Archive Magazine 1995/ARCHIVE95.iso/text/magazine/volume_04/issue_07

Text File | 1995-06-25 | 198KB | 4,747 lines

The VATman strikes again
4.7
The main reason that this issue has followed the previous one so rapidly
is that our beloved Chancellor of the Exchequer has increased the VAT
rate from 15% to 17.5%. As a result, everyone like us, who quotes VAT
inclusive prices, will have to change their adverts, price lists etc,
etc!! This will also mean that some of the prices quoted in reviews and
Products Available may not be correct. Weæll try to check them if
possible, but I hope youæll forgive us if we miss any.
4.7
Also, if you are ordering anything from us, please use the new Price
List, not the old one, because the prices have increased by the extra
VAT element. If you send a cheque which is too small to cover the cost
of the goods you order, it will cause complications and delay, so
PLEASE  DESTROY  ALL  OLD  PRICE  LISTS. Thank you.
4.7
Another Éone-upæ for Impression II
4.7
The very fact that I have been able to get this magazine out so soon
after the previous one is another accolade for Impression. It just would
not have been possible with PageMaker on the Mac. (By the way, Iæve not
had any response yet from Beebug about whether they are going to use
Ovation to prepare Risc User.)
4.7
All the Archive staff wish you a Very Happy Easter!
4.7

4.7
Products Available
4.7
Å    A540 fan quieteners Ö Ray Maidstone has now designed fan quieteners
for the A540 but they are unfortunately not user-fit devices. Contact
Ray on 0603-407060 for more details.
4.7
Å    ALPS Compression Disc Ö Alpine Software have released a sprite
compression utility which can compress mode 12 sprite down to something
like 30% of their original size. Mode 15 sprites are compressed even
more Ö some down to as low as 6% of their full size but, on average,
around 25%. The application which is only available from Alpine Software
is ú19.95 inclusive (post free).
4.7
Å    Atomwide high speed drives Ö Atomwide are doing some new SCSI drives.
The first is a high speed (17 ms) 48M Quantum Pro drive. The prices are
ú540 for an internal drive and ú620 for an external drive. The other
drive is the Connor 100M drive as supplied in the Acorn A540. These are
also, we think, 17ms drives and are available for ú740 (internal) or
ú840 (external). (More details in the SCSI Column on page 9.)
4.7
Å    Atomwide removable drives Ö Atomwide are also doing some 42M removable
SCSI drives. They use exactly the same drive mechanism as the MicroNet
drives and they work out a little cheaper. (But with the extra VAT,
youære back to the number you first thought of!!) The prices are now
ú795 and ú595 with and without Oak podule respectively, or ú775 with
Lingenuity podule. (More details in the SCSI Column on page 9.)
4.7
Å    Childrenæs pictures Ö Micro Studio have produced a new library pack of
draw and paint files Ö over 150 in all Ö aimed at children. The new
pack, at ú19.95 inclusive, has pictures of animals, toys, people, shapes
and objects and signs.
4.7
Å    Colour screen conversion Ö Human Computer Interface Ltd have produced
a piece of software called Colour Screen╗Mac which will convert colour &
monochrome images between the Macintosh and the Archimedes or Windows
3.0 on the IBM PC. The cost is ú95 plus ú2.50 p&p +VAT. They also do an
Archimedes to Mac connecting cable for ú20 +VAT.
4.7
Å    Concept Designer from Longman Logotron enables the user to create and
use overlays on a Concept Keyboard and even has an emulator so that you
can develop software for use with a CK without having one attached to
the computer. The price is ú24 +VAT from Longman Logotron or ú26 through
Archive.
4.7
Å    Diet Manager Ö Yes, for the weight-conscious Archimedes owners, here
is a multi-tasking application that will allow you to keep track of all
those calories (and proteins and fats). This program from MEWsoft,
priced ú27.90 inclusive would also be useful in schools for health
education.
4.7
Å    Draw format lineart Ö Southern Printers have produced the first of
their lineart discs. The price of this first disc is just ú5.50
inclusive. They are aiming to keep the price down to a level which
should deter copying since lineart does tend to Émigrateæ very easily
from computer to computer! For more details, see the review on page 41.
4.7
Å    !Draw Help Ö After the success of Sherston Softwareæs !Help companion
to the Archimedes, they have now produced one for !Draw. This package
consists of a 96 page tutorial book plus a disc full of clip art plus a
!Draw quick reference card. The package is available for ú15.95 (no
VAT).
4.7
Å    Fast array sorting routines Ö Avisoft have produced a set of fast ARM
code shell sort routines. Contact Martin Avison for more details.
Address in Factfile.
4.7
Å    First enhancement Ö Serious Statistical Software have announced a new
context sensitive online help system for their ÉFirstæ statistical
software package. This upgrade is just ú25 (no VAT). The cost of the
full ÉFirstæ package is still ú150.
4.7
Å    Hawk V12 video framestore is the latest product from Wild Vision. At
ú1990 +VAT (+ú5 carriage) it provides a very powerful image processing
and analysis system for the Archimedes. This double width podule can
store up to four images, 512 x 512 in 256 grey levels.
4.7
Å    PD library Ö Westbourne Services have just started a PD library for
the Archimedes. The discs are ú1.50 each. Westbourne Services will
supply a sample disc and catalogue for ú1. (We mentioned this last month
but lost the address. Sorry!)
4.7
Å    Midnight Graphics Draw Clip Art Ö Set one, six discs full for just
ú29.95 +VAT.
4.7
Å    Taipei 2 Ö The first offering from Black Sheep Software is an updated
version of the Mah Jong patience game, Taipei, released originally on
Shareware N║ 31. Black Sheep have responded to criticisms of the
original version voiced in Micro User and Archimedes World and have
added some extra features. The price is ú9.95 inclusive from Black
Sheep.
4.7
Å    Viewpoints Ö an interactive environment for the Archimedes from
Sherston Software. Aimed at school children, it allows them to use a map
and explore the village, seaside, surrounding countryside and even under
water. As they wander, they can stop and see if there is anything of
interest and can take snapshots of what they see. They can also zoom in
and take a better look at things. Viewpoints contains all sorts of
starting points for various types of written and oral work and includes
geography and mapping skills as well as information storage and
retrieval skills. The Viewpoints Database is ú35 +VAT from Sherston
Software.
4.7
Å    !VoiceBuilder Ö MJD Softwareæs multi-tasking RISC-OS application
designed to work alongside Maestro, Rhapsody etc to create new voices.
Libraries of waveforms and envelopes are provided and can be manipulated
freely. The software, which is MIDI compatible, allows control of
attack, looping, release phases etc. After creation, the modules can be
immediately accessed from BASIC or other languages or from other
applications.
4.7
Review software received...
4.7
We have received review copies of the following software and hardware:
Carewares 4 and 6, !Voice-Builder from MJD Software, Longman Concept
Designer, Design Conceptsæ Outline Fonts and Software disc, Taipei 2,
Avisoft Fast Array Sorts, ASTE Syracuse disc magazine, PRES A3000 5╝ö
interface & software, Morley Teletext adaptor front end software.  A
4.7

4.7
Government Health Warning Ö Reading this could seriously affect your
spiritual health.
4.7
Although this is likely to reach you after Easter, (I am writing before
Easter) I would just like to ask you to find a little time over the next
few days to think about the significance of the death and resurrection
of Jeus.
4.7
To the outsider, Jesusæ death looks like the defeat of a well-meaning
teacher who upset the Épowers that beæ and his resurrection looks like a
blatant act of wishful thinking.
4.7
However, if you study it more deeply, you will find that the cross is
the most wonderful point of triumph Ö not defeat. The powers of evil
were smashed by that one loving act of self-sacrifice Ö and itæs not
just öan example for us to followò. It would be pretty pointless if
thatæs all it was. No, there is a deep spiritual truth about the
cross... which I havenæt time to go into now, but itæs described in,
öThe Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobeò by C.S.Lewis. On one level, itæs
a childrenæs story, but at a deeper level, itæs a very powerful allegory
of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Read it and see what you think.
4.7

4.7
Small Ads
4.7
Å    A3000 1Mb upgrade (Morley expandable) ú50, CC ROM/RAM podule ú25,
Archimedes SpellMaster ROM ú30. Phone Mr H McDonald on 04243-4500.
4.7
Å    A3000 Midi/user interface ú30, Acorn DTP ú80, Rhapsody ú30, Arcwriter
ú10, Acorn Umbrella ú20, A3000 Carry-case ú25. Contact Geoff Bailey on
04867-80632.
4.7
Å    Armadillo Sound Sampler + MIDI, 8 bit stereo, with HighNote control
software, ú115. Phone Rob Browning on 0242-231540.
4.7
Å    Original software Ö Lot 1, ú15 = The Pawn, UIM, Presenter II,
Startrader, Minotaur, Quazer. Lot 2, ú25 = Interdictor II, Terramex,
Repton 3, Arcade 3, Talisman, Zarch. Lot 3, ú10 = EFF fonts Albert,
Sophie and Tamsin. Phone John Crabtree on 0803-832505
4.7
Å    Second Internal 3╜ö disc drive, previously installed in an A310, ú75
ono. Phone Mr C Dawson on 0253-700578 or 0283-36044.
4.7
Å    Wanted single drive fascia for A310, also MEMC1a chip. Phone Mr C
Dawson on 0253-700578 or 0283-36044.
4.7
Å    Wanted single drive fascia for A310. Phone Bill Foyster on 0769-60289.
Also 2nd 3╜ö drive for 310 ú50.
4.7
Charity Sales Ö The following items are available for sale in aid of
charity. PLEASE do not just send money Ö ring us on 0603-766592 to check
if the items are still available. Thank you.
4.7
(If you have unwanted software or hardware for Archimedes computers,
please send it in to us. If you have larger items where post would be
expensive, just send us details of the item(s) and how the purchaser can
get hold of them.)
4.7
User Guides ú2 + ú3 postage, Acorn 2-slot BP ú15, Euclid ú25, Arcwriter
ú5, Acorn ROM/RAM podule ú18, CC ROM/RAM +128 RAM ú40, Global View ú4,
Twin ú10, Interdictor 1 ú6, Superior Golf ú9, Trivial Pursuit ú9.  A
4.7

4.7
Base 5
4.7
From 4.6 page 51
4.7

4.7

4.7
CC
4.7
From 4.6 page 30
4.7

4.7
CC
4.7
From 4.6 page 31
4.7

4.7
Hints and Tips
4.7
Å    Ballarena Ö I would advise using the mouse to control your Ébatæ
because the keyboard is not very responsive. Also, note that the ÉAutoæ
bat does not always respond fast enough to catch the ball, and there is
nothing you can do about it! I was very disappointed in the final
message which just congratulates you, and ends your game. The passwords
are: PUNKANDJUMP, MONTPELLIER, SEA SEX SUN, VL 86 C 010, MOUNTAINEERS,
GRENOUILLE, BLUBEDILOMAR, BRAIN KILLER, RHYTHM BOX, BOUBOULOID, MENFOU,
32 BIT POWER, MARTINI, SEE YOU SOON, ETERNA. Mike Gregory (& Russell
Lamb).
4.7
Å    Changing !Editæs default file types Ö Answering my own Help!!! plea in
Archive hereæs how to change the default filetypes for !Edit:
4.7
*DIR ADFS::4.$.RISC-OS.!Edit
4.7
 (or your path here)
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*GOS
4.7
*L. !RUNIMAGE 8000
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*BREAKSET 8004
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*GO 8000
4.7
*SAVE ö!RUNIMAGEò 8000+1F2C0
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 8008 8000
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*BASIC
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*L. !RUNIMAGE 8F00
4.7
$&1B208=öReadMeò These can be changed
4.7
$&1B214=öDataFileò to suit your needs
4.7
$&1B220=öExecFileò with any string up
4.7
$&1B22C=öEditFileò to 10chars in
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$&1B238=ö!Runò        length.
4.7
*SAVE !RUNIMAGE 8F00+1F2C0 8008 8000
4.7
Rob Davison, Southland, New Zealand
4.7
Å    ÉCheapoæ dialog boxes Ö You can make use of Wimp_ReportError instead
of writing code for a dialog box when programming wimps. The following
code fragment is an example:
4.7
DEFPROCsave_file(name$)
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IF FNfile_there(name$) THEN IF
4.7
 FNdialog(öA file of that
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name exists. Overwrite it?ö)=FALSE THEN ENDPROC
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REM save file
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ENDPROC
4.7

4.7
DEFFNdialog(str1$):!block%=1
4.7
:$(block%+4)=str1$
4.7
SYSöWimp_ReportErrorò,block%,
4.7
19,öMessage from
4.7
applicö TO ,resp%
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=resp%=1
4.7
where the string öMessage From Applicationò is <20 characters in length.
4.7
The only disadvantages are that all other desktop activity is suspended,
the machine beeps (if wimpflags bit 4 is not set) and that the user has
to answer öOKò or öCANCELò instead of the more logical öYESò or öNOò.
However, this saves a great deal of programming and can be very useful
at times (This is why FWP2 stops printing Ö See Archive 3.10 p 25). Rob
Davison, New Zealand.
4.7
Å    Cleaning A310 keyboard contacts Ö I recently had a very nasty
intermittent fault on my A310. It began as a line of 222222222æs being
printed at the cursor, for no apparent reason. Also the É2æ key of the
numbers keypad wouldnæt function occasionally. This was accompanied by a
more worrying symptom where the screen display would suddenly go hay-
wire and only occasionally would right itself after switching the
machine off and then on.
4.7
Eventually, it was cured by cleaning the key-contact of the É2æ (keypad)
and on the basis of öIf it works, donæt fix itò, I didnæt clean any
other keys. After having the machine checked at a local dealer (ú17.50)
and some discussion with Archivesæ Technical Help, it was assumed that
the screen break-up was due to CMOS *Configuration settings somehow
being changed to Monitor-Multisync, by the spurious keyboard input. The
problem has not occurred since.
4.7
For anyone else with keyboard problems, hereæs how I cleaned mine: Lay
the keyboard upside-down and remove all 8 screws under the keyboard base
and gently lift off the base. Remove the 6 larger screws, securing the
PCB to the keyboard top-cover. Lift out the complete PCB and keys unit.
The keytops are all secured in a frame which is, in turn, secured by 20-
odd small screws from the PCB underside. Take them all out (and put them
somewhere safe) and, keeping the whole kaboodle together with a firm
grip, turn it over and set it down right-side up. The complete set of
keys can now be lifted slowly off the PCB, exposing the rubber contact/
covers. These are glued with a weak glue. I found that all the rubber
bits stayed stuck to the PCB. I gently peeled away the rubber contact/
cover at the offending key position and marvelled at how the dirt had
managed to penetrate so far, considering that the cover was stuck down.
The keyboard key contacts (A310) are just gold plated discs of PCB
copper, easily cleaned with switch cleaner and a non-hairy paper-towel
or cloth. If you have to blow away any bits, use a camera Épuffer
brushæ. If you have to use your mouth to blow away grit, crumbs etc,
wait for any teeny drops of condensation to evaporate. Spit doesnæt make
a good contact cleaner and some spirit-based cleaners may tend to
dissolve the pcb-surface varnish which will be smeared over the
contactsæ surface. Your local electronics hobby shop (e.g. Tandy) should
have cans of switch-cleaner at ú2 Ö ú3 (which is a lot cheaper than ú120
for a new keyboard(!) and well worth the extra effort of DIY).
4.7
D.P.Allen, Surrey
4.7
Å    Data cartridges for tape streamers revisited Ö Further to the hint in
3.6 p2, the metal variety of DAT can become unreliable after three or
four writes and so it is better to use the non-metal variety e.g.
Memorex tapes. Mr Chapman, London
4.7
Å    RISC-OS printing hints Ö Printing out with the RISC-OS printer drivers
is very easy. However I found several areas which are not well explained
and one or two things which are down right misleading!
4.7
Å    PRM pages 1526-1528 sprite plotting commands must be with reference to
the address of the sprite not the name, so if you use
4.7
SYS öOS_SpriteOpò,&122,
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spriteaddr%,önameò,0
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,xpos%,ypos%
4.7
then, when printing, the error öSprite Not knownò will be returned. The
solution is to use &222 and an address instead of the sprite name.
Addresses for a named sprite can be found with
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SYSöOS_SpriteOpò,&118
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addr is in R2 on exit Ö see PRM page 406.
4.7
Å    PRM page 1532. Always use Ö1 (for current) as the destination mode
with öColourTrans_Select-Tableò if you specify a mode (even the current
one) ColourTrans will not set up the table correctly resulting in
strange looking sprites on printout.
4.7
Å    When rendering Draw objects remember to decrease Éflatnessæ to a lower
value. A useful way of calculating it is to divide the default (512) by
the print resolution divided by 90 eg. flat= 512/(printxres%/90) where
printxres% might be 300 Ö as read from
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SYS öPDriver_Infoò TO,printxres%
4.7
printyres% the 90 comes from a normal approximately 90 dots per inch on
screen. Rob Davison, Southland, New Zealand
4.7
Å    Saving the CMOS RAM settings Ö In recent editions of Archive (e.g.
4.3, p.10 and 4.5, p. 21) there have been repeated mentions of the
problem which arises when a battery failure deletes all the information
in the CMOS RAM.
4.7
There is one very simple way of solving this problem: On Careware N║ 6
you will find the application !SysUtil by Jon Marten; one of the choices
it offers is öSave Configurationò!
4.7
All you have to do is copy the Utility and the öConfigFileò it produces
to some disc where they are easily accessible Ö not the hard disk!
4.7
After the dreaded memory loss you simply load !SysUtil and drag the
ConfigFile icon onto the !SysUtil icon and confirm that you want to
change the configuration. Jochen Konietzko, Koeln, Germany
4.7
Å    Shutdown of hard drives Ö During the recent experience I have had due
to the volume of hardware Iæve been setting up and testing, the
following items have come to light.
4.7
MR45æs seemed to be suffering from corruption but, when reformatted, the
problem went away, so where did the corruption come from?
4.7
A little further investigation revealed that a verify scan caused the
Closedown procedure of the drive not to occur.
4.7
It was found that, in order to close the drive down properly, a *bye and
two ¬Shutdowns were required! At first, this was thought to only relate
to MR45æs but, in fact, it has been found that this is not so, and even
my own machine (A440/1 with standard Acorn hardware) does similar
things.
4.7
So, how do you know whether your hard drive is shut down properly? If an
<f12> is followed by a *bye, a staccato blip from the drive LED should
occur and a short sharp click noise should emit from the drive itself.
This is not the closedown condition.
4.7
A *shutdown will now give a flickering performance from the drive LED
and a multiple clicking from the drive lasting about half a second.This
is the shutdown condition with the heads parked and isolated from the
discs and closedown of the system can now occur. Ray Maidstone, Norwich.
4.7
Å    !UIM_Hack update (cf Archive 3.10 p 9) Ö This utility allows you to
edit characters in The 4th Dimensionæs U.I.M. game. It has now been
updated and improved by the author, David Sheperdson, and has been put
on this monthæs program disc.
4.7
Impression Hints and Tips
4.7
Å    Beware thin lines Ö It seems that Impression canæt cope with the very
thinnest lines that Draw can produce. It does not display them properly
on the screen and sometimes doesnæt print them properly. The answer is
to use 1 mm lines instead. This came to light when Brian Cowan was using
graphs generated by the graph plotting utility (on Shareware N║ 31)
which apparently uses these thin lines. (This has only been tested in
version 2.05.)
4.7
Å    Double-clicking on a graphic opens the öalter graphicò window, (For
those who donæt read manuals.)
4.7
Å    Help! Ö Does anyone know how to create a new Master Page based on an
existing master page? Itæs a real pain to have to change the margins
every time you create a new master page. Why canæt you have a new master
page just slightly different from an existing one? The particular
application was where I wanted to try two, three, four, five columns
etc. for a document and every time I wanted to change the number of
columns, I had to create a new master page, changing the margins from to
the 5 mm I wanted before changing the number of columns and the inter-
column gap. (Mind you, I did find one short-cut as a result of having to
do this over and over again. If you click in the first margin box, you
can use <ctrl-U> to remove the ö12.7mmò, then press <5> and then <down>
will move you to the next box and you can repeat the <ctrl-U>, <5>,
<down> for each box. This applies to most of the dialogue boxes Ö <down>
moves you to the next box requiring input. Yes, I know it says this in
the manual, but I didnæt see it.)
4.7
Anyway, can I put my plea another way? Is there any way of editing a
master page other than sliding the boxes around? Can you edit, by
entering numbers, the sizes of the margins, for example?
4.7
Å    Search & replace again Ö We mentioned last month that, when doing a
find and replace, <ctrl-N> finds the Next occurrence, <ctrl-R> does a
Replace of the marked text. Be warned though that, if the find box is
on-screen, <ctrl-A> no longer deletes the character at the cursor (as
<copy> does) it forces All the replaces to occur from the cursor
downwards to the very end of the document. I found this the hard way
while attempting to do a selective search and replace at the top of a
large document. I was changing a column of words into a list by
replacing
4.7
 with a comma and a space. You can just imagine the havoc that the
öreplace allò command reeked on my (unsaved!!!) document. You have been
warned! By the way, <ctrl-E>, presumably relating to Every or End, has
exactly the same effect as <ctrl-A>. (This has only been tested on
2.09.)
4.7
Å    Transferring text between documents Ö In Archive 4.2 p.8, there was a
hint about the transfer of text between two documents. The implication
was that this was not possible with Impression. This is not true Ö it is
just done differently. You select the text in question, press <ctrl-C>,
move to the appropriate spot in the other document, click once and
insert the text with <ctrl-V>! Jochen Konietzko, Koeln, Germany  A
4.7

