Archive Magazine 1996/ARCHIVE_96.iso/text/products/volume_09/issue_02

Text File | 1995-10-03 | 18KB | 305 lines

9.2
10/10 at half price Ö All the 10 out of 10 products are currently on
offer through Archive for just ú12 each (rrp ú24.95). Subjects
available: Maths (Algebra) (6-16), Maths (Geometry) (6-16), Maths
(Number) (6-16) Maths (Statistics) (6-16), Essential Maths (5-12),
English (6-16), French (8-16), German (8-16), Essential Science (5-12),
Dinosaurs, Driving Test, Early Essentials (3-7), Junior Essentials (5-
11), Spelling (under 9).
9.2
Acorn Education Agency Ö Several schools are asking whether they can
still go on buying computers through NCS, despite Acornæs new Agency
scheme. There are two answers to that, both a qualified yes. First of
all, yes, you can buy computers from us at NCSæs own educational
discount prices. However, our discount prices are about 6% more than the
prices you would pay if you went direct to Acorn. Secondly, if you want
memory upgrades, CD-ROMs, etc, etc added to your computers, you can buy
from Acorn at their educational prices but have them delivered to NCS.
We will then install and test the extra bits and pieces and send the
computers on to you. Even if we have to make a fitting charge and a
carriage charge, it would still work out cheaper than buying the whole
system from us.
9.2
ANT Internet Suite Ö ANT Limited plans to launch its Internet Suite at
the Acorn World 95. The suite provides an easy-to-use integrated set of
programs including a full-featured World Wide Web browser, electronic
mail and Usenet news program, and FTP file transfer. Visitors to ANTæs
stand (80) will be able to buy copies, and there will be some special
offers for Internet users.
9.2
Archive (Internet) Glossary Ö We have created a glossary of Internet
terms which has now reached 12 pages (6,000+ words) long. (This is in
addition to our original glossary of 19 pages and 11,000+ words!) These
two glossaries are available on a disc in Impression, RTF and pure text
form costing ú5 through Archive. If you prefer a paper version, you can
buy a copy of the Archive Glossary Booklet. This is an A5 photocopied
booklet also costing ú5 through Archive. We have deliberately not
printed the booklet because it has to change so rapidly to keep abreast
with new terminology. The disc version is cheaper for us to produce but
is the same price because the price includes a free upgrade service Ö
just send the disc back at any time with a self-addressed adhesive label
and weæll update the disc for you.
9.2
(To increase the effectiveness of the Archive Glossary, please let me
know if there are any missing definitions, or if you disagree with any
of the definitions? Thanks Ed.)
9.2
ARM710 upgrades Ö Now that NCS is an Acorn Centre of Technology, we have
been given permission to sell the ARM710 upgrade(!). The cost through
Archive is ú147, with a credit note for ú30 if you return the old ARM610
processor card (or ú117 if you send the ARM610 with the order). We have
the ARM710 processors in stock, so the turnaround time should be quite
short if you want to save hassle by sending in your ARM610 card with the
order.
9.2
Bible Picture Library CD-ROM Ö Christian Computer Art have released
version 2 of their CD-ROM, containing over 3000 monochrome bit-map
pictures illustrating the Bible, and including all the pictures from the
Good News Bible. The pictures are all scanned at between 300-400 dpi and
are free of any known copyright (except for pictures from the Good News
Bible). A Thumbnail program is included to make viewing easier. Bible
Picture Library costs ú49 +VAT, p&p included. Copies are available on a
30-day trial period.
9.2
CD-ROM drives from Eesox Ö If you want a parallel port CD-ROM drive,
Eesox have improved the speed of their existing Bronze drives (ú205
through Archive) by 35%, to around 290 Kb/s. They have also added a
Bronze Elite drive to their range. This is a quad speed drive giving
over 500Kb/s data rate (<180ms seek time + 256Kb cache) and costs
ú254.47 +VAT from Eesox or ú299 through Archive.
9.2
Parallel port driver Ö Eesox have also developed a parallel port driver
that will allow their Bronze drives to work on PC compatibles. This
costs ú19.99 inc VAT from Eesox.
