Archive Magazine 1996/ARCHIVE_96.iso/text/magazine/volume_07/issue_11

Text File | 1995-06-25 | 295KB | 6,067 lines

Acorn launches out on the Information Super-highway!
7.11
As you can see from the press release on page 2, Acorn are making the
most of their leading-edge ARM technology together with their knowledge
of multimedia, to launch out into the world of Interactive Multimedia on
the Information Super-highway. At a press event on 6th July, Acorn
demonstrated a set-top box which, once the services are established,
could give access to on-line shopping, video-on-demand, audio-on-demand,
TV program pre-viewing, educational services, etc, etc Ö the list is
potentially endless.
7.11
During a private demonstration of the system, at the click of a button,
the IMM main menu suddenly turned into the familiar RISCáOS desktop! In
other words, Acorn are using their existing prowess in hardware and
software and applying it to a big (potentially VERY big) consumer
market. Existing Acorn software houses Ö especially those with
educational expertise Ö will have a head start as potential service
providers, once this project takes off.
7.11
They are also implying that it will be possible to adapt an existing ARM
computer to double as a set-top box?  So if people want to buy a
computer for, say DTP, that can also run DOS and Windows software and
double as a set-top box, the RiscáPC must be at the head of the field.
7.11
The future of Acorn Computers is getting more interesting by the month!
And, as always, weæll try at Archive to bring you the latest
developments as they happen.
7.11
Happy reading!
7.11
Acorn Computers Ö A Major Announcement
7.11
Acorn Computers Ltd has just announced plans to exploit the emerging
interactive multimedia marketplace, working in partnership with its
newly launched sister organisation Online Media. Online Media has been
set up to develop the use of Acornæs technology to allow the Acorn
Computer Group to expand into this new and emerging market. Acorn will
bring its unique understanding of education and its established market
leadership to the partnership.
7.11
öAcorn has always been recognised as a technology innovator,ò comments
Sam Wauchope, MD of the Acorn Computer Group. öWe demonstrated this with
the launch of the first 32-bit RISC computer in 1987 and have done so
again with the Risc PC earlier this year. We now believe that the time
is right and the market is ready for the multimedia technologies that
Online Media will deliver.ò
7.11
Acorn Computers Ltd will enable Online Media to capitalise on its
expertise and technology to deliver effective solutions to the set top
box and related service markets. The partnership will be further
strengthened by Acornæs unique understanding of the education market,
ensuring that Acorn fully exploits these emerging technologies to make
products available to both educational establishments and to home
education markets.
7.11
Peter Talbot, General Manager UK Education at Acorn Computers, comments:
öAcorn has today announced its plans to realise the enormous potential
of interactive multimedia and we believe Acorn is in the strongest
position to ensure that education gets the best from this innovative
technology.
7.11
öAcorn has undertaken the challenge to work with Online Media to develop
a complementary environment and systems which will allow schools to use
their current multimedia solutions with future products. In the future,
education will benefit from new products and technologies from both
Acorn and Online Media.ò
7.11
Acorn Computers Ltd will continue its own development plans whilst
working closely with Online Media to integrate both companiesæ
technologies to exploit opportunities in their respective markets.
Online Media will provide Acorn with significant product enhancements
and the run time environment and interfacing cards to allow Acorn
computer systems to be connected to interactive services.
7.11
The partnership will also provide Acorn Computers with a range of
capabilities including multimedia authoring tools, MPEG video support, a
range of alternative network service protocols and set top boxes. It
will also provide increased opportunities for Acornæs existing
developers and potential new Acorn partners.
7.11
Sam Wauchope continues: öAcornæs philosophy of identifying and working
with partners to exploit technologies has enabled us to remain
successful in our major markets. We have shown this through creative
exploitation of technology with another Acorn sister company Advanced
RISC Machines Ltd. This philosophy has been fundamental to the success
of ARM, which is rapidly becoming the global RISC standard for consumer
applications, and will continue to ensure the success of Online
Media.òááAá
7.11
Products Available
7.11
Å  105Mb removable hard drivesáÖáWe have made a special purchase of a
number of 105Mb removable drives which can be used for A5000 or RiscáPC.
These are brand new, fully guaranteed drives but are only ú270 (normal
price ú340) including fitting kit and including one cartridge Ö while
stocks last! Please ring the NCS office to book one rather than just
sending a cheque.
7.11
Å  270Mb removable hard drivesáÖáWe can now get the IDE version of the
270Mb removables. There are internal versions for both the A5000 and the
RiscáPC and each is ú490. This includes fitting kit and one cartridge.
Extra cartridges are ú90 each.
7.11
Å  Acorn standard resolution monitorsáÖáThe AKF30 and the AKF40 are now
out of production. There are some stocks left but they may have all gone
by the time you read this. The AKF52 multisync is now the minimum
standard (VGA) monitor that Acorn supply.
7.11
Å  Acorn Enthusiastsæ Scheme Ö Acorn have agreed to allow öEnthusiastsò,
who have a special reason for doing so, to order a RiscáPC without a
monitor at ú294 off the full with-monitor price. To do this, you must
first fill in a special form giving details of your reasons for wanting
a computer without a monitor and to register as an Acorn Enthusiast.
Acorn say that Enthusiasts will be given Épriority informationæ and that
there may be Éspecial offersæ and Élimited edition literatureæ available
to them. These special forms are available from the NCS offices.
7.11
If you want to register as enthusiast even though you donæt want a
monitor-less RiscáPC, we can send you a form if you send us an SAE.
7.11
Å  Apollonius PDT Ö Oak Solutions have announced a fully parametric CAD
package, allowing the user to specify relationships between elements in
the drawing so that any change updates all the elements automatically.
It also features an Éintelligentæ toolbar which provides a large number
of features based on eight basic tools, which vary in precise function
according to context. The price is ú150 +VAT from Oak Solutions or ú165
through Archive. (ú75 +VAT as an upgrade from Oak Solutionsæ Parametric
Design Tool).
7.11
Å  Calendar Ö Kudlian Soft have released Calendar, a package intended
for primary education with the purpose of producing wall calendars. It
is intended to be very easy to use, with a WYSIWYG display, and uses the
RISC OS outline fonts and printer drivers to produce high quality
results in several formats. It also allows pupils to include their own
pictures. The pack costs ú25 +VAT including a site licence for primary
schools, or ú40 +VAT for secondary schools.
7.11
Å  Calligraph A4-1200 Ö Following on from their high resolution A3
printer, Calligraph have released a direct drive, A4, 8ppm laser printer
capable of true 600 ╫ 600 dpi resolution and up to 1200 dpi horizontal
resolution through software enhancement. The software provided can
handle variable screen density and gamma correction, as well as a draft
printing mode and OPI-like virtual sprites (which leave large scans on
disc until print time). The A4-1200 can be driven entirely from the
computer, including all status and menu option information which would
normally be on the printer itself. It also emulates an Epson FX80. The
single bin version is available at ú999 +VAT, and the dual bin version
is ú1149 +VAT (ú1140 and ú1315 through Archive).
7.11
Å  CD-ROM for RiscáPCáÖáCumana are now selling an IDE CD-ROM 300iA drive
for RiscáPC. It is a caddy-less drive (i.e. you cannot operate the
computer in tower mode as the discs will fall off the tray!) but the
drive comes complete with an audio mixer so that the CD-ROM sound can be
combined with the computeræs own sound and output through the computeræs
own sound socket. Also included are the ProArtisan 2 Clipart CD and a
PhotoCD disc with sample pictures. The price is ú249 +VAT + carriage
from Cumana or ú290 through Archive.
7.11
Å  CD-ROM for RiscáPCáÖáMorley Electronics have two internal CD-ROMs for
the RiscáPC, both SCSI devices. The 4101 is a caddy-less version (i.e.
you cannot operate the computer in tower mode as the discs will fall off
the tray!) and costs ú249 +VAT + carriage from Morley or ú290 through
Archive. The 3401 has a caddy and is slightly faster than the 4101 (330
Kb/s cf 300 Kb/s) and costs ú349 +VAT + carriage from Morley or ú400
through Archive. (Both require SCSI interfaces, e.g. the Morley uncached
SCSI card at ú160 through Archive.)
7.11
Å  Classcardz Ö Colton software have launched resource packs which take
the user through the first steps in document processing and creation of
spreadsheets with the companyæs popular programs Wordz and Resultz. The
packs are ú20 each from Colton, and consist of sets of A4 laminated
cards which can be photocopied for classroom use.
7.11
Å  Colton Software price drop Ö Colton have announced some price
reductions on the Éz familyæ of programs: Wordz is now ú59 +VAT (ú64
through Archive), Resultz has been reduced from ú99 to ú79 +VAT, (ú88
through Archive) and Fireworkz has been reduced from ú149 to ú99 +VAT
(ú110 through Archive), with site licences discount also available from
Colton Software.
7.11
Å  Commodore64 conversionsáÖáXL.C.US Software are planning to provide a
picture and sound sample transfer service between Archimedes and
Commodore 64 machines. For details, contact Jonathan Hunt at 21 Green
Street, Milton Malsor, Northampton, NN7 3AT.
7.11
Å Design Processor update Ö Oak Solutions are working on a new version
of their Design Processor to be packaged with OakPCB, DrawPlot, Genesis
Professional and Apollonius PDT, due out in September. The new version
will be ú1200 (it used to be ú900) for a site licence and regular
upgrades but the price increase will not affect existing users or those
who purchase Design Processor before September.
7.11
Å  First Page Ö Longman Logotron have released a new easy-to-use DTP
package. First Page is capable of multiple columns, headlines and
captions, and can import PenDown and PenDown Plus files maintaining
layout and styles. In addition, it has its own basic word processing
facilities. Illustrations can be included both as separate images and as
frame backgrounds. FirstPage costs ú49 +VAT for a single user or ú140
and ú190 +VAT respectively for primary and secondary site licences. The
Archive prices are ú54, ú155 and ú208 respectively.
7.11
Å  FlashbackáÖáThis new release from US Gold is another port from the
Amiga/PC markets. It is a graphic adventure, which was widely acclaimed
for the innovative techniques used in production. The character
animation was produced by filming athletes, to give very accurate
movement Ö the character you play has 681 animation frames to himself.
The plot involves having your memory wiped after your latest invention
identifies the presence of hostile aliens on Earth. All you have to help
you is a message from yourself, explaining what has happened, and then
it is up to you to explore.  Sections of the game are linked with öCine
Sequencesò which are short, non-interactive sections to add to the feel
of the game.
7.11
Å  HQ Tracker Ö Mycroft Software have released a low-cost alternative to
SoundTracker, based around their PlayModule relocatable module and
intended for use in adding sound effects and music to usersæ software.
The system is intended to be more extendable than its competitors, and
comes with a converter for soundtracker files. HQ-Tracker is ú25 from
Mycroft Software with a special price of ú20 to people who mention
Archive when ordering.
7.11
Å  Idek Iiyama monitorsáÖáThese new monitors are now available in both
17ö and 21ò sizes. The prices are ú734 (ú440 with RiscáPC) and ú2144
(ú1850 with RiscáPC) respectively. As you can see from the
specifications opposite, the 17ö monitor is a slightly higher
specification than the Acorn 17ò monitor and it works out slightly
cheaper provided you class as an Acorn Enthusiast (see above). Our
subjective view, having had the two monitors side by side is that there
is little to choose between them in terms of display quality or
programmability. The only real difference apart from the price is that
the AKF85 comes with a 12-month on-site warranty whereas the Idek
monitor has a three-year return-to-base warranty, i.e. itæs guaranteed
for three years but you have to pay to get it shipped back to Idek Ö
they fix it and send it back to you.
7.11
As regards the 21ö, we are very impressed with this one. It is, in our
view, better than the Eizo F780iW costing several hundred pounds more!
It has a very easy-to-use control tray that slides out from the front of
the monitor and allows you to adjust all the various parameters and save
that particular mode definition. The 20ò Taxan doesnæt have quite such
good definition but it has the advantage of being a Trinitron tube and
yet is ú150 cheaper.
7.11
(As soon as I can afford it, I shall be buying an Idek 21ö and a
RiscáPC. This will make production of Archive an order of magnitude
easier. Ed.)
7.11
Å  IFEL 8Mb RAM upgrades Ö A5000 and A3000 machines may now be upgraded
to 8Mb by means of a new upgrade from IFEL, for ú259 +VAT for the A5000
or ú249 +VAT for the A3000. However, IFEL recommend their fitting
service (ú50 +VAT for 4Mb machines) since the upgrade requires removing
the surface-mounted MEMC. A300 and A400 series upgrades will follow.
7.11
Å  ImageFS is a RISC OS 3 image filing system (similar to that used for
PC partitions) which allows transparent loading of a number of image
formats RISC OS-legally Ö including TIFF, BMP and PICT. The images are
converted to sprites on the fly, and the software supports deep sprites
and a number of dithering options. ImageFS is available for ú34.95 +VAT
from Alternative Publishing Ltd.
7.11
Å  Landmarks Ö Microworld Invasion and Pinpoint Datafile Ö Britain since
the 1930s are new educational programs from Longman Logotron aimed at 9-
13 year-olds. They are designed to complement the BBCæs Landmarks
history series to be broadcast in Autumn 1994. Prices are ú24.95 +VAT
and ú12 +VAT from Longman Logotron (ú27 and ú13 respectively through
Archive), with versions for the IBM PC and site licences also available.
7.11
Å  Lark Ö Wild Visionæs 16-bit audio sampling and play-back card for all
the Acorn machines is now available. It can sample and playback in
stereo and sample up to 48kHz, and features MIDI connection and on-board
filtering. The Lark A16 is ú199 +VAT + carriage or ú225 through Archive.
7.11
Å  Lenses & Light is a pack from Anglia Television for the Key Plus
database and the Key Calc spreadsheet. It covers eye testing, shadows,
polarisation, single and double lenses, microscopes and telescopes with
background information and worksheets for photocopying provided. Lenses
& Light costs ú22 +VAT from Anglia Television.
7.11
Å  Premier Manager Ö Gremlin Graphics Ltd, the makers of Zool, have
released a game for those who prefer their football as most of us get to
see it: from the sidelines. Starting in the Vauxhall Conference League,
up to four players can simultaneously work on their teams, investing
their money on the grounds and their players in the hopes of bringing in
the sponsors and the fans. The game features five divisions, cup
competitions, match highlights, full ground sponsorship, complete
results service, weekly fax data on match reports, transfer news and
player information and complete interaction with other team managers.
Available for ú25.99 from Gremlin or ú24 through Archive.
7.11
Å  Sound FX #2 Ö Alpine Software have released another disc of sound
effects for Creator, Creator II or UltraSonic. The effects are grouped
under the headings of VOCAL_1, VOCAL_2, TREK, WeirdFX and Weapons. The
disc is ú5 from Alpine Software.
7.11
Å  Tekkie CD Ö Emerald Publishing have produced a CD that contains the
RISC OS 3 PRMs. Not only that, but it also contains the Style Guide,
Basic Guide, Desktop C, Assembler and DDE guides, all for the same price
as the paper version of the PRMs Ö ú99 +VAT. (See the review on page
61.)
7.11
Review software received...
7.11
We have received review copies of the following: ÅBeethoven Browser
Egmontá(e), ÅCalendar (e), ÅEquateá(e), ÅHQ-Tracker (u), ÅLangdale River
Projectá(e), ÅLenses & Light (e), ÅReport Writerá(e).
7.11
e=Education, b=Business, bk=Book, g=Game, h=Hardware, l=Language,
u=Utility, a=Art.
7.11
If you would like to review any of these products, please contact the
Archive office. Potential reviewers will need to show that they would
use the product in a professional capacity or that they have some
knowledge of the particular field.ááAá
7.11
Government Health Warning Ö Reading this could seriously affect your
spiritual health.
7.11
öI donæt agree with you... but I like to see what you have to say in
your God-slot each month.ò From the letters I receive, it seems that
many of you feel like that and I have found just the thing for you...
7.11
Hundreds of churches of different denominations, all over the UK, are
running öAlpha Coursesò and thousands of people are attending them. They
are proving so popular that one church in London has 500 people on the
course it is running at the moment.
7.11
So what is Alpha? Itæs a 10-week course designed to give you the
opportunity to find out about the Christian faith in a relaxed and
friendly atmosphere. The following acronym should give the flavour of
Alpha:
7.11
Anyone can attend Ö You can be atheistic, agnostic, antagonistic,
apathetic Ö whatever Ö youæll be welcome.
7.11
Learning and Laughter  Ö There is teaching and discussion about
Christianity but it is good fun too.
7.11
Pizza and Pudding Ö (or Pasty and Peas or whatever you eat in your part
of the UK) i.e. it includes a meal.
7.11
Helping one another Ö People who come on the courses often end up firm
friends.
7.11
Ask Anything Ö For those who attend, this is a no-holds barred course.
You can ask any questions you like.
7.11
Although itæs a 10-week course, there is absolutely no pressure to
complete it. The people who run the courses make an undertaking that
they will never öchaseò anyone who drops out. If you choose to stop
coming to the meetings at any stage, thatæs entirely up to you. This
isnæt some new cult Ö itæs just ordinary run-of-the-mill local church
members trying to share honestly and openly what they believe Ö the same
as I try to do here month by month.
7.11
If you want more information, ring the Alpha Helpline on 0603-765073 or
ring Holy Trinity, Brompton on 081-581-8255, either of whom will be able
to tell you if any church is running an Alpha Course near you.
7.11
Why not investigate and see what you think? You have  nothing to lose!
7.11
Paul Beverley
7.11
P.B.
7.11
Fact-File
7.11
(The numbers in italic are fax numbers)
7.11
4th Dimension   P.O. Box 4444, Sheffield. (0742-700661) (0742-781091)
7.11
4Mation   14 Castle Park Road, Whiddon Valley, Barnstaple, Devon,
EX32á8PA. (0271-25353) (0271-22974)
7.11
Abacus Training   29 Okus Grove, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wilts, SN2
6QA.
7.11
Acorn Computers Ltd   Acorn House, Vision Park, Histon, Cambridge, CB4
4AE.
7.11
  (0223-254254) (0223-254262)
7.11
Alpine Software   P.O.Box 25, Portadown, Craigavon, BT63 5UT. (0762-
342510)
7.11
Alternative Publishing   Suite 91, 9A Pentagon House, 36 Washington
Street, Glasgow, G3á8AZ. (041-248-2322) (041-248-3638)
7.11
Apricote Studios   2 Purls Bridge Farm, Manea, Cambridgeshire, PE15 0ND.
7.11
  (0354-680432)
7.11
Calligraph Ltd   53 Panton Street, Cambridge, CB2 1HL. (0223-566642)
7.11
  (0223-316144)
7.11
Colton Software (p31)  2 Signet Court, Swanns Road, Cambridge, CB5 8LA.
(0223-311881) (0223-312010)
7.11
Computer Concepts (pp8/13)  Gaddesden Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP2
6EX.
7.11
  (0442-63933) (0442-231632)
7.11
Cumana Ltd   Pines Trading Estate, Broad Street, Guilford, GU3 3BH.
7.11
  (0483-503121) (0483-503326)
7.11
Dabs Press   22 Warwick Street, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 7HN.
7.11
  (061-773-8632) (061-773-8290)
7.11
Dalriada Data Technology    145 Albion Street, Kenilworth,
Warkwickshire, CV8 2FY.
7.11
  (0926-53901)
7.11
DEC_dATA   P.O.Box 97, Exeter, EX4 4YA. (0392-221702)
7.11
Emerald Publishing   166 Shelford Road, Trumpington, Cambridge, CB2 2NE.
7.11
  (0223-840138)
7.11
Evolution Trading AG   Industriestrasse 12, CH-3178 B÷singen,
Switzerland.
7.11
  (010-41 [phone]) ([phone])
7.11
GamesWare   Unit 26, The Bartletts, Hamble, Hants., SO35 5RP.
(0703Ö456523) (or 0243-531194) (0703Ö456523)
7.11
Gremlin Graphics Ltd   Carver House, 2-4 Carver Street, Sheffield, S1
4FS. (0742-753423) (0742-768581)
7.11
Hodge Electronic Services   16 Mold Road, Mynydd Isa, Clwyd, CH7 6TD.
(0352-755331)
7.11
Humpidge H B (p57)  2A Kingsley Park Grove, Sheffield S11 9HL.
7.11
Kudlian Soft   8 Barrow Road, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, CV8á1EH.
7.11
  (0926-851147)
7.11
Longman Logotron   124 Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge,
CB4 4ZS. (0223-425558) (0223-425349)
7.11
Matt Black   P.O.Box 42, Peterborough, PE1 2TZ. (0733-315439)
7.11
Mijas Software (p7)  Winchester Road, Micheldever, Winchester, SO21 3DJ.
7.11
  (0962-774352)
7.11
Morley Electronics   Morley House, Norham Road, North Shields, Tyne &
Wear, NE29á7TY. (091-257-6355) (091-257-6373)
7.11
Mycroft Software   53 Cottonmill Lane, St Albans, AL1 2ER.
7.11
Oak Solutions (p13)  Dial House, 12 Chapel Street, Halton, Leeds, LS15
7RN.
7.11
  (0532-326992) (0532-326993)
7.11
Quantum Software   35 Pinewood Park, Deans, Livingston, EH54 8NN.
7.11
  (0506-411162 after 6)
7.11
RGSC    39 Carisbrooke Road, Harpenden, Herts., AL5 5QS.
7.11
Risc Developments   117 Hatfield Road, St Albans, Herts, AL1 4JS. (0727-
840303)
7.11
  (0727-860263)
7.11
Sherston Software   Swan Barton, Sherston, Malmesbury, Wilts. SN16 0LH.
7.11
  (0666-840433) (0666-840048)
7.11
Simon Glass Software (p7)  P.O.Box 834, Landbeach, Cambridge, CB4 4DG.
7.11
Smart DTP   36 Park Road, Duffield, Belper, DE56 4GR. (0332-842803)
7.11
Stallion Software Ltd   Arundel House, Arundel Road, Camden, Bath, BA1
5JX.
7.11
  (0225-339090)
7.11
The Really Good Software Company   39 Carisbrooke Road, Harpenden,
Herts., AL5 5QS.
7.11
Topologika   P.O. Box 39, Stilton, Peterborough, PE7 3RL. (0733-244682)
7.11
Utopia Software (p6)  92 Queenhythe Road, Jacobs Well, Guildford, GU4
7NX.
7.11
Wild Vision   15 Witney Way, Boldon Colliery, Tyne & Wear, NE35 9PE.
7.11
  (091-519-1455) (091-519-1929)
7.11
Wyddfa Software   3 Preswylfa, Llanberis, Gwynedd, LL55 4LF. (0286-
870101)
7.11
  (0286-871722)
7.11
Archive Monthly Program Disc Contents
7.11
ÅáPrograms from James Ridenæs article on assembly language programming
7.11
Å Text from the !Products application showing RiscáPC software and
hardware compatibility
7.11
Å Some Keystroke definitions (Jonathan Cox)
7.11
ÅáA small application to test if the caret is currently set (Jonathan
Cox)
7.11
ÅáA !Style template document for creating tape inlays (Jonathan Cox)
7.11
ÅáGlossary, latest version Ö It has now reached over 9,000 words and is
still growing. Please keep sending us words and acronyms that you want
defining. Just because we have put it in printed form (see page 33)
doesnæt stop it growing and becoming even more useful.
7.11
ÅáMaths Card Ö A fully working version (apart from saving) of Creative
Curriculum Softwareæs application to help teachers produce well laid out
maths question sheets.
7.11
Some suggested monitors for use with the RiscáPC
7.11
  Manufacturer  Acorn  Acorn  Idek  Taxan  Idek
7.11
  Monitor  AKF60  AKF85  MF-8617  1095LR  MF-8621
7.11
  Size  14ö  17ò  17ö FST  20ò Trinitron  21ö FST
7.11
  Dot pitch  0.28mm  0.27mm  0.26mm  0.30mm  0.26mm
7.11
  ARF*  50  63  65  67  81
7.11
  Scan frequency:
7.11
   Horizontal  30-50kHz  30-82kHz  23.5-86kHz  30-80kHz  25-85kHz
7.11
   Vertical  40-90Hz  50-120Hz  50-120Hz  50-120Hz  50-120Hz
7.11
  Programmable  No  Yes  Yes  Yes  Yes
7.11
  Weight  12.5kg  21kg  21kg  36kg  36kg
7.11
  Price  n/a  n/a  ú734  ú1995  ú2144
7.11
  Price with RiscáPC  included  ú470  ú440  ú1700  ú1850
7.11
* ARF = ÉArchive Resolution Factoræ = (size in inches) / (dot pitch in
mm)!! This is only intended to give some way of measuring the relative
resolutions of these monitors and is not part of the official
specifications.
7.11
At last, quality artwork for use with Impression and other DTP packages.
Fully compatible with all Archimedes computers, all clip art is supplied
in sprite format. Volume One has 68 full size sprites and 29 system
icons, compressed with ArcFS. Themes covered include: Animals, Borders,
Christmas, Furniture and Transport. Send ú10 (+50páp&p) for your copy or
75p for a thumbnail printout of the contents. This is redeemable against
purchase of Volume One.
7.11
QUALITY ARTWORK AT A SENSIBLE PRICE
7.11
CC
7.11
From 7.10 page 22
7.11
Hints and Tips
7.11
Å  Dongled software on the PC cardáÖáWhen running dongle-protected PC
software on the Aleph One PC card, some problems may be experienced
where the dongle isnæt seen. This can be cured by a simple hardware
upgrade to the parallel port. Contact Aleph One for details.á W H
Bradbury.
7.11
Å  ImpChars on the Risc PCáÖáImpChars, included on Archive program disc
7.6, doesnæt work with the Risc PC. The error öToo many nested
structuresò appears. This can be solved by changing the value of the
WimpSlot in the !Run file eg. from 24 to 45.á Anon.
7.11
Å  Maximising memory using KeystokeáÖáI have used Keystroke for a year
or so and I am now using v2.33. The most commonly used sequence I have
is on booting up. My !Boot file includes the line
7.11
/ADFS::IDEDisc.$.!Keystroke
7.11
My default Keystrokes file sets up <Alt-Q> to quit those applications
which have been loaded during the boot sequence and which are no longer
needed (e.g. the Printer Manager). They are quit either by using the
quit option from their icons menu on the iconbar or, if that is not
available, from the quit task option in the Task window by opening the
window, positioning the pointer over the item and quitting via the menu.
7.11
My !Boot file also contains the lines
7.11
Set $Do0 Alt+Q@Quit Printer Manager
7.11
Set $Do1 Alt+Q@Quit ...
7.11
Set $Do2 Alt+Q@Quit ...
7.11
Set $Do3 Alt+Q@Quit ...
7.11
Set $Do4 Alt+Q@Open Tasks Window
7.11
Set $Do5 Alt+Q@Position Tasks Window
7.11
Set $Do6 Alt+Q@Position Pointer
7.11
Set $Do7 Alt+Q@Quit   (application name)
7.11
Set $Do8 Alt+Q@Close Tasks Window
7.11
which successfully remove those applications and leaves me in the
desktop with the machine set up with all the applications and modules
that I like to have loaded, but also with the maximum amount of free
memory available.á M P Churchill, High Wycombe.ááAá
7.11
This glossary has been created on the basis that someone may read a word
or a technical term or an abbreviation within the pages of Archive
magazine and think, öWhat does XXXX mean?ò. If you think that about a
word, look it up in this glossary. If it does not appear, please ring,
write or fax and tell us what it was that you wanted to know.
7.11
Some of the definitions will be specific to Acorn computers whereas
others are also more generally applicable.
7.11
We have printed this in the middle 16 pages so that, if you wish, you
can either tear it out and keep it as a separate booklet or, if you open
the staples carefully, you should be able to take the pages out,
photocopy them (only one copy, please!!) and put them back again, thus
preserving the magazine as supplied.
7.11
!
7.11
!áÖá(pronounced öplingò) A term used to denote an exclamation mark!
7.11
10base2áÖáAn Ethernet standard that uses BNC connectors and coaxial
cable. Also known as öthin wireò Ethernet.
7.11
10base5áÖáAn Ethernet standard that uses 9-pin D-type connectors and
special cable. Also known as öthick wireò Ethernet.
7.11
10baseTáÖáAn Ethernet standard that uses telephone connectors and
telephone cable. Also known as öCheapernetò.
7.11
A
7.11
Action buttonáÖáA button in a dialogue box which causes some action to
occur.
7.11
ADFSáÖá(Advanced Disc Filing System) This is the proprietary system used
by Acorn for organising and storing data on floppy and hard drives.
7.11
AIMáÖá(Another Image Manager) A suite of image processing software
produced by Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.
7.11
ApplicationáÖáThe more general use of this word means any job for which
the computer may be used, but it has a more specific definition. It is
used to refer to a directory (with a name beginning with a ö!ò) which
contains a program or programs that work under RISC OS to perform a
particular function. When the application is loaded, it usually makes
itself available to the user via an icon on the righthand side of the
iconbar.
7.11
Application directoryáÖáSimilar to an ordinary directory in that it
contains other files and directories but its name starts with an
exclamation mark so that when you double click on the directory, it
starts up the application rather than just opening the directory. To
open an application directory, double click with <shift> held down.
7.11
Apps iconáÖáThis is an icon that appears on the lefthand side of the
iconbar (RISC OS 3 onwards). It gives you access to a range of
applications such as Draw, Paint, etc that are provided with each
Archimedes or RiscáPC computer.
7.11
ARMáÖá(Acorn RISC Machine) This is the original name for the 32-bit RISC
processor designed by Acorn Computers Ltd. In the name öARM Ltdò, the
company formed between Acorn and Apple, the öARMò actually stands for
Advanced RISC Machine.
7.11
ASCIIáÖá(American Standard Code for Information Interchange) This is the
most commonly used code for representing text using 8-bit binary
numbers.
7.11
ASICáÖá(Application Specific Integrated Circuit) A single chip
electronic circuit that is specially designed (by computer
simulationáÖáwhat else?!) for a particular application, e.g. to provide
the logic needed to interface a æ486 processor on a RiscáPC second
processor card to the main ARM600 processor and its address and data
buses.
7.11
AssembleráÖáA compiler for converting a program written in mnemonics
into a machine code executable program.
7.11
AUNáÖá(Acorn Universal Networking) This does not apply to a specific
product or even a network user interface but öthe overall banner for
Acornæs networking policy for the æ90s giving the strategic direction of
networking for Acorn computers.ò
7.11
B
7.11
Back iconáÖáThe icon at the top lefthand corner of a window which allows
you to push the window to the back of the desktop.
7.11
BackdropáÖáThis is a desktop background which may be a sprite or just a
pattern.
7.11
BackplaneáÖáA small printed circuit board with connectors on it that
allows you to plug in a number of expansion cards.
7.11
BasicáÖá(Beginners All-purpose Symbol Instruction Code) A commonly-used
interpreted high level language. It comes as standard on all Acorn
computers.
7.11
BaudáÖáThis is a unit of speed for serial data transmission. 1 Baud = 1
bit per second.
7.11
BBSáÖá(Bulletin Board Service) A bulletin board is an application run on
a computer which stores information and messages that can be accessed by
other computers, usually via the telephone line using a modem. Many
bulletin boards allow a number of other computers to connect to the host
computer at the same time by using a number of different modems and
phone lines.
7.11
BIOSáÖá(Basic input/output system) This is the part of a PC compatibleæs
operating system that is held in ROM, allowing the computer to start up
and load the rest of its operating system from disc. (cfáRISCáOS
computers where the whole of the operating system, plus a few extra
goodies, are held in ROM and are available at switch-on.)
7.11
BitáÖá(Binary digit) A bit is the smallest unit of binary data. It has
two values, 0 and 1. A group of 8 bits of data (referred to as a byte)
could be used to represent a single character using, most commonly, the
ASCII code or it could represent (part of) an instruction that the
computer would execute at some stage or it could represent (part of) a
number.
