Archive Magazine 1996/ARCHIVE_96.iso/text/products/volume_09/issue_01

Text File | 1995-09-07 | 26KB | 441 lines

Products Available
9.1
20/20 credit Ö Up to Christmas, Acorn are offering a very generous
credit scheme for buying computers. Basically, if you are buying a
computer and a monitor, you can have 20 monthsæ interest free credit.
There are limitations, of course, and these are: (1)áthe minimum deposit
is 10%, (2)áthe maximum loan is ú1485, (3)áthis offer cannot be combined
with any other Acorn offer, such as Clan Cash-Back or Special Purchase
without monitor.
9.1
So what does this offer mean in practice? The box below gives some
examples.
9.1
As you can see, once you are buying something costing more than about
ú1600, you are onto the maximum loan figure, so the more you buy from
there upwards, the more the deposit. i.e. (Deposit = Full Price Ö ú1485)
and the repayments are ú74.25 per month.
9.1
This scheme is a good one for several reasons. (1) It does not cost you
a penny. (2) It does not cost NCS a penny because, unlike previous
interest free schemes, Acorn are covering the full cost of the finance.
(Thank you, Acorn!) (3) It will allow people who havenæt saved up enough
money yet to buy their computer now rather than waiting. (4) It will
allow others, who have the money now, to buy a bigger monitor, or other
peripherals, or more software or whatever. This can save money in the
long run and it is more convenient to have peripherals fitted and tested
by NCS rather than doing it yourself later.
9.1
N.B. The Acorn 20/20 scheme only lasts until
9.1
31st December 1995.
9.1
A4 scanners Ö The Epson GT6500 is now obsolete and has been replaced by
the GT8500 with 30-bit colour and 400 dpi optical resolution and the
GT9000 which also has 30-bit colour but an optical resolution of 600
dpi. The prices are ú599 +VAT and ú699 +VAT respectively plus ú12.50
+VAT carriage from Irlam Instruments or ú710 and ú830 inclusive
respectively, through Archive. In each case, the Irlam software is for
either parallel or SCSI connection, although the scanners have both
types of interface. Please specify which you require when ordering.
9.1
Acorn Pocket Book II (1Mb) Ö There is now a 1Mb version of the Pocket
Book II which costs ú285 +VAT or ú335 through Archive inc p&p. The 256Kb
version is still available at ú205 +VAT (ú240 through Archive) but it
looks as if the 512Kb version may be on its way out.
9.1
Acorn RiscáPC 700 & A7000 Ö People have been asking about the
availability of the new computers. Since the RiscáPC 700s computers
became available in mid-August, there has been no difficulty in supply,
except for the ACB76 (10Mb with CD-ROM) and, in any case, most
purchasers prefer to have the Eesox quad speed CD-ROM instead of Acornæs
dual speed drive, since it only costs ú40 more (ú170 cf ú130), and it
and the ACB75s are available from stock.
9.1
The A7000s are more of a problem. The 2Mb versions are beginning to be
available in limited quantities but the 4Mb versions are said to be
available at öthe end of the yearò! Apparently they are having problems
sourcing the 4Mb memory chips.
9.1
If you want to buy one of the new Iiyama monitors (see below) with a
RiscáPC, as an alternative to the Acorn monitors, Acorn have provided a
scheme for you to do this. Just ask us for a form, fill it in and send
it back to us with your order. (This does not apply if you are buying on
the 20/20 scheme. Sorry!)
9.1
Alsystems SCSI 2 card Ö An alternative to the established Cumana SCSI 2
interface is Alsystemsæ Power-Tec giving up to 5Mb/sec data transfer
through podule slots 1 or 2 in a Risc PC (up to 2Mb/sec on ARM3
machines). The card has built-in CDFS v2.21, Kodak Photoview and DAT
tape streamer driver, plus a number of valuable performance and
operating features, including the ability to read from one device while
concurrently writing to another, auto-termination, auto-spindown and
password protection. The price is ú175 + carriage +VAT from Alsystems,
or ú205 through Archive.