9.2
Parallel port conversion kits Ö If you have a SCSI CD-ROM drive and also
want to use it via a parallel port, Eesox can provide a special
conversion kit consisting of an adaptor cable and driver software. This
costs ú30 +VAT from Eesox or ú35 through Archive. This conversion kit
works with most SCSI CD-ROM drives. (Eesox also do a PC version at the
same price but this is not available through Archive.)
9.2
N.B. The quad speed Gold ATAPI drives mentioned last month (ú170 through
Archive) only work on the new RiscáPC and A7000, i.e. RISCáOS 3.6 or
later.
9.2
Chris the Bat is a CD-ROM from the Department of Theology and Religious
Studies at the University of Wales. In the story, Chris (the Bat) is
concerned to save his home, an old church condemned to demolition. With
the help of the church mice, they set off to find parts of a treasure
map that they think will save the building. On the journey, they learn
that real treasure is not what they thought and thereby save the church
but lose the building! The program consists of up to 900 full colour
photographs and various interactive games that test pupilsæ
understanding of the material studied. The program explores three
Christian denominations, as well as some of the parables of Jesus Ö itæs
aimed key stage 2/3.
9.2
Version 2 of Chris the Bat and another title, Christian Celebrations
(Key Stage 3), will be available in October from: Rev Michael Morris,
Computers & RE Project, University of Wales, Lampeter, Dyfed, Wales SA48
7ED, price ú55 +VAT.
9.2
Clipart CD Ö The second clipart CD from David Holdenæs APDL is being
made available as we go to press. It is similar in concept to the first
CD, but is all new, with nothing repeated, and has an on-disc viewing
program. The price of the new CD is ú24.50. But, if you have a copy of
the first CD, and are going to the Acorn Show, bring it with you and
Dave will give you a special price for volume 2. Dave also promises to
have at least one PD CD ready for the show, priced at ú19.50.
9.2
Creative Curriculum Software has several new releases. Language Master
builds on the successful concept of ÉSpelling Bookæ which was launched
earlier this year. Language Master does not replace Spelling Book but
provides easy and instant access, from any Acorn Word Processor/DTP
package, to your own lists of words and phrases. User configurable into
any one of four different languages Ö English, French, German and
Spanish Ö this powerful package is suitable for all ages. Language
Master is ú49 (single user), ú89 for a 10-user licence or ú199 for a
site/network. When Report Writer was first released, it was considered
to be a very flexible pupil reporting system. Now, with the new National
Curriculum, Report Writer has been completely redesigned to make it
suitable for reporting on any topic Ö not just for use in Education!
Report Writer (single user) is ú39 (without the new National
Curriculum), ú89 for a 10-user licence or ú199 for a site/network. The
new National Curriculum is ú10 when purchased at the same time as Report
Writer, or úl5 purchased separately. Easimenu is a new Menu System which
allows any Hard Disc RISC OS computer to be set up with a tailor-made
menu. Very easy to use and designed for Primary Schools and on networks
in particular, EasiMenu is only ú14.95 (single user) or ú39 for a site
licence. Magic Maths is a package for learning mental arithmetic and is
designed for Primary School and home use (and for some adults!). Magic
Maths (single user) is ú25.49 or ú89 for a site/network licence. All
prices are ex VAT.
9.2
Fast IDE Interface Ö RapIDE from Yellowstone Educational Solutions is a
32-bit DMA-based interface for the Risc PC. The interface provides
vastly increased throughput. Using alternative drives it is possible to
achieve reading speeds in excess of 8Mb per second with 32-bit direct
memory access. It provides two IDE ports, allowing up to four devices to
be connected, including IDE CD-ROMs. The RapIDE interface costs ú99
+VAT, +ú5 p&p per order.
9.2
Front_end allows users with learning difficulties to load their own
programs easily. Used in place of the desktop, it allows users to type
in their name and be shown only the programs and files they use, without
the need to work their way down a complicated directory structure.
Front_end will also help to prevent accidental messing up of your hard
disc. Requires RISC OS 3 or above. A single users licence costs ú29
+VAT, from NW SEMERC.
9.2
Hard drive price shake-up Ö Two factors are affecting the supply of hard
drives. For fixed hard drives, the coming of memory-hungry Windowsá95
has meant that it is almost impossible to buy a drive less than 500Mb.
