ARM Club 3/TheARMClub_PDCD3.iso/mag_discs/11/programs/!!Magazine

Text File | 1994-04-17 | 26KB | 551 lines

THE ARM CLUB
------------
EUREKA 11 MAGAZINE DISC - ACORN USER SPRING SHOW 1994
=====================================================

First of all, a quick welcome to those of you who have bought this
disc as part of a sample pack at the Harrogate Acorn User Show. We
hope that you find it informative and look forward to welcoming you
as a full member of the Club. If you require any further information
about membership, please call the Club Secretary, Geoff Stilwell,
on 071 624 9918 (evenings).

If you find any defects on this disc, please return it to the Club's
Freepost address for a free replacement.

As stated in the magazine, we had the serious problem of a major overflow
of material for this issue of Eureka - this is our largest issue of Eureka
to date, but over 20 pages have had to be carried forward to the Summer
issue. Nevertheless, please keep sending in material for Eureka, after
all it's YOUR magazine, we hope that you find it useful.


Harrogate Show
--------------
If you are an existing Club member, you will have received a voucher with
this disc entitling you to a free disc of Public Domain software from our
stand at the Show when you buy one or more discs. Our full library of PD
software will be available at the Show for £1.00 per disc, why not draw
up a list of discs which you would like now, and bring it along to the Show?

The Club is delighted to be taking part in the AVATAR Human Computer Game
at the Show - if you are taking part in the game, you'll need to pay a visit
to our stand to note down the symbol which we will be displaying.

A celebrity visit to the Show will take place on Saturday 23rd April, when
popular TV personality Keith Chegwin will be touring the Show Hall, visiting
stands, giving away prizes, signing autographs, doing a slot in the Theatre
and generally helping the Show along in his own inimitable style.

Our thanks as always go to Geoff and Judith Potter of Safesell Exhibitions
for their advice and support regarding the Show. We're delighted that Acorn
is effectively using the Show to launch the Risc PC, and wish Safesell
every success in the future.


Software on this disc
---------------------
Much of the software on this disc is compressed using the ArcFS program
written by Mark Smith, the Club's Development Officer. If you are not
familiar with ArcFS, double-click on the icon labelled !UseArcFS. We
advise that the files are decompressed onto a floppy or hard disc before
use. The full version of ArcFS allows you to compress files yourself, and
is sold by Vertical Twist.

!HourMake allows you to design your own hourglasses (egg-timers) for the
RISC OS Desktop.

!OnePath is not Public Domain, but is copyright RISC User Magazine. Our
thanks to Mike Williams of RISC User for allowing us to include the software
to accompany Geoff Stilwell's article on Tessellating Objects.

!MultiScrn is a very useful utility from Mike Ellis.

ACMText contains a variety of game cheats, compiled by Club member Dave
Lodge.

!CavesDemo is a playable demonstration of a new game written by Club member
Geoff Holland. Full details are included in the directory.

Columbus is a pretty picture designed by RESPARC.

Image is a brand new 24 bit image processing package from well-known PD
author & Club member Ian Palmer.

WimpExt is a module written by Doggysoft which was needed by a program
included on Eureka Disc 10. Apologies for its absence.


Freepost Address
----------------
The Club receives an astonishing amount of post which is sent to our
Freepost address but also bears stamps. Contrary to popular belief
we still have to pay postage for these items, and the stamps on them
are cancelled, so effectively the Post Office is being paid twice over!
If you wish to pay postage (bearing in mind that the Club is non-profit
making), please use our non-Freepost address, which must also be used
for correspondence from outside the UK, and also for large packages.

The ARM Club                    The ARM Club
FREEPOST ND6573                 19 Woodberry Way
London                          London
N12 0BR                         N12 0HE

The Club Secretary is Geoff Stilwell, who can be contacted on 071 624 9918
(evenings). Fax messages may be sent to 081 446 3020.


Club Accounts
-------------
The time of year has come for the Club's Financial Accounts to be audited
and we are looking for somebody prepared to undertake this for a nominal
remuneration. Please contact the Club Treasurer, John Bancroft, at the
Club Office for more information.


Programmers' Convention
-----------------------
Don't forget the Programmers' meeting taking place at Mill Hill School
on Saturday 30th April. For more information, please see the Magazine.


Arcade Bulletin Board
---------------------
We are delighted that an ARM Club area has opened on the popular Arcade
Bulletin Board in London. At the moment, it merely contains information
about the Club, but we hope to expand the area in future. Thanks to David
Dade and David Coleman for their support. Arcade can be contacted by modem
on 081 654 2212 (4 lines) and 081 655 4412 (1 line).