4.7
Atomwide
4.7
From 4.6 page 18
4.7

4.7
SCSI Column
4.7
Paul Beverley
4.7
There are some more developments on the SCSI front that make it worth
having a SCSI Column again this month.
4.7
New SCSI software from Oak
4.7
At long last, Oak Solutions have released the new software for their
SCSI podules along with a new SCSIForm program. (Anyone who has an order
outstanding for this new software should have received it by now, so if
you havenæt, do get in touch with us.)
4.7
So whatæs the difference? Well, not a lot for users of fixed hard
drives, but for those of us who are making use of MR45 removable drives,
life will be somewhat easier. If you want to change cartridges, all you
do is dismount the drive and it spins down to a stop; you put in the new
cartridge and mount it by clicking on the disc icon and it spins up and
opens the new filer window.
4.7
If you do what I did and put in the new ROM and try it out, you will
find that it doesnæt seem to work Ö you dismount the drive and it keeps
on spinning! However, if you then put in the new SCSIForm disc and read
the readme file (which you should have done first!) you will find what
you have to do.
4.7
You run the SCSIForm program and <R>emove the MR45 from the drive list
and then <A>dd it again answering <Y>es to the three questions about
STOP, START and PREVENT and then <N>o to EJECT. If you are using
partitions on your disc, consult the ReadMe file before going any
further Ö I donæt use PCemulator or Unix, so I havenæt sorted any of
that out.
4.7
One thing you will have to remember with removables is to quit your
wastebin before dismounting the drive otherwise it will spin down then
immediately spin up again as the multi-tasking wastebin tries to access
it again!
4.7
Moving drive icons
4.7
One thing that you will find which is slightly disconcerting is that the
hard drive icons move about on the icon bar! When you start up, the icon
bar just shows the hard drive(s) with SCSI4, SCSI5 etc but as soon as
you mount one of the drives, it reads the drive name and displays it on
the icon bar. The trouble is that, the way RISC-OS works, the SCSI
software has to remove the icon and then add it back again so it appears
at the far right of the set of icons on the left of the icon bar.
Dismounting a drive also moves the icon to the end of the line.
4.7
New ranges of Oak SCSI drives
4.7
Oak Solutions have rationalised their ranges of SCSI drives into three
basic types: WorraWinnie, High Speed and Elite.
4.7
WorraWinnie: These are roughly equivalent in performance to the original
SCSI drives which Oak produced although some of them may be slightly
slower than before. They are, however, rather cheaper than before and
the external drives are in slightly more compact cases. The internal 45M
drives, for example, are available at an Archive price of ú450 compared
with the previous price of ú525. They are guaranteed for 12 months. (One
other difference is the cabling Ö see below.)
4.7
High Speed: These are, as the name suggests, faster drives than the
WorraWinnies and they are in a rather more substantial metal case. The
40M, for example, runs at about 800 Kbytes/sec with an effective average
access time of between 11 and 16 ms (see the speed table) whereas the
45M WorraWinnie will be more like 600 Kbytes/sec and an access time of
24 ms. The internal 40M drive is ú530 which is roughly the same as the
original, slower, 45M drives. The High Speed drives are guaranteed for a
full two years.
4.7
Elite: These external drives are the same Quantum Pro drive mechanisms
as the High Speed drives but they are built in such a way that they will
come up to the stringent new r.f.i. standards that will come into force
in 1992. They are also guaranteed for the full two years.
4.7
Additional drives
4.7
An increasing number of people are ordering SCSI drives without podules.
(They are just ú100 less than the prices quoted on the Price List since
those prices include the SCSI podule.) If your intention is to use it as
a second drive with an existing drive, it is important to make this
clear when you place your order. We will then be able to change the
internal links on the drive before sending it to you. The link changes
are necessary because no two devices are allowed to have the same ID
number and drives are normally sent out as ID zero. It involves taking
the drive out of its case, so it is obviously preferable if you allow us
to do that for you.
4.7
The other very important point to note is that external WorraWinnies (to
keep the cost down) do not have spare connectors to allow daisy-
chaining. They just have a flying lead (with an IDC connector on the
end) coming out of the back of the drive. This cable plugs directly into
the back of the SCSI card. So, if you want to use any other external
device alongside a WorraWinnie, you will need to think about the
cabling. The best thing to do, therefore, is to contact us and we will
sort out your requirements for you before you place your order. We can
provide all the necessary cabling.
4.7
High speed SCSI drives
4.7
One of the advantages of SCSI is that, at the moment, öeverybodyæs doing
itò. SCSI drives are becoming available for all the more commonly used
computers whose names I will refrain from using. High volume production,
of course, means lower prices such as we have achieved by using
removable drives that were being sold into the Apple Mac market. (They
have gone down in price again and so, even with the increased VAT rate,
they are still the same price.)  In the same way, we have managed to
find some extremely cheap and extremely fast fixed 48M drives produced
by ZCL who are also selling them into the Atari and Commodore markets
and for PCæs Ö there, Iæve said it!
4.7
They are actually 52M Quantum Pro drives that format to about 48.6M;
they have an average access time of 17ms (or 11 to 16 ms Ö see the
table) and run at up to 1,000 Kbytes/sec (yes, 1Mbyte/sec) using an Oak
SCSI interface. The öalternative testò that we use (copying a large
directory with many files) takes under 7 secs. The table below shows
various comparisons. The Archive prices are ú530 for an internal 48M
drive with podule and ú620 for an external.
4.7
Atomwide high speed SCSI drives
4.7
Atomwide are also doing some new SCSI drives. The first is the same 48M
Quantum Pro drive as the one ZCL are using but mounted in their own
boxes (in the case of external ones) or mounting brackets (in the case
of internal ones). The prices are the same as the ZCL ones (ú530 and
ú620). The other drive they are doing is the Connor 100M drive as
supplied in the Acorn A540. These are 17ms (we think) drives Ö they are
very fast, anyway Ö and are available for ú740 (internal) or ú840
(external).
4.7
The following Archive price comparison may help you see if it is worth
considering any of these drives. The prices include Oak podule,
(increased!) VAT and carriage and the figures in brackets are the price
per Mbyte.
4.7

4.7
Internal drives
4.7
WorraWinnie 45M    ú450    (ú10.00)
4.7
High Speed 40M    ú530    (ú13.25)
4.7
Atomwide 48M    ú530    (ú11.04)
4.7
ZCL 48M    ú530    (ú11.04)
4.7
Atomwide 100M    ú740    (ú7.40)
4.7
External drives A300/400
4.7
WorraWinnie 45M    ú500    (ú11.11)
4.7
Removable 42M    ú795    (ú18.93)
4.7
High Speed 40M    ú740    (ú18.50)
4.7
Atomwide 48M    ú620    (ú12.92)
4.7
ZCL 48M    ú620    (ú12.92)
4.7
Atomwide 100M    ú840    (ú8.40)
4.7
External drives A3000
4.7
WorraWinnie 45M    ú500    (ú11.11)
4.7
Removable 42M    ú795    (ú18.93)
4.7
High Speed 40M    N/A
4.7
Atomwide 48M    ú620    (ú12.92)
4.7
ZCL 48M    ú620    (ú12.92)
4.7
Atomwide 100M    ú840    (ú8.40)
4.7
Speed Comparison
4.7
    Speed    File    Access
4.7
    Kb/s    Test (s)    Time (ms)
4.7
45M W-W    660    27.6    24
4.7
45M Removable    590    10.6    20
4.7
40M HS    810    8.5    17 (11-16)*
4.7
48M Atomwide    980    6.6    17 (11-16)*
4.7
48M ZCL    980    6.6    17 (11-16)*
4.7
100M Atomwide    800    9.3    17?
4.7
*Quantum say that although the average access time is 17 ms, because the
drives have such a large ölook aheadò buffer (64k), the effective access
times are more like 11 to 16 ms depending on the actual application.
4.7
Removable drive problems
4.7
To ensure that we donæt get accused of selling things under false
pretences we are repeating the warning we gave in Matters Arising last
month.
4.7
By now, we have had enough experience of the MR45 drives to spot a
couple of weaknesses.
4.7
First of all, it looks as if the Syquest mechanisms arenæt too happy if
they are allowed to run too hot Ö you can get data errors as a result.
The cooling fan is underneath the case so, firstly, you must never put
the drives on a soft surface where the feet might sink in and allow the
openings around the fan to become obscured. Secondly, given that the
drive is on a hard surface, donæt pack other things too closely around
it, especially at the rear left which is where the fan is, because this
again could inhibit the air flow.
4.7
The warning about susceptibility to heat came from someone using them in
a Mac environment but I also learned it myself the hard way. I had the
MR45 packed tightly between the computer and plastic filing tray and I
put my WS3000 modem on top of it, which itself runs quite hot, and
topped it off by putting a great pile of papers on top of the modem.
When I suffered a disc error and lost a couple of articles, I moved the
drive to a more open position away from the computer (the cables are
1.5m long, so thatæs no problem) where I wouldnæt be tempted to cover it
with paperwork.
4.7
The second weakness is that it looks as if the auto-parking of the heads
is not infallible. In other words, if you regularly switch the power off
without dismounting the drive (which is bad practice, anyway), it is
possible that you may get disc errors eventually. So, you have been
warned Ö always remove the disc before switching off the power. The
problem, of course, is that you cannot allow for power failures but
these occur a lot less frequently than switching the power on and off
yourself. What we are therefore saying is that these drives are not 100%
reliable. In fact, Oak Computers have now decided not to supply 45M
removable drives any more because they donæt feel that the drives fit in
with their özero defectò policy.
4.7
How then can we justify continuing to sell them? Well, as long as you
know what you are buying Ö and we are not making any secret of the
drivesæ limitations Ö it is up to the individual to decide if it is
worth the risk since we cannot, of course, guarantee you against any
data loss.
4.7
The main reason that we are continuing to sell them is that they are
just SO convenient and that there is nothing else that is currently
available, at a sensible price, that will do the same job. (Magneto-
optical drives are reliable, but at ú3,800, they are not realistically
priced for the average user.
4.7
I am using MR45æs all day, every day and I am prepared to take the risk
because, as I said, they are just so convenient for me. All the material
for the magazine, and a lot of other transient data, is held on one
cartridge which I take backwards and forwards between home and the
office. Before I had the MR45æs, I had to use floppies to carry the text
back and forth, copying it to and from the hard drives at each end which
was a real pain. I had to remember to copy files to floppy and then
remember to copy the modified versions back onto the hard drive in the
office. As it is, I know that I will always have access to the most up-
to-date information and all I have to remember to do is bring the MR45
cartridge home with me. Because I am aware that there is always the
possibility of data corruption, I back up all the current files onto the
fixed hard discs fairly regularly and, so far, I have not lost any data.
4.7
New removable drives (& prices)
4.7
Atomwide are also now producing removable drives for the Archimedes.
They are the same Syquest drive mechanisms that are used in the MicroNet
MR45æs. One noticeable difference, however, is the fan. Atomwide have
used the most powerful one they could find to try to make sure the
drives donæt over-heat. They have also placed it at the rear of the box
and not underneath. In terms of looks, I think this one tones in better
with the Archimedes than the MicroNet drive, so I would, personally, go
for the Atomwide drives. The prices are ú795 and ú595 with and without
Oak podule respectively (or ú775 with Lingenuity podule).
4.7
One good effect of the arrival of the Atomwide drives is that weæve been
able to force a further price drop on the MicroNet drives and weæve been
able to get them down to the same price as the Atomwide drives despite
the VAT increase.
4.7
SCSI connecting cables
4.7
There are a number of different connectors used for connecting SCSI
devices, so if you are mixing and matching different podules and drives,
you need to know what cables and connectors are needed. Basically, there
are three types: IDC, Amphenol and 25-way D-type.
4.7
The IDC connectors consist of two rows of 25 pins Ö the type used on the
drive mechanisms themselves and on the Oak SCSI podules.
4.7
The Amphenol connectors are the same style as the so-called Centronics
connectors used on most parallel printers except that they are 50-way
instead of 36-way. These are the type used on both the Acorn SCSI
podules and most external SCSI devices Thus, if you have one SCSI device
and want to daisy-chain another device, you will need to buy an Amphenol
to Amphenol cable.
4.7
The 25-way D-type connectors are the same style (and size, in fact) as
the printer connectors on the back of the Archimedes. These are the type
used by the newer Lingenuity podules.
4.7
(Personally, I donæt think that this is a good choice of connector
because, if someone non-technical is trying to connect a SCSI drive to
the computer, there is a choice of two identical sockets. I donæt know
whether a wrong choice of connector is likely to cause electrical
damage, but it would certainly cause confusion! OK, the Mac fraternity
have been using 25-way D-types for their SCSIæs since the early days,
but why follow a bad example?)
4.7
Four useful combinations of connector are now available through N.C.S.
at ú15 each Ö IDC to IDC, IDC to Amphenol, Amphenol to Amphenol and 25-
way D-type to Amphenol.  A
4.7

4.7
File Handling for All
4.7
Mike Allum
4.7
I was interested to review this book because my post-graduate project
requires some data file handling on an Archimedes. Since all my previous
experience was in function-strong systems (machine control) I had
created and used the odd data file but never on such a scale as now.
4.7
As a result, this review is from the point of view of someone who can
handle the technicalities but is (was!) unaware of the subtleties of the
subject.
4.7
This book is 143 pages long organised into nine chapters. A comprehen
sive index, bibliography and some appendices round it off.  Short
example programs are included in the text. These are written in BBC
BASIC and many of them are available, in augmented form, on the program
disk which is available separately.
4.7
How it works
4.7
The chapters progress from simple data storage/retrieval through to
basic database concepts. Each chapter has a definite theme and, if
followed through, will build the skills required for the following
chapter.
4.7
The earlier chapters account for most of the programs which are short
and easily typed in. The later chapters have the majority of the
diagrams and tables, most of which are clear and to the point.
4.7
Where a technique is introduced, it is often presented with a list of
its advantages and disadvantages. When the reader has been thoroughly
disenchanted with it, the next best method is then trotted out.
4.7
Conclusions
4.7
The first thing to stress is that the techniques learnt here are almost
all generic. With the exception of the odd Acorn-specific area and the
use of BBC BASIC, this book could be used by anyone wishing to learn
about file techniques.
4.7
The audience itself would be from the complete novice up to, say, a
first-year degree student requiring a quick insight into file handling.
4.7
Teaching method
4.7
The method of starting small and introducing new techniques one-by-one
is admirable and serves to make the book a model of clarity. I would
compare it with Ken Stroudæs superb mathematics books in its ability to
educate the reader.
4.7
The readability is further improved by the lack of ambiguity. So many of
my student texts (and, indeed, so many modern design methodologies) are
rendered nearly useless by the author öcasting his net too wideò. This
book may gloss over the occasional point or occasionally ignore a
öbetterò technique but you can be sure that it is in the interests of
clarity.
4.7
Due to the index, this is certainly a book which can be occasionally
ödippedò into within the constraints of the audience outlined.
4.7
Overall, a most readable primer.
4.7
Program disk
4.7
The program disk is documented in the book itself and my only criticism
would be that the programs themselves should be commented. The disk
itself was of limited use to me personally but would be useful to the
novice.
4.7
File Handling for All on the BBC Micro and Acorn Archimedes by D Spencer
& M Williams is published by Beebug Ltd. (ISBN: 1-85142-087-8). The book
is ú9.95 and the disc ú4.75 plus postage from Beebug.  A
4.7

4.7
Capsoft Disc N║ 1
4.7
John Schild
4.7
The other day someone handed me a copy of a home-grown Parish Magazine.
The merest glance was sufficient to reveal that it had been produced
using Impression II. The give-away? Ö those very familiar Impression
frame borders.
4.7
Thereæs nothing wrong with an identifiable house style but few of us
would want our own to be quite indistinguishable from all the others.
Which is why I suspect there will be a welcome for this first disc-full
of goodies being marketed privately by B. J. Thompson. It is crammed
(not a spare byte to be found!) with draw-fonts and frames for DTP,
including as a bonus for Impression users, 18 ready made Impression
frame borders. The draw fonts (upper case only) have been designed for
use as dropped capitals and for poster production.
4.7
Acorn Draw files and outline fonts, when used in conjunction with such
innovations as Laser Direct, have broken down the barrier between cheap
and cheerful home produced stuff and the high-tech output we expect of
the glossies. Consequently, anyone aspiring to sell artwork for the
Archimedes must be aware that they are pitching at an increasingly
discriminating market. Also, as the supply of Acorn public domain discs
multiplies, the asking price can only be modest.
4.7
I can only express my own view that this Capsoft offering meets any
reasonable criterion of quality and can be recommended. If there is a
criticism, it is that too much detail has been added to the corner
motifs of some of the Impression borders, such that, at the smaller
sizes at which they might be used, only an undifferentiated mass is
visible. To his credit, the programmer has acknowledged this problem by
offering a number of different versions of his borders. Illustrated are
Aston draw-font S, surrounded by IntSqu10. Eye-catching, but how do you
prevent black frames looking funerial?
4.7
Capsoft 1 is available on prepayment of ú6.00 from B.J. Thompson, at 8
Oldgate Avenue, Weston-on-Trent, Derbyshire, DE7 2BZ.  A
4.7

4.7
Colton
4.7
From 4.6 page 12
4.7

4.7
PipeLine
4.7
Gerald Fitton
4.7
Thanks again to all who have written to me. This month, the major part
of my column is devoted to a continuation of my description of how to
print labels; but ₧rst a couple of other matters.
4.7
Macros
4.7
Alan Highet asks about a macro for changing his printing quickly from
RISC-OS printer drivers to PipeDream printer drivers. The macro record
facility <Ctrl-FY> records mouse movements so itæs possible to record a
couple of macros, one called Parallel and the other RiscOs which will do
this for you. On the Archive monthly disc, you will ₧nd a couple of such
macros. You will probably have to change the ₧le name of the PipeDream
printer driver to match your own. Drag the ₧le Parallel over the
PipeDream icon, change the ₧le name and the path to that of your printer
driver and resave the ₧le. Whenever you want Pipedream printer drivers,
just double click on the macro and it will do the job. The macro RiscOs
will reverse the operation.
4.7
I use ligatures with RISC-OS drivers. A ligature is one character É₧æ
which replaces the two characters f and i (or ƒ for f l). The macro
Ligatures (on the Archive monthly disc) will Search and Replace all
occurrences of f i with ₧ and f l with ƒ. Again, just double click on
the macro and the job will be done.
4.7
When I started this PipeLine column, one of the things I expected to
happen was that there would be an abundance of macros (just like the
short programs which appeared for Wordwise). It did not happen at ₧rst
but now Iæm beginning to see signs that, whilst I was right in princi
ple, I was wrong on the time scale. Please do send me your (recorded)
macros on a disc.
4.7
PipeDream$Path (Macro)
4.7
If you know how to do it, please include this system variable (or the
<PipeDream$Dir> system variable) in your PipeDream macros so that others
can use them from their own directories without having to amend the path
names.
4.7
Periodic table
4.7
Dr Alan C Jarvis tells me that he has a database, in PipeDream format,
listing about 10 properties of about 103 elements. If you are inter
ested, write to me and I will pass your letters on to Dr Jarvis.
4.7
Interword ₧les
4.7
It seems that, to register a <Tab> or <CR>, Interword changes the
following character to a top bit set character. Has anyone unscrambled
this code? I suggest that the Interword ₧le be loaded directly into
Pipedream, a Search & Replace macro run, followed perhaps by saving and
reloading the ₧le to convert [&09] characters back to Tabs.
4.7
Printing labels
4.7
There are two ways of printing labels from database ₧les such as [Girls]
where each row is a record and each column a ₧eld. One method uses the
lookup function to ₧nd the names and addresses in a dependent document
held in memory; that is the method I described in the January 1991
PipeLine column. The second method uses data from a parameter ₧le held
on disc. In turn, this second method can be implemented in either of two
ways. The ₧rst is to use a roll of tractor feed labels and PipeDream
printer drivers and the second is to print onto sheets of A4 labels
using a page printer with RISC-OS printer drivers.
4.7
Tractor feed labels
4.7
Although you can buy rolls of tractor labels which are more than one
label wide, generally, the additional problems that this creates is not
worth the slight reduction in cost per label. I shall assume that you
are using single width labels but, if you arenæt, I suggest that you
have a look at the paragraphs below on using page printers because I
think they will help you.
4.7
For the example, I am going to use the database ₧le [Girls] which
appeared in the January 1991 PipeLine column but is shown here as ₧gure
1. This ₧le, together with all those referred to in this article, is
available on the Archive monthly disc and on the April PipeLine disc. In
addition to your PipeDream format database, [Girls], youæll need two
more ₧les; the ₧rst is a template for a single label which I shall call
[OneLabel], and the second is a Tab format parameter ₧le containing data
extracted from your database, [GirlsTab].
4.7
The template
4.7
Using this method, each label is treated as a single page. The ₧le
[OneLabel] is the template for this single page. Click on the installed
PipeDream icon to create a new blank document and save it under the name
OneLabel; <Ctrl-FS> is the short cut for renaming and saving a ₧le (at
the same time) if you donæt want to use the menus.
4.7
Most tractor feed labels are 1.5ö between labels; at 6 lines per inch
this gives a page length of 9 lines per label. Set your page length to
this number of lines. Click <menu> and run the pointer through Print Ö
Page layout and set the Page length to 9. I prefer to set all margins to
0 so that what I see on the screen is what will be printed (What You See
Is What You Get Ö WYSIWYG).
4.7
My label has three columns; for your own label you might prefer only one
or two. Figure 2 is a screen dump of the ₧le [OneLabel]. The ₧rst column
is used to set the left margin as 3 characters. In the second column,
from rows 3 to 7, I have Name, Character, Present, Eyes and Hair
corresponding to the ₧ve ₧elds of my database; I have changed the order
from that of [Girls] just to prove that you can print your label in a
different order from the order of the ₧elds in the database. In the
third column you will see I have the @ ₧elds @0@, @3@, @4@, @1@ and @2@.
Note that, although the girlsæ names appears in the database ₧le,
[Girls], in the second column, B, the parameter which ₧nds the name in
the label template ₧le [OneLabel] is @0@ (and not @2@) because the
girlsæ names will be stored in the ₧rst column, column number 0, of the
parameter ₧le [GirlsTab].
4.7
It is important that you use no more than the 9 lines allocated to your
label; the label will be printed exactly as you see it on the screen
(including the width of the columns) with a couple of blank lines at the
top of the label and a couple of blank lines below. Setting the page
length to 9 will ensure that the two lines, 8 and 9 are skipped over by
the printer before starting on the next label.
4.7
The parameter ₧le
4.7
This is the ₧le called [GirlsTab]. Load your database ₧le, [Girls], and
mark the block containing the data which you wish to use on the label.
From ₧gure 1, you will see that this is the block B8F15 containing the
details of the eight girls. Save this marked block to disc as [GirlsTab]
using the option Files Ö Save Ö Save only marked block and click in the
Format Tab box to turn it on (instead of using the default PipeDream
format). If you have a more complex database, you may wish to sort it
₧rst or save only a selection of rows (e.g. people who still owe you
money) so that only part of your database is saved as the Tab parameter
₧le.
4.7
Printing the labels
4.7
Having saved the parameter ₧le to disc, you can remove the database ₧le,
[Girls], from the screen leaving only the label template ₧le,
[OneLabel], on the screen.
4.7
Now invoke the Print command. Click on the option Print Ö Print Ö Use
TAB parameter ₧le and type the name of the parameter ₧le, [GirlsTab],
into the dialogue box. When you click in the OK box, all your labels
will be printed.
4.7
Problems
4.7
Two more points. Firstly, be careful to set the dip switches inside your
printer in such a way that things like Skip over perforations do not
confuse the printer into thinking that the page length is other than the
9 lines you have set from within PipeDream. Secondly, donæt try to use
proportional spacing.
4.7
If you have any problems then write to me enclosing, on disc, a copy of
part of your database, your label template and parameter ₧les. Also
send, on paper or better on a handwritten label, a copy of what you are
trying to achieve. Iæll see if I can help you.
4.7
Page printer labels
4.7
You can get A4 sheets of labels with one, two, three or even four
columns and four, ₧ve, six or eight rows but the one most used is three
labels wide and six labels deep. I shall concentrate on this layout but
the instructions are applicable to any format of label.
4.7
This time you need not two but four extra ₧les. The ₧rst two ₧les, the
template ₧le [OneLabel] and the parameter ₧le [GirlsTab] are created in
the same way as described for tractor feed labels.
4.7
The print list
4.7
The third ₧le, which I have called [GirlsList], is created by popping up
the Print Ö Print submenu and, instead of printing to the printer you
select the option Print to File. Enter the ₧le name [GirlsList] in the
₧le name dialogue box and click on OK.
4.7
A couple of things to look out for. Firstly, when printing to the ₧le
make, sure you have selected as your Print Ö Printer con₧guration Ö
Printer type the Parallel option. If you use the RISC-OS drivers, you
will send a graphics dump to your [GirlsList] ₧le. Secondly delete
completely the name of the Print Ö Printer con₧guration Ö (PipeDream)
printer driver so that the dialogue box is blank. If you donæt do this
then you may introduce unwanted printing codes into your [GirlsList]
₧le.
4.7
Changing one column to three
4.7
I ₧nd it best to create a blank label sheet, mine is called
[ManyLabels], put a few marks on the page and print a single page. I
then adjust the column widths and page lengths until I am sure that my
₧nal layout will match the labels. I have chosen my three columns each
to be 24 characters wide so that the whole set of three labels will ₧t
across a 72 column screen. Also, I have chosen the page length to be
that of six labels, namely 6 by 9 = 54 lines. Delete any registration
marks you have made, place the cursor in cell A1 (click in A1) and then
drag the ₧le [GirlsList] into the blank label sheet.
4.7
You should get something which looks like ₧gureá3. You have one column
of data with the data for a new label every ninth line. What you need is
a ₧le with three columns to match the labels. To do this you divide the
labels in column A into three and use <Ctrl-BM> (Block Move) to move one
third of the labels into column B and the last third into column C.
4.7
Printing
4.7
The above description works if you use a constant pitch font such as
Courier (Acornæs Corpus) on your labels or if you leave out the ₧eld
names (Hair, Eyes, etc). It is more dif₧cult, but not impossible, to use
a proportional font such as Helvetica (Acornæs Homerton) and include
₧eld names or graphics. Essentially, if you want the ₧eld names or a
graphic (eg a logo) on each label then you will need more columns in the
[ManyLabels] ₧le and you will need to load the graphics or data to each
column individually. Iæll get round to an explanation of how to do that
in a later article but, for now, either leave out the ₧eld names and
graphics or use a ₧xed spaced font.
4.7
Finally, make sure that you change the printer driver back to RISC-OS
before printing. You can use a print scale factor, adjust the margins or
adjust column widths retrospectively if you have gauged the label
positions incorrectly.
4.7
Problems
4.7
Send me a set of disc ₧les, an explanation of what you want to achieve
and a blank sheet of labels. Iæll see what I can do for you.
4.7
A different database format
4.7
From John Jordan comes the idea of using a multi-row record format as a
database. Essentially John has a key ₧eld (e.g. surname) in column A and
the multi-row name and address (ready for a 9 row label) in column B.
Other data can be stored away in columns C, D, etc. When he wants to
print a set of labels he marks column B and prints out the marked block.
I think this is simple and ingenious. Watch this space for further
details.
4.7
The (long awaited) PUI
4.7
In the June 1990 PipeLine column I gave a brief description of the way
that Colton Softwareæs mouse driven PUI add-on would work. I believe
that it is now available but only direct from Colton Software. For those
of you with the June 1990 edition of Archive I suggest that you go back
and have a look and see if it might be of interest to you. If you
havenæt got that edition or if you want to know more about it then drop
a line to Colton Software, Broadway House, 141-151 St Neots Road,
Hardwick, Cambridge, CB3 7QJ (preferably enclosing a self addressed
label and stamp) for full details. Please mention this column in your
letter to Judith or Robert (letters only, no æphone calls please).
4.7
Essentially, the PUI overcomes many of the problems associated with
unwanted text reformatting due to making a mistake when you have
selected an unsuitable set of options. The most annoying combination is
with Wrap, Insert on return and Justify, all selected when using a
multi-column layout. If you decide to delete a single character in one
column then that column reformats from that point downwards and your
carefully tabulated layout is destroyed.
4.7
The Z88
4.7
Thanks to those of you who have told me you have one of the wonderful
little machines. Jill now uses ours so much that I might have to get a
second one for my own use! Using the Z88 PipeDream she types up the
documents she wants printed, we then port them across to the Archimedes
and print them out on the laser printer. Iæve created a (tractor feed
type) ₧le of labels on the Archimedes, ported it across to the Z88,
connected a dot matrix printer to the RS232 port of the Z88 and printed
the labels. This has freed up the Archimedes for other laser printer
jobs. If you have any problems in linking these two machines then please
drop me a line. If you have any advise then drop me a line too.
4.7
In conclusion
4.7
Thanks for all the words of praise I keep getting from you about this
column. Now letæs have a few criticisms as to how it might be improved!
4.7
If you send anything substantial then please let me have it on a disc.
It makes it easier to understand and easier to deal with.  A
4.7

