N · E · W · S

Autumn 2008

Iyonix II Project
* S C R A P P E D *

Lessons learnt from Acorn's demise

 
The RISC OS world has been coming to terms for the last few weeks with the statement that there will not be an Iyonix II in the foreseeable future.

 
The announcement from Iyonix Ltd explained that a capital investment of a quarter million pounds would be required to complete development of a machine to replace the six year old Iyonix. Jack Lillingston & John Ballance of Iyonix Ltd stated they did not feel they could sell enough of the new machines to recoup this cost.
 
The September 25^th press release was prompted by stocks of the existing Iyonix running low. In the resulting flurry of activity the ten remaining Iyonix computers were sold within 48 hours. New 'green' laws intended to reduce the toxicity of electrical waste mean that the existing Iyonix can no longer be legally manufactured.
 
The news has been received by the RISC OS community with sadness but understanding. Enthusiasts have reacted calmly, most remarking that they will happily continue to use their existing machines for many years. The A9, from CJE-micros, remains available for those wanting new native RISC OS hardware with a performance comparable to that of the discontinued Iyonix. The commercial development of RISC OS 6 and the Virtual Acorn emulator is not effected.
 
The news has added credence to the view that the future for RISC OS is through emulation. Put simplistically, there is no ARM processor available that's remotely fast enough to power an attention grabbing new generation of native RISC OS hardware. Furthermore, it is debatable if a new native ARM powered machine could even match the speed at which RISC OS can currently be run under emulation.
 
The announcement indicates that the team behind the Iyonix are anxious not to set in motion a chain of events similar to those that resulted in Acorn going bust in 1998. The Pheobe, Acorn's replacement for the Risc PC, fatally drained the company's resources in trying to develop a machine that was only an incremental improvement on what they already had. Iyonix Ltd and its sister company, Castle Technology Ltd, are conserving resources until the underlying technology has advanced sufficiently to make any replacement a 'must have' - at least amongst RISC OS enthusiasts.
 
The announcement has implications for RISC OS Open where RISC OS 5, the Iyonix's OS, is being open sourced. Suggestions that the demise of Iyonix Ltd has killed their purpose are refuted. A soft-ROM of RISC OS 5 is to be made available on their website with an emulation package that will let Windows & Apple users experience RISC OS for free.

S · E · C · O · N · D        H · A · N · D

 
RISC OS fans wanting an Iyonix PC face challenging times. As RISCOScode went to press, CJE Micros had four second hand machines for sale. Priced from £470 to £600, these may well sell quickly.
Ebay is another source of second hand machines. In July, RISCOScode reported on a couple of machines that sold on the auction website for £325 and £316.