Archive Magazine 1995/ARCHIVE95.iso/text/products/volume_08/issue_09

Text File | 1995-05-09 | 18KB | 330 lines

Products Available
8.9
Acorn price reductions Ö Acorn have dropped the prices of some of their
computers and peripherals as follows:
8.9
  A4 portable ú1996 ÖÖ> ú1521
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  A3020 Floppy (2Mb) ú843 ÖÖ> ú703
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  A3020 HD80 (2Mb) ú1019 ÖÖ> ú880
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  RiscáPC 2/210Mb + 17ö monitor ú1938 ÖÖ> ú1761
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  RiscáPC 5/210Mb + 17ö monitor ú2114 ÖÖ> ú1937
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  RiscáPC 9/420Mb + 17ö monitor ú2466 ÖÖ> ú2290
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  OPL Editor ú65 ÖÖ> ú46
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  Schedule ú19 ÖÖ> ú15
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  Plotter ú34 ÖÖ> ú24
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  Floating Point Accelerator ú116 ÖÖ> ú57
8.9
Acorn Replay Starter Kit Ö This includes a CD containing sample videos,
stills and examples of multimedia applications, plus AREncode which
allows you to compress your own films or add/change the accompanying
soundtracks. There are also two manuals: the user guide, which has
details of the software supplied, and ÉA Guide to Desktop Multimediaæ,
with advice on creating your own multimedia applications, shooting
video, locating material, as well as tips on layout and style, etc. This
costs ú41 inclusive through Archive. (Repeat entry because we forgot the
price last month!)
8.9
Almost Logo Ö The Advisory Unit have updated their popular turtle
graphics program. The suggestions for changes have come from teachers
throughout the UK who have been using the program in schools. New
features include easier creation of new procedures and teacher control
of step sizes to adjust the amount the turtle moves for a single unit.
The package will drive both Valiant and Jessop floor turtles, and all
commands can be supplied using a concept keyboard. Single user price is
ú25 +VAT, site licence ú75 +VAT, from the Advisory Unit.
8.9
Application compression Ö Partis Logistics offer a service for software
developers enabling approximately 100% more data to be stored on a
floppy for distribution. If required, copy protection systems can also
be added. Prices start from ú250 per master disc.
8.9
ArcShare Ö ArcShare is an application for Microsoft Windows which allows
a PC to connect to an Acorn Access network, and requires only a standard
PC network card to operate. Fast Ethernet transfers are supported and it
offers automatic file-typing of data. Files of any size can be
transferred, and a simple FileManager style front end makes it easy to
understand. Arcshare can be called up from the file manager.
8.9
Files and directories can be created or deleted on the Acorn, from the
PC. Files can be copied from any position on the Acorn to any position
on the PC. CD-ROM, floppy drives, IDE and SCSI drives on the Acorn can
be accessed directly. The price is ú79 +VAT from KCS Premier.
8.9
Brother laser printer Ö Following a good report from one of our
subscribers, Steve Godfrey, we have added a new laser printer to our
price list. The Brother HL660 is a 600╫600 dpi printer with 2Mb RAM and
it runs at 6 pages per minute. Steve says that it works very well with
the Laserjet4 definition file on !Printers 1.28 and he is very pleased
with it. The Brother HL660 is available through Archive for ú650 inc VAT
and carriage.
8.9
Budget games Ö If you enjoyed Space Invaders and Rocket Raid on the
Beeb, youæll enjoy two budget games from Generation Design. RoboCatch is
Space Invaders with scenery. You donæt get 3D graphics or a CDæs worth
of sound, but this is a budget game... it only costs ú7.99 (no VAT Ö
theyære not registered) and it comes on two discs! You get nine zones,
with five sub-levels, to complete. To gain points, you blow-up the
aliens, then catch their cargo. Along the way, you can get Épower-upsæ
which increase your score and status. Overall, this isnæt a game to last
you a lifetime, but the bombs do blow you up... and you do actually get
annoyed when you fail to beat your last high score.
8.9
In Caves of Confusion, you control a rocket flying horizontally through
a cave. In your path are obstacles which have to be avoided or blown up.
There are four increasingly harder levels. Thereæs lots of fun,
explosions and frustration, and all for ú6.99 from Generation Design.