4.7
Oak
4.7
From 4.6 page 11
4.7

4.7
Techsoft
4.7
New
4.7

4.7
Improving your Archimedesæ Audio Quality
4.7
Jeremy Mears & D.P. Allen
4.7
Jeremy starts... With the latest release of the Serial Portæs ÉTrackeræ,
details were published of a small alteration that could be made to an
Archimedes to öphenomenallyò improve the quality of audio output. The
purpose of this article is to elaborate on that, giving exact details of
the operation for both Archimedes and A3000.
4.7
As it currently stands, the Archimedes is fitted with a low-pass audio
filter to compensate for the poor bass capacity of the internal speaker.
Unfortunately, the same filtered signal is fed to the headphone jack
socket at the back of the computer, now lacking most of the higher
frequencies and making all output taken from this socket sound pretty
deflated. It is possible, however, to bypass the filter and tap off the
complete audio spectrum to an amplifier or other device.
4.7
Depending on whether you have an A3000 or other Archimedes, the
operation is different. Inside the A300 / 400 (and presumably others)
there is a 10 way jumper plug located near to the headphone jack socket
at the back of the computer. This consists of two rows of 5 pins, the
top row numbered 1 and the bottom numbered 2. The left pin of row 1 is
the signal from the lefthand channel and the right pin is the right
channel. All the pins in row 2 are earthed. All that has to be done is
to take the output straight from each of the two channel pins and
connect the ground wire to any of the grounded pins. Because of the
jumper plug there is no need to do any soldering to the board Ö instead
leads can just be fixed to the relevant pins which can easily be removed
if necessary.
4.7
On the A3000, there is no jumper plug so you do have to solder directly
to the motherboard which would invalidate your warranty. Should you
choose to go ahead with the operation, you can tap off the left channel
from the keyboard side of resistor 86 and the right channel from the
keyboard side of resistor 99. The connection to ground is probably best
made to pin 1 of the expansion port, on the inside the computer.
4.7
Once these connections are made, you will notice a great improvement on
music and particularly samples at higher rates Ö in fact samples taken
directly from CD into my 8-bit sampler are now very comparable with CD
quality!
4.7
An added bonus is that the annoying buzz that the Archimedes normally
emanates all over the audio signal is completely gone! One drawback of
the modification is that with some games such as Interdictor II (5 KHz!)
and Manchester United, the poor quality sampling shows up as a few of
the samples sound Étinnyæ.
4.7
I made the modification several months ago and, on hearing the improve
ment, all of my friends have followed suit. Certainly, once youæve got
over the mental trauma of maybe invalidating your warranty and particu
larly if, like myself, you are a bit of a Soundtracker buff, this is a
simple modification that I would wholeheartedly recommend.  A
4.7
(By the way, itæs no good saying, öArchive told me to do itò Ö you will
still be invalidating your warranty. You have been warned. Ed.)
4.7
And here are a few extra comments lifted from a hint sent in by D.P.
Allen...
4.7
Improved audio output frequency range Ö The auxiliary audio connector
provides obtain unfiltered audio. This means you get increased top-end
frequency response, which is like comparing FM radio to medium-wave
quality. You can fit your machine with another audio output socket,
quite easily, without altering your machineæs case.
4.7
Lifting the lid on the Archimedes, you will see that the connector is a
group of ten pins, called an IDC PCB-mounted connector, near the
headphone socket at the rear right-hand edge of the PCB.
4.7
Our pins are: 1.unfiltered left-channel, 9.unfiltered right-channel and
2, 4, 6, 8, 10. screen/earth. Pins 1 & 2 are identified on the PCB, so
you will see that one row of pins is odd, one row even.
4.7
The connector is intended for a ribbon cable. There may be audio podules
which use it. (None that I know of. Ed.) This mod is just a couple of
plugs and a short lead, so is easily removed.
4.7
A ten-way IDC socket can be purchased from any electronics hobby shop,
(e.g. Tandy). As only three pins are used for this Éadd-onæ, ribbon
cable is not needed. The three wires will need to be about 6 inches
long. A 3.5mm stereo jack socket is also required. I suggest using the
type of 3.5mm socket that would fit on the end of a length of cable
(referred to as an in-line socket) rather than the type you would mount
on a front panel. Make sure itæs not the type that shorts its contacts
when you remove a plug from it. This wonæt blow up your Archimedes but
if you want to use the filtered audio output, the Éshorting-typeæ socket
will connect the two stereo channels together so that the unfiltered
socket will become mono and, in some cases, rather distorted.
4.7
The three (stranded) wires can be pressed into the IDC socketæs
wiregrips and the clamp-top closed with pliers or in a vice. This type
of connector makes contact by cutting through the wiresæ insulation as
the clamp is closed, so if youære new to wiring, you may find it easier
to use a piece of ribbon cable in which, because each wireæs insulation
is welded to the adjacent one, they are all in line for the connectoræs
pins.
4.7
From inside the case, pass the lead(s) through the same hole used by the
existing headphone socket and solder the three wires to the appropriate
tags on the 3.5mm socket. (after passing them through the jack socketæs
cover!) Plug in the IDC connector and away you go.
4.7
Surprisingly, I found no increase in background noise level. In fact
there was less. I can still plug into the existing socket, if necessary.
4.7
The two leads connecting the headphone socket to your stereo AUX sockets
should be screened. Long unscreened leads can act as an aerial. I found
that with a 3 metre unscreened lead to my stereo amplifier, I picked up
Radio Moscow at dusk!  A
4.7

4.7
The Serial Port
4.7
Archive 4.6 p 27
4.7

4.7
Comment Column
4.7
Å    Mike Beecher writes... about the Clares/EMR clash(?) in your Comment
Column (4.3 p16 & 4.5 p 15) Ö I should like to put your readers comments
into perspective! Mr Leslie Hay who wrote in February 1991, purchased an
EMR Midi 4 from us on the 20th April 1989. At that time, EMR were the
only company producing any Midi products for the Archimedes (as far as
we are aware, the Acorn music editor was yet to have Midi in its later
Maestro version) and it was quite likely therefore that some comment was
made on purchase that our EMR Midi 4 would work with the Midi software.
(However, we could never say that it is guaranteed to work with all Midi
software for obvious reasons.)
4.7
Secondly, at the time of developing the EMR Midi 4, there was no Acorn
specification of SWI calls for Midi available. Since then, we have
purchased, under licence from Acorn, the use of various Midi source code
to enable us to sell a software module on disc. Since this had to be
paid for at no little expense and required additional programming time
at EMR, we feel it quite fair to charge ú6.95 inc VAT for this disc Ö
especially as there has been no price increase in EMR Midi 4 boards.
There is little profit for any company in a price as low as this anyway.
4.7
Finally, we do not have a clash with Clares as you question in your
heading. In fact, Dave Clare, along with myself and several other major
software houses, spend a large part of our time travelling with Acorn
showing our various products each year.
4.7
To help readersæ knowledge and better understanding of Archimedes
computer music, we do offer free technical advice on the telephone most
days of the week and provide training courses for computer music on the
Archimedes at our Southend Computer Music Learning Centre. Information
on courses and a full brochure of over 28 products now produced by EMR
for making music, are available direct from EMR.
4.7
Å    Routines Library Ö In Archive 4.2 p 18, Elliot Hughes introduced the
idea of a column to collate routines, algorithms & programming ideas in
general. I have long thought that it would be incredibly useful to draw
on a large database of routines which are known to produce correct
results under given conditions. I believe the hallmark of good program
ming lies in the basic structure of the program. If you can develop
routines to do particular tasks very efficiently, you have the basis of
an expandable library.
4.7
Routines which would be of interest, range from the frequently used to
the unique solution to a complex problem. Once you have a routine which
performs a particular task then the next time the same problem arises,
as they invariably do, you have a ready made solution. Effort can then
be directed to solving the overall problem rather than öre-inventing the
wheelò.
4.7
Objectives
4.7
Å    Build a library of varied routines
4.7
Å    Provide solutions to problems in a particular language
4.7
Å    Optimise routines for maximum efficiency
4.7
Å    Answer common programming problems
4.7
Å    Provide a forum for discussing programming techniques
4.7
Å    Help prevent programmers from öre-inventing the wheelò
4.7
Types of routines
4.7
Å    sorting
4.7
Å    searching
4.7
Å    data input
4.7
Å    screen handling
4.7
Å    file handling
4.7
Å    lists, queues, stacks, trees etc
4.7
Å    solutions to a problem in a particular language
4.7
Å    that incredibly useful routine youære sure you once saw in an old
magazine, that you are now convinced would solve your current program
ming dilemma
4.7
Å    common everyday routines (e.g. make a string upper case)
4.7
Å    weird & wonderful
4.7
Å    miscellaneous
4.7
Alexander Bisset  A
4.7

4.7
Powerband
4.7
Leonard Melcer
4.7
Not being a great fan of all these mindless öShoot Éem upò games, I tend
to look for the more meaningful ways to pass my spare time. Powerband is
the new game by Gordon J Key from 4th Dimension, although it is more of
a simulator than a game. You are a Formula One racing driver, out for
the hell of it (Fun mode), competing on a track of your choice against
the best of the rest (Game mode) or making your bid to be the next world
champion (World Championship mode).
4.7
Playing the game
4.7
Loading the game is fully desktop compatible, unlike some earlier 4th
Dimension games, and presents an opening screen of the Powerband logo
and copyright information. A picture of a racing car then appears and
the theme tune of BBC2És motor racing program Ö öThe Chainò by Fleetwood
Mac Ö starts up. You then switch discs to the öTracksò disc and are
prompted to enter your name. Finally, the main menu appears and you may
begin to race.
4.7
The main menu allows you to select whichever mode you want. In Fun and
Game mode, you can choose the racing track you want to race on, via the
Airport, which shows you the track from above along with fastest times
recorded. Unlike some other games, new fastest times are recorded and
saved on the disc in your name, so you can prove to everyone that you
broke the lap record. In World Championship mode, ten of the sixteen
available circuits are randomly selected for you. You then compete over
a minimum number of laps, which differs according to the particular
track you are on, to gain points in the race to be the champ. In Game
and World Championship mode, you first have the opportunity to race
against the clock, to improve your position on the grid, by hopefully
recording a new fastest lap and getting pole position.
4.7
Before each race, you can visit the garage to modify the car to suit
your driving abilities, different engine sizes, gearboxes (4-speed
automatic, 5 or 6 or 7-speed manual, or 5 or 6 or 7-speed electronic),
steering ratio (the sensitivity of the mouse for steering), the tyre
compounds (soft, medium or hard), and the angles of the front and rear
aerofoils (controlling under-steer and over-steer).
4.7
You really have full control over the car you want to drive. No excuses
Ö you choose the configuration. Each option directly affects the way in
which the car handles in terms of its top speed, cornering abilities,
acceleration and braking abilities.
4.7
The car is controlled using the mouse, with <adjust> being the accelera
tor, <menu> the brakes and, with manual gearbox selected, <select> the
clutch. The automatic gearbox is the easiest to handle, but with only
four gears, is rather slow. The manual gearbox, with up to 7 gears
available, is the hardest to control, requiring the coordination of
accelerator, clutch and gear selection which, by the way, is selected by
the <up-arrow> and <down-arrow>. The electronic gearbox is the easiest
to control, you just press the <up-arrow> or <down-arrow> to move up or
down a gear Ö no clutch necessary.
4.7
Cornering too fast causes you to notice a number of things. Firstly,
squealing noises from the tyres. Both high-pitched and low-pitched,
indicating under-steer and over-steer respectively. This can be changed
by altering the angles of the aerofoil, although this does have the
disadvantage of slowing you down a little. Secondly, associated with
squealing, the tyres can wear too quickly and you may not be able to
finish the race. This can be remedied by using hard compound tyres,
which wear well but do not have the same grip as soft or even medium
compound tyres. Thirdly, and most obviously, you are driving too fast.
The cure? Ö slow down!
4.7
You can drive too fast and it will not actually help. This is not one of
those games where going flat out will help. You cannot drive with your
foot (or in this case, finger) pressed firmly down the whole time. A
little judgement and skill is required to be able to corner successfully
(incident free!) by finding the right line to take. I have had a little
Formula Ford racing experience and can say that this game really does
make me feel like I am back on the track. Of course, the consequences of
a 260 mph head on crash is where any similarity ends.
4.7
Unlike real racing driving, if you hit a wall or barrier, all is not
lost! You do get a number of ölivesò. A really severe crash, like going
into the side of a grandstand, would result in immediate öretirementò
but grazing the side of another car or skidding along a barrier, simply
reduces your resistance to further crashes. As with other similar
computer games, every time you get hit, you suffer a power drain.
4.7
One thing that bugs me is the competition. I do not mean, öWouldnæt it
be great not to have anyò. Itæs just that they do tend to play rather
dirty, by which I mean that they are very unpredictable. However careful
I am overtaking other cars, I always find myself hitting them, or
rather, they hit me, by slowing down and moving directly in front of me!
4.7
Conclusions
4.7
Problems with overtaking other cars does not mar my enjoyment of the
game, as it simply increases my awareness at the time I come up behind
another car. The laps are in real time, ranging between one minute and
two to complete. Imagine racing a seventy lap race! That is why, I
presume, you are only required to race a minimum of between six and
fourteen laps to qualify for championship points. Itæs enough, believe
me! An average championship would probably take a good two hours,
probably more. You can save a competition after any race and come back
to it.
4.7
Just to give you an indication of my driving abilities, I have broken
the lap records of all but two of the circuits, but have only finished
about five times out of X races (where X is a large number that I lost
count of a long time ago!), although I have finished first on three of
those five completed races. On winning a race, you are treated to a
picture of someone wearing a floral bouquet, spraying champagne
everywhere and the sound of a cheering crowd.
4.7
In my opinion, this is the best racing car driving game around. I think
it should be a compulsory upgrade from E-Type. Anyone who hasnæt yet
upgraded to version 2, should do so, because many of the small quirks of
version 1 have been remedied. At around ú19 + VAT from most regular
suppliers or ú23 from Archive, it provides endless hours of enjoyment
and thrills.  A
4.7

