Archive Magazine 1996/ARCHIVE_96.iso/text/products/volume_09/issue_12

Text File | 1996-08-10 | 30KB | 535 lines

Products Available
9.12
586 Price Drop Ö The Acorn 586 card has dropped in price to ú299 +VAT
(ú351 through Archive) if you buy it at the same time as a RiscPC, or
ú399 +VAT (ú469 through Archive) if you buy it separately.
9.12
6502Em from Warm Silence, allows you to relive all those classic games Ö
Elite, Exile, Zalaga, The Sentinel, Repton, Monsters, Snapper, MrEE,
Strykers Run, Chuckie Egg, Citadel, Castle Quest, Defender, Starship
Command, Fortress, Hopper, Revs and many more! It runs far more software
than !65Host (a copy of !65Host is required to extract the ROM images
from it). The 6502EM even emulates BBC Master and Master Compact, though
you must source your own copies of the ROM images Ö Warm Silence can
supply programs that save images to disc if run on a Master or Compact.
6502EM costs ú15 inclusive from Warm Silence Software.
9.12
Archive (Internet) Glossary Ö We have a glossary of Internet terms which
is now 9,500+ words long. (This is in addition to our original glossary
which is 11,000+ words!) These two glossaries are available on a disc in
Impression, RTF and pure text format costing ú2 through Archive. This
disc was sold for ú5, as that included free updates as the glossary
expanded. However, it has now stabilised, so we have dropped the price
to ú2 in line with our Utilities Discs.
9.12
We have also put the text version, plus the one diagram, on this monthæs
program disc.
9.12
(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.)
9.12
Artworks Tools Ö A new tool for Artworks was released recently, called
Precision. It gives Artworks users the ability to position graphics
accurately, by specifying the XY position of the graphic to absolute
page co-ordinates or relative to their previous positions. Grouped
objects can be positioned, and more control over scaling is provided.
Also available for Artworks is Arranger. Arranger gives you a tool which
allows you to Émagnetiseæ layers. When a layer is magnetised, objects
created within or outside of that layer are attracted to other objects
within or outside of that layer. Itæs a bit like having an infinitely
variable grid that you can set up for yourself.
9.12
Precision costs ú12 +VAT, Arranger costs ú29 +VAT and, bought together,
they cost ú39 +VAT. These are only available from Computer Concepts.
9.12
Barcodes price change Ö Since our mention of the Barcodes software in
last monthæs magazine, the price has dropped. Barcodes now costs ú65
inclusive from Kang Software (no VAT). A full description of the
software, and sample drawfiles of the output, can be found on the web
at: http://www. argonet.co.uk/location/works/kang.html
9.12
Batch printing Ö If you want to print multiple copies of a document to
an inkjet or similar printer, and want to do it entirely in the
background, there is a Shareware program to do it, written by Mijas
Software. There is a copy on the Archive monthly disc. The registration
fee is ú10 inclusive which they ask you to pay if you use the program
for more than 30 days.
9.12
Big IDE drives Ö Cheap!! Ö I bought ten 1.2 Gb IDE drives from a company
called Merisel (other dealers, please note, if you also use them).
Unfortunately, these drives (1.2Gb Western Digital Caviar drives) do not
work as the master drive on the RiscPC, but only as the slave Ö which is
no good, as Iáwanted to use them to replace the ACB64æs own 540Mb drive.
(They will, however, work as the master on a Yellowstone RapIDE
interface.)
9.12
Merisel refused to take back the drive that I had tested (öItæs now
secondhandò) and wanted to charge a 20% Ére-stocking feeæ for the rest.
There was no way I was going to give them almost ú300 for the privilege
of Ére-stockingæ the drives. If Iæve got to lose that much money, Iæd
rather give it to friendly Acorn people rather than not-so-friendly PC
distributors.
9.12
So, we have a limited number (some were sold via the Internet) of Caviar
1.2Gb drives at ú149 inclusive, or Caviar 1.2Gb drive + RapIDE interface
for ú279.