8.9
BurnOut Ö Oregan Developments have just released a new race game called
BurnOut Ö a racing game like no other. Driving on tracks that have more
in common with roller coaster rides than conventional race tracks, you
must pit your skill and reflexes against five other dune-buggy drivers.
You have twenty drivers to choose from, and ten different dune buggies.
Racing takes place on an island split into ten areas with different
scenery, such as woodland, beach, desert, canyon, town, mountains and
coastal port. Each area has a number of tracks, three on the first area,
rising to ten on the hardest. To qualify for the next race, you must
finish in either 1st, 2nd or 3rd place. Tracks are constructed not only
on the ground, but also on scaffold, logs, over or through canyons, and
through water. BurnOut features arcade-style intro sequences with stereo
music and sound effects playing simultaneously during gameplay. BurnOut
costs ú24.95 inc VAT from Oregan Developments or ú23 through Archive.
8.9
CineWorks CD Ö The new CineWorks video editing package from Oregan is
supplied with a sample CD. The CD is available separately, as a
demonstration of the productæs capabilities. The price is ú19.95, which
is refundable against a purchase of CineWorks, when it is available.
8.9
Digital Symphony CD-ROM Ö Oregan have produced a CD-ROM containing 500Mb
of Digital Symphony tunes, as well as hundreds of samples for use in
creating your own music. The RRP is ú29.95 from Oregan, or ú28 through
Archive.
8.9
Digital Symphony upgrade Ö Oregan have upgraded Digital Symphony to
ensure compatibility with the Risc PC.
8.9
EasyFont 3 upgrade Ö Easy Font 3 from Fabis Computing has been upgraded
to accept fonts automatically from Zenta Multimediaæs new Font Emporium
CD and the new iSV font pack. Anyone wishing to upgrade should return
their original disc to Fabis with two first class stamps.
8.9
Ethernet Design and Installation Guide Ö This guide book from Acorn aims
to help you through the stages necessary to set up an Ethernet network
using Acorn equipment by giving you the information you need to discuss
your plans with network specialists so that they can design and build
the network you require. It is for network managers intending to install
an Ethernet network, either a new network, replacing a slower system, or
extending an existing network. It does not teach you how to design or
install the network yourself. The price is ú20 through Archive.
8.9
Fast IDE Interface Ö RapIDE Risc PC, 32-bit DMA-based Interface for the
Risc PC. The Interface provides vastly increased throughput over the
Risc PC motherboard. Using alternative drives it is possible to achieve
reading speeds in excess of 8Mb per second using 32-bit direct memory
access. It provides two IDE ports, allowing up to four devices to be
connected, including IDE CD-ROMs. RapIDE Risc PC Interface costs ú99
+VAT +ú5 p&p, from Yellowstone Educational Solutions.
8.9
Faster Risc PC 486 cards Ö Aleph One have limited supplies of their
variants of the PC processor card for the Risc PC. Currently Cyrix
486DX2/66 or DX40 processors are available. The cards co-exist with
ARM610, 700 and 710 processors and, like the Acorn PC card, share the
Risc PC memory and peripherals. The DX2/66 costs ú399 +VAT and the DX40
costs ú349 +VAT from Aleph One.
8.9
Geordian protection systems Ö Geordian Systems have two products to
protect developers from computer piracy. Geordian Lock allows developers
to protect their own software using a keydisc system. Geordian Installer
offers the ability to protect software which has been installed to a
hard disc by ensuring that it will only run off the hard disc to which
it has been installed (although the software can be freely moved on that
hard disc). If the user needs to move the software to a different
medium, the software can be uninstalled and reinstalled to a different
drive. Contact Geordian Systems for details.
8.9
Insight 95 Ö Acorn are putting on a residential conference for head
teachers, department heads, IT coordinators and anyone involved in
planning or implementing educational IT strategies. The conference
includes two days of training; four 90 minute sessions on the first day,
and three on the second day. Topics include, planning and implementing
IT strategies, training in the use of Acorn RISC OS computers, software
and network systems, and use of popular RISC OS packages from third
parties. There are almost 100 sessions to choose from, covering a wide
range of packages at different levels.
8.9
The conference is being held at the Hinckley Island Hotel on Friday 14th
and Saturday 15th July. The cost is ú499, but bookings received before
26th May 1995 qualify for a reduced price of ú249 +VAT (ú292.58
inclusive). The price includes all meals plus accommodation for the
night of the 14th July.
