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1998-09-08
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Acorn User 200 - Collector's CD ROM Volume 4
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to this fourth instalment of our yearly descent into madness, to
bring you the best of the Acorn platform onto one shiny disc. This disc
is rather special, because it adorns the 200th issue of the magazine,
so there may be some suitable nostalgia hidden somewhere.
This text file includes extra information that will not have appeared in
the magazine, including any last minute alterations made before the disc
was mastered.
This CD is ISO formatted to be viewed on all computers with CD-ROM drives.
Yet, for Acorn users only, we have used TAG Developments/Roger Wagner
Publishing's HyperStudio once again to create the navigation interface.
Check out the section below on how to run it. HyperStudio 3.06
is available from TAG Developments directly. See the TAG file for the
contact details.
In the meantime, you can check out the !THANKS file for a list of credits,
to see the huge number of people who helped in some way towards the content
of this disc. Not everybody is included, but your contributions are
gratefully received.
We once again hope that you enjoy using this CD. And if for some reason you
do not enjoy, then why not tell us? Or you can contact the perpetrator
himself, Stephen Scott, by e-mail at sa_scott@yahoo.com, or on the Web at
http://sascott.home.ml.org/
All the best,
The Acorn User team
CONTENTS:
1. To run this CD-ROM
2. Running the HyperStudio player
3. The CD-ROM Structure
4. The Acorn Boot Sequence
5. Running from within an archive
6. Running the CD-ROM from a PC or Macintosh
7. Contacting the team
8. Will I be doing another CD-ROM?
9. A dedication
1. TO RUN THIS CD-ROM;
You can run this CD in three ways, two pretty ways, and a dirty one;
- The first pretty way is to double click on the !HSPLAYERF icon, and
then double click on the START file. This is ideal for people who
tend to get lost among the contents of a CD!
- The second pretty way is to open up one of the web browsers
supplied in the WEB directory, and then double click on the CDIND/HTM
file. This will give you a complete catalogue of the CD's contents.
These HTML files are also opened by the first pretty way, but is
obviously more quicker.
- The final dirty way is to just browse through the CD-ROM with your mouse!
What fun. There were going to be detailed text only files cataloguing the
disc contents. But, lack of time forced me to discard this idea. I hope
the above methods are acceptable to you.
2. RUNNING THE HYPERSTUDIO PLAYER
The !HSPlayerF application requires a minimum of 4mb RAM and RISC OS 3.1
or above in order to run correctly. If your machine has 4mb of RAM, then
running programs such as !ArcFS or !SparkPlug can put extra strain on the
amount of memory you have, so related error messages could pop up at any
time during usage. The !HSPlayer is StrongArm compatible, but at the time
of writing, it is not known if it is compatible with RISC OS 4 on the
Phoebe.
It is in your interest to read both the !LICENCE and !SAMPMLIC textfiles
which reside within the !HSPLAYERF application, in reference to the player
and the Sample Manager code used within it.
3. THE CD-ROM STRUCTURE
Some of the content has been left open on the CD, so that you can run
it directly, without having to install to your hard disc. Others will
be found archived, either as Zip files, ArcFS files, or SparkPlug
files. Copies of the latest versions of ArcFS 2 and !SparkPlug have
been provided for this purpose.
If you own an Acorn without a copy of the above utilities,
then use the self-extracting copy of !SparkPlug, called !SPLUG/BAS. Copy
this file onto disc and transfer it to your Acorn. Set its filetype to
BASIC if necessary, and double click on it. A fresh copy of !SparkPlug
will then be created. You can then dearchive ArcFS, which is saved as
ARCFS/ARC and from there have access to the CD contents.
The HyperStudio player and directory structure attempt to divide the
CD into recognisable areas of computing, so you can find your way
around.
4. THE ACORN BOOT SEQUENCE
Acorn User has been very lucky in being given the chance to distribute
the first public release of the new boot sequence, which was formerly
included only on the hard discs of J233 Risc PCs. Since that was
introduced some time ago, the sequence was been rewritten completely,
removing many of the bugs and irritations prevalent since its
introduction in 1994 with the original Risc PC. This new sequence
is compatible with Risc OS 3.1 or later.
The new sequence comes in the form of a 22mb archive, meaning it is
very large. Supplied with this archive are two textfiles, one is a
licence, which you are required to read, while the other contains
detailed instructions on how to install the new sequence.
