Editing Acorn Electron (section)

==Legacy==
Although the Electron presented challenges to developers in terms of the amount of memory available to programs and, particularly for those writing or [[porting]] games to the machine, a reduction in hardware features useful for controlling or presenting content on the screen, developers often discovered creative workarounds to deliver commercially successful products,<ref name="electronuser198801_blake">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/ElectronUserVolume5/Electron-User-05-04/page/n31/mode/2up | title=I must have been mad! | magazine=Electron User | date=January 1988 | access-date=28 February 2021 | volume=5 | issue=4 | last1=Blake | first1=Kevin | pages=32–33 }}</ref><ref name="electronuser198608_jacobsen">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/ElectronUserVolume3/Electron-User-03-11/page/n39/mode/2up | title=Formula 1 | magazine=Electron User | first1=Michael | last1=Jacobsen | date=August 1986 | volume=3 | issue=11 | access-date=24 April 2021 | pages=40–41, 43 }}</ref><ref name="electronuser198805_oakden">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/ElectronUserVolume5/Electron-User-05-08/page/n45/mode/2up | title=Quest | magazine=Electron User | last1=Oakden | first1=Tony | date=May 1988 | volume=5 | issue=8 | access-date=24 April 2021 | pages=46–48 }}</ref> making the business of writing conversions a viable one for some developers.<ref name="electronuser199006_scott">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/ElectronUserVolume7/Electron-User-07-09/page/n6/mode/1up | title=Conversions are his business | magazine=Electron User | date=June 1990 | access-date=28 February 2021 | volume=7 | issue=9 | page=7 }}</ref>

Several features that would later be associated with the [[BBC Master]] and [[Acorn Archimedes|Archimedes]] first appeared as features of Electron expansion units, including ROM cartridge slots and the [[Advanced Disc Filing System]], a hierarchical improvement to the BBC's original [[Disc Filing System]].<ref name="acornuser198503b">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser032-Mar85/page/n10/mode/1up | title=BBC micro upgrade likely | magazine=Acorn User | date=March 1985 | access-date=17 January 2021 | page=9 }}</ref> Having been envisaged as the basis of a portable computer with "a very strong emphasis on communications" during its development, supporting both modem and Econet interfaces,<ref name="practicalcomputing198210"/>{{rp|pages=69}} the BT Merlin M2105 product subsequently combined the Electron with communications functionality,<ref name="acornuser198406" /> and the [[Acorn Communicator]] developed such concepts further, introducing networking support.

The availability of the Electron at discounted prices from 1985 onwards led to increased demand for third-party software and expansions for the machine.<ref name="electronuser198605">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/ElectronUserVolume3/Electron-User-03-08/page/n4/mode/1up | title=Electron boom creates more jobs | magazine=Electron User | volume=3 | issue=8 | date=May 1986 | access-date=17 January 2021 | page=5 }}</ref> While it may not have been as popular as the Spectrum, Commodore 64 or [[Amstrad CPC]], it did sell in sufficient numbers to ensure that new software titles from established producers were being produced right up until the early 1990s,<ref name="electronuser199007a">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/ElectronUserVolume7/Electron-User-07-10/page/n5/mode/1up | title=E-Type draws the crowds | magazine=Electron User | volume=7 | issue=10 | date=July 1990 | access-date=29 January 2021 | page=6 }}</ref> with mainstream publications dedicated to the machine having effectively supported it for five years beyond the point at which Acorn's own support had ceased.<ref name="electronuser199007b">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/ElectronUserVolume7/Electron-User-07-10/page/n5/mode/1up | title=It's goodbye - and hello! | magazine=Electron User | volume=7 | issue=10 | date=July 1990 | access-date=29 January 2021 | page=6 }}</ref> One reviewer concluded that even at this point in 1990, "Electron owners wishing to upgrade their machine will find themselves better served now than at any time in the machine’s history."<ref name="acornuser199004_emblem">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser093-Apr90/page/n115/mode/2up | title=Sum of the Parts | magazine=Acorn User | last1=Emblem | first1=Bernard | date=April 1990 | access-date=19 January 2024 | pages=114–115, 117 }}</ref>