9.12
BitFolio 7 CD-ROM Ö After our special offer, we have had a lot of very
positive feedback and have managed to sell enough to extend the special
offer: Full price ú95 Ö offer price ú75 through Archive. This collection
of 10,000+ vector graphics images has attracted unsolicited comments
from readers such as: öquite brilliant, knocking spots off other so-
called up-market offeringsò, and öif you havenæt got a CD-ROM drive, it
would be worth buying one just for this collection.ò
9.12
Canon printer prices down again Ö The latest Archive prices for Canon
printers are: BJC70 Ö ú240, BJC210 Ö ú190, BJC4100 Ö ú260 and BJC610 Ö
ú390.
9.12
Citizen mobile printer Ö Citizen, the printer manufacturer, has
announced that its PN60 portable A4 laser quality printer, is now
compatible with the Pocket Book palmtop computer. The two new Pocket
Book connectivity kits from Citizen will allow users to print to the
PN60 directly from their Pocket Books. The printer weighs 500g, and has
dimensions of 25.4 cm ╫ 5.0 cm ╫ 4.7 cm Ö the largest dimension being
the width of a sheet of A4 paper. It can print in black and white, with
a colour option, on a range of different paper types, labels and OHP
slides.
9.12
(If you didnæt already know, the Pocket Book is based on the Psion
Series 3a palmtop computer, and incorporates a word processor,
spreadsheet, database, calculator, clock and alarm, diary, spellchecker
& thesaurus, sound and voice recorder, Plotter which plots mathematical
equations and World which shows international time zones, dialling codes
and maps. Over 18,000 Pocket Books have been sold to education to date.)
9.12
The PN60 costs ú289 +VAT or ú270 inclusive through Archive. The Pocket
Book II (256Kb) costs ú241 through Archive, and the 1Mb version is ú335.
Also, we still have a couple of the discontinued 512Kb models at ú195.
9.12
Creator v2.00 is a complete and major rewrite. It can now read seventeen
image formats (AIM, CadSoft, Clear, Degas, GIF, IFF, IMG, Irlam, JPEG,
MacPaint, MTV, PBMPlus, PCX, Pineapple, QRT, Sprite, TIFF) and write six
formats (Clear, GIF, JPEG, PBMPlus, Sprite, TIFF). All the new sprite
formats are supported. Creator 2.00 consists of nearly 100% carefully
optimized ARM code, is Évery fast, very stable, and very easy to useæ.
Creator is Shareware, so if it serves you well, you are required to
register your copy.
9.12
Creator, from John Kortink, is the first application to use ImageIO, a
major piece of carefully optimized ARM code (400Kb of source and
growing) that provides a robust, easy to use, common interface to image
files. Current versions of ImageIO have been found to be very stable.
Private and commercial interest for ImageIO is welcomed. Creator 2.00 is
available by www from: www.inter.nl.net/users/J.Kortink or by email
from: [e-mail].
9.12
DIY RiscPC Ö We are still selling large numbers of RiscPC 600s along the
lines of the article in 9.9 p9 and the follow-ups in 9.10 p3 and 9.11
p3. The prices of drives and memory are improving all the time (although
not as dramatically as at first), and Acorn have now extended the öú99
StrongARMæ offer to the end of December, so thereæs now no rush to get
your orders in by the end of August.
9.12
One point which, I apologise, has not been made clear (although it was
mentioned in Products Available 9.6) is that the ACB64 which we are
using as the basis for upgrading does not include a backplane as
standard. In other words, if you want to add any expansion cards, you
either have to add ú35 for a two-slot backplane, or ú117 for a second
slice which includes the price of a four-slot backplane. This was taken
into account in the price table in the original article, and we always
try to mention it when anyone rings to discuss buying a computer, but I
regret that we forgot to put it in print until now. Sorry.