7.11
Bit-mapped (graphics)áÖáIt is possible to represent a picture on a
computer by using a matrix of (coloured) dots. The resolution of bit-
mapped pictures is limited by the numbers of dots used. (This contrasts
with vector graphicsáÖásee below. For example, the Paint application
produces bit-mapped graphics whereas Draw produces vector graphics.)
7.11
BppáÖá(Bits per pixels) The number of binary bits used to store the
colour of each pixel.
7.11
Bubblejet printeráÖáThis is a type of inkjet printer where the patterns
on the paper are generated by squirting ink through a series of tiny
nozzles in the print head. Functionally, it is the same as an inkjet
printer.
7.11
BugáÖáError in a computer program.
7.11
BulletáÖáA large black dotáÖáÅáÖáused to highlight something within some
text.
7.11
BusáÖáA set of parallel wires or PCB tracks along which data is
transmitted in a computer system. The width of the bus refers to the
number of parallel tracks Ö the wider the bus, the faster data can be
transmitted down it.
7.11
ByteáÖáA byte refers to (usually) 8 bits of binary data stored within a
computeræs memory or on a data storage medium.
7.11
C
7.11
CáÖáA high level compiled language.
7.11
C++áÖáThis is an object-oriented version of the C language.
7.11
CADáÖá(Computer Aided Design) A computer-based application that allows
users to draw, design and model engineering objects.
7.11
CapsáÖáShort for Écapitalsæ. See also small caps.
7.11
Capslock keyáÖáThis is a key on the lefthand side of the keyboard. When
it is pressed and the Capslock light comes on, all text typed into the
keyboard appears in upper case.
7.11
CaretáÖáA red vertical bar in a screen display that marks the point at
which text will appear if it is typed in from the keyboard.
7.11
CDáÖá(Compact Disc) A high density digital storage medium originally
intended for hi-fi sound reproduction but now applied to storage of text
and image data for various computer applications.
7.11
CDFSáÖáFiling system used for accessing CD-ROMs.
7.11
CD-ROMáÖá(Compact Disc Read Only Memory) A CD used for the storage of
computer data. It is called a ROM to emphasise that the data on the
disc, once written in the manufacturing stage, cannot be modified.
7.11
CFSáÖá(Compression Filing System) This is a way of accessing a data
storage system through a compression/decompression system such that it
is transparent to the user, i.e. the user need hardly know that the data
is being compressed and decompressed but just sees it as being read from
and written to the storage device.
7.11
Clear (files)áÖáA standard format for storing and transferring 24-bit
pictures.
7.11
CLIáÖá(Command line interpreter) Pressing <f12> allows you to type
command lines into your RISCáOS computer. These are then interpreted by
the CLI.
7.11
Close iconáÖáThe icon at the top left of each window, next to the back
icon which allows you to close the window.
7.11
Colour deptháÖáEvery pixel on a computer screen display has its colour
defined by a certain number of bits of data. The colour depth refers to
the range of different colours available for each pixel in a particular
screen mode. If a single bit were used, it would only allow it to be one
of two coloursáÖáusually black or white. If it were defined by two bits,
it could have 4 (22) different colours, four bits would provide (24) 16
different colours, 8-bit provides 256 (28) colours, 16-bit gives over 32
thousand colours and 24-bit allows each pixel to have any of about 16.7
million different coloursáÖáabout as much as the human eye can
distinguish. The 32-bit colour of the RiscáPC öonlyò gives 16 million
colours but the extra 8 bits can be used by the computer to produce
various different special effects.
7.11
Command lineáÖáAll Acorn computers now come with a WIMP interface.
However, it is possible to give the computer commands by typing them in
from the keyboard. If you press <f12>, a star prompt appears. This is
the command line. You can enter commands such as CAT<return> to get a
catalogue of the current storage device.
7.11
CompileráÖáIn a computer language, instructions that the programmer
enters as (vaguely) understandable words have to be translated into
series of the very simplest steps that the cpu executes. These simple
instructions are called machine code. The job of a compiler is to take
the whole of a program and convert it into a single machine code program
which can be executed then or at a later stage. This contrasts with an
interpreted language in which each individual line of the program is
converted into machine code as the program is running. In a compiled
language, you have to convert the whole program before you can run any
of it whereas in an interpreted language you can run the program at any
time, stop it, change the program and run it again. On the other hand,
interpreted programs tend to run more slowly because even if one line of
the program is run many times, it has to be interpreted into machine
code every time it is run.
7.11
Compression/decompressionáÖáThere are various mathematical techniques
which can be used to store computer data in a smaller amount of memory
than the uncompressed data occupies. Some of these techniques are
completely reversible so that the decompressed data is identical to the
original data. However, in the case of images, it may be acceptable to
allow a degree of degradation of the data in order to increase the
amount by which the data is compressed.
7.11
ConfigurationáÖáA collection of settings and option which describe how
the computer will operate when it is first switched on.
7.11
Control codesáÖáSpecial non-printing ASCII codes which cause a device to
perform some electronic or mechanical action, e.g. ASCII 10 is linefeed,
13 is a carriage return and 12 ejects the paper or clears the screen.
7.11
CoprocessoráÖáSee Second Processor.
7.11
CPSáÖá(Characters per second) A way of measuring the speed of dot matrix
or inkjet printers.
7.11
CPUáÖá(Central Processing Unit) This is the electronic circuitry at the
heart of a computer that executes (very rapidly!) a series of simple
steps of reading, manipulating and writing information to and from the
computeræs RAM memory and input/output devices.
7.11
CRCáÖá(Cyclic redundancy check) This is a way of checking for errors in
stored and transmitted data.
7.11
Crop marksáÖáIn publishing, it is important to define where a printed
image appears in relation to the edges of the paper. To do so, the
images can be printed on a larger sheet of paper and markers placed on
the sheet to show where the corners of the paper will be.
7.11
CSVáÖá(Comma Separated Variables) A standard way in which data is stored
in a file where the items of data are separated by commas.
7.11
CMYKáÖá(Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key) A method of specifying colour by
using the amounts of the three primary (subtractive) colours plus the
amount of black (Key).
7.11
D
7.11
DatabaseáÖáThe definition of this word has changed over the years. It
used to mean a unified collection of data files but now it tends to
refer to an integrated system of data plus the means of interrogating
and manipulating the dataáÖáeven to the extent of referring to a
database language.
7.11
DaughterboardáÖáSee under Émotherboardæ.
7.11
DEBIáÖá(DMA Extended Bus Interface) This is a means of connecting
expansion cards to the RiscáPC. (Depending on which magazine you read,
it can support anything between eight and fourteen expansion cards!
Currently, the maximum is eight but we think it is theoretically
possible to have more.)
7.11
DebugáÖáRemove the bugs (errors) within a program.
7.11
DebuggeráÖáAn application written to provide tools to aid the process of
finding errors in a program.
7.11
DecompressionáÖáSee under compression.
7.11
DefaultáÖáThe standard setting or option which the computer selects
unless the user has specifically told it to do otherwise.
7.11
DeviceáÖáThis is the technical term for any information storage medium
(e.g. floppy or hard drive) or transmission system (e.g. network, modem
or printer) that can be accessed through the computer. Each currently
available device is represented by an icon at the lefthand side of the
iconbar.
7.11
DhrystonesáÖá(strictly Dhrystones/second) This is a means of indicating
the speed of a processor by testing the number of iterations of a
particular test program it can perform each second. For example, the
RiscáPC 600 with a 30MHz ARM600 processor can perform about 40,000
Dhrystones/second.
7.11
Dialogue boxáÖáA window in which you are expected to select various
options and/or enter a filename before the computer performs a
particular task or operation.
7.11
DigitiseráÖáAn electronic circuit which takes an analogue signal such as
a sound of a video signal and turns it into digital information which
can be stored and/or manipulated within the computer and output again as
a sound or video signal.
7.11
Direct drive laser printeráÖáIn conventional laser printers, the
computer sends information to the printer about what is to be printed,
in what position and with what styles etc. The processor and memory in
the laser printer are then used to work out what dots to place where on
the paper. In a direct drive laser, by contrast, the computer works out
what the pattern of dots should be and then sends the dot pattern down
to the printer on a high speed (övideoò) parallel interface. This means
that the printer needs little or no memory of its own and the process is
faster because ARM processors tend to be much more powerful than the
processors used in laser printers.
7.11
DirectoryáÖáWhen data is stored on a storage medium such as a floppy
disc, it can be grouped into directories. When the iconbar icon is
clicked, a window appears showing the data in the root (i.e. main)
directory. This may be items of data (stored as files), applications or
other directories. These directories in turn can contain more
information and/or further sub-directories. This system of directories
within directories is called a hierarchical data structure.
7.11
DitheringáÖáWhen displaying a picture on a computer screen in, say, a
256 colour mode, it is possible to give the impression of intermediate
colours by mixing dots of the different colours in different ratios.
This is done using a random displacement of these dots to avoid a
patterned effect. This technique is called dithering.
7.11
DMAáÖá(Direct Memory Access) When information is being taken into a
computer from an external source, the cpu normally reads a location, or
block of locations, in the external device and writes the information
into its own RAM memory. With DMA, by contrast, the information is
written directly from the external device into the cpuæs memory without
the cpu being involved. This means that the process is much faster, as
the cpu can be doing other things while the information is being loaded
automatically into memory.
7.11
DongleáÖáThis is a small electronic circuit, usually held in a plastic
connector block, that goes on the parallel port of a computer. It forms
an electronic Ékeyæ that allows you to use a particular application
(such as Impression or ArtWorks). The application checks every now and
then to see if a dongle is present and, if not, it shuts itself down and
will not restart.
7.11
DOSáÖá(Disc Operating SystemáÖábut also now used as shorthand for DR-DOS
or MS-DOS) These are the operating systems most commonly used on IBM PC
computers and compatibles. They can be used on Acorn computers by using
the PC Emulator or a PC expansion card or, on a RiscáPC, a PC processor
card. They are command-line operating systems, i.e. they do not use a
wimp interface. (For most practical purposes, there is very little
difference between DR-DOS and MS-DOS.)
7.11
Double density floppy discsáÖáDiscs that can store approximately 800Kb
of data when formatted.
7.11
dpiáÖá(dots per inch) On a desktop printer, the text and graphics are
reproduced by rows and rows of tiny dots. The smaller the dots, the
better the definition of the resulting printout. This is usually
specified as the number of dots per inch that the printer can lay onto
the paper. The same idea is used for scanning. When scanning a picture
or diagram, the grey level (see below) of rows of tiny areas of the
picture are assessed by the scanner. The closeness of the areas being
differentiated is measured in dots per inch.
7.11
DPMSáÖá(Display Power Management Signalling) When monitors are not being
used, it is a waste of energy to have them on at normal brightness.
RISCáOS 3 supports screen blanking which helps to reduce energy
consumption, but some monitors can accept special electronic signals
from a computer to tell it to drop into a very low power consumption
mode if it is not being used. This signalling between computer and
monitor is not available in all monitors, although a lot of newer
monitors are beginning to provide it.
7.11
DPOBáÖá(Dual Processor Open Bus) On the RiscáPC, the processor(s) are
held on separate cards which plug into the main PCB or motherboard. It
can take two such processor cards and the dual processor open bus is a
way of allowing two different (or similar) processors to share the use
of the computeræs memory and input/output and data storage facilities.
7.11
DRAMáÖá(Dynamic Random Access Memory) This is the most common form of
RAM memory used in computers today. ÉDynamicæ is a technical term which
refers to the way in which the information is stored within the chips.
7.11
DSPáÖá(Digital Sound Processing) A set of techniques for modifying sound
signals. It involves digitising the signals, performing various
mathematical processes on the data and then turning the resulting data
back into an analogue signal.
7.11
DTPáÖá(DeskTop Publishing) As desktop computers have increased in
processing power, it has become possible for them to handle both text
and graphics, to allow users to manipulate them on-screen and output
them to a printer. In this way, öbooksò can be produced on a desktop
computeráÖáhence the term Édesktop publishingæ.
7.11
E
7.11
EconetáÖáThis is a means of connecting two or more computers together so
that they can exchange information and share the use of peripherals such
as printers. It is a type of Local Area Network (LAN) developed in the
early æ80s by Acorn Computers Ltd.
7.11
Editor (1)áÖáAn application that allows you to edit the contents of a
file.
7.11
Editor (2)áÖáSomeone who is daft enough to take on the task of putting
together a massive glossary!
7.11
EEPROMáÖá(Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) A form of
non-volatile memory that remains unchanged, even when the power is
switched off but which can be altered in situ by using appropriate
electronic circuitry i.e. it can be reprogrammed through software.
7.11
E-mailáÖá(Electronic mail) A means communicating with other computer
users via a LAN or through a modem to a national or international
computer centre.
7.11
EPROMáÖá(Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) A form of non-volatile
memory that remains unchanged even when the power is switched off but
which can be altered by using ultraviolet radiation to erase the
information and high voltages to re-program it. (But see Flash ROM and
EEPROM.)
7.11
EPSáÖá(Encapsulated PostScript) This is a type of computer-generated
file containing the necessary PostScript commands to reproduce the
picture. It usually includes a Ésnapshotæ of the picture that can be
used for positioning purposes. EPS is a defined standard allowing output
from one application to be used within another.
7.11
Error boxáÖáA special type of dialogue box that gives information to a
user about the type of error that has occurred, requiring him to
acknowledge that it has been read.
7.11
EthernetáÖáAnother type of LAN, but much faster than Econet. It was
developed by Xerox Corporation in the late æ80s.
7.11
Expansion cardáÖá(formerly called podules or peripheral modules) An
extra circuit board fitted to your computer that will allow it to
perform various extra functions which cannot be done with software
alone.
7.11
F
7.11
FASTáÖáFederation Against Software Theft
7.11
FileáÖáA collection of information gathered together and given a
filename to identify it. It is stored in a directory in a filing system.
7.11
Filer or Filing systemáÖáA system used to handle the storage of
information. The ADFS filer and the SCSI filer are the two most common
on Acorn machines.
7.11
FirmwareáÖáThis refers to software, applications and/or data which is
stored in a ROM.
7.11
Flash ROMáÖáTo change the contents of a conventional EPROM, the chip has
to be removed and erased using ultra-violet radiation. It can then be
electrically re-programmed. A flash ROM, by contrast, can be re-
programmed electrically in situ, i.e. it can be reprogrammed through
software.
7.11
Floating point numbersáÖáIn order to represent a wider range of numbers
than can be done with integers, and to represent fractions, computers
use floating point numbers. These use a number of bytes (usually four)
to represent the main part of the number and another byte to represent
the power of two by which the number is multiplied.
7.11
Floppy disc/driveáÖáThis is a data storage medium consisting of a
removable flexible (floppy) magnetic disc in a hard plastic case. These
discs can be inserted as required into a floppy drive usually housed
within the case of the computer. The most common standard of floppy
drive used now is 3╜ö. Some 5╝ò drives are still in use but the 8ö
floppies have virtually all been consigned to the museum of computer
technology.
7.11
FMVáÖá(Full Motion Video) A term used to refer to displaying video on a
computer screen at full speed. Acorn Replay provides FMV at 12.5 or 25
frames per second.
7.11
FontsáÖáCharacters on the screen and on the printed page can take on all
sorts of different shapes and styles. A font is a set of characters that
have been designed so that all the letters of the alphabet and a whole
range of other special characters (200 or more in a complete set) have
the same style. There are also sets of related fonts using the same
basic style but with the characters angled (italic) or made heavier
(bold) or both (bold italic).
7.11
FormatáÖáFormatting is preparing a floppy disc or hard disc ready to
receive data. Hard discs usually arrive ready-formatted. Floppy discs
may be formatted in a number of different ways. Not all formats of
floppy disc can be read on all computers. Without any extra software,
Acorn computers can read and write various Acorn formats as well as a
number of different PC and Atari formats. With extra software, other
formats, such as Apple Mac, are also accessible on Acorn computers.
7.11
FPAáÖá(Floating Point Accelerator) This is a hardware add-on to a cpu
which enables it to do floating point calculations more quickly.
7.11
FPEáÖá(Floating Point Emulator) If an application requires full floating
point calculations, it is possible to run it on a computer that doesnæt
actually have an FPA by emulating the FPAæs functions in software.
7.11
Function keysáÖáThese are the set of twelve keys at the top of the
keyboard, all prefixed with an öFò. What they do will depend on the
application currently in use.
7.11
G
7.11
GbáÖá(Gigabyte) Approximately one thousand million bytes of computer
data. (Actually, it is 1K ╫ 1K ╫ 1Kb = 230 = 1024 ╫ 1024 ╫ 1024 =
1,073,741,824 bytes.)
7.11
GenlockáÖáThis is a device which enables the output from the computeræs
video system to synchronised with a normal video signal so that
computer-generated text and graphics can be superimposed on the video
signal.
7.11
GIF (files)áÖ (Graphics Interchange Format)áA standard format for
storing and transferring bit-mapped graphics.
7.11
Grey levelsáÖáA photograph may have some areas completely white and some
completely black. Most areas, however, will be somewhere in between. If
you wish to represent that picture electronically, you have to judge the
Égreynessæ of each part of the picture. If you represent this on a scale
of 0 to 15 (16 grey levels), it will not give such a faithful
representation of the picture as if 64 or 256 grey levels were used.
However, the more grey levels used to represent each point on the
picture, the more data is being used. For example, in 256 grey levels, a
full A4 picture scanned at 400 d.p.i. could occupy as much as 12Mb!
7.11
GUIáÖá(Graphical User Interface) At one time, virtually all interaction
between humans and computers was done on the basis of the human typing
words or codes into some form of keyboard. As computing power became
more accessible, it became possible to provide a form of interaction
that was based far more on pictures (icons) within windows on the
screen. The user could then indicate choice and initiate action by using
a mouse or trackerball to move a pointer around the screen.
7.11
H
7.11
Hard driveáÖáA case containing a number of rigid metal discs covered
with magnetised material that can be used to store data; it usually has
a capacity of several megabytes or even gigabytes.
7.11
HDáÖá(Hard drive)
7.11
HierarchicaláÖáThis is usually used in referring to the data structure
on storage mediaáÖásee Édirectoryæ.
7.11
High level languageáÖáThis refers to a computer language in which
instructions that the programmer enters are each converted into a number
of machine code instructions by a compiler or an interpreter. Basic,
Fortran, C etc are high level languages, whereas assembly language is a
low level language.
7.11
High density floppy discsáÖáDiscs that can store approximately 1,600Kb
of data when formatted under ADFS or up to 1,440Kb when formatted under
MSDOS.
7.11
HSVáÖá(Hue Saturation Value) This is a colour-picking system for use in
DTP.
7.11
HourglassáÖáThis is the egg-timer thing that appears on the screen all
too often, telling you that the application is taking a long time to do
something and that it doesnæt want interrupting.
7.11
I
7.11
IconbaráÖáThe strip along the bottom of the computer screen that
contains icons for devices (to the left) and applications (to the right)
that are currently available to the user.
7.11
IconsáÖáSmall pictures representing devices, files, directories,
applications, etc.
7.11
IDCáÖá(Insulation Displacement Connector) This refers to a connector
where the connection between the contacts and the individual wires is
made by squeezing a row (or usually two rows) of sharp metal teeth onto
a ribbon cable so that the teeth cut into the insulation and make
contact with each individual wire.
7.11
IDEáÖá(Integrated Drive Electronics) An electronic standard method of
connecting one or two hard drives to a computer system. The standard was
set up to provide a simpler and cheaper means of connecting hard drives
to IBM and compatible computers than was currently available.
7.11
Image processingáÖáIf an image is stored on a computer as binary data
(such as a sprite file) it is possible to manipulate the data
mathematically to enhance, distort, translate or otherwise modify the
picture in controlled ways.
7.11
Inkjet printeráÖáThis is a type of printer where the patterns on the
paper are generated by squirting ink through a series of tiny nozzles in
the print head.
7.11
Input focusáÖáThe output from the keyboard can be directed to one and
only one window at a time. The window currently receiving information
from the keyboard is said to have the input focus. This is indicated by
the title bar of the window changing from grey to yellow.
7.11
ISA BusáÖá(Industry Standard Architecture) This is a östandardò
expansion interface as used on PC compatibles.
7.11
InterlaceáÖáBuild up a picture on a monitor screen using two passes,
each displaying alternate lines, the aim being to reduce flicker
effects.
7.11
InterpreteráÖáA type of high level language in which each instruction is
converted into machine executable code line by line, as the program
proceeds. (See Écompileræ for more explanation.)
7.11
I/OáÖá(Input/Output)
7.11
IOCáÖá(Input/Output Controller) The I/O chip used on pre-RiscáPC Acorn
computers was called IOC.
7.11
IOMDáÖá(Input Output Memory Device) This is a computer chip designed by
ARM Ltd which allows ARM processors to control input/output devices and
to access memory.
7.11
J
7.11
JPEGáÖá(öJoint Picture Encoding Groupò or, some say, öJoint Photographic
Experts Groupò) It is a body set up in the USA to produce an industry
standard for still picture compression and storage. The theory is that,
with an agreed file format, one companyæs decompression program can read
the files produced by someone elseæs compression program.
7.11
K
7.11
KbáÖá(Kilobyte) Approximately one thousand bytes of computer data.
(Actually, it is 210 = 1024 bytes.)
7.11
KerneláÖáThe main part of the RISCáOS operating system.
7.11
KerningáÖáThis refers to the spacing between individual pairs of
characters. To improve the look of printed text, certain character pairs
need to be printed closer together than others.
7.11
L
7.11
LANáÖá (Local area network) A general term for a means of connecting
computers together on one site so that they can share information.
Econet and Ethernet are examples of LANs.
7.11
LeafnameáÖáThe last part of the pathname, i.e. the name of the file or
directory being referred to.
7.11
Letter box modeáÖáThere are some monitors that were never designed to
display screen modes of the like of Acorn modes 12, 15, etc. Some are
completely incapable of displaying them whereas others can display them
but with a somewhat reduced vertical height, the shape being likened to
the mouth of a letter box.
7.11
LinkeráÖáWhen using a compiler, this is the program that joins the
object code from various sub-programs, including the library routines,
to form the final executable machine code program.
7.11
LispáÖáA high level computer language often associated with artificial
intelligence programming.
7.11
Low level languageáÖáA language which involves programming the computer
at the level of one written instruction (or mnemonic) for each machine
code instruction.
7.11
M
7.11
MbáÖá(Megabyte) Approximately one million bytes of computer data.
(Actually, it is 1K ╫ 1Kb = 220 = 1024 ╫ 1024 = 1,048,576 bytes.)
7.11
MEMCáÖá(MEMory Controller) The chip used on pre-RiscáPC Acorn computers
to control the way the cpu and video controller accessed the computeræs
memory.
7.11
MHzáÖá(MegaHertz or Millions of cycles per second) This is most often
used to refer to the speed of a computeræs processor or memory. e.g. the
RiscáPC 600 has a 30MHz processor which means that it can carry out 30
million program steps each second.
7.11
MidiáÖá(Musical Instrument Digital Interface) A defined standard for the
physical link-up between musical instruments and controllers, and also
the format of the data transmitted.
7.11
MIPSáÖá(Million Instructions Per Second) A measure of how fast a cpu is
running in terms of the number of instructions it can execute each
second.
7.11
MnemonicáÖáA code used in an assembler to represent a machine code
instruction.
7.11
ModeáÖáSee screen mode.
7.11
ModemáÖá(An abbreviation for modulator-demodulator) It is a device which
takes a serial stream of computer data and converts it into audible
tones that can be transmitted down a telephone line that was originally
design for carrying voice information. It enables two computers to
exchange data at a distance via the telephone system.
7.11
MonitortypeáÖáA computer variable that determines which ranges of screen
modes the computer will attempt to display on your monitor.
7.11
MotherboardáÖáThe main circuit board of a computer is sometimes referred
to as a motherboard, especially when, as in the RiscáPC, many of the
functional parts of the computer are on separate PCBs (sometimes called
daughterboards) that are plugged into the main or motherboard.
7.11
MPCáÖá(Multimedia Personal Computer) The östandardò multimedia computer
used in the PC world.
7.11
MPEGáÖá(Motion Picture Experts Group) A group of technologists who are
establishing an international standard for the compression of moving
video and its associated audio.
7.11
MTBFáÖá(Mean Time Between Failure) An indication of how long, on
average, it will be before a machine goes wrong.
7.11
MultimediaáÖáA blend of communications elements, usually computer-based,
which allow information in such forms as sound, speech, text, still
pictures, moving images and animations to be presented to the user so
that it can be accessed in an interactive way, the user selecting which
piece(s) of information to pursue.
7.11
MultisessionáÖáInformation stored on a PhotoCD can be added to at a
later date with the appropriate (very expensive) equipment. In order to
read all the information on these CDs, you need a CD-ROM drive that is
multisession capable.
7.11
Multisync monitoráÖáSome monitors are designed (for cheapness) that only
display in certain modes. Others can display a range of different
modesáÖáthey can synchronise onto a range of different frequency signals
and are therefore called Émultisyncæ monitors.
7.11
MultitaskingáÖáAn operating system like RISCáOS is capable of running a
number of different tasks all at the same time. This is multitasking.
(Actually, I think itæs a bit of a con. The cpu can really only does one
job at a time but what it does is to do a little bit of each task every
fraction of a second.)
7.11
N
7.11
NetworkáÖáA means of connecting a number of computers together so that
they can share data and the use of peripherals.
7.11
NFSáÖá(Network Filing System) A RISCáOS filing system that uses Acornæs
Econet network system.
7.11
O
7.11
Obey fileáÖáA file of commands prepared for execution by the RISCáOS
command line interpreter.
7.11
Object codeáÖáthe machine-executable code produced by a compiler.
7.11
Object orientedáÖáThe approach used in conventional programming is to
have a number of procedures or routines which can work on some data.
There is no conceptual connection between the data and the operations
which are performed on it. In contrast to this, object-oriented
programming works on a concept of objects, which consist both of data
fields (similar to a structure in C) and of a list of methods which may
be applied to that data. For example, you could define an object point
(with data x and y, both integers), and define a move method on it to
change these fields.
7.11
One of the most useful concepts which may be derived from this is
inheritance Ö an object can be defined as a sub-type of another object,
and in doing so inherit all its methods (and data fields), but may also
add its own. As an example, you could define a circle object with data x
and y (inherited from the parent point object) but with another data
field, radius. Similarly, the circle would inherit the move method
(which would not have to be rewritten), but could also have a resize
method added to it.
7.11
The result of these changes in approach is that it is often easier to
implement large programs, since it is harder to get confused about how a
piece of data should be used, and less code needs to be rewritten.
Object-oriented languages include Modula-3, C++ and Objective C.
7.11
(Well, you wanted to know what it meant, didnæt you?! Thanks to Andrew
Garrard for that definition. Ed.)
7.11
OCRáÖá(Optical Character Recognition) Computers can be trained to
examine the shapes of typed or printed characters and work out what the
letters, words and sentences are. So, combined with a scanner or camera
and digitiser, the computer can Éreadæ text off books and paper. Because
of the difficulty of being 100% accurate, it may take as long to edit
out the mistakes as to type the text in from scratch, so OCR programmers
are fighting all the time to make their programs more and more accurate
without becoming too slow for practical use. This facility will become
more viable as we get progressively faster processors.
7.11
OLEáÖá(Object Linking and Embedding) This is a means of linking data of
different types (e.g. text, drawfiles, sprites, etc) within one document
so that each element can be easily edited. Double-clicking on an element
brings up the appropriate editing application (Draw, Paint, ArtWorks,
etc) to allow you to make the necessary changes without having to export
and then re-import the data.
7.11
Operating systemáÖáThis is the set of öhouse-keepingò programs within a
computer which handle all the input/output, filing systems, etc. All
modern Acorn computers come with the RISCáOS operating system as
standard (stored in ROM) but it is possible to use alternative operating
systems such as DR-DOS and MS-DOS by adding the appropriate software or
hardware.
7.11
Option iconáÖá An icon that appears in a dialogue box. Each time you
click on it, you will switch a particular option on or off.
7.11
OS áÖá(Operating System Ö See above)
7.11
OS graphic unitáÖáA unit for defining graphics under RISCáOS so that
they are independent of the current screen mode. There are nominally 180
OS graphics units to the inch.
7.11
Outline fontsáÖáThese are fonts that are described mathematically by
using equations to define the curves that make up the outline of the
characteræs shape. Using these equations, it is relatively simple to
work out how to display any font at any size, either on the screen or on
a printer where the shape has to be reproduced as a series of dots.
7.11
P
7.11
PaletteáÖáThis is a set of colours used for the desktop display. If the
display has, say, 256 colours, the palette determines which actual
physical colour is displayed on the screen for each of the colour
numbers from 0 to 255.
7.11
PaneáÖáA dialogue box that is attached to a particular window, e.g. the
toolbox at the side of a Draw window.
7.11
ParalleláÖáA device or communication channel is said to be parallel if
the data is sent several bits at a time down several parallel
wiresáÖáthe printer port sends eight bits of data at a time.
7.11
Parallel processoráÖáIn some computers, such as the RiscáPC, it is
possible to have two processors working side-by-side, sharing the use of
memory, data storage and peripheralsáÖásuch processors are referred to
as Éparallel processorsæ.
7.11
Parent directoryáÖáThe directory within which the directory you are
currently dealing with is stored. (It is the opposite of a
subdirectory.)
7.11
ParityáÖáA method of checking for errors in transmitted or stored data.
An extra bit (the parity bit) is added to each ASCII character so that
the number of É1æ bits is always odd (or always even).
7.11
PathnameáÖáThis is the full name of a file or directory including the
filing system, disc name (or number) and the sequence of directories
that have to be opened to access that particular file or directory e.g.
SCSI::Paul105.$.Archive.Bits.!Glossary
7.11
PBM (files) Ö (Portable Bit-Maps)áA standard format for storing and
transferring bit-mapped graphics.
7.11
PCBáÖá(Printed Circuit Board) A piece of insulating material covered
with conducting tracks, used to interconnect electronic components to
make up an electronic circuit.
7.11
PC CardáÖáA PC processor on a separate card that can be used as a second
processor in a RiscáPC.
7.11
PC EmulatoráÖáA software application that can work within RISC OS or as
a separate program taking over the whole of the computeræs processing
power which enables the computer to pretend to be an IBM PC and run
(most of) the programs that are written to run under MS-DOS or DR-DOS on
those computers.
7.11
PC Expansion CardáÖáAn expansion card containing a PC processor plus
memory plus some I/O capability that can allow PC programs to be run
within the RISCáOS environment.
7.11
PentiumáÖáThis is a 32-bit cpu with a 64-bit data bus produced by Intel
Corporation.
7.11
PeripheraláÖáAn item of hardware such as a monitor or printer that can
be connected to your computer.
7.11
PinboardáÖáThis is an application that makes use of the blank areas of
the desktop. You can Éstickæ various files or applications onto it so
that they are easily accessible without having the filer windows open
for each of the directories in which they are stored.
7.11
PixeláÖáA tiny point of light and colour which is the smallest picture
element in a video or computer image. The more pixels making up the
image, the better the resolution.
7.11
PoduleáÖáSee Éexpansion cardæ.
7.11
Pop-up menuáÖáA menu available by clicking an icon in within a dialogue
box. The icon is often placed alongside a display showing the current
setting of that option.
7.11
PostScriptáÖáA page description language used in some laser printers and
imagesetters. PostScript is a defined standard so that applications
using it can produce output that can be printed on any PostScript
device.
7.11
Printer driveráÖáThis is the program that converts a document or file
created by an application into information that your particular printer
needs to reproduce the information on paper. The term can be extended to
öprintingò a file or document via a fax modem. The output is in the form
which a fax modem can then transmit, the printed output appearing on the
fax at the other end of the phone line.
