Archive Magazine 1996/ARCHIVE_96.iso/text/products/volume_09/issue_06

Text File | 1996-02-07 | 24KB | 400 lines

Products Available
9.06
A7000 backplane Ö The A7000 can either take a CD-ROM or a single
expansion card. However, since most people are going for the CD-ROM,
Acorn have not put a backplane in the computer. So if you want to put an
expansion card in an A7000, you need a single-slot backplane which costs
ú35 through Archive. (cf the two-slot backplane for the ACB60, RiscPC
600, which also costs ú35 through Archive.)
9.06
ART is on the move Ö Applied Risc Technologies have moved into new
premises on the Cambridge Technopark. See Factfile.
9.06
ArtLesson CD-ROM is an art lesson on CD which can, depending on how it
is used, take the user a week, a term or a year to work through. There
are 280 colour pages of ideas, stimulus material and activities in
different types of art media. At the heart of Art Lesson are ten themes,
each consisting of about eight stimulus pages, five or six activities,
and ideas for follow-up and extension. The themes are in a gradual
progression of difficulty, with half of the themes suitable for children
aged 9 years and up. The ten themes include; Driftwood, Lichen, Birds,
Frost, Leaves, Natural Forms, Wood, Brick & Stone, the Sea, and Pictures
from Life. ArtLesson has been written by Christopher Jarman and is
described as being for the non-specialist art teacher at Key Stage 2 and
above. ArtLesson CD-ROM costs ú29.95 +VAT +p&p from Nash Pollock
Publishing.
9.06
Bitfolio 7 CD-ROM is the latest collection of over 10,000 clipart images
from Management Graphics. All of the images have been commissioned by
MGL in the UK and drawn with an international flavour to complement
North American clipart products. 8,000 of the images are entirely new
and most are in full colour; they are royalty-free, so they can be used
in all kinds of printed materials without charge. Because they are
vector graphic drawings, they can be ungrouped and edited to suit usersæ
needs. Bitfolio Edition 7 CD-ROM costs ú80 +VAT +p&p, or ú90 through
Archive. The previous edition, Bitfolio Edition 6 is still available at
the reduced price of ú40 +VAT +p&p, or ú45 through Archive. For more
information, see the review on page 9.
9.06
Burns CD-ROM Ö At this yearæs BETT show, Cambridgeshire Software House
won the Primary Gold Award for their CD-ROM, The World of Robert Burns
(see 9.4 p77 for review). This interactive CD includes all of his poems
and songs; most of his music, and extracts from letters he wrote. There
is information on over 400 places of interest; personal cameos on 400 of
his friends; 850 full colour pictures; full supporting reference
material; a 40,000 word time-line; and ready-made trails to solve and
worksheets to complete. It also gives background information on such
subjects as martyrdom, mining, forestry, fishing, the Bible and much
more. As this year is the bicentenary of Burns, this could be a useful
CD-ROM to have in your collection. The World of Robert Burns costs
ú79.95 +VAT +p&p from CSH, or ú95 through Archive.
9.06
Connect 32 SCSI II Interface Ö These are manufactured by MCS in
Dortmund, Germany (the people who brought you the low price PC card
upgrade Ö see Archive 9.3 p17). The Connect 32 is a SCSI II interface
which MCS claim to be öprobably the fastest real 32-bit card for the
RiscPCò. Jim Nottingham has received reports from users in Germany which
tend to substantiate this claim. In the UK, Connect 32 is available from
Clares for ú199á+áVAT (carriage included) or ú230 inclusive through
Archive. Jim has reports from MCS and others showing compatibility with
numerous SCSI devices, and details are available from Jim at
16áWestfield Close, Pocklington, York, YO4 2EY.
9.06
CoreFS Ö This will be extremely useful to anyone who needs to prepare
floppy discs for bulk duplication. Technically speaking, it is an Éimage
filing systemæ whose partition files are exact floppy disc images,
including disc name and boot options. Inápractice, this means that you
can prepare the contents of a floppy disc on your (much faster) hard
disc, and perhaps store all your master floppy discs on your hard disc
in this way, and then write out any one of them to a real floppy disc in
around 40áseconds! CoreFS supports ADFS formats D, E and F, and also
ArcFS/SparkFS archives and CFS. CoreFS Max provides all the features of
the standard release of CoreFS, but will also allow the creation of
large ADFS partitions suitable for distributing on a CD¡ROM. The benefit
of this is that the filenames within the partition do not have to be
limited to the ISO standard A-Z and underscore characters, nor is it
necessary to place everything in an archive to get around this. The
result is that the user of your CD¡ROM does not have to understand how
to use the various compression programs, and the presentation is
considerably better too. CoreFS Max is supplied with a guide to
mastering CDs and a licence to use it on two CD-ROM titles. CoreFS is
available from Zenta Multimedia for ú45 +VAT or ú50 through Archive.
