Archive Magazine CD 1995/Archive Magazine CD 1995.iso/text/magazine/volume_8

Text File | 1995-08-02 | 3MB | 68,262 lines

Making Archive (and NCS) better
8.1
We have lots of good articles again. Many thanks to all our keen
contributors. Also, the response to the questionnaire has been wonderful
again − lots of good ideas for making Archive (and NCS) better. I have
only managed to work my way through the first few hundred responses but,
from them, I have written up five pages of ideas, comments, questions,
challenges, etc (see page 51). We have even implemented some of the
suggestions in this issue of Archive!
8.1
Re-vamped Price List
8.1
We have also revamped the Price List which has just grown and grown,
over the years. We hope you find it easier now to find the items you
need. If you can think of ways of making that better, please let us
know.
8.1
Archive BBS on line
8.1
Thanks to some hard work by Andrew Garrard during his summer vacation,
the Archive BBS is back on line. For more details, see the article on
page 24. Why not give the BBS a ring on 0603-766585?
8.1
Archive/NCS Open Day postponed
8.1
Unfortunately, we found that the date of our Open Day (12th November)
clashed with three other events around the country. This meant that
about half the exhibitors that came to our last Open Day would not be
able to come. So we decided to postpone it and try to find a better date
in the new year.
8.1
Risc PC supplies?
8.1
How are the supplies of Risc PCs going? Not too well, I’m afraid. We
still haven’t supplied all the ACB45s that were ordered in the first
month after launch. Come on, Acorn − this is getting silly!!! We have
ACB25s in stock and can probably get ACB15s but the top end machines are
like the proverbial hen’s teeth.
8.1
What about the PC cards?
8.1
We are waiting with eager anticipation to see whether the latest
iteration of the ASIC chip for the PC second processor card is going to
work properly. If it does, there will be some to sell at Acorn World 94
but if not, there will be some very disgruntled Risc PC owners.
8.1
Cold Turkey
8.1
I’ve done it! I’ve gone cold turkey! I haven’t time to report on my
findings but will do so next month. Done what? Oh, sorry, changed to
Publisher − This is the first issue of Archive to be produced on
Publisher.
8.1
More and more people were sending me Style and Publisher files and I was
getting fed up loading Publisher, scraping out the text, saving it and
loading it back into Impression 2.19. I knew that once I made the move
there was no going back because of the lack of backwards file
compatibility. The difference in key short-cuts − which are so important
to someone spending all day, every day, using a package − is driving me
slightly bonkers. If I hit <ctrl-A> one more time and have to re-paste
all the text in a story, I’ll scream!
8.1
And finally...
8.1
As most of you will have gathered by now, I really enjoy producing
Archive month by month. The feedback we get from yourselves is so
satisfying. OK, the questionnaires contained some brickbats. There were
bits of Archive that you would rather be without but when you get more
than a few comments like, “It’s the best of all the Acorn magazines. I
pounce on it and devour it as soon as it drops through the door.” I
begin to think that maybe we’ve got some things right!
8.1
Happy reading!
8.1
Products Available
8.1
•  200Mb Syquest removables − Syquest have released a new 200Mb 5¼“
removable hard disc. The new drive can read and write the old 44Mb and
88Mb format cartridges as well as its own 200Mb format, and offers a
speed and size advantage over the older drive types while maintaining
backward compatibility. The drive comes with one free cartridge and, as
with all removable drives, it has an effectively infinite storage
capacity by simply replacing the cartridge. The external SCSI version
which can be used on any Acorn machine with a SCSI interface costs £570
through Archive, the internal version (which is only really of interest
to Risc PC owners) is £490. Each comes with one cartridge and extra
cartridges cost £90 through Archive.
8.1
•  Acorn Enthusiasts’ Scheme − We stated in Archive last month that
Acorn were going to allow “Enthusiasts”, who are not actually ordering a
Risc PC to register as such. However, they have decided that this scheme
will be launched properly at Acorn World 94.
8.1
• Alpha Tracks − Silicon Vision have released a new Electronics Teaching
Course based on the ArcPCB design software, combined with the Unilab/
Testbed Alpha System modules. Designed by teachers, the system allows
students to explore electronics prototyping and computer aided design of
the PCB on any RISC OS machine. The design can be output to Artwork for
PCB production or directly onto copper clad boards with a plotter using
spirit-based pens for direct etching in Ferric Chloride solution. The
course has been designed for use with students or teacher training from
Key Stage 3 (age 13+), and includes notes and assignment sheets intended
to minimise teacher participation. The price is £75 +VAT from Silicon
Vision.
8.1
•  Archiboard − Supreme Software have officially launched Archiboard, a
‘network Email and conferencing system’. The system has been developed
over the last four years and is aimed at educational users. By means of
client software (provided), users can log on to the central server, and
there leave mail messages for each other, contribute to conferences and
use the server as a means of transferring files. The system is quick to
set up in its default state, and is highly configurable by means of text
files and a script language − plug-in modules can be used to add to
functionality. Working across Ethernet and Econet (without the need of a
file server), Archiboard also provides for connection to FidoNet™ and
Internet to extend Email facilities world wide. The Network version of
Archiboard is available from Supreme Software fo £89 (£79 to educational
establishments) + £2 U.K. postage. Supreme Software Ltd. can be
contacted at [phone].
8.1
•  ArcPCB range expands − Silicon Vision have expanded their range of
electronic design automation tools. ArcPCB version 1.9, for digital PCB
layout, is now priced at £99.95. ArcPCB professional version 3.3 at £195
is aimed at both analogue and video PCB layout. ArcPCB Schematics
version 5.2, at £275, is for combined Schematic and PCB layout.
PowerRouter v1.6 at £59.95 provides full 100% rip-up retry routing.
GerberPLOT v2.1 for Photoplotting and ExcellonDRILL v2.1 for NC
drilling, both at £39.95, are also available from Silicon Vision. All
these prices exclude VAT.
8.1
•  “Autumn windfall on A3020s” − Acorn are doing a special promotion on
A3020s during September and October. For every A3020 that schools buy
from Authorised Education Dealers, Acorn will give the school (or
college) a £50 cash-back. Buy the computer(s), fill in the form(s), send
them to Acorn before 30th November and, within 28 days, Acorn will send
you your £50 cash-back(s).
8.1
•  CD-Net − Cumana have taken over the CD-Net software from PEP
Associates, reviewed in the June issue of Archive. The system provides
fast access to a number of CDs across an AUN or SJ Nexus network, using
a two-stage cache (utilising both RAM and hard disc) to allow multiple
users access to a number of CD-ROMs, often faster than if the drive were
local to the machine. CD-Net is now priced at £150 +VAT & delivery from
Cumana.
8.1
•  CD-ROM networking − To complement their CD-Net software, Cumana have
launched a tower of six Panasonic SCSI CD-drives. Multi-session, double
speed and PhotoCD compatible, the tower is priced at £1499 +VAT. Cumana
feels that single drive units with automatic disc changing are not
suitable for large network use where several users may wish to access
different CD-ROMs, and this tower is their solution.
8.1
•  CD-ROMs − From our survey of “who is selling what for RISC OS
computers?”, the following CD-ROM titles have come to light: “Art in the
National Curriculum (KS 1 & 2)” (AVP) − resources related to topics and
artists in the N.C., aimed to contain a number of images not readily
available in the home or classroom environment. “The Horizon Report”
(Hampshire Microtechnology Centre) − resources from the combined efforts
of over forty Hampshire schools and colleges investigating the uses of
multimedia for sharing and presenting information, covering topics such
as ‘IT in the high street’, ‘Rainforests’ and ‘Hitler’. With the
“Karaoke Macbeth” (Animated Pixels Publishing Ltd − available from
Cumana) you can choose your favourite part or parts from the Scottish
play and read them yourself or with your friends, with the other parts
read for you; other plays will follow. “Kingfisher Children’s
Micropedia” (ESM) − reference resource for Primary children, containing
1,300 entries accessed alphabetically or by topic, and the package comes
with curriculum activity ideas. “Land and Air: Environmental Series”
(Interactive Learning Productions and Academy Television) − an analysis
of environmental issues using data from governmental sources.
“Picturebase − Victorian Britain” (AVP) − materials relating to
Victorian times and their relation to the present day. “Semerc Treasure
Chest” (NW Semerc) − huge library of resources for key stages 1, 2 and
3. “Oxford Reading Tree” and “Sherston Naughty Stories” (Sherston) −
both popular RISC OS talking books are available on CD-ROM. “Woodland
Birds” (APA Multimedia Ltd) is a subset of the Woodland CD, and contains
details of approx. 50 birds and their calls.
8.1
•  Colour printing bonanza − For those who want high quality colour
printing, there are two new ink jet printers on the market. Integrex,
who have provided colour printers to the Acorn market for years, have
released the Colourjet 600, capable of 300×600dpi and of emulating the
HP Deskjet 500C. The printer comes with suitable RISC OS 3.1 printer
drivers and costs £239 +VAT from Integrex. The second new printer is an
offering by Epson − the new Stylus Color (sic). This printer is capable
of 720×720dpi on suitable coated paper, offering a substantially
improved picture when compared to most ink-jet printers which have only
half the resolution. It can also produce 360dpi on normal paper.
Unfortunately, at the time of writing there is no RISC OS printer driver
for it which can produce more than 360dpi, although one is being worked
on. The Stylus Color has an r.r.p. of £639 +VAT and is available through
Archive for £590 inclusive.
8.1
•  DiskCat update − Oregan Developments have released a new version of
their automated disc cataloguing system. The new version has many
enhanced features and is compatible with the Risc PC. The package is now
£19.95 inc VAT from Oregan. Existing users can upgrade for £5 with the
return of their original discs to Oregan.
8.1
•  Duplex − Mijas Software have produced a shareware application
designed to enable full duplex printing of a wide range of DTP documents
on a Hewlett Packard (or equivalent PCL emulation) Laserjet printer that
has a full duplex option. The program is on the monthly program disc but
for a registered copy plus manual, send £10 (cheque or PO) to Mijas
Software.
8.1
•  Earth Warp − This is a program from Longman Logotron based on the
BBC’s Look and Read, Earth Warp series for 7-9 year olds. It costs £24
(+VAT +p&p) from Longman Logotron or £27 through Archive.
8.1
•  EPROM programming and emulation − Octopus Systems of Ipswich have
launched new control software to enable the Dataman Softy S3 and S4
EPROM programmers to be controlled from the RISC OS desktop via the
serial port. Files can be programmed into an EPROM or the system can be
used as an emulator with a flying header plugged into an EPROM socket.
This aids software development as it enables new software to be
downloaded and used immediately, without programming a new EPROM every
time. The control software and lead costs £39 +VAT from Octopus Systems
who also offer a fast EPROM programming service from Acorn format discs.
8.1
•  Game On! − The ARM Club have released a new application for the Risc
PC to help all those users whose games do not work on the new machine.
Game On! allows games such as Chuck Rock, Saloon Cars Deluxe, Chocks
Away, Gods, Lemmings and SWIV to work on the new machine, together with
applications such as FasterPC, Tracker, Coconizer and Digital Symphony.
A database is included showing which products have been tested for
compatibility with and without Game On! The price is just £10 fully
inclusive from The ARM Club.
8.1
•  Idek Iiyama have a new 21“ monitor which will be in full production
by the end of September. The MT-9121 uses a Diatron tube (Trinitron
look-alike) with a 0.30mm dot pitch and handles line rates of between
23.5 and 92kHz, with frame rates between 50 and 160Hz. The monitor can
support a 200MHz dot clock, allowing displays of up to 1600×1200 at 72Hz
or 1280×1024 at 80Hz with better convergence, distortion and contrast
than the other Idek Iiyama 21” monitors. The controls are available from
an on-screen menu using a remote control! The idea is that you sit back
in your usual operator position when making adjustments rather than
being forced to be within arm’s reach of the front of the monitor. The
MT-9121 has the usual range of controls, and also features auto power
down and a motorised tilt-and-turn stand. It is priced at £1649 +VAT
from Idek or £1884 through Archive.
8.1
• Idek Vision Master17 − We have been able to improve the price of the
Idek Iiyama 17“ monitor. It is now available through Archive at £694 inc
VAT and carriage or £400 extra if bought on the Acorn Enthusiasts’
Scheme with a Risc PC.
8.1
•  Letraset fonts − The Datafile have announced a reduction in the price
of their packs of Letraset and URW fonts. Their Pick ‘n’ Mix service now
charges £5 for the first weight and all others £3 each plus £1.50 p&p
inc VAT, with a minimum order of £20. This offer does not apply to their
ITC fonts (which are still £7.50 for the first weight and £5 for others
+VAT). The Datafile aim to release a new font pack each month now that
they have access to more fonts from other companies.
8.1
•  Longman Logotron CD-ROMs − Longman Logotron are now distributors of
software by the American multimedia company 7th Level and sole
distributors of the UK-based Software Toolworks. New packages include
Photobase Decades, which contains around 2,500 images per CD-ROM, each
illustrating historical events and everyday life of one decade from 1920
to 1960; the discs can be bought separately or as a set in Acorn and PC
formats. The Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia is now available on a
single CD-ROM capturing all 21 volumes, and containing 33,000 articles.
The Multimedia World Atlas, designed for both home and school, features
350 maps and 1000 high resolution colour photographs, including video
and audio clips for selected countries and 300 topics of information for
every country. Prehistoria spans 500 million years of dinosaurs and
other prehistoric animals. Finally, TuneLand is an ‘interactive musical
cartoon’ for children of 3 years and up, enabling the children to direct
the action in eight screens and with 60 animated cartoon characters and
objects; the CD-ROM can also be used as a normal audio CD, with 43 well-
known nursery rhymes and tunes. Educational users ordering from
Longman’s catalogue before Christmas are offered a free CD-ROM worth
£49.
8.1
•  Look! Hear! − Sherston Software have recently announced their first
series of talking topics aimed at infants. The series uses digitised
human speech and animations to bring the information to life, and the
first volume covers Land Transport, Dinosaurs, The Seaside, Pets, Homes
and The Body. Each pack includes two discs, a guide for parent or
teachers and worksheets for use at home and at school. Each pack is
£11.95 +VAT from Sherston Software, or all of Volume One (six packs) may
be purchased at £59.75 +VAT. The six pack is available through Archive
for £65.
8.1
• Morph − A new morphing packing is now available for Acorn machines.
Mycroft Software have released Morph which can work in single or multi-
tasking mode, handles from 16 greys up to 24-bit colour images, supports
OLE, allows colour and movement control during morphing, has manual or
automatic mesh creation and allows output of single frames or groups of
frames. Morph costs £15 all-inclusive from Mycroft Software.
8.1
•  OakPCB II − Oak Solutions have updated their design processor
package. New features include improvement of the user interface, options
to align tracks at 45 degree intervals, and improved facilities for
attaching tracks to pads. PCBDrill, a utility which allows automatic
creation of circuit boards on Roland CAMM2 and CAMM3 and on Boxford
milling machines, is included. The user interface is still based on Draw
for ease of use. The package can handle boards of up to four layers, and
comes with extendible libraries for PCB and schematic work. OakPCB II
costs £70 +VAT from Oak Solutions (or £76 inc VAT through Archive), and
upgrades cost £35 +VAT inc p&p from Oak Solutions only.
8.1
•  Paper Saver − is a new product from PTW Software for network use. The
package works with any network shared printer driver, allocating page
quotas to individuals, groups or classes and limiting the amount of
printing which they can do. Transparent in operation, the software will
help reduce the problem of individuals printing unauthorised output
which may make running costs for the printer excessive. The package
costs £17.95 inclusive from PTW Software.
8.1
•  Pocket Book II − If the Pocket Book was a cut-down Psion Series 3,
the Pocket Book II is a Psion 3a plus some!!! The details are on page 11
but basically, there are two versions: 256Kb for £269.95 and 512Kb for
£329.95 inc VAT. (£270 and £330 through Archive including carriage!)
8.1
•  Product UNavailable − Basic WIMP Programming by Dabs Press which had
such a good review last month is sadly now out of print! Has anyone got
a copy they DON’T want that they would be prepared to send us for the
charity sales? (You could put it in the Small Ads if you can’t afford to
give it away − the second hand value has probably risen!)
8.1
•  Professional colour scanning − Computer Concepts have a new
‘Professional Colour Scanner Pack’ consisting of a Canon colour flatbed
scanner with drivers and PhotoDesk by Spacetech, which CC considers to
be the application best matched to the scanner. The scanner itself, the
IX-4015, is an A4 24-bit device capable of 800dpi, or 1200dpi in
monochrome, and is noted by CC as being particularly fast, and can be
connected to all fully Acorn compatible SCSI cards. The drivers are
specially customised for it and include full Twain support. The package,
including SCSI cable, is available from Computer Concepts for £749 + £10
p&p + VAT.
8.1
•  Risc Developments Ltd − The publisher of Risc User, Acorn Action and
Beebug magazine (which ceased publication in April this year) and
developers of Acorn hardware and software, ceased trading on 8th August
1994 and went into voluntary liquidation. The reason for the liquidation
was stated to be “losses associated with the production of our Beebug
magazine”. Adrian Calcraft, director of Risc Developments said, “We are
very sorry to have to take this action which has been brought about by
the high costs of finishing the Beebug magazine.”
8.1
The Acorn dealership company, Beebug Ltd, under its directors Sheridan
Williams and Adrian Calcraft is continuing to trade. Adrian Calcraft
added, “Beebug Ltd are not greatly affected by the closure and will take
over the products from Risc Developments, including the Risc User
magazine. Customers will be supplied and supported as previously” Risc
Developments’ press release also stated that, “Beebug will be at the
Acorn World exhibition in force and will be demonstrating some new
products and enhancements to existing software.”
8.1
We have not yet been able to find out whether Acorn Action is to
continue but Beebug said they were going to honour the £100,000+ worth
of pre-paid Risc User subscriptions, so existing Risc User subscribers
should not lose out.
8.1
•  Sibelius 6 and 7 − Sibelius Software now have site licence prices
available. The basic single-user prices are Sibelius 6 at £159 +VAT
(£175 through Archive), Sibelius 7 (for amateurs, schools, etc) £499
+VAT (£545 through Archive), and Sibelius 7 (for professional users)
£795 +VAT (£865 through Archive). If you need a site licence, there is
one for Sibelius 6 at £636 +VAT (£691 through Archive) with a special
price for primary schools of £318 +VAT (£345 through Archive). There is
also a site licence on Sibelius 6 which includes a single copy of
Sibelius 7 (good thinking!!). This costs £999 +VAT or £1085 through
Archive.
8.1
•  Tabby graphics tablet − The Tabby graphics tablet (previously only
available on PC and Atari machines) has now been made available for RISC
OS 3 Acorn machines, and plugs into the serial port. The price is £68.08
+VAT +delivery from First Computer Centre, with special prices available
to Schools and Colleges.
8.1
•  Teletext adapters − Octopus Systems, the new Acorn dealer in Ipswich,
is selling Ground Control adapters with enhanced control software. These
external adapters can be used with any Acorn desktop computer including
the A3010, A3020 and A4000, but not the A4. The new software supports
page cacheing and automatic keyword searching of pages, as they are
received. Only a few of these adapters are available, and the adapter
with software costs £130 +VAT from Octopus Systems.
8.1
•  The Times Table − Hazelnut Specialist Educational Software have
produced some multimedia software aimed at providing a fun way to learn
your tables − from ×2 to ×12. Six discs and an explanatory leaflet will
cost you £30 + £2.50 p&p (no VAT) from Hazelnut Software.
8.1
•  Trellis − a new adventure interpreter from Soft Rock Software, using
the TScript adventure description language designed for text-based
adventures and intended to provide an easy way for people to write their
own adventure games. Trellis costs £7.99 inclusive from Soft Rock
Software.
8.1
•  Windows 3.1 − If you need Windows 3.1, we can supply it for £110 inc
VAT or, if you don’t mind an OEM version, we have one for £70.
8.1
Review software received...
8.1
We have received review copies of the following: •Beethoven Browser
Egmont (e), •ImageFS (u), •LjDuplex (u), •Landmarks Britain since the
’30s (e), •Lots More Fun & Games (age 5-9) (e), •Morph (u), •MouseTrap
(u), •Nstore v4.0 (e), •The Times Tables (e).
8.1
e=Education, b=Business, bk=Book, g=Game, h=Hardware, l=Language,
u=Utility, a=Art.  A
8.1
Paul Beverley
8.1
Fact-File
8.1
(The numbers in italic are fax numbers)
8.1
4Mation    14 Castle Park Road, Whiddon Valley, Barnstaple, Devon, EX32
8PA.
8.1
  (0271-25353) (0271-22974)
8.1
Abacus Training    29 Okus Grove, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wilts, SN2
6QA.
8.1
Academy Television   104 Kirkstall Road, Leeds, LS3 1JS. (0532-461528)
(0532-429522)
8.1
Acorn Computers Ltd    Acorn House, Vision Park, Histon, Cambridge, CB4
4AE. (0223-254254) (0223-254262)
8.1
APA Multimedia   Unit 8, Henley Business Park, Trident Close, Medway
City Estate, Strood, Rochester, Kent, ME2 4ER. (0634-295222) (0634-
710193)
8.1
APDL    39 Knighton Park Road, Sydenham, London, SE26 5RN.
8.1
Apricote Studios (p19)   2 Purls Bridge Farm, Manea, Cambridgeshire,
PE15 0ND. (0354-680432)
8.1
AVP   School Hill Centre, Chepstow, Gwent, NP6 5PH. (02912-5439)
8.1
Colton Software (p20)   2 Signet Court, Swanns Road, Cambridge, CB5 8LA.
(0223-311881)
8.1
  (0223-312010)
8.1
Computer Concepts (pp14/23)   Gaddesden Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts,
HP2 6EX. (0442-63933)
8.1
  (0442-231632)
8.1
Cumana Ltd   Pines Trading Estate, Broad Street, Guilford, GU3 3BH.
(0483-503121) (0483-503326)
8.1
Datafile   71 Anson Road, Locking, Weston-super-Mare, Avon, BS24 7DQ.
8.1
  (0934-823005)
8.1
Design IT    15 Woodlands Road, Wombourne, South Staffs, WV5 0JZ. (0902-
894775) (0902-894775)
8.1
ESM   Duke Street, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, PE13 2AE. (0945-63441)
8.1
First Computer Centre   Unit 3 Armley Park Court, Stanningley Road,
Leeds, LS12 2AE.
8.1
  (0532-319444) (0532-319191)
8.1
GamesWare   Unit 26, The Bartletts, Hamble, Hants., SO35 5RP.
(0703−456523)
8.1
  (or 0243-531194) (0703−456523)
8.1
Hampshire Microtechnology Centre,   Connaught Lane, Paulsgrove,
Portsmouth, Hants, PO6 4SJ.
8.1
  (0705-378266) (0705-379443)
8.1
Hazelnut Software   197 Blackshots Lane, Grays, Essex, RM16 2LL. (0375-
375514)
8.1
Hodge Electronic Services    16 Mold Road, Mynydd Isa, Clwyd, CH7 6TD.
(0244-550803)
8.1
Integrex Systems Ltd   Church Gresley, Swadlincote, Derbyshire, DE11
9PT. (0283-550880)
8.1
  (0283-552028)
8.1
Kudlian Soft (’til 8.12)  8 Barrow Road, Kenilworth, Warwickshire,
CV8 1EH. (0926-851147)
8.1
Longman Logotron   124 Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge
CB4 4ZS.
8.1
  (0223-425558) (0223-425349)
8.1
Mijas Software (p8)   Winchester Road, Micheldever, Winchester, SO21
3DJ. (0962-774352)
8.1
Mycroft Software   53 Cottonmill Lane, St Albans, AL1 2ER.
8.1
Northwest SEMERC   Fitton Hill CDC, Rosary Road, Oldham, OL8 2QE. (061-
627-4469)
8.1
Oak Solutions (p10)   Dial House, 12 Chapel Street, Halton, Leeds, LS15
7RN (0532-326992) (0532-326993)
8.1
Octopus Systems   9 Randwell Close, Ipswich, IP4 5ES. (0473-728943)
(0473-270643)
8.1
Oregan Developments   36 Grosvenor Avenue, Streetly, Sutton Coldfield,
B74 3PE.
8.1
PTW Software   72 Frosthole Crescent, Fareham, Hampshire, PO15 6BG.
(0329-281930)
8.1
Quantum Software (p13)  35 Pinewood Park, Deans, Livingston, EH54 8NN.
(0506-411162 after 6)
8.1
S&S Solutions   8 Anchor Close, Hathern, Leicestershire, LE12 5HP.
(0509-842670)
8.1
  (0509-842670)
8.1
Sherston Software   Angel House, Sherston, Malmesbury, Wilts. SN16 0LH.
(0666-840433) (0666-840048)
8.1
Sibelius Software   4 Bailey Mews, Auckland Road, Cambridge, CB5 8DR.
(0223-302765)
8.1
  (0223-351947)
8.1
Silicon Vision Ltd   Signal House, Lyon Road, Harrow, Middlesex, HA1
2AG. (081-422-3556) (081-427-5169)
8.1
Software 42   109 Ferry Road, Hullbridge, Essex, SS5 6EL.
8.1
Soft Rock Software   FREEPOST (BS7978), Westbury-on-Trim, Bristol, BS10
7BR.
8.1
Supreme Software Ltd.   21 Courtenay Close, Chapel Break, Bowthorpe,
Norwich, NR5 9LB.
8.1
The ARM Club   Freepost ND6573, London, N12 0BR. (0171-624-9918) (0181-
446-3020)
8.1
W. C. Smith & Associates (p22)  40 Royal Oak, Alnwick, Northumberland,
NE66 2DA., (0665-510682)
8.1
  (0665-510692)
8.1
Archive Monthly Program Disc Contents
8.1
•  Program from Paul Hobbs’ article on advanced Basic programming − page
21.
8.1
•  Programs from James Riden’s article on assembly language programming
− page 35.
8.1
•  Programs from Cain Hunt’s article on programming for DTP applications
− page 29.
8.1
•  Factfile − latest version of the full list of Acorn-related companies
on the Archive database.
8.1
•  Programs from Matthew Hunter’s article on graphics − page 75.
8.1
•  Hard drive speed test programs from Dave Holden’s article on page 63.
8.1
•  Capslock disabling module − see H & T page 15.
8.1
•  IDE drive power-down utility − see H & T page 15.
8.1
•  LjDuplex − full duplex printing on an HP Laserjet printer − shareware
from Mijas Software − see page 77.
8.1
•  Files from Gerald Fitton’s PipeLineZ article − page 69.
8.1
•  Makemodes utility for Risc PC from Acorn − see Andrew Garrard’s
article on page 41.
8.1
•  Files from Paul Hooper’s Multimedia article − page 73.
8.1
•  Risc PC compatibility list from Keith Hodge − page 39.
8.1
•  Risc PC keys − If you don’t like having a PC compatible keyboard on
your Risc PC, Nick Craig-Wood’s patch will restore your sanity.
8.1
New Archive Special Offers
8.1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8.1
Archive Back Issue Sets
8.1
The first special offer is on back issues of Archive. There is a huge
amount of information in these magazines and so, if you have only
recently joined, you could be missing out. We need space urgently in our
warehouse facility (for a reason which I hope to be able to announce
next month) and we want our magazine stocks depleted rapidly − hence
these very special, almost give-away, prices...
8.1
Volumes 4, 5 and 6 (36 magazines) − £9 (or £4 if collected from NCS)
8.1
(Yes, that really is £9 for 36 magazines, not £9 per volume!)
8.1
Volumes 4, 5, 6 and 7 (48 magazines) − £14 (or £9 if collected from NCS)
8.1
N.B. This offer is STRICTLY only for two months. It will cease on the
day of publication of the December issue of Archive − cuurently
scheduled for 15th November.
8.1
WorldPort 14,400 Sportster FaxModem
8.1
The second special offer is a free copy of ArcFax with every Sportster
modem. This is not the old Class 1 modem but the new specification Class
2.0 version. The price of the higher specification modem is still £230
through Archive, but we have worked a deal with the modem company so
that, for two months only, we can offer a FREE copy of ArcFax 1.1 (worth
£35) with every Sportster modem.
8.1
Last Acorn Mice at £18
8.1
This is a sort-of-new offer. We have had a supply of Acorn mice at £20
and so, as a final stage of the offer, to clear the last mice, we are
reducing the price to £18 − no time limit, just “while stocks last”.
8.1
Taxan 1095 20“
8.1
We have one Taxan 1095LR 20“ monitor that has been used very briefly for
demonstration purposes. The normal price is £1995 but this is available
for £1690 (or £1440 if bought with a Risc PC). This is a Trinitron
monitor especially suitable for use with the Risc PC on which it can
display 1600×1200 (with 2M VRAM). It comes with full 12 month warranty.
8.1
Continuing Archive Special Offers
8.1
Keystroke
8.1
For one more month only, Keystroke is on special offer for Archive
subscribers. The normal price is £29.95 but he is prepared to offer it
at £19 through Archive. (See page 5 last month for more details.)
8.1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8.1
Personal Accounts
8.1
For one more month only, Personal Accounts is on special offer for
Archive subscribers. The full price is £49.95 and the special Archive
price is £35. (See page 5 last month for more details.)
8.1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8.1
Archive Subscriptions
8.1
• Free Archive Mousemat (worth £5) − If you renew your subscription
before 30th September 1994 you will receive one of our new high-
specification mousemats. This offer is available to anyone, regardless
of when your renewal date is.
8.1
• Renew early and save £3 − We’ve held the price of the magazine at £19
for the last two years and will continue to do so until the end of 1994.
So this is advance warning that, from issue 8.4 onwards, the new Archive
price will be £22 a year. If you would like to beat the price increase
and renew in advance, regardless of when your subscription expires, you
should send in your renewal before the end of the year. Renewals
received after 1st January 1995 will be at the new price of £22.
8.1
• £10 voucher for any Archive member who gets a friend or colleague to
subscribe to Archive. See the special order form on the back of this
month’s Price List for details.
8.1
Government Health Warning − Reading this could seriously affect your
spiritual health.
8.1
Why do they do it? Why do athletes take drugs or cricketers tamper with
the ball or rugby players indulge in foul play in the scrum? In order to
win, of course − silly question really.
8.1
“Winning is all-important.” No-one loves a loser.
8.1
Why did she do it? A girl in our local secondary school hanged herself
last month when her exam results came through. Why? I don’t know why −
but I think I could make a shrewd guess.
8.1
“Success is all-important.” No-one loves a failure.
8.1
How do they sell it? “Use Brute aftershave* − all the girls will fall in
love with you.” (*or drive a particular car, or eat a particular brand
of margarine, or smoke a particular cigar, or ...) Why do we use
physical attractiveness to advertise any and every item of consumer
goods?
8.1
“Physical attractiveness is all-important.” No-one loves an ugly person.
8.1
What standards does society have to offer to our young people? Nothing!
Well, not unless we can show them what is really important in life −
relationships. If I’m ugly and a failure and yet someone really loves me
then life can be worth living.
8.1
As I have mentioned in the last couple of issues, a growing number of
people around the country are discovering for the first time that there
really is a very big Someone who does love them, no matter much (or how
little) they’ve messed up their lives.
8.1
If you are happy and contented and feel life is wonderful and none of
the above problems worries you in the slightest then you are very
fortunate... err, well at least, I think you are.
8.1
If, however, you are prepared to face up to some of these difficult
questions rather than burying your head in the sand, why not try to find
out if God really does exist and really does love you?
8.1
This is exactly what the Alpha course is designed to help you think
through. Why not find out if there is one happening near you? It won’t
cost you anything and I’m sure you’re not the kind of person to be
easily brainwashed (or you wouldn’t be reading Archive magazine). Why
not give it a go? You’ve got absolutely nothing to lose and, I believe,
you have absolutely everything to gain. If you have the courage to face
up to the most important question in life, ring 071-581-8255 and find
out if there’s an Alpha course near you − trust me, you won’t regret it!
8.1
P.B.
8.1
Mijas
8.1
From 7.12 page 20
8.1
The Composer & his Computer
8.1
Oak Solutions
8.1
From 7.12 page 31
8.1
Pocket Book II
8.1
Matthew Hunter, NCS
8.1
Most Archive readers will be aware of the Acorn Pocket Book which Acorn
launched nearly two years ago. Aimed at the education market, it offered
a full range of applications (wordprocessor, database and spreadsheet),
in a very convenient size. It was based on the Psion Series 3 but, due
to the ROM space restriction, some of the Series 3 software was dropped
to make room for the spreadsheet. Last year, Psion released the Series
3a, which had some major improvements, including a larger, higher
resolution LCD display and a faster processor.
8.1
Now Acorn have announced the Pocket Book II which, as anticipated, is
based on the Series 3a. However, but unlike the Pocket Book, it has not
had any software removed. Indeed, it has had extra software added − a
spell-checker and thesaurus and a graph-plotting application.
8.1
One of the ideas behind the Pocket Book range is to bring the ideal of
“one per child” within the reach of cash-limited schools, ensuring each
school child has access to a personal computer. Many schools use them on
a class basis, handing them out at the start of a lesson, and retrieving
them afterwards, ready for the next class. The Pocket Book is ideal for
recording data on field trips, or in the class (how much easier my
physics practicals would have been...), and is increasingly used by
teachers to record pupil progress and achievement, plan lessons and
timetables and so on. Its compact and strong design makes it resilient
for everyday use and it can be carried in a bag or blazer pocket from
lesson to lesson, or school and home. Another advantage is the quality
and ease of use of the software, which is menu driven, and has many
features. The word processor, for example, has effects for underline/
bold/etc and you can also set up styles for combinations and repeated
use.
8.1
The Pocket Book can be connected to a desktop computer − an Acorn RISC
machine via the A-Link or other links are available for PCs and Apple
computers. PocketFS, the software for the RISC OS end, gives either
direct copying of files or file translation for files on the Pocket Book
to ease the transference of files between applications. More information
on PocketFS II was given in Archive 7.5, page 71.
8.1
Pocket Book II − The Specification
8.1
Size:  165mm × 85mm × 22mm
8.1
Weight:  275g including batteries
8.1
Screen:  480 x 160 graphics screen, up to 80 characters by 25 lines
8.1
Internal ROM memory:  2Mb containing multitasking, windowing operating
system and software applications
8.1
Internal RAM memory:  256Kb or 512Kb
8.1
External expansion:  Two Solid State Discs (SSDs) 63mm × 43mm × 6mm
8.1
  Flash SSDs require no battery backup; capacity up to 2Mb
8.1
  RAM SSDs have their own lithium battery; capacity up to 1Mb
8.1
Processor:  16 bit NEC V30H (80C86 compatible), 7.68 MHz
8.1
Sound:  Loudspeaker, with DTMF auto-dialling and digital sound playback
Microphone for digital sound recording
8.1
Power:  Two AA size alkaline batteries, giving approximately 80 hours of
use (without expansions), or 2 to 4 months of typical usage. Standard
lithium backup battery protects RAM while main batteries are changed.
8.1
  Optional external AC Mains adapter (AHA35)
8.1
Keyboard:  58 key, QWERTY layout, computer-style keyboard
8.1
  8 touch-sensitive buttons for application selection
8.1
Operating temperature:  0-50 degrees Centigrade
8.1
Communications options:  Fast serial interface (1.536 Mbits/sec)
accepts:
8.1
  Desktop links to allow communication and provide direct file access
with Acorn, PC & Mac computers
8.1
  Printer lead (AHA31) to allow direct printing to most parallel
printers
8.1
Manual:  Comprehensive, easy to use user guide. Optional programmer’s
(OPL) guide
8.1
Built-in applications:  Cards − flat form database for storing addresses
and other data
8.1
(* New with Pocket Book II)   Write − fully featured word processor with
outlining, variable font sizes, page layout support, and partial WYSIWYG
8.1
  * Schedule − a personal organiser to manage appointments, diary &
anniversaries
8.1
  Time − gives local time & date
8.1
  * World − world times, atlas, dialling codes, distances, etc
8.1
  Calc − a scientific calculator
8.1
  Abacus − a fully featured spreadsheet with graphing facilities,
compatible with Lotus 123
8.1
  Spell − a spell-checker, dictionary, and thesaurus* (also accessible
from within Write)
8.1
  * Record − a sound and voice recorder
8.1
  * Plotter − to plot and trace mathematical equations (cartesian,
polar, parametric, etc)
8.1
  * OPL edit − to edit and run OPL programs. OPL is a Basic-like
language built into Pocket Book II
8.1
  * JP150 printer driver
8.1
  All the Psion Series 3a software will work on the Pocket Book II and
so there is also a considerable amount of software available in areas
such as: personal organisation, timing (& billing), telephone call
costing, games & leisure, business, finance, languages translators,
health & nutrition, paint & graphics.  A
8.1
Matthew very nobly, and rapidly, put this information together from
Acorn’s press releases on the day Archive was due to go to the printers.
Unfortunately, the press releases didn’t get sent to us when they were
supposed to − we read about it first in Archimedes World and Acorn User.
I was not amused! All being well, we’ll get hold of one of these little
beasties before too long and give you some first-hand views rather than
second-hand information. Ed.
8.1
Quantum
8.1
From 7.12 page 7
8.1
CC
8.1
From 7.12 page 36
8.1
Hints and Tips
8.1
•  Disabling capslock − It has been pointed out that the capslock key is
not used very often, and usually only causes confusion when you hit it
accidentally. (This is a polite way of saying that there had been
another emission of blue smoke from the Editor’s desk as I HAD JUST HIT
<CAPSLOCK> ACCIDENTALLY AGAIN!!! Ed.)
8.1
To solve this problem, a short module was written to disable the
capslock key. When the module is loaded, the key will act as a Caps key,
but will not lock, i.e. it acts like a shift key but only affects
letters − the numbers and symbols are unchanged. If you need to re-
enable the capslock function, press <f12> and type *rmkill disablecaps.
8.1
The module, which works on all Archimedes and Risc PC machines, is on
the monthly program disc.  Matthew Hunter, NCS.
8.1
Peace has now been restored in the Editor’s office! As far as I’m
concerned, this module is the best thing since sliced bread. Thanks,
Matthew!!  Ed.
8.1
•  Risc PC hard disc power-saving – Since the advent of RISC OS 3, there
has been an option in the IDEDiscs section of Configure for setting the
spin down delay on the hard drive − similar to the screen blanker. This
is almost always greyed out, preventing it from being used, the
exceptions being the A4 portable and some A3020s. (Some third party
interfaces also support the option, but this hint does not apply to
them.) This makes sense since, with portables, the battery life needs to
be preserved. This is less important on a desktop machine and, also,
there is some question as to the long term effects of spinning the drive
up and down more than necessary.
8.1
It is possible, however, to control the drive in this way even if you
have a different machine, providing that the drive supports the
powersave IDE commands. On the monthly program disc is a command line
program “powersave”. Double click on “!SetDir” which will make sure you
are in the correct directory, press <f12> and type “powersave 4”
<return>. This will give you the list of options and the current spin
status for drive 4 (which will be meaningless if you are not using ADFS
to control the drive). There are three control options detailed below.
8.1
“powersave spindown <drivenumber>” will spin down drive <drivenumber> (4
or 5) immediately. If the drive is not spinning and you try to access
it, there will be a pause while the drive is spun up before the access
takes place (occasionally you can open a directory without spinning up
the drive since it is cached in memory and the drive is never accessed).
8.1
“powersave spinup <drivenumber>” will spin up drive <drivenumber> (4 or
5) immediately.
8.1
“powersave delay <drivenumber> <delay>” will set the power-saving delay
for drive <drive number> to <delay> seconds − note that it is rounded
down to 5-second accuracy but the timing is not particularly accurate
anyway. This will not be configured, so if you want to use this feature,
you will need to run powersave during the boot sequence. It is worth
making the delay longer rather than shorter since continually spinning
your drive up and down could reduce your drive’s life expectancy – you
do this at your own risk.
8.1
One area where this does have a major impact is on the Risc PC − most of
the noise comes not from the fan but from the hard drive, so if you spin
down the drive, you can hardly hear the machine at all.  Matthew Hunter,
NCS.
8.1
•  Splitting Impression documents over several floppy discs − Over the
past six months, I have spent a lot of time working with Tony Tolver of
T-J Reproductions and one thing that always amazed me was the number of
methods used by people to split an Impression document over two or more
discs − after all, how do you get a quart (or 10Mb) into a pint pot (or
800Kb/1.6Mb)?
8.1
The methods I have seen include: PacDir, ArcFS, CFS, Squash and breaking
down the document and moving the contents of Chapter2 onto further discs
and then compressing them all.
8.1
All of these are relatively time-consuming, particularly the last one. I
was sure there ought to be a better way and then I found it by accident
after upgrading to Hard Disc Companion v2.50 from Risc Developments. I
read the manual and found that it was easy to back up just one file or
directory, so here is an easy way for you and for the recipient of your
file to split Impression documents.
8.1
1  Install Hard Disc Companion on your iconbar in the usual way.
8.1
2  Single click on the icon which opens a window.
8.1
3  Click <menu> and choose Destination, Floppy0 and 800K or 1.6M as
appropriate.
8.1
4  Under Preferences, you can select how you wish to make the backup,
i.e. Very Quickly but with no compression or relatively slowly but with
maximum compression. The choice is yours.
8.1
5  Under Files, choose Backup and a window opens onto which you drag
your Impression document.
8.1
6  Finally, click on Start on the main window and simply follow the on-
screen prompts.
8.1
7  Send your file to the destination address.
8.1
Upon receipt, all that needs to be done is to insert the last disc (so
it helps if you label them, 1,2. . . etc) and open the window. Two files
are seen: !Restore and Data. Double click on !Restore to install it on
the iconbar and drag Data over the icon. Click again on Restore and a
new window opens. Simply drag the icon to a new directory or the root
and follow the on-screen prompts. The document will be fully rebuilt on
the recipient’s computer.
8.1
It may interest you to know that I created a dummy Impression document
to test this. It was 20Mb long and I used Hard Disc Companion v2.50 to
split onto six 800Kb floppies at maximum compression − it worked
faultlessly.
8.1
Hard Disc Companion v2.50 costs £45 +p&p +VAT from Risc Developments or
£52 from NCS.  Keith Parker, Southall.  A
8.1
With Risc Developments going into liquidation, we aren’t sure about the
availability of Hard Disc Companion but, presumably, Beebug Ltd will be
taking it over.  Ed.
8.1
Small Ads
8.1
(Small ads for Acorn computers and related products are free for
subscribers but we reserve the right to publish all, part or none of the
material you send, as we think fit. i.e. some people don’t know what
‘small’ means and there are certain things, as you can imagine, that we
would not be prepared to advertise as a matter of principle. Sending
small ads (especially long ones!) on disc is helpful but not essential.
Ed)
8.1
•  A3000, 2Mb RAM, 20Mb HD, RISC OS 2, colour monitor, boxes, manuals,
dust cover, games £350 o.n.o. Phone Liam on 0457-766498 evenings.
8.1
•  A3000, 2Mb, RISC OS 3.1, AKF12 monitor + plinth £310 o.n.o. HCCS
100Mb SCSI hard drive £170 o.n.o., PipeDream 3 £25, PC Emulator £20.
Whole lot £510. Call Philip on 0945-772085.
8.1
•  A3000, 4Mb RAM, ARM3, FPA, RISC OS 3.1, 200Mb SCSI drive, colour
monitor, stand, ext. 5¼“ and 3½” drives, loads of software £700 o.v.n.o.
Eureka, Wordz, S-Base, etc also for sale. Phone [phone] for details.
8.1
•  A3000 LC, 4Mb RAM, ARM3, RISC OS 3.1,  5¼“ disc drive in PRES housing
with PSU and provision for HD, ICS IDE interface, BBC B compatible with
PRES disc buffer and DFS filer, good software inc. PC Emulator v1.8 + DR
DOS 6, manuals and boxes, £575 o.n.o. Brand new Conner 213Mb HD £175.
Colour Card Gold iss. 2 for A3000/5000, £150. PRES double podule
expansion for A3000, £50. Phone [phone].
8.1
•  A3000 power supply, new £22.50, A310 twin floppy drive upgrade with
front panel £50 o.n.o., Acorn AKF11 colour monitor £75, two Logitech
Archimedes mice, new £15 each, Epson FX80 9-pin printer v.g.c boxed with
manual and two spare ribbons £65 o.n.o. PC Emulator v1.34 with DR DOS
3.41 & PC DOS 3.30 £15 o.n.o. All plus p&p. Phone Neil Walker on 0953-
604255.
8.1
•  A310, Taxan 770 multisync, 4Mb RAM, ARM 3, 44Mb IDE hard drive, RISC
OS 3.1, Memc1a, Vision Digitiser, 4-layer backplane, lots of software
and manuals.  £495 o.n.o. Phone Vincent on 0508-493517 eves or 0603-
223309 day.
8.1
•  A310 with ARM 3, RISC OS 3.1, 4MB RAM, NEC II 14“ multisync, £750
including: Oak SCSI interface and Quantum 105MB SCSI hard drive,
Atomwide VIDC Enhancer v1.61, CC battery-backed ROM/RAM board, Watford
2-slot backplane, 5¼” floppy drive interface and external drive, PC
Emulator v1.82,  and software. A further £225 will get you: Canon BJ200
and Turbo Driver. Phone Rob on 0895-423179 or 0705-631747.
8.1
•  A310 with monitor, 4Mb RAM, ARM3, 42Mb SCSI hard disc, 4 slot IFEL
backplane, RISC OS 3.1. £600 or sensible offer. Also FaxPack with
manual, £200. Phone Christine Shield on 0661-843259 daytime, fax 0661-
844413.
8.1
•  A310 with RISC OS 3.10, RGB colour monitor, keyboard, ARM3, 4Mb RAM,
100Mb SCSI hard drive £700. Morley CD-ROM drive £200. Scanlight Plus
£40. Irlam JX 100 scanner + I-Mage driver £200. Artworks £100,
Impression Publisher £100. Star LC10 colour printer + cartridges £80.
Phone Jonathan on 081-451-0471.
8.1
•  A4 for sale, 4Mb, 60Mb HD with original carrying case, manuals etc.
£900. Phone [phone].
8.1
•  A4 portable , 4Mb RAM, 60Mb HD, PC Em., Genie Trackerball, original
packing and manuals, £1100. Phone Derby 0309-641386.
8.1
•  A410/1, 4Mb RAM, RISC OS 3.10, 105Mb internal HD, SCSI interface,
colour monitor, top condition, PRM’s, enhanced desktop, 30 font
families, PC Emulator v1.82, plus lots more software. Boxed as new. All
manuals. Shipping + insurance included. £800 o.n.o. Contact Philip any
time of day on ([phone] (Ireland).
8.1
•  A410/1, 8Mb RAM, 30MHz ARM3, RISC OS 3.10, 20Mb hard disc, excellent
condition, £500. State Machine G16 graphics accelerator, £160.
Intelligent Interfaces dual serial port, 38400 baud, £60. Phone Thomas
in Denmark on ([phone], evenings.
8.1
•  A410/1 4Mb, 50Mb HD, ARM3, RISC OS 3.1, AKF11 monitor, PC Emulator
v1.86, external 5¼“ disc interface and some software. £550 o.n.o. Phone
0926-492334 evenings.
8.1
•  A410/1, RISC OS 3.1, 4Mb, 35MHz ARM3, 228Mb SCSI HD, 60 & 50Mb ST506
HD, State Machine G16 graphics card, HCCS 16-bit SCSI card, HiFi audio,
Multipod Professional audio/video digitiser, EMR Midi 4 interface, PC
Emulator, multisync colour monitor, loads of Arc and PC software. £750
o.n.o. Phone [phone] eves.
8.1
•  A420, 2Mb RAM, 20Mb hard drive, RISC OS 3.1, PC Emulator, colour
monitor, £499. Phone [phone].
8.1
•  A440, 35MHz ARM3, RISC OS 3.1, two 20Mb HDs, Taxan 775 multisync,
VIDC enhancer, external FD interface, £700 o.n.o. Phone [phone]
eves.
8.1
•  A440/1, 4Mb RAM, 30MHz ARM3, 57Mb HD, Colour Card Gold, Mode
designer, Acorn I/O podule with Midi, keyboard extension cable,
Armadillo sound sampler, Black Angel, Chopper Force, Gods, Lemmings,
Chocks Away Compendium, £830 o.n.o. (may split). Phone Mark after 6pm on
0905-754277.
8.1
•  A440/1, 8Mb RAM, 40Mb HD, ARM3, RISC OS 3.1, 14“ colour monitor,
manuals and welcome discs, boxed £850. Archimedes A310, 1Mb RAM, 4-slot
backplane, 5¼” floppy drive, RISC OS 2, PRMs, boxed £200. Phone John on
0707-320723 after 8pm.
8.1
•  A5000 210MB disc, 4MB RAM, RISC OS 3.1, £725. Phone Paul on 0473-
728943.
8.1
•  A5000, 4Mb, 40Mb HD, Eizo multiscan, RISC OS 3.11, Learning Curve
software. All manuals. Ex cond. £900. Phone [phone].
8.1
•  A5000, 4Mb RAM, 40Mb hard disc, AKF18 multisync, RISC OS 3.1 only
£950 o.n.o. Cumana CD-ROM drive with SCSI card with CDFS 2.21,
PhotoView, PC Emulator 1.83, Hutchinson’s Encyclopedia and Replay CD’s
only £200 o.n.o.  Quick sale wanted, all boxed good condition.  All for
£1050 o.n.o.  Telephone [phone] after 4pm.
8.1
•  A5000, 4Mb, RISC OS 3.11, 40Mb and 160Mb IDE hard discs, multisync
monitor, 1stWord+, PC Emulator, Genesis Plus, assorted PD software, all
manuals, v.g.c. £900. Phone [phone].
8.1
•  ARCticulate £10, Enter the Realm £10, Diggers £15, magazine binders
“Micro User” and “Acorn Computing” £2 each. All +p&p. Contact Jon
Aylwin, 4 St Margarets Close, Hemyock, Devon, EX15 3XJ.
8.1
•  Armadillo A616 sound sampler, best suited for A300/400 series with
ADFS. £100 (originally >£1000). Phone Germany ([phone] evenings.
8.1
•  Cased 5¼“ disc drive, with interface for Archimedes, power pack and
manual, £50. CC ROM/RAM board with 32Kb RAM and manual, £25. Phone 0727-
861835.
8.1
•  CC Colour Card Gold with documentation and support discs £120. Look
Systems Font Directory £15. Phone Geoff on 0925-811420.
8.1
•  Conner 125Mb SCSI hard drive in external case with PSU, £140.
Pineapple RGB to PAL encoder £50. All include p&p. Phone Mark after 6pm
on 0905-754277.
8.1
•  Eizo 550i multisync colour monitor. As new. Offers. Phone 0603-
484577.
8.1
•  Hewlett Packard 500C colour printer as new, two new cartridges (1
black, 1 colour). Offers. Phone [phone].
8.1
•  Hybrid Music System 5000, keyboard 4000 (4 octave, full size) with
sustain pedal, Ample programmers manual, £95 + carriage. Phone Jim Brook
on 07683-51300.
8.1
•  Impression Publisher £130, Scanlight 256 £140. Turbo Driver (Stylus
800) £35. Phone [phone].
8.1
•  Interdictor 2 £10, Fun School 2 under 6’s £5, Arcade Soccer £5, !Help
Companion £3, Freddy Teddy £5, Apocalypse £10, Superior Golf £5, ArcScan
III £5, Droom £10, Detour £5, Personal Accounts £5, Talking Pendown £30,
First Impression £10. All originals with manuals. Phone Dave on 0983-
864337.
8.1
•  OPL and User Manual for the Series 3, (useful for the Psion emulator
or Pocket Book) £7 the pair. Phone Mark after 6pm on 0905-754277.
8.1
•  Psion 3a with original packaging and manuals and a protective case −
3 months old. A-link with latest version of PocketFS 2 months old. £280
o.n.o. Phone [phone].
8.1
•  Scanlight Professional 256 grey-scale flatbed scanner £350 incl.
Morley SCSI card. Phone [phone] after 6pm.
8.1
•  State Machine ColourBurst graphics card for A5000, £225. EMR Micro
Studio £40, EMR Story Book with Set 1 Stories £25, (Both packages
unregistered.) All complete with packaging and manuals. Phone G Rhodes
on 0302-722781 eves.
8.1
•  Various hard drives from 80 to 400Mb 5¼/3½“ all HH, SCSI, good
condition. 5½” SCSI 20Mb removable with five discs (not as good as
SyQuest but cheaper). Marconi tracker ball. State Machine Colourburst
card. Enter the Realm, Herewith the Clues, Atelier, Beebug 5¼“ drive
interface & buffer, 1Mb serial printer buffer. A5000 LC with 4Mb memory,
A5000 second floppy disc drive, Two 40Mb IDE hard disc drives. Details
from D G Carton, 14 Handcross Grove, Green Lane, Coventry, CV3 6DZ.
8.1
Charity Sales
8.1
The following items are available for sale in aid of charity. PLEASE do
not just send money − ring us on 0603-766592 to check if the items are
still available. Thank you.
8.1
Software: First Word Plus £5, Leading Edge Midi Tracker £9, Bubble Fair
£2, Spellmaster (disc) £5, Blaston £2, Pysanki £2, Blowpipe £2, Rotor
£2, Apocalypse £3, DrawBender, Fontasy and Placard £5, Turbo Driver for
HP Deskjet £18, Datavision database £10.
8.1
Hardware: Floppy discs as new £15 per 50, A3000 1Mb RAM £20, Pace modem:
ring Jim on 07683-51300 and suggest donation.
8.1
(If you have unwanted software or hardware for Archimedes computers that
you could donate in aid of charity, please send it to the Archive
office. If you have larger items where post would be expensive, just
send us details of the item(s) and how the purchaser can get hold of
them.)  A
8.1
Apricote
8.1
From 7.12 page 11
8.1
Colton
8.1
From 7.12 page 24
8.1
Advanced Basic Programming − OLE
8.1
Paul Hobbs
8.1
An interesting − and extremely useful − aspect of Impression Style and
Publisher is the OLE system whereby a drawfile (for example) can be
effectively edited ‘in place’ without dragging a file icon to Draw and
back again. OLE, by the way, stands for ‘Object Linking and Embedding’
which is a typical piece of PC jargon which seems designed to make
things sound more complicated than they really are.
8.1
Impression includes a module (OLESupport) to make things easier but,
unfortunately, an enquiry to Computer Concepts as to how it might be
used by other programs brought the response that the module is for
internal use by Computer Concepts programs only and may not be
distributed separately − understandable really.
8.1
However, it is possible to deduce how OLE can be implemented in Basic,
which would potentially be very useful. For example, a database type
program could include free-form text in the records which could be
edited using Edit, DeskEdit etc, instead of writing special editing
routines. The Shareware database application PowerBase already uses a
similar scheme, and it has the considerable advantage that the amount of
coding is reduced, and that no new commands need to be learned by the
user. Apart from this, it is a rather satisfyingly elegant solution to
the problem.
8.1
The proper (in Acorn terms) place for temporary files is within a
directory with the same name as the application (but without the ‘!’
character) inside !Scrap. Expressed in pseudo-code the steps are as
follows:
8.1
On application startup
8.1
IF Wimp$Scrap is not defined THEN
8.1
  complain bitterly
8.1
ENDIF
8.1
IF temporary directory exists THEN
8.1
  delete any existing files
8.1
ENDIF
8.1
On starting OLE operation
8.1
IF temporary directory doesn’t exist THEN
8.1
 create temporary directory
8.1
save data to temporary file (check name is
8.1
 unique)
8.1
set filetype appropriately
8.1
read and store datestamp of file
8.1
send dataload message to force file to be
8.1
 loaded by editor
8.1
WHILE OLE transfer is active
8.1
  IF datestamp changes THEN
8.1
    reload file, display, process etc
8.1
  ENDIF
8.1
ENDWHILE
8.1
On application closedown
8.1
IF files are still being edited THEN
8.1
  notify user (otherwise edited data could
8.1
 be lost)
8.1
ELSE
8.1
  Delete temporary directory and all
8.1
 temporary files
8.1
ENDIF
8.1
There is no reason why more than one file could not be externally edited
at any one time, although your application would need to keep a record
of filenames that have been exported for editing and perform the
appropriate actions when an edited file has been saved.
8.1
The monthly program disc contains a smallish WIMP program to demonstrate
how a text buffer (actually in this case the text of an icon to keep
things simple) can be edited externally by a text editor. Before you all
get too excited though, the simple OLE scheme used here has some
drawbacks. For instance, there is no way of knowing when the OLE edit
has finished, so the program has to continually check the datestamp of
the file being edited. In order to minimise the impact on the rest of
the desktop, this is only done every two seconds using the Wimp_PollIdle
call instead of Wimp_Poll. The code to do this is as follows:
8.1
REM before the main poll loop..
8.1
SYS “OS_ReadMonotonicTime” TO earliest_time%
8.1
increment% = 200 :REM time between null event calls in centi-seconds
8.1
earliest_time% += increment%
8.1
:
8.1
REM main poll loop..
8.1
WHILE NOT quit%
8.1
  SYS “Wimp_PollIdle”,0,bk%,earliest_time% TO reason%
8.1
  CASE reason% OF
8.1
   WHEN  0   :PROCbackgroundtask
8.1
   WHEN  2   :SYS “Wimp_OpenWindow”,,bk%
8.1
   REM other action codes here....
8.1
  ENDCASE
8.1
ENDWHILE
8.1
DEF PROCbackgroundtask
8.1
LOCAL newtime%
8.1
REM perform whatever background task needs
8.1
 doing..
8.1
REM get time of next null event..
8.1
SYS “OS_ReadMonotonicTime” TO newtime%
8.1
WHILE (newtime% − earliest_time%) > 0
8.1
  earliest_time% += increment%
8.1
ENDWHILE
8.1
ENDPROC
8.1
This technique is useful where you need to respond to null event codes,
but not necessarily every single one. A clock, for example, only needs
to update its display every second (or even every minute).
8.1
Another snag is that only 77 files can be edited at one time (as only 77
files can appear in each directory) but I don’t think this is going to
be much of a problem. In practice, I would allocate one word of memory
to use as 32 flag bits and disallow attempts to edit more files.
8.1
Solving the problem of how to implement OLE (in a rather crude form!)
has proved quite entertaining, but I can’t help thinking that it should
be included in RISC OS. We don’t need a whole new set of OS ROMs, we
only need a new Acorn supported module along the line of the drawfile
module described by Hugh Eagle in the last issue. I can understand that
Computer Concepts wishing to keep their OLE code to themselves as it
gives Impression an advantage over other DTP systems but if I can make
it work in Basic, I am sure that Risc Developments can easily add it to
Ovation.
8.1
And finally
8.1
Having just finished the OLE demo program and patted myself on the back
that it actually worked, (I wrote the column first and then the demo
program!) I was rather disconcerted to discover in the excellent
DataFile PD catalogue an OLE module (disc UT156 by ‘Mike’) which seems
to go a bit further than my version. Rats! I’ve ordered it and, if it’s
any good, I’ll rewrite the demo program to use it.
8.1
If you have any suggestions for topics that could be covered in future
issues, I would be pleased to hear from you. My address is Paul Hobbs,
Rheinpfalzstrasse 2, 85049 Ingolstadt, Germany.  A
8.1
CC
8.1
From 7.12 page 32
8.1
The Archive Bulletin Board
8.1
Andrew Garrard, NCS
8.1
Archive has, over the years, had a bulletin board system working on and
off several times. This summer, I was brought in as a temporary system
operator (sysop) to get Archive BBS up and running in its latest
incarnation. So here’s what happened, what Archive BBS is, and a bit
about Archiboard − the package on which Archive BBS is now based.
8.1
What is a bulletin board?
8.1
A bulletin board is a system consisting of a computer, a modem which
links the computer to the telephone network, and some suitable software.
People can ring up the bulletin board (the modem answers the call) and
connect their own computers to the bulletin board by means of their own
modems. While connected, the user can send messages to other users of
the bulletin board (which they will get when they next log on), read and
contribute to discussions which have been taking place on the board, and
transfer files to and from the board, allowing people to share software.
8.1
There has been a lot of media interest in the internet − the network of
computer networks which spans the world and can allow these kind of
facilities on a global scale. Bulletin boards came first; they offered
these facilities but instead of having thousands of simultaneous users
world-wide, bulletin boards tended to be run by individuals who simply
provided a service by letting people ring up their computer, and they
can only handle a few people at a time.
8.1
The Archive bulletin board is very much a small-scale venture, although
there may, in the future, be the opportunity for users to connect to
Fidonet™ and the internet in order to share discussion groups with a
world wide audience. However, since it is often simpler for people to
connect to a bulletin board than to access the whole internet − only a
modem, a computer and a bit of software is needed − bulletin boards are
still very much a useful way of transferring information between
computer users.
8.1
The Archive board allows for the standard conference, file transfer and
electronic mail facilities as found on many bulletin boards. It also has
a facility for ordering from Norwich Computer Services, and some
recreational facilities − well, we all have to have some fun, don’t we?
8.1
How it started
8.1
When I began work at Norwich Computer Services, I was given instructions
to look at any other bulletin boards I could find, and to choose between
the two bulletin board packages which could be used to implement the new
board.
8.1
Having given a number of bulletin boards a trial run, I found quite a
variety of approaches used. Although most offered the facilities which I
have mentioned and a few offered games (including quite impressive
versions of Tetris and a blocks-style game), one point of variability
between boards was the user interface: how friendly they were.
8.1
One board went to great lengths, having the system set up as a slightly
contrived ‘virtual world’ with animations between facilities and a
narrator. Although user-‘friendly’, I felt this may have impeded the
speed with which the board could be used. At the other end of the
spectrum were the plain text boards, often using garish colours, which
looked anything but friendly.
8.1
Most board systems are based around a menu structure. Choosing options
from menus seems to have been obscured in the interests of a gaudy
display in some cases; often it takes more than a quick glance to
determine how to choose a given option. With exceptions, there also
seemed to be a noticeable lack of help available on most boards.
8.1
Having established these points, I decided that the Archive board would
be:
8.1
i)  Friendly − it would include pictures with each menu and be neatly
laid out rather than being plain lines of text. Recreation of some kind
is nice to have too.
8.1
ii)  Clear − choosing menu options should be a simple task, given that
it has to be done so often.
8.1
iii)  Efficient − it should be possible for experienced users to
manipulate the board as they wish as quickly as possible.
8.1
iv)  Tasteful − the use of colour (on ANSI terminals) makes the board
look more friendly, but if used excessively it can look awful. The board
should have a consistent colour scheme, and save further colours for the
graphics.
8.1
v)  Helpful − wherever possible, the board should provide a facility for
someone working out what to do next.
8.1
Whether I succeeded or not in these aims is a matter of opinion, but I
tried.
8.1
The two packages I was offered were ArcBBS (The Serial Port), which had
been used by a number of the boards I saw and seems to be a popular
choice, and Archiboard (Supreme Software Systems Limited). The old
version of the bulletin board was written on ArcBBS, but since there had
been problems with that, it did not seem that resurrecting the old board
was worth the effort.
8.1
ArcBBS is the better known package and has a wider user base; countering
that was the fact that Archiboard offers considerable assistance from
the author, who lives locally in Norwich. Although both systems provided
a default set-up which could be installed quickly and easily, I felt
that ArcBBS was more restricted in what could easily be done with it,
especially compared to the additional facilities in the script language
in Archiboard. Since I am, at heart, a programmer, and since I wanted to
have a good play at customising the board, I picked Archiboard; ArcBBS
may have been better for someone else, but from what I saw of the two
packages and from what I produced with Archiboard, I am happy with my
decision.
8.1
Archiboard
8.1
The original version of Archiboard which was available came with
somewhat rough and ready packaging and documentation; since then, I
received a number of updates (including better documentation) which
makes up for some of the deficiencies in that area. Even now, my copy of
the manual has pencil corrections all over it − although, to be fair,
quite a few of those are due to amendments which have been provided
since the manual was produced. A new version of the manual will be
coming soon, but it wasn’t available in time for this article.
Fortunately, soon after starting to use the package, the author of the
software came to the rescue and answered most of my questions. Even more
helpfully, Archiboard Central (the author’s own bulletin board) has been
a convenient place to contact him and obtain updates without the need
for the transfer of discs.
8.1
Although the software was found lacking in a few facilities and a little
temperamental in a few others, this was more than made up for by the
support which was received − which was often able to correct any faults
soon after they were reported. I don’t think that there have been any
problems with the board since it started running − the software is so
intelligent that it can make running repairs to its database, so I don’t
expect there to be much trouble. However, getting the system set up
exactly as wanted is not something to be done in a hurry.
8.1
I’m extremely grateful to the author for implementing features which I
wanted and fixing the bugs which were found so quickly. Having said
that, Archive BBS is a very different system to Archiboard Central, and
because of the large amount of non-mutual ground, it is probably
forgivable that features which are my idea of what should be in a system
may be missing, simply due to them never being needed before.
8.1
Archiboard stores the graphics for all its menus in text files; in this
way it can implement dumb, vt52, vt100 and ANSI terminal types easily by
having separate files for each type, each with their own suitable
control codes. It is also handy that the system can connect not only to
a modem, but also to another computer via the serial ports or an AUN
style network − a fact which Supreme Software Systems is very keen to
promote. This allowed for considerable testing to be carried out; in
fact, it wasn’t until very recently that the board was tested via a
modem (especially since I didn’t know how to set up our modem, being no
expert at comms; fortunately, the author again came to the rescue).
8.1
The menu options and other system functions are implemented via script
files. The script language bears some resemblance to C, with a few
anomalies to catch out the unwary programmer. Since it doesn’t have
user-definable functions or arrays (both being worked on and available
soon), and works only with string and integer data, programming it is an
experience; there is an implementation of the game ‘minesweeper’ on the
board, which was quite a challenge to produce. On the other hand, since
the system is so programmable, I suppose I am a perfectionist to miss
some of the facilities which a proper programming language would
provide.
8.1
Anybody who has used both Archiboard Central (or another board based on
Archiboard) and the Archive bulletin board will notice that the systems
have a great deal in common, but also some major differences. The
conference, file and electronic mail systems are almost identical, since
these facilities are more or less standard to the system, and are based
on a standard arrangement. In contrast to this, the user interface −
although still based on a menu structure − is radically different and
hopefully more friendly.
8.1
Archiboard’s facilities for customisation came in extremely useful −
different sysops will want to provide facilities in different ways − but
the backbone of pre-defined functions means that not too much work is
needed to achieve this customisation. That the board can be installed in
a default working form (with suitable default facilities) is a great
help, since this means that sysops do not have to work from scratch, and
can customise individual parts of the board as they see fit. Archiboard
is now even more flexible since I first used it, with requests for ways
to customise facilities being satisfied impressively quickly by the
author; I wish more companies were able to provide this level of
customer support.
8.1
Although the system is not terribly user-friendly to the prospective
system operator, it could have been much worse, and I am glad that
functionality has been the first concern. In my opinion it is usually
better for a package to be capable of as much as possible than for it to
be easy to use, especially in the realms of something like this, where
the system needs to be as flexible as possible in order to meet the
requirements of the sysop. Many sysops will be quite computer literate
anyway, and are likely to be able to cope with the way the system works;
especially once improvements to the manual have been made.
8.1
I can definitely recommend Archiboard to anybody wishing to set up a
bulletin board, so long as they are warned that it is not a task for
someone new to computers and that it is likely to take quite some time
to get the system set up as required.
8.1
Welcome to Archive BBS
8.1
So how do you use the Archive bulletin board?
8.1
You will need a computer − this is unlikely to be a problem for most
readers of Archive. You will need a phone line − again, this shouldn’t
be a problem for most people. You will need some communication software
− I mostly used ArcTerm 7, but any of the relevant packages in the comms
packages section of the Archive price list ought to work successfully.
The board works independently of what kind of machine it is running on,
so if you wish to dial up from a PC, Mac or other system you should be
able to do so without trouble − so long as you have a suitable comms
package.
8.1
Finally, you will need a modem, and to spend a little while getting the
modem to work with your software; many popular types of modem are
supported by the software anyway. The faster the modem, the faster you
will be able to send and receive information − the Archive board can
support up to 9600 baud, which allows for a reasonable rate of transfer
between the bulletin board and your computer. Although you can log on to
the bulletin board at slower speeds, you will have to wait longer for
the menus to be displayed and for the screen to fill up with information
− and so you will be on the phone for longer. Since the decrease in
phone charges often pays for the difference in the cost of a faster
modem, slower modems can be a false economy.
8.1
Most software can handle several kinds of terminal. If you can, choose
the ANSI terminal type for the Archive board; this will allow the
display to use some graphical characters and colour. Failing that, try
to choose a vt100 or vt102 terminal type (which are effectively the
same). As a last resort, the board will work with a dumb terminal (i.e.
one without control codes) or a vt52 terminal. Most systems can do
better than this, but the options are there as a last resort.
8.1
When you have the modem working with your computer, you will get to the
important bit − you need to ring up our bulletin board. The number is:
8.1
0603 766585
8.1
Give the board a few seconds to respond. The system has to load parts of
itself from disc when you log on, and there may be a slight delay. Some
packages may not allow sufficient time before they decide that there is
no reply, and hang up. If this happens, try typing:
8.1
ATD0603766585<return>
8.1
On many modems, this will make the modem ring the bulletin board; it
should then not hang up until you tell it to.
8.1
You should be presented with a welcome screen, and be prompted to log
on. If this is your first visit, type:
8.1
NEW<return>
8.1
You should then be able to follow the prompts to create an account. One
point of note is that, if you are unsure of whether you need line feed
and carriage return (which you will be asked about), answer yes; a
display which is double-spaced is easier to read than one which is
wrapping strangely if you get it wrong. If you have any problems with
your display, you should be able to change your set-up once you have
logged on by choosing the Tools menu option and then Terminal options.
8.1
When you have finished creating your account, you will be again prompted
with the opportunity to log on. You should now be able to type your name
(or at least the pseudonym which you are told) and enter your password,
after which you will be in the board proper.
8.1
I won’t say much about the board, since that would take the fun out of
exploring it. To choose menu options, press the number or first letter
of the choice; there are a range of options at the bottom of each menu
which are constant for each menu option. Especially important amongst
these are <?>, <M>, <P> and <return>. Pressing <?> will give you help on
the current menu. <M> and <P> move you to the main menu and your
previous menu respectively − which is helpful if you get lost. <return>
will redisplay the screen, so if you cannot read the menu for some
reason, try pressing it.
8.1
There is a log off option on the main menu − when you have finished
using the board, choose this option and the bulletin board will hang up
for you.
8.1
If you get a chance to use the bulletin board, I hope you enjoy the
experience − especially if you are new to bulletin boards. If you have
any comments or suggestions, please send a message to the sysop, and we
will try to implement any changes as soon as possible. Although the
bulletin board is not the highest priority facility of Norwich Computer
Services, I hope it will prove to be a useful one.  A
8.1
Thanks Andrew for getting the BBS going again. We’ll do our best to keep
it up and running.  Ed.
8.1
Amstrad NC100 with Acorn Machines
8.1
Charles Woodbridge
8.1
I have been using the NC100 for over 18 months now and I feel able to
give a view on its value to education and to the individual.
8.1
Being an ardent Acorn fan, it went completely against the grain to buy a
different brand − especially Amstrad!
8.1
I currently have a Risc PC 610 with CD-ROM drive fitted and, prior to
that, I had an A5000 with a 120Mb hard disc and I have always been
delighted with Acorn machines − right back to the first A3000 I bought
second hand from a good friend. Also, in my previous job as Advisory
Teacher for IT within Kirklees LEA, I had access to all manner of Acorn
machines; A4000, A3020, A3000, A400, A310 series etc, as well as the
Acorn Pocket Book.
8.1
Let’s put the use of the Amstrad NC100 into context by describing the
use to which it will mainly be put. It has seemed to me, and probably
many others, that tying up the incredibly powerful Acorn processor, to
the mundane task of typing in text is not the best use of its time and
abilities − after all, most classrooms will only have one Acorn and if
we are really going to let children use the computer for ‘real’ word
processing, we simply need more fingers on the keyboards!
8.1
This is where a machine such as the Amstrad NC100 comes into its own. A
child or, preferably, group of children can work on the Amstrad together
to type in their text − and due to its portability this work can be done
anywhere. The finished work can be printed off using the built-in fonts
of the attached printer (and the Amstrad NC100 gives full control over
bold, italic, enlarged text, etc) or, more importantly, the text can be
transferred to the Acorn computers via the serial port using some
excellent software produced by S&S Solutions (Risc PC compatible!). The
software does, of course, allow data to be loaded from the Acorn to the
Amstrad as well. I have also been able to backup my address book, using
the data mode and Basic programs (written in BBC Basic 3.1).
8.1
The text can be transferred in a number of formats − straight ASCII,
Protext format (where it can be transferred with styles such as bold,
italic, etc), First Word Plus format, or plain data format. The software
also includes a Protext loader for Impression − this also works with
Style, etc.
8.1
The most important thing about this transfer software is that it is easy
to use and that it works every time without problems. I have tended to
use it in the plain text mode but I have used it in the Protext and data
modes and have had no problems at all. The accompanying manual is very
well written and even staff with little IT technical ability should be
able, by carefully following the manual, to make the software connect
first time.
8.1
I have not tried this yet but it is perfectly feasible that the Amstrad
NC100 could be used to enter data for a database/spreadsheet. The data
could be entered with commas to separate the fields. It can then be
transferred into one of the main databases on the Acorn (Pinpoint
Junior, Junior Database, or the new Advance database), after setting the
filetype to DFE(!), i.e. CSV file.
8.1
The software costs about £40 and includes a cable. You will also need a
machine with a serial chip in (like the newer machines from Acorn).
8.1
Some of the features of the Amstrad NC100:
8.1
•  Super twist LCD display: 80 characters by 8 lines
8.1
•  Mains adapter and four batteries (offering up to 40 hours of portable
power) with a lithium battery offering the necessary backup power.
8.1
•  Built-in full feature word processor − Protext
8.1
•  Spell checker − which is, to quote my colleague, ‘....very good at
picking up the sort of mistakes children make.....’
8.1
•  Simple name and address database − this allows for mail merging if
you wish.
8.1
•  Very large simple calculator with twelve large digits
8.1
•  Time zones
8.1
•  Simple diary function
8.1
•  Several alarms − repeating, or once only, etc.
8.1
•  BBC Basic (version 3.1) built in.
8.1
At the show in Harrogate 1993, I met up with someone who was in the
process of writing a program to allow the Amstrad and Acorn to connect.
He was planning to put this software into the public domain. I have not
heard from him yet but I am sure he will be near completing this
program.
8.1
I have also transferred text using ArcComm and HearSay II but had no
success with David Pilling’s older terminal programs − admittedly these
were very old.
8.1
The children in my class (Year 6) love using the A4000 system but are
equally keen to use the Amstrad for composing their work and then
transferring it to the A4000 or even printing it on the Canon BJ10sx
directly. Only once have we lost any data and that was because I use
rechargeable batteries in the Amstrad (or the mains adapter) which tend
to ‘die’ rather than ‘fade away’. The children kept switching the
Amstrad back on not realising what the problem was and it finally beeped
a warning that it had had enough! So be warned, care is needed if using
rechargeable batteries.
8.1
As Deputy Head, I have found it invaluable for working at school away
from the classroom and then transferring notes, letters, reports, etc.
It has a very useful facility − not unlike the abbreviations dictionary
in Style − which can save a great deal of unnecessary typing by allowing
you to set up ‘macros’ − sentences/words which can be retyped by the
computer at the touch of two keys.
8.1
I know that a lot of readers will be shouting − or at least thinking −
“What about the Pocket Book?” Well, the main problem for me is the size
of my fingers − I simply cannot type in any meaningful way on the Pocket
Book. The Amstrad supports a full-size keyboard.
8.1
Don’t get me wrong, I am convinced that the Pocket Book is an excellent
machine for many things − spreadsheet work, database work, even making
notes, but I don’t think it can be used seriously for word processing.
Well, not by anyone with medium (or larger) size fingers.
8.1
There is one other important consideration and that is the price of the
Amstrad NC100. At present, it is retailing at around £100 +VAT,
depending upon where you buy it. Tandy, for example, are selling it at
£117 inclusive.  A
8.1
Programming for Non-Programmer
8.1
Cain Hunt
8.1
Why bother programming?
8.1
Most people use ready-made applications (e.g. Impression) as tools which
allow them to do complicated jobs more easily. In DTP, for example, the
computer allows designs to be instantly revised and altered in a way
which would take many hours with glue and scissors. However, this misses
one of the key features of computers which is that they can follow
instructions in sequence to produce complex results. Simple programs
which don’t take long to write can often produce startling results.
8.1
Quick and dirty
8.1
Apologies to all the serious programmers who read this! Unless you are
writing programs for someone else to use, there is no point in writing
wonderful RISC-compliant programs. Get your commercial software to do
all the donkey work. Most of the programs that I write use the powerful
formatting and printing routines in Impression, Draw and PipeDream.
Write the program in the quickest way possible and don’t worry if your
solution is messy − as long as it works! However, I would commend the
use of structured programming (FOR... NEXT, REPEAT...UNTIL etc.) and
meaningful variable names so that you can still understand your work in
a couple of years time.
8.1
How to use CalMaker
8.1
I wanted a simple printed calendar with the minimum of effort so I wrote
CalMaker. If you have the monthly program disc, you can just double
click on the Obey file CSD=Here so that the output file is generated in
the correct place, double click on the Basic program CalMaker and type
in the year (e.g. 1994) and the day of the week on which 1st January
falls (e.g. 6 = Saturday). The program will run and generate a text file
called CalOutput. Open the Template Impression file Template and drag
the file CalOutput to the topmost frame (1) in the document. Hey Presto,
there’s your calendar!
8.1
You can use Acorn’s Alarm or Alex Hopkins’ Calendar to find out what day
the 1st of January is.
8.1
If you don’t get the program disc and therefore don’t have the template
file here is how you create your own:
8.1
Make a page with four columns and link them as in the diagram below.
8.1
Alter Normal style so that it is Homerton.Medium, 10pt with no space
above or below paragraphs but a 150% line spacing. Place seven “centre”
tabs so they are evenly spaced in the narrow columns (frames 2, 3 & 4).
8.1
Alter Main Heading style to Bold, 40pt, centred.
8.1
Alter Sub-Heading style to Bold, 16pt, centred.
8.1
These are really just suggestions: play around with the design to find
one that you like.
8.1
How it works
8.1
The program counts through the year from 1st January printing each date
under the right day of the week. At the beginning of each month it
leaves a space and prints the month name followed by the days of the
week as column headings.
8.1
Public Domain
8.1
This little program is yours to do with as you wish − no copyright etc.
It should be fairly easy to modify it for use with other DTP programs.
8.1
Calmaker program
8.1
REM >CalMaker
8.1
REM by Cain Hunt
8.1
REM USE AT YOUR OWN RISK - no guarantee that
8.1
 it will work!
8.1
DATA Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,
8.1
 Friday, Saturday, Sunday
8.1
DATA January, 31
8.1
DATA February, 28
8.1
DATA March, 31
8.1
DATA April, 30
8.1
DATA May, 31
8.1
DATA June, 30
8.1
DATA July, 31
8.1
DATA August, 31
8.1
DATA September, 30
8.1
DATA October, 31
8.1
DATA November, 30
8.1
DATA December, 31
8.1
DIM day$(6), month$(11), len%(11)
8.1
FOR X% = 0 TO 6
8.1
  READ day$(X%)
8.1
NEXT X%
8.1
FOR X% = 0 TO 11
8.1
  READ month$(X%), len%(X%)
8.1
NEXT X%
8.1
PRINT “Calendar Maker”’
8.1
INPUT “What year”, year$
8.1
year% = VAL(year$)
8.1
IF (year% MOD 4 = 0) AND ((year% MOD 100 <>
8.1
 0) OR (year% MOD 400 = 0)) THEN len%(1) = 29: REM if leap year then
February has 29 days
8.1
PRINT
8.1
FOR X% = 0 TO 6
8.1
  PRINT ;X%+1; “. ”; day$(X%)
8.1
NEXT X%
8.1
PRINT ’“What day is 1st January ”; year$;
8.1
“ (0 to 6)”;
8.1
INPUT day%
8.1
day% -= 1
8.1
*SPOOL CalOutput
8.1
PRINT “{heading”“ }”; CHR$10; year$; “{heading”“ }
8.1
”;: REM all
8.1
 the text in  is Impression commands
8.1
FOR month% = 0 TO 11
8.1
  PRINT “{sub -Heading”“}”; month$(month%);
8.1
 CHR$10; “{sub -Heading”“}”;
8.1
  FOR X% = 0 TO 6
8.1
    PRINT CHR$9; LEFT$(day$(X%),3);
8.1
  NEXT X%
8.1
  PRINT CHR$10;
8.1
  REM A new line in Basic e.g. using PRINT
8.1
 generates CHR$10 and CHR$13 both of which cause a new line when
imported into
8.1
Impression and make the text double spaced, so PRINT CHR$10; is used.
8.1
  REM Tab along the first row to the correct
8.1
 day-of-week column
8.1
  IF day% > 0 THEN
8.1
    FOR X% = 1 TO day%
8.1
      PRINT CHR$9;
8.1
    NEXT X%
8.1
  ENDIF
8.1
  row_count% = 0
8.1
  FOR X% = 1 TO len%(month%)
8.1
    PRINT CHR$9; X%;
8.1
    day% += 1
8.1
    IF day% = 7 THEN day% = 0: PRINT
8.1
 CHR$10;: row_count% += 1: REM at the end of the row then print a new
line and increase the row count.
8.1
  NEXT X%
8.1
  REM Print extra new lines so that reach
8.1
 month occupies seven lines.
8.1
  FOR X% = 1 TO 7 - row_count%
8.1
    PRINT CHR$10;
8.1
  NEXT X%
8.1
  REM Jump to new column after April and
8.1
 August
8.1
  IF month% = 3 OR month% = 7 THEN PRINT
8.1
 “
8.1
”;
8.1
NEXT month%
8.1
*SPOOL
8.1
*SetType CalOutput text
8.1
Obey file “!CSD=Here”
8.1
This file just consists of the single command line:
8.1
*dir <obey$dir>  A
8.1
Comment Column
8.1
•  (Im)Perfect binding − I agree wholeheartedly with Dave Floyd (Archive
7.12 p69) that Perfect-bound manuals are a perfect nuisance. My solution
is to get an A5 three-ring binder, go along to my local wholesale
stationer (or local printer) and get him to drill three holes and
guillotine off the edge of the binding. (Anyone know where I can get A5
binders with slip-cases? My supplier can’t get them any more.)  Roger
King, Guernsey.
8.1
•  Impression Publisher − Is it stable? − I read with interest the
comment of Barry Humpidge of Sheffield. I have used Impression Publisher
since v0.20 (a beta test version) and I was surprised and delighted by
its stability and “bugfreeness” even then. (I remember working with an
early release version of QuarkXPress 3.3 on a Mac and that was
definitely not stable or bug free and that upgrade cost £125). Now I
have v4.0 and use it daily for all my DTP and WP needs and, in the three
months I have had it, it has crashed once − not bad for 90 days very
hard use!
8.1
So has the wait been worthwhile? An unreserved YES! Not just for the
major improvements like irregular shaped graphic frames and much better
colour control but the little things like the crop marks for small
frames (Border No. 11) or the compile font usage feature − vital for
bureaux and all our pockets!
8.1
I do have two moans (I suppose): (a) CC, will you please get us
irregular shaped text frames? (b) If you install a document and the
fonts are not available, you get the error box informing you that
Impression will substitute another font. CC, how about giving us the
option to abort and install the required font(s) − in some cases, it
could save me a lot of time! (What about Font Directory − that would
save you even more time! Ed.)
8.1
I know spot colours will be with us very soon and OPI is also near, so
once the two items above have been dealt with, Quark and PageMaker might
as well give up and move over for the British Rolls Royce (= Risc PC +
Impression Publisher).
8.1
Paul, don’t worry about using Publisher for producing Archive − Land
Mobile, a full colour magazine, is created in Publisher and they have
had very few problems.  Keith Parker, Southall.
8.1
I have to admit that this isn’t the story I have been getting from all
Publisher users, quite a few of whom are having lots of crashes... but
I’ll keep you posted. Ed.
8.1
(A later comment from Ed...) Hmmm, I’ve been using Publisher for a few
days now and get of the order of one crash every two hours − perhaps
it’s because I’m working on very old files created in the mists of
Impression time?! Watch this space... Ed.
8.1
•  Notebook PCs − Stuart Bell’s article in Archive 7.12 p21 about his
search for and use of a Notebook PC made good reading; doubly
interesting for me as I’d just completed a similar exercise, albeit for
rather more self-indulgent reasons − a wish to get outside and enjoy the
recent, gorgeous weather.
8.1
Generally speaking, my selection and rejection process followed Stuart’s
to the letter, the difference being that the piggy bank was extra-small.
As it turned out, it was a case of Hobson’s choice, the only offering
anywhere near my price bracket on the High Street or in my collection of
office-equipment catalogues was a Samsung ‘Magic Note’ notebook-size
word-processor, Model SQW-1100. The RRP is £300 +VAT but our local
branch of Office World was selling them for just under £200 including
mains adaptor and VAT − and including a rechargeable battery pack which,
in their catalogue and Samsung blurb, was rather confusingly described
as ‘optional’.
8.1
In use, the compressed keyboard layout inevitably takes a little
familiarisation, while the ‘feel’ of the keys is a little spongy and
needing rather more force than perhaps is normal. My main problem was
getting used to the space key which is quite small and slightly offset,
so my earlier documents were littered with ‘\’ characters where there
should have been spaces. Not to worry, Edit’s search and replace
function quickly took care of that (although I could have done it on the
Magic Note).
8.1
The 16-bit CPU and 8Kb SRAM display operate at a speed clearly well
below that of a notebook PC; sub-ARM1 would about sum it up. By this, I
mean you can always punch in the characters at speeds within your
personal typing capabilities but, the faster you go, the longer it takes
the screen display to catch up. Initially, this is rather off-putting
but you soon get used to it. For the same reason, although the unit has
the full set of word-processor functions − block cut-and-paste, search
and replace, delete and so on − and, in theory, it would be possible to
use it as a stand-alone WP − it would be far more productive just to
enter the text and edit it later using your ‘proper’ PC, Acorn or
whatever. In this regard, it fully meets Stuart’s very apt description
as a ‘text acquisition’ machine.
8.1
Despite these limitations, the Magic Note is a very well-designed unit
which, for me, has proved to be a major boon and excellent value. It has
64Kb RAM and the battery is advertised to last for up to 4 hours but, in
practice, I haven’t come up against either of these limits. The case and
keyboard seem extremely robust, the 80 character × 14 line display is
nicely controllable and surprisingly clear, even in direct sunlight, and
there are some well thought out features such as the hot keys being
printed on the case below the display.
8.1
I’ve mentioned only word-processing but, for your money, you also get a
basic spreadsheet, appointment and address managers, loads of utilities
and parallel/serial ports for printers, fax/modem packs, and so on.
Small wonder that, on seeing me using the Magic Note whilst multi-
tasking with some serious topless sunbathing, there have been coarse
wolf-whistles and cries of “Yuppy” from my neighbour and his wife − and
not necessarily in that order...
8.1
The all-important problem of data-storage and transfer is simply
resolved by the internal floppy disc drive which is a standard 720Kb MS-
DOS unit; true portability with no need for expensive A-links, RemoteFS
or whatever. With a bit of jiggling and thanks to Edit, I’ve managed to
massage the output text format to be 100% readable by Ovation and
Impression Publisher. Indeed, thanks to ‘A.N.Other’ utility, this
process is now fully automated. I’m purposely not giving details in this
note because the subject of imported text manipulation goes well outside
this particular application. Ed tells me a number of readers asked for
further advice in the recent Archive survey, so I intend to prepare a
full article for later publication.
8.1
In the meantime, if anyone would like further details of the Magic Note,
please drop me a note with a self-addressed A4/A5 envelope (or sticky
label) and a 25p stamp and you shall have them by return. Incidentally,
although Office World prices are some of the lowest I’ve seen for
general office supplies, they are not box-shifters, they offer a good
crop of money-back guarantees and I can recommend their services. They
have 24 branches in England (York and below) and will deliver next day
(delivery free on orders of £50 or more +VAT). Contact them by ’phone on
0345 444700 or fax on 556688.
8.1
One final safety note, based on personal experience. If you go in for
the multi-tasking bit, do practice safe sunbathing and take precautions
− especially if, like me, you are severely follicly challenged. I didn’t
and the pilots at our local gliding club report that the top of Jim’s
head was the best homing-beacon they’d ever seen. You have been
warned...
8.1
Jim Nottingham, 16 Westfield Close, Pocklington, York, YO4 2EY.
8.1
•  Operating systems, monopolies and markets − When I started work at
Kingshurst CTC in 1988, there was some debate about which computer
system to install. The arguments will be familiar to most people −
“Wordperfect is the leading wordprocessor, so let’s prepare the children
for a future in work” etc.
8.1
When RISC OS 2 was launched, it caused considerable interest in the
Acorn enthusiasts’ camp but was dismissed as a quirky non-standard
desktop by the “industry standard” lobby. I argued that it was
impossible to tell what the interface standard would be like in seven
years when the initial year 7 left the school but the reply was that
whatever it was it wouldn’t be RISC OS.
8.1
Although it’s only unofficial, I have a reasonably good idea of what
Windows 4 will look like when Microsoft launch it in 1995. Pop up menus,
iconbar (a bit more flexible in use than the current RISC OS one) and a
range of features familiar to RISC OS users. Since the majority of year
7 pupils from 1988 are still at school, it would be a fair to say that
RISC OS was a far better training environment for Windows 4 than even
Windows 3 and, in 1989, Windows 3 was not even a product on sale.
8.1
I am still of the view that teaching with industry standard software,
for its own sake, is not a sound argument. Let’s educate children for
change and leave the specific technical training to either specialist
training organisations or employers close to the time of specialisation.
8.1
Don’t get me wrong, I am in favour of broad vocational education even as
young as eleven. It is essential that students leaving school understand
how businesses work and in which areas future careers might be pursued
but it is really naive to concentrate too much on detailed specifics in
areas of rapid development. In a changing world, we need to educate for
change not for maintaining the status quo.
8.1
I can just envisage the launch of Windows 4. Windows 3 will be
proclaimed to be unfriendly and with poor file-handling capabilities by
the same people who wax lyrical about its virtues at the moment. The “we
invented the idea” will be assumed and poor little innovators such as
Apple and Acorn will have no chance of taking Microsoft to court over
copyright infringement much less gain any recognition for their
pioneering work. The PC magazines will carry reviews and articles
extolling the innovative virtue of Microsoft. Enough to make you throw
up isn’t it?
8.1
Incidentally, what is to stop Microsoft from programming undocumented
features into the operating system to make sure that all their software
runs well and that everything else runs like a snail? While everyone was
caught up with open hardware systems and PC clones, it seems that the
really important element, the operating system has been left to a single
privately-owned monopoly.
8.1
You might have heard of Windows NT. This is another operating system
from Microsoft but it is primarily targeted at the Unix market. Windows
NT is, in a way, a better philosophy in that it is portable across
machines with different processors and so makes it far easier for
software vendors to write for the plethora of workstations from Sun,
Dec, Silicon Graphics, etc. This portability is not something which
Microsoft have built in because of their sense of fair play but as an
expedient in attacking the Unix workstation market. Unix is a common
denominator for workstations but there are still significant overheads
involved in moving applications between machines. Windows NT is
Microsoft’s attempt to spread its market share and corner the
workstation market. Acorn could write a software layer so that NT would
run on ARM processors but machines would need a minimum of 16Mb of RAM
to work sensibly and a lot more for most applications.
8.1
An area where Microsoft are not dominant in the operating system stakes
is in networking. Novell is the market leader here but it is another
area in which Microsoft are interested in improving their market share.
What is the effect of this dominance of the market by one or two
companies in what is effectively a technological monopoly? Well, one is
high prices. Admittedly, some of the products I am about to mention are
more sophisticated and heavily feature-laden than their Acorn
counterparts but certainly not to the extent the price differential
would suggest, particularly when economies of scale are taken into
account.
8.1
−  100 users for Microsoft Office Professional − £9,999 (Compare this
to, say, Fireworks and then add some extras such as site licences for
Impression Publisher, Artworks, DataPower and ArcTerm7 and you will
still be only at about 25% of the cost and without a user-limit on a
single site.) You also need a 33MHz 486 with 8Mb RAM and a minimum of
100Mb of free hard disc space to think about running Office Professional
seriously.
8.1
−  10 users AutoCad − £3,200 (compare this to Cadet Pro or Apollonius
PDT)
8.1
−  LanDesk virus protect    − £650 (compare this to Pineapple at £28 per
year)
8.1
−  250 users Novell   − £3,300
8.1
−  LanDesk Manager − £950 (AUN £399 plus, say, £80 for improved
management software)
8.1
(All prices are ex VAT.)
8.1
You will also find that commercial organisations supplying and
installing these might charge say £800 for installation of the software
alone.
8.1
Think of the hundreds of thousands of Novell installations around the
world and then try to square the cost of Netware against that of Acorn’s
AUN which must have a very small fraction of the size of market. The
very fact that Acorn is still in business and Acorn software vendors
survive is an indication of the profiteering in the mega-monopolies of
the commercial IT world.
8.1
On the face of it, most PC clones are very much less expensive than
Risc PCs but if we cost support and software the balance changes
significantly. The fundamental price of the machine is, however, a
marketing “Achilles heel” for Acorn because it is the starting point for
many people buying a computer whether for home, school or business. If I
can buy a 486 with all the bits and pieces for £1,000 incVAT and it
costs £1,500 for a similarly-equipped Risc PC with a 486 card and enough
memory to run Windows, I have to ask the question as to whether the
extra £500 is justified. If all I want is basic wordprocessing/DTP,
either machine will do and if I go for lesser names than Microsoft,
software is not too different in price. PCs are currently less easy to
manage, but this could change with Windows 4 and so Acorn need to
develop RISC OS 4 which is even better and/or reduce the price of
machines. Risc PC might even help currently loyal Acorn Users over the
transitional difficulties and onto the PC side of the fence so that
their next purchase is a PC!
8.1
All in all, I believe that the continuation of the Microsoft monopoly
through the demise of RISC OS and Apple would be a great shame and
possibly a step towards a more serious situation where the whole of
World Information and Communications is in the grip of a single company.
Personally, I think I will continue to use RISC OS for as long as
possible because I do not like large bureaucratic monopolies dictating
prices to customers because the customer happens to be technologically
illiterate and is scared of change or discontinuity.
8.1
This fear of change helps Acorn in the education market but there is
enormous pressure on education which is often seen as a poor relation to
industry which is not present in the industrial sector.
8.1
Those working in the Microsoft world also have a vested interest in
keeping things that bit mystical − ask any of the main suppliers and
they will tell you that they make their money on cabling, software and
support services and not on selling machines. This is another area of
advantage to the company that owns the operating system but does not
have responsibility for hardware development. I have even seen quotes
from companies which include fine tuning of network software after
installation. In other words, when we install your software and it
doesn’t work we will charge you £500 per day to come and put the
problems right! Would you accept this from your local Ford dealer?
8.1
This leads us full circle. If we do not produce a technologically
educated society, the giants of the IT world could become more powerful
than elected governments and customers, either consumers or corporate
will be “ripped off” because they do not know any better and have all
their information eggs in one company’s corporate basket.  Ian Lynch,
Tamworth.
8.1
•  Pentium second processor − In a couple of official-looking magazines
recently I have seen references to a Pentium second processor for the
Risc PC, both saying authoritatively that you “will be able to put one
in your Risc PC”.
8.1
First of all, to put a foreign processor on the Risc PC requires a good
deal of design work − you can’t just buy a processor, make a PCB and
stick it in the machine! This means that whether any given second
processor appears, be it Pentium or Mac or 486, depends on a company
deciding that it will be worth their while investing in the development
work. I gather that the sale of Pentium-based computers isn’t going as
well as Intel had hoped because so much re-programming of applications
is needed before they will run on the new platforms.
8.1
Secondly, the Pentium processor is extremely power-hungry. This means
you need a pretty hefty power supply and an elaborate cooling system. We
all know how expandable the Risc PC is but the current Risc PCs are just
not designed to cope with the kind of load that a Pentium would place on
the power supply and cooling system.
8.1
So, will it be worth someone’s while doing all the necessary software,
hardware and case re-design? Well, given the limited number of people
who (a) have a Risc PC and (b) also want a Pentium, I think not.
Certainly, Aleph One say they currently have no plans to do a Pentium
second processor.  Ed.
8.1
We asked Peter Bondar, Acorn’s Risc PC Product Manager, about this and
he explained what had happened. Apparently, the Risc PC was designed
with sufficient power supply capability and cooling to handle the P24T
32-bit Pentium 486-replacement chip whose full specification they had
obtained from Intel. Unfortunately, it now looks as if, for various
reasons, this chip may never see the light of day. The other
alternative, to use a full 64-bit Pentium chip is more difficult because
whilst the P24T would have been able to use the same ASIC as the 486,
the double width data bus would mean designing a new ASIC and you would
have to have substantially more on-card cache. Power supply and
dissipation is becoming less of a problem as the newer Pentiums are
slightly lower power but it still doesn’t look too optimistic that we
will have a Pentium second processor in the foreseeable future.  A
8.1
ARM Programming − Part 4
8.1
James Riden
8.1
This month we are going to look at arithmetic in assembly language. If
you have a commercial assembler, you will be able to use floating point
instructions but otherwise you are limited to integers only. The
technique usually used to overcome this is known as fixed point
arithmetic. This basically means dealing with a register as if it had a
binary point somewhere in it. A machine code square root finder is
included on this month’s disc and we will use this as an example.
8.1
The method used to find the root is successive approximation. We want to
find the root of a known number. The computer will guess what the root
is and then square it to find out how close the real answer is to our
guess. Then our guess is altered to make it nearer the answer. The
arithmetic steps for finding the root of number are:
8.1
direction = 1
8.1
guess = 100*1024
8.1
step = 100*1024
8.1
repeat
8.1
  square = guess * guess
8.1
  if square > number and direction = up
8.1
 then step = step/2 : direction = -1
8.1
  if square < number and direction = down
8.1
 then step = step/2 : direction = 1
8.1
  guess = guess + step * direction
8.1
until square = number
8.1
The major advantage of this routine is that it has relatively simple
components but it still requires decimal numbers unless number is a
perfect square. Now consider a register Rx representing an integer of
size Rx / 1024 (i.e. Rx = number *1024). If we pass a value to this
routine multiplied by 1024, the answer should come back multiplied by
1024. Then (in Basic) we can divide it by 1024 to get a decimal answer.
Unfortunately, it’s not quite that simple because if integer I is such
that I^2=Rx*1024 then I = SQR(Rx)*SQR(1024) = SQR(Rx)*32 so it in fact
needs do be divided by 32 to get the root. So in Basic we can write:
8.1
root = guess/32
8.1
This can cause another problem. Since each ARM register is 32 bits wide
and we have used 5 for the decimal part, we only have 27 bits left, of
which one is used to represent negative numbers. This reduces the
magnitude of the maximum value possible, which is not a problem in this
case but it can be in other applications. If we need a bigger answer, we
will have to sacrifice accuracy by reducing the left shifting of the
registers.
8.1
When this routine is written in assembler, you need to remember the left
shifts or, in other words, where the binary point is for each register.
Accordingly, when adding two numbers make sure the binary points are in
the same place and when multiplying don’t let any information ‘fall off’
the top.
8.1
Fixed point arithmetic is used where speed is the priority with accuracy
not particularly necessary, mainly in demos and games, for instance
bouncing balls and 3D graphics. Accuracy will be retained until the data
is written to the screen when it will be lost, since POINT 0,4.83 and
POINT 0,4.9 will both put the pixel in the same place. If you require
good accuracy as well as speed, you need an assembler which works with
floating point instructions.  A
8.1
REM >Root
8.1
DIM code 1024
8.1
PRINT “Calculates the root of a 32 bit number in machine code”
8.1
acc%=19
8.1
REM this many bits for decimal part (leaves 31-acc% for integer part)
8.1
FOR pass=0 TO 2 STEP 2
8.1
link=14
8.1
sp=13
8.1
step=9
8.1
dir=8
8.1
root=7
8.1
count=6   :REM in case we get stuck
8.1
work=5
8.1
temp=4
8.1
val=1
8.1
power=0
8.1
P%=code
8.1
[OPT pass
8.1
;calling parameters are...
8.1
;r1 - the number to work out the square root of (positive only please!)
8.1
;on exit r0 is the square root (shifted left 5 times)
8.1
.getroot
8.1
MOV      dir,     #1       ;going up
8.1
MOV      step,    #1024    ;initial step of half the number
8.1
MOV      root,    #0
8.1
MOV      count,   #1000    ; 500 tries and then give up
8.1
.rootloop
8.1
MUL      work,    dir,     step
8.1
ADD      root,    root,    work
8.1
MUL      work,    root,    root     ;work out square of guessed root
8.1
CMP      work,    val      ;are we too high ..
8.1
CMPGE    dir,     #0       ;AND is dir > 0 (=1) ?
8.1
MVNGE    dir,     #0       ;yes, set dir to -1 (-1 = NOT 0)
8.1
MOVGE    step,    step,    ASR#1    ;and halve our step
8.1
CMP      work,    val      ;are we too low ..
8.1
CMPLT    dir,     #0       ;AND is dir < 0 (=-1) ?
8.1
MOVLT    dir,     #1       ;yes, set dir to 1
8.1
MOVLT    step,    step,    ASR#1    ;and halve our step
8.1
SUBS     count,   count,   #1
8.1
CMP      step,    #0       ;is step > 0
8.1
CMPGT    count,   #0       ; and is count > 0 ?
8.1
BGT      rootloop          ;if both then loop...
8.1
STR      root,    result   ; for BASIC testing
8.1
MOV      PC,      link     ;terminate routine
8.1
.result  EQUD     0
8.1
;note the use of double CMPs as ANDs & fixed point arithmatic.
8.1
]NEXTpass
8.1
PRINT “(Timed using a Basic loop)...”
8.1
PRINT “Time taken”,;
8.1
TIME=0
8.1
FOR Z%=1 TO 5000:num=RND(2^21):A%=2:B%=num:CALL getroot:NEXT Z%
8.1
PRINT INT((TIME/Z%)*10*1000);“µs per root”
8.1
num=RND(2^29)  :REM we’re using acc% bits for the fractional part
8.1
A%=2 :REM square root
8.1
B%=num :REM value to root
8.1
CALL getroot
8.1
PRINT “Originial number  ”;num/(2^acc%)
8.1
PRINT “MC root           ”;(!result)/(2^(acc%/2))
8.1
PRINT “BASICs value      ”;SQR(num/(2^acc%))
8.1
REM >Mandelbrot
8.1
MODE13
8.1
DIM code 4096
8.1
PROCassemble
8.1
A%=(-2.5)*(2^acc%)    :REM X is -2.25 shifted
8.1
B%=(-1.5)*(2^acc%)    :REM Y is -1.5 shifted
8.1
size=3                :REM size = 3
8.1
C%=(size/256)*(2^acc%):REM so calulate step
8.1
D%=127                :REM with this many
8.1
 iterations
8.1
CALL code
8.1
END
8.1
:
8.1
DEFPROCassemble
8.1
acc%=13 :REM number of places to shift left
8.1
x=0:y=1:s=2:nx=3:ny=4:i=5:l=6
8.1
px=7:py=8:ox=9:oy=10:p=11:q=14:oi=13
8.1
scr=12:sp=13:link=14
8.1
FOR pass=0 TO 2 STEP 2
8.1
P%=code
8.1
[OPT pass
8.1
.input  EQUD 149
8.1
        EQUD -1
8.1
.output EQUD 0
8.1
        EQUD 0
8.1
.plotit
8.1
STMFD (sp)!,{link }
8.1
STR sp,stackholder
8.1
MOV ox,R0 ;input parameters
8.1
MOV oy,R1
8.1
MOV oi,R3
8.1
MOV l,#1<<28
8.1
ADR R0,input
8.1
ADR R1,output
8.1
SWI “OS_ReadVduVariables”
8.1
LDR scr,output
8.1
ADD scr,scr,#81920
8.1
MOV py,#256
8.1
.yloop
8.1
MOV px,#320
8.1
MUL ny,s,py:ADD y,oy,ny
8.1
.xloop
8.1
MUL nx,s,px:ADD x,ox,nx
8.1
MOV i,oi
8.1
MOV p,#0:MOV q,#0
8.1
.iloop
8.1
MUL nx,p,p
8.1
MOV nx,nx,ASR#acc%
8.1
MUL ny,q,q
8.1
SUB nx,nx,ny,ASR#acc%
8.1
ADD nx,nx,x
8.1
; s=p^2-q^2+x  and compensate for squaring
8.1
 a shifted number.
8.1
BVS exitiloop
8.1
MUL ny,p,q
8.1
MOV ny,ny,ASR#(acc%-1)
8.1
ADD q,ny,y     ;q=2pq+y
8.1
BVS exitiloop
8.1
MOV p,nx ;p=s
8.1
MUL ny,p,p:MUL nx,q,q:ADD nx,nx,ny:CMP nx,l:BGE exitiloop
8.1
; is x^2+y^2 > r^2 ?
8.1
SUBS i,i,#1
8.1
BGT iloop         ;do again unless black or
8.1
 out of range
8.1
.exitiloop
8.1
STRB i,[scr],#-1   ;plot the pixel
8.1
SUBS px,px,#1     ;have we finished the row?
8.1
BGT xloop
8.1
SWI “OS_ReadEscapeState”
8.1
BCS finish
8.1
SUBS py,py,#1     ;have we finished the
8.1
 picture ?
8.1
BGT yloop
8.1
.finish
8.1
LDR sp,stackholder
8.1
LDMFD (sp)!,{pc }
8.1
.stackholder EQUD 0
8.1
]NEXTpass
8.1
ENDPROC  A
8.1
Help!!!!
8.1
•  C book, please − I have been using Easy C and DeskLib alongside an
old edition of Mark Burgess’ Dabhand Guide on C. I would like to buy a
book on C of a more reference style. Have you any suggestions? (I am one
of those strange people who can sit down and read the PRM from cover to
cover and enjoy it!) Robert Lytton, Leeds 0532-755276.
8.1
•  Colour printers − Can anyone tell us how resistant to fading are the
printouts from colour printers?  Alan Angus, Blyth.
8.1
•  Second ST506 on an A420? − I would like to increase my hard disc
storage facility on the cheap. I gather that it is possible to control
two ST506 drives. Can anyone tell me what connections need to be made
and what is the largest size of ST506 an A420 can handle? Robert Lytton,
Leeds 0532-755276.
8.1
•  Subgrams, please − “Does anyone know of a program, PD or retail, that
can find all the possible words or combination of words that can be made
of a subset of the letters of another word?”  Jeff Moon, Low Fell.
8.1
I think it’s called a ‘subgram’ and I’d be interested, too. If there’s a
PD one, perhaps someone would send a copy into the NCS office?  Ed.
8.1
•  Zelanites − Does anyone know how to get this RISC OS 2 game working
on RISC OS 3, please? Andrew Crompton, 0704-537604.
8.1
Help Offered
8.1
•  Key Stage information − I have the complete Key Stage 1&2 Compendium
of Draft Proposals on disc (with very few typographic errors!). If you
find these documents fascinating or are convinced that little will
change and would like a copy, please send either £1 or a disc and self-
addressed envelope to R Lytton, 7 Helmsley Drive, West Park, Leeds LS16
5HY. The SCAA are happy for it to be distributed as PD. I wonder if
David Holden is interested?
8.1
When the final (ha! ha!) orders come out at the beginning of next year,
I will be happy to distribute them too!  Robert Lytton.  A
8.1
Risc PC Column
8.1
Keith Hodge
8.1
Monitors
8.1
A number of correspondents have written to me about matters relating to
screen modes, and have mentioned that flicker can just be perceived in
the highest resolution modes. In fact, 1280×1024 in 256 colours has a
slight flicker on my Acorn AKF85, this with 2Mb of VRAM.
8.1
Flicker can also be affected by a property of the cathode ray tube
called phosphor persistence. It is the deliberate control of this
property which allows older Acorn monitors, (and also your domestic
television) to display the old 50Hz frame rate screen modes with only a
small amount of flicker. The longer the persistence, the less the
flicker but if it is too long, moving objects have ‘comet tails’ as you
see on the very long persistence CRTs of radar displays. The choice of
phosphor persistence is always a compromise.
8.1
Most modern multisync monitors have, in my experience, relatively short
persistence phosphors which can exacerbate flicker produced by low
screen refresh rates. Hence, you can arrive at the situation where one
person is quite happy using a particular screen mode, because his
long(ish) persistence CRT is making the flicker less noticeable than for
someone using a monitor with a shorter persistence CRT.
8.1
Monitor definition file
8.1
Andrew Clover has sent in a monitor definition file for the Acorn AKF60.
This new definition file allows the letter box modes to be displayed at
full height, and adds a 1280×1024 display. I have sent a copy to Paul
for the monthly disc.
8.1
(Experience has shown that it’s not quite as easy as one person
producing a monitor definition file and then distributing it around to
everyone else. Tuning a given monitor to a given computer takes a bit of
time and a bit of skill − see Andrew Garrard’s article on page 41.
Never-the-less, I have put it on the disc and you can try it and see −
it may work OK on your system.  Ed.)
8.1
Software compatibility
8.1
By the time you read this, all the software which Computer Concepts are
converting to the Risc PC should be available. When I spoke to them at
the end of July, all products were available except the Turbo Drivers
which were going to be available in two weeks time. They also stated
that Artworks is now stable at V1.54.
8.1
A number of people have reported that FireWorkz does not display 24-bit
graphics, and I can confirm this. No doubt Colton Software will be
correcting this in the next release. (For the solution, see PipeLineZ on
page 69.  Ed.)
8.1
If Brian Brunswick, the author of Memphis (the automatically expanding/
contracting RAM disc), reads this column, could he please let me know if
he has an upgraded version which runs on the Risc PC? I have had more
wails of anguish about this, than any other program! (People obviously
value it highly! Ed)
8.1
One thing which has been reported by a number of people, is the
importance of changing to a 16 or 256 colour, old style mode (12, 35
etc) when a program refuses to work in the new screen displays. Quite a
large percentage will then work OK, although some programs then produce
rather unusual colours.
8.1
Arthur Brend has found a problem with Knowledge Organiser 2, which I
find quite worrying. He reports that a file of some 1300 small text
items, which took 20 seconds to sort on his A5000, now takes 55 seconds
on the Risc PC! Also, PipeDream now takes 7 seconds to load, against 5
seconds from a slow hard disc on an A5000. Has anybody else found
similar problems?
8.1
He also reports difficulty in getting PipeDream to install automatically
on the iconbar from switch on and further reading of his letter has
reinforced my feelings that we urgently need someone to produce an
article for the column, explaining in simple terms, how to go about
doing the things which seemed so simple with our old !Boot files on the
Archimedes.
8.1
For all those who are having the same problems, my solution is to place
PipeDream in the Apps directory. RISC OS, as part of its boot up
sequence, initializes all applications inside this directory. This
causes the applications’ file aliases to be set up, thus informing the
filer to start up PipeDream when one of its files is double-clicked.
This is possibly not in accord with Acorn guidelines, but there again,
are there any?
8.1
If you require PipeDream on the iconbar at start up, drop the file
“$.!Boot.Choices.Boot.Tasks .!Boot” onto Edit, and scan down the file
until you find the line “RMEnsure VProtect 0 RMRun
System:Modules.VProtect”. Add a new line below this which reads “Run
ADFS::HardDisc.$.Apps .!PipeDream”, then save the file. Now reboot the
machine and there is PipeDream on your iconbar. Please note that I am
making the assumption that your hard disc is still named “HardDisc”, but
if not, amend the wording as required in your new line.
8.1
One final point on this topic. Every application seen by the filer has
its sprites placed in memory, and any aliases set up are stored by the
OS. All of these take up memory, so if you place every piece of software
you possess in the Apps directory, do not be surprised if you end up
with half your memory tied up in the wimp sprite pool!
8.1
Lastly, watch out for PD and other applications which use the old
MemAlloc module to change machine parameters when they are launched.
This can lead to all sorts of problems, ranging from interminably long
screen redraws because the font cache size has been set to zero, through
to no boot action taking place when the machine is next used or, worse
still, minor adjustments to your carefully set up configuration which
undo all the fine tuning you have done since the machine arrived. Oh,
but of course, you have saved your preferred CMOS settings using
!Configure, haven’t you?
8.1
Hardware news
8.1
It was very pleasing to hear, in a letter from Martin Grossel, that the
standard of product support offered by Acorn dealers remains very high.
Martin had a requirement to connect a SCSI drive to his Risc PC to
transfer all his existing software to his new machine. He possessed an
old 8-bit Lingenuity Card but this was not recognised by the machine.
Lindis were good enough to send him a number of versions of the software
and he reports that version 2.54 works fine on the Risc PC.
8.1
I have also had excellent support from HCCS. I rang them asking for a
firmware upgrade for my Ultimate Micro Podule SCSI interface (as I am
adding a CD-ROM drive), and it arrived the next day FOC. Included on the
support disc was a file ‘UG_TEXT’, which detailed the SWI’s provided and
the method of using them. Well done, HCCS, for setting an example for
other suppliers to follow.
8.1
However, firms can only keep up this very helpful attitude if they make
a reasonable profit, so please bear this in mind when comparing prices
with the IBM PC world, and please, when you get a firmware update, send
the old EPROM and any support disc back in the next post.
8.1
I have discovered a very interesting fact about high density Apple Mac
discs on the Risc PC. With the aid of Look Systems !DiscEd (part of the
Disc Rescue package), it is possible to read, and recover the disc
contents. Is this because of the Risc PC hardware, or does it work on
the Archimedes as well? (I believe the Apple ‘Super Drives’ as they are
called, are the same as our standard 1.6Mb drives. It’s just the way the
files and directories are laid on the disc that are different. So, using
MacFS, on any Acorn machine with 1.6Mb drives, you can read Mac discs.
Ed.)
8.1
Floppy drives
8.1
I’m afraid that there is no news of any expansion cards to cure the
problem of lack of multiple floppy drives. I have had to resort to
modifying my twin drive BBC Master which has a DOS co-processor, so that
it has one of each size disc drive, thus enabling me to copy from 5¼“ to
3½” discs!
8.1
Readers’ comments
8.1
Philip Draper, in a very detailed letter, has commented on how effective
the PC Emulator is. He finds that the reported CPU speed is about 8MHz.
Subjectively though, it seems faster than that, possibly because screen
update and file handling from the hard disc are both so fast. Very
interesting, is the fact that even under DOS 3.2 (which does not support
high density discs) 1.44 Mb floppy discs can be read from and written
to. However, copying from a floppy disc to the hard disc is reported to
be best done under RISC OS because, otherwise, it is a rather slow
process. Please note that you require !PCEm V1.81 or later, and it must
be upgraded using the patch supplied with the machine.
8.1
Requests for help
8.1
Can anybody with access to the RISC OS 3.5 provisional documentation,
provide details of any new or updated SWI’s that have been provided to
read the available VRAM and main DRAM?
8.1
Question of the month
8.1
Did you know that you can speed up a Risc PC? Well, I am teasing you all
a little bit, but J. Ross has pointed out that it still helps to
RMFaster the SharedCLibrary, ColourTrans and FPEmulator. It does,
however, use up some memory which has to be born in mind.
8.1
Tailpiece
8.1
After three months of ownership, I still think it is a very impressive
machine. Possibly it is still waiting, as the Archimedes was for some
time after its release, for some really useful, high quality hardware
and software to do justice to the “hidden potential” of the machine. I
must also report that I managed to run out of memory one day, and this
with 8Mb! However, a quick look at the iconbar revealed how easy it is
to go on loading up applications, seemingly without limit, because I had
forgotten during the last few months, all about that old bogey, shortage
of memory. Is it possible to get enough memory? Lastly, due to a very
full postbag on return from holiday, I have had to hold over a number of
comments until next month.
8.1
As usual, I can be contacted by letter at the HES address on the back
page, by telephone after 7p.m. or by Packet Radio from anywhere in the
world, as GW4NEI@GB7OAR.#16.GBR.EU.  A
8.1
Creating Monitor Definition Files
8.1
Andrew Garrard, NCS
8.1
The Archimedes range of computers has always had a highly flexible video
chip. RISC OS allowed new modes to be defined in the form of suitable
modules. A number of public domain utilities exist to help define new
modes on the older machines, and several companies have produced modules
which expand the normal range of screen modes (notably Computer
Concepts).
8.1
With the advent of the Risc PC and the even more powerful VIDC20 to
drive its graphics, Acorn have gone one step further and allowed the
user to define their own modes to allow for the best display possible
out of their monitor. Each make of monitor has slightly different
limitations, and even individual monitors often differ slightly at the
limits of their performance. For this reason, monitor definition files
which come with the machine contain information on the screen modes
which the monitor currently connected to the Risc PC can display, and
the computer chooses from these whenever the user selects a mode. This
means that whatever your monitor and screen mode combination, the Risc
PC will try its best to match a screen mode rather than simply output a
signal which the monitor cannot display.
8.1
Why make changes?
8.1
There are two main reasons to create a new monitor definition file. The
first is to get a correct definition file for your monitor. There are a
number of Risc PC users who already have a perfectly good monitor and,
reasonably enough, don’t want to use one of Acorn’s standard ones. When
I first got my Risc PC, I was (for reasons of space) sharing my A5000’s
AKF18 monitor. The Risc PC didn’t come with an AKF18 definition file,
but the AKF60 definition file (by trial and error) produced a usable
picture. The Idek Iiyama works quite well with the AKF85 definition
file, but does not like one or two of the 75Hz modes.
8.1
However, the picture was far from perfect; apart from anything else it
was hopelessly off-centre, with about a third of the picture off the
side of the screen. By modifying the definition file, I was able to get
all the modes I wanted to use properly centred and sized on the display.
There is now an official driver for the AKF18, but there are a huge
number of monitor/Risc PC combinations, so it’s quite possible that
other people will need to do the same for their monitors.
8.1
The second reason for making changes is simply to get the best out of
your monitor and computer. The default definition files have to be
designed for the worse case scenario so that they will be sure to work
in all cases − you can, therefore, often get better out of your system
than the defaults. Please bear in mind, though, that outputting a signal
which is beyond the limitations of your hardware can damage it; when
making changes, keep a finger near the monitor’s off switch.
8.1
How the computer sees the display
8.1
There is more to what the computer sends to the monitor than simply the
intensity signals which make up the pixels of the display. Both the
computer and the monitor need to know about timing − how often the
screen is updated and how frequently to begin a new line.
8.1
The old medium resolution monitors shipped with the early Archimedes
range needed the screen to be updated − i.e. all the information about
the display is sent to the monitor − 50 times per second (50 Hz), the
same as the British TV standard. However, this meant that the display
tended to flicker slightly, since most people can just about see a
flicker at 50Hz. For this reason, many other display standards update at
72 or 75Hz, which is beyond the threshold of detection of any flicker
for almost everyone.
8.1
In order to keep the screen update rate constant but change the number
of lines in the display (to get more vertical resolution), you obviously
have to display each line more quickly, since each line has less time in
which to be displayed.
8.1
Any given monitor will have limitations on how frequently it can update
the whole display (frame rate), and on the frequency at which lines can
be sent to it (line rate). For example, an AKF60 needs a frame rate in
the range 40-90Hz, and a line rate between 30 and 50kHz.
8.1
Horizontal resolution is simply a matter of how quickly the computer
sends colour information to the monitor. On the old VIDC1 video
controller, there were only a few different frequencies at which
information could be sent, by means of dividing various clocks in the
system. By this means, it was possible to have a mode 13 with pixels
twice the width (and being sent to the monitor half as frequently) as a
mode 15. The VIDC20 is far more flexible, and can use a far greater
range of different frequencies. It does this by taking a basic 24MHz
clock, multiplying this frequency by a 6-bit number, and then dividing
it down by another 6-bit number; all of this is transparent through RISC
OS which simply requires a desired pixel clock which the VIDC20 will
match as best it can.
8.1
A matter of timing
8.1
In order to know when to start displaying the screen, the monitor needs
a couple of signals. The vertical sync (or vsync) signal is sent each
time the screen is refreshed. The horizontal sync (hsync) signal is sent
once with each line of the display.
8.1
You may also be interested to know that the border around the visible
screen (which is most noticeable in the screen modes for medium
resolution monitors, such as 17 and below) does not go all the way to
the edge of the display. On many monitors, you can see the edges of the
border on the screen by adjusting the position and size of the display.
The gap between the top of the display and the start of the border is
called the vertical back porch; the gap at the bottom is the vertical
front porch. Similarly, the gap between the start of the display on the
left is the horizontal back porch and the gap on the right is the
horizontal front porch.
8.1
These porches do need to be there for the monitor to correctly lock onto
the picture, although they do not usually need to be quite as large as
in the default modes. After the porches are ‘displayed’, you get the
border, and then the display itself. There is actually no reason to have
a border − the entire screen can be taken up with the display, or by
increasing the horizontal and vertical porches the border can be simply
removed; this is why the borders are invisible in mode 31. However,
there may be other limitations on the size of the display (screen
memory, for example) and so some border is often useful. The diagram
opposite shows how the signals sent to the monitor correspond to the
parts of the display traced out by the monitor.
8.1
The monitor definition files
8.1
All this may sound complicated but, in practice, changing a monitor
definition file to suit your purposes is relatively simple. Starting
from scratch is not recommended, but it will often be possible to find a
definition file with at least some screen modes which will work on any
given monitor. Generally, the AKF60 monitor definition file is a good
place to start, since most high quality monitors can reproduce some of
the AKF60’s display range. For this reason, I will use the AKF60
definition file as an example. Owners of 17“ monitors may do better
starting with Acorn’s AKF85 definition file; indeed, this file works on
our Idek Iiyama Vision Master monitors, except that the Vision Master
cannot handle some of the 75Hz refresh modes.
8.1
You can find the monitor definition files in the
!Boot.Resources.Configure.Monitors directory on the standard Risc PC
hard disc; if you load the file into !Edit you will be able to make
changes. Note: the monitor definition files are, as default, locked
against changes. Therefore you will either have to change the access of
the file or, better still, save a new file under a different title. So
long as the file is in this directory, or a subdirectory of it, the
computer will be able to find it; more on that later.
8.1
# Monitor description file for Acorn AKF60 monitor
8.1
# Line rate: 30 − 50 kHz
8.1
# Version history
8.1
Any line beginning with a # character is ignored by the computer, so the
first few lines are only there to help the reader.
8.1
file_format:1
8.1
This line is there only to tell the computer what kind of definition
file it is reading (to allow for future expansion); this should be left
as it is.
8.1
monitor_title:Acorn AKF60
8.1
This line tells the computer what the monitor title is (!) − this is the
line that is displayed at the top of the mode change window. It must be
19 characters or less in length.
8.1
DPMS_state:1
8.1
DPMS stands for Display Power Management Signalling; basically, it’s the
signal the computer sends to the monitor when it is screensaving. This
is the facility which allows the AKF60 to auto power-down.
8.1
The number at the end of the line should be in the range 0-3. The
meanings are as follows:
8.1
0 − DPMS disabled; the screen simply goes black
8.1
1 − Screen blank enters ‘Stand-by’ mode
8.1
2 − Screen blank enters ‘Suspend’ mode
8.1
3 − Screen blank enters ‘Off’ mode
8.1
Generally, this number can be left as it was, but you may wish to
experiment to get your monitor to produce the desired effect.
8.1
Screen mode definitions
8.1
After these general settings come the definitions for the different
screen modes. Each definition normally begins with two commented lines,
describing the mode’s resolution, frequency and other relevant
information, and (in terms of low, medium and high) its bandwidth
requirements.
8.1
# 800 x 600 (60Hz)
8.1
# Mid band
8.1
Since these lines are merely comments, they can be ignored, although if
you define a new mode you may wish to leave a suitable comment at the
start of it.
8.1
The first line proper of the mode definition is:
8.1
startmode
8.1
which simply tells the computer that a new mode definition is to follow.
The next line is
8.1
mode_name:800 x 600
8.1
(or whatever this mode is). This is the mode title which appears in the
menu of resolutions in the mode change window. If several modes have the
same title, the Risc PC will display the one with the highest refresh
rate it can unless told otherwise; more on that later.
8.1
The following two lines tell the computer the resolution (in pixels) of
the screen mode:
8.1
x_res:800
8.1
y_res:600
8.1
If no EX and EY values are specified when the mode is selected (as they
are not if you simply choose the mode from the menu) then the defaults
are EX 1 EY 1 if the y resolution is more than half the x resolution,
and EX 1 EY 2 if the y resolution is less than half the x resolution.
You can try this with the default screen modes to see the effect. EX and
EY values are explained in Matthew Hunter’s article, More Graphics on
the Acorn on page 75.
8.1
The next line,
8.1
pixel_rate:40000
8.1
selects the pixel clock (in kHz); i.e. this is the number of thousands
of pixels per second that the VIDC outputs.
8.1
h_timings:112,64,40,800,40,0
8.1
The numbers here are the timings which were discussed above. Measured in
pixels (and therefore determined by the pixel clock), they tell the Risc
PC how long each of the parts which make up a single line of the display
last (as shown in the diagram on page 42). The numbers are, in order:
8.1
  hsync width
8.1
  horizontal back porch
8.1
  left border
8.1
  width of the actual display
8.1
  right border
8.1
  horizontal front porch
8.1
The VIDC requires that each of these values is a multiple of two and the
total a multiple of four.
8.1
So, in the above example, the horizontal sync signal takes up 112
pixels, the back porch (the left hand part of the display before the
border) is 64 pixels wide, the left border is 40 pixels, the main
display is 800 pixels (being an 800×600 mode), the right border is 40
pixels and the horizontal sync signal starts again immediately after the
end of the border (no front porch).
8.1
You can calculate the line frequency from these figures: the total of
all these values is the number of ‘pixels’ (or pixel-duration signals)
output by the VIDC every scan line, so if you divide this total by the
pixel rate, you get the frequency of lines. For example, in the example
112+64+40+800+40+0= 1056 ‘pixel durations’ per line. Since there are
forty million (40,000 thousand) ‘pixel durations’ per second, each line
takes 1056 ÷ 400000000 seconds, or the scan line frequency is 40000000 ÷
1056 = about 37.9 kHz.
8.1
The next line is normally commented out, but shows the equivalent values
for each of the figures for this mode for the VESA standard mode
timings:
8.1
#    VESA:128,88,0,800,0,40
8.1
The next line tells the computer about the vertical signal what the
h_timings line told it about the horizontal signal.
8.1
v_timings:4,23,0,600,0,1
8.1
The figures indicate, in order:
8.1
  vsync width
8.1
  vertical back porch
8.1
  top border
8.1
  height of actual display
8.1
  bottom border
8.1
  vertical front porch
8.1
These values are measured in terms of scan lines so, in the example, the
vsync signal lasts for 4 scan lines, the display itself is 600 scan
lines, there are no visible borders, the space at the top of the screen
from the start of the signal to the start of the display is 23 scan
lines, and there is one scan line at the bottom of the display before
the vsync signal is sent again. Again, see the diagram for an
explanation of when each of these signals is sent during the display.
8.1
From this information, you may wish to work out the frame rate of your
display (i.e. the number of times it is updated each second). You
already have the line rate (above), so the frame rate is simply the line
rate divided by the number of lines in the display; since the number of
lines in each frame is the sum of all the values on the v_timings line,
this is the total we want. In the example, the display consists of
4+23+0+600+0+1 = 628 lines, the frame rate is 37.9kHz ÷ 628 = approx.
60Hz.
8.1
There are only two more lines in the mode definition:
8.1
sync_pol:0
8.1
endmode
8.1
Sync pol indicates the kind of sync signals required, and is a number
between 0 and 3:
8.1
0 − hsync normal, vsync inverted
8.1
1 − hsync inverted, vsync normal
8.1
2 − hsync normal, vsync inverted
8.1
3 − hsync inverted, vsync inverted
8.1
Normally, if you have a successful display of some sort, you would not
need to change these values.
8.1
The endmode line simply tells the computer that you have finished
defining this particular mode.
8.1
Will my mode work?
8.1
There are limits on what can be displayed. The first and most obvious
point is whether the monitor is capable of the display, in terms of
whether the line rate and frame rate of the mode are within the
abilities of the monitor. The maximum pixel rate of the monitor is also
a consideration, although in practice this may not do much harm in many
cases.
8.1
More mathematical are the limits of what the Risc PC is capable of
displaying. There are two basic limitations − bandwidth and memory. The
former is basically whether the VIDC can get information from the memory
quickly enough to produce the display, and the latter is whether there
is enough memory in the machine to hold the image to be displayed.
8.1
The limits on bandwidth (i.e. the most that the memory can provide to
the video) on no-VRAM, 1Mb VRAM and 2Mb VRAM machines respectively are
40Mb/second, 80Mb/second and 160Mb/second. The BandLimit file in
!Boot.Utils (as default) sets the maximum bandwidth to 38, 76 and 152Mb/
second in order to provide a safety margin. To calculate the bandwidth
which a mode requires, multiply the pixel rate of the mode by the number
of bytes per pixel, or the number of bits per pixel ÷ 8. The number of
bytes per pixel for different colour options are as follows:
8.1
2 colours (monochrome):  1/8 bytes/pixel
8.1
4 colours (greys):  ¼ bytes/pixel
8.1
16 colours (or greys):  ½ bytes/pixel
8.1
256 colours (or greys):  1 bytes/pixel
8.1
32 thousand colours:  2 bytes/pixel
8.1
16 million colours:  4 bytes/pixel
8.1
If the bandwidth for the mode exceeds that which your system can
display, the computer will do its best to match the mode you want,
preferably by changing the frequency (it will pick the highest frequency
mode to minimise flicker if possible) and, failing that, by cutting down
on resolution or number of colours.
8.1
The mode defined here required a bandwidth of 40Mb/second (40000
thousand pixels/s × 1 byte per pixel) in a 256 colour mode, or 80Mb/
second (2 bytes per pixel) in a 32 thousand colour mode.
8.1
In terms of memory, the amount that a mode takes up is the number of
bytes per pixel multiplied by the number of pixels on screen − that is,
the horizontal resolution (of the screen proper) multiplied by its
vertical resolution. So, for example, the mode defined here would take
800×600×1=480000 bytes, or about 469Kb; the 32 thousand colour mode
would take double that. The same mode in 16 million colours takes up
1875Kb, and so cannot be displayed without 2Mb VRAM even if the
bandwidth were available. Again, if the computer cannot display a mode
which you request because it doesn’t have the memory, it will provide
the best match it can.
8.1
Because the computer can work out these two factors for itself, it is
not necessary to specify the number of colours in a mode definition; it
is only the timing and the resolution that a mode definition specifies.
8.1
There are a couple of other limitations. If the sync widths are not
large enough (the number is too small), the monitor may not be able to
latch on to the display. In addition, if the hsync and horizontal back
porch are, in total, too small, the display will become corrupt; this is
because the VIDC20 uses this time to fetch information about the mouse
pointer, and if there is insufficient time, it will not be able to go
back to reading the display before it is expected to produce it.
8.1
Changes to make
8.1
As I have said, it is far easier to change the definitions from a
standard mode definition file than to start from scratch.
8.1
The simplest change to make is to reposition the display on the screen.
The easiest way to do this is to change the size of the four porch and
border values. For example, to move the display to the right, you could
increase the horizontal back porch. Remember, however, that if the line
rate is to stay the same, you will need to reduce the opposite value (in
the case of the example, reduce the horizontal front porch or the right
border).
8.1
This only provides for limited changes; if there is no horizontal front
porch and no right border, you cannot move the screen to the right in
this way. You are then faced with two solutions; you can increase the
number of ‘pixel-times’ on a line, which will reduce the line rate, or
you can change the pixel rate. In both cases, it is advisable to make
only small changes at any one time, to make sure that the monitor can
cope with what you are trying to display and that your changes are
having the desired effect.
8.1
If you wish to change the resolution of the display − to create a mode
with a different number of pixels − you are faced with a similar
situation. You can make small changes by altering the borders and
porches to compensate for the altered resolution. For example, to add 64
pixels to the width of the display, you could increase the ‘display
width’ by 64 and, to keep the display centred, reduce either the
horizontal front and back porches or the left and right borders by 32
each. By keeping the pixel and line rates constant, the width of each
pixel on the display remains unchanged, there are simply a different
number of them.
8.1
More radically, you could change the pixel rate and compensate by
changing the other values. To halve the resolution horizontally, you
could halve the pixel rate and, to compensate, halve each of the values
on the h_timings line. This would leave the line rate unchanged, so the
vertical resolution and position would be unaltered.
8.1
You can make similar changes to the vertical position and resolution by
altering the line rate.
8.1
A word of warning
8.1
Generally, the higher the frame rate the better, within the limits of
what you can display. You may be tempted to push the resolution to its
maximum in order to get the best resolution possible out of your
display.
8.1
On machines with no VRAM, the higher the bandwidth of the mode, the
slower the computer gets − all the information going to the VIDC stops
the processor from accessing the RAM. If you have a VRAM-less machine,
try using 800×600 in 256 colours and compare its speed to the same
resolution in 16 colours. High refresh rates can make matters worse, so
it is a bad idea to push your system to its limits for that reason.
8.1
Pushing resolution at the cost of refresh rates is also often a bad
idea. I produced a 1024×640, 16 colour display out of my A5000 once, but
the flicker from that mode was so bad, because of the low refresh rate,
that friends started refusing to come near my machine. Flicker can be
annoying and provoke headaches − you have been warned.
8.1
Much more important, immediately at least, is the problem of taking your
system right to its limit. If you define a mode which works okay, but
only just, you may find that the same mode doesn’t work when you come
back to it. Alternatively, some modes stop working after the machine has
been in use for a while. Effectively, the system changes slightly in
‘warming up’, so you should remember to allow a margin of error in your
mode definitions.
8.1
Related to this is the problem with some ‘intelligent’ monitors − the
programmable kind, especially. Once these monitors have locked onto a
display, be careful about making slight changes to it. If the mode you
define is sufficiently similar to the previous one, the monitor may
think it is the same mode, and not readjust itself. This may mean either
that changing a mode definition has no apparent effect on the display,
or that an apparently working mode definition may not work if the
monitor sees that mode when ‘starting fresh’.
8.1
The monitor definition file which you make, when saved on your hard disc
in directory !Boot.Resources.Configure.Monitors, does not take immediate
effect. To use a definition file, you should double-click on !Boot,
which will provide you with the configuration options. Click on screen
to get the display options and you will find the monitor type option
presented to you. Your definition file should be in the menu presented
to you when you click on the icon to the right of the name of the
current monitor definition file.
8.1
When you have selected your monitor definition file, make sure that you
have selected a resolution and colour combination which you know works
to be the default; preferably one from whichever monitor definition file
you modified. That means that at least you will have a display when you
boot the machine. Click on Set to confirm your options.
8.1
Always choose your new mode definitions from the display manager icon,
rather than setting up a new mode as a default. This allows you a method
of escape back to a functional display (by resetting the machine) and
can help the aforementioned problem with intelligent monitors and small
changes to modes.
8.1
When you change your mode definition, after it has been installed in
this way, you will need to reinstall it to use it; alternatively, you
can reset the machine.
8.1
One highly recommended tactic is to press <f12> and type:
8.1
Key 1 WimpMode 27|M|M
8.1
followed by <return> twice. The ‘|’ symbol is the pipe character, i.e.
shift + ‘\’. Now, if you change to a mode definition which your monitor
does not display properly, you can press <f12> and then <f1>, and the
screen mode will change to 640×480 16 colours (VGA), which most monitors
can cope with. This should allow you to get out of trouble.
8.1
Finally, remember: you can damage some monitors by giving them a signal
which they cannot display properly, especially if they are left
displaying it. If your monitor loses the display while you are
experimenting, turn it off or change screen mode as quickly as possible.
NCS and Acorn can not be held responsible for any damage caused to
monitors by experimentation.
8.1
Acorn’s monitor definition files allow for considerable flexibility; I
hope this article allows you to tailor your system properly to your
needs.
8.1
Acorn have a utility to help automate some of the details of monitor
definition file creation. MakeModes is available from Archive on NCS
Utils Disc 1 and also on this month’s program disc.  A
8.1
An excellent article, thanks, Andrew. It has been good to have you
working with us at NCS during the summer vac. Good luck next year at
Cambridge!  Ed.
8.1
DOS is Different − Part 2
8.1
Mike Tomkinson
8.1
In this my second article on the different world of DOS, I intend to be
a little more controversial than in my original article (7.11 p49). I
intend to look at something I care about − books and, in particular,
computer books. Computers will never replace books nor will CD-ROMs −
but more about them in a later article.
8.1
You certainly do not have to agree with me and I welcome argument and
other viewpoints. Letters to me at my home address (given at the end of
this article) will all be read.
8.1
Acorn computers and associated programs have never been large generators
of books about them. This is unusual in computing. DOS and now Windows
and the programs associated with them have spawned a whole new arm of
the publishing world − the computer book. The fact that it is a very
profitable arm can be seen by the large number and range of books − many
covering exactly the same topics.
8.1
Those of you buying Risc PCs will undoubtedly venture into this area
eventually and at great peril to your bank balance. There is no such
thing as a cheap computer book in the DOS/Windows world.
8.1
If you consider that books are not subject to VAT you might wonder where
the ridiculous prices come from. These are almost exclusively paperbacks
we are considering − albeit thick paperbacks.
8.1
Unfortunately, books are subject to a device called The Net Book
Agreement. This handy little agreement means that books cannot be sold
at discounted prices by anyone. This means that a book in your local
Smiths will cost exactly the same as in your local specialist bookshop.
This may not appear too bad but what it really means is that publishers
can keep prices artificially high − especially when compared with the
price of books in US where there is no such agreement.
8.1
So, what are DOS/Windows books like, apart from expensive?! It is
difficult to generalise but they are generally good. They fall into two
main categories − those which are specific to the operating system or
graphical user interface and those which are specific to programs.
8.1
Operating system books
8.1
Windows is a very different environment from RISC OS. It is not
intuitive, nor is it a drag-and-drop environment, at least not to the
same degree as RISC OS. There are, therefore, many books around which
attempt to explain its use and complexities in a better manner than the
supplied manuals.
8.1
Similarly, much of the performance of DOS/Windows depends crucially on
the set up of the computer on which you are attempting to use it. There
is no simple hard or soft reset to take you back to factory defaults. If
your PC is not configured correctly, things do not happen as they
should.
8.1
Sometimes this depends on the software or firmware − the BIOS of the
computer − and at other times, it depends on the mount of RAM in the
computer or the size of the hard disc. On an Acorn machine, an 80 Mb
hard drive and 4 Mb RAM are perfectly adequate for almost all users.
Even on a Risc PC a 210 Mb/5Mb RAM setup looks almost generous.
8.1
Be warned that if you intend to use your new computer for Windows with
three or four Windows programs, it may be no more than adequate and you
will very rapidly fill the hard disc. It is no use saying that it will
not happen to you because, of course you will be using Windows,
otherwise why buy a Risc PC in the first place?
8.1
If you can afford it, buy the biggest hard disc/RAM configuration you
can. I have absolutely no financial interest in giving you that advice.
Bitter PC experience leads me to offer it to you. The programs are much
bigger than RISC OS programs − they are not always better but they are
always bigger. The operating system eats large chunks of your RAM before
you even load a program and if you attempt to multitask you will require
more than 4 Mb of RAM.
8.1
Books for programs
8.1
To return to books − the second major area of PC books is those dealing
with programs. It is not that the manuals supplied with PC programs are
worse than those supplied with RISC OS ones. They have often to deal, at
least in part, with the operating system/ideal PC configuration whereas
RISC OS ones rarely do.
8.1
Similarly, the programs are often not as intuitive and are often more
complex. The manuals will almost certainly contain large sections
dealing with how to import/export from and to other complex programs. No
nice simple CSV, TSV, Draw and Paint importing/exporting.
8.1
Windows programs also tend to have features not common on Acorn
programs. Thus Ami-Pro 3 has an outlining facility (allowing you to use
it as an ideas processor). No RISC OS word processor/DTP package has
such a feature (unless you know different?). This is not a criticism but
is simply a partial explanation for the proliferation of PC books.
8.1
You may have seen such books − they are usually very large paperbacks
and often have titles like “***** for Dummies”, where “*****” is either
the operating system number, for example, DOS 5 or 6 or 6.2, or a
program title like Excel or Lotus 1-2-3.
8.1
They tend to be copiously illustrated and filled with tutorial style
text and examples. Such books are, unfortunately, invaluable. I say
‘unfortunately’ owing to their generally high price. However, their
quality is usually high and they will probably document the program more
fully and with greater clarity than the manuals.
8.1
Most large W H Smiths and university bookshops hold good stocks of PC
books and there are a number of mail order suppliers who specialise in
such books although you must be prepared to add p&p to mail order books
thus adding even more to their price. Another good source are the PC
supermarkets which now seem to be increasing in number.
8.1
You can usually gain a good idea as to a book’s treatment of the subject
matter by their title. A book “for beginners” will be just that and will
obviously take a different standpoint from one entitled “An Advanced
Guide to *****”. Some books take a light hearted view while others are
more serious. The style you prefer depends on you. So you pays yer money
(lots of it) and you takes yer choice.  A
8.1
Games Column
8.1
Dave Floyd
8.1
S42 Developments
8.1
According to the press release in front of me, I’m not meant to mention
that S42 Developments used to be called Software 42, but they did. The
name change coincides with a deal they have signed with Vertical Twist/
Gamesware who will henceforth be selling their games on the Gamesware
label, allowing S42 to concentrate on developing new software. They have
updated their back catalogue to make them Risc PC compatible, have added
an extra game and released them all as a compilation entitled The S42
Collection. The games included are F.R.E.D. (Archive 7.1 page 24), Ixion
(7.5 p32), Cycloids (7.6 p5) and a new beat-em-up called Raw Power 2.
Games players who already own the older games and a Risc PC will also be
able to upgrade to compatible versions for a nominal fee. Pricing
information was unavailable at the time of writing but can be obtained
from Gamesware at Unit 26, The Bartletts, Hamble, Hants SO3 5RD.
8.1
Also coming soon from S42 is a Tetris derivative, Atomix, in which you
have to arrange atoms in the correct order to complete molecules against
the clock. There is a possibility that this will be packaged with
another new release and as soon as more information is available, I will
let you know.
8.1
S42 are also planning a major release this Christmas. Modestly described
by themselves as ‘the release of the year’ and ‘the ultimate platform
game’, Dreamzone is a native Archimedes game that involves fast action,
cute graphics and ‘more levels than you can wave a stick at’. Whether
the stick will be included was unclear but, if this game turns out to be
half as good as the claims made for it, it should certainly be an
essential purchase.
8.1
Soft Rock Software
8.1
As many of you will know, Soft Rock Software are one of the few budget
labels producing games for the Archimedes. Those owners of Soft Rock
games who are fortunate enough to have upgraded to a Risc PC will also
have noticed that they fail to work on the new platform. For a limited
period, Soft Rock are offering all of their previous releases on one
disc with the sound and music removed, thereby making them Risc PC
compatible. The cost of this disc is a refreshingly cheap £7.99
inclusive, which works out at well under £2 a game. Work is currently
being undertaken to completely upgrade all of the games with improved
sound and graphics as well as cross-platform compatibility. When this is
done, the prices of the Soft Rock catalogue will rise from their current
levels of £3.49 to (probably) £7.99 each and everybody who has bought
this cut-down release will be offered a discount on the upgraded
releases, possibly saving more than the actual cost, depending on how
many you choose to buy. For the record, the games are Escape from Exeria
(with Return to Exeria), Guardians of the Labyrinth, Drop Rock, Switch
and Floopy. To obtain copies of this disc or to receive more information
on Soft Rock’s products you should write to Soft Rock Software, FREEPOST
(BS7978), Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, Avon BS10 7BR.
8.1
A new release from Soft Rock is Trellis, an adventure game interpreter.
Priced at £7.99 inclusive, Trellis allows you to create your own
adventure games using Edit. For anybody interested in writing their own
adventure games, this could provide a very cost-effective method of
doing so and I hope to be able to bring you more information on Trellis
very soon.
8.1
Premier Manager (re-visited)
8.1
Following my last column in which I took a look at the first football
management game to be released on the Archimedes, I would like to thank
Thomas Nelson for his letter in which he pointed out an error I made. It
is possible to view all the league tables within the game by merely
pressing the relevant number key 1-6 when on the league table screen.
This also works for the top scorers and the results/fixtures printer.
This is mentioned in the manual and I therefore have no real excuse,
although in a game where everything else is controlled by the mouse, it
is by no means intuitive and I hope that this may be of use to others
who may also have missed this facet of the game.
8.1
More problems with the game have become noticeable since last month. The
first is illustrated in the file which I received from Robert Christmas.
Whenever his team play Colchester, the game hangs once a goal is scored.
I tried it on my machine and although I managed to take a two goal lead,
the whole machine froze leaving me with no option but to reboot. Robert
did write to Gremlin, but as yet has received no reply. I would suggest
that, before embarking on a game of Premier Manager, it would be wise to
save anything else you may be working on within the desktop. Although
this should be common practice before playing any game, it is very easy
to forget to do so with RISC OS compliant software.
8.1
I have also unearthed another couple of problems. On playing Ajax in the
European Cup, the program claims that Ajax play in the Scottish league
and have an average crowd of over fifty million inside a ground with a
capacity of 65,000! I bet the atmosphere at their home games is
tremendous, if a little cramped. My main problem is that regardless of
the outcome of the two-legged match, the program totally ignores the
second result and substitutes another result in its place. While losing
is an unfortunate fact of footballing life, it is a little hard to
swallow when you are knocked out of the European Cup, having just beaten
Ajax over two matches.
8.1
There is also a major bug in the game which may possibly be related to
both the above problems. When on the sell player screen, it is possible
to click on the blank space below your player list and sell players that
do not belong to you! At first this appears to be a licence to print
money but if you try this a couple of times (and it is easy to do so by
accident) the data in memory appears to become corrupted. This can
result in minor irritations, similar to the Ajax problem above, but it
all too often leads to a ‘Fatal error 5’ being reported and the game
totally crashing. Unlike Robert’s problem, this does not hang the
machine and seems to exit very cleanly but this does not make it any
less annoying.
8.1
One month on, and I have won almost everything there is to win in
Premier Manager and feel that, however much I love football management
games, the time is fast approaching when it will be consigned to my disc
box, never to be retrieved. If anyone else has any comments relating to
PM that they would like to share, then I will be happy to receive them.
Failing that, or the appearance of a drastically improved version, I
really have very little enthusiasm left for what should have been a most
welcome addition to anybody’s Archimedes games collection.
8.1
All being well, next month should see part one of the adventure game
special that I promised you a while back. Any comments relating to this
column, or any other games-related subject should please be sent to Dave
Floyd, c/o PO Box 2795, London, NW10 9AY.  A
8.1
Making Archive (and NCS) Better
8.1
Paul Beverley
8.1
In a very real sense, Archive is YOUR magazine because it is mainly
written by you, the readers. We at NCS do the editing, of course, and
write things like the Products Available section, but by far the
majority of articles are written by yourselves.
8.1
So, how can we make Archive better? Well, last month’s survey gave us a
lot of very useful feedback − many thanks to all those who filled it in.
I’m happy to say that the majority seem to really appreciate Archive −
which is most gratifying − and the increase in numbers of subscriptions
in the past few months has been most encouraging. Having said that, we
must not get complacent.
8.1
More articles, please
8.1
A number of requests were made for the kinds of articles or series that
people would like to read. I’m listing many of the requests here − if
yours isn’t among them then either I’ve already got someone writing such
an article or I felt it would be of interest to too few readers or, in
some cases, I just could not read it!
8.1
The purpose of listing these requests for articles is, of course, that
if they are to appear in the magazine, someone has to write them.  Any
offers then for any of the following? (The bits in italics are your
comments and requests.)
8.1
•  Acorn Access − Can we have some comments about Acorn’s easy-to-use
Ethernet networking? In particular, is it actually “easy-to-use”? Is
there anyone using Access who would be prepared to give us their initial
findings and/or hints and tips?
8.1
•  Amateur radio − This was mentioned by several people. Are Acorn
machines used in radio? If so, how? Can someone tell us their
experience?
8.1
•  Archive BBS − Where is it? Andrew Garrard has been working at NCS
during the summer and has managed to get it up and running for us − see
the article on page 24.
8.1
•  Business Column − Several readers asked for this and I notice that
most of the other magazines have started on this in the last few months.
Archive is the only magazine without a Business Column now! Any offers?
8.1
•  CD-ROMs − We have had a lot of people asking for more information on
drives, availability of material on CD-ROM, compatibility with PC CD-
ROMs, etc. Our trawl of Acorn-related companies (see below) my bring in
some information but it’s over to you really. What information and
experience do you have? We really need to have a CD Column. Is there
anyone who would be prepared to collate all the information we get sent?
8.1
•  Comparative reviews − These were asked for by a number of people and
are obviously very helpful and valuable to readers. However, to be
really effective, they require a lot of work to be done even before you
can start writing and they are the sort of article that invites flack
from aggrieved software/hardware producers and even sometimes from
ardent users of some particular product. Having warned off the unwary,
would anyone like to have a go at anything along those lines? WP/DTP
packages, art packages, spreadsheets, databases, etc are areas that
could be tackled. If you don’t have access to copies of the latest
versions of the relevant software, we can often persuade the company in
question to provide it.
8.1
•  DTP Column − What has happened to the DTP Column. You said it was
restarting but it stopped again. Yes, I’m sorry about that. We have one
or two DTP articles in the pipeline, in particular, Neil Whiteley-Bolton
is working on a comparative review of image manipulation / photo
retouching packages − PhotoDesk, Picture, PhotoTouch, etc. The main
problems are that no-one has sent in any questions or comments to pass
to the DTP editor and we don’t have an editor who can be dedicated to do
the job as both Neil and Richard Hallas, who offered to help, are
extremely busy with their own work.
8.1
If anyone would be interested to be the DTP Column editor, do let me
know. There were one or two people who offered in the past but people’s
circumstances change so I haven’t assumed they would still be willing to
help and also, I’m really looking for one person to be in overall charge
because it’s too difficult to try to coordinate a series of different
editors as we have done previously.
8.1
•  Image processing − We’ve had one or two requests for advice on image-
processing. Robert Chrismas’ review of Image Master (which I will try to
fit in next month) gives some clues but could someone fill us in on
things like monchrome processing, filters, gamma correction, etc?
8.1
•  Introducing Your Computer − This was, for me, the best series ever in
Archive. I constantly refer to it. Can we have more, please? The Norfolk
IT Team did an initial series of five but could do some more if there is
enough interest. So, if you want more along those lines, please write
and tell us what subjects you want covering.
8.1
•  Reviews of Colourcard Gold and Eagle M2 − There is an Eagle review in
this month but if anyone has a Colourcard and would like to send us some
comments, let me know.
8.1
•  Scientific computing − This might cover which spreadsheet is most
suitable for scientific applications, mathematical programs, shared
tricks, hardware of interest to scientists, etc. Brian Cowan has done
some things along these lines in the past as has Chris Johnson (on
spreadsheets) − both academics but both are very busy these days. Any
offers?
8.1
•  SCSI versus IDE − Take the article(s) from Archive 5.2 p15ff and
produce up-to-date speed figures and prices.
8.1
•  Short programs − I like typing things in from time to time as I
believe it helps develop a better understanding of programming. Could
you include some short but really useful or colourful things to type in
as in Risc User? Well, to produce something “short but really useful”
isn’t easy but if someone would like to take up the challenge, that
would be great.
8.1
•  Squirrel column − Digital Services say they have very many happy
customers. Could one of them act as editor of a column?
8.1
•  Text interchange − Can we have have information about text transfer?
ASCII, DOS text, RTF. Is there anyone who does a magazine and has to
take in text from all sorts of different sources who could give us the
benefit of their experience? Issues that could be covered are things
such as stripping out “funny” characters, how to deal with an excess of
(or lack of) linefeeds, how to translate the different types of
formatting codes that are sometimes used, etc. (I now gather that Jim
Nottingham is working on this one.)
8.1
•  “This is what I do with my Archimedes” − Can we have some more of
this type of article, please?
8.1
•  Using !Paint − This is the most under-used Acorn application, I think
− probably because it is so difficult to use. Could someone explain how
to use it, please? There was a single very helpful tutorial article
(Archive 3.5 p38) written by Karen Dunkley (now Mrs Alan Glover). If
anyone would like to take that one further, let me know and I’ll send
you a copy of that article if you don’t already have it.
8.1
•  Using various applications − I’d like some articles on how to use
applications like Translator. The instructions of many such programs
make assumptions that you already quite knowledgeable − which many of us
are not!
8.1
•  Video − I’d like some details on using Acorn machines for home videos
for titling, editing and special effects.
8.1
•  Wimp programming in C − This was another popular request because,
says one subscriber, there are no suitable books available. Any offers,
anyone?
8.1
Advice to authors
8.1
Again, from our survey last month, there are a number of things which
came up where people were saying, “Could authors please...”
8.1
−  more screen shots with reviews and more illustrations with general
articles, e.g. diagrams of how things work and how programs are
structured. (If any contributors want advice on how best to produce
screen shots for publication, please contact the NCS office.)
8.1
− in reviews, don’t say things like “I didn’t try printing because my
printer is being repaired”
8.1
− make sure that reviews give us all the essential information such as
review machine configuration, who the manufacturer is, cost, RISC OS
compliant or compatible (ask NCS if you don’t know the difference)
8.1
− don’t ramble off into telling us what you did on your holidays (I
sometimes edit such comments out and sometimes I leave them in − people
generally like the ‘light’ touch of Archive as it makes it more personal
but I have to try to steer a middle line on this one. Ed.)
8.1
 − educational programs should say at what age the programs are aimed.
8.1
Copy deadlines
8.1
Several contributors have asked when the copy deadline is for each
issue. Every article that comes in has to be edited and prepared for
publication so if I were to give a definite copy deadline, everyone
would work towards it and I would be inundated at the last minute. If I
did give a definite deadline, therefore, it would have to be about two
or three weeks before the effective deadline − and this might put people
off because they would think they had missed the deadline! All I will
say is that if you think in terms of getting articles to me within a
week or so of receiving the previous issue, it should just about be OK −
earlier would be even better. Deliberately vague − sorry!
8.1
Review policy
8.1
One person asked if we could have reviews of new products, especially
games, much sooner after they are released. “New games are reviewed in
the other magazines several months in advance of Archive.”
8.1
The editorial policy at Archive has always been that “Products
Available” and reviews should only refer to products that actually are
available. The news-stand magazines tend to have closer links with the
games software houses than we do and they get pre-release versions so
that even though their magazines take much longer to produce than
Archive, their reviews are more up-to-date than ours. I suppose we could
do the same but we prefer to review the actual production versions of
the software so that what we review is what you get if you buy it.
8.1
A number of people asked if Archive could have more about “forth-coming
products”. I have mixed feelings about this. I can see that it’s nice to
know what sort of things are in the offing but the negative side is that
it is not unknown for companies to say they are developing such-and-such
when all they are doing is trying to gauge whether there would be a
market for it. All they have done is some sort of feasability study to
see if it would be possible to write the code for this phantom product.
8.1
What we tend to do, therefore, is to trawl round the software and
hardware companies before a major show like Acorn World 94 and ask what
they are “intending to release” at the show. (Results in next month’s
issue.)
8.1
Other comments about Archive and NCS
8.1
There are some more issues that were covered in your comments. (Again,
the bits in italics are your comments.)
8.1
•  Advertising − Can we have more advertising, please, as I find it
helpful to see who is advertising what but on the other hand... I hope
financial considerations don’t force you to take up too much space with
adverts − it’s about right at the moment. Well, just so that you know, I
will explain our policy on advertising.
8.1
We don’t actively sell advertising. If a company is interested in
advertising and contact us, we will give them a rates card and let them
send in an advert if they so decide. We certainly don’t ring companies
up and ask them to advertise. So the amount of advertising is determined
purely by what the companies want to do. However, we have not increased
the rates (£150/page) for several years − perhaps we ought to do so when
we increase the magazine price in January. You will note that Colton,
Computer Concepts and Oak Solutions have advertised faithfully every
month since the year dot. We are extremely grateful to them for their
support in this way.
8.1
•  Bolder naming − In the Comment Column or Hints & Tips, I struggle to
see who the contributor is. Could you please put the name in bold? Good
idea! ’Tis done!
8.1
•  Contents page − Going to an alphabetic version seems to have been
well received generally but there are complaints when the title is
unhelpfully arranged, e.g. who would look for comments about the Risc PC
under “Second Impressions of the Risc PC”?! Someone suggested they
should be grouped under different areas, for example: “Regular Items”
such as H & T, Comment Column, Products Available, etc, “Specialist
Columns” such as PipeLineZ, Risc PC, Multimedia, etc and then “Reviews”
and “Technical articles”. I have mixed feelings about this one, so I’ll
leave it for now.
8.1
•  Credit cards − It’s great that you have decided to take credit cards
but please remove the 3% service charge. When we started credit card
facilities, Barclays Merchant Services said that, because we were a
mail-order computer sales company, they would have to charge us 5% on
each transaction because it is such a high risk area. So, if someone
buys a £2000 Risc PC on their card, we charge them £60 but we have to
pay Barclays £100! After some 6 months trading on the cards, we asked
them to reduce the charge but they refused, insisting that we are still
a high risk. What gets me is that it isn’t Barclays who take the risk!
If someone buys a computer on a stolen card it’s NCS that loses the
money, not Barclays!!! (The only concession we make on the charge is
that we have recently stopped making the surcharge on renewals.)
8.1
Stop Press: We are now able to take debit cards and since Barclays only
charge us 75p per transaction, we won’t be making any charge if you pay
with a debit card − apart from which it’s illegal to make a service
charge on a debit card!
8.1
•  Email connection − You ought to be on Email so that we can send
orders and technical queries. Good idea − ’Tis done! Well, I sent in my
application, anyway − two weeks ago. I haven’t heard from them yet − I
hope it hasn’t got lost in the post!!! I’ll put the Internet address on
the Price List if it come through in time.
8.1
•  Factfile − Several people asked if it would be possible to print the
whole of my Factfile (address list of Acorn companies) each month and
not just restrict it to those companies that are mentioned in the
current issue. The trouble is that it runs to over ten pages!
8.1
The other problem is that companies often don’t tell you when they
change their address (or go bust!) so a lot of the Factfile is probably
not up-to-date. I have therefore written to all the companies (345 of
them!) to enable me to update the Factfile. I have had some replies and
some “return to sender”, so as I update the Factfile, I will put the
full listing on the monthly program disc.
8.1
I have also done a trawl of companies on the address list of Acorn’s
Product Directory to see if there are products that haven’t yet been
mentioned in Products Available. Again, I have had some replies and I’ll
mention the products in the magazine as and when I find out about them.
8.1
•  God slot out! − We have had two out of the first few hundred
questionnaires that asked me to remove the God slot, both saying that
such things are “out of place” in a computer magazine. As those of you
who have been subscribing to Archive for a long time will know, I have
had a number of such complaints over the years. My answer has always
been that each of you has to judge the magazine on it merits and decide
whether it’s worth (a) paying £19 a year and (b) putting up with the
editor’s idiosyncrasies. I know of at least two people over the last
seven years who have decided that they cannot continue subscribing to
Archive because of the way I try to “ram religion down people’s
throats”. I thought I was being reasonably gentle!
8.1
•  Monthly program disc − Why not allow PD authors to put their latest
software on the disc so that they can get it tried out by a large number
of capable Archimedes users? Yes, good idea. If any PD author wants to
send a program in to us, we’ll fit them in a.s.a.p. If they include a
daytime phone number when they send the software in, we’ll tell them
when the magazine is just about to go out containing their software so
that they can have a chance to send us the very latest version − as long
as it isn’t much bigger than the earlier version − it might then be too
big to fit on the disc.
8.1
How do we decide what goes on the disc? What happens is that priority
goes to any files / programs / data etc that contributors send in that
go with their articles. Then, if there is space left, we see what else
we can fit onto it. The up-to-date glossary might fit on or the latest
updates of the Archive Arcscan files and, as mentioned above, I will
sometimes put on an updated Factfile. It’s all fairly last minute
although, as you will have seen, we now try to decide what will be on it
before the magazine goes to the printers so that we can list the
contents on page 2 with the Products Available.
8.1
•  Opening hours? − What are your opening hours and can I come to the
office to buy things? We are not set up as a shop but you are welcome to
come in and buy things. It might be better to ring up beforehand to see
if we’ve got things in stock. As regards opening hours, there is usually
someone here from 8.45a.m. to 5.15p.m. although our official opening
hours are 9 to 5. On Thursday mornings we often have a staff meeting for
the first hour or, occasionally, a bit longer but we put the answerphone
on during that time. This is only for Monday to Friday. If you want to
call in on a Saturday morning, we may well be able to arrange to have
someone here  − just give us a ring beforehand.
8.1
•  Packet Radio − Why not have an NCS ‘Bull’ on Packet Radio − similar
to ‘ARCHIM’ for Archimedes & Radio users and as Amiga / PC have? Well,
err, yes, sounds a great idea but the only thing I know about Packet
Radio is that Keith Hodge, in his Risc PC Column, says each month that I
can use it to contact him “from anywhere in the world, as
GW4NEI@GB7OAR.#16.GBR.EU”.
8.1
•  Program disc contents − A staggering number of people have asked us
if we would please include information about the contents of the monthly
program disc in the magazine − how else will they know if it is worth
buying? Funny you should mention that... we have been putting this
information at the foot of page 2 of the magazine for the last seven
months!
8.1
•  Risc PC orientation − Archive is becoming too Risc PC oriented when
you consider that the majority of readers are still using older
Archimedes computers. Yes, in one sense, we are devoting a lot of space
to what is, currently, a minority. Mind you, it’s not all that small a
minority. Almost 5% of Archive suscribers have so far purchased a
Risc PC directly from Norwich Computer Services. On to top of that, I
know that a lot of people have bought one from their local Acorn dealer
in order to get the local backup. (This is an attitude that I entirely
support, by the way − if you don’t support your local dealer and only
buy from mail order companies because you want the extra discount, you
may find you end up without a local Acorn dealer!)
8.1
When you consider that it’s only 5 months since the launch and that
Risc PCs are still in extremely short supply (we still haven’t fulfilled
all our back orders for ACB45s), there must be quite a sizeable
proportion of Archive subscribers who either have, or are anticipating
buying, a Risc PC. But don’t worry, we’re not abandoning the Archimedes!
There is still a lot to be said about it and we will be doing so for
many issues to come and, in any case, a lot of what is said in the
magazine applies to both generations of machine. (And I’m still
producing the magazine on my A540!)
8.1
•  Shorter PipeLineZ − The last two issues of PipeLineZ have both been
over six pages long. I don’t mind articles about applications that I
don’t use but this is getting a bit much. It is true that Gerald’s
articles have been longer than average of late but this month it’s back
to about three pages. Also, many people don’t realise that Gerald’s
writings are NOT just about Colton’s software − they often have much
wider application. The trouble is I don’t know what else to call the
column to encourage non-Coltonites to scan it each month to see if it
has something relevant to them. Any ideas?
8.1
•  Switch payment − You ought to allow payment by Switch as it’s
cheaper. ’Tis done! See under “Credit cards” above.
8.1
•  Technical content of Archive − (a) Can we have more in-depth
technical articles and less of the beginners stuff? (b) Can we have
fewer obscure technical articles and more articles for people who just
want to use the computer as a tool and aren’t interested in the finer
technical, please? Well, at present, I’m getting about equal numbers of
each of the above types of comment so I reckon I’m steering reasonably
close to the middle line although I have had a number of people saying
they won’t be re-subscribing as it’s all too technical for them.
8.1
More to come...
8.1
I have run out of time − the magazine deadline is upon me! I have so far
analysed less than half of the questionnaires received in the first
three weeks so this article is definitely...
8.1
...to be continued...  A
8.1
PD Column
8.1
David Holden
8.1
In my last column, I mentioned the possibility of CD-ROMs of PD
appearing for the Archimedes and said that I didn’t think it likely in
the immediate future. Within a few days of sending this article off to
NCS, I received an envelope with an Archive label containing the
Datafile PD CD-ROM. Knowing that our editor is not without a sense of
humour, I cannot quite rid myself of the suspicion that these two events
may be in some way linked. I therefore now find myself, foot firmly in
mouth, reporting on this event.
8.1
It is not really a contradiction to say that this confirms both my best
hopes and some of my worst fears. My best hopes because the price is
right, £30 from Datafile or £28 from NCS. However, the disc shows signs
of being put together in a hurry, possibly in an attempt to be ‘the
first’.
8.1
The contents were compiled before Dave McCartney, who runs the Datafile,
had obtained a Risc PC, and a considerable proportion of the programs
are not compatible. This is a problem because the Risc PC will probably
become the machine which is most likely to be fitted with a CD-ROM
drive. Some of these programs are ‘fixable’, but others are not. Some
cannot be run directly from Read Only media but this isn’t a problem if
you are aware of it, since you can just copy it to your hard disc.
8.1
There are a few ‘mistakes’. At least one program appears twice. A few
others have had some of their ‘internal’ filenames changed to suit the
ISO 9660 standard and this means that the applications can’t find their
resources. If the program is written in Basic, it is often possible to
copy it to your hard disc and either rename the resources or alter the
program, but this shouldn’t have been necessary. Some of the programs
are not the most up-to-date versions, but this is an inevitable
consequence of putting PD and Shareware onto ROM since the delay between
the conception and public release often means that later versions have
appeared.
8.1
I gather that there will be a review of the CD in Archive in due course,
so I shall not dwell at length upon what’s on it. However, I shall say
that there is a very wide selection of material, perhaps too wide. There
is no ‘theme’ and many people who have a collection of PD discs will
probably already have the majority of the items that would be of
interest to them. There is a good collection of clipart, a selection of
GIF and JPEG files, and some text files from Project Gutenberg. In case
you haven’t heard of it, this is the work of the Benedictine College of
Illinois whose intent is to put in machine-readable form most of the
world’s classic literature. This will doubtless be of interest to
schools but possibly not to others, and is probably out of place on a
disc which contains ‘demos’ and games.
8.1
Is it really worth the money? Well, if you don’t already have a
collection of PD but do possess a CD-ROM drive then, despite these
shortcomings, definitely ‘yes’. On a project of this nature, there are
bound to be problems with the first attempt and Dave McCartney must be
congratulated for breaking the ice.
8.1
The fact that this disc has appeared has lead me to take another look at
the idea myself. Since I last investigated, production costs have fallen
considerably and there are also signs of wider use of CD-ROM drives on
Acorn computers, the growth being much faster than I had expected. In
view of this, I have taken another look at this media and you can
anticipate that an APDL CD will be appearing in the not too distant
future. I don’t want to go into details but I can predict that it will
be rather different from the Datafile offering.
8.1
Special offer
8.1
With the introduction of the Risc PC, there’s suddenly a lot of interest
in 24-bit colour. This month’s special disc therefore has two superb
Shareware packages. The first in Image by Ian Palmer whose ‘Wordhound’
thesaurus was the subject of a previous offer. Image is a 24-bit
processing program. It can alter the colour range of a picture, filter
and image, resize (including cropping end extending), rotate, merge
pictures, touch up, etc.
8.1
The second is FineArt. This, as its name suggests, is an art program.
It’s as easy to use as !Paint but with all the advantages of subtle
colour control which isn’t possible with 8-bit colour. You can also use
it with normal 8-bit colour if you don’t have a Risc PC or a colour
card.
8.1
As usual, for a copy of these two programs send £1 or four 1st class
stamps to me at 39 Knighton Park Road, Sydenham, London SE26 5RN.  A
8.1
Risc-DOS Column
8.1
Simon Coulthurst
8.1
As I write this introductory column, for what I hope will be a series of
articles, about using the Risc PC’s DOS co-processor, I feel a bit of a
fraud. I am sitting in front of a fairly powerful multi-tasking
computer, but it is not a Risc PC or even an Archimedes for that matter.
It is a ‘Windows’ machine. By that, I mean a DOS-compatible running the
kludge that is Microsoft Windows on top of Microsoft DOS. The computer
is a Dell 486DX2 running at 66MHz with 16Mb RAM, 256Kb RAM cache and an
S3 accelerated display on a 21“ colour monitor. A powerful ‘Windows’
computer by any reckoning.
8.1
Yet I am disappointed! Why? Is it because I’m a spoiled brat used to
getting the best of everything regardless of cost? Or is it because this
so called ‘power machine’ is somewhat lacking in some way? Well, if I’m
honest, it’s probably the first, but I will do my best to persuade you
that it is the second.
8.1
A brief personal history
8.1
I have some prior knowledge of Acorn computers, having previously owned
both a BBC ‘B’ and one of the first Archimedes computers. I am a self-
confessed sufferer of techno-lust and have been through the various
stages of this disease, i.e. Vic 20, Oric, Spectrum, BBC ‘B’,
Archimedes, Apple Mac, DOS PC’s and am currently suffering with the
above Windows-based PC. I have also been side-tracked at various times
down side avenues, such as Newton and Psion Series 3a. Like all techno-
lust sufferers, I am convinced that the latest fix − the Risc PC − is
all I need to cure me. My business uses a small five-user network that
runs a DOS-based accounting package over Novell 3.12. I installed the
computers and software myself some three years ago, and all the upgrades
since. By the way, if you think configuring the Risc PC boot options is
difficult, just try installing Netware on a file server!
8.1
Using a Windows PC allows me to connect to the network and extract
information from the accounts package, whilst also allowing me to design
and pre-publish my own advertisements, flyers, brochures, etc within
Windows. However, I have never been all that happy with Windows − I have
a 16Mb computer that still runs out of resources, long before running
short of memory, mainly because it still uses DOS, a system that was
only ever designed to use the first 1Mb of RAM. So imagine my delight
when reading about the new Risc PC. Here was a machine that would allow
me to run my DOS-based accounts package in a window, using the co-
processor, whilst allowing me to use the superior RISC OS interface for
the rest of my work. Nirvana!
8.1
Column aim
8.1
So, assuming my Risc PC (ACB45) ever arrives − it has been on order for
nearly three months now − I intend to install a PC card and then connect
to our existing Novell Network. We have certain other software packages,
that we are very dependent upon, that also only run under DOS and I will
be making sure I can get these to work with the co-processor. It is to
be hoped that, as I report on my progress, you will gain an insight that
may help with your own attempts to use the co-processor. I will also
indicate how the Risc PC fits into a mixed business computer environment
− how easy and convenient, or otherwise, is it to transfer files from
system to system and does the co-processor make it any easier? I am also
more than happy to try to answer any questions or problems you are
having. Please address any queries to Archive marked for my attention.
8.1
Paul has kindly offered to lend me a Risc PC until mine arrives. This
will give me an opportunity to gain experience with the computer and
Risc PC interface before attempting to make it behave like a DOS
computer when the co-processor arrives. Perverse or what?!
8.1
If the co-processor has arrived in time for the next issue, I will
report on that. If, as seems likely, it has not, I will give you a DOS
and Windows user’s first impressions of the Risc PC instead.  A
8.1
Pocket Book Column
8.1
Audrey Laski
8.1
The Pocket Book has been to the Aeolian Island of Lipari and back, and
has proved an excellent travelling companion and talking point. I can
particularly record that the “fiendish Solitaire” I mentioned last time
(as a game picked up from the “3-Lib” collection of shareware software
originally designed for the Psion-3) filled many boring moments in
trains etc. I would like to thank its maker, Dave (Florish? − he gives
no address and asks no licence fee) for hours of entertainment.
8.1
I also got the satisfaction I expected from another piece of software
from the “3-Lib” collection, John Whiting’s Outline, which cleverly
enables the user not only to make an ordered set of headings, but also
to write associated notes; to have this quite sophisticated thinking aid
in one’s pocket is immensely valuable. He has also applied some of the
Outline techniques to the structuring of joblists in a piece of software
called ToDo, much more complex than the facility in Schedule; this would
have saved me many mini-breakdowns in my working life, though it comes
too late for me now.
8.1
A hardware problem
8.1
We continued, as reported earlier, to have problems with intermittent
functioning of the printer (BJ-10SX) which we acquired to connect to the
PocketBook. Finally, we have made a mental link with another problem:
the fact that when the Pocket Book is theoretically connected to a power
supply to conserve batteries, the little green light which shows that
mains power is on keeps going out. Jiggling the lead at the Pocket Book
socket temporarily restores power, but unless this is done frequently,
particularly in a slightly unstable situation, the light soon goes out
again.
8.1
Since I frequently use the Pocket Book on my knee while sitting in bed −
my favourite place of work − such instability is something I need the
hardware to be able to cope with. Our suspicion is that the problem with
the printer is a similar one: that the lead which links Pocket Book to
printer does not sit securely at one or other end. This problem needs to
be addressed by the hardware manufacturers; meanwhile, any advice or
shared experience would be welcome.
8.1
Dunce’s corner
8.1
John of the far side of the bed wants to stand here this month. He
writes: “We keep an old Amstrad portable in the Aeolian Isles.
Accordingly, we wanted to be able to use the A-link to back-up files
between the Pocket Book and the Amstrad. A source close to Psion let us
have RFM, a program which has been written to enable Psion drives to be
addressed as MS-DOS drives from the host Amstrad. ‘Psion have not, and
may not release this program’, means Psion neither supports nor
maintains this program, and you will get a thick ear if you ask them
about it.
8.1
“So, I prepare to connect the A-Link to the Amstrad − but the A-link
plug is a 9-pin RS423 and the Amstrad socket is a 15-pin RS232 socket...
8.1
“We shall be getting a Risc PC by next column, so I can report on RFM as
soon as a DR-DOS comes, but if anyone within easy reach of Victoria
Station has experience with PCs and serial ports, I should like to try
out this useful little program.”
8.1
Endnote
8.1
Is it midsummer torpor, or the fact that I mentioned I was going to be
away? This month, the whole short column has been written by either my
partner or myself, because there have been no letters. Please start them
flowing again; there must be lots more Pocket Book problems and
pleasures out there to communicate.  A
8.1
Teletext Column
8.1
Paul Skirrow
8.1
This is a new column in Archive devoted to the use of teletext on the
Archimedes and the Risc PC, which I hope will run for several issues. I
will be looking at various aspects of computer-based teletext and will
also be reviewing the hardware that is currently available. This month,
I introduce the idea of teletext on a computer and review the Design IT
teletext system.
8.1
I have been using computer-based teletext for 10 years (initially on a
BBC model B computer) and I am a big fan of such systems. I should also
say at this point that I have recently started my own business called
Octopus Systems, based in Ipswich, selling Acorn computers, and that I
am selling the last few remaining Ground Control teletext adapters, now
that they have gone into liquidation.
8.1
What is teletext?
8.1
Teletext is a way of transmitting pages of text along with a TV signal.
The BBC, ITV and Channel 4 all broadcast several hundred pages carrying
news, sport, weather, TV listings, features, share prices, air quality,
pollen counts, pop charts, music news, film releases and travel
information. Some satellite channels, including Sky and MTV, also
broadcast teletext information.
8.1
Each page has a 3-digit page number and may consist of several sub-
pages, each broadcast in turn. To see the Ceefax weather forecast, you
would normally select BBC1, choose page 401 and then wait for the page
to be received, which will typically take 10 or 20 seconds. This weather
page usually has two sub-pages, one for the day’s weather and one for
the evening’s, so you may have to wait for the right sub-page. The sub-
pages are broadcast in turn, so reading pages with 10 or even 20 sub-
pages is often quite slow. You may find that sub-page 8 is being
broadcast when you start reading it and you have to read the pages at
the rate they are broadcast, you can’t skip forwards or backwards
easily.
8.1
Why use teletext on a computer?
8.1
Teletext is traditionally accessed via a teletext television set − many
readers will already be familiar with this. However, most TV-based
teletext systems are slow to use and limited in their functionality,
which I believe prevents many users from realising the full potential of
the system.
8.1
By using a computer to access teletext, a whole new range of facilities
becomes available, making teletext much more convenient. Pages can be
stored on disc for future reference, either as plain text, teletext
(viewdata) files, or as sprites. All available teletext systems display
teletext in a window and work quite happily alongside other programs. It
should therefore be quite practical to leave a teletext window open all
the time, whilst still using the computer.
8.1
In theory it is possible to cache pages in the computer’s memory, thus
giving quick access to pages which the system has already received and
eliminate the tedium traditionally associated with reading teletext on a
television set. As a general rule, computer-based teletext systems do
not implement page cacheing, but since it only involves a software
change, I hope that we will see it introduced in the future.
8.1
Teletext reception
8.1
For teletext reception, you need a TV aerial and a good signal. Small
set-top aerials are unlikely to work, and a roof-top aerial is
recommended. If you are splitting your aerial feed to different sockets
in the house, the best solution is to use a distribution amplifier in
the loft, to minimise signal degradation. These are available from most
specialist TV shops for around £15. Alternatively, you can use passive
splitting connectors which contain terminating resistors and these are
available for around £4. In this case, you should avoid having any
unused outlets as they can cause signal reflections which degrade the
signal at the used outlets. (One solution is to plug in a dummy 75W load
which has the same effect as connecting a TV, and again these are
available from TV shops.) If you can obtain a good clear picture on your
TV set with no obvious interference and no ghosting (duplicate images
beside the main one) then you should be able to receive teletext
reliably.
8.1
Available adapters
8.1
The first teletext adapter was launched in 1984 as part of the BBC Micro
project and, in terms of hardware, this was one of the best, although
the lack of memory in the BBC computer severely limited its potential.
Morley and Ground Control both made external teletext adapters and the
latter could be used with any Acorn computer (except the A4). However,
Morley have now stopped producing them and Ground Control have sadly
gone into liquidation. Fortunately, two new companies have stepped in to
fill the gap: Design IT and XOB have both launched teletext receivers as
internal expansion cards.
8.1
Design IT Teleview card
8.1
This new Teleview card from Design IT plugs into an expansion card slot
on an A300, A400, A5000 or Risc PC and enables the computer to receive
teletext. It will also work on an A3000, using an external podule case
and 12V power supply, and will work with RISC OS 2 or 3. Although it
will not fit inside an A3010, A3020 or A4000, Design IT say they are
working on an external version which may be connected via the parallel
printer port. This is not ideal as it prevents the port being used for a
printer, but users of network and direct-drive laser printer should not
find this a problem.
8.1
The card is supplied with control software on disc, a Tuning and
Configuration Guide and a comprehensive (70 page) manual. Installation
is straightforward and the fitting instructions are very clear.
8.1
Before use, the system must be tuned using a tuning program which
automatically searches the frequency band. You must specify the channel
to be tuned (BBC1, BBC2, ITV or whatever) and then let the system search
for it. This is repeated for each channel and can mean searching the
frequency band several times. I would have preferred to be able to tune
all channels in one operation although this is a minor complaint, given
that you only ever tune the system once.
8.1
To access teletext, you simply run the TeleCFax application which
installs itself on the iconbar. Initially, the icon shows a blank
screen, and clicking on it will have no effect. After a few seconds,
when the first page has been received, the icon lights up. Clicking on
it will now open a large window showing the teletext page. This
behaviour is frustrating − if you are running the application, you
obviously want to look at teletext and it is irritating that you must
wait before you can open a teletext window − a blank window would have
been acceptable. It can also be a problem if no teletext is being
broadcast on the default channel as it prevents access to the other
channels. (The BBC channels often close down after midnight whereas ITV
usually broadcasts throughout the night.)
8.1
The teletext display is exactly as you would see it on a television,
with block graphics, colours and even flashing text. The header line at
the top of the teletext page is only updated when a new page is
displayed, but a menu allows the header to be displayed in a separate
small window, which shows the current channel, page being received and
the teletext time. There is also a facility for setting the computer’s
clock from the transmitted teletext time. The program can be configured
to beep when a page has been received, but I would have preferred a
clear visual indication that the system is waiting for a page (some
systems display a ‘Page searching’ message or flash the page number in
the header line).
8.1
Alongside the main teletext window is a control panel, rather like a TV
remote control. This has eight buttons for choosing a channel, a numeric
keypad for entering page numbers and some special buttons for next and
previous page, page index, page hold, page release and ‘Fast Text’. To
select a page, it is necessary to click on the relevant buttons on this
keypad. I found it a little awkward clicking on these small buttons and
would have preferred to be able to use the numeric keypad. Pages can
also be selected by clicking on the coloured keywords (FastText), at the
foot of the page, or on a page reference in the teletext window and this
is very convenient for jumping to a page from a contents or index page.
8.1
It usually takes several seconds after choosing a page before the page
is received and displayed and this is frustrating when you want to flick
quickly between an index page and the pages to which it refers because
you always have to wait. However, there is a menu entry to store the
current page in the computer’s memory, and stored pages may be retrieved
later using another menu. For example, if you are reading the BBC news
pages, you might store pages 110 and 160 as these contain indexes for UK
and World news respectively. You can then use the menu to instantly
return to one of these indexes, but selecting one of these pages
normally (by entering the page number) means that you still have to
wait, despite the page being available in memory. You can also make the
system automatically store the last 50 pages that you accessed, but
again they can only be retrieved by using the menu as shown above,
right.
8.1
Saving pages
8.1
The displayed page may be saved as a sprite, videotex, or plain text
file. Sprites show the page exactly as it is, including all of the
graphics and colours, and are therefore convenient for loading into
other applications, but they are fairly large (24Kb). Videotex files
contain the teletext information as it was transmitted and can be
handled by some other software. (The manual gives details of this
format.) They can be re-loaded into the TeleCFax software simply by
double-clicking.
8.1
Saved text files contain all of the text from the page but no graphics.
So, a weather map saved as text is less useful than one saved as a
sprite (although with a little thought it would still be possible to
extract temperatures for your region by scanning the right place in the
text file). There are two useful options on the Save Text dialogue.
Firstly, text may be saved ‘For DTP’, which means that new line
characters are stripped and the 40 column line limit removed. This means
that any wordprocessor using the text is free to re-format it to fit its
own page width. The second option is ‘With Styles’ which is for
Impression users. It applies a heading style to the first line on the
page and makes white text bold. The overall effect is very pleasing and
it is quite impressive to be able to save a typical teletext page onto
Impression and see it transformed into a newspaper-type heading.
8.1
Script files
8.1
Script files are simple text files containing a list of commands for the
TeleCFax software. Commands are available to grab and display pages,
save pages to disc (as text, sprites or videotex), display saved pages
from disc and repeat indefinitely. It is therefore possible to build you
own ‘carousel’ systems to display a selection of the day’s teletext
pages. Making a script file is quite straightforward and they would be
suitable for school pupils to write, especially as they can be regarded
as simple programming for national curriculum purposes.
8.1
One of the many examples provided shows how to save eight news pages
into a single text file (with styles) for loading into Impression. By
running the script and (after a few minutes pause) dragging the output
file to the provided Impression document, a mini-newspaper can be
created and this is sure to enthral school children. Other examples
include scripts to grab weather pages, road information and TV listings.
8.1
The system can also be configured to run a script file automatically at
start up, so it is possible to set the system up to save all of the
pages you want on disc for you to read later. It may take several
minutes, or even an hour to grab all of your pages, but they will then
be available as disc files which can be accessed instantly. Since
different pages can be saved in different ways, it is quite easy to save
the weather maps in a sprite file, and the news in a text file. While a
script is running, the teletext system displays the pages as they are
received and the computer continues to multi-task but the teletext
buttons are disabled until the script has finished.
8.1
Software control
8.1
Most teletext adapters provide commands or system calls for other
programs to use, and even the original BBC micro adapter had a very
comprehensive set of * commands and low-level system calls for grabbing
pages, changing channels, etc. This meant that a large library of
software was developed to perform clever tricks, such as plotting share
price graphs over time or searching pages for keywords.
8.1
Sadly, support for other programs is missing from the Design IT system,
but there are some simple calls available for converting videotex pages
into sprites. Although disappointing to programmers, the provision of
the less-sophisticated, but easier to use, script files makes up for it
in many ways. Design IT say they will consider putting in a SWI
interface and I am pushing for a standard interface so that all teletext
software will work on any adapter regardless of make − this probably
means trying to use the same interface as the existing Ground Control
adapters as there are a lot in use.
8.1
Design IT say they may extend their script language to enable it to run
other programs . This will allow Basic programs (for example) to search
or process newly-saved teletext pages. It could be used to plot graphs
from share prices, build a database of recipe pages or even print a mini
‘newspaper’, completely automatically.
8.1
Computer television
8.1
The Teleview card also has composite video (BNC socket) and mono audio
(mini-jack) output on the back panel. This is suitable for connecting a
monitor, headphones or mini-loudspeakers and a separate TV Tuner program
is provided to enable the channel to be changed without running the full
teletext system. I am always dubious about the usefulness of such
facilities, although many teletext adapters provide them since they
already contain a TV tuner and have the signals available internally.
Using the system to display a television picture on an adjacent monitor
seems a bit extravagant (when a separate TV set is probably cheaper and
more convenient).
8.1
Where this system is more useful is when it is used with a real-time
video digitising card such as the Eagle M2 multimedia card. The
television video and audio output can then be routed into the Eagle card
to provide a TV picture in a window. Video, audio and static frames can
then be grabbed using the Eagle card, or the system could simply be used
to watch television in those idle moments when you are not working. For
the cost of an Eagle card and a Teleview card, you can buy quite a nice
25“ colour stereo television, but that isn’t really the point − if you
have an Eagle card already, you might as well connect it to the
television output when it isn’t otherwise being used, and get ‘computer
television’ for free. You can also open a small window to show teletext
sub-titles for TV programmes.
8.1
Conclusion
8.1
This adapter adds teletext to your computer. It is easy to fit and works
well, although the lack of automatic page storage (cacheing) makes it
slow to use. The manual is well-written, easy to read, and includes
descriptions of the various file formats used. The video and audio
outputs are welcome, although I am unsure of their usefulness. The
script facilities for automatically saving pages is excellent and means
that the system can automatically produce a mini-magazine from a
collection of teletext pages.
8.1
The card costs £159 plus £4 carriage, plus VAT from Design IT. Network
software, to enable teletext to be used on several machines at once,
will be ready in September for £150 +VAT. This will allow any network
station to access teletext either from the teletext adapter, or from a
database (thus allowing a school to set up their own viewdata
service).  A
8.1
SyQuest Removable Drives
8.1
David Holden
8.1
Most Archimedes users will have heard of SyQuest removable discs. They
are quite commonly found on the Apple Mac, but are also available for
the Archimedes from a number of companies in the Acorn marketplace
including, of course, NCS.
8.1
I have been following the development of SyQuest drives for some time
and, with the acquisition of a Risc PC and the need for more (and better
organised) hard disc space, I decided it was time to take the plunge.
This article was written to describe some of the reasons why I have
chosen to take this step. Although I have seen them reviewed and
advertised many times, no-one, to the best of my knowledge, has written
anything to help others determine whether the SyQuest option is right
for them. It is not a magic solution to all problems.
8.1
What are they?
8.1
SyQuest removable hard discs are a marriage of normal hard disc
technology with the ‘removability’ of a floppy disc drive although there
is, of course, much more to it than that. Unlike optical or WORM drives,
the basic technology of SyQuests is the same as used for fixed hard
drives. This means that, as advances have been made in their production,
reliability and pricing, this has been reflected in the SyQuest drives.
8.1
They are constructed along the lines of a conventional hard disc drive
except that, instead of the whole mechanism being placed in a sealed box
the ‘disc’ is contained in its own, removable, plastic case. This is
completely enclosed except for a ‘door’ along one side, and when it is
in the drive, this door is opened to allow the drive head to reach the
disc’s surface. In fact, it’s rather like a better constructed and much
more sophisticated version of a floppy disc.
8.1
Types available
8.1
The drives are available in two physical sizes, 5¼“ and 3½”. The disc
itself is slightly larger than the floppy equivalent, which is a pity
because it means you can’t use most conventional boxes for them. The 5¼“
disc is about 1 cm thick and the 3½” version is about 8mm. The thing
which strikes you when you pick one up for the first time is its weight,
especially the 5¼“ size. This is because the disc itself is a heavy
metal object and not at all like the flimsy metal oxide coated plastic
used in floppies.
8.1
Each physical size is available in different capacities. The 5¼“ comes
in 44 and 88Mb, and the 3½” in 105 and 270Mb. (There is now also a 200Mb
5¼“ drive − see Products Available. Ed.)
8.1
The first size to be introduced was the 5¼“ 44Mb. Then when hard disc
technology advanced to allow more data to be squeezed on to the same
area of a disc, this was doubled to 88Mb. The 44Mb drive cannot read or
write to 88Mb discs but most of the 88Mb drives can use either type
although the oldest 88Mb drives don’t.
8.1
With further advances, it became possible to reduce the disc size to 3½“
while simultaneously increasing the capacity to 105Mb. The most recent
step was to boost the capacity of the 3½” drive to 270Mb, and even
larger sizes will be available in the foreseeable future. Like the 5¼“
equivalents, the 270Mb drive can read and write 105Mb discs but the
105Mb drive can’t use 270Mb discs.
8.1
Uses for SyQuest drives
8.1
These drives were never intended as a substitute for a conventional hard
disc, although they have sometimes been used in this way. Their main
purpose was to allow large amounts of data – too big for a floppy disc –
to be transferred between computers. This was quickly seized upon by
publishing companies who realised that they could, for example, get the
DTP data for an entire book onto one 44Mb disc, thus facilitating
transfer from the computer to the Printer (using ‘Printer’ in the
context of ‘company that prints the book’ rather than the computer
peripheral). This flexibility meant that the current ‘book’ could easily
be passed around from one computer to another, even on different sites.
8.1
In order to see why they have been used primarily for this and not just
for bulk data storage it is necessary to investigate prices. The 5¼“
drive itself is quite expensive, but that is not the most important
point. The actual discs cost over £60, which means nearly £1.60 per Mb.
To store about 200Mb of data using a SyQuest drive and five discs
therefore costs much more than a conventional hard drive.
8.1
The introduction of the 88Mb size helped only slightly. The cost of an
88Mb disc is over £90, and although this gives a better price/capacity
ratio, it still doesn’t approach a conventional drive when the cost of
the SyQuest drive itself is taken into account. This economic
disadvantage has been increased as hard disc prices have fallen.
8.1
When the 105Mb size was introduced, things looked a bit better. A 3½“
105Mb disc costs less than the 88Mb version. This lower cost meant that,
at last, the price per Mb of a SyQuest disc was approaching that of a
conventional drive. Of course, the cost of the drive itself made the
overall picture somewhat different, but if you needed several hundred Mb
of storage, the SyQuest option was beginning to look more attractive.
8.1
With the introduction of the 270Mb size, SyQuest can give more Mb per £
than a conventional drive. In fact, it works out cheaper than floppy
discs! This is because the price of a 270Mb disc is about the same as a
44 or 105Mb and lower than an 88Mb. Even at a ‘one off’ price of around
£80 for a disc, you would be paying only about 30p per Mb.
8.1
Data security
8.1
The real advantages were, once again, not economic. For many people,
even more important than portability is security. If you have 1Gb of
data on a single hard disc then, if you are unfortunate enough to have a
hard disc failure, everything could be lost. Of course, all you have to
do (in theory) is to restore the data from your backup, but it simply
isn’t realistic to back up this amount of data to floppies, and a tape
streamer is not only time-consuming to use, it’s expensive. With a
SyQuest drive, if a disc fails, you have lost only part of your data. If
the drive fails, you just get a replacement – the data on your discs
isn’t affected, (unless the drive fails during a write operation − but
nothing is perfect!)
8.1
The SyQuest drive as a backup medium
8.1
Although not their primary purpose, this is an area in which they can be
extremely useful and more convenient than conventional methods.
8.1
Most people with large hard discs find that only a small part of the
data on them is irreplaceable. The majority will probably consist of
applications or material which may exist on other machines or on floppy
discs as well. Applications do not really need to be ‘backed up’ since,
in the event of hard disc failure, they can simply be re-installed.
8.1
Backing up and restoring is fast and convenient. There is no need for
any ‘special’ software − it’s exactly the same as copying to/from any
other hard disc, and just as fast. Instead of having to run through a
tape to find a particular file, you pick it from a normal filer window.
This means that a large SyQuest drive can be used as a backup medium for
a normal hard disc, dispensing with the need for a tape streamer, and
helping to weigh the economic balance in its favour.
8.1
I regard the ability of SyQuest drives to act as backup devices as a
major point in their favour. Although the First Law of Hard Disc Backup
is ‘The likelihood of hard disc failure is directly proportional to the
irreplaceability of the data’, the Second Law is ‘The frequency with
which a backup is taken is inversely proportional to the inconvenience
of doing so’. The simplicity and ease with which data can be duplicated
to a SyQuest drive helps ensure frequent backups.
8.1
Installation options
8.1
I shall describe briefly the options open to the Archimedes owner
considering the purchase of a SyQuest drive. All types are available
with either IDE or SCSI interface, although as the 5¼“ size was almost
universally used on Apple Macs, they are rarely seen with an IDE
interface. All types are available for either internal fitting, that is,
a ‘bare’ drive, or as an external unit complete with case and power
supply. As the only Acorn computer capable of taking a 5¼” drive
internally is the Risc PC, I shall assume that if you wish to install
the drive internally it will be a 3½“ unit. Obviously, if you intend to
purchase an ‘external’ unit there is no physical installation of the
drive.
8.1
Despite the fact that the actual disc is bigger than a 3½“ floppy, the
drive itself is exactly the same size so it can be fitted in the second
drive bay of an A310, A400, A540 or A5000. Of course, if you have
anything other than an A5000 or Risc PC, the SyQuest drive will need to
be fitted in the position occupied by another hard disc, so this will
have to be displaced. If you have only one or two podule slots in use,
it is possible to mount a 3½” hard disc in the space that two podules
would occupy, and I have done this in the past using two short strips of
angled plastic to support it.
8.1
With an A5000, the SyQuest drive can be mounted under the present floppy
drive. You will need four mounting screws with spacers the correct
length to position the drive correctly. Again this is a simple DIY job
or a kit can be purchased from NCS. (Dave’s idea, and mine, of a ‘simple
DIY job’ are somewhat different! Ed.)
8.1
The power required by a 3½“ SyQuest drive is extremely small and should
not cause any difficulty for the power supply fitted to any of these
models, even if you already have another hard drive fitted. You can
therefore obtain or make a ‘Y’ lead to split the power lead to the
normal hard drive. This should consist of a ‘male’ version of the
standard drive power plug and two ‘female’ plugs. These are available
from Maplin Electronics amongst others. Anyone who can wield a soldering
iron should have no difficulty with this. Just ensure that you don’t
‘cross over’ any of the wires as mistakes can be very expensive! Use
three different coloured wires (the middle two connectors are both
Earth, so it doesn’t matter if these are mixed up) and when you have
finished, fit each socket in turn to the plug and make sure the wires
match, colour to colour. (The connector is part of the NCS kit. Ed.)
8.1
Fitting in a Risc PC should be simple. The easiest way is to purchase a
drive frame intended to fit a 3½“ floppy in a 5¼” drive bay. These cost
only a few pounds from PC suppliers. As I use my Risc PC ‘on end’, I
decided to fit the SyQuest drive in the 3½“ bay above the floppy so that
it would be well above the desk. I thought this would be easy, but what
looked like a 3½” ‘knockout’ was just a decorative line, and I had to
cut the hole out of the (nearly ¼“ thick) plastic front panel. Once this
was done, the drive just clipped into place, but I would advise anyone
not skilled with a Stanley knife to use a 5¼” bay and an adaptor!
8.1
The interface
8.1
You will have to decide whether to choose a SCSI or IDE interface. Your
choice may be influenced by your existing hardware but SCSI drives are
sometimes more expensive than IDE. If you have an A540 or other model
with a SCSI card then that is the obvious choice, and you are unlikely
to encounter any difficulties. However, do ensure your interface will
work with a SyQuest drive. I am told there is no problem with Oak,
Morley, Technomatic or Acorn SCSI cards but I have no reports of others.
(There can be problems with the Acorn one but NCS Utils Disc 6 has a
patch for it. Ed.)
8.1
If you have an A5000, a Risc PC, or a machine with an IDE interface,
there are some problems you should be aware of.
8.1
SCSI interfaces are designed to operate with a variety of devices and
most can cope with removable media. IDE, on the other hand, was intended
only for use with fixed hard discs which are hardly likely to change
while the computer is switched on. If you change an IDE disc in a
machine fitted with an Acorn interface, it will simply refuse to accept
the new one. You will have to switch the computer off and on again
before you can use the new disc. This is true of almost all IDE systems.
Luckily a ‘patch’ is available for the Acorn interface fitted to the
A5000 and Risc PC, and this permits the disc to be changed. (NCS Utils
Disc 6. Ed.) I am not aware of fixes for other IDE interfaces. The
disadvantage with a patch is that it must, of course, be loaded before
the SyQuest drive is used, and so needs to be included in a ‘boot’
sequence. This means the SyQuest drive can’t be the primary drive on
such a machine, but this isn’t a good idea anyway and so is not really a
problem.
8.1
The latest versions of ICS’s IDE interface is specifically designed to
be used with removables. If you have an earlier ICS interface, a ROM
upgrade will only cost £10. You can fit the complete IDE interface card
to an A5000 or a Risc PC where it will work happily in tandem with the
‘on board’ Acorn interface. This is the method that I chose because this
allows me to have three IDE drives. The ICS ‘Whizzo’ ROM, which is
available as an alternative to the Acorn IDE filing system for the A5000
(and soon for the Risc PC), is also suitable for use with SyQuest drives
and costs about £30.
8.1
There are two other considerations which might affect your choice. An
IDE interface is likely to cost less than half the price of a SCSI card,
so if you are starting from scratch, IDE could be around £100 cheaper
than SCSI. On the other hand, if you intend to fit other devices such as
a scanner, which will need a SCSI bus, then you may as well opt for SCSI
from the start.
8.1
Unless you have a very old existing IDE drive, it is most unlikely that
there will be any difficulty in getting it to work as a ‘slave’ to your
present drive. During the past weeks, I have switched mine between four
Acorn machines and a PC without problems, sometimes using it as the
Master drive and at others as Slave. One link must be removed on the
SyQuest drive to convert it from Master to Slave and this is clearly
marked. However, whereas later Conner drives, such as those used on the
Risc PC and more recent A5000s, don’t need any links changed when a
Slave drive is added, many other makes (and earlier Conners) do. This
subject is far too complex to go into great detail here but many drives
actually have a diagram stuck onto them showing how to change the links
and, with other drives, the links are named.
8.1
The reason I have taken some trouble to mention these alternatives is
that, if you have an A5000 or a Risc PC, you could choose a bare IDE
drive as the cheapest method, using the ‘patch’ for the Acorn IDE
interface. You would then still have the option at a later date of
fitting the ICS ‘Whizzo’ ROM or an alternative IDE card if you require a
second conventional drive as well.
8.1
Risc PC considerations
8.1
During speed tests, I found that the IDE interface used on the Risc PC
is faster than that fitted to the A5000. It consistently performed 20-
40% faster using identical drives. The ICS interface card, when used on
the A5000, has a performance comparable with the ‘native’ interface and
there is no improvement when fitted to a Risc PC, so its performance
falls short of that delivered by the Risc PC’s own IDE interface.
8.1
The ‘Whizzo’ ROM for the Risc PC wasn’t ready when this article was
prepared so I don’t know how it will perform. However, I would expect it
to be equivalent to the Acorn software.
8.1
In all cases, the 270Mb IDE drive fitted to the Risc PC returned a
performance markedly better than a SCSI fixed drive of comparable size.
The SCSI tests were carried out using an Oak 16 bit card (admittedly not
the fastest, but one of the cheapest and most common) on both the Risc
PC and A5000. They confirm my previous experience that the ‘old’ SCSI-1
standard, as used on all currently available SCSI interfaces, is not
fast enough for modern high speed drives. I suspect that comparisons
made in the past were between small IDE drives on early A5000s and
larger SCSI drives and, generally speaking, the larger the drive, the
faster it will perform.
8.1
All SCSI interfaces, as available for Acorn machines at present, only
have an 8 bit data bus. The ‘16 bit’ description merely means that the
data is buffered on the card and supplied to the computer in 16 bit
chunks. However, the SyQuest drives are SCSI-2 compatible, so when the
faster cards appear for the Risc PC (it’s very doubtful whether they
will be available for any other models) the SCSI version of a SyQuest
drive will almost certainly out-perform the IDE version. If you have a
Risc PC, SCSI will probably be the best option, because you will have
the option of changing your SCSI card at a later date to increase
performance.
8.1
The drive in use
8.1
Although you can remove the discs from the drive, it isn’t quite as
simple as ejecting a floppy disc. On the 105Mb and 270Mb drives, the
eject button is actually an electrical switch and there is also a
locking lever. When you insert a disc, this lever is operated to lock it
into the drive and engage the mechanism which starts it rotating. As
with a normal hard drive, the disc rotates all the time at high speed,
taking about five seconds to get up to speed and be ready to use.
Because the disc is always rotating, it must be brought to a stop before
it can be removed, so the lever is electrically locked once the disc is
inserted. When the eject button is pressed the disc is stopped and, once
it is stationary, the locking lever is released and you can remove the
disc. Again this takes about five seconds.
8.1
The drive activity light is multi-purpose. With no disc in the drive it
is off, and during drive activity it is orange. When the disc is being
run up to speed or slowed before removal, it is green and flashes in
proportion to the disc speed. So, when you insert a disc, it flashes
slowly at first, and then faster until  the drive is up to speed.
8.1
Because the ejecting sequence is electrically operated, you cannot
remove a disc from the drive with the power switched off. (Actually, you
can. There’s a tiny hole near the button just big enough to be poked
with the end of an un-bent paper clip. This releases the cartridge,
power or no power. Ed.)
8.1
Portability
8.1
In theory, a SyQuest disc formatted on any Acorn computer should be able
to be read on any other machine, regardless of the filing system used.
In fact, I have been told that a disc formatted on a external SCSI drive
could not be used with an IDE drive, but if it were formatted on an IDE
drive or an internal SCSI, there would be no problems. This seems a bit
strange but, even if it does happen, it is not a serious problem. If you
regularly need to interchange data between two such drives, you would
just have to ensure that the disc had originally been formatted on the
IDE drive. (Which disc formatted on which machine and on which interface
is readable on which other configuration is, I fear, very much a black
art. The empirical approach is highly recommended here. Ed.)
8.1
It would be nice if it were possible to exchange discs between the
Archimedes and other platforms. There is no physical problem with this −
it would just require an appropriate filing system to recognise the disc
structure. The new ‘Mac’ filer, MacFS, from Computer Concepts will work
with SyQuest drives.
8.1
Out of curiosity, I tried the SyQuest on my PC and had no difficulty in
getting it to work. However, although RISC OS 3 can read and write to
DOS format floppy discs, there is no provision for reading a DOS hard
disc. Hopefully, some enterprising person will write a filing system
able to read a DOS formatted hard disc in the same way as DOS FS works
with floppies. This would make exchange of large amounts of data with a
PC much simpler than at present. Any offers, anyone?
8.1
There is no difficulty placing a DOS partition on a SyQuest drive. I
tried this both with Acorn’s PC Emulator and !FasterPC without problems.
This allows you to have a substantial DOS partition without giving up a
large part of your primary hard drive. By putting outwardly identical
DOS partitions on more than one SyQuest disc, you could have alternative
DOS ‘drives’ for different purposes without the need to reconfigure the
emulator. This could be very useful in future once PC cards become more
common.
8.1
Reliability
8.1
In the past I have had qualms about reliability, knowing the importance
manufacturers attach to keeping a hard disc hermetically sealed in its
box. However, as far as I am aware, there are no problems with SyQuest
discs, although I have heard reports of Bernouilli and Optical discs
becoming error prone after long service. The fact that SyQuest offer a
five year guarantee on their discs would seem to indicate their
confidence that they will last as long as, or longer than, a
conventional drive.
8.1
I would suggest that the only slight threat to data security is where
discs are frequently transported between locations. Sooner or later they
will be dropped on the floor, put in someone’s bag or pocket without
benefit of their outer case, or otherwise be abused. A friend ‘lost’ a
disc in transit and only discovered it, months later, underneath the
spare wheel in his car, dirty and with its packet crushed, but otherwise
undamaged. (I have thrown 5¼“ cartridges half way across the office to
prove their robustness. Ed.)
8.1
Speed
8.1
I have left this until last as I don’t think it is of major importance.
Experience with a variety of drives and interfaces leads me to the
conclusion that performance figures can be very misleading and often
reveal more about the test program than the hardware. I preferred to
carry out comparative tests using an A5000 and a Risc PC. I compared the
SyQuest 270Mb drive with a Quantum 540Mb, a Western Digital 250Mb and
the Conner 420Mb drive on the Risc PC. In each case, the drive was newly
formatted and largely empty to ensure that performance wasn’t degraded
by fragmentation. I don’t want to get too involved with speed
considerations but the test program I use is my own, and doesn’t return
artificially massaged ‘Mb per second’ specs. It uses standard filing
system commands, just like real programs, and is designed to give a good
indication of how the drive will perform in normal use.
8.1
Each machine was fitted with an ICS IDE card as well as the Acorn
interface so that I could try the alternative filing systems as well as
the drives. In most tests, the 270Mb SyQuest operated at a speed
comparable to the 420Mb Conner drive fitted to the Risc PC and almost a
fast as a 540Mb Quantum.
8.1
For all practical purposes, the 270Mb drive is as fast as any normal
hard disc. You have to do extensive objective tests to find the
differences and, subjectively, it certainly feels just as fast as the
420Mb Conner on the Risc PC. Statistics freaks can have hours of fun
testing but the simple answer is ‘fast enough’. For those who want to
know the details, I have passed the test program and a few test results
to Paul for the magazine disc.
8.1
One area where speed is of interest is comparing different SyQuest
drives. Nick Evans of the ARM Club gave me some results of comparisons
between 44, 88 and 270Mb drives which clearly indicate that the 88Mb
drive is about 50% faster than the 44Mb size and the 270Mb drive about
twice as fast. It also shows that the slowest speed is obtained with a
44Mb disc in an 88Mb drive, presumably because the drive has to ‘double
step’. I don’t have any data for the 105Mb size but I expect that this
will conform to the pattern set by the others.
8.1
Conclusions
8.1
The decision to buy a SyQuest drive cannot be made entirely on the basis
of cost or performance. When the price of the drive itself is taken into
account, the ‘cost per Mb’ is unlikely to be cheaper than a large
conventional drive. The main considerations remain security and
portability, which is why I have dwelt upon these two issues. In my own
case, I am more than satisfied. Although portability is not an important
consideration, it suits me to have several discs, each containing
material needed for different tasks. Instead of the large, sprawling,
mass I had on my A5000, which often made it difficult to remember where
I had put things, I can now insert the disc pertaining to the current
task and quickly find what I want.
8.1
If portability is a primary consideration, and you have more than one
machine, it might be worth looking at 44Mb drives. These have actually
been discontinued but are still widely available. As they are now
‘obsolete’, they can sometimes be found quite cheaply. Don’t worry about
the supply of 44Mb discs − there are so many drives in use that there is
unlikely ever to be a shortage.
8.1
As you have seen, it’s not just a matter of deciding that you’d like a
SyQuest drive. If you have a lot of data, the 270Mb size appears by far
the most economical choice, but this doesn’t necessarily follow,
particularly if you have several machines, since although the media gets
cheaper with larger sizes, the drives get more expensive.
8.1
Once you have decided upon size, the other considerations are the type
of interface and whether to have an internal or external drive. The
latter will probably be decided by physical factors. Whether to have
SCSI or IDE could also be decided by the hardware you already have.
Certainly, if you possess a SCSI card, that would probably be the best
choice but, if not, then IDE is cheaper, even if you have to buy an
interface. At present, I don’t consider that there is any significant
difference in speed between the two versions, but if, in the future,
SCSI-2 cards appear for the Risc PC, that will certainly be faster.  A
8.1
Current Archive Prices of SyQuest Drives
8.1
         Archive price of...  Drive  Media  Per Mb
8.1
44Mb external SCSI  £360  £70  £1.59
8.1
88Mb external SCSI  £500  £100  £1.14
8.1
105Mb external SCSI  £450  £70  67p
8.1
105Mb internal SCSI  £370  £70  67p
8.1
105Mb internal IDE  £340  £70  67p
8.1
200Mb external SCSI  £570  £90  45p
8.1
200Mb internal SCSI  £490  £90  45p
8.1
270Mb external SCSI  £550  £80  30p
8.1
270Mb internal SCSI  £490  £80  30p
8.1
270Mb internal IDE  £490  £80  30p
8.1
PipeLineZ
8.1
Gerald Fitton
8.1
In this month’s article, I shall tell you about the copy of Fireworkz
V 1.08 which I have − but first a couple of points arising from last
month’s article.
8.1
Unnumbered screen modes
8.1
If you have a Risc PC and use unnumbered screen modes, you may have
found that your sprites don’t appear in Fireworkz documents and don’t
print. The ‘answer’ is to install a TaskX module which will recognise
those sprites. The latest version of the RISC OS 3.5 TaskX module is
datestamped 25th August 1994. Do not install this latest version if you
have only RISC OS 3.1 or you will create problems for yourself. If you
want a copy of this module, send me a formatted disc, self addressed
label and (if possible) return postage. On the disc, please include a
file created in Fireworkz (Wordz or Resultz) containing your name and
address. This file will enable me to read information (from the hidden
parts of the Fireworkz file) about your version of Fireworkz and your
system, that are necessary for the records which I have to provide to
Colton Software.
8.1
Corrigenda
8.1
In last month’s PipeLineZ, my major topic was an “Unwanted Chain of
Interdependent Documents”. I have received about half a dozen letters
pointing out a mistake which I made. Near to the beginning, when I was
explaining how to insert a row, I said:
8.1
“In the form in which I’ve included it, the file [Acc_9301] contains
only three transactions, two credits and one debit but you can extend it
quite simply. Place the caret anywhere in the last row and press <f7> to
insert a new row, make your credit or debit entry and, finally,
replicate the formula in the “Balance” column through to the line you
have just created.”
8.1
What I should have said was that you must “replicate the formula in the
Balance column through the line you have just created and down through
one more line.” The reason for replicating the formula through to the
extra line is that the formula in the ‘extra line’ has been updated by
the process of creating the extra (blank) row so that it ‘skips’ the new
blank row!
8.1
I also received a couple of letters asking why the [Acc_9301] document
fails to work if one row is deleted. The quick answer is that the line
below the deleted line is corrupted by this process of deletion. There
is nothing which can be done about this corruption since what happens is
inherent in the nature of a spreadsheet. Let me explain by referring to
the [Acc_9301] sheet of last month’s article. The slot [Acc_9301]D7
contains the formula D6+B7-C7. If you delete the slot D6 (for example,
by deleting row 6) then the formula in D7 will be corrupted because
there is no simple way in which we can ‘tell’ the spreadsheet that we
want the D6 in the formula to be replaced by D5!
8.1
Chained documents in Fireworkz
8.1
Also in last month’s PipeLineZ, I gave three reasons why I wrote that
article using as my example files in PipeDream format. Two of the
reasons I gave were:
8.1
“. . . you can load PipeDream files into Fireworkz whereas the reverse
is not true.” and “. . . because of a few (known) bugs in Fireworkz,
some of the formulae . . . don’t work . . . particularly (using)
set_value(,) with Names”
8.1
Nevertheless, in your letters to me, I have been asked if I will go
through the creation of the document structure using Fireworkz and
explain why the set of chained documents doesn’t work. I have written
individually to all those who have written to me but I’m sure that for
everyone who has written there must be more who haven’t. My compromise
with those of you who haven’t written but still want to know (in detail)
how to use Fireworkz is this: I have included on the Archive monthly
disc a similar tutorial for Fireworkz users with a [ReadMe] file in
Fireworkz format. Alternatively, send me the usual formatted disc, self
addressed sticky label and, if you can (I know you can’t if you live
overseas), return postage and I’ll copy the tutorial to your disc.
8.1
The following is quoted from that tutorial:
8.1
A bug
8.1
“Although the process of using set_value(,) with Names works well in
PipeDream, it doesn’t seem to ‘work’ properly in Fireworkz. I don’t know
exactly what effect you will find but, with my machine, I found that the
recalculations got into an infinite loop with the ‘number of
calculations still to go’ increasing instead of decreasing as time went
by! As a result of this ‘bug’, I am unable to recommend this
set_value(,) with Names in Fireworkz even though, as I said before, it
is the preferred method − and it works well in PipeDream. Perhaps when
the next version of Fireworkz is released in October I’ll be able to
delete this paragraph but, in the meantime, be careful of set_value(,)
when using Names in Fireworkz.”
8.1
The workaround
8.1
I believe that Fireworkz sometimes loses track of what recalculations it
ought to make when a value is updated using Names with set_value(,). I
have other ‘anecdotal evidence’ that there are other circumstances −
particularly when a slot contains a formula which refers to a slot which
occurs ‘later’ (down or to the right) in the spreadsheet. The
‘workaround’ (but that’s probably the wrong way to describe the
procedure) is to use a series of cross-checks. Essentially, a cross-
check is a strategy of using the same data in two separate calculations;
the calculations are designed so that both have the same (identical)
answer − the answers are compared. An important part of the strategy is
that you must use different formulae and methods for the two
calculations. When this sort of thing was done manually in industry,
many Section Heads would even use different ‘Computors’ (people, not
machines) for the two sets of calculations! If you have a Fireworkz
spreadsheet and you have problems setting up your cross-checks then
write to me and I’ll see what I can do.
8.1
Perhaps Paul will allow me a small aside. He recently sent me a PD3
spreadsheet because it wouldn’t work on PD4. I was most impressed by the
inbuilt cross checks. Indeed, apart from my own work, I knew of only one
PD3 application writer who ‘instinctively’ included, in quantity and
quality, cross-checks of the type I found in Paul’s spreadsheet. Just as
those with musical or artistic talent can recognise the work of a
composer or artist, so, I believe is it possible to recognise the author
of a well-constructed spreadsheet. It had the mark of a mathematician
rather than a ‘computer person’. Paul confirmed my guess at the name of
the author! (Come back, Rob − The Acorn world needs mathematicians like
you!! Ed.)
8.1
Version 1.08
8.1
You’ve probably guessed that I don’t have an upgrade to the RISC OS
version of Fireworkz but Fireworkz for Microsoft Windows. You can buy it
now from Colton Software. You need a 386 compatible with 4Mb RAM and
Microsoft Windows 3.1 as a minimum hardware/software combination. The
contact name at Colton Software for more information about Fireworkz for
Windows is Jeremy Turner. It costs £99 +VAT but registered users of the
RISC OS version can buy it for just £50 + VAT.
8.1
The documentation consists of three booklets called: “User Guide”,
“Fireworkz Spreadsheet Guide” and “Getting Started”. Although there is a
separate booklet devoted to the spreadsheet part of Fireworkz, this does
not imply that word processing is taking a back seat in V 1.08. I’m
pretty certain that the decision was made to keep all the spreadsheet
functions (and functionality) together rather than complicate the use of
the User Guide which covers all but the spreadsheet side.
8.1
The Windows version will import files in Rich Text Format (RTF), Lotus
WK1 and WKS format and (but not finally) Excel 2, 3 or 4 format.
Pictures can be in Windows BMP format; under the Acorn FileType
numbering system, you will find that Windows BMP format files are given
the number &69C and that Translator will convert Windows BMP files to
Acorn Sprite format.
8.1
Naturally, the Windows version of Fireworkz will accept sprites
(including 32-bit sprites) and Acorn drawfiles. In Windows, any
referenced drawfiles must have the DOS extension AFF; Acorn sprite files
must have the extension FF9.
8.1
From RISC OS to Windows
8.1
I have transferred many Fireworkz documents from RISC OS to Windows and
others in the reverse direction. It is a relatively straightforward
operation but you do need to know something about how it works if you
are going to do this routinely and want to develop a smooth, slick
operation.
8.1
In Windows, file names are limited to eight characters, and some
characters available in RISC OS are not allowed (or give strange
effects) under Windows. If you think that you’re going to be working in
both RISC OS and Windows regularly, now is the time to have a good think
through your strategy for file names. For example, don’t use fancy
characters (such as a hard space) in your RISC OS file names.
8.1
Fonts are ‘stored’ in a Fireworkz document under their PostScript name!
This is something else which you should think through. If you send me
files for use on both platforms then please limit your RISC OS fonts to
Trinity, Homerton and Corpus. These will be stored in your RISC OS
Fireworkz document as Times, Helvetica and Courier and translated to
Times New Roman, Arial and Courier New (or near equivalents) in Windows.
Similarly, if you use the Windows True Type fonts just mentioned and
then transfer your file to RISC OS, you’ll find that the RISC OS
document uses the Acorn fonts which you’d expect.
8.1
Also on the subject of fonts, in RISC OS you can have a font width
different from the height. You can’t do this in Windows so, if you want
to use both RISC OS and Windows, don’t use this feature.
8.1
When people send me RISC OS format Fireworkz files which contain
graphics, I ask them not to embed the graphics files. There are reasons
for this that I’ve explained elsewhere. One (minor) reason is that, now
and again, if you save a (RISC OS) Fireworkz file containing embedded
graphics then it fails to load! I have a way around the problem of
‘lost’ documents but it usually means that the embedded graphics files
are lost from the document! (So, here’s a warning for all of you
Fireworkz users, don’t delete the original graphics files when you embed
them.) However, for transferring Fireworkz files across platforms, it
does make it easier if you do embed the graphics files.
8.1
I have had a few minor problems using the alternative technique of
referencing the graphics files but the problems may have been of my own
making. If you must, then let me give you one tip for transferring
referenced graphics files − do make sure that they’re all in the same
RISC OS directory (and that the application still works under RISC OS)
before you start the transfer operation.
8.1
Windows Fireworkz
8.1
In general, the Windows version is (nearly) identical to the RISC OS
version in the way it works. If you can use one version, you’ll be able
to use the other (almost) immediately. It would not be true to say that
you won’t know whether you’re in Windows or the desktop but it is
‘nearly true’. As I’ve said elsewhere, most of my difficulties have
arisen because I forgot that desktop commands won’t work in Windows.
8.1
Bugs
8.1
Earlier in this article, I referred to a Fireworkz bug which manifests
itself in the [Acc_95xx] series of chained documents. Since starting to
write this month’s article, I’ve given this application a go in the
V 1.08 Windows version I have. The bad news is that the bug persists!
This leads me to say that we’ll probably have to wait for Fireworkz Pro
to be released before we can relax about the cross checks.
8.1
Recordz
8.1
The latest information I have is that at the Acorn World ’94, you’ll be
able to buy (or upgrade to) Fireworkz Pro. By the way, in case you don’t
know, Fireworkz Pro is the package which contains not only Wordz and
Resultz but also the database, Recordz.
8.1
Finally
8.1
Thanks for all your letters − we’ve been on holiday recently so my
apologies for the delay in replying to some of them. I think we’ve just
about caught up now!  A
8.1
JPEG Column
8.1
Stuart Bell
8.1
The low quantity of the correspondence which I’ve received about JPEG
and MPEG in the past three months has more than been compensated for by
its quality:
8.1
!FYEO2.01R
8.1
Regular readers of this column will need no introduction to this JPEG
utility from Frank Lyonnet. (Irregular readers are referred back to 7.9
p19.) Version 2.00 was the first true shareware version with many extra
features (registration fee £5.00), and now version 2.01R will allow Risc
PC users to save and display 16-bit and 32-bit sprites (and users of
other machines to save them, for use with the increasing number of
applications which can make use of images with 32K or 16M colours.)
Frank tells me that “registered users can, at any time, obtain the
latest registered version of FYEO2: Send me a blank disc and your
smallest bank note approximating to 5 francs to cover postage cost (e.g.
1 pound note for UK registered users).” Since the demise of the English
pound note, I guess that you could try the Scottish variety, but pound
coins will be of no use to him. If you want to register with Frank for
the first time, get the Archive Utilities disc 5 (see Archive 7.12 p.2)
for the non-registered version first, which contains full details. If
you’re still not “into” JPEG, then a re-reading of past JPEG columns and
a little playing around with the Archive Utilities discs 4 and 5 should
provide a good introduction.
8.1
!FYEO2 is the simplest and most flexible of the de-JPEGing utilities
I’ve used, and I recommend it. It also handles TIFF files from other
machines.
8.1
Shoemaker-Levy in motion!
8.1
After the NASA images which Philip Draper pulled off Internet for me
last time, he’s now sent me some more JPEG pictures, and also some MPEG
sequences. Much of the material relates to the collision of the
Shoemaker-Levy comet with Jupiter in July. A massive MPEG sequence
produced by NASA simulates flying over the surface of Venus. It runs to
1100Kb, so Philip split it using !Edit (I can’t read 1.6Mb discs), and
users will need to re-assemble the file. I’ve edited the material down
to three discs, (including the MPEG player and an unregistered version
of !FYEO2) and will happily send them to anyone who wants them. As
usual, please send three 800Kb blank formatted discs, in a jiffy bag,
with a return label and postage (ensuring that it’s enough for three
discs), to me at 23 Ryecroft Drive, Horsham, RH12 2AW. To avoid having
to provide an indefinite service, this offer will close a fortnight
after the publication of this issue of Archive.
8.1
Philip also reported most helpfully on his experiences with various JPEG
and MPEG programs on the Risc PC. Firstly, SlideShow, the incredibly
fast JPEG display program which is supplied with the 100+ JPEG images on
the Risc PC will not work at all on the Archimedes, reporting an
“unrecognised SWI” error. He couldn’t find any SWIs in the program that
aren’t documented in the Programmer’s Reference Manual. Could anyone
cast any light on the subject – or even adapt SlideShow to run under
RISC OS 3.1?
8.1
Secondly, he comments that the MPEG player runs much more smoothly and
quickly on a Risc PC, as long as you use modes with which it is happy.
This also causes a problem on an Archimedes equipped with a ColourCard,
as it won’t display MPEG sequences on modes such as 99.
8.1
Thirdly, as regards JPEG, Philip reports that versions 0.93 and 0.95 (as
supplied with RISC OS 3.5) of ChangeFSI seem to run at identical speeds
and that a Risc PC doesn’t seem any quicker than a ColourCard-equipped
Archimedes. This is, I think, much as one would expect, as the main
bottle-neck on most older machines is caused by the ARM3 and VIDC
devices competing for memory bandwidth. Both ColourCards and the Risc PC
have architectures which avoid this problem.
8.1
Graphics Loaders with Impression Publisher
8.1
It’s now clear how Impression in its latest incarnation will handle JPEG
files. (See Archives 7.4 p.55 and 7.6 p.26 for an introduction to this
question.) Users of Publisher can purchase a set of three “graphics
loaders” which will allow the import of, among others, JPEG files. I
must say that although I’m now using Impression Publisher (and agree
with Barry Humpidge – Archive 7.12 p.50 – that the bug-count seems to
have risen), I’ve not yet been persuaded of the benefit of paying £39
+VAT (or even £43 through Archive) to be able to load JPEG files
directly into Impression, when other much less expensive ways are
available. If any Archive readers have used the utility, I’d be very
grateful to receive your comments.
8.1
Free disc summary
8.1
The earliest JPEG discs that I offered are now available as NCS
Utilities Discs 4 and 5 direct from the Archive office – so please don’t
ask me for them in future. Likewise, the free MPEG disc of January 1994
has largely been supplanted by this month’s three-disc offer, and so
there’s little point in asking for that. As new material comes my way,
I’ll gladly offer it on the usual basis, but please don’t wait to
accumulate a large ‘order’ – I haven’t got the time or the patience to
run an alternative PD library service. My offers really are “once-only”
offers!
8.1
Please do let me know of your experiences with JPEG and MPEG, in time
for the next JPEG column, probably in two months’ time.  A
8.1
Multimedia Column
8.1
Paul Hooper
8.1
The last six months
8.1
Having been a dedicated Acorn user since the days of the BBC ‘A’ (who
remembers that?), I have got used to being out of the ‘main’ stream of
computing. Acorn went their own sweet way and I followed. Yet the last
few months has seen Acorn rejoin the rest of the computing world with
the launch of the Risc PC and, in the world of multimedia, Acorn is
again moving towards compatibility.
8.1
The last six months have seen important advances in multimedia. The
launch of Genesis Professional and Project, coupled with the cross-
platform capability, has given Acorn a big boost. The stunning graphics
that are now standard on the Risc PC, the Eagle multimedia card with its
ability to import video and sound, are just a few of the highlights.
8.1
The next six months
8.1
Yet the next six months are going to be even more exciting. At the
Interactive Learning Show, Acorn previewed their enhanced version of
Replay. This supports the MPEG standard which opens up the use of Video
CD. You will need to have a dedicated MPEG board to benefit from the
improved quality. Anglia TV are updating their CD-ROM titles to include
both MPEG and Replay versions and the selection of format will be
transparent to the user.
8.1
The MPEG board is being developed by Wild Vision with the software
coming from Computer Concepts. At the moment this will be a Risc PC only
product, but versions for the Archimedes are under development. The
board will be available in two versions. The first, which should be
released at the beginning of October, will allow you to connect a TV via
a SCART socket to your computer, then take a CDi disc, pop it into your
CD-ROM drive on your computer and away you go!
8.1
The second card will allow you to play CD video in a window on your
desktop. This won’t be the grainy digitised version that you get at the
moment but a TV quality picture. This board should be released a couple
of months later. No prices are available for these products at the
moment but I am assured by Wild Vision that they will be reasonably
priced.
8.1
So what does this mean for the Acorn user? Well, all those CDs that you
see in Dixons and Currys with a very expensive CDi player will be able
to be played on a Risc PC without further expense. Couple that with
Photo CD, Audio CD and CD made for the PC, and your Risc PC will be able
to run the lot all on your own desktop. I also wouldn’t be a bit
surprised to see the new Set Top Boxes become just another card you can
plug into your Risc PC with another icon on the left of your iconbar.
8.1
The future
8.1
Imagine the future: an Acorn household will have its Risc PC, whereas
those who have yet to see the light will have an Audio CD drive, a STB,
a PhotoCD player, CDi box and a PC − along with enough manuals to fill
an average size bookcase!
8.1
In the past, Acorn has been out on a limb in the computing world, but
now it has firmly positioned itself at the centre of the computer
market. What other machine can cope with all of the above? What other
machine can pass data on almost any format of disc? I knew the Risc PC
was good, but the full potential of the machine is only just being
explored and I am sure there is much more to come.
8.1
Hints and tips
8.1
A couple of readers have written to me in the past month on the subject
of using Replay files within multimedia programs. Even a small Replay
file takes up a huge amount of disc space at the moment but I will try
and explain how you can include Replay files within each of the
programs.
8.1
Magpie: You need at least version 1A.31 of Magpie to use Replay files.
Magpie also needs to have seen !ARMOVIE before you run the binder. The
movie is not stored as part of binder, instead a path name is set up to
point to the location of the Replay file. To set up a movie on a page,
drop the Replay icon direct onto the page and Magpie will set up the
default movie controls of stop, restart, play, pause and step. You have
no control over what controls are available.
8.1
Genesis Professional: Again !ARMOVIE needs to be seen before the
application is run. Create a frame and drop your Replay icon into it,
and the default controls are added to the frame. However, in Genesis,
you can customise the buttons. Use <menu> over the movie frame and
select style. This will present you with the movie-style icon and you
can use the radio icons to select the options that you require.
8.1
Genesis II: In the older form of Genesis, you need to set up each button
using the script language. This is not really a task to be undertaken
unless you have a good knowledge of script language.
8.1
As an example, on the monthly disc, there is a Magpie application called
Player. This makes use of the Acorn Replay CD, so you will require a
copy of this before you can run it. Just sit back and enjoy it.
8.1
The Swap Shop
8.1
Things have been quiet this month and I haven’t received any new
applications for nearly two months, so if there are any applications
that we can add to the Swap Shop, please do let me have a copy.
8.1
Further to last month’s article, we now have an agent in New Zealand who
is prepared to operate the Swap Shop on the same basis as here. That is,
you send him a blank formatted disc plus the return postage and he will
send you a copy of the latest Swap Shop catalogue. Then you can order as
many discs as you like, as long as you provide the discs and postage.
So, for Archive readers in Australia and New Zealand your local agent
is: Fred Roberts, 4 Gollan Road, Panmure, Auckland 6, New Zealand. I am
still looking for some one to run the Swap Shop in Germany. If you are
interested, drop me a line.
8.1
The end bit
8.1
If you have any hints and tips or questions on multimedia or if you
require a Swap Shop catalogue, please write to: Paul Hooper, 11,
Rochford Road, Martham, Great Yarmouth NR29 4RL.  A
8.1
More Graphics on the Acorn
8.1
Matthew Hunter, NCS
8.1
This article follows on from last month’s hint (7.12 p45) on “Setting
the mode on the Risc PC” but, where possible, I have tried to make sure
the programs will run on earlier machines as well.
8.1
Firstly, with regards to setting the mode on the Risc PC using a string,
there are three other parameters which were not discussed last time.
These are the eig values and the frame rate. The frame rate can be
requested using “Fh” in the string where h is the frame rate desired.
However, this can usually be ignored since, if it is not specified, the
computer will try to use the fastest frame rate available for that
resolution − the rate achieved will be dependent on the number of
colours. This may be of use if you have no VRAM and want to slow the
video system down so that it does not use all the system bus bandwidth.
I have not tried this, so cannot comment on how effective it would be.
8.1
In simple terms, the eig values (specified by “EXa EYb”) control the
scaling of the screen, i.e. the relationship between the Actual
resolution and the Logical resolution. Valid values for ‘a’ and ‘b’ are
0 to 3. These represent the number of places that a logical resolution
co-ordinate will be shifted right to calculate the Actual position on
the screen of the pixel changed. The easiest way to experiment with
these is to use the “Mode” menu item on the display manager which allows
you to edit the string. Try “X1600 Y600 C16 EX0 EY1” and click on OK.
This will be the same logical resolution as 800 by 600, but the image
will be clearer because the actual resolution is higher. For those with
good eyesight try “X1600 Y600 C16 EX2 EY3” with a large desktop area, or
even better “X1600 Y1200 C16 EX3 EY3” if your monitor definition file
supports it. Hint: clicking on the “change” icon on the display manager
window will take you to the previous mode since using the Mode menu item
does not affect the window settings. So, open the display manager and
make sure it is at the front − I won’t accept responsibility if you lose
your mouse pointer!
8.1
The only values that have to be passed in a mode definition string are X
and Y resolutions, and the number of colours. The other values are
optional and will be set to defaults if they are not included (EX1 EY1
for square pixel modes, EX1 EY2 for rectangular pixel modes − F will be
set as described above).
8.1
One query that came to light, from several directions, was the question
of how you find out about the mode that the machine has picked for you.
With limited modes, you used to be able to get the details from the mode
numbers (since they were constant). This is not practical with the new
modes. For example, the short program
8.1
MODE “X800 Y600 C32K”
8.1
PRINT MODE
8.1
yields the result 29376836 – not very user-friendly.
8.1
There is a more general way of finding details of a mode, which works
equally well on earlier computers. This requires use of a SWI call
“OS_ReadModeVariable” − using SYS from Basic. The SWI takes two values,
the mode in R0 (−1 for the current mode) and a variable number in R1.
Those most relevant are 3 (number of colours), 4 (x eig value), 5 (y eig
value), 11 (x resolution) and 12 (y resolution). Full details are given
on page 1-709 of the RISC OS 3 Programmer’s Reference Manual. The
procedure below uses this call to calculate several values and sets up a
number of variables to hold the details. It should be used whenever the
mode is changed, to make sure that the details are updated.
8.1
REM ModeInfo
8.1
REM returns details about the current mode
8.1
REM in the Mode_ variables. These are GLOBAL REM and can be used
anywhere in the calling
8.1
REM program. They should not be changed
8.1
REM outside of this procedure
8.1
REM i.e. treat them as read-only variables.
8.1
DEF PROCModeInfo
8.1
LOCAL xwl%,ywl%,xef%,yef%,nc%
8.1
SYS “OS_ReadModeVariable”,-1,3 TO ,,nc%
8.1
SYS “OS_ReadModeVariable”,-1,4 TO ,,xef%
8.1
SYS “OS_ReadModeVariable”,-1,5 TO ,,yef%
8.1
SYS “OS_ReadModeVariable”,-1,11 TO ,,xwl%
8.1
SYS “OS_ReadModeVariable”,-1,12 TO ,,ywl%
8.1
Mode_XPixels%=xwl%+1
8.1
Mode_YPixels%=ywl%+1
8.1
Mode_EX%=xef%
8.1
Mode_EY%=yef%
8.1
Mode_LogicalX%=Mode_XPixels%<<xef%
8.1
Mode_LogicalY%=Mode_YPixels%<<yef%
8.1
Mode_ColoursReturned%=nc%
8.1
CASE Mode_ColoursReturned% OF
8.1
  WHEN    -1 : Mode_ColourCode%=5
8.1
               Mode_Colours%=16777216
8.1
  WHEN     1 : Mode_ColourCode%=0
8.1
               Mode_Colours%=2
8.1
  WHEN     3 : Mode_ColourCode%=1
8.1
               Mode_Colours%=4
8.1
  WHEN    15 : Mode_ColourCode%=2
8.1
               Mode_Colours%=16
8.1
  WHEN    63 : Mode_ColourCode%=3
8.1
               Mode_Colours%=256
8.1
  WHEN   255 : Mode_ColourCode%=3
8.1
               Mode_Colours%=256
8.1
  WHEN 65535 : Mode_ColourCode%=4
8.1
               Mode_Colours%=32768
8.1
ENDCASE
8.1
ENDPROC
8.1
This passes back three values relating to the number of colours.
Mode_ColoursReturned% is the unmodified value passed back from the SWI.
Mode_ColourCode% is a short hand form which can be useful in some
instances – see later. Finally, Mode_Colours% is the actual number of
colours displayable. The reason either 63 or 255 can represent 256
colours is for backwards compatibility. On earlier machines, GCOL would
only allow 64 colours, each with four tints, rather than a fully
definable 256 colours. Therefore these machines will always return 63 as
the number of colours. The Risc PC will return 63 if a default palette
is being used but if a new palette has been defined, 255 will be
returned.
8.1
If you insert the following program fragment before the procedure above,
it will give you details about the current mode. I recommend saving the
procedure separately first as we will need it again later. This will
allow you to see the differences in Actual and Logical resolutions in
different modes (and with different EX and EY values on the Risc PC).
The program is on the monthly disc as “ModeInfo”.
8.1
PRINT “Reading details of current mode...”
8.1
PROCModeInfo
8.1
PRINT ‘“This mode has a pixel resolution of
8.1
 : (”;Mode_XPixels%;“,”;Mode_YPixels%;“)”
8.1
PRINT ‘“And a logical resolution of    :
8.1
(”;Mode_LogicalX%;“,”;Mode_LogicalY%;“)”
8.1
PRINT ‘“It supports ”;Mode_Colours%; “ col-
8.1
ours”
8.1
END
8.1
In many cases, it is not necessary to get this information – if you are
explicitly selecting a mode, you already know all you need to. However,
it is important for programs which run under the WIMP, since they may
operate in any mode. As an example, consider the welcome banners which
many applications display while they are loading. These are (almost)
always centred on the screen, so they need to examine how big the screen
is, and then place the banner appropriately.
8.1
If you add the following program fragment before the ModeInfo procedure,
you will have a program which places a drop shadow box on the screen,
centred horizontally, but a quarter of the way down the screen, whatever
the resolution. The program is “ModeDemo” on the disc. The size of the
box is scaled so that it is always 100 pixels square, and will therefore
appear tall in rectangular pixel modes.
8.1
PROCModeInfo
8.1
PROCdropbox(Mode_LogicalX%/2,(Mode_LogicalY%
8.1
*3)/4,100<<Mode_EX%,100<<Mode_EY%)
8.1
END
8.1
:
8.1
DEF PROCdropbox(x%,y%,w%,h%)
8.1
LOCAL nx%,ny%
8.1
nx%=x%-(w%>>1)
8.1
ny%=y%-(h%>>1)
8.1
PROCsetcolour(64,64,64,0)
8.1
RECTANGLE FILL nx%+8,ny%-8,w%,h%
8.1
PROCsetcolour(255,255,255,0)
8.1
RECTANGLE FILL nx%,ny%,w%,h%
8.1
PROCsetcolour(0,0,0,0)
8.1
RECTANGLE nx%,ny%,w%,h%
8.1
ENDPROC
8.1
:
8.1
REM PROCsetcolour
8.1
REM r%, g%, b% set the amounts of red green
8.1
REM and blue for the desired colour.
8.1
REM ColourTrans_SetGCOL = &40743
8.1
DEF PROCsetcolour(r%,g%,b%,effect%)
8.1
LOCAL colour%
8.1
colour%=(b%<<24)+(g%<<16)+(r%<<8)
8.1
SYS &40743,colour%,,,0,effect%
8.1
ENDPROC
8.1
Everything I have covered so far works equally well from assembler, or C
(you will need to #include “kernel.h” to get SWI access from C). The
only difference is in how you initially select a mode − up until now
this has been done via Basic. One possible solution is to use “OS_CLI”
to issue a *wimpmode command which can, of course, take a string
parameter to describe the desired mode. Alternatively, (for a Risc PC)
you can use a mode selector block, and the SWI “Wimp_SetMode” . The
format of the mode selector (which must be word aligned) is:
8.1
  offset  value
8.1
  0  1  This is the mode selector flag word.
8.1
  4  x-res  The x-resolution (in pixels)
8.1
  8  y-res  The y-resolution (in pixels)
8.1
  12  pixel-depth  (this is the same as returned by PROCModeInfo above)
8.1
      0=1 bpp, 1=2 bpp, 2=4 bpp, 3=8 bpp, 4=16 bpp, 5=32 bpp
8.1
  16  frame rate  (-1 for first match)
8.1
  20  -1  terminator
8.1
An example of this block can be seen in the !SlideShow application in
the images directory.
8.1
You then set mode with SWI “Wimp_SetMode”, with R0 as a pointer to the
mode selector block, or if you do not have a Risc PC then R0 is the mode
number to use.
8.1
Using “Wimp_SetMode” will, of course, affect the mode when you return to
the wimp (if you are not leaving the wimp, you should not be changing
the mode), but has the advantage that the palette will be set up
appropriately.  A
8.1
Printing the Dever
8.1
John Evans
8.1
The Dever Magazine has been published for about one hundred years. It is
the journal of a small group of anglican parishes in rural Hampshire and
serves the whole of the local community.
8.1
Three years ago, it lost its sole editor, printer and publisher (the
vicar’s wife) when our then vicar moved to another parish. Left behind
were a stencil cutter and rotary printer which had served well in their
time but were now almost beyond hope.
8.1
The circulation was just over 300 copies/month and the magazine normally
consisted of about twenty A5 editorial pages plus cover and
advertisements. It was priced at 20p.
8.1
Our vision was to make a dramatic improvement in the quality of
production, but our problem was a very limited budget. One of our
members had access to an A540, but we had no viable means of printing at
a quality which would make the magazine really attractive to a wide
group of people.
8.1
How should we print it?
8.1
We first considered three options:-
8.1
a) Producing a laser printer original and producing paper plates for
offset-litho printing,
8.1
b) Using a modern copy-printer.
8.1
c) Photo-copying.
8.1
A visit to the Christian Resources Exhibition soon revealed that offset
litho printing was well beyond our means, either buying a machine or
sub-contracting the printing. This was because the run of 300 copies was
too small for cost-effective professional printing and the equipment was
too expensive, bulky and complex for a DIY approach.
8.1
The conventional approach was clearly a modern copy printer at a list
price of some £6,000 but even if we could afford the capital cost, the
quality of reproduction left much to be desired.
8.1
Photo-copying was a possibility, the original equipment cost was modest
and the cost/per page could be kept down by careful choice of equipment.
8.1
It was as we were considering this last option that the final solution
emerged. A number of companies, including Hewlett Packard had begun to
offer laser printers with speeds of about 16 pages/minute and with a
cost per A4 side of about 2p, especially if we ‘shopped around’ for
toner cartridge supplies. They also had 1000 sheet input capability and
dual 300+ output trays. The running cost was comparable to a photo-
copier and the quality closely approached that of offset litho. We could
even use limited block colour by overprinting with a different colour
toner. (In the end we were limited to black and brown on our machine.)
But above all, the price tag was only about half that of the copy-
printer.
8.1
The catch was that using this approach we were immediately and totally
committed to an electronic original! There could be no last-minute
pasting-up of awkward copy!
8.1
Our first three years was produced on a hybrid DTP package based on the
PDP 11/VAX package ‘runoff’ and rewritten in ‘C’ by ourselves for the
A540. This accepted text from a wide range of Archimedes and IBM PC
packages and graphics from almost anywhere thanks to ChangeFSI. After
about 18 months, we invested in a ‘Duplex Option’ for the printer,
updated the software and said a thankful goodbye to turning the paper
over by hand. Along the road we bought a Computer Concepts hand-scanner
and a Pineapple Video Digitiser and added a wide range of line drawings,
photographs and video stills. We also bought David Pilling’s ‘CrossStar’
program and introduced a popular crossword.
8.1
The update...
8.1
Then came the Risc PC and, co-incidentally, the offer from Computer
Concepts to update our (neglected) copy of Impression II to Publisher.
8.1
Impression Publisher is a delight on the Risc PC and I doubt if we shall
ever go back to our old software. OK there were a few very minor snags
but the overall opinion was − superb.
8.1
There was just one major snag. Impression Publisher has no duplex
printing option for A5 booklets and we were not prepared to go back to
turning the paper over by hand. Calls to CC’s friendly help-line
revealed that we might expect full support of our IIISi laser printer at
the end of the year but even that might not include the duplex booklet
printing option.
8.1
Then the little grey cells − I must read too much Agatha Christie −
realised that our old software had, in its midst, some routines for
manipulating the printer output file. We had used this to incorporate
Ventura copy into our original program. Could we use this in some way to
achieve our duplex printing?
8.1
More head scratching and the solution emerged. Use the standard Acorn
Laserjet III drivers to output to file and then search through that file
using our PCL language manipulation routines so as to output the PCL
code required to print in duplex and also add a few extras to make life
easier.
8.1
The result some two weeks later was our first copy of the Dever printed
almost directly from Impression Publisher on our Duplex Laserprinter.
8.1
We were more than pleased with the result and would be happy to send a
copy to anyone interested who can fork out a £1 coin to cover printing
and postage.
8.1
Here comes the advertising bit! We hope that Paul will put our print
file manipulation program LjDuplex onto the program disc. It is
shareware − so you will be able to try-before-buy like the honest people
I know you all are.
8.1
I can almost hear someone thinking 300 pages, double-sided at 16 pages/
min makes 37½ minutes/A4 sheet. Multiply that by 7 and you have 4½ hours
printing! Yes − but it is almost completely automatic. We feed in more
paper every hour or so and take out the finished pages from alternate
output trays. Time to cut the lawn or read the paper with no worries
about paper jams or misfeeds! True!
8.1
Postscript
8.1
Today you can buy a 600dpi IVSi printer at the same price we paid for
the 300dpi IIISi model. This will give much better reproduction,
especially of photographs. Similarly, there are updated scanners and
video digitisers on the market.
8.1
The current magazine is about 28 editorial pages plus cover and the
running costings are about 1.2p/A5 page plus paper at say £1.70/ream of
500 sheets (all ex VAT). The cover price is now 45p and we include
advertisements pre-printed professionally once a year. This printing run
is 3,600 which is cost-effective for offset litho.
8.1
We think that direct laser printing is a good solution for print runs in
the low hundreds and plan to continue − that is unless someone out there
has a better idea?  A
8.1
Club News
8.1
As promised, I am starting a listing of clubs and club events. If you
have a local Archimedes/Acorn club, please send us details.
8.1
•  ARM Club Open Day − ARM Club are holding an Open Day on Saturday 19th
November 1994 at St Mary’s Activity Centre, Sedgley, Wolverhampton,
10a.m. to 4p.m. For full details, contact Ralph Sillett on 0785-714535
or 021-522-2000 daytime.
8.1
•  Big Ben Club Show − This well-established annual event takes place
this year on 1st October 10a.m. to 4p.m. at the Pieter Groen College,
Ketwijk aan Zee, Netherlands (10km north of The Hague) and claims to be
the biggest Acorn show on the Continent! For more information, contact
Big Ben Club (PR), PO Box 1189, 6801 BD Arnhem. BBS 31-20-663-18-149,
Fax [phone], Phone [phone] (Henk Hoornik).
8.1
•  Central Scotland Acorn User Group − This club could be of interest to
anyone who owns or is interested in Archimedes computers and who lives
in Stirling, Falkirk, Linlithgow or surrounding area. They meet monthly
in Stenhousemuir on Friday evenings between September and May. For
further information, contact Ian Anderson on 0324-714413.
8.1
•  Christian Acorn Users Group − Colin Randall mentioned in Archive 7.10
that he was hoping to set up a Christian Acorn User Group, for sharing
experiences, discoveries and ideas, perhaps via a simple newsletter.
This is now in operation and the first newsletter has been published.
For full details contact Rev. Colin Randall, The Rectory, Swan Lane,
Long Hanborough, Witney, Oxon. OX8 8BT (0993-881270).  A
8.1
Through the Dragon’s Eye
8.1
Dave Walsh
8.1
As some of you may already have guessed, “Through the Dragon’s Eye” is
the supporting software for the school’s TV broadcast of the same name.
Your quest is to help the four children, drawn into the dying fantasy
land of Pelamar, to rejuvenate its life force. Characters in Pelamar
include Gorwen the dragon and the four guardians of the Veetacore
(synonymous with the life force of the place). The software follows the
same broad events as the school’s broadcast and is designed to enhance
children’s reading strategies and logic-solving capability. It’s a
direct translation from the BBC disc version with a few graphics nicely
spruced up and sound effects courtesy of SoundFX.
8.1
The educational content is quite far-ranging and the 7 / 8 year olds who
tried it at school found it enjoyable, although some of the activities
didn’t appear to challenge them much beyond a remedial level.
8.1
Content of the activities (such as5 finding -ing, -ed, -s and -d words)
is pre-set within the program, whilst  randomly chosen activities have a
far wider range of ability between them than you would expect. My less
able groups found the multiplication facts very difficult to cope with,
although the alternative activity of a wordsquare was deemed “too easy”!
A configuration screen to set the level of difficulty experienced by
each group, as well as the vocabulary content, would have been most
welcome.
8.1
Skills that are addressed by the software include early multiplication
and division calculations, initial Logo-type directions within a maze,
the eight points of the compass and 3D shape properties. In the English
curriculum, Pelamar provides practice of finding opposites, compound
words, simple rhymes and hidden wordsquare activities, as well as the
suffixes mentioned above. For those still coming to terms with current
National Curriculum Information Technology, strands of modelling and
control are also partially covered.
8.1
Like most good educational software, the program gives ample opportunity
for small groups of children to discuss and negotiate their answers,
although each group takes the same path through the adventure.
8.1
Although I’m not convinced of its more immediate appeal for those who
have not seen the TV programme, the computer software does summarise the
story plot. As an activity to hold a supporting role to the series, the
software succeeds admirably.
8.1
Through the Dragon’s Eye is a Look and Read Adventure from Longman
Logotron, costing £24 +VAT from Longman or £26 through Archive.  A
8.1

