Archive Magazine 1995/ARCHIVE95.iso/text/products/volume_05/issue_06

Text File | 1995-02-16 | 21KB | 363 lines

Å   3D Construction Kit is Domarkæs new program for creating 3D anima
tions. Design your own house and öwalk through itò even before itæs
built or build and fly your own plane. The price is ú49.99 inc VAT (ú46
through Archive) which includes an instructional video cassette. (See
Comment Column on page 20.)
5.6
Å   A400 series discontinued Ö Acorn have decided, not surprisingly, to
cease production of the A400 series computers. There are still some
machines available and there may be some bargain prices around,
especially for A420s. If the price is right, you could throw away the
20M drive and put in a decent-sized SCSI drive. (For example, we have
one A410, 4M with 40M ST506 drive available at ú1190. Give us a ring if
you are interested.)
5.6
Å   Bible Base Ö This is a RISC-OS compliant package using a PD version of
the King James Bible. It comes on six floppy discs and can be run from
hard disc. It is ú12 inc p&p from Bernard Veasey, 24 Drift Road,
Nyetimber, Bognor Regis, West Sussex  PO21 3NS.
5.6
Å   CD-ROM Ö Cumana have reduced the price of their CD-ROM from ú399 to
ú299. The ROM drive has an average access time of 350 ms and a data
transfer rate of about 150 kbytes/sec. (There are apparently a number of
Archimedes-specific CDs under development including an encyclopaedia
from PEP Associates which was being demonstrated at the BETT Show.)
5.6
Å   David Pillingæs program discs Ö Over the months, we have mentioned
David Pillingæs excellent series of discs of Archimedes software.
Despite the fact that they are so good, we have not, in the past,
stocked them. The trouble is that they are so cheap (ú5.99 each) that
itæs impossible for us to give a discount on them and still cover our
costs. However, there has been so much demand that we have decided to
sell them at ú6 each so that you can have the convenience of being able
to order them from Archive alongside other items without having to make
a separate order. If you only want Davidæs discs, it is obviously better
to go direct to him, especially if you want several discs because, if
you buy four discs at a time, you get one free. We cannot operate that
offer. We have decided to stock the most popular discs. (The numbers in
brackets are references to Archive reviews or comments.)
5.6
EMACS (2.6 p36 + 3.3 p11) Ö The classic text editor. A multiple buffer/
document editor with built-in programming language. Comes complete with
manual, online tutorial and several programs. Includes full working C
source code.
5.6
MicroSpell Ö 43,000 word spelling checker, MicroSpell is a spell checker
for EMACS but works with other applications, too. It can also be loaded
as a module to provide continuous spell checking while you type and
instant access to the dictionary with *spell command.
5.6
Chess Ö (4.9 p59 + 4.12 p25) Play Chess on the RISC-OS desktop. Fully
RISC-OS compatible version of chess. Computer will think of its next
move, whilst you use other programs. Many features; load and save games,
edit board, computer play, step through game, algebraic notation, on
screen clocks, undo move, save game setup, print games etc.
5.6
CrossStar Ö Wimp based crossword puzzle solver. Fully RISC-OS compliant,
desktop based crossword puzzle solver. Includes over 200,000 words.
Saves completed grids as Draw files for use in DTP etc. Solves inter
locking clues. Multiple/user defined dictionaries. Dictionaries can be
edited or browsed through. Add new words to dictionary.
5.6
Spark (3.4 p22) Ö File archiver for RISC-OS which lets you keep files
and directories in archive files in a compressed form. It will unpack
zip, zoo, lzh, tar (both UNIX and Archimedes), Compress and arc (SEA, PK
and Archimedes) files from IBM PCæs or other systems. It can also create
PC compatible arc files. Spark can code and decode, uucode, atob (CET+)
and FCET files. DES data encryption gives password protection of files.
(Bonus items on the disc include !BackDrop which lets you stick files
onto the desktop background, some PD applications, the old Éarcæ and
over 1M of nice colour pictures.)