9.1
Archive CD Ö This is still available at the special price of ú8 if
ordered with a subscription renewal, provided this is done before 15th
September. (Thatæs the date we set last month but the magazine only goes
out on the 12th, so weæd better make it Friday 22nd September Ö which is
my birthday anyway!!) The CD-ROM seems to have been well received and
people are finding it contains some extremely useful information. Having
it all on one CD is a bonus. There are one or two minor technical
hitches that have come to light Ö these are dealt with in Hints & Tips
on page 17.
9.1
ARM710 upgrades Ö (Still no ARM700s yet but...) If you have an old
RiscáPC 600 and want to upgrade to an ARM710, you can do so for the
promised ú100 +VAT (well, sort of). What you have to do is get it from
Acorn Direct in Wellingborough (address and phone number in Factfile)
for ú146.88 (thatæs ú125 +VAT). Then, when (if) you send them the old
ARM610 card back, they will refund you ú29.38 (ú25 +VAT). Some may
prefer to keep the old processor card, just in case... !
9.1
Atomic Software have released two scientific programs. Elements is a
Periodic Table like youæve never seen Ö it will need someone with a big
brain to review it! Itæs a database containing the latest information,
in graphical form, on all the elements and their isotopes up to element
110. It contains information on boiling points, melting points, highest
valency, isotropic purity and atomic weight (to name but a very few!).
Nuclides is a graphical database containing information on the 2400+
isotopes of elements, or nuclides; both stable isotopes and radioactive
isotopes, displayed on a Serge chart.
9.1
To use the programs you will need a machine with at least 2Mb RAM, mode
31 capability (for Elements) and mode 20 or 39 for Nuclides, i.e. a
multisync monitor is essential. Elements and Nuclides can be bought
together for ú14.95 or separately for ú9.95 each, from Atomic Software.
9.1
CD-ROMs from Anglia Ö The Art Store Ö Looking at Animals CD brings
together a collection of paintings and sculptures from over forty art
galleries and museums around Britain and the Republic of Ireland. The
images range from lap-dogs to lion skins, domestic animals to exotic
wildlife. As well as the pictures, there are nearly 150 activity sheets
for use in the classroom; and a museums and galleries guide giving
details of the pictures contributed, opening times, detailed location,
and other related pictures in the collections. This CD costs ú50 +VAT
from Anglia or ú55 through Archive.
9.1
British Isles from the Air brings the best of the Aerofilms collection
to CD-ROM. The 230 photos cover a wide range of natural and man-made
features, with some of the photos going back to 1919. Designed initially
for the classroom, the selection of photography has already been well
received on a wider front. For users of the Key Plus database system,
the photographs are also duplicated in that format, together with
references for the powerful mapping facilities which Key Plus offers.
This CD costs ú40 +VAT from Anglia or ú45 through Archive.
9.1
Chroma Genlock Ö Wild Visionæs Chroma-Genlocks allow you to overlay and
record to video any computer graphics. You can overlay colour graphics
from the computer onto a colour video signal to create exactly the
result you want. The combined output can be recorded to video or
displayed on a video-compatible monitor.
9.1
Chroma Genlock expansion cards are supplied as a package with Sideshow
and Overlay software. Sideshow acts as a flexible medium for taking
text, draw objects and sprites in drawfiles and overlaying them, either
as full screen or selectively, onto video. It provides scaling,
sequencing, looping, screen blanking and scrolling. Overlay is the
utility which controls the overlay and interlace status of the desktop.
The package costs ú149 +ú6 p&p +VAT from Computer Concepts or ú175
through Archive. (Itæs important to state which computer itæs going into
when ordering.)
9.1
Cine Works Ö Oregan Developments have updated their video mixing and
editing studio program to version 1.03. New facilities include support
for multiple ARMovie sound tracks, improved AVI support, MPEG video
encoding and audio support, WAV audio export, new transitions and video
filters, timeline colour coding, improved YUV rendering and improved
trigger interface. Upgrades are free to registered users. The price from
Oregan Developments remains at ú159.95 inclusive or ú152 through
Archive.
