Archive Magazine 1996/ARCHIVE_96.iso/text/magazine/volume_05/issue_08

Text File | 1995-06-25 | 273KB | 5,544 lines

  Count your blessings!
5.8
Just recently there has been a spate of Acorn-bashing letters coming
into the Archive office. What most of them boil down to is that öAcorn
arenæt producing new hardware and software fast enoughò. I have made
room in the magazine for some of these comments but I do think that itæs
time some people started to count their blessings.
5.8
öWe want a new, more powerful, cheaper, more colourful, more portable
computers!ò they cry. Well, yes, we would all like to see new products
coming out of Fulbourn Road, but how about comparing what is currently
available from Acorn with what is available from other suppliers?
5.8
In terms of DTP (sorry to keep on about it!) the A5000 and A540 knock
spots off the opposition Ö as I have shown in my DTP booklet. Having
just come back from seeing Acornæs new CD-ROM package, I can see that
the same is probably true for multi-media, although it is not an area I
know much about. (Are there any multi-media experts out there who could
do some writing for us?)
5.8
As far as I can see, Acorn are making great efforts to maximise the
potential of their existing high-powered computers whilst, of course,
continuing to develop new machines for the future. Itæs a matter of
opinion as to how much time and money should be spent on each, but I
wish them well.
5.8
What can we do to help? Well, by all means, letæs tell Acorn what we
would like to see in terms of new computers but letæs also make a real
effort to maximise what we have already got. Letæs find ways of
increasing the effectiveness of our existing processing power. I believe
Archive and its subscribers have an important role to play in this and I
hope you will work with us in building up Acornæs reputation.
5.8
Sad news
5.8
Those of you who know my father-in-law, Eddie Roberts, will be saddened
to hear that he is seriously ill with cancer in Priscilla Bacon Lodge,
Norwich. Over the years, he has done a tremendous amount of work, behind
the scenes, to help Norwich Computer Services, not least by his faithful
help in sending out the magazines Ö stuffing and sealing thousands of
envelopes each month. Many of you will have met him at the early Acorn
User Shows. I would just like to say how grateful we are to him for all
he has done for us in the business as well as for us personally.
5.8
We are very grateful, too, for the concern, prayers and support that
many people have shown us at this difficult time. I hope that these
difficulties wonæt, in any way, spoil the service we give at Norwich
Computer Services but if it does, I trust you will bear with us.
5.8
With very best wishes,
5.8
5.8
Products Available
5.8
Å    A5000 CD-ROM offer Ö Acorn are offering to education (yes, education,
only, Iæm afraid) a öcomplete A5000 CD-ROM systemò for ú1799 +VAT. This
consists of an A5000 (not Learning Curve), 40M IDE, 4M ram (not 2M),
Acorn multisync monitor, Cumana CD-ROM drive and SCSI interface, a pair
of mains powered stereo speakers, seven CD-ROM discs (Hutchinson
Encyclopedia, Revelation 2, Space Encyclopedia, Times and Sunday Times
Sampler, Illustrated Holy Bible, Illustrated Works of Shakespeare,
Sherlock Holmes), PC Emulator 1.8, !CD Player to play audio CDs, Cumana
SCSI utilities, ChangeFSI, three CD caddies, mouse mat, Access to Cumana
CD-ROM hotline, ú25-off voucher for a yearæs subscription to NERIS, ú30
voucher for a yearæs subscription to The Times and Sunday Times CD
(RISC-OS version). This package will be available through Archive. (An
A3000 upgrade version to add on to an existing A3000 is said to be
öavailable 1 Julyò and will be ú599 +VAT.)
5.8
I have been down to Acorn to look at this system and it looks very
exciting, especially when you compare it to the offerings for Mac, PC
and Nimbus, etc. It seems to be another area, like DTP, where Acorn
could shine because of the high power/price ratio of the A5000. We
really need someone to write something for Archive about it. The trouble
is that, unlike DTP, I make no claim to be an expert on it. Any offers?
Ed.
5.8
Å    Archimedes Open Day Ö The University of Sussex is having an Open Day
on 2nd July to demonstrate the use of the Archimedes in the teaching of
Mathematics and Statistics. Contact Dr D.R.Robinson on 0273Ö606755 for
details.
5.8
Å    Base5 programs Ö There are now two more programs to add to the Base5
database management system. They are AdMaths which is an advanced
mathematics and statistics package and Mailmerge which is a flexible
mailmerge system allowing the merging of information from different
databases. The prices are ú25 and ú10 respectively but there is no VAT
payable on them. (Base5 itself costs ú69.)
5.8
Å    Cheap A540æs Ö We can still get hold of a few of the cheap (but brand
new) A540æs that we mentioned last month. They will be ú1925 inc VAT and
carriage each. (Beebug still have three available, they tell me, at
ú1875 Ö yer pays yer money...) We also have a couple of ex-demonstration
A540æs. These have been reconditioned and have a full 12 monthsæ
warranty. These cost ú1725 inclusive.
5.8
Å    Chameleon upgrade Ö 4mation have produced a new version of Chameleon
which has ölots of new features including fountain fillsò. The new price
is ú37.50 +VAT (or ú41 through Archive) and the old program is no longer
available. The upgrade from the old version is ú12.50 +VAT but is only
available direct from 4mation.
5.8
Å    ClearView Ö A new hypertext application is available from DEC_dATA. It
allows you to display, search, cross-reference and print text files. The
application costs only ú10. There are two ClearView files available Ö
Columbusæ First Voyage (ú6.95) aimed at primary and lower secondary and
Scientists and Inventors (ú8.95) which contains the biographies of over
300 scientists and inventors. There is also a version of ClearView that
allows you to compile your own files. This costs ú50 from DEC_dATA.
5.8
Å    Clipart Ö Primary Education Services are producing large amounts of
clip art on a whole range of subjects aimed especially at primary
education but useful for anyone interested in the particular subject.
The discs are ú5 each (+ VAT) or ú4.50 each if you order 4 or more discs
at once. Add ú1.50 for postage and packing. The subjects currently
available are as follows (most are single discs but those which are two-
disc sets are marked with a super-scripted 2): Pets, Farm Animals,
Wildcats, Birds of Prey, Pond Life2, The Body, The Circulatory System,
The Human Skeleton, Man in Space, Leicestershire2, Sikhism, Mecca and
Medina, Diwali, Chinese New Year, Christmas, The Romans, The Vikings and
The Greeks.
5.8
Å    Colour scanning and printing Ö BirdTech are offering services of
colour scanning using a Sharp JX100, laser printing using a Laser Direct
600 d.p.i. and colour printing using a Deskjet 500C.
5.8
(The leaflet that BirdTech sent us was very impressive Ö it was in
colour but it was crystal clear, laser quality. The technique used is
simple but very effective. The coloured parts Ö a big bold title and a
logo Ö were printed on the DJ500C and the main text was printed
separately on the laser printer. The overall effect made you think it
was done on a colour laser printer. It wasnæt until you looked carefully
at the colour parts that you realised they were not such high quality as
the main text.)
5.8
Å    Datapower Ö SterrySoft has produced a new database for schools use.
Its capacity is 960 records with up to 24 fields. It uses a 24 field by
24 record spreadsheet type display and has a range of editing and
reporting facilities. The cost is ú29.95 (no VAT).
5.8
Å    Desktop Thesaurus Ö Risc Developments have produced a desktop
thesaurus which is fully RISC-OS compliant. You can type in the word you
want to check or you can ösaveò it from an editor or DTP package into
the thesaurus window and it will offer you various alternatives. ú19
+VAT from Risc Developments.
5.8
Å    Diction is a RISC-OS compliant dictionary program from New Era
Software. It has a 6,000+ word dictionary and costs ú15 (no VAT) from
New Era. This price includes a site licence.
5.8
Å    Dictionaries for German, French and Spanish Ö New Era Software have
produced fully defined G.C.S.E. dictionaries in three European langu
ages. These are RISC-OS compliant programs and costing ú25 each (no VAT)
from New Era. This price includes a site licence.
5.8
Å    Digitising tablet Ö Techsoft have just produced a new digitising
tablet with a 12ö ╫ 12ò active area. It comes with both a stylus for
freehand work and a puck-type pointer with cross-hairs for accurate
work. The software is a sophisticated mouse emulation program so that
the tablet can be used with any applications software. The price is ú175
+VAT.
5.8
Å    Eizo F550i Ö Eizo UK have just produced another new monitor that looks
as if it might be a replacement for the now discontinued 9070. It is the
F550i. The basic facts are: 17ö, 0╖28mm dot pitch, flat screen (but not
Trinitron), microprocessor controlled, Archive price ú890 inc VAT &
carriage. It will need a VIDC enhancer (ú28) if used with A300/400/3000
computers or an enhancer modes disc (ú5) if used with A540 or A5000. I
am using one at the moment and am extremely pleased with it, especially
the microprocessor control which makes it much easier to use when
changing from mode to mode. Once set up in the different modes that you
use, there is no need to make any adjustments to the size, position or
shape of the display. The display is so clear that I can display the
whole of the double page spread of this magazine and still see the words
clearly enough to edit the text Ö well, not clearly enough to want to do
a lot of editing at that magnification, but it is possible which it
certainly wasnæt on the 9060 or the 9070.
5.8
We also stock the Eizo T560i which is 17ö but 0.25 mm dot pitch and uses
a Trinitron tube. The membersæ price is ú1240. Putting the two side by
side, it seems to have exactly the same resolution as the F550i but the
T560iæs colours are much more saturated and there is a much greater
range of brightness available.
5.8
Å    Floptical drives Ö Morley Electronics are the first company (to the
best of our knowledge) to implement the new floptical drives on the
Archimedes. These are very high density (20M) floppy drives that use
optical techniques to give accurate enough tracking to achieve the high
packing density. The same drives will also read, write and format 720k
and 1.44M floppy discs. This is an advantage to non-A5000 owners as it
adds 1.44M to the list of disc formats they can read. Morley are working
on the suppliers of the flopticals in order to get information that will
allow them to write software to read and write all the Acorn formats.
The flopticals could then be used as a replacement for a standard floppy
drive.
5.8
The drives are available now and sell at Archive prices of ú625 for the
external drive, ú475 for the internal (which can also be fitted by a
dealer or a competent DIYer into an A5000 as a second drive), ú685 for
an external drive plus a podule and ú570 for an internal drive plus a
podule. Each drive comes with one floptical disc. Extra discs cost ú35
each or ú165 for a set of 5. These are SCSI devices, so IDE owners will
need to buy a separate SCSI podule.
5.8
Owners of existing Morley SCSI podules need a software update which can
be obtained from Morley for ú10 +VAT. Owners of other SCSI podules will
have to replace their card with a Morley one because you cannot have two
SCSI podules in a computer at once and none of the other podules, as
yet, will support the flopticals. (We have asked Oak Solutions about the
situation but have not, as yet, had any response. Lindis UK say that
they do not, currently, have any plans to write suitable software so
that they can be run from their SCSI interfaces. Acorn are, I would
guess, unlikely to extend their SCSI software to include flopticals.) We
hope to have a floptical drive for testing purposes in the next few
days, so we will give further reports next month.
5.8
Å    G-Draft Ö is a 2D CAD program which can output to HPGL plotters or dot
matrix printers via files in Draw format that are passed to the RISC-OS
printer driver. It is fully RISC-OS compliant and offers a range of
features including automatic dimensioning, 8 layer drawings, HPGL input,
symbols can be input from or output to disk libraries, etc. The price is
ú80 excluding VAT but including postage from G-Soft in Germany.
5.8
Å    Graphics & font packs Ö Logan Interactive have produced a series of
fonts and graphics packs: Bullets (highlighting symbols) ú8.95, Liner
(family of 4 fonts) ú24.95, Sunshine (decorative font) ú8.95, Railway
mapping symbols (2 fonts + graphics) ú24.95, Transport 1 (transport
pictograms Ö 1 font + graphics) ú16.95 and Transport 2 (route diagram
symbols Ö 1 font + graphics) ú16.95. Here is a sample of Transport 1: a
f  g  h  m  y .
5.8
Å    Inkjet refills and cheap inkjet cartridges are available from a
company called HCS (not HCCS of Acorn fame) on 0800Ö252Ö252.
5.8
Å    Interacter 1.60 Ö The Fortran user interface/graphic subroutine
library, Interacter is available from Interactive Software Services. It
is a subroutine library which allows menus, forms, text windows and high
resolution graphics to be added to Fortran software in a system
independent manner. It is available for RISC-OS, RISC-iX, DOS, DEC VAX/
VMS, PRIMOS and various other Unix systems. The RISC-iX version costs
ú950 +VAT for a two-developer licence (or ú570 +VAT for education). A
single user RISC-OS licence costs ú195 +VAT (ú146.25 +VAT for
education).
5.8
Å    MicroDrive World Edition Ö Cambridge International Software have
produced a version of their well-established 3D golf simulator with
seven courses covering English parkland, Spanish riviera, US lakeside,
US pine forest, Caribbean, Scottish links and Portuguese coastal. ú29.95
from CIS or ú27 through Archive.
5.8
Å    National Curriculum Planner and Database Ö New Era Software have
produced a database and a planner for those having to plough their way
through the administration involved with the National Curriculum.
NCPlanner is aimed at the task of recording National Curriculum
assessments and NCBase is used to generate progress charts. The two
programs together cost ú25 or ú40 inclusive of site licence and
automatic upgrades.
5.8
Å    PinPoint upgrade Ö Longman Logotron have issued an upgrade to their
PinPoint database. The extra facilities, including horizontal bar and
line charts and extra options for many of the existing features, is free
of charge to existing owners. All registered users of PinPoint should
have received their free upgrades by the end of April.
5.8
Å    Precision is a RISC-OS compliant reading program produced by New Era
Software and aimed at special needs students. It has facilities for
learning, testing and recording and uses a limited number of selected
words. You can also include pictures if you wish and it costs ú20 (no
VAT) from New Era including a site licence.
5.8
Å    PrimeArt upgrade Ö PrimeArt from Minerva will now work in mode 21 and
has new features including support for concept keyboards, sticky menus
and brush latching. The upgrade costs ú10 +VAT from Minerva. The
PrimeArt package is ú79.95 +VAT or ú87 through Archive including a
primary or special needs site licence.
5.8
Å    PrimeArt display kit Ö Minerva now produce a program to allow you to
create a rolling demo of PrimeArt pictures just by dropping the files
into a directory. The price is ú12 +VAT from Minerva.
5.8
Å    Science control software and hardware Ö SterrySoft produces a control
box (ú19.95) and three applications packages (ú9.95 each). The control
box connects up to an analogue port (not standard on Archimedes but
available as an add-on podule) and provides inputs that can be used for
temperature sensors, pendulum recording and car-on-ramp type
experiments.
5.8
Å    !SFXM Ö This is Cambridge International Softwareæs new sound effects
maker. In software, you combine oscillators, noise generators, envelope
generators, pulse generators, low-pass and high-pass filters, multi
pliers, sample and hold, variable delays, echo and reverb, etc to create
interesting new sounds. Apart from the fun aspect and applications where
sound effects are needed, I can see this being used in education as a
way of investigating the effects of some of the fundamental components
such as filters, delays, etc. The price is ú39.95 from CIS or ú37 from
Archive.
5.8
Å    Supermarket is a RISC-OS compliant program produced by New Era
Software and aimed at special needs students. It is a simple simulation
of a supermarket and comes in five different languages under the names
Supermarket, Archfarchnad, Supermarkt, SupermarchΘ and Supermercado. The
programs are ú10 each from New Era (no VAT) including a site licence but
if you buy more than one at a time, the first one costs ú10 and extra
languages are then ú8 each.
5.8
Å    Swiv Ö Krisalis have ported their Atari/Amiga etc game, Swiv, onto the
Archimedes. Fly a helicopter gunship or drive an armoured jeep and...
...well, blow everybody up, I suppose! The cost is ú25.95 or ú24 through
Archive.
5.8
Å    Tapestry software Ö SterrySoft has produced a program that will allow
you to design tapestry on a 50 ╫ 40 grid in 8 colours with two styles of
stitch. Designs can be saved for later use and colour printed. The cost
is ú9.95 (no VAT).
5.8
Å    Virus watch Ö Pineapple Software have introduced a new service for all
Archimedes owners to combat the growing threat of viruses. The service
will operate as follows:
5.8
1)ááOn payment of a small annual registration fee (ú24 + VAT), customers
will receive a disc containing details of all known Archimedes viruses
together with software developed under licence from Acorn Computers
Limited, which will render all of the known viruses ineffective. Further
discs will be sent out to customers during the year as more viruses
become known and, in the case of any particularly damaging virus, an
immediate innoculation disc will be sent to all customers.
5.8
2)ááPineapple will act as a central point for collecting information
about new viruses. Any Archimedes users who suspect they have suffered
the effects of a new virus (i.e. one that is not cured by Pineappleæs
latest release of software) should send full details to Pineapple.
5.8
3)ááIn extreme circumstances (if all else fails!), they will offer an
Éon siteæ cure to customers, although the cost of this will have to be
arranged on an  individual basis.
5.8
Pineapple would like to stress that they are not trying to make a profit
out of the warped pleasure that some people seem to get from creating
these viruses Ö hence the charge which, it is estimated, will just about
cover the running of the service.
5.8
Unfortunately, judging from the experiences of PC users, viruses are
here to stay but Pineapple think they may at least be able to help
control the problem even though it is unlikely that it can ever be
completely eliminated.
5.8
Review software received...
5.8
We have received review copies of the following: Aliped, ClearView +
Columbus (hypertext file), Control Logo, Creator, Minerva Business
Accounts, Newton, Pirate (educational), Primary Education Services Clip
Art, SFXM, Starch, Split an Image, Transport 1.ááA
5.8
5.8
Government Health Warning Ö Reading this could seriously affect your
spiritual health.
5.8
Being a Christian doesnæt mean that you are immune from the trials and
tribulations of life. What it does mean, however, is that even when
things donæt go according to (manæs) plan you can still experience a
real sense of peace and security. If you know that God is, ultimately,
in control and that He knows what is best for each one of us, it gives
you strength to face almost anything.
5.8
God is in the business of transforming suffering. He takes what is,
seemingly, evil and brings good things out of it. The supreme example of
this is that Jesus, who was willing to do things Godæs way, was prepared
to suffer and die because He knew that through it He would bring new
life to his followers. Jesus did die but death could not hold him and He
is alive, today! Hallelujah!!
5.8
5.8
Norwich Computer Services 96a Vauxhall Street, Norwich, NR2 2SD. 0603-
766592 (764011)
5.8
5.8
4mation     11 Castle Park Road, Whiddon Valley, Barnstaple, Devon  EX32
8PA. (0271Ö25353) (22974)
5.8
Abacus Training     29 Okus Grove, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wilts  SN2
6QA.
5.8
Acorn Computers Ltd     Fulbourn
Road, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge  CB1 4JN. (0223Ö245200) (0223Ö210685)
5.8
Ace Computing (p6)    27 Victoria
Road, Cambridge  CB4 3BW. (0223Ö322559) (69180)
5.8
Apricote Studios (p30)    2 Purls
Bridge Farm, Manea, Cambridgeshire  PE15 0ND. (035Ö478Ö432)
5.8
Base5     PO Box 378, Woking, Surrey GU21 4DF.
5.8
BirdTech     16 Weynor Gardens, Kelling, Holt, Norfolk  NR25 7EQ.
(0263Ö7066)
5.8
Cambridge International Software    Unit 2a,
Essex Road, London  N1 3QP. (071Ö226Ö3340) (071Ö226Ö3408)
5.8
Colton Software (p16)    2 Signet
Court, Swanns Road, Cambridge  CB5 8LA. (0223Ö311881) (0223Ö312010)
5.8
Computer Concepts (p40/41)    Gaddesden
Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts  HP2 6EX. (0442Ö63933) (0442Ö231632)
5.8
Database Publications    Europa
House, Adlington Park, London Road, Adlington, Macclesfield, Cheshire
SK10 5NP. (0625Ö859444) (879966)
5.8
DEC_dATA     60 Danes Road, Exeter EX4 4LS. (0392Ö221702)
5.8
Domark    Ferry House 51Ö57 Lacy Road, London SW15 1PR. (081Ö780Ö2222)
5.8
Gnome Computers Ltd    25a
Huntingdon Street, St Neots, Cambridgeshire PE19 1BG. (0480Ö406164)
5.8
HS Software    56, Hendrefolian Avenue, Sketty, Swansea  SA2 7NB.
(0792Ö204519)
5.8
Hybrid Technology    88 Butt Lane, Milton, Cambridge  CB4 6DG.
(0223Ö861522)
5.8
Ian Copestake Software (p24)    1 Kington
Road, West Kirby, Wirral  L48 5ET. (051Ö625Ö1006) (1007)
5.8
Krisalis Software    Teque House, Masonæs Yard, Downs Row, Moorgate,
Rotherham  S60 2HD. (0709Ö372290)
5.8
Logan Interactive Ltd    2 Frances
Street, Langholm, Dumfriesshire  DG13 0BQ.
5.8
Longman-Logotron     124 Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge CB4
4ZS. (0223Ö425558) (425349)
5.8
LOOKsystems (p10)    47 Goodhale Road, Bowthorpe, Norwich  NR5 9AY.
(0603Ö764114) (764011)
5.8
Minerva Systems     Minerva House, Baring Crescent, Exeter  EX1 1TL.
(0392Ö437756) (421762)
5.8
Morley Electronics     Morley
House, Norham Road, North Shields, Tyne & Wear  NE29 7TY. (091Ö257Ö6355)
(6373)
5.8
New Era Software    204 High Street, Woodville, Swadlincote, Derbyshire
DE11 7DT. (0283Ö812818)
5.8
Oak Solutions (p46)    Suite 25,
Robin Enterprise Centre, Leeds Road, Idle, Yorkshire BD10 9TE.
(0274Ö620423) (620419)
5.8
Pineapple Software    39 Brownlea
Gardens, Seven Kings, Ilford, Essex IG3 9NL. (081Ö599Ö1476)
5.8
Ray Maidstone (p23)    421
Sprowston Road, Norwich  NR3 4EH. (0603Ö400477) (417447)
5.8
Risc Developments Ltd (p12)    117 Hatfield
Road, St Albans, Herts  AL1 4JS. (0727Ö40303) (60263)
5.8
Sherston Software    Swan Barton, Sherston, Malmesbury, Wilts. SN16 0LH.
(0666Ö840433) (840048)
5.8
Simis Ltd    Headley House, Headley Road, Grayshott, Surrey  GU26 6TU.
(0428Ö605833) (607791)
5.8
Spacetech (p45)    21 West Wools, Portland, Dorset  DT5 2EA.
(0305Ö822753)
5.8
SterrySoft     4 Sterry Close, Clowne, Derbyshire  S43 4BN. (0246Ö811128
evenings)
5.8
Techsoft UK Ltd    Old School Lane, Erryrs, Mold, Clwyd  CH7 4DA.
(082Ö43318)
5.8
Triple Archimedes     P.O. Box
4444, Sheffield. (0742Ö700661)
5.8
Turing Tools (p11)    149 Campbell
Road, Cowley, Oxford  OX4 3NX. (0865Ö775059)
5.8
Wild Vision    15 Witney Way, Boldon Colliery, Tyne & Wear  NE35 9PE.
(091Ö519Ö1455)
5.8
5.8
Computer Concepts
5.8
From 5.3 page 32
5.8
5.8
Computer Concepts
5.8
From 5.3 page 33
5.8
5.8
Ace
5.8
new artwork
5.8
5.8
Hints and Tips
5.8
Å    A5000 filing system problems Ö There have been more comments about
problems with losing files on the A5000. We suggested last month that
you take Acornæs advice and configure the ADFSbuffers to zero. In the
light of further experience, we would suggest it even more strongly.
This problem occurred with Impression but we have had reports that it
also happens with other software. You have been warned. Ed.
5.8
David Pilling adds... In the last Archive, you had a piece from someone
saying that it is necessary to *configure ADFSBuffers 0 to make Acorn
DTP and Impression work properly. The official line according to Beebug,
is that unless A5000æs are configured like this, they will corrupt their
hard discs sooner or later. There are well documented cases of this
occurring. In addition, many programs, ArcFS and the Beebug hard disc
backup for example, wonæt work unless ADFSbuffers are set to zero.
5.8
It is also common advice to load the SerialUtils module before attempt
ing to use comms programs. The naive point of view is that SerialUtils
does something clever that allows buffers to work. That is not so,
SerialUtils actually prevents buffers from doing anything. It is
therefore much more efficient to stop your comms program from loading
any buffer and not bother with SerialUtils. SerialUtils will apparently
also prevent things like printer buffers from working.
5.8
New versions of Hearsay cope with all this automatically and there is a
version that uses the buffer manager built into RISC-OS 3. However, we
are still having discussions with Acorn over whether this works properly
in RISC-OS 3 as fitted to the A5000.á David Pilling, Blackpool.
5.8
Å    A5000 second floppy drive Ö In Archive 5.6 p12, it said that if you
were putting an external 5╝ö drive onto an A5000 it should be connected
into the middle socket of the three. That is not correct. It should go
into the one farthest East. The internal drive goes in the middle one.
The other point to note is that it said the external drive can be set to
ID zero or one. That it true but it should perhaps should have been
spelt out more clearly that it should NOT be set to either two or three.
If it is, it will not work properly. Ed.
5.8
Å    Adjust clicking (RISC-OS 3) Ö Most people will, by now, have cottoned
on to the idea that clicking open a directory with <adjust> closes the
parent directory viewer and that clicking the close button with <adjust>
opens up the parent. One extension of this on RISC-OS 3 is that clicking
the close button with <adjust> while holding down <shift> doesnæt
actually close the window but does open up the parent directory.
5.8
Å    Directory date stamps Ö When copying a directory and its contents, the
destination directory is created with the current date stamp, as opposed
to being created and then stamped with the date of the source object.
(Looking through the PRMáI havenæt been able to find a way of stamping a
file to a date other than that held in the real time clock.)
5.8
In the case of application directories, the application directoryæs date
stamp appears to be copied through, but on closer inspection this is not
so. The application directory is created with the current date stamp (as
for normal directories) however, the date which the filer presents the
user (for the date of the application directory) is actually the date
stamp of the !RunImage file.
5.8
RISC-OS 3 automatically detects an attempt to move from one directory to
another on the same media, and performs a Rename operation instead of a
copy, whereby the date is retained. (Possibly, RISC-OS 3 also has a
facility for stamping a filer object with a specified date, although I
will not know about this until the RISC-OS PRMáis released!)á D
Lenthall, London.
5.8
Å    Exiting the desktop (RISC-OS 3) Ö With RISC-OSá2, you could set up an
obey that would exit the desktop by making the last line:
5.8
FX 138,0,252
5.8
and as long as no text was output by the obey file, the desktop would be
exited. The same can be done with RISC-OSá3 by placing the above line in
the obey file twice. It also works with the keys, press <shiftÖctrlÖF12>
twice and the desktop is exited. Also when <shiftÖctrlÖF12> has been
pressed F12 (*Commands) and <ctrlÖF12> (Task Window) still work!
Warning: If you do use this then the ADFS will be reset, losing the
current directory.á P Bedford, Peterborough.
5.8
Å    Extra validation flags Ö With RISC-OS 3, a number of new validation
flags are available for when you are designing window templates. So far
I have found the following:
5.8
Border Flags Ö these require the border flag to be set on and give an
icon a 3D border similar to Impressionæs, they all begin with a B (or b)
and are followed by a number to give the border type:
5.8
0    Single raised border.
5.8
1    Double border for grouping.
5.8
2    Triple border for default action icons.
5.8
3    Triple border for writable icons.
5.8
4    Single recessed border.
5.8
5    Standard single line border.
5.8
6    Triple recessed border similar to type 3.
5.8
Border type 0 and 3 can be followed by a comma and then a number between
0 and 15 to define the colour to slab to.
5.8
Pointer definition Ö you can define an icon so that the pointer changes
shape when over the icon. This is done by placing a P (or p) in the
validation string followed by the name of the sprite containing the
pointer shape. Try sprite ptr_double.
5.8
Many others may be available with other parameters for the above options
but until the RISC-OSá3 Programmersæ Reference Manual is available we
wonæt really know. Most of the above is available in RISC-OSá2 by using
the Interface module by Simon Huntington.á P Bedford, Peterborough.
5.8
Å    Iconised windows with Impression (RISC-OSá3) Ö If you want to
distinguish Impression documents that have had their windows iconised,
generate an icon called Éic_impressioæ and place it in the !Sprites file
in the !Impress directory. Mine is the Impression quill & pot in a
window (ic_?).á P Bedford, Peterborough.
5.8
Å    Menon hotkey Ö If you use Menonæs hotkey facility, a problem can arise
in that it may not work if you have a window open that contains the
caret (e.g. Impression). However, it will work if you hold the alt key
down at the same time as the hotkey i.e. <alt-ctrl-H>. P Bedford,
Peterborough.