7.11
Printer manageráÖáAn application that oversees the printing process.
7.11
PrologáÖáA high level computer language often associated with artificial
intelligence programming.
7.11
ProcessoráÖáSee CPU.
7.11
PRMáÖá(Programmers Reference Manual) A set of manuals covering many
highly technical programming details of the RISCáOS operating system.
7.11
Public Domain (PD)áÖáThere are a number of enthusiastic people who
produce programs and clipart which they want to make freely available
for other people to useáÖárather than trying to make money by selling
them. The material is distributed at cost by various individuals and
agencies. There are quite a number of PD libraries dealing with material
for Acorn computers. (Norwich Computer Services currently runs one such
library, part of which raises money for charity.)
7.11
Q
7.11
QuitáÖáClose a file or application so that its window(s) disappear from
the screen and, in the case of an application, it disappears from the
iconbar.
7.11
Qwerty (keyboard)áÖáLook at the six characters at the top left of your
keyboard and youæll see what itæs called a qwerty keyboard.
7.11
R
7.11
Radio iconsáÖáA group of buttons within a dialogue box, only one of
which can be selected at a time.
7.11
RAMáÖá(Random Access Memory) This is the place within the computer where
information is stored on a temporary basis. When the computer is
switched off, information in RAM is lost.
7.11
RAM discáÖáPart of the computeræs RAM memory can be set aside so that
the user can store files and data on a temporary basis during a computer
session. The information is accessed through a filer in the same way
that you would access an external storage medium such as a floppy or
hard drive.
7.11
Relocatable moduleáÖáA section of computer code that can be used to
extend the facilities of the operating system and which can then be used
by any application running in the computer.
7.11
Removable hard disc driveáÖáThis is cross between a hard drive and a
floppy drive. It uses a solid metal disc so that it can store large
amounts of data (currently up to 270Mb on a single disc) but the disc is
held in a plastic case like a thick floppy disc. The cartridge can be
taken in and out of the drive so that a number of discs can be used for
different purposes, and the data can be transferred easily from one
computer to another.
7.11
ResolutionáÖáThe complexity of detail that can be seen on a computer
screen or a printer can be specified in terms of resolution, i.e. the
numbers of dots per inch.
7.11
ResourcesáÖáThe various programs and data files which an application
uses to perform its task.
7.11
RGBáÖá(Red Green Blue) Any colour can be made up of a combination of
different amounts of light of these three primary colours. So colour
monitors (RGB monitors) use sets of three coloured phosphor dots of
these three colours.
7.11
RIPáÖá(Raster Image Processor) This is a device used in the printing
industry to produce a very high resolution output.
7.11
RISCáÖáThis is an acronym for Reduced Instruction Set Computer.
Companies like Acorn realised that the trend to more and more complex
computer processors wasnæt necessarily the best way to increase the
overall speed of computer processing. These complex processors were
spending the majority of their time doing simple tasks anyway. Acorn
made the processors simpler, which meant they could work much faster
doing the simple jobs like pushing text around and drawing dots on the
screen. This is partly why RISC processors are so well-suited to DTP
applications. (N.B. This explanation is a gross over-simplification
which doesnæt do justice to the brilliance of the designers of the Acorn
RISC processors!)
7.11
RISCáOSáÖáThis is the operating system used on Acornæs RISC-based
computers.
7.11
RISC_OSLibáÖáA library supplied with Acornæs ANSI C compiler designed to
help you program applications that run in the RISCáOS desktop.
7.11
RMAáÖá(Relocatable Module Area) The area of RAM set aside for the
program modules used by different applications.
7.11
ROMáÖá(Read-Only Memory) A form of non-volatile memory that remains
unchanged even when the power is switched off and which cannot (usually)
be altered. (But see Flash ROM and EPROM.)
7.11
Root directoryáÖáThe main directory of a storage device which contains
all other directories and files and which is displayed when the iconbar
icon of the device is clicked.
7.11
RS232/RS423áÖáThese are two different (but similar) electrical standards
for the transmission of serial data.
7.11
S
7.11
SampleráÖáAn add-on that takes a sound signal as input and turns it into
digital data that can stored and/or manipulated within the computer and
then be output again through a DAC (digital to analogue converter).
7.11
ScanneráÖáAn add-on that enables the user to read visual images into the
computer from originals such as photographs and books.
7.11
SCARTáÖá(Syndicat des Constructeurs dæAppariels de Radio et de
TelevisionáÖáwell, you wanted to know, didnæt you!) A means of
connecting computers, video recorders, etc to televisions and monitors
using standard connections.
7.11
!ScrapáÖáA special directory on which RISCáOS makes available for
applications to use as temporary storage space. Use of this directory is
under the control of the application and the user is normally unaware of
it.
7.11
Screen blankingáÖáWithin RISCáOS 3 is an optional facility (set in the
configuration) which switches the screen to black after a user-definable
length of time if the computer is not being used. As soon as a key is
pressed or the mouse is moved, the screen returns to normal. This
reduces the likelihood of monitors having patterns Éburned inæ to the
face of the tube (and reduces the power consumption of the monitor to
some extent).
7.11
Screen modeáÖáInformation can be displayed on TV or monitor screens in a
number of different formats. The numbers of pixels that make up the
screen may be different (from, say, 480 ╫ 512 to 1600 ╫ 1200 or more)
and the colour depth of each pixel may vary. The amount of memory used
to display the screen will increase as both the number of pixels and the
colour depth are increased. There is a trade-off between the two as the
amount of video memory is usually limited. A particular size and colour
depth is referred to as a screen mode.
7.11
Scroll arrowáÖáThe arrows within a window that are used to allow you to
scroll through a document or list or to move around the contents of a
window that is too big to display in the current size of window.
7.11
ScrollingáÖáIf a file or document is too large to be displayed on the
screen all at once, it is displayed in a window with scroll bars and
scroll arrows so that you can move around and view different parts of it
as necessary.
7.11
SCSIáÖá(Small Computer Systems Interface) This is an agreed standard
system for communicating data between computers and data storage and
acquisition devices, the data being transmitted along parallel data
paths. It is commonly used to link a computer to hard drives, CD-ROMs
and/or scanners, but it can also be used to link computers together,
subject to the limitation that you can only link a total of eight
different Édevicesæ together.
7.11
SCSIFSáÖáA RISCáOS filing system used for communicating with devices
attached to the SCSI interface.
7.11
Second processoráÖáIn computers such as the RiscáPC it is possible to
have more than one processor working together sharing memory, data
storage and peripherals. In the RiscáPC, the ARM610 takes charge when
the computer is first switched on and it then allows the other processor
(the Ésecond processoræ) access to memory etc.
7.11
Select boxáÖáA rectangular box used to outline an area within which any
objects are selected.
7.11
Self-testáÖáWhen a computer is switched on, it runs through a series of
tests to check, as far as it is able, that it is functioning correctly.
In a RISCáOS 3 (or later) computer, if any of these self-tests fails, it
will usually issue some sort of error message. If the system has not
managed to get as far as producing a working display on the VDU, it will
send a coded message about the likely error by flashing the LED on the
floppy drive.
7.11
SerialáÖáA device or communication channel is said to be serial if the
data is sent sequentially, one bit at a time, as opposed to being sent
several bits at a time down parallel wires.
7.11
ShovelwareáÖáThis is a derogatory term for software and other data of
inferior quality that is used to Épack outæ a CD-ROM and make it up to
600Mb, or whatever, to convince the potential purchaser that the disc is
worth buying.
7.11
ShutdownáÖáA menu option on the task manager iconbar menu which Éclears
upæ the computer prior to switching it off. It can also be done by using
<ctrl-shift-f12>.
7.11
SIMMáÖá(Single In-line Memory Module) An industry standard plug-in
memory card as used in the RiscáPC, for example.
7.11
SliceáÖá(Single Layer Item of Computer Expansion!) The name applies to a
single extra layer of case in a RiscáPC. It includes a new backplane
with two more slots than previously and four locking pins longer than
the ones they replace.
7.11
SmalltalkáÖáA high level computer programming language that allows you
to use object-oriented techniques.
7.11
SOHO (market)áÖá(Small Office Home Office) A defined market into which
companies try to sell their computer goodies.
7.11
Source codeáÖá the name given to the program written in a high level
language which is converted by a compiler into machine executable code.
7.11
SpriteáÖáA graphic made up of coloured pixels.
7.11
Sprite pooláÖáAn area of memory used by RISCáOS for storing sprites.
7.11
SQLáÖá(Structured Query Language) Language for extracting information
from a database.
7.11
SubdirectoryáÖáWithin any directory, you can store files and other
directories. A directory that appears inside another directory is
referred to as a subdirectory.
7.11
SVGAáÖá(Super VGA) An enhanced colour graphics standard from the PC
worldáÖá1024╫768.
7.11
System application (!System)áÖáAn application that contains many of the
resources that can be used by any or all other applications.
7.11
System discáÖáA floppy disc containing a copy of !System.
7.11
T
7.11
TapestreameráÖáComputer data has, for many years, been stored on
magnetic tape. This is a basically inefficient method in the sense that
if you are at one end of the tape and the data you want is at the other
end, it can take a long time to reach the information. However, it is
very efficient in the sense that the medium, magnetic tape, can be very
inexpensive per megabyte. A tapestreamer is a glorified (video) tape
recorder controlled by the computer and is used mainly for backup
storage purposes.
7.11
Task manageráÖáThis is the Acorn icon at the far right of the iconbar.
It is an application that controls the allocation and use of memory
within the computer.
7.11
TCP/IPáÖá(Transfer Control Protocolá/áInterface Protocol) This is a
standard protocol for transferring data between different computers on a
LAN or via modem link.
7.11
TemplateáÖáA set of windows and dialogue boxes that have been designed
for use within an application.
7.11
TIFF (files)áÖá(Tagged Image File Format)áA very versatile format for
storing and transferring bit-mapped graphics.
7.11
Title baráÖáThe bar along the top of a window that contains the name of
that window.
7.11
TLBáÖá(Translation Look-Aside Buffer) This is part of an ARM processor
which helps it to access different areas of memory more quickly.
Basically, itæs the bigger the buffer the better!
7.11
Toggle size iconáÖáThe icon at the top righthand corner of a window that
is used to extend and contract a window between its maximum size and the
size and position to which you last reduced it.
7.11
TokenisedáÖáWhen a Basic program is stored, it is usually stored with
each keyword represented by a single byte rather than as a string of
ASCII codes. These single bytes are referred to as tokens.
7.11
ToolboxáÖáA window or pane of tool icons. It may be free-standing or
attached to another widow.
7.11
ToneráÖáThis is the fine powder used in a laser printer (or
photocopier).
7.11
TPIáÖá(Tracks per inch) This is one way of specifying the amount of data
you can store on your floppy discs, e.g. 800Kb 3╜ö discs (DD) are
135tpi.
7.11
TrackingáÖáIn some applications, the spacing between individual letters
within a block of text can be controlledáÖáthis is called tracking. If
the tracking is changed, the spacing between all the characters is
increased or decreased. This is distinct from kerning which relates to
the spacing between individual pairs of characters.
7.11
Transparency maskáÖáAn optional part of a sprite that defines which
pixels of that sprite are transparent.
7.11
TRMáÖá(Technical Reference Manual) Term used to refer to the optional
hardware manual for Acorn computers.
7.11
TSVáÖá(Tab Separated Variables) A standard way in which data is stored
in a file where the items of data are separated by tab characters.
7.11
U
7.11
U think of something Ö I canæt!
7.11
V
7.11
VapourwareáÖáA derogatory term for software that is being advertised but
isnæt actually availableáÖá it is often said to be available öreal soon
nowò!
7.11
VDUáÖá(Visual Display Unit) The monitor or television used to display
the output of the computer.
7.11
Vector graphicsáÖáIt is possible to represent a picture on a computer by
using a series of lines, shapes, characters etc. When such pictures are
printed, the resolution of the pictures produced is only limited by the
resolution of the output device. (This contrasts with bit-mapped
graphicsáÖásee above. For example, the Draw application produces vector
graphics whereas Paint produces bit-mapped graphics.)
7.11
VESAáÖá(Video Electronics Standards Association)
7.11
VGAáÖá(Video Graphics Adapter or Array) A graphics standard from the PC
worldáÖá640╫480.
7.11
VIDC20áÖá(Video Controller) The video and audio controller designed by
ARM Ltd and used in the RiscáPC.
7.11
Virtual memoryáÖáA method by which an application, which requires more
RAM memory than a computer actually has, can still operate. It is done
by using parts of a hard driveæs memory as an extension of the real
memory, the information being swapped in and out by the operating
system, as and when it needs to be accessed by the application.
7.11
VirusáÖáA computer program which can replicate itself (unbeknown to the
user) in various storage devices and in several places on one storage
device. As discs are taken from one computer to another, the virus can
be spread to more and more computers. Often, the effect of these
programs is to cause malicious damage to data within the computer
system.
7.11
VRAMáÖá(Video RAM) This is a bank of high speed RAM used to store the
information for the screen display. It can usually (as in the RiscáPC)
be accessed by the computeræs processor and by the video controller at
the same time. The computer accesses it as necessary to change the
screen display and the video controller accesses it on a continuous
basis to constantly generate the signals the monitor needs to display
the information set up by the computer.
7.11
W
7.11
WeightáÖáThis refers to the density of the characters within a typeface
Ö e.g. bold, light, extra, demibold, extrabold, etc.
7.11
WIMPáÖá(Windows, Icons, Menus and Pointer) A method by which a user can
interact with a computer without having to learn lots of special words.
It provides a much more intuitive Éviewæ of the computer and its
facilities than non-WIMP operating systems provide.
7.11
WinchesteráÖáOld-fashioned term for a hard disc, named after the
inventors of the technology.
7.11
Window manageráÖáThis is the official name for the RISCáOS WIMP system.
7.11
WordáÖáA group of bytes considered by the cpu to be a unit of data. In
Acorn 32-bit computers, a word is four 8-bit bytes.
7.11
WPáÖá(Word-Processing)áÖáIn the early days of microcomputers, word-
processing was limited to handling text to create documents. These days,
however, many of the programs that are referred to as word-processors
can also handle pictures, so the distinction between WP and DTP is
becoming less clear.
7.11
Writable iconáÖáA submenu into which you can type some information such
as a filename.
7.11
Write-protectáÖáOpen the tag at the corner of a floppy disc in order to
protect the contents from being edited or accidentally deleted.
7.11
WYSIWYGáÖá(What You See Is What You Get) In the days of text-based word-
processing, the screen display would only gave an indication of which
words would appear on a given printed page but often not much more than
that. WYSIWYG describes a system where the screen display shows the size
and positioning of all the text (and graphics) exactly as it will appear
on the printed page.
7.11
WhetstonesáÖáThis is a floating point version of the Dhrystones test.
7.11
X
7.11
XGAáÖá(Extended Graphics Adapter or Array) The definition varies (as
well as the name) depending which book you read but it is roughly 1024 ╫
768 in lots of colours!
7.11
Y
7.11
Yádo we have to have something for every letter?
7.11
X
7.11
ZzzzáÖáThis is what happens to anyone who tries to read right the way
through a glossary like this one!
7.11
Sources
7.11
I acknowledge, with grateful thanks, the many Archive subscribers who
have contributed ideas and definitions for this glossary. I would also
like to acknowledge various books I have consulted that have been most
useful in compiling this glossary:
7.11
Acorn RISCáOS Style GuideáÖáAcorn Computers LtdáÖá1-85250-148-0
7.11
Acorn RiscáPC Welcome GuideáÖáAcorn Computers LtdáÖá1-85250-143-X
7.11
Acorn User MagazineáÖávarious issues
7.11
Archimedes World MagazineáÖávarious issues
7.11
DTP at a GlanceáÖáRob PickeringáÖáBookmark PublishingáÖá1-85550-002-7
7.11
RISCáOS First StepsáÖáAnne RooneyáÖáDabs Press Ö 1-870336-83-6. ááAá
7.11
Archive Glossary Ö August 1994
7.11
Colton
7.11
From 7.10 page 10
7.11
Mijas
7.11
New artwork
7.11
Small Ads
7.11
(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 Ésmallæ
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)
7.11
Å  2Mb SIMM for RISC PC, ú50 o.n.o. Phone [phone].
7.11
Å  A3000, 2Mb RAM, RISC OS 3.11, ext 3╜ö and 5╝ò disc drives. Colour
monitor. All boxed with manuals etc. ex cond. ú450 o.n.o. Phone 0533-
882528.
7.11
Å  A3000, RISC OS 3.1, 4Mb, 100Mb HCCS hard card, colour monitor and
monitor stand, PD software, ex cond, ú800 o.n.o. Phone [phone] after
6pm.
7.11
Å  A310, 4Mb RAM, MEMC1a, ARM3 (33MHz), RISC OS 3.1, 47Mb HD, Taxan 775
monitor, loadsa software, inc PC Emulator, ú800 o.n.o.. Phone John on
0328-864177.
7.11
Å  A310, ARM 3, RISC OS 3.1, 4Mb RAM, 40Mb IDE hard disc (ICS
interface), colour monitor, fan quietener, some software, plus PD,
Beebug 5╝ö disc interface + 40 track drive, DFS reader and 50 5╝ò discs,
ú525 o.n.o. + p&p. Phone [phone] (eves).
7.11
Å  A310, monitor, 2Mb RAM, twin floppies, Watford digitiser and
Lingenuity colour converter, memory expansion will take RISC OS 3.1,
ú395 o.n.o. Phone [phone].
7.11
Å  A310, RISCáOS 3.1, 4Mb, ARM3, MEMC + 20M HD, Hifi Audio, VIDC
enhancer, 4 layer back plane, Acorn I/O podule, external disc interface,
Taxan 770+LR multisync, Kaga KP-810 printer, leads, manuals, software.
ú600 +p&p. 071-272-1027. Sensible offers considered.
7.11
Å  A310 (RISC OS 3.1), 4Mb RAM, 2nd internal 3╜ö disc drive, DFS buffer/
podule, PAL TV converter, ú385 o.n.o. Cub 3000 colour monitor (built in
stereo sound) for ú185 o.n.o. Oki wide carriage DM printer tractor/
sheet/envelope feed for ú65 o.n.o. Phone [phone] after 6pm.
7.11
Å  A410, 4Mb RAM, 35MHz ARM3, RISC OS 3.1, 47Mb HD, Colour monitor, Oak
SCSI board, 5╝ö FD interface, all cables, manuals and boxes, loads of PD
software and games. Bargain only ú750, no offers. Phone [phone]
(office hours).
7.11
Å  A410, monitor, 20Mb hard disc, RISC OS 3.1, ú475 o.n.o. Phone 0452-
417697.
7.11
Å  A410/1, 4 Mb, ARM 3, RISC OS 3.10, External 40Mb IDE disc, Acorn
multisync (AKF18), Epson MX80 (9 pin), ú750 o.n.o. Amstrad SM2400 modem,
5╝ö drive and interface card, Graphbox Professional, 1st Word Plus,
Logistix. Offers. Phone [phone] after 7.
7.11
Å  A440/1, 4Mb RAM, 47Mb HD, 25MHz ARM3, VIDC enhancer, 5╝ö floppy
interface, RISC OS 3.1, PC Emulator v1.8. immac cond, all original
packing, software, manuals etc, ú600 o.n.o. 0924-255515.
7.11
Å  A5000, 100Mb hard disc, 4Mb RAM. M/Sync monitor, as new, with over
ú1000 of original software inc Lemmings, Populous, 1st Word Plus, ú975
o.n.o. Phone [phone].
7.11
Å  A5000 25MHz, RISC OS 3.11, 4Mb RAM (upgradable), PC Emulator v1.81
with DR DOS 5.0, Acorn m/sync monitor, boxes, manuals. Ex cond, ú750.
Phone [phone].
7.11
Å  A5000, 4Mb, 100Mb HD, Std Resolution monitor ú800. 100Mb Mac style
external SCSI HD ú200. Contact Leslie Wiggins on 0332-204040 day or
0602-272282 eves.
7.11
Å  A5000, 4Mb RAM, 40Mb HD, Eizo Multiscan monitor, RISC OS 3.11,
Learning Curve software, all manuals, ú1050 o.n.o. Phone [phone].
7.11
Å  A5000, 4Mb RAM, 405Mb Hard disc, RISC OS 3.1, AKF18 Monitor ú900.
Phone [phone] evenings.
7.11
Å  A5000 Fan silencer, ú15. Phone [phone].
7.11
Å  A5000 Learning Curve, 4Mb RAM, 120Mb HD, lots of software. ú800 for
quick sale. Phone Howard Bailey on 0202-394057.
7.11
Å  A5000, RISC OS 3.1, 4Mb 40Mb HD, multi-sync monitor, Learning Curve
pack, also Draw Plus, Powerbase and lots of software, ú950 o.n.o. Canon
BJ-300, ú200 o.n.o. All ex cond. Scan Light Video, as new, ú190 o.n.o.
Buy the whole lot for ú1300. Phone John 081-504-0802, eves, w/e.
7.11
Å  A5000, RISC OS 3.11, AKF18 monitor, 40Mb HD, 4Mb RAM, ú800. Phone
Garry on 091-3771-489.
7.11
Å  A540 without monitor, 8Mb RAM, 120Mb hard disc, ú975. Acorn colour
monitor ú100. Fax Pack ú125. Phone [phone].
7.11
Å  Acorn Risc PC, 10Mb DRAM, 210Mb IDE hard disc, 14ö SVGA (AKF60)
monitor, Impression Publisher, S-Base2 Developer, RISC OS 3 PRM, PD
Software, discs, manuals, etc. 1 month old, immac cond, ú2000 o.v.n.o.
Phone Craig on 0633-894533 anytime.
7.11
Å  Citizen Swift 24 dot matrix printer. ú80 o.n.o. Phone [phone].
7.11
Å  Conner CP3044 40Mb IDE drive ex A5000, offers around ú70. Home Office
pack unused, offers around ú80 to Derby 0332-701969.
7.11
Å  Econet interfaces ú15 each, Filestore E015 ú125, AppFS software ú50.
Contact Hill 0953-605566 (0953-850948 eves).
7.11
Å  Eizo 9070S 16ö multiscan 0.28mm dot pitch with warranty, H-scan
frequency 20-50kHz, V-scan 50-80Hz, TTL or analogue RGB inputs. Offers
to 0332-701969.
7.11
Å  HCCS Colour Vision Digitiser for A400 series, brand new ú75. Phone
Ian on 061-476-0229.
7.11
Å  System Delta Plus, ú35. Phone Peter on 0924-862602.
7.11
Å  WordWorks ú20, PC Emulator 1.8 ú30, Artisan 2 ú10, HP Printer Drivers
ú10, Artisan Support Disc ú5, AlphaBase ú10, Sporting Triangles ú5,
Blowpipe ú10, The Last Days Of Doom ú5, Avon ú5, EMR Soundsynth ú15,
Corruption ú10, Nevron ú10, Rotor ú10, Wherewith The Clues ú10, Desktop
Games ú10, Hoverbod ú5, Orion ú5, Repton 3 ú5, Terramex ú5, Inertia ú5,
Quazar ú5, Alerion ú5, Conqueror ú5, Zarch ú5, Word Up Word Down ú5,
Startrader ú5, Thundermonk ú5, Ancestry ú10, Drop Ship ú10, Desktop
Thesaurus ú5, Holed Out Compendium ú10, Gods ú10, Archway2 ú25. Phone
0442Ö822875 6pm-9pm weekdays.
7.11
Charity Sales
7.11
The following items are available for sale in aid of charity. PLEASE do
not just send money Ö ring us on 0603-766592 to check if the items are
still available. Thank you.
7.11
Software: First Word Plus ú9, Genesis ú5, Genesis Plus ú20, PC Emulator
1.7 ú20, Pacmania ú5, Leading Edge Midi Tracker ú15, Bubble Fair ú2,
Quest for Gold ú2, Fireball II ú5, Spellmaster ú5, Landbuild ú5, Ancient
Egypt clipart ú3, Blaston ú2, Pysanki ú3, Blowpipe ú3, Zelanites ú3,
Rotor ú3, Man United Europe ú5, Apocalypse ú5.
7.11
Hardware: 40Mb IDE drive ú35, A3000 1Mb RAM ú25, Cumana 40/80 external
5╝ö floppy drive ú30, WE external disc interface (for A400/1 and
earlier) ú9, Quest trackerball ú15, Z88 + p.s.u. ú40.
7.11
(If you have unwanted software or hardware for Archimedes computers that
you could donate in aid of charity, please send it 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.)ááAá
7.11
Bodywise
7.11
Nick Harris
7.11
Bodywise is an öannotated pictorial databaseò of the human body packaged
in a neat A5 plastic folder. It consists of a key disc (software
protection) and two data discs (the second data disc is only required
when you are printing or saving with empty labels!) with two 16-page A5
manuals Ö the öBodywise User Guideò and öUsing Bodywise in the
Classroomò. In addition, there are two differentiated sets of activity
cards with answers, six double-sided A4 fact sheets covering: The
Skeleton, Hormones, Genetics, Food, Drugs and Aids plus an A4 skeleton
sheet and a simple A3 promotional poster. Sherston are now shipping
v1.03, so Bodywise will run on all Archimedes and on the RiscáPC. It can
be installed on to a hard disc but will still require the key disc to
run. Site licence holders will be provided with an unprotected key disc.
It will require virtually all the memory on a 1Mb machine but if you
load and then Équitæ the printer driver before loading Bodywise, you can
still do printouts.
7.11
The user guide, which includes tutorial, is both clear and concise. It
deals with loading and using the software in a straightforward manner
and the tutorial takes the user through the Bodywise database with
simple clicks on relevant buttons. öUsing Bodywise in the Classroomò has
suggestions for using printouts from Bodywise in the classroom and also
many suggestions for use in lessons across the full range of the
curriculum. It mentions various useful books with authors and publishers
and addresses of charities and institutions who could supply additional
material for the lesson suggestions.
7.11
Within the application, the illustrations are compressed using the
öSquishò method (Archive 7.2 p54) whereby a sprite is converted into one
long strip. This allows a huge amount of pictorial information to be
stored on three ordinary 800Kb discs. Bodywise allows you to save or
print any one of the many complete pictures, cross sections, diagrams or
frames from the animations in colour or black and white outlines, with
full text labels or with blank labels. Text can also be saved out and
edited so that you can prepare teaching materials to your own
specifications. The saving out function works very well, in that, not
only does it remember the path name from save to save, but it actually
alters the ₧lename for you for each sprite or text area. The quality of
each saved sprite is shown in the clarity of the examples here.
7.11
The Bodywise database covers eight main body systems: musculo-skeletal,
nervous, blood and lymph, respiratory, digestive, excretory, endocrine
and reproductive. A choice may be made between male and female, which is
only required for the endocrine and reproductory systems. When a single
System is selected, it is accurately superimposed with its labels, on a
human ₧gure. You can also show more than one system at a time but then,
no labels are shown. The view can be magnified to twice the size but
remember that these are sprites, so too great a magnification is a
hindrance. Selecting a label opens up further windows showing text and/
or labelled details. Again selections may be made to show further
information, cross sections, close ups and/or animations of which there
are several. For example, the cutaway diagram of the heart (shown
above), when animated, shows the circulation of the blood as arrows and
then switches to show Épulsesæ of blood plus sound effects!
7.11
The teacher can set Bodywise to show one, some or all of the systems and
a choice can be made between simple or greater depth for the labels and
text Ö see öthe heart and its positionò above. The reproductive system
has password protection to prevent unwanted animations of ömaking a
baby!ò This covers all the stages and ends with the foetus in the womb.
The database can be configured to display selected individual organs
from any body system in any combination but, of course, if you show the
Éskinæ you can see nothing inside! (My only criticism of the package is
the colour of the skin which is sadly still Zombie grey even at 16.7
million colours!)
7.11
For revision, testing or for fun, the database can be set up for
öPlacing of the Partsò which tests the accuracy of the studentsæ
positioning of up to eight named parts. These can be chosen at random by
Bodywise or selected by the teacher. Bodywise will score the accuracy of
the placement so that there can be an element of competitive testing.
7.11
The more I investigate this package, the more impressed I become. The
Head of Science took one look and asked to use it with a class next
lesson! I have used it with a general group who all found the package
easy to use.
7.11
Students from Key Stage 2 right through to the bottom of Key Stage 4
will ₧nd the speed, ease and simplicity with which it presents a
considerable amount of information amazing. I think it is also important
to stress that the excellent Saving Out facilities allow Bodywise to be
used as a data resource for further IT work for students. For the
teacher, Bodywise also represents a wealth of ready-made work sheets,
fact sheets and clipart of good quality. Sherston Software offer a 28
day approval service and I think most schools would do well to
investigate Bodywise further for it has a great deal to offer.
7.11
Bodywise from Sherston Software costs ú35.95 +VAT or ú44 through Archive
for a single user version. A primary site licence costs ú79.90 +VAT and
a secondary site licence is ú119.85 +VAT from Sherston.ááAá
7.11
The heart
7.11
The heart is made of special muscle. It is the pump which pushes blood
around the body ináarteries and veins.
7.11
The heartæs position
7.11
The heart sits on the diaphragm, between the lungs and behind the rib
cage. It receives blood from and pumps blood to the lungs and rest of
the body.
7.11
CC
7.11
From 7.10 page 16
7.11
Help!!!!
7.11
Å  Internet Ö I am trying to connect my A5000 to the Internet via a
Worldport 14400 fax/data modem and a dial up connection to Demon
Internet. The software I am presently struggling with (KA9Q and !TCPIP)
is an adaptation of an adaptation with all that implies. I would be
grateful for help and advice from anyone who has managed to get this
software up and running, or who can direct me towards something better.
Nigel Pauli, 081-866-6242.
7.11
Å  Printer help áÖá(This is actually help needed for a BBC computer
user.) Back in about 1987, we wrote a program for a gentleman who was
using Wordwise Plus to print certain special Serbo-croat characters onto
a Star NL10 (Epson compatible). It was a machine code program that
interrupted the printer output stream so that when certain special
characters appeared, it sent out a combination of other characters,
accents, back-spaces etc to generate the Serbo-croat characters. Mr
Sidor has bought a Canon BJ200 and cannot get the program to work.
Presumably, the printer uses different codes. On a commercial basis,
this might cost tens or even hundreds of pounds. Is there any helpful
person out there who would be prepared to try to help Mr Sidor Ö perhaps
on an expenses-only basis? If so, do get in touch with him at 90 Mostyn
Road, London, SW19 3LP. (081-542-5604)
7.11
Å  PostScript printing Ö I have a öbudgetò PostScript printer (DEClaser
1152) which I have been successfully using with the Acorn printer
drivers. However, it takes forever to print scanned images, which must
be a real problem for PostScript type-setters too. A colleague converted
one of my print files to PostScript Level II and I found that it reduced
the print time by a factor of almost three. He also assures me that this
could be improved if the Level I file were better organised! This begs
the question of how to generate Level II PostScript files, from
Impression for example. Or is there another way to significantly reduce
the time it takes to print PostScript files? Any ideas?á Richard
Readings, 4 Arthur Road, Wokingham, RG11 2SX.
7.11
Å  Publisher and RISC OS 2 printer driversáÖáWe use an A5000 with an
LBP4 printer driven by either CCæs RISC OS 2 driver or the upgraded RISC
OS 3 version. The RISC OS 3 version gives frequent problems with multi-
page documents returning a öBad Compression ID filedò error. CC say that
this is a known error and that they are working on it and in the
meantime to use the old RISC OS 2 driver.
7.11
Now that we have upgraded Impression 2 to Publisher, it has not been
possible to print documents containing some graphics that were OK with
the old printer driver Ö it wonæt print the graphics from scans etc.
Using the newer version of the printer software causes the original
problem.
7.11
I feel a little fed up with this Ö we already have an expensive Qume
printer sitting doing nothing because it is incompatible with RISC OS 3
and the LBP4 setup is still causing problems.