Acorn World 94
8.2
Norwich Computer Services has a large stand (Nº46) next door to the
theatre at Acorn World 94 (28th − 30th October at the Wembley Conference
Centre). I do hope you will come along and see us. There will be some
special offers on Archive subscriptions, so bring your unconverted
friends along and get them to sign up − the more subscribers we have,
the better we can make Archive. To that end, we’ve given you a coloured
sticky badge that you can wear at the show so that people will know you
read Archive and they can ask what you think of it. (It should be
somewhere in the envelope!)
8.2
We hope that some of the Archive contributors will also be around so
that you can chat to them and you will be able to talk to the Editor,
too.
8.2
Making Archive Better − Part II
8.2
I was going to write up some more of the ideas from the questionnaires,
but there were so many of them!! As the pile of blue papers on my desk
grew and grew, the size of the task grew and I never actually got
started − you know how it is − but I’ll do my best for next month. Mind
you, to be fair to myself, I have been working on some exciting new
plans for the long-term future development of Archive which I hope to
tell you a bit about next month. Watch this space...
8.2
Happy reading,
8.2
Products Available
8.2
•  16-bit audio card − Expressive Software Projects have launched the
first stage of their 16-bit Minnie audio card for the Risc PC. Priced at
£69.95 +VAT, the card provides output via the internal speaker or the
headphone socket on the Risc PC. The software provided with the package
can handle playback from a number of sources. Later this year, the
second half of the package, providing MIDI synthesizer and MPC support
for the PC Card will be available, at £39.95 +VAT.
8.2
•  A4 colour scanner − Irlam Instruments have now added the Canon IX4015
A4 flatbed colour scanner to their range of scanners using their Proi-
Mage software. This is a 400 dpi scanner that interpolates to 1200 dpi
in greyscale, taking only 20 seconds for full colour A4 scan. This high
speed is possible because it uses a SCSI interface. The scanner and
software costs £699 +VAT including the software and leads (£765 through
Archive). If you don’t already have a SCSI interface, that would be
extra, e.g. a Morley uncached card at £160 through Archive.
8.2
•  Acorn Advantage − This isn’t a product as such but Acorn’s latest
marketing campaign. Never-the-less, it provides opportunities that
Archive subscribers might want to take up. It is a membership scheme,
designed to build a mutually beneficial partnership between Acorn,
school teachers and parents. The teachers start the process by
registering with Acorn as Advantage agents (although I’m sure they won’t
call them “agents”!). This won’t cost them anything but simply means
that whenever they buy Acorn equipment for their school, they clock up
“points” for the school. Parents can also help in this because if they
buy an Acorn computer (from a participating Acorn dealer such as NCS!),
they will be given points that they can allocate to a school of their
choice. The school can amass these points (a bit like the Tesco scheme)
and use them to “buy” equipment from an educational resources catalogue
which Acorn provide to the school.
8.2
Once teachers are registered on this scheme, they can ask Acorn to send
them as many “concerned parent” packs as they want and give them to all
the pupils to take home, thus encouraging parents to buy Acorn computers
and earn points for the school. If you are a teacher and want to join,
just ring the Advantage Helpline on 0181-673-5455 and ask for a teacher
pack. Teachers registered on the scheme also get personal benefits
including discounts on national events, training and conferences,
regular free reports on educational and IT issues, magazine
subscriptions and educational directories.
8.2
Basically, it seems to be a “no-lose” situation. Teachers gain by
getting free perks and free information, parents who buy Acorn computers
get a system that will allow their children to do educationally valid
tasks at home and, at the same time, help the school with points, so
they don’t lose anything, and schools gain by getting free educational
resources. Oh, and Acorn don’t lose either because people buy their
computers!
8.2
•  Acorn Desktop Guide is aimed to fill the niche between tutorials and
manuals. The Norfolk Information Technology Team have produced this
booklet as a reference for new users first learning their way around the
desktop. 28 ring-bound cards cover basic use of the desktop, icons,
mouse, keyboard, discs and printing. The guide is available from Norfolk
Educational Press at £6.95 all-inclusive (cheques made payable to
Norfolk County Council).
8.2
•  Acorn Early Years pack − Acorn have launched a new computer pack for
the A3010 aimed at parents with primary age children. The Early Years
Pack consists of a 2Mb A3010 with no monitor so you can use whatever
screen you like − you can even use your existing TV for the absolute
minimum budget version. There is a range of software available with it
and the total price is £499 inc VAT.
8.2
The software packs are:
8.2
Talking Start-Write (Icon Technology) − a fully-featured, although
simple to use, word-processing package. It uses outline fonts and allows
the incorporation of pictures into the text. It can also talk the words
as they are typed, providing reassurance that they have been typed
correctly.
8.2
Explore with Flossy the Frog (4Mation) − a graphical adventure where the
user is in control of what actually happens. The delightful pictures
encourage questions, and the different objects in the pictures all have
different effects and actions.
8.2
Mouse in Holland (4Mation) − In a similar vein to Flossy the Frog, it
allows the user to explore the life of Martin Mouse, who lives in a
windmill. With many scenes including the Dutch countryside, canalside
Amsterdam and an art gallery, as well as inside the windmill, the
graphics encourage the user in terms of an overall goal of finding
fruit, cheese and moles!
8.2
Doris the Dotty Dog (Sherston) − This is a talking story with still
pictures and animations. It can be used by a parent with a child who is
not yet reading or by a child on their own to develop their reading and
vocabulary − individual words may be spoken if they are not known.
8.2
Gemini (Cambridgeshire Software House) − This is a computer version of
pelmanism with many different card sets making it suitable either for
very young children who can recognise shapes with only a few cards, or
for older children who can identify more complex pictures.
8.2
Amazing Maths (Cambridgeshire Software House) − In this package you have
to find your way through a maze while being asked arithmetic problems by
the computer. The parent can set the difficulty of the questions asked,
both in terms of the numbers used and the operations (add, subtract,
multiply and divide) that are available. This can then be used to
reinforce mathematical skills from simple addition (as one stage on from
counting) to providing the whole range of numerical operations.
8.2
Paint Pot (Emerald Publishing) − By dipping into the paint pot, you can
learn how to use the !Paint program. The book (and accompanying disc) is
written so that it can either be used by a parent encouraging their
child, or by an older child who can read themselves. Simple examples of
many of the facilities of paint are given as drawings of real objects.
There is also a library of animals and sea creatures that can be used to
build a jungle scene or an undersea picture. Ideas for projects using
Paint are also provided − and this keeps children fascinated for hours,
with no risk of spilling poster paint on the settee!
8.2
•  Acorn Publisher is a new subscription magazine for the Acorn world.
It will cover all aspects of publishing on Acorn computer systems,
including electronic publishing and multimedia. The aim will be to
promote the Acorn platform as a high quality professional system capable
of addressing a large proportion of the needs of professional publishers
and designers, as well as catering for a more popular user base. A
second aim will be to raise the standard of publishing based on Acorn
systems.
8.2
The new magazine will be A4 in size, printed on quality paper with full
colour cover and mixed colour/mono contents. The magazine is entirely
edited and produced on an Acorn Risc PC, and aims to be an example of
all that is possible on an Acorn system.
8.2
The magazine will be published every other month with the first issue
scheduled for publication on 10th October this year. Subscriptions are
£24.95 in the UK, £28.95 in Europe and £32.95 elsewhere.
8.2
For further information contact Mike Williams at Akalat Publishing on
01582-881614.
8.2
•  Advanced file server − Datathorn are launching a Motorola-based
“Super Server”. This high speed network system allows a number of
platforms, especially RISC OS, Apple Macintosh and PCs, to use the same
server, and a server can support up to 200 computers. Further
information and demonstrations are available from Datathorn.
8.2
•  Autograph is a teaching package designed to help in the understanding
and illustration of many aspects of mathematics seen at both GCSE and A-
level, covering a very wide range of topics. Autograph costs £90
inclusive (no VAT) from Eastmond Publishing. A site licence costs £180.
(It was reviewed in Archive 7.12 p77.)
8.2
•  CartridgeMate − How would you like to have an inkjet cartridge
refilling system that just involves putting the cartridge in a box and
pressing a button − no plastic gloves, no ink spilt on the table, etc?
Well, if you have a printer that takes Hewlett-Packard 51626A high
capacity cartridges, you can − more or less. I haven’t tried the system
yet but it looks extremely simple and easy-to-use. The system plus two
38ml ink tanks costs £36 through Archive and the extra 38ml tanks are
£22 for a box of two.
8.2
•  Clicker is a new piece of software from Crick Computing. It provides
an on-screen overlay keyboard, with facilities for speech in software.
The program displays a grid of configurable size on screen, in which can
be placed words. Clicking on a cell can then enter the contents into a
word processor, for example, or provide a link to other grids for a
hierarchical structure. Cells can also contain function and editing
keys. Switch Clicker is a special access version of Clicker for users
who are unable to use a mouse, allowing switch users access to the RISC
OS desktop, and providing all the facilities of Clicker together with
the special facilities. Clicker costs £35 +VAT, including a site licence
for up to five machines, and Switch Clicker is £75 +VAT, from Crick
Computing.
8.2
•  DEC_dATA are increasing the prices of their Primary Education
Services products to £11.16 inc VAT for single disc collections, and
£22.32 inc VAT for double disc collections. New collections of clipart
from PES are Soccer, Beowulf, Farming Then and Farming Now. DEC_dATA are
also providing a resource disc for Impression Publisher, including a
number of backgrounds, borders, motifs, forms, graphic borders,
helpfiles and masks. The Impression Publisher Resource Disc is £12.95
inc VAT. Other new products include a collection of over 50 cartoons in
drawfile format for £9.34 inc VAT, and for Acorn World 94, The Normans −
a set of pictures relating to the Norman invasion and Norman life in
Britain.
8.2
•  Digital Phenomena have a number of titles available. LabelBase is a
professional database aimed specifically at printing labels simply,
priced at £49.95, or £199.95 for a site licence. WordSearch is a utility
for generating word searches, taking the required words, arranging them
randomly and filling in the gaps with random letters. WordSearch costs
£9.95. Disc Commander, at £29.95, offers a disc sector editor and
recovery utility, backup, search facilities, archive reading, disc
protection, network use and advanced virus protection; a shareware
version offering only the virus protection facilities is available for
£5. Rune Seeker, at £4.99, is a fantasy puzzle game. ESP, at £14.95,
generates ‘Zener’ cards to test your psychic skills, and will analyse
the results for you. Finally, !Gematria is a numerology package which
will produce a four-page analysis of a personality based on an
individual’s name and date of birth, intended both for entertainment and
for serious research. !Gematria is £9.95 from Digital Phenomena. (All
prices are inclusive.)
8.2
•  Dis-le − the computerized speaking French tutor has now been updated
to version 3.0. The upgrade is available from Mike Smith (used to be
Bits ‘N’ Bytes).
8.2
•  DTP clipart − G.A.Herdman Educational, have increased their range of
DTP clipart to 20 discs. Also, Map_Chem, a resource of spider diagrams
and reaction pathways in draw format, is now available at £69.99 +p&p
for all four discs. Digital Thermometers is a plug-in system for the
analogue port (so the I/O interface is required), and is available for
£39.99 for a two-probe system or £32.99 for a single probe. A range of
educational games, assessment packages and products aimed at various
parts of the Physics and Chemistry courses up to A-level standard are
also available. (VAT not applicable.)
8.2
•  Education 2000 − Matt Black has a new pack of clipart consisting of
2,000 drawfile images on 8 discs with a user guide and visual index, a
quick reference card and a copy of Hugh Eagle’s PickAPic imagefinder
program. The cost is £65 +£2 p&p (inc VAT) from Matt Black.
8.2
•  Evacuation is an educational compilation from Northern Micromedia
designed to teach today’s primary children about the evacuation which
took place during the second world war. It covers the evacuation itself,
food and rationing, and includes a package which produces fax-style
print-outs of chronological events to which the children must respond. A
full catalogue of their educational software is available from Northern
Micromedia.
8.2
•  Impression upgrades − There has been some confusion over the cost of
upgrade paths between the various versions of Impression. We said in
this magazine (7.6 p9) that owners of Impression II could upgrade to
Style for £29 +VAT through Computer Concepts. This is correct. Then we
reported that “when Impression Publisher is released, Impression Style
owners and Impression II owners will be able to upgrade for £29 +VAT.”
However, that meant that owners of Impression Style who had previously
owned Impression II could upgrade at that price. New purchasers of
Impression Style wanting to upgrade to Impression Publisher will have to
pay CC £70 +VAT. In fact, the £29 upgrade was an introductory offer and
it now costs £49 +VAT to upgrade from II to Publisher. (There is also a
p&p charge of £3.53 to add.)
8.2
(As a now very satisfied user of Impression Publisher, I can say that I
think it is worth every penny of the upgrade price − see page 18 for
details. Ed.)
8.2
(Editor then dons sales hat and says... We have found three copies of
Impression II in our stock room so if anyone wants Publisher on the
cheap, they can buy Impression II at a special price of £60 and then get
it upgraded by CC. The total cost is then just over £130 − a real
bargain! Ed.)
8.2
•  InTouch is a concept keyboard program aimed at the early stages of
children’s cognitive development. The package was designed originally
for children with severe learning difficulties and there are many
aspects that are appropriate to other phases of mainstream education.
InTouch offers opportunities for activities such as picture/symbol/
colour/object/number recognition, matching and sequencing as well as a
scanning communication aid (using one or two switches) all of which can
be enhanced with sound samples. InTouch costs £40 +VAT from Hampshire
Microtechnology Centre.
8.2
•  L’Ensouleiado Software have a number of languages programs, including
new versions of French Verb, Spanish Verb and German Verb, packages
which allow practice of tenses as far as the A-level standard, for the
Acorn and BBC machines, at £20 +VAT each. Voyage! takes students through
an interactive sequence for holiday-booking and letter-writing, aimed at
those with a few years’ experience in French. Gute Reise! is a follow-up
to German Holiday, and is a companion to Vivent les Vacances! and ¡Viva
España!, aimed at GCSE level. Allons!, ¡Vamos! and Komm Mit! are three
suites of programs aimed at the early stages of language learning. A
full catalogue of over 20 language programs is available from
L’Ensouleiado Software.
8.2
•  Micro languages − LCL’s range of home educational software has now
expanded to include new versions of Micro French, Micro German and Micro
English which will follow the approach used in their Micro Spanish
program and have interactive speech on disc. They also have a range of
maths courses available.
8.2
•  Micro Librarian Systems are now up to release 4.2 of Micro Librarian
Professional, a librarian assistant package. To complement the package,
they also have Magicat − a pre-entered catalogue of 150,000 common
school books, an ‘acquisitions and budget control module’, Photocheck −
a system which allows storage of digitized pictures of borrowers as a
security check, a self-service utility and a barcode reader. In
addition, search facilities can be made available from other machines
(including PCs and BBC Masters) linked by the serial port to the Acorn
machine on which the librarian software is run; this is in addition to
the search facilities offered by the package running directly on the
host machine. There is also a Junior Librarian package aimed at primary
schools, packaged with a barcode reader, and there is a corresponding
junior version of Magicat containing 40,000 books common to libraries of
schools for the ages of 5-13. MLP4 is £495, Magicat is £180 and the
barcode reader is £375; Junior Librarian is £395 +£5 carriage and its
version of Magicat £90, from Micro Librarian Systems. These prices do
not include VAT.
8.2
•  A Mouse In Holland − 4Mation have released A Mouse In Holland, a
piece of interactive fiction full of animations and sound effects. The
software contains over 3000 words of text, but the ability to read is
not a requirement. A Mouse In Holland costs £29.50 +VAT or £33 through
Archive for a single user or £59 +VAT or £65 through Archive for a site
licence version.
8.2
Betsi, A Mouse in Holland and Explore with Flossy the Frog are also now
available in high resolution versions (mode 28) on newer 2Mb machines,
either at the time of purchase or at £4.99 inc VAT as an upgrade from
4Mation.
8.2
•  Mouse in Holland − 4Mation’s latest program for the young ones is
part of Acorn’s Early Years Pack (details above) but is available
separately for
8.2
•  Oak Recorder 3 − Solent Computer Products have announced the latest
incarnation of their Oak Recorder, a sound sampler which plugs into the
bi-directional parallel port on the later Acorn machines (A5000 and
later). Sampling at 8-bit accuracy and from 7kHz up to 32kHz on a Risc
PC with VRAM, the hardware includes a uni-directional microphone. The
updated software now allows output to a number of file formats,
conversion and manipulation of the sample, and filtering, all under
button-bar control. Oak Recorder 2 is still available for users of
machine without the bi-directional parallel port. Oak Recorder 3 is
priced at £44.95 +£3 carriage +VAT from Solent, with educational
discounts and upgrade paths available.
8.2
•  Optical Professional from Neurotron Software, provides optical
character recognition, including features such as reading of text out
loud (with a speech synthesizer), a multi-column mode, automatic spell-
checking, and multitasking operation, the package is said to be twice as
fast (300 wpm on a 25MHz ARM3) as other leading OCR packages. Optical
Professional can cope with italic and kerned text, and foreign
characters, and can learn outline fonts in under 10 seconds. Accuracy is
claimed to be between 98% and 100%. Optical Professional is available at
£119 +£2 carriage +VAT from Neurotron Software, or £59 +£2 for the
standard version of Optical. Site licences are also available.
8.2
•  Personalised CD-ROMs − Eesox are offering to produce a CD-ROM for
only £60 +VAT, as a special offer lasting until 31st October. The
company have also announced a special network version of their CDFAST
package, which uses cacheing to radically speed up the access of CD ROMs
over networks, available for £130 +VAT.
8.2
•  PLink − This is a RISC OS compliant application to allow users of
Amstrad NC100s to transfer text to any Acorn RISC OS machine. PLink
costs £32 +VAT for a single user (including a lead) and £64 +VAT for a
site licence (including four leads) from Hampshire Microtechnology
Centre.
8.2
•  Softcrete is a new application from the Really Good Software Company
which allows users to encrypt their software to protect it from piracy.
The encryption system allows the software to be tied to a specific
machine using the unique machine ids on later systems, to a password
held in CMOS RAM, or to a password which the user must type in each time
the program is to be used. The package is aimed at programmers and
teachers who may wish to limit the machines on which a package may be
run. Softcrete is £24.95 inc VAT from the Really Good Software Company.
8.2
•  SoftTeach have two new educational products for Acorn machines.
MakeIT allows art drawn by students to be made into cards, stamps and
envelopes, aimed at the Christmas market, and costs £35 for a school
site licence. Class Lists is a class management utility for teachers,
and costs £15. SoftTeach have a number of other educational titles.
8.2
•  Stika Designer − Techsoft now sell CAD design software with a driver
for the Roland Stika vinyl cutter giving output that can be used for
signs, labels, screen-printing etc. The CAD package can cope with both
sprites and drawfiles because the Stika can work in two modes − bit
image cutting and vector cutting. The software on its own costs £75 +VAT
and, as a limited offer, Techsoft are selling the cutter and software
together for £165 +VAT − mention Archive when ordering.
8.2
•  Studio 24 − Pineapple Software have joined the ranks of 24-bit paint
packages with Studio 24. The package will continue to be developed, with
the promise that future upgrades will be free to registered users.
Studio 24 is £125 +VAT from Pineapple − demo discs are also available
for £5. (This should not be confused with Studio 24 Plus from EMR which
is a music sequencer package!)
8.2
•  Supersound Expansion System for A3/4000 − Audio Dynamics have
released a new member of their Supersound Expansion System range, this
one being for the A3000/4000 series. The SSES1700mc has the same
features as the SSES1600, except that the output box will be optional.
The card has a stereo 3.5mm jack and a MIDI interface, and an interface
for a sampler upgrade. A user port has also been included. The
SSES1700mc is £199 +VAT from Audio Dynamics.
8.2
•  Swimming 2.0 − CD Sports Ltd have an interactive multimedia package
intended to teach swimming, water safety and survival skills by means of
animations and games. The package costs £25.52 +VAT with site licences
available.
8.2
•  Starspell Plus is a package aimed at primary and junior school,
incorporating 134 letter patterns and over 1600 common words (which can
be changed) to take an integrated approach to language and spelling. It
has been recommended by the British Dyslexia Association and also by
Educational Psychologists and Advisory Teachers, the package is
available for a number of platforms at £19 +VAT from Fisher-Marriott,
with site licences available.
8.2
•  TableMate 2 − Dalriada Data Technology have released the updated
version of their table creation application. Additional features over
the version that is bundled with Impression Style & Publisher include:
full colour handling, wordwrapping, drawfiles inside cells, insertion
and deletion of multiple rows or columns, cut and paste editing,
variable rule-off widths and a multiple document editor. Tablemate 2
costs £32.50 inclusive, a primary licence costs £40 and a secondary one
is £70, all inclusive.
8.2
•  Talking Stories − Wyddfa Software have four new talking stories about
Gwen, the lovable, mischievous bear, Gwen’s Nose, Gwen’s Tummy, Gwen
goes to School and Gwen at the Fair. These are £20 each inclusive or £50
for all four.
8.2
•  Twain Drivers − David Pilling is releasing Twain scanner drivers for
the Nikon Coolscan, a 2700dpi 35mm slide/colour negative SCSI bus
scanner, and for the Mustek Paragon and Microtek Scanmaker II A4 3-pass
colour flat bed SCSI bus scanners. The drivers are £20 each, or £35 with
ImageMaster, including VAT and carriage from David Pilling.
8.2
•  UK School Internet Primer is a new book aimed at explaining the truth
behind all the recent hype about the internet. Aimed especially at
school and teachers, the book is also good reading for the general
enthusiast. The book is available for £8.50 from Koeksuster
Publications.
8.2
•  Vision 24 − HCCS have launched a 24-bit real-time video digitizer,
the Vision 24, capable of 254 lines by 720 pixels and priced at £99
+VAT, or an extra £40 +VAT for a version capable of 508 lines. A 254
line digitizer can be upgraded later, and discounts are available on
earlier Vision products. A3000/3010/3020/4000 internal, A300/400/5000/
Risc PC internal and MicroPodule versions are available, with the
external A3000 version £20 more expensive. A JPEG compression/
decompression utility is supplied with the package.
8.2
•  Words and Music have expanded their range of Midi files for the
Archimedes. These include three more ‘Classic Collection’ volumes, and
‘Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier’. These collections are available for
£10.95 +£1 p&p each from Words and Music.
8.2
•  XOB upgrades − XOB have announced an upgrade to their SuperMon
software to allow the network managing software, previously limited to
Econet, to be used on other AUN networks. They have also announced
TimeCord, a product intended to ease the recording of time spent on
tasks in professions where charging of fees is based on time spent, when
that time may be fragmented, and in situations where work-load is being
monitored. Finally, Adventurers’ Computer Kingdom is a multi-user
network adventure game, and an upgrade has now been released to allow
this to run on AUN networks rather than just Econet.
8.2
Products (still) Available
8.2
In our trawl through Acorn’s list of “companies that produce things for
Acorn machines” we have brought to light various products that we didn’t
know about. Some of them have been out for a while so they are not
necessarily new products available.
8.2
•  Avanti is a training authoring system from Westland Systems
Assessment, which helps structure and create multimedia interactive
training presentations. The program outputs Basic V code, which can then
be hand-tailored if features beyond the capabilities of the original are
required.
8.2
•  Computer Tutorial Services has a number of educational and
specialised programs available for the Acorn range. For more
information, please contact CTS.
8.2
•  Contex Computing have a number of Acorn packages, including
educational reading tutors, a typing tutor, and Bank Manager financial
software. Contex Bank Manager is £25, typing tutor £19 and Easy Reader
and Madlibs (a grammatical game) are £12.50 each − p&p extra. (Slight
snag − their phone number is ‘unobtainable’ so I can’t check if these
are inc or ex VAT. Ed.)
8.2
•  Dixon & Dixon, the business software manufacturers, have a package
called Flyprint costings £40 inc VAT, aimed at easy production of
leaflets in any size or quantity. The company also has a keyboard
emulator, which provides a window containing a view of the keyboard;
clicking on keys is equivalent to the key being pressed on the keyboard.
Control, shift and caps keys can be toggled on or off to allow full
keyboard flexibility. The keyboard emulator is £12 inc VAT from Dixon &
Dixon.
8.2
•  G-TABS Time and Billing System − Gartside Neville Ltd. have a package
for the Psion series 3a (and Pocket Book II, presumably) which provides
a system for recording time and expense data. The system allows for
reviewing, summarizing, back-up and printing, as well as data transfer
via the serial link.
8.2
•  Hampshire Microtechnology Centre produce a huge range of educational
materials for use with Acorn computers. Guides include: Using Hard Discs
in the Primary Classroom, PipeDream user notes, Impression II and
Junior, RISC OS 3, Draw, Paint & Edit, ArcTerm7, Intro to A3000, A5000,
Parents’ Support Pack. Curriculum resource materials include: PipeDream
cooking recipe datafiles, Nature pack (KS1&2), Introduction to !Sparkle
(control software), Planning and tracking IT in the Curriculum, English
11 − 18, Geography KS2&3, Food Technology KS3, Datacapture work cards,
Control Technology at KS1&2, Control Technology at KS3, Art & Design.
8.2
Also available from HMTC are: Linguatext, a text manipulation package
for modern language teachers; Granville, a French holiday simulation;
Move it!, mechanical movement at KS2&3; Ezekiel, a draw-based DIY
skeleton; Con-Text, a program to create concept keyboard overlays; Con-
Verse, a program to put sound on concept keyboard overlays; Nutrients, a
diet analysis package; Bridges, a technology-led package (KS2&3)
supporting a cross-curricular approach to learning; Knowledge Station,
an application that allows you to explore knowledge in a carefully
structured way and Writing for a Purpose which uses Knowledge Station as
a means of studying different genres of writing.
8.2
•  In House Publishing are providing key stage science assessment and
homework packs in both reproduction master form and in Impression form
so that materials can be modified ‘in house’ if necessary. Assessment
reproduction masters (printed in 600dpi monochrome) are £25.50 each,
with homework packs for key stage 3 £20.50 each for the masters. The
corresponding colour Impression DTP files are £38.50 and £35.50 each.
8.2
•  Micro Studio have a range of clipart on different topics. Ones we
haven’t mentioned before include: Transport Graphics Library (£29.95),
Designer’s Graphics Pack (£19.95), Drawfile Mazes (£19.95), Seashore
Guide (£19.95), Science Graphics Pack (£29.95), Illustrator Graphics
Pack (£19.95), Greetings Pack (£19.95), Decorated Alphabet (£19.95),
Nature Graphics Pack (£19.95), DTP Library Pack (£29.95) and Military
History (£19.95) − all prices are inclusive of VAT.
8.2
•  Primrose Publishing have a range of language programs under the Tick-
Tack title. These cover topics such as beginners language, general use,
business use, travel and tourism and job-hunting. By use of control
codes, the packages provide common phrases, and cover up to 30 languages
(in the case of the business pack). Training and multi-lingual e-mail
packages are also available. Prices from Primrose Publishing.
8.2
•  Reduce − Codemist Ltd are now on release 3.5 of the Archimedes
version of Reduce, the interactive algebraic manipulation package, aimed
at mathematicians, scientists and engineers. The package is based on
Codemist’s own LISP, and is a standard on other platforms, coming with a
number of additional utilities. Reduce itself is capable of ‘expansion
and ordering of polynomial and rational functions, substitutions and
pattern matching in a wide variety of forms, automatic and user
controlled simplification of expressions, calculations with symbolic
matrices, arbitrary precision integer and real arithmetic, facilities
for defining new functions and extending program syntax, analytic
differentiation and integration, factorisation of polynomials,
facilities for the solution of a variety of algebraic equations,
facilities for the output of expressions in a variety of formats,
facilities for generating optimised numerical programs from symbolic
input, and dirac matrix calculations of interest to high energy
physicists.’
8.2
•  Selective Software have a range of educational software: Little Red
Riding Hood is a two-part problem-solving adventure for children aged 5
to 8 (£15); Number Zoo is a first number program for ages 3 to 6 (£14);
Cinderella is a “magical adventure” for 4 to 7 year olds based on the
well-known fairy tale (£17); Shylock Gnomes is a mathematical adventure
for ages 10 to 15 (£17); Don the Professor is a four-disc set of
mathematical software for Key Stages 2 & 3 covering number, algebra,
shape and space, and data-handling (£19 single user, £49 site licence);
SportsDay & SportsPeople are two separate programs at £22.50 each that
help with administration of a school sports’ day, the first deals with
teams competing against one another and the second is for named athletes
competing as individuals. Add £2 p&p +VAT to all the prices.
8.2
•  Special Access Systems have a range of keyguards aimed to help users
with hand tremor. They are available for Acorn machines previous to the
A3010 for £36 +VAT +p&p, and also for PC keyboards. They also sell
expanded programmable keyboards for the earlier Acorn machines and AT
compatibles, at £475 +VAT +p&p. Discounts are available for bulk
purchase.
8.2
Products Unavailable
8.2
•  ISO Pascal Extensions − Due to the discontinuation of Acorn’s ISO
Pascal, Smith & Wiggins have ceased to provide this product.
8.2
•  PD-CD Nº1 not available − not from NCS. We have discovered that the
first PD-CD from the Datafile contains some ‘soft-porn’ JPEG images. We
were not aware of this when we said they would be available through
Archive. Dave McCartney of the Datafile said he hadn’t really registered
the nature of the JPEG images and would not be including any such images
on future PD-CD discs.
8.2
Review software received...
8.2
We have received review copies of the following: •Beethoven Browser
Egmont (e), •Clicker (u), •Flyprint (u), •LjDuplex (u), •MouseTrap (u),
•Trellis (g), •UK School Internet Primer (bk).
8.2
e=Education, bk=Book, g=Game, u=Utility.
8.2
If you would like to review any of these products, please contact the
Archive office. Potential reviewers will need to show that they would
use the product in a professional capacity or that they have some
knowledge of the particular field.  A
8.2
Government Health Warning − Reading this could seriously affect your
spiritual health.
8.2
Did any of you see that TV program recently in which the biologist,
Richard Dawkins, talked about a world without religion? Or perhaps you
have read his books “The Blind Watchmaker” and “The Selfish Gene”? We no
longer need to invent a thing called “God” to explain away the bits we
don’t understand − a scientific view of life explains everything. We are
all just a product of our genes and the way things have evolved can be
described in purely mechanistic terms. But, as a good scientist, Richard
Dawkins would never (I hope) say that he had “proved” that God doesn’t
exist, but rather that he has a theory (call it ‘Theory A’) which is a
perfectly plausible explanation of the observable facts.
8.2
OK, that’s fine but I have a different theory (call it Theory B) which
is, I believe, an equally plausible explanation of the observable facts.
The bible says that...
8.2
Sorry, but I had to stop. When I mentioned the bible, I felt the
shutters go down! What was your reaction? Was it “Oh no, not that old-
fashioned, reactionary view again!” or “Why should I let the bible tell
me how to live my life?” or “Science has disproved the bible, anyway.”
or maybe it was “Look at all the evil that has been done by the church
over the years, using the bible as its authority!” Those are some of the
reasons I have been given by readers over the months to explain why they
can’t accept Theory B.
8.2
It’s funny you know, but some of the people who prefer Theory A are
amongst the most faithful readers of the God-slot. “I’m not a religious
person but I read your God-slot every month.” Why is that, I wonder?
Well, according to Theory B it’s because we have a Father who created us
and therefore there’s a socking great big hole in the life of anyone who
doesn’t have a loving relationship with God. What is more, we make a
mess of our human relationships, too, because of the insecurity created
by that lack of love.
8.2
“What a load of rubbish! How can anyone fall for such religious mish-
mash?!” Hang on a minute! What happened to the careful scientific
approach to examining my Theory? Well, I’ll tell you what happened to
it. According to Theory B, you are suffering from a disease called
‘pride’ which affects a human being’s judgement. “Are you trying to tell
me that for all the xxx years I have lived on this earth I have been
wrong in my view of God?” Well, yes, possibly.
8.2
Tell me, are you open enough in your thinking to investigate a new (old)
Theory? “No thanks, I don’t want to end up a religious nutcase like that
Paul Beverley.” You see, you are at it again. You’re not approaching
this coldly and clinically and logically. You’re saying, “I’m not going
to look into this because I don’t like the implications. If I came to
believe in Theory B, I’d be an object of ridicule in my family and at
work.”
8.2
Are you prepared to examine the evidence for Theory B? Are you prepared
to face up to the implications that follow if you do come to the
conclusion that the evidence is very strong that, for example, Jesus did
rise from the dead? Well, I tell you, all over the UK, thousands of
people are looking into it by going on these Alpha courses, and
thousands of people are saying that their lives have been transformed by
God in a wonderful way. I have seen my own 49-year-old cousin change in
a most wonderful way just recently − he has such a peace and a new joy −
it’s just brilliant to see!
8.2
“Huh! It’s getting worse! More religious mumbo-jumbo. They are being
brain-washed! Silly people! I wouldn’t fall for that.” Well, all I can
say is that, if it is brain-washing, it must be very clever brain-
washing because the people becoming Christians are taking their friends
on the next course − and they are going along because they can see that
something has happened to their friend and they want to know what it is.
8.2
“This is getting ridiculous! The God-slot is getting longer and longer.
Religion is taking over the Archive magazine that I have paid good money
for.” Sorry about that but I’ll give you a pro-rata refund for the
missing technical information or a refund if you want to cancel your
subscription in disgust. But if Theory B IS correct then it is THE most
important thing for EVERYONE to find out about. Why not check it out −
you’ve nothing to lose and everything to gain!
8.2
Paul Beverley
8.2
Fact-File
8.2
(The numbers in italic are fax numbers)
8.2
4th Dimension   1 Percy Street, Sheffield, S3 8AU. (01742-700661)
(01742-781091)
8.2
4Mation    14 Castle Park Road, Whiddon Valley, Barnstaple, Devon, EX32
8PA. (01271-25353) (01271-22974)
8.2
Abacus Training    29 Okus Grove, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wilts, SN2
6QA.
8.2
Academy Television   104 Kirkstall Road, Leeds, LS3 1JS. (01532-461528)
(01532-429522)
8.2
Acorn Computers Ltd    Acorn House, Vision Park, Histon, Cambridge, CB4
4AE. (01223-254254) (01223-254262)
8.2
Akalat Publishing   P.O. Box 231, Barton, Bedford, MK45 4HQ, (01582-
881614) (01582-881614)
8.2
Alternative Publishing   Suite 91, 9A Pentagon House, 36 Washington
Street, Glasgow, G3 8AZ. (0141-248-2322) (0141-248-3638)
8.2
Angelsoft Educational   35 Heol Nant, Swiss Valley, Llanelli, Dyfed,
SA14 8EN. (01554-776845)
8.2
ANT Ltd   P.O.Box 300, Cambridge, CB1 2EG. (01223-567808) (01223-567801)
8.2
APDL    39 Knighton Park Road, Sydenham, London, SE26 5RN.
8.2
Apricote Studios    2 Purls Bridge Farm, Manea, Cambridgeshire, PE15
0ND. (01354-680432)
8.2
Atomwide Ltd   7 The Metro Centre, Bridge Road, Orpington, Kent, BR5
2BE. (01689-838852) (01689-896088)
8.2
AU Enterprises Ltd   126 Great North Road, Hatfield, Herts, AL9 5JZ.
(01707-266714) (01707-273684)
8.2
Audio Dynamics    10 Durnford Close, Norden, Rochdale OL12 7RX. (01706-
868803) (01706-868803)
8.2
Avie Electronics (p21)  7 Overbury Road, Norwich. (01603-416863) (01603-
788640)
8.2
Beebug Ltd (p42)  117 Hatfield Road, St Albans, Herts, AL1 4JS. (01727-
840303) (01727-860263)
8.2
BirdTech   16 Weynor Gardens, Kelling, Holt, Norfolk, NR25 7EQ. (01263-
70669)
8.2
Castle Technology   Ore Trading Estate, Woodbridge Road, Framlingham,
Suffolk, IP13 9LL. (01728-621222) (01728-621179)
8.2
CD Sports Ltd   4 Wirral Business Centre, Dock Road, Birkenhead, Wirral,
L41 1JW.
8.2
Clares Micro Supplies   98 Middlewich Road, Rudheath, Northwich,
Cheshire, CW9 7DA. (01606-48511) (01606-48512)
8.2
Codemist Ltd   “Alta”, Horscombe Vale, Combe Down, Bath, BA2 5QR.
8.2
Colton Software (p10)   2 Signet Court, Swanns Road, Cambridge, CB5 8LA.
(01223-311881) (01223-312010)
8.2
Computer Concepts (pp16/22)   Gaddesden Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts,
HP2 6EX. (01442-63933) (01442-231632)
8.2
Computer Tutorial Services Ltd   4 Mill Hill Road, Cowes, Isle of Wight,
PO31 7EA.
8.2
Contex Computing   15 Woodlands Close, Cople, Bedford, MK44 3UE.
(012303-347)
8.2
Creative Curriculum Software   5 Clover Hill Road, Savile Park, Halifax,
HX1 2YG. (01422-340524) (01422-346388)
8.2
Crick Computing   123 The Drive, Northampton, NN1 4SW. (01604-713686)
(01604-713686)
8.2
Cumana Ltd   Pines Trading Estate, Broad Street, Guilford, GU3 3BH.
(01483-503121) (01483-503326)
8.2
Datafile   71 Anson Road, Locking, Weston-super-Mare, Avon, BS24 7DQ.
(01934-823005)
8.2
Datathorn Systems Ltd   George House, 50 Spring Grove, Loughton, Essex,
IG10 4QD.
8.2
David Pilling   P.O.Box 22, Thornton Cleveleys, Blackpool, FY5 1LR.
8.2
DEC_dATA   P.O.Box 97, Exeter, EX4 4YA. (01392-221702)
8.2
Design Concept   30 South Oswald Road, Edinburgh, EH9 2HG. (0131-668-
2000)
8.2
Digital Phenomena   104 Manners Road, Southsea, Hants, PO4 0BG.
8.2
Digital Services   9 Wayte Street, Cosham, Portsmouth PO6 3BS. (01705-
210600) (01705-210709)
8.2
Dixon & Dixon   Farm Management Cons, 35 Rokeby Drive, Kenton, Newcastle
upon Tyne, NE3 4JY.
8.2
Doggysoft   7 Blackhorse Crescent, Amersham, Bucks., HP6 6HP.
8.2
Eastmond Publishing   33 West Street, Oundle, Peterborough, PE8 4EJ.
(01832-273444)
8.2
EESOX   5 Hillfield Road, Comberton, Cambridge, CB3 7DB. (01223-264242)
8.2
ExpLAN   St Catherine’s House, Plymouth Road, Tavistock, Devon, PL19
8AY. (01822-613868)
8.2
Expressive Software Products   Holly Tree Cottage, Main Street, Strelley
Village, Nottingham, NG8 6PD.  (01115-929-5019) (01115-929-5019)
8.2
Fabis Computing   95 Fabis Close, Swadlincote, Derbyshire, DE11 9SL.
8.2
Fisher-Marriott Software   3 Grove Road, Ansty, Warwickshire, CV7 9JD.
(01203-616325 or 366748)
8.2
G.A.Herdman   43 Saint Johns Drive, Clarborough, Retford, Notts DN22
9NN. (01777-700918) (also 0777-700918)
8.2
GamesWare   Unit 26, The Bartletts, Hamble, Hants., SO35 5RP.
(01703−456523) (or 0243-531194) (01703−456523)
8.2
Gartside Neville Ltd   8 Beckett Way, Laverstock, Salisbury, SP1 1PZ.
8.2
HCCS Ltd   575-583 Durham Road, Gateshead, NE9 5JJ. (0191-487-0760)
(0191-491-0431)
8.2
Hodge Electronic Services    16 Mold Road, Mynydd Isa, Clwyd, CH7 6TD.
(01244-550803)
8.2
Irlam Instruments   133 London Road, Staines, Middlesex TW18 4HN.
(01895-811401)
8.2
Koeksuster Publications   St Augustine’s Cottage, High Street, Mill
Hill, London NW7 1QY. (0181-959-3321)
8.2
Kudlian Soft   8 Barrow Road, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, CV8 1EH. (01926-
851147)
8.2
LCL   Thames House, 73 Blandy Road, Henley on Thames, Oxon, RG9 1QB.
8.2
L’Ensouleiado Software   Old Brackenlands, Wigton, Cumbria, CA7 9LA.
8.2
Lindis International   Wood Farm, Linstead Magna, Halesworth, Suffolk,
IP19 0DU. (0198-685-477) (0198-685-460)
8.2
Longman Logotron   124 Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge
CB4 4ZS. (01223-425558) (01223-425349)
8.2
LOOKsystems (pp40/41)  47 Goodhale Road, Bowthorpe, Norwich, NR5 9AY.
(01603-748253) (01603-740203)
8.2
Matt Black   6 Henry Court, Henry Street, Peterborough, PE1 2QG. (01733-
315439)
8.2
Micro Librarian Systems   Staley House, Ridge End Fold, Marple,
Stockport, Cheshire, SK6 7EX. (0161-449-9357)
8.2
Micro Studio Ltd   22 Churchgate Street, Soham, Ely, Cambridgeshire.
(01353-720433)
8.2
Mike Smith    26 Grenville Road, Saint Judes, Plymouth, PL4 9PY. (01752-
667599)
8.2
Millipede Electronic Graphics   Cambridge House, Hargrave, Bury St
Edmunds, Suffolk, IP29 5HS.
8.2
Minerva Systems   Minerva House, Baring Crescent, Exeter, EX1 1TL.
(01392-437756) (01392-421762)
8.2
Morley Electronics   Morley House, Norham Road, North Shields, Tyne &
Wear, NE29 7TY. (0191-257-6355) (0191-257-6373)
8.2
Neutron Software   Birch Tree House, The Street, Petham, Canterbury,
Kent, CT4 5QU. (01227-700516)
8.2
Norfolk IT Team   Norfolk County Inset Centre Witard Road Norwich NR7
9XD. (01603-33276)
8.2
Northern Micromedia   Resources Centre, Coach Lane Campus, Newcastle
upon Tyne, NE7 7XA. (0191-270-0424)
8.2
Northwest SEMERC   1 Broadbent Road, Watersheddings, Oldham, OL1 4LB.
(0161-627-4469)
8.2
Oak Solutions (p26)   Dial House, 12 Chapel Street, Halton, Leeds, LS15
7RN (01532-326992) (01532-326993)
8.2
Octopus Systems   9 Randwell Close, Ipswich, IP4 5ES. (01473-728943)
(01473-270643)
8.2
Oregan Developments   36 Grosvenor Avenue, Streetly, Sutton Coldfield,
B74 3PE. (0121-353-6044)
8.2
Pineapple Software   39 Brownlea Gardens, Seven Kings, Ilford, Essex IG3
9NL. (0181-599-1476) (0181-598-2343)
8.2
Porters Primary Software   138A Harvey Clough Road, Sheffield, S8 8PG.
8.2
Primrose Publishing   Vicarage Long Barn, Denham, Bury St Edmunds,
Suffolk, IP29 5EF.
8.2
RESOURCE 51 High Street, Kegworth, Derbyshire, DE74 2DA. (01509-672222)
(01509-672267)
8.2
Selective Software   64 Brooks Road, Street, Somerset, BA16 0PP.
8.2
Serious Statistical Software   Lynwood, Benty Heath Lane, Willaston,
South Wirral, L64 1SD. (0151-327-4268)
8.2
Sherston Software   Angel House, Sherston, Malmesbury, Wilts. SN16 0LH.
(01666-840433) (01666-840048)
8.2
Simtec Electronics   Avondale Drive, Tarleton, Preston, PR4 6AX. (01772-
812863) (01772-816426)
8.2
Smart DTP   36 Park Road, Duffield, Belper, DE56 4GR. (01332-842803)
8.2
Soft Teach Educational   Sturgess Farm, Longbridge, Deverill,
Warminster, Wilts, BA12 7EA.
8.2
Solent Computer Products Ltd    2 Mills Lane, Longstanton, Cambridge,
CB4 5DG. (01954-789701) (01954-782186)
8.2
Spacetech   21 West Wools, Portland, Dorset, DT5 2EA. (01305-822753)
(01305-860483)
8.2
Special Access Systems   4 Benson Place, Oxford, OX2 6QH. (01865-56154)
8.2
Techsoft UK Ltd   The Grange, Erryrs, Mold, Clwyd, CH7 4DB. (0182-43318)
8.2
The ARM Club   Freepost ND6573, London, N12 0BR. (01171-624-9918)
(01181-446-3020)
8.2
The Really Good Software Company   39 Carisbrooke Road, Harpenden,
Herts., AL5 5QS.
8.2
The Serial Port   Burcott Manor, Wells, Somerset, BA5 1NH. (01749-
670058) (01749-670809)
8.2
T-J Reproductions    Unit D, Canada House, Blackburn Road, West
Hampstead, London NW6 1RZ. (0171-372-4430) (0171-372-0515)
8.2
VTI (Vertical Twist)   Unit 1, The Shopwhyke Centre, Shopwhyke Road,
Chichester, PO20 6GD. (01243-531194) (01243-531196)
8.2
Westland Systems Assessment   Telec House, Goldcroft, Yeovil, BA21 4DQ.
8.2
Words & Music   26 Newark Drive, Whitburn, Sunderland, SR6 7DF. (0191-
529-4788) (0191-529-5327)
8.2
Wyddfa Software   3 Preswylfa, Llanberis, Gwynedd, LL55 4LF. (01286-
870101) (01286-871722)
8.2
XOB   Balkeerie, Eassie by Forfar, Angus, DD8 1SR. (01307-840364)
8.2
Archive Monthly Program Disc Contents
8.2
•  Program and documentation from Paul Hobbs’ article on Advanced Basic
Programming − page 45.
8.2
•  Programs from James Riden’s article on assembly language programming
− page 67.
8.2
•  Programs from Elliott Hughes’ article on the RISC OS 3.5 Colour
Picker − page 31.
8.2
•  Files from Gerald Fitton’s DocLine article − page 33.
8.2
•  Sample output from the Eagle multimedia card − see Paul Hooper’s
review on page 77.
8.2
•  Two fonts as created by Christopher Jarman − see his article on page
53.
8.2
•  Program from Hints & Tips Column on page 62.
8.2
•  Files from Paul Hooper’s Multimedia article − page 24.
8.2
•  UnitConv − a desktop application written by Chris Johnson which
converts between various units, generally SI and Imperial, but there are
also some more specialised conversions, such as energy equivalents. This
is provided by Chris as Freeware. If you have constructive comments
about it, please contact Chris.
8.2
•  Factfile − latest version of our full list of Acorn-related companies
on the Archive database.
8.2
Continued on page 80...
8.2
Colton
8.2
From 8.1 page 20
8.2
Acorn World 94
8.2
Acorn World 94 promises to be another impressive showcase for Acorn and
associated companies. Let’s hear first what Acorn are planning...
8.2
News from Acorn Computers
8.2
‘A World of Opportunities’ is the theme of Acorn World ‘94, which takes
place at Wembley Exhibition Centre, London from October 28-30th. The
show has already attracted support from many leading companies and is
set to be the largest ever showcase for Acorn products and services
worldwide. The show will include a series of themed feature areas,
providing a glimpse of technological innovation in the interactive
media, publishing, education and home business sectors. These areas will
demonstrate the innovative synergy Acorn can provide between the home,
the classroom and the office.
8.2
Acorn Computers will be showing highly tuned Risc PCs, bringing new
levels of expandability and flexibility to the personal computer market.
Using production systems and some technology “straight from the labs”,
Acorn will give technically aware users examples of developments that
could be forthcoming in the next months and years. These illustrative
systems will give a pointer to the potential for Acorn computers and
show some of the options that could be developed.
8.2
As a central feature, on the main stand will be the all-time Acorn
“rocket ship” Risc PC. This will be a revolutionary seven slice Risc PC
configured with a whole host of interesting add-on devices to show the
power and flexibility of the system.
8.2
Acorn will also preview a five processor adaptor card for Risc PCs that
allows up to five ARM processors to be fitted, in addition to a
heterogeneous standard second processor card.
8.2
The Acorn Risc PC card developed jointly by Acorn, Atomwide and Future
Technology Devices Inc will also be featured at the show. Some of these
will be configured with DX2 but DX4 chips will also be previewed. Acorn
will be running standard DOS, Windows and OS/2 operating systems and
software on these processors.
8.2
Operating system developments that will be shown will revolve around a
host of different applications. The current plans, should ensure that
the following are on view: OS/2 on the new PC cards, Unix native on Risc
PC, TAOS (a multi-processor operating system) on ARM processors. These
will all emphasise the broad range of options that the Risc PC can
deliver.
8.2
Networking will be a key aspect of the main stand, with new versions of
Access being previewed which, amongst other features, will show CD-ROM
support for Access networks. Microsoft and Novell based servers will be
used to serve RISC OS applications, as previewed at Access IT earlier
this year.
8.2
If the development team meets the deadlines (lots of late nights are
expected), early versions of a RISC OS World Wide Web browser for
Internet will be previewed. Other projects being demonstrated will
include new authentication procedures to allow work group style
computing. In addition, high speed ATM links will be shown.
8.2
A new collection of Risc PC cards and adaptors will be on show. These
will include new 16-bit low cost sound card, SCSI II, network interface
cards, new digitising cards. The use of PC ISA adaptor cards in Risc
PCs, to access low cost PC devices will also be shown.
8.2
The Acorn enthusiasts will also have the opportunity to sign up for the
Acorn Enthusiasts’ Scheme. Competitions will be offered to encourage
people to join the scheme. There will be opportunities to win an ARM 700
processor card for your Risc PC, be one of the first owners of a 486
card for Risc PC and a choice of processors and a multiprocessor adapter
board to allow your Risc PC to carry several ARM processors. The
competitions will be based on a multiple choice question paper with a
tie breaker. Full details will be made available at the show.
8.2
From the Acorn family...
8.2
From our trawl around the Acorn-associated companies, the following
information about new products etc was gathered by Andrew Garrard. (Does
anyone fancy the job of going round all the stands at the show with the
list below checking which, if any, are “Products Available” and then
writing it up for the magazine? It’s quite a big job but good fun at the
time. The hard slog is getting it all written up in time for the next
magazine which means getting the copy to me within 3-4 days of the end
of the show! Thanks. Ed.)
8.2
•  4Mation will be showing their latest program, A Mouse in Holland as
well as Robot World, another new title.
8.2
•  4th Dimension have announced E-Type 2, a follow-on from their
successful racing game, featuring a two-player option, computer players,
six tracks and a track designer. There is also a combat mode, with
lasers and other weapons. This product will be out in time for the show,
and costs £34.95 inc VAT.
8.2
•  Academy Television will have a range of CD-ROM software, including
Science II: Materials, Environment II: Land & Air and World War II:
Global Conflict.
8.2
•  Alternative Publishing Ltd. will have ImageFS on display.
8.2
•  ANT Ltd, supplier of Ethernet networks in the Acorn market, will be
demonstrating advanced networking facilities, including linking Acorn
machines to Acorn AUN, Microsoft LAN Manager and Windows for Workgroups
and Unix, at the Acorn World show. There is a new Network Interface Card
for the Risc PC, and a Pocket Ethernet Adapter for the A4. ANT was
formed to take over the network products previously supplied by Aleph
One.
8.2
•  Apricote Studios − A new version of Prophet, the accounting package,
will be available. Personal Accounts has also been updated recently (to
version 3.13).
8.2
•  AU Enterprises are selling Merlin, an educational database which
covers data-handling from level 4 to level 10. ‘Almost Logo’ is an easy-
to-use turtle graphics package. AU Enterprises (The Advisory Unit:
Computers in Education) also have a number of other educational titles,
and a catalogue is available from them.
8.2
•  Beebug Ltd have taken over Risc Developments’ networking products.
They are also releasing a number of new Ethernet cards, including 10
Base 2 Ethernet interfaces for the Risc PC which fit in the network slot
(£99 +VAT or, for the Acorn Access version of the card, £115 +VAT) and a
new version of their A3020/A4000 10 Base 2 Ethernet interface. There is
also an update to the ROMs on the cards to provide support for either
AppFS or the Acorn Application Accelerator − upgrades are available from
Beebug. The latest versions of Ovation (2.0) and Sleuth (2.0) will also
be demonstrated at the Acorn World show, as will their new Easy C++
compiler.
8.2
•  Birdtech will have Play on Words, an educational package to help
children learn to read. By clicking on words in the package, the word
morphs into an animation. Replay Snippets are available at £1 per disc,
and the company will be providing a scanning service from their top-of-
the-range scanner, at only 50p per image plus the cost of the disc.
8.2
•  Clares Micro Supplies will show ProArtisan 2, ProArtisan 2CD,
ProArtisan 24 and Schema 2 and will launch the Celebration Pack, a suite
consisting of Calendar, Banner, Giftwrap and Certify.
8.2
•  Colton Software will be demonstrating Fireworkz Pro.
8.2
•  Computer Concepts will have a range of new products, including their
MPEG card, a TV tuner, Wacom ArtPad graphics tablets and the latest
version of Impression. They also have a price reduction on their
Scanlight 256 and the BJC600 colour printer/TurboDriver combination.
Impression Publisher Plus is available as an upgrade to Publisher owners
for £130 +VAT, or at £299 +VAT for first-time buyers. It allows
Artworks-style spot colours and named colours, and has OPI and EPS
support. TV Tuner, at £159 and £89 +VAT (with and without Teletext
software respectively) is a tuner and teletext input card; teletext can
be displayed directly, and when combined with a digitiser card TV can be
displayed in a window. ScanLight Professional Colour & PhotoDesk at £749
+VAT is a combination of Canon’s A4 flatbed 24-bit colour scanner with
scanner drivers and Spacetech’s PhotoDesk. The Risc PC MPEG card, Movie
Magic, from Wild Vision will be available in its first release form at
the show − allowing output to a 50Hz PAL RGB monitor, with a version to
follow later in the year to display video in a desktop window. A new
version (4.0) of the TurboDrivers will be available, still at £49 +VAT,
offering greater compatibility, a new colour control system which allows
more control over grey replacement and making use of the Risc PC
architecture, such as unlimited printer buffer allocation; a full 720dpi
Turbo Driver for the Epson Stylus Color and other members of the Stylus
range will also be available. There will also be a TurboDriver and
LaserDirect network spooler available, at £149 +VAT. Formulix is a
mathematical formula and equation editor, at £69 +VAT. A printer and
driver combination for the Canon BJC 4000, for less than the price of
the BJC600, will be available. The Musketeer Pack, at £249 +VAT,
consists of Impression Style, Schema 2 and DataPower. The second
ArtWorks clipart CD, containing the 1994 competition entries and
photographic images, will be available for £19 +VAT. The Risc PC Chroma
Genlock from Wild Vision is available at £149 +VAT, and a number of
other products will be available at special offer prices.
8.2
•  Dalriada Data Technology (sharing a stand with KudlianSoft) will be
showing their new package for creating flowcharts, process diagrams,
organisational charts, annotated diagrams, etc.
8.2
•  Doggysoft will be showing their plug and play Internet solution
Termite, and also their games cheating package Desktop Marker.
8.2
•  ExpLAN will be demonstrating their multimedia bible software, !Holy
Bible, which will provide King James, NIV, REB, New RSV and also,
possibly, Elberfelder, Luther, Russian, Hebrew and Greek. Also on show
will be Occasion, the diary and personal organiser software that is
capable of being run across a network as well as on a stand-alone
machine.
8.2
•  Fabis Computing will be launching Easy Font 3, and will demonstrate
their Impression Borders and Ovation Borders.
8.2
•  GamesWare will have the following new products: Wavelength is a shoot
‘em-up, featuring rendered graphics. Zodiac − GamesWare’s compilation
range will include the Aries pack, containing Hamsters, Quizmaster,
Blowpipe and Square Root. Playdays − an educational release based on the
children’s TV series and aimed at children between three and eight.
GamesWare will also be showing progress on Striker, Dune 2 and Rome AD −
all future releases.
8.2
•  Happy Software, a branch of Creative Curriculum Software are
launching a new range of educational games aimed at children between 3
and 9. The five new products in the ‘Happy Matrix’ series are integrated
computer and board games, and are titled ‘Happy Time’, ‘Happy Sea’,
‘Happy Life’, ‘Happy Numbers’ and ‘Happy Reading’. Each title has five
games which may each be played by one or two players, and cost £34.95
each inc VAT from Creative Curriculum Software.
8.2
•  Irlam Instruments will unveil a colour scanning camera, a combination
video and audio digitizer, some new scanners and their cheap 16-bit
sound card.
8.2
•  Lindis International will launch Cablenews II, a multimedia
presentation package, at the show. Presenter GTi 16v, CADMUST and Start
will also be there.
8.2
•  Longman Logotron will be showing Eureka 3 with almost 200 built-in
maths, stats and financial functions, charting, DTP type facilities, etc
as well as Revelation Image Pro 24-bit, a new version of their painting
and image-processing package and WinLogo, a RISC OS compliant version of
Logo.
8.2
•  LOOKsystems will be selling Cartoons, 104 cartoon characters, £20;
More Cartoons, another 100 cartoon characters, £20; Christmas, 100
festive designs and decorations, £20 and Bitfolio 6 CD, over 1900 high
quality images, £50. (All prices are inc VAT.)
8.2
•  Millipede, the producers of professional video hardware, will be
demonstrating their Apex Imager board, and their new AlphaLock genlock/
overlay adaptor for the Risc PC. Aimed at professional users, the
AlphaLock allows both NTSC and PAL output and combines incoming video
images with the Risc PC’s own display, with programmable transparency on
a per-pixel basis, using the alpha channel. A final price has not been
announced, but is likely to be around £600 +VAT, which Millipede hope
will be within the reaches of enthusiasts and educational users as well
as professionals.
8.2
•  Minerva will be launching PrimeMover. This animation system allows
the creation of frame sequences and enables these animated sprites to be
moved around the screen under the control of a simple, real-time user
interface. The system can be redisplayed on any Acorn system,
irrespective of its speed, and animations can be exported in Ace film
format. PrimeMover will cost £69.95 inc VAT.
8.2
•  Nelson Multimedia will be launching their first CD-ROM titles,
including The Physical World, Aspects of Religion, En Route and the
Machines.
8.2
•  Northwest Semerc will be showing their range of products for
educational special needs, including their high resolution Informatrix
Overlay Keyboard and Informax overlay design software.
8.2
•  Oak Solutions will have Apollonius PDT, their parametric CAD package,
at the show. They will also be demonstrating their interactive
multimedia CD-ROM products.
8.2
•  Oregan will have AppleFS, file transfer software which allows use of
Macintosh discs on Acorn machines, using the standard Acorn floppy
drives. AppleFS will cost £59.95 from Oregan. The company will also be
displaying the latest versions of PhotoTouch, Digital Symphony (now Risc
PC compatible) and Morpheus, and will have a number of new leisure
releases available: Burn’Out, Sally and Wally, and Arcturus.
8.2
•  Pineapple Software will demonstrate their latest virus protection
software and will have a special offer on Studio 24.
8.2
•  Porters Primary Software will have Infant Windows, a simple desktop
publishing package aimed at children from the age of five, at £24.50.
They will also have their Primary Collection of utilities, at £8.50,
their turtle graphics program, at £34.50, Sorter, a new primary
database, and Protector − a hard disc protection utility − at £19.50.
8.2
•  Quantum Software will have Keystroke version 3.06 and Blinds, a
pinboard-type application which allows users to group applications,
files, directories etc. in a convenient way on blinds of any size, which
can be brought up at the click of a mouse button. The blinds can also be
set to appear whenever an application is run, and the icons on the
blinds can be given long names rather than just file names.
8.2
•  Resource will have Dragon Droom’s Revenge, Supermarket, MookMaker,
TalkWrite (a talking word processor), Albert’s House, Pond, TouchWindow
and 1st Paint. They will also have a number of special offers on the
“Discovery 2000” Risc PC range, which bundles educational software and
optimized Risc PCs.
8.2
•  Serious Statistical Software will be demonstrating their “First”
family of statistical packages.
8.2
•  Sherston Software have expanded their catalogue of educational
software. Voyage of Discovery is a science adventure set in 2056AD,
wherein the children have to deliver a package to the captain of a
spacecraft deep in space within three days. The package involves
scrolling, 3D graphics, animations and sound effects. Voyage of
Discovery is available for £31.95. The Oxford Reading Tree range has now
expanded to include Stage 3 Talking Stories, aimed at children between
the ages of 5 and 7. Rosie and Jim Talking Activities, aimed at children
between 4 and 6, provide two stories (£10 each +VAT) based on the
popular children’s television series and using the same technology as
Sherston’s Naughty Stories.
8.2
•  Smart DTP will have their “Publishart” resource available and hope to
have their resources compiled as “Smart CD” too. (Not to be confused
with Smart CD+ from The ARM Club! Ed.) In addition, they will be
exclusively selling Star Fighter 3000, a game from the authors of Chocks
Away and Stunt Racer 2000.
8.2
•  Spacetech will be have PhotoDesk on view and be showing their
meteorological, remote sensing and astronomical software.
8.2
•  The ARM Club will be showing their PD library, and will have their
Utilities Discs and hopefully also !GameOn! and Smart CD+ available.
(Not to be confused with Smart CD from Smart DTP! Ed.)
8.2
•  VTI − who used to be Vertical Twist − will have a sampler card, a
printer port sampler, Sonor (new sampling software similar to
AudioWorks), Desktop Tracker, ArcFS 2.5 − which is newer and faster,
Investigator III and a number of hard-drives and CD-ROMs.  A
8.2
Special Archive advert prepared by Trevor.
8.2
CC
8.2
From 8.1 page 23
8.2
Comment Column
8.2
•  Acorn, you cannot be serious! − How can Acorn computers be taken
seriously in the “real world” if they don’t have an implementation of
C++? And how can they succeed in tertiary education without being able
to run Unix? Come on, Acorn how can we recommend the Risc PC to our
friends and colleague without some serious support?  Keith Parks,
Uxbridge.
8.2
Keith, you’ll be pleased to hear that Acorn are going to be
demonstrating Unix on a Risc PC at Acorn World 94. All we need then is
C++!! Ed.
8.2
•  Apple were wrong! − The Advertising Standards Authority has finally
and fully upheld Acorn’s complaints about some of Apple’s advertising
claims relating to the Power Mac. Acorn objected to statements like...
“Apple is the first company to ship personal computers with RISC-based
microprocessors.” (They were seven years out of date − the A310 in 1987
was actually the first.) I’m sure that the deluge of complaints from
angry Archive subscribers that the ASA received was a helpful
contributory factor in righting this wrong − mind you, the adverts first
came out in March 1994, so Apple have had ample time to get their
(incorrect) message across before being told not to do so!
8.2
In case they try something else, let’s all have the ASA address to hand
so that we are quicker at responding next time − Advertising Standards
Authority, Complaints Department, Brook House, 2−16 Torrington Place,
London, WC1E 7HN.  Ed.
8.2
•  “C books, please” − In answer to last month’s plea... In the course
of many years of C programming, a large number of books have passed
through my grubby hands, but few have stayed close to hand. Those I
would recommend, however, are:
8.2
Andrew Koenig, C Traps and Pitfalls (Addison-Wesley, ISBN 0-201-17928-8)
8.2
Koenig’s a hero of mine. One of Bell’s finest, he writes wonderful
columns on C++ in Joop and C++ Report these days. I look at his C Traps
and Pitfalls these days and think “can I ever have not known that about
C?”, but I remember the days when each page was a revelation − just like
his C++ writings today. It’s pretty much a dictionary of oddities of the
C grammar.
8.2
Herbert Schildt, The Annotated ANSI C Standard (Osborne McGraw-Hill,
ISBN 0-07-881952-0)
8.2
The book is in a format where odd pages contain the ANSI standard, and
even pages contain Schildt’s comments. He says little of worth and makes
numerous mistakes. Far from clarifying the standard, he makes me wonder
if he’s actually read it. Having said that, I wouldn’t be without this
book. It costs much less than half the price of the ANSI standard, so I
can ignore Schildt and remember I’m only a poor student. Beware of the
printing (like mine) where pages 131 and 132 are identical.
8.2
Donald Lewine, POSIX Programmer’s Guide (O’Reilly & Associates, ISBN 0-
937175-73-0)
8.2
This book is probably the least relevant to the RISC OS programmer, but
if you’re interested in C in a wider context (that of Posix − the
standard Unix API), this book is the best I’ve found. Its function
reference contains the entire ISO (or ANSI as was) C library, plus the
Posix functions (covering things like terminal handling, job control
etc). If you plan on writing for Unix, this book’s pretty handy. Very
few errors that I’ve found, but there are sections where you wish he’d
gone deeper. The first few chapters are useless for anyone who considers
themselves a C programmer (the intended audience for the book).
8.2
P J Plauger, The Standard C Library
8.2
A book I’m looking forward to reading is Plauger’s book about how to
implement the functions in ISO C’s library. I used to enjoy his column
in Computer Language, and expect this to be an excellent book.
8.2
For those looking to the future and C++ on their Risc PC...
8.2
Bjarne Stroustroup, The C++ Programming Language
8.2
Need I say more?
8.2
Bjarne Stroustroup, The Design and Evolution of C++
8.2
Buy it and read about language design from a master of the art.
8.2
Don’t accept any imitations: no-one writes better C++ books than Bjarne.
8.2
Elliott Hughes [e-mail] or Snailmail: 15 Lark Hill,
Swanwick, Alfreton, Derby, DE55 1DD.
8.2
•  GraphDraw − If any GraphDraw users are about to purchase a Risc PC,
they are warned that the version on general release has a minor bug
which prevents it working on the Risc PC. Send me a formatted disc and
return postage for a version which (I believe) does work without problem
on the Risc PC (I do not yet have access to a Risc PC, so can only
respond to users problems indirectly). Chris Johnson, 7, Lovedale Grove,
Balerno, Edinburgh, EH14 7DR.
8.2
•  Publisher, an editor’s experience! − Having used Impression Publisher
for a few weeks now and produced one complete issue of Archive on it
(well, it’ll be two by the time you read this!) I thought I’d let you
know how I’m getting on with it. Here are my impressions (sic) as they
came to me, historically.
8.2
Keyboard shortcuts − I think anyone upgrading from Impression II to
Publisher will find some degree of frustration over the different use of
keyboard shortcuts − especially <ctrl-A>. Although I knew to expect this
problem of different shortcuts, it came as bit of a shock to find that
so many of the style shortcuts I use regularly are unavailable now.
Apart from <f1> to <f4>, <f9> and <f10>, I used to have styles on <ctrl-
shift-f1> right through to <ctrl-shift-f10>, all of which are now
unavailable apart from <ctrl-shift-f4>. Bad news!
8.2
The worst of all is the lack of <ctrl-A> for deleting. I used to have my
left hand hovering over <ctrl>, <A> and <S>, then, with my right hand,
I’d use the mouse to locate the cursor, perhaps double-click a word or
treble-click a line or double-click a word and then <adjust>-click to
make a selection and finally press <ctrl-A> to delete it.
8.2
My first attempt at a solution was using Keystroke to make <ctrl-Z> do a
<Copy>, i.e. delete to the right. That’s OK for deleting single
characters but as Publisher uses <ctrl-Z> to unselect a region, that
didn’t work for deleting a marked area so I now have to remember to use
<ctrl-X>.
8.2
Also, <ctrl-Z> working through Keystroke doesn’t respond very quickly,
so you can’t (easily) use it to delete, say, three consecutive
characters. Bring back <ctrl-A> − it was SO convenient. “You can”, said
the man at CC. “Just define a style with no features and give it <ctrl-
A> as the shortcut and that will disable <ctrl-A> from selecting the
whole text.” Nice idea, but I need to “select all the text” on a regular
basis too, so unless there’s some other easy way to do that, I can’t use
that technique − plus the fact that you have to install this phantom
style in every document.
8.2
I tell you, I’m so hampered by the lack of <ctrl-A> as a delete that I’m
thinking of gluing a new key on the LHS of my keyboard and wiring it up
to the delete key! Anyone got any other suggestions?
8.2
Crashes − As I reported last month, at first I had about three or more
crashes a day − “Internal Error at xxxxx” and then, when I tried to
continue, “Error EL00”. Just quitting and reloading didn’t seem to clear
it properly as it tended to crash again quite quickly. I took to using a
complete power-down, power-up. Then, when I pasted up last month’s
magazine, I started about 6 a.m. and worked through until tea time − no
crashes. I started on it again at 9.00p.m. that night and worked through
until 1.30 a.m. (It’s tough being an editor!) No crashes. Then, as I
tried to do almost the very last job of creating the contents list, it
crashed! Coincidence? Well, the way I create the contents list, involves
creating a new Impression document, and that was when it fell over.
Could it be that Publisher doesn’t like the default document that I
dragged over from Impression II? I sent it off to the CC laboratory for
analysis. CC say, “We do not recommend that default documents are
carried over from previous versions of Impression...” so I’m busy
recreating my special master pages and porting across my special
styles.†
8.2
Impression loader − Each month, when I have finished the magazine, I
have to create the “Words Disc”, i.e. I have to scrape out all the text
from the whole magazine and create an Edit file of it. Hitherto, I have
done it by going into the magazine directory, looking in the Chapter2
directory and taking out the file called “Text”. I drop this into an
Impression document and, having loaded the “LoadImp” loader, it
recognises the filetype and re-constructs all the text as one file. I
then just save the text without styles and bingo. Unfortunately, when I
tried this with Publisher, it crashed. CC’s verdict is that “the LoadImp
module does not work with Style or Publisher” so I am going to have to
keep a copy of Impression II on my system just to use LoadImp each month
to create the magazine words disc!
8.2
Speed − I don’t do anything fancy in Impression − the magazine is all
fairly basic DTP stuff − but my first impression (sorry to use that word
again, but Wordworks can’t (or won’t) find a suitable synonym) is that
Publisher is faster in general layout work. Certainly, the area where I
noticed a big difference in speed is in file-handling. I use huge
numbers of Impression files, so the single-file format is very much
faster when you come to opening directories full of documents.
Brilliant!
8.2
(One other drawback I find is that the new filetype icon is so dowdy, I
can’t easily find the files in a filer window or on my pinboard. The old
Impression “I” icon was much more distinctive and stood out clearly.
Anyone want to design me a new single-file Impression icon?)
8.2
Keystroke − Arrrgghhhh!!!! More than half the things I had come to rely
on in Keystroke don’t work! I tell you − it was like trying to work with
one hand tied behind my back. I knew that Keystroke had speeded things
up but I didn’t realise quite how much − just simple things like
keystrokes that do search and replace, changing double space into single
space or double CR into single CR. None of the search and replace items
worked and several of my editing speed-up tricks, like transposing
adjacent words, also failed me! Stuart sent me Keystroke version 3.06
and also warned me that Publisher’s use of the <alt> key means that a
number of things don’t work properly. I’m hoping someone will offer to
start a Keystroke Column, so I won’t go into the work-arounds here.
(Literally hundreds of Archive subscribers took up our special Keystroke
offer − so there is a huge audience for anyone prepared to start a
Keystroke Column!)
8.2
Crashes explained − Another source of crashes has just been identified
and reported to CC as it is actually a bug. I tried to use one of my
Keystrokes to put a comma at the end of the last word on one line but I
accidentally put it at the beginning of the first word on the next line,
i.e. after the space instead of in front of it. I placed the cursor in
front of the comma and attempted to use <shift-ctrl-Q> to switch the
space and the comma and the result was fatal − Publisher died completely
with no way of saving any un-saved file(s). Arrgh! This is entirely
repeatable and also occurs in Publisher Plus but not in Style − at least
not the version we have here. Actually, it’s nothing to do with it being
a comma − just trying to transpose the first character of one line with
the space at the end of the previous line.
8.2
Drag and drop text editing − I discovered this by accident when the text
‘miraculously’ moved from place to place in the document I was editing.
If you haven’t discovered it yet, refer to the manual − it makes editing
quite a bit easier in many instances.
8.2
Overall, as I go on with Publisher, I am getting more and more confident
with it. I still get some nasty crashes if I try to load and edit old
files (especially 2.5Mb Archive magazine files!) but if I know to be
careful with those files, that’s fine. If necessary, I can load them
into Impression 2.19 − which I keep on my Pinboard. Yes, I’m glad I
finally plucked up courage to make the change. (Hmmm, since I wrote
that, I’ve been getting more crashes − seems to be mainly after I have
handled lots of different files and cut and pasted bits between files −
which, as a magazine editor, I have to do rather a lot!)  Ed.
8.2
•  Publisher help − Help is at hand. We have had an offer from Keith
Parker to try to help with any problems that folk have with Publisher.
If you send your problems to Keith, he will work with Tony Tolver of T-J
Reproductions (well known for their Impression-based type-setting etc)
to try to find a solution. Keith Parker, 61 Frensham Close, Southall,
Middlesex, UB1 2QY.
8.2
•  Publisher again − Chris Johnson writes: We have been experiencing a
number of problems with Publisher, particularly the network version,
which appears to crash much more regularly than the stand-alone version,
and also seems to lock up the network print spooler (and consequently
the fileserver) regularly as well. The problems appear when graphics are
in the document. The odd thing is that the same machine and the same
document gives different behaviour depending on whether the network or
the dongled stand-alone version is being run at the time. Has anyone had
similar problems or, better still, got a solution?
8.2
I also had the very odd experience of tidying up my hard disc 4,
including moving the location of !System, and then finding that
Publisher when next run gave the error message something like “this copy
of publisher is corrupt − please reinstall”. Publisher was on hard disc
5, and I am convinced that there was no way that it could have been
corrupted. I had to go through the whole installation process again
before it was usable! I cannot believe that path names are “hard wired”
into it when installed! (They are − for the benefit of OLE and also,
because there is some degree of software protection built in to the
installation method, I gather. Ed.) Chris Johnson, 7, Lovedale Grove,
Balerno, Edinburgh, EH14 7DR.
8.2
•  Scientific software − Archive readers are reminded that I offered to
act as a collator for any type of scientific and mathematical software.
There are now two discs of applications, which can be obtained by
sending two formatted (800Kb) blank discs, together with return postage.
I should also be pleased to receive any software for inclusion on
further discs. I still feel there is a very distinct lack of cheap and
cheerful scientific software available for the Acorn RISC computers. If
there are programmers out there who have written useful scientific
routines, but are unsure about converting them to full blown
multitasking WIMP applications, then let me know. I may be able to help
to wrap them up in a WIMP shell. Chris Johnson, 7, Lovedale Grove,
Balerno, Edinburgh, EH14 7DR.
8.2
•  Spreadsheet Column − Regular readers may have wondered what happened
to the spreadsheet column. The short answer is that all contributions
“dried up” once version 2 of Eureka was released. I have certainly found
that almost all the “features” of version 1 that were the subject of
much correspondence (quite heated at times) were addressed in one way or
another in version 2. Eureka still has its idiosyncrasies, and one or
two things I find infuriating, e.g. the total lack of any print preview
facility.  In spite of this, I find that it is on the whole a very good
piece of software.
8.2
I take this opportunity to remind readers that I am still ready to edit
a spreadsheet column, so if you have any comments, hints or tips, ideas,
suggestions, problems, or solutions to problems, connected with the use
of spreadsheets then drop me a line. My address is given below. If I
have sufficient response, then I will resurrect the column.
8.2
The only two communications I have received in the last few months
suggested that there should be a “how to use spreadsheets” series. I
would be willing to have a go at this, but would be interested to hear
from Archive members suggestions about what should be included, e.g.
should it start from absolute first principles, or should it be on more
advanced uses. It could be made part of a regular spreadsheet column, or
be completely independent.
8.2
My postal address is Chris Johnson, 7, Lovedale Grove, Balerno,
Edinburgh, EH14 7DR; I can also be contacted through e-mail as
[e-mail] .vaxb.  A
8.2
Club News
8.2
•  Suffolk Acorn Risc Club (SARC) meets in Ipswich Central library at
7pm on the second Thursday of every month. Each meeting usually starts
with a formal presentation on a specific topic, after which members are
free to chat. Tea and biscuits are provided. Annual membership is £5
including a monthly newsletter.
8.2
Forthcoming events include:
8.2
Thurs 13th Oct 94  Acorns and Accounts
8.2
Sat 29th Oct 94  Coach Trip to Acorn World
8.2
Thurs 10th Nov 94  Games for Christmas
8.2
December 94  Christmas meal (date to be confirmed)
8.2
Thurs 12th Jan 95  Modems and Bulletin Boards
8.2
There are still a couple of places on the Acorn World coach trip at
£8.50 including admission.
8.2
For more details, please contact Paul Skirrow (Chairman) on 01473-
728943, or Andy Keeble (Secretary) on 01473-216424.  A
8.2
Online Media − A World First?
8.2
This Acorn press release came into the Archive office the day before the
magazine was due to be finished so here it is, verbatim...
8.2
Online Media goes live with the world’s first digital interactive
television trial in Cambridge.
8.2
In Cambridge today, Online Media will be ‘switching on’ what is believed
to be the world’s first interactive television trial to be based on ATM
digital technology.
8.2
The trials are being launched by a consortium of Anglia Television, ATM
Ltd, Cambridge Cable and Online Media. The consortium, set up by
Cambridge Cable, is headed up by local firm, Online Media, also selected
to supply the intelligent, digital set-top boxes for the trial. The
technologies involved are Online Media’s set-top boxes, ATM Ltd’s
digital ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) networking technology and
Cambridge Cable’s fibre-based cable network, which is already available
to some 67,000 homes in the region.
8.2
Commenting on the launch of the trials, Online Media’s chief executive,
Malcolm Bird, said: “After all the hype about multimedia and the
information superhighway, this is a real application, running into
consumers’ homes. It is a milestone for the multimedia industry and will
help establish digital ATM technology as the industry standard.”
8.2
The technology involves linking a set-top box, which looks like a
smaller version of a video recorder, to the television set in people’s
homes. They will then have access to a variety of services from a
control centre in Cambridge. Multimedia telecommunications allows video,
voice, data and other services to be mixed at will on a single
telecommunications network.
8.2
The “on-demand” services on offer include movies and local news and
weather from Anglia TV. Subscribers can access these as and when they
wish and manipulate them − by fast forwarding, pausing and rewinding −
using a remote control as if the film were playing from their own video
recorder. Online Media is currently working with ITN to develop national
and international news programming.
8.2
Educational software applications will be available through the system,
from companies such as educational specialists Sherston Software and
another local firm, Cambridgeshire Software House. Anglia TV’s CD-ROMs
are also being converted to run on the system. Other services being
developed for the system include: interactive shopping, audio on demand,
music videos, sport and banking.
8.2
Games originally used on Acorn’s 32 bit RISC computers are being
converted to run on the set-top box. In the future, another compelling
feature will be a range of games which can be played “across the
network”. With a football game, for example, several homes linked to the
system could be connected to the same game at the same time and would be
able to play as a team against another home or groups of homes. This
adds a whole new dimension of human interaction and team dynamics to the
game. Fantasy adventure games based on the same concept will be an
option in the future.
8.2
Barry Mallett, one of the first handful to receive the settop box today,
said: “We are overjoyed to have been chosen for the trials and are
really looking forward to the prospect of being able to watch what we
like, when we like. The only problem I foresee is deciding which service
to try first!”
8.2
The trial, intended to test the technology and act as a platform on
which to develop networked multimedia services, will initially be placed
in selected employees’ homes in Cambridge. The aim is to install further
set-top boxes into many more homes of the general public by the end of
the year and to move into four figures by the end of 1995. Initially,
subscribers will not be charged for the service although an experimental
pricing formula will be introduced during 1995 to further test the
market. The consortium expects the venture to be fully commercial from
mid-1996.
8.2
Online Media, since its launch in July this year, has already had to
move into new offices to house its influx of staff − expected to be in
excess of 50 by January next year. Malcolm Bird says: “Cambridge is the
ideal base for a dynamic, high technology company such as ours. Here, we
are surrounded by companies offering complementary technologies, with
which we can form powerful partnerships.”
8.2
Online Media is a member of the Acorn Computer Group and has full
strategic backing from Acorn’s parent company, Olivetti. It has been
established to provide interactive multimedia products for the markets
emerging from the digital superhighway including: interactive
television, video on demand and networked multimedia. Exploiting
technologies developed by the Acorn Computer Group and Olivetti, Online
Media’s first product is an intelligent set-top box designed to connect
a home television to the information superhighway. Alongside hardware
products, the company offers authoring systems, services and consultancy
in service development, as well as other areas. All Online Media designs
are available under licence.  A
8.2
Alex Devries
8.2
new artwork
8.2
Computer Concepts
8.2
From 8.1 page 14
8.2
Multimedia Column
8.2
Paul Hooper
8.2
Langdale CD
8.2
Nearly a year ago, I saw the first version of this Genesis application,
and the full CD version has now landed on my desk. This contains nearly
100Mb of information and photographs of the Lake District and is priced
at £99 +VAT for a single user and £149 +VAT for a site licence.
8.2
The CD also contains a Windows version of the same material so that the
one disc will do for both the Acorn range and the PC but I have not
managed to get it working on a PC card.
8.2
Genesis Professional?
8.2
I have had a number of people writing or ringing me up in the last few
weeks reporting bugs in either Professional or Project. I would like to
collate a whole series of reports about any bugs that you have found in
these programs in the next few weeks so that I can see someone from Oak
Solutions at Acorn World. If you have come across any bugs that I
haven’t mentioned below, please do give me a ring as this will enable me
to try and duplicate them on my machine and get some sort of list
together.
8.2
Known bugs and features: Computer hangs when trying to copy word frames.
Background colour on frames is different from background colours on page
when the same colour is chosen. CSV files are no longer supported.
Shared resources are no longer easy to find.
8.2
I had a phone call the other night about the fuzziness displayed by
fonts when placed on a transparent background. The gist of the problem
is that if you create a frame in Genesis and then place some text in it,
you can get a fuzziness around the outside of the letters. This is not a
problem with Genesis but I think it is a problem with the settings on
the font manager. Being none too technical myself, I wonder if anyone
has any idea on how to cure this problem?
8.2
Foreign formats
8.2
I have a had quite a few letters from readers about using foreign format
files in multimedia programs and how to convert a Genesis or Key Author
application between the PC and an Acorn computer. The most frequently
asked question is, “Can you author a multimedia application on a Risc PC
in the Acorn environment and then convert it to a PC version in the same
box?” Well, the answer at the moment is that nobody I have talked to
seems to know! Acorn maintain it should be possible but Oak aren’t sure.
All we can do is wait for the PC chip to appear. As soon as it does,
then I will have a try. In the meantime, has anyone used a PC card in,
say, an A5000 to produce a PC version of either a Genesis or Key Author
application?
8.2
On the subject of foreign formats, there are a number of good PC PD
libraries around, and it is worth getting hold of their discs or even
better a printed catalogue of their material. Using !Translator, it is
fairly easy to covert pictures into sprites for inclusion in your own
applications. However, up to now, the conversion of sound samples has
been difficult. This has changed since the introduction of AudioWorks
from Computer Concepts. For most PC material, the standard format is
WAV, and if you want to convert it into Armadeus format, for Acorn
machines, just drop the sound sample onto the AudioWorks icon and save
out the new format.
8.2
To give you some idea of the possibilities, I have taken some material
from a PC CD and have constructed a quick Magpie application which will
be added to the Swap Shop Catalogue. On this month’s disc, is a small
version of the Swap Shop catalogue. If you want the full details, send a
disc to the address at the end of the article.
8.2
Key Author and foreign formats
8.2
Following on from the above, I have been chatting with Peter Stibbons at
Anglia TV regarding their attitude to foreign formats. Many of the CDs
that they produce now include foreign format material on the same disc.
All this is set to go to the next logical development. At the moment,
you can produce an Acorn format file and then, using the PC version of
the run file, you can run it on a PC, without any conversion at all,
within certain restrictions. One of the major problems of converting a
drawfile into something that a PC can interpret has been overcome. The
only restrictions now appear to be on font conversion and Ace films
which the PC can’t handle. The Ace problem is overcome by converting
them to either MPEG or Quicktime films. What’s more, they also appear to
have overcome the problem of using the same disc in a Mac. At the
present moment, you can only produce a CD which will work on a Mac and a
PC, or an Acorn and a PC, but I don’t think the day is far away when the
same Key Author CD can be read and played by all three machines. The
good thing about this is that the native format will be Acorn! All you
budding multimedia authors may very well be in demand because as far as
I know, there is no other machine or software that will be able to
duplicate this.
8.2
I hope to visit Anglia TV in the coming weeks and take a close look at
not only MPEG files running but also the whole of their set-up and I
will report back in the next issue of Archive.
8.2
The Swap Shop
8.2
Just days after I submitted the copy for last month’s issue, I was
inundated with applications! I received two Magpie binders from John
Pugh, one of our regular contributors. They are both aimed at National
Curriculum history topics: the Second World War and Britain from 1930-
60. Also, from South Australia, I have had two small Magpie binders, one
on the history of the Spitfire, and another on the Greek Language. Both
were created by Peter Russell of Memorial Oval Primary School.
8.2
Also added just in time for Christmas is a very good Genesis application
on Christmas Customs. This has extensive Maestro files of Christmas
Carols and looks at all our Christmas customs along with others from
around the world. If you want to order this one, either send me two
blank 800Kb discs or one 1.6Mb disc as this is a Genesis Professional
application which requires the new browser and GenLib.
8.2
I have also updated the ‘Churches’ application with a whole load of
sprite files of real churches and features. (I got a video camera for my
birthday!) However, the size has grown to nearly 1.4Mb in Genesis format
so you will require a machine that can read 1.6Mb discs. I have also
converted ‘Man in Space’ and ‘Advanced WIMP tutor’ to Magpie format.
8.2
At the moment, I am working on a binder on renewable energy that will be
available next month, but I am beginning to run out of subjects. To this
end, I would like to know what you would like to see as a multimedia
application. If you have any ideas, particularly if you have your own
art work, please do drop me a line with your suggestions.
8.2
I also noted the requests for beginners’ articles in the last magazine
along with help on Paint. We do have multimedia applications that can
help you out with these problems. WIMP tutor is designed to be used by
those with little or no experience on Acorn machines. We also have a
‘Paint Tutor’ and an ‘Advanced WIMP Tutor’ which goes into more detail
than the basic tutor. All these applications are free and come with a
reader to allow you to run them without access to any of the multimedia
programs.
8.2
The end bit
8.2
If you have any hints and tips or questions on multimedia, or if you
require a swap shop catalogue please write to: Paul Hooper, 11 Rochford
Road, Martham, Great Yarmouth NR29 4RL.  A
8.2
Oak
8.2
From 8.1 page 10
8.2
Risc PC Column
8.2
Keith Hodge
8.2
Monitors
8.2
Arthur Taylor has supplied a copy of his AKF85 monitor script which
works fine on my system, giving a very useful 1600×1200 in 256 colours
(pixel rate 155MHz, but you must have 2Mb VRAM). This throughput is at
the limit of the VIDC 20 specification, so you use it at your own risk.
However, having said that, it works fine for me, providing sufficient
screen width for two A4 pages side by side. Also provided is a 640×512
mode, which is chosen by the operating system, in preference to 640×480,
when modes 20 or 21 are chosen.
8.2
Software compatibility
8.2
I now have a module provided by Colton Software (via Gerald Fitton),
which allows FireWorkZ to display deep sprites. Please note that this
will only work on the Risc PC!
8.2
A number of people have written to report problems with FireWorkZ. This
does not, however, seem to be just on the Risc PC, so I have sent copies
to Gerald Fitton for his comments.
8.2
Likewise, a number of people have reported problems with WordWorks as
supplied with Impression Style. I now have Style at Version 3.04 (31
June 1994) and so far have not found any of the problems reported with
earlier versions.
8.2
Keith Gardener has sent a long letter in which he confirms reports that
have arrived from a number of contributors − namely that some Basic
programs which ran OK on the Archimedes, now fail to run, some reporting
‘no room for Function/Procedure call’ or ‘too many nested structures’,
etc. Most people report that enlarging the Wimp slot has cured the
problem for them. Why should this be?
8.2
Following on from this, one program which ran with 16Kb on the
Archimedes, required 20Kb to run and then reported ‘Missing Endcase’,
which was correct! I asked Matthew Hunter at NCS about these issues, and
this was his reply...
8.2
“Basic splits the memory allocated to it into three areas. At the lowest
available address is the program itself, immediately above it is some
workspace for arrays. Growing down from the top of the available memory
is the stack. This is used to store variables, procedure calls and other
nested structures. Due to the reduced page size on the Risc PC, a
program could be allocated as much as 28Kb less than on one of the
earlier machines although the figure is likely to be closer to 12Kb.
When a program first loads, there is very little space needed for the
stack so the program begins to run, as more variables are used and
procedures are called, the stack will grow until it tries to overwrite
the workspace, giving errors like those above. When increasing the
wimpslot, as a first estimate, round it up to the nearest multiple of
sixteen − this allocates more space to the stack, which should solve the
problems.
8.2
“I have also looked into the case of the ‘Missing Endcase’! By using a
quick program, I tested the operation of the CASE statement, but could
find no difference with the new version of Basic.
8.2
CASE c% OF
8.2
  WHEN 0 : PRINT “Case ending”:END
8.2
  WHEN 1 : PRINT “Oh Dear ”;
8.2
  WHEN 2 : PRINT “Case ending”
8.2
END
8.2
“Without knowing what the CASE statement was testing, I cannot be sure
but I suspect that an unexpected result occured. The above program will
report ‘Case ending’ with no errors for c%=0 and c%=2. It will report
‘Oh Dear Missing ENDCASE’ when c%=1, and simply ‘Missing ENDCASE’ for
any other value.”
8.2
Hardware and software news
8.2
I have now received my updated TurboDrivers for the Canon BJ230 (v4.00
17th-Aug 94) and can report that the combination of this plus Impression
Style and the Risc PC, produce printing at a speed and quality which
have to be seen to be believed. The average single page letter is now so
quick to render, that there is a pause of only about three seconds
before you have control back!
8.2
I have installed a Toshiba XM-3401B CD-ROM on my HCCS Ultimate SCSI
Micropodule and it performs well. (Ultimate v1.10, SCSI Driver v2.06,
SCSIFS v2.06, SCSIFiler v2.02, CDFSResources v2.20, CDFSdriver v2.20,
CDFS v2.20, CDFSFiler v2.20.)
8.2
Now I need the PC486 card with CD-ROM drivers so that I can use the new
CD-ROM RS Components Catalogue in the office! This will save vast
amounts of time and is, for me, the first sign that this format is
coming of age. It allows three A4 catalogues, which together are over
two inches thick, plus hundreds of data sheets, to be replaced by one
half full disc! The disc contains all the textual information, colour
illustrations, prices and quantity discounts, all the engineering
information sheets, generates and prints the order for you and allows
you to search for what you want, without wading though all that paper.
Brilliant!
8.2
The ARM Club have produced a most useful utility (Game On), which allows
games etc, which would not work, to operate successfully. I have sent a
copy of the freeware database of games with which it works to Paul for
inclusion on the monthly disc. I may have a review by next month.
8.2
Charles and Deborah Woodbridge have purchased a new HP LaserJet 4P to go
with their Risc PC and comment that, with the Acorn printer definition
file, the results are excellent and I can vouch for this as the prints
they sent are excellent.
8.2
Floppy drives
8.2
I have written to a number of the usual suppliers to see if any podules
for this are going to be produced but no replies have been received so
far.
8.2
Readers’ comments
8.2
From Jim Nottingham: “Having recently bought an Acorn AKF85 to go with a
Risc PC, I have to say that, after all the hype, I was a little
disappointed with its display quality in comparison with an Eizo F550i
I’ve been using on an A540. So I thought I’d see how the Eizo ran on the
Risc PC, using the standard 9-pin lead with a 9/15-pin adaptor from NCS.
8.2
“The book says for an alternative (i.e. non-Acorn) monitor, set ‘Auto’
in the Screen configuration under Monitor type. Result? Nothing.
However, after a little trial and error, I found that by making the Eizo
think it was an Acorn monitor by setting ‘AKF85’, it works a treat with
a noticeably sharper display than the actual AKF85. This dodge may work
for other ‘foreign’ monitors.”
8.2
From Stuart Bell (edited): “Clearly, the issue of compatibility with the
Risc PC will be important for those with older Acorn machines who expect
eventually to upgrade their machine. Will it have an effect on their
purchase decisions before they upgrade? And, how will existing equipment
perform on the new platform?”
8.2
I think that Stuart is worried that his investment in accessories for
the Archimedes will be wasted. However, I feel that you only have to
look at the Acorn ‘BBC Master’ which is still widely used, years after
it went into production, to realise that the Archimedes probably has ten
or more years of life left in it, and that there will still be a healthy
market in second hand add ons for some time yet.
8.2
Requests for help
8.2
This is also from Jim Nottingham (of scanner article fame): “Has anybody
managed to get an AKF85 or other monitor to work from the Risc PC, using
the BNC connectors? Neither my AKF85 nor my Eizo F550i seem to want to
play. I am using what is listed as a standard PS/2 monitor lead, with
BNC plugs at one end and a 15-pin plug at the other.”
8.2
Alan Wilburn is looking for a monitor script for a Taxan 770+. Can
anybody help please?
8.2
Can all the people who discover why their programs are failing under
RISC OS 3.50/Basic v1.06, pass the information on to me, so that it can
be compiled into a list please?
8.2
Gripe of the month
8.2
I am starting to get letters from people who have put their cheques up
front to order a ACB45 and who are still waiting for it to arrive months
later. Where are the machines Acorn?
8.2
Question of the month
8.2
(1) Do Basic programs running as desktop applications and using template
files, require more space under RISC OS 3.50. And if so why?
8.2
(2) Has anybody else suffered the problem reported by Tony Stevens, that
some drawfiles from PD sources bomb out with the error message ‘Path
contains an invalid tag at location 16_nnnn’?
8.2
Tailpiece
8.2
Will ‘Herbert’ who’s material about mice I used in the September Risc PC
Column please write, as I have lost your address!
8.2
And finally, I have now purchased a copy of Impression Style, so I can
take copy for the column in any of the following formats: Impression,
PipeDream, WordZ, FireWorkZ and Text.
8.2
Thank you to all the readers who have enclosed a stamp for my replies to
their letters. (Please remember that Keith does this for love, not
money! Ed.)
8.2
As usual, I can be contacted by letter at the HES address on the back
page, by telephone after 7p.m. or by Packet Radio from anywhere in the
world, as GW4NEI@GB7OAR.#16.GBR.EU.  A
8.2
Risc-DOS Column
8.2
Simon Coulthurst
8.2
It appears that the earliest anyone is likely to see a co-processor card
is at the Acorn World Show. Even then they are unlikely to be on sale. I
understand that the ASIC (the clever chip that does all the hard work
arbitrating between the two different architectures) is taking longer
than expected to produce. It is hoped to have the first, limited,
production run a few days before the show. This being the case, I have
written this month’s article as a (hopefully ex) Windows and DOS users
first impression of the new Risc PC.
8.2
A new toy
8.2
As I write, I am sitting in front of a brand spanking new Risc PC. It
arrived in two boxes. One containing the computer − fairly manageable.
The other containing the 17“ monitor − instant back-strain. I followed
my usual course of action when faced with any new item of an electronic
nature. I unpacked it, plugged all the cables into the most likely
looking sockets and switched on. Luckily, and it speaks volumes for the
ease of use and logical design of the Risc PC, everything worked first
time and I was soon presented with the RISC OS desktop.
8.2
After an initial go at configuring the computer to my liking, I
proceeded to install my core suite of software. These are the three
basic pieces of software I need on any computer. Word processor,
spreadsheet and database. Not having any experience on an Archimedes
since the earliest Arthur OS version, I was a little out of touch.
Fortunately(!), my Risc PC had been on order for approaching three
months, so I had had plenty of time to study magazine reviews. I was
certain which word processor I wanted − Impression Publisher. It
consistently features in magazines and has the greatest level of support
from third parties.
8.2
The choice of spreadsheet was a little more complex, but following a
couple of positive reviews for the new Schema 2, my choice was made, it
has full macro facilities, something I consider essential in a
spreadsheet.
8.2
The choice of database has been harder. Despite several reviews in the
Acorn press, I am still undecided. I currently have Impact Pro and
Squirrel 2 on my hard disc and whilst both have their strengths and
weaknesses, neither is perfect. There again what software package is? I
am also going to look at DataPower and S-Base 2. I am sure, one of them
will be suitable for my purpose.
8.2
After a few days, the 17“ monitor, in a 1024×768 by 256 colour mode, had
my new desktop proudly displayed. The applications and utilities I had
chosen to appear on the iconbar after start up were all in their proper
places. These are FontDir, Printers (for my LaserJet 4), ArcFax and
Dustbin − on the left hand side and Edit, Keystroke, ImpactPro, Schema 2
and Impression Publisher on the right hand side. It looks good, or to
quote from The Mask, “reallyyyy smokinnnn!”.
8.2
Risc PC versus Windows PC
8.2
But, how does it compare to the Windows PC I had been using? You may
remember I have a well specified 66MHz 486DX2 with 16Mb RAM with an
accelerated (S3 super VGA) display driving a large screen monitor. My
Risc PC is an ACB45 (two slices, 8Mb RAM and 1Mb video RAM), to which
I’ve added a further 16Mb RAM SIMM − taking total memory to 25Mb (don’t
forget the Risc PC will use any spare video RAM as ordinary RAM). You
may wonder why I have chosen to have so much RAM on a system that works
well with 8Mb. I intend to do some photo processing at a later stage,
once I have decided upon the most suitable software (PhotoDesk sounds
favourite at the moment, although I intend to have a look at as many as
possible at the Acorn World show). I also believe I will need a large
quantity of RAM in order to get Windows running when the co-processor
card arrives.
8.2
Although Microsoft claims that you only need 4Mb to run Windows, my own
experience shows that you need at least 8Mb and preferably 16Mb in order
to get anything like reasonable performance, whilst running two or more
software packages. On top of the Windows requirement, there will also be
some memory required for the video display and running the RISC OS
desktop. My own feeling is that you will need at least 16Mb if you wish
to multitask between RISC OS software and Windows software. And,
finally, as already mentioned above, I like all my main applications to
be loaded on the iconbar from the minute I switch on.
8.2
My initial reaction is that the Risc PC feels faster than my Windows PC
in most respects. The screen updating, the way windows are moved around
in real time, the loading of graphics into Impression all convey a
feeling of smooth sophistication that is somehow lacking in my Windows
PC. Not everything is as wonderful, however. Printing seems to take a
long time. I have ordered the Ace Pro Drivers, and will see what
difference these make once they arrive and I have had a chance to set
them up. (I’ll send you a CC Turbo Driver, Simon so you can compare that
as well. Ed.) I was expecting more in the way of crashes than I have so
far experienced. Maybe I am lucky, but the few problems I have had have
all been as a result of using incompatible programs, often older
software from PD or magazine discs. The main applications I have used
have all been remarkably stable − notably more so than my Windows PC
applications.
8.2
Like a duck to water, I found the operation of the RISC OS desktop
fairly easy to pick up. There are one or two differences from Windows,
the most obvious one being the use of a three button mouse and the
middle ‘menu’ key instead of the menu bar at the top of each application
window. At first I found I was moving the mouse up to the top of the
window and had to remind myself to use the middle button. But within a
couple of days I was using my middle finger like a natural. It is a
definite improvement once you get used to it − the menu is always
context-sensitive and appears right where you want it to. Context-
sensitive menus have only just been discovered fairly recently, on an
application by application basis using the right hand mouse button, in
Windows. In RISC OS, this means that valuable screen space is not taken
up by the menu bar. I still find it hard to operate the Adjust button
with my third finger, especially when double-clicking to open a
directory so that the parent directory closes. (That’s interesting! I
hold the mouse between thumb and third finger and then move my middle
finger across between menu and adjust. I wonder what other people do?
Ed.)
8.2
I’ve had the Risc PC for a few weeks now and I’m delighted with it! It’s
everything I had expected from reading Acorn’s promotional material and
the reviews in various magazines.
8.2
Chicago, Chicago, wherefore art thou...
8.2
Chicago or Windows95 as it is to be known, probably, will not see the
light of day before next summer. All Microsoft will say is ‘some time in
the first half of the year’. Why should I, or anyone else, be interested
in Chicago? Well, if one is interested in the 486 co­processor, it must
be in order to run DOS and/or Windows software. Windows95 is a full 32-
bit operating system that will work on 386 or higher processors only,
and so will cure all the memory problems of DOS. Or will it?
8.2
Using Windows95 to run 32-bit software will certainly bring an end to
the 640Kb DOS memory limit within Windows. If you are going to be
running any ‘older’ Windows or DOS programs that rely on software
drivers loaded by autoexec.bat or config.sys, you may still have
problems. The reason is, that in order to remain compatible, Microsoft
have had to keep autoexec.bat and config.sys as the means for loading
some older drivers − programs expect to find them there and often load
their own drivers there as part of their installation process. Most of
the large software companies, the likes of Novell, Symantec etc, will be
releasing 32-bit device drivers for the new Windows95. But until they
do, if the particular driver you rely upon comes from a less expeditious
company or the program is no longer supported, you will still find
yourself having to play the memory management game.
8.2
And finally...
8.2
I am going to the Acorn World Show on Friday 28th October and hope to
get my first look at and, if I can be persuasive enough, my first try of
the co-processor. Following this, I hope to get my hands on one of the
first cards to be released. This being the case, I may well have
something more concrete to report about in the next issue. Until then,
good computing!  A
8.2
ColourPicker in RISC OS 3.5
8.2
Elliott Hughes
8.2
Those who have used a Risc PC may have noticed that Draw now supports
24 bit colour. The format of the drawfile has always allowed it to
represent true colour, but Draw originally only allowed the user to
choose an 8-bit colour.
8.2
When I first saw the new colour selection dialogue boxes (in chapter 6,
“Using colour in applications”, of the Risc PC’s user guide), I assumed
that these new dialogues would be available to users of the latest
RISC_OSLib only. Tired of waiting for both the new volume of the PRM and
the new C/C++ compiler, I noticed that, as well as “Colour Selector
1.61” (ColourTrans), RISC OS 3.5 has a module “Colour Picker 0.15”
(ColourPicker).
8.2
Using the information in OSLib, written by Jonathan Coxhead of Acorn, I
was able to work out enough to add ColourPicker dialogue boxes to my own
programs. OSLib is copyright Acorn Computers, but is not an official
Acorn product. For information on getting a copy of OSLib, see the end
of this article.
8.2
Introduction
8.2
ColourPicker allows a program to offer a dialogue from which the user
can choose a palette entry using any available colour model. The program
can then use ColourTrans to calculate the best colour .
8.2
An application using ColourPicker does not need to know anything about
colour models or the capabilities of the current screen mode.
ColourPicker is capable of responding to requests for interactive help.
8.2
Overview
8.2
As with ColourTrans, the term ‘palette entry’ refers to “a word that
contains a description of a physical colour in red, green and blue
levels”. A colour model is a way in which the user can specify colour.
The three models built into RISC OS 3.5 are RGB, CMYK and HSV. (These
are explained in both Risc PC and Impression user guides.)
8.2
Two SWIs allow colour models to be registered and deregistered with
ColourPicker.
8.2
Four SWIs allow the application to open, close, update and read a
ColourPicker dialogue.
8.2
Other SWIs allow the application to pass requests for interactive help
to ColourPicker and to interface new colour models to the ColourPicker
front end.
8.2
ColourPicker_OpenDialogue   (SWI &47702)
8.2
Creates and opens a colour picker dialogue
8.2
On entry
8.2
  R0 = flags
8.2
    bit 0 set − dialogue is transient
8.2
    bit 1 set − dialogue hangs off a menu
8.2
  R1 = pointer to block containing information about the dialogue
8.2
The format of the block passed is as follows:
8.2
  +0  flags:  bit 0 set − offer the user the None    icon for
transparent colour
8.2
      bit 1 set − use the transparent     colour as the initial
selection
8.2
      (there may be others, but they    haven’t been discovered)
8.2
  +4  pointer to zero-terminated title of dialogue box
8.2
  +8  min. x
8.2
  +12  min. y
8.2
  +16  max. x
8.2
  +20  max. y
8.2
    These give the initial position of the dialogue box. Only min. x and
max. y seem to be used. They give the position of the top-left corner of
the dialogue box.
8.2
  +24  x scroll offset − no idea when it’s used
8.2
  +28  y scroll offset − no idea when it’s used
8.2
  +32  palette entry of colour selected initially (if bit 1 of +0 isn’t
set)
8.2
  +36  size − no idea what it represents
8.2
  +40  colour model number of initial colour model:  0    RGB
8.2
        1    CMYK
8.2
        2    HSV
8.2
This SWI is used to initiate the colour selection. The ColourPicker
module takes over and keeps in touch by sending messages to your task.
The two most important are Message_ColourPickerColourChoice (&47700) and
Message_ColourPickerCloseDialogueRequest (&47702).
8.2
Message_ColourPickerColourChoice
8.2
(Message &47700)
8.2
This message indicates that the OK button has been clicked to accept the
current colour. The message data is as follows:
8.2
  +20  1 ⇨ transparent selected
8.2
    0 ⇨ colour selected
8.2
  +24  palette entry of colour selected (if +20 is 0)
8.2
When this message arrives, the dialogue box dismisses itself. You need
only take whatever action is relevant to your application (and wait for
the next message to arrive).
8.2
Message_ColourPickerCloseDialogueRequest
8.2
(Message &47702)
8.2
This message indicates that either the OK button has been clicked (and
you’ve already been told about the colour selected) or that ColourPicker
wants its dialogue box removed (perhaps because Cancel has been
clicked). To respond, call SWI ColourPicker_CloseDialogue with R1 =
contents of the 20th byte of the message block.
8.2
ColourPicker_CloseDialogue
8.2
(SWI &47703)
8.2
Closes a colour picker dialogue which is in progress.
8.2
On entry:
8.2
  R0 = flags − use unknown
8.2
  R1 = pointer to block containing information about the dialogue
8.2
This SWI is used to remove a colour picker dialogue box.
8.2
Conclusion
8.2
The RISC OS 3.5 ColourPicker is a promising step forwards. By providing
the code to implement RGB, CMYK and HSV colour selection (and the
possibility of adding new models), Acorn is making it easy to provide a
consistent and appropriate user interface. It’s possible that Computer
Concepts will find an excuse to be different − they often do!
8.2
I think I’ll go and look at Wimp_TextOp next. I’m sick of the system
font.
8.2
Getting hold of OSLib
8.2
OSLib is “a set of functions and C headers to provide complete coverage
of the RISC OS application programmer’s interface in C”. The author
claims it provides “a very convenient interface to the RISC OS
programmer, since all the facilities of the compiler that is currently
being used are available to catch errors. It is conceptually very small,
in that it is completely documented by [a readme file] and the PRM. As a
bonus, code written using it is smaller and runs faster than code
written using other means”.
8.2
I’d go along with that, and suggest that anyone writing for RISC OS in C
or assembler should get themselves a copy. It’s easier to write style
guide compliant applications with OSLib than with RISC_OSLib, which is a
poor reflection on RISC_OSLib. Maybe with the new compiler...
8.2
OSLib is available via anonymous ftp from micros.hensa.ac.uk. If you
have a WWW client, you can also try http://micros.hensa.ac.uk/. OSLib is
quite large, but it may even be available from some of the PD
libraries.  A
8.2
Dalriada
8.2
new artwork
8.2
LOOKSystems
8.2
new artwork
8.2
LOOKSystems
8.2
new artwork
8.2
DocLine
8.2
Gerald Fitton
8.2
As Gerald will explain, he is changing the direction of his regular
(and, I must say, much valued) articles. The new name is meant to be an
abbreviation for “Document Preparation Line” − the best description that
we could find for the general area that he is going to cover. Ed.
8.2
I know of half a dozen people who can produce all the documents they
want with no more software than that excellent wordprocessor Wordwise.
Our editor is familiar with that package and has produced many excellent
booklets explaining how to make best use of it. (Sadly they are all out
of print now. Ed.) The hardware used by these half dozen acquaintances
is a 32Kb BBC Model B computer which they bought ten or twelve years ago
together with a printer such as the dot matrix FX80 − a machine which
went out of production in the mid 1980s.
8.2
Most of us who read Archive, even if we know of Wordwise, will not be
using that combination of software and hardware (though I have a recent
letter which extols the virtues using Wordwise on the Archimedes as an
intermediate format for ‘porting’ documents from one platform to
another); probably we’ve got a combination of such packages as Artworks,
PipeDream and Impression Style and hardware which contains the
RISC OS 3.1 operating system as ROM.
8.2
In the next few months, I would like to consider why people upgrade from
one hardware/software system to another. I’m going to explore that with
you and, I hope, help you to rationalise your strategy for hardware and
software upgrades. I shall concentrate on those hardware/software
systems for which the first use is document production.
8.2
Within my definition of document, I include spreadsheets, letters,
invoices, and those documents which might be described under headings of
DTP and drawfiles. I specifically exclude games, program development,
and hardware and software that are used for musical or mechanical
purposes. I shall cover any kind of document production hardware and
software; I shall concentrate on looking at how such a system appears to
the user and buyer.
8.2
PipeLineZ to DocLine
8.2
In the last edition of Archive, there was a comment that, although the
contents of PipeLineZ often contains material which would interest ‘non-
Coltonites’, it is difficult to persuade those who don’t have PipeDream
or Fireworkz to read it! The editor’s suggestion is that it might be a
good idea to change the name. I agree!
8.2
In fact, about one third of my Archive generated correspondence is from
‘non-Coltonites’ and much of that correspondence is of great interest to
me, is complimentary towards PipeLineZ and is of great general value. I
would like to include more of such correspondence in Archive. My opening
paragraphs and the change of title this month is intended to catch your
attention and persuade you ‘non-Coltonites’ that this column is worth
reading even if Colton Software’s products do feature heavily herein.
8.2
Before I launch into my main topic for this month, there are a few
hangovers from past volumes of Archive which need mentioning. Even there
you’ll find parts of interest to ‘non-Coltonites’ which introduce my
main theme for this month.
8.2
Stamps
8.2
The following is part of a letter I received from Mr A G Rimmer. The
programs which he mentions are on the Archive monthly disc.
8.2
“Since receiving your letter, I have bought a copy of Fireworkz, and
enclose on disc a copy of a program to choose the minimum number of
stamps for any given postage amount (assuming that all the current
values of stamps − or at least those listed in your April contribution
to Archive − are available). I also include an improved version of a
Basic program that does the same thing − but faster!
8.2
“I recently got PipeDream 3 free from Risc User on paying for a year’s
subscription to their monthly disc. It seems to have the advantage over
Fireworkz that, by using its own printer-driver, you can print letters,
etc, much more quickly on a dot-matrix printer as compared to the
painfully slow graphics printing using !Printers. However, for my
letters, I use DeskEdit with a text-only printer-driver.”
8.2
In an earlier letter, Mr Rimmer sent me a PipeDream solution which he
created using PD3 (but which ‘works’ in PD4) − that, too, I include in
the Stamps directory of the Archive monthly disc.
8.2
Mr Rimmer uses a range of software from Basic to DeskEdit, choosing the
package most suitable for the application he is working on. In line with
the philosophy which I wish to promote, he has my encouragement to
continue with this strategy.
8.2
Cross checks
8.2
I have received a great deal of correspondence on this subject since I
mentioned it. Essentially, a cross check is a tactic for ensuring that a
spreadsheet hasn’t made an error. The method is to use the same data for
two different sets of calculations which are designed to give identical
answers only if there are no mistakes. One problem with binary
arithmetic (to which I have referred in an earlier Archive PipeLineZ
article) is that most decimal values are truncated and hence stored as
approximations, and as a result of this truncation, the two calculated
results which should be identical are, more often than not, only
approximately equal. An obvious cross check, testing for exact equality,
may fail even when there is nothing wrong with the spreadsheet. This is
not a characteristic peculiar to the products of Colton Software. The
effect can be reproduced with other spreadsheets (as my non-Coltonite
correspondents have delighted in telling me) as well as in something as
basic as Basic.
8.2
At this stage I must record my thanks to Denis Howard for the
inspiration which has led eventually to the formula which, between us,
we developed for checking if two values are ‘near enough’ the same. I
have included on the Archive disc a directory called CrossCheck which
contains files in PipeDream 4 format. These files will load into
Fireworkz. For those of you using a different spreadsheet package the
solution is contained in the following lines which are in the form of a
PipeDream or Fireworkz custom function:
8.2
...function(“same_number”,“first:number”, “second: number”)
8.2
...result(if(abs(@first-@second)/(@first+ @second)<(1e-
16),“OK”,“Error”))
8.2
What this formula does is to find the ratio of the difference to the sum
of the two ‘equal’ numbers. If we call the ‘equal’ numbers x and y then
we calculate the absolute value of (x − y)/(x + y). We use this ratio,
rather than just the value of  (x − y), so that we can make allowances
for ‘large’ and ‘small’ values of x and y. We find the absolute value so
that we can ‘get rid’ of negative values. Then we compare this ratio
with the small positive number 0.000 000 000 000 000 1. If the ratio is
smaller than this small number, x and y are ‘near enough equal’ for
there to be no errors in the spreadsheet.
8.2
By the way, PipeDream text files (such as the [ReadMe] explanation of
the way in which this Cross Check works) will load into Edit. If you
have RISC OS 3, the easiest method of loading almost anything into Edit
is to hold down <shift> and double-click on the file.
8.2
PipeDream to Psion
8.2
If you have problems porting files to and from the Psion, the files on
the Archive disc in the directory PD/Psion will be of interest to you.
The ‘conversion’ process mentions Lotus and other ‘foreign’ formats so
it is not a PipeDream only article. Although Ian Williamson uses
PipeDream files for his example, if you write to him he’ll do his best
to explain ‘how to do it’ with other format files. His address is in the
PipeDream format [ReadMe] file on the Archive monthly disc. Load it into
Edit if you don’t have PipeDream.
8.2
Computer systems
8.2
Now to the first part of a series which I will develop during the next
few issues of Archive, namely the way in which you can rationalise your
strategy for upgrading your computer system. I hope that through this
series of articles, you will benefit from my personal experience of
upgrading in the same way that I have benefited from comments made to me
by other people.
8.2
It seems a long time ago but I suppose it can’t be more than 15 years
ago (1982, wasn’t it? Only 12 years! Ed.) that I bought an Acorn BBC
model B microcomputer. It had no hard disc, no printer and the TV
doubled as a monitor! Now I have an A540 (before the Risc PCs appeared,
this was the ‘top of the range’ machine) and one of the first A440
models to be produced (don’t confuse my A440 with the later A440/1 etc
series). I shall buy a Risc PC later when I can (a) afford it and (b)
justify the expenditure!
8.2
Let’s start with some general principles. Firstly, think in terms of the
whole system rather than just the ‘computer’ box. By this, I mean think
of the monitor and printer (and even your ‘software’ packages) as
upgradable parts of your overall system. My first message to you is that
a good printer and a good monitor both make up a substantial proportion
of the overall cost of your system so thinking about what you want is at
least as important as thinking about the ‘computer’ box.
8.2
Let’s start with a general discussion of printers, using it as an
example of the ‘right’ way to think about upgrades.
8.2
Printers
8.2
My first printer was a 9-pin Epson FX 80 and (important to my
discussion) it cost as much as the BBC B computer. I bought it before I
upgraded from cassette to a floppy disc drive. However, that printer saw
me through an upgrade to a BBC Master computer (as did the disc drive)
and I used it with the A440 Archimedes for a year or two before
relegating it to a tractor feed label printer. There is no doubt in my
mind that the FX 80, although one of the more expensive printers at the
time, was better value for money than was my BBC B computer. This is not
to say that the BBC B was not good value; it was good value. The FX 80
was even better value because it saw me through three computers: the
BBC B, Master and A440.
8.2
My second printer was an Epson GQ 3500 bought over five years ago. It is
a laser printer and produces better quality at 300 dpi than the 9-pin
FX80 ever could. It still exists but I’ve ‘lent’ it to my son for use
with his 486 PC; I used it for quite a while, both with my A400 and then
with my A540. If I still had it, I would be using it now and I would be
using it with my Risc PC (the one I haven’t bought yet). Once again,
that printer cost as much as an Archimedes computer but it saw use with
two (A440 and A540) and is still going strong now with a third computer.
Let me repeat (in the hope of convincing you) that buying a good printer
is a ‘better’ or longer term investment than buying a good computer such
as the Archimedes A540.
8.2
I am not yet convinced about the printer I’m currently using. It is of
the colour inkjet type. The model is the Integrex ColourJet Series 2
which has a resolution of 300 dpi like the laser printer. (It does not
produce quite as good an image − but it’s pretty close.) The Integrex is
an HP 500C compatible which I bought for two reasons. One is that I
wanted to experiment with colour and the other is that I often print one
or two labels at a time on an A4 sheet of 18 labels. With the laser
printer, I was using a page worth of toner for a couple of labels; with
the inkjet I use only the ink needed to produce the label − so it works
out to be a little more economical than the laser. Nevertheless, I
expect that the Integrex will see me through at least two upgrades to my
‘main’ computer hardware and, at much less than the cost of a computer,
it is still a better investment than the A540 which (currently) outputs
to it.
8.2
I hope you will have gathered, from the examples I have quoted for
Printers (as part of an upgradable computer system), that it is not just
the cost of an item which is important but you also have to judge how
far into the future it’s going to last. Whether a piece of hardware − or
for that matter, software − is a good investment must include a
(difficult to estimate) time element. I hope that this series of
articles will help not only Coltonites wondering about upgrading to
Fireworkz but also non-Coltonites wondering about − let’s say −
monitors!
8.2
Monitors
8.2
The technical considerations of choosing a new monitor have been covered
in earlier issues of Archive but I hope that you’ll agree (when you’ve
read it) that what I have to say complements those articles rather than
reiterates the information therein.
8.2
Back to my personal history. I soon replaced the TV, which I used for
the BBC B, with a proper monitor. It was one of the Microvitec series
but I can’t remember which one. At the time, it cost about the same as
the BBC B had cost me but it served me well with the Master I bought to
replace the BBC B and is still working well as part of the system which
I passed on to a friend.
8.2
I bought my A440 with one of the Acorn cheaper ‘standard’ monitors but I
soon bought a multiple scan rate monitor (often referred to as a
‘multisync’) to replace it. The multisync I bought is the Eizo 9070S 17“
Flexscan which, although unused, was available at about half price
because it was soon to be replaced with a later model! Nevertheless, the
Eizo cost me about the same as the computer hardware currently being
sold by Acorn.
8.2
I am still using that Eizo now with my A540. In the main I use it in
mode 102. This is a ‘special’ mode provided in software by Atomwide as
part of their !VIDCmodes and !VIDCplus utilities which is available on
NCS Utils Disc Nº1. Let me say more about mode 102 since it is relevant
to the specifications of current (and future) monitors. I make no
apology for referring to PipeDream documents in my discussion because,
even if you don’t have PipeDream, by thinking “Edit” instead, I’m sure
that you’ll get my point.
8.2
The Atomwide mode 102 allows me to use PipeDream documents which are 136
system font characters wide without any of the document disappearing off
screen. The ‘depth’ (or should it be the height) of the screen allows 50
(system font) lines of any PipeDream document to be displayed. This is
almost twice as ‘wide’ and twice as ‘deep’ as a mode 12 screen (the
mode 12 screen will display − in system font − a PipeDream document
which is 72 characters wide and 26 lines deep). You will see that the
‘area’ of the desktop displayed in mode 102 is about four times that of
a mode 12 screen.
8.2
This large desktop area is the biggest single benefit I have gained from
using a multisync monitor. The ‘old’ standard 14“ monitor might have
been OK under the Arthur (single-tasking) operating system but, once it
became possible to put many windows on the screen and to have more than
one application running and to have transfers of data from one (say
Draw) to another (say Impression), then a bigger desk top area was not a
luxury but a necessity.
8.2
Although the Eizo 9070S is no longer available, I expect that I would be
able to use it with my Risc PC (when I buy it). I don’t expect to
transfer the Eizo to the Risc PC because I shall probably buy a new
monitor with that machine and keep the A540 and Eizo as my second
machine.
8.2
Buying a monitor
8.2
I recommend that you do not buy a ‘standard’ (fixed frequency) SVGA
monitor but a multisync. This is because the SVGA standard won’t last
into the future as well as a good multisync will. Generally, if you buy
a good 17“ multisync monitor now then it should last you through at
least two computer upgrades. (This is true even if you were to change to
a Windows PC machine where the SVGA standard is seriously obsolescent
and where sales of multisync monitors are on the rise). I know that a
17” multisync costs more than a ‘standard’ monitor (or an SVGA monitor
for that matter) but I do recommend it to you on the basis that it will
be a good investment − indeed, if I had the choice of buying either a
good 17“ multisync or upgrading from, say, an A5000 to the Risc PC as an
investment in future-proofing, I’d buy the multisync!
8.2
If I were a ‘normal’ user with a good multisync, then I would register
as an ‘Acorn Enthusiast’; that registration would entitle me to order a
Risc PC computer without a monitor at a reduced price − I would use the
Eizo with the Risc PC.
8.2
So what is a ‘good’ multisync? I’ve already told you what I think is the
major advantage of using a multisync; it is that you have a larger
desktop area. It is possible to create large desktop area modes for use
with a standard 14“ monitor but, with such a monitor, this larger area
will be of no use to you. This is not just because everything is smaller
(after all you could get closer to the screen) but because the screen
itself doesn’t contain enough dots per inch to resolve the fine detail
your larger area mode has created.
8.2
With a standard 14“ monitor, you might try the Acorn mode 35. It doesn’t
really show you what I mean but it’s a step in the direction of
enlarging the desktop area (in !Edit) from 80×32 system font characters
to 96×36 (about 20% increase in each direction). If you have the
Computer Concepts !NewModes (supplied with Impression) then you can try
their mode 90 which gives a desktop area of 160×64 system font
characters. I find it unreadable when I try it on my A440 with a
‘standard’ 14” monitor because the dpi resolution of the monitor won’t
cope with the fine detail created by the software.
8.2
What size?
8.2
If you are serious about CAD or DTP and really need a very large desktop
area, you might consider buying a 20“ monitor. At present, the prices
are, in my opinion, rather high for non professional use (but see my
comment in a later paragraph). I don’t recommend 15” because the
improvement is minimal. Much more affordable, and a good compromise
between cost and ‘the best’ is a 17“ multisync. With a 17” monitor you
will, like me, be able to use a desktop area of about twice (in both
directions) that of mode 12. I would have liked just a fraction more so
that I could fit two 72 character wide PipeDream documents side by side.
I’ve been told by an ‘expert’ that mode 102 is about as far as it is
safe to go with a 17“ monitor. The expert I consulted understands the
fine detail of the technical articles recently published in Archive − so
I believe him.
8.2
Line scan rates
8.2
Understanding what is a good range of line scan rates is usually
presented as a difficult problem and one difficult to resolve. Let me
tell you why and then I’ll tell you my views. The old BBC B was designed
to use a TV as a monitor so that the line scan rate was about 15kHz
(about 15000 lines per second). The modes used by the BBC B are
available on the Archimedes. For technical and marketing reasons (Yes!
It’s the IBM PC syndrome again!) nearly all the better multisync
monitors have a minimum line scan rate of about twice this, 30kHz. The
consequence is that you can’t actually use mode 12 with a monitor having
a 30kHz+ line scan rate unless you cheat and fool your system into
believing that it has to scan twice as fast as it needs to. This is
effected with software such as that which used to be provided by
Atomwide as !VIDC but is now available from NCS on Utilities Disc Nº 1.
8.2
Here is my view. If you buy a multisync, it is unlikely that you will
want to use these 15kHz modes except for running a few special (old)
packages. I suggest that you get the !VIDC software for those few
occasions when you might need a 15kHz mode and forget all about
including low scan rates in your specification. Think of future-
proofing. If you use old software which needs these low modes (for
applications other than document production) then think about upgrading
the software!
8.2
Frame refresh rates
8.2
If you have RISC OS 3.1, you will find that the modes included by Acorn
run at 50Hz (50 frames per second), 60Hz, 64Hz and 70Hz. The Video
Electronics Standards Association (VESA) have studied the phenomenon of
flicker (see last month’s Archive article in the Risc PC Column) and
they recommend that monitors be constructed using phosphors which
persist for a length of time which requires (and thus implies) a minimum
frame refresh rate of 72Hz. Because of this, I would expect that 72Hz
will become a minimum standard for any future extension of Acorn’s
modes.
8.2
I have been told that the standard for digital television is to be
100Hz, so I would expect many more monitors having frame refresh rates
of 100Hz than there are at present to come on the market soon. In the
Windows PC market, refresh rates up to 100Hz are being discussed
regularly.
8.2
Yes! In spite of my proclaimed naivety, I do know that video memory and
video bandwidth come into the equation, but the thrust of my article is
future-proofing so I say “Let’s assume that video memory and video
bandwidth will increase − have we bought a monitor which will take
advantage of these advances in video memory and bandwidth when they
appear?”
8.2
Perhaps a more important consideration is that digital television
technology will use computer video memory and monitor technology rather
than the current analogue circuitry. It seems certain now that Acorn
have an eye on this market with their MPEG second processor board and
new multimedia offshoot. If so, then new Acorn modes are likely to have
a 100Hz refresh rate. Having said all this, I hope you’ll see why my
recommendation to you is that you buy a 17“ monitor which will run at a
100Hz refresh rate (and more) if you want it to be an investment for the
future.
8.2
My recommendation
8.2
I have looked at the specifications of what is available at the moment
in 17“ monitors even though I haven’t bought one yet. The Idek Iiyama
Visionmaster 17 is the only one I have discovered so far that has a
refresh rate of 100Hz when running with the largest desktop area
currently usable on a 17”. Others (I don’t see them in the NCS
catalogue) will run at 100Hz but only with a reduced area. The
implication of this 100Hz at a large desktop area is that there is a
margin for even larger desktop area modes at lower refresh rates if
appropriate software (and internal hardware) is forthcoming from the
likes of Acorn or Atomwide.
8.2
This Idek monitor has a dot pitch of 0.26 mm, which is about the
smallest (best) available on other monitors − because of this, I would
expect that the resolution of the large desktop area would be good (i.e.
not grainy) to look at. It is by no means the most expensive of monitors
− in fact it is cheaper than many. NCS are selling it at about £694
inclusive. You may be able to get one at somewhere between £550 and £650
if you shop around but remember that part of the price charged by NCS is
built in to provide you with service if you have a bad experience. One
of the things I tell my students at College is that I would never buy
insurance from a company that sells it so cheaply that it can’t make a
fair profit! You get one guess at why.
8.2
If you are buying a Risc PC from NCS then, for an extra £400, they will
provide this Idek instead of the Acorn 14“ AKF60. If you directly
compare this Idek with the Acorn 17” AFK85, you will find that the dot
pitch of the Idek is slightly smaller (good), that the scan rate range
is larger at both ends (good − 23.5kHz to 85kHz) and that the refresh
rate (nominally 50Hz to 120Hz) range is the same.
8.2
Finally, if you have an extra £1850 to spend (over and above the
standard-Risc-PC-with-14“-monitor price) when buying your Risc PC, you
can consider the Idek MF-8621. This is the matching 21” model and is
something to save up for! There is also an MT-9121 model mentioned on
page 6 of last month’s Archive which is £260 cheaper. It has a slightly
larger dot pitch but the scan rate range is better (23.5−92kHz), as are
the frame refresh rates (50−160Hz). Altogether a very impressive
sounding monitor.
8.2
I know I ‘ought’ to buy the 21“ model because, in spite of the extra
money, I’m sure it is a good investment that would see me through into
using my Risc PC (and later ‘computer type’ hardware) as a terminal for
the proposed multimedia information super highway. I don’t think I can
raise the cash but this must not deter me from recommending it to you if
you feel that you want to buy the best monitor and one that will last
you through your next three (rather than two) computer upgrades.
8.2
In conclusion
8.2
So I’ve made a start on my new look column. I know that in my quest to
help you develop a strategy for upgrading your system, I’ve concentrated
on monitors this month. I do intend to get around to software soon. As
my examples, I shall choose Wordwise through PipeDream 2 to PipeDream 3
to PipeDream 4 to Fireworkz and also Impression (Junior or II) to
Publisher (or Style). I shall discus how software purchases are future-
proofed. I hope that because I shall concentrate on these few packages
as examples, this won’t mislead you into believing that only users of
those packages will benefit from reading the article.
8.2
If you have made any of those specific upgrades and want to tell me
about it, my address is that of Abacus Training which you will find at
the back of Archive. I’d also like to hear from anyone who has an
upgrade strategy all worked out in their minds even (and perhaps
especially) if that doesn’t include any Colton Software product.
8.2
Remember, I shall be looking at document production in general. This
range excludes games, programming and music (amongst other uses).
8.2
Please let me (and our editor) know whether you approve or disapprove of
the broader range which I propose for this column! Or should I revert to
the more focussed remit of the PipeLineZ column?
8.2
For my part, I shall be interested to hear from you in more detail what
you think ‘document production’ should cover and what it should exclude.
8.2
See you at Acorn World 94!  A
8.2
Beebug
8.2
new artwork
8.2
Acorns in Business
8.2
Richard Torrens
8.2
I run an electronics manufacturing business in which we use Acorn
computers not only for design work but also for general use. In the
first two articles in this series on using Acorn computers in business,
I will explain how I use PipeDream. I don’t want to go into too much
technical detail or it would become too specific to PipeDream so I will
just explain the type of things I do using PipeDream. If you want exact
details and/or assistance (including copies of files and command files)
my address is at the bottom of the column.
8.2
I will initially declare an interest: I am a fan of PipeDream as it is
such a versatile program. The trouble is that there seems to be a direct
connection between versatility and difficulty of use. Initially,
PipeDream is very simple to use but it has a very long learning curve.
However, PipeDream does just about everything a small business could
want, so you are faced with the choice between a long learning curve on
one package or several shorter learning curves of several packages with
the possibility that they may not cooperate. In any case, much of the
learning is not directly down to the program you are using but is more
about how to organise the business so that it can be done by computer −
and this applies to any computerised task.
8.2
If I were running a larger business, I would have several computers: one
would be used as a word processor, another as an accounting computer and
another for stock control and purchasing and so on. I would then have to
employ staff to run the computer programs. This is the way most
businesses work and is one of the reasons they can get away with using
PCs. However, the beauty of the Acorns is that they are far more
integrated: PipeDream is capable of doing a lot of different tasks.
8.2
Between PipeDream and Vector, I can do nearly everything − DTP, stock
control, word processing, PCB design and CAD. (Vector is capable of
doing a lot of tasks as I have shown in my earlier articles about
Electronic CAD.) I do, however, use a few other packages for specific
purposes. ArcFax is essential in my business to provide a fax facility
and, since all my documentation is produced on the Acorn, it is very
much easier to fax direct from the computer than to use a dedicated fax
machine − and the computer version is also cheaper! (See Richard’s
review of ArcFax on page 47. Ed.)
8.2
I also have a Calligraph laser printer. Well-produced drawings and
properly written instructions present a good, professional appearance,
especially when properly printed on a good laser printer.
8.2
Finally, I use Prophet for my accounts − I could do this on PipeDream,
but Prophet has a lot more accounts-specific facilities.
8.2
DTP
8.2
PD4 is not a desktop publishing package but it does pretty well. I use
it for all our brochures and instruction manuals. One day I’m going to
decide that I want to be a bit more clever and need better facilities,
but for 90% of business publishing PD4 is fine.
8.2
Correspondence
8.2
Part of the business I run is mail order and I get asked a lot of
technical questions. However, as in many businesses, the same technical
questions eventually start to recur, so I have a word-processed file of
answers. Every time a question is asked, if there is a relevant answer
then I copy a slice of the database into a standard letter. If the
question is new, I write a standardised answer into the database.
Initially, the database file grew quite quickly but its growth has now
slowed down. This file is arranged so that it is readable and saleable
as a stand-alone script. This is an idea worth thinking about for anyone
collating technical information.
8.2
Our standard letter has a drawfile letter heading which PD4 uses. It
also does a ‘lookup’ in my address file so that I only have to enter a
customer’s address once in this file, then either type the customer’s
name into the letter or fill in a reference to the name by pointing to
it in the address file. This method enables me, in a matter of seconds,
to give the customer a detailed and personalised answer to every
question.
8.2
To keep the address files short, I have two: one for enquiries and
another for sales. When an enquiry turns into a sale, I mark the block
in the Enquiry file which contains the customer’s details and move it to
the Sales file. If I sell to a customer whose name isn’t in the Enquiry
file, I know it is new so I send them a price list. If the address stays
in the Enquiry file too long, I transfer it to a ‘dead’ file.
8.2
Technical literature
8.2
In Vector, I draw all the items we sell and save them as drawfiles which
PipeDream can use. The technique I use for the drawing is simply to do
them as a full frontal view, life size, by measuring the item and
drawing it as accurately as I can. If the item comes to bits, I draw
each bit separately and assemble them in Vector. I am no draughtsman but
in Vector, I alter the drawing till it looks right and if I draw it
accurately from measurements, life is a lot easier. Also, with Vector’s
library facility, I only have to draw each item once.
8.2
Invoicing
8.2
We have a complicated price structure because we do both retail trade
and also deal with manufacturers. The reasoning is a bit complex but,
basically, the customer can chose 15%, 10%, 5% or no discount, depending
on how quickly he pays. This did take a little automation but PipeDream
now does all the invoicing with minimum manual intervention.
8.2
I start off with a Sales file into which each order is entered as it is
received. From this, I print out a Sales Sheet for each order. This
was quite complicated to do since, although most sales only take up one
line, some take several. To make this file easy to read, I use multiple
entry lines with the sale number blank. So the Sales Sheet has to look
up the next few lines (up to 7) and see if they are numbered as the next
entry − if so ignore them.
8.2
When the sale is despatched, I enter the despatched date into the Sales
file and make a one line entry in a file called ‘To_invoice’. All I need
to do is to enter the sale number here: it looks up the Sale file for
info, but I can also enter comments in ‘To_invoice’.
8.2
When I get round to invoicing, I load a file called ‘Invoice’ which is a
blank form with ‘lookups’ everywhere. In one square, I enter the ‘Sale
number’. Immediately, the file picks up the customer from the Sales file
and looks up his address in the ‘Customers’ file. It looks up the
products and quantities from the sales file then does a double lookup of
the price: the order may qualify for the 10 off price but many of our
customers have a scheduled order and qualify for the 100 off price. The
blank takes care of all this automatically!
8.2
The invoice number is also looked up automatically (the first number in
the index file which has not been filled in). If the customer is export,
the Customers database has an entry either of his VAT number (for EEC
exports) or simply ‘Export’. This tells the invoice whether to add VAT
or not and enters “Your VAT number:” in EEC invoices. The ‘Invoice’ file
also looks up the Sales file for the the customers order number or
‘CWO’. The invoice uses the ‘CWO’ entry to calculate the 15% discount
automatically, otherwise it looks up the item in the database to see if
we give the customer the 10% discount.
8.2
All I have to do is check the file, blank out any unused lines and fill
in the carriage charge. The despatch date is looked up from the sales
file and the invoice date is filled in automatically as ‘Today’. When
the invoice looks correct, I pull in another command file which goes
through the invoice, snapshotting the appropriate slots and fossilizing
the invoice. It also removes all intermediate calculations. This command
file also causes the invoice number, date, invoice total and discount to
be written back to the Invoice Numbers file. Save, print and send it.
The whole process involves a minimum of my intervention.
8.2
For regular customers, I have a separate command file − one command file
per customer. This fills in all the details relevant for the customer so
that, if they have regular items or have negotiated a bulk price or
special discounts or regular quantities, all this can be automated. It
also saves me having to look up their last invoice to see how much I
charged last time. The whole thing saves me work and reduces my errors.
8.2
Accounts
8.2
I do all the accounting work in Prophet. I could use PipeDream but
Prophet is dedicated and therefore easier to run. The main problem with
PipeDream is that I don’t know the ins and outs of accounting so I let
Prophet do that. Prophet’s manual now includes a section on accounting,
for the beginner but I cannot yet comment as I bought Prophet before the
manual had evolved to this level. Quentin Paine of Apricote Studios has
promised me a copy, so when it arrives, I may return to the subject of
Prophet. Using Apricote’s !Transfer, I can move data from Prophet into
PipeDream and, since PD4’s Formula line is a writeable icon, I can get
it back to Prophet.
8.2
Next month, I shall conclude by explaining how we use PipeDream for
parts inventory control and raising purchase orders.
8.2
Feedback
8.2
Any comments/suggestions/criticisms/requests, contact me at: 4QD, 30
Reach Road, Burwell, Cambridge, CB5 0AH. Phone or fax on 01638-741930 at
any reasonable time (I work from home).  A
8.2
Simtec A3010 4Mb RAM Board
8.2
Chris Murray
8.2
I was fed up of seeing the ‘Not Enough Memory’ message when using some
of the latest applications, so I decided that, before I purchased any
more software, I would upgrade the available RAM on my machine (an
A3010). Currently, it is 2Mb and I wished to increase it to the maximum
of 4Mb. After looking at the various upgrades available, I chose the
Simtec 3Mb RAM expansion card. This has the relatively novel idea of
reusing the existing 1Mb expansion that may (or may not) be already
fitted. I ordered the board over the phone on a Tuesday afternoon, and
the goods came by recorded delivery on Friday morning. Inside the
package was an antistatic box containing a small double-sided PCB about
50×70mm, which had a handful of components on it plus a flying lead.
Having worked on several PCB inspection lines, I gave it a close
examination with my ×10 eye glass. This confirmed that it was a well-
manufactured and soldered PCB. The instructions supplied were clear,
concise and very easy to follow.
8.2
Installation
8.2
Opening the computer case and removing the existing 1Mb expansion (two
ZIP chips) was relatively easy. It is easy enough to do this without
unplugging the keyboard edge connector. Refitting the two chips into the
Simtec board was straightforward enough. After adjusting one link inside
the computer, the Simtec board was ready to be fitted.
8.2
At this point you need to be dexterous and brave. The new board sits
into the sockets vacated by the previous RAM chips. There are two rows
of 40 way pins to align and then be pressed very firmly into place.
There is very little room to see what is going on underneath, so great
care must be taken to align pins and sockets correctly. Once the PCB was
fitted and a flying lead plugged in, the case was reassembled. When I
switched on, everything worked perfectly first time (just as it should).
8.2
I now have a lovely 4096Kb total available on the task manager. I feel
much happier now about purchasing software, knowing that there is plenty
of memory available. I have increased the font cache (suggested in
Archive 7.5 p35 & 50). This give a much improved screen update when
using fonts. The computer has been used every day (often for several
hours at a time) for the last three weeks without any problems. The
whole installation took only 30 minutes which included unpacking and
reading the instructions.
8.2
Conclusion
8.2
Having worked in quality assurance for a number of years and seen many
electronic manufacturing companies, I must say that Simtec have produced
an excellent piece of hardware here that does exactly what it is
supposed to and at a very reasonable price. I have no hesitation in
thoroughly recommending this product.
8.2
The A3010 4Mb RAM board costs £89 + VAT Simtec or £102 through
Archive.  A
8.2
Advanced Basic − OLE Again
8.2
Paul Hobbs
8.2
Last month, I mentioned that I had found a PD library that had a module
to handle OLE. However, on receiving it, I discovered that it appeared
to be the Computer Concepts OLE module and documentation which I had
been informed was only for use by Computer Concepts’ applications. I
will attempt to clarify the situation but it looks as though we will
have to stick with the scheme outlined last month − unless anybody has
written a module which really is PD.
8.2
Impulse II
8.2
One Computer Concepts module that is PD is ImpulseII which is designed
to make inter-application communications easier. Despite being heavily
featured by at least one Archimedes magazine a long, long time ago, it
does not seem to have become a standard in the way that Computer
Concepts hoped, its main use being handling mail merging for Impression.
One reason for its lack of popularity is probably the available
documentation which, whilst being comprehensive, is somewhat confusing.
8.2
Should you want to send data between applications (perhaps for debugging
purposes as mentioned in an earlier column) it seems to make sense to
use this existing module as it handles the building of wimp messages for
you and generally makes things easier.
8.2
The way it works is that a ‘Method Table’ is built in memory which
contains the command words and any command parameters recognised by your
program. This ‘Method Table’ is passed to the Impulse module directly
after the call to Wimp_Poll so that Impulse can decode any incoming
Impulse messages.
8.2
If enough ‘Methods’ are supported by your application it would be
possible to allow another application to control all aspects of its
operation. However, a more likely scenario would be to allow your
application to supply a service to other applications. For example, a
graph drawing program could accept a list of values and return the graph
as a drawfile.
8.2
The purpose of the following code is to make an application respond to
the Impulse commands ‘openwin’ and ‘closewin’ for demonstration
purposes. Note that I have overcome my fear of global variables after
reading ‘Code Complete’ by Steve McConnell − I have adopted the
convention that global constants have names in capital letters.
8.2
REM Set up some global variables
8.2
IMPULSE_VERSION  = 18   : REM Module version
8.2
 nr * 100
8.2
IMPULSE_COMMAND  = &200 : REM Reason code
8.2
IMPULSE_REPLY    = &201 : REM Reason code
8.2
TASK_NAME$ = “ImpDemo”
8.2
REM Register this task as an Impulse user
8.2
REM (must be called after Wimp_Initialise
8.2
REM as the task handle of your task is
8.2
REM needed by Impulse)
8.2
SYS “Impulse_Initialise”, IMPULSE_VERSION, TASK_ID%, TASK_NAME$, -1
8.2
REM Start of poll loop
8.2
REPEAT
8.2
  SYS “Wimp_Poll”,0,poll_block% TO ,reason%
8.2
  SYS “Impulse_Decode”, reason%, bk%, , , ,
8.2
 IMPULSE_METHOD_TABLE, TASK_ID% TO
8.2
reason%, , , , , token,params,object
8.2
  CASE reason% OF
8.2
    WHEN 0    :
8.2
    WHEN 1    :
8.2
    REM Handle other reason codes here..
8.2
    WHEN 17   :
8.2
    WHEN 18,19:
8.2
    WHEN IMPULSE_COMMAND, IMPULSE_REQUEST:
8.2
      PROCImpulse_Decode_Command(token,
8.2
 object, params)
8.2
  ENDCASE
8.2
UNTIL quit%
8.2
DEF PROCImpulse_Decode_Command(token,
8.2
 object, params)
8.2
CASE token OF
8.2
  WHEN IMPULSE_TOKEN_OPENWIN :
8.2
    REM Perform action for openwin command..
8.2
  WHEN IMPULSE_TOKEN_CLOSEWIN:
8.2
    REM Perform action for closewin command..
8.2
ENDCASE
8.2
ENDPROC
8.2
Before entering the poll loop for the first time, the ‘Method Table’ has
to be set up which is achieved as follows:
8.2
IMPULSE_TABLE_SIZE = &400
8.2
DIM IMPULSE_METHOD_TABLE IMPULSE_TABLE_SIZE
8.2
G_Impulse_NextMethod% = IMPULSE_METHOD_TABLE
8.2
 + 4
8.2
IMPULSE_METHOD_TABLE!0  = 0
8.2
G_Impulse_NextToken%    = 1
8.2
G_Impulse_TxTag%        = 0
8.2
G_Impulse_TxInProgress% = FALSE
8.2
G_Impulse_TxTop%        = 0
8.2
G_Impulse_TxPtr%        = 0
8.2
PROCImpulse_MakeMethod(0, G_Token_OpenWin%,
8.2
  “OpenWin” , “”)
8.2
PROCImpulse_MakeMethod(0, G_Token_CloseWin%,
8.2
 “CloseWin”, “”)
8.2
PROCImpulse_WindUpMethods
8.2
The code to actually add a ‘Method’ is as follows:
8.2
DEF PROCImpulse_MakeMethod(Flags%,RETURN
8.2
 Token%,Method$,Syntax$)
8.2
Token% = G_Impulse_NextToken%
8.2
G_Impulse_NextToken%     += 1
8.2
G_Impulse_NextMethod%!0   = Flags%
8.2
G_Impulse_NextMethod%!4   = Token%
8.2
G_Impulse_NextMethod%    += 8
8.2
$G_Impulse_NextMethod%    = Method$
8.2
G_Impulse_NextMethod%    += LENMethod$
8.2
G_Impulse_NextMethod%?0   = 0
8.2
G_Impulse_NextMethod%    += 1
8.2
$G_Impulse_NextMethod%    = Syntax$
8.2
G_Impulse_NextMethod%    += LENSyntax$
8.2
G_Impulse_NextMethod%?0   = 0
8.2
G_Impulse_NextMethod%    += 1
8.2
G_Impulse_NextMethod%     = ((G_Impulse_
8.2
NextMethod% + 3) DIV 4) * 4
8.2
ENDPROC
8.2
DEF PROCshell_ImpulseWindupMethods
8.2
G_Impulse_NextMethod%!0 = -1
8.2
G_Impulse_NextMethod%!4 = -1
8.2
G_Impulse_NextMethod%?8 = 0
8.2
G_Impulse_NextMethod%?9 = 0
8.2
G_Impulse_NextMethod%  += 10
8.2
IF G_Impulse_NextMethod% > IMPULSE_METHOD_
8.2
TABLE + IMPULSE_TABLE_SIZE THEN
8.2
   ERROR 200,“Impulse has run out of room in
8.2
 making methods”)
8.2
ENDIF
8.2
ENDPROC
8.2
The monthly disc contains the full ImpulseII documentation and some
example programs. In order to test the Impulse demo application, it is
necessary to have a program that can send Impulse commands as the above
code only handles the receiving of commands. Luckily, Computer Concepts
supply the rather mis-named !Insight application which allows the
sending of Impulse commands and the display of Impulse replies. (I say
‘mis-named’ because it is not written in Basic and so provides no
insight into how to use the module!) Unfortunately, it only allows the
sending of commands, not requests that expect a reply, so next month,
all being well, I’ll present an application to do this.
8.2
A couple of points to note about !Insight: you quit it with an <adjust>
click on the iconbar icon (or via the Task Manager) and Impulse commands
are broadcast to all applications unless an ‘Object Name’ is given in
the command. Typical command strings would be:
8.2
:ImpDemo OpenWin
8.2
(command ‘OpenWin’ sent to application ‘ImpDemo’)
8.2
:OpenWin
8.2
(command ‘OpenWin’ sent to all applications)
8.2
The ‘Object Name’ is usually the name passed to Impulse_Initialise, but
it could include a document name, for example:
8.2
:Impression.MyDoc OpenDoc
8.2
(command ‘Opendoc’ sent to document ‘MyDoc’ in application ‘Impression’)
8.2
:Impression.MyDoc OpenDoc “10 10 500 -600” (as above, but open document
at specified coordinates)
8.2
In these cases, PROCImpulse_Command() would be passed the unresolved
part of the object name (‘MyDoc’) and it is up to your application to
decode the object name appropriately. In practice, the ‘Object Names’
and ‘Parameters’ can be as complicated as you want.
8.2
Owners of Impression Style or Publisher are provided with a couple of
Basic applications which provide some more clues about how it all works.
8.2
As this subject is quite complex, we’ll leave it there for this month
before I fill the whole magazine.
8.2
Outline fonts in menus
8.2
I have had a letter from Michael Carter who asks if anyone has found a
way of emulating the Risc PC feature of forcing the system to use an
outline fonts in menus. The PD application !DeskFonts is OK but doesn’t
handle menus correctly in that keyboard shortcuts are not displayed
right aligned.
8.2
This feature is of importance to software authors who do not have access
to a Risc PC for testing exactly how their application looks when
outline fonts are in use. If anyone has found a solution to this
problem, we would certainly like to know.
8.2
If you have any suggestions for topics that could be covered in future
issues, I would be pleased to hear from you. My address is Paul Hobbs,
Rheinpfalzstrasse 2, 85049 Ingolstadt, Germany.  A
8.2
ArcFax − A Software Fax Facility
8.2
Richard Torrens
8.2
These days, a fax facility is almost a necessity for running a business.
When people asked for our fax number, they were most put out to find
that we didn’t have one − so we invested in David Pilling’s ArcFax and
bought ourselves a fax modem. Now when people ring to ask what our fax
number is, some are a little put out that we receive faxes on a voice
line and they are often surprised when we say that the faxes come
straight into our computer. Although computers are so universally used,
few business users actually seem to know anything about them and the
tricks we Acorn users take for granted can be very impressive to the
average customer.
8.2
When I first thought of reviewing ArcFax, I wondered if I was going to
be able to say enough about it. It just sits on my iconbar waiting for
me to use it. I use it to send or receive a fax and then forget about it
again.
8.2
What is a computer fax?
8.2
The Acorn computer prints by sending to the printer a graphic image of
the page which is made up as a series of dots. Normally, an electronic
representation of these dots is sent up a cable to the printer. The fax
modem can be thought of as a ‘printer’ which turns these dots into
sounds which can be sent down the telephone line to a remote receiver.
The receiver may be another computer with a fax modem or an actual fax
machine which turns the sounds into dots on a piece of fax paper. So a
computer fitted with a fax modem and ArcFax can send and receive faxes
to and from any fax machine in the world whether it is a stand-alone fax
or an IBM running a fax program or, of course, another Acorn. However,
ArcFax is much more clever than this and has a lot more facilities.
8.2
Fax modems
8.2
The fax modem we use is a small box about the size of my hand. It plugs
via one cable into the computer’s serial port and another into the
telephone. Then you forget it. Mine sits behind the telephone out of
sight and out of mind, gathering dust.
8.2
David Pilling’s software is growing. The version I have is 1.11 but its
abilities are limited by the available modems. Modems are now appearing
which can digitise speech so, if you have one of these fitted, you can
use your computer and ArcFax to answer the telephone when you are out!
It can replay a recorded message and will record incoming messages
exactly like an answering machine. If the incoming call is a fax, the
modem will recognise the fact and receive the fax automatically.
8.2
Comms
8.2
A fax modem can, of course, be used for standard comms purposes just
like any other modem. ArcFax is not a comms package so, for Comms, you
will need other software, but there is plenty of this around − including
Hearsay from Beebug Ltd, also written by David Pilling.
8.2
Receiving a fax
8.2
If you are lucky enough to have a class 8 modem, ArcFax will listen in
to your telephone calls: if it detects a fax tone, it will automatically
receive it. ArcFax can be configured to automatically receive (or
ignore) voice, fax and data. However, we have a simpler modem which
doesn’t recognise voice so we answer calls manually. We have no
difficulty in knowing when the call is a fax: some faxes send tones to
initiate the transmission but other fax machines wait until the called
machine sends tones to them. The first are easy to recognise but we soon
got used to the mechanical sounding deadness of a fax machine waiting
for us to respond. In either case, we just click on the fax icon and a
window appears. In this window is a ‘Receive’ button. One click on this
and ArcFax takes over. Of course, if we know a fax is about to arrive
(or if we had a separate line for the fax) then we would configure
ArcFax to automatically answer all the calls. With a shared line, we
like to leave ArcFax on manual.
8.2
During reception, the window shows the status of the fax, including the
caller’s identification. Once the fax has been received, a tick appears
and you can open the RXBatch window and view the received fax. If you
want, you can print it straight out to the laser printer. ArcFax also
allows you to process the fax, save parts of it, etc.
8.2
Sending a fax
8.2
ArcFax uses Acorn’s standard RISC OS printer driver just the same as any
other printer. It redirects the output to disc, compressing it en route.
Once printing to disc has been done, you can view the resultant fax file
or send it straight out. However, ArcFax can also do all the sending
automatically for you. It has a telephone directory and you can tell it
to send to any entry or a new number or even a group of entries, so you
can send your fax off to twenty people if you wish − the ultimate mail
shot? Yes, unfortunately, junk faxes are catching on, but ArcFax can
even deal with a lot of these.
8.2
Directory
8.2
For me, this is one of ArcFax’s most useful features. There is a full
directory with a scrollable index page. Open the directory, scroll down
to the name you want and click <select> and ArcFax dials the voice
telephone number. ArcFax does all our dialling for us. No more
misdialled numbers and no more hunting for the telephone number.
8.2
Click on the name with <adjust> and a window opens for the entry showing
the person’s full name and address. There are other options here such as
‘Bar’ − if this is ticked and your fax and phone support caller-
identification, the caller is barred from your system. I know several
double-glazing companies I would wish to put on this list − but I don’t
have the right type of modem. Another option is ‘Block’ which works on
Fax id’s only, so is useful if you want to block junk faxes from a
particular fax machine.
8.2
Another very useful feature is that ArcFax’s directory supports drag and
drop − you drag the directory’s name entry into a wordprocessor window
(such as PipeDream 4) and the whole name and address is dropped at the
cursor. I could use this a lot more − except that most of my
correspondence is one off and if I used ArcFax for my regulars, I would
then be using two different systems together − always a cause of
confusion.
8.2
Automatic sending
8.2
ArcFax has facilities for automatically sending a fax. If you put the
words, for instance, {fred } in the document you are printing via the
fax printer driver, ArcFax will pick this up and automatically look up
the entry ‘Fred’ in its directory. Out goes the fax automatically with
no further ado.
8.2
There are other ‘Embedded commands’ which ArcFax will recognise
including {xyz } (the fax will be saved as ‘xyz’) and {date/time } which
will start ArcFax’s timed sending facility. There is a small problem
with embedded commands: there is no way of cutting them out of the
document in which they are embedded so they are sent out in the finished
fax. However most wordprocessors can use some trick (such as white text
on a white background) to make sure the commands don’t show up.
PipeDream doesn’t support coloured text, so we simply use 1 point text
and position it so that it is printed under a black part of our logo.
One point text would, in any case, show up looking like line noise and
would be unreadable. (If you use Impression, you can position these
commands within the print border making sure that you include some hard
spaces in extra large text so that they, invisibly, stick out into the
printable area thus forcing Impression to render the whole line
including your commands which ArcFax then picks up. Ed.)
8.2
Timed sending
8.2
A lot of our customers are overseas and so it can be useful to send the
fax at a particular time when the recipient is at work − or when the
rates are cheapest. ArcFax has a facility to delay transmission of the
fax until a stated day and time by using the {date/time } embedded
command or you can delay the sending manually.
8.2
Save money by using Mercury
8.2
ArcFax also allows you to put a prefix in front of any or all phone
numbers. This can be the Mercury initiation number, 131, followed by
your pin number. Once again, after the initial set-up, this is
transparent to the user and all calls, where appropriate, go via Mercury
thereby saving you money.
8.2
Scanned images
8.2
ArcFax now supports Twain interface to control scanners. I don’t have
one, as all the information I wish to send is computer-generated, so I
can’t tell you much about this. But, again, there is not much to it. You
just click on ‘select source’ (if you are using more than one scanner!)
and then on ‘Scan’. Then you just send the scanned image as a fax.
8.2
Other features
8.2
ArcFax is stuffed full of other features and David Pilling has thought a
lot about extra things that he could add depending on what would be most
useful to the users. ArcFax is very much a continuously developing
product.
8.2
Gripes?
8.2
No review would be complete without a few gripes. Let me see if I can
think of any... The manual has no index. Mind you, it is quite readable
and covers just about everything I need. An index would be nice, but I
can live without it.
8.2
The program is getting a bit large. It takes 512Kb and, if you use it
for receiving faxes, it isn’t the sort of program you can load up only
when you need it. My 4Mb of memory is getting a bit small, especially
since I have also upgraded to PipeDream 4.
8.2
I did have trouble when I first bought the modem: we were on pulse-
dialling and the modem didn’t correctly recognise the tones, but since
we’ve changed to tone-dialling, I have had no trouble and the new manual
does include hints about pulse-dialling exchanges.
8.2
Since writing the above − I have changed to a Risc PC. I am happy to
report that ArcFax performs perfectly with this but I did have to phone
David as one module needed updating. All I did was switch ArcFax to
receive data and the new module came straight down the telephone from
David. There was also a funny five minutes where I couldn’t get the
printer driver working with the RISC OS 3.5 driver. When I read the
ArcFax manual, I realised that hadn’t installed it correctly.
8.2
So, no, I can’t really find any serious gripes!
8.2
Summary
8.2
If you need a modem: get a fax modem. If you have such a modem then,
even if you don’t use the fax facility, ArcFax is worth getting just as
a telephone directory. If you need a fax and have an Acorn machine, get
a fax modem and ArcFax. If you think you need a dedicated fax, wouldn’t
it be worth spending the money on a scanner instead? That way, you get
the best of all worlds.
8.2
ArcFax costs £35 from David Pilling or £33 through Archive.  A
8.2
This article didn’t come in until after we had set up our special offer
last month of a Worldport fax modem with a free copy of ArcFax. The
offer was only to be for two months but we will try to extend it a
further month to allow subscribers the opportunity to make a more
informed decision in the light of Richard’s article. Ed.
8.2
Small Ads
8.2
(Small ads for Acorn computers and related products are free for
subscribers but we reserve the right to publish all, part or none of the
material you send, as we think fit. i.e. some people don’t know what
‘small’ means and there are certain things, as you can imagine, that we
would not be prepared to advertise as a matter of principle. Sending
small ads (especially long ones!) on disc is helpful but not essential.
Ed)
8.2
•  A3000, RISC OS 3, 80Mb HD, Multisync monitor, hand scanner, manuals
and software £750 o.n.o. Phone [phone].
8.2
•  A3000, RISC OS 3.1, 4Mb £200. 100Mb external Frog HD £200. Oak 16-bit
SCSI interface £50 (or free with drive). 14“ Microvitec Cub multiscan
£300 (ex cond). Phone Greg on 0171-388-9017 eves.
8.2
•  A310, 35MHz ARM3, RISC OS 3.1, 4Mb RAM, 47Mb HD, Taxan 775 monitor.
£450 or call and haggle. John 01328-864177.
8.2
•  A310, 4Mb, ARM3, 4 slot backplane, 120Mb IDE HD, G8+ graphics board,
RISC OS 3.1, newer keyboard, RISC OS 2 PRM, PC Emulator 1.82, MEMC1a,
colour monitor, mono multisync monitor. £750 o.n.o. Phone [phone].
8.2
•  A410/1, 4Mb RAM, RISC OS 3.10, 105Mb HD, SCSI interface, colour
monitor, PRMs, enhanced desktop, 30 font families, PC Emulator v1.82,
Eureka2, DeskEdit3, ArcFS r/w, WimpKit, + more. Top condition, boxed as
new. All manuals. Shipping and insurance included. Offers. Contact
Philip on (International code-353-1) 282-1609 (Ireland).
8.2
•  A410/1, 8Mb RAM, 30MHz ARM3, RISC OS 3.10, 20Mb. Ex cond £400. State
Machine G16 graphic accelerator £160. Intelligent Interfaces dual serial
port 38,400 baud £60. Phone Thomas in Denmark on [phone], eves.
8.2
•  A410/1 4Mb, 50Mb HD, ARM3, RISC OS 3.1, AKF11 monitor, Star NL-10
printer, PC Emulator v1.86, external 5¼“ disc interface. £450 o.n.o.
Phone [phone] eves.
8.2
•  A440, with RISC OS3, ARM3 and FPA10, 4Mb RAM, 20Mb HD, twin 5¼“
external floppy, single 3½” external floppy, 14“ NEC multisync. Some
software and all manuals. £1150 o.n.o. Phone Geoff on 01925-811420.
8.2
•  A440/1, 4Mb, 30MHz ARM3, 57Mb HD, Colour Card Gold, Mode Designer,
Acorn I/O podule with MIDI, Armadillo sound sampler, games. £830 o.n.o.
(will consider splits). Phone Mark after 6pm on 01905-754277.
8.2
•  A5000 4Mb, 80Mb, Taxan LR multisync, Prism 1000 modem and software.
Ex cond. Offers. Phone [phone].
8.2
•  A5000, 4Mb, 120Mb, Acorn multisync, games, over 80Mb of PD. Ex
cond. £850 o.n.o. Phone [phone].
8.2
•  A5000, 4Mb, 120Mb, without monitor, £700 o.n.o. Master 128 and Pace
Linnet V21/23 modem, sensible offers considered. Phone Dominic on 01272-
422633.
8.2
•  A5000, 4Mb, 40Mb, AKF18 multisync, RISC OS 3.11. Requires repair to
CPU − stops during start-up. £525. A440, 4Mb/40Mb, ARM3 25MHz, AKF17,
RISC OS 3.11, MEMC1a, backplane etc. £475. A420, 2Mb/20Mb, AKF17, RISC
OS 3.0, MEMC1a, backplane etc, £400. Excluding delivery. Phone 01827-
330118, eves/weekends.
8.2
•  A5000, RISC OS 3.1, 4Mb, 40Mb, multisync, Learning Curve pack, As
Easy As spreadsheet, also Draw Plus, Powerbase and other software, £850
o.n.o. Phone John on 0181-491-6517, eves/weekends.
8.2
•  Acorn A4 portable, 4Mb, 60Mb, PC Emulator, Genie Trackerball,
original packing, manuals and carrying case, £1100. Phone [phone].
8.2
•  Acorn DTP and First Word Plus (Release2) − Sensible offers. Render
Bender 2, £30. 10 out of 10 Junior Essentials, £15. Superior Golf, £7.
Impression book by Anne Rooney £7. Contact Peter Warrington tel/fax
0161-225-3404.
8.2
•  Acorn DTP £35, MS-DOS 5 £30, Minerva GammaPlot v2 £15, System Delta+
v2 £25, Genesis 2 £20, Bonjour de France − Ma Ville £20, PTW Software
Chemistry £10, Investigator 2 £10, Games: Cyber Chess £12, Boogie
Buggie, Superior Golf, Zarch £6 each, Startrader, Word Up Word Down £3
each, or all six for £30, Books: ARM Assembly Language Programming £8,
Genesis Script Language £5, MS-DOS Quick Reference £5, RISC OS 2 PRM
£35. Phone [phone] eves.
8.2
•  ARCticulate £10, Enter the Realm £10, Diggers £15. Magazine binders,
two marked “Micro User”, one marked “Acorn Computing” £2 each. All +p&p.
Contact Jon Aylwin, 4 St Margarets Close, Hemyock, Devon, EX15 3XJ.
8.2
•  Canon BJ200 printer 6 months old with Turbo Driver £180. Phone 0131-
447-8624.
8.2
•  Canon BJ230 printer with Turbo Driver (unregistered) £250. Colour
Card £120. Scanlight 256 £90. Impression Borders £5, Business Supplement
£20. PinPoint £50. RemoteFS (Serial) £30. Phone Mike 01742-619444.
8.2
•  Citizen Swift 24 dot matrix 24 pin. £60 o.n.o. Phone [phone].
8.2
•  Colourjet 132 inkjet £100. Dual joysticks and interface for A3000/
A5000 £20. Sampler/Midi for A3000/A5000 £40. Desktop Tracker £30.
Tracker £15. Elite (Gold) £20, Saloon Cars (Deluxe) £15, Chocks Away
£15. Pandoras Box £15, Real McCoy 2 £15, Lemmings £10, TwinWorld £10,
Nevryon £10, Repton3 £10, Conqueror £10, Spell £10. Phone [phone].
8.2
•  Easyfont II & Font Pack Two £10, Turbo Driver for Epson Stylus £15,
Chocks Away £5, Chocks Away Extra Missions £5, Nevryon £5, Black Angel
£5, Chopper Force £5, Corruption £5, Schema £5. All as new. Postage £1
per item or collect. (Everything for £50) Phone [phone] eves/
weekends.
8.2
•  I/O podule £50, MIDI podule £50, Toshiba 3401 external CD-ROM drive
£300, Conner 250Mb IDE drive £200, Conner 210Mb IDE drive £180. Contact
Leslie Wiggins on 01332-204040 day, or 01602-272282 eves.
8.2
•  Pineapple RGB to PAL encoder £50. Phone Mark after 6pm on 01905-
754277.
8.2
•  Powerband, Font Directory, Disc Rescue, Saloon Cars Deluxe, £12 each.
Also PC Emulator, Birds of War £15 each. Phone John on 01328-864177.
8.2
•  ProLink Fax/Data Modem, 9600 fax, 2400bps data with V42, V42bis and
MNP5 (i.e. up to 9600). £65. Phone [phone].
8.2
•  Psion OPL and User Manual for the Series 3, £7 the pair, including
postage. Phone Mark after 6pm on 01905-754277.
8.2
•  Telephone Fax switch for telephone/modem setup. Automatically checks
for fax or voice. £50 or offers. Phone [phone].
8.2
•  Wanted: Ancestry + other genealogical programs to run under RISC OS
3. Contact Philip on (International code-353-1) 282-1609 (Ireland).
8.2
•  Wanted: Bezel (plastic front) for a 3½“ floppy disc drive (Sony MP-
F63W-OOD) as supplied with replacement drive for A305/310/440. Phone
0151-606-0289.
8.2
•  Wanted: Z88 pref. with additional memory, accessories and link to
A5000. Contact Peter Warrington tel/fax [phone].  A
8.2
The ARM Club
8.2
Andrew Rawnsley
8.2
Just recently, a wide variety of user groups that have sprung up to
support owners of ARM-based computers. Arguably one of the most
significant of these clubs is the ARM Club which has been in existence
for some time now, but has received little public acknowledgement for
its work. Since the Club provides a service that would benefit Archive
subscribers, I feel that readers may be interested in learning more
about it.
8.2
Advertising?
8.2
Before you jump to any conclusions and decide that I must be an ARM Club
committee member trying to boost the group’s publicity, I should make it
clear that I’m certainly not. Only six months ago, my attitude was as
apathetic as that of many others − I knew the Club existed but it seemed
rather remote and of little interest to me. How wrong I was....
8.2
The service provided
8.2
The ARM Club could almost be classed as a public service − offering a
great deal for a very reasonable price − just £10 per year.
8.2
At its minimum, the Club offers a quarterly magazine known as Eureka
which comprises approximately 70 pages of news, reviews and special
offers. Members of the Club, and hence readers of the magazine, are
actively encouraged to get involved − for example, writing articles,
attending committee meetings and helping in the organisation of local
shows.
8.2
In addition to all of the above, the club runs an extensive PD library,
at the bargain price of £1 per disc, and recent offers included a ‘buy
one, get one free’ scheme.
8.2
The main problem with the magazine is that its layout gives away the
Club’s user-group based feel. Unlike the professional approach that we
are used to in Archive and the rest of the Acorn press, Eureka can have
articles running down one column of a page, continuing four pages later,
again in just one column, and then finishing two pages further on.
Whilst this may be a rather over-the-top example, I’m sitting here
looking at another article that does just that. Perhaps this is not a
major criticism, but Archive’s column balancing approach within an
article makes each one much more readable.
8.2
There are regular Club meetings for members in the south of the country,
and lists are distributed of members’ particular fields of interest
(unless the member doesn’t wish to be included), so if you are
interested in MIDI on Acorn machines, you can get in contact with other
users in your area who are like-minded.
8.2
Shows?
8.2
The ARM Club encourages Open Days with leading players in the Acorn
software and hardware market exhibiting − organised by members! Indeed,
I was approached at the BAU Spring Show and asked if I would be
interested in helping in to organise a small show / open day in the
NorthWest.
8.2
This gives the opportunity for members to meet representatives from
major Acorn companies and partake of the special offers available to ARM
Club members − quite exciting!
8.2
Other benefits
8.2
Not being a dealership, the ARM Club does not sell Acorn-based products
to members (PD excluded) but the Club negotiates deals with various
software houses allowing members to purchase software direct from the
company at discounted prices.
8.2
Conclusions
8.2
I suspect that my conclusions will by now be obvious! The ARM Club has a
lot to offer and I for one will be renewing my subscription when the
time comes, in the sure knowledge that it is money well spent.
8.2
The ARM Club can be contacted at: Freepost ND 6573, London N12 0BR.
Phone/fax: [phone].
8.2
If you should want to contact me either for further information, or if
you’re in the NorthWest, for local details, I’m available on: phone
01925-755043 (outside office hours) or fax [phone].  A
8.2
Charity Sales
8.2
The following items are available for sale in aid of charity. PLEASE do
not just send money − ring us on 01603-766592 to check if the items are
still available. Thank you.
8.2
Software: First Word Plus £5, Leading Edge Midi Tracker £9, Bubble Fair
£2, Blaston £2, Pysanki £2, Rotor £2, Datavision database £10, MiG 29
flight simulator £10.
8.2
Hardware: Floppy discs as new £15 per 50, Beebug 5¼“ interface £5.
8.2
(If you have unwanted software or hardware for Archimedes computers that
you could donate in aid of charity, please send it to the Archive
office. If you have larger items where post would be expensive, just
send us details of the item(s) and how the purchaser can get hold of
them.)  A
8.2
Outline Font Design Made Simple
8.2
Christopher Jarman
8.2
One of the reasons I bought a computer in the first place was my
interest in handwriting and lettering. Thanks to Roger Spooner’s
excellent help through his articles in Archive and his generous advice
over the phone, and also thanks to Dave McCartney of Datafile, I have
been able to design two or three fonts myself and to put them to work.
(The Jarman font for use in handwriting copy sheets was distributed free
on the Archive 7.5 monthly disc.)
8.2
Tools for the job
8.2
The basic tool for this job is the program !FontEd. It is obtainable
from Acorn and various PD sources, and is said to be quite complicated
to use. Its manual on textfile is certainly quite a good example of how
to confuse a reader. However, perseverance pays, and although I still do
not know what some of the items on the menus are for, I have discovered
how to design and edit a font! This is fairly intuitive − but much
easier using Roger’s guides! (Archive 5.12 p45, 6.1 p75, 6.2 p17, 6.4
p45 & 6.5 p55)
8.2
The biggest breakthrough, however, has come with David Pilling’s !D2Font
application, part of his program !Trace obtainable direct from him or
through Archive. This allows you to draw or design letters of your own;
either in Draw or in any application that saves in drawfile format, then
to put them one by one into the !D2Font matrix where they will type out
from the keyboard. It is not quite as simple as that, but it is fairly
easy once you have become confident in ironing out the little problems
caused by your own inadequate drawings! In fact, it is essential to put
the !D2Font results into !FontEd first for editing and spacing, before
they can be successfully used as an outline font.
8.2
The best way to explain how to do it, is to take you through the design
of, say, three letters step by step.
8.2
This is the lower case abc of an alphabet designed as an informal font
which was meant to look as if it was cut out of paper. I call it
‘Cutfont’. It actually only took about an hour to do the whole alphabet.
It was deliberately done hurriedly!
8.2
These letters were drawn in outline using the straight line segment tool
in Draw. With the grid showing, the x height of the letters is 4cms. For
a complete alphabet it will be necessary to use several drawfiles
containing groups of four or five letters. If you are going to design
capital letters, punctuation and numbers as well, it helps to label them
accurately as you save each file.
8.2
As a rough guide, for most alphabets, make your ascenders (bdhl etc)
around half as tall again as the small letters and make the capitals
about the same height as the ascenders. The small ‘t’ is lower than the
others, with its cross-bar at the height of the small letters. Look at
some standard fonts to get the proportions, as these are the most
frequent errors in lettering design. Numbers should again be about the
same height as the capitals. At this stage, you should aim to draw just
a really rough alphabet which, although untidy and perhaps out of
proportion, is at least your own unique font.
8.2
Enter D2Font...
8.2
Load !D2Font onto the iconbar and click to show the grid. In Draw, there
is a facility for saving only selected parts of the page. Select letter
‘a’ from your design either using the menu or <shift-f3> and drag it
into the pale grey square marked ‘a’ in the grid. (See on previous
page.)
8.2
 It should then appear as a tiny letter ‘a’. By double clicking on this
small ‘a’ in a square, it will appear large sized for your inspection.
8.2
At this stage, you may be unlucky and find that the letter is
incomplete, or that the centre of it is blacked out. Do not worry. As
long as there is something in the box, FontEd will come to your rescue.
8.2
Continue to select each letter and drag and drop them one by one into
the relevant grid boxes in D2Font. As a tryout, I would suggest using
only two or three letters first, and see how you get on with them before
attempting the whole alphabet. When you have everything you wish
transferred, select ‘Save Font’ (there is no need to select Save D2
Font) and give your font a name. Put it into a convenient directory. It
should now have its own folder looking like any other outline font in
your collection, even though, at this stage, you may only be trying out
three letters.
8.2
Using FontEd
8.2
Next load FontEd onto the iconbar. Open your newly named font directory
and drag the ‘Outlines’ file down to the FontEd icon. You will see
another grid appear just like the one from D2Font as follows...
8.2
However, when you double click on a letter in this application, it will
not only appear larger but will be in outline form rather like an object
in Draw or Artworks. It will have green dots as movable points, and
handles for curves as required. At this point, some letters may not
appear filled in black in their small squares. This is only because the
outlines are not joined up somewhere. So you have to inspect each green
dot to see if it is really two green dots which are not joined. When you
find them, use <adjust> to move one over the other, just as in Artworks.
Clicking <menu> over the enlarged window for a letter will give you an
option called ‘Full Char’. This will give you an enlarged black picture
of the letter you have been working on.
8.2
By using <select> to make lines and <adjust> to move them, you can re-
design, mend and manipulate the letters as much as you like. For full
details, refer to the three Fonts Workshops articles in Archives 5.12,
6.1 and 6.2.
8.2
When you have altered all your letters to your satisfaction and arranged
their widths to suit, do not forget to type in a width for the square
marked ‘sp’ which sets the spaces between letters.
8.2
To do this, you double click on ‘sp’, then click <menu> in the large
blank square. select ‘width’ and move to the right, type in 400 (as a
start) and see how it looks. Later, you can try greater or lesser width
spaces, after trying out the font in your word processor or in Draw.
8.2
When you are satisfied with any alteration, click <menu> over the
background matrix and click ‘Save’.
8.2
To try out your new font, discard FontEd and drag the font file into
your usual Fonts collection. Once installed, any further editing using
!FontEd will take place automatically wherever you have put the file.
8.2
The results
8.2
This is Cutfont. It was put together in about an hour using the method
described. Capital letters and more careful spacing were done later.
8.2
THIS IS TOONFONT, DESIGNED IN DRAW, THE SAME WAY AS CUTFONT. IT WAS
DESIGNED BY MIKE FLANAGAN, THE CARTOONIST, TO GO IN THE BUBBLES OF HIS
CARTOON CHARACTERS.
8.2
This is a font called Wyke which took very much longer to design and is
meant to look like pen lettering.
8.2
Cutfont and Wyke are not commercially viable complete fonts but you may
try them out on this month’s program disc.
8.2
The Trace disc (which also contains D2Font) is obtainable from David
Pilling price £10 inclusive or through Archive at the same price.  A
8.2
Puzzle Corner
8.2
Colin Singleton
8.2
(In response to a request a few months ago, Colin has offered to provide
us with some more puzzles out of his huge repertoire. Ed.)
8.2
What I will try to do is to provide two puzzles each month. There will
be (small!) prizes for the first three correct entries for each puzzle
drawn out of the bag on the final date for entries which is Friday 11th
November. That gives you less than a month but it means I’ll be able to
publish the answers in the magazine that you will receive the week after
the deadline − that should keep the interest going, even if you weren’t
able to make an entry. I’ll give the names of prize winners in the
following issue. You will know you have won before then because you will
(if we’re efficient! Ed.) have received your prizes before then but we
feel you should get some public acclaim as well.
8.2
Anyway, here are the first two puzzles...
8.2
(1) This is 1994
8.2
You may have come across the ‘four fours’ problem in which you are asked
to find a way to form each positive integer from one. As far as you
could, each should be expressed using four fours with any standard
mathematical symbols.  For example, 76 = 4!/…•4 + 4Ú4. Some of the
expressions became very involved. (Let me try... 1 = 4*4 / 4 / 4  and  2
= 4*4 / (4+4)  and then 3 = (4+4+4) / 4.  That’s my limit! Ed.)
8.2
You will not need any obscure functions for this puzzle, the solution
can be given as a single expression in the Basic programming language,
or on one of the better scientific pocket calculators. All you have to
do is form the number 1994 as an expression using, not four fours, but
the digits 1 9 9 4 in that order with suitable mathematical symbols.
8.2
(2) Conversations
8.2
Alan, Bill, Chris, Dave, Eric and Fred have gone to their local hostelry
for a quiet drink or two. It is, of course, likely that they will engage
in conversation in groups. They might all form one group, or they might
split into smaller groups not necessarily the same size. Some, or all,
may remain alone, and presumably silent.
8.2
In how many different ways might the six friends form conversational
groups?
8.2
Feedback
8.2
If you have any comments or suggestions to do with Puzzle Corner, write
to me at 41 St Quentin Drive, Sheffield, S17 4PN but send your answers
to the puzzles to Paul at the Archive address by 11th November.  A
8.2
Help!!!!
8.2
•  Acorn shares − I have some money to go towards buying a Risc PC but
only about half of what I need. I’d like therefore to invest that money
in Acorn shares and then in 2-3 years time when the next generation of
amazing Acorn computers appears, I’ll be able to buy one as the shares
will have doubled in value − well, that’s the theory. The trouble is
that I live in France. Can anyone help me to buy them directly from a UK
broker as the procedure for doing that from France is far from easy?
Bernard Maugoust, 13/36 rue du Vercors, F.59650 Villeneuve d’Ascq,
France.
8.2
•  FaxPack wanted − I was half-way through setting up a FaxPack network
for a registered charity when Computer Concepts stopped making them!
Call Steve on 01483-502146 if you would be interested in selling me
yours.
8.2
•  Help with Acorns − Is there anybody within a 50 mile radius of Biggar
in Lanarkshire, who is conversant with Acorn machines and may be able to
lend a helping hand to me with the use of my system? My main uses are
with Impression and Artworks. Please contact Anna McCosh on 01899-20221
or fax [phone].
8.2
•  Internet access − We said last month we would soon have an e-mail
address. Unfortunately, I applied through BBC Networking Club who have
had problems with “a last minute contractual issue”. They hoped the
delay would be “only a matter of weeks” but they returned my
application.
8.2
In the meantime, David Dade of the Arcade Bulletin Board has come to the
rescue, at least temporarily. He has kindly given me an Internet mailbox
on Arcade, so if you want to send any e-mail, I am, for now,
[e-mail]. Many thanks, David.  Ed.
8.2
•  PC file formats − As a total stranger to the PC world, I am having
trouble examining images, sound samples, etc, using ChangeFSI,
Translator, AudioWorks etc. The problem is that I am never quite sure
what all those file types are that appear after the / in a DOS file
name. Is there a list that I can refer to? If not, is there someone who
can compile such a list and maybe we can have it published in Archive so
that I can refer to it. All I want is something along the line of WAV-
Sound Sample, BMP- Graphic file, so that I know which Acorn program to
try and load it into!  Paul Hooper, Norfolk.
8.2
I’m not sure if this is the sort of information that Simon Coulthurst as
Risc-DOS Column editor might want to collate, but then Jim Nottingham is
doing some work on the interchange of different file formats, so perhaps
he might want to do it. Well, just send in your ideas, comments, etc to
the Archive office and we’ll see who wants to deal with it! Ed.
8.2
•  Star NL10 graphics printing − Is anyone using a Star NL10 printer to
print desktop fonts and graphics? I am using an A5000 with RISC OS 3.1,
and the Acorn LX80 printer driver. Printing from Draw, the graphics
start printing at the bottom of a sheet and spill onto the next one.
Text in Impression doesn’t print at all unless I use a large point size,
and there are still problems in that there are gaps in the printing. Any
help would be appreciated. Contact J Fell, 26 Gladiator Green, Castle
Park, Dorchester DT1 2RW.
8.2
Help Offered
8.2
•  Subgrams − In answer to last month’s request for software that
generates subgrams, with Longman Logotron’s Pendown, there is a separate
application called !List which does the job using its 26,000 word
dictionary. (Charles Woodbridge, Huddersfield) Also, as pointed out by
many subscribers, PipeDream 4 has a similar facility built in.
8.2
Talking of anagrams, did you know that one anagram of “Norwich Computer
Services” is “Ever more succinct worship”! Any other offers? Ed.  A
8.2
SCSI Card Compatibility
8.2
Jim Nottingham
8.2
In Archive 7.12 p53, I invited readers to let me have details of their
SCSI cards and SCSI devices with a view to making the data available to
readers, hopefully to help future purchasers avoid problem areas. By
coincidence, and for the same reason, Keith Hodge asked for the same
data two pages later. He and I have pooled the responses and this
article is by way of an initial report. Anything in double-quotes is
cribbed straight from readers’ letters.
8.2
Some twenty readers have responded to date; sincere thanks to you all
for making the effort to send such detailed and helpful replies. That
said, there must be far more than twenty readers with SCSI systems, so
how about more replies folks? The more data for the database, the more
useful it will be. Only two of the SCSI interface manufacturers
responded to my letters so we are rather short of details there.
Fortunately, a couple of third-parties have come up with some very
valuable data; many thanks to David Pilling and Dave Webb (NCS).
8.2
The database
8.2
The information received to date is shown on the table (presentation
courtesy of TableMate 2). The data has been accepted ‘as is’ and is
given in good faith but, clearly, neither I nor the publishers of
Archive can accept any responsibility for its accuracy or use. Caveat
emptor and all that. If anyone spots errors, please do let me have
details. If and when further data becomes available, this will be added
and the survey re-issued as appropriate.
8.2
In the body of the table, a single or multiple tick indicates one or
more reader-reports of successful operation of the SCSI device when
connected to the listed interface. Similarly, a cross indicates a
reported incompatibility. Where an asterisk is added, this indicates a
‘grey area’ where, typically, success was achieved only after one or
more problems were ironed out. Unfortunately, these details are far too
extensive to include in this survey but, should anyone be considering
moving into a combination of card/device with an asterisk against it,
and would like to receive details of the relevant reader-report, please
drop me a line with a stamped, addressed envelope and you shall have a
photocopy by return. The same goes for any other information with which
I may be able to help.
8.2
The model of host computer used does not appear to have any bearing on
compatibility so details are not included. However, it should be borne
in mind that, when converting to a Risc PC for example, it may be
advisable or even essential to have your SCSI interface upgraded to take
advantage of latest improvements. Generally, this will involve buying an
upgrade kit and often entails swapping a ROM on the SCSI card.
8.2
The SCSI cards
8.2
The table lists all known SCSI interface cards for Acorn computers,
although one grey area is whether some of the cards are still available.
For example, it is known that supplies of the State Machine Eco card are
almost exhausted and will not be resurrected. The Cumana SCSI II card is
a recent entrant and I’m not sure about availability. Castle Technology
have recently taken over the marketing and support of the Lindis/
Lingenuity SCSI cards and up-to-date software is available for all
versions of the interface.  They plan to release a new 8/16-bit card at
Acorn World 94.
8.2
Hardware and software version numbers are the most recent reported.
There seems to be near-equality in the version of CDFS used on the
various interfaces. The reason for this is that the software is included
under licence from Acorn.
8.2
With the exception of the Atomwide and State Machine Eco cards, all
interfaces have a socket on the card for an internal device and a second
socket on the rear panel for connection of external SCSI device(s).
There is only one reported limitation on choice of podule slot; in the
Risc PC, the Morley cards should be inserted in Slot 1. Following
installation, the Morley and Oak cards have to be configured so they
know which slot they are in, which devices are attached, and so on; this
also applies if you move the card from one slot to another.
8.2
Both variants of the externally-mounted Atomwide SCSI interface (with
and without printer socket) plug into the bi-directional printer port of
A5000s and the Risc PC and have a single socket for SCSI devices. They
are compatible with Computer Concepts’ TurboDrivers and the dreaded
dongles.
8.2
The State Machine Eco card is a most interesting option. It is a small
module which plugs into the Econet socket of the A300/A400/A540/A3000/
A5000 computers (for safety’s sake, early A3000 owners are advised to
have it fitted by a dealer − something to do with the unprotected power
supply). The card has a single 50-pin edge-connector for an internal
SCSI device, although it would be possible to take a flying lead through
the computer case for connecting devices externally. Apart from the
advantage of not taking up a podule slot, it appears the card is
remarkably compatible with all manner of devices including CD-ROMs and
scanners. The card is actually stamped ‘Floptical Interface’. Software
comes on disc and there has been mention of running CDFS with Kodak
PhotoCD support. Another great advantage is the cost − £35 + VAT!
Unfortunately, supplies are running out so you may need to get in quick.
8.2
Hard disc drives
8.2
Maximum free memory on storage devices, including hard discs, is usually
5-9% less than the nominal capacity of the device. The data listed in
the table under ‘Capacity’ gives an indication of the lower figure,
where known. There is some confusion over the Rodime drive model numbers
and capacity so, if you move into that area, do double-check you are
getting what you want.
8.2
Apart from the two tabulated incompatibilities with the Quantum 105S
drive, there were no reported problems in getting hard disc drives to
work reliably, whether mounted internally or externally. There were two
reports of drive failure, both Quantum, model(s) not known.
8.2
Use of fan quieteners was questioned in relation to whether hard disc
drives were put at risk of overheating. Two readers commented that
fitting a fan quietener had little beneficial effect as it turned out
the drive was noisier than the fan!
8.2
Cartridge drives
8.2
The flexibility and potentially unlimited capacity of removable
cartridge drives is making them increasingly popular. There was only one
reported difficulty in getting a drive to run (a duff drive, replaced by
NCS). Over a year ago, Oak said their card was not recommended for
SyQuest drives but I’m not sure if this is still the case.
8.2
Most drive owners reported that, unless a cartridge is inserted and
running in the Syquest drive when the computer is shut down (*Shutdown
or <shift-ctrl-f12>), the computer will hang up with error messages
depending on the SCSI interface. Two readers readily admitted that,
because of this shortfall, they no longer shut down their computers in
the approved manner. Does anyone have any advice on this problem? Is
this OK or detrimental to the health of hard discs? The Acorn card
throws up an error message but will allow shutdown.
8.2
Floptical drives
8.2
Although three readers reported successful operation of floptical
drives, there were quite a few problems to be resolved and, with
questions being asked about follow-up support, it seems to be a dodgy
area. “...(Installing a floptical) was probably a mistake. I should have
saved up for a Syquest drive for backing-up purposes”.
8.2
Tape streamers
8.2
There was only one reported use and there were problems with tape
capacity and in setting it up. “This will soon be replaced with a
removable ... drive”, so he can’t be too happy with it.
8.2
CD-ROM drives
8.2
There were few significant problems setting up CD-ROM drives. The Sony
CDU-8003A is actually an Apple (who?) CD300 and needs a patch, available
from Acorn dealers including NCS.
8.2
As reported recently in Products Available (7.10 p4), Morley supply a
special driver to use multisession PhotoCD with the Toshiba drives. This
is now supplied with Morley cards but is also available as an upgrade on
disc for other interfaces and earlier Morley cards.
8.2
I had a problem recently when running audio CDs in a Toshiba drive
connected to a Morley cached card (intermittent stopping). If you get
this problem, contact Morley who have a replacement chip available. Two
readers with Morley cards mentioned their computers crashed if they
clicked on a CD-drive icon and there was no disc in the drive (the Acorn
card gives a ‘Drive empty’ error).
8.2
Scanners
8.2
This is a fast-moving area with falling prices and increasing
availability of potentially suitable scanners. However, there are
numerous reports of certain units being “picky” as to which interfaces
they will run from, or otherwise being less than stable.
8.2
Irlam recommend the Morley cards for the Epson scanners. The Acorn card
will also run the Model 8000 and − with tweaking − can be made to run
the 6500, but this is not advisable. Reportedly, the Hewlett-Packard
scanners are not reliable on the Morley cards (“it ... seems an
intermittent problem − if you switch the system on and off enough times,
then eventually it works”). Integrex recommend only the Cumana card for
their CS300 while the Aries Relisys scanners from Watford Electronics
will operate only with the Cumana SCSI II interface.
8.2
Installation
8.2
One brave soul successfully converted an external device to internal use
by removing the gubbins and installing it in a Risc PC. The only
problems reported were finding the power cable (hidden under the floppy
drive), getting a suitable data cable and, as the device finished up
without terminators, having to make sure it was in the middle of the
SCSI daisy-chain. I’m not sure I would want to ‘Risc’ doing this −
wouldn’t the device/computer warranties be affected?
8.2
Connections
8.2
Tying everything together seems to cause no end of problems and
confusion, mainly due to there being little standardisation of
connectors and, sometimes, inappropriate names being used to identify
them.
8.2
All internal interfaces have an oblong, 50-pin, edge-connector plug
mounted on the card itself, normally used for connecting an internal
device, commonly by a ribbon cable terminated by a 50-pin header socket.
(The term ‘IDC’ − insulation displacement connector − is often used but,
strictly speaking, this refers to the method used to fix ribbon cable to
the plug or socket, a clever crimping tool being used to avoid having to
solder individual connections.)
8.2
External connectors can be one of three types; a 50-pin edge-connector
as described above, a 25-pin D-type socket or a 50-pin Centronics socket
(rather like a printer socket but bigger − called ‘Amphenol’ by NCS).
There is an odd man out − the HCCS Ultimate micropodule has a
proprietary connector but I understand is supplied with an adaptor lead
with a Centronics plug attached.
8.2
External boxes or devices will have a connector which can be any of the
three main types mentioned above, although Centronics is probably the
most common these days. Many external devices will have two sockets,
allowing for easy connection in the middle of a SCSI daisy-chain. The
actual cables for external connection are normally of two types; a 25/
50-way ribbon cable, usually with IDC connections, or a heavy-duty 1cm
diameter screened cable. Clearly, with this range of different
connectors and cables, you could easily finish up with the wrong type.
NCS and others can supply cables to suit but more than one reader
reported having to have a ‘special’ made up or resorted to DIY.
8.2
Device ident & termination
8.2
There seems to be considerable confusion about device identification and
termination. This is not altogether surprising as, in my view, interface
and device manufacturers make the whole thing unnecessarily complex,
whilst user-guides are often over-technical with sloppy editing. The
outcome is that many people reported problems, not all of which were
sorted out by the suppliers. Some admit to simply ignoring things like
correct termination (“If it works, why fix it?”).
8.2
Make no mistake, if you do not correctly terminate your SCSI system, you
run the risk of corrupting data or even damaging your SCSI card and
devices (I’ve seen two cards ‘blown’ on PCs). The subject is outside the
scope of this survey but Dave Webb at NCS has sent me a copy of a very
well-written and informative guide they send to customers which would
form the basis of a good Archive article.
8.2
(OK, I’ll see if we can get it out as an article next month. Ed.)
8.2
Sales Support
8.2
Where readers had hit problems before or after purchase and required
assistance, the standard of support varied widely. Cumana, Integrex,
Irlam and Technology Matrix all attracted pleasing comments, with
especial praise for both Morley and NCS (“exemplary ... service ...
customer support”). HCCS had very mixed reviews, ranging from “excellent
support” (Archive 8.1 p40) to being severely criticised by two readers
(“HCCS basically didn’t want to know”).
8.2
The bottom line
8.2
Anyone reading this survey from cold may form the view that SCSI systems
are difficult to master, fraught with problems and should be avoided.
This is not intended; there are lots of ticks on the table and every one
represents a successful, ‘plug in and go’ situation. However, anyone
setting up a SCSI arrangement should anticipate that there may be
problems and, hopefully, this survey will help you avoid at least some
of them.
8.2
One recurrent theme in readers’ letters is that, where problems do
occur, you should not hesitate to ask for help. The best places to go
will be the SCSI interface manufacturers (generally) or, perhaps better
still, deal with a reputable supplier. Here are a selection of
unsolicited comments:
8.2
“Very few SCSI setup problems can’t be solved.”
8.2
“As one would expect, (NCS) eventually got everything sorted out OK − at
no time was I worried that I would be left with a scanner that would not
work.”
8.2
“I would strongly recommend that anyone contemplating buying SCSI
equipment do so through a reputable Acorn dealer and describe clearly
what set up they are trying to achieve. If I’d tried to do it myself, I
could easily have ended up with two devices that had the same SCSI
number, or had problems with setting up the connections.”
8.2
Please do send me further reports which I will add to the database and
make available on request. And don’t hesitate to ask for more
information (usual rules: no SAE = no reply). Jim Nottingham, 16
Westfield Close, Pocklington, York, YO4 2EY.  A
8.2
Text continues on page 62...
8.2
Hints and Tips
8.2
•  A3000 bulging case − My early A3000 had, from the start, a standard
Acorn monitor stand upon which was a AKF17 monitor. Of late, I found the
upper case section, on the left hand side by the power supply, had
started to bulge out from the bottom section. This was caused by the
weight of the monitor supported by the Acorn stand only on the extreme
edges of the case.
8.2
In my job as IT Technician at school, I had noticed (having removed
countless covers for various reasons) there have been two upgrades to
the cases, and one of the upgrades had special strengthening and
interlocking around this area, no doubt with this in mind. The latest,
Mk 3 version is available as an Acorn spare part. The base of the new
case requires a lot of work in removing the PCB and any upgrades, and
the power supply design has changed making the changeover awkward.
However the new case lid will fit onto the old base and this alone
offers enough strength to cure the problem.  K R Coton, Solihull.
8.2
•  Disabling POST test (and other useful ‘bits’) − One of our customers
found that because the POST (Power On Self Test, or the software that
makes the screen flash pretty colours at switch on and flashes the
floppy light at you when things go wrong), had been partly disabled,
meaning that his SCSI drive was not given sufficient time to get ready
before the SCSI card demanded its attention. Some people may have
disabled this after installing certain versions of the VIDC enhancer.
The POST will always be reactivated by a delete-power on, but there is a
more subtle way of switching it on or off. Byte 188 (&BC) of the CMOS
RAM contains 8 bits which affect various miscellaneous configuration
options.
8.2
  Bits 0-1  ROMFS Opt 4 state
8.2
  Bit 2  cache icon enable state
8.2
  Bit 3-5  screen blanker time: 0=off, 1=30s, 2=1min, 3=2min, 4=5min,
5=10min, 6=15min, 7=30min.
8.2
  Bit 6  screen blanker/Wrch interaction: 0=ignore Wrch,
8.2
    1=Wrch unblanks screen
8.2
  Bit 7  hardware (POST) test disable: 0=full tests, 1=disable long
tests at power-up.
8.2
RISC OS 3 PRM, 1-358, Acorn Computers Ltd.
8.2
The program disc contains a simple program for altering the state of any
of these bits.  David Webb, NCS.
8.2
•  Inkjet printers and paper quality − A number of items have appeared
here and elsewhere on how to realise to the full the potential quality
of printouts with ink-jet printers. At 300 dpi, one would think it ought
to be indistinguishable from the output from a laser printer with the
same resolution.
8.2
Why is there a problem? All papers are made from fibres, matted
together; thus, if you put a drop of liquid onto a piece of paper, the
fluid will flow between these fibres, carrying with it any dye or
colourant: hence the fuzzy edges of the output from inkjet printers with
unsuitable papers. Coating the paper can eliminate the problem, but at a
substantial cost. However, with careful design of the paper making
process, it is possible to minimise (though not eliminate) this
‘bleeding’.
8.2
I wrote to Hewlett Packard and asked for their recommendations They came
up with two types of paper and their suppliers. I got some samples, and
both were very good but, by a small margin, ‘Versoix Copy’ seemed to me
the better (and cheaper). The other, ‘Reyjet’, is close behind and both
are streets ahead of most ordinary photocopier paper. Neither is very
expensive (about £3.00 per ream for Vesiox and £5.50 for Reyjet) but
neither are very readily available. If you write to the distributors,
they will send you samples and the name of your nearest stockist.
8.2
Versoix Copy − Darent Paper Agencies, Wandle House, Riverside Drive,
Mitcham, Surrey, CR4 4SU. (0181-640-4102)
8.2
Reyjet − Denian Paper Ltd, Unit D2, West Mill, Imperial Business Estate.
Gravesend, Kent, DA11 0DL. (01474-569919)  Barry Humpidge.
8.2
•  Irregular text frames in Publisher − In response to one of Keith
Parker’s wish-it-did-that moans in the Comment Column (8.1 p31), I would
suggest that whilst irregular text frames would be nice, the use of a
regular frame “framed” by a couple of repelling irregular graphics
frames (drag an empty drawfile into blank frames) does the job, with a
little fiddling.  John McCartney.
8.2
•  Large banners in Impression − To create a six foot long banner, or
similar, using Impression, create a new master page, “Banner”, width
72“, depth 8”, Landscape, margins 0.5 with one column. Quit the master
pages and alter the chapter of the document, selecting “Banner” as the
master page. Change the font size to around 400 point and centre the
text. Type the banner message. Print out on tractor fed continuous paper
(sideways!). Vector offers some useful banners ready made, or you can
use Impression’s Borders in ‘Alter Frame’, to enhance the finished
article.  Irene Quinn, Thetford, Norfolk.
8.2
•  Laser Direct on the Risc PC − If you are upgrading to a Risc PC and
have an elderly Laser Direct card, it will not work if it is “Issue one”
(the computer will not initialise after the board has been plugged into
one of the expansion slots). This type can be quickly identified by the
fact that it is the only version where there is a ribbon cable
connecting the circuit board to the printer output socket. Computer
Concepts will exchange this type of board for the latest version for
£100. You will probably also need a copy of the most recent version
(2.63) of the printer driver disc at £10.  David Smith, Edinburgh.
8.2
•  More Sleuths on the case − If you are lucky enough to have lots of
memory on your machine you can run two or more copies of Sleuth at the
same time, so that if you are OCRing several pages of text, the rate of
OCRing can be considerably increased. On a simple test run, two copies
running saved 36% on the time taken and three copies saved nearly 50% on
the time! It then occurred to me that using more than one copy might be
infringing the software licence, but on checking with Risc Developments,
I was assured that this was not the case.  Philip Foster, Cambridge.
8.2
•  Turbo charging draft printing with a Deskjet printer − What I didn’t
realise, until I tried it by accident, was that the ‘Draft’ button on
the printer worked with graphic (e.g. output from Impression), as well
as ‘straight’ printing. Thus, with your printer driver set to 150 dpi,
and the ‘draft’ light on, you can produce readable copies for proof
reading in virtually no time at all!  Barry Humpidge.
8.2
•  Turbo Driver v4 and Dongles − If you are using CC’s Turbo Driver v4
on a computer with a bi-directional parallel port, via a dongle, the
status signals don’t get through. This includes signals, such as “paper
out” and “printer offline” etc. If the driver software is looking for
these signals you may find that printing is blocked. To bypass the
problem call up the configuration dialogue box and configure to ignore
status signals.  Nick Harris, Norwich.  A
8.2
Tudor Monarchs & Tudor Clipart
8.2
Ed Archer
8.2
Tudor Monarchs is produced by Angelsoft Educational and contains a set
of three discs, thirteen worksheets and two manuals. The reason for the
three disc set is that Tudor Monarchs is basically an electronic book
which is run from the first disc containing a Magpie reader. This is a
sound idea in so far as it encourages both teachers and pupils to make
up their own electronic book. The way in which Magpie can be used is
well described in both manuals.
8.2
The first disc could have had more pages in it − this is a criticism I
would apply to all the discs, in that there was too much free space. I
thought the content was reasonable although there were several notable
historical inaccuracies e.g. Germany and Italy did not exist as
countries. Some of the pictures were poor, e.g. the view of the Star
Chamber was rather dark. On the plus side, the pop up pages were a very
good idea.
8.2
The second disc had some good sections such as the introduction to the
reign of Edward VI and I found the picture of the stake a moving touch
in relation to the religious persecutions in the reign of Mary Tudor.
The text could have been more informative, especially in the Drama
section. More use could have been made of Tudor music.
8.2
The worksheets were disappointing on two counts. First of all, there
were no illustrations and, in my opinion, these are vital to hold a
child’s interest. Also, the questions should have been framed in the
context of the 5-14 curriculum. This is of great importance to teachers
and needs to be addressed.
8.2
Tudor Clipart − Again, there seemed to be a great deal of wasted disc
space in the set of four discs. This amounted to more than one disc, and
I also felt that the clipart could have been compressed.
8.2
The manual was very useful and the tips regarding conversion from Draw
to Paint were very useful. It was very much to the point and was very
user friendly.
8.2
The actual contents of the discs was variable. In particular, on Disc 1,
I liked the portrait of Henry VIII but I did think that more care could
have been taken with the alignment of the pictures as several were off
the paper limits. I was especially impressed by the coat of arms and the
family tree on Disc 2 and the heads would be useful for the production
of worksheets.
8.2
Disc 3 of the clipart set was a mixed bag. The map of Wales was
excellent but more detail and explanation would have been very useful
for both the Flodden map and the Armada map. The ships on the disc were
of variable quality, although the one of the Golden Hind was very good.
8.2
Disc 4 also had its good and bad points. First of all, I did not know
they had rifles in Tudor Britain! The bibles were rather disappointing
and looked distinctly 20th century. The buildings and the country life
sections were the best ones on this disc.
8.2
My general view of the packages is that they represent a lot of hard
work but they do need some revision before I would give them an
unequivocal recommendation.
8.2
Tudor Monarchs costs £20 +VAT and includes a site licence. Tudor clipart
costs £15 +VAT but if you purchase both together, the cost will be £30
+VAT from Angelsoft.  A
8.2
PD on CD
8.2
Paul Hooper & Tony Stevens
8.2
(Ooops! I seem to have ended up with two reviews of the same product.
I’ll try to shuffle the two into one and, hopefully, end up with
something that reflects the views of both rather than the views of
neither! Ed.)
8.2
Paul Hooper starts...
8.2
As a frequent user of PD libraries, I have found that they are, like the
proverbial curate’s egg, good in parts. Certainly, there are many PD
programs on my hard disc that I would not be without and I have many
floppy discs filled with music, clipart, animations and other things
that may come in useful one day. The trouble is that, along with many
gems, there is an awful lot of PD that I would not give disc-room.
8.2
Now couple this with the huge storage capacity of a CD and it is a
classic recipe for a lot of ‘Shovelware’. So how does this offering
measure up?
8.2
PDCD One from Datafile
8.2
The CD contains about 250Mb of data for a total cost of £30. Now if you
work on the assumption that most PD discs cost £1 a piece, the CD
contains about £320 of software. Yet how much of this would you have
bought? Well, I thought I would go through my own collection of PD
material and see how much of it was now duplicated on the CD. I soon
worked out that, taking into account the clipart, I had well over 40Mb
of this material on a mixture of floppy and hard disc, so the thought of
freeing up all this storage space quite appealed to me. Also, that
amount of material has cost me well over £50 when it was bought on
floppy disc.
8.2
Warning
8.2
I then set out to explore more of the disc and, with my six year old
daughter, I went through all the sillies and much of the clipart. When I
opened the box, I had noticed a small slip of paper saying that some of
the JPEG files were ‘unsuitable for children’ and I steered well clear
of these until she was in bed. I’m glad I did, because there were a
number of fantasy horror style pictures and also some images that belong
on the top shelf of a newsagents. Is it really necessary to include
files like this on a CD? The problem is that, being a read-only medium,
it is impossible to remove them.
8.2
The rest
8.2
Much of the rest is very good material although a number of the games
and utilities failed to work on my A5000 and how compatible these sort
of things are with the Risc PC is open to question. As David Holden said
in the PD Column last month, this looks like a CD that was put together
in a hurry − many of the utilities are quite old versions.
8.2
Tony gives a much more detailed breakdown of the contents, so over to
him...
8.2
(Tony was using a Risc PC and had problems with quite a bit of the CD
not running properly. The Datafile are aware of these problems but the
CD was produced before they managed to get hold of a machine on which to
test the software. However, they are producing a module which will solve
90%+ of the problems. If you have already bought the CD and want a copy
of the module, drop the Datafile a line and they will send you a copy as
soon as it is ready. Ed.)
8.2
Getting started
8.2
Clicking on the CD icon opens a window containing an application called
!Database and fourteen directories; Animation; Clipart; Demos; Fractals;
Games; GamesDemos; Graphics; Languages; Magazines; Music; Raytracers;
Schools; Sillies and Utilities.
8.2
The Database application is a text reader for a comprehensive index of
the contents of the disc. Interactive help is available and should be
used to get the best from the application.
8.2
The Animations directory includes a copy of !Projector which shows files
from the Euclid package. The 26 animations all work and the quality is
high and the variety good.
8.2
The clipart directory contains a wide variety of items in both drawfile
and sprite format but as is usual with these large collections, there is
a wide variation in the quality. Some of it is frankly rubbish,
particularly among the collection of sprites, and I wish the PD
libraries would weed some of this out. There is also a lot of
duplication with several directories in the collection containing a
significant number of the same clips. A little more attention at the
editorial stage would have been sensible. Even so, this is an enormous
collection and the bad is more than adequately balanced by the good;
some very good indeed. Your own perception of the clips on offer is
going to be coloured by your particular needs, but the quantity ensures
that there must be something here for you.
8.2
There are 72 Demos in the collection but since the majority do not work
with the Risc PC I can make no useful comment.
8.2
The Fractals programs are all good examples of their type but at least
one locked up the machine when I attempted to exit to the desktop. You
won’t be able to resist browsing and PD programs are notorious for poor
programming disciplines, so take a tip from me and temporarily disable
your auto-boot sequence, it makes the re-entry process less painful.
8.2
There are 72 games and 24 games demos, certainly enough to cause brain
death. Despite being warned that they do not work on the Risc PC, I
tried a few and some do work.
8.2
The graphics samples are supplied in GIF and JPEG formats. Don’t panic
if you do not have a loader, suitable programs are available from the
Utilities directory on the same disc. There are 306 separate graphics
samples on a wide variety of subjects and with a few exceptions, they
reproduce with an acceptable quality level.
8.2
For the programmer, there is a selection of eleven different program
languages, including Forth and a version of C.
8.2
Next comes a selection of four disc-based magazines. I could not check
these because some do not take kindly to the Risc PC.
8.2
The music collection consists of Coconizer with 22 tunes, SoundTracker
modules with 77 tunes and Symphony with 220 tunes. Coconizer would not
run on the wonder machine but SoundTracker and Symphony did. There are
plenty of tunes although the soundtracker songs are all very similar,
percussive and suitable for fourteen year olds writing yet another super
demo. The Symphony tracks, although born of the same family are
altogether more professional with good quality sound samples and a
smooth playing style which suggests some formal musical training
somewhere in the loop. Computer music fans will not be disappointed with
this section.
8.2
The next group of goodies are four Ray Tracing applications. I have not
tested any of these but I am sure they all work. At least one seems to
work on the Risc PC.
8.2
The Schools section consists of 36 programs, all useful, with plenty of
variety including chemistry; maths (including graphs); languages
(English, French and Chinese!); a typing tutor; telling the time; two
and four stroke engine simulations; educational games such as Scrabble;
and some quizzes. Some of the programs are suitable for primary
education.
8.2
The Sillies section has over seventy programs including classics such as
Loco Brolly and Deskduck. Some are amusing, some irritating and some
downright infuriating. Have you ever felt violent when the Silly won’t
go away? Well don’t worry, if the desktop duck gets out of hand you even
have a program to shoot it.
8.2
For many people, the Utilities section will be the highlight of this CD.
There are over two hundred and eighty different utilities including a
spreadsheet, a number of databases including Superbase, text editors,
file and graphics handlers, font tools and comms utilities. It would be
pointless to try to list all of the features but, in addition to the
utilitarian, there are a number which provide information which is
either useful or of educational value. One such is the Gutenburg
Project, the purpose of which is to encourage the creation and
distribution of English language electronic texts. The sample included
on this disc contains no fewer than nineteen full length books including
the Bible, two of H.G.Wells books, the Alice books and the CIA World
Factbook.
8.2
Conclusion
8.2
Is it worth the £30 asking price? I think that depends on your level of
experience and what you have already accumulated in the way of PD
software. There is a tremendous range of programs on this CD and even
though I have some top class dedicated programs, I have found a
significant number of interesting and useful items which I am looking
forward to exploring in some depth. You won’t browse the contents of
this disc in one day.
8.2
Despite my own satisfaction, I cannot recommend this product
unreservedly to Risc PC owners, there are too many items which do not
work and, among those which do, a significant amount of duplication.
(But remember that this has been improved since Tony first looked at
this CD.)
8.2
If you do not use a Risc PC but already have a significant amount of PD,
you will need to examine the contents of the disc before committing
yourself. On balance, I feel you will not be disappointed.
8.2
The real benefit is to those of you who are relatively new to the Acorn
world or have a strictly limited budget. If that is the case, this CD
will provide competent programs in almost every important area of
computing activity.  A
8.2
Badge Here
8.2
Trevor!!
8.2
Continued from inside front cover...
8.2
P.B.
8.2
According to Theory B, the chances are that you are being affected by a
disease of the heart called ‘pride’ which affects a human being’s
judgement. “Are you trying to tell me that for all the xxx years I have
lived on this earth I have been wrong in my view of God?” Well, yes,
possibly.
8.2
Tell me, are you open enough in your thinking to investigate a new (old)
Theory? “No thanks, I don’t want to end up a religious nutcase like you,
Paul.” You see, you are at it again. You’re not approaching this coldly
and clinically and logically. You’re saying, “I’m not going to look into
this because I don’t like the implications. If I came to believe in
Theory B, I’d be an object of ridicule in my family and at work.”
8.2
Are you really prepared to examine the evidence for Theory B? Are you
really prepared to face up to the implications that follow if you do
come to the conclusion that the evidence is very strong that, for
example, Jesus did rise from the dead? Well, I tell you, all over the
UK, thousands of people are looking into it by going on these Alpha
courses, and thousands of people are saying that their lives have been
transformed by God in a wonderful way. I have seen my own 49-year-old
cousin change in a most wonderful way recently − he has such a peace and
a new joy − it’s just brilliant to see!
8.2
“Huh! It’s getting worse! More religious mumbo-jumbo. They’re obviously
being brain-washed! Silly people! I wouldn’t fall for that.” Well, all I
can say is that, if it is brain-washing, it must be very clever brain-
washing because the people becoming Christians are taking their friends
on the next course − and they are going along because they can see that
something has happened to their friend and they want to know what it is.
8.2
“This is getting ridiculous! The God-slot is getting longer and longer.
Religion is taking over the Archive magazine − and I paid good money for
it.” Sorry about that but I’ll give you a pro-rata refund for the
missing technical information or a refund if you want to cancel your
subscription in disgust. But if Theory B IS correct then it is THE most
important thing for EVERYONE to find out about. Why not check it out?
You’ve nothing to lose and everything to gain!
8.2
ARM Programming − Part 5
8.2
James Riden
8.2
Sometimes, a particular project, such as a demo or game, will require a
large amount of graphics. The sprites may take up a lot of space on disc
and the time taken to load them can become irritating. This month, we
are going to look at a solution to this problem in the shape of data
compression.
8.2
The easiest algorithm is known as ‘run length encoding’. It makes use of
the fact that a lot of data in sprite files is repeated again and again.
For example, if you saved your desktop screen with Paint, there would
probably be many uninterrupted rows of grey background. Assume for the
moment that we are using a 256 colour mode. Stored in a sprite file, a
row of 100 grey pixels would take up 100 bytes. However, if this were
stored as a value representing the grey colour and another value to
indicate the number of pixels in the sequence, this could then be stored
in two bytes.
8.2
Sadly, in real life things are not quite that simple. If we tried to
compress a screen using this method, and no two adjacent pixels were the
same, we would need two bytes to store each pixel − one for the colour
and one more to tell us that there is only one pixel in this sequence.
So we would make the file double its original size.
8.2
A good solution is to store sequences as either ‘different’ sequences or
‘same’ sequences. If three or more bytes are the same, we can gain by
encoding the sequence (because it will take only two bytes to store).
Therefore we store the following:
8.2
same flag [1 bit]
8.2
number of same bytes [7 bits]
8.2
value of bytes [8 bits]
8.2
This still only takes up two bytes but we can only use it for sequences
for up to 127 repeated bytes since we need one bit as a flag. Now if we
have a ‘different’ sequence, we can store the number of different bytes
following and not waste space on the frequency of each individual byte.
For example, to store the sequence 124,56,78,55,1,45 we scan through
until we have got to the end of the ‘different’ sequence and then output
:
8.2
different flag [1 bit]
8.2
number of different bytes [7 bits]
8.2
first byte, second byte, third byte, etc.
8.2
 [8 bits each]
8.2
So, in this case, we would store 6,124,56,78,55,1,45.
8.2
We are therefore able to store dissimilar sequences fairly efficiently.
Now we need to write down a “recipe” for our routine and then implement
it. Note that, in practice, a ‘different’ sequence is terminated when we
find a ‘same’ sequence. I am assuming that the flag is kept in the byte
used for frequency.
8.2
load two bytes
8.2
if they are different then
8.2
  carry on loading bytes until we find three
8.2
 or more similar in a row or we
8.2
 finish the input data
8.2
  store the ‘different’ flag
8.2
  store the number of different bytes
8.2
  store the sequence we have just scanned
8.2
endif
8.2
if they are the same then
8.2
  carry on loading bytes until we find a
8.2
 dissimilar byte
8.2
  store the ‘same’ flag
8.2
  store the number of same bytes
8.2
  store the value of the same bytes
8.2
endif
8.2
To restore the compressed file is much easier. We need to go through the
data and either load once and store many times or load and store many
times.
8.2
load a byte
8.2
if the ‘different’ flag is set then
8.2
  initialise counter with the number of
8.2
 different bytes
8.2
  load a byte and store it
8.2
  decrement counter and loop if necessary
8.2
endif
8.2
if the ‘same’ flag is set then
8.2
  load byte containing value of same bytes
8.2
  initialise counter with the frequency of
8.2
 same bytes
8.2
  store the value of the same bytes
8.2
  decrement counter and loop
8.2
To implement this, we need to decide what is to be done about sequences
of more than 127 bytes. Either we can terminate the sequence at 127 or
we can scan how many there are and then break the total down in 127 byte
blocks. To a store sequence of 300 bytes of value 34 we can store
[127,34,127, 34,46,34] which is still a very effective compression
ratio.
8.2
At each load, you need to check that you haven’t run out of data. If you
are compressing a mode 12 or a mode 13 screen then remember that they
are 81920 bytes long and you need to stop and output the current
sequence when you get to the end.
8.2
Try it and see how you get on. A copy of my program is on the monthly
disc in case you need to look at it. If you have any suggestions for
future articles, perhaps you would leave a message with Paul at the
Archive office.  A
8.2
Squirrel 2 Update
8.2
Tim Nicholson
8.2
In Archive 7.5 p67, I reviewed version 2.00 of Squirrel, and concluded
that, although the program had promise, it contained a number of bugs,
some quite serious, which severely limited the benefit of upgrading from
version 1.xx. I promised to report on the progress of version 2 as
Digital Services sought to iron out the problems. I had hoped to be able
to do so sooner but unfortunately development took longer than expected.
8.2
Now and then
8.2
At the end of 1993, an intermediate version 2.03 was released which was
claimed to fix the reported problems. However, apart from fixing the
serious problem which prevented use of the compression option, and one
or two minor tweaks, the problems reported in the earlier review were
still present. Some had altered slightly in their effect, but they still
prevented correct operation of some facilities. I sent Digital Services
a list of the problems that I had found still to be present, together
with sample files which demonstrated the faults. I requested them to
suggest solutions or workarounds until the problems had been fixed.
Although the reply I received did not answer my specific points, it
sounded hopeful, and I quote, “I have reported the problems you have
encountered and you should find these fixed shortly... ...May I suggest
you contact us in four weeks or so to request a new version.”
Unfortunately, this time scale proved to be wishful thinking and
eventually, after several phone calls, I received a copy of 2.07 in
June.
8.2
As I worked my way through the new version, I discovered that although
many problems had been attended to, a number of areas where I had
reported difficulties appeared unchanged. I again wrote to Digital
Services pointing this out, and again requested help on the particular
items which were outstanding. Their reply this time was less
encouraging, and I quote, “We will investigate the problems reported and
the result of this should appear in the next release. We do not have a
date for this release currently, but I can inform you that it is not
imminent.” Once again no comment was made on the items for which I had
specifically requested help. I therefore proceeded to prepare my update
article on the basis of version 2.07 and the information, or lack of it,
I received from Digital Services. As I did so I came across another
“feature” of Squirrel which I had not previously been aware of, and
which caused me to become even more disenchanted with the support I had
received. This was reflected in that article, which Digital Services
felt was unrepresentative. However, it did serve to make them respond to
the particular issues I had raised, and produce version 2.08 rather more
quickly than they might otherwise have done! The following comments then
are based upon my look at 2.07 amended where necessary by changes in
2.08 and the responses I eventually received from Digital Services.
8.2
The acid test
8.2
A number of interrelated problems were to do with the new List mode
feature and, frankly, as it had stood, it was unusable. I was delighted
to find that all the problems I had encountered had gone. Sorting worked
on the selected field, switching between Card mode and List mode could
be done with impunity, and although GOTO was still not on the List mode
menu, it could be engaged with the <f5> ‘hot-key’ shortcut. The toolbar
buttons also correctly mimicked the Page Up/Page Down buttons. In short,
this section now worked properly and could be used fully, I was
delighted.
8.2
I moved on to look at default entry. This had not worked correctly for
date fields and could cause error messages, the problem is now resolved
in 2.08.
8.2
I turned my attention to Batch updating. I had had problems with date
fields when trying to batch update an age field. Once again, there was
still a problem, albeit minor. A batch updated age field which was
specified as a numeric type insisted on displaying an age in the form
AA/00/00, although this only occurred when in the Batch Query view. When
looked at normally, the display was thankfully correct − according to
Digital Services, this problem will occur if the type of a field is
altered whilst a Query window using that field is also open. The Query
reflects the old field type and not the new one. This situation is
easily avoided, and I had got into it because I had expected the AGE
function to return a full days/months/years result. However, since
calculated fields are always numeric, the returned result is only the
years part of the answer. This rather limits the usefulness of the
function. Other calculations involving dates produce results as a number
of days which is accurate if not easily interpreted without further
massaging.
8.2
Next I looked at the Graphing mode where I had encountered a problem
with the count function. This is designed to produce plots of sizes of
groups by counting the number of records where a field matches a
particular parameter e.g. age. I had a simple pie chart to plot the
number of people in each age range against that age. Instead of getting
one group of size X for those of age N, I sometimes ended up with X
entries of people aged N each with a size of one. According to Digital
Services, this behaviour is because the sort order affects the grouping
in the graph, but I could find no mention of this in the manual, which
is at great pains to point out this feature in relation to nesting
within reports. I hope it might find a mention in the errata file which
is supplied with upgrades, and which has been added to significantly in
this latest release. Indeed it now includes a warning about the
potential problems of merging mismatched tables which I had encountered,
and numerous hints and tips making it an important read when upgrading.
8.2
One problem which I have not reported on before, came to light when I
set about upgrading my hardware from an ageing A440 to a Risc PC. As an
interim measure, I have taken to using the children’s A3010 with an
Atomwide Printer/SCSI adaptor and my original external hard drive
containing my main applications, including Squirrel. At this point, I
discovered that Squirrel version two will only run on the machine on
which it is installed/upgraded. When run, it checks the unique machine
ID which is provided in the later Acorn machines. If the number doesn’t
tally with the number it found when installed/upgraded, it reports the
fact and steadfastly refuses to run.
8.2
Using the unique machine ID in this way is against Acorns guidelines,
but Digital Services say that they find it necessary given the poor
level of copyright law awareness, particularly in schools, where
Squirrel is an ideal application, and is easily used/misused on
networks. Whilst this is a valid point, it is imperative that some
method of re-installing the application on another machine is available
for genuine users. At the time I discovered this problem (some 9 months
after the release of the product) Digital Services did not have any such
system. It took them a week to get me a beta test of a utility (which
partly solved the problem) and another week to get me a proper working
version. In the meantime, I was unable to access my data. This utility
is now available to individual registered users on an “as-needed” basis.
8.2
Looking ahead
8.2
All of the problems reported with the earlier versions of Squirrel have
now either been dealt with, or the correct usage explained in an
extended errata file. Digital Services say they are continuing to
develop the product and I hope that string manipulation is high on their
list. With BT’s Phone Day rapidly approaching, I am not looking forward
to updating all the phone numbers in one of my databases by hand. The
ability to use substrings (as in Basic’s MID$ function) in batch updates
is becoming pressing! The ability to parse and merge strings in reports
would also be most welcome.
8.2
Conclusion
8.2
In version 2.08, Squirrel performs as it should. My only disappointment
is the time it has been in coming, and the responses I have received to
my difficulties on the way. Its inherent power and flexibility can
sometimes work against it, making it easy to use rather than easy to
learn, especially if the manual is misleading on the operation of some
function or other. Its new facilities significantly improve its
performance over version 1 and the product appears to be stable and well
behaved. However I remain far from happy with the support I have
received from Digital Services.
8.2
It may be that I have been unlucky, and am not a typical case, but the
manner in which bugged versions have been released, and software
protection policies not thought through fully, leaves me with distinct
disquiet over their general thoroughness, be it beta testing or customer
support. It would be a shame for a good product to suffer because of it.
For myself, I will have to think very carefully before buying another
product from the same company. However, for those thinking of investing
in Squirrel, the product is at a stage where the need for customer
support should be at a minimum.
8.2
Squirrel 2 costs £139 +VAT or £150 through Archive. Existing users can
upgrade to version 2 for £25 +VAT or £35 +VAT including a revised
manual. Upgrades are only available from Digital Services.  A
8.2
We’ve been in contact with Steve Taylor of Digitial Services throughout
the discussions over the Squirrel updates and Tim’s comment about them.
The following comments from Steve arrived too close to publication to
give Tim the opportunity to read them. Ed.
8.2
Steve Taylor of Digital Services replies...
8.2
The article runs through a potted history of minor problems and bugs
which Mr Nicholson believes he has encountered, and this results in the
overall tone of the article being the most negative we have ever
encountered. This is despite the fact that he is actually complimentary
about the product. Indeed, he states that version 2.08 performs as it
should in appearing stable and well-behaved. He also mentions its
inherent power and flexibility.
8.2
I must emphasise that Digital Services are an extremely conscientious
company that truly cares about its products and the satisfaction of our
user base. I can provide lists of satisfied users both in education and
business, and unsolicited complimentary letters praising both our
product and our level of support. We have sold several thousand copies
of Squirrel but have never received feedback as that from Mr Nicholson.
8.2
I would state that, whilst Mr Nicholson has reported valid bugs to us in
the past, these have all been fixed, and a significant amount of his
previous feedback has been caused by user error and a lack of
understanding of the product.
8.2
Regarding the statements on our software protection system, we do
understand Mr Nicholson’s concerns and would make the following
comments:
8.2
It is each publisher’s right to define his own licence conditions, and
like a significant number of PC programs, our licence dictates that
Squirrel can only be used on one computer. The software licence policing
is totally transparent until the end user has BROKEN the agreement, and
therefore does not inconvenience those using the program legally. I
would also state that Acorn have examined our terms, and do not object
to our methods. We do recognise that, under a minority of circumstances,
whereby a user has a removable hard disc or is upgrading his machine,
the system is extremely inconvenient, but a simple telephone call to
Digital Services will result in an immediate resolution.
8.2
Finally, I cannot stress enough that Digital Services feel this article
is unrepresentative of both our product, and our company, and assure
readers of our dedication to quality.
8.2
Two final comments from me as editor. Firstly, in a letter I received
from Acorn, they stated that “Acorn does not support the direct use of
the machine ID as a protection device. Acorn’s Software Protection
Scheme uses the ID but specifically does not prevent an application from
running; it only provides a warning to the user” and they said that they
would “remind Digital Services of this”.
8.2
And secondly, I have tried to be fair to both parties in this
disagreement. If what has been printed has offended either of them,
please accept that, as a magazine, we try to tread the middle line,
giving contributors the opportunity to say if they think a supplier is
not giving good service and, where possible, giving suppliers the right
of reply. This is what I have tried to do as fairly as possible. Who
would be an editor!  A
8.2
Image Master
8.2
Robert Chrismas
8.2
Image Master deals with bit image graphics. It can acquire, process,
print and save images. Other programs on the Image Master disc convert
bit images to drawfiles, capture images from the screen, convert
drawfiles to outline fonts and use a scanner and a Laser Direct printer
to act like a photocopier. Even if you do not need all these facilities,
Image Master may still be good value because its price is very
competitive. (£28 through Archive.)
8.2
File formats
8.2
When my college bought Image Master, all we wanted was a program which
would convert bit image graphics into different formats. In particular,
we wanted to be able to transfer bit image graphics between Archimedes
computers and IBMs without fuss. Image Master can load and save graphics
files in these formats: Clear, GIF, PCX, MTV, BMP, PBM, JPEG, TIFF and
sprite.
8.2
Some of these formats have different ‘flavours’. Just as there are one,
two, four and eight bit sprites, TIFF files can be monochrome or colour
with different compression techniques; BMP files can be OS2 format; JPEG
files have different quality settings and so on. Image Master has been
adequate for all our file conversion tasks. However, I have not tested
all the possible formats. Does anyone know of a program that can read
MTV files?
8.2
I have had a couple of problems with file conversions. The first was my
fault. I had a directory of PCX files which included a ReadMe text file.
Without sufficient care, I set all the files to PCX type, including the
ReadMe, and proceeded to load each one into Image Master. The ReadMe
file caused Image Master to crash. This was my own fault but a “can’t
make any sense of this file” message would have been a better response
than an unexpected exit.
8.2
More seriously, when I attempted to save a file to a filing system which
did not have enough free space, Image Master froze the whole desktop.
8.2
There should be terms for programs which quit without being asked to
(crash and burn?) and which lock up the whole machine (seize a wimp
poll?).
8.2
These problems have not made Image Master unuseable but I do make sure I
save important files before running it. David Pilling has a good record
for upgrading software so if you find a popular format which Image
Master cannot handle, a phone call will probably produce a version which
can. (This is not promised − it is just my belief based on experience
with David Pilling’s software.)
8.2
Because of my success with file conversions, I recklessly offered to do
this review, only to find myself wrestling with Gamma Correction and
convolution filters. We learn by our mistakes.
8.2
Big files
8.2
Image Master can handle 24 bit per pixel images. It will also load and
save the new Acorn 16 and 32 bit sprite formats. These formats can
result in very big files. Image Master can handle images which are too
large for the computer’s memory, processing the image in sections.
8.2
In screen modes which cannot display all the colours, Image Master uses
dithering to represent the colours as accurately as possible.
8.2
Scanning
8.2
Twain is the name of a general scanner interface. With Twain, any
program can use any scanner, just as, with RISC OS printer drivers, any
program can use any printer. To make this work, you need a Twain scanner
driver set up for your scanner. Then other programs, like Image Master,
can send standard Twain commands to the scanner driver which will send
back images.
8.2
Image Master’s Twain compatibility only means that it can talk to a
Twain driver. Happily, Twain drivers for a range of scanners are
available from David Pilling at very competitive prices.
8.2
I have not used Image Master for scanning. However, in ‘Colour Scanning
Revisited’ (Archive 7.10 p44) Jim Nottingham discussed the suitability
of Image Master coupled with a Twain driver for colour scanning. Jim
included some comments he had received from Richard Readings. Richard
had version 1.01 of Image Master. Some of his criticisms have been
answered by the latest version. In particular, version 1.03 now has an
undo option. In fact, the user can specify the number of steps to be
held in the undo buffer.
8.2
Both Richard and Jim seemed to feel that the Image Master/Twain link was
good value for scanning software but Jim warned that attempting to use
it with a scanner bought from a “deep-discount box-shifter” might lead
to compatibility problems which neither the scanner supplier, the SCSI
interface manufacturer nor David Pilling would want to know about.
8.2
tool box  & info palette
8.2
Processing
8.2
The current image is displayed in the main window. There are also a
toolbox and an info palette window.
8.2
One tool allows you to select a part of the image. You might do this to
crop the image, but it is also useful because, if an area is selected,
the filter and colour processing options will only apply to that area.
There is a zoom control and the image can be moved around the window.
8.2
On the main menu, the ‘file’ option leads to saving, printing and
scanning.
8.2
The ‘View’ option allows multiple views of the same image. With files
which contain more than one image, this option will allow you to step
through the images. Other options on the ‘View’ menu control which
windows are displayed, the units of measurement and the print border.
8.2
‘Edit’ includes the expected items for cropping, rotating, mirroring,
shearing and scaling the image.
8.2
The Edit options are an example of both the good and the bad aspects of
Image Master. In some programs, like !Paint, the scale option reduces
the size of the image by deleting some of the rows and some of the
columns. So, for a 50% reduction, !Paint would delete every other row
and every other column. However these rows might have contained
important details. Image Master calculates the colour of each pixel in
the final image taking into account all the pixels in the original image
which would affect it.
8.2
This is the same sort of calculation that the font manager does to
represent very small characters on the screen using pixels which can be
a range of greys instead of just black and white. This sort of
calculation is called anti-aliasing.
8.2
80% reduction with anti-aliasing
8.2
Now Image Master is very good at anti-aliasing. All the Edit options can
have anti-aliasing. Image Master allows the user to select one of seven
different anti-aliasing algorithms: Hermite, Box, Triangle, Bell, B-
spline, Lanczos and Mitchell. It also has an option for no anti-
aliasing.
8.2
The first bad thing about this anti-aliasing is that the menu to choose
the anti-aliasing system is on the configuration window which in on the
iconbar menu. There is no obvious connection between this and the Edit
option on the main menu.
8.2
The second bad thing is that the manual does not explain the differences
between these algorithms. Now I suppose that is fair enough. To explain
all that Image Master does would take a text book on image processing
not a program manual. However, you should bear in mind that if you are
not already an expert on image processing, you will need to experiment
with some features to discover just what they do. And in the case of
anti-aliasing, you may still be in some doubt.
8.2
The third bad thing only became apparent when I tried to produce a
diagram to illustrate anti-aliasing. There is an option to select no
anti-aliasing, but when it was selected, scaling was still anti-aliased.
8.2
Filter
8.2
A ‘filter’ is a process which calculates a new value for each pixel
based on the original value of that pixel and the other pixels near to
it. Filters are often used for removing noise or sharpening images.
There was a very helpful explanation of image filtering in a series of
articles by David Knell in Acorn User back in 1990, June − November. The
June and July issues would be the most useful for confused users of
Image Master.
8.2
A convolution filter replaces each pixel with a weighted average of the
surrounding pixels. The ‘user filter’ option allows the user to specify
the weight of each pixel. Some of the more common filters are provided
with Image Master so they can be easily loaded.
8.2
Maximum, minimum and mean filters are also available and there is an
option which will add noise to the image. Adding noise sounds strange
but if you have an image which has been scanned with only a few
brightness levels, a small amount of noise can make the image look less
‘flat’. There is also an inverting filter.
8.2
The filter menu also includes the ‘Histogram’ option. This ‘filter’ can
be applied to red, green or blue components of the image or to any
combination of these components. When the option is selected, Image
Master counts the number of pixels at each brightness level and displays
the result as a histogram.
8.2
“The ‘equalise’ button attempts to spread out the pixels in the image so
that there are equal intensities in each band” − or at least that is
what the manual says. Now I would have thought that ‘equalise’ might try
to get an equal number of pixels in each band. Equalise certainly
changes the colours in the image, but I am not quite sure what it is
doing − the columns in the histogram do not end up the same height or
anything obvious like that.
8.2
There is also an ‘expand’ option which spreads a selected range of
intensities to occupy the whole range. This changed the colours in the
image in a way which I found much more predictable. When you select
equalise and expand, the image changes but the histogram does not. To
update the histogram, you have to click on recalculate. I think it would
be better if the histogram were recalculated automatically although I
can see that might be difficult to implement.
8.2
(In retrospect, I think my difficulties with the histogram option may be
due to my inexperience rather than any inherent problems with the
application.)
8.2
Colour
8.2
The final option on the main menu is ‘colour’. Filters change the colour
of a pixel using information about surrounding pixels (in the case of
the histogram option, all the surrounding pixels). The colour option
includes all the processes which change each pixel using an algorithm
which does not require any information about surrounding pixels.
8.2
‘Swop’ simply interchanges the red, green and blue components. So, for
example it can swop red and the blue.
8.2
‘Grey scale’ converts a colour image to shades of grey. The weights of
the red, blue and green components can be adjusted but the defaults are
fine for normal purposes.
8.2
The ‘colour balance’ option uses the HSV (hue, saturation, value) colour
model. Using sliders, you can change the overall contrast, brightness
and saturation of the image. The hue slider allows you to rotate the hue
of all the colours by a percentage of one complete rotation. The manual
says this sort of adjustment might be useful for correcting discoloured
scans.
8.2
The most precise control over colour intensity is achieved with the
‘non-linear control’. Like the histogram filter, this can be applied to
red, green or blue components of the image or to any combination of
these components. A graph controls the mapping from input brightness to
output brightness. I found this control intuitive and easy to use. The
mapping can be continuous or in discrete steps which will give the image
a flat ‘poster colour’ appearance.
8.2
The ‘non-linear’ graph should help to make clear the meaning of the
gamma correction number ‘G’. To take an example, if G=2 then, after
processing, the brightness of a pixel will be the original brightness
squared, the non-linear graph will just be an x² graph. (Maximum image
brightness is scaled to 1.) In general,
8.2
output brightness = (input brightness)G
8.2
Tint, filter, add and subtract
8.2
The ‘tint’, ‘filter’, ‘add’ and ‘subtract’ options on the colour menu
allow you to make global changes to the colours of the image. One
process ‘adds’ a chosen colour to every pixel of the image, another has
the same effect as viewing the image through a coloured filter. ‘Tint’
and ‘filter’ are words which crop up with different meanings at
different points in Image Master. There is a ‘filter’ option on the main
menu and another on the colour menu − I found this confusing at first.
8.2
With the palette option, you can inspect and edit the palette of the
current image. The right hand part of the palette window allows you to
choose colours using the RGB, HSV or CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black)
models. Chosen colours can be used to change entries in the palette.
8.2
The palette also allows you to specify the ‘foreground’ colour which is
used by the tint, filter, add and subtract options. The control which
determines how much effect the foreground colour will have is labelled
‘Tint’. This terminology is confusing but the option certainly produces
some very interesting effects.
8.2
Change format
8.2
Change format is a very powerful option but I am not sure that it
belongs on the ‘Colour’ menu. Change format allows you to change the
image from one sprite format to another. You can change the number of
bits per pixel, and the type of palette. Current formats are 1, 2, 4, 8,
16, 24 and 32 bits per pixel. Palette options include the standard RISC
OS desktop palette, a calculated ‘optimal’ palette, digital RGB and a
linear grey scale.
8.2
If you decrease the number of bits per pixel, there will be fewer
colours available in the palette. It may not be possible to represent
all the original colours accurately. The least sophisticated strategy is
just to choose the colour in the new palette nearest to the original
colour. Change format can do this but it can also be set to match
colours with patterns of different coloured pixels which ours eyes
‘average out’ as the original colour. So, for example, alternate white
and red pixels, if they are small enough, will appear to us as
continuous pink.
8.2
We are familiar with this process in printing where patterns of black
ink and white paper are used to represent different shades of grey. In
traditional half-toning, the patterns are regular repeating designs. A
longer calculation called ‘Floyd Steinberg dithering’ gives the pixels a
more random appearance. Dithering will display details which might be
lost in half-toning.
8.2
As you would expect, Image Master has options for what it calls
‘ordered’ dithering (half-toning) and Floyd Steinberg dithering of
several different types.
8.2
Other programs
8.2
Image Master comes with a number of other programs. ‘Trace’ creates a
drawfile from a sprite file by tracing the outline of each colour.
‘Snapper’ captures the whole screen, a window or a menu as a sprite.
‘D2Font’ converts a drawfile to an outline font. ‘Zero’ combines a Twain
scanner and a Laser Direct printer to work as a photocopier.
8.2
Each of these programs is worth at least a short review of its own.
(Trace was reviewed in 5.4 p61 and 5.6 p25. Any offers to review the
others? Ed.)
8.2
Documentation
8.2
The manual covers all the features of the program and goes some way to
explaining the theory behind them. However, this is obviously a big
subject and it is not reasonable to expect the documentation to cover it
all. One particularly useful section on file formats gives some
background information on each of the file formats which Image Master
recognises.
8.2
Comments
8.2
Image Master is a fairly big, powerful program. It combines scanning and
image processing with the ability to save and load bit images in
different formats. I know that some users like programs with lots of
features. However, I think there is a case for more small programs. The
RISC OS desktop makes it so easy to pass data between different
applications with in-memory file transfer, that we do not need to have
programs which do everything themselves. I like Image Master, but I
think I would like it better if it came as three separate programs.
8.2
The Trace program is capable of ‘batch processing’. You drag a batch of
bit images onto its icon and Trace creates a directory with drawfiles of
the images. It would be useful if Image Master could perform file
conversions in the same way. The user would specify the format in which
the images should be saved and then Image Master would convert a whole
directory full of images in one go.
8.2
Image processing is a skill. It takes skill to decide how to combine the
processing features of Image Master to produce the effect you require. I
have seen someone who was quite incapable of producing an acceptable
scan of an old photograph gasp with astonishment when a few adjustments
produced a clear image. To get good results from Image Master, you need
to understand how computer images are stored and you have to be able to
look closely at the image and to think. There is a lot to learn here,
and I for one would welcome some articles in Archive by experts on image
processing.
8.2
For a user like myself who has only limited experience of image
processing, some of the menu entries and the layout of some of the
windows were confusing. However, it was possible to work out what was
going on with the aid of the manual, and I do not find it easy to
suggest a more intuitive design for such a complicated subject.
8.2
Conclusion
8.2
Image Master combines scanning and image processing with the ability to
save and load bit images in different formats.
8.2
Release 1.03 which I reviewed is a little fragile. It has crashed a few
times on my A5000 and some options have given surprising results.
8.2
The program has an impressive range of powerful features and for £30
(£28 from Archive) it is excellent value. At this price, it is worth
buying even if you do not need all the features.  A
8.2
The histogram window
8.2
Non-linear control with G = 2
8.2
The palette window
8.2
       Original        Floyd Steinberg dithering  Ordered dithering
8.2
Penfriend
8.2
Christopher Jarman
8.2
The test of any good invention is whether it does exactly what it sets
out to do. The test of an outstanding new invention is whether it does
even more things than the designer thought possible. Penfriend
definitely comes under the second category!
8.2
It has been reviewed already in Archimedes World and has even been
issued as a demo on their March 1994 disc. While it has had good reviews
from people seeing it as an aid to children who may be disabled in
various ways, I believe it offers far more opportunities for creative
writing than this.
8.2
Original designs
8.2
The designer, Roger Spooner, well-known for his original ideas in
programs such as Calligrapher, has seen the need for a predictive typer
which will finish off words for hesitant or physically handicapped
writers. The default lexicon (wordlist) contains about 1100 words but it
will accept a vocabulary of up to 15,000 words if required.
8.2
Penfriend loads easily onto the iconbar from floppy but, like many
applications, it works more quickly and easily from a hard disc. The
manual, which is a clearly-written 33 pages, is a model of how to write
for beginners. It explains in simple English all you need to know even
if it is your first day on the Archimedes. If only other manual writers
would follow this pattern!
8.2
When a letter key is pressed, Penfriend immediately displays a list of
up to eight of the most likely words you might be looking for, from the
current lexicon which you have loaded. The words are in order of most
frequent use, and each one can be summoned by a function key. So, you
might type ‘w’ and the list of words; was, with, will, which, what,
when, wonderful and so on will pop up. Merely by pressing <F7>, the word
‘wonderful’ will then be typed. I have just used Penfriend myself to
write that last sentence. It sounds complicated when described but, like
many typing helps, it is much easier in practice, and practice makes
perfect! For someone who finds typing a physical challenge or is very
unsure about spelling, Penfriend acts just like a supportive friend. It
is a Spellcheck in advance rather than the usual “Bleep!” which means,
“Wrong! You stupid boy!”.
8.2
More options
8.2
If this was all that happened, the program would still be well worth
buying, but there are more options. There is a keyboard window whereby
the mouse may be moved around a simulated keyboard on the screen. I know
there are PD versions, but this is very good. It works well with all the
other applications I tried such as Edit, Phases and even Optima; if I
only had the use of one hand and one finger, I could easily have written
a complete multimedia package using the mouse and the Penfriend
keyboard!
8.2
The sticky keys option is very handy for someone who has to type with
either one hand or two fingers. Control or Shift can be held down for a
moment to make a capital or whatever else you need. Different bleeps
remind you of your actions. There are other typing options such as
“Clever Punctuation” and “In-line Prediction” which are explained in the
manual. The program will also add every new word that you type to the
current lexicon if you wish, thereby teaching it your own vocabulary as
you go.
8.2
Editing the lexicons
8.2
What makes this product so exciting is the extra program called Editlex
which comes with it. It is designed to modify the lexicons in use, and
to put together new ones. The original idea was that different children,
or other users, would have their own particular style of writing, and
commonly used words which they would build up. Indeed, this is a very
useful way of personalising the program. However, by extension of this
idea, it is possible to create lexicons using very particular language
or even foreign languages. By merely dragging a plain textfile into a
lexicon window, you may set up a new wordlist. Imagine scanning a chunk
of Chaucer and putting the subsequent textfile into Editlex and starting
to type! All your predicted words would be from Chaucer’s vocabulary.
You could soon be writing very genuine looking pastiches! I have a
dictionary of Royal Navy slang called “Jackspeak” which has recently
been compiled and, by typing a sizable chunk of it into Edit and
dragging it into a Lexicon, I can now write to my old friends in RN
argot without having to rack my memory for the correct terms. Think of
the fun in English lessons! Write an essay in Tolkein’s elvish, for
example, or write like Damon Runyon. Copy a few Shakespeare sonnets into
Editlex and then choose your words carefully. I also have a dictionary
of Australian slang − I think perhaps I’ll load it up and try writing an
episode of Neighbours − the trouble is that the program will insist on
describing itself as “Penmate”! (or “Pencobber”? Ed.)
8.2
Penfriend is available from Design Concept, price £25 plus £2 p&p. Site
licences are free for up to five machines.  A
8.2
Eagle M2 Multimedia Card
8.2
Paul Hooper
8.2
One danger in writing reviews is the temptation of rushing in an effort
to get it into print before all the other magazines. This can lead to a
superficial review in which much of the material is just a regurgitation
of the manufacturer’s handouts or press releases. I try, as far as
possible, to resist the scoop approach and subject the hardware or
software to a sustained period of use before committing the review to
paper. The trouble is that, sometimes, a piece of hardware comes along
that has so many features and so much associated software that the
review process can take weeks. Such is the Eagle card.
8.2
The card
8.2
The packaging is a dull cardboard box but the contents are far from
dull. You get a standard size expansion board with a flying lead, no
less than three manuals and loads of discs. The card was tested on both
an A5000 and a Risc PC. Although the manual had no fitting instruction
for the Risc PC, it is fairly obvious where the flying lead goes. A Risc
PC errata sheet should be out by the time you read this.
8.2
The back of the card has four connections:
8.2
a) Super video connector (4-pin mini din) for S-VHS, Hi8 or Hiband
sources.
8.2
b) BNC (bayonet-style) connector for CVBS, video out (VHS) or SCART
sources.
8.2
c) Midi connector (15-pin D-type socket) for use with Midi sources.
8.2
d) Stereo audio (5-pin din) live-level connector for use with CD
players, amplifiers or Hifi equipment. This has both input and output
connections so that sound can be received from or sent to your computer.
8.2
There is only one lead supplied and this is for the Midi connector. The
rest of the leads you will need to supply yourself.
8.2
Video connections
8.2
Supplied on disc is the latest version of the Acorn Replay utility and
this needs to be decompressed with CFS onto your hard disc. Also
supplied is !TakeTwo which enables you to capture colour sprites, TIFF
or Clear files from a video source or Replay movie. If you want to
capture greyscale sprites then the Scanlight software is also supplied.
8.2
Connection to a video source can be a nightmare: for my video camera, I
have a video out socket which is a normal phono socket, but my VCR has a
SCART socket. Two leads were obtained from my local Tandy shop and I
first connected the video camera. I could record video from the camera
but no sound. The same problem was experienced with the VCR − I had
bought the wrong leads! Twenty pounds poorer and with advice from
Matthew at NCS, I managed to get the right leads and got connected to my
video camera.
8.2
Up and running
8.2
Once TakeTwo is installed, you can get a ‘live display’ by clicking on
its icon. The live display is just that − even on my old 24MHz A5000,
the display kept up with all the movement recorded via the video camera.
There must be some very clever electronics on this board to achieve
that!
8.2
<Menu> over the display allows you to control the picture. The video
source can be specified as composite or S-video, PAL or NTSC and these
can be live or tape. You can also control the display with Auto-Zoom
with a 4:3 lock or free aspect ratio on the picture. The alternative to
Auto-Zoom is Pan and Scan.
8.2
Before you can save anything you have to set up your Grab Choices from
the menu. The grab menu is as shown below and the file icon must be
dragged to a directory before you can save your file.
8.2
Working from the top, you must first specify the file type. You have a
choice of Sprite TIFF, Clear and Replay. To make this easier to
understand, I have set out the options for each of the static files in
the table below. The choices for Replay files are shown in the pictures
of the menu system but it all depends what computer you have as to how
many of these you can choose. Certainly, my old 24MHz A5000 could not
take in colour Replay files at 25fps but coped well with 12.5fps. A Risc
PC is a must here, but even then I had a few troubles with 25fps. You
must forget multitasking if you want to get out good results, and make
sure that you have at least 20Mb free on your hard disc to save the
resulting file. Also, you must use a fast hard disc, because some of the
older slower hard discs will not keep up with the input and some rather
strange results can occur.
8.2
To capture the images, you play the video source in a window on your
desktop. Along the top of the window are the normal video style
controls. To save static images, it is just a matter of clicking on the
record button, the display will stop for a few seconds and the picture
will be saved.
8.2
To capture Replay files, the procedure is exactly the same except that
‘record’ starts the recording and you need to click on ‘stop’ to stop
it. The screen display stops during the recording (with a periodic
update), so it can be a bit hit-and-miss as to how much you record.
Bearing this in mind, it does seem odd that there is no way of editing
the film before you use it in your application.
8.2
On test
8.2
To put the card to the test, I took my video camera out around Norfolk
to capture a number of images and Replay files for some multimedia
programs I am writing. Firstly, I captured the local wind turbines,
which translated into an excellent Replay film, even though the subject
was white against a background of sky. Then I visited ten historical
churches to capture both features and an overall picture of the church.
8.2
Once connected to the A5000, I then used grab choices and started
playing the video in a desktop window. I then had to take around fifty
static images out, but once I had specified the directory to save, it
was just a matter of clicking on the record button any number of times
because each time you save a picture the computer adds a number suffix
to the file name.
8.2
To capture the Replay sequence was more difficult, as I couldn’t tell
the exact point at which I wanted to finish. Then I hit on the solution:
I recorded the video onto my VCR and leaving that attached to the TV, I
connected up the computer to the VCR. I then played back the recording
and watched the TV and just used the computer monitor to press the
buttons. I didn’t see any degradation in the picture quality but I’m not
very good at judging this.
8.2
I also tried capturing a series of images direct from a pre-recorded
tape in the VCR − these were excellent. The only failure I have to
report was when I tried recording from my TV via the VCR. The picture
quality was bad, but I think this was due to the bad reception we get
out in the wilds of Norfolk!
8.2
On the monthly disc there are a series of static images that I have
captured using the Eagle card and a normal VHS camera. These images are
only 256 colour as they need to be distributed to readers with older
machines but the results using a Risc PC and 32 thousand colours are
outstanding. If anyone wants a copy of these larger files, just send me
a disc and return postage.
8.2
Sound as well
8.2
The Midi port is the only one supplied with a lead, the board end has a
15 pin D type socket with three colour-coded 5 pin DIN sockets on the
other: Midi in, Midi out and Midi through. Once these are connected, you
can use most Midi software such as Rhapsody, Serenade or even Maestro.
8.2
The stereo DIN socket allows your computer to record sound and to export
it via an amplifier. Certainly, some of the Digital Symphony tracks
sound very good when put out via a hi-fi. To record sound, you need to
connect a microphone to an external amplifier and then connect that
amplifier to the computer.
8.2
To manipulate all this sound, AudioWorks is provided on two discs along
with the manual. I have very little to add to the review by Brian Barr
in Archive 7.7 p57, except to say that it was a delight to use. One
feature I did find very helpful was the ability of AudioWorks to strip
out sound samples from Stracker tunes. You just take the tune and drop
it on the AudioWorks icon and you can add a few more sound samples to
your collection.
8.2
Conclusions
8.2
Computer Concepts and Wild Vision have had a reputation for establishing
their software and hardware as the standard against which others are
judged. Well, they have done it again! The Eagle card will become the
standard because it is far and away the best method of producing
material for multimedia. The card has something for everyone: the
musician will love the ability to capture just about any sound you could
want, along with the Midi interface, the graphics fan will be able to
capture just about any picture he could want, and DTP users will benefit
from the same ability. What’s more, the whole lot is on one expansion
card.
8.2
The Eagle card costs £380 through Archive and although that may sound a
lot, you should consider that a Midi card would set you back about £70,
a vision digitiser another £100 or so, an Oak Recorder about another £60
and AudioWorks adds another £50. Then remember that even an A5000 would
be running out of expansion slots with this little lot. The Eagle card
is a remarkable buy.
8.2
Computer Concepts’ advert depicts an eagle with the caption ‘soaring to
great heights’ but I suggest that they replace it with the Lunar Module
of Apollo 11 and say that the Eagle has landed − in my view, it’s
certainly out of this world!  A
8.2
(† Drat!!! Exactly the same thing has just happened again during
magazine pasteup − even with the new default document!!!)
8.2

