Editing Acorn Archimedes (section)

== Impact ==

A mid-1987 ''[[Personal Computer World]]'' preview of the Archimedes based on the "A500 Development System" expressed enthusiasm about the computer's performance, that it "felt like the fastest computer I have ever used, by a considerable margin", indicating that the system deserved success in the education market and might have more success than Acorn's earlier models in the business market, comparing favourably to the [[Macintosh II]] or [[IBM PS/2 Model 80]].<ref name="pcw198708">{{ cite magazine | url=http://chrisacorns.computinghistory.org.uk/docs/Mags/PCW/PCW_Aug87_Archimedes.pdf | title=Acorn Archimedes | magazine=Personal Computer World | date=August 1987 | access-date=7 March 2021 | last1=Pountain | first1=Dick | pages=98–102, 104 }}</ref> Similar enthusiasm was reflected by the same writer in a [[Byte (magazine)|''Byte'' magazine]] preview of the A310 the following month.<ref name="pountain198710" /> However, dissatisfaction with the availability of essential applications, such as the lack of a word processor specifically written for the system at its launch,<ref name="acornuser198803_editorial" /> and the incoherent user experience presented by early applications, highlighted perceived deficiencies with the product from the perspective of users and potential users.<ref name="acornuser198807_editorial" />

Acorn had predicted sales of 20,000 Archimedes machines by the end of 1987 and 120,000 by the end of 1988. However, by mid-1988 only 14,000 units had reportedly been sold. One commentator attributed such disappointing sales to the lack of software support for the system, noting that Acorn had not invested sufficiently in software availability and that few established companies in the Acorn market were delivering native applications. Acorn's strategy of commissioning applications available for other platforms, such as First Word Plus and Logistix, was regarded as "hardly innovative" and that the platform needed "a massive injection of native, innovative software", perhaps by a revitalised Acornsoft.<ref name="abcomputing198810_comment">{{ cite magazine | title=Comment | magazine=A&B Computing | last1=Smith | first1=Bruce | date=October 1988 | pages=12 }}</ref>

With the imminent arrival of RISC OS for the Archimedes, later coverage around the start of 1989 praised the desktop and supplied applications, noting that "RISC OS is everything the Archimedes' original Desktop should have been but wasn't", and looked forward to future applications from Acorn and third parties, only lamenting that it was "a shame that this impressive environment was not in place at the Archimedes' launch, but it's still not too late for it to turn some heads".<ref name="pcw198901">{{ cite magazine | url=http://chrisacorns.computinghistory.org.uk/docs/Mags/PCW/PCW_Jan89_RISCOS.pdf | title=Archie RISC OS | magazine=Personal Computer World | date=January 1989 | access-date=7 March 2021 | last1=Pountain | first1=Dick | pages=152–155 }}</ref> The introduction of the A3000, launched with RISC OS fitted, delivered better than expected sales for Acorn, with an estimated total of 50,000 Archimedes and A3000 systems having been sold by the end of 1989.<ref name="abcomputing199004_bruce">{{ cite magazine | title=Bruce | magazine=A&B Computing | last1=Smith | first1=Bruce | date=April 1990 | pages=12 }}</ref>