7.11
I would be grateful for any help that can be offered on this Ö has
anyone solved similar problems, and does the Qume printer have any use Ö
or should it go on the tip?á Peter Clarke, Warwickshire.
7.11
Å  Psion Link Ö Has anyone written the equivalent of the A-Link software
that I can use for the Psion 3a? I have a serial connector and can use a
comms package to get files across to my A5000 so I donæt want to buy a
complete A-Link just to get the software. Any ideas, anyone?á P J
Holman, London.
7.11
Å  Science teacher in Preparatory schoolá8Ö13 age range (equivalent to
Key Stages 2 & 3) seeks Acorn compatible information sources and contact
with others working in this field. M Halmarack, Greenside, Upper Green
Road, St Helens, Isle of Wight, PO33 1UX. (0983-874090)
7.11
Å  Turbo Drivers and !Printers 1.22áÖáHas anyone successfully managed to
get the latest Turbo Driver v3.05g to work properly with !Printers v1.22
without running Artworks or Publisher first. I have tried DPatch from
June Archive and it only prints out a few lines before coming up with
öprinter not on lineò error. It even crashed Publisher while printing
with öHardware Key not foundò error.
7.11
My computer is a 4Mb A3000, Cumana Emu board with SCSI drive, VIDC
enhancer. Please ring Brian on 0730-812341 ext 5059 evenings.ááAá
7.11
DTP Column Ö Style Review
7.11
Neil Whiteley-Bolton
7.11
Impression Style was launched by CC at Acorn World last Autumn, and
although it was advertised as a word-processor, it is in fact a fully
featured Épage make-upæ program, having all of the functionality of
Impression II and more!
7.11
On the assumption that nearly all Archive readers will have some
experience of Impression II, I have limited this review of Style to a
discussion of the differences between it and Impression II. I have done
this so that I can fully describe the new features which I considered
most important.
7.11
The toolbar
7.11
The most obvious difference between Impression Style and Impression II
is the toolbar which appears whenever a document has the input focus.
Toolbars are not new and, to the best of my knowledge, every Windows-
based wordprocessor now comes complete with toolbar. CC might therefore
be accused of bowing to market pressure, but their toolbar has been very
thoughtfully designed rather than added as an after-thought.
7.11
The toolbar provides access to the most frequently used facilities such
as print, save, alter and create frames and control frame stacking, set
up and apply text effects and styles and alter view options.
Interestingly, the toolbar is also interactive Ö it provides information
about the styles and effects currently applied at the cursor position,
the frame type and the position of the cursor within the document (the
chapter and page number).
7.11
It is, in fact, possible to hide the toolbar. This is useful when trying
to view a page at maximum size.
7.11
Text handling
7.11
Cut and Paste is now much more intuitive Ö simply select the area of
text to be moved and drag the selection to the destination. Cutting to
the clipboard is still supported, of course.
7.11
Effects
7.11
The Effects menu has a number of new options: Kerning & Tracking, Keep
together and Ruler as well as Bold and Italic.
7.11
ÉKerningæ is only displayed when there is a cursor in the text it
provides for control of the vertical spacing between two characters.
ÉTrackingæ is available when a region of text is selected, and it
controls the horizontal spacing between letters. ÉKeep Togetheræ
controls how paragraphs may be split over page/linked-frame boundaries.
7.11
ÉRuleræ allows a local ruler which has already been applied to a region
of text to be removed. (Local rulers are created by dragging out tabs
and/or margins on the text ruler below the toolbar.)
7.11
The ÉBoldæ and ÉItalicæ options are discussed under Styles.
7.11
Further, a number of existing options have been altered: Line spacing
can now be specified as a percentage of the text size, as well as by the
old method of specifying an absolute value. The alignment options are
now offered as a sub-menu of effects.
7.11
Styles
7.11
The Style dialogue has been radically altered. Four action buttons now
lead to separate dialogues for Font, Text, Paragraph & Rules. The Font
dialogue sets font name, font size, text colour and script Ö i.e. sub or
super. New options exist for bold and italic (these are the extra
options seen on the effects menu) and allow styles to be created which
simply specify a weight without specifying a font name. Impression Style
will look for (and use if found) a bold or italic weight of whichever
font family name has already been applied Ö for example, it is now
possible to create a öboldò style which does nothing but use the bold
weight of whichever font is already in use, so if the style specifying
the underlying font is edited, and the font family changed, this change
is reflected in the Éboldæ style.
7.11
The Text dialogue controls underline, strikeout with colour,
hyphenation, the leadering string and now the decimal tab character, as
well as the index and contents labels.
7.11
The Paragraph dialogue controls space above and below paragraph, ruler,
alignment and line spacing and the keep together Ö this latter now
allows single paragraphs, multiple paragraphs and next paragraph to be
kept together, as well as the existing keep together for a specified
distance.
7.11
The Rules dialogue provides control of rule off above and below text
with rule off colour and vertical rule Ö there is no new functionality
compared with Impression II.
7.11
Finally, the main style dialogue has two other options: Show on Style
Menu and a completely new one, ÉParagraph Applyæ. This applies the style
to whole paragraphs only and is automatically selected when paragraph-
based options are selected.
7.11
Graphics handling
7.11
There are two important differences in the way Impression Style handles
graphics.
7.11
Firstly, it offers support for TIFF files and for the new so called
ödeepò sprite format (an optional set of loaders now available from CC
extends this list to include JPEG and PhotoCD files).
7.11
Secondly, we now have a graphics tool which offers no real extra
functionality, but is (in my opinion at least), immensely useful because
of the way it simplifies graphic manipulation. The tool appears in the
selected graphics frame as two lines, meeting in the centre of the
frame, and forming a slightly acute angle. There are three handles, one
at the intersection of the two lines and the other two at the open ends
of the lines. Moving the pointer over the handles changes the pointer
shape to indicate which function the handle in question performs. The
handle at the intersection, pan, allows the graphic to be moved, double
clicking on this handle centres the graphic in the frame. The other
handles allow for resizing (scale) and rotation (rotate). Double
clicking on the scale handle sets the scale to 100%, whereas double
clicking on the rotate handle sets the rotation to 0░. Simplicity itself
and a joy to use!
7.11
OLE
7.11
I believe that Impression Style was the first application to support
Object Linking and Embedding on the Acorn platform. OLE is a means of
allowing objects created in one application to be edited when they are
öembeddedò in another. An example might be an Artworks file in an
Impression Style graphic frame. Ctrl double clicking anywhere in the
graphic frame öfires upò the parent application (in this case Artworks Ö
but note that Artworks must have already been seen by the filer) with
the object loaded. When the object is saved, it will, by default, be
saved back into the Impression Style graphics frame from which it came.
All information regarding scale, rotation and offsets will be retained.
7.11
General
7.11
The menu structure is somewhat altered: Document is now called File, and
the Misc menu has been replaced by View, Utilities and Help. The options
previously found on the Misc menu are now split between the View and
Utilities menus as is a new option to save a document as the default
used by Impression on start up. View master pages is now on the view
menu, as is Scale view and New View. The Help menu offers interactive
help via Acornæs !Help application and detailed help via !Wordworks.
Master pages can now be given meaningful names, and a öpop-upò buttons
on the New and Alter chapter dialogues bring up menus of master page
names for selection.
7.11
Extras
7.11
Impression Style comes bundled with a number of utilities, a font
installation application originally supplied with Artworks, Equasor
(CCæs formulae generator), Tablemate (a table generator) and Wordworks
(CCæs new thesaurus and dictionary).
7.11
Conclusions
7.11
I consider Impression Style a major upgrade to Impression II. The
Toolbar is particularly handy for novice users, and yet it can be
switched off by expert users who use keyboard short-cuts. The graphics
tool is a genuinely intuitive aid to graphics manipulation, and the
support for deep sprites and foreign file formats is invaluable for high
quality colour work (CC have been working very hard at improving the on-
screen rendering of colour bit-mapped images and the display quality of
images on screen in a 256 colour mode, even in 16 colour modes, is
extremely good). Impression Style is at least as stable as Impression
II, and reformatting seemed subjectively faster. Bundled as it is with
such high quality utilities, it represents extremely good value for
money Ö highly recommended.ááAá
7.11
Comment Column
7.11
Å  Aleph One PC cardsáÖáIn Archive 7.10 p8, I reported the apparent
demise of the 50MHz PC card in our RiscáPC. We should have waited for a
diagnosis before going into print. Humble apologies to Aleph One! The
problem was that the PC partition had got corrupted and so the PC card
could not get started. The 486 was in a high dissipation state and
therefore got very hot indeed. However, although it therefore appeared
to be dead, once the PC partition was restored, it was fine.
7.11
Alex van Someren of Aleph One says: öWe are confident that our PC cards
do not in fact suffer the temperature instabilities described in last
monthæs issue of Archive. It does, however, appear that the metalisation
of Risc PC card-guides can sometimes interfere with the reliable
operation of these cards.  This is the subject of an application note
available from Aleph One.ò
7.11
Once again, apologies for spreading alarm and despondency. The fact that
they can survive such high temperatures just goes to show how robust
they must be! Ed.
7.11
Å  Archive production techniquesáÖáRichard Readings of Wokingham
writes... Have you ever published any details of how you produce
Archive? I would be interested to know, for example, what DTP package
you use and how you get from that to the final magazine. The quality is
excellent and those of us who attempt to produce magazines etc on the
Archimedes could probably learn a lot from your experience. Perhaps an
idea for a future issue?
7.11
Ed replies... In terms of the production, thereæs not much to tell. I
use Impression II on an A540 with an Eizo T560iT 17ö monitor and a Laser
Direct LBP8. I print the magazine as 80 (plus covers) A4 sheets of paper
(I use a good quality matt art paper) and give those to the printer who
reduces them photographically to A5 and prints the magazine by some
means best known to him! The adverts are mostly pasted in physically by
the printers although some of them are DTPæed with the main body of the
magazine.
7.11
You may wonder why Iæm still using Impression II. Well, Iæll change to
Publisher at the same time as I change to RiscáPC so that I can make all
the changes in one go. Publishing an 80-page magazine virtually single-
handed every month doesnæt leave a lot of time for learning new tricks.
If I now go on to explain how the magazine is edited as opposed to
physically produced, youæll see why.
7.11
When people send in articles, I first of all have to transfer them
across from the form in which they arrive into Impression II. I then do
a quick visual edit on screen, adding in any styles for headings etc, I
do a spell-check (itæs amazing how few contributors check their articles
before sending them in!) and then I print it out double-spaced, single
column on A4 paper and read it through carefully making edits on paper
as I go. I then edit the files on the computer and print them out
single-spaced for Vera to read through as a final check for errors that
I have missed and to try to maintain our consistency of things like
ö5áMbò instead of ö5Mbò, öRISC PCò instead of öRiscáPCò, etc.
7.11
After the final edit, they are ready for pasting up into the magazine.
On the day before the magazine is due to go to the printers, I create a
list of all the adverts and articles available, noting on a spreadsheet
the lengths of each. I then know how much material I have got to try to
fit into the 80 pages. I note which of the articles (usually reviews)
have been held over from previous months and decide which articles would
give me roughly the right number of pages.
7.11
I load a standard file of the magazine, try to remember to change the
date on the footers (Iæve only ever forgotten once!) and start pasting
in the text and pictures. The priority I give is to get all the
technical articles in as well as the regular öColumnsò so they tend to
be towards the front part of the magazine with the adverts which must,
of course go in as booked. I then fill up with any of the less urgent
reviews. I try, where possible, to start articles on a facing page and/
or near the top of the non-facing page but obviously, this is a bit like
fitting stones into a crazy-paving path Ö it can be most frustrating!
7.11
I donæt know if this insight has been of interest to anyone but when I
look at the old Mac Plus with its 9ö monitor, I cannot believe that I
produced a (then 64-page) magazine every month on it!áEd.
7.11
Å  Inkjet refillingáÖáMay I comment on the paragraph on page 41 of the
June 1994 issue of Archive relating to refilling of ink cartridges for
the Canon BJC-600 colour printer?
7.11
The method I describe (see Archive 7.8 page 19) has enabled me to use
the same set of cartridges repeatedly by refilling in an operation
which, with experience, I find very simple Ö it is simple!
7.11
Anyone using this experimental technique does so at his own risk. But
although it is not suitable for the inept, it can save a lot of money
for the reasonably dexterous.á George Foot, Oxted.
7.11
Å  KeystrokeáÖáI recently bought KeyStroke (version 2) with the
intention of using it to automate the many repetitive tasks I have to
perform when editing a thesis with Style. At first, the package did not
live up to my expectations as I encountered a couple of problems.
Principally, Style did not respond to open dialogue requests making
Keystroke useless for most of the tasks I wished to perform. Another
annoying problem was that Keystroke caused the caret to be lost. This
meant that I had to use the mouse constantly to reselect the window I
was working on after using any key sequence. Finally, the inability to
set horizontal and vertical scroll bars independently made centering the
Style window, e.g. after changing chapter, impossible.
7.11
I am glad to say that upgrading to version 3 of Keystroke has fixed all
of my problems. (I must say I was very impressed when a member of staff
rang me up on a Sunday to sort out my upgrade! Ö Thank you!). An
additional bonus for me was a set of Keystrokes for Style.
7.11
The improvements have allowed me to automate many tasks. For example, I
can compile the contents chapter of the thesis in one keypress. This
includes a traditional contents together with lists of figures, tables
and plates. The process takes about 50 keystrokes and includes
generating both a contents and index with Style and then filtering the
output with a C program. The process normally took me about 15 minutes.
Creating the sequence of commands took me over an hour Ö but I was
learning the system as I went. Other keystrokes of mine that I find
particularly useful are ones to print a given chapter, start Wordworks
and lookup the current word, minimise memory in all the applications
that are running and start Style with a given default document.
7.11
For those using Keystroke, I have a couple of hints:
7.11
When opening Style dialogues or selecting menu options, always use the
manual option. This may be obvious but when I was only told that version
3 would work with Style, I didnæt realise which option made it do so!
7.11
To scroll or position a Style window, drag the setting icon to the small
white area that appears in the top left of the window between the page
rulers. This is the only part of the main window visible. Once the
keystroke is set, the page rulers can be removed and Keystroke will
still find the correct window.
7.11
Keystrokes that execute *commands, can be executed conditionally by
using the If .. Then construct. For example, I have a simple application
that records whether or not the caret is set in a system variable. This
lets me create keystrokes that will only execute when the caret is not
currently in any window; that is, in a similar manner to the way hot-key
shortcuts work in Menon, the application launcher.
7.11
If I have one minor niggle. I would like to have more control over the
way errors in one keystroke terminate a linked sequence. In particular,
I would like a way of aborting an entire sequence if some system
variable is not set or if a *command fails or produces an error. Also I
would like to be able to start one keystroke/action from another. Can
anybody help?
7.11
Those points aside, I am now very happy with Keystroke.á Jonathan Cox,
Manchester.
7.11
Å  Why complain?áÖáIæve been reading the Archive magazine since the
first issue, I have never made any comments until now. The thing that
seems to crop up in almost every issue of the magazine is someoneæs view
on the shortcomings of the Acorn machines. Every time a new machine is
launched, you are sure to get a whole crop of people complaining about
how the graphics could be improved, or why the sound system is not up to
scratch.
7.11
Another reason for writing is Andrew Garrardæs comments in Archive 7.10
p28. It seems to me that he expects far too much from the RiscáPC. Is it
not true that the RiscáPC is a very open system that is capable of
adapting to the needs of almost everyone? Almost every part of the
computer can be upgraded as and when the upgrades are available. Itæs
not a case of whether Acorn could have done better but rather whether
they have done their best with the technology to date. If extremely high
quality graphics are needed, this can be added using the appropriate
expansion card, as can sound synthesizers. If this is still not enough,
why not buy a Dec Alpha or the MIPS 4400? I suspect the price of one of
these would probably buy an extremely powerful Acorn machine (or two!).
7.11
If all the expectations of these people were to be built into the
RiscáPC, would the machine still be marketed at the same price as
currently advertised? I think that Acorn have done an exceptionally good
job by producing a computer with the number of features that the RiscáPC
has, selling it at a price that is quite affordable.
7.11
I currently own an A410 with all the usual extras and I expect that it
will be quite some time before I buy a RiscáPC but I am sure it will
come up to my expectations. Until then, I will continue to use my A410
and hope that Acorn donæt take too much to heart some of the criticisms
made about their computers. If this were to happen, it might just price
it out of mine and many other peopleæs reach. That would mean looking at
the alternatives... and that really is something to complain about!á Jim
Simmonds, Cleveland.ááAá
7.11
Recent Software Upgrades
7.11
Jim Nottingham
7.11
Keystroke Version 3
7.11
A new version of Keystroke became available around the time of the
Harrogate show and, since then, has been raised to v3.04. Keystroke is
available from NCS for ú28 and the cost of upgrading from any version
prior to v3.00 is ú4.95, which includes a revised manual. The upgrade is
available only from Quantum Software.
7.11
Keystroke v3.04 adds some valuable facilities which are outlined in the
following paragraphs (this is not an exhaustive list).
7.11
A feature of RISCáOS caused a problem with previous versions in that,
although it was generally possible to open menu dialogue boxes, on
occasions they stubbornly refused to stay open! The manual suggested
ways of getting round this but, to say the least, it was all a bit
tricky and not always satisfactory. One new feature is the öManualò
option which, when set, causes dialogue boxes to stay open, allowing the
user to enter data.
7.11
A very nice touch is that a simple user-modification to Executoræs !run
file will now allow !Executor to be loaded but then remove its icon from
the iconbar, reducing the clutter. That used to affect !Keystroke as
well but this has been corrected recently so that you can still load and
control Keystroke via the iconbar menu (e.g. to modify your Keydefs)
without having to revert Executoræs !run file to normal.
7.11
Finally, in the Extras folder on the application disc is a very useful
library of Basic programs (!KeysLib) which can be used in conjunction
with Keystroke. In part, this is an extension of the EVAL function
described in Archive 7.4 p17. But whereas operations allowed by EVAL are
limited to applying the four basic arithmetical functions, the Basic
programs in the library open the door to allowing all manner of other
good things such as changing the case of text, stripping out numbers,
returning current date or time or Éreadingæ the screen mode. Nineteen
sample Basic programs are included and clever users (not me) can write
and add their own.
7.11
This upgrade demonstrates the need to keep an eye on what useful
programs Quantum Software often sneak in via the Extras folder and which
are not always mentioned in the manual or Read_me files. The rather nice
!Helper utility is a case in point.
7.11
With this upgrade, thanks mainly to the Manual option, I have finally
run out of things I would ideally like Keystroke to do but which, for
one reason or another, it didnæt quite do before (this really is being
hypocritical). In other words, Keystroke now gets an unqualified 110%
from me. To put its productivity into perspective, I now load Executor
during boot-up, with 23 Éstandardæ hot-key definitions covering DTP,
scanning and common macros (e.g. entering my credit card number). To
input all these functions manually, even once, would require in excess
of 400 keypresses and mouse clicks Ö ænuff said?
7.11
TableMate2
7.11
An earlier version of TableMate was reviewed in Archive 6.8 p59 and,
since then, this invaluable table-making utility has been bundled with
Impression Style and appears with Publisher. TableMate2 is now
available; see the advert on page 20 of last monthæs magazine. The full
price is ú32.50 inc p&p (no VAT) from Dalriada Data Technology while the
upgrade price from Impression Style is ú17.50. You will need to check
with Dalriada if you want a price for upgrading from other versions.
7.11
Any bugs in the new version have not stopped the program being used and,
once reported, have been cleared very promptly. For me, the ability of
TableMate2 to import drawfile graphics into tables, simply by dropping
them into the desired cells, has proved to be a tremendous bonus and
that feature alone makes it well worth the cost of the upgrade.
TableMate will accept sprites but they have first to be dropped into
Draw before importing to the table.
7.11
The other new and improved features of TableMate2, especially the
automatic word-wrapping in columns and the complete colour control of
text, data, lines and cell background, make it an extremely flexible and
user-friendly facility which should satisfy all but the most exacting
requirements. Although the new user-manual is a very well written
booklet, Iæve spotted a few features and bonuses which are not
documented.
7.11
If you wish to modify an existing file, provided it has been saved as a
Table, it can be re-imported into TableMate. However, if you havenæt
done this and the table exists only as a drawfile, the majority of
elements (including text, data and most line styles) can still be
modified in Draw in the normal way.
7.11
When you import drawfiles into a table, unlike DTP programs where the
drawfile size is adjusted to fit a frame, the TableMate2 cell height and
width is adjusted automatically to the drawfile size. So, if you import
different-sized graphics, you are going to get different cell sizes
which can look very untidy. However, once the graphics have been
imported, it is then possible to rescale them and/or change their aspect
ratios so that everything looks balanced. An undocumented feature is
that, having changed the size of a graphic in this way, it may finish up
left or right-justified which, again, can look untidy. This is because
its position is controlled by the column tab and, in this situation,
setting the tab to Centre instead of Left/Right will recentralise the
graphic.
7.11
Finally, once a graphic has been imported, you still have control over
the cell background colour and this can be used to give very pleasing
effects.
7.11
On the monthly disc is a drawfile (öTableMate2ò) illustrating the
features described in the previous two paragraphs. Graphics have been
rescaled/recentred and cell background colour added.ááAá
7.11
PipeLineZ
7.11
Gerald Fitton
7.11
I always believed that as the days began to lengthen in Spring you all
put your computers away. It hasnæt happened this year. If anything, my
mail bag these last couple of months has been heavier than before April.
We now refer to the size of our morning post by the number of Post
Office rubber bands needed to contain it.
7.11
Anyway, thank you for all your letters and particularly for the words of
praise and encouragement. However, without wishing to sound too
critical, it might be a good time to repeat my request that you send me
examples of your problems on a disc. An example on a disc removes
ambiguities and saves me the labour of creating a disc file of data
similar to that used by you. Another reminder from me: it is generally
quicker to send your letters to me directly at the Abacus Training
address which you will find on the inside back cover of Archive than to
route them through the Archive office.
7.11
The main part of this monthæs article is about character printing using
PipeDream printer drivers but, as usual, my remarks have a wider
application. In particular, you will find some of my remarks relevant to
character printing from Fireworkz and (for those of my many followers
who donæt have any Colton Software products) relevant to character
printing from many non-Colton packages.
7.11
First let me deal with a few other topics.
7.11
Fireworkz v1.08
7.11
I have a copy! But before you rush out to post your master disc back to
Colton Software, itæs not what you think it is! Itæs true that I have
version 1.08 but the copy I have runs only in Windows on an ÉIBM typeæ
PC. It is a beta test copy which Iæve had for a few days now and my
pronouncement is that it is very close to a standard which can be
released to the general public.
7.11
I have Éportedæ many of my Éstandardæ applications from the RISCáOS
version of Fireworkz to the Windows version and Iæve had hardly any
problems. Iæm used to using RISCáOS Fireworkz, so I found myself using
Windows Fireworkz confidently within half an hour. Indeed, I think that
many of my little difficulties arose because I kept forgetting that I
was in Windows and not RISCáOS rather than because of differences in the
way Fireworkz was working.
7.11
Iæve been told that the Windows version will be available in Julyáand
that the price to registered RISCáOS version users is about ú50! I think
you have to add ú13.75 for VAT and postage and you must quote your
RISCáOS Fireworkz registration number and you must have registered with
Colton Software. Anyway, by the time you read this, at worst, the
Windows version of Fireworkz will be only a few weeks away.
7.11
Help for Windows Fireworkz
7.11
Iæve been asked how I feel about receiving correspondence and questions
about Windows Fireworkz. The quick answer is that you should feel free
to write to me and Iæll do what I can. For the moment at least, I shall
limit what goes into Archive about the Windows version to a few lines
each month. With the advent of the new RISCáPC machine and the offer of
a 486 board at a bargain price, perhaps the Archive Editor may become
willing to accept information about Fireworkz running under Windows.
Weæll see. In the meantime, if you do buy the Windows version of
Fireworkz and have problems, please do write to me and Iæll try to help
in the same way as I do with problems which arise with the RISCáOS
version.
7.11
Special offer prices
7.11
I have had a press release from Colton Software which includes a price
list of special offers which apply until Septemberá1994. When it comes
to explaining these low prices to those of you who bought (or upgraded)
earlier and explaining them to distributors such as NCS, I confess I am
nonplussed to say the least. I feel as if I should apologise but it
isnæt my fault! Let me add that it is my impression that the prices of
Colton Software products are going to remain at a much lower level than
they have been in the past (typically at these öspecial offerò prices),
even after Septemberá1994!
7.11
Let me give you two examples. The UK price of Fireworkz for RISCáOS is
now ú121.33 including VAT and p&p. An upgrade from PipeDreamá4 to
Fireworkz is ú40.25 inclusive. In the past NCS, have matched prices for
items like Fireworkz (to customers who would be new to Colton Software)
but NCS has not operated the upgrade service from, say, PipeDreamá4 to
Fireworkz.
7.11
The ClassCardz that I mentioned last month are available at ú25
inclusive for Wordz and the same price for Resultz.
7.11
!Printers Version 1.22
7.11
Now to my major theme for this month Ö character printer drivers Ö
particularly, but not exclusively, for use with PipeDream.
7.11
What, you might wonder, has a new version of Acornæs !Printers got to do
with PipeLineZ? The answer is that information contained within it may
help you improve your PipeDream printer driver!
7.11
When (or rather if) you upgraded from, say, PipeDream version 4.10 to
4.13, you would expect that it wouldnæt matter when you got your
upgraded disc Ö it would be the same as everybody elseæs 4.13 disc. No!
They werenæt all the same! In particular, files which differed from time
to time (all supplied under the heading of PipeDreamáversion 4.13)
included the PipeDream printer drivers. One reason for this difference
(but not the only one) is the way in which the discs were upgraded by
Colton Software. In order to save time in upgrading, only some of the
files (such as the !RunImage file) were replaced. If you modified and
then saved a PipeDream printer driver back to the Master disc then
(because of the date stamp) it might not have been replaced by a later
version of the PipeDream printer driver. Of course, you wouldnæt notice
since you didnæt expect the PipeDream printer driver to be upgraded.
7.11
Again, what has !Printers to do with PipeDream printer drivers. To
answer that, please bear with me and Iæll start nearer to the beginning.
7.11
What is Écharacter printingæ?
7.11
When you use an Archimedes for printing a document, your choice is
between so called Égraphics printingæ and Écharacter printingæ.
7.11
When you print a document using graphic printing, the page is
represented by a mass of dots. If you are using a resolution of, say,
300á╫á300 dots per inch for printing then your page of approximately 8ö
╫ 11ò is divided into 2400 columns byá3300 rows of dots Ö thatæs just
under 8ámillion dots. When you print in monochrome (i.e. not colour)
then each of these 8ámillion dot positions is either black or white and
can be represented by a single binary digit (usually called a Ébitæ).
Each of these bits is either Éonæ (for black) or Éoffæ (for white) and
arithmetically is stored in memory as a 0 (off) or a 1 (on). In binary
arithmetic 8ábits make a byte so our 8ámillion bits is usually referred
to as 1 million bytes or 1Mb for short.
7.11
To summarise, you need to process and then send 1áMb of dotty data to
your printer if you want to print an A4 page using graphics printing!
7.11
As you might guess, graphics printing is essential for printing
drawfiles and sprites. However, as you might not guess, printing using
Acornæs outline fonts also uses graphics printing because the shapes of
the characters are sent to the printer as graphics dots. Each printed
page of outline fonts needs 1áMb of data to be processed and transferred
from computer to printer Ö no wonder it takes a long time to print each
page.
7.11
After that slight digression, letæs get back to character printing.
Character printing is much quicker because a typical page (consisting of
about 3000 characters) requires only one 8ábit byte per character to be
sent to the printer. For each page, you need to process and then send to
the printer, about 3000 bytes (usually written as 3áKb) instead of 1áMb,
i.e. only about one three hundredth of the amount of data. This is why
character printing is much quicker than graphics printing.
7.11
System font for screen display
7.11
PipeDream allows you to display on the screen either the system font or
any outline font you have installed. As a general rule, you display
outline fonts on screen if you are going to use graphics printing and
you use the system font for your screen display if you are going to use
character printing.
7.11
To see which font you are using, hold down the <Ctrl> key and tap the
keys PáFáG, in that order. (In future, I shall write something such as
öExecute the command <ctrl-PFG>ò for such a control key combination.)
You should find that the system font is selected but, if not, use the
arrows to move to the top of the font table to find it and click on the
word System. If you are one of the many with RISCáOSá3, you may find
that you have a choice of weights which include (None), Fixed and
Medium. Only the first, (None), is a true character font (called a
BBCáfont for historical reasons Ö Acorn built the BBC Computer and the
Archimedes is öbackwards compatibleò with it); the other two, Fixed and
Medium, are outline versions of the System font and, at least until you
know what youære doing, you should ignore them.
7.11
The ASCII code
7.11
An 8 bit binary number is called a byte. In binary such an eight bit
number is a number between 0 (usually written with leading zeros as
00000000) and 11111111. If these binary numbers are converted to decimal
they represent numbers between 0 and 255. Let me put this another way,
if you want to describe the contents of one single byte of memory
(youæve probably got a few million bytes of RAM in your machine) then
you can do so by saying that the memory location contains a number
between 0 and 255 inclusive.
7.11
Look at the your keyboard and consider the following. Our alphabet has
26 lower case letters, 26 upper case letters, 10ádigits (note that these
are not numbers) 0 to 9 and a miscellany of punctuation symbols. In
total, there are about 96 characters directly available from the
keyboard (yes, I know there are a few more but letæs keep it simple for
now). Each of these printable characters can be coded as a number. For
example, the capital letter A is coded as the number 65 and the lower
case a as the number 97. This code is called the ASCII code and is used
for storing text within the memory of your computer.
7.11
A <space> is stored in memory as ASCII code 32. ASCII codes below 32 are
reserved for printer instructions, for example, ASCII code 12 is an
instruction to the printer to execute a form feed. In general, all the
codes necessary to print a letter in English (or should I say American)
correspond to ASCII code numbers between 0 and 127.
7.11
For example, to send the word ÉGeraldæ to the printer, the codes stored
in memory and transmitted to the printer are:
71áá101áá114áá97áá108áá100. The printer will decode this sixábyte
message and, using its internal fonts, will print the corresponding
ÉASCII codedæ characters. Only six bytes are required to store and to
print ÉGeraldæ! These six bytes can be transferred from computer to
printer and decoded at the printer about 300 times more quickly than the
outline font (graphic) equivalent. Speed is the biggest single advantage
of using character printing when compared with graphics printing.
7.11
The extended ASCII code
7.11
Up to now, I havenæt said what the codes between 128 and 255 inclusive
are used for. These are called Étopábitásetæ characters because, in
binary, the first (i.e. the most significant) of the eight bits is a 1,
ie Ésetæ to a 1 (for codes between 0 and 127, the top bit is a 0). In
the so-called Latiná1 character set, one of the uses of these top bit
set characters is to represent characters such as ▒ and accented
(foreign) characters such as Θá∩á÷ or τ. The Latiná1 character set used
by the Archimedes has a few extra characters more than the
internationally agreed Latiná1. These extras include the Ésmart quotesæ
ö & ò Ö the standard Latiná1 includes only Ésexless quotesæ such as ö.
7.11
Perhaps the most important thing to understand is that, within your
computer, each character you see displayed is stored in memory as a
single byte, a number between 0 and 255.
7.11
When you send a text file to your printer, every character is sent as a
single byte; each byte sent corresponds to a number between 0 and 255.
Having specified a character set at your printer, the printer decodes
that number into a printable character and prints the character from
that particular character set. If you have the Latiná1 set loaded for
your screen display but you have the IBM set selected at the printer,
top bit set characters wonæt print out as they are on the screen. Each
character will print out as the character with the same code number from
the IBM set!
