Torch Computers
Encyclopedia
Torch Computers Ltd was a computer
hardware company formed in 1982 in Great Shelford
, near Cambridge
, UK and became well known for its computer peripherals for the BBC Micro
. Torch produced several second processor units for the BBC Micro with integrated floppy disk
or hard disk
drives, including the Z80 Disc Pack (ZDP), Graduate and Unicorn, with Z80, 8088
and 68000 processors respectively. The ZDP ran the CPN operating system
, a clone of CP/M
, the Graduate, MS-DOS
2.11 and the Unicorn UNIX
.
Torch also sold the Communicator, a system based on the BBC Micro with a Z80 second processor and integral modem
, intended as a viewdata
terminal.
Torch later developed the Triple X
workstation
, based on the Motorola
68010 processor running Uniplus+
Unix System V
. Launched in 1986, a number of these were sold but never reached critical mass, and the Triple X was overshadowed in the market by other vendors such as Sun Microsystems
.
Torch later developed an upgraded system, the Quad X, based around the 68020, but few were sold.
In 1989 Torch were developing a further enhancement, codenamed Quad Y, based on the 68030, but ran out of money and went into receivership. In 1990, parts of the company were sold to various buyers, including Unipalm
and Control Universal Ltd. In 1991, Control Universal also went into receivership, and its Torch assets were bought by Worldmark Computers Ltd, which then started to trade under the name Torch Computers, changing its name to Torch Computers Ltd. in 1999.
Some Quad X boards obtained by Worldmark were sold but the company concentrated on PC technology and began to specialise in small form-factor
computers. The main emphasis is now on enclosure products and large LCD displays for digital signage and art installations.
The Torch 300 series featured in the episode Wheelman of the British TV detective series Dempsey and Makepeace.
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
hardware company formed in 1982 in Great Shelford
Great Shelford
Great Shelford is a village located approximately four miles to the south of Cambridge, in the county of Cambridgeshire, in eastern England. In 1850 Great Shelford parish contained intersected by the river Cam. The population in 1841 was 803 people...
, near Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, UK and became well known for its computer peripherals for the BBC Micro
BBC Micro
The BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, was a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers for the BBC Computer Literacy Project, operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation...
. Torch produced several second processor units for the BBC Micro with integrated floppy disk
Floppy disk
A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...
or hard disk
Hard disk
A hard disk drive is a non-volatile, random access digital magnetic data storage device. It features rotating rigid platters on a motor-driven spindle within a protective enclosure. Data is magnetically read from and written to the platter by read/write heads that float on a film of air above the...
drives, including the Z80 Disc Pack (ZDP), Graduate and Unicorn, with Z80, 8088
Intel 8088
The Intel 8088 microprocessor was a variant of the Intel 8086 and was introduced on July 1, 1979. It had an 8-bit external data bus instead of the 16-bit bus of the 8086. The 16-bit registers and the one megabyte address range were unchanged, however...
and 68000 processors respectively. The ZDP ran the CPN operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
, a clone of CP/M
CP/M
CP/M was a mass-market operating system created for Intel 8080/85 based microcomputers by Gary Kildall of Digital Research, Inc...
, the Graduate, MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
2.11 and the Unicorn UNIX
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
.
Torch also sold the Communicator, a system based on the BBC Micro with a Z80 second processor and integral modem
Modem
A modem is a device that modulates an analog carrier signal to encode digital information, and also demodulates such a carrier signal to decode the transmitted information. The goal is to produce a signal that can be transmitted easily and decoded to reproduce the original digital data...
, intended as a viewdata
Viewdata
Viewdata is a Videotex implementation. It is a type of information retrieval service in which a subscriber can access a remote database via a common carrier channel, request data and receive requested data on a video display over a separate channel. Samuel Fedida was credited as inventor of the...
terminal.
Torch later developed the Triple X
Torch Triple X
The Torch Triple X was a UNIX workstation computer produced by the British company Torch Computers, and launched in 1985. It was based on the Motorola 68010 microprocessor and ran a version of UNIX System V.- Hardware :...
workstation
Workstation
A workstation is a high-end microcomputer designed for technical or scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by one person at a time, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating systems...
, based on the Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
68010 processor running Uniplus+
Uniplus+
Uniplus+ was a commercial version of the Unix System III and System V operating systems which was available in the 1980's and ran on the MC68000 Motorola chip set. It was released by UniSoft, and it ran on Torch Triple X, among other machines.-References:...
Unix System V
UNIX System V
Unix System V, commonly abbreviated SysV , is one of the first commercial versions of the Unix operating system. It was originally developed by American Telephone & Telegraph and first released in 1983. Four major versions of System V were released, termed Releases 1, 2, 3 and 4...
. Launched in 1986, a number of these were sold but never reached critical mass, and the Triple X was overshadowed in the market by other vendors such as Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
.
Torch later developed an upgraded system, the Quad X, based around the 68020, but few were sold.
In 1989 Torch were developing a further enhancement, codenamed Quad Y, based on the 68030, but ran out of money and went into receivership. In 1990, parts of the company were sold to various buyers, including Unipalm
Unipalm
Unipalm specialised in networking different computers together using TCP/IP technology.-History:Unipalm Ltd was founded as a software reseller in Cambridge in 1986 by Peter Dawe, later forming PIPEX in 1990, as the first commercial ISP in the UK....
and Control Universal Ltd. In 1991, Control Universal also went into receivership, and its Torch assets were bought by Worldmark Computers Ltd, which then started to trade under the name Torch Computers, changing its name to Torch Computers Ltd. in 1999.
Some Quad X boards obtained by Worldmark were sold but the company concentrated on PC technology and began to specialise in small form-factor
Small form factor
A small form factor is a computer form factor designed to minimize the volume of a desktop computer. For comparison purposes, the size of an SFF case is usually measured in litres. SFFs are available in a variety of sizes and shapes, including shoeboxes, cubes, and book-sized PCs...
computers. The main emphasis is now on enclosure products and large LCD displays for digital signage and art installations.
The Torch 300 series featured in the episode Wheelman of the British TV detective series Dempsey and Makepeace.