Acorn World 94
8.3
I hope that those of you who got to Acorn World 94 were encouraged by
the range of new products available − the length of the Products
Available Column this month is certainly very encouraging. I have to
confess that I had begun to think that Acorn had shot themselves in the
foot as far as the Risc PC was concerned. One or two companies were
beginning to say that, since the Risc PC can run PC software, they might
as well just concentrate on the bigger market and produce PC software
only − but thankfully, that doesn’t seem to be happening. Perhaps it’s
because there are things you can do on a RISC machine that no PC can
touch. Or perhaps it just a lot more fun programming Acorn machines!
8.3
Making Archive Better − Part III
8.3
I still haven’t managed to read through the rest of the questionnaires −
a thing called Acorn World 94 got in the way! However, we are working on
a new “Contributors’ Handbook” to give helpful suggestions as to how to
write even better articles for Archive. Let us know if you would like a
copy.
8.3
Hope you enjoy reading another information-packed issue.
8.3
Best wishes,
8.3
Products Available
8.3
•  10 out of 10 Driving Test − Learn, revise or test your knowledge of
the essential facts of driving with this program from 4th Dimension.
There are six categories of trivia questions about road signs and
driving knowledge or you can try the thousands of questions in the suite
without using the games. 10 out of 10 Driving Test costs £25.95
inclusive from 4th Dimension or £24 through Archive.
8.3
•  24-Bit Digitiser − Irlam instruments have produced a very high
quality multimedia capture tool − the 24i16 offers 24-bit image capture
and 16-bit sound sampling. The board is available for £359 +VAT with a
512Kb framestore or £399 +VAT with a full 1Mb framestore.
8.3
•  105Mb SCSI SyQuest removable drives − One of our suppliers is
currently over-stocked on these drives and the cartridges and is selling
them off until his stock levels are somewhat reduced. We can sell the
105Mb SCSI internals for £290 (normally £370), the external 105Mb drives
for £350 (normally £450) and the spare cartridges are currently £55 each
(normally £70). This applies while his stocks last, so please ring if
you are interested in one. All prices are inclusive of VAT, carriage and
fitting kit (where necessary) and each drive includes one cartridge.
8.3
•  270Mb SCSI SyQuest removable drives − We have just found a new
supplier of 270Mb SyQuest drives who is giving us better prices. We can
now sell the 270Mb SCSI internals for £420 (was £490) including one
cartridge, the external 270Mb drives for £490 (was £550) and the spare
cartridges are currently £70 each (was £90). All prices are inclusive of
VAT, carriage and fitting kit (where necessary) and each drive includes
one cartridge.
8.3
•  ABC of Art is a set of clipart drawn using Artworks and available in
Artworks or Draw format. The series has reached H, i.e. there are eight
so far and there will be new discs released roughly every two months.
The price of each disc is £6 inclusive from ABC Art.
8.3
•  ACB15/25 second slices − Owners of single slice Risc PCs will be
pleased to hear that we have second case slices available from stock at
£116 each. As well as the actual case slice, you get the extra length
fitting pins, a four-way backplane and a brand new power supply to
increase the loading capacity of your computer. This means that you will
then be able to fit up to four expansion cards, an extra 5¼“ storage
unit − such as a CD-ROM drive − and an extra 3½” storage unit such as a
105 Mb or 270 Mb removable drive unit. (The 105Mb SCSI internals are on
special offer at the moment at £290 including one cartridge, and the
spare cartridges are currently £55 each − see above.)
8.3
•  Apple FS from Oregan allows Apple Macintosh floppy discs to be read
from and written to on an Acorn computer. Both high and low density
floppy formats are supported although not the original variable-speed
floppy format and not, as yet, SCSI hard drives. AppleFS costs £59.95
inc VAT from Oregan Developments.
8.3
•  Aries – a new games compendium from Gamesware, including Hamsters
(arcade adventure), Quizmaster (quiz!), Blowpipe (arcade/shoot ’em up)
and Square Route (puzzle), giving a range of game types. The price is
£29.95 from Gamesware or £28 through Archive.
8.3
•  Archive mousemat − The new mousemats are here! I hope that some of
you will have been able to pick one up at Acorn World 94 but, if not,
they are available from NCS for £5 each. They have antistatic plastic
tops with non-slip rubber base. The actual design of the mat is shown
overleaf.
8.3
Reports from the thousands of Archive subscribers who got a new one are
generally good. Some say it makes their mouse go faster although I can’t
quite see how that can be. Some, however, say that their mouse slips on
these mats so, be warned, if your mouse is one of those with a
plasticised (cream-coloured) ball, these mats are not for you!
(Alternatively, you could buy one and use it with one of the new Acorn
mice that we still have in stock at £18 each!)
8.3
•  Artworks Clip-Art CD 2 Computer concepts have released the second
clipart collection containing the best entries from their Artworks
competition. In addition to Artworks files, there are some 24-bit
sprites and TIFF images. The Clip-Art CD 2 costs £19 +VAT from CC.
8.3
•  Back trouble? − Anyone who has back trouble and is doing a reasonable
amount of computer work should consider buying a decent chair. For over
six years now, I have been using a Stokke Wing chair (see below) − two,
in fact − one in the office and one at home. I’m always singing their
praises to people who visit me. If I ever have to use a conventional
office chair for any length of time, I get back-ache whereas I can (and
do) sit on my Wings (so to speak!) for hours on end without tiring.
8.3
“If they are so good, why don’t you sell them?” someone said to me a
year or so ago. Why indeed?! I have made an arrangement with an importer
(they are Scandinavian chairs as you might guess!) and I can sell them
for £320 inclusive. They have a five-caster base so you can move around
easily and a gas-lift mechanism so that you can adjust the height for
the best position relative to your monitor and keyboard. The chairs are
extremely robust and the material with which they are covered is very
good quality. The one I use in the office is just beginning to wear a
bit thin on one side of the knee-pad after over four years of constant
use.
8.3
I’m so confident that you will be pleased with them that I will give you
a full refund if you buy one and find you don’t like it. You may feel
that £320 is a lot of money for a chair but, as far as I am concerned,
it is a kind of insurance policy − keeping my back in good condition −
and I’m prepared to pay for that. From personal experience, I can say
that they are very long-lasting but in any case, they come with a five-
year guarantee (although this does not apply to the covering material).
8.3
The chairs have been improved since the pictures opposite were taken.
They now have an adjustment of the knee-pad to allow for different leg
lengths!
8.3
The Wing chairs come in natural beech, rosewood or black and the covers
are available in black, navy blue, red, beige, wine, brown, charcoal or
dark grey.
8.3
(The money-back guarantee is a genuine offer. In fact, I have one that
has come back! It’s rosewood with beige covers and, if anyone is
interested, I can offer it at £290 as I cannot now say that it is brand
new. Ring the NCS office if you are interested.)
8.3
•  Blinds − Quantum Software have released their pinboard-type
application, Blinds, which allows users to group applications, files,
directories etc in a convenient way on blinds of any size, which can be
brought up at the click of a mouse button. The blinds can also be set to
appear whenever an application is run, and the icons on the blinds can
be given long names rather than just file names. Blinds costs £19.95 (no
VAT) from Quantum or £20 inclusive through Archive.
8.3
•  Bubble Help − David Pilling has an alternative to Acorn’s interactive
help application, !Help. Bubble Help 2 provides help actually at the
mouse pointer rather than in a window somewhere on the screen (if you
can remember where you put it!) and uses outline fonts to make it easier
to read. What is more, it only costs £5 inclusive, direct from David
Pilling.
8.3
•  Caxton Press from Newman College is a newspaper simulation for
primary children. It is designed to be bright, colourful and enjoyable
to use and yet simple enough for young children to understand quickly.
It allows them to lay out and edit single A4 pages of material in
newspaper format. Caxton Press is a RISC OS compatible application
costing £30 +VAT from Newman Software Ltd and this includes full site
and network licence, i.e. it can be used anywhere on a single school
site.
8.3
•  CD-ROM Drives from Cumana − In a single stroke, Cumana have extended,
renamed and simplified the choice of their CD-ROM drive products. The
comprehensive range now consists of the following (all prices are ex
VAT):
8.3
Oscar − Parallel port driven dual-speed, drawer-loading drive for
computers with a bi-directional parallel port. Cumana supply these for
£229.
8.3
Bravo − Dual-speed, drawer-loading available with either parallel port
or SLCD (podule or mini-podule) interface and providing audio mixing
with the computer’s sound. £299.
8.3
Victor − High performance SCSI drives, with a choice of drives from
dual-speed drawer-loading (£299) through caddie-loading (£399) up to
magazine-loading, quad-speed autochangers (£499 to £1995) and 6 drive
units (£1499 to £1999).
8.3
Indigo − The 300iA drive which is driven by the Risc PCs built-in IDE
interface and offers audio mixing with the Risc PC’s sound. (£249 or
£199 without audio mixing)
8.3
NCS stock the Indigo audio drive for £290 inclusive and a selection of
the other drives. See the price list for details.
8.3
•  EasyFont 3 is Fabis Computing’s improved font management system. New
features include a new user interface, a font filing system and font
compression (up to 40%). Easy Font 3 costs £35 inc VAT (£34 through
Archive) or £10 inc VAT to owners of Easy Font 2 from Fabis.
8.3
•  Educational CD-ROM software − Academy Television have produced
“Science II: Materials”, “Environment II: Land & Air” and “World War II:
Global Conflict” on CD-ROM. Each is £130 +VAT from Academy Television.
8.3
•  Education CD-ROM titles − Nelson Multimedia, a new division of school
book publishers Thomas Nelson, have launched a range of CD-ROM learning
and resource titles covering a wide cross-section of the curriculum. The
Science titles include Elements, Materials, The Environment, Inventors
and British Birds. Humanities CDs include Aspects of Religion, The
Physical World, World War II. French and Spanish language packs are
available and there are primary resources including a reading scheme and
an introduction to history. Packs vary in price from £99 +VAT to £150
+VAT with some resource CDs at £35 +VAT. Full details and prices from
Nelson Multimedia.
8.3
•  E-Type2 – For the racers among you, Fourth Dimension have released a
sequel to the original E-Type, which now features better graphics and a
two-player option. You now have to contend with police speed traps and
bad weather to complete your race. For those of you who get bored with
driving all day, you can at least switch to the pursuit track, arming
your car(s) with lasers and oil spills. When you get bored with the six
tracks provided, you can use the included track generator to add your
own courses. The game costs £34.95 from Fourth Dimension or £33 through
Archive.
8.3
•  Formula Two Thousand (FTT) is a high speed 3D futuristic racing game
new from TBA software. The speed is quite terrifying and this is their
first game to show off their TAG 3D game engine. FTT costs £24.99 inc
VAT from TBA or £24 through Archive.
8.3
•  Formulix is Computer Concepts’ successor to Equasor. It allows simple
construction and editing of complex formulae for use within documents in
Impression or other word processing/DTP programs. Formulix supports OLE,
so an embedded formula can be edited within Style, Publisher or other
OLE compliant software. Formulix costs £49 +VAT from CC or £55 through
Archive.
8.3
•  Grasshopper is a RISC OS compliant “introductory” spreadsheet from
Newman College. Although it is described as introductory, it never-the-
less looks quite sophisticated − for instance, it has 20 mathematical
functions and allows multiple selections of areas. Grasshopper costs £30
+VAT from Newman Software Ltd and this includes full site and network
licence, i.e. it can be used anywhere on a single school site.
8.3
•  IGLib Fortran graphics libraries for Intelligent Interfaces’ Fortran
77 users. The libraries provide access to the extra graphics
capabilities of the Risc PC. IGLib is available from Intelligent
Interfaces and costs £30 inc VAT +£4 p&p.
8.3
•  Impression Publisher Plus − Computer Concepts have released an
extended version of Publisher providing extra features which may be
needed by people involved in professional use of the Acorn computers for
publishing. These features include support for named colours (which can
be imported from Artworks) and the OPI standard, allowing documents
containing graphics to be kept to more practical sizes whilst retaining
the quality at the image setting stage. Publisher Plus also supports
Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) and Desktop Colour Separation (DCS) file
formats. It costs £299 +VAT (£330 through Archive) or £130 +VAT for
registered Publisher users from CC.
8.3
•  Language programs − Primrose Publishing have a clever system for use
with foreign languages. The idea is that you have a database of
sentences provided for you that are written correctly in whatever
language or languages the pack uses (over 30 languages are covered to
varying degrees). You select your sentence, it is typed automatically
into your WP or DTP application and you can then edit it in whatever way
you wish. The Tick-Tack range includes programs for beginners (Junior
Pen-Friend), for general use (Pen-Friend), for business use and for
travel and tourism. There is even one for job-hunting called “Tick-Tack
CV”! Prices start at £75 +VAT for Junior Pen-Friend in a single language
plus English to £401 +VAT for Travel/Tourism Tick-Tack in a combined
pack with English/French/German/Spanish & Italian. Site licences are
double the single-user prices.
8.3
(I would like to get a couple of reviews done as these sound very
interesting. I therefore need a language teacher to assess them from an
educational standpoint and a “keen beginner” who has perhaps done a bit
of language learning and wants to take it further. The review could then
include the views of the two people. Any offers, anyone? Ed.)
8.3
•  Lemmings/Oh No! More Lemmings – Not really a new game, but the Risc
PC version is now available for £29.95 direct from Krisalis, or £29
through Archive. It contains both games in one pack, and allows you to
play them on the RISC OS desktop, both at the same time if you find them
too easy individually!
8.3
•  Look! Hear! Talking Topics for Infants, Volume One is from Sherston
Software who have built upon their Talking Stories series with this
collection of non-fiction titles. The topics include The Body,
Dinosaurs, Homes, Land Transport, Pets and The Seashore. Each topic has
animated illustrations with sound effects and talking text that responds
to the children’s actions. Activity cards are provided for each topic.
The complete Volume One of the Look! Hear! Talking Topics is available
from Sherston for £59.75 +VAT (£67 through Archive) or £11.95 +VAT for
individual topics from Sherston.
8.3
•  Map Importer – This allows the conversion of Ordnance Survey Digital
Map Data into Drawfiles ready for use in a large number of RISC OS
applications. During conversion, alterations can be made, to remove
railways, for example. The program is only available to educational
establishments, and is priced at £29.95 for a single user copy, £45 for
a primary site licence, or £120 for a secondary site licence. Prices
exclude VAT and p&p.
8.3
A copyright licence is required for schools who are not covered by the
Local Authority Service Level Agreement. Ordinance Survey Digital Map
Data can be obtained under licence from their Digital Sales Department
(01703-792773).
8.3
•  Movie Magic − This MPEG decompression card has been developed by Wild
Vision as part of the Online Media Set-Top Box project. The card gives
the facility for decompression very high quality video images (much
better than VHS cassette technology) from CD-ROM in real time. The
number of film titles currently available on CD-ROM format is currently
small and is limited to the obvious money-makers, but this should
increase. Movie Magic costs £249 +VAT from Computer Concepts or £285
through Archive.
8.3
•  Network Solutions is a new company that has been established to take
over Oak Solutions’ networking products and services. Network Solutions
will develop Oak’s ClassNet software and provide a support service for
Oak’s existing network customers. Network Solutions are at 2 The
Borough, Aldreth, Haddenham, Ely, Cambs CB6 3PJ. Phone or fax 01954-
212083.
8.3
•  News Bulletin from Newman College is a RISC OS compatible application
which allows you to produce electronic ‘magazines’ consisting of sets of
pages of text which can be displayed in sequence or called up as
required. News Bulletin costs £25 +VAT from Newman Software Ltd and this
includes full site and network licence i.e. it can be used anywhere on a
single school site.
8.3
•  Oxford Reading Tree − Stage 3 Talking Stories − Sherston Software
have extended their Oxford Reading Tree Stories to Stage 3. The pack
contains six new stories using the Talking Stories format successfully
used by Sherston in their Naughty Stories and Stage 2 Oxford Reading
Tree products. Stage 3 Talking Stories costs £39.95 +VAT for a single
user version or £45 through Archive.
8.3
•  PaperSoft is a new software house providing a range of templates for
pre-printed stationary. Each template has a predefined page with frames
set up for common business forms and documents. Templates are also
available for fun/personal documents. Each pack includes a set of pre-
printed papers and the templates in Impression or Artworks format.
Ovation and First Page/Pendown formats will follow. The business papers
pack costs £29.95 inc VAT. Fun and label packs are available at between
£5.95 and £14.95 from PaperSoft.
8.3
•  Playdays – Based on the popular BBC TV series, it includes 13
educational games, involving counting, spelling, reading, logic, memory,
coordination, and reasoning. It features the favourite characters from
the series and comes with a teachers/parents pack. The cost is £25.99
from Skillsware/Gamesware or £25 through Archive.
8.3
•  Picture Builder from Newman College is an art package for primary
children − from reception upwards. It allows them to create pictures
using shapes that can be coloured, stretched, rotated, reflected, etc.
The program is not RISC OS compatible, i.e. there is no exit to the
desktop. Picture Builder costs £20 +VAT from Newman Software Ltd and
this includes full site and network licence i.e. it can be used anywhere
on a single school site.
8.3
•  PIMS – Longman Logotron’s popular Primary Information Management
System is now available as a stand-alone package − previously it has
only been possible to purchase it with the required hardware. It is an
integrated package, running on a single Acorn Computer, to handle pupil
and staff records, budgeting and accounts, maintenance, insurance and
inventory. An Evaluation Pack is available, directly from Longman
Logotron, for £20 +VAT, which is redeemable against the full version.
The full version costs £399 +VAT and, if purchased before BETT ’95, will
include free maintenance until January 1996. Minimum requirements are
RISC OS 3, 4Mb, and a hard drive.
8.3
•  RiscBasic, the Basic compiler from Silicon Vision has been upgraded
to version 3.15. New features include the FPA instruction set, on-line
hints & tips and better optimisation all round. RiscBasic costs £79.95
+£3 p&p +VAT or £92 through Archive. Upgrades for existing users are
available from Silicon Vision.
8.3
•  RISC OS PRM Volume 5 − For Risc PC owners or others interested in the
inner workings of RISC OS 3.5, Acorn have now released the extra
information as a fifth volume of the PRMs. Volume 5 costs £29.95 or £30
through Archive including p&p.
8.3
•  SimCity 2000 – The follow up game to SimCity offers many more
features, and improved graphics. You now get a isometric 3D view rather
than a plan view and there are far more building types. As well as
electricity you have to keep water supplies connected and maintain
underground connections. In stead of just counting your votes, you also
receive reports from your officials and can even read the local papers.
Unlike the earlier game, you can no longer build a nuclear power plant
in 1930, but have to wait until 1957 and its ‘invention’, adding more to
the game. The Risc PC version is available now at £39.95 from Krisalis,
or £38 through Archive. The version for earlier machines costs £33
through Archive.
8.3
•  Simon the Sorcerer – This is a new (8Mb!) graphical adventure game
from Gamesware, (released last year on the PC platform), and it is
something that has been missing from the Acorn games market. Rather than
being an arcade adventure, this game uses a simple point and click
interface to explore rooms, pick up items and so on. There is a distinct
humour throughout the game − various nursery rhymes crop up in
unexpected, and subtly different ways, and talking with the other
characters is always entertaining. The price is £39.95 from Gamesware,
or £38 through Archive.
8.3
•  SmartCD+ – The SmartCD package has now been released by the ARM Club.
It interfaces with CDFS to offer full control over your Audio CDs. It
will remember the title and tracks on each CD, automatically detecting
which one is in the drive, and your preferred playlist. It can also
split tracks across a cassette for use in the car or personal stereo,
and will even generate the cassette inlays. The price is £10, fully
inclusive, from the ARM Club.
8.3
•  StarFighter 3000 from FedNet Software is an up-to-date “Chocks Away”
type program providing you with 108 missions to fly, weapons to buy and
credits to win. Starfighter 3000 costs £29.95 from Fednet Software or
£29 through Archive. (See the review on page 25.)
8.3
•  TalkWrite − This is described by its supplier, Resource, as “the
friendly wordprocessor”. It has been designed for ease of use and is
usable from reception class up to year 9 as well as for special needs
use. It is fully RISC OS compliant, has a toolbar, a 50,000 word
dictionary and a wordlist from which users can select words to put into
their text. As the name implies, it also has the ability to speak as you
type or speak letters, words or sentences. TalkWrite costs £59.95 +VAT
from Resource for a single user (£67 through Archive), £149.95 +VAT for
a primary licence and £240 +VAT for a secondary licence.
8.3
•  TV Tuner is a podule from Wild Vision/Computer Concepts allowing TV
signals to be received. With the use of a digitiser card, TV pictures
can be received and displayed on the desktop. The TV Tuner is available
with Teletext software which provides the ability to capture and store
the data displayed across several pages. The TV Tuner is £89 +VAT or
£159 +VAT with the Teletext software from Computer Concepts.
8.3
•  TypeTutor – This is a new typing tutor from the ARM Club, which
includes support for the Risc PC keyboard as well as the standard
Archimedes layout. Windows showing the keyboard, next key to press,
which fingers to use, and a scoreboard can each be optionally displayed
on screen. The manual includes elementary exercises, and exercise files
are also included. The price is £10, fully inclusive from the ARM Club.
8.3
•  Utility Discs – The ARM Club’s utility discs have been updated to
make them fully compatible with the Risc PC. Each disc costs £5, or if
you need an upgrade send back your original disc, without packaging or
manual together with 50p for postage. Desktop Utilities 1: Command
control for desktop use of command line utilities, and workspace for
four independent desktop areas, each with its own mode and palette.
Desktop Utilities 2: GraphTask for task windows with graphical support,
FreeMap for analysing the free space on a disc, WindOpen for
demonstrating desktop applications, and PrintCtrl for flexible printer
control. Graphical Utilities: Broadcast display images at Broadcast
resolution for a TV or CGA monitor, and interlaces on multiscan
monitors. CTEnhance provides better dithering and Mirror is an aid for
drawing symmetrical drawing. Finally, Programmers’ Utilities: CPU load
monitor, SWI statistics application, along with a collection of useful
modules and utilities.
8.3
•  Versatile is a 2D pattern generator allowing the construction of a
wide variety of patterns and tessellations based on mathematical
principles. Versatile costs £45 +VAT or £180 +VAT for a site licence
from Oak Solutions.
8.3
•  Voyage of Discovery − Sherston Software have produced a science
adventure program for 9 to 13 year-olds. The year is 2055 and the
mission is to deliver a package from earth to the captain of the
Spaceship Discovery within three days somewhere out in deep space. (Next
day delivery is only guaranteed this side of Jupiter apparently, so
three days is quite normal!) Children taking on the challenge will meet
various problems and puzzles in which they will have to deal with many
aspects of electricity and magnetism including magnets, compasses,
simple circuits, fuses, circuit diagrams, electromagnets and motors.
Voyage of Discovery is by Mark Vanstone, of ArcVenture fame and costs
£31.95 +VAT from Sherston Software or £36 through Archive.
8.3
•  VTX2000 Sound Card − VTI (previously known as Vertical Twist) have
launched a high quality sound card containing the Kurtzweil chip set as
used in Kurtzweil’s keyboard instruments. These chips provide 700 voices
providing a versatile sound module inside your Acorn. The card also
provides an Acorn compliant Midi interface and is General Midi
compatible. The Kurzweil chips are 32 voice polyphonic and include DSP
for effects and post-processing. The sound is 16-bit, 44.1kHz, and
output in high quality stereo. The card costs £399 +VAT from VTI.
8.3
•  WimpGEN − Silicon Vision’s application-authoring package has reached
version 2.06. The new version has a range of new features but the price
remains at £79.95 + £3 p&p +VAT from Silicon Vision or £93 through
Archive.
8.3
•  Wolfenstein 3D – This new game from Powerslave Software was the
forerunner of Doom/Doom II which have taken the PC games world by storm.
Fast texture-mapped graphics and lots of atmosphere as you explore a
Nazi castle, collecting enough firepower to start your own Guns ’r’ Us
by the end – be warned it is not a game for the squeamish! The price is
£29.95 from Powerslave or £29 through Archive.
8.3
Review software received...
8.3
We have received review copies of the following: •10 out of 10 Driving
Test (e), •Arctic (Interface to Compuserve) (c), •Beethoven Browser
Egmont (e), •Bubble Help 2, •Caxton Press (e), •GameOn! (g/u),
•Grasshopper (e), •LjDuplex (u), •Logix (e), •Mouse in Holland (e),
•MouseTrap (u), •Network Acorn (u), •News Bulletin (e), •PDCD 2 (pd),
•Picture Builder (e), •Playdays (e), •Play on Words (e), •ShareHolder
(b), •TickTack (e), •Voyage of Discovery (e).
8.3
e=Education, b=Business, bk=Book, c=Comms, g=Game, h=Hardware,
l=Language, u=Utility.
8.3
New phone codes
8.3
In the Factfile last month, and in some of the small ads, we very
helpfully (we thought!) put in the new phone codes by adding a 1 in
front of every leading 0 (in anticipation of Phone Day − 15th April
1995). How many of you who do not live in Leeds, Sheffield, Nottingham,
Leicester or Bristol know that the “add a 1” rule doesn’t apply to all
phone numbers?! The correct new numbers are as follows (the first four
digits form the new exchange number and the extra 2 or 9 goes in front
of the actual number):
8.3
Leeds  0532 becomes 0113 plus 2
8.3
Sheffield  0742 becomes 0114 plus 2
8.3
Nottingham  0602 becomes 0115 plus 9
8.3
Leicester  0533 becomes 0116 plus 2
8.3
Bristol  0272 becomes 0117 plus 9
8.3
If you would like to review any of these products, please contact the
Archive office. Potential reviewers will need to show that they would
use the product in a professional capacity or that they have some
knowledge of the particular field.  A
8.3
Government Health Warning − Reading this could seriously affect your
spiritual health.
8.3
Have you come across the KISS principle? It can be very useful in all
sorts of situations. KISS? Oh, yes, it stands for “Keep It Simple,
Stupid!” There is a tendency in Western society to make things more and
more complex when, often, the simple approach is the best. Acorn are a
supreme example... Billions of dollars have been poured into CISC
processors and the attendant complex application programming. If the
rest of the world had realised what Acorn did, ten or more years ago,
when they started developing the first RISC chip, computing would be
light years ahead of where it is today.
8.3
Theory A, that we thought about last month, is a good KISS solution.
There is no God, so we might as well eat, drink and be merry... for
tomorrow we may die. Dead simple! And yet, and yet, maybe, just maybe
there is a God and maybe... NO! Don’t think about it! It’s not true!!
Just shut up and let me enjoy life! But maybe...
8.3
What about Theory B (the bible) from last month? The trouble is that
there are so many different theories, all based on the biblical
evidence. How do I know which, if any, to believe? Well, why not try the
KISS principle? Why not read a couple of the Gospels and see how they
strike you? Don’t start from the premise, “This can’t be true because
miracles just don’t happen.” Read it with an open mind. Remember, there
are millions of intelligent people all over the world who believe that
Jesus was who he said he was (God), that he said he would rise from the
dead... and did, and that we can know God in a personal way today.
8.3
Surely, it can’t be that simple? Dead men don’t come back to life. Do
you have an alternative theory? A lot of very clever people have made
suggestions, from “God is a spaceman” to some very sane, sensible and
ingenious alternative theories. But I just can’t accept any of them and
I’ll tell you why.
8.3
I believe that God loves everybody − educated or uneducated, clever or
not so clever, sophisticated Westerner or primitive tribesmen, wise and
ancient or young and innocent − He loves us all. I just cannot accept,
therefore, that God would make himself known to us in such a complicated
way that only clever, educated people could understand it. Jesus said,
“Unless you become like a little child, you will never enter the kingdom
of God.” You may feel that it is insultingly simple... but it has to be
simple to be fair.
8.3
P.B.
8.3
Fact-File
8.3
(The numbers in italic are fax numbers)
8.3
4th Dimension  1 Percy Street, Sheffield, S3 8AU. (0114-270-0661) (0114-
278-1091)
8.3
4Mation   14 Castle Park Road, Whiddon Valley, Barnstaple, Devon, EX32
8PA. (01271-25353) (01271-22974)
8.3
Abacus Training    29 Okus Grove, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wilts, SN2
6QA.
8.3
ABC Art   Tideways, South Road, Brean, Somerset, TA8 2SE. (01278-751317)
8.3
Academy Television   104 Kirkstall Road, Leeds, LS3 1JS. (0113-246-1528)
(0113-242-9522)
8.3
Acorn Computers Ltd    Acorn House, Vision Park, Histon, Cambridge, CB4
4AE. (01223-254254)
8.3
  (01223-254262)
8.3
Aleph One Ltd   The Old Courthouse, Bottisham, Cambridge, CB5 9BA.
(01223-811679) (01223-812713)
8.3
APDL    39 Knighton Park Road, Sydenham, London, SE26 5RN.
8.3
Aspex Software   Heather House, Tavistock, Devon, PL19 9AG. (01822-
611060) (01822-611061)
8.3
Atomwide Ltd   7 The Metro Centre, Bridge Road, Orpington, Kent, BR5
2BE. (01689-838852)
8.3
  (01689-896088)
8.3
Avie Electronics (p11)  7 Overbury Road, Norwich. (01603-416863) (01603-
788640)
8.3
Basing Educational Software   6 Long Street, Gerlan, Bethesda, Gwynedd,
LL57 3SY. (01248-602402)
8.3
Colton Software (p24)   2 Signet Court, Swanns Road, Cambridge, CB5 8LA.
(01223-311881) (01223-312010)
8.3
Computer Concepts (pp12/20)   Gaddesden Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts,
HP2 6EX. (01442-63933) (01442-231632)
8.3
Cumana Ltd   Pines Trading Estate, Broad Street, Guilford, GU3 3BH.
(01483-503121) (01483-503326)
8.3
David Pilling   P.O.Box 22, Thornton Cleveleys, Blackpool, FY5 1LR.
8.3
Digital Services   9 Wayte Street, Cosham, Portsmouth PO6 3BS. (01705-
210600) (01705-210709)
8.3
Fabis Computing   95 Fabis Close, Swadlincote, Derbyshire, DE11 9SL.
8.3
Fednet Software   66 Park Road, Duffield, Belper, Derbyshire, DE56 4GR.
(01332-840487)
8.3
GamesWare   Unit 26, The Bartletts, Hamble, Hants., SO35 5RP.
(01703−456523) (or 01243-531194) (01703−456523)
8.3
Hazelnut Software   197 Blackshots Lane, Grays, Essex, RM16 2LL. (01375-
375514)
8.3
Hodge Electronic Services    16 Mold Road, Mynydd Isa, Clwyd, CH7 6TD.
(01244-550803)
8.3
Intelligent Interfaces Ltd   P.O.Box 80, Eastleigh, Hants, SO53 2YX.
(01703-261514) (01703-267904)
8.3
Irlam Instruments   133 London Road, Staines, Middlesex TW18 4HN.
(01895-811401)
8.3
Krisalis Software   Teque House, Mason’s Yard, Downs Row, Moorgate,
Rotherham, S60 2HD.
8.3
  (01709-372290) (01709-368403)
8.3
Kudlian Soft  8 Barrow Road, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, CV8 1EH. (01926-
851147)
8.3
Longman Logotron   124 Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge
CB4 4ZS. (01223-425558) (01223-425349)
8.3
LOOKsystems   47 Goodhale Road, Bowthorpe, Norwich, NR5 9AY. (01603-
748253) (01603-740203)
8.3
Mijas Software (p10)  Winchester Road, Micheldever, Winchester, SO21
3DJ. (01962-774352)
8.3
Nelson Multimedia   Nelson House, Mayfield Road, Walton-on-Thames,
Surrey KT12 5PL,  (01932-252211.)
8.3
Network Solutions   2 The Borough, Aldreth, Haddenham, Ely, Cambs CB6
3PJ. (01954-212083)
8.3
  (01954-212083).
8.3
Newman Software   c/o Computer Centre, Newman College, Genners Lane,
Bartley Green, Birmingham,
8.3
  B32 3NT.
8.3
Oak Solutions (p23)   Dial House, 12 Chapel Street, Halton, Leeds, LS15
7RN (0113-232-6992)
8.3
  (0113-232-6993)
8.3
Octopus Systems   9 Randwell Close, Ipswich, IP4 5ES. (01473-728943)
(01473-270643)
8.3
Oregan Developments   36 Grosvenor Avenue, Streetly, Sutton Coldfield,
B74 3PE. (0121-353-6044)
8.3
Papersoft   10 Dunlin Road, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP2 6LU. (01442-
391967)
8.3
Powerslave Software   P.O. Box 175, Enfield, Middlesex, EN2 6RD.
8.3
Primrose Publishing   Vicarage Long Barn, Denham, Bury St Edmunds,
Suffolk, IP29 5EF.
8.3
Quantum Software (p19)  35 Pinewood Park, Deans, Livingston, EH54 8NN.
(01506-411162 after 6)
8.3
Resource   51 High Street, Kegworth, Derbyshire, DE74 2DA. (01509-
672222) (01509-672267)
8.3
Sherston Software   Angel House, Sherston, Malmesbury, Wilts. SN16 0LH.
(01666-840433) (01666-840048)
8.3
Silicon Vision Ltd   Signal House, Lyon Road, Harrow, Middlesex, HA1
2AG. (0181-422-3556) (0181-248-3589)
8.3
Soft Rock Software    FREEPOST (BS7978), Westbury-on-Trim, Bristol, BS10
7BR.
8.3
TBA Software   24 Eastgate, Aberystwyth, Dyfed, SY23 2AR. (01970-626785)
8.3
The ARM Club   Freepost ND6573, London, N12 0BR. (01171-624-9918)
(01181-446-3020)
8.3
Topologika   Islington Wharf, Church Hill, Penryn, Falmouth, Cornwall,
TR10 8AT. (01326-377771) (01326-377771)
8.3
Uniqueway   42 Crwys Road, Cardiff, CF2 4NN.  (01222-644611) (01222-
644622)
8.3
VTI (Vertical Twist)   Unit 1, The Shopwhyke Centre, Shopwhyke Road,
Chichester, PO20 6GD.
8.3
  (01243-531194) (01243-531196)
8.3
Widget Software   121 London Road, Knebworth, Herts, SG3 6EX. (01438-
815444) (01438-815222)
8.3
Archive Monthly Program Disc Contents
8.3
•  Programs from Cain Hunt’s article on programming − page 45.
8.3
•  ASCII character table from Jim Nottingham’s article about text
import − page 63.
8.3
•  Program from Hints & Tips Column on page 27.
8.3
•  !Slideshow − new version of the Risc PC demo software from Ian
McFarlane that allows you to select the index sprites and then click to
display a selected sprite − impress your friends even more!
8.3
•  Factfile − latest version of our full list of Acorn-related companies
on the Archive database.
8.3
Paul Beverley
8.3
Acorn Christmas Computer Sale...
8.3
Up to Christmas, A3010s are available at up to 33% off.
8.3
A3010 Action Pack (1Mb)  £399 − −> £299  25% off rrp
8.3
A3010 Action Pack (1Mb) + AKF52  £599 − −> £399  33% off rrp
8.3
A3010 EY or LC (2Mb)  £499 − −> £399 + free AP!  20% off rrp
8.3
A3010 EY or LC (2Mb) + AKF52  £799 − −> £599 + free AP!  25% off rrp
8.3
EY= Early Years Pack = Talking Start-Write, Flossy the Frog, Mouse in
Holland, Doris the Dotty Dog, Gemini, Amazing Maths & Paint Pot.
8.3
LC = Learning Curve Pack = Advance + PC Emulator + various demos
8.3
AP = Action Pack = Zool + StartWrite + various demos
8.3
Acorn Christmas Bits Sale...
8.3
I have managed to get a few bits left over from Acorn’s “Bargain
Basement” at Acorn World 94 including Desktop C and Desktop Assembler at
over 70% off!!! These are strictly WSL − “While stocks last!”,
i.e. please ring to book one.
8.3
I/O podule   £99 − −> £55  44% off rrp
8.3
Desktop C  £269 − −> £69  74% off rrp !
8.3
Desktop Assembler  £175 − −> £39  78% off rrp !
8.3
Basic Reference manuals  £20 − −> £15  25% off rrp
8.3
The Desktop C and Desktop Assembler are the current versions and,
obviously, Acorn are working on newer versions. However, at the price, I
think they are worth getting, even if they are superseded. In any case,
there will be some sort of upgrade path to the newer versions you might
even save money if you are really wanting the newer versions. At £69 for
Desktop C, it even works out slightly cheaper than Beebug’s Easy C!
8.3
9Mb Risc PCs in stock!!!
8.3
Well, put the flags out! Seven months after the launch of the Risc PC,
Acorn have (just about!) caught up with the supply of the ACB45, 9Mb
Risc PC 600s. We have cleared our last back-order and have at least one
left for stock. (Please don’t fight over it − form an orderly queue!)
The demand for ACB45s was so much higher than Acorn expected that it has
taken them until now to catch up.
8.3
Christmas Presents
8.3
If you are wanting to buy things through Archive for Christmas presents,
you will need to get orders to us by the following dates. Even then, we
cannot guarantee delivery because we cannot predict whether the
suppliers will be able to deliver things to us in time if we happen to
be out of stock. So please leave as much time as possible and we’ll do
all we can to fulfil your orders.
8.3
Send your “I want it by Christmas” orders to arrive at NCS by:
8.3
UK  15th December
8.3
Europe  7th December
8.3
Zone 1  4th December
8.3
Zone 2  1st December
8.3
Gift-wrapping − If you would like us to gift-wrap presents and send them
direct to the recipient, just send us a suitable gift-tag to put on it
and add £1 to the price.
8.3
The new Archive mousemat design
8.3
Mijas
8.3
From 8.1 page 8
8.3
CC
8.3
From 8.2 page 22
8.3
Avie Electronics
8.3
New artwork
8.3
Help!!!!
8.3
•  Background printing Impression files − If you <shift-adjust> over
your printer and select ‘Print in background’ and change the connections
to ‘File’ (taking the file icon to a directory) you can print Impression
files quickly into a file in your chosen directory. Then alter the
printer connection back (to parallel) and drop the Printout file onto
the printer. (You may need to use ‘Set type’ to alter the filetype to
“Printout” if the file is saved as type “Data”.) The file will now print
in the background. OK, but complicated − is there a better way that I
have blindly over-looked?  Robert Lytton, Leeds.
8.3
•  CD-ROMs − I asked a couple of months ago if anyone could do some work
on this area for us but got no response except offers to review the CDs
themselves. What I was looking for was someone who could pester the
drive manufacturers and suppliers for information and/or to borrow
drives for testing purposes. It’s quite a big job, I know, but it’s an
area where people are desperate for information. We really need to have
a CD-ROM Column. Is there anyone who would be prepared to get this
started? Could you perhaps offer to be one of a team of people collating
information in this area? If you can help in any way, please ring the
Archive office. Thanks.  Ed.
8.3
•  File access − Is there any way that files can be made accessible to
users whilst ensuring that they do not copy (or move) them to different
directories? I’m thinking in particular of a situation in an infant
department where the children do tend to inadvertently make multiple
copies of programs all over the hard disc.
8.3
•  Flashback − Could anyone who plays Flashback please throw some light
on saving your position? E.g. can you save from anywhere or only if you
find one of the elusive save pillars?  John Cxxxx. (Sorry − couldn’t
read the signature. Ed.)
8.3
•  Free Software! − Primary schools and/or special needs departments
with A3020/4000/5000 are needed to pilot some interactive multimedia
educational software − TimesTable and TellTime. Phone Hazelnut Software
on 01375-375514 for a demo disc.  Pat Morris, Hazelnut Software.
8.3
•  Internet access − We are getting a lot of queries along the lines of
“How can I get onto Internet?”, “What software and hardware do I need?”
and “How much will it cost me?” Can anyone help us with this? Please
send in your ideas, experience, questions etc. Is there someone who
already knows a bit about Internet who would be prepared to compile any
contributions into an article or articles?  Ed.
8.3
•  Keystroke − We have had quite a lot of folk endorsing the idea of a
Keystroke Column. The commonly held view is that Keystroke is an
excellent product and capable of some wonderful things but that the
manual is (sorry, Stuart) not wonderful. To be fair, it isn’t easy to
explain how to do things in Keystroke − it’s much easier to demonstrate
it − but since we can’t do that through Archive, but only write and show
screenshots.
8.3
Alisdair Jorgensen has offered to take it on. Alisdair is Stuart
Halliday’s business partner and author of Keystroke! If you have ideas,
suggestions, questions, comments, etc, send them to Alisdair at Easter
Cottage, Canalside, Winchburgh, EH52 6PU.  Ed.
8.3
•  Maximising memory − Is there a utility (or Obey file sequence) which
works with RISC OS3 and later which would automate the process of
maximising the amount of memory available for memory intensive
applications such as Genesis Browser (with an application loaded)
without having to resort to the task manager or the command line?
8.3
•  NetGain − Does anyone out there use Digital Services’ NetGain? If so,
could you either ring or write and tell us your views about it, please?
Ed.
8.3
•  Online Media − Is there anyone who would like to keep their eye on
what Online Media are up to and write about it occasionally in Archive?
I have a couple of press releases you could digest for a start. It needs
to be someone with a reasonable idea about multimedia et al. If you
would interested to have a go, let me know.  Ed.
8.3
•  Sysgen Reliant tapestreamer − Is there any way that a Sysgen Reliant
tapestreamer (formerly used with an IBM PS50z) can be used to back up
files from Acorn series machines? Would it need a SCSI interface to be
fitted. Once fitted what driver software would be required to allow it
to be used.
8.3
•  Wanted, A-Links − Acorn are having difficulty producing A-Links −
something to do with problems over supply of the cables. They say they
hope to have some by “early December”. NCS has several frustrated
customers who bought Pocket Books from us and are waiting for their A-
Links. If you have one to sell second hand (preferably with the PocketFS
2 software), let us know and we’ll put you in touch with some potential
customers!  Ed.
8.3
•  Wanted, Trackerball − Does anyone have a redundant (but good
condition) full-size trackerball they no longer use and would be
prepared to donate to a physically disadvantaged young man?  Ed. (Clive,
I’m afraid that, in the chaos after the Show, I lost the bit of paper on
which I wrote your name, address and the other query I was going to deal
with for you. Please will you contact me again? Sorry. Ed.)  A
8.3
Comment Column
8.3
•  Acorn friends − I have always felt that the world of Acorn and its
third party suppliers was, by and large, a very friendly community.
Certainly, when we get together at shows like Acorn World 94, we enjoy
one another’s company and there isn’t, generally, the kind of cut-throat
rivalry that you get in other computer communities. This was brought
home to me by a comment made to me in a letter recently from Christopher
Jarman... “Thank you for your interest and encouragement since I became
a subscriber/contributor. I have made so many friends through the Acorn,
it is unbelievable.”  Ed.
8.3
•  Font Directory − Here is a very short review of Font Directory from
LOOKsystems: It is very good − if you have any extra fonts then you need
it, so go out and buy it at once. I didn’t realise how much I needed it
until I’d got it. Related message to Acorn: you should buy a licence to
incorporate Font Directory in RISC OS 4.  Seán Kelly, Leighton Buzzard.
8.3
•  Module area misuse? When I run Impression Publisher, my module area
gets loaded with many tens of kilobytes of relocatable modules, and when
I quit Publisher, they stay there. Eureka does the same. Isn’t this a
misuse of the module area? After a few hours keyboard bashing, my 4Mb
A5000 is in dire need of a hard reset, just to release memory.  Seán
Kelly, Leighton Buzzard.
8.3
Matthew Hunter replies... Some applications do load several modules
during start up and then ‘fail’ to remove them on termination, often
occupying large amounts of RMA. This may seem like a waste but there are
(usually) good reasons for it.
8.3
The idea of modules is that they are shared resources. This may mean
that several applications may need to use them at once and some of them,
such as filers, always need to be present. One solution to Seán’s
problem may be to add lines to the end of the application’s run file to
RMKill all the modules it loads thus freeing up the memory. However,
with later versions of Impression, this is not possible because many of
CC’s modules such as the ABIModule (which handles their user interfaces)
and the Artworks renderer are shared between several applications.
Simply killing the module is not appropriate since it could easily
corrupt other software that is using it. (For this reason, some modules
are made so that they refuse to die!)
8.3
A better way is for the module itself to keep track of which
applications are using it, and when they have all exited, the module
knows it can now end. This is the way in which the WIMP works − as soon
as all the tasks end, the WIMP also terminates, dropping you back to the
supervisor prompt. Unfortunately, this is still not ideal for programs
that operate within the WIMP like Impression and Eureka.
8.3
If their support modules did terminate, all that would be likely to
happen would be that you would get back some RMA. Since free memory is
only returned to the WIMP from the end of the RMA, you would not get
much, if any, memory returned and the freed memory would only be reused
by other users of the RMA.
8.3
This may seem like a good idea, but suppose the modules are killed,
freeing the space. You then load a smaller module which will fit into
the gap left. You then need to reload the program whose modules have
been killed. Unfortunately, there is now no longer enough room for the
previously killed modules so even more memory will need to be added to
the end of the RMA in order to reload them. In this case, killing the
modules has actually wasted space. Whilst this is a worst case, it is
important to recognise that the problem is not entirely due to
individual modules, but due to some of the limitations imposed by the
current RMA system. Leaving modules running is not ideal, but it is
helpful if you need to swap between several applications. (You also do
not waste time reloading the modules − try loading, quitting and
reloading Impression and you will see the difference in speed on the
second attempt.) Until the RMA can relocate running modules, this is the
probably the best option.  Matthew Hunter, NCS.
8.3
•  Pocket Book Classroom Pack
8.3
Eleven Acorn Pocket Books, dispensing with the poem,
8.3
Teacher looked the other way and then there were ten.
8.3
Ten Acorn Pocket Books, things were going fine,
8.3
One fell into a bag and then there were nine.
8.3
Nine Acorn Pocket Books, programs on a plate,
8.3
One of them went up in smoke and then there were eight.
8.3
Eight Acorn Pocket Books, children all in heaven,
8.3
One fell upon the floor and then there were seven.
8.3
Seven Acorn Pocket Books, the class is in a fix,
8.3
One went to the staff-room and then there were six.
8.3
Six Acorn Pocket Books, very much alive,
8.3
H/M requisitioned one and then there were five.
8.3
Five Acorn Pocket Books, they really needed more,
8.3
One went to the Maths Room and then there were four.
8.3
Four Acorn Pocket Books, feeling fancy free,
8.3
One of them got sawn in half and then there were three.
8.3
Three Acorn Pocket Books, teacher’s feeling blue,
8.3
One got metal fatigue and then there were two.
8.3
Two Acorn Pocket Books, one’s been claimed by Don,
8.3
Now he’s taken it away − the total’s down to one!
8.3
One Acorn Pocket Book, all the rest have gone,
8.3
Teacher took it home with him and now there are none!!
8.3
David Fairhurst, Seaford, Sussex.
8.3
•  Publisher: Editor’s view − I may not be a typical Publisher user, but
my experiences may help others to get Publisher to perform more
effectively for them. I have listened to a number of differing views and
it has been quite strange. Some people, typified by myself and Mark Howe
(but there are others), have quite a bit of difficulty, including a
number of crashes whereas others, typified by Keith Parker and Neil
Whiteley-Bolton, who also use Publisher in a professional environment,
say they very rarely have problems.
8.3
I am hoping that as I gradually overcome my problems with Publisher,
others may learn along the way. From CC’s point of view, they say, “show
us a bug and we’ll fix it” which is fair enough but the difficulty (ours
and theirs) is that, with a system as complex as a computer interacting
with a user (or is it vice versa!) there are so many factors involved
that it is, more often than not, impossible to reproduce the error. So,
Publisher users, if you can ever, reproduce a crash on your system,
please report it to CC in as much detail as possible and send them a
file of the offending material if at all possible.
8.3
To continue with my own bug reports, even in Publisher 4.02 (27 Sep
1994), the bug I mentioned last month (p19) involving using <ctrl-shift-
Q> to swap adjacent characters across a line boundary still exists − it
is only a problem, by the way, when the text is justified. Also, just as
a warning, there is another reproducable (fatal) bug with justified
text.
8.3
If you are using the expand abbreviations facility and a style change,
you can produce a fatal error. I made Publisher crash when, at the end
of a line I typed, <f10>ar<space>. The <f10> is the key I use for Bold
and the “ar” changes to “Archive”. The “ar” appeared in bold down on the
new line but as soon as I pressed <space>, it crashed.
8.3
I do still get other non-reproducable crashes with Publisher but they
seem to happen more often after a session involving loading lots of
files from different contributors and preparing them for editing − could
it again be due to master pages carrying over problems from pre-Style/
Publisher days?
8.3
One of the problems I was having with Publisher was that it complained
about problems with fonts and would not re-display the document − it was
white text on white paper! CC said that the error was not Publisher’s
fault but something to do with the fonts in my font directory. (“Oh yeah
− sounds like an excuse to me”, I thought.) But they were right!!!
8.3
Some years ago, I had modified my version of Corpus. I decided I didn’t
really want smart quotes in program listings, so I used the trick of
putting the definitions of the normal quotes into each of the smart
quote slots so that they were displayed and printed as normal quotes
even though they were smart. Cunning, huh?! I decided to go back to the
ROM version of Corpus and, ever since, I have had no problems in that
area. Sorry, CC, you were right!  Ed.
8.3
•  Publisher crashes? − 4.01 doesn’t seem to crash very often on me −
well, no more frequently than Impression II, even when editing a 1½Mb
document with 30 chapters. As with Impression II, most of my crashes
occur during printing on my LBP4 Laser Direct, normally when there isn’t
quite enough memory. Instead of gracefully refusing to do something, a
crash occurs which generates an inescapable sequence of errors: I think
the stack gets corrupted.  Seán Kelly, Leighton Buzzard.
8.3
•  Publisher: More views − I do not share Paul’s regrets at the loss of
the old <ctrl-A> in Publisher, because I never used it in Impression II.
I was, and am, happy with the adjacent <delete> and <copy> keys for
delete-left and delete-right. My problem with the new <ctrl-A> is that I
fairly frequently hit this combination by mistake, and my next key-
depression deletes the whole text! If I realise what I have done, and do
not panic, <ctrl-V> brings it all back. Needless to say, I lost a
document or two before I realised what was happening.
8.3
I do occasionally get crashes − they seem to happen if I get ahead of
the machine when it is re-building a complex window (e.g. after
scrolling, or insertion of text). Most operator actions while this is
happening are held in the keyboard buffer until the re-build is
complete, and cause no problem. There are some things, however, which it
tries to incorporate into its re-building operation as it goes along
(further scrolling, I think, is one). Sometimes it seems to trip over
itself and crashes! I am not very clear about this yet − if I can
clarify it further, I will.
8.3
Still on crashes, I generally base a new Impression document (like a
letter) on an old one, rather than starting from scratch, but I have now
made a clean break with Publisher. I was not aware of CC’s advice about
not using old documents, but I soon found that, by modifying old
documents, I was carrying forward all my old user-defined styles, even
if they were not used in the document. This caused problems because I
have now defined a number of new styles and abandoned most of my old
ones. So I frequently found that a key short-cut produced my old style
rather than the expected new one. Also, using an old document as a base
for a new one brings in the old-style numbered master pages, instead of
the new (fewer) named ones. I didn’t associate these problems with
crashes at the time, but I do think I am getting fewer crashes since I
eliminated these hybrids − whether for that reason I do not know.
8.3
Paul commented on user-defined styles and the shortage of available f-
key combinations. I now use <shift-f2> to <shift-f10> for different
styles. I don’t often need to change the viewing scale and, when I do,
the double and halve facilities usually suffice. I have also re-defined
<ctrl-shift-f4> to <ctrl-shift-f10> for a range of other styles because
I don’t use the facilities that CC have added to those keys since
Impression II.
8.3
Incidentally, there are two mistakes on CC’s Key Short Cut card. <ctrl-
C> is not Cut selected item to clipboard. Also <ctrl-shift-B> is not
undefined − it is used to put the selected frame to the back. (Why can’t
we have a short cut for the converse, bring frame to front, as in Draw?)
8.3
Someone commented in Risc User(!) that they didn’t like the use of
<shift-cursor-keys> to adjust text selection, losing their old function
of moving the cursor a word at a time. I disagree − I find the new
feature occasionally very useful (and never used the old one). With
small text on a large screen, it can be a bit tricky using the mouse to
select the right characters of text. This feature makes it easy. I can
move the cursor a character at a time, if necessary, by using the cursor
keys, I can then highlight the few characters I want by using the cursor
keys with <shift>.  Colin Singleton, Sheffield.
8.3
•  Single chip solution for multimedia and portable applications − A
press release from ARM Ltd states: VLSI Technology are manufacturing a
new ARM7500 for the Online Media set-top box.
8.3
ARM Ltd have presented the ARM7500, a highly integrated single-chip
multimedia and portable system solution. It has a 32-bit RISC processor,
video, sound, I/O and memory control in a single cost-effective, high-
performance, low-power package.
8.3
At the heart of the ARM7500 is a cached 32-bit RISC processor, capable
of up to 30 Dhrystone 2.1 MIPS at 33MHz. Despite the integration of
video, sound and I/O, the ARM7500 still has a 4Kb cache, write buffer
and a memory-management unit for high system throughput.
8.3
The device is being manufactured on VLSI Technology’s 0.6 micron two-
layer metal process. The high performance, small size, low power and low
cost of the ARM7500 make it an ideal solution for portable and
multimedia applications. Conventional RISC chips are typically too big
and too expensive for portable and consumer applications.
8.3
“The ARM7500 epitomises the effective use of existing macrocells,” said
Mike Muller, ARM’s Vice President of Marketing. “Its optimal mix of
full-custom and standard cells offers tremendous flexibility to
designers looking for high-performance, one-chip solutions for portable
and multimedia consumer products.”
8.3
The first ARM7500 chips will be used in Online Media’s intelligent set-
top boxes for video-on-demand and other highly interactive TV services.
ATM Ltd, which already uses other ARM processors in its ATM server and
data-communications hardware, is working closely with Online Media in an
interactive television trial now underway with Anglia TV and Cambridge
Cable.
8.3
Malcolm Bird, Chief Executive of Online Media, commented: “Online Media
is committed to developing highly cost effective digital set-top
products. The ARM7500 helps move us towards our goal of a set-top on a
chip. In collaboration with ARM and VLSI, we have been able to integrate
many of the necessary functions into a very cost effective package. We
are also especially proud of being involved in the world’s first digital
interactive TV trial that uses ATM transmission from end to end.”
8.3
Availability? The ARM7500 is compatible with existing ARM development
tools and is initially available in a 240-pin microprocessor quad flat
package. VLSI Technology has supplied Online Media with prototype parts
and samples will be made more widely available in Q1 1995.
8.3
•   Squirrel − After the comments in Tim Nicholson’s article (8.2 p68)
about Squirrel 2, we were hoping we would get some comments that would
give us more evidence about the validity of the two sets of comments,
for and against. We only got one (see below). Has anyone else got any
experience that they think would be helpful? Are there any satisfied
Squirrel 2 users amongst our subscribers?  Ed.
8.3
•  Squirrel views − I was interested in the item on Squirrel 2 and the
reply from Digital Services. As a fairly contented user of Squirrel 2, I
would not be quite as negative as Tim Nicholson, but...
8.3
My first version of Squirrel 2 had a very serious compression error, and
the bug repair seemed to take twice as long as I had been promised. A
problem with double-clicking on boolean fields was not fixed by 2.07; I
had two letters from Digital Services denying the fault, before they
agreed to check, and I have heard no more. This problem is enough to
make Squirrel 2 unusable by the ‘computer illiterate’, which is a shame
for Digital Services as I had wanted to buy a copy for general use
operating a database in an office environment. Querying using boolean
fields is also rather useless, as it doesn’t really work.
8.3
Also, I pointed out to Digital Services that it was possible for an
unauthorised user to read password protected data merely by running a
query file, but they did not sort out the problem. This is a seriously
unprofessional implementation of protection, as it makes a secure
database impossible with a mixture of ‘authorised-access-only’ and
‘general-access’ data. Further, default field data does not always
appear as it ought in new records − another problem in applications
where a database is to be used by the ‘computer illiterate’.
8.3
My conclusion is that Squirrel is an excellent database for home use, by
a regular user who will put up with the odd peculiarity. However, it is
unsuitable for a more demanding environment, but only because some of
the added features of version 2 are buggy or incomplete − and these are
precisely those features most needed to make it useful in that
environment (batch update, password protection and boolean fields).
Squirrel would be a complete winner if only Digital Services would make
all the advertised features of version 2 work properly.  Seán Kelly,
Leighton Buzzard.  A
8.3
Switch − The Game
8.3
Mike Tomkinson
8.3
I agreed to review Switch, having been mistakenly told that it was a
utility. I like utility programs and I do not like games − I could never
see the point of them. I played Defender and Space Invaders and Frogger
on the old tape-loading BBC B. There was an element of wonder about
computers in those early days. Perhaps I have become too cynical or
pragmatic or have simply lost my sense of wonder?
8.3
Anyway, rather than simply send the game back, I made the mistake of
putting it in the drive to have a go. I say ‘mistake’ not because it was
poor but rather the opposite. It was everything a game should be.
8.3
There are few games that I have liked: Tetris owing to its inherent
simplicity, Repton because of its needs for problem-solving and logical
thinking, and  computer chess. In general, however, I do not like
computer games.
8.3
Where I have liked them, they have had a number of things in common −
simplicity of concept being one of the most important. I do not mean
ease of play − few would call Tetris easy but it is simple.
8.3
Sustainability is another important aspect. I could never become
enthused about Elite because it took so long to get anywhere. I could
not see visible progress.
8.3
Switch is simple and sustainable and I like it enormously. It simply
consists of matching coloured counters rather like the old Connect 4
game. The counters drop off the bottom of the frame when two or more
match horizontally. Of course, this may make more match thereby adding
to your score.
8.3
This sounds so simple you may be thinking that there is no real
challenge involved. You would be very wrong. Firstly, there may be
situations where it may not be possible to match any colour horizontally
without letting a counter drop out of the frame. This counts against you
and you cannot score unless this action subsequently matches more
counters.
8.3
However, you may need to let a number of non-matching counters through
owing to the random nature of their arrangements on the grid. This
builds a number of demerits and it may take some time to clear these
before you can score again. Time? Oh, I forgot to say − you are working
against the clock!
8.3
You are also trying to get above the score in the highest score table.
Not merely trying to get on it but you must get above the scores already
in there. This is 900 points for level one. The best I managed in three
days of trying was 315. I know I am no great games player but surely
even I could beat this.
8.3
There are actually nine levels of difficulty set by the opening screen.
Level one is the easiest level (seven colours) and nine is the hardest
(fifteen colours). The time is similarly controlled ranging from 300
seconds (easy) to 30 seconds (hardest). For each level of difficulty
there is a target to beat in the high score table.
8.3
Therein lies this game’s sustainability − you just have to beat the
scores in the high score table. All games should have the ability to
frustrate and infuriate and this one certainly does.
8.3
Finally, the one other thing a game should be is affordable. Some of the
current offerings are vastly overpriced and the only way to force the
prices down is to stop buying them. This little gem costs the princely
sum of £3.49 including postage (no VAT). The address to order it from is
even a Freepost one. There is no excuse for not buying Switch − even if
you do not like games.  A
8.3
Quantum
8.3
New Artwork
8.3
CC
8.3
From 8.2 page 22
8.3
The Advance Column
8.3
Robert Chrismas
8.3
The Advance spreadsheet can output tables in Draw format which is an
easy way to produce tables for use in DTP documents.
8.3
This table has not been edited: what you see is what the Advance
spreadsheet produced.
8.3
All the effects you see on the screen will be saved in the drawfile.
Before saving the file, you will probably want to turn off the grid and
the row and column labels (both on the ‘Utilities’ menu). Horizontal and
vertical lines in the table can be drawn with the ‘Cell border’ option
on the ‘Effects’ menu.
8.3
Cell borders take a little practice. If a block of cells is selected,
the border will be applied to that block rather than to each cell within
the block. If you use the ‘Set’ button, any other cell borders within
the marked block will be switched off. The best policy seems to be to
use the ‘Add’ button in almost every case.
8.3
You can alter row and column sizes. The Advance spreadsheet will not
support multiple lines of text in a cell, so to create the illustrated
table, each table row occupies two spreadsheet rows.
8.3
Thanks to Mike Burlingham (Portsmouth College) for this hint.
8.3
Horizontal lines were drawn with the ‘Below’ tick box. Then the whole
table was marked and ‘Box’ was set. This rubbed out the horizontal
lines. Use ‘Add’ not ‘Set’.
8.3
Entering a block of values
8.3
It is easy to enter a block of identical values on the spreadsheet. Mark
the block, then enter the value in the entry area. This value will be
entered in every cell in the marked block. Formulae can be entered in
the same way. Enter the formula in the form required for the top left
cell. Cell references will be treated as relative. To specify absolute
cell positions, put an ‘@’  before the row or column reference.
8.3
Must you enter the text first?
8.3
Are all word processors the same? I tell my students that, for simple
jobs like writing letters, one word processor is much like another and
that they should be able to pick up the basics of a new one without much
trouble.
8.3
A letter from Robin Terry of Newcastle upon Tyne reminded me that word
processors do have different ways of doing the same things. Robin is a
regular user of WordPerfect 5.1 who seems to experience the same sort of
disorientation using Advance which I experience when I am obliged to use
WordPerfect. His main concern was that Advance seemed to require him to
apply alignment, formatting and effects like bold after he had written
the text.
8.3
I find it more ‘natural’ to enter text first, but in Advance you can set
a format or an effect before entering the text to which it will apply.
8.3
Bold, italic and different fonts
8.3
Changes to bold, italic and to other fonts all seem to work in the same
way. If, while you are typing, you change the font then, when you go on
typing, the new font will apply at once. In the same way, an effect like
bold will apply from the point where you select it. However, if you
apply bold, then move the cursor (even just a character to the right)
the bold will no longer apply. Despite this, the text will still contain
an embedded bold command. So if you mark the paragraph and look at the
effects menu, bold is still ticked. Selecting bold now, or doing a
<ctrl-B>, will just switch the bold off; which is probably exactly the
reverse of what you want.
8.3
You can get the same situation by moving to the middle of a paragraph
and doing a <ctrl-B> then selecting the whole paragraph and examining
the effects menu. Bold will be ticked even though no text is bold.
Clicking on the bold option switches bold off, still with no visible
effect.
8.3
These sort of ‘phantom effects’ which do not apply to any text seem to
be removed by Advance when you cut a selection from the paragraph (even
if the selection did not included the phantom effect). Presumably,
Advance does some kind of housekeeping when a selection is cut from a
paragraph.
8.3
Be careful with <ctrl-B>, because it toggles bold on or off, so with a
little keyboard stutter, two <ctrl-B>’s will cancel out.
8.3
Alignment
8.3
If you change the alignment when the cursor is in the middle of a
paragraph, Advance will assume you want to change the alignment of the
whole paragraph. The whole paragraph will be marked and the alignment
altered.
8.3
The current paragraph can be just a carriage return. This will be the
case if, for example, you type two carriage returns then one cursor up.
8.3
If the cursor is at the very end of the document and at the start of a
new line, then changes to the alignment or the ruler are ignored.
Presumably, this is a result of the way the ruler is stored by the
program. The ruler must apply to a paragraph.
8.3
This means that if you want to set the alignment before you type the
text to which it applies, you must make sure that you are never at the
very end of the document. Start your document with a few carriage
returns then move the cursor back to the start. (You can alter the
default WP document to include a few carriage returns, but this seems a
bit extreme.) So long as you are not at the very end of the document you
will be able to adjust the current ruler and the alignment.
8.3
However, here you hit another potential hazard. Adjustments to the
ruler, or the alignment, affect the current paragraph. The current
paragraph (which may be just a carriage return) is marked by the
operation. As soon as you type something, you hit the surprising
Computer Concepts editing feature (copied, I think, from Mac software):
if a block is marked then any typing will replace the marked block. So
the marked block is deleted, along with any rulers or alignments which
apply to it!
8.3
Therefore, after adjusting the ruler or the alignment, deselect the
block by moving the cursor before you start to type. A cursor left
leaves you with the new ruler or alignment, all ready to type.
Unfortunately, a cursor right moves you off the ruler or the alignment
you have just carefully set.
8.3
Summary
8.3
• Start new documents by typing a few carriage returns then moving the
cursor back to the top of the document.
8.3
• If you alter the ruler or the alignment at the start of a new
paragraph, an empty marked block will appear − do a cursor left to
cancel the marked block before you start typing.
8.3
If you have any hints or comments about Advance write to me: Robert
Chrismas, 8 Virginia Park Road, Gosport, Hants, PO12 3DZ.  A
8.3
Oak
8.3
From 8.2 page 26
8.3
Colton
8.3
From 8.2 page 24
8.3
StarFighter 3000
8.3
Anthony Brion
8.3
Do you remember Fourth Dimension’s Chocks Away, where you are in control
of a small bi-plane and have to completed a multitude of varied
missions? Well, Starfighter 3000 is Chocks Away bought up-to-date and
then some.
8.3
You have been chosen from thousands of people to take part in a
futuristic game show, the aim of which is to complete missions that are
set for you (108 missions in total) and to collect prize money that you
obtain from the bonuses that are spread throughout the levels.
8.3
There are three levels of missions: Easy, Medium, and Hard with 36
missions in each level.
8.3
On starting, you are issued with your fighter, with minimum weapons and
defences, and £1200 of credits to equip your ship. The equipment on
offer include Air-to-ground missiles, Air-to-air missiles, deflector
shields, lasers, thrusters, etc. Before equipping your fighter, you
should read the mission text, so that you purchase the most appropriate
weapons for the particular mission.
8.3
Once your ship is equipped and you understand what the mission involves,
you may begin. The first thing that struck me was the stunning 3D
realistic graphics which are as fluid as a bucket of mercury − no detail
has been left out. The graphics are 3D solid polygon shapes, and even
details such as trees are shown. When an enemy target is successfully
destroyed the screen lit up like November the Fifth with pieces of the
target breaking up and bouncing all over the screen leaving behind a
random selection of tokens. These can be picked up bringing rewards
including extra credits and extra lives, but beware because the enemy
sometimes leaves mine tokens which zap the shields and cripple your
ship.
8.3
The missions range from docking with the mother ship to heading a
squadron of fighters into battle with a whole enemy fleet.
8.3
As soon as I put down my mouse after playing the demo, I picked up my
cheque book and ordered my copy of the game. This game is a must for any
Archimedes/Risc PC games player.
8.3
It requires a minimum of 2Mb of RAM, is hard disc installable (key disc
protected) and will work on RISC OS 2 or later.
8.3
Anyone that has an early copy of Starfighter (version 1.00), can get the
latest version (1.01) that has several bugs fixed. To obtain this copy
just return your discs back to Fednet.
8.3
The full version of StarFighter 3000 costs £29.95 from Fednet Software
or £29 through Archive.  A
8.3
Club News
8.3
The Wales branch of the ARM Club formed an active section in Cardiff
earlier this year. Fortnightly meetings are held on Wednesday evenings
between 7 and 9 p.m. throughout the year at the Roath Community Hall.
8.3
The branch is holding its first public Open Day at the Llanishen Leisure
Centre, Cardiff on Saturday 3rd December from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Acorn
Computers Limited will be present, as well as leading names from the
software and hardware fields. These will include Computer Concepts, and
local Acorn specialist, Uniqueway of Replay and Empire fame. HS Software
of Swansea will be demonstrating their range of educational software.
Eesox, who recently released their CDFast software and PD specialists,
and The Datafile, will be also present. Other leading software houses
are also showing interest and it is hoped that some of these names will
be added to the list.
8.3
Club members with a wide range of expertise will also be on hand with
their various 32-bit machines to help visitors with their queries.
8.3
Further information can be obtained by telephoning organisers John Pugh
(01222-751160) or Derek Rowlands (01222-868635).  A
8.3
Sea Rescue
8.3
Richard Rymarz
8.3
Sherston Software has rightly gained the reputation for being one of the
most prolific and well respected educational software houses. They are
releasing a series of adventure games based around mathematical themes.
The first two − Space City and Sea Rescue are now available. This review
concentrates on Sea Rescue.
8.3
Sea Rescue comes in a plastic wallet that contains two discs, a user
guide and eight double-sided work-cards. The program can be loaded onto
hard disc but disc 1 acts as a key disc every time the program is used.
Sea Rescue costs £26.95 +VAT each from Sherston or £29 through Archive.
8.3
Setting up
8.3
Double-clicking on !Sea Rescue installs the program on the iconbar.
Clicking <menu> on the icon allows a number of options, the most
important being the setup window. From here, the teacher/parent can
customise the difficulty of the program (it can be used between the ages
of 6 and 9), the number of tasks to reinforce the skills taught, the
sound volume and whether the program runs in CGA or VGA mode. Finally,
there is a list of start and finish locations allowing the teacher full
control over the sections that a child actually does. All this is very
comprehensive and easy to use. In my opinion, similar systems should be
adopted by all adventures of this kind.
8.3
The program
8.3
Clicking <select> on !Sea Rescue results in an attractive animated
opening screen and the sound of a blaring emergency horn. Immediately,
the children are whisked away to a lifeboat station where they meet the
crew and Rita the Robot who generally helps but occasionally gets into
trouble. The children are asked to help mend and look after the
lifeboats and this is where the mathematics starts. All actions are
controlled by the mouse and the instructions are at a reasonable level
bearing in mind the age of the target audience, although younger
children will probably need some help. As each of the three crew members
is introduced (one is Mrs Singh a lady lifeboat person) tasks involving
fractions are presented. Initially, they are fairly straightforward
referring to halves, thirds and quarters. Jobs include fixing the
lifeboat rails, repairing the masts, replacing the portholes and
checking the equipment. However, the tasks become more difficult as the
adventure continues. Visits to the weather centre involve the use of
equivalent fractions up to eighths at the simplest level and to
sixteenths at the most difficult. Finally, there is the rescue itself
when at the most difficult level fractions between nine and eighteen are
used. The children take part in the rescue since two of the crew catch
chicken pox and cannot sail. The children, of course, succeed and finish
up heroes with their names in the local paper.
8.3
Plusses
8.3
I have tested this program with groups of eight, nine and ten year olds.
They all managed to complete the tasks within a reasonable amount of
time and appeared to be enjoying the experience. The graphics are fairly
good, the animation adequate and the antics of Rita the Robot amusing
enough to keep the interest alive. The children follow a clear line of
problem-solving and cannot fail. The worksheets are an added bonus,
providing activities and games that reinforce the ideas on screen.
8.3
Minuses
8.3
Sea Rescue is too safe. The tasks offer options which the children can
guess at without really understanding what is needed. Some of the
explanations are not clear enough and caused confusion and the jumps
between the levels of knowledge and understanding are sometimes too
great. Finally, the character of Rita the Robot has no reference to the
real world of lifeboats and, while her antics jolly along the storyline,
they distract from any reality that the program may be trying to
construct. Having said that, I fully appreciate that reality was not the
intention of the authors and the program is not meant to be used in a
topics such as rescue at sea.
8.3
Conclusions
8.3
Sea Rescue is designed to “introduce, practice and consolidate fraction
work in the primary school”. To be fair, children find fractions very
difficult to comprehend fully and they easily forget what they learn
unless there is lots of reinforcement. I would suggest that, to get the
best out of the program, a fair amount of preparatory work needs to be
done especially with younger children. Furthermore, the childrens’
understanding needs careful assessment as they progress from task to
task. Certainly, I have found Sea Rescue useful to consolidate the work
children have already completed but the program is not a panacea for
teaching fractions.
8.3
Adam and Sandra Hosler who wrote ‘Aztecs’ which I reviewed some time ago
and found extremely useful, have produced a competent, interesting and
amusing program that could be used to consolidate work around fractions.
The backup materials are helpful and, if the teacher can provide the
necessary support, Sea Rescue is worth consideration.  A
8.3
Hints and Tips
8.3
•  A3000 bulging case (Archive 8.2 p62) − In the hint last month, I
suggested replacing the plastic cases of A3000 computers. In the text I
sent to Paul, I made some mention of safety aspects but Paul edited them
out. (Oops, sorry!) Please note that, for a variety of reasons, you
should not attempt to change the bottom case if your power supply is the
cardboard-covered type. If you are unsure, I would be happy for you to
write to me or ring me on 01564-776745.  Keith Coton, 118 Purnells Way,
Knowle, Solihull, B93 9ED.
8.3
•  Binder problems − A number of people have said that, when they
reached the end of Volume 7, the last magazine wouldn’t fit into the
binder. Let me assure you that they do fit in the binder (well, just).
If you can’t get them in, it could be because you have been putting the
rods into the holes instead of into the slots. The holes are there only
for use when the volume is incomplete, i.e. with a half-full binder, the
magazines tend to flop about and the rods easily come out unless you put
the rod for the top issue into an appropriate pair of holes. I suppose
we ought to send out instructions with the binders, but having used the
same binders for 8 years, I forget that they are new to some of you.
Sorry! Ed.
8.3
•  Day of the week function − I agree entirely with the basic message of
Cain Hunt’s article, “Why bother programming?” (8.1 p29). When I write
number-crunching programs in Basic, I ‘print’ the results to a spool
file, which I drag into Impression and format into a suitable
presentation document.
8.3
One helpful comment, if I may, is that the calendar shouldn’t need to be
told the day of the week of January 1. The function to use (which
returns a value in the range 0=Sunday to 6=Saturday) is:
8.3
DEFFNNewYear(Y%)=(1+1461*(Y%−1)DIV4−(1+ (Y%−1)DIV100)*3DIV4)MOD7
8.3
Colin Singleton, Sheffield.
8.3
•  Impression’s single-file document icon − In Archive 8.2 p.19, Paul
complained about the very dowdy grey icons that Impression Publisher and
Style use for their documents.
8.3
Fortunately, this is easily changed: All you have to do is look for the
sprite called file_bc5 in the three directories !Sprites, !Sprites22 and
!Sprites23 inside Impression’s application directory, and the sprite
called docsprites inside Resources.Sprites; you can replace them with
whatever icons you prefer − I took the Impression II document sprite and
changed its background from white to pale yellow to be able to tell the
two types of documents apart.  Jochen Konietzko, Köln, Germany
8.3
This was one of many similar suggestions. Thanks to all who attempted to
put me out of my misery. My desktop is now resplendent with white I’s
and yellow I’s, so now I can see which I is which. Ed.
8.3
•  Inkjet paper quality (8.2 p63) − Reyjet paper can be obtained from
‘Staples (Office Superstores)’. The price, a few months ago, was £2.39
(+VAT) per ream. I have found these stores to be well worth a visit, in
terms of both choice and price. Their catalogue contains a paper/printer
type compatibility chart and lists five types suitable for b/w inkjets
(from 80gsm to 100gsm, one in A3 size) and three for colour inkjets. The
Superstores tend to be Home Counties-based (Croydon, High Wycombe, and
Staples Corner in London) but they have other stores through the country
(e.g. Leeds, Cambridge, Swansea, etc.) though I do not know if they
carry full stocks.  Bob Bourne, Ware.
8.3
If anyone can’t get Versoix paper locally, it is readily available from
Viking Direct at £5.49 per ream or £19.95 per 5 reams, both excluding
VAT and delivery. Eight reams or more are delivered free, usually
overnight. Viking Direct are on Freephone 0800-424444 and have a very
wide range of general computer and office supplies.  Jim Nottingham,
York.
8.3
•  Impression’s “Some fonts not found” − Since the arrival of Impression
Style and Publisher, I have read repeated complaints about the fact that
both versions still replace fonts that have been used in a document but
are currently not available, with the default font. Coupled with this
complaint, usually, is a wish that there should be an option to abort
and install the missing fonts (most recently in Archive 8.1, p.31).
8.3
I can’t quite see the point of these complaints. I work with just three
or four fonts most of the time, so that one of the all-singing, all-
dancing font handlers like FontDirectory would be a waste of money for
me. Therefore, I have simply distributed my fonts over four directories
− a small one with those few fonts that I use most often and, one step
down in the directory structure, the rest, grouped according to their
general look.
8.3
When Impression Style now gives out its “not found” message, all I have
to do is let RISC OS 3.10 “see” the relevant font directory, then press
<f12><return>, and the missing font will be loaded into Style.
8.3
Problems really only occur when you load someone else’s document with
fonts which you don’t have. In this case, it would be nice if Impression
gave the option to choose the replacement font. You could then use
something really noticeable like Dingbats, so that it would be easy to
locate the style or effect that needed changing.  Jochen Konietzko,
Köln, Germany.
8.3
•  NoCaps II − After the hint in Archive 8.1 regarding disabling the
capslock key I had a request for a version that would respond normally
to capslock, but turn it off when shift was pressed. This could be
useful for things like postcodes, where it is easier to turn capslock on
than to get confused about when you need to press <shift>. Rather than
adding this functionality to the original module, I generated a new
version, which is more economical on space than having both in one, and
you are only likely to use one or the other. The two modules are on this
month’s disc as NoCaps (disable capslock as before) and SNoCaps (shift
disable capslock).  Matthew Hunter, NCS.
8.3
•  Powersave & libraries − Several people have expressed interest in the
powersave program from issue 8.1 of Archive, but have had difficulty
incorporating it into their !Boot sequence. I will therefore describe
how to install it. (The methods apply equally to other command line
programs you may wish to run − just replace powersave in the description
below with the program you wish to install.)
8.3
There are three basic ways around this problem. The first thing to do
(whichever method you use) is to find your boot file. If your machine
has RISC OS 3.11 or earlier, the boot file will be in the root directory
of your hard disc (unless you have moved it). On the Risc PC you will
have to hold down shift (to open application directories) and double-
click on !Boot, Choices, Boot, Tasks, in that order, as you go down the
directory structure (clicking with <adjust> each time will close the
previous filer window − useful in this situation). Once you have located
your boot file (called ‘!Boot’) hold shift and double-click on it to
load it into !Edit. Find where in the boot sequence you wish to run the
program and insert a blank line. Make sure the cursor is at the start of
the blank line, ready for the command that will execute the desired
program.
8.3
Probably the easiest method is to use an absolute reference. Copy
powersave somewhere ‘safe’ and preferably out of the way so that it does
not clutter the hard disc. Type “RUN ” and then hold down <shift> and
drag the ‘powersave’ icon, from where you put it, into the text window
containing the boot file set up above. When you release <select>, you
should see the full pathname appear in the text file following the run
command. You can then set up the parameters as described below.
8.3
The second possibility is to set aside a special directory where you
keep all your command line programs. Fortunately, Acorn provide such a
system, the Library directory, which on pre-Risc PC machines is, by
default, a directory called ‘Library’ in the root of your hard disc. On
the Risc PC, there is a directory inside the !Boot application, also
called ‘Library’. Open the appropriate Library directory and copy
powersave into it. You can then type ‘powersave’ into the blank line in
the boot file ready for the parameters to follow.
8.3
This is fine except that it relies on default settings, and puts
programs into Library that you only use very rarely. The method I use
therefore is to put the programs, and utility applications that I load
only during the boot sequence (backdrop picker, configuration tester,
for example), into a directory, say ‘BootLib’. I then have a line in my
Boot file ‘set BootLib$Path full::pathname.$.for.BootLib.’ as
appropriate for the location of the BootLib directory. Again, this can
be found by Shift-dragging BootLib into the text editor, but note that,
to be successful, the path must end with a full stop. I can then run any
program in Bootlib with the command ‘BootLib:progname’. This is longer
for a single program, but I only have to set bootlib once, and then
reference it several times. I have an absolute reference, so the default
settings do not affect it, and the library directory is kept for
frequently used programs. It is also far simpler to move the directory −
if you use the first method, you have to re-enter the full pathname for
every program that has moved. If I move BootLib, however, I only have to
change the line where BootLib is set, and all the programs will work as
before.
8.3
Once you have got the program ready to run by one of the three methods
above, all you need to do is to add any parameters to the end of the
line as appropriate for the program. In the case of powersave, an
example would be ‘delay 4 120’ for a two minute inactivity delay before
spinning down the drive. Do not use ‘spindown’ in your boot sequence.
Doing so will force the drive to spindown part way through the boot, and
immediately spin back up again, causing unnecessary strain.  Matthew
Hunter.
8.3
•  Publisher: editing effects − It is possible to edit effects as if
they were styles and even then to turn them from effects into styles. If
you look inside !Publisher, in the Resources directory is a file called
UK. In it is a line: “Cnf1:” and if you change this to read “Cnf1:E” and
re-save it, then from the next time you load Publisher, you will find
that effects become editable just as if they were styles.
8.3
This partially solved a problem caused by the change to Publisher.
8.3
With Impression II, when articles came in that had bits in bold, I would
just put them into the magazine and the “bold” bits would come out as
Plantin.Semibold. (I prefer to use Plantin.Bold because the body text is
Plantin.Light and the full bold face, although OK for headings, looks
too dark within the body of the text.) This worked because, prior to
Style and Publisher, anything using the bold effect was given the name
“bold” and, in the magazine, the “bold” style was defined as using
Plantin.Semibold.
8.3
However, if contributors us <ctrl-B> for bold, when I load it into the
magazine, it forces the text into Plantin.Bold. At first, I had to edit
“by hand” every single occurrence of the bold effect, changing it into
my bold style! The way I now get round it is to go to the incoming file,
click on a piece of “bold” text and press <ctrl-f6> to edit the style.
The effect then appears in the style editing window as something like
“Effect17”, or whatever. All I have to do then is to change this name to
“Bold” and this then becomes a style rather than an effect and, when
loaded into the magazine, it automatically assumes my Plantin.Semibold
style.  Ed.
8.3
•  Publisher: finding styles and effects − If you are given a document
that contains a huge range of effects and styles, as I often am, it is
good to simplify it before pasting it into another document. (You would
be amazed at the complex combinations of styles and effects people use
in their documents!!) You have the choice of a quick <ctrl-A><ctrl-N> to
remove all styles and effects and then re-insert the styles you really
want or of leaving in some styles and removing others. But how do you
know which style/effect does what? Well, styles are easy because you can
use search and replace to find them. The menu button next to the “Find
what:” box allows you to enter the name of a style. Then add an “@” and
it will find the first occurrence of anything in that style.
8.3
Finding effects is more tortuous and can only be achieved if you have
used the Cnf1:E trick mentioned above. So, if you press <ctrl-A> and
look across on the Style menu, you will see a list of ticked styles and
effects. Suppose you decide you want to find what and where “Effect 598”
is. The trick is that you double-click on a word and use the Style menu
option to apply Effect 598 to it. Pressing <ctrl-f6> will then bring up
Effect 598 on the Edit style window. Click on “Show on style menu” and
OK it. Now you can go to the top of the document and use <f4> to find
that effect as it will now appear on the find style menu. The only bit
of really bad planning here is that, if you want to look at each of the
occurrences of this effect and get rid of some of them, you cannot use
<ctrl-N> to remove the effect because <ctrl-N> is taken to mean “next
match” when you are searching! Drat! Keystroke to the rescue again. I
have programmed <alt-N> to give me the menu selection, Style − Clear all
styles. Ed.
8.3
•  Screenload on the Risc PC − It has been pointed out that the
*screenload command appears to work differently on the Risc PC from
previous machines, in that it no longer loads into the current graphics
window but loads at the bottom left corner of the screen instead. In
fact the operation has not changed, but is modified by the new mode
system. A screenload will load the sprite to the screen, changing mode
if necessary, and it is the mode change that causes the problems. For
example, if, while in mode 31, you screenload a sprite, defined in mode
27, the computer will change to mode 27 first. Changing mode redefines
the graphics window, so you will find that (on any machine) the result
of the following program will be to place the sprite in the bottom left
hand corner of the screen (assuming there is a sprite called ‘test’,
defined in mode 27 in the currently selected directory).
8.3
MODE 31
8.3
VDU 24;100;100;600;600;
8.3
*SCREENLOAD test
8.3
This is because the graphics window set by the VDU 24 is reset by the
mode change implied in the *screenload. Adding the lines.
8.3
VDU 24;200;200;600;600;
8.3
*SCREENLOAD test
8.3
to the end of the program will successfully move the sprite to 200,200
before plotting... except on the Risc PC. This occurs because the mode
is already set to 27, so the mode is not changed, and the graphics
window remains intact. The problem with the Risc PC is that when the
machine tries to change into mode 27 (after the first screenload) it
ends up as a 640 by 480, 16 colours, 60Hz mode. Therefore, although the
sprite is loaded, the machine is not actually in mode 27, so the next
screenload also tries to change to mode 27, resetting the graphics
window again. Unfortunately changing the mode in which a sprite is
defined is does not cure the problem. If you need to move the sprite
away from the bottom left corner, you will need to use sprite calls to
load and plot the sprite yourself.  Matthew Hunter, NCS.
8.3
•  Style file size − The Impression Style manual says that: “Deleting
unused master pages does not make the document significantly smaller”
(page 180) and “Single file format has the advantage that files are
smaller. This is useful for short documents such as letters” (page 17).
However, there is no comment on the merits of deleting unused styles, so
I thought I would check it out.
8.3
Taking a two page letter built on a letter master page and with a sprite
picture (25,240 bytes), I have tested these statements out. The Info Box
gave:
8.3
Document  Pages: 2  Size: 171Kb
8.3
Text  Stories: 19  Memory: 6Kb
8.3
  Chapters: 1  Words: 452
8.3
Graphics  Pictures: 5  Memory: 147Kb
8.3
When saved, the document took up 175,912 bytes (single file) or 176,543
bytes (directory)
8.3
The reason for the massive size is that I had four master pages for
different letter-type documents, each with the logo graphic. So, after
removing three unused master pages, the document took up: 42,792 (single
file) or 44,367 (directory).
8.3
The document had fifteen other unused master pages which took up between
188 and 1,216 bytes each − when all were removed, the document shrank
to: 35,316 (single file) or 36,851 (directory).
8.3
If I saved the text only, with no style information, it only occupied
2,332 bytes.
8.3
As I already have the picture stored elsewhere, I only need to keep the
text and that does not need any style or frame information and so my
final storage needs will not be 176Kb but about 2Kb which can then be
very effectively archived.
8.3
What I have learnt from this: (1) save all writing as text files if
possible, (2) redundant styles do not take up a large amount of space
and there is no benefit in removing them for storage reasons and (3) be
careful how many times you save graphics, especially in dormant master
pages!
8.3
I will now remove many of the master pages from my default document and
save them in separate documents (or in useful groups as I don’t think
you can merge master pages into one document!) for when I need them.
This will also have the knock-on effect of having smaller initial
documents in memory which will load more quickly!  Robert Lytton,
Leeds.  A
8.3
JPEG Column
8.3
Stuart Bell
8.3
First of all, if you didn’t get the program disc for the September
Archive (7.12), and if you’re at all interested in JPEG files, I’d
recommend that you get a copy from the Archive office now.
8.3
The reason for this is that Quantum Software have, with their Keystroke
utility, automated the production of thumbnail images of JPEG files to
reduce the whole task to one keystroke (<alt-Q>). On the program disc is
an execute-only version of Keystroke which will produce a !Paint file
containing thumbnails of all the JPEG files in a directory. It requires
!ChangeFSI version 0.95 (or 0.90 at a pinch) and uses exactly the same
technique which I described a few columns ago to produce a visual index
of JPEG images. And it’s free – brilliant!
8.3
Shoemaker-Levy MPEGs and JPEGs
8.3
Response to the last column’s offer of sequences and images pulled off
Internet brought the highest ever response, with the result that, for a
fortnight, I spent the first few minutes of each day opening envelopes
and copying discs. In all, the total ran into three figures.
8.3
MPEG under !Replay
8.3
A few months ago, I wondered aloud if Acorn’s commitment to !Replay
would mean that it might get by-passed by the industry-wide acceptance
of the MPEG video-compression standard. At the time, a correspondent
pointed out that !Replay is a protocol, which can use any compression
technique for moving video images. Hints were made that Acorn might be
moving in the direction of MPEG. Sure enough, the October Acorn User –
presumably quoting an Acorn Press Release – announced, “A core technique
of the Online Media interactive multimedia set top box is MPEG digital
movie playback capability. This was co-developed by Computer Concepts/
Wild Vision, Anglia Television and Acorn and has now been officially
added to the Codec (coder-decoder) of the Acorn Replay digital movie
system.”
8.3
Of course, faced with the clear dominance of the MPEG standard for
digital movie origination, Acorn had no alternative but to take this
move. MPEG movies are available now, and a Risc PC with a suitable MPEG
board should be an excellent platform for the playing of these movies.
Announced before Acorn World was just such a “suitable MPEG board”, and
I looked forward to its demonstration on the Computer Concepts stand:
8.3
Movie Magic
8.3
This is the MPEG player board for the Risc PC. Available initially at
£249 + VAT in a form which will give full-screen video on any suitable
monitor (50Hz PAL) or TV with a SCART socket, a later version will give
“video in a window” in a normal RISC OS desktop, at about £150 more.
Prices include a CDFS upgrade and a voucher for a VideoCD movie “of your
choice” – the current list includes Star Trek 6, A Fish Called Wanda and
Fatal Attraction.
8.3
It was a prototype of the more advanced board (“completed at three
o’clock this morning”) that was being demonstrated by Computer Concepts.
The chap from CC used a large screen display to guide us through the
directories on one of the six CDs loaded onto the Pioneer drive(!),
double-clicked on various MPEG sequences and, sure enough, here was full
screen (or part screen) full motion video at a quality greater than that
of domestic VHS video recorders – and certainly far better than the
software-only !Replay video play-back system.
8.3
Computer Concepts see two main applications for Movie Magic. First there
is its use in multi-media, allowing MPEG sequences to be used under the
!Replay protocol, but with far greater quality than previously possible.
The second is the use of a suitably-equipped Risc PC as a player for
VideoCD titles. Full length movies need a double CD, and these are now
appearing in the shops. Like audio CDs, they ‘never’ wear out, and each
CD offers about 76 minutes of video and CD-quality stereo audio. They
might become the new video format. After about five minutes of seeing
Kate Bush sing and prance around the screen, the demo came to an end.
“That’s about it”, said the man from CC. He was right of course; however
technologically clever an MPEG board might be, you can only do one thing
with it, and that’s play MPEG sequences!
8.3
So, without wishing to diminish the technology behind Movie Magic, I was
left with three questions to mull over. Firstly, will VideoCD really
take off? After all, it’s a play-only medium, so you’ll still need a VCR
to record EastEnders. Secondly, even if it does flourish, are most
peoples’ Risc PCs close enough to their main (SCART-equipped) TV to make
its use as a player convenient? (And what happens when you want to use
your Risc PC for another processor-intensive task?) Thirdly, for
creative use of any full motion video system, you need to create as well
as to play sequences. Such hardware compression boards are now available
for the proprietary !Replay system. Widespread use of MPEG for
multimedia application authoring on Acorn platforms will surely require
a reasonably cost-effective MPEG compression board.
8.3
JPEG at AW 94 and CD ROM speeds
8.3
Generally, the ’94 show was much more interesting than last year. CD ROM
drives were everywhere (and prices falling), which meant, of course,
that JPEG images were everywhere, too. Photo CD was also present in the
person of the Kodak stand, and it looks like becoming a truly cross-
platform standard, certainly for the “professional” market. Many of the
CD ROMs on sale, and especially the various public-domain offerings,
listed JPEG images as part of their contents for even with the huge
capacity of CD ROMs, the benefits of JPEG are worth having. It was
noticeable that 16bpp or 24bpp images decompressed from JPEG files are
in a quite different league from the relatively ‘blotchy’ 256 colour
images which most of us have had to accept to date. And, of course, the
benefits of JPEG are even greater with 32,000 and 16.7M colour images.
8.3
However, the issue of access time on CD ROMs is a very real problem. As
I had noticed when installing a CD ROM player for a local school, those
of us used to pulling JPEG images off a fast hard disc and then using
!ChangeFSI or !FYEO2 to display them get quite a shock when accessing
PhotoCD on CD ROMs for the first time. My new 270Mb Quantum SCSI drive –
one of the many “show offers” available at Acorn World! – is certainly
not state-of-the-art, but transfers data at 1.8Mb/s in mode 0. Since a
Risc PC with VRAM should allow transfer rates independent of screen
modes, and should certainly out-run my ARM3, that kind of performance
makes the 300Kb/s (and the access times) of double-speed CD ROM drives
look pretty pathetic.
8.3
So, if you’re into JPEG, and thinking about CD ROM, then my very strong
suggestion would be to get a quad-speed (or at least triple-speed) drive
in the first place. In the long run, the extra cost will be worth it. My
guess is that as double-speed drives are now the de-facto standard, so
in a few months’ time, the same will be true of quad-speed drives. Even
then, their 600Kb/s. isn’t over-kill when an uncompressed 1024×768 pixel
image in ‘true colour’ runs to 2.25Mb!
8.3
Retrospective
8.3
It’s now about 18 months since my first JPEG article appeared in
Archive. In that short time, JPEG has moved from being a ‘fringe’
interest accessible only to those willing to experiment with command-
line access to !ChangeFSI to become a standard supported by a wide range
of commercial applications. This month’s news confirms the significance
of MPEG for the Acorn platform. Where will we be in another 18 months’
time? I’ve no real idea, but my conclusion from Acorn World is that the
Risc PC will be as well-equipped as any platform to take users into the
brave new world of 24-bit colour, full motion video, and the information
super-highway (or should that be ‘super-hypeway’?) of 1995 and beyond.
8.3
With the maturing of JPEG and MPEG into an increasingly supported
technique for the storage and retrieval of images and motion sequences,
it seems to me that the need for a JPEG Column as a focus for the
exchange of experiences between intrepid explorers into the unknown has
come to its natural end. When companies of the calibre of Acorn and
Computer Concepts have adopted JPEG and MPEG, then it’s clear that we
have moved into a new era for image compression. There will still be a
need for reviews of commercial JPEG and MPEG products, but as far as a
regular JPEG Column is concerned – certainly from my ‘pen’ – the end has
come. So, au revoir, and thanks to all who have supported the column
since the start.  A
8.3
Adventure Games − Part 1
8.3
Dave Floyd
8.3
You are standing under a dull copper sun in a wide open clearing where
your ship crashed. To the northeast, north and northwest lies an evil-
looking (and smelling!) swamp, while further round, a track climbs
steeply up the lower tongue of a glacier. Westwards there seems to be
jungle, while south an opening in the mountains reveals a valley.
Southeast there is a path into the mountains and a narrow path wanders
east through cliffs to skirt around the swamp. To the southwest lies
your ship.
8.3
Such is the forbidding landscape that you encounter on leaving your
spaceship and setting foot upon the wastelands of the planet
Doomawangara. The images created in the mind by the description are far
more vivid than could be created by a picture on the screen, and far
more personal, just as watching films is almost always a poor substitute
for reading books. (Or listening to radio plays? Ed.) Puzzles and
problems in adventure games are also different from those you may face
in other genres. Rather than competing with your own manual dexterity
(or lack thereof), as is often the case in arcade style games,
adventures encourage you to flex your mental powers to solve them.
Logic, methodical mapping and even trips to your local library could be
required to complete an adventure game.
8.3
This may appear to be hard work, and anything other than enjoyable to
those who have not yet set forth into the world of adventures, but let
me assure you that this is not the case. Difficult and frustrating in
places, perhaps, but I have received more letters about adventure games
than any other since writing the Games Column for Archive, which says
much for the addictive qualities that these games hold.
8.3
On beginning an adventure game, you are no longer in the real world but
have been spirited away to a nether land of the programmer’s
imagination. It is left to you to explore and find solutions to the
problems that will face you en route to your goal. The problems set may
be devious but, in a good game, they will always be fair and usually
leave you wondering why they were problems in the first place, once
solved. Not only are you in a world not of your choosing, but you are
also facing problems not of your choosing. You are in a direct, one-on-
one challenge. You versus the programmer. Not many like to admit defeat
in this kind of scenario and to avoid it, tap unknown depths of tenacity
and inventiveness in order to progress. The feeling on completing the
game after weeks, or sometimes months, of effort is so rewarding that
you inevitably walk around for the next few days displaying a beaming
smile and being more pleasant than normal to everybody you know. That
this feeling is not just reserved for the completion of the game, but is
also available in a slightly lesser fashion every time you solve a
particularly sticky problem, should convince even the most cynical
amongst you that adventures are, indeed, a most superior kind of
computer entertainment.
8.3
(Might the converse not be true, Dave? − frustrated adventure games
players wandering around kicking cats because they just can’t find a way
to solve the current problem?! Ed.)
8.3
Topologika Software
8.3
Brian Kerslake’s early involvement with computers was as a computer
programmer with Lyons’ Bakery, and then with the Royal College of Art,
London. He then trained as a teacher and spent fifteen years doing that
before micros in the classroom began to pull him back the other way.
Increasingly fed up with being asked to give away copies of software
which he wrote for his own classroom use, he set up, with a colleague, a
small mail order software house called Chalksoft. This experienced
steady growth but the partnership eventually split and Brian set up
Topologika, taking with him titles which he’d been responsibile for
developing at the time he left.
8.3
One of these was a maths adventure game called GiantKiller, written by
Peter Killworth. When Peter heard that GiantKiller would be published by
Topologika he realised that this new publishing house would have a need
for some new titles, and suggested that much expanded and reworked
versions of adventure games (originally been published by Acornsoft)
might be of interest. Brian met Peter (Countdown to Doom, Philosopher’s
Quest, etc), Jon Thackray (Acheton), Jonathan Partington (Kingdom of
Hamil) and Richard Clayton (Locomotive Software, working on PC versions)
to agree a publication schedule. All parties went into it with their
eyes open, realising that the heyday of classic adventures was possibly
over.
8.3
Brian is the first to acknowledge that whilst sales have not been as
strong as they would have liked, they have at least managed to keep the
games alive, released some new titles (Return to Doom, Last Days of
Doom, Hezarin, Avon, Murdac) and to moved them onto non-Acorn formats
(Atari ST, IBM PC, Amstrad CPC and PCW).
8.3
GiantKiller
8.3
Although released as an educational game, GiantKiller is certainly not
as easy as that description may lead you to believe. The plot is loosely
based upon the story of Jack and the Beanstalk and you play the part of
Jack (or Jackie). Sent off to market by your mother to buy a pig, you
encounter a few gentle problems before ending up with a magic bean. Once
you have entered the world of the Giant, these problems get steadily
more difficult as you progress towards the end. As a novel way of
encouraging mathematical reasoning and logic solving, the game works
very well. The packaging includes a player’s guide as well as a program
guide which provides a complete solution, detailed description of the
puzzles along with their rationale and the optimal order in which to
attempt the puzzles. Aimed at 10-14 year olds, GiantKiller could provide
an answer for parents who wish to buy their children something with
educational value whilst the kids just want games. It may also be ideal
for anyone who needs an easier introduction into adventuring than most
Archimedes adventures provide. However, those who begin GiantKiller
thinking that it will be easy, could be in for a few surprises.
8.3
Countdown to Doom / Return to Doom / Philosopher’s Quest
8.3
Your first view of the wasteland where you have been forced to crash-
land your spaceship is contained in the first paragraph of this article.
Desolate and unwelcoming are two adjectives that do not really do
justice to Doomawangara. Not content with just setting his usual style
of problems, Peter Killworth also gives you a time limit to get your
ship working and leave the planet’s surface. Those of you who played the
game on the BBC will find everything that made the game so addictive in
the first place, including the jelly-like blob that confused many.
However, as with most of these re-released titles, you will have to
think again if you expect to sail through them by using your old
solutions. The game is larger and more complex than the original, and
none the worse for that. Had it been released on its own, Countdown to
Doom would have made a good purchase. That it has been packaged with two
other titles makes it nothing other than essential.
8.3
Return to Doom is part two of the Doom trilogy. Your task is to rescue
the Ambassador of Regina who has been kidnapped by renegade robots. As
the game progresses, you even acquire a talkative robot dog to keep you
company. Return is larger and more difficult than Countdown (which
should be played first) but still has the playability and addictiveness
of its predecessor. That CPC Computing named Return to Doom as the text
adventure of the year in 1988 is of no surprise and I had to tear myself
away from it in order to write this article. I have not (yet!) solved
this game but as soon as I have finished writing, I will be attempting
to advance further without resorting to the on-line help, a feature of
the Topologika adventures which can prove just that little bit too
tempting at times.
8.3
Philosopher’s Quest will be remembered by many who owned BBC Micros but,
once again, you will have to ditch your old solutions. This is obvious
even from the first location where those expecting to find a rod amongst
the artefacts will be disappointed. The game itself, however, provides
no such feelings, and along with the opportunity to reminisce, there is
plenty here to keep you busy, whether or not you solved the original.
8.3
Acheton / Kingdom of Hamil
8.3
Acheton, by Jon Thackray, is one of the largest text adventure games
ever released and so Topologika have not added to it, feeling that it
was big enough already. It was first released in the early 1980s by
Acornsoft as a disc-only release, and many could have missed it first
time round due to the price of disc drives back in those cassette-
orientated days. If you missed Acheton, you should waste no time in
adding it to your collection. Written in the magical style of the
original Crowther & Woods Adventure, Acheton is huge. Topologika suggest
that you use a very large sheet of paper for the map. Painting over a
wall in your computer room and using that may be more suitable for the
task. The help sheet runs to a massive 233 questions, and if you want to
buy a game this Christmas which might last you through to next, few come
better equipped for the task.
8.3
Given the difficulty of completely solving Acheton, one would think that
the ideal game to accompany it would have been Quondam but, fortunately,
Archimedes owners have been spared what was the ‘ultimate in sadism’
from the pen of Peter Killworth. For those not acquainted with it,
suffice it to say that Quondam was one of the few BBC adventures that I
failed to solve – even with use of the help sheet!
8.3
Kingdom of Hamil by Jonathan Partington was chosen as the stablemate for
Acheton and is an ideal starting point for those who are new to the
genre. The scenario is that you are the true but dispossessed king of
the land of Hamil. Once kidnapped in infancy, you set out to reclaim
your throne. The game starts gently, but gradually gets more difficult
as you progress, and provides an enjoyable challenge. Once again, the
game has been updated from its original BBC incarnation so can be played
by those who solved it first time round.
8.3
SpySnatcher
8.3
Inspired by the book that the Tories made popular in the late 80s,
merely by banning it, SpySnatcher combines the talents of Jon Thackray,
Jonathan Partington and Peter Killworth. Given their previous output,
there really should be no further need to encourage you to buy this. You
have been summoned to MI7 to unmask a mole, as some plans appear to have
been leaked.
8.3
While investigating, you also have to keep out of sight as you are only
on the premises unofficially. The addition of other characters such as
the security guard, allows for time-based puzzles as well as more
standard adventure fare. SpySnatcher is similar in style to Rainbird’s
Corruption, but the text has more humour to it and you do not have to
keep waiting for the drive to load all those annoyingly irrelevant
pictures. In all, it’s an adventure just that little bit different from
the rest, and well worth £15 of anybody’s money.
8.3
Avon / Murdac
8.3
Avon has a Shakespearian theme, but those who do not have an exhaustive
knowledge of the great bard’s works should not be put off by this.
Believe me, you are not alone, and if I can play this game in relative
ignorance€, so can you. Perhaps more of the humour will be apparent if
you are conversant with Shakespeare but I found plenty to amuse me as I
wandered around exploring and head-scratching. Your aim in this game is
to return to the present day, though given the skill with which Jon
Thackray and Jonathan Partington have constructed this light-hearted
romp around sixteenth century Stratford, who would want to?
8.3
The other half of this two game pack is Murdac by the same authors. I
feel that Topologika give a misleading impression of this game by
describing it as ‘free with Avon’. Do not let this make you think that
you will be getting a sub-standard game; Murdac could very easily stand
on its own as a release in its own right. The scenario is, once again,
from the mould of the original Adventure, in that you have to explore
underground tunnels and dungeons while finding ways of dealing with
trolls, ogres and no end of strange creatures with a little bit of magic
thrown in for good measure.
8.3
Last Days of Doom/Hezarin
8.3
The final part of Peter Killworth’s Doom trilogy, has you travelling
back to the planet in order to save it from destruction. Arguably the
most difficult of the three, Last Days of Doom starts with a limited-
move puzzle which works very well in giving you a sense of action and
urgency. Your trusty robot dog also makes a comeback and, within the
packaging, is a robot dog construction kit, a nice touch which takes
one’s mind back to the halcyon days of Infocom.
8.3
Hezarin is another ‘free’ game which would easily stand on its own as
regards quality. In this adventure by Steve Tinney, Alex Ship and Jon
Thackray, your task is to overcome the tyrant, Arijith, and free the
peasants from his oppressive regime. Hezarin has a nice sense of humour,
is large and will provide a worthy challenge for most adventurers.
8.3
Conclusion
8.3
Although I have tried to write about these games in a vague way so as
not to divulge too much of the plot and the puzzles contained within
them, I hope I have managed to put across some of my enthusiasm for the
genre. If you have never played an adventure game, I hope you will be
encouraged to find out for yourself how enjoyable they are. Topologika,
in my opinion, have not released a poor game, a feat not matched by many
games companies. Unfortunately though, they have no current plans for
any future releases in the adventure games field. The reason for this is
that sales have not been as good as hoped for, especially on the newer
games. To quote Brian, “although Peter and the rest of the crowd have
plenty of games in various stages of completion, there is absolutely no
point in releasing games that no one wants to buy.” The future then, is
purely and simply in your hands. I for one, would find it incredibly sad
if the genius of Peter Killworth were never seen again in the Acorn
adventure games world.
8.3
Availability
8.3
All these Topologika games are available through Archive for the
following prices, including VAT:
8.3
GiantKiller (inc. GK Support Disc)  £33
8.3
Countdown to Doom / Return to Doom / Philosopher’s Quest  £28
8.3
Acheton / Kingdom of Hamil  £19
8.3
SpySnatcher  £14
8.3
Avon / Murdac  £19
8.3
Last Days of Doom / Hezarin  £19
8.3
Any comments relating to this column, or any other games related
subject, should please be sent to Dave Floyd, c/o PO Box 2795, London,
NW10 9AY.  A
8.3
Topologika have sponsored a competition with a couple of their adventure
games as a prize. In the following wordsquare, find which of the words
in the word-list is not in the square anywhere. Send your entry ON A
POSTCARD only, please to the Archive office by Friday 9th December.
8.3
Gestalt 2
8.3
Andy Watson
8.3
This review covers two pairs of programs in the Gestalt 2 series from
Basing Educational Software: Time & Fractions and Money & Shopping. All
four programs are aimed at children of primary age and those with
special educational needs.
8.3
The programs come in a ring binder with very brief instructions which
cover the common features of all Gestalt 2 programs. Further
instructions are contained within the programs.
8.3
Each program is protected by a security feature which allows a certain
amount of use for evaluation purposes before a security code, obtainable
only on payment for the programs, is required. This is a good idea which
might be usefully copied by other educational publishers. However, the
protection method will need to be made more sophisticated as it is
fairly easy to get round at the moment.
8.3
Common features
8.3
The programs all have features in common. Each program opens with a menu
window which allows the teacher to set various program options. Clicking
<menu> in this window brings up a glossary which explains what the
various options do. You can choose to have reports of pupil performance
printed out without a printer driver being loaded.
8.3
On the main program screen, an Explain icon will detail what the user
must do. This has clearly been designed with the teacher, not the pupil,
in mind so the programs require teacher support until the child becomes
familiar with their operation. It would have been easy enough to phrase
the instructions so that children could use them unaided.
8.3
There is a Zoom option which focuses on the current question and offers
an explanation of what to do. There is also a Help icon which points the
child to the correct answer and thus ensures that the child is never
completely stuck.
8.3
The teacher can choose the Interactive function which adjusts the
difficulty of the examples to suit the child’s performance. So if the
options chosen prove too difficult, the questions are simplified.
8.3
Time
8.3
Time provides various activities to help children make sense of the
different ways in which time can be represented. There is a useful
teaching clock which can illustrate time in a variety of ways − digital
(12 or 24 hour), analogue, colloquial (quarter to 12) or numeral (11
forty-five). The clock itself can be shown with normal or Roman numerals
or even without any numerals and can be set to display only a.m., only
p.m. or both. The hands can be moved in any unit from one minute to one
hour. There are pictures and text to illustrate different times which
are particularly useful when introducing the concepts of a.m. and p.m.
8.3
There are three other activities − matching analogue and digital times,
setting the clock to a particular time and placing some times in
sequence. Each of these allows a wide choice of how the time is
displayed.
8.3
There were a few minor problems with the program. Sometimes the display
is overcrowded and the writing too small − in particular, the small red
on black LED letters in the analogue/digital match were not very clear
on a standard monitor. The user interface could be improved, especially
in the sequencing activity, where dragging would have been much more
intuitive than the clicking required. One feature which children found
disconcerting was that the icon used to tally the number of questions
completed is a cross. Many children thought that this meant that their
answer was incorrect.
8.3
Despite these reservations, this program is useful in the classroom both
as a teacher’s aid to demonstrate the different methods of displaying
time and as a way of providing practice at simple time problems for
younger children.
8.3
Fractions
8.3
Fractions works by splitting up five pictures into segments (usually
quarters) and asking the pupil to reassemble them. For example, pictures
might be split into four parts and the pupil asked to reassemble a half,
50% or 0.5 of each picture, depending on which mode was chosen.
8.3
Like all Gestalt 2 programs, Fractions has a variety of features which
can be configured to suit different children. The pupil can be shown an
indication of the portion he has selected so far and can use the Zoom
facility for some extra help. The pupil can be asked to reassemble the
whole object or just a portion of it. There is also an option called
‘Show Finish’ which prevents the pupil from making a larger portion than
is requested.
8.3
From the menu screen, you can choose to work with fractions (halves,
quarters, thirds), decimals (0.25 and 0.5) or percentages (25% and 50%).
I would have preferred a wider range of values.
8.3
The user interface is not as friendly as it might be. Children are
required to click on a segment and then click on the position where they
want to place it instead of the more obvious method of dragging.
8.3
While this program will help children to understand the relationship of
simple fractions to a whole, its value is limited. Fractions does not
help the child to understand the relationship between fractions,
decimals and percentages and, by avoiding using numbers, it provides
only a very limited insight into the world of fractions. There is
nothing about equivalence of fractions which is a concept which is very
important and which can be very well illustrated on a computer screen.
8.3
All in all, I did not find this program very useful.
8.3
Money
8.3
An item with its cost is shown along with pictures of various coins. You
have to click on the appropriate coins to pay for the item. If you get
it wrong, you will be told that it is too much or too little and can see
the answer if you want. The HELP option places a barely discernible thin
white line round the box containing the coin(s) which should be chosen.
There is no indication when you are correct, you are just presented with
the next problem.
8.3
You can choose the number of coins to be used, whether cumulative totals
are shown as coins are chosen and whether exact values or ‘rounding up’
can be used.
8.3
Like the other programs under review, the illustrations are often rather
small and some of the text can be difficult to read on a standard
monitor.
8.3
While this program does what it sets out to do, there is no facility to
adapt the items for sale or the prices and so its usefulness is limited.
8.3
Shopping
8.3
Shopping requires the child to pay for larger amounts and from a wider
choice of coins. You can choose to pay the exact amount or allow
rounding up. The rounding up option can be further refined so that only
the lowest possible ‘round up’ will be accepted. So that if an item
costs 45p, £1 will not be accepted as payment if a 50p coin is
available.
8.3
The first window allows the child to choose what items he wants to buy
from a choice of shops. Then a second window displays the coins from
which payment must be made.
8.3
Although you can choose to work with particular coins and choose
different levels, it is difficult to set up levels appropriate for
different age groups − e.g. it is not possible to set up the program so
that only values under a pound will be used and only coins under 50p.
Whatever you choose, you can’t prevent items costing more than £1 from
appearing and although you can control the coins which can be chosen,
this doesn’t prevent £5 notes being offered.
8.3
As with Money, there is no option for the teacher to amend the items for
sale or the prices.
8.3
Conclusion
8.3
Drill and practice programs often get a bad press but they are still
very popular with teachers. Sales of programs such as those in the 10/10
series show that there is a good market for programs which deal with the
nuts and bolts of the curriculum. To be successful, this kind of program
needs to be easy to use, adaptable to a range of abilities and
motivating for the children using it.
8.3
While these Gestalt 2 programs do meet some educational needs, there are
other programs which do the job in a more interesting way. The children
I invited to try these programs found them difficult to understand and
use at first and did not ask to use them again.
8.3
Despite the author’s claims, I do not feel that these programs are
suitable for children with learning difficulties. The display was often
too cluttered, no use was made of sound and it was not always obvious
when you had given the correct answer. There is also no option for
alternative input devices such as switches, concept keyboard,
touchscreen, etc.
8.3
Drill and practice programs of this kind need to be very configurable so
that the teacher can ensure that each individual child is working at a
level which best meets his particular needs. While these programs had
plenty of options, it wasn’t always possible to alter the aspects of the
program that I wanted to change. They also need to be more exciting than
these programs if children are going to want to use them.
8.3
At about £30 +VAT for each pair of programs, I don’t consider these
Gestalt 2 to be particularly good value for money.  A
8.3
PD Column
8.3
David Holden
8.3
Competition
8.3
Entries have been a bit thin up until now, so I’m rather disappointed.
What’s happened to all you programmers? There’s £200 in prizes, so you
stand a chance of getting more than just fame. Please write to me at the
APDL address inside the back cover and enclose a blank disc and a stamp
and I’ll return it with a copy of the rules and an entry form. Don’t
think that you aren’t ‘good enough’ to win a prize. There will be
several prizes and the only way you can be certain of not winning is if
you don’t bother to enter.
8.3
Risc PC problems
8.3
The new Acorn computer and RISC OS 3.5 has brought the usual flood of
‘old’ programs that don’t work. One of the most common problems is the
Wimpslot allocation. It isn’t strictly a PD problem of course, but it is
very common in PD programs.
8.3
Memory on Archimedes computers is arranged in ‘pages’. On the Risc PC
each page is 4Kb. The smallest amount of RAM that the memory controller
can allocate to any task is 4Kb and any increment must be in 4Kb steps.
Now the difficulty is that on all earlier models the page size was
variable and depended upon the total amount of RAM the machine had. A
1Mb machine would have a page size of 8Kb, a 2Mb machine 16Kb and a 4Mb
machine 32Kb. So if a program asked for 20Kb of RAM to be allocated by
the Wimp it would actually get a minimum of 24Kb (3×8Kb on a 1Mb
machine), or more likely 32Kb (2×16Kb or 1×32Kb). On the Risc PC, it
will actually get the 20Kb it requested (5×4Kb).
8.3
Now if the programmer has done his job properly, there’s no problem.
However, if the programmer had a 2 or 4 Mb machine then he would be
testing his program in an environment which actually allocated 32Kb to
it, even though he only asked for 20Kb. With the Risc PC, it would now
be trying to run in only 20Kb and that can lead to lots of ‘no room for
this DIM’ or ‘Address exception’ errors.
8.3
If you get these problems look in the !Run file for a line which, in the
previous example, would be:
8.3
Wimpslot -min 20K -max 20K
8.3
In this instance, increase both to 32Kb. In other cases, increase the
numbers to the next higher figure exactly divisible by 32. This won’t
always effect a cure, but it does ensure that the program has as much
memory in which to run as previously.
8.3
There is another problem which arises as a consequence of the new page
size. Because the page size varied with the amount of memory available,
bad programmers often used it as a way of determining how much RAM a
machine had. When such programs are run on a Risc PC, they find a page
size of 4Kb, and so they immediately report that you don’t have enough
memory − even if you’ve got 16Mb!
8.3
My experience is that all properly written programs work, and this
doesn’t only apply to PD. If it has been written ‘by the book’ (although
this isn’t always possible) it should work on a Risc PC. I confess that
I did have a problem with one of my own programs but when I
investigated, it turned out to be a typing error. This caused a fault in
the Module header which, for some reason, worked OK previously, but the
Risc PC wasn’t so tolerant. I can hardly blame the machine for
discovering my mistake.
8.3
Most of the problems arise because many PD programmers don’t have a copy
of the PRM’s. Instead of finding out how to do things properly, they
look at other people’s programs. In this way bad programming techniques
get perpetuated and can easily become the norm as they are copied by one
person after another. This is particularly common with demos, which are
the type of program least likely to work on a Risc PC.
8.3
I would strongly advise anyone running a demo for the first time to make
sure that they have no unsaved data. Be prepared to switch off the
computer afterwards, as sometimes it’s the only way to get it to work
properly again. I would suggest you also take a copy of your machine’s
configuration − not just the main items but the whole of CMOS RAM. On
more than one occasion, mine has been so scrambled by a demo that if I
hadn’t kept a copy, I would have needed to reconfigure everything
manually.
8.3
Some badly written games also do this, but it isn’t so common.
8.3
Christmas clipart
8.3
Last year at this time I offered a disc of seasonal clipart. This proved
very popular and so I have decided to do so again, in plenty of time for
you to use it to prepare your Christmas invitations and greetings. As
last time, it will be a mix of religious and secular material. I may
include a few of the best items from before but most of it will not be
the same, so if you obtained last year’s disc, it will not just be a
repeat. As usual, for a copy of this send £1 or four first class stamps
to me at the APDL address inside the back cover.  A
8.3
Puzzle Corner
8.3
Colin Singleton
8.3
Paul kindly referred last month to my ‘huge repertoire’ of puzzles. It
is true that I have a modest collection of puzzle books from which to
glean ideas, but I hope that the puzzles I present in this column will
all be original. This, of course, means that you cannot look up the
answers! You will not always need your computer to solve these puzzles,
but it will often help.
8.3
Here are this month’s two puzzles...
8.3
(3) Tithes
8.3
The Rippuov Casino has devised a new way of fleecing its clients. This
is a game based on the toss of a coin. The punter stakes 10% of his
current cash-holding (rounded to the nearest penny) on each toss. If he
loses, he forfeits his stake to the bank − if he wins, he retains his
stake and also collects an equivalent amount from the bank. This is
settled before the punter calculates his stake for the next toss.
8.3
Cheerful Charlie played the game, starting with £100.00. He had some ups
and downs, but after 40 tosses he found that, once again, he had exactly
£100.00. He decided this was a good time to pack up and go home.
8.3
How many tosses did Charlie win?
8.3
(4) Prime Post
8.3
In the remote Principality of Primephilia, postage stamps are printed in
a selection of values, most of which appear to be totally unrelated to
the postage rates (rather like the UK!). Specifically, stamps are
available for all prime numbers of cents.
8.3
Prince Fred has bought his Mother-in-law’s birthday present − a book on
Numerical Partitions, which he doesn’t understand, and he hopes will
bore her to tears. His immediate problem, however, is the postage, which
is exactly one dollar (yes, that is 100 cents, even here!). Fred only
has one stamp of each value under a dollar.
8.3
In how many different ways can he make up the required one dollar
exactly?
8.3
... and last month’s two answers ...
8.3
(1) This is 1994
8.3
1994 = ((•1)–Ú9 – Ú9) × Ú4
8.3
You might come up with some horrendously involved expression, but I
don’t think anyone will find one simpler than this. The only ‘trick’
consists of raising a fractional number to a negative power to obtain a
large number. Once you have thought of that, it is almost trivial! All
mathematically correct answers will go in the hat for the prize. Acorn
Basic will evaluate the expression PRINT (.1^−SQR9− SQR9)*SQR4.
Additional brackets could be used for clarity but, in this version of
Basic, are not essential.
8.3
(2) Conversations
8.3
There are 203 different groupings.
8.3
For two friends, there are just two possibilities (AB) and (A,B), where
commas separates different groups. For three friends there are five
possibilities (ABC) (A,BC) (AC,B) (AB,C) and (A,B,C). For four friends
there are fifteen possibilities (ABCD) (A,BCD) (ACD,B) (ABD,C) (ABC,D)
(AB,CD) (AC,BD) (AD,BC) (A,B,CD) (A,C,BD) (A,D,BC) (B,C,AD) (B,D,AC)
(C,D,AB) (A,B,C,D). You can continue with pencil-and-paper to find 52
arrangements of five friends, and 203 of six.
8.3
For those who want the mathematical analysis, denote the number of
arrangements of n friends into g groups by nAg. The total number of
possible arrangements of n friends is ß nAg for all g, 1ÅgÅn. If, after
n friends have formed g groups, a further friends arrives, he may join
one of the g groups, or remain alone, forming an extra ‘group’ of one.
Hence, from each arrangement of n friends into g groups, we can derive g
different arrangements of n+1 friends into g groups, plus one
arrangement into g+1 groups. Turning this round, we can deduce that
nAg = g·n–1Ag + n–1Ag–1.
8.3
From this we can construct a Pascal-type triangle of numbers:
8.3
    g=1  2  3  4  5  6  Total
8.3
  n=1  1            1
8.3
  2  1  1          2
8.3
  3  1  3  1        5
8.3
  4  1  7  6  1      15
8.3
  5  1  15  25  10  1    52
8.3
  6  1  31  90  65  15  1  203
8.3
  7  1  63  301  350  140  21  876
8.3
Feedback
8.3
Yes please! Comments, favourable or otherwise, will be gratefully
received, as will contributions for future Puzzle Corners. Please write
to me at 41 St Quentin Drive, Sheffield, S17 4PN, and send me your
Puzzle Answers by Friday 9th December. Good luck!  A
8.3
Pocket Book Column
8.3
Audrey Laski
8.3
The old, old story
8.3
One of the riders to Murphy’s Law (“If anything can go wrong, it will”)
is the following: “Whenever you buy your gizmo, it’s almost upgrade
time.” I’ve only had my Pocket Book since July ’93, and here comes the
shiny new version, first cousin to Psion 3A, and full of features to
make me green. I’m not bothered about built-in Schedule, since I got
that in a bundle when I bought the Pocket Book, but I do covet the
enlarged screen and the sound recorder. There was a marvellous
conversation going on behind me in the bus the other day, a novelist’s
dream; if I’d had the new Pocket Book I could have caught it all
unobtrusively and meditated on it at my leisure. On second thoughts,
perhaps that’s an unethical use to make of it, so I should be glad to be
free of temptation.
8.3
Clearly, anyone about to embark on the Pocket Book for the first time
should go for the new improved version unless really strapped for cash;
meanwhile, those of us making the best of our dear old model can
certainly add to its usefulness with extra software. “Widget News”, from
Widget Software Ltd., lists much software which, like the shareware I
wrote about earlier in the year, though designed for the Psion, will run
perfectly well on the Pocket Book. These include, amongst other useful
things, Hugh Johnson’s Wine Guide, which is costly but would be the
ultimate in winesmanship, an interactive set of European airline
timetables (3 Flight Manager) and a personal finance program (Finance
Pack 3). Any dedicated Pocket Book user would probably do well to get on
the Widget mailing list.
8.3
Hardware matters
8.3
Robert Newmark, of Cleadon, Sunderland, writes to express irritation
with the flimsy case of the Psion, remarking that “the cover for the two
AA batteries comes off at the slightest provocation”; I’ve only
experienced this with the Pocket Book when actually dropping it on the
floor, when it seems a not unreasonable piece of behaviour. This started
me thinking, however, about the ruggedness of a piece of equipment
expressly designed for school use. Any object which goes into classrooms
and playgrounds needs to be able to withstand not only dropping but
throwing, dribbling and kicking into touch, and I wonder how the Pocket
Books which are going back and forth in schoolbags are faring. The
column’s school student correspondent, Ian Horsey, took his to New
Mexico this summer and remarks that it didn’t melt in the desert heat; I
wonder if he or any other school users would care to comment on how well
their Pocket Books stand up to the rough and tumble of life.
8.3
He also mentions, in relation to my mains adaptor problem, that Maplin
Electronics sell a multi-purpose mains adaptor, with the facility to
change voltage, for around £10. I’m glad to know about this, as it
sounds a useful object, but it now looks as if my actual problem is a
loose connection in the Pocket Book itself, which will need expert
attention. I suppose this may be a result of my having dropped it − if
so, it does raise worries about toughness, since the fall wasn’t far.
8.3
PKUnzipping to the Psion
8.3
Further to his earlier input, John of the other side of the bed writes:
8.3
‘Matthew Hunter of NCS tried out the RFM software onto an Aleph One PC
card with its own serial port, “with some success,” he reports. He used
the command “RFM port=COM1 baud=9600 use h: m:”, whereupon you can
access the  Pocket Book drives as though they were PC drives.
8.3
‘In effect, this will allow you to install files from an MSDOS archive
direct to the Pocket Book without the mutually inconsistent way that
Spark (_) and the DOS-filer (/) transliterate the ‘.’ character.
8.3
‘I agree with Matthew that using PocketFS2 straight to the DOS partition
is easier for backup and that it would be even more useful to be able to
address Acorn storage from the Pocket Book than vice-versa.
8.3
‘The remaining problem is to discover whether or not one can use the A-
link (with a suitable plug conversion) directly to link to an MS-DOS
machine. Anyone tried it yet?’
8.3
Dunce’s Corner
8.3
Dr. Peter Young, of Cheltenham, accuses himself of quadruple dunceship
in falling foul of the Spell dictionary. Having inserted a mis-spelt
word in Sys$dict.d$c, he tried to correct it by editing the file in
Write and saving it, after which, attempting to add words or to delete
the dictionary got that most maddening message: “device or file in use”.
He realised, after much misery, that Write had saved Sys$dict as a .wrd
file but left the .d$c version open. He then understood that the answer
would be to save from Write with the .d$c name; unfortunately, after
editing, he had forgotten the hideous first part of the name, and going
back to the directory display to find it lost him access to the file in
Write, and prompted another “device or file in use”. I wonder if the new
improved Spell in Pocket Book 2 will be a little more user-friendly?
8.3
A set of queries
8.3
Peter also sends a useful set of queries for which readers may have
answers:
8.3
1) Write. Is there any way of adding hot-key short-cuts to those which
exist already? My favourite typing error is transposition of letters. In
my DTP application, there is a hot-key for correcting this, and one in
Write would be welcome. Is it possible?
8.3
2) Abacus. The “keep backup files” option seems only to work during the
current session. Is this intended, or am I doing something wrong? It
would save much bad language if I could guarantee always to have a
backup of a spreadsheet before I foul it up!
8.3
3) A bug in Abacus?  If you try to use the AVG function on a group of
cells which you are going to put numbers into later but haven’t done
yet, the sheet crashes, you can only carry on with anything by pressing
the Desktop button, and you can’t get back into Abacus (you get my
favourite “file or device in use” message).  I am not going to try this
again, as I had to do four resets running the other day when trying to
set up a sheet for future use! Is it me or Abacus which is wrong?
8.3
Endnote
8.3
It has been suggested to me that the drought of correspondence during
the summer, might have occurred because readers haven’t got my address.
I think we gave this in an earlier issue, but here it is again: 18 Ebury
Street, London, SW1W OLU. I look forward to the flood.  A
8.3
Small Ads
8.3
(Small ads for Acorn computers and related products are free for
subscribers but we reserve the right to publish all, part or none of the
material you send, as we think fit. i.e. some people don’t know what
‘small’ means and there are certain things, as you can imagine, that we
would not be prepared to advertise as a matter of principle. Sending
small ads (especially long ones!) on disc is helpful but not essential.
Ed)
8.3
•  A3000, RISC OS 3, 20Mb HD, ARM3, 2Mb RAM, and serial upgrade, Cub3000
monitor, manuals £400. CC Compression, serial link software and lead.
Games: Apocalypse, E-type, Nevryon. These bits free with computer or £5
each. Phone Simon on 0151-228-3884 eves or e-mail [e-mail]
8.3
•  A310, 4Mb, ARM3, RISC OS 3.1, 42Mb SCSI hard disc, 4 slot backplane,
£550. Also Scanlight Junior with Mitsubishi A5 400dpi scanner, £120.
Sensible offers considered. Phone Christine on 01661-843259.
8.3
•  A310, 4Mb RAM, RISC OS 3.1, 40Mb HD, 4-slot backplane, Philips CM8533
monitor, Star NL-10 Printer, £450 o.n.o. Phone [phone].
8.3
•  A4 model II, 4Mb RAM, 60Mb HD, PC Emulator, RemoteFS, Carry Case,
Trackerball, boxed, 10 months old and hardly used £780. Phone or fax
01395-232969.
8.3
•  A4 with 4Mb + 60Mb drive plus Taxan 787LR multiscan monitor and
external keyboard, £1200. Two CC Qume Laser Direct printers with
interfaces £300 each +carriage. 300Mb SCSI drive £200. Morley cached
SCSI i/f upgraded for Risc PC £175. Acorn Ethernet card £50. Prophet
accounts package £75, PipeDream 3 £30. Phone [phone].
8.3
•  A410/1, 4Mb RAM, 33MHz ARM3, 50Mb HD, Newlook, I/O podule, MIDI,
Sound sampler, Black Angel, Chopper Force, Gods, Lemmings, Chocks Away
compendium, keyboard extension cable, and postage £620. Also new and
unused RISC OS Style Guide with disc £10. and Pineapple PAL encoder
(allows your computer to connect to video equipment and SCART, BNC) £50.
Series 3 OPL manual (not software), same OPL as Pocket Book, £4. Phone
Mark after 6pm on 01905-754277.
8.3
•  A410/1, RISC OS 3.1, 4Mb, 35MHz ARM3, 228Mb SCSI HD, State Machine
G16 graphics card, HCCS 16-bit SCSI card, HiFi Audio. Multipod
Professional audio/video digitiser, EMR Midi 4 interface, music
sequencer, PC Emulator, multisync colour monitor, loads of Arc and PC
software £675 o.n.o. Phone [phone].
8.3
•  A440 ARM3, 20Mb HD, RISC OS 3.1, Beebug VME & 5¼“ FD interface, Taxan
770+LR monitor, Panasonic KX-P1124 printer £650. Phone [phone]
eves.
8.3
•  A440/1, ARM3, 8Mb, RISC OS 3.1, Newlook, Colour Card Gold, Oak SCSI
with CDFS upgrade, 100Mb internal drive, Taxan 770 monitor, all boxed,
manuals, software, £700 + carriage. Paul Lewis 0181-993-2361.
8.3
•  A5000, 4Mb, 120Mb hard disc, without monitor, £700 o.n.o. Also Master
128 and Pace Linnet V21/23 modem, sensible offers considered. Phone
Dominic on 0117-942-2663 anytime.
8.3
•  A5000, 4Mb, 40Mb, ARM3, AKF18 multisync, RISC OS 3.11, £675. A420,
2Mb, 20Mb, AKF17 colour monitor, RISC OS 3.1, £325. A310, 1Mb, twin
floppy drives, mono monitor, £150. All at £20: Pace linnet modem (v21/
v23), ROM/RAM podule (64K + battery), Schema 1, Acorn 2-slot backplane/
fan, Electron Plus One. Excluding delivery. Phone [phone] eves/
weekends.
8.3
•  A5000, 4Mb RAM, 124Mb IDE HD, RISC OS 3.11, Acorn AKF18 multiscan
monitor, manuals and software, £900 o.n.o. HP550C Colour inkjet printer
£300 o.n.o. Phone [phone].
8.3
•  A5000, 4Mb RAM, 80Mb HD, ARM3 33MHz, Acorn Multiscan, RISC OS 3.11,
some software. Ex cond, only 12 months old. Phone Mark after 6pm on
01978-861170.
8.3
•  A5000, 4Mb RAM 80Mb HD, AKF50 monitor, £750 o.n.o. A-link for Psion
or Acorn Pocketbook £35 o.n.o. Phone [phone].
8.3
•  A5000 Floppy Disc Interface (Beebug), plus Opus 5¼“ External Disc
Drive (with integral power supply): £45 + p&p. Canon PW1080A 9 pin DM
Printer (boxed, cw handbook and dust cover): £45 + p&p. Ovation DTP
(v1.37S): £40 + p&p. Phone [phone] after 7.
8.3
•  A5000 RISC OS 3.11, 4Mb RAM, 40Mb HD. manuals + PRM, HCCS SCSI card,
N.East buyer preferred. £750. Phone Garry on 0191-377-1489.
8.3
•  A5000 with 40Mb hard disc, 4Mb memory, £785 o.n.o. Phone [phone]-
9576.
8.3
•  A540 with 8Mb RAM and 120Mb SCSI hard drive, RISC OS 3.11, some
software £900. Phone Ray on 0181-864-7208.
8.3
•  A540 (120Mb SCSI disc with 12Mb RAM), Taxan 795 and sundry software
for £1275 o.n.o. Phone [phone] and leave a message for Paul.
8.3
•  Aleph One 486/4Mb, fast PAL card £290. Colour Card Gold £145. Phone
01480-381996 (Cambs).
8.3
•  Canon BJ10 inkjet printer with sheet feeder £100 + carriage. Phone
01204-841459.
8.3
•  Canon BJ230 printer with Turbo Driver (unregistered) £250. Colour
Card £120. Scanlight 256 £90. Impression Borders £5, Business Supplement
£20. PinPoint £50. RemoteFS (Serial) £30. Phone Mike on 0114-261-9444.
8.3
•  Colour Card Gold £175, Pineapple video digitiser £100, Bank Manager
£5, EasiWriter £35, Games − Alice in Wonderland, Mig29, Chocks Away,
Wimp Game, Manchester United, Powerband, Populous, Virtual Golf, Saloon
Cars Deluxe − all £10 each. Other games from £2. Phone [phone],
eves.
8.3
•  Colour Card Gold. Phone Clive Bailey on 0908-661980.
8.3
•  Cumana 3½“ floppy drive with PSU, hardly used £75. PRES A3K6 disc
buffer board for A3000, £25. Or £90 for both. Phone Ian on 0151-678-
9879.
8.3
•  DeskEdit 3, £12. Acorn Desktop C, version 4, £35. ‘C: A Dabhand
Guide’ by Mark Burgess, 2nd ed., £7.50. Phone Ernie Cobbold on 01493-
740557.
8.3
•  Eizo F550i-W 17“ monitor £550 + carriage. Phone Paul Lewis 0181-993-
2361.
8.3
•  Eureka 2, ProArtisan 2, and Revelation Imagepro, each £55. Phone Iain
on 01463-751251.
8.3
•  Minerva Multistore, complete, boxed, manuals. WS4000 modem and Beebug
Hearsay. RISC OS 2 PRM. Offers. Phone Paul Lewis 0181-993-2361.
8.3
•  Pace MicroLin fx Pocket Fax/Data Modem, 9600bps fax, 2400bps data,
£55. Phone [phone].
8.3
•  Pineapple digitiser in external box £50. Morley EPROM programmer £15,
EPROM eraser £15, Both £25. Zool £10. Phone [phone].
8.3
•  Quantum 105Mb and 520Mb 3½“ SCSI drives, £80 and £180 respectively or
would consider exchange of the 520Mb drive for a Colour Card Gold. Phone
John on 01373-813336 (Frome).
8.3
•  Scanlight Junior 256 £135. Impression Publisher (with Dongle) £115,
CC Turbo Driver £35. Acorn compatible stereo speakers £15. Phone 0131-
339-6979.
8.3
•  Wanted − A-Link − contact via NCS office.
8.3
•  Wanted, Composite RGB colour monitor (type used on old BBC Model A/
B). Phone Clive Bailey on 01908-661980.
8.3
•  Wanted, Longman Logotron Logo for about £25. Phone Tim on 01362-
691690.
8.3
•  Wanted, Multisync monitor in good working order. Ring Devon 01626-
853774.
8.3
•  WordWorks £20, HP Printer Drivers £10, AlphaBase £10, Blowpipe £10,
Corruption £10, Rotor £10, Desktop Games £10, Orion £10, Terramex £5,
Quazer £5, Conqueror £5, Startrader £5, Artisan 2 £10, Artisan support
disc £5, Sporting Triangles £5, EMR Soundsynth £15, Nevryon £10,
Herewith the Clues £10, Hoverbod £5, Repton3 £5, Inertia £5, Alerion £5,
Zarch £5, Thundermonk £5. Phone [phone]pm weekdays.
8.3
•  Z88, 256Kb memory, SpellMaster, Mains Power, carry case, manuals.
Offers. Phone Paul Lewis 0181-993-2361.
8.3
•  Z88, with 128Kb RAM, PC Link II with cable for Archimedes, printer
cable, mains adaptor, carrying case & topper, two books − ‘Z88
Computing’ and ‘Using your Z88’ and some copies of Z88 Eprom magazine.
All for £95. Phone Alan on 01277-622153.
8.3
Charity Sales
8.3
The following are available for sale in aid of charity. Please don’t
just send money − ring 01603-766592 to check if the items are still
available. Thank you.
8.3
Software: First Word Plus £5, Leading Edge Midi Tracker £9, Bubble Fair
£2, Blaston £2, Pysanki £2, Rotor £2, Datavision database £10, Autograph
(Maths teaching) £20, Boogie Buggie £5, Colour Fun £5, Impression
Business Supplement £10, James Pond £8, Chuck Rock £5, Sim City £12,
Populous £10, MultiStore £20.
8.3
Hardware: Floppy discs as new £15 per 50, Acorn Ethernet interface
(A5000) £60, external 5¼“ floppy drive £30, A3000 1Mb card £15, Joystick
Interface (Serial Port) £12.
8.3
(If you have unwanted software or hardware for Archimedes computers that
you could donate in aid of charity, please send it to the Archive
office. If you have larger items where post would be expensive, just
send us details of the item(s) and how the purchaser can get hold of
them.)  A
8.3
Programming for the Non-Programmer − 2
8.3
Cain Hunt
8.3
I wanted to create an A5 printed diary. This article explains a simple
program which achieves this.
8.3
Writing the program
8.3
The most important part of any program is thinking out what exactly you
want it to do. In this case, I wanted a week-to-a-page diary in an A5
page format. Impression will do all the complicated pamphlet printing so
all I needed was a text file with each week consisting of a month & year
heading, followed by the days of the week and the correct dates. The
easiest method I could think of was to get the user to type in the start
date of the first Sunday and the number of weeks. The program then
counts through the days and changes month and year when appropriate.
8.3
The initial structure of the program was:
8.3
Set up the arrays of day and month names
8.3
Input the start date and length of diary
8.3
Open the DiaryText file
8.3
For each week:
8.3
   Calculate the dates and the month & year
8.3
 heading
8.3
   If the date reaches the end of the month
8.3
 then change to next month
8.3
   If the month reaches the end of the year
8.3
 then change to next year
8.3
   Print the week
8.3
Next week
8.3
Close the DiaryText file
8.3
I also wanted to be able to print a diary in organiser (Filofax) format
three pages per A4 sheet. To do this I needed to compile six weeks of
diary and then print them out in a different order so that they would
read correctly when the organiser pages were cut out. Therefore, for
each page, six weeks of dates and month headings were compiled into
arrays:
8.3
date$(6,wpp%), month_heading$(wpp%), year_heading$(wpp%)
8.3
This gave the final structure of the program:
8.3
Set up the arrays of day and month names
8.3
Input the start date and length of diary
8.3
Open the DiaryText file
8.3
For each page:
8.3
   For each week on the page:
8.3
      Calculate and store the dates and the
8.3
 month & year heading
8.3
      If the date reaches the end of the
8.3
month then change to next month
8.3
      If the month reaches the end of the
8.3
 year then change to next year
8.3
   Next week
8.3
   For each frame on the page
8.3
      Print the correct week for that frame
8.3
   Next frame
8.3
Next page
8.3
Close the DiaryText file
8.3
For further details of how the program works read the REM comments in
the program listing.
8.3
How to use the program
8.3
Double click on the Obey file ‘CSD=Here’ so that the output file is
generated in the correct place. Double click on the Basic program
DiaryMaker. Type in the date of the first Sunday in the diary separated
by commas (e.g. 1,1,1995 = 1st January 1995). The program confirms the
start date and then you can type in the number of pages of six weeks. A
text file is generated called ‘DiaryText’. Open the Impression file
‘Template’ and drop the file ‘DiaryText’ into it to generate the diary.
8.3
To print an organiser style diary change the line DATA 0,1,2,3,4,5  to
DATA 0,2,4,5,3,1. You can do this if you have RISC OS 3 by holding down
<shift> and double-clicking on the Basic program DiaryMaker. Change the
line and then save the new version over the original. Now follow the
instructions above but this time drop the file DiaryText into the
Impression file Templfilo.
8.3
Details of Template files
8.3
(For those who don’t get the monthly disc.)
8.3
To save space, these descriptions assume a good working knowledge of
Impression. If you don’t understand them drop the text file into your
favourite Impression template and play around with it until it looks
right. Alternatively, get a copy of the monthly disc!
8.3
Template
8.3
A5 portrait, facing pages, single column (width 100 mm, height 203 mm).
On left page X position is 42 mm on right it is 6 mm. Y position is 6 mm
in both. Start chapter on Right page.
8.3
Styles:
8.3
Normal   Trinity.Medium 16pt. Line space 100%. Space above para 0pt.
Space below para 8pt. Margins 2mm in from frame edges. Right justified
tab 1mm in from right margin. Left justified text
8.3
Date  Homerton.Medium
8.3
Day  Italic ON
8.3
Month  Italic ON, Bold ON. 18pt text. Line space 120%. Space below para
12pt. Centre justified text.
8.3
New Month  Trinity.Bold.Italic
8.3
Rule Off  Rule-off: Thickness 1pt, Above text 0pt, Below text 22pt
8.3
Print settings (onto A4 paper):
8.3
Fit lots, sideways, ignore page border, centre pages, pamphlet two.
8.3
TemplFilo
8.3
A4 landscape facing pages 3 columns (width 81mm, height 167mm).
8.3
To get the correct alignment of the frames you must first make a
drawfile containing the outlines of the three organiser pages (each
width 3¾“, height 6¾”). You can easily do this by setting the grid lock
in Draw to 1“ × 4”. I have added markings for the holes to be punched
but this is not essential as you could use a pre-punched page as a
template once the pages are cut out.
8.3
Create a blank frame which is not linked to the others on the right hand
master page. Put it to the back and make it almost as big as the A4
sheet. Drop your template drawfile into this frame and set its scale in
the Alter Graphic dialogue to 100%. Now align the three frames on this
page so they are centred vertically on each page but are offset to the
right, away from the area where the holes will be punched.
8.3
Move the frames on the left hand page to roughly similar positions to
those on the right page. Make all the frame outlines visible by changing
their borders to 1. Now print off both sides of a test sheet and see if
the frames are aligned. By trial and error you should be able to get
them to roughly match. Finally, make all the frame borders invisible
again.
8.3
I know this is tedious but once you have done it you can use the same
template for printing anything in Filofax format. You need to keep the
template DrawFile visible on the final print out because it shows you
where to cut the pages.
8.3
Styles:
8.3
Normal   Trinity.Medium 12pt. Line space 100%. Space above para 0pt.
Space below para 8pt Margins 2mm in from frame edges. Right justified
tab 1mm in from right margin. Left justified text
8.3
Date  Homerton.Medium
8.3
Day  Italic ON
8.3
Month  Italic ON, Bold ON. 16pt text. Line space 120%. Space below para
12pt. Centre justified text.
8.3
New Month  Trinity.Bold.Italic
8.3
Rule Off  Rule-off: Thickness 1pt, above text 0pt, below text 22pt
8.3
Print settings (onto A4 paper):
8.3
Sideways, Ignore page border, Centre pages.
8.3
Print on both sides of paper by using Right pages then Left pages.  A
8.3
NC100 to Acorn Interconnection
8.3
Les May
8.3
When you buy an Amstrad NC100, you are not getting an Acorn Pocketbook
or a Psion 300 at less than half the price. What you do get is a simple
computer with about 49Kb of RAM and the potential to accept PCMCIA cards
giving up to 1Mb of additional storage.
8.3
The built-in programs are a rather old-fashioned, but remarkably
sophisticated, word processor called ProText, plus an address book,
diary with realtime clock and large digit calculator. The LCD screen
gives 80×8 lines of text and is best described as ‘adequate’. Printing
can be either direct to a serial printer or, with some additional
software, to a parallel printer.
8.3
What I was looking for when I decided to buy an NC100 was the
convenience of being able to type in notes whilst working in libraries,
and to transfer them later to my A5000 using the serial port. The full
size keyboard, low cost and low power consumption were essentials. The
fact that it also had BBC Basic built in, complete with Z80 assembler,
was something of a bonus.
8.3
Because the Acorn and Amstrad Basics use different tokens, programs have
to be passed between the machines as text files. As far as the NC100 is
concerned, the method of passing text files is well described in the
manual. To do this, you have to list the stored files already present in
the portable. Of course this is not possible if you don’t have any files
present in the NC100 in which case a dummy file with a single character
can be created and named.
8.3
Text files can be converted to executable programs by entering Basic on
the Amstrad using <Function> B and typing *EXEC filename at the prompt.
The program then scrolls up the screen and can be executed by typing
RUN. Text files are saved automatically when the machine is switched off
but programs are not.
8.3
It is nice to be able to write and test programs on the A5000, taking
into account the less sophisticated nature of Amstrad Basic, then
transfer them for use to the portable. The filetype must be set to Text,
line numbers must be used and the CR<->LF in the Edit menu must be
toggled. The program then appears in Edit as one long string with [0d]
characters at the end of each line of program.
8.3
If the program running on the NC100 generates data which it is intended
to transfer back to the Acorn machine for analysis, the most convenient
way is to use the code fragments shown below.
8.3
REM In NC100 program
8.3
N$=STR$(N%): REM Convert number of
8.3
observations, N%, to a string
8.3
F%=OPENOUT(F$): REM F$=Filename
8.3
PRINT#F%,N$,CHR$(10)
8.3
FOR Q%=1 TO N%: REM Q%=Loop counter
8.3
 PRINT#F%,W$(Q%),CHR$(10): REM String array W$ holds observations
8.3
NEXT Q%
8.3
CLOSE#F%
8.3
REM In RISC OS program
8.3
F%=OPENIN(F$)
8.3
PROCread
8.3
N%=VAL(I$)
8.3
DIM W%(N%)
8.3
PROCsetup_arrays
8.3
CLOSE#F%
8.3
DEF PROCread
8.3
I$=“”: REM I$ is a global variable
8.3
REPEAT
8.3
 X%=BGET#F%
8.3
 IF X%<>10 THEN I$=I$+CHR$(X%): REM If end of string not found
concatonate
8.3
UNTIL X%=10
8.3
ENDPROC
8.3
DEF PROCsetup_arrays
8.3
FOR Q%=1 TO N%
8.3
 PROCread
8.3
 W%(Q%)=VAL(I$)
8.3
NEXT Q%
8.3
ENDPROC
8.3
Numeric data is converted to strings using STR$ and stored as string
variables or in string arrays. After each string a CHR$(10) is also
stored. Following transfer as text files to the Acorn machine these data
files are read into the analysis programs, a byte at a time, testing for
the byte being equal to CHR$(10).
8.3
When this is detected, it acts as an end of string indicator and the
complete string can then be converted to numeric form using VAL, stored
directly in a string array or processed as a string variable. The
disadvantage is that it wastes storage space in the NC100.
8.3
The advantage of this approach is that we do not have to know anything
about how the NC100 stores strings or numbers. Also, the datafile can be
treated as just another ProText file without having to remember to set
the machine to send ASCII files.
8.3
How useful is the NC100?
8.3
Just how useful is the NC100 when used in conjunction with a RISC OS
machine? The keyboard is fine and I can touch type on it without any
problems. That’s lucky because, as I commented earlier, the display is
only ‘adequate’. Partly that is my tired old eyes and I’m not sure how
well I’d cope with a Pocket Book. I’ve not used the diary or the
calendar so far, so I can say nothing about them.
8.3
The facility to write programs in a language I already know, I find very
useful. So far, I’ve written a Checksheet emulator and analyser for use
in animal behaviour studies. Only for final testing of the emulator was
it necessary to download it to the Amstrad; a real timesaver. The
analyser runs in the A5000.
8.3
I’m sure it has a lot of potential for field work in subjects like
biology, history, archaeology and geography. At present, it would be
necessary to write the Amstrad data collection and the Acorn data
conversion programs for oneself, but it should be possible to read data
into a spreadsheet or database without too much difficulty.
8.3
Though data collection by computer in the field can be a little slower
than pen and paper methods, it saves a lot of time in transcribing data
and checking for errors.
8.3
Teachers who ‘need to take a computer home’ often require only simple
wordprocessing facilities and the NC100 certainly deserves a second look
for this purpose alone. One or two NC100 in each classroom for entry of
text, along with a RISC OS machine for formatting and printing could
also be put to good use.
8.3
The collaboration between Acorn and Psion led to a product which has
been well received. Acorn might do worse than talk to Mr Sugar because
the unit price of the NC100 is now only about £71, which, with VAT and
retail margin, translates to just under £120. Many parents would be
willing and able to spend that sort of money on a computer for their
offspring, and it is within the budget of College and University
students. Personally I’d find a card type database more use than an
address book or a diary.
8.3
Next time, I’ll discuss a couple of programs which can be used to
transfer files between the NC100 and RISC OS machines.  A
8.3
Risc PC’s Astronomical Aspirations
8.3
A computer hardware project
8.3
by Ronald Alpiar
8.3
Don’t be mislead − this article is NOT just about the Risc PC and it is
NOT just about astronomy. From Archive questionnaires, I know that a
lots of you want articles about using RISC OS computers for interfacing
projects − for control or using the computer to sense and measure
automatically. Those of us who were weaned on the BBC Micro will have
been disappointed at how difficult it was to do anything similar on the
first Archimedes when it arrived − we had been spoilt!
8.3
In this article, Ronald opens the way for projects using the
bidirectional parallel port on A3010, 3020, 4000, 5000 and Risc PC
computers. Did you know that the parallel port actually has 17 lines
that can be used, variously, for input and output?
8.3
It is still not easy to do I/O on a RISC OS computer but, hopefully,
where Ronald leads, others will follow. If you do develop an interfacing
project using the parallel port, please tell us about it. Perhaps one of
our software expert readers will help us by providing a series of
functions and procedures that will help those of us not too familiar
with the ARM code programming that is needed if speed is of the essence.
8.3
I look forward very much to hearing how you all get on with your
interfacing projects, but remember, if you are connecting electrically
to your computer, even through the parallel port, you must take great
care. I’m afraid that we at Archive cannot accept any responsibility for
damage to your computer caused by following the advice in this or any
succeeding articles − but have fun anyway and we have access to some
very able computer-repair experts if you do have problems! Ed.
8.3
It was love at first sight! Delivered on the same day, Risc PC and
Starlight Express’ SX Astronomical camera lay side-by-side on my
workbench, exchanging meaningful glances. After a short engagement, I’m
glad to announce that nuptial vows have been duly exchanged. Lest
readers conclude that I’ve finally taken leave of my senses, I’d best
explain.
8.3
The Risc PC requires no introduction − though (be warned!) we shall be
taking an unusually intimate look at its Printer Port. CCD astronomical
cameras, on the other hand, are not exactly mass consumer items.
Starlight Express, the sole UK entry in a fiercely competitive
manufacturing market for these devices, consists of two pieces of
hardware together with software and documentation.
8.3
The camera head encapsulates the CCD sensor and supporting electronics,
and incorporates a thermo-electric cooling (TEC) device − to minimise
the build up of thermal electrons during long exposures. In use, the
camera head is attached to some optical imaging device, be it a
sophisticated telescope, or merely a humble camera lens.
8.3
The camera head is connected to an interface unit which ‘drives’ the CCD
sensor and digitises the returning signals and displays the sensor’s
temperature.
8.3
The interface unit in turn is connected to the printer port of any PC.
Software is used to make the interface send correct driving signals to
the camera head, and to store and display the returning digital
information. The fact that is is controlled in software, unlike the
commercial TV imaging modules that I reported on in Archive 4.9 p32
unlocks a magic door to experimentation.
8.3
How it works
8.3
To appreciate the hardware and software demands on the Risc PC, we must
first roughly understand how an imaging sensor works. The general
principles were explained in the earlier article. Briefly summarising,
sensors contain arrays, typically consisting of several hundred rows and
columns, of photo sites. Figure 2 is a highly simplified diagram of a 4-
by-4 array. Incoming photons of light impinging onto the photo sensors,
release electrons according to Einstein’s photo-electric effect. During
exposure, biasing electrodes ensure that these photo-electrons
accumulate independently in each photo-sensor site.
8.3
(I never fail to be thrilled by the thought of those microscopic
photons, commencing their epic odyssey whilst dinosaurs still roamed our
earth, faithfully tracing their geodesic trajectories through the vast
emptiness of the curved space-time continuum, until finally splashing
down onto the surface of my CCD sensor. It is hard to resist the
anthropomorphic urge to cheer and greet each such new quantum arrival!)
8.3
After exposure, other electrodes guide each packet of photo-electrons in
turn to output circuitry. All designs have in common the sensor array, a
horizontal shift register, and output processing circuits. Designs
differ in the geometric arrangements for the orderly shepherding of
photo electrons from the sensor sites into the horizontal register.
8.3
The crudest approach is simply to move the electrons down into the
horizontal register row-by-row. But since whilst occupying photo-
sensitive sites, further photo electrons will be generated, this
approach causes ‘streaking’ of bright sources. A similar technique
rapidly transfers the electrons, row-by-row, into an identical shielded
array where they can await further processing quarantined from invasive
light. This is the ‘frame transfer’ technique. The disadvantage is that
one is effectively using only half the array for actual imaging.
8.3
The SX camera employs a more sophisticated ‘interline transfer’
technique. During exposure (which may range from milliseconds to an
hour) photo electrons accumulate in the photo sensitive sites. Exposure
completed, a pulse signal dumps the electrons into adjacent cells in the
vertical registers, where they are safe from incoming photons.
8.3
Thence they are transferred row-by-row to the horizontal register.
8.3
Once a row of bundles of photo electrons are settled into the horizontal
register, they are shifted, one at a time, into the output circuitry,
there to be converted from a charge into a voltage, and amplified.
8.3
At this stage, off-chip circuitry digitises the analogue pixel signal
voltages, enabling them to form computer input. Again, there are several
methods of digitising ranging from simple ‘sample-and-hold’ circuits to
elaborate ‘dual slope integration’ designs which gain high marks in the
signal-to-noise stakes. The digitisation is normally to 12 or even 16
bits − too wide for a standard 8-bit wide I/O channel. So the computer
usually reads the output in two or more chunks.
8.3
Shift registers also vary in design: 2, 3 or 4 phase arrangements exist
− in all cases ensuring that adjacent bundles are not allowed to mingle
and thus smear the image. Figure 3 illustrates a typical 3-phase shift
register.
8.3
To summarise, some 16−24 input/output lines are needed to drive the
equipment, namely
8.3
output:
8.3
  6 lines to clock the vertical and horizontal registers
8.3
  1 to switch the on-chip output amplifier on/off
8.3
  1 to swill away electrons before exposure
8.3
  1−2 to dump sensor electrons into vertical registers
8.3
  1−2 operate the analogue/digital converter
8.3
  1−2 to select a chunk of digitised output
8.3
input:
8.3
  0−1 line to sense completion of analogue/digital conversion
8.3
  4−8 lines to accept digitised output
8.3
Although the SX interface unit accepts TTL logic signals (i.e. voltages
compatible with normal computer I/O), we require unhindered control of
each individual line − altering any one must never affect any other
line. Speed is also essential. Array readout should be as fast as
possible, as every second’s delay adds noise to the signal in the form
of thermal electrons. Since a sensor may typically contain ½ million
pixels, this calls for clocking speeds between 1−10µs. How does Risc PC
match up to these demands? At first glance, it has nothing to offer,
unless one resorts to the crutch of I/O expansion cards.
8.3
Digital input/output
8.3
Enter, deus ex machina, the Risc PC’s 25-pin D-type socket, which we
always thought of as a mere printer port! Not so − as is clear from a
glance at Appendix C of the Welcome Guide, where it is correctly
described as a Parallel Port. Moreover, the accompanying pinout table
reveals the presence of some 17 I/O data lines. Although standard
manuals provide no clue as to how to how to program them, all is
revealed in the PRMs (Volume 2, pp477ff).
8.3
Communication to and from the port is serviced via three memory-mapped
hardware registers, namely the ‘data’, ‘status’ and ‘control’ registers.
A special SWI “Parallel_Op” enables the user’s program to talk to these
registers. The functions of the three registers are:
8.3
data register
8.3
  an 8 bit wide parallel I/O channel. When printing, it is used in
output mode, and contains the ASCII code of a character
8.3
status register
8.3
  only 5 bits of the byte are actually wired up, all inputs. During
printing, these inform the printer driver of the current printer status
(e.g. busy, error, paperout, etc)
8.3
control register
8.3
  again only 4 of the possible 8 bits are wired to the socket, all are
outputs, normally used to send special signals to printers
8.3
On entry to “Parallel_Op”, R0 dictates which register is addressed and
the direction of data. For example, to write to the data register, set
R0=2 and R1=data to be written: e.g. to set data lines 1 & 2 high, and
the rest (i.e. lines 0 and 3−7) low from Basic, enter the instruction:
8.3
  SYS “Parallel_Op”, 2, 6 : REM 22 + 21 = 6
8.3
or in Assembly code:
8.3
  MOV R0,#2  ; set R0=2 − write to the data register
8.3
  MOV R1,#6  ; set R1=6 − data to be written 6
8.3
  SWI “Parallel_Op” ; software interrupt to
8.3
perform this action
8.3
Here’s a more advanced example. Suppose that data lines D0, D1, D2
control voltages v1,v2,v3 of the vertical shift registers. Then the
following loop of instructions would move the entire array down one row
vertically each time round (the bottom-most row enters the horizontal
register):
8.3
REPEAT
8.3
SYS “Parallel_Op”, 2, 1 : REM v1=High
8.3
SYS “Parallel_Op”, 2, 3 : REM v1,v2=High
8.3
SYS “Parallel_Op”, 2, 2 : REM v2=High
8.3
SYS “Parallel_Op”, 2, 6 : REM v2,v3=High
8.3
SYS “Parallel_Op”, 2, 4 : REM v3=High
8.3
SYS “Parallel_Op”, 2, 5 : REM v3,v1=High
8.3
UNTIL 0
8.3
To get the output lines toggling...
8.3
Figure 4 presents a working program which demonstrates these principles.
You’ll need some hardware to use it. First remove any ‘dongles’ from
your parallel socket (they are likely to upset the data flow, and may
even be damaged) and/or any printer. Wire up a connector consisting of a
25-way IDC D-type plug, with 25 way ribbon cable, and pin out lines 2−9
(data lines D0 to D7) and any of lines 18−25 (all earth). Plug it into
the parallel socket. Beg, borrow or buy an oscilloscope. Set the
timebase to 10µs/division and the vertical amplitude to 5 volts/
division. Connect the oscilloscope’s probe clips (the right way round!)
to any earth and any one data line.
8.3
The program consists of two parts, square1 & square2. Both parts set up
a square wave on all 8 lines D0−D7, the number of complete cycles is set
by E% (transmitted to R4). Square1 illustrates the recommended and
‘safe’ method: access to the hardware is gained only via official
channels of a SWI call. Your oscilloscope should show a square wave with
a pulse width of 8.5µs (or 17µs/cycle). Alas, this is not quite as fast
as one might wish.
8.3
To achieve greater speeds, square2 daringly risks direct hardware
access. Under normal ‘user mode’, hardware accesses are blocked with the
message “internal error : abort on data transfer”; so we first have to
enter ‘supervisor mode’. We need to find out the address in RAM where
the parallel data register is mapped. The (off limits) SWI
“Parallel_HardwareAddress” obligingly places the address in R0
(incidentally the status and control registers are in R0+1 and R0+2).
From then on, all is similar to the code in square1, but remembering to
return from supervisor to user mode before returning to Basic! Note the
dramatic increase in speed using direct access, from 8.5µs to about 1µs!
8.3
I shan’t bore you with precise details of which bits of the three
parallel registers are wired to the various SX camera interface control
lines. Suffice it to say that all the camera’s control requirements were
adequately catered for using only the parallel port connector.
8.3
The driving software follows the path already blazed by the developers
of the PC-hosted SX camera, Terry Platt and Ed Rees, to whom I am
immensely grateful for help and advice generously accorded. The original
software was written in Power Basic (a compiled dialect of Basic running
under DOS on PCs). My task was to write a similar program for Risc PC.
The program is mainly in assembly language, supplemented by Basic for
operations where time is not at a premium.
8.3
The PC program, running on an Amstrad 2086 with maths co-processor, took
55 seconds to readout, store and display the contents of the sensor
after exposure. On the Risc PC the same operation completed in 3.8
seconds (normal mode) and under 1 second in fast mode − ’nuff said?
8.3
The Starlight Express SX Astronomical camera is available from FDE Ltd,
Bodalair House, Sandford Lane, Hurst, Berks, RG10 0SU. (01734-
342600).  A
8.3
Figure 1. The ‘Wedding Photo’ − SX with the Risc PC!!
8.3
The SX camera interface unit sits on the lap of Risc PC’s casing. Note
the temperature display and ribbon cable, normally plugged into the
parallel port socket. The camera head crowns the pose. On its right is
an attached SLR camera lens: on its left, cooling fins to dissipate heat
generated by the TEC heat pump.
8.3
Figure 3.    Typical 3-phase shift register
8.3
Biasing electrodes in cells marked v1 are all wired together in
parallel. Likewise those marked v2 and v3. During phase 1 bundles of
photo-electrons (A, B, C, D, E) are confined to cells v1, attracted by
the high levels of biasing electrodes v1=High. In phase 2, both v1 and
v2 biasing electrodes are High: bundles of electrons are free to share
adjacent cells, v1 and v2. In phase 3, v1 electrodes are lowered, so
that all electrons in v1 cells migrate to v2. By this time the five
bundles of electrons have been shifted one cell to the right.
8.3
Phase 1
8.3
v1=High
8.3
v2=Low
8.3
v3=Low
8.3
Phase 2
8.3
v1=High
8.3
v2=High
8.3
v3=Low
8.3
Phase 3
8.3
v1=Low
8.3
v2=High
8.3
v3=Low
8.3
Figure 2. Schematic diagram of one type of CCD image sensor
8.3
This shows a 4 row × 4 column pixel array, and illustrates one of many
different methods of shepherding bundles of photo-electrons successively
into the output circuit. Incoming photons impinging on the array of
photo-sensitive sites (‘S’), create photo-electrons which accumulate
during exposure. After exposure the system, enters a readout state.
First electrons are simultaneously shifted from photo sites into
adjoining vertical registers. Next they are moved, one row at a time,
down into the horizontal register.Thence they are shifted one cell at a
time into the output processing circuit.
8.3
REM Program to set up square wave on parallel port’s data lines
8.3
DIM ccdops% 1000        :REM reserve space for code
8.3
FOR pass%=0 TO 3 STEP 3 :REM 2-pass assembly
8.3
P%=ccdops%              :REM address of start of assembled code
8.3
[
8.3
OPT pass%
8.3
.square1
8.3
         MOV   R0,   #1     ; R0=1 - write to parallel data register
8.3
.loop1   MOV   R1,   #0     ; data to be written is 0 (8 lines low)
8.3
         SWI   “Parallel_Op”; the SWI writes R1 data to the data
register
8.3
         MOV   R1,   #&FF   ; data to be written is 255 (8 lines high)
8.3
         SWI   “Parallel_Op”; the SWI writes R1 data to the data
register
8.3
         SUBS  R4,R4,#1     ; decrement loop counter
8.3
         BGE   loop1        ; loop till finished
8.3
         MOV   PC,   R14    ; and then return to Basic
8.3
;
8.3
.square2 SWI   “OS_EnterOS” ; entering supervisor mode allows access...
8.3
                            ; to normally protected hardware addresses..
8.3
                            ; mind your step!
8.3
         SWI   “Parallel_HardwareAddress”
8.3
                            ; and the above naughtily places the base...
8.3
                            ; address of the parallel port into R0
8.3
.loop2   MOV   R1,   #0     ; data to be written is 0 (8 lines low)
8.3
         STRB  R1,   [R0]   ; poke data directly into data register -
ouch!
8.3
         MOV   R1,   #&FF   ; data to be written is 255 (8 lines high)
8.3
         STRB  R1,   [R0]   ; poke data directly into data register
8.3
         SUBS  R4,R4,#1     ; decrement loop counter
8.3
         BGE   loop2        ; loop till finished
8.3
;
8.3
         TEQP  PC,#0        ; return from supervisor to user mode
8.3
         MOVNV R0,R0        ; NOP to realign data banks...
8.3
         MOVNV R0,R0        ; ...and once more for luck
8.3
         MOV   PC,   R14    ; and only then return to Basic
8.3
]
8.3
NEXT pass%
8.3
E%=1E6 : t=TIME             : REM depth of loop passed to R4
8.3
CALL square1                : REM loop lasts about 17.8 seconds
8.3
PRINT (TIME-t)/100;“ seconds”
8.3
E%=1E7 : t=TIME             : REM depth of loop passed to R4
8.3
CALL square2                : REM loop lasts about 20.3 seconds
8.3
PRINT (TIME-t)/100;“ seconds”
8.3
END
8.3
DTP Column
8.3
Mark Howe
8.3
I gather that there are 30,000+ Impression users, so presumably some of
them must have made some interesting discoveries that they could share
with the rest of us. I suspect that, like myself, most of them would
rather read columns than write them, but if we all keep thinking this
way, none of us will ever have a DTP Column to read! Anyway, before
inflicting too many of my opinions on an unsuspecting readership, I
suppose it is only fair to reveal some of my own background and
prejudices.
8.3
I live in the South of France with my wife and two 8Mb A5000’s.
Together, we produce most of the printed materials for an international
missionary society. In the last year I have worked on projects ranging
from full-colour A3 publicity brochures to black and white lecture notes
in six different languages. In the next year, I hope to produce five
illustrated books in English and French. I am also a director of a small
company which has installed Acorn DTP systems in England and France,
with customers ranging from a print shop, through several computerphobic
evangelists to a doctor in Marseille. In short, I am your typical
Archive reader!
8.3
What should a DTP column include?
8.3
Editing this column is going to be an interesting task, due to the great
variety of users involved in DTP:
8.3
1: DTP can range from glorified wordprocessing on an inkjet printer to
the production of the National Geographic. Computer Concepts’ excellent
idea of a document processor has blurred the distinction between DTP and
WP more than on other platforms, while the fairly widespread use of
direct drive laser printers has taken many users in a different
direction to the rest of the world. I imageset most of my work, which
makes reliable PostScript generation something of a priority (some would
say an obsession). Paul produces Archive on a Laser Direct, and so
PostScript is presumably somewhat irrelevant for him.
8.3
2: There is now a clear and growing distinction between those who have a
Risc PC − either because they have upgraded or because they are new to
the wonderful world of Acorn − and those who are still using older
machines. The latter group are increasingly going to find their
processors too slow, their RAM too limited, their screen modes too
restrictive and, eventually, their operating system too outdated to
follow the ‘haves’. I for one am glad that Acorn have moved on, and I do
not, for example, believe that it is fair to expect to run Artworks
successfully without a hard disc (as the author of one letter to an
Acorn magazine recently complained). Equally, many Archive users will
have to continue using their ageing machines for some time to come, so
some of the latest developments in Acorn DTP are irrelevant to these
people.
8.3
3: Professional users expect state of the art applications, and are (or
should be) willing to pay for them. Others, including some schools,
churches and hobbyists, are trying to do DTP on a shoestring. There is
no doubt in my mind that the upgrade from Impression II to Publisher was
excellent value for money, but I am sure that many readers of this
column agonised over spending £30 in order to get it. Endless lists of
new products are not what such people need most.
8.3
The above points were brought home to me recently when I called a friend
who had bought an A3000 for DTP some time ago. He told me that he was
still very happy with his purchase, and with Ovation. He had just
upgraded to RISC OS 3.1 and had bought some more PD fonts, etc. It was
only twenty minutes into the conversation that I realised he was working
from a double density floppy! It is a credit to Acorn and their
developers that this is possible at all − no Mac or PC column would have
to deal with floppy-only DTP users!
8.3
Enough excuses! I would like to see this column covering the following
areas:
8.3
• Tutorials on new or under-used features and techniques;
8.3
• New products, preferably from the angle of “what they do for us”
rather than “gee, wow, what a slick piece of code!”;
8.3
• How to get more out of existing products;
8.3
• Problems with existing products, and how to get round them;
8.3
• Tips for creating different effects, saving time or making DTP
documents look better.
8.3
I have some ideas for the first couple of months, but after that I am
going to need your help! If you have something useful to share with
other DTP users, or if you have expertise in my particular area, please
contact me (via the Archive office).
8.3
A closer look at Publisher
8.3
Impression Publisher is, in my view, the single most important DTP
product to be launched in the Acorn market this year. Impression II was
already the most powerful DTP program on an Acorn platform, and in most
ways was competitive with Mac and PC applications. Some users had
already upgraded to Style. Much was therefore expected of Publisher.
8.3
New programs, new features
8.3
Computer Concepts have actually produced three new versions of
Impression. The following list is an attempt to summarise what new
features Style, Publisher and Publisher Plus offer to existing
Impression II users. I have taken the information mainly from the
Computer Concepts Product Guide and the Publisher Plus manual. The
numbers after each feature denote whether it is available in Style,
Publisher and Publisher Plus (¹), Publisher and Publisher Plus (²) or
Publisher Plus only (³).
8.3
Improved User Interface, including tool bars¹, drag and drop editing¹,
OLE¹, graphics tool¹.
8.3
Improved graphics handling, including provision for 24 bit graphics¹;
TIFF¹, CMYK², EPS³, DCS³ and (optionally) JPEG¹ and PhotoCD files¹;
control over brightness, contrast and colour balance (including duotone
photos)²; irregular graphics frames².
8.3
Typographic features, including control over underline, superscript and
subscript sizes and offsets²; manual and auto kerning and tracking²;
page grid²; a more powerful version of Swap Case³.
8.3
On-line help¹
8.3
Bundled programs, including TableMate¹, Equasor¹ and WordWorks¹.
8.3
Enhanced printing control, including PostScript settings at a document
and graphics level²; control over the page origin on imagesetters³;
advanced four-colour separation facility, customisable for different
output devices, and with an overprint option² (more flexible in
Publisher Plus); on-screen preview of separations²; spot colour
support³; OPI³.
8.3
Miscellaneous changes, including named master pages¹; control of marked
sections of text with the cursor¹; Artworks-style zooming¹; the option
to toggle page borders from the keyboard¹; improved word counts³.
8.3
The user interface
8.3
User interfaces are always an emotive subject, but as Computer Concept’s
promotion of Style and Publisher has placed heavy emphasis on the
improved look and feel of these programs, I think it is reasonable to
ask how significant the changes really are.
8.3
I like drag and drop editing. It makes all those “have I copied the
carriage return?” dilemmas a thing of the past. OLE works, but I am not
sure it was as exciting as we had been led to believe. It has always
been possible to switch between applications by saving to the iconbar,
which is one advantage of a true multitasking system such as RISC OS.
The graphic tool at least means that illustrations are harder to move by
accident, but I still tend to use the dialogue box to position them
exactly.
8.3
I am not at all convinced that the tool bar is a particularly useful
feature for the experienced user, and have switched it off on my copy of
Publisher. One of the advantages of RISC OS is its use of pop-up menus,
which obviate the need to move the mouse pointer constantly to the top
of the screen. Even some of my novice users have decided that keyboard
shortcuts or menus are less hassle than all the mouse activity that
comes with the tool bar. And then there is the small problem that if you
happen to like working in mode 27 or mode 12, you lose 20% of your
screen area and cannot access three of the icons because the button bar
is too long!
8.3
Many of the keyboard shortcuts have been changed, in order to make CC’s
products more compatible with other RISC OS and ‘industry standard’
applications. On the whole, this is initially annoying but not
disastrous. However, one change which I am unhappy with is the use of
<ctrl-B> and <ctrl-I> to produce bold and italic text. Publisher copes
with most fonts better than any other Acorn program, but it still fails
to find bold or italic versions of some of my favourite EFF fonts. Using
<f3> and <f4> was not elegant, but at least it was consistent.
8.3
(I think there are two issues here: which keystrokes are used − and
that’s a matter of personal taste − and the way that bold and italic are
implemented − as effects on top of the basic font style (the new way of
doing it) or as style definitions in themselves (the old way). I have
discussed the latter issue in more detail in the Comment Column on page
15. Ed.)
8.3
If I could change one thing in Publisher, it would be the new ‘edit
style’ dialogue boxes. In Impression 2.19 the font name, size, line
spacing and paragraph spacing were at the top of the list, and could be
changed quickly using the keyboard. In Impression 2.5, the order
changed, so that more scrolling or cursor keypresses were needed, but at
least they were in the same list. In Publisher, the four most useful
attributes (to me at least) are spread over three dialogue boxes. Even
worse, there are no keyboard shortcuts to access these boxes, and it is
impossible to have more than one open at once. This means more clicking,
more time, and the necessity to memorise the information in each box.
Computer Concepts say that this change was introduced at customers’
request, but I cannot see how it is better than the old system except in
appearance. (I’m not sure I agree. What do others think? Ed.)
8.3
Overall, I think that Publisher does have a better interface than
Impression II, but that the improvement is not staggering. To be fair to
Computer Concepts, their user interface was already pretty good, so it
was always going to be difficult to make major improvements. My main
point here is that, in terms of priorities for existing users, I do not
think that OLE and tool bars were at the top of many lists. (Please let
me know if you have any strong views on this − or indeed any other
subject covered in this article.)
8.3
Graphics handling
8.3
If, like me, you do not have a colour scanner, being able to load 24-bit
graphics from other machines is extremely useful. It is also worth
pointing out that desktop colour scanners will not give the same results
as a professional drum scanner, although having colour photos scanned
and gamma corrected by a bureau is not cheap.
8.3
My last attempts to import 24-bit graphics were while using Impression
2.5. On this occasion, I failed to load JPEG files but had no trouble
with TIFF files. When the document was finally imageset (via Publisher),
the photos were apparently reduced to 8-bit colour. I do not know
whether this was due to Publisher, the Acorn printer drivers or
something else, but I hope it will not happen again. I would like to
hear how other people are getting on using 24-bit images in Publisher.
8.3
The ability to import EPS files is something I have been awaiting for
some time. Unfortunately, I gather that Publisher Plus cannot display
EPS graphics on the screen. True, other DTP programs have this problem,
but in the Mac or PC world, any serious DTP user has a PostScript
printer on his desk. If Laser Direct will not print EPS files either,
imagesetting is going to be something of a hit and miss affair.
8.3
I consider providing EPS export to be a priority. Firstly, it would then
be possible to embed one Publisher page in another (handy for
catalogues, but more generally for planning several pages onto one sheet
of film). Secondly, this would provide a way of getting formatted text
into Artworks. Thirdly, a Mac bureau could load the EPS output into
XPress, which could be handy when PostScript generation fails (or for
mixing output from Acorns and Macs in the same document).
8.3
The new colour mapping control is excellent. I cannot see many people
without a Risc PC trying to touch up full colour images, but I use this
feature of Publisher a lot to generate duotone photos (i.e. monochrome
photos that go from one colour to another instead of from black to
white).
8.3
Irregular graphics frames is another new feature which has produced much
excitement. It is useful in certain circumstances, but most users are
not going to use it very often (or, if they do, they are going to
produce some hideous documents!). Screen redrawing is particularly shaky
around irregular graphics frames.
8.3
Overall, I think that the graphics features of Publisher are of great
interest to ‘power’ users, but not necessarily to those producing their
output on laser printers or monochrome inkjets.
8.3
Typographic features
8.3
Auto-kerning and tracking are great but auto-kerning can cause some
interesting problems when working with Acorn bureaus. It is important
for the bureau to have the same version of each font (i.e. RISC OS 2 or
3) as the machine on which the file was produced.
8.3
I have used the modify underlining facility to quite a lot, as I always
found the default settings in Impression II too thin and too high for my
tastes. I have not used the subscript control or the page grid at all.
The new control over the action of Swap Case looks very useful, but I
hope that CC will include this feature in Publisher and Style too.
8.3
Overall, tracking and auto-kerning alone make Publisher significantly
better than Impression II in this area.
8.3
Bundled programs
8.3
I have never used Equasor, although a friend who is studying mathematics
says it is wonderful. WordWorks seems to do what is claimed for it,
although I personally prefer flicking real pages with my fingers. If
anyone wants to write a tutorial on TableMate I would read it avidly!
8.3
On-line help
8.3
This feature is obviously going to be of interest mainly to new users. I
would have preferred a printed summary of new features to the on-line
approach. (In fact, I cannot find auto numbering, which is the only new
feature I didn’t know about already, in any of the on-line browsers.)
8.3
Enhanced printing control
8.3
No-one who has tried to use the Business Supplement to produce
separations would doubt that Publisher is a vast improvement. The most
welcome feature from my point of view is the option to overprint black
text. The on-screen preview appears to be a pretty good guide to the way
separations will appear, as far as the limits of my 8-bit display allow.
The control over PostScript screens etc is also very useful. My
reservations are as follows:
8.3
• The last newsletter that I had imageset using Publisher Plus failed to
pick up some of the PostScript settings in my file, leading to some
bizarre effects on the finished document.
8.3
• It would be extremely useful to be able to see what screens etc had
been selected, both on the screen and on non-PostScript output. As with
EPS, this requirement is more important on an Acorn than a Mac, given
the comparative rarity of PostScript desktop printers. Couldn’t some of
that ShowPage code be dusted down and pressed into service here?
8.3
• Trapping, even of a primitive kind, would make my printers very happy
indeed!
8.3
• I am told that the customisable separation profiles do not work. Can
anyone confirm or deny this?
8.3
I had great hopes for OPI, but having discovered that it does not work
with PhotoCD images, I am not now likely to use it in the immediate
future. (This is a limitation with OPI in general, not with CC’s
implementation.) I would like to hear from anyone using OPI. Overall, a
vast improvement.
8.3
Miscellaneous changes
8.3
To be honest, little things like Artworks-style zooming with the mouse
have probably made more difference to my day-to-day use of Impression
than some of the headline-grabbing innovations. I do hope that those
students wanting to count words in their essays will not have to upgrade
to Publisher Plus! Some day soon, I would like true slaving to disc, as
otherwise those of us with old 4 and 8Mb machines will have trouble
using some of the new features with complex documents.
8.3
Is it stable?
8.3
Opinions seem to vary, but the consensus among people I have spoken to
is “not as stable as it might be”. I crash it every couple of hours or
so, one Acorn dealer I spoke to crashes it every thirty minutes, while
one of my colleagues claims to be able to crash it simply by not
touching his machine for an hour! (You cannot be serious! Is anyone else
suffering this badly? Ed.)
8.3
CC point out that any program the size of Publisher will have bugs. I
accept this point, but the fact remains that the consequences of bugs
can be quite serious. One of my newsletters was delayed by several
weeks, due to the failure of a Risc PC/Publisher system to produce
reliable PostScript. It is unrealistic to expect all bugs to be removed
at once, but I think it is entirely reasonable to expect help from the
authors of a DTP program to find solutions in the meantime, bugs
notwithstanding.
8.3
(From discussions with people at Acorn World 94, I gather that
PostScript is a pain even outside the Acorn world − it’s just that so
many people need to get PostScript output from PCs and Macs typeset that
bureaux have learned how to get round the problems. Ed.)
8.3
I have observed a change in CC’s approach to customer support over the
last couple of years. At one point, new versions of Impression appeared
every couple of months and, usually, whichever bug bothered me was fixed
in the next version. The technical support staff provided technical
support, which in my case usually meant answering questions that were
beyond my Acorn dealer.
8.3
Impression 2.19 was far from bug free, particularly when it came to
producing PostScript output, and yet no upgrade or bug fix was made
available prior to the launch of Style and Publisher several months
later. Furthermore, a much improved version (2.5) existed and was being
sold as part of the Acorn Publishing System. T-J Reproductions
recommended that I upgrade to 2.5 in order to make their lives easier,
let alone mine, but Computer Concepts informed me that I was not a
‘professional’ user and would therefore have to wait for Publisher. (CC
did subsequently decide to let ordinary users buy 2.5 if they were
persistent enough.) Eventually, my company bought an Acorn Publishing
system just to get 2.5. If we had not done this, some of my typesetting
projects would have sat on my hard disc for almost a year − 2.19 simply
would not print them properly.
8.3
I know that some readers will think that criticising CC’s upgrade policy
is a bit rich, bearing in mind that their products are relatively cheap,
their upgrades are often free and most other companies do not offer free
technical support at all. However, I think it comes back to my point
about different users with different needs and budgets.
8.3
A hobby user of Style or Publisher probably does not need most of the
advanced features, and would rather wait for a major upgrade than spend
money on lots of bug fixes. For that matter, he may not want to spend
his money calling Computer Concepts to moan about any problems he
encounters. I do not doubt that there are many users like this in the
Acorn world.
8.3
On the other hand, I use my computer to produce professional artwork.
The cost of Publisher, let alone the upgrades, is not that significant
compared to the cost of a failed imagesetting run: one set of films for
a multi-page document can cost hundreds of pounds. If there is a new
version of Publisher that will help me to avoid expensive mistakes or
missed deadlines, I am willing to pay for it. I would also be willing to
pay for real technical support. If there are bugs which cannot be fixed,
I would like to know about them and how they can be avoided.
8.3
And if my problem is due to something not directly the fault of CC, I
would still appreciate constructive suggestions to make my overall
system work, rather than a disclaimer along the lines of “it’s all
Acorn’s fault, go talk to them.” I do not doubt, for example, that some
of my problems with PostScript files are due to the Acorn printer
driver, but it is quite ridiculous to market a program on an Acorn
platform and then to say that it doesn’t work because it is on an Acorn
platform.
8.3
My suggestions to improve what I perceive to be an unsatisfactory
situation would be as follows:
8.3
1: Provide minor or urgent bug fixes which do not add functionality to
the program free of charge or at the cost of the media and handling, as
in the past.
8.3
2: Sell major upgrades, as in the case of Publisher Plus.
8.3
3: Make interim versions of programs available to all users, at a price
sufficiently high to discourage people from buying them unless they
actually needed them.
8.3
4: Offer a premium technical support service, at a premium price, which
would include a monthly bug report with workarounds where possible,
automatic mailing of bug fixes and improved access to CC staff.
8.3
Copy protection
8.3
Computer Concepts say that the debate over dongles is over, and that
dongles are in everyone’s best interests. My dongles prevent me from
using RemoteFS to link my machines, and one of my early dongles did not
work with the dongled Turbo Driver lead. Even with a dongle dangle, I
find it difficult to fit all the dongles on the back of my desk, and due
to the dongle dangle, I cannot screw all the cables together, which I
consider to be somewhat risky.
8.3
Computer Concepts say that dongles are only inconvenient on ‘very rare
occasions’. If I am the only person who finds dongles a positive
nuisance, I promise not to mention them ever again, but if you feel
differently (or if you find them of positive benefit!) I would like to
hear from you.
8.3
Conclusion
8.3
Publisher is a superb program, and a great improvement on Impression II.
I would recommend all ‘power’ users to upgrade at once, and to take a
close look at Publisher Plus. There is probably less in either of these
programs for casual users, but then Style was designed for them anyway.
8.3
There are a few features I would like to see added, but overall it is
difficult to fault the range of facilities offered. The program is
certainly not bug free but, hopefully, CC will fix the serious bugs and
release a more stable version quickly. I do think that more support is
needed for professional users.
8.3
Next month...
8.3
I hope to take an in-depth look at imagesetting and other means of
preparing artwork for printing. I will also produce some hints and tips
on page layouts − unless, that is, I hear from you in the meantime!
8.3
Mark Howe, 2 Montee des Carrelets, 84360 Lauris, France.  A
8.3
Impression Publisher
8.3
Neil Whiteley-Bolton
8.3
Another look at Publisher by someone else using it in a professional
situation...
8.3
Impression Publisher is the evolutionary offspring of Impression, the
software product which, arguably, has had more impact on Acorn’s
presence in the Pre-Press World than any other. Impression Publisher has
been available for a number of months now, and reviews have appeared in
most of the Acorn magazines, but I wanted to wait until Publisher Plus
was released before writing this article.
8.3
Impression Publisher/Publisher Plus
8.3
Whilst Impression Publisher is an evolutionary development of the
Impression and Impression II packages, Publisher Plus has a number of
additional features intended to appeal to specialised professional
users. In conjunction with Style, they form a suite of programs
providing comprehensive ‘Document Processing’ facilities, ranging from
simple word processing to professional full colour page make-up. Each of
the applications is fully capable of meeting the vast majority of word
processing and page make-up requirements although, clearly, an
organisation needing to produce full colour layouts would choose
Publisher or Publisher Plus whereas somebody with simple word processing
requirements would probably settle for Style.
8.3
CC offer an upgrade path from Style to Publisher and to Publisher Plus,
so it is possible for a customer to purchase Style, and to upgrade if
and when they need the extra functionality. As I said in my review of
Style, I am fairly certain that most Archive readers will have at least
a passing familiarity with Impression I or II, and so I will proceed as
for my review of Style, by describing the differences between the
product and its predecessors. Style, Publisher and Publisher Plus
inherit, and build upon, the interface which has been tried and tested
in Impression, and enhanced with subsequent releases of the product.
8.3
The three products share a common set of features which are further
enhanced in Publisher and Publisher Plus. For those people who missed,
or cannot recall, my review of Style, the features common to the new
applications, but which were not present in Impression are:
8.3
•  interactive toolbar
8.3
•  improved text handling with selection and dragging of blocks of text
8.3
•  an extended Effects menu with ‘Kerning’ & ‘Tracking’, ‘Keep Together’
and ‘Ruler’ as well as ‘Bold’ and ‘Italic’
8.3
•  an enhanced Style dialogue
8.3
•  enhanced file handling with support for deep sprites
8.3
•  new graphic tool and numerous other features (refer to my Style
review for a more comprehensive description)
8.3
•  Object Linking and Embedding.
8.3
New features for Publisher are:
8.3
•  improved typographic controls − underline offset and size can now be
specified in the Text dialogue of the Style Dialogue
8.3
•  improved graphics control − Publisher supports irregular frames, and
there is a ‘make frame irregular’ on the Frame menu
8.3
•  graphics tool now has enhanced functionality (in fact, I suspect this
functionality was originally designed into the graphics tool, and
removed from Style for commercial reasons) − the pan, scale and rotate
handles in Style allow the graphic to be moved, resized and rotated
respectively
8.3
In Publisher and Publisher Plus, using <adjust> on these controls
affects the frame as well − i.e. the frame plus graphical object are
moved, resized and rotated. When a frame is rotated, Publisher
automatically makes it irregular. Irregular frames, when selected, have
a pale blue outline and the frame handles appear in dark blue, providing
a clear indication that the frame is irregular. Subsequently, the mouse
pointer changes to a dark blue frame handle when it passes over the
frame edge. New frame handles can be added by clicking <select> at the
desired point on the frame outline. The shape of the frame can be
altered by dragging any of the frame handles. All frame edges are
straight lines rather than curves, so the frame outline is always
described by straight lines drawn between adjacent control points. A
graphical object of virtually any complexity can thus be easily
enveloped by a frame, providing it has sufficient control points.
8.3
Publisher Plus
8.3
Publisher Plus has a number of extra features over and above those found
in Publisher. Principle amongst these is support for OPI (Open Pre-Press
Interface), a system aimed at minimising the problems associated with
working with high quality photographic images. These problems occur
principally because of the size of the files created when photographic
images are scanned at a sufficiently high resolution for them to be
placed in high quality printed documents. These files can be many tens
of megabytes in size − exceeding the amount of main memory available in
most computers, which makes the use of some sort of Virtual Memory
System essential. Additionally, the files take a long time to load to
and from disc, and the file size makes delivery of PostScript files to
an imagesetter very much more difficult.
8.3
Essentially, when using an OPI system, lower resolution images are used
in your Impression documents, to be replaced automatically by high
resolution images before the PostScript file is “RIPped”. Typically, you
would supply the bureau with the photographic prints or transparencies
which were to be included in the document, the bureau would scan these
and generate two image files for each photograph, the low resolution one
would be returned to you in one of a number of proprietary formats − EPS
(encapsulated PostScript), DCS (a variant of EPS holding pre-separated
data), Mac/PICT or PC/TIFF. Publisher can load EPS, DCS and TIFF files
and all bureaux are able to provide image files in at least one of these
formats. The OPI PostScript file generated from your document is
processed by an OPI interpreter, where the low resolution copy in your
document is replaced by the high resolution version which had been
retained by the bureau, before being fed to the imagesetter.
8.3
The idea is that the low resolution version of the image is of
sufficiently high quality for use in visualisations, and the system is
‘smart’ enough to retain information about positioning, scaling and, in
most cases, rotation of this low resolution image and apply the
appropriate corrections during interpretation. The system will not
retain information about modifications made to the image, so any image
processing needs to have been done at an earlier stage by the bureau.
8.3
Publisher Plus, which was originally going to be sold as an OPI
Supplement, has a number of other additional features:
8.3
•  Support for named colours, manifesting itself as an extra “Colour”
button on the Toolbar, and two new options on the Edit menu i.e. New
colour... and Edit colour....
8.3
•  Words count − Count words on the Utilities menu brings up a dialogue
which displays Words in document, Words in chapter, Words in story,
Truncated words and Words in selection
8.3
•  Swap case − (Ctrl-S) brings up a dialogue which provides the
following actions either at the cursor or to a selected region of text −
Capitalise start of sentences, Capitalise initial letters, All upper
case, All lower case or Swap case of all letters
8.3
•  Alter the page origin when printing − Two writable icons in the Print
setup dialogue allow X and Y displacements (negative values allowed) to
be applied to pages
8.3
All I have done in this review, as in my review of Style, earlier this
year is describe the features of the program. This is because CC’s
programs tend to work smoothly, consistently and reliably − I feel sure
that most Impression users could make productive use of the new Style/
Publisher features within half an hour of receiving the program!
8.3
There have been one or two criticisms made of CC recently, both on the
Internet (comp.sys.acorn) and via personal correspondence, and so I feel
it necessary to make my opinion clear on one or two issues.
8.3
Firstly, Publisher and Style had, when launched, more bugs than we are
used to finding with CC’s programs. Those I was aware of have now been
fixed, and I feel it is important that this should be put in
perspective. These are very sophisticated programs, and far more than
simply new releases of Impression − much of the code has been rewritten.
Even at their worst, CC are still better, in my opinion, than most
software houses when it comes to QA. I feel that much of the criticism
was in any case unjustified.
8.3
Secondly, CC have changed some of their keyboard short-cuts in line with
those in use on other systems. I say “big deal!” Many people, myself
included, have to work cross platform, and there is justification in
consistency − I would like to hear someone argue that one set of
keyboard short-cuts was intrinsically better than another.
8.3
Finally, people have complained that CC are no longer consistent with
regard to names of Dialogue buttons (the Close buttons on the Style
dialogue received considerable attention at one point). This is simply
not true, look more carefully, I would say!
8.3
I have produced work using all three of the new programs, and I find
them a pleasure to use, although I have not yet used the OPI facility in
Publisher Plus but will report as soon as possible. I feel that from the
users’ perspective, these are CC’s best programs to date.  A
8.3
Acorns in Business − Part 2
8.3
Richard Torrens
8.3
Inventory control
8.3
The basic way that we run our electronics manufacturing business is to
buy in standard parts, kit them out into batches for assembly, get them
assembled and test them. The task of stock inventory control lends
itself to computing. I have a database of stock parts: each single line
entry has the part number, the description of the part, the purchase
quantity, supplier, supplier’s reference, last price paid and last order
number. Parts are sorted in part number order.
8.3
The parts lists have a header block giving the part number of the
assembly, quantity to issue, dates of alterations and other relevant
information. The two left hand columns below the header contain only the
part number and the quantity per board. PipeDream looks up descriptions
and prices and calculates total piece part count for a kit of 50 (or
whatever quantity I enter). It also works out the current cost of the
assembly, looking up the parts from the main database.
8.3
PD4 also has a very useful ‘Set-value’ function which I have
incorporated in a custom function to write back the cost of the assembly
to the main database. This way, the assembly cost in the main database
is as current as the last time I accessed the parts list and I can also
use this assembly as a piece part of another with the costing
automatically being carried right through.
8.3
This system discourages me from specifying a new component since it
means adding data to the main database and it encourages good working
habits.
8.3
Purchasing
8.3
99% of the parts we purchase are for assembling into PCBs. I therefore
have a file ‘To_Order’ which looks up all the data from the parts
database. This file also looks up the next blank number in the Order
Numbers file! The first two ‘live’ lines of the ‘To_Order’ file are
‘Dummy line’ and 00-00.
8.3
To reorder a part, I simply click on the file icon on the backdrop. (I
use !PlaceIt − a PD version of !Pinboard, which has several
enhancements.) The parts database and a couple of other files are loaded
automatically. Then I mark one of these two first lines and copy it into
the body of the list. Thus, if I run short of our part number, say 31-
70, I mark the line ‘00-00’ and copy it. I then change the reference 00-
00 to 31-70.
8.3
PD4 looks up the Description, Supplier, Supplier’s reference, date of
last order, last order number and price paid last time. I normally wait
until I have several components that I need to reorder from the same
supplier before I make out a new order.
8.3
On the backdrop, I have a PD4 command file, ‘New_Order’. I click on this
and it loads all the necessary files, deletes the two dummy lines and
snapshots the relevant columns in the ‘To_Order’ file (i.e. the last
order number, date of last order and last price paid). I then enter the
supplier’s name in the appropriate square at the top. PD4 does a
calculation filling in the expected price for the quantity to be ordered
from this supplier: items from a different supplier it leaves blank so I
can see at a glance where I am. I then delete lines which are not
relevant to this order. Hey Presto − a completed order sheet and it even
displays the supplier’s phone number, contact name at the supplier and,
if it has the information, their standard carriage charge and, of
course, the VAT. I save this in the form ‘456_Fred’ where 456 is the
order number and Fred is the supplier. This makes sure that RISC OS
files the orders sequentially in number order.
8.3
If I am sending a written order, I click on a blank ‘Order’ form which
looks up the ‘To_Order’ list and fills itself in automatically. I simply
snapshot it, delete excess lines, print it and post it.
8.3
If I wish to fax the order, I save it as ‘New’ − which is its default
name. I then click on a file called ‘Fax_ it’. This loads a blank fax
order form which fills itself in from the file ‘New’. The ‘Fax_it’
command file goes through the fax order form snapshotting it.
8.3
I use ArcFax from David Pilling which has a cunning feature that if the
document being printed contains the text {xyz } ArcFax will
automatically fax it to ‘xyz’. This can either be a telephone number or
a name from the ArcFax directory. You can also fill in a name for ArcFax
to save to, and a time/date. If this is present, ArcFax will delay the
fax until the appropriate time/date then automatically fax it. The blank
fax order form has already looked up supplier’s fax number and
automatically filled in the ‘Faxto:’ and ‘Faxname’ information and so,
literally, all I have to do is remove the unused lines, check that it
looks OK and send it to the fax driver. ArcFax does the rest. The whole
system is seamless and effortless.
8.3
In due course, when the goods arrive and I have the invoice, I reopen
the saved order file, and check that prices agree. If they don’t, I
either argue with the supplier or fill in the new price in a spare
column (so I can see from this order both the old and the new price).
PD4 recalculates the invoice amount from the new price. When the order
sheet agrees with the invoice and I am happy, I write ‘Fix’ in one
special slot. PD4 now writes back to the parts database the new order
number, date of order and new price. I then pull in another Command file
‘Fix_Order’ which snapshots the document and removes a few redundant
slots (such as the column which does the write-back). I save the
document and refile it in the Finished directory.
8.3
The whole process is pleasant to use, minimises errors and takes the
minimum time. If only I could get PD4 to transfer money into my bank
account to pay the bills!
8.3
I hope these first two articles have given you a few ideas of the sorts
of things you can do with PD4. Its main strength is that it is very
versatile but this is also, in some respects, its undoing. In common
with most computer software, the more versatile it is, the harder it can
be to use, However, without a doubt, the most difficult thing in
programming PD4 is the human element of defining the task in such a way
that it can be delegated to PD4. This often seems, at least initially,
to be more difficult than simply doing the task by hand. However, the
more I automate office work into PD4, the easier the task becomes. I
certainly am more productive now than before I started to use PD4 and,
as the business grows, I find more and more tasks which I can do in a
consistent method, so PD4 can take over.
8.3
Feedback
8.3
These two articles have deliberately not said much about the exact
methods I use as I have tried not to get too technical. If you want
further information on any of the details, I can supply this
individually.
8.3
If you have any comments/suggestions/criticisms/requests, you can
contact me at: 30 Reach Road, Burwell, Cambridgeshire, CB5 0AH. Phone or
fax on 01638-741930 at any reasonable time (I work from home).  A
8.3
Text Import − Part 1
8.3
Jim Nottingham
8.3
Originally, this article was planned to cover how to get your Acorn
machine to make sense of text once it had been imported from, for
example, a laptop such as the Samsung ‘Magic Note’ (Archive 8.1 p31).
However, it seems text manipulation is one of the things readers have
been asking about in the recent Archive questionnaires, so I
provisionally agreed with Paul to extend the article to cover a wider
range of ‘foreign’ text imports from Macs, IBM-compatibles and the like.
8.3
The idea seems to have caught on even before I put digits to keyboard
and it has become clear that we should perhaps make the article as
suitable for the beginner as for the relatively experienced reader. It
has therefore grown from the original single page to the point where we
ought to split it into two sessions. This first part will consider the
overall problem of text import with some of the terminology and basic
ground rules, and the second will build on this knowledge to introduce
specific methods of converting imported text to Acorn-speak. Much of
what will be discussed has already appeared piecemeal in the Hints and
Tips columns of earlier issues of Archive but, for the benefit of recent
subscribers, this is an opportunity to revisit the subject, pull it all
together and add some more hints.
8.3
The problem
8.3
Part of my day job for ‘UK plc’ is to collate, edit and publish
technical reports, incorporating material from the boffins worldwide.
The graphics and text come in a myriad of formats ranging from something
called ASCII to what looks like Zarathustrian. I can be sure of three
things: Firstly, foreign graphics import will not normally present a
problem (thanks to an ever-widening range of transfer utilities such as
ChangeFSI, ImageFS and Translator); secondly, the text will invariably
come up as ‘scribble’ on the Acorn; thirdly, the material will always be
late. This last factor means there simply isn’t time to go back to the
originator for a reformat of the text − or even to find out what the
format is − and I have to make the best of what I get. So, of necessity,
over a period and by dint of empirical sampling (posh phrase for suck it
and see...), I’ve managed to deduce a number of ways of making some
sense of what I’m given. These methods will be discussed in Part 2.
8.3
Commercial solutions
8.3
On the face of it, effective text import utilities seem to be in the
minority. My own view is that this is probably to be expected as there
are so many possible variations in format that, to be all-embracing, a
program would have to be extremely clever. Presently, some applications
such as Impression Publisher do incorporate modules which purport to
allow foreign text formats to be loaded directly. However, the range is
by no means exhaustive and, in practice, individual modules do not
appear to work very well. I think this is probably because there are
significant formatting differences between the diverse versions of any
one application (e.g. Wordperfect variants such as WP from my Magic
Note, WP v5.1 for DOS, WP v5.2 for Windows, and so on). Clearly this
problem is by no means limited to Acorn machines and there is no such
thing as an industry standard. (There’s an excellent review of the
current state of affairs on p21 of the October ’94 issue of Acorn User.)
8.3
All this may seem odd as, surely, text is text? This is primarily true,
but it is not unusual for a single page of text to be interspersed and
surrounded by literally pages of what appears to be scribble. These are
the formatting commands used by the foreign application. It is our job
to recognise the original text and devise ways of filtering out the
‘noise’. As the proud owner of (any) Acorn machine − and unlike Macs and
PCs − it won’t cost you anything apart from your time because, in Edit,
you already have an excellent piece of software to do the job.
8.3
ASCII codes
8.3
On to the terminology we will need to use, starting with the ‘signal’,
i.e. the actual alpha-numeric characters that we will wish to finish up
with on screen and, eventually, in print. Fortunately for us, Gerald
Fitton wrote a very clear and informative section on this in a recent
issue of Archive (7.11 p23), so from now on I will assume you will have
re-read that and understand the relevance of ASCII (pronounced “Askey”)
which is the acronym for the American Standard Code for Information
Interchange.
8.3
To reiterate briefly, the 256 ASCII codes to which Gerald refers are
basically sub-divided into three; the printer instruction codes (ASCII
codes 0-31), the alphanumeric characters you see on your keyboard
(covered by codes 32-127) and all the ‘funny’ characters you may wish to
add in by some means (codes 128-255). The ASCII codes and the characters
to which they relate are not presented very clearly in the various Acorn
user-guides, if at all, so I’ve listed the so-called ‘standard’ set on
the table. (In fact it’s by no means standard but I’ll discuss that
later.)
8.3
Binary code
8.3
Gerald described the binary code system used by the computer which
always confuses me but, fortunately, we won’t need to use that in this
exercise. The only significance here is that, as was mentioned, the
‘funny’ characters always start with a binary number 1 instead of 0 and
so are often called the ‘top-bit set’ characters.
8.3
Hexadecimal code
8.3
Just when we thought we’d avoided clever counting systems, in comes
another − the hexadecimal system − often abbreviated to hex and, in
print, usually preceded by the ampersand character (&). We good
Europeans are quite used to working in decimal notation (0-9); hex is
just another system, this time counting in sixteens (0-15). British
readers of a certain age, like me, will find this relatively easy
because we used to have to count in sixteens! (Hands up the wrinklies
who remember the good old days when we had 16 ounces to the pound.)
8.3
The problem with representing hex numbers on screen or paper, using just
the conventional decimal numbers 0-9, is that we run out of characters.
So the hex system uses the lower-case letters a-f to represent the six
decimal numbers 10-15. Confused? So am I. Not to worry, I’ve listed the
ASCII characters on the table in both decimal and hexadecimal formats so
that we can work out the relationship and use whichever system is
appropriate.
8.3
Why do we need hexadecimal? Well, have a look at the following which is
a typical result of text imported direct from a ‘foreign’ word-processor
into Edit:
8.3
  [1d]
8.3
  [00][09]Ð[02]@[02] [05]
8.3
  [00][1d]Now is the winter of our discontent [0d]
8.3
  Made glorious summer by this sun of York [0d]
8.3
  And all the clouds that lour’d upon our house [0d]
8.3
  In the deep bosom of the ocean buried.[1a]
8.3
In this short sample, the required text is easily recognised but there
are a couple of ‘funny’ characters and some strange-looking numbers in
square brackets, e.g. [1d]. In Edit and some other text-processors, a
number in square brackets is used, conventionally, to represent an ASCII
character whose number is given in hexadecimal format. For example, if
you look up &0d and &1a in the table, you will see they are the same as
the decimal numbers 13 and 26. We will need to devise a method to strip
out all these funny hex numbers and this will be discussed in Part 2.
8.3
Printer codes
8.3
The ASCII codes in the range 0-31 will not actually reproduce characters
on screen but are used as coded commands, often embedded in the text, to
tell the computer and/or printer to carry out a particular operations.
Numerically, they are the exact equivalent of the Basic VDU commands so,
for example, ASCII code 13, Hex code &0d and VDU 13 all mean the same
thing; Carriage Return. I’ve put a selection of the meanings of these
codes on the table (from Beeb days, you may recognise VDU2/3 as Printer
on/off).
8.3
Further considerations
8.3
That really concludes coverage of the terminology and ground rules we
will need to be familiar with to progress to Part 2 of this article.
However, having introduced the ‘standard’ ASCII character set and
presented the table, we can usefully go on to consider allied topics
which, although nothing to do with foreign text import, you may
nevertheless find a worthwhile refresher.
8.3
Standardisation
8.3
Although the ASCII codes are supposedly a standard way of representing
characters, they are by no means universal as, strictly speaking, they
apply only to the ISO 8859/1 ‘Latin1 Alphabet’ font. Your computer
should be set to this default on delivery. If appropriate to your needs,
you can configure the computer to use a different alphabet such as Latin
2-4, Cyrillic or Greek. The range of available alphabets and how to get
the computer to use them will vary with the version of RISC OS you have,
so see your User Guide for details. I believe that, apart from Hebrew,
characters in the ASCII range 32-127 are standard. However, the ones in
the range 128-255 may well vary with the alphabet you are using.
8.3
There will be other reasons why a supposedly⇦ standard Latin1 alphabet
font, on paper and/or screen, will not give the characters listed on the
table and you need to watch out for this. Some of the reasons are:
8.3
•  Printers will not necessarily replicate the characters you see on
screen. With PostScript printers for example, the font resident in the
printer must be an exact replica of the outline font you are using for
screen display. Elsewhere, the printer-driver may not be perfect and − a
common example − give you a hash (#) when you wanted a £.
8.3
•  Many fonts, particularly those from PD sources or ‘fancy’ fonts, will
not reproduce all the characters in the top-bit set. Some do not include
any characters in the ASCII range above 127. If you try to enter a
character which has not been added to the set, not surprisingly, it will
not be displayed on screen. In some applications, you might get the
equivalent hex number displayed, in square brackets. In others, you will
apparently get nothing at all. I say “apparently” because, in fact, you
are actually getting a blank character with zero width.
8.3
•  Some font suppliers have their own minor variations, usually in the
ASCII range 128-143. The Electronic Font Foundry, for instance, have
what they call the ‘EFF Extensions’ and even Acorn’s fonts are not fully
100% standard to ISO 8859.
8.3
•  Acorn’s bit-map System font is an odd-ball and produces some
different characters in the ASCII range 128-159.
8.3
•  Some fonts are designed and produced for a specific purpose and the
character set is almost wholly different from the standard with which we
are familiar. Examples are foreign fonts such as Bengali, or symbol
fonts such as Dingbats or MathGreek.
8.3
Entering top-bit set characters
8.3
The top-bit set characters, i.e. those in the ASCII range 128-255, do
not appear on the keyboard, so how do we get them onto the screen and
printed? Let us take a fairly common one as a working example; the ©
copyright character. In practice, we have a number of solutions
available to us:
8.3
•  Text utilities − RISC OS 3.1 machines come with the Acorn program
!Chars in the Apps directory and there are others. Again, Gerald Fitton
has covered this well in his article (Archive 7.11 p24). The only point
I would add is that, when using the utility, it often helps to select
the required outline font in the !Chars window as this displays the
particular range of characters included in that font. This also works
for the foreign and symbol fonts. If we don’t do this, the Acorn System
font will be displayed by default and, as discussed above, we may well
get something completely different. To enter the © character into a
text-processor, all we need to do is position the caret where we want
the character to appear, and click <select> on © in the !Chars window.
This method is probably the most user-friendly and is universal, i.e. it
always works for any available character and for any outline font.
Usually, this is used for entering top-bit set characters, although I
know somebody who has a dicky key on his keyboard which won’t produce a
5 or % so, rather than go to the expense of a repair or replacement, he
uses !Chars instead!
8.3
(Health Warning: using !Chars can seriously damage your document’s
health. Let me explain. An alternative way of entering characters with
!Chars is to place the pointer over the desired character and press
<shift>. So, if you accidentally leave the pointer over the !Chars
window while you carry on typing, every time you press <shift>, you will
add whatever character happens to be under the pointer at the time −
this can be very disconcerting if you don’t know what is happening. Ed.)
8.3
•  Alt key + numeric keypad − We can input any ASCII character into a
text-processor by positioning the caret where we want the character
entered, pressing and holding down <Alt>, typing the 2- or 3-digit ASCII
code (using decimal as listed on the table) on the numeric keypad and
then releasing <Alt>. Nothing will appear to happen until we release
<Alt>, at which point the character will appear. For example, for the ©
character, we would need Alt + 169. This method is also universal but
assumes the character is included in the font used.
8.3
•  Alt key + character − In a similar way to the previous case, you can
sometimes use the Alt key in conjunction with a designated character on
the main keyboard. However, this method is not available for all the
top-bit set characters and varies between different versions of RISC OS
− the ones that are available on the Risc PC (i.e. v3.50) are listed on
the table. So, to enter the © character, we can press <Alt> and type in
<C>, and the character will immediately appear. Note that in this case,
because the ‘control’ letter is an upper-case character, we also have to
press the Shift key, so we actually need to type <shift-alt-c>. As
another example, typing <alt-4> is a quick way of getting a ¼ character.
The codes for RISC OS 3.1 characters are listed in Archive 6.1 p9. The
codes for RISC OS 2 and OS 3.0 characters are listed in Archive 5.1 p10.
8.3
•  Accents − All the accented characters in the top-bit set can be
entered by pressing <alt> and a designated key, releasing them and then
typing the unaccented character, at which point the accented version
will appear. These combinations are shown on the table, in italics to
distinguish them from the previous option. So, for example, if we press
and release the Alt and ] keys, and then type A, we will get À (ASCII
code 192). A few more details are given in Archive 6.2 pp8/9.
8.3
•  ‘Hard’ characters − There are two characters in the top-bit set
which, on the face of it, are identical to their keyboard counterparts
but which can be usefully used in particular circumstances. These are
the ‘hard space’ (ASCII code 160) and the ‘hard hyphen’ (ASCII code
153). The hard space can be used when we might prefer to keep together
two elements normally separated by a space and which otherwise may be
split onto two lines by the text processor. My postcode YO4 2EY is a
typical example. We can enter a hard space by using !Chars (click on the
‘space’ just before the ¡ character), typing <alt­160> or typing <alt-
space>. The hard space is also useful for putting spaces into disc
filenames (I always think ‘Read Me’ looks more elegant than ‘ReadMe’ or
‘Read_Me’ but that’s a personal thing). Similarly, many text processors
can split hyphenated words or phrases onto two lines and this may reduce
clarity (e.g. you wouldn’t want “<shift-ctrl-f4>” to be split). In this
event, entering hard hyphens by using !Chars, typing <alt-173> or typing
<alt-hyphen> will prevent this happening. The three longer hyphens or
‘dashes’ (ASCII codes 151, 152 and 153 are also ‘hard’ characters).
8.3
Whichever system or systems you use will depend on your personal taste
but the options give a powerful set of choices. My own preference is to
use <Alt> in conjunction with the numeric keypad as it is a convenient,
universal method without need to call up another utility. However, as
none of the user-guides include a convenient listing of the ASCII code
characters, I always have a handy reference chart available. This is
simply a cut-down version of the table so I’m including a drawfile
version for the monthly disc (ASCIIChars). If you want an A4 printout,
please send me a stamped, SAE.
8.3
That’s it for this part. Part 2 is planned for inclusion next month, Ed
permitting, and we’ll get down to the nitty-gritty of foreign text
import, perhaps with examples on the monthly disc for you to try
massaging. Jim Nottingham, 16 Westfield Close, Pocklington, York, YO4
2EY.  A
8.3
An Introduction to SCSI
8.3
David Webb, NCS
8.3
Following Jim Nottingham’s useful discussion of compatibility between
SCSI cards and drives last month (8.2 p57), I have adapted one of NCS’
user guides to help explain the SCSI system to new (and potential)
users. I also hope to shed some light on the more murky issues such as
termination, SCSI IDs and formatting.
8.3
When working for a dealership like NCS, it is easy to get used to how
arcane and jargon-infested the computer industry is. We try to help
people make the right decision on what they need and what to buy. But in
an area like hard disc drives, and especially SCSI, it is hard to make
an good decision unless you understand the dealer’s advice. Even when
the goods arrive, it is easy for a user to follow the installation
instructions but still not understand the product they have bought or
how they can get the best from it. The description that follows is to
help people thinking of buying a SCSI system, and those who already have
one, to understand what the system consists of and what needs to be done
to get it all working.
8.3
The SCSI system
8.3
The Small Computer Systems Interface, or SCSI (pronounced scuzzy) was
developed to allow computers to communicate with various peripheral
devices. It has been used extensively in Apple Macintosh’s, PCs and
work-station computers to provide a standard and versatile platform for
connecting different types of device to different computers, made by
different manufacturers. The ANSI specification for SCSI describes the
full details of how it all works, but the following summary should cover
all you need to know in order to get a SCSI system working.
8.3
A SCSI system consists of one or more initiator devices (e.g. the SCSI
controller card in the computer) and one or more target devices (e.g. a
hard disc drive). The number of initiators and targets does not matter
as long as there are no more than eight devices altogether. Most SCSI
systems on Acorn computers have the controller card in the the computer
as the only initiator and one or more target devices such as hard
drives, scanners, or printers.
8.3
The SCSI chain and termination
8.3
All the devices in a SCSI system are arranged in a single chain, i.e.
several devices connected by a chain of cables. There cannot be any
loops or branches. It doesn’t matter which order devices go in the chain
(although the connectors and cables on some devices may make a certain
arrangement the easiest). With any SCSI chain, there are two and only
two ends. Both ends must be terminated, which means that a set of
resistors is fitted to ensure the quality of the signals.
8.3
In the simplest system with a controller fitted to the computer and one
hard disc drive inside it, both must be terminated. When you purchase a
drive or a controller card, it will have terminators fitted. On an
internal hard drive, the terminator will be two, three or four thin
strips (resistor packs) inserted just behind the SCSI cable connector as
shown below. On a SCSI controller card, the terminator is usually three
resistor packs near the cable connector. Consult your SCSI card user
guide to check.
8.3
An external SCSI device, such as an external hard drive (with its own
case and power supply) or a scanner, also needs to be terminated if it
is at one end of the chain. External hard drives are sometimes
terminated on the drive mechanisms themselves, in the same way as
internal drives. If so, you will need to open the case to change the
termination. Most external devices, however, have two SCSI cable
connectors which makes everything much simpler. These connectors are
usually the Centronics (or Amphenol) type but sometimes they are IDC.
The two types are shown below. Some SCSI cards and devices are supplied
with D-type connectors. These look the same as a printer port connector
on the back of your computer. They behave like the other two kinds of
connector − you just need to have a cable with an appropriate plug on
it.
8.3
With these external devices, the two connectors are identical. One is
used to bring the signals from the rest of the chain, while the other is
used either to terminate or to pass the signal to the next device in the
chain. (It doesn’t matter which is used for which.) External terminators
looks like Centronics connectors with no cable coming out of them.
8.3
When there are more than two devices, only the two devices at the ends
of the chain must be terminated. If terminators are fitted to any of the
devices in between, the signals may be corrupted. This can cause damage,
and it will create an unreliable system. Termination applies to the SCSI
controller card as well so it must not be terminated if it is in the
middle of a chain.
8.3
The diagram opposite shows three correctly terminated chains.
8.3
SCSI devices and ID numbers
8.3
The SCSI system needs a way of identifying the devices attached to it,
so each has a unique ID number between 0 and 7. Most SCSI controller
cards come preset to device number 7, leaving 0 to 6 for peripheral
devices.
8.3
Some SCSI cards require that devices be added in sequential order. This
means that if only one device is attached, it must be device 0, or in
the case of two devices, they must use ID numbers 0 and 1. Check your
SCSI controller’s user guide to see if it has requirements like these.
8.3
Many external SCSI devices have switches at the back which display the
current device number and allow it to be changed easily. Otherwise, you
may have to open up the case and alter the position of three links on
the underside of the drive itself. The three links are usually labelled
A0, A1 and A2 or something similar. The device ID is a binary number,
made up from the presence or absence of these three links. A fitted link
is a binary 1 and no link is a binary 0. The SCSI ID number is made up
as follows:
8.3
Connecting up the SCSI chain
8.3
Bearing in mind the termination, you should be able to connect
everything up in a single chain. Because there are so many different
SCSI controllers and because devices have different types of connector,
you may find that the cables you have available will dictate the order
of the devices in the chain. You may even find that you don’t have all
the necessary cables to connect things together at all. For instance,
some devices (such as some flatbed scanners) have only a single
Centronics connector and a special lead must be used (and should be
provided) which allows the chain to be passed on or terminated. Most
dealers can supply cables to suit most situations.
8.3
It is advisable to switch on the external devices before switching on
the computer. It is not necessary to have all the devices in a chain
switched on for the chain to operate, but the two terminated devices
need to be left on to ensure that the terminators are powered correctly.
No device should ever be disconnected from the chain while any of the
devices is switched on.
8.3
SCSI software − Configuring the system
8.3
The devices in the SCSI system need to be identified to the computer
before they can be used. Some devices are only used by specific pieces
of software and the computer does not need to be told about them. For
instance, a scanner is only of use to scanning software, so it does not
need to be seen as a device on the iconbar. Similarly, a SCSI printer
will have its own software (i.e. a printer driver) to make it available
to the user. In fact, the only devices you do need to tell the computer
about are storage devices. These include hard disc drives, flopticals,
CD-ROM drives†, magneto-optical drives, removable hard drives and tape
streamers‡.
8.3
(† You will only be able to add CD-ROM drives to SCSI controllers that
have CDFS. If yours does not, contact the manufacturer of the card and
ask about an upgrade. Photo CD may require a further update for CDFS.)
8.3
(‡ In most cases, tape streamers will be accessed through special
software and can be ignored by configuration software.)
8.3
Even if some of the devices in your system do not need to be seen by the
filing system they must all have unique SCSI ID numbers.
8.3
SCSI controller cards from different manufacturers each have a slightly
different way of identifying devices to the computer. Consult the user
guide for your card for details of how to configure the system. You
should end up with hard disc icon for each drive in the chain. CD-ROM
drives will appear as a compact disc icon.
8.3
Drive numbers vs Device numbers
8.3
If your system is configured correctly, you will have a separate drive
icon for each drive (or, where applicable, each RISC OS partition − see
below for explanation of ‘partitions’) in your SCSI system. Each icon
will have a separate number (e.g. SCSIDrive4, SCSIDrive5) but these
numbers will not conform to the ID numbers set on each device. Hard
drives will be numbered between 4 and 7 on most SCSI cards. CD-ROM
drives will usually start from 0. Like many aspects of configuration,
this convention varies between SCSI cards so you must check with the
user guide if you are unsure.
8.3
Formatting and initialising
8.3
The procedure will vary between different SCSI cards so, again, you must
consult the user guide for your card before formatting or partitioning.
8.3
Most SCSI storage devices or cartridges will be supplied formatted, but
some may not yet be ready to accept data. There are two levels of format
that a magnetic drive has. A low-level format is the preparation of the
disc surface for data storage. Drives are always supplied formatted in
this way. The higher level format simply writes to that part of the disc
that contains the map of where any data and free space are to be found
on the disc surface. Because this map varies between computers, you will
often find that a new drive is supplied either with no map, or with a
map for a different kind of computer. If you receive a cartridge or disc
that claims to be formatted for Archimedes then this high-level format
will have been carried out. A drive that is not ready for use will
return an error message telling you that it cannot be understood, when
you click on its icon.
8.3
If you have a new, unformatted drive, or you wish to format a drive to
wipe it clean, you need only carry out the high-level format. You should
not carry out a low-level format. It is unnecessary and can be harmful.
Some high-specification models of drive now strongly advise against
carrying out a low-level format. The only useful outcome of a low-level
format is that it makes any unreliable patches on the surface
unavailable for storage. This can also be achieved by carrying out a
verify operation so you should have no need to format a drive.
8.3
Most formatting software offers both levels of formatting. The first is
often specifically called Format. The high-level format is mostly
referred to as initialise or section.
8.3
N.B. The terms format, initialise, section and partition can have
different meanings depending of the literature you read. Use the guide
book for your SCSI controller card for definitions as they apply to your
system. Literature supplied with the drives themselves sometimes refers
to PCs or Macs and may be misleading.
8.3
This discussion applies to magnetic discs such as fixed and removable
hard drives. Magneto-optical and floptical drives have specific
formatting needs and you should consult the literature provided with
these devices for advice.
8.3
Partitions
8.3
There are two reasons for partitioning a drive. Firstly, the RISC OS
operating system can only address a single device up to 512Mb in size. A
1Gb drive would therefore need to be partitioned into two logical
devices of 512Mb each (but sharing the same SCSI ID number.)
Alternatively, you can set aside part of the disc for use by another
operating system. For instance, on Acorn RISCiX systems, a separate
partition is required for the Unix operating system. The formatting
software provided with your SCSI card will explain how partitioning is
carried out. For most SCSI users, the whole disc surface will be used as
a single drive.
8.3
N.B. PC partitions are different in that they take the form of a special
directory under RISC OS. They do not require the disc to be partitioned
at a low level.
8.3
SCSI 2
8.3
SCSI 2 controller cards have begun to appear in the Acorn market. This
is a faster system based largely on the SCSI standard. The significant
speed improvement comes from the increase in the size of the data bus to
32 bits, allowing data to be transferred in bigger chunks. Most SCSI
devices will work happily connected to either a SCSI or a SCSI 2
controller, but new devices are likely to make better use of the
improvements. The most significant difference to the user, apart from
the speed, is that the connectors are slightly different. The Cumana
SCSI 2 interface has a half pitch 68 way Centronics connector. Cables to
connect this to a regular SCSI Centronics connector are available.  A
8.3
Document Production Column
8.3
Gerald Fitton
8.3
Although the November 1994 issue of Archive has been out for only a few
days as I write, I have had a lot of positive reaction to the changes in
the nature of this column. The general reaction to the content of last
month’s article is that you’d like to hear more of my ideas and that you
do want to develop a strategy for upgrading your hardware and software
system. Whilst I shall concentrate on those components of a system which
are related to document production, I’m sure that what I say this month
will also be of relevance to those wishing to use their computer systems
for multimedia and those applications which use large sprite files.
8.3
In this article, I shall consider backup storage (such as hard and
floppy discs) and help you to develop a strategy which I hope will be
suitable for your present and future requirements.
8.3
What should be on a hard disc?
8.3
Much has been written about the ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ way of using a hard
disc. My view is that it is important to have all the applications which
you use frequently in the root directory of your internal hard disc.
8.3
I’ve checked my hard disc space and found that less than 15Mb (including
about 5Mb of fonts) is taken up by these applications. So you’ll see
that, even if you have a lot more applications than I have, and store
all your applications on your hard disc, you might at most use 20Mb.
8.3
Now let’s reverse the argument. If you have an ‘old’ machine, the
chances are that your hard disc is only 20Mb or 40Mb.  When I bought the
A440 (an ‘old’ A440 − not to be confused with the much later A440/1), a
20Mb hard disc was ‘large’. One day it failed suddenly and
catastrophically – so I replaced it with a 40Mb hard disc. If your hard
disc is 40Mb or less, I recommend to you that you use it almost
exclusively for applications and not for what I shall call ‘Data’ (see
below).
8.3
I shall return to the subject of applications, where to put them and how
to select ‘useful applications’ when I discuss software in another
article.
8.3
Wasted RAM
8.3
I have read that it is a ‘bad thing’ to let RISC OS see all your
applications by having them in the root directory of the hard disc.
Usually, the writer goes on to point out the fact that as applications
are seen, their !Boot files are run. This leads to memory being used up
by sprites and system variables related to applications which you know
you won’t use during that session.
8.3
This is true − the !Boot file (usually) puts all the sprites relating to
that application into the sprite pool. The !Boot files also create
system variables which help applications to identify which files belong
to them.
8.3
Although I shall discuss the factors which determine the ‘optimum’ size
of RAM in another article I want to convince you that the amount of
memory used for this is minimal and that you ought to afford it. (If you
think you can’t afford it because you have a 1Mb or 2Mb machine, you
need think about upgrading to 4Mb or 8Mb − believe me, it’s worth it if
you are thinking in terms of document preparation.)
8.3
Have a look at the sprite ‘tasks’ above and you will see that I have
used less than 128Kb of system workspace on sprites and system
variables. (By the way, the entry “System sprites 0K” does not mean that
there are no sprites used by the system. Sprites belonging to
applications are no longer stored in this area of RAM.)
8.3
By running all the !Boot files, I have set up my ‘system’ so that if I
open a directory containing a file which can be run with one of my
applications (for example, an Impression file which runs in Style), that
file will display the correct icon. Furthermore, if I double-click on
that file icon, the appropriate application (such as Style) will load
onto the iconbar and the file will load into the application. What I
don’t have to do is open a directory (on my hard disc − or worse, on a
floppy) containing that application. I personally think that 128Kb is a
small price to pay for the convenience of the visibility of the file
icons and the ‘double-click’ to start.
8.3
Yet another reason for this strategy exists − Object Linking and
Embedding (OLE) has arrived. You will find it as a feature of Style and
Publisher, for example. Using Style (or Publisher), if you hold down
<ctrl> and double-click on an embedded drawfile, Draw will be loaded to
the iconbar and the drawfile loaded into it ready for editing. When you
have finished editing the drawfile, you can save it directly back to
Style. If Style can’t find Draw, when you <ctrl> double-click on the
picture, you’ll get an error message. As OLE becomes more common, it
will be increasingly important that the embedded object can find its
application when you <ctrl> double-click on it. This in itself is a good
reason for installing all your commonly used applications in the root
directory of your hard disc.
8.3
(I use Pinboard for my applications which means that the boot files are
run but the root directory of my hard drive is not clogged up with
applications. It would be interesting to hear what other people do. Ed.)
8.3
Back up your hard drive!
8.3
If your hard disc fails, you have a problem. Often you can reformat it
and it will work again − at least for a while. If all you have on your
hard disc is applications then, in theory at least, you can go back to
the master discs which came with your applications and install them
again. What you might lose is your personalised configuration settings,
and, for packages such as PipeDream, Fireworkz and Publisher, you will
lose your user dictionaries. Even if you have only applications on your
hard disc, it is well worth making a back up − not necessarily every
time you add a few words to your user dictionary, but at least every
couple of months!
8.3
Using the hard disc for data
8.3
As a general rule, I think that it is a ‘bad thing’ to use your main
hard disc for data. By data I mean data which is unique to you. If you
create a document such as a spreadsheet in PipeDream or a leaflet in
Style then this data is unique to you. It’s no good writing to either
Colton Software or Computer Concepts and asking for a new copy of your
latest masterpiece!
8.3
If your data consists of many relatively small files (such as letters)
then I recommend that you use a series of floppy discs, each one named
in a meaningful way such as BusLetters, VAT_93, TaxReturn, Club_01,
Invoice_01, etc. When I expressed this opinion previously, I received a
most interesting letter from one of our members. He said “By all means
use the floppies as working discs but use the hard disc as your back
up”. It’s an interesting idea which has a lot of merit.
8.3
The ‘big job’
8.3
In spite of what I have said, I have to tell you that I do use my hard
disc for data. I have separate master floppy discs for every PipeLine
(and ZLine) disc. When someone wants a back number I can simply make a
copy of the floppy using Backup. Nevertheless, I also have a copy of
every one of those masters in a 4PL (or ZL) directory on my hard disc.
Currently, the total contents of 4PL runs to about 15Mb and grows each
time I produce another PipeLine disc. The advantage to me is that (when
I am creating a new disc for PipeLine) I can find any previous article
much more quickly than if I had to keep loading floppies. The hard disc
has faster access than floppies.
8.3
Generally speaking, if you have a task which requires fast access to
selections from a lot of your data, it might be a good idea to load all
the data you might want onto your hard disc before you start. Whether
it’s worth taking it off the hard disc at the end of the job depends on
two things. The first is that you might want to use it again fairly
soon. The second is that you might not have enough space on your hard
disc for the next ‘big job’. I suspect that publishers of magazines such
as Archive might find themselves in that position. The temptation is to
buy a bigger hard disc rather than remove the ‘unwanted’ files. I
believe that this is the wrong strategy.
8.3
You might need your hard disc for such a ‘big job’ even if your interest
involves the use of many medium size files of say 100Kb each. For
example, you might have many digitised pictures as sprites which you
wish to merge or include within a DTP report. In such a case, it is far
more efficient to load all the pictures onto the hard disc before you
start rather than inserting many floppies full of pictures.
8.3
The ‘big file’
8.3
Another form of ‘big job’ is a database which is too large to keep on
one floppy. The membership list for a large Club (or User Group) might
be in this category. At the moment, I can get all the membership details
of the User Groups which I run, into one file which will fit onto one
floppy – but the time is coming soon when that won’t be possible. What
can be done about the data file except keep it on the hard disc?
8.3
Let me do a little gazing into the near future. It is my opinion that
many people who have an interest in document production or databases
will find themselves using larger and larger files. If you have an
interest in multimedia then soon you too will have ‘big files’.
8.3
I don’t think it will be long before a significant proportion of Archive
readers will be unable to store their ‘masterpiece’ or database on a
single floppy disc. Yes! I know that floppy discs are getting larger and
that 800Kb discs are being replaced by 1.6Mb discs – but 1.6Mb might
still not be enough. One of the ‘rules’ beloved by futurists (but I
think that this one is OK) is that when you ‘double’ something, more
often than not, there is no noticeable change in ‘usability’. I’m a
great believer in the ‘tenfold rule’ which, in one form, states that if
you’re going to make a major change, you should go for a tenfold
increase. I think that doubling the size of floppy discs will give you
only temporary relief – and the timescale for doubling floppy disc
capacity from 1.6Mb to 3.2Mb is further away than you think!
8.3
Hard discs − Tape streamers − etc
8.3
So, what can you do about permanent storage for such large documents? In
the following discussion, I am going to assume that you are going to
generate many such ‘big files’.
8.3
I guess that your first thought will be, “I’ll buy a larger hard disc”.
I know many who have taken that route − and later bought an even larger
one − and then a larger one still! Then you wonder what you can discard
from the biggest hard disc you can afford. Let me return to bigger and
bigger and then bigger again hard discs in another article – accept that
I don’t think it’s the ‘best’ solution for the ‘big file’ problem.
8.3
Another answer, but not a very satisfactory one in my view, is to back
up the large document onto a set of many floppy discs. There are ways of
‘breaking up’ a large document into many small ones and there are ways
of backing up a large file without fragmenting it but spreading it over
several floppy discs. From my correspondence, it would seem that this
‘solution’ has a certain attraction and a significant number of
followers.
8.3
Another way of storing ‘big files’ is to buy a tape streamer. A tape
streamer is rather like a ‘souped up’ cassette tape recorder which will
store a copy of your hard disc, or parts of it, on special cassette
tape. Tape streamers have been the conventional commercial solution. For
the home user, I don’t like the idea because it tends to be slow and,
even more important in my view, generally it isn’t flexible enough to
allow you to back up your ‘big file’ easily in such a way that you can
replace it with another ‘big file’ on your hard disc without shutting
down the machine between ‘big file’ loadings.
8.3
Interchangeable hard discs
8.3
This is the ‘solution’ which I recommend to those of you who have a ‘big
file’ problem whether the ‘big file’ is a huge database, large document
or the result of an interest in multimedia. It is also the solution I
recommend for the ‘big job’. I shall adopt it for my Abacus Training
applications as soon as finances allow. My immediate problem is: do I
get a new monitor or a Risc PC before I get the removable drive? I’ve
got a vested interest in finding a ‘good’ solution − so I’d like to know
what you’d do!
8.3
A couple of Archives ago, there was a superb article about SyQuest
drives (Archive 8.1 p63). What follows is meant to complement rather
than repeat the information contained in that article.
8.3
My confidence in a ‘technology’ always increases when I see it in a non-
specialist shop such as my local general office equipment supplier. Our
local shop has started selling removable cartridges for SyQuest drives,
albeit at a price rather higher than most Archimedes specialists. That
is comforting.
8.3
The earliest SyQuest drives were 5¼“ 44Mb. Later versions have higher
capacity. There are two series: one series uses 5¼” discs and the other
series uses 3½“ discs. Although the 5¼” 88Mb drive will read 5¼“ 44Mb
discs, naturally it will not read 3½” discs of any capacity. Because I
believe that the ‘future’ of the SyQuest drives will be 3½“ rather than
5¼” I am inclined towards the smaller disc format. The largest capacity
drive available at the moment is the 3½“ 270Mb drive. It costs about
£550 for the drive; spare 270Mb discs cost about £80 each. Although I
have no ‘big job’ or ‘large file’ application at the moment which use
anything near 270Mb, I have always found that a modified version of
Parkinson’s Law applies to disc capacity (and to RAM – and to monitor
size – and, well anything). I’m sure that if I get a drive of smaller
capacity (saving, say, £100 now) then I’ll live to regret it because,
eventually, I will want to use my computer for an application which
needs much more disc capacity than I have! (On the other hand, to tempt
you, I have a ‘once-in-a-lifetime offer’(!) on 105Mb 3½” drives at the
moment! See page 2 for details. Ed.)
8.3
An alternative to the SyQuest system is the magneto-optical (floptical)
system. This system is highly popular in the PC world. Suitable magneto-
optical drives are made by Fujitsu, Sony, Hewlett Packard, Panasonic and
even IBM. These are all well-known names so I feel good about the
reliability of the technology. The drive prices are a little higher than
the corresponding SyQuest drives. Suitable discs are manufactured by 3M,
Sony and Verbatim, again all well known names, so I feel confident that
supplies will be available into the future. Disc prices vary from £40 to
£150 and they have storage capacities of 128Mb to 1.3 Gb (1300Mb).
Discounts for quantity vary but I have seen the 128Mb discs on offer
from a supplier I trust at less than £300 for 10 discs. Drives are more
expensive than SyQuests but the discs are cheaper.
8.3
SyQuest or Magneto-Optical?
8.3
I have secondhand reports which suggest that the SyQuest removable discs
are about three times faster than magneto-opticals. However, there is a
more serious ‘snag’. So far as the Archimedes is concerned, the SyQuest
system is much more ‘available’ than the magneto-optical system. This
means more technical support and dependable sources for spares, repairs
and replacements.
8.3
For these two reasons, I am strongly inclined towards the SyQuest system
and, on evidence I’ve had from many other users, I recommend it to you.
Nevertheless, I’d like to hear what you suggest – so if you’ve any
ideas, please write to me!
8.3
When compared with 800Kb or 1.6Mb floppy discs, both the SyQuest and the
magneto-optical technology gives much more than the ‘tenfold’ increase
needed to make a noticeable difference which I mentioned earlier.
8.3
SCSI or IDE
8.3
Of course, you could buy two removable drives − but how rich are you?
Nevertheless, maybe you ought to consider leaving your options open
about having two drives one day. If that is the strategy you adopt, you
may find that the SCSI choice is ‘better’ than the IDE because it is
more expandable. Even though the SCSI-1 system is a little more
expensive than the IDE system, I would go for the SCSI anyway because I
want to be able to take advantage of the higher speed SCSI-2 when it
becomes available. Those who’ve been following me will realise by now
that, as a general rule, I’m not looking for the ‘cheapest now’ system
but one which will give me cheaper, better (and a wider choice of)
upgrades in the future.
8.3
Finally, I prefer the feel of SCSI’s ‘future proofing’ to that of IDE.
Since I can’t rationalise what is no more than a feeling, perhaps I’m
just prejudiced towards SCSI − but then, I trust my instinct in matters
of this kind because it rarely lets me down!
8.3
If, one day, you decide to dispense with your Archimedes and buy, say, a
PC (or clone), or if Acorn replace the Risc PC with something even more
wonderful, then I believe it most likely that a SCSI-2 interface will be
available for your new ‘computer box’ and that you’ll be able to plug
your expensive removable drive into it. Furthermore, if you’re careful
with your choice of applications, you’ll be able to use the data from
your removable discs through the SCSI-2 interface of your new ‘box’.
8.3
An alternative scenario is that you buy a second removable drive for
your second ‘computer box’ (keeping the old machine); no trailing leads
or network interfaces − just take the removable disc from one machine to
the other.
8.3
A word of warning about SCSI. Even before I read last month’s excellent
article in Archive about SCSI interfaces by Jim Nottingham I knew that
if I were to add a SCSI SyQuest external 270Mb, 3½“ removable drive to
my A540 system, I would have to buy it from a supplier who understands
exactly what needs to be done to configure it to my A540 machine and who
makes sure that I get all the necessary software to support it. Jim’s
article confirmed my previous thoughts.
8.3
Last month, I told you that you had one guess as to why you shouldn’t
buy insurance from a company that doesn’t make a fair profit − I’ve
already had a large number of correct guesses, but also a couple of
wrong ones! The answer is that you want them to make enough profit to be
able to afford to pay you (without too much quibbling) when you make
your claim. In the same way, although NCS is not the cheapest (nor
anything like the most expensive) I would regard paying the extra asked
by NCS as a sort of insurance. I want them to be there when I ask for
help and for them not to be fretting about my using up their time and
“seriously eroding their profit margins”. (No! I won’t say which company
I’m quoting − but it happened.)
8.3
Using removable hard discs
8.3
I suggest to you that you do not use removable hard discs as an
alternative to a conventional hard disc for applications but use it as a
‘large’ floppy for data storage. You can use it as data storage for the
‘big job’ and for data storage of ‘big files’ (as defined above). Of
course, you can also use one removable disc as a back up for many, maybe
all, of the floppies you’ve created up to now. You can also use a
removable disc to back up your conventional hard disc − I recommend this
to you.
8.3
There is no doubt that SyQuest removable hard discs are fast. As near as
makes no difference, they’re as fast as a conventional hard disc and,
from what I’ve been told by those who have them, they are noticeably
(but not ten times) faster than floppies. The SCSI-2 interface will be
even faster.
8.3
A ‘hidden’ advantage of the removable hard disc is that if it develops
too many faults to continue using it, you’ll only lose only the ‘cheap’
£80 disc and not the expensive, £550 drive. Compare this with losing a
conventional hard drive. By the way, you can map out the odd fault that
might occur; I’m referring to the day when the disc seems to be
developing too many faults far too often.
8.3
If you have a removable drive, I suggest that only applications are
stored on the conventional hard disc and that the removable discs are
used for data. Why? There are many reasons but I’ll give you just one.
You will want to copy from one removable disc to another. You can do
this via your RAM if you’ve got enough. The method which you are more
likely to use is to copy a directory or two at a time from the source
removable disc to the conventional hard disc and then from the hard disc
to the destination removable disc. Probably you will then delete the
directory containing the transferred data from your hard disc to make
room for the next transfer operation.
8.3
Summary
8.3
If you have a small (less than 40Mb) hard disc, use it only for
applications together with a set of floppies for your data. Your system
is unsuitable for the ‘big job’ or the ‘big file’.
8.3
If you have a larger hard disc (say 100Mb or more) then you can use it
as a backup for some of your (held on floppy) data files. You can also
use it for the ‘big job’. However, your system is unsuitable for use
with ‘big files’ (files too large to fit on one floppy). If you run into
the ‘big file’ problem, don’t bother buying a larger conventional hard
disc (200Mb or even 500Mb); that will be a temporary solution which
you’ll live to regret. Go for a SyQuest removable drive instead.
8.3
Removable hard drives are more expensive than conventional hard drives
but, once you’ve paid for the drive, they have advantages over
conventional hard drives. The main advantage is that the removable discs
can be treated as large floppies. In turn, this means that you can
probably get away with a smaller conventional hard drive than you would
otherwise think you need. You might consider a system having a 200Mb
conventional hard disc (instead of a 400Mb hard disc) together with a
270Mb removable drive.
8.3
If you’re about to buy a Risc PC, don’t wait for the biggest machine to
arrive (what’s the delivery like now? Almost a stock situation! Ed.);
think positively about buying one of the smaller models with a 200Mb
hard disc and putting the money you’ll save towards a SyQuest removable
drive. I’m sure if you ask NCS nicely, they’ll fit one for you and make
sure that all the supporting software works like a well-oiled clock!
(We’ll try! Ed.)
8.3
If you use your 200Mb conventional hard drive in the way I have
suggested (i.e. for applications only) then you should have plenty of
room on it for copying from one removable disc to another.
8.3
In conclusion
8.3
Please drop me a line and let me know those views and let me (and
others) have the advantage of your knowledge and experience even
(especially?) if it’s a negative experience.  A
8.3
Risc DOS Column
8.3
Simon Coulthurst
8.3
I have seen the light! I now understand why I need a 486 coprocessor.
It’s not to allow me to connect my Risc PC to our Novell server and
access the accounts system in a window on my Risc-OS desktop. It’s not
to allow me to use Windows software − I spit on the suggestion. It’s not
because I enjoy the challenging pastime of configuring DOS drivers. No,
none of the above. I want to play Doom II! This game is brilliant! It is
a 3D maze game with tremendously fast and smooth scrolling and an all-
enveloping atmosphere which gets you truly involved. That is why I am
going to get a coprocessor.
8.3
PC file formats
8.3
Paul Hooper asked in Archive 8.2 (p56) for a list of DOS file extensions
and what they represent. I have compiled the list shown opposite from a
fairly quick trawl through the hard disc of one of our Windows PCs. It
is by no means an exhaustive listing of DOS filetypes and I gather there
are other Archive contributors working on a more comprehensive list but
this should be helpful as a starter.
8.3
First sighting
8.3
I was at Acorn World 94 − wasn’t it good? There was so much to see and
so little time in which to see it, but I did make a point of visiting
all those stands that I thought had something to offer the prospective
coprocessor user. I will report in more detail on these in future
articles. This month, though, I can tell you what I saw of the actual
486 coprocessor card itself. Nothing!
8.3
However, I did get to talk to Peter Bondar of Acorn and
Laurie van Someren from Aleph One. They both told me that the 486
coprocessor cards will not be available for general release until
January 1995 at the earliest. There will be review versions available
earlier, possibly within a month. They expect the ASICs within two weeks
of the Show. After final checks, these should be available for the press
to review before the end of November.
8.3
I do have some more details on the actual cards themselves. Acorn’s own
card will use a Texas Instruments 40MHz 486SX soldered onto the card.
This will run at 33MHz due to the ASIC, and be assembled by IBM. Aleph
One’s first cards will all be socketed and contain either a 33MHz 486DX
or a 66MHz 486DX2, sourced from wherever they can obtain reliable
supplies at the best price. They will also supply the card without a
processor chip for those with their own (they can provide a list of
those chips which are known to work).
8.3
  Aleph One Prices (inc VAT)
8.3
  486DX − 33MHz  £519
8.3
  486DX2 − 66MHz  £599
8.3
  Socket only version  £315
8.3
The ASIC is manufactured by Gemini to a design by Aleph One and Future
Technology. It runs at 33MHz and so all processor chips themselves must
run at a multiple of this speed − hence Acorn’s 40MHz chips running at
33MHz. This could mean the availability of 100MHz DX4 chips eventually.
These would actually run at 99MHz (or near enough), three times the
speed of the ASIC. Intel decided to call them DX4’s in order to
differentiate them from other chip makers’ clock-tripled chips! In order
to use these chips, Aleph One will need to incorporate a step down, as
the chip in the DX4 runs at 3.3v as opposed to the 5v of the slower
chips. This means that simply plugging a DX4 chip into the existing
socketed card would not be possible.
8.3
Buying your PC card from Aleph One is obviously going to be more
expensive than buying Acorn’s card, for £99, at the time you purchase
your Risc PC. So is it worth paying the extra? The Aleph One cards are
faster, particularly the 66MHz one, and because they are full DX chips,
they have the maths coprocessor built in. (It is not possible to add a
maths chip to Acorn’s card as their is no socket provided.) Aleph One’s
cards are socketed and so have the potential for expansion. You should
also consider the level of support you will receive. Aleph One have a
lot of experience with combining PC and Acorn environments and should be
able to provide a greater level of technical support than many of the
Acorn dealers who would supply the Acorn card.
8.3
Aleph One are also working closely with Ant, who are developing the
OmniClient software that will allow access to Acorn, IBM PC compatible,
Macintosh and Unix network file servers, and  Atomwide who are producing
an ISA adaptor that will allow the use of a vast range of PC compatible
cards on the Acorn computers.
8.3
Postscript
8.3
I purchased Wolfenstein 3D at the Acorn World Show as this seems a
similar type of game to Doom. Could this save me from the need for a PC
coprocessor card? Unfortunately not, as I still need to use our
company’s accounts package which is resolutely DOS-based. That’s the
trouble with having to work for a living − it interferes with the better
things in life, like playing with computers!
8.3
I hope to be on the Internet soon − time to see if all the hype is true
− but meanwhile, please send any correspondence via Paul at NCS.  A
8.3
If anyone with an outstanding order for an Acorn PC card feels that they
would rather have one of the Aleph One alternatives, just send us a
cheque for the difference and we will hold the cheque until the
appropriate card becomes available. Ed.
8.3
Risc PC Column
8.3
Keith Hodge
8.3
Monitors
8.3
Bernard Veasey reports that he has an Eizo F340iW monitor attached to
his Risc PC, and that it is working well in resolutions up to 1024×768,
with 1600×600 working, but not as clear as it should be. Also mentioned
is a possible problem which I am experiencing. If the monitor and the
Risc PC are powered from a single socket, and both the computer and
monitor are left switched on, when you turn on the switch at the mains
socket, the monitor degausses itself very loudly. Has anybody else
noticed this and, if so, is it OK to operate in this way? (my monitor is
a AKF85).
8.3
Malcolm Knight states that it should be compulsory to have an AKF85!
And, having used a 14“ monitor for a short while, I feel that 17” is the
minimum size necessary if you do work involving any real detail.
8.3
Steve Ellacott has written to me about his ‘second user’ Philips 4CM2799
20“ monitor from Commonside plc. At just a few months old, and with a 90
day warranty, these seem very good value at £595 +VAT! Steve reports
that, although they do not have DPMS or microprocessor control, they
work well with his modified AKF85 monitor script.
8.3
Software information
8.3
I have now had an opportunity to look at the boot sequence on the new
machine, and the first thing I have found is that the !Boot file is
completely unnecessary! This, in my opinion, simply duplicates a large
percentage of previous operations.
8.3
If you look inside the directory ‘$.!Boot.Choices. Boot’, you will find
that it contains the following.
8.3
The hub of the new desktop is in here. The file ‘Desktop’ contains the
code to make known to the desktop the location of applications within
specified directories. In the default file, these are the contents of
‘Boot:^.Utilities’ and ‘Boot:^.Printing’, which translates to
‘$.Utilities’ and ‘$.Printing’, and it is this action which, if you have
tried moving these directories to another location on the hard disc,
causes the error message from RISC OS when it fails locate them when
booting.
8.3
The directory ‘PreDesk’ contains, by default, obey files called
‘ARPlayer’, ‘Configure’ and two directories ‘DPMSUtils’ and ‘WimpUtils’.
If you read the contents of these files, you will soon see what they are
doing. I have added Obey files called ‘EditOpts’, ‘PaintOpts’,
‘AlarmOpts’, ‘Backup’ and ‘MachineOpt’ and each of these sets up the
option strings for each application.
8.3
Now, I know that you can set the options with the desktop !Boot file,
but which is the easier to find and alter, when you want to change the
options for a particular application? I know which method I prefer!
8.3
The file ‘PreDesktop’ is very useful as it allows, amongst other things,
for applications which are not in $.Apps to be attached to the resource
filing system, and hence to appear in the window which is opened by
clicking on the iconbar ‘Apps’ icon. The simple line
‘AddApp adfs::<PathName>.<AppName>’, is all that is required. Read the
existing file and note the Acorn recommendations − these give real food
for thought.
8.3
Place in the directory ‘Tasks’, all applications which you require on
the iconbar when the machine is first switched on, or re-booted. The
contents of my directory are shown above, and the use of the obey file
‘StartAcnts’ may be of interest.
8.3
The business accounts package ‘Prophet’ from Apricote Studios, whilst a
fully multitasking application, is not normally loaded by double-
clicking the application, but by double-clicking the relevant accounts
file. Hence ‘Prophet’ is located in ‘$.Apps’ so that RISC OS knows its
location, but is placed upon the iconbar when ‘StartAcnts’ is obeyed.
This action can be of considerable use if you always want the machine to
boot up with a particular document, picture, etc, open and on screen.
Please note that if I had placed the actual accounts file in here, it
would have achieved the same effect. However, I prefer to have all my
business files located in a directory ‘Business’ in the root directory,
because the obey file ‘Backup’ in directory ‘Tasks’ backs up all my
business files to the second hard disc each time the machine is switched
on.
8.3
There is a lot more of interest in the new desktop, and I will try to
describe each new feature as and when I discover it.
8.3
Software compatibility
8.3
One thing which has tripped me up recently has been the use of the
serial port with a native application, but with the PCEmulator in use at
the same time. The same comments will apply, I assume, with the 486 PC
second processor.
8.3
If you are using the serial port from a RISC OS application at say, 4800
Baud 8N1, and wish to use the Emulator at the same time, the emulator
must be running before you start using the serial port from the native
application and you must have the following line in your ‘AUTOEXEC.BAT’
file. ‘MODE COM1:BAUD=4800 PARITY=N DATA=8 STOP=1’(DOS6 format).
8.3
The reason for this is that Messy Dos initialises the serial port on
start up, with a default value if none is specified in the autoexec
file, thus corrupting the serial port settings if the Emulator is run
during or after native mode serial operations have started. (Do any of
our DOS experts know of a way to stop the default action?)
8.3
Martin Angove has mentioned problems he has experienced with PC Emulator
v1.82 when memory is short. I can confirm that it does have problems
and, most importantly, when reporting the error it states that “1064Kb
is required for operation”, when in fact 1240Kb seem to be required, to
avoid all problems in multitasking mode.
8.3
An updated version of Memphis (v2.08 08-Sep-93, the automatically
expanding/contracting RAM disc − see Archive 8.1 p39) is on the monthly
disc, and having now used it, I can see why people rave about it. Simply
Brilliant! And the authors tell me there are, hopefully, further
improvements to come.
8.3
Hardware and software news
8.3
I have just purchased David Pilling’s ArcFax (1.12 12-May-94) and a US
Robotics 14,400 Sportster fax modem thereby cutting my spare parts
ordering costs in half, as it only takes about 45 seconds to send a one
page fax order. After 6 p.m., the cost is far less than
stamp+paper+envelope+printing. With ArcFax came an application called
‘BubbleHlp’ and I find this to be a quite amazing improvement on Acorn’s
‘Help’ application. When you park the pointer over any icon, up pops a
help bubble, and as soon as you move the mouse, away it goes. A first
class accessory, I think, which all application writers should support.
(Computer Concepts please note! This makes Style even easier to use, and
really would shorten the learning curve for beginners if provided with
the package.) (BubbleHelp2 is available separately from David Pilling
for £5 inclusive. Ed.)
8.3
As Jim Nottingham is compiling a SCSI compatibility index, I will
forward all mail on this subject to him, taking note of any problems
which exist only on the Risc PC.
8.3
Bernard Veasey reports that he has successfully fitted his Vertical
Twist 16 bit SCSI interface to his Risc PC and it works without any
problems. (What are the Module version numbers, Bernard?)
8.3
Readers’ comments
8.3
Simon Burrows has written in reply to my gripe of the month for
September, stating that if Acorn released circuit diagrams and PCB
layouts, this would encourage people to void the warranty. My feelings
are that the decision is the choice of the equipment owner, and their
provision would help produce more innovation from the amateur side. Paul
is a classic case here, but I will let him tell you about the Acorn
Atom/ BBC Micro articles! (I’m not sure I like the idea of being a
“classic case”! As much as I enjoyed tinkering with the innards of my
Atom and my BBC Micro, I can’t say that the 32-bit machines have ever
had the same appeal − too much like untouchable black boxes! Ed.)
8.3
Requests for help
8.3
During my exploration of the Boot system, I have moved the Alarm and
Edit applications from the ‘$.Apps’ directory, to the
‘$.!Boot.Choices.Tasks’ directory. However, this has caused a big
problem for me, which I have had to fudge for the time being.
8.3
Something is looking for these applications during boot up sequence and
is complaining loudly when they are not found! I have worked around it
for now, by placing dummy applications in ‘$.Apps’, but this is only a
temporary solution. Has anybody come across the solution to this
problem?
8.3
Wish list for the next Risc PC
8.3
Even a small business like my own, needs more than one serial port. Can
we have two on the next machine, plus the ability to add an extra I/C
when required so that the 3rd and 4th serial sockets are then enabled. I
have run into big problems since purchasing Arcfax and have had to
purchase a dual RS232 card from The (aptly named) Serial Port, so that I
can have plotter, modem, and packet radio terminal all connected and
online at the same time, if required. (It is only after you have
struggled to reach the serial port to change leads for the umpteenth
time, that you can understand this, and serial switches are no use,
because of different baud rates for each device!)
8.3
Question of the month
8.3
(1) Are there any hardware developers out there preparing a PCMCIA type
II and type III interface? There are increasing numbers of high speed
modems, etc, appearing in this convenient credit card size hardware
format. I find it is so useful on my Toshiba portable to be able to log
on to the telemetry system without having to carry an external modem.
The ability to have large numbers of interfaces in a small area of
backplane will, I think, become more and more important as the computer
takes over from external hardware in small businesses. At the moment, my
Risc PC does the job of fax, packet radio terminal, scanner, teletext
receiver, telemetry network terminal, and telephone comms terminal, with
more interfaces certain to be needed! This does mean that even on my
ACB45 with four expansion slots − one for SCSI interface, one for dual
RS232 interface and one for the Teletext card, I only have one to spare!
8.3
Tailpiece
8.3
A big thank you to the ever increasing number of subscribers who are
sending their letters to me on disc. It costs only 19p second class, for
one disc in a Jiffy bag, and you can almost guarantee some of your
points will go in the column if I do not have to type it in!
8.3
On occasions, I receive bits and bobs of test software along with
readers’ disc letters, and I will put these on my disc to Paul, so that
he can include them on the monthly disc − details will be in the normal
monthly disc information on page 2.
8.3
As usual, I can be contacted by letter at the HES address on the back
page, by telephone after 7p.m. or by Packet Radio from anywhere in the
World, as GW4NEI@GB7OAR.#16.GBR.EU.  A
8.3
(A bit small, sorry − I’ll put it on the monthly disc too so you can
print it out a little bigger! Ed.)
8.3