9.1
ClickArt Animals & Nature Pack Ö from Matt Black is a collection of 150
high-quality images for education and DTP users. In addition to the 150
drawfile images supplied on four floppy discs, thereæs also a collection
of over 120 drawfile silhouettes (normally costing ú29.95) given away
free! And, to help ClickArt users manage their collection of clipart,
Matt Black have thrown in a copy of Hugh Eagleæs freeware application
PickAPic. PickAPic features include fast loading of saved images and
thumbnails and presentation of thumbnails in filer style windows.
9.1
The images in the Animals & Nature pack are not compressed, making them
easier and faster to load from floppy disc. The pack costs ú35 +ú2 p&p
in UK and Europe (ú4 to the rest of the world). All of Matt Blackæs
ClickArt packs come with a free school site licence.
9.1
FaxModems Ö US Robotics have re-priced their modems. The WorldPort
14,400 portable is now ú190 inclusive through Archive and the non-
portable Sportster has dropped to ú160. There is now also non-portable
28,800 baud Sportster at ú250 through Archive. This is a V34 fax/data
modem, with VFC capability, MNP4/5 data compression and error detection,
class 1 and class 2.0 fax support.
9.1
They all come with PC cables and PC software. The cables are OK for
A5000 computers and later but if you have a pre-A5000 computer, you will
need a special cable costing a further ú13. In terms of Acorn software,
our recommendation would be ArcFax (ú33) for providing fax facility and
Hearsay II (ú82) for access to bulletin boards etc. These two packages
work well together with the modems. We use them in the office and so are
able to give advice in setting them up.
9.1
(Weæll make some recommendations for software for accessing the Internet
once weæve sorted it out ourselves!)
9.1
Guardians of the Greenwood is an eco-fantasy on a single CD-ROM, aimed
at the 9Ö14 age range at home and school. The story is a simple one:
industrial development by ÉHawk Enterprisesæ is threatening the
Greenwood and its inhabitants. Crinkle, the heroine of the story, sets
out to save the forest from destruction... with assistance from the
forest folk, and a bit of magic, she is able to save the environment,
etc. There are 30,000 words of narration; a talking dictionary providing
definitions and examples of usage of over 500 difficult words found in
the program; thereæs sampled music, speech and sound effects, plus
graphics and animations. Thereæs also an adultæs guided tour to help
parents and teachers familiarise themselves with the program.
9.1
Guardians CD costs ú49.50 +VAT (p&p is free) from 4Mation, ú56 through
Archive.
9.1
High Risc Racing Ö a plan-view car racing game from a new(ish) company
to the Acorn market Ö Modus Software who were recognised as one of the
countryæs most promising enterprises, when they were a Scottish National
finalist at the 1995 LiveWire awards. Their first product is an arcade-
style game Ö a plan-view car racing game called High Risc Racing. Itæs
compatible with all RISC OS 2+ machines with 2Mb or more of memory, is
hard-disc installable and sells at ú25 inclusive of p&p from Modus
Software.
9.1
High speed Internet access Ö Intelligent Interfaces have responded to
usersæ demands to remove the computer-modem communication bottleneck by
introducing their new dual high speed serial interface card for Acorn
computers. This provides two additional RS232 compatible serial
interfaces, with standard 9-pin D¡type connectors, capable of
communicating at baud rates from 50 to 230,400 including 9,600, 19,200,
38,400, 57,600 and 115,200 baud. The software includes Block Drivers to
enable the use of Hearsay II, ArcFax, ARCterm 7, the Internet Starter
Kit, etc. The card can be used in any computer with a backplane and
requires RISC OS 3.1 or later. The dual high speed serial interface card
is available from Intelligent Interfaces for ú149 +VAT + carriage or
ú175 through Archive.