By early 1991, 100,000 Archimedes machines had been sold, with the A3000 being the largest selling computer in [[United Kingdom|UK]] schools,<ref name="acornuser199103_100000">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser104-Mar91/page/n8/mode/1up | title=100,000 and Counting... | magazine=Acorn User | date=March 1991 | access-date=11 May 2021 | pages=7 }}</ref> with Acorn's Archimedes and [[BBC Master|Master 128]] accounting for 53% of sales in an eight-month period during 1990, and with the 32-bit machines "outselling the Master 128 by a factor of two to one".<ref name="acornuser199103_acorn">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser104-Mar91/page/n16/mode/1up | title=Acorn Ahead | magazine=Acorn User | last1=Hughes | first1=Lisa | date=March 1991 | access-date=11 May 2021 | pages=15 }}</ref> In this period, over two-thirds of computer sales into primary schools had been Acorn models, with Acorn's 40% share of sales into secondary schools making the company the largest single vendor in this section of the market.<ref name="newcomputerexpress19910112_acorn">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/NH2021_New_Computer_Express_Issue114.pdf/page/n5/mode/1up | title=Acorn 'top of the class' | magazine=New Computer Express | date=12 January 1991 | access-date=16 December 2023 | pages=6 }}</ref> By mid-1992, a reported 180,000 Archimedes machines had been sold,<ref name="acornuser199206_award">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser119-Jun92/page/n10/mode/1up | title=Queen's Award for ARM Chip | magazine=Acorn User | date=June 1992 | access-date=15 May 2021 | pages=9 }}</ref> again due to strong A3000 sales.<ref name="acornuser199206_a3000" /> By 1994 and the launch of the [[Risc PC]], over 300,000 Archimedes machines had been sold,<ref name="acornuser199405_riscpc" /> and the A3000 had become the fourth best selling computer in the United Kingdom.<ref name="education19940429_acorn">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/sim_education-uk_1994-04-29_183_17/page/338/mode/1up | title=Acorn's great RISC gamble | magazine=Education | date=29 April 1994 | access-date=28 March 2022 | last1=Low | first1=George | pages=338 }}</ref> By the launch of the StrongARM J233 variant of the Risc PC in 1997, over 600,000 Archimedes, A-series and Risc PC systems had been sold.<ref name="acorn_agp247950">{{cite book | url=http://chrisacorns.computinghistory.org.uk/docs/Acorn/Brochures/Acorn_AGP247950_J233SARiscPC.pdf | title=Acorn J233 StrongARM Risc PC | publisher=Acorn Computers Limited | date=1997 | access-date=15 November 2021 }}</ref>

The Archimedes was distributed to varying degrees outside the UK. Enquiries about the Archimedes range were reportedly handled for the US and Canada via Olivetti Canada,<ref>{{cite newsgroup | title = Acorn Micros? | author = Roger Wilson | author-link = Sophie Wilson | date = 10 April 1990 | newsgroup = comp.misc | message-id = 5357@ucrmath.UCR.EDU | url = https://groups.google.com/group/comp.misc/msg/98372d46016a52b8 | access-date = 14 June 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111220090430/http://groups.google.com/group/comp.misc/msg/98372d46016a52b8 | archive-date = 20 December 2011 | url-status = dead}}</ref> with distribution and servicing in Canada being undertaken by Comspec in association with Olivetti Canada.<ref name="acorn_news16_canada">{{ cite magazine | url=http://chrisacorns.computinghistory.org.uk/docs/Acorn/NL/Acorn_NewsIss16.pdf | title=Canada to have its own A3000 | magazine=Acorn Newsletter | date=1990 | issue=16 | publisher=Acorn Computers Limited | pages=2 }}</ref> In Italy, the Archimedes was promoted and distributed by G. Ricordi & C.,<ref name="ricordi">{{ cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/ricordipresentaarchimedes/mode/2up | title=Ricordi presenta: Archimedes | publisher=G. Ricordi & C. | access-date=26 June 2022 }}</ref> previously appointed as Acorn's exclusive distributor in the country.<ref name="mcmicrocomputer198607_ricordi">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/MC_microcomputer-054/page/n15/mode/1up | title=Continua la collaborazione tra Acorn e Ricordi | magazine=MCmicrocomputer | issue=54 | date=July 1986 | access-date=26 June 2022 | pages=16 }}</ref>

=== Performance ===

[[File:Archimedes performance.svg|thumb|upright=2|Performance evolution of the Archimedes and various competitors]]