4.7
Pineapple Digitiser
4.7
Ned Abell
4.7
A digitiser is a very useful computing tool but it can also be expensive
and Pineapple have done a good job in producing a product thatæs of good
quality and yet reasonably affordable. The board comes as a full-width
podule for the 300 and 400 series and there is an optional add-on box
for the 3000 user to house the card.
4.7
Drop it!
4.7
Packed to survive being thrown from the roof of a multi-story block of
flats, the carton contains a hard ring binder manual with two discs and
a board which has a BNC video and 9 pin D socket on the back, together
with three rotary knobs to control the brightness, colour and contrast
of the input image. Internally, switches are used to provide video
termination if required. The software provides several programs to
capture an image that is fed into the podule, to treat it in a variety
of ways and to store it on disc, as well as examples of grabbed images.
4.7
Storing pictures
4.7
One of the reasons that digitisers arenæt cheap is that the boards
contain quite large RAM stores which to hold the video image. Pressing a
key grabs the video into this frame store and then it can then be
changed by the machineæs software. Herein lies the difference between
the two versions of the Pineapple digitiser Ö the standard version
digitises an image up to 512 pixels wide by 256 pixels high and with a
ödepthò of 12 bits whilst the extended version grabs to a ödepthò of 16
bits.
4.7
This depth is a function of how well the computer turns the actual
colour at a pixel point into a value of red, green or blue, using 4 bits
for each colour at 12 bits resolution and, at 16 bits, 5 for red and
green and 6 bits for blue. In practical terms, you arenæt going to
notice too much difference between depths but a higher resolution is
going to be noticeable when you start to manipulate those images. You
then need as much information as possible about each pixel point as you
can get, to improve the image processing. The ö565ò option is the one to
go for and the extended digitiser was used in this review.
4.7
Software commands
4.7
The software suite that comes with the podule provides a variety of
commands for programmers to ömeldò into their own routines through SWI
and  *calls.
4.7
*Average Ö produces a higher quality image on stationary pictures
4.7
*Bits Ö sets the depth for the displayed image
4.7
*Digitise Ö transfers the stored picture to a shadow screen
4.7
*Flip Ö flips the image horizontally or vertically or both
4.7
*Focus Ö de-focuses the screen
4.7
*Freeze Ö allows Égrabsæ of a single incoming frame
4.7
*Image Ö replaces, ANDæs or ORæs the new image with an existing one
4.7
*Loadsprite Ö loads a sprite to the screen
4.7
*Loadvideo Ö loads a picture saved as a video file
4.7
*Moving Ö provides a ömonitorò window showing the incoming video
4.7
*Negative Ö inverts any of the primary colours
4.7
*Noise Ö uses averaging techniques to remove noise lines
4.7
*Outline Ö a picture made from the video outlines
4.7
*Primary Ö can switch off incoming R, G or B or combinations thereof
4.7
*Savevideo Ö stores the image with specific sizes and bits
4.7
For those of us who want to get on with it, there are some programs
already written to provide the basics and to try out the new board but,
as you can see, the range of the commands is very impressive.
4.7
Demo discs
4.7
On the Pineapple demo discs, if you run the demonstration program called
!mainkeys, the screen gives an image in the centre which is updated by
the incoming video. There is a time lag between each update but this
provides a very basic check of what is connected to the digitiser
without the expense of another television ömonitorò. The controls on the
podule can then be adjusted.
4.7
The best way of doing this is detailed in the manual Ö adjust the
brightness until dark picture areas appear black and then to turn the
contrast fully up and then reduce it until white areas stop öburningò
and then adjust the colour to get good flesh tones. This set up is very
important to get good pictures and some time spent at this stage is very
worthwhile. Colour bars or a greyscale help.
4.7
Various key presses then access the software commands, for example <D>
digitises the incoming video and <shift-S> saves the contents of the RAM
as a sprite. There are other applications called !micci and !digitiser
on the disc. !micci is a non-WIMP application that allows fairly
comprehensive öpoint and dragò control of the digitiser and has details
of an upgrade path to a more comprehensive windowing version of the
software. My favourite, ö!digitiserò, works in the desktop to provide
multi tasking menu control with function key grabs and saves. There is
also control of image position and size and this is useful to video
makers like myself who want to create sprites of objects in front of a
camera to position on backgrounds of live video.
4.7
Video input
4.7
The BNC or 9 pin input means that you have to present video or RGB
levels to the digitiser. Thus, a video output socket from a camera or
tape machine is required. This often takes the form of a phono or RCA
type socket, so an adaptor lead to BNC could be needed.
4.7
If you use a video recorder, its tuner can bring broadcast signals into
the digitiser.
4.7
I tried both a professional VHS video recorder and a camera into the BNC
socket to check on both recorded images and live signals. Some of these
captions are on the monthly disc in sparked format. I grabbed the cover
of the November Archive so that you can compare the original with the
sprites created through the system in different ways. Iæve also grabbed
a couple of pictures to show how good the system can be in mode 24.
4.7
Verdict?
4.7
Whatæs the verdict?   Well, it just depends...  The results that you
will want will be different from those I have been looking for and so
judgements are likely to be rather subjective. I wanted to grab images
like logos in the highest possible quality, at the lowest cost, in
colour, for editing by paint packages and re-importing back into the
computer to be used in öPresenter Storyò as sprites in video production
captions. The Pineapple Digitiser does this and I feel that the quality
I get is very good for the price I paid.  Iæm impressed with a ö565ò
grab of printed material in mode 24 and I have printed digitised images
out through Impression and again the results are good but limited by my
dot matrix printer. As I have a good camera, the cost of a digitiser is
justified. This product does what I want it to do and it does it very
well.
4.7
The prices are ú285 +VAT for the standard version and ú315 +VAT for the
extended version.  A
4.7

4.7
Return To Doom
4.7
Richard Forster
4.7
It always interests me how much help is given in the packing with
adventure games. The two extremes, no help and comprehensive help, are
about equally balanced in popularity of use but, unfortunately, a
compromise between the two is rarely found. What I personally would like
to see is a set of coded hints which, upon deciphering, would reveal
cryptic advice. Failing this, I much prefer no hints at all because,
temptation being what it is, many a good puzzle can be ruined by öa
quick peepò.
4.7
öReturn to Doomò comes with two other adventure games, öCountdown to
Doomò and öPhilosophers Questò, and the first things I noticed upon
opening the plastic case were three sets of hints. With just under 200
hints for the three games, you are unlikely to find yourself having to
write to Topologika for help. To use the clues, you simply load in the
correct game, type HELP and enter the number indicated in the hint list.
Most of the clues are progressive, you get gentle nudging and are asked
if you want more, which the program will obligingly give, telling you
before it gives away the final solution.
4.7
I am sure this sort of help is actually welcomed by many people, and I
definitely do not criticise Topologika for including them with the
package. I would advise, however, hiding the help sheets (or better
still getting somebody else to hide them) before you start play.
4.7
As well as the hint sheets, there are several other bits of paper in the
box. The games have only recently been brought out for the Archimedes
and owners of other machines had to get the three adventures separately.
Background for the latter two games are therefore supplied on separate
pieces of card and there is also a separate Technical sheet on getting
the games running.
4.7
Actual playing instructions are given once, as are the standard notes
with adventure games. This was, surprisingly, the cause of my only
problem. In öPhilosopheræs Questò, the only way to extinguish the lamp
is the single word OFF. This was probably on the instruction sheet for
the game when it was supplied on its own, but was not on the one for
öReturn to Doomò and I spent several minutes trying things like öTURN
OFF LAMPò and even öOFF LAMPò before hitting on the correct phrase.
4.7
This was a shame, because the games have been written in such a way that
you are not normally spending eons trying to get the wording right. The
parser on all three is basically of the old verb-noun format, but
performed perfectly with the one exception already mentioned. One verb
curiously absent from the adventures was EXAMINE. The reason for this,
as explained by the insert card, is that the puzzles are not designed to
be solved by öhappening to discover things about the objectsò, but by
object manipulation. You get all the necessary information about an
objectæs appearance from its description when encountered, so it is not
so much absent as automatically given.
4.7
All three adventures are on the same disc, which is protected, and upon
loading, you are given a menu for selecting the three games. One curious
feature was that they had to continually load data from the disk. This
was surprising because the games have no graphics and, looking at the
size of the files, even allowing for text compression, I could see no
reason why it could not all be loaded at once. The game will run on all
the Archimedes range, even a 305 without RISC-OS, so perhaps this is
why.
4.7
The planet Doomawangara is the setting for two of the three adventures
and these two adventures make up the first two parts of a trilogy. Doom,
as it is affectionately known, is a strange place where you will find
all kinds of climates, from glacier to desert, within a stoneæs throw of
each other. The reason for this is not made clear until the next
adventure and, for now, I can only imagine they exist so as to give home
for the strange creatures and artifacts that litter the planet.
4.7
In öCountdown to Doomò, you find yourself for the first time on the
planet, having been shot down by Doomæs automatic defence system. You
have 400 moves to repair your ship and take off, before the corrosive
atmosphere leaves you stranded for life in the planetæs wilderness,
although there are plenty of ways to go before all your hopes literally
crumble away. The suicidal blob can still come as quite a shock, even to
an adventurer who has braved the decapods and crossed the swamp.
4.7
As far as difficulty goes, this is probably about the easiest of the
three games Ö it provides an accessible start and, while being full of
original and logical puzzles, it only has a couple of really devious
ones. The adventure, like the other two, contains several mazes, which
are obviously a favourite of Peter Killworth, the gameæs author.
Fortunately (or is it unfortunately?) they all require different methods
for solving and present intriguing, if difficult, obstacles.
4.7
öReturn to Doomò, the main adventure in the pack, puts you back on the
infamous planet after you respond to a distress call sent by a kidnapped
ambassador. If the first game was lonely, trekking about the planet in
search of equipment and treasure, the second game certainly is not.
4.7
A little way into the game, you should find a robotic dog, Bonzo, the
not-quite wonderdog in my case and, after that, things get a lot more
hectic. At least this time you do not have to worry about the atmos
phereæs effect on your ship, although the weather may still be the cause
of a scratched head or two.
4.7
The game is big, especially when you consider that almost every location
is part of a puzzle and nearly half the hints are for this part alone.
Several of the puzzles are solvable in different ways, although there is
only one way of finally completing the game. By allowing this multiple
choice, you should be able to explore the majority of the landscape even
if the best solutions for some puzzles elude you. Reading the text
carefully should help, as there are a lot of subtle clues hidden there.
4.7
öPhilosopheræs Questò is set in a network of caves and is basically in
the öfind the treasureò genre. What the game misses in terms of the plot
it more than adequately makes up for with the puzzles and it contains,
under one roof, some of the best ones ever devised for an adventure
game. It is also the hardest of the three games and it may take some
time to be able to start your quest in earnest.
4.7
Exploration is the key Ö searching around the caves, you should come up
with all manner of mysterious items and places; from a solicitoræs
office to a strong piece of gorgonzola, which could easily be the death
of you. Journeying south a bit reveals a long beach, near where you
should discover an old lady who has lost her dog, and a sunken wreck
with a depressed squid. If you explore a more easterly direction, you
can find the garden of Eden, the tower of Babel and you may be forced to
prove your very existence.
4.7
There is even an ancient mariner with a story to tell and, like the
wedding guest in Coleridgeæs poem, you will find yourself engrossed
until you are left in the dark.
4.7
Two of the games öPhilosopheræs Questò and öCountdown to Doomò were
originally brought out by Acornsoft in the early 80æs. The versions here
are expanded and are about 50% bigger than the originals. Some of the
puzzles are more complex and involved, and there are many new ones
scattered about the new locations. Even if you have played them on the
old BBC versions, they are still excellent adventures and the new
puzzles in them should keep you going for quite a while.
4.7
Overall, the compilation is excellent value for money, with not just one
but three excellent adventure games. They are, in my opinion, the best
adventure games available at the moment for the Archimedes. The fact
they are on a compilation disk might seem to indicate that individually
they are not strong enough. This is definitely not the case and the disk
is worth purchasing for öReturn to Doomò alone. The quality, and even
quantity, of the puzzles is superb, and I would recommend the adventures
to anybody. The only thing they lack is graphics, which some people may
miss, although this should not be cause to reject this trio of adven
tures.   A
4.7

4.7
Escape from Exeria
4.7
Richard Forster
4.7
When I first received a copy of öEscape from Exeriaò, it consisted
solely of a crude arcade game. Since then the game has improved slightly
and the disc also contains a follow-up game, öReturn to Exeriaò, and two
mini adventures, öThe Sacred Pyramidò and öThe Purple Crystal of the
Heavensò. The arcade games run directly from the desktop and contain
adequate instructions on the disc. The adventures run from the BBC
emulator and the least said about them the better. They both gave the
appearance of being unfinished, consisted of a couple of puzzles between
them and the most atmospheric part of the games was their titles.
4.7
öEscape from Exeriaò is simply a ÉPacmanæ like maze game. You move
öIlthò, the hero of the two arcade games, through the various levels of
Exeriaæs cavern system, trying to collect coloured crystals while
avoiding the guardians. After collecting all of the crystals of a
certain colour, access to previously inaccessible areas becomes possible
and, after gaining all four sets of crystals on a level, you can head
for the exit. As might be expected, contact with the afore-mentioned
guardians is deadly but, fortunately for the player, they follow set
paths.
4.7
The graphics in the game are simple and there is a small amount of sound
used when you collect items or pass onto the next level. The game can be
played a couple of times but after this, tedium sets in. There are 40
screens to try out (and you can skip by pressing I, L, T and H
simultaneously), but after seeing level 18, I had had enough.
4.7
öReturn to Exeriaò is slightly better because a problem solving element
has been added. Ilth is now able to move boulders along in an attempt to
plug holes and gain access to the crystals and there are various special
squares which force movement in various directions or act as teleports.
The guardians are back too, though not until several levels into the
game and you are now also up against the clock.
4.7
The game is far more playable than the first and, by the time the
guardians were appearing, the game was becoming quite challenging. The
graphics and sound are again simple but it mattered far less because the
game itself had more to offer. As a bonus, you also get a screen
designer with it which was easy to use.
4.7
Overall, neither of the games (Iæm trying to forget about the adven
tures) are up to the quality of most Archimedes software. The cost of
the package, however, is similar to most shareware and public domain
software and, as such, is quite reasonably priced.
4.7
Escape from Exeria is available from Soft Rock Software for ú3.45.  A
4.7

4.7
Two ARM Assembler Utilities
4.7
Martin Avison
4.7
When writing and testing any program it is very useful to be able to
follow the execution path through the program. This facility is provided
in BASIC by the TRACE facility, which will display the statement number
being executed. It is also easy in BASIC to insert extra PRINT state
ments so that the flow can be seen and variables displayed.
4.7
These problems exist also when you are writing assembler programs, with
the added difficulty that assembler programs can easily loop or
overwrite unintended bits of storage, often locking up the computer
completely with no clues where it is. In assembler, there is no TRACE
facility and although SWI calls can be inserted to display characters or
strings, the insertion can cause the program to change its behaviour due
to register corruption. Breakpoints can be inserted using *BreakSet but
these are limited and slow the program down.
4.7
BASIC function for assembler debugging
4.7
My solution to this was to write a BASIC function which generates
assembler code to enable trace entries to be easily inserted at any
point in an assembler program. All that is needed is to insert
4.7
FNdebug(öThis is a messageò) :
4.7
This will generate code to print the message from the parameter to
identify the location and then provide a full register list, plus the
flag values and then return to the program under test with all registers
and flags unchanged. The debug functions can be left in the source and
turned on and off for any assembly simply by setting debug to TRUE or
FALSE. The code will run in User mode and also in Supervisor mode.
4.7
There is obviously some storage overhead when running with debug, which
is about 300 bytes for code, which is included only once, and 13 bytes
plus the length of the message for each FNdebug included in the program.
It also slows the code down but you normally need to slow it down much
further with <ctrl-shift> to read the debug information!
4.7
The debug function is fully documented and it needs only 2 variables set
before it can be used: opt should be set to the assembler OPT value and
debug should be set to TRUE to generate debug code or FALSE to omit it.
Note that there must also be, included in the program,
4.7
FNdebug(öDebug_Initò) :
4.7
This will generate the common code if debug is TRUE. It should be placed
after the end of the executable code. After assembly, you can use CALL
showregs to obtain a register list at any time from BASIC.
4.7
The sample program DemoDebug includes the function as a LIBRARY, then
assembles a short routine either with or without the debug facility,
then CALLs the routine. Run the program first to see what the assembler
program does (donæt get too exited!) then change line 40 to debug = TRUE
and RUN the program again to see the debug function in action.
4.7
 10 REM > DemoDebug
4.7
 20 PRINT öDemoDebug : Demonstration
4.7
 of FNdebug    Version 4
4.7
   Martin Avisonò
4.7
 30
4.7
 40 debug   = FALSE    :REM <<<<
4.7
 change to TRUE to enable
4.7
 debug function
4.7
 50 asmprint= FALSE
4.7
 60 A%      = 6
4.7
 70 PROCassem
4.7
 80 CALL code%
4.7
 90 END
4.7
100
4.7
110 DEF PROCassem
4.7
120 LIBRARY öAsmDebugò
4.7
130 codelen% = 1000
4.7
140 DIM code% codelen%
4.7
150
4.7
160 FOR opt= %1000 TO %1010 + ABS (asmprint) STEP 2 + ABS(asmprint)
4.7
170
4.7
180 P% = code%
4.7
190 L% = P% + codelen%
4.7
200
4.7
210 [OPT opt
4.7
220    FNdebug(öStart of codeò)
4.7
230 STMFD R13!,{r0-r9 ,R14}
4.7
\ save registers
4.7
240    FNdebug(öafter register storeò)
4.7
250 MOV   R3,R0     \ store A% in r3
4.7
260 SWI   öOS_WriteSò   \ display message
4.7
270 EQUS  öDemoò:EQUB  0:ALIGN
4.7
280 SWI   öOS_NewLineò
4.7
290    FNdebug(öbefore loopò)
4.7
300 .loop
4.7
310 MOV   R0,R3  \ put counter in R0
4.7
320 ADR   R1,buffer \ address buffer
4.7
330 MOV   R2,#9  \ set buffer length
4.7
340    FNdebug(öbefore conversionò)
4.7
350 SWI   öOS_ConvertInteger1ò \ convert r0 and ..
4.7
360    FNdebug(öafter conversionò)
4.7
370 SWI   öOS_Write0ò  \ output counter
4.7
380 SWI   öOS_NewLineò
4.7
390 SUBS  R3,R3,#1   \ decrement counter
4.7
400    FNdebug(öend of loop?ò)
4.7
410 BNE   loop  \ go output next one
4.7
420
4.7
430 LDMFD R13!,{r0-r9 ,R14}
4.7
 \ restore registers
4.7
440    FNdebug(öAbout to return from codeò)
4.7
450 MOV   PC,R14   \ return to BASIC
4.7
460
4.7
470 .buffer EQUD 0:EQUD 0:EQUD 0    \ store for conversions
4.7
480 FNdebug(öDebug_Initò)           \ initialise debug
4.7
490 ]
4.7
500 NEXT
4.7
510 ENDPROC
4.7

4.7
 10 REM > AsmDebug                  Version 11   by Martin Avison
4.7
 20
4.7
 30 DEF FNdebug(message$)
4.7
 40 IF debug = FALSE THEN .=0
4.7
 50 IF message$=öDebug_Initò THEN
4.7
 60 REM create common code to display registers
4.7
 70 [OPT opt:ALIGN    \ assemble common routine
4.7
 80 .showregs         \ routine for CALL if required
4.7
 90 STMFD  R13!,{r0-r15 }  \ save all registers
4.7
100 SWI   öOS_WriteSò \ display message
4.7
110 EQUS  öRegister Listò:EQUB 0: ALIGN
4.7
120 BL    displayregs \ display registers
4.7
130 MOV   PC,R14      \ return
4.7
140 \ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ
4.7
150 .displayregs \ display registers subroutine
4.7
160 MOV   R9,R14 \ store return address
4.7
170 LDR   R0,[R13,#13*4]  \ get stored stack ptr R13 ..
4.7
180 ADD   R0,R0,#16*4 \ and subtract 16*4 to ..
4.7
190 STR   R0,[R13,#13*4]  \ put it back to original
4.7
200 SWI   öOS_NewLineò
4.7
210 MOV   R3,#0    \ r3 is register counter
4.7
220 .nextregister
4.7
230 CMP   R3,#10 \ if register < 10
4.7
240 SWILT 256+ASCö ò    \ output blank first
4.7
250 ADR   R1,buffer \ address buffer
4.7
260 MOV   R2,#9     \ set buffer length
4.7
270 MOV   R0,R3     \ put register no in R0
4.7
280 SWI   öOS_ConvertInteger1ò      \ convert and ..
4.7
290 SWI   öOS_Write0ò \ output register no.
4.7
300 SWI   256+ASCö=ò
4.7
310 ADR   R1,buffer \ address buffer
4.7
320 MOV   R2,#9  \ set buffer length
4.7
330 LDR   R0,[R13,R3,LSL#2]  \ get register value ..
4.7
340 SWI   öOS_ConvertHex8ò \ convert it ..
4.7
350 SWI   öOS_Write0ò  \ and output
4.7
360 CMP   R3,#5  \ if after reg 5 370 CMPNE R3,#11    \  or reg 11 ..
4.7
380 SWIEQ öOS_NewLineò\force newline
4.7
390 SWINE 256+ASCö ò \ else blank
4.7
400 ADD   R3,R3,#1   \ increment register number
4.7
410 CMP   R3,#16   \ if not yet end
4.7
420 BNE   nextregister \ go output next one
4.7
430
4.7
440 SWI   öOS_WriteSò   \ display PC
4.7
450 EQUS  öpc=ò:EQUB  0:ALIGN
4.7
460 LDR   R5,[R13,#15*4] \ get R15 into R5 and ..
4.7
470 BIC   R0,R5,#%11111100000000000 000000000000011 \ lose flags
4.7
480 SUB   R0,R0,#12 \ adjust pc back to start of debug
4.7
490 ADR   R1,buffer \ address buffer
4.7
500 MOV   R2,#9  \ set buffer length
4.7
510 SWI   öOS_ConvertHex8ò \ convert to hex
4.7
520 SWI   öOS_Write0ò  \ output pc
4.7
530
4.7
540 SWI   öOS_WriteSò  \ display status flags
4.7
550 EQUS  ö fl=ò:EQUB  0:ALIGN
4.7
560 TST   R5,#1<<31: SWIEQ 256+ ASCönò:SWINE 256+ASCöNò
4.7
570 TST   R5,#1<<30: SWIEQ 256+ ASCözò:SWINE 256+ASCöZò
4.7
580 TST   R5,#1<<29: SWIEQ 256+ ASCöcò:SWINE 256+ASCöCò
4.7
590 TST   R5,#1<<28: SWIEQ 256+ ASCövò:SWINE 256+ASCöVò
4.7
600 TST   R5,#1<<27: SWIEQ 256+ ASCöiò:SWINE 256+ASCöIò
4.7
610 TST   R5,#1<<26: SWIEQ 256+ ASCöfò:SWINE 256+ASCöFò
4.7
620 SWI   256+ASCö ò
4.7
630
4.7
640 AND   R0,R5,#%11  \ display Mode
4.7
650 CMP   R0,#%00 : SWIEQ 256+ASCöUò
4.7
660 CMP   R0,#%01 : SWIEQ 256+ASCöFò
4.7
670 CMP   R0,#%10 : SWIEQ 256+ASCöIò
4.7
680 CMP   R0,#%11 : SWIEQ 256+ASCöSò
4.7
690 SWI   öOS_NewLineò
4.7
700
4.7
710 \ now prepare to return without changing anything!
4.7
R5 = orig pc + flags
4.7
720 AND   R8,R5,#%11111100000000000 000000000000011  \ lose
4.7
 pc & keep flags
4.7
730 BIC   R9,R9,#%111111000000000000 00000000000011  \ lose
4.7
 flags from return
4.7
740 ORR   R9,R8,R9   \ get orig flags + return addr
4.7
750 STR   R9 ,[R13,#15*4]  \ & store in r15 for return
4.7
760
4.7
770 LDMFD R13!,{r0-r15 }^  \ restore all registers & return
4.7
780
4.7
790 .buffer EQUD 0:EQUD 0:EQUD 0    \ store for conversions
4.7
800 ]
4.7
810 ELSE
4.7
820 REM create inline code to call debug code
4.7
830 IF opt AND 1 PRINTöDebug message : ò;message$;ö <<<<<<<<<<<<<<ò
4.7
840 [OPT opt:ALIGN
4.7
850 STMFD  R13!,{r0-r15 } \ save all registers
4.7
860 ]
4.7
870 IF message$ <> öò THEN
4.7
880   [OPT opt
4.7
890   SWI   öOS_WriteSò  \ write message
4.7
900   EQUS  message$:EQUB  0:ALIGN
4.7
910   ]
4.7
920 ENDIF
4.7
930 [OPT opt
4.7
940 BL    displayregs   \ display registers then return here
4.7
950 ]
4.7
960 ENDIF
4.7
970 =0
4.7