7.11
The !Chars application
7.11
You will find a copy of this application on your PipeDream master disc
or, if you have RISCáOS 3, in the Apps directory.
7.11
If you double click on !Chars, it doesnæt load onto the iconbar but a
window will pop up containing the full 256 ASCII character set. This
utility can be used to enter topábitáset characters into your document.
You use it by moving the pointer within the !Chars window and then
clicking <select> on the character you want to appear in your document.
When you click on a character in !Chars, that character will appear at
the cursor as if it had been entered at the keyboard.
7.11
Alternatively, you can hold the pointer over a character and press
<shift>. This executes that character in the same way as clicking on it.
The trouble with this is that if you leave the pointer within the !Chars
window, then whenever you press <shift>, extra characters will
mysteriously be added into your text!
7.11
If you donæt have !Chars maybe you have Beebugæs CharSel or the PD
program ImpChars, both of which are better than !Chars.
7.11
PipeDream printer drivers
7.11
It is difficult to generalise too much but here goes. So far as choosing
a PipeDream printer driver is concerned, there are four kinds of
printers suitable for use as character printers for the Archimedes.
7.11
The first is the daisywheel driver but daisywheel printers are so rare
these days that there isnæt really anything I want to say about this
one.
7.11
The second is the IBM type. Generally, if you want to use these for
anything other than using the IBM Ébox graphicsæ, you should configure
your printer as either an Epson or HP by using an emulator. I shall say
no more about IBM printers in this article.
7.11
The third type is the Epson series and emulations. Most of the earlier
Epson printers do not generate the Latiná1 Éforeignæ characters when the
top bit is set but italic versions of the English characters. For
example, code 65 is an upright capital A and code 193 (i.e.á65á+á128)
prints an italic A. Many of the Latiná1 characters can be printed but
require a Élong control code sequenceæ to be sent to the printer.
7.11
The fourth type is the HP (Hewlett Packard) and its many emulations.
Nearly all the HP emulations I have seen allow you to select either the
Latiná1 or ECMAá94 character set using physical switches (of a variety
of types) at the printer. Refer to your printer handbook and set the
switches appropriately. Even so, because Acorn use an extended Latiná1
character set, there are a few characters such as the ligature ₧ (note
that the f and i are joined together as one character, code 158) which
are not part of the international (and hence HP) Latiná1 character set.
This means that the HP printer wonæt print them correctly without a
Éfixæ.
7.11
Examining a printer driver
7.11
You may have noticed that PipeDream printer drivers have the filetype
Text. However, donæt double click to run it, otherwise it will load into
Edit. Then, if you make changes and save the file from Edit, it wonæt
work because you will lose all the tab/column settings.
7.11
Drag the printer driver file onto the PipeDream icon and then adjust the
column widths so that you can see the contents of each column. Yes! I
know it takes a bit of juggling but itæs worth it. When you finally save
the file, it is worth checking that you are saving in ASCII format.
PipeDream remembers the format of the file it loaded so it should be set
to ASCII but you never know!
7.11
The Epson printer driver
7.11
The driver most suitable for the Epson is the one called [DotMatrix].
Load it into PipeDream.
7.11
The first line executed by the printer driver is line 27 of [DotMatrix].
Before the printer starts to work on the text of your file, this command
is executed. The codes ESCáö@ò reset the printer clearing out all stored
commands so, if you have previously sent a set of codes to your printer
telling it to use some fancy font then ESCáö@ò will negate all your
efforts! The remainder of the PON string, ESCáöIòá1, allows the use of
seventeen of the ASCII codes between codeá1 and codeá31  to be used to
print Éforeignæ characters. These codes appear in the translation table
(see below).
7.11
As I mentioned earlier, Epson computers use top bit set characters to
print italic versions of the standard English character set so, to
generate the top bit set characters of the Latiná1 set, you need to
Étranslateæ the Latiná1 ASCII code to a Élong control code stringæ which
instructs the printer to print the appropriate character.
7.11
One of the most common problems is trying to print the ú symbol. In
Latiná1, this is a top bit set character. Unfortunately, much confusion
arises because you used to be able to buy keyboards where the symbol
above the 3 was a ú instead of #. This was called a öUK Keyboardò and
Epson (and other printer manufacturers) compensate for this keyboard
translation by allowing you to set up your printer for the öUK character
setò. In writing the [DotMatrix] printer driver, Colton Software have
used the string ESCáöRòá3 to select the UK character set.
7.11
In the [DotMatrix] file, you will find the printer translation for the ú
on line 64. The sequence ESCáöRòá3á35 causes the Epson printer to print
the ú symbol when it receives the ASCII code 163. Note that the American
(USA) character set is not reinstated Ö that would require the sequence
ESCáöRòá0.
7.11
Many of the Éforeignæ characters have direct translations at the
printer. For example, the Θ (code 233 on line 133) is generated by the
sequence ESCáöRòá1á123áESCáöRòá3. Some Éforeignæ characters have been
generated by using the ESCáö6ò sequence to enable codes 128 to 159
(inclusive) to print them. Some Éforeignæ characters such as ² (codeá253
on line 154) have to be faked by adding accents using a backspace
(codeá8) at the printer to superimpose an accent over the Éstandardæ
letter.
7.11
Although the heading states that the printer driver is for use with an
FX80 and compatibles, some of the translations use an ESCáötòá1 sequence
which I donæt think is available on the FX80 but only on higher
specification machines such as the LQ series. Because of this, you may
find that the symbol ▒ (shown on line 78 of the printer driver) does not
print on your Epson! Read this paragraph again and you may be able to
guess why the information contained within the new !Printers might be
useful (weære getting there)!
7.11
In the version of [DotMatrix] which I have, many characters are missing
from the translations provided by Colton Software. For example, the
ligature ₧ (codeá158) is not translated. I think it could be faked by
translating codeá158 to öfòáöiò so that the f and i are printed instead.
Such faked translations can be added quite easily as weæll see when we
look at the HP printer driver [HPJet].
7.11
If you have extended your [DotMatrix] printer driver to include faked
translations for these omissions, Iæm sure many PipeLineZ readers will
be interested in your extended version.
7.11
Finally, I am not convinced that the strategy used by Colton Software in
designing this printer driver is the Ébestæ. I would have preferred a
strategy in which the Ébasicæ configuration of the printer used the
standard American (USA) character set and Éslipped intoæ other character
sets (such as the UK set) temporarily with ESCáöRòá3 when necessary but
returned to the USA set immediately afterwards. The strategy adopted by
Colton Software is to use the UK character set and Éslip intoæ the USA
set temporarily with ESCáöRòá0 to print characters such as # with a
quick return to the UK set immediately afterwards with ESCáöRòá3.
7.11
If you have adopted the strategy of using the USA character set and have
a suitable [Epson] PipeDream printer driver then, once again, Iæm sure
that many PipeLineZ readers will be interested in hearing from you
(either directly or via me).
7.11
The HP printer driver
7.11
In my view, Colton Software have done a much better job on this than
they have with [DotMatrix]. In fairness to them, I must add that I think
Hewlett Packard have done a better job of providing a consistent and
useable printer control language than Epson (but you may disagree Ö I
used to think that the Epson system was Ébetteræ)! Another general point
is that it has been set up more as a page printer for cut sheet paper
(e.g. A4 sheets) than for use with fan-fold paper. For example, the EP
string on lineá30 is set to codeá12 so that an end of page instruction
always feeds the cut sheet of paper out of the printer. Compare this
with [DotMatrix] where the EP is missing.
7.11
The major problem people have using this printer driver is that they
donæt set up the switches at the printer correctly. HP printers
öprioritizeò the character set above all else. ISOáUK (similar to
ISOá04) is a character set which is supported by the HPáDeskJet (and
other HP machines and their emulations) but note that it is a 7-bit
character set! With it, you canæt print out top bit set characters so,
although UK in the title sounds tempting, donæt use hardware to select
that character set! I suggest (indeed I almost insist) that you select
the ECMAá94 character set as your default (using the hardware switches
at the printer) in order to avoid this problem.
7.11
Having said that, the PON string selects the ECMAá94 character set.
ECMAá94 may be different from the basic (i.e. non-Acorn) Latiná1 set
but, as yet, Iæve not been able to discern the difference. Please drop
me a line if you do know what the difference is.
7.11
Acornæs extended Latiná1 set includes about 20 extra characters not
available on most (possibly all) HP printers. These extra characters
have to be faked by the [HPJet] driver using translations. The
translations for the extensions start at line 50 of the printer driver.
Look at line 68 and you will see that the ligature ₧ is translated into
an f followed by an i. This type of faking could have been included in
[DotMatrix] but hasnæt been! You will also notice that the smart quote ò
(codeá149) is translated into a sexless quote in line 59. Iæm not
convinced about the method of translating single quotes at lines 54 and
55; I think I would have preferred to translate to the sexless quote É
rather than to the acute and grave accents chosen by Colton Software.
7.11
If you have any opinions or advice about this then please let me know.
7.11
A test file
7.11
With a little effort, you can create a file containing the full set of
printable characters with which you can test your printer. If you are
unable to create such a test file, send me a blank formatted disc, a
self addressed label and, if you live in the UK, return postage. Iæll
send you a copy of my [CharSet] test file. When you have such a file,
print it out using PipeDream printer drivers and compare it with the
screen display you get for [CharSet].
7.11
If there are only a few discrepancies, it is almost certain that they
will be a few of the top bit set characters which are printed
incorrectly or not at all. In the circumstances that I have outlined
above (e.g. trying to print out the ▒ symbol with an Éoldæ FX80 or
trying to print the ligature ₧ using [DotMatrix]) the problem is that
your printer driver doesnæt accept (or doesnæt have) the translation
youære trying to use. Having read this article, you may you feel able to
add the translations you want.
7.11
If you have major blocks of incorrect printouts, it is likely that you
have set your printer hardware defaults (the printer switches) to an
incorrect setting such as forcing a 7-bit character set (e.g. ISOáUK) to
be used instead of one which supports top bit set characters.
7.11
Back to !Printers
7.11
A wide range of printers by different manufacturers are covered in the
printer definitions of the new !Printers. I have had a good look at the
öStart of text jobò string and at the way in which they handle the
ötranslationsò of top bit set characters. They contain a wealth of
information which could be useful to PipeDream printer driver designers.
For example, looking at the LQ-860 and FX-80 drivers, I find different
ways of printing ▒ (ASCII code 177). In the LQ-860 driver, the mapping
is from code 177 to 241 after including the ESCáötò 1 sequence in the
öStart of text jobò string. (It would be much more Éelegantæ to include
this string as the PON string of the corresponding PipeDream printer
driver and not in the translations as Colton Software have done.) On the
FX-80, the ▒ is Éfakedæ by printing a + followed by a back space and
underline. What Iæd like to know (not just purely for interest) is which
Epson printers do have the ESCáötòá1á sequence available and which
donæt. Part of my curiosity is because I am having an exchange of
letters about ESCáötòá1 with about half a dozen correspondents. (A name
which springs instantly to mind is Charles Martin Ö hold on Charles, Iæm
calling up reinforcements from the Archive readers.)
7.11
Those of you with an HP type of printer may find the öStart of text jobò
string used in the new !Printers for your HP type printer makes a better
PON string in your PipeDream printer driver than your existing PON
string. Remember, Acorn have done a lot of work with the printer
suppliers on these printer definitions Ö certainly more work than Colton
Software did when they put their original drivers together. Is there a
message here for those of you like Sue Lindley who have had serious
trouble with setting up PipeDream printer drivers for the HP 500C or the
compatible Integrex ColourJet Seriesá2?
7.11
Any volunteers?
7.11
If you get the urge to redesign your PipeDream printer driver so that it
more nearly matches your printer and if you use the information
contained within the definitive translations supplied by Acorn as part
of !Printers Vá1.22 and if you are successful then please make your
efforts available to other PipeLineZ readers by sending the modified
driver (together with information about what youæve done and the source
of your information) to me on disc. In advance, many thanks.
7.11
In conclusion
7.11
I hope that youæve been able to follow this article and that it has
helped you to set up and choose a suitable printer driver for your
system. However, if you still have trouble, please write to me but
enclose a disc copy of the printer driver you think should work.
7.11
If you regularly use a different character set (and have that character
set available as a BBCáfont file) and if you have PipeDream printer
drivers to match, please send them to me so that I can make them
available to other PipeLineZ readers.
7.11
Finally
7.11
Thanks once again for all your letters. How do I keep up with answering
them all? I think the answer is that I find your problems very
interesting and I really enjoy having the opportunity to be helpful.ááAá
7.11
Risc PC Column
7.11
Keith Hodge
7.11
First impressions
7.11
My first and strongest impression of the RiscáPC is speed! I can hardly
believe the difference in speed between my old Archimedes and the
RiscáPC. A small idea may be gleaned from the fact that Prophet, with my
medium size account file, used to take twenty eight seconds to load in
mode 108 Ö it now takes 4.2 seconds in 1280 ╫ 480, 32 thousand
colours(!). Of course, there is no difference in speed whatever the
screen resolution or colour depth in use Ö assuming you have some VRAM.
7.11
Initial advice to new owners
7.11
When you receive your new machine, please make sure that you make a new
directory called Ébackupæ or other name of your choice, and copy into it
the complete !Boot application. This will only take up a very small
amount  of the relatively huge amount of hard disc space that you will
have, and more importantly, it will allow you to recover any files lost,
as a result of your first attempts at configuration etc. (This advice
comes from bitter experience!)
7.11
Transferring from old to new machine
7.11
I said last month that I would be transferring my 167Mb worth of data
from machine to machine using 800Kb floppy discs. I did, and there is
not a lot to add, except that it took the best part of two days on and
off! (I could not resist looking at the JPEG pictures in 16 million
colours every so often.) If there is any faster way (serial port?),
please let me know so that I can pass it on.
7.11
(Atomwide say that they have almost got the RemoteFS software working on
RiscáPC. This would allow you to transfer things via the serial or
parallel ports very easily. Hopefully, by the time you read this, it
should be available Ö give us a ring at the NCS office if you need a
copy. Ed.)
7.11
Monitors
7.11
Paul has, quite rightly, pointed out that with the vastly enhanced
resolution of the RiscáPC, you should buy the largest monitor you can
afford. However, it must be recognised that many of us will have to make
do with our existing monitors, or try and use an ex IBM PC monitor. This
will be quite a simple task for those of us with access to reference
manuals for the monitor and the required skills, but for a new owner
with no knowledge of such things, it may completely ruin their
introduction to Acorn computing. Could I please ask everybody who
produces new monitor definition scripts, to submit them to this column
so that I can assemble a compilation disc which will be available to all
for the cost of the return postage.
7.11
Software compatibility
7.11
I have already received by packet radio and one letter, comments on this
subject! It would appear that there are some problems in this area. I
have spoken to CC myself, as my Turbo Driver for the Canon BJ230 does
not work, and it will be at the end of June before the update is
available. All of Colton Softwareæs products run OK, (PipeDream v4.13,
WordZ v1.07, FireWorkZ v1.07), Minervaæs MultiStore v2.00, etc, and it
is starting to look as if most software which does not go in for any
speed-up tricks is OK. The rest, however, are in trouble Ö e.g. games
which use speed cheats and/or calls to the disc controller for
protection.
7.11
One thing that is coming to light is that one  person finds that package
X works, while another says it does not. This is almost certainly
because they are using different versions, so could everybody please
quote the version number of the package they are using when writing.
From next month, when sufficient information has arrived, I will be
sending Paul a list of software status for inclusion on the monthly
disc. It will be too large, I think, to be published in the magazine.
7.11
Hardware news (HCCS)
7.11
First the good news: the Ultimate micropodules plug in and go. I have my
8 bit SCSI unit in and running with the 245Mb hard disc. This had been
made very simple, as Acorn provided three extra power connectors, all
nicely dressed to length. The only problem I had was that they were so
tidily wrapped up under the disc drive that I did not see them at first!
7.11
Now the bad news: the 16bit HCCS cards do not work. There is a hardware
incompatibility which I have been advised cannot be corrected, so these
units will not work on the RiscáPC.
7.11
BrainSoft combined video/audio/serial card
7.11
Total failure here Ö my card seems to be too wide to fit in the slot, so
I am now in real trouble, as one of the jobs that I do is to import
images for people. I must now decide on which new digitiser to purchase.
This does, however, give me an opportunity to ask if anybody uses/knows
of a high spec video digitiser which will accept (PAL), (Y,C), (R,G,B),
+ Broadcast Betacam (Y, R-Y, B-Y) signals either direct into the board,
or via external adaptors. This would improve my end quality considerably
if I did not have to convert down to PAL.
7.11
This brings me to a subject dear to my heart. Risc PCs are now of such a
high standard in all respects, including the all-important video
resolution and colour depth, that they could be used for broadcast image
editing and manipulation. Are there any companies out there pushing
these machines/their software to the TV companies? If not, why not?
7.11
Floppy drives
7.11
No success here either. I have made up an extended ribbon cable, with
the appropriate connector for my 5╝ö drive, and checked pin 1 to pin 1
etc, along the cable, but no luck. Some guidance from Acorn (Phil
Colmer?), would be much appreciated here. (We have checked this out with
the Acorn tekkies and they say that the necessary select lines have not
been brought out to the floppy drive connector so it is definitely not
possible (as with A3010/20/4000) to fit a second floppy drive of any
description without soldering onto chips on the PCB, thus voiding the
warranty. Ed.)
7.11
Qume Laser Direct
7.11
CC still say that the Qume Laser Direct printers will not work on the
RiscáPC. However, we are getting reports that some of them do work. Paul
tells me that he has a version of the RISCáOS 3 driver (printer
definition file says it is: mod_version: 291) which works OK on some
Qume printers and not on others. Send Paul a formatted floppy disc (plus
a charity donation or a return envelope & stamps) if you want to try the
version he has used.
7.11
Tailpiece
7.11
There are so many things I could have commented on that it would have
filled the magazine. So I have tried to stick to the things that I felt
would interest and/or be of use to people who have just received their
machines. If there is anybody out there who is thinking of buying a
RiscáPC but is worried that they may have problems with software
compatibility, I would be quite prepared to try software on my machine
for them, to allay these fears.
7.11
Gripe of the month
7.11
The only niggle with the machine so far is that there are three spare
bays in my ACB45, but no spare clips to retain the drives which will go
in them. Or have I missed them like I missed the power connectors? (No,
there arenæt but weære trying to find out how to get hold of some. Ed.)
7.11
As usual, I can be contacted by letter at the HES address on the back
page, by telephone after 7p.m. or by Packet Radio from anywhere in the
world, as GW4NEI@GB7OAR.#16.GBR.EU.ááAá
7.11
DRAW_Changer
7.11
Peter Jennings
7.11
DRAW_Changer, with those capital letters and the underline in its name
just has to come from DEC_dATA! It is designed to let you edit drawfiles
easily and quickly without having to ungroup objects. It can change fill
and line colours, including converting to monochrome or even negative
images, change the thickness, join styles and cap styles of lines, strip
out selected objects including text, create anti-aliased sprites larger
then the computeræs memory and öthumbnailò sprites. Files can be batch-
processed and there is support for OLE (object linking and embedding)
from and to Impression Style and Publisher. This means that if, for
example, a graphic is printing too dark, it can be loaded into
Draw_Changer, lightened and then saved back onto the page in its
original size and position.
7.11
The utility is not just for use with Draw itself but can handle
drawfiles exported from other programs such as Draw Plus, Vector and
ArtWorks. One exception is that some layered files from Vector will not
load, even though saved in Draw format.
7.11
Draw_Changer (version 1.00), which costs ú39.95 including VAT, is very
neatly packaged as a slim A5 booklet (the 24-page manual) with a plastic
pocket containing a single disc inside the front cover. There is no
unnecessary box to take up shelf space. The disc contains the program
and an interactive on-line help file with a ClearView hypertext reader.
There are also six drawfiles and the program contains example settings
to demonstrate some of the ways they can be changed.
7.11
When all else fails...
7.11
If your usual approach to new software is to ignore the manual until you
get stuck, be warned. When you start using Draw_Changer, you will be
faced with strange windows full of unfamiliar icons and you will quickly
realise that öall elseò has indeed failed and you just have to read the
instructions. It all looks a bit daunting at first but, with the aid of
the manual and the very good on-screen help, it soon makes sense and you
will find the program quite easy to use.
7.11
Put simply, the icons (all clearly illustrated and detailed in the
manual) represent the various possible attributes of a drawfile, such as
colours and line styles. Icons for the features you want to alter are
dragged to one side of a window and icons representing the new features
to replace them are dragged to the other side. This creates a filter
specification, which can be given a name or even a description of up to
31 characters long. The specification is then saved into another window,
which already contains a supplied selection of pre-set filters designed
to carry out most of the changes you will want to make. Any number of
these filters can be applied to a drawfile in any order.
7.11
Making the changes
7.11
The editing is done by dragging the drawfile to be changed onto the
iconbar icon. This opens a toolbox and two windows, each showing an
identical view of the image. The windows are either side by side or one
below the other, according to how they best fit on the screen, and this
can be changed at the click of a button. The left or upper window always
displays the unmodified source file while changes are shown on the
ötargetò image in the other. These changes can be regarded as previews
of the possible end result as they are not permanent until saved and
they do not alter the original file unless, of course, the new picture
is saved over it. This makes it possible to experiment with a succession
of changes, using different combinations of filters, without having to
keep undoing the previous results.
7.11
Colours can be substituted, mixed and graduated in various ways but you
have to remember that changes are always carried out in relation to the
original image. So if, for example, you have changed an area of red to
green and you now wish to change this green to blue the appropriate
change will be from red to blue.
7.11
There is another, very useful, window for öSpecific object attributesò
which can be used to apply local changes to individual objects within a
picture.
7.11
There are so many features in this program that you could be happily
using it without realising that it had still more to offer. The first
half of the manual is rather closely printed and it is worth re- reading
all of it and browsing through the on-line help index to see what you
may have missed.
7.11
One particular feature which should not be overlooked is the ability to
produce a sprite file of öthumbnailò reproductions of all the drawfiles
in a directory. This can make a very useful index. It works very quickly
and produces very good quality dithered images. The maximum size of the
resulting sprite is shown in advance but the program works economically
and the final result is often smaller.
7.11
Quicker and easier
7.11
Draw_Changer can be used with all Acorn RISC OS 3 machines, including
the Risc PC, except that it will not produce 24-bit sprites for the
latter. If you use drawfiles frequently for DTP or any other purposes,
you will find this versatile utility will make the job quicker and much
easier to carry out.
7.11
Draw_Changer costs ú34 +VAT from DEC_ dATA.ááAá
7.11
A drawfile in colour changed to a monochrome negative. Areasáwhich were
originally filled black have been given aáblackáoutline to retain the
shape.
7.11
A coloured image can be changed to an outline drawing by usingáthe
öBlack lines, White Fillsò filter. The filter specificationáwas set up
in a window by dragging in icons representing the instructions to change
any line which öhasácolourò to öline colourò black and any object which
öisáfilledò to öfill colourò white.
7.11
RiscáPC supplies???!!!
7.11
We have now got ACB25 (5Mb) computers in stock Ö not many, admittedly,
and Acorn say we wonæt get any more until the end of July but it means
we donæt have a waiting list any more for ACB25. If you want an ACB25,
give us a ring to see if we have any left. (There are no AKF85 monitors
at all, so itæs 14ö or sign on as an Acorn Enthusiast and buy an Idek.)
7.11
If you are still waiting for an ACB45 (9Mb) machine, they are coming
through in dribs and drabs but there is still a longish waiting list,
Iæm afraid. Ed.
7.11
DOS is Different
7.11
Mike Tomkinson
7.11
(In the Archive office, we rejoiced that the RiscáPC, with its PC second
processor, went a long way to answering the önon-standardò criticism of
Acorn computers. Now we are beginning to realise some of the
implications for us. If we are to provide comments and technical
information about öAcorn computersò, that means that we will have to
deal with öDOSò topics to some extent! Mike has offered to start us off
and is happy to receive and collate your comments. Ed.)
7.11
Many Acorn users will be coming to PC software for the first time in
coming months. There will be a variety of reasons for this but the
release of the RiscáPC and the end of the wait for the PC card will be
chief amongst them. The existing PC Emulator is a remarkable piece of
software but it is slow and cannot run Windows software. As anyone with
a computer probably knows, Windows is the current öbig thingò in the PC
world.
7.11
Before we go any further, perhaps I had better define a few terms for
those really new to the world of PCs and DOS. More experienced user
might want to skip this section if they feel it is too basic.
7.11
Firstly, the term PC Ö it is short for Personal Computer and has become
a generic term for any computer which uses DOS and particularly MS-DOS
as its operating system. PC comes from a shortening of IBM PC and dates
from their first personal computer released in the early æ80s.
7.11
These computers used an operating system called MS-DOS, an acronym for
Microsoft Disc Operating System.
7.11
The story of why IBM used Microsoft DOS and not an operating system
derived from the, then, industry standard CP/M is very interesting and
perhaps I could re-tell it if anyone is interested.
7.11
DOS, as it has become known, is still the main operating system that is
used on PCs. It comes in various numbered versions, the current latest
version being 6.2.
7.11
It is characterised by the dreaded, (to those more used to a GUI or
Graphical User Interface), A: or C: prompt. It has also come to mean the
class of software which runs from this prompt. Thus öDOS-basedò software
is non-Windows software and has largely been replaced by Windows
variants.
7.11
The general unfriendliness of the A: and/or C: prompt led to the
development of a new GUI front end for DOS. This is the (in)famous
Windows. Again this comes from Microsoft and the current version is
either 3.1 or the newer and more memory hungry 3.11 or Windows for
Workgroups.
7.11
To the user accustomed to the RISC OS desktop, Windows is a come-down.
It is very un-intuitive although, for most users, it is considerably
easier to use than pure DOS which is why it is popular.
7.11
The use of Microsoft software on PCs is what has made its chairman Bill
Gates the second richest man in America.
7.11
As an experienced user of a wide range of DOS and Windows software, I
would like to share a few experiences and points with those more used to
Acorn software.
7.11
The first point is that DOS (the operating system) and its associated
software, both DOS and Windows-based is very different from what Acorn
software. I do not mean that a RISC OS spreadsheet differs fundamentally
from a Windows or DOS-based spreadsheet. All spreadsheets will be
essentially pieces of software with rows and columns forming cells into
which numbers, text or formulae can be entered.
7.11
The same point will certainly be true of all other content-free
software. A word processor is still a word processor whatever the
platform. You know that all word processors have a cut and paste
facility and it is simply a case of establishing how this has been
implemented in another package that forms the fundamental difference
between knowing one package and learning another. That is not beyond
anyone, given time and a degree of motivation.
7.11
What I mean by saying that PC software is different is that it comes
from elsewhere. There are two aspects to this and they have further
implications for both the individual user and certainly for the IT
coordinator in any Acorn school.
7.11
The first aspect is that PC software comes almost exclusively from the
world of business/commerce. An obvious implication of this is that it is
not written with children in mind. No-one in their right mind would
attempt to teach word processing with WordStar to average school pupils.
In fact, WordStar, the early öindustry standardò DOS-based
wordprocessing package, has been almost completely sidelined by more
modern Windows-based packages.
7.11
This brings us to the oft quoted phrase of öindustry standardò. The
RiscáPC itself is final acknowledgement that some such standard exists
but please donæt be fooled into thinking in these terms. Industry, or
what is left of it, does not have standards Ö it has habits. The PC and
its attendant software may be the current standard but only as a result
of inertia and some clever marketing.
7.11
If you confront the computer buyer in any large organisation with a
patently better product, what will prevent its adoption will be inertia
and the fear of not conforming to a mythical standard.
7.11
Most Acorn software has educational needs somewhere to the fore. It
tends to be easy to use Ö intuitive. If it is not, it tends not to be
popular. This is not to say that it is not powerful Ö a package should
be judged, in part, by the thinness of its manual not its thickness.
7.11
A further aspect to this idea of öindustry standardò is the price one is
expected to pay for software. To be honest, PC software has fallen
dramatically in price in recent years Ö as a result of the same economic
forces which have forced most prices down. However, rather like house
prices in the South East, they have fallen from very high levels.
7.11
The upshot of this is that you can expect to pay much more for PC
software than you would for RISC OS software. This applies to both
single user and site licence versions.
7.11
Let me give you an example. The school at which I am IT co-ordinator,
uses PCs on the administration side. This was not my decision and
happens even in Acorn schools. The office staff use WordStar and
Supercalc. Both are DOS-based, and somewhat past their best. They now
exist in Windows variants but both were very late into the arena.
7.11
After careful consideration and evaluation, I recommended a move towards
the 1990s and beyond in the shape of Windows-based software. I know it
is not ideal, but it is better than DOS for non-computer literates. I am
sorry if that sounds either patronising or high-handed but I get paid to
make hard decisions.
7.11
After further evaluation and consultation, it has been decided to go for
Ami Pro and Lotus 1-2-3. Both these are Windows-based and from Lotus.
Ami Pro 3 is an excellent word processor with many similarities to
Impression Style. Perhaps sub-consciously that is why I like it so much.
Lotus 1-2-3 is a spreadsheet and even non-DOS users tend at least to
have heard of it because it is an öindustry standardò.
7.11
The pricing structure means that if you intend to buy more than one
package it is cheaper (more cost effective) to buy a bundle called the
Lotus Smartsuite. This bundle includes Lotus 1-2-3, Ami Pro, Approach (a
database), Freelance (presentation graphics) and Lotus Organiser (a
smart Filofax replacement).
7.11
I may not actually want presentation graphics software but that is not
the point Ö I am also paid to save money where possible.
7.11
The above bundle attracts a special education price because some, but by
no means all, software manufacturers realise that schools are not
generally profit-oriented organisations.
7.11
Of course, I want to install it on more than one computer and, being a
law abiding representative of a law abiding institution, I realise the
need for a site licence. We have approximately 10 PCs used for
administration. Thus Smartsuite plus a 10 user site licence
(educational) would seem a minimum specification.
7.11
The grand total comes to ú1533 + VAT = ú1801.28. For PC software, that
is a real bargain. An actual business would pay much more. It really is
no wonder that so much pirated software exists in the PC world. It is
simply unaffordable and that is not to condone software piracy, which is
totally wrong.
7.11
My local Acorn dealer tells me that many IT coordinators are being
pressured to introduce PCs on the basis that they are currently
relatively inexpensive and that they run öindustry standardò software.
7.11
This pressure is often exerted by one or two influential Governors via
weak Headteachers. I would agree that PCs are generally cheaper to
purchase than Acorn computers but the software that makes them usable is
very expensive if used legally. As for öindustry standardò, well, we all
have our habits but not all of them are good ones!
7.11
The second aspect of DOS being different is that it comes from somewhere
else literally Ö the United States of America. Thus, even the
educational software is written with American children in mind.
7.11
I cannot think of any RISC OS software which is American. I am not a
raging xenophobe but I cannot be alone in supporting the view that the
North Atlantic Ocean is not the only divide between us and that we are
increasingly divided by our öcommonò language. Teaching children to
spell properly is more important than slavish notions of industry
standards when the standards are not those of this country.
7.11
However, and notwithstanding any of my comments above, all is not doom
and gloom in the world of DOS. Some excellent software does exist and I
hope to cover some of this and other important points in future issues.
7.11
Obvious points include the vast amounts of shareware that exist for PCs,
the high cost of software upgrades, the memory and space hungry DOS/
Windows applications, where to obtain software and what to read to
become informed about PCs.
7.11
If you have any comments, write direct to me, Mike Tomkinson, 1 Albert
Crescent, Queensbury, Bradford, BD13 1PE. (No phone calls, please.)ááAá
7.11
DTP Hints & Tips
7.11
James Parry
7.11
James Parry, proprietor of Smart DTP, öSpecialists in DTP ware for 32-
bit Acorn machinesò, has sent us a whole set of DTP hints and tips. He
admits he has an ulterior motive of drawing attention to his companyæs
products but the hints are helpful, so here they are.
