Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
Ex-Acorn Computers engineer, Alex Bienek, tells us about the Acorn NewsPAD which he preserved, before donating it to TNMoC. This early colour tablet computer was designed to download and store newspapers, and featured a touch screen to interact and navigate the publications. Its success was limited, as publishers didn't believe that people would want to read from a screen. The device marks a noteworthy waypoint on the journey to the mobile, low power tablet computers we enjoy today.
Alex shows us some related marketing materials, and then discusses other products in Acorn's product line up from 1986 to the late 1990's, when Acorn stopped manufacturing computers. These include the Archimedes, RISC PC, Network Computer and Phoebe, all of which feature in this video.
Recorded on 28th March 2026, in the BBC Micro Classroom, at TNMoC, Bletchley Park.
Ex-Acorn Computers engineer, Alex Bienek, tells us about the Acorn NewsPAD which he preserved, before donating it to TNMoC. This early colour tablet computer was designed to download and store newspapers, and featured a touch screen to interact and navigate the publications. Its success was limited, as publishers didn't believe that people would want to read from a screen. The device marks a noteworthy waypoint on the journey to the mobile, low power tablet computers we enjoy today.
Alex shows us some related marketing materials, and then discusses other products in Acorn's product line up from 1986 to the late 1990's, when Acorn stopped manufacturing computers. These include the Archimedes, RISC PC, Network Computer and Phoebe, all of which feature in this video.
Recorded on 28th March 2026, in the BBC Micro Classroom, at TNMoC, Bletchley Park.
