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RM supported PCs, and PCs were what schools wanted. Also, the hardware was only a part of the whole RM infrastructure. Considering the UK government subsidized

by scholia 10y ago

RM supported PCs, and PCs were what schools wanted. Also, the hardware was only a part of the whole RM infrastructure. Considering the UK government subsidized the cost of Acorn computers in schools, and considering it got massive amounts of free BBC advertising for the Acorn platform, I think you need more than a conspiracy theory to account for RM's success and Acorn's failure.

rwmj 10y ago
Your timescales are well out. The BBC Micro was promoted in the early 1980s. By the end of the 1990s, schools were buying awful PCs from RM, when they could have gone to (eg) Dell and got much better hardware for much lower cost. Why were they still buying stuff from RM - it makes no sense, right? Because RM had the right contacts in LEAs and government.
- scholia 10y ago
  Your timescales are well out: this was the 1980s. > By the end of the 1990s, schools were buying awful PCs from RM, when they could have gone to (eg) Dell and got much better hardware for much lower cost. Why were they still buying stuff from RM - it makes no sense, right? Because RM had the right contacts in LEAs and government. I'm sure some did buy from Dell, but RM was an approved, specialist supplier to the education market. This involves a lot more than knocking out cheap PCs. RM Education is "The division that deals with technology infrastructure, software and services - including learning platforms, interactive classroom equipment, connectivity, networking software, school management software and support services." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RM_Education https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RM_Education
gaius 10y ago
Not true. In fact Acorn paid the BBC a commission on every machine sold for use of the logo. And the RM infrastructure was just as shitty as their hardware. If people were desperate for PC compatible, why was everything on the Nimbus non-standard? They even used the 80186 that no-one else did and you had to emulate an 8086 on it to run any third party software!
- scholia 10y ago
  Which bit is not true? It's certainly true that the UK government subsidized the cost of computers in schools, and Acorn got the largest benefit from that scheme. > In fact Acorn paid the BBC a commission on every machine sold for use of the logo. Citation? How did it compare with the UK government paying half the cost of a BBC B? The 80186-based Nimbus wasn't PC standard and wasn't particularly good (yes, I did use one), but RM did move to standard PCs. > And the RM infrastructure was just as shitty as their hardware. In your opinion. But at least it had one.

by scholia 10y ago

rwmj 10y ago

Your timescales are well out. The BBC Micro was promoted in the early 1980s. By the end of the 1990s, schools were buying awful PCs from RM, when they could have gone to (eg) Dell and got much better hardware for much lower cost. Why were they still buying stuff from RM - it makes no sense, right? Because RM had the right contacts in LEAs and government.

scholia 10y ago
Your timescales are well out: this was the 1980s. > By the end of the 1990s, schools were buying awful PCs from RM, when they could have gone to (eg) Dell and got much better hardware for much lower cost. Why were they still buying stuff from RM - it makes no sense, right? Because RM had the right contacts in LEAs and government. I'm sure some did buy from Dell, but RM was an approved, specialist supplier to the education market. This involves a lot more than knocking out cheap PCs. RM Education is "The division that deals with technology infrastructure, software and services - including learning platforms, interactive classroom equipment, connectivity, networking software, school management software and support services." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RM_Education https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RM_Education

gaius 10y ago

Not true. In fact Acorn paid the BBC a commission on every machine sold for use of the logo. And the RM infrastructure was just as shitty as their hardware. If people were desperate for PC compatible, why was everything on the Nimbus non-standard? They even used the 80186 that no-one else did and you had to emulate an 8086 on it to run any third party software!

scholia 10y ago
Which bit is not true? It's certainly true that the UK government subsidized the cost of computers in schools, and Acorn got the largest benefit from that scheme. > In fact Acorn paid the BBC a commission on every machine sold for use of the logo. Citation? How did it compare with the UK government paying half the cost of a BBC B? The 80186-based Nimbus wasn't PC standard and wasn't particularly good (yes, I did use one), but RM did move to standard PCs. > And the RM infrastructure was just as shitty as their hardware. In your opinion. But at least it had one.