Drobe
{{short description|Computing news web site with a focus on the RISC OS operating system}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Infobox website
|name = Drobe
|logo = Drobe rocket logo.png
|logocaption =
|screenshot =
|collapsible =
|collapsetext =
|caption =
|url = {{url|drobe.co.uk}}
|commercial = No
|type =
|registration = Optional
|language = English
|content_license = CC BY-NC-SA
|owner = Chris Williams
|author = Peter Price
|launch_date = {{Start date and age|1999|10}}
|alexa =
|revenue =
|current_status = Offline
|footnotes =
}}
Drobe (also referred to as Drobe Launchpad) was a computing news web site with a focus on the {{nowraplinks|RISC OS}} operating system. Its archived material was retained online, curated by editor Chris Williams until late 2020.
{{
cite web
| url = http://www.drobe.co.uk/aboutus.php
| title = About Drobe
| accessdate = 2011-05-16
| last = Williams
| first = Chris
| publisher = Drobe
| quote = The site was founded in 1999 by Peter Price, who handed over the reins to Chris Williams in 2001. Hosting and webmaster work is taken care of by Ian Hawkins.
}}
History
Drobe was founded in 1999 by Peter Price.{{cite news | url=http://audio22.archive.org/details/Acorn_User_Issue_215_1999_IDG_Media_GB_christmas_edition | title=Internet portal launched | work=Acorn User | date=Christmas 1999 | accessdate=16 August 2013 | issue=215 | pages=10}} In 2001, Peter handed the site over to Chris Williams as editor. After {{nowrap|10 years}}, it closed as a news site in 2009. It was retained as an historical archive until 2020 when the site went offline.
{{
cite web
| url = http://www.drobe.co.uk/beta/final/holdthefrontpage.html
| title = Site down
| accessdate = 2011-05-16
| last = Williams
| first = Chris
| date = 2009-09-20
| work = Drobe
| quote = On Monday, September 21, drobe.co.uk will turn 10 years old, marking nearly a decade of online and freely available news publishing for the RISC OS and Acorn kit-using platform. And, for many reasons and after much deliberation, it's time to take a new direction. Drobe's RISC OS news service, which launched in October 1999, will sadly cease from Monday.
}}
{{
cite web
| url = http://www.iconbar.com/articles/Drobe_closes/index1229.html
| title = Drobe "closes"
| accessdate = 2011-05-16
| last = Hoare
| first = John
| date = 2009-09-20
| work = The Icon Bar
| publisher = One Point Nought
| quote = [...] longtime RISC OS news and articles website Drobe has closed... or, rather, entered "archive mode".
}}
{{
cite web
| url = http://www.osnews.com/story/22203/Drobe_Closes_Its_Doors_After_Ten_Years
| title = Drobe Closes Its Doors After Ten Years
| accessdate = 2011-05-16
| last = Camen
| first = Kroc
| date = 2009-09-21
| work = OSnews
| quote = Drobe.co.uk, the premier RISC OS news website, today announced that it has entered archive mode and will no longer function as a news reporting source.
}}
| title = Drobe.co.uk turns 10 years old - and takes a new direction
| author = Chris Williams
| date = September 21, 2009
| newsgroup = comp.sys.acorn.announce
|message-id= slrnhbecr6.i21.ngb@compsoc.dur.ac.uk
| url = https://groups.google.com/group/comp.sys.acorn.announce/browse_thread/thread/523e822e98d8ddc0
| accessdate = May 16, 2011}}
A few weeks after the site's closure Williams posted articles on Micro Men, the television drama about the rivalry between Acorn and Sinclair in the 1980s. He subsequently stated that such articles may continue to appear periodically.
{{
cite web
| url = http://www.drobe.co.uk/board.php#cid31807
| title = Message board
| accessdate = 2011-05-27
| last = Williams
| first = Chris
| date = 2009-10-09
| work = Drobe
| quote = I don't mind doing the odd special feature from time to time, when the right opportunity arises, but I just can't find the time or energy to do day-today RISC OS news, sorry..
}}
Main features
At launch, the site featured a news feed, POP email checker and a search facility "incorporating AcornSearch.com". {{As of|2013}}, the site features archived {{nowrap|RISC OS}} articles, news and other media. It also hosts an online emulator for the BBC Micro, using the Java Runtime Environment.
Registered users were able to apply for user webspace in order to host their own projects. These subsites continue to be hosted by Drobe.
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
Subsites
=''Drobe''=
=Selected user sites=
- {{URL|alanb.drobe.co.uk}}
- {{URL|adrianl.drobe.co.uk}}
- {{URL|jeffd.drobe.co.uk}}
- {{URL|stoppers.drobe.co.uk}} (ROLF (software), the {{nowrap|RISC OS}} look and feel on Linux)
External links
- [http://www.diodesign.co.uk/ Diodesign] (Editor/curator Chris Williams's website)
- [http://www.drobe.co.uk/stats.php Drobe article statistics]
- {{URL|riscos.org.uk}} (subdomain hosting, adopted by Drobe)
- {{Twitter|name=@drobecouk}}
Category:Free-content websites