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RISC World

Disc World

David Bradforth and Aaron Timbrell on this months DISCWorld

This months DISCWorld roundup

Welcome to Disc World. Once again we have a superb collection of software including a couple of RISC World exclusives and our usual collection of the latest PD and Shareware programs. So lets dive in and see what this issue has in store.

BASICtoC

A demonstration version of the BASIC to C translator by Martin Carradus. This application can take legally written BBC BASIC programs and convert them to C code for use with an ANSI C compiler.

BUSHSTB

The files needed to run the RISC OS desktop on a Bush Set Top Box. Note that you will also need a parallel port Zip drive and an Argo format ZIP disc for the Set Top Box to boot from.

CINTER

A C interpreter for use with BASICtoC. Now you can test C code without having to actually compile it!

DAPicture - original rrp �100

This excellent bitmap graphics package never made it big on RISC OS. Released early in 1994, DA's Picture was the RISC OS platform's one and only offering from the German massive Digital Arts. At the time, Digital Arts had an enormous market for graphics software on the Atari ST, and were looking to expand further into other markets. The UK distributor, CGS ComputerBild, was featured in a Moxon Interview within Acorn User, but unfortunately sales were such that the product was not developed from its starting point.

Additional information for DAs Picture:

  • For legal reasons it's no longer possible to load GIF images (you know, due to Compuserve enforcing their age-old trademark over the compression used within the GIF format).
  • If you want to load PhotoCD images you must have the module PhotoCD in your !System folder and the two corresponding lines in the application's !Run file have to be activated. To do that you hold down the shift key and double-klick !PICTURE. Now keep holding shift and double-klick !Run. The file will be loaded into an editor. Delete the first character '|' in both lines regarding the PhotoCD module. Save the file back.
  • The default value for the amount of memory used by the program is 4 megabyte (=4096 kilobyte). If you want to use more or less you have to change the corresponding line in the application's !Run file. In the line 'WimpSlot -min 4096k' just change the value 4096 into the one you prefer. Note though that this value can't be less than 1280k, and the more memory the program has available the better it will work!

Games

No issue of RISCWorld would be complete without a game or two, so this issue here are two classic platform games, Terramex and TwinWorld. Full instructions for each game are provided in the relevant archive.

RISC OS icons

If you find your RISC OS desktop lacks that touch of professionalism, especially in the user interface, why not add our collection of desktop icons to your system? Copy the archive first to your hard disc, then restart your machine. Open the archive, and take the contents within it; place them into a new directory and - again - restart your computer. Now whenever you open the folder containing these icons you should load the replacements, and will - quite probably - add a touch of style to your RISC OS desktop.

Modules

The support files for Brian Pickards new series. Included this issue is the skeleton code for a sample module.

PD

Paul Brett has the latest PD and Shareware software, and its all here to save the downloading time.

PowerBase

The latest version of Derek Haslams PowerBase database.

VirtualA5000 - time limited demo

A demonstration version of VirtualA5000, complete with RISC OS 3.11, the universal !Boot sequence and much more. This time limited demo only runs on Windows machines (98,ME,2000 and XP) and expires at the end of February 2002.

You can get more information, plus details on how to order the full version (rrp �30.50 including carriage) from the Virtual Acorn website.

VNC - Virtual Network Computing

A VNC client and a VNC server for RISC OS, need to know more? Then check out Hugh Jamptons Weird World Web article.

The Complete DiscWorld list

So in alphabetical order this months DiscWorld contains:

  • BASICtoC - Convert from BBC Basic to C!
  • BUSHSTB - Run the RISC OS desktop on your BUSH Set Top Box.
  • CINTER - a C interpreter for use with BASICtoC.
  • DAPICTURE - The complete bitmap package, now made Freeware.
  • GAMES - RISC OS games.
  • ICONS - RISC OS desktop icons
  • MODULES - Source code for Brian Pickards article
  • PD - Paul Bretts PD archive.
  • POWERBASE - the latest version of PowerBase
  • VA5000 - a demonstration of VirtualA5000, the Acorn emulator for Microsoft Windows.
  • VNC - Virtual Network Computing for RISC OS

Utilities

This CD-ROM contains a number of utilities and pieces of software to accompany the articles in the magazine. The magazine now uses GIF and JPEG images rather than having two versions, one with Sprites and one with GIF. The magazine can be found in the HTML directory from the root of the CD.

There are three utilities to help you read this disc (RISC OS users only). These can be found hidden inside the !RiscWorld application in the UTILITIES directory (The !RiscWorld application automatically uses these utilities if they are required):

  • A file-only copy of Fresco, to display the HTML. This will only run if you don't already have a copy of Fresco installed, so that it won't overwrite your cache.
  • ArcFS, which can be used to read some of the archived software on the disc.
  • SparkPlug, an alternative de-archiver which can also read Zip files.

Usenet archive

Also included on the disc is an archive of the comp.sys.acorn.* newsgroups since early October 2001. These are stored in a special read-only version of Messenger Pro which will allow you to view the messages, but nothing more complicated. The archive is presented 'as is', and RISC World doesn't make any guarantee about the usefulness, relevance or acceptability of any information contained in it.

Index