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Sophie Wilson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sophie Wilson, formerly Roger Wilson, is a British computer scientist. She was educated at Cambridge University. In 1978, she designed the Acorn Micro-Computer, the first of a long line of computers sold by Acorn Computers Ltd.
In 1981, Wilson extended the Acorn Atom's BASIC programming language dialect into an improved version for the Acorn Proton, a microcomputer that enabled Acorn to win the contract with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for their ambitious computer education project, whereupon the Proton became the BBC Micro and its BASIC was developed into BBC BASIC. In 1983, she designed the instruction set for one of the first RISC processors, the Acorn RISC Machine (ARM), later to become one of the most successful IP-cores (i.e., a licenced CPU core) of the 1990s and 2000s.
Sophie designed Acorn Replay, the video architecture for Acorn machines. This included the operating system extensions for video access as well as the codecs themselves, optimised to run high frame rate video on ARM CPUs from the ARM 2 onwards.
Sophie Wilson was a member of the board of the technology and games company Eidos plc, which bought and created Eidos Interactive, for the years following its flotation in 1990, and was a consultant to ARM Ltd when it was split off from Acorn in 1990.
BBC Microcomputers: Model A, B and B+ • Master range • Archimedes range and A3000
Television programmes and services: The Computer Programme • Making the Most of the Micro • Micro Live • Telesoftware via Ceefax
People: David Allen • John Coll • Connor Freff Cochran • Chris Curry • Steve Furber • Hermann Hauser • Fred Harris • Lesley Judd • Gill Nevill • Ian McNaught-Davis • Chris Serle • Ian Trackman • Roger/Sophie Wilson
Software: Acorn MOS • Advanced Disk Filing System • Disk Filing System • BBC BASIC • Doctor Who (BBCSoft) • White Knight (BBCSoft)
Companies: Acorn Computers • BBC • Cambridge Systems • Castle Technology • Cumana (manufacturer) • Micro Power • Pace Micro Technology • Solidisk • Superior Software • Torch Computers • Technomatic • Watford Electronics
BBC-branded peripherals: 6502 Second Processor • IEEE488 Adapter • Prestel Adapter • Teletext Adapter • Z80 Second Processor
Miscellaneous: BBC Domesday Project