Acorn's original claims for the Archimedes noted a performance of 4 million instructions per second (MIPS), these reportedly being equivalent to DEC [[VAX-11/750]] instructions.<ref name="australianpc198708_newsprint">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/1987.08-australian-personal-computer/page/5/mode/1up | title=Newsprint | magazine=Australian Personal Computer | date=August 1987 | access-date=26 June 2022 | last1=Kewney | first1=Guy | pages=12 | quote=Acorn rates it at four million instructions per second (MIPS), and the instructions we are counting are not the little ARM instructions, but the equivalent of the instructions of a DEC VAX-11/750, the company says.}}</ref> With the VAX-11/750 rated at {{nowrap|0.62 [[VUPS|VAX MIPS]]}},<ref name="dhrystone_data"/> Acorn's claimed {{nowrap|4 MIPS}} translates crudely to around {{nowrap|2.5 VAX MIPS}}. However, the initial {{nowrap|8 MHz}} Archimedes 310 model achieved around {{nowrap|2.8 VAX MIPS}}, delivering competitive performance against more expensive contemporary personal computers such as the {{nowrap|16 MHz}} [[Compaq Deskpro 386]] (priced from $6,499 including 40&nbsp;MB hard drive<ref name="byte198702_386">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1987-02/page/n248/mode/1up | title=The ALR Access 386 and the Compaq Deskpro 386 | magazine=Byte | date=February 1987 | access-date=29 April 2022 | last1=Wszola | first1=Stanley J. | last2=Franklin Jr. | first2=Curtis | pages=215–219 }}</ref>), with the Compaq achieving around {{nowrap|2.1 VAX MIPS}}.<ref name="pountain198710" /> (A VAX-11/780 running [[VAX/VMS]] 4.2 produced the baseline [[Dhrystone]] score of 1757 corresponding to {{nowrap|1 VAX MIPS}},<ref name="mips1988">{{ cite tech report | url=http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/prism/memos/880530_Cutler_PRISM_vs_MIPS.pdf | title=Performance Brief Part 1: CPU Benchmarks | publisher=MIPS Computer Systems Inc. | date=May 1988 | access-date=28 September 2021 | pages=12 }}</ref> this also being used to calculate MIPS ratings for Dhrystone 2 benchmark results.<ref name="dhrystone_intro">{{ cite web | url=https://netlib.org/performance/html/dhrystone.intro.html | title=dhrystone | website=PDS: The Performance Database Server | last1=Aburto | first1=Alfred | access-date=8 October 2022 }}</ref>)

This level of performance made the Archimedes one of the most powerful home computers available during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with its CPU outperforming the [[Motorola 68000]] found in both the cheaper [[Amiga 500]] and [[Atari ST]] machines as well as the more expensive [[Mac (computer)|Macintosh]] and [[Amiga 2000]]. Although an {{nowrap|8 MHz}} 68000 has a performance rating of around {{nowrap|1.2 VAX MIPS}},<ref name="68k-faq">{{ cite web | url=http://www.ee.ualberta.ca/archive/m68kfaq.html | title=comp.sys.m68k Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) | date=30 September 1995 | access-date=24 August 2021 | issue=20 | last1=Boys | first1=Robert | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970606025358/http://www.ee.ualberta.ca/archive/m68kfaq.html | archive-date=6 June 1997 }}</ref> the 68000-based [[Amiga 1000]] reportedly achieved around {{nowrap|0.54 VAX MIPS}} when benchmarked as a system.<ref name="dhrystone_data">{{ cite web | url=http://www.netlib.org/performance/html/dhrystone.data.col0.html | title=dhrystone | website=PDS: The Performance Database Server | last1=Aburto | first1=Alfred | access-date=30 September 2021 }}</ref> In comparison, systems based on the {{nowrap|8 MHz}} [[ARM architecture#ARM2|ARM2]], such as the BBC A3000, benchmarked from {{nowrap|2.7 VAX MIPS}}<ref name="chrisacorns_performance">{{cite web |url=http://chrisacorns.computinghistory.org.uk/Performance.html |title=RISC OS Performance Page |publisher=Centre for Computing History |date=31 October 2008 |access-date=18 April 2021}}</ref> up to {{nowrap|3.4 VAX MIPS}}, depending on the operating system version and display configuration.<ref name="stardot_benchmarks">{{ cite web | url=https://stardot.org.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?p=286141#p286141 | title=Benchmarks | website=stardot.org.uk | date=6 May 2021 | access-date=24 August 2021 | last1=Walker | first1=Sarah }}</ref>

