ARM本来的意思是Acorn RISC Machine，这个名字很好地说明了其历史，ARM开始为一个简单、低成本、32位RISC(精简指令集计算机)处理器产品线，由英国电脑制造商Acron Computers设计。它首次在1987年，以ARM2形式发布，是当时在英国推出的唯一的32位计算机。
ARM2及其后代在英国，但从未到达美国。ARM架构同样作为嵌入式处理器焕发了第二春，应用于消费电子设备中。ARM处理器广泛应用于PDA、手机、游戏机、iPod、iPhone、GPS、数码相机等设备中，ARM是应用最广泛的32位嵌入式处理器架构。
简介编辑本段回目录
The Archimedes was the first RISC home computer. There were three series, the 300, 400 and 500 which shared the same hardware basis: the ARM-2 processor (ARM-3 for the A500) and three custom chips dedicated to memory (MEMC), video (VIDC) and I/O (IOC) controls. 
The ARM 2 RISC (8Mhz) had about 4 Mips, this means seven times faster than a Amiga 500 (68000 CPU)!
The 300 series had 512 KB to 1 MB of memory and two expansion slots (64 pin). The 400 series had 1 to 4 MB of memory and four slots (three 64 pin and one 96 pin). The 500 series had 16 MB of RAM.
The operating system, first named Arthur then subsequently RiscOS, was in ROM along with the WIMP graphic interface (Windows Menu Icon Pointer), the fast BBC BASIC V interpreter and various utility programs, among them a Paint package, a music editor and an Acorn BBC model 2emulator.
The built-in 800 KB 3.5" floppy drive was compatible with the old 640 KB format. A lot of expansion cards were developed for the Archimedes : MIDI, SCSI, Oscilloscope, IEEE 488, speech recognition, scanner, floating point co-processor.
Many programming languages were released as well : BASIC (which could be loaded from disk and ran faster than the ROM BASIC), C, Fortran 77, Pascal, Prolog and Lisp.
Although it was at least two times faster than the Atari ST and Amiga models, the Archimedes had no real success because of its high price, except in its country of origin (Great Britain) where it was very well-known and commonly used (especially in schools).
These computers were followed by a great family of computers called RISC PC which are still in production.
Here are the different Archimedes A300 - A400 - A500 versions :
A305 - 512 KB RAM
A310 - 1 MB RAM
A410 - 1 MB RAM
A420 - 2 MB RAM, 20 MB Hard disk
A440 - 4 MB RAM, 40 MB Hard disk
A540 - 16 MB RAM, 120 MB Hard Disk
The ARM 2 RISC (8Mhz) had about 4 Mips, this means seven times faster than a Amiga 500 (68000 CPU)!
The 300 series had 512 KB to 1 MB of memory and two expansion slots (64 pin). The 400 series had 1 to 4 MB of memory and four slots (three 64 pin and one 96 pin). The 500 series had 16 MB of RAM.
The operating system, first named Arthur then subsequently RiscOS, was in ROM along with the WIMP graphic interface (Windows Menu Icon Pointer), the fast BBC BASIC V interpreter and various utility programs, among them a Paint package, a music editor and an Acorn BBC model 2emulator.
The built-in 800 KB 3.5" floppy drive was compatible with the old 640 KB format. A lot of expansion cards were developed for the Archimedes : MIDI, SCSI, Oscilloscope, IEEE 488, speech recognition, scanner, floating point co-processor.
Many programming languages were released as well : BASIC (which could be loaded from disk and ran faster than the ROM BASIC), C, Fortran 77, Pascal, Prolog and Lisp.
Although it was at least two times faster than the Atari ST and Amiga models, the Archimedes had no real success because of its high price, except in its country of origin (Great Britain) where it was very well-known and commonly used (especially in schools).
These computers were followed by a great family of computers called RISC PC which are still in production.
Here are the different Archimedes A300 - A400 - A500 versions :
A310 - 1 MB RAM
A410 - 1 MB RAM
A420 - 2 MB RAM, 20 MB Hard disk
A440 - 4 MB RAM, 40 MB Hard disk
A540 - 16 MB RAM, 120 MB Hard Disk
Acorn Computers ARM2 (1986年)编辑本段回目录
一款32位处理器，被广泛应用于许多嵌入式系统中，使用该款处理器的代表产品为1987年推出的Acorn Archimedes。
基本参数编辑本段回目录
 |  |
| NAME | Archimedes |
| MANUFACTURER | Acorn Computer |
| TYPE | Home Computer |
| ORIGIN | United Kingdom |
| YEAR | 1987 |
| END OF PRODUCTION | 1989 |
| BUILT IN LANGUAGE | BBC BASIC V |
| KEYBOARD | Complete 102 keys full-stroke keyboard - PC/AT layout |
| CPU | ARM-2 32 bit RISC (ARM-3 in the A500 series) |
| SPEED | 4 / 8 mHz |
| CO-PROCESSOR | MEMC (memory), VIDC (Video and Sound), IOC (I/O) |
| RAM | 512 KB (up to 16 MB) |
| ROM | 512 KB |
| TEXT MODES | 132 chars. x 32 lines maximum |
| GRAPHIC MODES | 21 screen modes, including: 640x480 (256 colours), 640 x 512 (256 colours), 800x600 (16 colours), 896x352 (256 colours), 1280x960 (monochrome) |
| COLORS | 256 maximum |
| SOUND | 8 voices |
| I/O PORTS | Centronics, RS423, Video composite, RGB, Econet (network 250 KBits). Optional 4 expansion slots (podule slots), the 400/500 series came with 4 slots. |
| BUILT IN MEDIA | 800 KB 3.5'' floppy drive, 3.5'' disk-drive, from 20 to 53 MB |
| OS | ARTHUR (and RISC OS later) |
| POWER SUPPLY | Built-in switching power supply unit |
| PERIPHERALS | Various expansion cards |
| PRICE | A300: from $800 to ?200 - A400: up to ?150, depending on the monitor supplied |
相关链接编辑本段回目录
参考文献编辑本段回目录
http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?st=1&c=75
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acorn_Archimedes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acorn_Archimedes