5.6
MTV Raytracer Ö Database driven raytracing renderiser (mentioned in
Brian Cowanæs review of Scientific Software on page 55) which will
convert a geometric description of a scene into a 3D raytraced image
that can be saved as a sprite. All reflections and shadows in the scene
are calculated to give life-like pictures. Primitives Ö spheres, cones/
cylinders, polygons and patches. Demo images, database files, C source
code, instructions and background info.
5.6
StarChart Ö Boldly go with a RISC-OS multitasking program that uses a
database of 9,000 stars etc to produce star maps. Also calculates the
positions of the planets and shows them on the maps. Star maps are in
the form of Draw files and can be imported into !Draw or other
applications.
5.6
NovaPaint Ö Extensive 16 colour paint package. Features: easy to use;
primitives (lines, curves, circles, ellipses, triangles, rectangles,
etc.); tools (user-defined brushes, airbrush, auto-shader, colour fills,
colour-cycling brush-es/rectangle drawing, etc.); palette tools (define
graduated palettes, compress palette, colour mixing); effects (pixel
average, area squash/stretch/distort/rotate, sphere wrap, cylinder wrap,
Éblobæ). Plus the Fontmaster two-tone font system (including a font
editor and 23 fonts as well as bold, shadowed, underline and italic
styles); undo function. Pictures can be saved as sprites or in a special
compressed format (which can be used outside NovaPaint), 8x zoom at
which level fills, lines, triangles etc. can be drawn as well as pixel-
level editing. All drawing options can use Étransparentæ colour to
achieve irregular area copies etc; help facility and manual. 14 demo
pictures.
5.6
Panorama Ö Draw the World (5.5 p26) Ö 180,000 coordinates outlining the
lakes, rivers, continents, state boundaries, etc of the world and a
program that can produce Draw files from them. You can make your own
maps of any part of the world and then use them in DTP etc. Includes the
positions of nearly 1,000 cities. Does simple, cylinder, Mercator and
perspective projections. Can be used from a single floppy disc and
requires no setting up.
5.6
ArcFS (5.5 p59) Ö Compressed Filing System, ArcFS is a filing system
using the powerful LZW data compression algorithm. It allows files to be
saved in much less disc space. Because it is a true read/write filing
system, programs can be used in the normal way. So you can press <F3> to
save files back to the filing system and Impression documents can be
loaded by dragging or double clicking. Compatible with all normal filing
systems. Offers a choice of compression method. Files can be encrypted
for security. Can also read Spark and PC format archive files. Space
saved depends on file type e.g. sprites may use only 10% of normal.
5.6
Trace (5.4 p61 + Comment Column, page 25) Ö Trace takes sprites and
turns them into Draw files. Sprite format clip art is cheap and
plentiful and you can make your own with a scanner. Draw format clip art
is expensive and has to be painstakingly drawn by hand. Sprites take up
lots of valuable disc space. Draw files are smaller. Sprites cannot be
scaled easily. If you try to make them bigger, they develop jagged
edges. Unlike some trace programs, Trace will work with colour sprites.
Tracing is not magic Ö not all sprites will give good results.
5.6
Å   Deskjet 500 Colour printer drivers. Both Ace Computing and Risc
Developments now produce printer drivers for the Deskjet 500 Colour. Ace
Computingæs driver costs ú16 +VAT or ú17 through Archive and Risc
Developmentsæ costs ú15 +VAT.
5.6
Å   Desktop C and Desktop Assembler upgrades Ö It is still possible to
upgrade your old version of C or assembler to the desktop version which
includes the DDE. All you do is send the original disc plus an appropri
ate cheque to Acorn Direct at Wellingborough. The inc VAT costs are as
follows:
5.6
C release 3 to Desktop C   ú99.87
5.6
C release 2 to Desktop C   ú123.37
5.6
C release 1 to Desktop C   ú123.37
5.6
Assembler to Desktop Assembler   ú88.12
5.6
Software Developeræs Toolbox
5.6
áááááááááááááááááááááto Desktop Assembler   ú88.12
5.6
Å   Dreadnoughts is the second wargame product for the Archimedes from
Turcan Research Systems Ltd. The author, Dr Peter Turcan, obviously
enjoyed converting Waterloo to the Archimedes and has followed it with
this simulation which allows you to fight the sea battles of the First
World War Ö seven different scenarios are provided. The price is ú34.95
from Turcan Research Systems and there are two extra scenario discs at
ú16.95 each Ö Ironclads which includes various battles from Japanese-
Chinese and Russo-Japanese conflicts and Bismark which provides six
scenarios from the Second World War.