5.8
Å    Oak drives with Acorn SCSI card Ö If you are using an Oak drive with
an Acorn SCSI card (e.g. if you own an A540), you may find that you are
unable to dismount the drive and that you get a ÉBad parametersæ error.
5.8
Hard drives that are formatted using an Oak SCSI card include additional
information in the boot block which the Acorn card objects to. To solve
these problems (especially annoying with removable hard drives!), you
will have to format the disc with Acornæs SCSIDM.
5.8
Unfortunately, it is not that simple. When the desktop is started up,
the Acorn card looks at all of the drives that are available. Once it
sees an Éincorrectlyæ formatted Oak disc, it will not allow SCSIDM to
access the drive. This means that you will have to start up outside of
the desktop in order to format the disc. This can be done by typing
*Configure Language 0 <return> from the command line and then pressing
<ctrl-break>.
5.8
Once this has been done, you can format your drive in the usual way Ö
see pages 11-12 of the SCSI Expansion Card User Guide.
5.8
To start up in the desktop again, simply type *Configure Language 4
<return> from the command line and then press <ctrl-break>.á Adrian
Look, N.C.S.
5.8
Å    PC file transfer revisited Ö When transferring text files from PC to
the Archimedes (or vice versa), it is necessary to convert the carriage
returns (CRs) to line feeds (LFs) and vice versa. This can be done using
the search and replace facility of Edit, but it is much quicker just to
use the in-built transfer ÉCR<->LFæ which is available from the ÉEditæ
submenu or to press <F8>.á GáRiley, Cheshire.
5.8
Å    PC screen fonts revisited Ö In Archive 4.12 p10 there was a hint that
explained how to change the screen font of the PC Emulator to any BBC
screen font. Since then, the program has been updated to include EGA+
and ECD definitions.
5.8
The EGAROM looks to contain two sets of character definitions: EGA+ 16╫8
cells and ECD 14╫8 cells, as opposed to the ROM file which (amongst
other things) contains the 8╫8 cells used in the other modes. The
following program will convert these character sets for EGA+ and ECD
modes in a similar manner to my previous program:
5.8
REM >EGAFONT
5.8
REM Merge BBC FONT file into !PC EGAROM file
5.8
REM NB. *** COPY ORIGINAL EGAROM FILE BEFORE RUNNING THIS ***
5.8
:
5.8
ON ERROR REPORT:PRINTö at line ò;ERL :CLOSE#0:END
5.8
DIM rom% &2000,C%(7)
5.8
R$=ö:4.!PCEM.EGAROMò
5.8
OSCLI(ö*LOAD ò+R$+ö ò+STR$~rom%)
5.8
:
5.8
F%=OPENIN(ö:4.BBCFONTS.NEWFONTò):REM File of type &FF7
5.8
:
5.8
REPEAT
5.8
A%=BGET#F%
5.8
IFA%<>23THENPRINTöThis is not a BBC font file!ò:END
5.8
O%=BGET#F%:PRINTöChar &ò;~O%;ö ò;: VDU23,255
5.8
REM  EGA+ chars 16x8 Ö double horiz. thickness
5.8
P%=O%*16
5.8
FORI%=0TO7
5.8
C%(I%)=BGET#F%:C%=C%(I%):VDUC%
5.8
REM Ö assemble 8x8 char array
5.8
rom%?(P%+2*I%)=C%
5.8
rom%?(P%+2*I%+1)=C%
5.8
NEXT
5.8
VDU255:PRINT
5.8
REM  ECD chars 14x8 Ö blank first and last three rows
5.8
P%=&1000+O%*14
5.8
rom%?(P%+0)=0:rom%?(P%+1)=0
5.8
rom%?(P%+2)=0
5.8
FOR I%=0TO7:rom%?(P%+3+I%)=C%(I%): NEXT
5.8
rom%?(P%+11)=0:rom%?(P%+12)=0
5.8
rom%?(P%+13)=0
5.8
UNTIL EOF#F%
5.8
CLOSE#0
5.8
:
5.8
OSCLI(ö*SAVE ò+R$+ö ò+STR$~rom%+
5.8
ö + 2000ò)
5.8
END
5.8
This program has been tested in both modes by squeezing every last byte
out of my A3000 and through the use of the PD multisync Éemulatoræ Ö I
could just about stand the flickering! The ECD characters are a little
smaller due to the difficulty in mapping the default 8 onto 14 rows,
however, it does result in greater line spacing and arguably improves
readability.
5.8
Finally, I suppose that if anyone needs to redefine the MDA1 outline
font (has anyone found anything which uses the MDA mode?), they could
use !FontEd or a similar application to change the font name of their
preferred outline font to MDA1. The MDA0 font would appear to contain
definitions for the Éadditionalæ IBM character set and, as such, is less
likely to require redefinition.á PáBready, Glasgow.
5.8
Å    Printer buffers Ö RISC-OS 3 provides a configurable printer buffer.
Use the command:
5.8
*Configure PrinterBufferSize <n>K
5.8
to set the buffer size to <n> K in length. This does not seem to be used
by the RISC-OSá3 printer drivers but is used outside the desktop
environment. To check the buffer has been configured, perform a <ctrl-
reset> after the configure command, go into Basic and type:
5.8
PRINT ADVAL(-4)
5.8
the result will be the size of your printer buffer.á PáBedford,
Peterborough.
5.8
Å    Translator tips Ö Translator can easily be used to convert a sprite
from one screen mode to another. From the Translator menu, simply
deselect the ÉPop upá>áAuto modeæ option, and then select the ÉProcess >
Sprite output > Output mode > Currentæ. Select the desktop mode for the
output sprite and drag the sprite to be converted onto the Translator
icon. Finally, save the converted sprite from ÉMiscá>áSaveá>áFullæ
option.
5.8
When printing foreign graphics files on a monochrome printer, better
results can be obtained by selecting the ÉBlack and whiteæ option from
the Translator menu i.e. the sprite is converted into 256 grey scales.
(I think this is because there is less distortion of the colours than
when fitting the sprite to the 256 desktop colours available and then
the printer driver using ColourTrans to convert them to monochrome
information.) CáPaul, Manchester.
5.8
Å    Waiter and MultiFS clash Ö You canæt run The Data Storeæs Waiter with
the version of MultiFS that comes with the new PC Emulator. You must
quit Waiter before running MultiFS.á JáThompson.
5.8
Å    Window bug (RISC-OSá3) Ö There is a bug in the windows redraw routine.
If you use !FormEd to define a window with a vertical scroll bar, no
horizontal scroll bar and no size icon, then turn on the horizontal
scroll bar, being careful not to cover where the size icon would be with
the menu, you will see that no box is redrawn in the area where the size
icon should be. If you drag other windows over this window the result is
a mess in the area where the size icon should be. As this example shows,
the result is not as expected.á P Bedford, Peterborough.
5.8
Å    Window movement (RISC-OSá3) Ö If you use <adjust> in the scroll bar
areas to provide reverse movement, you may find useful the facility for
complete window scrolling. If you click adjust and hold on either slider
bar, the pointer vanishes and if you move the mouse, the window is
scrolled in the same direction. This only works if both scroll bars are
on a window.á P Bedford, Peterborough.ááA
5.8
5.8
Turing Tools
5.8
New artwork
5.8
5.8
Risc Developments
5.8
From 5.5 page 8
5.8
5.8
Comment Column
5.8
Å    Base5 Ö Thank you for the very fair and positive review of Base5 last
month. Mr Wears mentioned some problems that caused his machine to
crash. The version he was using for the review was a pre-release version
produced in October 1991. The current version does not, as far as I am
aware, suffer from the same problems. I am also pleased to say that
there are two more programs available for use with Base5 Ö AdMaths and
MailMerge Ö and more are under development.á Mike Logan, Base5, Woking.
(See Products Available for more details. Ed.)
5.8
Å    Virtual memory Ö With the arrival of RISC-OS 3, I would have expected
some kind of virtual memory system. I expected this because even MS-
Windows and Unix support a form of virtual memory (VM). Unfortunately
RISC-OS 3 does not do so.
5.8
On the monthly program disc, you will find a demo application called
!VMM Ö which demonstrates the use of a virtual memory manager (VMM) Ö
and two Basic programs. ÉPrimeSieveæ is a program which counts the
number of primes between 0 and a given top limit. The highest possible
top limit that can be entered is restricted to the amount of free RAM
allocated to Basic at run-time. ÉVM-Sieveæ is basically the same as
ÉPrimeSieveæ but instead of using RAM it uses virtual memory. The
conversion wasnæt done optimally and the program could be made to run
faster and more efficiently. The purpose was to demonstrate the VMM in
action.
5.8
VM can be seen as the ultimate low-cost memory expansion. The size of
the VM is only restricted by the amount of free space on a given filing
system. The problem with this VMM is that it requires other applications
to support it. When the VMM is installed on your system, you do not gain
extra memory automatically. Only applications specifically written for
this manager can use VM.
5.8
Ideally, VM should be supported by the Task Manager. If the VMM is under
Wimp-control, applications and application workspace can be swapped in
and out of RAM when needed. Secondly, applications that require extra
memory can then create their own blocks of VM.
5.8
As it stands, the VMM is not complete. It could be enhanced greatly with
cache-techniques, multi-page swapping, etc, building on and improving
the techniques used by UNIX and MS-Windows. I discussed this with F van
de Pol (who ported Berkeleyæs Spice to the Archimedes desktop) and he
agreed that this project has great potential.
5.8
The reason why I tell you all this may be clear. The VMM is worth not a
penny if it is not:
5.8
a) supported by some major software houses/applications  OR
5.8
b)    (even better) part of the Task Manager.
5.8
Unfortunately, I have neither the time nor the resources to exploit the
vast potential of this idea. I am hoping that Acorn will consider this
seriously and agree that it ought to be developed further.á Maurice
Hendrix, Holland.
5.8
Å    Whither Acorn? Ö Mike Cook of Micro User fame writes... As I have had
at least one article published in every edition of The Micro User, I
feel that my dedication to Acornæs computers is beyond question.
Unfortunately, I do feel that over the last year or so Acorn have lost
their way. It is now over five years since the RISC machine was launched
Ö in fact, at that time, the model B was as old as the A310 is now! I
feel that the RISC machines have failed to develop sufficiently, the
major fault being that the designers are locked into the same chip set.
The major failing concerns the computer display and here I have found
that several Archive readers have got their definitions wrong.
5.8
All Acornæs RISC machines have four bit colour, that is, four bits
define the colour you see. There are 24 palette registers or 16 of them.
There is a trick done in the hardware that allows 256 colours to be
displayed at one time but this does not make it an 8 bit colour machine.
I read many calls for 24 bit colour capability, but Acorn must first
provide an 8 bit capability. By this I, and the rest of the world, mean
that each colour in the 256 colour modes is definable by an 8 bit value
in the red, green and blue. This is not 24 bit colour! A true definition
of 24 bit colour is where each pixel is represented by three bytes and
you can display as many of the available 224 colours as will fit on the
screen. In short, 8 bit colour uses a definable palette whereas 24 bit
colour uses no palette.
5.8
Without 8 bit colour, Acornæs machines are becoming less and less viable
for real applications. True, 24 bit colour would be an advantage but
canæt replace an 8 bit system as 24 bit colour uses no look up table.
Unfortunately, using 8 bit colour in a desktop environment needs much
more software support than Acorn are prepared to offer. I think the
problem lies in that Acornæs developers are more interested in the raw
computing power than they are in making computers that people want to
use.á Mike Cook, öMicro Userò.
5.8
It is nice that Mike feels able to use Archive to air his views. I
presume he considers Archive a more appropriate forum for ödiscussing
Acornò than Micro User!
5.8
Anyway, it will be interesting to see what other Archimedes users think,
but I would strongly challenge Mikeæs suggestion that Acornæs computers
are öless and less viable for real applicationsò. What öreal
applicationsò do you want to do that could be done more effectively with
true 8 bit colour?
5.8
On the DTP front, the colour capabilities are perfectly adequate for 99%
of useræs applications and, as we have shown quite clearly in our
booklet, you can do DTP more cheaply and effectively on Acorn machines
than on any other computer currently available. Yes, it would be öniceò
to have 8 or 24 bit colour Ö you could show off how colourful your
machine was Ö but would it be more effective for örealò jobs? No, I
think it would be less effective because it would be somewhat more
expensive and/or not as fast as existing machines. Ed.ááA
5.8
5.8
The DTP Column
5.8
Neil Whiteley-Bolton
5.8
öGroetjesò from the Netherlands! For my part I intend dealing mainly
with professional DTP issues and will endeavour to answer any queries
readers may have regarding image-setting, PostScript and scanning. Until
such time as I receive specific requests for information, or articles, I
will concentrate on those topics which I have learned about the hard
way!
5.8
News and Views
5.8
Å    Acorn versus Mac Ö I started writing this article just after receiving
a draft of Paulæs guide öDesktop Publishing using Acorn Computer
Systemsò and I endorse Paulæs belief that the Acorn machines, with the
right software, can successfully compete with well established Mac-based
systems. Most of the work I do is in colour ù the particular area where
comparisons with öMacò based systems show the Archimedes and associated
DTP software at its weakest. The Archimedesæ limitations are in two
specific areas:
5.8
It is not possible to display more than 256 colours simultaneously on
screen, making accurate onscreen öpresentationsò difficult, if not
impossible, to realise and image processing a nightmare.
5.8
More importantly, at least as far as professional DTP is concerned, the
Acorn PostScript printer driver does not support any of the TIFF or EPS
file formats ù so it is impossible to produce PostScript output from
high quality colour scanned images.
5.8
Both of these problem areas are receiving attention. Acorn now seem to
be paying more attention to the needs of professional users and are
working hard to improve the graphics performance of the machine
although, realistically, we are unlikely to see high resolution 24 bit
colour from Acorn until the launch of a machine based on a new ARM chip
(around 18 months from now? Ö Yes, that would be my guess, too. Ed.).
Meanwhile a UK based company, Simis, is working on a öHi-Resò board for
the Archimedes which will not only provide high screen resolution
(1280á╫á1024 pixels) and 24 bit colour under the desktop, but will free
the main CPU from video processing ù providing a performance improvement
of around 40% when compared with a standard ARM2 machine working in high
resolution screen modes. I believe the hardware is ready, with the
software development (a rewrite of large chunks of the operating system
is necessary) well underway. Price is expected to be around ú1,500 ù
contact Simis on 0483Ö233048.
5.8
The PostScript problem will vanish following the launch of Artworks,
which CC will be shipping with a new PostScript printer driver capable
of handling all of the file types recognised by Artworks. Future
releases of Impression will allow TIFF, EPS and/or Acornæs proprietary
format files (if they ever get round to defining one) to be Étaggedæ to
Impression documents.
5.8
Nevertheless, I feel strongly that the current limitations need not be
an insurmountable barrier to the production of high quality colour
output on the Archimedes ù a great many professional Mac bureaux still
have the image separations physically Épastedæ into the film when
including high quality photographic images in their page layouts.
5.8
The reasons for this are twofold:
5.8
Firstly, a great many professionals do not believe that PostScript
provides sufficiently high quality.
5.8
Secondly, and in my opinion more importantly, high quality bit-map image
files can be gigantic and this has a number of implications. Computers
used to display and process image files many megabytes in size need to
have extremely large amounts of memory and/or an extra level of software
sophistication to handle the streaming of data to and from disk. The
cost of image setting increases dramatically with file size ù images
setters costing as much as ú80,000 need to be kept working full time if
they are to pay for themselves and PostScript files of large bit-map
images can tie up an imagesetter for long periods of time, making the
process prohibitively expensive.
5.8
Most, if not all, of these problems will be answered by PostScript II ù
a redefinition of the language which provides amongst other things, more
intelligent handling of bit-map image files. Adobe start shipping
PostScript II later this year.
5.8
I also gather from Computer Concepts that Artworks will eventually
support PostScript II.
5.8
Å    Acorn PostScript bureau ù There is now at least one PostScript bureau
offering output ödirect from an Archimedes to filmò. They have an 8M
A540 driving a Linotronic 200SQ directly. They can accept either
Impression or PostScript files and can produce separations from your own
pictures and paste these into your films. Files can be sent either on
floppy or Syquest removable hard disc. Contact Andrew Brown or Matthew
Fifield of Arch Images in Peterborough on 0733Ö53355.
5.8
Another bureau has just made itself known to us. Taylor Lambert
Advertising in Brockham, Surrey offers a full bureau service for bromide
or film. They take Impression files as such or PostScript files on
Archimedes, Apple or MS-DOS discs. Contact John McGovern on 0737Ö844044.
Ed.
5.8
Å    Ovation ù I have received a copy of Ovation (version 1.25S) which I
hope to get to grips with  over the next few months. Please keep those
Ovation hints and tips coming!
5.8
Image-setting
5.8
Hints & Tips
5.8
Å    Make sure you ask the image-setting bureau to produce films in a form
that your printer can use. e.g. Can he use Éright reading positiveæ?
5.8
Å    Only use high quality PostScript fonts such as the range from EFF ù
mistakes can be expensive.
5.8
Å    Ensure that the client Éacceptsæ a bromide Éproofæ before having the
work printed.
5.8
Å    Scanning Ö if you do your own scanning, rather than having it done via
a bureau, use the lowest possible scanning resolution that is consistent
with the screen resolution being used by the printer Ö i.e. a 150 l.p.i.
screen (a typical value for high quality magazines) requires no more
than 150 dots per inch scan, assuming a reproduction ratio of 1:1.ááA
5.8
5.8
Colton
5.8
From 5.7 page 22
5.8
5.8
PipeLine
5.8
Gerald Fitton
5.8
I must start by thanking you for all the correspondence we have received
recently. We have just about managed to keep up with it but, if a reply
to your letter has seemed a little brief, please donæt take it as an
indication that it was less interesting than others; it has been the
volume that has led to the brevity.
5.8
I believe that what I have to say this month about hardware, packages,
applications and user groups will interest you even if you do not
possess a copy of PipeDream; so read on and then write to me with your
views. If you do write, please let me know whether your views are for
publication or not!
5.8
PipeDreamá3 and PipeDreamá4
5.8
For the last few months, I have been collecting together your comments
about the PipeDreamá3 to PipeDreamá4 upgrade and the different futures
you see for your use of either package. Let me first mention the most
popular pair of comments. Those that have not upgraded from PD3 to PD4
express serious dissatisfaction and even anger about the price of the
upgrade. Those that have upgraded are most enthusiastic and, when asked
about whether they believe the upgrade was value for money, all but two
have said öYesò or öMost definitely yes!ò. When I relay this fact to an
angry owner of PD3 the usual response is, öWell, they would, wouldnæt
they?ò.
5.8
I want to move on from these instant, but nevertheless important,
reactions and discuss the future of PipeDream, particularly PD3, our own
PipeLine User Group and even the future of Archive Ö but in a general
historical context which, I believe, will be of interest even to non
PipeDream users. Before embarking on that thesis, I must write a
paragraph each on a couple of other topics.
5.8
Upgrade price
5.8
Colton Software have confirmed to me that, for the foreseeable future,
all upgrades from PD3 to PD4 will be handled solely by them. The price
is ú94 including VAT and UK postage (overseas it is ú90 excluding VAT
but including ú10.00 extra postage). There is an educational discount
available and a special arrangement for those who bought PD3 after the
1stáAugustá1991. Let me emphasise that I am convinced that the price of
the upgrade will never change during its lifetime.
5.8
PipeDreamá4æs new features
5.8
Coltonæs advertisements for PD4 emphasise the hot linked graphics and
the custom functions. From my correspondence, a different picture has
emerged. It seems that most of you with PD4 have still not got to grips
with custom functions and hot linked graphics are rarely mentioned! So,
what is it that has made PD4 a övalue for moneyò upgrade? Well, what
seems to have impressed you most is that PD4 is more pleasant to use
than PD3! This subtle improvement is not the result of one new feature;
indeed, it is due to many small changes and most, if not all, of these
have not been given any publicity.
5.8
One such improvement is the way in which recalculation is more of a
background operation; the noticeable effect is that, when typing, cursor
movements are instant and the annoying Étype ahead of the screen
displayæ of PD3 doesnæt happen. Another is that more attributes are
saved with a file. These range from saving the printer driver name (and
number of copies) to saving the position on the screen. Yet another,
commented on by many as being one of the subtle changes which make the
upgrade övalue for moneyò, is the improved and more intuitive Éfeelæ of
the Graphic User Interface (the use of the mouse pointer and the mouse
buttons). It seems to me that appreciation of the advertised and more
prominent new features of PD4 (such as the use of names, arrays, custom
functions and hot linked graphics) is yet to come! Write to me, let me
know what you think and then watch this space.
5.8
The future
5.8
All products, even excellent magazines such as Archive (or Punch), have
a life cycle in which there is a final phase, death! Letæs have a look
at the life cycle of computer products. I will look at hardware (the
Archimedes), software packages (such as Acornæs DTP, Impression and, of
course PipeDream), applications (such as the letters you type, your
favourite database of telephone numbers, leaflets and church magazines)
and finally user groups (such as PipeLine).
5.8
Hardware
5.8
Most of you will know that, during the 1980s, Acorn saturated the market
with the BBC computer; by this I mean that by about 1986 or 1987, every
one who wanted to buy one already had one. Acorn were unable to sell any
more and almost went into bankruptcy. The two founders of the company no
longer own it. Indeed, it is only because Olivetti saw the potential of
the RISC chip that they bought up the remains of Acorn and it is only
because of the commercial viability of the Archimedes that spare parts
for the BBC computer are still available. Other computers that were
around at the time such as the Sinclair Z81 (1981), the VIC and Dragon
are now names forgotten by history.
5.8
In 1988, the Archimedes was a computer ahead of its time. Recently,
there have been well informed Archimedes users who, having seen and used
Windows on a Émodernæ PC, say that it is becoming increasingly difficult
to recommend the Archimedes to first time buyers. Does this augur the
demise of the Archimedes? Has it reached the downward part of its life
cycle? What shall we, as users of the Archimedes, do if no more are sold
by Acorn?
5.8
(Surely, you cannot be serious about Windows on a Émodern PCæ, can you?
It is atrocious! Let me quote some unsolicited comments from a letter
written by a subscriber whose full-time job involves using PCs as well
as Acorn machines... öEven on a æ486, DTP runs like porridgeò and
öWindows 3 is the biggest dogæs breakfast I have ever had the misfortune
to useò and öRISC-OS and the desktop are smooth, intuitive and quick,
three adjectives I would never apply to Windows 3ò. No, Gerald, the
Archimedes has not reached the downward part of its life cycle and there
is more where that came from. Acorn are NOT dead yet, not by a long
chalk! Ed.)
5.8
Packages
5.8
Many spreadsheets such as Matrix3 existed for the early Archimedes but
it did not survive the change from the Arthur operating system to RISC-
OS. There is no further support from Cambridge Microsystems, the writers
of Matrix, because they do not expect any more sales. Such packages as
ArcWriter, Graphic Writer and Acorn DTP are no longer supported by the
writers because, having saturated the market (every one who wanted one
had one) there was no further revenue for the writers. When there was no
more revenue, the writers walked away from the companies (many closed
down) before they lost the profit they had made. It is difficult to see
what else they could have done.
5.8
PD2 ran under the Arthur operating system and a Écheapæ upgrade to PD3
was offered to all registered purchasers of PD2. I know of no one still
using PD2. Certainly the upgrade, although Écheapæ, did bring Colton
Software the revenue necessary for the continued development of PD3. PD3
owners have had up to 14 upgrades completely free (the current, and I
believe final, version is 3.14) but, by the middle of 1991, practically
all those who wanted PD3 had already bought it and new purchasers were
almost non existent. Because Colton Software did not charge users for
any of the 14 upgrades to PD3 then, by mid 1991, their only source of
revenue (new purchasers) must have been declining. PD3 was at the Éendæ
of its marketing life.
5.8
Colton Software tell me that version 3.14 of PD3 is Éstableæ and that
the residual Ébugsæ are minor, obscure, known and easily worked around.
I agree that most users would not benefit from a further upgrade. It is
doubtful if any PD3 users would be willing to pay Colton Software for
the cost of removing the few remaining very minor and obscure Ébugsæ.
That is why I am sure that PD3 will be developed no further. So, what
are users of PD3 to do about technical support for the package they find
so useful?
5.8
In early 1991, a rival spreadsheet, Schema, was launched and, because it
had features such as graphics and custom functions not in PD3, many of
my correspondents told me that they were considering upgrading from PD3
to Schema. Indeed some did put their PD3 into cold storage and bought
Schema (and told me why in no uncertain terms). If Colton Software had
not developed PD4 and if they had not charged PD3 owners for an upgrade
to PD4 then maybe the well used and most useful PD3 hot line at Colton
Software would, by now, have ceased to exist! In my view, PD4 is better
than Schema but, if Schema were to be developed further, say Schemaá2,
then the developed Schema might out-perform PD4. My point in mentioning
Schema here is that, without revenue from new sales, Schema will not be
supported by the writers for long. I believe that Schemaá2 will not be
developed simply because revenue has or will Édry upæ before then.
5.8
Many other packages with good potential developed for the Archimedes
have gone that way. Squirrel has great potential as the definitive
database package for the Archimedes but how long will it be possible for
Digital Services Ltd to pour money into much needed development without
the revenue which comes from sales of the partly developed product? At
this difficult (and risky) stage of its development, do you feel like
supporting Digital Services by buying Squirrel?
5.8
More than a few of you who have been supporters of PD3 for a long time,
are considerably annoyed by the price that Colton Software are asking
for the upgrade from 3 to 4. I can quote one of my correspondents; he
feels ölet downò after the support he has given to Colton Software by
using PD3 and subscribing to PipeLine. To use a currently fashionable
expression, I can relate to that.
5.8
However, let me put to you another side of this story of the life cycle
of PipeDream. I have in front of me a copy of a questionnaire which
Colton Software, and we on their behalf as part of a mail shot of our
own, sent to all registered users of PD3 about a year ago.
5.8
Question D3 reads:
5.8
Providing after sales support is expensive.
5.8
 Would you prefer to see this paid for by:
5.8
(i)  A higher initial price for the software
5.8
(ii) A yearly maintenance charge
5.8
(iii) Charges by enquiry, e.g. telephone charging by 0898 number
5.8
(iv) Other, please state
5.8
Let me put it to you (please write back to me); you can rationalise the
Éhighæ price that you must pay now for the PD4 upgrade only if you, like
we here at Abacus Training, believe that your use of PD4 will receive
more support in the future from Colton Software than say Acornæs DTP
does or Schema will from their respective writers. By handling the
upgrade themselves, Colton Software ensure that all the revenue from the
upgrade goes to them and helps them to provide free technical support
and to finance further improvements in PD4.
5.8
However, where does that leave you, a user of PD3 who isnæt going to
upgrade? Read on.
5.8
Applications
5.8
For the user, applications are the whole reason for buying and maintain
ing their total computer system. They buy hardware (such as an
Archimedes), they buy a package (such as Impression or PipeDream), they
invest time in learning how to use it and finally create their own
application (lecture notes or CVs). Many people are happy to read the
books that come with the package and develop their own application
(letters, personal database, label printer, statistical analysis, etc).
Others need help. Where does that help come from? Read on!
5.8
Although you might not realise it at the time of purchase, one of the
most important assets a package can have is that, when the time comes,
you know that you will be able to transfer your own precious data files
to a newer and better package, perhaps one which runs with new hardware.
5.8
Wordwise Plus was and still is an excellent word processor for the Éoldæ
Acorn BBC computer. It has come from a good stable, the writers of
Impression, Computer Concepts. It is because Wordwise was such an
excellent word processor with its own programming language (now these
programs would be called macros or custom functions) that Norwich
Computer Services exists today to bring Archive to us. By this I do not
mean that Archive is produced using Wordwise Plus Ö although it is true
that Paul used the programming language of Wordwise Plus to process text
for the early editions of Archive Ö as a text processor, there was
nothing as efficient as Wordwise Plus available for the Archimedes. No!
I mean that Norwich Computer Services exists today because it earned a
reputation for providing Wordwise Plus user support second to none. I
remember receiving ÉWordwise Timesæ (I still have some copies in a dusty
file) from Paul Beverley and deciding to buy the three individual A4
size booklets which they produced in support of Wordwise Plus. Archive
exists today because of the success of ÉWordwise Timesæ and ÉThe
Complete Wordwise Plus Handbookæ.
5.8
Between 1982 and 1986, the principal use I made of my old Beeb (I still
have it linked to the Archimedes by a serial cable) was to produce the
originals of my college lecture notes Ö what a time saver when I came to
update them the following year! I have been able to transfer those
Wordwise format notes first into PD2 and then to PD3 and now to PD4. I
know that, if and when the time comes, I shall be able to get them out
of PD4 and into my next package, even if that package (PD5?) runs on an
80586 based machine under windows!
5.8
When it comes to life cycles, data files (such as my lecture notes and
my early reviews for Archive) outlast both hardware (the Beeb) and the
package (Wordwise Plus). The files you create using PD3 will outlive the
PD3 package.
