|-------------------------- Acorn News Service --------------------------|
| |
| http://www.acornusers.org/ANS/ |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| The Acorn News Service is an independent service. |
| It is in no way connected with, or supported by the Acorn Group Plc. |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| ISSUE 6 2 MAY 1998 |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Editor: E.Abrahams ------ eytan@acornusers.org |
| Webmaster: R.Hesketh ------ richard@acornusers.org |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| To send in your news items please use the ANS website, or e-mail. |
| Send comments directly to ans@acornusers.org |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| > > > > > > GOT A WEB SITE? JOIN THE ACORN WEBRING! < < < < < < |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|****** MANY THANKS TO CAROL CARPENTER FOR USE OF THE LIST SERVER! ******|
|------------------------------------------------------------------------|
Contents
--------
1) Editorial
2) General News
3) Commercial News
4) PD/Shareware News
5) Club News
6) How to Send in News
Editorial
---------
I believe everyone got Issue 5 of ANS, kindly distributed by Richard. This
issue should be coming to you through the "barnet.ac.uk" (Barnet College)
list server, thanks to Carol Carpenter. This should solve all our problems.
Well, most of them! I would change ISP due to the problems I am having, but
looking at the amount of mail I get, I would not like to know how much mail
will bounce, so in the meantime I'll stick with FDN.
In the general news section, will be information on changes to ANS, due to
us using a listserver. I just received the statistics for the ANS page,
covering 19 March - 25 April. It looks like the service is really
attracting attention. The figure for "Total successful requests for pages"
was a staggering 1850! The interesting part of the statistics was that,
although most of the requests were from ".uk" and ".com" domains, an
increasing number are from other domains such as ".au".
Another interesting statistic, was although Mozilla (Compatible) browsers
topped the list of the browsers used, ANT Fresco came in second with 2981
requests, with WebsterXL a little under-supported at 15 requests! Anyway,
enough of the statistics.....
The Free Ads section was a little...well not used at all, so it has been
removed! The number of people sending in news is a little low. Please, I
know a lot of you work for Acorn companies, and produce Acorn software.
Please send in any Acorn news you come across.
Anyway, we're well underway now. But keep on adding ANS links to your
pages, and if you want your Acorn link added to the ANS pages just mail
Richard at the address above.
[I know I keep saying this, but the links page will be up soon, honest! ;)
Webmaster]
Another issue of ANS successfully completed, and people are registering
every day. I don't know if I'm going to Wakefield, but if I do....you'll
just have to find me!
Bye for now.
Eytan Abrahams,
Editor
General News
------------
1) ANS Changes
The webmaster says:
Hmmm... I wonder if this was left blank for me!!! Anyway, you'll find
details of all recent changes in newsletter distribution and the
website, at:
http://www.acornusers.org/ANS/siteflash.html
2) Win a copy of Emotions or BHP
The Acorn Arcade banner hosting prize draw is going very well.
To encourage people to enter, Acorn Arcade are now offering the prize
winner a choice between a copy of BHP or Emotions, the new platformer from
GEK. This is because they think that many of you will already own a copy
of BHP and that it's unfair to non-SA users to offer an SA-only prize!
To re-cap, all you need to do to enter is host a banner on your own webpage
linking to Acorn Arcade between April 25th and June 30th. All entrants who
display the banner for the full duration will be entered into a prize draw
to win a copy of BHP or Emotions.
See...
http://www.acornarcade.com/banners/
...for full conditions of entry, and the registration form.
Other recent additions to Acorn Arcade include:
- Interview with Tom Cooper, author of Darkwood and many other titles
- News of the first game releases planned for the NC
- Coverage of a handfull of more minor news stories
- New Star Fighter 3000 page with hints and cheats
3) ArmLink Web Site
The "ArmLink" website has moved. Find it at:
http://www.armlink.ndirect.co.uk/
It deals with all aspects of Acorn-Psion connectivity, and carries reviews
of assorted Acorn and Psion software.
Recent reviews (from Archive Magazine) include TechWriter Pro, Teletext+
and Nstore for the Psion Series 5.
