BBC Micro

This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article. (October 2024)

BBC Micro

BBC Micro Model A/B (standard configuration)
Developer	BBC
Manufacturer	Acorn Computers
Type	8-bit home computer
Release date	1 December 1981; 43 years ago (1981-12-01)
Lifespan	1981–1994
Introductory price	£235 Model A, £335 Model B (in 1981)
Discontinued	1994; 31 years ago (1994)
Units sold	Over 1.5 million
Media	Cassette tape, floppy disk (optional) – 5+1⁄4-inch or (later) 3+1⁄2-inch, hard disk also known as 'Winchester' (rare), Laserdisc (BBC Domesday Project)
Operating system	Acorn MOS
CPU	2 MHz MOS Technology 6502/6512
Memory	16–32 KiB (Model A/B) 64–128 KiB (Model B+) 128 KiB (Master) Plus 32–128 KB ROM, expandable to 272 KiB
Storage	100–800 KB (DFS) 160–1280 KB (ADFS floppy disks) 20 MB (ADFS hard disk)
Display	PAL/NTSC, UHF/composite/TTL RGB
Graphics	640×256, 8 colours (Motorola 6845, various framebuffer modes) 78×75, 8 colours (Mullard SAA5050 Teletext chip)
Sound	Texas Instruments SN76489, 4 channels, mono TMS5220 speech synthesiser with phrase ROM (optional)
Input	Keyboard, twin analogue joysticks with fire buttons, lightpen
Connectivity	Printer parallel, RS-423 serial, user parallel, Econet (optional), 1 MHz bus, Tube second processor interface
Power	50 W
Predecessor	Acorn Atom
Successor	Acorn Archimedes
Related	Acorn Electron

The BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, is a series of microcomputers designed and built by Acorn Computers Limited in the 1980s for the Computer Literacy Project of the BBC. The machine was the focus of a number of educational BBC TV programmes on computer literacy, starting with The Computer Programme in 1982, followed by Making the Most of the Micro, Computers in Control in 1983, and finally Micro Live in 1985.

After the Literacy Project's call for bids for a computer to accompany the television programmes and literature, Acorn won the contract with the Proton, a successor of its Atom computer prototyped at short notice. Renamed the BBC Micro, the system was adopted by most schools in the United Kingdom, changing Acorn's fortunes. It was also successful as a home computer in the UK, despite its high price compared to some other home computers sold in the UK at the time. Acorn later employed the machine to simulate and develop the ARM architecture.

While nine models were eventually produced with the BBC brand, the phrase "BBC Micro" is usually used colloquially to refer to the first six (Model A, B, B+64, B+128, Master 128, and Master Compact); subsequent BBC models are considered part of Acorn's Archimedes series.