Archive Magazine 1995/ARCHIVE95.iso/text/products/volume_08/issue_10

Text File | 1995-06-06 | 18KB | 301 lines

Acorn PC cards Ö Acorn say that they have now distributed all of the
first 10,000 RiscáPC 486 PCcards and that there wonæt be any more
available now until August. If you are still waiting for one, the only
option we can offer is to supply an Aleph One version at cost. The DX40
is ú406 and the DX2-66 is ú466 (i.e. ú290 and ú350 respectively if you
have already paid for your Acorn card), but this does NOT include a copy
of DOS. (N.B. We can only sell at this price to those already on the
waiting list.)
8.10
Ancestry II Ö Minerva have updated Ancestry, based on feedback from
users. Features of particular interest are import and export of GedCom
data, variable field lengths and linking of text files. Ancestry II is
also fully multitasking. The price is ú99.95 inc VAT or ú95 through
Archive. Registered users of Ancestry should have received details of a
special upgrade offer.
8.10
Bell-ringing simulator Ö John Harrison has developed a program called
Strike which is designed to help develop bell-ringing listening skills Ö
basically a self-teaching aid for bell ringers presented in the form of
a game. This costs ú15 inclusive from John, and ú10 of that goes to
restoration work. Youæve heard of shareware, freeware and careware,
well, this is belfryware! Send cheques to John at 2 Murdoch Road,
Wokingham, RG40 2DA.
8.10
CD-ROM Mastering Ö Eesox are continuing to offer a CD-ROM mastering
service, costing ú60 +VAT. Data can be submitted on 650Mb magneto-
optical disc, or SCSI or IDE hard disc. Most jobs can be turned around
within 24 hours. As an added incentive, anyone purchasing an Eesox CD-
ROM drive will receive a voucher giving a 50% discount on the production
of a CD-ROM.
8.10
Celebration Ö A collection from Clares Micro Supplies of four
applications on the theme of celebrations. Banner can be used to create
both horizontal and vertical display banners using outline fonts, draw
and sprite files. Calendar is designed for monthly or yearly calendars Ö
a number of formats and languages can be used. Certify will produce
personalised certificates with the names being entered individually or
from a text file for multiple names. Giftwrap allows the creation of
wrapping paper, as well as other pattern creation and textile design.
Aásingle user version costs ú34.95 including VAT. A site-licence,
covering an unlimited number of machines within the named site is
available for ú82.25 inclusive.
8.10
Cine Works Ö Oregan Developments have produced a sophisticated 32-track
video mixing and editing studio, combined with 16-track audio
capabilities. Video clips may be mixed together using a variety of
transitions which are typically found in professional video editing
environments. Transitions range from standard wipes and fades, to more
adventurous central zooms and mosaic cuts. Full vision correction
controls are provided so that Replay and MPEG clips may have their
brightness, colour and contrast adjusted at any time after they have
been captured, and even varied throughout the clip. The price from
Oregan Developments is ú159.95 inclusive or ú152 through Archive.
8.10
Composition Ö This is a new art package for the Risc PC which enables
object-based operations to be carried out on bit map images. Each image
is treated as an object and effects applied appropriately. Features
include image processing options, tints, shadowing, gamma and colour
curve correction, sprite trimming, mask editing, rescaling and
distortion, OLE of sprites to other applications, fully adaptive anti-
aliasing of text using outline fonts, import of sprites, clear, JPEG,
TIFF, TGA, PCX, PBM, BMP, PhotoCD, Draw and Artworks files, export of
Composition format (retaining effects and features) or sprite, JPEG,
Clear, TGA or PBM formats. The price from Clares is ú169.95 including
VAT (or ú158 through Archive) and special offers are available for users
of ProArt24, and other art packages Ö contact Clares for details.
8.10
Digital Darkroom Ö A new company, based in Kent, the Digital Darkroom
offers a conversion service for Acorn Computers. Colour slides or
negatives can be produced from sprites and drawfiles images Ö especially
useful for presentations. A single slide costs ú7.50, but orders for
larger quantities will be considerably lower (20 or more will cost no
more than ú3.50 per slide). Regular users will also be offered a
preferential rate. Documents, film and video taped images can also be
transferred to Acorn format files. Quality of such images will be
dependent upon the source quality.
