The Oric-1 8-bit home computer was released in 1982 and would go on to sell more than 150,000 units in the UK alone. It was considered a rival to the popular ZX Spectrum, with its advantage being a much better keyboard than Sir Clive's rubber monster. Despite official production ceasing just two years after its launch, clones of the machine were produced in Eastern Europe well into the 1990s.
First published in 1983, this guide helped buyers of the Oric-1 get to grips with their new purchase. For many people, this would be the very first computer they would ever experience, so the guide had to appeal to a wide range of abilities - from absolute beginners to those with advanced knowledge of other machines. Ultimately this book helped many fans of the Oric take their first steps in programming and remains a handy guide to the platform even today.
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As the introduction states:
Congratulations! You are the possessor of one of the most advanced micro-computers available today. This book will be required reading to those of you who have never used a computer before. It will also be useful to anyone coming from other systems, as the ORIC-1 has many features that make it more powerful than other machines.
You will learn a lot from reading the manual, but you will only become proficient by using your ORIC frequently. We hope that you will find it a friendly computer that will become the heart of an expanding system. You will soon discover about ORIC's 'drivability'. Even beginners will find computing is easy with ORIC.
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Acorn Books is proud to present its Retro Reproduction Series, a collection of classic computing works from the 1980s and 90s, lovingly reproduced in the 21st century. From standards of programming reference no self-respecting microcomputer user would want to be without, to obscure works not found in print anywhere else, these modern reprints are perfect for any connoisseur of retro computing.
