Archive Magazine 1996/ARCHIVE_96.iso/text/products/volume_09/issue_10

Text File | 1996-06-05 | 35KB | 612 lines

Products Available
9.10
ANT Internet Suite II is the new version, due for release this month, of
the popular internet program. Amongst the improvements are: Dialler, an
easy-to-use utility for connecting to service providers and launching
the Suiteæs applications; Fresco, the Web browser, which now supports
tables and client-side image maps, local and global history lists,
additional Netscape and HTML 3.0 extensions, progressive rendering of
GIF, PNG and JPEG images, text and tables; Marcel features support for
the SMTP, POP and IMAP email protocols as well as MIME encoding;
graphical front ends have been developed for utilities including Finger,
Resolver, TraceRoute and Whols, as well as an enhanced Ping utility.
9.10
An upgrade pack including new release disc and an entirely new manual
will be available direct from ANT to registered users for ú10 inclusive.
Registered users who have supplied ANT with a current address will be
notified by email when it become available.
9.10
To new users, the ANT Suite costs ú99 +VAT +p&p or ú115 through Archive.
9.10
!CPC Ö This is a new version of !CPC, the Amstrad CPC emulator for Acorn
RISC OS computers. It features many significant improvements over
previous versions, resulting in a very high degree of compatibility with
the real thing, as well as myriad improvements for enhanced user-
friendliness. CPC is shareware Ö a demonstration version, !CPC_Demo, is
available on the World Wide Web, at the following URL: http://
www.hep.phy.cam.ac.uk:8080/rison/cpc/cpc.html.
9.10
Full details on registering for !CPC are given inside !CPC_Demoæs !Help
file.
9.10
CASA III Ö (Computer Assisted Structural Analysis) W C Smith and
Associates have been developing structural analysis software for RISC OS
for over 6 years. Their latest product, CASA-III, makes use of 3D
perspective graphics through which the user can interact with, and edit,
the model of a structure.
9.10
They recently launched a new bureau service; for a small registration
fee, the user will receive a copy of CASA-III with full pre- and post-
processing capabilities. When the user requires an analysis, they
prepare the data using CASA-III and then send the data to W C Smith, who
perform the analysis, and the results will be returned. From as little
as ú10 +VAT per analysis, this approach can be quite cost-effective for
users who will not be using CASA-III intensively. Initially, this will
be a postal service, but if sufficient demand is found, they will
upgrade it to allow the data to be transferred by modem. CASA III costs
ú950 +VAT from W C Smith & Associates.
9.10
CastleTech SCSI 2 card is a 16-bit card at a budget price. It has a 16
byte cache on chip; CDFS and SCSI2 CD-ROM softload driver in ROM,
transfer rate of up to about 1.7Mb/sec, with bulk rate of up to 2.4 Mb/
sec possible on some machine types. It doesnæt allow DMA access and is
16-bit not 32-bit, but it is half the price of other SCSI II cards. It
costs ú99 +VAT +p&p from Castle Technology, or ú114 through Archive.
9.10
CDFast2 is a totally new version of Eesoxæs CDFast, and is said to
enhance the performance of virtually all CD-ROM titles and applications,
in some cases improving performance by between 30Ö40%. Among some of the
new features are: improved caching algorithms; larger cache memory;
configurable cache sizes; multiple simultaneous drives; Quad and Octal
speed drive support. Existing users of CDFast can upgrade by sending
their original disc to Eesox with a cheque for ú10 inclusive.
9.10
CDFast2 costs ú25 +VAT (ú28 through Archive) or ú15 +VAT (ú17 through
Archive) when ordered with an Eesox CD-ROM drive.
9.10
CD-ROM drive Ö Eesox have released a new 4.5 speed SCSI Gold CD-ROM
drive for use by any Acorn machine. It comes with cable, driver software
and utilities, and can be used in tower mode. The 4.5 speed CD-ROM costs
ú160 inclusive through Archive for the internal version and ú240 for the
external version.
