Editing Acorn Atom (section)

== Variants and applications ==

The Atom was incorporated into a "complete dedicated spreadsheet system" known as the Prophet by a company called Busicomputers, with the second edition of this product, the Prophet 2,<ref name="chris_prophet2">{{ cite web | url=http://chrisacorns.computinghistory.org.uk/Computers/Busicomputers_Prophet2.html | title=Busicomputers Prophet 2 | website=Chris's Acorns | date=2 May 2014 | access-date=30 August 2022 }}</ref> consisting of a modified Atom, Ferguson 12-inch black-and-white television, and a Pearlcorder microcassette recorder, all housed in a "robust metal case". Powered by a single mains plug, the system was effectively a "turnkey" solution, emphasising the built-in spreadsheet as its primary function. Although regarded as worth considering as an "inexpensive way of obtaining a sound and reasonably well-presented spreadsheet system", being priced at £795 plus VAT, the use of cassette storage to reduce the system's cost was regarded as impacting its usability, with the slow data transfer rate causing waits of 30 minutes or more to save spreadsheet data and limiting the effective storage capacity of the microcassettes, whereas more expensive disk-based systems would be able to transfer similar volumes of data in a matter of seconds and store tens of spreadsheets on each disk.<ref name="pcw198303_prophet">{{ cite news | url=https://archive.org/details/PersonalComputerWorld1983-03/page/124/mode/2up | title=Prophet II | work=Personal Computer World | date=March 1983 | access-date=3 October 2021 | last1=Liardet | first1=Mike | pages=124–126 }}</ref> Regarded as "low-tech" later in 1983, the Prophet II was apparently being given away to participants of one- or two-day business-related training courses, these costing £600 and £700 respectively, with this initiative considered "a nice way of moving old stock".<ref name="pcw198310_prophet">{{ cite news | url=https://archive.org/details/PersonalComputerWorld1983-10/page/126/mode/1up | title=Prophet and loss | work=Personal Computer World | date=October 1983 | access-date=12 December 2021 | last1=Kewney | first1=Guy | pages=126 }}</ref> A subsequent model, the Prophet 3, featured a built-in floppy disk drive.<ref name="chris_prophet3">{{ cite web | url=http://chrisacorns.computinghistory.org.uk/Computers/Busicomputers_Prophet3.html | title=Busicomputers Prophet 3 | website=Chris's Acorns | date=2 May 2014 | access-date=30 August 2022 }}</ref>