9.1
Iiyama VisionMaster monitors Ö Four new monitors have arrived this month
from this company that has gained such a high reputation in such a short
space of time. (NCS has not sold any other monitors, apart from Acorn,
since taking on the Idek Iiyama range of monitors!) There are two 17ö
and two 21ò monitors and they replace the existing models which are now
no longer available.
9.1
The final figure in each column is the extra that you have to pay if you
are buying one of these monitors as an alternative to the Acorn 14ö
(AKF60) monitor. Weáhave special forms for you to fill in if you want to
do this Ö ask us for an ÉAcorn Special Purchaseæ form.
9.1
InterTalk allows access to both electronic mail and news, locally and
via the Internet. You can create local newsgroups for general discussion
and information, and to make your views known throughout the world. The
administrator or single user decides the choice of sites that the
individual may talk to, and controls the costs of wide area networking
ownership. At a later date, a World Wide Web browser will be added
(hopefully before the end of the year Ö maybe sooner) and for those who
bought InterTalk before the browser was available, there will be a free
upgrade. There are two versions of InterTalk, a single-user version and
a multi-user version, priced at ú79 +VAT and ú299 +VAT respectively, or
ú88 and ú330 through Archive.
9.1
Land, Sea & Air is the second of a series of interactive strategy
simulations from UK Software. The object of the game is to achieve a
high total profit over 15 and 30 years. This is achieved by identifying
concentrations of passengers and commodities, then taking them to where
they are required. You do this by building stations and tracks, then
designing routes for your trains to take. To ensure that your trains go
to the correct destinations, you have at your disposal a timetabling
system which enables you to schedule your trains with their cargo and
routes. You have the opportunity to start an Airline, a shipping line or
even a football team Ö you can even make a take-over bid for your
competitors (before they get you!). Land, Sea and Air works on all 2Mb
RISC OS machines, except the Risc PC, and costs ú19.95 inc. from
UKáSoftware.
9.1
LIVE Accessory Pack Ö Longman Logotron have released the complete plug-
in-and-go solution to recording and analysing information collected from
experiments in and around the classroom. Pupils can now collect data
with Longman Logotronæs LIVE interface box, control and analyse
experiments with the Junior Insight program, and access and monitor data
from different sources with the new LIVE accessory pack. The pack
comprises a range of sensors measuring light, temperature and sound, and
an extension cable which makes it possible to collect data on field
trips and in other situations where it is difficult to locate the
computer close to the data source. The LIVE accessory pack for Acorn
users is ú45 +VAT (single user). The LIVE interface box costs ú99 +VAT
and Junior Insight is ú44 +VAT. The complete kit is available at ú178
+VAT for a single user.
9.1
Merlin Ray Tracer Ö Merlin is a program which allows you to create
images using a technique called ray-tracing, where each pixel is
affected by light sources, shadows, reflection, refraction etc. Merlin
offers an excellent 3D editor (until now Acorn machines have only had
textual script files with which you are meant to Édescribeæ your scene),
a texture/material editor and, of course, a ray-tracer. Its features
include texture-mapping, Phong and Gouraud shading, anti-aliasing,
polygons-into-lines, transparency, mist/fog, different classes of light-
sources, various cameras and the ability to import Draw and DXF
(professional CAD) files, and it is designed with ease-of-use in mind.
Merlin costs ú100á+ ú6 p&p + VAT from Evolution Computer oráú120
inclusive through Archive. (Merlin was reviewed in Archive 8.11 p9.)
9.1
Mission Control: Crystal Rain Forest 2 Ö Sherston Software are launching
a sequel to their much acclaimed package. This new package is an
adventure in its own right but it is aimed at control technology at Key
Stage 2. Mission Control costs ú44.95 +VAT or ú50 through Archive.
9.1
Oak SCSI cards Ö IFEL have limited quantities of the Oak SCSI card
available. Although somewhat dated, they are a popular interface and
compatible with a wide range of SCSI 1 devices (check with Jim
Nottingham about your specific combinations). The price from IFEL is
ú99+VAT. Ifáyou want CDFS v2.20 individual on the card, the price is
ú124 +VAT. Existing users of Oak cards can obtain CDFS v2.20 upgrades
direct from IFEL for ú25 +VAT.