5.8
User groups
5.8
I believe that one of the best ways of getting help with hardware (such
as the Archimedes or the Cambridge Z88) and software packages (such as
Wordwise or PipeDream) is through membership of a user group. In the
days of long ago, receiving ÉWordwise Timesæ had a Éuser group feelæ
about it because the writers of the Wordwise Plus programs were users
who wanted to share their expertise. Now, as a subscriber to Archive I
have that user group feeling only more so. One of the reasons I enjoy
contributing my PipeLine column to Archive is because, to quote Paul,
öArchive has the feel of a user groupò and I believe I am giving
something back for all the help I received from ÉWordwise Timesæ and the
products advertised therein. Archive is a user group based on the
Archimedes. PipeLine is not only a column in the Archive magazine but it
is also a user group based on the PipeDream package; subscribers receive
a disc of PipeDream applications every three months.
5.8
Our PipeLine user group provides technical support for the transfer of
files from many Beeb formats such as Interword, Masterfile and ViewSheet
to PipeDream format. Ian M H Williamson has volunteered to coordinate
this activity.
5.8
When hardware manufacturers cease production and go into liquidation
(like the manufacturers of the Bugatti have) and when writers of
packages (such as Wordwise) cease to maintain and improve the product
for lack of revenue then, if it is still widely used, the activity of
user groups increases; individuals get together and support each other.
I have paid up my subscription to Archive to issue 10.1 (the August 1996
issue?) partly because I believe that if Acorn were to cease production
of the Archimedes or go into liquidation, Archive would have an even
more important role to play as the magazine which is the journal of an
Archimedes user group.
5.8
Disgruntled PD3 users have asked if, with the coming of PD4, there will
be any support for PD3. Part of the answer is that until last summer
(when the demand finally stopped) Colton Software continued to support
View Professional (the original PD1 which ran on a Beeb). I believe
that, if they continue to develop enough new products to generate
revenue, then PD3 will still be supported Ö but not improved. Another
part of the answer from us is that the main reason we decided to Ésplitæ
PipeLine into a PipeLineá3 and PipeLineá4 was so that we could give
dedicated support to both PD3 and PD4 users rather than half serving
both groups. Our comments about freely Éconvertingæ subscriptions from
PipeLineá3 to PipeLineá4 at any time is intended to reassure our
members, it is not a veiled threat that the support we give to PD3 users
will gradually fade away. Whether it does fade away or not depends on
the continuing demand and on that alone. In the end, it is up to PD3
users. If they continue to support one another then PipeLineá3 as a user
group will continue. If the users decided to buy new hardware, perhaps
an IBM 80586, or use new software such Ventura Publishing, Lotus, Excel
or even PD5 with Windows 6, then our final act of support for PipeLineá3
subscribers will be to help them to transfer all their documents to run
with the new hardware and software! However, I believe that here at
Abacus Training we shall be continuing to support PD3 for a long time
yet to come.
5.8
Statistical functions
5.8
I have received a disc from Gordon Nicholas containing custom functions
for studentæs Étæ, the F distribution and linear regression. The
functions are on this monthæs Archive disc. Please drop him a line if
you find them useful. Please write to me if you have anything similar to
offer. I am in the process of compiling a library of custom functions
for PD4.
5.8
Address
5.8
If you wish to write to me then my address is that of Abacus Training
which you will find on the inside back cover of this monthæs Archive.ááA
5.8
5.8
SmArt
5.8
Ian OæHara
5.8
It is difficult to know exactly how to describe SmArt, but 4mation
describe it as öa linked graphics systemò. The best way to describe what
this means in practice is to give an example.
5.8
Imagine a picture of a house. You donæt like the roof so you click on it
and are given a selection of different roofs. To add a garage, click on
the space where a garage would go and you are offered the choice of
different designs of garage. You can then change other features of the
house and finally save the resulting picture as a drawfile. The result
is customised clip art.
5.8
The package
5.8
SmArt comes on two discs, one containing the program and the other some
sample SmArt files. Both the program and the files are protected until
they are initialised. The initialisation involves typing in your name so
that it appears together with a serial number every time the program is
run. The initialised software is unprotected and can be copied in the
normal way. Initialising the files means they can only be run with one
copy of the program. I couldnæt even use the demo files from the review
copy on the schoolæs copy of SmArt.
5.8
I did have one problem with initialising the files. Using my usual
procedure for dealing with new programs, I loaded the files into a RAM
disc, copied them and tried running the files from the RAM disc. There
was nothing in the documentation to tell me not to do this. The computer
asked me to put the original disc back in the drive. A few clunks and
whirrings later the file said it could only be used with the schoolæs
copy of SmArt. Next day, I went to use the files and was told they were
not yet initialised and then that they were corrupt. I returned the disc
to 4mation with a letter and they replaced it by return of post. They
also said they would take steps to ensure that the problem could not
occur again.
5.8
Up and running
5.8
The program is fully RISC-OS compliant and runs in the usual way from an
icon sits on the icon bar. SmArt files can then be double clicked or
dragged onto the icon. When this is done, you are presented with a
picture on the screen. I will use the file on churches as an example of
what happens then.
5.8
As you move the pointer over the church, it changes. If you click
<select>, a dotted red box appears around the object and you are given a
list of possible options. Doing this over the top tower gives sixteen
options including a spire, pitched roof and a pinnacle. The nave, tower
and windows can all be changed.
5.8
If <menu> rather than <select> is clicked over the object, a different
menu appears. The top option on this is Objects. Objects is rather like
clicking <select> over part of the picture except that it gives you a
complete list of all the objects that can be changed. In the case of the
church, there are fourteen different objects. Each of the objects leads
to a further submenu giving all the options for that object. This may
sound complicated, but the pupils with whom I have used the program
picked it up after three or four minutes of instruction. The other
options on the main menu allow you to save the finished picture and view
it at different scales.
5.8
SmArt file contents
5.8
One important point to realise about SmArt is that the ability to change
the pictures is limited by what is put into the original SmArt file.
These files are built up from a number of drawfiles linked together
using another program called SmArt Filer (ú38 through Archive). If the
original file of the church didnæt contain a drawfile of a church spire
then you could not add it to the church. The program does not have any
concept of what a church is or should look like. All it does is fit
drawfiles, that have already been drawn, together in different ways.
5.8
The SmArt package comes with over twenty sample files ranging from the
house and church I described above to pictures of Santa and maps of the
British Isles. The sample files are generally very good but I am not
sure of the likely use of one or two of them. However, these files are
really just meant to be a taster as there is a whole range of special
ised discs sold separately. These contain very much more detailed files
based around particular topics. The Fashion disc, for example, contains
two collections; one of dresses, the other of separates. They allow you
to pick different outfits and see what they look like. It is possible to
change the colours using Draw or, better still, Chameleon. Pupils doing
textiles have found this very useful. Other discs currently available
include Homes, Trees and Gardens, Faces and Leisure and others.
5.8
More SmArt files
5.8
4mation are committed to producing more discs and were demonstrating, at
the BETT Show in January, a number that were under development. The
discs would seem an ideal way to produce clip art around various
historical themes covered by the national curriculum, e.g. a disc on the
Romans or Ancient Egypt.
5.8
One other use for SmArt is in teaching vocabulary for modern languages.
One of the files on the SmArt disc is about a duck and has all the
object menus in French. I am not sure how effective it is but it
certainly is a fun way of learning. I understand that this is an area
where 4mation will be producing more discs.
5.8
Overall
5.8
I have been very impressed with SmArt and have found it very easy to
use. The pupils I have used it with have enjoyed using it. The Faces
disc is a great favourite at lunch time. For the price of ú55, including
a site licence, it is a very cheap method of producing customised clip
art. The specialised discs cost ú16 each Ö again very cheap considering
the amount of work that has gone into them. All-in-all, SmArt is
strongly recommended.ááA
5.8
5.8
A Desktop Front-End
5.8
Paul Witheridge
5.8
I have written a RISC-OS desktop application called !BootA which
provides a simple front-end for running non WIMP-based applications and
utilities as if they themselves were proper desktop applications.
5.8
Such utilities would normally have to be started by command outside the
desktop environment or from within an !Edit task window or at the very
least by pressing <f12> in the desktop in order to enter the command.
5.8
By using !BootA as a front-end, the application or utility looks very
much like any normal RISC-OS desktop application. It has an application
directory on which you double click to install the application on the
icon bar, and you can then drag files to this icon for processing by the
application.
5.8
We have put the !BootA application on this monthæs program disc along
with several example applications. (Because of space, we may not get on
all the applications Paul has sent us. Ed.) All I will do here is to
explain a bit about !BootA so that you can see if it would be worth
getting hold of the monthly program disc.
5.8
All the applications accompanying !BootA (e.g. !Lock, !UnLock, etc) are
actually examples of using !BootA as a front-end for non Wimp-based
applications. These are referred to below (and in the !BootA !Help file)
as Éclient applicationsæ to emphasise that they rely on !BootA to do
many of the things for them that a real RISC-OS desktop application does
for itself.
5.8
Trying out !BootA
5.8
The !BootA application on the disc is set up so that when you double
click on it, you install all these example Éclient applicationsæ. You
would normally never do this. Rather, you would double click on
whichever individual Éclient applicationæ you wanted to install. This
would automatically start up !BootA, although no icon for !BootA itself
would appear on the icon bar, only the icon for the client application.
5.8
However, to get a feel for the use of !BootA, you can double click on
the !BootA icon to install the icons for all the example client
applications. Then you can click <menu> over these icons one by one,
choosing ÉHelpæ for each one. This will give you a brief summary of what
each application does. You can also examine the ÉCmdOptsæ option on
these menus. This will display a dialogue box for entering additional
input for the application. Some of the applications will have default
ÉCmdOptsæ information, others will have none.
5.8
Summary of !BootA functions
5.8
To summarise, !BootA provides the following services for its client
applications:
5.8
Å    installing the client applicationæs icon on the icon bar when you
double-click <select> (or <adjust>) on that applicationæs icon in a
directory viewer window
5.8
Å    displaying a menu with a Équitæ choice when you click <menu> on the
installed icon and removing it from the icon bar if you choose this
Équitæ option
5.8
Å    providing a Éhelpæ option in the same menu and displaying a brief help
message if you choose this Éhelpæ option
5.8
Å    running the client application when you click <select> or <adjust> on
the installed icon or when you drag a file or directory to it (clicking
<adjust> over the installed icon will also remove it from the icon bar)
5.8
Å    responding to requests for help text from the É!Helpæ application
(which displays the text in an ÉInteractive helpæ window)
5.8
Å    supplying additional input (Écommand optionsæ) to the client appli
cation when it is run
5.8
Å    changing the sprite used to display the client application icon on the
icon bar when requested to do so (see the description, on the disc, of
the BootAutil program for more details of this).
5.8
As touched on above, you do not need to install the !BootA application
before installing the first client application on the icon bar. !BootA
is automatically activated when you double-click on a client application
icon in the directory viewer window and becomes resident in memory at
that point.
5.8
Note that, at this time, the client application itself has not been
started and is not using any memory. Only !BootA is actually active and
using memory. !BootA simply records the whereabouts of the client
application directory so that it can issue the appropriate É*RUNæ
command when the time comes. However, this does mean that the client
application directory must be accessible at that time Ö no problem with
a hard disk but, with floppy disks, RISC-OS may call for the diskette to
be re-inserted if it has been removed in the meantime.
5.8
When you install a second client application (by double clicking on its
icon in a directory viewer), this initially causes another copy of
!BootA to start up but this second copy immediately realises that the
first copy is active and passes the responsibility for the client
application to it and then shuts down. This means that only one copy of
!BootA will be resident in memory regardless of the number of client
applications installed. Note: installing a large number of client
applications may cause !BootAæs memory allocation to expand as it adds
details of the additional applications to its internal tables.
5.8
Double-clicking on the !BootA icon itself will cause !BootA to start up
and to install automatically a list of client applications contained in
the É!Initæ file of the !BootA directory. This list is initially set up
to include all the example client applications, so you should edit it to
eliminate the ones you do not want installed in this way. (Note: !BootA
will ignore any item in the list that begins with É|æ.)
5.8
See the É!Helpæ file in the !BootA directory for more details.
5.8
I hope this proves a useful utility. If you have any suggestions for
improvement, please contact me via the Archive office.ááA
5.8
5.8
Ian Copestake
5.8
New artwork
5.8
5.8
Glimpse Ö Clip Art Filer
5.8
Jahinder Singh
5.8
With the abundance of clip art available these days, an application to
view and control draw and sprite files from a filing system environment
is an obvious thing to develop. Sherston Software have just released
Glimpse, a simple application which allows miniature versions of a
number of draw and sprite files to be displayed within a window. The
draw and sprite files within this window can then be loaded directly
into other RISC-OS applications in the normal manner, or can be
controlled using the filer.
5.8
The package
5.8
The complete package offered by Sherston Software consists of a single
disc and an eight page A5 manual all enclosed within a plastic folder.
The manual is well produced and all aspects of the software have been
described in detail. The last page of the manual is a five step guide to
using the software entitled, öFor those who donæt want to read this
manualò. Unfortunately, I only discovered this after I had read the
manual.
5.8
The software
5.8
!Glimpse is a RISC-OS compliant application which, once loaded, appears
on the icon bar. It will run on the full range of Archimedes machines as
well as the A3000. The software is protected, but with the possibility
of installing the software onto a hard disc. Using !Glimpse is very
straight forward. A directory containing draw and/or sprite files is
dragged over the !Glimpse icon. A window opens which displays miniature
versions of any draw and/or sprite files, along with an icon indicating
the file type and its name. A menu can be opened within this window
whose options are similar to the standard Filer menu. The draw and
sprite files within this window can then be loaded directly into other
RISC-OS applications in the standard manner. It is also possible to have
multiple !Glimpse windows with the ability to copy sprite and draw files
from one window to another in the same way as in the Filer.
5.8
Under normal circumstances, it is not possible to tell whether a sprite
file contains one or more sprites simply by looking at the fileæs icon.
Usually, the sprite needs to be loaded into !Paint or other packages, to
identify the sprites and then to use them separately. !Glimpse provides
a solution to this problem in that sprite files which contain more than
one sprite are displayed with a multiple sprite icon. The contents of
this sprite file can then be displayed by selecting the ÉOpen Fileæ
option from the !Glimpse menu.
5.8
Conclusions
5.8
!Glimpse is a useful utility which provides a totally compatible filer
for controlling clip art. It performs its function with ease and it is
especially useful when large quantities of clip art are involved. You
may feel that the use of meaningful filenames would make this product
obsolete. However, at a price of ú8.50 + VAT and with the ability to get
quick access to independent sprites, this product could certainly make
the control of clip art easier and faster. Overall, a simple application
to use, which performs its function with ease.ááA
5.8
5.8
Gnome X-Terminal Emulator
5.8
Mike Hobart
5.8
An X-terminal is a keyboard, a three-button mouse, a screen as fancy as
you can afford, and a good helping of intelligence and memory to provide
the display in response to coded messages from the Unix host. If you can
afford it, you can have half a square yard or so of super-high resolu
tion colour monitor, plus a pair of graphics planes to smooth the motion
of the display. If you need to ask the price, you cannot afford it! The
Gnome X-terminal emulator provides a more realistic alternative. Note
that I have said nothing about local storage and output functions.
Neither a stand-alone terminal nor the emulator provide them. This is a
major distinction from the more common communications packages, e.g.
Hearsay II which supports öcut and pasteò of text, output spooling and
graphics grab as a Draw file. You can get data from the Unix host onto
your own micro but only by file transfer.
5.8
The Gnome package and installation
5.8
The Gnome package comprises a program disk containing the X-terminal
emulator and an Internet communication program, essential for use of the
emulator; two support disks containing mainly compressed bitmapped X-
fonts (note: outline fonts do not readily mix with X), and a no-nonsense
ring-bound manual with a decidedly technical but friendly feel. Minimum
hardware is 2M of RAM; RISC-OS; hard disk, multisync, VIDC-enhancer (not
needed on A540 or A5000) and more RAM very desirable; ARM3 an embellish
ment. Installation comprises transfer of the program files and de-
compacting the fonts, using a command from the * prompt. You need to
edit the configuration files so that the emulator öknowsò about your
hardware and the machines it is supposed to be able to talk to. Gnome
did most of this for me, as I had had a demonstration: I work close to
their base. I did have a few trivial problems, all sorted out by a phone
call to Gnome. One of the mysteries is that you need to list a ficti
tious host name after the last genuine one! You also need to register
your machine with the network manager and tell the emulator what it is
to be called by the host. Finally, you need a means of communicating
with the host. In our case, it is a thin-wire Ethernet connection, via
an Acorn Ethernet card supplied by Gnome. Econet is the other sensible
alternative. Apparently, a modem is also possible, but it would be
extremely slow.
5.8
In use
5.8
The emulator lodges an icon on the icon bar but takes over the whole of
the screen when you ask it to connect with the host. It returns to the
desktop by pressing <Break> twice. The session can be resumed by a click
on the appropriate session icon. The display quality is obviously
dependent on hardware quality, but the present series of Acorn computers
do not support a complex enough graphic standard to offer the kind of
display quality you can expect from a dedicated terminal in the ú2500
range.  However, the investment in an Acorn/Gnome system could hardly be
that high: an A5000 plus Ethernet card and software would be a few
hundred less. A standard resolution colour monitor would look pretty
pathetic for graphics, a multisync and a VIDC enhancer look quite good,
and a Super VGA system slightly better. High resolution monochrome
offers the best resolution but this is not available on the A5000). The
system works, it provides very rapid screen updates and that is all
there is to say!
5.8
Conclusion
5.8
That may sound abrupt, but it is really all there is to say: the system
is to be judged on whether it works, how much it costs in money and
hardware demands, how easy it is to install and how well supported it
is, and, importantly, how nice it is to look at. Thereafter, it is up to
you to make the most of your Unix host. In my judgement, it passes the
test in all cases, especially if you need an economical solution which
does not add to the clutter on your desk. If you spend the whole day
using X-windows, you do not need a micro-computer anyway, and you should
buy a terminal.
5.8
X-Terminal Emulator costs ú199 and an Acorn Ethernet card costs ú225,
both plus VAT, from Gnome Computers Ltd.ááA
5.8
5.8
Help!!!!
5.8
Å    A5000 monitors Ö I want to put two monitors onto an A5000. Is there
any kind of adaptor available? On the other Archimedes computers you can
use the mono output and the RGB for the two separate monitors but the
A5000 only has the RGB output. Can I double it? K Musselwhite, Warwick.
5.8
Å    Archimedes BBS on InterNet? Ö Is there an Archimedes BBS on InterNet?
My InterNet address is [e-mail]. Christian Ghezzi,
Lissone, Italy.
5.8
Å    Archway II with MultiStore Ö I have been using the *SD commands within
an Archway program designed to display pupil records in a format to suit
our needs and to selectively generate mailshot files for use with
PipeDream. This worked fine with the first version of Archway but causes
an address exception error within the Archway module of version 2. Can
anyone help? Contact P Story, King Edwardæs School, North Road, Bath
BA2 6HU.
5.8
Å    Armadillo A616 Ö Is anyone using the Armadillo A616 Sound Sampler AES
interface? If so, I would like to discuss problems and offer some help.
Phone Paul Skirrow on 0394Ö380307 (work).
5.8
Å    LaserDirect and quick text Ö Does anyone know how to save the
Quicktext option on the Qume LaserDirect? Contact M Wilson, 10 St Peters
Crescent, Morley, Leeds  LS27 9NY.
5.8
Å    Milton Keynes helper needed Ö A disabled lady in Milton Keynes is
having trouble with her computer. Itæs a BBC Master actually, but this
is the only forum I have for asking for some help for her. She is trying
to use some of the programs that run under Wordwise Plus that were
written by one Paul Beverley (many years ago!). She just needs someone
with a bit of technical ability to help her along. Please either contact
Marjorie Chappell on 0908Ö607012 or Paul Beverley on 0603Ö766592.
5.8
Å    RISC-OS 3 C library Ö Does anybody have a RISC-OS 3 C library which
can render the new format Draw files? This is NOT the shared C library Ö
the RISC-OS library is separate. I want to write a PD module to render
Draw files for use in other applications. Alternatively, does anybody
else want to write one? Phone Paul Skirrow on 0394Ö380307 (work).
5.8
Å    RISC-OSá3 Pinboard Ö Can anyone tell me why you can only get Pinboard
to work after a reset and not when you exit the desktop and then re-
enter the desktop. Is this a bug? Contact PáBedford, 5 South Green,
Coates, Peterborough  PE7 2BJ.
5.8
Å    RISC-OSá3 printer drivers Ö I use a Citizen Swift 24 printer with my
A5000 but I had a fair bit of trouble configuring the new printer driver
to print text. I have to remove the 12 from the Do Formfeed printer
definition otherwise a formfeed would occur after each line was printed
while printing a 1stWord+ document!  Is this a bug in the printer
driver? My version is 0╖22. Contact PáBedford, 5 South Green, Coates,
Peterborough, PE7 2BJ.
5.8
Å    Zerejdiah video digitiser Ö Has anyone made the digitiser that
appeared in Elektor last year? I canæt get mine working even though the
hardware seems to be OK on a scope. I just get vertical bands of noise
from the video input. Also, the software sometimes gives address
exception errors for certain screen widths. Tony Abbey, 40 Laureston
Drive, Leicesterá LE2 2AQ.ááA
5.8
5.8
Language Column
5.8
David Wild
5.8
Just after I put the disk with last monthæs article in the post, I
received another letter from someone with the ösymbol table out of dateò
problem. Once again, it was caused by different dates in the machineæs
internal clock and was easy enough to cure. I am not sure why the
problem should have happened now but wonder if 1992 is sufficiently far
from 1988 to cause the linker to object. Acorn did suggest that the
cause could be an incorrect directory structure, but that wouldnæt
account for the problem occurring on some machines and not others when
the same disks were used.
5.8
One thing which comes out of this is the benefit of passing problems on
to me. This is not because I have all the answers, which would certainly
not be true, but because we, the subscribers to Archive, probably have,
between us, the answers to most of the problems once they have been
raised. I should be happy to act as a clearing house for such informa
tion and will let you have a personal reply if you send a stamped
addressed envelope. I canæt give much help on ÉCæ and Fortran but I can
raise your questions in this column.
5.8
It turns out that my comments about the Pascal compiler not date-
stamping files isnæt quite correct. If you donæt use the ö-stò option,
everything is done as it should be and you can then use the makefile in
the way it is intended. The compilation is very slightly slower but you
do get the advantage of multi-tasking as well as the added convenience.
Double click on the source file, edit, save, double click on the
makefile and there you are with a nice new compiled program.
5.8
I did find an interesting minor problem with my !Pascal tool for the
DDE. Rather than create the whole thing from scratch, I copied the !Link
tool and made such changes as were necessary. When I set up the ödescò
file, I wanted icon 6, which turns on the Acorn extensions, to be on by
default but the radio button would only come on when I clicked on it.
All the other dependencies worked correctly and it took a long time, and
some correspondence with Alan Glover of Acorn, before I realised that
the ösave optionsò had been set up in !Link with icon 6 turned off.
Where the result of saving the options is stored, I am not sure, as I
examined all the files in trying to solve the mystery, but they seem to
override anything put in to the ödescò file.
5.8
Language snobbery
5.8
I was interested in the article about Base 5 and the authoræs comments
on people who looked down on Basic because it öwasnæt clever enoughò.  I
am sure that there are quite a lot of people with this attitude, which
has always applied to languages which were designed to let relatively
ordinary users write programs. I have mentioned before that when I
started programming in Cobol there were many established programmers who
sneered at what we were doing because öreal programmers write in machine
codeò. The only real test of a programming language is öCan you write
good programs with it?ò and there can be no doubt that many excellent
programs have been written in BBC Basic on the original Beeb and on the
Archimedes.ááA
5.8
5.8
Apricote
5.8
New Artwork
5.8
5.8
!Prophet and !Transfer
5.8
Ned Abell
5.8
About three years ago I started my small business and therefore needed
an accounts package. The logic was simple: I hoped it would save me
time, control my expenditure and lower my accountantsæ bills. It did!
5.8
I chose the Accounts Book package from Apricote Studios because it was
cheap. I bought their Invoice Program as well. I have to admit that I
hacked the two into one application and they have been co-existing very
happily ever since!
5.8
Apricote Studios are very helpful people (despite my hacking!) and, over
the months, Iæve kept in touch, hearing about the development of a new
program that would improve my öhybridò , so I was very pleased when they
asked me to test their new business package called ö!Prophetò which is
RISC-OS windowing software that will provide your business, club or
school with Accounts, Stock, and Invoicing packages together with VAT
collation, valuations and full exporting of data Ö all in one appli
cation. You donæt have to use all the segments Ö just the ones you need.
5.8
Juggling
5.8
In any business, you must keep your eye on the financial ball and losing
sight of it can be costly. You need to know who has paid you and who
hasnæt, because non-payment has become a recession art-form. Do I have
enough stock to fulfil that order? Whatæs the fax number of that
customer in Leeds? Whatæs my customer number with Maplin?
5.8
Basically, !Prophet holds a database of your customers and suppliers
with extra information about them. It holds a database of your stock
with mark-ups and information about your business. If you change any
part of that information all the facets of the program can draw on the
changed data as soon as you open a window!
5.8
With any new accounts package, you donæt ditch your old system and move
to a new one just because it is there Ö you have to see whether it will
do the job. I have to report that despite not having a manual and even
with the profit and loss forecasting side of the program missing, it was
a painless experience. It will be a tight fit on a 1M machine Ö I ran it
on a 340 with floppies under RISC-OS 2.00. (The advertising now says it
is for use on machines with 2M minimum. Ed)
5.8
öMiscellaneousò
5.8
!Prophetæs front end is a window that holds selection panes for the
stock, invoicing and accounts segments and a set of miscellaneous
options. You can set user details such as the company name, address,
post code, phone, fax and VAT number. VAT codes can be set to one of
five levels as required and the VAT period set and reports generated and
printed. The addition of extra codes means you can set transactions to
an öECò rate to cope with the new VAT forms. What is clever here is that
the format allows New Zealand or European tax layouts to be used as well
as coping with changes to our own UK forms. It is very future-proof.
5.8
Security can be provided by means of passwords for the Main Menu,
Suppliers, Stock, Customers and the Ledgers, so the package is suitable
for distribution to employees who may not be required to have access to
parts of the package. The preferences option allows setting of the total
number of suppliers, stock lines, ledger entries and customer numbers,
as well as automatic timed saves and automatic update of the sales
ledger. There is a useful four bank calculator.
5.8
!Prophet saves its main file in a special file type (c88) containing all
your information. This in future could be double clicked on to run
!Prophet and to load this data back into it. As it contains the
configuration as well as other data, you can configure the package in
different ways simply by loading different files.
5.8
!Transfer Ö the stock solution!
5.8
Looking at the segment called öStockò, I started by transferring my list
of suppliers into the new system. This could have been done by typing
but there is now a better way.
5.8
Because I had my supplier list on a Pipedream file I was able to call up
a new utility from Apricote called !Transfer and capture text from a
PipeDream4 window onto the appropriate field of the !Prophet supplier
database card. This utility works by using <adjust> and <select> to
successively capture from one writable icon to place it in another. When
text has been captured the computer bleeps Ö it bleeps again with a
different tone when the text is in its new place. Using it with
PipeDream4 was easy if I selected the required information into the
formula line and grabbed it from there. No frills or fuss and it works.
This saved me lots of typing. Whatæs good about the utility is that it
uses the Window system to do this. If any application uses a writable
text window then !Transfer can take icon text from it and copy it to
another application. There is an icon bar control of on/off and insert/
replace Ö thatæs it! It works beautifully with DeskEdit and the writable
fields in !Impression.
5.8
This simple test completed, I saved my suppliers as a öSuppListò file. I
also exported my suppliers into Pipedream in a different field order as
an exercise as !Prophet supports both Text (FFF) and CSV (DFE) file
export. I also tried all this under !Compression with no problems.
5.8
In a different part of the stock segment, data is held on the various
stock items that you might use. In my case I count my blank video and
audio tapes by length and type as well as by number. This data is
entered on another card type layout and shows my supplier for each item
as well as costs, markups, and re-order numbers. Entering a list cost
excluding VAT plus a markup automatically fills in the retail cost
including VAT. You can fill in a retail cost including VAT and the
program will work out the other values and the correct VAT. This is very
useful for example in the Hotel trade for offering special deals. Again,
I used a combination of typing and ö!Transferò to create the cards. Each
card can accept a value of several decimal points of a penny upwards so
the price of individual video labels can be entered! You can copy from
card to card by using <Shift><Copy>.
5.8
Once finished, an instant stock valuation is possible. Now the program
is also able to prompt me to re-order and has an Order Form Template and
order number generator. As the RISC-OS printer driver system is used
with the Font manager to produce Orders, it is possible to get the usual
good result.
