We're always happy to receive your comments over the past Acorn User cover
CDs and two which crop up time and again are
1. Why don't we have everything archived and unarchived?
2. Why can't I get the HTML front end (and websites) to work?
3. Why is the layout illogical?
Here are the answers.
1.
One of the things I've always found annoying with cover mount CDs is the way
I always need to dearchive software prior to running. If I want to run an app
I don't want to be hanging around trying to get the package to dearchive. It is (to my mind at least) a small problem that the filenames are all uppercase
(this is not strictly true, if you are using Warm Silence Software's
excellent !CDROMFS, all the filenames are in the correct case, it is really
just a limitation on the RISC OS CDFS which means everything is uppercase).
Mindfull though of comments, I've added an extra directory called "Archived".
Here you will find all the programs neatly wrapped up.
A secondary reason for not always archiving is that sometimes, the process of
archiving makes the end result larger than the sum of the components!
Looking back on the AU CD 9 (May 2000), having all the software as archives
would have shaved 100Mb off the final image size (with the obvious side
effect that we could not have the programs unarchived as well). In the end,
it was decided to do away with the archives.
2.
If you have an up-to-date !Boot structure (i.e. the one supplied with RISC OS
3.6 and above or the one on the AU CD 8), the read-only version of !Fresco
works fine. Prior to that, you will be missing the internet bits and pieces.
If you go to the Internet directory, you will find a !Boot application. Merge
this with your current one and all should be well.
DO NOT MERGE THIS WITH YOUR CURRENT BOOT IF YOU CAN ALREADY USE THE INTERNET
OR THE READ ONLY !FRESCO ALREADY WORKS - IT WILL UPSET YOUR SYSTEM!
3.
"Logic, my dear Zoe, is mearly the ability to be wrong with authority" (Dr
Who, The Invasion)
I've looked back at all the past AU CDs and cannot see any problem. Games are
in the Games directory, software updates in the Updates directory and
company/individual websites are in the Websites directory.
Hmmmmmm.
If you have any comments, or would like to submit to the next AU CD (November