Performance improvements would be delivered over time for the Archimedes and its competitors. For example, the Compaq Deskpro 386/16 model was replaced in 1988 with a 386/20 model offering somewhat improved CPU performance (around {{nowrap|3.5 VAX MIPS}})<ref name="byte1989ibm_benchmarks">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/eu_BYTE-1989-fall-6-IBM_special_OCR/page/n56/mode/1up | title=Benchmarks at a Glance: 1989 | magazine=Byte | date=Fall 1989 | access-date=29 April 2022 | last1=Diehl | first1=Stanford | pages=49–53 }}</ref><ref group=note>The 2.1 VAX MIPS of the 386/16 scaled by the CPU performance of the 386/20 divided by that of the 386/16 relative to the IBM PC/AT: 3.61/2.20.</ref> and in 1989 by a 386/33 model improving CPU performance still further (to around {{nowrap|6.6 VAX MIPS}}).<ref name="personalworkstation199005_deskpro">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/sim_personal-workstation_1990-05_2_5/page/n70/mode/1up | title=Great Performers | magazine=Personal Workstation | date=May 1990 | access-date=24 April 2023 | last1=Varhol | first1=Peter D. | pages=65–66 }}</ref> Upgraded Amiga models also offered steadily improving performance, with the Amiga 2500/20 appearing in 1988 and the Amiga 2500/30 appearing in 1989, these delivering approximately {{nowrap|1.5 VAX MIPS}} and {{nowrap|3.0 VAX MIPS}} respectively,<ref name="amigahwdb_benchmarks">{{ cite web | url=http://amiga.resource.cx/perf/aibbde.html | title=Amiga Intuition Based Benchmarks | website=Amiga Hardware Database | date=7 April 2018 | access-date=13 October 2022 }}</ref> with an Amiga 2000 upgraded to a {{nowrap|33 MHz}} [[Motorola 68030|68030]] processor achieving a performance rating of around {{nowrap|3.0–3.6 VAX MIPS}}.<ref name="dhrystone_data" /><ref group=note>Approximate figures for the 2500 models are calculated by taking {{nowrap|0.54 VAX MIPS}} as representative for the Amiga 2000 and scaling it according to the relative performance given for each model's Dhrystone benchmark result in the Amiga Intuition Based Benchmark results, these being 2.80 for the A2620 (Amiga 2500/20) and 5.51 for the 25&nbsp;MHz A2630 (Amiga 2500/30).</ref> The [[Macintosh II]] series incrementally improved their performance from around {{nowrap|1.6 VAX MIPS}} in 1987 with the original 68020-based model, through to around {{nowrap|6.1 VAX MIPS}} in the 68030-based [[Macintosh IIfx]] in 1990.<ref name="byte199009_thompson">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1990-09/page/n182/mode/2up | title=The Mac at 40 MHz | magazine=Byte | last1=Thompson | first1=Tom | date=September 1990 | access-date=20 May 2023 | pages=162–164 }}</ref>

The increasing performance deficit relative to the [[x86]] architecture was somewhat reduced with the introduction of the ARM3 in 1990: an Archimedes system such as the A410/1 upgraded to use a {{nowrap|25 MHz}} ARM3 could achieve {{nowrap|10.5 VAX MIPS}},<ref name="stardot_benchmarks" /> with the ARM3-based A5000 achieving a reported {{nowrap|13.8 VAX MIPS}},<ref name="dhrystone_data" /> rising to {{nowrap|15.1 VAX MIPS}} in its {{nowrap|33 MHz}} variant.<ref name="stardot_benchmarks" /> ARM3 upgrades were initially rather expensive<ref name="acornuser199002_arm3" /> but decreased significantly in price and were available for all ARM2 systems, even the relatively inexpensive A3000.<ref name="acornuser199211_simtec" /> Thus, Acorn's ARM3-based machines, generally priced for business or institutional users, remained broadly competitive. Acorn's low-end A3010, fitted with an ARM250 processor, was capable of delivering from {{nowrap|3.1 VAX MIPS}}<ref name="chrisacorns_performance" /> up to {{nowrap|5.0 VAX MIPS}},<ref name="stardot_benchmarks" /> remaining competitive with upgraded Amiga models such as the Amiga 2500.

With development of ARM technologies having been transferred to ARM Limited as a separate company, the performance advantages of Acorn's ARM-based computers, maintained by the transition from the ARM2 to ARM3, eroded somewhat in the early 1990s relative to competitors using processors from established vendors such as Intel and Motorola, as new ARM processors gradually arrived offering more modest performance gains over their predecessors. With ARM Limited focusing on embedded applications, it was noted that "the large performance lead Arm2 and Arm3 once enjoyed" over contemporary Intel processors was over, at least for the time being.<ref name="acornuser199209_upinarms">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser122-Sep92/page/n104/mode/1up | title=Up in Arms | magazine=Acorn User | date=September 1992 | access-date=2 October 2021 | last1=Burley | first1=Ian | pages=103–105 }}</ref>

