In the 1980’s many British schools and homes were outfitted with Acorn
desktop computers. Founded in 1978, Acorn Computers Company developed their own operating system (OS) for their Acorn computer called
RISC OS. Unable to keep ahead of the
Wintel movement, in September 1998 Acorn Company announced that all work on Acorn desktop computers had ceased.
The Acorn company was eventually bought out by Pace Micro Technology plc.