A3000 Joystick Interfaces
-------------------------
We've been delighted by the success of the A3000 joystick interfaces which
we have been selling, either in kit or assembled form. Offering compatibility
with the A3010 joystick, these interfaces are also the cheapest around. For
more details, please write or ask us at the Harrogate Show.

A3000 joystick interface kit - requires soldering - £10.95.
A3000 joystick interface - ready assembled - £11.95.
A3000 joystick circuit board - provide your own components - £5.95.


ACORN NEWS
==========

You may have deduced from Eureka that the launch of the Risc PC is major
news in the Acorn world, and indeed it is. The basic architecture of Acorn's
computers has remained the same from 1987 until now, whereas just about
every component in the Risc PC is different to the past, although a high
degree of backwards compatibility has been retained.

An inevitable pair of questions is "When will I be able to see the Risc PC
range for the first time", and "How soon can I buy one?". The new range was
announced on 14th and 15th April, and on 16th April Acorn held a day of
presentations which members of the public were able to attend, at the
Cumberland Hotel in London (admission by ticket only).

The Harrogate Acorn User Show will be the first opportunity for most people
to see the new machines, and also to buy them. Acorn has stated that a
limited number of Risc PCs will be available for sale at the Show; however
there is sure to be a major shortage, and apart from those reserved for sale
at the Show, Acorn has already sold its entire production for the next few
months. The message of this story is that if you want to buy a Risc PC soon,
you'd better arrive at the front of the queue!

It's important to reiterate a point made in the magazine, namely that at the
time of writing, details of the Risc PC are still strictly under wraps, and
all of our coverage is based on information supplied by Acorn. We cannot
accept responsibility for any changes or inaccuracies in the information.
We are extremely grateful to the team at Acorn for the help and support
given to us over the past few months.

One detail missed out of the magazine is the fact that the highest resolution
screen mode is 1600 x 1200 pixels at 16 million colours. This is beyond the
capability of the 14" monitor to display but looks wonderful on the 17"
(optional) monitor.

The Risc PC may be exciting news, but currently all of us own Archimedes
computers, and indeed the Archimedes will remain part of Acorn's product
lineup for some time to come. Acorn has said that prices of the current
range will remain the same as before the Risc PC announcement, which
logically means that sales of the A5000 computer will quickly die off.

One matter not covered in Eureka concerns documentation for Risc PC and
RISC OS version 3.50. The Risc PC itself is supplied with the usual User
Guide and Applications Guide (rewritten for RISC OS 3.50), programming
details of the new operating system release will be made available in
a supplementary volume to the RISC OS 3 Programmer's Reference Manual,
due to be published within the next few months.

Information about the ARM processor upgrades from Acorn arrived too late to
appear in the printed magazine, so here are the details:

The precise availability of each processor upgrade will be dependent upon
when ARM Ltd makes each processor commercially available. However, Acorn
has committed to supply a processor upgrade card no more than three months
after the introduction of that processor in a Risc PC. Faster versions of
the ARM610 and an ARM700 upgrade are planned for later this year.

The following matrix contains those processor cards currently expected to
appear from Acorn during the next two years, and the cost of upgrading.
To obtain upgrades at these prices, it will be necessary to return your
old processor card to Acorn Direct (Vector Services) in Wellingborough,
which means that your Risc PC will be out of action for a few days. Acorn
does offer a guaranteed turnaround time on processor card upgrades, and
will use Next Day Delivery to minimise your downtime. Alternatively,
new processor cards will be available over the counter from Acorn dealers,
but since you get to keep the old card, prices will be approximately £25
higher than a straight exchange by post.

                                 REPLACEMENT PROCESSOR
              | >30MHz    40MHz    >40MHz    Standard  High Performance
OLD PROCESSOR | ARM610   ARM700    ARM700     ARM800        ARM800
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 30MHz ARM610 |  £75       £100      £125      £150          £175
>30MHz ARM610 |    -        £75      £100      £125          £150
 40MHz ARM700 |    -          -       £75      £100          £125
>40MHz ARM700 |    -          -         -       £75          £100

NB These prices can rise by a maximum of the Retail Prices Index (RPI).

The 486SX processor card is bundled with DOS and will retail for £99 if
bought with the Risc PC. If purchased separately the price will be £199.

It is not possible to upgrade an Archimedes machine to the specification of
a Risc PC, and Acorn has stated that no upgrade to RISC OS 3.50 will be made
available for the older machines. A disc will be released containing updates
to some of the standard RISC OS applications for use on Archimedes machines.

