early in the life of the BBC Micro before the Acorn Business Computer name had been publicly adopted. For instance, the machine that would eventually be known as the ABC 210 was described in mid-1982 in the context of an apparent deal with National Semiconductor, indicating a 1 MB system with hard disks and "Acorn, Unix or Idris operating systems" at an estimated price of around $3500, with a second processor product for the BBC Micro having only 256 KB RAM. The Gluon concept, offering a 32016 second processor solution for the BBC Micro and other microcomputers, featured prominently in the company's strategy to offer more powerful computing hardware and to provide the basis for more powerful machines. Meanwhile, the machine that would become known as the ABC 100 was described in mid-1983 as the Acorn Business Machine, being based on the BBC Micro with Z80 Second Processor, twin disk drives, running CP/M, with an anticipated launch the same year and a price of "under £2000". Such a configuration, with a Z80 processor running CP/M assisted by a 6502 processor managing the display and peripherals was already proven by various Torch Computers products - notably the BBC Micro-based C-series (Communicator) - and also featured in machines like the C/WP Cortex. The successful development of second processor solutions was regarded as an essential progression that would enable Acorn to offer variants of the BBC Micro as business machines and to be able to compete with Torch, whose products were in some ways pursuing such goals. Delays affected the development of these products, however. In late 1983, the launch of the Z80 Second Processor had been estimated as occurring in February 1984, and although the 16032 Second Processor had been demonstrated at an event in Munich, Acorn had not apparently decided on pricing or positioning, describing the product as being "months away". Meanwhile, negotiations between National Semiconductor, Acorn, Logica and Microsoft were ongoing with regard to making Unix - Xenix, specifically - available on "the BBC machine". Range and specifications The following models were originally announced in late 1984, with pricing for several models announced in early 1985. Although acknowledging the ABC range as a "repackaging job" of the BBC Model B, the selection of models was itself regarded as "superb" in some of the commentary following the unveiling of the ABC in late 1984. The ABC Personal Assistant was perceived by