CoreFS Max is available from Zenta Multimedia for ú95 +VAT or ú106
through Archive.
9.06
Easy Clip from Fabis Computing, does for clipart what Easy Font and Font
Directory do for fonts. It has the capacity to store over half a million
images in most common filetypes, and even compresses them to between 35
and 60%. Features include: large thumbnails of graphics for easy access,
virtual memory manager for thumbnail display; drag and drop between
groups and applications; preview of images in a scalable window. Easy
Clip costs ú35 (no VAT) or ú35 inc VAT through Archive.
9.06
Eesox CDBricks Ö A CDBrick consists of a CDdrive in a single box linked
to a big hard drive. You put the CDs in the drive, one at a time, and
the information is automatically downloaded onto the hard drive. That
information is then available via CDFS as if it had come directly from
the CD, except that it comes through at hard drive speed! The
VAT¡inclusive Archive prices are:
9.06
2Gb (takes about 5-6 CDs)    ú1150
9.06
4Gb (takes about 10-12 CDs)    ú1738
9.06
9Gb (takes about 20-25 CDs)    ú2678
9.06
Eesox CD-ROM towers Ö Eesox has a range of CD-ROM towers to suit all
applications and price points. You can have anything from two to six CD-
ROMs per tower, quad speed or 6.7 speed drives and, for the quad speed
drives, a choice of tray¡loading or the more expensive caddy-loading
type. Sample VAT-inclusive Archive prices are:
9.06
2 ╫ Quad speed (tray)    ú445
9.06
2 ╫ Quad speed (caddy)    ú682
9.06
6 ╫ Quad speed (tray)    ú1150
9.06
6 ╫ Quad speed (caddy)    ú1810
9.06
6 ╫ 6.7 speed (tray)    ú2443
9.06
When bought with a Tower, the CDNetFast utility costs only ú115 instead
of ú148 inclusive through Archive.
9.06
Escape from Exeria 2 is a re-write of the first game, released by Soft
Rock Software. The main points of number 2 are that it has new graphics
and sound effects, and the basic game-play has changed slightly. There
is also a version with enhanced graphics and sound available for the
RiscPC. Escape from Exeria 2 costs ú4.99, or ú7.99 for the RiscPC
version (no VAT, postage included), from Soft Rock Software.
9.06
Expandable SIMMs Ö Simtec have now produced a third size of SIMM memory
cards which are upgradable to twice the size by adding extra chips.
There is an 8Mb to 16Mb SIMM which costs ú255 through Archive and then
another ú255 for the extra chips to upgrade it later. The 16Mb
upgradable to 32Mb is now down to ú490. (cf the current Archive price
for fixed size SIMMs: 8Mb ú220, 16Mb ú420 and 32Mb ú820.)
9.06
Impression Tutorial Guide Ö (This was commissioned by Acorn Australia.)
The Impression Tutorial Guide is designed to be a beginnersæ guide to
using Impression Style and Publisher. As this guide is said to be easier
to follow than the Impression manual, the author, Dr Anthony Wood,
recommends that it be used as an alternative to the Impression manual,
especially for the absolute beginner. There are exercises throughout to
take the user from the very basics right up to some of the more advanced
features of the programs. Impression Tutorial Guides for Publisher and
Style and cost ú9.95 +p&p each, or ú10 through Archive.
9.06
Internet Survival Guide Ö Beebugæs latest offering, The Internet
Survival Guide, is exclusively Acorn-based. It begins by asking what it
is you actually want from the Internet, then explains how you might best
get started. It covers the concepts of email, Usenet, FTP, Telnet and
the Worldwide Web. It also deals with setting up and using all the major
commercial and public domain packages: The Internet Starter Pack,
Freenet, Termite, ANTæs Internet Suite, Voyager and Intertalk, (Acornæs
Internet package). Finally, it provides a list of Service Providers with
prices, local numbers (PoPs), contact details and an ÉAcorn
Friendlinessæ rating. The Internet Survival Guide from Beebug (ISBN
1¡85142-091-6) costs ú6.95 + ú1.70 p&p, or ú8áthrough Archive.