The introduction of the 68040, and particularly the introduction of the 80486 with its subsequent evolution, put ARM3-based Archimedes models at an increasing performance disadvantage. Successors to the Macintosh II in the form of the Quadra and Centris series improved performance two- to four-fold over earlier models.<ref name="macworld199310_av">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/MacWorld_9310_October_1993/page/n87/mode/2up | title=The AV Macs | magazine=MacWorld | last1=Heid | first1=Jim | date=October 1993 | access-date=21 May 2023 | pages=88–95 }}</ref> An Amiga 4000 with 68040 CPU (or a suitably upgraded Amiga 2000 and 3000) could achieve a reported {{nowrap|18.7–21.6 VAX MIPS}},<ref name="dhrystone_data" /> whereas Compaq Deskpro 486/25 and 486/33 models achieved a reported {{nowrap|14.7 VAX MIPS}} and {{nowrap|19.2 VAX MIPS}} with 25&nbsp;MHz and 33&nbsp;MHz 80486 CPUs respectively,<ref name="personalworkstation199104_performance">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/sim_personal-workstation_1991-04_3_4/page/68/mode/2up | title=Great Performance from Both CISC and RISC | magazine=Personal Workstation | date=April 1991 | access-date=8 October 2022 | pages=68, 70–71 }}</ref>{{rp|pages=70}} and with the introduction of 486DX2 CPUs at 50&nbsp;MHz and 66&nbsp;MHz during 1992 raising this to as much as around {{nowrap|28.5 VAX MIPS}}.<ref name="dhrystone_data"/> Against such performance ratings only Acorn's [[Risc PC]] 600 ({{nowrap|18.4 VAX MIPS}}<ref name="dhrystone_data" /> to {{nowrap|21.8 VAX MIPS}}<ref name="stardot_benchmarks" />) fitted with an ARM610 CPU could keep up. However, by the time of its introduction in 1994, two years after the reported incorporation of the ARM610 in the [[Apple Newton]],<ref name="byte199207_apple">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1992-07/page/n143/mode/1up | title=Apple ARMs Itself | magazine=Byte | last1=Redfern | first1=Andy | date=July 1992 | access-date=10 October 2022 | pages=134 }}</ref> such performance had already been surpassed by [[Pentium]]-based models such as the Compaq Deskpro 5/66M Model 510 delivering {{nowrap|40.3 VAX MIPS}}.<ref name="apc199307_heavyweight">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/apc-1993_07/page/138/mode/2up | title=Heavyweight contenders | magazine=Australian Personal Computer | date=July 1993 | access-date=8 October 2022 | last1=Crabb | first1=Don | pages=138–140, 142, 144, 146, 149–151, 153–154, 156, 159–160, 162–164, 166, 168, 171–172 }}</ref>

Although the Archimedes, emulating floating-point arithmetic instructions in software, achieved [[Whetstone (benchmark)|Whetstone]] benchmark results comparable to Acorn's earlier Cambridge Co-Processor product based on the 6&nbsp;MHz NS32016 CPU with NS32081 floating-point unit,<ref name="abcomputing198709_aiminghigh">{{ cite magazine | title=Aiming High | magazine=A&B Computing | last1=Taylor | first1=Gordon | date=September 1987 | pages=58–62 }}</ref> such levels of performance were rather less impressive in comparison to contemporary systems equipped with hardware floating-point support, merely reaching a performance level "within a factor of two or less" of [[IBM PC/AT]] systems equipped with a 80286 CPU and [[X87#80287|80287 floating-point co-processor]].<ref name="abcomputing198802_archimedesreport">{{ cite magazine | title=Archimedes Report | magazine=A&B Computing | last1=Taylor | first1=Gordon | date=February 1988 | pages=80–84 }}</ref> Already in 1988, a 20&nbsp;MHz Compaq system with a 80386 CPU and 80387 co-processor would achieve around {{nowrap|1800 KWhetstones}} or around 20 times the performance of the ARM2 emulating floating-point instructions.<ref name="byte198803_80387">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1988-03/page/n232/mode/1up | title=The Intel 80387 vs. The Weitek 1167 | magazine=Byte | last1=Thompson | first1=Tom | date=March 1988 | access-date=20 November 2022 | pages=205 }}</ref> Acorn's WE32206-based [[Floating Point Unit]] (FPU), available for the A400 series and R140, was expected to deliver ten-fold performance benefits,<ref name="abcomputing198709_aiminghigh"/> and was eventually claimed to offer eight-fold speed-ups.<ref name="riscuser198912_fpu"/> This left FPU-equipped systems delivering around half the performance of accelerated 386-based systems.