9.10
Composition Ö This had a good review from Malcolm Banthorpe last month
(p33), and that was written when he thought the price was ú160 but now
it is down to ú99.95, or ú95 through Archive, so it is even better
value!
9.10
Digital Oasis Ö This isnæt a Product Available, more of a Service
Available, but we thought weæd mention it here. Digital Oasis is an
Acorn Web e¡magazine which you can access via your Web browser on:
http://www.argonet.co.uk/users/aok/
9.10
According to its producers, ÉFeedback is welcome. Ifáthere is something
you would like to see in Digital Oasis, write and tell us. New writers
are welcome to submit articles and ideas. The ÉOzæ style non-linear page
access was implemented entirely from email dialogue between Carl
Cepurneek in Oz and ourselves. Digital Oasis is updated regularly, as we
get articles and newsæ.
9.10
DIY RiscPC Ö Following on from last monthæs article, we ought to point
out that a DIY RiscPC is not really DIY! In other words, you select what
you want and NCS puts it together for you and tests it. If you are
thinking of buying a RiscPC in this way, it would be worth getting in
touch because the pricing of memory is still very volatile, so you may
want to know the latest prices to help you work out your purchase.
9.10
Secondly, we ought to make it clear that the ACB64 has exactly the same
pcb as the 710 machines. In other words, it is not one of the older
RiscPCs, and if you were to change the processor and memory, and added
an extra slice, it would then be identical to a RiscPC 700 Ö except that
it would have a ÉRiscPC 600æ logo on the front!
9.10
Thirdly, we werenæt deliberately trying to mislead you when we said, öIt
is important to know whether Acorn are likely to come up with a RiscPC
capable of taking, say, 4Mb VRAM. The answer, quite categorically, is
NO. The next major change will be the PowerPC machine which wonæt be
around until 1997 some time.ò Since that went into print, we have heard
that, because the StrongARM is so good, Acorn are looking at the
possibility of doing a StrongARM RiscPC. Itæs not definite yet, and in
any case, it wouldnæt be available until some time during æ97. Also,
they are looking at the idea of it being possible to provide it as a
Épcb upgradeæ, i.e. you keep the same case, drives, memory and
processor, and just swap out the main circuit board.
9.10
STOP PRESS: the financial calculations in the article have just changed
Ö in your favour Ö because the price of memory has fallen even further.
So you save even more money than we said by buying the bottom-end RiscPC
and upgrading it.
9.10
DrawWorks2 is a complete re-write of iSVæs original DrawWorks program.
Among some of its new features are: a second button bar with 64 buttons,
giving easy access to most of the Draw features; a new preferences
control; integrated path merging and scrunching; information report on a
drawfile or selection (including information on any fonts used);
changeable toolbar options; improved versions of merge, kern and scrunch
tools; DrawTrix file effects processor which allows drawfiles to be
warped, twisted and even wrapped around 3D shapes. DrawWorks2 costs ú20
+p&p from iSV or ú20 inclusive through Archive. To upgrade from
DrawWorks1, return your master disc with a cheque for ú10 to iSV.
9.10
Epson scanners Ö We have some improved pricing on Epson A4 flatbed
scanners this month. The following prices include Twain and Imagemaster:
9.10
GTX5000 (parallel)   300dpi  ú480
9.10
GTX5000 (SCSI)   300dpi  ú550
9.10
GT8500 A4 (SCSI)   400dpi  ú630
9.10
GT9000 A4 (SCSI)   600dpi  ú750
9.10
FM Radio, from Irlam Instruments, is a fully featured FM stereo
receiver, allowing radio broadcasts to be listened to via the computer.
Preset channels, auto-tuning, plus control of volume, balance, bass and
treble are all included. Itæs suitable for A300, A400, A540, A5000,
A7000 and RiscPC, and costs ú79 +VAT +p&p from Irlam Instruments or ú91
through Archive.
