RISCOS Ltd
 |
|
| Private | |
| Industry | Computer software |
| Fate | Dissolved |
| Founded | Cardiff, UK (January 7, 1999) |
| Founder | Paul Middleton |
| Defunct | May 14, 2013 |
| Headquarters | Cardiff, UK |
|
Area served
|
Worldwide |
|
Key people
|
Paul Middleton, Co-founder and Managing director |
| Products | RISC OS 4, RISC OS 6 |
| Services | IT consulting |
| Website |
riscos |
RISCOS Ltd. (also referred to as ROL) was a limited company engaged in computer software and IT consulting. It licensed the rights to continue the development of RISC OS 4 and to distribute it for desktop machines (as an upgrade or for new machines) from Element 14 and subsequently Pace Micro Technology. Company founders include developers who formerly worked within Acorn's dealership network. It was established as a nonprofit company. On or before 4 March 2013 3QD Developments acquired RISCOS Ltd's flavour of RISC OS. RISCOS Ltd was dissolved on 14 May 2013.
RISCOS Ltd was formed to continue end-user-focused development of RISC OS after the de-listing of Acorn Computers, following its purchase by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter in order to benefit from the shareholding that Acorn held in ARM Ltd. In March 1999, RISCOS Ltd obtained exclusive rights to develop and sell RISC OS 4 for the desktop market from Element 14. A few weeks later Pace purchased Acorn's Cambridge headquarters and staff for £200,000 and then continued to develop its own, in-house version of RISC OS, primarily for set-top boxes and other embedded devices.
At the time of the company's formation, it was noted that having access to the source code could facilitate removal of the OS's dependence on Acorn's proprietary chips. This simplifies entry to the hardware market by new companies.
On 29 January and 14 May 2013 RISCOS Ltd was listed in the London Gazette: on 14 May 2013 it was struck from the register of companies and dissolved.
RISCOS Ltd completed work on RISC OS 4 and in July 1999 it was released as an upgrade for existing machines, priced at £120. Improvements include support for long filenames, larger disk sizes and partitions, along with a new desktop look.
...
Wikipedia