7.11
Å  Getting organised(1) Fonts Ö There are now several applications on
the market for managing outline fonts, the leading applications being
Easyfont II (Fabis) and Font Directory (LOOKsystems). Iæve just received
Easyfont II, and itæs a lot faster and has many new features. (Iæm not
going start a font management war as I havenæt seen a copy of Font
Directory yet.)
7.11
If you can spare the cash, you would be well advised to invest in a font
management system. The application will help you to cope with the
growing number of fonts being introduced so that you can keep track of
them and, more importantly, use your collection more effectively. If you
can fit all your fonts on one font directory on your hard drive then you
probably donæt need a font management system yet. Before I used
Easyfont, I organised all my fonts into separate !Font directories such
as !Fancy, !General, !Script, !Titles, etc. For those who use a floppy
drive system, you will have to make up different font discs using this
sort of system.
7.11
Å  Getting organised(2) Clipart/Resources Ö Many people have lots of PD
and commercial clipart but is your clipart well-organised? Can you find
that piece of clipart just when you need it? A while ago, I decided I
would have to get my collection into some sort of order. It took quite a
while trying different ways of organising my resources before I decided
on my current system which is quick and easy to use.
7.11
If, as I do, you tend to hoard software and simply canæt bear to delete
anything, make a backup of your entire collection of clipart. Once this
is done, you can sift through your collection, pruning as you go, with
no fear of losing images from your collection altogether.
7.11
If you donæt have a hard drive, your best bet is to sort out your
clipart by topic onto disc. Each disc should concentrate on a single
topic. For example, you may have discs dedicated to sport and leisure,
business, cartoons, etc. If possible, use a compression application to
maximise space.
7.11
Hard disc users have a better option although they can use the method
above to keep backups. I store my clipart in an application on the $
directory called !Clipart. It simply opens a directory, revealing the
clipart. Itæs not exciting and it doesnæt do anything fancy but if you
want a copy, send for our catalogue disc (see below) and ask for a copy.
7.11
My clipart directory is made up of many archives, each archive covering
a set topic. Archives or ArcFS archives are the best way of storing
clipart on your machine. To give you some idea of the sort of categories
that you might want to use, here is my list.
7.11
Animals, Arrows, Borders, Buildings, Comms/Media, Computers, Corners,
Drawing, Drop Capitals, Flashes, Food, Fun (animals, cartoons, toys,
party), History, Leisure/Sport, Logos, Misc, Music, Nature (flowers,
insects, pondlife, trees), Objects, Occasions (easter, weddings, xmas),
People (famous & anatomy) Speech, Symbols, Think, Transport (aircraft,
boats, others), War and World (maps & flags). (Topics in brackets are
sub directories.)
7.11
Keep the clipart that you use most regularly on your hard drive.
Depending on the free space available, you may decide to store some of
your collection on floppy disc. Incidentally, Huge Eagle has produced an
excellent application called !PicAPic (available from all good PD
libraries). It is an absolute must for DTP users, allowing you to view a
whole directory of clipart at a time and it includes numerous other
useful features.
7.11
Å  Go easy on the fonts and clipart Ö One of the biggest mistakes for a
DTP user is to use too many different fonts and images in one document.
Try to decide on a set of fonts which you are going to use throughout a
document. By using a good balance of fonts, your work will look well-
structured and attractive yet easy to read. Then, by introducing the
right images, the document can be enhanced still further by making it
more eye-catching.
7.11
Å  Ideas Ö The more DTP work that you create, the more experienced
youæll get. One of the best ways of developing your ability to produce
different styles of work is to look critically at the literature you see
in everyday life. Just by observing how other people produce leaflets,
brochures, reports etc, you can get ideas for our own work.
7.11
Å  The right font for the right image Ö Typefaces can act as a powerful
communication tool, drawing the readersæ attention by suggesting what
the text is about. For example, an advertisement describing a new
product aimed at primary education might well use a primary school font
as this would give the reader the image of education and learning.
7.11
Because the typefaces that you use can make such a difference to the
first impression, it is important that you choose the correct font for
each job. As an example, it would be inappropriate to use a decorative
font for the titles of an exam paper or a primary school font for the
body text of a business report. Decorative and title typefaces are often
used excessively.
7.11
(As an exercise, can I suggest you look through the adverts in the June
issue of Archive? Ask yourself which ones communicate most clearly and
then try to analyse why that is so. Itæs not a case of which advert gets
the largest amount of information into an A5 advert but which one
öcommunicatesò in the broadest sense of the word. Ed.)
7.11
Å  Printing and papers Ö Unless you use professional imagesetting and
printing all the time, the majority of your work will be printed using a
desktop printer. Itæs worth remembering that standard A4 white copier
paper isnæt always the best medium. Some excellent effects can be
achieved by using different sorts of paper to add some variety to your
work. You can choose from papers with varying weights, colours, sizes,
and types. Shop around for the best deal Ö youæll probably find that
your local paper merchant gives the best choice and price. Viking Direct
(0800-424444), offer a nationwide delivery service and have a range of
colour, graduated colour and designer papers. The designer papers are
pre-printed in full colour A4 pages and are ideal for work that really
needs to stand out.
7.11
Å  Are you Smart? (This is the advertising bit! Ed.) Ö Last but
certainly not least, buy your clipart, resources, fonts & DTP
applications from SmartDTP! We produce our own range of publishing
resources which is complemented by the products in our DTPDirect
catalogue. We supply publishing resources from iSV(Exclusive), Micro
Studio, Tekoa Graphics, Fabis Computing, Design Concept, Southern
Printers, ABC Of Art & Dabs Press. We offer fast delivery which is
backed up by a full telephone support service. To obtain our latest
catalogue disc send your details with a ú1 coin stuck to a piece of card
(so it doesnæt get lost in the post) to the following address:- Smart
DTP, Catalogue disc, 36 Park Road, Duffield, Belper, Derbyshire, DE56
4GR.  (0332-842803)ááAá
7.11
(Other software houses or hardware producers may feel that I am being
unfair by publicising SmartDTPæs products. First of all, I donæt sell
their products through Archive, so I cannot be criticised for doing it
for my own commercial gain. Secondly, if you have something worthwhile
to contribute that you think Archive readers may find interesting,
please send it in to me Ö even if it deliberately draws attention to
your own products. I donæt promise to publish it and I may need to edit
down your self-advertising (as I have done with this entry!) but I will
certainly consider your contribution. Ed.)
7.11
Advanced Basic Column
7.11
Paul Hobbs
7.11
Handling choices
7.11
One factor that makes a program easy and pleasant to use is the amount
of thought given to allowing the end user to configure it the way that
he or she wants. A programmer can rarely anticipate exactly how people
will use it, so it is a good idea to build in plenty of choices such as
the foreground and background colours used for the main work area of a
window, whether interactive help will be sent etc.
7.11
It is worth considering carefully how to implement this. Normally, a
data file containing the useræs settings is simply saved in the
application directory and reloaded when the program is run, but what
happens if the application is being run from a read-only medium such as
a CD or a protected partition on a hard disc? This is not as unlikely as
it first appears and, in future, this situation is certain to become
more common as more CD-ROM drives are sold.
7.11
In writing my latest application, I have reached the point where I am
considering the choices file and this is what I propose to do expressed
in pseudo code (I am, of course, always open to better suggestions!).
7.11
IF choices file found in MyAppChoices$Path THEN
7.11
  load choices file
7.11
ELSE
7.11
  IF choices file found in application directory THEN
7.11
    load choices file
7.11
  ELSE
7.11
    create default choices file in memory
7.11
    IF MyAppChoices$Path is defined THEN
7.11
      save choices file in MyAppChoices$Path
7.11
    ELSE
7.11
      save choices file inside application directory
7.11
    ENDIF
7.11
  ENDIF
7.11
ENDIF
7.11
This pseudo code shows that the case of a missing choices file is
handled by creating a new default one (much nicer than issuing an error
message). Also, the first action is to check if a system variable exists
which points to the location of a choices file. This allows the user to
keep the application itself on a read-only medium, although the
disadvantage is that the system variable will need to be set up in the
system boot file.
7.11
Incidentally, I find that writing code fragments in pseudo code like
this is an excellent way of checking that all eventualities have been
considered before writing the actual code.
7.11
If saving the choices file inside the application directory returns an
error, it could be caused by the application residing on read-only
media, too many files in the directory or insufficient space on the
medium. In any case, the user should, at this point, be offered the
chance to save the file elsewhere via a standard save box.
7.11
Designing option dialog boxes
7.11
There seems to be an increasing trend recently for the ÉOptions...æ or
ÉChoices...æ menu item to open either a huge dialog box with an
overwhelming number of radio buttons or a smaller dialog box which
contains a seemingly endless scrolling pane which in turn contains an
overwhelming number of radio buttons. I think I am not alone in finding
all this rather daunting and it is sometimes not at all easy to gain an
overview of what all the available choices are.
7.11
In the PC world, this problem has been tackled in a way that I have
never seen used on Acorn machines Ö the Étabbedæ dialog box. In this, a
small dialog box opens which contains the first Épageæ of choices and a
series of icons that look like the page dividers in a folder or filofax.
Clicking on any of the tabs opens the next page of choices.
7.11
At this point it would have been nice to show a graphic of öa dialog box
I designed earlierò but I have to admit that I havenæt actually
implemented this yet! When I have, Iæll share the details with you, but
for now I am just presenting the idea as food for thought.
7.11
By the way, the Style Guide recommends that the dialog box for option
settings should be opened from a menu item called ÉChoices...æ and
should contain four icons at the bottom of the window in addition to the
ones that display the available choices. These should be (from left to
right) ÉDefaultæ (restore default choices set within the application),
ÉSaveæ (save the choices as a file called ÉChoicesæ), ÉCancelæ (close
the dialog box) and ÉSetæ (apply the current choices but do not save
them).
7.11
And finally...
7.11
If you have any suggestions for topics that could be covered in future
issues, I would be pleased to hear from you. What I have attempted so
far is (hopefully!) is to provide some thought-provoking suggestions on
how better programs can be written in Basic (although many of the topics
are equally relevant to other languages). I havenæt been exactly
overwhelmed with feedback so far, so if anybody wants particular
techniques covered, now is the time to write. My address is Paul Hobbs,
Rheinpfalzstrasse 2, 85049 Ingolstadt, Germany.ááAá
7.11
The Spoken Word
7.11
Christopher Jarman
7.11
Any program that will help to re-enforce reading skills in Key Stage 1
will always be welcome, particularly if it is the kind of self-
motivating task which involves the children and gives them a sense of
being in control. Wyddfa Softwareæs The Spoken Word seems just to hit
the right note. While it is not a painting package as such, it does have
many of the attributes of one. It is sub-titled ÉColouring by Wordsæ,
which describes it well.
7.11
The package consists of one program disc and one picture disc containing
six pictures between them, with a modest 12 page handbook, all enclosed
in a very colourful and attractive plastic wallet. Two other extra packs
of picture discs are available, with eight and six pictures
respectively, and the handbook contains instructions for teachers on how
to make up more picture discs of their own if they wish.
7.11
The Spoken Word is far easier to use installed on a hard disc than
coping with taking floppies in and out. In fact, I would think using
floppies hardly worth the bother. However, on hard disc everything is
straightforward, full directions are given, and should be followed
exactly because both Fonts, Sounds and System modules must be loaded
properly for it all to work together, for this is, in effect, a multi-
media package. Children may learn to read or recognise a fair number of
nouns and fourteen colours.
7.11
When the first picture is loaded, a vertical printed list of the objects
in the accompanying picture is shown down the lefthand side of the
screen. If the mouse is clicked on a word, it is spoken clearly and
distinctly in a pleasant Welsh male voice! There are picture icons
representing an artistæs palette, an eraser and a pencil doing some
writing. When the mouse is put over each of these, the voice tells you
what it is. By clicking on the palette, another vertical printed list
appears, this time with 14 little blocks of colour. By picking an object
and then a colour with the mouse, that object in the picture will be
coloured in the selected hue. The voice will say the objectæs name and
the colour and finally will say both together. It is very simple to use,
very easy to understand and very powerfully motivating. In particular,
once children have got the hang of it, they will love to make each other
laugh by making pictures of people with blue faces and pink hair,
sitting on red grass! In fact, I would not be surprised if some budding
psychologist makes up a personality test with this program to check on
levels of creativity! Finally, by clicking on the pencil, a small
dialogue box comes up for the child to label the coloured picture and
save it as his or her own if need be.
7.11
Some extra features put this into a very professional class of
educational software. Firstly, the voice is very good and has a
reassuring ring to it. I checked the pronunciation of path, grass, bath
and jumper and noted that it was particularly different from that
received in the South of England, and consider that to be an asset
rather than anything else. Some research into an acceptable variety of
accents in this sort of program might be useful in the future, as
children need to get used to them as soon as possible. It is not
something we should ignore. Secondly, there is a öclick pictureò feature
which, when selected, means that just by clicking on the picture of any
object, its name will be spoken and you may choose its colour. Thirdly,
I liked the fine touch that when any colour is selected, the mouse
pointer fills with a minute amount of that colour just to remind you
what you have chosen.
7.11
A word about the quality of the illustrations. I particularly liked the
fact that the artist has chosen to use straightforward book-like
drawings which are clear without being whimsical. I realise that this is
a question of personal taste, but as children see an enormous number of
cartoon type drawings in comics and on TV already, I prefer them to see
slightly more realistic drawings in an educational context. There is
room for much more good draughtsmanship in this area. Some software art
is very bad in this respect, and it is good to see Wyddfa refusing to go
down that path.
7.11
This is good value at ú22 for the main package and ú12 each for the two
extra picture packs, carriage within the UK and VAT included.ááAá
7.11
JPEG Column
7.11
Stuart Bell
7.11
NASA images on a new shareware disc
7.11
Philip Draper kindly sent me two discs full of JPEGed pictures which
originally came from NASA and found their way to him via Internet and
Janet. As promised, therefore, Iæve put !FYEO2 (see the June JPEG
column) onto a shareware disc, filled it up with the best of the NASA
images, added a Éthumbnailsæ file with postage stamp-sized previews of
the files, and sent it to Paul for distribution. It is available as
Archive Shareware disc number 51. Please remember that !FYEO2 is true
shareware, and so must be registered if you wish to keep on using it
after a two week trial period. (The awaited new release of ImageBank
hasnæt hit my doormat yet, so its demo version isnæt on the disc.)
7.11
The NASA images are super, and are from 24 bit-per-pixel originals.
Thus, with the right JPEG application (e.g. ImageBank) and the right
hardware (either an A300/400/5000 with a separate colour card supporting
16M modes, or a RiscáPC with 2Mb of VRAM) they should produce stunning
images. Of course, !FYEO2 will read 24 bpp JPEG files; its limitation is
that it will only produce 8bpp sprites. As the timings for JPEG
decompression printed in Archiveæs RiscáPC write-up (7.8 p17) showed,
decompressing to 24bpp sprites should be quicker than going to 8bpp, as
there is no optimisation of colours to be done.
7.11
CD ROM ù the JPEG medium
7.11
The five images on the new shareware disc total 570Kb, and the disc
hasnæt a spare sector on it. The benefit of JPEG compression is obvious
from their total decompressed size of 2.7Mb, but even so, itæs rather
laborious to distribute images five at a time. Moving to 1.6Mb discs
would help ù but only by a factor of two. The 105Mb removable discs
offer a hundred-fold capacity increase, but the cost would be 10p or so
per image.
7.11
Enter the CD ROM, which seems to me to be the ideal medium for picture
distribution. I read of a PC-compatible CD ROM ÉSpace and Astronomyæ
disc of 1,000 images and 5,000 text files for ú24. Thatæs about 10p a
megabyte! No wonder that, with the new RiscáPC, Acorn have re-introduced
5╝ö disc bays, for a CD ROM drive will surely become an indispensable
peripheral in the next generation of ÉAVæ computers.
7.11
A new Édiscrete wavelet transformæ algorithm
7.11
Stuart Halliday sent me a cutting from Electronics Weekly about a new
JPEG-related compression method which ömay offer high compression ratios
ù of the order of 170:1 ù while maintaining acceptable picture quality.ò
The article describes work on an adaptive bit-plane run-length codec
(ABPRLC) being done at Strathclyde University headed by Professor Tariq
Durrani. Even with a Computer Science degree (albeit getting a little
rusty) I only just understood most of the account, so Iæll simply quote
a summary of the results: öThe algorithm was tested on a 512╫512 image
against the JPEG scheme. At a compression ratio of 50:1 both the
algorithms reproduced good quality images. At a compression ratio of
166:1 the JPEG scheme produced a very poor image (PSNR Ö averaged pixel
signal to noise ratio Ö of 26.33dB) while the new algorithm reproduced
an acceptable image (PSNR of 32.20dB) at a compression ratio of 178:1.ò
In other words, JPEG is no longer state-of-the-art for picture
compression, but rather a starting point for new work. The article was
published on April 13th for those who want the technical details.
7.11
ChangeFSI is better!
7.11
In my last column, I noted that, supplied with the new RiscáPC, is a
whole set of JPEG images, but commented at the end, öbut I must add that
Matthew would have been far better off using !FYEO rather than
!ChangeFSI for the image decompression (unless, of course, !ChangeFSI is
much improved with RISC OS 3.5).ò The good news is that ChangeFSI, the
graphics file conversion utility supplied by Acorn is, in its 0.95
version, very much improved. Not only will it accept JPEG files being
dragged onto its icon, but it is very fast indeed Ö in fact, itæs faster
than !FYEO2! It was brought to my attention by Ian Palmer, who has
written his own öThumbnailò application for keeping an archive of
thumbnail versions of images in a whole range of file formats Ö of which
more later.
7.11
ChangeFSI now handles the decompression of JPEG files very cleanly
indeed. Part of its speed is due to the fact that in fast mode it
totally blanks the screen. Also, the help file says that öthe !Run file
is set up for colour pictures of around 3000 pixels across maximum,
monochrome pictures of around 9000 pixels across maximum. You will need
to increase the slot size for larger pictures. ChangeFSI$Cache can be
set to values larger than 128Kb to speed processing. (In particular,
JPEG files smaller than the value of ChangeFSI$Cache will be read much
more quickly.)ò
7.11
I set the wimpslot value in the !Run file to 448Kb as suggested and then
tried altering ChangeFSI$Cache to different settings. Since itæs not
mentioned in the !Run file, I set it each time from the command line,
e.g. press <F12>, and type
7.11
set ChangeFSI$cache 512K
7.11
Clearly, this is crucial, for when I tried the öRockò JPEG file which I
used for tests last time, it at first seemed to be slower than !FYEO2,
whereas Ian had given me to expect faster decompression. The size of the
decompressed öRockò sprite is 590Kb, from a 136Kb JPEG file.
7.11
áácache size: 128K  time: 54 secs
7.11
áácache size: 160K  time: 29 secs
7.11
áácache size: 256K  time: 29 secs
7.11
In all cases, mode 28 (256 colour VGA) was used. For comparison, the
time taken by !FYEO2 was 40 seconds, and by ImageBank 130 seconds. Brief
comparisons suggest that the output from ChangeFSI is at least as good
as from the other applications.
7.11
Neither Ian nor I am clear about the status of ChangeFSI. Acorn donæt
charge for it, but itæs certainly not public domain software, so Iæm not
distributing the latest version. If you do want a copy, ask your Acorn
dealer, or perhaps Paul could ask Acorn for permission to put it on the
Archive monthly disc? But donæt write off !FYEO2. For the inexperienced
user, it still offers greater ease of use over ChangeFSI.
7.11
Thumbnail
7.11
After my DIY thumbnail system, which I described in the last column, Ian
Palmer sent me a copy of his proper thumbnailing system. Its user
interface is very much like the ImageBank system, but with a number of
differences. First, itæs not a JPEG compression/decompression system,
but rather a means of storing thumbnail images of graphics files in a
range of formats, including drawfiles, Artwork files and, of course,
JPEG files. To use it, you simply drag a JPEG (or whatever) file into a
Thumbnail directory viewer, and the thumbnail is produced and stored
together with information about the original file and its thumbnail
view.
7.11
Like ImageBank, it offers a filer-like interface with nested
directories, and the whole package provides a very neat way of visually
indexing a variety of graphics files. Particularly when used with the
latest version of !ChangeFSI, itæs pretty quick, too. I encountered just
one problem Ö  it didnæt seem to like Compression. Even when I made sure
that neither Thumbnail nor the files it saw were compressed, it still
fell over if a !CFS directory with Thumbnail on it had been opened.
Thumbnail is shareware available for a registration fee of ú5 from Mr I
J Palmer, 40 Birch Crescent, Aylesford, Kent. ME20 7QE. It could be a
fiver well spent.
7.11
By next time, perhaps I will be able to report on the latest version of
ImageBank and on using JPEG files with Impression Publisher ù the
upgrade has been ordered for a few weeks now. Any further experiences of
using the latest version of !ChangeFSI and of the JPEG images supplied
with the RiscáPC would be appreciated.ááAá
7.11
Help make a good Impression
7.11
New
7.11
Z-LinkáII  Ö  The Missing Link?
7.11
Mark Jolliffe
7.11
The Cambridge Computersæ Z88 was, or perhaps still is, an under-
appreciated machine with many good features, but several shortcomings.
The lack of any backup medium and a tendency to crash unexpectedly form
a traumatic duo. Fortunately, the Z88 has a serial port, and virtually
any computer can be made to receive and store its data, given suitable
software. Enter Z-LinkáII, from The Really Good Software Company.
7.11
RGSC describe Z-LinkáII as ö...the most comprehensive implementation of
the Z88 import/export protocol ever produced for Acorn RISCáOS
computers, and it is by far the most versatileò. Later, it is described
as ö...your all-singing, all-dancing gateway to the world of Z88
portabilityò. Oh dear!
7.11
The package consists of a slip case with disc, an A5 booklet, and an
optional but essential serial lead. It requires OSá3.10 or above (and
works on RiscáPC) and 1Mb of memory (plus a serial port upgrade on A3000
machines). The instructions for installation and operation are
comprehensive, including a drawfile showing the pin connections of both
the Archimedes and Z88 D-type connectors for those wishing to make up
their own leads. The supplied lead had an unsuitable plug for the Z88;
it was too bulky to pass through the latteræs case properly, and was of
the type equipped with retaining screws, which the Z88 cannot exploit.
Plugs that simply fall out of sockets are a complication which one can
well do without.
7.11
Z-linkáII installs on the iconbar, and is multitasking. Clicking
<select> opens a window at the top of the screen showing the program
waiting to receive from the Z88. When a file is sent from the Z88, the
window changes to indicate that a file is being received, its size, and
its full Z88 filename. On completion of transfer, a further window opens
showing the file size again, its type (PipeDream or text), and the
opportunity to cancel or save. Selecting save opens a standard drag or
click save window, with the Z88 filename as default, stripped of its
directory component. Dragging a file either to the Z-LinkáII window or
its icon causes the Z-Link window to show that it is transmitting a
file, its size, and its filename. The file is saved on the Z88 using the
Archimedes filename. Basic programs are treated as text files in both
directions, but losing top-bit characters and therefore being rendered
useless.
7.11
Files can also be received and sent in batches; a Batch Save Directory
can be named and selected from the icon menu. Files sent from the Z88
are now saved to this directory without user intervention, and all the
files in a directory are sent to the Z88 when dragged as with a single
file.
7.11
The iconbar menu also leads to a configuration submenu, and offers the
opportunity to abort or suspend a transfer, or to quit. Configuration
involves the selection of a baud rate between 300 and 19200, CR/LF
conversion, and the batch transfer option. The selections can be used
for the current session or saved as default. The suspension option
temporarily removes Z-Linkæs claim on the serial port.
7.11
Transfer at 19200 baud was successful from the Z88, but not in reverse.
9600 baud was error-free in both directions at all times.
7.11
Z-LinkáII succeeded in its tasks neatly and reliably. It is the best
presented link program that I have seen, but its claim to be the most
comprehensive is firmly open to question. Certainly, there is a
shareware program that has the additional facilities of allowing the Z88
to print to the Archimedes parallel printer (the Z88 has no parallel
port), saving the file as a printfile, and it deals with Basic files
without corruption. Whilst not multi-tasking, it is equally efficient at
file transfer, and costs a mere ú7 as against Z-LinkáIIæs ú24.95. RGSCæs
timing is unfortunate: by now most Z88 owners will either have bought a
link program or abandoned their machine to save their sanity. Five years
ago it would have sold like the proverbial hot cakes.
7.11
Z-Link II works with RISCáOS 3.1 or later and costs ú24.95 inclusive
from RGSC. They also do a serial cable for a further ú9 inclusive.ááA
7.11
10 out of 10 Dinosaurs
7.11
Elliott Hughes
7.11
It is difficult to think of a more tried and tested topic to interest
students of all ages than dinosaurs. This two disc version is intended
to be öfor all agesò. I have tried it with 11-16 year olds of lower to
middle ability and my experience suggests that the claim is true. The
higher levels on some of the games (such as Raptor) were well beyond my
capability, but I am not sure what that says about the Éupper limitæ!
The accompanying literature is useful and although it contains a number
of minor errors relating to dinosaurs and the evolution of life on
Earth, these do not distract too much.
7.11
I consider myself to be of medium ability and enthusiasm when it comes
to dinosaurs and I have to admit that I was not motivated by the level
in the games which requires knowledge of the sub-groups to which they
belong (e.g. Anatosaurus is a member of the subgroup Ornithopoda). This
also stopped all but one of my pupils. There is a list in the booklet of
all 96 creatures used but I would have preferred use of the database in
the application as a browsing exercise, to allow me to learn some of the
properties before I attempted the games.
7.11
If the database could be linked with the sprites, it would be even
better. I would certainly have liked the allocation to subgroups to have
been the highest level in all games. A number of non-dinosaurs are in
the list.
7.11
Loading instructions are included although none of the pupils that
tested the games needed them. We used a variety of machines and the
program ran with RISC OS 2 and 3 with 1Mb+. As expected, the A4 could
not adequately cope with the scrolling in T.Rex and Lost Island.
7.11
The main menu that appears is self-explanatory and provides the option
of six different games which cover many of the standard game formats and
appeal to varied tastes. They may be played at different levels, and
bonuses are available for rapid selection of correct answers. The games
test many of the commonly accepted Éfactsæ about dinosaur features
including size, mobility, diet and many others. Some of these Éfactsæ
are debatable and there are some errors but these do not unduly detract
from the appeal and, to some extent, add to it!
7.11
In a teaching situation, it is not necessarily a bad feature to have
Éerrorsæ in the material. This may be used to develop a critical
approach amongst students and allows them to challenge the system.
Having said that, it helps if the errors are known to the person in
charge of the learning situation. The only major criticism is with the
ÉMissing Linkæ game. This includes the strange feature, quickly spotted
by players, that not all links are random.
7.11
My personal gripe is with the visual representation of the dinosaurs. I
had previously bought Micro Studioæs Pre-Historic Animals, which is
almost exclusively of dinosaurs, and the overall quality is excellent.
The 10 out of 10 graphics are obviously limited by their need to be
small so as to be incorporated within the games, and I have to admit
that my pupils found them acceptable, but I would expect better for
educational use.
7.11
The response of pupils was, as expected, very mixed. Those with a
predominantly ÉNintendo mentalityæ found some Éboringæ (because they
require some learning) but others with a genuine interest in dinosaurs,
or a more enquiring mind, were more enthusiastic. The second öWordfitò
disc is a very demanding scrabble-like game. This proved to be far too
difficult for my students (except at a very simplistic level) as names
were generally long and complex, but I found it very enjoyable. We only
managed to crash the program once (on Lost Island).
7.11
From the main menu one of six games may be selected. With each game, the
number of players, the number of attempts, and the speed at which the
game is to be played may be altered. The literature suggests that you
start on Level 1 and need a high score to progress. When this happens,
you are informed that Éthe colour has changedæ (as levels are colour
coded). If you score particularly well, you may be informed that the
Éhigh score tableæ has been amended. A permanent record of each playeræs
performance is recorded for access from the Main Menu as ÉPlayer
informationæ. This may be printed out if required. With most games,
levels 1 and 2 were immediately available for a new player.
7.11
T.Rex
7.11
In this game, a pair of jaws may be used to bite a dinosaur whose
properties are displayed. The dinosaurs that may be bitten scroll on
both sides of the screen. One problem encountered was the selection of
time limits for the higher levels. If, having selected a time limit, it
was then decided to switch the time off, it was necessary to return to
the main menu and start again.
7.11
Tracker
7.11
Footprints appear across the screen together with clues (the number of
which varies between levels). A selection of possible answers is
displayed at the bottom of the screen, from which the correct one has to
be selected. An incorrect choice leads to another clue being given, but
the bonus is disappearing with the time taken.
7.11
Raptor
7.11
Twelve dinosaur sprites are displayed together with a description which
applies to one or more of the dinosaurs. The problem is that the sprites
change positions so that, unless you are quick enough, your selection
moves before you have time to select it. At the highest levels the
changes were so rapid that it was just about impossible to keep up.
7.11
Spare ribs
7.11
This was generally the most popular amongst my pupils. The object is to
stop a row of six dinosaursæ heads reaching food (spare ribs) at the
bottom of the display. The dinosaurs may be returned to their start
position by answering a question correctly and then selecting the
particular head that you want to be returned to the start. If Égradesæ
is selected there are two levels plus a ÉUSERæ option. The latter allows
selection of the subject matter of the questions. Another facility here
is that QFiles inside the application allow you to enter your own
questions. There is a Help file displayed when the disc is first loaded
which informs players of this option. This particular game caused some
argument as several of the Écorrectæ answers caused concern; such as
öWhich one can you ride on?ò Answer: öA woolly mammothò. Another option
claimed that Diplodocus was ömore dangerousò than Tyranosaurus. But one
that is not debatable claimed that the longest dinosaur was 10m long.
Although this is (perhaps) unsatisfactory for a game it proved useful in
a teaching situation!
7.11
Missing link
7.11
In this game, boxes containing dinosaurs arranged in two rows have to be
linked with other boxes containing descriptions in two upper rows. The
boxes may be Open, so that the options can be seen, or Closed so that
the option only becomes visible (for a time) when selected. This then
becomes similar to playing the card game Épairsæ. As mentioned
previously, this game includes the strange arrangement that the top row
of features always matches directly (vertically) with the dinosaur
sprites. Thus only the second rows of each are random. Once this is
spotted, it leads to the achievement of some remarkable scores !
7.11
Lost island
7.11
Iæm not sure why the game has this title. A vehicle has to run over
dinosaurs fitting the descriptions displayed. You may move faster using
<select> and slower with <adjust>. Steering is undertaken by moving the
mouse. ÉOverdriveæ is available on the game menu. This doubles the speed
of the vehicle and allows higher scores to be reached. For the time that
this game was tested it appeared that running over the first dinosaur
you see was a safe option!
7.11
Finally
7.11
The main menu includes the option ÉPlayer Informationæ. Assuming you
enter your name each time you begin to play, your Achievement Record is
kept. It is colour coded and 100% on any game turns the corresponding
box green. Once one green box has been obtained, a certificate may be
saved on a disc and loaded into Paint for printing.
7.11
Conclusion
7.11
We found the games interesting and stimulating. Whether they are
sophisticated enough for anyone other than a dinosaur fan is debatable.
Unfortunately, dinosaurs are not on the National Curriculum so the
appeal to schools will be limited.
7.11
10 out of 10 Dinosaurs costs ú25.95 inclusive from 4th Dimension or ú24
through Archive.ááAá
7.11
The Tekkie CD
7.11
Andrew Rawnsley
7.11
Ever since Acorn released the Multimedia Expansion Unit, demonstrating
their acknowledgement that CD-ROMs were the way forward for mass
storage, we have been awaiting the release of the Programmeræs Reference
Manuals (PRMs) on CD. After all, the original volumes were so large and
comprehensive that they really needed a bookshelf to themselves!