9.12
DrawAid is an application, and a suite of procedures, that allows Basic
programmers to produce specialist drawfile-generating programs for their
own needs, with the minimum of work, and with no knowledge of the RISC
OS wimp system. The application is particularly useful for parametric
design, in which a range of geometrically similar objects are required.
Users of Draw, for example, may find it difficult to obtain accurate
drawings where curves are used, or repetitive positioning is required Ö
the drawing of items like gear wheels or instrument dials is extremely
difficult. DrawAid is designed to overcome these limitations and allow
Basic programmers to generate complex and accurate drawfiles directly
from their own programs.
9.12
The software costs ú15 and is available from Carvic Manufacturing.
9.12
EADFS module Ö The Power-tec EADFS (Extended ADFS) module is a system
extension that allows you to use large hard drives on your existing IDE
bus, but allows partitioning as well. The module integrates fully and
transparently with ADFS, and can handle up to 4Gb (512Kb partitions on
pre-RISC OS 3.6 machines, and 1Gb partitions on RISC OS 3.6 machines).
It costs ú39.95 +VAT +p&p from Alsystems or ú46 through Archive.
9.12
Formulix has been updated to v2.10. It incorporates some requested
changes, and now supports horizontal and vertical kerning, as well as
offering greater control over the quality and size of brackets and
braces. There has also been an improvement in the way fonts are handled.
Upgrades are available from Computer Concepts for ú12.77 +VAT.
9.12
Helping Hand Ö Teaching grammar from text books can be dull and
lifeless, so Chalk Soft have produced a series of programs called
ÉHelping Handæ, to try and bring life to the process of learning
grammar.
9.12
Each program is a powerful aid to better written English, with thirty
sessions of short practical activities to give carefully graded and
linked help with typical language problems. Aspects of syntax, chosen by
practising teachers for their importance and frequency of misuse, are
presented in an enjoyable and short weekly session format. This makes
for steadily improving grammar without the need for constant and time-
wasting copy writing. The computer marks, and offers help to correct,
mistakes thus freeing the teacher for other demands!
9.12
Files for each child (from 1 to 24 children) in a class are kept by the
computer, to indicate progress and areas of weakness, and these files
can be viewed on-screen or as a print-out from the disc. The programs
have been designed around Key Stages 2 and 3 of the National Curriculum,
and Scottish and NI equivalents. They lend themselves to servicing the
differing levels of need and understanding found in any class of pupils,
leaving the teacher free to do other things! The software packs are
graded for individual weekly sessions with children from Year 3 to Year
8.
9.12
Helping Hand costs ú25 +VAT for each level, from Chalksoft Ltd.
9.12
HighWay price reduction Ö We first mentioned HighWay in July (9.10 p4).
We now have notice of a price reduction and network details.
9.12
The network version comes in two parts Ö the main ÉEngineæ and the
ÉUseræ part. In a network, the ÉEngineæ part is stored once on the File
Server for the whole network to Éreadæ, and is usually in the Library or
ArthurLib directory. On a Level 4 or similar network, a copy of the
Éuseræ part of HighWay is stored in each useræs root directory. This
enables network users to save their own setup procedures. Normally, the
network manager would set up a basic user set. e.g. !System, !Fonts,
favourite applications and directories etc. This setup can then be
copied to each useræs root directory, where the user would be able to
add individual requirements, etc.
9.12
Another program called !UserCopy is available to HighWay owners at no
extra cost. This enables the network manager to copy a HighWay Éuseræ
setup (or anything else) to many user directories. It can also be set to
ÉWIPEæ if required. (Useful if you want to delete something from
everyoneæs root directory). There is an updated full description of
HighWay on the WWW at: http://www.argonet.co.uk/users/bernard.veasey/
soft.html
9.12
Highway now costs ú15, and includes a site licence for up to ten
computers on one site. Add a further ú5 per additional ten computers for
use on the same site. For order details, see 9.10 p4.