9.06
Informatrix 2 is an A3-sized overlay keyboard with 4096 programmable
keys. It uses a membrane overlay, featuring a range of simple icons to
replace standard QWERTY keystrokes. Because children require no special
computing or typing skills, or even literacy, they can produce graphics,
text and figures on screen, with sounds, just by pressing the
appropriate icons. The high resolution of the keyboard makes it
particularly useful for producing maps, and for finely detailed or
irregularly shaped graphics. The keyboard and stylus can also be used as
a sketch-pad, drawing or tracing shapes in a continuous movement,
instead of having to pick out each cell individually. Informatrix comes
complete with overlay designer software for easy creation of overlays
from any map or picture. Informatrix costs ú179 +VAT +p&p from The
Concept Keyboard Company.
9.06
InterActive Learning Ö From Yorkshire International Thompson Multimedia
come three new titles: Early Victorians CD-ROM is based on Channel 4æs
series ÉHow We Used to Liveæ and is a fully interactive disc providing a
comprehensive database of information on the early Victorian period
(circa 1845), designed for Key Stage 2. Major themes such as trade and
industry, transport, work, domestic life, leisure and education are
brought to life using a combination of video material from the TV
series, along with animations, text, stills and audio. Users can
investigate, in depth, a range of issues, from key historical events
such as the Industrial Revolution, down to biographical details of the
fictional Coggin family, living in the fictional industrial town of
ÉBradleyæ. Early Victorians costs ú69.99 +VAT +p&p, or ú80 through
Archive.
9.06
The Maximania CD-ROM is the second in a series of InterActive CD-ROMs
designed to support the development of reading in children aged 4-7. It
can be used on its own or with the Flying Boot Reading Scheme, published
by Thomas Nelson. The disc comprises a series of six chapters, each
containing sets of educational games which use a different character to
focus on different skill areas, such as matching, sorting, sequencing
and comprehension. The games have several levels through which children
can move, and a completed game can provide teachers and parents with a
profile of the childæs performance in terms of the levels achieved, the
time taken and the number of attempts made. The games and stories are
presented in a way which encourages success and aims to create an active
resource that engages the child and then motivates them to find out more
by reading off-screen. Maximania CD costs ú69.99 +VAT +p&p, or ú80
through Archive.
9.06
Breakaway Maths is a CD-ROM whose aim is to encourage less able 7-12
year-olds to progress in mathematics at Key Stage 2 and 3. Set in Alton
Towers Theme Park, the program captures the imagination of users by
setting a series of true-to-life problem-solving activities and
investigations based on various rides within the park. Extensive use of
full-colour graphics, animations, video and sound, help to hold the
usersæ interest while exploring number, shape & space, algebra and data
handling activities. Having been assessed on entry to the theme park,
each user receives assistance in the shape of four children, who help
them read a map and navigate around the park. This is supplemented by
audio instruction. Most importantly, the complexity of each exercise is
automatically adjusted by the program, in line with each individualæs
performance. Breakaway Maths CD costs ú65 +VAT +p&p, or ú74 through
Archive.
9.06
Kudlian Soft Ö Three new programs from Kudlian Soft: Splosh+ is the
sequel to Splosh, the painting program for young children and those with
special needs. Splosh+ allows access to a far wider range of facilities
which will enable children to exploit the features of the latest
hardware, including the RiscPC. It provides users with, amongst other
things, a wider range of brushes and brush shapes, additional geometric
shapes and fills, multiple undo, imports for JPEG and deep sprites, plus
16, 32, 256 and thousands and millions of colour modes. Splosh will
still be on sale providing a introduction to painting programs.
9.06
ReTreeval is an application that combines a database with a
sophisticated decision tree program. To create and search the database,
all you have to do is answer questions in natural English. The amount of
information stored about each item grows with your needs. ReTreeval
learns with you so that it always asks questions in an easily understood
language. Behind the scenes, it uses a sophisticated object-oriented
database to handle the decisions and questions required to structure the
data. Full reporting facilities are available, allowing data to be
exported as ASCII, CSV or TSV; a tree can be exported as a drawfile, and
data can have a picture associated with it.
9.06
PortFolio is a multimedia application which has been developed to allow
children, or adults, to display a carousel of images, either vector
graphics or bitmaps, including JPEG images. Each picture can have a
sound file or music or a voice recording, associated with it Ö itæs an
ideal tool for displaying childrenæs work using a variety of styles and
media.
