RISCOS Ltd

RISCOS Ltd. (also referred to as ROL) is a limited company engaged in computer software and IT consulting. It licensed the rights to RISC OS from Element 14 and subsequently Pace Micro Technology. It continues to develop RISC OS. Company founders include developers who formerly worked within Acorn's dealership network.RISCOS Ltd was formed to continue end-user focused development of RISC OS after the de-listing of Acorn Computers, following their purchase by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter in order to benefit from the shareholding that Acorn held in ARM Ltd. In March 1999, RISCOS Ltd obtained exclusive rights to develop and sell RISC OS 4 for the desktop market from Element 14. A few weeks later Pace purchased Acorn's Cambridge headquarters and staff for £200,000 and then continued to develop their own, in-house version of RISC OS, primarily for set-top boxes and other embedded devices.At the time of the company's formation, it was noted that having access to the source code could facilitate removal of the OS's dependence on Acorn's proprietary chips. This simplifies entry to the hardware market by new companies.