All change at NCS
8.4
Please accept our apologies if you haven’t been served by NCS “in the
manner to which you have become accustomed”! It’s been all-change time
and we still haven’t sorted ourselves out properly yet. Dave Webb has
gone off to Bath to take up a programming job there so we are one
engineer down at the moment. We wish Dave the very best for the future
and thank him for all he has done here. Many customers have commented
about his friendly and helpful manner in dealing with their questions
and difficulties.
8.4
Still going strong
8.4
(I’m trying desperately to put things in a positive way but I have to be
myself, and that includes being honest.) NCS has had its difficulties
this year − but what computer company hasn’t?! Lack of Risc PCs to sell
hasn’t exactly helped but at least we now have all models of the Risc PC
in stock! I believe we are over the worst although we have had to make
some regrettable changes at NCS (details on page 17). Things are much
more encouraging both on a personal level (my depression has now
completely lifted, for which I thank God) and within the company. In
particular, the subscription base is continuing to grow steadily which
is very good news in these times of recession. Welcome to all the
newcomers this month!
8.4
Look to the future
8.4
So, let’s look to the future and wait and see what technological
innovations Acorn has up its sleeve. OK, they are not the world’s best
company when it comes to marketing(!) but they are exciting to work with
− there’s never a dull moment with Acorn!!!
8.4
Very best wishes for a joyful Christmas and a prosperous (in the true
sense) New Year,
8.4
Products Available
8.4
•  10/10 Driving Test – Six games designed to make learning and revising
the essential facts of driving fun. You can choose which areas you wish
to work on, and progress at your own speed. You can also use the
questions from the games outside of the game environment if you just
want to test your knowledge. The price is £25.95, from Ten out of Ten,
or £24 from through Archive.
8.4
•  Acorn Desktop C and Assembler − The copies of Acorn’s C and Assembler
packages we had on special offer last month all went very quickly. Those
who were disappointed may be interested to know that Acorn have now
dropped the standard prices of these items. They are now: Desktop C
£149.95 inc VAT (or £138 through Archive) and Desktop Assembler £99.95
inc VAT (or £92 through Archive).
8.4
(As a special offer up to 31st December only, those who tried to get the
really cheap offer copies can order them at £120 and £80 respectively.
Ed.)
8.4
•  Acorn Risc PC PC486 Cards (almost!) − The latest news on the PC card
is that the first 500 will be built as evaluation cards in Q1 1995. The
first cards will be shipped to press, key dealers, educationalists and
customers starting in January. (Does Anyone know what defines a ‘key’
customer?) Acorn has committed to produce 10,000 cards and anticipates
any order backlog will be fulfilled by the end of Q1 1995. The cards
will use the TI 486 SXL chip running at 33MHz. (Watch out for the flags
flying over 96a Vauxhall Street! Ed.)
8.4
• APDL Clipart CD Number 1 − This contains nearly 500Mb of sprites,
Artworks files and drawfiles. Most is black and white clipart of
reasonable size to give clear printout for DTP purposes. These are
placed in directories divided by subject, and there are directories on
Animals, Cartoons, History, People, DTP (borders, corners, decorations,
etc), Places, Religion and Transport. There are also over 580 256-colour
sprites covering a variety of subjects. The CD also contains CC’s
Artworks Viewer and the Earthmap application. The price is £28 inclusive
(no VAT) from APDL or £28 including VAT from Archive.
8.4
Introductory special offer − £25 from APDL or Archive on orders received
up to 31st December 1994.
8.4
•  Archiboard IAP – The Supreme Software Systems’ BBS Software
Archiboard (which we use to run Archive BBS) now has Internet support.
The range of packages has been increased, starting from the entry level
version at £50, giving full BBS functionality. A network version which,
in addition, allows access to the BBS from another machine over an AUN
network is £89. These can be purchased with the Internet Access Package
(IAP) which includes a year’s access to the Internet via Demon Internet
Ltd. The Entry level version is £200, and the network version is £240.
Postage is £2 within the mainland UK, £5 elsewhere. Full details and
site licence details are available from Supreme Software Systems. (VAT
not applicable.)
8.4
•  Archive indexes? − Several readers have asked recently whether we
produce annual indexes to the Archive magazine. The answer is that we
used to do so but felt that, for the huge amount of work involved, they
were not really worthwhile, especially as there are electronic
alternatives.
8.4
I personally have to refer to old articles very frequently and find the
ArcScan database and the Archive words discs invaluable...
8.4
•  ArcScan Data − For many, many years Eric Ayers has faithfully
generated the ArcScan data month by month and this is available on
Archive Utilities Disc Nº 3 for £2. When there is space on the monthly
disc, we put on an update to this data. ArcScan itself costs £14 through
Archive.
8.4
•  Archive Words Discs − For those of you with 4Mb+ machines, the Words
Discs form an alternative and very effective way of searching for that
elusive reference that you are sure you have read somewhere in Archive.
Just load up the appropriate file into Edit and search for the relevant
word or words. Each disc is £2 and contains the words from four
magazines. (There is so much information that you can’t fit five
magazines on an 800Kb disc even though it is just the text and no
diagrams!) If you have a machine with a fair amount of memory, you can
join these text files together and search two or three volumes at a time
− which is very helpful, I find. (What would make my life complete would
be if someone would write a search routine that had two words as input
and looked for occurrences of one word appearing within x-number of
bytes of an occurrence of the other word. Any offers, anyone?)
8.4
•  Archive Utility Disc 8 – This is the RISC OS 3.1 Upgrade Disc. There
are new versions of !Alarm (2.61), !Calc (0.53), !ChangeFSI (0.95),
!Chars (1.17), !PrintEdit (0.38), !T1ToFont (1.26) and a couple of
utilities to select and deselect the 3D desktop. All applications now
check the 3D bit in CMOS ram and load the 3D templates if appropriate.
Previously, this was done via !NewLook. Unfortunately, they cannot be
installed into the Apps icon on the iconbar, but will need to be loaded
from disc. This disc is available from Archive for £2.
8.4
•  Bitfolio Clipart − LOOKsystems have two more packs each with 100
drawfile cartoons. The first “More Cartoons” is a general selection and
the second “Xmas Collection” is more specifically festive − holly,
reindeers, Santas, penguins, turkeys, TV, presents, booze, etc. These
cost £20 each from LOOKsystems or £20 through Archive.
8.4
(The Xmas Collection also contains a strange cartoon of a baby
surrounded by some men in fancy dress − has anyone got any idea what
that has got to do with Xmas? Ed.)
8.4
•  Chess II − David Pilling’s popular Chess program has been updated
with a choice of 2D or 3D boards, save game as sprite, drawfile or text,
rotate board, show hint, easy play-level setting, replay last move, show
history in continuously updated window, display possible moves for
pieces, improved game play, RISC OS printer driver support. Chess II is
£16 either from David Pilling or through Archive. Upgrade from Chess I
by sending old disc plus £10 to DP (not to NCS).
8.4
•  Clan Acorn ’94 − This is a club designed to bring the people who use
Acorn Computers together with those designing and making them. All
members will receive a membership card with a unique number offering
Clan members exclusive offers and information from Acorn.
8.4
The first offer will be the chance to take out an Acorn Visa credit
card. Then members will have the opportunity to obtain Acorn’s C++ and
the new developer toolkit at a special price. Third parties are also
working with Acorn to provide multiprocessor capabilities for Risc PC
computers and connectivity kits to allow users to access the Internet.
8.4
Members will also receive information about projects and technologies,
opportunities to acquire appropriate early releases and beta-releases,
discounts on current products and a chance for end users to give Acorn
input on new developments.
8.4
Life membership of the Clan is £15 which includes a promotional pack of
Acorn merchandise. To join Clan Acorn, contact Acorn Direct (Vector
Services) on 01933-279300 and ask for an application form to be sent to
you.
8.4
•  DrawWorks – a suite of five programs to increase the power of Acorn’s
standard Draw application. DrawExtra allows you to control the defaults
for Draw, increase the undo buffer size, and gives a new buttonbar with
features missing from the Draw toolbox, including Zoom, Save and Print.
DrawInfo gives details of the size, number of objects and so on of a
drawfile. DrawKern allows the kerning of font within drawfiles.
DrawMerge takes several objects and merges them to create a single path,
making interesting patterns, and some strange effects − some clipart is
included to demonstrate. DrawScrunch distorts draw files as if they had
been drawn on a “piece of scrunched up paper.” The price is £15
inclusive from iSV Products.
8.4
•  Eidoscope – The Eidos home video editing system is now available. To
use it, you will need a Risc PC (minimum 4Mb) fitted with an Eagle M2
card. Features include easy to use control panel; real time edits, mixes
and wipes; Full video/audio synchronisation; Imports sprite animations;
single frame export; 12.5 frames per second @ 160×120 pixels and 32,000
colours. Full screen playback is possible, and the files are fully
compatible with other Acorn packages. The package can be purchased for
£169 +VAT from Computer Concepts or £185 through Archive.
8.4
•  EMR products − Anyone wishing to get hold of any of EMR’s music
products should contact Le Computer in Chelmsford who will be handling
them in future.
8.4
•  Eureka 3 − Longman Logotron have released version three of their
spreadsheet package. Amongst the enhancements are: easy interchange with
Lotus and Excel, easy linking of spreadsheets with Impression, triple
toolbar, improved graphics support and background printing. Eureka 3
costs £99 +VAT or £110 through Archive. Site licences are available:
£240 +VAT for primary and £400 +VAT for secondary (£265 and £440 through
Archive). Upgrades are available through Longman Logotron: £29 +VAT for
single user and £99 +VAT for S/L.
8.4
•  Fonts − A new Acorn font company has been formed by Adrian Look of
LOOKsystems and Dave McCartney of The Datafile. The first two offerings
from The Font Company Ltd, as it is called, were Letraset Digital
Typefaces (29 typefaces for £35 inclusive), and URW Typeface Library (75
typefaces for £75 inclusive). These are highly professional font
conversions from well-established font companies, Letraset and URW.
These font packs are available through Archive for £34 and £72 inclusive
of p&p.
8.4
The very latest release is a huge range of Monotype Classic Fonts giving
you access to hundreds of top quality fonts at Acorn-level pricing −
rather less than PC or Mac users would have to pay! There are eight
packs of fonts, each with between 50 and 60 faces and each costing £60
inclusive from the Font Company or £58 through Archive. If you would
like a full listing of these eight Font Packs, so that you can select
the fonts you would like, give the Font Company a ring.
8.4
•  Heavy mouse balls – Weighing in at four times the weight of the
standard mouse ball, these fit neatly into the Acorn mouse, giving it a
more positive response. They are available from Oak Consultants for £3
including postage, packing and VAT.
8.4
(Message to Oak Consultants: Sorry but we have lost your address!
Anyway, that means you get two mentions in Archive because we’ll have to
put it in again next month and put your address in the Factfile. Ed.)
8.4
•  In Ancient Egypt Times – This is a range of materials in printed and
disc form for the study of Ancient Egypt. You will need a copy of
KeyNote or Key Plus data handling packages to use the disc information.
Topics include Gods and Pyramids, the Nile and Farming, Everyday Life,
and Modern Discovery. Text can be converted to Hieroglyphics, and the
text and graphics in the package can be exported for use in children’s
own projects. The price is £17 +£2.50p&p +VAT from Anglia Television.
8.4
•  iSV 100 outline fonts – A new pack of 100 RISC OS 3 format fonts, in
36 separate families has been launched by iSV Products. Both book and
display fonts are included in the pack and all fonts include the full
latin 1 character set, scaffold lines and automatic kerning data. The
price is £40 inclusive.
8.4
•  iSV Font Designers’ Toolkit 2.5 – This is made up of four
applications for designing fonts. Font Catalogue is used for creating
printed font catalogues, with on-screen WYSIWYG display of printed
results. FontKern allows you to edit the kerning information of RISC OS
3 fonts, and even convert RISC OS 2 fonts to RISC OS 3. FontTrix allows
the generation of font families from one master font. Oblique, Mirror
Semibold and many more weights can all be generated quickly, viewed, and
made available to other applications. Finally, iSVMetric allows editing
of a font’s metric data, to tighten character widths, for example. The
pack price (including a free copy of FontED, Acorn’s font editing
program) is £30 inclusive.
8.4
•  Ladakh – A geography information pack containing parallel datafiles
for families and life in the United Kingdom and Ladakh (Northern India).
Records of 200 children are provided, half from a Tibetan village, and
half from three schools in the UK. Accommodation, travel, eating habits,
pets and many other fields can be compared, and a print pack helps
teachers with ideas and worksheets. The price is £15 +£2.50p&p +VAT from
Anglia Television, and you will need a copy of KeyNote or Key Plus data
handling packages.
8.4
•  Laser printers − Computer Concepts are no longer able to supply any
direct drive laser printers because Canon have discontinued both the
LBP4 and the LBP8 and have not yet replaced either of them with anything
suitable. This leaves Acorn users with two alternatives...
8.4
− Calligraph direct drive lasers − If you want an A4 direct drive laser,
Calligraph do a 1200 dpi single bin Sharp printer at £999 +VAT (£1150
through Archive) and a dual bin version at £1149 +VAT (£1290 through
Archive). If you can afford to go to A3, they do a 1200 dpi Toshiba TQ-
1200 at £4995 +VAT or £5575 through Archive. These printers all do 8
pages/minute. Toner for the Sharp is £120 through Archive (estimated
15,000 pages), the drum kits are £135 through Archive (estimated 30,000
pages), and the toner and drum for the Toshiba are £85 (5,000 pages) and
£475 (20,000 pages) respectively through Archive.
8.4
− Standard laser printers − We have selected a couple of the best non-
direct-drive laser printers which can be driven from Acorn’s own printer
drivers or CC’s Turbo Drivers. The Panasonic KXP4410 is a 5 ppm, 300
dpi, 0.5Mb laser of proven pedigree which costs £570 (or £620 with a
Turbo Driver) through Archive and the Epson EPL5600 is the latest 6 ppm,
600 dpi laser which has 2Mb RAM as standard and yet only costs £820 (or
£870 with a Turbo Driver) through Archive. In between these two is the
Epson EPL5200 which is a 6 ppm, 300 dpi laser with 0.5Mb RAM
(expandable) and costs £650 (or £700 with a Turbo Driver) through
Archive. All three of these laser printers come with a 12-month on-site
warranty.
8.4
•  MacFS Light − Computer Concepts are now offering a floppy-only
version of MacFS at £49 +VAT (£55 through Archive). If you want to read
and write SCSI devices such as removable hard drives then you will need
the full version at £108 through Archive. MacFS Light needs an Acorn
machine with high density floppy drive (i.e. A5000 or later) and RISC OS
3.1 or later. (The price now compares favourably with AppleFS from
Oregan, which is also floppy-only, at £58 through Archive.)
8.4
•  PipeEd for PipeDream – A new teaching pack designed to help teach
first time users of PipeDream. The pack includes two sets of A4 cards –
teacher and student sets, written as a series of nine lessons, each
around ninety minutes, to introduce the ways in which PipeDream can be
used. The teaching notes are detailed, giving topics for discussion, and
describing the tasks to be completed. The Student pack briefly outlines
each of the tasks, and includes a disc containing all the tasks for the
lessons. It can also be used at home or in the office − it is not
limited to education. The packs are available for £25, extra teacher
packs may be purchased at £10, and student packs at £15.
8.4
•  Pocket Book II Programmer’s Guide − (No, don’t get too excited, it’s
not available yet − that was just to get you to read this paragraph!)
Until the proper PB II Programmer’s Guide is available, the best you can
do is to get a copy of the Psion 3a Programmer’s Guide which is
available by sending a cheque for £6 (made out to Psion UK Ltd, I
presume) to Customer Services, Psion UK Ltd, 85 Frampton Street, NW8 8NQ
or ring them on 0171-262-5580.
8.4
•  PrimeMover − Minerva’s new release is claimed to be “the first real-
time animation program for the Acorn platform”. It allows you to create
animation from sprites and, once the animation is created, it can easily
be changed by simply clicking and dragging with the mouse. It allows you
to trim and/or mask your sprites and to reverse them horizontally or
vertically. PrimeMover costs £69.95 inc VAT from Minerva or £66
inclusive through Archive and will run in 1Mb but 2Mb is recommended.
8.4
•  ProArtisan 24 − Clares have launched their 24-bit art package,
ProArtisan 24. It costs £169.95 inc VAT (or £155 through Archive) and
there is an upgrade through Clares of £49.95 from PA2 or from “ANY other
art package” for £85 inc VAT. Site licences are available at £499 +VAT
for primary and £699 +VAT for secondary.
8.4
•  Risc Disc CD – This is a new CD-ROM aimed at Risc PC owners. Contents
include utilities (programming, DTP, disc, desktop), Replay movies,
Photo CD images, JPEG images, Artworks files, drawfiles, PC animation
players (AVI, FLI and MPEG), MPEG movies, as well as demonstration
software from many Acorn software houses. The price is £19.95 from
Uniqueway Ltd, or £19 through Archive.
8.4
•  Rosie & Jim Talking Activity Packs − For young infants who are fans
of TV’s Rosie & Jim programme, Sherston Software have produced the first
two of their talking activity packs: “Duck loses his Quack” and “Jim
gets the Sneezes”. These allow early or non-readers to enjoy the company
of Jim & Rosie and all their friends. Click on the pictures and words
and hear the digitally-recorded voices of Rosie and Jim speak from the
computer. Each pack costs £10 +VAT from Sherston or £12 including p&p
through Archive.
8.4
•  Scrabble for the Archimedes/Risc PC − My favourite game is here at
last! US Gold have finally released Scrabble for Acorn computers and,
not surprisingly, it’s excellent. You can play against each other or
against the computer − or get the computer to play against itself,
although it’s so fast you could do with an ‘action replay’ facility. You
can set the level of vocabulary and ingenuity that the computer uses
when it is playing against you, so you can use it to build up your own
level of skill. In the practice mode, every time you play, if it thinks
it could have done better, it suggest dozens of alternatives that you
could have played and shows you how many more points you could have got
(but doesn’t allow you to go back and have your go again. Drat! The
manual (which I have had to photo-enlarge from A5 to A4 because the type
is so small) lists all the permissible two letter words (105 in all) and
the gameplay uses them all to very high-scoring effect, sometimes. The
trouble is that when you then play “real” Scrabble with your friends and
relations at Christmas, you won’t be too popular. You score 22 points
with “AYE” as in the illustration and they will challenge it. They won’t
be too impressed when you say that “NA” is the Scottish way of saying
“no” and that “AY” means “always” or, for that matter that “OO” is wool
(Scots), “DA” is a heavy Burmese knife and “AI” is a three-toed sloth!
They will probably refuse to play with you any more − still, at least
you’ll be able to play against the computer!
8.4
Scrabble costs £27.99 + p&p from US Gold or £27 through Archive.
8.4
•  SCSI II interfaces − The Cumana SCSI II interfaces are now available
at £199 +£7.50 carriage +VAT from Cumana or £235 inclusive through
Archive. A cable for connection to external drives is available through
Archive for £27. This has the new SCSI II connector on one end and an
Amphenol (Centronics) on the other end. For connection to internal
drives, a standard IDC cable is all that is needed.
8.4
•  Shoemaker-Levy CD-ROM – This is the Network Cybernetics Corporation’s
CD-ROM title SL9: Impact ’94. It contains hundreds of images, movie
sequences and technical information related to the July 1994 collision
of the periodic comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, and the planet Jupiter. Stills
are stored as JPEG, GIF and TIFF, video sequences as MPEG and FLI/FLC.
The technical information is stored as ASCII or PostScript.
Unfortunately, the viewer applications are all for PCs or Macs, but with
ChangeFSI and Edit, the stills and texts are accessible on RISC OS
machines, and there are PD MPEG and FLI/FLC players available. The price
is £25 including postage from Lambda Publications.
8.4
•  TextEase – This is a new presentation package for letters, posters,
notices and so on. Features include a button bar for the frequently used
functions, and dynamic text. The prices is £25 from Ivoryash limited,
and a demo disc is available for £2.
8.4
•  UK Schools Internet Primer − Koeksuster Publications have produced a
book to provide information, mainly aimed at schools, on how to use
Internet and what facilities are available through Internet. This costs
£9.95 + p&p from Koeksuster or £9 inc p&p through Archive. For more
details, see the review on page 24.
8.4
Review software received...
8.4
We have received review copies of the following: •Ancient Egypt Key
Datafile (e), •APDL CD (PD/a), •BitFolio Christmas Cartoons (a),
•BitFolio More Cartoons (a), •Blinds (u), •GameOn! (g/u), •Grasshopper
(e), •Ladakh (Tibetan) Key Datafile (e), •Look! Hear! (e), •Map Importer
(e), •Mouse in Holland (e), •MouseTrap (u), •PrimeMover (e/a),
•TableMate 2 (u).
8.4
e=Education, b=Business, bk=Book, c=Comms, g=Game, h=Hardware,
l=Language, u=Utility, a=Art.
8.4
If you would like to review any of these products, please contact the
Archive office. Potential reviewers will need to show that they would
use the product in a professional capacity or that they have some
knowledge of the particular field.  A
8.4
Government Health Warning − Reading this could seriously affect your
spiritual health.
8.4
It could be you! How many tickets have you bought for the National
Lottery? Just think what life would be like if you won a million pounds!
Think of all those things you could buy. Think of the security it would
bring − no more financial worries for the rest of your life. It really
would be great, wouldn’t it?!
8.4
But have you really thought about the implications of suddenly having
pots of money? Have you thought how it would affect your friendships and
your relationships with your family? Have a think now.
8.4
How can you be sure that all those ‘friends’ that you seem to be getting
are really ‘friends’ and aren’t just after your money? Can you really
trust them? How will your real friends feel if they think that you don’t
trust them? Suddenly, you don’t know who you can trust. What did we just
say about ‘security’?
8.4
I’m not trying to argue against the National Lottery but I’m trying to
use it as an example to show how easily we swallow the lies of the
media. I’m sorry but I just don’t believe that life would be wonderful
if I had lots of money... or the ‘right’ car or the ‘right’ clothes, or
whatever other material goods they say I ‘need’.
8.4
The only things that are really important are our relationships with one
another. (I would use the word ‘love’ but that too has been hijacked!)
Proverbs 15v17 puts it well, “Better a meal of vegetables where there is
love than a fattened calf with hatred.” Simple but profound.
8.4
And I know I can’t prove this, but from my experience, what is really,
really important is our relationship with God. Get that right and many
other things suddenly make sense. Again from Proverbs, in the same
chapter, but verse 16: “Better a little with the fear of the Lord than
great wealth with turmoil.”
8.4
Anyone who has come to know the love of God as seen in Jesus knows what
true riches are.
8.4
P.B.
8.4
Fact-File
8.4
(The numbers in italic are fax numbers)
8.4
4th Dimension   1 Percy Street, Sheffield, S3 8AU. (0114-270-0661)
(0114-278-1091)
8.4
4Mation    14 Castle Park Road, Whiddon Valley, Barnstaple, Devon, EX32
8PA. (01271-25353) (01271-22974)
8.4
Abacus Training    29 Okus Grove, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wilts, SN2
6QA.
8.4
Acorn Computers Ltd    Acorn House, Vision Park, Histon, Cambridge, CB4
4AE. (01223-254254) (01223-254262)
8.4
Anglia Television   Media Development, Anglia House, Norwich, NR1 3JG.
(01603-615151) (01603-631032)
8.4
APDL    39 Knighton Park Road, Sydenham, London, SE26 5RN.
8.4
Aspex Software   Heather House, Tavistock, Devon, PL19 9AG. (01822-
611060)
8.4
  (01822-611061)
8.4
Avie Electronics (p25)  7 Overbury Road, Norwich. (01603-416863) (01603-
788640)
8.4
Beebug Ltd (p65)  117 Hatfield Road, St Albans, Herts, AL1 4JS. (01727-
840303)
8.4
  (01727-860263)
8.4
Cherisha Software (p9)  51 Swallowfield Road, Charlton, London, SE7 7NT.
8.4
Clares Micro Supplies   98 Middlewich Road, Rudheath, Northwich,
Cheshire, CW9 7DA.
8.4
  (01606-48511) (01606-48512)
8.4
Colton Software (p30)   2 Signet Court, Swanns Road, Cambridge, CB5 8LA.
(01223-311881) (01223-312010)
8.4
Computer Concepts (pp15/29)   Gaddesden Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts,
HP2 6EX. (01442-63933) (01442-231632)
8.4
Creative Curriculum Software   5 Clover Hill Road, Savile Park, Halifax,
HX1 2YG. (01422-340524) (01422-346388)
8.4
Cumana Ltd   Pines Trading Estate, Broad Street, Guilford, GU3 3BH.
(01483-503121)   (01483-503326)
8.4
Dalriada Data Technology (p8)  145 Albion Street, Kenilworth,
Warkwickshire, CV8 2FY. (01926-53901)
8.4
Datafile   71 Anson Road, Locking, Weston-super-Mare, Avon, BS24 7DQ.
8.4
  (01934-823005)
8.4
David Pilling   P.O.Box 22, Thornton Cleveleys, Blackpool, FY5 1LR.
8.4
Dave Lawrence (p25)  33 High Street, Farnborough, GU14 6ES.
8.4
Doggysoft   7 Blackhorse Crescent, Amersham, Bucks., HP6 6HP.
8.4
Font Company Ltd    47 Goodhale Road, Bowthorpe, Norwich, NR5 9AY.
(01603-748253) (01603-740203)
8.4
GamesWare   Unit 26, The Bartletts, Hamble, Hants., SO35 5RP.
(01703−456523)
8.4
  (or 0243-531194) (01703−456523)
8.4
Hodge Electronic Services    16 Mold Road, Mynydd Isa, Clwyd, CH7 6TD.
(01244-550803)
8.4
Honormead Software Solutions   Admin House, The Grange, Hospital Lane,
Michleover, Derby, DE3 5DR. (01332-512848)
8.4
iSV Products   86, Turnberry, Home Farm, Bracknell, Berks, RG11 8ZH.
(01334-55769)
8.4
Ivoryash Ltd   14 Perwell Close, Bredon, Tewkesbury, Gloucester, GL20
7LJ.
8.4
  (01684-73173)
8.4
Koeksuster Publications   St Augustine’s Cottage, High Street, Mill
Hill, London NW7 1QY.
8.4
  (0181-959-3321) ([e-mail])
8.4
Kudlian Soft   8 Barrow Road, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, CV8 1EH. (01926-
851147)
8.4
Lambda Publications   194 Cheney Manor Road, Swindon SN2 2NZ. (01793-
695296)
8.4
Le Computer   Main Road, Willows Green, Chelmsford, CM3 1QB. (01245-
362225) (01245-362225)
8.4
Longman Logotron   124 Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge
CB4 4ZS.
8.4
  (01223-425558) (01223-425349)
8.4
LOOKsystems (pp40/41)  47 Goodhale Road, Bowthorpe, Norwich, NR5 9AY.
(01603-748253) (01603-740203)
8.4
Micro Laser Designs   105 Midford Road, Combe Downs, Bath BA2 5RX. Tel
(01225-833266)
8.4
Minerva Systems   Minerva House, Baring Crescent, Exeter, EX1 1TL.
(01392-437756) (01392-421762)
8.4
Mycroft Software   53 Cottonmill Lane, St Albans, AL1 2ER.
8.4
Oak Solutions (p26)   Dial House, 12 Chapel Street, Halton, Leeds, LS15
7RN (0113-232-6992) (0113-232-6993)
8.4
Octopus Systems   9 Randwell Close, Ipswich, IP4 5ES. (01473-728943)
(01473-270643)
8.4
Quantum Software (p16)  35 Pinewood Park, Deans, Livingston, EH54 8NN.
(01506-411162 after 6)
8.4
Sherston Software   Angel House, Sherston, Malmesbury, Wilts. SN16 0LH.
(01666-840433) (01666-840048)
8.4
Supreme Software Ltd (p37)   21 Courtenay Close, Chapel Break,
Bowthorpe, Norwich, NR5 9LB.
8.4
T-J Reproductions   Unit D, Canada House, Blackburn Road, West
Hampstead, London
8.4
  NW6 1RZ. (0171-372-4430) (0171-372-0515)
8.4
Uniqueway   42 Crwys Road, Cardiff, CF2 4NN.  (01222-644611) (01222-
644622)
8.4
US Gold Ltd   Units 2/3, Holford Way, Holford, Birmingham, B6 7AX.
(0121-625-3366) (0121-606-1822)
8.4
Norwich Computer Services  96a Vauxhall Street, Norwich, NR2 2SD.
(01603-766592) (01603-764011)
8.4
Archive Monthly Program Disc Contents
8.4
•  Various files and applications from Paul Hobbs’ Advanced Basic
Programming Column − page 66.
8.4
•  Screengrab module for !ChangeFSI from Gerald Fitton’s Column − page
31.
8.4
•  Monitor recovery program from Hints & Tips Column − page 28.
8.4
•  Applications from Paul Hooper’s Multimedia column − page 53.
8.4
•  PD Pocket Book applications from Pocket Book Column − page 35.
8.4
•  Sample program from Matthew Hunter’s Programming Workshop − page 21.
8.4
•  Monitor definitions & Mac reading software from Keith Hodge’s Risc PC
Column − page 11.
8.4
•  List of free scientific software + updated !UnitConv from Chris
Johnson − page 39.
8.4
•  Squirrel query file from Robert Bishop, Comment Column − page 52.
8.4
Paul Beverley
8.4
CD-ROM for only £29 ?!
8.4
Yes, you can have a CD-ROM drive for just £29 inc VAT − all you have to
do is to buy the Risc PC to put it in before 31st December 1994! Send us
your order for either an ACB25 (5Mb) or ACB45 (9Mb) and we will give you
a voucher which you send (with a cheque for £29) to Acorn who supply the
CD-ROM. This is the Cumana 300i CD-ROM, not the iA, i.e. without the
audio mixer but this mixer can be bought separately for £49 +VAT from
Cumana.
8.4
Risc PC? − Buy now, pay later
8.4
Another special offer (which can be taken with or without the CD-ROM
offer) is a deferred payment plan. Pay a deposit now and make 24 monthly
payments at 1.08% (APR 13.75%) but your first payment is delayed for
four months, i.e. not until April. (You can also pay off the full amount
at any time.) For more information, ring 01223-254428 or the NCS office
on 01603-766592.
8.4
Acorn Christmas Computer Sale...
8.4
Up to Christmas, A3010s are available at up to 29% off.
8.4
A3010 AP (1Mb)  £399 − −> £299  25% off rrp
8.4
A3010 AP (1Mb) + AKF52  £699 − −> £499  29% off rrp
8.4
A3010 EY or LC (2Mb)  £499 − −> £399 + free AP!  20% off rrp
8.4
A3010 EY or LC (2Mb) + AKF52  £799 − −> £599 + free AP!  25% off rrp
8.4
EY= Early Years Pack = Talking Start-Write, Flossy the Frog, Mouse in
Holland, Doris the Dotty Dog, Gemini, Amazing Maths & Paint Pot.
8.4
LC = Learning Curve Pack = Advance + PC Emulator + various demos.
8.4
AP = Action Pack = Zool + StartWrite + various demos.
8.4
Dalriada
8.4
From 8.2 page 39
8.4
Observess
8.4
New artwork
8.4
Applied Photophysics
8.4
New artwork
8.4
LOOKsystems
8.4
New artwork
8.4
LOOKsystems
8.4
New artwork
8.4
Risc PC Column
8.4
Keith Hodge
8.4
Monitors
8.4
Bob Bourne reports that he has been experiencing problems with colour
impurity on the three(!) AKF85 monitors that have passed through his
hands. There does seem to be a hint of magnetic radiation from the
computer power supply involved in this problem, as Acorn/Granada
MicroCare can now reproduce the problem when they use the same desk
layout as Bob.
8.4
Software information
8.4
In Archive 8.1 p39, I mentioned that Arthur Brend had been having
problems with the speed of operation of Knowledge Organiser 2. I have
received a most informative letter from Mr D Jackson of Clares Micro
Supplies. In it, he points out that the two biggest factors with file
searches are disc speed and the size of the configured ADFSBuffers. An
example search of a 7Mb file took 5 min 59 seconds, with ADFSBuffers set
to 0, but just 1 min 17 seconds with ADFSBuffers set to 40. The Risc PC
was then noticeably faster than the comparison A540.
8.4
Software compatibility
8.4
Now that I am using a dual serial port card, with the fax modem on the
second port, I have realised that there are real problems in store when
I receive my 486 PC card. My intention is to operate the remote access
regional telemetry software using the PC card. However, the PC Emulator
only supports the built-in serial port I believe. Will the new PC card
BIOS software allow ports on extension serial port cards to be mapped
(via the block drivers?) to the DOS COMx commands? This is a must as far
as I am concerned, and will be so for a very large proportion of the
IBM PC users who are persuaded to purchase a Risc PC. They are used to
being able to purchase a dual card, plug it into an expansion slot, then
add a line to the “AUTOEXEC.BAT” file and away it goes, giving full
access to the extra ports via the “COMx” command. They are not going to
want to know about the Acorn side of programming.
8.4
One further point on the serial port is worth mentioning. There are
still programs around which do not seem to comply with the Acorn rules
even though they are described as “compliant”. I was downloading some
files from the local Packet Radio Bulletin Board and noticed that every
time I held <select> down on the title bar of MultiStore (v2.00), the
serial data stopped flowing! Further tests revealed that this happens
not only with MultiStore, but also with Style (v3.04), but not filer
windows, ArcFax, TeleCFax, Printers. Are these applications faulty? Or
are they interpreting the guidelines in a different way?
8.4
For those of you who, like myself, have an occasional requirement to
read Apple Mac discs (high density), I have sent Paul a copy of a PD
program which runs under the PC Emulator and which will read these
discs. Please note, (1) it is fragile! (2) I accept no responsibility if
it eats your disc, so use a backup! (It’s on the monthly disc. Ed.)
8.4
In two very interesting letters, Bob Bourne reports that he has been
experiencing problems with Eureka 2 on the Risc PC when printing to CC’s
TurboDrivers(v4.0). The two products are incompatible, and the only
solution found so far is to print to disc via the Acorn driver and then
print the file from the TurboDriver. The long term solution is to
upgrade to Eureka 3, which should be available soon.
8.4
Also, there was a problem with Fabis Computing’s EasyFont 2 but, in just
two days, an update was received and all was well again.
8.4
Thank you to all the readers who have written about the Wimpslot
problems with the Risc PC. As you have all pointed out, and as Dave
Holden mentioned last month (8.3 p39) the problem occurs because memory
is assigned in fixed 4Kb blocks, unlike the Archimedes, which assigns
memory in variable sized blocks up to 32Kb (dependent on main memory
size). Basic programs are therefore often given less free memory to work
with on the new machine. So far so good, but it would really be nice if
Basic complained with “Insufficient free memory”, or some other sensible
error message, and not, “Too many nested loops”, etc. Surely, Basic
keeps track of its memory pointers and knows when they are going to
clash?
8.4
Hardware and software news
8.4
David Evershed has purchased a Cumana SCSI II interface, but ran head
first into a number of problems. The first was a clash with the virus
killer supplied with the machine, but this was easily cleared by
shifting the load line to a position later in the bootup sequence. The
second problem has hopefully also been resolved... David had already
purchased a Pioneer DR-U104X CD ROM drive, a single disc, quadspeed
drive, but then found to his dismay, that there is no driver module
available for the drive. Cumana have now advised him that they will be
supporting this model so the driver module is now eagerly awaited. It
would seem that it is essential before purchasing a CD ROM drive, to
check with your SCSI interface manufacturer that a suitable driver is
available.
8.4
Further to my comments on desktop boot sequence last month, please note
that although the directory “$.!Boot.Choices.Boot.PreDesk” does not
contain any applications, just obey files, this does not mean that you
cannot place applications here. A typical use for this area is for
applications such as SerialDev which is provided with the Serial Port‘s
dual serial port card and which just sets up a path to a directory
inside the application. This path must be defined before any
applications make use of the card. By placing software here, it is
guaranteed to be run before anything in the “$.!Boot.Choices.Boot.
Tasks” directory − most useful!
8.4
Readers’ comments
8.4
Don Lewis mentioned in his recent letter how difficult he was finding
the change to the new Risc PC keyboard layout. Coincidentally, I have
(after a long break) been using the BBC Master for Eprom programming.
This has been a real shock, I had forgotten the terrible trouble I had
changing from the Master to the original Archimedes keyboard... Don also
mentions that he does not like the screen blanking as the re-activation
takes so long. I personally find that screen blanking (and by this I
mean turning off the video signals so the screen goes blank, thereby
preventing screen burn, not shutting down the monitor to save power), is
much overrated, as in commercial use, monitors have to run for thousands
of hours with a stationary image before a permanent residual image
starts to appear.
8.4
Wish list for next Risc PC / New issues of Basic
8.4
Please, Acorn, with the next issue of Basic, can we have an extension to
the “CASE” statement? Thus:
8.4
CASE variable OF
8.4
WHEN 1 TO 4
8.4
ENDCASE
8.4
The TO function is provided in a number of other basics and makes
translations from one platform to another much easier. Also how about
“IFEXISTS”, for file handling and “REDIM” for array handling.
8.4
Gripe of the month
8.4
Where is my ARM 710?
8.4
Questions of the month
8.4
(1) Does anyone have a version of the editor, Zap, which works on the
Risc PC?
8.4
(2) My machine spends all day waiting to receive fax messages and so the
utility to spin down the IDE drive is brilliant! But, I also have a SCSI
drive, which is used for backups. I would dearly like to be able to stop
this spinning whilst the Risc PC is acting as a fax machine. Can it be
done?
8.4
Tailpiece
8.4
I have now been using my Canon BJ230 inkjet printer with the same
cartridge, for over 12 months! How? By refilling it with Rotring
“Brilliant” black ink which is available from most art shops and at
£1.99p per bottle, each of which does three to four refills − it is very
economical! Plus, the print quality for text work is, I find,
indistinguishable from the original ink.
8.4
Paul has asked if I would like to provide some information about packet
radio on the Risc PC. During the Christmas holidays, I will try to put
together a small article explaining what it is used for and how you can
get involved. You do require a Amateur Radio licence, but there is no
problem here, a short course at the local Technical College will soon
get you through the City and Guilds examination. More details next
month.
8.4
Would anybody like to assist with the software compatibility list? As a
user of mainly business software, I get little contact with games and
other general software. This means that I find it difficult to be
“in touch” and hence aware of what is happening in different areas. If
anybody would like to run the list please get in touch − possibly more
than one person, each covering their own interest and I will bring it
all together.
8.4
As usual, I can be contacted by letter at the HES address on the back
page, by telephone after 7p.m. or by Packet Radio, from anywhere in the
World, as GW4NEI@GB7OAR.#16.GBR.EU.  A
8.4
Simon the Sorcerer
8.4
Andrew Rawnsley
8.4
Gamesware’s latest release is only one year late! After being much hyped
before last year’s Acorn World show, and continually ‘almost ready’ for
the last twelve months, Acorn World 94 was the ideal launch venue for
this awesome adventure. Indeed, after last year’s disappointment,
Gamesware didn’t even send a press release concerning its new releases,
and so Simon the Sorcerer magiced his way onto an unsuspecting public.
8.4
Still, it’s been worth the wait − indeed some would say that, as a
result, many more of us will be enticed by the lure of nine discs (yes,
nine!) packed with 34 soundtracks and 6Mb of animation, all mixed up
with lashings of gameplay and humour.
8.4
Read this first!
8.4
Before I go any further, I’d like you to bear with me as I rave about
this game just a little more. Until Simon’s release, Flashback would
have had my vote for the single best Acorn game, but suffice it to say,
that in two weeks since the show, I’ve spent some 15 minutes playing
Flashback, to about 15 hours on Simon. (OK, maybe that’s a slight
exaggeration, but you get the point.) What’s more, the game will appeal
to more than just adventure fanatics, because it has that basic element
missing in so many games − FUN.
8.4
Back to basics
8.4
Right, so we know that this game is good, but what’s it all about? OK,
we start with a puppy, just an ordinary puppy, and we place a dusty old
book in his mouth. Said dog is then received into the home of 12 year
old lad, Simon (aha!). The aforementioned grimoire is then dumped in an
attic, until puppy retrieves it. Suddenly, and at this point we get by
with some fancy special effects, Simon (and puppy) are dumped
unceremoniously into another dimension via the pages of this magic
libram.
8.4
Upon reading a handy note, it turns out that you [Simon] were selected
from millions of hopeful candidates to save the local wizard Calypso,
and knock the evil Sordid to kingdom come. All in a day’s work for a 12
year old cockney? Perhaps, but not when Dial-a-Pizza don’t deliver to
your dimension!
8.4
Style
8.4
Unlike traditional adventures, absolutely no keyboard skills are
required to play. Indeed, the entire game is played with just twelve
verbs displayed in the lower third of the screen. All you do is point
and click, then select the appropriate objects. Initially, this approach
worried me − after all, how was I to communicate all the detailed
commands if all I could do was click on buttons? However, as I moved
Simon around the beautifully drawn rooms, opening doors, cutting off
beards (clue there!), and generally getting in the way, all my
apprehensions fell away.
8.4
It’s hard to describe the quality of the graphics, they are so
attractive, but there certainly isn’t space for a full screenshot. As
for the music, after playing the game once, I couldn’t stop humming the
tunes.
8.4
Humour
8.4
This style of graphic adventure has always been associated with humour,
right from the days of Monkey Island and its sequel, Le Chuck’s Revenge
on the Amiga. However, the big problem with these games was that their
American origin meant that most people simply didn’t understand half the
jokes. Since Simon (the game, not the character!) originated in
Birmingham, this is not a problem. Indeed, many of the situations are
reworkings of popular english fairy tales and nursery rhymes.
8.4
Take the classic story Billy Goats Gruff, for example. As we all know,
the troll had problems catching the goats, but this time he’s hungry,
and er.... on strike?
8.4
Conclusions
8.4
Simon the Sorcerer represents the best waste of 8Mb of disc space I can
possibly imagine (I say ‘waste’, because Publisher et al eats up similar
amounts and are perhaps a tad more useful?!?). What’s more it can be
played off floppy, and even comes with a special VGA mode. My advice:
BUY IT NOW − £39.95 from Gamesware or £38 through Archive.  A
8.4
PD Column
8.4
David Holden
8.4
Another takeover
8.4
One of the newer PD libraries, Gem PD, has just been taken over by The
Datafile. The main reason for this was that the people who ran Gem were
due to start college in the near future and were therefore unable to
continue to operate the library.
8.4
Although perhaps not as well known as some of the older libraries, Gem
has, in its comparatively short life, earned a good reputation, so I’m
pleased that its customers will now be looked after by the Datafile.
8.4
Second Datafile PD CD
8.4
Further news from The DataFile. Their second CD of PD programs was
unveiled at Acorn World 94. This is much better than the first, which
appeared a few months ago. Not only does it contain more material, and
almost all of it Risc PC compatible, but it is all archived. This hasn’t
been done to save space as the CD is certainly not full, but to avoid
the long delays that occur when the filer opens a directory full of
applications and then reads all the !Boot and !Sprites files. As the
applications are archived, these files are only read when an individual
archive is opened, which makes things very much faster without recourse
to any special software. A secondary advantage is that it is very much
quicker to copy an archive, which is only a single file, than an
application, which normally consists of many files.
8.4
The price of the second Datafile PD CD is £33. Although this is more
expensive than the first, it contains more material and comes with a
small booklet with a short description of each program.
8.4
Clipart CD
8.4
I’ve been saying for some time that APDL would be releasing a CD ‘soon’
and it is now in production. It contains over 9,000 files totalling
around 500Mb. Most of this is clipart and artwork suitable for use in
DTP work and general illustration, but there are also around 580
pictures, mostly 256 colour, covering a wide range of subjects. All of
the material is in either sprite, drawfile or Artworks format.
8.4
Although it will be of interest to anyone who uses any type of clipart,
it will be of particular benefit to schools, and most schools will be
entitled to a free network licence.
8.4
The CD is produced by APDL but most of the work in compiling, selecting
and ‘tidying up’ the material was done by Alan Wilburn, who may be
recognised by readers as an Archive contributor.
8.4
The normal price will be £28 but as a special Christmas offer to Archive
readers it will cost only £25 if you order before 31st December 1994
from either APDL or Archive.
8.4
Adventure games
8.4
A few new text adventure games have appeared recently, notably Ashkeva
Alyedin from Andrew Flintham. There seems to be a trend away from shoot-
em-up’s and towards more cerebral pursuits, or is that just wishful
thinking on my part? Anyway, this month’s special offer disc will be
full of adventure games. At the time of writing, I don’t know what I
will put on the disc but it will, as usual, be full.
8.4
A lot of readers have already responded to my offer of a disc of
seasonal clipart, and because there will still be a couple of weeks to
Christmas by the time this appears in print, I will bend my usual ‘one
month only’ rule and extend the offer for a further month for those who
forgot to send for the disc last month or are new subscribers.
8.4
Either disc will, as usual, cost just £1 (cheque or stamps) from the
APDL address inside the back cover.  A
8.4
CC
8.4
New artwork
8.4
Quantum
8.4
From 8.3 page 19
8.4
NCS Technical Services
8.4
Paul Beverley
8.4
The technical service that NCS / Archive has offered over the years have
been greatly appreciated by many people. We are always keen to give the
best support we can and, within this article, I want to tell you about
some changes that we are currently making.
8.4
The history
8.4
At first, we had time to deal with all the technical queries that came
up − people just rang us and we tried to help. As the user-base grew, it
soon became clear that there were just too many calls for our engineers
to handle and, as it was a free service, it could not be justified on a
purely commercial basis.
8.4
Enter “THS”
8.4
We set up the Technical Help Service so that Archive subscribers could
pay an extra £15 a year for the privilege of being able to telephone the
NCS office with technical queries. Other people could send in written
queries but obviously they didn’t have the advantage of being talked
through their problems over the phone − flying doctor style!
8.4
As the THS became more frequently used, we found it was clogging up the
main phone line and stopping sales enquiries − and we didn’t want to
inhibit that particular activity! So we installed a special phone line
whose number was only released to THS subscribers.
8.4
Enter the recession
8.4
Even though the effects of the recession were beginning to bite at NCS,
we tried to maintain the sort of service we felt was appropriate. We
have always tried to work on the basis of... “If I were buying a
computer or some peripherals, what service would I want from the company
supplying it?”
8.4
Until recently, we have maintained a level of engineering staff such
that we could provide the following technical services:
8.4
a) THS telephone support (£15 per year) − any technical query to do with
Acorn computers and peripherals.
8.4
b) Telephone sales support (free) − e.g. “Which is the best CD-ROM drive
to buy?”
8.4
c) Telephone after-sales service (free) − e.g. “I’ve bought a disc drive
and I can’t work out how to fit it in my computer.”
8.4
d) Written sales support (free)
8.4
e) Written technical questions (free)
8.4
f) Written after-sales service (free)
8.4
The problem
8.4
Over a period of time, certain companies having developed a policy of
selling Acorn computers, peripherals and software at bigger and bigger
discounts. I have commented on this policy in the past and said that it
is very short-sighted.
8.4
At NCS, we are finding, more and more, that people come to us because of
our reputation for giving unbiased advice and ask, e.g. “Which is the
best CD-ROM drive to buy?” But then they find that Xxx Ltd sells the
same CD-ROM at £20 less than NCS. Well, £20 is £20 and, in a time of
recession, we are all looking to save money, aren’t we? So they buy it
from Xxx Ltd. The result? NCS is not earning enough to maintain the
level of staffing that I feel is ideal.
8.4
Now that Dave Webb has moved down to Bath, I do not feel able to replace
him with a full-time member of staff. Instead, I am seeking part-time
help and, at the same time, cutting some of the services NCS provides.
8.4
I very much regret reducing the standard of service but, sadly, I have
to make decisions on purely commercial terms. Gone are the days when I
could afford to be altruistic in my decision-making.
8.4
However, Archive does have a resource that is not available to any other
Acorn dealer − i.e. you! Let me explain how the services are going to
change and then explain how you could help...
8.4
Sales advice stays
8.4
We are keeping the free telephone sales advice but we would ask, please,
that you do not misuse it. By all means, if you know what you want to
buy, get it from the cheapest source, but do you think it is fair to ask
us to spend time helping you through your decision-making and then go
off and buy it elsewhere? If you want the cheapest prices, please ring
up one of the ‘box-shifters’ and ask them for advice.
8.4
Farewell THS
8.4
The THS has been suspended and credit notes sent to all those with
outstanding subscriptions. To make it commercially viable, we would have
had to charge more like £50 a year − and that just isn’t worth it for
most of you, I guess.
8.4
Written technical help
8.4
Please continue to send us your technical queries by letter, e-mail or
via the Archive bulletin board on 0603-766585. However, we will respond
to your question(s) in a number of different ways depending on the
nature of the query.
8.4
a) If the answer to your question is likely to be of interest to other
readers, we will write it up and put it in the next issue of Archive.
However, you won’t have to wait for the magazine, as we will send you a
copy of our reply as soon as it is written.
8.4
b) If the question is one which has been dealt with in earlier issues of
Archive, we will have a proforma letter on which we will note the
relevant references. (Back issue sets are still available − volumes 4 to
7 inclusive for £23.)
8.4
c) If your area of interest is one which is covered by one of the
specialist Columns in Archive, e.g. Multimedia, Pocket Books, Risc PC,
etc, we will send your letter on to the relevant editor to see if they
can help. (Note to editors: If at any time, you feel uneasy about the
amount of time you are spending on responding to queries, please let me
know straight away and I will see if I can find someone else who could
take over or offer you some help. Also, if you have out-of-pocket
expenses that you would like covering, such as postage, stationery, etc,
just send in a note of how much you have spent and I will reimburse you.
Thanks. Ed.)
8.4
d) If your question is a more general one, Gerald Fitton has said that
he would try to answer it and/or find someone else who could answer it.
Perhaps Gerald could set up a database of Archive expertise? (This is
where I say that Archive has the edge because it has you, the readers,
as a resource to provide help to other readers.) If you have views on
this suggestion and/or want to offer to answer questions about any
particular subject(s) please write either to us or direct to Gerald at
Abacus Training.
8.4
Helping the Technical Helpers!
8.4
If you want to help those who are offering technical help, please avoid
asking several questions about different areas at once. I’m sure that,
with the wonders of modern word-processing, you could produce a number
of letters instead of one, each letter dealing with a different topic.
If you did, it would certainly avoid us having to photocopy your letter
and circle and cross out various bits of it before sending it on to
different helpers.
8.4
Another way of helping is to provide an SAE for each letter. It’s not
just the cost of the stamp and the envelope but the convenience of just
scribbling an answer on a piece of paper and popping it into the ready-
made envelope and putting it into the postbox. (There’s no need to
bother with an SAE if you are just writing to NCS − it’s the helpers
that I want to help because they do it for love!!)
8.4
Also, it can often be a great help to send your letter on disc as well
as on paper − and, perhaps, send some example file(s) to make the
problem easier to solve. The point of sending the letter on disc, as
well as on paper, is that it saves typing out bits of the letter if we
want to use it in the magazine.
8.4
What happens to the discs? The NCS procedure is that if you send in an
article or a substantial hint or comment, we send the disc back, when
the magazine is ready, with a copy of that month’s magazine disc as a
small ‘thank you’. Otherwise, and this is what I think is reasonable for
the volunteer helpers to do, unless the disc is accompanied by a stamped
addressed sticky label or a suitable SAE’d paddibag, we would re-format
the disc and use it as a ‘charity sale’ disc or to send something on to
someone else. (Some contributors specifically write on their discs ‘do
not return’ so they go straight to the charity sale.)
8.4
Free hard disc installation
8.4
Another consequence of the changes in our Technical Services brings a
distinct an advantage for you... If you are buying an internal hard
disc, we have decided to offer free collection and installation. The
reasoning behind this is that there are so many complications which can
arise when fitting an internal hard drive, that it is cheaper to pay a
carrier to collect your computer, fit the drive and return it to you
than have an engineer spend ages on the phone trying to help you work
out why the drive won’t work with your particular setup.
8.4
NCS − The future?
8.4
Our aim has always been to give the best service we can to customers and
this has, in some ways (mostly financial!) worked against us. However,
we will do what we can to maintain that quality of service whilst still
staying financially viable. I, personally, appreciate the support and
loyalty of the NCS customers. I’m grateful to those of you who have
continued to buy through NCS even when you suspected that there was a
‘box-shifter’ who would ‘do it cheaper’, and I’m grateful to the
hundreds of you who have contributed in one way or other to the
magazine. I hope that the new arrangements in NCS Technical Services
will prove to be of benefit in the long-term.
8.4
Thanks again for all your support. All of us at NCS enjoy what we do and
we hope we can continue to supply your computing needs in the future,
whether it is hardware, software or information.  A
8.4
Earth Warp
8.4
Robert Lytton
8.4
The program is based on the BBC’s Look and Read, Earth Warp series for
7-9 year olds. The series is good, the content is relevant and the
presentation fun, although I wish they had not changed Wordy for Zot, an
american mechanised meatball. There have been some poor Look and Read
series but Earth Warp will be used year after year after year... The
program does not follow the television story-line but the situation and
the characters are the same. Their personalities also come over as being
the same.
8.4
What you will receive
8.4
You will receive a 30 page A4 booklet and an unprotected disc, so the
program may be copied onto a hard disc. The booklet is very well written
with an introduction for teachers, a synopsis of the story-line for
children and a section on how to get started. The bulk of the booklet
contains detailed descriptions for each “chapter” with quality extension
ideas for the teacher to consider. At the back (not to be forgotten) is
the, soon to be obsolete, “been there done that”, list of National
Curriculum Statements of Attainment!
8.4
Description of the program
8.4
The first thing you will notice from “Getting started” is that the
program is also available for the BBC B, B+ and Master. I asked Longman
about these versions and the prices are the same. The Archimedes version
does make use of the superior graphics (it is not run under emulation!)
but apart from the graphic detail, the programs are identical.
8.4
When you double click on the Earth Warp icon, the program takes over the
machine and gives you a short opening sequence with the familiar Earth
Warp theme tune. You are given the opportunity to turn off any further
sound, although this is minimal. You are also given the chance to jump
past the introduction which involves a familiarisation routine, where
you are encouraged to press the space bar, and a short introduction is
given to the story. The controls are very simple from the keyboard or
mouse and it is usually a case of choosing items from a list. The main
body of the program is broken down into twelve problem solving chapters.
These may be visited in any order, although it is worth keeping to the
story-line. If you press <escape> at any time, you are returned to a
menu, allowing you to revisit chapters if they were not completed or to
resume to a set point at a later date. The overall structure of the
program is consistent and intuitive. The children do not find the
program a hindrance, only what they are asked to puzzle through.
8.4
Chapter contents
8.4
There are twelve chapters varying in the degree of skill, knowledge and
information needed. Where appropriate, Easy and Hard option are offered.
The activities are of an applied nature for consolidation, which does
mean you need to cover the ideas and material in the classroom before
sitting a child in front of the screen! All the activities are
worthwhile and there are well thought through extension ideas you can
try in the classroom. I found these extension ideas practical and
helpful and used a lot of them.
8.4
•  How long in space?: You have to find a number between 1 and 15.
Children should develop a strategy of logical deduction.
8.4
•  Word Search: A 7×7 word search on space.
8.4
•  Cleaning the beach: You need to pick up rubbish using co-ordinates.
Either letters and numbers, or just numbers.
8.4
•  Crossing the river: Follow the colour sequence on the stepping stones
to cross over. The extension ideas cover other sequences and
mathematical patterns.
8.4
•  Ollie’s lost Orb: This is a simple dungeons and dragons type
adventure where you can select from a list of options. You are not given
a plan but I gave the children a blank plan to fill in with details as
they saw fit. As well as solving problems and ordering your moves, you
need to finish off the patterns on symmetrical door locks. The task
seems daunting at first but it is not necessary for the player to
specify how to solve the problems. If the right object has been taken to
the right place, the computer reports on how the problem was solved.
8.4
•  Repairing Ollie’s spacecraft: Two problems to solve, what should it
look like and how to rearrange the pieces. At first it seem impossible
to do but you quickly realise that you need to choose the top pieces
first.
8.4
•  Mending Ollie’s communicator: Match eight words up to make four
compound words.
8.4
•  Guiding Ellie: Using a compass marked off in 30° intervals drawn on
the screen you need to direct Ellie from solar system to solar system −
or is it planet to planet?
8.4
•  Homing in on Earth: A diagrammatic picture of our solar system.
Shuffle the planet names from box to box to get the names in the right
places.
8.4
•  Which is Earth?: Ellie gives you a report on a planet’s surface, you
need to decide which planet it describes. If you choose incorrectly you
are given a report for your chosen planet, to help you distinguish them
apart. Ellie’s report and your correction report are different, to keep
you thinking. I found the surface descriptions very interesting and they
certainly encouraged conversation.
8.4
•  Race against time: A race against time to solve anagrams.
8.4
•  All right: No matter how many times you ask, children still bring you
work to look at and read when they have not even read it themselves!
Will this exercise help? I hope so. They are given a newspaper story
written by Jenny for correction. This task is not easy but the computer
can help by finding the words for you and even giving you the answer if
they get it wrong twice. Good practice for using spell checkers I’m
sure!
8.4
Conclusion
8.4
I liked the program very much. It is well presented with a host of
interesting thing to do on the computer and away from it. I used it with
some 7-8 year olds and they enjoyed it and coped well with the
activities. The extension ideas were sensible and not there for the sake
of it. However, you do need to spend time to make it all fit together
and work. If you are watching the Earth Warp television series and
possibly Music Time’s Planets series and have been allocated the science
unit “The Earth and beyond”, buy it and make a mini topic out of it. I
personally am not sure if I will find the time to it justice but if I
do, I will definitely buy the BBC B version. If you are like me, your
Archimedes is already working flat out on statistical and DTP or
multimedia projects and you may have one or two BBCs asking for a job
like this to do.
8.4
Earth Warp costs £24 (+VAT +p&p) from Longman Logotron or £27 through
Archive.  A
8.4
Programming Workshop − Part 1
8.4
Matthew Hunter, NCS
8.4
One of the comments that repeatedly occurred in the recent Archive
questionnaires was a wish for more articles about programming,
particularly with regard to the wimp. Many technical help calls and
letters have also been about programming in some form or another. It
therefore makes sense to bring all these together into one shared
resource, which is what this column aims to be. Unlike previous wimp
programming articles, I am not aiming to show you how to write an entire
application. It is an unfortunate truth that any example application
would fail to implement the one piece of code that you need to finish
your masterpiece! Instead, I will try to pool ideas and solutions. If
you want a piece of code to do a particular task then write in, or if
you have a solution for an unanswered problem, or a better solution than
one which has already been offered, or indeed a solution to a problem
that has not yet been asked then please send that in too. This then
means that the content and the level will be determined by you, the
reader.
8.4
It is not intended that this should be an ‘experts only’ column, I will
try to answer any queries appropriately, trying not to assume too much.
In an effort to reduce duplication, I will refer back to previous
issues. One assumption I will make is that you are using RISC OS 3,
because it is the current version of the operating system and therefore
essential for serious use of your computer. All references given will be
to the RISC OS 3 PRMs.
8.4
Languages
8.4
I do not mind which language you use although I would prefer Basic or C,
as I use those most regularly. Any solutions should, where possible, be
generic. If it is written in Basic then try to ensure that it is easy
for someone to follow, so that others can use it in C/Fortran/Pascal or
whatever they wish. Feel free to use ‘phantom’ procedures if they make
something clearer. For example, use the ‘setcolour’ procedure from my
graphics articles (8.1 p75) rather than explicitly calling ColourTrans.
Over a period of time, there will be a library of such procedures,
making new solutions easier. If you are reading an article and find that
you do not understand an undefined procedure then, again, write in and
all will (hopefully!) be explained.
8.4
New to programming?
8.4
For those of you who are new to Acorn RISC machines or have not
previously programmed them, you may not realise just how easy it is to
get started. If there are people who are interested, we may do an
“Introduction to Programming” series. Please let us know if you would be
interested in such a column.
8.4
Just to prove the point, try the following: Load the !Edit application
from Applications Disc 1 or your hard drive as appropriate. Click <menu>
over the iconbar icon, slide off over the ‘Create’ submenu, and choose
‘BASIC’. A new window will open. Into it type:
8.4
PRINT “Hello World”
8.4
END
8.4
Then save the file as normal. You will see that it has a blue and white
(Basic program) icon, rather than the usual black and white one
generated by !Edit. Double click on the file in the directory and you
will see the results. You have just written and run a Basic program!
8.4
Large text
8.4
I have had several queries recently regarding large text, when using the
system font. This can be useful for display purposes, titles and so on,
or for compensating for the small text size in large desktop area screen
modes. There is a VDU sequence which controls character sizes but,
unfortunately, it only works when the computer is plotting text at the
graphics cursor. For this program, I will assume that you already have
“PROCModeInfo” defined, as given in Archive 8.1, page 75 (and on this
month’s program disc), which must have been called before the procedures
given here.
8.4
DEF PROCInitGraphicText
8.4
VDU 5
8.4
MOVE 0,Mode_LogicalY%−1
8.4
PROCScaleText(1,1)
8.4
ENDPROC
8.4
This first procedure simply sets the text ‘printing’ (that is,
‘printing’ to the screen, not to paper) to graphics mode (VDU5) and
moves the graphics cursor to the top left corner. Unlike standard text
printing which starts top left, graphics co-ordinates start at the
bottom right.
8.4
DEF PROCSetTextSize(xs%,ys%)
8.4
BigText_X%=xs%
8.4
BigText_Y%=ys%
8.4
VDU 23,17,7,6,xs%;ys%;0,0
8.4
ENDPROC
8.4
This sets the size and spacing of the text to xs% pixels wide, and ys%
pixels high, and gives an easier access than trying to remember all the
numbers every time you need it. Another useful variant is:
8.4
DEF PROCScaleText(xsc%,ysc%)
8.4
BigText_X%=xsc%*8
8.4
BigText_Y%=ysc%*8
8.4
VDU 23,17,7,6,BigText_X%;BigText_Y%;0,0
8.4
ENDPROC
8.4
This sets the text size relative to the default size of 8 by 8 pixels,
so for example, to get double height text use PROCScaleText(1,2)
8.4
One problem with graphics text printing, compared to standard text
printing, is that you reference the positions on the screen differently.
Also, the background is not cleared before text is printed, resulting in
a mess if you try and to overwrite previous text.
8.4
DEF PROCTabText(x%,y%,t$)
8.4
LOCAL sx%,sy%
8.4
sx%=(x%*BigText_X%)<<Mode_EX%
8.4
sy%=(Mode_LogicalY%−1)−((y%*BigText_Y%)
8.4
<<Mode_EY%)
8.4
MOVE sx%,sy%
8.4
PRINT t$
8.4
ENDPROC
8.4
This acts like a PRINTTAB command, the text t$ will be indented x%
characters from the left edge, and y% characters from the top edge,
based on the current size of the characters. The x position (sx%) is
calculated by multiplying the number of characters to indent (x%) and
the width of each character in pixels (BigText_X%), and this is then
shifted by Mode_EX% − as supplied by PROCModeInfo  − which is the
mapping from pixels to screen co-ordinates. The y position (sy%) is
slightly more complicated, since it is necessary to move the text, down
from the top of the screen.
8.4
DEF PROCClearWindow(l%,t%,r%,b%)
8.4
LOCAL x%,y%,w%,h%
8.4
x%=(l%*BigText_X%)<<Mode_EX%
8.4
y%=(Mode_LogicalY%−1)−((b%*BigText_Y%)
8.4
<<Mode_EY%)
8.4
w%=((r%−l%)*BigText_X%)<<Mode_EX%
8.4
h%=((b%−t%)*BigText_Y%)<<Mode_EY%
8.4
RECTANGLE FILL x%,y%,w%,h%
8.4
ENDPROC
8.4
This will blank out an area of the screen. Note that all text, and the
area blanked, will use the current graphics foreground colour, so
remember to set it before use. There is a short program on the monthly
disc which includes all these procedures and demonstrates their use.  A
8.4
Small Ads
8.4
(Small ads for Acorn computers and related products are free for
subscribers but we reserve the right to publish all, part or none of the
material you send, as we think fit. i.e. some people don’t know what
‘small’ means and there are certain things, as you can imagine, that we
would not be prepared to advertise as a matter of principle. Sending
small ads (especially long ones!) on disc is helpful but not essential.
Ed)
8.4
•  A3 Colour Printer (Canon BJC 800 engine), nine months old, superb
condition, works with Acorn and CC printer drivers £1000. A4 Model II,
4Mb RAM, 80Mb hard disc, plus carry case and extra battery £1300.
Contact Adrian on 01603-748253.
8.4
•  A3000, 80Mb hard disc, hand scanner and multisync monitor. All
manuals and loads of software £580 o.n.o. Phone [phone].
8.4
•  A3000 OS3.1, 2Mb, AKF17, 180E printer and software £350. A3000 user
port £15, OS2 Programmers Reference Manuals £25, RISC OS 3 Style Guide
+New Look disc £5, PC Emulator 1.82 & DR-DOS 6.0 £55, Acorn ANSI C £15,
Software Developers Toolbox £5, Twin £5, several OS user guides just
p&p. Offers welcome on all! Phone Bob on 0113-275-5276 after 7pm.
8.4
•  A410/1, 4Mb RAM, 30MHz ARM3, 90Mb HD, VIDC enhancer, CC ROM/RAM
podule (with battery backup), 4-slot backplane, RISC OS 3.1, AKF11
colour monitor, some software £450 o.n.o. Eizo 9060S Multisync monitor
£300 o.n.o. Phone [phone].
8.4
•  A410/1, 4Mb RAM, 33MHz ARM3, 50Mb HD, Newlook desktop, I/O podule,
Midi, sound sampler, Black Angel, Chopper Force, Gods, Lemmings, Chocks
Away Compendium, keyboard extension cable and postage £620. Also new and
unused RISC OS Style Guide with disc £10 and Pineapple PAL encoder
(allows your computer to connect to video equipment and SCART, BNC) £50.
Series 3 OPL manual (not software), same as OPL on Pocket Book, £4.
Phone Mark after 6pm on 01905-754277.
8.4
•  A440/1 with 4Mb RAM, 47Mb, ARM3, RISC OS 3.1, VIDC enhancer, Taxan
775 multisync monitor. Watford Mk 2 scanner − A4 version with sheet
feeder. £800. Phone [phone].
8.4
•  A440 with OS3, ARM3, and FPA10, 14“ NEC Multisync monitor £750.
Computer Concepts ROM board with battery backed 32K RAM chip, InterWord,
InterSheet, and SpellMaster, £90. Twin 5¼” and single 3½“ external disc
drives with Beebug interface for A300/400 computers £90. Phone 01925-
811420.
8.4
•  A5000 with 40Mb drive, 4Mb memory £785 o.n.o. Phone Mike on 081-576-
9516.
8.4
•  A540, 8Mb, 120Mb hard disc, RISC OS 3.1, ARM3, £900. Taxan 770
monitor £250. Cumana CD-ROM £80. Pineapple Video Digitiser £80. CC
Scanlight Plus £80. Complete package £1350. Ring/fax John on 01962-
774352.
8.4
•  A540 8Mb, 120Mb SCSI hard drive, RISC OS3.11, Beebug high density
disc drive, Alpha Scan Plus Monitor and a great deal of software. £1150
o.n.o. Canon BJ10 inkjet printer with sheet feeder and CC Turbo Driver
£110. Phone [phone].
8.4
•  Acorn Advance £50. Acorn Midi expansion card £40. Phone Dave 0181-
992-1720.
8.4
•  CC Turbo Driver for Hewlett Packard £25. ExpLAN Event desktop diary
(unregistered); £18. Phone [phone].
8.4
•  Integrex 132 colour printer, only about 3 hours use from new, £125.
01953-883953 (Norfolk)
8.4
•  Irlam I-Scan 400dpi Scanner (Roller Feed), £150; A540, 100 Mb HD,
16Mb RAM, ARM 3, Colour Card, Eizo 560i £1900; A5000, 4 Mb RAM, IDE
drive £650; Scanlight Professional Flat Bed B&W scanner £350. Phone
0483-455564.
8.4
•  Irlam Moving Image 24 bit digitiser. RISC OS2 and 3.1 compatible.
£350. Phone Malcolm on 0181-310-5617.
8.4
•  NEC double speed external CD-ROM drive (SCSI). Boxed, only 2 weeks
old, £180. Phone [phone].
8.4
•  Oak SCSI interface, 120 Mb hard disc, 2-slot backplane and fan £150;
Watford Video Digitiser, and Lingenuity Colour Convertor £75; 2Mb SIMM
for Risc PC £40; IFEL 4 slot backplane & fan £20. All prices excluding
delivery. Phone Tamworth 01827-330118 evenings or weekends.
8.4
•  Scanlight 256 inc. latest software. A300/400/5000 version (not Risc
PC) £75. Phone [phone].  A
8.4
Charity Sales
8.4
The following items are available for sale in aid of charity. PLEASE do
not just send money − ring us on 01603-766592 to check if the items are
still available. Thank you.
8.4
N.B. These items are sold AS SEEN (even though you can’t see them!),
i.e. we are not able to give refunds if the items are not suitable for
your computer or whatever. All the money paid goes straight to charity
therefore NCS cannot be involved in correspondence etc over these items.
If it turns out to be no good for you but might do for someone else,
please send it back with a note and we will sell it again with the
proviso you state, e.g. “It doesn’t work on a Risc PC.”
8.4
Software: MahJongg (Simtron) £5, Archway £10, Leading Edge Midi Tracker
£4, Pysanki £2, Rotor £2, Datavision database £6, Autograph (Maths
teaching) £15, Boogie Buggie £3, Colour Fun £3, Impression Business
Supplement £5, Chuck Rock £5, Populous £8.
8.4
Hardware: CJE 5¼“ interface £5, 3-way parallel printer port switch and
some cables £10, Acorn Ethernet interface (A5000) £50, external 5¼”
floppy drive £25, Joystick Interface (Serial Port) £8.
8.4
(If you have unwanted software or hardware for Archimedes computers that
you could donate in aid of charity, please send it to the Archive
office. If you have larger items where post would be expensive, just
send us details of the item(s) and how the purchaser can get hold of
them.)  A
8.4
UK School Internet Primer
8.4
Andrew Rawnsley
8.4
There has been much hype about the Internet recently, particularly in
the daily press. To read many of their articles, you would think it was
a recent innovation, but this impression is very wrong. The Internet
Primer from Koeksuster Publications aims to cut through much of this
uninformed publicity, and to introduce the reader to a little of what’s
available, and how it can be of use. Although the book is targeted at
the educational establishment, it has much to offer the interested third
party.
8.4
Getting going
8.4
This book certainly isn’t a definitive work, but then this is not what
the author ever intended, and that market has been cornered by various
American volumes, usually retailing at £30+. The Internet Primer gives a
British perspective to this ever-expanding bank of information. Advice
is given on what hardware you need to get going, and a list of service
providers is included to help you decide which best suits your needs.
This is just the kind of information required by anyone interested in
Internet connection.
8.4
What’s available
8.4
Much of the book is dedicated to what the Internet actually offers.
There is a discussion of the advantages of e-mail, newsgroups, file
transfer and the World Wide Web (WWW). Newsgroups are given particular
attention, and the author recommends some useful groups to read. Other
‘alternative’ groups are mentioned to show the diversity of material
available, e.g. alt.nuke.the.USA − I’ll leave that to your imagination.
8.4
The author takes common Internet criticisms, such as the content of some
alternative newsgroups, and strips away the media hype, giving a much
clearer understanding of what to watch out for, e.g. ‘flame wars’. These
are Internet arguments which can develop into personal abuse. These
often start with the ‘my computer’s better than yours’ syndrome. The
author then explains how such messages can be avoided by selecting users
whose messages you don’t want to read and putting them in a ‘kill file’.
8.4
Comments and criticisms
8.4
It is hard to criticise the book − it certainly clarified a lot of
things in my mind. However, it is rather platform independent, in that
it avoids naming particular packages that are good at particular jobs on
different computer makes. All the screenshots are taken from the
Macintosh, and are often from this version of NCSA Mosaic − the most
popular WWW browser. Personally, I would have preferred some appendices
containing machine specific material and advice. On the other hand, a
note supplied with the book indicated that a selection of machine-
specific books could follow, building on the material contained within
this first volume.
8.4
Conclusions
8.4
Retailing at £8.50, the UK School Internet Primer is an essential
purchase for all schools trying to bring themselves into the 21st
century. It is very easy to read, and clearly explains the education
potential of this huge resource. I would also recommend the book to
anyone who is considering obtaining an Internet connection − it offers
much useful advice, and you’ll be able to get going quickly should you
decide to go ahead. It certainly saves all the fumbling around so often
connected with computer communications.
8.4
The UK School Internet Primer is available through Archive for £9 inc
p&p.  A
8.4
Avie Electronics
8.4
New artwork
8.4
Around the World in 80 Days
8.4
Richard Rymarz
8.4
Now, how about an adventure story written for 9, 10 and 11 year olds
that has a story line to grab their attention; provide a whole
succession of geographical tasks; give them apparent deadlines; and
provide endless opportunities for teachers to broaden learning
opportunities beyond the computer.
8.4
Having read the opening comments from the teacher’s booklet from
Sherston’s ‘Around the World in 80 Days’, I was looking forward to
encountering all these aims with the prospect of a major topic on
journeys as part of this autumn’s curriculum for my group of upper
junior children.
8.4
The package
8.4
Certainly, the package looks impressive. There are four discs, three of
which provide the program and one which is filled with picture
resources; a user guide which supplies all the information needed for
lazy adults who cannot manage the adventure themselves (absolutely
essential); a book full of classroom ideas ranging across all areas of
the curriculum; a list of books, fiction and non-fiction and a
comprehensive catalogue of organisations to contact such as foreign
embassies, trusts and museums; four double-sided A4 maps including the
British Isles, Europe, the Americas and the World; and finally, a set of
ten A5 worksheets that cover a whole span of geographical skills such as
the 24hr clock, 4- and 6-digit grid references, time tables, contour
lines and latitude and longitude. Finally, there is a daily log to keep
track of the journey and a glossary of 15 words that the children may
find new. To be fair, they are brilliant and an excellent example of
resources that busy teachers need in order to make the planning of a
topic easy, well organised and progressive.
8.4
The plot
8.4
A reasonable introduction to the program would be a reading of Joules
Verne’s famous story of the same name (even the old film or the cartoon
version would be an asset). The central theme follows the famous journey
by Phileas Fogg. In fact, the two heroes of the adventure are related to
the famous adventurer. The plot involves the saving of an area of
outstanding natural beauty which is being threatened by Wiley Windbag, a
ruthless property speculator. Freddy and Francis Fogg camp out on the
reserve and refuse to move. Angered by the children’s interference,
Wiley throws down a challenge: if the twins can succeed in circum-
navigating the world in 80 days, just as their ancestor did, without
using mechanical air transport, not only will he stop his development
plans, he will give £500,000 towards ensuring its preservation. Of
course, Wiley plans to do his best to thwart the twins. This provides
immediate empathy with the children taking part in the adventure. There
is an obvious objective, there is a ‘baddie’ and there is a challenge.
The two 12 yr olds that I use to test the programs I review, couldn’t
wait to get started.
8.4
The program
8.4
The program installs itself onto hard disc although Disc 1 is needed
when beginning the adventure. A hot air balloon appears on the iconbar
where clicking <menu> accesses the set-up screen. Here positions can be
saved, volume control altered, reading speed changed and start-up
position chosen.
8.4
Clicking on the balloon with <select> results in the whole screen being
taken over by the title followed by a picture of ‘Sleepy Hollow’, the
threatened area of beauty. Sampled sounds of bird song are heard and
everything looks idyllic. Getting back to the desktop is simply a matter
of pressing <ctrl-Q> and returning to the adventure just needs a click
on the balloon − all very simple.
8.4
After setting the scene, the journey begins at the Reform Club where the
twins set off by taxi to the station. Immediately, they are tricked by
Wiley who leaves them in a taxi well away from the station. Using maps
and symbols the children ‘drive’ the car to the station using left,
right, straight on and so on. They arrive just in time to board the
‘Orient Express’ that will take them to Venice (some poetic licence here
but does it really matter?). Whilst on the train, the children have to
read a simple timetable and have to piece together a map of Europe that
the dastardly Wiley has torn to shreds. They reach Dover and, since they
have time to spare, they place the names of Europe on the map, make sure
they know the capital cities of the European countries and mark the
first stages of their route across Europe. All this happens on Day 1
and, to finish the day, the twins discover their passports and money
have been stolen. This delays them in Boulogne for three days.
Eventually, the British Embassy helps them out and, having seen Paris at
night, they find themselves by day 5 in Switzerland.
8.4
The journey progresses in similar vein for the next 75 days with Wiley
doing his best to stop the children succeeding. There are further
adventures including being hijacked by terrorists. At the end, the
children not only succeed in completing their journey in 80 days but
they also manage to put Wiley behind bars. Sleepy Hollow, of course,
remains safe.
8.4
Conclusions
8.4
‘Around the World in 80 Days’ does work. It kept my testers happy for
nearly two hours and they had no word of criticism. How much they
learned, I wouldn’t like to hazard a guess, but I am sure that, with the
aid of the worksheets, children will gain a great deal of knowledge from
the adventure. The graphics are not great but are quite adequate. There
is some simple animation, and sound effects add to the atmosphere.
Conversation is through the medium of speech bubbles which the children
are quite familiar with through their own reading experiences.
Altogether, there are 63 different starting positions and the number of
problems the children have to face is considerable. This adventure will
take some time to complete and, with the backup teaching that is needed
to ensure understanding, there is enough here to keep a class going for
many weeks. If use is made of even a small number of the follow up
suggestions in the teachers book, there is enough to keep a class busy
for a term.
8.4
At £39.95 +VAT for a single user version (£44 through Archive) and with
site licences available, this will provide a resource that will stand
the test of time. Recommended.  A
8.4
Oak
8.4
From 8.3 page 23
8.4
Hints and Tips
8.4
• Risc PC monitor configuration − One of the biggest problems people
have had with the Risc PC is finding that their machine will not drive
the monitor correctly, either because they are using a non-standard
monitor, or they have accidentally configured the machine incorrectly.
The !Mon application aims to rescue you from this situation.
8.4
The program has a number of local monitor definition files, which it
will try in turn. One of them should give a usable display on your
monitor, after which you should set up your machine again so that the
configuration is correct.
8.4
In order to use the program, you will need to do the following, typing
blind where necessary:
8.4
a) Turn on the computer and wait for it to finish booting up (wait until
the hard disc activity stops).
8.4
b) Insert the program disc into the floppy drive.
8.4
c) Press <f12>.
8.4
d) type “adfs” and press <return>.
8.4
e) type “mount 0” and press <return>.
8.4
f) type “start” and press <return>.
8.4
This will start the program and try the first monitor definition file
AKF11/12 which will not work on the AKF60’s/85’s supplied with the Risc
PC, but it is better to try this one first than a high end monitor
definition file which could damage a TV resolution monitor. You can
cycle through the available monitors by pressing <space>. Alternatively
you can jump to any of the files by pressing the appropriate number key,
the most useful are 4 (AKF60) and 5(AKF85). When the program loads a new
monitor definition file it will pause for two seconds, to give the
monitor time to catch up, and then beep. If you have a stable picture€,
press <y> to finish, followed by <return> to get back to the desktop.
Note that this will not reconfigure your machine – if you switch off
without reconfiguring, you will have the same problems next time – but
it will get you a working system. This program is on the monthly program
disc. Matthew Hunter, NCS.  A
8.4
CC
8.4
From 8.3 page 20
8.4
Gerald’s Column
8.4
Gerald Fitton
8.4
My December 1994 Archive arrived only a few days ago and yet I’ve
already received many letters relating to it. You reinforce the views
expressed last month, namely that you approve of the broader base of
topics for this column.
8.4
Knowing that you like the new column I must risk causing some of you a
measure of disappointment by postponing the article I drafted for this
month in order to give coverage to some of the other topics about which
you’ve written to me.
8.4
This month, I shall explain how saving your sprites in unusual modes
might cause you problems in the future when you upgrade your operating
system. The subject of cross checks in spreadsheets has arisen in many
letters and I have a further point to make on this topic.
8.4
Acorn World 94
8.4
At Acorn World 94, I detected a renewed faith (I use the word rather
than ‘interest’) in Acorn products on the part of “the average user”. In
the discussions I had with those of you who came and chatted to Jill and
me on the Colton Software stand, this renewal of faith came across most
strongly.
8.4
The message I received from many of you at Harrogate in the spring was
that you were wondering if Acorn was on the way out and you were
seriously thinking of defecting to the PC world! At Harrogate, because
of those doubts, you didn’t spend much. However, at Wembley, those
doubts and fears were gone. Nearly all the stand holders that I spoke to
reported substantially increased takings.
8.4
One possible reason for your increased faith is that Acorn priced the
Risc PC lower than I (and many others) thought that they would. Even if
you are one of those not interested or not able to buy a Risc PC yet,
the combination of the specification and price encourages you to believe
that Acorn will survive and maybe become an important force in the world
of computers. For my own part, I see the Set Top Box as an interesting
development which will create volume for Acorn’s Risc PC components and
hence guarantee the future of this type of computer.
8.4
Software
8.4
I found that, on the stands, in contrast to your optimism, many
suppliers of software (and hardware) were most pessimistic in spite of
the increase in their takings! The strongest position expressed to me
personally (and I must make clear that this was not from anyone at
Colton Software) was that their company would build up a PC market for
its products and, when that becomes sufficiently viable, they would get
out of the Acorn market all together. I can see sense in separating the
two operations (Acorn and PC markets) and then, maybe later, selling off
the Acorn part of the business as a going concern. Expressing a wish to
drop out completely from the Acorn market sounds to me more like
disenchantment than a sound business strategy.
8.4
As an aside, let me say that, although it is early days yet, Jill and I
have not sold a single subscription to FireLine. FireLine is our user
group for users of Fireworkz for Windows (i.e. on a PC). We have put
FireLine on hold until some time next year.
8.4
In the Archive DTP column, 8.3 p58, Mark Howe says “I have observed a
change in CC’s approach to customer service... ”. He goes on to say
“Impression 2.19 was far from bug free... yet no upgrade or bug fix was
made available... (until) several months later”. Let me tell Mark (and
all of you) that Computer Concepts are not the only software company who
have hardened their hearts towards issuing a multiplicity of free
upgrades. Previously, in this column, I have said that V 1.07 is the
most recent version of Fireworkz; it is dated 11th November 1993 and,
like V 2.19 of Impression II, far from bug free. I know that many of you
don’t like that, because you’ve told me so in no uncertain way. I don’t
think I’d go as far as one of my correspondents who says that “Software
containing bugs contravene the Trade Descriptions Act and must be
upgraded free of charge at the earliest opportunity”; but I do
sympathise.
8.4
Although it’s difficult to count a lack of something I’m sure you’ll
follow me if I say that free upgrades are a cost which many software
suppliers are avoiding with increasing frequency. As Mark Howe says, the
situation is far from satisfactory and (at least as far as the Acorn
market is concerned) it is not going to go away. I do not want Acorn
software suppliers to take the PC route (i.e. to make a substantial
charge for upgrades which are often no more than bug fixes). I prefer
the four suggestions which Mark makes for improving the current
situation.
8.4
By the way, like Mark, I don’t like the CC dongle; if I ‘downgrade’ from
Publisher to Style then can I get rid of it?
8.4
The customised Risc PC
8.4
Now to hardware. At Acorn World 94, I found that many of the better
hardware suppliers were concerned enough about margins to want to drop
out of the Acorn hardware market altogether. Although this is
understandable (I believe that Acorn offer minimal margins to retailers)
I wonder about this strategy too.
8.4
An advantage of the Risc PC over the Archimedes is that it will allow
users to upgrade piecemeal in the same way as PC users do now by buying
sound blaster cards, CD ROM, video cards, hard discs, monitors, etc. My
son has made me a PC from component parts this way.
8.4
In the Risc PC, I see the possibility of buying similar mix-and-match
combinations which will allow the purchaser to buy a set of hardware
customised to their own requirements. Up to now, Acorn has deliberately
locked out this potentially lucrative market for hardware suppliers by
insisting that you can’t buy part systems. I expect that, sooner or
later, Acorn will realise that their current policy will leave only the
‘box shifters’ who compete only on price and not on service. I believe
that they will relent and allow registered Enthusiasts to buy tailor-
made hardware systems from those agents (such as Norwich Computer
Services) with the necessary expertise to supply a hardware support
service. At present, only registered Enthusiasts can buy a box without a
monitor but, at least that’s a step in the right direction.
8.4
Other letters
8.4
Some of the letters I’ve received ask me for advice or have questions
which I feel incompetent to answer.
8.4
Here is a small sample: (a) Whether to buy a proper cheap PC or a
Risc PC (b) Whether to sell an A310 and buy a secondhand A3000 which is
going cheap (c) Whether I agree that a 5¼“ drive is an “essential” that
is missing from the current Risc PC specification (d) Whether I believe
that the price of the Canon BJC-600 printer will fall further in the
next few months (e) Will Interdictor 2 run on a Risc PC? (f) Will
Chicago, NT, Windows 95 run as well on a Risc PC as it will on a (yet to
be upgraded) PC?
8.4
If you have any comment then please write to the appropriate column of
Archive − I don’t know the answers!
8.4
One of the questions that has come up in about a dozen of my letters but
in slightly different forms is: “Will the Risc PC with upgrades manage
keep up with a ‘true’ PC which (referring to the PC) has got all the
avenues for upgrading built in?”. My answer is that the Risc PC is ahead
of the PC at present and, I believe, it will remain ahead.
8.4
The implication of the question is that you’ve bought a Risc PC to run
PC software (or to add PC hardware)! If you want PC hardware and
software then the best way to do that is to buy (or get your son to
make!) a PC and keep buying the hardware and software upgrades.
8.4
I believe that the Acorn machines are better in many ways. I find that
the Desktop is far more friendly than Windows; I find that the packages
I use on the Archimedes are faster than the packages I use on the PC; on
the Archimedes I can link Draw to Publisher, Fireworkz and PipeDream and
all of them use the same printer driver and fonts; I like the OLE
feature of Publisher and I expect OLE to be included in many more
packages.
8.4
Cross checks
8.4
The interest shown in this topic (see 8.2 p34), has been much greater
than I expected. It would seem that many of you are now successfully
using the custom function which I gave, namely:
8.4
...function(“same_number”,“first:number”,
8.4
“second: number”)
8.4
...result(if(abs(@first−@second)/(@first+
8.4
@second)<(1e−16),“OK”,“Error”))
8.4
to determine whether your spreadsheet is working correctly or whether it
has failed in some way. The only criticism I have received is a
suggestion that maybe the value of (1e−16) is too small. All but one of
those expressing this view do not use PipeDream 4 or Fireworkz.
Naturally, before I suggested this value, I ran extensive checks on many
PipeDream and Fireworkz spreadsheets and, in nearly all cases, the value
of (1e−16) does its stuff! When it doesn’t work properly, I have found
that (1e−15) overcomes the problem.
8.4
Colin Singleton points out to me that this low value, (1e−16),
corresponds to double-precision floating point arithmetic. The
conclusion is that both PipeDream 4 and Fireworkz do use double-
precision floating point arithmetic! Colton Software confirm that this
is the case. Colin and others who have written to me are quite right
that, if you use standard Acorn Basic (not the Basic64), the precision
is such that you need the rather larger number, (1e−9), instead of
(1e−16) in the check function.
8.4
A puzzle
8.4
Colin has also proposed a puzzle which relates to integer arithmetic and
rounding. I’ve discovered that many of you who read this column do like
numerical puzzles so here it is.
8.4
My day job is as a (currently much overworked, stressed, harassed and
recently inspected) lecturer at Swindon College where I teach almost
anything which is Mathematical! One topic I teach is Applications of
Statistics. Many tables of statistics (particularly those published by
the Central Statistics Office) include a footnote which reads
“Components may not add up to totals because they have been rounded
independently”. Let me explain. Consider the sum 12.4 + 8.4 = 20.8. If
you round the components (the two 12.4 and 8.4) to get 12 and 8 and then
add them you get 20. If you round the total, 20.8, you get 21. There is
a temptation amongst those who have not been taught properly (e.g. by
me!) to cheat and change some of the rounded values so that the rounded
values do add to the total. You should never do this with a statistical
table; include the footnote I’ve quoted from the CSO publications
instead.
8.4
However, accountants do it all the time! They teach the subject of
rounding differently − just to confuse the students!
8.4
Colin Singleton (are you an accountant?) wants an algorithm which will
round the total correctly but will then go through the components
adjusting one (or more if necessary) so that the components do add to
the total.
8.4
The rules for this puzzle are: (a) That the component which is chosen
for adjustment must be the one most suitable. By this I mean that you
should round up a value such as 12.4 to 13 before you round up a 12.3.
Similarly, you should round down a 12.6 to 12 before you round down a
12.7. (b) The minimum number of components should be adjusted this way.
(c) You must round by less than one unit.
8.4
If you do come up with an algorithm (i.e. a solution) then please send
it to me on a disc rather than in printed form so that I can more easily
make it available to others.
8.4
New modes
8.4
Another topic which seems to be very popular with you and has lead to
much correspondence appeared in this column under the heading TaskX.
8.4
If you create sprites in one of the Risc PC new modes and import them
into Fireworkz, you may find the area which should be occupied by the
sprite is blank! The solution is to update your TaskX module. Send me a
blank formatted disc and I’ll send you a copy of the new TaskX. Please
note that if you use this new TaskX with RISC OS 3.1, not only will it
do nothing extra for you but it will stop Fireworkz working properly.
So, don’t fit the new TaskX unless you have RISC OS 3.5 (or later).
8.4
Non standard modes
8.4
In my best desk-side manner, let me be nice and thank all of you who
send me discs before being nasty and telling you of something you do
which causes me problems. I guess that it’s not only me that has the
problem but also the Archive editor and many authors of columns in
Archive. Before I start, let me thank Jim Nottingham for raising my
awareness of this problem from which many Archive authors must suffer.
8.4
The utility VIDCModes, to which I referred in the November 1994 Archive,
defines a new mode, mode 102, which, in characters, allows me (just
under) twice the width and twice the height of a mode 12 screen. I like
to use it with my 17“ Eizo 9070S monitor because I can get more windows
on the screen in that mode than in any other. Once upon a time, shortly
after I got my 17” monitor, I sent my PipeLine column to Archive (on
disc) containing sprites (screenshots) I had created in mode 102. I got
a call from Paul saying that he couldn’t read my sprites. They gave an
error message which I think was something like “Bad Mode”. After a
little discussion, Paul loaded the mode defining module (which is on one
of his Shareware discs) and then his Impression accepted the screenshots
which I’d created in mode 102.
8.4
In the past, I’ve had many similar problems with contributions to
PipeLine; these problems were nearly always with files sent to me by
users of Impression II. It took me quite a while before I found out why.
One day, instead of using the A540, I used the A440 machine on which I
had Impression II installed (I’ve got only one dongle) and, to my
surprise, the sprite which wouldn’t load into PipeDream on the A540 did
so on the A440. What was the cause? A utility called !NewModes is
packaged with Impression II which allows those with a standard non-
multisync monitor to increase the area (in pixels) used by their
desktop. It would seem that mode 66 is the most popular mode for non-
multisync use. I hadn’t got the NewModes utility loaded on the A540 and
couldn’t read the sprites. The solution was simple. Load the CC NewModes
module into the A540 machine and all the sprites from my correspondents
(remember that the sprites are hidden in a PipeDream or Fireworkz
document) could be read even though Impression II wasn’t loaded.
8.4
When you upgrade to a Risc PC
8.4
Part of the most recent letter I received from Jim Nottingham refers to
loading sprites he’s received from others. He says: “I still haven’t had
much joy with the Risc PC as this doesn’t seem to want to recognise
‘non-standard’ modes, even if the extra (mode defining) modules are
loaded”. Does this imply that the Risc PC can’t make use of the NewModes
or VIDCModes modules? Does this mean that all my mode 102 sprites (which
use the VIDCModes module) won’t be accepted by my Risc PC when I get it?
8.4
This feature of the Risc PC (if true) is important to many of you now
since, at some time or other, you may consider buying a Risc PC (or you
may want to send documents containing sprites to someone who has only a
Risc PC). When you do, you will want all the old documents you created
on the earlier platform to work with your new machine.
8.4
Sending me sprites
8.4
So, there we are. When you send me (or any of the Archive authors) a
disc please make sure that they are going to be able to read your
sprites! As a general rule, you should apply the principle, “Use the
least sophisticated mode which contains all the attributes you need to
make your point”. For example, don’t send an Archive author a 16M colour
mode sprite if a 256 (or 16) colour mode will make your point equally
effectively.
8.4
Let me be specific. If you have a Risc PC and you send me a disc
containing a sprite, remember that I don’t have a Risc PC and so I can
read only numbered modes such as 12, 15, 27 and 28. I can’t read 16M
colour modes. If your screenshot has been taken in some unnumbered mode
on a Risc PC then I won’t be able to read it (yet).
8.4
ChangeFSI
8.4
So what can you do about ensuring that authors can read your sprites?
There is no need to change the mode you’re working in. By all means save
your screenshot in a 16M colour mode but then use the utility program
!ChangeFSI (supplied by Acorn and on the Archive Utilities Disc Nº 8) to
convert your sprite to one of the numbered modes which I (Paul, Jim and
others) can read more easily.
8.4
The screenshot below shows you how to set up ChangeFSI so that your
sprites will be converted into mode 12 sprites. Mode 12 is a 16 colour
mode so, if you want 256 colours then you will find it beneficial to
convert to mode 15 rather than 12. I suggest you don’t convert to mode
27 or 28 since these modes cannot be read by machines having the
RISC OS 2 operating system.
8.4
Finally
8.4
In this issue, I had intended to include a brief note explaining the
differences in the nature of Styles in Impression and Fireworkz. That,
together with my draft for the next part of my series on future proofing
will have to wait for another day.
8.4
It must be time again to remind you that my address is that of Abacus
Training which you will find on the inside back cover of this magazine.
Writing to me via the Archive office causes delay and extra expense.
Please send me your comments, examples, questions and problems in the
form of a disc file. It makes things much easier for me if I decide to
publish them or to make your comments available to others.  A
8.4
Gerald and I agree that “Document Production Column” doesn’t really do
justice to the range of topics he is covering. “Gerald’s Column” is a
bit unimaginative so how about a competition for the best alternative?
I’ll give a year’s free subscription to the magazine for (what I think)
is the best title. Ed.
8.4
Pocket Book Column
8.4
Audrey Laski
8.4
Hardware matters
8.4
Ian Ford, of Stockport had to send his 3A back to Psion because of two
problems which other users may be concerned to hear about. The keyboard
had to be replaced because some of the key legends were wearing away,
and the screen had become badly scratched, apparently by the top row of
keys. Psion suggested that the keyboard had become dirty and transmitted
the dirt to the screen, and then the frequent opening and closing had
caused the scratches. His advice is to clean keyboard and screen
regularly, probably with a spectacle or lens cleaner. However, I was
somewhat shocked to see that he had had these troubles while his 3A was
still under guarantee. It seems as if either he had a rogue specimen, or
that the Psion is seriously less well finished than the Pocket Book,
since mine, uncleaned for fifteen months and heavily used, has shown no
sign of similar problems.
8.4
In relation to the question of ruggedness, he mentions that his 3A has
survived getting wet while sharing a bicycle basket with a leaking
mineral water bottle. This is reassuring, since Pocket Books are often
in danger from spillages of various sorts.
8.4
Roger Jackman, of Slough, warns of the possible risks inherent in using
rechargeable batteries, which he had hoped would be as useful in the
Pocket Book as in other devices. He notes that these batteries “suddenly
run out of juice”, so that the Pocket Book has to switch to the backup
battery without the user’s noticing the fact. His advice is to change
rechargeable batteries regularly, but points out that the frequency will
vary with use, so what “regularly” implies, every user will need to
establish individually. It may be more economical in the long run to
stick to ordinary throwaway batteries. Incidentally, have other users
been troubled, like me, by a discrepancy between battery power messages?
When I had been using a set of batteries for some time, I started to get
the battery warning on switching on, but found the battery information
accessed from the desktop still saying “Good”; I didn’t know what to
believe.
8.4
Hot keys
8.4
The query from Peter Young, of Cheltenham, in last month’s column, about
adding hot-key shortcuts stirred much interest. Ian Ford suggests that
another useful Write shortcut would be one for case swapping. John
Woodthorpe, of Rugby, who first alerted us to the useful programs
available from 3-Lib, recommends a macro-generating program they have
for the 3A, which will presumably also work for Pocket Book 2, as a way
of ‘rolling your own’.
8.4
Printing problems
8.4
I have had some queries about discrepancies between what appears on the
screen and what is printed out. I’d be glad of more examples so that
they can be tackled as a group, and it would be particularly useful to
know if printing is being done directly or via the A-Link to another
machine.
8.4
For those in the vanguard
8.4
The goodies available to those who have advanced to the Psion 3A or
Pocket Book 2 continue to make the rest of us greenish. John Woodthorpe
also draws attention to a Shareware application by Steve Litchfield of
3-Lib which provides a 3A road and hotel mapping system which shows
distances, main roads and motorways between given places. Picture the
Psion 3A/Pocket Book 2 user, arriving fresh as a daisy in Southampton
after an easy drive during which she has dictated part of her memoirs on
the recorder, sending a few faxes via the Psion 3Fax, relaxing with a
glass of wine, chosen with the advice of the Hugh Johnson Wine Guide,
and a crossword assisted by Spell 2 and the Thesaurus, before settling
to some serious programming with the latest version of OPL...
8.4
Endnote
8.4
It isn’t quite a flood yet, but the letters are beginning to flow again,
as the column shows. I look forward to even more in the New Year, and
wish all Pocket Book and Psion users a very happy one.  A
8.4
Puzzle Corner
8.4
Colin Singleton
8.4
In this column last month, I stated my policy of offering original
puzzles only − and this month I am going to break this rule! The second
puzzle, The Hole, is a classic in the field of Recreational Mathematics,
but if you haven’t seen it before, the answer is quite surprising.
Please be honest, and do not submit an answer cribbed from elsewhere.
8.4
The two puzzles this month have one thing in common − there does not
seem to be enough information to answer the question. Nevertheless, they
can both be solved. They are mathematical puzzles rather than computer
exercises, but you can, perhaps, use your machine as a tool to assist
your investigation. Isn’t that what computers are for? Try experimenting
with different values of the ‘missing’ variables. Good Luck!
8.4
Here are this month’s two puzzles ...
8.4
(5) Cheat!
8.4
I have just received from the Editor of a certain magazine (not
Archive), the bundle of entries to the the puzzle I set in the magazine
a few weeks ago. There were a number of wrong answers, but 26 entrants
got it right. One lady submitted two correct entries − I don’t know
whether she was trying to cheat, or to altruistically increase the
chance of a female winner in a male-dominated field! She did, of course,
give herself two chances, to everyone else’s one, of being drawn out of
the Editor’s hat.
8.4
If I really wanted to cheat at this type of competition, I could send a
couple of dozen entries in separate envelopes under false names. I could
never be sure of winning the prize, unless mine were the only correct
entries, but I would improve the chance of one of my entries being
drawn. On the debit side, if I send too many entries, the postage will
cost more than the value of the prize.
8.4
So, if I am confident of my answers, and I want to maximise the return
on my ‘investment’ in postage, how many entries should I send to each
puzzle?
8.4
(6) The Hole
8.4
A cylindrical hole is drilled through the centre of a steel sphere. The
remaining steel is then melted down and re-cast into a new sphere. If
the diameter of this sphere is five inches, what was the length of the
hole in the original sphere?
8.4
... and last month’s two answers ...
8.4
(3) Tithes
8.4
Charlie won the toss 21 times (Not 20!)
8.4
If Charlie had staked equal amounts on each toss, we could deduce that
he had won exactly half the tosses. But if he stakes a fixed percentage
on each toss, the result is different.
8.4
A win multiplies his holding by 1·1, a loss multiplies it by 0·9.
Starting with £100·00, twenty wins and twenty losses (in any sequence)
would leave Charlie with only 100 × 1·120 × 0·920 ® 81·79. However, 21
wins and 19 losses leaves 100 × 1·121 × 0·919 ® 99·97; 22 wins and 18
losses leaves 100 × 1·122 × 0·918 ® 122·18.
8.4
With each stake rounded to the nearest penny, the final amount can vary
by a few pence either side of the theoretical figure, depending on the
sequence of wins and losses. But a discrepancy of around £20 is not
possible.
8.4
(4) Prime Post
8.4
100 can be expressed as the total of different Prime Numbers in 198
different ways.
8.4
Yes, it is as straightforward as it looks. Nothing clever, no hidden
twists. You can do it with pencil and paper, if you set about it
systematically, but it is very easy to miss a few. You could, of course,
make Archimedes do the donkey-work, but make sure you get the program
logic right. The 198 partitions are listed in the file PrimePost on this
month’s disc.
8.4
(N.B. The number one is not prime! If it were, the prime factorisations
of composite numbers would not be unique.)
8.4
... and congratulations to the previous month’s winners.
8.4
(1) This is 1994
8.4
Winner − Rev D Broster, Kilbirnie, Ayrshire
8.4
The only correct answer found was ((·1)–Ú9–Ú9)×Ú4. Sorry, you are not
allowed e or p, or the indices -1 or 2, since these are all numbers, and
the only numbers allowed are 1 9 9 4.
8.4
(2) Conversations
8.4
Winner − Jonathan Ormond, Ludlow, Shropshire
8.4
Jonathan sent a detailed explanation of his solution, which was
essentially the same as the one I gave in last month’s column. The
series 1 2 5 15 52 203 876 ... are known as Bell Numbers after the
Scottish-American mathematician Eric Temple Bell, who investigated it in
connection with a number of mathematical problems.
8.4
Comments and solutions
8.4
Please send comments, contributions and solutions to me at 41 St Quentin
Drive, Sheffield, S17 4PN. Solutions by Friday 6th January, 1995,
please.  A
8.4
Supreme Software
8.4
New artwork
8.4
The Civil War − Key Datafiles
8.4
Phyllis Brighouse
8.4
To run the datafile, you need the KeyPlus database. If you are using
KeyPlus for the first time, you are going to have to get to grips with
the package first. KeyPlus comes with a resources disc and very
comprehensive instructions in a ring bound folder, so you can take pages
out and attach them to clipboards, etc. It takes you through in simple
steps and is easy to follow.
8.4
This is an extremely powerful database program, however, with a
correspondingly steep learning curve. It is the sort of package that
should be included in staff training on “Baker Days” to enable teachers
to use the package in class. Having said that, pupils do not need to
master the entire package and should be able to use the datafiles more
quickly.
8.4
KeyPlus is aimed at Secondary School pupils working towards Key Stage 3
and 4. As well as being able to sort and to search databases and then
output the results in spreadsheet format, KeyPlus provides a powerful
mapping system. This means that pupils can plot data onto maps if the
datafile gives the latitude and longitude of a place. Data can thus be
displayed visually as well as in the form of tables of raw data.
8.4
Schools which also have the spreadsheet program KeyCalc can transfer the
Civil War data across from KeyPlus to KeyCalc to use as spreadsheet
data.
8.4
Loading and starting up the program
8.4
KeyPlus can be loaded onto the hard disc, but you must have the key disc
in your floppy drive. If the key disc is missing, the program demands it
and will not load. This protects against unauthorised copying of
programs without preventing you copying to the hard disc; you have to
encode the key disc with the name of the person to whom the licence is
issued. Anglia can then identify illegal copies.
8.4
The Civil War datafiles and booklet
8.4
The Civil War package consists of a slim book and a disc. The disc
contains four KeyPlus files, called !Battles, !Biogs, !GarrisonI and
!Garrison0. The files !Battles and !Biogs are text files describing the
major battles of the Civil War and biographies of the major
participants. !Battles has information on the latitude and longitude of
battles as well as the date, place and outcome, so KeyPlus can paste
data onto maps. Two maps are supplied: CivilWar and GB. A Swords
drawfile is supplied as the symbol for use on the maps.
8.4
The two databases starting with the name Garrison are the actual records
of the Parliamentary garrison at Chalfield and provide an opportunity to
use a computer to manipulate primary evidence. They are the financial
records of the garrison and payments made are recorded in both modern
currency and the ‘old money’ of pounds, shillings and pence.
8.4
A file called MoneyOld provides an ‘old money’ to ‘new money’
spreadsheet file in KeyCalc/KeyCount format to help pupils convert
decimal money to pounds, shillings and pence, and assist in
understanding the old money. This file cannot be run unless one of the
two spreadsheets is available.
8.4
There is a directory of eight drawfiles − these are eight of the
pictures in the booklet, including Charles I, Charles II and Cromwell −
so pupils can illustrate any writing they do about their work on the
Civil War.
8.4
The Civil War Booklet is full of information about the Civil War, and is
a small, multimedia history book rather than an instruction manual on
running the program. Ability to manipulate the program is assumed. It
includes a timeline, and tells the story of how Charles I clashed with
Cromwell and finally lost his head. It uses quotations from primary
sources, and suggests sources of evidence available to a historian.
8.4
The booklet gives a map marking the principle battles of the Civil War
and suggests that the reader then utilises the Battles datafile and
other KeyPlus maps to obtain more detailed information. At the end of
the booklet are four pupil worksheets, detailing what is in the
datafiles and asking questions which would be answered by using them.
The !Battles text datafile can, for instance, be sorted by date,
searched for the battles and skirmishes which took place in 1642 (brief
instructions on how to do this are given); the results of such a search
can then be plotted onto a map (supplied as a computer file).
8.4
There is plenty of material for pupils to work with and all the files
are large datafiles so you get value for your money.
8.4
Conclusion
8.4
Computer packages should enable pupils to use computers across the
curriculum and carry out activities that books, diagrams and other
teaching aids cannot. Tasks carried out should meet the requirements of
the National Curriculum, and allow both the least able and the most able
pupils to demonstrate what they can do. This package does it in spades.
It has the ability to plot the results of searches of the Battles file
onto a map. After a series of searches, pupils can create maps
presenting the results of searches visually rather than as raw data
tables. They can manipulate the Garrison datafiles (IT in history using
primary evidence), and output and publish the results. The data in the
Garrison, Biographies and Battles datafiles can all be output into ASCII
files, edited and dropped into a publishing package, illustrated with
the supplied drawfiles.
8.4
Schools which also have the spreadsheet program KeyCalc can transfer the
Civil War data across to use as spreadsheet data.
8.4
The Civil War is produced by Anglia Television and works with version
3.0 of KeyPlus. Instructions for using earlier versions of KeyPlus are
found in a ReadMe file on the disc. The Civil War costs £22 +VAT from
Anglia Television and KeyPlus v3.0 is £60 +VAT.  A
8.4
Help!!!!
8.4
•  AgendA − Does anyone still have an AgendA seven-button chording
keyboard from MicroWriter Systems? The company has gone bust and I can’t
contact them any more. The machines die of neglect when their Nicad
batteries run down and won’t recharge. I can fix them but I need spares
to keep mine going. Help!  Simon Anthony, 62 Rutland Road, West
Bridgeford, Nottingham, NG2 5DG.
8.4
•  Printer drivers − Does anyone have a printer driver for the Acorn
JP101 sparkjet printer, please?  Simon Anthony, Nottingham.
8.4
•  Qume laser printers − Has anyone got a spare CC driver card for a
Qume Laser Direct printer, please? We have the printer but the computer
containing the driver card was stolen from our college. (What about
someone who has bought a Risc PC and found that their Qume no longer
works? Ed.)  Simon Anthony, Nottingham.
8.4
•  Slideshow software − Can anyone give me any suggestions for software
to simulate a ‘slide show’ with user-controllable wipes and fades,
either to the Archimedes video output or a separate card. All comments
and reports (positive and negative) much appreciated.  Stuart Bell, 23
Ryecroft Drive, Horsham, RH12 2AW.
8.4
•  Video to VCR − Can anyone give suggestions for an economical way of
sending video output to a VCR − either the Archimedes’ own signal or
else from a separate card − the highest possible quality.  Stuart Bell,
Horsham.
8.4
Help Offered
8.4
• Scientific software − Some time ago, I offered to act as a collator
for any type of scientific and mathematical software. There are now two
discs of applications, which can be obtained by sending two formatted
(800Kb) blank discs, together with return postage. I should also be
pleased to receive any software for inclusion on further discs. A list
of the software appears on this month’s program disc.  Chris Johnson, 7,
Lovedale Grove, Balerno, Edinburgh, EH14 7DR.
8.4
•  Unit Conversion − On this month’s disc is a new version of Chris’
unit conversion program. The old one had liquid measures in American
units, not in British (Imperial)!  Chris Johnson, Edinburgh.  A
8.4
PrimeSolver
8.4
Doug Weller
8.4
PrimeSolver is, to quote the manual, “a fun way of creating and solving
puzzles.” The puzzles in question fall under the subject headings of
science and technology.
8.4
To assist in solving and designing puzzles, there are 56 gadgets,
including bricks, water, candles, eggs, nuts, generators, motors,
boilers, lasers, mirrors, wickets, etc. Some interesting characters,
Mike the Bike, Henrietta Henworthy (a hen), Biggles the Fly, and
Felicity Green the Frog are also available to help and amuse.
8.4
These are all put together to allow children (and adults!) to solve
problems and to experiment. Minerva has thought through this program
very carefully and has provided an excellent graded set of puzzles which
are the best way to get into this program. When you load PrimeSolver and
click on the icon bar, a ‘startup file’ is loaded. This brings up two
already solved puzzles which give you a good flavour of how the program
works.
8.4
The first involves Felicity the Frog, a flag, a tennis ball, a bomb, a
curtain, a fan, electric sockets, some bricks, cog wheels, an electric
motor, pulleys, drive belts, and a rope. (I may have missed something!)
The frog jumps on a switch which starts the fan which blows the ball
(which has already fallen and switched on the motor) down a ramp into a
lift which is being raised by the motor which then knocks a bomb off a
stand which falls against a candle (knew I’d missed something) and
lights and then falls on the curtains, explodes and destroys the
curtains only to reveal.... well, I guess you have the general idea by
now.
8.4
Also on the disc are several files of example problems. The ‘starter’
file has sixteen puzzles (the maximum that can be stored in one file)
which offer simple examples of all the different gadgets, and the manual
offers a tutorial taking you through each puzzle. (You might want to try
them without reading the manual first, though.)
8.4
The first puzzle has, in its action window, our old friend the frog, the
framework for a swimming pool and a diving board. The gadgetbox has
tiles and water, and the objective (each puzzle has an objective) is to
fill the pool with water so that Felicity can have a dip. Another puzzle
requires you to use a radio, two lengths of cable, a generator, a drive
belt and a pipe bend, to suck a ball out of a basin using the radio.
Once completed, a Well done message is displayed which also shows how
long you spent finding the solution.
8.4
Experiment and design modes
8.4
Experiment mode allows access to an unlimited number of all the
available gadgets, either to devise your own simulations or to find
alternative solutions to existing puzzles. These can’t be saved (to
prevent overwriting existing problems accidentally).
8.4
Design mode allows users to set up their own problems including the
number of type of gadgets that can be used and an objective for the
problem. This objective (or goal) must be reached for the problem to be
solved and the Well done message to appear, e.g. a puzzle might have the
goal ‘Break the jar without frightening the chicken.’
8.4
Other features
8.4
PrimeSolver has too many special features to be mentioned in this
review. Some of the more important include:
8.4
Configurable button bar to control activities.
8.4
Gravity which can be adjusted from 0 to 200%.
8.4
Air pressure which can also be adjusted from normal down to 0% (which
kills animals, stops candles from lighting, etc).
8.4
Sound (of balloons bursting, etc) can be off or on.
8.4
Keyboard shortcuts for common actions.
8.4
Snapshot will save the current work area as a sprite.
8.4
Backdrops can be created in applications such as Paint and used to
provide decorative backgrounds (or indeed as stationary objects which
will interact with the simulation, allowing things to bounce off them or
even to be destroyed by explosions and thus become part of the goal).
8.4
Interactive Help via Acorn’s !Help is also available to show how the
various features and gadgets work. This is very useful when first using
the program with children.
8.4
Summary
8.4
This is an ingenious and well thought out program, with an excellent
tutorial and a manual to match. It can be used with a wide range of ages
(7 to 70 plus), and is both challenging and entertaining. It is truly a
unique program − which may actually be a slight disadvantage. Those who
have not seen it may be put off by its price, which would be a shame. At
the time of writing, it is being offered by Minerva at a special price:
Single User: £39.95 inc VAT, Primary Site Licence: £118 +VAT, Secondary
Site Licence: £252 +VAT. (The single user version is available through
Archive at £39.)  A
8.4
Text Import − Part 2
8.4
Jim Nottingham
8.4
In Part 1 (Archive 8.3 p63), we considered how the various characters
that we see on screen and paper are designated and also looked at the
range of methods we can use to enter characters into the computer. In
this part, we turn to the actual business of importing text from
‘foreign’ sources and specifically how we can filter out the unwanted
control characters. Some of the word-processor (WP) and DTP applications
for Acorn machines have built-in routines and facilities to allow this
to be done in part but, as we all have access to Edit, we will use this
powerful text editor − in particular its invaluable Find and Replace
function − as the primary tool.
8.4
At the outset, let me stress that there will always be two or more
methods of achieving the same result in Edit and I can only cover a
small fraction of the entire repertoire in this article. So my intention
is to deal with a limited number of situations we might meet in practice
and suggest solutions, considering not only the ‘how’ but also the
‘why’, in some detail. My aim is to give you sufficient familiarity with
the workings of Edit so that, when you meet a situation we have not
discussed, you will quickly be able to deduce a working solution from
the basic principles.
8.4
For convention throughout the article, anything I ask you to type in at
the keyboard will be enclosed in <> brackets, so <Text><return> would
mean type in the word “Text” and then press the return key. Similarly,
<Alt-169> would mean hold down the Alt key, type in the numerals 169 (on
the numeric keypad) and then release the Alt key.
8.4
Preparation
8.4
For the sake of this exercise, I will assume that you have either
received the ‘foreign’ text on floppy disc or already imported it into
your computer via a serial link or through a modem. At the end of the
day, you will want to have the text converted to Acorn-speak and
displayed by your WP or DTP application. So, for starters, load Edit and
the WP/DTP package onto the iconbar.
8.4
My first and most important bit of advice is that you should make at
least one back-up copy of what you receive. Having learnt the hard way,
I always make two copies on different storage media as a matter of
course, one as a working copy and − most importantly − one I can still
get at should the original be corrupted. (I still come out in a sweat
when I remember the floppy that arrived from Saudi Arabia, two weeks
late, with a cracked case and a mangled metal slider − arrghh!)
8.4
When you have the text file copied onto your hard disc or whatever, you
may well find the icon above the filename will represent a PC. This is
because the filetype has been set to the PC disc operating system − DOS.
Some applications (e.g. Impression Publisher) will not accept such files
so, initially, it is necessary to convert their filetype to Text. I
always convert the files as a matter of course because I prefer to see
Acorn-style icons on the desktop!
8.4
To do this, click <menu> over the file icon and follow through the
Filer−File−Set type sub-menus. Delete “DOS” in the dialogue box and type
in <Text><return>.
8.4
The file icon will change to the more familiar Text style and double-
clicking on it will load the file into Edit as normal. If you will be
processing multiple files, you can change their filetype at one go by
selecting them all and, this time, stepping through the
Filer−Selection−Set type sub-menus.
8.4
Importing ASCII text
8.4
The most common and straightforward situation is when you need to import
some text which has been sent in the standard, ASCII format, so let’s
have a look at a practical example of that. On the monthly disc is the
file Example1 which we can use so, for the moment, drop the file icon
onto whichever WP or DTP package you have loaded on the iconbar.
8.4
Don’t worry if you don’t have the monthly disc, here is a truncated
section of what the file should look like in your WP/DTP package window
(with acknowledgements to Richard Torrens):
8.4
These days, a fax facility is almost a
8.4
necessity for running a business. When
8.4
people asked for our fax number, they
8.4
were most put out to find that we didn’t
8.4
have one − so we invested in David
8.4
Pilling’s ArcFax and bought ourselves
8.4
a fax modem.
8.4
What is a computer fax?
8.4
The Acorn computer prints by sending to
8.4
the printer a graphic image of the page
8.4
which is made up as a series of dots.
8.4
Normally, an electronic representation
8.4
of those dots is sent up the cable to the
8.4
printer. The fax modem can be thought of
8.4
as a ‘printer’ which turns these dots
8.4
into sounds which can be sent down the
8.4
telephone line to a remote receiver.
8.4
The main characteristic to note from this example is that the text does
not fill the column width. This is because ‘hard’ linefeeds have become
embedded (invisibly) in the ‘foreign’ text and have been imported with
it. It is possible to re-format the text manually, line by line, but
that’s even less exciting than watching Corel Draw re-draw on a PC
screen(!), so we need a better method.
8.4
Find and replace
8.4
Let’s see how we can use Edit to help us. Close and discard the WP/DTP
document and load the Example1 file into Edit. For reasons which will be
discussed later, it is advisable to set the Edit display to something
other than the System font (for clarity, I prefer Homerton). To do this,
click Menu in the Edit window and follow through the Display−Font sub-
menus.
8.4
Initially, the caret will already be in the top left-hand corner but, as
in later activities it can and will be elsewhere in the file, so get
used to pressing the <home> key to re-set it. Finally, press <f4> which
will open up Edit’s Find text box.
8.4
In normal usage, this allows us to replace one string of text with
another desired string, either singly or globally, for instance
replacing “Archivers” with “Archive readers” throughout a document. This
is a very powerful and flexible function and will handle not only text
strings, but also individual or groups of odd characters including those
from the top-bit set and even, as we shall see, control characters. I
believe the only limitation is that, when using window-based character-
select utilities such as !Chars, we cannot enter characters into the
Edit Find/Replace dialogue boxes by clicking <select>, so we must either
press <shift> (as described in Ed’s note in Part 1) or fall back on the
keyboard entry methods. For this reason, you may find it handy to have
available the table included in Archive 8.3 p64 (reading specs from Ed.
please, not me...).
8.4
Embedded linefeeds
8.4
To deal with the unwanted linefeeds in Example1, we can strip them out
by entering the appropriate character in the Find: dialogue box and
globally replacing it with something else. But what is the linefeed
character? If we hunt through the table, we will find that a linefeed
(LF) is the control character which has the ASCII decimal number 10.
Unfortunately, a quirk of Edit is that we can’t use the (Alt-xxx) system
to enter the control characters in the ASCII range 00-31 into the Find:
box (try it − you will get the superscript “¹” instead). So we are
forced to use an alternative method, in this case by entering the
equivalent hexadecimal number (&0a).
8.4
Magic characters
8.4
To enable this to work, we must first click on the “Magic characters”
radio button in the Find text box which extends the window to display
various options. (Users of RISC OS 2 will already see these options in
the Find text window, but you will need to click on Magic characters
anyway.)
8.4
As shown by “hex char”, we could enter the linefeed character by typing
<\x> followed by the appropriate 2-digit hex number (excluding the ‘&’).
So, in this case, typing <\x0a> would do the trick. However, this is not
exactly friendly so, again as shown, Edit allows us to type in <\n>
instead, which represents a linefeed or what it calls a “newline”
character.
8.4
So, having typed <\n> in the Find: box and pressed <return>, what do we
replace it with? The answer is either a space − or nothing at all! Our
problem is that this decision depends on where the text originally came
from (i.e. the ‘foreign’ application used) so, initially, I always play
safe by pressing the Space bar before pressing <return> (more on that
anon).
8.4
This will bring up the Text found window, indicating that Edit has found
the first instance of the linefeed character.
8.4
Normally, the first find would be marked in inverse text in the Edit
window but, because these linefeed characters are ‘invisible’, it cannot
do that; however, the caret has moved to the correct position of the
linefeed, i.e. the end of the first line of text.
8.4
Next, click “End of file replace” which will bring up 38 finds − the
number of lines of text and paragraph breaks in the file. Now, before
doing anything else, look at the result in the Edit window. You will see
that the text is now ranged across the full width of the window,
confirming that the unwanted linefeeds have been stripped out
successfully.
8.4
Paragraph breaks
8.4
Unfortunately, the double-spaces between the paragraphs, and either side
of the heading, have also been stripped out! As Harry Enfield would say,
we didn’t want to do that... The straightforward reason for the hiccup
is that, when you think about it, double-spacing is simply two linefeeds
back-to-back (in the same way that we would normally press <return>
twice to get double-spacing in a document). In these cases, Edit has
simply found pairs of linefeeds, back-to-back, and obediently replaced
them with two spaces.
8.4
Before we correct the error, look again at the text in the Edit window,
specifically where the linefeeds used to be. You will see that −
appropriately in this case − there is a single space, indicating that we
were correct to have replaced the linefeeds with a space. If we hadn’t,
the words at the end of each line and the start of the next would have
been joined together which would be a pain to untangle. Had there been
double spaces (i.e. an unwanted space had been added in each case), this
would have indicated that we should have replaced the linefeeds with
nothing.
8.4
Back to the problem of how to retain paragraph spacing. In this case
we’ve messed it up, so we can either go back one step by clicking on
“Undo” in the Text found box and then clicking on “Stop” or,
alternatively, discard the Edit file altogether and start again.
8.4
What we need to do is devise a method of getting Edit to recognise and
strip out single linefeeds while ignoring double linefeeds. We can
achieve this by running through the following procedure:
8.4
a)  Temporarily replace each double linefeed (\n\n) with something
completely different (a ‘dummy’).
8.4
b)  Strip out the single linefeeds as above (the ‘dummies’ representing
the double linefeeds will be disregarded).
8.4
c)  Replace/restore the ‘dummies’ with double linefeeds (or single
linefeeds, if you prefer).
8.4
What we use as the temporary dummy is not important except that it must
be uniquely different; that is, when we come to replace it with a double
linefeed, there must be no possibility of inadvertently replacing a
matching string in the wanted text. I’ve seen people using a variety of
dummy strings; “ZCZC”, “%$%” and the like. For this exercise, we will
use “%%”.
8.4
Working procedure
8.4
So the suggested, full procedure for importing ASCII text with embedded
linefeeds is as follows:
8.4
a)  Press <home> followed by <f4>
8.4
  “Find:” Type in <\n\n><return>
8.4
  “Replace with:” Type in <%%><return>
8.4
  Click on “End of file replace” (5 finds)
8.4
  Click on “Stop” (or press <return>)
8.4
(Note: The five paragraph spaces − double linefeeds − have now been
replaced with the “%%” dummy string).
8.4
b)  Press <home> followed by <f4>
8.4
  “Find:” Type in <\n><return>
8.4
  “Replace with:” Press <space><return>
8.4
  Click on “End of file replace” (28 finds)
8.4
  Click on “Stop” (or press <return>)
8.4
(Note: The 28 remaining single linefeeds have now been replaced with
spaces.)
8.4
c)  Press <home> followed by <f4>
8.4
  “Find:” <%%><return>
8.4
  “Replace with:” <\n\n><return>
8.4
  Click on “End of file replace” (5 finds)
8.4
  Click on “Stop” (or press <return>)
8.4
(Note: The five instances of “%%” have been deleted and double linefeeds
restored.)
8.4
If all has gone well, the text in the Edit window will now be ranged
across its full width but the original paragraph and heading spacings
will have been retained. As proof of the pudding, open an Edit save box,
drag it to the WP/DTP icon and marvel at your undoubted skill in
converting the ‘foreign’ text into fully-formatted Acorn-speak.
8.4
Familiarity and (semi-)automation
8.4
For what seems such a straightforward problem, this might appear to be a
very heavy-handed procedure. However, familiarity with it comes very
quickly and what we have done here for a fairly trivial sample applies
equally well for the majority of ASCII-text import problems that I have
met. Helping Edit to massage a 30-page ‘foreign’ document into perfectly
formatted text in a couple of minutes can be extremely satisfying.
8.4
Indeed, because it is a relatively standard procedure, it can be semi-
automated by the use of an appropriate module built into applications
such as the Impression family or by using a utility such as the
wonderful Keystroke. I prefer to use the latter because we can
capitalise on its inherent flexibility to get round the inevitable
variations in foreign-text format which, on occasions, seem to upset the
built-in routines. For example, the ASCII-text output option from my
Magic Note (Archive 8.1 p31) is slightly odd-ball but, by pressing <Alt-
L>, Keystroke converts it to Acorn-speak at the rate of around 2 secs/
page. There’s productivity for you.
8.4
Next month...
8.4
With Archive space at a premium this month, this is a convenient point
to break off for the moment. In the final part, planned for next month,
we will look at a more complex series of problems which are typical of
those we might meet in text imported directly from common ‘foreign’
word-processors such as Word, Word-Perfect, Wordstar and the like. With
our knowledge and experience to date, we shall have no difficulty using
Edit to convert the text to pure Acorn-speak, honest...
8.4
For further practice, I’m putting together a disc of example files
imported from as many foreign sources as I can get my hands on,
including the examples used in this series of articles. It should be
ready by the time this appears in print so, if you would like a copy,
please send me a formatted disc, address label and return postage. Jim
Nottingham, 16 Westfield Close, Pocklington, York, YO4 2EY.  A
8.4
Comment Column
8.4
•  Apple are at it again! − After having been told off by the
Advertising Standards Authority, Apple have changed their Power Mac
adverts. However, they are now saying “we can offer Power Macintosh
systems for as little as £1299...” (my italics). Next to the price is an
asterisk and this is covered in a minute piece of small print at the
bottom the page saying that these so-called “systems” do not include
keyboard or monitor! The above sentence continues “...complete with a
160Mb hard drive, 8Mb of RAM, 16-bit video support up to a 17“ monitor,
sound, and built-in Ethernet networking and file sharing.” Which of the
above is included in the £1299 price and which not? Good question!  Ed.
8.4
Stan Hasleton of Abbots Langley wrote to say that, last time we
mentioned dubious claims from Apple, he complained to the ASA and was
singularly unimpressed by the time taken by them to stop the offending
material. I quote from his letter, “My case here is not the time taken
for the ASA to deliberate on the complaint, rather the unexplained delay
in promulgating the results to the public having arrived at their
decision, bearing in mind that the ASA acknowledge that the offending
material was still being circulated by Apple and therefore the damage to
Acorn was not being limited.” The point was that he received a letter
dated 22nd July saying that the complaint had been upheld and enclosing
a copy of the Complaint Final Report. However, he was asked to “treat
the matter as confidential” because the report was not going to be
published until 7th September!
8.4
• ARM7500 − The news of the ARM7500 device (Archive 8.3, p.17) seems to
me to be the most important Acorn-related development since the ARM600
and the Risc PC. Though nominally developed for ‘set-top boxes’, since
its relationship to the ARM700 CPU is apparently like that of the ARM250
to the ARM2 CPU, but with the extra benefit of retaining a 4K cache, it
doesn’t take a genius to envisage applications for the ARM7500 in the
Acorn computer range: a ‘single-box’ Risc PC; a portable Risc PC; a
cheaper Risc PC; a cheaper, portable, single-box Risc PC? What
potential! – and what a clear demonstration of the power and flexibility
of the ARM ‘building-block’ approach! Stuart Bell, Horsham.
8.4
• Beware of the ‘Expert’! − The Problem − My old A410/1 was equipped
with a Morley cached SCSI podule, so I thought that transferring my data
to the new Risc PC would be very simple indeed. However, when I plugged
the card into new machine, not only did it not work, but the computer
even refused to acknowledge the very existence of the card. Disaster!
8.4
The “solution” − The local dealer who had sold the Risc PC to me said
that he would consult another dealer who was considered an expert on
SCSI matters. The information he received was this: My card was so old
that a group of chips on it could not work with the new machine. If I
sent the card to the expert, he would − for a modest fee − solder some
replacement chips onto the card.
8.4
The solution! − Morley had always rendered such excellent service that I
thought I had better send the card straight to them. I phoned Gary
Partis to ask for the price of the upgrade.
8.4
He had no idea what I was talking about. Those chips I had mentioned
have been the same ever since the first card, so the only thing needed
to make mine work was the software upgrade to version 1.17, which I had
installed anyway!
8.4
Gary told me a number of things I might try ... and (he hardly dared
mention it) had I made sure that the backplane was pushed all the way
down? I had not, of course! Actually, I had hardly looked at it,
blithely assuming that it was screwed to the motherboard just as in my
old machine.
8.4
A slight pressure on the top caused it to descend another three
millimetres or so, and suddenly everything worked perfectly. Bliss!
8.4
The moral − If you do find someone (like Morley or NCS) you can trust,
be happy, be thankful − and be faithful!
8.4
The postscript − In the course of our conversation, Gary also told me
that Acorn have fitted the Risc PC with an electromagnetic shield in the
shape of a metal film sprayed into the interior. Some parts of the case
are very close beneath two of the podule slots, and there have been a
few extremely nasty short circuits as a consequence. To avoid all risk
(or is it risc?) of damage, he advises the use of a few strips of
insulating tape.  Jochen Konietzko, Köln, Germany.
8.4
•  C Books (8.1 p38) − Much has already been said on this but I am using
“Programming in ANSI standard C” by Gordon Horsington (Sigma Press ISBN
1-85058-257-2). It is a good book with the Acorn machines in mind. Nice
for beginners.  Jan Maagdenberg, Hekendorp, Netherlands.
8.4
•  DTP Column (8.3 p54) − Congratulations to Mark Howe for taking up the
challenge of producing this column. Mark has his views of Impression,
related to his requirements. The Editor has disagreed with him on one or
two points, based on his needs, and I can disagree with both of them on
certain points! It is to CC’s credit that Impression is sufficiently
versatile for all of us to swear by it.
8.4
I will half agree with Mark’s comments about the toolbar. I don’t use
the top line − in fact, I would need to consult the manual to remind
myself what most of the icons meant! I do use the second line − the
Style, Effects and Rulers features. There are three different ways of
implementing most features, and I use them all, as convenient, although
I now tend not to use the <menu> key on the mouse. It’s a matter of
personal choice, and I complement CC on providing multi-method options
so that we may choose − unlike certain rival packages on certain rival
machines. It must be said, though, that the Publisher toolbar does bear
more than a passing resemblance to that in Word for Windows.
8.4
I must disagree with Mark’s comments about <ctrl-B> and <ctrl-I> for
bold and italic. These provide the bold and italic versions of whatever
font you are using (provided it exists, and is suitably named) − the old
<f3> and <f4> provided Trinity.bold and Trinity.medium.italic (or
whatever font was set in the Style Definition) irrespective of which
regular font you had been using. I prefer the new implementation − it is
more logical and more versatile. I wondered if it would be possible to
change the name of a font in the Font Directory, to force <ctrl-B> to
find it. I tried it and it seems to work. (That’s fine if you only ever
print out on one system but if you transfer your material elsewhere for
printing, the aliased fonts will cause great confusion! Ed.)
8.4
Despite Mark’s dislike of the new Style Definition dialogue boxes, I
like them! There are so many more features in Publisher that a single
box would be very long and would require extensive scrolling. The four-
box method is much neater − no scrolling − though I do need to know
which box to ask for. In fact, I do not need to edit styles very often.
(Now that may be the difference between you and Mark. He needs to be
able to change styles quickly and often which is, I think, why the new
layout doesn’t suit his particular needs. Ed.)
8.4
I do sometimes need to change the ruler, but I can do this without going
through the Edit Style function. Prompted by the comments in the last
issue of Archive, I am now finding out how. If I simply change the tabs
while I am typing, the modified ruler is used from there on. It is
created as a numbered effect. If I select a section of text (possibly
all of it), and adjust the tabs, this too creates a new numbered effect
and applies it to the selected text. If you save text with styles, and
then view the result using Edit, you will see the definitions of the
numbered effects, and where in the text they are switched on and off. I
am glad I have sorted this out, as it will make life a bit easier.
Thanks for the nudge!
8.4
I agree with Mark’s dislike of the old underline and I, too, have set my
own parameters. I have also set parameters for superscript and
subscript. With my definition, a superscript 1 (¹) now produces the same
effect as <alt-185> (¹), which was not quite true with the default
superscript parameters.
8.4
Another feature I hadn’t discovered (or had forgotten) is zooming with
the mouse. I like the zoom rectangle feature, although you cannot easily
get back to the original zoom factor. Thanks, Mark.  Colin Singleton,
Sheffield.
8.4
• Ecology and the Risc PC − In December ’94, the leading German PC
magazine (Magazin für Computertechnik) published a fascinating article
by Andreas Grote about the ecological side of computers.
8.4
The author compiled data from an American study and from various other
sources. The result is a rough estimate of the real costs behind one of
those marvellously cheap PCs. I quote some of the findings here with
kind permission from Heise Verlag, Hannover.
8.4
The article looks at the production of an average PC with keyboard,
mouse, floppy drive, hard disc and CD-ROM drive. (There is no mention of
a monitor, so I am not sure if it’s included.)
8.4
The key figures emerging from this article, listing all the waste
products and all the necessary resources, from mining the raw materials
to putting the finished product into its box, are:
8.4
− 5335 kWh of electric energy are used,
8.4
− 33,000 litres of water are polluted (the water is used mainly for
cleaning),
8.4
− 56,000,000 m3 of air are polluted (this is the volume needed so that
the pollution does not exceed the legal limit),
8.4
− 320 kg of waste materials are produced,
8.4
− 20 kg of this is poisonous waste,
8.4
− more than 3,000 kg of CO2 are blown into the atmosphere (greenhouse
effect!).
8.4
The author lists some comparisons:
8.4
− One average Indian uses 2450 kWh per year,
8.4
− one inhabitant of Madagascar uses 5.6 litres of water per day or
33,000 litres in 16 years,
8.4
− one Indian produces about 2,000 kg CO2 per year,
8.4
− even one German produces only about 12,000 kg of CO2 per year with his
car, his central heating, his electrical appliances, ...
8.4
− the average German produces 320 kg of “home garbage” (wrappings, tins,
...) per year.
8.4
The poisonous waste includes dioxins, mercury, thallium, lead,
strontium, barium, etc.
8.4
The energy needed for the production makes the values during the time
that the computer is used appear quite irrelevant; the author quotes
typical values for home use of about 50 to 85kWh per year, and for
business use (40h working week) of about 500 to 800kWh per year; a
“Green PC” can theoretically reduce this by 50 to 70%.
8.4
One final point the author makes is cost: In Germany, a typical 486
computer with monitor costs £600 to £800 inc. VAT. The environmental
cost for energy, cleaning up water and air, waste disposal and recycling
raises this to well over £2,000 − the difference being paid by “the
community”.
8.4
This brings me back to the title of this article: If what I have read so
far about the Risc PC holds true for the near future, it will be
possible to keep one of those machines for quite a number of years, just
replacing parts like the CPU when needed; and it may even be possible to
upgrade one’s SIMMs with second hand ones (I think Paul made such an
offer) once they become available.
8.4
I wonder what will become of those CPUs one sends back for the upgrade;
will even they be used again?
8.4
Seen in this light, the Risc PC is really the ultimate Green Machine,
and not just (as has been mentioned repeatedly) because it uses less
energy when working than a Pentium Green PC uses while idle!  Jochen
Konietzko, Köln, Germany.
8.4
•  Graphic Loaders with Impression (8.1 p73) − I am still using
Impression 2.19 and have no problems loading JPEG files, but I don’t use
the CC Loaders. Imagebank from Irlam is a splendid solution − just drag
the file from the Imagebank filer into the Impression frame. And the
Imagebank application is cheaper and much more versatile. (£28 through
Archive, cf £43. Ed.)  Jan Maagdenberg, Hekendorp, Netherlands.
8.4
• Keystroke − Phew! At least I’m not the only one to find the manual for
the excellent !Keystroke quite impenetrable (Archive 8.3, p.13). I
really was worried that senility was creeping up fast when I found it
incredibly difficult to create even the simplest Keystroke utility. I
look forward to a Keystroke Column; how about a demonstration of the
“Keystroke-ing” of the common text editing sequence a) replace all
double <CR>s by, say, ZXZ, b) replace all <CR>s by <SP>, c) replace all
double <SP>s by single a <SP>, d) replace all ZXZs by <CR>? Stuart Bell,
Horsham.
8.4
•  Lazy calendar? − (8.3 pp27/45) My comment on Cain Hunt’s rather lazy
calendar program (p27) has ‘crossed in the post’ with his article (p45),
of which I would make the same comment. The Day of the Week (0=Sunday
... 6=Saturday) for any Day−Month−Year is given by:
8.4
DEFFNWeekDay(D%,M%,Y%)=(D%+((M%+9)MOD12*
8.4
153+2)DIV5+(Y%+(M%<3))*1461DIV4−((Y%
8.4
+(M%<3))DIV100+1)*3DIV4+2)MOD7
8.4
If the user enters the first date he wants on the Diary sheets, the
program can calculate the Day of the Week of that date, and step back to
the previous Sunday.  Colin Singleton, Sheffield.
8.4
•  Marketing the Acorn? − As an American living in the UK (as the
European Sales and Marketing Director for a very large US-based IBM
compatible company) you may be surprised to learn that I use an Acorn
Risc PC at home. My love affair with the Acorn, this is my fourth,
started with my daughter’s school − they had some A3000’s − I was
amazed! I have to say that the Risc PC is Acorn’s best ever machine and
is better than comparably priced Pentiums and PowerMacs!!
8.4
However, one aspect has always concerned me − the supply of, or rather
the apparent shortfall in market penetration. My offices are just off
Tottenham Court Road − the so-called heart of English retail IT. I can
purchase Amigas (who?), Ataris (what?), Macs and PC’s but not Acorn. I
regularly asked myself and these stores why?
8.4
I read the Acorn magazines and have talked to people and I believe that
Acorn has retreated (for far too long) into its own comfort zone −
education! That’s fine − in fact, hats off to you guys in Histon − Swell
Job... but limited! Now I know it’s the game these days to knock Acorn
but whilst I can see the frustration of Acorn fans, I just want to stick
my fingers in the wind and run with it!
8.4
Firstly, Clan Acorn ’94 − Well done Acorn! About time too. Your best
resource (that’s free) is your fans. Don’t just patronize them with
competitions and late beta releases (good though that is) − get them
involved! If Acorn receives an enquiry from a potential enthusiast refer
that enquiry to a registered enthusiast − then reward the enthusiast
with points! If the enquirer then orders, award more points because we
know what points make, don’t we? Acorn needs to supply these enthusiasts
with lots of POS (literature) etc, but overall this is cheap but quality
marketing! Remember, talking to somebody who has put his hand in his
pocket and purchased, often means more than a salesperson with a sales
story! So that is one idea to widen the user base!
8.4
Secondly, how about a Clan for professionals? The same scenario applies
here but with greater impact. If the registered professional is making
money then he is going to relate better than a salesman does (who makes
money even if he sells zip!). As with the enthusiasts, award them points
in a similar two stage way. So there’s another idea to widen and deepen
the user base!
8.4
Thirdly, the difficult one. Acorn has to bite a couple of bullets! It
has to ensure its dealers have the right image and train its staff to
professionally promote its products. Then it has to encourage dealers
(and reward them) to go out and search for new markets (new to them and
Acorn). Finally, Acorn has to demonstrate that it is committed to its
current and potential users. How can it do that? It needs to use adverts
and better POS, TV (perhaps), etc, but only after the user base shows
signs of widening and deepening. It needs to get some of the more
esoteric hardware/software onto the Acorn platform − I am thinking
particularly about drum scanners and imagesetters (RIP’s). I do not
expect Acorn to reinvent the wheel and start from scratch but to get out
there and pay these companies to port their hardware and software over.
It will not be easy or cheap but the positive message it would impart
would ring loud and clear that Acorn is serious and in for the long
term!
8.4
I like Acorn and I’m amazed at the unfulfilled potential. Still, let’s
put all this into perspective − my company spends some $78m on European
R&D and $48m on UK marketing per annum. Acorn has an annual turnover of
$108m (everything)! If Acorn uses its own fans and lays out some
seedcorn then 1995/6 could be the time when Acorn becomes an oAkcorn!
Anon (for obvious reasons!)
8.4
•  Slide scanning service − In a photography magazine, I saw an
advertisement for a slide scanning service. I sent off a number of
slides to see how good this was and I am very pleased with the resulting
JPEG files. I’ve given Paul three of them to put on the Archive magazine
disc as and when space allows. (No room this month, I’m afraid, but I
can say that they looked very good on the Risc PC. Ed.)
8.4
The company offering this service is Bluebell Software, 42 Honeysuckle
Way, Witham, Essex, CM8 2XQ. Tel/Fax: [phone].
8.4
They offer a range of qualities of scan up to very high resolution
suitable for professional publication. I had them do ‘Standard’ scans on
twelve slides and this cost £2 each. The cost goes down to £1.15 per
slide for 100+. The costs include discs and postage. The company will
supply anyone interested in the service with a demonstration disc
including JPEG files and PC software.
8.4
I am very pleased with the results and would recommend any Archive
reader with an interest in photography to try having some of their 35mm
slides digitised.  Alan Angus, Blyth.
8.4
•  Squirrel 2 (1) − I have been a user of Squirrel for a few years now.
Earlier version were so buggy as to be unusable for serious
applications. When version 2 came on the scene, I tried it only to find
that there were still a number of peculiar bugs. Now that I have reached
version 2.08, the bug level is acceptably low. I like the program very
much and have always found the support staff very helpful and
courteous.  Bernard Veasey, Bognor Regis.
8.4
•  Squirrel 2 (2) − I use Squirrel 2 in an office environment for
records of schools and individual teachers using our museum (yes we are
registered under the Data Protection Act!). I went over to Squirrel 2
from Minerva’s Delta Base. My staff all use the Squirrel 2 files but
they are not interested in the finer points of the program − they just
want the information to be easy to access.
8.4
The non-standard key combinations of Squirrel 2 are a problem. It takes
quite a while to understand the different combinations and how they
change depending on which task the program is doing. I find the
confirmation box for each key-press annoying as it means using both the
keys and the mouse to accomplish, for example, writing one record.
8.4
The learning curve for the basic data entry and search parts of the
program was quite easy but getting to grips with the report set-up has
proved to be much harder. I am quite fussy about how reports look and I
often find that I am spending hours fiddling with the annoying habits of
Squirrel 2 in its report design mode to get data positioned properly on
the page. There is much trial and error involved and this takes a lot of
time − I long for the ability to set up a report page quickly and know
exactly where things will end up without having to go through the
preview option and often a trial printout too.
8.4
There are one or two problems that I have not yet been able to solve −
there may be a way round them but a good program should have led me to
the solution via a menu or the manual by now. Boolean fields in reports
cannot have a font assigned to them − the only choice seems to be rather
ugly sprite for the ticks and crosses. I have never found an easy way to
remove extra space at the end of each record in a report − it is too
easy to create this while moving fields around, and I often resort to
starting again rather than fiddling about for ages. I often seem to lose
the font definitions for some fields in reports and the printout appears
in the system font. The same seems to happen when a file is loaded − the
font definitions, that looked OK before, have mysteriously vanished.
8.4
However, there are some aspects of the program that I like a lot. The
search functions work very well and I like the way that the field
containing the cursor can be searched in order. Data entry is simple and
it is easy to alter the design of the record without losing data. Once I
had persuaded Delta Base to output files in the correct format, Squirrel
2 imported them easily. The ability to design a report and then get an
output file automatically is a real advantage − it means that I can set
up a report for, say, an address database and then a colleague can
create a CSV or Text file for easy merging into Impression by simply
running one Squirrel query file. The mail-merge links with Impression
are also useful (they operate via a separate CSV file) and it is now
quite easy to set up a mail shot and get good results quickly.
8.4
One problem I had was to insert a text field at the end of each address
record in a Squirrel report to include the Impression command “
8.4
” to produce a sheet of address labels − the report output file kept
losing the last bracket of the field. Digital Services were excellent
and gave helpful telephone advice until the problem was solved by
dragging the field size in the report set-up to much larger than the
text field. Other problems have also been dealt with efficiently and
with good humour by them.
8.4
So overall what do I think of Squirrel 2? It is good, but not quite up
to professional standards and the report set-up is not easy for a non-
experienced user. Perhaps I am asking for too much but isn’t it possible
to combine the power of a full-facility database with the ease of use
that enables a ‘normal’ user to access all its facilities and increase
their productivity without having to spend excessive time getting up a
too-steep learning curve?  Peter Clarke, Warwickshire Museum.
8.4
•  Squirrel 2 (3) − €As a regular and enthusiastic user of Squirrel, I
am sorry that I have not been quicker in leaping to its defence and to
the defence of Digital Services in response to the criticism they have
received in your columns. I teach GCSE and A-Level Computing at Forest
School, a large independent school with over 1200 pupils in North-East
London. Each year we have over 100 GCSE candidates in Computer Studies
and about a dozen A-level candidates, the majority of whom use Squirrel
as the major software tool for their project work. Additionally, I have
the task of managing all the school’s internal data with the exception
of Billing and Accounts. This data (around 100 Squirrel tables) is held
on a central server from which it is accessed from terminals throughout
the campus, including the three main administrative offices who have the
database in constant use throughout the school day.
8.4
Séan Kelly, claims that Squirrel ‘is unsuitable for a more demanding
environment’. One of the greatest requirements of a Database Management
System is that it should be responsive to change. In a school like ours
the user requirements are constantly evolving. Almost every day,
somebody wants a new report designing, a new field added to a record, a
completely new view of the database. Not only are new views, queries and
reports easy and quick to design but a complete table with hundreds of
existing records can be modified in a few minutes with no need to export
or import any of the existing data. I would maintain that our school is
a most demanding environment. Our Squirrel Server runs night and day 365
days a year and I simply cannot remember the last time it crashed.
8.4
I have been using Squirrel ever since it first appeared on the market
over three years ago and from the first it has been the strength of its
performance across the network which has attracted me to it. I am often
told how deficient our Econet networks are compared to the best
available today, so it is a constant delight how rapidly Squirrel can
retrieve data across it. As an example, the Pupil table which is at the
heart of my database has 1235 records with 38 fields including two
variable length text fields. Sitting at my desk here on the opposite
side of the school from the server I have just executed a query
requesting all the pupils in the school with brothers or sisters in the
school. It took Squirrel just over four seconds to locate 436 records
and sort them into surname order. Now that the query has executed, I can
move backwards and forwards between records with no appreciable delay
between clicking on the icon and the record appearing.
8.4
Of course, every system has ‘the odd peculiarity’ but if we were not
prepared to overlook the odd peculiarity in our friends then we would
have precious few of them! In any case, I can find no trace of the bugs
he mentions in version 2.08. It takes time to learn to get the best out
of Squirrel but I defy anyone to find a complex software package where
this is not the case. In a multi-user system like ours, a great deal can
be done to ease the path for the inexperienced user. Over the years, we
have built up a very large library of queries and reports which can be
accessed from a menu. Squirrel 2 was a great step forward in this area.
Setting up a view involving two or more tables is too complex for most
users but, in Squirrel 2, it is possible to hide the relational join
inside a Query filter and still allow the casual user to type search
values into the fields as if it were a simple query on a single table.
8.4
One feature which has proved very useful to us is the ability to use
system variables as query selection criteria. I must admit that I
pestered Ian Bastable at Digital Services long and hard to provide this
facility and he responded too late to document it in the new manual.
Information about it is therefore in the Errata provided with the
package. The power of this is that it allows a channel of communication
between user-written programs and Squirrel, and consequently increases
enormously the customisation potential of the system. As an adjunct to
our own system, I have written a utility called !SqlFront which can be
used to provide a simple front end to regularly used queries or reports
with a single parameter. There is a program and template which is common
to all versions of the application. To develop a new use, all you need
to do is define a query where the query filter is set as ‘@User$Query’,
provide any necessary sprites, and define a few settings in a small text
file. The resulting window might look something like the illustration,
which is one I devised for myself for searching my CD collection.
8.4
Features which can be varied are the title bar text, the heading and
sprite, the prompt message, which field or fields are to be searched,
whether the application installs itself on the iconbar or not, and
whether the text should be converted to upper, lower or mixed case. In
addition, the OK button can be replaced by Print and Preview buttons for
a report. Even the writable icon is optional. I am very happy to
distribute this utility to anyone who wants it. I hope it may inspire
someone to develop it further. (I’ve put it on this month’s program
disc. Ed.)
8.4
I would not disagree that there are features missing from Squirrel.
There is talk at Digital Services of a Squirrel 3. How soon this appears
must depend to a great extent on how large DS perceive the market for a
new version to be. Personally, I have always found the staff at Cosham
unfailingly polite and helpful and willing to listen to all my comments.
If you are a Squirrel user, let them know what your wish list is. If you
are not, take my word that Squirrel is already an excellent package and
amazing value for money. The only DBMS at the moment with more power is
S-Base but only competent programmers can get the best out of it and
developing applications is much more time-consuming. As for DataPower,
it still cannot handle relational queries.  Robert Bishop, London
E17.  A
8.4
Multimedia Column
8.4
Paul Hooper
8.4
Over the past month, I have had over fifty letters which have asked me
to tackle various problems with multimedia, so I shall be devoting much
of this column to trying to solve them. With this amount of post, I must
admit that I have got a little behind in the letter-writing stakes. If
you are still waiting for a reply, please bear with me!
8.4
Quite a number of readers raised the problem of animation within a
multimedia application but the solutions are different depending on
which of the multimedia packages you are using.
8.4
Magpie and animation
8.4
Replay is the only animation file format that Magpie can handle. It is
just a matter of dropping these onto a page. Although this may at first
seem limiting, the use of ‘Hide and Reveal’ and ‘transparent’ overlay
pages can be used to give a style of animation. If you want an example
of this, the ‘Insects’ binder from the swap shop catalogue shows the
life cycle of a butterfly using this technique.
8.4
Genesis and animation
8.4
Genesis can also handle Replay and, with the more modern versions, it is
just a question of dropping them onto the page and setting up the style
box. Genesis can also handle Ace films − again a drop technique can be
used. A number of readers were unsure how to create Ace films and, as
far as I am aware, the following packages can save out in Ace format:
Euclid, Mogul, Rephorm and Tween. If you know of any other programs that
save in this format, please let me know. Although Rephorm is a good tool
for animation, the other programs are beginning to look a little long in
the tooth − indeed they all need to be patched to work under RISC OS 3.
8.4
While the limitations on Genesis are less than those on Magpie, don’t
forget that Genesis has the ability to run other programs within an
application. Drag and drop the application onto the page and the icon
will appear − but please note that all Genesis does is store the path
name so you will need to be careful about how you use this. As an
example of this technique, I have included a Professional application on
this month’s disc, but you will need to uncompact !Exam, !PENGUIN2 and
the directory ‘Paul’ onto a floppy disc and rename the disc as
‘Archive2’.
8.4
Key Author and animation
8.4
Key Author can also cope with Replay − again drag and drop is used but
you must specify whether it is an event or an object on the timer. Ace
films can also be used and saved onto the timer and run or looped. Many
of the CD ROMs from Anglia TV make good use of animation to emphasise
points.
8.4
Although not yet implemented, the new versions of Key Author will also
allow the use of MPEG files, provided an MPEG board is fitted. It will
operate in a similar way to Replay files, and the program will allow
transparent selection so that it will check if a board is fitted and
select the best format.
8.4
Key Author also allows you to drop out of the application that you have
created into the desktop and run an external program and when you quit
the linked application, Key Author will resume at the last position in
the Key Author presentation.
8.4
Animation in multimedia
8.4
As noted above, the Acorn range seems to be badly served for animations
that can be used within multimedia applications. The Ace films format
seems to be the common standard but the programs that generate these
films are, with the exception of Rephorm, very old. If the common format
of Ace films is the standard then it appears that there is room in the
market for a new animation program that will produce this file format.
8.4
Genesis Professional problems
8.4
After my appeal in the November issue for your experiences with the new
versions of Genesis, I would like to thank all of you that have written
or phoned. My thanks in particular go to Trevor Sutton, Stephen Williams
and Christopher Jarman, all of whom sent me examples on disc. I have now
compiled an extensive list and hope to get some answers out of Oak soon.
I’ll let you know the answers in the next issue.
8.4
Family trees
8.4
I’ve also had a number of queries about how to compile a family tree
using any of the multimedia programs. At the moment, I have only
composed a direct line tree that follows the way an inherited title
flowed down a family. The way I did this was to set up buttons which
stepped up and down a generation following the title from father to son.
8.4
A full family tree could be made using a main page, with just the
skeleton family tree shown and then each entry on the page linked to a
further page showing details and pictures, along with sound samples of
the person involved. To illustrate what can be done, I am writing a
Magpie binder of the Cubbitt family tree which should be available
through the Swap Shop by the time you read this.
8.4
Free PR
8.4
My article a few months back about using multimedia to provide free PR
for your organisation has, it seems, inspired many of you to create your
own applications. I have received eight different ‘guides’ to schools,
plus a number of Parents’ Evening displays. I have compiled these into a
PR suite that is available from the Swap Shop and may give you some
ideas about how to compile one of these applications. The suite takes
four DD discs or two HD discs and all are Magpie format.
8.4
Geography and multimedia
8.4
Looking through all the applications in the Swap Shop the other day, I
realised that we have little to offer the geography teacher or student.
I would like to rectify this in the coming months and would like to hear
from any geography teacher who has ideas as what would be useful in the
classroom. I’m particularly interested in topics or subjects that tie in
with the National Curriculum. If you would like to help, please feel
free to write or ring me, and if you have your own artwork and text that
I could combine into an interactive multimedia application then please
let me know.
8.4
The Swap Shop
8.4
The Swap Shop now includes nearly sixty applications, which occupy over
40Mb on my hard disc, and it continues to grow at an astonishing rate.
The following applications have been added this month − ‘Navigation
Quiz’, a Genesis application by Christopher Jarman aimed at teaching you
sailing navigation. ‘HardDisc’, a Magpie binder written by Bill Brooks
of Trevelyan Middle School, which was an appeal to the School PTA to
fund hard discs for his machines. He also sent me a guided tour of his
school which has been added as part of the PR suite. Steve Williams of
Liverpool sent me a couple of Genesis applications which he uses to
introduce his Network and Desktop set up to his year 7 pupils. My thanks
go to all of the above. Without your input, the Swap Shop would not be
such a success.
8.4
In the early days of the Swap Shop, I used to reply to each letter
individually. This has become increasingly difficult with the number of
letters I am getting, so I have set up a number of standard letters.
Please don’t feel I don’t care but I’m afraid my time to run the Swap
Shop is very limited!
8.4
The end bit
8.4
If you have any questions on multimedia or if you want a copy of the
Swap Shop catalogue, please write to Paul Hooper, 11 Rochford Road,
Martham, Great Yarmouth, NR29 4RL. (01493-748474).  A
8.4
Schema 2
8.4
Simon Coulthurst
8.4
Schema 2 is available from Clares Micro Supplies for £135 inc VAT or
£125 through Archive. This new version of Clares’ spreadsheet program is
more than just an upgrade of the original program. Clares point out that
the program has been completely rewritten and is substantially different
from Schema (version 1). The file format has also changed although
Schema 2 can import the original Schema files. Some of the new features
are: better storage giving more economical use of memory and an increase
in speed of some 300% in computations; a revised, and simpler, method of
applying colours, fonts, point sizes and number formats; improved
handling of dates and times; use of ‘Big’ cells capable of holding text
justified over several lines; graphs, sprites and other images within
cells complete with automatic scaling; graphs can be live-linked to data
in the spreadsheet. In addition to these enhancements, there are many
others including an integrated macro compiler. That is as far as I can
go comparing this version with the first one as I have never used the
original. So to the current version...
8.4
Sensible installation
8.4
The installation instructions have, sensibly, been placed as an appendix
of the manual. How often do you read the installation instructions for a
piece of software? Usually, only once, so it seems sensible to put it at
the back of the manual with a clear instruction at the front referring
to the relevant appendix. Good thinking, Clares!
8.4
With Schema 2, the program disc must be initialised with the purchaser’s
name and address before it can be backed up, either to another floppy or
to hard disc. To my mind, this is the best form of copy protection. It
is of no inconvenience to the user, whilst still making it possible for
the software house to protect their investment. Users are unlikely to
pass on copies, knowing that those copies will be easy to trace. Once
the disc is initialised, you copy the program icon to your working disc
and then run the !SysMerge application to ensure that your !System file
contains any modules required by Schema 2.
8.4
Learning by example
8.4
Schema 2 comes with a 370 page, spiral bound, manual. The first 100 or
so pages form a tutorial using examples from the ‘College of Irrational
Sciences’, a fictitious teaching establishment. This is a comprehensive
and detailed series of lessons gradually building experience in the use
of the spreadsheet. I wish more software came with this level of hand-
holding − nothing beats a good tutorial when learning a new package,
except perhaps having a knowledgeable teacher hovering over your
shoulder. Having been unable to find a reliable method of pre-packing
teachers, Clares have had to make do with a good manual.
8.4
In the manual, the lessons are structured around nine separate examples,
each covering a different, and increasingly more complex, use of the
spreadsheet. This means that even when you have finished working your
way through the tutorial exercises, they can still be used as an
occasional reference when a quick refresher is needed on how to achieve
something specific.
8.4
I do have one minor criticism of the manual. The exercises are
undoubtedly useful and contribute to getting up to speed quickly in the
use of the program but I feel that they should have been placed towards
the back of the manual, or preferably in a separate book, rather than
taking up the first third of the book. Once you have worked your way
through the tutorial, you will refer less and less to the exercises and
more and more to the rest of the manual. Only a small point but it
detracts from what is otherwise an excellent example of the way a
software manual should be written.
8.4
Start her up...
8.4
Schema 2 is run in the usual manner − by a double-click, which installs
the program’s ‘abacus’ icon on the iconbar. Clicking <select> on this
icon opens a spreadsheet window at the top of which is an input area,
containing the icon ribbon and data entry area. Below this are the
standard spreadsheet cells, bordered by row numbers and column letters.
This initial sheet is based on the ‘Default Document’ which can be
modified to suit your own requirements.
8.4
When you click the ‘close’ icon on a spreadsheet window, even if you
have made changes to it, you will not get a message asking you if you
wish to save any changes. This is because closing a Schema 2 window does
not remove the sheet from memory but simply closes the window. In order
to re-open or remove the sheet from memory, you must use the iconbar
menu. You will be warned of any unsaved spreadsheets when you try to
quit Schema.
8.4
Importing
8.4
Schema 2 will import TSV (Tab Separated Values), CSV (Comma Separated
Values), SID (Software Independent Data) and WK1 − the original Lotus 1-
2-3 file format that is now almost a universal format for the
interchange of spreadsheet data − as well as the original Schema files.
8.4
(An interesting point here is that Clares mention in the manual that
Schema is now obsolete. Does this mean that users of the original
program will find that they are unable to get support? It is usual
practice, when a company no longer wishes to provide technical support,
to declare the product obsolete − this also helps ensure that as many
users as possible upgrade to the new version! It is unusual, however,
for a company to declare the previous version persona non grata this
quickly.)
8.4
There are two possible ways of importing a WK1 format sheet: by dragging
the WK1 file icon directly to the Schema 2 icon or by using the !ConvWK1
application. I tried both methods with some WK1 files from one of our
DOS PCs. Some files refused to translate when dropped directly into
Schema 2. This didn’t seem to have any relationship to size or
complexity of the WK1 file and, as I have 25Mb of memory on my Risc PC,
it can’t have been lack of memory. There was no such problem when using
the second method − every file translated perfectly, first time.
8.4
The majority of files imported need tidying up in some way. Usually, it
is just a matter of changing numbers and dates to the appropriate
format, perhaps using some text ‘effects’ to smarten up the appearance
of headings and titles. Where my original file contained macros, these
were of no use in Schema 2 and needed to be re-done. My files came
originally from Microsoft Excel and so the macros had been lost when
saving the files in WK1 format. Schema 2 will actually try to use any
macros it finds in a Lotus 1-2-3 file.
8.4
All in all, I found that I was able to get my spreadsheets transferred
with a minimum of fuss from our DOS computer to Schema 2, although, for
us, this was a once only and a one way process. If translation were
needed on a more regular basis, it might not be so convenient. (What we
need is some clever person to design a system like ‘SparkFS’ or
‘PocketFS’ that will automatically translate between RISC OS and DOS
formats. Now that would be a useful utility!)
8.4
In use
8.4
Schema 2 works just like any other spreadsheet I have ever used, at a
fundamental level. It has a grid of cells labelled by the intersecting
column letters and row numbers. Information is entered into the cells by
typing into the ‘Data entry bar’ at the top of the window and then
pressing either <return> which will take you down to the next cell or
<tab> which will move you right to the next cell. Use of the scroll bars
will move your view of the grid around within the window, leaving the
column and cell labels within sight.
8.4
You can change the number of rows and/or columns in the sheet, up to a
maximum of 30,000 rows by 30,000 columns (or a number limited by the
amount of memory in your machine). This is done either by creating a new
sheet from the iconbar menu, or by using the window menu to change an
existing spreadsheet. Whilst this is reasonably flexible, I still prefer
the Microsoft Excel way of working. In Excel, the sheet is always a
full-size grid and memory is only used up by those cells containing any
data. When the time comes to print, the Excel program assumes that you
are only wanting to print those parts of the sheet containing
information. You can limit the print range to a particular area if
necessary.
8.4
Excel versus Schema 2
8.4
Whilst on the subject of Excel versus Schema 2, or indeed most RISC OS
spreadsheets, the Acorn platform still has some catching up to do. The
user interface, in most respects, is superior, due primarily to RISC OS
itself rather than the applications. However, there are a lot of program
features available within Windows spreadsheets that have yet to find
their way into Schema 2. Ones I particularly like in Excel are: (a) The
automatic help system − when the program sees you carrying out an
operation it thinks could have been done in a simpler manner, it tells
you so; (b) Wizards − a method of automating spreadsheet design. If, for
instance, you wish to design a spreadsheet to calculate an invoice, the
program asks you a few pertinent questions then builds the sheet for
you; (c) Graphs − very intelligent, and logical. If you have set up a
graph with a set of figures and subsequently add a new set of figures to
your data, there is no need to redraw the graph, just drag a box around
the new set of figures and then drag and drop them onto the existing
graph. Excel will then redraw the graph including the new data.
8.4
Of course, Excel takes huge chunks of valuable hard disc space and
memory in order to perform these feats of spreadsheet virtuosity,
whereas Schema 2 occupies less than 1.4Mb on my Risc PC’s hard disc and
under 0.9Mb of memory. It will be interesting to see if the arrival of
the Risc PC, and its ability to use a lot more memory, will result in
larger, more complex programs.
8.4
Data entry
8.4
Having set the sheet size, we need to enter information and formulae
into Schema 2 − this is where a spreadsheet lives or dies. How easy is
it to use and do you have to constantly turn to the manual in order to
get anything done? Well, it’s pretty good news for the Schema 2 user.
You can just go ahead and type the various figures and text into the
cells where required and then, using the ‘Function’ icon on the iconbar,
you can choose from the logically presented cascading menu containing
the 79 standard functions. In addition to these standard functions, the
program contains a selection of user defined functions (macros) − most
of the Lotus 1-2-3 compatible commands have been included in this way.
Once the function has been selected (having Acorn’s interactive help
open at the bottom of the screen can help here) it is presented in the
‘Data entry bar’ with the cursor placed ready for the entry of the
variable(s). Clicking on a cell or selecting a range of cells will
insert the relevant reference into the formula. Cell selection is
carried out in the normal RISC OS manner using <select> to click a
single cell followed by <adjust> to extend the range. Or by <select>-
dragging the desired range. A complete row or column may be selected by
clicking on the relevant row or column label.
8.4
One particular function, ‘Sum’, has its own button on the iconbar.
Selecting this, will insert the =SUM( ) function into the ‘Data entry’
bar. Pressing <return> will then execute the formula.
8.4
Big cells
8.4
One of the new features in Schema 2 is the use of ‘Big’ cells. These are
created by selecting a range of cells and then changing the selected
range into one large cell by selecting <Edit><Big cell> from the main
menu. If there was any information in any of the cells, it will all be
lost except for the information in the top left cell, which is then
placed in the ‘Big’ cell itself. Text entered into the ‘Big’ cell will
wrap around and may be justified left, right, centre or fully. A graph
may be embedded in a ‘Big’ cell, and when ‘hot-linked’ to the data in
the sheet, will update in real time to reflect any changes in the data.
Drawfiles may also be placed in a ‘Big’ cell, or indeed in a normal
cell.
8.4
A graph speaks volumes
8.4
Schema 2 comes with a built-in graphing option. It can produce: Bar
charts − vertical and horizontal, stacked or otherwise; Pie charts −
single and multiple; Line charts; Scatter diagrams; Pictograms (similar
to bar charts, but using small pictures in place of the bar). Where
appropriate, the graph may be shown with a pseudo 3D effect and certain
sections exploded from the rest. All the graphs may be further
embellished using fonts and colours plus the use of some simple Draw-
type effects (lines, boxes, circles, etc). As well as this, it is also
possible to import a drawfile into the graph for decorative purposes −
perhaps a company logo.
8.4
A few problems
8.4
For all this power, there are a couple of drawbacks. I found that, when
using data with more than 5 digits to the left of the decimal point
(e.g. £500,000), the graph would default to showing the number in
scientific notation (5.00e5). Whilst this may be OK in some
circumstances, it certainly made my graphs harder to read and
understand. When I talked to Clares about this, it turned out that there
was no simple way to change the format of the numbers used in graphs.
The only way to do it was to edit one of the macros that make up the
graphing section of the application and then re-compile this macro.
8.4
The other difficulty I had was trying to get the text labels for my
graph columns to be readable. Whilst the labels were short (e.g. Jan,
Feb, Mar etc) there was no problem but if the labels were much longer
than this (e.g. January), I found the label was being split over more
than one line. This tended to make the graph look untidy and
unprofessional. Again, the only solution was to go in and modify the
macro code for the graphs.
8.4
These two problems help to highlight both the strength and weakness of
Schema 2. The strength is that it is possible (if you are willing to
take the time to learn) to modify the basic program to do almost
anything you would like it to do. The weakness is that the majority of
users are unlikely to want to have to modify the program just in order
to do something that should really be achievable by making a choice from
a menu!
8.4
I also felt that some of the error messages were a little unhelpful. For
instance, when I missed the closing bracket from a formula, I received a
“Bad call to spreadsheet engine” message − Que?! I would have thought
“Missing end bracket” would have been a lot more helpful.
8.4
Conclusion
8.4
In spite of its obvious weaknesses, Schema 2 is a worthwhile addition to
my software collection. If your requirement is for a powerful and
flexible spreadsheet on the Acorn platform, Schema 2 could fill your
needs. In order to get the best out of the package, you must be prepared
to roll your sleeves up and get stuck into the macro language. If you
are prepared to do this, you will be rewarded with a program that can be
tailored to suit most spreadsheet needs. If, however, you are not
prepared for this degree of involvement in the program, you may be
better advised going for another package.  A
8.4
Desktop Hacker
8.4
Andrew Rawnsley
8.4
Not so long ago, I reviewed the then most recent version of Gamesware’s
Games Wizard utility. I considered it a rather limited offering and, at
the time, recommended Doggysoft’s The Hacker which was vastly superior
and only cost £5. As if to add insult to injury, Doggysoft have now
released a totally revised and updated version of the Hacker which runs
inside the desktop thus offering unparalleled ease of use.
8.4
Desktop compatibility
8.4
All of the old features have been retained and updated, so that they are
now more user-friendly, making hacking into a game even easier than in
the past. Just over 95% of the functions work in the desktop, the
exceptions being those which need to take over the whole screen to
display the contents of screen memory and other mode specific data.
8.4
The new version is now fully Risc PC compatible, offering specially
optimised routines. Naturally, due to the technicalities involved,
previous versions are not very happy running on the new machine.
However, games players should be warned that few games work on the Risc
PC, and you might well find yourself returning to your A440 or the like
for playing and hacking.
8.4
New features
8.4
The iconbar menu for the utility offers a slow-down option, making
difficult sections of games somewhat easier to play. You should note
that the entire game is slowed down, rather than just the enemies, but
this does allow accurate positioning for jumps and tricky shots.
8.4
Searches can now have wildcards in them and lists blocks selected. This
makes it easy to include or rule out addresses from a search. Various
bugs which sometimes occurred in previous versions when handling large
lists have been fixed.
8.4
Desktop Hacker offers printing at various stages via the RISC OS printer
drivers, which is useful if you want to keep a hard copy of exactly
which addresses, etc you changed.
8.4
Since Desktop hacker fully multitasks, its handling of memory is much
more efficient, with memory allocated and deallocated as and when
required. This means that you don’t get lots of ‘out of memory’ errors
when you know quite well you’ve got enough free.
8.4
The number of lists has been increased from 9 to 99, which should keep
most users happy!
8.4
The functionality of the disassembly feature has been extended
considerably, offering far more than the original or RISC OS. There are
now keyboard shortcuts for the most commonly used functions throughout
the program.
8.4
Various other small changes have been made, for example, the CheatMod
creator has been moved from the main program to a separate editor.
8.4
Conclusions
8.4
Desktop Hacker is a completely revised utility with the ability to hack
from desktop, with extra memory handling and full RISC PC compatibility.
Although twice the price of previous versions, it is still excellent
value − and you get 169 cheat modules giving a total of nearly 200
individual cheats!
8.4
Availability
8.4
Desktop Hacker costs £10 from Doggysoft (but cheques should be made
payable to “A Clover”), with an upgrade available for ‘The Hacker’
owners at £5 when you return your original disc.  A
8.4
DTP Column
8.4
Mark Howe
8.4
This month’s column starts with an apology and then a partial
retraction...
8.4
Look, no records!
8.4
I have received quite a few letters, articles etc from various readers.
I had actioned most of the urgent ones, and took the rest away with me
on a trip to Paris. Unfortunately, my briefcase containing the file was
stolen from my car! So, if you are waiting for a reply from me, I would
be grateful if you could write again. I would particularly like to know
the name of the person who sent me a short article on embedded frames (I
still have the article on disc). (And the name of the person who stole
the briefcase?!)
8.4
More on Publisher
8.4
The article that appeared last month was written after a large amount of
discussion between Computer Concepts, Paul and myself. After producing
the version of the article that was finally published, I spent several
hours with Mark Goodall of CC, and was able to go through the points I
had raised in some detail. The next day I returned to France and asked
my office in England to send off the disc, but my suggestions for
modifying the article somehow went missing between Châlon-sur-Sâone,
Guildford and Norwich. I stand by the gist of what was printed but I
would like to correct and expand a few points.
8.4
Mark pointed out that the toolbar gives added functionality as, for
example, in the new way of designing styles from a collection of
effects. I have to admit that I still value the space on my screen more
than these features, but maybe I am a closet luddite.
8.4
It is still possible to use <f3> and <f4> for bold and italic, but since
Publisher deletes these definitions when loading an old file, it is hard
to maintain consistency for new users working on both old and new files.
8.4
I did try to load JPEG images into Impression 2.5 but I was not using
the CC loaders. Publisher will display the low-res bit-mapped images
supplied with most EPS files, but it cannot display the vector
information or print it to a non-PostScript printer. This means, for
example, that EPS files cannot be printed at high resolution on a Laser
Direct printer.
8.4
The example I gave of faulty PostScript output from Publisher Plus turns
out to have been due to a breakdown of communication between T-J
Reproductions and myself. T-J always resets all the PostScript settings
unless specifically told otherwise, to ensure that files print correctly
− sorry about that!
8.4
It is possible to ask for a dongle-less version of Publisher or Artworks
that will only run on one machine. I picked up the necessary discs but,
on reading the documentation, I have decided that this solution is not
going to help me. Having gone dongle-less, it is necessary to swap your
serial number chip whenever you change your machine and it is not
possible to use conventional upgrades (a major consideration when post
takes a week to arrive).
8.4
As for stability, Mark Goodall expressed some exasperation that all
kinds of problems were attributed to Publisher when, in fact, they were
often due to bugs in other applications, fonts, RISC OS or the Acorn
printer drivers. Last week, I spent a good hour fighting with what I
thought was a problem with Publisher separations. It turned out to be an
esoteric problem with Turbo Driver: right company, wrong product! The
situation is not helped by the tendency of Publisher and Artworks to
‘claim’ errors elsewhere in the system (e.g. “Error outside of
Impression, do you want to quit?”)
8.4
I have not used Publisher for anything very taxing since my visit to
Computer Concepts, but I do seem to be having fewer crashes. I suspect
that some of my difficulties come from using old documents, but the
suggestion to remake them all in Publisher and scrap any document that
produces an address exception is not realistic. (I estimate that I have
over 5,000 Publisher documents, and it is rare for me to produce a
brochure completely from scratch.) As Paul mentioned in the Comments
Column last month, please report any repeatable problems to CC at once.
8.4
Finally, on this subject, can anyone think of a way to convert batches
of Publisher documents from multi-file to single file format? (Yes, use
Keystroke! Ed.) If I could change the format of all my small Impression
documents, I reckon I could save several megabytes on my hard disc.
8.4
From Acorn to Offset via PostScript
8.4
Mark Howe
8.4
In this article I hope to give an introduction to imagesetting. I have
tried to keep things simple but, unfortunately, both imagesetting and
printing are inherently technical processes. Only a few years ago, film-
making was the exclusive domain of larger printing companies and
reprographics houses. Computer technology has made it possible for far
more people to produce films and plates, but a certain amount of
background is still necessary to achieve satisfactory results.
8.4
A quick look at offset printing
8.4
It is easier to produce usable artwork if you understand roughly what
happens after you hand it to your printer.
8.4
An offset litho works by taking an image from a plate and transferring
it onto paper via a roller (hence the name offset: plate and paper never
touch). The plates are usually made by a photographic process from film
(a transparent sheet of plastic not unlike an OHP foil), although the
technology to make them digitally is developing rapidly. The films may
be positive or negative, depending on the chemistry of the plates used
by the printer. One plate is needed for each colour to be printed.
8.4
The plates come in various sizes, but are usually larger − sometimes
much larger − than A3. Your printer may therefore lay out (or ‘plan’)
several copies of your artwork onto one plate. Alternatively, he may
plan both sides of a two-sided leaflet or several pages of a book onto
the same plate.
8.4
After printing, the sheets are cut to size and, if necessary, collated,
stapled and folded. Booklets are usually trimmed again, after folding
and stapling, in order to remove any untidy edges.
8.4
Output media − Paper/Bromide
8.4
Simple artwork can be produced on paper using any desktop printer. Most
imagesetters can also produce output onto a special type of paper known
as bromide (so called because of the chemical process used to develop
the image).
8.4
A film will usually have to be made from paper or bromide artwork. This
is done using a repro camera, hence the term ‘camera-ready artwork’. It
might therefore seem more sensible to produce all artwork directly onto
film. However, you may not be able to produce films in the correct
format for your printer (e.g. larger than A2 or A1) and, in this case,
it will be cheaper to make final films from bromide originals than from
films. Bromides are easier to paste together than films, so they are
often preferred by newspapers and magazines.
8.4
A small loss of quality is involved in making films from bromides but,
for most purposes, this is not significant.
8.4
Films
8.4
Until recently, only imagesetters could produce films, but it is now
also possible to make them using laser printers. In my experience, laser
films are not very satisfactory for artwork involving large black or
halftoned areas, but can give reasonable results for text and line
graphics.
8.4
Plates
8.4
In the last few years, a number of systems have been developed for
making plastic plates directly: Plazer and Novadom are two of the
better-known brand names. The plates are produced using an A3 laser
printer or a dedicated plate-making machine.
8.4
These systems are very quick to use, as the plates can be taken from the
laser printer delivery tray and put straight onto the press. They are
also cheaper than conventional plate-making techniques. However, they
are not suitable for very long print runs, or for spot or process colour
printing where fine registration is required. The image quality does not
yet compare with metal plates and, to my knowledge, it is not possible
to prepare plates larger than A3 (which means a printing area
significantly smaller than A3).
8.4
Designing the artwork
8.4
The diagram below shows the layout of a typical piece of artwork. The
following should be noted:
8.4
1: The size of the finished leaflet is shown by four crop marks. These
marks will be used to set a guillotine after printing. The position of
any folds may also be marked on the artwork, although generally this is
less important.
8.4
2: The exact position of the guillotine cut may vary by a couple of
millimetres between sheets. This is not usually a problem if there is a
white margin around the edge of the finished leaflet. If, however, the
design continued exactly to the edge of the leaflet, a small error in
trimming could leave a thin white strip on the edge of the leaflet. The
solution is to “bleed” the design beyond the crop marks, as shown below.
8.4
3: If the leaflet is to be printed in more than one colour, registration
marks are required to ensure that the colours line up correctly. The
name of each colour is usually marked on the artwork to avoid costly
mistakes at the printers.
8.4
Limitations of desktop printers
8.4
It is possible to produce acceptable artwork using laser, inkjet or even
dot matrix printers. None-the-less, most desktop printers suffer from
several limitations.
8.4
Paper size
8.4
Most printers cannot use paper larger than A4. This obviously rules out
the production of A3 artwork, as well as A4 artwork with bleeds. One way
round this is to make the leaflets slightly smaller than A4, thus
leaving room on the page for printer’s marks. Another solution is to
produce the artwork on several sheets, but you will have to pay a repro
house to assemble them.
8.4
Imagesetters can typically print A3 artwork with all the necessary
printers’ marks.
8.4
Resolution
8.4
Most laser printers work at a resolution of 300 or 600 dots per inch.
This is adequate for text and line drawings, but is not really good
enough for halftone shading or photos. Even small text can appear
indistinct at 300 dpi.
8.4
The effective resolution of artwork can be increased by photographically
reducing over-sized originals. However, this adds to the cost of making
the plates and is only feasible for small page sizes.
8.4
Imagesetters offer resolutions between 1200 and 3600 dpi. For photos and
graduated tints, most bureaus recommend a minimum resolution of 2400
dpi, which gives sixteen times more detail than a 600 dpi printer. In
addition, the individual dots produced by an imagesetter are far more
regular than those produced by a laser printer, improving the print
quality still further. All in all, the difference in resolution between
a good laser printer and a modern imagesetter is at least as great as
that between a laser printer and a nine-pin dot matrix printer.
8.4
Control over screens
8.4
Impression Publisher offers a high degree of control over the screens
used to render halftone images on a PostScript printer or imagesetter.
These settings are ignored by other classes of printer, including direct
drive laser printers. Computer Concepts may provide support for their
own LaserDirect printers in the future (a few letters might encourage
them in this direction)!
8.4
Making the choice
8.4
How do you decide on the best way of producing camera-ready output? It
all depends on your precise needs and your budget, but the following
guidelines may help.
8.4
1: If you are producing artwork for printing on anything but the most
occasional basis, and still using a dot-matrix printer, give it to your
local school and get an inkjet or, preferably, a laser printer. This
will enable you to achieve much better quality, and will save your time
and your eardrums. In the long-term, it may even save you money, because
the price of ribbons has increased recently and bit-image printing wears
them out at an alarming rate.
8.4
If you do not have a laser printer yet, consider buying a PostScript
model instead of a LaserJet or direct drive one. It will be painfully
slow for complex graphics, but you will have better control over the
output and be able to check your imagesetting before going to your
bureau.
8.4
2: If you are going to photocopy your artwork, an inkjet or laser
printer is more than adequate. Choose a fairly coarse screen (e.g. the
default setting on Laser Direct printers is too fine to copy
satisfactorily). Alternatively, if you need 100 copies or so and you
have a heavy-duty laser printer, you could run off all the copies
directly from your computer.
8.4
3: If you are producing more than a couple of hundred copies of simple
one or two-colour A4 designs, get a quote for printing using plastic
plate technology.
8.4
4: If your artwork does not involve lots of shading, you may be able to
produce reasonable results using your desktop printer. It is worth
experimenting with the type of paper and/or the toner density control to
achieve the best results.
8.4
5: For complex 2-colour or 4-colour printing, large formats, or anything
involving photos, graduated tints or very small text, go for imageset
films.
8.4
6: If you want to produce a simple leaflet with photos, but do not have
access to an imagesetter, produce the artwork minus the photos and ask
your printer to ‘strip them in’ (insert them manually) when he makes the
plate.
8.4
Calling all Acorn imagesetters!
8.4
Mac and PC users are at an advantage when it comes to imagesetting.
Bureaus test their equipment using files from Macs and PCs and, in many
cases, they also accept files directly from programs such as XPress or
PageMaker. There are few bureaus, so far, who cater specifically for the
Acorn market, but if you can find one who offers the services you need,
you can avoid most of the potential pitfalls inherent in producing your
own PostScript.
8.4
T-J Reproductions are the only company I know of with their own
imagesetter. Others, such as Micro Laser Designs, will accept Acorn
files and give it to a bureau. Micro Laser Designs can also produce
plastic plates using their own 600 dpi A3 laser printer. I have given
quite a lot of work to both these companies, and have generally received
very good service from them. Also (and very importantly for me), they
both accept files by FaxPack. (Remember that I live in France.)
8.4
I believe that there are other companies who offer similar services in
the Acorn world, ranging from laser printing up to full imagesetting. In
a few month’s time, I would like to publish a directory of such
services, so please send me any information you have.
8.4
PostScript from Publisher
8.4
If, for whatever reasons, you cannot use an Acorn bureau, you will have
to produce your own PostScript. Space forbids a full discussion of what
is involved this month, but as a starting point, there follows a
checklist for imagesetting from Publisher which was kindly sent to me by
Computer Concepts, together with a few explanatory comments of my own.
8.4
Planning your document....
8.4
: Do you need to change the master page? Is a standard master page
suitable? Is a bleed required? If necessary, create a new master page.
Use Edit > Alter chapter to select the new master page.
8.4
Before printing the document...
8.4
2: If required, set Overprint on selected objects.
8.4
3: Check spelling. (Utilities > Spelling > Check entire text.)
8.4
4: Check layout for frames, lines and words still correctly stacked and
positioned, no orphans, etc.
8.4
5: Choose Utilities > Compile font usage list to check for missing
fonts. (Avoid PD fonts.)
8.4
6: Check correct colour table (usually PostScript imagesetter, normal)
selected in iconbar menu Preferences.
8.4
Printing the document...
8.4
7: Load !Printers. Select correct printer driver. See page 16 of the
Commercial Printing Guide (CPG). Select output to file.
8.4
8: If necessary, change the page size set in the printer driver. (Some
versions of Acorn printer drivers produce incorrect PostScript with non-
standard page sizes. One way round this, which was suggested to me by
Micro Laser Designs, is to create a very small page definition, for
example 10mm × 10mm. When you print, Publisher will then offer to
produce a new page which should be the right size.)
8.4
9: Display Print dialogue box. (File > Print.) Select which pages to
print. Set required Scale. Select Upright/Sideways.
8.4
10: Choose View > Print borders to check correct page size/orientation.
8.4
11: Click on Setup... This displays the Print setup dialogue box. Check
correct colour table selected. Check Ignore page border on. Check Centre
pages on. Check No illustrations off. Close Print setup dialogue box.
8.4
12: Click on Typesetting... This displays the Typesetting print dialogue
box. Set Separation names, Registration marks, Crop marks, as required
(CPG p6). Select Separations. Select which separations to output (User
Manual p78). If required, select ink level overprint. (I always set
black to overprint, as this avoids thin white lines around the text if
registration is less then perfect.) Select Use recommended. Set required
Screen density (CPG p18). Set required Screen type (usually Spot 1). Set
required Printer resolution (CPG p18). Select Reflect pages, if required
(CPG p18). Close Typesetting print dialogue box.
8.4
13: Use View > Separation to check overprinting etc.
8.4
14: Click on Print to start printing. Impression warns you if the
document is larger than the page size set in !Printers and suggests an
alternative, larger page size. Click OK to use the suggested size.
8.4
Afterwards...
8.4
15: Check PostScript files in ShowPage or to a PostScript printer, if
available. (I have a copy of ShowPage, but it does not work reliably
under RISC OS 3.1 and CC have no plans to update it as apparently there
is no demand for the product.)
8.4
16: Send the files to typesetting bureau. Tell them: number of files on
the disc; size and number of pages; output medium required (Paper or
Film); if you want negatives; if you think the files will take a long
time to run. Remember to tell them if you want HQS or high resolution
(2400 or 2540 dpi).
8.4
When you get the typesetting back
8.4
17: Check that all the files have run and that there are no missing
pages/separations.
8.4
18: Check that the layout of the typeset document is correct.
8.4
19: Check the typesetting for any missing fonts or physical defects in
the material.
8.4
Over to you!
8.4
Next month, I hope to look at some aspects of imagesetting in more
detail. I am also awaiting articles and reviews from other readers, and
plan to include some hints and tips.
8.4
If you have any advice on any aspect of imagesetting, or if you have
encountered specific problems, please let me know. In particular, I
would be interested in hearing from anyone:
8.4
• who is producing 4-colour separations including their own scanned, 24-
bit photos;
8.4
• who has used OPI;
8.4
• who has experimented with !FontPrint.
8.4
You can contact me via the Archive office, or directly at 2, Montée des
Carrelets, 84360 Lauris, France. Fax: [phone].  A
8.4
Advanced Basic − More On Impulse II
8.4
Paul Hobbs
8.4
When discussing ‘Methods’ in the last column, I should have mentioned a
couple of things about naming them − firstly, the names are treated as
case independent so ‘Get’ is treated the same as ‘GET’. Secondly, if you
have a short method name such as ‘Get’ that is also used as the first
part of a longer name (‘GetFile’ for example) it should appear after
‘GetFile’ in the method table.
8.4
This month, we are going to look at how an Impulse request can be sent
and responded to. The requesting applications code should be as follows:
8.4
REM some code...
8.4
REM Send a request to any listening
8.4
REM application, supplying a unique
8.4
REM tag so that the reply can be
8.4
REM recognised and decoded..
8.4
PROCshell_ImpulseSendRequest(“An impulse
8.4
 command”,FNImpulse_NextTxTag)
8.4
REM more code...
8.4
DEF PROCshell_ImpulseSendRequest(Request$,Tag%)
8.4
SYS “Impulse_SendMessage”,IMPULSE_REQUEST,
8.4
Request$,0,0,0,Tag%,TASK_ID%
8.4
ENDPROC
8.4
DEF FNImpulse_NextTxTag
8.4
G_Impulse_TxTag% += 1
8.4
= G_Impulse_TxTag%
8.4
The receiving application’s wimp poll loop should be as follows:
8.4
WHILE NOT quit%:
8.4
 REM start of poll loop
8.4
 SYS “Wimp_Poll”,1,bk% TO reason%
8.4
 SYS “Impulse_Decode”,reason%,bk%,,,,
8.4
IMPULSE_METHOD_TABLE,TASK_ID% TO reason%,,,,,token,params,object
8.4
 CASE reason% OF
8.4
   REM Handle other poll events..
8.4
   WHEN IMPULSE_COMMAND,IMPULSE_REQUEST:
8.4
      PROCcommand(token,params,object)
8.4
 ENDCASE
8.4
ENDWHILE
8.4
To decode the command and send a reply:
8.4
DEF PROCcommand(token,params,object)
8.4
CASE token OF
8.4
  WHEN Token_SomeCommand%  :
8.4
    REM Method has been found in method
8.4
    REM table, perform required
8.4
    REM actions and send the reply..
8.4
    PROCshell_ImpulseSendReply(“Reply
8.4
 string..”,token)
8.4
ENDCASE
8.4
ENDPROC
8.4