4.7
BASIC function for assembler register using/drop
4.7
When writing assembler code, it is much better to use variable names
instead of register numbers. This is a great aid to documentation and
gives some chance of understanding the code when the inevitable time
comes to change it.
4.7
However, whether variable names or register numbers are used, it is
often very difficult to keep track of which registers are being used for
what. It seems to be a fundamental law of computing that, however many
registers you have, you always seem to need at least one more. This
inevitiably leads to using a register for several things, which in turn
leads to using a register for two things at the same time. This confuses
the computer and, more so, the programmer until the error is found! This
is a very common cause of strange errors in assembler code which can be
very difficult to find.
4.7
What is needed is for the assembler to keep track of register usage but,
unfortunately, it does not. However, due to the brilliant integration
with BASIC, it is fairly easy to add this facility.
4.7
Three functions have been written, for inclusion within assembler
source:
4.7
FNureg, has to be inserted into the source code before it is required to
use a particular register. The register number, the variable name
required and a description of its use are passed as parameters. If the
register is already in use, a warning message is given. The variable,
which can be either an Integer or a Real variable, can then subsequently
be used in the source code instead of the register number.
4.7
FNdreg, which is used to drop a register when its use for an item is
complete. The register number and its variable name are passed as
parameters and checked to ensure they are what is being used. If the
variable name is subsequently used, the assembler will error, as it will
be set to -1.
4.7
FNlreg, can be used at any time to display a list of registers in use,
with their variable names and descriptions.
4.7
Two PROCedures have been defined also:
4.7
PROCireg, which is for initialisation. It is for inclusion in the BASIC
source, but within the FOR..NEXT loop for the assembly after opt has
been set to the OPT value. This procedure on the first pass of the
assembler creates two arrays used to store the variable names and
description, and uses PROCasmfindvar to assemble a small machine code
routine. It then initialises the arrays with any common register uses of
your choice.
4.7
PROCasmfindvar assembles code to find the address and type of any BASIC
variable, which may be of use for other purposes. If the variable cannot
be found, one is created, unless it cannot be a variable name, when an
error is raised.
4.7
The sample program DemoUsing includes these facilities as a LIBRARY and
produces some warning messages when run.
4.7
 10 REM > DemoUsing
4.7
 20 PRINT öDemoUsing : Demonstration of Register Functions
4.7
   Version 4  Martin Avisonò
4.7
 30
4.7
 40 @% = &90A
4.7
 50 asmprint= FALSE
4.7
 60 A%      = 6
4.7
 70 PROCassem
4.7
 80 CALL code%
4.7
 90 END
4.7
100
4.7
110 DEF PROCassem
4.7
120 LIBRARY öAsmUsingò
4.7
130 codelen% = 1000
4.7
140 DIM code% codelen%
4.7
150
4.7
160 FOR opt= %1000 TO %1010+ ABS(asmprint) STEP 2+ABS(asmprint)
4.7
170
4.7
180 P% = code%
4.7
190 L% = P% + codelen%
4.7
200
4.7
210 PROCireg(opt)
4.7
220 [OPT opt
4.7
230   FNureg( 3,öcounterò,öholds value of countò)
4.7
240   FNureg( 0,öa%ò      ,öA% from CALLò)
4.7
250   FNureg( 6,öinteger%ò,ösome integerò)
4.7
260 \ FNureg( 4,ö%Qò      ,öinvalid variable errorò)
4.7
261 \ FNureg( 4,öa$ò      ,östring errorò)
4.7
270 STMFD (stack)!,{r0-r9 ,link}     \ save registers
4.7
280 MOV   counter,a% \ store A% in r3
4.7
290 SWI   öOS_WriteS   \ display message
4.7
300 EQUS  öDemoò:EQUB  0:ALIGN
4.7
310 SWI   öOS_NewLineò
4.7
320   FNdreg( 0,öa%ò)
4.7
330   FNureg( 0,önumò    ,önumberò)
4.7
340   FNureg( 1,öbufò    ,öbuffer addressò)
4.7
350   FNureg( 2,ölenò    ,öbuffer lengthò)
4.7
360 .loop
4.7
370 MOV   num,counter  \ put counter in R0
4.7
380 ADR   buf,buffer \address buffer
4.7
390 MOV   len,#9 \ set buffer length
4.7
400 SWI   öOS_ConvertInteger1ò       \ convert r0 and ..
4.7
410 SWI   öOS_Write0ò \ output counter
4.7
420 SWI   öOS_NewLineò
4.7
430 SUBS  counter,counter,#1
4.7
\ decrement counter
4.7
440 BNE   loop  \ go output next one
4.7
450   FNdreg( 3,önoneò )
4.7
460   FNdreg( 5,önoneò )
4.7
470   FNureg( 3,ölevelò,ösome other valueò)
4.7
480   FNureg(14,ötempò ,ötemp use of linkò)
4.7
490   FNlreg
4.7
500
4.7
510 LDMFD (stack)!,{r0-r9 ,link}     \ restore registers
4.7
520 MOV   PC,link  \ return to BASIC
4.7
530
4.7
540 .buffer EQUD 0:EQUD 0:EQUD 0    \ store for conversions
4.7
550 ]
4.7
560 NEXT
4.7
570 ENDPROC
4.7

4.7
 10 REM > AsmUsing    Version 12 by Martin Avison
4.7
 20
4.7
 30 DEF PROCireg(opt):REM Initialise registers etc
4.7
 40 IF opt AND 2 THEN
4.7
 50   regn$() = öò    :REM clear for second pass
4.7
 60   regd$() = öò
4.7
 70 ELSE
4.7
 80   PROCasmfindvar :REM first pass so initialise
4.7
 90   DIM regn$(15),regd$(15) :REM arrays for name and
4.7
description
4.7
100   DIM rnam% 30  :REM buffer for name
4.7
110 ENDIF
4.7
120 REM set up standard registers as required :
4.7
130 Z%=FNureg(13,östackò,öStack Pointerò)
4.7
140 Z%=FNureg(14,ölinkò ,öLink Registerò)
4.7
150 Z%=FNureg(15,öpcò   ,öProgram Counterò)
4.7
160 ENDPROC
4.7
170
4.7
180 DEF FNureg(regn%,regn$,regd$)      :REM Use Register
4.7
190 IF regn$(regn%) = öò THEN
4.7
200   regn$(regn%) = regn$
4.7
210   regd$(regn%) = regd$
4.7
220 ELSE
4.7
230   PROCereg(öUsingò,regn%,regn$, regd$)
4.7
240 ENDIF
4.7
250 PROCsreg(regn%,regn$,regd$)
4.7
260 =0
4.7
270
4.7
280 DEF FNdreg(regn%,regn$) :REM Drop Register Usage
4.7
290 IF regn$(regn%) = regn$ THEN
4.7
300   regn$(regn%) = öò
4.7
310   regd$(regn%) = öò
4.7
320 ELSE
4.7
330   PROCereg(öDrop ò,regn%,regn$, öò)
4.7
340 ENDIF
4.7
350 PROCsreg(-1,regn$,öò)
4.7
360 =0
4.7
370
4.7
380 DEF PROCsreg(regn%,regn$,regd$)    :REM Store Register Usage
4.7
390 LOCAL addr%,type%
4.7
400 $rnam% = regn$
4.7
410 CALL findvar,rnam%,addr%,type%
4.7
420 type% = type% AND &FF
4.7
430 CASE type% OF
4.7
440   WHEN 4 : !addr% = regn%
4.7
450   WHEN 5 : |addr% = regn%
4.7
460   OTHERWISE ERROR 999,regn$+
4.7
ö invalid type ò+STR$(type%)
4.7
470 ENDCASE
4.7
480 ENDPROC
4.7
490
4.7
500 DEF PROCereg(type$,regn%,regn$, regd$) :REM List Error on
4.7
 1st pass or list
4.7
510 IF (opt AND 2)=0 OR (opt AND 1) THEN
4.7
520   PRINTætype$ö Error for Rò; regn% TAB(20) ö: ò regn$ TAB(40)
4.7
ö: ò regd$ ÉöCurrently ò;
4.7
530   IF regn$(regn%) = öò PRINT öUnusedò ELSE PRINT öused byò TAB(20)ö:
ò regn$(regn%)
4.7
 TAB(40) ö: òregd$(regn%)
4.7
540 ENDIF
4.7
550 ENDPROC
4.7
560
4.7
570 DEF FNlreg   :REM List Register Usage on 2nd pass
4.7
580 LOCAL I%
4.7
590 IF opt AND 2 THEN
4.7
600   PRINTÉöCurrent register usage :ò
4.7
610   FOR I%=0 TO 15
4.7
620   IF regn$(I%) <> öò PRINT TAB(10)öRò;I% TAB(20)ö: ò regn$
4.7
(I%) TAB(40)ö: ò regd$(I%)
4.7
630   NEXT
4.7
640 ENDIF
4.7
650 =0
4.7
660
4.7
670 DEF PROCasmfindvar :REM assemble lvblnk routine
4.7
680 LOCAL code%, codesize%, P%, L%, opt, addr, ptr1, create,
4.7
 lvblnk, type, parms,
4.7
 ptr2, stack, link
4.7
690 codesize%= 180
4.7
700 DIM code% codesize%
4.7
710 addr   =  0
4.7
720 ptr1   =  6
4.7
730 create =  5
4.7
740 lvblnk =  7
4.7
750 type   =  9
4.7
760 parms  =  9
4.7
770 ptr2   = 11
4.7
780 stack  = 13
4.7
790 link   = 14
4.7
800
4.7
810 FOR opt=8 TO 10 STEP 2
4.7
820 P%=code%
4.7
830 L%=code%+codesize%
4.7
840 [OPT opt
4.7
850 .findvar
4.7
860 STMFD   (stack)!,{parms ,link}
4.7
 \ store registers
4.7
870
4.7
880 \ first try to find variable ..
4.7
 890 LDR    ptr2,[parms,#16]  \ get ptr to string info block
4.7
 900 LDR    ptr2,[ptr2]   \ get ptr to start of variable name
4.7
 910
4.7
 920 ADD    lvblnk,link,#&3C  \ get addr of BASIC lvblnk routine
4.7
 930
4.7
 940 MOV    link,PC    \ set return address
4.7
 950 MOV    PC,lvblnk \ call routine to find variable
4.7
 960 BCS    error     \ exit if illegal name
4.7
 970 BNE    exit      \ exit if variable found
4.7
 980
4.7
 990 \ otherwise need to create variable ..
4.7
1000 LDR    link,[stack,#4]
4.7
 \ retrieve link register
4.7
1010 ADD    create,link,#&40 \ get addr of BASIC create routine
4.7
1020 MOV    link,PC   \ set return address
4.7
1030 MOV    PC,create\ call routine to create variable
4.7
1040 ORR    type,type,#&1<<9
4.7
 \ indicate created
4.7
1050
4.7
1060 .exit
4.7
1070 LDMFD  (stack)!,{ptr1 }  \ get parm pointer
4.7
1080 LDR    ptr2,[ptr1,#00]    \ get addr of type%
4.7
1090 STR    type,[ptr2]  \ and store value
4.7
1100 LDR    ptr2,[ptr1,#08]    \ get addr of addr%
4.7
1110 STR    addr,[ptr2]  \ and store value
4.7
1120 LDMFD  (stack)!,{pc }   \ and return to BASIC
4.7
1130
4.7
1140 .error
4.7
1150 LDMFD  (stack)!,{ptr1 }  \ get parm pointer back
4.7
1160 LDR    ptr2,[ptr1,#16]    \ get ptr to string info block
4.7
1170 LDR    ptr2,[ptr2]    \ get ptr to start of variable name
4.7
1180 ADR    R1,errv    \ address output variable name
4.7
1190 .error1
4.7
1200 LDRB    R0,[ptr2],#1 \ get char of variable name
4.7
1210 CMP    R0,#&D    \ at end yet?
4.7
1220 MOVEQ   R0,#0    \ if at end, replace char with zero
4.7
1230 STRB    R0,[R1],#1 \ store char of variable name
4.7
1240 BNE    error1    \ if not end, go get next char
4.7
1250 ADR    R0,errmsg   \ address error message
4.7
1260 SWI    öOS_GenerateErrorò
4.7
\ and generate error
4.7
1270 .errmsg
4.7
1280 EQUD   999
4.7
1290 EQUS   öInvalid variable name ò
4.7
1300 .errv
4.7
1310 EQUS   STRING$(30,ö?ò)
4.7
1320 EQUB   0
4.7
1330 ]
4.7
1340 NEXT
4.7
1350 ENDPROC  A
4.7

4.7
ÉToolsæ Ö Graphics Library
4.7
Peter Clements
4.7
Having, myself, painted a mode 15 picture of some woodworking tools, I
was very interested to see what ÉMicro Studioæ had come up with in their
latest addition to their Graphics Library. Following in the footsteps of
ÉWorld Wildlifeæ, ÉPrehistoric Animalsæ, ÉHistoryæ and several other
titles, comes ÉToolsæ. The single disc is packaged in a sturdy plastic
library case which I feel is somewhat larger than necessary.
4.7
Donæt be put off by the misspelt quotation on the cover by Benjamin
Franklin which states that öMan is a TOOmaking animalò, the disc is
absolutely crammed full of the most intricate !Drawfile clip art that I
have ever seen. The quality of the drawing really has to be seen and my
congratulations go to the artist who must have spent an eternity in
compiling the set.
4.7
A total of nearly two hundred images are on the disc and range from
hammers and brushes to simple nuts and bolts and power tools. Clicking
on the Hammers file for example, reveals yet more varieties most of
which I have heard of but couldnæt positively identify until now.
4.7
An index is provided in the form of an !Edit file. This not only lists
the range of tools available but also gives a brief description of their
usage and purpose.
4.7
A novel feature included in the package is one which lets the user
choose from three different types of drawn hand. These are Éclenchedæ,
Éfistæ and Éhandæ. If one of these images is loaded into !Draw, the
fingers and thumb can be separated from the main outline. A tool can
then be loaded, positioned against the outline of the hand and the
fingers moved back into position. This all works rather well and is a
useful addition to the package. If the scale looks a little wrong then
either the hand or the tool can be enlarged, reduced or rotated to fit.
4.7
The images reproduced superbly on my nine pin dot matrix printer even
when I attempted to scale them down to a really minute size.
4.7
I think this package will find itself being used mainly in schools and
colleges and maybe some small businesses perhaps for letterhead design.
Whatever the case, itæs a well thought out and expertly drawn library of
clip art and is well worth the asking price.
4.7
Graphics Library Pack from Micro Studio, price ú19.95 or ú18 through
Archive.  A
4.7

4.7
Draw Format Clip Art
4.7
Charles Constantine
4.7
Clip art is a useful source of illustrations, especially for use with
desk top publishing. There are several Public Domain sources (including
Shareware/Careware), but many are in Sprite format. The big advantage of
Draw format is that the images can be reproduced at the maximum
resolution of the output device and they occupy much less file and
memory space than equivalent sprites.
4.7
Draw Format Clip Art, Set one, from Midnight Graphics consists of five
full discs of Draw images and a sixth disc containing an application
!Viewer. The cost is ú29.95 plus VAT.
4.7
!Viewer operates in a similar way to !Display on Shareware 26, but
installs itself on the icon bar. Draw files can be rapidly viewed in a
small window by dragging them from a directory viewer. Up to 255 images
can be held in memory and instantly re-displayed by clicking in the
!Viewer directory window.
4.7
The five clip art discs hold 466 Draw files in 21 directories. There is
some repetition of similar subjects (e.g. Arrows and Phones) and two
drawn fonts have a separate file for every character. However, the total
collection is very comprehensive with directories covering Animals,
Borders, Food, Maps, People and Shapes together with six ÉMiscellaneousæ
directories.  A
4.7

4.7
Graphics Libraries
4.7
Doug Weller
4.7
Now that DTP has become firmly established as a major use for the
Archimedes, software houses are producing packs of sprites and !Draw
files with particular themes.
4.7
MicroStudio
4.7
MicroStudio was a major producer of graphics for the BBC, so it is not
surprising to find it in the forefront of graphics library suppliers for
the Archimedes. Starting with some general graphics packs in both Draw
and sprite format and some excellent !Draw maps, its catalogue now
includes a wide variety of packages covering various themes in a mixture
of Draw and sprite files. Its catalogue includes a decorated alphabet,
tools, packs for illustrators and designers, a science pack, business,
schools, childrenæs, nature, transport, media and photos (and probably
more by the time you read this!)
4.7
Dinosaurs, costume and wildlife
4.7
I have looked at V.1 of their packages covering dinosaurs, wildlife and
historic costume. These come on 1, 2 and 3 discs respectively, and
except for the wildlife discs, the discs consist of a set of arced files
plus !Sparkplug and instructions for de-archiving. Each disc includes an
index which details the content of the discs plus a bit of information
about the picture, e.g. in the case of the wildlife pack, the creatureæs
country of origin.
4.7
These packs are sprites only, although future versions will include more
!Draw files, which I am told by another user who has seen an early
version of a dinosaur, are excellent. They look very useful and
generally well done, although one or two of the costume figures appeared
to have small bits cut off.
4.7
I wasnæt sure how the selections were compiled and although I was
impressed by the width in each category, I was also slightly disap
pointed. This may be because I was looking at these too narrowly as a
junior school teacher, looking for sprites covering areas I have been or
may be teaching. Thus I was disappointed to find neither a badger nor a
beaver in the wildlife library Ö if my class was looking at animal
habitats, I would certainly want pictures of both of these. Similarly, I
was surprised to find no Viking costumes, as this is a common subject in
Junior schools (and is now required by the National Curriculum). I know
their clothes werenæt that different from AngloÖSaxon and perhaps they
were like the Teutonic costume on the disc Ö but Iæm not an expert on
costume and would like some clearly labelled Viking figures! (I know
that the Vikings didnæt have wings on their helmets, so before I would
use the Teutonic figures, who do have winged helmets, Iæd have to do
some research into their accuracy!
4.7
Covering the National Curriculum?
4.7
Having said this, the history disc with 58 files does cover middle-
Eastern and European history fairly well; I look forward to a complemen
tary package on historical costume from other arts of the world.
(Following the National Curriculum, weære doing Mayans next year, and
maybe the Indus valley next, Micro-Studio!). Compilers of graphics
libraries who want to sell to education would do well to look at the
National Curriculum covering the relevant subject.
4.7
A tip for looking at sprites
4.7
If you want to look at a collection of sprites, donæt simply click on
them! Although this often works, it doesnæt always show the entire
sprite. I have only just discovered this Ö probably because, until
recently, I never had any sprites that werenæt completely displayed by
simply clicking on them. The easiest way to see them is probably not by
using !Paint but by loading them into a DTP package, where you can
easily resize them, etc.
4.7
Summary
4.7
With those caveats, these are excellent packages and Micro-Studio
wouldnæt have to make many changes to cover the national curriculum (and
of course they are looking toward a wider market anyway). At ú19.95 (the
introductory price for these packs) they are well worth the price. If
they go up to the ú29.95 of some of the other MicroÖStudio packs, they
are probably still decent value but may be getting more than most
schools can afford.  A
4.7

4.7
Draw Format Line Art N║ 1
4.7
John Jefferies
4.7
This is the first of a series of draw format lineart discs that Southern
Printers are planning to produce. There is not as much draw format
lineart available as there is sprite format artwork. This is probably
because it takes rather longer to prepare and it isnæt as easy to
transfer to Draw format from other computersæ formats, so itæs not so
easy to tap into huge banks of artwork already prepared for the Ataris,
Amigas and PCæs of this world. The advantages of using draw format
instead of sprite should, presumably, be fairly obvious. Firstly, the
size of the files is somewhat less and, secondly, the resolution and
quality of the output is only limited by the printer not the pixel size
of the sprite. Also, draw lineart can be scaled and rotated much more
easily and effectively than sprite files and the östepped edgesò
associated with scaled sprites can be largely avoided.
4.7
The lineart occupies all the capacity of the 800k disc apart from a
couple of readme files, one explaining the copyright situation and the
other giving an introduction to the contents and use of the disc.
However, the files are not compacted.
4.7
The actual lineart is divided up into four directories: Animals, People,
Transport and Others.
4.7
Animals
4.7
The animals are all fairly stylised and cartoon-like (e.g. the tortoise
above). The contents list is: Bear, Bunny, Dog, Elephant, Fox, Frog,
Goat, Panda, Piggy, PigSad, Pony, Seal, Tortoise and Toucan.
4.7
People
4.7
People provides Clown, Cowboy, Lady (Eastern), Pirate, Santa-1, Santa-2,
Witch-1 and Witch-2. Again, these are fairly stylised and cartoon-like.
4.7
Transport
4.7
Transport consists of: Bike, Car, Lorry-1, Lorry-2, OldCar and Traction.
These contain a lot more detail then some of the others Ö especially the
motorbike shown below which is a 62K file.
4.7
Others
4.7
The final directory contains a number of smaller files and also the
largest file of all. The file list is: Balloons, Clock (a very nice
carriage clock), Flag-1, Flag-2, Holly (useful at Christmas), Look,
Scroll-1, Scroll-2 and Tulips. This group contains the poorest examples
(the scrolls) and the biggest file of all (108K) which consists of the
word öLookò where the Oæs are a pair of (female?) eyes drawn with
incredible detail.
4.7
Conclusion
4.7
For ú5.50, you canæt say that itæs not value for money Ö well, it is if
you want lineart on any of the subjects mentioned. It looks to me as if
it has been prepared by (at least) two people Ö one with good technical
skill, as the motorbike and other transport shows, and one with a very
characteristic drawing style which is common to the people and animals.
Overall, a good disc Ö it will be interesting to see the sequel(s).  A
4.7