Also on the site is a request for those interested in an IR link for
RISC OS to register that interest. (Just thinking of that myself! Ed)
There are requests for teachers to submit Pocket Book educational
resources, and for RISC OS resources for EPOC programmers.
4) The Acorn Emulation Page (updated 28/4/98)
With news of...
- MAME v0.31 released with 134 new arcade games supported.
- 1st release of AdamEm the ColecoVision and ColecoAdam emulator
- 1st release of MagicKit the PC Engine development kit
- 1st release of Stella the Atari 2600 emulator
- New version 0.20 of ColEm the ColecoVision emulator
- New version 0.20 of fMSX the MSX emulator
- New version 0.25 of xNES the Nintendo emulator
- Some new CPU core source codes
...and loads more!
With 30 emulators available for your Acorn, are you missing out?
The Acorn Emulation Page:
http://www.cybervillage.co.uk/acorn/emulation/
Commercial News
---------------
1) F+B software, Tech/EasiWriter German, LayerFS, Units
- Feldner & Braun web pages have moved to:
http://www.spektracom.de/flying-snail/
- >>>> TechWriter and EasiWriter v4 for Germany <<<<
German support for these excellent word processor / equation setting
(TW) programs is now ensured to continue! Since Evolution Trading AG
has ceased trading, we are pleased to announce the new distributor of the
German version of these programs. For more info, see the constantly
updated web pages at:
http://www.spektracom.de/flying-snail/tw_german/ (in German)
- LayerFS reduced price offer extended
LayerFS is now available for the reduced price of 24.50 UKP
until *31st May 1998*.
Info at:
http://www.spektracom.de/flying-snail/LayerFS/
2) Programmer vacancy at Oregan Networks, Cambridge
Oregan Networks Ltd have a full time job vacancy for an experienced software
engineer. The position will involve working on-site at the new Oregan
Networks offices in Cambridge, with involvement in a number of exciting
'thin client' related projects.
The successful applicant will have the following skills:
- Excellent knowledge of C/C++ and the Acorn compilers
- Skilled in the use of optimised ARM code
- Experience of developing RISC OS based WIMP applications
- An understanding of HTML and parsing methods
- Some experience of porting C code to the RISC OS platform
The salary will be negotiable based on abilities and experience, and the
successful applicant should be available to start work with immediate effect.
Please send all applications by email to:
mperry@oregan.net
or by regular post to:
Mark Perry
Technical Director
Oregan Networks Ltd
Huntingdon Court
Ashby de la Zouch
Leicestershire
LE65 1AH
Tel : +44 (0)1530 56 33 11
Fax : +44 (0)1530 56 33 22
3) TraxSequencer
Trax Software has announced the release of TraxSequencer, a new and
sophisticated MIDI sequencer for Acorn RISC OS computers.
It allows you to record, edit, and play back music on an Acorn computer
with attached MIDI hardware. It has a simple, intuitive interface and a
powerful object-oriented sequencer engine.
Some of the features of TraxSequencer:
- flexible object-oriented song structure
- intuitive user interface
- powerful editing facilities
- all song editing available in real-time (whilst playing)
- real-time filters and effects
- tempo and time signature tracks
- imports and exports MIDI files as well as own powerful file type
- no fixed limit on song size or maximum bar number
The first release of this program is priced at 25 UKP with a full printed
user manual, 20 UKP without.
More information and a demonstration version of the program can be found at:
http://www.trax.arachsys.com/
Direct all email enquiries to:
info@trax.arachsys.com
4) Sleuth 3 Icon Design Competition
Design an application icon for Sleuth 3
The icon must conform to the Acorn Style Guide. Large and Small versions
will be required, in !Sprites, !Sprites22 and !Sprites23 formats.
First prize is a free copy of Sleuth 3 (RRP 151ukp).
Entries must be in by 5pm, Friday 8 May 1998 and a decision will be made on
Monday 11 May 1998.
The design MUST be based on the packaging, a JPEG image of which will be
emailed to you on request.