9.10
FPA11 Ö The Floating Point Accelerator which can be fitted to the A540,
and both the 25MHz and 33MHz variants of the A5000, is still available
and the price has come down too. The new Archive price is ú104.
9.10
French clipart is a series of discs made up of clipart for use by French
language teachers. The threeádiscs cover various aspects of the National
Curriculum. Disc 1 covers Area of Experience A; Disc 2 Area B and some
of Area C; Disc 3 covers topics from the remaining areas. Each disc
costs ú6 and includes a donation to Christian Aid of ú1. Theyáare
available from: R J H Enterprises, Beck Bottom, 9áMoorland Close,
Embsay, Skipton, N.áYorks, BD23 6SG.
9.10
Full-FS RSDFS is the new Full-FS version of RSDFS from Armed Forces. It
provides a complete RISC OS filing system for accessing the hard disc of
one computer over a serial link to another machine, either via a direct
cable or through a modem link-up. It provides everything you would be
able to do if the hard disc were inside your own computer, but obviously
not quite as fast. Users of previous versions of RSDFS can upgrade for
ú15, and the complete Full FS package costs ú45 from Armed Forces.
Alláprices fully inclusive Ö they are not yet VAT registered.
9.10
Fun with Texts is a foreign language package originally designed for the
BBC B in 1984. It was one of the most popular software packages for
modern language. The program has recently been converted and updated to
run on RISC OS machines. It is an imaginative authoring package that
enables a teacher to create a number of short texts which can then be
used by students as the basis of a variety of text-reconstruction
exercises. The package has been thoroughly field-tested by experienced
teachers and by students of English, French, German, Spanish and
Italian. It is designed for use by individual students or by pairs and
small groups. Fun with Texts is printed and published by Camsoft and
costs ú75 +VAT for a 10-computer site licence.
9.10
Hawk V9 Mk II Ö CCæs digitiser has gone the way of their Eagle
multimedia card Ö it is no longer available. (Weæve got one left in
stock at ú190 Ö first phone call secures.)
9.10
HighWay Ö The main purpose of HighWay is to allow you to have your most
regularly used applications, directories and files easily available. By
dragging your desired objects into the HighWay filer window, they can be
set to do a multitude of things, both at the time, and at the computeræs
start-up.
9.10
Among some of the features are: easy loading and saving of up to eight
named Pinboards; applications and files can be run, or set to run, on
start-up; star commands can be set to be operated by just a double-
click; different HighWay setups can be used for named users; objects in
the HighWay window can be placed in the order you want them, or can be
hidden if required.
9.10
To obtain a copy, send a cheque for ú25 to: MráBáVeasey, 24 Drift Road,
Bognor Regis, WestáSussex. PO21 3NS (orders outside UK may attract
carriage charges at cost) Email: [e-mail]
9.10
For more details see: http://www.argonet.co.uk/users/bernard.veasey/
soft.html
9.10
HolyBible Resource Builder creates multimedia directories for use with
HolyBible. The items within these directories are made available when
HolyBible is run and will appear as icons in the Resources Window when
the relevant Étaggedæ Bible passages are visible on screen. Tagged
resources may be global or specific Ö this will depend on context within
the Bible text and user interpretation. Resource Builder allows for the
import of text, draw, sprite and JPEG filetypes. Special features
include: temporary overlays which highlight specific areas or indicate
orientation without affecting the original file; customised icons
identify Éspecial filetypesæ which include a compound resource icon, map
resource icon and chart with position markers.
9.10
Resource Builder costs ú38 +VAT (includes free site licence and
carriage) or ú43 through Archive.
9.10
Insight Training Ö The Secondary Insight Conference is a two-day
programme of training and presentations designed to benefit IT
coordinators, subject teachers and anyone else involved in planning,
implementing or supporting secondary school IT. Delegates can choose
according to their needs from presentations and hand-ons training
sessions, with both Apple and Acorn systems. The conference is being run
by Insight Training and Xemplar, at Oakham School on 5th and 6th July.