5.6
Å   Eizo monitors Ö Sadly, in their wisdom, Eizo have discontinued the
9070 16ö monitor. There is now a big gap between the 14ò 9060SZ (ú530)
and the T560i (ú1240). If you are looking for a monitor, turn to the
Comments Column on page 21 where I have given my personal views about
various multisync monitors. Ed
5.6
Å   EMR are continuing to produce new music based programs and hardware as
well as producing updates to their existing products. Studio24 Plus is
now up to version 3 (ú249 inc VAT), Scorewriter PMS has been updated
(ú499 inc VAT) as have RhythmBox II (ú29.95 inc VAT) and SoundSynth II
(ú49.95 +VAT). There are now eight Creations sound sample discs at two
for ú17 +VAT. MicroStudio is an interactive recording studio for home or
school music teaching (ú79 inc VAT). It allows you to learn the left and
right hand parts whilst following the music on screen. Symphony Music
Library and Modern Music Library consist of several discs of music, for
use with EMR music systems, costing between ú3 and ú15 inc VAT.
Storybook is an educational program that allows you to play and/or
produce your own stories with animated pictures and sampled sounds (ú59
+ VAT). Extra stories are available at ú39 +VAT a set. Mister Sound
Recorder is a tool for young children to allow them to record and replay
their own voices and sound around them. (ú15 inc VAT) DreamWave is öthe
only complete synthesizer for the Archimedesò, providing internal sound
creation for use with Maestro and other programs (ú39.95 inc VAT).
Orpheus is a sophisticated voice editing system for Midi instruments
(ú29.95 inc VAT). Karaoke Performer allows you to link a cassette
recorder to your computer and have a sing-along  session. The words are
given in a scrolling display and the words are highlighted in case you
lose your place! Sets of six songs cost ú19.95 inc VAT per set. VuMusic
II allows you to play back music from a Midi system or one of the other
EMR programs along with user generate sprites (ú39.95 inc VAT). If you
just want to play the music, you can use Music Player (ú19.95 inc VAT).
Midi Analyser is a utility for Studio24 Plus which monitors data
received on the Midi interface with printout if necessary  (ú19.95 inc
VAT). !SXFS is a system exclusive filing system that provides simple
recording and playback of any system exclusive data from Midi instrument
(ú9.95 inc VAT). WFS to module sample converter is a utility that
converts EMR waveforms to relocatable modules (ú9.95 inc VAT). Sound
Tracker to EMR waveform converter is a utility that removes sound sample
data from Sound Tracker files and converts them to EMR waveforms (ú9.95
inc VAT). The Midi4 Acorn SWI emulator allows EMRæs Midi4 interface to
be used with Acornæs standard SWI calls (ú6.95 inc VAT). Maestro File
Converter changes Maestro files to Studio24 / MicroStudio format (ú9.95
inc VAT). RhythmBox Converter changes RhythmBox note data to Studio24 /
MicroStudio format (ú9.95 inc VAT).
5.6
EMR also has a range of hardware add-ons. As well as their Sampler 8 and
Midi4, they now produce SMPTE which is a full spec SMPTE to Midi control
expansion card at ú129.57 +VAT, A3000 Multi-Interface which provides
Midi, sound sampler, analogue and user port at ú79 +VAT and A3000
Expansion Tower which allows A3000s to connect up to 5 standard half-
width podules and has space for a hard drive. The tower costs ú260 +VAT.