9.12
Key Franτais is a package of datafiles, and photocopiable activity
Sheets, for use with Key Plus on Acorn computers. With the datafiles
available in the Key Franτais package, there are many activities for
students at years 7, 8 and 9 (Key Stage 3) of the National Curriculum
(England and Wales) and equivalent curricula. The eleven activities are
all detailed on activity sheets which can be printed out and photocopied
by purchasing schools. Cross-referencing to all the major language
learning programmes in UK classrooms is provided.
9.12
The units range from ideas which involve creating personal dossiers,
recording data on pets and daily activities, through to recording
favourite films, shopping, holidays, lost property and meals. The French
vocabulary used throughout is supported by pictures where appropriate,
and there are further ideas, including a mapping unit on French cities
and a spreadsheet module. There are over twenty Teacher Information
sheets and Student Activity sheets, all in Draw format which means that
they can be adapted if required. The activities draw out standard IT
activities such as searching, sorting and graphing information. Help is
given on typing accented characters on English language keyboards.
9.12
Key Franτais has been developed for Anglia Multimedia by an experienced
modern languages teacher, drawing on his years of knowledge of the
motivation provided by working with the computer and the need to develop
the use of modern languages in the IT context. The ideas included in the
package extend well beyond those of data handling, as results and
conclusions can be presented by the use of other computer-based tools,
such as a DTP program. To run the datafiles, users need a copy of Key
Plus or an equivalent package which recognises the Key Plus file format
Ö see Product News below for news about Key Plus and Datapower.
9.12
Key Franτais costs ú25 +VAT from Anglia Multimedia, or ú28 through
Archive.
9.12
Larger is a pinboard program with lots of extra features that go beyond
the one supplied with RISCáOS 3. It has a virtual desktop, window map,
enhanced iconisation facilities, multiple hierarchical backdrops, full
filer functionality, configurable menu, hotkeys, window management
functions, and much more. It costs ú10 inclusive from Warm Silence
Software.
9.12
Laserjet 5L price drop Ö With increased quantity, we have managed to get
the price of the Laserjet 5L down to ú450 inclusive.
9.12
Memory prices Ö Following the trend of the PC world generally, we have
been able to drop the prices of SIMMs again. They are now: 4Mb ú40, 8Mb
ú65, 16Mb ú125, 32Mb ú250. We also take old SIMMs in part exchange,
offering: 4Mb ú10, 8Mb ú30, 16Mb ú70.
9.12
Mice and joysticks Ö Stuart Tyrrell Developments have announced the
availability of Solo, a budget joystick interface, to complement their
existing ÉNæ Interface range. Solo offers an inexpensive entry into the
world of Acorn gaming. The interface allows the use of a single standard
joystick with any Acorn RISC OS machine, and is fitted to the parallel
port. The interface is supplied with comprehensive software, which
allows the joystick to emulate keys, the mouse, or to function with any
game which supports the Acorn joystick SWIs. The ÉNæ Interface allows
the use of two Super Nintendo style joypads on Acorn machines. It is
supplied complete with a printer-through connector, and easy-to-use
software.
9.12
PS2Mouse allows the use of any PS/2 type mouse (2áor 3-button) with
Acorn machines, and acts as an interface between them and the standard
Acorn mouse port. PS2Mouse also has support for Étap¡clickingæ on
mousepads such as the ALPS Glidepoint range. Other configurable options
include the ability to swap select and adjust buttons, and three levels
of acceleration.
9.12
Solo costs ú14.95, PS2Mouse costs ú24.95 and ÉNæáInterface costs ú24.95,
all prices including p&p. See Stuart Tyrrell Developmentsæ website for
more details: http://www.busacu.co.uk/stdev.
9.12
PipeDream Ö Colton are no longer supplying PipeDream4 as a product as
such. They will, however, continue to sell PipeDream4 at a special price
as an upgrade to PipeDream3.