9.10
The conference fee is ú160 +VAT, which includes all training and tuition
fees, conference pack, materials and course notes, lunch, dinner and
refreshments on Friday, and lunch and refreshments on Saturday.
Overnight accommodation is not included.
9.10
For more information, contact Insight Training. Up¡to-date information
can also be found on the Insight web page on: http://www/argonet.co.uk/
business/insight/.
9.10
Keystroke V4 is now available. Itæs more powerful, faster and easier to
use than ever before. According to Quantum Software, many of the changes
have come about because of customer feedback Ö this includes a bigger
and much easier to follow manual.
9.10
Keystroke is a desktop utility which allows you to perform a range of
desktop activities with a click of the mouse or the press of a key. For
example, at a single keystroke, you can call up Impression master pages
and go straight to the master page you want to edit. You can add auto-
save to those applications that lack it. You can even make up your own
button bar. It comes with example files of Keystroke definitions for
Filer, Paint, Draw, DrawPlus, TypeStudio, Vector, WorraCAD, Ovation and
Impression amongst other.
9.10
The new version is faster, is much easier to set up and use, includes
over sixty functions, and is fully compatible with RISC OS 3.1 and 3.6.
Existing users can upgrade by returning their original discs with a
cheque for ú9.95 to Quantum Software (users outside of the UK need to
add a further ú1). To new users, Keystroke costs ú 35.95 inclusive or
ú34 through Archive.
9.10
Maker Series from Carlton Software comes on three discs, offering three
desktop utilities. DateMaker is a diary application which allows you to
list all your appointments by day and time. Entries remain fully
editable, you can export data, search on keywords, and jump forwards or
backwards through the list. MailMaker is an address book which provides
fields for: name, address, home and work phone numbers, email, fax and
notes. Categories are user-definable; there are export facilities for
TSV and CSV; names can be seen at a glance through pop up menus, and
records can be sorted. MemoMaker is a Éto doæ list manager. Memos can
have up to twelve lines of text; they can be prioritised, sorted and
exported to and from Acornæs Pocket Book.
9.10
Each application costs ú7.23 +VAT +p&p, or ú10 through Archive.
9.10
Mozart mixer Ö YESæs mixer is designed for the original Mká1 RiscPCs and
provides, in one single card costing ú69 through Archive, the
functionality of the 16-bit ÉMinnieæ sound card (normally ú71) and an
audio mixer (normally ú44).
9.10
Previously, the situation was that the Acorn/ESP 16¡bit sound card was
needed by the Mká1 RiscPCs in order to get sound from the PC card, and
also to give them the 16¡bit sound capability of the current Mká2
machines. The Eesox audio mixer board was needed if you wished to feed
the direct audio output from audio CDs through the RiscPCæs internal
sound system (so that a single set of speakers could be used for all the
sound output). However, both of these have now been completely replaced
by the Mozart card.
9.10
The Mozart card is better than the combination in several ways. (1) The
obvious advantage is that the single card is less fiddly to fit, and
cheaper, than two. (2) There are two inputs for CD audio not just the
one. (3) It is possible to switch between the 16¡bit and 8¡bit systems
in software, so there is no need to take your RiscPC apart just to play
certain games whose sound only works correctly under the 8¡bit system.
(4) Most software designed for 8¡bit sound will work fine with the
16¡bit system under emulation, but the poorer quality of 8¡bit samples
can be shown up by the 16¡bit system, so the Mozart card adjusts the
response of the output filter to the sample rate being played to give
the highest quality output regardless.
9.10
However, unlike the Eesox audio mixer, the Mozart card does not
automatically come with a CD audio lead, so if you intend to connect the
audio output from your CD drive to the Mozart card, and you did not get
an audio lead with the CD drive itself, you will need one. When ordered
separately, these CD audio leads cost ú6.