8.4
DEF PROCshell_ImpulseSendReply(Reply$,Tag%)
8.4
LOCAL Size%
8.4
Size% = G_Impulse_TxTop% − G_Impulse_TxPtr%
8.4
SYS “Impulse_SendMessage”,IMPULSE_REPLY
8.4
,Reply$,,,,Tag%,TASK_ID%,Size%
8.4
ENDPROC
8.4
The monthly disc contains a couple of demonstration programs to show how
this all works. However, I must admit that I am still not entirely sure
I have fully understood what is going on as either the documentation for
the Impulse module is wrong or the module simply does not work properly.
Although I have managed to get it to work, it does not seem to be as
easy as it should be! If anyone has any further comments, or has managed
a more in depth understanding, I would be glad to here from them.
8.4
The monthly program disc also contains a PD program called !Calendar
which produces calendars by using the Impulse module to communicate with
Impression.
8.4
Acorn application notes
8.4
A very useful source of information about programming techniques is
Acorn itself, in the form of Application Notes. These give details of
such things as the ‘Drag ’n Drop’ protocol used by Impression Style and
how to implement a clipboard for cutting and pasting data.
8.4
Acorn have over 260 of these available to any interested parties. You
just have to ask (although I am sure that a large SAE would be
appreciated). The monthly disc contains an index of the Application
Notes for those who want to see what is on offer.
8.4
Some highlights are:
8.4
237 Writing wimp module tasks in C
8.4
240 Cut and Paste protocol
8.4
241 Drag and Drop protocol
8.4
253 New features of RISC OS 3 Version 3.5
8.4
260 Writing applications for CD ROM
8.4
266 Developing CD-ROM products for Acorn machines
8.4
Some Application Notes also come with a disc of example programs, such
as ‘Writing Wimp Module Tasks in C’.
8.4
More on memory claiming
8.4
One of the first things to be covered in this column was the subject of
claiming memory blocks. I have since found that there was a fundamental
flaw in one of the routines presented − but because nobody complained, I
can’t have caused too many problems! The routine in question was the one
to extend a memory block which resided in the application’s wimpslot
rather than in the RMA and the problem was that the wimpslot was not
extended if there was insufficient space to allocate memory within the
current wimpslot.
8.4
So, to put the record straight, here is an amended version that works
properly:
8.4
DEF PROC_heap_resize(RETURN ptr%,change%)
8.4
LOCAL flg%
8.4
REM Returns a new pointer to the block (it
8.4
REM may be moved in memory). Any data
8.4
REM in the block will be copied to the new
8.4
REM location if necessary.
8.4
REM Returns -1 if the block now has a size
8.4
REM of 0 or less
8.4
REM Returns -2 if claim fails due to lack
8.4
REM of memory
8.4
REM Returns -3 if block does not exist
8.4
SYS “XOS_Heap”,6,_Heap%,ptr% TO,,,size%;flg%
8.4
:REM Read size of block
8.4
to check it exists
8.4
IF (flg% AND 1) THEN
8.4
  REM It doesn’t exist..
8.4
  ptr% = -3
8.4
ELSE
8.4
  REM It does,so attempt to perform resize..
8.4
  SYS “XOS_Heap”,4,_Heap%,ptr%,change% TO
8.4
 ,,ptr%;flg%
8.4
  IF (flg% AND 1) THEN
8.4
    nrpages% = 1 + ((size%+change%) DIV
8.4
 _PageSize%) : REM required #
8.4
 pages of memory
8.4
    SYS “Wimp_SlotSize”,_SlotSize%+nrpages%
8.4
 * _PageSize%,−1 TO _SlotSize%
8.4
    oldheapend% = _HeapEnd%
8.4
    _HeapEnd%   = _SlotSize% + &8000
8.4
    SYS “OS_Heap”,5,_Heap%,,_HeapEnd% −
8.4
 oldheapend%
8.4
    SYS “XOS_Heap”,4,_Heap%,ptr%,change% TO
8.4
 ,,ptr%;flg%
8.4
    IF (flg% AND 1) THEN
8.4
      ptr% = -2
8.4
    ENDIF
8.4
  ENDIF
8.4
ENDIF
8.4
ENDPROC
8.4
The monthly disc contains the whole library again as the above routine
cannot be used in isolation.
8.4
Save DBoxes
8.4
There was some discussion in previous issues of Archive about the Acorn
Style Guide recommendations and, for what it is worth, I would like to
add a comment about dialog boxes used for saving a file.
8.4
If an invalid path (for example, just a leaf name) is present in the
writable icon, why doesn’t anybody grey out the ‘OK’ or ‘Save’ icon? My
wife occasionally uses Impression and this seems to cause her more
confusion than anything else! She clears the writable icon, types in a
name for the document and clicks OK to save it which, of course,
generates an error. This in my view is extremely unhelpful in that the
user should ideally not be able to do something if it would cause an
error.
8.4
In order to achieve this, we need to check the contents of the writable
icon containing the file name every 0.5 seconds or so and, if the
pathname is invalid, grey out icon 0 (which should be the ‘default
action’ icon in the window). The code for calling a routine every n
centiseconds via Wimp_PollIdle has been covered in this column a couple
of issues back during the OLE discussion.
8.4
Appearance of applications under RISC OS3.5
8.4
A previous column mentioned the fact that because the Risc PC normally
uses an outline font in the desktop, it is tricky to ensure that
applications written on older machines look OK on the newer ones. In
particular, it is difficult to ensure that icons are large enough to
contain the text, and also that menus are wide enough to display the
menu items. I wrote to Acorn enquiring as to whether the new wimp
manager module would work on older machines and the reply read as
follows, ‘As Acorn currently have no plans to release RISC OS 3.5 for
the older generation machines, the only way in which a programmer can
truly judge how an application will look under RISC OS 3.5 is to run it
on a Risc PC’.
8.4
This wasn’t actually the question I asked but the answer seems pretty
final. The only suggestion I have is to use !DeskFonts to change the
desktop font to Homerton.Medium 12pt. (!DeskFonts will be on the monthly
disc if Paul has enough room!) This doesn’t solve the problems with
menus though as !DeskFonts doesn’t handle short cut keys the same way as
RISC OS 3.5.
8.4
And finally
8.4
This is the last column that I shall be writing for a while because, due
to pressure of work, I am going to have little time for programming or
writing in the near future. Should there be any queries arising from
topics I have already covered, I will do my best to answer them. Write
to the following address: Paul Hobbs, Rheinpfalzstrasse 2, 85049
Ingolstadt, Germany.  A
8.4
Scribble
8.4
Christopher Jarman
8.4
Scribble is very easy to use, and a lot of fun! Once it is loaded, you
are given the choice of a default set of eight colours, tools and a set
of black and white outline “stamps” which can be placed anywhere on the
screen and easily coloured in, using the flood tool. There are dozens of
stamp designs from cats to ships, rabbits and strands of grass. Colours
can be simply selected by a little hand which is the mouse pointer, and
scribbling may commence! The pupil age interest level is very wide, from
5 year-old to adult.
8.4
The actual drawings or paintings on the screen can become quite
sophisticated once the initial playing about has taught you the skills
of handling the simple tool array. I particularly liked the easy way the
tool sizes are altered merely by pressing a little longer on <Select> or
<Adjust>. Like many children, I suspect, I enjoyed the power which the
“Flood” tool gave, to constantly move around and change the colours of
anything and everything.
8.4
A particularly good educational use is that it is perfectly possible to
do some lettering and joined up writing using the mouse as a writing
implement. There is also the usual text tool for adding a brief word or
two, but the font choice is the rather doubtful “system” style. (I wish
programmers would not always assume that a cheap and badly designed font
is good enough for infants to print with. In fact, they should always be
offered the very best.)
8.4
An excellent feature of Scribble is the facility to mix colours and to
save and name your own choice of palettes. This is done by a very clever
visual of three paint tubes, red, green and blue, being poured into a
funnel and spilling out on the floor in the mixed colour!
8.4
These “Set-ups” as they are termed, are very useful, as you can pre-
determine whole colour schemes and name them ready for future use. The
more one plays about with this deceptively simple program, the more
possibilities come to light. Pictures are easily saved as sprites, and
an excellent feature is that when you select SAVE, your whole computer
filing system is displayed on a scroll for you to choose where to put
the sprite. Very convenient, and well worth noting for other programs.
8.4
It is possible to load sprites from all sorts of other programs such as
Paint, Arctist, and so on. I found it would even load in my sprites from
the Video digitiser, turning the black and white photos into a wide
variety of coloured graphic images which were exciting enough to use in
serious DTP applications.
8.4
Altogether an attractive and worthwhile package with a well written
booklet. Good value at £29.95 +VAT from Honormead Software
Solutions.  A
8.4
Jumble Fun & Complete the Picture
8.4
Christopher Jarman
8.4
Jumble Fun
8.4
This program is aimed at pre-school and keystage 1 children and is a
series of jigsaws which can be broken into four, six or eight pieces and
assembled using mouse, keyboard or touch-window. It is well-designed and
has amusing pictures which will appeal to children in the intended age
range. Teachers would need to decide for themselves to what purpose they
would put the program because the activity is as much to do with
computer familiarisation as anything.
8.4
Complete the picture
8.4
A very easy program indeed to use because it is aimed especially at pre-
school and children with special needs. It works with both mouse and
touch-window. The child simply has to select up to three items in turn
to complete a picture on the screen. Success is guaranteed and the
rewards are pleasantly animated with suitable sound effects. This
program would suit quite severely handicapped youngsters because the
final placing of the missing piece is snapped into place using three
levels of difficulty. For any teacher looking for a really simple
program with high motivation in order to introduce a reluctant
handicapped pupil of any age to the Archimedes I would recommend
Complete the Picture without hesitation.
8.4
These two programs cost £14.95 +VAT each from Honormead Software
Solutions. All the Honormead product prices include site licences.  A
8.4
HQ-Tracker
8.4
Andrew Clover
8.4
Mycroft Software’s first Acorn release is a suite of audio-related
programs providing control of sound samples and, most importantly, their
sequencing to form music. It repeatedly claims to be more than ‘just
another soundtracker editor’. However, with a range of features more
than similar to other editors, and with the name of HQ-Tracker, it is
clear that it is a soundtracker editor. If it is to make much of an
impact in the already overcrowded Acorn market, then it will have to be
a good one.
8.4
At £25, HQ-Tracker costs only half as much as the two commercial
soundtrackers that dominate the Acorn market at the moment. The software
comes on one disc, with two discs of instruments and a smart ring-bound
manual which gives a reasonable introduction to creating soundtrackers.
Inserting the software disc reveals the five applications that make up
the package and, because HQ-Tracker is an extendable suite rather than a
single application, there is also the shared SystemHQ directory. This
contains the player module that all the applications use. Strangely, the
player module is loaded when the SystemHQ folder is first seen, rather
than when needed. But this is a small gripe in a suite which is
generally well-designed.
8.4
The player module
8.4
At half the price of Digital Symphony and Desktop Tracker, you might
expect HQ-Tracker to be less powerful that the competitors... and you’d
be right! HQ-Tracker can only handle four voices of the eight available
on the Archimedes and Risc PC, and it has fewer effects than other
soundtracker systems. The first point is not as important as it sounds:
almost all soundtracker music, even that created on Acorn machines, uses
only four voices. The latter, though, is a problem.
8.4
HQ-Tracker supports only six effects: sequence jump, sequence abort,
volume, stereo, speed and pitch bend. Each of these effects is encoded
using separate bits of an ‘event word’, which means that, with the
exception of sequence jump, any or all of the effects may be applied to
a single note at the same time. This is an elegant, user-friendly
solution and avoids many of the more bizarre Digital Symphony effects
(such as ‘Volume slide & fine slide down’), but means that the number of
effects may not be extended beyond the basic six without a substantial
overhaul of the software. The effects are all right but I did, in
particular, miss arpeggio, an effect vital to four-voice soundtrackers.
8.4
Player module  Version tested  ARM6 time  ARM2 time
8.4
TrackerModule  4.00  12%  20%
8.4
QTMTracker  1.20  8%  12%
8.4
DigitalSymphony  1.30  9%  22%
8.4
DesktopTracker  1.11  unknown  29%
8.4
HQ-Tracker  1.00  9%  25%
8.4
The table above shows the results of tests applied to the main
soundtracker player modules. The results are percentages of processor
time used by the player; the lower the percentage, the quicker and
better the player. The results are not significant in absolute terms but
they are accurate relative to each other. The players were tested using
the same soundtracker file on two different systems: a Risc PC with ARM6
and fast memory and an A3000 with ARM2 and slow memory. Desktop Tracker
could not be tested on the ARM6 system as it would not work with the
Risc PC. In the speed test, HQ-Tracker performed quite well: slightly
slower than Symphony, but faster than Desktop Tracker. Nothing was close
to QTM’s astonishing speed on the ARM2.
8.4
The player module provides all the SWIs needed to manage and play music
and any sound effects. It is very flexible, allowing sequences, samples
and sequence lists to be loaded and played from anywhere. The advantage
of this is that many pieces of music may be played, using the same set
of samples, and that the samples may also be used to create sound
effects where appropriate. The disadvantage is that the system is over-
complicated in many cases − to play a single piece of music could
require over twenty SWI calls. Perhaps a simple star command should have
been included to load and play a piece of music − for the faint-hearted
Basic programmer!
8.4
Creating music with HQTracker
8.4
Most soundtrackers are stored as single files containing the sequence of
the music and all the samples. HQ-Tracker takes a different approach,
saving an application directory that contains the music sequence and
each of the samples as separate files. This makes it easy to move samples
around but, as Impression users will appreciate, it does have its
disadvantages: lots of music sprites in the WIMP pool and the inability
to use names that other applications use − call a soundtracker ‘Edit’
and either the music will turn into a pen or Edit will look like a music
file!
8.4
HQ-Tracker also takes a slightly different approach to the management of
samples. Although it is possible to leave samples scattered about the
hard disc, and just drag them in when you want to use them, you can also
organise them in libraries. These libraries may then be loaded into the
HQ-Tracker editor, which categorises samples from all installed
libraries into various types and allows you to choose from them using a
menu (above), which is very handy when identifying and choosing samples.
8.4
The central editing mechanism is similar to that of every other
soundtracker: the lower keys on the Archimedes keyboard enter notes in
the current octave and the upper keys enter notes in the octave above
it. In addition, there is a piano-style keyboard window, the keys of
which may be clicked to enter their notes. It is also possible to edit
multiple notes by selecting them as a block, using the note editor
window (below). This works selectively, so it is possible, for example,
to change all notes played by one instrument to another. This works very
well with one drawback: when dragging the pointer across the window to
make a selection, the window does not scroll; neither can you use
<adjust> to alter the selection. This means that you can’t select more
than a windowful of music without using the less-than-intuitive method
of moving the cursor and pressing <f6>.
8.4
Effects, again, are a problem in the HQ-Tracker editor. The method of
selecting one or more notes and editing their effects using a special
window (below) is great, but none of the effects are actually visible in
the music window, which can make it difficult to work out what exactly is
happening in the music. The Effects window only applies effects to
areas, instead of editing existing effects − so you can’t see where
effects are, even when you attempt to edit them! It’s all too easy, when
creating soundtrackers, to leave a pitch bend or stereo setting in the
file accidentally. You don’t notice it until you play the music, which
then sounds not quite right. This, together with the lack of any sort of
highlighting in the music window to show which part of the sequence is
currently being played (which one usually gets with single-tasking
soundtracker editors), can make it difficult to ‘debug’ soundtrackers.
8.4
In use, I found it easier to create music in HQ-Tracker than in Digital
Symphony or Desktop Tracker, apart from the invisible effects problem.
(This may be a bug − there is room for them in the music window, and the
SWI that creates the note names does, according to the manual, show the
effects.) The ability to select a block of any length and number of
voices and copy it elsewhere in the music saved an awful lot of time.
8.4
The rest of the suite
8.4
The other program that gets used often when creating music is LibMaker.
This application accepts a collection of samples dragged in, allows them
to have various attributes (such as description, category and repeat
loop bounds) edited and saves out a library containing the samples which
can then be used by HQ-Tracker. This, too, has a few shortcomings.
Firstly, unlike HQTracker itself, there is no viewer on the waveform of
the sample, which makes it quite difficult to set the repeat loop
accurately. Secondly, it is not possible to re-load libraries once made.
To alter any of the samples, or add new ones, you must open up a library
and drag all the samples in it into LibMaker. These points aside,
LibMaker works fine.
8.4
HQ-Bars shows the volume of each voice as a set of VU-bars in a window −
pointless but pretty. HQ-Player is a public domain player that loads and
plays music applications. Finally, there’s ST-Ripper. This application
attempts to convert soundtrackers into HQ-Tracker compatible music.
Considering that HQ-Tracker has fewer effects than most soundtrackers,
and that they work differently, few soundtrackers are converted with
complete accuracy. Additionally, ST-Ripper only knows how to convert
music from the Archimedes Tracker package, not the more common Amiga
soundtracker formats or Digital Symphony files or Desktop Trackers. These
have to be converted to Tracker format first; the public domain program
TrackConv will do the job.
8.4
Conclusion
8.4
With its lack of effects, HQ-Tracker is not the package for those who
wish to convert music from other computers. Those authors needing the
more esoteric effects may also need to look at Symphony, and those who
really want sixteen voices may prefer Desktop Tracker. However, if you
wish to create your own music easily and don’t really need the
complexities of vibrato, tremolo, and arpeggio, HQ-Tracker is a most
effective soundtracker. At only £25 from Mycroft Software (or £20 if you
mention you are an Archive subscriber), HQ-Tracker is very good value
for money − and you even get a discount voucher for a forthcoming
morphing package.  A
8.4
Conjugez!
8.4
Charles Hill
8.4
Conjugez! is a French verb conjugation package. The version reviewed
(v3.01) was for a single user, but a site licence version is also
available. The program is supplied as a single disc together with a 26
page A5 manual. The single user version can be installed (and
deinstalled) to a hard disc using an !Install program which was easy to
use. It can also be installed (but not deinstalled) to a floppy disc.
Once installed the master disc was not required. Also included are
applications to configure/deconfigure the program to run on 1Mb
machines.
8.4
Running the program
8.4
Once the program is loaded, clicking <select> on the icon brings up a
window which contains a candle and a ‘toolbox’ which allows accented
characters to be typed, either by pressing a function key or by clicking
on the character with <select>. <Menu> brings up a menu in French. The
‘Jeu’ option allows a game to be started, finished, paused and
restarted. Another option allows verb tenses to be selected with a
choice of 14 tenses in all together with active and passive options for
each as available. Yet another option gives control of the candle which
can be set to burn down in a preset (but alterable) time so that there
is a time limit on each turn, and the timeout may be set to terminate
the turn or just register the passage of a set time.
8.4
Options are available which control the verbs in use, display the
current score and select help. On commencing the game, the window
displays the numerical score, the number of the current turn, the verb
infinitive with an English translation, the required tense (in French)
and the personal pronoun. It is then necessary to type in the
appropriate part of the verb. Pressing <return> will bring up a box
confirming a correct response, allowing a retry or the viewing of the
correct response. The same dialogue box allows access to the help system
and specific information (in French) on the appropriate verb.
8.4
Curriculum use
8.4
I have shown the program to my Modern Language colleagues at school who
were quite impressed with the scope of the program. They felt that there
was now less emphasis on grammar in their courses, particularly with
lower years, but, as the program had the facility to choose appropriate
levels of difficulty, it could have a use with most ages from 11-18. The
self-tuition facility would be particularly useful to Sixth Form
students. Motivation could be improved by the use of the timed candle
and as a student’s skill improves, the time can, of course, be
shortened. The Score option from the game menu allows the current score
to be broken down and displayed as a bar chart which shows the number of
correct responses for each test − a useful diagnostic aid as it
demonstrates visually the performance with different tenses.
8.4
There is also an extensive Help facility (in English!) which gives
access to 186 pages of grammatical instruction. The help facility has a
simple toolbar to allow movement between pages (or 10 pages at a time)
and there is a comprehensive index which is colour-coded into main and
minor topics. An easy to use search facility is also provided. The help
facility is available by function keypress, the game menu or the icon
bar menu.
8.4
Also available from the icon bar menu is a conjugation option which will
display the conjugation of the selected verb in the chosen tense,
masculine/feminine (or both for 3rd person and compound verb endings)
and active/passive.
8.4
Configuring the program
8.4
It is possible to change tenses and change the candle burn time from the
main menu but these and additional facilities are available from the
iconbar menu. This enables the user to load verb files, obtain help on
verbs, set preferences and look at complete conjugations of the verb
file currently loaded. The preferences option allows four things to be
preset; the time taken for the candle to burn down, the scoring system
(e.g. how many points and how many attempts are allowed), the way in
which verb files are loaded and the level of difficulty. The level of
difficulty ranges from level 1 (avoir, être and a few regular -er verbs)
to level 9 (over 3500 verbs for A level) with level 6 (GCSE level) in
between.
8.4
Verdict
8.4
My language colleagues and I were impressed by the scope of this
program. It is easy to use − I could access most features without
reference to the manual. The aim of the program in the Info window is
“to replace the teacher” − it certainly adds a dimension to verb
learning which should motivate many students and it is reasonably self-
contained. I think the help system, which I have not really accessed in
any detail, is impressive in its content and scope (even as judged by
the index).
8.4
The network version also adds the facility to create and edit verb files
which gives the teacher more flexibility and additional verbs are
matched to existing verb models.
8.4
There is only one serious criticism I would make of the software which
is the legibility of the verb conjugations with some monitors. There
were no problems with mode 27 on my A5000 but mode 15 made reading very
difficult, especially on the A310s at school with the Philips 8033
monitors.
8.4
I was surprised that there seemed to be no printout facilities, the
provision of which might be a useful resource for modern language
teachers. I also discovered a possible bug in that under some conditions
(I’ve not yet worked out how) pressing a function key for an accented
character produced two of them! (The other software loaded at the time
was PipeDream4 which I used to type this review.)
8.4
Overall, the program seems excellent value for money and keen travellers
might also bear it in mind as a different means of brushing up on their
vocabulary.
8.4
Conjugez! is available from Creative Curriculum Software. The cost for a
single user is £25.48 +VAT and a site licence version is available for
£89 +VAT.  A
8.4
Sleuth OCR Upgraded
8.4
Peter Jennings
8.4
Beebug have released the first major upgrade to their optical character
recognition program, Sleuth. The upgrade first appeared as version 1.5
and this review is of the slightly later version 1.51.
8.4
Sleuth will now recognise three more fonts: American Typewriter,
Benguiat and New Baskerville. It also knows six extra characters: # ^ *
@ _  and can now deal with bold typefaces. There is a new option for the
removal of end-of-line hyphens and Twain is supported, allowing direct
scanning with Canon, Epson and HP flatbed scanners. Mode 25 and 29
sprites are also accepted, as well as 18, and so are sprites which have
been compressed using Squash.
8.4
Sleuth also now stores more information about each character which
improves its accuracy, particularly with letters which appear very
similar, such as “c” and “e”.
8.4
I tested the improved accuracy by making new conversions of scanned
sprites used during tests for the original version. All were improved
and most errors now seemed to be caused by characters that the program
has still not been taught to recognise. A typical result came from the
paragraph published in the original review last October (Archive 7.1
p53). Then there were nine errors from 330 characters, giving an
accuracy of 97.27%. This time there were only four errors, improving
accuracy to 98.78%. Put another way, the number of errors had been
reduced to less than half.
8.4
Bold type is dealt with by using a new “Select fonts” option. For normal
text, the option should be set to “Default”, which is quicker and more
accurate, but will not recognise bold styles. When “PlusBold” is
selected, however, the emboldened words magically appear although at the
expense of a slower conversion and possibly less accuracy when dealing
with the normal text.
8.4
Improving speed
8.4
I commented in a previous review that Sleuth was considerably slower,
although more accurate, than the rival OCR program, Optical. This is
still the case although as Sleuth has fewer errors, the output needs
less correcting and this will probably make it quicker to produce a
final version. The ReadMe file suggests improving speed by using a lower
definition mode, such as 0 or 12, and removing unnecessary applications
from the iconbar and this can make a marked difference. I re-ran a
previous test with my standard set-up, using mode 20, and the conversion
took 2 minutes 35 seconds. In mode 12, it took 2 minutes 17 seconds. I
then stripped my iconbar and, in mode 20, it took 1 minute 47 seconds
while in mode 12, it was 1 minute 28 seconds. The timings for Optical
ranged from 35 to 31 seconds.
8.4
Twain
8.4
I have seen a demonstration of Sleuth using Twain to work with the
output from a flatbed scanner but Richard Readings, of Wokingham, has
been testing Sleuth 1.5 with a Canon IX-4015 A4 scanner for some time
and he has written in with some interesting comments. He writes: “I
found that Sleuth is very sensitive to the ‘threshold’ selected when
scanning. In a bi-tonal scan, as required by Sleuth (and most other OCR
programs), each ‘pixel’ is interpreted as either black or white. The
‘threshold’ is the level of grey beyond which it is considered to be
black rather than white. If the threshold is set too low, ‘noise’ on the
original will be picked up, but if too high, some of the text may be
lost. Noise will confuse the recognition process and patchy text will be
difficult to recognise. Somewhat misleadingly, the ‘contrast’ control in
Twain is used to adjust the threshold for the Canon scanner. I often
have to make two or three attempts to find the optimum threshold for the
scan, but the Canon scanner is fast and because Sleuth displays its
output on a line by line basis, it doesn’t take long to see how accurate
the result is.”
8.4
More and better
8.4
Beebug’s declared policy is to develop Sleuth in stages. In the original
review, I said that Sleuth worked well within its restrictions. The new
version of Sleuth does a little more and does it even better. Registered
owners have been sent details of the new upgrade, which is available for
£5 plus VAT and postage.
8.4
Future plans
8.4
So what of future plans? The development of a Sleuth version 2 is well
advanced and this could be available before the end of the year,
although 1995 is seen as a more realistic target. Work is also going
ahead on version 2.5! Surprisingly, Beebug now seem to be moving away
from the idea of user-training for new fonts. Their thinking now is that
this should not be necessary if the program has been taught to recognise
a sufficient variety of typefaces. Sleuth has now been trained to handle
eleven fonts and it will, in fact, deal with a much wider range of
similar designs.
8.4
Version 2 will probably be capable of recognising more than forty and
translating them with increased accuracy. Other enhancements under
development include recognising more styles including italic, detecting
and handling columns of type and detecting and ignoring graphics.
Automatic spell-checking is also possible although this would use more
computer memory. User-training has not been completely ruled out but it
will be introduced only if it can be done efficiently and much more
quickly than is now possible.
8.4
Sleuth 2 costs £49 +VAT from Beebug or £54 through Archive.  A
8.4
Equate
8.4
Robert Chrismas
8.4
Equate is a graph plotting program which can also find numerical
solutions to equations. It can handle cartesian, parametric and polar
equations and the finished graphs can be printed or saved as drawfiles.
8.4
Equate is RISC OS compatible.
8.4
Expressions
8.4
Expressions are entered in a format which is as near as possible to the
standard algebraic notation but with the limitation that all the
characters must be on one line. Expressions like €(x²+cos2x²) are
interpreted correctly.
8.4
Trigonometrical, hyperbolic and exponential functions and their inverses
are all supported. Eight banks of ‘insertion icons’ allow these
functions to be entered easily. There are lots of buttons so, should you
need it, a function like cosech³ can be entered with a single click.
8.4
Three types of function
8.4
Equate can superimpose the graphs of different equations. It has no
difficulty handling different types of equation simultaneously so the
graph of a polar equation can easily be superimposed on the graph of a
parametric equation. Each equation can be edited or deleted separately
and the display will update accordingly.
8.4
Some simple functions
8.4
The ‘range’
8.4
There are several ways of specifying which part of the graph is to be
displayed. Maximum and minimum values for x, y, t and a can be entered
directly in a dialogue box. Alternatively, you can zoom in by dragging a
rectangle or zoom out by specifying a scale factor. It is also possible
to set a ‘local range’ for each function − this causes just a part of
the graph to be plotted.
8.4
Finally, there is the ‘autorange’ menu option. For cartesian equations,
autorange adjusts the y scale to include the whole graph for the given x
values. For polar and parametric equations, both the x and y scales will
be adjusted to display the whole graph.
8.4
A question
8.4
While checking the autorange option, it occurred to me that it would be
very difficult to get a program to choose the set of x values which
would display a graph including all the roots, all the turning points,
and any discontinuities of a function, or at least enough of the graph
for any repeating pattern to become apparent. With polynomials, it is
easy enough but for more complicated functions it might not always be
computable. Does anyone know?
8.4
The axes
8.4
By default, Equate will choose sensible divisions and subdivisions for
the axis but the user can overrule these settings. You might want to do
this if you needed to produce a graph which appeared to have been drawn
on graph paper. The default subdivisions are usually too far apart to
read off coordinates accurately by eye.
8.4
It is possible to choose suitable divisions and sub-divisions so that
the x axis can be read either in degrees or radians.
8.4
Accuracy and discontinuities
8.4
Equate evaluates coordinates at regularly spaced intervals. The user can
set the ‘accuracy’ which determines the number of points to be
calculated. The higher the accuracy, the longer the calculation time.
8.4
Some discontinuities are not detected
8.4
If the expression is undefined (infinite) at any point, Equate will
leave a gap. If the discontinuity lies between two calculated points,
Equate will join the points. To make sure that no obvious
discontinuities are missed, Equate also checks all the x division values
for discontinuities.
8.4
The display
8.4
The colour and thickness of the axis and of each curve can be adjusted.
8.4
The whole display can be saved as a drawfile or printed out at once. In
the drawfile, curves are constructed of (straight) line segments. If the
graph is straight, the number of segments is adjusted automatically so
that they are drawn with a single line segment. If the graph is curved,
the size of the drawfile depends on the chosen accuracy. A (probably
excessive) accuracy setting of 1000 requires about 13Kb per equation.
8.4
You can also save a file in Equate format. This file contains all the
functions and all the other settings of the program. The manual includes
an appendix which describes the file format. I thought this was a good
idea.
8.4
Solving problems
8.4
Equate can be used to find numerical solutions to equations. You can
enter an x value for a cartesian equation and Equate will calculate the
corresponding y value and the gradient at that point. For polar and
parametric graphs, you will have to specify the value of the angle or
the parameter.
8.4
In the trace mode, you can track along a graph with a display showing
the co-ordinates and the gradient at each point. Equate can also find a
numerical solution for the point of intersection of two graphs.
8.4
The manual
8.4
The manual covers all the features of the program and includes some
example problems with explanations and solutions. So far as is possible,
the manual avoids technical mathematical terms. I think this may have
been taken too far. Potential users of the program will probably have a
mathematical background and some may be irritated by the manual’s use of
the term ‘range’ to refer to the set of values which the independent
variable may take. There would have been no harm in introducing the term
‘domain’ with a brief explanation but this is only a pedantic criticism
− the manual is perfectly clear.
8.4
Good value?
8.4
I suppose most people who use this program will be involved in
education. Equate could be used individually or with a class to ‘try
out’ a lot of functions very quickly. Teachers will also find it useful
for producing neat, accurate, pre-drawn graphs on handouts and work
sheets.
8.4
If you are not familiar with this sort of program, you should be warned
that there are functions which will upset any computer algorithm. For
example, 1/(sin(1/x)) is always going to be tricky to draw. In cases
like this, all you can expect is that the program will not crash. Equate
does not crash and it draws a curve from which you should be able to
deduce the true shape of the graph.
8.4
Since the program is RISC OS compatible, I suppose it is suitable for
use by children of any age who are capable of finding their way around
the desktop. How much they will understand of the graphs depends on the
difficulty of the functions chosen and the children’s mathematical
ability and not on their computer competence.
8.4
Thinking about my own A level mathematics class, I would certainly
prefer to use Equate instead of the rather antiquated single-tasking
program which we use now. However, our present program is able to use
numerical estimates of the gradient to produce an approximate graph of
the gradient function. Equate would benefit from a similar feature and
if it could also do numerical integration, that would be very welcome.
8.4
Equate, from PTW Software, costs £17.95 inclusive of VAT, post and
packing, unlimited site licence, free upgrade path and technical
support. This is a reasonable price for a single user, but since it
includes an unlimited site licence, it represents excellent value for
educational establishments.  A
8.4
ArchiTech
8.4
Jim Wyllie
8.4
ArchiTech is a 3D modelling package written by the same company that
brought us SPEX and is designed to be intuitive in use with options to
suit most users. I have run ArchiTech on every Risc computer at our
school − from A3000, 2Mb, ARM2 to Risc PC − with no serious troubles at
all. The obvious advantages of speed, memory and colour availability are
taken for granted. Certainly, I have yet to come across an unsatisfied
customer, of any age.
8.4
Installing
8.4
ArchiTech comes in a hardbacked ring folder similar to Impression and
comprises a series of six example discs and a single compressed master
program. The protection included is, in my opinion, the most effective,
especially for school. The master disc is named before use − with the
master, after installation, safely stored away in its box.
8.4
The manual is excellent, full of useful graphics and written in a
readable language. It must have been good because I actually read it −
not a common phenomenon with me.
8.4
The mixture of example files is very varied, demonstrates just what can
be achieved with this program and gives a good starting point to
prospective users. You are given a series of ArchiTech models,
interesting backgrounds, textures for your own drawings and a group of
Ace films. One disc also includes a three-sided function strip in
drawfile format.
8.4
Installation is handled in a similar manner to Style. Double click the
installation program, answer the questions and do as instructed − with
the program decompressing efficiently onto anything from 800Kb floppy
(leaving enough free space for printer and system resources) to hard
drive.
8.4
Starting up
8.4
On loading the application, a banner screen (including the registered
user’s details) is displayed while ArchiTech installs itself onto the
iconbar. Clicking once on this icon opens a user-defined number of
windows, each of which is now described in turn. A complex option list
is acted upon when the program is first loaded, setting various things
including the scale, grid type, hardcopy format, and an automatically
saved backup file. If you are using a locked Risc PC, make sure the
backup file is saved into the Public folder.
8.4
Edit window
8.4
This is the main input window providing ten different complex 3D forms
which can be selected from either a graphic menu, a normal menu or
preset function keys. They range from the simplest cube to complex
extrusions, sweeps and wedge shapes. As the number of sides of any
figure can be fully defined, a four-sided cone would give a square
pyramid.
8.4
A grid, with lock, is provided and you can copy, move, resize and rotate
any of the selected forms. A very useful addition is that the dimensions
are shown as you draw, together with the co-ordinates of the cursor, so
that working to a certain size is straight forward. The unit of
measurement and scale of the drawing are also user-definable.
8.4
Drawing a selected form could not be simpler − choose the elevation in
which to begin and construct the first section of the shape using an
intelligent 2D rubber-banding system to help. You are now moved
automatically to the second view and led through the completion of the
form. Some of the possible forms are more complex than others but all
are quickly learnt and you are always shown the outlines of the form as
it is built.
8.4
A further, and very powerful, construction method is also available −
that of importing a drawfile and extruding it to a suitable dimension.
Drop the drawfile onto the Edit window, enter the depth of the intended
extrusion plus a number of the optional effects and within a few seconds
the extruded form is constructed.
8.4
When using the lower power Acorn computers, we found that patience must
be applied during the construction stage, to give the processor time to
work − drawing too quickly sometimes gave problems. The excellent backup
file system was utilised as a safety net.
8.4
View window
8.4
This window shows, in either three point Perspective or in Isometric, a
view of your design which is constantly updated as you work in the Edit
window. You can pan and magnify the view of your form, select single or
multiple facets for colouring, manipulate the single lighting source and
add a suitable backdrop in the form of a sprite, all from simple tool
icons. The effect of the lighting makes the object come to life, giving
a more three dimensional feel.
8.4
Rendering a form could not be easier − select the surface(s), then the
required colour or texture, click the painting icon and the colour is
added immediately. This can be updated, with ease, at any time in the
future.
8.4
The animation possibilities are also very versatile, although, one word
of warning, save your design before you start. After making an animation
mistake, I found that recovering your basic design took some patience.
Models can animate automatically or operate only after a specific mouse
action.
8.4
Render tools
8.4
This is the effects window. It allows the selection of colour or texture
from a series of three active graphic menus, addition of colour to the
edges, removal of individual facets and the making of transparent
surfaces. A drawfile or sprite can be wrapped, or mapped, around one or
more surfaces with the further option of making invisible any black
portions − a useful method of making odd shaped holes or windows. You
can make your object look like any material from glass to granite, steel
to plastic and all at the click of the mouse button.
8.4
An interactive help line is provided. This helps the beginner and
supplies the correct page in the manual for more information, updating
continually, no matter which of the ArchiTech windows you are accessing.
8.4
Full screen view
8.4
One of the options from the View window is the full screen mode. You are
given selected modes to see your final model in full colour together
with the selected background. Selecting this mode moves the computer to
single task, taking over the whole screen and providing a far greater
redraw speed. Your model can now be moved, in real-time, by selected
mouse movements. If any animation is available, this can be operated
easily with a single key press. If your model is that of a building, or
similar, then you can set the mouse to walk you through, or around, the
model, giving the illusion of a virtual reality demonstration.
Everything shown in this full screen mode can be recorded as either Ace
or Replay film, for display later without the main program. Some of the
available modes give superb results − even modes 13 or 15 give ample
results for most needs.
8.4
At this point the smaller memories and the slower processors of our
A3000s show their age although the machines are still quick enough if
the drawing is not too large.
8.4
Net window
8.4
As if we had not had enough for our money, every form that you draw can
be plotted, or drawn, as a surface development (Net), including gluing
tabs, with or without the appropriate rendering details and choosing any
of the given output hardware options − anything from A4 printer to A2
plotter. Preparing a hardcopy of our practice design, using an HP550C,
was straightforward, produced a reasonable rendition and printed evenly,
minimising the streaking effects.
8.4
Output
8.4
To be of any serious use, a 3D package must enable you to transfer your
drawings to other programs. ArchiTech allows you to save in native
format, export the view window image as a sprite or a drawfile or as a
Working Drawing − a drawfile showing the object without dimensions, in
three elevations, in either first or third angle, together with a
perspective view. I had a small problem here with the working drawing as
it required enlarging, vertically, by a factor of approximately 1.8.
This bug is being worked on at the moment, does not occur on the Risc PC
and is easily rectified with a Keystroke action file.
8.4
You can also output any design in a format suitable for SPEX, the sister
3D manipulation package from the same company.
8.4
Support
8.4
The quality of support from Aspex has been excellent. One phone call
brought a result in ten minutes. An open day was held with one of the
team for all interested bodies in Edinburgh. Demonstrations were given
of how to get the best from ArchiTech. Most importantly for its users,
Aspex acted on our list of wants/needs immediately. The programmers are
continuing to improve ArchiTech with the inclusion of 24-bit colour
almost complete, two more drawing tools being developed and printer
routines being improved. At the moment, all upgrades are free (provided
you enclose a SAE) and are turned round efficiently.
8.4
Conclusion
8.4
This program is designed with the Risc PC in mind, but is still capable
of running on a lowly 2Mb A3000. I have now taught classes of different
age groups and watched them enjoying success with ArchiTech within a
very short time. My friend’s son, aged seven, can understand the basic
system and loves to show his creations to all who are available.
8.4
The program does have a few problems but these are all being addressed
and few make the platform unstable. Imagine taking a colour scan of a
biscuit wrapper, mapping it onto a drawing of a cylinder, adding a
suitable background and rotating the result in real-time − it’s been
done − it took no time at all and the final result was very effective
indeed.
8.4
I have used many different 3D modelling packages and I cannot recommend
this one enough − simple and easy to use, plenty of features and
excellent value for money. ArchiTech can be bought from Aspex for £169
+VAT or £185 through Archive.  A
8.4
4th Dimension   1 Percy Street, Sheffield, S3 8AU. (0114-270-0661)
(0114-278-1091)
8.4
4Mation    14 Castle Park Road, Whiddon Valley, Barnstaple, Devon, EX32
8PA. (01271-25353) (01271-22974)
8.4
Abacus Training    29 Okus Grove, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wilts, SN2
6QA.
8.4
Acorn Computers Ltd    Acorn House, Vision Park, Histon, Cambridge, CB4
4AE. (01223-254254) (01223-254262)
8.4
Anglia Television   Media Development, Anglia House, Norwich, NR1 3JG.
(01603-615151) (01603-631032)
8.4
APDL    39 Knighton Park Road, Sydenham, London, SE26 5RN.
8.4
Aspex Software   Heather House, Tavistock, Devon, PL19 9AG. (01822-
611060)
8.4
  (01822-611061)
8.4
Avie Electronics (p25)  7 Overbury Road, Norwich. (01603-416863) (01603-
788640)
8.4
Beebug Ltd (p65)  117 Hatfield Road, St Albans, Herts, AL1 4JS. (01727-
840303)
8.4
  (01727-860263)
8.4
Cherisha Software (p9)  51 Swallowfield Road, Charlton, London, SE7 7NT.
8.4
Clares Micro Supplies   98 Middlewich Road, Rudheath, Northwich,
Cheshire, CW9 7DA.
8.4
  (01606-48511) (01606-48512)
8.4
Colton Software (p30)   2 Signet Court, Swanns Road, Cambridge, CB5 8LA.
(01223-311881) (01223-312010)
8.4
Computer Concepts (pp15/29)   Gaddesden Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts,
HP2 6EX. (01442-63933) (01442-231632)
8.4
Creative Curriculum Software   5 Clover Hill Road, Savile Park, Halifax,
HX1 2YG. (01422-340524) (01422-346388)
8.4
Cumana Ltd   Pines Trading Estate, Broad Street, Guilford, GU3 3BH.
(01483-503121)   (01483-503326)
8.4
Dalriada Data Technology (p8)  145 Albion Street, Kenilworth,
Warkwickshire, CV8 2FY. (01926-53901)
8.4
Datafile   71 Anson Road, Locking, Weston-super-Mare, Avon, BS24 7DQ.
8.4
  (01934-823005)
8.4
David Pilling   P.O.Box 22, Thornton Cleveleys, Blackpool, FY5 1LR.
8.4
Dave Lawrence (p25)  33 High Street, Farnborough, GU14 6ES.
8.4
Doggysoft   7 Blackhorse Crescent, Amersham, Bucks., HP6 6HP.
8.4
Font Company Ltd    47 Goodhale Road, Bowthorpe, Norwich, NR5 9AY.
(01603-748253) (01603-740203)
8.4
GamesWare   Unit 26, The Bartletts, Hamble, Hants., SO35 5RP.
(01703−456523)
8.4
  (or 0243-531194) (01703−456523)
8.4
Hodge Electronic Services    16 Mold Road, Mynydd Isa, Clwyd, CH7 6TD.
(01244-550803)
8.4
Honormead Software Solutions   Admin House, The Grange, Hospital Lane,
Michleover, Derby, DE3 5DR. (01332-512848)
8.4
iSV Products   86, Turnberry, Home Farm, Bracknell, Berks, RG11 8ZH.
(01334-55769)
8.4
Ivoryash Ltd   14 Perwell Close, Bredon, Tewkesbury, Gloucester, GL20
7LJ.
8.4
  (01684-73173)
8.4
Koeksuster Publications   St Augustine’s Cottage, High Street, Mill
Hill, London NW7 1QY.
8.4
  (0181-959-3321) ([e-mail])
8.4
Kudlian Soft   8 Barrow Road, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, CV8 1EH. (01926-
851147)
8.4
Lambda Publications   194 Cheney Manor Road, Swindon SN2 2NZ. (01793-
695296)
8.4
Le Computer   Main Road, Willows Green, Chelmsford, CM3 1QB. (01245-
362225) (01245-362225)
8.4
Longman Logotron   124 Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge
CB4 4ZS.
8.4
  (01223-425558) (01223-425349)
8.4
LOOKsystems (pp40/41)  47 Goodhale Road, Bowthorpe, Norwich, NR5 9AY.
(01603-748253) (01603-740203)
8.4
Micro Laser Designs   105 Midford Road, Combe Downs, Bath BA2 5RX. Tel
(01225-833266)
8.4
Minerva Systems   Minerva House, Baring Crescent, Exeter, EX1 1TL.
(01392-437756) (01392-421762)
8.4
Mycroft Software   53 Cottonmill Lane, St Albans, AL1 2ER.
8.4
Oak Solutions (p26)   Dial House, 12 Chapel Street, Halton, Leeds, LS15
7RN (0113-232-6992) (0113-232-6993)
8.4
Octopus Systems   9 Randwell Close, Ipswich, IP4 5ES. (01473-728943)
(01473-270643)
8.4
Quantum Software (p16)  35 Pinewood Park, Deans, Livingston, EH54 8NN.
(01506-411162 after 6)
8.4
Sherston Software   Angel House, Sherston, Malmesbury, Wilts. SN16 0LH.
(01666-840433) (01666-840048)
8.4
Supreme Software Ltd (p37)   21 Courtenay Close, Chapel Break,
Bowthorpe, Norwich, NR5 9LB.
8.4
T-J Reproductions   Unit D, Canada House, Blackburn Road, West
Hampstead, London
8.4
  NW6 1RZ. (0171-372-4430) (0171-372-0515)
8.4
Uniqueway   42 Crwys Road, Cardiff, CF2 4NN.  (01222-644611) (01222-
644622)
8.4
US Gold Ltd   Units 2/3, Holford Way, Holford, Birmingham, B6 7AX.
(0121-625-3366) (0121-606-1822)
8.4
Norwich Computer Services  96a Vauxhall Street, Norwich, NR2 2SD.
(01603-766592) (01603-764011)
8.4
Government Health Warning − Reading this could seriously affect your
spiritual health.
8.4
It could be you! How many tickets have you bought for the National
Lottery? Just think what life would be like if you won a million pounds!
Think of all those things you could buy. Think of the security it would
bring − no more financial worries for the rest of your life. It really
would be great, wouldn’t it?!
8.4
But have you really thought about the implications of suddenly having
pots of money? Have you thought how it would affect your friendships and
your relationships with your family? Have a think now.
8.4
How can you be sure that all those ‘friends’ that you seem to be getting
are really ‘friends’ and aren’t just after your money? Can you really
trust them? How will your real friends feel if they think that you don’t
trust them? Suddenly, you don’t know who you can trust. What did we just
say about ‘security’?
8.4
I’m not trying to argue against the National Lottery but I’m trying to
use it as an example to show how easily we swallow the lies of the
media. I’m sorry but I just don’t believe that life would be wonderful
if I had lots of money... or the ‘right’ car or the ‘right’ clothes, or
whatever other material goods they say I ‘need’.
8.4
The only things that are really important are our relationships with one
another. (I would use the word ‘love’ but that too has been hijacked!)
Proverbs 15v17 puts it well, “Better a meal of vegetables where there is
love than a fattened calf with hatred.” Simple but profound.
8.4
And I know I can’t prove this, but from my experience, what is really,
really important is our relationship with God. Get that right and many
other things suddenly make sense. Again from Proverbs, in the same
chapter, but verse 16: “Better a little with the fear of the Lord than
great wealth with turmoil.”
8.4
Anyone who has come to know the love of God as seen in Jesus knows what
true riches are.
8.4

Did I say, “All change at NCS”?!
8.5
When I said last month that things were changing, I totally
underestimated the rate of change. Amanda has now left NCS to move back
down to London and has taken up the post of Administrator to the British
Humanists Society. She has been replaced by Andrew Herzig who joined us
in December.
8.5
Finally (I hope!), Vera has got a job with the Education Department here
in Norfolk, setting up an Open College Network − it sounds great −
Congratulations!  We wish both Vera and Amanda every success in the
future and thank them for their contributions to the development of NCS
and Archive magazine.
8.5
Help!!!!
8.5
As you can imagine, losing so many staff so rapidly means a lot of
difficult adjustment. Sue Beverley (yes, we are related) has come in to
help out but we are going to be hard-pressed, especially as Andrew is on
his honeymoon(!) until 30th January. Whatever you do, please don’t stop
sending in orders!!! We would simply ask that you bear with us by (a)
only ringing with technical calls in the morning and (b) being patient
if your orders aren’t serviced “in the manner to which you have become
accustomed”. Please exercise even more than usual of the “Archive
spirit” − normal service will be resumed as soon as possible...
8.5
Your harassed editor...
8.5
Products Available
8.5
•  AI CD-ROM − Release 3 of this CD (reviewed in Archive 7.5 p42) is now
available from Lambda Publications. They offer an upgrade to existing
users who return the release 2 disc and so they now have a small number
of these release 2 discs available for £25 inclusive.
8.5
•  Basic AOF − This application from Oregan Developments allows the
built-in Basic assembler to export assembled code in a format suitable
for linking with object files from the Acorn C compiler, and anything
else supporting AOF. This costs £39.95 inclusive from Oregan or £38
through Archive.
8.5
•  Cannon Fodder − New from Krisalis Software, this is a conversion from
the Amiga game by Sensible Software. You control a group of infantry
running around various second world war battlefields shooting the enemy,
destroying supply depots and so on. The game has an ELSPA rating of 15+,
and so is not suitable for young children. The price is £25.99 or £24
through Archive.
8.5
•  CD Server from Digital Services allows CD-ROM drives to be shared
across a network − each client appears to have its own drive connected.
By cacheing data in memory, and on the host machines hard disc, high
performance is achieved allowing multiple replay or MPEG sessions on the
same network. IBM CDs are accessible as well as Acorn Format, even
through the PC Emulator or a PC Card. The software is licensed by
network, not station, but you will need to check that you are not
breaking copyright on the CDs that you are sharing. The software is
available for £199 +VAT, with 32-bit SCSI card and internal double speed
CD-ROM drive for £599 +VAT. If you need an external CD-ROM drive, the
price will be £699+VAT.
8.5
•  Complete Animator − A new animation package from Iota Software aimed
at all levels of experience, supplied with a 30 minute tutorial video as
well. The many features include, sound, text, stamps, ghosting,
rotoscoping, editing, backgrounds and flipbook printing are all built
in. The cost is £99 + £3 p&p, inc VAT from Iota software or £98 through
Archive.
8.5
•  Dune II − The Battle for Arrakis has speech, artificial intelligence,
9Mb of compressed graphics, 30 battle zones and over 20Mb of source
material compressed onto 7 floppies. It runs on RISC OS 2/3, is hard
drive installable and needs 2Mb RAM. Dune II costs £34.99 from Eclipse
or £33 through Archive.
8.5
•  Floopy − This is a 40-screen game from Soft Rock Software costing,
currently, £3.49, in which you must collect either ice creams, apples or
workmen’s helmets whilst avoiding various creatures. (A new version is
planned which will make it Risc PC-compatible.)
8.5
•  Formulix − Unfortunately, we got the price wrong for CC’s Formulix
package. What we gave you was the upgrade price from Equasor, i.e. £49
+VAT (only through CC). The full price is £69 +VAT from CC or £76
inclusive through Archive. (For those who bought Formulix from us at
£55, we wouldn’t ask for an extra payment as it was our own mistake but
perhaps you might feel moved to make a donation to your favourite
charity?)
8.5
•  Image Factory − This Australian Company has produced a wide range of
clipart in Artworks or Draw formats. Current collections are meadow
(bee, crow, frog, ladybird, lily, mouse, rabbit and sitting rabbit, the
Artworks version also includes the fox); Flight (Wright Brothers
“Flyer”, Sopwith Camel, Supermarine Spitfire, BAC VC10, Hawker Harrier,
Westland Lynx, Concord, Shuttle Columbia); Big Cats (Black Panther,
Cheetah, Leopard, Lion, Ocelot, Tiger); The Art of Walter Briggs
(Dolphin, Falcon, Leopard, Beetle, Train, Cyborg, Linford Christie).
They are available in the UK from Pineapple Software in Artworks format
£10 each, £11 for The Art of Walter Briggs, Flight and Meadow are also
available in draw format for £15 each. (All prices are inc VAT.)
8.5
•  Landmarks Microworlds: The War Years − Set in the small village of
Westerleigh, this educational package allows pupils to visit the village
at various times between 1938 and 1945. Building interiors and objects
can be examined and the inhabitants can be asked simple questions, so
pupils can experience life as it was lived then. As well as the
software, the package also includes a set of resources for use in the
classroom. The price is £25.50 +VAT for single user, or £75.00 + VAT for
a site licence from Longman Logotron.
8.5
•  Landmarks PinPoint Datafile: Looking at the World − Data sheets for
195 countries covering population and environmental information are
included in this data file. Birth rates and life expectancy statistics,
land area, average rainfall, temperature, daylight hours and other
climatic details are available. They are available from Longman Logotron
for £14 + VAT for single user, or £36 +VAT for a site licence, but note
that a copy of either PinPoint, or Junior Pinpoint is needed to use the
files.
8.5
•  MathsGen − Creative Curriculum Software have released an entry-level
program for generating maths worksheets. Ideal for parents and teachers
wishing to give children maths practice. Any number of worksheets and
answer sheets can be designed, covering addition, subtraction,
multiplication and division. Full presentation control is given, no
typing or computation is needed. The price is £12.95 + VAT, orders
placed at BETT ’95 or before the end of January 1995 will qualify for
the special launch price of £9.95 +VAT.
8.5
•  Maths Odyssey − A mathematical adventure set in ancient Greece. The
game involves finding mathematicians who will ask you mathematical
questions, giving you tokens if you are successful. If you complete the
adventure, you will be admitted to the brotherhood of mathematicians.
The cost is £42 +VAT from Computer Tutorial Services Ltd.
8.5
•  MultiGen − The high band Genlock adaptor from Sonamara Computer Video
has dropped in price to £399.95 including VAT. It supports resolutions
of up to 640×480 in up to 256,000 colours, with simultaneous RGB, S-
video and composite video outputs and S-video and composite video
inputs. Features of the external unit include under/overscan options,
freeze frame, fade, computer to video, genlock, overlay, mix and it
supports both PAL and NTSC. All leads are included for connections
between the unit, the computer, monitor and video. Until Easter ’95, the
MultiGen/Titler bundle will still be available at £428.87 inc. VAT from
Sonamara.
8.5
•  Musketeer Pack − A complete desktop solution, the Musketeer Pack
contains the full versions of the Schema 2 spreadsheet, Impression Style
WP/DTP package and the DataPower database package, all for £249 +VAT
from Iota Software, or £199 +VAT as an upgrade from Acorn Advance.
8.5
•  Nucleus − A high performance fileserver from Digital Services. Rather
than running over ADFS, the server has its own filing system which
provides better facilities for fileservers, allowing larger hard discs
(up to 16Gb) larger directories and larger files, as well as improved
space accounting. Additional file attributes allow files to have the
execute-only bit set so that applications can be run, but not copied,
deleted or moved. Shared writable areas are also possible so a file or
directory can be made available to any other group of users.
Workgrouping allows clients to establish shared areas without the need
for system manager interaction. Cacheing increases the speed (up to 6
times faster than Level 4), and the multi-threaded design means
simultaneous requests are handled quickly. Users details can be updated
individually or in batch mode to change space allocations, privileges
etc. Prices start from £199 + VAT for a 10 station licence from Digital
Services.
8.5
•  Otteryl − This is Cherisha’s Software’s statistics-based program for
the National Lottery. They offer “no guarantee that your success rate...
...will be increased” but they claim that it will lessen the likelihood
of picking numbers that are rarely or frequently chosen and avoid those
common patterns that hundreds of other people may also have chosen thus
lowering your winnings, should you win. Otteryl costs £3 inclusive from
Cherisha Software.
8.5
•  Pineapple Software − The Canon IX4015 24-bit scanner is now also
available from Pineapple Software. It comes complete with David
Pilling’s Twain and Imagemaster package. Support for the scanner will
also be built into Pineapple’s retouching software Studio 24. The pack
is £599 + VAT, or you can include Studio 24 for an additional £80 +VAT.
(You will require a SCSI card to use the scanner.)
8.5
•  Reptile − This is an application from Kudlian Soft, aimed at
education, that allows the user to create and manipulate tiles based on
either square, triangle or hexagon, using draw-objects to give high
quality printouts. It costs £30 +VAT from Kudlian Soft (including a
primary school site licence) or £60 +VAT for a secondary school licence.
(£33 and £66 through Archive.)
8.5
•  Revolution Quad Speed − a new version of the Morley Revolution Pro
Caddy CD-ROM systems has been released, with a quad speed drive
mechanism (around 600Kb/s), for connection to a SCSI card. The internal
Risc PC version is £349 +VAT +carriage, (£405 inclusive through Archive)
and the external version is £399 +VAT +carriage (£470 through Archive).
8.5
At the same time, they have reduced the price of the Revolution dual
speed drives to £189 +VAT + carriage. (£230 inclusive through Archive.)
8.5
•  Sleuth 2 OCR − a professional version of Sleuth OCR with improved
accuracy (over 99% with good quality images) and support for more
typefaces − normal, bold, italic and bold italic weights of virtually
all popular typefaces are supported. The converted text can be exported
as ASCII or Rich Text Format. Multi-column text and graphics are
handled, by converting the text in a sensible order and ignoring
graphics. Alternatively, the order of zones can be set manually. ‘Guided
editing’ highlights the likely mistakes in the converted text. The
images can be scanned directly from a Twain scanner. Upgrades from the
original version are available for £49 +VAT through Beebug, and the full
package is available for £99 +VAT (£110 through Archive). The original
version is still available for £59 +VAT (£65 through Archive). (The
pricing in the review last month was completely wrong. Sorry!)
8.5
•  Soft Rock Software − Currently, there are two special offers of Soft
Rock Software packages. Offer one contains the five budget games Escape
from Exeria, Guardians of the Lanyrinth, Drop Rock, Switch and Floopy
along with Trellis (the Adventure Interpreter) in a bundle for £19.99, a
saving of over £5. Offer two is for Risc PC owners and comprises the
above package squashed onto two discs, for £13.99. These offers are only
available directly from Soft Rock Software.
8.5
Review software received...
8.5
We have received review copies of the following: •BasicAOF (u), •Floopy
(g), •MouseTrap (u), •Otteryl (u/g?), •RepTile (e).
8.5
e=Education, g=Game, u=Utility.
8.5
Not a lot for review at the moment but we have a huge number of reviews
done and waiting for magazine space − see page 78 for a list.  A
8.5
Government Health Warning − Reading this could seriously affect your
spiritual health.
8.5
“I’m not a Christian but I like your God Slot − you do have some quite
sensible things to say... well, sometimes. But go to church? Me? No
thanks! The only times I’ve been it’s been quite deadly − a few old
ladies in posh hats and a man up front wearing funny clothes and
speaking with a very funny voice. I hope he doesn’t speak like that in
normal conversation!
8.5
“When you walk into the church, someone says ‘Welcome’ but then you see
the ‘I spy strangers!’ look on the faces of the congregation and you
begin to think that you’ve invaded an alien planet − and they obviously
think the same.
8.5
“Then you play the ‘sit-kneel-stand’ game! You know − you’re kneeling
reverently with your eyes closed, you hear a rustle and you suddenly
realise that everyone else is standing up − or, worse still, you’re
still standing up and they have all sat down! How do they know what to
do when? I think you have to be a member of the club. No thanks.”
8.5
I’m sure that many of you will recognise what my friend is saying − and
it isn’t, in my view, an unfair caricature − there are many churches
like that and, yes, it does put people off. I would offer a Government
Health Warning against such churches − they could seriously affect your
spiritual health!
8.5
“OK then, so how do I find a church that is really alive and relevant to
the 20th (and the 21st!) century?”
8.5
Well, there’s no easy way to tell without going along to see for
yourself. Mind you, one thing I would say is that there are now over 800
churches around the country running the Alpha course that I mentioned a
few months ago and that’s a good indication of life. If you want to know
if there is one near you, ring 071-581-8255 and ask to speak to
Phillipa, who is the Alpha Coordinator. (Or ring me and I’ll find out
for you.)
8.5
Why not go on an Alpha course? People are finding them very helpful. I’m
so convinced that they could seriously affect your spiritual health (for
the better!) that you can take this as a written guarantee. Go on an
Alpha course and, if you feel that it’s a waste of time, I’ll give you a
free life-time subscription to Archive!
8.5
Don’t hang about though because most of the Alpha courses start mid-
January. Ring Phillipa now on 071-581-8255 or if you live near Norwich,
our Alpha course starts with a meal at 7.15 pm on Thursday, 19th
January, in the Essex Rooms, Essex Street − just round the corner from
Vauxhall Street! See you there?
8.5
P.B.
8.5
Fact-File
8.5
(The numbers in italic are fax numbers)
8.5
4th Dimension   1 Percy Street, Sheffield, S3 8AU. (0114-270-0661)
(0114-278-1091)
8.5
Abacus Training (p5)   29 Okus Grove, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wilts,
SN2 6QA.
8.5
Acorn Direct   13 Dennington Road, Wellingborough, Northants, NN8 2RL.
(01933-228953)
8.5
Acorn Computers Ltd    Acorn House, Vision Park, Histon, Cambridge, CB4
4AE. (01223-254254)
8.5
  (01223-254262)
8.5
Aleph One Ltd   The Old Courthouse, Bottisham, Cambridge, CB5 9BA.
(01223-811679)
8.5
  (01223-812713)
8.5
ALSystems   47 Winchester Road, Four Marks, Alton, Hampshire, GU34 5HG.
(01420-561111)
8.5
APDL    39 Knighton Park Road, Sydenham, London, SE26 5RN.
8.5
Avie Electronics (p29)  7 Overbury Road, Norwich. (01603-416863) (01603-
788640)
8.5
Beebug Ltd  117 Hatfield Road, St Albans, Herts, AL1 4JS. (01727-840303)
(01727-860263)
8.5
Castle Technology   Ore Trading Estate, Woodbridge Road, Framlingham,
Suffolk, IP13 9LL.
8.5
  (01728-621222) (01728-621179)
8.5
Cherisha Software   51 Swallowfield Road, Charlton, London, SE7 7NT.
8.5
Clares Micro Supplies   98 Middlewich Road, Rudheath, Northwich,
Cheshire, CW9 7DA. (01606-48511) (01606-48512)
8.5
Colton Software   2 Signet Court, Swanns Road, Cambridge, CB5 8LA.
(01223-311881)
8.5
  (01223-312010)
8.5
Computer Concepts (pp19/20)   Gaddesden Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts,
HP2 6EX. (01442-63933)
8.5
  (01442-231632)
8.5
Computer Tutorial Services Ltd   4 Mill Hill Road, Cowes, Isle of Wight,
PO31 7EA.
8.5
Cumana Ltd   Pines Trading Estate, Broad Street, Guilford, GU3 3BH.
(01483-503121)
8.5
  (01483-503326)
8.5
Dalriada Data Technology   145 Albion Street, Kenilworth, Warkwickshire,
CV8 2FY. (01926-53901)
8.5
Datafile   71 Anson Road, Locking, Weston-super-Mare, Avon, BS24 7DQ.
(01934-823005)
8.5
David Pilling   P.O.Box 22, Thornton Cleveleys, Blackpool, FY5 1LR.
8.5
Digital Services   9 Wayte Street, Cosham, Portsmouth PO6 3BS. (01705-
210600) (01705-210709)
8.5
Eclipse    Unit 1, The Shopwhyke Centre, Shopwhyke Road, Chichester,
PO20 6GD. (01243-531194) (01243-531196)
8.5
Hazelnut Software   197 Blackshots Lane, Grays, Essex, RM16 2LL. (01375-
375514)
8.5
HCCS Ltd   575-583 Durham Road, Gateshead, NE9 5JJ. (0191-487-0760)
(0191-491-0431)
8.5
HEC   47/49 Railway Road, Leigh, Lancs. (01942-672424) (01942-261094)
8.5
Hodge Electronic Services    16 Mold Road, Mynydd Isa, Clwyd, CH7 6TD.
(01244-550803)
8.5
IFEL   34 Culver Road, Saltash, Cornwall, PL12 4DR. (01752-847286)
(01752-840029)
8.5
Iota Software Ltd   Iota House, Wellington Court, Cambridge, CB1 1HZ.
(01223-566789)
8.5
  (01223-566788)
8.5
Irlam Instruments   133 London Road, Staines, Middlesex TW18 4HN.
(01895-811401)
8.5
Kang Software   Location Works, 1 Charlotte Street, London W1P 1HD.
(0171-637-7766)
8.5
  (0171-637-2727)
8.5
Krisalis Software   Teque House, Mason’s Yard, Downs Row, Moorgate,
Rotherham, S60 2HD. (01709-372290) (01709-368403)
8.5
Kudlian Soft  8 Barrow Road, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, CV8 1EH. (01926-
851147)
8.5
Lambda Publications   194 Cheney Manor Road, Swindon SN2 2NZ. (01793-
695296)
8.5
Lindis International   Wood Farm, Linstead Magna, Halesworth, Suffolk,
IP19 0DU. (0198-685-477) (0198-685-460)
8.5
Longman Logotron   124 Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge
CB4 4ZS. (01223-425558) (01223-425349)
8.5
LOOKsystems (p23)  47 Goodhale Road, Bowthorpe, Norwich, NR5 9AY.
(01603-748253)
8.5
  (01603-740203)
8.5
Morley Electronics   Morley House, Norham Road, North Shields, Tyne &
Wear, NE29 7TY.
8.5
  (0191-257-6355) (0191-257-6373)
8.5
Oak Solutions (p14)   Dial House, 12 Chapel Street, Halton, Leeds, LS15
7RN (0113-232-6992)
8.5
  (0113-232-6993)
8.5
Octopus Systems   9 Randwell Close, Ipswich, IP4 5ES. (01473-728943)
(01473-270643)
8.5
Oregan Developments   36 Grosvenor Avenue, Streetly, Sutton Coldfield,
B74 3PE. (0121-353-6044)
8.5
Pineapple Software   39 Brownlea Gardens, Seven Kings, Ilford, Essex IG3
9NL. (0181-599-1476) (0181-598-2343)
8.5
Quantum Software (p6)  35 Pinewood Park, Deans, Livingston, EH54 8NN.
(01506-411162 after 6)
8.5
Serious Statistical Software    Lynwood, Benty Heath Lane, Willaston,
South Wirral, L64 1SD. (0151-327-4268)
8.5
Soft Rock Software   FREEPOST (BS7978), Westbury-on-Trim, Bristol, BS10
7BR.
8.5
Sonamara   Torquay Road, Shaldon, Devon, TQ14 0AZ. (01626-873866)
(01626-297866)
8.5
SyQuest Technology   Building 57, Cargo Terminal, Turnhouse Road,
Edinburgh, EH12 0AL.
8.5
  (0131-339-2022)
8.5
TBA Software   24 Eastgate, Aberystwyth, Dyfed, SY23 2AR. (01970-626785)
8.5
The ARM Club   Freepost ND6573, London, N12 0BR. (0171-624-9918) (0181-
446-3020)
8.5
The Serial Port   Burcott Manor, Wells, Somerset, BA5 1NH. (01749-
670058) (01749-670809)
8.5
Uniqueway   42 Crwys Road, Cardiff, CF2 4NN.  (01222-644611) (01222-
644622)
8.5
Archive Monthly Program Disc Contents
8.5
•  Tree menu application plus data from APDL CD review by Ted
Lacey − page 68.
8.5
•  Files from Gerald Fitton’s Column − page 57.
8.5
•  Latest version of James Riden’s !GfxSquash application.
8.5
•  CustomRPC and RPC keyboard applications + !Zap sent in by Jochen
Konietzko − page 26.
8.5
•  Non-letterbox AKF60 monitor definition file from Matthew Newton
8.5
•  Prime Post puzzle solutions from Colin Singleton.
8.5
•  Files from Keith Hodge’s Risc PC Column − page 43.
8.5
•  SCSI compatibility chart from Jim Nottingham − page 39.
8.5
•  Sample spreadsheets from Richard Readings’ article − page 73.
8.5
•  Text import example from Jim Nottingham’s article − page 15.
8.5
•  Wolfenstein3D charts from Benjamin Newton.
8.5
Paul Beverley
8.5
Norwich Computer Services  96a Vauxhall Street, Norwich, NR2 2SD.
(01603-766592) (01603-764011)
8.5
Abacus Training
8.5
New artwork
8.5
Quantum
8.5
From 8.4 page 16
8.5
CD-ROM Products Available
8.5
Vera Cooke
8.5
Before Vera left NCS, she prepared this survey of products for CD-ROM
owners. All the CD-ROMs and electronic books are available through
Archive as indicated in each entry. The information is divided into two
sections, true CD-ROMs and electronic books which need special software
(called PaperOut) to read them.
8.5
Electronic Books
8.5
These are CD-ROM discs which contain information held as text, graphics
and sound in a format developed for the Sony Data Discman. EBs can
contain up to 100,000 pages of text or 32,000 images or 5 hours of
audio. EB CDs are 8cm in diameter and can be used in both drawer and
caddy (using a 5¼“ adaptor ring) loading CD-ROM drives. All current
Cumana CD-ROM drives may be used (except autochanger drives), along with
the earlier Cumana 500 series and Acorn’s MEU.
8.5
•  PaperOut enables EBs to be used on Acorn (RISC OS) compatible
computers. The package offers all the facilities that would normally be
available if the disc was used on a Discman, plus the exporting of text
and graphics to other applications such as word processors. RRP £49.95
+VAT, Archive price £57.
8.5
•  Adaptor ring for using EBs with a CD caddy. RRP £2.99 +VAT, Archive
price £4.
8.5
•  Concise Oxford Dictionary and Thesaurus − Comprehensive guide to the
English language: most authoritative English dictionary combined with a
complete and systematic thesaurus, offering instant access with over
150,000 electronic cross-references. RRP £29.99 +VAT, Archive price £34.
8.5
•  Hutchinson Guide to the World − Contains over 5,500 entries and over
500 maps, providing geographic, economic and up-to-date political
information on places all over the world, accompanied by entertaining
and informative quotations about places from famous explorers, poets,
writers and scientists. RRP £29.99 +VAT, Archive price £34.
8.5
•  Chambers Science and Technology Library − Over 13,000 electronic
cross-references to three other Chambers reference books. 45,000
definitions and 650 articles. RRP £29.99 +VAT, Archive price £34.
8.5
•  The Earth Guide: An Environmental Handbook − Drawing on the database
of the World Resources Institute, this disc gives environmental
information from countries around the world, together with contacts for
organisations and guidance for ‘green’ business. RRP £29.99 +VAT,
Archive price £34. When purchased with PaperOut, RRP is £74.95 +VAT,
Archive price £86.
8.5
•  Listen and Read (Pocket Information) − simplified stories, to help
children learn to read. RRP for each volume £39.99 +VAT, Archive price
£45.
8.5
Volume 1 − John Wyndham, Jane Austen, Kipling and others
8.5
Volume 2 − John Buchan, Arthur Conan Doyle and Charlotte Bronte
8.5
Volume 3 − Bram Stoker, Jack London, Thomas Hardy
8.5
Volume 4 − John Wyndham and Jane Austen
8.5
Volume 5 − Charles Dickens and Raymond Chandler
8.5
•  Collins Gem Electronic Food File (Collins/SEPC) − from five Collins
Gem guides, it contains calorific and nutritional information on
thousands of foods, an encyclopaedic listing of natural and artificial
food additives, plus guides to freezing and microwaving food. RRP £29.99
+VAT, Archive price £34.
8.5
•  CIA World Fact Book (Quanta Press) − produced each year by the
Central Intelligence Agency, this world almanac contains detailed
social, economic, geographic and political units worldwide. RRP £29.99
+VAT, Archive price £34.
8.5
•  Hutchinson Gallup Info (Helicon) − With over 700,000 words, hundreds
of illustrations, charts and tables, this is a comprehensive collections
of facts in over forty topics in the following sections: technology,
business, arts, fashion, sport, famous people. RRP £29.99 +VAT, Archive
price £34.
8.5
CD-ROM Titles
8.5
Some CD-ROMs may require a site licence for use on a network for which
you may be charged extra.
8.5
•  19th Century Biographies (Anglia Television) − Over 250 biographies
of scientists, politicians, writers, artists and a few less reputable
characters from the 19th Century. Includes photographs from the world-
renowned Hulton Deutsch Collection. Requires KeyNote 2.0 software. RRP
£25 +VAT, Archive price £28.
8.5
•  Acorn Replay Videoclip: Collection One (Acorn Computers) − A
collection of Acorn Replay movies and seven classical audio sequences.
Contains an interactive introduction to RISC OS 3 and demonstrations of
other RISC OS software. RRP £10 +VAT, Archive price £11.
8.5
•  Art in the National Curriculum − KS 1 & 2 (AVP) − Reference
collection providing resources relating to topics and artists in the
National Curriculum. Particularly concentrates on images which are not
readily available in school or home environment. Topics include:
traditional costumes, animals and plants in different time and culture,
the human face painted by artists through the ages. RRP £75 +VAT,
Archive price £86.
8.5
•  ArtWorks CD (Computer Concepts) − Contains the ArtWorks software plus
all the clipart from the Clipart CD and all the ArtWorks fonts. RRP £169
+VAT, Archive price £180.
8.5
•  ArtWorks ClipArt CDs 1 & 2 (Computer Concepts) − Each ClipArt CD
(No.1 for 1993 and No.2 for 1994) contains an ArtWorks file viewer and
at least 650 ArtWorks example pictures and high quality 24bpp
photographs. ClipArt No.2 includes over 100 photos, taken by
professionals, of subjects such as abstract images, scenery, etc. RRP
£19 +VAT each, Archive price £21 each.
8.5
•  Aspects of Religion (Interactive Learning Productions) − Considers
the beliefs, forms of worship, scriptures, artefacts, festivals, people,
religious communities and places of worship of each religion. Section 1:
Contemporary Issues − core religious beliefs and ethics are described
and explained in the context of modern living and pressing global
events. Designed to encourage debate. Section 2: Personal View − brings
to life beliefs and practices of the world’s faith through a series of
interviews. A resource for Religious Education GCSE and A Level, General
Studies and Modern Studies. RRP £130 +VAT, Archive price £149.
8.5
•  Bitfolio 6 (Management Graphics Ltd) − 2,000 images in 25 categories
providing support for specific UK-related subject areas. Full colour
images are drawn rather than scanned so they can be ungrouped and edited
easily, and enlarged or reduced without pixelation. Clipart categories
include Anatomy, Borders and Backgrounds, Communications, Defence,
Education, Food and Drink, Maps and Flags of the World, Nature and
Transport. RRP £49.95 +VAT, Archive price £56.
8.5
•  British Birds (ILP and British Library) − Produced in association
with RSPB and British Library, contains hundreds of full colour images
of British birds. Includes motion video (Acorn Replay), bird calls and
songs, hypertext, a map facility for analysis of geographical factors, a
quiz to test your knowledge and materials relating to the National
Curriculum. RRP £150 +VAT, Archive price £173.
8.5
•  Cars − Maths in Motion (Cambridgeshire Software House) − Cross-
curricular simulations which can be used at Key Stages 2, 3 and 4.
Subjects covered include language, science, geography, design,
technology, maths, art and life skills. The program is accompanied by
resource files which include worksheets, crossword puzzles, word
searches, anagrams, track plans and teacher support material. There are
several features on the disc, one of which allows you to design and race
around a Grand Prix circuit. RRP £49.95 +VAT, Archive price £56.
8.5
•  Castles (Anglia Television) − Resource for history curriculum on both
primary and secondary education. Focusing mainly on medieval castles all
over Britain plus vector graphics, video clips and animations. This disc
is self-contained and does not require any Key product. 4Mb RAM
required. When used with the Key Plus database system (see entry below)
extra map facilities are accessible. RRP £40 +VAT, Archive price £45.
8.5
•  CD Français (ILP) − Self-contained resource of 60 activities using
spoken French, selected from Tricolore 4A and 4B. Disc is accompanied by
teacher’s notes and photocopiable worksheets. RRP £95 +VAT, Archive
price £109.
8.5
•  Changing Times (News Multimedia International) − 15,000 articles and
1,000 pictures taken from the Times newspaper over its 200 year history.
Original reports on major events in world history include the French
Revolution, American Civil War and World Wars 1 and 2. More general
themes such as Trade and Industry, Technology and Women’s Rights are
also covered. RRP £125 +VAT, Archive price £143.
8.5
•  Chemistry Set (New Media) − Interactive library and encyclopedia of
chemical experiments, molecular structures and information. Focuses on
KS 3 and 4 of New Attainment Target 3 and the bio-molecular aspects of
the NAT2. Access to over 350 video sequences of key chemical experiments
and processes; database of 500 compounds; over 400 full motion 3-D
molecular structure; 1,000 text items. RRP £149.95 +VAT, Archive price
£173.
8.5
•  Counties of the British Isles (Anglia TV) − Allows students to create
detailed maps, supplied by Bartholemew, of the counties and regions of
Britain. The level of detail shown on each map can be controlled by
students as individual features can be switched on or off. The results
of students’s work can be exported into their own work area on the
computers. Requires KeyNote 2.0 or some other Key product. RRP £40 +VAT,
Archive price £45.
8.5
•  Countries of the World (Anglia TV) − 74 interactive maps in Key Plus
map format which enables students to use the latest type of vector
mapping. Each map comes with a range of material and a legend which
allows map features to be turned on or off, e.g. road contours and
national boundaries. Maps can be printed out. Also contains a sample
file of over 70 photographs from all over the world. The information can
also be used in conjunction with Key Plus and Key Note datafiles.
Requires KeyNote 2.0 software or some other Key product. RRP £40 +VAT,
Archive price £45.
8.5
•  Creepy Crawlies (Media Design Interactive) − Spiders, beetles and
bugs can be studied using text, narrative, still photos and moving
images. Family trees and guided tours are also featured. Not Risc PC
compatible. RRP £49 +VAT, Archive price £56.
8.5
•  Dictionary of the Living World (MDI) − Database of life on Earth
containing around 3,000 text articles supplemented with over 1,000
colour and black and white pictures and 100 animal sounds animations
which illustrate various biological processes. Not Risc PC compatible.
RRP £49 inc VAT, Archive price £47.
8.5
•  Directions 2000: French (ILP and Academy Television) − Aimed at 11+
age group and includes more than 2 hours of spoken language supported by
thousands of coloured images and graphics. Curriculum notes and
worksheets are included to aid lesson preparation. For use at Language
Key Stages 3 and 4. RRP £140 +VAT, Archive £160.
8.5
•  ECCTIS (subscription) (ECCTIS 2000) − Information on about 100,000
education and training courses at universities and colleges of further
and higher education in the UK. Users answer a set of questions to
identify the type of course required and the database then displays
details of those courses which match the specifications. All necessary
details about each course are given, including entry requirements,
course structure and contact plus address and telephone number of the
establishment offering the course. RRP £180 +VAT, Archive price £207.
8.5
•  En Marcha: Spanish (ILP and Academy Television) − Details as for
Directions 2000: French (see above). For use at Language Key Stages 3
and 4. RRP £140 +VAT, Archive price £160.
8.5
•  En Route: French (ILP and Academy TV) − Designed to complement the
highly successful multimedia course Route Nationale, En Route, but can
be used alongside any beginners’ French material. Authentic materials
and wide choice of activities. Ten chapters, concentrating on topics
such as pets, food and mealtimes, town and directions, time, transport,
weather and holidays. Integrated assessment which includes video and
audio. RRP £140 +VAT, Archive price £160.
8.5
•  Environment Series 1: Water (ILP and Academy Television) − A highly
interactive CD-ROM guide to all aspects concerning the environment and
water. Includes 17 detailed case studies, 1,000 images with maps, audio,
text and extensive film footage supplied by Yorkshire TV. Students can
investigate water usage and its implications throughout history and look
at case studies of environmental issues such as dolphins, fishing and
Thames Barrier. RRP £130 +VAT, Archive price £149.
8.5
•  Environment Series 2: Land and Air (ILP and Academy Television) − In-
depth analysis of global environmental issues using information drawn
from experts in industry and government, and covering topics such as
natural disasters, climate change, air quality, food or famine,
depletion of natural resources, conservation, etc. RRP £130 +VAT,
Archive price £149.
8.5
•  Flying Boot CD-ROM: Max and the Machines (ILP) − Max and the Machines
is the first of a series based on Nelson’s Flying Boot reading scheme.
Supports early reading skills and provides an excellent introduction to
the IT skills necessary to use interactive media. Can be used
individually or with groups/whole class. For the primary age range. RRP
£70 +VAT, Archive price £80.
8.5
•  Frontier 2000 (Cambridgeshire Software House) − A computer-based
simulation covering the history of the Border region from 43AD to 1991.
Specific areas of study include Hadrian’s Wall, map reading, and the
Civil War. The disc contains text, maps, photographs, audio and Replay
sequences and is supported by a resource pack that includes a video, an
audio cassette, colour brochures, curriculum guide material and even a
genuine piece of Roman timber! CD version has many extras over the disc-
based software − timeline is 35,000 words long, several Replay files and
over 100 historic photographs, etc. RRP for CD, manual and resource pack
£109.95 +VAT, Archive price £126. RRP for CD and manual only £79.95
+VAT, Archive price £92.
8.5
•  Garden Wildlife (Anglia Television) − Resource for Primary science
education. Focusing on familiar creatures and locations, it makes the
link between the school field, garden local park and understanding the
creatures that live there, with close-up photography and video clips
from Anglia’s ‘Survival’ cameras. This disc is self-contained and does
not require any Key product. 4Mb RAM required. RRP £40 +VAT, Archive
price £45.
8.5
•  Goldilocks (Leeds EdIT Centre) − Bright and cheerful version of the
well-known children’s story and includes tasks and interactive
activities. Accompanied by graphics, text, sound and worksheets. RRP
£39.95 +VAT, Archive price £45.
8.5
•  Granny’s Garden (Cumana) − Produced by 4Mation, this old favourite is
now offered with Acorn Replay and all the magic of modern technology:
enhanced audio, animations and graphics. Interactive adventure for
children of varying ages. RRP £29.95 +VAT, Archive price £34. Resource
Pack RRP £15 +VAT, Archive price £16.
8.5
•  Horizon Project (Hampshire Microtechnology Centre) − These resources
are a result of a project involving over forty Hampshire schools and
colleges who examined the use of multimedia for sharing and presenting
information. Their findings were used to present their work to other
students and cover a range of topics, including “IT in the High Street”,
“Rainforests” and “Hitler”. The disc represents an example of children
being able to learn from other children and their experiences. RRP
£19.95 +VAT, Archive price £22.
8.5
•  Hutchinson Multimedia Encyclopedia 1992 (Attica Cybernetics) −
Updated multimedia version of the book, containing sound, pictures and
text. 27,000 text articles, 2,500 photos, illustrations and maps; over
8,000 hyperlinks and over 250 sound recordings. Users can browse through
the contents or select a particular subject from the index. A simpler
way of accessing a topic is to enter a keyword and the retrieval
software will do the search for you. RRP £49.95 +VAT, Archive price £56.
8.5
•  Illustrated Holy Bible (Animated Pixels) − Complete text of the King
James Bible together with over 100 illustrations. Facilities include
full word search, picture slide-show and bookmark options. RRP £23 +VAT,
Archive price £26.
8.5
•  Illustrated Works of Shakespeare (Animated Pixels) − All of
Shakespeare’s plays, poems and sonnets. Instant searches can be made on
the entire text using simple search facilities. Features include
illustrations for major scenes and a bookmark facility. RRP £23 +VAT,
Archive price £26.
8.5
•  Image Warehouse (Media Design Interactive) − Clipart disc of over 350
high-quality images, saved as RISC OS sprites. They are compatible with
most DTP packages. Not Risc PC compatible. RRP £39.99 inc VAT, Archive
price £38.
8.5
•  Introduction to the Environment (ILP) − Three packages introducing
specific environmental issues. Each is supported by a 28-page
photocopiable booklet that include practical activities, ideas for
project work and assessment sheets. RRP £35 +VAT each, Archive price £40
each:
8.5
Pack 1: Dwindling Resources − How key natural resources of water,
forests, oil and coal have been used over the last 200 years and the
effect this has had on the environment.
8.5
Pack 2: Climate Change − Explore the facts and theories of global
warming and climatic change.
8.5
Pack 3: Conservation − Case studies of world famous national parks, used
to illustrate the benefits and difficulties of conserving wilderness,
wild areas and threatened species.
8.5
•  Inventors and Inventions (ILP and Academy Television) − 2,000 still
and moving images helping you explore the history of inventors and
inventions from the earliest time to the present day. Includes colour
and mono images, animated drawings, audio commentary, video and sound
effect for pupils studying history, science and technology. RRP £150
+VAT, Archive price £173.
8.5
•  Journeys into History (ILP and Academy Television) − Covers a variety
of topics included in Key Stages 2 and 3 of National Curriculum
(History). Pupils explore Hadrian’s Wall, hear about St Cuthbert’s life,
meet a Victorian family and investigate aspects of the Industrial
Revolution. Features include notepad, interactive glossary, search save
and print facilities, ideas section. RRP £99.99 +VAT, Archive price
£114.
8.5
•  Karaoke Shakespeare (Animated Pixels) − Choose a role from the play
and whilst you read the lines from the screen, the other parts will be
read for you. It can be used by a single person reading one part or by a
number of people taking on each of the roles. RRP Macbeth and A
Midsummer Night’s Dream: £49 +VAT each, Archive price £56 each.
8.5
•  Key Plus (Anglia Television) − Software required for use of some of
Anglia TV’s CD-ROM titles. RRP £60 +VAT, Archive price £68.
8.5
•  Kingfisher Children’s Micropedia (ESM) − Reference resource for
primary-aged children. 1,300 entries which can be accessed via an A-Z
finder or through topic groupings. All pictures and data can be printed
out and the disc is accompanied by curriculum activity ideas. RRP £90
+VAT, Archive price £102.
8.5
•  Langdale Primary (Creative Curriculum Software) − A study of the
Langdale Valley area of the Lake District using OS maps, diagrams,
aerial and ground photographs, statistics, charts and sound. Not only
can users tread the paths and see the views, but they can also see
behind the scenes using the resources and applications provided. RRP £99
+VAT, Archive price £114.
8.5
•  Living Poetry (Animated Pixels) − Text of over 1,500 poems by 200
different poets, including Hardy, Keats, Milton and Wordsworth. 99 of
the poems are accompanied by versions read by actors. Illustrations of
the poems plus biographies of the poets are also included. RRP £49 +VAT,
Archive price £56.
8.5
•  Map Skills (Pebbleshore Information Services) − Complete pack to
support the teaching of the main elements of the Map Skills part of
National Curriculum Geography, Key Stages 1-3 and parts of the short
course in geography at Key Stage 4. Topics include grid references and
following a route on an OS map. As well as the disc, the package
includes two OS maps (Plymouth and Telford), students’s worksheet and
teachers’ notes. RRP £49.95 +VAT, Archive price £56.
8.5
•  Oxford Reading Tree Talking Stories (Sherston) − Six interactive
talking book stories from reading scheme for Key Stage 2 pupils. RRP
£39.95 +VAT, Archive price £45.
8.5
•  Photobase: Decades (5 discs) (Longman Logotron) − The 1960s, ’50s,
’40s, ’30s and ’20s. Each disc in the series contains almost 2,500
photographs from the famous Hulton Deutsch picture library. Databases
have powerful searching facilities, including keyword indexing and free
text searching. RRP £49 +VAT each, Archive price £55.
8.5
•  Photobase: Landscapes (Longman Logotron) − Database of over 2,000
high quality colour photographs and images illustrating aspect of the
natural and man-made environment. Topics include architecture, history,
geography, science, technology and nature, using images from around the
globe. RRP £49 +VAT, Archive price £55.
8.5
•  Photobase: Science (Longman Logotron) − Over 1,000 high-quality
photographic illustrations selected to cover important topics in the
National Curriculum for Science. Topics such as earth science, geology,
human biology and native plants are covered. RRP £49 +VAT, Archive price
£55.
8.5
•  Photobase: The Victorians (Longman Logotron) − Nearly 2,500
photographs and engravings taken from the famous Hulton Deutsch picture
library. Topics cover people’s lives: great reformers of the time such
as Lord Shaftesbury, events like The Great Exhibition, pictures of the
Royal Family and Victoria herself. There are also many images reflecting
the great industrial changes of the time, such as steam power and the
growth of the railways, agriculture and mass production in factories and
their impact on living and working conditions. RRP £49 +VAT, Archive
price £55.
8.5
•  PhotoLib (Matt Black) − A huge library of over 4,000 24-bit colour
photographs on one CD. RRP £299 +VAT, Archive price £345.
8.5
•  Physical World (ILP) − Understanding of the physical world, processes
that have formed it and the ways in which people interact with their
physical environment. Divided into three sections: Features and
Processes (biosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere), Natural Hazards,
People and their Environment. RRP £130 +VAT, Archive price £148.
8.5
•  ProArtisan 2 (Clares) − Advanced image processing package which
enables graphics to be altered or drawn from scratch (a library of
images is included). Allows display and manipulation of Photo CD images
and Cumana’s Photo Album Volume 1 Photo CD (collection of 82 images)
forms the second disc in this set. The pack also includes ProArtisan 2
on floppy disc for use independent of the CD drive. RRP £136 +VAT,
Archive price £155.
8.5
•  Really Useful CD-ROM Volume 2 (APA Multimedia Ltd) − Contains over
1,000 colour and mono images such as animals, cars, boats, landscapes
and scenery; high quality sound samples including a French revision
section; dozens of games, utilities and mini-films; special needs
facilities. (Supersedes the Really Useful CD-ROM volume 1). RRP £49
+VAT, Archive price £55.
8.5
•  Science Series 1: Elements (IPL and Academy Television) − Interactive
CD-ROM divided into two cross-referencable sections: the Periodic Tale
and Atomic Structure of the elements. An introduction to the periodic
table, atomic structure and radioactivity. Topics include the periodic
table, groups and divisions, atoms and atom building, radioactive decay
and isotopes. The disc uses video, animation and text in its
explanations, plus interactive features such as an atom-builder
(students construct their own atoms). Also includes a complete set of
workcards and curriculum notes. RRP £130 +VAT, Archive price £148.
8.5
•  Science Series 2: Materials (IPL and Academy Television) −
Interactive database of 150 materials as diverse as toothpaste, iron and
butter, giving insights into their occurrence, extraction, production,
history, applications and composition. Features experiments, quizzes,
colour images, audio, graphics and video clips. RRP £130 +VAT, Archive
price £148.
8.5
•  Semerc Treasure Chest (NW Semerc) − Includes thousands of pictures,
symbols, sound samples and speech files which can easily be accessed and
retrieved by learners (including special needs). Pictures and sound can
easily be extracted for use in other applications. The sixty topic areas
include vehicles, foods, animals, birds, Aztecs, Romans, Victorians and
dinosaurs. RRP £69 +VAT, Archive price £78.
8.5
•  Sherlock Holmes on a disc (Animated Pixels) − The complete text from
all sixty detective stories, together with full colour illustrations and
utilities, including a bookmark facility. RRP £23 +VAT, Archive price
£25.
8.5
•  Sherston Naughty Stories (Sherston) − Twelve stories, including Doris
the Dotty Dog, Terry’s Tricky Trainers, Bobby the Boastful Bird and Lucy
the little Liar, for Key Stage 1 and 2. Each story comprises clearly
displayed text which the user can choose to have read to them and
animated illustrations with optional sound effects. This includes the
individual story books that are supplied with each disc. RRP £79.95
+VAT, Archive price £91.
8.5
•  Space Encyclopedia (Animated Pixels) − RISC OS CD-ROM disc on space,
includes Acorn Replay. Fully indexed and easy retrieval. RRP £39 +VAT,
Archive price £44.
8.5
•  SSERC Graphics Collection (Scottish Schools Equipment Research
Centre) − Science and technology graphics, data, programs and
applications in abundance. 330Mb for use in chemistry, physics, biology,
technology, computing and information technology. Graphics of 227
molecules, each in up to 18 different model representations and
drawfiles of gears, sprockets, washers and tubes. File format includes
drawfile, sprite and DXF file and the price includes a site licence. RRP
£99 +VAT, Archive price £114.
8.5
•  Tekkie Disc (Emerald Publishing) − Acorn’s technical documentation on
CD-ROM. RRP £99 +VAT, Archive price £108.
8.5
•  Times and the Sunday Times (News Multimedia International) − Full
text from each final edition of two of the most famous newspapers in the
world. Articles are arranged in familiar sections such as home and
foreign news, business, sport, etc and access is easy via a keyword-
search facility. Information can be refined by setting a date range or
by marking a selection. RRP £175 +VAT, Archive price £200.
8.5
•  Times and the Sunday Times (News Multimedia International) −
Individual, abridged editions covering January to December for the
following years: 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993. RRP £89 +VAT, Archive price
£100.
8.5
•  Times and the Sunday Times Sampler (News Multimedia International)
RRP £50 +VAT, Archive price £54.
8.5
•  Understanding the Body (Anglia Television) − Resource for secondary
science curriculum with over 500 pictures, 50 video clips, 150 graphics
and thousands of pages of text: Introducing humans, Cells and tissues;
Organs and organ systems, Reproduction and genetics. Worksheets for
teachers and students are available on the disc and can be printed out.
RRP £40 +VAT, Archive price £45.
8.5
•  Usborne’s Exploring Nature (Hampshire Microtechnology Centre) −
Contains many drawings of flora and fauna, natural life processes,
animal behaviour and key natural habitats. An activity-based exploration
which will help children towards a greater understanding and
appreciation of the plants and animals around them. A classroom and
library resource for all primary and middle schools. RRP £125 +VAT,
Archive price £142.
8.5
•  Woodland (APA Multimedia Ltd) − Multimedia exploration of British
woodland covering birds, trees, plants, animals, fungi and minibeasts.
Key Stage 2 and above. RRP £75 +VAT, Archive price £85.
8.5
•  World of Number Series (Cumana) − NCC approved CD-ROM series,
published by New Media, to meet Mathematics Key Stage 3 and 4. Contains
these four titles at RRP £79 +VAT each, Archive price £88 each:
8.5
Number Games − Seven puzzles which must be solved by groups of students
through discussion of calculation and reasoning. It tackles number
patterns, symbolisation and a broad range of strategic skills required
by the National Curriculum.
8.5
Perspectives − Four on-screen windows enable users to look at
information from different perspectives in video, graphics and data.
Curriculum support for graph sketching and interpretation by linking the
abstract to reality also included.
8.5
Picture Gallery − Collection of photographs together with simple
software drawing tools which support the curriculum areas of angle,
ratios, scale, percentages and estimation.
8.5
Who stole the decimal point? − Adventure game in which a series of
mathematical problems must be solved in order to complete the story.
This module supports a wide range of attainment.
8.5
•  World War II (disc 1 and disc 2) (ILP and Academy Television) − Disc
1 (Global Conflict) gives an overview of causes and significant events
of the War using archive film footage from the National Archives of
America, an index, glossary and hypertext links. Disc 2 (Sources and
Analysis) contains source material resources, archive photos, newsreel
and film footage personal diaries, pamphlets and case studies. RRP £130
+VAT each disc, Archive price £147 each disc.  A
8.5
Oak
8.5
From 8.4 page 26
8.5
Text Import − Part 3
8.5
Jim Nottingham
8.5
Firstly, my grateful thanks to those readers who took the trouble to
respond to Part 1 (Archive 8.3 p63). In truth, I had feared it was over-
detailed and merely covered old ground but, from the incidence of “well,
I never knew that” comments, it appears I was on the right track after
all. Please do keep those helpful comments coming.
8.5
In Part 2 (8.4 p43), we looked at the problems of filtering out unwanted
line-feeds which, invariably, are embedded in and imported with so-
called ‘standard’ ASCII text, whatever the source. In doing so, I am
confident you will have become sufficiently familiar with the workings
of Edit’s Find and Replace function to be able to press on and deal with
the majority of other problems you are likely to meet.
8.5
Processing compound problems
8.5
In principle, by applying exactly the same procedures we considered in
Part 2, we can deal with imported documents with embedded control codes
of increasing complexity. This includes even those which, at first
impression, appear to be total scribble. However, the law of diminishing
returns comes in here. By that I mean that, if you need to import
perhaps only a couple of short paragraphs, it may prove easier and
quicker just to strip out the offending codes using the delete key,
repetitively, rather than go through some complex Find and Replace
procedures. You will soon get used to which option to employ under given
circumstances.
8.5
Before we consider another example in detail, there is an alternative
Edit function we can introduce to do the same job as the Magic
characters system but which is rather more user-friendly; this is the
wildcard feature. To use it, click on the “Wildcarded expressions” radio
button which will open up an alternative series of options (not
available in the RISC OS 2 version of Edit; continue to use Magic
characters − or upgrade to OS 3.10!).
8.5
The options look a little more complicated but, in practice, are easier
to use than the magic character system. Single characters are used (e.g.
$ represents a line-feed) and the character can be entered not only by
typing it in as normal but also by simply clicking on the appropriate
option box.
8.5
Now to look at a more complex example which is an amalgam of many real
situations we may meet, including bits from those well-known foreigners
Multimate, MS Word, Word-Perfect and Wordstar − plus a bit of my Magic
Note in native text format thrown in for good measure. My aim in
purposely making it such an eye-watering (but typical) sample is that,
if we can hack this, we shall have gained the confidence to manipulate
anything the foreigners can throw at us.
8.5
For this exercise, dig out Example2 from the monthly disc, or the
examples disc available from me, and make a working copy (for the
moment, don’t change the filetype to Text). The actual text is almost
the same as used in Example1. That was 1,250 bytes long but, as the file
size has increased to almost 10Kb, clearly we have picked up lots of
‘scribble’ in the importing. For starters, drag the Example2 file onto
your WP/DTP icon and − immediately − you will hit a major problem in
that, in all probability, it won’t load properly.
8.5
Publisher, for example, says the file is not understood and insults us
by displaying a picture of a PC! Ovation is not as rude but fails to
display any more than half a page of nonsense. This is a very common
example of how embedded control codes can seriously interact with our
system so, as a starter, convert the filetype to Text as described in
Part 2.
8.5
To see the extent of the problem, discard the WP/DTP document and load
Example2 into Edit. At first sight, we have simply imported pages of
utter scribble which seems to be made up of thousands of numbers in
square brackets (= hex) with the occasional alpha-numeric character
embedded, e.g. “[01]ü[1a]”. However, if you scroll to the bottom, you’ll
see what on a clear day just might be the text we are looking for. For
those readers without the examples disc, here is a very much cut down
extract from the original file:
8.5
  Pages of scribble followed by...
8.5
  .....................[00µ[00]}[00][00][00]´[00]Ð[00]Ð
8.5
  [1d]These¹days,¹a¹fax¹facility¹is¹almost¹a¹™
8.5
  necessity¹for¹running¹a¹business.¹¹When¹™
8.5
  people¹asked¹for¹our¹fax¹number,¹they¹™
8.5
  were¹most¹put¹out¹to¹find¹that¹we¹didn©t¹™
8.5
  have¹one¹-¹so¹we¹invested¹in¹David¹™
8.5
  Pilling©s¹ArcFax¹(¹†35)¹and¹bought¹™
8.5
  ourselves¹a¹fax¹modem¹(¹†199.99).[0d]
8.5
  [0d]
8.5
  [1d]
8.5
  [00][09]Ð[02]@[02]¹[05]
8.5
  [00][1d]What¹is¹a¹computer¹fax?[0d]
8.5
  [0d]
8.5
  [1d]
8.5
  [00][09]Ð[02]@[02]¹[05]
8.5
  [00][1d]The¹computer¹prints¹by¹sending¹to¹™
8.5
  the¹printer¹a¹graphic¹image¹of¹the¹page¹™
8.5
  which¹is¹made¹up¹as¹a¹series¹of¹dots.¹¹™
8.5
  Normally,¹an¹electronic¹representation¹™
8.5
  of¹these¹dots¹is¹sent¹up¹the¹cable¹to¹the¹™
8.5
  printer.¹¹The¹fax¹modem¹can¹be¹thought¹of¹™
8.5
  as¹a¹©printer©¹which¹turns¹these¹dots¹™
8.5
  into¹sounds¹which¹can¹be¹sent¹down¹the¹™
8.5
  telephone¹line¹to¹a¹remote¹receiver.[1a]Ô[08]
8.5
  3“[1d][00]Ñf[03][00][00][00]Ñ[01]#[00]
8.5
  [01]................................
8.5
General procedure
8.5
Clearly, Edit is going to have to work extra hard this time and you will
have to deal with this in a very controlled fashion if you are not to
lose sight of what you have done. So my recommendations for a general
procedure are three-fold:
8.5
•  Firstly, you should work in a logical, controlled fashion, dealing
with the more obvious and common problem areas before trying to pin down
relatively minor anomalies. Often there will be more than one path to
take but try to work through the forest, to the copse, to the tree, to
the branch and, finally, to the leaf.
8.5
•  Secondly, whenever you complete a stage in the manipulation
procedure, it is probably a good idea to drop an Edit save box onto the
WP/DTP icon and assess progress. You should start to see useful results
very quickly and this helps to give confidence and confirm that you are
on the right path.
8.5
•  Thirdly, assuming you are happy with the outcome of each stage, you
could save the Edit file, preferably with a different filename. In this
way, if you make a mess of things, you need go back only one step.
8.5
Tactics and techniques
8.5
Let’s put the general procedures into practice. Firstly, we could
quickly get rid of the thousands of control characters appearing before
the text starts. This is very easy to do in Edit; simply select-drag to
mark whole blocks from the top of the file and then delete them (<ctrl-
X>). Continue for some pages until eventually you come to the start of
the wanted text. Finally, select and delete the few lines of code
characters after the text, in the same manner.
8.5
Drop an Edit save box onto your WP/DTP icon and the application should
now accept and display the shortened file sensibly, so we are on the
right path. Save the Edit file as an interim result and discard the WP/
DTP document.
8.5
Looking at the result in the Edit window, it is now obvious that,
throughout the text file, gaps between words are filled by a superscript
1 (“¹”) where there should be spaces (exported from the Magic Note
‘native’ word-processor). Looking at the ASCII table included in Part 1,
we find we can enter the “¹” character either by typing <alt-185> (using
the numeric keypad) or by <alt-1> (main keyboard). So we can deal with
the problem globally by using a straightforward Edit Find/Replace
procedure:
8.5
  Press <home> followed by <f4>
8.5
  “Find:” Type in <alt-185><return>
8.5
  “Replace with:” Press <space><return>
8.5
  Click on “End of file replace” (249 replaced)
8.5
  Click on “Stop” (or press <return>)
8.5
Once again, drop an Edit save box onto your WP/DTP icon and note that
the result is now becoming fairly readable, although the formatting
still needs work. Discard that document and save the interim Edit file.
8.5
Probably the next most common occurrence is the “™” character at the end
of each line. This is an unusual feature, imported from Wordstar v3.3.
The characters are in fact carriage returns (CR) but most other packages
export them as ASCII 13 control characters, as shown in the table. On
screen, they would appear in the equivalent hex number format ([0d]).
Not to worry about these differences, we can again perform an Edit
global Find/Replace to strip out the carriage returns. In the example
file, the “™” character is always preceded by a space so, in this
instance, there is no need to replace it with another space. In the
table, “™” is listed as the ASCII decimal number 141, so the procedure
is:
8.5
  Press <home> followed by <f4>
8.5
  “Find:” Type <alt-141><return>
8.5
  “Replace with:” Press <return> (i.e. ‘nothing’)
8.5
  Click on “End of file replace” (28 replaced)
8.5
  Click on “Stop” (or press <return>)
8.5
Viewing the result in our WP/DTP package window shows that the carriage
return characters have gone from the 28 lines of text. Discard the
document and save the Edit temporary file as usual.
8.5
We are still left with the (invisible) line-feeds which are stopping the
text filling the full width of the window. However, unlike in Example1
where paragraph spacing was achieved by using double line-feeds, in
Example2 it is brought about by line-feeds plus a unique string of 17
control characters ([0d]....[1d]). For this reason, it is unnecessary to
use the ‘dummy’ procedure this time, so we can strip out the single
line-feeds using a simplified procedure, noting that the Wildcarded
expression for a line-feed (‘Newline’) is the $ character. We can either
type this in or enter it by clicking on the “Newline” box. This time, we
play safe and replace each (invisible) line-feed character with a space,
so:
8.5
  Press <home> followed by <f4>
8.5
  “Find:” Click on “Newline” (or type in<$>)
8.5
  “Replace with:” Press <space><return>
8.5
  Click on “End of file replace” (48 replaced)
8.5
  Click on “Stop” (or press <return>)
8.5
There were far more line-feed characters replaced (48) than carriage
returns (28) because, this time, we have stripped out the LFs between
paragraphs and either side of the heading.
8.5
Dropping an Edit save box on the WP/DTP package icon shows us that the
individual paragraphs are now formatting properly, although we still
need to sort out the paragraph spacing. This is slightly more tricky
than usual because the ‘foreign’ package (Wordstar v6.0) has given us
the rather unfriendly 17-character string to deal with.
8.5
This is an instance where, with only a few paragraphs to import, it
would be appropriate simply to use the delete key. However, for the
exercise (and bearing in mind it will work equally well for a 100-page
document), we will do it the hard way! Fortunately, we don’t need to
type in the complete string of complex characters as we can use the
Wildcarded expressions’ “Any” function. In theory, as there are no other
hex characters ([xx]) remaining in the file, we could simply type in,
say, the first <[0d]> followed by 16 wildcards (full stops) to represent
the full string. In this case, it is a unique solution and will work
but, for other circumstances, we must ensure it is a unique occurrence
and, if necessary, type in the full string as it stands.
8.5
For this exercise, we will use the start and end characters with 15
intermediate wildcard characters. To do this, we will enter the first
and last hex numbers, separated by 15 full stops. The two hex numbers
are entered in both cases by clicking on the Wildcarded expressions’
“Hex” box, which puts a cross in the Find: dialogue box, before we type
in the relevant hex number. We can enter the full stops either from the
keyboard or by clicking 15 times on “Any”. As a replacement for the
string, we will want to enter a couple of line-feed characters to
achieve the double-spacing between the paragraphs and either side of the
heading. So, using the normal procedure and having entered or typed in
the data, Edit’s Find text window will look like this:
8.5
Pressing <return> and clicking on “End of file replace” gives us 5
replaced. Dropping the result onto our WP/DTP icon shows that we are
virtually there, with just a few minor anomalies to deal with.
8.5
Odds and ends
8.5
Although it would be quite reasonable to edit out the remaining
anomalies manually, we may as well complete the exercise using Edit as a
general procedure:
8.5
•  Looking at the WP/DTP window and working from the top, it seems that
apostrophes have become copyright signs (“©”), so this is easily dealt
with by performing an Edit global Find/Replace procedure. From the
table, © appears against ASCII decimal number 169, so we type <alt-
169><return> in the Find: dialogue box and < ‘ ><return> in the Replace
with: box (4 replaced).
8.5
•  At the end of the first paragraph there should be a couple of “†”
signs (ASCII decimal number 156), each preceded by a space. From the
context, these appear to be corrupted “£” signs, a very common importing
problem. In this case, replacing <space> <alt-156> with <£> will clear
the problem (2 replaced). I say there should be † signs but, if you are
displaying the System font in the Edit window, they will show as
superscript 6 figures (“6”). This is because, as described in Part 1,
the System font does not always reproduce the standard Latin1 alphabet
characters in the ASCII range 128-159. So, as mentioned in Part 2, I
recommend you always switch to a suitable outline font such as Homerton
for display in the Edit window.
8.5
•  Inspection of the (almost) finished result shows that a number of
double-spaces have appeared between words. Their regularity gives the
clue that this had happened where once there were line-feeds indicating
that, in this instance, it was inappropriate to have replaced line-feeds
with spaces. It’s too late to go back on that but − no problem − we can
do a global replacement of <space><space> with a single <space> (32
replaced).
8.5
The finished result (at last!)
8.5
So what have we achieved? In fact, a great deal (in more ways than one).
We have taken an unseen text file which may well have been imported from
an unidentified source and, at first sight, appeared to be scribble. But
we have progressively massaged it to the point that it has become 100%
readable by our word-processor or DTP package, which is just what we set
out to do.
8.5
To achieve this, we didn’t need to have any knowledge of the source
application, software version number or host system, nor any technical
expertise. We just needed to have a modicum of familiarity with the way
Edit’s Find/Replace function is handled.
8.5
We have done this without any direct expense because the only tool we
used − Edit − came ‘free’ with our computer.
8.5
As I said − a great deal... Thanks Acorn, what would we do without you?
8.5
Read, learn and practise...
8.5
Don’t worry if you found working through this complex example hard
going, the learning curve is very steep. I suggest you go through it at
least a couple more times for consolidation and then you should find it
will take you only a few minutes to convert almost any other imported
file so that it is fully readable by your WP/DTP package.
8.5
“Almost any”? Well, in practice, I haven’t actually come across any
imported file which I haven’t managed to get Edit to convert
successfully, given enough time and application. That said, I have to
say that, in order to meet a very tight timescale, I once had no option
but to massage a 50-page PostScript file. The finished result was
testimony to Edit’s productivity but, my word, doing it destroyed any
hope of slowing the pace of my near-terminal baldness. Incidentally,
does anyone know of a PostScript reader for Acorn machines?
8.5
In these articles, I cannot hope to have covered all possible situations
you might meet, or every nuance of Edit’s Find/Replace facilities. If
you would like to take things further, I recommend you read the notes on
Wildcarded expressions in the manual, especially the examples on p14 of
the RISC OS 3 Applications Guide or p260 of the Risc PC User Guide.
8.5
For practice, the disc of example files is still available from me for
the price of a formatted disc, a self-addressed label and return
postage. Finally, if you hit problems, do not hesitate to ask for help.
Ideally, send me an example on disc with details of where you are
getting stuck.
8.5
Happy text-importing! Jim Nottingham, 16 Westfield Close, Pocklington,
York, YO4 2EY.  A
8.5
CC
8.5
From 8.4 page 29
8.5
CC
8.5
From 8.4 page 15
8.5
ArtWorks Column
8.5
Trevor Sutton
8.5
Things have certainly been happening on the AW front recently, so it is
time for another column. I was pleased to chat with people at the
Archive stand at Acorn World 94 and am delighted to have made my second
appearance at Wembley; something to tell my grandchildren.
8.5
I have just bought CC’s new ClipArt CD which is the culmination of their
competition to win a Pioneer double speed, six disc CD-ROM drive.
8.5
Clips and CD ROMs
8.5
I am convinced that the vast range of currently available clipart is in
demand. Designers who need to use graphics within a variety of contexts
will use good quality clipart to save time. I know designers who create
much of their own art work but they still have an extensive library of
clipart in their collection.
8.5
Large libraries of bit-mapped or vector graphic images take up a lot of
disc space and so the CD-ROM is the ideal storage medium. However, the
space on a CD-ROM is vast and so often it can be filled with poor
quality images.
8.5
The images on the first AW CD were in many cases superb works of art
demonstrating hours of very careful work. These were definitely not
clipart. I enjoyed browsing through all the images and have a couple of
hard copies pinned to my notice board. However, it has to be said, that
I have not used any of the images in any of the graphic work I have done
over the last 3 months. The things I wanted were just not there or the
artwork was so complex and the files so large that their use was
inappropriate.
8.5
I did find much of it on some of my old PD and magazine discs and
certainly on the two CD-ROMs which accompany the Corel Draw 4 package.
The latter is a treasure chest of images. Yes, we are talking about a
large and expensive package in the Corel Draw suite and I would still by
choice always use AW.
8.5
These days, quality support materials count for a lot when choosing a
new product, the AW fonts are varied and useful and enhance the value of
the package but there is no comparison between the graphic
accompaniments.
8.5
You will, I am sure, point out the price but here’s a tip for those of
you able to run Windows and use PC CD-ROMs. Corel Draw 3 may still be
available on CD for about £60.
8.5
I will give you some idea of the number of images here. This CD comes
with a book about the size and thickness of the RISC OS 3 User Guide
containing nothing else but thumbnails (about 3cm square) of the clipart
and alphabets showing the fonts. Wow!
8.5
It is, I feel, disappointing that the latest AW CD-ROM is again the
result of a competition and therefore has no thematic material. If I
want a spanner then I must go to a company such as DEC_dATA and their
excellent series of drawfile discs or convert from the Corel CD. All we
can get on CD for our favourite art program is a beautiful, yet
disparate, set of images which may, if you are lucky, be useful.
8.5
Images and choice
8.5
I would be interested to hear what people think about the above. If CC
want to become competitive outside education and the home, they perhaps
ought to consider compiling a collection of clipart.
8.5
Many, very beautiful bit-mapped images are currently available and,
having seen the Risc PC in action and had my first Photo CD back, the
quality is fantastic. We do have a problem, though, if we are wanting a
hard copy. The comparison with the screen image is often very
disappointing. If you are a multimedia person, there’s no problem.
Printing vector graphics is a different matter, images from AW to even
the humblest of dot-matrix colour printers can be impressive. Printing
to lasers or the colour bubble-jets is often better than the screen
image.
8.5
This would suggest that the best type of clipart is drawfile or AW
format.
8.5
Because AW uses anti-aliasing of lines, I have frequently grabbed AW
screens in order to produce the best quality in a sprite consisting of
lines. These images look better on a Genesis page than do drawfiles. (I
guess Paul Hooper will remind me that Genesis Professional will accept
AW files).
8.5
I often make application sprites in AW, subsequently grabbing them using
!Paint and reducing their size in !ChangeFSI.
8.5
New Tools − Pressure Sensitive Tool
8.5
This is ideally suited for use with CC graphics tablets; the new tool
gives a range of different effects within AW. The tool is added to the
toolbar and, when selected, it brings up a panel similar to the freehand
tool. It allows accuracy to be set and also the range for the thickness
of lines.
8.5
One of the features I have recently seen available on vector graphic
packages on other computers was the facility to produce lines which
simulate brush strokes. This is a line which changes from thin to thick
and to thin again. This is a natural result of the way we vary the
pressure when we draw or paint with our hands.
8.5
Now this is possible using the AW pressure tool. The tool does work to
an extent with the mouse though the variation of pressure is not
possible.
8.5
The tool comes with its own installation program in the manner of CC’s
other software.
8.5
A good feature of CCtablet, CC’s software for the graphics tablet, is
the calligraphy mode. This gives thick or thin lines depending upon the
direction of movement of the pen, thus simulating an italic nib.
Occasionally, however, I found that spurious splodges occurred along
some lines and I still don’t know if it is my fault.
8.5
In conclusion, I would say that this tool is a vital adjunct to the
ArtPad graphics tablet and enhances its use within AW. Without the
tablet it is not really worth considering.
8.5
The prices are given in the review of the ArtPad.
8.5
New Tools − Arranger
8.5
When creating a drawing, it’s often useful to align objects to guide or
construct lines. Arranger allows you to specify one or more layers as
containing magnetic objects. Guidelines can then be drawn in a magnetic
layer. These guidelines need not be straight and will attract points or
objects in any layer dragged close to the guideline.
8.5
For those of you who use AW for more technical drawings, it is an
addition to the AW toolbox that you should not be without.
8.5
The package includes full instructions and an easy-to-use Installer.
8.5
The price is £29 +VAT from CC or £34 through Archive.
8.5
Coda
8.5
It is heartening to see that AW is being developed and new tools are
becoming available. The ArtPad tablet should prove very popular with
people who use AW regularly for producing commercial drawings. The price
could well put off the home user − it certainly put me off, but that’s
because I’ve just invested in a fast modem!
8.5
I am still waiting for the hatching tool.
8.5
You can now contact me on: Arcade Bulletin Board #1579 or by e-mail
[e-mail]. co.uk
8.5
So if you have any queries or suggestions, you can now send them
directly to me.  A
8.5
LOOK Systems
8.5
New Artwork
8.5
Comment Column
8.5
•  Blinds (not a) problem − I bought Blinds from Quantum but had a
problem printing from Publisher when Blinds was loaded. I scribbled a
note to that effect on my Blinds registration card and was amazed to
receive a phone call the following day. The problem seems to be with the
early Turbo Driver when used with the older versions of the Acorn
Printer Driver (<1.22). An upgrade to the latest Turbo Driver and
Acorn’s driver should fix the problem. Excellent service, Quantum,
thanks!  Tony Otway, Exeter.
8.5
•  Future enhancements − I have noted the use of C++ in the Unix
environment leading to a quadrupling of program size with little
improvement in functionality. I also suspect that the use of C++ in the
DOS environment is partly responsible for the enormous resources
required by most Windows 3 applications. I therefore conclude that,
although C++ does lead to an increase in programming efficiency, it does
this at the expense of the user, who has to invest in more disc space
and memory. Moving to C++ on our Unix computers meant increasing memory
from 8Mb to 96Mb. In addition, I have been finding more bugs in C++
software than in the days of C and Pascal − I suspect that the reduction
in development time puts pressure on the time allocated to test the
software before release. I hope that moving to C++ on the Acorn machines
gives some benefit to the user.  Peter Tuson, Fleet.
8.5
Matthew’s note: It is certainly true that the requirements for C++ are
somewhat higher, but probably the greatest advantage is the large amount
of C++ software. Most PC software houses now use C++, so to transfer the
software to the Acorn platform is currently not very easy. Computer
Concepts have stated, for example, that some of the new functions
available in their Camelot graphics application for Windows will not be
added to Artworks until there is a C++ compiler. Because of the
relatively small Acorn user base, many companies do not feel it is worth
the effort of converting packages. By providing a C++ compiler, Acorn
are reducing the effort needed, and thus opening the door to a greater
range of software, giving a greater choice to the user.  Matthew Hunter,
NCS.
8.5
•  Guardian’s ‘independent’ comments − Did you see the comments by Liz
Roberts in the Guardian International newspaper on 6th December? She was
writing about buying a home computer. After spending 8.8 column-cm on
Apple (“Macs are very easy to use for novices.”) and 10 column-cm on
IBM-compatible (“they are more complicated than Macs”), she dismisses
Acorn with the single paragraph, “Other options include Acorn, which has
been standard in schools, though this is changing. Relatively cheap at
the basic end, but not very whizzy or user-friendly, and the compatible
educational software is often dull. You might prefer to enhance your
child’s computing rather than replicate what’s at school. Amiga is now
essentially a games machine.”
8.5
I was incensed when I read it. What does she mean by “whizzy”? Is it
relevant anyway? How whizzy an Apple or a Mac can you buy for £299? “Not
user-friendly!” You must be joking. Has she ever used a RISC OS machine?
(What are the odds she’s a Mac-aholic and can’t cope with changing to
the much more intuitive RISC OS filing system where you drag the file
into the place where you want it to go rather than saving it via a list
of directory names? “Now where did I save that file?!”) The educational
software is dull, is it? Has she asked anyone about the educational
value of Mac and PC software?
8.5
Was this same article published in the U.K.? (Yes, I’ve recently had a
similarly angry comment from a UK reader. Ed.) How can they get away
with such biased reporting?  Bernard Maugoust, France.
8.5
•  Internet over Ethernet? − Most of the numerous magazine articles
about e-mail and the Internet discuss connection by phone through one of
the commercial suppliers. Direct access through a local network and
JANET is mentioned only in passing, as though it were a simple matter. I
have found it not to be so straightforward, and thought that an account
of the process might be useful to people who have access to this route
but, like me, know little about computer networks.
8.5
My early encounter with e-mail was not encouraging: the messages passed
seemed neither literate nor valuable. Value is better judged by the
senders and recipients, but the explanation of the literary failings was
simple: those were the days when text editing had to be done with a
program called Lined whose use required incredible patience, so no-one
bothered to correct typing mistakes. In any case, using e-mail involved
finding one of the limited number of computers connected to the system,
and they seemed always to be in use.
8.5
A revision of my view occurred when a colleague in the United States
sent me a fax about some results of mine which had been obtained in a
laboratory about 10 miles from where I work. She had had the information
before I had − by e-mail! Then, my new Risc PC could be fitted with a
bargain-priced Ethernet card and the new building I was about to move
into was abundantly supplied with outlets. So I added an Ethernet card
to my order for the computer.
8.5
The system to which I hoped to attach myself consists of several Sun
workstations (and some other, more specialized, computers) with an
extensive local Ethernet network connecting PCs (mostly) and Macs and an
outgoing connexion to JANET and thus to the Internet. I would be the
only Acorn computer on the system. Fortunately, a colleague in the
computing group is even more of an Acorn addict than me and persuaded
the network organisers to let me try.
8.5
The card arrived, some weeks after the computer, and snag 1 immediately
appeared. Our new installation uses 10baseT Ethernet, which has outlets
rather like telephone sockets, whereas the Acorn card is designed to
operate with 10base2, which uses BNC connectors. (PC cards seem to have
both sorts of connector, so the change was no problem for most users.)
Some phone calls to NCS and Atomwide (who make the card) found that
although Acorn only supply 10base2 cards Atomwide make other sorts − and
the price is the same. So a swap was organized and occurred with
remarkable speed. The board was simple to fit and worked at once
8.5
Snag 2 was that I needed some software. An e-mail message to Acorn (via
a helpful colleague) got the reply that I needed the ‘TCP/IP suite’. It
was formerly available only with a quite expensive site licence, but
single-user copies can now be supplied, costing about the same as the
card.
8.5
Installing TCP/IP presented no problem but Snag 3 was configuring it.
The program needs to know about the host computer(s) it is to deal with,
which involves editing several configuration files. All this is
explained in the manual, but it is complex and confusing to a newcomer
and you really need to mobilize help from someone who runs the network.
Our person had never dealt with an Acorn computer before and is
immensely busy (never believe that computer networks can run
themselves). So progress was incremental over a period of several days
and there were times when it was not clear that the system would ever be
able to work.
8.5
It does work. There are three distinct modes of operation. First, one
can open a display of one’s home directory on the main computer and do
all the usual file-handling operations, including transferring files to
and from the Risc PC. The only difference is that the processes are a
bit slow.
8.5
Second is Telnet which is a sort of terminal actually operating the main
computer − this is what I use for e-mail. It also gives access to our
local information files and to World Wide Web and the remarkable Archie,
which provides information on the location of files on the Internet. A
small trap for the unwary with Telnet is that it is operating a Unix
system which is case-sensitive, so file names have to be typed properly
with capital letters in the right places. A separate program called
MailMan is provided with the TCP/IP suite, which will transfer e-mail
directly to your Acorn computer; at present I can read mail through
Telnet but if I want the files, I have to save them to my directory on
the main computer and then transfer them to the Risc PC as a separate
operation. Unfortunately, MailMan looks as if it needs quite a lot of
setting up, and no-one has had time to try this yet. An aspect of e-mail
that I had not appreciated is that one can embed files in the messages
and these can be any sort of file including DTP files and graphics.
Ordinary text messages are best prepared in Edit and then transferred
unless one is a super-accurate typist or the messages are very short.
8.5
Finally there is Ftp, which is for transferring files to and from remote
computers. This did not seem to work at all at first. It was clearly
logging on to the remote computer but the keyboard was frozen and I
could get nothing further to happen. Then we found that it is all mouse-
operated from a menu. This is a rather clumsy system although it saves
having to remember the special set of commands used by Ftp.
8.5
Another clumsy feature is that Ftp uses Internet numbers for addresses
rather than the more memorable names. Other systems translate from the
names to the numbers using a sort of telephone directory, but if the
Acorn system does support this facility, I have not discovered how to
get it to work. When I download a file I get a familiar ‘save’ dialogue
box so I can direct the file to any directory I choose. Decoding files
afterwards may be needed, but there is a well-explained set of programs
for doing this in the \micros\arch\riscos\tools directory of hensa. In
practice, the whole operation is very simple and not intolerably slow.
It is really quite exciting to collect huge JPEG files of satellite
pictures from Arizona and have them on the screen within minutes, the
decoding in this case being done by ChangeFSI so that all you have to do
is to change the filetype.
8.5
Is it worth £200+ (assuming you already have the computer)? I think so.
It is not a very elegant system compared with some of the Windows-driven
ones I observe down the corridor but it seems quite robust and certainly
delivers the files. Unless you already know a lot about networks, it is
essential to have a sympathetic network manager to help set the system
up. The TCP/IP manual is large and clearly written but it contains a
great deal of jargon (well, special vocabulary) which would make a do-
it-yourself approach hard and slow. (I’m afraid I’ve lost track of who
sent this contribution. Thanks for it and sorry for my inefficiency.
Ed.)
8.5
•  Key Author / Studio 24 clash − With Studio24 (the art package, not
the music package) version 1.1 and Key Author 2.00, if ST24 has been
run/is running, the KA overview only has the branches of the tree, but
no slab icons showing the actual pages/hotspots being linked! The
software houses have been alerted but no solution is available yet.  Tim
Nicholson, Cranleigh.
8.5
•  Text editor !Zap, version 1.20 (24-Oct-94) − One of the main
advantages of Edit (if not the only one) used to be its modest RAM
hunger − but on the Risc PC this is no longer the case. Version 3.50D (D
for Germany) needs 188Kb of RAM. Of course, many users won’t need the
full power of one of the commercial text editors like StrongEd or
DeskEdit, and so will dislike the expense. However, there is an
excellent alternative in the latest incarnation of Zap (120Kb on the
iconbar), which was written by Dominic Symes (NB: Click <select> on the
author’s name in the iconbar Info window!), and should be available
through most PD libraries.
8.5
Above and beyond the scope of Edit, it has a host of extra features.
This is the list from the Help file:
8.5
Main features:
8.5
* Display may be in text, byte or disassembly format.
8.5
* Syntax-coloured editing modes for C, Assembler and Basic.
8.5
* All key shortcuts and menus are user-redefinable.
8.5
* Full (Unix style) wildcard search with your own definable macros and
search ‘throwback’ buffers.
8.5
* Proper Unix tabs and true scrollbar operation.
8.5
* Full undo on all operations.
8.5
* Copy key causes standard cursor editing.
8.5
* Fast redraw in system or anti-aliased fonts.
8.5
* Any number of markers on each file, and a facility for following
branches in disassembly mode.
8.5
* Full ARMBE-style Basic Editor.
8.5
* Search as you type with minibuffer.
8.5
* Learns keys sequences.
8.5
* Emacs style Yank (Cut & Paste) and !Edit style move and copy
implemented.
8.5
* C throwback/info supported.
8.5
* Reads disc sectors/tracks and memory of other tasks.
8.5
* Keyboard selection of regions.
8.5
* Taskwindow supports control characters / line-editor.
8.5
* Emacs compatible keymap.
8.5
* Auto indent.
8.5
* Can edit assembler instructions in code mode.
8.5
* Compatible with RISC OS 2 & 3 & Risc PC.
8.5
* Automatic detection of DOS text files.
8.5
My personal favourites (I am a programmer, and mostly just a person who
spews out lots of text) are:
8.5
¬ The colour coding (in anything but plain text): if, for example, you
look at a Basic program or a module, searching for a certain string,
recognisable elements like REMs and Basic key words have their own
colours.
8.5
­ The incredible configureability (is there such a word in English?):
all the keyboard shortcuts (I didn’t count them, but there seem to be
hundreds) are presented in a plain text list and can be edited very
easily − an example: cB ... LEFT means that <ctrl-B> moves the cursor
left one character − and it is even possible to rebuild the menus,
because they too are defined via a text file!
8.5
® The really powerful find/replace options (admittedly I found the
learning curve rather steep).
8.5
At the price of a copied disc, I found this a very worthwhile
acquisition. Recommended.  Jochen Konietzko, Köln.  A
8.5
Desktop Lemmings & Oh No More Lemmings
8.5
Andrew Rawnsley
8.5
With the release of the Risc PC, came a problem. The new architecture,
and in particular the VIDC 20, caused incompatibilities with many major
games. The original Lemmings product from Krisalis simply wouldn’t load,
and the copy protected Oh No! disc can’t be read on a high density
drive. Whilst the situation was rectified to some degree by The Arm
Club’s !GameOn! product, Krisalis have gone one better with a complete
re-release of the products in one compilation pack, all enhanced to run
in the desktop, for those moments when word processing begins to get
boring!
8.5
Technicalities
8.5
It is quite remarkable that Krisalis has managed to get the program
running at normal speed within the desktop, a feat never possible on
pre-ARM 6 machines due to the speed constraints. It is also quite a
tribute to Acorn − long live RISC architecture! Indeed, other tasks work
at a fine speed whilst the game is running − it’s going in the
background as I am typing this into Publisher!
8.5
The system is controlled by a module called Client Manager which
generally looks after the desktop side of things. This is particularly
important, because now that both products can be run side by side in the
desktop, new problems arise such as which game should control the audio
− after all, only one can pump out the tunes at once. Client Manager
solves the problem by warning the user that an audio clash is going to
occur, and then runs the second game without sound, allowing the first
to continue as normal − simple! The Client Manager system is PD, and
Krisalis are encouraging games developers to use it in their own
products.
8.5
Enhancements
8.5
When you buy the pack, you get all 120 levels of Classic Lemmings, and
all the other Oh No! levels. There are no new ones, and they all play
exactly the same as the originals. However, you do get a fully Risc PC
compatible version which runs in the desktop (useful for stopping PC and
Mac owners in their tracks), or as a full screen game. This latter
option is a godsend, as you will see...
8.5
Desktop Lemmings − Yes it is that small (nearly!)
8.5
Problems
8.5
Whilst the product appears to be bug free, the problems start with the
sheer size of the screen modes available on the Risc PC. A 1Mb VRAM
machine can easily run at 1024×768 pixels in 256 colours, making this an
ideal resolution for both 14“ and 17” users. It is my mode of choice
until I can afford the 2Mb upgrade. The original Lemmings products were
written for the old mode 13 (320×256), and since all the desktop front
end does is play the old versions in a suitably sized window, it takes
only basic maths to see that, at the high Risc PC resolution, the game
will occupy less than 1/6 of the screen. Naturally, this came as quite a
shock when I first loaded! Fortunately, the game is still very playable
at this size, but I feel sorry for 2Mb VRAM owners who will probably be
running at even higher resolutions
8.5
I have adjusted my modes menu to allow direct access to very low
resolution modes for Lemmings playing, but the better solution is to opt
for the full screen mode. This loses the gimmick of the desktop front
end, but you gain the ease of use produced by having a much larger
version to play.
8.5
Conclusions
8.5
This pack does exactly what it says − it allows you to run Lemmings and
Oh No More Lemmings, both in the desktop and out of it, on the Risc PC.
In doing so, it solves compatibility problems, and gives you a second
chance to hear what is still one of the finest collections of in-game
music around. All for £29.99 inc VAT (or £29 through Archive).
8.5
Throughout the article I have assumed you have played or seen Lemmings
before. If you haven’t, where have you been for the last three years?
All I will say is that it is one of the most jolly and amusing puzzle
games around, and it will appeal to almost everyone.
8.5
If you have the original Lemmings game, paying the full price of the new
version may seem a bit steep, so I would recommend purchasing the rather
cheaper !GameOn! to play it on the Risc PC. Oh No owners are really
stuck I’m afraid − the problem with the disc protection means that you
probably won’t even be able to play the game with !GameOn!.
8.5
However, if you haven’t got a copy of the original Lemmings game, and
just happen to own a Risc PC, Desktop Lemmings and Oh No More Lemmings
will provide you with hours of fun. And when the levels become just a
bit too easy, you can play both games at once...!  A
8.5
Help!!!!
8.5
•  InterSheet − Does anyone have an InterSheet ROM for BBC (i.e. not the
Archimedes version) they could let us have for a small consideration?
It’s for a friend who still uses a BBC Master − well, why not if it does
the job adequately? Thanks.  Ed.
8.5
•  Lost Treasures of Infocom Volume 2 – Could anyone tell me where to
get a Hint Book for the above set of 11 text adventures? Volume 1 was
supplied with a Hint Book but nothing with Volume 2! I purchased both
sets from FX Direct in Banbury, but they no longer appear to be in
business. Help is urgently required with “Trinity” as I am stuck with 90
points out of 100. I can be reached at most times of day or evening on
01202–510340, or to Graham Hatcher, 23 Vicarage Road, Moordown,
Bournemouth, BH9 2SA.
8.5
•  Mouse Conversion – I have a Logitech TrackMan Stationary Mouse
(basically a serial trackerball for an IBM). I have tried using it in
the serial port with the correct mouse type selection and it gives weird
results. As my serial port is used for other connections, I wish to
adapt it to be used from the normal mouse port. Can anyone help with any
wiring alterations I will need to do or adaptors I may need to build.
The devices has three buttons and I realise I will have to replace the
plug with a suitable one – again can anyone advise me where I can obtain
the correct type of plug.  J. Bean, Witney.
8.5
•  Parish accounts − Is there anyone out there with such a package? And
how is it better than a spreadsheet?  Peter Bond, Carnforth.
8.5
•  Tapestreamers − Does anyone have an address for Tanberg or Exabyte or
their main agents in UK? I am looking for manuals for Tanberg 3800 and
Exabyte 8200 tapestreamers. I am willing to pay reasonable costs
including postage to obtain the manuals. Please contact Peter Young, 20
Racecourse Lane, Northallerton, DL7 8RD.  A
8.5
NCS Technical Services
8.5
Free after-sales service
8.5
What I neglected to make clear in my article last month (p17) is that we
are still offering free after-sales service, both by phone and letter. I
think that it was implied in what I said about the free hard drive
installation but I agree that I didn’t state it specifically − so let me
do so now.
8.5
If you buy a product from us and have difficulty installing it or if it
goes wrong within the warranty period, our engineers are here to give
you help over the phone (or by letter) with those problems.
8.5
Staff shortage − Currently, due to a staff shortage, it would be most
helpful if you could confine your technical phone calls to the morning.
Thank you.
8.5
Technical help network
8.5
In the ‘spirit of Archive’, we are already getting offers from people
who are prepared to try to answer technical enquiries about different
subjects. If you are prepared to help too, please let us know (a) your
area of expertise, and (b) how you would like to be contacted, e.g. give
address, phone number (or specifically request no phone calls), fax,
email, carrier pigeon, etc.
8.5
To remind you of the way we expect the Technical Help Network to
operate... You send in your technical query on paper or email (i.e. not
by phone). If our engineers can answer it and it is something which
others would be interested to know, we will write it up for the magazine
and send you a copy of the write-up straight away (so you don’t have to
wait for the magazine).
8.5
If it is too specific to be of general interest, we will send it to one
of our Column Editors, e.g. Risc PC, Multimedia, etc, or to one of the
technical help network to see if they can help. If they can’t help
either, we’ll put something in the Help Column.  A
8.5
Avie Electronics
8.5
New artwork
8.5
Puzzle Corner
8.5
Colin Singleton
8.5
First of all, may I clarify the puzzle attributed to me by Gerald
Fitton? (See Gerald’s Column, Archive 8.4 p33) I envisaged a table of
figures (rather than a list) with row totals, column totals and a grand
total. I want an algorithm which will round all the figures for
printing, including the totals, each either up or down to the next
integer, but not necessarily to the nearer of the two adjacent integers.
This must be done in such a way that all the rows and columns of
integers, including the totals row and totals column, add up correctly
as printed. Gerald introduced the ‘most suitable’ rule, which can be
applied (quite easily!) for a list of values but, in general, makes the
problem unsolvable for a table of figures.
8.5
No, Gerald, I am not an accountant but I have, in the last thirty years
or so, often had to design software to meet accountants’ requirements.
The above problem arose in real life, sometime in the late ’sixties, but
I have forgotten how I solved it. I never know what to expect in your
column these days − keep up the good work!
8.5
Here are this month’s two − very short − puzzles ...
8.5
(7) Friday the Thirteenth
8.5
This magazine should drop on your doormat within a few days of Friday 13
January, 1995, and that ominous date occurs again in October. But when
was the last time that Friday the Thirteenth occurred three times in
seven consecutive months? And when will this next happen?
8.5
(8) Marbles
8.5
What is the largest number of unit-diameter marbles which can be packed
into a rectangular box measuring 15×12×3? The highest proven answer
submitted will be declared the winner, even if it is not the best
possible.
8.5
... and last month’s two answers ...
8.5
(5) Cheat!
8.5
Answer − One! We can prove this by simple algebra. Let P be the value of
the prize (in pence), and C the cost of each entry. Assume that I make M
correct entries, and there are N other correct entries. My chance of
winning in the draw is M/(M+N). My ‘expected’ prize income is therefore
P·M/(M+N). My cost in postage is M·C. My return (per unit cost) is
therefore P·M/M·C·(M+N) = P/C·(M+N). Whatever the values of P, C and N,
this ratio is reduced by increasing M. Hence I can maximise my
(percentage) return by submitting only one entry to each puzzle.
8.5
(6) The Hole
8.5
Answer: The hole was 5 inches long. We are not told the radius of the
original sphere or of the hole, but the one value given is all we need
to solve the problem. The diagram shows a section through the centre of
the drilled sphere, along the length of the hole. R is the radius of the
sphere, and r the radius of the hole. The length of the hole is 2·l, and
the height of the spherical cap cut off at the end of the hole is h = R
− l. You can calculate the volume of the original sphere, and the volume
of steel drilled out, in terms of these variables, and will find that
most of the variables cancel out. The volume remaining is the same as
the volume of a sphere of radius l. Hence 2·l=5.
8.5
There is, however, a much simpler solution. I told you that you needed
no more information. From that you may conclude that the solution is
independent of the unknown diameters, and therefore holds for the
limiting case in which the diameter of the original sphere is 5 inches,
and the diameter of the hole is zero. The answer is then obvious!
8.5
... congratulations to the previous month’s winners ...
8.5
(3) Tithes Winner − John Hollier of Canterbury.
8.5
(4) Prime Post Winner − Dr W O Riha of Leeds. (The solution was supposed
to have been on the monthly program disc last month. It IS on this
month. Ed.)
8.5
Comments and solutions
8.5
Here’s another unofficial puzzle − unofficial because I do not know the
answer! What is the smallest number of entries you can make in the
National Lottery and be certain of a £10 prize? Please send comments,
contributions and solutions to me at 41 St Quentin Drive, Sheffield, S17
4PN. Solutions by Friday 10th February, 1995, please. Many thanks for
the appreciative comments received to date!  A
8.5
The RISC Disc CD
8.5
Jochen Konietzko
8.5
The RISC Disc (Volume 1), produced by Uniqueway Ltd, contains about
500Mb of data and costs £19.95 inc VAT or £19 through Archive. Most of
the software on the disc works under RISC OS 3.1 and 3.5, a handful only
under one of the two.
8.5
Presentation
8.5
The disc has been equipped with a hypertext browser which makes
accessing the various files a real pleasure. It is also different from
The DataFile CD, which was reviewed in Archive 8.2, p65, in that it has
a rather different emphasis. It comes in a number of sections which I
shall deal with in turn.
8.5
Commercial
8.5
On this CD, commercial demos have been given a lot of space. This
section contains working demos and descriptions of well over a hundred
bits of commercial software from 33 software houses (160Mb in all). The
range is from Anglia TV’s description of ten educational CD-ROMs to
4Mation’s fully working demos of sixteen programs − and there’s a whole
volume (Vol. 7) of Archive magazine on the disc.
8.5
In this section, I found a bug: Acorn has put “a massive demo” for the
Risc PC (requires 8+2Mb RAM) on the disc, but I was unable to get it
working properly. Even when it did work, the demo produced lots of “out
of memory” errors when it tried to load some of the applications
supplied with the Risc PC.
8.5
The demo essentially shows that the Risc PC can do lots of nice things
with outline fonts, can play video clips and music, and can create
vector graphics. At this point, my demo always crashed and left me
without a task manager and screen mode manager on the iconbar.
8.5
PD/Shareware
8.5
This part contains over a hundred bits of software covering a very wide
range − from little modules like the one which gives more options to the
Back icon (you can now step through the various layers of windows, both
towards the back and towards the front) to the formula editor TEX (found
on just about every computer system) which takes up more than 11Mb of
disc. This section, divided into Applications, Code, Comms, Demos (the
weakest part), DTP, Games, Sillies, Utilities and Sound, probably
contains something for everyone.
8.5
For those who suffer from the position of <ctrl> on the Risc PC keyboard
of the, there is a Basic program which creates a patch for the keyboard
driver.
8.5
Resources
8.5
The directories in this part contain a number of files to be run with
various viewers, including foreign format films: AVI, which (I think) is
Video for Windows, and FLI, which (again, I think) comes from Apple.
8.5
The JPEG and drawfiles are hidden in copies of ImageBank, which won’t
run on the Risc PC (at least version 0.58 doesn’t on mine), but the
images can be extracted manually. They have cryptic names like 2EA1240D,
but the images are described in a text file in the same directory inside
ImageBank.
8.5
Photo-CD
8.5
Not much to say here: 17 non-exciting Photo-CD images, without a viewer
(at least I didn’t find one). The pictures can be shown with ChangeFSI
or Acorn’s PhotoView (which will have accompanied the CDFS driver for
your CD-ROM drive).
8.5
Useful text files
8.5
This contains a number of files (600Kb in ASCII format) with questions
and answers about Acorn topics, apparently downloaded from the Internet.
8.5
Miscellaneous
8.5
The root directory contains recent versions of ArPlayer (v1.30) and
ArMovie (v0.34) and a Fonts directory with five PD font families for use
with the CD (in addition to the 16 font families in the PD section).
8.5
The Install directory and the text file Intro are worth investigating,
if you wish to use the CD.
8.5
Conclusion
8.5
I am not quite sure for whom this CD is intended. I suppose that those
who will derive the greatest benefits from it are Risc PC owners new to
the Acorn world.  A
8.5
Hints and Tips
8.5
•  DPatch/DongleKey – This program was on the Archive 7.9 Program Disc
to unlock Impression/Artworks dongles which otherwise can prevent
printing taking place.
8.5
If all CC dongles are removed from a machine, DPatch must be deleted
from the !Boot file. Without a dongle fitted, DPatch will cause all
printer output to be corrupted. I discovered this when transferring
Publisher and Artworks from A5000 to Risc PC and attempting to set up
the A5000 with a Star XB24-10. The Risc PC does not need the patch to
allow printing to go ahead in the absence of Publisher or Artworks. S
Goddard, Bury St Edmunds.
8.5
•  Garbled *Screensave: This is a cross between a bug-report and a note
saying, “If this happens to you, you’re not going mad”. I’ve just
started using !Quickshow, a neat little slide-show utility from DeskTop
Projects. When it saved a completed screen to disc, it seemed to write a
garbled sprite, with blocks of the sprite moved around internally.
Examining the code showed that the program simply displays the sprite on
screen and then does a *Screensave to write the sprite to disc.
Furthermore, the corrupting of the sprite didn’t occur when I wrote to
floppy rather than to my hard disc. Writing a one-line Basic program to
perform a screen dump replicated the bug absolutely consistently, and
only in mode 15. I conclude that, on my A310, RISC OS 3.10, with version
1.16 of the Oak SCSI software, with a 270Mb Quantum drive, in mode 15,
*SCREENSAVE to the hard disc has a bug – somewhere! I don’t know what to
suspect, but if you ever encounter garbled sprites, don’t blame the
application – or tear your hair out!  Stuart Bell, Horsham.
8.5
•  Tablemate warning − Unless your table is small, DO NOT type your data
directly into Tablemate. Instead, type it into a CSV file using Edit and
import that. I have two tables several pages long and did not import the
text. As a result the only way I can now edit them is by exporting
drawfiles and patching them back together.  Peter Bond, Carnforth.  A
8.5
DTP Column
8.5
Mark Howe
8.5
Take the plunge!
8.5
Why not start 1995 by having your next newsletter, brochure or leaflet
imageset? If you usually have films made from your artwork, you can save
time and improve print quality. If you usually make photocopies, plastic
plates could save you money. If you are a ‘techie’, you can have endless
fun producing your own PostScript and transferring it onto Mac format
SyQuests. If not, both T-J Reproductions and Micro Laser Designs can
quote for a complete service from Impression file to finished print job.
8.5
Memory overload
8.5
Since the last column, I have produced several quite large documents,
including a 2.5Mb two-colour newsletter. I kept a careful log of
problems, as requested by Computer Concepts. My conclusion is that the
stability problems I have experienced with Publisher occur mainly when
RAM is short, although I cannot reproduce the errors systematically. Is
anyone else having this kind of problem?
8.5
RAM availability is going to become an ever more important issue as DTP
users become more ambitious and colour scanners become the norm.
Publisher supports simple slaving to disc (remember that this only works
with multi-file saving). However, to quote Steve Powell of Acorn User,
if you want to work on an 8Mb image on an 8Mb system, “you’re stuffed”.
I sincerely hope that the next version of RISC OS will provide true
virtual memory management.
8.5
So how much RAM do you need for Acorn DTP? I reckon that 4Mb is an
absolute minimum, and even my 8Mb A5000s feel a bit small if I am using
Publisher and several other programs at the same time. Is anyone out
there doing DTP on a 2Mb system? (Yes, there are such people. And is
there any other 2Mb floppy-drive computer in the world that you would
even consider using for DTP?!  Ed.)
8.5
Problems of scale
8.5
Colin Singleton wrote that there was no easy way to get back to the
previous scale after using the zoom-rectangle feature of Publisher
(Archive 8.4, p48). I hate to admit it, but if you are using the tool
bar you can do this just by clicking <adjust> on the scale icon. Having
turned off the tool bar, I have to press <ctrl-f9> and click on
‘previous zoom’.
8.5
What about Ovation?
8.5
I am an unashamed Impression fan − criticisms of certain aspects of
Publisher notwithstanding − and I admit that, until recently, I had
assumed that it was the preferred program of all “serious” Acorn DTP
users. However, Jim Nottingham, who uses Ovation alongside Ventura
Publisher, assures me that Ovation compares very favourably with the
opposition. Once Ovation 2 is released, I hope someone will write a
comparative review. In the meantime, how about some Ovation hints and
tips?
8.5
Designing better documents
8.5
Page layout did not start with the A310, or even with the Macintosh.
Drop caps were probably invented by mediaeval monks, and many of the
fonts we use today were designed for use with printing technology that
became obsolete decades or centuries ago.
8.5
The advent of offset litho printing and DTP film origination has removed
many of the limitations which designers through the ages have had to
work with. Fonts no longer have to be physically strong enough to be
carved out of wood or cast in lead. Line spacing is no longer limited by
the rails used to hold letters. Four-colour process printing means that
a vast range of colours can be produced on paper. For the first time
since the invention of the printing press, technology places few
constraints on the creativity of a graphic designer.
8.5
However, freedom without responsibility is always dangerous. In the
right hands, DTP systems can produce highly professional documents,
faster and more cheaply than conventional techniques. In the wrong
hands, the results can be far worse than any typesetter could ever have
produced manually.
8.5
Part 1: Legibility
8.5
This is the most important criterion by which almost any page layout
should be judged: unfortunately, it is also the most frequently
forgotten. If your audience cannot read your text, or if your “creative”
layout makes reading difficult or unpleasant, you have failed.
8.5
Many factors influence legibility. If the column width is too large, the
readers’ eyes will tend to wander before reaching the end of the line.
Conversely, very narrow columns of justified text tend to produce large
gaps between words, which makes reading more difficult.
8.5
Your choice of column width will be affected by the font you intend to
use, as well as its size. Condensed fonts such as Trinity are usually
better for thin columns, while wider fonts such as Palatino (known as
Michael or Pembroke on Acorn systems) can be preferable for wider
columns. As a very rough guide, you should aim for 35-40 characters per
line.
8.5
The default 120% line spacing in Publisher is usually a good starting
point, but you may want to increase this if you have opted for wide text
columns.
8.5
If you are designing a layout for a regular newsletter, it is worth
experimenting with some sample prose to get a combination of font, size,
line spacing and column width that works for your text. Your writing
style makes a difference: if you like long words, your columns will need
to take more characters per line to avoid gaps. Hyphenation can help
here: contrary to popular belief, hyphenated text is easier to read than
unhyphenated text with large gaps in it.
8.5
Make sure that you have left sufficient space between columns. This is
especially important if you intend to used left-justified text, to avoid
the eye skipping from column to column.
8.5
If you must use underlining, type the text in capitals or move the line
down so that it does not obscure the descenders of lower case
characters.
8.5
Be careful when using shading, especially if you plan to print your
document on a relatively low resolution device with big halftone dots.
8.5
If you put text in a box, or when flowing text around an illustration,
make sure that there is a generous margin between the text and any
lines. This can be achieved in Impression using ‘Inset H’ and ‘Repel
text outside’ respectively in the ‘alter frame’ dialogue box.
8.5
Reckless use of colour can be disastrous. Your new Risc PC may be able
to display 16 million hues, but you do not have to use them all on every
page! The best colour for text is black, followed by blue (this is
because the fovea − the part of the retina used when reading − has no
blue-yellow cones, and so blue text is effectively perceived as black).
Go for pale backgrounds. If you decide to put white text on a dark
background, be sure to use a bold font: otherwise the letters will tend
to fill in.
8.5
For four colour process on anything but the best rotary presses, it is
best to stick to black, magenta or cyan text at small sizes. In other
colours, the edges of each letter will end up with a two or three
coloured shadow unless registration is perfect. Alternatively, use a
spot colour (a special ink of the right colour).
8.5
Make sure your document contains enough white space: in other words, do
not try to fill every square millimetre. Allow generous margins around
the edge of each page. Headings should stand apart from any text above
them. Leave some space between paragraphs, or indent the first lines.
Small text with plenty of white space and generous line spacing can be
more legible than larger, cramped text.
8.5
Imagesetting part 2: Mastering master pages
8.5
You should start thinking about how you will print your DTP documents
from the moment you begin designing the basic layout. Failure to do this
may mean a lot of extra work at the last minute. In particular,
Publisher users will need to choose or create a suitable master page.
8.5
You may find a ready-made master page which is suitable for your
purposes, but I find that the margins are far too small (in fact, my
Brother HL4 laser printer cannot print the top line of text if I use the
default Publisher master page).
8.5
Creating your own master page is actually very simple, but first you
need to make some decisions about the shape of your document.
Personally, I tend to draw a rough sketch and then work out all the
frame sizes with a calculator.
8.5
The first ‘new master page’ entry requires a name. Choose something
meaningful: if you are designing an A4 landscape page with bleeds, I
would suggest something like ‘A4+Land’.
8.5
The page size buttons are fairly self-explanatory. If you use the custom
settings, make sure that you select ‘portrait’ or ‘landscape’ first:
otherwise, the figures you enter will swap places.
8.5
‘Facing pages’ is useful if you intend to produce left and right hand
pages of a booklet on separate sheets. If you choose this option,
‘Guttering’ sets the amount of extra space to leave for binding at the
centre of the finished document. For a document of less than sixteen or
so pages, I would recommend laying up pairs of pages yourself onto one
larger master page (see Figure 1 overleaf). In this way you will save
your printer time when he prepares the plates. While it is possible to
use the pamphlet printing feature when imagesetting, it is somewhat
tricky and probably best avoided.
8.5
‘Margins’ sets the amount of space to be left at the edge of the master
page. Note that, if you are laying two or more pages out on one master
page, you will have to set the lefthand margin of the righthand page and
the righthand margin of the lefthand page manually. This is because
Publisher cannot yet read minds, and thus has no way of knowing that you
are going to fold the finished sheet of paper in half.
8.5
‘Columns’ is extremely useful in some circumstances, especially if you
dislike arithmetic. Given the number of columns and either the column
width or the gap between them, it will automatically calculate the
missing figure. If, for example, you wished to produce a master page for
two single column pages with side margins of 15mm, you would set
‘number’ to 2 and ‘gaps’ to 30mm (i.e. 2×15mm). It cannot handle columns
with variable gaps between them: in this case, generate the correct
number of columns of the necessary width and move them using ‘alter
frame’ afterwards. The ‘columns’ section of the dialogue box also
includes a button labelled ‘guide frames’. More of this below!
8.5
‘Vertical rules’ will place a frame with a thin black border between
each column. In some circumstances this can be useful, but most of the
time you will want to leave it switched off.
8.5
Finally, the control for bleeds is hiding in the ‘page control’ sub-
dialogue box. The printers I use like 5mm bleeds. You can also switch on
a page grid from here, but I find guide frames more useful.
8.5
Once you have worked through this list, a click on OK will give you your
new master page. If you have made a mistake, you can use ‘alter master
page’, but note that the name is misleading: a better description would
be ‘new master page based on an old one’. You can add extra frames to a
master page or alter existing ones in the usual way.
8.5
To use your new master page, simply select it using ‘Alter chapter’. A
word of warning here: you will not be able to select a master page
consisting entirely of guide frames if you have previously typed text
into the currently selected master page.
8.5
What about Style users, who do not have control over bleeds? If
upgrading is too expensive or if, like Gerald Fitton, you don’t think
the new features are worth the pain of having to live with a dongle, you
can produce bleeds manually. Make a master page that is slightly larger
than normal (twice the size of the bleed to be precise), offset the
position of all the frames by the size of the bleed, and then place a
transparent frame the size of the finished page and with cut mark
borders (Nº 11) over the top of all your other frames. It isn’t elegant,
but I used this technique any number of times with 2.19 and it seemed to
work!
8.5
What’s so good about guide frames?
8.5
Guide frames are a powerful Publisher feature which makes very flexible
page layouts possible, but since CC decided not to include them in
Impression Style, I suspect that many users have never used them. Unlike
text or graphics frames, guide frames do not contain anything
themselves: they act as a framework on which to “hang” other frames. In
effect, they make it possible to set up a user-defined grid on which
each page can be arranged.
8.5
Guide frames are particularly useful for multiple column newsletters.
Figure 1 shows a master page for a typical two-column layout. The page
is A4 landscape with 5mm bleeds (shown in grey). I have numbered them in
the order I suggest you create them. The co-ordinates of the guide
frames are as follows:
8.5
Frame  X  Y  Width  Height
8.5
  1  -5  -5  153.5  30
8.5
  2  148.5  -5  153.5  30
8.5
  3  -5  25  153.5  190
8.5
  4  148.5  25  153.5  190
8.5
  5  15  15  56.75  170
8.5
  6  76.75  15  56.75  170
8.5
  7  163.5  15  56.75  170
8.5
  8  225.25  15  56.75  170
8.5
  9  15  190  118.5  5
8.5
  10  163.5  190  118.5  5
8.5
Figure 1
8.5
Figure 2
8.5
Some of the guide frames may need a little explanation. Frames 5-8 are
for columns of text or graphics. Frames 9 and 10 are for page footers
(note that the automatic page numbering feature will not work if you
decide to lay up pages in this way).
8.5
Frames 1-4 define the position of page bleeds. They make it possible to
snap to the edge of the document, and also to take a bleed exactly to
the middle of the document (i.e. where the fold will be). I have used
four frames instead of two to allow a standard height frame for Archive-
style titles to be snapped at the top of each pair of columns.
8.5
In order to use guide frames, you will have to turn them on using Frame
> Snap to > Snap to guides. This seems like a good point to mention
another of my minor complaints about Publisher. With earlier versions of
Impression, it was possible to save a default document with ‘snap to
guides’ on and ‘snap to frames’ off. I can no longer do this with
Publisher, which is a shame since this is the configuration I almost
always want to use.
8.5
You are now ready to begin putting text and graphics frames onto your
page layout. Figure 2 shows what a finished document might look like.
Note the use of frame insets. Using the guide frames you can position
the frames without having to type in lots of figures and still end up
with something fairly consistent.
8.5
To finish with, we have a contribution from Barbara Logan about...
8.5
Footnotes
8.5
A serious omission from Impression Publisher is a feature to produce
automatic footnotes, of the type which are included when writing essays
or articles with references to work by other authors. All the good word
processors that I have used on the PC have had the ability to do this.
(I must admit that I cannot see how CC could implement a fully automatic
footnotes feature, given the great flexibility of page layout that
Publisher allows. Does anyone know if XPress or PageMaker do footnotes?
MH)
8.5
This is the method I have developed to help keep footnotes in the right
place in Publisher documents. When you come to a place where a footnote
reference should be inserted, enter the next number using superscript
text.1
8.5

8.5
Draw a frame the full width of the page (if you are working in 2 or more
columns it can only be the width of one column but make it deeper so
that it has approximately the same area as a page width frame). Put a
border on the top only and leave a space between the border and the 1st
line of text. Reduce the font size or have another style set up with a
reduced font size. In the new frame type the footnote.
8.5
Cut the new frame. Place the cursor immediately after the note number
and press <shift-ctrl-F>. This will embed the frame into the text and
keep it with the reference. If you move the reference to another part of
the document, move the frame containing the footnote with it.
8.5
Add another embedded frame for every new footnote. If two are close
together and likely to appear on the same page, make the 2nd frame
smaller and omit the border.
8.5
When the document is finished, spellchecked and proof read, move the
frames to the bottom of the page on which they appear. Start at the
beginning of the document and work to the end in order to check layout
as you go. To do this you will need to delete the frame then paste it
back at the bottom. Second notes appearing on the same page can be
copied from their frame into the one at the bottom and the second frame
deleted. With practice, it is possible to size the frames so that there
is minimal disruption to layout. Usually I number the references as I go
but if there are a lot of references and I am moving text around I add
the numbers when I move the footnotes to the foot of the page.
8.5
Next month...
8.5
I intend to take a closer look at generating PostScript from Publisher,
and air some more of my views on graphic design. Please send me your
comments, hints, tips and DTP articles, either via the Archive office or
directly to 2 Montée des Carrelets, 84360 Lauris, France. Fax 00-33-
90084139.  A
8.5
1 The key press for superscript is Shift+Ctrl+J.
8.5
Spreadsheet Column
8.5
Chris Johnson
8.5
Version 3 of Eureka has emerged very quietly, having been launched at
the recent Acorn World Show. I have yet to see any hard selling through
magazine advertisements. Paul very kindly sent me a review copy to have
a look at, and I present here my first impressions.
8.5
The review pack contained, in addition to the Eureka 2 release program
and examples discs and complete manual, an additional Eureka 3 program
disc and a very slim supplement to the manual (15 pages in total, the
first two of which are simply the title page and a list of credits,
copyright statements and acknowledgements). I assume those upgrading
will receive for their money the version 3 disc together with the
supplement to the manual.
8.5
Since the latest version of Eureka is now too large to get onto one
800Kb floppy disc, the Eureka 3 program disc contains ArcFS and a
compressed directory containing Eureka itself. Installing the new
version is simplicity itself. Double-click on ArcFS, and then double
click on the Eureka directory. A directory display containing the
familiar red Eureka icon opens. All that is required is to drag the
Eureka icon into a suitable directory viewer on your hard disc.
Installation completed! Compare this with the 13 discs of Excel!
8.5
On first loading the new version, I was gratified to find that the wimp
slot taken is no larger than that taken by version 2, even although
there is more functionality in the new version. The first test was to
load a large sheet created in Eureka 2. There were no problems here, and
I have found in further tests that every sheet I tried loaded
faultlessly. The most obvious visual difference is that Eureka 3 now has
the inevitable button bar. This is actually two alternative button bars,
between which one toggles using a button at the far right hand end of
each of the bars. The first bar brings such operations as saving,
printing, cut, copy, paste, toggling grid lines on and off, etc, only a
mouse click away (although I still find some of the key shortcuts are
quicker). I find the alternative button bar, which carries a number of
the more common “presentation” buttons, e.g. text alignment, number
format, font, font style, font size, light grey cell background, and
certain borders, is more useful. Once you have got into the habit of
using the button bars, rather than the menus, some operations become
much quicker, e.g. toggling row/column headings or grid on and off when
exporting the sheet. It is now very fast to outline, or underline, a
group of cells. For example, to outline a block of cells, simply drag-
select the block, and click on the border icon. The toolbar is attached
to the edit window, which takes up the full width of the screen, even on
a very large Risc PC mode. There seems to be a wide expanse of empty
window in such modes. I would prefer it if the size could be altered,
although this is a very minor niggle.
8.5
What I believe is the greatest enhancement is that it is now possible to
export a worksheet directly into Publisher or Style. More importantly,
clicking on the imported sheet with <ctrl> held down, loads it back into
Eureka ready for editing. Thus OLE is fully supported. You simply save
the sheet, or a selection, into Impression, using the Impression OLE
option in the ‘save as’ dialogue box. My only comment here is that this
option is right at the bottom of the list of save options, and you have
to scroll the small ‘save as’ option window through the various Lotus
and Excel options each time to get to it. I have demonstrated the OLE
editing to a couple of postgraduates who are currently preparing their
PhD theses using Acorn systems, with Publisher and Eureka 2 and so on,
and from their response, you would have thought I was giving them manna
from heaven, or perhaps a free supply of McEwans Export! Multitasking
Publisher and Eureka is fine on a 10 Mb Risc PC, but memory is tight on
an older A series 4 Mb machine running such little excesses as Acorn’s
Newlook, a dustbin, SparkFS and Menon! However, it can be done, and for
those who regularly include “live” spreadsheets within Impression
documents, life will now be so much simpler. For me, this one facility
will make it worth the upgrade cost.
8.5
There have been improvements to the charting facilities. In particular,
a chart can now be embedded into the spreadsheet, rather than having to
be in a separate window. There is a new chart dialogue box which
simplifies the production of the chart. An embedded chart can be edited
by clicking on it with <ctrl> held down. I think this is a much more
satisfactory way of handling charts in a sheet, although the previous
method is still available should you prefer it.
8.5
There have been no significant changes to printing sheets. There have
been some bug(?) fixes. For example, in Eureka 2, although you could
display borders of differing line thickness, and double line borders, on
screen, I was never able to get such borders to print correctly. The new
version does now print all the border options correctly. There have also
been improvements made to headers and footers. These can now be of
different customisable size, and a new dialogue box, accessed from the
page setup dialogue box, makes it an easier process to left, right and
centre justify parts of the header or footer.  The font style can also
be changed.
8.5
One omission I find infuriating is that there is still no print preview
facility, so you still have to print out a multipage sheet to find out
where the page breaks are going to come. In Excel, against which Eureka
is often judged, there is a preview facility, so you can see where page
breaks will come, and easily select particular pages to print. In
Eureka, printing is now done in the background, so one can carry on
multitasking while a large sheet is being printed.
8.5
There have been a number of other changes to improve the general
presentation aspects. It is now possible to import a graphic, e.g. a
drawfile, sprite, or Artworks file. This allows the incorporation of
logos or whatever to enhance the sheet. Such graphics can be rescaled,
copied and pasted and so on, but obviously cannot be edited. A new
dialogue box allows you to change the border, including drop shadow
effects, or background of a graphic.
8.5
One feature that I have not yet tested is the ability to import and
export sheets in Excel 3 and 4 format, retaining much of visual aspect
of a sheet. For some users this is very important. Indeed, in our
department, I am one of only two academic staff who have stuck with
Acorn, in the face of much adverse comment. Most other academic staff
use Apple Macs of various vintages, and Excel 5 is the preferred
spreadsheet. I intend to try some file transfers between the two systems
in the new year, and will report in a later issue. To date, I have
always managed to do the very limited amount of file exchange I find
necessary using ASCII files. (The main problem experienced by Apple
users seems to involve the File Exchange program which reads and writes
to MS-DOS discs and gives them no end of problems.) Here, Acorn users
are spoilt, being able to simply insert an MS-DOS disc in the drive and
then click on it, or drag files to or from it, as if it were a native
disc!
8.5
I hope to update this initial report once I have had a few weeks of use
out of Eureka 3. I should be grateful for any feedback from readers on
the new version of Eureka.
8.5
How to contact me
8.5
My postal address is Chris Johnson, 7 Lovedale Grove, Balerno,
Edinburgh, EH14 7DR; I can also be contacted by e-mail as
[e-mail] if you have access to JANET.
8.5
I am happy to receive anything in connection with spreadsheets, hints or
tips, macros, problems, solutions to problems, or just requests for
help. What would be of interest are examples of unusual uses of
spreadsheets.  A
8.5
SCSI Card Compatibility − Update
8.5
Jim Nottingham
8.5
The initial cut of the SCSI interface compatibility survey (8.2 p57)
seems to have been well-received and has triggered large batches of
reports from readers and manufacturers. As a result of all this
invaluable help, a number of gaps have been filled and, numerically, the
database has more than trebled in size. Almost without exception, the
new data has tended to confirm the initial findings, significantly
improving the general level of confidence. I was delighted to hear four
readers’ problems had been sorted out as a result of advice contained in
other contributors’ letters (Stop Press: make that five...). This is
exactly what had been hoped for and perhaps the expanded data might
provide further clues. As the man says, it’s good to talk.
8.5
The database
8.5
The updated table is presented in the same general format as before so
please check with the original article if any explanation is required.
In addition to readers’ experiences, Alsystems (“A”) have advised on
which interfaces the listed NEC CD-ROM drives are known to work,
provided the CDFS is updated to v2.20 or later. Similarly, David Pilling
(“P”) has provided a wealth of data based on his experiences in devising
Twain drivers for various scanners.
8.5
My very grateful thanks to both these organisations and to the 40+
readers who have supplied data in addition to all the detailed advice,
which I will try to summarise in the rest of this article. While we are
in eulogy mode, could I also commend Dalriada Data Technology for their
TableMate2 application (8.4 p8), used to present the table. Keeping it
up to date as the data came in was an almost daily task and showed
TableMate to be a very stable, user-friendly and productive tool; highly
recommended for anyone with table-making requirements.
8.5
The SCSI cards
8.5
More interfaces have appeared on the list and new data on individual
manufacturers’ products are as follows:
8.5
•  SCSI II − The Cumana SCSI II card is now generally available. It is
compatible with all Acorn machines which will accept a standard podule
but will provide the enhanced SCSI II performance only in the Risc PC.
Readers have reported some configuration problems with software
solutions and Cumana are said to be determined to make their cards work
with everything. The Pioneer CD-ROM is not yet supported but a driver is
in the pipeline. Both Alsystems and Castle Technology have SCSI II
interfaces in preparation which are scheduled for release in early-1995.
Availability will be confirmed through the Products Available column.
(Provided the two companies in question inform send me details when they
are available. Ed.)
8.5
• Mini-podules − More interfaces for the A3000 series of machines have
been listed, although user-reports have been received only for the
Cumana card. Despite it being ‘only’ an 8-bit interface, readers seem to
be very happy with its performance.
8.5
• Atomwide − There was a record of successful use of the external SCSI/
Printer interface to run SyQuest removable cartridge drives from an A4.
(We use one on an A3010 in the office. Ed.)
8.5
• Castle Technology − In addition to supplying and supporting the ex-
Lindis/Lingenuity cards, Castle Technology are marketing their own
interfaces.
8.5
• HCCS − Reportedly, the HCCS 16-bit card is not compatible with Risc PC
and unlikely to be updated.
8.5
• Morley − Although Morley have said their cards should be used only in
podule slot 1 of the Risc PC, one reader recorded successful use in the
top slot (3) of his ACB45. Almost every user complained of computer
crashes if Toshiba CD-ROM or SyQuest removable cartridge drives were
accessed when a CD or cartridge was not loaded (see original article for
details). Morley are aware of both these problems and, although they
have yet to implement a fix for the SyQuest problem, they say the CD-ROM
problem has now been resolved. However, one reader reports anomalies
with the updated module.
8.5
• Oak − Sadly, this popular card is no longer marketed by Oak Solutions
but a CDFS upgrade is available from them for £25 plus VAT. Note that
this upgrade does not support PhotoCD. The good news is that IFEL are
hoping to market and fully support the interface in the near future so,
again, details will be given in Products Available as soon as
availability is confirmed. (As long as IFEL send me the relevant
details. Ed.)
8.5
• Serial Port − The current status of the various State Machine
interfaces is that the Alpha-series standard cards (including those with
the HD interface) and the EcoSCSI card are discontinued but CDFS updates
including PhotoCD support are available from them for £35 inclusive of
VAT. The TurboSCSI card for the A3000/3010/4000 is discontinued but
remaining stocks, with the latest version of CDFS, are available for £75
inc VAT.
8.5
SCSI devices
8.5
The reported range of SCSI devices in use has increased considerably
and, in general terms, user-comments mirror those from the first batch.
8.5
• Quantum drives − There were further reports of problems with Quantum
hard disc drives, but only at the lower end of the capacity range, i.e.
125Mb or less (there is also a record of identical ‘broken directory’
symptoms with a 116Mb IDE drive).
8.5
• Rodime − There is still some confusion over the model numbers of the
Rodime hard disc drives. The 43Mb drive looks to be RO3000T but the
101Mb drive is variously reported as either RO3000T or RO5000S.
8.5
• Cartridge drives − SyQuest came in for some good words on the standard
of their sales and technical support (see the Factfile for contact
details). One bit of info I hadn’t seen elsewhere was that SyQuest
drives are supplied with a 2-year warranty and cartridges come with a 5-
year warranty.
8.5
• Floptical/magneto-optical drives − It was pointed out that I had
grouped two quite different variants of magneto-optical (MO) devices
under a somewhat inappropriate heading. I go along with this and have
now separated the two types on the revised table. The ‘floptical’ drives
can read and write to floppy discs in the conventional manner but use a
laser system to read/write to special 21Mb capacity discs. There are
reports of configuration difficulties and operating limitations (6.11
p35; 7.4 p16; 7.6 p21) and Morley, for example, no longer supply these
drives. The other type uses discs rather like CDs and, again, use a
laser for reading and in the writing process. The reader-reports of the
121Mb units mention few problems but I am aware of considerable
operating difficulties with higher-capacity variants (up to 650Mb) in
the PC world. Double-sided drives (1.3Gb!) are just becoming available
for Acorn machines.
8.5
• Tape streamers − Of the four units reported, three are working well
but needed specific configurations to get them to run. The fourth is
reportedly not working. Details are available from me.
8.5
• CD-ROM drives − In general, once users had upgraded their SCSI cards
to install the latest version of CDFS (v2.21), virtually all the CD-ROM
drives then reportedly worked well. There were two reports of the PC
Emulator support disc being used successfully to enable PC-format CDs to
be read.
8.5
• Scanners − The data listed for the Integrex, Mustek and Aries/Relisys
scanners are based on the suppliers’ recommended interfaces for these
devices. Castle Technology market the Mustek Paragon series scanners.
Everyone using David Pilling’s Twain drivers seems to be happy with them
and they are bundled with many scanner packages.
8.5
Termination
8.5
Readers’ reactions to the original cut of the survey revealed
considerable confusion over correct termination and I understand Dave
Webb’s article in Archive 8.3 p67 has corrected a number of
misconceptions. Since then, a ‘gotcha’ affecting only the Acorn
interface has become apparent; there are no terminators on the card. So,
if the Acorn interface needs to be terminated (e.g. if it is being used
in a Risc PC/A5000 where the internal drive is an IDE device), this is
done by plugging a terminator into the unused, internal SCSI socket.
Unfortunately, the terminator (Acorn Part No. 0173,015) may be difficult
to obtain. An alternative method is to fit a ‘through’ terminator,
externally, to the Centronics socket at the rear of the interface. This
item looks like a free-standing terminator but with an extra socket on
the back for the normal SCSI cable leading to other devices. Mine is
stamped ‘Micronet Technology Inc. MI0001’.
8.5
Sales support
8.5
Wow! A large portion of my postbag has been taken up with this subject,
varying from fulsome praise to somewhat unprintable criticisms. A number
of manufacturers and retailers attracted comments at both ends of the
spectrum and such inconsistencies make it very difficult to present a
balanced summary. So I’m going to chicken out of making specific
recommendations this time and merely refer readers to the more general
advice given in the first cut.
8.5
The postbag
8.5
Once again, my sincere thanks for all the reports received to date. A
number of readers are planning to add further devices to their systems
and have offered to send details of their experiences, so I’m
anticipating the database will keep expanding, particularly in the area
of CD-ROMs and colour scanners.
8.5
Of necessity, the table is reproduced at less than optimum size so, if
you have problems deciphering the detail, by all means send me your
name, address and return postage and I’ll send you an A3 print (I’ll
supply the large envelope). By the same token, keep the requests for
reports coming. Even if the combination of interface and device you are
considering does not feature on the table, send me a note anyway. It may
be that future reports will cover it and, in that event, I will pull
your request out of store and get a copy in the post to you. Jim
Nottingham, 16 Westfield Close, Pocklington, York, YO4 2EY.  A
8.5
Risc PC Column
8.5
Keith Hodge
8.5
Monitors
8.5
I have received a number of letters referring to the loud noise made by
some of the 17“ Acorn monitors when they are first switched on. The
noise is reported to be due to the magnetic screening at the rear of the
CRT flexing when the switch on degaussing action takes place. This
screening seems to be more flexible on some monitors than others. It is
however, nothing to worry about.
8.5
TWO floppy disc drives!!!
8.5
Hurrah!!!!! There is now a way to have two floppy disc drives on your
Risc PC. The very clever people at H.E.C. have produced the solution to
all my problems. ‘Actilead’ is a straight forward adaptor lead which
contains some logic (powered from the disc drive power connector) and
which is simply fitted in place of the existing existing ribbon cable.
The adaptor also provides the required power connectors − simply
excellent! (The only thing to note, is that the second drive must remain
linked as drive 0, because the logic looks after drive identity.)
Actilead costs £19.99 +VAT + carriage from HEC or £25 inclusive through
Archive.
8.5
Software information
8.5
Elliot Hughes has sent me a very detailed series of documents which
contains information both on booting the machine and also the new
features in RISC OS 3.5 that he has discovered. I will try and use some
of the information and report on my progress. In the meantime, I have
placed it all on the monthly disc so that anybody who requires a good
insight into the machine will have a good excuse for buying the monthly
disc.
8.5
Thank you to all the readers who rang me to offer a copy of Zap (v1.2)
which works on the Risc PC. There has been more feedback on this item
than any other. Even Memphis did not get quite this level of response.
Zap undoubtedly represents the standard to which other text editors must
look and I would suggest that people who find it as useful as I do, will
follow my example and send the author a small donation when registering
to encourage him to produce further PD of this excellent standard.
8.5
Software compatibility
8.5
I now have David Pilling’s (©Miles Sabins) BubbleHelp2 application
(reviewed on page 79) which is, for me, a further improvement on the
original as it addresses one off my pet likes, which is that pressing
<f1> turns the help bubble on, so when I demonstrate it to my friends
who are PC freaks they can no longer complain about the lack of a
standard help function key for all software. Well done, David and Miles.
Now all we need is for all application writers to fully support it.
8.5
Hardware and software news
8.5
Bernard Veasey has responded to my request (8.3 p79) for the module
versions in use with his Vertical Twist(VTI) 16 Bit SCSI interface
(v1.01 Oct 92). He also advises that he has now added a CC-supplied,
Canon IX4015 colour scanner and uses David Pilling’s Twain (v1.05) with
PhotoDesk (v1.21) and this combination is working well. Also of interest
is further confirmation that the Laser Direct Qume does work when used
with v2.63 software
8.5
I have purchased a Canon IX4015 from Irlam Instruments. This package is
provided with their cProi-Mage software but, at the moment, I am not
using it as there are a number of complications when used with my boot
sequence on the Risc PC. The main problem is caused by the software
refusing to initialise unless the scanner is turned on and as we
probably only scan two or three documents a day, it is normally switched
off. This, of course, causes real problems when you have set the
computer to boot the application on startup, as it does not load. This
is compounded by the fact that even if the scanner is switched on, my
version puts up a copyright message which you have to respond to by
clicking on “Yes” in the copyright window. However, the window is buried
under the window produced when Prophet is loaded, and so, of course, as
soon as my wife clicks the mouse on anything, cProi-Mage interprets this
as a “No” and promptly dies! (Why not just put cProi-Mage on the
pinboard so that it is available when required? Ed.) This leads to a
very confused wife when she goes to use the scanner but is unable to
find the required icon on the iconbar! However, all is not lost, as I
have David Pilling’s excellent Twain (v1.05), ImageMaster (v1.03 16
May 94) and ArcFax (v1.13 14 July 94) applications and these work well
and, most importantly, do no more than complain that the “Scanner is not
responding” when you attempt to scan. Much more user friendly. That
said, the cProi-Mage software is very user-friendly once loaded, and can
be used by anyone with any RISC OS experience. The rubber banding used
to allow selection of the image portion required is particularly good.
8.5
Readers comments
8.5
From Doug Tuddenham:
8.5
‘There is one subject which I cannot recall being covered with any of
the operating systems and that is the bugs or “features” which have been
cured by the latest OS. Most of us have large collections of patches and
work arounds that we have acquired over time and it would be nice to
know which of these can be dispensed with. Unfortunately, as with the
original printer problems on the Archimedes, checking them out, in most
cases, requires numerous tweaks followed by rebooting of the machine and
this could prove very time-consuming. (Would one of our more
technically-minded readers like to co-ordinate this?).
8.5
Following on from that, I have noticed a very lax method of referring to
versions of the Operating System. OS2 is fair enough and so is OS3.5
with reference to the Risc PC but OS3 is not so clear. Does it mean OS3
only as fitted to the A5000 and its attendant bugs, does it stand for
OS3 and OS3.1, or OS3.1 only, or does it cover OS3xx? I must admit to
being very confused.’ (We reckon OS3 refers to 3.1x, i.e. NOT 3.0 which,
as far as Acorn are concerned, does not exist. M.H.)
8.5
From Robin Hampshire:
8.5
‘I too have found that the !Boot application on the Risc PC contains a
lot of substance (8.3 p79). Perhaps as a less experienced computer user
than yourself, my more superficial delving into its innards have
produced rather simpler solutions to the problems you have encountered.
What is certainly true is that there now seems to be several different
ways to achieve precisely the same results’.
8.5
)  Including applications in the !Apps filing system can also be
achieved quite simply by placing the applications concerned in the Apps
directory in $. This also has the advantage in that if you need to
access the application innards for any reason then there is no need to
remember whether it is stored within a business, comms, utility or
whatever directory. I know you can’t access the program files from the
!Apps icon, but if they are all in the Apps directory then they are
quite easy to find.
8.5
2)  Any applications that you want on the iconbar at start up can be
told to Filer_Run in the !Boot.Choices.Boot.Tasks.!Boot file, which is
almost equivalent to the OS 3.1 !Boot file. Then the application itself
can be wherever you want it to be. So, leaving Edit in the Apps
directory and including Resources:$.Apps.!Edit as a line in
!Boot.Choices.Boot.Tasks.!Boot will leave Edit where others expect it to
be. This technique also allows your Prophet file to be loaded without
having to write a separate !Obey file for it.
8.5
Robin’s comments, for me, actually crystallize something on which I wish
Acorn would make a definitive statement. That is the recommended method
of defining the desktop condition when the machine boots. We are not all
programmers − many of us are just users. We want to be able, when adding
a new application to the hard disc, to be prompted by the installation
software as to whether the application is needed on the iconbar at
bootup, or is required to be available in the Apps window on the
iconbar, etc. Now for this to happen, the software writers have to have
guidelines. Do these exist? If so, can somebody (Computer Concepts?)
explain them and I will put the explanation in the column for all to
know. This has to happen if Acorn is to capture more of the “users”
market, i.e. the type of people who buy an IBM 486 PC and expect and get
software which installs itself just by booting the installation disc and
the user responding to a few well-hinted questions.
8.5
Next is a letter from David Webb, which I feel is a fair measure of the
average new owners learning curve:
8.5
‘I have been an Acorn owner since 1986 and still have a 1987 A410/1 with
ARM 3 RISC OS 3.1 which is still going strong. My daughter has an Amiga
1200, which serves her purpose and I would describe myself as a
competent PC user.
8.5
I purchased my Risc PC600 ACB45 in May 1994 from my local Acorn Dealer −
Computer Depot in Glasgow. Within 10 minutes of unpacking the computer,
it was up and running and I encountered no initial problems.
8.5
The first things that impressed me were the lightness of the computer
and the ease with which you can open it up (I cannot resist tinkering
I’m afraid). Also the fan is much quieter than on the Archimedes.
8.5
The length of cable on the keyboard and mouse is excellent and I have
been more than pleased with the monitor performance. I have a Microvitec
Cubscan 1440 on the Archimedes and after downloading a monitor
definition file from Arcade BBS, I decided to try the monitor for a few
days with no problems.
8.5
I have not carried out any extensive testing on the monitor, but one
advantage with the 1440 is that you do not get any letter box modes when
using mode 15, etc. (Matthew Newton has just sent us a non-letterbox
definition file for AKF60 − on the monthly program disc. Ed.) The one
downside of the 1440 is that, when using 1024×768 in 256 colours, there
is a perceptible flicker on the screen. I have never encountered this
with the AKF60.
8.5
Other hardware that I am using, all of the below were swapped from the
Archimedes: Watford electronics hand scanner, the original version not
the MK II − no problems and is very fast, HCCS − HiVision digitiser − no
problems (now upgraded to Vision24) and Aleph One 386/25 PC card − no
problems except with CD-ROM − see below.
8.5
Most of the serious software I possess has been upgraded and works with
no problems. Including the latest versions of Hearsay II and ArcFax and
many others too long to list.
8.5
The main problem is with games, most of which I cannot get to work:
almost all of the 4th Dimension (some older games work) − they will
supply a list of compatible programs if you phone them; Wonderland, Mig-
29, Interdictor 1 & 2, Zool, Cyborg, Quark, Alderbaran (even with a fix
module from Arcade BBS), FRED. This is not a detailed list, but I will
supply one if anyone asks.
8.5
A recent addition has been a Cumana 300iA CD-ROM drive which comes
complete with ProArtCD and an upgrade option to ProArt 2. Although I am
no graphic artist, it appears to work very well and meets my own needs.
8.5
1) The 300iA has a direct link to the motherboard for sound output
through the internal sound system. The instructions tell you to connect
to LK14 and gives detailed instructions of its location. unfortunately
my motherboard did not have this link.
8.5
I phoned Acorn Customer services who told me to contact Granada and they
replaced the motherboard within 24 hours and with no charge − problem
Nº1 solved.
8.5
2) I attempted to use the CD-ROM with the Aleph One 386 card and failed
miserably.
8.5
I used DOS versions 3.2, 3.3, 4.0, 5 and 6.0. I tried using A1CD.SYS
supplied by Aleph One and three different versions of MSCDEX. I even
tried using PCEmulator CD drivers and the best I could obtain was no
recognisable CD drives attached. I spent three days and used every
combination of setup that I could think of within the Autoexec.bat and
Config.sys (including a few which Cumana and some Arcade BBS users
suggested).
8.5
Cumana were extremely helpful but did not find a solution. The gentleman
I spoke to could not actually test any of his suggestions as he had no
access to a Risc PC! (I do not know your name but thanks for the
assistance anyway!)
8.5
I had previously decided to sell the 386 card which I have now done, so
I did not cure the problem.
8.5
I decided to upgrade to the latest version of PC Soft which cost £10.57
from Acorn Direct and had the CD drive working within 10 minutes.
8.5
I have not gone into great detail as I only wish to give potential
Risc PC owners a taste of some of the experiences they may encounter. I
have been extremely pleased with the machine so far and was not
surprised by the games which do not work.
8.5
I am well aware that, as games programmers push specific models of
computers to their limits, there is always going to be a compatibility
issue. Again this is not meant as a criticism of programmers but only to
warn potential owners not to expect every item of software they possess,
to work’.  David Webb, Eastfield, Cumbernauld.
8.5
Matthew Hunter at NCS has had similar problems. He reckons that the
Aleph One card needs to see the CD-ROM configured whereas the Cumana
application will put a CD-ROM on the iconbar even if CDFSdrives is
configured to 0.
8.5
Wish list for next Risc PC / New issues of Basic
8.5
Can we have slots in the back to take IBM expansion cards? The word is
that big things are happening in this area. (Do any of the people
involved in this area want to send me some clues for the column?)
8.5
Gripe of the month
8.5
None! The spirit of Christmas must be upon me as I write this!
(17.12.94)
8.5
Question of the month
8.5
From Herbert: I have been investigating the MsgTrans module after being
shocked to discover that the RISCOSLib msgs commands do not use it. I
have built a new library which does use it, but since that is not a Risc
PC issue, I will not expand here. The point is that if MsgTrans cannot
find a message token in the program’s Messages file it looks in
“Resources:$.Resources.Global.Messages”. I have compared the copy of
this file on my two machines and have discovered that the first 52 lines
of the Risc PC version are the same as the entire contents of the RISC
OS 3.1 version. The 3.5 version then continues for nearly 500 more lines
of tokens and control characters.
8.5
Questions:
8.5
1) What are these other tokens for?
8.5
2) What format are the messages in?
8.5
3) Are they any use to programmers?
8.5
4) If so, will there be a patch to put them on RISC OS 3.1 machines?
8.5
Have a look at the file $.Apps.!Help.Messages (you need to go through
the disc icon rather than the Apps icon) and look at the tokens starting
with a ‘T’. These describe characters which can be used to make help
messages shorter. For example, a help message containing the sequence
‘\S’ will have it replaced with ‘Click SELECT to ’. If you look through
some Messages files you will see numerous examples. The equivalent file
in 3.1 finishes with ‘Ta’ whereas the 3.5 file has an additional 175
abbreviations.
8.5
Questions
8.5
5) Why do the new tokens appear in the file twice?
8.5
6) Will there be a patch to put them on RISC OS 3.1 machines?
8.5
Tailpiece
8.5
Could contributors who send material in Style format and who are going
to use a table in the document, please only use one of the fonts
supplied with the machine as otherwise, if I have not got the font they
have used, it gives me all sorts of problems. This has recently stopped
me using one contribution. I note that Brian Cowan also commented about
similar problems in his December column.
8.5
As usual, I can be contacted by letter at the HES address on the back
page, by telephone after 7p.m. or by Packet Radio from anywhere in the
World, as GW4NEI@GB7OAR.#16.GBR.EU.  A
8.5
Risc DOS Column
8.5
Simon Coulthurst
8.5
The latest news from Acorn (23rd November 1994) was that the ASIC’s had
arrived and were undergoing testing. But, it was likely to be late
December before an evaluation copy would be available. As I write (early
December), I have no further news and so another month must pass without
anything to report about the co-processor. (I’ve arranged for Simon to
go to Acorn to pick one up on 23.1.95!  Ed.)
8.5
SCSI shenanigans
8.5
My SCSI card is an uncached SCSI type 1 card from Morley Electronics. It
came with the Syquest drive I ordered when purchasing my Risc PC.
8.5
I subsequently added an internal NEC Multispin 3xi CD-ROM drive and
attached my Hewlett Packard ScanJet IIcx to the external connector on
the back of the card. Carefully following the instructions provided with
the SCSI card (and a much easier to understand explanation provided by
NCS), I removed the terminators from the CD-ROM and the SCSI card
itself. These devices were both in the middle of the SCSI chain. I made
sure the Syquest and the Scanner were both properly terminated − being
the first and last devices on the SCSI chain respectively. I turned on
the computer and ran the SCSI utility program to configure the SCSI
interface. Following this my computer rebooted.
8.5
The Syquest worked, the CD-ROM worked but the scanner absolutely refused
to play along. I tried swapping cables − no good. I read all the manuals
several times. I even tried the scanner on a PC to make sure it worked −
it did. I then wrote to David Pilling (whose excellent ImageMaster and
Twain driver I was using), he replied swiftly with a couple of
suggestions based on my description of the problem. Unfortunately,
neither solved my problem. I finally contacted Morley Electronics (I
should have tried them first) and asked for their help. They didn’t
know, but had I tried removing the terminators from the scanner and
reinstalling those in the SCSI card? I did just that, and of course, it
worked first time! I have learned two lessons. Firstly, always check
with the people who make the product! Secondly, SCSI interfaces are a
bit of a black art as far as configuration goes.
8.5
My system now works fine even though its termination directly convenes
the basic SCSI rule of terminating the first and last devices in the
SCSI chain. Go figure!
8.5
MegaLook!
8.5
I received this utility on the second Public Domain CD-ROM from the
DataFile. Basically, what it does is modify the look of your RISC OS
desktop. By choosing various different designs, you can make your
desktop look like other computer systems. Windows, NeXT, Unix etc. My
main reason for using it, however, is that it provides an attractive set
of 3D style icons for the left hand side of the icon bar. The Risc PC
already has what I consider to be an attractive 3D-style to the windows,
including the scroll bars, buttons etc. Yet, for some reason, Acorn
chose to stick with the boring flat iconbar icons.
8.5
!MegaLook provides new versions of these as well as some new icons for
the standard Acorn programs, !Paint, !Draw and !Edit as well as their
datafiles. In fact, the new icons for !Edit and !Paint are particularly
nice as they look as though they are etched into the surface of the
desktop itself. These have all helped to brighten up my desktop. The
version of !MegaLook as provided on PDCD-2 would only install these
icons at the same time as replacing the window scroll bars, buttons etc.
This was not quite what I desired as I was quite happy with the standard
scroll bars and other window furniture. I wrote to Matthew Gray
explaining this. By return of post I received a new version (1.10) with
the ability to keep the existing scroll bars but replace all the icons.
Perfect!
8.5
I highly commend this program to any Risc PC (or Archimedes) owner
wishing to give his desktop that finishing touch.  A
8.5
Morph
8.5
Andrew Rawnsley
8.5
Morpheus from Oregan Software Developments, and Rephorm from Oak
Solutions have been monopolising the Acorn morphing market for over a
year now. However, this new product from Mycroft Software aims to
challenge their dominance, but will it be able to hold its own against
such well established competition?
8.5
A little history
8.5
For those not familiar with the term ‘morphing’, it is a method of
blending one image into another, by gradually changing parts of the
first into the second. The method has been used to great effect in films
such as Terminator 2 (the classic example), but also in many modern TV
adverts. Morphing is one of those processes only feasible on a computer,
so the success of the technique in films and adverts has led to many
packages appearing on all computer platforms, most notably on the Amiga.
8.5
Practical uses of morphing packages
8.5
For those of us who are not involved in movie production or advertising,
morphing utilities tend to fall into two categories: those which can be
used successfully in multimedia and !Replay movie editing, and those
using non-standard file formats so that inclusion in the above areas is
impossible. Unfortunately, Morph fits into the latter category,
rendering the program little more than a toy.
8.5
I should point out that the quality of Morph’s output is not in
question, simply that, by using his own file format, the author has
precluded compatibility. Had there been a Replay file export option, the
program would have been of some value to the user, but as it stands,
once you have morphed a picture of your best friend into his mother, and
turned your pet cat into a rottweiler, there is little more that the
program has to offer.
8.5
Features
8.5
If you can cope with this limitation (you can output sprites of
individual animation frames), you will probably be pleased by the rest
of the program. It can cope with 16 and 32-bit sprites on the Risc PC
and 16 and 256 colour sprites from older machines. You can alter the
rate at which one sprite morphs into the other and use sprites of
different dimensions, provided they have the same colour depth. The mesh
used to map points on the original image to those on the destination
works well and the nodes in the mesh can be colour-coded − useful on
large images.
8.5
Unfortunately, I found the program rather difficult to use, not helped
by a poor manual without an index. In fact, the manual hadn’t even been
stapled together, but then there was no packaging either, so this is
presumably because it is a review copy.
8.5
I couldn’t work out how to access the mesh design window, and the
references to mesh editing in the manual, following directly from
loading images, told me to ‘see later’! My problem was that the main
window had no menu, so you had to click on the small picture of the
required image, confusingly placed in an indented ‘display only’ icon
which one would not normally click on. This, to me, is bad interface
design.
8.5
Producing the morph
8.5
Once you’ve set up your images and meshes, click on the Morph button and
away it goes. I was reviewing the package on a Risc PC and, given the
power of the machine, I would have hoped for a faster rate per frame. I
limited myself to small morphs of 5-10 frames simply because it seemed
so slow.
8.5
However, this doesn’t produce the morph, just a selection of frames
which must be joined together with a second application, before viewing
can take place in a third!
8.5
Conclusions
8.5
Although Morph only costs £15 inclusive (and only £10 to owners of
Mycroft’s HQ Tracker system), I suggest that you look carefully at the
competition before paying out your money. Had the application been
released as PD, it would have received much praise but, at £15, it has
to be treated as any other commercial program and, as such, it does not
fare too well.  A
8.5
Wavelength
8.5
Andrew Rawnsley
8.5
Wavelength is the latest release from Tom Cooper − the man behind
Hamsters, Gyrinus 2, Ixion, Cycloids etc. Published by GamesWare,
Wavelength represents Tom’s first foray into arcade shoot’-em-ups. This
may be because this genre of game is often frowned upon by the
intellegencia of the computing world, but a well-produced one has as
much right to shelf space as any other entertainment product.
8.5
What’s it all about?
8.5
One thing that makes Wavelength different from many other games is that
no attempt is made to provide a plot. This should be regarded as a Good
Thing, since reading another ‘the aliens are invading’ storyline will
make most players ill! To be frank, the aim in Wavelength is to destroy
as many targets, aerial and ground-based as possible before dying or
moving on to the next level.
8.5
You pilot your circular fighter around a large map, controlling the
direction of flight by rotating your ship and firing your thrusters.
This gives greater control than in many comparable games, and certainly
a greater sense of exploration and discovery, keeping the game
interesting.
8.5
Graphics
8.5
Compared to Tom’s earlier creations, the graphics in Wavelength are much
improved. Previously, Tom’s forté has been cartoon-style graphics, but
Wavelength has a much better futuristic, technological appearance. There
is still the usual detail, from attractive craters on the planet surface
to the carefully drawn shadows of aerial targets. I received an
interesting comment from an Amiga owning friend − ‘the graphics look
good, for once’. Perhaps not the greatest advert for home-made games,
but certainly a selling point for Wavelength!
8.5
Enhancements
8.5
As with almost every shoot’-em-up, Wavelength features the almost
compulsory bonus, the Power Up. The interesting thing about Wavelength
is that upgrades come in four different guises.
8.5
First there is the weaponry bonus. This changes colour as it moves, with
each colour representing a different main weapon. Although you can only
have one of these, collecting the same coloured tokens allows you to
build up the weapon’s power, from 6% up to 100%.
8.5
The second power up gives you a drone on the side of your ship. Again
this changes as it floats around, but this time between a gun drone and
a missile drone. Increase the drone’s power to more than 70%, and a
second drone will appear.
8.5
Sometimes, destroying a target will reveal a shield bonus, which will
help you survive for a few more seconds. The final bonus is the cluster
bomb (often known as a smart bomb). This takes the form of a large
number of tiny bombs being jettisoned simultaneously from your ship,
moving outwards and destroying all in their path.
8.5
Conclusions
8.5
I think another quote from our friendly Amiga owner is due here − ‘I’m
not too sure about... Hold on! What does this do? Wow! I wish this was
out on the Amiga.’  OK, ’nuff said!
8.5
Wavelength costs £19.99 from GamesWare or £19 through Archive.  A
8.5
Pocket Book Column
8.5
Audrey Laski
8.5
Dunce’s Corner
8.5
My Pocket Book has been back to Acorn for repair to the socket problem
which was interfering with use of mains power; it was a great relief to
get it back and cease to share the feelings of Ian Ford, of Stockport,
who wrote of being “rather irritated and forgetful” in the month or so
he was without his Psion Series 3A. However,  I was somewhat alarmed,
when trying to set up the A-Link to transfer back various files I had
saved for memory clearance, to get a constant report of “Remote Device
disconnected or switched off”. After all, I had checked that the Remote
Device was switched on with the correct baud rate, and that the A-Link
was connected at both ends. What I hadn’t spotted was that it was coming
apart in the middle. Other users may, like me, have not been aware that
it is possible for the part of the lead which plugs into the PC to work
its way partially out of the serial interface linking it to the PB. As
soon as it was pushed well in, the red cleared from the Pocket Book icon
and I was back in business.
8.5
More about the A-Link
8.5
Graham Anstey, of Melksham, Wiltshire, who also uses an S3A, writes to
observe that the A-Link works perfectly satisfactorily with this and
with PCs as well as with the A310. To demonstrate the connectivity he
printed his letter via the following (unnecessarily convoluted) route:
8.5
  Psion −> A-Link −> PC
8.5
  PC −> diskette −> Risc PC
8.5
  Risc PC −> ZModem −> Linux (PC hosted Unix

  clone)
8.5
  Linux −> TCP/IP −> Sun SPARC station
8.5
  Sun SPARC station −> PostScript printer.
8.5
It’s good to know that all this is possible.
8.5
John Woodthorpe, of Rugby, has discovered a tiresome oddity about the
space occupied by directories when transferred directly from RISC OS
and/or MSDos to the Psion Series 3A. It appears that the transferred
directories use an unnecessary minimum number of bytes, on either of the
big systems, which do not get compressed when transferring direct to a
flash SSD. His solution is to transfer via a RAM disc and then use the
S3A’s own filing system to move the files to the SSD. Of course, it will
probably take several RAM discs full to fill the flash disc. He uses DOS
and MC-Link, since also the padding on DOS directories is smaller than
on RISC OS. Those less richly endowed should, I suppose, use the M
internal disc and PocketFS, though I haven’t tested the gain in space
this way. He comments: “It can be a bit tedious, and it needs a clear
head to avoid accidentally deleting something in the wrong place, but it
does save precious space on the flash SSD. I find it is necessary to use
a PC partition, otherwise the truncation of filenames can cause problems
when things are loaded back into the S3A.”
8.5
More hardware matters
8.5
Peter Young, of Cheltenham, writes sadly about the ruggedness of the
Pocket Book; his fell about three feet onto a hard floor and the main
pcb fractured apparently irreparably: I say ‘apparently’ because “it
proved impossible to discover from Psion whether a new circuit board
could be obtained”; tired of waiting, he has acquired a Pocket Book II −
first impressions later in this column. The fall was caused by the
tendency of the Pocket Book to rise up in a jacket pocket when the
wearer sat down; “let others who keep their machines in their pockets
beware!”
8.5
John Woodthorpe of Rugby quotes 3-Lib on problems about batteries. It
appears that these are sometimes caused by dirty connections (which can
be cleaned with a piece of toilet paper) or the use of undersized
batteries which don’t quite connect. There is also, however, a
possibility of frayed or broken wires in the battery compartment. His
own difficulties were solved by returning his S3A to Psion for
replacement of the battery lead. He now gets 50-60 hours from a pair of
Duracell batteries “depending on how often I use the A-link without
plugging in the mains adaptor!”
8.5
For those in the vanguard
8.5
Peter Young is experiencing modified rapture with the Pocket Book II. He
is pleased with the enlarged screen and improved fonts, with the
distinct keyclick and with the very useful ‘zoom out’ in Abacus, but
dissatisfied with the inadequate index of the manual and with the fact
that, although the OPL Program Editor is included, the user has to buy a
separate manual. (N.B. 3-Lib has a useful Cards file which gives the
guts of the manual on a shareware disc.) He is using the program editor
to edit his Spell dictionaries and is pleased to find that the global
user dictionary has “the much more sensible name of Global.d$c” instead
of the obscure old Sys$Dict .d$c. He finds that the new spell check
works faster overall, though the scanning is still slowish.
8.5
He is particularly thrilled with the new version of Schedule, but has
found it impossible to transfer his old Schedule files to it: “new
Schedule files are in an /AGN/ directory, with a .agn extension.
Renaming your old Schedule file with the correct extension, and then
using the ‘Open $’ option on PocketFS to transfer the file to the /AGN/
directory on the Pocket Book II works, but attempting to load the file
into Schedule gives an ‘incorrect filetype’ error... Does anyone know a
way round this?”
8.5
His summary: “there is no doubt that upgrading is worthwhile if you can
afford it.”
8.5
Endnote
8.5
I wish I could afford a PB II, but I’m very happy just to have my old
one back in good shape.  A
8.5
Times Tables
8.5
Denise Bates
8.5
Times Tables from Hazelnut Software provides practice in the tables from
2 to 12. It is applicable to National Curriculum levels 2-4.
8.5
The review was carried out on version 1.0 of the program using a 4Mb
A5000 (RISC OS 3.1).
8.5
Installation
8.5
The program comes on six 1.6Mb discs. An instruction sheet is provided
explaining how to install the program and which mouse buttons to use
when operating the program. No further guidance is necessary as, once
installed, the program is self-explanatory. It specifies that all six
discs should be loaded to the hard drive and no problems were
encountered during the installation.
8.5
Running Times Tables
8.5
According to the instruction leaflet, it is only possible to use the
program with a computer which has a hard drive, at least 2Mb of memory
and which can read 1.6Mb discs. Running it from floppies is unacceptably
slow, but I tried using a RAM disc and found that it ran acceptably from
RAM disc and floppy. This point has been referred back to Hazelnut for
their comments.
8.5
Times Tables has been created using the capabilities of the Genesis
suite to the maximum. It combines beautifully coloured graphics with
animated sequences and music. Once the program has been installed on the
hard drive, double-clicking on the table of your choice installs it on
the iconbar, the screen and backdrop change colour and an animated
squirrel appears along with a box which instructs the user to click on
it.
8.5
On doing so, you enter a further screen (see above) which shows all the
answers for the selected table for multiplicands 1 to 12. In the centre
of the screen is a sum which is spoken. If the correct answer box is
clicked on, the answer is spoken, the screen changes and shows a full-
sized animated picture.
8.5
By clicking on the note box, an appropriate sound is made. When this has
been savoured, clicking on the forward box returns you to the number
screen for the next sum. This procedure continues until all twelve
questions have been answered correctly at which point a ‘completion of
table certificate’ is printed on the screen.
8.5
From a learning point of view, there were two things which I
particularly liked about the authors’ approach. Once a correct answer
has been selected, it still remains live on the screen. This means that
a pupil has to know the answers to complete the table; there is no
question of being able to deduce later answers by guesswork or process
of elimination. Secondly, if a child does not know the answer then
clicking on the help box takes him through to a help screen. This
explains what the sum means and illustrates it with bundles of sticks
which can be counted if necessary to find the answer.
8.5
When you’ve finished running the program, quitting it returns the
computer to its original settings.
8.5
Multimedia effects
8.5
This is what Times Tables is all about. Although the program is a drill
and practice exercise, no child using it is going to think of it in
those terms. My own children were spellbound and it was several hours
before I could get them off the computer to have a look myself. The
quality of the graphics is superb throughout and they have been well-
designed to provide a theme for each table. The two times table has
nursery rhymes. Others have animated stories, pictures of dinosaurs,
illustrations of musical instruments, etc, etc. Of the people who have
seen the program, everyone picked a different set of animations as their
favourite which is a fitting tribute to the overall quality.
8.5
Criticisms
8.5
I am clutching at straws trying to find any criticisms. I would have
liked the sound sequences to be slightly longer (but this, of course,
demands more memory). When I printed out the certificate, it also
printed the control buttons at the bottom of the screen. This might lead
to a bit of scissor work with a fussy pupil. On the other hand, you can
print the certificate in different sizes, either landscape or portrait.
8.5
The major problem with Times Tables is that, because of the volume of
data, it is extremely memory hungry. Unfortunately, the need for at
least 2Mb of memory means that it cannot be considered by schools which
only have 1Mb machines or whose computers cannot read 1.6Mb discs.
8.5
Special Needs
8.5
As soon as I saw this program, it struck me as a potentially multi-
functional resource for children with special needs both within
mainstream education and the more severely handicapped in special
schools. I urge any teachers of such pupils to take a look at this
program. The clear graphics and the spoken words make the program a
possibility for visually impaired pupils (especially if used in
conjunction with the public domain utility !BigPoint). The bright
colours, sounds and the sheer variety of illustrations could easily be
the source of several types of work for pupils with learning
difficulties, stimulating conversation, or for object or number
recognition rather than necessarily concentrating on the tables
themselves.
8.5
Conclusion
8.5
If you have children under eight and free space on your hard disc, Times
Tables would be a useful stocking filler this Christmas. My own children
(aged eight and five) use the program of their own free will and they
are certainly benefiting from the table learning process. Schools which
have suitable hardware will also find this program a hit.
8.5
Times Tables is available from Hazelnut Software and costs £30 + £2.50
p&p (no VAT).  A
8.5
10/10 Driving Test − A Crash Course?
8.5
Mark Jolliffe
8.5
This further addition to the 10 out of 10 series arrived in a cheerfully
illustrated library case containing an A6 User Guide, a loading
instructions slip, and two 800Kb discs. The cover was enthusiastic − and
fairly accurate − in describing the many facets of the program, which
simplify to the practising of driving knowledge and roadcraft, within a
selection of games. A corner was flashed “For all Drivers and Learners”,
with an asterisk which led me on an unresolved hunt for some qualifying
statement.
8.5
The program would be expected to run on any 1Mb 32-bit Acorn, and can be
installed on a hard disc. The review was conducted on a 4Mb A4000 with
an AKF50 multiscan monitor, with the program on hard disc. Two minds
were bent by the experience of this review: the first, a world-weary
driver with no endorsements and with educational experience; the second,
an almost-old-enough teenage caraholic.
8.5
Disc 1 contains two applications in addition to the program itself:
!Help and !Install. The former gives comments additional to the User
Guide, and the latter combines the two discs into one application on a
hard disc or 1.6Mb floppy. Also hidden in the program directory is a
utility for using Driving Test with VGA monitors.
8.5
The User Guide is adequate, straightforward in presentation, but more
meaningful after playing with the program for a while.
8.5
There are six games, plus a test. Each game is played on six levels of
expertise and eleven categories of questions. The test can be entered
after five lessons (games) have been completed at level 4 or above on
the first seven categories, with 70% success. Get a fail, and you have
to start again. Each game has an Achievement Record and a High Score
table. With the former, each level is displayed with a variable colour
box containing the letters of the categories chosen. Initially grey, the
boxes turn red for a score of zero, yellow for 50%, and green for 100%.
The High Score table is based, in addition to correct answers, on speed
of response and elements of game play. The levels range from Motoring
General Knowledge to Specialised and Advanced; the categories from
Trivia to Continental Driving − the latter including all the EEC
countries plus many more − in all, a daunting collection.
8.5
The program is arranged around a single main menu, with sub-menus for
each game. The main menu is used to select games or the test, to obtain
Player Information, or to change, add or remove players. Player
Information is a summary of all the individual Achievement Records for
each game, similarly presented and colour-coded. This screen is
additionally used to select question categories. Up to 64 individual
players can be recorded, but the User Guide gives details as to how this
number can be expanded.
8.5
Each game is entered via a menu which selects defaults for that game,
which include the difficulty level and number of questions. These
defaults, as well as the last player and the last player’s scores, are
saved and reappear when the game is next played.
8.5
The overall execution of the suite was faultless although, just
occasionally, the mode 12 graphics were not quite up to the detail
needed for some road signs. All questions were multiple choice, varying
between two, and a half dozen, choices. Each was answered by a mouse
click on lettered buttons, or occasionally, on a graphic representation.
The choices were randomly ordered so that responses were not consciously
remembered from one session to the next. The program is not multi-
tasking but, as is often the case, the lack of this facility is of no
importance.
8.5
Comprehensive printing facilities are provided, both as text and
graphics, for the achievement records and test certificate.
8.5
The games themselves were utterly trivial, but might appeal to the
terminally bored or the extremely young − the only exception being a
slick game of Patience. Remember − this program is for drivers and
learners, and is perhaps an anomaly in the 10/10 series. The aim is to
provide a correct answer, and be rewarded with a move; for an adult or
sub-adult bent on learning roadcraft, this reward fell somewhat short of
a compelling incentive. That being said, one game could be switched off,
and others ignored. On then, to the serious part.
8.5
The choice of scores for the achievement record was bizarre (red 0%,
yellow 50%, green 100%). Anyone achieving 0% would have had difficulty
recognising a car, let alone driving one, whilst getting 100% needed
care at the lowest level, was difficult by level 3, extremely difficult
by level 5, and impossible by level 6. Bearing in mind the need to
achieve 70% to enter the test, an extra colour at this score would have
been helpful − and rewarding.
8.5
The questions themselves were wide-ranging, in both subject and
subtlety. They were not always unambiguous − indeed, the suspicion lurks
that the programmer was trying to be deliberately obtuse on more than
one occasion, testing the player’s English comprehension as much as his/
her knowledge of driving. Whilst the bulk of the questions were factual,
a sizeable minority were subjective, and to be slapped down on a matter
of opinion was not endearing. There also remained one or two questions
of fact where the ‘correct’ answer was very much to be challenged.
8.5
What about the test? The reviewer’s examiner refused to remain a
passenger in the same vehicle, and promptly issued a fail (with spelling
mistake) − on a question of opinion. In real life there would have been
an ugly scene.
8.5
The great, yawning, weakness of this program is its lack of supporting
material. It is not possible to argue with it, or discuss its rulings.
It dictates and indoctrinates, rather than teaching. It rankles, it
irritates, it leaves a sense of grievance. It gives no reference to any
authoritative backing and no indication that it has been passed by any
motoring guru. That being said, it contains a wealth of information to
be used in conjunction with reference material, professional tuition, or
another person to argue against.
8.5
Buy it to find out what an ignorant bigot of a driver you are, or are
about to be. For little more cost than a single driving lesson or a
parking fine, it must be worth buying for £25.95 inclusive from 4th
Dimension or £24 through Archive.  A
8.5
Small Ads
8.5
(Small ads for Acorn 32-bit computers (i.e. not BBC’s) and related
products are free for subscribers but we reserve the right to publish
all, part or none of the material you send, as we think fit. i.e. some
people don’t know what ‘small’ means and there are certain things, as
you can imagine, that we would not be prepared to advertise as a matter
of principle. Sending small ads (especially long ones!) on disc is
helpful but not essential. Ed)
8.5
•  16Mb A540 (ARM3), RISC OS 3.1, 100Mb Conner SCSI drive, Colour card,
Eizo T560i Trinitron monitor, £750. Scanlight Prof. A4 flatbed scanner
£125. Irlam I-Scan 400 dpi scanner (roller feed) £50. Aleph One PC386
card £35. Miracom MS300 modem £25. All must go. Any reasonable offer
considered. Phone [phone].
8.5
•  A3000, RISC OS 3.1 4Mb RAM, 80Mb SCSI HD, RGB monitor, PRES monitor
stand and expansion case, VGC £550 o.n.o. Phone [phone] (SW
Scotland)
8.5
•  A310, 4Mb RAM, RISC OS 3.1, ARM 3, 40Mb HD, 4-slot backplane, Eizo
80606S monitor £400 o.n.o. Phone [phone].
8.5
•  A310, 4Mb RAM, RISC OS 3.1, 40Mb HD 4-slot backplane, Philips CM8533
Colour monitor, Star NL10 Printer, £400 o.n.o. Phone [phone].
8.5
•  A310 colour, colour, RISC OS 3.1, 2Mb, £300. PipeDream 3 £25, Holed
Out £5, Alphabase £10, fascia for second floppy + leads £15. Phone
01508-578189 (eves).
8.5
•  A310, RISC OS 3.1, 4Mb RAM 40Mb HD, ARM 3, Acorn colour monitor £350.
Phone [phone] after 6.
8.5
•  A310, RISC OS 3.1, colour monitor, mono monitor, Brother M1709 132
column dot matrix printer £250 ono. Phone [phone] after 6.
8.5
•  A310/A305 computer bits: ARM2 chip £1, MEMC1A £1, IOC + VIDC1 £1, PSU
£3, speaker/LED £1, backplane £5, RGB lead £5, RGB monitor £75 (Acorn),
battery holder £1, all memory chips £3, RISC OS 2 chips £10 the set,
Acorn RISC OS 3 carrier board boxed with instructions £20, Everything:
£130. A3000 user port £15 − [e-mail] or 01449-673443
after 6.
8.5
•  A4 model II, 4Mb RAM 80Mb HD, carry case, spare battery, £1,300
o.n.o. Phone Adrian on 01603-748253.
8.5
•  A410/1, 4Mb RAM, ARM 3, RISC OS 3.1, 40Mb internal HD, 40Mb External
HD & 5½“ 40/80 floppy, Leading Edge (Econet) MIDI Sound Sampler, ATM
Vision 24-bit colour video digitiser, CC ColourCard Gold, Watford hand
scanner, Taxan 775 msync monitor, CC HP & Canon Turbo Drivers, Joystick
etc. £650 only for quick sale. Phone [phone].
8.5
•  A410/1 RISC OS 3.1, 4Mb, ARM3, 40Mb drive, Atomwide VIDC enhancer,
5¼“ buffer, Taxan 770+. All at £620 or part exchange for A4 model II.
Phone [phone].
8.5
•  A440 − ARM3, 20Mb HD, RISC OS 3.1, Beebug VME & 5¼“ FD interface,
Taxan 770+LR monitor, Panasonic KX-P1124 Printer, £540 o.n.o. Will
separate. Phone [phone] (eves).
8.5
•  A5000, 33MHz, 80Mb HD, 4Mb, AKF50, PC Emulator (DR DOS 6) +
Easiwriter + Datapower. All for £950. HP Deskjet500 £50. Resultz £40.
Ovation £40. PipeDream3 £15. Euclid £15. Midnight Express £15. Font
Directory + 100s of fonts £30, Superior Golf £5, Break 127/Pool £5,
Pandora’s Box £12, Lemmings & Oh No More Lemmings £15, Black Angel £12,
Sim City £12, Haunted House £12. Phone [phone] (eves).
8.5
•  A5000 4Mb RAM, 40Mb, RISC OS 3.11, Oak SCSI, 100Mb drive, Toshiba
XM3301 external CD-ROM, Colourcard Gold, Taxan 795 Multisync £700. A310
4Mb RAM OS3.1 £100 Phone [phone] (eves).
8.5
•  A5000 4Mb RAM, 40Mb HD, RISC OS 3.1, Eizo 9060S Multisync, Canon
BJ10EX with TurboDriver & Sheetfeeder, software inc PC Emulator +
WordPerfect 5.1, Wordz, ProArtisan, Genesis, Acorn DTP, games inc Simon
the Sorcerer, Black Angel, Birds of War, Lemmings 2, Joystick,
Headphones, all manuals and mags. £800 o.n.o. Phone 01705−552067.
8.5
•  A5000 4Mb RAM, 80Mb IDE HD, Acorn Multisync, boxed, as new, Graphbox
+ ten games (worth £200), PC Emulator, 20Mb PD software, Advance,
Imagery, Acorn L/C etc. £800. Phone [phone]
8.5
•  A5000 4Mb RAM 120Mb HD, no monitor, includes Midi/Sampler card.
Excellent Condition. Offers. Phone Dominic 0117-942-2663 anytime.
8.5
•  A5000 4Mb RAM, 125Mb HD HawkV9 MkII video digitiser, Acorn monitor,
Learning Curve software, Publisher & Artworks, plus other software £700.
Phone Mark on 01244-535204 after 6.
8.5
•  Acorn DTP £35 (with extra clipart discs). MS-DOS 5 £30. GammaPlot
(v2) £15. SystemDelta+ (v2) £25. Genesis 2 £20, Bonjour de France − Ma
Ville £20. Chemistry £10. Investigator 2 £10. Cyber Chess £12. Boogie
Buggie, Superior Golf, Zarch £6 each. Startrader, Word Up Word Down £3
each, or all six games for £30. ARM Assembly Language Programming £8.
Genesis Script Language £5. MS-DOS quick reference £5. RISC OS 2 PRM
£35. Phone [phone] (eves).
8.5
•  AKF18 £150, A3000 external HD (100Mb, Oak SCSI card) £200. A3000
external floppy £70. A3000 serial u/g £10, A310 external floppy
interface £12, MEMC1a £15, CC ROM/RAM podule £18. IFEL ROM carrier board
£10, Wordz £20, PipeDream 3 £25, Epson Turbodriver £25, Home Accounts
£15, Turbo Type £10, PC Emulator 1.7 £35, CC Borders £7, DTP at a Glance
£5, DTP Seeds £5, Impression Dabhand Guide £7, Good Impressions £10,
First Impressions £10, Games Bundle (Technodream, Chuck Rock, PIAS 1,
Air Supremacy, SWIV and Birds of War) £40. Phone [phone].
8.5
•  BBC bits − Just a reminder that we don’t take small ads for BBC
computers as we only accept ads for 32-bit computers and peripherals −
otherwise we might be inundated. If you want your BBC to go to a good
home, we know of one charity that is often happy to receive BBCs: Dave
Roberts, Family Missions, 4 Amyroyce Drive, Wrose, Shipley, BD18 1LE.
Does anyone else know of a good (registered charity) home to which we
could send BBCs? Have you got a BBC gathering dust? Let’s get them to
people who could benefit from them! Ed.
8.5
•  Eizo 9060S 14“ monitor £295 o.n.o. (+ carriage), little used, can be
used on Archimedes or Risc PC. Phone [phone]
8.5
•  Oak SCSI 45Mb ext HD + podule £80, Scanlight 256 £100, Acorn MIDI +
Studio 24 Plus £80, HP Turbo-Driver £25, unused A5000 mouse £10, modem
cable £2, keyboard extension cable £2, BBC to A5000 data transfer kit
£2, DeskEdit3 £8, Arcscan3 £5, Font Directory £15, Disk Rescue £15,
PipeDream4 £50, Impression v.2.19 £25, Publisher v.4.01 + “Good
Impressions” + 2 Capsoft Borders disks £75, ArtWorks v.1.51 £75, Hearsay
2 £30, EFF fonts £5, TWO £5, Ancestry £10, FontFX £2, Trace £2, Genesis
Plus £2, Lemmings £2, E-type £5, Saloon Cars De-luxe £10, PC Emulator
£25, “C Dabhand Guide” £3, Toshiba 5½“ floppy drive £5. Free: (collect
or pay postage) Risc User and Archive in binders. Phone Ernie Cobbold on
01493-740557.
8.5
•  Qume Laser, recent new drum (2000 copies approx) inc 1 toner refill,
will shortly work on Risc PC with new card from Calligraph £500. Qume
Drum (unused) £100. Contact Paul Cayton on 01943-878133 (eves) or 0113-
277-7711 (day).
8.5
•  Risc PC Keyboard unwanted after upgrade to German version £20. Fax on
[phone] for more details.
8.5
•  ScanLight A4 B&W scanner with sheet feeder £150 o.n.o. Phone 01283-
712015.
8.5
•  Scanlight Professional mono A4 flatbed scanner, £300. Taxan 770
multiscan monitor £225. Telephone Ray on 0181-864-7208
8.5
•  Simon the Sorcerer £15, Populous £10, Wonderland £10, Corruption,
Fish and Jinxter (non RISC OS 3) £5 each. Phone Oli on 01579-62472.
8.5
•  Various hard disc drives − 80 to 400Mb 5½/3¼“ all HH, SCSI and in
good condition. 5½” SCSI 20Mb removable drive with five discs (not as
good as SyQuest but cheaper). Marconi trackerball. State Machine
Colourburst card. Beebug 5¼“ disc drive interface & buffer. 1Mb serial
printer buffer. A5000 LC with 4Mb memory. A5000 second floppy disc
drive. Two 40Mb IDE drives. Impression Style. Phone [phone].
8.5
•  Wanted: standard colour monitor, suitable for A310. School computer
room (state maintained) desperately needs your redundant monitor, cheap.
Tatty or faulty − condition not a problem! Have you recently upgraded to
multisync? Will collect within 100 miles of Reading. Phone Tom on 01734-
871330.
8.5
•  Watford Electronics 100Mb external hard disc & podule − suitable for
A3000 or A5000 £125. Phone [phone] (eves).
8.5
Charity Sales
8.5
The following items are available for sale in aid of charity. PLEASE do
not just send money − ring us on 01603-766592 to check if the items are
still available. Thank you.
8.5
N.B. These items are sold AS SEEN (even though you can’t see them!),
i.e. we are not able to give refunds if the items are not suitable for
your computer or whatever. All the money paid goes straight to charity
therefore NCS cannot be involved in correspondence etc over these items.
If it turns out to be no good for you but might do for someone else,
please send it back with a note and we will sell it again with the
proviso you state, e.g. “It doesn’t work on a Risc PC.”
8.5
Software: Easiwriter 2 £10, Archway £10, Pysanki £2, Rotor £2,
Datavision database £6, Boogie Buggie £2, Colour Fun £2, Multistore £25.
8.5
Hardware: PCATS Graphics enhancer £20, Floppy discs £12 per 50, Acorn
Econet interfaces (10 off) £15 each, External 40/80 5¼“ floppy drive
£25, Joystick Interface (Serial Port) £8, Z88 / psu / 128K rampack /
manuals £50.
8.5
(If you have unwanted software or hardware for Archimedes computers that
you could donate in aid of charity, please send it to the Archive
office. If you have larger items where post would be expensive, just
send us details of the item(s) and how the purchaser can get hold of
them.)  A
8.5
Gerald’s Column
8.5
Gerald Fitton
8.5
So, to quote Paul (our editor) “Document Production Column” doesn’t do
justice to the range of topics I’m expected to cover and “Gerald’s
Column” is a bit unimaginative. This may all be true but I expect that
more than a few of you aren’t at all sure what I will be covering − and
some will probably complain because you will think that I’ll be covering
things which I’m not!
8.5
Paul has said that if you find the best name for this column then you
can win a prize. OK, but please write to the Archive editor with your
suggestions and not to me!
8.5
For my part I have two problems with the expanded specification for this
column. The first is that I don’t think I know enough detail about
enough subjects to satisfy those of you who are looking for a source of
infinite knowledge (however, see below under Interdictor 2). The second
is that, if I include in this Archive column everything from my monthly
correspondence of interest, I shall fill more pages than my self-imposed
limit.
8.5
I haven’t forgotten that (a) I still haven’t completed the series on
‘future proofing’, (b) I already have a draft of an article about the
difference between styles in Fireworkz and Style, (c) I have been asked
to write about speeding up printing by using Acorn’s own printer drivers
for background printing (without a Turbo Driver) − I have an outline for
that article too! This month, I’ve decided to leave all those topics for
now and clear more of the backlog of general topics selected from my
correspondence.
8.5
Anyway, what I’m going to do about the column is to wait and see what
sort of feedback I get from you and develop it accordingly. Just to
confuse those who have made up your minds exactly what this column will
contain, let me start with something which is most unusual for me and
which will definitely not become a habit − we’ll start with a game!
8.5
Interdictor 2
8.5
In the January 1995 issue of Archive, I included an example of questions
which I didn’t feel competent to answer. The question was “Will
Interdictor 2 run on the Risc PC?”
8.5
I received a letter from Gareth Owen who is the General Manager of
Clares Micro Supplies, the authors of Interdictor 2. It only goes to
show that you never know who’s reading this column.
8.5
Anyway, Gareth says that Interdictor 2 runs without any problems on the
Risc PC. However (he adds), if you do have a Risc PC you may find that
you will be happier with the most recent version since it uses the * key
instead of the # key to return to the map when the plane has landed.
Useful because, on the Risc PC, there is no # on the numeric keypad!
8.5
You can get the new version by returning your master disc together with
a stamped SAE. If you don’t send an SAE, you’ll be charged £5! I suggest
that if you live abroad, you find some kind person over here who’ll get
it for you and then send it on.
8.5
Gareth kindly sent me a copy and (without encroaching on the Games
Column) I must say that I like it. It reminds me of Flight Simulator
which, when I was somewhat younger (and had more spare time), I used to
enjoy for hours on end! If you don’t have a copy then you can get one
from Clares Micro Supplies at £24.95 inclusive of VAT (or £24 through
Archive).
8.5
It’s confession time. I had a covert objective in choosing the shock
tactic of writing about a game (which I have never done before) as my
first topic in this column. What I wish to show by example is that, even
if I don’t know the answer to a question and even if I feel quite
incompetent to answer it then, if this column is read widely enough (and
gains a good reputation for accuracy and fairness) then there will
always be expert help at hand.
8.5
My thanks go to Gareth for providing the ‘teaching resource’ which
allows me demonstrate the way in which this column might be able to
provide help that I’m incompetent to give.
8.5
Draw and Paint
8.5
Back to Document Production − well, for a moment at least. I’d like to
say a few words about the subject of standardisation. As my example I’m
going to use Draw and Paint files but, if your interest is in DTP, you
might like to think in terms of Rich Text Format (RTF) as a standard
which will allow you to transfer text files, complete with styles, from
one package to another.
8.5
If you’re going to produce documents then, at some stage or other,
you’re going to need a drawing package such as Acorn’s Draw, Jonathan
Marten’s DrawPlus, or Vector or Artworks. Drawing packages use what are
called vector graphics. The image is specified as lines joining co-
ordinates (rather like the lines used when you plot a graph). These
lines can enclose an area; if this is the case then the area can be
filled with colour. The lines can be open (i.e. not enclosing an area)
so that there is no area to fill with colour.
8.5
From the first Archimedes Acorn have devised a standard for vector
graphics files. This standard is the drawfile format. If you want to
send me (or another Archive author) a vector graphic file on disc then
please make sure that you use an option to save the file in Acorn
drawfile format. That way you’ll be sure I’ll be able to read it. OK, I
know that Computer Concepts’ DTP packages (e.g. Style) will accept files
in Artworks format and I do have Style so I can load your Artworks file
into Style and have a look at it. That’s not the point. I may want to
load your file into PipeDream or into Fireworkz (or even into Schema!)
and I can’t do that unless it’s been standardised by converting it to a
drawfile format.
8.5
I will cover drawing packages in more detail another time. Let’s move on
to Paint.
8.5
Painting packages include Acorn’s Paint and Pro Artisan from Clares
Micro Supplies. A long time ago I bought Artisan when it ran under the
single tasking operating system called Arthur (RISC OS 1). I didn’t
upgrade so I don’t have Pro Artisan (again, perhaps I need it in order
to effectively handle the correspondence this column is going to
generate − but I can’t afford it, yet). However, like you, I do have
(and use a lot) Acorn’s own Paint package.
8.5
Painted pictures use what are called “bit-mapped” graphics. On the Acorn
machines these graphics are called sprites. A typical bit-mapped graphic
consists of a myriad of dots called pixels. Every point on the picture
is a pixel and every pixel has a colour.
8.5
The sprite format has recently undergone development so that more
colours (about 16 million instead of only 256) can be specified. I
thought that I would be unable to read 32-bit sprite files on my A540,
but I was wrong − read on!
8.5
My recollection of the original Artisan is that the file format used was
the Acorn sprite format. Whatever the case, I’m sure that Gareth (or one
of you) will be writing to me to let me know as soon as this Archive
hits your letter box! I must stop digressing too far and get to the
point. If you use Pro Artisan to create your bit-mapped graphics files,
please make sure that when you send them to me or other Archive authors
that we can read them. The best way to be sure is to save them in
Acorn’s sprite format or, if you can’t do that, convert them to that
standard format using a utility such as ChangeFSI. By the way, I notice
that the version of ChangeFSI I have (0.95) accepts the file type DE2
(ProArtisan compressed pictures) and will output sprite format. It is my
guess that Clares’ Pro Artisan will accept sprite format files (and if
it doesn’t then it should) so that you can take a standard sprite and
load it into Pro Artisan.
8.5
In an earlier article, I raised the matter of exchanging sprites with
other Archimedes users who have different mode utilities from you. My
most recent experience is a disc I’ve received from David Spong (who
lives in Hong Kong and is about to move to Australia). He sent me a disc
containing a ‘deep sprite’ (which he’d created on his Risc PC). His
complaint was that he couldn’t load it into Fireworkz. At first, using
Paint, I couldn’t see it either and jumped to the conclusion that this
was because I didn’t have a Risc PC. However, I decided that I would
have a go at conversion with ChangeFSI. That did convert the sprite so
that my Paint could read it − mind you, I’ve probably lost some of the
subtle shades of colour but at least it appears. This test leads me to
say that the latest version of ChangeFSI (v0.95) will convert some 32-
bit sprites into the ‘old’ 8-bit sprites even though I can’t display the
new 32-bit modes. If you don’t have the latest version of ChangeFSI, it
is on Archive Utilities Disc Nº 8 (£2 from NCS).
8.5
Oh yes! The reason David couldn’t load his ‘deep sprite’ into Fireworkz
was because he hadn’t got the new TaskX module (see 8.4 p33 for details
of why). I’ve sent it on to him.
8.5
So here’s some advice from me about buying ‘future proofed’ software
packages. Make sure that the package you buy will both import and export
files in a format which is accepted as standard. For DTP I suggest that
the standard is RTF. If you do insist on the facility to load and save
files in standard format then, when you finally upgrade your software
(to one with more facilities − e.g. from Paint to, for example,
Pro Artisan) you will be able to take your personal data files with you
into the next (better) package. After all, you’ll find that those data
files are more valuable than the software package because of the time
and effort you’ve put into creating them.
8.5
Fireworkz Pro
8.5
The next question comes mainly from overseas correspondents but also
from some schools and from other long term correspondents of mine.
“What’s happened to Fireworkz Pro?” they ask. The latest information I
have about Fireworkz Pro is that it should be available for the BETT
Show in mid January 1995. Demo discs will be available a few weeks after
the release of the package. I know that a lot of you with PipeDream are
waiting for this version of Fireworkz before spending your cash because
you believe that will be cheaper than upgrading in two stages.
8.5
Fireworkz Pro for Windows is planned for release a few months after the
Archimedes version.
8.5
By the way, one of the attractions of Fireworkz is that you can load and
save files in RTF format.
8.5
Dongles, Turbo Drivers, etc
8.5
Under this heading I must be careful to say exactly what I mean
otherwise I might find myself (or Archive) with a law suit on my hands.
8.5
So as to balance the critical remarks which follow, let me start with
more positive comments by saying that I have received some letters about
dongles and Turbo Drivers which go along the lines of (a) “I have never
had a problem with a dongle. They penalise only the unscrupulous. They
are a cost-effective and efficient method of eliminating software
piracy” and (b) “I could never get my work done in time without the
printing speed of my Turbo Driver”.
8.5
However, such positive comments are rare. Here is a critical comment
which (in slightly varied form) occurs quite often. “I had problems such
as the printer hanging up and machine crashes which occurred only when I
had the dongle in the printer lead. I sent my dongle back to Computer
Concepts. They said that there was nothing wrong with it but that they
were replacing it anyway. Since then the frequency of such problems has
decreased dramatically”.
8.5
There is always a ‘worst case’ and I must quote it. One of my
correspondents had a three dongle system (Impression II, Artworks +
WorraCad) plus a special Turbo Driver lead. He says that the lead is
special (i.e. non standard) because there are a couple of the
connections swapped over deliberately. He was getting a very high
frequency of hang up and crash-type problems. This is serious for him
because he uses his Archimedes for his business. Apart from quoting the
cliche “Time is money”, he claimed that the sheer frustration of these
stoppages was reducing his ability to concentrate; it was destroying his
creativity and hence his productivity. When he wrote to me he was asking
me to approve of his decision to ditch the Archimedes in favour of a PC!
8.5
He came to me for advice and my reaction was that his problem could be
anywhere, for example he might have a faulty piece of RAM. I suggested
that what we had to do was to isolate the problem by not using various
things (hardware and software) until there was an improvement. Anyway,
amongst the other suggestions I made, one was that, simply as a trial to
try to isolate the problems, he should remove all his dongles and his
special Turbo lead and then see what happened.
8.5
Eventually, he upgraded from Impression II to Style getting rid of one
dongle. He downgraded from Artworks to DrawPlus getting rid of a second.
He got a version of WorraCad which didn’t need the last dongle. Finally,
he reverted to using Acorn’s (non Turbo) printer drivers thus getting
rid of the special Turbo lead.
8.5
His comment is that his overall productivity has improved, the frequency
of hangups and crashes has dropped to a negligible rate. He attributes
the improvement to the removal of the dongles and the (non standard)
Turbo lead. Of course, he may be mistaken and he just might have
inadvertently cured something such as a bad connection − but he doesn’t
think so.
8.5
Let me know how you’ve got on with dongles and Turbo Drivers. I’ll be
most interested. In the meantime my general advice is that, before
buying some specialist piece of hardware or software which has a non-
standard element, you must ask yourself whether the benefits of using
something which is non-standard outweighs the potential difficulties
which might (or might not) arise.
8.5
For my own part, I am pleased to have got rid of my Publisher dongle and
I don’t feel the need for a Turbo Driver since I print to a disc file
and then print from the disc file to the printer in background using
only Acorn’s standard facilities. I don’t have the space this month to
explain how I do this so you will have to wait for it to appear in a
later article.
8.5
The Sale of Goods Act
8.5
Oh dear! I wish I hadn’t mentioned that one of my correspondents wrote
to me saying: “Software containing bugs contravenes the Trade
Descriptions Act and must be upgraded free of charge at the earliest
opportunity”. I said that I wouldn’t go that far but it seems that many
of you wish that someone would take a software supplier to court (but
you wouldn’t want to be the one to do it!) and so encourage the speedier
distribution of bug free versions.
8.5
Of the many letters I received on this topic, the longest was from Brian
Edwards (two pages of detail). Brian makes the point that a bug fix is
not an upgrade and that I have too often referred to a new version of a
package as an upgrade when I shouldn’t. A bug fix does not add extra
features but makes the software work in the way it should. An upgrade
adds new features. Brian echoes many other correspondents in saying that
bug fixes should be carried out as quickly as possible and not await the
next (feature adding) upgrade. He, like so many of you, is willing to
pay for upgrades which are not bug fixes (provided that he has a use for
the extra facilities made available by the upgrade); at least he has the
option of paying for extra facilities or doing without them.
8.5
In Brian’s penultimate paragraph he writes “I feel the software
suppliers are doing their best to confuse the two (bug fixes and
upgrades) in order to make unjustified charges... ...(you must) ensure
that this confusion (in the minds of purchasers) does not occur”.
8.5
I accept that I do use the word ‘upgrade’ when I should use the phrase
‘new version’. From now on I shall try to reserve the word ‘upgrade’ for
a new version which adds features.
8.5
Rounding
8.5
Up to now I’ve received only one solution to Colin Singleton’s puzzle −
and that solution is in Basic whereas I hoped for one using a
spreadsheet! Eric Ayers’ solution is on the monthly disc.
8.5
On the same subject, Ian Copestake has written to me saying that he has
found the Fireworkz function round(slotref,integer) useful for rounding
numbers.
8.5
Seeing applications
8.5
I’ve had many letters on this subject. What you all agree is that it is
a good idea to let your System see all your applications before you
start but many have pointed out that you don’t need them to be in the
root directory of your hard disc in order to achieve this. Some of you
use the new features of the Risc PC to look at all the applications,
many of you load the applications to the pinboard. Danny Fagandini uses
a utility called !SuperBD (a Super BackDrop utility) because the icons
are smaller than those of the pinboard.
8.5
The preference seems to be to keep applications out of the root
directory but in a sub-directory or many sub-directories and to use some
method of running all the boot files during the boot up procedure.
8.5
Monitors, SyQuest, SCSI, etc
8.5
Perhaps I’ve been lucky. All the feedback I’ve had on these topics is
positive. By this I mean that those who have done anything other than
that which I advised (e.g. you bought a 14“ monitor rather than the 17”
I recommended) have written to say how they have changed their minds
(before reading my article) and now have a 17“ monitor, or a SyQuest
SCSI drive, etc. Nobody has written to me suggesting anything different
(well, not yet)! So I’m pleased with the way those two articles have
been received. I do promise to get on to the next one soon.
8.5
The efficiency of Acorn applications
8.5
Was it only last month I said something like “If you want to run PC
applications and PC hardware then buy a proper PC”. Anyway, one of the
comments I’ve had from several correspondents is that PC packages seem
to use up a lot more hard disc space than similar specification packages
designed to run on an Archimedes. I don’t think I know enough about this
to make anything I say worth while − but I’d like to hear from you.
8.5
Clan Acorn
8.5
This month I was going to say much more about Clan Acorn than I have
room for. I have referred in a past article to Acorn Enthusiasts.
Members of Clan Acorn and what I referred to as an Acorn Enthusiast are
one and the same. At present, one of the big advantages of joining Clan
Acorn is that you can buy a Risc PC without buying the Acorn monitor. As
I said in an earlier article, I think that Acorn should encourage a mix-
and-match policy for the Risc PC as a way of keeping the more scrupulous
hardware suppliers in business (in competition with the box-shifters who
compete only on price and not on service).
8.5
In this context, I have had letters from people who have had bad
experiences with box-shifters and have vowed never to use them again.
They agree with me that whilst NCS do charge more than box-shifters for
standard packages, if something goes wrong then they finish up spending
a lot more than they would have spent with NCS. Please take this advice
from me and those who have written to me. Unless you know that you have
the expertise to fix anything which goes wrong yourself, don’t buy from
the cheapest supplier but buy from one whose profit margin is sufficient
for them to be able to afford to provide good service.
8.5
Back to being an Enthusiast, let me persuade you to join Clan Acorn and
then write to them suggesting that they should allow reputable suppliers
(such as NCS) to advise on and then supply non standard mix-and-match
packages. Clan Acorn Life Membership costs £15; membership forms are
available from Acorn Direct.
8.5
Correspondence
8.5
Once again, it must be time that I reminded you that my address is that
of Abacus Training; you’ll find it on the inside back cover of Archive.
It is much quicker to write to me direct than to write via the Archive
office.
8.5
I notice that many Archive authors are asking for a copy of
correspondence to be on disc. My personal preference is that you send me
a disc containing the bulk of your correspondence (together with example
files if appropriate) but that you enclose a short written note
outlining the nature of what is on the disc. This allows me to determine
quickly what priority to give to your correspondence. After all, if it’s
a contribution then you probably don’t need a reply as urgently as
someone requesting help. Please write your name and address on paper
somewhere just in case there is something wrong with the disc.
8.5
Return postage and a self addressed sticky label does help more than you
might imagine. It is the time saved which is more important than the
stamp money.
8.5
I cannot read 1.6Mb format discs so please send me files on discs
formatted to 800Kb.
8.5
Finally
8.5
Thanks for all your most interesting letters and for the many kind words
you have written about my articles. Not only do I find them interesting
but also very useful. Please keep them coming.  A
8.5
Games Column
8.5
Dave Floyd
8.5
I went to the Acorn World show to see what games were being released but
before telling you about them, I have a gripe...
8.5
I feel that there should be a couple of hours set aside over the weekend
where children would be absent from the hall. Don’t get me wrong, I have
no objection to the presence of children at the show and indeed consider
it essential that children are interested in any computer platform for
it to have a future. I cannot, however, be the only overgrown child who
finds it nearly impossible to get close to any computer which has a game
loaded onto it.
8.5
I would suggest a sensible possibility would be that, on the first day,
the show could perhaps open at ten o’clock with children admitted after
midday. This would provide a minimum of inconvenience to parents while
allowing others a brief look in. I suspect that many others may agree
with me, although I do not reject the possibility that I may just be
auditioning for the part of Scrooge. Comments, abusive or otherwise, are
as ever welcome to the usual address at the end of the column.
8.5
The TBA Software stand provided the exception for me this year and I
managed a full fifteen minutes trying out their new release, FTT.
(£24.99 inc VAT or £24 through Archive) A futuristic racing game, FTT
has a polish to it that hopefully we can expect with every game from
TBA. They certainly have not disappointed to date. Whereas with normal
racing games the only directions that the track can deviate are to the
left and right, FTT literally adds a new dimension by placing the track
in space and thereby allowing for corners that can also go up or down.
Misjudging the bend means that your car (ship?) flies off into space and
you lose time while it is re-positioned on the track. The scrolling and
animation were faultless and I can wholeheartedly recommend this game to
anybody. A most impressive follow up to their older (yet still worthy)
Axis.
8.5
Also promised for release by TBA before Christmas were Cyber Ape, Warp
Riders, ARL and Merp. At last year’s show, an early version of ARL was
being displayed on their stand and it looked very good. If these four
games and Cobalt Seed, which is planned for early 1995 release, prove to
be of the quality displayed by TBA’s previous two releases, it would not
surprise me at all if the company were to become the leading software
house producing original Acorn games by this time next year.
8.5
One of the busiest games stands was certainly 4th Dimension’s. On
display they had their new release, E-Type 2 (£33 through Archive), and
it looked very good indeed. I did not get the chance to play it, but if
the crowd of eager youngsters around the machine was anything to go by
then I would say that the feel of the game was also not a
disappointment. The game is Risc PC compatible and allows split screen
two-player racing and additions to your car include the facility of
firing missiles at opponents. (Rumours that Damon Hill has contacted 4D
for the technical spec are apparently unfounded.)
8.5
Finally, released at the show was Simon the Sorcerer (£38 through
Archive). Launched last year as ‘the fastest conversion to be released
on the Archimedes’ the reality has proved to be somewhat different.
Gamesware also have a conversion of Dune 2 in the pipeline, although I
did not have the heart to ask which year this could realistically be
expected. (Well, here’s a surprise... it’s in stock now at NCS, price
£33. Ed.) All joking aside, I must say that although a year ago I was
very dubious about the premium price being asked for Simon the Sorcerer,
the delay in its release has made me rethink this to a certain degree
and will say now that if the hype surrounding it is justified, it will
possibly be worth the extra few pounds for the diligence that has been
shown in the coding of the game. The temptation to rush out a flawed
version to recoup development costs must have been great and it speaks
volumes for the integrity of Gamesware that they resisted the undeniable
attraction of such a ploy.
8.5
Finally, the other games release that caught my eye was Wolfenstein 3D
(£29 through Archive). This predecessor to Doom has been available on
the PC for quite a while and the conversion is indistinguishable from
the original as far as I can tell. Your mission is to make your way
through a Nazi complex, shooting enemy soldiers, discovering secret
passages and picking up replacement bullets and treasure along the way
as well as upgrading your firearms from the dead bodies you leave in
your wake. Pure arcade action, I have played this many times on a PC
over the last couple of years and can certainly testify to the longevity
and playability of this game. Powerslave certainly deserve to have a
winner on their hands with this release.
8.5
There was much more to see at the show and I have only managed to cover
a brief selection of what was on view. I certainly enjoyed it and
eagerly await next year. For those of you who live near London and have
never attended, I can only say that the effort is certainly worthwhile
and when next year comes around I hope to see you there.
8.5
Any comments relating to this column, or any other games-related subject
should please be sent to Dave Floyd, c/o PO Box 2795, London NW10
9AY.  A
8.5
Image Processing Terms
8.5
Ian Palmer
8.5
Below is a glossary of some of the terms used in image processing. I
have tried to give a mixture of both basic, and more detailed,
information. I have also included descriptions of three common file
formats.
8.5
Colour models
8.5
A colour model is a way of specifying a colour by giving a number of
values (typically 3), and there are many different models available. One
of the most common is the RGB model, where a colour is specified by
giving its red, green and blue components. This is the model that RISC
OS uses for specifying colours.
8.5
Two other common colour models are the CMY and CMYK models, often used
in printing. These models require colours to be specified by giving
cyan, magenta and yellow components (and in the case of CMYK also a key
(or black) component). The reason that the CMY(K) models are used in
printing is that, in colour printing, these are often the colours of the
inks used in the printing process. The relationship between the RGB and
CMY models are:
8.5
  cyan  = 1 − red
8.5
  magenta  = 1 − green
8.5
  yellow  = 1 − blue
8.5
(assuming all components are specified as a value between 0 and 1).
8.5
Another model is the HSV (HSL) Hue, Saturation and Value (Luminosity)
model. Here hue defines the relative red, green and blue component (as
an angle round a triangle with each of red, green and blue at the
vertices), saturation defines how much colour there is (from grey) and
value (luminosity) defines the brightness of the colour.
8.5
Dithering / error diffusion
8.5
Dithering and error diffusion are methods of achieving better results on
a display device which can not represent the full range of colours
needed. Ordered dithering is the use of regular patterns of two, or
more, colours to approximate a third colour that lies inbetween those
used. This technique is used in printing to display (for example) a grey
scale picture using just black ink, and is used in programs such as
ArtWorks when displaying in 16 and 256 colour modes.
8.5
An alternative to ordered dithering is error diffusion. In a simple
example of this scheme, the pixel to be displayed is read and the
closest colour that can be displayed is calculated and used in the
display. Then the difference between the two colours (the error) is
calculated and added to the next pixel to be displayed. Floyd-Steinberg
error diffusion is a more complex form of error diffusion where the
error, instead of being added (in whole) to the next pixel to be
displayed, is spread over four surrounding pixels. The way the error is
spread is as follows:
8.5
      x  7
8.5
    3  5  1
8.5
(where x represents the pixel being processed). The numbers represent
the proportions with which the error is added to the surrounding pixels
− the values above add up to 16, therefore the pixel to the right of the
pixel being processed gets 7/16ths of the error. The pixels to the left
and above receive none of the error − this allows you to process the
pixels in a picture a line at a time (top to bottom) and from left to
right. In fact, usually, every alternate line is processed right to left
as this will reduce the chances of patterns appearing in the result.
8.5
There are other, less common, error diffusion algorithms which are
similar to Floyd-Steinberg, but often produce better results (but take
more processing), these include:
8.5
Stucki:
8.5
      x  8  4
8.5
  2  4  8  4  2
8.5
  1  2  4  2  1
8.5
Sierra:
8.5
      x  5  3
8.5
  2  4  5  4  2
8.5
    2  3  2
8.5
Jarvis, Judice & Ninke:
8.5
      x  7  5
8.5
  3  5  7  5  3
8.5
  1  3  5  3  1
8.5
Stevenson & Arce:
8.5
        x    32
8.5
  12    26    30    16
8.5
    12    26    12
8.5
  5    12    12    5
8.5
Filters / kernel operations
8.5
Filters (or kernel operations) is a term used to describe a range of
operations where a pixel in the output picture is calculated using the
corresponding input pixel and its neighbours. The number of neighbours
used varies, although common numbers include four (North, South, East
and West), eight (as with four, plus North-East, etc.) and 24 (all
pixels in a 5x5 square around the pixel). The best way to explain
filters is by example. Consider a filter defined by the following kernel
(matrix defining a filter):
8.5
    1  1  1
8.5
    1  1  1       multiplier = 1/9
8.5
    1  1  1
8.5
An output pixel will be created by first multiplying the pixel values
(either intensity for monochrome processing, or RGB components for
colour processing) by the corresponding kernel entry. Then all the
values obtained are added together, and then multiplied by the
multiplier value of the filter operation (in this case 1/9). The
resultant value is then used as the output − in colour processing the
red, green and blue components are processed separately. The kernel
shown above results in the output pixel being the average of the input
pixels within the neighbourhood; this is a very strong smoothing
operation blurring the picture.
8.5
Milder smoothing operations can be achieved by weighting the central
value in the kernel (i.e. a larger number, for example, 8). However, the
multiplier must also be altered accordingly. As a basic rule of thumb,
to ensure that the overall brightness (intensity) of the output picture
is the same as the input picture, the multiplier should be 1/n where n
is the sum of the values in the kernel.
8.5
Smoothing is only one of many operations that can be performed by
filters. Another common filter is the sharpening filter which attempts
to do the opposite of the smoothing filter. It can be thought of as
subtracting a blurred (smoothed) version of the picture from itself. An
example sharpening filter is:
8.5
    -1  -1  -1
8.5
    -1  9  -1     multiplier = 1
8.5
    -1  -1  -1
8.5
This kernel shows the input pixel being multiplied by 9 and then having
the values of its neighbours subtracted from it.
8.5
Another common filter is one used for detecting edges. For example
consider the following kernel:
8.5
    1  0  -1
8.5
    2  0  -2     multiplier = 1
8.5
    1  0  -1
8.5
Consider a pixel surrounded by pixels of a similar intensity (a flat
area, no edges) the result of applying the kernel will tend to be pixels
with low intensity values. Now consider a pixel with bright pixels to
its left and dark pixels to its right (i.e. the pixel is at an edge) the
result will be a bright pixel. Thus the above filter highlights vertical
edges which represent a change from light to dark going left to right.
8.5
One final common task performed by filters is noise removal. This can be
performed using a smoothing filter, although this also blurs the
picture. To overcome this problem, a threshold value is introduced into
the process. This time an average value is obtained for just the
neighbours (i.e. the pixel being processed is excluded from the
calculation). Then the difference between the average of the neighbours
and the pixel being processed is calculated. If the difference
calculated is greater than the specified threshold value, the pixel is
replaced by the average value calculated, otherwise it is left
untouched. The result of this is that pixels that are very different
from those around it are removed and replaced by the average of those
pixels around them,
8.5
Gamma correction
8.5
One problem with monitors is that the relationship between (a) the
brightness of a pixel on the monitor as specified by the applied
voltage, and (b) how bright that pixel appears to the viewer is not
linear. In fact, there is usually a logarithmic relationship defined by
the following equation:
8.5
where I is the intensity of the observed pixel, V is the voltage applied
to the monitor, and K and g are constants.
8.5
Gamma correction is a software method of correcting this problem. It is
also a useful tool for brightening/darkening a picture that suffers from
problems beyond those caused by the monitor. During gamma correction,
the inverse equation is used to calculate the V that should be supplied
to the monitor to achieve the correct intensity I:
8.5
Usually K is ignored during the process as this can be corrected
independently prior to gamma correction, thus only g needs to be
specified by the user.
8.5
That is the theory, but what about practice? Basically, for gamma
correction, the user needs to specify a value for g. A value of 1 will
make no change to the picture. A value between 0 and 1 will tend to
darken the picture, a value above 1 will tend to brighten the picture.
How the picture will be brightened/darkened can be seen in the following
two graphs which show the gamma functions for g=0.5 and g =1.8 (input
value is on the x-axis, output is on the y-axis):
8.5
GIF
8.5
Compuserve GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) (pronounced ‘jif’) is a
graphics file format which can store images with up to 256 colours using
LZW compression. Although 256 colours is perfectly adequate for a grey
scale image (24-bit colour offers 256 shades of grey) it is not adequate
for full colour pictures, especially photo realistic pictures. GIF files
will often contain pictures which have been subjected to dithering/error
correction techniques and, consequently, the added step of further
dithering for display in a fixed palette 256 colour mode under RISC OS
leads to less than perfect results. The problems are worse when you try
to use a picture from a GIF file in image processing, especially when
subjecting to filters (kernel operations) that sharpen a picture. This
is because sharpening will highlight the artificial edges created during
dithering and error correction. There are ways to get around this
problem, one of which is to pass the image through a softening filter
which will smooth out the artificial edges − but the picture will be
more blurred. An alternative is to reduce the picture size using a
rescaling operation that performs anti-aliasing (see also JPEG, TIFF).
8.5
JPEG
8.5
JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) is an image compression standard
which was designed to compress full-colour and grey-scale images of
real-world objects and scenes (as opposed to computer generated images
and paintings). JPEG, unlike GIF and TIFF, is a lossy compression
scheme; that is, if you compress an image using JPEG, then decompress it
again, the output will not, necessarily, match the original image
exactly, (although the differences should not be noticeable. When
creating a JPEG image, it may be necessary, depending on the software,
to specify a quality value. The higher the value, the more closely will
the decompressed picture match the original picture − but the JPEG file
will also be bigger. With the software written by The Independent JPEG
Group, the quality value is in the form of a percentage, 0% being the
lowest quality and the smallest file size, 100% being the highest
quality and the biggest file size. It should be noted that a quality of
100% does not mean that the decompressed picture will be identical to
the original. Usually you should use values between 50% and 95%.
8.5
There is one big problem with JPEG as a standard. In fact, it suffers
from exactly the opposite problem to the TIFF standard (see below) − the
group who developed the standard were prevented from defining a file
format. Conversely, TIFF has a defined file format, but no fixed
definition for compression. Thus it is up to the software developer to
define a standard − and many have − all different from each other. Two
file formats have been generally accepted as standard, however, and
these are a JPEG extension for the TIFF standard, although this is not
very common, and the JFIF (JPEG File Interchange Format) standard which
is by far the most common and is the format understood by ChangeFSI,
etc.
8.5
TIFF
8.5
TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) is a graphics file format which can
store full colour pictures. The TIFF standard basically just defines the
format of a file, which is a sequence of tagged items. The way a picture
is stored within the file is not defined by the standard − in fact,
anyone can create their own storage system within a TIFF file. This
undefined structure of TIFF can lead to problems. It is possible that a
TIFF file will not be able to be read by a piece of software because the
software doesn’t support the particular type of TIFF file.
8.5
Common compression methods used in TIFF files include: none i.e. no
compression (any software that reads TIFF files should cope with this),
packbits where sequences of the same pixel colour are grouped together,
LZW, as used in Squash, SparkFS, ArcFS, CFS, etc, and special
compression techniques for compressing bi-level fax images. It should be
noted that using a compression scheme will not necessarily reduce the
size of the TIFF file.
8.5
Warping
8.5
Warping means mapping an area of a picture onto another area (either in
the same picture or to a different picture) using some geometric
transformation. For example, below is a picture of a warping between two
quadrilateral areas, the source area is shown above, the destination is
shown below:
8.5
I hope you have found these definitions helpful. If you have any
questions, suggestions, etc, drop me a line via the Archive office.  A
8.5
CC’s ColourCard Gold
8.5
Ian Gooding
8.5
I have used ColourCard Gold, version 2.1, for almost a year. My system
is an A540 with a Taxan 770+ multiscan monitor, and is mostly used for
DTP and graphics design. I bought the Colourcard mainly to reduce the
effect of screen flicker on my mental health. The other advantages such
as programmable desktop colours and stunning PhotoCD or JPEG/MPEG images
are great too.
8.5
Installing
8.5
The card came well packaged with good installation instructions. The
standard package assumes that you have an A5000 or similar machine with
a VGA-type 15-pin monitor lead. Owners of older machines − A400 or A500
series − have a 9-pin connector, and will have to send in a voucher
included with the package and wait for an alternative lead to be
provided. Mine came by return of post, free of charge.After that hurdle
is overcome, the package is easily to install. It uses a half width
podule slot, to which are connected an input lead from the standard
monitor socket, and an output lead to the monitor. In my case, this
again needed a conversion connector, which is supplied, from the 15-pin
socket to the older 9-pin connector. My version worked first time when I
connected it all up. Please note that a standard PC-compatible monitor
lead will not work!
8.5
In use
8.5
Computer Concepts have chosen to pass through the output from standard
modes unchanged, so these work exactly as they always did, complete with
screen flicker. A wealth of new modes is provided, several of which
duplicate the function of standard modes like 21, but without the
flicker. There are also four new modes in thousands of colours, which
are fully functional with the desktop. A range of new modes exploits the
higher screen resolution available, though many of these will not
display on my monitor because its bandwidth is not high enough. The
screen mode manager FlipTop is supplied, and is a useful way of
navigating around the various screen modes supported.
8.5
My monitor specifies that it has a video bandwidth of 30MHz. The table
below shows which modes work on my monitor. Unless noted, each 256
colour mode has equivalent 16 colour modes, though there is no
particular reason to use them any more!
8.5
Thousands of colours on my desktop
8.5
It’s true, and for most applications it works well. I have Fireworkz,
Impression II, Publisher, Artworks, Datapower, ProArtisan 2, Rhapsody
III, etc, all working. Old versions did not all work well in these new
desktop modes, and there are still problems with CC’s own Scanlight Plus
(v2.01), and with Sibelius 6, which doesn’t work in these modes. You’ll
also find that the standard desktop Paint does not work, and Computer
Concepts have written a special module to trap attempts to load it while
in a 32K colour mode. Older applications, such as PC Emulator, Trace and
ChangeFSI don’t work, and some newer ones like Acorn’s PhotoCD partly
work. (It displays the thumbnails of PhotoCD pictures correctly, but an
extracted picture is only correct when viewed in a 256 colour mode −
loading into Publisher shows it in glorious 32768 colours!)
8.5
I’m used to the steady screen now − going back to my old A440 without a
Colourcard is quite a shock!
8.5
Speed
8.5
There is not so much difference in processor speed with my A540, as the
ARM3 processor cache reduces the overhead. It is about 5% faster to use
an equivalent Colourcard 256 colour mode than a standard one, and 2-3%
slower using a 32 thousand colour one. However, when I tried the card
with my trusty old A410, the difference was much more visible. I found I
could use 256 colour modes instead of 16 colour ones, and it still ran
faster than the standard machine.
8.5
Conclusion
8.5
You can have colour images with resolution up to the capabilities of
your monitor, without buying a Risc PC. Some software hasn’t caught up
yet, but it often doesn’t work on the Risc PC either! All the 24-bit
colour software I have tried works, except PhotoCD as above! Some games
from magazine discs etc don’t work, but otherwise I haven’t had any
trouble.
8.5
A greater range of modes would help me even further, though part of this
is my old monitor. I am still jealous of the mode designer available to
VIDC 20 users! For me, the Colourcard Gold at £290 through Archive is
good value in eliminating eye strain, but possibly not worth it now if
you are thinking of a Risc PC in the near future.  A
8.5
APDL’s Clipart CD
8.5
Ted Lacey
8.5
This CD, recently released by David Holden’s APDL Public Domain library,
is a must for anybody who uses clipart in DTP work. Apart from a few
minor hiccups, it has been well put together and, with very few
exceptions, the quality of the items is very good. David and his team
are to be congratulated on their selections − they have weeded out a lot
of the rubbish which has been ported over from the PC public domain.
8.5
Although the majority of the items are public domain, there is a
shareware sub-directory which needs to be used with care because of
copyright considerations. It also needs to be looked at in great detail
in order to find out what the items are − for example, one sub-directory
called GRIN contains 150 files which are numbered!
8.5
The CD contains two main directories, Colour and DTP, and an application
called EarthMap. The inclusion of the last item is a very good idea as I
believe it occupies some 14Mb of space when used on a hard disc. The two
main directories contain some 160 and 310Mb of clipart respectively
organised into various sub-directories and sub-sub-directories by
subject.
8.5
The DTP directory, although mainly black and white, does contain some
colour items. With so many items on the disc, finding a particular item
is going to be a bit of a problem. An alphabetical index would have been
useful, but creating one would involve an enormous amount of work. I
demonstrated this CD at a recent meeting of the Southampton Arc Users
Group. This problem was discussed and I was given a copy of a PD program
called !TreeMenu. It works very well with the CD and provides easy
access to the files contained in the various sub-directories. I think
there are other similar programs available but, never-the-less, I am
sending copies to both Paul and David for possible inclusion on their
respective monthly and special discs. (I’ve put it on monthly disc. Ed.)
8.5
On the minus side, I did find some files which did not work. Having time
on my hands, I ploughed through the entire contents and found twenty
sprites and drawfiles that failed and gave error codes − but that’s a
very tiny percentage of the whole! Some items appear to be in the wrong
sub-directories and I did find a Draw sub-directory which was empty.
Details of these minor gripes are being forwarded to both Paul and
David, again with the idea that these details could be included on their
respective discs so that other users of this CD will not waste time over
these dodgy items.
8.5
APDL make various offers in their sale of this CD. For the personal
user, the return of five or more original discs from APDL’s ‘DP’ or ‘AW’
range will give you a discount of 50p per disc. Most state-run
educational establishments can register for using the CD on a network
for an administration fee of £1.
8.5
All testing of this CD was done on a 9Mb Risc PC. The “funnies” were re-
tested on 5Mb a Risc PC  at my computer club and also on my A3000 − with
the same results.
8.5
For anyone with a large clipart library and who, like me, was
contemplating the purchase of an additional hard disc specifically for
clipart, this CD is the answer − assuming you also have a CD-ROM drive!
If you haven’t got a CD-ROM drive on your Acorn but have access to a PC
fitted with a CD-ROM drive, APDL give details of how to get the material
across onto your Acorn. For the newcomer to the Acorn scene, the cost of
a CD-ROM drive plus the Clipart CD is less than buying some 400 HD
floppy discs containing clipart. This CD is thoroughly recommended to
anyone who uses lots of clipart and will be particularly useful in the
education world.
8.5
The APDL Clip Art CD costs £28 from APDL or £28 through Archive.  A
8.5
Risc PC Screen Modes Made Easy
8.5
Jochen Konietzko
8.5
Thanks to Andrew Garrard’s excellent article in Archive 8.1, p.41ff, we
now know about the way the Risc PC administers screen modes. There are
now at least two mode editors on the market which make building new
screen modes very simple.
8.5
Due to Andrew’s in-depth article, I can concentrate on the handling of
the two programs.
8.5
!MakeModes (version 0.19, Acorn Ltd.)
8.5
This program was provided on the Archive program disc 8.1. It contains a
directory with 35 pre-defined mode files for various monitors and a very
extensive Docs directory.
8.5
If your own definition starts from scratch, you click on the iconbar
icon, and copy the details from your monitor’s manual into the window
which appears on the screen.
8.5
This is also the place to check if any monitor in the list has similar
technical data to yours.
8.5
A click on Generate opens the main window where all those settings
described by Andrew can be made. The program then calculates the
consequences of the values you have chosen and gives a detailed
analysis. In the picture below (in the top right corner of the window) I
have entered a wildly improbable screen mode, and you can see MakeModes’
diagnosis (some of it issued in bright red) (which doesn’t show in mono!
Ed.).
8.5
Very useful is the Test Mode button; if the new mode creates some funny
effects, hitting any key will take you back to the previous mode
setting.
8.5
A minor problem occurs if you wish to edit a monitor description file
which was created outside MakeModes. The program will only accept files
for monitors which are on its MonList file; so, before you start, you
have to enter the monitor into this list.
8.5
!CustomRPC (version 1.04, Thomas Olsson)
8.5
This PD program is somewhat simpler in design than MakeModes. There are
no modes ready for choosing, and the documentation is rudimentary.
8.5
You drag a monitor definition file onto CustomRPC’s iconbar icon, and a
window with all screen modes available in this file opens.
8.5
Clicking <select> on one of the items will display this mode, <menu>
will bring up the options to create a new mode, copy one, edit or save
one, and <adjust> opens the Edit Mode window.
8.5
Unlike MakeModes, this window demands some of the settings in
microseconds. The Try buttons don’t display the Desktop but a series of
concentric circles which show all the colours available in this mode.
8.5
Conclusion
8.5
Altogether, CustomRPC is not quite as powerful as MakeModes. However,
for a quick bit of fine tuning of one of your modes, it is just the
thing.
8.5
MakeModes is truly an excellent little utility which should be on every
Risc PC’s hard disc.  A
8.5
Report Writer
8.5
Paul Cross
8.5
This program is written for teachers and is intended to ease the pain of
writing reports. I have been writing reports for more than a quarter of
a century and it does not get any easier with experience! When I started
writing reports, the personal computer was not available and they were
hand written, so if you made an error or wished to change something you
had to rewrite the whole report. With the introduction of computers, and
all the advantages of word processing, report writing became easier but
there was still the problem of finding suitable words and phrases to say
politely that ‘little Johnnie’ needs a rocket up his trousers to get him
moving!
8.5
Many schools have adopted computerised record and assessment-keeping
modules for use with the office computer systems, and using the
information stored within the system, reports can be generated at the
end of the year. But these reports are, in most cases, less than
satisfactory because, in my opinion, they are bland and lack the
personal touch of an individually thought out report.
8.5
This is where Report Writer is extremely useful and different, as it
acts as a phrase collection, with the added advantage of minimising the
amount of typing needed to produce a report.
8.5
What is Report Writer?
8.5
Report Writer arrives in a large plastic box which contains two discs, a
manual and instructions on how to install the program which can be run
from floppy disc or installed onto hard disc.
8.5
Essentially, the program acts as an interface between the writer and the
word processor that you normally use to write your reports. You need
both Report Writer and your word processor to be loaded onto the iconbar
ready for use.
8.5
Report Writer allows you to access words, phrases, punctuation and data
statements by a few clicks of the mouse button and sends them to the
word processor. It also allows a personal collection of statements to be
added to the data for each subject of the curriculum and these may be
edited and added to at any time. The data disc contains a bank of
statements for each subject in the National Curriculum at Levels 1 − 4.
Additional statements can be created for RE and Personal and Social
Education (General Comments).
8.5
The name and gender of the pupil can be edited and then any statement
that has a ‘he’, ‘him’ or ‘his’ will be altered to ‘she’, ‘her’ or
‘hers’.
8.5
The only limitation I found to its use is that it needs a minimum of 2Mb
of memory to run the program. This is because it has to run alongside
the word processing package.
8.5
The screen opposite shows Report Writer in action. At the top is the
word processor screen, in this case Ovation, with the report form I use
but any word processor and any report form can be used. Below this is
the Report Writer main screen which, as you can see, takes up very
little space. Any word or action can be accessed by a single mouse
click. At the bottom is a section from Level 4 of English AT3 from which
any phrase can be selected and sent to the word processor by a single
mouse click.
8.5
The program is capable of storing 160 user created or edited statements.
In addition to this, you can have 480 statements for RE and Personal and
Social Education, and 160 user-defined phrases and words. This is a vast
amount of data which is stored in a compressed form on a single data
disc.
8.5
In use
8.5
I had finished writing my reports by the time Report Writer arrived but
I set to work examining the program with enthusiasm, the pain of the
past days (actually mainly nights) being still fresh in my mind. Would
it be easy to use? Would it make this time of year a little more
tolerable? Would it improve my report writing? The answer I found was
yes!
8.5
The program works well and, after a very short time, I became adept at
entering text into the word processor. The next stage is to adapt some
of the phrases and add my own collection of gems to the data bank.
8.5
Conclusions
8.5
As with other Creative Curriculum Software, this is a program that has
been thought out by people who obviously know what they are doing. It
does not look anything special but it works well!
8.5
I would certainly recommend that you buy it, but don’t wait until next
summer. You will save yourself a lot of work but you need to start
thinking about what phrases you want to add to the data banks.
8.5
The cost is £49 +VAT for a single user or £89 +VAT for a Primary licence
(10 user) or £149 +VAT for a Secondary site licence.
8.5
One final point, with the review of the National Curriculum and the
change in the Statements of Attainment, the data banks will be out of
date after next summer, but it should be an easy task to update and
replace the data disc.
8.5
This is an excellent program and, in my view, is well worth the money as
it will certainly cut down the many hours I spend writing reports and,
at the same time, improve the quality.  A
8.5
CC’s ArtPad
8.5
Trevor Sutton
8.5
There have been many attempts to provide a more satisfactory tool than
the mouse (or of course the cursor keys) for drawing or painting by
computer.
8.5
I have tried several and always returned to my belief that drawing on a
computer is different and that the zoom facility within most art
programs means that the mouse is an adequate device for the job.
8.5
However, when Computer Concepts sent me their graphics tablet for
review, my mind was instantly and completely changed. The only sad part
is that they said I had to pay for it if I wanted to keep it. Having
used everything from a puck to a concept keyboard for computer art, I
can highly recommend this unique graphics tablet.
8.5
The most amazing feature of ArtPad, which is made by Wacom, is that the
drawing tool is a cordless pen. After about half an hour, I was able to
use the pen for most mouse functions in addition to drawing. My first
try was, of course, with ArtWorks but it replaces mouse actions so you
could play games with it if you felt so moved. The mouse remains
functional so you may prefer to use that for window operations, drag and
drop actions etc.
8.5
The A6 ArtPad which I tried, initially seems a little small. There are
A5 and A4 versions but the price seems to go up in direct proportion. I
feel the A6 size is adequate for home use or even for schools. My twelve
year old daughter was using it confidently and accurately within ten
minutes.
8.5
Unpacking
8.5
Inside the box, as well as the tablet and pen is a power supply which
fits into the plug which connects to the serial port, a 9-25 pin adaptor
and DOS/Windows software.
8.5
Also included is Computer Concepts own software CCtablet which has to be
installed and run for the tablet to function. An optional pen stand
costs £13 +VAT. I guess the pen is worth taking care of since any old
ball point pen will not do!
8.5
ArtPad works in all art packages and the real beauty of it is that
lightly touching the tablet emulates a <select> press on the mouse so to
draw on the tablet you slide the pen over the surface and you take your
pen off the tablet to move without drawing. This is how we draw
naturally and so there is no holding buttons down to emulate pressing
<select>. There is a small switch on the pen barrel which emulates a
<menu> press on the mouse. Touching the pad whilst holding the left
<Alt> key, gives an <adjust> click. It is possible to re-configure these
functions.
8.5
Pressure sensitivity
8.5
The great advantage over other input devices is that the pad is pressure
sensitive. What this means depends on how the software copes with
ArtPad. In ArtWorks and with the new Pressure Tool (see ArtWorks Column)
the harder you press on the tablet as you draw, the broader the line.
8.5
PhotoDesk, the image manipulation software from Spacetech, has a menu
option to allow the use of ArtPad. Again slight pressure allows the area
covered, by whatever effect you have chosen, to increase in size.
8.5
CCTablet
8.5
This software is more than just an invisible user interface for ArtPad −
it provides a variety of configurable options. Most notable is Relative
Mode which makes the pen behave more like the mouse. That is, picking up
the pen and moving it leaves the on-screen pointer in the same place.
Relative Mode off behaves more like a real pencil in your hand, moving
the on-screen pointer to the new position.
8.5
Calligraphy mode allows a pseudo-calligraphy pen action to be used with
the ArtWorks pressure module. This is useful for producing various
effects and not just for handwriting as I describe in the ArtWorks
Column.
8.5
In conclusion then, I would thoroughly recommend ArtPad to serious
computer artists. It is not cheap but it is a sophisticated and, from
what I have seen so far, a sturdy piece of hardware. I’d love one!
8.5
A6 ArtPad & drivers + the pressure tool costs £179 +VAT from Computer
Concepts or £209 inclusive through Archive. The A5 pad + software is
£409 +VAT or £475 through Archive and the A4 pad + software is £559 +VAT
or £650 through Archive. (PhotoDesk costs £169.95 +VAT from Spacetech or
£185 through Archive.)  A
8.5
Spreadsheets Take to the Water
8.5
Richard Readings
8.5
I regularly spend my time getting cold and wet while I try to manoeuvre
a sailing dinghy at least as fast as a dozen or so others around a
series of cans. I return with a piece of paper bearing the results of
the race, which is usually one of a series for which places need to be
calculated overall.
8.5
A couple of years ago, I noticed an Apple Macintosh computer apparently
being used to calculate the results of such a series with a spreadsheet
program. That seemed a good idea, though it turned out that it was only
being used to format and print the results, which were still being
calculated by a Mk1 brain. I thought it must be possible to get the
spreadsheet to do the work, with a proper computer, so I decided to have
a go.
8.5
PipeDream
8.5
I discovered one major problem with this approach. In those days, I was
using PipeDream which included an enormous range of built-in functions
but was probably not designed by anyone who belonged to a sailing club!
I had to resort to writing my own “custom function” which calculated the
points awarded for each race. The “Place Points” system is normally
used, whereby the winner is awarded ¾ of a point, second place 2 points,
third place 3 points and so on. Boats that do not score finishing points
(e.g. one that retires before the finish, usually preferring the comfort
of the bar) are awarded a number of points relative to the declared
entry, e.g. boats entered plus one. Writing the function for retirements
proved a fairly straightforward task, considerably easier than scoring
just ¾ of a point in the actual race!
8.5
At the end of a long series of races, it’s usual to count just half of
the races (rounded up) and to discard the worst results. This is where
life with PipeDream became difficult. Another custom function was
required to do this and it turned out to be quite complex. Although you
can pass an array to a PipeDream function, I’ve never figured out a way
to sort the array within the function, so I had to find other ways to
extract the best results from the array. Although PipeDream provides an
index function to read data from an array there doesn’t seem to be a way
to write data back into the array.
8.5
A further problem arises when a boat is awarded “average points” for a
race, usually when the crew perform some noble task such as manning the
rescue boat. Average points are defined as the average of the points
awarded to her in the races which she will count in the series. I
eventually wrote a series of custom functions which performed this task,
but when I came to calculate the results of a series of a dozen or so
races, with an entry of about twenty boats, my trusty ARM3 processor
almost ground to a halt.
8.5
Excel
8.5
I then transferred my attention to an office PC, running Excel v4.0.
Although I prefer the RISC OS desktop environment to Windows, I found
that Excel offered a number of significant advantages over PipeDream.
The first was an improved ability to format the data to improve the
presentation − using different fonts, sizes and row heights, etc. A more
important advantage was the macro language. Excel allowed me to write a
custom function which could take an array and sort it, for example.
Within a single custom function, I could now:
8.5
  a) convert places to points (e.g. first place = 0.75          points)
8.5
  b) sort the points into ascending order
8.5
  c) calculate average points (if any)
8.5
  d) sort the points into ascending order again
8.5
  e) return the sum of the points for the races to be          counted
8.5
Two further bonus items were that I could understand the function once I
had written it, and it was much quicker to compute, by virtue of its
simplicity.
8.5
Resultz
8.5
Excel meant that I had to suffer Windows so I looked at other
spreadsheets available for RISC OS which might compare with Excel.
Resultz was an early candidate. It provided formatting capabilities akin
to Excel, though I personally found these difficult to use, perhaps
having become accustomed to Excel. However, it inherited the PipeDream
macro language and its limitations with array handling, and so was
quickly eliminated.
8.5
Eureka 2
8.5
The next candidate was Eureka 2, sometimes dubbed ‘Excel for RISC OS’.
This proved to be a well-earned title. Although it could not accept
Excel files directly, I copied the data and custom function via CSV
format files (Lotus 1-2-3 is another common format). With just one minor
change to the argument list in the custom function, everything sprang
into life, except the column which contained the final placings. I had
used the RANK function in Excel to calculate these, but this is not
available in Eureka so I had to write my own as another custom function.
But, in general, having learnt to use Excel, Eureka was a breeze, and
I’m sure the converse would apply.
8.5
Eureka 3
8.5
Unfortunately, Eureka 2 was slower than Excel and did lack some
facilities, e.g. background calculation, print preview, UNDO button and
the aforementioned RANK function. The lack of background calculation on
a spreadsheet which can take two or three minutes to re-calculate is
painful.
8.5
Along came Eureka 3 which provides background calculation and runs a
little faster too, but still no UNDO button, RANK function or print
preview. However, it would have been a big help when I moved the data
across from Excel, whose .xls files it can read directly. C’est la vie!
A partial solution to the lack of print preview lies in a PD utility,
!RiScript, which displays PostScript printer files on screen.
8.5
One feature of Eureka 3 which I particularly like is its ability to
print in background with !Printers 1.22. I only wish Impression could do
the same!
8.5
The results for the first six places in a typical series, produced by
Eureka, is shown opposite.
8.5
It’s interesting to compare calculation times for a series of twenty
races with 26 entries:
8.5
PipeDream 4 on an A420/1 with ARM3  726 s
8.5
Eureka 2 on an A420/1 with ARM3  210 s
8.5
Eureka 3 on an A420/1 with ARM3  183 s
8.5
Excel 4 on an 8Mb 25MHz 386 laptop  50 s
8.5
Excel 4 on an 16Mb 50MHz 486 PC  25 s
8.5
Excel 5 on a 32Mb 166MHz DEC Alpha  3 s
8.5
Although PipeDream appears relatively slow, I believe this is a result
of the relative complexity of the custom functions. However, I would
have expected Eureka on an ARM3-equipped A420 to have given Excel a
closer run for its money on a modest 386 PC. I’ve never had the
opportunity to try Schema, but if its macro language lives up to its
reputation, it could easily prove a match for Eureka for this
application.  A
8.5
FIRST − Statistical Package
8.5
Brian Cowan
8.5
The name FIRST, often abbreviated as 1ST, is an acronym for the
descriptive title of this product: Fully Interactive Regression
STatistics. This started life as a program written for the old BBC
computer, and it has been expanded and enhanced ever since. Even now the
process is continuing, and FIRST is certainly the most comprehensive
package of its type ever likely to be found for the RISC OS platform.
8.5
Different versions
8.5
As well as the full version of 1ST, there is a Junior version called
1STJr and an eLementary version, called 1STL. These all have the same
front end and the same “feel”, only differing in the range of facilities
provided − and the price. Both 1STJr and 1STL will cope with up to 40
columns and 400 rows of data, while the capacity of the full 1ST is
limited only by machine RAM.
8.5
The original versions of FIRST were a single-tasking programs. It has
now been “desktop-ised” quite successfully, but its origins still show
through. The windows and menus, etc have been designed to function well
for their particular applications rather than for conformity with many
of the RISC OS conventions. This can be very confusing to seasoned RISC
OS users. Some menus appear as a set of “buttons”, and often it is not
obvious which menu option should be chosen or how to navigate the menu
tree to arrive at the desired destination.
8.5
Data entry and import
8.5
Data is conventionally entered into 1ST manually, in a spreadsheet form.
A very good aspect of this is that, in contrast to usual spreadsheets,
the data is typed directly into the selected cell, which is very
intuitive. However, things become confusing when editing a set of data
because when a cell is selected, its original entry is not visible. I
would suggest the entry should be visible but greyed-out until actually
modified.
8.5
Data is stored in 1ST’s internal file format with its own filetype. This
seems to be compressed, and incomprehensible when viewed with a
conventional text editor. Such files can be loaded into 1ST by clicking
on them or by dropping them on the 1ST icon or a 1ST window. It is also
possible to import CSV files that have either the CSV or the text
filetype. This is quite a powerful import facility, allowing the user
choice over both the field and the row separator. This means that files
produced by a variety of programs and data-logging equipment can be
imported with ease.
8.5
Display
8.5
Having entered or imported data, now the fun starts. The first thing you
might want to do is to plot the data to get a visual impression before
regression or processing in some way. The numerical data will be
displayed on the screen in a spreadsheet window. Opening a menu window
on this data gives a selection of options from which to choose. “Display
...” is not what is needed. This controls what is displayed of the
spreadsheet window. You have to click on “Menu Open”, whereupon you are
confronted with a set of options, the main menu, including one labelled
“Plotting”. Clicking on this opens quite a complicated window which
controls the Graphs options. Here you can select the graph type
required, the shape of the plot points, axes, labels, etc.
8.5
Data manipulation, regression, etc are all controlled from the main
menu. Thus, returning to the main menu you can select a model for
fitting the current data and then return to the plotting options for
display. The graph below shows an example of 1ST’s capabilities. The
solid line is a cubic polynomial fitted to the data points and forced
through the origin. This is probably quite un-physical, but it indicates
what can be done with just a few clicks of the mouse. The shaded area
shows the region of the 95% confidence interval.
8.5
The plotting options are certainly very powerful but I would like to see
a larger selection of plotting points, as well as control over the
displayed grid, bounding box, logarithmic axes, etc. There is the
facility to add annotations to the graphs, although the placing of these
is a bit hit-and-miss. However, since the graphs may be exported as
drawfiles, such editing is best done at a later stage in Draw. If a
utility like Chris Johnson’s Text>Draw program is used then the
possibilities for text and mathematical annotations are limitless.
8.5
Statistical functions
8.5
The major strength of 1ST is its truly enormous range of statistical
procedures available including many with which I am not fully conversant
and some which I have never even heard of!
8.5
It is possible to effect various transformations on the table of data
using either the built-in functions or by building more complicated
transformations as Basic-like expressions. Comprehensive linear and non-
linear regression, including robust methods, are provided. There is
analysis of variance, including Student’s t test. One, two and three-way
Anova modules are provided. Time series techniques are provided, and
there is a module of non-parametric statistics. There are many, many
other facilities available as well, including Chisquare analysis, cross
tabulation and survival analysis.
8.5
In scientific curve fitting, I found the non-linear regression function
a little clumsy to use. There is the choice of either built-in or user-
defined functions, but in both cases you have to enter guesses for
initial values and step increments of the parameters. Unfortunately, it
is difficult to remember which variable is which unless you have jotted
the formula down on paper first. So long as sensible values are entered,
the regression works very nicely. The fit can be displayed as a graph
and it is also possible to view or export a Report window giving full
details of the fit.
8.5
On-line manual
8.5
The 1ST package comprises two main applications, the 1ST program and the
manual. These install in the iconbar essentially independently. However,
there is a clever linking from 1ST to the manual so that if the manual
window is open then according to whatever 1ST option is being selected,
the appropriate page of the manual is displayed. I think the on-line
manual is a very good idea, although in its present form it appears
simply as sheets of Help pages from the non-desktop version of 1ST.
These appear as the front window, almost always obscuring the window one
wishes to type into! Apart from this complaint, this form of the manual
is very useful. It would be even better if it incorporated a search and/
or index option.
8.5
Demo
8.5
Beginners will find the 1STDemo application most impressive. When this
is run, there is a display of some twelve graphs produced by 1ST,
demonstrating various of its features. I call them graphs, but really
they are full colour pictures − works of art appropriate for any
publication.
8.5
Conclusion
8.5
This is a most powerful product, particularly for statistical
applications rather than other sorts of scientific data processing,
plotting and presentation. It is rather non-intuitive in the arrangement
of the menu structures − particularly if you are familiar with the usual
RISC OS conventions. There are still some rather strange bugs, but this
is a very sophisticated product which is still under development. If you
are involved in statistical analysis of data, you should have a serious
look at this product. And nothing could be easier, as on application you
can obtain a fully-functioning loan copy of 1ST to see how it measures
up to your requirements.
8.5
Prices from Serious Statistical Software, are £205 for 1ST, £105 for
1STJr, £70 for 1STL. (VAT not applicable.) There are discounts for
educational use and for multiple copies.  A
8.5
Barcodes
8.5
Dave Floyd
8.5
Barcodes is an application by Kang Software that generates barcodes in
Draw format.  The package costs £85 inclusive direct from Kang Software
and requires RISC OS 3 or above in order to run.
8.5
Background
8.5
There can surely be nobody nowadays who is unaware of what a barcode is.
Everywhere you look, from newspapers and magazines to tins of soup,
somewhere on the packaging appears the ubiquitous and seemingly
meaningless pattern of vertical lines which can be read by electronic
point of sale (EPOS) scanners at the checkout of the supermarket or
chain store. That barcodes make life far easier for large stores is
undeniable. Stock records can be automatically updated, there is no need
to individually price each item on the shelf and mistakes made when
entering prices at the till are eradicated, assuming that the
information has been correctly entered into the system.
8.5
Stores that use an EPOS system claim that it is far more efficient than
manual methods and it benefits the customer by allowing them to pass
through the checkout more quickly and therefore face smaller queues than
would otherwise be the case.
8.5
Implications
8.5
Like them or loathe them, barcodes are here to stay, and this provides a
problem for the small business. While the cost of barcoding products for
companies such as EMI or Harper Collins is minimal in view of the large
production runs undertaken by these companies, the cost of barcoding
becomes proportionately higher when you are dealing with small
quantities. Although there is no legal requirement to include barcodes,
if you want your product to be stocked by one or more of the major
chains, you effectively have little choice as most will no longer accept
non-barcoded product.
8.5
Any software that can make barcoding cheaper and more convenient is
therefore very welcome. Registration with the appropriate authority
still has to be done, and the manual for Barcodes helpfully provides the
names and addresses where information can be obtained in this respect.
Where the software helps Archimedes owners to cut costs, is by replacing
the production process of barcodes, usually carried out by specialist
printers, allowing the process to be achieved totally in-house.
8.5
The software
8.5
Barcode software has been available on the IBM PC and Apple Macintosh
for some time now and, price-wise, the Barcodes package for the
Archimedes compares very favourably with what is available on these
platforms. Included with the review copy of the software was a copy of
an advert for a comparable package on the IBM-PC which was priced at
£149.99 +VAT. A cursory search through PCW revealed that this was,
indeed, the cheapest available for the PC, so full marks have to be
awarded in the price department to Kang Software.
8.5
The application is fully RISC OS compliant and installs onto the iconbar
using a mere 80Kb of memory (or 96Kb on my A440 due to memory page
size). Clicking <menu> over the icon reveals a menu which allows you to
choose between EAN8, EAN13, ISSN, ISBN and BIC barcode formats. The
software also allows you to save your choices as the default and
activate the Acorn Help utility to provide on-line help for using the
application.
8.5
An interesting idea, which I have not come across before, is an option
which allows you to toggle between right-handed and left-handed menu
structures. If you select left-handed, sub menus appear to the left of
the menu rather than the right. Being right-handed myself, I cannot
really judge the usefulness of such an option but I can see that it may
well be more logical for left-handed people to work in this way. Full
marks, therefore, for consideration, and perhaps other Archimedes
software producers may wish to implement a similar function into their
products or Acorn may wish to consider this for a future release of RISC
OS.
8.5
Clicking with <select> or <adjust> on the Barcodes icon displays the
main barcode generation window. A menu is available, once again allowing
you to select between the five main types of barcode, but with extra
options which allow you to adjust the size and bar thickness of the
resulting barcode. As different printers and printer technologies can be
used, trial and error (and perhaps a discussion with your Printer) will
have to be used here to gain the optimum output from your system, but
once you have discovered which configuration best suits you, it can also
be saved with the options so that Barcodes will be loaded as you want it
each time.
8.5
The creation of barcodes is literally a case of typing in the code or
ISBN/ISSN number of your product into a writable icon within the window
and saving your barcode as a drawfile. The barcode and checksum required
are calculated instantaneously by the program, as is checking the
validity of the ISBN or ISSN number you type in and rejecting incorrect
entries. Add-on codes are catered for, and whether to have the ISBN
number printed as part of the barcode is optional.
8.5
Conclusion
8.5
Whether or not you need barcoding software will be a far more clear cut
decision than for many other pieces of software. £85 is cheap when
compared to the competition on other machines, and will repay itself
very quickly in allowing you to generate your own rather than paying
somebody else to generate them for you. The software is well-designed
and is so easy to use that anybody with even a smattering of computer
literacy will have no problem whatsoever in using it. The left-handed
menu option is inspired and, try as I might, I have failed to make the
program hang up or do anything that it does not set out to do. The
manual is short, yet full of information, and I cannot really think of
anything else that could have been included in it. In short, I can find
nothing at all to criticise about Barcodes, and if you have a need for
this kind of software can wholeheartedly recommend its purchase.  A
8.5
David Pilling’s BubbleHelp
8.5
Jochen Konietzko
8.5
Acorn’s !Help application with its window in a fixed spot is rather
unpleasant to use but David Pilling’s neat little utility, BubbleHelp,
changes this by presenting help messages the Mac way. (Actually, it was
written by Miles Sabine.)
8.5
The package
8.5
BubbleHelp (£5 from DP or £5 through Archive) comes on one disc in a
plastic wrapper with a nine-page A5 manual which describes the program
in considerable detail − even including hints for programmers who want
to incorporate an “Info Button” into their own software, so that it can
make use of BubbleHelp.
8.5
Installation
8.5
BubbleHelp can be run from a hard disc − double-clicking on its icon in
a directory window installs it on the iconbar in the usual way.
8.5
The iconbar icon can be blank − program inactive − or ticked; in this
case help messages appear at the position of the pointer whenever it
does not move (the time delay before the message appears can be
configured).
8.5
Configuration
8.5
BubbleHelp can be configured very extensively − there is an entry in the
Run file to determine which of the many bubble shapes provided on the
disc will be chosen (the disc also contains instructions for designing
your own Bubble Sprites), and an Impression-like Configuration window
allows the setting of just about every aspect from the font to use,
through the key combination for the “help key”, to installation as a
single user or a network version − every user connected to the net can
have his or her own settings.
8.5
Any font on your system can be used to display the help messages.
8.5
Operation
8.5
After you have configured BubbleHelp to your taste, it will work
automatically, intercepting all queries directed to Acorn’s Help. In
case a program looks for Help by its absolute path in Resources, there
is a module which starts BubbleHelp instead.
8.5
All you will have to do is toggle the help action − and also the iconbar
icon − on and off with the respective key combinations.
8.5
Problems with version 2.02, 21-Sep-94
8.5
When the help function is on, BubbleHelp sometimes gets confused with
mouse clicks. For example, instead of a single click, you may have to
perform a double-click.
8.5
Sometimes when the pointer is over a directory window (as ahown
opposite), only a small part of the bubble appears. This may, however,
be a problem to do with my Colour Card, and the effect only seems to
appear in a few modes (my regular mode 110 works perfectly).
8.5
Requirements
8.5
BubbleHelp needs RISC OS from 3.10 onwards and, according to the manual,
it will work on the Risc PC. (But see the PS opposite.)
8.5
Conclusion
8.5
This is a program which is actually quite unnecessary because, after
all, Acorn’s Help application does work... but I love it! At £5 from or
Archive, it is highly recommended!  A
8.5
P.S. for German users
8.5
I have just switched to RISC OS 3.50D (German), and I am very much
afraid that I can’t use BubbleHelp any more; the reason is that the
program simply doesn’t use the help messages that would normally be
displayed in Acorn’s Help window, but comes equipped with a massive file
full of help messages, many of them with parameters.
8.5
This leads to garbled “Help” messages. So, until translated versions
appear, only users of English RISC OS owners should buy BubbleHelp.
8.5
Ready for Publication
8.5
We have a lot of articles ready waiting for magazine space. I usually
send a postcard to the contributor so that they know it has arrived
safely but over the Christmas holidays, I edited several articles at
home and can’t remember which ones got acknowledged − so here is a list
of those I’ve got as of 8/1/95.
8.5
ABC of Art  Christopher Jarman
8.5
Arctic  John Woodthorpe
8.5
Betsi  Richard Rymarz
8.5
Bitfolio More Cartoon  Dave Wilcox
8.5
Chess II  Tord Eriksson
8.5
ClassCardz for Wordz  Douglas Stalker
8.5
Clicker  Hutch Curry
8.5
Colour  Christopher Bell
8.5
Duck Loses His Quack  Stuart Bell
8.5
First Page  Richard Rymarz
8.5
Flyprint 2.50  Dave Wilcox
8.5
Font Designers Toolkit  Christopher Jarman
8.5
Font Directory  G. T. Swain
8.5
Goldilocks  Joe Gallagher
8.5
HP Laserjet 4  Charles Woodbridge
8.5
ImageFS  Dave Floyd
8.5
Keyboard Emulation  Dave Wilcox
8.5
Landbuild  Chris Whitworth
8.5
Langdale  Nick Harris
8.5
Lenses & Light  Charles Hill
8.5
Letraset and URW Fonts  Christopher Jarman
8.5
Look! Hear!   Richard Rymarz
8.5
Lots more Fun & Games  Richard Rymarz
8.5
Photobase  Paul Hooper
8.5
Report Writer  Paul Cross
8.5
Shareholder Professional  Dave Wilcox
8.5
Softcrete  Andrew Rawnsley
8.5
Sound in Special Needs  Neville Dalton
8.5
Voyage of Discovery  Denise Bates
8.5
WimpGen 2  Paul Hobbs  A
8.5
Club News
8.5
The ARM Club will be holding an Open Day at Merton Court School, Sidcup,
Kent on Saturday 19th March 1995. Most of the stands will be run by
members showing how they use their Acorn machines but there will also be
a selection of commercial companies. The theme of the event will be
geared towards education.
8.5
Everyone is welcome between 10 and 4 and light refreshments will be
served throughout the day.  A
8.5