The claimed performance of Acorn's Floating Point Accelerator (FPA10), available for ARM3-based Archimedes systems, was originally 5&nbsp;MFLOPS,<ref name="acorn_fpa10"/> subsequently revised to "around 4&nbsp;MFLOPS",<ref name="acornuser199308_fpa"/> and may ostensibly have been broadly competitive with the MIPS R3010 (as claimed by ARM) in some systems under [[Benchmark (computing)|benchmark testing]], with an A5000 fitted with FPA10 reportedly achieving around 4.3&nbsp;MFLOPS, compared to various R3000/R3010-based systems achieving between 5.4 and 9.7&nbsp;MFLOPS.<ref name="flops_data">{{ cite web | url=http://performance.netlib.org/performance/html/flops_4.data.col0.html | title=Flops_4 | website=PDS: The Performance Database Server | last1=Aburto | first1=Alfred | access-date=24 April 2022 }}</ref> However, unlike the R3010, announced in 1988 with claimed performance ratings of 4&nbsp;MFLOPS for double-precision arithmetic and 7&nbsp;MFLOPS for single-precision arithmetic,<ref name="unixreview198805_mips">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/sim_unix-review_1988-05_6_5/page/107/mode/1up | title=MIPS Rolls RISC | magazine=Unix Review | date=May 1988 | access-date=24 April 2022 | pages=107 }}</ref> and available in workstation products the same year,<ref name="electronicnews19881010_4d">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/sim_electronic-news_1988-10-10_34_1727/page/n11/mode/1up | title=Si Graphics Offers $16K 4D Station | magazine=Electronic News | date=10 October 1988 | access-date=24 April 2022 | pages=12, 16 }}</ref> the FPA10 was eventually delivered in 1993, by which time numerous subsequent MIPS products had been delivered with steadily increasing performance, diminishing the relevance of comparisons with the R3010. For example, the MIPS R4400, available from 1992, achieved around {{nowrap|26 MFLOPS}} when benchmarked in systems. In contrast with the declining competitive situation of the ARM3, the ARM3 and FPA10 combination did appear to rather more competitive with the 486DX2 systems introduced in late 1992, these rated at around {{nowrap|4–5 MFLOPS}}, but a year later these would be eclipsed by the performance of Pentium-based systems starting at {{nowrap|11 MFLOPS}}.<ref name="flops_data"/>

=== Education ===

Continuing Acorn's involvement with the BBC and its computer literacy initiatives, two of the first Archimedes models bore the BBC branding, as did the later BBC A3000 model.<ref name="acornuser198708_archimedes"/> Dissatisfaction with this arrangement was voiced by competitor [[RM plc|Research Machines]] and an industry group led by a [[Microsoft]] representative, the British Micro Federation, who advocated the use of "business standard" operating systems such as [[MS-DOS]]. Responding to claims that the BBC branding was "unethical" and "damaging", a [[BBC Worldwide|BBC Enterprises]] representative stated that the arrangement was "a continuing part of the original computer literacy project" and that bringing in "something totally new would be irresponsible".<ref name="acornuser198709_bbc">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser062-Sep87/page/n8/mode/1up | title=Row blazes over Arc name | magazine=Acorn User | date=September 1987 | access-date=18 April 2021 | pages=7}}</ref>