9.10
My First Incredible Amazing Dictionary is the latest title from IMS to
be converted from the PC world to the Acorn platform. The CD-ROM
introduces 4Ö7 year olds to 1000 words, with their British
pronunciations and their meanings, through spoken words and pictures,
3,000 sound effects, and 850 animations, and games. My First Incredible
Amazing Dictionary uses CD-ROM technology to present opposites,
synonyms, word groups and other vocabulary elements to increase their
understanding of language.
9.10
IMS already have a long list of CD-ROMs they hope to convert over the
next couple of years Ö and the list is growing! Look out over the coming
months for: My First Amazing World Explorer; The Ultimate Human Body;
Encyclopedia of Science; Encyclopedia of Nature; Encarta 96; Kiyeko and
the Lost Night; Hutchinsonæs Multimedia Encyclopedia, and many more!
9.10
My First Incredible Amazing Dictionary CD-ROM costs ú39 inclusive from
IMS.
9.10
MultiGen2 Ö The high band Genlock adaptor from Sonamara Computer Video
has dropped in price and gone up in specification. It now supports
resolutions of up to 800╫600, with simultaneous RGB, S-Video and
composite video outputs, as well as S-Video and composite video inputs.
Features of the external unit include under/overscan options, image re-
scaling and re-positioning, freeze frame and fade (with adjustable rates
of fade). An infra-red remote control provides full control over all
functions. The MultiGen2 is available for PAL or NTSC. AáMultiGen2 Pro
is also available offering resolutions up to 1600╫1200 plus 2╫ zoom and
pan.
9.10
MultiGen2 costs ú299.95 inclusive or ú345 through Archive. MultiGen2 Pro
costs ú499.95 or ú575 through Archive. For users who require
professional titling in their videos, there are two new bundles
available Ö MultiGen2 + Claresæ Titler for ú369.95, and MultiGen2 Pro +
Titler at ú549.95 (ú425 and ú635 respectively through Archive).
9.10
Observess is an Expert System shell for the Acorn RISC OS machine. It is
fully desktop compatible and incorporates an IF... THEN... rule
structure with up to three conditions. It provides support for
percentage-based certainty factors on facts and rules, and single or
multiple recommendations based on the certainty factors. Included in the
latest version (2.71) is a backward chaining inference engine. The price
remains at ú40 (no VAT) for a single user copy, or ú120 for a site
licence. Further information can be obtained from: Chessfield Software Ö
[e-mail].
9.10
Panorama from HCCS, provides a new way of capturing high resolution
images using an ordinary camcorder. It works by capturing a sequence of
video images from a camera which is panning across a scene. These
pictures are then matched together to create a single seamless image.
9.10
The minimum requirement is a 4Mb machine with hard disc and an
application which allows you to view 16 and 24-bit sprites. The
panoramas are built to the hard disc, so even with a minimum
specification, you can build pictures of almost any size. For
professional use, it is recommended that a RiscPC with 1Mb of VRAM, 8Mb
of RAM and 100Mb of free hard disc space be used. Included in the
software is a tiler feature which allows a number of A4 sheets to be
printed with crop marks for matching together.
9.10
The package comprises: Vision 24 hardware, Panorama software, 16 sheets
of A4 inkjet paper, 16 foam A4 tiles, a can of aerosol glue, a stainless
steel 12 inch ruler and a knife. It costs ú249 +VAT or ú290 through
Archive. To upgrade from Mono Vision, CVision, and HVision costs ú149
+VAT, and to upgrade from Vision 24 costs ú99 +VAT through HCCS.
9.10
!Printers 1.53 Ö An update to Acornæs printer driver software now
supports the Canon BJC-4100 and BJ-210 inkjet printers, and also Epsonæs
Stylus-Pro and Stylus Pro XL. The ÉSmall Halftonesæ option has been
reintroduced as Éhalftoned (fine)æ. It is available from Acornæs FTP
site or on our Utilities Disc 7 for ú2.