4.7
Careware N║ 10
4.7
Ashley Bowden
4.7
The programs on this disc include three educational games and a number
of other puzzles plus a bridge hand lister. The educational games are
described first but note that they are Éarchivedæ on the disc. This
means that you have to use the !SparkPlug utility (supplied) to
decompress them. Note also that they start off as 186K when archived and
turn into about 925K after decompression, so more than one floppy disc
is needed.
4.7
!Starmath
4.7
This game tests the useræs capabilities at mental arithmetic. An extra-
terrestrial flavour is created by the use of spacecraft, missiles and a
starry backdrop. You choose which of the mathematical operations ( +, -,
x, / ) you want to use, a level of difficulty and a speed. The lower two
levels are quite easy but the highest, level 3, is not. Well, not unless
you are the sort of person who can divide 783 by 29 in your head in less
than about two seconds. The graphics, sound and animation are very good
if, perhaps, a trifle over elaborate. None of the educational games are
RISC-OS multitasking applications but are Desktop compatible, in that
they can be run from and that they return to the Desktop.
4.7
!Magic
4.7
This is a word-game essentially the same as hangman. There are levels of
difficulty which dictate how many wrong attempts you are allowed for
each word and a scoring system which takes account of how quickly you
guess the word. The graphics are quite nice and, all in all, this is a
playable, if rather standard, game.
4.7
!Quizland
4.7
In !Quizland, you have to find your way out of a maze avoiding hazards
and answering general knowledge questions to help you along. You can
choose the theme of the questions: Science, Maths, English, History,
Geography or a mixture. Getting a question correct has no beneficial
effect as such, it just stops your Évital forceæ decreasing. If this
reaches zero before you get out of the maze then you lose. Serpents and
a strange bubble appear from time to time with the object of making life
difficult. However, it seems that if you get most of the questions
correct, you will get out since the maze is not too large. The game is
rather slow moving, because the author wishes to show off her/his
programming talents which one must, in fairness, admit are considerable.
4.7
The Puzzles
4.7
There is a set of six logical puzzles all by the same author which are
based on related ideas. All have pieces which are placed on some sort of
board (in two or three dimensions) subject to various rules. For
example, one puzzle is to place eight queens on a chessboard so that
none is attacking another. Another involves arranging 27 coloured cubes
in a 3 x 3 x 3 pattern so that each row and column contains exactly one
of the three available colours. Three of the puzzles use square tiles
divided into quarters by diagonal lines. The quarters are coloured and
the pieces have to be placed on the board so that adjoining edges are
the same colour (and match the edge of the board or fulfil some other
condition.) The puzzles have a unified feel to them and each uses the
mouse and pointer in a similar way. What is more, each game has a second
version where the computer solves the problem. This seems to involve an
exhaustive search of the possible positions and can take several minutes
but it is a useful addition. If you like this sort of puzzle then the
collection is recommended.
4.7
!Rubik
4.7
This is a computer representation of a Rubik cube. It can be scrambled
and unscrambled by the computer or you can do it yourself. Little more
can be asked of such a program.
4.7
!Bridget
4.7
This program lists bridge hands. These are stored in an !Edit file.
There are no colours or graphics just numbers and letters such as 7S.
The hands may be particularly interesting or illustrative but I have
only a slight knowledge of the game and am not in a position to judge.
4.7
!Solitaire
4.7
This is the only multi-tasking application on the disc. There are in
fact two versions of the game available. Traditional solitaire involves
beads jumping over others (draught style) until only one remains.
ÉColotaireæ involves beads of six different colours which have to be
removed in a predetermined order. Both versions have a playback option
so you can see where things went wrong. They also have some rather
insane variants. There is Éblindæ where all the pieces are invisible,
Éghostæ where pieces which have moved but are still in the game become
invisible and the aptly named Édaftæ where pieces which have been
removed are still visible when they should not be! All is, of course,
controlled by mouse and menus in the proper way and it is great fun.  A
4.7

4.7
Simple Measurement and Control
4.7
Jim Markland
4.7
Some months ago I wanted to write software to enable real time trans
position for a MIDI music keyboard and my experiences of that and other
interfacing projects may, hopefully, be of help to others wanting to do
some simple control and measurement on the Archimedes.
4.7
When I started my MIDI project, I decided to acquire an Acorn I/O card
for our A310 with MIDI upgrades rather than a pure MIDI card. This was
in order to leave open the possibility of future simple control
applications.
4.7
Was this a wise decision?
4.7
There were deep feelings of shock horror when the I/O card and documen
tation arrived. The manual is very perfunctory and the 1MHz Bus
application note is several orders of magnitude worse. The manual
appears to assume that the reader has served an electronic apprentice
ship, having first been weaned on a BBC Micro. This is not me. To begin
to remedy this, I have had to go back to the BBC Micro User Guide and
the Advanced User Guide which, luckily, I have been able to locate in
our library. This really should not have been necessary.
4.7
Further pangs of anxiety were experienced when I observed the public
health warning which goes with the MIDI upgrade for the card. Under
certain conditions it does not, reputedly, behave as well as the regular
MIDI only podule; nor does it have a Thru Port. To discover these I had
to make the investment! I also learned that the I/O card exhibits some
minor differences from the original BBC Micro specification. For
tunately, it now appears that the lack of a built in Thru Port can be
corrected through the use of a peripheral device.
4.7
The MIDI documentation which goes with the latest version of the MIDI
firmware is not too bad and is a definite improvement on the original.
Yamaha have very kindly provided MIDI voice charts, including for
percussion, and I now have reasonably stable software which appears to
achieve the original aim satisfactorily. I would also note that the
potential MIDI problems of which I was forewarned by the manual have not
surfaced. The imminent upgrade of Rhapsody is now awaited to fix various
situations, at least one of which Clares denied ever existed! These
include a MIDI voice selection capability and better captured data
handling.
4.7
The reading of Michael Booms ÉMusic through MIDIæ book is also in hand.
This Microsoft Press book is a good read, especially if you are starting
from a low knowledge base, but long-winded like many American texts and
a bit light in some technical areas. It is also a relatively expensive
import so borrow it, if you can. Incidentally, it would appear that MIDI
could be used for general comms purposes, although this would smack of
Éwheel re-inventionæ.
4.7
Now to control
4.7
My control project is still not off the ground Ö this is, very largely,
due to the difficulties I have had in establishing what one can actually
do with an I/O card. In this Acorn could have been more sympathetic.
öAsk you local dealerò is the standard response but the dealers to whom
I have spoken have not been very knowledgeable. My research may
therefore be of use to others who are attempting to tread this path. (To
be fair to Acorn some of this information is buried somewhere inside
their recently published Education Directory).
4.7
I am told by Acorn that the I/O card exists only for backward compat
ibility. Such is the inertia in our education system, however, that
peripherals which require the User Port Ö the Concept Keyboard for
example Ö are likely to be around for a long time. As a consequence, and
bearing in mind that the latest widget isnæt always necessary for a
particular job, I feel that the educationalist/dabbler need not feel too
bad about old technology. In fact, I was recently amazed to see several
BBC micros still in use for experimental work at the research establish
ment of a major, and very high tech, international company, where the
Archimedes were being phased out and replaced by Sun workstations!
4.7
What I/O can be done?
4.7
Given the 1MHz Bus, the User Port and the A/D Port (these are on the
Archimedes I/O card and an A3000 expansion with rather more functional
ity is now available from Unilab), what can be done? One route is to get
hold of Joe Telfordæs introductory book ÉControl on the Archimedesæ from
HCCS. This is not ideal but does describe a number of DIY interfaces for
those interested in electronics. (In the same vein, Atomwide do a DIY
internal expansion card.) Buffered interface boxes will needed to
protect your Archimedes and you may prefer to send for brochures to help
decide on the purchase of a ready built one.
4.7
The A/D Port is for input only and is designed to match the facilities
of a typical joystick but, clearly, with the capability to handle other
similar mixed analog and switched input. Several suppliers offer A/D
breakout boxes. Of these, Deltronics appear to have the most comprehen
sive one in that, I understand, theirs gives access to the Éjoystick
buttonsæ in addition to the analogue data. Other, and possibly better,
methods of dealing with joysticks are now available for the Archimedes,
yet the A/D Port still has its uses.
4.7
The User Port is Étwo wayæ and some interfaces seem to require to use
the Parallel Port, which is out only, in conjunction with it. Some
interfaces specifically target either Lego or Fischer-Technik models
whilst others are aimed at more general applicability. The facilities
offered do vary quite a lot although they are all fairly basic and donæt
tend to offer much, if anything, in the way of upgrade options.
4.7
In principle, the 1MHz Bus options should have the most to offer. The
peripherals I have come across which use this are from DCP Microdevelop
ments, Unilab and Paul Fray. The DCP units offer a modular approach to
control and can, for example, permit stepper motor operation. The
modules are daisy chained on an internal bus, incremental costs are not
outrageous and the flexibility offered is attractive. The Unilab
interface offers a wider range of features than those available on the
User Port although it doesnæt appear to cater for expansion. Paul Fray
supply a range of 1MHz cards for use in their own rack system. They also
offer the Arachnid real time control software extensions.
4.7
One complication is that control and data logging applications can be
accomplished in other ways. Serial Port, Parallel (printer) Port and now
I2C (IsquaredC) options are either available or about to become so. One
option will enable servos to be driven directly from the computer;
another is a controller in its own right. Maybe we will also see more
use being made of MIDI outside of entertainment? Of these, the I2C route
is one to watch with particular interest. Ian Copestake has announced
the imminent release of a series of peripherals which will access the
Archimedesæ internal I2C serial bus. This has the particular attraction
of requiring a very low cost hardware port on the computer. Morley
Electronics already offer this on their User/MIDI card for the A3000 and
I understand it is to become a standard on the IDE cards. Lesser mortals
will have to be content with the loss of a podule slot. A consolation
for those of us who have already installed the double width I/O card on
a 4-slot backplane is that the tiny I2C outlet is expected to fit into
that otherwise inaccessible and unused adjacent podule slot. I2C will
offer very considerable expandability and has the potential for lots of
functionality, once again at a reasonable cost.
4.7
If your use is serious/professional, consider the 1MHz Bus options but
also talk to talk to Intelligent Interfaces and Wild Vision. They both
supply a range of internal expansion cards offering specialised
functions. Others provide specialist expansion cards for sound and video
applications.
4.7
To sum up:
4.7
Å    There are a fair number of control peripherals available already both
for professional and home/education use, although the professional range
is nowhere as extensive as it is for a PC. Prices and facilities vary
greatly. (Some peripherals may be used with other computers possibly
with a little modification.)
4.7
Å    Serious users should consider the 1MHz Bus options but they may need
different internal expansion cards altogether depending on the appli
cation. They may have to pay a higher total price in consequence.
4.7
Å    Watch I2C developments carefully. In the meantime, if you canæt wait,
look at DCP for expandability. Paul Frayæs racking system and ÉArachnidæ
Software looks interesting.
4.7
Å    For simple applications with limited expansion ambitions, look at the
A/D break out boxes and User Port interfaces. The 1MHz Bus will still be
there for future use.
4.7
Å    Go for the sole purpose MIDI card unless you are convinced you want
the I/O card capability.
4.7
Å    If possible, donæt buy until you know what you really want. e.g. What
sampling rate and accuracy do you need for Analog to Digital conversion?
Do you need real time processing?
4.7
Unfortunately, the overall situation is pretty incoherent. Some of the
software has not yet been released for Archimedes use and some may be
rather primitive. Do check first. Check hardware compatibility too.
Buyer beware!
4.7
To my mind, the jury is still out on my self posed question. I am,
however, not unhappy (yet!) with the MIDI interface and do feel more
comfortable having discovered the 1MHz Bus interfaces.
4.7
Apologies in advance to those manufacturers/vendors who have been left
out or who may feel that I have misrepresented their product in any way.
They should be assured that this is unintentional and merely a symptom
of the state of play!
4.7
I would welcome any further contributions and/or errata on this subject.
4.7
Contacts (and fallible guide)
4.7
A3000 Podules/Expansion Box
4.7
H.C.C.S. (also the book)    091 487 0760
4.7
Morley Electronics Ltd    091 257 6355
4.7
Unilab    0254 681222
4.7
Concept Keyboard
4.7
Concept Keyboard Co Ltd    0962 843322
4.7
Joysticks/Joystick Interfaces
4.7
Voltmace  (mouse replacement)    0462 894410
4.7
The Serial Port  (parallel port)    0749 72234
4.7
RTFM Software  (econet substitute)    0534 67870
4.7
Technomatic  (int. expansion card)    081 205 0190
4.7
Data Loggers (serial port)
4.7
Phillip Harris Education    0543 480077
4.7
Resource    0302 340331
4.7
Sensors
4.7
GA Herdman    0777 700918
4.7
plus many others
4.7
I2C ÉOddulesæ (yet to be released)
4.7
Ian Copestake Software    051 648 6287
4.7
Servo control from Parallel port
4.7
Jansens    0733 244702
4.7
Trekker Vehicle
4.7
Clwyd Technics Ltd    035283 751
4.7
Scorpion Serial Port Controller
4.7
Commotion    081 804 1378
4.7
Professional/Serious Expansion cards
4.7
Intelligent Interfaces Ltd    0789 450925
4.7
Wild Vision    091 519 1455
4.7
1MHz Bus Interfaces
4.7
Arcom (Farnell) (STE Bus system)    0532 636311
4.7
DCP Microdevelopments Ltd    0480 830997
4.7
Paul Fray Ltd (Farnell)    0223 66529
4.7
Unilab    0254 681222
4.7
User Port/Parallel Port Interfaces
4.7
Deltronics    0269 843728
4.7
Phobox Electronics    0305 853767
4.7
Economatics (Education) Ltd    0742 561122
4.7
Lego UK Ltd    0978 290900
4.7
plus Unilab, Commotion and Paul Fray
4.7
A/D Breakout boxes/external cards
4.7
Phobox, Deltronics, Commotion, Economatics, Unilab
4.7
Parallel Port output module
4.7
Economatics
4.7
MIDI Thru expansion box
4.7
Electro Music Research Ltd    0702 335747
4.7
 A
4.7

4.7
DataKing & DataTrans
4.7
Dave Morrell
4.7
öDataKing is an integrated database package designed for ease of use as
a cross-curricular IT tool for Primary and Secondary phases.ò says the
advertising blurb. In fact, to allow for progression through the age
range DataKing can be configured in three different ways, known as
DataKing 1, 2 and 3. DataKing 1 is a simplified, cut down version
designed for primary age or the raw beginner. DataKing 2 is the standard
form and DataKing 3 is only needed if a datafile becomes too large for
memory. The desired version of Dataking can be selected by pressing
<space> at the first menu which cycles through the three options.
4.7
First impressions are deceptive
4.7
My first impressions of DataKing were acutely disappointing. DataKing is
not multi-tasking and takes over the whole machine. The main menu screen
is in Mode 7. It looked like another convert from the good old BBC B.
Once I started using it, however, I began to change my mind.
4.7
The program is entirely menu driven and, given that it is designed for
educational use at all ages, this is probably a good idea. On later
reading of the manual, I discovered that DataKing has been produced for
most of the computers found in education and this has, presumably, led
to a consistent interface over all the machines. Not really the RISC-OS
ethos, but understandable.
4.7
Getting started
4.7
There are six options on the main menu. Option B, Begin Here, is a
useful option to start with. It gives a very simple overview of the
program and is quite handy for those of us who cannot be bothered to
read manuals. It gives a suggested order for tackling the four main
parts of the package and moves on to give a simple example showing what
fields and records are.
4.7
In their suggested order for learning the program, Option A is the first
option. This allows the user to begin a new datafile. To begin with, you
only need to input a file name and the number of records. You then
follow the simple on-screen instructions to produce your first blank
datafile. One point I liked about this program is that field length does
not need to be specified and could be up to 250 characters long. This
means that children with relatively little experience in data handling
do not have to think too long and hard about the length of every piece
of data to be input. Each record can have up to 26 fields but, if
necessary, the program could push this up to 31. Before saving the file
to disc, you are asked to check whether all is correct and, if so, the
file is then saved and the first record appears on screen ready for the
input of data. As each record is finished, you are again asked to check
if all is correct before it is saved. If it is not quite as you want it,
the program allows you to edit the data one field at a time.
4.7
Once the simple basics of database handling are acquired, i.e. that each
record is composed of several fields, the input of data is extremely
easy with checks all the way.
4.7
Graphs & charts
4.7
After the data is in the file, what can be done with it? Most primary
schools like to display this sort of work as graphs or charts. DataKing
is well endowed with graphical options. Option C on the main menu
selects the charts section of DataKing. The menu that appears is a
graphical one. The various graphics options are shown in small icons
with a letter above. Pressing a letter leads to a question and answer
session concerning which fields are to be used etc. Once this has been
sorted out to the useræs satisfaction, the charts are produced very
quickly. Various bar charts, line graphs, pie charts and a scatter graph
are available from this menu as well as options to return to the main
menu, change the file being used or to enter the data workshop.
4.7
Charts and graphs can be printed directly from the program. As it comes,
the program only supports monochrome printers with Epson graphics
compatibility but instructions are given for producing colour dumps if a
screen dump program is available. Presumably, the same technique could
be used for printout on an inkjet, laser on non-Epson printer. For use
in a DTP package, a screensave option is available. This was incorrectly
described in the manual. A screensave is effected by pressing <S> not
<ctrl-P>.
4.7
Manipulating the data
4.7
Option D on the main menu is the heart of DataKing. This is the Data
Workshop, as they call it. This option presents the user with a menu
list of datafiles held on the disc. Pressing the relevant letter for the
datafile loads the data into memory to be worked on. At the same time,
the user is presented with another menu detailing the workshop options.
These are quite extensive; i.e. Print records, Browse through records,
Calculator, Choose a different file, Return to main menu, Group data,
Total fields and produce mean values, Sort, Search, Join files,
Correlate fields and produce labels.
4.7
Option H is a sort option. One aspect of this I liked was the facility
to save a sorted file under a different name leaving the original data
untouched. This leaves two datafiles on the disc containing the data in
different orders. The sort function seems to be very fast. One file I
worked with was the öPlacenamesò datafile converted over from öKeyò.
This contains 711 records of 10 fields. They did not seem to be in any
logical order when I converted them over and they were sorted in
alphabetical order of names in less than 1╜ minutes including writing
the file to disc. The sort is done automatically in the two simpler
configurations of DataKing. If the total of the entries in the selected
field is zero the sort is done alphabetically. If the total is greater
than zero it is done numerically. This could lead to problems with names
such as 4Mation. To avoid this problem, it should be entered as
!4Mation.
4.7
Option I is a search procedure. Like the rest of DataKing, all the
information is placed on the screen and options chosen by selected
keypresses. Again it is fast.
4.7
Printing records
4.7
In order to print out records (Option A), a print format screen has to
be gone through. The default options on this are sensibly set for
newcomers. The format screen allows the user to set up line or column
output, the number of fields output, the column width, the type of paper
in the printer and the size of print. This uses the default printer
options, so seems to be printer independent. If anything fancier is
needed, the search procedure can be utilised to extract the relevant
records and fields. These can then be converted, very quickly, to CSV or
TSV format ready for importing into a word processor or DTP package.
4.7
Summaries
4.7
Option C is a calculator. This allows one field to be defined as a
function of another in a similar way to that of a spreadsheet. Each
field in DataKing can be identified by a letter alongside it. The
calculator uses these identity letters expressed in a formula. If, for
instance, a teacher was to produce a datafile of marks for each child in
a class, the total can be worked out automatically by DataKing using a
simple formula such as Total (field E) = (fields) B+C+D, field A being
the name of the child. This is a very simple example but serves to
illustrate what can be done. Quite complicated formulae can be input and
worked automatically. Various other examples are given in the manual.
4.7
Option F will allow the user to calculate the total and the arithmetic
mean of each field. Results can be output to screen or printer. The
example which the manual gives for this is keeping a record of scores
during a school sports day. This could give virtually instant readout of
individual or team marks.
4.7
Option G allows the user to create frequency distributions of the data
in any field. It sounds very statistical but left me puzzled. The manual
does not give much explanation and no example for this option. I tried
working through a few datafiles but still could not work out what I was
getting. I could easily have chosen the wrong fields or the wrong files
for this but I think more explanation is needed in the manual.
4.7
Option K will correlate two numeric fields to give a Spearmanæs
Coefficient of Rank Correlation between them. Obvious examples for this
using the data files provided are the correlation between size and wing
span of insects and height, weight and shoe size of children.
4.7
Other features
4.7
Option B is for browsing through the datafile one record at a time using
the cursor keys.
4.7
Option E returns the user to the main menu.
4.7
Option L, the final one in the workshop, is a label printing facility.
Again, a question and answer session is provided to set this up. It
seems to provide for a very flexible label layout.
4.7
Manipulating the files
4.7
Option D allows the user to choose another datafile from the set on the
disc.
4.7
Option J allows the user to join files. This can be done in two ways.
Two separate datafiles using the same format can be joined to give one
file containing more records. Alternatively two files of different
formats and fields can be combined to give one file of more fields. With
this method, the fields in the second file are added to the end of the
fields in the corresponding position in the first file and a new file is
saved. Any two files can be combined regardless of whether or not the
final result is sensible.
4.7
Editing the data
4.7
The last but one option on the main menu allows the user to extend or
edit any of the available data files. DataKing 1 has three options:
Adding records, Adding fields & Simple Editor.
4.7
Adding records obviously allows more records to be added to the file.
For speed, the existing records are not read into memory so this option
does not allow editing of any records. Adding fields will allow the user
to add one or more fields to each record in an existing datafile. The
program first asks for the name of the new field(s) and then goes
through the file, record by record, so that the new field can be added
to each one. The file can be saved after each addition or left until the
end when all have been done. Any new fields that are not completed
during the one session can be entered using the Editor at a later date.
4.7
The simple editor reads the required file into memory and puts the first
record on screen. The user can then single step through the records in
the file. This is a rather slow method of working. If the number of the
record to be changed is known pressing <F2> and entering the number will
bring up the selected record. No new fields can be added using the
simple editor. Screen display is the same as when starting a new file.
4.7
DataKing 2 adds a fourth option, an advanced editor, to this menu. I
found this editor extremely useful and flexible. The data is loaded into
memory as for the simple editor but this time it is displayed in a
spreadsheet format similar to PipeDream. Twenty records are displayed on
screen at a time. The cursor and function keys are used for editing. A
function key strip is provided.
4.7
Records can be added to or deleted from the file. When adding records
data common to many records can be added automatically, as when
replicating in a spreadsheet. Data slots can be copied. Fieldnames can
be accessed and changed. When entering many records Éauto-entryæ can be
set up. This is not a mind reading facility unfortunately. It just moves
the cursor to the next slot when <return> is pressed. ÉAuto-entryæ can
be set to go down or to the right. The number of columns seen on screen,
up to a maximum of nine, can be set by the user. Fields longer than the
column width will be truncated to fit but the data will not be lost. To
see the full field from a truncated entry, place the cursor on it and
press <space>. The entry will appear in full at the top left of the
screen.
4.7
The advanced editor also contains a search facility. This searches for
specified words in specified fields.
4.7
One thing I did not like about the advanced editor was the use of <F9>
rather than <F12> to access the operating system. I know that this
allows a match with the Master and B series etc but <F12> does nothing.
I would have preferred both keys to give access to the operating system
thus giving compatibility between machines and, on the Archimedes,
programs.
4.7
All changes done in the advanced editor are in memory not on disc so it
is essential to save the data before exiting DataKing. DataKing is well
error-trapped in this respect as the only way I could exit without
saving was a hard reset or switch-off.
4.7
DataKing 3 adds a serial editor to the extend or edit options. DataKing
3 is only needed when the datafile is too big to fit into memory. This
should not happen very often with an Archimedes. The serial editor is
very similar to the advanced editor but works with two disc files rather
than one memory file. Records are read in twenty at a time, one
screenful, from the source file to be worked on. When the cursor leaves
the last line of the screen they are saved to the destination file and
the next twenty records are read in.
4.7
The final option on is a Quit option.
4.7
Conclusions
4.7
If you do not have a database in school this could be a good buy as it
is flexible, fast and easy to use. If you already have a good database
in regular use, it begins to lose some of its appeal. If you use more
than one type of computer in school it could have its attractions in
that a consistent user interface across the machines would be available.
4.7
For use in the home I think this program has a lot going for it. It has
a much easier learning curve than something like System Delta or
MultiStore. These are two that I have had access to but I cannot compare
it with something like Beebugæs Masterfile or Claresæ Alphabase as I
have never used them. Price wise, DataKing compares with Alphabase.
4.7
Although the program is not multi-tasking, it does not upset anything
left in the desktop when it is entered and does not appear to make any
changes to the machineæs configuration. This program can be recommended
as a simple database which is fairly powerful and flexible.
4.7
DataTrans
4.7
DataTrans is a sister program to DataKing from Shenley Software. It is a
fully RISC-OS compatible, multi-tasking application. Its purpose is to
convert data between different database formats. When run, it sets
itself up on the icon bar in the usual way.
4.7
To convert a datafile, drag the file icon to the DataTrans icon on the
icon bar. A menu appears consisting of two columns of names of popular
databases, mainly educational. The left hand column is titled öRead
fromò and the user must click on the button next to the database being
converted. The right hand column is titled öWrite toò and the user must
click on the button showing the format they wish the data to be in. That
is all there is to it.
4.7
It is fast and it works well. Most educational databases are listed as
well as Mail merge(!), CSV and TSV (TAB) formats.
4.7
Several datafiles were provided, mainly from the educational sector. All
these were converted for use in DataKing without problem. I also
converted several to TAB format and imported them into MultiStore
without much difficulty.
4.7
In my BBC Master days, I used ViewStore a lot and still have many of
these files around. All these were converted without problem.
4.7
The only problem which I encountered, and expected, was in trying to
convert some of the specialist datafiles for Key which ITV put out. Many
of these contain pictures, in BBC format, and I was unable to convert
any of these. Standard Key datafiles such as the Placenames file
converted with no problem.
4.7
Conclusions
4.7
Have you a need to convert data from one format to another? If you have,
this program could be very useful. I wish it had been available a few
years ago on the BBC. At ú18, it is not cheap for what it does but it
does it easily, quickly and accurately.
4.7
I think it could find a place in many schools considering the plethora
of databases, all with different formats that abound in the educational
sector
4.7
DataTrans and DataKing are both available from Shenley Software at ú18
and ú48 respectively.  A
4.7

