Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "International Computers Limited" in English language version.
Richard is most proud of his involvement in the Pathway project which saw the automation of Post Office counters and the role that he negotiated for ICL at that time. He says: "I did that, nobody else did and it was not a legal issue, this was negotiation. They still have the contract, twenty-five years later, and it's been their most profitable."
In the 2903, all the mechanics of the peripherals were controlled by programming in the central processor rather than by their own electronics. Of particular note was the pair of instructions to switch the card reader's 'picker' solenoid on and off. The solenoid was rated for dissipating heat on the basis of only being 'on' for extremely short periods. This led to the famous software failure known as 'select card reader and catch fire'.