The range won significant market share in the [[education]] markets of the UK,<ref name="acornuser199103_100000" /> [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]],<ref name="acornuser199204_roi">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser117-Apr92/page/n10/mode/1up | title=News in Brief | magazine=Acorn User | date=April 1992 | access-date=23 August 2024 | pages=9 | quote=EMCEE's task will be to build on Acorn's strength in Irish primary schools and increase the company's presence in secondary schools, where the main competition comes from Apple Macintosh computers. }}</ref> [[Australia]],<ref name="acornuser199610_australia">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser173-Oct96/page/n67/mode/2up | title=The empire strikes back | magazine=Acorn User | last1=Moxon | first1=Mark | date=October 1996 | access-date=23 August 2024 | pages=68–69 }}</ref> and [[New Zealand]].<ref name="acornuser199701_nz">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser177-Jan97/page/n23/mode/2up | title=Acorn in the land of the long white cloud | magazine=Acorn User | last1=Moxon | first1=Mark | date=January 1997 | access-date=23 August 2024 | pages=24–26 }}</ref> Acorn's considerable presence in primary and secondary education had been established through the Archimedes' predecessors—the [[BBC Micro]] and [[BBC Master]]—with the Archimedes supplementing these earlier models to see Acorn's products collectively representing over half of the installed computers in secondary schools at the start of the 1990s.<ref name="acornuser199109_schools">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser110-Sep91/page/n14/mode/1up | title=More Micros in Schools | magazine=Acorn User | date=September 1991 | access-date=19 July 2021 | last1=Halpern | first1=Sharon | pages=13 }}</ref>

In 1992, the [[Tesco]] supermarket chain initiated its ''Computers for Schools'' scheme in association with Acorn, offering vouchers for every £25 spent in Tesco stores that were redeemable against software and hardware products including complete computer systems, with this promotional campaign taking place over a six-week period.<ref name="acornuser199205_tesco">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser118-May92/page/n8/mode/1up | title=A3000 on Offer at Tesco | magazine=Acorn User | date=May 1992 | access-date=2 October 2021 | pages=7 }}</ref> Over 15,000 schools registered to participate in the scheme and over 22 million vouchers were issued during the campaign period, placing the estimated value of the distributed products at over {{nowrap|£4.5 million}},<ref name="acornuser199207_tesco">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser120-Jul92/page/n14/mode/1up | title=Tesco Scheme: £4.5m-worth of Computerware for Schools | magazine=Acorn User | date=July 1992 | access-date=2 October 2021 | pages=13 }}</ref> although the actual value of distributed products was later reported as {{nowrap|£3 million}}.<ref name="acornuser199311_tesco_update">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser136-Nov93/page/n15/mode/1up | title=Tesco School Update | magazine=Acorn User | date=November 1993 | access-date=2 October 2021 | pages=12 }}</ref> Tesco and Acorn repeated the scheme in 1993 on the basis of the response to the previous year's campaign,<ref name="acornuser199305_tesco">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser130-May93/page/n10/mode/1up | title=Tesco Offers Schools Bargains | magazine=Acorn User | date=May 1993 | access-date=2 October 2021 | pages=7 }}</ref> distributing software and hardware at an estimated value of {{nowrap|£6.5 million}} to over 11,000 schools including 7,000 computers, and even introducing Acorn computers to some schools for the first time.<ref name="acornuser199311_tesco_update" />

Despite the benefit to Acorn of expanding its customer base, dissatisfaction was expressed by dealers and software companies about the effects of the scheme, with anecdotes emerging of a reluctance to buy equipment that could be obtained for free, thus harming dealer revenues, although Acorn's education marketing manager argued that the scheme's effect was generally positive and actually produced sales opportunities for dealers.<ref name="acornuser199311_tesco_delivers">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser136-Nov93/page/n23/mode/1up | title=Tesco Delivers Acorns | magazine=Acorn User | date=November 1993 | access-date=2 October 2021 | pages=20 }}</ref> The inclusion of software products in the scheme was regarded by one commentator as harmful to both the companies whose products were featured, these "not making enough profit from the transaction", and to those whose products were not, these seeing potential customers choose their competitors' "free" products. Noting that the scheme was "not purely philanthropic", concern was expressed about the effect on the Acorn market and that schools were needing to "resort to charities and publicity stunts to get the basic tools to do the job".<ref name="acornuser199311_tesco_letter">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser136-Nov93/page/n93/mode/1up | title=No Free Lunch? | magazine=Acorn User | date=November 1993 | access-date=2 October 2021 | last1=Preston | first1=Geoff | pages=90 }}</ref> In response to such criticism, independent software titles were dropped from the scheme in 1994,<ref name="acornuser199405_tesco">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser142-May94/page/n12/mode/1up | title=Tesco Scheme '94 | magazine=Acorn User | date=May 1994 | access-date=2 October 2021 | pages=13 }}</ref> which ultimately distributed products to over 10,000 schools including 4,000 computers, with a total of 15,000 computers having been given away over the first three years of the scheme.<ref name="acornuser199411_tesco">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser148-Nov94/page/n14/mode/1up | title=Acorn computers netted by schools | magazine=Acorn User | date=November 1994 | access-date=2 October 2021 | pages=15 }}</ref>