*It is very important that you follow these instructions carefully,
otherwise you will end up with a useless machine*. Neither Acorn or
Acorn User will be held responsible for any losses incurred through
its installation. So please be careful with it!*
5. RUNNING FROM WITHIN AN ARCHIVE
Some archives are actually not compressed, such as those containing
websites. This is to protect such files from the ISO 9660 limitations
imposed on CD-ROM production. Some HTML files have long filenames which
would be impossible to change to suit the standard, resulting in this
procedure being implemented. Such archives, like Acorn Arcade, have been
welded with image filing systems to allow you to view the site directly
from the disc without the filename limitation ruining the viewing
experience.
The contents of some archives, however, cannot be run directly. They must
be copied from the CD onto your hard disc or floppy disc and run from there.
Although programs can be run from within an ArcFS archive, there is no
guarantee to whether they will work! If your are in any doubt about this,
then COPY THE CONTENTS ONTO YOUR HARD OR FLOPPY DISC.
It is VERY important that you make sure you have dearchived the software,
reset the computer and reloaded the software before complaining to us if
there is a problem. We get many letters and e-mails from people who have
obviously not performed the above procedure and have tried to run the
contents from within one, resulting in various errors.
6. RUNNING THE CD-ROM FROM A PC OR MACINTOSH
Since this CD is ISO9660 formatted, it can be viewed on other computers.
This is useful for Acorn users without CD-ROM drives, but have access to
a non-Acorn computer, from which they can download specific archives.
The programs which would normally run directly off the CD, are also
available as archives, but they are bigger than 1.4mb DOS format discs
would allow. At the time of writing, I do not plan to split the archives
into smaller chunks, so you will need to find a suitable solution to
this problem.
Some of the files do not have appropriate DOS extensions at the end of
their names, so may not appear correctly filetyped on such machines. This
is no matter, because it would be pointless attempting to open them on
these machines anyway.
Some archives are too large to fit onto DOS formatted floppy discs, so I
cannot recommend any PC software which can split files and work on the
Acorn as well. If anyone can tell me more about this problem, then please
contact me, and I'll make an update to the AUCD webpage or include it in
a letter to Acorn User sometime in 1998.
Once you have copied the file to your Acorn, you will need to filetype it
to either 'Archive' (&FFC) or 'ArcFSArc' (&3FB) and try to open it with
ArcFS 2 or SparkPlug.
The HTML files on the CD can be opened in a web browser such as Internet
Explorer or Netscape Navigator/Communicator. They have the appropriate
/HTM extensions to allow you to double click on them directly without
too much trouble.
7. CONTACTING THE TEAM
If you wish to contact the author of this CD-ROM, then you can find him
at these addresses;
E-mail: sa_scott@yahoo.com, banwackerin@hotmail.com
Web : http://sascott.home.ml.org/
or
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Pines/2760/index.html
http://www.fortunecity.com/lavendar/clint/40/index.html
The official AUCD page is at this address;
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Pines/2760/aucd4.html
where you will also find information about the third cover CD-ROM in
addition to this one.
Post : 17 Northcroft Villas
Egham
Surrey
TW20 0DZ
United Kingdom
If you wish to contact Acorn User magazine, then use one of the following;
E-mail: aueditor@idg.co.uk
Web : http://www.idg.co.uk/acornuser
Post : Acorn User
IDG Media
Media House
Adlington Park
Macclesfield
Cheshire
SK10 4NP
United Kingdom
If you live in the Antipodes, then the magazine seems to have a major lag
of about six to eight months. At the time of writing this (August 1998),
readers here would have only just received the issue carrying the previous
cover CD-ROM (the December 1997 issue). So, when you contact us in the
middle of 1999 or whatever, remind us of what you think about the CD, as
by then, we will have forgotten all about it. Why this delay occurs, I
personally have no idea.
8. WILL I DO ANOTHER COVER CD-ROM?
The answer is that I do not know. It has been a very hard project to do,
in the limited time given. But I do hope that is has been worth it. If you
do find any bugs, omissions or silly mistakes then please accept my
apologies. Time was too short to perform any extensive testing.
If you feel you can do an even better cover CD, then why not
do so? Contact the editor around Spring time if you are interested.
If you need any hints and tips, dont hesitate to contact me!
In the meantime, do enjoy this CD. I'm more proud of it than the last one.
I hope you are too.
Stephen Scott
6th/12th/14th/27th August/7th September, 1998
9. A DEDICATION
A small but worthy dedication from me to my future wife Anusha, who I
should thank for putting up with me in the last weeks of this project.