Requests for the JPEG image and entries must be sent to:
julian@beebug.co.uk (NO telephone or written requests will be accepted)
All rights to use the winning entry will remain with Beebug Ltd in
perpetuity, with no further payment due to the designer.
The Judges decision will be final, and no correspondence will be entered
into.
PD/Shareware News
-----------------
1 !Floating 3.08
Floating 3.08 has been released. It contains a few bug fixes, and the
configuration program has been moved from using the toolbox to using
straightforward WIMP code.
For those of you who haven't heard of Floating, here is some information
about it:
Floating is a desktop clock with the following features:
* A date window that can be opened on demand, and which
disappears after a set interval
* Brings itself to the top of the window stack at a set
interval
* Three pre-set positions for both the clock and date windows,
which are automatically repositioned on a mode change
* Supports most (if not all) virtual desktops, so that the clock
and date windows don't disappear when the desktop is changed
* Supports most (if not all) screen savers, so that the clock
does not come to the top when a screen saver is active
* Fully programmable clock & date displays
* Works on all RiSC-OS 3.10 and above computers (inc. StrongARM)
* Includes a scripting system for commands
* No longer uses the toolbox
Download !Floating from...
http://www.soton.ac.uk/~tob195/softw/
...or from HENSA.
2) WinEd 2.78, POPstar 1.10, ArtToSpr 1.02
WinEd 2.78 (Shareware template editor)
POPstar 1.10 ("Giftware" POP mail fetcher, faster than !POP)
ArtToSpr 1.02 (Powerful Artworks/Draw to sprite convertor previously
from Acorn User)
All three are available from:
http://homepages.tcp.co.uk/~tonyh/
3) Audio Visualisation
1) AudioFire
- Audio driven fire simulation. Calculates fires in real time
from up to 4 voices of the RiscPC's sound system. Start any
Tracker tune and get the sound burned.
2) AudioVis
- Sprite plotting based visualisation software. Displays a sprite
from an animation sequence of 32 sprites for each of the 4 voices
of the sound system. And what's more, you can paint your own animation
sequence and put it as a sprite set into AudioVis.
Both from:
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Horizon/4471/dev.htm
4) FSI_Batch 1.3
FSI_Batch is a front end to ChangeFSI and allows you to process many images
at once.
ChangeFSI gives every sprite the same internal name, ie S16,90,90 or some
such. This has the effect that when you put all these sprites into the same
spritefile, they wipe each other and you end of with only the last one of
them as all the earlier once have been overwritten.
FSI_Batch now has a new 'Same name' button which forces the internal
spritename to be the same as the filename. This allows multiple spritefiles
to be created very quickly by simply dropping all the sprites into an open
Paint directory.
FSI_Batch is shareware. Download it from:
http://www.argonet.co.uk/users/tudor/
5) Socketeer 0.12 & Dallier 1.04 released
Get both of these from:
http://www.soup-kitchen.demon.co.uk/
Socketeer 0.12
--------------
A somewhat overdue new version of my internet dialler. This is from the
changes file:
- Added 'clean' disconnection for when DTR drops don't work
- Fixed the 'oflaofla...' messages appearing when selecting
a new configuration
- Cleaned up saving of configuration files, and tidied
the code up so there's less room for error here
- Prompts for a password if the the relevant field is left
blank in the Setup window
- Better connection monitoring, and statistics window added
- Idle-out control transferred to Socketeer rather than
trusting PPP module
- Disconnections are now double-checked with user
- Command-line switches added
- Automatic redial on BUSY signals
- Online / Offline scripts are automatically run on
change of connection state
Dallier 1.04
------------
Now searches through its list for local phone numbers in preference and
chops off local codes when dialling to save precious centiseconds.
6) New Narrow Toolsprites
These new toolsprites are only 16 pixels wide compared to the standard
Acorn-designed ones of 20 pixels. This gives you much less screen area taken
up by 'window furniture' - esp with software such as !Browse which uses the
nested WIMP.
Note that only hi-res versions have been modified (i.e. the xxx22) and thus
these won't be much use to pre-A5000 owners.