With Tesco having expanded its presence in Scotland through acquisitions,<ref name="independent19940920_tesco">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/tesco-to-spend-pounds-65m-developing-wm-low-stores-1450175.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409040709/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/tesco-to-spend-pounds-65m-developing-wm-low-stores-1450175.html |archive-date=9 April 2016 |url-access=limited |url-status=live|title=Tesco to spend pounds 65m developing Wm Low shops|date=20 September 1994|newspaper=The Independent|access-date=27 March 2016}}</ref> the Tesco scheme was extended to Scotland for the first time in 1995. Alongside updates to the featured product selection, the possibility was introduced of saving unredeemed vouchers for redemption in the 1996 campaign.<ref name="acornuser199505_tesco">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser155-May95/page/n13/mode/1up | title=Acorn and Tesco repeat Computers for Schools | magazine=Acorn User | date=May 1995 | access-date=2 October 2021 | pages=14 }}</ref> By the end of the 1996 campaign, {{nowrap|£5.7 million}} worth of products had been distributed, with the scheme having distributed products worth a total of {{nowrap|£25.9 million}}, including 26,000 Acorn computers in its first five years.<ref name="acornuser199612_tesco">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser175-Dec96/page/n8/mode/1up | title=Tesco Computers for Schools update | magazine=Acorn User | date=December 1996 | access-date=2 October 2021 | pages=9 }}</ref>

By the mid to late 1990s, the UK educational market began to turn away from Acorn's products towards IBM PC compatibles, with Acorn and Apple establishing a joint venture, Xemplar, to market these companies' products in the education sector as part of a strategy to uphold their market share. Through Xemplar's involvement in the Computers for Schools scheme, Apple products were featured for the first time in the 1996 campaign.<ref name="acornuser199612_tesco" /> Xemplar's involvement continued in subsequent years, introducing information technology training for teachers in 1998,<ref name="acornuser199801_tesco">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser190-Jan98/page/n48/mode/1up | title=Tesco further into school | magazine=Acorn User | date=January 1998 | access-date=2 October 2021 | pages=49 }}</ref> and seeking to offer Acorn products in the 1999 campaign despite the turmoil around Acorn as the company sought to move away from the desktop computing market,<ref name="acornuser1998xmas_xemplar">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser202-Xmas98/page/n7/mode/1up | title=Xemplar's 'Last chance' mistake | magazine=Acorn User | date=Christmas 1998 | access-date=2 October 2021 | pages=8 }}</ref> subsequently selling its stake in Xemplar to Apple.<ref name="acornuser199903_xemplar">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser205-Mar99/page/n9/mode/1up | title=Acorn sells Xemplar holding | magazine=Acorn User | date=March 1999 | access-date=2 October 2021 | pages=10 }}</ref> In 2000, Tesco changed its partner in the Computers for Schools scheme from Xemplar to [[RM plc]].<ref name="acornuser200003_tesco">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser218-Mar00/page/n56/mode/1up | title=Computers for schools | magazine=Acorn User | date=March 2000 | access-date=2 October 2021 | pages=57 }}</ref>

Acorn conducted other promotional initiatives towards the education sector. The Acorn Advantage programme, launched in September 1994, offered a loyalty scheme whereby points were accrued through purchases and redeemed for "curriculum resources" that included non-computing items such as musical and scientific instruments as well as computer hardware. Several commercial partners were involved in the scheme such as [[Petrofina|Fina]], which awarded vouchers with petrol purchases that could be exchanged for points, and the [[Midland Bank]] which would donate points to schools joining its Midbank school-based banking system. An Acorn-branded [[Visa Inc.|Visa]] credit card would also generate Advantage points for nominated schools.<ref name="acornuser199605_advantage">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser168-May96/page/n64/mode/1up | title=Acorn Advantage | magazine=Acorn User | date=May 1996 | access-date=2 October 2021 | pages=65 }}</ref>