9.06
Splosh+ costs ú39 for a single user; ú59 for Primary site pack and ú89
for Secondary site pack. Upgrades from Splosh are available at ú15, ú35
and ú49 respectively. ReTreeval costs ú40 for single user and Primary
site pack; ú60 for Secondary site pack. PortFolio costs ú29 for single
user and Primary site pack; ú45 for Secondary site packs. All prices are
+VAT +p&p.
9.06
Map Converter is a program for converting Ordnance Survey map data into
both Draw and Key Plus Map format. The package takes OS vector types,
such as NTF or Land-Line, and transfers them into Acorn vector format.
Unlike other packages of this type, the converter makes a point of
retaining all the layering within the OS data. Once exported into Key
Plus Map format, it can then be used for plotting data from Key Plus
files. This opens up to schools, and computer users generally, a wide
range of maps, from 1:2500 to 1:625000 scales, of the United Kingdom.
9.06
Key Map Editor is another product which offers an alternative range of
facilities for users to create their own Key Plus Maps for plotting
purposes. It also allows existing Key Plus maps to be edited to suit
particular requirements. One option is to take a vertical aerial
photograph, or an out-of-copyright map, scan in the image and then draw
the map on top before exporting it to map editor. Whether it is creating
a map of the school, your own town or the whole country, this tool will
open all sorts of possibilities.
9.06
OS Map Converter and Key Plus Map Editor are ú30 each +VAT +p&p from
SCA, or ú35 through Archive.
9.06
Nelson CD-ROM from Anglia Multimedia, is designed to help meet Key Stage
3 History. It contains 18 separate sections dealing with aspects of
Nelsonæs life and times. The user begins by landing on the deck of the
HMS Victory and moves through various parts of the ship examining
documents, artifacts and photographs. By clicking on any of the objects,
the user is taken through such things as life on board a battleship, the
history of the Navy, armaments, the lives of sailors, ship-building and
life at sea, etc. A document in Nelsonæs cabin leads on to a 35 minute
documentary on the Battle of Trafalgar. The CD-ROM contains animations,
video, paintings, audio and textual information about each section, and
specially commissioned photographs. The disc has been put together in
association with the National Maritime Museum, who allowed Anglia access
to areas of the Victory not normally open to the public. Nelson and His
Navy CD costs ú50 +VAT +p&p from Anglia Multimedia, or ú58 through
Archive.
9.06
Pentium-class processors are now available from Aleph One at reduced
prices. The top-of-the-range PC card features a Cyrix 5╫86 processor and
delivers Pentium-class performance, as well as software with enhanced
support for Windows 95 and sound emulation. Further software upgrades
are planned for release during 1996 including enhanced disc and video
drivers, support for the Linux operating system, and utilities for PC to
RISCáOS data exchange. The software upgrades are available to users of
all models of Acornæs PC cards and can be purchased for a nominal
charge. Aleph One customers will receive updates free of charge. The PC
5╫86 now costs ú499 +VAT +p&p from Aleph One, or ú586 through Archive.
9.06
Quipalarm Ö The Sonamara Quipalarm Q3 is an effective and robust
equipment alarm with built-in Éintelligentæ motion detectors to sense
when equipment is being disturbed. The alarm allows equipment to be used
on a normal day-to-day basis but issues a continuous ear-splitting alarm
if the equipment is being tampered with or removed. It fits to the
computer either externally by screws and locknuts, or internally by
adhesive tape. The power supply is a 9V battery fitted inside the
alarmæs casing. The Quipalarm costs ú59 +VAT +p&p from Sonamara, or ú67
through Archive.
9.06
Rcomp Ö Two new products from Rcomp... TheáKeyboard ShortCuts Utility,
is a small program, requiring only 32Kb of RAM, designed to help you
automate the RISC OS desktop. Keyboard shortcuts can be used to do
anything that a double-click would normally do, including opening
directories, loading programs, accessing floppy drives, etc. The program
features five utilities for defining, displaying and executing desktop
shortcuts. It also includes a multiboot utility with optional default
selections and time-outs. For owners of older machines, it provides some
of the features only available on the RiscPC.
9.06
Textures is a graphic effects extension for RISC OS containing over 40
professionally designed royalty-free textures for use with all major
graphics packages. They can be used as backgrounds for web pages, or
loaded onto Acornæs pinboard, as well as being used in programs such as
Photodesk, Studio 24, ProArtisan, etc.