9.10
Probe is an interactive computer-based interest questionnaire,
graphically illustrated throughout by colour drawings. Itæs designed to
introduce younger pupils to the idea of relating interests and skills
with the requirements of future occupations. Possible broad careers
areas are revealed, together with basic foundation subjects. Pupil
printouts can be made, as can worksheets for further research. Probe
will be kept up-to-date by Cambridge Occupational Analysis on an annual
basis Ö therefore discs are leased for a 12-month period, with revised
discs becoming available at the beginning of each year.
9.10
A 12 month lease costs ú90 +VAT. A six month lease costs ú45 +VAT, from
Cambridge Occupational Analysis Ltd.
9.10
Religions of the World has come to our notice in answer to Liz Leydenæs
request for information about religious programs for Acorn machines (9.9
p54). This application is produced by Ultima and is sold through SEMERC.
The application covers aspects of six major religions and is intended as
an introduction to children at Key Stage 2 and 3. It covers the main
beliefs of Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims, Buddhists and Jews,
allowing comparisons across and between religions. The application comes
on a 1.6Mb disc, and youæll need at least 2Mb of memory.
9.10
Religions of the World costs ú24 +VAT +p&p from SEMERC.
9.10
Risc TV from Irlam Instruments is a full motion 24-bit colour desktop
television and teletext system. With Risc TV, you can watch full motion,
full size, true colour television in the desktop, and capture high
quality still images. Auxiliary composite video and S¡VHS inputs are
provided, so that you can connect recorders, camcorders and Canon Ion
cameras. Risc TV uses special hardware to superimpose a video image
directly onto the screen with no processor or bus overhead Ö it means
you can watch TV and still use your computer! An optional teletext
module can be added to provide teletext support. Pages can be selected
and viewed in the desktop, and subsequently saved as sprite or plain
text files. Fastext and index page links are fully supported. Risc TV is
available for A5000, A7000 and RiscPC.
9.10
The Risc TV package, comprising expansion card, applications and manual,
costs ú249 +VAT +p&p. The Teletext decoder module costs ú39 +VAT +p&p.
Through Archive, the card costs ú290 and the decoder module costs ú64.
9.10
SCSI ROM upgrades Ö For those not fortunate enough to have one of
Alsystemsæ Power-tec SCSI cards, Alsystems are producing ROMs suitable
to replace those of other manufacturersæ cards. The first for this
treatment is the Morley cached or uncached SCSI card. Inserting the
Power-tec ROM into your Morley card will not magically transform it into
a fast SCSI 2 card, but it will allow you access to all the software
features of the real thing, including the slick easy-to-use front end,
Énew FileCoreæ awareness, up to eight disc partitions, CDFS and the
soft-loading CD drivers for a good range of CD drive types. This
replacement ROM (+disc +manual) costs ú40 +VAT from Alsystems, or ú46
through Archive.
9.10
Serial NET, from iSV, is a network system for connecting two computers
via their serial ports. Messages and files can easily be transferred,
printers shared, and discs accessed from either machine. Transfer rates
start at 25Kb/s on RISC OS 3.1 machines, faster on RiscPCs and A7000s.
Any two machines can be connected and no special cables are required,
although different wiring diagrams are supplied for connecting RiscPCs
and non-RiscPCs. Serial NET costs ú20 +p&p, or ú20 inclusive through
Archive.
9.10
StrongARM Upgrade Ö The StrongARM is continuing to amaze the engineers
at Acorn. Even the first pre-production silicon is now running Draw at
up to 7 times the speed of an ARM710! This is quite staggering and gives
the RiscPC a huge lead over its PC rivals. The StrongARM upgrade for
RiscPC will cost ú249 +VAT = ú292.57, and it is scheduled to be
available by September. This price includes the new version of RISCáOS
that is needed to run the card.
9.10
If you would like to Ébook a place in the queueæ, ask us to send you an
application form, then send it, with a cheque for ú50 deposit, to Acorn
Direct in Wellingborough. When the cards are available, you will be
invoiced for the remaining ú242.57, and Acorn will send you the card.