9.12
Precise Mousing Surface Ö What? Itæs a fancy name for a mousemat, but
donæt skip straight to the next item. This is something special. If you
donæt believe me, turn to Tony Houghtonæs review on page 21. Itæs a
special mousemat from 3M Ö scientifically designed Ö and they cost ú10
each! Sounds a lot, but Iæve got one at home and one in the office, and
I wouldnæt swap them for anything.
9.12
Pscan provides high-quality reception and transmission of all the
popular colour slow scan television modes used by radio amateurs all
over the world. It also allows reception of weather charts such as those
transmitted by the Bracknell weather centre. A simple one-chip interface
is required which can be easily built by anyone with some experience of
electronics construction. Alternatively, a cheap ready-made interface
may be bought from a number of suppliers. Full interface details are
included on the Pscan disc. As well as the basic send and receive
functions, Pscan includes a large number of text and graphics
manipulation facilities which are not available in similar programs on
other platforms. Pscan makes full use of the graphics capability of the
RiscPC but will not run on earlier Acorn computers. Pscan is shareware
and registration is ú15.
9.12
To obtain a copy, send a formatted 1.6 Mb ADFS disc and SAE to: Paul
Turner G4IJE, 61 Primley Lane, Sheering, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM22
7NH. (01279-734482)
9.12
QuickTile v1.03 from Desktop Projects Ltd, allows you to print posters
from drawfiles and sprites. It works with any RISC OS application and
will automatically generate crop marks on the individual sheets that
make up the whole poster. It needs RISCáOS 3.10 or later, and costs ú29
inclusive from Desktop Projects, or ú27 through Archive.
9.12
Romans is a follow-up to Anglia Multimediaæs Vikings CD-ROM, and
transports students back to the 2nd century AD to take part in a ÉRomanæ
multimedia experience. Arriving at the quayside you enter the Romano-
British town of Sapientum. Using a specially commissioned 3D computer
model based on the latest archaeological evidence, Romans is, according
to Anglia, öone of the most advanced educational products for Key Stage
2 History ever produced.ò
9.12
The pupilsæ task is to gain Roman citizenship by playing one of four
roles within the town. Each role has a route to success, whether it be
collecting objects or making enquiries about Roman life and customs. As
the student seeks citizenship, they meet and can talk with the
townsfolk, bargain with them or seek advice. Each character will provide
vital and accurate information about this period of history. Pictures,
text and other information can all be saved out as they are collected,
providing the perfect opportunity to develop IT capability at the same
time!
9.12
Detailed activity sheets give the teacher a host of other learning
opportunities to build around the computer. Romans is also supported by
Angliaæs on¡line service, with further material for classroom use.
Although students need never know, the town is actually based on the
Roman settlement of Venta Icenorum, Caistor by Norwich. Ventaæs ground
plan was used as the base for a 3D reconstruction of the town, and
latest archaeological evidence used to construct the houses and the
forum, the temple and the farmhouse. Even the video of the Ermine Street
Guard was shot on the site of the original Roman settlement. With the
help of Past Forward in York, and the Norfolk Archaeological Unit, the
details were pieced together, and members of Time Travellers and other
volunteers became the people who inhabit the town.
9.12
Romans costs ú40 +VAT from Anglia Multimedia, or ú45 through Archive.
9.12
Tabby graphics tablet Ö The Acorn Driver for the Tabby graphics tablet,
from R-Comp, has been re-worked and now supports Photodesk. New sales of
the tablet will include the new driver, and existing users can upgrade
for ú5, direct from R¡Comp.
9.12
Teletext+ software Ö Your computer can now remind you when your
favourite TV or radio programme is about to start, thanks to the latest
version of Teletext+ from Octopus Systems. Teletext+ software could
always search TV and radio listings for keywords, but now version 6 can
extract the time and set an audible alarm (with a 5 minute warning). It
also has advanced cacheing algorithms that learn which pages you read,
and fetch them for you every day, so you will rarely have to wait for a
Teletext page, and even sub-pages are cached so you donæt have to wait
half an hour to find the latest Acorn share price!