9.1
OmniClient Ö This is designed to make the business of connecting RISC OS
machines to PC, UNIX and Apple networks as simple and cost-effective as
possible. It is a software-only solution, so no additional hardware is
required, which enables the sharing of hardware and software including
hard discs, printers, JPEGs, MPEGs and text files Ö all on the same
physical Ethernet network. It supports the use of NTServer, LanManager,
Windows for Workgroups, Windowsá95 and NFS as well as RISC OS solutions
such as Level 4 and Acorn Access, all through a single software
interface. It allows the transfer of data to Éselectedæ servers and
retrieval when required Ö this includes RISC OS applications. Files can
be simultaneously shared with RISC OS, PC and Apple machines, and
OmniClient provides a Éwhole-site networkæ for mixed environments.
OmniClient happily co-exists with all other Acorn networking solutions
and a site licence costs ú249 + VAT or ú275 inclusive through Archive.
If you are a lone Acorn computer user trying to link onto alien
networks, you can buy a single user copy of OmniClient from ANT Ltd for
ú50 +VAT or ú56 through Archive.
9.1
More (Stage 3) Talking Stories Ö Sherston have released another set of
their Talking Stories, based on popular stories from the Oxford
University Press ÉOxford Reading Treeæ scheme, as used in many schools.
The stories, narrated by Sinead Cusack, include Kipper the Clown,
Strawberry Jam, The Jumble Sale, At the Seaside, Kipperæs Idea and The
Snowman. More Talking Stories costs ú40 +VAT (ú45 through Archive) for
the single user version Ö site licences are also available.
9.1
Padlock Ö Base5 Technical Graphics have produced a desktop security
manager aimed mainly at schools and small businesses. Facilities include
password-controlled access, access privileges by group allocation, user
privileges set by supervisor, anti-theft protection for selected
applications, independent access control of directories, applications
and files, blanket cover of files by filetype, automatic user log
available to Supervisor, and optional additional anti-hacking
safeguards. The application comes in two versions: Padlock at ú49
inclusive from Base5 (no VAT) and Padlock Junior at ú15 inclusive, which
contains the main features of Padlock but not all, and does not include
the programmeræs documentation for the ÉSecureæ module which is at the
heart of the system.
9.1
Pop-up Cards is a novel idea from Southern Printers. Itæs a do-it-
yourself card-making package with designs for pop-up cards, front and
back type cards, and folded cards. Two compressed discs contain ready-
made templates that can be loaded into any package that takes drawfiles.
Once printed, the templates can then be cut out and assembled to produce
a variety of greetings cards. Coloured paper or card can be used to
brighten up cards printed on mono printers Ö there are even black and
white outlines for children to colour in, instead of using the coloured
examples. The pack comes with the two discs, an instruction manual with
ideas for using the designs, and a manual showing the designs contained
on the discs.
9.1
Pop-Up Cards costs ú14 or 24 for an educational site licence (fully
inclusive) from Southern Printers. Also available is a disc of the line
art drawings only for ú6.
9.1
Quad speed ATAPI CD-ROM drives Ö Eesox now have quad speed CD-ROM drives
available which are suitable for the RiscáPC and the A7000. They cost
ú145 + VAT + p&p from Eesox or ú170 inclusive through Archive.
9.1
RISCáOS 3.1 Ö Those of you who having been waiting to get hold of copies
of RISCáOS 3.1 will be pleased to know that, after several months delay,
some have come through. Not a lot, and we havenæt fulfilled all the back
orders yet but we are hopeful. Also, the way it is being sold has now
changed in that you can (will be able to!) buy the documentation
separately for ú25 inc p&p and the chip sets for ú35 per set through
Archive with discounts for bulk orders (3+) bringing the cost down
towards ú30 per set. So, the one-off set, including the documentation,
which was ú89 is now ú60 through Archive.