Until all priority orders are fulfilled, no cards will be supplied to
dealers. (Donæt worry, NCS gets a payment for each card sold, provided
you nominate us as your Épreferred dealeræ!)
9.10
For potential RiscPCáowners, if you buy a RiscPC before 30th June 1996
(although we think this may be extended until the end of August), Acorn
will make the StrongARM upgrade available to you for just ú99á+VAT! So
if you havenæt yet read the article in last monthæs magazine about how
to save money on buying a RiscPC (ÉDIY RiscPCsæ Ö page 9) we suggest you
do so... quickly! Also, the price of memory is still falling, so the
savings mentioned last month are even greater this month! (Apparently
the price drop is because the anticipated uptake of the Windows 95
Émemory eateræ has not been as big as anticipated Ö has öthe worm
turnedò? Ö and so there is memory around in the market not being used.
Once again, Microsoftæs loss is our gain!!)
9.10
TopModel, Sincroniaæs 3D modelling package, is now available through
Spacetech. TopModel is the first package of a new series of professional
tools for 3D graphics creation on RISC OS platforms. It gives you the
possibility to create your own 3D objects and manipulate them. You can
add textures, material definitions and many different light sources, to
give your scenes the maximum level of reality. Even the most complex
models can be created and manipulated with unrivalled ease and speed,
with objects made up of hundreds of thousands of polygons. Optimized
hand-written ARM code routines have been created to boost performance in
all areas, from screen redraw to the most exotic tool. For the first
time, all operations (from line drawing to complex non-linear extrusion,
from torsion to Bezier volume distortion) are applied in real time.
9.10
Filters are provided for import/export of various industry-standard
formats. TopModel can save your scenes in native ASCII and binary file
formats, as well as drawfiles for easy inclusion in your documents and
as sprite files for various other purposes. For the best output, the
package can produce high quality 24bpp rendered images, with multiple
light sources at sizes up to 2048╫2048 pixels (memory permitting).
9.10
TopModel uses 96 bits colour precision for each pixel, and produces a
24bpp dithered output (typical time for a high quality 800╫600 pixels
24bbp output with several light sources and an exact material matching
on a RiscPC 600, is 5 seconds).
9.10
The system requirements are RISC OS 3.10 or later, 2Mb of RAM minimum
(4Mb recommended), hard disc drive, VGA or multisync monitor
recommended. TopModel costs ú99 +VAT from Spacetech or ú110 through
Archive.
9.10
For further details, see Alex Cardæs comprehensive review on page 23.
9.10
Tiles is a visually attractive and entertaining crossword game that
provides a basis for learning spelling, vocabulary, strategy and
computer literacy. To cater for all levels of ability, 30 boards are
supplied in five languages: English, French, German, Spanish and
Italian. The game is played using the mouse by up to four players. Each
player has his own window from which he drags tiles to the main board
window. If a word is completed, an entry is made in the playeræs score
window. Sets of sprites optimise the screen display for different types
of monitor. User defined patterns and boards may be added. Playersæ
names, some of the rules, and the display setup are user specified and
may be saved. Sprites are generated from the useræs outline fonts or the
system font.
9.10
GCSE Basic French for Beginners (supplementary) Ö this disc contains 223
French Language crosswords of words of six letters or less for students
starting the GCSE basic level French course. Age range: 13 to adult;
French AT3, Reading: Key Stage 1Ö3. This costs ú19.75 (no VAT) from
Brain Games.
9.10
GCSE Basic French for Improvers (supplementary) Ö this disc contains 217
French Language crosswords for students approaching examinations in the
GCSE basic level French course. The disc is a companion volume for the
GCSE French for Beginners supplementary disc and is laid out in a
similar manner. Age range: 14 to adult; French AT3; Reading: Key Stage
2Ö4; ú19.75 (no VAT) Site licences are available from Brain Games.
9.10
TextEase continues to develop at a pace Ö future developments will see
video Replay, sound and animation all incorporated into a TextEase file.