The good news is that the 1Gb SCSI drives are now the same price as
340Mb drives were 12 months ago and 4Gb drives are almost as cheap as
1Gb drives were then. The new prices are given in the Price List
Supplement. There is also now a 1Gb IDE internal drive at under ú300 inc
VAT, carriage, fitting kit, and full fitting instructions!
9.2
On the removable drive scene, the much heralded (but not yet quite
available) 135Mb removable drive is affecting the prices of the other
removable drives which have all dropped quite markedly this month. See
the price list for details. The new 135Mb drives when they come
(possibly November) will be completely incompatible with any of the
other drives but have the advantage of being somewhat cheaper. Prices
arenæt fixed yet but it looks as if an external SCSI drive will be about
ú290 inclusive through Archive (cf ú450 for the 270Mb), an internal IDE
will probably be about ú250 (ú370 for 270Mb) and the cartridges about
ú20. If you are just using the removable for backup, the lower price per
Mb of the media is helpful although with hard drives now being 500Mb
minimum, 135Mb is beginning to look a bit small as a backup medium!
Also, if, like me, you want to use them for carrying transient data
around, the speed of the 270Mb drives and the fact that you have more
data on each cartridge will make the 135æs less attractive.
9.2
HTMLEdit is the first commercial, Internet Web Page Authoring System for
Acorn machines. Similar packages have been available for Windows and
Unix for some time, but Acorn owners have been forced to struggle with a
standard text editor. R-Compæs package has been distributed thus far via
the Internet, but the fully packaged version will be available for the
first time at Acorn World. Priced at just ú30 (no VAT) inc p&p, HTMLEdit
represents good value for professional Web Page creation, and is well
within the reach of the home user. ShortCuts, also from R¡Comp, is a
totally new release for the show. This suite of utilities permits
automation of repetitive tasks, such as loading applications, opening
work directories, viewing the contents of discs, and many more. Designed
primarily for ease of use, a flexible short cut editing tool allows the
creation of batch jobs via drag and drop. Several other time-saving
utilities are included, and the whole package retails at ú15 (no VAT)
inc p&p. R-Comp will be on stand 40 at the show.
9.2
InterLink from Liquid Silicon allows the transfer of files and
applications between 32-bit Acorn computers via a serial and or/parallel
link. It is particularly useful for transferring lots of small files or
for transferring large files which will not fit on a floppy disc, e.g.
colour scans, PhotoCD images and Replay files. The parallel cable
versions offer faster rates than serial, though serial cables can run to
over 50 metres in length. A talk option is also included which allows
messages to be passed between the two machines.
9.2
InterLink requires RISC OS 3.10 or later. A300, 400, 500 and the A3000
can only transmit through the parallel port, and so to receive files,
the serial option will have to be used (you can send files via parallel
and receive via serial, hence the option to buy both versions at once).
The prices (inc VAT and p&p) are: Serial 2m ú29.95; 5m ú31.95; 10m
ú35.95. Parallel 2m ú31.95; 5m ú35.95; 10m ú42.95. Serial + parallel 2m
ú43.90; 5m ú49.90; 10m ú60.90.
9.2
Padlock = WatchDog Ö The PadLock application mentioned last month (p7)
has been renamed. This is because an application of the same name
already exists (produced by ICS). Neither Acorn nor Archive knew of the
pre-existing product but, nonetheless, Base5 have changed their product
name to WatchDog, and the Junior version becomes WatchPup!
9.2
Physics Tutor from Kinetic Computing, is a very easy-to-use, but
powerful teaching and revision aid aimed at pupils studying for GCSE
Physics exams. It has a multiple choice format and most questions relate
to a specific statement in the current NEAB syllabus. There are a total
of 270 questions, and students are given the opportunity to re-attempt
all the questions they have answered incorrectly. Also available are
Biology and Chemistry versions in the same vein.
9.2
Physics Tutor will work on all RISC OS computers with a hard disc, 1Mb
of RAM and running RISC 3.0 or later. Site licence: ú120 for each
subject, with all three available for ú250. The individual price on a
stand alone computer is ú25 for each subject or ú49 for all three.
