The new years honours list as been released and one person who is honoured is Steve Furber. Steve is one of the original inventors of the BBC Micro Computer. Of course the BBC Micro is not actually where computing started, but from the point of view of the UK home user it might as well be. The BBC Micro along with the ZX Spectrum were really the first computing devices available on the market that could truly be called home computers. I remember using a BBC Micro at university, and indeed it was often found in educational settings. Both of these devices will be fondly remembered by aging technophiles such as myself.

Interestingly Steve Furber was also involved in designing the ARM processor, which over the years has become increasingly successful. ARM processors helped by their low power capability now power a huge number of the electronic gadgets that require a computing capability. Such gadgets include MP3 players such as the Apple iPod Classic, portable games consoles such as the Nintendo DS Lite and mobile phones such as the Apple iPhone or the Motorola RIZR V3

So I think we can say a worthy honour winner indeed!