5.8
There is also a daily cash sales window and also stock best sellers and
index and search options for your stock. Searching by supplier brings up
the products you use. A supplier can also be yourself, so I ösupplyò
services such as video editing, production and consultancy and these are
logged as hourly rates which can then be invoiced or duplicated tapes
can be stock at a special price.
5.8
Invoicing
5.8
You can follow similar actions to create your customer database but for
öInvoice Programò users, Apricote have allowed you to drag your existing
customer details file into the customer database where it automatically
loads and fills out much of the öcardò. You can then add additional
information that might be required such as special references and
invoice prefix. The program allows a complete printout of suppliers and
customers with options to switch off various fields. Address labels can
also be printed and the Customers saved as a öCustListò in Text or CSV.
5.8
Using a similar system to the order generation, invoices and credit
notes can be created. A template would go to all customers and the
invoice number can be set up. A nice touch here is that all the
information required appears on the invoice as a default. You then set
the font x and y sizes to zero to get rid of unwanted information and
move the remaining information around to the position you want. The
description of individual invoices are created in a small window which
is saved as a !Prophet data (C87) file. Using <menu> on the customer
field brings up a list of all your customer names, select one and the
details fill in from their last invoice, if one exists. You then amend
these details to create the current one. Entering stock adds up the
totals on the invoice and decreases the totals on the stock cards
prompting an order if below a pre-set level. You can set the payment
status, link the invoice to the sales ledger and even print it out after
a future date or vary the early settlement discount between different
customers.
5.8
Accounts and schools
5.8
The accounts segment holds the expected Bank, Sales and Purchase ledgers
for up to ú22 million plus utilities like Accounts that set up 12
different bank, credit, deposit or cash areas. Again files can be
dragged from The Accounts Book to set up these areas.
5.8
In a school, this would be invaluable as the school exchange trip, CDT
materials, music and other budgets could all have their own control. An
additional point to note is that because of the instant effect of
changes, the program, as well as being of use in the school office,
would serve the additional use of demonstrating öwhat if..ò problems and
book-keeping skills to students as well as providing a useful demonstra
tion of the window environment in the computing room.
5.8
There is analysis by value of the main sales and purchases that have
been made and to keep that critical overall eye on several parts of the
accounts, there will be a profit and loss balance sheet as well as a
report option which will export to, for example, !Schema.
5.8
Entering data is simplicity itself. Press <return> in the date box and
todayæs date is inserted Ö because it now knows the date, the correct
Tax point is automatically entered. Press <menu> over the customer entry
and a list appears to select from. Having entered a cheque reference in
that box, next time press <return> and the next cheque number is
entered. You can put in as much or as little as you like. As !Prophet is
dynamic, when you open up the Bank Account page, this will be  updated
already!
5.8
Headings are used to analyse sales and purchases. You can have up to
twelve main areas and each can be subdivided into eight portions so
that, for example, the office could show its expenditure on wages
postage, stationery, telephone, electricity, rates, fax and furniture,
allowing a high degree of detail on where you are spending money and
from where you get your money. You donæt need to remember codes here as
selecting the main item brings up the sub-headings.
5.8
Niggles
5.8
Applications written by others, seldom are as perfect as mine (but they
work!!) so it is not surprising that there are a few things I would like
to change. Apricote have a good record of listening to customers, so
expect your suggestion to be looked at seriously.
5.8
I would prefer graphics such as my logo on documents and you canæt
import drawfiles into orders and invoice templates. This is being looked
at. The style of business you operate is also a factor in that I tend to
issue invoices which are öwordyò whilst this system starts off as being
more factual and offers a list of items on the invoice but this could be
lack of customisation of the templates on my part.
5.8
Looking to the future
5.8
There is no doubt that this software is good value, has been very well
thought out and presented as well as being very well written. It co-
exists happily with all the properly written software that Iæve got and,
try as I might, I canæt make it crash! I am told it is RISC-OSá3 / A5000
tested. As it multi-tasks, it is a natural to create accountancy
information to export into PipeDream for manipulation or via PCDir to
the accountantsæ Lotus 123. For example, because fax information is held
in the database it should be possible, with a small utility, to export
files to Fax-Pack which would automatically dial the suppliers number
and send an order! Iæm successfully exporting !Prophet information into
PipeDream4 and Impression to create company reports and graphs.
5.8
I feel that this is a benchmark package for business in that it provides
such easy links between existing applications, is intuitive and
unassuming. Above all, you get the feeling that this will be software
you will use on a daily basis and itæs very öfuture-proofò. Simple
points are that the colours used are not garish and the layouts
uncluttered and itæs lightning fast! Apricote implement a free support
scheme and registration and returning the master disc will bring the
latest version with the profit/loss segment when it is ready as well as
future upgrades. The application includes a support disc with examples
of files and templates. There is also a demonstration disc and the cost
of this is refundable against purchase.
5.8
I found the switchover very painless and, after a month, am still heard
to say öOh they have thought of that, too!ò The proof is in the using,
and I now trust the system and have switched my accounts to !Prophet.
5.8
Conclusions
5.8
!Prophet provides the middle ground. It can be used across a wide range
of business from service and education to manufacturing, is robust in
terms of its data management and can be expanded either by the use of
existing multi-tasking applications or by specially created utilities,
yet is simple to use despite having many segments.
5.8
If the application has any failings it is that its middle of the road
price might suggest to some users that it is not as capable as other
more expensive accounting systems. This just isnæt true. It is worth
sitting down and making a list of the functions you do want and then
comparing your list with what the available packages provide. Remember
that by multi-tasking this application with others you already own,
designed to do other specific tasks, you can get the results you want.
5.8
I said earlier that I thought this was a benchmark product. If Acorn
were to market a Business Package then !Prophet would be one of the
essential parts.
5.8
!Prophet costs ú170 plus VAT from Apricote or ú157 from Archive and
includes !Transfer.
5.8
The demonstration disc is ú10 including VAT from Apricote (refundable
against purchase).
5.8
!Transfer on its own is ú8.95 including VAT from Apricote, ú8 from
Archive.ááA
5.8
5.8
Hilighter Ö Multi-Media Database
5.8
Peter Jennings
5.8
With four or five commercial and public domain multi-media presentation
databases already available on the Archimedes market, any newcomer to
the field has to have something different to offer. With Hilighter,
their öinformation management system for the Archimedes and A3000ò,
Sherston Software have gone for a simple-to-use approach and a (liter
ally) colourful gimmick.
5.8
As with similar programs, it allows the user to build up a folder of
information to be displayed a page at a time. Anyone viewing it can move
from page to page by clicking on the text or picture of the subject(s)
they wish to pursue.
5.8
The gimmick in Hilighter is to model it on the chunky fibre-tipped pens
used to highlight important sections of a document with broad strokes of
brightly coloured transparent ink. Here, the colours are used to mark
the words or pictures to be linked to other pages.
5.8
Hilighter costs ú45 +VAT and comes on three discs, with a 34-page user
guide, an eight-page booklet on öUsing Hilighter in the Classroomò and a
quick reference card, all packed in a slim double-sided folder. One of
the discs contains the program. The other two, which are not protected,
have sample folders and fonts. Schools and other multi-users pay two or
three times the single-user price, depending on their size, for a site
licence and receive all three discs unprotected. Single users get a
protected program disc which has to be present in the floppy disc drive
even if the program has been copied onto hard disc. Anyone who dislikes
this restriction can register their ownership and exchange the program
disc for an unprotected version for a handling fee of ú6. This form of
removable protection allows Sherston to supply the program on approval.
5.8
Getting started
5.8
Loading the program puts an icon, representing a capped highlighter pen,
on the icon bar. Clicking on this brings up a reminder that a file needs
to be loaded or a new folder opened. The reminder box contains an icon
which can be dragged to a directory window to create a new folder which
is then automatically opened at page one. When a new or existing folder
has been opened, the capped pen on the icon bar changes to an uncapped
one Ö a neat touch typical of Sherston.
5.8
Two page sizes
5.8
Pages have a default size which fits onto a mode 12 screen or they can
be enlarged to A4, which uses more memory. Both sizes can be included in
the same folder but you need to make up your mind which size you want
before doing too much on a page as changing the size loses any high
lights on it.
5.8
A toolbox appears beside each page and can be turned off when not
needed. This shows the nine colours available for highlighting, an
eraser, two sizes of nibs, text and select icons and a browser arrow.
5.8
Any or all of the nine colours can be used to highlight text or pictures
on a page and each different colour can be linked with a different page.
Each of these new pages can then be linked with up to nine others in the
same way. The two nibs provide a choice of thick or thin strokes to
apply the highlights, which can be added freehand or, more neatly,
inside regularly shaped boxes. The eraser will remove the colour
similarly.
5.8
The highlighting can be toggled on and off with the Tab key and this
does not affect the links which have been made. The highlighting could
be left visible for use in the completed folder but this would really be
an option just for text-only folders as any graphics would have their
original colours and some of the detail masked.
5.8
A useful selection of Draw files is provided with arrows and text
buttons with phrases such as öNext pageò
5.8
Rectangular text areas are opened with the mouse and can be dragged to
size and positioned on the page. The text is typed in or entered from an
Edit file and a border can be added. It can also have the font, colour
and background colour changed. Draw and sprite files can be dragged onto
the page and both text and graphics can be moved and resized but not
rotated.
5.8
Resources file
5.8
Draw and sprite files needed in a folder can be stored in a resources
file and any others used from outside sources will automatically be
added. They can be dragged from the resources window onto any number of
pages, as required. Hilighter pages are also included in resources but
text is not stored there unless it has been created in a Draw file.
5.8
Pages are very simply linked by bringing up a writable icon window for
any Hilighter colour which has been used and entering a name or number
for the page that is to be linked to it. The page will then be created,
or loaded if it already exists, and opened. Each page is automatically
saved when another one is opened or can be saved from a menu at any
time.
5.8
Clicking on the browser arrow in the toolbox allows you to move from
page to page by clicking on the highlighted subjects. There is a
permanent icon at the bottom of each page allowing you to return to the
first page and an extra icon, up to a total of 20, is added for each
page visited. These let you return directly to any of the last 20
previously opened pages but, except for the page one icon, they are all
identical and do not show the page names or numbers, which rather limits
their usefulness. They can, however, be cleared and a new set started at
any time.
5.8
Other facilities
5.8
The latest version of Hilighter (1.02), which has just been released,
has an added facility to cycle through a selection of pages automati
cally, with a chosen viewing time for each, to form a rolling demo. The
selection can be saved in the folder and reloaded for future use.
5.8
The current page or a complete folder can be printed from a sub-menu
which is accessed from the main menu or, more directly, by using <Print>
on the keyboard. Links can also be printed at the side of the page but
it is then reduced in size by 25%.
5.8
Folders can be made independent of Hilighter, allowing anyone not having
the application to read the folders but not make any changes to them,
although from version 1.02, objects can be selected and saved out from
the viewed page. Independent folders can be freely distributed, but not
sold for commercial gain without a licence, provided they do not contain
other peopleæs copyright material.
5.8
Programs of this type have numerous uses and some of the suggestions put
forward for the classroom can have equal application at home or in
business. For example, clip art can be stored in Hilighter folders where
it can easily be viewed and dragged out for use. Also, I liked the idea
of using a family tree as the basis for an album of information and
pictures, particularly if a scanner is available to include photographs.
5.8
How does it compare?
5.8
Hilighteræs big strength, compared with similar programs, is its
simplicity. It is very easy to learn and to use, with clear instructions
printed and illustrated in an excellent user guide and demonstrated in
an example folder. The present versions can include only text and
pictures, which is probably sufficient for most uses. There is to be an
upgrade to add sound but there are no plans at the moment to include
animations. Hilighter has a low-cost rival in the public domain program
Hypertext (available on Shareware disc 19) which offers some of the
features although its instructions are not very easy for a first-time
user to understand.ááA
5.8
5.8
Small Ads
5.8
(Small ads for Archimedes and related products are free for subscribers
but we reserve the right to publish all, part or none of the material
you send, as we think fit. i.e. some people donæt know what ösmallò
means and there are certain things, as you can imagine, that we would
not be prepared to advertise as a matter of principle. Sending small ads
(especially long ones!) on disc is helpful but not essential. Ed)
5.8
Å    3╜ö drive for A300/400 ú70. M J Harwood, 7 Kingswood Road, Manchester
M14 6RZ.
5.8
Å    A310 with 4M ram, 40M drive, 4-slot bp, ARM3, much software, ú750.
Phone Ray on 081Ö864Ö7208.
5.8
Å    A310 with colour monitor, 4 slot bp, manuals and software, ú550. Acorn
JP150 printer (new) ú225, Armadillo A448 sampler card ú70. Phone Lenny
on 071Ö703Ö5675.
5.8
Å    A5000 LC with Acorn monitor, as new ú1500. Atomwide removable SCSI
hard drive, 2 cartridges & SCSI podule ú350. Phone 0536Ö724981.
5.8
Å    Acorn AKF18 multisync monitor ú200. Perfect condition. Phone
0666Ö502214.
5.8
Å    Acorn colour monitor ú135, ArcComm1 ú10, Z88 computer 32k RAM, two
PSUs, PClink ROM, Archimedes lead & file transfer software, Z88 Eprom
magazines ú145. Phone 0424Ö 717702.
5.8
Å    Alpha Base (new) ú20, Home Accounts ú15, System Delta Plus 2 +Ref.
Man. ú30, PC Emulator (MS-DOS) ú30. Phone 081Ö778Ö2659.
5.8
Å    Computer Conceptsæ ROMs InterChart ú10, InterSheet ú15, InterWord ú15,
SpellMaster ú20. Disc software: PC Access ú10, Genesis+ ú10, E-Type ú5.
Phone Rob Brown on 0737Ö832159 (eves).
5.8
Å    Digitising tablet TDS LC12 professional tablet, 12ö ╫ 12ò area, 4
button puck. Software to use in place of Archimedes mouse. ú110 Phone
0903Ö65727 (eves).
5.8
Å    Enter the Realm, Zelanites the Onslaught, Saloon Cars ú19.95 each. All
three ú58.85. Phone 0223Ö63545.
5.8
Å    Frog 100M external SCSI drive ú300. Phone Leslie Wiggins on
0602Ö421413 (day) or 607822 (eves).
5.8
Å    Impression 2.14 ú100. Phone Paul 041Ö777Ö6608.
5.8
Å    JP150 printer ú150 +VAT. Phone Paul Skirrow on 0394Ö380307 (work).
5.8
Å    MIDI 4 Interface, EMR Studio 24, System Delta Plus 2, SDP Reporter,
2nd Internal Floppy for 310 inc. front panel, Mig-29. Sensible offers to
David on 0284Ö761801. (10% of all sales to NCSæs Charity Pot.)
5.8
Å    Oak 200M high speed internal SCSI drive (no podule) 1 year old, 1 year
warranty remains. ú450. Phone 0276Ö20575 (eves).
5.8
Å    Pace Nightingale ömanualò modem + leads for BBC and A3000 ú10, Hearsay
version 1 ú10, ArcComm2 ú25. Phone Ernie Cobbold on 0493Ö740557 (eves).
5.8
Å    RenderBender 2 new, unregistered ú80. Acorn DTP ú80 o.n.o., First Word
Plus 2 ú30 o.n.o., Pacman ú12, Superior Golf ú12. Phone/fax Peter
Warrington on 061Ö248Ö5454.
5.8
Å    Solid Tools ú200, Autosketch ú30, System Delta Plus ú30, Chocks Away
ú12, Extra Missions ú12, Pandoraæs Box ú14, Grievous Bodily ARM ú14,
Games Creator ú30. Must sell. Reasonable offers. Phone Neal on
0734Ö420836.
5.8
Å    Wanted 4 slot backplane for A310, hand scanner and Impression II.
Phone 0332Ö557751.
5.8
Å    Wanted Canon BJ 100/130/300/330 printer. MáJáHarwood, 7 Kingswood
Road, Manchester  M14 6RZ.
5.8
Charity Sales Ö The following items are available for sale in aid of
charity. PLEASE do not just send money Ö ring us on 0603Ö766592 to check
if the items are still available. Thank you.
5.8
(If you have unwanted software or hardware for Archimedes computers you
could donate for charity, please send it in to the Archive office. If
you have larger items where post would be expensive, just send us
details of the item(s) and how the purchaser can get hold of them.)
5.8
40M IDE drive ú180,  Beebug 5╝ö disc buffer ú8,  Beebug Serial Link Kit
ú5,  Alerion ú5,  Corruption ú5,  Karma (beta release 0.30) ú10,  Tilt &
swivel monitor stand ú15,  I/O podule new software ú5,  E-Type Designer
ú5,  ArcComm1 ú15,  C-Front ú5,  InterDictor 1 ú5,  Masterfile II ú12,
Saloon Cars ú12,  RISC-OS Companion Vol 1 ú2,  Screened printer data
cable ú2 per foot.ááA
5.8
5.8
MiG-29M Super Fulcrum Ö The Sequel
5.8
Tord Eriksson
5.8
Simis, Krisalis and Domark have now gone one better and produced an
improved MiG-29 simulator.
5.8
In its latest version, MiG-29M Super Fulcrum, the aircraft is a fly-by-
wire machine that will out-perform most opposition. Luckily for us, it
is not yet in series production...
5.8
Unpacking
5.8
The program arrives in a big lavishly illustrated box, complete with a
twin-language manual (my copy is in Italian and English), a book
covering almost all modern military aircraft and two discs.
5.8
The technical facts and history of the development of the Super Fulcrum
is well presented and generally correct. The manual is printed in a very
odd way with a lot of graphics underneath the text. This is probably
meant to dissuade photocopier users but it doesnæt make the reading very
easy!
5.8
There are some mysterious instructions, especially in the approach
chapter, where you are recommended to lower the landing gear at 500 kph
and then recommended to lower it again on the final approach. Double
presses on the öLò key would stove the gear and make the landing very
messy.
5.8
From the thick manual, you gather that the program is available on a
number of other computers, such as PCs and Amigas. So there must be a
great many Fulcrum flyers out there in computerdom.
5.8
There is now a two-player mode, with two computers hooked up via the
serial interfaces. This means that you can probably connect two
dissimilar computers and fight together against evil F-16s, Harriers and
Mirages. Not having two computers, I cannot say if this is possible, but
it seems to be the thing for simulators to do today!
5.8
The game starts, as usual, with some fancy graphics then moves on to a
cockpit view of the HDD, the Head Down Display, that contains a map,
buttons for setting way-points, two fighter modes and the start game
button. You can either be master or slave in the two-player mode, by
selecting the appropriate button Ö Are you ready to strap in?
5.8
Flying the Super Fulcrum
5.8
Those familiar with the first version of MiG-29 can rest assured Ö all
control keys are the same, including the dead select button on the
mouse.
5.8
In contrast to the earlier version you can now choose if you want Air-
Surface misses only, or Air-Air, instead of the default mix.
5.8
The aircraft behaves pretty much like the old MiG, but the instrumenta
tion has been upgraded, with a very nice radar that has a special mode
for shooting down enemy aircraft.
5.8
Compared to Interdictor II, this feels much more like the real thing and
quite an improvement graphically to the first MiG simulator.
5.8
MiGs in UN service
5.8
The scenario of MiG-29M is drastically different from the predecessoræs,
probably due to the new political situation, so we are no longer forced
to fight the evil Chinese or zap the freedom fighters (someone elseæs
terrorists). Instead we are the jolly guys with blue berets, trying to
restore order after a military coup in a undefined country, ösomewhere
in the mid-south America...ò. Who ever heard of mid-south America?!
5.8
In short we break up the rebel support lines, shoot at anything moving
in sight, destroy bases and, eventually, take the enemy HQ. End of
ögameò.
5.8
Conclusion
5.8
As usual, not everyone will return victorious and there is no cheat mode
as in Interdictor II, where you can fly an indestructible öbrickò. You
can select a simple aircraft or a more realistic one, but you will be
busy flying either one!
5.8
A very good simulator for devotees like me. Fully recommended!ááA
5.8
5.8
Elite Ö Gold Edition
5.8
Jahinder Singh
5.8
Back in 1984, the release of both the tape and disc versions of Elite
was one of the major breakthroughs for the Acorn range of machines. This
cult 3D space game now re-released on the Archimedes looks set to repeat
the phenomenal success of its previous versions on the BBC Micro,
Commodore 64, Spectrum, Amiga and PC. Launched by Hybrid in October at
the BBC Acorn User Show, Archimedes Elite broke all previous records for
initial game release on the Archimedes.
5.8
Its first production run, which was intended to cover the Christmas
period, was entirely consumed by the end of November. Faced with a
further production run to meet the Christmas demand, Hybrid decided to
upgrade the package. The new Gold Edition leaves the program itself
largely unchanged but includes some extra support materials.
5.8
The game
5.8
Just in case youæve spent the last eight years cooped up in some feline
infested pit, on some anarchic planet within the Santarri galaxy and are
now wondering what all the fuss is about, Iæll give a very brief summary
of Elite.
5.8
As the commander of a Cobra Mk3 spacecraft, you must learn the skills of
trading between planets (anything from food and textiles to narcotics
and firearms). As your wealth accumulates, you add more equipment to
your ship (anything from extra missiles, docking computers Ö most useful
Ö to military lasers). While trading, you must also become proficient in
combat to fend off any undesirables who have suddenly taken a fancy to
your cargo.
5.8
These skills of successful trading and combat are used to increase your
status within the Elite universe, starting from ÉHarmlessæ and slowly
progressing towards ÉEliteæ Ö not easy. During this progression, you can
gain the reputation of being a clean lawful trader or an unscrupulous
pirate. The powers that be may then decide to enlist your help in
missions of mercy or aggression.
5.8
When Elite was released in 1984 the sense of freedom and excellent 3D
graphics led many to the conclusion that Elite was the ultimate game.
The 1991 version of Elite is the same game with the addition of some
improvements. The game now uses solid 3D graphics, the inclusion of some
animated 3D sequences for launching and docking, dots on planet surfaces
to show shape and rotation as well as moons around some planets. The
mouse (not easy) or the keyboard can be used to fly your ship. The mouse
tends to give improved responsiveness and manoeuvrability. Trading has
also been improved. As well as the addition of some nice graphics, the
use of the mouse has speeded up this task.
5.8
There are a number of new ships in this version of Elite. Hognose
(Hognoses? Ed.) are missionary ships intent on converting any non-
believers that they come across. Ships flying in formation are a common
and pretty site, usually police vipers on a training exercise or ships
flying together for protection against any undesirables. The missions
are more involved than in the original game with complex scenarios now
possible.
5.8
Elite is also fully RISC-OS compliant, a standard which all Archimedes
software should adopt. One moment you could be involved in the battle to
save the universe, the next you may be word processing a letter to your
bank manager. You may then return to Elite and complete this battle by
killing off those last few remaining Thargoids.
5.8
The package
5.8
The Gold Edition of Elite is packaged in a box similar in size to a
video cassette. Inside one finds an assortment of goodies:
5.8
    1) Elite User Guide
5.8
    2) Flight Training Manual
5.8
    3) Colour poster
5.8
    4) Commander registration card
5.8
    5) Elite shirt order form
5.8
    6) 24 ship data cards
5.8
    7) Trading record pad
5.8
    8) Program disc
5.8
    9) Function key strip
5.8
Owners of the original Elite pack can get the Gold Edition extras upon
returning their original control key guide to Hybrid. Those who bought
their package other than direct from Hybrid should include the sum of ú3
to cover handling.
5.8
The game installs and runs like any other RISC-OS application and will
operate on any Archimedes machine with 1M of ram. The software is
protected such that once the game has been loaded, a word chosen by the
computer at random from the Flight Trading Manual must be entered. This
protection mechanism is also activated at various times while playing,
once docked at a space station.
5.8
Conclusions
5.8
Without any doubt, the 1991 version of Elite with its enhancements is an
excellent game and has lost none of the atmosphere of the original game.
Anyone who enjoyed Elite in 1984 will almost certainly spend many more
hours flying through the galaxies. It wonæt take long for any newcomers,
who are still thinking whether or not to purchase Elite, to become
addicts.
5.8
Elite in 1984 was a major breakthrough for the Acorn machines. This 1991
version, although very good, had the opportunity, with the availability
of all the extra computing power of the Archimedes over the BBC Micro,
of becoming the ultimate game for the Archimedes.
5.8
This version is basically the same as the 1984 version with a few very
good extras added. However, the game certainly doesnæt stretch the
Archimedes anywhere near it limits. Hopefully, when Karma is completed,
it will be what the 1991 Archimedes version of Elite could have been.
Overall, a good product which will provide much enjoyment for a long
time to come.ááA
5.8
5.8
Fun & Games
5.8
Hilary Ferns
5.8
This package from HS Software is comprised of three programs Ö Coconuts,
Tidy and Burger Boy, each on a separate disc and packed together in a
simple A5 plastic-backed wallet. Backup copies are not permitted but you
can return a damaged disc which will be replaced at the cost of the disc
and postage. The documentation is a straightforward leaflet explaining
clearly how to use each program.
5.8
The pack is advertised as being suitable for ages 5Ö9 but, in practice,
you will find that Coconuts and Tidy are aimed at infant children,
whereas Burger Boy spans the whole age group.
5.8
The games are all loaded in the usual way, by double-clicking. They are
not truly multitasking but any programs and work will still be on the
Desktop when you return. Each program uses a large amount of memory but
will run quite happily on a 1M machine, providing you close down all
other applications first.
5.8
Graphically, all three programs are very clear. The programs use some
digitised pictures and speech, which certainly add to the general
presentation. All are mouse-controlled and work with any of the mouse
buttons, making play very simple. All have clear Éplayæ and Éendæ
buttons. Successful games are rewarded by suitable musical animations Ö
no doubt a delight to children but coming with monotonous regularity to
the adult ear! Also, errors are acknowledged with a distinctive noise.
5.8
Each game works at varying skill levels, so can be tailored to specific
needs. This is done simply by clicking the mouse in labelled boxes
before the game starts Ö by teacher, parent or the child themselves.
Each game is provided with random values, quantities, etc so a child
will not be able to öget the answerò from the previous player.
5.8
Coconuts
5.8
The screen shows four tropical trees, each with a different variety of
fruit (pineapples, oranges, coconuts and lemons). ÉHelpful Herbertæ
jumps up to the trees to pick the fruit of the playeræs choice to
complete the pattern on the screen. At its simplest level, it is
monotonous for even the youngest player, but introducing different types
and sizes of fruit, increasing the length of the sequence and giving
less time for the task can be quite a challenge for 4-5 year olds. It
would have perhaps been nice to have had an option for the children to
set up a sequence of their own to copy. It teaches matching, sequencing,
repeating patterns and number recognition.
5.8
Tidy
5.8
öEmma, tidy your room at once!ò is the instruction from Emmaæs Mum. The
player has to guide the parrot to put the right toy in the right place,
in response to a written command on the screen. Commands are in a nice
clear font (included on the disc) which is suitable for young readers.
Digitised speech which accompanies the writing can be turned on or off.
Prepositions Éonæ, Éinæ, Éunderæ, Ébehindæ and Éin front ofæ can be
introduced and adjectives Ébigæ Ésmallæ, Élongæ and Éshortæ. At higher
skill levels, several instructions are given at once and the words
vanish from the screen before the task is complete Ö quite a test for
the memory, particularly if you are including all the prepositions and
adjectives. This program practises early reading skills, memory and
comparisons of size and shape.
5.8
Burger Boy
5.8
Of the three programs, this is suited to the widest age range. ÉHelpful
Herbertæ is serving customers in a busy burger bar, selling burgers,
chips, coke and milk shakes, and you have to show him which items to
reach on the shelves. Although Herbert moves quite fast, for very long
orders this can become tedious. The orders are politely given using
digitised speech with words on the screen. The speech can be turned off
in order to practise reading skills. System font is used, presumably
because long orders in a larger font would take up quite a lot of screen
space. However, it seems adequate for the age group here. Younger
children can opt to have the orders in picture form.
5.8
The game can be set up to include any number up to the four types of
food and sizes Ésmallæ, Émediumæ and Élargeæ can also be included. You
certainly have to work quite quickly in this burger bar at higher skill
levels, as the order vanishes from the screen leaving you to remember
the two large cokes, three medium shakes and one small shake (or was it
two?). Prices can also be optionally introduced at varying levels of
difficulty, using úÉs, pence (in units of 10) or both. The child then
has to add up the total. Quite a test of mental arithmetic at the higher
levels.
5.8
The successful game is rewarded by seeing (and hearing!) the customer
eat his meal, followed by the inevitable indigestion Ö an element which,
no doubt, most children will find highly amusing. (At least our customer
has a few manners, in that he says öpardon meò.)
5.8
Skills covered include matching, sequencing, reading, memory, addition
and understanding money. (Giving change is not included).
5.8
Conclusions
5.8
I like all three programs and feel there is a place for them in school
and in the home. They are entertaining, while providing practice in
basic skills at National Curriculum Keystages 1 & 2 in Maths and
English. I wonder if people buying for 7-9 year olds, however, may
prefer to see Burger Boy sold separately, the first two programs being
infant material. Very good value for money (ú18 through Archive).ááA
5.8
5.8
!BasShrink Version 2.10
5.8
Hutch Curry
5.8
BasShrink version 2.10 is a Basic program compactor. The purpose of
!BasShrink is to provide a simple and effective method of squashing
Basic programs by the usual methods of shortening variable/procedure/
function names, deleting blank lines, REMs and spaces and concatenating
lines.