Regrettably there are a number of aspects which Acorn has not changed;
the Filecore module still cannot support hard disc partitions larger than
512Mb, and Virtual Memory is not implemented in the operating system.
However it is rumoured that further releases of RISC OS will be made
during 1995.


Acorn FTP Site
--------------
For those of you with connections to the Internet computer network, Acorn
has recently opened an FTP Site (File Transfer Protocol) for public use,
which makes it possible to connect to Acorn's main computer and download
Acorn software, application notes and other material. Managed by Acorn
Technical Support Specialist Dave Walker, this service is well worth a look
if you have access to the Internet, and includes Acorn's !Printers 1.22
software. The FTP address is 'acorn.acorn.co.uk' - login 'anonymous',
password <your full email address>. If the word "Internet" means nothing
to you, read Paul L Allen's excellent article in Eureka Issue 9.

!Printers 1.22
--------------
Acorn has released a new version of the printer drivers for RISC OS 3,
offering support for many more printer types, as well as background printing
of sorts. The upgrade is well-worth obtaining, and is available from any
Acorn dealer, Acorn's FTP site (mentioned above) or the Club PD Library
(ask for Print4 and the disc price is £1.00). If you are a user of Computer
Concepts' TurboDrivers it will be necessary to obtain an upgrade from CC.

Computers for Schools
---------------------
Acorn is participating with the Tesco supermarket chain in the "Computers
for Schools" promotion for the third year running. However this year many
changes have been made, including the fact that third party software is
no longer supplied under the scheme, thus placating many software developers
who felt in previous years that the scheme damaged their software sales.
Acorn and Tesco are teaming up with Thomas Nelson & Sons, a book publisher
with special interest in multimedia.

"Computers for Schools" catalogues have already been distributed to schools,
although they do not include details of the new Risc PC, for obvious reasons.
However these new computers are available under the scheme, and schools will
be sent a supplement to the catalogue giving full details. The scheme does
show Acorn's commitment to education - they don't just use the scheme to
get rid of old stock, but offer the very latest computers as well!


Other Acorn News
----------------
Normally Acorn news is included in the printed magazine, but there was
insufficient space in this issue.

Acorn has questioned Apple over claims made in its product literature and
advertisements relating to Apple's new PowerPC computer range. Basically,
Apple claimed to be the first company to supply RISC technology to ordinary
customers, and naturally Acorn was unhappy about this, having supplied RISC
based Archimedes computers for the past seven years. Acorn has made its
feelings clear to Apple, which has agreed to review its position.

Hugh Symons, main distributor of Acorn computers, has launched a new
promotion whereby purchasers of the A3010 Action Pack are entitled to a
"free" television set, if they agree to pay for an extended warranty on
the TV set. Although this costs money, the purchaser can obtain a good
quality Sharp or Bush TV set at less than half the RRP, and of course the
A3010 includes a TV modulator enabling the TV set to be used as a monitor.

The A4 portable computer now comes with 1 year on-site and telephone hotline
warranty at no extra cost. A 3 year extended warranty is available to both
new and existing A4 customers at a cost of £149.95 inc VAT, although in all
cases this runs from the purchase date of the computer. Cynics might say
this could be because the latest batch of A4 computers is more likely to
break down, but we have no evidence to support this and so it does seem
like a good offer.

Acorn is taking part in the Department for Education's CD-ROM for Primary
Schools Initiative, and a variety of reduced price CD-ROM upgrades and
systems will be made available to such schools.

The Training Centre at Acorn recently held a Multimedia Workshop for long
term unemployed people in Cambridge. Lasting for two weekends, the course
provided them with multimedia related skills which may be useful in helping
the attendees to find work. The course was said to be a great success, and
the format is being made available as part of Acorn's regular programme of
courses for the paying public. Contact Acorn's Training Manager, Garry
Neale, on 0223 254386.

During March Acorn attended the large international CeBIT computer show
in Hannover, Germany. Sadly the Risc PC had not been launched at that time,
but Acorn reportedly had a very successful show with its existing platforms,
and enabled it to focus attention on its newly formed German subsidiary,
Acorn Computers GmbH, and to reinforce its partnership with AB Dick who
distributes Acorn Publishing Systems in Europe. Acorn is having increasing
success in Germany - the Karstadt chain of department stores (130 shops)
has started selling Acorn machines in its larger stores, and other multiples
are known to be in the pipeline. In January, Acorn appointed Mr Hermann
Haehner, formerly Sales and Marketing Director of Commodore Germany, as its
Sales and Marketing Manager for Germany.