4.7
Twin World
4.7
Stuart Turgis
4.7
Twin World is a wonderful new game from Cygnus software. Basically it is
a sort of Élevelsæ game similar in style to games on the BBC/Master like
Blagger, Manic Miner etc.
4.7
The differences are that, graphically speaking, Twin World is far, far
better (as you might expect), not only in the design of the screens, but
also in the animation. A vivid example of this is the response of the
hero to your key presses; if you hold down a direction key, your hero
will start walking briskly in that direction. However, if you suddenly
change directions, he slides a bit, then starts walking in the direction
you desire. Itæs attention to detail like this which lifts this game
above the usual genre of levels games. Also, the game area is not a
single screen, so each level occupies about five or six screens, with
smooth scrolling as you walk. There are some 23 levels in all, divided
between five different scenarios. Each scenario is four levels and
between each scenario is a special bonus level where you just get
points.
4.7
Adversaries
4.7
What else makes it different? Well, firstly, there are lots of adver
saries, mystical beasts of every shape and size, which you can shoot by
using one of three types of spells. The spells differ in the number
required to vanquish a beast. You can restock your spells by collecting
certain objects as you go along but the more powerful spells are less
abundant (especially on the lower levels).
4.7
Secondly, Twin World gets its name not from the different scenarios or
the number of levels but from the fact that on each level there are two
worlds, so you can avoid some beasts and obstacles by switching worlds.
You do this by pressing <down> once you are in an appropriate doorway
and you do a quick spin and.... youære in the other world.
4.7
Object of the game
4.7
To proceed to the next level, you have to find a piece of the missing
amulet, take it to the doorway which has an amulet sign on it, press
<down> as though youære trying to switch worlds and your hero waves at
you to confirm the completion. So, if you want, you can avoid a lot of
the obstacles and beasts and go straight for the amulet. Of course, it
is often located in quite a distant place so, inevitably, there will be
a number of obstacles to overcome.
4.7
Objects
4.7
Along the way you will find many objects. These automatically stock up
your spells repository to a maximum of 99 per spell type but you will
also find items which score points (a little bell rings and you will see
a score floating off to the top of the screen), keys which are used to
unlock many of the doorways, extra lives, skulls which remove lives,
springs which give you extra height for jumps, parachutes which let you
fall greater distances and a flute which allows you to summon a genie to
buy extra objects (in exchange for points).
4.7
Touches of brilliance
4.7
Other nice touches in the game are mainly in the animation; for example,
if you bang your head too many times, your hero stops, takes his hat off
and scratches his head. The second world is underwater and your movement
is very much restricted as it would be under water and, finally, when
you eventually die, your hero gives a quick spin and falls to the
ground. Itæs just great!
4.7
Music
4.7
The music throughout the game is very good, from the initial loading
tune to the different scenario tunes (yes, the music changes to fit the
mood of the scenario) and the final Écongratulationsæ tune when youæve
completed all the levels. Unlike some games, the music can be toggled
between high, medium, low and off, and this is separate from the sound
(explosions etc).
4.7
Finale
4.7
For the very final level, you will need to make sure that you have
plenty of spells, especially the more powerful ones, and plenty of
lives. This is because you face the evil lord who throws all his minions
at you in successive waves and, having defeated them, he himself mutates
into a massive dragon which you have to try and destroy.
4.7
Running details
4.7
Twin World, which is from Cygnus Software (priced at ú19.99 or ú18
through Archive), is one of two new games ported across from the Amiga,
(the second being Iron Lord). As you would expect, it runs happily in
1Mbyte of RAM but, unusually, it runs from, and returns correctly to,
the desktop. It is unprotected, so it will run from floppy, hard or RAM
disc.
4.7
Two applications are on the disc. The first is a help program which sets
the scenario, explains the objects, keyboard etc and how to load/save
games. The second runs the game. Having completed a level, when you are
shown the picture of the amulet, if you press Save, your current
position is saved but, be warned, it overwrites the last position. (The
file is called SavedGame if you want to copy it for each level.) This
position is restored when you choose the Continue Game option.
4.7
Conclusions
4.7
Brilliant, just brilliant! The only minor grumble is that it obvious
that it was a port from the Amiga or ST, the screen is only being about
half size (height wise). Itæs not over-priced, itæs addictive, it gets
progressively more difficult, the save position is essential and,
graphically, it is excellent.
4.7
Iæve completed the game and have given Paul some hints, tips and a cheat
for jumping levels. I expect this will be published in a few months
time, when youæve all had a go at playing it!  A
4.7

4.7
More Notes on BBC Emulators
4.7
Brian Carroll
4.7
At the end of last year I parted company with my long-neglected BBC
Model B. Murphyæs Law dictated that very soon afterwards I found the
need to run BBC and Master software, from DFS discs, to help several
newcomers to those machines! The result was that I had to take a serious
interest in the Archimedes 6502 emulators and the various DFS emulations
(see review, Archive 4.1 p 48) including recently the new disc from
Acorn, and I have spent a lot of time getting as close as possible to a
disc based BBC Micro.
4.7
These notes supplement the valuable contributions by Brian Cowan and
David Bower (Archive 4.5 pp 37-39) and acknowledge the documentation in
the latest Acorn package. I hope that what follows will help readers who
have not yet got a copy of this package.
4.7
A brief history
4.7
The two RISC-OS 6502 emulators, 65Tube and 65Host, have a rather
complicated history. There have been two versions of the former and
three of the latter. Table 1 (overleaf) shows these releases and the
actual versions, sizes and dates of the component parts of the packages.
Release 1.6 is the only one to have adequate documentation and includes
some conversion utilities.
4.7
65Tube
4.7
The 65Tube emulator should be regarded as a BBC 6502 Second Processor
which uses Archimedes and RISC-OS for input and output instead of a BBC
or Master Computer. It contains a copy of HIBASIC ver. 4.3 which is
immediately entered when the emulator starts. Note that the start-up
screen message gives the Tube OS version, not the emulator version. All
RISC-OS filing systems, *¡commands and system facilities are accessible;
including all screen modes, not just the BBC ones. There are only two
internal *-commands: *EMULATETUBE to start it and *QUIT to leave. The
Release 1.6 application, !65Tube, has a new icon and a useful !Run file.
The system variable 65Tube$Mode in the latter can be edited (in two
places) to start the emulator in any chosen screen mode. Though not
essential, I recommend starting the application from the Desktop.
4.7
PAGE in the emulator is set at &800 as expected and 44K is available to
the user. Anyone with ÉHighæ versions of BBC software would be well
advised to use this emulator; subjectively, it runs as fast as an
ordinary BBC 2nd processor (except in screen mode 7) and is very
straightforward to use with both ADFS and (if available) DFS. Hi-
Wordwise Plus works admirably, and the Hi-View packages should do as
well. Programs that attempt to access a BBC input/output processoræs
facilities, e.g. sound, are unlikely to work fully. To prevent external
memory access, 65Tube treats addresses &FFFFxxxx as within its own
address space rather than in the I/O processoræs.
4.7
65Host
4.7
This application substantially emulates a BBC micro with OS 1.2 and
BASIC 2. It can be set up with all or some of the 16 potential sideways
slots as either ROM or RAM. It cannot access RISC-OS facilities or
screen modes directly, as 65Tube can, except for specific but restricted
access to filing systems. It is particularly important to note, as Table
1 shows, that the application !65Host comprises four parts and that
these will be set up correctly only if the !Run file is used. The
application is therefore best started from the desktop: it is definitely
not sufficient to *RMRun the BBC 6502Emulator module! What follows is
mainly about Releases 1.4 and 1.6.
4.7
It should also be noted that the various *-commands mentioned in the
User Guide pp 153-155 are available only from RISC-OS, not from within
the emulator: they are used, for example, in the !Run file. These
commands include *DIPSTATE, previously undocumented, which replaces *FX
255 ,n to allow selection of the startup screen mode.
4.7
Inside the emulator, several specific *-commands are however provided
and all the BBC filing systems can be called: *ADFS, *NET, *DISC/DISK,
*ROM, *TAPE and a new one, *ARFS. ARFS acts as a gateway to whichever
RISC-OS filing system is current on entry to the emulator, e.g. ADFS,
NET, or DFS. *ROM and *TAPE do nothing useful; *ADFS, *NET select these
systems via RISC-OS; and in Releases 1.4 & 1.6 *DISC selects a rough
emulation of the BBC DFS that is coded in the ARFS and UTIL ROMs.
4.7
When one is using one of the RISC-OS filing systems via ARFS, only the
commands recognised by both ARFS and the external system are imple
mented. These include all the more common ones but sometimes the screen
output is less complete or in a different form. Release 1.6 has
considerable improvements in this area.
4.7
If a RISC-OS DFS is available, e.g. ArcDFS, it may be accessed via ARFS
by using syntax such as *DIR DFS::0 for DFS drive 0. *DRIVE is unrecogn
ised and will not be passed on by ARFS and *DISC will select the
emulated internal DFS. Even better is to load and set DFS as the current
RISC-OS filing system before entry and then to set ARFS as the entry BBC
filing system (see below). Release 1.4 already sets the latter but
Release 1.6 sets ADFS. It is worth remembering to set *ADFS before
leaving the emulator with *QUIT.
4.7
<Reset> resets RISC-OS as usual, but <break. and its variants operate
more or less as on the BBC, except that <shift-break> does not look for
a !BOOT file. However, when the emulator initialises or when the new
command, *RESET 1 which emulates a power-on 6502 reset, is invoked, the
emulator looks for a file and option (*OPT 4,n) that have been set in
system variables 65Host$BootFile and 65Host$BootOptions, so this useful
BBC feature can be approximated. The BootOptions value also specifies
the emulatoræs default filing system, from which the BootFile is to be
fetched (see Table 2). The option and filename may also be passed as
parameters when the emulator is started from the command line.
4.7
The Éinternalæ DFS invoked by *DISC uses the current RISC-OS system,
normally ADFS, with rather elaborate and inconvenient translations of
filenames. It requires, say, an ADFS disc to be set up with four
directories in the root named 1, 2, 3 and 4 which are Élooked atæ by DFS
as four BBC drives. There seems to me to be little point in using this
system when ADFS can more conveniently be used directly: it definitely
did not meet my need to be able to use standard BBC DFS floppies in my
external 5.25ö drive!
4.7
Though the latest Release 1.6 has improved the internal DFS emulation in
many details, the fundamental difficulties with it remain. This Release
has lowered default PAGE to the normal BBC ÉBæ value of &1900 and it may
be further lowered with care to &1100 to release more memory. Some other
detailed improvements have also been made, and it runs generally faster
than the earlier Releases.
4.7
As mentioned above, all 16 sideways slots at &8000 are potentially
available. BASIC is always seen in slot 12; ARFS and UTILSROM are cached
in slots 11 & 10 by the !Run file. Other BBC ROM images can be cached in
any of the remaining slots, including 13-15 if a startup language other
than BASIC is preferred. I have tried numerous BBC ROM images which seem
satisfactory unless they try to use non-existent or different hardware.
View, Beebugæs Toolkit+ and BeebHelp, and Wordwise Plus all work
properly but fairly slowly. Other slots may be prepared for sideways RAM
(the !Run file needs to be edited as required). ROM images may then be
*SRLOADed within the emulator using the BBC Master SRAM commands and
syntax. Each slot that is set up as ROM or RAM besides slot 12 needs 16K
in the RMA: 240K for them all.
4.7
ArcDFS
4.7
This package has been adequately reviewed elsewhere so I will limit my
remarks. I think the package is really excellent value; it provides all
the facilities of the three common BBC disc systems, and much more, and
the manual is a model of clarity. In the desktop, a new drive icon is
provided for each floppy drive surface. Eight surfaces can be handled,
so if a DFS ramdisc is set up (using *RAMDISC <drive>) it need not be an
existing drive as the manual implies. Windows behave exactly as for
ADFS, so file transfer and manipulation are extremely easy. The root DFS
directory is always displayed and files in other directories are shown
with their directory letter, so transfer to ADFS may need some re-
naming.
4.7
One note of caution: the icons and other file data displayed with Éfull
infoæ are meaningless and untidy. However, do not be tempted to *STAMP
or *SETTYPE DFS files because you will then change the addresses in the
disc directory that DFS and the emulator will require for correct
*LOADing. This does not matter for BASIC files, so it is possible to
define a filetype for these and then provide an icon and RunAlias.
4.7
All the many DFS commands are available from the *-prompt. *EX and *INFO
show heading, addresses and the L attribute in correct DFS format. The
!RunImage application is not required for such use, only the modules DFS
and ABClibrary. One particularly useful new *-command is *ASSIGN which
permits reallocation of logical drive number to physical drive surface.
I use this to make my external 5╝ö drive 2 appear from 65Tube and 65Host
to be DFS drives :0 and :2 instead of :4 and :6. Another useful one is
*DETAILS which reveals a discæs size and format.
4.7
Using various features of 65Host and ArcDFS, I have edited my !Run file
(available on the monthly disc) to start an application !BBC+DFS which
provides a DFS-based BBC ÉBæ with ROM/RAM expansion card. Clicking on
the icon, loads both emulator and DFS and looks for an EXEC !BOOT file
on the 5╝ö DFS drive :0. I have tried many of my old BBC discs and most
behave just as before.
4.7
Extras
4.7
As well as the new emulators, Release 1.6 includes some utilities to
help with the conversion of BBC Model B BASIC programs to run in native
Archimedes mode under RISC-OS. I have not used these yet. There is much
advice in the manual on this topic besides detail of all versions of
both 6502 emulators. There is also a comprehensive list of 3rd party
software, hardware and services aimed at the general objective of using
existing BBC software one way or another on the Archimedes.
4.7
Documentation
4.7
The voluminous documentation is provided only as files on the disc in
both raw text and Acorn DTP forms, and three raw text ReadMe files. The
total material is nearly seventy A4 pages but there is a great deal of
repetition and, as the files are all dated Aug or Sep 90, the new bits
in the ReadMe files should have been included in the main text.
4.7
There are still some obscurities and ambiguities. Much of the material
applies to all the Releases and should have been in the User Guide. I do
not have Acorn DTP so I have no page numbering or index. One day I shall
edit the lot and would expect the volume to be halved. I do not like
having a manual provided only in disc files and hope this is not an
Acorn trend.
4.7
Conclusion
4.7
Both emulations are now very satisfactory and should allow a great deal
of BBC software to be used as it is. Emulation of the BBC DFS in 65Host
is not good, even in the latest Release, and of course there is no DFS
emulation with 65Tube. Both, however, work harmoniously with ArcDFS
after a bit of Étweakingæ. Naturally, full DFS compatibility requires an
external 5╝ö disc drive.
4.7
Everyone should certainly be using Release 1.4 (Shareware 17). The
further improvements in the actual emulations of Release 1.6 are modest
but it is the first to provide adequate documentation which allows the
software to be properly exploited and some conversion utilities.
4.7
Whether Release 1.6 is good value is a moot point. Personally I think
almost ú20.00 is far too much for only modest performance improvements
and a machine readable and poorly edited section omitted from the User
Guide; it would be less unreasonable if a printed manual were included.
Nevertheless, I certainly could not have arranged so effective an
emulation without the manual and for those who have substantial BBC
software they want to continue to use with the Archimedes, the new
Release is essential.  A
4.7

4.7
Table 1: BBC 6502 Emulators Ö Summary of development
4.7
Source    Release    65Tube    65Host
BBCsound ARFS    UTILS
4.7
    number
4.7
        version    version    version
version    version
4.7
        size    size    size    size
size
4.7
        date    date    date    date
date
4.7

4.7
        (module)    (module)    (module)
(ROM)    (ROM)
4.7
ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ
4.7
Acorn    Initial    0.96    0.97    No
0.13    0.01
4.7
Apps 2    RISC-OS    29K    55K        3K
16K
4.7
disc    release    Nov 88    Dec88
Dec 88    Nov 88
4.7
ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ
4.7
Acorn    1.4    No    1.14    0.07    1.09
ditto
4.7
RISC-OS            63K    1K    6K
4.7
Extras disc            Sep 89
Feb 89    Aug 89
4.7
= Shareware 17
4.7
ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ
4.7
Acorn    1.6    1.17    1.19    ditto
1.24    ditto
4.7
BBC Model        31K    63K        7K
4.7
B Emulator disc    Apr 90    Jul 90
Jul 90
4.7
ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ
4.7

4.7
Table 2:  65Host Boot Options
4.7
The system variable 65Host$BootOptions is set to a 32-bit hex number
which is read as a string; i.e. &00000<n>0<m>. The leading zeros may be
omitted.
4.7
    Value of <n>    Filing System
4.7
    (bits 8 - 15)
4.7
    0    Default (Release 1.4, ARFS; 1.6, ADFS)
4.7
    1    TAPE
4.7
    2    TAPE3
4.7
    3    ROM
4.7
    4    DISC (i.e. the internal DFS emulation)
4.7
    5    NET
4.7
    6    Ö
4.7
    7    Ö
4.7
    8    ADFS
4.7
    9    Ö
4.7
    A    Ö
4.7
    B    ARFS (i.e. the current RISC-OS system)
4.7
    C-FF        Ö
4.7

4.7
    Value of <m>        Boot Action
4.7
    (bits 0 - 1)
4.7
    0    No action
4.7
    1    *LOAD
4.7
    2    *RUN
4.7
    3    *EXEC
4.7