5.8
BasShrink in use
5.8
The procedure to squash a Basic program is:
5.8
(1) Load !BasShrink by double-clicking on its icon. It will then appear
on the icon bar although it should be pointed out that the version under
review does not multi-task while doing the compression. According to the
author, there will be a Version 3 BasShrink in the near future which
will properly multi-task.
5.8
(2) The main input window may be opened by clicking on the icon on the
icon-bar. This window allows the user to set the options controlling the
compression.
5.8
(3) Drag the Basic file either to the icon on the icon-bar or to the
main input window. If the main data window is not open, it will opened
automatically.
5.8
(4) Amend the options as necessary.
5.8
(5) Amend the output filename and/or drag the file to the destination
directory, or just click OK to overwrite the original program.
5.8
(6) Wait while the program is squashed.
5.8
Options
5.8
!BasShrink provides a very useful range of options to allow the user to
control the degree of compression desired. Essentially, the more options
that are set, the greater the degree of compression and the lower the
clarity of the source. Therefore, it is probably good practice to keep
the original uncrunched source as well as the compressed one for the
purposes of modifications, bug-fixes etc. The options are controlled by
flags which are listed below. Prefixing the flag with Éæ- turns that
option off.
5.8
c     Ö     concatenate (join) lines
5.8
l     Ö     remove blank lines
5.8
-p <str>     Ö     donæt shorten if linestart <str>
5.8
r     Ö     remove REM statements
5.8
*     Ö     remove *| statements
5.8
s     Ö     remove spaces
5.8
-v     Ö     verbose
5.8
A     Ö     ASC(ö<char>ò) Ö> <number>
5.8
D     Ö     affect DATA statements
5.8
F     Ö     shorten function names
5.8
I     Ö     represent integers shortest
5.8
P     Ö     shorten procedure names
5.8
S     Ö     SWI ö<name>ò Ö> SWI <number>
5.8
V     Ö     shorten variable names
5.8
The user can save the current state of the options by clicking on the
ÉSave optionsæ icon. These options will become the default whenever
!BasShrink is run. It isáalso possible to reset the options to the start
up state by dragging the options file onto the icon-bar icon or the main
input window.
5.8
How good is it?
5.8
To evaluate !BasShrink, a large number of programs were passed through
the compactor with a request for differing degrees of compression. In
general, the results were very good in that:
5.8
(1) The programs still ran.
5.8
(2) The degree of compaction was well controlled by the selection of
options.
5.8
(3) The maximum compaction was very effective.
5.8
As typical examples of the sort of programs that a user might wish to
compact, I selected a medium length non multi-tasking PD graphics demo
(program A) and a quite substantial and fully RISC-OS compatible
application (program B) that I had written. Program A is actually an
appalling program in terms of its style and structure. The program is
linear and peppered with GOTOæs, GOSUBæs and RESTOREæs. The original
length of Program A was 13k. After maximum compaction, the length was
reduced to 10k and the compactor properly dealt with all the specific
line references. Program B was originally 70k in length and included
both Basic ARM assembler and a multitude of SWIæs. The presence of this
particular bit of assembler revealed the only serious bug I found in
quite extensive testing. !BasShrink was quite convinced that TSTP was
not a valid assembler mnemonic and refused to have any more to do with
the program. However, on putting a REM in front of the offending line,
!BasShrink crunched the program down to 26k. This was a most impressive
saving and indicates the sort of compaction of which !BasShrink is
capable.
5.8
Possible improvements
5.8
There are a couple of improvements that could easily be implemented to
improve the ease of use. The first is that the save box should not use
the input file name as the default output name. I would suggest instead
that the program construct a default name by adding something to the
original name such that an input file of !RunImage was saved out as
!RunImageXX or something similar. One of the options of !BasShrink is to
replace the SWI names with the corresponding SWI numbers. This is very
useful as the program will run faster with the numbers as the OS doesnæt
have to go and look them up at execution time. The ability to do this
translation necessarily depends on the module being found in either ROM
or RMA. What was a bit irritating in !BasShrink was that it did not
provide notification that one or more of the modules were not found.
This did not affect the running of the program as it merely did not do
the translation. It was only on inspection of the resulting output that
it became apparent that maximum compaction had not been achieved.
5.8
Conclusion
5.8
I would heartily recommend !BasShrink to anyone doing a lot of program
ming in Basic. This will be an even stronger recommendation when the one
bug is fixed. I am looking forward to Version 3 and hope it removes one
or two small niggles as well as multi-tasks properly. Version 2 of
!BasShrink is available for only ú5.00 (this includes the full source
code). Version 3 of !BasShrink when completed will also be ú5.00, with a
discount of ú2.50 for version 2 owners. Interestingly, an earlier
version of !BasShrink has been placed into the public domain and may
therefore be found on bulletin boards, etc. This version is on this
monthæs program disc and will allow someone to evaluate whether
BasShrink will do what they want or not before parting with ú5.00.
5.8
!BasShrink can be obtained from the author John Wallace at Architype
Software, 54 Parkes Hall Road, Woodsetton, Dudley, West Midlands
DY1á3SR.ááA
5.8
5.8
Please write or telephone for complete details about our wide range of
space science resources for the Archimedes, including the new image
processing package, PDSview, that gives access to the massive databank
of NASA images that have been released as well as providing powerful
processing for weather satellite or any other digital image. Over 27000
raw data images are available from us on CD-ROM. Also ask about the
award winning !Orrery application which brings the planetarium into your
home or classroom. Our new weather satellite software which is compat
ible with existing hardware will be out soon. This allows up to six
animation sequences, with unlimited frames, to be collected concurrently
on the desktop as a background task. This is truly a BREAKTHROUGH in the
field of meteorological satellite image data collection.
5.8
5.8
Oak Solutions
5.8
From 5.2 page 6
5.8
5.8
PD Column
5.8
David Holden
5.8
Iæm going to devote this monthæs column to two Archimedes disc based
magazines, ÉAbsolutelyæ and ÉIllusionsæ. My reasons for this are that
both have close links with PD (as will become apparent) and that, so
far, I havenæt seen any mention of this type of Éoppositionæ in any of
the conventional Archimedes magazines.
5.8
Absolutely is published by the same people that run the Datastream PD
library and, although it is a separate entity, the links with Datastream
are apparent. Illusions is run by a former Absolutely contributor and
the similarities can be seen.
5.8
I believe that there is at least one other disc-based magazine devoted
to the Archimedes so, in order to be fair, if the publishers of any of
them would care to send me copies, I will try to include details of them
at a later date.
5.8
Similarities
5.8
The magazines have a number of similarities. Both have a single disc
containing articles and one (Absolutely) or two (Illusions) discs of
archived PD programs, although I understand that Illusions will probably
only have a single disc of PD in future. Both cost ú3 per monthly issue
or ú7.50 for three months. Each magazine has a mix of contents, reviews,
articles on programming, tips for games, etc roughly similar to their
conventional, printed counterparts.
5.8
The ÉReaderæ programs
5.8
At the heart of any disc based magazine is the method used to display
text and illustrations. Illusions uses a RISC-OS compatible reader
program whereas Absolutely uses the fully RISC-OS compliant ÉMagpieæ.
Both systems have a Écontents pageæ to which you can return at any time.
5.8
Magpie is a Émulti-mediaæ program which allows illustrations to be
linked to the text. It is also fully multi-tasking and the text appears
in normal desktop windows. This means that, by altering the desktop
palette, you can define your own colours, if you wish. I particularly
like the way that games reviews can be linked to screen shots. This is
certainly the best argument for disc based magazines and the strongest
point in favour of Absolutely. On the other hand there is no doubt that
the Éfancyæ fonts used by Magpie, although attractive to look at, are
not quite as easy to read from the screen as the standard 8╫8 system
font used by the Illusions program. Perhaps a change of font might be an
improvement.
5.8
The Illusions system is certainly faster in operation but it has one
major fault, you can only move forwards through the text. There is no
way to move back to the previous page. This makes reading some of the
articles extremely frustrating. If you want to refer to something that
has just scrolled off the screen, you must return to the contents page
and start again from the beginning. Also, it is not as easy to change
the colours and those used, black text on a grey background, are not
particularly convenient in conditions where the ambient lighting is
bright. One less important fault is that, although the Illusions reader
program correctly returns you to the desktop when you quit, it resets
the desktop palette to the default colours and not those actually used
at the time the program was invoked. This is a minor detail which could
easily be corrected in the program but to people like myself who
frequently use a slightly different palette, it is rather annoying and
particularly noticeable when writing an article like this where I was
constantly going to and from the Illusions program.
5.8
Both systems have a facility to print the text if required.
5.8
The content
5.8
The best parts of both magazines are the games reviews. In particular,
Absolutely seems to have taken a lot of trouble over these and they are
well laid out and with a consistent format. I would like to see a few
more screen shots simply because I believe that this is one area where
disc magazines can score heavily over conventional printed media and it
would be a good idea to use this ability to the full.
5.8
The only other articles of any substance are programming tutorials.
Again, this is an area where this type of medium could excel but once
more its advantages have not been fully exploited. The substance, in
both magazines, is good but it would be nice to see some alternative to
the text-and-program-examples system which has been copied directly from
conventional magazines. Iæm not sure exactly how this could be done but
I feel that there must be some way of using the fact that you are
dealing with a program actually running on the computer rather than
simply reading from a printed page to make the whole thing more
exciting.
5.8
Iæm afraid that most of the remainder of the contents of both magazines
is rather disappointing. In both cases I get the feeling that there are
a lot of references that I would understand better if I were a regular
reader or were better acquainted with the editorial team. Unfortunately,
this gave a rather incestuous feel which is probably attractive to those
Éin the knowæ but might tend to alienate new readers. Illusions in
particular feels more like a club magazine than a nationally distributed
periodical. However, younger readers, or those who have followed the
magazine from the beginning, might actually like this.
5.8
Since both magazines contain pleas for articles, it could simply be that
they are having difficulty finding sufficient material and it is this
that is dictating the style and paucity of material rather than the
editorsæ choice.
5.8
The PD disc(s)
5.8
From the samples I have seen, the Illusions PD portion appears superior,
mainly because I prefer their choice of content. There is also twice as
much although this may soon cease to be the case. Illusions seems to
concentrate on many small utilities whereas the Absolutely disc contains
a few major applications and demos. There must obviously be a certain
conflict of interest here with the Datastream PD library although I have
no doubt that everything possible is done to minimise this.
5.8
I am not too keen on the large amount of PD with both of these
magazines. At present, the PD content outweighs the magazine by a factor
of at least three to one and I think this is rather too much. It would
certainly be much better if the ratio are in the other direction and I
would hope that if either or both continue to thrive and attract more
written content, this will be the case. It is certainly much easier and
cheaper to fill a disc with PD than pay people to write articles, as
conventional publications have discovered, but in the long run it will
not gain a large number of subscribers.
5.8
Conclusions
5.8
The big advantage of a disc magazine is its immediacy and the fact that
it can be published with a low overhead and consequently an extremely
small launch circulation. It therefore becomes possible for a small
group of people with little money but a lot of enthusiasm to publish a
national magazine. Unlike conventional, printed matter, there is almost
no production delay so the potential for news and new product reviews is
enormous, although this would imply a closer relationship with the
industry than such small organisations are likely to be able to realise.
5.8
It is probably unfair to make direct comparisons with conventional
publications but nonetheless such comparisons must be made. The obvious
correlation is with Archimedes World which costs about the same.
Archimedes World has about the same amount of software, although the
plus here is that most of it is original, but the whole editorial
content of either Illusions or Absolutely would probably fill less than
one full page of Archimedes World.
5.8
On balance, I preferred Absolutely but this is very much a subjective
choice and I would urge anyone with an interest to try both. It can also
be seen that the two magazines are still evolving and they will no doubt
each develop their own specialities in the future. As for the concept of
disc-based magazines Iæm still not really convinced, mainly because of
media limitations Ö they can never contain as much text as the printed
page Ö but once again I suggest you try them and make up your own mind.
5.8
Please keep writing to me with your comments about PD and related
subjects at the usual address, 39 Knighton Park Road, Sydenham, London
SE26 5RN.
5.8
Absolutely is available from 26A Bull Lane, Rayleigh, Essex  SS6 8JD and
Illusions is available from 42 Wimbourne Gardens, Ealing, London  W13
8BZ.ááA
5.8
5.8
Beginneræs Guide to Comms & Modems
5.8
Eddie Lord
5.8
Over the many years that I have been Éplayingæ with personal computers,
I have managed to ignore the comms side of computing completely, having
never felt the need to go Éon lineæ. However, the company I work for has
recently introduced a Bulletin Board Service (BBS) for some of its
employees Ö this has forced a radical rethink on my part. If you thought
that computers had a lot of jargon, just wait until you see what the
world of comms has to offer. Without having a rudimentary knowledge of
this jargon, nothing appears to make sense. Here then is a potted guide
to this awful jargon Ö I hope it will spread a little bit of light.
5.8
Before looking at the various modem standards, it will be helpful to
have some understanding of the comms process.
5.8
Inside the Archimedes, data is sent to and from the ARM chip 32 bits at
a time along a parallel data bus. To communicate with the outside world,
this is then reduced to a 16 or 8 bit data bus via the peripheral
controller (IOC). To get information down the PSTN (Public Switched
Telephone Network) the 8 bit bus has to be reduced to a single carriage
way and sent via the serial interface, one bit at a time.
5.8
Also, the PSTN was never designed for digital signals, so direct
connection of the serial port to the telephone lines would not work. The
data to be sent must first be converted (or modulated) into an audio
(sound) signal that can be sent via the PSTN. Hence the use of the modem
(a MOdulator/DEModulator). All that has to be done now is to agree how
the data is to be transmitted and at what speed. This is not as
straightforward as it seems.
5.8
The Comms pathway
5.8
First, let us look at the comms pathway, and immediately make a
distinction between the computer to modem path and the modem to modem
path. The reason will become clear later on.
5.8
Straight away then we find ourselves bogged down with jargon. Computers
are generally known as DTEæs or Data Terminal Equipment. Modems on the
other hand are known as DCEæs or Data Communication Equipment.
5.8
The physical connection between DCEæs and DTEæs requires a minimum of 3
lines for ground, transmit and receive. These connections are set out in
the interface standard, the most common of which is the RS232 standard.
5.8
The DCE to DCE connection can either be direct, via a leased line, or
via the PSTN. In this instance, we are interested mainly in the
telephone connection.
5.8
Type of data to be modulated
5.8
Data can be organised and sent in one of two ways. The first is
asynchronous communication otherwise known as start stop transmission.
This was developed from the teletype machines, where each character
typed was parcelled up and sent individually, with the system idling in
between characters.
5.8
The secondly is synchronous communication, also known as Ébit stream
synchronisationæ. This involves sending a group of characters in a
single stream without any gaps.
5.8
For most domestic users who are accessing bulletin boards, asynchronous
comms is the most common form of data transfer. Using some of the more
intelligent modems, the computer can, in fact, talk to the modem
asynchronously, leaving the modem to convert to synchronous transmis
sion. This is quite transparent to the user.
5.8
Asynchronous transmission
5.8
(Start bits, data bits, parity bits & stop bits)
5.8
In asynchronous transmissions, data is sent one character at a time. It
starts with a start bit, followed by the 7 or 8 data bits, representing
the character, then a parity bit is sent followed by a stop bit (or
two).
5.8
The start and stop bits form a parcel around the character so that the
receiving modem knows when the character has been sent. Although there
is only ever one start bit, there may be one, one and a half or two stop
bits. The idea of more than one stop bit was to create a delay for the
old style electro-mechanical teleprinter machines allowing them to keep
up with the data flow. All the modern systems use one stop bit since,
these days, there are no mechanical gubbins involved.
5.8
The parity bit is used as a simple error checking device, since the
noise in the telephone network can corrupt the individual bits being
sent. In other words, a 0 may be corrupted to a 1. The parity bit is
added to make up the number of 1És in the character being sent to be
either odd or even. If the computer is set in advance to odd or even
parity, counting the number of 1æs that are received provides a simple
check on the character transmitted. If a single bit is corrupted, the
parity check indicates that an error has occurred but if two bits are
corrupted, the parity check would fail to show up the error.
5.8
In an interactive environment, you would probably notice any failure of
the parity check as it would result in a spurious character on screen.
However, in large data files such as programs, uncorrected errors are
unacceptable.
5.8
Therefore, the parity check has fallen into disuse and alternative error
checking is carried out in software. Most comms data is now sent with
the parity set to zero. This allows an extra bit of data to be sent.
5.8
The ASCII code defines 128 different characters (0 to 127) for the
various letters of the alphabet, upper and lower case, numbers,
punctuation, plus some important control codes. Only a 7 digit binary
number is required to define all 128 characters, i.e. you only need 7
data bits.
5.8
Unfortunately, not all manufacturers adopted this standard, notably IBM,
who extended the code to 8 data bits. The addition of one more data bit
allows the number of different characters to be sent to be doubled to
256, (0 to 255). The IBM character set allows some graphics and
mathematical characters to be sent. Other manufacturers adopted other
different extended character sets.
5.8
Most PC and BBS systems, therefore, use 8 data bits, no parity bit and
one stop bit (8n1).
5.8
The other most common setting, used with mainframe systems, e.g. Prestel
and CompuServe, is 7 data bits, even parity and one stop bit (7e1).
5.8
If the protocol is unknown, try 8n1 first but, if this give 50% garbage,
try 7e1. If this fails, try odd parity, 7o1. It must be emphasised that
your software must be set up in the same way as the remote computer.
5.8
The Archimedes can set the number of data bits between 5 and 8. Stop
bits can be 1, 1╜ or 2. The parity bit can be odd, even or none. The
default setup for RISC-OS machines is the same as the BBC Master, 8 data
bits, no parity, 2 stop bits (8n2).
5.8
The speed limit for asynchronous does not normally exceed 9,600 bps
(bits per second) or 19,200 bps on dedicated links or leased lines.
5.8
Synchronous transmission
5.8
So far, we have only talked of asynchronous communications and this is
the way all personal computers communicate with the outside world. In
other words, information can be sent and gaps between characters cause
no problem because each character is wrapped up in a parcel of start and
stop bits.
5.8
With synchronous transmission, no start and stop bit is sent and so the
sender and receiver must be synchronised to each other at a fixed rate.
The flow of characters must be constant and if there are no characters
to be sent, padding characters must be sent instead. This is an
expensive method due to the extra circuitry required for buffers to hold
excess data and timing circuits. As the start and stop bits are missing,
a 20% faster rate of data flow is possible.
5.8
In fact, many of the more expensive modems (using V42 for example)
actually use synchronous methods when talking to other expensive modems
but this is transparent to the user. Asynchronous communication is used
between the computer and modem, although synchronous transmission can be
supported provided the software and the modem are compatible.
5.8
Full duplex, half duplex
5.8
As a piece of jargon öduplexò is a real humdinger. The trouble is that
it can take on two different meanings altogether.
5.8
The PSTN or switched line is only a two wire circuit which, in simple
terms, means that transmissions can only take place in one direction at
a time. Each modem taking turns to send and receive. This is called half
duplex.
5.8
A leased line, which is a permanent connection rented from the phone
company, is a four wire circuit. This allows data to be sent in two
directions at once. This is known as full duplex.
5.8
However, full duplex can be achieved on the PSTN if both modems can
subdivide the frequency bandwidth of the two wire connection into two
distinct channels. This method is good up to about 2400 bps but for
faster speeds, more sophisticated techniques are required.
5.8
Both modems must be able to support these methods if full duplex is to
be achieved.
5.8
Unfortunately, terminal devices also use the term full and half duplex
to mean something entirely different.
5.8
Half duplex (or local echo) means that characters typed and then
transmitted are also printed on the local screen. Not only does the
computer software have the local echo feature but the local modem may
also have an echo feature. That achieves the same thing so it is
sometimes possible to get two letters on the screen for every one you
type. In this case, you can configure the software to give local echo
OFF or use a command (or switch) to set the modem local echo to OFF.
5.8
When a terminal is in full duplex mode, each character typed is
transmitted but not immediately displayed. The device at the other end
must echo back the character to the originator which then displays it on
the screen. This is sometimes known as echoplex or host echo.
5.8
Usually, when configuring your software, local echo is not required, as
the other computer will echo back the letters you type to show that it
has been received correctly.
5.8
Baud rate and bps
5.8
Acorn refer in their manuals to the baud rate, as the rate of data
transmission. Modems manufacturers. however. talk of bits per second
(bps). Baud and bps are often taken to mean the same thing although
strictly speaking these are not the same.
5.8
The baud rate is actually defined as the number of times the carrier
signalling elements change per second. Sometimes each signal element can
carry two or more bits of information, allowing the actual information
throughput in bits per second to be faster than the baud rate.
5.8
Since it generally takes 10 bits to transmit a single character (1 start
bit, 8 data bits, and 1 stop bit) a baud rate of 2400 bps will give a
rate of 240 characters per second. If we could get rid of the start and
stop bit then the transmission rate would be correspondingly higher, by
20%. In fact, these rates are never achieved in practice because of
inefficiency of the system.
5.8
Flow control (handshaking)
5.8
Flow control, or handshaking, is required to prevent the modem or
computer from being swamped by data it cannot use. Each unit must have
some method of regulating the flow of data and sending a signal to stop
the data flow if necessary. If the available buffer space is filled with
data, any excess data will be lost.
5.8
For example, if the line is noisy and an error occurs, the data has to
be retransmitted. The flow of data must, therefore, be stopped whilst
the retransmission takes place. In fact, many of the latest modems have
automatic speed buffering, allowing different rates of data flow between
the computer and modem and the modem/modem connection.
5.8
There are two methods of flow control Ö hardware control (RTS/CTS) and
software control (Xon/Xoff).
5.8
RTS/CTS uses two of the RS232 serial lines to start and stop the flow
and can only, therefore, be used between the modem and computer. (See
later for explanation of the RS232 lines.) It has the advantage that it
is independent of the data.
5.8
Xon/Xoff control can also be used between computer and modem, and is the
most common method used between modems. In this case, the software sends
the Xoff character (ASCII code 19 or Ctrl-S) to stop the flow and Xon
(ASCII code 17 or Ctrl-Q) to start the flow. This allows control of the
data from the keyboard, but has the disadvantage that the Xon and Xoff
characters cannot be used freely in the data.
5.8
For intelligent modems with protocols such as MNP, when used by both
modems, flow control will be provided automatically between modems.
5.8
Flow control is rarely needed on a micro to micro basis because the file
transfer protocol provides for flow control. This is because it waits
for each block of data to be acknowledged before the next one is sent.
5.8
File transfer protocols
5.8
These protocols, which are controlled by software, are required to allow
transfer of files regardless of the hardware and software used. Before
the latest error-correcting modems were introduced, error correction of
various sorts were carried out in software. There was also a need for a
method of sending binary files as opposed to just text files. There are
many of these file transfer protocols available and this is yet another
variable that has to be set when setting up comms software.
5.8
All these protocols essentially use the same method. The file is chopped
up into blocks of a fixed size and start-of-block and end-of-block
markers are added, followed by a checksum. The receiving computer
calculates its own checksum and sends an acknowledgement (ACK) if the
checksums agree. This is also the signal to send the next block of data.
A negative acknowledgement (NAK) is sent if the checksum does not agree.
If NAK is sent, the data is retransmitted.
5.8
Once again, it is important that the file transfer protocol used is the
same at each end. BBS systems and your comms software will give you a
wide choice.
5.8
ASCII Ö Not strictly a protocol, but included here to point out some of
the differences. It consists of 128, 7 bit codes (0-127) representing
all the letters, numbers and some control codes. As stated earlier, many
computers implement an 8-bit set of characters. Often these are not
standard but the lowest 128 characters are always the same.
5.8
Only text files should be sent, as there is no error checking and a
minimum of flow control. Xon/Xoff being the only method available. Use
7e1.
5.8
X-Modem Ö This was developed by Ward Christensen in the late 1970æs as
one of the first public domain error checking protocols. Although fairly
primitive by todayæs standards, it is often included in comms packages
for compatibility. It uses 128 byte blocks, using half duplex mode.
Files must be a multiple of 128 bytes long. Only one file at a time can
be selected. There is also a 4 second delay (10 seconds in some relaxed
versions), before the receiving computer concludes there is an error and
sends a NAK. Error checking is by an 8 bit checksum which is not always
dependable.
5.8
X-Modem CRC Ö An improvement to X-Modem is to use a 16 bit CRC (Cyclic
Redundancy Check). It always attempts CRC first and if this is not
acknowledged, reverts to checksum error checking for the rest of the
transmission. Note that, often, X-Modem is specified when X-Modem CRC is
intended, giving rise to download faults.
5.8
X-Modem-1k Ö Essentially, this is CRC X-Modem with 1k (1024 byte)
packets. Whilst this is faster on good lines, it requires more retrans
missions on poor lines. Sometimes, X-Modem-1k is mistakenly called Y-
modem, in which case Y-Modem may be called Y-Modem (batch).
5.8
WX-Modem (Windows) Ö Most protocols divide the data to be transmitted
into Épacketsæ, which are sent one at a time. With WX-Modem, up to four
packets may be sent before any acknowledgement is required. This
minimises delays and improves throughput. The window is the number of
packets sent before acknowledgement. Not all protocols allow this and
before windowing became established, the more versatile Z-Modem was
introduced.
5.8
Y-Modem Ö This is the same as XModem-1k except that it allows multiple
files in one transfer, (sometimes known as öbatchò mode). Unfortunately,
there are many sub-variations of Y-Modem and care is needed to ensure
that the software is using the correct implementation. Not all software
follows the full Y-Modem specification.
5.8
1k blocks do speed up transmission on good lines but any error means
that the whole 1k block has to be retransmitted. So, on noisy lines,
throughput can be slower than X-Modem.
5.8
Similarly, Y-Modem also suffers from line delays whilst waiting for the
receiver to acknowledge the previous transmission and then send the next
block.
5.8
Y-Modem G Ö This was specially designed with error-correcting modems in
mind. Here the blocks are transmitted continuously, without waiting for
ACK to be sent, There is no error-correction and if any error is
detected the whole transfer is aborted. So this is a special case, used
only for hard wired connections or with error-correcting modems.
5.8
X-Modem 1k-G Ö This is a variant of X-Modem-1k, similar to Y-Modem-G in
that no error correction is provided, as it expects the modem to provide
this.
5.8
Z-Modem Ö This is the most advanced protocol, allowing multiple file
transfer. It varies the size of each block to cater for noisy telephone
lines, giving the best of possible results. Transmission is continuous,
only stopping when an error is detected. Throughput of data is much
higher than previous protocols. Interrupted transfers can be restarted,
even if you accidentally unplug the phone. 16 and 32 bit CRC checking
are provided.
5.8
Kermit Ö (Yes, named after that frog!) One of the disadvantage of the X-
Modem family of protocols is that they require a full 8 data bits per
byte. Some computers, mainly main frames, cannot handle this 8th bit,
requiring only 7 bits. They cannot cope with ASCII codes 0 to 31 and the
DEL character (ASCII 127).
5.8
Developed by Columbia University, it uses 7 or 8 data bits for transmis
sion. Kermit will convert the 8th bit when required. Long blocks (1024
bytes) can also be sent and full duplex mode is supported.
5.8
This is not a very efficient protocol but it is very often required when
talking to mainframes. It is also very good on noisy lines.
5.8
CET Ö This the standard Viewdata Telesoftware protocol designed to allow
users of Viewdata systems such as Prestel, to download the software.
5.8
CET+ is an enhanced version of CET which allows a faster transfer of
files. Your bit setting should be 7e1.
5.8
Others Protocols Ö There are many other protocols but I have just
mentioned the most common ones. Many of them are really only enhance
ments of existing ones.
5.8
CompuServe have designed a number of its own protocols such as QB and B
plus, for use on the CompuServe Information Service.
5.8
The CCITT and Bell standards
5.8
The history of modems and their standards is typical of the electronics
industry as a whole, being governed by the amount of clout a company has
and the cost of developing higher speeds and, of course, geography.
Fortunately, the latest modems conform to the CCITT standards and, as
such, are compatible with one another. The Consultative Committee on
International Telephone and Telegraph (CCITT) is the international body
that sets the standards for worldwide communication. All areas of
communications are covered, such as modulation and speed, error
correction and data compression techniques.
5.8
The other major standard is the Bell standard in the USA. A brief
description of each follows:
5.8
Bell 103 Ö This is a common standard but the slowest available in the
USA. Bell103 is not compatible with the European equivalent standard V21
and uses a different frequency for the carrier tone. Only asynchronous
transmission is supported by this standard.
5.8
Bell 212A Ö This was the second modem standard to find wide application
in the USA and is equivalent to V22.