Following a review of its activities in South Africa, Acorn has signed a
Heads of Agreement with the company Oak Tree Technologies, with a view to
appointing the company as its new exclusive distributor for the territory
of South Africa. Oak Tree Technologies have already increased the level
of Acorn-related business by over 300%.

In the UK, The Action Pack and Learning Curve Pack are now being sold
throughout the 350-strong chain of Rumbelows high-street stores. Overall,
in spite of the fact that Dixons no longer stocks the A3010, Acorn has
more high-street outlets than in the past for the Archimedes.


Blind in Business Charitable Trust
==================================
On Friday 25th March, Mr Pen Kent, Director of the Bank of England formally
donated seven Archimedes Special Needs systems, a library CD-ROM and
scanning facility for use in schools for the blind. Blind in Business is
a business inspired charity founded in 1992 to maximise education and
employment opportunities for visually impaired people through the
exploitation of information technology. Tel [phone].


Castle Technology
=================
Castle Technology is best known for its range of replacement keyboards for
the Archimedes, but also supplied a range of monitors, hard discs, printers
and other products. Don't miss its stand at the Harrogate Show.
Tel [phone].


Clares Micro Supplies
=====================
Clares have announced several new products:

Spooler: allows background printing from the RISC OS printer drivers.
         £15.00 inc VAT - review to appear in Eureka issue 12.

Card Shop: a multi-mode design application for younger children, enabling
           greetings cards to be designed and assembled. £24.95 inc VAT.

NightSky: a versatile and comprehensive astronomy package. £79.95 inc VAT.

Plot: reviewed in this issue of Eureka. Price £79.95 inc VAT.

Clares tel: [phone].


Colton Software
===============
Colton will be exhibiting at the Harrogate Show with its new Fireworkz
for Windows package, as well as demonstrating the database component of
the Fireworkz family, Recordz, which is scheduled for release later this
year. Colton's ClassCardz for education will be available from the stand,
along with free technical advice & special show offers.


Computer Concepts
=================
Following the success of its ArtWorks Clipart Competition last year,
Computer Concepts has announced that a similar competition will be
running this year, in partnership with Archimedes World Magazine.
However this year the competition is not restricted to vector drawings
produced with ArtWorks, but instead with any Archimedes or Risc PC
vector drawing package. Prizes include a brand new Risc PC from Acorn,
as well as a Pioneer CD-ROM for the best ArtWorks entry, and various
other prizes. All entrants will receive a £10 CC Discount voucher for
their efforts.

Don't forget that CC announced the price of the Impression Style
upgrade will rise to £50 + VAT four months after the release of Style.
This deadline has now passed without any statement from CC, but bear in
mind that the upgrade price could increase at any time. The latest release
date given for Impression Publisher is "late April/early May".

At Harrogate CC will be demonstrating its new Apple Mac disk reader,
developed in Belgium by Club member John Tytgat. Retailing for around £100,
this new package will prove invaluable to DTP experts and others who need
to be able to read Mac format disks and Syquests.

CC has also announced Acorn loaders for both PhotoCD and JPEG format
graphics files, enabling these industry standard files to be loaded
directly into Impression Style/Publisher and ArtWorks 1.5, loading
the image as a 24 bit sprite. Both loaders are available on one disc
from Computer Concepts, priced £39.00 + VAT.

ArtWorks 1.5 is now available - upgrade on floppy disc costs just £10.00
+ VAT, or soon to be available on CD-ROM. Features many improvements.

Inkjet prices from CC have also been reduced:

BJC-600 + TurboDrivers - £469.00 + VAT
BJ-200  + TurboDrivers - £229.00 + VAT   all + £10 carriage from CC
BJ-230  + TurboDrivers - £289.00 + VAT

Computer Concepts tel [phone].


Concept Keyboard Company
========================
The Concept Keyboard Company has announced a new part-exchange deal in
which schools can trade in their old blue Concept Keyboard and purchase
a brand new Universal 2010 keyboard for just £99.00, a saving of up to £31.
Concept tel [phone].


Cumana Ltd
==========
"Who's been eating my porridge?" This is just one of the questions that
children are encouraged to answer when they work their way through the
popular story, Goldilocks, now available from Cumana in CD-ROM format.
Suitable for mainstream pupils, Key Stages 1 and 2, as well as children
with special educational needs, the package includes numerous activity
sheets and overlays for use with an overlay keyboard, and costs £39.95
ex VAT.