9.06
Keyboard Shortcuts Utility costs ú15 fully inclusive from Rcomp, and
Textures costs ú12 for a single user or ú30 for a site licence from
Rcomp (no VAT).
9.06
Shakespeare comes to life with Topologikaæs ÉHow to be Bottom Ö The
Interactive Shakespeare Showæ. Originally commissioned by Londonæs
Barbican Centre and sponsored by Acorn, it aimed to give children a
multimedia look at the life and times of the Bard. Students can now get
involved in their own version of the show. Based on A Midsummer Nightæs
Dream, this multimedia resource comes on seven HD discs, giving students
an opportunity to create their own Shakespearian experience. The
material allows them to design four different stage sets as well as
their own poster. They can also create their own version of Puckæs
Spell, learn about Elizabethan musical instruments, listen to sound
samples and compose their own Elizabethan tunes. The pack also comes
with a complete set of the works of Shakespeare, as text files.
Topologika say that How to be Bottom will suit primary and secondary
students in English Language, Literature, Music and Design. The
Interactive Shakespeare Show needs RISC OS 3, a hard drive, plus 2Mb of
RAM for all parts of the pack, except Music in Shakespeareæs Time, which
needs 4Mb. It costs ú40 +VAT +p&p from Topologika, or ú45 through
Archive. The stage design element needs My World 2, available for ú39
+VAT +p&p from SEMERC. A free site licence is included, as is a voucher
to obtain a full working version of Music Box at a special discount.
9.06
RISCáOS 3.6 PRM Ö The new version of the PRM Volume 5 which now covers
RISCáOS 3.6, as well as RISCáOS 3.5, is available for ú31 inclusive
through Archive.
9.06
Tanzania CD-ROM, from Creative Curriculum Software, explores the life of
a Tanzanian village through the eyes of Elizabeth Mchald and her family,
who live and work in Sanawari. This multimedia resource consists of a
CD-ROM, video and book. They allow pupils of a wide range of ages and
abilities to explore life in a Tanzania village. The video stories have
clearly written and spoken subtitles; the CD-ROM takes the pupil into
more depth and wider issues; the book gives teachers and pupils a wealth
of ideas and information. Tanzania CD-ROM on its own costs ú49; the pack
including CD-ROM, Video and Book is ú69 for a single user; a site
licence costs ú99 Ö all prices +VAT +p&p. Through Archive, the CD-ROM on
its own costs ú55 and the CD-ROM, video and book are ú77.
9.06
The Calabash Pirates is a cross-curricula educational game for 7-11
year-olds. It introduces the user to Natty Nick, Soggy Sam, Lost Luke
and Dagger Jack, a bunch of pirates in search of gold. To find the gold,
the user has to solve mathematical and geographical puzzles requiring
problem-solving, decision-making and planning. The game should appeal to
children of a wide range of ages and abilities, and may be played again
and again Ö passage around and across the island is never as simple as
it seems. Roam through the screens of vivid graphics to find; Riddle of
the Sands; Patch the Sail; Tacking; Cannons and Raft Rescue. As well as
the obvious disciplines, the Calabash Pirates can be used (with the
accompanying study notes) to study the Tudors and Stuarts Ö the golden
age of pirates. The Calabash Pirates costs ú25.99 inc VAT +p&p from
Storm Educational Software, or ú25 through Archive.
9.06
ViVID 5000 is iSVæs latest version of their desktop resolution software.
ViVID 5000 is specially designed to run on Acornæs A5000 using 14 or 15
inch multisync monitors. It offers desktops of up to 2240╫2016 in size,
and includes 256 colour versions of most resolutions including, 1056╫832
and 1472╫ 1070 and can produce 1600╫1200 in 256 colours on some
machines. ViVID 5000 offers greyscale versions of all resolutions,
control of colour and contrast, as well as almost 100 screen modes.
ViVID costs ú16.50 including carriage (no VAT) or ú17 inc VAT through
Archive. Existing owners of ViVID20 can upgrade by returning their
master disc with a cheque for ú5 to iSV.
9.06
Review software received...
9.06
We have received review copies of the following:        ÅArt Lesson CD-
ROM(a), ÅCalabash Pirates(e), ÅESPáMidi Synthesiser(um),  ÅFreddy Teddy
Directions(e), ÅOS Map Converter & Key Plus Map Editor (e), ÅViVID
5000(u), ÅSpeaking Starspell(ew).