5.8
Although Bell 212A uses the same modulation techniques as the CCITT V22
standard, the two are not compatible because of the different answering
tones used. (Bell212 sends a tone of 2225 Hz, V22 2400 Hz).
5.8
300/300 V21 Ö This is the lowest and slowest standard at 300 bps
asynchronous only, both for transmit and receive. Modulation uses the
Frequency Shift Keying (FSK) technique in which a specific tone denotes
a logical one and a second tone a logical zero. It is maintained in most
multi-speed modems for compatibility with older services.
5.8
1200/1200 V22 Ö Modulation is by Differential Phase Shift Keying (DPSK)
in which the phase of the carrier signal is shifted by any one of four
phase angles. The carrier wave can change phase up to 600 times a second
or 600 baud. Each baud can carry two bits of data, raising the through
put to twice the baud rate of 1200 bps. Transmission and reception can
be at 1200 bps, both asynchronous and synchronous. It also has a fall
back rate of 600 bps. The bandwidth of the phone line is split allowing
full duplex communication.
5.8
75/1200 V23 Ö V22 was very expensive initially, so a cheaper compromise
was introduced, giving a split standard of 75 bps transmit and 1200
receive. The 75bps back channel made it ideal for the various Viewdata
services such as Prestel. As a result, V23 is now restricted to Europe.
Any modem made with the US market in mind will almost certainly not
include this protocol.
5.8
2400/2400 V22bis Ö This is an extended version of V22 and, at 2400 bps,
is compatible with modems from the USA. Modulation is by Quadrature
Amplitude Modulation at 600 baud. This combines both phase and amplitude
modulation techniques. Because each baud represents 4 bits, the
throughput of data is increased to 2400bps for both transmit and receive
(asynchronous and synchronous). A V22bis modem when operating at 1200
bps will follow the V22 format, that is DPSK modulation, which means
that at this speed (1200 bps) the modem cannot communicate with an
American modem using the Bell 212A standard.
5.8
9600/9600 V32 Ö This is based on a modified Quadrature Amplitude
Modulation technique for data rates of 4800 bps at 2400 baud. For the
higher rate of 9600 bps, a more sophisticated modulation technique is
used, called Trellis Code Modulation (TCM). An asynchronous-to-syn
chronous converter is built into the modem, allowing asynchronous data
to enter the modem and be sent on as synchronous data. This permits full
duplex (2 way), 9600 bps asynchronous transmission to occur synchron
ously. In this instance, the two channels share the same bandwidth
whilst some clever echo cancellation techniques sort out which is
transmitted data and which is received data.
5.8
(Note that fax machines also operate at 9600 bps but have their own V
standards.)
5.8
14400/14400 V32bis Ö This extends the V32 standard to 14400 bps, whilst
allowing fall back rates of 12000, 9600, 7200 and 4800 bps. The baud
rate remains at 2400, the extra data bits being encoded by ever more
phase and amplitude changes. These phase/amplitude changes have been
squeezed so tightly together that any noise on the line could easily
mimic these changes. Error detection and correction become increasingly
important at these high speeds due to the sensitivity of the transmis
sion techniques.
5.8
Other Standards Ö There are other standards, eg V27, V29, but the
standards listed above are the most important for oneæs modems. The
accompanying table summarises the different standards.
5.8
Error correction and data compression
5.8
Error correction is required to cope with noise on the phone line,
retransmitting data that is corrupt, so that only error-free data is
sent to the terminal. Error-correcting modems work by transmitting data
in frames. Each frame consists of a header, then the data itself,
followed by the CRC error check. These extra bits of information are
called the modem overheads and are set irrespective of the length of the
data packet in the frame. If the receiving modem does not agree with the
error check, it asks for the data to be retransmitted.
5.8
The CCITT also have standards for error-correction and data compression
which are covered below. Other manufacturers also have their own
standards, some of which have become industry standards, notably MNP by
Microcom. For error-correction and compression to work, both modems at
either end of the phone link must conform to one of the standards
discussed below. Once linked together, the two modems automatically
negotiate which is the best protocol to use.
5.8
Microcom network protocol (MNP)
5.8
Microcom is a modem manufacturer who evolved a set of standards over
time, releasing some of them into the public domain in an attempt to
create the standard of the day. MNP classes 1 to 4 deal with error
control and are in the public domain, whereas classes 5 to 10 are
licensed by Microcom. Each class gives a steady improvement on the last
class but all higher classes can revert back to a lower class.
5.8
MNP Class 1 Ö This is used for error-correction only and gives the
lowest performance level. It uses asynchronous, half duplex transmis
sion, providing only about 70% efficiency, a 2400bps modem would give a
throughput of about 1700 bps. It is rarely used now.
5.8
MNP Class 2 Ö This is again used for error-correction only, using
asynchronous, full duplex transmission. It works by confirming each byte
sent, by having the receiving modem echo back each character. It is
about 85% efficient, so a 2400 bps modem would give a throughput of
about 2000bps. This class is provided in software form by The Serial
Portæs ArcTerm 7 comms package.
5.8
MNP Class 3 Ö This improves on Class 2 by using synchronous, full duplex
transmission, which improves the efficiency to about 108%, so at 2400
bps, the modem delivers about 2600 bps. This is achieved by transmitting
data in blocks without the start and stop bits, which should give an
uplift in throughput of 20%, but the modem overheads cut this down. The
computer still sends data to the modem asynchronously, but the modems
talk to each other synchronously.
5.8
MNP Class 4 Ö This is an error-correcting protocol which adds two
techniques. Adaptive Packet Assembly gives enhanced performance, on good
telephone lines, by sending larger data packets to increase throughput.
On bad lines, smaller packets are sent and although this increases the
overheads, it is better than continual retransmission because of errors.
Data Phase Optimisation reduces the modem overheads by eliminating some
of the house keeping.
5.8
Throughput is increased by up to 120% Ö 2400 bps gives 2900 bps
throughput.
5.8
MNP Class 5 Ö This class adds data compression in real time. Data is
compressed as it arrives at the modem, before transmission, and is
expanded at the other end. The amount of compression will depend on the
type of file, but it works best on plain text files giving up to 2:1
compression ratio. Based on a compression ratio of 1.6:1 throughput can
give a 200% efficiency Ö a 2400bps modem can now deliver 4800 bps. For
some files which are already compressed (Sparked!), the throughput may
actually decrease because Class 5 will expand the data, because it tries
to compress in real time rather than look at the whole file.
5.8
MNP Classes 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 Ö All these classes exist, each one an
improvement on the earlier class, but they are now mainly restricted to
MNPæs own modems.
5.8
CCITT standards
5.8
By the time the CCITT standards for error-correction and data compres
sion were ratified, MNP levels 2 to 4 had already become the industry
standard, because they had been put into the public domain. Since 1989,
the CCITT V42 standard has now become the industry norm.
5.8
V42 Ö This is the error-correcting CCITT equivalent of MNP Class 4. V42
also includes MNP Class 1 to 4 so that all MNP Class 4 modems are
compatible with V42 modems, although V42 is a marginally better
standard. At the beginning of a call, V42 modems will automatically fall
back to MNP 4 if V42 cannot be supported.
5.8
V42bis Ö This is the CCITT standard for data compression. Modems that
use V42bis also include V42, ensuring compatibility with MNP Class 4.
V42bis is more efficient than MNP Class 5, or MNP 7 but, being differ
ent, is not compatible with either. V42 is intelligent in that it
analyses the data to be sent and only compresses the data that can
usefully be compressed. Compression factors up to four times are
possible. Files already compressed are not expanded as with MNP Classá5.
5.8
Error-correction versus file transfer protocols
5.8
Herein lies some confusion Ö why have a file transfer protocol for
error-checking and an error-correcting modem? The difference is partly
historical and partly technical.
5.8
Historically, the File Transfer Protocols were developed because of the
real need for a more sophisticated error-checking system than the parity
check. This was in the days before error-correcting modems were readily
available. Even now, error-correcting modems are not cheap in the UK,
even though the prices are falling.
5.8
From the technical standpoint, error-correcting modems only provide
error-correction between the two modems. This is invisible to the user,
giving the appearance (to the user) of a perfect line. Once again it
should be noted that error-correcting modems only work if there is a
similar modem at both ends of the line. Note also that ALL information
that passes down the phone line is error-checked, not just the file
being transferred. This of course includes commands and screen data.
5.8
In fact, the early protocols such as X-Modem and Kermit, developed
before error-correcting modems, assume that the modem will not introduce
any delays. As the older protocols send smaller blocks than the modem,
the use of the modemæs error-correction can actually slow things down.
This is because the modem uses larger blocks of data, but is forced to
send smaller blocks than it is capable of, thus reducing its efficiency.
5.8
This problem can be solved if the modem can wait for several blocks to
be sent by the computer software, then send the collected blocks as a
complete package down the phone line. This is known as spoofing. (Who
invents these names?!)
5.8
RS serial interfaces
5.8
RS232 is the usual connection between modem (DCE) and computer terminal
(DTE). The interface specification allows for 25 signals to control the
flow of data. For asynchronous transmission, nine to twelve conductors
may be used. (Nine connections are used for the Archimedes, see below.)
Synchronous transmission typically require 12 to 16 conductors.
5.8
A signal is said to be ON if the pin voltage is between +3V and +15V,
and OFF if the pin voltage is between Ö3V and Ö15V. (Later specs
increased this to +/Ö25V).
5.8
The RS232 specification is now very old, and has been updated to RS423.
As long as a serial device is compatible to either, all will be well.
5.8
Modem                                    Serial Port / DTE
5.8
Power Supply    ÖÖÖÖÖ1ÖÖÖÖÖ    Earth
5.8
    ÖÖÖÖÖ7ÖÖÖÖÖ    Signal Grd
5.8

5.8
Data    <ÖÖÖÖ2ÖÖÖÖÖ)    Transmit
5.8
RTS    <ÖÖÖÖ4ÖÖÖÖÖ)    Circuits
5.8
CTS    ÖÖÖÖÖ5ÖÖÖÖ>)
5.8

5.8
Data    ÖÖÖÖÖ3ÖÖÖÖ>)    Receive
5.8
Carrier Detect    ÖÖÖÖÖ8ÖÖÖÖ>)    Circuits
5.8

5.8
Data Set Ready    ÖÖÖÖÖ6ÖÖÖÖ>)    Control
5.8
Data Term Ready    <ÖÖÖÖ20ÖÖÖÖ)    Circuits
5.8
Ring Indicator    ÖÖÖÖÖ22ÖÖÖ>)
5.8

5.8
The above diagram gives the RS232 interface layout for an asynchronous
connection. The various circuits are explained below:-
5.8
TXD Transmit Data is the actual line along which the transmitted data is
passed from computer to modem.
5.8
RTS Request To Send is a signal from computer (DTE) to modem (DCE) to
put the modem into transmit mode, ready for transmission. Prior to
sending data, the computer must have received CTS signal from the modem.
5.8
CTS Clear To Send is a signal from modem (DCE) to computer (DTE), to
indicate that the modem is ready to transmit. The CTS signal is sent
after the modem has been given a RTS signal. When the CTS signal is off,
the modem is telling the computer not to send any data.
5.8
DCD Data Carrier Detect is a signal from the modem (DCE) to computer
(DTE), indicating that a carrier tone is being received from the remote
modem. Only a set tone is received Ö no data is passed yet. The DCD
signal will also switch on the LED of the modem if so equipped. If the
LED goes out during a session, the link will be terminated due to loss
of carrier.
5.8
RXD Receive Data is the actual line along which the received data is
passed from the modem to computer.
5.8
DSR Data Set Ready is a signal from modem (DCE) to computer (DTE)
indicating that the modem is connected to the phone line and ready to
send data.
5.8
DTR Data Terminal Ready is a signal from computer (DTE) to modem (DCE)
to control the modemæs connection to the phone line. Sometimes used for
flow control, though RTS is more usual. Typically, dropping the DTR
(voltage) will cause the modem to hang up.
5.8
RI Ring Indicator indicates that the modem is receiving a call, i.e.
ringing tones. It is used by auto-answer modems, to kick-start the
computer into action.
5.8
Modem connections
5.8
Modems are usually supplied with a cable having a 25pin D connector at
each end. The Archimedes requires a 9pin female D connector similar to
the IBM AT computer. The Archimedes serial chip appears to handle the
CTS and DCD lines differently and the majority of software writers have
agreed on the wiring of the serial port shown below. Rewiring is a
relatively simple job, as the pin numbers are embossed into the plastic
support for the pins.
5.8
  Arc 9 pin                              Modem 25 pin
5.8
  1    DCD *
5.8
  2    RXD    <ÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÖ    RXD    3
5.8
  3    TXD    ÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÖ>    TXD    2
5.8
  4    DTR *    ÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÖ>    DTR    20
5.8
  5    0vs    ÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÖ    SG    7
5.8
  6    DSR    <ÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÖ    CTS    5
5.8
  7    RTS    ÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÖ>    RTS    4
5.8
  8    CTS *
5.8
  9    RI     <ÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÖ    DCD    8
5.8
The pins marked with a * should be wired together.
5.8
This is how my modem is wired and it works on my A410/1 both with and
without the PC emulator. The PC emulator notes indicate that a standard
IBM type cable will work.
5.8
Terminal emulations
5.8
So far we have looked at just transferring files but in order to talk to
any other type of computer, the keyboard of the remote computer or
terminal must be understood by the home computer and vice-versa. In
other words, our comms software must be able to emulate the other
terminal. (As seen earlier, the ASCII codes 0-127 are common to all but
the upper 128 are not). Codes for cursor control, function keys, keypad
and colour graphics codes for the screen must be interpreted correctly.
5.8
Once again, we have more variables to cope with, as there are many
different terminals to emulate.
5.8
Emulators you will come across are VT52, VT100/102, Tektronix, ANSI, and
Teletype. Prestel and other Viewdata BBS will require a viewdata
emulator. ää
5.8
Hayes command set
5.8
The commands for controlling the modem functions, developed by Hayes
Microcomputer Products, have become the de facto industry standard.
Whilst the basic Hayes command set is standard, some manufacturers have
extended the commands to allow control of the more intelligent modems.
5.8
The commands consists of the letters AT (for attention) followed by
specific codes, which can be up to 40 characters long. For example,
5.8
ATDT884105
5.8
will tell the modem: Attention, Dial Tones 884105. Hence they are
sometimes called the AT command set.
5.8
Conclusion
5.8
Here then is sufficient information for anyone to be able to pick up a
modem specification sheet and understand all the gobbledegook. It may
not have been easy reading but I hope it will prove a valuable refer
ence.
5.8
It is a sad fact of life that quad speed modems can be bought in the Far
East for about ú65, including the local telephone company approval.
Modems here in the U.K. must, of course, have the green BT sticker
before they can be connected to the BT PSTN.ááA
5.8
5.8
 SUMMARY OF MODEM STANDARDS
5.8
    Standard    Data    Transmission    Modulation
Duplex    Baud
5.8
        Rate    Technique    Technique
5.8

5.8
    Bell 103    300    Asynchronous    FSK
Half/Full    300
5.8
    Bell 212A    300    Asynchronous    FSK
Half/Full    300
5.8
        1200    Asyn/Sync    PSK
Half/Full    600
5.8

5.8
    CCITT
5.8
    V21    300    Asynchronous    FSK
Half/Full    300
5.8
    V22    600    Asynchronous    PSK
Half/Full    600
5.8
        1200    Asyn/Sync    PSK
Half/Full    600
5.8
    V22bis    2400    Asynchronous    QAM
Half/Full    600
5.8
    V23    600/75    Asyn/Sync    FSK
Half/Full    600
5.8
        1200/75    Asyn/Sync    FSK
Half/Full    600
5.8
    V32    4800    Asyn/Sync    QAM
Half/Full    2400
5.8
        9600    Asyn/Sync    TCM
Half/Full    2400
5.8
    V32bis    14400    Asyn/Sync    TCM
Half/Full    2400
5.8
5.8
Borders & Ethnic Borders
5.8
Kevin Beales
5.8
The explosion of interest in DTP work on the Archimedes and the amazing
possibilities of Impression have led to an ever increasing demand for
good graphics to meet the newly discovered potential. These two discs
are perfect for that.
5.8
Borders
5.8
Borders is crammed with over 100 different designs of frame border for
Impression II, version 2.14 being recommended. Each has been designed by
readers of öThe Archimedeanò, Computer Conceptsæ own newsletter.
5.8
Using them is simple. The procedure is outlined on page 191 of the
Impression II manual, but the disc comes complete with a 12 page booklet
which contains a step by step guide. It also illustrates each of the
borders as they appear in their directories on the disc. In addition,
full information is given as to their size, both in terms of their
relationship to the frame they enclose and in memory bytes.
5.8
The range is incredible, from simple ones such as öPhotoò, producing the
very useful effect of old fashioned photo mounts in the corner of a
frame, to elaborate combinations that allow users to create very
idiosyncratic effects as lines curl in and around each other. A
directory of historically inspired frames contains several art nouveau
and art deco examples while users wanting frames to recall the ancient
Celts, the Tudors and the Victorians will not be disappointed. Teachers
even have a directory for different school departments such as CDT,
comprising various hand tools; Art, using palettes and paint and Home
Economics, made up of cups, pans and jugs. It is useful as a source of
clip art if nothing else!
5.8
Frames are made up with bows, flowers, leaves, Greek pillars, fruit,
pins, grey tones, lines of various thicknesses and boxes of various
size. There is even one consisting of a öcut hereò type line, complete
with open pair of scissors which my son has used successfully, realising
that you donæt need to use a border on every side of a frame. Indeed one
of the joys of this disc is the ability to mix frame borders, simple
with elaborate, or to put them into !Draw and customise them to your own
design. My own favourite at the moment has got to be one of the öQuoteò
series. It consists of a thick line broken by a pair of huge speech
marks. Used above and below a quotation in a church magazine or
newsletter, it can be perfect for setting off a page of rather plain
typing. Its effect is dramatic but so simple to achieve Ö and that is
the real value of this disc. It allows the user to have that special
effect which turns amateurish DTP into something special so that it is a
disc no serious DTPer should be without and I thoroughly recommend it.
(ú15 from CC or ú14 through Archive.)
5.8
Ethnic Borders
5.8
Ethnic Borders by Wynne Croll is a similar product, a disc from 4Mation
for use with their excellent program, Poster. Of course, text and
graphics produced in Poster can be saved as Draw files and included in
Impression. This can be a simple way to create an eye-catching effect.
öChildrenæs Cornerò, for example, bent to fit the corner of a page in a
magazine or newsletter makes a dramatic statement easily identified
with, and the addition of clever borders to such effects can be the
icing on the cake. I have used the öPaper Clipò border around text
produced in Poster to provide a ömemo boardò style note of dates-to-
remember to liven up a school parentsæ newsletter.
5.8
The 43 borders on this disc have been created by New Zealander, Wynne
Croll, and many show an influence of Maori art. Others, taken from the
ancient öBook of Kellsò, are rich in interlocking Celtic curves.
5.8
The disc contains an application which, when run, provides Poster with
the Draw file information for its borders library. If this application
is opened, the draw files themselves can be seen. The disc does not come
with any kind of booklet illustrating the borders, so a utility like the
PD öDisplayò or the new öGlimpseò will be useful to check them out. Some
offer intriguing possibilities, such as öBarbò, based on barbed wire or
öCatsò, based on... cats! There are borders influenced by Indian and
medieval European art, together with 19th century English wood carving.
Some are amazingly complex, two colour designs, claiming a lot of memory
but staggering in their effect, especially when printed by laser
printer. Others are delightfully simple: a bunch of grapes hanging over
the rays of a setting (or rising) sun in the diagonal corner.
5.8
The total range of borders is more limited on this disc than the one
from Computer Concepts, but their detail is often finer and more
luxuriant. It is a specialist product but those working in fields where
there is a need for the more exotic such as book plates, mounting poetry
for framing, or the covers of magazines, etc should seriously consider
it. (Ethnic Borders is ú10 +VAT from 4Mation or ú11 through Archive.)ááA
5.8
5.8
Holed Out Compendium
5.8
Rick and Myles Thorne
5.8
This is a golf game which comes on two discs with a helpful leaflet
which gives playing guidelines, club performances from the fairway,
(very useful for total beginners) and some ideas about coping with wind,
strength and direction.
5.8
There are four skill levels: Beginner, Enthusiast, Amateur and Profes
sional. The first three categories are assisted, reducing or eliminating
the effects of bunkers, wind and the rough, but the professional
encounters all hazards.
5.8
Up to six players per round can play in a stroke play situation (with
default names synonymous with the Beatle era!) and two in a matchplay
game. Each player is easily recognised by their colourful outfits.
5.8
The first disc simply boots in the program and prompts the players to
insert a courses disc. Having done so, the player is given the choice of
receiving instructions or not. If the choice of instructions is taken,
three pages of comprehensive text, describing everything from club
selection to constructing a hole, are shown.
5.8
Instructions
5.8
Page one tells the players how to use the mouse, offering advice for
club selection, direction of play and power of shot. Players have the
ability to slice or hook a shot.
5.8
Page two describes how holes can be edited and offers two groups of
options. The first draws various objects such as fairways, water and
bunkers on the hole and the second controls the edit actions. All
actions have their own HELP text which makes playing the holes quite
straightforward. The player is told how to save the holes being played
and how to view a hole.
5.8
Page three advises how to construct a hole, mentioning some of the
drawbacks with certain designs. Having read the instructions, the player
is given the choice of playing or editing.
5.8
Editing
5.8
Six courses are available for editing and, after clicking onto one of
them, a view of each hole is shown in turn. Below the view, in the icon
bar, is a series of options which can replace existing ones. Each
obstacle can be moved about, replaced or discarded until you are
satisfied. This operation is simple because the information given is
quite comprehensive. However, we found drawing bunkers difficult and had
to reload because we were unable to escape or return to the menu.
5.8
Playing the game
5.8
Playing the game is enjoyable because of the different skill levels. A
competent player can play as a Professional against a player new to the
game who can play as a beginner or enthusiast. There are six courses to
play on and, having selected one of these, each hole can be previewed or
the game can be started immediately.
5.8
Once a game is chosen (matchplay or strokeplay), each player types in
his or her name and is given the option of playing as a left or right
hander. In some cases, it appears to be easier to play lefthanded. The
skill level is then chosen and the players are asked to agree that the
selections they have made are correct.
5.8
Each hole appears in turn, the view always being from behind the
playeræs club. A window offers choice of club and a variety of informa
tion about the hole to be played. The leaflet provided is extremely
useful for club selection.
5.8
Having chosen a club, a square cursor has to be positioned in the
direction the ball needs to be hit. Then a club power meter appears on
the screen, giving a range of power between 0 Ö 100%. This is a really
important part of playing the hole as the distance the ball travels is
dependent on the percentage level of power chosen.
5.8
The mouse is also important at this point because the player can choose
a hook (select), straight (menu) or slice (adjust) shot. The golfer
swings his club in a very relaxed style whilst the player watches
enviously at the ease at which the stroke is played. The graphics are
excellent, mimicking a golferæs movements quite realistically.
5.8
After every hole, each player is told what he has achieved for the hole
and congratulated if he has done well. Correct golfing terms are used
throughout. A score card appears, showing each playeræs score and an
invitation to continue or quit is given.
5.8
Conclusions
5.8
After an initial period of frustration, just like every golfer goes
through on a real golf course, playing the game gets easier as the skill
level of the player increases. We really liked the sound effects,
especially when the ball finally sunk into the hole.
5.8
Because there is a great variety of courses and ways of playing, plus an
opportunity to change the construction of holes whenever a change is
felt necessary, we believe that the Holed Out Compendium will keep us
amused for many hours to come. Besides, itæs much cheaper than paying
for the real thing and it can be played in comfortable surroundings, no
matter what the weather is like!ááA
5.8
5.8
Networking the School
5.8
Geoff Gates
5.8
This is not meant to be a öhow to do itò article. It is more a case of
öhow I did it and survivedò! Hopefully, this article will stir up some
correspondence on the much ignored (in Archive anyway) subject of
networking.
5.8
For some years now I have wanted to put a network into the school. The
single greatest problem has been its high cost. With the advent of a
government initiative we, like other schools, managed to buy a number
Archimedes computers which we sited in a small room converted from two
toilets next to the library and I started buying software to go with
them. (As a matter of interest there were some people who thought we
would be better off buying Amstrad WPs.)
5.8
After a very short while, it became obvious that some form of mass
storage or network was ceasing to be desirable and had become instead a
necessity! We had bought a number of software site licences and, with
the software that came with the Archimedes themselves, each machine had
8 or 9 discs by its side. One or two of the discs came in for a great
deal of use and so would crash regularly; usually when I was teaching a
more boisterous group of kids as far as possible from the computer room
and with the teacher involved being computer illiterate and probably
also anti- computers.
5.8
A hard disc in each machine was an impossible dream then. However, we
had been given a reel of network cable so I looked again at a network
option. We couldnæt afford the dedicated fileserver and the network
hardware very easily. Then Level 4 arrived. We bought a 47M SCSI hard
disc so all we needed now was the network interfaces and the Level 4
software itself. The cheapest interfaces I could find were from XOB with
an integral clock and terminator in one interface and a terminator in
another. By the time I actually started putting in the wiring,
ÉBroadcast Loaderæ was also released and I bought that as well.
5.8
When the room was originally converted, some very nice trunking was put
in on the wall to hold the mains cabling. There were two other sections
for signal cables built into the sides. Pulling the cover off was hard.
I laid the main cable around the room and put in ten outlets. For each
outlet the outer insulation and the shielding was removed from the main
cable. Then the wires inside were separated and pushed into the IDC
slots. A flying lead connected to a standard din socket screwed into the
trunking cover had its wires also pushed into the correct slots. A
screwdriver was needed to press the wires in because the cheap plastic
device I bought to do the job was useless after the first time. Putting
the trunking back together was the hardest part. I had forgotten my
rubber hammer to bang the cover home and in the end my hand felt like
cheap steak.
5.8
The computers were easily opened and the XOB interfaces were easily (but
with much sweat on brow!) pushed into the computers. The sticky labels
were pulled off the Econet sockets and the cables connected between
trunking and computers. Then I turned the network on. Econet icons
appeared on all the machines except one. Power off and a quick push on
the interface produced the icon when the power came back on. XOB had
sent the clock set to the standard Econet clock speed. A little utility
from them showed a nice healthy clock on each machine.
5.8
At this point I must tell you that XOB were very helpful, (by ringing me
back at home for half an hour and this from Scotland) going over how to
do each step. Ten Brownie points for XOB.
5.8
Installing the fileserver was RISC-OS simple. Fiddling with the boot
file was a little bit of a pain until I installed the non-standard Boot
from the user group which Acorn in inexplicable wisdom had included and
which worked perfectly. Now, at power-on or control-break, whatever
software-name you include in the Deskstart file in the Armboot appli
cation is present on all the computers around the room. Strangely
enough, however, it is faster to load only the Broadcast modules at this
stage and then load, by clicking on an applicationæs icon on all
machines simultaneously, the required application.
5.8
Any software that is to be available on the network has to be set to
public read-access (that includes Armboot). It was a very difficult
thing to believe the ease with which the whole thing was done. Apart
from physical tiredness there was none of the despair we must all know
when staring at the screen and saying öWhy, Why, wonæt you work?æ It
just worked! Next step is to extend the cabling around the whole school.
5.8
Of course that is not the whole story Ö the rest lies with other
peopleæs software or equipment. Logotronæs Numerator didnæt put its icon
on the icon bar, but if you clicked on the space on the icon bar where
the icon should have been, the programæs window opened. One or two
pieces of software are naughty and call directly to files in ADFS which
causes problems on our SCSI driven Network.
5.8
These were not big problems however; Schema on the other hand was Ö and
is! Broadcast takes some space from each machine and with that and
Schemaæs need for 640k, it wonæt even load across the network with our
1M machines. (Upgrade the memory, I hear you say.....there are now 15
unexpanded machines in the school!! Which comes first; memory or new
machines?)
5.8
Also, there is a timing error between the serial port and our Fujitsu
Postscript printer. öItæs nothing to do with us, see the Acorn/Fujitsuò
is the only answer I get. NCS and Lingenuity have offered advice but no
luck at the moment. So my serial connection is running at 2400 baud and
big pictures produce ÉComm-Erroræ nearly every time. Again I hear a cry;
öuse the parallel port connection instead.ò The printer, using the
parallel link, accepts the data then locks up until it times-out!! I
canæt be sure but I think PrinterPS doesnæt send the last command or
else it is just lost on the way! Any help here would be gratefully
received.
5.8
Apart from these, there is only one real irritation left (apart from a
mate whose school has just bought a Nexus system to go with his Econet
and another school which has bought two Laser-Direct printers) and that
is my clock speed. I have increased it to the point where the mark is
down to the minimum of 1 microsecond and the space (the information is
transmitted here) is 1.5 microseconds long. I think there will be
improvements perhaps by lengthening the space again but without being
able to see if there are any requests for repeat transmission of
individual blocks over the network I cannot tell if the system is
optimised. Anyone with an answer here?