5.6
Å   FAXPACK Ö Computer Concepts, after a long gestation period, have
finally given birth to their FaxPack which is their internal fax card
for Archimedes computers including the A5000 (fitted externally on an
A3000). Instead of printing your fax and then putting it through a
conventional fax machine where it is scanned and digitised, you can,
from your own application, öprintò (FaxPack just appears as a printer
driver) straight to a fax interface and off down the telephone line.
This avoids the time, trouble and cost of having the intermediate paper
copy. If you donæt have a laser printer, this represents a considerable
time saving as you can send complex graphical images without waiting for
them to print out first.
5.6
This is a fully multi-tasking application, even allowing faxes to be
received in the background while you get on with other tasks. You can
communicate with other machines that have a FaxPack interface and
transfer files using the LZW compression algorithm to reduce transmis
sion times. (Equivalent speeds can be as much as 20k baud.)
5.6
The fax interface has auto-dial or manual modes and uses tone or pulse
dialling. It offers 9600 bps operation with fall back to 7200 and 4800
bps, compatible with all Group 3 fax machines. It will auto-answer, and
you can set the number of rings before answering.
5.6
It comes with a name and address utility program which allows you to
auto-dial the phone numbers directly from the phone book.
5.6
The price? Oh yes, it costs ú299 +VAT (+ú10 carriage) or ú345 through
Archive.
5.6
Å   Junior Database is a RISC-OS compliant database aimed at the edu
cational environment Ö for children aged six and upwards. The emphasis
is on good layout and ease of use. It has colour graphics and a hot-
linked personal tutor (sounds like fun!). Junior costs ú53 +VAT from
Iota Software or ú57 through Archive.
5.6
Å   Good Impression Ö A book of layouts, graphics and designs for
Impression. Sincere apologies to Stephen Ibbs about our review last
month (p47) in which Robert Chrismas said that it only had about 100
pages. In fact it has 207 pages! Good Impression is numbered in
chapters, not consecutively through the whole book and what I suspect
happened was that Robert counted the pages by counting the pieces of
paper making up the book, forgetting that there are two pages on each
piece of paper! Sorry if we have mislead you Ö personally, I think that
Good Impression is very reasonably priced at ú25 through Archive.
5.6
Å   Image Outliner is Iota Softwareæs offering on the sprite to Draw file
conversion front. It works in full 256 colours and is fully multi-
tasking. The price is ú79 +VAT or ú85 through Archive.
5.6
Å   Image Scan is an overhead image scanning system from Iota which uses
the latest CCD technology with rotating mirror and lenses. Being an
overhead system. it can be used for items that are not flat (see the
picture below) or are delicate and cannot have a hand scanner dragged
over them. It comes in modular form, so you can buy the different
components as finance allows. The basic black and white scanner costs
ú399 +VAT (ú450 through Archive). Then, to speed up the communication
with the computer, there is a fast parallel card costing ú99 +VAT (ú110
through Archive). If you want to expand to colour, the upgrade kit
including colour head and software costs ú149 +VAT (ú165 through
Archive) and a lighting unit is available to provide even illumination
of the objects being scanned. This costs ú92 +VAT (ú105 through
Archive).
5.6
Å   Junior PinPoint is a version of Longman Logotronæs önew generation
databaseò, PinPoint, aimed at primary schools. It has a reduced set of
facilities and a simplified user interface. It is intended for use at
Key Stages 1 & 2. The cost is ú24 +VAT from Longman or ú26 through
Archive.
5.6
Å   PAL colour decoder Ö Pineapple Software have produced a PAL colour
decoder. This allows an Archimedes monitor to be used as a TV set (by
using a video recorder as a tuner) or as an S-VHS TV monitor. The
decoder also acts as an S-VHS adaptor for the Pineapple Digitiser (or
any other digitiser that requires R, G, B and sync signals). The price
is ú79 +VAT.