An up-hill battle for Acorn
8.6
Anyone who thinks that life is going to be easy in this next couple of
years for Acorn (and any companies, like NCS, who depend entirely on
Acorn for their livelihood) is living in cloud cuckoo land. If the PC
card had been available in 1994, things would have been very different −
but you can’t live on if’s.
8.6
We have the technology...
8.6
As I’m sure you are aware, Acorn have the leading edge technology that
will take us into the 21st century. No other manufacturer can produce
RISC chips of such high processing power, low physical power and low
cost. The potential is tremendous... set-top boxes, multi-processor
computers, etc.
8.6
...and we have the prejudice
8.6
It’s the education market that has kept Acorn going for years, but being
linked with education has been Acorn’s undoing when trying to sell into
the ‘real world’. Read the Comment Column (page 15) to see some of the
prejudice we face... but read there also about how I think we can help
to overcome that prejudice. If Archive readers take my suggestions
seriously, I believe that we can make the difference.
8.6
Go for it!
8.6
Products Available
8.6
•  Advance upgrade − Acorn Advance has been upgraded: It is no longer
copy-protected so that installation is quicker, the spreadsheet size has
been increased from 5,000 to 10,000 and it is now fully Risc PC-
compatible. The upgrade is done through Acorn Direct  and costs £29.95
(single user), £39.95 (primary site licence), £49.95 (secondary) − all
prices inc VAT. Send cheque or credit card information to Acorn Direct
along with proof of purchase. For the single user, this means sending
your program disc (not the data discs) and for site licence owners,
sending your licence agreement. The upgrade offer lasts only until 30th
June 1995.
8.6
We have two copies of the current version of Advance in stock (drat!),
so if anyone wants to buy one, they are available at £50 each. If you
upgraded them through Acorn Direct, you would only pay a total of £79.95
instead of the normal Archive price of £105.
8.6
•  Aleph One PC podules – The PC cards for pre-Risc PC have benefited
from the price cuts in the PC market. A bare 50MHz card costs £399 +VAT
from Aleph One and a 25MHz version costs £339 +VAT. The cards then need
standard SIMM memory to be added.
8.6
•  All New Talking Animated Alphabet − Sherston’s BBC Micro product, The
Animated Alphabet, has been updated for the Archimedes and Risc PC.
Using the same speech technology as the Talking Stories, the pack
features three activities dealing with visual and aural letter
discrimination and letter recognition. Children can see a letter
changing into an object which starts with the same sound, whilst hearing
the letter’s sound. All New Talking Animated Alphabet costs £29.95 +VAT
from Sherston or £33 through Archive.
8.6
•  Arcturus – a new game from Oregan Software involving piloting a
spinning craft across numerous landscapes, avoiding nasties and
collecting goodies. The cost is £24.95 from Oregan or £24 through
Archive. See the review on page 49.
8.6
•  Canon BJC4000 – Computer Concepts have released the Canon BJC4000
colour inkjet printer, bundled with a special version of their latest
Version 4 TurboDriver software. Unlike the BJC600 the printer has two
cartridges, a high speed mono, approximately twice as fast as the BJ200,
and offers resolutions of up to 720dpi using interpolation. A colour
cartridge allows 360dpi colour output. The price is £445.32 inclusive
from CC.
8.6
•  CD-Net2 − Cumana have upgraded their CD-ROM server for Acorn
networks. New features include predefined settings for most CD-ROM
titles, which can be reconfigured if desired. Changes to the discs
loaded in the server will be reflected by the clients so the users know
which are available. PC discs for DOS and Windows are also now
supported, which can be run via the PC Emulator or PC second processor
card. The performance has improved since the original version and Acorn
AUN/Access, SJ Research Nexus, Oak ClassNet and TCP/IP are all
supported. CD-Net 2 costs £175 +VAT from Cumana, registered users of CD-
Net 1.50 or later qualify for the free upgrade path.
8.6
•  CD-ROM drives − Two new CD-ROM drives are now available from Eesox.
The Silver 2 is a 2.4 speed drive which, say Eesox, is in some tests
almost as fast as some quad speed drives (360Kb/s) because of the fast
(220ms) access time and the 256Kb internal cache. The main thing about
it is the very keen price − £195 inclusive through Archive for the
Risc PC internal version and £280 for the external version. If you want
a quad speed drive, their Gold drive (600Kb/s + 225ms access time) is a
caddy-loading drive at £360 for an internal (Risc PC) drive and £440 for
an external drive through Archive.
8.6
These are SCSI devices, so you need a computer with a SCSI interface.
(We suggest the Morley uncached card at £160, or the cached version at
£220 or the Cumana SCSI II at £235 plus £27 for a SCSI II cable if using
it with an external drive.)
8.6
•  Chair prices rising − If you are thinking of buying a Wing chair, now
is the time because, apparently, the prices are increasing in March. The
Stokke Wing chair (see Archive 8.3 p4) is currently £320 inc VAT and
carriage through Archive.
8.6
•  Clicker Plus − The updated version of Crick Computing’s Clicker
package can now handle colour graphics and symbols as well as sound and
text. An on-screen keyboard displays a number of cells. when a cell is
clicked, the word or picture is inserted into the word processor in use.
Speech can also be used so children can hear their choice. An upgrade
from Clicker is £20 +VAT, the full Clicker Plus package is £55 +VAT from
Crick Computing.
8.6
•  Concept Keyboard Support Pack − A collection of datafiles and
overlays for use with the Concept Keyboard, based on ideas from teachers
of Key Stages 1 and 2. Topics include Myself, Weather, Direction Giving,
Sequencing, Alphabet, Keyboard, Colours, Shapes, Sizes, Seed Growth,
Number Bonds and Coins. A number of blank A3 and A4 overlays are also
supplied. The price is £20 +VAT from Hampshire Micro Technology Centre.
8.6
•  Conjuguez − The Conjuguez package from Creative Curriculum Software
has been revised and there are now three versions. Conjuguez! comes with
800 verbs in seven levels from beginner to GCSE level and costs £16.98
+VAT. Conjuguez Plus covers from beginner to A-level with 3500 verbs and
costs £25.49 +VAT. Owners can upgrade from Conjuguez to Conjuguez Plus
at a later date. Conjuguez Education has all the features of Conjuguez
Plus, with an additional facility to add more verbs to those supplied,
allowing the student to progress beyond A-level. The price is £39 +VAT
for a single user version, or £89 +VAT for a site/network licence from
Creative Curriculum Software.
8.6
•  Easy C++ − Beebug have released Easy C++ the first native RISC OS C++
compiler. Using a similar interface to Easy C, the complexities of
compiling and linking are reduced, although there is a command line
interface if you need the additional control. The software is supplied
with the standard C and C++ (iostream) libraries. Easy C++ is £99 +VAT
(£110 through Archive), the upgrade from Easy C is £49 +VAT. Easy C is
still available for £59 +VAT (£67 through Archive).
8.6
•  HeartBeat − This is a package of heart monitoring hardware and
software produced by VTI and Health Care Technology as part of the
CardioSport range. A receiver plugs into the serial port and a
transmitter is strapped onto the chest. The software allows heart
information to be recorded and can analyse the calorific burn rate,
maximum and minimum heart rate and so on. Results can be displayed in
graph or table forms. The cost is £99 +VAT from VTI.
8.6
• Heavy mouse balls – Weighing in at four times heavier than the
standard mouse ball, these fit neatly into the Acorn mouse, giving it a
more positive response. They are available from Oak Consultants for £3
including postage, packing and VAT. (I have put this entry in again
because we now have the address of Oak Consultants. Ed.)
8.6
•  Holy Bible − ExpLAN are just finalising the licence agreements on
their Holy Bible software, a multimedia package using electronic texts
from around the world. High quality graphics, multiple versions, fast
searches, read-only commentaries, user-created notes, cross-referencing.
The base pack comprises Authorised Version and Strong’s Concordance at
£70 +VAT for the single user version, and £199 +VAT for a site licence.
Additional full modules are: NRSV with study notes (CUP), REB with
educational resources (CUP), Russian with Cryllic fonts (Licht in
Ostern). These are available for an additional £45 +VAT each and the NIV
Anglicised (Hodder) is an additional £25 +VAT. Carriage is also extra.
(Archive prices are £80, £225, £52 and £28 respectively through
Archive.)
8.6
•  Junior Insight – This is a new data-logging application from Longman
Logotron to assist in experiments for Key Stages 2 and 3. It is capable
of display and capture of analogue or digital data at a user-specified
sample rate. Results can be displayed as tables or graphs, and the
graphs may be overlaid so comparisons can be made. Analysis options can
calculate the gradient of a slope or the area under a curve. It is
compatible with interfaces such as Unilab, Sense and Control, LogIT,
SenseIT and the Philip Harris hardware. A single user version costs £29
+VAT.
8.6
•  Lots More Fun & Games − HS Software have produced a set of three
games aimed at 5 to 9 year olds. Dataday teaches the days of the week
and months of the year in sequence. Spot the Blot involves visual
perception and discrimination skills and Gwyn’s World involves shape
recognition and fractions. Lots More Fun & Games costs £22.95 from HS,
or £22 through Archive.
8.6
•  MathMania − In this educational game from Topologika Software,
children have to help the teacher escape from a maze, answering
questions on Number, Time, Measurement, Angles, Shape & Space. Questions
can be at four difficulty levels, the first two corresponding to Key
Stage 2, and levels 3 and 4 to Key Stages 3 and 4. There are also five
puzzles which occur at the end of a maze before the player can move on
to the next, more difficult, maze. The price is £25 +VAT (£28 through
Archive), site licences are an additional £25 for primary and £40 for
secondary (£28 and £45 through Archive).
8.6
•  Meteosat RISC consists of a CD-ROM and Acorn software to run it. The
CD is produced by the European Space Agency and contains 23000 images
from the geostationary Meteosat satellite. There is an infra red image
of the whole Earth taken each day from 1986 to 1991. In addition, there
is one image per month in visible light and assorted extra images of
water vapour and snow storms. The software supplied includes !Meteosat
to access the pictures in date order, !Palmake to edit the displayed
colours, and !SpMovie to create an animation showing weather
development. The package is available from Musbury Consultants for £30
inclusive. Note that you must specify if you are using a Risc PC because
an enhanced set of applications are supplied.
8.6
•  Non-Designer’s Design Book − This book by Robin Williams has
absolutely nothing to do with Acorn computers! However, it is really an
excellent guide showing how to make the best use of those DTP facilities
that most of us possess yet few of us (including me) have been trained
to handle. It explains the basic principles of page layout, using fonts,
etc, in such a way that (a) it is easy to understand and (b) it is
memorable. This means that you actually put into practice the things
that you have read. (See Mark Howe’s review, on page 23) The price is
£13 inc p&p.
8.6
•  Oak Recorder Update − Both versions of the Oak Recorder sound
sampler, supplied by Solent Computer Products, are now being shipped
with the latest version of the SoundLab software, which features a
button bar for ease of use, amplifying, fading, echo, filtering and can
convert between a number of different formats. Oak Recorder 2 for
earlier systems costs £39.95 + £3 p&p +VAT, Oak Recorder 3 for machines
with a bidirectional parallel port (i.e. A5000 or later) costs £44.95 +
£3 +VAT.
8.6
•  OMR Supplement − A new extension to the Iota DataPower database
allows the database to read Optical Mark Reader forms. It will read DRS
SOS files, which describe where to look on the OMR form for data, and
from it creates a DataPower database ready for use. The completed forms
can then be read directly from the completed forms into the Database
ready for analysis, assuming you have the necessary reader. Possible
uses include assessment, end of year reports, attendance reports and
multiple choice examinations. The supplement costs £99 +VAT from Iota
Software, and you will need a copy of DataPower if you do not already
have it. Optical Mark Readers start at £2000 from DRS.
8.6
•  Picture Point – This package, aimed at Key Stage 1 pupils, to
introduce them to data handling. Children can perform surveys with a
simple point-and-click interface. The survey can then be displayed
graphically as a bar chart, pie chart or a pictogram. When clicked on,
the graphs will actually speak to explain the relationship between the
numbers on the graph. The data can be exported into Junior pinpoint or
spreadsheets. The single user version costs £29 +VAT from Longman
Logotron or £32 through Archive.
8.6
•  Printer Port Sampler − VTI have released a new version of their
printer port sound sampler, capable of sampling simultaneously from line
as well as mic inputs for mixing sound sources. A microphone is supplied
with the package, along with the Sonor sample editing software. The
price is £44.95 +VAT.
8.6
•  PublishArt − Smart DTP have produced a clipart resource pack
featuring designs for use in DTP packages rather than drawings or
pictures. Included are QuickPapers, highlights, page layout, patters,
stencils symbols and backdrops. The price is £29.95 inclusive.
8.6
•  Rainbow Multimedia – This is a new picture-based multimedia package
from Longman Logotron. It is designed to assist development of a child’s
writing, language and object recognition skills and enables pictures,
animation, video, text, speech, music and sounds to be combined to
produce interactive books. Rainbow Multimedia costs £29 +VAT +p&p from
Longman Logotron or £33 through Archive.
8.6
•  Report Writer − After the review last month (8.5 p70), Creative
Curriculum Software’s report-writing software is proving particularly
popular amongst teachers and lecturers, so we have decided to stock it
at £56 inclusive.
8.6
•  ReSound − NW Semerc have produced a printer port sound sampler which
can sample from the supplied microphone or from other sources via the
line input. It is supplied with software to allow editing of the
captured samples. The price is £42 +VAT from NW Semerc.
8.6
•  RISC OS 3.1 Style Guide − This product has been available and then
not available... but now it is available again − £10 inc p&p through
Archive.
8.6
•  Speech II − Superior Software have upgraded their speech synthesizer.
It now has an extra 3,500 words, improved speech quality, improved word
editing facility for special words, interactive help support, is hard
disc installable, has accented characters, foreign language support – a
German extension is available − and the new Speech module can be used
directly with Talking PenDown and Full Phases to give much improved
speech. The upgrade from Speech costs £10 inclusive, £15 if you want
German Speech. Single user copies are £29.95 inc VAT or 34.95 for German
Speech and site licences are available from Superior Software.
8.6
•  Spelling Book − This is designed to assist pupils (aged 4+) with
their writing when using a word processor and to help them learn
spellings. The software allows words to be input into any multitasking
word processor or DTP package, dictionary maintenance is simple, and a
wide selection are supplied. These include basic words, and sets for the
common National Curriculum topic areas. A quiz section is also provided
which allows the dictionaries to be used in missing letter type games.
The price is £39 +VAT for a single user version, or £89 +VAT for a site
licence, from Creative Curriculum Software.
8.6
•  TableCalc − This spreadsheet, for RISC OS 3.1 or later, supports
interactive help, point and click expression definitions and full OLE
support for Impression Publisher. It can export Draw and CSV files,
supports 24-bit colour and multiple text styles. The price is £30 +
£1.50 from iSV Products.
8.6
•  Talking Clocks − Any user with RISC OS 2 or later can use this
package which encourages children to examine clocks, learning to read
and set them. Clocks can have hand or digital faces and speak the time
when clicked on. There are four parts ‘Say the time’ allows the player
to build up a sentence to speak the time shown on the clock, ‘Set the
Clock’ teaches children to set the clock to a time given in words,
‘Match the Clocks’ requires a clock to be set to the same time as a
second clock and for ‘How much Time?’, the child needs to calculate the
time difference between two clocks. The package records children’s work
which can then be printed out and most tools are configurable. It is
available from Topologika Software for £35 +VAT (or £39 through Archive)
for a single user licence. A primary site licence costs £60 +VAT or a
secondary licence costs £75 +VAT from Topologika.
8.6
•  Talking Stories − Sherston have released a third set of their Talking
Stories, based on popular stories from the Oxford University Press
‘Oxford Reading Tree’ scheme, as used in many schools. The stories, read
by actor Richard Briers, are Floppy’s Bath, The Baby-sitter, The Water
Fight, Kipper’s Balloon, Spots! and Kipper’s Birthday. The price is
£39.95 +VAT (£45 through Archive) for the single user version − site
licences are also available.
8.6
•  Treasure Chest − Thousands of pictures, symbols and sound effects in
!Draw, !Paint and Photo sequences for use in the National Curriculum.
Sections include food, history, languages, natural world, objects,
people, places and symbols. The price is £69 +VAT from Northwest SEMERC.
8.6
•  Trees − This CD-ROM resource contains pictures and descriptions of
the native trees of the British Isle. Produced with the assistance of
the British Tree Council, the disc also includes photographs, diagrams
of twigs, details of the ecology of trees, and the uses to which trees
are put. A single user version costs £40 +VAT from Hampshire Micro-
Technology Centre.
8.6
•  Trip − This admin package simplifies the organisation of school
trips, including the tracking of pupil payments. The price is £14.95
+VAT from Creative Curriculum Software.
8.6
•  Vision 24 − The Vision and HiVision colour digitisers from HCCS have
been replaced by the Vision 24 range of 24-bit digitisers. 254-line
version is £99 +VAT, the 508-line version is £139 +VAT and a later
upgrade from 254 to 508-lines is £49 +VAT.
8.6
•  Werewolf Utility Discs − Werewolf Software have produced two utility
discs for the Acorn range. Disc 1 contains ArmCache, CacheOff, CacheOn,
NewIcons, NewTools, ResetMem, ResetMode, ResetPal, ResetScr+, ResetSnd+,
ResetSysF, Runner+, UnRunner+, WWSHelp and costs £6. Disc 2 contains
Counter, MakeHelp, PasteUp, Rubbish, Shutter, SpriteUtils, STPlayer,
VATCalc, WWSHelp and costs £7. If you purchase both discs the price is
£12, or a compilation disc, featuring the best applications from both
discs costs £10, Prices include VAT, but postage is 50p extra.
8.6
•  Woodland Birds CD − This is a large reference database from Creative
Curriculum Software containing photographs, bird songs and calls, along
with text, maps and other data. Aimed at Key Stages 2, 3 and 4, it costs
£49 +VAT (single user) or £99 (site licence). It is a dual format CD and
can be used on RISC OS or a Windows-based machine.
8.6
Product not going to be available!
8.6
•  Ion Camera − Atomwide have asked us to point out that while they have
been using, and recommending a still video camera, contrary to popular
belief, they do not, and will not be, selling it as a product since it
is only compatible with NTSC television formats.
8.6
Review software received...
8.6
We have received review copies of the following: •BasicAOF (utility),
•Landmarks Microworlds: The War Years (education).
8.6
If you would like to review any of these products, please contact the
Archive office. Potential reviewers will need to show that they would
use the product in a professional capacity or that they have some
knowledge of the particular field.  A
8.6
At Christopher Jarman’s suggestion, we are going to have a font creation
competition. Here are the rules:
8.6
1.  The competition is open to anyone, provided they do not design fonts
professionally. It is strictly a competition for amateurs and new
enthusiasts for font design.
8.6
2.  Entries should consist of one original outline font for the Acorn
platform in RISC OS 3 format.
8.6
3.  The font must be drawn by the competitor and not scanned or traced
or copied from any other font from any other platform or publication.
Entries will be checked for this.
8.6
4. The entry font shall consist of all the numerals, capitals,
minuscules, and at least the following 22 punctuation marks: ! “ £ $ % &
* ( ) _  [ ]  ; : , . < > ? /
8.6
5.  The font shall be presented in a font directory ready to load into
an Acorn machine and to work in all usual WP programs.
8.6
6.  The closing date is Friday 7th April 1995.
8.6
7.  There will be at least two prizes: One set of Gothic and Medieval
Fonts presented by Datafile and the Font Designer’s Toolkit presented by
iSV Products. The winner may select which prize, and the runner up will
have the other. (I’m working on getting some more prizes! Ed.)
8.6
8.  The judges’ decision is final.
8.6
We would hope to put the best fonts on the Archive program disc in a few
months’ time.  A
8.6
P.B.
8.6
Fact-File
8.6
(The numbers in italic are fax numbers)
8.6
4th Dimension   1 Percy Street, Sheffield, S3 8AU. (0114-270-0661)
(0114-278-1091)
8.6
4Mation    14 Castle Park Road, Whiddon Valley, Barnstaple, Devon, EX32
8PA. (01271-25353) (01271-22974)
8.6
Abacus Training    29 Okus Grove, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wilts, SN2
6QA.
8.6
ABC Art   Tideways, South Road, Brean, Somerset, TA8 2SE. (01278-751317)
8.6
Acorn Direct   FREEPOST, 13 Dennington Road, Wellingborough, Northants,
NN8 2BR.
8.6
  (01933-279300)
8.6
Acorn Computers Ltd    Acorn House, Vision Park, Histon, Cambridge, CB4
4AE. (01223-254254)
8.6
  (01223-254262)
8.6
Aleph One Ltd   The Old Courthouse, Bottisham, Cambridge, CB5 9BA.
(01223-811679) (01223-812713)
8.6
Alternative Publishing   Suite 91, 9A Pentagon House, 36 Washington
Street, Glasgow, G3 8AZ. (0141-248-2322) (0141-248-3638)
8.6
Angelsoft Educational   35 Heol Nant, Swiss Valley, Llanelli, Dyfed,
SA14 8EN. (01554-776845)
8.6
APDL    39 Knighton Park Road, Sydenham, London, SE26 5RN.
8.6
Atomwide Ltd   7 The Metro Centre, Bridge Road, Orpington, Kent, BR5
2BE. (01689-838852)
8.6
  (01689-896088)
8.6
Avie Electronics (p13)  7 Overbury Road, Norwich. (01603-416863) (01603-
788640)
8.6
Beebug Ltd (p7)  117 Hatfield Road, St Albans, Herts, AL1 4JS. (01727-
840303) (01727-860263)
8.6
Circle Software   33 Restrop View, Purton, Swindon, Wilts, SN5 9DG.
(01793-770021)
8.6
Computer Concepts (pp8/14)   Gaddesden Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts,
HP2 6EX. (01442-63933) (01442-231632)
8.6
Creative Curriculum Software   5 Clover Hill Road, Savile Park, Halifax,
HX1 2YG. (01422-340524) (01422-346388)
8.6
Crick Computing   123 The Drive, Northampton, NN1 4SW. (01604-713686)
(01604-713686)
8.6
Cumana Ltd   Pines Trading Estate, Broad Street, Guilford, GU3 3BH.
(01483-503121) (01483-503326)
8.6
Dalriada Data Technology (p41)   145 Albion Street, Kenilworth,
Warkwickshire, CV8 2FY. (01926-53901)
8.6
Datafile   71 Anson Road, Locking, Weston-super-Mare, Avon, BS24 7DQ.
(01934-823005)
8.6
Digital Services   9 Wayte Street, Cosham, Portsmouth PO6 3BS. (01705-
210600) (01705-210709)
8.6
DRS   Sunrise Parkway, Linford Wood, Milton Keynes, MK14 6LR. (01908-
666088)
8.6
EESOX   5 Hillfield Road, Comberton, Cambridge, CB3 7DB. (01223-264242)
8.6
ExpLAN   St Catherine’s House, Plymouth Road, Tavistock, Devon, PL19
8AY. (01822-613868) (01822-610868)
8.6
Hampshire Microtechnology Centre    Connaught Lane, Paulsgrove,
Portsmouth, Hants, PO6 4SJ. (01705-378266) (01705-379443)
8.6
HCCS Ltd   575-583 Durham Road, Gateshead, NE9 5JJ. (0191-487-0760)
(0191-491-0431)
8.6
Hodge Electronic Services    16 Mold Road, Mynydd Isa, Clwyd, CH7 6TD.
(01244-550803)
8.6
HS Software   56 Hendrefolian Avenue, Sketty, Swansea, SA2 7NB. (01792-
204519) (01792-298283)
8.6
Iota Software Ltd   Iota House, Wellington Court, Cambridge, CB1 1HZ.
(01223-566789) (01223-566788)
8.6
iSV Products   86, Turnberry, Home Farm, Bracknell, Berks, RG11 8ZH.
(01344-55769)
8.6
Kudlian Soft (’til 8.12)  8 Barrow Road, Kenilworth, Warwickshire,
CV8 1EH. (01926-851147)
8.6
Longman Logotron   124 Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge
CB4 4ZS. (01223-425558)
8.6
  (01223-425349)
8.6
LOOKsystems   47 Goodhale Road, Bowthorpe, Norwich, NR5 9AY. (01603-
748253) (01603-740203)
8.6
Musbury Consultants   5 Helmshore Road, Haslingden, Rossendale, Lancs,
BB4 4BG. (01706-216701)
8.6
Northwest SEMERC   1 Broadbent Road, Watersheddings, Oldham, OL1 4LB.
(0161-627-4469)
8.6
Oak Solutions (p21)   Dial House, 12 Chapel Street, Halton, Leeds, LS15
7RN (0113-232-6992)
8.6
  (0113-232-6993)
8.6
Oak Consultants   Sun Cottage, High Street, Hatfield Broad Oak, Bishops
Stortford, CM22 7HE.
8.6
  (01279-718596) (01279-718767)
8.6
Octopus Systems   9 Randwell Close, Ipswich, IP4 5ES. (01473-728943)
(01473-270643)
8.6
Oregan Developments   36 Grosvenor Avenue, Streetly, Sutton Coldfield,
B74 3PE. (0121-353-6044)
8.6
Quantum Software   35 Pinewood Park, Deans, Livingston, EH54 8NN.
(01506-411162 after 6)
8.6
Sherston Software   Angel House, Sherston, Malmesbury, Wilts. SN16 0LH.
(01666-840433) (01666-840048)
8.6
Sibelius Software   75 Burleigh Street, Cambridge, CB1 1DJ. (01223-
302765) (01223-351947)
8.6
Silicon Vision Ltd   Signal House, Lyon Road, Harrow, Middlesex, HA1
2AG. (0181-422-3556)
8.6
  (0181-248-3589)
8.6
Smart DTP   36 Park Road, Duffield, Belper, DE56 4GR. (01332-842803)
8.6
Solent Computer Products Ltd   2 Mills Lane, Longstanton, Cambridge, CB4
5DG. (01954-789701) (01954-782186)
8.6
Superior Software   P.O. Box 6, Brigg, S Humberside, DN20 9NH. (01652-
658585) (01652-657807)
8.6
The ARM Club   Freepost ND6573, London, N12 0BR. (0171-624-9918) (0181-
446-3020)
8.6
The Really Good Software Company   39 Carisbrooke Road, Harpenden,
Herts., AL5 5QS.
8.6
Topologika   Islington Wharf, Church Hill, Penryn, Falmouth, Cornwall,
TR10 8AT. (01326-377771) (01326-377771)
8.6
VTI (Vertical Twist)   Unit 1, The Shopwhyke Centre, Shopwhyke Road,
Chichester, PO20 6GD.
8.6
  (01243-531194) (01243-531196)
8.6
Werewolf Software   23 The Spinneys, Bromley, Kent, BR1 2NT. (0181-467-
1138) (0181-464-7510)
8.6
Archive Monthly Program Disc Contents
8.6
•  Files from Gerald Fitton’s Column − p34.
8.6
•  David Holden’s hard disc test program − p12.
8.6
•  Pangrams from Christopher Jarman − p77.
8.6
•  Files from Paul Hooper’s Multimedia Column − p57.
8.6
•  Files from Keith Hodge’s Risc PC Column − p67.
8.6
Paul Beverley
8.6
Norwich Computer Services       96a Vauxhall Street, Norwich, NR2 2SD.
(01603-766592) (01603-764011)
8.6
Font Creation Competition
8.6
The Composer and his Computer
8.6
John Rutter
8.6
John Rutter spoke at the meeting we held in October about the effect
that the computer had had on his work as a composer. We all found it so
fascinating that I thought it would be great to share with Archive
readers some of the things he told us. So this article, written by Vera
Cooke, is based on a taped interview I had with John at his home in
Cambridge at the end of last year. I hope that non-musicians and
musicians alike will enjoy reading it... Paul Beverley.
8.6
Exit the quill pen...
8.6
For musicians, the progression from quill pen to the computer has been
slow in coming... but when it did come, it happened incredibly quickly!
When you think of the mechanisation of printing words, it happened in
stages: printing in the 15th century, the typewriter in the 19th
century, the word processor in the 20th century. But in the last decade,
music printing has moved straight from the quill pen to the computer
with no stops in between.
8.6
I say “quill” pen, because many modern-day composers, arrangers and
copyists don’t really like the fountain pen, or ball point pen − dip-
pens definitely give the most satisfying results. The nibs used by
myself and others for many years were made by George W. Hughes in
Birmingham, whose ‘Time is Money’ nibs were legendary. They had a good
reservoir, meaning you could work faster. So until photocopying came
into being in the 1960s, if you had a whole orchestra with 8 desks of
first violins, you had to write out a copy for each one by hand − just
imagine the amount of labour involved. As a penniless young student, I
did some copying for the BBC and acquired my own private supply of these
lovely nibs from the BBC’s head copyist. When Hughes retired in 1962,
the BBC and others bought up all the ‘Time is Money’ nibs they could
find. By the time we reached the 1980s, I estimated that I had enough
nibs left for the next five or six years, so unless I stopped composing
or some new advance came along, I was going to be in trouble sooner or
later!
8.6
Looking for alternatives
8.6
In the next few years, I tried a range of computer programs. None of
them were for me. Either they were too technical and ‘user-un-friendly’
or the music produced by the simple-to-use ones looked ugly. Most of us
who put music on paper care about the physical appearance of the final
result. There’s no satisfaction in producing music if it looks lumpy,
ill-spaced and its visual proportions are not elegant. I felt I could
only buy something that was a match for the best engraved manuscript.
8.6
Enter ‘Sibelius’
8.6
When I received a mailshot about Sibelius, it seemed that this software
had solved a lot of the problems found in earlier packages. I visited
the Finn brothers to take a look at the package and was impressed with
its simplicity and ease of use. (I must mention that computers were not
completely foreign to me − my son and wife have been using Acorn
computers for some years.) I took, at random, a page from Carols for
Choirs − a collection that I had edited some years before − and I input
and printed it out in an afternoon. It was more or less
indistinguishable from the original. Sibelius obviously had tremendous
potential and I was enormously enthusiastic.
8.6
As I began to use Sibelius more and more, I started pushing the Finn
brothers to take the program further. With suggestions from myself and
others, they began to see that the program had more possibilities than
even they had envisaged. As composers, they themselves saw Sibelius as a
means of self-publication, allowing composers to present their music to
others and get them interested in it. It was obvious that, with only a
few changes, Sibelius was capable of matching what’s done by the great
publishing houses such as Oxford University Press, which has been in
operation for 500 years. There began a fascinating dialogue between the
Finns and Sibelius users. The product development and improvements made
between August 1993, when I started to use it, and now − just over a
year − have been terrific.
8.6
The art of music engraving
8.6
Engraving is a very complex and secret art. There are rules governing
the spacing of notes, the angle of the beams, the placing of sharps and
flats, the height of note stems − it’s not just done by eye. It’s an
esoteric art carried to a high degree of perfection. Many of these rules
have not been written down but passed on from father to son within a
family business. Until recently, if a medieval monk had walked into my
room, he would have recognised what I was doing when writing a
manuscript. If you look at the beautiful illuminated manuscripts, they
were done in much the same way. But he wouldn’t recognise what I’m doing
now! There has been this giant leap in the last ten years since the use
of computers for music manuscript began in the 1980s. Now musicians can
themselves achieve the same results as the professional engraver,
without the necessity of knowing all the rules or going through years of
training.
8.6
Computerisation speeds up my work and saves duplication of effort, for
example with orchestral works and the extraction of individual
instrument parts from full scores. This is, in fact, highly skilled work
and it must be immensely accurate. For example, you must ensure that
page turns come at a convenient place where the instrumentalist is not
playing. This is so much easier with computer-extracted parts and with a
minimum amount of fiddling around, you can adjust positions of bars to
make this work. You can imagine that when a copyist does this by hand,
he may misjudge where the end of the page would come and would have to
recopy the whole page or stick bits of paper onto it to make a fold-out.
It can be very messy. Using Sibelius makes the editorial role much
easier and the composer can make changes very quickly on the computer.
8.6
New horizons
8.6
The computer has changed my relationship with my publisher, too, and
opened up possibilities to do my own DTP. I had never envisaged that I’d
be the first composer to deliver a computer disc rather than a
manuscript to HQ in Oxford. This has actually been an historic first for
OUP. Impression and Artworks have also been surprisingly useful. My
editor at OUP asked me to set the text pages at the beginning of a
volume I’d edited − I’m not skilled at book design and yet, with a
little help from others, I’ve set the index, preface and contents!
8.6
With my choir − the Cambridge Singers − I’ve unearthed some obscure
pieces from the music library and we’ve recorded some musical gems,
previously hidden for centuries. Having transcribed them myself, I’ve
been able to provide copies for others to perform, where once they
couldn’t possibly have found them printed anywhere. To my surprise, I am
now in the music publishing business with a partner in Nebraska, USA!
8.6
Playback or graphics or both?
8.6
The side of music packages which I haven’t got into yet is the playback.
Sibelius can now play back the music you’ve written and you can do
sophisticated things like use ‘fake’ instrument sounds for various
strands of your score. This is really useful for those experimenting
with composing, to help them get their creative thoughts clear. It’s
also an immense boon for young people taking the first steps, who are
not yet in a position to get together a group of players to try out the
music for them and hear how it sounds. There is, however, one
limitation: it cannot sing the words of vocal music... well, not yet!
8.6
Sibelius was not started with playback in mind, but as a graphics-based
program. There are basically two sorts of computer music program: those
that begin as graphics-based/music-on-paper programs and those that
begin as sound-based programs, starting from the idea of hearing music
that you’ve played in. They’ve tended to meet in the middle as the
graphics packages have developed better sound facilities and the sound
packages better notation facilities. But, for me, the point of Sibelius
is high-quality graphics − the music it puts on the page is
extraordinarily good.
8.6
The creative side of composing
8.6
My only reservation about using the computer is that it can take away
time from composing. Composing is a simple but frightening activity,
performed with those low-tech tools of pencil and paper. The younger
generation may start composing directly into the computer but I find
that the music I write is not conducive to composing at the computer.
Certainly, Sibelius has transformed my working habits far beyond what
I’d thought possible and it is ideal for incorporating improvements. But
the creative part is the most mysterious element of being a composer or
writer and none of us can control the flow of ideas or predict when they
will come, what will be a good day or when a breakthrough will come.
8.6
Some composers get almost superstitious about it. For example, Haydn
believed he could only compose well if he was dressed in his finest silk
attire and put on his signet ring. Leonard Bernstein needed to stretch
out on a hard floor, shut his eyes and almost sleep. (I was heartened
that another composer besides myself does this − I too find that things
will sometimes sort themselves out when you’re not trying!) Ravel never
let anyone within earshot when he was composing and the house had to be
empty so that no-one could hear even a distant tinkle. But anyone could
come and go when he was orchestrating. I know exactly how he feels!
Wagner actually described the writing-out stage as a kind of peaceful
‘Nachwerk’ or ‘after labour’. With scores the size of his, such as The
Ring, I can’t help thinking that he could have done with Sibelius!
8.6
We composers like our routines when it comes to the central act of
thinking up ideas, but all the peripheral activities of putting music on
paper are much less unchangeable. I am excited at the way computers have
changed my working practices and removed the chore of writing it out.
But although computers have got almost to the heart of what I do, they
will never go to the heart of composing itself.
8.6
There’s scarcely a day goes by without me using Sibelius and I’ve hardly
touched my pen with its ‘Time is Money’ nibs in over a year. This is the
way that composers and musicians in general are going. For me, the day
of the computer did not come when they appeared as the great machine
that hummed away in the office basement − it was when the computer came
home to sit comfortably in my 15th-century cottage, the old and the new
side by side − but not the unfriendly new.
8.6
I predict that the Finns will receive very widespread recognition for
Sibelius in the next five years, if they maintain their innovative lead,
their motivation and dedication. I and many others appreciate the
trouble they take to do things absolutely right. Musicians are used to
high level precision and accuracy in music and feel a strong bond with
someone in another field who’s trying to get things right. The success
of Sibelius is well-deserved.  A
8.6
Beebug
8.6
New Artwork
8.6
CC
8.6
New Artwork
8.6
PD Column
8.6
David Holden
8.6
The re-issue of the first Datafile PDCD is now available. I understand
that it is now largely Risc PC compatible and the material which some
people found offensive has been removed. It also has a new ‘front end’
which makes it easier to find what you want, plus a 70 page booklet
similar to the one issued with the second CD.
8.6
The price is £30 from Datafile and probably less from either APDL or NCS
(£29 through Archive). I understand that you can ‘upgrade’ your original
PDCD 1 for only a few pounds, but you will need to contact Datafile for
details.
8.6
!HDspeed
8.6
A lot of people have shown interest in the rather crude hard disc speed
testing program that I wrote for my own use and which was on Program
Disc 7.1, accompanying my article about SyQuest drives. I was rather
surprised to receive so many letters, often accompanied by lists of
results. As it appears to be so popular, I have completely re-written it
and turned it into a ‘proper’ Wimp program. So far, it is not RISC OS 2
compatible but if anyone does want to use it on a RO2 machine, please
tell me and I’ll modify it. I’ll try to squash a copy onto this month’s
‘special offer’ disc if there’s room.
8.6
Programming tools
8.6
One area in which PD authors are incredibly prolific is producing
programming tools. This is, of course, hardly surprising since most of
these start out being written for their own use. There are also many
programming languages available.
8.6
The much heralded ‘first’ C++ compiler for the Archimedes is due to
appear about two years after the GNU C++ compiler. Admittedly, the GNU
compiler is not particularly ‘user friendly’, (it’s CLI driven),
requires a lot of RAM and has a few bugs, but it’s free.
8.6
Many of these tools are as good as, or superior to, more expensive
commercial offerings. Some are, of course, not just of interest to
programmers. Dominic Symes’ Zap text editor, is an essential item for
every Archimedes owner, whether a programmer or not. Similarly, anyone
who likes to modify the appearance of applications should have a Dick
Alstein’s TemplEd. Unless you are an experienced Wimp programmer, you
cannot afford to be without Paul Hobbs’ Event Shell, which I have
featured before, and all Basic programmers should have Ian Palmer’s
‘basic linker’ BLib. All of these are not just good PD programs, they
are (probably) the best available.
8.6
This is not as silly as it would seem. After all, good programmers like
good tools, and are hardly likely to produce a tool for their own use
which is inferior to something that they could obtain elsewhere.
8.6
As well as major applications like these, there are lots of smaller,
utilities which make life easier for Wimpprogrammers. These rarely get
mentioned in the PD sections of magazines. I presume that this is
because these columns are normally written by people who are not
programmers, and so may not realise how valuable they can be.
8.6
Risc PC users should also be aware that the latest version of Zap (1.2)
is fully Risc PC compatible (I’ve been using it for some months with no
problems) and supports 24bpp colour. There are lots of other new
features so if you have a version before 1.2, it really is worth
upgrading.
8.6
This month’s ‘special offer’ disc will therefore be a disc full of these
utilities. At the time of writing, I don’t know exactly what will be on
it, but it will certainly contain Zap and Templed, and as many more
programs as I can cram onto it.
8.6
As usual, to obtain a copy send £1 (cheque or stamps preferred) to me at
the APDL address and please tell me if you can use HD (1.6Mb) discs.  A
8.6
Picture of John Rutter
8.6
Comment Column
8.6
•  Apple just will not give up − The latest “we did it first” adverts
say, “Power Macintosh is the first mainstream personal computer to be
powered by a RISC chip. RISC technology has previously been available
primarily in highly specialized, very complex, very expensive
engineering workstations” (my italics). It makes my blood boil to see
the way they can steal Acorn’s thunder.
8.6
I was advised by one very helpful reader that it was no good asking the
ASA to do anything as they have no real “teeth” − witness the fact that
it took them some months to stop the original advert which was so
blatantly untrue. They suggested trying the Trading Standards Authority,
which I did. They said that unless the advert was “misleading to a
material degree” then they could not do anything. I have no doubt that
Apple’s legal department (which is probably bigger than Acorn’s
Marketing Department!) have worked out what they can get away with, so
there’s probably no mileage in that direction, I fear.
8.6
Is there anything we can do? Well, I don’t know if it will do any good,
but I have written to Michael Hessletine as President of the Board of
Trade saying that I think it is unfair trading and emphasising that it
is a big US company against a small British one(!) so we’ll see if he
can do anything.
8.6
Surely there must be something we can do! Apple obviously realise just
how important RISC is and just how important it is to get it into
people’s minds that “Apple is RISC”. If Acorn had lots of advertising
budget, they could leapfrog Apple’s advertising and capitalise on it −
dream on!
8.6
But I think there is something we can do. We can write articles in
magazines, newsletters, professional journals, in-house company
magazines etc, using the RISC-awareness that Apple have created to draw
attention to the Risc PC. I have done one such article for the Church
Computer User Group − OK, I know it’s not a world-changing organisation
(even though the church itself is supposed to be!!) but it’s one more
way of increasing Risc PC-awareness and every little helps.
8.6
OK, so this is what we do. First of all, I’ll publish the CCUG article
in this magazine (see page 39) so that you can see the sort of things
you might say. Then if you know of a magazine in which you would like to
get an article (especially if Apple have advertised in it) and you can
write the article yourself, great! If you want to use any or all of my
article, that’s fine − no need to ask me about copyright although I’d
like to see a copy before it gets in print if possible. If you want the
text on disc to save re-typing, send me a blank disc and/or I’ll put it
on this month’s program disc.
8.6
(If you want to offer your readers a free copy of the Archive booklet
about the Risc PC, please feel free to give our name and/or phone number
and/or email address. Blatant advertising? Me?)
8.6
If you don’t feel able to write an appropriate article, or if you don’t
feel you can modify mine sufficiently, let me know what the magazine is,
who the editor is, what its main readership is etc, and I’ll see what we
can do. If there are any Archive readers who don’t have a magazine for
which to write but would like to write, let me know your area of
interest and I’ll see if I can match it up with any requests.
8.6
Also, if anyone can think of particular areas, like the bible software
and like Sibelius, where the software (or hardware) clearly sells the
virtues of the Risc PC as the only machine on which it will run, do let
me know and I’ll publicise the fact as much as possible.
8.6
One possibly useful recommendation, which I didn’t use in the CCUG
article, is that Acorn hardware and software won six of the nine
education awards in 1994 including the Gold Award in the Secondary
category for the Risc PC itself. The reason I did not use that for CCUG
is that it reinforces people’s prejudice that, “Oh, Acorn? Yes, they are
the educational computers − not the sort of computers we use in the real
world”.
8.6
Crusading? Me? Yes, I jolly well am! Why should Apple get away with
stealing Acorn’s thunder? Let’s get an armada of small articles going so
that we can show people in “the real world” that where Acorn leads,
others, like Apple, will follow. Ed.
8.6
•  Clan Acorn − An ode...
8.6
I’m a member of the Clan,
8.6
Aren’t I a lucky man?
8.6
All these goodies I will get,
8.6
But I haven’t seen anything yet!
8.6

8.6
The naff T-shirt has fallen apart,
8.6
But the sweat shirt still looks quite smart,
8.6
The literature was way beyond me,
8.6
I only understood one word in three!
8.6

8.6
The disc was useful, I think,
8.6
It must be on the blink,
8.6
Then I saw the magic ‘HD’,
8.6
And realised it wasn’t for me.
8.6

8.6
The mouse mat was quite nice
8.6
But it was slippery as ice,
8.6
It now serves as a coffee mat,
8.6
I wonder what Acorn would think of that?
8.6

8.6
Yet the thing that puzzles me most,
8.6
And I’m not ignorant, I boast,
8.6
Is what is that logo meant to be?
8.6
It looks like a radio valve to me.
8.6

8.6
So can anyone suggest
8.6
Why Acorn should make such a jest?
8.6
Or have you got another idea?
8.6
I’m just longing to hear!
8.6
 Paul Hooper, Martham, Norfolk.
8.6
•  Clan Acorn, the boss speaks − Clan Acorn members will be please to
hear that Acorn have appointed a marketing manager for Clan Acorn −
Chris Cox. Chris has given us the following statement about where things
are at with Clan Acorn.
8.6
“I’m very pleased to be working with Acorn and trying to develop things
for the faithful band of Acorn enthusiasts now brought together under
the name of ‘Clan Acorn’.
8.6
“In particular, I want to use the Clan to set up a dialogue with
enthusiasts, so that we can keep them informed about where Acorn is
going and listen to the sorts of products they want. I will then be
working with Peter Bondar and the Product Marketing group, to make sure
that the requirements of this market sector are met. This is where
dialogue is so important because it will give me the basis for the
specification of products aimed at that sector.
8.6
“In many cases, the requirements will not be met directly by Acorn, but
by one of the associated hardware and software developers. Examples of
this are new products like the development board which Simtec are
currently building, which will allow multiple processors to run
simultaneously in a Risc PC.
8.6
“One question that I will keep asking the Clan members is what they want
out of it. The results of the initial survey on the application form
show that they mainly want information as early as possible − even
before discounts on products!
8.6
“If any enthusiast wants to join Clan Acorn, they can write to me at
Acorn House and I’ll send them an application form, or send me an email
to [e-mail] or call Acorn Direct on 01933-279300.”  Chris Cox,
Acorn.
8.6
(By the way, with reference to Paul Hooper’s poem, Chris doesn’t know
what the logo is either − it was just something dreamt up by Acorn’s
graphic designers! Ed.)
8.6
• Font Directory − (Let’s all learn from these very honest
confessions... Ed.) For some time, I have been seeking a solution to the
fraught problem of font management. And, at Acorn World 94, I found what
seemed like a perfect solution in the shape of LOOKsystems’ Font
Directory. This was reviewed in Archive (6.12 p13), so I will just share
my experiences of installing and using the product.
8.6
My hardware is an ageing, and possibly ailing, A310 with 2Mb RAM and a
VGA display adaptor plus a full 40Mb hard disc. My fonts used to be in
two separate Font Manager applications, one in my root directory for
normal use and a larger collection in my DTP directory.
8.6
Because the hard disc is so full, it means that whenever there are major
changes, these have to be preceded by periods of housekeeping. At such
times, existing files are either copied to floppies or squeezed using
ArcFS. This was my first mistake − I archived the fonts, freeing more
than 1Mb.
8.6
Installing Font Directory required me to specify a Font Partition size.
Subsequent experience suggests this should be as large as the hard disc
surface would allow but, lacking this insight, I made my second mistake
and entered a value which proved inadequate for the number of fonts
involved.
8.6
When my guestimated figure had been entered, installed itself onto the
hard disc and tried to search through my existing font folders as a
preliminary to offering fonts for installation into the Font partition.
Of course, it did not find any because they were all locked up inside
archives.
8.6
I deleted the incomplete application and reinstated the smallest of the
archived font folders in order to give !FontMgr something with which to
work. Even then, I failed to notice this was larger than my specified
font partition. Two things went wrong. Firstly, when extracting files
from the archive, some font data got corrupted. Secondly during
installation, when the partition ran out of space, some fonts were only
half-copied. There was no immediate indication of either of these
problems.
8.6
Eventually, I seemed to have a working Font Directory application, so I
decided to experiment with an application to see how well !FontDir
functioned. I chose Ovation and immediately received a message that no
fonts had been loaded. Fortunately, this was easy to rectify. I had
overlooked an entry in the manual which specified that, following
installation, the user has to set up defaults or otherwise you have to
make selections each time fonts are used. Also, to have the default
selection automatically available every time, you have to add a
statement in the computer’s !Boot file. Very simple to implement but
(and this is where I made my biggest mistake) something to be avoided
before Font Directory has been properly installed and tested.
8.6
Using Ovation also led to the discovery that some fonts would not work.
Ultimately, I discovered the Font Partition functioned as an extension
to the filing system and could be accessed as such. I copied the
remaining fonts from their archives and also discovered how to enlarge
the partition sufficiently to accommodate all of these.
8.6
At this point, a random event occurred − occasionally the machine seizes
up and, Murphy’s law dictates, it happens at the worst time. Pressing
<reset> was the prelude to an hour of frustration. Because of the VGA
adaptor, various modules have to be loaded by the !boot file before the
machine can be used but this file also now contained the instruction to
load the default selection of fonts. Unhappily, some of these were the
corrupted ones, and they were preventing !FontDir from loading cleanly.
For what seemed like an age, I kept getting “Bad Command” messages on
screen as the machine tried repeatedly to load modules and fonts which
were corrupted or missing.
8.6
Eventually, the desktop returned. To be on the safe side, I deleted the
files yet again and reinstalled − this time without incident except for
the corrupted files. When using the filer to copy files into the font
partition, they have to be registered by the Font Manager compiling data
about each font in the partition. This is available as a menu option
within the application and, incidentally, has to be done each time new
fonts are added or old ones removed. The first time I did this was
without hitch, even with bad data. The second time, compilation was
still apparently running after five minutes, which seemed far too long,
so I pressed <reset>. I had visions of another lost hour but, luckily,
there were no further problems. Quite why the compilation process
occasionally goes to sleep I do not know, but it happened on at least
two subsequent occasions.
8.6
Because of my problems, I telephoned LOOKsystems to ask for both help
and further information. Adrian Look suggested file corruption might
have occurred but, if this was not the case, was prepared to examine the
relevant fonts with a view to diagnosing the problem. In the event, his
guess was correct and the problem was solved by copying clean fonts from
original floppies.
8.6
Here then is the moral of the story:
8.6
1) Do not resort to file compression. LOOKsystems actually warn against
using their product with CC’s Compression, and although !FontMgr is not
incompatible with ArcFS, it might give rise to problems.
8.6
2) LOOKsystems recommend adding a line to the !Boot file in order to be
sure of having a default selection of fonts loaded. I would add the
caveat that, where applications like a VGA adaptor are present, the boot
file alteration should not be made until the installation has been
properly completed and tested.
8.6
3) One thing which most of us realise, but do not always implement, is
that it makes a lot of sense whether installing a new font manager, or
something much grander, to read the manual properly. There are two good
reasons for doing this. It avoids the “Egg on face” feeling when
speaking to the vendor and it also helps if you can indicate to them
what other details could or should be added to the manual if and when
revisions are made.  G.T.Swain, Edgware.
8.6
•  Guardian’s ‘independent’ comments − Liz Roberts’ comments in the
International Guardian obviously drew a few complaints because on 18th
December, they carried a reply − but not from Liz herself. Uncle Jack
(Schofield) had to be wheeled in to protect her from the rabid Acorn-
maniacs snapping at her ankles.
8.6
Jack admits that Liz could have been “kinder to the Archimedes”. (Why
refer to “Archimedes”? Hasn’t Jack heard of the Risc PC yet?) But he
says that, although you can buy an Action Pack for £299, it doesn’t
include a monitor and has no hard drive (implied: so it is useless).
Just because PC’s cannot function without a hard drive, he shouldn’t tar
Acorn with the same brush.
8.6
The rest of Jack’s riposte boils down to “Acorn is tiny compared with PC
and can’t possibly hope to win the battle”. What an attitude from a
supposedly thinking newspaper! What he is saying is, he’s not interested
in whether Acorn machines are good because 150 million people have PCs
and 150 million people can’t be wrong. The only thing that PCs have is a
massive user base and all that stems from that: big money, big inertia,
big arrogance, big you name it...  (these are Ed’s comments based on a
letter from...)  Bernard Maugoust, France. (Don’t worry, Bernard, I’ll
take on the law suit! Ed.)
8.6
Jim Nottingham sent me a clipping from the UK Guardian of 7th January in
which Liz was allowed to make her own response. “my postbag has been
bulging with messages from satisfied Acorn users complaining about my
oversight.” I should think so too! What’s more, Liz actually mentions
the Risc PC and says that it has “addressed the problem” of the
“difficulties of running industry standard software at the GCSE / A-
level end”. But don’t get too excited − she also says “buying an Acorn
is like deciding to join the Shaker community instead of the real world”
but claims that it was a quote from “an education software supplier”!
8.6
Listen, hasn’t anyone considered arguments such as upgradability? If a
school wants to be “industry standard”, is it going to be prepared to go
down the industry standard route of throwing its computers away and
buying new ones every couple of years − oh, and buying new software and
new operating systems every eighteen months because, if it doesn’t, it
will soon fail to be “standard”... (Yes, I know I’m preaching to the
converted but I get so angry when faced with this sort of prejudice.)
Ed.
8.6
• Help files − I recently bought PDCD 1 from Datafile and wanted to
explore the disc but, at the same time, I did not want to waste time
loading programs which were not likely to be of interest.
8.6
Because of this, I spent quite a lot of time looking for the !Help files
of many applications. In many cases, they were not there and many of
those that existed were not at all useful. Some of them referred me to a
documentation file within the application, some contained a mini-manual
and one just contained the update history of the program.
8.6
I then looked at the Acorn Style Guide to find what was recommended, but
found that there was only a description of how the operating system used
the !Help system.
8.6
To counter these problems, I would like to suggest an amendment to the
Style Guide which should make !Help files more useful.
8.6
Firstly, they should be a standard part of every application, not an
optional extra.
8.6
Secondly, there should be a standard set of contents at the start of the
file:-
8.6
1) The name and purpose of the program. This need not be elaborate −
something like: “Desk Top Publishing” is enough. For perfectly good
reasons program names are not enough. What do !Ovation, !Hearsay or !Zap
do? Given the limit of nine characters after the exclamation mark, and
the reasonable wish that the name should be a recognisable word, there
is not much that programmers can do to improve things.
8.6
2) The date of the current version, with its version number.
8.6
3) The name of the author and/or the company responsible for the
program, with addresses and telephone numbers. Whilst it is good if the
programmer gets credit, it is more important to have the publisher’s
address.
8.6
4) Are there any special requirements: RISC OS version, Minimum memory,
Colour Card, Risc PC, MIDI card, etc?
8.6
Included in this section could be a note that the program is not
necessary if you are running certain versions of the OS. This is the
case with some programs that give OS3 facilities under OS2. I don’t
think that there is any need to mention the fact that parts of the
program may be capable of using extra facilities if most of it will run
in a basic machine.
8.6
5) The program status. Is it public domain, shareware, fully copyright
or any other status that may apply?
8.6
6) Will the program run from a CD or other write-protected disc, or does
it need to be transferred to another medium?
8.6
Any other information can follow these six items, but I believe that
these are the things you need to know to run the program, as opposed to
use it.
8.6
There will not be much work in preparing a !Help file for most programs,
so it is not as bureaucratic as it sounds. The contents of the help file
do not depend on the complexity of the program, but on its set-up needs.
The information in items 1 to 6 above will usually all appear in the
window which comes up when you ask for help, and can be looked at
quickly − and often ignored! If you have any views on this, perhaps you
would write with any further suggestions.  David Wild, Hemel Hempstead.
8.6
•  Quote of the month − Jack Schofield of the Guardian, in his report on
BETT ’95, says that Acorn is losing its grip on the education market and
notes that “the BBC B has all but disappeared”. What? Already? Has the
BBC B nearly died? Good gracious... and it’s only been around for 13
years!!!
8.6
I wonder how many 386 computers Jack saw at BETT? Not too many, I guess
− let alone 286 or 186 or the 8086 which, if memory serves me correctly,
appeared around the time of the BBC Micro with its 6502 8-bit
processor?  Ed.
8.6
• Squirrel comment − Entering Data − In a recent issue of Archive (8.4
p51), I noticed that someone was complaining about having to use the
mouse on a dialogue box when entering records into Squirrel. In fact,
this isn’t necessary. Press <f3> when you have finished entering the
date, and when the dialogue box appears, just press <return> to say that
you do want to write the record or, if you realise that the record isn’t
complete, just press the <N> key to return you to the editing mode.
David Wild, Hemel Hempstead.
8.6
•  Squirrel import bug − In my Squirrel Booklist file, I have the field
for the ISBN (International Standard Book Number) defined as “unique” as
there should never be two books with the same number. If a second one
appears, it is either a data entry error or an attempt to enter the same
book twice. When I came to import the file from the Psion, using the
Squirrel import program, I did a test with four records which I knew
already existed in the file. The first one was rejected, as it should
have been, but the other three were accepted into the file without
comment. I rang Digital Services who agreed that there was a bug in the
Import program and sent me a copy of Version 2.08 of Squirrel which
appears to work correctly.
8.6
A minor quirk of the import program is that it assumes that the first
line of the CSV file contains the headings for the data, and ignores it,
unless you make sure that you have removed the tick from the dialogue
box. It isn’t really a bug because, if you read the dialogue box
correctly, you will change it but if you are in a hurry, it is very easy
to lose a record without realising it. I hope that a later version will
let you change the default because files from the Psion never contain
the headings.  David Wild, Hemel Hempstead.
8.6
•  Zap Corrections − I was a bit sloppy when I sent Paul my bit about
the !Zap text editor (Archive 8.5 p26). Firstly, I have only just
noticed that Zap also puts about 170Kb worth of modules into the RMA, so
my argument about Zap using very little RAM doesn’t hold (I think,
though, that Zap is so good that this doesn’t matter at all). Secondly,
when creating my literary masterpiece, I wavered between calling myself
an “occasional” or a “haphazard” programmer but the version I sent to
Paul contained neither adjective, thus simply making me a “programmer” −
something of an over-statement, I fear! I’m sorry about that!  Jochen
Konietzko, Köln.  A
8.6
CC
8.6
From 8.5 page 20
8.6
Avie
8.6
New Artwork
8.6
Letraset and URW Fonts
8.6
Christopher Jarman
8.6
In my view, font choice has now got quite out of hand. Three years ago,
when all I used was an Amstrad PCW, I was delighted to have three
different type faces and I think, three different sizes for each.
8.6
I have been looking up my old reference books on type design, and names
such as William Caslon almost bring tears to your eyes. Caslon, in 1734
published his list of 38 fonts, all cut by hand on the ends of steel
punches, the work took fourteen years! Later John Baskerville and
Giambattiste Bodoni designed typefaces now seen as classics, yet I
suppose most school pupils don’t even know that those names are the
names of people.
8.6
I had already been very pleased with Datafile’s Gothic and Medieval
fonts. I also have the 200 Artworks fonts and a collection of around 100
Skyfall fonts. With a small number of my own design alphabets, I suppose
I have almost 350 fonts to play around with. Now along come 35 Letraset
and 75 URW typefaces!
8.6
But how does one review fonts? The aesthetic styles and their uses are a
matter of opinion and personal taste. What one person finds attractive
and useful, another finds thoroughly ghastly. Well, within all this
choice, at least someone should be happy. Perhaps we should concentrate
upon quality of production and skill of workmanship like the old type
designers.
8.6
To begin with, the two sets come in attractive plastic wallets and are
supported by very tastefully produced reference booklets. In fact, I am
extremely impressed and grateful for the booklets as they show only
three font examples per page with the headings in approx 56pt size which
is very useful indeed. You therefore have a crisp and readable catalogue
of the fonts.
8.6
There is an installation disc which works quite easily on the RiscPC.
These fonts won’t install without it. Both packs have concentrated on
fairly conventional and traditional styles, and within these have
provided a good span of variation. For example, there are 16 versions of
Antiqua in the URW pack, ranging from Condensed to Super Italic. For
users who do not have the means to play about with outline fonts, this
is extremely valuable. However, with the Font Designer’s Toolkit (iSV
Software) which is also reviewed in this issue, I have to say that the
days of selling varieties of the same font may be numbered; the Toolkit
will do this for you, and more!
8.6
These fonts are high quality in themselves too. It is not just the
booklets that have a superior look about them; the fonts when enlarged
and taken apart for scrutiny have the full scaffolding and hinting which
we have come to expect from this source. I compared Letraset Brushscript
with my Skyfall Brushscrip Oblique, (the same design) and the Letraset
is considerably better and stronger. The same goes for Algerian and
Baskerville. Scaffolding is not even present in the Skyfall fonts, and
the detail is much better drawn in the Letraset.
8.6
Both packs are of the highest quality and have some excellent upmarket
and tasteful typefaces especially appealing to the person wanting to
produce good looking cards, invitations and letterheads in DTP. Some
examples are shown opposite.
8.6
The font packs are: Letraset Pack £35 and URW Pack £75 both inclusive of
VAT and postage (£34 and £72 respectively through Archive). Excellent
value for money.  A
8.6
The Non-Designer’s Design Book
8.6
Mark Howe
8.6
The Non-Designers Design Book by Robin Williams: Archive price £13 inc
p&p.
8.6
This is not the kind of book to lose easily on your desk, unless your
favourite colours are yellow and purple. The 144 pages are slightly
smaller than A4 and printed on art paper.
8.6
Unlike a lot of books about DTP, this one looks as if it has been
designed by someone knowing something about DTP! The pages have a very
light feel, with lots of white space and illustrations. Whilst looking
attractive, the layout is not so flashy that it gets in the way of
reading the book.
8.6
Design guidelines
8.6
The first half of the book deals with four design guidelines (Contrast,
Repetition, Alignment and Proximity). In each case, the author explains
the theory and illustrates it with copious examples.
8.6
The guidelines are all quite simple and, at first glance, they appear
rather obvious. The strength of this book is the way it applies the
guidelines to real typesetting problems. Everyone knows, for example,
that items on a page should line up, but it is not always clear what
this means in a given situation.
8.6
The illustrations are an integral part of the book and reinforce the
message quite effectively. The ‘before’ examples are uncontrived, and
the ‘after’ examples are actually an improvement. One of the ‘before’
examples looked just like a letter I received the same day! The emphasis
throughout the book is on getting to grips with a few simple ideas and
putting them into practice.
8.6
Choosing and using fonts
8.6
The second half of the book deals with choosing and using fonts. The
author proposes a system for categorising fonts and then uses it to show
how to introduce contrast and repetition through well-chosen font
combinations.
8.6
It goes without saying that some of the fonts used are not available on
the Acorn platform, or have different names. (One of the fonts was
designed by the author’s daughter!) However, this is not really a
problem, because the specific fonts are only used to illustrate basic
principles. Again, I found the majority of the examples convincing.
8.6
Using colour
8.6
There is a very short section on colour, which is less satisfying than
the rest of the book. It is difficult to illustrate this kind of
material in black ink, and on one occasion the author suggests that the
reader colour in the pages himself!
8.6
Style
8.6
The book is written in a style which manages to be chatty without being
patronising or irritating. Jargon is kept to a minimum and the few
technical words which the author uses are explained and included in a
short glossary. Some readers will skip the quizzes that appear
throughout, but I forced myself to work through them and found that they
did help to drive home the design guidelines.
8.6
Conclusion
8.6
This book is not in the ‘1,001 Arcane Typesetting Rules’ category, and
the author admits that it will never replace a four-year design course.
It would also be a bad choice to take onto a desert island. (I read it
the first time in an afternoon.)
8.6
It would be ideal for a WP user who has graduated into DTP and wants to
produce better page layouts. I read it twice, and learned quite a few
things in the process. I then redesigned a leaflet I was working on,
consciously using the principles taught in this book, and the customer
was delighted.  A
8.6
Oak
8.6
From 8.5 page 14
8.6
E-Type 2
8.6
Andrew Rawnsley
8.6
Several years ago, when RISC OS machines were still in their infancy,
Gordon Key developed E-Type and released it under the 4th Dimension
label. The game was fairly simple in concept − race your classic car as
many times round a long and winding road course until your time ran out.
Successfully completing a track resulted in promotion to a more complex
one.
8.6
E-Type received great critical acclaim, since at the time it was a
ground breaking product − 256 colour graphics; fast, smooth arcade-style
gameplay; lashings of humour and a real sense of speed. The game still
has followers, being a landmark product in Acorn gaming history.
8.6
E-Type 2
8.6
Now, about five years later, Mr Key has produced a sequel, originally
titled E-Type 2. The main enhancements include several two-player
options, new courses, weather, a few new power-ups, Risc PC
compatibility and a simple course designer.
8.6
Unfortunately, the main game engine doesn’t appear to have advanced much
more than a year beyond the original. We now have tunnels and more
rolling hills but nothing that might make the game stand out from the
crowd.
8.6
Loading
8.6
E-Type 2 can be played from floppy or hard disc. Copy protection takes
the form of the standard 4th Dimension key disc approach. Double-
clicking on the filer icon loads the game onto the iconbar, from where
various game options can be turned on.
8.6
You can define keys, select which of the six tracks you want to play and
choose whether or not to race against the computer, a friend or on your
own. Sound levels can also be adjusted but anyone with the almost
compulsory external speakers will have this anyway.
8.6
Playing the game
8.6
Once in the game, the screen appeared very narrow on a Risc PC, be it in
one or two-player mode. It reminded me of Matt Black’s Blood Sport game,
which only used a third of the screen vertically. This fault may be Risc
PC specific, but since the game is hailed as being designed with this
machine in mind, I would expect full compatibility. I couldn’t get 4th
Dimension to send me the non-Risc PC version, so I was unable to test it
on any other machine.
8.6
When driving along, carnival-style banners often hang across the road.
Driving under specific points of these can yield upgrades to your car,
such as lasers to blast any hazards in your way (including oil slicks
and trees), oil which is only useful in two-player mode, extra time,
radar blocks to avoid police speed traps and a variety of others. Some,
including the lasers and the time, were useful but I got the impression
that many other things had been included in an attempt to give the game
something more than its predecessor.
8.6
Successfully completing a track is rewarded by your inclusion on its
high score table, including your average speed and total time. You are
also ‘rewarded’ with the same jingle that accompanied the original − how
about a proper soundtrack rather than just using the StringLib voices
supplied in the machine?
8.6
Two-player mode
8.6
This can take the form of computer vs human or human vs human. The
standard way of playing is simply to race each other to the finish line,
but you can also play in Pursuit mode, where the finish is removed, and
the players race for as long as possible before that final fatal
accident. The player travelling furthest when both cars collapse wins.
8.6
Unfortunately, there appeared to be no network or serial link game
options, resulting in the traditional squash on the keyboard.
8.6
The track designer
8.6
To complement the package, a track designer is included. However, unlike
the one available for E-Type 1, there is no graphical front end − you
have to type in the details into a text editor such as !Edit and then
compile the result with the supplied utility. It’s crude but it works.
8.6
Conclusions
8.6
I find it hard to be positive about E-Type 2 but, if you absolutely
adored the original, the new version might satisfy, but don’t play
against a PC or Amiga owning friend, as there are far better racing
games on those platforms.
8.6
I would much rather play Stunt Racer 2000, either in one or two-player
mode, the latter over a serial link (£32 through Archive + Extra Tracks
£19) especially when you compare the price with E-Type 2 at £34.95 (£33
through Archive)  A
8.6
Help!!!!
8.6
•  Apollonius PDT − I’m having problems with this drawing package from
Oak Solutions. Am I alone? Would anyone like to compare notes with me?
Brian Cocksedge, West Sussex.
8.6
• ArtWorks modules − Two which I would like are: (1) Fancy lines which
never make shapes for filling. This is for tramway and railway maps
which use their own conventional symbols which are not the same as the
dotted and dashed lines in Artworks.
8.6
(2) The ability to enter real dimensions for a drawing and have them
scaled automatically. There are, for instance, many railway drawings
available which show dimensions in feet and inches, and it would be
useful to have the system do the scale calculation. I don’t mind doing
the feet and inches to inches in my head but the main scaling can be
open to calculation error. I know that I could do it with a calculator,
but the computer ought to be able to take that work from me.  David
Wild, Hemel Hempstead.
8.6
•  BBC Computers − Has anyone got any old BBC Computers in reasonable
working order? If so, we have more than one ‘good home’ to which they
can go. The latest is a Down’s Syndrome group who loan them out to
parents who can use them with their down’s syndrome children.  Ed.
8.6
•  Bezier curves in Draw − Is there a PD program which will convert
freehand lines in Draw to smooth bezier curves as can be done in
Artworks? Add Campbell, Chuddleigh.
8.6
•  MacFS review − I have boobed over the MacFS/MacFS Lite/AppleFS
review. I have had copies of Mac reading software going in and out to
reviewers and am now totally confused. Has anyone got a copy of any/all
of these bits of software and does anyone think they are the ones who
are doing the review for Archive? If not, would anyone like to do the
review?  Ed.
8.6
• Patience silly − Sometimes it seems that the cursor doesn’t want to
let go of the cards when you have moved them to a new pile, and you have
to move it back to where you started and try again. I haven’t had any
problem with other programs, so is there a bug in !Patience? It is
obviously trivial, but it would be interesting to know.  David Wild,
Hemel Hempstead.
8.6
•  Phone exchange locator − Has anyone come across the excellent
!Exchange phone exchange locator? I have v0.82, written by M.S. Bright
in 1991 and I’d very much like an update − it’s really useful. The
problem is that Mr Bright has omitted to put any contact details in the
files accompanying my PD copy. Has anyone seen a more recent version
and, if so, where can I get it? Also, is it PhoneDay-ready yet i.e. does
it support the new STD codes? Any help you can offer would be much
appreciated... Richard Hesketh, Lampeter.
8.6
•  Polish font − Does anybody know where I can obtain a font to enable a
Polish child to use the characters of their own language? !Chars does
not have Polish characters. Charlie Alford 0116-266-7566 (day) or 0116-
266-0123 (eves).
8.6
•  Printers 1.22 problems − Has anyone experienced problems printing
‘Grey 1’ using !Printers 1.22 set to small halftoning? On my HP500C, I
find the printed result is white (although printing using large
halftoning works). To get round this, I have to swap between Printers
1.22 and 0.33 which involves resetting the machine. Does anyone have a
more elegant solution? Contact via NCS office please.
8.6
• Sprite files − Does anyone know of a program for sorting the sprites
in a sprite file into alphabetical order? This would be especially
useful with Almanac which uses sprite files to keep its lists of
categories. At present you have to search the lists and can easily miss
one entry.  David Wild, Hemel Hempstead.
8.6
•  Time added on? − Does anyone have a multitasking application for
totalling a column of hours, minutes and seconds?   Roger King,
Guernsey.
8.6
Help Offered
8.6
• National Curriculum information − I have Key Stages 1 to 5 for all
subjects on disc. If anyone wants a copy, they can send me a formatted
DD disc and an SAE or £1.  Robert Lytton, 7 Helmsley Drive, West Park,
Leeds, LS16 5HY.  A
8.6
Risc DOS Column
8.6
Simon Coulthurst
8.6
A few days ago, we installed one of the first PC486 cards in Simon’s
Risc PC! He hasn’t had much time working on it, but here are his first
thoughts...
8.6
Risc PC-PC486 card
8.6
The first 500 cards are being loaned to the Acorn press and ‘key
dealers’ in order to get as much coverage as possible before the general
widespread release some time in April. The packaging of the cards states
that this is a pre-production version and some of the documentation
still requires finishing. This is, to all intents and purposes, the same
card and software that you will receive if you paid the extra £99 at the
time you purchased your Risc PC.
8.6
It arrives in the standard IBM PCDOS software box. Inside, an extra
plastic moulding holds the PC486 card and its software as well as the
PCDOS discs themselves. A rather neat outer sleeve, that blends in with
the design on the IBM box, tells you that this is the Risc PC 486 card.
8.6
Installation of the card itself is straight forward. The Risc PC
motherboard has two sockets for processor cards, one contains the ARM
chip. If your ARM chip is in the back slot, it should be moved to the
front (it works in either) because the PC card generates a certain
amount of heat so you want the 486 chip furthest away from the ARM chip.
The card itself is remarkably simple in construction containing just the
486 itself (marked as a SXL-40), the ASIC chip that’s taken so long to
finish, five smaller support chips and a handful of capacitors. That’s
it − neat, compact and effective.
8.6
The software
8.6
The software itself is slightly more complex. You need to be careful to
follow the instructions given in the User Guide. First of all, you need
to install the latest version of DOSFS, which ensures that the contents
of the DOS partition can be viewed from within RISC OS. Then the PC486
card software needs to be copied into a directory on your hard disc.
This consists of !PC486, the application that lets you use the PC card,
!PCConfig, for configuring the way the card operates and a ReadMe file
detailing the latest information on the card and its software. There are
also some Windows and DOS drivers in a separate directory. Windows
itself does not come with the PC486 card, so you will need to budget for
this if you wish to run the world’s most ‘popular’ GUI.
8.6
Once the card and software are installed and the Risc PC has been
rebooted, it is necessary to create a DOS partition on the hard disc.
The card software takes care of this, creating a large file on the Risc
PC that looks like drive C: (and D: if you have chosen to have two
discs) when using the PC486 card. The installation of DOS takes place
within the PC environment itself. Of course, your dealer may well do all
this for you, if you ask nicely.
8.6
The PC486 card can operate in either single- or multi-tasking mode. In
single-tasking mode, the RISC OS desktop is suspended and the full speed
of the card is available. In multi-tasking mode, the PC environment is
run in a window on the RISC OS desktop. This means that the card has to
share resources with the ARM chip and consequently runs more slowly.
Multi-tasking mode does provide a few extra features, like a menu within
the window (selected by pressing <menu>) which allows the screen to be
saved in sprite or text format.
8.6
Performance
8.6
First of all, I will give a purely subjective appraisal of performance.
I have, within my company, several PCs running DOS and Windows. These
range from a 386 at 33MHz up to a Pentium at 60MHz with several speeds
of 486 in between. I have installed on the Risc PC PC486 card some of
the software that we use on a daily basis in our business and used it as
much as possible over the last couple of days. Whilst this is certainly
not an exhaustive test, it has given me a feel for how the PC486 card
performs relative to our other computers.
8.6
Loading software from floppy was slightly slower than our 486s and
slightly faster than the 386. In use, the software felt reasonably fast
and responsive, certainly better than the 386 and on a level with a Dell
486 33MHz that I use fairly frequently. The screen display was fast and
accurate. It did have a slight problem when using the floppy disc drive
− the mouse pointer would freeze momentarily whilst the disc was being
accessing. This was hardly a major problem but it was noticeable.
However, once I had become accustomed to it, it ceased to matter.
8.6
Secondly, I have shown some ‘objective’ benchmark results in the table
below. In both tests, the higher the number, the better the performance,
except in the last column total time taken, where a lower number is
better. Of particular interest was the results for the Power PC / Soft
Windows combination. If you were just to read the final result of the
Windows User Benchmarks of 7.7 and 8.2, you would conclude that the
Power PC / Soft Windows combination was faster than the Risc PC 486PC
card. However in reality, as the last column shows, it was significantly
slower. I believe the reason for this strange result is to do with the
way that the Soft Windows emulation is designed. It is emulating
everything in software, including the PC’s clock tick, so there is
nothing to stop it from slowing down the PC’s internal clock thereby
giving the illusion of a faster result than that actually obtained. When
a stop watch is used to time the benchmarks, the truth is revealed,
hence the final column results!
8.6
In use, the PC486 card actually feels faster than these results might
indicate. Others who have used the card have said that it feels as
though it is running at something like 75 to 80 percent of the speed of
a comparable PC. I would go along with this. The second set of
benchmarks, WinTach, uses a more real-world approach and its results
show that the Risc PC 486PC card is only marginally slower than the real
thing (again using the total time taken as the more reliable indicator
of performance) as its total time is 1.56 minutes as opposed to 1.27
minutes for the PC. This is 77% of the PC result. By the way, the PC
used was not some no name slowpoke clone, it was a fairly rapid Dell PC.
8.6
Compatibility
8.6
The 486PC card has been tested with Windows 3.1 and Windows for
Workgroups 3.1 and 3.11. A beta version of Windows ’95 has also been
tested and runs. The software used during the development of the product
to test compatibility is listed in the table opposite. Whilst this table
is not exhaustive, it does cover some of the major packages available
under Windows. As it is a particular favourite, I was also pleased to
see that Doom features. I can also confirm that Idealist for Windows,
Monarch for Windows, MicroHelp Uninstaller 2 (a useful package if you
are using Windows software), Doom 2 and PlugIn (desktop enhancement
utility) all run well on the 486PC card.
8.6
As suspected, you will need a large amount of memory in order to run the
486PC card at speed on your Risc PC. Whilst it is possible to run
Windows and DOS using a 5Mb Risc PC, remember that the Risc PC still
needs some of that memory and so the amount left to the 486PC card will
result in a slow Windows environment. A 9Mb Risc PC is a much better
prospect, with 6Mb allocated to the 486 environment, the remainder to
RISC OS. My Risc PC has 26Mb which allowed me to allocate 12Mb to the
486PC card and still keep all my RISC OS software running on the desktop
happily. The !PCConfig program is used to allocate the memory between
the two systems as well as specifying the screen memory for the 486PC
card. The more screen memory you allocate to the 486PC card, the higher
the Windows resolution you can use, up to a maximum of 1024×768×256,
although it is expected that this may be increased in future by a
software upgrade.
8.6
The only compatibility blackspot is likely to be PC games. Whilst
Windows games should run without problems, any DOS games, particularly
older ones, that try to circumvent the normal PC graphic routines in
order to gain extra speed, are likely to fail on the 486PC card.
Fortunately, more recent games, such as Doom, are less likely to do this
as PC’s have become fast enough without these tricks.
8.6
Limitations
8.6
At the present time, OS/2 apparently does not work on the 486PC card
although Acorn are working on this as well as ensuring full Windows ’95
support.
8.6
Sound support is only available via a parallel port Soundblaster adaptor
at present. When the Risc PC 16-bit sound card upgrade is available, it
should be possible to load a software Soundblaster emulator that will
allow the use of PC software that provides Soundblaster support. At the
moment, only the PC beep is supported.
8.6
Although CD-ROM support is already provided, PhotoCD is not supported on
the current software.
8.6
The ARMDRV.drv driver within Windows, that provides much of the speed of
the Windows system, has a fault that causes GPF’s with certain software.
I have experienced this myself with the Microsoft Encarta ’95 CD-ROM.
Acorn are aware of this and have produced a new driver that cures the
problem. They are sending me a copy to try out. At the moment, this is
only an alpha release but it is to be hoped that, by the time the cards
are generally available, this will be the standard version.
8.6
Certain DOS games may use older video modes that are not supported under
RISC OS but it is possible to create a suitable mode in the Monitor
definition file. If one is not available then the 486PC card will force
the display into a multi-tasking window.
8.6
CMOS settings are constructed on booting the card and not saved in a
real CMOS. Any applications that save their settings in CMOS will find
the settings have been forgotten.
8.6
Availability
8.6
For all those people who have waited so patiently, the big question is,
“When?!”
8.6
All the design and component work has now been completed and approved
for the card, so commercial manufacturing can commence. It will be
available from Acorn dealers from April 1995 at a cost of £99 +VAT if
purchased at the same time as a Risc PC system. This price is also
available for all Risc PC owners for a period of three months following
release of the card. After this period, the card will cost £199 +VAT if
purchased as an upgrade after purchase of the computer.
8.6
Shortly after this, Aleph One expect to have their enhanced versions
available. These will be higher specification devices − priced
accordingly. Aleph One have publicly announced that they will be
developing a Power PC device. This is unlikely to support Apple
software, however, as the licensing costs are too high.
8.6
Finally...
8.6
This review has been brief in order to meet the magazine deadline.
Indeed, this may be the first review you will see in the Acorn press. I
will go into more specific detail next month.
8.6
I can be contacted on email as: [e-mail]. co.uk.  A
8.6
* The results for the Apple PowerPC / SoftWindows combination varied
wildly for this particular benchmark during testing. Lowest figure
recorded was 24.1, highest about 85. This latter result would indicate a
graphics performance 8½ times that of a good 486 PC. This is a highly
unlikely result, particularly in the light of the total time taken to
complete the tests shown in the last column.
8.6

8.6
Integrated Software
8.6
Microsoft Works for Windows
8.6
Claris Works
8.6
Microsoft Office Professional
8.6
Lotus Smartsuite
8.6
Wordprocessors
8.6
Lotus AmiPro
8.6
Wordperfect for Windows 6.0
8.6
Wordstar for Windows 2.0
8.6
Microsoft Word for Windows 6.0
8.6
Databases
8.6
Microsoft Access
8.6
Spreadsheets
8.6
Microsoft Excel
8.6
Lotus 123 for Windows
8.6
CD-ROMs
8.6
Microsoft Encarta
8.6
Microsoft Dinosaurs
8.6
Games
8.6
Doom
8.6

8.6
Databases
8.6
Microsoft Access
8.6
Spreadsheets
8.6
Microsoft Excel
8.6
Lotus123 for Windows
8.6
CD-ROMs
8.6
Microsoft Encarta
8.6
Microsoft Dinosaurs
8.6
Games
8.6
Doom
8.6
Tested Software
8.6
Small Ads
8.6
Small ads for Acorn 32-bit computers (i.e. not BBC’s) and related
products are free for subscribers but we reserve the right to publish
all, part or none of the material you send, as we think fit. i.e. some
people don’t know what ‘small’ means and there are certain things, that
we would not be prepared to advertise as a matter of principle. Sending
small ads (especially long ones!) on disc is helpful but not essential.
Ed.
8.6
•  A3000, RISC OS 3.1 4Mb RAM, 80Mb SCSI, RGB monitor, PRES monitor
stand and expansion case, VGC £500 o.n.o. Phone [phone].
8.6
•  A310, 4Mb, RISC OS 3.1, ARM 3, 120Mb HD, RGB monitor, backplane,
external 5¼“ drive interface. £400 o.n.o. Phone [phone].
8.6
•  A4 model II, 4Mb RAM 80Mb HD, carry case, spare battery, £1,300
o.n.o. Phone Adrian on 01603-748253.
8.6
•  A410/1, 4Mb RAM, 80Mb SCSI HD, AKF18 monitor, First Word Plus2, Acorn
DTP, ScanLight 256, Aleph One 486/25 card with 4Mb RAM DOS 6, Windows
3.1 Priced for quick sale £450. Phone [phone].
8.6
• A540 8Mb, 120Mb SCSI, RISC OS 3.1, £800 o.n.o. CC Scanner, updated
software £50.  Original packaging/manuals. Phone [phone] (eves).
8.6
•  A540 8Mb, 120Mb SCSI HD, ARM 3, RISC OS 3.1, FPU socket, Panasonic
multisync monitor, £650 o.n.o. Phone [phone].
8.6
•  A540 12Mb, Colourcard, ARM 3, RISC OS 3.1. Offers over £500. Phone
01603-765073 (day).
8.6
•  A5000 4Mb RAM 40Mb drive OS3.11 with Oak SCSI card + 100Mb drive +
Toshiba XM3301 external CD-ROM + Colourcard Gold + Taxan 795 Multi-sync
£700. Phone [phone] (eves).
8.6
•  Acorn Desktop C £49, PC Emulator v1.81 £49, S-Base Personal £49,
Investigator III £39, ArcFax v1.10 £25, Almanac 3 £39, Personal Accounts
3 £25, Split an Image £8, Glimpse £5, Snippet 2 £29, Chocks Away + Extra
Missions £15. Phone [phone].
8.6
•  Archway £25, AlphaBase £10, Alerion £5, Artisan 2 £10, Artisan
Support Disc £5, Break 147 & Superpool £15, Blowpipe £10, Corruption
£10, Conqueror £10, Desk Top Thesaurus £10, Drop Ship £10, EMR
Soundsynth £15, E Type £10, E Type Designer £10, Fugitives Quest £10,
Holed Out Compendium £10, Hoverbod £5, HP Printer Drivers £10, Inertia
£5, Sporting Triangles £5, Nevryon £10, Orion £5, Quazar £5, Rotor £10,
Rise In Crime £10, Startrader £5, Terramex £5, The Pawn £10, Thundermonk
£5, Herewith The Clues £10, Word Up, Word Down £5, WordWorks £20, Zarch
£5. All boxed with original docs. Phone [phone]pm-9pm.
8.6
•  Games − Saloon Cars Deluxe, Chopper Force, Black Angel, Birds of War
and Lemmings. All ex cond but all (except Black Angel) incompatible with
Risc PC. £8 each. Phone [phone].
8.6
•  Hard Disc 45Mb, Oak External SCSI, offers, or exchange for ST506 Hard
Disc to suit A440 (internal). Phone Steve on 01452-618742
8.6
•  Midi (Acorn) and Studio 24+ (v2) £80, DTP £35 with extra clipart, MS-
DOS 5 for PCEm £30, GammaPlot (v2) £15, System Delta+ (v2) £25, Genesis
2 £20, Investigator II £10, Bonjour de France − Ma Ville £20, Chemistry
£10, Healthdata £5, Telecommunications £8, Zarch £6, Word Up Word Down
£3, Genesis Script Language £5, MS-DOS Quick Reference £5, RISC OS 2
PRM’s £35. All software with original documentation and packaging. Phone
01737-832159 (eves).
8.6
•  New unwanted software − Eureka 2, Notate 2, PenDown Plus and
Revelation ImagePro. Also PinPoint for Windows. All offers considered.
Phone [phone].
8.6
•  Qume Laser Direct with recent new drum (done 2000 copies approx)
includes 1 toner refill, will shortly work on Risc PC with new card from
Calligraph £500 o.n.o., Qume Drum (unused) £100, Advance unopened,
unregistered £75 contact Paul Cayton. Phone [phone] (eve) or 0113-
277-7711 (day).
8.6
•  Scavenger Scanner (Beebug) 200-400dpi, with documentation £50 o.n.o.
Phone [phone]pm-9pm.
8.6
•  Wanted − Does anyone have a Panasonic KXP1124 that is no longer used?
We’d be happy to take it off your hands for a small consideration! Phone
Paul on 01603-766592.
8.6
•  Wanted − Impression Junior, version 1.19. Please contact Peter Young,
Appleby House, 20 Racecourse Lane, Northallerton, DL7 8RD.
8.6
•  Wanted − Mitsubishi MH105AL-Y1E or any other grey scale scanner head
for a CC ScanLight card. Also, information on other grey scale scanner
heads to work with ScanLight. Please contact Peter Young, as above, and
I will refund postage for any info received.
8.6
•  Wanted − Multisync monitor in good working order not more that £200.
Phone [phone].
8.6
Charity Sales
8.6
The following items are available for sale in aid of charity. PLEASE do
not just send money − ring us on 01603-766592 to check if the items are
still available. Thank you.
8.6
N.B. These items are sold AS SEEN (even though you can’t see them!),
i.e. we are not able to give refunds if the items are not suitable for
your computer or whatever. All the money paid goes straight to charity
therefore NCS cannot be involved in correspondence etc over these items.
If it turns out to be no good for you but might do for someone else,
please send it back with a note and we will sell it again with the
proviso you state, e.g. “It doesn’t work on a Risc PC.”
8.6
Software: Five assorted old games £5, Easiwriter 2 £10, Archway £10,
Datavision database £6, Colour Fun £2, Multistore £25, QuickShow +
SlideShow £3, Chess £3, Wimp Game £5, Haunted House £4, Iron Lord £5,
Photopia £10, Acorn DTP £4, PC Emulator 1.8 £30.
8.6
Hardware: Psion 3 £70, A-Link £30, Psion Chess £20, 128Kb RAM, Floppy
discs £12 per 50, PCATS Graphics enhancer £20, Acorn Econet interfaces
(10 off) £15 each, £35, Green ink refill for HP cartridge £8, Cyan ink
refill for Canon BC01 cartridge £8, Yellow ink refill for Canon BC01
cartridge £8.
8.6
(If you have unwanted software or hardware for Archimedes computers that
you could donate for charity, please send it to the Archive office. If
you have larger items where post would be expensive, send us details
and how the purchaser can get hold of them.)  A
8.6
Hints and Tips
8.6
•  DPatch/DongleKey − Contrary to S Goddard’s comments about DPatch (8.5
p32), in my experience, DPatch is needed on the Risc PC if a Publisher
dongle is fitted, but Publisher has not been loaded. Any comments?  F
Jukes, Leeds.
8.6
•  Mode summary − This was written for those with hires/multisync
monitors and shows what is available.
8.6
The choice of screen mode is a trade-off between the various factors and
how much you want to get on the screen and one time.
8.6
Refresh speeds depend on the individual, but I find the 51Hz of mode 102
flickers too much on my monitor, so I designed 107. The higher the
better with refresh rates.
8.6
Speed refers to how much the screen mode slows down the ordinary Acorn
computer. To keep the screen re-drawing quickly, use a mode with a
higher figure.
8.6
Square screen modes give a better idea of what the final result will be
like, though rectangular modes are usually quite adequate except for
accurate graphic work.
8.6
All the information was gathered using Flip Top from Computer Concepts.
Steve Hutchinson, Gloucester.
8.6
•  Style/Publisher file sizes − Robert Lytton was writing about graphics
eating up disc space when used on several master pages within an
Impression document. I had the same problem with my “stationery”
document, containing master pages for A4 letterhead, A5, US letter (for
sending a fax to North America), comp slip, etc − each had my squiggly
logo − about 30Kb compressed.
8.6
I was pleased to find that Impression’s ‘Select-Adjust trick’ works:
Make a blank frame on each master page, drop the graphic into one of
them, then click <Select> on it and <Adjust> in all the others. Bingo!
The graphic appears wherever you want it but only once in memory. The
“master” chapter behaves in the same way as ordinary chapters in the
document. Jim Nagel, Glastonbury.
8.6
•  Updating software − When updating a piece of software, it is tempting
to simply copy the new version over the old version with the newer
option set. This is not ideal, however, since it leaves old redundant
files in the application, taking up space. Therefore it is better to
delete the old version (or move it elsewhere if you are worried about
losing it) before installing the new. Roger Darlington, Manchester.  A
8.6
Mode  Size  Memory   Refresh  Speed  Colours   Shape
8.6
Acorn standard modes
8.6
12  640×256  96k  100Hz  4.79  16  Rect
8.6
20  640×512  160k  51Hz  4.7  16  Square
8.6
21  640×512  320k  51Hz  2.59  256  Square
8.6
27  640×480  160k  59Hz  4.57  16  Square
8.6
28  640×480  320k  59Hz  2.12  256  Square
8.6
31  800×600  256k  37Hz  4.69  16  Square
8.6
39  896×352  160k  60Hz  4.51  16  Rect
8.6
40  896×352  320k  60Hz  2.08  256  Rect
8.6
Modes from Newmodes, VIDC enhancer or WW modes
8.6
66  832×288  128k  79Hz  4.57  16  Rect
8.6
67  832×288  256k  79Hz  2.03  256  Rect
8.6
98  800×600  256k  57Hz  4.99  16  Square
8.6
(99 should be 256 colour version, but my Taxan 770+ won’t work with it)
8.6
102  1152×448  256k  51Hz  5.06  16  Rect
8.6
107  1088×432  256k  60Hz  5.13  16  Rect
8.6
Video Editing
8.6
Edward Croot
8.6
Wandering around the Acorn World show last October, the use of moving
images to enhance the delivery of information was clearly on show.
Multimedia applications using short clips to great advantage were to be
seen in all corners of the hall. Computer Concepts were demonstrating
their MPEG replay board but, as yet, there is no facility for the home
user to be able to make their own MPEG films with full screen, high
quality pictures.
8.6
Most of the programs on show were great for the moving snapshots
required by many multimedia programs but if you want to take your home
movies, record them into your computer, edit them, and transfer them
back to tape with at least VHS quality, the Acorn system is not quite
there. In anticipation of progress in this field, there are two
economically priced editing programs which were on display. One was
Eidoscope, of which more later, and the other was Empire.
8.6
Before the advent of Eidoscope, the nearest technique to allow you to
edit your own movies was to use the Millipede board in conjunction with
the Risc PC and the Eidos video compression system to store your film,
and then use the professional “Optima” system to do your editing. The
picture quality is good, but you need lots of storage, a big hard disc,
and preferably removable hard discs. To play back, you need at least an
ARM 700 to provide the processing speed. Eidos anticipate that, with the
faster ARM chips, they will be able to match the quality of the two
dominant non-linear editing systems currently used in the professional
field, at a price which would make the others seem rather expensive.
8.6
The MPEG pictures I saw on both the CC and Anglia stands were
impressive, but I was disturbed by some jerky movement during panning
and tracking shots. This isn’t totally surprising because any system
which relies on information from adjacent frames to reconstitute a frame
is going to have difficulties coping with the total change in data
involved in pans and tracks. However, as with “Optima”, these problems
will be overcome by using more and faster processing.
8.6
On the animation front, I liked the Iota Complete Animator package, but
I was disappointed that the Replay files it produced wouldn’t load into
Eidoscope − that would be a great way of adding animated titles, etc. (I
found that the replay files which come as demonstrations on the Risc PC
don’t load into Eidoscope either but I presume that there is an
incompatibility of frame rate as Eidoscope is only a 12½ frames per
second system.) Complete Animator is an easy program to run, assuming
that you have the ideas in the first place to produce your cartoon. My
23 year old son got hooked on it at Christmas and rapidly produced a
sequence of a lunar module landing, the spaceman disembarking, and then
the lander taking off leaving him stranded, with appropriate sounds! The
bare minimum of reference to the draft version of the manual was needed,
but I look forward to receiving my full version in due course.
8.6
Back to Eidoscope. For some time now I have used the Eidos “Optima”
professional system and have found it an easy system to use, and I look
forward to being able to use the Risc PC version, with its improved
picture and sound quality, so it was with great interest that I
installed the junior version which is Eidoscope.
8.6
The program requires a Risc PC fitted with an Eagle M2 card. Installing
Eidoscope is easy − a straight copy of the program onto your hard disc.
In addition, an ‘Install’ program updates the !ARMovie and !TakeTwo
modules so that the movies can be replayed at a higher quality than
would otherwise be possible. Using the !TakeTwo digitising program and
the ESCaPE real time video compression module, you can capture movies,
but a 33 second movie on my hard disc consumes some 5Mb. The amount
varies according to the complexity of the scene. The module AudioWorks
allows different sound qualities to be selected and, obviously, the
higher the quality, the more disc is required. Whilst recording, a
flickering black and white image is shown, as the processor is fully
consumed in converting the incoming video into digits. Don’t be put off
by this, the picture stored is in full colour. The stored movie can be
viewed back in the !TakeTwo window as a confidence booster. The
resultant video is only 12½ frames per second, but I didn’t find it
objectionable. The movies I recorded ran remarkably smoothly. The
!TakeTwo application allows some video adjustment to the incoming
signal, brightness, contrast and colour saturation but I never found it
necessary to use these.
8.6
The Eidoscope master disc is used as a key when first running the
program. It likes an 800×600, 32,000 colour mode. If your computer is
set to a different mode, there is a ‘best mode’ option on the Eidoscope
icon menu. Running the program produces two blank boxes and a blank
timeline. Figure 1 shows the layout with pictures and sound loaded. You
can consider the left hand box as the source video window or player, and
the right hand box as the recorder. To load your video, you drag the
file icon into the player window. After a short burst of hourglass
activity, the first frame of your movie appears.
8.6
Under the frame a number appears in the centre, Figure 2. This number
represents the frame displayed. In the professional program, the
timecode identifies a specific frame from the original tape but this
timecode is a measure of your film from its first frame. To the left of
this number is a button which is used to identify the first frame of
your chosen shot. To the right is the button to choose the last frame.
Clicking on the outside icons moves you instantly to the first or last
frame of the whole film. The inner ones are of more use on the record
side and they move you between the first and last frame of the current
shot. The middle icon acts as a slider allowing you to step through your
movie from single frames to the equivalent of fast wind on your video.
To play at normal speed, you put the cursor into the picture box and
double click with <select>. The hourglass shows whilst the first batch
of data is drawn from the disc, and then your movie leaps into action.
As your film runs, you will notice that the hard disc is continually
being accessed. To stop, just click anywhere on the screen.
8.6
It is harder to describe how to work the program than it is to do it. If
you understand the basics of editing, you will take about five minutes
to become operational. The manual takes you through the functions of the
program in a straightforward manner. If you look carefully, you can even
see the Eidos MD appearing in a demo picture. To do your first edit,
mark your ‘in point’, run the film until you find the ‘out point’ then
mark it. The two buttons will now be red, and the frame numbers of the
in / out points will be displayed. (Figure 3) Now drag and drop the
picture across to the record window, and your first shot appears with
the time line graphically showing the picture and track information. The
image has a row of circular symbols on the top and bottom. This is to
tell you that the film is parked one frame after the last frame of the
scene. When you drag your next shot over it, it will tag onto the last
scene from this point with no action on your part. This allows you very
quickly to compile the shots you want from your rushes.
8.6
In your timeline window, you will now see a blue line which represents
the picture and a red one which represents the sound. Eidoscope allows
you to have two independent soundtracks enabling you to build up
different effects on each, which can then be mixed using the levels
module to be found on one of the menu lists. Each shot change is
represented by a white vertical line on the video and sound lines. By
clicking on the time line, you can move up and down the film as an
alternative way of moving around your shots.
8.6
The great thing about computer editing is the ability to move to and fro
through your film, cut shots out and paste them in a different place,
all as fast as you can click the mouse buttons. When making your edits,
you can choose to copy your picture alone, or picture and sound, or
sound alone. Eidoscope allows you to do all the standard mixes and
wipes. Effects are shown as grey boxes on the video timeline. To do
these with tape machines, you would need three − two players and a
recorder. In addition, you would need a vision mixer which has the
capability to produce the effects, and a controller which can accurately
control your VCRs. Eidoscope does these effects instantly.
8.6
There are two options to save your work. One is the log option. This
tells the computer where the original shots are on your discs, so that
they can be found by Eidoscope when playing the film at a future time.
The second is the Replay option where the Eidoscope pictures are saved
as a Replay file. The program takes the option of compressing the
pictures a little more. It takes a while for the compression and saving
to take place, so it’s worth getting your camera out and going to shoot
those retakes that you’ve discovered you need.
8.6
Without a separate card, you can’t output your video to a VCR but if you
do, you can produce a full screen image by using a 320×256, 32,000
colour mode. The results are passable, not dissimilar to second
generation VHS, with the benefit that the picture quality doesn’t vary,
no matter how many copies you make, and with none of that awful ringing
so commonly produced in dubbing VHS.
8.6
This program has the great virtue that it is open-ended and, as the
faster multiple processors become available, the quality can be improved
as a software upgrade. As packages like this become available, they can
do nothing but good for the state of domestic film-making. If you
produce wobbly pans and trombone zooms, you will soon realise how
difficult they are to edit. The virtue of steady shots, planned
sequences and the basic grammar of wide­shot, mid­shot, close­shot will
become apparent. Who knows, you may find visitors saying, “Please may we
see your holiday movies?”  A
8.6
Figure 1
8.6
Figure 2
8.6
Figure 3
8.6
Gerald’s Column
8.6
Gerald Fitton
8.6
Thanks for your letters. So many of them have asked about setting up
printers and printing in background that I’ve decided that, in spite of
many other temptations, and as a continuation of my document production
theme, I shall devote this month’s column to that subject.
8.6
Before I do just a quick note. You can now buy Fireworkz Pro. This is an
upgrade to Fireworkz (new features) which you have to pay for. It
includes the long-awaited database, Recordz. Although I shall review
Fireworkz Pro as soon as possible (next month), my reaction from my
first month’s use is that it’s good and you’ll like it!
8.6
Also, on the monthly disc, I have included a second solution (in Basic −
still not a spreadsheet) to the rounding problem by R W Newmark.
8.6
Foreword
8.6
When I am asked by newcomers to any document production package what
they should do first, then whether they have Style, Fireworkz, PipeDream
or anything else, I reply that it is most important that they configure
their printers correctly. When they have set up their printing
arrangements (complete with all the paper sizes they usually use) they
can move on to selecting their ‘global’ options (usually choices or
preferences from the iconbar) and ‘local’ options (usually a template
or, with Style, master pages). Finally, they should create at least the
basic styles they are going to use with those templates or master pages.
My recommendation is that only after these preliminaries (printers,
options and styles) have been completed will they be ready to start
creating their first masterpiece!
8.6
This month I shall concentrate on printing. Sometime in the future
(after reviewing Fireworkz Pro?) I shall move on to options and then to
styles.
8.6
Introduction
8.6
A question which comes up time and time again is “How can I get my
Archimedes to print in background whilst I get on with something else?”
A second question, or should I say set of questions, relate to unwanted
page feeds and (whatever you try) the printer refusing to print at the
right place.
8.6
In this article, I hope to help you select a suitable RISC OS printer
definition for your printer and explain something of the way in which
they work. If you can’t find a printer definition which is an exact
match for yours then, by following the contents of this article, you
should be able to modify one of the existing files for use with your
printer.
8.6
I shall tackle the second series of questions before explaining how to
print in background!
8.6
The new RISC OS printer drivers
8.6
Acorn have now issued a new printer driver, Version 1.22, which is
available as Archive Utilities Disc Nº7 at £2. If you don’t have
Printers v1.22 (or later), I suggest that you buy a copy from NCS. You
can use v1.22 only if you have RISC OS 3.1 or later. A new version of
the [Colours] module (v1.57 06 Dec 1993) is included with v1.22 which,
in my opinion, improves colour rendering.
8.6
To demonstrate what you have to do I have chosen to look at the printer
definition files supplied by Acorn for the HP DJ500C inkjet and the
LaserJet-III laser printer. I shall also discuss two other printer
definition files called [Int00] and [Int01] − I shall explain how I
developed these from the [DJ500C] for use with my Integrex Series 2
colour printer. Even if you don’t have either of these printers, you
should still find what I have to say useful and you should be able to
apply the principles to your own printer. If you have the Archive
monthly disc, you’ll find all the custom files to which I refer on that
disc.
8.6
Loading PrntDefn files into !PrintEdit
8.6
Included with your RISC OS 3.1, on disc, you will find the utility
!PrintEdit. Make sure that your operating system has seen !PrintEdit and
then double-click (without holding down <Shift>) on [LasJet-III] and it
will load into !PrintEdit. I have two versions of PrintEdit.
8.6
My early version is 0.27 (14-May-92); it does not install on the
iconbar! If you have the early version, place the pointer somewhere on
the left of the printer definition editor window and click <menu> and
choose Info and you’ll find the version number. My later version is 0.38
(15-Jun-94) and does install itself on the iconbar. It is available from
NCS as Utilities Disc Nº8.
8.6
The paper offsets
8.6
When a PrntDefn file is loaded into PrintEdit, the current values of the
Paper X offset: and Paper Y offset will appear in the dialogue boxes. If
you haven’t modified the [LasJet-III] file, these are 4.99 mm and
11.17 mm respectively (or 4.83 mm and 11.09 mm if you have a different
version of Printers from me). Let me make the point most strongly that
these values may be correct if you have bought a genuine HP
Laser Jet III (with an ‘HP’ on it) but they may not be correct if what
you have is an HP Laser Jet III clone! If you have a clone, you may have
to change these values. My Integrex is an HP DJ 500C clone and the
offsets I need for the Integrex are different from the offsets built
into the [DJ500C] definition.
8.6
Is a small error in the offsets important? Yes! If you have configured
your !Printers so that these offsets are wrong by 0.5 mm or more, you
may get a whole host of printing problems out of all proportion to the
offset errors. Problems range from printing slightly out of position
(not too important) to unwanted form feeds (almost impossible to find
out why). Some people have found that printing starts half way down the
page when the Paper Y offset is less than a mm out!
8.6
I don’t know why the offsets are so sensitive but I think it has
something to do with the way in which negative numbers are handled by
the printer driver. Anyway, you have been warned! Get these offsets
right before you do anything else and you won’t regret the time, paper
and ink you spend!
8.6
Loading a PrntDefn file into !Printers
8.6
Before you can print anything, you will need !Printers on the iconbar
and loaded with a suitable printer definition file. The paragraphs below
explain how to do this.
8.6
When you first load !Printers, it will appear in grey as ‘Printers’ on
the iconbar. Whatever the colour of the icon, click <menu> on it and
select Printer control. A window called Printer control will appear.
Drag your first choice of printer definition file, e.g. [LasJet-III],
into this window and the name of the icon will change, in the case of
[LasJet-III], to LsJet III.
8.6
If you have an inkjet printer with a definition of 300 dpi and don’t
know which printer definition file to use, try [DJ500C] or my [Int00]
printer definition file. Canon bubble jets have a resolution of 360 dpi,
so these HP-type files are unsuitable. I believe that one of the dot
matrix PrntDfn files might be a good starting point for the Canon
printers − but look at the [ReadMe] file which comes with Acorn’s
Printers disc.
8.6
Drag in another copy of your printer driver, or even another printer
driver, and you will find that an extra printer icon appears on the
iconbar! You can add many such printers to the iconbar.
8.6
When I was deciding exactly what paper offsets to use, I created five
printer definition files, each having slightly different paper offsets
(and with slightly different names) and then printed out my [Top_Left2]
file (see later) with each of them until I found out how the paper
offset parameters worked!
8.6
Whatever printer you have
8.6
Firstly, here is a general statement which absolutely true but which
might be of no use to you whatsoever! The ideal values for the X and Y
offsets correspond exactly to the position of the print head over the
paper before printing starts. You measure these offsets from the top
left corner of the page to the position of the printhead, X horizontally
and Y vertically.
8.6
If the printer control dialogue box is not on screen, click <menu> on
any printer icon on the iconbar and then select printer control. The
printer control dialogue box will open. Now click <menu> on your chosen
printer and select Configure. You can use the dialogue box which opens
to choose a paper size for your experiments. One of the choices for
paper size is one called “A4 paper size”. It is characterised by having
all its graphics margins and text margins set to zero. Use this paper
size for the tests set out below.
8.6
Change the name of the printer. That is what I have done to create my
two printers called File and Print. I have chosen these names because
the File printer prints to a file and Print prints from the file to my
printer. I explain how to achieve this later.
8.6
Printers which use HP codes
8.6
On the monthly disc, you’ll find a Test directory containing two
printout files [GreyRect] and [Pointer] which are written in HP code and
thus are suitable for use with almost any laser or inkjet HP printer and
their clones (such as my Integrex ColourJet Series 2). Use them with
your choice of printer definition file. They will print a mark at the
top left of the paper. I prefer to use [Pointer] (for which I am
indebted to Bruce D Brown − see below) rather than [GreyRect].
8.6
Measure the distance between the top left of the printed graphic and the
(left and top) edges of the paper. Measure these carefully to the
nearest half mm. By the way, the offsets round up to the next quarter of
a point (i.e. 1/288th of an inch or 0.088 mm) so after saving and
reloading, you’ll see some strange values in mm because they are rounded
in quarter points.
8.6
Make a copy of the printer definition file you used − give it a
different name. I started with [DJ500C] and made a copy which I called
[Int00]. I loaded [Int00] into PrintEdit, changed its (internal) name,
changed the X and Y offsets to 0 mm and I saved the file. I used [Int00]
with the test file [Top_Left2] (see below) and found that I needed to
change the X offset. The printer definition file, [Int01], is the final
version of my PrntDefn file.
8.6
Typically, ink jet printers will print right up to the top of the paper
(i.e. a Y offset of 0 mm) but they will not print on the bottom 10 mm of
the paper. Contrast this with a laser printer which typically loses only
6 mm at the bottom of the page but needs 10 mm or more (as the Y offset)
at the top. Different inkjet printers will need slightly different X
offsets. A slight error in the X offsets is not as serious as an error
in the Y offsets since even small errors in the latter will lead to
either unwanted form feeds or printing taking place well down the paper.
8.6
If you have problems in setting up a printer which uses HP codes then
you might try: Bruce D Brown, 34 Harlington Road East, Feltham,
Middlesex, TW13 5BN. He has volunteered to help (but with HP printers
only and not Epson types).
8.6
To take advantage of Bruce’s offer of help, please create a simple
document and print it to a file (see how to do this below). Send the
Printout format file to him (on disc) together with a disc copy of your
!Printers directory. Please send him a sticky label with your name and
address on it together with return postage. If you don’t send return
postage then you’ll get no reply! Fair enough?
8.6
Dot matrix printers
8.6
If you have a dot matrix printer, you should use either [Top_Left] (if
your printer uses Epson codes) or, if that fails, then my drawfile which
is called [Top_Left2]. Both these are on the monthly disc.
8.6
Using [Top_Left2]
8.6
If you have serious difficulties using [Pointer] or [Top_Left] because
your printer won’t accept the HP or Epson codes (respectively), then try
again using [Top_Left2] with a printer definition which has both Paper X
and Paper Y offsets of 0.00 mm.
8.6
Load the file [Top_Left2] and print it out from Draw or DrawPlus using a
PrntDefn which has both X and Y offsets of 0.00 mm and a paper size
(such as the A4 paper size) which has zero left, right bottom and top
margins. Measure the actual printed position of the graphic and use that
to determine your X and Y offsets.
8.6
Modify a copy of your chosen PrntDefn file so that it uses these
offsets.
8.6
Creating your own paper size
8.6
When you have chosen your offsets, create a paper size which uses the
exact same size left and top margins as the X and Y offsets of the
printer Definition! Usually, you will find that the right margin should
be set equal to the left margin but you may have to experiment with the
bottom margin. As a guide to values for the bottom margin, laser
printers will need about 6 mm and inkjet printers will need 10 mm to
25 mm. Printing out the file [Grid] from Draw or DrawPlus will probably
help you to decide how much of the bottom of the grid is lost.
8.6
If you find that, even with your X and Y offsets correct, you still get
unwanted form feeds, you may have to slightly alter the length of your
page. An A4 page should be exactly 297 mm long but, because of slight
variations in the way the rollers in a printer measure the page length,
you may find that you have to reduce the length of your A4 page by
0.5 mm or so.
8.6
Removing unwanted printer definitions
8.6
Place the pointer in the printer control window and click on one of the
(many) printer definitions you no longer want. It will be highlighted.
Click <menu> and select the Remove option. The selected printer will be
removed from both the printer control window and from the iconbar.
8.6
If you want to print in background using the technique I suggest below,
you will need to keep two copies of your final PrntDefn in the printer
control window, one which you will call called File and the other Print.
Don’t change the names to File and Print using PrintEdit, change them
from the Configure option of the printer control window as follows.
8.6
Changing the name of the printer
8.6
You can change the name, the default paper size, the printing
resolution, the quality of print (e.g. number of colours or shades of
grey) and a few other attributes of any printer which appears in the
printer control window. Place the pointer in the printer control window
over the printer you want to modify, click <menu> and select Configure.
Change the name of the first printer to File and click on the OK box.
The name of the printer will change in both the printer control window
and on the iconbar. Change the name of the second to Print in the same
way.
8.6
I suggest that you change the default paper size for both your printers
to your preferred paper size (i.e. the paper size with left and top
paper margins exactly equal to the X and Y offsets), that you use “Grey,
large halftone” as your default quality and 300 by 300 dpi as your
resolution. I prefer the Paper feed to be Auto even if I’m going to use
manual feed.
8.6
Printing to file
8.6
Place the pointer in the printer control window, highlight the printer
called File and select Connection. A window called “Connections” will
open. On the left, near the bottom, you will see a radio button called
File. Click on this to turn it green. Now type in the full path name of
the (as yet non-existent) file to which you are going to print. In my
case, I have created a directory on my hard disc called PrintFiles to
hold the Printout file. My full pathname is
[scsi::HD4.$.Printfiles.Print]. Click on the OK box. Do not be tempted
to click on the “Print in background” radio button!
8.6
Now you have two printer icons on the iconbar. Click on the printer icon
called File so that it becomes the default leaving the printer called
Print greyed out.
8.6
When you are satisfied that you have the two printers you want on the
iconbar and that they are both configured with suitable Names, Paper,
Resolution and Quality then click <menu> on the printer icon (on the
iconbar) and select Save choices. If you don’t do this, you will lose
all the settings you have created.
8.6
Using the ‘Printing to file’ facility
8.6
Load a suitable document and press <print> to initiate printing and you
will print to the named file (overwriting any earlier version). During
the time you are printing to file, you will find that you have
relinquished control of your machine! So “Where is the advantage?” you
might well ask. The answer is that printing to a file is much quicker
than printing to the printer. You have lost control for a shorter period
of time.
8.6
Tests I have carried out with my setup indicate that printing to file is
about three times faster than printing to the printer. By the way, often
you can speed up this process of printing to file by making the font
cache larger; I recommend 512Kb.
8.6
You will regain control of the machine when printing to file is
complete. In order to print out your Printout file, all you need to do
is to drag the file called [Print] (from the directory on your hard disc
− or perhaps from a copy you keep on the pinboard) onto the Print
printer icon. There is no need to click on the Print printer icon before
you do this. Printing from disc to printer is slower than printing to
file but still faster than direct printing. The advantage is that
printing from file to printer will take place in background so that you
may continue to use the keyboard, mouse, etc whilst printing is taking
place.
8.6
Other paper sizes
8.6
You may want to use a paper size of A3, A5 or DL (a common size for
envelopes). I suggest that you do not keep juggling the paper sizes of
your one File printer but that you drag in more copies of your printer
definition file (for me this is the file called [Int01] which is in
PrntDfn format) and then, using Printer control − Configure, you change
the Paper choice for that printer and change the name (from the
configuration menu) such as DL File or A5 File. An interesting point is
that you don’t have to have a separate Print printer for each size of
paper; you can drag any Printout file onto the Print icon and it will
print.
8.6
In conclusion
8.6
Having set up your printing system, the next step is to choose your
‘global’ and ‘local options’ (i.e. choices or preferences and then
templates or master pages). Those topics will have to wait for another
day.
8.6
In this article, I have referred to a number of test files. These are
included on the Archive monthly disc. I recommend that you buy it from
NCS together with Printers v1.22 (Utilities Disc Nº7) and the latest
version of !PrintEdit (on Utilities Disc Nº8). However, if you do not
wish to buy that monthly disc and need these printer test files then
send me a disc formatted to 800Kb, sticky label and return postage.
Also, please let me know whether you want the [ReadMe] text file in
PipeDream, Fireworkz or Style format.
8.6
Please write to me at the Abacus Training address which you’ll find at
the back of this magazine and not via the Archive office.  A
8.6
Acorn Risc PC − The Best of Both Worlds?
8.6
Paul Beverley
8.6
(This is a copy of an article sent for publication to the Church
Computer User’s Group. It is published here to give you an idea of the
sort of article we all could be inserting in non-Acorn aware
publications. See Comment Column, page 15. Ed.)
8.6
First of all, let me declare an interest. I’m an Acorn dealer writing
about Acorn computers. Most people think of Acorn as, “non-standard and
therefore not to be considered” but I believe they may be missing out if
they do.
8.6
RISC − the latest technology?
8.6
Thanks to Apple’s extensive advertising, you may already have heard of
“RISC technology”. However, you shouldn’t believe Apple’s advertisements
− theirs were NOT the first RISC-based desktop computers. The Acorn
Archimedes, a 32-bit RISC computer, was available in 1987!  (The ASA
have upheld our complaint.)
8.6
Why RISC?
8.6
If you sit in front of an Acorn Risc PC and compare it with Windows or
Mac systems, you will soon see the difference − the screen display is
lightning fast. Macs and PCs tend to be good at doing calculations but
RISC chips win hands down when it comes to simple jobs like drawing dots
on the screen and that, from the user’s viewpoint, is where the
productivity lies − you don’t have to sit waiting for the screen to re-
display.
8.6
RISC technology has enabled Acorn to maintain a lead in a number of
areas...
8.6
The best bible software?
8.6
If you want the best bible software on any platform, have a look at
ExpLAN’s Acorn Multimedia Bible. You can have a number of different
translations on the screen all tracking together, verse by verse.
Versions in production include NIV, REB, NSRV (with full study notes),
Russian (in cyrillic font), Authorised, two German versions, Greek and
Hebrew (right-to-left reading with full breathing marks). Text is fully
formatted on screen as in the printed version, e.g. with large verse
numbers at paragraph starts and superscript verse numbers elsewhere.
Footnotes appear automatically in a window and cross references can be
called up automatically, even from study notes, at the click of a mouse
button. It also includes maps, illustrations and photographs which
appear as soon as you click on the verse to which they refer. The
formatted text, notes, maps, etc can be exported into a WP/DTP package.
8.6
The best music printing software?
8.6
The Royal Academy of Music recently ditched its PC-compatibles and
bought a set of Acorn Risc PCs. Why? Because the best music printing
software, Sibelius, only runs on Acorns. Sibelius allows the least
computer-literate musicians to produce top-quality printed scores,
including, at the touch of a mouse button, parts for individual
instruments, transposed accordingly. And all this is printed at top DTP
quality − or you can take PostScript output, direct from Sibelius,
straight to the typesetters. (Oxford University Press publish some of
their music using Sibelius.)
8.6
The best for your church magazine?
8.6
Was it a coincidence that the joint winners of the Church Magazine
Competition both used Acorn computers? I don’t think so. I believe that
the software on Acorn computers is generally more intuitive and user-
friendly than Windows or Mac software.
8.6
“What a shame they aren’t PC-compatible!”
8.6
Who said they weren’t PC compatible? For £99, you can buy a 486
processor card and plug it into your Risc PC alongside your RISC
processor. Then you can run both DOS/Windows software and Acorn software
on the same computer at the same time, transferring data back and forth
between the two worlds. (Now that MacOS is to be licensed, watch out for
a Risc PC Mac processor!)
8.6
“Aren’t Acorn computers a bit expensive?”
8.6
I have to admit that they aren’t cheap, but then you always have to pay
for the best. In any case, it depends what specification of computer you
compare. For example, if you want a multimedia computer capable of modes
like 1024×768 in 32,000 colours and 800×600 in 16 million colours, you
can start with the cheapest Risc PC (£1,249 +VAT) and just add extra
memory and a CD-ROM. There’s no need to add any sound cards, video
controllers or graphics accelerators − this hardware all comes as
standard on all Risc PCs.
8.6
“But Acorn isn’t industry standard.”
8.6
Have you thought out why you want to be ‘standard’? If it’s for data
exchange, that is one of Acorn’s strengths. You can put DOS/PC, Atari
and Mac discs into the Acorn’s disc drive and access the data just as
you would with an Acorn disc.
8.6
Even in the PC world, is there such a thing as a ‘standard’? How many
times have you been told... “I’m sorry, Sir, but this software won’t run
on your computer because you haven’t got an XYZ sound/graphics card /
enough memory / a big enough hard drive, etc.”
8.6
“They are very low on memory.”
8.6
True, the basic Risc PC only has 2M RAM and a 210M drive but that’s
because they don’t need as much RAM. Impression Publisher (equivalent to
Quark/Pagemaker) will run on a 2M Acorn computer and takes up less than
4M of hard disc space (and you can buy it for about £135 +VAT). But if
you do want lots of memory, even the bottom-end Risc PC can be upgraded
to 128M of RAM.
8.6
Don’t take my word for it
8.6
You think I’m exaggerating − well, maybe I am a little − but if you
don’t believe me, go along to the CRE in Esher in May and see ExpLAN Ltd
(Acorn dealers and producers of the Holy Bible). I gain nothing if you
buy from them so let them show you Acorn computers in action and you
will see that they now give you the best of both worlds.  A
8.6
ABC of Art
8.6
Christopher Jarman
8.6
This is a review of discs F, G and H in a series of, presumably, 26
discs which are being produced at the rate of one every two months by
Andy Jeffery in Brean, Somerset.
8.6
Clipart has come a long way on the Acorn in the last two years. While
there will always be an important place for simple flat-colour drawfiles
of school-related subjects using very little memory, there is also a
growing market for more sophisticated illustrations of all kinds for DTP
as well as for games backgrounds and multimedia applications. ABC Art
discs quite definitely fall into this second category.
8.6
Each disc contains between ten and thirteen Artworks files (although it
is possible to order alternative drawfile discs of the same subjects).
This means around 1.5Mb of archived drawings per disc. Subjects are
grouped in alphabetical order, but are really the fairly random
illustrations of the artist’s particular interests. These tend to be
cars, aeroplanes, dogs and horses, flowers and birds with quite a lot of
creatively designed decorated capital letters. Each disc comes with a
black & white printout of its contents which is very useful and which
would bind up as an A5 reference book if collected together. Andy, will
respond to requests for particular drawings to be included on future
discs, so there is a built-in flexibility in content.
8.6
The illustrations themselves are, in general, of excellent quality. The
artist’s long experience as an art teacher gives a really confident and
professional touch to the pictures. While the aeroplanes and cars are
superb, as we have come to expect from seeing other artworks clips, this
collection also excels in producing more organic drawings of animals and
plants. What is particularly adroit is the way in which the palettes
have been cleverly limited to give both a fine aesthetic and coherent
design to each picture, as well as cutting down the memory use. Such
detail as different colours for the window panes in houses, and
variation of brick colours in walls, have been most competently carried
out. Putting these very well produced clips into your own copy of
Artworks and analysing them would make for a valuable tutorial in
itself. I learnt a great deal from doing this, and my own use of the
program will improve considerably as a result.
8.6
The detail as well as the tone values, particularly in the difficult
pictures of horses and dogs etc, are remarkably good. These put up the
quality of obtainable clipart by several notches. In one or two clips I
think it might have been better to convert the fonts to path using the
“make shapes” facility, as not everyone has the fonts which were used,
but this is not a serious problem as Artworks, like Impression will put
up substitutes. One of my particular favourites is the beautiful drawing
of the Fairey Swordfish or “Stringbag” as we called it in the Fleet Air
Arm. It is, however, flying pilotless and observerless, but then the
beauty of Artworks is that you can draw your own choice of aircrew and
just drop them into the cockpits!
8.6
If it takes the artist two months to do twelve pictures (and I can well
believe it), then their value in terms of worktime is extremely high.
At, say, a modest £15 per hour for design, I would guess that each
picture takes about three to four hours. Therefore we are talking about
possibly £720 worth of clipart on a floppy disc selling for £6! Someone
somewhere is subsidising these Acorn Clips!
8.6
Highly recommended and tremendous value for money. I look forward
intensely to the next 18 discs.  A
8.6
Dalriada
8.6
New artwork
8.6
Pocket Book Column
8.6
Audrey Laski
8.6
Pocket Book research
8.6
Acorn’s quarterly magazine, ‘Arc’, carries a short report from Dr. Pat
Fung of the Open University on a research project undertaken to study
aspects of the use of pocket computers. Pupils were given Pocket Books
specifically for use in the development of their Records of Achievement,
and views and reactions were tested through questionnaires for pupils,
teachers and parents before and after the experience. Pupils were also
observed during their use.
8.6
One of the most interesting observations was how much peer learning
interaction the use of the Pocket Books generated, pupils drawing on
each others’ experience. I remember that this was one of the great
educational claims of Logo, and see it as a powerful response to those
who fear that interest in computers will make children asocial.
8.6
I was a little surprised that fewer than 65% said they would have liked
to keep their Pocket Books longer, since almost 90% said they were
useful, and even more claimed to have enjoyed using them, and I think I
shall be contacting Dr. Fung (e-mail: p.fung @open.ac.uk.) to see the
full report, to get more detail than the two-page feature in Arc
provided.
8.6
Using ChangeFSI
8.6
Martyn Wilson, of Hampshire Microtechnology Centre, had problems when he
tried to use ChangeFSI to transfer, to a Risc PC, a PIC file image of
which a graph a class of pupils had created in Abacus. ChangeFSI claimed
not to recognise the filetype. He observed that the transfer software
upgrade he had had from Acorn Direct was to version about 0.95, and that
the version on the Risc PC was about 0.98, but neither worked. Acorn
supplied him with version 1.01, and this does convert Pocket Book files
to sprites, but is not entirely compatible with the Risc PC, requiring
the datafile CSFIjpeg to be changed to CFSI-jpeg before use can be made
of Slideshow.
8.6
In general, he feels that “in the longer term Acorn should look quite
closely at the whole business of linking the Pocket Book to the
Archimedes” and introduce changes, including “a more elegant solution to
the business of copying screenshots from one machine to the other” and a
means of showing a Pocket Book screen on an Archimedes desktop. John (of
the other side of the bed) suggests that the former of these wishes
could probably be easily supplied through another window in the A-Link
software to do Pic to Sprite, and vice-versa possibly. The latter would
need much more fundamental rethinking. What is clear is that, since
Martyn is someone working with schools, developing and demonstrating
curriculum uses for Acorn machines through his county, his concerns
should be taken with the utmost seriousness by Acorn, if the Pocket Book
is to fulfil its potential as an educational tool.
8.6
Software temptations
8.6
Also seen in Arc is news of what sounds like an extraordinarily useful
piece of software for wide-ranging travellers: the Berlitz Phrase Book
produced by Psion. This apparently has phrases in 60 topic areas in 12
languages besides English, including Japanese and Hungarian. Not
surprisingly, it isn’t cheap but, if it delivers all it claims, the
price of £59.95 (inc VAT) seems reasonable for anyone needing to
communicate in a wider world than GCSE French will cover. One thing that
is not clear from the statement in Arc is whether this software is only
available for Pocket Book 2; those of us still using our old machines
need to know such things.
8.6
For those in the vanguard
8.6
Mike Lane, of Stockbridge, Hants, points out that my dream of dictating
my memoirs on the recorder of Psion 3A/Pocket Book 2 would have a short
life, since the default maximum recording time is only two seconds,
producing a 16Kb file, so that a ludicrously large amount of storage
would be required for even five minutes. He suggests frequent stops at
service stations to upload the memoirs via a portable modem to the home
computer, or “a serial link to a laptop with a few gigabytes of hard
disc storage” as the only solutions − I’ll pass.   A
8.6
Database Comparison
8.6
Simon Coulthurst
8.6
My reason for doing this review is partly self interest. With the
release of the Risc PC, I have returned to the Acorn fold after an
absence of some years. My Risc PC is a business machine first and a
hobby second. As such, it has to able to carry out the three main
computer tasks adequately. I found it relatively easy to decide on the
correct spreadsheet and the correct wordprocessor/desktop publisher for
my needs. However, the choice was not so easy when it came to selecting
a package to manage my data.
8.6
I have always found databases to be amongst the most idiosyncratic of
products. On the face of it, you look down the products specification
sheet and think ‘this product is ideal − it has every feature I could
possibly want’. But when you come to use it, you find you can’t get it
to do the one thing − the most important thing − you want it to do. For
that reason, it was important for me to get some hands-on experience
with some of the alternatives available.
8.6
Just to jump ahead a little. At the end of the review period, I will
decide which of these packages will be remaining on my hard disc. I have
approached this review from the point of view of a user looking for a
database program to use on a daily basis for all their data management
needs. Ideally, one program should be sufficient for all my purposes.
8.6
I will be using the program on a single machine for personal/business
use and not to develop stand-alone applications for the use of others.
To this end, I designed two different databases on each package to see
how easy or otherwise they were to use. A credit application form was my
first data storage requirement, followed by a slightly more complex
stock recording system. The first of these consisted of a single table
only but the second (if possible in the database package in use) was to
have one table for the stock items and another linked table for the
suppliers’ details. I have assumed that you, the reader, are already
familiar with the concept of a database and the terms used.
8.6
The main contenders
8.6
When looking at the databases available for RISC OS in Archive’s price
list, it soon became obvious that I was going to have to prune the
choices somewhat. There is quite a good selection ranging from the
cheaper end Arcscan III at £14 up to the more expensive packages like S-
Base V2 Developer Plus at £410. I eventually decided on Impact Pro from
Circle Software, DataPower from Iota, S-Base2 Personal from Longman
Logotron, Squirrel 2 from Digital Services and Masterfile 3 from Beebug.
No particular reason for choosing these packages over any others, apart
from my own desire to look at them.
8.6
S-Base2 (Personal Edition)
8.6
(Longman Logotron − £49 +VAT)
8.6
This arrived in a white box with a large colourful S2 logo and the proud
claim “The Integrated Relational Database Solution for RISC OS” on the
front. On the back is a brief summary of the program including mention
of SAM, the S-Base Application Manager, that allows the creation of a
database application automatically − “absolutely no programming is
required”. Quite a change from version one, where programming was the
order of the day to achieve anything. Not that there is anything wrong
with that. Longman have never pretended that S-Base was anything other
than a database language that could be used to create whatever data
handling applications you had in mind. The down side to a programming-
based approach is that it often takes a considerable time and learning
curve before anything tangible can be achieved. Longman obviously hope
that the provision of SAM will help alleviate this.
8.6
Inside the box there is a hefty, and good quality, 382-page Tutorial and
Reference Guide, a much lighter 60-page Quickstart Guide and an envelope
containing three discs and a registration card. Being a logical sort of
chap, the first thing I did was complete the registration card and put
it to one side ready for posting. It is fairly obvious from the
registration card where Longman expects most of its sales of S-Base
Personal to go, it has selection boxes for Primary, Secondary, Higher
Education and Home with the Other field to cover all other types of
user. Longman clearly state on the card that “technical support is only
given to registered users”. To my mind this is by far the best form of
anti-piracy protection.
8.6
Installation is a simple matter of copying the contents of the discs
into a folder on your desktop and running the supplied !SysMerge to
update your !System. It is possible to run S-Base from floppy discs but
a hard disc is recommended.
8.6
Once installed, the Quickstart Guide holds your hand through a series of
lessons introducing you to the basics of the program. This is a useful
and fairly comprehensive set of exercises that will leave you able to
start designing, and using, your own databases. To take advantage of the
undoubted power of the program means diving into the main User Guide.
This is a far more daunting task, especially for the occasional user.
8.6
Whilst great things can, undoubtedly, be achieved with S2, it is a more
complex package than any of the others being looked at here. For those
who only need to store a list of addresses or manage a club database, it
is really overkill. However, at its current price it offers superb value
for money for anyone needing the sophistication it offers, but you have
to be prepared to spend the time learning how to make use of it.
8.6
Impact Pro
8.6
(Circle Software − £65 + VAT)
8.6
This package has a more ‘homespun’ feel about it. It comes in an A5-size
ring-bound folder containing the manual and the single program disc. In
this instance, there was no need to complete a registration card as I
had ordered the product direct from Circle and it was already set up
with my details − a nice touch.
8.6
Impact Pro is a relational database with what was one of the main
attractions to me, support for printing reports with Impression using
the Impulse module. This module is designed and supplied by Computer
Concepts.
8.6
Installation instructions are given on an, easy-to-lose, separate piece
of A5 paper. Having inserted the program disc and double-clicked on the
!Install program, this checks to see if there is a valid security code
for the program. You can get the full version − minus the ability to
save any new data − and give it a try. Then, if you like it, all that is
required is a phone call to Circle Software with your credit card. They
will issue you with a valid security code and you have a fully working
system. A form of shareware.
8.6
There is no tutorial with Impact Pro. Luckily, the manual is good (it
gives examples throughout) and the program is relatively simple to use
and understand. This meant it was not long before I had my two example
databases up and running.
8.6
The databases are saved within ImpactPro and not by dragging to the
desktop in the normal RISC OS fashion. This has the advantage that all
databases are easily accessible from within the program and do not
clutter up your filling system with extra icons. The disadvantage is
that only one database can be loaded and worked on at a time.
8.6
The program is reasonable value for money and easy to get up and
running. On the downside, it doesn’t follow the normal RISC OS filing
methods or allow access to more than one database at a time. If you can
live with one or two idiosyncrasies, you will not be disappointed.
8.6
Squirrel 2
8.6
(Digital Services − £139 +VAT)
8.6
Again, this comes in a ring bound manual, but this time of a more robust
and professional appearance with an outer sleeve and two discs. One
containing the program and the other some sample data. Again, Squirrel
is a program that requires registration, by phone, with the supplier
before an unlock key will allow installation and use of the product.
8.6
The disadvantage with the method used by Digital Services − compared to
Impact Pro and Circle Software’s method − is that once installed on one
computer, the only method of moving it to another is by the use of a
separate SqlMove disc. This must be obtained from Digital Services and
can only be used the once. If you wish to sell your copy of Squirrel 2
to another person, beware. I was informed, by Digital Services, you are
not allowed to do so, as your purchase of the program only allows you
the use of the package − you do not own it! After further talks, they
eventually said okay it was my program, and I could sell it, however I
would need to purchase SqlMove from them at a cost of £20.00 and they
would need full details of the person purchasing the package before they
could agree to it!
8.6
Squirrel has built up a loyal user base over its life as it is simple to
use and pleasant to look at. It is possible to build some quite
sophisticated-looking applications and reports. However, for my
purposes, there was one major disadvantage with this package. There are
no proper calculated fields. In my stock database, I wanted a price
field and a VAT field. I then wanted to set up a third field to show the
VAT inclusive price. This should have been easy enough to set up, with a
formula along the lines of (Total = Price * VAT). However, it would only
calculate the field once, the first time it was used. If I then changed
either the VAT rate or, as is quite likely, the price of the item, the
new (VAT inclusive) field would not update to reflect the new value.
After talking with Digital Services, it would appear there is no way of
setting up calculated fields that update in real time.
8.6
As mentioned, this is a powerful, good looking, package with, for me,
two major drawbacks. If you are not bothered about ‘proper’ calculated
fields or the method of copy protection used, then Squirrel 2 offers
some nice features, particularly its reporting facilities.
8.6
DataPower
8.6
(Iota Software Ltd − £149 +VAT)
8.6
The program arrived in a very smart, dark blue box that proved to be the
ring binder that holds the main manual. This is very nice looking, but
it proved to be rather cumbersome to use, taking up a lot of desk space.
It would have been better if the manual were separate from the storage
box. In addition to the manual there was a fairly substantial user guide
supplement, a short installation guide, two function keystrips − one for
the A4 portable (it’s nice to see a company remembering the roving Acorn
user), a reference card and three discs (program, examples and work
discs). Installation is a case of initialising the program disc, running
!DPInstall and following the on-screen instructions then phoning Iota
Software for a support number. Without this number you are unable to
install DataPower on your hard disc, although you are able to run the
program from the floppy. As a single user, I have one ‘credit’ supplied
on the program disc. By copying DataPower to the hard disc, I have moved
the credit to the hard disc where I may now run the program. It will no
longer run on the floppy unless I copy the credit back. This is fine
until such time as you suffer a catastrophic failure on your hard disc.
Then you will have to appeal to Iota Software for their help. While this
is still a current, supported package, there’s no problem but what
happens if you are still using the program years from now and, heaven
forbid, Iota are no longer around! My favourite hobby horse: whilst
companies in the Acorn world insist on using these draconian protection
methods, they will never appeal to the general business user. We are too
used to being able to back up, freely, the software we rely upon to run
our businesses. As I have said before, the best method of copy
protection is a half-way house solution whereby you, as the user, must
register the software to get technical support and, the installation
process stores your personal details within the program code, thereby
enabling easy tracing of any illegal copies.
8.6
The DataPower tutorial gives an overview of the program. It does not
cover every aspect of the program but gives you a good insight by
walking you through the setup of a ‘Student Record Card’ database and
then using this to try out various facilities of the program.
8.6
Whilst DataPower is not a relational database, it does offer a ‘lookup’
facility that can get information from a CSV text file. This facility is
actually more flexible than it may at first sound. As the CSV file can
be easily created − and kept up-to-date − by another database. I used
this facility for my stock database and it worked fine. If you need to
update the fields easily in the attached database on a regular basis,
this approach is obviously not suitable.
8.6
DataPower, like Squirrel 2, is a good-looking package that allows the
creation of nicely-presented forms and report. If you can manage without
a full relational facility and don’t mind the copy protection, this
package will satisfy all needs.
8.6
Masterfile 3
8.6
(Beebug − £49 +VAT)
8.6
This arrived packaged in an A5-sized box which contained the 100-page
ring-bound manual, a laminated reference sheet, a short release note for
version 1.35 and two discs. The first disc contains the program itself,
and the second contains some example databases. Installation is a simple
matter of copying the contents of the discs into a suitable directory on
your hard disc. No copy protection − the authors trust their customers −
a refreshing attitude that deserves respect.
8.6
Masterfile 3 is a flat file database as opposed to a relational one.
That is, it will work on one data table (a single set of data like a
list of names and addresses) at a time.
8.6
Double-clicking the Masterfile icon installs it onto the iconbar in the
usual manner. A single click on the icon opens an untitled window ready
for you to start defining a new database. Double-clicking a database
icon or dragging one to the icon bar will open a window on the database.
Several databases may be open at once, each in its own window. To create
a new database means telling Masterfile 3 about the fields you require.
You do this by filling in a simple ‘descriptor file’ giving each field
the minimum of a name, type and width. Optionally, you may include a
range/calculation and option description. Range allows you to restrict
the entry e.g. >10 AND <100 would restrict a number to between 11 and
99. The options entry allows the specification of several miscellaneous
characteristics, such as forcing all text to upper case, prefixing
numbers with a pound sign or capitalising the first letter of each word.
These and other options may be combined.
8.6
Once a database has been specified, a default card layout will be
created for you. Use of the card designer allows you to design your own
layouts.
8.6
This package is simple but effective to use with many facilities
available but has the obvious drawback that it is not relational. Whilst
its reporting facilities are not as comprehensive as some of the more
powerful packages, they are adequate for occasional use. A good little
program.
8.6
The decision
8.6
Well, it is time to decide. As stated when I began this review, my aim
was to find just one package that would fulfil all my needs.
8.6
S-Base V2 is very powerful and offers remarkable value for money at only
£49. However, as my wife would confirm, I am a simple soul (not to
mention a lazy one) and found that, for my purposes, the power on offer
was not really necessary. Whilst SAM (S-Base Application Manager)
certainly helps, this is still a complex package that needs some
dedication to get to grips with it.
8.6
Impact Pro is a unique package with a refreshingly different approach to
the user interface. This may suit you or not. I would suggest taking up
Circle Software’s offer of an evaluation copy before committing
yourself. I found that the inability to have more than one data table on
screen at one time was the limiting factor for me. Also, I found the
Impulse module harder to get to grips with than expected.
8.6
Squirrel 2 is undoubtedly a powerful and good-looking application. The
draconian copy protection and lack of a proper calculated field stops me
from choosing this program.
8.6
Masterfile 3 from Beebug. Well I am actually going to keep two databases
on my computer. Yes, I know, I said I was going to choose just one! But
this package is just so good for certain applications. My telephone
database is perfect on this program. It is quick, simple and doesn’t use
to much memory.
8.6
DataPower. My final choice (ignore the previous paragraph) is DataPower.
Whilst I dislike the copy protection method used (at least it is not as
bad as Squirrel’s), and although it is not a relational database, I
found the lookup facility was adequate for my needs. The design process,
reporting facilities and general look and feel of the program were such
that I found myself turning more and more to this package as the review
period went by. You will not be disappointed if you follow my example
and purchase this program for your computer.
8.6
I may now be contacted by email as simon@ agltd.demon.co.uk.  A
8.6
Puzzle Corner
8.6
Colin Singleton
8.6
Just one reader has attempted, and perhaps misunderstood, my unofficial
puzzle − what is the smallest number of entries you can make in the
National Lottery and be certain of winning £10? Remember, it is only
necessary that one of the lines in your entry has three numbers in
common with the six numbers drawn, for any combination of numbers which
might be drawn. This does not require millions of entries, it should be
possible with less than 100, but I haven’t managed to find a suitable
list. Whatever the answer, it will cost much more than £10!
8.6
Here are this month’s two puzzles ...
8.6
(9) Egyptian Fractions
8.6
The ancient Egyptians used fractions in their mathematical calculations,
but their notation did not allow them to write fractions such as 11/199,
and they did not understand such fractions. They could only use unit
numerators, so the result of dividing 11 by 199 might be written, used
and understood as 1/20 +  1/199 + 1/3980. There is a software package
(for PCs) which transforms proper fractions into ‘Egyptian Fractions’ −
the sum of a series of reciprocals. For the fraction 50/89 it gives
8.6
50/89 = 1/2 + 1/17 + 1/337 + 1/145681 + 1/29711989585 +
8.6
        1/1471337208468868797457 + 1/
6494499543074890436870241790813851000203090
8.6
Can you find something more manageable, with fewer terms and less
horrendous denominators? Specifically, what is the smallest number of
different reciprocals which sum to 50/89 ?
8.6
(10) Magic Hexagon
8.6
Can you rearrange the numbers 1 to 19 in the cells of the hexagon in
such a way that all fifteen rows (five rows in each of three different
directions) have the same total?
8.6
... and last month’s two solutions ...
8.6
(7) Friday the Thirteenth
8.6
The answers are September & December 1991 & March 1992 and January,
April & July 2012. The puzzle can be tackled using Sunday Letters (the
letters A−G) for sequences of consecutive months. For a non-Leap Year
the sequence (starting in August of the previous year) is Aug­A Sep­D
Oct­F Nov­B Dec­D Jan­G Feb­C Mar­C Apr­F May­A Jun­D Jul­F Aug­B Sep­E
Oct­G Nov­C Dec­E Jan­A Feb­D. For a Leap Year the sequence is Aug­A
Sep­D Oct­F Nov­B Dec­D Jan­G Feb­C Mar­D Apr­G May­B Jun­E Jul­G Aug­C
Sep­F Oct­A Nov­D Dec­F Jan­B Feb­E.
8.6
The letters A−G are used cyclically, and step forward three letters
following a 31-day month (four weeks plus three days), two letters
following a 30-day month, etc. These sequences tell us that if August
13th is a Friday (in a year preceding a non-Leap Year) then the
following May 13th and the next January 13th will also be Fridays,
because each of those months has the letter A. If September 13th is a
Friday (in a year preceding a Leap Year) then the following December
13th and the next June 13th will also be Fridays, because each of those
months has the letter D.
8.6
We now look for occurrences of the same letter three times in seven
consecutive months. There are two such occurrences, both involving Leap
Years. The months are September-December-March and January­April-July.
We can now solve the problem by calculating the days of the week of
March 13th and April 13th in recent and near-future years. These
sequences advance one day per year, except in a Leap Year, when they
advance two days.
8.6
March 13 1992:Fri 93:Sat 94:Sun 95:Mon 96:Wed 97:Thu 98:Fri 99:Sat
2000:Sat 01:Mon 02:Tue 03:Wed 04:Thu 05:Sat 06:Sun 07Mon 08:Tue 09:Thu
10:Fri 11:Sun 12:Tue.
8.6
April 13 1992:Mon 93:Tue 94:Wed 95:Thu 96:Sat 97:Sun 98:Mon 99:Tue
2000:Thu 01:Fri 02:Sat 03:Sun 04:Tue 05:Wed 06:Thu 07:Fri 08:Sun 09:Mon
10:Tue 11:Wed 12:Fri.
8.6
Since we are looking for Friday 13th in March or April of a Leap Year,
the most recent occurrence was March 1992, and the next will be April
2012. Hence the trios of months are September & December 1991 & March
1992 and January April & July 2012.
8.6
The puzzle is much easier to solve if you have a printed Perpetual
Calendar!
8.6
(8) Marbles
8.6
There are several different forms of regular packing, and the ‘best’ are
not symmetrical with respect to the three axes. Hence the number of
spheres in the box depends, not only on the packing technique, but also
on which face you chose as the ‘base’ of the box. The highest number
using a regular packing appears to be 594.
8.6
Take a 3×12 face as base and arrange 33 marbles in a triangular
formation as shown by the solid circles. For the next layer, arrange
another 33 marbles nestling in the ‘triangular’ niches in the first
layer, as shown by the dotted circles. The total length of the pair of
layers is 12×Ú3/2+1/Ú3+1®11·97. Layers are arranged alternately in this
manner. Within the 15­unit height there is room for 18 layers of 33,
total 594. The actual height is 17×Ú(2/3)+1®14·88.
8.6
I believe this to be the optimum solution using regular packing, but
would be interested to hear of any better solution using regular or
irregular packing.
8.6
... and congratulations to the previous month’s two winners, drawn from
my hat ...
8.6
(5) Cheat Winner: John Greening of Edinburgh.
8.6
(6) The Hole Winner: John G Banks of Rickmansworth.
8.6
Commiserations to the reader who submitted four pages of calculus for
The Hole, but got the wrong answer because he confused diameter with
radius! My sympathies are also with the entrant who “hurt his brain”
trying to remember how to integrate a function − I have the same
problem! There was an alternative ‘trick’ solution, which one reader
offered.
8.6
Comments and Solutions
8.6
Please send comments, contributions and solutions to me at 41 St Quentin
Drive, Sheffield, S17 4PN. Solutions to me by Friday 10th March, 1995,
please. My thanks again for your comments.  A
8.6
Arcturus
8.6
Andrew Rawnsley
8.6
Continuing its trend of releasing original new Acorn games, rather than
conversions, Oregan Software are selling the German-made Arcturus. The
prototype version of the game looked distinctly Zarch-like, with rolling
hills made out of distorted coloured squares. However, the finished
product is far more novel, in all its textured glory.
8.6
The plot
8.6
The storyline is somewhat superfluous. All you need to know is that the
aim of the game is to pilot your spinning craft across hundreds of
lovingly crafted terrains, collecting all the diamonds whilst avoiding
any opposition you may encounter.
8.6
Installation
8.6
The game is supplied on two discs which can be easily installed onto a
hard drive, but you’ll need the original disc for the copy protection.
8.6
Loading takes you directly into the title and options screen where you
can adjust keys, view high scores and, most importantly, start the game.
8.6
Playing the game
8.6
Arcturus is very much level-based and, as always with such games, a
password facility is provided when you start each game, so that you can
jump levels. Passwords are provided every five levels and since there is
little in the way of bonus power-ups, you’re not at any disadvantage if
you use the facility.
8.6
On each level, you are presented with a map, onto which the diamonds
fall. You are then transported down onto the surface all rendered in
beautiful texture-mapped 3D. Different types of floor have different
characteristics − ice has no friction and is almost impossible to keep
control on, whereas sand will slow your progress. Watch out for the
waves in the water!
8.6
The early levels are very simple indeed, so I strongly recommend noting
down the passwords, as the game soon becomes tedious if you keep having
to play these easy zones.
8.6
Interest is provided later on by different kinds of diamonds, enemy
craft and all sorts of weirdly constructed landscapes.
8.6
Risc PC owners should note that the game includes a specially enhanced
version for their machines.
8.6
Sound and music
8.6
The audio side of the game is excellent, with some great music on the
title and high score screens. Although there is no ingame music, there
are lots of sound effects, which make the game far more appealing. The
effort that has gone into the construction of all parts of the game is
very striking and the design team deserve much credit for this.
8.6
Conclusions
8.6
Arcturus is basically a very simple game but it has been well designed
and executed, making it very addictive. I am slightly dubious as to
whether it will stand the test of time, as variety is a little limited.
However, this doesn’t detract from its enjoyability.
8.6
My second concern is for Oregan themselves. Releasing the product at the
same time as titles such as Simon the Sorcerer, Sim City 2000, Cannon
Fodder, Wolfenstein 3D etc. may be bad for sales. These big name games
are liable to corner the market and push Arcturus out.
8.6
Go on, prove me wrong...
8.6
Arcturus costs £24.95 from Oregan Software Developments or £24 through
Archive.  A
8.6
WimpGEN v2.06
8.6
Paul Hobbs
8.6
There is no doubt that writing programs that run correctly under the
Wimp is not an easy skill to acquire. It is not at all difficult to
crash the computer whilst developing programs which leads to
frustration. Even if someone has a good idea for a program, it requires
a considerable expenditure of time and effort to produce it. Silicon
Vision’s WimpGEN program is designed to create a user interface
(windows/menus etc) and the support code to make a complete working
application with the minimum of fuss.
8.6
By Silicon Vision’s own admission, prior experience of programming wimp
applications and a sound knowledge of Basic will be needed to make full
use of the many features that WimpGEN offers. Access to the Programmer’s
Reference and Basic manuals would also be a considerable advantage.
8.6
System requirements
8.6
WimpGEN comes on one 800Kb floppy, which is copy protected by means of a
serial number which is inserted into all code produced with it. This
method of protection allows the tracking of illegal copies but is no
problem for legitimate users and the software can easily be installed on
a hard disc.
8.6
The minimum memory requirement is 2Mb and although a hard disc is
recommended, it is possible to develop software on a floppy-only system.
As WimpGEN copies data from its own application directory into the
application being created, there must be enough space on the disc to
accommodate both applications at the same time (WimpGEN itself is about
450Kb). It should be possible to create small applications on an 800Kb
disc − of course using a RAM disc is also an option if enough spare
memory is available. How much memory the generated application will need
depends on its requirements, but it should be possible to load and run
applications developed by WimpGEN on a 1Mb machine.
8.6
As with most software development tools, a hard disc, plenty of memory
and a good multisync monitor makes things a lot easier. The software was
tested on a Risc PC where it ran without problems, automatically using
the ‘New Look’ style of icons and dialog boxes.
8.6
Documentation
8.6
A 100-page manual was supplied with the review copy but, unfortunately,
it covered version 1 of the software and the differences between the
versions were detailed in three readme files on the disc. The manual
does contain a good overview of the WimpGEN approach to writing
applications and three tutorials to help you get to grips with the
software.
8.6
It also has an index although I found it difficult to find exactly what
I was looking for on occasions (mostly because the information was
either not there or was in the readme files!) but, to be fair, the
manual is trying to cover an awful lot of ground and the package is
aimed at the experienced user.
8.6
The template editor
8.6
At the heart of WimpGEN is an advanced template editor which allows the
creation of windows and icons. According to Silicon Vision, this is
designed to be familiar to users of Acorn’s FormEd but happily it is not
too similar as it does not use over-complicated menu structures like
FormEd but instead makes sensible use of dialog boxes.
8.6
Window templates can be created from scratch, loaded from existing
template files or even captured from other running applications. The
loaded windows are displayed in a viewer window which also shows which
window will be opened by <select> and <adjust> clicks on the iconbar
icon. Icons or groups of icons can be loaded and saved separately so
that a library can be built up and, once created, the icons can be
copied, resized, moved and aligned.
8.6
A particularly helpful feature is that the text in every icon can be
edited in a separate window (actually two windows, one for indirected
icons and one for non-indirected icons) enabling rapid changes to be
made. In addition, validation strings can be changed with a function
keypress to add RISC OS 3 style borders to icons.
8.6
Selecting icons for editing (or windows for opening or deleting) is by
the usual drag box method, but the drag box must totally enclose the
icons which is not standard RISC OS behaviour and led to some initial
confusion on my part. I asked Silicon Vision about this and they replied
that ‘It was our judgement that this made the selection more convenient
to include and exclude only the required icons... A great deal of
thought and experimentation went into this feature. After taking into
account several technical considerations, this method of selecting/
deselecting was found to be the most useful in this situation’. They
also went on to state that a future version of WimpGEN may include an
option to allow more control over this feature.
8.6
A nice touch is that once a group of icons has been selected, all the
non-selected icons in the same window are greyed out (i.e. made
unselectable) which clearly shows which icons are being edited.
8.6
Instead of listing every single feature, it probably is sufficient to
say that just about every operation that FormEd, or any of the Public
Domain equivalents, can perform on a window or icon (and some that they
can’t!) is possible using the WimpGEN template editor.
8.6
A couple of minor irritations are firstly that no interactive help is
available and secondly that there are no short-cut keypresses for common
operations (apart from some in the menu editor) which is a strange
omission for an application dedicated to making life easier for
developers. I strongly suspect that anybody using WimpGEN for serious
work will also invest in a copy of Keystroke and will set up their own
shortcuts. However, the introduction of ‘Hot Keys’ for the window/icon
editing features and interactive help is under consideration for
inclusion in a future version.
8.6
The menu editor
8.6
Although I am describing it separately, this is in fact integrated into
the main editor program and a click on the WimpGEN iconbar icon results
in two viewers opening, one for windows and one for menus. The operation
and appearance of the menus, including any attached dialog boxes, can be
fully tested within WimpGEN
8.6
Again this provides all the operations likely to be needed. Menus and
menu items can be created, deleted and edited, and whole menus can be
saved as files for possible reuse with other WimpGEN generated
applications.
8.6
Creating an application
8.6
All of the information created by the WimpGEN editor is stored in a
single file which can be reloaded for further editing. This file is then
used to create the actual Basic runimage code and the rest of the
application including !Boot, !Run and !Sprite files.
8.6
New to version 2 of WimpGEN is the option to specify a library file
which the generated application will load using the LIBRARY command. The
intention is that code that you write is stored independently from the
WimpGEN created code so that one can be edited without effecting the
other. The Basic RunImage file calls routines in the user library file
as the various wimp events (such as a click on an icon) occur.
8.6
Also new in this version is an option for the generated code to contain
routines with sensible names based on the name of the window, such as
mainw_keypressed instead of window1_keypressed which version 1 would
have produced.
8.6
This all works very well in practice, although one minor reservation is
that no parameters are passed from the WimpGEN generated code to
routines in the user library. The code generated by WimpGEN to handle a
dataload event should serve to illustrate this:
8.6
REM − Purpose..: Double click (DataOpen) user message received.
8.6
REM − Reference: PRM page 3-265.
8.6
DEF PROCdouble_click
8.6
LOCAL directory_window%,icon_x%,icon_y%,
8.6
filetype%,filename$
8.6
directory_window% = mb%!20
8.6
icon_x%           = mb%!28
8.6
icon_y%           = mb%!32
8.6
filetype%         = mb%!40
8.6
filename$         = FNstring0(mb%+44)
8.6
PROC_testapp_dataload
8.6
ENDPROC
8.6
PROC_testapp_dataload is contained in the user library and will be
called when a file is double clicked on − this PROC has to decide
whether or not to load the file but it is not obvious without examining
the code that a variable called filetype% is available to aid the
decision.
8.6
This is more a question of programming style than anything else − it
does work perfectly well although there seems to be no technical reason
why parameters could not be passed to the user routines and, to my mind,
this would be preferable as it would then be clear exactly what data is
available to the routine.
8.6
Another neat touch in the WimpGEN generated code is the inclusion of PRM
references (presumably the RISC OS 3 PRMs) and also references to the
Basic manual where appropriate. Also, it can be seen that WimpGEN
creates commented source code using sensible variable names. This is
extremely important as it will probably be necessary to edit the code to
perform more advanced functions that WimpGEN does not, as yet, provide.
8.6
WimpGEN generated applications may be compressed by a suitable program
compactor to reduce their size, or compiled to machine code using
Silicon Vision’s own RiscBasic compiler for additional speed and
security.
8.6
Some support is also provided for creating tool panes (windows attached
to other windows) in the template editor, but strangely not in the
generated code where it is left to the user to open the windows in the
correct order which could be a daunting task for beginners. WimpGEN data
to create a demonstration application, which shows how panes can be
handled, failed to produce the expected result in that only the first
window was opened automatically leaving it up to the programmer to open
the other windows behind the first one.
8.6
Silicon Vision is keen for users to send in their own ideas for
enhancements and I would expect that automatic handling of tool panes
would be high on the wish list of many users.
8.6
The programmer is encouraged in the manual to use the general purpose
routines provided by WimpGEN to help with the writing of the rest of the
program, but there was no documentation supplied (other than a short
note in one of the ReadMe files about some newly provided routines) to
explain what is available and the parameters required by the routines.
This is a major omission.
8.6
Conclusions
8.6
WimpGEN achieves its stated objective of making the creation of a user
interface for RISC OS applications easier and the whole system works
well and appears to be bug free. Whether it achieves as much as it could
do is debatable as there are many opportunities for making programming
easier (automatic handling of panes, font and colour selectors, etc)
that version 2 does not address at the moment. As it stands, to produce
a complex application using WimpGEN will require a fair amount of
programming input, although what is there has been thought about
carefully and provides, with the minimum of effort, the building blocks
that all RISC OS applications require. Indeed, it is hard to imagine how
the facilities it does provide could have been better presented or made
easier to use.
8.6
As the software has so many features, it really has to be tested
extensively to find out if it suitable for the task in hand and, in this
respect, it may be useful for potential purchasers to obtain the
demonstration version first. This is available direct from Silicon
Vision and costs £5 +VAT, which is refundable against full purchase.
8.6
WimpGEN is published by Silicon Vision Ltd and costs £79.95 +£3 p&p +VAT
or £92 through Archive.  A
8.6
Econet − Experience and Salvation
8.6
Keith Murrall
8.6
I joined Yateley Manor as Head of IT in September 1992. The Econet
network was extensive, with BBC ‘B’ workstations in most classrooms.
8.6
The first area for modernisation was the IT room, equipped with an SJ
Research fileserver and 18 BBC Bs, linked by Econet. Twenty A3020
workstations were ordered, with two A5000s for use as a fileserver and
printer server. For a variety of reasons, the existing Econet cabling
was retained although it was clearly not ideal.
8.6
The remainder of the site, with the SJ file server relocated, was split
into a separate net which would continue with Beebs until replacement
was possible. The two nets were linked by a bridge so that, as RISC OS
workstations were introduced to classrooms, there was access to central
storage.
8.6
Up and crawling
8.6
Installation was completed at the end of January 1993. I anticipated
that applications would take some time to load, but the solution was
simple. When a class came into the IT room, the children would be told
what to load. While the application was loading, they would be given the
necessary introduction to the lesson. By the time this was finished, the
application would be loaded and ready for use. How naive!
8.6
The first problem was logging on. With classes of children as young as
seven using the IT room, it could take five minutes or longer until the
root directory had been opened. However simple the instructions,
children − and some adults − forget, make mistakes and get confused.
Once logged on, opening the required directory took yet more time. The
required application was then selected and the lesson introduction
begun. Almost inevitably, there were interruptions because of various
error messages appearing on-screen and, just when a class were ready to
get on, at least one child would announce that their station had crashed
altogether. In practice, it was often 10-15 minutes before everyone was
actually ready to start working.
8.6
Other speed problems arose from the use of !Scrap and !Fonts. When
printing, or dragging from one application to another, the !Scrap
directory is used. Take, for example, dragging a drawfile directly into
a DTP package from !Draw. On a net, the drawfile is sent to !Scrap on
the server, then sent back to the receiving application. Multiply this
by twenty users and you have a speed problem. Speed problems also become
apparent with the use of !Fonts, the time spent building a font over the
net is considerable.
8.6
Initial attempts
8.6
A boot file, which opened the root and user directories automatically,
helped to simplify matters, with less for the user to get wrong.
8.6
Opening directories was very slow because of application !Boot files
running. The obvious solution to this is to hold down <ctrl> while
opening directories, preventing !Boot files from running. This is all
very well − provided that users remember and that not running the boot
file doesn’t lead to additional complications! Minimising the number of
applications in each directory helped considerably.
8.6
Another factor to consider was that, with many applications, !Boot does
nothing more than perform “*IconSprites <Obey$Dir>.!Sprites”, a
redundant command because it is assumed as a default. If this is all
that the !Boot file does, it can be deleted, speeding up the opening of
directories.
8.6
Since all of the work stations were RISC OS 3.1, with some built-in
fonts, !Fonts could be left off the system − limiting choice, but
necessary.
8.6
!Menon and !Memphis
8.6
Menon, a well-known public domain program by Joris Röling, offered an
easy-to-use interface, via a standard menu ‘tree’ on the iconbar, with
similar applications grouped together.
8.6
The real joy for the network manager lies in the provision of a second
module, MenonRT. After editing the menu contents, changing Menon’s !Run
file to load the MenonRT module instead of Menon means that users can’t
fiddle − brilliant! Users simply select the required application from
the menu, with no need to open the root or other directories, offering a
real time saving. (!System and !Scrap must be run, perhaps as part of
the user !Boot file, if the root isn’t going to be opened.)
8.6
Memphis (MemFS) is a public domain application by Brian Brunswick which
provides a dynamically resizable ramdisc by using the system sprite area
for storage. Each workstation is configured with the minimum sprite
memory, and scrap files are redirected to MemFS by the Memphis !Run
file. Scrap files are then handled within machine memory, instead of
working across the net. Dragging from one application to another is
instantaneous.
8.6
Both of these applications were added to the user !Boot, producing a
system that was easier and a little quicker to use but, of course,
application loading was still painfully slow.
8.6
NetGain
8.6
NetGain, produced by Digital Services, offered the next step forward.
The basic package cost £200, consisting of an expansion card and an
application disc. There was a full review in Archive 7.1 p77.
8.6
As provided, NetGain serves ten client stations. To serve more clients,
additional ‘keys’ (a small hardware link) need to be plugged into the
expansion card. Each extra key, costing £100, allows another ten client
stations to be served by NetGain. I bought one extra key so that all of
the computers in the IT room could be served.
8.6
The expansion card needs to be fitted to the computer being used as a
server before the software will run. A hard disc and 4Mb of memory is
recommended, so the A5000 was ideal.
8.6
The server software operates in one of two modes: manager mode or server
mode. Initially, NetGain starts up in manager mode.
8.6
The first step is to set up which stations are to be NetGain clients.
The Stations menu option brings up a window containing all network
station numbers. Simply clicking on the appropriate station number
selects a station as a client.
8.6
The second step is to set up the contents. Clicking on the NetGain icon
opens a filer window. The applications and files that are to be provided
via NetGain are then dragged to this window.
8.6
The final step is to switch to server mode. The contents of the NetGain
filer are automatically processed, compressing the applications/files. A
window shows the original and final size.
8.6
It is the final size that is important. Client stations must have
sufficient memory to store the NetGain file and leave enough free to run
applications. The NetGain file can be up to 2Mb, so Digital Services
recommend that client stations should have 4Mb of memory. The cost of
upgrading all twenty A3020 computers to 4Mb would have been
considerable, so I decided to try with the existing 2Mb.
8.6
This meant that the size of the NetGain file needed to be limited to
about 800Kb. Since word processing is a major activity, NetGain was set
up to provide !System, !Printers (which is slow to load on a standalone
computer, let alone across a network), !Menon, !Memphis, a few fonts,
!PenDown and !Pendown resources (because the dictionary is very slow to
load over the net).
8.6
Client stations need to be configured to boot from the NetGain server. A
configuration program is included on the disc provided. Once done,
<ctrl-break> or switching on the computer will start NetGain. The
NetGain filing system is then available as an icon similar to Apps.
8.6
One clever feature is that system performance improves with use. The
server ‘learns’ which applications are most frequently used and ensures
that those are available first.
8.6
Superb! All of the basic word processing related applications were
immediately available on the workstations, without the need to log on
unless files were to be saved. The speed of application loading was
possibly even faster than when using a hard disc on a standalone
computer.
8.6
Problems occurred, however, with memory hungry applications such as
Revelation and Eureka. I tried removing unnecessary elements from the
NetGain filer, such as !boot and !help files. The only way that I could
free enough memory was to remove so many files that NetGain became close
to useless.
8.6
What about quitting NetGain, as described in the manual? No. The icon
was removed from the iconbar but memory was not released. A number of
telephone calls and letters to Digital Services finally produced an
explanation. NetGain uses module memory. As has been discussed in recent
issues of Archive, once memory has been allocated in this way RISC OS
guidelines dictate that modules are not removed because they may be in
use by other applications.
8.6
The only solution, therefore, was that when applications demanded more
memory, the NetGain server was turned off and work stations re-booted.
This was fine in a lesson situation, but in ‘free-time’ sessions, when a
variety of applications were being used, those who needed NetGain were
asked to boot their computers and then, after the NetGain server was
turned off, others would re-boot their machines.
8.6
For inexperienced users this ‘two-way’ interface was confusing; there
was one approach to using the net with Netgain and one without. The same
problem occurred when using RISC OS computers around the school. NetGain
does not operate across network bridges, so when using computers outside
the IT room it was always ‘without’.
8.6
NetGain produced a remarkable improvement in network performance for a
few applications. This is what it aims to do, i.e. reduce network
traffic by providing the most commonly used applications. I couldn’t
help feeling, however, that management issues aside, I would be almost
as well served by a 1.6Mb floppy storing compressed applications/files
in each computer’s drive.
8.6
AppFS Release 3
8.6
In late May 1994, I discovered AppFS, produced by AngelSoft and costing
about £100. The product is essentially unchanged since the earlier
Archive review (7.4 p52), the new release addressing problems arising
from the introduction of AUN/Level 4.
8.6
Applications and files to be provided via AppFS must be stored on a
‘read only’ disc. This is most easily achieved through the installation
of a second hard drive on the server. Not so long ago, this extra cost
would have been prohibitive. Recent falls in hard drive costs mean that
this is now a reasonable option, the combined cost of the AppFS software
and the drive being comparable to the cost of NetGain. One drive can
then be read-only, used for applications, and the other for user files.
8.6
This read-only approach is necessary because the AppFS server delivers
specific sectors to clients when they are requested, maintaining a cache
of regularly required sectors. AngelSoft claim that on a 4Mb server,
approximately 80% of required sectors are likely to come from this
cache. Client stations keep a directory cache of frequently used
directories, speeding up access to files.
8.6
In practice, this produces significant improvements in speed. For
example, loading Revelation Imagepro to the twenty workstations improves
from 4 minutes down to 1 minute. Reliability is better, with all
stations usually loading first time.
8.6
AppFS also allows a consistent interface. The filer icon is available to
all stations, including those across bridges, all of the time. Unless
files need to be saved, logging on is unnecessary, saving time.
8.6
The true test was that just three days after installing AppFS, I was
taken ill and was out of school for nearly three weeks. Non-specialist
staff were required to ‘cover’ and everyone was able to use the system
without difficulty − a situation which would not have existed with
NetGain.
8.6
The only problems occur when a large number of work stations are re-
booted at the same time, resulting in what I assume to be network
clashes. Re-booting takes only a little extra time. The other problems
occur when games save positions, e.g. 4Mation’s ‘Maths Circus’, or need
to write to disc at run time. Usually, the file being written is within
the application itself, a feat not possible under AppFS. It is then
necessary for users to be logged on and the save files redirected to a
writable area. Some older applications, especially Sherston adventures
such as Microbugs and Fleet Street Phantom, will not run unless the user
is logged on the normal way.
8.6
Ethernet versions
8.6
There is an Ethernet version of NetGain and the ‘Application
Accelerator’ included with the latest AUN release provides the
equivalent of AppFS, without the need for a read-only hard drive. (The
fact the Application Accelerator does not work with Econet seems to be
buried in the small print of the publicity material, so beware!) I have
not had the opportunity to try these but assume that the same comments
as for Econet versions apply, only with the expected increases in speed.
8.6
The future
8.6
Level 5 / Nucleus − The next step forward will be offered by the release
of Level 5 Fileserver software, possibly as early as the first quarter
of 1995. (This may be called ‘Nucleus’, instead of Level 5, reflecting
the product’s Digital Research origins.) The first snippets of
information about this product suggest that it will go a long way
towards addressing the concerns of network managers everywhere.
8.6
A new disc format will replace ADFS, removing the much criticised 512Mb
limit on drive size and allowing the use of long, meaningful filenames.
Fileserver hard drives will need to be reformatted to take advantage of
the new facilities, a major task on larger sites
8.6
The fileserver software will run in the background, allowing up to 100
simultaneous users. Currently, five users can access a CD-ROM
simultaneously, though it is hoped to increase this to 6. Improved
management software will provide for groups of users, with each
individual allowed to be a member of several groups. Hopefully, Acorn
have looked at third party utilities, such as NetManage, during the
development of the management software.
8.6
The software will operate on Econet or Ethernet, offering considerable
speed increases on both.
8.6
Prices have yet to be finalised, but will be on ‘user’ basis rather than
the current single fixed price, i.e. the bigger the site, the higher the
cost.
8.6
Risc PC − With the fact that so much of the basic software for the Risc
PC is stored on hard disc rather than in ROM, a quick telephone call
confirmed that Acorn have no intention to produce a disc-less network
station.
8.6
It obviously makes a great deal of sense for applications, the size of
which is steadily increasing, to be supplied from a local hard drive.
The management of such a system, however, has the potential to become
nightmarish. In the Risc PC, Acorn have addressed some of the issues,
allowing for hardware locking of configuration and password locking of
hard drives, both very welcome additions.
8.6
However, one of the great advantages of a network is that upgrading
software is easy − any upgrades of software on the fileserver are
immediately available to all users. It would still be possible to do
this, of course, with Risc PC workstations loading applications over the
net, but this would largely defeat the object of all workstations having
a hard drive.
8.6
I hope that Acorn will be giving some thought to the plight of the
overworked network manager, possibly with the inclusion of download
software which would allow for management of all hard drives on a
network from the fileserver. A software upgrade could then be
automatically downloaded to all workstations.
8.6
Conclusions
8.6
Anyone running a network is aware that the days of Econet are numbered,
hardly surprising for a system originally designed to cope with the
demands of workstations of a much lower specification that today’s
computers. We are all aware of the alternatives now available, such as
Ethernet and Nexus. For many, however, practical concerns have dictated
the continued use of Econet.
8.6
For network managers in this situation, AppFS offers an immediate,
affordable route to improvement in performance. NetGain offers greater
improvement, but for a much more limited range of applications, even
with the recommended 4Mb memory.
8.6
Level 5/Nucleus will certainly help, but the only real solution is going
to be to take the plunge and persuade management to invest in more
appropriate network systems, whether that be Ethernet, Nexus or some
other system yet to appear over the horizon.
8.6
All that is certain is that, as soon as our dream system is installed,
something better will appear over the ever-expanding horizon.  A
8.6
Multimedia Column
8.6
Paul Hooper
8.6
What is Multimedia?
8.6
You may have seen adverts on TV for certain well-known computers as
being ‘multimedia’ units. After visiting certain high street outlets to
see these machines in operation, one thing became apparent − their only
claim to being multimedia units is that they have a CD drive and a pair
of speakers. I also asked quite a few sales assistants to recommend a
program that could author a multimedia application on any of the
machines. The replies were interesting. Most said that I couldn’t author
my own applications as I wouldn’t be able to write to a CD. A Mac
salesman did recommend a package but at over £600!
8.6
This brings me back to the title. The word ‘multimedia’ seems to have be
hi-jacked by the major companies to sell CD drives with their machines.
Acorn has now followed suit and launched their own ‘multimedia’ Risc PC
with a CD drive and a pair of speakers − but no authoring system is
included in the package. Come on Acorn! You can do better than that! It
must be worthwhile to package a copy of Genesis Project or Magpie with
the machine and sell it as the only true multimedia machine.
8.6
The problems of size and display
8.6
This month I want to look at a series of problems sent in by readers.
Many of these are concerned with the size of binders that they have
created and the display of them. Although this will be mainly concerned
with Genesis, many of the hints and tips can also be applied to Magpie
and Key Author.
8.6
Text display
8.6
One question that keeps recurring is the problem of ‘ragged’ text.
Create a frame on a blank Genesis page, then type in some text. Using
the page ‘style’ option, set the background colour of the page to red.
Then set the colour of the frame to transparent. Move the frame slightly
and you will see that text has become ragged. This is not a problem with
Genesis, but the way the computer displays its text. The font anti-
aliasing requires a background against which to display. The cure is
simple, rather than set the frame to transparent, set it to the same
colour as the page background and your text will be displayed with
perfect clarity.
8.6
However, our problems don’t end here, if you now turn off the border of
your text frame, you will see that the text frame background is a
slightly different shade of red to the background of the page. If you
examine the script language for the page, you will see that both items
have the same colour definition. Even using the ‘choose colour from
screen’ option will produce the same result. At the moment there is no
solution to this problem, but Oak are aware of it.
8.6
Application size
8.6
With the advent of cheap and easy ways to import video, animation and
sound, the 800Kb floppy disc imposes real restrictions on what can be
put into a multimedia application. Also, now that the restriction on the
number of fonts within Genesis has been lifted, the temptation to use a
number of different fonts means that you have to include a font
directory on a disc. To make these binders work on older machines, we
need to observe the 800Kb limit. The solution is to link together a
series of discs containing parts of your multimedia application. As this
varies with which of the programs you are using I have laid out how to
do this for each program below.
8.6
Genesis links
8.6
As I showed last month, it is fairly easy to link Basic or other
programs into Genesis by using the drop and drag technique. One of the
few exceptions to this is that you can’t drag and drop other Genesis
applications. If you try, all that happens is that another copy of
browser is loaded and the machine crashes. I had struggled with this
problem for some while when Stephen Williams of Liverpool suggested an
answer. He has created a small basic program called ‘KillBrowse’ which
is placed in your copy of !GenLib. You then alter the run file of the
applications so that variables are set up to chain the previous or next
Genesis application. The lines below show the format:
8.6
SET PreviousGen$App ADFS::0.$.Chaining.!Link1
8.6
SET NextGen$App ADFS::0.$.Chaining.!Link3
8.6
RUN <GenesisEd$Dir> <Genesis$Frames>%0
8.6
You will need to alter this to your own path names. I have included an
example on the monthly disc (as supplied by Stephen), but be sure you
uncompact the examples onto a floppy disc in drive 0. Also, you will
need to copy the KillBrowse module into your copy of GenLib. If you
don’t get the monthly disc and would like this example, send a disc to
the Swap Shop and I will send you the example.
8.6
Magpie links
8.6
Paul Shelton from Stockport had a similar problem with Magpie. He
provides Magpie files for primary schools. This restricts him to the
800Kb format as many smaller schools still have computers unable to read
1.6Mb format. By the time you have taken out the space for MagpiRead and
other resources, this leaves you with 500Kb or less for the actual
binder.
8.6
The solution is to put the resources on one disc and the binder on a
second disc, but Paul added another condition, the whole binder must be
idiot proof, i.e. with you click on the resources disc, the computer
must load System, Scrap, Fonts and MagpiRead and provide a message to
tell the user to insert the binder disc. This a fairly complex task to
set up, so I have prepared an example called “MagpieL” which I have
added to the Swap Shop. It contains a set of detailed instructions and
if you want a copy just drop me a line.
8.6
Acorn World and BETT ’95
8.6
Having been at both shows, I would say that there was little new for
multimedia at either show. The number of ready-made CD multimedia
applications has increased, and the interesting point here is that the
price point for a CD varies between £40 to £200. Having looked at some
of the cheaper offerings by companies like Anglia TV, I just wonder how
the price of the more expensive CDs can be justified. A number of
readers have also commented on the effectiveness of this type of
software. Multimedia is not designed to be a passive way of presenting
information − the educational value of multimedia is in the authoring of
an application. I have learnt a good deal over the past few years by
making my own applications. First of all, you need to research the
subject and gather the resources to make your application. Then you need
to plan out the way you will present your information. The final stage
is the creation of your application and solving the problems that you
encounter.
8.6
There was a new authoring program from SEMERC at BETT. This is an
improved version of their Optima program called Ultima. I have yet to
try this out, so I can’t really comment on it yet. Cable News 2 from
Lindis has now become a full multimedia program, but I will refrain from
commenting on this package as I now work for Lindis! There were also
hints going around that Clares were producing an authoring package that
will work on both Acorn and Mac platforms.
8.6
I had a chat with Tony Holdstock on the Oak Stand and have a number of
fixes for people with problems but I will also be looking at number of
new ways of using Genesis in next month’s issue.
8.6
The Swap Shop
8.6
I’d like to thank individually all the people who have sent me
applications over the past couple of months but as this would fill up
the rest of the column, can I just say one big thank you too all of you?
I’d also like to thank you for all the kind comments on the column that
have come in. The Swap Shop continues to grow with over 75 different
applications now available filling up 50Mb of my hard disc.
8.6
One or two readers have also enquired about the conditions for the Swap
Shop, so let me just remind you. All the applications are free to
Archive readers as long as you send me the blank discs and the return
postage − a sticky self addressed label also makes my life easier. If
you want a copy of the latest catalogue then send a 800Kb disc with an
SAE. HD discs are no problem.
8.6
The end bit
8.6
If you have any hints and tips or questions on multimedia or if you
require a swap shop catalogue please write to: Paul Hooper, 11 Rochford
Road, Martham, Great Yarmouth, NR29 4RL. (01493-748474)  A
8.6
First Page
8.6
Richard Rymarz
8.6
Each term, the children at Gt Witchingham Primary School produce the
‘Witchingham Whirlwind’ − a school newspaper that is distributed to the
surrounding villages via the Post Offices as well as the parents of the
children themselves. It has been produced since 1988 and, this summer,
we completed issue 35. Originally, we used a marvellous program called
‘Typesetter’ which managed wonders on the limited memory afforded by the
BBC Model B.
8.6
Within two years the school bought its first A3000 and, quickly
dismissing the Acorn DTP package, the children began using Ovation.
Despite the various incarnations of Impression, word processors such as
EasiWriter and StartWrite and the introduction of Style, the school has
kept with Ovation since the children find it easier to use than other
alternatives. Further, Ovation was much more powerful than primary
school programs such as Phases. Ovation coped with both our word
processing and DTP needs especially for children at Key Stage 2.
8.6
Introducing First Page
8.6
One program that could have found a place in school was Pendown produced
by Longman Logotron. This also originated on the BBC Model B and
migrated successfully to the Archimedes range. It is now in its third or
fourth incarnation. However, there must now be some doubt as to whether
it will be developed further because Longman Logotron have just released
First Page, a fully-featured DTP package which, at its present price,
leapfrogs the limitations imposed by Pendown and must pose a serious
threat to Ovation in particular.
8.6
Having said that, Beebug are set to release Ovation 2  which will
include a new user interface. Perhaps this will provide real opposition
to Style and Publisher as well as fight off newcomers. As First Page
develops further, there seems little sense in continuing developing
Pendown since the features will increasingly overlap. In the meantime
the two programs do complement each other, as Pendown files can be
imported directly into First Page.
8.6
The package
8.6
First Page comes on two discs. The first one contains the main program,
fonts folder with two font families, !Scrap, a set of boarders, frames,
clipart and templates. It also contains !Set1stPage which is the
configuration program allowing the user to tailor the program to suit
the individual user. Such configurations can easily be saved. Disc two
contains more clipart, a sample style to use with !Set1stPage and a
tutorial. Everything is easily transferred to hard disc.
8.6
The manual is the usual Longman’s style − a 50 page A4 book, beautifully
produced, containing easily read instructions and a full index.
8.6
The program
8.6
Clicking on !1stPage loads the program onto the iconbar. From here,
documents can be loaded and removed. Clicking <select> opens a window
showing options to use pre-defined templates. These include a booklog,
fax, invitation and menu. These may sound school-based but new templates
to suit individual needs are easily created and saved.
8.6
Choosing ‘Fresh start’ opens the main screen and the user is immediately
struck by the graphical interface which has more in common with Style
than the earlier Impression or Ovation. A number of icons are arranged
across the top of the document, allowing easy access to all the major
features of the program. Save, print, cut, copy and paste are familiar
icons as are bold, italics and underline. Clicking on the Textstyle icon
reveals the style editor where font, weight, style, colour and size can
be altered, created and saved.
8.6
The page icon gives easy access to page size and orientation; whilst
zooming is controlled via the magnifying glass. Further icons allow the
user to view a variety of layouts; create, show and lock grids; hide and
view text and graphics; set a background colour or graphic (nice one
this, since the graphic can be seen in an accompanying box); create a
simple boarder defining its thickness and colour; define the interior
margins or inset; and finally a restore icon. All are controlled by a
simple click on the relevant icon − very easy.
8.6
Underneath the iconbar are the text layout tools showing the now
standard ways of justifying text. There are two types of tabs: left tab
and left indent − there is no decimal or centre tab. Leading is
controlled by two icons and a window that shows a positive or negative
leading. Each frame has its own ruler which can have its own style
features. Finally, there is the typestyle selection dialogue box from
which any defined style can be chosen.
8.6
Page numbers are clearly shown at the top of the document window while
the status line appears at the bottom. To the left of this line are
three more icons: the clip board icon showing if the board has text,
sprite or drawfile present; the frame store which can hold any defined
frame on disc and is easily accessible every time 1st Page is opened;
and finally, an append icon which allows files to be merged with
existing ones.
8.6
Frames are easy to create − just point and drag with <select>. Size can
be altered using <adjust> and can be positioned using the definable
grid. Frames can be rotated and linked together. A double-click inside a
frame with <select>, the cursor appears and typing can begin.
8.6
All in all, the features are more than adequate and well presented. Four
other areas stand out in this excellent program:
8.6
1. Page ordering. When a page number tag is dragged on top of another
page tag, the two pages swap places. This, and the ability to view up to
eight pages (at 30%) on a decent size screen, allows amazing flexibility
in the final document presentation.
8.6
2. OLE. First Page contains its own version of OLE − object linking and
embedding. Any graphic − drawfile or sprite can be loaded into First
Page. Double-clicking on a frame containing a graphic effectively loads
it into its parent program. Thus, for example, a sprite will load into
!Paint where it can be fully edited. Closing the file will cause a
request for the user to discard or save the file. Saving it will load
the edited graphic back into the First Page frame. This is very useful
but even more so when added to the ability to rotate text.
8.6
3. Text rotation. Inside the frame sub-menu is an option to turn the
text in any frame into a graphic. It can then be rotated like any other
graphic. Double-clicking loads the text back into !Edit where it can be
edited. Saving the file loads it back into 1st Page as a rotated graphic
− brilliant!
8.6
4. Printing. First Page’s printing facilities are excellent. Six
possible formats are available. The more usual ‘batched’, ‘fitted’,
‘pairs’ and ‘book pairs’ formats are available, as are ‘fours’ − four
pages printed on one sheet of paper; and ‘folded fours’ − where the
paper can be folded into a greetings card, for instance.
8.6
Quibbles?
8.6
Yes, I have one or two. Firstly, there is no spell-checker. Pendown has
one and I am sure that later versions of First Page will include one. In
the meantime, spell-checking − one feature vital to us all, especially,
children − must be done in another program.
8.6
Secondly, cut, copy and paste do not conform to the accepted conventions
of <ctrl-X>, <ctrl-C> and <ctrl-V>. Text is cut or copied to the
clipboard and is reloaded by dragging the clipboard icon back into the
frame. Perhaps children will find this easier to understand but I prefer
the conventional method.
8.6
Thirdly, highlighted text cannot be deleted by pressing <delete> or the
space bar on the keyboard, neither can type be overwritten − features
that I use often. Maybe these are purposely done to restrict any
accidental deleting by children.
8.6
Fourthly, controlling the cursor inside a frame is slightly sluggish.
Highlighting text is a touch cumbersome. I would prefer a more
responsive feel more akin to other word processors/DTP programs.
8.6
Finally, I am using First Page on a Risc PC and have managed to make the
program crash on a number of occasions. I don’t know what I did to
provoke these problems since they seem to be different every time.
Hopefully, the publishers will iron out such problems without too much
inconvenience.
8.6
Conclusions
8.6
First Page is definitely worth buying. It provides a number of
sophisticated features that give children the ability to use it at a
number of levels. It could also be used very effectively by adults and
should not simply be dismissed simply as a “schools’ program”. It is a
very lean program taking up a meagre 280Kb which allows it to be used
quite happily on a 1Mb machine.
8.6
The real question for us at Gt Witchingham Primary school is: will we
use First Page instead of our present program. The answer is yes,
because of the modern graphical interface and our wish to give our
children a feel of an up-to-date visual working environment. However, we
will still need to write and edit our text in Pendown, Ovation or
similar text processor and put up with the inconvenience of exporting
files. Come on Longman − give us a spell-checker and a more sensitive
text editor. Make First Page into a true document processor. If tight
memory is a problem then at least allow those with extra memory the
option of including a dictionary.
8.6
Finally, I would like to congratulate Longman on providing a suite of
excellent and very professional programs for children. First Page joins
Pendown (WP), Pinpoint Junior (database), Advantage (spreadsheet) and
Magpie (multimedia) as truly sophisticated tools that children can
really use.
8.6
First Page costs £49 +VAT (£54 through Archive) for a single user
version, £140 +VAT (£155) for a primary site licence and £190 +VAT
(£208) for a secondary site licence.  A
8.6
DTP Column
8.6
Mark Howe
8.6
This month’s column starts with some feedback from readers on a variety
of subjects.
8.6
Ovation
8.6
I have received several letters along the lines of “Ovation − let alone
Ovation 2 − is at least as good as Publisher, costs less, is not dongled
and is easier to use.” Three people informed me that, judging from last
month’s column, Ovation’s Style Sheet feature is more flexible than
Publisher master pages. A little more competition for Computer Concepts
in the Acorn DTP market can only be a good thing for customers, and I
certainly wish David Pilling and Beebug every success. (Beebug said,
“We’re hoping it will be ready in May − for the Harrogate Show!” Ed.)
8.6
Having spent a couple of thousand pounds on various versions of
Impression, the organisation I work for is extremely unlikely to change
to Ovation 2, no matter how powerful it turns out to be. My contribution
to this column is therefore always likely to focus mainly on Publisher.
However, I would welcome contributions from Ovation fans. Obviously, I
will not be able to verify their accuracy, so please check them
carefully. In this vein, Noel Thompson writes:
8.6
“<Ctrl-Shift-P> and <Ctrl-Shift-Q> are two of the most useful routine
facilities in Ovation, providing change of case and letter transposition
respectively. The change of case incidentally works either on a single
letter at the cursor, or equally on highlighted text (you have to buy
Publisher Plus to get this feature in Impression, MH). But <ctrl-P>
hides pictures from the screen and from being printed. Until I realised
that it is quite easy to execute <ctrl-P> by mistake when using the
change of case facility, I was at a loss to understand why a picture
frame containing, for example, a logo would sometimes vanish. No problem
when you know the reason: a second <ctrl-P> toggles it back. Perhaps
this will save someone else some anguish!”
8.6
Footnotes
8.6
MP Churchill writes that TechWriter produces footnotes automatically.
This tends to confirm my suspicion that this is a WP feature, and is
difficult to implement in a full-feature DTP package. D Thornton
complains that the option to generate guide frame headers and footers
has been removed from Publisher, apparently for our own protection.
8.6
I would still like to know if XPress or PageMaker can handle footnotes.
Alternatively, can anyone suggest how Impression footnotes could be
implemented in a flexible way (i.e. taking into account multiple
columns, etc)?
8.6
Publisher wish list
8.6
A couple of people have sent me lists of features which they want added
to Impression. It might be interesting to have some other opinions on
this subject, especially with Ovation 2 just round the corner. If you do
not have time to write a long letter, why not send me a postcard with
the following three pieces of information:
8.6
• What you like most about Publisher/Style,
8.6
• What you like least,
8.6
• The one feature you would most like to see added.
8.6
I will let you know the results in a couple of months’ time.
8.6
On dongles & upgrades
8.6
Following my review of Publisher, several people have written to me to
defend the button bar and other aspects of this program. Strangely
enough, no-one has written to me to say how much they appreciate that
“convenient and effective” form of copy protection known as the dongle:
8.6
“On the dongle, (CC) show their true colours. They are far less trusting
than any other Acorn company... To say that without such checks they
would go bust is utter nonsense...” EM, Harwich.
8.6
“I am strongly against user-unfriendly dongles being used as a form of
copy protection” RG, Nottingham.
8.6
“Please put me down as Head Donglephobe-in-Chief” JN, York.
8.6
All those who have written to me about Ovation say they rejected
Publisher because of its dongle.
8.6
You may not know that Impression and ArtWorks poll their dongles every
couple of seconds while the programs are running. This means that there
is always an amount of activity on the parallel port, even when the
computer is not printing.
8.6
One ArtWorks user tells me that whenever he switches off his computer,
the dongle sends a few characters to the printer (a LaserJet 4L, which
has no power switch), with the result that the printer wakes up and
wastes a sheet of paper. I use a printer sharer, and occasionally have
the same problem when switching between computers.
8.6
On two occasions in the last week, Publisher Plus has suddenly died with
a “hardware key not found” message. I suspect that the length of cable
between the parallel port and the printer make the whole set-up rather
sensitive to electro-magnetic interference (on one occasion Publisher
crashed whenever a builder in the room next door switched on his angle-
grinder!). One version of Impression actually came with a dongle manual,
explaining several different reasons why the dongle may not work.
8.6
So do dongles protect CC’s investment? A significant proportion of their
Impression-related income must come from upgrades. I was surprised to
discover that Publisher and Publisher Plus upgrades work with the same
dongle as Impression II. Worse (for CC), all those who upgraded from
Impression II to Style now have a spare dongle to pass on to the
unscrupulous.
8.6
CC’s policy of only supporting registered customers makes some sense for
software, but is demonstrably ludicrous in the case of firmware upgrades
for expansion cards. A colleague who recently bought a secondhand
ColourCard was told he could not have an upgrade without a letter from
the registered user. Why? What earthly use is a ColourCard upgrade to
anyone who does not have a ColourCard? Did they think he had made his
own board from components purchased at Tandy, or is there a large market
in stolen podules? All this so-called security takes time and therefore
costs money.
8.6
Since DTP does not stand for Dongles Try Patience, I plan to send future
letters on this subject to Gerald Fitton for possible inclusion in his
column. In the meantime, I suggest that those of you who buy Ovation 2
to keep full use of your parallel port, drop a line to CC, pointing out
that their dongle policy has just lost them a sale.
8.6
Acorn Publisher magazine
8.6
This bi-monthly ‘glossy’ magazine was launched at the end of last year.
As the name suggests, it is aimed at those using Acorn systems for
publishing. At £24.95 for six issues, it will be mainly of interest to
serious DTP users, although the editor Mike Williams (formerly of RISC
User) hopes to provide articles for beginners too. Further details and
back issues (£5 each) from Akalat Publishing.
8.6
Better Documents Part 2:
8.6
Raw Materials
8.6
Last month, I looked at ways of ensuring that your publications can be
read. Of course, this is only of benefit if your publication has
something to say! It is a great pity to spend lots of time producing an
elegant page layout which focuses the reader’s interest on badly-
written, uninteresting or irrelevant prose. The same could be said for
beautifully-rendered images which actually detract from the overall
message of your document.
8.6
Text
8.6
Check the facts − It is amazing how often names, dates and places get
mistyped or omitted, especially in headings. Recently, I narrowly
avoided sending out a press release for our organisation’s ’95
activities with Provence ’94 as the title!
8.6
Check the spelling − Run your text through a spelling checker as a
matter of routine, but remember that this will not detect when you have
used ‘to’ instead of ‘two’ or ‘there’ instead of ‘their’. Also, look for
repeated words (a a common mistake).
8.6
Check the grammar and punctuation − Badly-constructed sentences do not
communicate. If you cannot tell the difference between it’s and its or
between who and whom, get someone else to check your documents.
8.6
Style
8.6
Keep it short. “Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain
no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same
reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no
unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his
sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only
in outline, but that every word tell.” (Strunk and White, see below)
8.6
Keep it simple. The aim of most documents is to communicate, not to
impress the reader with your grasp of English. Your subject matter may
be complex, but this does not mean that the prose has to be clumsy.
8.6
Keep it structured. A formless mass of words is intimidating. Each
paragraph should present one main idea. Group paragraphs treating the
same theme under section headings. Put sections in a logical order.
8.6
Keep it straight. Failed attempts to write in a colloquial style can be
excruciating to read. The same could be said for the current trend of
writing in half-sentences. A bit at a time. Omitting the main verb. To
sound modern and punchy. Or irritating. Depending on your point of view.
(One reader recommended I read Terry Pratchett. Tried it. Couldn’t cope!
Sorry!! Ed.)
8.6
For a concise treatment of this subject, I recommend The Elements of
Style, by W Strunk and EB White, published by Macmillan. Its 92 small
pages are packed with useful guidelines, not to mention some fine
invective. See, for example, the following entry in the chapter on
misused words and expressions: “The foreseeable future. A cliché, and a
fuzzy one. How much of the future is foreseeable? Ten minutes, Ten
years? Any of it? By whom is it foreseeable? Seers? Experts? Everybody?”
8.6
Graphics
8.6
Are they necessary? − Illustrations do not always make a document more
readable, especially if they have little or nothing to do with the
message you wish to communicate. Clipart is a particular menace in this
respect.
8.6
Are they near any accompanying text? − Tie graphics into the overall
message of your document. If necessary, shrink the graphic or edit the
text to keep related elements together.
8.6
Are they neat? − Blurred photos and blocky line drawings look tacky. If
you cannot scan images properly yourself, use a bureau or get your
printer to strip in illustrations afterwards. Do not be afraid to crop
illustrations to remove distracting elements and concentrate attention
on your subject.
8.6
Imagesetting Part 3:
8.6
Colour Printing
8.6
Last month, I looked at what is involved in setting up Publisher master
pages, as referred to in paragraph 1 of the CC typesetting checklist
(Archive 8.4 p63). This month, I intend to tackle paragraph 2, which
mentions overprinting. I hope to get to paragraph 19 before summer ’96,
but the intricacies of PostScript are almost impossible to understand
without a little more background information.
8.6
Spot and process colour
8.6
Most printing work is still one-colour. The ink may be black or another
colour. From the point of view of producing artwork, the colour of the
ink or the paper is unimportant. All the artwork will be transferred to
the same plate, and so no problems of alignment (or ‘registration’) are
involved.
8.6
Printing in more than one colour involves making more than one plate.
The simplest form of multi-coloured printing uses two or more ‘spot’
colours. If the colours were yellow and blue, the use of 2-colour spot
printing could produce various shades of yellow and blue on the same
sheet of paper. Other colours can be produced using more inks. The cover
of the February Archive appears to have been printed using four spot
colours (red, green, blue and black).
8.6
It is obviously important for the yellow and blue plates to print on the
same area of paper, but for simple designs where the two colours do not
touch, the registration is not too critical.
8.6
Process printing is more complicated than spot printing because the inks
interact. If, in the example above, we had designed a leaflet using 2-
colour process printing, we could have produced various shades of blue,
various shades of yellow and various shades of green using only two
inks. With four specially-chosen inks (cyan, magenta, yellow and black)
it is possible to produce almost any colour on the paper. This is known
as 4-colour process, and is the technique used for ‘full-colour’
magazines. The set of four films used to make plates for 4-colour
printing are called separations.
8.6
Good registration is critical for process printing. If one of the plates
is even slightly out of registration the finished document will look
blurred. Presses for running 4-colour process are usually accurate to a
fraction of a millimetre.
8.6
Overprinting
8.6
The easiest way to produce separations is to leave a white space on any
plates which are not necessary to produce a particular colour on paper.
This is called knock-out. It means that if your leaflet included some
black text on a magenta background, the text would appear on the magenta
plate in white.
8.6
If registration were always perfect, this would be fine. Unfortunately,
even a small error leads to a white shadow on one side of the text. The
solution in this case is called overprinting.
8.6
Overprinting means not leaving a gap on other plates in certain cases.
If our black text was set to overprint, the magenta background would be
solid and any small registration errors would pass unnoticed.
8.6
Overprinting only works if the ink is relatively opaque. If you look
carefully at the cover of February’s Archive, you will see that the
black horizontal lines have been overprinted on the red zigzag border,
and that the part of the line that covers the zigzags is slightly darker
than the rest. You have probably never noticed this before, which shows
that overprinting with black ink is generally fairly successful. If the
line were yellow, the red zigzags would show through and spoil the
overall effect.
8.6
(As a matter of interest, the Archive covers are printed in four
colours. The NCS + logo are printed in two colours but in very large
numbers − enough for several months. Then each month, the colour + black
bits are printed. Registration between the two is not needed as they are
well separated from each other. Ed.)
8.6
Publisher provides control over overprinting at the object level (style,
graphic...) or the ink level. Setting the black (or key) plate to
overprint seems to work perfectly well, although I have never tried it
with a colour photo. More to the point, deciding manually which objects
or styles need to be overprinted can be fiendishly complicated and,
according to T-J Reproductions, is one of the major causes of unusable
films. In short, do not try it unless you know exactly what you are
doing.
8.6
If you follow my advice, you can ignore paragraph 2 of the typesetting
checklist altogether!
8.6
Trapping
8.6
What about light blue text on a yellow background using 2-colour process
printing? If you turn on overprinting for blue text, you will probably
end up with green text. If you turn it off, you will probably get a
white shadow. The solution to this dilemma is called trapping, and
Publisher does not support it.
8.6
If applied to the example above, trapping would mean the knock-out on
the yellow plate would be slightly smaller than the blue letter. The
area of overlap would be green, but this is not noticeable, any more
than the grey pixels around black text on an anti-aliased RISC OS screen
display.
8.6
Charles Moir of CC says that “trapping is near impossible”. It is
certainly difficult, but PC and Mac packages not much more expensive
than Publisher Plus manage it. With a bit of fiddling, it is possible to
simulate trapping when the plates are made from film, but this costs
money and does not work in all cases. I still have not heard of anyone
using OPI, but a trapping feature in Publisher Plus would be useful to
anyone doing a lot of 4-colour work.
8.6
Next month
8.6
I hope to get as far as the Publisher print dialogue box. You can
contact me at 2 montée des Carrelets, 84360 Lauris, France. Fax 010-33-
90084139.  A
8.6
Blinds − Icon Organiser
8.6
Peter Jennings
8.6
If your pinboard is cluttered up with icons, all vitally needed at
various times but some only rarely, help is at hand in a novel and
elegant solution called Blinds (v. 1.05). Put simply, it provides
windows of any size which can contain varied selections of icons for
files, applications and directories. These can be collected on different
windows for different purposes and, when not in use, the window can be
rolled away like a blind to leave a narrow strip which is clicked upon
to reopen or close it. This blind can be positioned anywhere on screen
but most conveniently at one of the default settings at the top, bottom,
left or right edges.
8.6
These windows do not have to be present all the time. They can be
individually linked to applications or tasks so that the blind with the
appropriate icons will appear, either open or closed, when the linked
program is run.
8.6
There are, in fact, three different types of blinds: the one already
described; a full-screen backdrop, similar to the standard pinboard on
an Archimedes or Risc PC but interchangeable, and a “tool” blind which
looks like an ordinary window. The backdrop and tool blinds do not have
a closed position when on screen but can be hidden when not needed.
8.6
A blind linked to an application can be positioned anywhere in relation
to the application’s window and it will follow that window around the
screen. Move the application window and the blind leaps back into place
like an obedient child keeping up with its parent. The program checks
that the positioning is sensible and does not allow the blind to be set
where it will not have room to open. If preferred, it can be made to
appear only when that application’s window has input focus (that is when
the caret is in the window and the title bar is cream).
8.6
Blinds can be given names of any length but, in the current version, the
names appear only in menus and on the title bar of tool blinds.
8.6
Customised icons
8.6
Icons can be added to a blind at any time by simply dragging them on and
they can be positioned anywhere on it. There is an optional, invisible,
grid to help position them neatly. In addition, the icons can be
resized, larger or smaller, renamed with up to 240 characters, made text
or sprite only or given different sprites. An icon can even be given two
sprites and have the pictures alternate when it is clicked on. A
directory full of PD icon sprites is provided.
8.6
Anyone using a macro program, such as Keystroke, can set up collections
of icons to execute the hot key commands when clicked on.
8.6
Easy editing
8.6
Blinds and the icons on them can be edited, copied or deleted, and links
can be set or unset at any time. A single click on the iconbar icon,
which normally shows a blank blind, superimposes a “W” on it. This now
allows the windows (blinds) to be edited and resized and repositioned by
dragging them. A second click changes the “W” to “I” to allow the icons
on the blinds to be dragged around and clicking <menu> on the blind
brings up an editing window. This allows the icons to be changed in a
number of ways, including altering the foreground and background colours
of the text. A third click on the iconbar icon restores it to its blank
state for normal working use.
8.6
The exciting part
8.6
That is all very useful on its own but the really exciting part of the
program is tucked away towards the end of the manual in the “technical
reference section”. The title is likely to put off the less enthusiastic
computer user and, as it is mainly a detailed explanation of the various
menus, the more experienced may well think there is nothing more to be
learned from it. The gems come to light in the two “Commands” options on
the Edit Icons menu. These make it possible to change the actions which
result from double-clicking on an icon or dragging a file onto it. The
normal command carried out when clicking on the icon is shown in an
editable window and it can be changed there for any other command. An
extreme example given in the manual is that the !Edit icon, which will
of course normally run the Edit program, could have its command changed
to *Time so that a double-click would then bring up a window with the
current time shown in it. To complete the exercise, the icon sprite
could be changed to match its new role (there are various clocks and
watches in the supplied PD icons file) and “!Edit” could be altered to a
more appropriate name, such as “Show the time”.
8.6
Two example blinds containing sets of icons for various applications are
provided as examples of how the action of dragging a file onto an icon
can also be changed. A file dragged onto any of these icons changes its
filetype to that of the selected icon.
8.6
Other ways to use these versatile facilities are suggested in the
manual.
8.6
When to buy
8.6
Blinds is to be upgraded in the summer and will then cost more. If you
are interested in it, it is worth buying now because existing users will
get the new version free. It is already a well thought out and versatile
application with a closely-written 43-page illustrated manual to explain
it all in great detail. Blinds is easy to understand and use but, for
reasons given above, it is worth wading through the rather lengthy
instructions at least once.
8.6
Blinds costs £19.95 from Quantum Software (no VAT) or £20 inclusive from
Archive  A
8.6
There are three types of blinds: interchangeable backdrops, “tool”
windows which can “float” or be attached to an application window, and
click-on blinds which close to a narrow bar.
8.6
A “tool window” with icons that change the filetype of files dragged
onto them.
8.6
Risc PC Column
8.6
Keith Hodge
8.6
I must start by thanking all the readers who responded to my cry for
help for a version of Zap which works on the Risc PC. I was inundated
with phone calls, letters, parcels and one offer of hand delivery! All
of this, of course, goes to prove that the Acorn world is still the
family circle that it has always been. And long may it stay so.
8.6
David Holden of APDL sent a copy of his catalogue and Zap, f.o.c., as I
guess he felt that I was so out of touch that I needed all the help that
I could get! There is a huge range of software available and I wonder if
David will let us all know in his column if all the software he supplies
is Risc PC compatible.
8.6
Monitors
8.6
From Jan De Poorter: “My monitor is a MAG MX14 multisync which I use
with the AKF60+ monitor definition file as sent in by Andrew Clover
(Archive 8.1 p39). It gives a very steady picture in 1024×768 pixels in
32,000 colours. 1280×800×32K and 1280×1024×256 are possible, but not
without flicker.”
8.6
Floppy disc drives
8.6
Again from Jan de Poorter: “One of the first things that became obvious
was the fact that the Risc PC only has one floppy disc drive, and cannot
be expanded. Oh no?!
8.6
“I have just looked at the contents of the 3½“ 1.6Mb ADFS disc in my
second external drive. I have even loaded a basic file (dated 1986) from
a 640Kb 5¼” floppy drive. This disc was formatted and written to under
(Watford) ADFS on a BBC model B. How do I do it? Back in 1992, I
purchased a high density card for my A410 from Arxe systems. After all
the problems caused by RISC OS version 3 appearing and Arxe leaving the
Acorn market, I upgraded (actually a new card, to use with the Arxe
drive) thanks to the Serial Port. So I now have a ‘Serial Port Alpha
Dual Card’, which gives me a SCSI interface and a high density
interface. When the Risc PC appeared, I needed a new PAL prom, but now
the card works fine, although it does not integrate with the ADFS. It
uses its own filing system, Quad FS. The card has allowed me to connect
the above mentioned external floppy disc drives as well as a second
internal 496Mb SCSI hard drive (Fujitsu M2624-512/revision 0405).
8.6
“This all sounds fine, but... I talked to Hugo Fiennes at the Serial
Port, and he told me that they don’t make the dual card anymore, so I am
probably one of a few lucky ones that still have one.”
8.6
I have been talking by telephone to Martyn Purdie during the last few
days. He has just purchased a Risc PC − his previous machine being a
BBC. He reports that the only problems suffered, have been the lack of a
second 5¼“ drive to ease the import of software from the BBC, and non-
delivery of the second processor card (PC card). I have been able to
help him with the first, but there is currently no solution to the
latter.
8.6
Software information
8.6
More from Jan De Poorter: “The problems with Tracker modules, mentioned
in Archive 7.12 p55 are indeed down to this module. The latest version
(4.09) does not work on the Risc PC. Version 4.00 seems to work but the
speed at which it plays the tunes is much too fast. So we will probably
have to wait until Mr. Farrow writes a new version which will work on
the new machine.
8.6
“For those who would only like to play tracker tunes, there is an
excellent program called ‘Pro Track’ (version 1.11 − 30 Jan 1992),
written by BASS in Belgium. This works fine, at the right speed and is
available from APDL (disc B175).
8.6
“I used to change the colours of the desktop pointer to yellow, with a
black border, from my !boot file. I used the *Desktop SetPalette
command. This was part of the PaletteUtil module under RISC OS 3.1. This
command seems to have disappeared, together with the PaletteUtil module,
although it is still documented in the User Guide (page 460). I now run
a small basic program to change the palette using SYS “WimpSetPalette”.
Could there be a simpler way?
8.6
“When a ‘Not enough memory’ error occurs, it is sometimes useful to look
in the Taskmanager at the Module area slider. It is often possible to
regain lots of memory just by sliding back the Module area slider in the
System memory allocation area.
8.6
“Now that the problem with Wimpslot allocation has been solved, I would
like to point out another problem in this area. Some programs fail to
work because they have not allocated enough memory to load their
sprites, although the same problem did happen on earlier versions of the
operating system. If the program is written in Basic, one might be able
to solve the problem by augmenting the value xxx in DIM sprites %xxx or
(similar). Any ideas why this happens? (Could this be similar to the
Wimpslot problem? i.e. is sprite memory allocated in pages, the size of
which has changed under the new OS? K.H.)
8.6
“I have had problems with screen redrawing. At first I thought it was a
problem with Publisher, but recently, I saw the same problem with
Squirrel. What happens is that, sometimes, a window is redrawn, and
redraws even an area outside its window bounds, drawing over other parts
of the desktop.
8.6
“Sometimes, when opening a filer window, the text under one of the icons
is unreadable and inverted. This can be solved by simply clicking once
over the icon. The icon becomes selected (and thus inverted), but the
filename can now be read.
8.6
“Am I alone in experiencing these, albeit small problems?”
8.6
Software compatibility
8.6
Yet again, from Jan De Poorter: “A hint for users of !Larger, the
virtual desktop and backdrop from Warm Silence Software: in 1024×768
pixel screen modes (and, in fact, all screen modes where the horizontal
resolution is not an exact multiple of 52) the right icons on the
backdrop will not align with the far right edge of the screen. The
solution is to define a new mode, by duplicating the section of the
monitor definition file that defines the 1024×768 pixel mode and, in the
copy of this section, change all references to 1024 to 1040. Then resave
the file. After a restart, you should now have a new screen resolution
available with 1040×768 pixels, where the right icons on the larger
backdrop will align correctly. The only thing I noticed is that the
frame rate at this resolution has dropped from 60 Hz to 59Hz but the
picture quality is still perfect.”
8.6
Hardware and software news
8.6
I have recently purchased the “Design IT” Teletext decoder (now marketed
by CC as the TV Tuner with Teletext software at £187 through Archive)
and it is working excellently allowing me to automatically download and
save to disc any desired pages, by running a script file when the
application is auto-booted on startup. I use it for the Shares Pages on
CH4 and am slowly building up a database of shares information. The only
thing I wish is that I could persuade Rob Cowan of Design IT to give
access to Basic from the script file, then I could auto run the data
manipulation program I have written which strips out the data from all
the Teletext headers, etc. At the moment, I have to remember to do it
and, at 49 years of age, it gets harder and harder to remember! The
support received from Rob is first class − I have received three free
upgrades as a result of mine and other owners’ requests for
improvements.
8.6
Readers’ comments
8.6
Ted Pottage has written to let me know that he will be sending some
compatibility info when he has finished trying out the existing software
he has, on the Risc PC that Acorn has loaned for use by the British
Dyslexia Association Computer Committee at the seminars they are
presenting at BETT ’95.
8.6
He would also like to hear from everybody who has any software which
would be of use to Dyslexic people
8.6
Wish list for the next Risc PC / New issues of Basic
8.6
• Removal of ADFS FileCore 512Mb disc size limit
8.6
• Removal of 32Mb partition DOS size limit (You can have partitions over
32Mb but you can’t look into them from RISC OS. Ed.)
8.6
• Long file names
8.6
• Let’s have a backup facility available for hard drives to floppies via
the drive Icon.
8.6
Gripe of the month
8.6
Hmm... I have just be told that it will be July at least before the
Acorn 486 PC card is released upon the unsuspecting public. Please
Acorn, write and tell me this is not true! My face is going to be
covered with egg and all the bets I have been winning with the IBM PC
freaks at work will have been in vain.
8.6
Questions of the month
8.6
•  Is there an application which will input files from all the PC / Mac
/ Risc PC word processors and output in the same formats? Everybody that
I speak to gets stuck on this. I would willingly pay £75 for a
professionally-written program that does this, so come on you
programmers.
8.6
• George Barker: “I am 71 years old, retired and enjoying using my
computer as a hobby. I use a video camera to record the various light
aircraft flights my son and I enjoy and although I have independent
editing equipment, I am wanting to use the computer to overlay titles
onto an edited copy of our flights and also to add sound and music. I
would like to hear from anyone with experience of using hardware and
software for video editing on the Risc PC.” (Your wish is my command −
see page 31 of this very issue! Ed.)
8.6
• Does anybody know the pinout for the old SCSI and new SCSI 2
connectors, so that I can check if I have terminators fitted on my
scanner cable? (I will put this in the next column if I find out).
8.6
• Can the reader who supplied a most useful machine performance indexing
program, via Paul, get in touch please? I have promised a copy to Martyn
Purdie who has just moved direct from a BBC to a Risc PC (no small jump
that!), and cannot find where I have placed my copy.
8.6
Tailpiece
8.6
A number of people have asked about the Paint option which enables deep
sprite editing − It is “set Paint$Options X”. Please note, it is most
important to save your work regularly when using this mode, because
Paint is not bug free when this option is set.
8.6
I have failed miserably with the Packet Radio article which I promised
last month. I have been very busy, plus I have lost the Radio Society of
Great Britain’s address, from where I was hoping to get some real
information on disc to ease the task, still there may be time by next
month.
8.6
As usual, I can be contacted by letter at the HES address on the back
page, by telephone after 7p.m. or by Packet Radio from anywhere in the
World, as GW4NEI@GB7OAR.#16.GBR.EU.  A
8.6
Use of Sound in Special Needs
8.6
Neville Dalton
8.6
At the Hampshire Micro-Technology Centre, we have an active Special
Needs Department which, where possible, tries to capitalise on the Acorn
technology already in its schools to support its special needs programs.
Below are details of two projects which have made use of the sound
capabilities of an Archimedes fitted with one of the low cost Oak
Recorder sound sampling systems.
8.6
Say It & See
8.6
This is a speech and language therapy program for RISC OS computers.
8.6
During the administration of the 1991/2 GEST Special Needs grant,
several requests were made for the provision of a device, called “Speech
Viewer”, which helps in the education and therapy of children who have
speech and language difficulties. A number of schools in Hampshire now
have such pupils, who may have impaired hearing, neurological or
physical difficulties, which cause problems in their production of clear
and understandable speech.
8.6
At the time the requests were made, Speech Viewer sold at about £700 and
needed a PC to run it. Given that there was already an excess of demand
for grant aid towards equipment having a more general and wider
application, it was not possible to provide for this specialised
requirement. However, it was appreciated that there was considerable
demand for such a valuable tool in its field and we began to look for an
affordable alternative, ideally using the computer equipment already in
school classrooms. This decision has been vindicated with the rise in
price of the latest version of Speech Viewer to over £2,000 (+
computer).
8.6
A set of very basic speech activated animation programs, based on the
MicroMike, have been available for the BBC computers for a number of
years but, due mainly to the limited capacity of that computer system,
such programs really only used the microphone as a switching device.
Something more sophisticated was needed. Hampshire Microtechnology
Centre, already having some experience of developing sound and speech
input devices for the Archimedes computer with our Con-Verse program,
drew up the specification for the desired product.
8.6
The producers of the Oak Recorder sound sampling microphone were
commissioned to write the software. The Oak Recorder software provides a
number of SWI calls for recording and playing back samples, and
performing spectral analysis. These were sufficient to provide all the
functionality required and so the programs could be written as stand-
alone Basic programs with no changes to the sampler package being
required.
8.6
The Say It & See software is designed to provide motivating exercises
for pupils needing speech and language remediation. It is a suite of six
exercise activities, as follows:
8.6
!Balloon − voice control − voicing is sustained and increased to expand
and finally ‘pop’ the balloon.
8.6
!Cliff − voiced or unvoiced sounds are used to make a tractor push
boulders over a cliff, into the sea.
8.6
!Mountain − the flight of a hot-air balloon over a mountain range is
controlled by voicing level. The ‘mountains’ are created by the pupil or
teacher.
8.6
!Flycatch − differentiation between sounds moves the frog across the
lily-pads to catch the fly.
8.6
!Objects − measures and rewards pupils’ accuracy in speaking target
words.
8.6
!VoicePrint − split-screen in which an active phonogram is matched
against an appropriate target.
8.6
The level of difficulty of each exercise may be adjusted to suit the
current attainment and aims for individual pupils.
8.6
Using the Oak Recorder microphone, vocalisations may be captured for use
as ‘targets’. This feature allows appropriate samples to be used,
providing flexibility for vocal variations resulting from age, gender,
regional or ethnic origins, etc. The ability to record is built into the
individual applications which require it so that the applications are
self-contained.
8.6
We would not pretend that Say It & See has the sophistication of IBM’s
Speech Viewer, which uses its specialised hardware to provide many
facilities for clinical use. However, we are content that the power of
the Archimedes computer is being effectively utilised to provide speech
therapy exercises, for use in the school context, at an affordable
price.
8.6
Say It & See is priced at £105 +VAT including the Oak Recorder
microphone and £75 +VAT without.
8.6
InTouch
8.6
InTouch is a major new concept keyboard package from Hampshire
Microtechnology Centre aimed at the early stages of children’s cognitive
development. The idea came from Stuart Rees, who is teacher adviser for
Special Needs and Information Technology and was developed in-house by
Ian Cripps.
8.6
InTouch offers opportunities for activities such as picture / symbol /
colour / object / number recognition, matching and sequencing, each
activity having the opportunity to be enhanced by the inclusion of sound
samples produced with an Oak Recorder.
8.6
It was decided that the inclusion of sound would make the program much
more usable and meaningful for the children. Any appropriate sound
samples can be used, and the Oak Recorder provides the easiest and most
flexible means of recording sound for the Archimedes computer.
8.6
Voices and sounds in the immediate vicinity of the computer can be
recorded directly onto a computer disc using the Oak Recorder
microphone. Music and other sound effects can be recorded directly
(copyright permitting) using an appropriate lead to the Oak Recorder’s
“dongle” which lives in the computer’s Printer Port. Even if a cassette
recorder is used to, say, record animal sounds, these samples can easily
be transferred from the cassette to the computer disc.
8.6
InTouch offers opportunities for activities such as picture / symbol /
colour / object / number recognition, matching and sequencing, all with
accompanying sound samples, if required.
8.6
InTouch has five modes of operation as follows:
8.6
Touch & See − Touch a picture on the concept keyboard, see it on the
screen and hear an appropriate sound sample. The sound sample can be
replayed while the picture is still on the screen.
8.6
Touch & Match − Touch a picture on the concept keyboard to match it to
one on the screen. A sound sample is played as the picture appears
initially and can be replayed to act as an audible reward. The picture
can be made to disappear and can only be brought back when the correct
picture is touched on the concept keyboard, (a short term memory
exercise). The sound sample can be replayed while the screen is blank,
as a reminder of the picture.
8.6
Touch & Build − Build up the set of pictures, on screen, in random or
preset order, from the concept keyboard by touching each in turn, the
sound sample being played as each picture appears.
8.6
Touch & Return − All the pictures are displayed on the screen, and one
will then disappear. It has to be brought back by touching the
corresponding picture, word, etc, on the concept keyboard. The sound
sample will be played as a reward each time the correct picture is
brought back.
8.6
Touch & Scan − This mode is intended as an introduction to switch-
operated scanning and can act as a communicator for children who have a
communication difficulty. Up to ten symbols are displayed on the screen.
The user has the choice of single or double switch scanning using the
concept keyboard or switches plugged into the user or analogue ports.
Sound samples may be added, to play as the symbol / picture is selected.
8.6
In Touch is available to any school for £40 +VAT (excluding Oak
Recorder).  A
8.6
ImageFS
8.6
Dave Floyd
8.6
ImageFS is an application from Alternative Publishing which allows you
to use ‘foreign’ bitmap graphic files as if they were Acorn sprites. The
software requires RISC OS 3.1 or greater and costs £34.95 + VAT (special
offer until end of April 1995).
8.6
Loading the software
8.6
ImageFS initially installs itself onto the iconbar, enabling you to
configure it to your requirements. Clicking <menu> over its icon reveals
a five option menu, consisting of Info, Type Control, Global Options,
Save Options and Quit. Interestingly, clicking <select> on the icon
brings up the Type Control window, while <adjust> provides a quick route
to the Global Options − a convenient and well thought out shortcut. Once
installed, the icon can be removed from the iconbar thus freeing memory
taken up by the control software whilst leaving the module in memory and
active.
8.6
Type Control window
8.6
The Type Control window allows you to select each graphics type
recognised by the program and configure how ImageFS will treat it. The
three options available to the user are Off, On and Auto. When
configured as Off, the foreign graphics file(s) will be treated as such,
i.e. as if ImageFS were not loaded at all. This is a very handy method
of temporarily disabling ImageFS without de-installing the whole
application, should you need to use another conversion utility such as
Translator.
8.6
The difference between On and Auto relates to the way it handles
graphics files. When ImageFS is active, the operating system sees the
files as both directories and files at the same time. If the setting is
On and the file is dragged to an application which accepts the foreign
format, all conversion will be left to the host application. If double-
clicked, however, the file opens like a directory to display a sprite
icon which can be dragged into the application as if it were a sprite
file. If the setting is Auto, ImageFS converts the file to sprite format
before loading it into the application regardless of whether the
application could handle the foreign graphics file.
8.6
For example, if you have a TIFF file which you need to import into an
Impression document and the setting for TIFF files within ImageFS is On,
dragging it directly into your document will load the graphic using
Impression’s TransTIFF conversion filter. Double-clicking on the TIFF
file and dragging the resultant sprite icon into your document will
instigate the ImageFS conversion and load the file into your document
without invoking TransTIFF. This is because Impression thinks the file
is a sprite file. On testing the two different methods, I could notice
very little (if any) difference in quality between the two conversions
but ImageFS was certainly quicker.
8.6
The filetypes recognised by ImageFS are PCX, BMP, Clear, PBMPlus, Targa,
TIFF (including CMYK TIFF files), GIF, MacPaint, Pict2, IMG, and
ColoRIX. Entries for SunRastr and AmigaIFF are greyed out on the
Filetypes menu and I therefore assume that their inclusion is imminent.
There are some notable omissions from this list – but more on that
later.
8.6
Global Options window
8.6
Activating Global Controls from the menu reveals an annoyingly small
window which necessitates scrolling to view all of the options. A far
more user-friendly method would have been to make all options visible at
the same time via a larger window, and allow the user the facility to
adjust the size.
8.6
The first option available is that of Old or New sprite format.
Selecting Old will give you a maximum of 256 colours for your sprite
although, if the source image contains more, the resultant graphic will
be dithered and converted as well as possible. The diffusion technique
used is selectable between None, Simple and Floyd-Steinberg. Which of
these will give the best results depends upon the source image and your
own preferences and requirements. You are also given the option to
choose between the standard Acorn 256 colour palette or the palette
contained within the source file.
8.6
Those who own a Risc PC or are loading files directly into Impression,
Artworks or other software that can accept the deep sprite format, can
select the New Sprite option which can load files containing more than
256 colours without compromising the quality of the image.
8.6
Further down the window there is an option to select long or short
filenames. If those using RISC OS 3.5 or above select long filenames,
ImageFS will either create a long name for the file from information
contained within the source file or, if there is none, it will supply
its own, thereby allowing you to glean size and colour information from
the filename.
8.6
The next option is Tiny View which was not available in the version
supplied. When it is implemented, Tiny View will apparently allow you to
hold down <ctrl> while double-clicking a graphics file and will then
display a very quick thumbnail image on screen. This could be a big
time-saver for those who keep large piles of unlabelled discs containing
obscurely titled graphics files when time next comes to sort through
them for a specific picture.
8.6
The pixel aspect is selectable between Square and Rectangular, although
only those using non-multisync monitors should have any need to deviate
from the Square default, and even they should rarely have to worry about
it.
8.6
Finally, there is an option to fix the resolution of the resulting
sprite to 90 dpi or to take the information from the source image. At
present, this is rather a non-option as Acorn, while including dpi
information within the new deep sprite format, have not implemented the
use of that dpi information within RISC OS 3.5. While a review is not
the forum to discuss why Acorn so often appear to half implement
features such as this, it is good to see that the option is available as
a form of ‘future-proofing’ should Acorn choose to include it in future
versions of RISC OS.
8.6
The manual
8.6
The 28-page CD-sized manual manages to include a surprising amount of
information. It explains the options in detail and also contains a brief
history and description of each graphics format that the software can
handle. Although this may sound like ideal ‘train-spotters’ territory, I
found this quite interesting and would have welcomed a more detailed
overview. Its brevity should, however, mean that even the most hardened
technophobe can read it without too much problem.
8.6
To the future
8.6
There is, as yet, no support for PhotoCD or JPEG graphics formats but a
letter from Alternative Publishing talked about constant upgrading of
the product, so if you have any specific requirements, get in touch with
them to see what they are planning to include and what the upgrades
might cost.
8.6
Much is made in the documentation of the fact that ImageFS is a true
filing system. In that it works almost seamlessly alongside RISC OS and
allows foreign graphics files to be used as if they were sprites, this
claim is justified, but I can’t help thinking that any self-respecting
graphics filing system should also allow sprites to be exported and
saved in other formats. Once again, this is planned for a future
release.
8.6
I would also like to see ImageFS expanded to include the conversion of
vector graphics to and from Draw or Artworks format. Vector graphics
conversion is at present largely ignored (and I therefore assume more
difficult to achieve), but for a piece of software to combine both
bitmap and vector formats would very much enhance its usefulness. This
should not be taken as a criticism because, at present, vector graphics
fall outside the specification of ImageFS.
8.6
Finally, the lack of image-processing facilities will inhibit its
usefulness to a large section of users. The advantage offered by ImageFS
of not having to save the graphic as a sprite file before use is
completely lost if you have any need to modify the image. I would have
expected to see, at the very least, similar functions to those supplied
with ChangeFSI, preferably more, such as the facility to crop the image.
I also suspect that it makes speed comparisons rather pointless, as most
other conversion software provides facilities for processing and
therefore has that much more to do within the process.
8.6
Alternatives
8.6
As ChangeFSI is included with all new Archimedes machines, it has to be
considered as the package by which others are judged. For those users
who find that ChangeFSI fulfils all their conversion requirements, there
is very little reason to buy ImageFS unless you never use the processing
facilities and need to convert large quantities of files, thus making
the speed gains significant.
8.6
Another option is available in the form of Image Master from David
Pilling (Archive 8.2 p71). Although not marketed as a conversion utility
(a point made to me by David Pilling himself), Image Master is highly
capable in the conversion field and has the added benefit of allowing
sprites to be exported to foreign filetypes. Added to this is a
veritable host of processing options, allowing you to adapt almost
everything you could need. The cost of the added functionality is the
steeper learning curve and the time initially spent reading the manual
and experimenting. Although the times for conversion were slower than
ImageFS, Image Master does provide a better and quicker alternative than
a combination of ImageFS and ChangeFSI when all things are considered.
Formats currently supported by Image Master are Clear, GIF, PCX, MTV,
BMP, PBM, JPEG and TIFF.
8.6
Conclusions
8.6
Which conversion package is best for you will depend on what your
particular needs are. For those who only require conversion from foreign
formats, and either have no need of processing or already own one of the
heavyweight image processing packages such as PhotoDesk, ImageFS will
make an ideal addition to your software collection. It is fast, simple
to use and with ongoing development by Alternative Publishing, its
current inadequacies will hopefully be rectified soon.
8.6
For those who require two-way conversion or whose budget or requirements
do not warrant the purchase of PhotoDesk or processing software, Image
Master will provide a faster and more capable alternative to ChangeFSI.
Until such time as I fall into the first category, I would certainly not
be without Image Master and after two hours of acquainting myself with
the software, I was able to achieve all that I had previously done with
a combination of ChangeFSI and CC’s scanner software.
8.6
To sum up, close analysis of your own needs will be the most important
part of making a decision on conversion software. Productivity will
certainly be improved by using either package instead of the free, but
slow, ChangeFSI.
8.6
ImageFS costs £34.95 +VAT or £39 through Archive. (This is a special
“introductory” price.) An educational site licence is available from
Alternative Publishing for £75 +VAT.  A
8.6
  ChangeFSI  Image Master  ImageFS
8.6
BMP  15 *  2.5  5
8.6
Clear  16  2.5  3
8.6
GIF  15.5  4  2.5
8.6
JPEG  17.5  10  -
8.6
MTV  16  2.5  -
8.6
PBM  15.5  2.5  3
8.6
PCX  15.5  4  1.5
8.6
TIFF  19  10  4.5
8.6
Table of timing comparisons: ChangeFSI, Image Master and ImageFS
8.6
* 8bpp image as ChangeFSI would not handle 24bpp BMP file
8.6
Foreign format files were created using Image Master from a 2.6Mb 32bpp
sprite.
8.6
Computer used for tests: RISC PC with 8Mb DRAM and 2Mb VRAM.
8.6
Timings for ChangeFSI and Image Master are to load the foreign images
into the respective packages. They would still have to be saved as
sprites and/or loaded into Impression.  Timings for ImageFS include
loading into Impression.
8.6
None include screen draw time.  Times displayed are from end of drag to
start of image being drawn on screen.
8.6
For the record, the CC TIFF loader took 14.5 seconds to load the TIFF
file into Impression.
8.6
Landbuild
8.6
Chris Whitworth
8.6
⇧⇧Landbuild is a 3D fractal landscape generator, which means it draws
pretty landscapes that look more or less like Norfolk, Derbyshire or
Switzerland, depending on some values you give it. “But there are dozens
of PD versions!” True, so why have ARM Club released one commercially?
Dunno, sorry!
8.6
⇧Landbuild comes packaged in a plastic wallet with one disc and a
manual. This is easy to read and up-to-date − it mentions the Risc PC.
However, it does contain a number of inaccuracies, which I will come to
later.
8.6
€ŴIn use
8.6
⇧Upon loading the software and clicking on its icon on the iconbar, you
get a statistics window. It is in here you can enter values which
determine how rugged or smooth your landscape is, the water level, the
rock level, the snow level, the ‘seed value’ (different seed values
produce different landscapes − using the same seed always produces the
same landscape), and how much boundary dithering takes place − how far
‘random’ pixels from one area can run into another − this is easier to
understand when you see it than it is to explain.
8.6
In the same window are another set of icons which govern the light,
height and direction. You can also turn shadows on and off. Below these
are four icons (three on the 1Mb version) from which you select the
resolution (note the use of the word ‘resolution’, not size) of your
landscape.
8.6
At the very bottom are another two icons, Generate all and Recolour.
Generate all is used to recreate a new landscape from scratch (i.e. you
have changed the seed, or the roughness). Recolour is used to,
surprisingly enough, recolour the landscape (i.e. if you have changed
the snow height, etc).
8.6
Once you have clicked on Generate all, or Recolour, I would go and get a
book whilst it calculates the landscape (‘War and Peace’ is just about
right) − yes, this application is S...l...o...w...! even on a 14Mb Risc
PC! On my A3000, it is almost unbearable.
8.6
Half a novel later, the map window pops up, and from here you can choose
how you want the landscape displayed ‘properly’, either an isometric
‘preview’, or a ‘print’ from a selected viewpoint on the map.
8.6
Now, you have to wait for your landscape to be drawn. This is where the
other half of the novel comes in. For some completely unfathomable
reason, when ‘printing’ the landscape, Landbuild insists on recolouring
it − or at least that’s what it seems like to me. The prints generally
look better than the previews, but they take longer − and you have to be
careful that you don’t end up sat behind a mountain, so that all you can
see is a lot of rocks...
8.6
You now have the option of saving the current view as a sprite − so you
can produce lots of nice screenshots of pretty landscapes that have
absolutely no practical value whatsoever!
8.6
€ŴA day in the life of a martian...
8.6
⇧It is also possible to alter the colour scheme of the landscape −
anything can be drawn in (practically) any colour − so you can have red
sea and blue grass, if that sort of thing takes your fancy. Or you can
produce some particularly realistic images of what Mars might look like
if it had red oceans... The possibilities are endless!
8.6
All views are light sourced, and shaded accordingly. It is also possible
to turn shadows on and off, but for the extra length of rendering time
it takes, I do not feel this is worth it. Also, all water is depth
shaded − deeper areas are darker in colour.
8.6
€ŴMoans
8.6
⇧No package is without its bugs and, unfortunately, this package is not
without its fair share. There is one bug (or some finicky people would
say it is in fact two) which is truly irritating − the beaches and snow
icons don’t work! No matter how much I clicked on them, I could not get
the package to draw beaches or snow. What makes it worse is that the
version NCS have got on their Risc PCs appears to be an earlier version,
but this feature works on theirs! Also, screenshots from reviews in
other magazines show snow and beaches too, so evidently this feature
works! Maybe the ARM Club have just got something against me...
8.6
I also have several moans about the package − it is much, much too slow.
There was a program published in Acorn User many moons ago that did
essentially the same thing as this program − in Basic − which ran at
about the same speed! Another Acorn User program did a similar thing,
but allowed you to scroll around the landscape and raise and lower the
water − in real time!!! Admittedly these programs only used isometric
views, but if Acorn User “type-ins” can do it, why can’t the ARM Club?
8.6
Another gripe is that the package insists on printing the seed number in
the top left of every print or preview. OK, so it’s nice to know how you
produced the picture, but surely an option to save the settings would be
better?
8.6
€ŴWhy???!!!
8.6
⇧The one major question about this package is why? What is its purpose?
(Does it need one? I have played with this program for ages!) If anyone
can think of a good (funny?) use for it, send it in to Archive. I may
consider a prize for the best idea.
8.6
€ŴConclusions
8.6
⇧I would really like to be able to recommend this package, but I’m
afraid I can’t. Considering there are a good number of PD programs that
do exactly the same thing, only faster, splashing out ten quid on a
commercial version doesn’t quite seem right. However, if the ARM Club
can iron out the bugs, and add that something to make it stand apart
from the crowd, then they may have a winner.
8.6
Landbuild is available from The ARM Club for £10 (no VAT − they’re not
registered).  A
8.6
Club News
8.6
•  Suffolk Acorn Risc Club meets at 7pm on the second Thursday of each
month in Ipswich Central Library meeting room (use the side entrance in
Old Foundry Road). Forthcoming events include:
8.6
9th March − Bring and Buy sale: clear those attics...
8.6
13th April − Internet: World Wide Web, E-mail and                 news
8.6
11th May − Annual General Meeting
8.6
For more details, please contact Paul Skirrow (chairman) on 01473-
728943, or fax [phone], or email: [e-mail] or
contact Andy Keeble (secretary) on 01473-216424, email Andy.Keeble@2501-
302-5.centron.com.  A
8.6
ClassCardz for Wordz
8.6
Douglas Stalker
8.6
This package is intended for pupils of the hard-pressed teacher whose
class is taking the first steps in word processing using Wordz. The idea
is that ‘Please, Miss’ or ‘Please, Sir’ should only be heard when
absolutely necessary. Completion of the final activities on the cards
can be used as part of the G.C.S.E. Technology coursework.
8.6
For your £20, you get an A4 double pocket folder containing a welcome
note, eighteen plasticised A4 cards and an 800Kb disc with six
drawfiles, two CSV files and three Wordz format files, leaving 71Kb
free. An introductory card has a course record summary which lists the
other seventeen cards with their objectives and tasks, plus a progress
column to tick. Cards 1 to 15 introduce Entering text, Deleting and
moving, Justifying, Printing your work, Spell checking, Effects, Rulers
and tabs, Creating tables, Adding graphics, Searching and replacing,
Styles, Inserting tables, Mailshot letters, Inserting date and page
numbers and Resizing headers and footers. Cards 16 and 17 are intended
to stimulate the student to use the previously learned knowledge and
practised skills to make presentations by combining text and pictures to
produce documents and information for specific purposes.
8.6
The cards are washable and therefore re-usable: I checked that spit
removes Lumocolour washable OHP pen marks, and meths removes permanent.
The Introductory Card is a quick and easy-to-maintain chart of the
student’s progress. The first 15 numbered cards are well organized into
sections: Objectives (you will learn to...), Tasks (tidily boxed and
numbered), You will use (photos of icons, dialogue boxes, etc),
Screenshots of how your document should look, Saving and/or Printing
your work (showing relevant icons with clear brief instructions),
Checking your work (reminders of key points on the work done).
8.6
Each landscape format card is clearly titled and well laid out,
following the same pattern. The learner thus quickly finds out where to
look for what he/she want to know. Cards 16 and 17 provide some
stimulating ideas and presentations, showing how the ideas covered
previously can be used to perform four tasks: 1) designing a poster, 2)
producing a newsletter, 3) creating a letter and 4) creating a report.
So far so good...
8.6
The acid test?
8.6
My wife has difficulty with getting to grips with our computer. She
really wants to use the system, but has not been inspired by standard
WP’s. I hoped that an icon-based WP such as Wordz would be more
appealing, with ClassCardz convincing her that doing useful work on the
computer does not have to be hard or dull. Before giving them to her, I
thought I would try them out myself to be able to give knowledgeable
help if required. This is when problems started...
8.6
I always treat such systems as if I had no experience at all, slavishly
following instructions to the letter, as many beginners have to do. It
seems that the author has not always been able to place him/herself in
the shoes of a complete beginner (more difficult than you might think),
with the result that the student is sometimes asked to do things without
being told how until some time later. For example, in Card 3, you are
asked to ‘Drag the mouse over the lines of the school’s address’ but
without being told to hold down the select button whilst doing so. This
is not explained until Card 5.
8.6
Another important point is that some Icons and screenshots are quite
small. For example, the mouse icon Select button is shown lightly shaded
to differentiate it from the others, but at 1mm wide, this is difficult
to see. Perhaps the reflective effects of the plasticising process had
not been foreseen. The screenshots make the text appear to be about 6
point − decidedly difficult for me to see clearly.
8.6
I feel that the basic idea of these cards is very good. They stimulate
the learner with attainable objectives and give clear evidence of
progress, but the implementation could be improved. When I raised my
criticisms and suggested improvements with Colton, they told me that the
author had tried out and refined the package over a twelve month period
in the classroom, but nevertheless they welcomed constructive comments.
They also said that to the best of their knowledge, this approach to
teaching wordprocessing is unique.
8.6
ClassCardz for Wordz costs £20 +VAT from Colton Software or £22 through
Archive.  A
8.6
Font Designer’s Toolkit
8.6
Christopher Jarman
8.6
Like many of you, I spent a happy day and walked off my feet at the
Acorn World 94. I had my eye on a number of products, but the only one I
actually bought was The Font Designer’s Toolkit. It intrigued me and a
few words with the programmer and proprietor of the firm that markets
it, Aaron Timbrell clinched the deal.
8.6
Toolkit comes in one of those small, neat software boxes. It consists of
one standard floppy disc with 613Kb of files on it. Nevertheless, the
contents packs a powerful punch. There are four original and well
thought out applications, plus Version 0.32 of FontEd from Acorn, which
was, I am pleased to say, more recent than the version I have been
using. There is no booklet, because Aaron has gone for a full set of
well-conceived on-line manuals which are fine. Each application has its
own manual.
8.6
FontTrix
8.6
The first programs is FontTrix whose purpose is stated as, “to make
millions of fonts”. This is quite true because, from my own collection
of around 350 fonts, I found I could have made modifications giving me,
theoretically, around 1,750,000 different fonts. I know the company
wrestled with the name ‘Designers Toolkit’, and I think it gives too
technical a picture of this package. It could almost be called ‘Fun With
Fonts’ because you are not expected necessarily to design your own fonts
with these utilities, but more to play about with existing ones and to
change their shapes and characteristics.
8.6
FontTrix does this very successfully and easily. You can either follow
the manual alongside your tryouts or just play about with the choices.
It is possible, by choosing an option called The Family Window, to
create 26 different weights of your font at once. Then you may customise
your font using slider bars for six different characteristics. A nice
feature of this application is that each new modified typeface that you
create is automatically put into its own directory and installed in your
font manager straightaway. It is thus instantly available for use. Of
course, one must bear in mind that the licensing rules for many
commercial fonts forbid you to re-arrange them other than in the privacy
of your own home!
8.6
FontKern
8.6
Secondly, there is FontKern, the tool for spacing the letters correctly
and adjusting the kerning to your own requirements. FontKern will kern a
font and, very helpfully, it can take the kerning characteristics from
an established font and insert it onto a new one. It is also possible to
convert a RISC OS2 font to an autokerning RISC OS3 one. The use of it is
elegant and entertaining, but I thought it quite lengthy and perhaps
more difficult to use than the other parts of the package. As it is
visually very satisfying to see pairs of letters being moved about over
their shadows as you click the mouse, I think it will repay any effort
in mastering it.
8.6
iSVMetric
8.6
Next is iSVMetric, a tool to read and write the data relating to your
fonts. This is of more interest to programmers perhaps than to DTP
enthusiasts.
8.6
FontCatLog
8.6
Finally, there is FontCatLog which will show all the fonts you have,
including those created with FontTrix. This appears either as an
individual table for each font, which is extremely useful, or as a
visual list with each font used in a sentence of your choice. In other
words, you do not have to read about a quick brown fox, but may use any
‘pangram’ you like. I favour from my collection, “He wrote deftly and
quickly, just amazing us with his expertise and his unabashed love of
letters.” This can be viewed on the screen in WYSIWYG form, or printed
out as a series of numbered and dated sheets.
8.6
iSV Products is a new company which launched itself at Acorn World 94.
This Toolkit is very well designed, elegant and good value for money. I
look forward to their future products especially Fontfiend which
promises to be a much more powerful version of a font manipulator.
8.6
Font Designer’s Toolkit Version 2.5 is available from: iSV Products,
price £30 plus £1.50 carriage or £30 inclusive through Archive.  A
8.6
(I have put a list of pangrams, collected by Christopher over the years,
on the monthly program disc. Ed.)
8.6
Betsi
8.6
Richard Rymarz
8.6
For some time now I have been looking for a piece of software to
complement my topic on the Tudors and Stuarts. My school is a small
primary school and in order to accommodate an overburdened National
Curriculum, my staff and I have organised a series of topics on a two/
four yearly cycle. We are already quite lucky in having programs such as
Arcventure and Aztecs but the Tudor period has proved to be a bit of a
problem.
8.6
Then along comes ‘Betsi’ from 4Mation, one of the principal educational
software houses in the country. I was fortunate enough to have ‘Betsi’
for the last two weeks of the summer term. I also had access to four
Archimedes computers of various types. My class of 9, 10 and 11 year
olds was divided into small groups, introduced to the character and told
to find out as much as they could about the late Tudor period. Bearing
in mind that the children had already been studying the period for a few
weeks prior to seeing the program, I was slightly surprised to see them
tackle it with such enthusiasm.
8.6
What is ‘Betsi’?
8.6
Betsi is an adventure written by Mike Matson who will forever be
remembered for ‘Granny’s Garden’ (we’ll forgive him for that!). Mike has
well known views on teaching and learning. His introductory notes
explain that he strongly believes that opportunities should be provided
for children to learn history (or any other area of the curriculum for
that matter) rather than children being taught history. ‘Betsi’ is an
attempt to put this philosophy into practice by providing an adventure
where the children interact with late Tudor characters, who explain who
and what they are. Language of the period is sometimes used and indeed
there is said to be in excess of 10,000 words within the program.
8.6
Who is ‘Betsi’?
8.6
Betsi is a dog who has been evicted from the Royal Kennels because she
is too soft. The adventure centres around her attempts to find a home
where she will be looked after and loved. During her travels she meets
all sorts of interesting people, sees inside some interesting buildings
such as a theatre, a monastery and a palace, hears about the problems
that people faced at the time and learns how to become a ‘good citizen’.
8.6
The program
8.6
What immediately grabs the children’s attention is the excellence of the
graphics. Not only are the scenes well drawn showing great detail, but
the quality of the animation is excellent. Betsi moves very
realistically as do some of the characters, boats, a cart and a variety
of other objects. There are 30 scenes altogether, all of which can be
explored. Sound is used sparingly but appropriately.
8.6
As it is a true adventure, the children have to solve puzzles in order
to complete the program. This can be quite daunting for younger children
and some guidance may be required. My groups were soon to be found
either sharing their discoveries or in some cases quietly looking over
shoulders to ‘borrow’ information. None of the groups managed to
complete the adventure in one sitting but they were able to save their
positions very easily.
8.6
Comments
8.6
At this point I would like to include a list of the comments made by the
children about the program. Some declared the adventure too difficult
and that it involved too much reading. They felt it would have been
better if they had a clearer idea of what they had to do (perhaps this
was the fault of the teacher!) and the younger children certainly needed
the older ones to assist and encourage them to continue. On the other
hand, all the children loved the graphics and were delighted to be able
to ‘talk’ to people of the period. Most of all, they enjoyed taking the
part of a dog and doing ‘doggy’ things like jumping onto and hiding in a
cart. They all agreed that the map was essential and that some of the
Tudor language was a little difficult. However, the sharper children had
listed the words they did not understand and found out about them later.
Most wanted to continue through their playtime − always a good sign.
8.6
Conclusions
8.6
As a teacher, I was very happy with the program. I could see it being
used as a focus for the topic and as an added resource to those already
in the classroom. The program does not purport to tell the children
everything there is to know about the Tudors but there is a great deal
of information within it. Part of the package includes a set of ten
photocopiable question sheets which could be used to assess how much the
children have learned. I did not have time to use them but one
suggestion is that having completed the adventure, the children would
try and answer as many questions as possible from one or more sheets and
then go through the adventure again and find the other answers as they
went along. I am not sure how popular this would be but certainly each
group could be given one particular area to research in detail. They
could then report to the rest of the class.
8.6
Besides the question sheets and the map, the package includes an adult’s
reference booklet which contains a route guide, background information,
a glossary and the resource answer sheets.
8.6
Betsi comes on three discs which can be copied onto hard disc with disc
1 used as a key disc upon startup. A fourth disc has ten compressed
screenshots and the !CFS reader to de-compress them.
8.6
And finally.....
8.6
I have had the pleasure of reviewing a number of recent releases from
4Mation and I am delighted to report that the overall quality of the
product continues to impress. It is good to see Mike Matson writing
programs again.
8.6
4Mation see ‘Betsi’ as ‘edutainment’ which is a newish concept to me and
is, I believe, an attempt to move away from a strictly school user base.
Therefore, it is marketed for home use as well as schools. Good luck to
them. My view is that this continues the rich vein of offerings from a
software house determined to see itself remain as a leading provider of
top rate programs.
8.6
Betsi costs £34.50 +VAT for a single user version and £69 +VAT for a
site licence or £38 and £75 through Archive.  A
8.6
Softcrete
8.6
Andrew Rawnsley
8.6
Despite not being a particularly well known software house, The Really
Good Software Company has always offered high quality products to fill
niche software markets. Their screensaver, Twilight, was the first
commercial program of its type and preceded most of its PD rivals by
many months.
8.6
This time, The Really Good Software Company has turned its attention to
software protection. Softcrete enables the user to lock an application
to a specific machine or group of machines in a variety of ways, thereby
reducing the threat of software piracy from a machine open to the
public.
8.6
Methods of protection
8.6
I shall start with perhaps the most dubious of the protection methods −
ID checking. Acorn computers that were released with RISC OS 3.0 or
later (i.e. Risc PC, A5000, A4000, A4, A3010 & A3020) have unique
hardware ID numbers inside them. By encrypting an application based on
this ID, no other machine is able to run the program. This method of
protection is not popular within Acorn, because it makes installation on
a future, upgraded machine difficult. However, Softcrete is designed for
locking applications after you have installed them on hard disc or
network fileserver, so provided you don’t protect the original discs,
you’re all right.
8.6
This form of protection is not suitable for groups of machines, running
on a network perhaps. For this situation, Softcrete can lock a program
with a password and then insert the codeword into CMOS ram. By setting
this CMOS password to the same code on every machine on the network,
programs can be easily run from a fileserver, with the protection
totally transparent. The problem with this method is that it uses (by
default) a 4-byte area of CMOS used by Risc iX, Acorn’s Unix system for
ARM based machines.
8.6
The final, and rather more crude, method of protection is provided via a
companion program supplied on the disc − !SCreteNRP. This allows a Non
Resident Password (NRP) to be set up. The applications are then
encrypted using this password, and provided that you enter the password
every n minutes, the program will work. This protection method is useful
when demonstrating a product on another machine − you can’t go through
the process of locking it to that machine, but the password option
offers you protection.
8.6
The Main Options Menu
8.6
Other facilities
8.6
To make life easier, SoftCrete allows you to set up a database of
machine IDs, and even provide them with nicknames, so that you know
which computer you are locking the program for. This means that you
aren’t restricted to locking a program with the ID of the computer on
whose hard drive it is installed. This would be useful in a school
environment where one machine could be set up in the staff common room
and connected to the main network, but sensitive programs could only be
run from the fileserver on that common room machine.
8.6
Users of Risc iX can still use the CMOS password facility since there is
an option to select at which CMOS byte the password starts. However, you
should be very careful when doing this, since if you aren’t 100% sure
what you are doing − you can very easily cause real problems with your
machine by messing around with the contents of its CMOS ram.
8.6
Target market
8.6
Softcrete’s target market appears to be twofold. The first is education
where IT coordinators are crying out for an application to protect their
networks from piracy. The second market is that of program development.
Programmers or software houses demonstrating applications at shows are
particularly susceptible to piracy − you can’t monitor what people are
doing on three or four machines if you are on your own. Locking the
software renders any copies unusable.
8.6
Conclusions
8.6
Softcrete fulfils its objective well, but I wonder whether the market is
large enough to encourage the author to produce future versions. I would
like to see the ability to lock a program to a disc (as occurs in most
commercial games) not just to a particular computer. This would be much
more convenient than the NRP approach when demonstrating software to
potential customers or publishers.
8.6
Softcrete costs £24.95 inc VAT from the Really Good Software Company.  A
8.6
Government Health Warning − Reading this could seriously affect your
spiritual health.
8.6
It’s been very interesting over the last seven years to see the
different sorts of reactions I get to my ‘God-slot’. The issue that
brought the most response, in terms of the number of letters, was just
over a year ago, when I mentioned that I had been depressed. That seemed
to have struck a chord for many people.
8.6
The deepest, darkest day for me was about 18 months ago. The business
was floundering, money seemed to be leaking away, creditors were chasing
me for payment and threatening not to supply any more goods. That  would
have meant nothing to sell and, with NCS not being a limited company, I
would have gone bankrupt. This had been going for some months and the
strain was beginning to tell.
8.6
Being a Christian, I hated not being able to pay bills on time as I felt
I was bringing dishonour to God. I could just hear people saying, “You
call yourself a Christian...”.
8.6
Wednesday was always my worst day − that’s when the accountant comes in
and we see how we are faring. (Nothing personal, Roger!) One Wednesday
morning, Mike walked in. (Mike is Honorary Chaplain to NCS He’s a
chaplain at the nearby hospital and pops in on his day off and chats to
the staff.) “How are things going?” he asked. Well, that was all it
needed. “Mike, could you take me home in your car, please?” I sat at
home on the settee for the rest of the day and quaked. I wanted to
escape but there was no way out.
8.6
Some of you will now be expecting me to say, “I prayed to God and all
was well.” I just wish it were that simple! In fact, it took several
months, a lot of prayer and a lot of help from good friends before I was
back on an even keel. The Christian faith doesn’t shelter you from
difficulty − don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
8.6
I was praying one morning and was saying to God, “Please give me some
sign that we are going to get through this.” I then turned to the
passage suggested in my bible-reading notes for that day. It was Exodus
14 where the Israelites have escaped from Egypt but have come up against
the Red Sea and the Egyptian chariots are bearing down on them − I could
relate very well to their feelings! One verse leapt out at me and, to
this day, I have it pinned above my desk. God said to them (verse 13)
“Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord
will bring you today.” but I had to wait until April ’94 (the launch of
the Risc PC) before the Red Sea opened for NCS.
8.6