8.9
For those unable to attend, Acorn offer a range of courses at their
training centre in Cambridge.
8.9
Details can be obtained from The Insight 95 Administrator at Acorn.
8.9
MacroLife Ö Macrolife is a desktop version of the famous game of life,
invented by the British mathematician John Conway in 1970. It displays a
scrollable window onto a Life plane, or grid, onto which you can place
patterns of cells and watch how they evolve. ÉLifeæ is a fascinating
game in which patterns of cells on a two-dimensional plane evolve,
according to a simple rule. Despite its simplicity, Life patterns can
behave like living organisms, moving, growing and even Ö theoretically,
at least Ö reproducing and evolving.
8.9
A copy of the full program can be obtained by sending a cheque for ú8 to
Chris Taylor, 7 Prideaux Place, London WC1X 9PP. If you are on the net,
he can email you a copy (without the printed manual) for ú7. Chris will
then donate four pounds to Motivation, a charity which designs
inexpensive wheelchairs and organises their production using local
materials in countries which cannot afford commercial models.
8.9
Money Manager Ö This is a new accounts package from Wynded Software,
designed for home or business use where there is the need to store all
financial transactions in an orderly way. Often only a simple mouse
selection is needed, although keyboard shortcuts are available as you
grow more accustomed to using the package. Capable of storing up to 500
transactions in each month (6,000 in a 12 month data file). Easy-to-use
reporting facilities are included, allowing the specification of which
accounts should be used. Reports can then be exported to almost any
wordprocessor or DTP package.
8.9
NetReader Ö NetReader, from Digital Phenomena, is an off-line reader for
Usenet messages downloaded from Internet Conferences. The package is
shareware (ú10 registration fee). Private and newsgroup messages are
supported; message files should be in ö#! rnewsò format. Facilities
include auto expiry of messages, and automatic signatures.
8.9
NoticeBoard Ö A new version has just been released by The Really Good
Software Company. Notice Board is the electronic display system which
enables sequences of poster-like displays to be run on unattended
monitors. The advanced version of NoticeBoard has an improved front-end
for easier page setup, and an option to use fades between pages whilst
the program is running. Current users can obtain an upgrade by returning
their existing disc to RGSC. The new version is ú35 inclusive.
8.9
NStore 4D Ö H.S. Software have updated their National Curriculum record-
keeping package. Automated report writing has been added, and the
package includes the latest (1995) level descriptions in all the
subjects, for both primary and secondary. NStore 4D costs ú44.95
inclusive, and includes a manual and two program discs, sufficient for
six classes of 36 children. Additional program discs for use in the same
school are available for ú3 each.
8.9
Upgrades are available for existing users (ú4.70 from version 4.0,
ú16.95 from version 3.0 Ö you need to return your program disc, or quote
your disc registration number when ordering).
8.9
Outline fonts from iSV Ö iSV aim to produce a new item each month. Among
some of their latest releases are two outline fonts packs (277 and 298).
The fonts are mostly PD versions from the USA. iSV have converted them,
added scaffold lines and kerning data, and packaged them for the Acorn
market. Many of the letters have been re-drawn and missing ones
included. In pack 298, there are 39 families, each with Regular,
Oblique, Condensed, Condensed Oblique, Extended, Extended Oblique (about
273 fonts). Pack 277 contains 14 families with about 120 fonts. The
packs cost ú25 each, or ú45 for the two, from iSV Products Ö p&p ú1.50.
8.9
Plantwise Ö Those who have seen the quality of Sherstonæs Bodywise
software will be pleased that their next offering, Plantwise, is now
available. öPlantwise allows pupils to explore all aspects of plant life
in highly intuitive and informative ways.ò It covers the major part of
the National Curriculum requirements for green plants as organisms at
both KS2 and KS3, and can be tailored to present easier or harder text
as required. The pack includes search cards, experiment sheet, useræs
manual and a guide to using the software in the classroom. Plantwise
costs ú44.95 +VAT from Sherston or ú50 through Archive.
