Your article on Acorn’s re-structuring (TES, September 22) makes worrying reading for schools who have invested heavily in their RiscOS computers, in spite of pressures to go down the PC route. Even in primary schools, parents are talking about their children having to use a so-called industry standard platform.
Acorn must keep in mind that schools with limited budgets have deliberately chosen their machines in preference to cheaper PCs. Why? Not only is there a high quality software base that meets teachers’ needs for their pupils, but also because RiscOS is so easy to use. Brian Kerslake is correct, the machines are terrific: fast, with an easy to use operating system that makes copying files, organising directories, installing fonts and printer drivers a doddle and real multi-tasking and transfer of files between applications easy to achieve. Reading reviews it is clear that PC users are now able to operate in ways that Acorn users have been able to for years.
So come on Acorn, help all those who have stuck by you for so long by making it clear that you will continue to support RiscOS computers and that software, including a wide range of CD-Rom, will continue to be available for many years to come. Indeed, we need to be assured that this base will continue to develop to meet schools’ changing needs.
It often seems that Acorn is a company run by enthusiasts with apparently few marketing skills. It needs to become a company in which customers’ needs are at the forefront.
Alan Harding Headteacher Lowbrook primary school The Fairway Cox Green Maidenhead