5.8
In the long term, with their drop in cost, I will probably purchase
hard-drives for each new machine. We will buy a 200 M hard drive and
give everyone some space to save on the network as well as on their own
disc. Laser-Direct printers are a must. All I need is money. Anyone got
any cheap Archimedes? Or a couple of thousand pounds?ááA
5.8
5.8
J is Here
5.8
Glyn Emery
5.8
As reported in the April edition of Archive (5.7 p16) Kenneth Iverson,
the inventor of APL, has now come up with a new language called J, and
it is available on the Archimedes. Iverson calls J a dialect of APL; but
there are enough new features in it to justify calling it a new
language.
5.8
J uses the standard ASCII character set, taking the 30 non-alphanumeric
symbols on a standard keyboard and using them either alone or followed
by a point or a colon. In this way, it provides a richer set of
operators even than APL. Moreover most operators in J can be used either
monadically or dyadically. For instance, the circumflex ^ used dyadi
cally denotes öpowerò in J (as it does in several other languages) thus
3^4 yields 81. Used monadically, it denotes a power of e, i.e. ^1 is
2.71828. ^ with a point yields a logarithm. Thus x^.y gives the log of y
to base x. Used monadically with a point, it gives the natural log. The
öshriekò mark ! has its conventional monadic meaning of factorial. Used
dyadically, however, it gives binomial coefficients.
5.8
J goes further than APL in generalising mathematical concepts. For
instance, while ^ denotes power in the conventional sense, follow it
with a colon and it becomes extended to operators, allowing them too to
be raised to a power, i.e. to be applied a specified number of times.
Particularly useful is ^:_1 which denotes the inverse of the operator
that precedes it. ^:_2 denotes the inverse applied twice. (Note that J,
like APL, distinguishes between the operator Ö and the sign _á.)
5.8
Operators are called överbsò in J, and operands önounsò. There are also
öadverbsò (such as ^:) which modify the action of verbs, öconjunctionsò
and even ögerundsò. For instance, the conjunction & can be used to tie a
particular base to the logarithm verb so that, for instance, 10&^.
defines a monadic verb that yields common logarithms.
5.8
A particular feature of J is that it allows verbs to be combined in
interesting ways. To take a simple example, we calculate the mean of a
set of data by totalling it and then dividing by the count (or tally) of
items in the data. Thus we may define the process of calculating a mean
as (total divideby tally). Such a sequence of three verbs is known in J
as a öforkò and it is something that occurs often in mathematics.
Formally the fork (f g h) applied to a noun x is defined by:
5.8
(fx) g (hx)
5.8
In J, a verb to calculate a mean is therefore defined as follows:
5.8
mean =. (+/%#)
5.8
the slash / being an adverb that applies the + in turn to all the items
in the data, the % sign denoting ödividebyò and the hash # indicating
ötallyò.
5.8
Operating-system calls are achieved by using the symbol !: , which is
therefore called the öforeignò conjunction. The action depends on the
arguments used with it. For instance 0!:55 terminates a session, while
1!:1 followed by a file spec. reads the file as a string.
5.8
J is described by its designer as öintended for use in teaching
mathematics and related topicsò; so it should be of particular interest
to teachers and lecturers. However, it is a real programming language
that can be used with profit in a variety of applications.  J is
shareware, and it appeared on last monthæs program disc.  However, if
you send ú16 + VAT + ú3 p&p to:
5.8
    I-APL Ltd
5.8
    56 The Crescent
5.8
    Milton
5.8
    Weston super Mare
5.8
    Avon  BS22 8DU
5.8
you will get an Archimedes disc with some useful text files on it as
well as a dictionary of the language.  For an extra ú8, Iversonæs
booklet öTangible Mathò for it is also recommended.
5.8
Alternatively, you could get the PC version from I-APL.  It runs under
the emulator; but it seems a bit slow.  Moreover, the Archimedes version
permits editing with the mouse, while the PC version seems only to have
a line editor.  However, the PC version may include other things, such
as some script files (the PC equivalent of command files) that you can
use to define useful öforeignò verbs.  On boot-up, the system looks for
a script file called profile, which it automatically obeys at the start.
5.8
A word of warning, though:  nobody pretends that J is easy to learn.
This is partly because of the inherent difficulty of the concepts
involved and partly because the literature (of what little has been
produced to date) makes few concessions to the needs of ordinary
mortals. However, I can promise that anyone who makes the necessary
effort will find the experience most rewarding.ááA
5.8
We put a copy of J on last monthæs program disc, but as Jim Markland
said in his comment last month, itæs not a lot of use without the
dictionary that comes with the full package. Ed
5.8
5.8
Picture Book & Money Matters
5.8
Simon Anthony
5.8
These two packages from Triple R are aimed at early learning or learning
impaired students.
5.8
Picture Book is a set of four programs. The first offers the student a
picture to go with each alphabet letter, dog for d, cat for c, q for
queen, etc. Each picture comes with its own tune or sampled sound
effect. In this program only, the pictures can be expanded. The second
program allows matching of letter to picture, letter to letter or
picture to picture as a snap game. The third, ÉSpell Itæ tests keyboard
input until the correct letter is typed and adds it to the growing
spelling list. The last program, ÉCountæemæ does just that Ö lets you
count the number of pictures shown.
5.8
Money Matters offers students simple money maths questions asked by a
number of cartoon clowns. There are four programs ranging in order of
difficulty, coin recognition, addition, change and coin selection to
reach a given sum. Each stage can be reached from a main menu and, when
running correctly, is obvious to a student with reading ability.
5.8
The following comments may appear somewhat negative. I have not even
begun to plumb the deeper aspects of these programs as I have been put
off both program packs by irritating problems at every stage in their
use.
5.8
Picture Book in use
5.8
Firstly, there were loading problems. On my 310, with customised CMOS
ram setting, the required 640k was not available. Even altering the task
manager setting to provide enough memory did not let the program go
further than opening an error report window, with nothing in it, not
even an error report! Investigation showed that a Érun on erroræ line
was causing this hangup. Removing it showed me what the real problem
was. The program needs to run in mode 15. What a pity that the program
neither told me nor did the job itself. A readme file suggested that I
did a CMOS destroying cold reset if I had any problems in loading.
Conscientiously I did just that. Fortunately, my settings are stored in
a Basic program in my CC ROM podule, so when the program failed to start
I could easily restore my preferred settings. Many people may not have
this fall back position and would find life very tedious indeed.
5.8
Once I had selected mode 15 and juggled my mere 1M of memory around
enough to make 640k available, the program did run at last. Not a very
good start.
5.8
Keyboard problems
5.8
Triple R Education think that the qwerty keyboard layout is confusing
for early learning students. They are right. However, to turn the
keyboard into one with an alphabetical layout is, I think, storing up
trouble for the future. One of the most annoying things I remember from
my school days is learning one way of working only to be told that it
was wrong. I would far rather have been told the truth to start with. As
it was, I learned not to believe my teachers.
5.8
As I have indicated, the program comes with two Érevolutionary over
laysæ. There is one with the qwerty keys replaced with alphabetical
ordering. I strongly advise students and teachers alike to avoid its use
at all times (although Money Matters can only be used with the overlay).
The other overlay gives the qwerty keys the same lower case type face as
used in the program. The mechanical aspects of the overlay are probably
of high quality as they say Ö although I managed to accidentally damage
it easily Ö it is the concept to which I take exception.
5.8
The first menu screen gives as option 5 the legend É5 Qwerty Keysæ. This
makes me think the program is already running in Alphabet mode. It is
not. Pressing this button changes the legend to read É5 Alphabet modeæ
(or some such). The keys just donæt work! Very odd. I think that the
menu sense is reversed on this sample copy.
5.8
Once it was running...
5.8
There is no help in learning alphabet order and nor does the program
show any upper case letters. The thin plastic overlay only shows lower
case letters to make things simple but they are arranged Éabcde...æ
rather than qwerty. There is no lower case qwerty overlay.
5.8
By this time I was feeling pretty fed up with it. One of my students
loves the program and plays it incessantly (annoying the rest of the
group as the sound cannot be turned off or quietened as far as I can
see). However, it cannot be written off!
5.8
Money Matters in use
5.8
Money Matters came with a detached disc cover. Again this fault was
trivial but unless you can work out what to do the program could be
classed as rubbish at first sight as accidentally touching the perma
nently open disc window would have destroyed the data. Again, not a good
start.
5.8
Worse was to come. Initially, I could not get past the first two
introductory screens. The keys acted either sluggishly or not at all.
Further investigation showed that the program will only go any further
with the keyboard overlay. This is a great disadvantage despite the
seeming ease with which the overlay can be mounted and removed. I
managed to get it wrong first time and damaged the plastic getting it
right. Once I was pressing the right keys I had to take the overlay off
again to find the reason for another problem. The second screen took me
back to the first, perhaps because of another Érun on erroræ program
line.
5.8
That turned out to be a lack of sprite memory. If you are running the
program on a 2M machine there will be no problems but, with only 1M, the
default setup does not leave enough memory to enter the required mode 15
in the first place. Money matters does at least tell you that mode 15 is
needed rather than just hanging up in the error window saying nothing.
Why canæt it also tell you about sprite memory? There is a most useful
Memalloc module available these days which is very easy to fit into any
program.
5.8
Once it was running...
5.8
The questions are shown pictorially and are pleasantly animated although
it looks as if a BBC B could handle the graphics. The ubiquitous Triple
R keyboard overlay is the only way to use this program as areas of the
keyboard rather than specific keys are used to select coin denomina
tions. The screen representations of the coins themselves bare little
resemblance to the real thing which robs the concept of a lot of
potential value in my mind.
5.8
Itæs not all bad!
5.8
A great deal of effort has been put into both these sets of programs. It
is very unfortunate that many users with only 1 Mbyte are likely to send
back their discs as being faulty due to poor documentation and mislead
ing information in the readme files.
5.8
I feel that I cannot do justice to the actual working or value of either
of these programs because of the problems I have mentioned. In my view
both are basically good in concept but have been let down by poor
implementation.ááA
5.8
5.8
FunSchool 3 (Under 5æs)
5.8
Bob and Lisa Ames
5.8
Our first encounter with the FunSchool series was via a friendæs
purchase of FunSchool 2. We didnæt buy our own, and the loan copy was
soon returned! It was notable for its jerky graphics and annoying little
foibles; such as games which needed a very high degree of accuracy when
moving things, e.g. letters, shapes, etc.
5.8
Let me say that the FunSchool 3 (under 5æs) set of six games is much
better Ö three year old Lisa found out about the control keys before I
could read the manual!
5.8
There are six programs on the disc: Gallery where titles or captions
have to be put under pictures; Actions in which Teddy acts to your
command, sitting or playing or dancing; Counting Ö count the items
correctly and Teddy climbs stairs to honey; Painting where the farm
appears when you choose the colours for each bit; Matching which
provides a series of coloured shapes to be matched and teddy climbs a
tree; and Letters where large letters have to be matched to a choice
from the alphabet.
5.8
I maintain that any program should be self explanatory, especially
considering the age range for which it is intended. It seems a waste of
technology and/or manpower to have a teacher stand over the monitor
explaining things that should have become clear from the program itself.
I feel that youngsters cannot easily follow someone else using a
computer Ö it is far better to work things out individually and to ask
for help when needed. That, at least, is how things tend to run at City
University, where I run the Music Deptæs Recording Studios and Computer
Composition Workstations; the principle is one of learning by doing.
5.8
I normally obey Techno-Law Prime Directive, öOnly at the last resort
read the manualò. Well, running the risk of a midnight visit from the
TechnoTroops, for this review you understand, I did read the manual; it
showed how simple things could be Ö a very few controls; just the space
bar to move things about, or the mouse buttons; arrows for placing and
<return> for confirmation. <F10> changes the level of the current game.
5.8
Most of the manual is devoted to teachersæ notes, i.e. possibilities for
expanding on the games outside the computer environment. I think this
section is quite useful but it is a shame that we have to start talking
about paper or card and pens, rather than staying within the computer. A
set of tools could have been provided so that the extra activities
suggested could all be done within the computer; the cards for Snap, the
letter grid with large and small versions of letters; these should all
have been available within the realm of the computer.
5.8
I somehow object to the All-Types-Of-Computer manual. It seems that it
is too expensive to print an Archimedes-only version and we are treated
to a loose leaf after-thought insert which tells us to pretend we have a
Atari ST and follow the ST instructions Ö with one exception; but I have
10 Atari STs at work and that is why I chose an Archimedes for myself!
Surely for the purchase price, it would not have been too much trouble
to print an exclusive version for the Archimedes? If economy were really
needed, perhaps money could have been saved by using smaller packaging Ö
Lisa was quite disappointed by the contents of ösuch a big box on the
outside with so little insideò.
5.8
While on the subject of documentation, I object to being congratulated
by the guarantee card for buying öthe most impressive educational
software ever, at a very reasonable priceò Ö even if I did, it isnæt! I
also wondered why the phone help line is only available during BTæs peak
charging time (9 to 11 am) but then again, have you ever tried to
contact Database by phone? Not a process to be undertaken in less than
half a day!
5.8
There is one oddity, after using the mouse for other educational
programs, e.g. the brilliant Craftshop, the mouse buttons are far too
sensitive. Despite being quite adept with Craftshop, which I consider
needs a careful hand, Lisa seems quite unable to move one space at a
time with the mouse buttons in FunSchool 3 Ö (even I canæt with any
degree of accuracy). I think there should be a facility which allows
auto repeat setting to be changed (and restored after the game is exited
in orderly fashion), or the mouse withdrawn from action altogether Ö
although that would be a backwards step! The earlier games in the series
use the mouse quite effectively, so I consider these should too.
5.8
Here is a cute idea Ö the Counting game shows an example of the things
to be counted in the bottom corner, for those who havenæt yet mastered
the art of reading; I think this principle should have been applied to
the Painting game; we had great fun with this with yellow sheep and blue
cows, but Lisa couldnæt read the on-screen questions Ö öWhat colour do
you want the sheep?ò and had to refer to me all the time Ö a small
picture of the next object to the drawn and painted would have been
useful.
5.8
I use the above interruptions as an excuse for the evident lack of order
in this review Ö written on a Z88 while Lisa plays on the Archimedes.
5.8
The Counting game rewards a correct sequence of counting with Teddy
taking another step up the stairs to the honey. Any wrong answer should
result in a new series of questions being started but, as it is, the
program goes on and asks the rest of the questions, so the child can
forget that a wrong answer has been given and wonders why the reward
isnæt forthcoming.
5.8
The usual Teddy rewards for correct choices apply to most of the games,
Teddy gets an ice cream if you choose the right letter, or if you match
the pairs of shapes, he climbs further up the tree, etc. (A neat little
addition, in the Matching game, is that he peeps sideways from the tree
Ö but you will have to be quick to spot him!) A ösad soundò is the
response to a wrong choice and Teddy doesnæt get the reward.
5.8
To rectify one of the deficiencies of Fun School 2, the positioning of
the captions in Gallery needs only a rough accuracy. This is because, as
soon as the caption is positioned with the arrow keys, mostly over the
target, the site greys out and so the caption is placed automatically
when <return> is pressed. The previous version of the ömoving gameò
(where a box had to be filled with shapes) needed a very much greater
accuracy, which was all but impossible for a little hand.
5.8
However, a little more thought would have shown that students are being
taught mouse control more and more; most öproperò computers are supplied
with a mouse now, so why use the arrow keys? For an Archimedes product,
the set of six programs seem oddly incoherent with their use of the
controls.
5.8
Minor grumbles: in the Matching game it is OK to use <return> to choose
the second matching one of the pair, but the first one (the one to be
matched to) should be selected automatically. Also, the öselection boxò
round the current selection is different for first and second choices Ö
one solid square boundary and one dotted boundary. This makes the
selected boxes look quite different. This even confused Granny who was
visiting!
5.8
Judging by Lisaæs progress, Letters seems to be pitched well down the
age range, probably two to three, while Actions requires reading skills
around four years; but the actions shown probably would not interest an
older child. The other sections all seem aimed at 3 years or so.
5.8
Actions progresses in level 4 onto a house building stage for Teddy but
that required a higher degree of reading skill than Lisa currently has,
so that required me to do all the work, matching current actions with
written descriptions correctly to get another piece built. No doubt Lisa
will be able to get that section öunder her beltò soon. This at least
gives some long term life to the product.
5.8
One last point Ö as Lisa can now one-finger-type easily, it would have
been nice for her to input her choice, e.g. of matching letter, or
number of teddies, etc by keyboard Ö but perhaps a later program in the
series will do enable her to do that.
5.8
Conclusion
5.8
Generally, a good suite of programs Ö a vast improvement on the last
time I saw FunSchool. A few minor grumbles could be cleared up and it is
only just worth ú25 (but then I consider all commercial software
expensive). Unfortunately, we have not had the programs long enough to
say anything about their long term attractiveness.ááA
5.8
5.8
Fun School 3 (Over 7æs)
5.8
Sarah Brown
5.8
The Fun School series of programs is probably the best selling and most
popular collection of educational games. The new release Fun School 3
package for the over 7æs priced at ú24.99 from Database Publications (or
ú23 from Archive) will only help to retain this prestigious reputation.
The package is comprised of a registration card, instruction manual,
badge and program disc. The disc is not copy protected and easily
installs on a hard disc.
5.8
The package contains six programs, four of which are educational games;
planetary maths, sentences, word search and treasure search. The other
two programs are educational utilities; database and robot draw. The
manual is concise with easy to follow instructions, though not specific
to the Archimedes. It includes notes for parents and teachers in
relation to the National Curriculum. The programs are so diverse that I
shall comment on each separately.
5.8
Planetary Maths involves solving sums before they hit a spinning force
field. With 5 levels of difficulty, young children and adults will be
challenged to produce the highest score before their Éenergy reservesæ
are depleted. The similarity to many arcade games encouraged my
volunteers to keep trying to achieve a place on the Éhigh scoreæ table.
5.8
Sentences tests traditional English language skills of spelling,
punctuation and grammar. This program was surprisingly popular. The
robot character, common to all the programs, prompts with clues when
necessary. It is possible to create new sentences for custom-designed
mistakes.
5.8
Word Search is similar to word square puzzles found in many magazines.
As the grids are created each time the game is played, the same word
lists provided can be used again and again. Word lists can be amended,
however, and new ones created, those given containing 150 of the most
commonly mis-spelt words.
5.8
Treasure Search is a game that introduces ideas of relative distances
and directions. An optional timer adds a competitive element to what is
basically just a list of instructions to follow. These are important
concepts, especially in the classroom, but once the ideas of scale,
compass direction and angles of rotation are mastered, there is little
left to inspire in this game, even with a variety of backgrounds
provided. It does however prove a good introduction to Robot Draw.
5.8
A dancing robot öRobieò provides reward and failure responses for these
games and for previous Fun School collections. The facilities for
teacher / parent input are good. The sound and graphics are much
improved from Fun School 2 and all the software seems much less
cumbersome.
5.8
The final two programs really provide value for money and because they
are part of a games package, may well be used more than if provided
separately.
5.8
Robot Draw is a version of the popular educational programming language
Logo. It is not just another drawing program but provides an excellent
introduction to programming, as each line, movement or colour used in
the pictures represents a line of program.
5.8
Using a series of commands, a Éturtleæ pointer is moved around the
screen. A record command allows you to repeat a set of commands as a
Émacroæ subroutine, and thus complex programs can be built up. With
help, a child can be taught how to plan and then build a program.
Samples are provided for children to examine how these macros have been
constructed. This is not a game and the conversion of a drawing into
lines of programming is quite a difficult concept to grasp. Results are
slow, so guidance and encouragement should be given to stimulate the
child especially if the program is used away from the classroom.
5.8
Database provides an introduction to one of the most important uses of
computers. The National Curriculum, in Information Technology, states
that pupils should be able to öinsert and amend information in a
computer databaseò and öuse software... ...so that data can be captured,
stored and retrieved.ò This program provides a simple environment in
which to store, sort alphabetically and search in information files.
Eight sample files are provided and playing with these is perhaps the
best tutorial in constructing a personal database. The Europe file
contains lots of information on languages, currencies, population and
capital cities and is a valuable resource by itself. A test option is
also included for both the Fun School and any newly constructed
databases. This widens the scope of the program and helps teach the use
of a database but, for stand-alone quiz production, would be rather
contrived!
5.8
Conclusion
5.8
The program set would be most useful in a primary school classroom or a
home where it would offer a wide range of activities from solo games
playing to a class exercise and all for the price of some short lived
games! I think this will prove just as popular as its Fun School
predecessors.ááA
5.8
5.8
Power Search: A Quiet AI Revolution Ö Part 2
5.8
Michael Houlder
5.8
(If you find the following article a bit hard going, donæt give up.
Instead, read the last paragraph and it might give you the necessary
incentive to Égo through the pain barrieræ and make it to the end with
an increased knowledge of the scope and potential of power searching.
Ed.)
5.8
!SrcEdit is a new version of the desktop text editor, !Edit, and is
supplied as part of the new Desktop Development Environment (DDE). It
provides a new search and replace function and is now as powerful as
Twin, the original Archimedes text editor. In its search algorithm, it
is at least comparable with its Unix forbears: e.g. LEX, a compiler
front end and lexical analyser, GREP a string finding tool, etc.
5.8
The intention of this article, as a whole, is to identify why the
function is so powerful and to suggest ways in which the power can be
used effectively. This identification and utilisation of the power are
not easily achieved. The extent to which I have succeeded is due to the
needs of programming my own emulation of the function. I have written a
compiler for a simple structured language which has, as its basic
expressions, the same symbol sequences as the !SrcEdit function. The
compiler will be released shortly and will, perhaps, make the function
discussed here more widely available and used.
5.8
Closer to the meaning of data
5.8
The search and replace function is directed primarily, but not exclu
sively, to the manipulation of ASCII text data files. These are
described as being without structure. This means that the meaning of the
data is carried through words and by patterns of words; a medium which
can be understood everywhere.
5.8
Structured data carries a meaning only through the imposition of an
arbitrary regularity. This has significance only for the specific
algorithms to which the structures correspond.
5.8
Search pattern sequences match word patterns in ASCII data. Since no
arbitrary structure exists in the data, the search patterns must express
directly the meaning that the user intends. Algorithm-driven compromise
is avoided.
5.8
For this reason, once people have come to grips with the initial
complexity or are fluent in the language, powerful programs are easy to
write.
5.8
Formal search pattern grammar
5.8
In part 1 of this article, last month, I described the interface
provided by !SrcEdit and loosely defined the grammar of the search
pattern language. Just as an English sentence is valid and carries a
near-unambiguous meaning, if it is constructed in agreement with English
grammar rules, so a search pattern sequence is valid and carries an
unambiguous interpretation, if it is constructed strictly in agreement
with the following grammar rules:
5.8
Å    A search sequence is a number, greater than 0, of search components
set together in a sequence or list, at least one component of which is
not a É0áorámoreæ repetition.
5.8
Å    A search component is one of: a specific character, a specific string,
a set of characters or a repetition.
5.8
Å    A specific character is any character that is not a search pattern
control symbol unless it has been normalised by the normal operator.
5.8
Å    A specific string is any string composed of specific characters put
together.
5.8
Å    A set of characters is either a pre-defined set or a user-defined set.
5.8
Å    A repetition is a repetition control symbol followed by either a
specific character or a set of characters.
5.8
Å    A user-defined set is either a bracketed set or a negated set.
5.8
Å    A search pattern control symbol is one of: a pre-defined set symbol, a
set construction symbol, a repetition control symbol or a character
operator.
5.8
Å    A pre-defined set is one of the four symbols: É.æ, É$æ, É@æ, É#æ.
Respectively, these are named for interpretation purposes as: Éanyæ,
Énewlineæ, Éalphanumæ and Édigitæ.
5.8
Å    A set construction symbol is one of the four symbols: É[æ, É]æ, É~æ,
Éæ-. Respectively, these are named as: Éleft setæ, Éright setæ, Énotæ
and Étoæ.
5.8
Å    A repetition control symbol is one of the three symbols: É*æ, É^æ,
É%æ. Respectively, these are named as: É0áorámoreæ, É1áorámoreæ and
Émostæ.
5.8
Å    A character operator is one of the three symbols: É\æ, É|æ, É!æ.
Respectively, these are named as: Énormalæ, Écontrolæ and Éhexæ
operators. They are not part of the search sequence themselves. They
change the status of the character or characters that follow them,
either by normalising search pattern control characters or by re-coding
hexadecimal or non-printable ASCII values. !SrcEdit uses a non-printable
graphics symbol instead of É!æ.
5.8
Å    A bracketed set is a combination of character lists and character
ranges put together in any order between a Éleft setæ bracket and a
Éright setæ bracket.
5.8
Å    A character list is a list composed of characters that are not set
construction symbols unless they are normalised or out of context. For
instance, in ö[abc[d]ò, the second É[æ cannot be Éleft setæ and is,
therefore, out of context. Again in ö[-xyz]ò, Éæ- cannot be the range
symbol Étoæ.
5.8
Å    A character range is a list of three characters with the middle one
being the Étoæ symbol and the outer two being characters that are not
set construction symbols unless they are normalised or out of context.
The outer two are not required to be in any order; i.e. ö[a-t]ò is
equivalent to ö[t-a]ò.
5.8
Å    A negated set is the set construction symbol Énotæ followed by either
a specific character, a pre-defined set symbol or a bracketed set. Such
a component may not be null; ö~.ò is excluded.
5.8
Å    For no good reason, !SrcEdit excludes the repetition ö%.ò. As this
component is important, standing for öthe rest of the fileò, my compiler
supports it.
5.8
This completes the definition of a search pattern sequence. Using the
interpretation rules listed at the end of part 1, we can translate such
a sequence into a simpler form composed of just fixed and variable
length elements.
5.8
However, we must first see how the replacement part of the search and
replace function allows experiments to be made to discover these
interpretation rules.
5.8
Replace pattern language
5.8
The search and replace function works with three patterns. The search
pattern is defined by the search sequence. The search mechanism finds a
data pattern which matches the search pattern. The replace mechanism
uses the match found together with the replace pattern to make a
replacement string which can be used to replace the particular data
pattern. A replace pattern is defined by a language of replace sequences
in a similar way to search patterns.
5.8
The strength of the !SrcEdit replace mechanism is that it allows the
selective use of parts of the match actually found. Some of the search
components are fixed and any match for these is known beforehand, but
others are not fixed Ö such as repetitions or sets. These components
give a choice. What corresponds to them cannot be known until a
particular match is made. They are described as being ambiguous.
5.8
For instance, the search sequence öa~[bùd]efg *.^hò has five components;
in order, these are: specific character, negated set, specific string,
É0áorámoreæ repetition, and É1áorámoreæ repetition. The specific
character, Éaæ, and the specific string, öefgò, are fixed; but the
negated set, ö~[bùd]ò, and the repetitions, ö*.ò and ö^hò, are
ambiguous.
5.8
The replace sequence can refer to ten of the actual values corresponding
to these ambiguous components by using replace components, called
numbered fields, numbered from 0 to 9.
5.8
The replace sequence can refer to the whole of the match actually found
using a component called the Éfound stringæ. Additionally, specific
characters and strings can be used together with Énewlineæ and the
character operators from the search pattern language.
5.8
Formal replace pattern grammar
5.8
A replace sequence is valid if it is constructed in agreement with the
following grammar rules:
5.8
Å    A replace sequence is a number, greater or equal to 0, of replace
components set together in a sequence or list.
5.8
Å    A replace component is one of: a specific character, a specific
string, a newline, a numbered field or a found string.
5.8
Å    A specific character is any character excluding three: É$æ, É?æ, É&æ,
unless they have been normalised by the normal operator.
5.8
Å    A specific string is any string composed of specific characters put
together.
5.8
Å    A newline is the replace control symbol É$æ.
5.8
Å    A numbered field is the replace control symbol É?æ followed by a
single decimal digit, É0æ to É9æ.
5.8
Å    A found string is the replace control symbol É&æ.
5.8
This completes the definition of a replace pattern sequence. The replace
pattern language and the replace mechanism are substantially simpler
than those for the search function on its own.
5.8
Experimental method
5.8
Interpretation for a replace pattern means determining the replacement
string which is created for any match between a search pattern and a
data pattern. The replace language is simple. So, given a match, replace
interpretation is easy and straight forward. Relying on this ease,
interpretation can be stood on its head to find, by using the replace
ment string, how data and search patterns match.
5.8
When the way particular search and data patterns match is known,
generalisations can be made and tested. These are then expressed as
rules such as the interpretation rules of part 1 of this article.
5.8
A search-replace pattern example
5.8
The above gives an outline of the experimental method used both to
produce and to justify the interpretation rules given in part 1. I wonæt
go any further into this matter now except to give an example which
illustrates why the following rule is justified:
5.8
Å    Any combination of É0áorámoreæ components matches by filling in from
the left.