8.9
Rocket for your Pocket Ö ExpLAN have created a set of spreadsheet
datafiles for the Acorn Pocket Book and Psion 3/3a computers, for use in
Science, Maths and Technology. When used in conjunction with a Payloader
rocket, it enables pupils to track the rocketæs flight using a hand-held
protractor device, and calculate the height with the Pocket Book. The
datafiles contain formulae to calculate the average height from multiple
readings, filter out erroneous measurements, calculate the burn-time for
a given engine and calculate the thrust and acceleration. The payload
carried can be varied, and a graph of mass against height can then be
plotted. Further details from ExpLAN.
8.9
Spelling Book Ö Spelling Book, from Creative Curriculum Software, is
aimed at users from 4 years old and upwards, provided they need help
with their spelling! It integrates with any word processor on every
Acorn 32-bit computer and is easy to configure and use.
8.9
It is not a spell checker, but rather, a computerised spelling book.
When activated, dictionaries are instantly integrated in alphabetical
order. Dictionaries responding to curriculum needs can be simply and
quickly created, and a number of preset dictionaries are supplied with
Spelling Book. Also included on the disc are three spelling games:
Wordsearch, Fireworks and Art Gallery. Single user ú39 +VAT; site
licence ú89 +VAT.
8.9
Textease templates Ö PaperSoft Ltd have just produced a selection of
templates for use with Textease. The first two selections contain 100+
templates for Paper Direct Business Papers and 40+ templates for Paper
Direct Fun/Theme Papers (they cost ú24.95 and ú14.95 inclusive,
respectively). For label printing, there are templates for Avery laser,
and Avery b&w and colour inkjet labels (the laser label templates cost
ú14.95, the inkjet labels cost ú7.95). Finally, there are templates for
Averyæs indexing system. The template disc includes precision software
for each of the IndexMaker and ReadyIndex sheets, and for each number of
divisions (5, 6, 10 and 12). Label and Index discs also contain a small
clipart library of useful label and indexing icons.
8.9
Trip Ö This package from Creative Curriculum Software has been designed
to provide assistance with the organising of school visits at home and
abroad. It is a purpose-designed database application for the trip
organiser, which can also be used to illustrate, for educational
purposes, the practical use of a database. Trip handles all the accounts
relating to a school visit Ö deposits, staged payments, special prices,
payment for optional activities, etc. It also stores all personal
details required Ö emergency addresses, dates-of-birth Ö and records
items received, (passport, medical information, etc). It costs ú14.95
+VAT from CCS.
8.9
VersaTile Ö VersaTile, from Dial Solutions, is a tiling program designed
to encourage students of any age to explore geometry. The aim of the
software is to allow investigation of 2D shapes with the minimum of
restrictions, yet to utilise the computeræs power to provide a dramatic
increase in accuracy and productivity over conventional paper, pencil
and scissor techniques. It is a flexible tool that allows tiles to be
drawn easily and manipulated in a similar way to moving shapes around on
a table. VersaTile comes on two discs, and includes Oak Solutionsæ
!DrawPlot and !DrawPrint, plus a disc of examples.
8.9
VersaTile costs ú45 +VAT for a single user, ú100á+VAT for a primary
school licence and ú200á+VAT for a secondary licence from CCS.
8.9
VideoTrak Ö This new release from the Really Good Software Company
should be welcomed by video enthusiasts keen to get their video
collection organised. Once details have been entered into VideoTrak, you
can browse through the catalogues and easily locate any film by title,
actor, director, etc. With all categories fully cross-referenced, just
selecting, for example, an actoræs name will provide a list of all his
or her films, with instant access to detailed information on individual
films and which tape they are on. VideoTrak costs ú15 inclusive from
RGSC.
8.9
Wing chair pricing Ö The kneeling chairs that we have been recommending
(see Archive 8.3 p4) are going up in price to ú340. However, I have one
in stock (black base with grey upholstery) at ú290. Give us a ring if
you are interested Ö first come, first served.
8.9
Review software received...
8.9
We have received review copies of the following: ÅCDFast (for Networks)
(u), ÅMacrolife (e), ÅMoneyáManagerá(u), ÅMoreáTalkingáStoriesá(e),
ÅNoticeBoardá(m), ÅOutline fonts from iSV (u), ÅSpelling Book (e), ÅTrip
(e), ÅTexteaseáTemplatesá(u), ÅVersaTile (e), ÅVideoTrak (u) ÅVzap (u).
8.9
e=Education, b=Business, bk=Book, c=Comms, g=Game, h=Hardware,
l=Language, m=Multimedia, u=Utility, a=Art.