9.12
It now has advanced keyword searching where matches are displayed in a
separate window which effectively gives a personalised magazine of
interesting news, events and programmes. Pages can be saved as Viewdata,
sprite or text files, either manually or under the control of a script
file, and there is an option to allow all sub-pages to be saved in a
single text file. Teletext+ will work with Teletext adaptors and cards
from Morley, Computer Concepts, Ground Control, Design IT, Irlam,
Solidisk and Octopus Systems. It will be particularly attractive to
Morley users as the Morley software doesnæt work in the desktop. It can
also log share prices in a CSV file, or in a special format for the
Apricote Studiosæ Shares program, and it provides a set of standard SWI
calls for use by other programs. (See 9.7 p57 for a review.)
9.12
Teletext+ is available for ú39 + VAT from Octopus, or ú45 through
Archive.
9.12
ToolKit 1 for Pocket Book II Ö ToolKit 1, from Purple Software, is an
application pack consisting of four different applications on a single
floppy disc or SSD. The four applications are: Convert, File Manager,
PicView and ScnPrint.
9.12
The first program can Convert between foreign currencies and the home
currency; between units of length, area, volume, liquid and weight;
between units of speed, pressure, temperature and energy; between
British, European and American clothes sizes. PicView allows users to
view pictures stored in PIC, PCX, BMP and GIF file formats. They can be
converted from one to another, and printed using the built-in graphics
printing sub-system. ScnPrint prints out any screen the computer can
display; itæs compatible with Epson, IBM Proprinter, HP Laserjet and
PostScript compatible printers. File Manager is a graphical file
management system that makes organising files and discs easy. Amongst
its features are: copy, name, format and back up for an entire SSD;
copy, delete, rename and move directories and files; change file
attributes, set file dates and locate files by name, size, date,
attributes or contents; tag files individually or by matching names,
dates or attributes across directories.
9.12
For an SSD, ToolKit 1 costs ú42.51 +p&p +VAT, or ú48 through Archive.
For a disc it costs ú34 +p&p +VAT, or ú38 through Archive.
9.12
TurboDrivers Ö Computer Concepts have released a new version of their
TurboDrivers, which support Canon bubblejet printers, the BJC-210 and
BJC-4100, and recent versions of !Printers.
9.12
The BJC-210 offers mono printing quality of 720 (with smoothing) ╫ 360
dpi, and an optional colour cartridge, so the printer can be used for
occasional colour printing. The BJC¡4100 is suitable for both high
colour quality and high speed mono printing. The colour is produced
using a four colour ink tank, and offers true 720 dpi colour as well as
720 (with smoothing) ╫ 360 dpi in mono. The new version of TurboDrivers
is 4.05 and now requires !Printers 1.45 or later.
9.12
The TurboDrivers software costs ú49 +VAT from CC or ú53 through Archive.
Upgrades from TurboDrivers 4.04 is free from CC and costs ú10 +VAT from
earlier versions, also from CC.
9.12
VRview Ö  Experience photorealistic Virtual Reality on your RISC OS
machines as never before! Explore famous buildings, walk in the country,
even stroll around the Starship Enterprise. Examine the objects you find
from all angles. VRview, from Warm Silence, is a Quicktime VR renderer.
Currently, it is an Éintroductoryæ version only (though it still looks
very impressive), hence an introductory price, and the lack of printed
instructions. The final version is planned in time for the October show,
with an improved interface, better support for older machines, lower
memory usage, and improved quality whilst zoomed.
9.12
VRview is like Replay; in itself it is fairly small, but it uses big
datafiles. It comes on floppy,  but is frequently found on CD-ROM
(VRview reads the CD), as well as being available on some Web sites.
Atáthe moment, Warm Silence donæt supply tools to generate Quicktime VR
scenes, but they may think of this later. Currently, it is RiscPC only,
but coming to older machines soon.
