew |
Message #44418, posted by andrew at 09:17, 15/7/2003, in reply to message #44389 |
Handbag Boi
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Paolo, to win the "fight", all we have to do is survive and with the Iyonix and RISC OS now being owned by Castle (who obviously have plans for it), I think we can survive and grow our little niche market slightly. We're doing well, IMHO. Very sensible yes and well put. I wouldn't want RISC OS computers in every hell-hole office around the world been abused and being infected with viruses by a few scummy little east-Asian idiots.
[Edited by andrew at 11:42, 14/7/2003]
Yay, racism.
And we all know how capable you are of identifying the meaning of people's words. Only a week ago you were making some bizarre point about celebrities. |
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Mark Scholes |
Message #44474, posted by mavhc at 18:19, 15/7/2003, in reply to message #44418 |
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Posts: 660
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Paolo, to win the "fight", all we have to do is survive and with the Iyonix and RISC OS now being owned by Castle (who obviously have plans for it), I think we can survive and grow our little niche market slightly. We're doing well, IMHO. Very sensible yes and well put. I wouldn't want RISC OS computers in every hell-hole office around the world been abused and being infected with viruses by a few scummy little east-Asian idiots.
[Edited by andrew at 11:42, 14/7/2003]
Yay, racism.
And we all know how capable you are of identifying the meaning of people's words. Only a week ago you were making some bizarre point about celebrities.
How was it bizarre?
"Are we really supposed to believe Britney Spears is a virgin? Why exactly are we supposed to care?" |
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Andrew |
Message #44476, posted by andrew at 18:46, 15/7/2003, in reply to message #44474 |
Handbag Boi
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No it was about a celebrity injuring herself then dying - I didn't understand your point anyway but I did think it was impulsive like the above separate point by which I meant 'viruses such as the couple that I know of that caused worldwide inconvenience and trouble and if I remember correctly were by two nasty young blokes who both by coincidence were from Eastern Asia. Wherever they're from I think the platform could do without such vermin. |
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Mark Scholes |
Message #44477, posted by mavhc at 18:58, 15/7/2003, in reply to message #44476 |
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No it was about a celebrity injuring herself then dying - I didn't understand your point anyway but I did think it was impulsive like the above separate point by which I meant 'viruses such as the couple that I know of that caused worldwide inconvenience and trouble and if I remember correctly were by two nasty young blokes who both by coincidence were from Eastern Asia. Wherever they're from I think the platform could do without such vermin. So you just happed to mention where they lived even though it wasn't relevant? |
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Andrew |
Message #44513, posted by andrew at 10:33, 16/7/2003, in reply to message #44477 |
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Edited.
[Edited by andrew at 13:54, 4/5/2011] |
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Trevor Johnson |
Message #117583, posted by trevj at 19:04, 3/5/2011, in reply to message #44062 |
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[...] including Pace's DSL4000 gateway [...] There are a couple of these currently up for auction on ebay, if anyone's interested. |
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John Hoare |
Message #117584, posted by moss at 19:21, 3/5/2011, in reply to message #44513 |
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I was especially careful to say "A FEW".
Stop playing into the hands of puritanical zealots like Philip Mellor please. This is my favourite thing ever posted on here. |
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Phil Mellor |
Message #117585, posted by monkeyson2 at 20:32, 3/5/2011, in reply to message #117584 |
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I was especially careful to say "A FEW".
Stop playing into the hands of puritanical zealots like Philip Mellor please. This is my favourite thing ever posted on here.
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