Helping Acorn
8.7
There’s been tremendous support for my suggestions last month about a
user-campaign on behalf of Acorn − trying to open the eyes of the blind
to the particular strengths of Acorn’s computers. (Archive 8.6 p15.)
8.7
Many thanks to all those who have sent in articles they have written or
have read in various publications. I am building up a portfolio. Thanks
too for those who have suggested publications where we might get
articles printed. Keep them coming. If people keep hearing the name
“Acorn”, they may well take a bit of notice and start to say, “Well, it
wouldn’t harm to at least get a demo and see what they really can do.”
8.7
StrongARM Stuff
8.7
Anyone fancy a 400MHz Risc PC? Well, that’s not just fantasising − it’s
a real possibility within 18 months or so − read my article on page 31
for more details.
8.7
Making Archive Better − Part 16!
8.7
(OK, I’m exaggerating!) We have plenty of regular columns and reviews
but are getting rather short of technical articles again. If you fancy
having a go at something, let me know. If you want some ideas for what
to write about, please re-read the article in Archive 8.1 p51. Two
articles I would particularly like are reviews of Eagle M2 and Sibelius.
The former can be as technical as you like, but the latter ought to be
from a user’s point of view − although it could, of course, end up very
musically technical.
8.7
That’s it from me. Happy reading!
8.7
Products Available
8.7
•  Acorn C/C++ − Acorn are planning to release their new C/C++
development environment in mid-March. In fact, the package allows
programming in C, Assembler, and C++ as well as having a number of
supporting tools. C++ support is provided by CFront version 3.0. Also
included is the Toolbox replacement to RISCOS_Lib, which allows simple
design and implementation of your application’s user interface. This can
be tested without needing to write any code. The cost is £249.95 inc VAT
or £230 through Archive. Owners of Desktop C or Desktop Assembler can
buy C/C++ for £205 including carriage from NCS. Send your original
Desktop C or Desktop Assembler discs with your order, please.
8.7
•  Acorn Risc PC Sound Card − The 16-bit Sound Card is designed to
exploit the digital audio capabilities of VIDC20. It enables the Risc PC
to generate near CD-quality sound output via the headphone socket.
Previous VIDC1a sound formats are supported in order to provide
backwards compatibility with existing RISC OS software, and there is
support for the new 16-bit linear and compressed ADPCM formats. The pack
includes: a stand alone sample player is provided to play back digital
samples; extensions to Replay are included to extend the capabilities of
the Replay system to include 16-bit linear ADPCM; a range of quality
samples designed to demonstrate the new audio system. The Sound Card
costs £59.95 +VAT or £68 through Archive.
8.7
•  Big Bang − From Psycore, the creators of Top Banana, comes this new
adventure into “the strange and beautiful”. The complete game comes on
either a single 1.6Mb disc or two 800Kb discs for £14.95 (inclusive).
Please state which type of disc you require and make cheques payable to
Psycore when ordering.
8.7
• Calligraph direct drive lasers − Calligraph have brought the price of
an A3 1200 dpi direct drive laser printers down to under £3,000 inc VAT.
They now do a cut-down version of the TQ-1200 called the A3-1200 which
only costs £2450 +VAT (£2,800 through Archive). The only things that the
TQ-1200 has extra to the A3-1200 are a paperfeed unit that takes odd
sizes of paper, a high temperature controller that enables the printer
to cope with plate-making and the PostScript RIP software (see below).
These printers do 8 pages/minute at A4 size and 4 ppm at A3.
8.7
• Calligraph PostScript RIP − In conjunction with Rapport Ltd,
Calligraph have produced a Level 2 PostScript compatible interpreter
which will allow any of their direct drive lasers to preview and print
PostScript files. If you have a Calligraph Qume or Taxan printer, you
can get a version of the software limited to 300 dpi and a new interface
card which has various extra features over your old one (which
presumably you just throw away). These new cards are also Risc PC
compatible. This costs £250 +VAT from Calligraph or £285 through
Archive.
8.7
The other Calligraph printers already use the more up-to-date card, so
all you need is the RIP software. This, however, has enhanced features
appropriate to these more versatile printers and is the same price as
the other version − £250 +VAT from Calligraph or £285 through Archive.
8.7
Technically, the software offers full implementation of RT halftone
screening and TLA screening, giving any combination of screen angle,
frequency and spot shape; any resolution supported by your printer
including non-square; preview in Draw format (256 grey & 24-bit RGB) and
sprite format (16 grey levels up to 150dpi); selectable paper sizes;
colour spaces − grey, RGB, CMYK and CIE based; font types 0 (composite),
1 (hinted) and 3 (user definable); JPEG, LZW and CCITTFAX image
compression filters and full support for PostScript Resource Management.
8.7
•  CDFast − Eesox have updated their CDFast and NetCDFast packages which
give performance increases on CD-ROM drives, stand-alone, and over a
network respectively. It has two modes of operation, minimum memory
requiring 8Kb to work for an 18-40% performance increase, or enhanced
mode requiring 36Kb for a 30-55% increase. The cost is £25 +£2 p&p +VAT
(£30 through Archive) for the stand-alone version, and £130 + £2 p&p
+VAT (£148 through Archive) for the network/site licence version.
8.7
•  Celtic Clipart Disc 3 − The third disc in Glyn Howells’ Clipart
collection is now available. The discs are £10.99 each, £18.99 for two,
or £24.99 for all three (cheques payable to Glyn Howells). All files are
in draw format and discs 1 and 3 also contain hints files.
8.7
•  Clips Round the Year − This is the name for the service offered by
our own Christopher Jarman who seeks to provide “high quality realistic
art, drawn by an artist who uses the computer, not just a computer buff
who does some art!” Christopher can do first-rate illustrations to
order, or any kind of DTP design back-up you want. If you want a new
magazine cover or a set of invoices with your own logo, give him your
requirements. He will also do outline fonts designed to order. Prices
are by negotiation, but he will often exchange for software. Send £5
(inc. p&p) for a sample disc containing 18 original Artworks files, plus
A/W viewer. Cheques payable to “C. Jarman”.
8.7
•  Colour Dye-sublimation − Spacetech have announced a new colour
printing system which has continuous tone output at 200dpi. This is not
as low as it might sound, especially when you consider that an 800 dpi
ink jet printer would only achieve 100dpi at 64 levels of greyscale. In
fact, the package, which uses Photodesk as a printer enhancer, gives a
virtual resolution of 800 dpi by anti-aliasing, which is only possible
on continuous tone printers. The package is currently reduced to £995
+VAT and includes a Primera printer, refill kit, Photodesk and the
printer drivers. After the Acorn User Spring show, the price will rise
to the normal £1215 +VAT. You can print from other packages, such as
Artworks, but you need to have Photodesk since it features as part of
the printer driver mechanism.
8.7
•  Ethernet Design and Installation Guide − This book is now available
from Acorn, it aims to assist with setting up an Ethernet network. The
price is £20 inclusive from Acorn or NCS.
8.7
•  Expandable SIMMs − It is now possible to buy two sizes of SIMM memory
cards (4Mb and 16Mb) which are upgradable to twice the size by adding
extra chips. The Archive prices are: 4Mb £155 (cf non-upgradable 4Mb at
£145), 4-8Mb upgrade pack £155, 16Mb £535 (cf non-upgradable 16Mb at
£490), 16-32Mb upgrade pack £535. There is no upgradable 8Mb SIMM, I
fear, and the standard 8Mb SIMM has gone up in price to £295.
8.7
(When the Risc PC first came out, we talked about the possibility of
taking SIMMs in part-exchange when people wanted to upgrade. We have
looked into this and regret that we don’t feel able to offer this
service. We are suggesting that people use our Small Ads column to sell
their smaller SIMMs.)
8.7
• Exploring Nature − (as recommended by Andrew Flowerdew in this month’s
CD-ROM Column) This CD contains many drawings of flora and fauna,
natural life processes, animal behaviour and key natural habitats. An
activity-based exploration which will help children towards a greater
understanding and appreciation of the plants and animals around them.
This is a classroom and library resource for all primary and middle
schools. The RRP was £125 +VAT but this has recently been reduced and it
is now available through Archive for £88.
8.7
•  Fireworkz Pro − Colton have now added Recordz, the database, to their
Fireworkz suite and have also added some improvements to the other parts
of the package. This is now called Fireworkz Pro. The package integrates
the Wordz wordprocessor, Resultz spreadsheet and Recordz, and allows
documents to contain ‘live’ spreadsheets and charts, which automatically
update when you change the data. The package requires RISC OS 3.1 or
later and at least 2Mb of RAM. As Fireworkz Pro and Recordz use Iota
Software’s DataPower engine, they can access DataPower files and use the
DataPower server on a network. Fireworkz (i.e. without Recordz) is still
available at £99 +£5 carriage +VAT from Colton (£110 through Archive)
and Fireworkz Pro costs £149 +£5 carriage +VAT from Colton (£165 through
Archive).
8.7
Upgradez: You can upgrade to Fireworkz Pro through Colton from: Wordz −
£89, Resultz − £69 PipeDream4 − £99 or PipeDream3 − £124, all plus £5
carriage +VAT.
8.7
•  Fly the Atlantic − This is the first activity pack designed to be
used with Topologika’s Navigator software and is written by a real
airline pilot. Children must follow the flight plan and instructions
from Air Traffic Control. The pack is accompanied by a comprehensive
booklet with details of bearings, distances and locations of points on
the route. There is a special introductory price of £15 +VAT +£2.50 p&p
(£19 through Archive), which includes a free site licence.
8.7
• Heavy mouse balls – Just to make it clear, these heavy-weight mouse
balls only fit Logitech mice. The Digitec mice used on A310/440 and some
of the A400/1 machines have slightly smaller balls, so check that you
have got a Logitech mouse before ordering your heavy ball. (The mice
that NCS sell at £22 are Logitech/big ball mice!) These mouseballs are
available from Oak Consultants for £3 including postage, packing and
VAT.
8.7
•  Hermes − Base5 Technical Graphics describe this as “a Desktop
Messenger & Interpreter”. It has facilities for text transfer & file
interpretation, graphic file loading, activity recorder, window capture,
desktop monitor, flexible event timer, automatic paragraph numbering,
and features over 300 commands. It is available direct from Base5 for
£25 (no VAT).
8.7
•  Impressive − Quantum Software have provided an enhanced button bar
for use with Computer Concepts Impression range. It is capable of doing
several actions from one mouse click, so that, for example, switching of
the text repel feature of a frame can be done with ease. If you are
learning to use Impression, you can make Impressive show you how it is
creating the desired effect. Example features include Fit to Frame, move
frame by any amount, rotate graphic, colour frame, border colour, colour
text and so on. The price is £9.95 inclusive from Quantum software or
£10 through Archive.
8.7
•  i-TV − This package from Irlam Instruments is a television tuner,
teletext decoder and NICAM stereo sound, all on a single width expansion
card. It features a crystal controlled, full band tuner, with channel
and teletext selection on the desktop. Composite video out is provided
for connecting to video digitisers, VCR’s etc. to allow single frames or
movies from the television signal. External video and stereo audio can
be fed in and switched (using software) to the output. Package of
hardware and software costs £199 +£3.50 p&p +VAT or £230 through
Archive.
8.7
•  Laser printers − We still don’t have any direct drive lasers for the
Acorn machines other than the Calligraph ones. However, we have added
the HP Laserjet 4L to our price list. It is a 300 dpi printer running at
4 pages a minute, has 1Mb RAM and costs £670 inclusive through Archive.
We recommend the use of an HP Turbo Driver at £53 to improve speed and
flexibility of the printout.
8.7
•  Maths Odyssey − Computer Tutorial Services Ltd have produced an
educational adventure which allows children to relate to the historical
roots of some of the theorems and ideas they have to learn within the
National Curriculum. Maths Odyssey costs £42 +VAT from Computer Tutorial
Services.
8.7
•  Mentor − This is a new educational package from Appian Way, and is
designed to bring a number of historical resources to the classroom,
including documents, photos, maps, cartoons and diagrams. Each title
includes more than 100 sources, both text and picture, with
comprehensive indexing facilities. Technical terms can be looked up in
the glossary, and each source’s background comments can be viewed.
Teachers and pupils can add their own sources and notes to personalise
the system, adding local sources, for example. The Mentor Edit program
can change and re-index existing resources, or create a completely new
one. Currently available resources are “The Third Reich”, “1914-18: The
Western Front” and “Medieval Realms” Each topic disc costs £39.50 +VAT
+p&p, and can be upgraded to a site licence for an additional £10 +VAT.
Until the end of March, the price is £35 +VAT +p&p. Mentor Edit costs
£49.50 for a single user and the site licence is an additional £35 +VAT.
8.7
•  OPL Manual for Pocket Book II − From February, the OPL programming
manual for the Pocket Book II will be available through Acorn Direct.
Send a cheque for £12.95 (including post and packaging) to Acorn Direct.
8.7
•  PD-CD 2 − The Datafile have produced a second CD of PD material for
RISC OS machines (including Risc PC). This costs £30 inclusive from The
Datafile or £29 through Archive.
8.7
•  Repair services − If you have Acorn equipment that needs repairing,
we have two companies here in Norwich that we can recommend. Avie
Electronics has been advertising fixed-price Acorn repairs for the last
few months. So, for example, if you have a dead A3000 then, whatever the
fault is, Avie will fix it for you for £39 inc VAT. (Return carriage is
£9.99 inc VAT.) See their advert on page 11 for details of the different
prices on offer. Avie do not repair printers. Repair Zone (alias Ray
Maidstone) will repair a wide range of computer and peripheral equipment
including “other” computers (I can’t bring myself to mention Amigas,
Ataris and such-like). They will give a quotation, if required, or work
on the basis of “we’ll give you a ring if it’s going to cost more than
(say) thirty quid to fix.”
8.7
•  Risc PC Extended Warranty − Acorn have released details of the
extended warranty scheme. For an extra 6% of the purchase price of your
machine you can extend the on-site warranty to 3 years. The warranty
only covers (and you only pay for) the Acorn segments of the system −
the base unit, Acorn monitor, mouse and keyboard. Any expansion cards,
printers, or non-Acorn monitor is not covered.
8.7
•  Scrabble price − On the last price list, Scrabble was priced at £33.
This was a mistake − the correct price was £27 as mentioned in the
magazine. If anyone purchased it at £33, please let us know − humble
apologies for that!
8.7
•  Special Needs Organiser − This is a PC package which has been ported
to the Acorn platform and enables the user to manage the special needs
in your school. You can keep track of pupils, provide updates and
reminders for staff, and keep your LEA up to date. The price is £64.95
+p&p +VAT for a primary licence, and £80 +p&p +VAT for a secondary
licence from PC Business Solutions Ltd.
8.7
•  Special Needs Trackerball − Northwest SEMERC have revised their
trackerballs and are adding versions for the PC and Apple Macintosh.
Acorn versions are now £89 +VAT, or £109 +VAT if you want the version
with a key guard.
8.7
•  Text To Braille − The Dorton IT Support Centre has released version 3
of its text to braille translation program. The program will accept any
ASCII text file (including those imported from CD-ROM and the PC) and
will output a fully contracted Grade 2 Braille file which can be
subsequently sent to a suitable braille embosser. The braille output can
be customised for grade changes for example, and French, German and
Spanish braille codes are also supported. The price is £30, and an
upgrade from version 2 costs £5.
8.7
•  Turbo Driver and Laser Direct Spoolers − This new package from
Computer Concepts allows network printing to take advantage of the Turbo
Driver or Laser Direct systems, and is compatible with any AUN network
including Econet. The package includes a printer cable, spooler
software, and a site licence for the printer driver software which may
be copied onto as many machines on the network as required. The system
works on all RISC OS 3.1 or later computers, although they need at least
2Mb of RAM (4Mb for 600 dpi laser direct printing). The price is £149
+VAT.
8.7
Review software received...
8.7
We have received review copies of the following: •Cannon Fodder (g),
•CDFast (u), •Hermes (u), •Talking Stories 2 (e).
8.7
e=Education, g=Game, u=Utility.
8.7
If you would like to review any of these products, please contact the
Archive office. Potential reviewers will need to show that they would
use the product in a professional capacity or that they have some
knowledge of the particular field.
8.7
Government Health Warning − Reading this could seriously affect your
spiritual health.
8.7
In last month’s God-slot, I spoke about some of the difficulties I had
been through and the way (so I believed) that God had given me a verse
from the bible to reassure me that things would work out OK! One of my
regular God-slot correspondents (whom I shall call Howard) wrote,
“...you attribute what happens to God, and I attribute it to natural
causes − in this case, Acorn announcing the Risc PC. But would you have
been happy to attribute the opposite to God − i.e. no action, and your
business going slowly down the pan as a result?”
8.7
Well, Howard, that’s not an easy one to answer. I know the theoretical
answer − that God is in control and he allows things to happen − both
good and bad. God does not bring evil on people but he transforms evil
and brings good out of it − like a beautiful flower growing in a dung
heap!
8.7
But you asked whether I would be happy to attribute the opposite to God.
Well, I don’t know how I would have reacted, because he did rescue the
business and he did rescue me from depression. I can’t answer that
hypothetical question but I know a young lady who can...
8.7
I have a very good friend called Sue who asked us to pray for her last
autumn because she had lost the sight in one of her eyes and the other
one was going too. (I told Howard about Sue and that we were praying for
her healing. I hoped that, when God healed her, he would have to sit up
and take notice of God!)
8.7
Unfortunately, God has not yet healed Sue although, thankfully, her
sight is not getting any worse. Also, she has been diagnosed as having
multiple sclerosis and it is possible that the sight-loss may be stress-
related, as she is going through a divorce at the moment. All-in-all, I
think you will agree that Sue is a good person to test with Howard’s
question.
8.7
She agreed that it was a difficult question to answer because she is not
a theologian but she said to the effect that “I have my up moments and
my down moments but through it all, I know that God loves me.”
8.7
P.B.
8.7
Fact-File
8.7
(The numbers in italic are fax numbers)
8.7
4Mation   14 Castle Park Road, Whiddon Valley, Barnstaple, Devon, EX32
8PA. (01271-25353) (01271-22974)
8.7
Abacus Training    29 Okus Grove, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wilts, SN2
6QA.
8.7
ABC Art   Tideways, South Road, Brean, Somerset, TA8 2SE. (01278-751317)
8.7
Acorn Direct   13 Dennington Road, Wellingborough, Northants, NN8 2BR.
(01933-279300)
8.7
Acorn Computers Ltd    Acorn House, Vision Park, Histon, Cambridge, CB4
4AE. (01223-254254)
8.7
  (01223-254262)
8.7
Anglia Television   Media Development, Anglia House, Norwich, NR1 3JG.
(01603-615151) (01603-631032)
8.7
APDL    39 Knighton Park Road, Sydenham, London, SE26 5RN.
8.7
Appian Way Software Ltd   Old Co-operative Buildings, Langley Park,
Durham, DH7 9XE. (0191-373-1389)
8.7
  (0191-373-0731)
8.7
Apricote Studios (p4)  2 Purls Bridge Farm, Manea, Cambridgeshire, PE15
0ND. (01354-680432)
8.7
Avie Electronics (p11)  7 Overbury Road, Norwich. (01603-416863) (01603-
788640)
8.7
Base5 Technical Graphics   P.O. Box 378, Woking, Surre, GU21 4DF (01483-
761197)
8.7
Beebug Ltd   117 Hatfield Road, St Albans, Herts, AL1 4JS. (01727-
840303) (01727-860263)
8.7
Calligraph Ltd   53 Panton Street, Cambridge CB2 1HL. (01223-566642)
(01223-566643)
8.7
Clips Round the Year   (C. Jarman) Wyke Hill House, Cheriton Close,
Winchester,  SO22  5HN.  (01962-862227) (01962-862227)
8.7
Colton Software   2 Signet Court, Swanns Road, Cambridge, CB5 8LA.
(01223-311881) (01223-312010)
8.7
Computer Concepts (pp27/28)   Gaddesden Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts,
HP2 6EX. (01442-63933) (01442-231632)
8.7
Computer Tutorial Services   4 Mill Hill Road, Cowes, Isle of Wight,
PO31 7EA.
8.7
Creative Curriculum Software   5 Clover Hill Road, Savile Park, Halifax,
HX1 2YG. (01422-340524) (01422-346388)
8.7
Crick Computing   123 The Drive, Northampton, NN1 4SW. (01604-713686)
(01604-713686)
8.7
Cumana Ltd   Pines Trading Estate, Broad Street, Guildford, GU3 3BH.
(01483-503121)
8.7
(01483-503326)
8.7
Datafile   71 Anson Road, Locking, Weston-super-Mare, Avon, BS24 7DQ.
(01934-823005)
8.7
Design Concept   30 South Oswald Road, Edinburgh, EH9 2HG. (0131-668-
2000)
8.7
Digital Services   9 Wayte Street, Cosham, Portsmouth PO6 3BS. (01705-
210600) (01705-210709)
8.7
Dixon & Dixon   35 Rokeby Drive, Kenton, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE3 4JY.
(0191-285-3042)
8.7
Dorton IT Centre   Dorton House, Seal, Kent, TN15 0ED. (01732-761477
Ext223)
8.7
EESOX   5 Hillfield Road, Comberton, Cambridge, CB3 7DB. (01223-264242)
8.7
GamesWare   Unit 26, The Bartletts, Hamble, Hants., SO35 5RP.
(01703−456523) (or 0243-531194) (01703−456523)
8.7
Glen Howells   Sicar Uchaf, Brongest, Castell Newydd Emlyn, Dyfed, SA38
9ET
8.7
Hodge Electronic Services    16 Mold Road, Mynydd Isa, Clwyd, CH7 6TD.
(01244-550803)
8.7
HS Software   56 Hendrefolian Avenue, Sketty, Swansea, SA2 7NB. (01792-
204519) (01792-298283)
8.7
Iota Software Ltd   Iota House, Wellington Court, Cambridge, CB1 1HZ.
(01223-566789) (01223-566788)
8.7
Irlam Instruments   133 London Road, Staines, Middlesex TW18 4HN.
(01895-811401)
8.7
Kudlian Soft  8 Barrow Road, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, CV8 1EH. (01926-
851147)
8.7
Levens   FREEPOST (LE6511), PO Box 438, Leicester, LE4 9BR.  (Freephone
0500-121241) (Freefax 0500-131288)
8.7
Longman Logotron   124 Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge
CB4 4ZS. (01223-425558) (01223-425349)
8.7
LOOKsystems   47 Goodhale Road, Bowthorpe, Norwich, NR5 9AY. (01603-
748253) (01603-740203)
8.7
Minerva Systems   Minerva House, Baring Crescent, Exeter, EX1 1TL.
(01392-437756) (01392-421762)
8.7
Newman Software   c/o Computer Centre, Newman College, Genners Lane,
Bartley Green, Birmingham, B32 3NT.
8.7
Northwest SEMERC   1 Broadbent Road, Watersheddings, Oldham, OL1 4LB.
(0161-627-4469)
8.7
Oak Solutions (p16)   Dial House, 12 Chapel Street, Halton, Leeds, LS15
7RN (0113-232-6992)
8.7
  (0113-232-6993)
8.7
Oak Consultants   Sun Cottage, High Street, Hatfield Broad Oak, Bishops
Stortford, CM22 7HE.
8.7
  (01279-718596) (01279-718767)
8.7
Octopus Systems   9 Randwell Close, Ipswich, IP4 5ES. (01473-728943)
(01473-270643)
8.7
Oregan Developments   36 Grosvenor Avenue, Streetly, Sutton Coldfield,
B74 3PE. (0121-353-6044)
8.7
PC Business Solutions Ltd  PO Box 941, Hove, East Sussex, BN3 6JF 01273-
881215 (01962-877978)
8.7
Psycore   PO Box 3837, London NW3 1JF.
8.7
Quantum Software   35 Pinewood Park, Deans, Livingston, EH54 8NN.
(01506-411162 after 6)
8.7
Repair Zone (p9)   421 Sprowston Road, Norwich, NR3 4EH. (01603-400477)
(01603-417447)
8.7
Safesell Exhibitions (p15)  Market House, Cross Road, Tadworth, Surrey
KT20 5SR.
8.7
Sherston Software   Angel House, Sherston, Malmesbury, Wilts. SN16 0LH.
(01666-840433) (01666-840048)
8.7
Silicon Vision Ltd   Signal House, Lyon Road, Harrow, Middlesex, HA1
2AG. (0181-422-3556)
8.7
  (0181-248-3589)
8.7
Spacetech   21 West Wools, Portland, Dorset, DT5 2EA. (01305-822753)
(01305-860483)
8.7
TBA Software   24 Eastgate, Aberystwyth, Dyfed, SY23 2AR. (01970-626785)
8.7
Topologika   Islington Wharf, Church Hill, Penryn, Falmouth, Cornwall,
TR10 8AT. (01326-377771) (01326-377771)
8.7
Uniqueway   42 Crwys Road, Cardiff, CF2 4NN.  (01222-644611) (01222-
644622)
8.7
VTI (Vertical Twist)   Unit 1, The Shopwhyke Centre, Shopwhyke Road,
Chichester, PO20 6GD.
8.7
  (01243-531194) (01243-531196)
8.7
Archive Monthly Program Disc Contents
8.7
•  Files from Gerald Fitton’s Column − page 39.
8.7
•  Sample animations from Christopher Jarman’s animator review − page
45.
8.7
•  Files from Alisdair Jorgensen’s Keystroke Column − page 26.
8.7
•  Files from Keith Hodge’s Risc PC Column − page 19.
8.7
•  Black Hole 2 PD program reviewed by Jochen Konoietzko − page 57.
8.7
•  Two PhoneDay-ready STD applications from Jim Nottingham − page 17.
8.7
N.B. The Perpetual Calendar from Colin Singleton’s Puzzle Corner was
just squeezed onto last month’s disc.
8.7
Paul Beverley
8.7
Archive Special Offers
8.7
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8.7
TouchType
8.7
We have arranged a special limited offer on TouchType, Iota’s typing
tutor. It came out very well in a comparative review in Archive done by
a Evelyn Grant, herself a professional (human!) typing tutor. The full
price is £49.35 but for one month, it is on special offer at £35 through
Archive.
8.7
“The lessons are well organised, paying special attention to common key
combinations, and also giving equal weight to less common keys such as
‘q’, ‘z’ and ‘x’, giving the learner the opportunity to achieve maximum
dexterity.
8.7
“The keyboard on the screen highlights each letter, indicating ‘right’
and ‘wrong’ key depressions, and a ‘Hands’ window shows which finger you
should use.
8.7
“There is a clear display showing your rate of progress and the
characters which you need to practice more to achieve a high rate of
accuracy.
8.7
“The concept of ‘dragging’ the exercises from the directory may be
difficult for learners who have little experience of the desktop but,
once mastered, presents few problems.
8.7
“I found Touch Type to be very satisfactory as a teaching program,
enabling users to progress at their own rate, yet still achieving full
potential on the keyboard.”
8.7
Norwich Computer Services     96a Vauxhall Street, Norwich, NR2 2SD.
(01603-766592) (764011) email: [e-mail]
8.7
Personal Accounts
8.7
We mentioned last month that we had found a few copies of the special
offer pack of Personal Accounts and asked if anyone wanted them. They
were gone by lunchtime on the day the magazine started to drop on
people’s doorsteps! We had a word with Apricote Studios and they agreed
to repeat the original offer for two more months.
8.7
The full price of Personal Accounts is £49.95 and the special price (for
Archive subscribers only) is £35. The only difference with this special
version is that, to save costs, it will not come in a presentation case.
The offer lasts for two months, i.e. until the June issue of Archive is
sent out from NCS (mid May). To take advantage of this offer, just send
in your order for Personal Accounts to NCS in the normal way but simply
do so at £35 instead of £49.95.
8.7
In Mick Burrell’s review of Personal Accounts (7.11 p65) he said, “This
is a program which has ‘developed’ through use into an excellent bank
account control system. If you tried to find a home or club banking
program which was either more capable or easier to use, I doubt you
would succeed on either count.”
8.7
Apricote
8.7
From 8.1 page 19
8.7
Help!!!!
8.7
•  BBC & Archimedes  computers for sale − It seems as if we are onto
something useful that Archive can do here! Following my comments last
month, I have had offers of 20+ BBC computers of various types and ages
with various add-ons including printers, monitors, modems, etc. What we
have decided to do, therefore, is run a BBC recycling plant! What we
will do is take delivery of the (donated) computers, get Ray Maidstone
to refurbish them (or just check them out if they don’t need any work
doing on them) and “sell” them to charities and schools. The prices
charged for the computers and other equipment will basically just be the
cost of a 6-month warranty which Ray will offer.
8.7
If anyone is prepared to give us old Archimedes computers (working or
not) then we’ll take those too for charitable bodies/schools, etc.
8.7
However, this will only work if schools and charities actually want
these computers. So here is a suggested “price list”. If you would like
to take advantage of these offers, write, ring, fax or email to let us
know how many of what sort of equipment you would like.
8.7
If you have computers and other equipment, please don’t send it to us
yet! Let us know exactly what you are offering and we will ask you to
send it as and when we have suitable homes for them to go to. Even if
the computers aren’t actually in full working order, we are still
interested − Ray is a “Mr Fixit” par excellence! But please say when you
offer us equipment whether or not it actually works. Thanks.  Ed.
8.7
BBC B or B+ + disc drive + colour monitor − £30
8.7
Master/Compact + disc drive + colour monitor − £35
8.7
Acorn 32bit computer + colour monitor − £50
8.7
Printer − £15
8.7
These prices do not include carriage and VAT is not applicable because
they are going through Repair Zone which is not VAT registered.
8.7
•  EMU problems! − On my A3000, I have a compatibility problem with
Cumana’s EMU card with SCSI interface (fitted internally) and a
Scanlight Junior (fitted to the external slot, with an external 12v
supply).  When they are both fitted, the computer locks up on switch on,
but fitted on their own they work perfectly. They both work together
under RISC OS 2.  Does anyone know of a solution as neither CC nor
Cumana can help, and currently I have to remove the EMU card every time
I want to scan anything.  Brian Cocksedge, West Sussex.
8.7
•  Epson paper − Has anyone discovered an alternative paper for use in
the Epson Stylus Color printer for use at 720 dpi?  Barry Thompson on
01332-701969.
8.7
•  Merlin Scribe − Does anyone know anything about this excellent, if
rather quirky, wordprocessor for the BBC B? The manufacturer/distributor
was a company called Bucon Ltd, based in Wales. The company seems to be
defunct, so does anyone know:
8.7
1. If the company still exists in any form?
8.7
2. The author of the software? (I have read the software ROM, but it
merely says Bucon Ltd.)
8.7
I would like to know if the author now writes software for the current
32-bit machines as I feel a wordprocessor/DTP package written by him for
a Risc PC would be most interesting. Please phone me on 01702-335760
(day) or 01268-792285 (eves).  Donald Scott, South Benfleet.
8.7
•  Object Basic − Levens Ltd have released a document with information
of what might be included in this package − which is planned to provide
a Visual Basic type environment. They would also like feedback on what
potential customers would like included. More details can be found out
directly from Levens.
8.7
•  PC schools database to Acorn conversion − I help my local secondary
school by taking PRN files from their PC school admin database and
printing laser-labels, etc on Acorn systems. If anyone could benefit
from using my dummy files, do contact me.  David Membry (address below).
8.7
•  ‘Rites of Passage’ − Does anyone know of any clipart, CDs, etc
suitable for RE in secondary school, e.g. for ‘rites of passage’? (I
know what that means − baptisms, weddings and funerals − my Tim’s doing
RE at GCSE, so I get quizzed at home! Ed.)  David Membry (address
below).
8.7
•  Statistics with Fireworkz − I have done some work on a voluntary
basis for the local secondary school on a way of using Fireworkz for
calculating statistics used in Psychology. Would this be of interest to
anyone? I am no statistician but I have found some work-arounds for
problems which arose. I would also be keen for someone to check the
details of what I have done. I will send a disc if anyone is
interested. I can be contacted at Frittiscombe Lodge, Chillington,
Kingsbridge, S. Devon, TQ7 2JQ (01548-580393). David Membry.
8.7
•  STD finder − Referring to the plea by Richard Hesketh of Lampeter
(Archive 8.6 p24), I have just completed updating a similar program
called !STDFinder, which is also PD.
8.7
!STDFinder was written by Julyan Bristow of the West Midlands area about
two years ago. He made provision for upgrading to the new STD codes by
providing a file called newcodes, but when I started to use it, I found
that some of the data was inaccurate. I tried to get in touch with him,
without success, so I have upgraded  the application myself.
8.7
Regarding the program !Exchange mentioned by Richard Hesketh, I have a
copy, “version 1.08 − 12 June 1993 by Julian Samphire”! Are there two
versions by different authors or has M.S.Bright changed his name?  Ted
Lacey, Southampton.  A
8.7
Repair Zone
8.7
New artwork
8.7
Lots More Fun & Games
8.7
Richard Rymarz
8.7
Lots More Fun & Games is from HS Software, a well-established company
who have specialised in arcade-style, sometimes wacky, presentation of
basic skills associated with the National Curriculum. In my school, we
use most of their programs. Even our aged BBC B’s can often be seen with
a group of children ‘playing’ one of HS’s earlier offerings such as
‘Read − Right − Away’ or ‘Adventurous English’. With the advent of the
Archimedes, the company continued a successful policy of using enhanced
graphics, digitised pictures and sampled sound to provide a mix of the
same thing. So how does their latest offering compare?
8.7
The package
8.7
Packed in a slim wallet come three discs, each containing one game. They
cover a mixture of English and Maths Attainment Targets (English 1, 2, 4
− Maths 2, 4, 5 − pre-Dearing) and each game will just about fit on a
1Mb machine. Brief notes in the pack explain how to maximise memory in
tight situations. The games, which are controlled completely by the
mouse, feature 256-colour mode 15 graphics, animations digitised from
video, and clear sampled speech.
8.7
The programs
8.7
Dataday − This aims to teach the children the days of the week and
months of the year in sequence. Clicking on !HS results in a full screen
with the game buttons arranged across the top, twelve pictures depicting
the months of the year, seven pictures representing the days of the week
along the bottom, and a centre section where all the action happens.
There is also a sliding bar showing the time allowed for the game. There
are six game variations each having nine skill levels. Sound can be
decreased and the speech can be switched off.
8.7
The game is easy to understand with a time traveller asking the children
to carry out certain tasks involving language based on days and months.
An example of a simple task would be, “Find Tuesday”. Later, more
complex instructions such as, “Find the day before Tuesday”, or “What is
the fifth day of the week?”, are asked. Success is shown by the
traveller running up and down juggling.
8.7
Spot the Blot − The aim here is to help children with reversals, visual
perception and discrimination skills. The now familiar game buttons are
displayed across the top of the screen. Two large pictures of either a
beach or parkland are displayed and objects are transposed onto them.
Objects are missing or reversed on one of them and the children have to
match the pictures. A nice touch is the animated picture of the
questioner talking to a gorilla. Success is rewarded with flying ducks
and suitably lively music. There is a sliding bar showing the time, and
two boxes highlighting the area of the screen near the mouse, making it
easier for the children to see.
8.7
Gwyn’s World − The aim of this game is to find 2D and 3D shapes that
hide themselves around Gwyn’s house. There is also the option to work
out simple fractions and percentages when the shapes have been found.
The usual game buttons are found across the bottom of the screen and a
cut-away section of Gwyn’s house takes up most of the screen. Gwyn is
upstairs, electric guitar in hand. There are four common 2D shapes, four
common 3D shapes and a colour option. Eight levels of skill give plenty
of scope for customising the program for individual children.
Instructions are given via the television screen (a nice touch) and the
shapes hide themselves around the house − at the harder levels this
happens quite quickly. Success is rewarded with Gwyn springing into life
and playing on his guitar.
8.7
Conclusions
8.7
I must say that I and my children liked these programs. They are lively,
noisy (if desired) and hold the interest for long periods. Aimed at Key
Stage 1 and lower Key Stage 2 (5 − 9 yr olds), the programs could
equally be used at home as well as school.
8.7
For the sum of £22.95, or £22 through Archive, the purchaser receives
three games that generally fulfil and reinforce the appropriate National
Curriculum targets. Good value for money and, as Gwyn says, “Go for it”,
but be prepared to turn down the sound levels.  A
8.7
Avie Electronics
8.7
New artwork
8.7
Hints and Tips
8.7
•  Desktop Font − If you find you are losing information on RISC OS 3.5
because your desktop font means that characters are truncated in icons
designed to take the System font, remember that you can select the
system font, until software producers catch up. Alternatively you can
edit the offending templates using FormEd, or similar. Peter Prewett,
South Australia.
8.7
•  “Gang screen” in RISC OS 3.5 − In RISC OS 3.10 there is a hidden
“gang screen”, showing the names of the people who worked on the
version; does anyone know if such a thing also exists in version 3.5? Or
can it be that the developers have, this time, only put that picture
into the “50-99” directory of !SlideShow images?  Jochen Konietzko,
Köln, Germany.
8.7
If you open the RISC OS 3.5 info window (press <menu> over the iconbar
acorn) and use the menu button to click out the word “team” on the
letters of “Acorn Computers”, it will initiate a list of names for you.
Matthew Hunter, NCS.
8.7
•  !KeyStroke’s KeysLib − If you use KeyStroke, you should take a close
look at the small Basic programs inside the KeysLib library − some of
them are very useful!
8.7
My personal favourites are forceAback and forceAfront which give you
quick access to parts of the Pinboard hidden by a window. ForceAback
puts all windows behind the Pinboard (you can see that they aren’t
simply closed if one of them extends down onto the iconbar) and
forceAfront reverses the process. To hide the windows, you define a
keystroke for a *Command:
8.7
Text: *Run <Keystroke$Lib>.forceAback
8.7
The equivalent text for forceAfront will make the windows reappear. Of
course, you must make sure that the filer has ‘seen’ KeysLib for this to
work.  Jochen Konietzko, Köln.
8.7
•  Long file names in RISC OS 3.5 − In Archive 8.6 p.68, Keith Hodge
made a little wish list for future versions of RISC OS; one of those
wishes was ‘long file names’. The manual for the German RISC OS 3.50D
does indeed state that a name must be between one and ten characters
long but this does not seem to be the whole truth. I have grown
accustomed to using the Cropping option in RISC OS 3.10, which meant
that I did not have to count if the intended name had exactly ten or
maybe more letters but on my Risc PC those slightly too long names are
not cropped!
8.7
As the picture shows, it is possible to type in up to 30 characters
before there is an error message “Name too long”. This seems to work
only in MemFS − surely there should be a way to implement it
everywhere?  Jochen Konietzko, Köln.
8.7
(This doesn’t seem to work on the UK version of RISC OS 3.5. Ed.)
8.7
•  Saving Wolfenstein games − Have you, too, noticed that sometimes,
when you save a game in Wolfenstein 3D, the name disappears, giving an
‘empty’ slot in the Save window?
8.7
If you have, you probably use CC’s !Compression. I have found that on my
RISC PC, as long as the !CFS.!Run file is open, the save option of
Wolfenstein 3D does not work properly (If you don’t know how to find out
which files are open, there’s a little PD utility called !FileMan which
lists all open files and allows you to close them one by one.)  Jochen
Konietzko, Köln.
8.7
•  Talking !Alarm − I have always wanted to have alarms which spoke to
me but I could not find a way to do this. When I dropped sound files
onto the Alarm Set window, all I got was a silent graph from Audioworks
or Soundlab. However, there is a way, thanks to an idea given to me by
David Pratt who used to run GemPD. I have used this on the Risc PC, but
I see no reason why it shouldn’t work on any other machine. There is
probably a clever ‘programmers type’ way to do this, but I am a simple
‘drag and drop’ person with no programming skills at all. You just need
two small Utilities obtainable from PD. They are !Compress and !Player
both by David Radford and obtainable from Datafile.
8.7
Using the Oak Recorder and !Soundlab, make Armadeus files of anything
you want Alarm to tell you. My first recording was of my wife saying
“It’s midnight − time to come to bed!” I also recorded snippets like
“Coffee time” and, I have to confess, “Time to watch Neighbours”.
8.7
Using !Compress, make compressed versions of these files. You must not
keep the uncompressed files in the computer or !Player seems to get
confused and an unholy row erupts!
8.7
Now load !Player into your Risc PC Bootfile in Choices.Boot.Tasks. When
you drop one of the compressed sound files into the Alarm Set window,
choose Task alarm and set the time and day, !Player in the boot file
activates the sound exactly on time.
8.7
“Are there any drawbacks?” I hear you cry. Well, I found that having
done their job, the compressed sound files seem to remain open, so that
when the computer boots up each morning it goes happily through each
recording again playing them until finished. But a small price to pay
for having a talking chum who tells you what to do each moment of the
day. No doubt there will be someone who can tell us how to stop this
little problem.  Christopher Jarman, Winchester.
8.7
•  Turbo Drivers and Printers 1.28 − the current versions of the Turbo
Drivers complain that they need a later version of !Printers when you
try to install them into the latest version of !Printers, currently
being shipped with new Risc PCs. This can be circumvented by copying the
install program to your hard disc, and editing the copy by removing line
91 of the !RunImage file (that is the 91st line of the program, not
Basic line 91). The Turbo Drivers should then install correctly. If you
do not wish to attempt this then get in contact with Computer Concepts.
CC Technical Support.  A
8.7
Puzzle Corner
8.7
Colin Singleton
8.7
Suggested answers to my lottery puzzle (What is the smallest number of
entries you can make in the National Lottery and be certain of a £10
prize?) have come down from millions of entries to hundreds, but we are
still a long way from a definite answer. This problem is more difficult
than I thought.
8.7
Gerald Fitton has included a couple of programs for the rounding problem
on recent monthly discs, but no-one has yet submitted one for a table of
values. See my column (8.5 p30) and Gerald’s (8.4 p31).
8.7
Perhaps I can offer another unofficial puzzle inspired by an Archive
feature? What is the shortest meaningful pangram sentence (containing
all 26 letters of the alphabet) that you can devise? (See Christopher
Jarman’s column, Archive 8.6 p77, and the 8.6 monthly disc).
8.7
Here are this month’s two puzzles ...
8.7
(11) Prime Square
8.7
In the grid opposite, the four rows, four columns and two diagonals,
each of which can be read both ways, show twenty different four-digit
numbers. And they are all prime numbers.
8.7
Hang on a minute, I’ve got it wrong − 9373 and 9131 aren’t prime.
Bother!!
8.7
Well, can you construct a four­by­four grid in which the twenty four-
digit numbers are different and all prime?
8.7
(12) Anagram Dictionary
8.7
(I saw this puzzle in a computer magazine about 20 years ago, long
before we had on-line dictionaries. Hopefully, not many readers will
remember it!)
8.7
In an anagram dictionary, the letters of each word are sorted into
alphabetical order and the resulting letter combinations are then listed
in alphabetical order. Thus if you start with the word TRIANGLE you must
look up the entry AEGILNRT. You will find that the entry reads AEGILNRT
ALERTING ALTERING INTEGRAL RELATING TRIANGLE, because five anagrams can
be formed from these eight letters.
8.7
The question is quite simple − what are the first three entries in the
dictionary, and the last three? Current English words only please, no
abbreviations or proper names. Chambers’ dictionary − the old-fashioned
printed paper version − is recommended (as it is for most word games and
puzzles).
8.7
... and last month’s two solutions ...
8.7
(9) Egyptian Fractions
8.7
The simplest technique is known as The Greedy Algorithm. First take the
largest possible reciprocal (i.e. the smallest denominator) which does
not exceed the required fraction. Then the largest possible from what is
left, and so on... . This is guaranteed to produce a result, but the
expression in last month’s column indicates what type of result!
8.7
I only know of one other general technique (rather more complex) which
does not involve trial and error − I devised it myself. It always
produces ‘reasonable’ results but, in general, does not find the
smallest number of reciprocals nor the smallest possible value for the
last (largest) denominator.
8.7
This puzzle is easier (?) than most because the denominator 89 is prime.
Logical reasoning − or inspiration − leads to a solution with four
reciprocals.
8.7
50/89  =  50×18/89×18  =  900/89×18  =  89×10 + 10/89×18 =
89×9 + 89 + 9 + 1/89×18  =  1/2 + 1/18 + 1/89×2 +            1/89×18  =
1/2 + 1/18 + 1/178 + 1/1602
8.7
It can be proved that four is the minimum number of reciprocals in this
case, 1602 being the smallest possible largest denominator in such a
solution. There might be a solution with more than four reciprocals with
the largest denominator less than 1602, but I suspect not.
8.7
(10) Magic Hexagon
8.7
Ignoring rotations and reflections, there is only one solution. It can
be found by trial and error, but we can narrow the search somewhat with
some initial reasoning. The Magic Total must be 38 (one fifth of the
total of the numbers 1−19). If the number in the centre is C, we can
show that the total of the six numbers around the centre is 38 − 2C
(which means these numbers must all be small), the total of the six
corners must be 76 − C, and the total of the other six is 76 + 2C (so
they must all be large numbers). The centre number, therefore, cannot be
greater than eight.
8.7
... and congratulations to the previous month’s two winners ...
8.7
(7) Friday the Thirteenth − Winner: Robert Newmark of Sunderland
8.7
My perpetual calendar, held in two drawfiles ready for printing, was
included on last month’s program disc (8.6). Don’t be impatient − it
does take a long time to load!
8.7
(8) Marbles − Winner: John Greening of Edinburgh.
8.7
John’s answer of 588 marbles was the equal-best submitted, although not
the best possible. The fact that the box was quoted as 15×12×3 does not
imply that you must start with a 15×12 face as the base.
8.7
Comments and solutions
8.7
John Greening is our first twice-winner in this series of puzzles. Come
on, the rest of you − if you don’t enter you can’t win! I have received
quite a number of expressions of goodwill, which is very gratifying, but
not too many entries. Please send comments, contributions and solutions
to me at 41 St Quentin Drive, Sheffield, S17 4PN. Solutions by Friday
7th April, please.  A
8.7
Safesell
8.7
New artwork
8.7
Oak
8.7
From 8.6 page 21
8.7
Phone Day − Updating STD code utilities
8.7
Jim Nottingham
8.7
In Archive 8.6 p24, Richard Hesketh mentioned the excellence of the
!Exchange phone locator. There’s a range of similar utilities in the
public domain, all of which are valuable, particularly following BT’s
introduction of the Call Return system last November (simply dial 1471
and, for free, a nice lady tells you the code and number of your last
caller).
8.7
Unfortunately, being PD, the utilities have tended to lag behind local
code changes and, to answer Richard’s question about whether they will
support the new STD codes after Phone Day, I think it is unlikely.
However, it is a simple task to modify the databases ourselves to make
them compatible with the new codes. Here’s how to do it, using Edit’s
Find/Replace function. The procedures are similar to those discussed in
the recent Text Import articles so, if you get stuck, reading Archive
8.4 pp 44-45 should help to familiarise you with using this function.
8.7
There will be minor variations between STD locator utilities, so I’ll
cover a couple of examples to introduce the different techniques.
Firstly, let’s have a look at Julyan Bristow’s !STDFinder.
8.7
!STDFinder
8.7
As always, before you even think about massaging an existing file, make
a back-up!!! Now load Edit onto your iconbar. The database of STD codes
and place names is found in a text file within the application, so open
up its directory viewer by pressing <shift> and double-clicking on
!STDFinder. Then step through ‘Directorys’ until we come to the text
file called STDfinder. Double-click on it to load the file into Edit.
8.7
In !STDFinder, the data is in comma-separated value format (CSV), i.e.
the place name is followed by a comma, followed by the ‘old’ STD code:
8.7
Apart from the five towns allocated entirely new STD codes (discussed
later), all we need to do is to add a ‘1’ after the leading ‘0’,
throughout the file. The problem is that, if we do this globally using
Find/Replace, we shall add unwanted 1’s after every zero so, for
example, Abbotsbury’s number 0305 would become 013015 which is
incorrect. So we need to ensure only the leading zero is massaged and,
to do this, we need to make it unique.
8.7
In !STDFinder, we can do this by preceding the Find string with the CSV
comma. Press <home> (which will ensure the caret goes to the top of the
Edit file) and then press <f4> which will open Edit’s Find text dialogue
box. In the “Find” box, type <,0> to define all the zeros immediately
following the CSV commas and then press <return>. In the “Replace with”
box, add the ‘1’ by typing <,01> and again press <return>.
8.7
The Text found box will open up and clicking on “End of file replace”
will cause the 1’s to be added throughout the file, but only following
the leading zeros. This will take quite a few seconds as there are
literally thousands of codes to update! Click on “Stop” (or press
<return>) and the windows will close.
8.7
This leaves us with the five completely new numbers to install for
Bristol, Leeds, Leicester, Nottingham and Sheffield. Actually, there are
far more than five because, in addition to the main towns, there are
also their many districts as well, so again we can use Edit to perform a
global Find/Replace. To cover the numbers for Bristol and its environs,
for example, the procedure will be:
8.7
  Press <home> followed by <f4>
8.7
  “Find:” Type in <01272><return>*
8.7
  “Replace with”: Type in <0117 9><return>
8.7
  Click on “End of file replace”
8.7
  Click on “Stop” (or press <return>)
8.7
(*Note: The old numbers will have had the spurious figure 1 added, so we
need to include this in the “Find” string).
8.7
Repeat this process for the other 4 groups, the numbers being:
8.7
  Bristol 01272 becomes 0117 9
8.7
  Leeds 01532 becomes 0113 2
8.7
  Leicester 01533 becomes 0116 2
8.7
  Nottingham 01602 becomes 0115 9
8.7
  Sheffield 01742 becomes 0114 2
8.7
Have a look through the Edit file to double-check everything seems OK
and then save the file. As a final check, load !STDFinder and run
through a few examples, including the five new town numbers, just to
make sure everything is working.
8.7
!Exchange
8.7
The utility which Richard mentioned, !Exchange v0.82, contains its STD
data in a text file called Telephone in the Resources sub-directory of
the application, so we can get at it as described above. Before doing
anything else, make a back-up copy! In this case, the data consists of
the STD code, followed by a hexadecimal code [00], followed by the place
name.
8.7
Don’t worry about the hex codes but, in this case, we don’t have the CSV
commas, so we need another method of uniquely differentiating between
the leading zeros and any others appearing in the codes. Looking at the
Edit file, the answer is there − although it is invisible!
8.7
The clue is that, with the exception of the first line, subsequent codes
must have immediately been preceded by an (invisible) linefeed,
otherwise they would simply range across the full width of the Edit
window. We can use this to help Edit distinguish between the leading
zeros and the others. This time, we shall need to enter a linefeed
(‘newline’) character into the “Find” box and, for this to work, we
first need to click on the Magic characters radio button which will open
up the additional options.
8.7
This time, having pressed <home><f4> to open the Find text box, we type
a Newline code in the “Find” box, followed by the zero − <\n0> − and
press <return>. In the “Replace with” box, we type in the same but
adding the figure 1 before pressing <return>.
8.7
Clicking on “End of file replace” once again adds all the 1’s but note
that, in this case, this doesn’t happen for the first code (0200
Clitheroe). This is because the code was not preceded by the linefeed
character so Edit didn’t find it. So click on “Stop” (or press <return>)
to close the box and add the 1 manually in the first line.
8.7
Finally, go through the procedure detailed above to amend the five towns
and their environs to incorporate their new numbers. Once you are happy,
save the file and test the utility, as before.
8.7
Other changes
8.7
STD codes for any one area do tend to change, often following
installation of a digital exchange, and it is perfectly feasible to
update the database within your utility accordingly.
8.7
Unfortunately, in the majority of cases, I don’t think there is any
quick alternative to making the changes manually. However, even if your
database is out of date, searching for an occurrence of the first 4-5
digits will often give you a clue as to the whereabouts of the number
so, very often, the value of the utility is not compromised.
8.7
Other STD-locators
8.7
I’m hoping the variations discussed above will give you sufficient
familiarity with the general procedures to enable you to update the
database of any other utilities you prefer to use. However, if you get
stuck, do please send me a copy on a disc, with a return label and
postage, and I’ll try to sort out a solution for you. Jim Nottingham, 16
Westfield Close, Pocklington, York, YO4 2EY.  A
8.7
Risc PC Column
8.7
Keith Hodge
8.7
Floppy disc drives
8.7
Are there floppy drives larger than 1.6Mb? Or do I have to go to the
270Mb 3½“ drives? I am finding it more and more difficult to pass files
(especially images) from one machine to another. Is this also a problem
for other readers? If so, have any ingenious solutions been invented?
The only solution I have found to transferring files larger than one
floppy disc is to compress the file using SparkFS, then split the
resultant archive using a Packet Radio program called 7Plus into a
number of parts, save these on a DOS 1.44Mb disc, and copy to the other
machine’s hard disc. 7Plus is also available for the IBM PC as is PK
Unzip, so it is then a simple matter to recombine the file parts using
7Plus and unzip the resultant archive. Just a bit long-winded!
8.7
One thing that Acorn or another software house could really do here, is
to produce an equivalent for the Risc PC of the file interchange/remote
operation software (InterSvr) supplied with DOS 6. This allows the
parallel ports of two machines to be interconnected, and the hard drive
in the second machine then becomes part of the first machine, allowing
files to be sent up and down between machines. If the software were
transparent as far as DOS/ADFS was concerned it would allow a Risc PC to
be connected to a 486 IBM PC and files to be simply interchanged. (A
sudden thought... will the 486 PC CARD with DOS 6 allow the Risc PC
parallel port to do this?) (Well, it ought to do so. Ed.)
8.7
Software information
8.7
David Evershed has found that Eesox Ltd now have a driver available to
allow the Pioneer DR-U104X CD-ROM to be used on the Risc PC. (David does
not mention if the driver was for SCSI, IDE or both.)
8.7
The technical support person at Aleph One (aka ‘Wookey’), has written to
say that David Webb’s problems with his Aleph One 386 PC card could have
been quickly overcome if he had consulted them. It seems that early
versions of the software (< v1.59), only knew about SCSI CD-ROMs. The
latest version of the software now supports SCSI, IDE and parallel port
connected CD-ROMs. Upgrades are available from Aleph One. I have FAXed
them asking if they would like to supply details of their Risc PC
products as they become available and I will then inform you all.
8.7
Software compatibility
8.7
Well not so much compatibility, more an extension of Brian Cowan’s
comments about changing requirements as time passes and the need to
think ahead when buying equipment. When I purchased my top of the range
Risc PC, I arranged with Paul for it to have 8Mb of main memory (DRAM)
and 2Mb of screen memory (VRAM), thinking (in my ignorance) that this
would cover every eventuality.
8.7
I am now finding it hard to believe that as soon as I can afford it, I
will have to purchase another 16Mb of DRAM. Why? Simply because I had
not asked enough questions of my suppliers. I find I need to scan A4
colour printed pictures in very high resolutions (600dpi) and then
reduce them to 90dpi resolution for printing using ChangeFSI. This has
to be done, because, if you scan at 90dpi, the printed dot structure in
the original artwork interacts with the sensor dot pitch in the scanner
to produce the most amazing Moire patterns, which render the resulting
image unusable! This is shown (hopefully!) in the two images opposite.
(I’ve no idea how they will come out in the printing process, but the
Moire patterns are clear enough on screen. Ed.) I have also placed the
images on the monthly disc.
8.7
90 dpi Scan
8.7
90 dpi from 600 dpi Scan
8.7
Hardware and software news
8.7
I am in the process of computerising my family history using ‘Family’ by
Denis Howe. This is a most useful program and is PD into the bargain! I
have enclosed the current version (v2.11 30 Jan 1995) on the monthly
disc. Are there any family history aficionado’s out there who can write
and tell me how to go about tracing people?
8.7
Packet radio
8.7
I have still had no luck in finding a good text about this subject, but
I will try to describe the basic operation of the system as I understand
it. (As with a lot of every day things, I just use it!)
8.7
The system consists of a network of nodes, rather like the Internet.
Each of the nodes is called a Bulletin Board Server (BBS for short). The
simplest possible BBS consists of a computer and appropriate BBS
software, a 144 MHz radio receiver and transmitter (Transceiver). For
those of you with a scanning radio, a commonly used frequency is 144.650
MHz. The transmissions are frequency modulated (FM) and sound like a
series of tones with a 1200 baud data rate. To allow for more stations
and increased speed of operation, BBSs are also starting to use 432 MHz
with 9600 baud data rates.
8.7
The BBS is able to serve a large number of amateur radio stations
simultaneously by sending header strings in its transmissions which
identify the station for which the transmission is destined (GW4NEI in
my case). To allow other stations to break in and obtain access, the
data is sent in small bursts (packets), hence the term Packet Radio.
8.7
Each receiving station has a 144 or 432 MHz transceiver, and a data
separator known as a Terminal Node Controller (TNC), a sort of modem,
which receives audio from the transceiver and converts it to serial data
which passes to the serial port on your computer. Likewise, it performs
the reverse operation when data is sent from the computer to the
transceiver.
8.7
Users of the BBS log on and are then able to list all, or a selection by
type, of the files on the board. If a desired file is found, it is
possible to send commands to receive the file. The BBS will also inform
you, when you log on, if there are any messages specifically addressed
to you, waiting to be downloaded.  A typical listing received, is shown
below.
8.7
The software I use, which is called Comlink, has the useful feature of
highlighting references to my callsign and any other which I specify.
Each type is in a colour I specify − most useful.
8.7
This is the BBS operating as a Bulletin Board, where files are sent to
“ALL” for general information, or “ARCHIM” for files concerning
Archimedes and Risc PC users.
8.7
Some BBSs also contain a file area, which exists in the form of a pseudo
DOS filing system. As you can probably imagine, there are an almost
unlimited number of file areas, dedicated to almost any computer type,
or topic, you can imagine. These can be downloaded as required, often
overnight, by using a script language to control your computer.
8.7
The BBS can also operate as a personal message server, and here, the
seemingly meaningless information which I place at the end of the column
each month, comes into its own.
8.7
The descriptor, “GW4NEI@GB7OAR.#16.GBR .EU” when sent to a BBS as a
header, breaks down to mean:
8.7
Send the file which follows to... GW4NEI (My callsign which is used as a
mailbox ID), at GB7OAR (My BBS on the Wirral), at #16 (The specific
network area address), which is located in Great Britain (GBR) in EU
(Europe).
8.7
This allows me to communicate with friends all over the UK and indeed,
the world, for nothing. The service is run by a dedicated group of
people (Radio Amateurs) who run the system under the guidance of the
Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB).
8.7
This is, of course, a very simplified description. There are, in fact,
many transmitters and receivers at each BBS working at higher baud rates
and using ultra high frequency transmissions (Microwave). These form the
inter-BBS network which runs over the whole of the UK and allows me to
send messages to people almost anywhere.
8.7
Finally, if you fancy having a go at packet radio, then get in touch
with your local technical college, or the RSGB. The exam for a class B
Amateur Radio licence, which is all that is required, is quite
straightforward, and most colleges run a winter evening class.
8.7
Wish list for the next Risc PC / New issues of Basic
8.7
Provision for 4Mb of screen RAM (VRAM) and a faster VIDC20 for really
high resolution screens without flicker. (I have a 24“ 64kHz line scan
rate, ultra high resolution, monochrome monitor that I would dearly love
to be able to use for engineering drafting!)
8.7
Gripe of the month
8.7
As of today (12.2.1995) there is still no news about my 486 PC
card...!?@&$!.....
8.7
Questions of the month
8.7
(1) Does anyone know of a software package which will allow three
dimensional data from building plans to be input and the resultant 3D
image to be viewed and printed from any desired angle? I do have a
registered copy of Euclid (v2.05 12 Jul 89) but this no longer displays
the tool pane correctly and is very prone to memory exceptions under
RISC OS 3.5. Also, I have no idea where, or if, it can be upgraded.
8.7
(2) From Colin Davies: “Has anybody managed to get a Philips CM207 CD-
ROM working and, if so, where was the driver obtained from?” (How about
giving Eesox a ring? See above.)
8.7
Tailpiece
8.7
A number of people have had to ring two or three times before finding me
at home. If you have a query and have access to a fax then just ring to
arrange for the fax to be put on line and send your query. I will then
reply when I get home. (Business is getting very busy so I am often out
during the early evening. Also, my son and I have decided to construct
our own “Pietenpol AirCamper” light aircraft, so we both need a 32 hour
day!)
8.7
As usual, I can be contacted by letter at the HES address on the back
page, by telephone after 7p.m. or by Packet Radio from anywhere in the
world, as GW4NEI@GB7OAR.#16.GBR.EU.  A
8.7
Comment Column
8.7
• Cumana SCSI II Interface − In Archive 8.5 p39, Jim Nottingham reported
information he had received that the Cumana SCSI II interface was
compatible with any pre-Risc PC computer which would accept a standard
podule. Cumana have advised that this applies only to the ‘fast-RAM’
machines; namely, A540 and A5000. The Cumana SCSI II interface is not
compatible with earlier models.  Jim Nottingham / Chris Manning.
8.7
•  Internet names − I may be able to help your unknown correspondent
commenting on Internet (8.5 p25) and asking about decoding of names to
Internet numbers. I think that this can be done at two levels. One is
within the ftp/email server where there is a Look-Up facility which
decodes a name. Most IBM / Apple programs make use of this so that you
can use names directly. I have been told that this is possible in the
Acorn TCP/IP suite but have not found any reference to it. I had help
from someone from Acorn in setting up, but he has been unable to find
out more. If this is the problem, I would like to know the solution too!
8.7
However, it is possible that your correspondent does not know about the
second method. There is a file called “Hosts” in the !Internet.files
directory. Here you can list numbers and with associated names, so that
you have the convenience of using this set of names in all operations.
The structure of the file is:
8.7
137.222.50.231       dlewis.pys.bris.ac.uk
8.7
1.0.0.1              test
8.7
# Domain name servers.
8.7
137.222.10.36        information
8.7
137.222.10.40        mail
8.7
......       etc
8.7
The first line is my own number and name. I am not sure if the second is
necessary but keep it for luck. The fourth and subsequent lines are
Internet numbers that I have had to look-up using the server facility.
Clearly, this is not very convenient initially, but soon pays back the
time spent.
8.7
This seems to be the level of facility that Acorn must get right if they
are not going to succumb to the big two in education beyond school
level. We are well supplied with the common major applications, but a
wide range of more specialised programs seems important for further
progress. Do Acorn commission firms to write specific software of this
secondary level of importance? It seems that if a firm knew that they
had a head start in a definite market niche, they are more likely to
take on some development than in an open competition.  Don Lewis,
[e-mail].
8.7
•  More prejudice − The Guardian is not the only publication that we
should complain about...
8.7
‘If you just want to play games or write the odd letter...’. Review of
computers in ‘Which’ magazine referring to Acorn (that cost them a
subscription).
8.7
‘When you popped up a menu, there was disc activity as the bitmap of the
screen behind was stored to disc. This made the mouse pointer very slow
and hesitant’. Personal Computer Magazine reviewing ‘the fastest 486 we
have ever tested’.
8.7
‘A brilliant innovation is the ability to switch resolutions on the
fly... without a restart’. PCM reviewing the PowerPC. ‘Innovation’? − I
ask you!
8.7
‘The NEC Superscript 610 is the first personal laser printer in the
world to be driven by your PC’s processor rather than its own’. PCM
advert July ’94.
8.7
‘The principal reason for buying a computer was to help the children in
their schoolwork. Since I also wished to use it for some serious
wordprocessing I opted for a PC’. From an article in ‘Fun Learning on
the Computer’ issue 1.  Edward Naish, Gwynedd.
8.7
•  NewLook/Alarm bug − Acorn have stated that the bug which causes the
!NewLook/RISC OS 3.5 window tools to work incorrectly when !Alarm is
running will be fixed in “the next iteration of RISC OS”. Apparently, it
is caused by attempts to redraw the tools while !Alarm is trying to
update the iconbar clock. M Churchill, High Wycombe.
8.7
•  Softcrete review − As an alternative to Softcrete, there is the
Shareware “Lockit” program which can use either unique I.D. CMOS
password, transitory password, Timestamps, configure stamps, etc. It
does not yet work on Basic !Runimage files without first converting them
to absolute using !MAKEpps (which is supplied with it). It is available
from APDL and elsewhere, I suspect.  Tim Nicholson, Albury, Surrey.
8.7
•  Software for Archaeology and History − I am preparing a booklet for
the Council for British Archaeology listing all known computer software
for teaching Archaeology and History at any level, including History in
the National Curriculum for schools. The booklet will show all the usual
catalogue information, formats, prices and availability, and then will
follow notes, or a brief review, of each item with particular attention
to its teaching value. We intend it to become a standard work on the
subjects and to be continuously revised. The first edition should be
published in the first half of 1995, preferably for the Harrogate Show.
8.7
The booklet will include multimedia presentations, text resources,
clipart, antique fonts, work sheets and any other items discovered. We
are interested in material on any computer platform and on any medium –
floppy disc, CD-ROM, LaserVision, CD-i, or whatever. So far, material
for the Acorn Archimedes is much in the majority (surprise!), with PCs
becoming better represented in very recent material and with Apple way,
way behind.
8.7
I am interested in receiving direct from teachers – and from students
and pupils – news and reviews of any relevant software that they are
using. I am also interested in comments about what they would like to
see in the booklet or about other relevant matters, such as software
that they would like to see produced or ways of approach that they think
should be considered by authors.
8.7
I should welcome from authors and publishers, review copies of any
material that they have not already sent me and copies of any published
reviews. Also, I should like to have information about forthcoming
material, stating its present progress and planned date of release and
what information should be published at this stage.  Michael Binns, 15
Redewater Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 9UD (0191-274-4451).  A
8.7
Small Ads
8.7
(Small ads for Acorn 32-bit computers and related products are free for
subscribers but we reserve the right to publish all, part or none of the
material you send, as we think fit. i.e. some people don’t know what
‘small’ means and there are certain things, as you can imagine, that we
would not be prepared to advertise as a matter of principle. Sending
small ads (especially long ones!) on disc is helpful but not essential.
Ed)
8.7
•  2nd Floppy Kit for A300 or early A400 £30 complete.  Acorn 2-slot
backplane & fan £15, 30Mb MFM drive £30, PipeDream3 £15, DOS 5 for PC
Emulator new £15.  All include postage.  Phone Dave on 01992-462072.
8.7
•  A3000 − 4Mb, RISC OS 3.1, 20Mb IDE drive, Ovation, PC Emulator, Taxan
Multivision Monitor £650. Phone [phone].
8.7
•  A3000 − 4Mb, ARM3, RISC OS 3.1, serial upgrade, 8bit Turbo Serial
Port SCSI card 105Mb SCSI HD, Monitor Plinth, AKF12 Stereo Monitor, PC
Emulator 1.8 £500 ono + postage.  Phone  01222­615517.
8.7
•  A3010 − specially upgraded by NCS 18 months ago! Internal 20Mb Hard
Drive, 4Mb RAM, RISC OS 3.1, Eizo 9060S colour monitor, unregistered
Impression II + Borders, No 62 Honeypot Lane. All original software
including unopened PC Emulator, Easiword, etc. Total bundle £750, but
will split out Eizo for separate sale if required. Phone [phone]
and talk to Alistair or Ali.
8.7
•  A310 − 2Mb RISC OS 3.1, disc buffer, serial link, AKF11 monitor,
manuals, discs £250. PipeDream 3 £20. AlphaBase (0.52) £10. Fascia for
second floppy drive & leads £10. Phone [phone] eves.
8.7
•  A410/1 − 2Mb RAM 40Mb HD Eizo 9060S-M 14“ multiscan. Excellent
condition £400 o.n.o. Phone [phone].
8.7
•  A410/1 − 4Mb RAM, 33MHz ARM3, 50Mb HD, NewLook desktop, I/O Podule,
Midi, Sound sampler, keyboard extension cable and postage £525 o.n.o.
RISC OS Style Guide with disc £10. Phone Mark after 6 on 0905-754277.
8.7
•  A410/1 − one of the last ones made, 2Mb RAM RISC OS 3.1, 20Mb
internal HD, 5¼“ disc interface, Joystick interface, Epson MX82 printer,
software £495. Phone [phone].
8.7
•  A410/1 − RISC OS 3.1, 4Mb RAM, ARM 3, Atomwide VIDC enhancer, Oak 16-
bit SCSI board, 47Mb internal hard disc, 105Mb SCSI hard disc, Eizo
9060S multisync monitor, all boxed with manuals, some software. £700.
Phone [phone] after 6.
8.7
•  A5000 − 4Mb 40Mb HD, PC Emulator, PD software £695 o.n.o.  Phone Mike
on 0181­994-7683.
8.7
•  A5000 − 8Mb RAM, FPA Chip, 203Mb HD, RISC OS 3.11, Colour Card Gold
£850, A5000, 4Mb RAM, 80Mb HD, RISC OS 3.11, Colour Card Gold £675, 20“
Sony Monitor £900, HP500 Printer £175, Cumana CD-ROM Drive £175 with
Image Warehouse CD-ROM, 632Mb HD £200, CC Scanlight A4 £225. All vgc.
Phone Russell 0131-658-1225 after 6, or w/e.
8.7
•  A540 − 8Mb RAM, RISC OS 3.10, 120Mb SCSI drive, Acorn SCSI board,
some software, Eizo 9060S multisync monitor £890. Insite 21Mb Floptical
SCSI drive + 10 discs £200. Cumana 5¼“ floppy drive plus interface
podule £30. Phone [phone].
8.7
•  AKF60 − 14“ SVGA Multiscan ES monitor. Brand new, boxed and
unregistered, £240. Phone Steve on 0924-828037.
8.7
•  Aleph One 486PC − 4Mb/50MHz + Floating point co-processor, !PC
Software 1.23 + Windows drivers VGA & SVGA, £450 o.n.o. Phone Mike 081-
399-8320.
8.7
•  Canon BJ200, with auto sheet feeder £180. Phone [phone].
8.7
•  Citizen Swift 24 boxed as new, offers. Iota Touch Type Tutor £25,
Saloon Cars £8, DeskEdit £10, 25w to 50w SCSI lead £8, Econet Bridge
offers, NEC CD-ROM drivers £15, Design Concept Italic £5, David Pilling
Trace £3, Four player joystick interface £18, Book − Archimedes Assembly
Language, perfect order £8. Phone Chris on 01247-466686 6−9pm.
8.7
•  Hard Drive 20Mb ST506 £50, ST506 podule £40, ST506 podule in case
with uncased psu £50. Phone [phone].
8.7
•  Hot numbers − Use the power of your Acorn computer to select the
hottest lottery numbers from up to 1,000,000 draws. Multitasking
application with graphical displays. Send £1.50 to Ben Ollivère, 6 Truro
Close, East Leake, LE12 6HB.
8.7
•  Impression Style boxed with packaged programs, WordWorks, Equasor,
TableMate 2 (version 2.00m-1) and manuals + extra borders by Fabis £85.
Phone [phone].
8.7
•  Irlam 24i16 brand new video/sound card (Feb 1995) 1Mb VRAM full frame
version £370. Colour Card Gold £160, Scanlight Video 256 £150. Phone
Iain 01463-751251 or fax 751240.
8.7
•  PipeDream v.4.13 £40, Acorn PCEm 1.8 & DR-DOS 5 £20, DeskEdit 3 £8,
Genesis Plus £5, E-Type £5, used 800Kb discs £3 per 10. Phone Ernie
Cobbold on 01493-740557.
8.7
•  Printer Epson wide carriage dot matrix LQ1050+ £65. Phone 01332-
701969.
8.7
•  Scanlight 256 £100, Acorn I/O podule £30. Phone Dave on 0121-745-
2423.
8.7
•  Sinclair Z88 expanded 128Kb internal memory + two 128Kb external
Rampacks + manuals £45, Phone Mike 081-399-8320.
8.7
•  Turbo Driver − (RISC OS 3) for HP Deskjets & Laserjets + special
printer cable + original packaging/manual £20, Hi-Fi Sound upgrade for
A5000, A3000, A400/1 and all other earlier computers £10. Phone Mike
081-399-8320.
8.7
•  Wanted − PCB CAD software e.g. ArcPCB or similar. Phone Chris on
01247-466686 6−9pm.
8.7
•  Wanted − Unregistered Font Directory. Will give unregistered Pro-
Artisan 2 CD in exchange. Phone Frode 305-861-2931 (USA − anytime).
8.7
Charity Sales
8.7
The following items are available for sale in aid of charity. PLEASE do
not just send money − ring us on 01603-766592 to check if the items are
still available. Thank you.
8.7
N.B. These items are sold AS SEEN (even though you can’t see them!),
i.e. we are not able to give refunds if the items are not suitable for
your computer or whatever. All the money paid goes straight to charity
therefore NCS cannot be involved in correspondence etc over these items.
If it turns out to be no good for you but might do for someone else,
please send it back with a note and we will sell it again with the
proviso you state, e.g. “It doesn’t work on a Risc PC.”
8.7
Software: Five assorted old games £4, ArcWriter £3, Archway £8,
Datavision database £5, Multistore £20, Chess £2, Wimp Game £4, Iron
Lord £4, Photopia £8, First Word Plus2 £4.
8.7
Hardware: 5¼“ drive interface £5, Serial Port Joystick interface £5,
Paper Feeder for CC A4 handheld scanner £15, PCATS Graphics enhancer
£15, Floppy discs £12 per 50, Acorn Econet interfaces (5 off) £15 each,
Green ink refill for HP cartridge £6, Cyan ink refill for Canon BC01
cartridge £6, Yellow ink refill for Canon BC01 cartridge £6.
8.7
(If you have unwanted software or hardware for Archimedes computers that
you could donate in aid of charity, please send it to the Archive
office. If you have larger items where post would be expensive, just
send us details of the item(s) and how the purchaser can get hold of
them.)  A
8.7
The Engineer Speaks
8.7
Ray Maidstone
8.7
A3000 RAM expansion pins
8.7
For those with aging A3000s that have more than 1Mb, it is important to
know that the expansion pins on which the memory board is connected
often cause problems because they can be affected by contamination in
the atmosphere and surroundings. Pins can be cleaned or, better still,
replaced − or even done away with altogether! Owners of 4Mb upgrades may
like to have them permanently soldered to the motherboard. This
increases reliability and removes the contact resistance introduced by
plugs and sockets.
8.7
The fault can be made to show up (if it is developing) by switching on
the machine with the desktop and giving the board a slight twist. If you
get an address exception, switch off straight away. This means your
machine may start to become unreliable. If this problem occurs during
normal use and you do not switch off, there is a possibility that the
RAM chips may be damaged.
8.7
A3000 power supplies
8.7
By now the power supplies in A3000s are beginning to get long in the
tooth, and they can sometimes go pop! Capacitors in the power supply can
dry out and zener diodes can deteriorate and make it run at the wrong
voltage. Sometimes power supplies are not repairable if they explode, so
get the machine checked out if you can, as an overhaul is usually
cheaper than a replacement.
8.7
A4 battery usage
8.7
Some users may have noticed that the batteries in these powerful
portables do not last very long. In accordance with NiCad manufacturers’
statements, they need to be charged and discharged correctly to give
maximum performance − as any radio control car/plane/boat owner will
know! People often use their A4 with a mains supply, trying to keep
topping up the battery while they work and then draining it a little bit
by using it from battery and so on. It is better for the battery if you
remove it from the A4 while you use a mains power supply, and also that
you run it down as much as possible when you work from the battery.
Ideally you need two batteries, one to use and one to be charging after
full use and discharge. To fully discharge, put a 12v 10-12w car bulb
across the two outer contacts of the four on the end of the battery.
Leave it connected until the bulb fades and goes out. Disconnect the
bulb and then charge the battery at the normal rate (typically 8 hours
at 300mA).
8.7
Next month, we’ll discuss some more servicing problems and some more
examples where prevention is better than cure.  A
8.7
Keystroke Column
8.7
Alisdair Jorgensen
8.7
Alisdair, who is the author of Keystroke, has agreed to do a column for
us, so send in your requests for help either to the NCS office or direct
to Alisdair at the address below. Ed.
8.7
Welcome to the first instalment of the Keystroke Column. In this column,
I hope to answer questions about some of the mysteries of Keystroke and
what it can do, as well as offering hints and tips on how to use it.
Keystroke has evolved into a very versatile piece of software and I’m
always finding new things it can do that I never thought possible.
8.7
This column was done in a bit of a hurry, in between getting my computer
repaired, so it’s likely to be a bit shorter than I would have liked. It
will be longer in future, as more people write in with questions/
comments/ideas/etc.
8.7
Repeating keystrokes
8.7
I would like to explain how keystrokes can be set up to repeat
themselves, a function that I find very useful for block processing,
such as converting a directory full of GIFs to JPEGs to cut down on hard
drive usage.
8.7
Some time ago, we received a letter from a user who had work to do on a
spreadsheet, and for each column he needed to do a series of operations.
He was most pleased when Keystroke allowed him to simply point at each
one and press a key combination. I realised later that it was possible
to point at the first, get Keystroke to move automatically to the next
and continue, so he only needed to touch the keyboard once!
8.7
To achieve this sort of repetition, all you need to do is, at the end of
your keystroke, define a sequence that moves it to the next file, or
record, or whatever and, to finish, do a *command, ‘Set Keystroke$Do0
<keystroke name>’ and it’ll call itself and go again! If you need to
move to the next file in a directory, there are the library functions to
get a list of directory entries or, failing that, you can have your
keystroke positioning a filer window and relatively scrolling it each
time. For things like spreadsheets, all you need to do is a text insert,
moving the cursor to the next row or column.
8.7
Coping with delays
8.7
Another problem some users have come across is when Keystroke would have
to wait half way through a sequence for something to happen before
continuing. This is a little more difficult. You have to split the
keystroke into three parts, putting each part on a separate key
combination. The first part should include the start of the sequence,
finishing with the one before it would have to wait. The second part is
just the single keystroke after that, and the third part is the rest of
the keystroke.
8.7
At the end of the first part, call the second part using ‘Set
Keystroke$Do0 <part 2>’. In front of part 2, put a *command, ‘Set
KS$Check Fail’ and, after it, put a *command, ‘Set KS$Check Succeed’ and
link them. The result of this is that the variable KS$Check gets set to
Fail and, only when it succeeds, it gets set to ‘Succeed’, i.e. KS$Check
contains either ‘Succeed’ or ‘Fail’, depending on whether or not it’s
ready. Then, at the end of this combination, you do a ‘If “<KS$Check>” =
“Fail” Then Set Keystroke$Do0 <part 2> Else Set Keystroke$Do0 <part 3>’.
If it isn’t ready, the keystroke will fail and it will try again. If it
is ready, it will go onto the rest of the keystroke.
8.7
I hope this is of some help to people. Next time, I’ll explain how a
keystroke combination can be created to adjust the size of a RAM drive
even when it isn’t empty.
8.7
Alisdair Jorgensen Easter Cottage, Canalside, Winchburgh, Scotland, EH52
6PU. (email: [e-mail])  A
8.7
Stuart Halliday (also of Quantum Software fame) has very kindly sent in
a description of how to set Keystroke to perform a routine for stripping
out carriage returns from preformatted text as requested by Stuart Bell
in Archive 8.4 p49. This is included on the monthly program disc rather
than being put in print because it is three pages long. Ed.
8.7
CC
8.7
From 8.6 page 14
8.7
CC
8.7
From 8.6 page 8
8.7
Sleuth 2 OCR Upgrade
8.7
Peter Jennings
8.7
When software is given a new version number, rather than just
incrementing the figures after the decimal point, you expect some
significant changes for the better. Sleuth 2, the latest upgrade to
Beebug’s optical character recognition program, lives up to expectations
with new features and a measurably improved performance. There is a new
23-page manual and a new, higher, price at £99 +VAT, or £110 inclusive
from Archive. Upgrades from earlier versions are available from Beebug
at £49 +VAT. (Sorry if anyone was misled by an incorrect price which was
added at the end of my review of an earlier version in January’s
Archive.)
8.7
Having previously used Sleuth 1.01 and 1.51 (see reviews in Archive 7.1
p53 and 8.4 p73) I loaded up version 2.02 and plunged straight in with
only a cursory glance at the manual. My first test was to drag in the
sprite of the Archive paragraph scanned for the original review and used
again for the subsequent upgrade. Version 1.01 had produced 10 errors to
give an error rate for that paragraph of 2.7%. The 1.51 upgrade improved
to four errors, or 1.2%. The output from Sleuth 2.02 appeared to be
completely correct and it took a very close scrutiny to spot that a dash
had been interpreted as a hyphen and a badly printed figure 1 as a
letter l. (Apart from anyone working to the most exacting standards,
such as publishing, how many users would have noticed or been pernickety
enough to have cared about either?)
8.7
Words not recognised by the spelling checker are highlighted in the
output window, for editing if necessary, although most of them are
correct.
8.7
Areas of complicated layouts can be marked as zones to be ignore by
Sleuth. It will identify the columns itself.
8.7
One hundred fonts
8.7
Sleuth now recognises the following characters in almost 100 fonts,
although still only from 9pt to 24pt in size:
8.7
!?£$&“‘%+=_/\*#()[]<>,-
.:;0123456789ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz‘’“”fifl
•−
8.7
There is now a built-in spelling checker and this highlighted seven
words which it did not recognise in my test. Ironically, the first of
these was “OCR”. The others were all prefixed with “£”, “+” or “p” (for
a page number). This spelling checker is a major enhancement.
Unrecognised strings are highlighted in yellow, as if with a marker pen,
so immediately drawing attention to doubtful words as each block of text
appears on the screen. As before, corrections can be made while the
program is still outputting and pressing <F1> will position the caret on
the first highlighted word and subsequently move it onto the next. If
you are to make use of this facility, it is necessary to edit the output
before saving, because all the highlights disappear when the text is
saved. Progress does have its drawbacks and the output now appears in
its window after each paragraph has been completed, instead of line by
line, for reasons which will be explained later.
8.7
I repeated some other tests which I had attempted with earlier versions
but which had not been published because they included badly printed
text (not a fair test) or italic, which the earlier versions had not
been trained to recognise. Both now showed considerable improvement and
the italic, which had predictably produced rubbish before, was now
readable. Bold and italic text can now be seen as such in the output
window and Trinity and Homerton fonts are used there to represent serif
and sans serif typefaces in the original. The text can be saved as a
plain ASCII file, as before, or complete with styles as a Rich Text
Format (RTF) file for import into packages, such as Impression Style or
Publisher which accept it.
8.7
Choice of speed
8.7
Another new feature of this upgrade is a choice of speed/accuracy at
three levels: careful, medium or quick, with medium being the
recommended default. The careful setting is slower and generally more
accurate although a couple of the tests I made had a character or two
worse! The timings for my original test paragraph were: quick 17
seconds, medium 19 seconds and careful 35 seconds and all produced
identical results. These should be taken only as comparison figures as
actual timings can vary significantly depending on what other programs
are running. I have found in previously reported tests that stripping
the iconbar can make a big difference.
8.7
Page layouts with multiple columns and illustrations are now recognised
and dealt with automatically although zones can still be created by
dragging with <select>, as in previous versions, if the layout is
particularly complex. Any number of zones can be created and linked in
any order for processing. Zones can also be set to mark areas to be
ignored. There is a “save zones” option which can be very useful if a
particular page layout is used more than once.
8.7
Sleuth originally accepted only mode 18 sprites, which most scanners
will produce, but it can now deal with modes 4, 18, 23, 25 and 29.
8.7
Real life
8.7
It is always interesting to hear the views of people using new software
for a real life purpose. Jim Nottingham, of York, has written about his
experiences with Sleuth 2:
8.7
“I had a task to incorporate about 120 A4 pages of 12pt text, from a
sub-contractor in the States, into a document required very urgently in
Malaysia ... with an impossible timescale (no time to post discs etc)
and the only thing I could think of was to get the pages sent by fax and
type the stuff in manually. However, the Sleuth 2 upgrade arrived the
same morning − only 3 days after being ordered. Almost in desperation, I
tried scanning a couple of pages and pushing them through Sleuth 2. To
cut a short story even shorter, the OCR results were extremely
respectable and we finished up by faxing, scanning and successfully
Sleuth-ing all 120 pages. The end result was that the finished documents
were shipped to Malaysia a day before the deadline.”
8.7
Jim had very few problems with this job. The main one was that Sleuth
failed to recognise separate paragraphs when there was less than double
spacing between them. This meant that each page was treated by Sleuth as
a single paragraph and no text was output for correcting until the whole
page had been processed. He asked Beebug if the text could be output a
line at a time, as in earlier versions, and if an end-of-paragraph
character could be inserted during editing. Beebug replied:
8.7
“It is not possible for the package to output text any quicker than it
does because of the constraint of determining a style for the paragraph.
The program needs as much information about a paragraph as it can get
before determining its style. This situation is likely to get worse
rather than better as the program gets more complex (and more accurate).
8.7
The final goal is to reverse engineer a page of text so that the output
from Sleuth is identical to the input. It may be possible to modify this
process so that the user can be informed if the output is rubbish or not
to stop the situation where you wait five minutes for an A4 page to
convert to find that there is no recognisable text. A method of
inserting and removing paragraph breaks was in the original
specification for Sleuth as were many other features. We had to trim the
feature list to bring the program out in 1994 which was our main aim. It
is likely that these features will be present in Sleuth 2.5.”
8.7

8.7
Accuracy
8.7
Beebug have always been very frank about Sleuth’s limitations but its
steady improvements, including the wide range of fonts it is now trained
to recognise and the new spelling checker, have brought it to the stage
where it can achieve 100 per cent accuracy if all other conditions are
right. This rarely happens but it no longer seems appropriate to report
the percentage of errors in tests when these can now be more a measure
of the quality of the printing and scanning of the original.
8.7
Sleuth 2 costs almost twice the price of the original version but this
seems a fair reflection of its improved performance and users of the
earlier versions should find it well worth upgrading. More developments
are promised in future issues and Beebug’s commitment to the program is
apparent in their encouragement of users’ comments and their willingness
to send a detailed personal reply.  A
8.7
Hardware News
8.7
Paul Beverley
8.7
Those of you with Risc PC 600s will be wondering when you can make them
into Risc PC 700’s! “Unofficial sources at Acorn” say that the ARM710
should be available around the end of 2nd quarter 1995 and the ARM810 in
1996. In the meantime, we have some very exciting news for power-hungry
Risc PC users...
8.7
Enter the StrongARM
8.7
The following announcement from Acorn describes a link-up with DEC to
produce extremely high-power ARM chips.
8.7
“Digital Equipment Corp’s semiconductor business − now trading as
Digital Semiconductor − has decided that the Alpha RISC design is
inappropriate for emerging low-end embedded applications, and it has
joined the growing band of licensees of the ARM Ltd RISC technology. A
new high-performance family of StrongARM RISCs, fully software-
compatible with ARM 6, 7 and 8 and retaining their low power consumption
is to be developed. The first product is currently being designed at
DEC’s Palo Alto and Austin research centres and at ARM’s Cambridge, UK
base. They are expected to be among the first products to be
manufactured at DEC’s new FAB 6 plant in Hudson, Massachusetts.
8.7
“Apple’s Newton engineering team has been working with DEC and ARM Ltd
on definition of the StrongARM family and plans to use it in future
iterations of the Newton. As well as Personal Digital Assistants, other
target applications include television set-top decoders, video games
systems − the present 3DO Multiplayers all use the ARM RISC, and digital
imaging applications, including image capture, scanning and printing.
Acorn Computer Group Plc also plans to use the StrongARM in its future
personal computers, and its Online Media spin-off also plans to use the
chips in future television set-top boxes. Processors and processor cores
will be available for licensing to the other ARM semiconductor partners,
which include VLSI Technology Inc, GEC Plessey Semiconductors Ltd, Sharp
Corp, Samsung Electronics Co, Cirrus Logic Inc and Texas Instruments
Inc.”
8.7
As you can imagine, everyone at Acorn is very excited by this new
partnership. A tiny player (in world terms) has licensed its technology
to a major world chip manufacturer and these new chips are being
designed and built by the most advanced silicon fabrication facility in
the world. DEC’s plant uses 0.35µ fabrication (cf Acorn’s present 0.8µ
chips) and so it looks likely that we could be talking about 200MHz or
400MHz StrongARM chips being available in 1996.
8.7
I would guess that these new chips would have large primary caches,
probably using Harvard-style caching techniques. The cost of the chips
is unlikely to be significantly different from current ARM-chip prices
but to use them with the sort of RAM that you find in the Risc PC, you
would need a board with some high speed (10/15ns) RAM as a secondary
cache. This RAM is expensive and so a StrongARM processor card would
probably end up costing £200 or £300 − but I would pay that for a 200MHz
Risc PC, wouldn’t you?! Actually, there could be problems with some
applications, depending on how they are written, with the processor
being too fast and causing the application to lose track of itself!  A
8.7
Bitfolio Graphics
8.7
Dave Wilcox
8.7
Bitfolio More Cartoon Graphics and the Christmas Collection are the
latest offerings from LOOKsystems with original work by Management
Graphics Ltd, consisting as the titles suggest of more cartoon type
drawings, covering general and Christmas themes, all having been
converted from the PC environment. The original package, called ‘Cartoon
Graphics’, was reviewed in the Archive 7.7 p7.
8.7
The package
8.7
Each package consists of three discs presented in a plastic foldover
case. Disc one of each set contains !Sparkplug, the PD read-only version
of the archiver by David Pilling, all three discs contain one ‘sparked’
archive directory containing assorted pictures. When decompressed, these
archived files in both packages expand to give you 100 drawfiles, and a
total of some 4Mb of data per set.
8.7
The drawings
8.7
The More Cartoons collection of drawings are based on office, sports and
pastimes, pets, transport and food − very much a continuation of the
first set as the name would suggest. The Christmas selection covers the
usual food, holly, bells and ribbons type pictures, frames and borders,
reindeer and penguins in various winter sport scenes, an assortment of
party scenes and a group of different Santa Claus characters. All of the
drawings are fully coloured and are in draw format, not scanned sprites.
The quality is therefore very good, with all of the drawings without
exception sharing the same high standard.
8.7
Some examples showing the quality and clarity can be seen below.
8.7
Conclusion
8.7
My only minor complaint with the previous package was that some of the
pictures, when loaded, were zoomed 4:1, but all the pictures in these
two packages are in a 1:1 zoom and usually fit full screen, with a
couple of exceptions. I would have liked to see a few more nativity type
pictures on the Christmas collection, but perhaps that may come on a
later release. As I stated before, for clipart of this standard, I think
you receive good value for money. If you have a need for good quality
cartoon-type drawings, these packages are for you.
8.7
These two collections are available direct from LOOKsystems for £20
inclusive or through Archive for the same price.  A
8.7
PD Column
8.7
David Holden
8.7
Recent correspondence reveals to me that many readers are unsure of the
meaning of the terms Public Domain and Shareware. In fact, it appears
that some seem to be unaware that they are completely different things.
When I first began writing this (often irregular) column, one of the
first things I did was explain these and associated terms. I was
surprised to discover that this was over three years ago, and as there
are now many readers who will not have seen that article, I don’t think
it will hurt to deal with it again.
8.7
There are many names used to define the various categories of software
that fall within this remit. The most important are:
8.7
  Public Domain
8.7
  Freeware
8.7
  Shareware
8.7
  Demos
8.7
  Crippleware
8.7
  Careware
8.7
  Licenseware
8.7
These are not in any particular order and there are others but these are
the most important and the most common.
8.7
Public Domain
8.7
The term ‘PD’ is often mistakenly used as a catch-all phrase to describe
any software which can be freely copied, but this is not its correct
meaning. The term originates in USA, where it has a specific legal
meaning. Americans believe that computer software written by a
government department or institution, and therefore paid for from the
public purse, is the property of the people and, unless national
security or similar considerations are paramount, is therefore in the
public domain. Scientific programs frequently originate in colleges and
universities, and as these are publicly funded institutions, such
programs can often be freely used by anyone, and are often ported to
other platforms. The widely used Kermit and Spice are examples of this
type.
8.7
In the UK, the term Public Domain, as it relates to computer software,
has no precise legal definition. Most of what is loosely described as PD
is actually Freeware. There is very little true PD, although the
distinction is unimportant for most purposes. Because there is no legal
definition of the term, it can mean whatever the user wants it to mean.
The most commonly accepted definition is a program to which the author
has given up all rights. Once this has been done, it is truly in the
public domain and can be used, distributed, altered, or even sold, by
anyone.
8.7
To achieve this, the author must state ‘This program is Public Domain’
and nothing more. There can be no conditions. If there are any at all,
even something as banal as saying that the author’s name must not be
removed, then such a statement reinforces the author’s copyright. This
is, in fact, perfectly logical, for if a program is truly Public Domain,
no-one has any rights over it, including the author.
8.7
Freeware
8.7
This means a program which the author permits to be freely used and
copied, but to which he/she retains copyright. There may be conditions
attached, often requiring that the author’s name is not removed, that
no-one must claim any part of it for their own and that it must not be
sold. Where such conditions exist, they constitute a licence and,
provided you respect the conditions, you are licensed to use the program
without any payment. On this definition, almost all so-called PD
actually falls into this category.
8.7
Shareware
8.7
This is another often misunderstood term. Most PC users will know
exactly what Shareware is, but many Archimedes owners don’t. At least, I
will be charitable and assume that they are ignorant because the
alternative is that they are deliberately using stolen software.
8.7
Shareware is not a type of software, it is a way of distributing and
marketing commercial programs. By its nature, all Shareware is
copyright, commercial software. Shareware is just a try-before-you-buy
marketing method. The idea is that you can acquire a copy of a program
at nominal cost from a library, try it at your leisure on your own
computer and, if it does what you want and you are satisfied with it,
you send a registration fee to the author. Until you have sent this fee,
you have not paid for the software, only a distribution fee to the
library. Quite often, registration will get you an improved version, one
with certain restrictions removed, or various other advantages, but the
most important thing is that you will then have the right to use the
program. Until you register, you only have the right to try the program
to see if it is suitable. Often there is a time limit upon this,
normally 30 days, although there may be other restrictions as well.
8.7
Using a Shareware program outside this period, or using it other than
for evaluation purposes, is software piracy, and the penalties are
exactly the same as those for any other software theft. Although legally
the same, it is, in my view, morally worse than copying conventional
commercial software. Although there are many large companies who
distribute their wares as Shareware, by far the majority are private
individuals. By not sending a registration fee, you are not ‘merely’
failing to pay a large company a few pounds, but directly depriving an
individual of payment for his labours. Not only that, but this
individual has done something that the conventional software
distributors have not done − he has given you his trust.
8.7
With ‘conventional’ software, there is no trust on the part of the
supplier. In fact, the trust is all the other way. You pay your money
and ‘trust’ that the program actually works. Anyone who has then found a
program unsuitable or that doesn’t operate ‘as advertised’ will know how
difficult it can be to get this money refunded. With Shareware, the
author has given you a working copy of the program and then trusted you
to pay if you find it suitable. I believe that failure to honour this
trust is unforgivable.
8.7
There is a tendency to make the excuse that you ‘hardly ever use it’ or
that you ‘forgot’ to register. I would ask anyone who has ever made use
of a Shareware program not to fool themselves. There is only one honest
answer to the question whether you should register. Quite simply, if you
use a program, you should pay for it. We have all purchased software at
one time or another and then regretted it later, but I don’t think I
have ever heard someone say that they regretted paying the registration
fee for a Shareware package.
8.7
Demo and Crippleware
8.7
These two categories are very similar. Both are demonstration versions
of commercial software. (There is another type of Demo where the word is
used to mean an animated graphics display, normally noisy and extremely
gaudy and often accompanied by an ungrammatical and badly spelt
scrolltext, but I shall ignore that definition for the purposes of this
article.)
8.7
There is a certain amount of overlap between Crippleware and Shareware.
The difference is that Shareware is (with minor restrictions) fully
functional and comes with comprehensive documentation. Crippleware has
one or more important functions disabled (hence the name) and may have
very brief or no instructions. Despite the fact that it often
masquerades as Shareware, this separates it from the real thing.
8.7
Demos are cut down versions of commercial software with important
functions missing. For example, a wordprocessor or spreadsheet may not
Print or Save. Games may have only one or two levels instead of the many
with the full version.
8.7
This is a good method of ‘previewing’ a program before you part with
your cash. Enlightened companies such as Colton Software and Clare’s
have always produced demo versions of their programs and allowed them to
be distributed by the cheapest possible means, that is, the PD
libraries.
8.7
If you are considering buying any expensive program, I would urge you
first to look for, and try, the ones that have demo discs. You are far
less likely to be disappointed. If you can’t get a demo from a PD
library, don’t be prepared to pay more than the cost of a disc and
postage, although owing to the high overheads of many companies, this
could be round about £5.
8.7
Sometimes, you may be asked as much as £15 for a crippled, demo,
version. Think very hard before you pay this, even if you are told that
it will be refunded when(!) you purchase the full program. Ask why you
are expected to commit yourself to this expenditure merely to try the
software. Remember that demo programs are really just a sophisticated
form of advertising. If you were buying a new car would you have
confidence in a dealer who wanted to charge you a couple of hundred
pounds for a test drive?
8.7
Careware
8.7
This is a ‘catch all’ term now used to mean almost any software where a
large proportion of the proceeds are donated to charity or other worthy
cause. An example is the Archive Careware discs (now only distributed by
APDL − thanks, Dave! Ed.), most of which contain material obtainable
from any PD library, but where £4 of the £5 price goes to charity.
Sometimes, it is a variation on the Shareware theme where the
registration fee is sent to a charity instead of to the author, or the
author may donate part or all of the fee.
8.7
Licenseware
8.7
This is not really part of the PD/Shareware scene, except that such
programs are frequently sold through PD libraries because of their low
overheads. Licenseware is low cost commercial software, minus the fancy
packaging and advertising which makes up a large part of the cost of
most programs. A proportion of the price paid to the library is then
passed on to the author.
8.7
Special Offer
8.7
As I haven’t discussed any particular programs this month, I shall
repeat last month’s special disc. This contained the latest version of
the Zap text editor, TemplEd, BLib and some others. This was very
popular, and past experience shows that many readers complain later that
they ‘forgot’ to send for a copy, so here is your last chance to get
these essential programs at a bargain price. Just send £1 or four first
class stamps to the APDL address and please ask either for 1.6Mb or
800Kb discs.  A
8.7
CD-ROM Column
8.7
Andrew Flowerdew
8.7
Welcome to the CD-ROM column. I hope that this column will become an
important part of Archive as I am sure that CD-ROM technology will be
increasingly important for all Acorn users as time goes on.
8.7
When I offered to help with the CD-ROM column the first thing Paul asked
was about my experience with the technology. Well, I run the IT
Department at Dulwich College Preparatory School, Cranbrook, which has
over 500 pupils in three different parts of the school. We use a wide
range of Acorn computers, from ageing A310s to brand new Risc Pcs many
of which have access to CD-ROMs across our network. I like to think that
we are moving steadily towards a system of what I call ‘Martini
Multimedia’ (anytime, any place, anywhere), where pupils and staff have
access to powerful multimedia software wherever and whenever they want
it. Several members of the staff have offered to lend a hand with the
background work needed for this column and, along with one or two other
Archive members who have also offered their assistance to Paul, we hope
that we will be able to cater for the needs of schools and the
individual user.
8.7
I’m not really sure what format you would like this column to take but,
to get the ball rolling, I thought I would try to include the following
features:
8.7
− a general introduction to CD-ROM technology
8.7
− a section about new developments
8.7
− a section on the technology involved, including reviews of CD-ROM
drives
8.7
− a section about CD-ROM discs
8.7
− a section answering readers’ questions
8.7
New developments
8.7
There are several hot new developments on the CD-ROM networking front.
Acorn, Cumana, Eesox and Digital Services are all touting CD-ROM serving
solutions and they all look potentially very good. I recently had
Digital Services over to talk about supplying the IT requirements for a
new teaching block and while they were here, they demonstrated an early
beta version of their CD Server.
8.7
I will not go into the technical details of CD Server now, as it is
still unfinished, however it was very impressive. (Sad to say, it may
never be finished as Digital Services have recently gone into
receivership. Ed.) We run a mixture of networks at DCPS and the chaps
from Digital showed me five machines running the same !Replay file from
a single CD-ROM without any problem at all on our computer room Ethernet
segment. Even more importantly for me, the CD server also worked down
our fibre link to our Lower School, through a gateway machine and across
the Lower School Econet. This is important where schools may be
extending their networks gradually and may still have segments of Econet
lying around. True, you can’t run !Replay over the Econet but there are
plenty of CD-ROMs which can, including CD-ROMs with collections of
clipart.
8.7
Digital’s CD-ROM Server was not available then and so I have been using
Net CDFast from Eesox which allows you to set up a cache on your server
machine so that any frequently asked for files do not have to be
constantly read from the CD-ROM over and over again. With NetCDFast
speeding up the CD, and Acorn’s Application Accelerator sending the data
down my Ethernet, I manage to get acceptable speeds for most of my CD-
ROM applications. I have not done any tests yet but I will try to during
the last week of term in order to give you some idea of how efficient it
is.
8.7
More recently, I have been testing Acorn’s forthcoming Access CD Server
which is very easy to set up, works very quickly across the net and is
very stable. I aim to do some comparative tests of the Acorn and Eesox
systems for the next column.
8.7
CD-ROM drives
8.7
I use two Toshiba drives, the 4401 and the 3401, with the driver
software from Morley. The 4401 has a motorised tray and does not need a
caddy, while the 3401 is faster but uses a caddy system. Both work
faultlessly with a combination of CDFS 2.21, the Morley driver and Net
CDFast (and now Acorn Access CDS). I mention the combination of software
because, in the past, some software did not always work with
combinations of other software.
8.7
CD-ROM of the month (possibly the year!) − Exploring Nature CD-ROM
8.7
The interactive CD-ROM which has really pointed the way for others to
follow must be “Exploring Nature”. It allows pupils to explore many
different types of habitat and learn about the methods which can be used
to study those habitats.
8.7
The application is very easy to use, even for the complete novice and
younger user. It allows you to move around a series of pictures showing
different habitats and you can search for things to study by moving the
mouse pointer around the scene. When the mouse pointer changes shape you
click <select> and another, close up, picture pops up, showing a
particular feature of the habitat.
8.7
You can make several different measurements within a habitat using the
Toolbox which pops up when you press <menu>. All the main tools which I
use when doing nature study in science lessons are there − thermometer,
pH meter, sunshine meter, rain gauge, compass, etc.
8.7
The graphics are stunning, the content is superb and the use of the
mouse to move around and access various tools is excellent. Even better,
you can copy the application across to a hard disc and run it from a
faster device − I have a copy on my Risc PC at home so that I can plan
my lessons. My only gripe is the cost − at one hundred and twenty-five
pounds, it is a very expensive buy for most schools and individuals.
However, when it can be served across a network, its cost per computer
comes down to a more reasonable figure.
8.7
(Good news! Exploring Nature CD-ROM is available through Archive for
£88! No, we haven’t worked a discount − they have brought the price
down! Ed)
8.7
Readers’ questions
8.7
Obviously there aren’t any this month so I’d like to pose a question for
you. What do you want from this column? Send your replies to me, Andrew
Flowerdew, CD-ROM Column, c/o DCPS, Cranbrook, Kent TN17 3NP or via e-
mail on abf@dcpscran. demon.co.uk.
8.7
Anyway, that’s all for this month. Next month, I’ll have a longer look
at the anatomy of a CD-ROM drive and another CD-ROM to watch out for.
8.7
PS. This first column was drafted some time ago but I found myself with
several large projects. Worse, I had made contact with several people
who had offered to help with the column and had recorded their names and
phone numbers on a small electronic organiser. Disaster struck and I
lost the organiser along with all the names and addresses. So if you
offered help, please write to me via snail mail or e-mail. And the moral
of the story is...  either use a paper diary along with your tiny
organiser or buy a Pocketbook II and back up your data.  A
8.7
Spreadsheet Column
8.7
Chris Johnson
8.7
Eureka
8.7
I’ve had a few letters and e-mail comments with feedback about Eureka,
but not as many as I thought. Does this mean that users are not
upgrading, or that they have no comments? Some comments still repeat
familiar themes. Print preview (or lack of it) raises hackles. I had a
brief note from Richard Readings, who wrote an article about Eureka in
Archive 8.5. He reminds me about the existence of the PD application
RiScript, which is a PostScript viewer. To make use of this utility, it
is necessary to print a PostScript file to disc, and then preview it
using RiScript. It works but it shouldn’t need to be that difficult to
find where page breaks come.
8.7
Two of the other recurrent themes are lack of speed and lack of
‘standard’ RISC OS behaviour, e.g. the way the adjust mouse button
operates (or doesn’t). Eureka does seem slow compared to other RISC OS
applications. I have found that redraw becomes very slow when using lots
of cell borders to improve the presentation aspects. It would be useful
if cell borders (as opposed to the grid lines) could be toggled on and
off, so that, for general use, the redraw was speeded up, but they could
be switched back on for printing.
8.7
File import and export using foreign formats such as Excel and Lotus 123
appear to work reasonably well, although tinkering with the files is
sometimes needed. For example, import and export of Lotus 123 files
works well. One correspondent found that exporting the data as an Excel
file and then importing it into Lotus for Windows version 5, resulted in
the colour assignments being changed. Not too important you might think,
but black text on a black background is not too user-friendly! Is it
asking too much to expect that three different applications would agree
the exact file format? The same correspondent would like to be able to
justify text across more than one column. Excel and 123 can do this, as
can Resultz and Schema, but not Eureka.
8.7
One of the postgraduate students in my own department has been
converting all his three years’ accumulation of Eureka sheets to Excel
because he has bought himself a PC for use at home. (He did not think an
Acorn system would be much use once he graduated − the usual problem of
industry standards − I try to brainwash the students but without a lot
of success.) He has had little trouble in general, but ran into some
problems with sheets that had macros attached. Excel seems to spit out
some of the Eureka macro constructs, and some minor changes were
required before the transfer was completely successful.
8.7
While I was playing with a few PC files, I found one which was a simple
TAB-separated file. I could find no way of persuading Eureka to import
it. This seems remarkable, since TSV files still seem to be widely used
in the PC world, particularly by database type applications. The only
solution I found was to load the file into Deskedit, replace the TABs
with commas, change the file type to CSV and then load it into Eureka.
8.7
On the other hand, I used Eureka as an intermediate file manipulator,
when converting some Beebug Masterfile files to incorporate the data
into an existing Datapower file of rather different format. It was the
first time I had used Eureka as a string manipulator, and I was quite
impressed. On previous occasions, when faced with similar conversions, I
have resorted to a bit of Basic programming.
8.7
After enthusing about OLE, it appears that this does not work with
TechWriter, which also supports OLE. Do we have multi-standards for OLE
now?
8.7
Eureka does not appear to be WYSIWYG all the time. David Wight reports
that one of his spreadsheets had characters in a column cropped on
printing, although they were all displayed on the screen. This happened
to me on one occasion, so it is not an isolated occurrence. I dug out a
copy of my own sheet, one of last year’s laboratory classes, and tried
it with Eureka 3. Sure enough, the cropping still occurred.
8.7
It’s not simply minor rounding errors between screen and printer. On
screen, there are definitely a couple of pixels between the end of the
text and the cell border but, on printing, almost the whole of the last
character (an upper case one at that) is truncated. Casting my mind back
to the early stages of this column, around the time Eureka 2 was
released, Paul passing me a note on this same topic from something one
of his customers had written. At the time, I had never observed the
phenomenon and could not make any sensible comment.
8.7
The odd thing about my sheet was that it was all right when first set
up. Since it was in use daily for about twelve weeks, and was printed
only occasionally, it was difficult to be sure when the problem arose.
However, I think it might have occurred after I had made some changes to
the normal style in the sheet. I would be very interested to hear of any
similar occurrences, since this would appear to be a bug that has
persisted through quite a bit of development.
8.7
How to contact me
8.7
My postal address is Chris Johnson, 7, Lovedale Grove, Balerno,
Edinburgh, EH14 7DR; I can also be contacted by e-mail as
[e-mail].
8.7
I am happy to receive anything in connection with spreadsheets, hints or
tips, macros, problems, solutions to problems or just requests for help.
What would be of interest are examples of unusual uses of
spreadsheets.  A
8.7
MouseTrap
8.7
Richard Rymarz
8.7
MouseTrap is described by its authors, Design Concept, as “a mouse
filter for twitchy fingers”. It comes on one disc containing the program
!Mouse Trap, !Sysmerge and a !System folder.
8.7
MouseTrap has already been reviewed by Dave Walsh (Archive 7.10 p66) but
Design Concept wanted a second opinion on the latest version.
8.7
Aims
8.7
MouseTrap is designed to give the user complete control over the use of
mouse/trackerball or any other input device that may be connected to the
Acorn range. It is primarily aimed at schools where children have
difficulty pressing the correct button on the mouse, or who have trouble
holding down a button while dragging a window or application across the
screen. It also provides for left-handed users by switching the <select>
and <adjust> keys.
8.7
Installation
8.7
Clicking on !MouseTrap results in an appropriate icon appearing on the
right hand side of the icon bar. Clicking <select> opens a simple window
that is easy to understand. All options are simple to effect. There is
even an opportunity to switch off all the mouse buttons. However, the
mouse pointer is still effective within the MouseTrap window − no
possibility of disabling the machine. There is also the option of
holding down the Alt key which temporarily makes the buttons behave
normally.
8.7
Latching
8.7
A final feature for the non-technical user is the latching option. When
switched on, any <select> or <adjust> operation is picked up by
MouseTrap and continues that operation for the user. A beep from the
computer indicates when the latching begins − another beep indicates
when it has ended. The beep is useful (and answers one of Dave Walsh’s
suggestions) although the time delay is still not user-definable
(another of Dave’s points). However, in use, the latter is not a major
problem.
8.7
In use
8.7
MouseTrap works. I’ve introduced it into my school and the children
don’t even realise that it is running. Young children particularly
benefit, as do harassed teachers, since disabling some mouse operations
can stop the endless number of menus that often confuse. Many of the
programs that children use now are icon driven and require less use of
<menu> or <adjust> buttons. Latching is also very convenient, allowing
novice, poorly coordinated and less confident users time to learn normal
mouse operations.
8.7
Conclusions
8.7
There is a place for this utility in all schools not only for its
targeted audience, but beyond − I have even used it with my elderly in-
laws who had never touched a computer before and enjoyed playing the
game of patience included on the Acorn Apps disc. It is not necessary
for most children who quickly pick up how to use the mouse.
8.7
The manual is short, well written and easy to understand and, for the
more technical, there is the option to install a relocatable module
which automatically loads MouseTrap. This is fully configurable.
8.7
The program is robust and always allowed me to control normal desktop
operations. However, it does take up 128Kb and quitting stops all
trapping operations. This may result in memory problems on 1 or 2Mb
machines. (In other words, memory cannot be reclaimed by quitting the
application as, for instance, can be done with !Printers.)
8.7
MouseTrap works on any RISC OS computer, including the Risc PC, on which
this review was written. It costs £10 inclusive (+£2 p&p) from Design
Concept.
8.7
Recommended, but teachers should think carefully about its use as a
substitute for employing the full functions of the mouse. Finally,
perhaps further versions could include a latching time delay which can
be user-defined and memory that can be reclaimed.  A
8.7
Gerald’s Column
8.7
Gerald Fitton
8.7
I suppose the biggest news on the Fireworkz front at the moment is that
Fireworkz Pro is now available, so that must be my major topic for this
month. Before tackling Fireworkz Pro, I must cover the single topic from
my bulky correspondence which has overshadowed all others.
8.7
Acorn’s standards
8.7
I was going to head this section ‘dongles, etc’ but it occurred to me
that if I did so, many of you would either skip this section or even
skip ‘Gerald’s Column’ altogether − as if you would!
8.7
I’ve had a few more positive letters referring to use of dongles and
other non-standard hardware (e.g. the printer lead which comes with
Turbo Drivers) as simple cost-effective methods of keeping piracy at bay
and hence reducing the cost to genuine purchasers. Usually, these people
make a point of the fact that they’ve had no problems (and I believe
them). I’ve had even more letters (some at second hand sent to other
Archive authors) who complain at length and in detail, particularly
about dongles. The quantity of mail on this subject has overwhelmed my
‘system’, so let me apologise if I haven’t sent you a reply yet. (Let me
add that all who sent me a stamp have had a reply!)
8.7
Now that you’ve had your say, here is a summary of my advice to you;
let’s see if we can make it the last words on this topic. It concerns
standard and non-standard hardware and software rather than anything
specific like dongles.
8.7
Many pieces of hardware and software on the Acorn market follow Acorn’s
guidelines either completely or closely. If you buy just those items,
you’ll find that, as you gradually develop your system by making new
purchases or upgrading ‘old’ hardware and software, everything continues
to ‘work’ nearly all the time. Even when they don’t work, the problems
are usually sorted out promptly and with a minimum of fuss. An example
of such a problem with Fireworkz on the Risc PC arose when Acorn
upgraded its sprite specification to include 24-bit sprites. This was
sorted out quickly by Colton Software issuing a new TaskX module for
Risc PC users. Fireworkz Pro checks what version of the Operating System
you have and loads the appropriate TaskX module automatically.
8.7
On the other hand, if you buy something which is non-standard and there
is a general upgrade, (a) you may find that the non-standard item you’ve
purchased still works and works well but (b) some other piece of
(standard) software or hardware ceases to function (or worse, generates
an intermittent fault)! An example is that Turbo Drivers have caused
many crashes in both Fireworkz and PipeDream (but Style and Artisan work
perfectly). When that happens, you will find that the supplier of the
item built according to Acorn’s standard (e.g. Fireworkz) will be
mystified. Sometimes they’ll blame Acorn but generally it will be only
after some time has elapsed that the real culprit (and a solution) is
found.
8.7
Hence my advice is to look at the benefits you will gain from using a
non-standard item and decide whether these benefits outweigh the future
problems which may be created. On this basis, I have rejected Turbo
Drivers but accepted Style which I believe is the definitive desktop
publisher and which I prefer to Ovation. I have Publisher as well as
Style but, only because of the dongle, I have relegated it to my A440
(RISC OS 2) machine. I use Publisher occasionally when I have need of a
feature (e.g. guide frames) which it has and which Style doesn’t have.
8.7
Before you write to me saying that Style doesn’t use a dongle and ask
“What are you talking about when you imply that there is something non-
standard about Style?”, let me ask you to look in your !System
directory. There you will find that Computer Concepts have inserted
their own !CCShared directory. The recommended method of including any
modules specific to an application, utility or package is to place those
modules within the specific application directory (e.g. in !Style) and
not in !System. I do not know what potential problems this creates but
I’ll bet we haven’t heard the last of the unwanted effects of
!CCShared’s contents! However, Style is so good that I’ve decided to
take the risk and hope that I won’t regret it.
8.7
Fireworkz Pro
8.7
The version of Fireworkz Pro which I have is 1.20. Fireworkz is still at
version 1.07 and an upgrade to this version is not yet available.
8.7
The press release from Colton Software gives the price as £149 +VAT but,
if you don’t have any of Colton Software’s products and want
Fireworkz Pro, you will find it is available at a lower price from NCS
(£165). If you have Fireworkz and want to upgrade to Fireworkz Pro then
you can do so for £49 but only directly from Colton Software. If you
only have Wordz, the upgrade is £89; from Resultz it is £69; from
PipeDream 4 it is £99; and from PipeDream 3, £124. To these prices you
must add VAT and £5 postage. Further details about these products are
available from Colton Software on telephone number 01223-311881 or on
fax number 01223-312010.
8.7
Recordz is available as a stand-alone database for £99 + VAT, but
cheaper from NCS (£110). Recordz and Fireworkz Pro use a database
‘engine’ called DataPower. DataPower was given a mini review by Simon
Coulthurst in Archive 8.6 p45. In that article, you’ll find that
DataPower is compared favourably with other databases. I don’t wish to
repeat details given in that article so I’ll skip that by quoting one
line: “My final choice is DataPower”. My ‘final choice’ would be Recordz
(or Fireworkz Pro) because it has practically all the functionality of
DataPower but without the software protection method about which Simon
comments unfavourably.
8.7
What I shall concentrate on in this article is the way in which
Fireworkz Pro integrates features from the DataPower database engine
into the Fireworkz suite. Using two sets of examples, I’ll try to show
you how these database features integrate with Wordz, Resultz and
Fireworkz (non-Pro).
8.7
When do you use a database?
8.7
As an over-simplified general rule, most of the things which you want to
do with a database you can do with a spreadsheet such as Resultz! If you
use a spreadsheet as a database, the usual way of doing so is to use one
row per record and one column per field. In the screenshot below, you
will see a four-line database in what I shall call Resultz format. It is
part of the file Ex1.Addr2F from this month’s Archive disc. The first
row contains the column (field) headings. I have a total of 21 columns
which run from column a to column u. The rows 2, 3 and 4 are space for
three separate records. I have completed only the fourth record. You can
add similar records into the second and third rows or add records after
my fourth one.
8.7
When you have your records in Resultz format, you can sort them by any
field (column). In the same document or, more often, in a dependent
document, you can select fields from any record. A typical application
might be to pull from your database, the address to which you want to
send a letter when you are given only a name. To do this, you use the
lookup(,,) function of Recordz.
8.7
So when do you use a database rather than a spreadsheet? The over-
simplified version of my rule book (the beginner’s version) contains “If
you have only a few fields per record and what is important to you is
that you want to scan the same field in many records (i.e. compare
fields), you should use the spreadsheet format.” In this context, by
spreadsheet format, I mean the Resultz spreadsheet format and not the
Recordz spreadsheet format. The second part of this rule reads “If you
have many fields for each record and what is important to you is that
you are able to look at and compare many fields of the same record, you
need a database card format.”
8.7
Let me give an example where a card layout is more easily read than a
sheet layout. The first is a set of student records. You might wish to
look at all the fields for a single student to see how their work,
attendance, etc, compares from subject to subject. If you wanted to
compare one student with another, but only for one subject, the sheet
layout would be easier to read.
8.7
To summarise: Recordz database facilities will be most useful to you if
you have many fields (rather than few) and if you want to see all (or
most) fields, but for only one record (or a few) at a time. If you have
few fields and want to compare one record with another, you should
consider the Resultz format (which is the same as the spreadsheet of the
non-Pro version of Fireworkz).
8.7
File conversion
8.7
Let’s start with an obvious one which may be of use to only a few of
you. If you have the DataPower database, you can transfer files between
DataPower and Fireworkz Pro or Recordz.
8.7
Many more of you will have databases in either PipeDream or Resultz
format. If you have Resultz, what you might expect is that data held in
Resultz format would be automatically accepted by Recordz. This is not
so; you need to go through the intermediate stage of using the CSV
format.
8.7
In the following paragraph, I refer to files in the Ex1 directory of the
Archive monthly disc. Even if you do not have that disc, you should be
able to follow the descriptions of the package given in this article.
8.7
The method of transferring files to Recordz (or to the database of
Fireworkz Pro) is to load the PipeDream (e.g. Addr1P) or the Resultz
(e.g. Addr2F) format file into PipeDream or Resultz and then save the
file in CSV format. The CSV format file Addr3C has been created in this
way. Drag the CSV file to the Pro icon on the iconbar and select the
db_sheet template (see the screenshot overleaf).
8.7
If you do this with a copy of the CSV format file Addr3C, (don’t use the
original and don’t try to do it by loading the file from your Archive
disc) you will find that a database format file called Addr3C_f_d will
be saved automatically to the same directory as that from which you
loaded the CSV file. The screen will display a Recordz format file
called Addr3C_f. You don’t need Addr3C_f, so discard it!
8.7
What I did next was to rename the Addr3C_f_d database file as AddrD;
you’ll find it in the same directory as the CSV file. Then I dragged
AddrD to the Pro icon and selected the template db_sheet. I changed the
name of the displayed file to AddrPro_S and saved it.
8.7
The combination of the two files AddrD and AddrPro_S is the Recordz
format sheet combination which replaces the Resultz format sheet file
Addr2F. The Recordz format might look similar to the Resultz format but
if you look at the two files side by side, you’ll see that the button
bars are quite different. For example, there is no formula line in the
Recordz format display.
8.7
The sheet layout
8.7
Click <menu> on the displayed AddrPro_S document and select the
Database – Layout menu. Within the Layout menu, you’ll find a Rows Auto
radio button. Deselect it and change the number of Rows to 1. When you
click on the OK box, you’ll find that the screen display changes to a
single line. You can move through the database using the left and right
arrows of the database button bar. Of course, you can display as many or
as few rows as you wish by using the Database – Layout menu.
8.7
The card layout
8.7
You can use the Layout menu to change the display to a card layout. I
suggest that you investigate what happens when you change the number of
rows and columns for the layout.
8.7
Starting from AddrPro_S, I changed the layout to a single card layout
and then saved the displayed file as AddrPro_C1. The file AddrPro_4C is
a four-card version. Both of these card displays will look different
from the one which you have created. This is because I have moved the
fields and field names around on the card so that I can see more at
once. You move fields and field names by double clicking on the field
and then dragging it as you would an object in a drawfile. I find the
tools available for doing this a bit rudimentary compared with tools
available in DrawPlus. Before you ask me, I can’t find a way of using
DrawPlus to create card layouts.
8.7

8.7
Recordz cards into Resultz format sheets
8.7
Load the file AddrSheet, and you’ll see that I have a single card
display in cell b3. Unless something has gone wrong, you should find
that the cell b3 is selected. Perhaps the best way of thinking about
this combination is to think of AddrSheet as a conventional Resultz
sheet but with the Recordz database file AddrD loaded into, and
contained within, a single cell (b3), of AddrSheet.
8.7
If you click on any cell except b3, you will find that the button bar is
what I shall call the Resultz button bar. Yes! I know it looks different
from the ‘old’ Resultz button bar but I expect that, when the next
version of Resultz (or Fireworkz non-Pro) comes out, the button bar will
be like that of Fireworkz Pro. If you click on cell b3, you’ll find that
the button bar changes to what I shall call a Recordz type with the
database buttons.
8.7
When you are ‘in’ a database cell, all the database functions can be
used. When you are in a Resultz cell, the database functions cannot be
used! I’ve tried inserting two different databases into different cells
of the same Resultz sheet with reasonable success.
8.7
What inevitably causes a complete crash is trying to change the Layout
(using the layout menu) of a database within a Resultz sheet. However,
you can change the position of fields and field names and then save the
new card.
8.7
I was disappointed to find that AddrSheet did not save the record number
which was being displayed at the time of saving. For me, that would be a
useful additional facility to include in the next version.
8.7
Recordz sheets into Resultz format sheets
8.7
The files to which I refer below are from the Ex2 directory of the
Archive disc.
8.7
The screenshot below shows a Resultz format database consisting of four
lines. The fourth line contains a single record. I have saved this
Resultz-type database as a CSV file and then dragged the CSV file into a
Fireworkz Pro db_sheet template. I reduced the db_sheet to one row and
saved the result as DiscsPro_S. I loaded this database file into a
Resultz-type sheet to create the file DiscsSheet.
8.7
In DiscsSheet, I have a single record displayed in row 3. In the same
way as the previous section, you might think of this combination as the
whole of the database file DiscsD loaded into, and contained within, the
block b3f3 of the DiscsSheet display.
8.7
It is the database file DiscsD which is loaded into DiscsSheet and not
the file DiscsPro_S. If you want only DiscsSheet (containing the
database), you can safely delete the file DiscsPro_S, but you must not
delete DiscsD.
8.7
You will find that, as in the previous section, when you are ‘in’ a
database cell, the button bar displays database buttons and when you’re
‘in’ a Resultz cell, the button bar shows Resultz type buttons.
8.7
I had hoped that somewhere else in DiscsSheet, such as in slot b6, I
could enter a slot reference to a database slot which would change
‘automatically’ to follow the changing field in the database. When I
tried this, all seemed to be well right up to and including saving the
file. However, when I reloaded the file DiscsSheet, it was always
corrupted. Have a go, and you’ll see what I mean. This is a ‘bug’ which
will be fixed in a later release of Recordz and Pro.
8.7
In a similar way to the previous section, the record number is not saved
by DiscsSheet. I would like to see the record number saved with
DiscsSheet.
8.7
Non-database features of Fireworkz Pro
8.7
In this section, I shall briefly describe changes from Fireworkz which
have nothing to do with the database. It seems likely to me that these
features will become part of the next version of Fireworkz (non-Pro).
8.7
There is a new button bar. The icons are smaller and the status line is
now in Homerton rather than System font. If you don’t have a multisync
monitor, you may find this change more difficult to read. I’ve had
correspondence to that effect. On the plus side, the smaller icons don’t
use up so much of the screen.
8.7
You can now edit within a cell rather than at the formula line. I find
this a mixed blessing because I sometimes lose Styles (and Effects)
applied to that cell and I have to reapply them. Cell types (i.e. text
or numbers including formulae) are recognised automatically.
8.7
Something so many of you have asked for is now included – negative
numbers in red. This is achieved by allowing you to specify two
different Styles for positive and negative numbers.
8.7
The dialogue boxes for Names have been extended to include a description
of the Name.
8.7
There are also features which will help file transfer from RISC OS to
Windows, such as an XLS (Excel) format loader.
8.7
Fireworkz Pro − Summary
8.7
Recordz is a database package which looks and works very much in the
same way as the DataPower database, recommended by Simon Coulthurst, but
without the software protection which he disliked and regarded as its
only major ‘fault’. Recordz is cheaper than DataPower and is my “best
choice” for a database.
8.7
Recordz integrates with Wordz and Resultz (and Fireworkz non-Pro) to
form Fireworkz Pro.
8.7
There are still a few ‘bugs’ in Recordz and Pro. Most of these seem to
me to be related to the integration of Recordz within Fireworkz. Even
now, you can hold databases in card or sheet format within a Resultz-
type sheet. Later, you will be able to make it ‘pull’ references from
the database into a Resultz-type sheet.
8.7
So far as use is concerned, I can see that the addition of Recordz
database facilities to Fireworkz (to make the integrated package
Fireworkz Pro) will be useful for those databases which contain too many
fields to fit into Resultz-type sheet layout. However, I would still
stick to the Resultz type of sheet for those databases of mine having
few enough fields to fit them across a screen.
8.7
I would very much welcome your views and experiences of Fireworkz Pro.
In the meantime, if you find any ‘bugs’ or differences from Fireworkz
which you consider a ‘downgrade’, please send an example on disc to
Colton Software direct and, if it’s not too much trouble, let me know
the response from Colton Software, and the outcome.
8.7
Finally
8.7
My address is that of Abacus Training, which you will find on the inside
back cover of Archive. I prefer letters on disc, together with a short
written note describing the nature of the contents; please do not try to
describe a problem or feature without an example file on disc, since it
is far too easy for me to misunderstand what you mean. All discs will be
returned, but it will happen more quickly if you include a self-
addressed label and (if you live in the UK) a stamp for return
postage.  A
8.7
Three Animation Programs
8.7
Christopher Jarman
8.7
This review looks at three animation programs: EMConvert from Uniqueway,
PrimeMover from Minerva and The Complete Animator from Iota Software.
8.7
EMConvert
8.7
I have been interested in making films since the day I bought an 8mm
movie camera in Aden, 40 years ago. Since then, it has been the
camcorder, and now my amateur enthusiasm turns to Acorn Replay and Ace
films.
8.7
Many readers will, by now, have seen demonstrated the rafts and the
underwater scenes of the Risc PC Acorn Replay demo. Coupled with the CD
quality sound, they are very impressive. I have longed to make one of my
own and to drop it into a multimedia program like Genesis to surprise
the viewers. Well, for £29 including VAT, you won’t achieve quite those
heights but you can certainly amuse yourself with a little animation!
8.7
An exciting start
8.7
According to my wife and most of my friends, I am well past my sell-by
date in most areas. Nevertheless, when I heard about !EMConvert and
ordered it, I became as excited as a teenager on his first date, waiting
for the post to arrive. I’m sure you recognise that feeling! Will the
goods be as “good” as the adverts claim? I had rung Paul Middleton of
Uniqueway to ask if it really was true that you could make a tiny
animated film with just this utility. Did I need an expensive card from
Computer Concepts or Wild Vision to work it? No. Did I need a special
camera? No. Did I need any other peripherals or programs? No. But
surely, I asked, I must need something else... No, just the ARPlayer
which is pre-installed on my Risc PC anyway. So no extra expense there.
8.7
When !EMConvert arrived, I loaded it in and had a look. There is the
usual Helpfile and a single sheet of green A4 paper for documentation.
To tell the truth, I was disappointed at this point, because I am the
kind of operator who needs a complete step-by-step, total Noddy
introduction to any new utility. Clever programmers never seem to
realise how strong this need is. I believe that many excellent utilities
still lie unused because the buyer cannot understand how to get it
started, and is too busy or frustrated, and finally too embarrassed, to
ask.
8.7
Just drop in some Artworks files?
8.7
Anyway, it seemed from what I read that one needed a stash of sprites to
feed into this thing before it could be seen to work. I am most at ease
with Artworks for making pictures, so I drew a background of a house and
moved one or two objects about in front of it, stopping to save the
images as drawfiles each time, until I had about twelve pictures. It
said that the film speed would be at a default setting of 12.5 frames/
sec, so I sussed that one second’s worth of film would not be long
enough. Therefore I went back and copied each drawfile to double the
number. It was easier than drawing more new ones.
8.7
This was my first mistake − EMConvert doesn’t accept drawfiles and will
only take sprites! Fortunately, Paul Mason’s PD utility !DrawGrab came
to my rescue. It converts drawfiles to sprites. Also, it is quite easy
to use the snapshot facility in !Paint to create sprites.
8.7
Just drop in the sprites?
8.7
Having achieved this, it was simple to drop the newly minted sprites
into !EMConvert but still no result. A closer reading of the helpfile at
this point revealed that it desired me to drop a directory full of
sprites into it and not the individual sprites. I cannot remember being
able to do this with any other program, so naturally it had not
instinctively occurred to me. This is another reason why better and
rather more ‘Keystage 1-type’ instructions are vital.
8.7
Drop in a directory of sprites!
8.7
When I finally dropped this directory full of sprites onto the icon,
things happened. I had only to select Convert in the dialogue box and
away it went. After a short time, an Acorn Replay icon popped up with
the name of my directory on it as the film title. This was saved, and
with some trepidation, I double-clicked on it to see if I had made a
tiny film. It was absolutely true − I had!
8.7
A film at last!
8.7
Admittedly, “Gone With The Wind” was longer, and Meryl Streep was not my
star, but it was definitely a tiny movie. It was perhaps best described
as TitchyScope but it was original and it was my own. I would have let
you all see it... but I accidentally deleted it!
8.7
!EMConvert is a superb product and surely one of the best value programs
of its kind on the market. My request to Uniqueway is for a better step-
by-step instruction manual with suggestions for ways to use various art
programs and camcorders and some handy tips.
8.7
Films galore
8.7
I have now made several small films of between four and six seconds in
duration, using digitiser grabbed shots from a camcorder, and using
images painted in Studio24, as well as Artworks. It is also quite easy
to combine all three methods. It is a long process making your
animations, because you need 50 or 60 sprites. My tips are (1) always
number them with three figure numbers starting with 001, otherwise,
after 9, you get into trouble with the order. Secondly, you can easily
stretch the number of sprites out by copying them once or twice − a
great time saver. In which case, you can then number the copies as 001a,
002a and so on.
8.7
Titles and endings lend themselves particularly well to animations. But
all these little films are very memory hungry. You probably need the
Risc PC to make use of this without becoming rather frustrated. You need
to think in terms of almost 2Mb per film. This means that it can be hard
to get one onto an HD disc but they do compress successfully in ArcFS.
8.7
I shall be getting out the plasticine tomorrow to make some of those
little people animations. And I am told that the advert on the telly for
the Post Office was done with the same technique using watercolour
paintings.
8.7
EMConvert is available from Uniqueway Ltd. and costs £25 +VAT.
8.7
PrimeMover
8.7
An entirely different approach to animation is taken with this package.
It comes with a nicely ring-bound 90-page manual. Having asked for a
manual, I now found I had one with a vengeance!
8.7
It is not too difficult to get this program up and running quite
smoothly, showing the demo animation provided on the screen. There is a
tutorial section from pages 19 to 35 in the manual which you are advised
to follow first. This is intended to help you dissect the Minerva
animation and to see the way in which it is made up.
8.7
Then the problems started
8.7
However, after that it is downhill all the way. Call me ‘cybernetically
challenged’ or call me just plain thick, but after a month I am no
nearer producing my own animation with this package than when I started.
Well, actually, I have managed to get one flickering sprite to crawl
painfully across another sprite in the background.
8.7
The manual states that ‘PrimeMover is a very easy-to-use and flexible
program’. In my view, it is not. It is extremely complicated. Not only
are there many new concepts introduced, such as animates and motions,
current time markers and current time indicators, time rulers etc, but
the choice of menu systems and windows is extensive and complex. On
phoning the company for some guidance, I found little response to my
request.
8.7
An intuitive package?
8.7
The package itself is far from being intuitive. I suppose a majority of
enthusiasts work out most new programs by trial and error. With
PrimeMover it may well be possible, but not by this reviewer. So, faced
with an incomprehensibly difficult and long-winded manual, and my
inability to make a film intuitively, I have had to put this program on
hold.
8.7
I must say that this state of affairs is not helped by the title and
design of the demo film which is called “Depressed”! The artistic
quality of the sprites is well below average, and the theme simply begs
for the whole thing to be shoved in a drawer for another day.
8.7
Surely, a demo film, from any sales psychological point of view, must
give an impression of hope, interest and fun? If Minerva want to both
inspire and instruct, they need urgently to re-make the demo and re-
write the manual. I have tried hard to be fair and have had all three
animation programs on my hard disc for well over six weeks now,
alternating between them, but I have found myself getting up in the
mornings and trying to avoid yet again taxing my brain with this
particular product. I don’t enjoy being so critical about work which
someone has clearly slaved at for many months. I am the first to admit
that I could not write any programs at all. But I am a user, and I want
more and more user-friendly programs and manuals before spending my
money.
8.7
PrimeMover, from Minerva Software, costs £69.95 inc VAT or £66 through
Archive.
8.7
Complete Animator
8.7
This program is utterly different in concept from both the previous
programs. It comes in a glamorous box with an instructional VHS video
and a thirty-page User Guide. I took advantage of Iota’s Christmas offer
which saved money but it meant that the user guide was still a draft
version. Iota were very responsive to some suggestions over the phone
about the guide and I have every hope that it will be even better soon.
8.7
The working arrangement is in the form of a small screen (which is re-
sizeable) with a toolbox on the left and controls along the bottom − not
too many tools, and extremely intuitive to anyone familiar with the
usual Acorn system. It is possible to draw anything you want directly
onto the screen and to select and fill colours just like a simple paint
program. However, I soon found that creating “stamps” of objects in
other programs, such as Paint or Artworks, was by far the easiest way of
getting good quality images to play with. The program is completely
Artworks-compatible by the way, a great advantage these days.
8.7
Getting started
8.7
It was quick to get started and, using the animations and sounds
provided, to get your first film up and running. The video was a help in
giving ideas and general familiarity with the controls. I have to admit
that I react badly to cartoons both in clipart and animations but,
nevertheless, by following the first five pages of the guide, it was
easy to use the little drawings provided.
8.7
Getting to grips with adding sound effects was hard at first, and the
guide was a little vague in this area. But once mastered, the sound
facility is so excellent that it transforms even small lengths of
animation. There are only a few sound samples given you but, because the
sound effects editor is so good, you can make an enormous number of
variations from them just by altering the pitch and time, etc. Creating
stereo accompaniments to follow the motion across the screen is
fascinating. It is also easy to drop your own Armadeus sound samples
into the system. You can either make them yourself with the Oak Recorder
or similar equipment, or use some of the many samples now available on
PDCDs.
8.7
Documentation
8.7
There is some real help in the video and the guide on the principles of
cartoon animation. The author, Stuart Payne, is clearly not just a
programmer but someone who is enthusiastic about animation generally.
This comes through strongly in the whole package. However, in my view,
the guide needs to give more explanation and guidance about the ways to
work the program and on the meanings of some of the technical terms
used, and to avoid assuming that the reader knows as much as the
programmer.
8.7
For example, there is a very useful facility for dropping a background
sprite in for the whole film − but it does not explain that this can
only be done after the film is completed! This is rather an important
omission which was impossible to find out without a phone call to Iota.
Also, I have still not puzzled out how to change the background paper
colour in the frame, although I have done it by accident several times.
Like a number of facilities in this program, they are described but not
explained − there is a difference.
8.7
A multi-faceted package
8.7
The number of features is high and they are very good ones. It is even
possible to print out your animations as flick-books! There are various
fade options to end films. Films can be saved in Iota format with sound
or Acorn Replay or as Ace films, if silent. In addition, if you possess
the Screen Saver called MellowOut (which was on the November ’94 Acorn
User cover disc) you can even drop your Iota films directly onto it and
Hey Presto!, you have made your own instant screen saver. I can
wholeheartedly recommend this program for making top quality animations
of your own, with good sound at a very reasonable cost. It will have a
particular appeal to artists, and I have already had an enormous amount
of fun with it. When the Guide is improved, with more detailed idiot-
proof instructions, it will be very hard to beat. The latest news is
that Oak Solutions are so interested in this product that they intend to
alter Genesis to accept the Iota sound films.
8.7
Overall
8.7
The Complete Animator is very good. It is easy to use with a clear
(improving) manual and a video. It accepts Acorn sprites, DrawFiles and
Artworks sprites and it has the immense benefit of including sound
effects with sound editing too. It is by far the best product of the
three that I tried.
8.7
The Complete Animator from Iota Software, costs £99 inclusive, or £95
through Archive.  A
8.7
A Mouse in Holland
8.7
Christopher Jarman
8.7
Imagine you are a small child on your own in Holland. You can safely
explore the countryside, a windmill, a canal in Amsterdam, go to an
artist’s studio and to an art gallery etc, etc. In the form of a mouse,
you seem to have the power to do all these things. In addition, each
time you touch an item around you, however small and apparently
insignificant, something weird and funny happens, usually accompanied by
very amusing sound effects.
8.7
4Mation’s newest interactive fiction program provides all these
experiences and more. It comes on three 800Kb discs and seems to contain
almost as much information and events as a CD might be expected to have.
It will run on any Acorn 32-bit computer with 2Mb of RAM. It is designed
to introduce users to Holland in a very informal way and intended to
appeal to all ages. It certainly appealed to this old reviewer and it
clearly appeals to children in schools because 4,000 copies were ordered
even before the program was released!
8.7
The program is the result of co-operation between Mike Matson and Hans
Rijnen, a Dutch designer. It installs simply, and you are told when to
change discs during the story, as necessary. It will install easily onto
a hard disc which is, of course, more convenient. I like the fact that
it is possible to select whatever font you wish from your own font
store. This is important, as there are 3000 words of text to read. Many
schools have strong views about which forms of the alphabet they wish
their pupils to use, so this is a useful facility. However, I do not
wish to give the impression that this program is all about ploughing
through text − quite the reverse in fact. The text is there and is
appropriate and comes in short bursts. It would be quite possible to
enjoy the program entirely as a non-reader. However, I suspect that
children would be strongly motivated to read the text because of the
amusing things happening in the frames!
8.7
The first thing that strikes you as you load up is the super music,
arranged by Pete Saunders, which is a medley of two traditional Dutch
tunes. It has a real Dutch sound and reminds you of the old hurdy
gurdies which used to play in the streets of Amsterdam.
8.7
As well as simply exploring the country in your own time, there is a
challenge to find five moles, five fruits and ten round Dutch cheeses
hidden in the various frames. It is possible to save the program at the
stage you have reached, so you can come back and find the rest another
time.
8.7
I found the surprises such as birds appearing suddenly, a canal emptying
down the plughole and so on, very imaginative and always unexpected. It
would spoil it to mention too many of them! I think that the adult’s
reference book which comes with it is also a very good idea. Teachers
cannot always spend the time to master a new program and yet they do
need to know what it is about and what it contains. This quick reference
booklet should prove invaluable and ought to become a standard item with
all educational applications.
8.7
A Mouse in Holland is priced at £29.50 +VAT (or £33 through Archive)
with an enhanced version with twice the resolution for an extra £4.99
upgrade price. I ran the standard version on a Risc PC and was quite
happy with it. Whether this sort of excellent program is good value for
money is something which schools will have to decide for themselves. As
a printed book, it would probably cost around £8−£10, so you have to
decide whether the interactive effects and animations are three times
better than a book. Perhaps a school would have to buy four or five
copies of the book as well, which then would make it worthwhile.  A
8.7
Arctic − Terminal to CompuServe
8.7
John Woodthorpe
8.7
A modem is both a way of bringing more interest and more frustration
into your life. The interest comes from all the extra information and
software that you can access, and the frustration lies in trying to set
it up to work with your computer, software, cable and the service that
you want to access. Any software that simplifies this is worth looking
at, and if it also reduces your phone bill and on-line charges, then so
much the better. Arctic is a program for automating access to CompuServe
by Acorn computers (ARChimedes Terminal Interface to CompuServe), and
claims to be able to help you make more effective use of on-line time.
8.7
CompuServe services
8.7
CompuServe claims to be the largest on-line computerised information
service. It offers electronic mail facilities, special interest forums
(mini bulletin boards devoted to specific topics), downloadable
software, reference information and areas where you can ask questions of
hardware and software suppliers. It also provides limited, but gradually
expanding, Internet access.
8.7

8.7
There are around 2.4 million Compuserve members worldwide and they have
access to nearly 2,000 products and services. A lot of the services are
computer-based dealing with particular products, graphics,
communications, etc, but many of them are of much wider interest. You
can ‘visit’ the shopping mall, including its UK equivalent, play multi-
user games, check out company profiles, worldwide news and weather.
There are leisure sections on hobbies such as aquaria, model-making,
health & fitness, photography, music, theatre, films, books and TV
(including UK). Professional interest areas deal with topics such as
medicine, aviation, law, safety and journalism, and the reference
library allows you to search for information on almost anything. You can
discuss astronomy, the assassination of JFK, dinosaurs, religion, and
anything else you care to book airline flights, find a good restaurant,
camping site, golf course or day out in just about any country.
8.7
Electronic mail
8.7
Email is one of those things that you don’t realize how useful it is
until you’ve tried it. Sending three typical messages will take less
than a minute of on-line time, and will be delivered within minutes −
even to Australia (although there are sometimes delays in getting
through to Internet addresses). Sending large text files, JPEG pictures
etc. is easy (although Internet will only take ASCII, so other files
have to be converted by UUENCODE, and decoded at the receiving end). You
won’t get one of those simple IDs like [e-mail] .uk
though. Rather it will be harder to remember like my 100436,3351, or the
Internet version of 100436 [e-mail] (note the comma changing
to a full stop).
8.7
Unfortunately, there are some disadvantages, especially for users of
Acorn machines. The main one is that the majority of the members and
services are American, which means there is a strong PC and Mac bias.
Secondly, you pay for just about everything, to the point where its
detractors have labelled it ‘CompuSpend’. Services are split into
‘Basic’, ‘Extended’, and ‘Premium’ and charged depending on the time of
day and speed of modem:
8.7

8.7
Modem  Service  8am−7pm  Eves & w/e
8.7
300-2400  Basic  $7.70/hr  Free
8.7
  Extended  $12.50/hr  $4.80/hr
8.7
9600-14400  Basic  $7.70/hr  Free
8.7
  Extended  $17.30/hr  $9.60/hr
8.7
Premium services (mostly financial and business-related) carry an extra
surcharge, and if you access via DialPlus, Mercury, or any other way
than CompuServe’s own network, you pay a further surcharge even after
7pm. Oh, and there’s a monthly subscription of $8.95, which includes
sending and receiving about 60 Internet messages (up to three pages
long) a month. Receiving mail from other members is free, but messages
from Internet addresses (above the allowance) cost $0.15 each − more if
they are long. Complicated isn’t it!
8.7
Basic services include email, some news and sports, the AA Days Out
guide and so on. All the computer stuff (Internet included) is
‘Extended’, but there’s an excellent Psion conference and software
section, and a series of UK computing forums that are well worth a look.
These contain an active Acorn group, which includes Richard Proctor, the
author of !Arctic. He got fed-up with spending vast amounts of time (and
money) on-line, and started to automate his access and now provides user
support in the Acorn area.
8.7
The program
8.7
The author doesn’t promise to reduce your bills, but !Arctic will allow
your connect time to be more productive. An example of this is the mail
section, where it obviously makes sense to compose your messages off-
line and connect to the service only for as long as necessary to up-load
them and down-load any waiting mail for reading off-line. !Arctic can do
the same for Forum messages and software, allowing a session to be
planned beforehand and then run automatically. It is Shareware, and can
be downloaded from the Acorn software library in the UK Computing Forum,
or earlier versions can be found on Arcade. Registration costs £15,
which will disable the nagging message that tries to make you feel
guilty enough to send off a cheque. It can also be registered on-line,
when the cost is added to the monthly bill.
8.7
The documentation is a photocopied A5 booklet of some 113 pages, which
you only get if you pay another £5 when registering. Comprehensive is
the best word for it, although a decent index would help in finding what
you want.
8.7
In use
8.7
My main problem was related to one of my normal uses of CompuServe. As
well as a PC at work, I use my Psion Series 3a to deal with email whilst
out of the office. When !Arctic is first run, it asks for your name,
CompuServe ID and password (it’s encrypted so that other people cannot
read it). The first time on-line, it goes through the terminal menus,
setting its own series of defaults, some of which clash with those
needed by ReadCIS (the Series 3a software) and !TaskANSI, which I
sometimes use on my Risc PC, to the point where only gibberish is
displayed! Apart from that, and one problem when it got stuck in the
startup, operation was straightforward. I reported these to Richard
Proctor (by email, courtesy of !Arctic, of course), and he promised to
investigate them and ensure that the program did not set permanent
defaults. It took me a short while to feel confident in using it, and I
think there are a few things that could be improved, such as the mail
editor. Effectively this is !Edit, with a few modifications (it only
allows the system font, presumably to keep a fixed pitch to format the
text). Writing and replying to mail is very simple and intuitive, but if
you save a message intending to edit it later, things don’t behave in
the same way (this is currently being worked on, and will be greatly
improved in a future version). The help text is not compatible with
Acorn’s !Help, using its own reader instead, but it is very
comprehensive (if badly spelt in places!) − in fact, it is so
comprehensive that you could happily manage without the manual 99% of
the time.
8.7
Going on-line properly, the program downloaded the five messages waiting
for me and logged off in less than a minute of on-line time. This
allowed me to read them in a leisurely manner, compose my replies and
write fresh messages. Another minute on-line saw them up-loaded cleanly
and for the minimum of cost. An address book is maintained (with the
author’s address already loaded), and you can enter your own contacts
manually or from messages received. Navigating forums is done in a
similar way so that you can download the software catalogue and forum
messages for browsing later. After composing your replies and deciding
on any downloads desired, !Arctic will go back on-line and carry out
your instructions.
8.7
Internet access is not yet fully implemented in CompuServe, but !Arctic
will be updated to take advantage of these changes. Currently, it can
access USENET news groups, but is not yet able to cope with File
Transfer Protocol (FTP), which has only just appeared on the system.
8.7
Conclusions
8.7
The more I use !Arctic, the more impressed I am with it and with Richard
Proctor’s customer support. We’ve corresponded by email a fair amount in
my preparation of this review, and I find him (like most CompuServe
members) helpful, friendly and knowledgeable.
8.7
I realise that this a piece of software with limited appeal, in that it
is of no use unless you have a CompuServe subscription. If you do, then
you should get a copy and register − it will save you a fortune in on-
line charges and phone bills. If you are interested in email, a first-
rate information service, a small but growing Acorn community, and
Internet access, then it’s worth investigating CompuServe. You can get
some of these things in other places, but this is the only one I know of
that gives you them all at once. It isn’t the cheapest service
available, but it is very professional, has plenty of capacity to avoid
access problems (I hear some of the Internet providers are currently a
bit overloaded), and has a friendly atmosphere. It is very easy to get
to know people, just start off gently by observing what goes on in the
forums, read the messages, download some software, and then try posting
a message, asking for an answer to a problem, or suggesting a way round
someone else’s difficulties. No-one will mind if you make a few
mistakes, as long as you behave sensibly, and you’ll be amazed at how
friendly and helpful people can be. CompuServe will give you one month
free access to basic services, and can be contacted on 0800 289 458.
Richard Proctor will provide a start-up pack with a Compuserve ID and
on-line credit in return for an SAE and, of course, he can supply a copy
of !Arctic too. He is at: Waveney Games, 28 Diprose Road, Corfe Mullen,
Wimborne, Dorset, BH21 3QY.  A
8.7
Duck Loses His Quack
8.7
Stuart Bell
8.7
This must be the most surreal title of all those which have headed my
writing for Archive in the past five years. The software is a ‘talking
book’ program by Sherston Software, the stars are Rosie and Jim of
children’s TV fame, and the story-line is simply that Duck has lost his
quack!
8.7
Flying in the face of the idea that reviews should be made by those
expert in that particular field, I offer this as someone totally new to
pre-school software, and hence without too many preconceptions and
expectations. Lucy, aged 3¼, motivated the purchase and acted as co-
tester.
8.7
Installation
8.7
First impressions of Duck loses his Quack (hereinafter called ‘DlhQ’)
were not that good. The manual clearly described a package coming on one
disc, but there were two in the box. Copying the first disc to a hard
disc is straightforward, but there were no instructions about how to
copy the contents of the second disc into a directory copied from the
first disc.  I had no problems, but what about the computer-phobic
parent? The startup disc must always be loaded, to implement copy-
protection, but most of the usual criticisms of that technique hardly
apply to an application like DlhQ.
8.7
Starting up DlhQ gives a copyright screen telling us that Rosie and Jim
are ©1994 Central Independant (sic) Television PLC – and this in an
education application! There is a further hiatus if you start up the
application in a less-than-ideal screen mode. DlhQ offers to pick an
alternative mode – great – but then chooses mode 15 – less than great
with VGA monitors and all those which display mode 15 in a letter-box
form. There may be a clash with my VIDC enhancer, but I don’t think so.
It should be possible for it to choose mode 21 or mode 28 according to
the mode in which it finds itself.
8.7
Duck finds his Quack!
8.7
Rosie and Jim are two ‘ragdoll’ characters. They have a duck who says
‘woof’ or ‘twit-twoo’, but not ‘quack’. The player is led through a
series of talking pages which relate the story of how Duck managed to
quack again. For each page, there is a clearly displayed narrative,
which is spoken as each word is highlighted. Large icons can be selected
to turn pages, to cause action to take place – e.g. Rosie and Jim
kissing – and to have the narrative repeated. Selecting individual words
causes them to be ‘spoken’ and clicking on various animals within the
picture causes their noises to be heard.
8.7
Other options allow the production of a log-file of words selected by
the user and also the selection of single-tasking on ARM2-equipped
machines. However, even when I turned the cache off on my ARM3 so as to
simulate an ARM2, the single-user option – intended to maximise the
speed of ‘DlhQ’ on ARM2 machines – was still greyed-out and not
available. More worryingly, the application became very sluggish in 256-
colour modes, and the voices became very slow and noisy. I can quite
believe that ‘DlhQ’ will be fine on ARM 250-equipped machines like the
A30x0 range, but the evidence suggests that owners of A310, A400 and
A3000 computers without ARM3 upgrades should proceed with caution.
8.7
Conclusions
8.7
All this will be ‘old hat’ to infant school teachers, but may be of
increasing interest to those with pre-school children. The Sherston
Talking Books series provide an easy-to-use introduction to simple
reading skills which is based on sound teaching techniques. (Lucy’s
godmother, who is a primary deputy-head, approves.) And Lucy certainly
approves! She mastered the mouse and the use of the ‘select’ button (the
keyboard isn’t needed at all) within a few minutes. Notwithstanding the
installation quibbles, and bearing in mind the issue of usability on an
ARM2, at about £10, “Duck loses his Quack” is an excellent introduction
to computer-assisted learning for the pre-school child. Now we know
who’ll want the Archimedes when Dad eventually saves up for his Risc
PC!  A
8.7
Dune 2 − The Battle for Arrakis
8.7
Andrew Rawnsley
8.7
Dune 2 on the PC-compatible is over two years old, and yet recent re-
reviews gave it an average of over 85%. When you consider that this is
comparing the game in the light of the recent so-called ‘advances’ in
computer game technology, you can see why Dune 2’s appearance on the
Acorn platform is great news.
8.7
Developed by Eclipse, the team that produced Simon the Sorcerer for
GamesWare, this title is being marketed by VTI. It maintains the fine
attention to detail seen in the original version and, like Simon the
Sorcerer, comes on eight floppies − thank goodness it can be installed
onto a hard disc!
8.7
Background
8.7
The storyline behind Dune 2 is long and complex and, whilst the manual
gives you a brief insight, I recommend familiarising yourself with the
works of Frank Herbert (the Dune series) if you are to fully comprehend
the background plots. Although much is not directly relevant,
familiarity with the books gives the game an added glow and interest.
8.7
That being said, there are set sequences in the game that explain the
events associated with the planet Arrakis (aka Dune). Basically, the
planet is the only known source in the universe for a very valuable
resource − Spice. This Spice is a vital commodity, as it is used to give
knowledge to those who consume it but, more importantly, it allows the
folding of the space-time continuum (I hate that phrase!) allowing
travel across huge distances of time and space without so much as the
blink of an eye.
8.7
Naturally, the Family (House) that controls Arrakis, and hence the Spice
flow, has enormous influence, enough to take on the universal Emperor
himself. This is where you come in. You must build up your House’s lands
on the planet, using troops and vehicles (amongst other things) to
conquer the opposing Houses.
8.7
Of course, at the same time you must harvest Spice which brings in the
much needed cash to fund your campaign, and build structures to help you
in your quest.
8.7
Neither must you forget about Dune’s most fearsome natural inhabitants −
the Giant Sandworms...
8.7
Playing the game
8.7
You can choose to play one of three Houses, which effectively gives the
game three skill levels. Two of the Houses appear in the original Dune
book − the heroic Atreides and the vicious Harkonnen, but the third
House, Ordos, was new to me. Each house has a standard set of artillery
available plus certain House-specific weapons which become available as
you progress.
8.7
The game is divided into missions, each with a specific objective, and
set in a different territory. In order to achieve your objective, you
will need to build power centres, Spice refineries, storage towers,
radar installations and various troop training and vehicle construction
centres. From there, you must defend your harvesting operation, whilst
attempting to defeat the opposing troops.
8.7
However, just as you can build structures on the planet, so can the
enemy, so don’t be surprised if you come across huge installations in
later missions.
8.7
Game interface
8.7
Dune 2 supports three different video modes: CGA − for users of lower
resolution monitors; VGA − for a higher resolution display (perhaps the
best for 17“+ screens); and Enhanced VGA − which gives much more solid
colour areas by utilising the high res, but can look blocky on large
monitors.
8.7
Whichever you choose to use, the screen is divided into four distinct
regions. These are the main playing map, a scaled down overview of the
entire battle zone, a statistics panel for the selected object and,
across the top of the screen, a bar containing your current cash level
with buttons to access your Mentat (strategy advisor) and game Options.
8.7
Fortunately for such a vast, in-depth game, you can save your current
position to disc, and restore it as many times as you like. This means
that you need not play the relatively simple early levels every time.
8.7
All the game’s sprites are beautifully drawn and the illustrations of
each of the available structures are particularly impressive. Add to
this digitized speech and realistic stereo sound effects (which can warn
you of events off screen), and you’ll see why Dune 2 is a treat for the
senses.
8.7
Control of your units is achieved very simply. You click on the required
object on the game map, and the status window gives you a selection of
buttons allowing you to move, attack, retreat or guard. Once you’ve
clicked on the button, you may need to specify some form of target, and
then the unit dutifully follows orders. Although there may be specific
buttons for certain units, this should give you an idea of how the
engine works.
8.7
The disadvantage of this method is that, after selecting the attack
option and sending lots of troops into a small battle area, you can
sometimes accidentally click on one of your own units rather than one of
the enemy’s. Your unit will then merrily shoot its colleagues until one
or other is destroyed. It is easy to be unaware of this in the heat of
battle. Only when the enemy is dead do you realise that two or more of
your own units are fighting amongst themselves, wasting valuable armour.
8.7
Conclusions
8.7
Despite this small criticism of the control system (which I believe to
be a fault in the original, not just the conversion), Dune 2 is a
strategy game extraordinaire. It moves away from the typical ‘anorak’
image full of complex movement rules and heavy-handed combat, and
provides something that’s enjoyable to play for both the uninitiated and
the expert. The combat blends into the development and harvesting side
perfectly, without taking precedence over the rest of the game. For this
reason, I find it hard to recommend the game to those who only enjoy
arcade games. Never-the-less Dune 2 is very exciting, not least due to
the intriguing storylines which provide heightened atmosphere. For the
rest of us, Dune 2 should be an essential purchase, with just the right
balance of excitement and cerebral challenge. Dune 2 costs £34.99 from
VTI or £33 through Archive.  A
8.7
Goldilocks
8.7
Joe Gallagher
8.7
Goldilocks is a Genesis application jointly developed by the EdIT centre
in Leeds and Oak Solutions. It is based on the familiar nursery tale of
Goldilocks and the Three Bears and comes in the form of two discs (one
for the application itself and one for support materials), a pack of
photocopiable resource materials and an audio CD disc. The use of the CD
disc is rather novel in that it provides both the narration of the story
and commentary on the program as it is used. This is controlled by mouse
from within the program. If you play the CD on an ordinary CD player,
you also get half an hour’s worth of French conversation as an added
bonus at the end of the Goldilocks section.
8.7
The program didn’t initially work on the Risc PC, but Oak very promptly
supplied an updated version which didn’t crash. However, I still wasn’t
able to get beyond the sequence where Goldilocks goes up the stairs to
the bears’ bedroom. I am pleased to report that it does work happily on
earlier machines with a CD drive attached. Please note that you actually
need a CD drive in order to run the program, the audio CD is not an
optional extra but is integral to the program.
8.7
The competition
8.7
Although the program is not designed as a talking book, this aspect is
obviously an important feature. When compared to similar offerings such
as Sherston’s Naughty Stories series (costing one quarter of the price)
the quality of the graphics do seem to be rather bland and begins to
look very amateurish both in terms of graphics and animation when
compared with interactive books on other platforms − such as the
excellent Just Grandma and Me or Arthur’s Teacher Troubles on the PC and
Mac. This is a crying shame as Acorn machines provide such an excellent
platform for multimedia applications. Developers do need to realise
that, in this area, presentation is just as important as clever
programming or original ideas.
8.7
I had rather mixed feelings about the help feature. On the one hand
there is an information page which would be of little use to an average
five year old and, on the other hand, there is a very sensible feature
which uses the audio CD. This simply tells the child to go an ask for
help from an adult.
8.7
Activities
8.7
The program provides young children with several activities which  are
directed by the story-teller (who has a very soothing and reassuring
voice). This is actually a very good way of getting young children to
interact with the computer. The activities themselves are fairly basic
ones encompassing matching and counting and are well supported by the
accompanying notes on the CD sleeve.
8.7
There are also opportunities and kindly prompts to write up your
observations in a notepad. Unfortunately, the only way to print these is
by dumping out the window’s contents to the printer complete with thick
dark borders. Not only did this make considerable inroads into my
bubblejet’s ink supply but it also tied the computer up for quite a long
time. It would have been preferable to have an option to save the notes
for later processing in a suitable text editor.
8.7
Conclusion
8.7
Overall, with the exception of the contribution made by the audio CD,
the application didn’t strike me as offering radically more than can be
found on Acorn’s own Horizon CD (and it must be remembered that these
applications were produced by children and their teachers). I would have
expected more from Goldilocks, certainly for the asking price of £44
(through NCS).
8.7
Many “edutainment” titles available for the PC are often quite
superficial, if glossy, and are invariably American in origin, so this
is an area in which Acorn machines could establish a considerable
presence given their more than ample foothold in education already.
However, to build on this, it does require quality applications and,
sadly, Goldilocks doesn’t quite come up to this level.  A
8.7
BasicAOF
8.7
John Laski
8.7
This package from George K. Saliaris, a programmer in Greece, marketed
by Oregan Software, would be of enormous help to a certain kind of
programmer. I don’t know how many of these there are; they may be only
few, but I am sure that a substantial proportion of these do not realise
that the facilities the package provides would be of use to them. A
large part of this review will therefore be devoted to explaining why
there is a need for what the package provides.
8.7
An aside
8.7
There are half a dozen programming examples illustrating well-chosen
aspects of programming enabled by BasicAOF. They are packaged up as
small applications and, unusually, these are also worthwhile diversions
and utilities with very well-designed icons.
8.7
The problem context
8.7
Acorn provide two disjoint programming environments: Basic with embedded
assembler and DDE with extensive tools for program development.
8.7
Basic provides an ‘interpretive environment’ in which the source program
is lightly translated into a form that is then immediately interpreted
by a crafty software program. This is simple and straightforward and has
the advantage that you can have a very fast development cycle consisting
of the two phases: edit the source text; run it (and see where it
fails).
8.7
The disadvantages of the Basic environment are twofold. The program may
run more slowly than if it were fully in machine code and you can’t save
your assembler program to be used elsewhere. More importantly, this
means that you cannot put together chunks of code you have developed
separately, other than by physically putting together all the separate
source code chunks in a single source program.
8.7
Conversely, the Desktop Development Environment provides a language,
Acorn Object Format, very close to machine code, and a linker which will
take in a group of AOF files, plus whatever parts are needed of Acorn
Library Format Files to produce machine code that can then be executed
directly by the hardware. Thus, given compilers and assemblers that
produce AOF, and providing all these can produce code that satisfies
APCS (the Acorn Procedure Call Standard), you can mix and match AOF
files from any source language to produce, after linking, a single
executable program.
8.7
The disadvantage of this DDE environment is the complexity of the edit-
translate-link-run development cycle compared to the Basic cycle,
particularly if you are developing a comparatively small chunk of
program. The Make application, provided in DDE, alleviates this problem
to some degree, particularly if you have to keep track of many separate
sources.
8.7
The advantage of this environment is the possibility of developing a
program by cutting the source up into manageable chunks. Also, Acorn
provides a Desktop Debugging Tool which can be very helpful to the
programmer.
8.7
What would be desirable would be to combine the advantages of the two
environments, so that the programmer could move from one environment to
the other according to what stage he had reached in his program
development.
8.7
Acorn’s part solution is to provide a special assembler that skips the
AOF and linker stage. This can help but it fails to provide an
equivalent of the surrounding high-level code given by the Basic
environment, which you would want to use to write a ‘testing harness’
for your assembly code program.
8.7
BasicAOF’s solution
8.7
BasicAOF offers another, better, solution. It consists of a module that
provides seven additional SWIs for you to put in your Basic assembly
code. One of these, BasicAOF_Save, put at the end of the assembler text,
will, given suitable parameters, save an AOF version of your code in a
suitable directory. Thus, having started in the Basic environment, you
can move your code over to the Desktop Development Environment for
special debugging or to link with program chunks written in other
languages.
8.7
The other six SWIs enable you to tell the linker the various things it
needs to know: your program’s entry point, identifiers to export to
other chunks, identifiers expected to be imported from other chunks,
identifiers to be known to DDT, and where DDT should be switched on.
Some Basic functions simplify access to some of the SWIs and there are a
couple of macros for remote loads and saves of identifiers in other
chunks.
8.7
I presume that, in the absence of the BasicAOF module, executing a Basic
program with BasicAOF SWIs in it will lead to complaint and, in its
presence, they will effectively be no-ops. However, this is not
documented.
8.7
Among the examples provided are !Unsqueeze and the utility DsasMBAOF
which is very useful for those who want to go from target to source
code.
8.7
AOF’s module only needs about 19Kb, including working space, and the
code needs the Shared CLibrary version 3.75.
8.7
Installation
8.7
The End User Licence is for one user on one machine. If you copy it
immediately to your hard disc, it complains that it can only be run from
a floppy. From the floppy, when you run for the first time, it asks you
for your name and address. You can then copy it to your hard disc and it
will now run freely from there. This setup is undocumented and, until I
made a few experiments, I wrongly thought I should need to keep the
floppy in the machine whenever I wanted to use !BasicAOF.
8.7
Documentation
8.7
A 28-page ring-bound A5 booklet contains very clear and well-organised
information. Indeed I think I understood it thoroughly on the third
reading. As well as the missing information mentioned above, and I
should also have liked some discussion as to which directories on the
hard disc I should have used for the various files and directories.
8.7
DDE needs
8.7
To use this package, you need to have, at least in part, Acorn’s DDE.
Specifically, you need Linker, probably Debugger and possibly Make/AMU.
This presents some problems, since Acorn only supplies all the desktop
tools bundled with their C compiler, or their own assembler. Perhaps
this package will encourage Acorn to behave more helpfully and make DDE
more easily available.  A
8.7
(There is a freeware AOF/ALF linker called DRLink supplied with the GNU
C/C++ compiler, but it should be available separately from PD libraries.
The DDE is currently being replaced by C release 5 which includes C, C++
and Assembler.
8.7
MH@NCS.)ssembler.)
8.7
Super Dustbin − Black Hole 2
8.7
Jochen Konietzko
8.7
There are a large number of dustbin programs in the public domain but
the most powerful one that I have found is BlackHole2, version 3.05 (02-
Oct-94), written by Mark Greenwood. (Actually, it’s a bit of what we, in
Germany, call an “egg-laying woolly milk sow”.) The program should be
available through most PD sources. Black Hole needs RISC OS 3.10 or
later and works best on a Risc PC.
8.7
Getting started
8.7
A double-click puts the usual icon on the iconbar − except that this one
is animated. The program can then be configured to your exact taste. (In
a 1152×864 screen mode, the Config window is about 1½ screens high!)
8.7
The help system
8.7
Every aspect of the program is described in the help system. Mark has a
rather quaint sense of humour which is visible all through the
documentation inside the application directory. (Just take a look at his
Random Ramblings at the end of the Miscellaneous section of his Help
application.)
8.7
The very detailed help is accessed through the Info window off the
iconbar and, as the screenshot above shows, help is given in several
levels of complexity.
8.7
The dustbin
8.7
All dustbin programs allow files to be stored in a directory and then
wiped them later. BlackHole2 stores the files in a different
subdirectory for every day, files can automatically be squashed and a
time delay (in days) can be configured before the files are
automatically deleted.
8.7
The ‘singularity trap’
8.7
For people like me (“haste makes waste!”) who tend to delete files
accidentally, this feature alone justifies incorporating BlackHole2 in
your boot sequence. If you have the singularity trap option switched on,
whenever you click on ‘Delete’ in the relevant Filer submenu, BlackHole2
intercepts the call and stores the file in its bin directory instead.
8.7
The module killer
8.7
In one of the recent issues of Archive (8.3 p14), we were advised not to
delete modules once they have been loaded but I do believe that there
are situations when deleting a module can make perfect sense. An extreme
example was that, having browsed through the Sillies directory on one of
the RISC OS PDCDs, I found my RMA clogged with several dozen modules
that those programs had left behind. BlackHole2 makes it easy to get rid
of the little nuisances. You can simply click on the items in a module
list.
8.7
What is more, if you often load programs which leave behind lots of
debris, you can put all the module names for each of those programs into
a text file and they can then be deleted in one go without having to
click your way through the Names list.
8.7
Other goodies
8.7
BlackHole2 offers a Search window, but there’s not much to say about
this feature − I think the Find option in RISC OS 3 is nearly as good.
8.7
Then there is a variation called, for some quirky reason, Ukulele, which
allows you to group program names, so it will dig out, say, all the text
editors on your hard disc.
8.7
There is an Auto Saver, which helps when you want to save a new file for
the first time and only then realise you haven’t opened a filer window.
Auto Saver allows you to define default save paths for various
filetypes.
8.7
A screen-saver offers all the usual settings, from the Windows-type star
field to the melting desktop. (Although it can be configured very
widely, prefer the fish tank from Out to Lunch.)
8.7
Tiny Dirs can be added without having to run !TinyDirs, and there is a
menu listing all of the files on the Run$Path. All you have to do is to
click on them and it will run them for you.
8.7
Problems
8.7
So far, I have found only one bit of real trouble. When I load SmartCD+
(the commercial version) with the singularity trap is switched on, the
system is halted completely. However, once SmartCD+ is running, there is
no further conflict between the two programs.
8.7
One minor complaint concerns the window with the list of module names to
be killed. If you delete a module way down the list, the vertical scroll
bar always jumps to the topmost position and so, for the next module,
you have to drag it down again.
8.7
A very strange effect occurred once when I moved the application to a
different directory and tried to run it from its new location. There was
an error message, and when I had acknowledged it, the program vanished
completely from the hard disc! I have not been able to duplicate this
but still, it might be wiser to delete the Options file before you run
the program from a new directory.
8.7
Conclusion
8.7
This program is a must for any serious Acorn computer user!  A
8.7
(I have put it on this month’s program disc. Ed.)
8.7
Heavy Mouse Balls
8.7
Gabriel Swords
8.7
What happens when your mouse loses its grip on life and slides around
the mat like a jelly?
8.7
Well, you could wrap the ball in course sandpaper and hope that that
will improve its friction. Or you could hold the mouse in one hand and
use a finger from your other hand to move the ball around. Or you could
try and squeeze an old squash ball into the mouse hole. Or you could go
all the way and buy a completely new mouse. (£22 through Archive!)
8.7
On the other hand, you could do what I did, and replace your tired and
worn out mouse ball with a new, heavy duty one from Oak Consultants.
Apparently, they’re four times heavier than standard mouse balls, which
might make you think you’d need to do some weight training to cope with
them. But I can assure you there’s no need for aerobic dancing or keep
fit classes. Just slot the ball into your old mouse and watch it whiz
around the mat like a mouse on fire.
8.7
I can’t say I’ve done any of those impressive bench tests we read about
− so I can’t say that the heavy mouse ball works 1.7% faster than other
mouse balls I could mention. But I really like mine, and at only £3,
it’s a lot cheaper than having to buy a completely new mouse.  A
8.7
Logix − Electronics Simulator
8.7
Andy Watson
8.7
Logix is a suite of four programs from Silicon Vision which allows you
to design and simulate logic circuits. It is fully RISC OS compliant and
runs comfortably on a 1Mb machine as each application only needs to be
loaded from disc as required and is only 64Kb in length.
8.7
All testing was done with version L1.10 on a A310 with 4Mb, RISC OS 3.1
and a hard disc. It was also briefly tested on an A4000 and Risc PC and
no problems were encountered.
8.7
The program comes in a standard video box with an applications disc,
library disc and 68 page A5 manual. Installing the programs on hard disc
is easy, and configuring the programs is straightforward.
8.7
!Logix, the main program, provides a ‘drawing board’ and components for
you to design circuits. !Pinout allows you to design casings for
circuits when you are making custom chips. !Integrate integrates a
circuit and its casing into a single component. !LIPLib is a library of
ready made components.
8.7
This is not a program which will teach you about digital electronics. A
knowledge of the field is required before you can make any use of Logix.
The manual assumes that you understand the function of the various
digital components and the basic principles of circuit design.
8.7
Circuits are designed using ready-made or custom-designed components
including logic gates, complex chips, clocks, inputs and outputs. When
the design has been completed, logic flow can be checked by examining
the state of any input and output devices as well as oscilloscope
readings from probes which can be placed in the circuit.
8.7
Logix is an educational tool which allows you to design and test quite
complex circuits but which does not allow direct PCB design from the
program. Remember, too, that only the logic of the circuit is simulated,
not the physical characteristics. Most real circuits would also require
analogue components such as capacitors to make them work.
8.7
!LIPLib
8.7
If a program like this is to be useful, there must be a reasonable range
of ready made objects. While the facility to create one’s own circuits
is essential, the student should have the more commonly used chips
available ‘off the shelf’.
8.7
The library contains about eighty items, including various 7400 series
chips, gates, flip flops, displays, keypads and switches. Items are not
accessed directly from the library disc but must first be taken into the
!Logix program. However, the program can be configured to start up with
whichever library items you use most frequently. The library can, of
course, be extended by amending existing components or creating new ones
using !Pinout and !Integrate. Given the huge number of components in
common use, it would be worthwhile if Silicon Vision were to provide
further libraries of ready-made components. Those supplied, however, do
provide a useful selection of common components.
8.7
The logic symbols used follow the British standard and not the ANSI
symbols with which most students are likely to be familiar. While this
is not a major problem, it could cause difficulties for students trying
to replicate circuits they see in textbooks.
8.7
!Logix
8.7
This is the main program in the suite which is used to put together
circuits from the available components. Objects from the library are
placed on the design window and can be moved around easily. Groups of
objects can be formed which move about together.
8.7
Wiring up the objects is achieved by clicking on one output and a
straight line is drawn to the next clicked position. In any design, few
of the connections between objects will be simple straight lines, so up
to twelve intermediate connection points can be made. These intermediate
nodes not only let you change the direction of the wire but provide
points to which other wires can be connected. Moving an object will move
any connecting wires, and the wiring patterns can be altered at any
time. The paths can be re-routed by altering the positions of
intermediate points or creating new connection points. A zoom facility
makes complex wiring tasks easier.
8.7
One feature of the wiring process which is meant to be helpful is, in
fact, very irritating. As the cursor moves about the design window, it
jumps to the closest connector. It detaches itself if you move on
without pressing <select> but it is most disconcerting watching the
cursor attach itself to every connector it passes. The standard method
of making the connection after a double-click would have been more
intuitive.
8.7
While there is no direct printing option, circuits, oscilloscope output
and the circuitry of chips can be saved as drawfiles and so can easily
be incorporated into other programs for printing. The representation of
the circuit, both on screen and in print, is very good and would not
look out of place in a professional environment.
8.7
Simulation
8.7
When your design is complete, it can be tested. Various types of output
device can be used to display the results as well as oscilloscope
readings from logic probes. The status of all input and output lines are
also shown with colour. It is possible to change from the normal multi-
tasking mode of operation to a single task mode which speeds up
operation. The simulation options are quite flexible, allowing you to
choose what is continually updated and what is shown on the oscilloscope
display.
8.7
!Pinout
8.7
!Pinout lets you design the chip casing to take a circuit. Using a wide
range of drawing tools, you can design a new case from scratch or, more
commonly, alter an existing casing to suit your needs. Casings can be
saved to the library.
8.7
!Integrate
8.7
!Integrate allows you to take a logic circuit (stripped of switches,
displays, etc) and place it into your casing. The program sizes the
casing to fit the circuit. When the two have been integrated, you can
wire up the connections to the appropriate pins. The chip can then be
named and stored in the library for future use. A complete circuit can
be used as part of another circuit, allowing quite complex chips to be
created.
8.7
The competition
8.7
The only other program of this type that I know is OakLogic. This
program is not as sophisticated as Logix but I do find it more intuitive
to use. While the manual is half the length of the Logix manual, it does
have a short tutorial section. Also in its favour are its use of ANSI
symbols and its price, which is about £30 cheaper than Logix.
8.7
Overall
8.7
This program provides all the facilities required for simulating logic
designs. However, for most teaching purposes at school level, a program
of this sophistication would not be necessary. Also, because any real
designs which will be constructed will contain both digital and analogue
components, this type of program is of limited use to schools.
8.7
The user interface could be tidied up. While there are nice touches like
the tear off tool boxes which follow their associated windows around the
desktop, some operations, particularly those involving wiring, are not
very intuitive.
8.7
My most serious concern is the quality of the manual in a package
designed for educational use.
8.7
The manual covers all the options which are available and generally
explains them well enough. However, there is no tutorial section and
most of the manual is devoted to explaining the various menu options.
Having recently spent time working through the tutorial sections of the
excellent Schema2 manual, I was disappointed that there were no worked
examples in the Logix manual to illustrate how to put the program to
best use.
8.7
One complex circuit is provided as an example which can be examined.
While this shows off what can be done with Logix, a series of simpler
circuits might have been more instructive, particularly if they were
linked to a tutorial.
8.7
In conclusion, although many potential users will not require the level
of sophistication of this program and despite some annoying features of
the user interface, Logix does provide all the facilities a user might
want to design and test digital circuits.
8.7
Logix is available from Silicon Vision for £99.95 +VAT or £109 through
Archive. A site licence costs £300 +VAT from Silicon Vision.  A
8.7
Formula Two Thousand
8.7
Andrew Rawnsley
8.7
Skidding round a tight bend, the speedometer reading over two hundred
mph, and with a slight nudge from the inside car, your championship
dreams go spinning off into the void.
8.7
OK, so Murray Walker could have said it better, but since we’re several
years hence, he’s been replaced by viewer-friendly commentators Bob and
Ted!
8.7
FTT from TBA Software is a racing game with an interesting twist − it’s
set in Space with zero gravity. The track has a circular cross-section,
and snakes its way through the stars with little thought for those
trying to navigate it. The only forces working on your car are
centrifugal and, believe me, on most bends you’ll need them.
8.7
Installation
8.7
FTT comes on two discs which can be installed onto a hard disc although
you’ll need disc one to bypass the copy protection. However, the game
can be run from floppies with the minimum of effort because once the
game has loaded, you’ll only need disc 2.
8.7
Running the game installs it on the iconbar. Clicking on this icon
allows you to enter your name and a password to jump to later courses.
Once these details have been entered, a further icon installs itself on
the iconbar and represents the main game. As many of these sub-icons as
required can be installed, allowing the game to be played by multiple
players, but it feels a little crude.
8.7
Introduction
8.7
From the minute the title screen springs into view, you can tell that
FTT is going to show off the Acorn’s ability to display 3D polygon-style
graphics. Anyone who’s played Archimedes Elite, Stunt Racer 2000 or Star
Fighter 3000 will know what I mean if I say that this is one thing at
which Acorn machines have consistently shown themselves to be excellent.
8.7
The engine behind FTT, TAG (another acronym!), handles 3D polygons
beautifully and if we can believe what TBA say, then this is only a
fraction of what the engine is capable of achieving. Suffice it to say
that FTT is fast and smooth even on an ARM 2, although faster processors
bring better frame rates and more polygons.
8.7
Much of the introduction attempts to show off the TAG engine before
you’re totally absorbed in a race, when you actually notice very little.
8.7
Gameplay
8.7
An FTT race is divided into two halves, the qualifying session and the
actual race. In order to qualify, all you need to do is complete the
course − not an easy task if you opt for one of the harder of the ten
cars available. However, simply finishing a track won’t give you a good
grid position − you’ll need to master apexing the corners correctly at
high speed and gently applying the turbo at the right time.
8.7
Whilst this may sound easy, the game runs very fast, and the sense of
motion is unbelievable. You’ll find yourself leaning over to get on the
inside of a trick bend, and leaning back to see more of the track as you
shoot up a vertical loop!
8.7
Once you’ve qualified, the game goes from being mildly challenging to
being downright difficult, so don’t expect to complete a track straight
off. This is a feat that requires winning the race, which in turn will
require you to master one of the hard cars, since these are the ones
having the speed and acceleration you need. Oh, and they also have
proportionally less grip and cornering ability, making staying on the
track almost impossible!?!
8.7
Graphics & sound
8.7
Sound and music are used liberally but when you’re whizzing round the
track, you haven’t got time to listen as well!
8.7
Graphically, the game wouldn’t stand up on other platforms, where you
don’t get a look in unless every object is fully texture-mapped.
However, I feel this attitude is wrong, and FTT’s speed and smoothness
justifies my belief. You’d need a very high-end PC indeed to run a
texture-mapped version of FTT with the degree of fluidity that is
obtained even on a run-of-the-mill Acorn machine. Well done TBA!
8.7
Conclusions
8.7
FTT is hard and requires much practice before rewards are reaped, but
the sense of achievement when you do win a race is immense. The game is
very exciting and is wickedly addictive. What’s more, it’s fun − a rare
quality amongst modern games!
8.7
FTT costs £24.95 from TBA or £24 through Archive. At that price, it
represents great value for money.  A
8.7
Picture Builder
8.7
Maureen Hobson
8.7
Picture Builder is not RISC OS compliant and was written for the Nimbus
machine, and the manual reflects this, as does the way the software
works. So the program is not as sophisticated as many Acorn ones and has
an old fashioned look to it.
8.7
However, having said this, I found it easy to use, as did my 6 year old
daughter. And there is a place for it in the infant classroom as it is a
rare piece of specific Maths software.
8.7
It specifically looks at Shape and encourages the manipulation of shapes
to build pictures, teaching shape recognition and associated vocabulary.
This is particularly appropriate for Shape at Keystage 1. It is also
good for teaching symmetry, as the shapes can be reflected horizontally
and vertically.
8.7
After loading the disc, there is a screen with a toolbox across the top
depicting shapes. Clicking on the icon will put the chosen shape on the
screen. Then a new toolbox appears at the top of the screen which
enables the shape to be manipulated by clicking on the appropriate icon
and, while this is awkward compared to selecting and dragging for Acorn
users, you soon get the hang of it. And this is the good part, you can
make your shape bigger or smaller, rotate it, make it longer or taller
and flip the image too. The shapes can be moved about again by clicking
on a select/move icon. A line can be drawn in a similar way but you end
the line by pressing <escape>!
8.7
Colouring should be the last operation, as you cannot manipulate the
shape any more without starting again! By pressing <f1> you get another
toolbox for saving, printing, palette (background colour, etc) and quit.
And this is when the fun started. We couldn’t save any work on an A4000
− it crashed − but we could print it! It did save and print on A3000
RISC OS 2 and sometimes worked on RISC OS 3!
8.7
Finally, the children enjoyed using the program, especially those who
were not particularly confident with computers. They were encouraged by
this software to do more − so a proper conversion to RISC OS would be
welcome.
8.7
Picture Builder costs £20 +VAT from Newman Software Ltd and this
includes full site and network licence.  A
8.7
Sally & Wally
8.7
Andrew Rawnsley
8.7
It’s rare that you find a computer game designed specifically for
younger (under 10) players that doesn’t contain cute TV characters, or
subliminal messages to improve users’ algebra! However, Sally and Wally,
from Oregan Software Developments, is just such a game, and quite nice
it is too. And no, I won’t comment on the name!
8.7
OK − it’s got a suitably naff plot, and some soppy graphics, as the
illustrations show. The difference is that it all seems to be in
character with the product, rather than just being tacked on to boost
appeal.
8.7
The storyline
8.7
Rather than carefully bypassing the plot, I feel that a short account is
essential to this type of game. Apparently, Sally and Wally are two
lovebirds (I warned you...) who have returned from their honeymoon to
find their dream home − a palm tree − overrun by all kinds of insects.
Whether the two characters are actually married is never made clear, but
as this is a politically correct game, I guess they are!
8.7
Needless to say, Sally is heartbroken, leaving Wally to comfort her and
heroically go in and save the day. Who said the age of chivalry was
over?
8.7
Installation
8.7
Sally and Wally comes on one floppy and can be played from floppy or
hard drive. The latter just speeds up loading, as the original disc is
required for copy protection purposes.
8.7
When loaded, the game installs on the iconbar, allowing the options to
be set up from the safety of the desktop, before Wally begins his
perilous quest.
8.7
Clicking on the icon causes the game to take over the whole screen, and
you can choose your start level via passwords or by selecting a branch
of the palm tree. This means that you can start on the harder levels
without completing all the previous levels and without the need for a
password. If you do have a password, you can jump into a level part way
through a branch. All in all, a well thought out system, particularly as
the first couple of branches are very easy indeed. The branch system
avoids the tedium which can easily set in if the game is found to be too
boring. Each branch represents 20 levels.
8.7
Gameplay
8.7
Gameplay is simple − shoot the insects whilst leaping around the
platforms of the level, and when you hit them, walk into them to get the
points and a possible bonus. If you shoot in the right place, you can
sometimes reveal hidden platforms and gates to bonus levels.
8.7
Perhaps the best aspect of the game is that it can be played by two
players, with the second player taking the role of Sally who can come in
and help her partner.
8.7
Each level is the size of a single screen, so there is no need for
scrolling, and this means that the two player game can take place on one
screen, (not a split one), increasing the enjoyment of the two player
game.
8.7
Graphics and sound
8.7
Graphically, Sally and Wally is nothing special compared with products
on other platforms, but native Acorn games tend to look grotty, so Sally
and Wally fares well in comparison with these. Certainly, the graphics
are attractive and cute, but retain detail, which is surely all that is
required?
8.7
Likewise with the sound and music. It’s not ground-breaking, but then it
doesn’t need to be. The sound fits in well with the game’s feel, and
adds another dimension to the product. The music isn’t too annoying,
which is another plus.
8.7
Conclusions
8.7
I cannot really recommend Sally and Wally to people outside the
recommended age range (except for parents, of course), but then that’s
hardly surprising. For younger players, the game is ideal − the only
flaw being that some parents might object to a game which involves
shooting mutant plants and insects.
8.7
There is a problem with the sound and music on Risc PCs with the Minnie
16-bit soundcard fitted, but the audio can easily be turned off.
8.7
All in all, Sally and Wally comes highly recommended for kids (and
parents!) in the under 10 age range. Sally and Wally costs £24.95 from
Oregan Software Developments or £24 through Archive.  A
8.7
Ice, a rainbow and plenty of mutant plants. All in a day’s work for
Wally.
8.7
Playdays
8.7
Bob and Lisa Ames
8.7
Playdays is a suite of small programs or individual games which are
designed to stimulate children with counting, spelling, shape
recognition, reasoning and so on. Characters from the BBC TV programme
Playdays are used to give visual interest; cheerful tunes and animations
reward success.
8.7
The sections are all based on a choice from the alphabet. A number of
games are then played (from a total of ten games), unless the letter X
is chosen and then 3 special “X” games are offered.
8.7
These ten games are: Matching, Snap, Counting, What’s Gone, Spelling,
Moving Window, Dot to Dot, Sliding Block Puzzle, and Rhyme. The special
X games are: Noughts and crosses, Treasure Island, Shapes and Colours.
8.7
There seems to be no way to choose which particular games are played;
the games are offered at random. At the end of a round of games, a
performance table is offered, with scores so far this session. It also
seems strange that a session’s scores cannot be stored. The child has to
set the play level each time the program is run.
8.7
Letters are entered by use of the mouse, not the keyboard. It is here
that I find the first problem. I firmly believe that the keyboard should
be used at all times. It is not going to go away, or be changed, so the
sooner the child learns to use a “qwerty” keyboard, the better.
8.7
In fact, this was the only area Lisa found difficult. As an experiment I
gave her the disc and suggested that she first use the program with
minimal input from me. She achieved everything properly, that is except
the entering of letters. No screen instructions appear to tell the child
to use the mouse. (However, I must say that she has been using the
Archimedes from age 2 and seems, to a proud Dad, to be quite computer
literate.)
8.7
There were times when Lisa wanted to speed through the music or truncate
the cartoon of the “reward characters” and this is achieved by pressing
<Select>. This jumps forward to the next activity and shortens the
pause, music break, etc.
8.7
According to the mini manual, Playdays is simple enough for children to
play by themselves. I would agree. Lisa seemed to romp through the
program at first sight with ease. I asked her to use level one to start
with (the age range is 3-8 and she is now 7) and the program adjusted
the level of difficulty automatically when it found that she got things
right most of the time. I feel this is a very valuable feature.
8.7
Less valuable, however, is the need to have the master disc in the
machine the first time the program is run in a session. This is because
of copy protection but it causes no end of headaches. I like to give
Lisa free run of “her” programs, she has her own directory on the hard
disc, but Playdays will not run directly from hard disc alone. I wish
software writers would get this copy protection right! A proper and
complete hard disc installation must be provided because key discs will
eventually get lost or damaged by small people. A friend who has two
small children has removed the integral floppy disc drive from the
children’s machine (to avoid importation of unknown software) but he
couldn’t use this type of copy-protected software.
8.7
We have had the program three months now (Sorry Paul!!) and although
Lisa has played it from end to end in one mammoth sitting (choosing all
letters and progressing through all difficulty levels) she returns to it
quite frequently. I would say this is quite indicative of the scope,
flexibility and appeal of the program. Having 13 games available
compares very favourably with other educational games we have reviewed −
such as the Fun School packages that each have six.
8.7
Conclusion: well worth the asking price, despite the niggles − £25.99
from Skillsware/Gamesware or £25 through Archive.  A
8.7
Lenses and Light
8.7
Charles Hill
8.7
This package is produced by Anglia Television and it contains files to
be used with KeyPlus and KeyCalc which need to be purchased separately.
It costs £22 +VAT but it can be freely copied and used within the
purchasing establishment.
8.7
The package includes two 800Kb discs with eight KeyPlus datafiles and 23
KeyCalc spreadsheets. In addition, there is a 24 page A4 booklet with
general information, photocopiable pupil fact sheets and investigations
and teachers’ notes. The investigations are designed to accompany other
theoretical and practical work away from the computer so it is not
necessary for all pupils to have access to a computer at the same time.
It seems sensible to review the package topic by topic.
8.7
Snapshot
8.7
This set of KeyCalc files and a KeyPlus datafile examines the
relationship between shutter speed and aperture and aperture and depth
of field and the effects they have on the photograph taken. The ability
of KeyCalc to store sprites is used effectively although a 256 colour
screen mode needs to be used to do justice to the photographs. The
photographs show the results of correct or incorrect camera settings,
e.g. over and under exposed, and lack of depth of field. The datafile
supplements the spreadsheet on aperture and depth of field. The
photographs can be saved as sprite files and/or printed if required.
There is also a datafile giving data on various camera lenses
8.7
Eyetest
8.7
This set of spreadsheets examines the effects of short and long
sightedness and their correction with appropriate lenses. There are four
spreadsheets for fictitious customers and the investigator is in the
role of an optician trying to find the correct prescription of lenses to
correct blurred vision for either near view or far view. Again the
KeyCalc facility to store and view pictures is utilised.
8.7
Shadows
8.7
This is a spreadsheet which examines the relationship between the height
of an object, the angle at which it is illuminated and the length of the
resultant shadow. The application of this effect to theatrical
situations is encouraged and reference to the Scientific Eye TV
programme, ‘Seeing the Light’, is also made.
8.7
Polarise
8.7
This is a spreadsheet comparing the effect of material and angle of
rotation on the percentage transmission of polarised light by polarising
filters.
8.7
Reflection
8.7
This is a series of four spreadsheets which look at reflection in a
plane mirror (angles of incidence and reflection); multiple reflections
in two plane mirrors at a variable angle to each other; reflections at a
curved surface, the curvature of which can be changed, and the effects
of the object distance on image distance, type and magnification; and
the effects of refractive index and angle of incidence on total internal
reflection, the ideas are extended further by a fifth spreadsheet on
prisms. A KeyPlus datafile gives further information on different sorts
of mirrors and the images they produce.
8.7
Refraction
8.7
Some aspects of refraction are covered in total internal reflection
above, but there are also these spreadsheet files which examine
refraction at an air/substance interface and also at the interface
between two other different substances. Another file looks at the
horizontal and vertical image shift produced by refraction, e.g. the
false impression of depth in water. The spreadsheet files are supported
by a datafile giving refractive index and other properties of various
substances.
8.7
Lenses
8.7
Spreadsheet files enable investigations into the relationships between
focal length, object distance, image distance, size and type of image to
be made for both concave and convex lenses. These files are supported by
two datafiles giving information about the images produced and the power
of a selection of lenses. There are further spreadsheet files which
investigate the lens systems in microscopes and telescopes and also a
magnifying lens.
8.7
Additional datafiles
8.7
There are two additional datafiles which are only briefly referred to in
the guide. The first, !Lamp provides information on different types of
lamp (tungsten, fluorescent, etc) and their efficiency, colour etc. The
second, !Spectrum contains information about the sources, frequency and
uses of different radiation types within the electromagnetic spectrum
and sound waves.
8.7
Comments
8.7
First a warning. It is intended that these files should be used by
altering data in cells and examining the effect on other cells. It would
be very easy to overwrite the original files and, before exploring the
spreadsheets, I ensured they were locked. This is important in a school
situation where some form of write protection on the original files
would be essential.
8.7
The accompanying booklet claims that the files are suitable for Science
Key Stage 3 and above. With the outcomes of the Dearing review not yet
finalised, I can only refer to the draft proposals, and much of the
material on these discs is very much marginal to the proposals on light
and waves, although electromagnetic spectrum and total internal
reflection are present in KS 4. In fact, some of the numerical treatment
given in the spreadsheets has now even disappeared from some A level
syllabuses!
8.7
The material does encourage practical-based activity away from the
computer and also everyday applications of the topic under investigation
and, as such, they provide a more motivating approach to this aspect of
physics. Some of the material might also be of use to students who are
following photography courses. The datafiles are, justifiably, quite
small and are often better accessed in tabular display mode. They do
seem a bit trivial when viewed against the power of KeyPlus and I was
disappointed that as the frequency field was given as a range in the
!Spectrum file − an opportunity for graphical display may have been
lost. The pupil instructions were, on the whole, clear and easy to
follow although there was an error in the polarise spreadsheet (the
wrong letter was given in a slot reference). I felt that the teacher
instructions might have been more detailed in places − it is expected
that the teacher will run through the files beforehand but some exemplar
material might have been included to make this task a little easier.
Less experienced computer users would perhaps welcome a reference to
selecting the correct screen mode before viewing the photographs.
8.7
Conclusions
8.7
I feel that the strength of the package lies in its imaginative use of
KeyCalc files and although the material is very reasonably priced, the
additional cost of KeyCalc to run the files may discourage the use of
these files if teachers feel that the material is marginal to what the
National Curriculum requires them to cover. The KeyPlus files are
intended to offer additional support to the KeyCalc files and would
hardly justify purchasing the package for these datafiles alone. As a
science teacher, I do welcome the attempt to introduce some relevant
spreadsheet work into science.  A
8.7
Photobase − Landscapes
8.7
Paul Hooper
8.7
This is the first of a series of CDs from Longman using the Photobase
program as a way of indexing a large number of photos. It comes in the
normal jewel case along with a little booklet to explain the system. It
was tested on an A5000 with a Cumana CD drive.
8.7
Getting started
8.7
The root directory gives you not only Photobase but also Resource15 and
Resource28. The last two are different mode dependent versions of the
2200 photographs on the disc. Clicking on Resource 28 brings up the
Resource menu, shown below.
8.7
The five buttons along the top operate on the current selection. View
produces a window with ten thumbnail photos which you can save out as a
sprite by double-clicking on the thumbnail. You can browse through your
selection using the scroll bar if you have selected more than ten
photos. Menu over this window allows you to select all the photos or to
clear the selection and also create a ‘film’ strip of photos. Clicking
on ‘film’ brings up a film strip below the main view window. It is then
a simple matter to drag the photos that you want into the film strip
window. Once you have created your film strip, you then need to click on
‘Display’.
8.7
The Display button shows your film strip along the top, and from here
you can select how long the photo will be displayed and how the film
strip is run. You have the alternatives of running from start to finish
or in a continuous loop or a yo-yo effect. You can save the film either
as a full film with all the images for use on another machine or as a
mini-film which only saves the thumbnails and then uses them to access
the CD to run the film. When you play the film, it takes over the screen
but you can click <select> which will return you to the desktop. While
your film is running you can get a description by clicking <menu>.
8.7
Search and Index
8.7
Index brings up an individual thumbnail image from the current
selection. This has a small descriptive text and is indexed via a
keyword system. So a picture of a sunset over Addis Ababa has the
following keywords: Urban Environment, Africa, Ethiopia, Dawn/Sunset and
Light/Shade. On the CD-ROM, of course, you cannot alter this but if you
take a copy of these images to hard disc, all the keywords plus the
description can be altered.
8.7
The most powerful feature of Photobase is the ability to search through
2200 photos using either the keyword system or a particular search
string or word in the descriptive text. The search menu is shown below
and is a model of clarity. Clicking on the keywords on the right will
select the photos that have been indexed with that particular keyword.
The rest of the menu is fairly self-explanatory and selecting keyword
searches produces almost instant results.
8.7
The photos
8.7
If I describe this as ‘Coffee Table’ software, I think you will get some
idea of the quality of the photos. The photos themselves are first
class, just like those you would expect in a coffee table book, yet just
like that style of book. I would question how useful the images are on
this disc. Of what possible educational use is ‘Sunset over Addis
Ababa’? The manual suggests that these images can be used in DTP work,
but unless you have a first class printer, I should forget it.
8.7
If you are doing a topic on a particular subject, you could search
through the images and use Photobase to set up a scrolling display, or
even import them into a multimedia application on the subject, but quite
how else a teacher would use these images is beyond me.
8.7
Conclusions
8.7
The Photobase application is good, but the CD is let down by the
pictures. If a much more narrow subject had been chosen, such as a
single country or a single curriculum subject and we were then presented
with 2,000 images, it would be much more worthwhile. As it is, it would
be extremely hard to justify the £54 price tag, but many primary schools
have been given this CD as part of the NCET Primary Initiative and I
would like to know how they will use this program. Any suggestions would
be welcome. I have a feeling that it will be hardly used.
8.7
Landscapes costs £49 +VAT from Longman Logotron or £55 through
Archive.  A
8.7
CD-Circle
8.7
Paul Hooper
8.7
CD bonanza?
8.7
The last few months have seen a large increase in the number of CD
titles on the Acorn range, and the advent of the internal CD drive on
the Risc PC has set the final seal of approval on this storage medium.
Yet the number of CDs on the Acorn range is still very low when you
compare it with the huge range that is available for the PC or Mac. In a
small catalogue given away with a PC magazine last week I saw over 700
different CDs listed. So what we need is some way of accessing this huge
range of material. Yes I know there are PC cards and the Risc PC will be
able to run most of them when the new chip appears, but the cost...
8.7
CD-Circle
8.7
Desktop Laminations have set up a user group called CD-Circle with the
aim of bringing you all the information and a catalogue of the latest
CDs that are available for the Acorn range. There is a series of
subscription plans which are too complex to explain here, so I suggest
you ring them for details but the base catalogue is £12.50 for six bi-
monthly floppy discs.
8.7
The first floppy catalogue has just appeared and lists over 180 CD’s
that will run on Acorn machines. Now many of these CDs are listed at the
manufacturer’s retail price. These vary from as low as £30 up to £150,
but the great advantage is that many of the CDs are discounted to
members of the CD-Circle. To give you some idea, I have just ordered 10
of the Corel Draw CDs and two others and my total bill was £92.50, which
works out at just under £8 per CD − cheaper than some floppy-based
programs.
8.7
As well as providing this service, Desktop Laminations are also
marketing two software fixes which will enable you to read PC CDs and,
at a later date, they aim to add Mac CDs. This requires neither PC card
nor even an emulator and will run native on any Acorn machine fitted
with a CD drive. The fixes are provided free with the PC CDs that you
order but they are specific to the CD so you will not be able to run
other PC CDs with the software.
8.7
Darkroom
8.7
The first software fix is Darkroom, which enables you to read foreign
picture formats and batch file them with thumbnails. The review copy was
supplied with a CD called ClipMaster Pro, which contains 5001 monochrome
TIFF images suitable for DTP. With over a thousand borders on this one
disc, you can find a border for every occasion. The manual is the sort I
like, it is one page of A5 covered in plastic. Also supplied is the PC
manual which has all 5001 images printed out in thumbnail form.
8.7
Darkroom is easy to use − just load as normal, click on the icon and a
thumbnail window appears. Open up the CD directory and click on the TIFF
file and it will load a thumbnail into the window. Once you have got the
images you want to look at, you can set up a slide show of the images or
just save out the batch of thumbnails. If you decide just to examine one
or two, a double click on the thumbnail will bring up the full-size
picture and <menu> then gives you the opportunity to save the picture as
a sprite.
8.7
Just to give you some idea of the quality of the images, I have taken
four at random from the disc and scaled them down using ChangeFSI to a
quarter of their original size and I hope that Paul can either include
them in the text or on the monthly disc.
8.7
Multimedia Viewer
8.7
The second application is designed as a front end for PC CDs. The review
copy was supplied with the Wizard CD which contains a whole number of
16m colour photos and WAV samples. These can be set up as a scrolling
display in the corner of a Risc PC window or even played on an older
machine. I have yet to make it crash and it certainly does provide a
good display. As you buy more CDs, the viewers can be merged with each
other so that you have one viewer for all your PC CDs.
8.7
Conclusion
8.7
This is certainly an interesting development and the phrase ‘watch this
space’ springs to mind. The trouble is that when the 486 card is ready
for the Risc PC, will this software fix be necessary? For those with
pre-Risc PC machines, the limit of 256 colours doesn’t show off the
graphics as they would appear on a PC. The idea of a catalogue of purely
CD material is a good idea, as it is becoming very difficult to keep up
with the amount of material available.  A
8.7
Flyprint 2.50
8.7
Dave Wilcox
8.7
Flyprint 2.50 is a utility from Dixon & Dixon, designed for the easy
production of tickets, memos, adverts and the like, and is aimed at the
small business, school or club user. The application is provided on one
double density floppy disc which contains the application, System,
Sysmerge, Scrap, Examples folder and a couple of read me intro files.
Also included in this package is a 20-page A5 manual, which is concise
and well thought out.
8.7
For those with a hard disc, installation is a simple matter of dragging
to your desired destination directory, and updating your system
directory if necessary using Sysmerge.
8.7
The program
8.7
A double click on the application installs it onto the iconbar. A click
on the icon runs the application, greeting you with the main menu.
8.7
The first requirement is to use the preferences option to configure the
program for your use.
8.7