9.12
The introductory version of VRview costs ú20 inclusive from Warm
Silence.áuá
9.12
Product News
9.12
Alternative Publishing tell us that things are going well with their
vector graphics converters. According to Majid Anwar from AP, öI can
safely say that the WMF-loader is complete, and is very comprehensive
(there are very few files that it cannot convert), fast and accurate. It
provides simple drag-and-drop of WMFs into applications that accept
drawfiles Ö in many cases, we have found it to be more reliable than
many native Windows applicationsæ own loaders!ò
9.12
Anglia Multimedia have been well-known for their large range of Key Plus
datafiles, but Iotaæs Datapower package has now been upgraded to
ensureáthat it can read more of the Key Plus file structure,
particularly in respect of graphics within files. Over 50 different
datafiles, from Minibeasts to the Periodic Table, Weather Statistics to
the Birds of Britain and Ireland, can be bought from Anglia Multimedia,
and many more are being distributed from Angliaæs web site.
9.12
As many of Angliaæs datafiles include pictures in Draw or sprite format,
this development to Datapower greatly enhances the value of the
datafiles to Datapower users. The structure adopted includes matching
Key Plusæs facility to link the same graphic to a number of records, a
technique developed by Anglia to make best use of floppy disc space.
9.12
In addition to the developments made to Datapower itself, Iota and
Anglia are working together to ensure that files loaded into Datapower
will display appropriately. Anglia will gradually be upgrading the
datafiles so that they include a layout module which Datapower will
automatically recognise. According to Peter Stibbons, Director of
Development at Anglia Multimedia, öOur commitment to Key Plus continues,
as is seen from the latest upgrade of the Windows version, but this
cooperation with Iota will enable us to supply the datafiles themselves
to a wider audience. The new datafiles which we will be distributing
free on our web sites will, of course, be a major benefit to schools and
usable on many more sites.ò
9.12
Learning Through Computing Ö Following the success of the Doorway
Classroom Pack, which is already being used on Acorn Computers in
Primary Schools throughout Fife and Borders Region, Learning Through
Computing is pleased to announce its intention to release a Switch
Access Version of the Doorway Classroom Pack to be available in
September 1996.
9.12
The Doorway Classroom Pack (see 9.8. p4) includes ten programs covering
Time and Mathematics at Key Stage Levels 1 and 2 (Scottish 5Ö14 Levels A
to C), as well as a couple of Early Literacy programs. More information
about the Doorway Classroom Pack can be found in Learning Through
Computingæs new free catalogue.
9.12
The Switch Access Version of the Doorway Classroom Pack should enable
anyone using switches with their Acorn RISC OS computer to access these
new educational programs. Further information can be obtained from
Learning Through Computing.
9.12
TopModel is being developed at-a-pace. Gemini, the new graphic engine,
is now ready and is available as a relocatable module to all developers
interested in using it in their own applications. The module is fully
StrongARM-compatible. Its performance is enhanced over the standard
TopModel engine and the rendering process is 2 to 5 times faster. Many
new features have been added (like the awaited 16 and 32 bpp screen mode
support). A new version, to be released very soon, will support the
Hydra multi-processor card. Sincronia has licensed Gemini to Clares, for
inclusion in the next releases of Composition, and to Oregan
Developments for inclusion in CineWorks. A new VRML (and TopModel 3D
file) browser, based on the new Gemini engine, has been developed and
will be available shortly at a reasonable price.
9.12
Work is in progress for the next release of TopModel, a completely
rewritten program offering full animation capability, advanced rendering
algorithms, complex construction and editing tools, multi-processor
support and much more. An upgrade scheme will be offered to all TopModel
users who will be able to to buy the new release simply for the
difference in price. Last but not least, a CD-ROM with over 600Mb of
TopModel objects, textures and utilities will be released late summer.
For further information, contact Rachelle Smith at Spacetech.áuá
9.12
Review software received...
9.12
We have received review copies of the following: ÅDrawAid (u), ÅHelping
Hand (e), ÅKey Franτais (e), ÅQuickTile (e), ÅVRview (u). (e=Education,
u=Utility)