Also new from Cumana is Usborne Exploring Nature for the Archimedes, an
activity-based CD-ROM and resource designed to encourage children to explore
the exciting world in which we live. Price £125.00 ex VAT.

The Chemistry Set CD-ROM for the Archimedes is a new interactive library
and encyclopaedia of chemical experiments, molecular structures and
information for use at school and in the home, suitable for students
from Key Stages 3 and 4 right through to first year undergraduate.
Developed in association with the University of Nottingham, this CD-ROM
costs £99.00 ex VAT.

Cumana tel [phone].


High RISC Software Developments
===============================
High RISC has kindly offered Club Members a discount of £3.00 off its
new budget game KV, reviewed in the magazine, when bought direct from
High RISC. This brings the price down to £12.00, making the game very
good value for money. Simply send a cheque for £12.00 to High RISC,
not forgetting your name, address and Club membership number.


Longman Logotron
================
Longman Logotron has recently signed a 6 year contract to publish software
jointly with the BBC in order to support BBC Television Schools' Broadcasts.
This builds on the success of their previous joint venture which lasted
from 1990 to 1993.

Advantage is a new spreadsheet specifically designed for use in schools,
aimed at the budget end of the market. "Advantage introduces children to
the key features of a modern spreadsheet - automatic calculations, point
and click formula construction and graphic charting". It is capable of
loading and saving files produced by the Eureka spreadsheet package, also
from Longman Logotron. Single user price: £49.00 ex VAT.

Longman Logotron's datalogging software package Insight is now available
for both Acorn and Windows platforms.

PinPoint datafiles are a series of PinPoint data stacks and photocopiable
supporting materials to assist teachers in covering a variety of
curriculum topics. Titles published in the series for Key Stage 2/3 are:
Dinosaurs, Junior Olympics, Animal Kingdom, Food Glorious Food, The
Victorians and Festivals. For Key Stage 3/4 are: Solar System, Second
World War, Far Away Places, 1851 Census, Diet and Nutrition, Kartei
German Questionnaire. Prices from £12.00 per datafile.

Earthwarp for the Archimedes is based on the latest in the increasingly
popular Look and Read series broadcast by the BBC, aimed at 7-9+ year olds.
Price: £24.00 ex VAT.

Longman Logotron Tel [phone].


Minerva
=======
Minerva Software launched PrimeSolver at the BETT '94 Show, a problem
solving program for all RISC OS machines. It is an interactive application
for the creation and solving of mechanical puzzles. Single user price is
£79.95 ex VAT, but a demonstration disc is available from Minerva for only
£5.00 ex VAT.

Price cuts: Minerva has announced the following price reductions:

Home Accounts - £34.95 inc VAT
Ancestry - £59.95 inc VAT
Desktop Office - £69.95 inc VAT
Keyboard Trainer - £69.95 inc VAT

Minerva tel [phone].


Oak Solutions
=============
The Design Processor is a new integrated design environment from Oak
Solutions. At the heart of the system is a suite of sophisticated CAD-
type packages and related applications. It currently covers a range of
curriculum areas including Food, Electronics, Environments & Packaging,
suitable for Key Stages 3 and 4. The Design Processor costs £900 and
includes site licences for 13 applications, numerous resources and
information, and three years' worth of updates to the system.

DrawPlot, a driver for HPGL compatible plotters including the Roland
CAMM series, has been upgraded. It can quickly and simply plot, cut or
engrave drawings from !Draw and other applications which produce drawfiles.

Oak tel [phone].


Northwest SEMERC
================
New from SEMERC is Go-Go! for the Archimedes, a simple turtle graphics
program for teaching number, geometry and logic to special needs, primary
and secondary pupils. Supplied on 2 discs, the package costs £40 ex VAT,
plus £3 P&P. SEMERC tel [phone].


Topologika
==========
Education favourite Topologika is continuing to produce new packages at an
astonishing rate, including Music Box, Number Tiles and Talking Rhymes.
The prices are already low, but Topologika also offers a 30 day Approval
Copy service to educational institutions - if a package is returned in
perfect condition within 30 days of receipt, there is nothing to pay.


Apologies to any companies whose press releases have not been covered above.
Please keep sending them in. Readers should remember that the above comments
are taken from company press releases, and so may not be totally impartial.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eureka Magazine and this disc are Copyright © 1994 The ARM Club. All
Rights Reserved. All opinions are those of the respective authors, and
not necessarily those of The ARM Club or its Committee. Please note that
we cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage of any sort caused by
material contained in the magazine or on this disc.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------