5.6
Å   Pineapple digitiser software Ö Pineapple have released a new version
of the software for their colour digitiser. This comes as a free upgrade
to owners. It provides the facility to capture a sequence of frames Ö
the fastest is up to every third frame Ö and it could be used for time-
lapse camera work. There is also a replay facility with variable replay
speed.
5.6
Å   PC 386 Card Ö Aleph One has launched its PC expansion card for the
Archimedes. This remarkable single-width podule works in conjunction
with the PC Emulator (v1.6 or greater), and provides a 20 MHz Intel
80386SX-compatible PC in a window (or, if you prefer, full-screen) with
VGA, EGA, CGA or MDA graphics Ö truly two computers in one! It is fitted
with a bi-directional parallel port and an RS232 serial port, and comes
with 1M RAM as standard. The card can be upgraded to 4M RAM and can
optionally be fitted with an Intel 80387SX floating-point processor. The
basic price for the 1M version is ú495 +VAT; the 4M version is ú625 +VAT
and the floating point processor costs another ú99 +VAT. Archive prices
are ú545, ú680 and ú110 respectively.
5.6
Å   Smart Art! Ö 4Mation have launched yet more packs in their SmArt
series. Each costs ú16 +VAT from 4Mation or ú18 through Archive.
SmArtoons has twelve characters, two backgrounds and a suggestions file
and is aimed at the creation of animations and cartoons. Aliens consists
of lots of different aliens. Look SmArt has a number of animal faces and
human faces with a whole range of facial expression. The existing
packages, Leisure, Homes and Faces are now also available in French and
German (ú16 per language per pack +VAT or ú18 through Archive). Finally,
they now have a Modern Languages pack covering words associated with
meals and looking at items on a supermarket shelf. This two disc set
which has all the words in each of nine modern languages (French,
German, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, Turkish, Italian, Hebrew and Greek)
costs ú20 +VAT or ú22 through Archive.
5.6
Å   Special Needs Trackerball Ö Northwest SEMERC, in collaboration with
Penny and Giles, have produced a trackerball for the Archimedes for use
by people with poor motor control or learning difficulties. It is more
rugged than the conventional trackerballs and has special functions such
as the ability to simulate ödouble-clickingò (a difficult task for some
special needs users) by a single key press. Dragging, which also causes
difficulty, is made easier with a single key. Special keys are also
provided to allow movement to be limited to up/down or left/right only Ö
particularly useful for navigating your way through menus (which the
able-bodied sometimes find difficult!). The ArcTracker, as it is called,
costs ú269 +VAT from Northwest SEMERC.
5.6
Å   Split an Image is Sherston Softwareæs latest offering. For ú19.95
+VAT, you get around 100 draw files of cartoons of öthe rich and famousò
Ö could be quite useful with the forth-coming general election!
5.6
Å   TouchType is a typing tutor from Iota Software Ltd. Chris Drage in
Acorn User described as öthe definitive typing tutor for the
Archimedesò. It costs is ú49.95 from Iota or ú46 through Archive.
5.6
Å   Touch window from Lindis is a transparent membrane that fits over the
monitor and provides a resistive matrix of 256 ╫ 256 points to provide a
touch screen effect. Put it on the table and it becomes a concept
keyboard. Put it over a picture on the table and it can be used for
tracing. The price is ú235 +VAT which includes driver software, cables
and p.s.u.
5.6
Å   Widgit Software has produced a number of programs aimed at primary and
special needs areas. Screenplay (ú35 +VAT) allows you to produce simple
animations and stories by adding foreground pictures onto a background,
adding text titles and sound. You can add animation or you can create
exercises for the pupils to do using the collages that you have
produced. Gridit (ú30 +VAT) is a flexible program designed to develop
spatial awareness, early number skills and logical thinking. It is
versatile enough to be used for those with severe learning difficulties
and also right up to children at Key Stage 2. Blob 1 and Blob 2 (ú18
+VAT each) are two programs centred around a friendly little character
called öBlobò and are aimed at developmentally very young children. They
operate from single key / switch inputs. Count with Blob (ú20 +VAT) is a
range of early number activities for infant and nursery level children.
5.6