8.10
Digital Symphony Masterpieces
8.10
Collection Ö We mentioned this CD-ROM last month but, unfortunately, got
the price wrong. It costs ú24.95 inclusive from Oregan Developments or
ú24 through Archive.
8.10
DTP book Ö Following the success of Robin Williamsæ book on DTP design
(öThe Non-Designeræs Design Bookò) we got hold of a copy of öThe Mac is
not a Typewriterò to which she refers several times in NDDB. Although,
as the title suggest, the book is aimed at the Mac market, there is very
little that is different on the Acorn machines, and I have prepared a
supplement sheet to go with it so that it can be used for those using
Acorn machines for DTP. Hereæs what the official blurb about it says...
8.10
öThe Mac is not a Typewriterò by Robin Williams is one of the most
popular Mac books ever sold (over 300,000 now in print). It covers the
top twenty things you need to know to make your documents look clean and
professional: em dashes, curly quotes, spaces and indents, white spaces,
etc. Itæs a primer that novices can pick up quickly, and that proæs can
keep going back to. It is the winner of the 1991 Benjamin Franklin
Award, Computer Book Category.
8.10
My view, for what it is worth, is that itæs another excellent book by
Robin Williams. I have to admit that it it canæt compare with NDDB in
terms of value for money (ú10 including p&p through Archive cf ú13 for
NDDB) but, to be fair, NDDB is exceptional. So I would still say that
The Mac is not a Typewriter is well worth the cost and, to support my
claim, I will again make the same offer of a complete money-back
guarantee if it is returned within 14 days. I know Iæm on a winner there
because, out of the hundreds of copies of NDDB we have sold, we havenæt
had a single one returned.
8.10
Graphing and Charting Ö As mentioned in last monthæs !Help column, Chris
Johnson has released his collection of graph and function plotting
applications. The applications are Graphdraw, ChartDraw, Multiplot,
FnPlotter, Surface, 3DFnEdit and Text>Draw. The price is ú4 inclusive,
direct from Chris Johnson, 7 Lovedale Grove, Balerno, Edinburgh, EH14
7DR.
8.10
iSV Product Guide Ö iSV have produced issue 3 of their product guide,
containing details and samples of nearly 600 RISC OS 3 fonts, along with
information regarding their software products. The product guide is free
and a demo disc is available for ú2, both direct from iSV.
8.10
NetMail Ö An extension to Archiboard, this package offers a consistent
WIMP front end to email and news groups within a school. It is designed
to operate over any AUN compliant network, allowing email and conference
articles to be retrieved from the Archiboard server. Due to the
consistent interface, information can be retrieved from Internet,
FidoNet or the local system in the same way, so staff and pupils do not
need to learn separate systems. MIME support is also included, which
allows files to be attached to messages for sending via any of the
networks, although the recipient will need MIME support to extract the
message. (MIME clients are available for most platforms including Mac,
PC and Unix workstations.) Prices start from ú80 +VAT + p&p from Supreme
Software Solutions.
8.10
Network Cybernetics VR
8.10
CD-ROM Ö Lambda Publications can now supply this CD-ROM which holds a
collection of virtual reality, telepresence and computer simulation
development tools. Included are virtual reality development tools and
sources, VR hardware interfacing source code and documentation, VR &
simulation research papers and conference reports, simulation packages
for many different fields of science, simulation development tools and
sources, 3-D modelling utilities, development tools and sources, and a
collection of 3-D object data in several file formats. The CD costs ú65
including p&p and is supplied on 30 days evaluation. Existing customers
and Archive readers can purchase it for ú45.50.
8.10
Oxford Talking Infant Atlas Ö Sherston Software have released an updated
version of their Oxford Infant Atlas, aimed at Key Stage 1 Geography.