4.7
Archimedes Quest
4.7
Joe Gallagher
4.7
The educational database Quest was one of the first available for the
BBC Micro but has gained the reputation of being something of a dinosaur
in these days of drop down/ pop up, all-singing, all-dancing windowed
systems. Its origins predate the era of bit mapped graphics, let alone
the widespread use of graphic user interfaces. Questæs roots were very
much in the dBase mould of command driven databases and it has retained
this flavour in all of its incarnations. The latest offering, Archimedes
Quest from the Advisory Unit at Hatfield, proves to be no exception to
this rule.
4.7
The program comes on a single disc accompanied by a slim guide similar
to those which have accompanied previous releases. On booting up, you
are presented with the öValuesò screen which acts as the command centre
for Questæs operations. This is the same Mode 7 screen as is found on
earlier releases Ö it is unfortunate that the authors chose to use the
Archimedesæ rather feeble emulation of a teletext screen. Clearly they
have been concerned with retaining the look and feel of Quest on the
Beeb. This screen, despite looking rather plain by todayæs standards, is
highly informative, as previous users of the program will recall. Apart
from the usual status information, it shows the fileæs fields, the last
typed query, which fields will be displayed by the PRINT command and in
what screen format they will be shown.
4.7
Quest is not a RISC-OS application. It can be run from the desktop as an
ordinary single tasking program and under the latest version has its own
icon which can be installed on the icon bar. However, it makes use of
neither the window manager nor the systemæs concept of filetypes.
4.7
The former is perhaps inevitable in the light of the decision to retain
the traditional command driven approach. This omission seems heretical
given the growing proportion of Archimedes applications which is multi-
tasking. Indeed, apart from its speed and graphic capabilities, it is
the powerful and easy to use windowing system of the Archimedes which
enables it to retain the edge over rivals of comparable price. Acorn
would dearly like to expand its existing user base but schools and
colleges still represent an important market. The RISC-OS desktop would
seem to be tailor made for this educational environment. The Archimedesæ
consistent, easy to use and intuitive menuing system allows operating
knowledge gained using one application to be readily employed when
learning a new one. Both student and teachers can get on with some
useful work quickly and without having to become expert in dozens of
arcane commands. With respect to information handling, multitasking
offers the student the opportunity to construct several views of their
findings and export these results, whether they be text or graphics, to
another application for further processing.
4.7
Retaining the old Quest interface appears to be a deliberate decision
based on the premise that, the user should be able to switch rapidly
from one facility of the program to another without having to go through
a labyrinth of menus and submenus. To help you along the way, the
function keys are defined with many of the most used keywords and there
is an extensive help facility accessed by typing HELP.
4.7
However, the fact remains that the user needs to know a minimum number
of commands to get going. I read recently that, amongst other things, an
ideal educational database should never take more than half an hour to
get to grips with. While sympathising with the sentiment, I feel that
even the most sophisticated user interface does not remove the need for
the learner to come to terms with the conceptual hurdles involved. You
can quickly learn how to knock out a few interesting shapes with !Draw
but it will take you slightly longer if you really want to use it in
anger. The truth is that, for all but the most trivial of tasks or those
such as word-processing, which are really aids to an existing skill,
there is a learning curve to be climbed. This is especially true of
information retrieval. The question is, does Quest make it steeper than
it need be?
4.7
In Quest it is possible to build quite complex conditional searches from
simple ones (and those containing multiple test values) joined by
logical operators. There is, however, no equivalent to the öhistoryò
command found in some database systems and no way of stringing together
a sequence of queries with display or formatting commands. Everything
takes place in the immediate mode with no possibility of editing other
than using the copy key to copy a line of text entered previously and no
way of saving a sequence of operations except by the rather artificial
and awkward use of a command file executed from the östarò prompt which
is accessible at all times.
4.7
While one can see a rationale for sticking with a command driven
approach, the lack of any kind of macro facility is, Iæm afraid,
something which greatly diminishes the much vaunted power and flexibil
ity of the system. Furthermore, the RISC-OS menuing facility is a huge
improvement not only on the old style full screen menus found in
packages such as Key on the BBC, but also surpasses those of the drop
down variety found on the Mac and in the Microsoft Windows environment
on the PC.
4.7
How then does Archimedes Quest shape up as an educational database for
the 90És? This version, on the face of it, would seem to offer very
little more than a bigger and faster edition of its 8 bit predecessor.
However, it certainly is both of these things. Quest runs comfortably
even on an unexpanded Archimedes 305 (are there any of these left?) and
it easily out performs its equivalent running under MSDOS on a Nimbus,
despite being coded entirely in BBC BASIC!
4.7
However, speed apart, there are a number of enhancements to this version
which make it worthy of consideration. Questæs infamous unfriendly
command language has mellowed somewhat to include more natural language
terms. For example, the program now allows you to substitute öhasò for
ösubò when searching for a text substring in a query and there are
similar modifications for handling other relationships as well as
housekeeping operations.
4.7
While Quest has always been highly rated for the flexibility of its
interrogative facilities, the same could not be said to be true of its
file handling. This area has been improved considerably. Quest is
perhaps the grand-daddy of educational databases and this is reflected
in the fact that many of its competitors have facilities to read and
write Quest files. In addition to this, Quest32 is able to import and
export files in both comma separated and tab separated format, as well
as data files from earlier versions of Quest. Further flexibility has
been added in that it is now possible to merge two data files and add or
delete fields within the database.
4.7
Questæs ability to communicate with other programs is now fairly
respectable, although it still falls short of those provided by a true
RISC-OS application. Nevertheless it is possible to export virtually all
of the programæs output; textual, statistical or graphical (as Archi
medes sprites) to external editors. You can create a data file for First
Word Plusæ mail shot facility simply by saving a file or a selection
from a file in comma separated format.
4.7
Graphs & charts
4.7
Undoubtedly, the ability to derive graphs and charts from data files
helps the novice user in interpreting their data. Quest has a fairly
comprehensive and integrated charting facility which is accessed by
typing STATISTICS or pressing the appropriate function key. This leads
to a menu (yes, there is one!) which includes options for pie charts,
scatter graphs, histograms and bar charts. Tables of corresponding
statistics for each graph can be viewed at the press of a button. Graphs
can be dumped out immediately to an Epson compatible printer or saved to
disc. In fact, in order to print a graph out on an Integrex colour
printer, it is necessary to save the screen first and then print it from
the desktop using the RISC-OS printer drivers. The graph facilities,
while adequate for most purposes, are perhaps the most unfriendly part
of the program. Quest does not require the user to define the type of
data being entered. So, when you choose to view a graph, the program
cannot check to see if the fields you are using will produce sensible
results. Instead, it proceeds to check through all the records before
giving an obscure error message where it encounters inappropriate data
types. Unfortunately, the manual is rather brief in its treatment of
statistics. As this aspect of the software is probably the most
difficult for unsophisticated users to master, a more step by step
approach with worked examples would have been welcome. For instance, the
handbook introduces the use of order files for constructing bar charts
but fails to give an adequate explanation of how to derive these.
4.7
Archimedes Quest is a worthy, if unexciting, product. I think it should
have been possible to build on its existing strengths while taking on
board the benefits of working as a true RISC-OS application. As it turns
out, it has merely accomplished the former.
4.7
The large number of data files available for the program allied to the
extensive support materials produced, will ensure that it will continue
to have its adherents.
4.7
Quest is not really the way forward in 32 bit databases but it certainly
does offer excellent value for money. For ú30 you get a program with a
wealth of features and it can be networked at no extra cost. Archimedes
Quest may look primitive when compared to glossier offerings such as
Minervaæs Multistore but, at nearly a tenth of the price, it may still
prove to be an attractive offering to schools with hard pressed budgets.
The real test of it will be how will it fare in the face of competition
from the very fully featured and attractively priced Key Plus offering
from ITV Schools.
4.7
Archimedes Quest costs ú30 and is available from the Advisory Unit for
Microtechnology in Education.  A
4.7

4.7
The CITIZEN IFDD Ö A öWhoppyò?
4.7
Ned Abell
4.7
The Archive team will soon be seeing new removable hard discs hitting
the office telephones in June or July with the launch of a Citizen
Europe system delayed from öearly 1991ò. One version was previewed at
last yearæs Which Computer Show at the NEC.
4.7
If your computer does not already have a Winchester disc or a second
floppy, this product could well be for you as itæs a large capacity 3╜ö
Floppy Disc Drive, (presumably with the öIò standing for Intelligent?).
4.7
The IFDD will take a standard 3╜ö floppy disc and read (but not write)
the files on it but its interesting new feature is that it will also
read and write to new high capacity 3╜ò metal-media removable discs.
There will be two different IFDD versions offered, one accepting 4M
discs scheduled for release in June and the other taking 20M discs which
will be released towards the end of the year. I understand the discs are
not interchangeable.
4.7
Read, Read Write
4.7
The IFDD reads ordinary 3╜ö discs for both 1.44 M and 720 K formatted
capacities, whilst it also acts as a large storage medium that can be
removed to a safe place. The drive unit is 101 x 25 x 153 mm (the same
approximate size as a current floppy drive) and works with a SCSI
interface that can be supplied by Citizen on a board 101 x 8 x 154 mm
and the drive weighs 600 grams. Some testing will be required to see how
the Citizen interface will mate with the Archimedes and whether existing
Archimedes SCSI podules will control the new drives and Iæm hoping to
acquire a complete unit for öthe hardware teamò.
4.7
I understand that the higher capacity is achieved for the 20M drive at
540 tracks per inch at 600 rpm and 63 sectors per track. It is possible
that the discs use special patterns on the surface, probably using CD
drive optical technology to correct the headæs position over the disc
guide line and thus transfer the data which it will do at 3╜ Mbit per
second at an average access time of 50ms. The discs will be initially
supplied by Maxell and TDK.
4.7
Whoppies!! or is it Flopchesters??
4.7
The idea must be that you can fit an IFDD as your only conventional
drive and store larger quantities of data yet still retain the ability
to read your old discs. Old files could then be copied through memory to
the new medium. I expect the new discs to have a write protect switch
like a conventional disc.
4.7
If you send discs through the post Ö beware. If you mail an IFDD disc to
someone they must have an IFDD of the right size to read it. If you want
to send a standard 3╜ö disc, you canæt write information to it on an
IFDD, so its best to think about running both systems Ö along with the
5╝ò you have for the PCemulator because it was left over from the Model
B!
4.7
Options
4.7
In the Archimedes market, the most likely use for an IFDD would be to
give the single drive home user both a second facia-mounted drive and a
hard sized disc, with the ability to copy conventional discs put in the
IFDD source to the existing destination drive 0. Archiving could be done
from a source on drive 0 to backup storage on the high capacity IFDD and
you could copy high capacity IFDD discs via the computers memory to
either a new disc in the same drive or to lots of standard floppies in
the other! Any system will take some careful thought to help your
particular applications.
4.7
New computers?
4.7
The implication for the whole Acorn range is interesting. Do we see the
emergence of new home machines with larger levels of RAM and high
processor speed to cope with greater windowed multi-tasking but only one
20M IFDD disc? It would make a lot of sense if the new ARM portable has
a whoppy, a serial port and no hard disc. Equipment manufacturers will
have access to the 4M drives in a couple of weeks. There are no exact
retail price details as yet but its expected that 4M drives will be
about 30% up on the cost of existing 3╜ö drives and 20M versions will be
the equivalent price to conventional 20M Winchesters. The success of the
whole project will depend on which manufacturers start fitting them to
computers and thus on Citizenæs initial pricing policy and especially on
the price of the discs. Maxell say that on launch they are expecting 4M
end user disc prices of ú90-100 per box of 10.
4.7
Knitting fog!
4.7
The technology looks very good, if somewhat slower than the 20ms access
Micronet removable discs. No doubt access times will improve. If these
IFDD units can be supplied to the customer at a price lower than
equivalent conventional hard disc storage, with Citizen making excellent
royalties from the disc sales and offering the technology to other
manufacturers at reasonable cost, then they could become the industry
standard and replace the standard floppy because they will still read
the older discs Ö yet the 5╝ö disc is still taking a long time to die
and some people are still using 8ò Ö so do we want yet another format?
Given the upward compatibility of the IFDD, I think we can cope with
another format and I certainly will be buying removable hard discs. The
only question is Ö which one? I think the price and availability of the
discs themselves will decide it Ö a sort of pounds per Megabyte equation
being needed. In my case, Iæm staggered to see Iæve got 155 discs in
boxes in front of me Ö thatæs 124M Ö plus quite a few blanks so I put
together a table of likely costs.
4.7
The cost is certainly an important factor but my ability to manage my
existing data is more important! Many of my discs are backup copies and
there is much pruning to be done. Buying !Spark has made the collection
physically smaller. I also need the ability to find a font, letter or
picture quickly and thus my discs are labelled in this generic fashion.
The range of applications I use is limited but putting several on a disc
is difficult because of the 800k floppy limit. If I had a hard disc, I
would use it to hold commonly used programs and current projects, a
removable system allows that and security. Looking ahead is like
knitting fog but I can see the advantage of having all my Fonts with
!Impression, !PDriver and !system all on one disc with room to spare!!
4.7
Iæm therefore looking at this whoppy option extremely closely and hope
to write more on this soon, even if I donæt intend to hurl them across
the office!  A
4.7

4.7
Storage Costs for Removable Discs
4.7
Costs per Mbyte based on 150M of data.
4.7
Archive February 91 prices for a A310 including podules. (Therefore add
2.5% for VAT increase.)
4.7
    N║ of    media    2nd drive    ú
4.7
    Media    cost    cost    per
4.7
    for 150M    ú    ú    Mbyte
4.7
Floppies    187.5    225.00    100
2.2
4.7
IFDD-4    37.5    356.25    130
3.2
4.7
(projected)
4.7
MicroNet    3.6    285.70    595
6.7
4.7
42M
4.7
IFDD-20    7.50    356.25    400
5.0
4.7
(projected based on 20M Hard disc prices inc. podule and proportional
media costs)
4.7
Assuming you need a fixed disc to store all the data and you need room
to grow...
4.7
Internal Fixed Hard Drives
4.7
Costs per Megabyte based on 200 Megabytes
4.7
200M Oak SCSI    1240.00
6.2
4.7
200M IDE        1033.85
5.2
4.7

4.7
Technoscan II Upgrade
4.7
Alan Mothersole
4.7
Technomatic have recently announced a software upgrade for existing
users of their Technoscan hand-held CCD scanner. This upgrade is
available for ú22.50 +VAT and consists of a new ROM to fit onto the
interface board, a fitting instruction sheet, new disc based software
and a comprehensive manual. (Readers may like to refer back to Archive
3.5 p50, where I reviewed the original scanner.)
4.7
The ROM is easy to fit provided the orientation if the original is
observed. The instructions are easy to follow. Powering up the computer
and typing *Podules from the supervisor prompt displays the message
Étechnoscan II scanner podule V2.00æ.
4.7
The disc contains the same sample scanned images as before but has a new
application file for the scanner. Double clicking on this mounts the
scanner icon on the icon bar adjacent to the drive icons. Clicking on
this opens a task window and clicking <menu> displays the options. The
application is multi-tasking, except during scanning, and can be used
with the interactive !Help application.
4.7
The purpose of this review is to describe the main differences between
Mark I and Mark II scanners. The software versions are 0.95 and 1.91
respectively.
4.7
My first observation was that Technomatic have changed the scanning head
sold with the software however there did not appear to be any electrical
of software incompatibilities between the new software and my old scan
head.
4.7
True monochrome scanning in Letter mode now works correctly and is
available at the highest resolution of 400 dpi. Clearly, one of the main
uses for scanners is in DTP and therefore the author has kept the memory
requirement to a minimum of 64k to ensure its compatibility with
Impression, Ovation, Tempest, etc. on a 1Mbyte machine.
4.7
The manual now runs to 55 pages of well presented tutorial, technical
and problem solving content.
4.7
On the scan head, the resolution switch action has been changed such
that rather than changing the size of the scanned image it now changed
the number of pixels scanned across the full width. With the original
scanner, sprites could only be saved as mode 12 sprites but with the
Mark II, the default modes are 12, 20, 0 and 18 for 16 grey, 8 grey,
mono (hi-res) and mono (lo-res) respectively but the sprites can be
saved into any screen mode.
4.7
Further to this, it is now possible to load any (default mode) sprite
back into the scanner task window. This is a great boon for anyone
wishing to use the powerful Écutæ facility or palette changes on a
previously saved sprite. The basic scanning method remains unchanged
except that there is now an accompanying Ébeepæ to the changed screen
border colour when scanning is too fast. This saves you from having to
look at both the screen and the scanner at the same time!
4.7
Additional set-up options can be defined prior to scanning Ö to preset
the size of sprite, scanner resolution, image resolution and zoom ratio.
The latter allows the x to y ratio to be fixed. An additional useful
feature is an auto shut down of the scan head if scanning has not been
started after a preset time. This will help to prolong the life of the
CCD sensor.
4.7
Extra zoom features are available for processing a scanned image.
ÉNormaliseæ will ensure that the saved sprite will have the correct size
and aspect ratio of the original object. ÉFit to Screenæ reduces the
size of the displayed image to fit onto the screen but maintaining the
correct aspect ratio. The Edit options have been updated to include
rotation of the sprite by +/- 90 degrees.
4.7
Another improvement has been made with the palette. The original version
allowed the user to change the colour tint of the two extreme colours
only but the new software takes a different approach. A set of vertical
Évolume controlæ slider bars are shown which can be used to adjust the
grey levels from black to white of each of the grey levels or allocate a
non-grey colour to a grey level. It is therefore possible to introduce
colour to a black and white sprite. This could be very useful in DTP.
4.7
Finally, the option of printing out the sprite has been provided without
having to load in !Paint was necessary as before. Printing is done with
the RISC-OS drivers and this review was made with Version 2 of
!PrinterDM. It is possible to set orientation, magnification, margin and
number of copies. This appeared to work quite satisfactorily.
4.7
In conclusion, the upgrade appears to be a worthwhile investment and a
significant improvement over the original.  A
4.7

4.7
Help!!!!
4.7
Å    Dynamic mouse resolution Ö I have been told that there is a module (?)
for the Archimedes which makes the resolution of the mouse ödynamicò
(i.e. transfers fast/slow mouse movements into big/small pointer
movements); can anyone tell me if this is so and where to obtain this
software? Jochen Konietzko, Fuehlinger Weg 15, W-5000 Koeln 71, Germany.
4.7
Å    Graphics and music Ö I want to synchronise graphics & music using
sound-tracker and Maestro files from BASIC V or using SWIæs. Can anyone
help? D.P.Allen, 12 Grove Farm Park, Mytchett, Camberley, Surrey, GU16
6AQ.
4.7
Å    Help for the handicapped Ö Many may not know that for a number of
years, Aleph One have sold computer-enhanced bio-feedback systems which
are used to help in the rehabilitation of physically handicapped
persons. Signals emanating from muscle tension appear on the screen as
graphs or are used to control video games. Aleph One have recently
translated the software as a RISC-OS application and are looking for
free or public domain games that can be made available, with the
package, to these patients. If you know of any entertaining games that
could be controlled by one or two joysticks or switches, please talk to
Laurie van Someren at Aleph One on 0223- 811679 or fax him on 812713.
4.7
Å    HP DeskJet 500 problems Ö Has anyone had success in controlling the HP
DeskJet 500 directly from BASIC V? I have been unable to alter the
printeræs font characteristics e.g. bold, pitch, etc using the Archime
desæ BASIC VDU command. To my disgust I have had little or no technical
support from Hewlett Packard or my local HP dealer. Roger Darlington, 1
Fells Grove, Worsley, Manchester, M28 5JN.
4.7
Help offered
4.7
Å    Improved Hawk V9 utilities Ö Some ARM code image processing utilities
have been written for the Hawk digitiser. These are corrected and
enhanced versions of the Hawk utilities along with 1D and 2D Fast
Fourier Transforms. If you are interested you should contact Claus
Birkner, Gneisenaustr. 1B, W 5800 Hagen, W. Germany.
4.7
Å    Using an HP7475a plotter with the Archimedes Ö If anyone wants to know
how to connect a HP7475a plotter to the Archimedes, especially if they
need to use Archimedes PCB, they should contact Claus Birkner, Gneise
naustr. 1B, W 5800 Hagen, West Germany.  A
4.7

4.7
Figure 1
4.7

4.7
Figure 2
4.7

4.7
Figure 3
4.7

4.7
4th Dimension    P.O. Box 4444, Sheffield. (0742-700661)
4.7
4mation    Linden Lea, Rock Park, Barnstaple, Devon, EX32 9AQ. (0271-
45566)
4.7
Abacus Training    29 Okus Grove, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wilts, SN2
6QA.
4.7
Acorn Computers Ltd    Fulbourn
Road, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge CB1 4JN. (0223-245200) (210685)
4.7
Alpine Software     P.O.Box 25, Portadown, Craigavon, BT63 5UT. (0762-
342510)
4.7
Atomwide Ltd (p 8)    23 The
Greenway, Orpington, Kent, BR5 2AY. (0689-838852) (896088)
4.7
Avisoft     11 Meadow Close, Wolvey, Hinckley, LE10 3LW.
4.7
Base5   (p4)    PO Box 378, Woking, Surrey GU21 4DF.
4.7
Beebug Ltd    117 Hatfield Road, St Albans, Herts, AL1 4JS. (0727-40303)
(60263)
4.7
Black Sheep Software     P.O.Box
1831, London N15 3NE.
4.7
Clares Micro Supplies    98 Mid
dlewich Road, Rudheath, Northwich, Cheshire, CW9 7DA. (0606-48511)
(48512)
4.7
Colton Software (p14)    149-151 St
Neots Road, Hardwick, Cambridge, CB3 7QJ. (0954-211472) (211607)
4.7
Computer Concepts (p30/31)    Gaddesden
Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP2 6EX. (0442-63933) (231632)
4.7
Cygnus Software    11 Newmarke Street, Leicester, LE1 5SS.
4.7
Dabhand Computing    5 Victoria Lane, Whitefield, Manchester, M25 6AL.
(061-766-8423) (8425)
4.7
EMR Ltd     14 Mount Close, Wickford, Essex, SS11 8HG. (0702-335747)
4.7
Human Computer Interface Ltd     25 City
Road, Cambridge CB1 1DP. (0223-314934) (462562)
4.7
Longman-Logotron    Dales Brewery, Gwydir Street, Cambridge, CB1 2LJ.
(0223-323656) (460208)
4.7
MEWsoft     11 Cressy Road, London, NW3 2NB. (071-267-2642) (482-6452)
4.7
Micro Studio Ltd    22 Churchgate Street, Soham, Ely, Cambridgeshire.
4.7
MJD Software     13 Burnham Way, London, W13 9YE. (081-567-4284)
4.7
Oak Solutions (p19)    Cross Park
House, Low Green, Rawdon, Leeds, LS19 6HA. (0532-502615) (506868)
4.7
Pandora Technology Ltd    9 St Marks
Place, London, W11 1NS. (071-221-9653) (9654)
4.7
Pineapple Software    39 Brownlea
Gardens, Seven Kings, Ilford, Essex, IG3 9NL. (081-599-1476)
4.7
Ray Maidstone    421 Sprowston Road, Norwich, NR3 4EH. (0603-407060)
(417447)
4.7
Serious Statistical Software    Lynwood,
Benty Heath Lane, Willaston, South Wirral, L64 1SD. (051-327-4268)
4.7
Shenley Software     5 Coombefield Close, New Malden, Surrey, KT3 5QF.
(081-949-3235)
4.7
Sherston Software     Swan Barton,
Sherston, Malmesbury, Wilts. SN16 0LH. (0666-840433) (840048)
4.7
Soft Rock Software     124 Marissal
Road, Henbury, Bristol, BS10 7NP. (0272-503639 evenings)
4.7
Southern Printers    47 Drake Road, Willesborough, Ashford, Kent TN24 0UZ.
(0233-633919)
4.7
Techsoft UK Ltd (p20)    Old School
Lane, Erryrs, Mold, Clwyd, CH7 4DA. (082-43318)
4.7
The Advisory Unit    Endymion Road, Hatfield Herts, AL10 8AU. (07072-65443)
(273651)
4.7
The Serial Port (p22)    Burcott
Manor, Wells, Somerset, BA5 1NH. (0243-531194) (531196)
4.7
Westbourne Services    34 Bradley
Street, Wotton under Edge, Gloucester, GL12 7AR.
4.7
Wild Vision    15 Witney Way, Boldon Colliery, Tyne & Wear NE35 9PE.
(091-519-1455) (1929)
4.7
ZCL Ltd    Unit 1, Ringway Industrial Estate, Eastern Avenue, Lichfield,
Staffs. (0543-416626)
4.7

4.7

4.7

4.7
Norwich Computer Services  96a Vauxhall Street, Norwich, NR2 2SD.
0603Ö766592 (Ö764011)
4.7

4.7