According to Softease, the developers: ÉHaving already broken down the
boundaries between desktop publishing and word processing, we are now
tackling the boundary between multimedia and desktop publishing.
Multimedia document handling will soon be available, and very easy to
use.æ
9.10
The latest version allows text to be rotated, 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 and Talking Textease is ú65 +VAT, or ú55 and ú73
respectively through Archive.
9.10
Vector v1.1 Ö The price of 4Mationæs vector graphics package is now down
to ú59.95 +VAT or ú66 through Archive. 4Mation have said that they are
re-vamping Vector, so weæll bring you details as and when they are
available. However, as Computer Concepts say they are not sure whether
they are going to develop anything further for the Acorn platform, being
fully committed with Corel Xara, there is now room for someone to
overtake Artworks. Could Vector 2 will be the next Artworks?!
9.10
YES audio mixer Ö Yellowstone Educational Solutions (YES) have produced
an audio mixer based on the mixer circuitry of their Mozart sound card.
For those who need to be able to feed the audio output from one or two
CD-ROM drives into their RiscPCæs internal sound system, but who do not
need the 16¡bit sound card functionality offered by the Mozart card,
this is a cheaper alternative to the Eesox audio mixer. The YES audio
mixer is ú29.95+VAT from them, or ú34 through Archive. Note that this
does not come with a CD audio cable, so if you did not get one with the
CD drive, add ú6 to your order.
9.10
Product News
9.10
APEX Broadcast Video Board Ö Acorn videographics hardware specialists,
Millipede, now have the StrongARM processor running on their APEX
broadcast video board. This is an upgrade for the current ARM610 or ARM3
processor daughterboard. APEX is an advanced videographics processor
engine, designed for high quality, high performance real-time video
applications. The StrongARM upgrade should considerably enhance existing
software and open up new opportunities. For instance, there will be a
significant increase in the performance of the Eidos video codec
software running on the board.
9.10
Initial tests using prototype silicon look exciting, with very
significant speed increases for image processing and image manipulation
functions. However, it is too early for Millipede to accurately quantify
the performance gains. ÉWe first need to optimise some of our coding for
StrongARMæ, said Richard Jozefowski. ÉOur custom P3 chip architecture
makes extensive use of DMA, and we need to ensure that we best utilise
the non-write-through data cache, whilst maintaining cache consistency.æ
The APEX firmware is contained in Flash memory, making it quick and easy
to update with StrongARM optimised code.
9.10
StrongARM upgrades for APEX should be available when production silicon
comes on line later this summer and are expected to be priced at about
ú250 +VAT. For more information contact: [e-mail]
9.10
Micropedia 96 Ö The new edition of the Kingfisher Childrenæs Micropedia
will be published in the next month or so by ESM, and will contain a new
level of information for the very young and for special needs users. The
use of shortened, spoken entries and simplified cross-references will
help many more young enquirers to investigate and learn for themselves.
The Micropedia æ96 will also contain the Seelinks database, which will
allow children to sort and classify the entries which they are
interested in, before accessing the whole encyclopedia.
9.10
WinRisc Ö This is one to look out for! According to the press release
from Armed Forces: öWith the obvious exception of the StrongARM, we
believe that WinRisc will be the most important release on the Acorn
platform this year! WinRisc will allow you to run Windows software under
RISC OS! You will be able to access the massive range of specialised and
industry standard software available for Windows while maintaining most
of the consistency and ease of use provided by RISC OS! Gone are menu
bars on top of windows, gone is the awkward program manager. In their
place, are floating RISC OS-style menus, a RISC OS style filer display,
much better multitasking of Windows software, drag and drop file load
and save from Windows software.
9.10
öWinRisc will not be available for purchase for some time yet Ö we have
only just got much of it working, and some parts are still not working.
Even when it is ready, our team of beta testers will require several
weeks to give the software a thorough testing, so donæt hold your
breath! We anticipate a price of around ú25.ò
9.10