Editing Jupiter Ace (section)

== History ==
[[Image:Jupiter-ACE small system (modified).jpg|thumb|A small Jupiter Ace system]]

[[Jupiter Cantab]] was formed by [[Richard Altwasser]] and [[Steve Vickers (academia)|Steven Vickers]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 1982 |title=Secret plans laid by new company - TWO OF the leading figures in the development of the ZX Spectrum, Richard Altwasser and Steven Vickers, have cut their links with Sinclair Research and set up their own company. |url=http://www.sincuser.f9.co.uk/004/newbiz.htm |work=Sinclair User |issue=4 |archive-date=2011-05-16 |access-date=2020-02-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110516082258/http://www.sincuser.f9.co.uk/004/newbiz.htm |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> Both had been on the design team for the [[ZX Spectrum]]: Altwasser worked on ZX81 development and hardware design of the Spectrum. Vickers adapted and expanded the 4K [[ZX80]] ROM to the 8K [[ZX81]] [[read only memory|ROM]] and wrote most of the ROM for the Spectrum.

The Jupiter Ace was named after an early British computer from 1950: the [[Pilot ACE]].<ref name="vickers">{{cite book |last=Vickers |first=Steven |date=1982 |title=Jupiter Ace FORTH Programming |url=http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/1427/Jupiter-Ace-Forth-Programming/ }}</ref> The Jupiter Ace went on sale on 22 September 1982 with a price of [[Pound sign|£]]89.95.<ref name="price82" />

Sales to the general public were slow. Initially the computer was only available by mail order,<ref name="price82" /> and Jupiter Cantab reported that there were production difficulties, but these had been overcome by January 1983 and that units were arriving in shops.<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 1983 |title=News - High Street dealers to hold all the Aces |pages=29 |work=Your Computer |url=https://archive.org/details/your-computer-magazine-1983-01/page/n27}}</ref> 

The use of Forth rather than the more usual choice of BASIC, and the availability and success of the ZX Spectrum, as well as limited published software, the poor case and small initial memory all weighed against wider market acceptance. Eventually Jupiter Cantab ceased trading by the end of October 1983.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Tony |date=September 21, 2012 |title=The Jupiter Ace: 40 years on |url=https://www.theregister.com/2012/09/21/jupiter_cantab_jupiter_ace_is_30_years_old/ |work=The Register}}</ref> 

The brand was then acquired by Boldfield Computing Ltd in 1984 that sold the remaining stock by mail order for £26.<ref name=":2" /> The brand was again sold to Paul Andrews's company Andrews UK Limited in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-05-21 |title=Provence Trail |url=https://jupiter-ace.com/provence-trail/ |access-date=2024-03-08 |website=The Jupiter Ace |archive-date=2022-05-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220521150324/https://jupiter-ace.com/provence-trail/ |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref>

=== Sales ===
Sales of the machine were never very large; the reported number of Aces sold before Jupiter Cantab closed for business was around 5,000.<ref name=":1">{{cite web |title=What is an Ace |url=http://www.jupiter-ace.co.uk/whatisanace.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120617051445/http://www.jupiter-ace.co.uk/whatisanace.html |archive-date=2012-06-17 |access-date=2008-09-24 |website=Jupiter Ace Resource Site}}</ref> As of the early 2000s, surviving machines are uncommon, often fetching high prices as collector's items.

Forth, while being structured and powerful, was considered difficult to learn, and a knowledge of BASIC acquired from familiarity with other home computers was of no practical help in learning it. A 1982 review stated that "The success of the Jupiter Ace will depend on the machine-buying public's acceptance of another microcomputer language."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bennett |first=Bill |date=November 1982 |title=Jupiter Ace Review |url=https://www.jupiter-ace.co.uk/review_yc.html |work=Your Computer}}</ref>

Further, there was only a very limited range of published software{{snd}} either commercial programs or [[type-in program]]s printed in hobby magazines{{snd}} for the machine, and these were restricted by the base model's small amount of RAM.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=Jupiter Ace Software Index |url=http://jupiter-ace.co.uk/software_index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070523052049/http://www.jupiter-ace.co.uk/software_index.html |archive-date=2007-05-23 |access-date=2014-10-05 |website=Jupiter Ace Resource Site}}</ref>

Attempts to promote the Ace in the educational market also failed; doubts over whether Forth would be relevant for exam syllabuses, and the lack of support for Forth from teaching staff were key issues.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Laine |first=Joe |date=November 11, 1982 |title=Ace Goes Back To School |url=https://www.jupiter-ace.co.uk/letters_PCWeekly821111.html |work=Popular Computing Weekly}}</ref> Pupils were more interested in learning the widely used BASIC than a language used by only one (uncommon) machine with a peculiar [[postfix notation|RPN]] syntax.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Tony |date=September 21, 2012 |title=The Jupiter Ace: 40 years on |url=https://www.theregister.com/2012/09/21/jupiter_cantab_jupiter_ace_is_30_years_old?page=5 |work=The Register}}</ref>

Finally, the [[tile engine|tile]]-based graphics compared poorly to the [[pixel]]-based graphics of other machines{{snd}} which were also colour rather than the Ace's monochrome. This restricted sales largely to a niche market of technical programming enthusiasts.