9.1
RSDFS Ö Remote Serial Disc Filing System is a program from ARMed Forces
which is designed to allow you to access the contents of the disc drives
on one computer from another. (It is ideal if you have just bought a
RiscáPC and are thinking, öI donæt fancy using floppy discs to get all
my files and applications across onto this new machine!ò Ed.) It is a
versatile system that allows the user easy access to remote file
resources in a variety of ways. You can link two machines, network up to
5 slaves and 1 server and view the hard drives of certain bulletin
boards, but this requires the more advanced version. The standard
version, which allows you to link two computers together, costs ú38 from
ARMed Forces or ú38 through Archive. (There is no discount because ARMed
Forces is not VAT registered, so we lose 17.5% of the ú38!) If you need
a serial lead to link the two machines, these cost ú12 through Archive.
The advanced version costs ú66 from ARMed Forces.
9.1
SchoolServer Ö The Acorn SchoolServer provides a complete fileserver
solution to meet schoolsæ networking needs, with the capability to
consolidate curriculum and administration networks. It uses a powerful
RISC-based (PowerPC, not ARM!) hardware server, offering high
performance, reliability and expansion capability, that comes supplied
with Microsoft Windows NT software, offering the latest in advanced
server software.
9.1
The Acorn SchoolServer can also be supplied with Acorn OmniClient which
is unique in offering the advantages of integrated networking in a mixed
environment of RISC OS, Apple Mac, PC and UNIX-based network stations,
and gives a consistent user interface to Acorn and other network
servers. There are two variants of the hardware and each can come with
or without OmniClient. The REPs are: ú5199 for the AS500 with OmniClient
and ú5099 without, ú7999 AS1000 with OmniClient and ú7899 without. The
SchoolServer is only available through Acorn Education Agents, i.e. not
from NCS.
9.1
Simon the Sorcerer Ö Taking advantage of the CD-ROM medium, Gamesware
have employed professional actors to bring speech to the game. Taking
the role of Simon is Chris Barrie of Red Dwarf fame. Simon the Sorcerer
is now available on CD, priced ú45.99 inc VAT from Gamesware or ú42
through Archive.
9.1
Sound upgrades (for RiscáPC) Ö For owners of existing RiscáPCs who want
SoundBlaster capabilities, there is a program available that will allow
you to play .WAV files. This will give you much of the functionality you
need, especially for CD¡ROMs. This is available free on the Acorn ftp
site but if you donæt have Internet access and have already bought a
sound upgrade from NCS, send a blank formatted disc and weæll send you a
copy. Otherwise, please send in an order for it to NCS with ú2 to cover
admin.
9.1
There will be, say Acorn, öa chargeable upgrade available in Novemberò
that will allow the use of Midi synthesis files which should then allow
PC games, etc, to be fully functional in terms of sound.
9.1
Twain Ö David Pilling has now produced Twain drivers for Agfa Arcus Plus
and the UMAX Vista S6 and S8 scanners. These are ú19 each through
Archive or ú53 if bought with ImageMaster.
9.1
VerbMaster-French Ö Version 1.10 of this Shareware aid to learning
French verbs is now available. New features include a variety of
configuration options for schools, the ability to Éturn offæ tenses and
some brief grammar text notes to accompany each tense. In addition, the
subjunctive mood has been added and many of the criticisms expressed in
Archiveæs review have been addressed, including a clearer, more user-
friendly test verb screen. For full details, an unregistered version
(ú1) or the full registered version (ú7.50), please contact: Nigel
Caplan, 33 Alwoodley Lane, Leeds, LS17 7PU.
9.1
Review software received...
9.1
We have received review copies of the following: ÅArtáStore Ö Looking at
Animals CD (e), ÅElementsáand Nuclides (e), ÅLand, Sea & Air CD (e),
ÅPop-up cards (he), ÅRemote Serial Disc Filing System, ÅVerbMaster
German (e), ÅVistamusic-3 (e).