One Per Desk

One Per Desk
Merlin Tonto
Also known asOPD, Merlin Tonto, Computerphone
ManufacturerInternational Computers Limited (ICL)
Typepersonal computer / telecommunications terminal
Release date1984; 40 years ago (1984)
Operating systemBFS ("Basic Functional Software")
CPUMotorola 68008
Memory128 KB
Storage2× Microdrive
GraphicsZX8301
SoundTMS5220 speech synthesiser
ConnectivityV.21/V.23 modem
Merlin Tonto at The National Museum of Computing

The One Per Desk, or OPD, was a British innovative hybrid personal computer and telecommunications terminal based on the hardware of the Sinclair QL.[1] The One Per Desk was built by International Computers Limited (ICL) and launched in the United Kingdom in 1984.[2] It was the result of a collaborative project between ICL, Sinclair Research and British Telecom, begun in 1983,[3] which originally intended to incorporate Sinclair's flat-screen CRT technology.

Rebadged versions of the OPD were sold in the United Kingdom by British Telecom as the Merlin Tonto[4] and as the Computerphone by Telecom Australia[5] and the New Zealand Post Office.[6] The initial orders were worth £4.5 million (for 1500 units) from British Telecom and £8 million from Telecom Australia, with ICL focusing on telecommunications providers as the means to reach small- and medium-sized businesses.[7] Sales of the OPD worth $42 million were reportedly made by ICL within the first nine months of the product becoming available, largely involving contracts with British Telecom and the telecommunications authorities of Australia, Hong Kong and New Zealand.[8]

  1. ^ The Register: Sinclair's FORGOTTEN Australia-only micro revealed!
  2. ^ Tebbutt, David (December 1984). "ICL OPD". Personal Computer World. pp. 120–124, 126. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  3. ^ Holmes, S. P. (January 1987). "Merlin Tonto". British Telecommunications Engineering. 5 (4): 273–275. ISSN 0262-401X. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  4. ^ "Tonto". British Telecommunications Engineering. 4 (1): 57. April 1985. ISSN 0262-401X. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  5. ^ Tebbutt, David (January 1985). "ComputerPhone". Australian Personal Computer. pp. 14–16, 18, 23, 25–26. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  6. ^ Bisman, Laurie (October 1985). "A 'phone' with the right connections". Bits & Bytes. pp. 30–40. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  7. ^ "Where PC meets telecomms". Computer Business. February 1985. p. 18. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  8. ^ "British Make a Big Push in Phone-Computers". Electronics. 23 December 1985. p. 24. Retrieved 23 May 2023.