News from Acorn Computers 

PR95/11.4.95 

Acorn Risc PC 486 Card To Take Computing World By Storm 

Acorn Computers, the world's first supplier of 32-bit RISC personal 
computers, has announced details of how Risc PC users can obtain the Risc PC 
486 Card, which will be available from April 1995.  The card will cost 99 
pounds ex VAT for existing Risc PC owners, rising to 199 pounds ex VAT after 
3 months. All new purchasers of the Risc PC range will still have the 
opportunity to  buy the card for 99 pounds ex VAT if bought with the 
computer.  Bought separately, the card will cost 199 pounds ex VAT. 

Mike O'Riordan, Sales and Marketing Director at Acorn Computers, comments: 
"A Risc PC with a PC card is like two computers in one and offers an 
unbeatable price/performance ratio.  As a result there is a lot of pent-up 
demand for the PC card and we anticipate heavy sales." 

The Risc PC 486 Card has been developed by Acorn in conjunction with leading 
Acorn developer, Aleph One and specialist ASIC design company Future 
Technology Devices International.  The card co-exists with an ARM RISC 
processor card and fits into Acorn's Open Bus enabling PC software to run 
without emulation.  The Risc PC 486 Card will be supplied with an 
off-the-shelf version of IBM's PC DOS version 6.3, user manual and software 
drivers which will allow the PC card to exploit the graphics capability of 
the Risc PC. 

Anyone wishing to purchase a Risc PC 486 Card should first contact their 
Acorn dealer. Customers who have difficulty obtaining a PC card through 
their dealer may purchase one through Acorn Direct.  They should send a 
cheque for the full price (116 pounds 33 pence inc VAT), made payable to 
Acorn Direct, to: Acorn Direct, 13 Denington Rd, Wellingborough, Northants, 
NN8 2RL. 

The Risc PC 486 Card is integral to Acorn's plans to provide its users with 
access to standard resources. Any Acorn computer can read PC discs, and 
transfer data using standard file formats for text, numbers and graphics. 
Now, with the availability of the PC card, Acorn Risc PC users can take 
advantage of virtually all applications in the PC world whilst retaining the 
state of the art features of the Acorn desktop environment. Earlier this 
year, Acorn announced Omniclient, a software product enabling hardware and 
software to be shared between Acorn computers and other suppliers' systems 
across PC, Unix and other networks. 

Founded in 1978, with 1994 revenues in excess of 50m, Acorn Computers is 
the leading provider of IT solutions to UK education and was the first 
supplier of low-cost 32-bit RISC based personal computers in 1987.  Acorn 
works closely with a strong community of industry partners, users and 
software developers to provide innovative technology solutions for the 
education, consumer, publishing and international markets. 

Acorn Computer Group plc is the holding company for Acorn Computers Limited, 
Acorn Australia, Acorn New Zealand, Acorn GmbH and Online Media.  Acorn 
Computer Group owns 43% of Advanced RISC Machines Ltd.  Online Media, a 
division of the Acorn Computer Group, was launched in 1994 with the mission 
to design world class, interactive multimedia products.