The software features optional labels for country, places and other
geographical features, quiz questions to ask children to identify
geographic features, sampled human speech for all sentences, place names
and labels, along with animations and sound effects. The price is ú20
+VAT for a single user version (or ú22 through Archive) and an
accompanying paperback atlas is available from Sherston for ú2.80.
8.10
Patience Addict Ö Creative Curriculum Software have released a
collection of twenty patience games, including one and two pack games,
of varying levels of difficulty and complexity. The single user version
is ú12.73 +VAT.
8.10
Plantwise Ö Sherston Software have produced an interactive graphical
database designed for 9Ö14 year olds, similar to their earlier database,
Bodywise, with the addition of an interactive experiment section.
Included in the pack are three discs, a set of experiment cards, a set
of question cards, a user guide, and a booklet showing how to use
Plantwise in the classroom. It costs ú44.95 +VAT from Sherston Software
or ú50 through Archive.
8.10
Purple Software Ö A range of products from Purple Software is available
now for the Psion series 3 and Acorn Pocket Book range. There are
currently five products: DataView (ú59.95), an enhanced database with
table view, sorting, label printing and mail merge; File Manager
(ú39.95), for extra control of files, directories and SSDæs; FloChart
(ú49.95), a free-form flow chart designer; OrgChart (ú49.95), a free-
form organisation chart designer; DrawIt (ú49.95) an object-based
drawing package.
8.10
RecordZ Ö The database section of FireworkZ pro is now available as a
stand-alone database from Colton Software. The price is ú99 +VAT or ú110
through Archive.
8.10
Report Ö This is a program for hard-pressed, report-writing teachers. It
has been designed as a tool to speed up the process of writing reports,
by inserting often used phrases and comments into a sentence. The writer
reckons that the whole report-writing process can be speeded up by a
factor of 10. The price is ú14.95 for a single user or ú29.95 for a site
licence. Until August, there is a special launch price of ú9.95 and
ú19.95 respectively. A demo version is available for ú1 (refundable on
ordering) or by sending a stamped addressed envelope and disc requesting
it. Report is available from: Robert Lytton, 7 Helmsley Drive, West
Park, Leeds, LS16 5HY. (The demo version is on this monthæs program
disc.)
8.10
Sibelius showroom Ö Sibelius 7 now has a dedicated London high-street
showroom at Turnkey, 114-116 Charing Cross Road, WC2H 0DT (0171-379-
5148) (0171-379-0093). The new showroom gives customers the opportunity
to compare Sibelius on the RiscáPC with a 486 PC running Windows
software so that they can judge for themselves which is best!
8.10
SOS Ö Save our Squirrels!! Ö Denis Bastaple, a former director of
Digital Services Ltd, bought out the rights to Squirrel and other
software when DSL went into voluntary liquidation. Squirrel, Armlock,
Netgain (Econet and Ethernet), Waiter, Digistore and Archway are now all
available from, and fully supported by, DSL Supplies.
8.10
Studio 24 has had some major updates and the new version will be
available very soon. The full price is ú199, or ú189 through Archive.
The upgrade for existing users will be FOC through Pineapple Software.
8.10
TableMateá3 Ö Dalriada Data Technology have raised their comprehensive
table-making application to versioná3, which incorporates some
worthwhile improvements and is available from Dalriada for ú32.50
inclusive. Anyone who bought TableMateá2 on or after 1 March 1995 may
upgrade to versioná3 for ú2.50, otherwise the upgrade from v2 costs ú5.
Send your remittance and original disc to Dalriada. Upgrade from earlier
versions is currently ú10-ú20, depending on the variant (e.g. as bundled
with Impression). Contact Dalriada for an upgrade price.
8.10
New features include: button bar similar to Style oráPublisher, use of
desktop interactive help with button bar, OLE to !Draw, Formulix etc,
simple spreadsheet, right & left justified and centred text, import &
export of CSV files, automatic addition ofáquotes for headers in CSV
files, vertical ruler, vertical tab (top, middle or bottom of cell),
vertical joining/splitting of cells, multiple rule-offs between columns
and/or rows, reorganised menus, currency character control, ú default,
colour picker RGB, HSV, CMYK, more Impression compatible keystrokes with
the option of using the old TableMate2 ones.