These can now be downloaded from:
http://www.argonet.co.uk/scs/TS.zip
7) TypeFind v2.12.0
TypeFind v2.12.0 has been released with:
- Improved presentation
- German translation on the way
- More file formats
- Bug fixes
Check it out at:
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Park/4119/typefind.htm
8) dBoxTools and UrsMod
Version 0.11 of dBoxTools is now on the web site.
Version 0.11 of !UrsModify is also now on the web site. It is a front end
to Acorn's UrsMod and also an example of the developement process using
dBoxTools.
Both of the above are more recent versions than those on the May 1998
Developer CD. The enhancements are significant.
!Brew, a front end to !Guavac, is also available there.
They can be obtained from:
http://www.armage.demon.co.uk/software/dBoxTools/
9) !StartUp moves house
Want something different to a graphical banner during your boot sequence?
!StartUp plays a random sample in the background whilst your computer
boots up. It now has a new home on the Cambridge engineering
department server:
http://www2.eng.cam.ac.uk/~95ncp/
Club News
--------
1) Bottisham Acorn User Group items:
New address for BAUG web site now kindly hosted by Matthew Harris:
http://come.to/baug/
BAUG skeleton programme for 1998/1999:
16th AGM - Tuesday April 28th
BAUG: Skeleton Programme 1998/99
DATE ACTIVITY
1998
----
12th MAY All 1998/99 subscriptions due:
10ukp Adult, 5ukp Junior (under 14)
26th MAY COLLEGE CLOSED
9th JUNE
23rd JUNE
14th JULY
28th JULY COLLEGE CLOSED
11th AUGUST COLLEGE CLOSED
25th AUGUST COLLEGE CLOSED
8th SEPTEMBER
22nd SEPTEMBER
13th OCTOBER
27th OCTOBER COLLEGE CLOSED (Half Term)
10th NOVEMBER
24th NOVEMBER
8th DECEMBER
22nd DECEMBER COLLEGE CLOSED
1999
----
12th JANUARY
26th JANUARY
9th FEBRUARY
23rd FEBRUARY
9th MARCH
23rd MARCH
13th APRIL COLLEGE CLOSED
27th APRIL 17th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
NOTES: Provisionally, meetings are on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the
month at 19.30 to 21.30 at Room 47: Design and Technology Building,
Bottisham Village College, Lode Road, Bottisham, Cambridge, CB5 9DL.
College contact: Fred Peeling, Community Education Manager
Tel: (01223) 811372
During the College holidays, it is not usually possible to hold meetings
there. However, on some of these occasions, it may be possible to make
alternative arrangements.
Any changes or additions to this programme will be announced during the
course of meetings, giving as much notice as possible. Members should
use the information to update their programmes.
Guests of members, University students and first time visitors to BAUG
are free of charge. All non-members will be charged per evening: 1ukp
adult, and 50p juniors (under 14). Members under 14 years of age and
guests must be accompanied by a responsible adult, as required by the
College rules.
David Mc Dowell, Hon. Secretary, BAUG (Bottisham Acorn User Group)
Tel: 01480 381996 Email: mcdowell@intecc.co.uk
2) Acorn Enthusiasts Group
http://www.a-e-g.demon.co.uk/
The new and improved Acorn Enthusiasts Group membership pages are on-line.
The new pages are totally automated, this means that new members details
are added to the a-e-g web site in under 2 seconds, unlike my six months!
We are asking all existing members of a-e-g to re-enter their details into
the new site, so that all the links are up-to-date.
As well as that there are updated news and events pages, including details of
the Wakefield Spring Show and Acorn Southeast Show.
How to Send in News
-------------------
To send in your news items, simply include the following information, and
send it to:
ans@acornusers.org
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
First name:
Surname:
E-mail address:
Subject of item (Person, company, and/or product):
Subject's contact details (E-mail and/or WWW addresses):
Source of information (Include relevant e-mail and/or WWW addresses):
Text of news item:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
*** End of ANS - Issue 6 ***
*** Updated: Sun 10th May 1998 ***