5.8
Let ö*[ab]*[bc]*[cd]endò be a search sequence. It has four components;
in order: É0áorámoreæ repetition of the user-defined set ö[ab]ò,
É0áorámoreæ repetition of the set ö[bc]ò, É0áorámoreæ repetition of the
set ö[cd]ò and the specific string öendò.
5.8
Let öaaabbbcccendò be a data pattern which matches this search pattern.
5.8
Let ö?0/?1/?2/ò be the replace sequence. So, ö?0ò will take the value
matched by ö*[ab]ò; ö?1ò by ö*[bc]ò and ö?2ò by ö*[cd]ò.
5.8
The replacement string generated in these circumstances is öaaabbb/ccc//
ò. Now, the questions settled by this experiment are:
5.8
Å    Should öbbbò, part of the data pattern, go with ö*[ab]ò or with
ö*[bc]ò? The left search component of the two takes it as shown by the
replacement string.
5.8
Å    Should öcccò go with ö*[bc]ò or with ö*[cd]ò? Again, the left search
component of the two takes it; even leaving any match with ö*[cd]ò
empty.
5.8
Experience of examples like this causes a generalisation to emerge. Once
it has emerged, further work must be done. Firstly, it should be made as
precise as possible. Secondly, it should be tested; perhaps by an
analysis of boundary conditions. Those readers who have either Twin or
!SrcEdit might possibly enjoy completing this process as an exercise!
5.8
A simpler search pattern language
5.8
Search sequence components are either fixed or variable in length. That
is, the possible data patterns that can match them are fixed or variable
in length.
5.8
The search component öcò can only be matched by the data pattern öcò of
length 1. Similarly, the component öabracadabraò is of fixed length 11.
The set components ö@ò and ö[abcd]ò are of length 1. These are all of
fixed length.
5.8
However, the component ö*aò can match data patterns: öò, öaò, öaaaaò and
so on. This, and the other repetition components, are of variable
length.
5.8
The first interpretation rule listed in part 1 says, in effect, that the
É1áorámoreæ repetition is redundant. It can always be replaced by a
fixed component of length 1 followed by a É0áorámoreæ repetition. i.e.
ö^xò can be rewritten as öx*xò.
5.8
The second interpretation rule says that any Émostæ repetition, NOT the
final component in a sequence, is equivalent to a É1áorámoreæ repeti
tion. Hence, it is redundant with the given exception.
5.8
Taking a final Émostæ component as a special case, the only variable
component is a É0áorámoreæ repetition.
5.8
A fixed component is either a specific character, a specific string or a
character set. The character set will be ambiguous by offering choice
but is still of fixed length. Any number of these fixed length compo
nents set next to each other still give a pattern of fixed length. So
consecutive fixed components can be combined into one of a new type of
fixed component.
5.8
Thus, a search pattern sequence can be translated into a number of new
fixed components in a list. Each fixed component has at least one
variable component between itself and the next fixed component.
5.8
A picture of the new form might be of a spring or a concertina. The
fixed components are the end and intermediate frames of the concertina.
The variable length components are the bellows between the frames. The
new form, as well as being simple, makes it easier also to program the
search function.
5.8
A guaranteed match
5.8
Look at the search sequence östart*.finishò. It has two fixed components
separated by the variable ö*.ò. The data patterns this will match
include: östartfinishò, östartxxx xxx xxxxfinishò and so on. The
variable component could be equated with the English phrase ödonæt
careò. No matter how far away the word öfinishò is from östartò, no
matter what there is between, the search pattern will match.
5.8
Once östartò is found, the maximum possible match for ö*.ò is also known
Ö in this case, the whole of the rest of the file. If a match for the
fixed component, öfinishò, occurs anywhere within the range of this
maximum, then there is a match for the whole search pattern from östartò
to this occurrence of öfinishò.
5.8
The meaning of individual variable components is clear. Hence, given a
starting point for the match, it is clear what the maximum match for any
single variable component can be.
5.8
Knowing this and the result discussed in the section öA search-replace
pattern exampleò, we know how to find the maximum possible match for any
number of combined variable components: Accumulate the maximum match for
each component in turn, working from the left.
5.8
Let f1v1v2v3f2 be a search sequence translated into the new form with f1
and f2 standing for combined fixed components and with v1, v2, v3
standing for some variable components. Then the following guarantee can
be proved.
5.8
Following on in the data from a starting match for f1, if there is a
match for f2 at some point anywhere within the range of the maximum
match of the combined variable components v1v2v3, then a match can be
found for the whole sequence from the start up to this point.
5.8
What this means is that the image of a spring or a concertina is a good
one. They both can be squeezed in and out up to some maximum limit and
they can rest at any point in between.
5.8
The concertina image is better as it fits better with there being more
than just two fixed components. But then the question rises: where do
the concertina frames rest when there are many intermediate positions
for them to do so? This brings us to a discussion of search algorithms
and of back-tracking tree searches.
5.8
LEX against !SrcEdit
5.8
Take the search sequence öbegin*.endò and the data pattern öbegin end
end endò. The LEX algorithm will match the search pattern from the
öbeginò until the third öendò; i.e. it matches the variable component
ö*.ò onto the string öáend endáò. An unlikely intention! Try the GNU
version of LEX from David Pilling or read p.129 of the Sun Unix
documentation for LEX.
5.8
This suggests that LEX finds the limit of the maximum match for the
variable component and works backwards from there looking to find the
first match for the following fixed component öendò. This appears to be
a search algorithm that gives priority to variable components and uses
these to determine how to match a subsequent fixed component. We can
call this approach the method of maximum lookahead.
5.8
!SrcEdit, on the other hand, matches the variable component onto the
single character string ö ò and ends the match with the first öendò.
This algorithm gives priority to the subsequent fixed component. From
the start, it finds the first match for the subsequent fixed component.
It need only check that this occurrence is within range of the maximum
match of the intermediate variable components. If this is the case,
then, by the guarantee given in the previous section, there exists a
match for the whole sequence.
5.8
The !SrcEdit approach is preferable. It gives the first of all possible
matches and is exhaustive of all possible matches when back-tracking is
added. Secondly, since the match for a subsequent fixed component is
made first, the pattern ö*.ò can be properly translated as ödonæt careò.
The alternative with LEX is a laborious enumeration of the ödonæt careò
states. The pattern programmer has to concentrate very hard about what
is ödonæt careò; a practical contradiction! LEX has compromised any
opportunity of natural pattern programming with its own implementation
needs.
5.8
Back-tracking tree search
5.8
!SrcEdit is substantially better but is apparently not consistent when
there is more than one group of variable components. I was not able to
generalise a single search algorithm that agreed with all the examples
tested. There is need both for a single algorithm and for one that has a
very clear intuitive model. The best fit to !SrcEdit that met these
conditions was a back-tracking tree search algorithm.
5.8
Take the search sequence öbegin*.at*.at*~tendò and the data pattern
öbegin at at at endò. The search sequence has more than one group of
variable components. The three groups, each containing just one variable
component, are separated by the two öatò fixed components. The match
with the data pattern will be used to show what I mean by back-tracking
and also the divergence shown by !SrcEdit.
5.8
The scope or maximum range of the first two variable components goes to
the end of the data. So, working from the left and taking each fixed
component in turn, the first two öatò strings of the search pattern
match with the first two öatò strings of the data.
5.8
However, the maximum range for the third variable component now goes
only as far as the Éaæ of the third öatò, since it excludes the
character Étæ. The range does not include the string öendò. Hence there
is no match for the final fixed component and the whole match must fail.
However, there is more than one match choice for each öatò in the search
sequence. An Éintelligentæ algorithm will attempt to recover from
failure by examining these other choices.
5.8
If the first data öatò is chosen for the first search öatò, there are
two choices for the second search öatò. If the second data öatò is
chosen instead, there is just one choice for the second fixed component.
If, however, the third data öatò is chosen, there is no choice for it.
That the choices for the second fixed component are dependent on the
choices for the first indicates that a tree algorithm is appropriate for
examining other choices.
5.8
Starting from the root of the tree at the top, the labels of the
branches show the choices of data string made to match with the search
sequence fixed components. The levels correspond to the search sequence
fixed components in the order given. The subscripted öatò strings refer
to the choice of 1st, 2nd or 3rd öatò in the data pattern.
5.8
Both the outer paths end in an X. This says that with the choices shown
on the paths, the match has failed. The two inner paths end in OK and
both result in matches. Of the two successful paths, the one on the left
corresponds to a back-tracking algorithm; while the one on the right
shows the choices made by !SrcEdit.
5.8
A back-tracking algorithm, making a leftmost choice each time, will
first try the outside path on the left. It will fail and will recover to
the last node before the failure at level 2 and try again. In this case,
there is only one further choice at that node, labelled öat3ò. The
algorithm will take that choice and succeed.
5.8
!SrcEdit will take the same outer left path and will fail. However, it
appears that !SrcEdit, when confronted with failure, recovers to the
root of the tree and takes the next available choice from there at level
1 which is labelled öat2ò.
5.8
The danger is that a match has been missed by !SrcEdit. The back-
tracking method, however, finds it. Indeed, if it had continued failing,
it would recover backwards from node to node right up to the root of the
tree and would eventually cover all possible matches.
5.8
If a tree has some nodes or levels with many choices or branches leading
off them, a leftmost selection of the next available choice, as shown
here, requires a great deal of processing time and may be inefficient.
In these cases, it is useful to have some rules of thumb to help make
the best choice depending on the circumstances and not to stick to a
rigorous leftmost choice. Such rules are called heuristics. A null
heuristic corresponds to the rigorous leftmost choice.
5.8
!SrcEdit sometimes shows a back-tracking capability rather than choosing
a whole new path each time a path fails. For this reason, and because of
the need to use a clear intuitive model, my compiler uses a back-
tracking tree search algorithm with a null heuristic.
5.8
In a third and final instalment of this article, I will show some of the
practical applications of this approach of pattern programming. Using
the DDE and with the aid of a compiler such as mine, I will show how
simple, effective filter programs can be built. One example will be a
filter to list all the styles used in an Impression document.ááA
5.8
5.8
Hawk V9 Upgrade
5.8
Michael Carter
5.8
Wild Vision have released another version of the !Fastgrab software
which accompanies the Hawk V9 colour digitiser. A description of the
original software and hardware appeared in Archive 3.7 p13. This is a
look at the differences from the earlier Fastgrab v.1.21 and the new
v.1.43, which also incorporates an improved version of ChangeFSI
(v.0.82). The hardware platform used for the review was an Archimedes
410 (upgraded to 4M) with an ARM2.
5.8
Software
5.8
!Fastgrab is the desktop application which protects the user from the
hardware. The core part though is ChangeFSI, which is the work horse of
so many graphic applications, of which more later. Also provided by the
driver module in ROM is a suite of seven SWI calls for those masochists
who wish to bypass Fastgrab and construct their own applications.
5.8
Fastgrab
5.8
Upon loading Fastgrab, the first noticeable feature is the pretty new
icon on the icon bar, that of a camcorder. At last, the whole machine
does not freeze if no composite PAL signal is present. Once the video
source is functioning correctly, the same style window opens showing the
live display. All the old menu options from this window are still
incorporated along with some new additions. These are...
5.8
Å    New frame size and live size windows of 64╫32 pixels and Single Field
even or odd.
5.8
Å    The new frame and live size gave much faster updates but were much too
small to be of much use. As before, the 512╫256 pixel live frame still
takes too long to update, perhaps my fault for being ARM3-less.
5.8
The Single Field option enables one field of an interlaced video frame
to be grabbed. The object of this is to avoid the Évibratingæ effect, as
Wild Vision call it. One hazard has been that straight lines as in the
edges of buildings sometimes came out with serious öjagsò. This new
option helps to overcome this and is an extremely worthwhile option to
experiment with.
5.8
ChangeFSI 0.82
5.8
This is the where the real improvements lie, with the original options
much improved, and some new ones Ö precise matching, disable dithering,
brighten picture, black correction and gamma correction.
5.8
öPrecise matchingò, the manual says, öuses a colour matching algorithm
which uses lookup tables for better colour output.ò Well itæs true. I
was able to obtain much better images, and all the colours could be
greatly improved.
5.8
Disable dithering turns off the error diffusion algorithm used by
ChangeFSI.
5.8
Brighten picture is another great asset. The whole image can be
brightened by a fixed amount but the amount cannot be adjusted by the
user.
5.8
Black correction is for improving the quality of sprites for use with a
Éwrite blackæ output device using dispersed dot dither (as opposed to
clustered dot dither).
5.8
Gamma correction is another important addition. Cathode Ray Tube
displays do not have a linear relationship between the brightness of a
spot and the applied voltage. Instead of the response being brightness =
constant ╫ voltage it is brightness = constant ╫ voltage ^ (1/gamma).
Using this option, the image colours can be made lighter or darker
giving a much better display depending on the monitor to be used.
5.8
As with all graphical operations, even our speedy Archimedes appear to
crawl at times, and using ChangeFSI is no exception. However, this
version, in my simple tests, is 20 to 23% faster which has to be good
news.
5.8
Verdict?
5.8
I only have a few gripes... there is still no facility to crop the
images, as with Computer Conceptsæ ScanLights, which I believe is a
major omission Ö it hinders exporting sprites straight to DTP and
presentation applications.
5.8
It is also a pity that we have to pay so much for an upgrade which I
think ought to be nearly free (ú29.00 inc. VAT and carriage for
!Fastgrab 1.43, a new ROM and revised product manual) especially as now
the price of the digitiser package has been reduced by a staggering
ú100. It does not instill much consumer confidence to know you have paid
so much more with NO modestly priced software upgrade support.
5.8
Wild Visionæs reply is that öif you were able to work out the costs of
producing such a package, bearing in mind the relative volumes, I feel
you would conclude that the price is in fact more than reasonable.ò As
the former is only my opinion, Iæll leave you, dear reader, to form your
own!
5.8
Conclusion
5.8
With this new software, the marvellous improvements in the output image
over the previous already excellent results, odd bug fixes, extra
options and savings in processing time, make this upgrade well worth
while and I feel that I can thoroughly recommend it.ááA
5.8
5.8
Landmarks, Rainforest
5.8
Simon Anthony
5.8
In view of the differences of opinion between Longman Logotron and our
reviewers about some of the Landmarks packages, we sent Simon a copy of
the Rainforest package so that he could give us a second opinion.
However, having read his comments, we had a look at it ourselves in the
Archive office. So, with apologies to Simon, I shall be interjecting
fairly frequently during the review. Ed.
5.8
The Archive Editor gave this program to me to review, desperate as he is
not to publish anything nasty about a product. Hugh Eagle reviewed it
first and his comments were published in the Archive 5.7 p61 along with
a response from Longman. My impressions contained in this second review
were formed before reading last monthæs comments but I will also try to
answer a few of the points raised there.
5.8
Rainforest tells you how people live in a rainforest. The program is
designed to let the committed computer user discover details of another
civilisation in their own time by means of typing simple questions and
reading the very simple but interesting answers. It is just one of a
continuing series of ÉLandmarksæ programs which are linked with the BBC
schoolsæ programmes.
5.8
I must at once say that this review only covers the Rainforest package
as bought off the shelf and can not include its role in the context of a
schoolsæ television backup or as part of their wider scheme of things.
This point should be remembered as it is relevant to the question of
what you want from a computer education program. I want education.
5.8
I approached this program in two ways. Firstly as a special needs
computing lecturer, secondly as a Green Party (lost deposit!) politi
cian. My hope was that the rainforest theme would go some way towards
sweeping my party to a general election victory... in ten years when the
kids can vote! Maybe it will help Ö as a piece of green education I
loved it! There is no sloppy sentimentality about the real life in a
rainforest here. The monkeys Éseenæ in the trees are described by the
text as being Égood to eat, especially their brainsæ.
5.8
Problems, and the lack of them
5.8
My students found no problems with the text speed but found the repeated
responses irritating. There are several minor but also irritating errors
in the responses. For example, in the location called Éthe garden plotæ
I typed Édescribe the treesæ. It replied...
5.8
I canæt see an old hollow tree. It looks interesting; shall I look
inside it? now.
5.8
The punctuation and illogicality of the statement is Longmanæs.
5.8
(I checked this myself because it seemed unlikely that an educational
package would operate in such a way. I, too, asked it to Édescribe the
treesæ and it came up with exactly the text that Simon described. I
replied to the boyæs question by saying Éyesæ. The answer was, öI seeò.
I then said, öLook inside the hollow treeò and was told öI canæt see it
now. Here comes Patuwe.òÖ How frustrating!
5.8
I then went back and asked him again to ödescribe the treesò and in
response to the same illogical statement, I asked him to ölook inside
itò. This time I was given a description of the clearing in which I was
standing and told various things about the garden. I could go on... but
I wonæt... and I still havenæt managed to find out what was so interest
ing about that hollow tree! Ed.)
5.8
I typed Éwhat can you see?æ and in its response, the words öandbananasò
ran together.
5.8
These are not major problems but, coming as they do, near the start, it
is off-putting for a poor reader or someone with a short attention span.
Also, itæs not the sort of standard you would expect from an educational
package from a well-established company like Longman Logotron.
5.8
The boy who was taking us on a conducted tour of the forest, talked
about his mother and his Éother motheræ but then when asked about his
Éother motheræ couldnæt understand the phrase and just told us about his
mother.
5.8
As an amateur programmer and devotee of bells and whistles, I must
uphold the disparaging remarks made by Hugh Eagle concerning the drab
aspects of the presentation. On the other hand, Longman are right when
they say the slow text update speed is just right for some slow readers.
5.8
(The thing that I thought was wrong about this was that the speed of
typing cannot be changed. I read through a paragraph that took over a
minute to type out and then, because I accidentally pressed one of the
cursor keys to go in a direction that was not allowed, it typed out the
whole of the same paragraph again and there was no way of speeding it up
or stopping it. Children these days are used to much more immediacy than
this and will soon get bored. Ed.)
5.8
Suggested improvements
5.8
The keyboard buffer stores your key presses made while the machine is
slowly answering your questions. It should dump them, only accepting
input when the answer has been completed. Perhaps this could be put in a
configuration file together with text display speed. Also, repeated
answers could be flagged as such and abbreviated to avoid annoying an
accidentally repeating questioner.
5.8
The program installs on a network with no problem but the paperwork
(obviously) does not. An improvement would be for the map to be
displayable in the picture window. The lack of colour in the pictures is
not a great problem. I feel the disappointingly poor resolution of the
black and white images could have been overcome by the use of draw
files, which then could even provide the enhancement of colour. The
program does not use the full power of the Archimedes (nor does it need
to) but a more clever question decoder would surely have been possible
considering the machineæs capabilities.
5.8
(This is where having to have the same program available on IBMæs and
Nimbus computers is a limitation Ö you end up with the lowest common
denominator. Ed.)
5.8
Good points
5.8
I was very impressed by the quality of the teacher and pupil manuals.
The lesson plans are a byword in good structuring. In a traditional
classroom environment, with one computer and a well matched class, this
program (Rainforest) has a great deal to offer. It is not, and does not
need to be, a showpiece of computer gimmickry. Nice though it would be,
flashiness would detract from the whole purpose of the exercise.
5.8
Conclusion
5.8
The bottom line with my special needs students was that they would not
stick at it. They wanted flashing lights, bells and whistles. In my day,
this program would have enthralled me. Unfortunately these days children
have moved past that level of enthralment by the age of three.
5.8
I have no doubt that it would work splendidly in a well structured, one
to one teaching environment or a Étraditionalæ school classroom.
However, leave them alone with it and they turn it off and find
something else to play with.
5.8
In many ways, I liked Rainforest. Despite its drabness, it is education
ally very informative, if not entertaining. It reminded me very much of
the ÉLook and Learnæ books from my youth. This is not a fond memory. If
it was my money, I would not buy it Ö Iæd watch the film.ááA
5.8
5.8
Oak-Recorder
5.8
David Shepherdson
5.8
I had hoped to be able to bring you a comparative review of Oak-Recorder
and Hybridæs Arc Recorder but Hybrid are apparently having problems with
their offering and are currently returning money to those who ordered
one.
5.8
Before these where announced, I spoke to the Fourth Dimension about
their !Articulate Speech package as I wanted to be able to include voice
relocatable modules in my own programs. !Articulate, unfortunately, can
only be used if everyone who gets your program also has a copy of the
!Articulate disk. Ah well!
5.8
Shortly after this, I saw the release notes for Oak-recorder and then
Arc-Recorder in the press. Reading the Oak öpreviewò it sounded good, IF
you had Genesis, which I donæt. Hybrid released details of their
offering Ö this one would create regular voice relocatable modules as
well as Genesis modules. This certainly sounded the better of the two
for my purposes because, as well as working from a microphone, you could
also plug into a hi-fi through a line socket. My Fairy Godmother
appeared at this point (I have been called some funny things in my time!
Ed) and I looked forward to getting my hands on both these items.
Unfortunately, only the Oak one is currently available.
5.8
The package
5.8
The Oak-Recorder came in a substantial box and my first impressions of
the unit were very good. The microphone is a lot bigger than I expected
Ö it is a massive, gold-topped beast, though as the body is made of a
rigid plastic, it is also very light. The sixteen page manual is
actually only an eight page one because only the right hand side has
text, the left being taken up with menus or headings. The manual,
however, is quite sufficent Ö it even suggests that the hardware is
robust enough for use in schools. The disc is not copy-protected, so you
can make a backup to work from. In fact, the first thing you are
instructed to do is to make a backup copy.
5.8
The software I was supplied for the review is version 1.11 and it comes
with its own !System directory which has Colours, FPEmulator and
ABCLibrary, V4.01 which the software needs! So if, like me, you have a
hard disk with your own !System, you should update it from the !System
on the Oak disc before loading the actual sampling software. It also
loads in items held in the other application directories, so all need to
be stored together, unless you feel like editing and moving bits and
pieces.
5.8
Hardware fitting
5.8
Plugging the öOak Recorder housingò into the parallel port of your
computer is the next action. If you have a dongle fitted, the manual
says you can plug it directly into that, but as I donæt have a dongle, I
canæt comment on that. However, as far as the printer is concerned, it
is an either/or fitting Ö you can have either the recorder plugged in OR
your printer. Still, you wonæt want to record while the printer is
making its own noise, but it would have been nice to be able to leave
the printer connected because fitting the recorder is not that easy
since there is very little room to get a screwdriver in to tighten up
the screws that hold the unit to the parallel port.
5.8
Software installation
5.8
Installing the software is easy Ö just double click on the various
icons. In addition to the !System directory, there are !OakRecord,
!GenSample, !GenLib and !Browser applications supplied. !OakRecord is
the one which does the hard work. Clicking <select> on this gives you a
window, a little like a Draw window, which has a tool-box pane on the
left. The toolbox has five icons which are used for the öwidely used
actionsò. Clicking <menu> on the main window gives you the Sample menu
with four options, three greyed out at the start, Info, Save, Selection
and Record.
5.8
Recording sounds
5.8
Record is the only one you can select at first. The sampling software
starts off set to 2 seconds of recording. The manual suggests that you
donæt extend this too much because each second takes up 10 kbytes. I
tried it out but the results were inaudible! I have an amplifer plugged
in to my sound port but didnæt have any success even when I turned this
up high.
5.8
Oak provide a couple of samples on the disk, though you have to search
for them (they are buried in the !GenLib.resources.Sample directory).
The Phone sample did work, but only just while the öYouRangò seemed to
lock up my computer for a brief period. I was getting discouraged but
then I remembered that some programs alter the volume setting. I pressed
<F12>, typed in VOLUME 120, pressed <return> and tried again. It nearly
blew me across the room! It worked all right but I forgot that I had
turned up the amplifier!
5.8
There is an option in the software to allow you to delay actual
recording until you ötriggerò it, but you would have to practise this
bit as I ended up losing the first part of the sample when I tried it.
The screen display is removed during sampling; normal sampling is done
with a white screen, while triggering has a weird effect on the screen
with it jumping until you click the switch on the microphone, or speak.
5.8
Modifying the sound samples
5.8
Once you have captured your sound, what can you do with it? You can mark
a section which can then be played back by itself, or it can be copied,
moved, deleted or saved as a sample itself. There is, however, no way of
modifying the sound.
5.8
To make any major changes you need to get hold of something like !DSEdit
to add echo or whatever. To convert to !DSEdit format and back again
youæll also need !SampConv from M. Farrow. Both are PD, as far as I
know, and are excellent! One thing I didnæt find was any noise trans
mitted by holding the microphone which was a pleasant surprise, but you
may end up with a slight click if using the microphone switch. You can
edit this out using the recorder software Ö it takes a little practice
but is well worth the effort.
5.8
Simply speaking into the microphone is easy, even if you do feel a
little self conscious at first. Unfortunately, when I tried to take a
sample from the television I got too much interference to make it
feasible. Not having a line input taking a sample from the hi-fi means
you have to hold the microphone up to the speaker Ö perhaps not the best
of methods, but it does work quite well. Iæve now managed to connect my
videoæs Skart socket to my hi-fi, so Iæve done a few extra samples by
holding the microphone in front of the speaker.
5.8
Playback
5.8
Playback is done from within software either by clicking on Play or by
using the Genesis !Browser application. If, like me, you do not have
Genesis, youæll need some method of playing the sample back other than
through the recorder software itself. You can use the Genesis browser
!GenSample application, but it only works in the desktop, not in your
own programs.
5.8
There is not an easy way to use your samples in your own programs, for
example as voice modules, which is a drawback I feel. However, you can
search through the !GenLib directory for a RModule called GS_Support
which plays a sample back as a star command of the format:
5.8
*PlaySample <Filename>.
5.8
However, Iæve also found a way of doing that in a program. There was no
documentation provided for the Genesis Support Modules, so perhaps this
is obvious to Genesis users, but if you load in the GS_Support Module,
then attach the following routine to your own programs, you can load a
sample, or samples, into memory and call them as you need.
5.8
10 X%=OPENIN(ö<sample_name>ò):Y%= EXT#X%:CLOSE#X%
5.8
20 DIM sample% Y%:SYSöOS_Fileò, 255,ö<sample_name>ò,sample%
5.8
30 SYS öGS_Support_PlaySampleò,, sample%,Y%
5.8
In this example, line 10 finds the length of the file, line 20 DIMæs
enough room for it and loads it in. You should substitute the pathname
for <sample_name>. Line 30 allows playback of the sample.
5.8
Conclusions
5.8
Apart from the minor problems already mentioned, it did lock up on me to
the extent of needing a <ctrl-reset> to get out of an error loop. Short
of something like Armadeus, there is nothing like it on the market now
and, at the price (ú33 through Archive), itæs a bargain. I would still
have liked to compare it to Hybridæs offering, but when used with
!DSEdit to add echo and so on, it is highly recommended.
5.8
Included on this monthæs program disc are some sound samples done
through the Oak-Recorder and also a list of the SWI calls which will be
included in an enlarged manual in due course.ááA
5.8
Now a couple of extra comments from Paul Fellows of Oak Solutions....
5.8
We donæt alter the volume setting, preferring instead to assume that it
is set at a suitable level  for the machine. This depends so much on
taste, speaker response, amplifiers, etc.  However, we will bear the
comment in mind for future reprints of the manual.
5.8
We have new software under development for release soon which makes
voice modules and also has a number of other features such as doing
FFTs, allowing the play and record rate to be selected etc.
5.8
We have issued licences to a number of major software houses allowing
them to distribute the GS_Support module so they can include sound
samples in their own software Ö I understand that several applications
are already (or will soon be) making use of it.ááA
5.8
5.8
The Engineer is back again !
5.8
Ray Maidstone
5.8
Batteries
5.8
A300/400 owners should check their batteries, because recently, half a
dozen machines that I have örepairedò have had no more wrong with them
than corrupt configuration due to dud batteries. Also, bear in mind that
many of the early 310s are now into their 4th year and the battery
terminals may be dirty or corroded.
5.8
ROM sockets
5.8
A rather more Éinterestingæ failure has been several machines dying
because of bad contact on the chip sockets. The remedy is simply to
remove the 3-4 year old chip sockets and replace them with new ones. (I
think it is worth pointing out that some of us have become so used to
our Archimedes just going on and on... that we forget just how long it
is has been going on and on. Quite a lot of A310æs are coming in these
days with Ésenile dementiaæ!) For some strange reason, this problem does
not seem to affect the main chip set (four square chips) but these
sometimes need a gentle press to clean their contacts.
5.8
A5000 monitor connections
5.8
The 15 pin output connector on the A5000 is not just another socket to
plug in and out of, because this socket has the ability to sense what is
happening out in the real world. If the plug were allowed to cause an
intermittent connection or be plugged in and out too quickly, it could
cause the machine to become confused with its CMOS settings, or cause it
to lock up completely needing a power-on reset to clear itself. The
answer?! Always keep the connector screwed in and always switch the
machine off when changing monitors. You have been warned!
5.8
Apologies
5.8
I was unfortunate enough to contract the latest flu virus, which laid me
low for 5-6 weeks. I would like to apologise to those who may have been
inconvenienced by this.ááA
5.8
5.8
Paul B
5.8

5.8