8.10
Technology and Design CD-ROM Ö NW SEMERC has set up this CD-ROM to make
pupils at Key Stages 2 and 3 think about technology and design in
everyday life. The CD isnæt just confined to the Design and Technology
department, but can be used in Maths, English, Geography and History.
Everything is based on the town of ÉSkegtonæ, with pupils seeking ways
of improving the daily life of its inhabitants. The Technology and
Design CD-ROM is available from Northwest SEMERC, price ú49 +VAT.
8.10
Teletext+ Ö Octopus Systems, who purchased the remaining stock of Ground
Control Teletext adaptors, have announced a new version of the
controlling software, which incorporates a number of new features.
Frequently used pages are cached on disc, thereby improving response
times. Sub pages are also cached, so you no longer need to wait for the
page you just missed to come round again. Keywords can also be searched
for to find important information automatically; the search can take
place over all pages or just on likely pages, so you can search for a
particular television programme, for example. Pages can be exported as
teletext, sprite or plain text formats. The software upgrade for
existing Ground Control teletext cards is ú39, including p&p and VAT. If
you would like the teletext hardware as well as the software, the
package is ú165 inclusive, while stocks last.
8.10
TEX and LATEX for RISC OS Ö A new implementation of the powerful
typesetting language TEX, complete with the latest version of LATEX and
lots of other goodies is now available for RISC OS computers. It has
been ported from the world of Unix by Mark Sinke in Holland, and is
coordinated in this country by Robin Watts at Oxford University. It is
freely available by ftp from ftp.comlab.ox.ac.uk in the directory /tmp/
Robin.Watts/TeX, or from good PD libraries.
8.10
UK Habitats Ö This new resource CD-ROM from AVP Picturebase gives
details of a number of habitats in the UK. The aim is to give an
understanding of the variety of living things, and of the way they
survive and compete for resources. Habitats covered include Deciduous
Woodland, Urban, Farm Land, Sand Dune, Fresh Water, Salt Marsh, Sand and
Mud, Roadside and Hedgerow. The single user educational price is ú99
+VAT or ú150 +VAT including a site licence from AVP.
8.10
World Data for primary schools Ö The Centre for World Development
Education (CWDE) have now released the World Development Database for
use in primary Schools. This is the result of a collaboration with
Sheffield Hallam University who produced the Database Project book
included with the pack. The book includes ideas for data handling in
English, Geography, Mathematics and Science at Key Stage 2. The User
Handbook contains practical information about the datafiles and fields.
The large amount of data in the original version is retained, but a
SlimWorld file has been added with easy-to-understand field names. Acorn
and PC versions are available, with data in KeyPlus/KeyNote (Anglia),
CSV and Text formats for import into most databases. A single user pack
includes a User Handbook, a Database Project book, the World Bankæs
öDevelopment Data Bookò, supplemental 1991 Data Sheet and data disc, and
costs ú25 +VAT. A class set containing all the above, reproducible data
disc and two extra Data Books, is available for ú45 +VAT from CWDE.
8.10
World Habitats Ö This is another CD-ROM in the AVP Picturebase series,
containing pictures, written text and spoken word, covering the worldæs
major habitats. Comparisons can be made by choosing elements from
different modules. Possible uses include covering impact of human
activities on environmental systems, the occurrence and effects of
natural hazards, and the need for management and conservation of fragile
habitats. Habitats included are Mountain, Alpine, Desert, Mediterranean,
Tropical Mountain, Savanna, Polar and Temperate Forest. The single user
educational price is ú99 +VAT or ú150 +VAT including a site licence from
AVP.
8.10
Review software received...
8.10
We have received review copies of the following: ÅCineWorks (pre-
release) (m), ÅComposition (a), ÅGraphs & Charts (eu), ÅReport (e),
ÅStrike (ge),ÅTextease Templates (u).
8.10