- Email: [email protected]
Z80 000 in production by third-quarter 1985
Soviet school experts study how children and trainee teachers in UK come to grips with IT Education officials from the USSR have been studying the use of information technology at schools in Newcastle, UK. The city has invested £284000 in systems for schools. Visits by the officials took in comprehensive schools, primary schools and a teacher training centre. 'We are extremely pleased that Newcastle should be picked for a visit by these educationalists from Russia,' said councillor Derek Webster. 'We are very proud in the work we do in the city's Education Department and welcome the opportunity to show off and discuss what we are achieving.' The itinerary included a school which had been awarded £20 000 to investigate the use of a fivefinger keyboard by primary schoolchildren. The keyboard, known as Quinkey and made by UK firm Microwriter, is an alternative for Acorn's BBC Micro. It takes over from the existing keyboard by plugging into the analogue port at the back of the BBC and then loading the accompanying software. Input such as word processing and programming can be carried out with Quinkey, using the same functions as the BBC keyboard provides. Up to four Quinkey keyboards can be linked simultaneously to one BBC Micro to give
USSR education leaders inspect the teaching of information technology at UK schools. each user his/her own dedicated section of memory and screen. The educationalists - - Minister of Education Georgy Veselov, Academy of Pedagogical Sciences president Mikhail Kondakov, and Moscow Department of Education inspector Valentina Ionova - - also had discussions with educational psychologists during their stay.
SGS integrated circuit design centre gets new manager to oversee U K development activities Italian semiconductor firm SGS has taken on two new managers at its UK centre in Aylesbury. John Waterman has come from ITT Europe to be manager of the IC Design Centre. Geoffrey Bigg assumes the newly created position of General Sales Manager. Waterman has more than 20 years experience in the industry. At the IC Design Centre he will be responsible for the management and development of all custom,
44
semicustom and gate array activities in the UK. Over £1.5M of CAD equipment is being installed. Before joining SGS Bigg spent four years managing businesses involved in the design of computerbased systems for off-shore oil exploration. He worked as an electronics engineer before starting a sales career that included jobs with Texas Instruments, Plessey Semiconductors and Fairchild Semiconductors.
Concurrent 286 News is out that Concurrent DOS 286 is under development at Digital Research's OEM laboratory in Newbury, UK. Some reports of progress predict release in 'early 1985'. Benchmark tests are also being run at the lab on an 8086-to-80286 conversion for Compupro machines~ The computers were supplied as 8086-based systems with 1 Mbyte of RAM and a 27 Mbyte Winchester. By changing a board the systems become 80286 based; this is the configuration being benchmarked. ICL already has an 80286-based Compupro system, supplied in October 1984 by UK firm Comcen Technology. The system is built around an $100 backplane and runs Unix applications.
What do Si's combined properties have to offer? A study of silicon micromechanics, a process combining the electrical and mechanical properties of silicon, has been launched by market research firm Mackintosh International. The study will involve a number of client firms as well as Mackintosh's own engineers. It aims to explore the background to the silicon micromechanics technique and the business opportunities available therefrom. One of the main goals it {o produce cheap high-performance sensors for use with microprocessors. The technique is also applicable in other situations where miniature mechanical devices need to be integrated with electronics, say~ Mackintosh. Silicon can be machined using conventional photolithographic and etching methods, so micromechanics should be adaptable to existing plants in semiconductor fabs. The silicon could be processed on part of existing lines or possibly even machined using obsolete equipment. (Mackintosh International
Ltd, Mackintosh House, Napier Road, Luton LU1 1RG, UK. ?el: (0582) 472716)
microprocessors and microsystems
USSR education leaders inspect the teaching of information technology at UK schools. each user his/her own dedicated section of memory and screen. The educationalists - - Minister of Education Georgy Veselov, Academy of Pedagogical Sciences president Mikhail Kondakov, and Moscow Department of Education inspector Valentina Ionova - - also had discussions with educational psychologists during their stay.
SGS integrated circuit design centre gets new manager to oversee U K development activities Italian semiconductor firm SGS has taken on two new managers at its UK centre in Aylesbury. John Waterman has come from ITT Europe to be manager of the IC Design Centre. Geoffrey Bigg assumes the newly created position of General Sales Manager. Waterman has more than 20 years experience in the industry. At the IC Design Centre he will be responsible for the management and development of all custom,
44
semicustom and gate array activities in the UK. Over £1.5M of CAD equipment is being installed. Before joining SGS Bigg spent four years managing businesses involved in the design of computerbased systems for off-shore oil exploration. He worked as an electronics engineer before starting a sales career that included jobs with Texas Instruments, Plessey Semiconductors and Fairchild Semiconductors.
Concurrent 286 News is out that Concurrent DOS 286 is under development at Digital Research's OEM laboratory in Newbury, UK. Some reports of progress predict release in 'early 1985'. Benchmark tests are also being run at the lab on an 8086-to-80286 conversion for Compupro machines~ The computers were supplied as 8086-based systems with 1 Mbyte of RAM and a 27 Mbyte Winchester. By changing a board the systems become 80286 based; this is the configuration being benchmarked. ICL already has an 80286-based Compupro system, supplied in October 1984 by UK firm Comcen Technology. The system is built around an $100 backplane and runs Unix applications.
What do Si's combined properties have to offer? A study of silicon micromechanics, a process combining the electrical and mechanical properties of silicon, has been launched by market research firm Mackintosh International. The study will involve a number of client firms as well as Mackintosh's own engineers. It aims to explore the background to the silicon micromechanics technique and the business opportunities available therefrom. One of the main goals it {o produce cheap high-performance sensors for use with microprocessors. The technique is also applicable in other situations where miniature mechanical devices need to be integrated with electronics, say~ Mackintosh. Silicon can be machined using conventional photolithographic and etching methods, so micromechanics should be adaptable to existing plants in semiconductor fabs. The silicon could be processed on part of existing lines or possibly even machined using obsolete equipment. (Mackintosh International
Ltd, Mackintosh House, Napier Road, Luton LU1 1RG, UK. ?el: (0582) 472716)
microprocessors and microsystems