9.2
SENstore is a program designed to help take the burden out of writing
individual education plans for special needs children. It lets you
create a report with up to five different report headings and 15
different topic headings of your choice, simply by clicking the mouse.
It comes with over 750 comments about Strengths, Weaknesses, Targets,
Action Plans, Monitoring, Review and Assessment, across a wide range of
subjects. Itæs easy to alter these or add your own, and you can store up
to 3,750 comments on a hard disc or 1.6Mb floppy disc. SENstore costs
ú34.95 (or ú5 for a working demo version) from NW SEMERC.
9.2
Speak is a software speech system which allows you to listen to text
files. Text may be spoken continuously, or a word or clause at a time.
Various talk-as-you-type options are provided, and simple editing may be
performed while the text is being spoken. The Speak speech system is
already being used within third party educational software, and can be
found in a number of products, including Clicker, Writing with Symbols,
TalkWrite and Talking TextEase. The Speak module and its data takes
about 150Kb, and will run on any Acorn RISC computer. Itácontains a
comprehensive pronunciation dictionary, as well as an exceptions editor.
It costs ú19.50 inclusive, or ú1.50 for a demo version from NW SEMERC.
9.2
Textease 2 and Talking Textease Ö For creative productivity, ease of use
is far more important than functionality and there is no DTP package
easier to use than Textease which has now reached version two. The new
version allows text to be rotated (and still be edited), JPEG support on
RISC OS 3.60, drag and drop editing, Object Linking & Embedding (OLE),
an ellipse tool, arrow heads on lines, customisable button bar. Talking
Textease is the same as Textease with the addition of an extra button on
the button bar to make it start talking Ö highlighting each word as it
is spoken. There is also an option to talk as you type. Textease version
2 costs ú49 +VAT from Softease and Talking Textease is ú65 +VAT or ú55
and ú73 through Archive.
9.2
Touch IT is a touch screen from SEMERC. It is a robust infra-red touch
screen that fixes firmly over the front of 14ö monitors using strong
adhesive anchor pads. The user simply has to touch the computer screen
to play a game etc. This eliminates the complications of using the
keyboard, mouse or switches, allowing users to commit their attention to
the task in hand. The Touch IT comes with a driver disc to allow it to
emulate the mouse. This makes the mouse pointer follow your finger as
you move it around the screen, so you can use the Touch IT with any
software that normally uses the mouse. It fits most 14ò Acorn monitors
(not metal-cased Microvitec ones) Ö you can ring SEMERC if you have
anything unusual. Touch IT costs ú229 +VAT.
9.2
Trellis Adventure Interpreter has been upgraded by Soft Rock Software.
The major change is the addition of graphics. Trellis now displays a
drawfile along with each location in the game, a facility which has been
added thanks to Acornæs drawfile rendering module. The new version is
supplied on two 800Kb discs and, after December 31st, will be priced at
ú8.99 including p&p. Until then, the price will be held to ú7.99.
Existing users of the present version will be sent free upgrades.
9.2
TV splitter cables Ö A complete and inexpensive range of splitter cables
is now available from Eastmond Publishing Ltd (see 8.11 p29). Designed
in association with Acorn Computers, they allow any Acorn computer and
monitor to be connected to a classroom TV. The leads come with stereo
audio link and cost between ú13.50 and ú17.50 (depending on type) +VAT
and p&p.
9.2
Worldæs Weather CD-ROM Ö This CD-ROM from Anglia Multimedia focuses on
the National Curriculum at Key Stage 3, in Geography and Science. The
Worldæs Weather disc offers four principal sections, dealing with
Processes in the Atmosphere, Changing Seasons, Weather and Climate, and
Life in Different Climate Zones. Each section offers the student the
chance to dig more deeply into the subject, with the aid of photographs,
drawings, video and animation sequences. At all stages, text and images
can be extracted from the disc for students to use in their own project
or exam work. The Worldæs Weather costs ú50 +VAT or ú56 through Archive.
9.2
Review software received...
9.2
We have received review copies of the following: ÅBible Picture Library
CD (ae), ÅChris the Bat (e), ÅChristian Celebrations (e), ÅGuardians of
the Greenwood CD (e), ÅSpeak (e), ÅTrellis (u), ÅVistamusic-3 (music
package for the non-keyboard player).
9.2