Wouldnæt it be nice to have all those sheets of paper replaced by
circular disc 12cm in diameter and 1mm thick?
7.11
Well, itæs here, and not only does the Tekkie CD contain the RISC OS 3
PRMs, but it also contains the Style Guide, Basic Guide, Desktop C,
Assembler and DDE guides, all for the same price as the paper PRMs Ö
ú99.
7.11
Access
7.11
The Tekkie CD has been designed with expansion in mind (a bit like the
Risc PC really!). The whole system is driven from a disc-based
application called Librarian which manages which books are open etc, and
each book is loaded in as a file from the CD. This can be a little
fiddly to begin with, but you soon get used to it.
7.11
Once loaded and opened, the books look exactly like their paper
counterparts, right down to the blank pages in the original. This was
prescribed in the licensing conditions from Acorn, who have given the
product their seal of approval.
7.11
The index and contents pages can be viewed immediately by clicking on
the appropriate control buttons mounted on the lefthand side of the
bookæs window.
7.11
This toolbar also allows access to Librarianæs manual which comes as a
Ébookæ on disc.
7.11
Product requirements
7.11
The immediate problem most users will meet is that the books require a
lot of screen space. A multisync monitor is virtually a necessity, and
it really should be in mode 31 (800╫600 in 16 colours) which is the
highest built-in mode for RISC OS 3.10. This is feasible on an old Acorn
multisync, as supplied with the A5000, but many VGA monitors cannot cope
with this mode. Although you can use it in the standard mode 27 (640╫480
resolution) youæll need to scroll up and down a lot.
7.11
2Mb of RAM is also mandatory, because the Librarian application eats up
1024Kb. Since all the words are rendered in outline fonts (just like the
paper versions) an ARM 3 is helpful.
7.11
The product certainly lives up to its name Ö you would need to be a
Tekkie if you can meet the above requirements!
7.11
The content
7.11
The material in each book is exactly the same as in the Acorn originals,
right down to the illustrations. However, I did experience some problems
with the pictures appearing in the wrong places, particularly in the
Style Guide. Also, the nice anti-aliased text occasionally reverted back
to the system font. These are just small niggles, but had they been
removed, the product would have felt a little more professional.
7.11
The CD version does have advantages over the paper version. Firstly,
wherever the original had a page or subject reference, it is now
highlighted in green, and a double-click over the text will transport
you to the reference. Naturally, this facility is also implemented for
index and content page references. A click on the Back icon will the
return you to where you were before. This icon will take you back
through all the pages youæve viewed right back to the contents page Ö a
bit like an infinite undo!
7.11
The second advantage of the CD version is that you can conduct a search
on all the information just as you would in a text file. However, due to
the slow nature of the searches, and the presence of indexes, you are
unlikely to use this option regularly Ö the search rate is about 1╜
pages per second.
7.11
Usefulness
7.11
As I have tried to make clear, each CD book is very much like a paper
book Ö you can even insert bookmarks into pages and save the bookmarks
out! However, many people prefer to read from paper than from the
screen. Unfortunately, no printing facilities are available at present,
although the authors Ö Emerald Publishing Ö are considering a Print One
Page option for the future. This would not threaten Acornæs profits on
the paper versions because at 4p per page, the 3000+ pages of the PRM
will cost a lot more than their street price to print out!
7.11
However, at present you can add and save notes to each page, giving some
of the advantages of a paper copy.
7.11
Conclusions
7.11
There is certainly no doubting that this CD is excellent value for money
Ö the documentation on this one CD would cost about ú150 if bought
separately, and here it is for ú99 complete with the added advantages of
the computer version. The difficult question is whether you would still
need the paper versions for practical use.
7.11
Personally, I think I probably would. I say this because the computer
versions are so demanding on the computer.
7.11
As a software developer, I would claim that you need at least an 8Mb
machine to have enough memory to use the Tekkie disc as you would a
paper copy, and probably an ARM 600+. This is because the page redraw
time is still slow on an ARM 3, so it makes flicking through the pages
searching for the appropriate OS_Byte call almost impossible. A monitor
of at least 17ö would also be useful.
7.11
Having said all this, the Tekkie disc does represent great value, and
itæs really up to the user whether he prefers paper or pixels.
7.11
The Tekkie Disc costs ú99 +VAT from Emerald Publishing.ááAá
7.11
ColourFun
7.11
Christopher Jarman
7.11
ColourFun is a collection of child-centred clipart, obtainable from
SmartDTP, which gives access immediately to 56 coloured drawfiles and
their 56 outlines, should you wish children to colour them in
themselves. It comes on one standard disc so the memory use for each
clip is pretty low.
7.11
The items are all the kind of thing that one would expect of a
collection aimed at Primary schools; a clown, clock face, football,
teddy, kite and so on. There is nothing too disturbing or original. A
great deal of fun can be had, however, by dropping and mixing the
pictures into almost any WP or graphics program. For children to learn
to use pictures, by enlarging, distorting or combining them, it is
useful to have a good variety of pictures to work with. While the ideal
may be always for them to produce their own, even professional artists
sometimes like to manipulate other peoples artwork!
7.11
These clips, although childlike, are professionally designed and very
attractive Ö in the general comicbook style now widely associated with
clipart.
7.11
They look good dropped into Artworks and combined Ö you can make sheep
appear in space, or a huge rainbow engulf a house! The ability to play
about with relative scale seems to me to be one of the most creative
ways for a child to use computer graphics.
7.11
Such an eclectic group of images could be very useful in writing stories
in Genesis, Magpie or Optima format, whether by the teacher for a class,
or by the children themselves. You are reminded in the manual, however,
that piracy is theft, and copying is illegal. A notice on the disc
reminds you that it is not public domain, so be careful to whom you pass
on any resulting programs! It does make me wonder just to what purposes
any really good program using these images might be put? Perhaps a
letter of enquiry to Smart DTP would produce results.
7.11
The manual does make several good suggestions for making scenes, and
encourages users to contact the manufacturers with good ideas for
ColourFun 2. My suggestions would be to include some grittier images
next time, perhaps some more ethnic minority inspired, more
geographical, and more technical. After all, five-year-olds are very
machine literate today.  I would also make a plea to allow the pictures
to be copied and distributed freely in any genuine educational context,
even commercial ones, providing credit for the source was always given.
With these points in mind, I recommend ColourFun as good value for money
at ú14.95 inclusive.ááAá
7.11
Number Tiles
7.11
Denise Bates
7.11
Number Tiles from Topologika is designed to develop number skills up to
the number 99. It is applicable to National Curriculum levels 1-4.
7.11
The review was carried out on version 1.0 of Number Tiles using an A5000
(RISC OS 3.1) and an A3000 (RISC OS 2).
7.11
Manual
7.11
The supporting manual has twenty pages and is easily understood by those
who are not computer literate. It explains precisely how to perform any
function with the software and gives hints and tips as to how to get the
best out of the program. I learned a lot about the program by a careful
reading of the manual before I started to use the software.
7.11
The manual itself appears to have been photocopied from masters produced
on a bubble jet printer. This makes the clarity of some of the diagrams
a bit fuzzy, but they remain more than adequate for the purpose and are
not likely to trouble the user.
7.11
Loading Number Tiles
7.11
After completing the initial registration procedure, Number Tiles loads
easily. Opening the window from the disc drive displays two icons, one
of which is !NumTiles. The other, !BigPoint, is a public domain utility
for which no charge has been made. Clicking on this icon makes the
pointer much larger than usual. This is useful for small children to
help them acquire mouse control.
7.11
Four levels
7.11
At level one, children are offered addition and subtraction up to ten,
using pictorial representations for the numbers. Four designs are
provided. Of these, the one of a fish with bubbles coming out of its
mouth caused initial confusion, as it was not immediately obvious that
it was the bubbles and not the fish which were the tokens to be counted.
7.11
Level two provides the same range of exercises as level one but with
recognition of number symbols rather than counting objects.
7.11
Level three extends to twenty and introduces multiplication whilst level
four extends to 99 and introduces division.
7.11
Using the program
7.11
The package can be used from pre-school to middle junior and, as
children develop competence in using the mouse, minimal teacher
supervision is required. The program has a very intuitive feel to it and
children are soon familiar with what to do. The idea is to complete a
sum by entering the missing figure or figures. Tiles of all numbers are
available at the bottom of the screen and they have to be entered
correctly into the answer box to complete the sum shown higher up the
screen. Manipulating the number tiles is done exclusively by the mouse,
either by dragging or double clicking. Initially, some children were
surprised that input by the keyboard was not possible but soon accepted
the mouse as a great way of input.
7.11
The number tiles themselves are large and very clear. This, together
with the large pointer and the option to double click on tiles to move
them, gives the program great potential for being used in a remedial
capacity and for certain types of special needs as well as being valid
in the mainstream from a very young age.
7.11
Operating Number Tiles
7.11
The teacher has a great deal of control over the configuration of Number
Tiles. For example, it is possible to select the number of questions to
be attempted by the pupil, the format of the equation, the number of
tries and whether pupils are to work against the timer. It is also
possible to leave the desktop and run the program across the whole
screen. Topologika recommend this approach as it means that children do
not have the ability to access the iconbar and perhaps change the
settings.
7.11
With older pupils, I am not sure that I completely agree with this
philosophy. Most regular computer users learned their skills by
experimentation. My seven year old was quite capable of configuring the
program for himself and I think the straightforward configuration
options provided by Number Tiles could provide a good opportunity to
introduce wider aspects of information technology into the classroom.
7.11
Strengths of the program
7.11
In a classroom environment, the opportunity to turn sound off has to be
a plus. I also liked the fact that it is possible to specify the number
of questions each pupil is to be allowed in a given turn and to be able
to print out the results.
7.11
The restart sequence for each new turn is activated by clicking either
on a set of traffic lights or a öclick here to startò box. This makes
the program very good for use in a classroom situation where the teacher
wants each child to have an individual turn, perhaps leaving the main
lesson for a few minutes one at a time. Each child can start their own
turn rather than the teacher having to reset the computer. Many teachers
of younger children found that the need to keep resetting some of the
earlier desktop type programs was a disincentive to use.
7.11
Weaknesses of the program
7.11
Number Tiles has no serious weaknesses although I was not convinced of
the benefits of the timer option. On lower levels, it is frustrating for
young children to work out a correct answer but see it marked as wrong
because they were out of time. On level four, options which involve
working out and entering four digits can leave numerate adults out of
time. The greatest benefit of the timer is with older pupils on
multiplication and division exercises where speed practice in tables can
be gained.
7.11
Ancillary aspects
7.11
Number Tiles allows the user to define and save his own tiles using
Paint. This considerably extends the versatility of the program both for
pupils as classwork and teachers for lesson preparation. The manual has
several interesting suggestions on this theme for a keen teacher who has
a grasp of Paint.
7.11
Conclusion
7.11
Number Tiles is a very competent, well-designed, child-friendly program.
My own children were very taken with it and tested it extensively at
home for several days. I also noticed their understanding of number
bonds increase during that time.
7.11
I can recommend any school looking for a straightforward counting
program to consider this one seriously. The topics covered will remain
relevant to the curriculum for a number of years and the straightforward
approach to them cannot be faulted.
7.11
Number Tiles from Topologika costs ú30 +VAT (or ú33 through Archive). It
is also available with a site licence for ú55 +VAT from Topologika.ááAá
7.11
Personal Accounts v3
7.11
Mick Burrell
7.11
Having used version 2 of Apricote Studioæs Personal Accounts program for
some time, both for my own bank accounts and as treasurer of the local
tennis club, I was eager for version 3 to be released. When I acquired
an A4 and increased my dataæs portability, it became vital Ö PA 2 uses a
mode 12 screen and those that have seen a mode 12 display on an A4 will
know what I mean!
7.11
The software arrives!
7.11
I was promised a launch date to coincide with the Harrogate show and,
sure enough, a couple of days after the show, the smart white pack
containing ring bound manual and single disc arrived. The disc has to be
initialised with your name, and a card returned to Apricote with your
serial number so that you can benefit from their excellent technical
backup, although I suspect that you will find little to query. The disc
can be copied to a hard drive and, unlike some software houses, Apricote
are happy for me to use my copy on both my machines without further
payment. Version 2 files are converted automatically to the new format,
though if you have a very early copy of version 2 which used Édataæ
rather than the ÉPersonalæáfile type, then this needs to be changed
before version 3 recognises it. With RISC OS 3, you just Éset typeæ to
ÉPersonalæ.
7.11
I have been using Personal Accounts on my A440/1 with ARM3 and RISC OS 3
and, to a certain extent, on my 4Mb A4, but I am told it should work on
a 1Mb machine.
7.11
An overview
7.11
As the name suggests, Personal Accounts will look after all your bank
accounts unless, that is, you have more than sixteen! The way it works
is to categorise all your income and expenditure under headings. It
doesnæt work with credits and debits as some find them confusing Ö you
can set up to 92 different sources of income (I should be so lucky!) and
92 different categories for your expenditure. These are set on four
pages (each) of 23 headings numbered from A1 (the first on page 1) to W4
(the last on page 4). You then decide what each heading will be called.
For example, income heading A1 is my salary and expenditure C1 my
motoring expenses. Iæll no doubt find something to put on pages 2 to 4
soon! For the tennis club, I am able to give a very detailed breakdown
of our income and expenditure. Usually, an income will come from an
income heading and go to a bank account. Payments will usually come from
a bank account and go to a payment category. In this way, you can see at
a glance how much income you have had from a particular source (your
salary?) and how much you have spent on, for example, your hobby.
7.11
Naturally, it copes with standing orders; and this with great
flexibility over intervals of payment. All bank account balances are
shown in the ÉAccountsæ window. The statement balance, the current
balance and the balance at a time in the future after all standing
orders have been deducted, are all shown. This ÉForecastæ is as useful
as it is flexible. I use it to show what the balance should be at the
end of the month, but it is equally possible to continually show what it
will be in seven days time.
7.11
An ÉUndoæ and ÉRedoæ feature is included allowing you to step forwards
and backwards through your work. There are facilities for producing
reports which can be printed or dropped into ÉEditæ for screen display.
These can, of course, be tailored to your requirements, and there is
even a facility to remember five of the most frequently used layouts.
7.11
Transactions that are often repeated can be entered in the ÉPresetæ
section, and then a single keypress enters all details. For example,
when I buy petrol, the money comes from my VISA account to my car
expenses. I enter the date and, with the cursor still in the date field
press ÉCæ (the preset I have chosen) and the program automatically fills
in VISA (where it comes from) CAR EXPENSES (where it went) PETROL (as a
description) and, finally, waits in the amount column for me to type it
in. (Version 4 will probably be psychic!)
7.11
The software in detail
7.11
As with most current software, many actions can be achieved with either
a function key press or a mouse click, and the program can be configured
to start with your preferred setup. When you double click on a Personal
Accounts file, the program loads onto the iconbar with that data file
loaded. The display will depend on what you have set from the options
menu when you previously used or first created the file. You have the
choice of just the main menu open or all the windows you had open at
your last save, or of course none. If you get into a set pattern of
using the program, having it load and open the windows just as you left
it is a great feature. You then have the choice of whether you save
every few minutes (with or without prompt), or whether to save on exit.
Other options include drag and drop set-ups, what character to use for
reconciled fields, sorting of standing orders, paper sizes and,
naturally, a password to keep out the unauthorised.
7.11
The bulk of your usage will be in the Entries window where there are
many changes from version 2. There are still columns for date, from and
to, amount, reference and description, but the reference column is a bit
clever. If your description in version 2 started with the cheque number,
(no separate reference column was available) then version 3 will
automatically load it as a reference, leaving the remainder as the
description. It then increments the reference by one every time you make
a payment from that account, even keeping track of the next cheque
number for each of the accounts you have!
7.11
Sorting entries by date order can now be left until you are ready
instead of always being automatic. The search is also much improved, as
it no longer alters your search string! If you enter ÉSmithæ in the
description box, click on ÉFind Firstæ and it finds ÉJ.Smithæ, then
clicking on ÉNextæ will still leave it looking for ÉSmithæ as it should,
not ÉJ.Smithæ as in version 2!
7.11
Reconciling bank accounts has also been made much easier by the search.
Enter the number of the account (e.g. 1) in the search area of both from
and to and by clicking on ÉFind Firstæ and then ÉNextæ, it will cycle
through all unreconciled entries for that account. You can mark an entry
as reconciled with a mouse click Ö look no keyboard! If only I could
control my mouse with one hand and tick entries on my bank statements
with a pencil in the other!
7.11
The income and payment heading pages give the current totals in each
category and, like all sections, are updated the instant you enter a
transaction. There is also the facility to enter a budget amount, in
which case you are also shown ÉBudget Ö Currentæ i.e. how much you still
expect to spend or receive.
7.11
Standing orders are set up by entering a payment date, how many have to
be made and how frequently. Payments normally made on 30th of the month
will automatically be made on 28th in February. The Standing Orders page
now shows how many have been made, how many are left to pay and when the
next is due for each one, saying ÉFinishedæ after the last payment.
There are two ways of resetting a finished standing order, one which
leaves most of the entries filled so that you just alter the relevant
part. For example, your Council Tax bill will probably be made from the
same account each year, and it will only be the amount which changes, no
doubt reducing as your council improves its efficiency!
7.11
Finally, there is the reports section. As already mentioned, the
ÉReports 1æ window allows five different report styles to be remembered,
each of which offers control over start and finish dates, single or
ranges of categories or bank accounts to be included and a summary
option to give a breakdown of the transactions. These can be included or
not as you wish and the results printed out via either a RISC OS driver
or direct to your dot matrix using its own internal font. You can also
export the report as a file, either text, CSV or a new Personal Accounts
file. ÉReports 2æ offers basic summary reports to allow you to print out
your bank accounts, standing orders etc very quickly.
7.11
In conclusion
7.11
Having used previous software from Apricote, and with this being the
release version, I was not surprised that the software performed
faultlessly with no hint of a bug or crash on either machine. This
review was written in Impression Style with Personal Accounts running
alongside to check detail. Again, neither program had any problem. In
the manual, the author says that version 3 has been completely re-
written with the help of owners of versions 1 and 2. This shows. This is
a program which has Édevelopedæ through use into an excellent bank
account control system. If you tried to find a home or club banking
program which was either more capable or easier to use, I doubt you
would succeed on either count.
7.11
I tried not to make this just a list of features, but I could not find
anything which I considered badly written or even just not too well
thought out! The author begs you to read the manual, but I suspect that
version 2 users will be instantly at home with no further help. Indeed,
anyone used to RISC OS will find that, with a little help from !Help,
the learning time will be impressively short. I have however, managed to
think of something I wish had been included! It would be useful for me
to be able to group certain headings together so that I could have, for
example, headings for petrol, servicing, and repairs, each with their
own totals, but able to group them together to give a total for car
expenses automatically. But then I can easily achieve this (not quite so
automatically) by dragging the individual totals to the calculator, by
setting up a report to include that range of headings or, as most of my
headings are on page one, use another page to just contain the group I
want as each page has its own subtotal. Perhaps I shouldnæt complain!
That aside, this has to be the bench mark bank account software for RISC
OS.
7.11
Personal Accounts is available direct from Apricote Studios for ú49.95
inclusive or ú47 through Archive. (As an upgrade from version 2, it
costs ú29.95 from Apricote.)ááA
7.11
Basic Programmeræs Toolkit
7.11
Paul Hobbs
7.11
The Basic Programmeræs Toolkit (v1.00) consists of nine desktop
utilities which can be used to develop any Basic program. Also supplied
is a desktop menu program for displaying information about or running
the programs and a library of Basic routines.
7.11
BasPrint 2.20
7.11
This is a printer driver for Basic programs. It can print a range of
lines or the whole program in multiple column format in any font
supported by your printer although the necessary control codes need to
be entered in a dialog box (an Epson settings file is supplied). This
application is very useful for producing neat listings although it does
not multitask while processing.
7.11
Unfortunately, it is not possible to print to a file, which would have
been handy for formatting blocks of code for inclusion in DTP documents.
As the !RunImage file is in Basic, however, this should be relatively
easy to add.
7.11
This application (despite what the documentation says!) does not check
if the printer is online and will cause a system hang if data is sent to
the printer while it is offline.
7.11
LibMgr 1.04
7.11
This is a manager of library routines that can be appended to an
existing program. Documentation for each of the routines can be written
as a separate text file and displayed. Obviously, a certain amount of
discipline is required to document the routines as they are added to the
library, although around 50 routines are already supplied and
documented.
7.11
BasHelp 1.00
7.11
This is simply a front end to the RISC OS 3 Basic Éhelpæ command to
display the built-in help information on Basic commands. This
application works well, except that clicking in the main window can
cause a non-fatal error (Ésubscript out of rangeæ) which is surprising Ö
also the help you actually get is rather terse.
7.11
SWIMgr 1.00
7.11
This converts references to SWIs in a program to either numbers or
variables to speed up execution. It also does the reverse process which
is useful for de-mystifying other peopleæs code. The Print option
doesnæt check if a printer is online causing a fatal hang of the system
so there is a danger of losing data in other applications. The list of
SWIs is interesting and quickly produced but is of limited use Ö knowing
the SWI name doesnæt tell you how to use it!
7.11
If you choose to convert an existing program there is a short pause
while the program is processed and then the program can be saved in the
usual way Ö although dropping the file icon back onto the SWIMgr window
causes a non-fatal ÉData transfer failed: Receiver diedæ error message.
7.11
BasFormat 1.00
7.11
This application indents programs, and splits up multi-statement lines
which is good for untangling other peopleæs code or programs that have
been crunched to save space. It is rather slow with large programs but
at least it mutitasks while processing.
7.11
BasCrunch 1.00
7.11
This is a front end to the RISC OS 3 Crunch command which is quick with
several options such as removal of REM statements and extra spaces.
However, as variables and FN/PROC names are not shortened, the
compression that can be achieved is limited Ö but this is the fault of
the Crunch command, not of BasCrunch.
7.11
BasDiffer 2.00
7.11
This is potentially very useful in that it creates an obey file
consisting of the differences between two Basic files. This would be
useful for sending out updates of programs or for checking whether two
files really are the same. Unfortunately, I didnæt have much luck with
this application as the data is stored in memory blocks DIMensioned
within the program. This means that editing of the !RunImage and !Run
file was necessary before it would process the (admittedly large Ö
180Kb) test program and when it did work, it created an obey file of
over 70Kb when the actual differences amounted to 7Kb.
7.11
Processing of my chosen test files was also slow and not multitasking,
although performance with small files (around 5Kb) was practically
instantaneous. When used within its limitations, BasDiffer is a very
useful program but I would prefer something which ran faster and handled
large files in a better way.
7.11
BasAnalys 1.00
7.11
This creates a report of FN/PROCs contained within a Basic program,
giving details such as how many times each is called (if at all!). The
only problem here was that FN/PROC names over 23 characters were
unfortunately truncated! Routines that are called but not present in the
program can be listed, which should ensure that all necessary routines
have been included. Redundant routines can also be listed although they
cannot be automatically removed.
7.11
This application should prove useful for authors who develop programs
using standard libraries and who want to combine all the routines into
one program for distribution as one can be sure that all necessary
routines (and only the necessary routines) have been included.
7.11
BasMonit 2.00
7.11
The purpose of this application is to view a Basic program in memory,
rather like the *DUMP command for disc files. However, the program can
also be viewed in a Édecodedæ format where the Basic keywords are
decoded and also appear highlighted. This application would be very
useful for developing other applications that either write or modify
Basic programs to check the format of a Basic program in memory Ö which
is probably exactly why it was written.
7.11
The display may also be printed out and a check is made in this case if
the printer is actually online before printing.
7.11
Conclusions
7.11
There are some potentially useful applications in this package but some
have problems which reduce their usefulness in my view. I think that all
of the applications would have benefited from more testing and attention
to detail, such as working printer detection in some cases. However,
none of the problems is serious and as the programs themselves are
written in Basic, they should be easy enough to modify.
7.11
The Basic Programmeræs Toolkit is available from Risc Developments Ltd.
The price is ú15.28 (ú12.72 for Risc User subscribers) +VAT + ú2
carriage.ááA
7.11
ARM Programming Part 3 Ö Scrolltexts
7.11
There are almost as many scrolltext routines as there are demos. The
more pedestrian simply slide text across the screen whilst complex ones
may roll the text along a sine wave. The first thing to consider is what
you want your routine to do.
7.11
Last month I described how the screen memory is mapped onto the various
positions on the monitor. This article is based on the assumption that
the program will run in mode 13. In essence, going one pixel across
means adding or subtracting one and moving vertically means subtracting
(up) or adding (down) 320. We want our text to go horizontally from
right to left so we will have to subtract from a counter. When dealing
with scrolltexts, a decrement of 4 rather than 1 will give a good speed.
7.11
If we take the position to plot at as being x pixels from the left of
the screen and y pixels from the top, the memory address can be
calculated by using :
7.11
address = screen base + x + (y * 320)
7.11
To implement a scrolltext, we need two registers. One points to the
letter currently being plotted and another holds the position of the
letter on the screen, called textptr and offset respectively. (You can
add up and down movement as well which requires another register.) The
method I am using here cheats slightly in that you plot a blank space
either side of the screen but the alternative involves a more complex
plot routine.
7.11
Offset starts off equal to 8 with textptr pointing to the letter A.
Offset goes down by two every frame until it reaches 0. Alert readers
will notice that this situation is the same as having offset equal to 8
and textptr pointing to B. The following letteræs positions can be
obtained by adding the width of the letter to offset. You can summarise
this in the following pseudocode where
7.11
 width is the width of each letter in pixels
7.11
 speed is the scrolling speed in pixels
7.11
 startoftext and endoftext hold the address of the two ends of the
message
7.11
 numletters is the number of letters that you want to display on screen
7.11
 xpos is the horizontal distance from the left hand side of the screen
7.11
for textptr = startoftext to endoftext step 1
7.11
  for offset = width-speed to 0 step speed
7.11
    for xpos = offset to offset + width * numletters step width
7.11
      plot letter at xpos
7.11
    next xpos
7.11
  sys öOS_Byteò,19  :REM wait for screen update to finish
7.11
  next offset
7.11
next textptr
7.11
Note that offset = width duplicates the same position as offset = 0 so
it is not included in the loop. The plot letter routine will depend on
the value of the variables used.
7.11
A rolling scrolltext as seen on Hugo Fiennesæ demos four and five can be
coded by providing a lookup table of heights at different points of a
sine wave:
7.11
DEF FNtable
7.11
FOR K%=0 TO 360*4
7.11
[OPT pass
7.11
EQUB 128+64*SIN(RAD(K%/2))
7.11
]NEXT K%
7.11
=öò
7.11
The value 128 gives the position of the mean of the sine wave and the 64
is the amplitude. These are both reasonable values for mode 13. Next,
you need a pointer to the base of this table and if you want the sine
wave to roll, you need another offset. These will be known as tablebase
and sineoffset for obvious reasons. Every frame will advance sineoffset
to alter the portion of the sine wave which is currently seen. As soon
as sineoffset has moved one wavelength along, it can be reset to zero.
The size of the table must be no smaller than 320 plus the maximum value
of sineoffset. The original pseudocode can be modified to give:
7.11
sineoffset = 0
7.11
for textptr = startoftext to endoftext step 1
7.11
  for offset = width-speed to 0 step speed
7.11
    sineoffset = sineoffset + 1
7.11
    if sineoffset >= wavelength then sineoffset = 0
7.11
    for xpos = offset to offset + width * numletters step width
7.11
      load ypos from address (tablebase + sineoffset + xpos)
7.11
      plot letter at (xpos,ypos)
7.11
    next xpos
7.11
    sys öOS_Byteò,19 :REM wait for screen update to finish
7.11
  next offset
7.11
next textptr
7.11
I hope that this gives some idea of how to write the kind of scrolltext
routines you see in Éproperæ demos. An example of a rolling scrolltext
is included on this monthæs magazine disc.ááAá
7.11
Almanac 3
7.11
Andrew Rawnsley
7.11
Almanac 3.00 was released in November last year, so you may wonder why
this review has taken so long to appear. Firstly, the review version is
now in 3.06, and has a manual! The other, and unfulfilled, reason is
that I was hoping to compare it with ExpLANæs long awaited Occasion
information manager.
7.11
Readers may also note the change from the phrase Édesktop diary/
organiseræ to the above Éinformation manageræ. This has been made to fit
in with Stallion Softwareæs (Almanacæs publishers) publicity claim Ö
Integrated Information Manager (I▓M). Why canæt product descriptions be
simple to understand? We can all cope with the idea of a diary or a
filofax, but I▓M?!?
7.11
Packaging
7.11
Almanac 3 has shed its once restricting filofax packaging for a more
conventional video style plastic box.
7.11
The new box allows space for a fairly thick A5 manual, running to 85
pages. The manual is rather cheap and cheerful considering that this is
claimed to be Éthe most important product since Impressionæ. It looks as
if it has been printed on A4 sheets of paper straight out of the laser
printer and through the photocopier, crudely folded and stapled. I could
have coped with that but the content of the manual is sketchy, as are
the diagrams! Such a complex and powerful program as this requires a
superb manual Ö maybe Stallion ought to hire Computer Conceptsæ manual
writers?!
7.11
The software
7.11
The software itself comes on one disc which also contains a copy of
!StrongHlp which is used to drive the interactive help. This is quite a
life-saver given the poor manual. It is certainly useful to have some
context-related help for beginners, because the tutorial (one of the
good points of the old manual) has vanished.
7.11
This help is available via the standard Info dialogue box, and as an
option from the iconbar menu. Strong Help is then loaded automatically.
7.11
Various examples are included on the disc as a demonstration of
Almanacæs versatility, and these could also help new users.
7.11
New features
7.11
You will forgive me if I donæt go into depth on Almanacæs old features
which were reviewed previously. (Archive 7.2 p 51)
7.11
The most obvious changes are the introduction of 3D buttons for RISC OS
3.1 users, resizing of the icons for the proportionally spaced fonts of
Risc OS 3.5, and an accounts section for recording financial
transactions.
7.11
This doesnæt offer any of the advanced features of applications like
Prophet, but it is none-the-less quite useful. Despite not being 100%
intuitive, it may provide many users with as much financial recording as
they will ever use on computer, although budgeting and such-like are not
implemented. It can handle standing orders, and the whole process is
constructed around stored, dated statements. You can store multiple
statements, each containing various transactions.
7.11
Drag and drop of records, like file icons in the filer, is implemented
here as it is virtually everywhere else.
7.11
The sticky pad now allows items to be given a cost, so project costing
can be achieved. The address book has also been enhanced to cope with
fax and e-mail numbers via special icons. There are direct links to
Computer Conceptæs ÉFax Packæ expansion card, and David Pillingæs ÉArc
Faxæ fax modem driver. This saves time when looking up numbers Ö there
is no need to re-type them.
7.11
It would be fair to say that most areas of the software have been
modified in some ways to improve their functionality, but I still have
some reservations.
7.11
Problems
7.11
An important omission (and one that is to be found in most products of
this type) is that only UK style post codes are catered for. This means
that they always come after the county, rather than with the town as is
the case elsewhere in Europe and overseas.
7.11
Although the authors claim that you can press <F3> anywhere and save
your work, the address book requires you to add the record or click on
OK before saving can occur.
7.11
There is still no alarm function for appointments, but now that it has a
680Kb memory requirement, you are not likely to have the application
loaded all the time!
7.11
Design
7.11
I also think that the program still feels as if it has been designed by
a programmer. The operation is not really intuitive, and the icon layout
is poor and aesthetically displeasing. It is worth noting that most PC
development teams include dedicated artists for icon and window design.
Certainly Acorn teams should aim to have at least one person with some
artistic experience involved.
7.11
The Almanac windows seem to bristle with buttons and icons, which can be
daunting to new users who just want a simple interface so that they can
get started quickly. Another point worth noting is that the category
icons, used in virtually every Almanac window, are drawn in low
resolution screen modes, in only 16 colours. The latter may not be too
important, but with the amount of hi-res monitors around these days, the
blocky mode 12 icons make the software look rather crude.
7.11
With the huge resolutions available on the Risc PC, I feel that
developers should produce high resolution icons instead Ö at least this
will cater for the majority of professional users at whom Almanac is
aimed.
7.11
The business angle
7.11
Most business users will probably not be too concerned with storing
birthdays and wedding anniversaries. Personally, I have found that the
address book and its links to be the most useful. All users need to
store this kind of information, and it is particularly valuable in
research, sales and marketing, and report production.
7.11
Almanacæs links to Impression, although not stunning, work effectively,
and can be a boon when producing contact lists or drawing up contracts.
7.11
The sticky pads are also useful here for managing related documents and
graphic images from all over your hard disc. The appropriate quote could
be in your ÉQuotesæ directory, and you may also have a separate
ÉInvoiceæ directory. The relevant files can be merged into a sticky pad
from where you can simply double click to access your files.
7.11
Conclusions
7.11
Almanac is a very competent information manager, but is let down by a
poor manual and a complex and graphically displeasing interface.
7.11
I shall certainly be using it for the time being, as there is really no
competition in this field. However, with products on the horizon from
ExpLAN and, at some point, Rheingold Enterprises, I shall be keeping an
eye on the market.
7.11
If you can put up with the interface, Almanac 3 offers unrivalled
control over correspondence, appointments and other events. The address
functions will be particularly useful for business users, but the
accounts section is a little limited.
7.11
Almanac costs ú85 including VAT from Stallion. Upgrades from version 1
are available from Stallion for ú17.62, and the optional filofax retails
at ú23.50.ááAá
7.11
SmartDTP
7.11
Gabriel Swords
7.11
SmartDTP of Duffield, Derbyshire have come up with a collection of
borders and clipart presented to you in either Draw or Artworks formats.
7.11
Each collection can be found on one disc inside a neat looking mini
video cassette box. Also in the borders box is a really useful booklet
with all the designs laid out in groups. This means you can browse
through the booklet looking for the border you want rather than having
to open every file.
7.11
Borders
7.11
Just when you thought you had the definitive set of borders, out comes
another collection. Just how many border designs can there be, I ask Ö
presumably as many as designers can think up.
7.11
The two Smart sets are more or less the same, the only difference being
the way they are put together. Smart Borders 2, for example, are the
kind you drop into Impression documents Ö there are about 200 of them.
Smart Borders + contain fewer designs, about 150, and they have been
turned into complete boxes for you.
7.11
As with all border collections, there are going to be the ones you will
use a lot, and ones you will never use at all. Even though some of them
will be similar to ones you already have, these borders are worth
considering because the quality is good and the price isnæt
extortionate. There are probably enough new ones to make the collection
worth having Ö for example, I bet no oneæs got a bone or a Union Jack
border in their collection!
7.11
There are square corners, round and curved corners, triangular corners,
lines with arrows, lines with stripes, lines with lines. There are fun
ones, ornate ones, even colour-shaded ones. You can make a clipboard, a
computer printout, a Christmas border with holly or a talkative one with
quotes.
7.11
One thing to watch out for with the Impression type borders is that
because some of them are so big, you sometimes have to dramatically
resize the frame to get the whole border onto the page. That then
reduces the amount of space you have for text.
7.11
Tip: The way round this is to create another frame on top of the
bordered frame and set view to transparent. This frame can then be
resized right up to the edge of the border and text typed into it.
7.11
One style that isnæt in the collection Ö or any of the collections I
have Ö is a dotted line that uses round dots. There are plenty of dash
type lines but none of the round ones. Has anyone ever seen one? Perhaps
the next big collection of borders could be all dots!
7.11
Clipart
7.11
Smart 2 Resources is a collection of over 100 drawfiles, many of which
contain more than one example of a particular design. There are more
than 300 pieces of artwork and line drawings, making a collection of
useful design elements which can be used in all manner of publications.
You will find seven files of arrows Ö almost every arrow you could ever
think of. There are four files of corners, from crazy squares to pins to
wavy lines. There are four sets of flashes as well as some individual
flash-type drawings. There are groups of speech and thinks bubbles,
rules and symbols. Then there are ten files of drop caps, giving ten
complete alphabets of capital letters in different designs. Add to that
over fifty general and border type drawings and you have a very useful
set of resources.
7.11
Smart Graphics 1 is more of a general clipart collection with 200 plus
pictures. There are, for example, over 80 silhouettes of animals and
insects, including farm animals, pets and sea creatures... there are 18
assorted flowers... 8 sporting groups plus a few individual sporting
pictures... an assortment of European maps, flags and British political
symbols... musical type drawings... 26 fun-type cartoons from a clown to
a ghost to footprints... and there are a few people drawings.
7.11
As with any clipart, the quality will vary from picture to picture, and
there are certainly some here I wouldnæt be seen dead with. Having said
that, most of whatæs there is pretty good. Iæve had them for the last
six weeks and there are a lot I have already used.
7.11
You can get them either as Draw or Artworks files, and each of Smart
Graphics pack 1, Smart 2 Resources, Smart Borders + and Smart Borders 2
costs ú14.95 inclusive from SmartDTP.ááAá
7.11
Leisure Software Upgrades
7.11
Andrew Rawnsley
7.11
Over the last few months, various pieces of leisure software (not just
games) have been upgraded to give them a longer shelf-life. This should
be good news for the user, as upgraded software can only be better than
the original, canæt it?
7.11
Aldebaran
7.11
This is probably the oldest upgrade, and is really only relevant to ARM
3 owners. Readers may recall that the original game received good
reviews, but with some reservations as to the wire-frame sections of the
game.
7.11
The new version makes you feel that the original was purposely cut down
to work quickly on ARM 2 machines, since it doesnæt so much feel
Éenhancedæ as that the ARM 2 version seems downgraded. It isnæt of
course, but the best enhancements always merge seamlessly into the old
version and simply make the game far more appetising.
7.11
As mentioned previously, the wire-frame sections have been improved Ö
not to solid graphics, but many more wire frames have been introduced
making the effect much better. The solid graphics have also been
enhanced, particularly those of the planets which now look like the
smooth spheres they should be.
7.11
If you had any doubts about the old version of this original and
involved arcade simulation, forget them, and buy the new version.
7.11
Upgrades may be hard to come by, due to the European nature of the game.
At the October Acorn User show, it surfaced on the Klein Computers
stand, but you may need to contact the Swiss distributors Evolution
Trading AG. (Aldebaran costs ú32 through Archive.)
7.11
Spheres of Chaos
7.11
Matt Black have achieved considerable success with this Meteors clone,
and recently I discovered that it had been selected for a regular
challenge on a Sky TV computer show! The latest versions feature even
better graphics (the beautiful explosion showers have to be seen to be
believed), more adversaries Ö each with their own characteristics, up to
eight players, I think, (the review version only allowed four, but I
believe the Sky version allows eight) and loads more configuration
options. When you think that each level is generated randomly, and you
can control the amounts of each type of alien, there are millions of
different level possibilities.
7.11
Spheres of Chaos is certainly one of the best multi-player games around,
and if you have some friends available, the evenings just seem to
vanish!
7.11
As a single player game, it is not so strong because, since despite the
volume of options, the formula on every level is fairly similar Ö blast
all the aliens and collect any power-ups. You really need a second
player to get the most out of it. Having said that, you could do a lot
worse than buying a copy of this game for a rainy afternoon on your own!
7.11
Spheres of Chaos costs ú24.95 from Matt Black, with an upgrade available
from the original for only ú5 (plus your original disc, of course) which
represents excellent value for money.
7.11
Games Wizard Ö The Apprentice
7.11
Readers may remember that I found the original release of this cheat
compilation rather limited in hacking features (compared to The Hacker
from DoggySoft) and overpriced.
7.11
This new version offers a few more cheats (about 50 Ö 60 in total) but
there are still really not enough compared to over 100 with The Hacker.
It is a copy-protected disc and has no hacking features at all (surely a
downgrade!) and with a price tag of ú19.99 it isnæt going to have much
of an impact.
7.11
Remember that all of The Hackeræs cheats can be obtained for a blank
disc and ú1 p&p to DoggySoft and I donæt think youæll find it hard to
pass on GamesWareæs offering.
7.11
James Pond 2+
7.11
This is a conversion of the Amiga 1200 version of GamesWareæs cute
platform hit. The new version offers improved graphics and sound, as
well as some new levels. These are scattered throughout the game, and
include an upside-down Éjelly-levelæ as described in the original
review.
7.11
You can probably imagine what itæs like bouncing madly up and down
around the level, but playing it upside-down...?!?
7.11
James Pond 2+ is certainly better than the original, and retails at the
same price, thus replacing the old version in GamesWareæs catalogue. It
still lacks a save game or password option, which seems important in
this new larger version, but otherwise I canæt really fault the product.
If you like cute platform games, buy James Pond 2+!
7.11
As an upgrade, the new version will cost you ú7.99 from Gamesware which
I feel is a little excessive. Mind you, that includes p&p. If you are a
dedicated Pond fan, desperate for more, then spend the money, otherwise
you may be content with the large, and often difficult, original. (James
Pond2+ costs ú24 through Archive.)ááAá
7.11
ScreenTurtle
7.11
Richard Rymarz
7.11
ScreenTurtle, written by Marshal Anderson and published by Topologika,
has been around since 1991. It was then described as, É..... a friendly,
safe Logo graphics environment for students to work in.æ I have used the
program extensively with my class of 10 and 11 year olds, finding it
more than adequate.
7.11
Now Topologika have released a new version called Desktop ScreenTurtle.
It is an altogether more sophisticated package and addresses some of the
short-comings of version one as well as adding new features.
7.11
Why Logo?
7.11
Logo is specifically mentioned on a number of occasions in the National
Curriculum. Regardless of this requirement, Logo is good fun, allowing
children to draw shapes and objects quickly; it can help children learn
to understand some simple programming concepts such as Éprocedures; it
can provide problems which can be solved in a number of ways; it can
lead the way to controlling floor turtles; and it allows children to
make mistakes which are easily rectified or which provide further
insights or solutions.
7.11
There are a number of Éofficialæ versions of Logo but, for the primary
school, something simpler and easier has been provided. There is a
version that comes with Sherstonæs excellent ÉCrystal Rain Forestæ;
Longman Logotron have produced ÉFirst Logoæ which offers a very gentle
introduction to Logo where everything can be mouse driven; and
Topologika themselves publish ÉTinyLogoæ which introduces simple
concepts to very young children. ScreenTurtle continues with this
emphasis on ease of use, although the level of sophistication is higher.
7.11
The package
7.11
ScreenTurtle comes in a sturdy case. There are two discs: disc one
contains the program and the usual !Scrap, !System and !Sysmerge
applications. Disc two contains example words (procedures) and screens
(backdrops), a Tiff conversion utility allowing Tiff files to be
converted to sprites and vice versa; and !Dribble, a new utility that
keeps a constant record of everything the user does. This provides a
record of how a child has reached a solution to a problem or simply a
journal of what he has done.
7.11
There is a comprehensive manual, a booklet that provides useful
information concerning installation, differences between using RISC OS 2
and 3, hard and floppy disc operation, using printer drivers, problem
solving, and so on. There are a number of worksheets to start the
children off, a function key strip and, finally, there is a booklet
written by Marshal Anderson which outlines the use of Logo in the
classroom as well as offering a number of pre-Logo games and some more
advanced ideas.
7.11
Using ScreenTurtle
7.11
Clicking on !ScreenTurt loads the program and is represented by a turtle
on the iconbar. This is a major change from version one which took over
the whole screen. Now the program is fully RISC OS compliant although,
if desired, a full screen option can be selected. Choices are made by
clicking <menu> on the turtle icon and selecting the preferences option.
This allows no fewer than four possible layouts, a selection of screen
mode, whether the tool window is shown, the command window colours, the
number of commands that the undo buffer holds, whether screens are saved
as sprite or TIFF files and the scaling and screen angles options. It is
all very comprehensive.
7.11
My preference is for the desktop version with the toolbox visible. Three
windows present themselves, the largest being the work area where a
pointer (turtle) sits at its centre. Then there is a command window
where instructions are entered and one which provides a toolbox
containing twelve of the most commonly used commands. All window can be
resized, which is great, because you can move the windows around so that
the monitor screen is used most effectively.
7.11
In use, the program is very simple. Either typing in commands or using
the toolbox require the minimum of effort. One lovely feature of
ScreenTurtle is that it understands a variety of words to execute a
command and will Éguessæ if a command is unclear. It will then tick a
command that is acceptable. It will accept upper and lower case letters
and give fairly helpful on-screen error messages. Finally, there is a
very comprehensive, mouse driven ÉHelpæ system.
7.11
Conclusions
7.11
My children enjoyed using ScreenTurtle. It was used very simply by my
slower children whilst the brighter ones were soon defining procedures,
filling and painting shapes, and even defining procedures within
procedures. Saving drawings was easy but there was some confusion when
loading and saving procedures. It can easily be used by children at the
upper end of Key Stage 2 (8 Ö 11 year olds) and at the lower end of
secondary schools. If I had to nit pick, I would have liked to be able
to edit commands in the command line window although a limited amount
can be done in the procedure define window.
7.11
With such a wealth of additional materials, the program, which retails
at ú39.95 +VAT or ú44 through Archive, is excellent value for money.
There is an upgrade path from version one which costs ú10, with a 50%
reduction for site licences. All in all, this is excellent value for
money for an implementation of Logo that bridges the gap between a
simple introduction to Logo and the Érealæ thing.ááA
7.11
Magic Pockets
7.11
Andrew Rawnsley
7.11
This release of the Bitmap Brothersæ successful Amiga/PC platform game
represents software giant Renegadeæs first foray into the Acorn games
market. The product certainly doesnæt feel like a quick conversion Ö you
know the signs: pretty graphics toned down to make conversion easy;
reused Amiga or ST boxes with ÉAcorn Versionæ stickers plastered on. The
reason that I mention this is that with Sensible Soccer ready for
release now, Renegade would appear to be jumping straight into the
water, not just testing it with their toes, so to speak.
7.11
The plot
7.11
Perhaps I should have learned to steer clear of the plot for a platform
game Ö they are usually nearly as bad as those of shoot-æem-ups! Magic
Pockets is all about a kid Ö the Bitmap Kid (groan). The Kid has special
Magic Pockets, which have an infinite capacity, to store all his
favourite toys. Unfortunately, his toys have vanished, so the Kid leaps
into his pockets, risking life and limb, to rescue them. Clearly the Kid
knew nothing of physics Ö the box illustration shows that there is no
way the kid could get his head through the opening of the pocket!
7.11
Loading the game
7.11
But to the game itself... Booting reveals a nice intro, complete with
soundtrack by Betty Boo (ÉDoing the Doæ). Itæs a shame that this music
doesnæt continue into the game, on ARM3 machines perhaps, given the
enhanced audio capabilities of Acorn machines. There is a version of the
game with higher resolution graphics, for those with VGA and multisync
monitors Ö even the old Acorn multisync!
7.11
The game is copy-protected by the key disc method, but itæs not until
you try to start the level that you need to insert the disc (obviously
this only applies to hard disc owners).
7.11
The levels
7.11
Anyone who has played Gods (from Krisalis, but original written by the
Bitmap Brothers and marketed on the Amiga by Renegade) will be familiar
with the style of the game. Unfortunately, the similarities continue
right down to the graphics of the first zone. There are four main
graphical environments, each split into numerous levels. Each time you
finish two of these levels, you are given a four digit numerical
password, which allows you to skip them in the future.
7.11
The major disadvantage of structuring the game in this way is that these
environments can quickly become boring Ö even with extremely well drawn
and detailed graphics such as those on offer here, so variety is needed
to keep you playing. This, for me, is where Magic Pockets fails Ö there
are too many sub-levels in each zone, all with the same graphics and
associated problems:
7.11
The Cave Ö 5 levels
7.11
The Jungle Ö 6 levels
7.11
The Lakes Ö 8 levels
7.11
The Mountains Ö 7 levels
7.11
Clearly six zones with four levels each, or five zones with five levels
each (already pushing it a bit) would be preferable.
7.11
Gameplay is simple Ö you have to throw weapons, or send yourself
spinning, into the nasties (Ébad peopleæ) to destroy them, and collect
power-ups; and to try and find the Ébest toyæ on each level before going
through the exit. A fairly basic platform game in design, and the
problem is that there are no real puzzles to solve Ö you simply have to
keep killing bad people, and exploring, until you find the toy and the
exit. At the end of each graphical zone, there is also a special event,
rather like an end of zone guardian in other games.
7.11
Forgive the comparison with Gods, but I found that to be rather more
fulfilling, since you could carry around objects and keys leading to
reasonably intricate puzzles, making the game much more mentally
pleasing.
7.11
I feel that the Bitmap Brothers have tried to make up for this flaw in
the gameplay by giving us more levels, hence the problem described
previously.
7.11
The power-ups
7.11
To be fair, Magic Pockets does include lots of power-ups and teleporters
to bonus rooms, which do add to the gameplay. The next power-up to be
released is shown in the bottom corner of the screen, and can be changed
by careful destruction of bad people. However, to my mind, lots of
power-ups really donæt make up for the lack of puzzles.
7.11
Conclusions
7.11
Maybe the problem is me? Gods was my ideal game Ö puzzles in a
mythological environment. After role playing games, this is my favourite
genre of game, so maybe Iæm not being fair on Magic Pockets.
7.11
However, most of my Amiga and PC owning friends seem to agree that Magic
Pockets isnæt really up to the usual calibre of Bitmap Brothersæ games,
since it lacks something in gameplay Ö no puzzles!
7.11
Anyone who wants a real treat in platform games should go for Gods, and
when youæve finished that then turn to Magic Pockets. Iæd like to say
that Magic Pockets was the poor manæs alternative, but it costs more!
7.11
If you are looking for a new platform game, and have finished or are
tired of Gods, then give Magic Pockets a go. However, at ú25.95 (ú24
through Archive), you need to be sure itæs the game for you.ááAá
7.11
Circus
7.11
Richard Rymarz
7.11
Maths Circus, from 4Mation, is a series of games designed to stimulate
problem-solving skills at Key Stages 2 and 3. However, 4Mation say that
the simpler levels can be solved by even younger children. It comes on
one disc and can be loaded onto hard disc although a key disc system is
used for protection purposes. It costs ú27.50 +VAT for a single user
version or ú55 +VAT for a site licence Ö Archive prices are ú30 and ú60
respectively.
7.11
Aims
7.11
Circus is composed of twelve games loosely based on a circus theme. Each
game contains five levels Ö sixty in all Ö and are designed to allow
children use of their imagination, initiative and sense of
experimentation. There is no use of drill and practice Ö all the
problems are Éopen endedæ allowing the children to use trial and error
to produce strategies that succeed. Each level is graded so that
children are not penalised for failure but are motivated to try again or
use a new strategy to succeed. Teachers and parents are NOT encouraged
to help or provide solutions Ö but careful matching of levels is
necessary.
7.11
Getting started
7.11
Clicking on the Circus icon results in a full screen picture of a circus
tent on which are printed the menu options. These include: instructions
for the children, a practice option from which the childrenæs results
are not recorded, starting a new circus, continuing a saved circus,
teachersæ options and, of course, quitting. The teacher options allow
the viewing and deleting of saved circuses, setting the level of default
difficulty, switching off the sound and so on. All are easy to
understand and use. A coding system is used to record the childrenæs
progress.
7.11
The problems
7.11
The children soon master how the mouse is used to control the games
although I feel that young children will need some adult help.
Thankfully, the problems all use the same conventions.
7.11
Seals Ö This involves placing the correct balls on the noses of the
seals. At its simplest level, moving the balls left and right is
sufficient. Later, the problem takes on the guise of a two-dimensional
ÉRubikæs Cubeæ (can there be such a thing?).
7.11
Trapeze Ö This involves an investigation into the properties of a
pendulum.
7.11
Magician Ö Here, the children have to save Marvel the Magician from the
wicked witch and her monsters.
7.11
Traffic Lights Ö This involves careful observation and note-taking of
patterns, as the children attempt to avoid the traffic lights when going
to the circus.
7.11
Canon Ö A lovely problem involving elevation and gunpowder strength as
the children attempt to fire Captain Blunthead through a series of holes
into a bucket of water.
7.11
Cage Ö This does involve practice of simple arithmetic and is the least
visually inspiring.
7.11
Unicycles Ö This involves balancing a group of unicyclists on a see-saw.
Simple addition and subtraction are needed to keep the unicyclists from
falling.
7.11
Tickets Ö Once again this gives practice at arithmetic but, at the more
advance levels, it involves multiplication. The aim is to calculate the
relationship between the number of tickets and the circus takings.
7.11
Elephant Ö This is an investigation into capacity and involves working
out how much medicine to give the the sick elephant.
7.11
Bolts Ö This puzzle gives practice in spatial awareness in two and three
dimensions. Bolts are missing from the scaffolding and the problem is
finding where the gaps are.
7.11
Clowns Ö Clowns are sitting down holding different implements, each of
which affects those next to them. The aim is to make all the clowns
stand up at once.
7.11
Lions Ö This problem involves sorting lions out in order of size. Bigger
lions can jump over smaller ones but not vice versa.
7.11
Conclusions
7.11
This suite of problems is definitely good value for money. The graphics
are not arcade standard Ö in fact some are fairly basic. However, I
firmly believe that it is the active and supportive parent and teacher
that will help children achieve the best from any piece of Éeducationalæ
software. The programs were tested by a group of children ranging from 9
to 11 and were enjoyed by them all. Listening to their strategies was a
treat, and all but the highest levels were within their capabilities.
Documentation is excellent for the teacher/parent providing further
assistance and extension ideas. For the children there is a series of
twelve double-sided worksheets to assist and supplement the program.
7.11
These programs make a welcome change from other suites of mathematical
computer programs where more emphasis is placed on drill and practice. I
wonder whether the simplistic graphics would appeal sufficiently to Key
Stage 3 children Ö I sense that more sophistication would be needed to
inspire them. However, for children from the age of 5 to 12 there is
plenty here of value to recommend.ááAá
7.11
Virtual Golf Ö Augusta Course
7.11
Richard Rymarz
7.11
This is the second course offered by 4th Dimension and adds to the
Wentworth Course originally written for the Virtual Golf simulation and
released before Christmas. Written by the prolific Acorn games writer,
Gordon Key, it features the American Masters course in Augusta, Georgia.
I thoroughly enjoyed Éplayingæ Wentworth and readily grabbed the
opportunity to review this latest offering.
7.11
There are a number of golf simulations or games on all computer formats
Ö the Acorn range has at least four. Until the release of Virtual Golf,
the best by far was Micro Drive published by Cambridge International
Software. This came with two courses as standard and more were added.
There is also a course designer. This is not a comparative review or a
full review of Virtual Golf Ö that was done in Archive 7.1 p33, but I
will briefly summarise of the original. The main aim of the game is to
win six tournaments beginning with the Beginnersæ Handicap and ending
with the British Open. However, the main difference between Virtual Golf
and its predecessors, which sets it apart from its rivals, is that the
swing of the club is determined by the movement of the mouse rather than
any swing meters or timed clicks of the mouse buttons. Consequently,
practising moving the mouse itself Ö keeping it in a straight line Ö
will result in the ball flying straight. This may sound complicated but
it does give a feeling of actually playing the shot. However, it also
makes the game more difficult because any deviation from a straight line
results in a hook or slice, and the quicker the mouse moves the stronger
the shot. Practice is needed. The game runs from the desktop and there
is a huge variety of options including, action replays of shots,
practice of any hole, Égimmiesæ, alternative seasons and even access to
the driving range.
7.11
So why spend another ú16 on the Augusta Course? Well, if you have the
original game Ö which you must have to run the Augusta Course Ö you will
probably be bored with being the British Open Champion. Becoming the
Mastersæ Champion must spark the competitive nature inside you and the
challenge will be too great to resist. The format is similar to
Wentworth although the scenery has been improved and, finally, the
behaviour of the ball is different from its movement at Wentworth.
Apparently, the atmospheric conditions at Augusta result in the ball
having different characteristics.
7.11
I have a book showing maps of some of the holes at Augusta and,
comparing them with Gordon Keyæs versions, I can verify that they are
very similar. One feature I am a little unsure about is the much-feared
putting difficulties at Augusta. I feel that Gordon has been a little
kind and made the greens quite damp, making putting a touch easier than
the real professionals have to face. However, this course is well worth
the money for those who are already past masters of the game and its
success should guarantee further courses. I wonder what the ball
characteristics are like at St Andrews, or Pebble Beach, or the Royal
Melbourne or ....... ááAá
7.11
Navigator
7.11
George Barnett
7.11
Navigator is a package to help the teaching of mapping skills. It
provides various ways of navigating a pointer, or Édartæ, around the
screen which can contain any kind of picture but, usually, a map or plan
of some sort.
7.11
You can navigate in the following ways:
7.11
Rubber banding Ö This is not really a navigation system but it provides
a way of drawing routes onto your maps, as well as allowing the
introduction of some of the packageæs features.
7.11
Turtling Ö This provides, at two levels of sophistication, a turtle
graphics activity based on turns and moves.
7.11
Lat&Long Ö This lets you navigate around the screen using degrees,
minutes and hundredths of minutes.
7.11
Compass Points Ö With this, you can move using 4, 8 or 16 compass
directions.
7.11
Ordnance Survey Ö This uses Eastings and Northings.
7.11
Bearings Ö This allows you to move using absolute bearings from north.
7.11
Vectors Ö With this, moves are relative to the current position of the
user on the map.
7.11
The use of the program
7.11
The aim of the program is to develop navigation and mapping skills. You
move around a map or plan using one or more of the seven ways shown
above and the scale can be adjusted as required and a coloured trace can
be left customised to colour and thickness.
7.11
Maps
7.11
Many maps or plans are supplied as examples on one of the three discs
which come with Navigator, and the documentation helps, should you wish
to create your own. Normally, in a class situation, specific maps would
be required of the area being studied and these can be found from
various sources, but watch the copyright restrictions. Many maps are
supplied as drawfiles and those from David Pilling are excellent and
cheap. The manual gives several source suggestions.
7.11
Getting started
7.11
First register the disc, which may then be copied. Double click on the
!Navigator icon which will then be installed on the iconbar. Open up one
of the Activities Disc e.g. (School), then double click on the !Nav_Data
icon. This opens a window containing the maps that Navigator knows
about. Maps can be sprites (uses up memory), drawfiles or compressed
Imagine (or even Tiny Draw) files. The required map is then dragged to
the icon on the iconbar. Navigator will then start up with that map with
the title (filename) of the map and the navigation system in brackets.
7.11
You will see the dart, either at its default home position or at the
home position recorded for that map. The maps appear on the screen with
a Toolbar containing fourteen options: grid, snap to grid, fixed
compass, measurement, timer, home dart, line thickness, line colour,
print, record, stop record and a switch from toolbar to tool menu.
Linkpoints are available to enable interconnection between maps or
plans.
7.11
Clicking <menu> on the Navigator icon on the iconbar will give you a
menu with Info, Save, Clear, Quit and four other options. These are: to
use the full screen, calibration, preferences (setting of defaults), and
Nav System. To change the navigation system click on ÉNav Systemsæ and a
second menu appears showing these choices.
7.11
The first exercise recommended is called ÉGoing to Schoolæ and this is a
series of three maps demonstrating large scale movement. A pupilæs
journey from home to school is shown, ending up at at a desk in the
classroom with an appropriate congratulatory message to those successful
in their navigation. ÉAround the world in eighty waysæ is a more
advanced planned route supplied as an example and this is quite
impressive.
7.11
Support materials
7.11
The A5 manuals are excellent. The main manual (43 pages) is well
indexed. There are teacheræs notes and six ready-to-use disc-based
activities. Included are sample maps from National curriculum Key Stages
2 to 4 in Geography and the program will be useful in Geography AT1 and
AT4 skills and parts of Maths AT3 and 4.
7.11
Conclusions
7.11
Navigator is a worthwhile program, not expensive, well-documented and is
supplied by Topologika at ú45 +ú2.50 p&p +VAT or ú52+VAT through
Archive. Site licences cost ú70 +VAT for primary schools and ú85 +VAT
for secondary schools direct from Topologika.ááA
7.11
Let us look at New Zealand Ö sample map
7.11
Police Plan
7.11
Pinpoint Datafiles
7.11
Denise Bates
7.11
The Pinpoint Datafiles under review are öThe Solar Systemò and
öDinosaursò. Each costs ú12 +VAT, (site licence ú36 +VAT) from Longman
Logotron.
7.11
Solar System (Key Stages 3 & 4) requires Pinpoint or Pinpoint 2, to use
it to its full potential. Dinosaurs (KS 2 & 3) can be used with Pinpoint
Junior.
7.11
The philosophy behind Datafiles is to provide a significant volume of
data which pupils can use to develop skills of handling and interpreting
information, and to integrate IT skills across all areas of the
curriculum. Both files contain at least 50 records with multiple fields.
This allows pupils to perform more meaningful and complex analyses than
if they had to build up their own database.
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Worksheets
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Each datafile comes with an explanatory booklet for teachers. Six
photocopiable worksheets are provided. These have been well thought out
to link the datafiles to attainment targets. The exercises are self-
explanatory and a pupil could reasonably be expected to interrogate the
database properly by following the hints and instructions.
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The suggested exercises cover only a fraction of what could be achieved
with the datafiles. By building up my own sort and search exercises, I
was able to use them with much younger children than is envisaged and
obtained very impressive results in terms of database handling and
interpreting of selected information from them.
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Apart from exercises in data manipulation and testing of hypotheses,
pupils could extend or update the data from their own researches or
create similar files on related subjects such as the galaxies.
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Running the datafiles
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I did encounter some problems. Some of the Solar System files are
squashed. I was unable to unsquash these as my computer (A5000, RISC OS
3.1) locked up the moment I attempted to run them. The unsquashed RISC
OS 2 files which were also provided worked without problem. The only
difference between the files is the availability of certain fonts.
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My other reservation concerns the presentation of  the datasheets. In
Solar System, individual entries are recorded over a background of
celestial objects, some of which are white. This means that some of the
text is impossible to read. In Dinosaurs, each card contains the same
picture of two dinosaurs. My testers, knowledgeable in the wake of
Jurassic Park, were very keen to point out that the pictures were wrong
and to show me what the dinosaur in question looked like. Persuading
them to work with the data and ignore the illustrations took some time.
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Spreadsheet format
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The information from the record cards is also accessible in spreadsheet
format. Because of the volume of data, I was frustrated that Pinpoint
Junior (used as the running medium for both files) does not allow the
screen to be split and the name box locked whilst scrolling across the
screen. Many questions require scrolling to find the answer and, even
for an experienced database user, it is easy to forget which lines you
should be examining.
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Information extracted from the database can be saved in CSV format. This
should increase their versatility for older pupils.
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Conclusion
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Despite my misgivings over the presentation of data, I would say that
schools already using Pinpoint Datafiles should find Solar System and
Dinosaurs a valuable addition. If you have a Pinpoint, but no files,
these are worth investigating to see whether they could fit into your
current curriculum development plans. For schools without Pinpoint, you
have to take into account the cost of the system (Pinpoint ú99 +VAT,
Pinpoint Junior ú27 +VAT). At this price, if you have no other use for
the Pinpoint system, the costs involved would be greater than the
benefit of being able to access these particular files.
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At the Harrogate Show, I discussed my reservations with a representative
of Longman Logotron who said he would put my criticism of clarity of the
cards on the öwish listò. I hope that the company will look at this as a
priority because I feel that it detracts from a very good and sensibly
priced product.ááA
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