8.7
The first option is for your printer type − the software is designed for
use with Epson compatible printers and, at present, there are three
inbuilt printer definition files, HP LaserJet, Acorn JP150 and Epson
LQ850.
8.7
Alongside this are test print icons which allow you to run a test print
of one ticket or a page of tickets to confirm the settings are correct.
This should therefore preferably be performed at the conclusion of the
configuration exercise.
8.7
As well as ‘Standard pages’, i.e. normal A4 cut sheet or fanfold paper,
you can use ‘Flyprint pages’ which are special fanfold sheets with
perforations along one side, for the production of ‘return half ticket’
type flyers. (This paper is available from Dixon & Dixon.) You can
design your own page if the installed ones are not to your
specification.
8.7
There are two merge facilities written into this software, the first of
which allows the use of a phrase book (very much like a clipboard in
other applications). Frequently used comments or phrases are kept in
this note book and simply dragged into the editing window as required.
The second is a mailmerge facility which imports CSV data (Comma
Separated Variables). The main part of this section is the ability to
set a serial number for your flyers which will increment by one for each
copy printed. Once set, preferences can be saved or just used for the
current session.
8.7
Loading and saving are done as in most RISC OS applications except that
there is a load option which displays a ‘Save’ type window which
requires you to enter the full pathname of the file to be loaded −
strange!
8.7
The Print option is self explanatory, and can be configured for as many
copies as required. However, having said that the program is designed
for output to Epson compatibles, the printer driver descriptions are
saved within the program as CSV files and are fairly easy to edit to
match your own printer with the aid of the printer manuals.
8.7
The edit window consists of the main editable ‘paper’ and a toolbar. The
paper shows the position of perforations, if applicable, as a thin black
vertical line. The top row of the toolbar is for choice of text style −
the printer’s inbuilt styles, i.e. italics, bold, underline, sub-script
and super-script. The bottom row has icons controlling justification and
text colour − for those with colour printers. With the tools described,
it only remains to place the cursor and enter your text in the colour
and style required.
8.7
Conclusion
8.7
Dixon & Dixon market a piece of software called ‘Milkman’, which is a
computerised Dairy Management system. The first versions of Flyprint
were designed to be used by owners of ‘Milkman’ for their easy output of
data and circulars and, as such, I feel it probably did a good job.
8.7
Dixon & Dixon have now aimed at a larger market, but I feel that the
facilities of this package are too restrictive for present day use;
mainly due to it not using the full advantage and versatility of the
Acorn computer. There are now thousands of fonts and gigabytes of
graphics available but none of these can be used by this package.
8.7
Gripes aside, I have to admit that I have used this package to produce a
run of raffle tickets, solely due to the fact that the serial numbers
can be put in by the program − an ideal application for this program. It
must also be said that the programming is good, as I had no crashes, and
all output printed out without error.
8.7
All-in-all, the idea is excellent but the application a little lacking
and the price (£34 +VAT from Dixon & Dixon) is a bit steep, all things
considered.  A
8.7
Network Acorn
8.7
Fred Grieve
8.7
As its title suggests, this new publication focuses on the trials and
tribulations of networking Acorn computers. It covers all current models
as well as older models no longer in production such as the A300 and
A400 series and the ubiquitous A3000. Network Acorn is an A4-sized soft
cover book running to some 150 pages and is supplied with an 800Kb disc
of utilities.
8.7
Geoff Preston is a teacher with years of experience of running and
managing Acorn networks and has written this book for anyone who is
considering networking Acorn computers. Undoubtedly, this book is
targeted at mainly education users although Acorn computers and their
associated networks are also found outside the education sector.
8.7
The author imparts his knowledge in a style which is neither
condescending nor assumes too much from the reader. The result is a text
which I found most informative and very easy to read.
8.7
A lot of ground is covered in this book: everything from designing and
planning a network layout, different network topologies, DIY
installation, setting up network software, using a network, managing the
network and hints and tips for network managers.
8.7
Although still used in lots of establishments, Econet is not covered as
it is no longer a viable networking solution to the demands of 32-bit
technology. However, it is mentioned and there are frequent references
to software packages which are Econet compatible. The book concentrates
on Ethernet networks. Peer to peer networking in the form of Acorn’s
Access is covered as well as fileserver/client systems.
8.7
Hardware
8.7
The author provides lots of essential information such as how many
client stations can be installed along a length of network cable and how
much hard disc storage space will be needed on the fileserver. He covers
everything from the relatively simple task of installing network
expansion cards in machines to the slightly more demanding installation
of networking cables. He wisely points out that, if the network design
is large, the job is better left to the professionals. This is not a
cop-out but a piece of good advice: installing a network is not beyond
the abilities of most computer users who have any DIY ability, but very
few have the specialised equipment necessary to test the installation
should it not function correctly!
8.7
The mysteries of repeaters, hubs, gateways and bridges are revealed and
alternatives to copper conductors such as fibre-optics, infra-red and
microwaves are also mentioned.
8.7
Network backing storage is covered very fully, with alternatives to the
more traditional Winchester hard drive such as Syquest drives, magneto-
optical drives, DAT and CD-ROM all mentioned. Backing up data is an
important part of the network manager’s job and this too is covered very
fully.
8.7
Software
8.7
As a network manager for the past 7 years, this section immediately
caught my eye. There are two broad categories of network software:
applications which are designed for client use and utilities to
facilitate network management.
8.7
In the former category, most software companies will supply the stand-
alone version of the software with the site licence. However, there are
special versions of some applications which are “network aware” and two
such applications come in for special mention.
8.7
There are quite a few network manager utility programs around and it is
nice to see these mentioned along with a short description of what each
offers.
8.7
I was delighted to see two things which have a unique place on networked
systems, Teletext and Email, also covered in some detail.
8.7
Software from the Public Domain is considered for network use and some
advice is offered on software to avoid!
8.7
The accompanying disc contains suggested exports directory structures
for Acorn’s Level 4 server software and the AUN application accelerator
as well as several useful utilities.
8.7
The book finishes with an excellent glossary of terminology and an
appendix of useful names and addresses.
8.7
Conclusion
8.7
Although the book is directed towards those who will actually network
Acorn computers or manage them, I am sure that students of
communications systems and networks will also find it extremely useful.
8.7
Geoff Preston has done a terrific job in drawing together lots of
information on the current state of play with regard to Acorn networks.
He backs this up with his own experiences to provide a very worthwhile
and readable book. Ironically, the only drawback with Network Acorn
comes about because of the comprehensive coverage of network software
provided therein. Obviously this is a constantly-changing area which
will therefore tend to make the book out-of-date quite quickly unless
Northwest SEMERC intend to reprint it frequently.
8.7
My only negative comment about Network Acorn concerns its production in
that the black and white illustrations, some of which are screen shots,
are far too dark and look no better than photocopies.
8.7
Network Acorn (ISBN 1-899008-04-7) by Geoff Preston costs £12 from
Northwest Semerc. A
8.7
Langdale − A Geographical Resource
8.7
Nick Harris
8.7
The Langdale Suite from Creative Curriculum Software is a set of
resources designed to cover both IT Capability and various Geographical
Attainment Targets at Key Stage 2 and 3. Some of the resources can be
accessed using multi-disc sets − “The River Project” and “Stickle Tarn”
or the complete suite can be accessed using the CD-ROM, “Langdale”. All
of these multimedia applications were created using Genup Lite and
explore Langdale and the surrounding area in the Lake District. The CD-
ROM also has a comprehensive set of worksheets and printed instructions
which are also held in ‘Draw’ format on a single floppy included in the
package.
8.7
The disc-based resources need to be registered before running and
ideally need to be installed on a hard disc using the !Install program,
although it could be run from the Master and the four other floppies.
!Install also keeps a count of copies made by a multi user or for use on
a Network and has provision for deinstalling, all of which is explained
clearly in the documentation. These resources are identical with those
on the CD-ROM but do not come with work sheets or additional data except
that the disc-based resources are designed for mode 15 only whereas the
CD-ROM will also display in mode 28. Purchasers of the disc-based
resources can upgrade to the CD-ROM less the costs already incurred
8.7
I am running the CD on a RISC OS 3.1 A310 with 4Mb RAM, a Taxan 770+ and
a SCSI-interfaced Cumana CD drive. I have spent some time trying to get
the best from the setup but, although in mode 28 the pictorial data
fills the screen, the full screen does not greatly enhance the
resolution of the photographs etc, and working in mode 15 gives a better
picture for Visual analysis. On the above setup, in mode 28, the screen
flashes on and off whilst disc activity takes place. A similar comment
can be made with respect to the Risc PC − the disc-based application
gives you the choice of whether you wish to work in mode 15 or to
continue in the present mode. On the Risc PC, mode 15 is a letter box
mode − perhaps the application could be made to check for a Risc PC as
well as other modes?
8.7
The CD has “Windows” capability and installed quite happily on our
School Library’s Multimedia PC. However, it did not run in full colour
at the first time of asking and this still requires investigation though
it is more likely to be a problem with the Colour Card than with the CD.
8.7
On the Archimedes, opening the $ directory gives you an Acorn directory
inside which you are presented with several options including the text
file, FirstOfAll, which explains how to get started and gives the
following overview of the various sections that the CD contains, plus
some additional information.
8.7
The applications: These are in the directory called ‘Apps’. Each of the
applications is in its own directory. Open this directory and run the
application as usual by double clicking on it.
8.7
You can get a full description of the contents of the whole package by
running the application ‘!Langdale’ which serves as a general
introduction. Go through every section carefully.
8.7
The resources: These are in the directory called ‘Resources’ and you can
get an overview of the resources by running the application ‘!Guide’
from the applications directory. The resources themselves can be seen by
loading them. All the materials used in the applications are also in the
resources. But there is a great deal more besides.
8.7
Copyright: Due to copyright issues, purchasers must follow the
restrictions below. You are NOT allowed to copy or print the
applications. You are NOT allowed to copy or print the scanned Ordnance
Survey maps, except under the following limited circumstances. It is
often the case that departments of Local Authorities purchase rights to
use Ordnance Survey maps for other purposes, such as town planning. This
purchase generally covers some uses of these scanned maps as well. Local
Education Authority schools should check. All the other resources can be
copied.
8.7
Devising programmes of work for students: You will see that the
resources are very extensive. No attempt has been made to exploit all of
them to the full. However, some useful activities and investigations are
available to get students started and indicate ways in which the package
can be used to support programmes of work.
8.7
The actual directories in Apps are: !Langdale, which explains how to use
the package and gives additional contextual information. !Guide, a
summary of the resources available on the CD, some of which are not used
in the applications. !River, which covers the whole valley down to
Eltwater and can be used to investigate both river profiles and flood
risks. !Geology, general information about the rocks in the valley and
their formation. !Land use, covers the whole valley and can be used to
investigate how man has used the valley up the present day. !Blisco, a
walk from the Old Dungeon Gill car park to the summit of Pike o’ Blisco.
!Bowfell, a walk from the New Dungeon Gill car park to the summit of
Bowfell. !Stickle, a walk from the New Dungeon Gill car park to the
Stickle Tarn. These “walks” complement the material used in the other
Applications. There is also a directory containing the software for
running a Concept Keyboard which can be used for the applications.
8.7
The following suggestions are those given by C C Software on the CD.
8.7
The worksheets for most of the activities and investigations are
provided on paper and as files for direct use or printing out.
8.7
Scene setting: Some activities which would allow students to familiarise
themselves with the content and structure of the package would be
appropriate. It is suggested that as a minimum this would include − work
through the applications ‘!Langdale’ and ‘!Guide’ − look up the area in
whatever atlases and other maps were available − ideally, having access
to either the OS Pathfinder maps or the OS Landranger map of the valley
and surrounding area − locate and look at the aerial photographs in the
resources and the maps in the resources and identify some of the
features − either draw a simple sketch map of the area or print the
sketch map provided − write a brief general description of the valley.
8.7
Map work: Three sets of activities relating to map work are provided in
the directory ‘Mapwork’; four activities on contours, one on grid
references and one on map symbols. They are intended to be done on
computers but could be modified to be completed on paper.
8.7
The Langdale Explorer: This activity, using the three simulated walks,
should be done as a preliminary to the four main investigations. The
answers are in this directory in the file ‘Explorans’. The following
investigations are not specific about how students should present their
results. It should be made clear that effective use of the resources, by
using printed selections, or DTP packages, or even multimedia, will add
value to assessment.
8.7
River profile: This is investigation 1. Students should make appropriate
use of the application !River as well as referring back to the simulated
walks.
8.7
Flood risk: This is investigation 2. Students should make appropriate
use of the application !River as well as referring back to the simulated
walks.
8.7
Land forms: This is investigation 3. Students should be encouraged to
start to make use of the photographs in the resources. One way to do
this is for the student to identify a grid reference and direction which
might help illustrate a land form, and search through the photos for a
suitable photograph.
8.7
Land use: This is investigation 4. Students should make appropriate use
of the application !Landuse as well as any other applications. The
worksheet ‘Timeshare’ provides an alternative approach to this topic
through a detailed study of an aspect of land use.
8.7
Mickleden: This investigation provides a further approach to land use.
The additional requirement is that students must also identify and use
appropriate photographic evidence from the resources.
8.7
Further use of the resources; general activities: While use of the
resources has been an additional part of the investigations above, there
are many opportunities for work centred only on the resources
themselves. In particular, the resources provide opportunity for work
which develops IT capability, such as: a multimedia or desk top
published report of a survey, over time, of a particular location. The
New Dungeon Gill car park, for example, would be worth investigation. A
range of numerical studies using the CSV data in conjunction with both
databases and spreadsheets. Details of possible approaches are given
with the data.
8.7
Some Questions from a Worksheet.
8.7
7.  Two points for the word which describes the shape of the boulders in
the stream bed on photo B16.
8.7
8.  Two points for the grid reference of the old sheepfold.
8.7
9.  Which direction are you walking on map 2? One point.
8.7
15. Two points for finding the name given to material deposited by a
glacier.
8.7
16. Identify the two types of slope on Pavey Ark.  Four points.
8.7
17. Ten points for finding out the name given to the glacial landform
now occupied by Stickle Tarn.
8.7
!Langdale presents an overall picture of the entire suite clearly and
explains how the Genup Lite applications can be used including the
iconbars (see illustration) and search/supersearch. The other
applications use maps and “hotspots” to take the user along a route
using photographs, (see illustration) and by using buttons which reveal
additional information, textual data, overlays/labels, closeups, sound
(only on a few samples) and data which could be in the form of
transects, rainfall data, reports, or cross sections, etc.
8.7
The basic ideas behind this CD-ROM are very sound; to provide a resource
to allow students the opportunity to handle IT whilst studying a
glaciated upland river and its surrounding catchment area and, as such,
it contains a wealth of pictorial and factual data which will provide a
real contrast for pupils across the country where field studies would be
restricted to lowland rivers like those found near us in Norfolk.
8.7
However, I find that there are several points about the package which
disappoint me. The CD-ROM should really have exploited its capabilities
more thoroughly with, say, some Replay clips of the becks and rivers in
flow to give a more rounded experience and not just the few desultory
sound clips that it has at present.
8.7
I have read a previous review of this package in Archimedes World where
the Genup authouring system was criticized for its idiosyncrasies and I
tend to agree. Although there is a reverse mouse button function so that
old windows are closed automatically when clicking <adjust> and reopened
again on <select>, it is quite possible to find that you have shut all
the windows and you have to start from the beginning again. The
confusing element is that in order to keep photographs open whilst you
are reading text, you have to use the opposite button to that which you
started with and then you forget which you used. It would be more
helpful to have customised buttons which open windows without closing
source pages in those circumstances where the text or data windows
directly relate to a specific photograph or page in the way most of the
applications in “Langdale” do.
8.7
There are inconsistencies in the user interface as there appear to be
small differences between each application which have appeared as they
have been developed and which could be improved. For example in !River
there are no compass guides on the maps as in other applications.
8.7
Another small problem which I hope will be sorted out on later editions
of the CD is that, in some of the applications, some of the photographs
do not correspond with the given information i.e. the bearings and/or
location of the hotspot on the map do not match with the photograph,
which can be confusing. In Land Use, the location list for photographs
have no bearings, which differs from the “walks” applications. It is
also disappointing to note that there are many photographs which are in
portrait orientation when a panoramic “landscape” view would have been
far more appropriate to recording the Landscape. Although the
application actually allows you to look more closely at sections of the
views, those sections are no more than enlargements of the original with
all the problems of low resolution, poor colour and general degradation
attendant on that technique, and not an entirely new photograph taken
with a telephoto lens or taken from much closer to the area of special
interest. Sometimes, the choice and/or presentation of a close up does
little to really add to the user’s understanding.
8.7
One significant comment passed by the Geography department was
surprising! They felt that the textual information was too easily
available and too detailed! With the result that the pupils would not
need to use their own knowledge plus their observational and analytical
powers to understand how and why an upland river will differ from those
in their own locality. In fact, there is no need to work out the answers
to questions as the answers have already been provided!
8.7
This a CD-ROM that has real potential but I feel that it still needs
work to make the expense more justifiable to a Geography department. It
requires a more consistent and perhaps more intuitive interface for
presenting hot spots, bearings and Photographs. The quality of the
Photographs should be considered more carefully, especially in respect
of the closeups where both quality and subject detail are very
important. (The resolution of the photographs on the CD could have been
better, they are not photo CD quality but just plain sprites.) There
might be some form of control or customisation that denies or at least
reduces the ease of access to the text areas containing answers. As a
river is a dynamic feature, it would be extremely useful to have more
sound clips and, more importantly, Replay clips showing the river from,
say, full spate to drought conditions at various locations for water in
a river. I appreciate that the disc-based resources might become too
unwieldy with too many !Replay clips but sound samples would be
possible. I look forward to an upgraded/improved edition.  A
8.7
Look! Hear! Talking Topics for Infants
8.7
Richard Rymarz
8.7
A couple of years ago, Sherston Software developed the idea of ‘Talking
Books’ for children. Simply, this involved developing software,
particularly for younger children, that included clear speech, animation
and the ability for the child to interact with the on-screen
presentation. There are now two volumes of ‘Naughty Stories’ which have
been very successful and have made the transition to CD-ROM. Then came
the ‘Oxford Reading Tree’ series which is still being developed. Now a
third set of ‘Talking Books’ has been released. Written by Simon and
Adam Hosler, they are very simple information books based around topics
that frequently crop up at Key Stage 1 (5 − 7 year olds) in most
schools.
8.7
The ‘Talking Book’
8.7
For those who have not seen any of Sherston’s previous offerings,
Talking Books allow children to see on screen images, animate them, read
and/or listen to the appropriate text or listen to it if they cannot
read it themselves and, finally, highlight and hear certain words they
may not understand.
8.7
Look! Hear! Talking Topics
8.7
This suite of programs is an attempt at a new approach to Key Stage 1
reference books by making the information accessible through the
computer. Volume 1 consists of six topics often and widely used by most
schools: The Body, Land Transport, Dinosaurs, Pets, Homes and The
Seashore. Each topic comes on two discs, all of which can be transferred
to hard disc. However, they can easily be run from floppy disc − the
program even tells the children when to change to disc 2.
8.7
Each topic follows the same format. Disc 1 contains !Fonts, !System and
two Edit files, one consisting of release notes and the other providing
information for RISC OS 2 users. Clicking on !TheBody, for example,
installs the program on the iconbar. An options menu is available where
the volume can be adjusted and whether highlighting of text is required.
8.7
Running the program produces a title page with two icons at the bottom
right hand corner: one an ear and the other an arrow. Clicking on the
ear results in the title being spoken. Clicking on the arrow beings up
an index. This is attractively laid out and easy to understand with the
particular part of the body named and pictured. Floppy disc users will
notice that disc 2 chapters are greyed out. The ear icon is on the left
of each chapter, and there is an arrow on the right. Click on the ear
and the chapter heading is read out. Clicking on the arrow results in a
new page with a large picture of, for instance, an eye. The ear icon is
again present and the text can be listened to. Clicking another icon
below the ear results in some animation. Clicking on the arrow calls
another page where more information is available. An open book icon
returns the child to the index page. This is all very easy and children
will have no difficulty finding their way around.
8.7
Each topic contains between eight and ten chapters, each two pages long.
This may not seem much but compares favourably with many early learning
books. The language is simple and appropriate, the pictures attractive
and the animations add an extra dimension − in fact, children love them.
The topics have been chosen carefully and must be used at some time
during the first three years in school.
8.7
Documentation
8.7
A comprehensive user guide is included which is up to the high standard
we have come to expect from Sherston. Also included is a set of double-
sided work cards which are designed to help the teacher/ parent make the
most of the topics.
8.7
Home use
8.7
Whilst I have stressed the use of Talking Topics at school, they could
equally be used at home. However, to get the best from them, parents
should be warned that listening and talking to their children is vital
if the best is to be gleaned from these programs.
8.7
The complete Volume One of the Look! Hear! Talking Topics is available
from Sherston for £59.75 +VAT (£67 through Archive) or £11.95 +VAT for
individual topics from Sherston. When it comes to parting with money,
the parent/teacher has to judge between the value of information books
and computer versions. My view is that there is a definite place for
both with the added use of sound and animation providing enough
substance to make the purchase of these type of programs worthwhile.
Sherston must be on to a winner − recommended.  A
8.7
Clicker
8.7
Hutch Curry
8.7
Clicker is designed to be a very flexible utility program providing an
alternative mouse-operated input to co-operating RISC OS applications.
As such, it is aimed primarily at the very young child and at those
individuals with special educational needs. There is also a special
version of Clicker called Switch Clicker designed to work with switches
for those with physical handicap. It would be interesting to try it,
particularly with some of my brain-injured clients.
8.7
Clicker works as a multi-level on-screen overlay keyboard in a manner
not too dissimilar to external overlay keyboards such as the Concept
Keyboard. Each overlay − which is called a ‘grid’ in Clicker − consists
of a number of cells. Each cell can contain either a text string such as
a letter, a word or phrase, an editing or function key action command
(keypress) or a link to another grid. Clicking on a cell then either
outputs the text or command string to an application that owns the caret
(typically a text editor or word processor) or requests Clicker to close
the current grid and open another one. The contents of any cell and a
number of properties of each grid can be easily altered to suit the
individual’s needs. The programmer has clearly intended that teachers or
individual users should be easily able to design systems tailored for
specific purposes and/or specific students.
8.7
One of the other features of Clicker is the ability to link software
speech (or sampled sounds) to any of the cells. The software speech is
generated by Superior Software’s ‘Speech!’ system. If software speech is
being used, the computer attempts to speak the word as best it can. If
sampled sounds are being used, any sample can be linked to the cell.
8.7
Clicker is priced at £35.00 plus VAT which includes a 5-machine site
licence. For your money, you get an attractive plastic wallet containing
the A5 manual and two discs − one containing the program and the other
containing examples.
8.7
In use
8.7
For the review, I ran Clicker on both a 12Mb A540 and a 4Mb A5000. Both
machines were fitted with multisync monitors, hard drives and RISC OS
3.1. Neither machine had any trouble with Clicker.
8.7
Installation of Clicker was simple and straightforward − involving only
the copying of the supplied discs to other floppies or to a hard disc.
The software ran fine from the hard disc with no requirement for a key
disc. The manual supplied with Clicker is very good in both content and
layout.
8.7
To get to grips with Clicker, I read the manual and then tried all the
supplied examples with Edit, StrongEd and Publisher to get a feel for
the way it worked. In general, the operation of Clicker was easy and
intuitive (see below for some areas of improvement) as long as the
receiving application had the text caret. If, in the middle of text
entry, you go off and do something else on the computer that grabs the
caret, when you go back to Clicker, you might find your text going to
another application or just going nowhere.
8.7
After playing about for a bit, I started to customise the grids and this
worked exactly as the manual described and was easy and fun to do. With
one of my grids, I went and got my 4-year old son to have a go at
entering some words to make a sentence. This is something he is now
doing at school with words on pieces of card. The figures illustrate the
results of his efforts. He thought Clicker was great and much more fun
than using the cards. He now asks if we can go on the computer to make
some sentences, so I have constructed a number of grids for him using
the same words as he has been given by the teacher. I think that perhaps
this is the best testament to the value of the program. Interestingly,
he wasn’t too impressed with the computer speech and wanted it switched
off.
8.7
Niggles and complaints
8.7
Although my son was totally enthusiastic, I have a number of minor
criticisms and suggestions. First of all, there is a dictionary supplied
that works off a ‘letters’ grid that allows you to open another grid
containing an assortment of words beginning with the letter you clicked
on. This should have been one of the more useful and impressive features
but was somewhat disappointing in the shortage of supplied words and the
apparent inability of Clicker to deal with having more than one grid
open at a time. I found it extremely annoying that the ‘letters’ grid
was automatically closed when you clicked on one of the letters. This
was followed by an appreciable delay while the selected word grid
opened. To go back to the selection of words beginning with a different
letter, you have to click on the ‘letters’ cell. This closed the ‘word’
grid and there was another delay before the ‘letters’ grid reappeared.
8.7
Another niggle was that cells which were not defined produced an output
of unwanted spaces into the text. I discovered that the reason for this
is that there is a flag that the user can set for automatically putting
a space after any cell content. This is a local flag affecting only one
cell and it was therefore quite tedious to edit all the blank cells to
ensure that the flag was not set. I am sure it would have been better if
blank cells actually did nothing.
8.7
In trying to add my own words to the dictionary from a file − which
should have somewhat nullified my complaint about the few words supplied
− I ran across a couple of problems. The first was that RAM transfer −
the ability to save from one application to another directly − was not
implemented and I had to save my selection of words to a disc file and
then load the disc file. I then found that upon dragging the file to the
grid, I was given the choice of loading into all of the cells or only
into the blank ones. When I chose to load only into the blank cells, the
program nonetheless wrote over some of the existing cell contents.
8.7
And a few more... The file length seems to be fixed at 29Kb regardless
of the file contents. You can’t open a grid by dragging it onto the
iconbar icon, although you can open one by dragging it onto an already
open grid. The computer generated speech is acceptable − but only just.
The sampled sounds can obviously be of a much higher quality, depending
on the sample. However, these samples are loaded only when the cell is
activated, so there is a perceptible delay between action and sound. I
presume that the programmer implemented the samples in this fashion to
minimise memory requirements. The samples are also required to be in the
same directory as the grids for reasons that seemingly have to do with
making the programmer’s life easier.
8.7
Conclusions
8.7
I was quite impressed with Clicker despite the long list of small
niggles. I would obviously be more impressed if a future version
addressed these issues. The price of £35 (plus VAT) seems very
reasonable − particularly for a 5 machine site licence. I have to say
again how pleased I was to see how Clicker motivated my young boy to
spend literally hours making sentences. This must be one of the best
yardsticks to judge the value of educational software.  A
8.7
Clicker is produced by Crick Computing who have actually now done a
Clicker Plus. As soon as we get hold of a copy for review, we’ll pass it
on to Hutch. Ed.
8.7
VTI Printer Port Sampler
8.7
Andrew Rawnsley
8.7
VTI (aka Vertical Twist) have produced a variety of audio products over
the years, from Tracker and the Econet Port Midi Sampler pack in the
earlier days, to the latest VTX2000 Midi music. The Printer Port Sampler
falls midway between the two periods and has recently undergone a major
overhaul, bringing it into the limelight.
8.7
Compatibility
8.7
Before I go on, I should say something about the rather non-standard
input method for the sampler. I was more than a little dubious about the
merits of plugging a sampler into my printer port − after all, I had an
Impression dongle installed and a printer lead. Splitting the port into
two provided no difficulty − splitter boxes are relatively cheap these
days. However, would I have problems with my notorious Impression
dongle? Surprisingly, everything worked fine and I’m typing this into
Publisher, with the splitter controlling connection to the printer or
sampler.
8.7
A little history
8.7
In the past, samplers have generally been designed to sample from one of
two sources: an external sound source via a LINE socket; or a
microphone. The hardware was designed as a compromise for these two very
different types of input. This often resulted in poor quality samples,
and complicated processing was needed to obtain anything useful.
8.7
However, the VTI sampler is different. Its dongle-like interface has two
inputs − one for each of the above sources. Also, the package comes
complete with a substantial microphone to get you started immediately.
8.7
Technicalities
8.7
When looking at a sampler, it is hard to escape from the technical
details of the product. After all, the quality of the results is
dependent on the specifications of the hardware. The sampler is only 8-
bit and supports sampling rates of up to 35kHz, so don’t expect 16-bit
CD quality. However for the most part, this is not an inconvenience −
all standard machines are only capable of playing 8-bit samples anyway!
8.7
Software support − Sonor
8.7
Perhaps the backbone of any sampling system is the software. This will
determine how easy it is to get input into the machine and how far you
can go when touching up your creation.
8.7
The standard for sample manipulation software was originally set by
Computer Concepts’ AudioWorks package, but you won’t need to splash out
on that for use with this sampler. Apart from its rather too colourful
appearance, it’s hard to criticise the bundled software − !Sonor.
8.7
By selecting an appropriate driver for the Printer Port Sampler in the
choices dialogue box, the package will handle all your sampling,
processing and sample conversion needs. When producing a sample with
which to work, you can either load an old sample, or create a new one
via the sampler. Multiple samples can be open at once, allowing merging,
averaging and comparison of the samples.
8.7
By choosing an area with which to work, you can apply any of the
following effects: Amplify, Shift, Reverse, Fade, Echo, Silence and
Filter.
8.7
Re-sampling and adding of frequencies is also possible. Most of the
effects leads to a dialogue box allowing adjustment of the level of the
effect required.
8.7
Of particular note is the Filter effect, which allows you to build a
filter envelope to apply to the sample. You can also use one of the
built in ones. Silence, for example, is also very useful, as it can be
employed for reducing background noise which might be noticeable between
the words of a sentence. You can also zoom in on your sample, and adjust
the amplitude of sections to give a little more colour.
8.7
The import and export options of the software are also worthy of note.
You can load or save as Logarithmic (Tracker), Armadeus, Module, MS .wav
(16 or 8-bit) or AudioWorks samples. This makes Sonor ideal for people
requiring cross-platform compatibility.
8.7
Finally, once you’re happy with your sample, you can play it back at any
frequency via a keyboard window.
8.7
Software support − Talking Pages Junior
8.7
This is the latest addition to the pack. Talking Pages is a simple
multimedia package, allowing the linking of pages of sound and graphics.
Sprites can be loaded onto the page and, by defining areas on the image,
samples can be linked to mouse click on certain areas.
8.7
Initially, the educational impact of supplying such a package with the
sampler hit me, perhaps because of my own experience working in the
Special Needs market. However, having played with the system myself, I
think that VTI have hit upon a truly useful idea, making the package
ideal for all kinds of presentation work.
8.7
Although the full version of Talking Pages is not yet available, the
software supplied for review worked well and, if used properly, can
yield good results.
8.7
Conclusions
8.7
Whilst not being a professional sampler, the Printer Port Sampler
performs very well, particularly when you consider that the whole system
retails at £44 +VAT! Indeed, Sonor and Talking Pages are worth a good
proportion of that, and when you include the sampler and the
microphone...
8.7
Whilst the sampler could fit easily into almost any environment, what
struck me most were its possibilities in the educational and leisure
fields. The system appears very stable, making it ideal for use in the
classroom, whilst the range of output options makes it ideal for
producing samples for games and project work.
8.7
If you’re looking for a high end 16-bit, 44+ kHz sampler, this isn’t it,
but for everyone else, the package is sensibly priced, and superb value
for money. Well done VTI!  A
8.7

The book that changed my life
8.8
No, this is not a sneaky infiltration of the God-slot − I’m talking
about Robin Williams’ Non-Designer’s Design Book. I use DTP a great deal
but, like many people, have never had any training. I read Rob
Pickering’s book that came with Impression and that taught me a few very
basic things − but that was it.
8.8
Robin Williams’ book has given me some basic design and typography tools
to enable me to start thinking about DTP rather than just doing it. As
you can see, I have changed the layout of Archive somewhat as a result
of reading the book. What do you think of the result? Is it any better?
(See page 25 for more details.)
8.8
NCS − still short-handed
8.8
Andrew and Sue are doing a wonderful job having taken over from Vera and
Amanda but I still haven’t been able to replace David. If anyone knows
of a good, keen (young?) person who knows about Acorn computers and can
communicate effectively with human beings(!), please let me know.
Norwich is a fine city and we’re a happy team (most of the time!). If
you’re interested, send me a CV.
8.8
Special offers policy
8.8
Have you ever wondered about our special offers that are linked in to
reviews? Could the ‘reviews’ be little more than ‘advertorial’? In the
current moral climate in the UK, you could be forgiven for being
suspicious. However, as some of you may have noticed, we do try to
maintain a high moral standard at NCS. Besides, we have a better plan...
...when we receive a glowing review about a particular product, we
contact the supplier to see if we can arrange a special offer. That way,
there’s a much higher probability that those who take up the offer will
get a product that is, actually, worth the money. Then, next time we
make a special offer, they will be more likely to trust us and part with
some more of their hard-earned cash.
8.8
This month we have a good price on the new budget DTP package, Textease.
The review (page 43) says it is good value for money anyway. Also, we
have an excellent offer on Datapower − £55 off the r.r.p. and we also
still have one month to run on the Personal Accounts offer. (Update
review on page 61.)
8.8
That’s it for now. Happy reading!
8.8
Products Available
8.8
Acorn Replay Starter Kit − Not really a new product, but new to Archive
is this package from Acorn. It includes a CD containing sample videos,
stills and examples of multimedia applications, plus AREncode which
allows you to compress your own films or add/change the accompanying
soundtracks. There are also two manuals: the user guide, which has
details of the software supplied, and ‘A Guide to Desktop Multimedia’
with advice on creating your own multimedia applications, shooting
video, locating material as well as tips on layout and style, etc.
8.8
Archive BBS closing − Sadly, we have decided that we cannot justify the
cost of keeping the Archive BBS running for the very few people who are
using it. If you want to send messages to us, leave articles, small ads,
etc, then please either use email ([e-mail]) or log
onto Arcade BBS (0181−654−2212 − user number 21) which Paul accesses a
couple of times a week or Archiboard Central (01603-744231) which, if
people use it, I will also check reasonably regularly. Keith Marlow has
also kindly agreed to put the Archive Monthly Disks on Archiboard
Central. So if you need anything in a hurry, give Archiboard a ring on
01603-744231.
8.8
AVP Picturebase CDs − This range of multimedia resources has been
enlarged to cover additional topics. Each disk, containing video, sound
images and text is controlled by database software, allowing the user to
customise their own encyclopedia. Grouped appropriately for National
Curriculum use, disks currently available are Britain Since 1930,
Victorian Britain, The Era of the Second World War, The First World War
and its Consequences, English Architecture, World Habitats, UK Habitats,
Expansion, Trade and Industry, Earth and Atmosphere which are all £99
+VAT for a single user copy (£115 through Archive). Also, there are two
art-based disks, Art in the National Curriculum and Impressionism up to
the Twentieth Century which are available at £75 +VAT for a single user
copy (£86 through Archive).
8.8
Buttons − A simple application launcher and hard disk protection system
for classroom use. It has a window which opens when the machine starts
up, before any other windows. Listed in the window are the applications
necessary; single clicking will load the task. Other actions can also be
linked, so the same click could, for example, also load the printer
driver and open a work directory. The hard drive is protected by either
removing the hard drive icon or limiting its use (for example, it could
open the work directory rather than the disk root). Other areas of the
hard disk are only accessible via Buttons, so that hidden applications
can be loaded. The price is £24.95 +VAT for a single user licence and
£75 +VAT for a site licence, from Lindis International.
8.8
CD-Circle − Last month we had a review of CD-Circle (p68) but we didn’t
give the address of the producers, Desktop Laminations. We have
corrected that in this month’s Factfile at the back of the magazine.
8.8
CD drivers − VTi have released four drivers for SCSI and IDE drives −
Sony CDU55-S and CDU-55E, Toshiba 3401, 5201 and 4101, NEC SCSI drives
and Wearnes CDD-120 series (IDE drives). The drivers cost £19 +VAT each
from VTi.
8.8
ClassRom upgrade − Oak Solutions’ ClassRom products are now supplied by
Network Solutions, who have announced the upgrade to version 1.28.
Additional features are CMOS RAM protection and restoration (also
prevents factory resets), optional machine protection via password, two
physical drives can now be seen as two ClassRom partitions, as well as
being able to partition single drives. Support for the Risc PC is now
also available. Existing ClassRom cards can be upgraded for £15 +VAT.
The upgrade consists of a new EPROM, updated ClassRom software and
manual. The upgrade is also available for Oak Ethernet cards (ClassNet).
8.8
Cross Stitch − iSV Products has launched XStitch, a cross stitch design
package for RISC OS. Any sprite can be used as input, to produce a full
cross stitch pattern, using up to 64 colours from 512 named industry-
standard thread colours. The design can be saved as a drawfile for
importing into DTP packages, as a colour or black and white design. A
wide variety of materials are supported, automatic conversion of sprite
colours to named colours, automatic calculation of finished design size,
definable background colour and over 10,000 stitches per pattern. The
price is £21.50 including p&p from iSV or £20 through Archive.
8.8
Cumana Bravo − This CD drive comes in two variants − the first connects
via the computer’s bi-directional parallel port and is therefore not
suitable for the A3xx/4xx/5xx or the A3000. The second uses an SLCD
interface available as a standard podule or an SLCD upgrade for an EMU
interface card. The drive is a double speed, draw loading device and has
a built-in audio mixer so that the computer and CD sound are combined,
so both are available through the same headphones or speakers without
needing to swap cables. Either type costs £254.47 +VAT + p&p or £300
through Archive. If you do not have an EMU card fitted to your machine,
the drive, EMU board and EMU upgrade will cost £297 +VAT + p&p or £350
through Archive.
8.8
Cumana Indigo − The Indigo CD drive is an internal drive for the Risc
PC. The 300iA is supplied with an IDE interface and therefore does not
need an additional interface. It is also supplied with an audio mixing
board to allow computer and CD sound to be merged. The cost is now
£211.91 +VAT + p&p or £250 through Archive.
8.8
(There is a problem here in that the board requires the same sound
connection on the pcb as the Acorn/ESP 16-bit sound upgrade. If you want
to use both, you will need a small adaptor board for which Cumana are
charging £10 +VAT, although, it is possible that they may be supplied
f.o.c. with the drive if you need it.)
8.8
Cumana Oscar − The Oscar CD drive is an external, double-speed device
which connects to the computer’s bi-directional parallel port (so it is
only suitable for use with the Risc PC, A5000, A3010, A3020, A4000 and
A4 models). A second CD drive or a printer can be daisy-chained via a
through-connector, so you do not lose use of the parallel port. The
price is £211.91 +VAT + p&p, or £250 through Archive.
8.8
Cumana Victor − These CD drives require a SCSI interface to work, and
there are a large number of options available. Stand-alone drives start
at £299 +VAT + p&p. Auto-changer drives are also available with double
and quad-speed 6-disk versions as well as an 18-disk quad-speed drive.
For situations where the time taken to change between disks is
unacceptable (for example, on a network) multi-drive units are available
with six separate mechanisms.
8.8
Cumana SCSI cards − The price of the Cumana SCSI cards has now dropped.
The SCSI II card is now £169.36 +VAT + p&p or £200 through Archive.
(Remember that you need the SCSI II cable if you wish to attach external
devices − £27 through Archive.) The original SCSI I podule is now £84.26
+VAT + p&p from Cumana.
8.8
Datasafe Tapestreamer − i³ have released a tapestreamer package, which
includes software for backing up over networks for both Acorn and PC
machines. The system needs a bi-directional parallel port, so you do not
need a SCSI card (although you will need a A3010, A3020, A4000, A5000,
A4 or a Risc PC). Software is supplied for both Acorn and PC compatible
systems so dual platform schools do not need to buy a backup system for
both machines. The price is £430 + p&p +VAT or £505 through Archive.
8.8
DMI / PowerWAVE − Audio Dynamics have a new range of audio cards. The
DMI (Dual MIDI Interface) card has two independent Midi interfaces (each
with an in and out connection) The PowerWAVE board is an upgrade to the
DMI cards and contains a 32 channel Ensoniq general Midi synthesizer
with 128 instrument and 49 percussion sounds, removing the need to have
external sound modules. The 30 range are for computers with a mini-
expansion card (A3000, A3010, A3020, A4000), the DMI 30 card is £74 +VAT
or £85 through Archive, the PowerWAVE 30 is £182.97 +VAT or £215 through
Archive. The 50 range will be for computers with a standard size podule,
and have the added benefit of an optional 16-bit sampler port on the
same card, and should be available shortly − prices will be announced.
Or, to save the complication(!) order them from Archive for £36, £40 and
£36 respectively.
8.8
Droom Trilogy − This set of educational adventure games from Resource
has been upgraded with music, enhanced graphics and easier to read text,
and all three titles will run on the Risc PC. The characters in the
games pose various problems for the pupils to solve, particular emphasis
being placed on developing skills in mathematics and logical thinking.
The games are Dragon Droom (£30), Dragon Droom’s Revenge (£34) and
StarDust (£30). Upgrades from an earlier version, £10 per package.
Primary and Secondary site licences are also available. To those prices,
add VAT and 4% of the order price for p&p − minimum £1.50.
8.8
Eesox Gold CD drive − Eesox can no longer get the style of CD drive they
were using as their Gold drive and have replaced it with a caddy-less
drive. This means that you cannot use it in the “tower” mode. However,
it is faster − 4.4 speed with an access time of 150ms compared with 4
speed and an access time of 225ms. The price is unchanged at £360
inclusive for an internal (Risc PC) drive and £440 for an external drive
through Archive.
8.8
Full-colour poster printing − Acorn have added an A0 colour poster
printer to its range of pre-press products − the NovaJET III large-
format inkjet printer. Acorn has combined its Risc PC-based Publishing
System with the NovaJET III to provide the Acorn Poster Publisher, a
complete poster creation and printing system for “under £11,000”.
8.8
The NovaJET uses European standard CMYK inks, operates at 300×300 dpi
and is suitable for producing everything from simple text and line art
to colour proofs, graphic design visuals as well as short-run, full-
colour posters up to A0. Acorn have specifically developed one of the
standard Risc PC printer drivers to increase the speed and enhance the
colour calibration for the NovaJET III.
8.8
The system will be targeted at large retailers, corporate publishers,
quick printers and commercial printers. In addition to marketing the
complete solution, Acorn will offer individual printers to existing
Acorn users. So, if you already have a Risc PC and would like a 14Mb
NovaJET III printer plus driver, we can sell you one through Archive.
The cost would be about £7,500 +VAT. Let me know if you are interested!
8.8
Acorn’s press release says that “initial tests with Risc PC have shown
significant improvements in both speed and quality compared to the
results achieved when the NovaJET is driven by a Mac or PC” and talks
about “photographic quality images”. Having seen the output, I would
agree and can say that it is nothing less than stunning. I’ll bet it
eats up the ink but that will be nothing compared to the cost of getting
posters printed commercially. To give an example of the speed, the
NovaJET can produce an A1-format, photographic quality poster in
approximately 20 minutes.
8.8
This is actually a very significant announcement because it is another
example of something you can do on Acorn machines that can’t be matched
on other platforms, i.e. it’s an example where someone would buy a
Risc PC in order to run the application.
8.8
If you want to run one of these printers to use with a Mac or a PC, you
would need to have a separate computer entirely dedicated to driving the
printer (probably a Pentium or a ‘Big Mac’ of some sort) so the cost of
that would probably be £15−16,000. Also, you would have to use
networking to throw PostScript at it from your separate design station.
This means that, to run it, you need (a) about twice as much money as
using an Acorn and (b) someone with networking expertise because the
task, even in networking terms, is not a simple one. With the Acorn
solution, the printer is (almost) just like any other printer attached
to your workstation computer − there’s no need to have someone with
specialist knowledge of networking and/or PostScript to run it.
8.8
I say “almost” because there is the issue of colour calibration. The
resultant colour does depend to a great extent on the type and quality
of paper used. Acorn provide preset calibration files for a number of
standard types of paper but if you choose to use different paper, you
will need to go through a calibration procedure.
8.8
For further information, please contact Simon Woodward, Publishing
Manager at Acorn Computers on 01223-254460.
8.8
Hazelnut CD − Hazelnut have released a CD which includes all three of
their multimedia learning packages. Times Tables: 12 disks covering 2×
to 12× tables, 132 different animations, text and sound (disk price
£30); Number Bonds, £15 − three disks covering addition and subtraction
bonds up to 10, plus two worksheets (disk price £15 for all three, or £5
each); and a new release, Tell Time with four disks covering hours,
half-past and quarters (disk price £20). Any of the above can be bought
as separate packages (add £2.50 p&p) or all three on one CD costs £50 +
£1.50 p&p. (No VAT as Hazelnut are not VAT registered.)
8.8
Lambda 16 − The Irlam 16-bit sound sampler/player on a standard
expansion card. The included software controls the settings for the
card, and sampling is via a simple-to-use tape recorder-style interface.
The card has stereo line-in phono connectors, 3.5mm Mic, 16-bit stereo
line-out (3.5mm jack), variable input gain and line-out volume. Stereo
and mono file formats are supported, in 16 or 8-bit, from a wide range
of sampling rates, from 5.51kHz to 48.0kHz. It integrates the standard
sound system, allowing the computer’s sound to be sampled or the 16-bit
and VIDC outputs to be mixed. The introductory price, including
expansion card and sampling software, lead and manual, is £99 + £3.50
p&p +VAT or £118 through Archive. Tsunami, the sound editing software,
is not yet ready, but when it is, a joint package will be available for
£159 + p&p +VAT (standard Tsunami price will be £99 + p&p +VAT). The
samples created can, however, be edited using other packages such as
!AudioWorks in the meantime.
8.8
Landmarks: PinPoint data file Ancient Civilisations − Information in
this datafile covers eleven civilisations, such as the Egyptians, Aztecs
and the Romans. A number of activity sheets are included, focusing on
historical and geographical aspects, covering river valleys, landmarks,
leaders, Egyptian writing and numbers, beliefs and customs, and also a
quiz. To use the data, you will need either Junior PinPoint or PinPoint.
This costs £14 +£3 p&p +VAT from Longman Logotron.
8.8
Landmarks: Victorian Era − New to Longman Logotron’s Landmarks series of
TV tie-in educational software, the Victorian Era allows children to
investigate English village life at various times between 1780 and 1880.
The effects of the agricultural and industrial revolutions, represented
by the arrival of a mill, canal and railway, can be seen, showing both
the impact on the people, and the changes to the village itself. A top-
down view of the village is used to discover information about the
scene. Worksheets are also included. This costs £25.50 +£3 p&p +VAT from
Longman Logotron.
8.8
Mechanisms CD − This graphical demonstration of mechanical theory and
practice is ideal for maths, technology and physics. Suitable for use on
either an Acorn Computer or a Windows machine, the price is £49 +VAT
(single user) and £99 +VAT (site licence) from Creative Curriculum
Software. (£57 and £115 through Archive respectively.)
8.8
PC card for Risc PC − Acorn say... “Initial stock is expected during
April with a steady ramp-up in production during the next few months. If
you have already purchased a Risc PC, you are entitled to buy a PC card
for £99 +VAT (£116.32) within the next three months. After that time,
the price will be £199 +VAT if purchased separately.” Presumably, it
will be £99 if actually with a Risc PC.
8.8
The problem which NCS now have is that there is no discount on the PC
cards − Acorn are charging us £99 +VAT which means that we are making a
loss on every PC card we sell, especially when you take into account the
admin and the cost of postage and packing. We’re not asking for sympathy
or any extra cash but just that you bear with us as we handle the huge
backlog of orders. In particular, may we ask you NOT to keep ringing us
up. We will send the cards out to you as soon as we possibly can, and we
will let you know in the magazine where we are up to by saying things
like “we have so far supplied all PC cards ordered before May 13th 1994”
or whatever. Also, we’ll put that information on the ansaphone so that
you can ring up out of office hours and find out what is happening.
8.8
One other problem is that some of you sent cheques which are now more
than six months old! They will have to come back to you to have the
dates changed. Thanks, in advance, for your cooperation.
8.8
Pocketbook leather cases − Network Solutions can now supply leather
carrying cases for the Acorn Pocketbook and Psion Series 3. The student
holster is a padded case with a belt loop, for £12.20. The Executive, a
wallet style case, holds the Pocketbook and up to two PCMCIA cards, and
costs £22.20. Finally, the storage card holds up to six PCMCIA cards
(but not the Pocketbook itself) for £17.00. Carriage at £1.50 per order
and VAT need to be added to the above prices.
8.8
Risc PC Acorn Access − The price has changed on the Acorn Access card
for the Risc PC. The new price is £140 through Archive. However, it
isn’t actually available yet as there are still various issues to be
resolved about Ethernet revisions, etc. In the meantime, we can get a
Risc PC Access look-alike from Atomwide which will cost £150 through
Archive.
8.8
Risc PC case expansion − If you want to expand your Risc PC to three or
four slices (i.e. to take six or eight expansion cards), they are now
available through Archive. To upgrade an ACB15/25 to two slices, as
previously, costs £116, to three slices costs £316 and to four slices
£352. If you already have a two-slice machine then to go to three slices
will cost £257 and to four slices £316.
8.8
SAS2 − Morley Electronics have updated their SAS backup software. It has
been completely rewritten for enhanced performance and offers a flexible
and easy-to-use system. Timed backups, either using a proprietary format
or the Unix standard TAR format can be configured and data can be
compressed using the RISC OS 3 !Squash application. A Log file is saved
to aid restoration, allowing individual or multiple files/directories to
be restored. Possible target devices include SCSI tape streamers, hard
drives, removable hard disks and floppy disk drives. The cost is £99
+VAT from Morley or £110 through Archive (or £49 +VAT for an upgrade
from version 1 from Morley).
8.8
TeleText Turbo − XOB have a new version of their TeleCard Network
software. The TeleText Turbo can capture and distribute eight live and
eight local services from each of up to six TeleCards. Data is cached at
the server, so access, even from a remote client, is regularly quicker
than a teletext television. The cache is updated automatically so each
page will, on average, be no more than a few seconds out of date or, if
desired, the client can request that pages are grabbed directly off air.
A viewdata editor is supplied to permit the setting up of local services
for departments, for example. The server can coexist with other servers,
such as level 4. The Card and software costs £299 from XOB. The standard
network version of the telecard is now available for £190. The Teletext
Turbo software costs £169.
8.8
Tesco scheme starts again − The Tesco Computers for Schools scheme
starts again on 24th April and runs up to 2nd July. Schools requiring
additional packs or with enquiries about the scheme can contact the
Schools’ Helpline on 0171-580-9370 or send an email to
‘[e-mail]’. With Tesco’s recent
acquisition of over fifty William Low stores, the scope of participation
is extended in Scotland.
8.8
VerbMaster-French − This is a multitasking verb management and learning
application, which supports a range of tenses and features automatic
conjugation of regular verbs, easy entering of irregular verbs, addition
of new tenses, and production of printed verb tests and verb tables. The
supplied version includes a help file and a selection of conjugated
verbs. The registered version has additional verb files, along with
text-only and Impression DDF format versions of the manual for printing.
Registration of VerbMaster costs £7.50 single-user, or £15 for a site
licence, and will offer a discount on VerbMaster-German when it is
available. Unregistered versions are available from APDL and other PD
libraries or direct from the author Nigel Caplan.
8.8
VZap − The shareware virus killing software from Digital Phenomena has
just been updated, although the price remains at £5. New features
include redesigned windows (using NewLook), and suspicious !Boot files
are no longer deleted, but suspicious lines are commented out for later
inspection. Automatic virus elimination is available and there are, if
required, free upgrades and support for registered users. It can scan
all known filing systems with a single click, and it prevents known
viruses from loading.
8.8
World War II on the Home Front Another in the set of Anglia Television’s
Key datafiles, this CD contains a number of resources. A large selection
of photographs from the Hulton Deutsch Collection which illustrate the
period between 1938 and 1947 are included, along with their own
historical text, with captions often written by the photographers and
additional comments from today’s perspective. The price is £40 +VAT or
£45 through Archive.
8.8
Review software received...
8.8
We have received review copies of the following: •CDFast (for Networks)
(u), •Garden Wildlife CD (e), •More Stage 2 Talking Stories (e),
•PicturePoint (e), •Rainbow Multimedia (e), •PIMS (Primary Management
System) (e), •TableCalc (u), •Talking Animated Alphabet (e), •VerbMaster
(French) (e).
8.8
e=Education, u=Utility.
8.8
If you would like to review any of these products, please contact the
Archive office. Potential reviewers will need to show that they would
use the product in a professional capacity or that they have some
knowledge of the particular field. u
8.8
Government Health Warning − Reading this could seriously effect your
spiritual health
8.8
Last week, I had a couple of dreams in which I was deliberately doing
something I knew was wrong − I can’t remember the details but, after the
second one, I woke at 5 a.m. and thought, “I wonder if God is trying to
tell me something?” As I lay there, it didn’t take me long to work out
what I thought it might be.
8.8
When the Risc PC first came out, Acorn sent us one of their ‘loan
machines’ for review purposes. When we had finished with it, someone at
Acorn said it would be collected. It stood, in its box, by the door for
some months. I reminded them about it a couple of times but still no-one
came. “Well, there’s no point in it sitting there by the door, doing
nothing.” I reasoned. So, for the last few months, I have been using it
in the office to produce the magazine − indeed, I’m typing this piece on
it now!
8.8
However, I decided that what I was doing was, effectively, stealing and
so, the same day, I rang Acorn to ‘confess’ and offered to buy it off
them. After I had done that, I felt such a sense of joy and relief that
I was sure that it really had been God’s prompting through those two
dreams.
8.8
Now, March had been a pretty duff month for sales − we were well below
our targets. That same day, I made three sales − two big Risc PC systems
and two A4000s to a school. Coincidence? Yes, probably, but as there’s
no way I can be sure, I know what I’ll do next time I think God might be
prompting me!
8.8
P.B.
8.8
Fact-File
8.8
(The numbers in italic are fax numbers)
8.8
Abacus Training    29 Okus Grove, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wilts, SN2
6QA.
8.8
Acorn Direct   FREEPOST, 13 Dennington Road, Wellingborough, Northants,
NN8 2BR.
8.8
  (01933-279300)
8.8
Acorn Computers Ltd    Acorn House, Vision Park, Histon, Cambridge, CB4
4AE. (01223-254254)
8.8
  (01223-254262)
8.8
Anglia Television   Media Development, Anglia House, Norwich, NR1 3JG.
(01603-615151)
8.8
  (01603-631032)
8.8
ANT Ltd   P.O.Box 300, Cambridge, CB1 2EG. (01223-567808) (01223-567801)
8.8
APDL    39 Knighton Park Road, Sydenham, London, SE26 5RN.
8.8
Apricote Studios (p18)  2 Purls Bridge Farm, Manea, Cambridgeshire, PE15
0ND. (01354-680432)
8.8
Arnor Ltd    611 Lincoln Road, Peterborough, PE1 3HA. (01733-68909)
(01733-67299)
8.8
Atomwide Ltd   7 The Metro Centre, Bridge Road, Orpington, Kent, BR5
2BE. (01689-814500)
8.8
  (01689-814501)
8.8
Audio Dynamics    10 Durnford Close, Norden, Rochdale OL12 7RX. (01706-
868803) (01706-868803)
8.8
Avie Electronics (p17)  7 Overbury Road, Norwich. (01603-416863) (01603-
788640)
8.8
AVP   School Hill Centre, Chepstow, Gwent, NP6 5PH. (012912-5439)
8.8
Beebug Ltd    117 Hatfield Road, St Albans, Herts, AL1 4JS. (01727-
840303) (01727-860263)
8.8
Ben Ollivère   6 Truro Close, East Leake, LE12 6HB.
8.8
Cherisha Software   51 Swallowfield Road, Charlton, London, SE7 7NT.
8.8
Colton Software   2 Signet Court, Swanns Road, Cambridge, CB5 8LA.
(01223-311881)
8.8
  (01223-312010)
8.8
Computer Concepts (pp23/24)   Gaddesden Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts,
HP2 6EX. (01442-63933)
8.8
  (01442-231632)
8.8
Creative Curriculum Software   5 Clover Hill Road, Savile Park, Halifax,
HX1 2YG. (01422-340524) (01422-346388)
8.8
Cumana Ltd   Pines Trading Estate, Broad Street, Guildford, GU3 3BH.
(01483-503121)
8.8
  (01483-503326)
8.8
Dalriada Data Technology (p33)   145 Albion Street, Kenilworth,
Warkwickshire, CV8 2FY. (01926-53901)
8.8
Datafile   71 Anson Road, Locking, Weston-super-Mare, Avon, BS24 7DQ.
(01934-823005)
8.8
David Pilling   P.O.Box 22, Thornton Cleveleys, Blackpool, FY5 1LR.
8.8
Desktop Laminations    P.O.Box 332, Bristol, BS99 7XL. (0117-97-999-79)
8.8
Digital Phenomena   104 Manners Road, Southsea, Hants, PO4 0BG.
8.8
Digital Services   9 Wayte Street, Cosham, Portsmouth PO6 3BS. (01705-
210600) (01705-210709)
8.8
EESOX   5 Hillfield Road, Comberton, Cambridge, CB3 7DB. (01223-264242)
8.8
Electronic Font Foundry   Gibbs House, Kennel Ride, Ascot, SL5 7NT.
(01344-891355) (01344-891366)
8.8
ExpLAN   St Catherine’s House, 20 Plymouth Road, Tavistock, Devon, PL19
8AY. (01822-613868) (01822-610868)
8.8
Expressive Software Products   21 Beech Lane, West Hallam, Ilkeston,
Derbyshire, DE7 6GP.  (0115-929-5019)
8.8
  (0115-929-5019)
8.8
Hazelnut Software   197 Blackshots Lane, Grays, Essex, RM16 2LL. (01375-
375514)
8.8
Hodge Electronic Services    16 Mold Road, Mynydd Isa, Clwyd, CH7 6TD.
(01244-550803)
8.8
i³   Unit J1, The Paddock, 347 Cherry Hinton Road, Cambridge, CB1 4DH.
8.8
  (01223-566113) (01223-566313)
8.8
Irlam Instruments   133 London Road, Staines, Middlesex TW18 4HN.
(01895-811401)
8.8
iSV Products   86, Turnberry, Home Farm, Bracknell, Berks, RG12 8ZH.
(01344-55769)
8.8
Kudlian Soft   8 Barrow Road, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, CV8 1EH. (01926-
851147)
8.8
Lindis International   Wood Farm, Linstead Magna, Halesworth, Suffolk,
IP19 0DU. (0198-685-477)
8.8
  (0198-685-460)
8.8
Longman Logotron   124 Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge
CB4 4ZS. (01223-425558) (01223-425349)
8.8
Minerva Systems   Minerva House, Baring Crescent, Exeter, EX1 1TL.
(01392-437756) (01392-421762)
8.8
Morley Electronics   Morley House, Norham Road, North Shields, Tyne &
Wear, NE29 7TY.
8.8
  (0191-257-6355) (0191-257-6373)
8.8
Network Solutions   2 The Borough, Aldreth, Haddenham, Ely, Cambs CB6
3PJ. (01954-212083)
8.8
  (01954-212083).
8.8
Oak Solutions   Dial House, 12 Chapel Street, Halton, Leeds, LS15 7RN
(0113-232-6992)
8.8
  (0113-232-6993)
8.8
Octopus Systems   9 Randwell Close, Ipswich, IP4 5ES. (01473-728943)
(01473-270643)
8.8
Pineapple Software   39 Brownlea Gardens, Seven Kings, Ilford, Essex IG3
9NL. (0181-599-1476)
8.8
  (0181-598-2343) ([e-mail])
8.8
Powerslave Software   P.O. Box 175, Enfield, Middlesex, EN2 6RD.
8.8
Repair Zone   421 Sprowston Road, Norwich, NR3 4EH. (01603-400477)
(01603-417447)
8.8
Resource   51 High Street, Kegworth, Derbyshire, DE74 2DA. (01509-
672222) (01509-672267)
8.8
Safesell Exhibitions (p12)  Market House, Cross Road, Tadworth, Surrey
KT20 5SR.
8.8
Shenley Software   5 Coombefield Close, New Malden, Surrey, KT3 5QF.
(0181-949-3235)
8.8
Softease (p11)  The Old Courthouse, St Peters Churchyard, Derby, DE1
1NN. (01332-204911)
8.8
The ARM Club   Freepost ND6573, London, N12 0BR. (0171-624-9918) (0181-
446-3020)
8.8
VTI (Vertical Twist)   Unit 1, The Shopwhyke Centre, Shopwhyke Road,
Chichester, PO20 6GD.
8.8
  (01243-531194) (01243-531196)
8.8
W. C. Smith & Associates   40 Royal Oak, Alnwick, Northumberland, NE66
2DA., (01665-510682)
8.8
  (01665-510692)
8.8
XOB   Balkeerie, Eassie by Forfar, Angus, DD8 1SR. (01307-840364)
8.8
Archive Monthly Disk
8.8
u Files from Keith Hodge’s Risc PC Column − page 53.
8.8
u Risc PC games compatibility list from Dave Floyd − page 57.
8.8
u PhoneDay-ready STD applications from Jim Nottingham − page 67.
8.8
u Two character-selecting applications from Jim Nottingham − page 64.
8.8
u Lottery program from Apricote Studios reviewed by Colin Singleton  −
page 71.
8.8
u Sample program from Matthew Hunter’s Programming Workshop − page 69.
8.8
u Egyptian fractions from Colin Singleton’s Puzzle Corner  − page 30.
8.8
•  Text import example from Jim Nottingham’s article − page ????.
8.8
•  Various files and applications from Paul Hobbs’ Advanced Basic
Programming Column − page ????.
8.8
•  Monitor recovery program from Hints & Tips Column − page ????.
8.8
•  Sample program from Matthew Hunter’s Programming Workshop − page
????.
8.8
•  Glossary, latest version − It has now reached over 9,000 words and is
still growing. Please keep sending us words and acronyms that you want
defining.
8.8
Paul Beverley
8.8
Norwich Computer Services     96a Vauxhall Street, Norwich, NR2 2SD.
(01603-766592) (764011) email: [e-mail]
8.8
u Archive Special Offers u
8.8
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8.8
Datapower Database
8.8
u After the good review which Datapower received (8.6. p43), we have
arranged a special offer price with Iota. The full price is £149 +VAT =
£175.08, the normal Archive price is £160, but for one month, it is
on special offer at £120 − an excellent saving! u
8.8
“My final choice is Datapower. Whilst I dislike the copy protection
method used (at least it is not as bad as Squirrel’s), and although it
is not a relational database, I found the lookup facility was adequate
for my needs. The design process, reporting facilities and general look
and feel of the program were such that I found myself turning more and
more to this package as the review period went by. You will not be
disappointed if you follow my example and purchase this program for your
computer. Simon Coulthurst.”
8.8
Textease
8.8
u We’ve also managed to arrange a special limited offer on Textease, the
budget DTP package. Once again, the review (see page 43) was very
positive.
8.8
The full price is £39.50 but for two months, it is
on special offer at £35. u
8.8
Personal Accounts v3
8.8
u The full price of Personal Accounts is £49.95 and the special price
(for Archive subscribers only) is £35. The only difference with this
special version is that, to save costs, it will not come in a
presentation case. The offer lasts for one more month, i.e. until the
June issue of Archive is sent out from NCS (mid May). To take advantage
of this offer, just send in your order for Personal Accounts to NCS in
the normal way but simply do so at £35 instead of £49.95. u
8.8
Charity Bring & Buy Sale
8.8
Come to the Acorn User Show in Harrogate and bring your old Beeb/
Archimedes software, hardware, computers, monitors, books − anything
that you think someone else might possibly want to buy.
8.8
u Sponsored by Acorn User and Archive Magazine u
8.8
u Acorn User Show, Harrogate − 6/7th May u
8.8
u If you can’t come, send bits direct to NCS (by 3rd May, please) u
8.8
u In aid of Henshaw’s School for the Blind, Harrogate u
8.8
Help!!!
8.8
Can you come and help us on the stand? We need help − taking delivery of
what people bring, putting prices on them and selling them to others.
David Holden will be there as the main organiser of the stand but he
will need help for the two days. If you can help, ring/fax/email us and
let us know when you can help. I think it will be good fun for all
concerned and it will be doing something to help those less fortunate
than ourselves. Thank you!
8.8
APDL − PD software
8.8
At the show, David Holden will also have his full range of APDL public
domain software available, so pop along to the Archive Charity stand and
see if there is anything you need there.
8.8
Give us ’yer old Beebs!!!
8.8
(and A310, A3000, A400, etc, etc.)
8.8
We have had an overwhelming response to our suggestion last month that
we might re-cycle old computers and peripherals for charitable purposes.
So PLEASE, if you have any old Beebs, Masters, printers, user ports,
concept keyboards (especially useful for special needs applications),
small hard drives, colour monitors, floppy drives, etc, etc just send
them in to us at NCS. Potential users include: Downs Syndrome
Associations, Mencap, Special Needs Departments in schools.
8.8
It won’t cost you much to stick them in a big box, take them along to
your local post office and send them by parcel post... we’ll get them
eventually!!! Alternatively, telephone Parcel Line, Target Express or
any other carrier who has a depot near you (see your local Yellow Pages)
and they will come and pick up the box from you for £10 or £15 or so
(especially if you say it’s for a charity scheme!).
8.8
If you are feeling really generous and have any old RISC OS computers of
any vintage that you don’t want, we can certainly find them a good home,
so just send them in to NCS.
8.8
N.B. If any of the things you send don’t work, please mark them as such
− and send them anyway because we can probably put together two duff
ones and make a working one.
8.8
Also, whether the items work or not, please mark the box “For Charity
Use” − otherwise we might think they have come in for repair, fix them
and send them back to you with a bill for the repair costs!!
8.8
(If you are a school or a charity and want to take advantage of this
scheme, drop us a line telling us what you are looking for and we’ll see
what we can do. Next month, if we have some computers without buyers,
we’ll advertise them in the magazine.) u
8.8
Norwich Computer Services’ Repair Policy
8.8
Owing to staff reduction, very little repair work is now done on NCS
premises and most of it is currently being done by Repair Zone, an Acorn
Service Centre here in Norwich. If you want NCS to handle the repair and
to be your point of contact, that’s fine but we have to add an
administration charge to the price that Repair Zone charge us. Also, as
Repair Zone are not VAT registered, if you come through NCS, we have to
charge you an extra 17.5%.
8.8
For example, if a repair costs us £40 and we add a £5 admin charge plus
VAT, that comes to £52.87, so, it would make good sense for you to go
straight to Repair Zone (or Avie Electronics for fixed-price repairs).
That would also help us because we cannot make a profit from handling
repairs, so it just represents a drain on our resources as things stand.
8.8
We will, of course, continue to handle all warranty repairs ourselves. u
8.8
Small Ads
8.8
(Small ads for Acorn RISC OS computers and related products are free for
subscribers but we reserve the right to publish all, part or none of the
material you send, as we think fit. Sending small ads (especially long
ones!) on disk is helpful but not essential. Ed)
8.8
512Kb RAM disk & new battery (for Pocket Book/Series 3/Series 3a − £140
new) £100, Psion games disk one (7 games) £20. Phone Mark after 6pm on
01905-754277.
8.8
A3000 4Mb, RISC OS 3.1, 20Mb IDE drive, Ovation, PC Emulator, Taxan
Multivision monitor £650. Phone [phone].
8.8
A410/1, 4Mb Ram, 33MHz ARM3, 50MB HD, NewLook desktop, I/O podule, Midi,
Sound sampler, keyboard extension cable £525 o.n.o. Phone Mark after 6pm
on 01905-754277.
8.8
A410/1, ARM3, 20MB HD, RISC OS 3.1, Beebug VME & 5¼“ interface, Taxan
770+LR monitor, Panasonic KX-P1124 printer £550. Phone [phone]
eves.
8.8
A5000 4Mb 80Mb HD + AKF50 Monitor £600, Pocket Book + A-Link £140,
Colour Card Gold £175, 20“ Sony Monitor £700, HP500 Printer £150, HP550C
Colour Printer £225, 632Mb SCSI drive £125, Aleph One 486 PC Card 4Mb +
Windows 3.1 + MS DOS £325, CC Hawk V9 MkII Video Digitiser £90, Acorn
Replay DIY Board £180, 14” Opus Multisync for Risc PC £180. All v.g.c.
Phone Russell on 0131-658-1225 (eves, w/e)
8.8
A5000 4Mb, 120Mb HD, FPA, Acorn Multisync, Learning Curve (less 1st WP),
PC Emulator + Games £900. ProArtisan2CD £40. ANSI C Release 3 £50. Taxan
795 monitor £200. Phone David on 01722-338981.
8.8
A5000 8Mb, 120Mb HD, internal IDE 105Mb Syquest (no cartridge), Eizo
F550i 17“ multisync. A highly capable system − can be viewed at NCS.
£1300 complete, or £400 for monitor alone. Phone Iain Cameron 01483-
751251.
8.8
ARCticulate £7, Enter the Realm £7, Sensible Soccer − International
Edition £10, Archive Mousemat £1.50!, Cover disks (1991+, Archimedes
World, Acorn Computing and Acorn User) £1 each − write with your wants.
Jon Aylwin, 4 St Margarets Close, Hemyock, Devon, EX15 3XJ.
8.8
CC Laser Direct 4 600dpi laser printer, Series 2 controller, v.g.c,
boxed with manuals and latest software, on-site maintenance contract
until Feb 96. Can be used with others computer. Offers around £400.
Phone [phone].
8.8
Genesis Plus £15, 1st Word Plus brand new, unregistered £10, E-Type
£7.50, PowerBand £7.50. RISC OS Applications and User Guides £3 each or
£5 the pair. Phone [phone] eves.
8.8
Qume Laser Direct 300dpi, includes spare toner cartridge. Recent new
drum. (will run on Risc PC with Calligraph card) £395. Pay over 3
months! Acorn Advance (release 2) unopened and unregistered £70. Phone
Paul Cayton 01943-878133 eves or 0113-277-7711 day.
8.8
RISC OS 3 Style Guide with New Look disk, new & unused £6. Phone Mark
after 6pm on 01905-754277.
8.8
Taxan 795 Trinitron 15“ multisync £200, Impression dongle − no software
or manuals £25, ram chips for A400/1 series £20 per Mb, VidiArch Colour
Video Digitiser for A400/1 £20, Vision Colour Digitiser for A410/1 or
A5000 £25, Oak SCSI card for A410/1 with version 1.16 Eprom £20,
Archimedes Econet interfaces £10, CC ScanLight A4 with feeder £150, Oak
Recorder for A410/1 £10. All new or as new. Phone Warrington 01925-
837607 eves. u
8.8
Charity Sales
8.8
No charity bits this month as they are all going into the Charity Bring
and Buy which NCS and Acorn User are co-sponsoring at the Acorn User
Show in Harrogate on 6/7th May. If you have things to contribute, please
send them direct to NCS − to arrive by 3rd May, please. Thank you! u
8.8
Acorn and the Internet
8.8
Adrian Bool
8.8
In this series of articles, I hope to describe to you all aspects of
linking your dear little Acorn onto The Net − from the current ways of
accessing the networks to the impressive technology that is just round
the corner. I also aim to satisfy both sides of the Internet divide −
the dial-up user, using either a modem or ISDN, and the permanently
connected user, using an Ethernet card to access the rest of the world.
8.8
Often we Acorn users are proud of the ground-breaking design of our
machines − whilst the so-called industry standards try to catch up.
Sadly, however, I have to report that, in the case of software to access
the Internet, we are well behind many other operating systems. However,
all is not lost! The new generation of Internet Access Software that is
soon to be released for RISC OS should place Acorns as the perfect
platform to access the Net.
8.8
This month, I shall introduce my simplified notions of several of the
concepts that underlie the implementation of networking software − to
help readers into an understanding of the apparent over-complexity of
computer networks.
8.8
Future months will then concentrate on the more Acorn-specific aspects
of the Internet.
8.8
Networking
8.8
The most important concepts in networking − and, indeed, in many other
areas of computing − are Stacks and Protocols which go hand-in-hand to
create a better world.
8.8
Microsoft − Striving to create The Perfect World
8.8
Stacks evolved largely because the perfect application does not, and
never will, exist. The perfect application would do everything you ever
wanted, do it efficiently and operate seamlessly with any hardware you
have now − or ever will have. Despite Microsoft’s constant efforts at
writing such applications, they will never appear.
8.8
The stack concept attempts to alleviate the problems incurred by not
having the perfect application by stepping through a particular
production cycle:
8.8
u The problem is analysed then split it into several separate layers.
8.8
u The task that each layer needs to perform is then decided upon, but
how that task is implemented is not specified.
8.8
u Once the task that each layer is to perform is known, ‘protocols’ are
defined that provide an interface between each layer.
8.8
u Only when the protocols are decided upon may an implementation of each
layer be written.
8.8
Just as the perfect application is an impossible entity, so is the
perfect layer, but that is no longer a problem! All that is required is
a new layer − small in comparison to the whole application − which
performs your newly defined task.
8.8
This new layer implementation then simply needs to be slotted into the
stack and, since the protocols have not changed, the new layer happily
talks to the rest of your application and vice-versa.
8.8
Back to the Net
8.8
The Internet itself is held together by a stack and the protocols that
bind it together. There are many, possibly hundreds, of protocols in use
over the Net, but most of these are fairly abstract, largely optional,
protocols existing only to implement a particular application over the
network. There are, however, a core set of protocols that bind the
Internet together. These protocols are referred to as TCP/IP (Transfer
Control Protocol / Interface Protocol).
8.8
TCP/IP
8.8
The TCP/IP protocols specify the mid-range of the network stack − not
specifying the very low level hardware details. This enables the
Internet to travel over a wide range of hardware − Ethernet networks,
wide area networks, analogue phone lines, ISDN lines and carrier
pigeons! Nor does TCP/IP specify the application (high) level protocols
− thus not limiting the applications that may be run over the Internet.
8.8
TCP/IP consists of two main protocols, IP and TCP, together with several
other ancillary protocols used largely for the control of the network.
8.8
IP
8.8
IP is the basis of the whole Internet. The IP layer of the stack defines
the structure of a packet. The data that one wants to send gets inserted
into a series of packets. Around the real data is ancillary information
that describes to anyone handling the packet, from where it is going and
to where it has to go eventually. A rough approximation of an IP packet
is,
8.8
+————+————————————+
8.8
+ header + data to be transmitted +
8.8
+————+————————————+
8.8
When the IP protocol receives the data that is to be sent across the
networks, the IP layer forms the appropriate packet and sends it out.
However, this is all that it does. This means that:
8.8
u It does not guarantee the packet will arrive at the destination.
8.8
u It does not guarantee the packets arrive in the order they were
transmitted.
8.8
As you can imagine, using IP to communicate between two machines would
be extremely precarious, and so, to save the day, here comes TCP.
8.8
TCP
8.8
TCP is a layer that sits on top of IP. Unlike IP, the TCP protocol
provides a two-way stream of characters between two processes on two
separate machines. Again unlike IP, TCP guarantees that the characters
will be received correctly and in the same order as they were
transmitted. TCP is known as a connection-oriented protocol.
8.8
It is immediately obvious that TCP is a far more secure basis onto which
to build further levels and their associated protocols, and indeed many
of the Internet’s most important higher level protocols rest on top of
TCP; these include:
8.8
SMTP − Simple Mail Transfer Protocol − this protocol is used by all of
the machines on the Internet to transfer mail from one site to another.
8.8
POP − Post Office Protocol − used to transfer mail on demand from a
central mail server to a PC for reading by the user.
8.8
NNTP − Network News Transfer Protocol − this defines the interaction
between machines on the Internet whilst transferring Usenet news.
8.8
HTTP − HyperText Transfer Protocol − used to transfer World Wide Web
information across the Internet.
8.8
FTP − File Transfer Protocol − a protocol for transferring files!
8.8
Telnet − A protocol allowing a user on one machine to log onto another
machine and use that machine as if they were sitting directly in front
of it.
8.8
UDP
8.8
This protocol, like TCP, sits atop IP. It differs greatly from TCP in
that it provides a connection-less, ‘datagram-oriented’ method of
communication, similar to the IP protocol itself.
8.8
Many of the ‘nuts and bolts’ protocols of the Internet are based on UDP.
One of the most important of these is DNS.
8.8
DNS
8.8
Every port of every machine on the Internet has an IP address, so the IP
layer knows where to send a packet. The IP address is a 32-bit number
and is written, by convention, as
8.8
193.119.176.64
8.8
i.e. each byte is written in decimal, each separated by a dot.
8.8
Humans have great difficulty remembering such addresses accurately, and
so there is an alternative textual format for referring to a port. The
textual name for the machine whose IP address is given above is:
8.8
oveja.u-net.com  (oveja is spanish for sheep!)
8.8
Naturally, there needs to be some way for the computers to change the
name that a user types into an address and that the IP layer can
understand. This method is known as the Domain Name Service (DNS). This
is a truly massive distributed database containing all the name and IP
addresses of every machine on the Internet.
8.8
For more information...
8.8
All of the official protocols that are used over the Internet are
described in a set of documents known as the RFCs − Requests For
Comments. A subset of the many hundreds of RFCs are the STDs (standards)
documents which describe the latest versions of the major Internet
protocols. All of these documents are available over the Internet from a
number of sites.
8.8
Following this basic background information about the Internet, next
month’s article will focus on getting Acorns onto the Net, hopefully
with reviews of Doggysoft’s Termite Internet and ANT’s Internet Suite,
both of which should be released very soon. u
8.8
Safesell
8.8
New artwork
8.8
Chess II − The Champion
8.8
Tord Eriksson
8.8
Having reviewed a number of chess programs through the years, I think
David Pilling has, yet again, produced a winner. This review is based on
a beta-test version, but I am quite convinced that his new chess program
is going to be the most popular yet.
8.8
Manual
8.8
As before, the program comes with a manual and the program itself on an
800Kb disk. The manual is, as yet, only a provisional version, but it
covers things like importing text files, mate puzzles and printing.
8.8
Buttons galore
8.8
The much-improved Chess program has, like Impression, grown buttons.
What is more, as you would like to happen to your fiancée, Chess II has
become more intelligent, grown new features and looks smashing.
8.8
Let’s begin with the buttons on the vertical icon bar. They include
everything you might want, and there’s a menu to boot, as you can see
above.
8.8
The buttons are, from the top: 2D or 3D-view, rotate the view (90° at a
time), suggestion, step back one move, number of steps done, possible
steps with the chosen piece, and human or computer to play black or
green. The little dot on the white ‘human’ button means it is waiting.
8.8
The menu is mainly self-explanatory, ‘Game History’ being a list of all
moves done so far, in a scrollable window. This can be saved separately
for further study.
8.8
In the Choices column, you can select row numbers (1-8, A-H) on/off,
show mate sequence on/off, beep (very helpful when playing at tournament
strength, as the moves take some time), level of play (from novice to
tournament, or a certain number of draws in a set time).
8.8
For those who have the old version, it is possible to import saved
games. The ambitious can write their own text files, using a number of
formats explained in the manual, to import directly into Chess II.
8.8
At any time, you can stop a game and replay parts of the game or the
entire game − changing the events if you want to. I certainly used the
“one step back” button a lot.
8.8
Playing and enjoying
8.8
The most enjoyable part of the new Chess II is the speed with which it
plays and the fluent moves of the different pieces.
8.8
At tournament level, play does take some time, but it usually beats me
on novice or beginner level (Grumble!) so I don’t mind. I am no chess
master, but I think the game plays more strongly than ever, even at
novice level.
8.8
When I reviewed Chess-3D, I stated that I would love to have the
graphics of that game, maybe a bit better implemented, combined with the
battle strength and the speed of Chess. Well, I must say that David
Pilling has done just that and added a bag of extra features, just to be
on the safe side!
8.8
Using mostly Macs today, I must admit that, as a chess game, this is
hard to beat in any way, on any computer. Just as Impression Publisher
has become as nice to use as Quark Xpress, Chess has now matured into a
truly great chess program.
8.8
The only drawback, compared to the original version, is that the game
now needs at least 640Kb to start up, meaning that I can just cram in
one Chess II together with the latest version of Impression Publisher+
on my 4Mb A3000.
8.8
I remember fondly running eight copies of the original Chess at once!
Today you can cram 8Mb into an A3000 or buy one of those fancy new
machines and fill it with 16Mb or more, so if you really need multiple
Chesses it is still possible!
8.8
Conclusion
8.8
Chess II will be the perfect software for your local chess club. Novices
can train on the basics, without the opponent getting bored, the club
magazine editor can produce examples in sprite or draw format and the
theorists can set up classic problems.
8.8
As drawfiles are easily converted into other formats suitable for Macs
or PCs (using ArtWorks or similar), even national clubs and papers will
be greatly helped in producing their chess columns. Fully recommended
for novice, enthusiast and pro, even if the price were more than it is −
£16 through Archive! u
8.8
In addition to playing even more strongly than it predecessor, Chess II
gives the dedicated chess player numerous options: You can save an
entire game as a file, and a certain position as a sprite or as a
drawfile, or just save a list of the moves in a game.
8.8

8.8
This is an example of a drawfile and overleaf are the sprite versions.
8.8
Two versions of sprites are available: Either 2D or 3D view, both well
rendered.
8.8
Avie
8.8
From 8.7 page 11
8.8
Apricote
8.8
From 8.7 page 4
8.8
Online Media
8.8
Graham Jones + Adrian Bool
8.8
Welcome to our short series of articles about Online Media and its
related partners and technologies. This first article looks into our
thoughts about the ideas behind Online Media and the myriad of other
companies that work with (... and against!) Online Media. The next
article will be about the technology that makes it all possible and the
third, well I don’t plan that far in advance.
8.8
I am sure many of us Acorn enthusiasts (with a big or little ‘E’!) are
greatly interested in both the technology that Online Media are
developing and how Online Media themselves fare. The more Set Top Boxes
(STBs) sold, the cheaper our beloved Acorns may well become... There is
also the wonderful thought of plugging our current machines into these
new high speed digital networks, using technology pioneered by Online
Media. Maybe some of you may even like to own an STB!
8.8
TV how it should be
8.8
The idea is very simple: why do I need to watch the TV programmes when
some bloke at the BBC decides I should watch it? What sort of a free
country is that? Currently, we waste a lot of time waiting for our
favourite programmes to appear on the box. Imagine what it would be like
if you could come home in the evening, watch all the programmes you
wanted consecutively and then disappear off to the pub or your favourite
abode!
8.8
Sadly, there are several unavoidable reasons, notably bandwidth, why TV
utopia is not with us yet. However, with the abilities of fibre-optics
to increase the available bandwidth to unprecedented levels, and the
emergence of MPEG technology to drastically decrease the amount of data
that needs to be transmitted, utopia is getting ever nearer.
8.8
Risc PC meets TV
8.8
Armed with Acorn’s powerful Risc PC architecture and the expertise of a
host of other companies, Online Media is at the forefront of delivering
heaven into each TV viewer’s home. And, indeed, some viewers are already
experiencing the fruits of Online Media’s labour. These viewers are part
of ‘The Cambridge Trials’. This is a trial service run by Cambridge
Cable using the technology of Online Media and its associates to provide
an interactive TV service to a number of families, not surprisingly, in
Cambridge.
8.8
Who’s involved?
8.8
Involved in the trials in Cambridge are several companies well known in
the Acorn area. Online Media head the consortium, with Anglia TV and ITN
providing some of the initial services, and S J Research and ATM
providing the ability to supply the high speed data transfer. The
Cambridge Cable fibre-optic cable network is central to the current
trials, supplying a route for data to be transmitted to homes throughout
the Cambridge area. Naturally Acorn, ARM Ltd and Olivetti are part of
the group. Online Media is an off-shoot of Acorn, as is ARM Ltd, and
Olivetti currently own 80% of Acorn. Olivetti also have their own
Telecom and Multimedia division, with Online Media leading their
initiative in digital interactive TV. That just leaves Denton Hall, a
media lawyer providing legal support in the content rights and
regulation area.
8.8
Many other companies are involved in supplying different aspects of the
initial services. The strength of the group seems to grow by the day
with more and more companies showing an interest in the interactive TV
phenomenon − certainly judging by the never-ending flow of press
releases coming through my door.
8.8
How much will it cost?
8.8
At the moment, the viewers participating in the Cambridge trials pay
absolutely nothing for the service. After the Online Media consortium
has received enough feedback from the current users on the feel of the
the new media, they are then going to try various charging models on the
users. Charging for the system will be awkward. Currently, the public is
used to paying its annual licence fee, then having unlimited viewing
time. For the current TV companies, this works out fine because it costs
exactly the same and uses exactly the same resources to broadcast to one
or one million viewers over the air waves. With the cable system, where
each viewer watches what they want, when they want, things are very
different. Every second that a user is watching a TV program or a movie
or listening to an online CD, it costs the cable company in used
bandwidth, since a copy of the data has to be relayed to each user
separately, as opposed to the same data being broadcast to all viewers.
8.8
Online Media and their consortium
8.8
Despite the current range of Online Media Set Top Boxes being basically
customised Risc PCs, it appears that Online Media have purposely
disguised the powerful computer nature of the box, making it seem to the
casual viewer like an altogether simpler affair − little do they know
the complex and powerful technology that sits behind the simple video-
like remote control that they use to control the Set Top Box.
8.8
One of the main services that the Consortium provides is video on
demand. At the demonstration I attended, only a few movies were
available; but when the system is running normally, I would imagine that
the range available would be the same as you would find in a video shop.
8.8
Recent developments include the announcement of a joint development
agreement between Online Media and Macromedia. Macromedia are described
as a ‘leading multimedia application developer’. Online Media is now a
full implementation partner in the ‘Portable Player programme’. I have
little knowledge about this but I understand that, in combination with
new standards being set, this will allow multimedia productions to be
available on many different platforms with no alterations when moving to
a new setup. Macromedia’s products seem to cover every aspect of
developing multimedia products, sound recording/editing, 3D design,
animation, etc.
8.8
Recently, Online Media and Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) signed a
co-operative development agreement. This will initially involve a
‘technology swap’; DEC supplying server equipment (getting the
information to the ‘viewer’), Online Media supplying the set-top boxes
able to interpret and present the information to the ‘viewer’.
8.8
What about the competition?
8.8
BT have just begun trials of their own interactive TV system.
Information is fed to your home via a phone line using a system that
allows 2Mb per second in one direction, along with some slower control
signals and the normal telephone service. The STB used in their trials
is based on an Apple Mac LC475, modified to support the new services.
This service sounds very similar to the Online Media trials, including
Home shopping, movies, music, education and sport. Interestingly enough,
Anglia are supplying material for the BT trials, as is the BBC.
8.8
Apparently, a company called Videotron UK have had interactive TV
available in London for around three years now. This seems to be a
simpler system, allowing selection of one program from a menu, whereupon
the interaction ends. Alternatively, a question and answer system may be
used, for example in educational programs. Videotron have recently
introduced a newer mode of operation in which extra information is
transmitted along with the main program − for example, different camera
views or action replay from a live sports match. There is also an
interactive news, travel and weather service.
8.8
Using a different approach, systems such as Philips CD-i, advertised as
‘One player, countless opportunities’ are competing in the same area.
These systems confine you to playing the games or movies you have
available on CD-ROM. Interactive TV with the STB should eventually allow
greater choice of movie, and the possibility of multiplayer games with/
against people with similar systems, and extra services like shopping.
In fact, Philips Media are likely to supply material created for CD-i
and VideoCD for the OnLine Media tests, so they are clearly looking to
the future. CD-i is available now, whereas it will be a year or two
before the STB and interactive TV are widely available − so we might see
a shift by Philips to their own interactive TV system, or a greater
involvement in current projects as time goes by.
8.8
Viewer or user?
8.8
To be honest, TV bores me silly most of the time. What I prefer is a
good old-fashioned computer! “But why?”, I ask myself.
8.8
Think about the title of this section − ‘Viewer or User’. Viewers
participate in a one-way session with the TV, whilst users participate
in a two-way conversation with their machine. Are Online Media creating
an exciting new two-way communication, or a slightly more pedestrian
one-way system? From what I have seen of Online Media, the system is
going to be leaning towards the one-way communication − with the
interactive part of the system amounting to the sort of interaction one
presently has with a video recorder − and that doesn’t drive me wild.
8.8
Conclusion
8.8
What are the implications for the Acorn world in general and for the STB
user in particular?
8.8
Acorn hardware and software developed for the STB could filter back to
the Risc PC − we’re already seeing this happen with CC’s MPEG video
card, which is a development of hardware built into the Online Media
STB. Other hardware and software could be treated in this way, providing
a great source of expansion requiring little extra development.
8.8
There is no real need for the interaction to be one-way, as suggested
earlier. If the facilities currently available on the Internet could be
transferred to interactive TV, and expanded, making them easier for the
general man in the street to use, the potential for true interaction is
enormous. Individual users or groups should be able to contribute to the
information available, allowing the views of people worldwide to be
combined. The potential for business is vast. A bank of information
could be prepared which the user will investigate; far better than
producing an advert which must incorporate everything required in a
static image or a few seconds on TV.
8.8
In addition, as the STB takes off, maybe Acorn will gain some serious
respect in a world which normally brushes them aside. u
8.8
Latest news
8.8
In the last issue of Archive (8.7 p31) Paul reported on the recent
licensing of the ARM Ltd RISC technology by Digital Semiconductor. The
development of a high speed but not power-hungry processor could be a
big influence on the success of the Online Media STB’s. Commenting on
the agreement, Malcolm Bird, Chief Executive of Online Media, said: “The
ARM processor was the obvious choice for our digital set-top products.
Now, the combination of the benefits of the ARM architecture with the
performance available from DEC’s processes and technology shows the way
for the future. Our interactive TV products can use all the performance
that results. We like the price and low power consumption on offer as
well!”
8.8
Online Media and Viewcall Europe plc have recently signed a supply and
co-operative development agreement under which Online Media will design
and supply digital set-top boxes for Viewcall’s specific requirements.
The Viewcall service is intended to go to commercial trials later this
year. The STB to be used will incorporate the ARM 7500. This is a
combined processor/memory and video controller similar to the ARM 250
used in the A4000/A3020 series of machines, except that it is based on
the ARM 7 processor core. Viewcall have also implemented their own
fractal compression software on the Online Media machines. The
combination of these factors will allow TV-quality still images to be
transmitted down an ordinary telephone line. The services provided will
include local and national services, including catalogue shopping and
Internet access. Since the STB’s will be based on Online Media’s
existing hardware, they will be compatible with existing software
packages for Acorn computers and Online Media designs, and also with
cable and other transmission media as required.
8.8
Finally, Oracle Corporation have announced that Online Media will port
the Oracle New Media software to its machines. “The Oracle environment
allows software developers to write interactive multimedia applications
without limiting the set-top devices with which they can work. End-users
don’t want to concern themselves with connectivity; they want to know
that the set-top box will talk to the infrastructure that is provided,”
said Malcolm Bird, chief executive of Online Media. “Oracle’s
environment makes it possible for set-top designers to be innovative in
their product architectures, which means that new families of products
will emerge with additional capabilities, while retaining
compatibility.”
8.8
Oracle, which is based in California, is the world’s leading supplier of
information management software. The Oracle New Media suite of software
provides a means of creating broadcast-quality multimedia applications
for both CD-ROM and interactive television. It represents a library
which can manage all forms of information: video, audio, text, etc.
Lastly, STBs are able to access the library of data and present it to
the viewer/user. u
8.8
Map Importer
8.8
Mike Samworth
8.8
Map Importer is produced by Minerva Software and works with all RISC OS
machines, having been trialed on A3000, A4000 and Risc PC. In essence,
it is a simple piece of software that performs a single function, that
of converting Ordnance Survey data into drawfiles for further use.
8.8
Ordnance Survey produce map data in a number of forms, one of which is
National Transfer Format (NTF). It is this type of data that Map
Importer converts into drawfiles. Once the data is in Draw format, it
can, of course, be manipulated, printed, enhanced or moved into a DTP
package, database or whatever. The use of the software depends on the
possible uses to which drawfiles of maps can be put. Depending upon
which digital data file is processed, it can provide geographical
information such as buildings, roads, fences, rivers, railways, places
names and county boundaries.
8.8
The program is very simple to use. It is supplied on a single floppy
and, once installed, an icon appears on the icon bar in the usual
fashion. NTF files are dropped onto this, whereupon the hourglass
appears as the program converts the data. When this is complete, a
window appears giving details of the resulting drawfile, including type
and size. The usual Draw icon can then be dragged to a filer window to
save it.
8.8
Menu options, accessed from the icon bar, include being able to choose
the area of the map converted, the detail (which is items to include,
such as roads, boundaries, etc) and some control over output, the
thickness of the lines, for instance. Obviously, resultant drawfiles can
be printed using the standard printer drivers.
8.8
The package comes with two data files (NTF) on the disk, neither of
which are particularly inspiring, and the manual includes a short
tutorial. Anyone familiar with RISC OS will have no trouble at all with
the package.
8.8
The package was tried by a number of Secondary Geography teachers. They
seemed quite impressed by the principle of the package and by its
execution but a little short of ideas on how it would enhance learning
in their subject. One criticism was that contours do not appear on any
of the map data supplied. Also, they seemed to know little about the
availability of data files, though the manual states these are freely
available to LEA-funded establishments (which we are not). The package
seems to perform its function admirably but will stand or fall on the
ease with which teachers are able to obtain the data files, particularly
of local areas.
8.8
There is a very bold statement in the manual! “The impact of this unique
software will be wide ranging and Minerva guarantee that teachers will
use OS data in many exciting ways which have not been previously
possible.”
8.8
Perhaps it would have been a good idea for them to give examples of this
type of thing in the manual, ideally linked to better suited data files
on the disk. Map Importer costs £29.95 for a single user copy, £45 for a
primary site licence and £120 for a secondary site licence. (All + p&p
and VAT). u
8.8
CC
8.8
From 8.7 page 28
8.8
CC
8.8
From 8.7 page 27
8.8
Non-Designer’s Design Book
8.8
Paul Beverley
8.8
The Non-Designer’s Design Book was reviewed a couple of months ago (8.6
p23) but I want to draw attention to it again because I think it is so
good. I thought I’d check whether it was just me who was so enthusiastic
about it, so I wrote to ten of the people who had bought a copy through
Archive to get their views.
8.8
Users’ views
8.8
I asked them to say, on a scale of 1 to 5, (1= Poor, 2=Fair, 3=Average,
4=Good, 5=Excellent) what they thought of the book in terms of
(a) content, (b) readability, and (c) value for money. I also invited
them, if they had time, to offer their own personal comments. Here are
the responses I have had so far...
8.8
(5, 5, 5) “I bought it on the strength of the review − which struck me
as a good assessment of the book.”
8.8
(5, 5, 4) “Coming from a design-oriented background, I’m always amused
by people’s assumption that buying a computer activates a fully-fledged,
but latent, design ability. There are an awful lot of magazines,
posters, leaflets, etc being produced by computer owners who have no
appreciation that type and layout have to be learnt, even if you are
gifted with natural ability to start with. Robin’s book should be
compulsory reading.”
8.8
(5+, 5+, 5++) “If I had had this book a year ago, I wouldn’t have wasted
£300+ on a DTP correspondence course.”
8.8
(5, 5, 5) No comment
8.8
(6, 6, 6) “It’s made a complete difference to the way I look at text −
even with ordinary wordprocessing, let alone page layout.”
8.8
(3, 5, 4) “Compared with other books on a similar theme (especially Into
Print by Quilliam & Grove-Stephenson) this one is a little limited in
content − but then it deals with that content well.” (Sadly, that book
is now out of print. Ed.)
8.8
(4, 4, 4) No comment
8.8
(5, 5, 5) “An excellent book which I expect to be in regular use.”
8.8
(5, 5, 4) “A pleasure to read and, consequently, easy to digest. I
learnt more from this book (and remember) than from other sources I have
read in the past. Thanks for bringing this book to my attention.”
8.8
(Not a bad response rate (90%) to my request for comments − many thanks
to all those who responded so quickly.)
8.8
So that’s one ‘average’ (4%) for content but nothing less than ‘good’
(22%) from anyone on any of the three criteria and 74% of the
assessments were ‘excellent’ or better so I think we can safely say that
they liked it!
8.8
The Editor’s view
8.8
The main reason I think it is so good is that it is simple. OK, it’s not
a textbook for a design course, and OK, it might not be as full of
content as some books but it presents you with the basic principles.
What’s more, it does it simply and with lots of example, so that you can
see what she means. The result is that (a) you can understand them, (b)
you can remember them and (c) you can apply them.
8.8
Just to show you that even I can remember them, the main design
principles that Robin suggests are Contrast, Repetition, Alignment and
Proximity − and I know what each means and I can, and do, apply them.
(She even suggests an acronym to help us remember them − although I
don’t think CARP is terribly memorable, do you?!)
8.8
Also, I can remember and identify the five main categories of type − Old
Style, Modern Style, Sans Serif, Slab Serif and Script. (Drat, I did
that from memory and there are actually six − I missed out Decorative −
but I never use them in any of my work so I can be forgiven, can’t I?!)
8.8
Finally, I can identify and explain the three main ways of combining
different typefaces: Concord (OK), Conflict (Bad) and Contrast (Good).
8.8
The proof of the pudding...
8.8
(This is probably dangerous but...) I have used what I learned from the
book to make changes to Archive this month. Now it’s possible that you
may not like the changes − although I hope you do − but the point is
that, having read Robin’s book, I felt confident to have a go at
fiddling things around and trying to improve the look of the magazine.
In other words, I am now able, consciously, to make changes and have a
vocabulary for discussing the changes.
8.8
For example, in terms of using type, I have moved away from the ‘safe’
technique of using ‘concord’ (different weights and styles of the same
basic face, Plantin) to the bolder and more interesting use of
‘contrast’ − using Plantin (an old style face) for the body text with
Gill Sans (a sans serif face) for the titles and ‘bold’ bits. For added
contrast, I have even gone up to the UltraBold weight of Gill Sans.
8.8
For those who already have a copy of the book, see if you can see what
principles I have used (well, tried to!) in making other changes. I have
consciously used repetition and proximity − although the latter is
difficult in a document that is so jam-packed with information. I think
the alignment was there already in the original design.
8.8
The offer
8.8
As you will have gathered by now, I think that this is a book that every
WP and DTP owner should have. I’m so convinced that you will find it
useful that I am prepared to offer a complete money-back guarantee.
8.8
  u you pay £13
8.8
  u we send you the book
8.8
  u you keep the packaging
8.8
  u you return the book within 14 days
8.8
  u we send you a full refund − i.e. £13
8.8
No questions will be asked − there’ll be no need to give reasons for
returning it and there’ll be no deduction for postage or admin.
8.8
I’m even prepared to extend this outside the UK although, obviously, the
initial cost is higher because of the extra postage:
8.8
    u Europe £14
8.8
    u Australasia £17
8.8
    u Elsewhere £16
8.8
What is more, we won’t make any surcharge on credit cards for this one
purchase.
8.8
Anyone can use it
8.8
Remember that this book applies to any type of computer, not just Acorn.
As you can see from the responses I have shared with you, people will
thank you for recommending the Non-Designer’s Design Book to them − and
the sales will help to keep Norwich Computer Services afloat!! So feel
free to offer a copy to a friend, giving them the same money-back
guarantee as we’re offering you. u
8.8
Club News
8.8
Wakefield Acorn Computer User Group will be changing its meeting night
from the first Thursday of each month, to the first Wednesday of each
month, with effect from the July meeting.
8.8
Meetings are held at the West Yorkshire Sports & Social Club, Sandal
Hall Close, Walton Lane, off the A61 Barnsley Road, Sandal, Wakefield at
7.30 − 9.30/10p.m. Membership is £6 p.a. for Full or Corresponding
Members, and we have a Family Membership at £10 p.a. Visitors can come
on the night and pay 75p at the door.
8.8
The User Group will be having a stand at the Spring Acorn User Show in
Harrogate, where anyone interested may visit the stand and find out more
about what we do.
8.8
Contact address for details is: 95 Cumbrian Way, Lupset Park, Wakefield,
WF2 8JT. u
8.8
Help!!!!
8.8
Articles wanted − Thanks for all the response to the request last time
for (ideas for) articles. I’ve had a few articles − for which, many
thanks − and I’ve been given a few ideas.
8.8
Printers − Could someone give advice about the choice of printer − dot
matrix, inkjet and/or laser printers? (I realise this is a big job!)
8.8
Educational jargon − We’ve had a very useful glossary of Acorn computing
terms but what about someone explaining the educational jargon used in
Archive? What is a Key Stage, for example?
8.8
Ed. u
8.8
Business Strategy game − Does anyone know of a business strategy game
for RISC OS computers? Something like “Detroit” on the PC is what we’re
trying to find.
8.8
Ethne Scott, Norwich. u
8.8
Changing Style − I recently purchased Impression Style, and, on the
whole, I find it very good except for an annoying tendency it has to
unexpectedly jump out of whatever condition has been selected on the
button bar. For example, in composing this, I had initial difficulty in
getting it to stay in 14pt as it kept going back to 12pt unbidden! The
same thing happens with the various fonts, the bold button, etc. I wrote
to CC about it but they appear to be unable to answer queries at the
moment.
8.8
I have heard of others experiencing the same problem and wonder if it is
caused by a software bug in Style. However, I noticed a similar problem
with First Word Plus. When selecting italics, for example, it would
sometimes jump out of it without warning, or revert to it later after it
had been deselected.
8.8
Gerry Muldowney, Reading. u
8.8
I frequently have similar problems with Impression; I find it one of the
most annoying features. Early wordprocessors had definite markers where
styles and effects changed − embedded commands in Wordwise for example.
WYSIWYG editors, however, hide this information, and many packages seem
to have rather random methods for handling the changes.
8.8
Take the text ‘stylechange’, for example. If I click between the ‘t’ and
the ‘y’ then I would get (and expect) the bold effect to be present.
Similarly, I would expect it to be absent between the ‘h’ and the ‘a’.
What about between the ‘e’ and the ‘c’? In this case, the bold is used.
8.8
The situation is further complicated if there is a space, since it is
not apparent whether the effect is applied to the space or not. In
Impression, text entered at the caret seems to take the style
information from the character to the left, but if you change the style
at a point in the text, and move the caret (even to the same place, for
example if you open another window and the caret is ‘lost’) then the
style change will not appear in the text, which frequently causes
confusion. Another effect can occur if you have floating blank lines,
particularly at the end of the text, you find that they can have styles
from earlier in the document attached.
8.8
Matthew Hunter, NCS u
8.8
Commodore emulator − Does anyone know of a Commodore 64 emulator for the
Acorn machines so that I can run my old games and other software? Also,
is there any way of linking a Commodore 1541 Mk2 5¼“ floppy drive to an
Acorn computer?
8.8
Thomas Nelson, Nottingham. u
8.8
Midi, Sibelius, etc − I am a computer programmer, musician and devoted
Acorn user. I admit to a brief affair with a PC but soon saw the error
of my ways. I now have a Risc PC and use Sibelius 7 for writing music
using notation. It has basic Midi playback facilities but it lacks the
real-time input of note data and there is no control over Midi events
such as aftertouch, pitch bend, and program (instrument) change.
8.8
Sibelius say that real-time input and standard Midi file import/export
are coming, but Sibelius 7 is not a sequencer, it is a score editor, and
any Midi input/output is a bonus.
8.8
There is a gaping hole in the Acorn user market for a new kind of
sequencer − fast and intelligent, fun to use. I have loads of ideas but
neither enough time to develop them nor the necessary knowledge of wimp
programming. I do have a good grasp of data design and I know what the
product should do.
8.8
I am looking for any number of partners to help me produce a suite of
packages that will provide music composition and Midi sequencing/editing
facilities − Midi file import/export is a must. My interest lies in
having the package to use. Your interest may be likewise or, if the
product is saleable, maybe you want to make some money.
8.8
Please contact me, either by phone or by letter. Let me know what sort
of programs you write. Perhaps you could send me a disk.
8.8
Steve Atkinson, 8 Beechwood Mount, Burley, Leeds LS4 2NQ. (0113-275-
7325)
8.8
Printing problems − I have a font called Zapf. However, when using the
Canon BJ Turbo Driver from CC, Zapf will not print. It does appear
correctly on screen, both in Impression II and Draw. However, when told
to print, Impression just brings up an error ‘Can’t find font’, while
Draw just ignores it when printing. I have written to CC but have
received no answer. Can anyone else help?
8.8
Paul Pibworth, Gloucester u
8.8
Could this be related to the half-toning problems that have arisen
previously? Some fonts do not contain all the necessary information to
print. This can sometimes be solved by setting half-toning to ‘graphics
only’ via the printer configuration window.
8.8
(If it is the Zapf Dingbats you want rather than the Zapf Chancery,
there is a font called just Dingbats that doesn’t suffer from this
problem. Ed.)
8.8
Matthew Hunter, NCS u
8.8
Hints and Tips
8.8
CC Turbo Driver v4 − I’d like to pass on to other Archive readers some
answers that I received from CC.
8.8
1) The command *Printer$BlackScale is no longer supported by the v4
TurboDrivers; instead, CC offer “sophisticated colour correction
tables”; those for HP printers are “shortly” to be released.
8.8
2) The Turbo module which could be used in earlier versions of the TD to
enable other printer drivers to use the dongled cable has been replaced
by the program !PrintQFS, which is cunningly hidden within
!System.!CCShared.
8.8
By the way, CC informed me that Style has reached version 3.07. Free
upgrades from v. 3.04 can be obtained in the usual way − by sending in
master disk 1. (Don’t forget to send the return postage!)
8.8
Jochen Konietzko, Köln, Germany u
8.8
Fireworkz Pro − I reported some problems with version 1.20 to Colton
Software and was told (in a letter dated 15th March) that the latest
version, 1.20/50, fixes most of these problems. Version 1.21 “is due out
in about three weeks”. (Colton are currently saying, “it will be
available during April”. Ed) The upgrade procedure here is to send in
both program disks − don’t forget − return postage!
8.8
Jochen Konietzko, Köln, Germany u
8.8
Printing from text editors − I mentioned, in my review of lottery
packages, that one of them would not print on my LaserDirect, because it
‘prints’ to a null file instead of to the printer. I have now stopped
trying to use Zap for the same reason. If I drag a text file to the
printer icon (with Zap installed instead of Edit), it prints properly
but if I try to print the document currently displayed on the screen, it
does not. I don’t know whether this is a general problem or whether I
have overlooked some control parameter.
8.8
Colin Singleton, Sheffield u
8.8
Many text editors, including both Edit and Zap, cheat when you try to
print and send the data directly to the parallel port. This is fine if
you have a standard printer, but if you use a different connection (e.g.
serial or laser direct), the file will not be printed. Also, if you use
a Turbo Driver, it is circumvented by Edit, so the text is corrupted.
There are a couple of ways around this.
8.8
You can save to a file and drag that to the printer icon, or try
dragging the file from the save box to the print icon. This should have
the same result and it means that you don’t have to delete the file
afterwards. With Zap, you can also press <shift-print> rather than
<print> which will force the printout to go via the printer driver.
Since Zap allows you to reconfigure the keyboard shortcuts, you can set
<print> to print via the printer driver. (Choose Edit keys from the
options submenu, find the print keymapping which, by default, will be
set to Quickprint and change it to Printfile. Save the keys file and
choose Reload keys again, from the options submenu for the change to
take effect).
8.8
Matthew Hunter, NCS u
8.8
Wolfenstein bugs − A few days after I had sent my Wolfenstein hint
(Archive 8.7, p.12) to Paul, I found that sometimes the saved files
remained open even though the !Cfs.!Run file was not.  I turned to
PowerSlave for help and this is what Eddie Edwards told me:
8.8
There is a bug in Wolfenstein’s code which means that the files are only
closed when the current directory is on the same filing system as
Wolfenstein. Since I use ADFS and SCSI, this would often not be the
case.
8.8
The recommended remedy is to add, at the start of the !Run file, a
Dir<Obey$Dir> command.
8.8
This fix seems to work perfectly.
8.8
Another problem I have is that Wolfenstein always kills my computer’s
beep. This bug can be fixed by adding:
8.8
Channelvoice 1 MyVoice
8.8
to the end of the !Run file.
8.8
Jochen Konietzko, Köln, Germany u
8.8
Since 74% of the assessments were ‘excellent’ or better, I think we can
safely say that they liked it!
8.8
Norwich Computer Services’ Repair Policy
8.8
Owing to staff shortage, very little repair work is now done on NCS
premises and most of it is currently being done by Repair Zone, an Acorn
Service Centre here in Norwich. If you want NCS to handle the repair and
to be your point of contact, that’s fine but we have to add an
administration charge to the price that Repair Zone charge us. Also, as
Repair Zone are not VAT registered, if you come through NCS, we have to
charge you an extra 17.5%.
8.8
For example, if a repair costs us £40 and we add a £5 admin charge plus
VAT, that comes to £52.87, so, it would make good sense for you to go
straight to Repair Zone (or Avie Electronics for fixed-price repairs −
see the advert on page 17). That would also help us because we cannot
make a profit from handling repairs, so it just represents a drain on
our resources as things stand.
8.8
We will, of course, continue to handle all warranty repairs ourselves. u
8.8
Puzzle Corner
8.8
Colin Singleton
8.8
I have been inundated with Lottery Packages recently (well, four
anyway), but no further help with my minimum-entry problem. Anyone
attempting last month’s pangram puzzle might try looking in old issues
of the Guinness Book of Records, and see if they can gain a place in
that publication by improving on the two published offerings.
8.8
Here are this month’s two puzzles...
8.8
(13) Multiple shifts
8.8
The number 179487 can be multiplied by four simply by moving the last
digit to the beginning. 179487 × 4 = 717948. Can you find the smallest
number possessing this property? If you manage that, can you find the
smallest such numbers for any other integer multiples? Some are fairly
easy to find, some are not, so please send any solutions you find!
8.8
(14) Very acute
8.8
A simple geometrical question. What is the smallest number of acute-
angled triangles into which a square can be dissected? An acute-angled
triangle is one in which all three angles are less than, not equal to,
90°. I seem to recall this problem being posed by Martin Gardner in his
column in Scientific American in the 1960s, and discussed in our
personal correspondence, but I don’t recall anyone proving a minimum
solution. So send the best solution you can find. After studying this
frustrating puzzle for a while, you may find yourself asking, “Why
didn’t I think of that earlier?”
8.8
... and a couple of ‘unofficial’ quickies (?) to test the water...
8.8
(a) Without calculating either, which is larger, the tenth root of ten
or the cube root of two?
8.8
(b) Thirty-two snooker players of equal strength, including Smith and
Jones, have entered a knockout tournament. What is the chance that Smith
and Jones will play each other at some stage?
8.8
...and last month’s two solutions...
8.8
(11) Prime square
8.8
A four­digit prime must end with one of the digits 1, 3, 7, 9 − hence
the numbers in the right­hand column and the bottom row must contain
only those digits. There are 22 numbers (11 reverse pairs) composed of
these digits which are primes and the reverses of primes. The rest is
trial and error, probably by computer. The solution shown is unique,
apart from its reflection about the main diagonal.
8.8
(12) Anagram dictionary
8.8
I don’t think there is much doubt about the first three entries in the
anagram dictionary. They are a, aa and aaaaabbcdrr. Aa, derived from
Hawaiian, is a type of volcanic lava. Aaaaabbcdrr, in case you hadn’t
realised, is the anagram dictionary entry for Abracadabra! This is the
word with the largest number of As.
8.8
My answers for the last three were tttuy, ttu, and ttuu. These represent
tutty (crude zinc oxide), tut (equivalent to tut-tut, which is not
allowed in this puzzle because it is hyphenated) and tutu (a ballerina’s
skirt). I have since discovered, however, that Chambers Dictionary
includes tuzz (a tuft of hair), and the OED also lists the related words
tuz and tuzzy. These would appear in the anagram dictionary as tuz, tuzz
and tuyzz, which all follow ttuu. These words are highly obscure, and
probably obsolete, being apparently based on just one occurrence in
English Literature (by Dryden, in 1693). I therefore propose not to
adjudicate between the two sets of three words, and will accept tuzz and
its variations as ‘optional’.
8.8
...and congratulations to the previous month’s two winners...
8.8
(9) Egyptian fractions − Winner − John Banks of Rickmansworth, whose
program is included on the monthly disk.
8.8
(10) Magic hexagon − Winner − Robert Newmark of Sunderland.
8.8
Comments and solutions
8.8
Two more repeat-winners. Surely there must be more puzzle addicts out
there? Please send your comments, contributions and solutions (including
the quickies) to me at 41 St Quentin Drive, Sheffield, S17 4PN.
Solutions to me by Friday 12th May, please. u
8.8
Pocket Book Column
8.8
Audrey Laski
8.8
After all the negative reporting of Acorn matters, rightly complained
about in recent issues of Archive, it was pleasant to see the Pocket
Book getting a very good press in an article on home/school computing in
The Observer in February. John Davitt, the author of the article,
suggested that the Acorn Pocket Book might be the “Trojan mouse” (his
words) to bridge the home-school divide, and reported the experience of
a fifteen-year-old girl pupil at the Lord Grey School in Milton Keynes,
who keeps her Pocket Book by her while watching television so that she
can type notes on interesting science programmes and download them at
school. She was also quoted as preferring to use the Pocket Book to her
family’s PC because the PC’s ‘hard drive is full, and it’s very slow and
has printing problems.’
8.8
An outbreak of worms
8.8
Writing, appropriately, from a veterinary clinic in Stocksfield,
Northumbria, Christine Shield reports that her Psion 3 has worms. ‘Black
vermiform tightly-bunched lines are appearing within the screen ... they
are opaque, present even when the screen is switched off, and they
obscure the display.’ This seems a serious problem which I have not
heard of before, and I wonder if any Psion or Pocket Book users have any
experience or information which could be useful to Christine.
8.8
Pocket Book uses − A portable librarian
8.8
David Wild writes of the way he has been using his Psion 3a in
association with a Squirrel database on his A540 to catalogue his
collection of books, ‘which is threatening to take over the house’. To
avoid carrying books to the computer, he transfers the information via
the Psion, where he has created three database files, Booklist,
containing all the books recorded to date, Newbooks to receive new
entries, and Bookmast, a write-protected file containing a record
template. (Incidentally, is there an agreed name for such a dummy
database file, invaluable for avoiding having to edit the Cards labels
every time? I’ve heard it called a descriptor file but is that the
official name?). He can then transfer Newbooks to the A540 via the A-
Link, edit it appropriately and import it into Squirrel. Merging
Booklist and Newbooks gives him an updated Booklist on the Psion, useful
for simple searches in a bookshop, while a copy of Bookmast becomes the
new Newbooks.
8.8
He mentions some problems and wishes. When using the facility to copy
text from one entry to another, there is a danger of material turning up
on the wrong line if there have been empty lines in the copied text.
There is a warning about this in the Pocket Book manual. It would be
good to have a facility to copy individual records from one file to
another, and ‘a facility to create a new file with the labels of the old
one, but no records or, failing that, a bulk delete program which would
let you copy a file with a new name and then empty it.’ Bulk deletion
would obviate the need for the dummy file.
8.8
Pocket Book uses − Managing charity
8.8
Several months ago, I made a couple of enthusiastic mentions of John
Whiting’s Outline, one of the programs available from 3-Lib. Recently,
I’ve found a new use for it. Like many people, I manage my small
contributions to charity via a Charities Aid Foundation account,
contracting to pay in a certain amount each year which then gets topped
up by the tax man, and writing CAF cheques to various charities. I
wanted to spread these over a range of issues such as development, human
rights, housing, arts and others, and to achieve some kind of balance
between these, but it was hard, over the months, to keep track. Now I
record the cheques in an Outline file under appropriate headings as they
go out, and can easily see whether some areas are much more neglected
than others. Clearly, this kind of organisation could be applied to many
other aspects of life.
8.8
Another quirk of Spell
8.8
Peter Young, of Cheltenham, who has discussed Spell in this column
before, writes to note that, while the manual records its maddening
habit of saving a word with its immediate punctuation unless you edit it
out, it doesn’t mention that it also insists on including punctuation
when you use the Acorn-L option to get it to ignore a new word that you
don’t want to add to a dictionary. If the word is attached to different
punctuation each time it occurs, it will keep being queried. As he says,
‘this is infuriating and there doesn’t seem to be a way round it.’ Does
anyone know one?
8.8
He also complains of problems when trying to print semi-directly from
the Pocket Book, usefully mentioning that ‘you can’t print from the
Pocket Book (or indeed use the “Comms” application) when the Remote Link
is on,’ but referring also to more intractable difficulties. John, of
the other side of the bed, is working on an article on problems of
printing and configuration which, I hope, will deal with his and other
readers’ difficulties when it comes through.
8.8
Contrite dunce’s endnote
8.8
I was sent, via Archive, an enquiry about a plotter problem, and I’ve
somehow managed to lose it before recording the writer’s details. If
there is someone out there waiting for such a problem to be raised,
please forgive me and write again. u
8.8
The Engineer Speaks
8.8
Ray Maidstone
8.8
How to ‘wring’ your A3000!
8.8
In last month’s comments on the A3000 RAM expansion intermittency test,
I told you to ‘wring’ your machine! This is achieved by placing
something like a cassette case under the front right hand corner of the
computer, pressing gently down at the front left and rear right hand
corners simultaneously, and watching the monitor for adverse effects. It
is not necessary to disassemble the machine to see the symptoms and you
don’t need to press very hard!
8.8
A4 battery usage
8.8
Further to last month’s comments about A4 battery usage, it is possible
to confuse the A4 if you reinstall the battery when the machine is
switched on in mains condition, or if you allow the PSU to become
unplugged. It is a bit of a grey area, but I would recommend switching
off the machine before fitting a battery. It is advisable to screw in
the mains plug adaptor retainers.
8.8
System life, heat...
8.8
Is it better to leave equipment on all the time or only to switch on
when needed? The full answer is complicated. Basically, the various
components that go to make up a computer system all have different
needs.
8.8
u Hard drives wear out in proportion to the time they spin, although,
with modern drives being able to spin down, this is no longer a problem.
8.8
u Switch mode PSUs don’t like being left on any longer than necessary.
They have to handle rectified mains − typically 400 volts DC − with the
odd spike thrown in for good measure! They warm up nicely, overheating
the smoothing electrolytics, which deteriorate over the course of time.
8.8
u The computer pcb itself basically comprises a processor driving some
RAM, and this is designed to go the distance.
8.8
u Monitors have a switch mode PSU (covered above), and an EHT unit
delivering the tens of thousands of volts needed to give you a picture.
New style monitors have EHT cut-off, so this problem is only relevant to
older models. Screen savers don’t really help much in prolonging
equipment life as they are primarily to stop phosphor burn of repetitive
screen displays, and this effect is sometimes undesirable to certain
parts of the EHT circuitry.
8.8
So, I would advise that if you can organise your computer use to two
well-spaced sessions a day rather than just leaving it on, this would
reap eventual rewards in longer life of the equipment. (E.g. give your
computer the same lunch-break that the employees expect!) If you are a
company always needing instant access, you have no choice but to leave
the equipment on most of the time... and pay the eventual repair bills!
8.8
... and cooling fans
8.8
With the exception of Morley external hard drives, all equipment
containing a fan suffers in the following way. The speed of the slightly
imperfect plastic fan blades is too high for the air to flow smoothly
over its surface, so the blade makes a noise as it breaks the air. As
there are so many blades, you end up with a rushing noise. To provide
cooling for power supply heat sinks and hard drive cases, requires air
change at a steady rate, but it doesn’t need a Harrier Jump Jet air fan!
The airflow actually needed for complete cooling safety is achieved long
before full fan speed, which is why we came up with our fan quietener
many moons ago. It had the twofold effect of less noise and more
efficient airflow. As the fan moved the air more smoothly, less dust
ended up in the filters and various parts of the machine, particularly
the floppy drive. This does not apply to Acorn alone.
8.8
(For details of the fan quieteners, phone RepairZone on 01603-400477.) u
8.8
Dalriada
8.8
From 8.6 page 41
8.8
Please can you remove the bit which says, “until 7th March 1995” − for
obvious reasons?!
8.8
Gerald’s Column
8.8
Gerald Fitton
8.8
First some comment about Fireworkz Pro and then to my monthly discourse
on a more general subject. What will it be about this time? Wait and
see!
8.8
Fireworkz Pro
8.8
Each month, I try to classify the letters I receive by subject so that I
can discover what is topical. There is no doubt about the top-of-the-
list subject for this month. It is Colton Software’s recently released
Fireworkz Pro. Letters range from requests asking me to help with the
creation of an unusual type of document starting with “How can I ... ?”,
through wish lists for the next version, to massive detailed comparisons
with earlier Colton Software products.
8.8
So far as help goes, where I know how to do something, I am only too
pleased to help − but please send me your problem with a disk example,
self addressed label and, if possible, return postage. In some cases, it
is not possible to do the thing you want to do, at least not in the way
you want to do it. In many of these latter cases, I have found that
you’re asking me the wrong question. This is because you have already
made up your mind how you are going to do something − then you find that
Fireworkz won’t do it your way! Often, when I find out exactly what
you’re trying to achieve, I can suggest an alternative approach which
not only works but is usually much better and simpler to execute.
However, I must admit that there are some occasions where I’m no help at
all!
8.8
Let me turn now to your praise and criticism of Fireworkz Pro. I think
the fairest thing to say is that your reactions are mixed; an even
better description is that your views are polarised. I have to
generalise and, as with all generalities, there are exceptions. In
general then, those of you who have come to Fireworkz Pro directly
(without the intermediate stages of Wordz, Resultz and Fireworkz) are
most impressed and those who have taken the long road with Colton
Software from PipeDream 3 (or 2), through PipeDream 4, Wordz, Resultz,
Fireworkz and now to Pro are generally the most disappointed.
8.8
If, like me, you have used Colton Software’s products for a long time,
let me ask you to step back and look at Fireworkz Pro from a distance.
The fact that new users are impressed and like the package is because
(a) learning to use it is relatively easy and (b) it has many excellent
features you won’t find elsewhere. In the first draft of the Fireworkz’
specification, what these days is called a ‘short learning curve’ was
high on the list of priorities. A second important part of that
specification was that it should have more useful features than any
similar package. To my mind, the positive reaction of new users to
Fireworkz Pro shows that these two major objectives have been achieved.
For new users, Fireworkz Pro is an excellent package − and they say so!
8.8
So why are we long-term Coltonites disappointed? Part of the reason is
that we expected something better! When PipeDream was launched it was
unique. It was by far the best spreadsheet for the Archimedes and,
what’s more, it could be used as a word processor and simple database as
well! PipeDream has so many features that, even with many years of
experience, aficionados are still discovering short cuts and methods of
improving the way they use it! A long time ago, I said that, with
PipeDream, you can do things which are impossible with other packages.
That is still true.
8.8
I think we all expected that Fireworkz would have all the good features
of PipeDream plus many more. It hasn’t happened because, in changing to
and concentrating on a page-based layout, styles using fonts, variable
height rows, variable width slots and button bars, some of the
versatility of PipeDream has been lost − if only temporarily. From my
correspondence, the three features of PipeDream which are missed most
are keyboard shortcuts, command files and fast character printing (using
PipeDream printer drivers).
8.8
There is good news; I am assured that, in some future version, the first
two of these three features will be added; the underlying structure of
the program code is there, it just needs refinement. I’m sure many of us
look forward to the day we can use these highly desirable features.
Although fast character printing is possible from Fireworkz (through
Acorn’s RISC OS drivers) many with experience of PipeDream find it too
difficult to get to grips with it properly. For others it does work!
8.8
Apart from loss of functionality (such as that I’ve just described)
perhaps the greatest complaint from ex-PipeDream users is that Fireworkz
is slower. I’ve also received reports that, with some machine and
spreadsheet configurations (but not all), a direct comparison of
Fireworkz and Fireworkz Pro shows the latter to be noticeably slower. In
word processing mode, unfavourable comparisons are made with Style and
Publisher. One thing we can be sure of, Colton Software are acutely
aware of this complaint and are working on it.
8.8
The most serious criticism of Fireworkz Pro which I’ve received is that
the integration of the card database is nothing like as seamless as
Colton Software devotees expected from the company which created the
leading integrated package. Most of us expected that we would be able to
mark a block in a Fireworkz spreadsheet containing, say, names and
addresses and, with a few deft mouse clicks, convert the marked block
into database format. Disappointingly, it is necessary to use an
intermediate CSV format file. I have spoken to Mark Colton about this
and I’ve been assured that a ‘Make database’ command (from a marked
block in a Fireworkz spreadsheet) will be included in the next version
of Fireworkz Pro.
8.8
So what is my summary of Fireworkz Pro, not for those new to Colton
Software (who are generally most favourably impressed) but to long term
devotees (who are generally disappointed)? Yes! It has bugs (more than
you and I expected at this stage); it lacks features which PipeDream has
and which you believe you need; it is slower than you’d like it to be;
the database feature is not as seamlessly integrated as you expected it
to be.
8.8
In spite of these deficiencies, my advice is that you should wait a
while before scrapping your investment of time and money in
Fireworkz Pro and looking for something else. The grass might look
greener on the other side of the fence – a new package might not do what
you want. My view is that Fireworkz Pro has the makings of a good
integrated package − all it needs is improvement!
8.8
So, in the meantime, what should you do? Colton Software have a
reputation for listening to their customers’ criticisms, particularly
those who they regard as ‘family’ (the word they use to imply a long
term commitment between them and their faithful users). So, if you are
disappointed, don’t give up, write to them with your suggestions for
improvements. I’m sure that they’ll listen and that when the next
version is released, you’ll be pleased that you did.
8.8
Finally, if you are about to buy Fireworkz Pro, don’t be put off by
these criticisms I have voiced. My information is that, by the time you
read this (or shortly afterwards), there will be a new release which
will have the most annoying and mystifying of the bugs removed.
8.8
Topic Number 2 − Introduction
8.8
One of the questions I am asked with increasing frequency is “Why should
I buy an Archimedes (for my next machine) rather than a PC?” Most of the
people who ask this are not intending to buy a PC; they’ve already made
up their mind to buy an Acorn machine. Their difficulty is that they are
being confused by facts thrown at them by PC users, and what they need
is reassurance that the decision they’ve already made is the right one.
8.8
I give different answers to different people. These range from
considerations of the price of comparable software, to the way in which
all packages and utilities (including Style, Draw and the Acorn Font
manager) work harmoniously with each other to make the whole system
greater than the sum of the parts. However, there is one type of user
for whom I have a more unusual answer. Those users (a) receive a lot of
software on disk or over the phone and (b) send software to others.
8.8
To these people, I sometimes say that one big advantage of buying Acorn
is that: (a) it’s much harder to catch a virus (b) the viruses generally
do less damage (c) there are fewer viruses and the ones that exist are
well documented, and (d) the cost of keeping your system clear of
viruses is much less.
8.8
The PC has an operating system that has to be held on disk (the Acorn
machines hold their operating system in ROM) and when it gets infected,
you’re in real trouble. There are many PC viruses and the degree of
protection which you can get depends upon how much money you can afford.
Some commercial organisations using PCs (who must keep free of viruses)
spend hundreds of pounds every year on anti-virus utilities. On an Acorn
machine, you can get a better degree of protection for less than £30 a
year than you can by spending hundreds of pounds a year on protecting a
PC.
8.8
What is a virus?
8.8
Referring to computer systems in general, there are three types of
‘nasty’ which you catch − only one of these is correctly called a virus.
8.8
The first is more correctly called a Trojan Horse. These nasties
masquerade as one thing, probably something useful, but do something
nasty as well. An example of such a nasty is a utility which you install
so that your backspace key (just to the right of the £ key) deletes
backward but the <Delete> key deletes in the forward direction (just
like <Copy> does in Style). You might install such a utility because you
think it’s useful. Another useful utility is one which grabs the screen
as a Sprite. Of course, the Trojan Horse utility you buy does work and
does exactly what you installed it to do. What you won’t discover until
it’s too late, is that it does something nasty as well. (See below for
nasty things which can happen.) Usually, the Trojan Horse doesn’t make
copies of itself and you have to be running it before it can do its
dirty work! In the Acorn world, there are Trojan Horse types of nasty.
8.8
The second type of nasty is more correctly called a Worm. If you have a
Worm in your system, you probably have only one. If you have a network,
it might move around on the network. On a stand-alone machine, it may
move from one package or data file to another gobbling up bits of
program or data as it goes. Most Worms don’t reproduce. As far as I
know, the only Worm nasty on Acorn systems operates on networks and not
stand-alone machines.
8.8
The third type is the true Virus. If you have one, you’ll soon have many
copies spread throughout your hard and floppy disks. Generally, the
Acorn viruses are stand-alone relocatable modules or they are lines of
code added to existing modules. An example of a module is the Colours
(ColourTrans) module which you’ll find in your !System directory.
Modules such as Colours can be infected by having a virus added to it.
8.8
Some stand alone viral modules have a Sprite filetype, some the Data
filetype and others the Basic filetype − but they aren’t what they seem!
They are modules written in machine code. As a general rule, the viral
module (or the legitimate module which has been infected) is called into
action by adding an extra line to a !Boot file. What the module does is
to reproduce itself and place a copy of itself in another package’s
directory. For example, a copy called from within the !Style directory
might be placed in the !Fireworkz directory (and the !Fireworkz !Boot
file modified). When you switch on next time and run the
!Fireworkz.!Boot file, the copy (from within the !Fireworkz directory)
will be copied somewhere else (e.g. into the !DrawPlus directory). In
the meantime, as well as making copies of itself, the virus will do
something nasty.
8.8
What do viruses do?
8.8
From here on, let me concentrate only on those viruses which can affect
an Acorn machine.
8.8
Nearly all Acorn viruses enter the user’s system through packages (which
Acorn call applications) rather than through data files. So something
starting with a ‘!’ such as ‘!Style’ can be infected whereas something
such as a ReadMe file is much less likely to be infected.
8.8
Some viruses have a trigger date which is activated by the real time
clock in the Archimedes. Until then they do nothing except reproduce
themselves so that, by the time something happens, you will probably
have multiple infections.
8.8
Some viruses change the datestamp of a file so that when you upgrade by
dragging a new version of, say, Colours, over the old one, the old one
fails to be overwritten because its datestamp is newer than the new
version of the file! I’ve known many people who’ve failed to upgrade
their !System modules because of this type of virus.
8.8
Other viruses only do nasty things now and again. For example, they may
do something nasty only when it’s the 13th (or 113th) time you call
them. Once again, you can have these viruses for a long time before
anything nasty happens.
8.8
Some viruses do simple things such as grabbing memory every time you
load a file; the result is that you seem to use up memory far too
quickly! Others do very nasty things; there is one which will format
your :0 floppy disk (unless you’ve write protected it); another will
delete part of a data file (and you won’t notice it until you reload it
and find that it’s corrupted); there is one which modifies your
configuration or your (switch on) !Boot file − so that your !System
directory can’t be found!
8.8
Some history
8.8
Both as an author for Archive, and in running our User Groups, we
receive and send out many disks. It would cause us no little discomfort
if we contracted a virus; it would be disastrous if we sent out a batch
of disks containing a virus. Although we haven’t done it yet (and I hope
we never will) many magazines, including Archive (a long time ago) have
had the misfortune to send out a virus infected disk.
8.8
My recollection is that, at first, Acorn ridiculed the idea that viruses
could exist on the Archimedes. Even when the first ones appeared Acorn
(in my view mistakenly) tried to keep the lid on this information, since
they thought it might cause a panic. When the news broke, it did!
8.8
Acorn developed the first Virus protection utility for their machines
and then hastily appointed (if that is the right word) a company called
Pineapple Software to continue further development.
8.8
What do we do?
8.8
For our part, we subscribe to the Pineapple protection programme. This
Acorn-approved scheme costs less than £30 a year. As part of this
protection programme, we receive about four disks from Pineapple each
year; these disks contain the latest version of a virus detection and
remover utility called Killer.
8.8
When any of you send me a floppy disk, I write-protect your disk (so
that I can’t infect it) and then I always run !Killer over it before I
click on the :0 disk drive. If I find anything nasty on your disk, I let
you know right away − by ’phone if possible.
8.8
You will appreciate that !Killer can protect me only from known viruses
(i.e. viruses known to Acorn and Pineapple); however, the module
VProtect (part of the protections system), which I always load at
startup, is much better since it prevents my machine becoming
contaminated with the most common types of unknown viruses (ones which
load through an Obey file such as !Boot files). I do realise that there
is still a chance of infection but I have no doubt that I am using the
best virus protection available for the Archimedes.
8.8
I keep the masters of my packages (such as !Style) write-protected and I
keep back ups of all my data files. If my system does get infected (it
hasn’t yet), I can rebuild it from the master and backup disks.
8.8
What can you do?
8.8
Ideally, subscribe to Pineapple’s virus protection programme. Write-
protect all incoming disks before you insert them in your machine. Keep
only packages (not data) on your hard disk. Keep data files on floppy
disk. Keep a backup copy of all your data files.
8.8
If you do those things then, if an unknown virus strikes, you will be
able to rebuild your system from the master disks and from the backup
data files.
8.8
Enquiries about the operation of !Killer, and administrative/sales
enquiries (e.g. area/site licences) should be made to Pineapple
Software.
8.8
An interesting example
8.8
Recently, one of my correspondents (who wants to remain anonymous),
contracted a version of the Module virus. He tried unsuccessfully to
kill his viruses with !Killer and, in desperation, asked for our help.
We did help him and we asked him to write a few words on the subject.
8.8
He writes: “I had !Killer installed on my hard disk and I managed to get
it to run but it failed to find a virus I was sure I had. When I
finished checking my hard disk, all the signs and symptoms of viral
infection, including a message from the virus, were still there, indeed
the situation was worse than when I started. Gerald suggested that I
look in my System.Modules directory. I did and found that the virus had
datestamped many of my modules.
8.8
I decided that I must have an unknown virus but Gerald had a different
idea. I was wrong − he was right (as usual)! What had happened was that
a System module needed by !Killer was infected and was (a) preventing
!Killer doing its work and (b) infecting everything else! With Gerald’s
help, I put together a ‘killing system’ on a write-protected floppy disk
which removed over 90 copies of the virus off my hard disk. The moral of
this story is to keep an infection-free copy of your !Killer on a write-
protected floppy, together with an infection-free copy of all the
!System modules it needs.”
8.8
The PC Emulator
8.8
The PC side of the Archimedes can contract PC viruses. You can’t kill PC
viruses with !Killer. If you receive and send out much PC material, you
are likely to get your PC side infected with a PC virus. If you decide
to go for protection, it will cost you lots of money. If you still
insist on using the PC emulator, make sure that you can rebuild your
DOS, Windows and PC Packages from the original master disks.
8.8
There is an alternative to buying expensive viral protection for your PC
side. My son, who works professionally in the PC world, suggests that
everyone who uses a PC should reformat their hard disk and install all
utilities, packages, etc from the master disks every six months (or more
often if it’s important to remain virus free). He says, “Keep only
packages, etc, on the hard disk; keep data on floppies! That way you’ll
be able to rebuild your system at any time you think you might have
been infected.”
8.8
I think he’s right and that, in the case of the PC, reformatting and
reinstalling from (write-protected) master disks regularly is the most
cost-effective method of keeping a PC system clean. I know that many of
you will disagree − I can only give you the opinion of myself and that
of my son.
8.8
In conclusion
8.8
Contracting a virus is a traumatic experience; it can happen to you. If
it does, don’t jump to the conclusion that it has only just happened and
blame the last disk you received.
8.8
If you don’t have protection then, when you catch the virus, copy any
unique data files (as far as I know data files can be infected only with
a worm) from your hard disk onto floppies, reformat your hard disk and
then reinstall all your packages from your (write-protected) master
disks. Alternatively, telephone Pineapple and order Killer on your
credit card.
8.8
PipeDream and the Risc PC
8.8
Is there a problem? I still don’t have a Risc PC yet, so the following
is second-hand. The Risc PC doesn’t use the system font but an outline
font which you can choose for yourself. I’ve been told that, when the
row numbers exceed 99, the leading numbers are lost so that row 1234
will appear as 34 (without the 12 in front). If you have found this to
be so, and particularly if you have any solution or advice for a work-
around, please write to me.
8.8
(Yes, it is a problem, although I get three out of four characters and,
no, I don’t have a solution. Sorry! Ed.)
8.8
Finally
8.8
You can write to me at the Abacus Training address given on the back
cover of Archive; it is quicker than writing via the Archive office.
8.8
If you write to Colton Software about Fireworkz Pro (or PipeDream and
the Risc PC or anything else) then please let me know how you get on.
8.8
And (but not as an afterthought) thanks again for all your letters;
they’re always good fun to read! u
8.8
... there are three types of ‘nasty’... ...only one of these is
correctly called a virus.
8.8
Write-protect all incoming disks before you insert them in your machine.
8.8
HolyBible from ExpLAN
8.8
Gabriel Swords
8.8
I’ve seen some quite impressive Bible programs in my time, but I think
HolyBible could be the one to beat them all! Certainly, there is nothing
on RISC OS to beat it but there are many Mac and PC programs which
HolyBible leaves standing.
8.8
What you get...
8.8
The HolyBible ‘base pack’ comes on six disks, made up of the Installer,
the HolyBible application (400Kb); the King James Version of the Bible
(2.7Mb) and Strong’s Lexicon (3.2). The software is compressed onto High
Density (1.6Mb) disks − if your machine can’t read HD disks, ExpLAN will
exchange them for 800Kb disks. The package needs to be installed using
the installer and although you do not have to load all three items, you
do need to have the base pack before you can go on to purchase/load any
of the other modules, available separately.
8.8
The final manual isn’t ready yet so you only get a photocopied one − the
printed manual will be sent later, free of charge. At the moment, the
only other module available is NIV but the NSRV, with study notes, and
the Russian version, with Cyrillic font, are going to be available
within a couple of weeks or so, we hope.
8.8
Installing is straightforward enough, providing you don’t get confused
with the first installer window − it shows you a window with two
apparently writable fields (Application Path and Font Path). Naturally,
you feel the need to put something in them, but you can safely ignore
them until a bit later − just follow the on-screen instructions and
carry on.
8.8
(I had a problem installing mine in that the instructions said − yes, I
do read instructions − that when a particular logo appeared, you had to
drag it to a directory. I tried in vain to drag this icon but it
wouldn’t drag. I quit and started again − still no joy. Eventually, I
realised that this wasn’t the right icon − yes, it was a picture of the
Bible but it didn’t have an arrow on it − but as it was the first time I
had seen the icon, I could be forgiven for thinking that this was the
draggable one! Could you make it clearer for wallies like me, please,
ExpLAN? Ed.)
8.8
Once it’s installed on your hard disk, you’re ready to go. Double click
and it loads, very quickly, onto the icon bar. It loads quickly because
what you actually load is the HolyBible application which is only 400Kb
− the rest of the program works by accessing the hard disk. Surely, that
must slow things down, I hear you say. Not so.
8.8
In fact, the first thing you notice about HolyBible is the speed at
which works. In single word search mode it will look through the whole
Bible in about five seconds. Even complex search strings take only a few
seconds more. Scrolling up and down takes no time at all − and it can be
speeded up by holding down <adjust> while you scroll. In fact, the whole
thing works extremely fast − even on my old A5000. With a faster
processor and hard drive, HolyBible fairly zooms along.
8.8
The display
8.8
When you click on the HolyBible icon, a scrollable window appears, with
a tool bar to the left and an info bar on the bottom. The default window
is Genesis 1, with verse 1 highlighted in a grey background.
8.8
The info bar
8.8
On the left of the info bar there is information about the current book
and verse. The current verse is known as the ‘active verse’ and is
always highlighted for easy reference. Below the book and verse
reference is the Choose book menu and up/down arrows for selecting a new
chapter or verse. The book menu, rather than being divided into
individual books, is divided into book categories − Pentateuch,
Historical, Poetical, Major Prophets, Minor Prophets, Gospels & Acts,
Letters of Paul, Other & Revelation. Moving across from one of the
categories gives you access to submenus listing individual books. This
type of submenu saves a long ‘font-type’ menu but causes you to pause a
moment while you remember which category your book is in − personally, I
would prefer a long book list, but I can cope! When you choose your new
reference, you press the ‘Goto’ button for almost instant movement to
the new location.
8.8
Also on the info bar are 10 buttons. Eight control the up and down
movement of the page − you can move by a single book, chapter, page or
verse at a time. The arrow keys, and the page up, page down keys, give
similar results. Of the final two buttons, one allows you to toggle the
footnotes − off, separate from the text, or embedded within the text −
and the other button gets you back to the active verse, if you have
scrolled away somewhere.
8.8
The tool bar
8.8
The tool bar consists of eight buttons. The top button gives the same
access to books as the Choose Book menu on the info bar. The next button
allows you to switch between available versions, in my case, the King
James Version and the New International Version (this is also available
from the mouse menu). The third button opens a window giving access to
font information − the Choose font tool, or Style, as it’s called on the
mouse menu. Here you can change the main text font, as well as the bold
and italic styles. At the same time, you can alter the font size, aspect
and colour. You can also change the background and highlight colours.
8.8
The next button opens a Search tool dialogue box (this can also be
opened using the mouse menu button, under Utilities, or by pressing
<f4>. It gives you four search options: single word search, AND, OR and
NOT, and you can also use wildcards in your search. You can search all
books, the current book, sections or an editable range of books. The
search can be case-sensitive and, once found, verses can be displayed as
they are encountered, listed together at the end of the search or simply
counted. The search doesn’t do everything you might want, but it’s fast,
and I gather that ExpLAN are working on a new version of the search
module which could answer any criticisms you might have about its
inability to search easily for phrases, like ‘In the beginning...’, but
more on this next month!
8.8
Button number five opens another window on the bible text. This is
called the linked version, and becomes active as soon as you open it.
It’s exactly the same as the original, and appears on screen alongside
it. Once it is opened, you can work on it independently of the other.
So, for example, you can scroll through it without affecting the other
copy, but as soon as you click on some text, and make a verse ‘active’,
the other version automatically catches up with where you are. As you
move from one verse to another in the active version, the linked version
moves with you. This is particularly useful if, say, you have changed
the active window to NIV and the other window is KJV. It allows you to
compare the two versions quickly and easily. With enough memory, and as
more versions become available, you could have three or four versions on
the screen simultaneously. Surely, there’s no excuse now for
misunderstanding what a particular verse means!
8.8
Display notes is the next button. You can write your own notes about
individual verses and save them to disk. Once a note is written about a
verse, the verse is ‘tagged’ for future reference. The tags disappear
when the note pad is closed, and reappear when it is opened again. Once
the notes have be loaded into memory and a verse has been made active,
you can use ‘display notes’ to open the note attached to that verse.
Notes can also be cross-referenced and exported. Not only can you write
your very own Bible commentary, but some enterprising third party, or
ExpLAN themselves, could provide Bible commentary modules!
8.8
Reformat text re-formats the text display after scrolling − this is only
needed if automatic re-format isn’t set in Choices. The final tool is
Cross references. In HolyBible, cross references are not what you might
think − they are not the cross references you might find in your ‘hard
copy’ Bible. These are references you either put in yourself or which
point to some resource elsewhere in the program. For example, you can
create a Bookmark list and drag the cross reference icon to it to make a
record of the active verse. Later, if you wish to go back to that, or
other book-marked verses, you just double click on the verse reference
and HolyBible moves the active window to that verse. This is potentially
quite a useful option, so we’ll look at cross references in more detail
next month.
8.8
Mouse menu
8.8
The mouse menu brings up five options: Version info, Export verse,
Version, Style, Utilities. Version info tells you which version you are
using, its release number and the copyright information. We have already
looked at Style and Version and both are available from the tool bar or
info bar. The two new options are Export verse and Utilities. In Export,
single verses or verse selections can be exported, either as plain text
or, if you have Impression, as an Impression DDF (document description
format − an Edit file with textual descriptions of the formatting). When
a verse or selection is exported, the version, abbreviated book title,
chapter and verse are also exported. The book is always abbreviated, but
the Bible version can be either full or abbreviated.
8.8
Utilities
8.8
The only new option on the Utilities submenu is the Strong’s dictionary
and lexicon. This only works with the King James Version, and can only
be launched from within that version window. Pressing <f8> displays the
KJV with certain words underlined; these are the words which have a
Strong’s definition available. When you adjust-double-click on an
underlined word, a Strong’s definition window opens almost immediately.
Within this window, there is information about the word on which you
clicked. On the top line is the Strong’s number and a transliteration of
the Hebrew or Greek word, followed by its pronunciation. The next line
shows the derivation of the word. The third line gives the translations
of the original Greek word, and the number of times that particular word
appears in the Bible. There are usually other Strong’s references
contained inside most windows and these can also be launched from within
an open reference. You can also launch a reference by typing in a
Strong’s number into the Display Strong’s definition window, from the
Utilities submenu.
8.8
Summing up
8.8
On screen, HolyBible is designed to look like a page from the Bible,
both in layout and in the way verse numbers and footnotes are
incorporated. At the same time, you have control over how it looks by
being able to change fonts, etc, so it doesn’t have to stay the way it
starts. The window is re-sizable, and the toolbox can be removed if you
don’t like it. It is well laid out with full use being made of Acorn’s
new-look buttons etc. It has a very pleasing feel to it − rather like
Impression’s Style/Publisher look. A lot of thought has gone into this
program, not only in what it can do, but also in the way it looks and
behaves. It is very good now but, for the future, there is plenty of
scope for add-ons and improvements. I like it very much and have no
reservations in recommending it.
8.8
HolyBible runs on any Acorn 32 bit machine running RISC OS 3.1 or later.
It requires a hard disk with at least 1Mb of space to install the base
package and anything up to 3Mb per Bible version. Additional space will
be required for maps and any other resources you acquire. The HolyBible
base pack costs £80 through Archive and the NIV half module costs £28.
REB, NRSV and Russian will be available at £52 each.
8.8
Next month
8.8
Next month we’ll have a look in a bit more detail at some of the things
it can do... including some of the Resources available from the icon bar
menu. We’ll also make some mention of the schools version soon to be
available. In the meantime, if you already have a copy, and have been
using it, send in your comments on how it works and what you think of
it. I know it’s still early days but you might also like to include a
‘wish list’. u
8.8
A lot of thought has gone into this program, not only in what it can do,
but also in the way it looks and behaves.
8.8
On screen, HolyBible is designed to look like a page from the Bible,
both in layout and in the way verse numbers and footnotes are
incorporated.
8.8
Contracting a virus is a traumatic experience; it can happen to you.
8.8
Textease
8.8
Chris Murray
8.8
Softease is a new company set up to write software for the Acorn
platform. (This is encouraging in these difficult times.) Their first
offering is Textease, a budget-priced DTP package. The authors
themselves admit that they are not trying to compete directly with the
likes of Impression Publisher for features but it is very easy to use,
with lots and lots of features, some of which are unique.
8.8
The package
8.8
Textease consists of one disk and a 26-page A5 comb-bound user guide
which contains an introduction, tutorials 1-4, quick reference guide and
hot key summary. The main application comes encoded with a unique serial
number and your own name − the software is not copy-protected. Also on
the disk is a directory of tutorials, various examples of what can be
done with the package, templates for a selection of Avery label sheets,
two fonts from Skyfall (Friendly & Cooperblac), a piece of clipart from
Desktop Projects and various borders.
8.8
Double click on the application and the icon appears very quickly on the
iconbar, taking up 320Kb of memory (480Kb with the spell checker). A
single click then loads a default document “untitled” and you are ready
to begin typing straight away. There are no frames to be drawn or set
up.
8.8
The interface
8.8
The software is very easy to use, with a button bar and information
line. These can be turned off, if you wish, or customised to show only
those icons you want. This button bar is “active” in that, if the window
is not the full width of the screen, moving the pointer to one end of
the bar slides the icons along to allow access to them all.
8.8
Text is typed directly onto the page or imported from Edit, FW+, etc.
Drawfiles and sprites can be dropped onto the document, moved, resized
and can have frame lines added to them. Drawfiles can be imported and
set up to be borders. The view on screen can be scaled from 15% to 800%
with a key shortcut to toggle back to the previous zoom setting.
8.8
Features
8.8
u Styles are used to bring consistency to the appearance of text. There
is control over typeface (height, aspect ratio, bold, italic, underline)
and spacing (text alignment, column width, first line indent, line
spacing, para spacing, tab and top/bottom margins). The colour of text
and backgrounds can also be set.
8.8
u Empty style files can be set up and dropped onto a document to change
all the styles in a file to some pre-defined requirement. An example of
this on the supplied disk is a 1995 calendar, laid out in glorious
colour. By dropping on a style file, it can be turned to black and white
ready for printing out on your mono printer. The effects option allows
the same control as styles but over selected areas.
8.8
u Negative indents which indent lines not starting a new paragraph allow
bullet lists to be created. I have found this feature very useful.
8.8
u Shadows can be added to text and/or frames.
8.8
u Frames can be click dragged to resize to a new width or, by using
<adjust>, the size of the font can be automatically scaled to fit the
new frame size. Frames are moved around in real time by click and drag.
8.8
u The date can be inserted automatically, along with different options
for page numbering (sequential, folded and bound pamphlet). Various page
sizes can be set, from A5 up to A0 (portrait or landscape).
8.8
u Headers and footers can be placed anywhere on a page and can consist
of text and/or graphics. They can be set to appear on every page or
alternate pages. This is excellent for making up a booklet where you
want the page number or title always to be on the outside edge.
8.8
u Multiple views of the same document at different scales are available.
8.8
u Simple lines and rectangles can be drawn with control over line
thickness, line type and the fill colour of rectangles. There is an
excellent tool for aligning and spacing objects and, with only a little
practice, I was able to create an assortment of grids and tables.
8.8
u Frame lines, which are not normally visible, can be made visible with
control over line type, thickness and colour. There’s also an option to
have frame lines printable or not.
8.8
u Text is copied and moved around using the clipboard and you can cut
and paste between different documents on the same screen.
8.8
u A “find and replace” facility uses replacement from the clipboard. It
can include effects and so can include colours, italics, underlines,
etc.
8.8
u Files can be saved as Textease, drawfiles, plain text (Edit format) or
template format. In the latter, letterheads or blank forms can be set up
ready to be loaded with live data and there is automatic renaming to
prevent accidentally overwriting the template file.
8.8
u A word count of the whole document or selected areas is available.
8.8
u The XY coordinates of the pointer can be displayed on screen, which is
very useful for setting things up.
8.8
u Automatic page breaks allow text to flow smoothly from page to page
and it can be made to flow between frames, allowing quite professional
documents to be produced.
8.8
u If you get stuck, which is unlikely, there is a clue sheet icon always
available.
8.8
u Standard Acorn keystrokes and fkeys are used but there is an option to
change the fkeys to <shift-fkey> for use with the Penfriend application.
8.8
u All colours and lines from the spell checker, print boundary, paste
marks, etc, can be changed to your preference, making the it very easy
to customise.
8.8
Spelling
8.8
The spell checker is optional (£10 extra) and it can be turned off when
not required. It is interesting in that it highlights on the screen, in
a different background colour, the words that are misspelt. (See the
screenshot below.) You can even do a printout with the spelling mistakes
highlighted − this could be particularly useful in schools.
8.8
The document can be checked as you type (with optional beep) or checked
afterwards. Words can be added into a user dictionary. The spell checker
is easy to use and, I believe, well-nigh essential nowadays, and
certainly worth the extra money. There is a free upgrade for those who
purchased early versions of Textease, although the spelling checker is
£10 as an upgrade.
8.8
Conclusion
8.8
My overall impression is that Textease is very easy to use and, at less
than £30 inclusive (£40 with spell checker), it must be the best budget
DTP around. It does not have all the bells and whistles or bundled
software that the excellent Computer Concepts’ products have but it does
everything that most people need for DTP. Schools will like it with its
modern user interface and ease of use.
8.8
The ability to run on a 1Mb machine without a hard disk will also
attract those with basic machines who want to produce well laid out
letters, posters, booklets, etc and who have, like me, been making do
with Draw for their DTP work. If you do not have a font-based word
processor or DTP, I  thoroughly recommend it. Get the demonstration disk
if in doubt!
8.8
Textease is available from Softease at £39.50 inclusive or £29.50 or
without the spelling checker. u
8.8
(Because this is such a positive review, we have arranged a special
discount for Archive subscribers − £35 for the with-spelling-checker
version, for two months from publication of this magazine. This may not
seem like a very big discount, but it is already very good value for
money, so there isn’t much margin for giving massive discounts. Ed.) u
(745987r9t79e79
8.8
Textease is very easy to use with lots and lots of features, some of
which are unique.
8.8
the best budget DTP around
8.8
Comment Column
8.8
Acorn awareness campaign We are still getting quite a lot of response to
our campaign to try to increase awareness that “Acorn is RISC”. We have
had people send us biased articles from:
8.8
  Physics World (Feb ’95 p69)
8.8
  The Economist (4/2/95 p8?)
8.8
  The Independent on Sunday (19/2/95 pp48,49)
8.8
and also some corrective articles and letters published in:
8.8
  Computer Shopper (April ’95, p589)
8.8
  Physics World (March ’95 p23)
8.8
  The Economist (25/2/95 p8)
8.8
So, if you see an article or a letter in print that is, in your view,
biased against Acorn, don’t let them get away with it. Write to the
editor and say why you think the article is biased − but beware of over-
stating the case, because they could accuse you of equal and opposite
bias!
8.8
Ed. u
8.8
Black Hole (8.7 p57) − This utility looked useful, so I installed it and
started to use it. Here are some comments as a result... I have
shortened the names of my TinyDirs wherever possible to four or five
characters so that I can crowd as many as possible onto the icon bar
without it overflowing sideways. I have shortened the messages
associated with the Black Hole icon, but it still occupies more bar
space than the sprite needs. The others use only the space needed by the
sprite, provided the name is short.
8.8
If, like me, you have Cfs running all the time, make sure the filepath
of the bin (set using the Configure feature in BlackHole) is prefixed by
Cfs#. Then all files stored in the bin will be compressed. Worse, if you
do not set this prefix, any compressed files dumped in the bin will be
decompressed! Also, BlackHole includes an Ignore FS feature so that,
optionally, files deleted in RAMFS, ADFS (Floppy), etc, will not be
copied to the bin. Could we also have Ignore Directory (like the one in
!Backup)?
8.8
Incidentally, files stored in the bin are identified by their filename
only, not the full path, so if two files with the same name are ‘binned’
from different directories, only the second will be preserved in the
bin. If you delete a directory full of files, the bin will contain the
empty directory folder, side-by-side with the files it originally
contained!
8.8
I will have great fun trying out twelve different screen savers, each
with a string of variable parameters. Arrgghhh! A nasty little bug here.
When I clear the Configure screen saver window from the screen − even if
I have only looked at it and cancelled it − the whole machine goes dead
and needs a reset!
8.8
I have set my choice of screen saver, and it works perfectly. Return to
normal by hitting <escape> or touching the mouse, etc. Some of the
screen saver displays seem jumpy, presumably because all the
applications are still polling the Wimp in turn.
8.8
A question arises − if screen saver cuts in while a long job is running
unattended, but with a changing screen display, will it keep going? The
answer appears to be Yes. Screen saver obliterates the screen but does
not stop the program. The up-to-date display can be revealed by touching
the mouse.
8.8
Colin Singleton, Sheffield u
8.8
If you rely on the singularity feature to save your files then, when you
choose delete from the filer menu, a delete directory containing files
will indeed result in an empty directory side-by-side with the former
contents. If, however, ‘retain structure’ is turned on in the configure
window, and you delete the directory by dragging it to the Blackhole
icon, the files will remain in the directory. (If the bin is on the same
device as the files to be deleted, they will be moved rather than copied
as well.)
8.8
I am unable to reproduce the crash from the screen saver configure
window.
8.8
If you use the password feature of the screen saver, it will
occasionally refuse the correct password preventing you getting back to
your data! That is not a big problem, however, as several mouse clicks
in quick succession will usually bypass the security anyway!
8.8
Matthew Hunter, NCS u
8.8
Digital Services − Although Digital Services have gone into liquidation,
I understand after speaking to them recently by phone that Squirrel and
other software will continue to be supported. Also, they appear to be
attempting to sell off the software side to set up again.
8.8
Chris Hughes, Wakefield u
8.8
File transfer on PCs − The other day I needed to transfer a diagram,
created by a test data program, to a colleague who was compiling a
report in WordPerfect (on an “industry standard” I’ve Been Misled). The
diagram was in drawfile format and consisted of arrowed lines showing a
vector displacement field. Shouldn’t be a problem, drop it into Oakdraw
and export it as a bitmap, I thought. However, (a) there was a bug in
the Oakdraw code that wouldn’t do this correctly and (b) the bitmap
would look ‘blocky’.
8.8
The bug was solved by a quick call to Oak  who revealed that my version
was out of date and they would upgrade it if I sent them back the disk −
brilliant! The trouble was that the report was due in that afternoon
and, even so, it would still look blocky. However, the ever helpful
Damian, (the author of Oakdraw) was able to point me in the right
direction to get me out of my fix, revealing that the clipboard file was
in two formats, one of which was a metafile. Exporting this to
W*@#Perfect gave us a diagram ½“ × ¾”. This was then scaled by the
WordimPerfect editor but only to a maximum of A6 which, when printed,
looked like my two-year-old had drawn it with a blunt wax crayon.
Undaunted, I re-imported the original metafile to Corel where it had
suddenly acquired much more structure. Corel had added its own line
types to the original and now each arrow looked like a cubist
masterpiece done in black marker pen, but at least the diagram was the
right size. (A4 − I think this implies that the export of the metafile
was OK and it was the Wp import that was buggy.)
8.8
Altering the line types got us back to something resembling the original
but now the arrowheads were aligned with the horizontal and vertical
axes instead of in the direction of the line. So... right back to the
original data, re-draw using the default thickness and correct sense
(direction) for the lines but leave off the arrowheads. Export to
Oakdraw, thence to Corel, re-edit to have arrowheads and sensible line
thicknesses, thence to a CGM file, into Freelance to add the company
logo and some notes. Then finally into the industry standard package.
(N.B. heavy irony needed here.)
8.8
All-in-all this was several hours worth of messing about. I know some of
your readers would have been able to do it in five minutes but it is
worth considering that, had I been writing the final report in any of
the Acorn packages, it would have taken me just seconds. And for those
of you out there who would say, “Well, you’d have been better off to
write the original analysis program on the IBM”, I would only answer,
“Have you ever tried to write a program giving vector output on a PC?” I
haven’t got that much time or patience. (Out of respect for Paul’s
beliefs, I won’t say what I think PC stands for.)
8.8
John Molyneux, Runcorn. u
8.8
Footnotes (DTP column 8.5 p36) − I use Aldus PageMaker under MS Windows
on PC in my day job, so I looked for footnotes when I read the enquiry.
No, there isn’t a footnotes facility. It could possibly be fudged by
using running footers, or by using index marks and placing the resulting
index at the foot of the pages. I do not know, but expect Ventura (now
owned by Corel) might handle footnotes because it has a reputation as a
technical/longer document package. Quark XPress is often cited as more
of a page layout or magazine package than even PageMaker, so it seems
unlikely that it would handle footnotes, but again I have no experience
with it.
8.8
Anthony Hilton, Leeds u
8.8
Internet access − In the Archive office we are geting an increasing
number of enquiries regarding access to the Internet. Adrian Bool is
writing a series of in-depth articles, beginning on page 13. What I want
to give here is a brief overview based on the questions that I have been
asked, and is not intended to be complete (I’m sure Adrian will correct
any errors). It should, however, help with some of the more immediate
practical questions rather than the technical areas.
8.8
Bearing in mind the excessive hype that has been built up around the
system recently, a large number of people want access because it is ‘the
thing to do’. Unfortunately, the rapid expansion has taken its toll. I
recently saw a comment that, in a quick poll of colleagues, one user
found that 77% were intending to cancel their subscriptions to one of
the major service providers because the only time they were able to get
onto the system was very early in the morning. While the service holders
are trying to improve the service they offer, it does seem that,
currently, the user base is expanding more quickly than the
improvements.
8.8
Another problem is that the Internet was designed by, and for, the
computer literate. Whilst recent additions like the World Wide Web try
to get away from this, in most cases you do need to have some background
knowledge to get anywhere.
8.8
The first question to ask yourself when considering getting onto the
Internet is ‘why?’. If the answer stutters after ‘E-mail’, you probably
don’t need access. A number of bulletin boards will give you access to
Internet E-mail, for a nominal fee, and some also download certain
newsgroups, so these are probably your best introduction. If then you
decide you want full access, you can go to one of the service providers
at a later date.
8.8
To connect either to the Internet via a provider, or to a bulletin
board, you will need a modem. As always, faster is better (and more
expensive) but bear in mind that on all RISC OS 3 machines (except the
Risc PC), you are limited to 9600 baud by the hardware, so a 28800 modem
probably won’t give much of an advantage over a 14400 modem, unless you
are planning on upgrading to a Risc PC.
8.8
To use a bulletin board, all you then need is a piece of terminal
software. All the intelligence is at the bulletin board end of the link;
you just pick the right options from the menu. Internet connections,
however, are generally more complicated. Some service providers just
offer a phone line connected to one of their own machines − many
universities offer such a facility to staff and students. These work
like a bulletin board in that you type commands on your computer, but
they are executed on the remote machine.
8.8
This is particularly obvious if you try to download a file over the
Internet. You will find that the file is on the remote machine not on
your local computer, so once the Internet download is complete, you will
need to do a second download from the remote machine to your own
computer.
8.8
The large service providers offer a more complete solution. While you
are connected to their system, your computer is part of the Internet
(indeed, if the system is configured correctly, people can download
files to and from your computer). This requires more (and more complex)
software than a terminal package, but there are advantages. When you
connect, any E-mail or newsgroups that you have subscribed to can be
downloaded in the background while you get on with something else. Once
you have completed your activities, and all the mail and news has been
downloaded, the connection can be broken and you can read, send and
reply to mail in your own time. You can then make a second connection,
and messages you have written can be uploaded to the service provider
and posted appropriately.
8.8
The software to achieve this is split into sections. The most basic
simply calls the number of your service provider to make the connection,
then TCP/IP manages the link itself. Whereas a terminal package works on
sending and receiving individual bytes, TCP/IP deals with larger blocks,
and each block can be individually addressed so that parts of two
separate files, being sent together, are not put in the wrong places.
TCP/IP also has built-in support for some of the general Internet
commands such as Telnet (which allows you to log onto remote computers,
providing you have access) and FTP (for transferring files) facilities.
8.8
More complex tasks are handled by other applications. For example,
reading news articles will usually involve the application you ‘see’
(such as TTFN) which relies on another application (NewsBase) to
retrieve the news from the remote site and convert it to a usable form.
NewsBase in turn relies on TCP/IP to handle the low level transfer of
the data between the two machines. World Wide Web browsers work in a
similar way, with one application displaying the pages, one transferring
the files (via TCP/IP) to your machine, and others for particular tasks,
such as converting foreign image formats for display.
8.8
All this can take some setting up, although fortunately there is a
package downloadable from many bulletin boards (just over 800Kb at the
last count) which has as much as possible preconfigured. This is the
Internet Starter Kit and is the best place to start once you have your
connection to Demon Internet. Currently, there aren’t any commercial
packages for Internet connection, but Acorn’s package was announced at
BETT and is planned for release during the summer − so, hopefully, by
Acorn World?!
8.8
The Internet version of Doggysoft’s Termite package (announced at Acorn
World last year) is also not yet available. For the time being, you are
very much on your own. Unfortunately, most of the support for the
Internet Starter Kit seems to be via the Internet!
8.8
This should have given an overview of what is involved; if you have
specific questions please write in with them and we will try to include
them in a future issue of Archive.
8.8
Matthew Hunter, NCS u
8.8
Modes summary − In Archive (8.6 p30) is a table of Archimedes modes
provided by Steve Hutchinson. It seems to me that either there are some
errors in the table, or else the same number can be allocated to
different modes according to the programs in use. Either of these
possibilities causes confusion. I have looked at mode characteristics
with the program FlipTop (as used by Steve) but with a ColourCard
installed; this provides a large number of new modes. With this setup,
mode 98 is a 16 colour 640×512 mode differing from the native mode 20
only in its higher refresh rate of 65Hz. Mode 99 in the 256 colour
equivalent, and gives no problem on my monitor, also a Taxan 770+. The
ColourCard does offer some 800×600 modes (100 to 103) but these do not
work on the Taxan, as predicted in the ColourCard manual. Steve has mode
102 as something quite different and not available on my system, thought
there is a mode 110 with 16 colours at 1152×424 and a refresh rate of
71Hz. It is very clear and stable, but rather hard to read on a 14“
monitor because the characters are so small.
8.8
Philip Draper, Herts. u
8.8
A quick glance through the PRMs reveals the screen mode allocations from
Acorn. Modes 0-63 are reserved for use by RISC OS, and should not
change. Modes 64-95 are reserved for use by 3rd party applications.
Since they are allocated by Acorn they should also be ‘constant’ in that
a machine which supports a mode in that range should have the same
definition of the mode as any other machine, although not all machines
would support the mode. The final group, between 96 and 127, are
‘reserved for use by user’ and therefore could be defined differently
for any machine.
8.8
Steve Hutchinson was using the NewModes module supplied with several of
CC’s packages (including Impression), which defines modes in the 3rd
party area − no modes are defined above 96. The higher modes were
defined by the VIDC enhancer software which allows you to create your
own modes. The ColourCard provides a large number of modes. This is
partly because it has copies of the standard modes that take advantage
of the ColourCard hardware, while leaving the standard modes untouched
for compatibility. This is why it defines the higher modes. In general,
the only modes you should rely on being present are those in the range
0-63.
8.8
Matthew Hunter, NCS u
8.8
New element discovered? − Atomic number: 586 PENTIUM P5 − derivation:
Pent up.
8.8
Pentium is a relatively new gold-coloured semiconducting element
discovered in 1993 by Intel inside a box with other obsolete
semiconductors. The thermal capture cross section of pentium is very
high and, if left to itself, it becomes extremely hot due to thermal
decay, and needs extensive cooling if it is not to burn out to become
pentium pentoxide, VO5, within an hour. It occurs as flat, square gold-
coloured platelets of chips with striations and other black markings on
the upper surface, and with grey-coloured stalactite-like formations on
the underside, probably due to excessive overheating. Pentium has a very
low melting point.
8.8
Pentium has an electronic configuration of 3,000,000 but, despite having
an electron spin resonance of 90MHz, it behaves as though it were
oscillating at more like 1MHz. Pentium exhibits an extremely high
refractive index because its electrons travel so very slowly; indeed, 95
percent of them are stationary at any one time.
8.8
Pentium has a high magnetic susceptibility, making it very vulnerable to
electromagnetic interference. Processing of Pentium involves floating it
on a very imprecise point, only four decimal places long (on which only
three Angels and Maxwell’s Demon can dance).
8.8
Pentium is soluble in air and water and crystallizes in the Penrose
pentagonal symmetry pseudo-crystalline system.
8.8
Pentium is highly radioactive with a very short shelf life and is not
expected to last more than three years before decaying into a newer,
more highly reactive semiconducting element with an even shorter shelf
life, called sexium, S6. It has found little use and it is unlikely that
any practical use will ever be found for it, because, although
elementary, it is a few marbles short of an atom. It has a very high
density and all its electrons are degenerate. Through the Es/Or
interchange interaction, the mesons in the nucleus of pentium have
transmuted into morons.
8.8
Pentium is frequently found in use as an inferior replacement for glass
in Windows, but is quite unsuitable even for this purpose because, in
operation, it is totally opaque.
8.8
Pentium is unstable and every precaution must be taken in handling the
substance. It is liable to spontaneously divide, (with the emission of
spurious wons, nons and other extraneous digitons) and when it does, the
result is always unpredictable. Handling it is a calculated risk.
8.8
Claim to fame: Pentium obeys Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle and all
known laws of quantum improbability theory to the highest precision
known and can be employed for use in electronic random number generators
with the utmost confidence.
8.8
Roger Darlington, Manchester u
8.8
PC Compatibility − I read many times of the old chestnut “is it PC
compatible” referring to Acorn machines. But what is meant by
compatible? If you MUST run WordPerfect, buy a PC, but surely real
compatibility means sharing data without loss or extra effort in
conversion. By this definition, the PC I run at work is not compatible
with itself! Or rather, the various software packages I run are not
compatible and cannot easily share data because of the variety of file
formats and even flavours of one “standard”.
8.8
I would, therefore, prefer compatibility to be concentrated on by
software houses. Make Archimedes word processors able to read and write
files that MS Word, WordPerfect, etc have generated and can read back.
Similarly, spreadsheets need to understand MS Excel and Lotus 1-2-3
formats and databases need dBase, FoxPro, Access or whatever capability.
DTP software needs to do it all − read various word processor,
spreadsheet and even database files, and various graphic formats
including EPS. When this level of compatibility arrives, we can stop
ranting about 486 cards for Risc PC and ask for RISC OS 4 to make good
use of multiple processors (two ARM 600s or 700s etc) − that should make
Acorn machines real killers to PowerPC, Pentium, or whatever else people
put into desktop machines.
8.8
Anthony Hilton, Leeds u
8.8
Polish Font (Help!!!! 8.6 p24) − I was able to telephone Charlie Alford
to tell him that Electronic Font Foundry sell fonts in a number of
alphabets suitable for a wide variety of languages including Latin 2
which covers Polish.
8.8
Anthony Hilton, Leeds u
8.8
PostScript interpreter − Someone asked recently whether there was a
PostScript interpreter for RISC OS. I think that the Freeware
GhostScript might fit the bill. The RISC OS implementation (by David
Elworthy − I obtained my copy from The Datafile) will display a
PostScript file on screen and allow the result to be saved as a sprite.
There is also source code, needing to be compiled, to generate printer
device drivers for non-PostScript printers.
8.8
Anthony Hilton, Leeds u
8.8
Protext 6 cancelled − The long awaited RISC OS version of the multi-
platform word processor Protext 6 has been cancelled. Arnor say that
they have now stopped work on the Acorn version which was originally
scheduled for release early last year, after the PC and Atari versions,
and then postponed until the autumn. Protext 5, which was issued for the
Archimedes in 1990 but does not multitask, was also promised in a new
RISC OS compliant version and this had reached the testing stage in 1992
before being abandoned in favour of work on Protext 6. Arnor’s decision
not to complete the Acorn Protext 6 could have been influenced by the
knowledge that the growing number of Risc PC owners would be able to use
the PC version on their machines. It remains to be seen if other
software producers now selling in the Acorn market will think the same
way.
8.8
Peter Jennings, St Albans u
8.8
Pulp Fiction? − If I had to write a column, it would be the ‘gobble-de-
gook’ column, and would contain all the very worst computer jargon you
could find. It would fearlessly lay bare all those technical works of
fiction which masquerade as help manuals.
8.8
Gobble-de-gook comes about because of the complex structure of most
programmers’ brains. They are unable to make anything simple − and why
should they? If you had to spend all day and night writing complex
arrays and playing with your binary digits, you’d feel you had a right
to make everyone else suffer. Of course, as competent programmers, they
can’t make their software difficult to use, otherwise no one would buy
it, so they do the next best thing and complicate people’s lives by
writing ‘User Manuals’.
8.8
Now there’s a euphemism if ever there was one − for user manual, read
‘User Muddle’. The idea of these so called user manuals is not to get
you quickly into the program you’ve just rushed home with; the idea is
to turn your brain into jelly and render you comatose to all reasonable
thought.
8.8
Take SCSI’s, for example. Recently I fitted a new removable drive to my
computer. In order to do it correctly, I thought I’d better read through
a few ‘Simple-Introduction-to-SCSI’ type books. It was the second
daftest thing I’ve ever done. (What was the first, Gabriel? Ed.)
8.8
Page 1, paragraph 2, started with ‘a simple description of what a SCSI
system is’ (paragraph 1 had already told me that SCSI stands for Small
Computer Systems Interface − that was very enlightening, thank you.)
Anyway, the definition goes like this:
8.8
‘A SCSI system is made up of one or more initiator devices, and one or
more target devices. The number of initiators and targets does not
matter, but there cannot be more than eight devices altogether. Most
Acorn computers have the controller card in the computer as the only
initiator and one or more target devices...’
8.8
Following so far?
8.8
‘Most external devices have two SCSI cable connectors which makes
everything much simpler. These connectors are usually the Centronics (or
Amphenol) type (but sometimes they are IDC)’. And this makes things much
simpler?
8.8
There’s lots more of this. There’s a discourse on termination; an
interesting little critique on Magneto-opticals; and a very useful
discussion on the differences between Drives, Devices and ID’s − none of
which made much sense. Anyway, assuming you actually manage to set the
right switches and get the thing into the SCSI chain (more jargon) you
then come to the next most important thing... configuring the SCSI
system.
8.8
You have to configure the system because, apparently, the poor old
computer doesn’t yet realise you’ve just disrupted its equilibrium by
inserting a foreign body into its otherwise peaceful existence − and it
won’t like it! Nowadays, most suppliers provide software which will do
the configuring for you − these do, of course, have their own little
idiosyncrasies but, on the whole, they do at least work. If you don’t
have this software, you have configure the system on your own. But don’t
worry, all you have to do is follow the instructions!
8.8
1. Press F12 and go to the Command Line. It is assumed that you know
what the command line is, and what it’s used for − if you’re not sure,
take a couple of days off work and wade through the Acorn ‘User
Manuals’.
8.8
2. Type st. [RETURN] − st. is shorthand for Status. This displays a list
of more gobble-de-gook. It serves no useful purpose to the likes of you
and me − but it looks intimidating, so serves the programmer’s purpose
very well.
8.8
3. Find SCSIFSMap and re-configure it to the new setting, for example,
*config. SCSIFSMap 4=n 5=n,s Hx=n [RETURN]
8.8
It explains this procedure thus; ...n is the device number, s is an
optional switch that allows SCSIFS to cope with very slow devices (like
me?), 4 and 5 are the SCSIFS drive numbers and Hx is the host or
interface number (0−3)...
8.8
4. Re-boot your computer. Re-boot? This suggests that, at some point, I
must have ‘booted it’ − I guess I must have missed that. Back to the
Acorn manual − re-boot = hold down the Ctrl key and press the Break key.
8.8
Having dutifully obeyed, the machine ‘re-boots’ with a beep and a burp,
and hey presto... a new icon on the bar. Actually, in my case, there
were two new icons. I clicked on one and was burped at with a ‘you’ve
done something wrong’ message. I tried the other icon, more burps. This
time it accused me of not initialising the drive. Back to the manual. It
was time to wade through the joys of initialisation, formatting,
sectioning and partitioning. More gobble-de-gook.
8.8
I did eventually get the thing going, though I still have two icons, one
of which doesn’t do anything except burp at me when I accidentally click
on it. Still, at least I’m back to work again and next time, I’ll know
what to do, won’t I?
8.8
In the meantime, just so you know, here are a few terms which all refer
to the same thing, namely, the SCSI card. It can be called, the Host,
the SCSI Expansion, the SCSI Interface, the SCSI card, the SCSI podule.
It can also be known as ‘that thing you bung in the back’.
8.8
Finally, there was one really helpful thing I found in a book; it said:
8.8
‘The terms format, initialise, section and partition can have different
meanings depending on the literature you read... Literature supplied
with new drives probably refers to PCs or Macs and may be misleading.’
8.8
Need I say more?
8.8
Gabriel Swords, Norwich u
8.8
RISC chips discontinued! − (Not a problem which Apple are likely to have
for a little while yet!) VLSI have said that, after 8 years, they are
discontinuing production of ARM2, MEMC1a, VIDC and IOC. This could cause
a problem for some of the 7/8 year-old RISC-based Archimedes desktop
computers, many of which are still in regular everyday use. (How many 7/
8 year old Macs and PCs are still in use? says he, rubbing it in!) If
anyone has any secondhand chips they don’t want, please send them in and
we’ll pass them on to our repair specialists so that they can keep the
old A310s and A440s going strong. Thanks.
8.8
Ed. u
8.8
Sleuth 2 − In Peter Jennings’ review of Sleuth 2 (Archive 8.7 p29),
there was mention of my pleasure at getting such respectable results
from processing faxes. Considering they had been sent in standard
resolution (100 dpi?) and that the user-guide recommends a minimum of
300 dpi, this really was impressive. Around the same time, Acorn User
also published a review which reported poor results from faxes. So why
the discrepancy?
8.8
I’ve been looking into this in some detail and believe the probable
cause is the scan quality and, possibly, the font(s) used (sans-serif
fonts seem to give better accuracy). Once again, the user-guide does
cover the need to optimise scan quality, and this has been mentioned in
an earlier Archive.
8.8
In my experience, especially if you are going to process multiple pages,
it is very well worthwhile doing two or three test scans with different
brightness/contrast settings to see which gives the most accurate
results. A little extra effort at this stage can pay large dividends and
you will soon get a ‘feel’ for what settings will consistently give good
results for different originals. Anyone with a Scanlight Professional
scanner, without the brightness control, may wish to consider getting
David Pilling’s Twain driver (£19 from NCS) as this provides an
effective control in software.
8.8
Jim Nottingham, York u
8.8
Turbo Drivers (not a) problem − The problem of Printers 1.28 with the
current versions of the Turbo Drivers has, apparently, now been fixed,
so please do not remove line 91 (as we stated in Archive 8.7 p13) of the
!RunImage file! If you still have a problem, contact Computer Concepts.
8.8
CC Technical Support u
8.8
Had I been writing the final report in any of the Acorn packages, it
would have taken me just seconds.
8.8
Risc PC Column
8.8
Keith Hodge
8.8
Floppy disk drives
8.8
Robert Cocks has written to say that, in a reply from Acorn, he has been
informed that the new Mk2 issue PCB (due into production now), will
allow a second 3½“ floppy drive to be fitted, but not a 5¼” (due I
think, to differences in the 32 core ribbon cable signal layout). This
is of no use really, as dual floppy drives were only used for copying
disks, and this, of course, is much faster now, using the hard disk as
intermediate storage. So, for those who need a 5¼“ drive, it still has
to be H.E.C. ActiLead.
8.8
As a result of further investigation, I have found that there are holes
provided in the bottom of the slices, which enable screws to be fitted
through into the underside of floppy, hard, and CD-ROM drives, to retain
them in place, and so the securing clips which were provided with the
machines are no longer required. Please note: If you are fitting a drive
using your own screws, it is essential to use screws which are of the
correct length, as it is possible with overly long screws, to damage
some makes of drives.
8.8
Software information
8.8
Rob Cowell (Design IT) has written after my comments last month, to say
that all owners of Design IT and Computer Concepts’ Teletext cards can
receive the latest version of the support software (v1.88, 16th February
1995) f.o.c., provided that, when they return their disk in a jiffy bag,
they supply a stamped and addressed return label. This requirement
applies to all software returned for upgrading where the upgrade is
provided f.o.c.
8.8
As anyone who has read this column for any length of time will know, I
run a small electronic maintenance business as well as having a full
time position with a large plc. As I only have a limited amount of time
left after these two jobs, I find the 24th of April to be the worst date
of the year. Why? I hear you ask. Because, on this date I have to do my
income tax return and, without question, this operation cost me the
front inch of my hair and two weeks of almost non-stop panic in 1992, my
first year of trading (and it was only that little with considerable
help from the tax man!).
8.8
This year however, I have already done a trial tax return and it was
done in not more than two hours. How is this possible? Because, not long
after that tax return, I meet Quentin from Apricote Studios at the
London Acorn Show and, with his usual flamboyant style, he had soon
persuaded me that ‘Prophet’ would cure all my headaches. Never has a
program saved me so much time and so actively forced me into being tidy
in my accounts − the bank balances will not tie up until you have
everything entered correctly!
8.8
So what has this to do with the Risc PC, I hear you ask? Well, Prophet
worked well on my old Archimedes, but on the new machine the performance
is transformed. At the time I was doing my accounts, David Pilling’s
ArcFax was sending a large number of spare part order faxes in the
background, Rob Cowan’s TeleText Software was downloading the share
prices and spooling them to disk, and Comlink was downloading under
script control approximately 230Kb of files from my local packet radio
bulletin board and yet at no time did the computer become sluggish. This
level of power allows real improvements in productivity.
8.8
Hardware and software news
8.8
I am hoping that by the time you read the next issue of this column, I
will have been able to use my current copy of the RS CD ROM catalogue on
the PC card, as Paul has been asked by Acorn how many units he requires.
This is good news, as at the moment I am using it on a 486, which is
breaking my heart. I think that Acorn need to ensure that they get the
first releases out to the people who put cash up front when they bought
their machine. Certainly Apple (sorry Paul!) have released their own
hardware emulator (and, yes, I know it takes buckets of RAM etc) to the
public.
8.8
Some of the timings I have seen for the Apple emulator seem very suspect
and lead me to believe that the bios has been coded to flatter the test
software results. What we need now to redress the balance (I hope!), are
some timings for operation of a number of software packages, i.e.
wordprocessor, spreadsheet, etc so as to show the speed / cost
advantages of the Risc PC emulator approach.
8.8
Other news from ESP (Expressive Software Projects) is that the Acorn
Sound Card is the same as their 16bit Minnie Audio Card (which has now
been brought down in price to match the Acorn Card). More interestingly,
if you have Cumana’s Audio plug-in-kit to bring audio from an internal
Risc PC CD-ROM drive, you will find that the Acorn/ESP audio card wants
the same socket! Thankfully, Cumana and ESP have got together and
produced a piggyback board to solve this problem. The side benefit of
this is that you will be able to have full 16-bit stereo from audio CD
as well via the headphone socket on the back of the machine. ESP said
the cost of the piggyback board should only be a few quid!?! (Thanks to
Chris Hughes of Wakefield for this information.)
8.8
Questions of the month
8.8
(1) From Martyn Purdie − ‘I have been adding extras to my ACB45 (built
up from a base model) and have noted that the two slices are different,
in that one does not seem to have the anti-radiation coating (brown in
colour), which is sprayed on the inside of the other. Have any other
readers had a look inside there machine and, if so, what have they
discovered on this matter?’
8.8
I myself, will be very interested to see readers replies on this
subject, as one of the reasons for choosing a Risc PC was the promise of
low radio frequency interference which is so useful to Radio Amateurs.
Mine certainly is very much quieter than the Archimedes, but I have not
had a chance to look inside mine since Martyn’s letter, to find out
whether it has the coating on all its plastic.
8.8
Request of the month
8.8
(1) From Australia! To be precise, from Simon Pockley, the secretary of
the ‘Victorian BBC Users’ Group Inc’, who are an Acorn user group at 60
Bridge Street, Northcote, Victoria, Australia, 3070. They are hoping
that a mention in this column will attract the attention of software
houses etc, who will hopefully send demonstration disks to help increase
Risc PC awareness in the southern hemisphere.
8.8
Tailpiece
8.8
Don’t all ring at once! But if anybody would like my July-October 1994
RS CD-ROM catalogue disk, just give me a ring to see if I still have it,
and it’s yours for free. It seems a shame to throw out all these useful,
but out-of-date information sources. The prices may be a little out of
date, but the content is still very useful. Will we start to see
libraries for this sort of material starting to appear?
8.8
As usual, I can be contacted by letter at the HES address on the back
page, by telephone after 7p.m., or by Packet Radio from anywhere in the
world, as GW4NEI@GB7OAR.#16.GBR.EU. u
8.8
DTP Column
8.8
Mark Howe
8.8
Apologies to those who searched in vain for this column in last month’s
magazine. I have now answered all the letters I can find, and will maybe
find some more when I move offices in the next couple of months.
8.8
Life seems good at the moment: summer has arrived in Provence, and I
have just produced a 6Mb two-page newsletter without experiencing a
single error from Publisher. Is this because I did not import any text
from earlier documents, or does the fact that I am now using a 16Mb
machine have anything to do with it?
8.8
Imagesetting Part 3: The printer driver
8.8
Last time, we dealt with item two on the CC imagesetting checklist.
Fortunately, the next few items are rather simpler than master pages and
overprinting.
8.8
Check the document!
8.8
If you produce artwork on a desktop printer and then find an error, you
can redo it quickly and cheaply. Bromides and films are two orders of
magnitude more expensive, and the turnaround is usually measured in
hours or days rather than minutes. I mentioned the uses and limitations
of spell-checkers in my last article.
8.8
Check that frames are still in the right order, i.e. that all the text,
borders and illustrations are still visible and that edits to text in
one place, have not changed the format in another. I still find
Publisher screen redraw slightly suspect when it comes to irregular
frames and thin borders, but pressing <f12> followed by <return> forces
a complete redraw.
8.8
Incidentally, a tiling option in Publisher would help with the proof-
reading of large documents. I am currently working on a centre spread
for a newsletter which I have to reduce to 62% to output on my laser
printer. Since some of the text is in 9pt and is overlaid on a photo, it
is difficult to check the punctuation!
8.8
Missing fonts
8.8
The ‘compile font usage list’ option in Publisher was intended to
provide an easy way to check that all the necessary fonts are loaded. CC
insist that this utility has been extensively tested to ensure that the
lists are accurate, but I have several documents, some of them quite
trivial, where the list produced includes fonts which are demonstrably
not used. Has anyone else found this to be the case, or am I losing my
marbles?
8.8
In practice, Publisher complains vociferously if a document including
unseen fonts is loaded. Artworks files embedded in Publisher documents
do not, however, produce any error, and twice now I have produced files
with chunks of text missing. I now routinely vectorise text in Artworks
which, in any case, saves memory if a few letters of an exotic font are
involved.
8.8
Colour table
8.8
Publisher gives the option to fine-tune the colour output for a
particular printer. CC recommend the ‘Imagesetter, normal’ setting. I
would be interested in hearing from anyone who has actually printed the
same job using different colour tables to see what difference they make!
8.8
Acorn printer drivers
8.8
CC say that many of the problems with PostScript output that have been
attributed to Publisher are actually due to Acorn’s printer driver. I am
usually pretty sceptical of this kind of explanation but, in this case,
they do seem to have a point.
8.8
Problem number 1: Pages which are larger than A4 used to generate errors
or were cropped. One reader contacted Acorn about this and was informed
that the Linotronic 300 imagesetter was not supported (this is rather
like not supporting an Epson FX80 or a LaserJet II). The solution, as I
mentioned in an earlier article, is to produce a dummy page size which
is too small for the document you wish to print. Publisher will then
offer to produce a new page size to measure. As well as producing
working PostScript, this also means that the minimum amount of film will
be used, which is one sure way to make friends at the imagesetting
bureau.
8.8
Problem number 2: Some versions of the printer driver have trouble
dealing with some fonts, notably with accented characters in EFF fonts.
This problem seems to have been dealt with in the v1.22 drivers.
8.8
Problem number 3: Acorn printer drivers do not support background
printing. CC have no plans to produce a PostScript Turbo Driver at
present, arguing that Acorn should do this.
8.8
Problem number 4: There is currently no level 2 PostScript driver
available. Postscript level 2 is used by most imagesetters and an
increasing number of desktop PostScript printers. Its main advantage is
the use of compression algorithms which drastically reduce the size of
files containing scanned images. Shorter files mean less memory (and
therefore less errors on small imagesetters), as well as faster
downloading (and therefore smaller bills).
8.8
The Acorn world appears to be in a catch-22 situation regarding printer
drivers. Existing PostScript drivers are slow and flaky, so most of us
use Turbo Drivers or direct drive lasers, which means that there is
little incentive for anyone to produce fast, reliable PostScript
drivers. When false 600 dpi was better than most PCs and Macs could
offer, this didn’t matter too much, but 1200 dpi laser printers are
catching on fast, and most of them run PostScript. It is ironic that a
Risc PC using the Calligraph PostScript RIP (Archive 8.7 p2) should be
able to imageset level 2 files that the Risc PC cannot produce itself!
8.8
To return to the present, the v1.22 printer driver appears to work,
subject to the comments above. I use the generic PostScript definition
file, although others seem to use the Linotronic 200 file.
8.8
Set output to file by calling up the ‘printer control’ dialogue box and
choosing ‘connection’ over the PostScript printer. I recommend writing
to an Archimedes format hard disk initially, even if you plan to put the
file onto a floppy or a SyQuest afterwards. Make sure that the
PostScript printer is active. Set up and select a dummy page size. Save
the settings.
8.8
The next stage is to produce the PostScript, but this will have to wait
until next month!
8.8
Acorn’s standards
8.8
Regarding potential problems with Style’s use of !CCShared (Archive 8.7
p40), Publisher also uses this directory, presumably to avoid
duplicating CC modules which are used by several applications.
Unfortunately, the location of Publisher appears to be hard-wired
somewhere in this directory, with the result that moving the
application, upgrading your hard disk etc, generates the dreaded “This
version of Impression is corrupt” error. The message is misleading:
‘Something Impression has previously left elsewhere in the system is
corrupt’ would be more accurate.
8.8
I discovered all this when moving from an A5000 to an A540. I copied all
my software across to the A540 using Access, and guess which application
would not work? I tried running !SysMerge, but presumably this utility
does not know about !CCShared. I would have re-installed from the
original disks, but I am using a beta-test version which was supplied on
one high density disk (which I could not read using the A540). The
solution was to reinstall an older version of Publisher to log the
correct pathname in !CCShared, delete it and then replace it with the
newer application from the other machine.
8.8
I would not mind so much if !CCshared actually saved space. The release
notes with the version 4 Turbo Driver explain that, after running the
!Install program, it was necessary to copy files out of !CCShared into
up to three other applications.
8.8
I can imagine that CC find this kind of criticism rather irritating,
especially as !CCShared was no doubt intended partly to answer
complaints about needless duplication of modules. The best way forward
would surely be for Acorn to define a standard way of sharing resources
which !SysMerge and other programs could handle sensibly.
8.8
I promised that this time I would not use the ‘D’ word, but I cannot
resist mentioning the ‘Hardware key not found’ messages which have
regularly interrupted my work since reconfiguring my two systems. The
official fix is to wash the transparent and convenient black boxes in
methylated spirit to remove any dirt. I do not understand why the
contacts are fine when I am using the printer port for more mundane
tasks, such as printing, and, if it turns out that dust is lodged in the
computer socket, I fear that dropping the computer in solvent will wash
the Acorn logo off the case.
8.8
Next month
8.8
Day job permitting, I plan to review EFF Publisher Fonts and delve into
the mysteries of PostScript. You can contact me at 2 montée des
Carrelets, 84360 Lauris, France. Fax [phone]. u
8.8
GameOn!
8.8
Dave Floyd
8.8
GameOn! is a utility from The ARM Club which allows some of the
Archimedes games that will not run on a Risc PC to work on the new
machine. The software costs £10 from The ARM Club.
8.8
Background
8.8
Many years ago, following the release of the BBC Master, I remember
there being many complaints from owners of the new machine that many of
their BBC games would no longer work. In Micro User, Mike Cook responded
to this by imparting the sage advice that when buying a new machine,
owners should be pleasantly surprised when old software works, rather
than expect it as of right. This piece of advice seemed so sensible that
I have remembered it to this day, and therefore when upgrading to a
Risc PC late last year had prepared myself for the worst, at least as
far as my games collection was concerned. I was, therefore, pleasantly
surprised to find that most of my favourite and regularly played games
worked fine. There were exceptions to this, however, and once I started
to investigate those depths of my collection which I played more
infrequently, the drop out rate increased. To the rescue come The ARM
Club, with a utility that attempts to smooth over the incompatibilities
between new and old by simulating those parts of the Archimedes range
such as the VIDC and MEMC 1 chips, the lack of which, provides much of
the problem when trying to run games on the Risc PC.
8.8
The software
8.8
GameOn! installs onto the icon bar and provides a control window via
which you can alter the options available to you. Each option is covered
in the small manual provided. Also provided is a database of games and
their compatibility with the Risc PC, with or without GameOn!. This is
very useful and, although not exhaustive, contains a good selection of
the games which a Risc PC owner could be reasonably expected to want to
play. Where I have been able to check the claims in the database, I have
found the information to be correct, and have included a slightly
expanded version of the list along with this review for inclusion on the
monthly disk, should there be space.
8.8
Conclusion
8.8
The most frustrating thing about GameOn! is that there is very little to
say about it, from a reviewer’s point of view. It takes up 128Kb of
memory, does everything that is claimed for it almost seamlessly and
that is pretty much all that can realistically be expected from any
piece of software. If you own a Risc PC and have a number of games that
will no longer work, but which become usable with GameOn! then, at £10
it has to be rated as a bargain. It will not work on everything, but
given the amount of unofficial routines used by games programmers and
software protection methods, I do not feel that it could reasonably be
expected to do so. All in all, this is an excellent piece of
software that should be considered by every Risc PC games player. u
8.8
HP LaserJet 4P (+ Risc PC)
8.8
Charles Woodbridge
8.8
On my study desk, I have a Risc PC 600 with integral CD-ROM drive and a
600dpi Hewlett Packard LaserJet 4P. Having used this system for a few
months, I thought other readers might like to hear my impression of the
quality of the printer as an alternative to the Laser Direct system.
(This is especially relevant as CC seem unable to supply either LBP4 or
LBP8 at the moment and the future of these particular laser printers
seems uncertain. Ed.)
8.8
As an Advisory Teacher for IT, I used to have access to a range of
hardware including the full range of Acorn RISC computers and a Laser
Direct system. When I became Deputy Headteacher of a Infant and Junior
School I knew I would have to purchase a good system for home use
because I had an A5000 with a basic laser printer which was on its last
legs.
8.8
When the Risc PC was released I decided to upgrade but there is no point
in having a Rolls Royce computer if the paper output is poor, so I
decided to look for a higher quality black and white printer − true
600dpi and preferably under £800 − a difficult task! Speed was not
essential but quality was and I also wanted a printer which was fairly
cheap to maintain.
8.8
The Laser Direct system was tempting but did not offer true 600dpi and
still cost around £880 including VAT. The Canons have a good engine and
offer good economy on consumables. They are very fast − but that wasn’t
one of my criteria.
8.8
I looked at other printers and came upon the HP LaserJet 4 series but
these were very expensive. They did offer true 600dpi though and were
also good engines, offering good economy on consumables. A new toner/
drum cartridge costs £66.50 and does around 3000 pages (2.2p/ page).
8.8
I then came across the HP LaserJet 4P, a non-PostScript printer offering
4 pages per minute with 2Mb RAM and 600dpi. I drove to the local large
PC store to see the machine in operation. The demo pages were excellent,
just as good quality as its bigger brothers (4, 4M and 4Si). I looked
through the various computer magazines for companies offering the 4P. I
found a company selling it at £703 inclusive of VAT. They had them in
stock too, so I bought one! Two days later it was on the desk with the
Risc PC. I had been told by CC that the TurboDrivers for the Risc PC
were needing a major upgrade because of the new 32-bit bus; they would
perhaps be available in July!
8.8
So I set up the Acorn driver. It was good. The printed text quality was
excellent − better than the Laser Direct. The graphics were also good
but not as good as the demo pages seen at the PC store. After a few
trials, I managed to get the graphics to be a lot better but still not
as ‘stunning’ as those I saw in the shop. The TurboDriver would be
better I decided and waited for their release.
8.8
Much of the time our work is printed at 300dpi − which is very fast even
with the Acorn driver − and even at this resolution, the quality is
excellent with really strong blacks and smooth curves to the text at all
print sizes.
8.8
The TurboDrivers were completed by late September and I bought one
straight away. When it arrived I decided that I was so content with the
Acorn driver that the Turbo Driver would have to be particularly good
otherwise I would send it back and get our £57.58 returned. I backed up
the !System and the !Printers just in case.
8.8
The TurboDriver is very good − but I did not think this at first. The
manual which was in the box was written in May 93 − before the Risc PC
drivers were completed. There were five(!) paper supplements. As an
Advisory Teacher, I had learnt the importance of reading manuals and so
I read through the documentation. Installing was easy. The initial
prints were fast but the graphics seemed no better that the Acorn
Drivers. I re-read the manuals and tried again − better. I tried
printing two copies of a document but 4 copies were printed − oops!
8.8
I rang CC and had a long conversation about the drivers. The technical
support was good (especially once I had established that I was past
‘beginner level’) and a clear description of how to control the quality
of graphics on the driver was given. The doubling document print
problem; “That is a known bug, sir. In fact, the TurboDriver is squaring
the number to be printed (e.g. 3=9pages, 4=16 pages)”. With practice, I
have found that the amount of control offered by the TurboDriver is
excellent balancing dot patterns, lines per inch and resolution to
achieve the best results.
8.8
The printer uses data compression techniques which effectively enlarges
the value of the 2Mb of RAM and I have only once had the printer run out
of memory and that was by printing an unusually large and complex
graphic − the printer printed the page at 300dpi instead.
8.8
At last I have my desired system (except I need more VRAM... ...a
scanner would be useful... ...the hard drive could do with being
bigger... !). A Risc PC 600 and a good quality, reliable and economical
printer (approximately 2p per page excluding paper). The printing is
fast despite a relatively slow engine (4 pages per minute) and I have
included a table of results to show the speed increases I have
experienced.
8.8
I have a friend who has recently opened a sandwich shop in our local
town. I designed his logo, produced his menu and business card originals
which were then been printed at our local print shop. Everyone has been
very impressed with the quality of the artwork. Despite people in
‘industry’ telling me that Acorns are not ‘industry standard’ − isn’t
this an ‘industry standard’ job?!
8.8
For school work, I have printed on acetates with no problems at all. I
usually print from the paper tray (which holds over 100 sheets of A4 or
smaller) but have occasionally used the single paper feed. This could be
better and takes a little practice to ensure that your paper goes
through straight. You can also feed through envelopes but I haven’t done
this yet. I have also done double-sided documents and find that you need
to use reasonable quality paper (80g or better) to avoid paper jams.
Paper jams are easily located and cleared.
8.8
If you are looking for a good quality printer at a reasonable price to
use with the Acorn RISC computers then the 4P with TurboDrivers is
something worth considering, the total cost has been £761.40, plus phone
calls!
8.8
All timing are in seconds.
8.8
Figures in [ ] are speed increases compared with the Acorn Driver.
8.8
Description of Files:
8.8
A) A large (891Kb) 256 grey sprite converted from the JPEG images
(number 9, fruit on a table) supplied by Acorn with the Risc PC.
8.8
B) A single page of text (487 words) in one font only.
8.8
C) Three pages of text (1700 words) in one font style only.
8.8
D) One page of text (487 words) with a 15Kb drawfile, a 221Kb 256 grey
sprite and 5 different font styles.
8.8
E) A complex drawfile (27Kb); the famous Computer Concepts aeroplane at
almost A4 size.
8.8
All files printed on a Risc PC 600, 8Mb RAM + 1Mb VRAM, HCCS CD-ROM
drive fitted, 14in monitor, 800×600×256 colour screen mode with only the
TurboDriver and !Style or !Draw loaded.
8.8
Files A, B, C and D were printed from !Style and file E was printed from
!Draw.
8.8
The CC technical support suggested turning off the high speed parallel
port and retesting and so I have included those figures too.
8.8
When carrying out the tests, the computer was not being used once the
print job had started so I decided to retest file B and make the
computer do some other work at the same time. I used a star plotting
program !StarGazer to simulate the night sky changing at ½ hourly
intervals; this involved lots of calculations by the computer and
regular screen redraws.
8.8
Turbo Driver low speed parallel port:
8.8
Returned Control 23 seconds (compared with 16 seconds when not
multitasking)
8.8
Printed Page 141 seconds (compared with 140 seconds when not
multitasking). u
8.8
Murphy’s Law has struck: the HP Laserjet 4P is no longer available and
HP have not yet released an alternative!!! The nearest we can provide is
the HP Laserjet 4L which is 300 dpi (not 600) 1Mb (not 2Mb − but 300 dpi
needs less memory) and it is available through Archive for £590. (Extra
1Mb memory is £95.) I have to be honest and say that you will probably
get a better price than this if you shop around in the PC magazines.
Ed. u
8.8
Test Data
8.8
Personal Accounts v 3 Updates
8.8
Mick Burrell
8.8
I wrote the review of Personal Accounts v 3 which appeared in Archive
7.11 p65. Any of you who use Apricote Studios’ programs will know that
they are constantly being improved and that updates to the latest
improved version are supplied free. (We all send an address label and
return postage with our disks, don’t we?) There have been many changes
since the review appeared, and I am currently using version 3.52. Some
of the additions have been made at the request of users, (there is
always a very quick response from Apricote) some to improve the
facilities offered, and others just to make life easier.
8.8
So what has been done? I understand that PA was not large enough for
some users and so the number of accounts handled has been increased to
24, and the number of standing orders to 96. You can now load another
file (only if you set the option) over the one in memory. This means
that if you keep two or more files, you don’t have to ‘save your work
and quit’ and then load the program again with the new file. There is an
obvious trap of not saving your work but, with care, quite useful.
8.8
The forecast section has been improved to make cashflow forecasting a
bit easier and there has been a change to allow you to have menus
opening either where the mouse pointer is or where the caret is. One of
the nice features that v3 has always had is the ability to start up with
all the windows open that were open when you last saved. I find this
very useful as I almost always leave the same windows on screen, opening
and closing others as needed. If, however, I wanted to look at (but not
alter) a standing order, just loading the file, opening the standing
order window and closing it again would result in another save. It has
now changed so that it only invokes the auto save (assuming you have it
turned on) if you have made alterations.
8.8
Not wishing to be left behind by the current ‘trend’, Apricote have now
provided a button bar to perform most actions; the icons being well
designed and self-explanatory. I must admit to not being a fan of button
bars generally, but I do find this one useful. I have spent the last few
minutes looking for an explanation for this, but it escapes me! I think
it may be that it is being used for opening and closing infrequently
used windows, and so makes the task very quick and simple. For me, many
button bars provide far too many options, clutter the screen and have
icons whose functions need to be looked up before use. This, however, is
not the case with PA.
8.8
The report window now has an option called ‘screen’ which will send your
report direct to Edit or similar − very useful if you just want to look
at some information and don’t intend to print a report at all. You have
always been able to do this but not as neatly as just clicking on the
icon. Your machine must know where your text editor is for this to work,
but for the majority of users who would use Edit, this will be the case.
You can also select ‘Balance’ to give full debit and credit balance
columns in a report.
8.8
The next two improvements relate to reconciling accounts. The first is
that, on marking an item as reconciled, the cursor now moves
automatically to the next unreconciled one, thus allowing you to do one-
handed bank reconciliation! The second allows you to colour code all
reconciled entries for easy location of unreconciled ones. This is fine
if you choose a subtle grey as the colour, but a real shock to the
system if you are daft enough choose bright yellow!
8.8
Most banks now have sequential cheque numbering which has never
presented PA with a problem. Some, however, do not. This means that your
new cheque book could have lower numbers than your previous one. If this
were the case, having PA increment your cheque number by one, based on
the previous highest it had seen could cause a minor confusion. You now
have the option whether you use this method or enter the first cheque of
each book manually, and let PA increment from there, based on the most
recent entry.
8.8
The final modifications are a small change to the password entry,
toggling the decimal point on or off, automatic opening of either the
main menu window or the entries window, and fitting the window to the
screen size automatically.
8.8
Some of the improvements that have been made, I have found very useful;
others, whilst being just ‘a nice touch’ to me, may be a much more
significant improvement to other users. Apricote already had an
excellent program here, as I hope my original review made clear and, if
nothing else, v3.52 shows their continued support and attention to
detail. My advice? If you have an earlier version, send in your disks
and return postage for the free upgrade. If you don’t have the program
at all, can I just say that it can be a lot cheaper than unknowingly
going overdrawn!  u
8.8
This program is proving so popular that it is on special offer again at
£35 instead of £49.95 to Archive subscribers. Ed. u
8.8
Apricote already had an excellent program here... ... v3.52 shows their
continued support and attention to detail.
8.8
A number of bulletin boards will give you access to Internet E-mail, for
a nominal fee.
8.8
Voyage of Discovery
8.8
Denise Bates
8.8
Voyage of Discovery by Sherston Software is an adventure in space which
teaches magnetism and electricity. It is applicable to National
Curriculum levels 3 to 5 but optimum use will probably be obtained from
the program with pupils of about eleven. Version 1.0 of the program was
reviewed using an A5000 (RISC OS 3.1).
8.8
Manual
8.8
The manual provided is comprehensive. It covers installation
instructions and gives full details of how to operate the software, the
solution to the adventure for teachers and parents, and several pages of
ideas for project work on the topics covered. There are also five
photocopiable worksheets, two challenge cards which are designed to
entice pupils into further practical research, and maps of the layout of
the spaceship where the voyage takes place. All documentation is of a
very high quality and should provide a wealth of ideas for a busy
teacher or an interested parent.
8.8
Installation
8.8
Voyage of Discovery comes on four disks. No problems were encountered in
installing the software to hard disk, but in order to run the software
you need the start-up disk. A copiable disk is only provided upon
purchase of a site licence although Sherston will sell a spare protected
copy for £6. As someone who resents being prevented from using the hard
drive, I spoke to a representative of the company about this. He said
that anyone who felt strongly about having to use the start up disk
could obtain a copiable version if they contacted the company and
provided proof of purchase. All in all, it is a cumbersome protection
system because a school could conceivably set several copies running
with a single start-up disk without bothering to purchase a site
licence.
8.8
The voyage
8.8
Having expressed my reservations about the protection system for Voyage
of Discovery, I willingly admit that this program is more than worth
protecting. In the year 2056, the mission is to deliver an urgent
package to the captain of the spaceship Discovery. With only two hours
to go if the delivery company’s agent is to collect a substantial bonus,
the agent arrives on board the spaceship to find that the crew have
disappeared. The only assistance comes from Boris, the on-board
computer, who is behaving in a peculiar manner (and communicating in
street-wise, idiomatic jargon which places the design prototype firmly
in the 1990’s!)
8.8
From this point, the delivery agent has to navigate his way around the
ship’s decks, occasionally assisted by Boris whose memory lapses are,
fortunately, intermittent. By going to the library and watching several
interactive, ‘Open Universe’ videos, the agent is then able to apply the
principles learned to overcome several problems which are encountered
whilst searching for the captain and crew. Needless to say, the missing
captain is located and the parcel delivered, just in the nick of time.
The contents of the parcel, are, as you may already have guessed, memory
upgrades for Boris!
8.8
The interactive videos
8.8
These are terrific. The graphics are excellent and the subjects are
clearly explained. The subjects covered are magnetic attraction,
magnetic poles and compasses, electricity: making bulbs light,
electrical safety and fuses, electric circuits and symbols, and
electromagnets. Information is provided on screen with plenty of
opportunities for pause and rewind built in so that each pupil can
progress at their desired speed. Integrated with each lesson are a
number of exercises which must be completed before carrying on with the
voyage. In completing the exercises, pupils are asked to test various
ideas by manipulating drawings of magnets or pieces of wire to complete
circuits. My testers were fascinated by them and I am sure that they
will remember the principles demonstrated. My regret was that I didn’t
learn physics like this twenty years ago.
8.8
Operating the software
8.8
Voyage of Discovery has an intuitive feel to it and is generally
straightforward to operate by clicking on the on-screen icons or
prompts. Before use in a classroom situation, explaining what each icon
does will pay dividends, as would reproducing the relevant pages of the
instruction booklet and leaving it at the side of the computer for the
pupils’ reference.
8.8
Assistance for teachers
8.8
The manual provides teachers with the solution. In fairness, groups of
pupils will probably need pointing in the right direction as it is
possible to wander aimlessly round the ship’s corridors for some time.
When we first tested the program at home, we tried to ignore the
solution but soon found ourselves resorting to it to complete the
journey in a timely manner.
8.8
The program also has a teacher control menu which can be accessed from
the iconbar thus allowing the teacher to control the amount of help
which Boris provides during the game. There is also the option of
turning the sound very low − invaluable in a classroom situation. The
starting position can also be varied which is useful if you wish pupils
to concentrate on the later stages of the game. It also allows just a
portion of the game to be used where a teacher wants to limit the
computer work to a particular topic which is being studied in class.
8.8
Use of the program
8.8
The program is intended to supplement other teaching and is not a
substitute for other forms of practical work. It will be best used by
small groups as this approach promotes collaborative problem-solving.
Although the software can be run to concentrate on different sections
(it is possible to save games to resume later) maximum benefit and
enjoyment is likely to be achieved if an afternoon is set aside for a
group to work their way through the adventure. I would also envisage
Voyage of Discovery performing a useful consolidation and revision role
after basic classwork had been done.
8.8
Ancillary aspects
8.8
Of the four disk set, disk four is a resources disk which contains a
number of sprites and drawfiles which are used in the main package.
These can be used in other work.
8.8
Throughout the program, the agent is periodically reminded how much time
is left. This is not a real time clock and the agent always succeeds in
delivering the parcel with minutes to spare.
8.8
It is worth bearing in mind that to go through the program from start to
finish will probably take a couple of hours even if teacher guidance is
given.
8.8
Conclusion
8.8
Voyage of Discovery is an excellent software package and worth a place
in any school’s software library. Other than my niggles about the
software protection system and Boris’s contrived streetwise language
(and I admit these are personal views) I have not been able to find
anything to criticise.
8.8
Voyage of Discovery costs £31.95 +VAT or £36 through Archive for a
single user. The cost of a site licence is double the single user price
for primary schools and three times for secondary schools. u
8.8
Text Import and all that...
8.8
Jim Nottingham
8.8
My postbag was especially busy following publication of the Text Import
articles in Archives 8.3 to 8.5, much of it to do with using Edit’s
Find/Replace function for general data-processing rather than purely for
text import, hence the open-ended title of this article. Many topics
were raised more than once, so it may be of general value if these are
included here as comments, hints and tips, etc.
8.8
Erratum
8.8
A careless error crept into Part 1 (Archive 8.3) for which I apologise.
The ASCII hex codes given for the top-bit set in the table on p64 were
screwy; against the decimal codes 160-255, they should have read &a0-&ff
inclusive.
8.8
Alt key inoperative
8.8
A couple of readers with RISC OS 3.10 said they couldn’t seem to get
their Alt keys to work in order to enter top-bit set characters. If you
hit this problem, the likely reason is that someone or something (often
a PD game) has rudely unplugged your International Keyboard module.
8.8
To check if this has happened, press <f12> and type unplug<return>. This
will tell you which modules (if any) have been unplugged. If necessary,
reinitialise the International Keyboard by typing rmreinit
international<return> at the prompt, and the Alt keys should then work.
8.8
Character select utilities
8.8
We discussed Acorn’s !Chars utility in Part 1 and I was pleased that Ed
added the Health Warning about the Shift key! A number of readers were
critical of certain aspects of this utility, in particular that it was
often difficult to find a particular character in the ‘busy’ window. I
mentioned that there are alternative programs and you might like to
consider a couple of these.
8.8
Anyone using Ovation will have received !CharSel in the bundle. This is
similar in use to !Chars (including the Shift key gotcha) but adds a
couple of handy features. Firstly, as you point at a character in the
CharSel window, the ASCII decimal number is shown in a small ‘bubble’
under the pointer. If you know the approximate ASCII code (“I think it’s
1-5-something...”), this feature makes it much easier to find the
specific character, especially the ‘invisible’ hard space (ASCII 160).
8.8
Secondly, if you point at a character in the CharSel window and click on
<adjust>, a save box is opened, allowing you to export the character as
a drawfile. You may find this is a convenient option to help introduce
drop capitals into a document, for example, especially as you can call
up a font in the CharSel window which is different from the body font of
the document.
8.8
Beebug have very kindly agreed to !CharSel being distributed to Archive
readers via the monthly disk (or available from me). However, copyright
must remain with Beebug, so please do not pass it on to non-subscribers.
8.8
The display windows of both !Chars and !CharSel present the full ISO
8859 character set (ASCII codes 0-255), including printer codes and all
the characters on our keyboard. A couple of readers mentioned that, as
we may wish to use the utility only for entering top-bit set characters,
(ASCII codes 128-255), this is a bit heavy-handed.
8.8
Gareth Edmondson has come up with a rather elegant solution called
!MultiChars, which not only restricts the available characters to the
top-bit set, but also thins out many of the more esoteric offerings
(e.g. ¡ and ¿) and presents the remainder in seven ‘language’ groups −
Danish, French, German, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish, Welsh and what he
calls ‘Common’.
8.8
From the icon bar menu, you can select one or more of the window
displays. Characters can be entered into the document by clicking with
either <select> or <adjust> and, to preserve our document’s health,
pressing <shift> does not enter a spurious character!
8.8
All in all, a very natty utility which is included on the monthly disk
(or available from me) but do please note this is Shareware, not
Freeware. That said, the registration fee is a mere £1 and, as Gareth is
an impoverished student (shame...), I’m sure he would welcome your
payment.
8.8
Accents
8.8
There seems to be some confusion about the way the Acorn font manager
handles accented characters. I believe that some other platforms
mechanise it by combining the base letter with a generic accent. Our
font manager relies on all these letters being included within the font
as composite characters, the obvious disadvantage being that, if the
accented character is not included in the character set, it can’t be
reproduced conveniently. For example, not all of the Welsh accented
characters appear in the majority of fonts. Indeed, letters such as Ŵ,
ŵ, Ŷ and ŷ are not in the ISO 8859 character set and I think are
included only in System and some outline fonts of British manufacture
(e.g. EFF fonts and the Acorn RISC OS 3+ set).
8.8
The main advantage of having the font include the composite characters
(such as é) is that the accent element can be designed individually, to
blend with the character design, rather than a generic accent having to
be used. For example, the circumflex in the ê character is quite
different from the keyboard ^ character:
8.8
If a particular character is not included in the character set of the
font we wish to use, one way of ‘tweaking’ it would be to modify or add
to the font set by using Acorn’s FontEd or a similar utility.
8.8
‘Foreign’ text import
8.8
Turning to reader-comments from the main body of the articles where we
discussed converting imported text into Acorn-speak, these fell into
well-defined areas so it may be worthwhile discussing these in some
detail.
8.8
However, before doing so, I really ought to correct any impression I may
have given, in rather glibly using the term ‘Acorn-speak’, that the
resultant text is readable only by Acorn machines. This is certainly not
the case. What we achieved in the massaging was to reduce the file(s) to
pure ASCII text, with all the ‘scribble’ (formatting commands, printer
codes and so on) stripped out. Apart from paragraph spacing, this
included removing the line-feeds.
8.8
So, if we wished, we could then re-export the file to any WP/DTP package
worth its salt where it would be fully readable on IBMs, IBM-
compatibles, Macs, Ataris, lap-tops, etc, etc. All we would first need
to do is to reset the filetype from Text back to DOS, using the reverse
of the procedure covered in Part 2, and save it on a disk, formatted to
MS-DOS. More on text export later.
8.8
Why use Edit?
8.8
A couple of correspondents asked whether they could do the text-
massaging within their WP or DTP package as these had a find/replace
function. In principle, there is no reason why not, and it may be very
convenient to do both the massaging and the editing/layout in the same
package.
8.8
However, although you may well find your package will allow you to
perform simple find/replace functions such as stripping out line-feeds,
more complex ‘scribble’ may prove impossible to remove. For example, in
both the packages available to me − Impression Publisher and Ovation −
embedded printer codes are not reproduced on screen whereas, in Edit,
they are clearly displayed by their hex codes (e.g. [0d]). The point
being that, if they are not displayed, we won’t know they are there and,
more importantly, we won’t know what to strip out. So when we come to
print the document, the result may well be corrupted by the ‘hidden’
codes.
8.8
Which leads me to a further point about these unwanted codes possibly
being injurious to our document’s health. I bought Impression Publisher
around the time I started working on these articles and, in so doing,
repeatedly imported many of the ‘foreign’ samples. Much had been said in
Archive and elsewhere about Publisher’s instability, so I wasn’t all
that surprised that it kept crashing on me.
8.8
However, subsequently, I grew to suspect that, once the files had been
pre-massaged in Edit, Publisher’s crash-rate dropped markedly.
Unfortunately, the crashes were not consistent, so I was unable to give
Computer Concepts any definite clues but now, as a matter of course, I
always pre-load ‘foreign’ files into Edit, massaging them into pure-
ASCII text as necessary, before transferring them into Publisher or
Ovation. I believe that this has helped reduce Publisher’s crash-rate to
an acceptable level and, in some ways, is similar to doing a virus check
before using unknown files.
8.8
(My theory is that as you go on using Publisher, you gradually use fewer
and fewer pre-Publisher files and it is this that reduces the error
rates. Certainly, CC have acknowledged that there was a bug in
Publisher, related to importing Impression II documents, although this
has now been fixed. Ed.)
8.8
“Not Found”
8.8
The trouble spot which featured most regularly in correspondence was the
“Not Found” message appearing in Edit’s Find text window. As the message
suggests, it means Edit is not finding any occurrence of the Find string
although, somewhat confusingly, the message does not appear until we
fill in the Replace with box and press <return>.
8.8
Having looked at a number of samples readers sent in, I found virtually
all of the hiccups were due to one of two causes. Firstly, when the
magic characters system is being used, a backslash (ASCII 92) is used to
pre-warn Edit that the following character is a ‘control’, e.g. typing
<\n> will represent a linefeed (newline) command. The problem is that
the backslash also appears quite commonly in the ‘scribble’ of imported
text, so we will often wish to enter a backslash as part of the Find
string.
8.8
The catch is that Edit is unable to differentiate between whether the
backslash is actually part of the Find text string or whether it is
being used as the precursor to a ‘control’ character. It therefore
assumes the latter, gets confused and puts up the “Not Found” message.
To a lesser extent, using the wildcarded expressions system can lead to
similar problems. There are two ways of avoiding this situation:
8.8
• If the ‘Replace with’ string does not need to contain any control
characters (e.g. Newlines), we can deselect both the Magic characters
and Wildcarded expressions radio buttons; this causes Edit to see the
backslash for what it is − part of the wanted Find string.
8.8
• If we do need to enter control characters in the ‘Replace with’
string, we can continue to use the Magic characters or Wildcarded
expressions options but, every time a backslash appears as part of the
Find text string, we should type in a double backslash − <\\>. This
tells Edit that the following character is not a ‘control’ and will look
for it as a normal character (ASCII 92).
8.8
The same procedure applies to any other normal character we wish to put
in the text string which might interfere with the ‘control’ characters
used in the Wildcarded expressions system. This includes the full stop
(representing ‘Any’), the ~ swung dash (representing ‘Not’) and so on.
8.8
In every case, if we wish to input the character as an actual part of
the Find text string, preceding it with <\> tells Edit the character is
‘normal’, not a control character.
8.8
The second common reason for Edit throwing up a “Not Found” message is
where there is an error in the Find string we have entered, especially
if we use the Wildcarded expressions ‘Any’ function, i.e. typing in a
full stop to represent ‘any character’. Referring back to an example we
used in Part 3, we defined a complex, 17-character Find string by typing
the first and last characters, separated by 15 full stops (Archive 8.5
p17). It follows that we must correctly count and enter the number of
characters in the Find string − 17 in this example − otherwise Edit will
not do what we want.
8.8
Take the following as another example of where we can get it wrong; it’s
the string used as the paragraph separator in the Example 2 file which
we wished to globally replace with double linefeeds:
8.8
blah blah.....end of paragraph[0d]
8.8
[0d]
8.8
[1d]
8.8
[00][09]Ð[02]@[02] [05]
8.8
[00][1d]Start of next paragraph.....
8.8
At first sight, this may appear to consist of 12 characters (each hex
code counting as one), so you might type in the first [0d] and last
[1d], separated by ten full stops − and wonder why Edit says “Not
found”... However, if you look again, there are actually five ‘hidden’
characters! Firstly, there is the space (ASC code 32) in the fourth line
− very easy to miss if you are using a proportional font in the Edit
window. Secondly, there are four linefeed characters, one at the end of
each line. So the whole string actually consists of seventeen
characters; twelve visible to us and five ‘hidden’. Edit does not
differentiate between them so, in this case, we must type in the the
first [0d] and last [1d], separated by fifteen full stops.
8.8
Use of “any string”
8.8
Following on from the above, two readers asked if there was an easier
way of entering a lengthy string such as the one above without having to
type in the exact number of ‘Any’ full stops. Well, there is, but it
must be used with caution if you are to protect the health of your
document, so the usual rule of making a back-up applies even more here!
By exercising great care, I’ve used it successfully to reduce PostScript
files to the point where they could be read sensibly.
8.8
The procedure is to select Magic characters and use the “any string”
option which allows you to enter \* to represent a string of
indeterminate length. Thus, in the above example, we would type \x0d in
the Find text box to represent the leading hex character, \* instead of
the fifteen full stops and \x1d for the last hex character. So the Edit
window would look like this:
8.8
Let me stress that using \* will ‘find’ any string of characters, of any
length, and only adding the leading and trailing characters will make
that string unique. Potentially, using this option can have a
catastrophic effect, so click on Replace once or twice, rather than ‘End
of file replace’. Then, before clicking on ‘Stop’, do carefully double-
check your Edit document has not been scrambled. If the worst does
happen, click on ‘Undo’ instead and the health of your document will be
restored, allowing you to revert to using the safer option discussed
earlier. You have been warned!
8.8
PhoneDay − update
8.8
In Archive 8.7 p17, I offered a DIY method of updating STD code
utilities to incorporate post-PhoneDay codes, using Edit’s find/replace
facility, but mentioned that I couldn’t see a way of avoiding having to
make other changes manually. Well, Ted Lacey had already done the
considerable spadework to do just that (same issue, p9) and has very
kindly sent me a copy of the outcome. As a result of Ted’s efforts, this
version of !STDFinder (v2.01) is rather more up-to-date than the one on
the March disk, so the new version is included on this month’s disk. It
is also available from me and, I understand, the APDL and Datafile PD
libraries.
8.8
Ted mentioned an ambiguity in the similar utility called !Exchange but
we now believe that there are two different utilities with the same
name. Very confusing for a simple chap like me!
8.8
Exporting text
8.8
I suppose it was inevitable that, having offered methods of making
imported ‘foreign’ text readable by Acorn WP/DTP packages, I should be
asked about exporting documents from Acorn to other machines.
8.8
Apart from sending out PostScript files, I don’t do this as a matter of
course but, from an admittedly superficial viewpoint, I don’t think
there’s a significant difference between import and export. That is, if
we simply export direct from an application like Impression or Ovation,
we will inevitably export all the formatting and printer commands
embedded with the document and, therefore, this will appear as the
equivalent ‘scribble’ to the receiving package. I’ve had a brief look at
using read and write versions of Rich Text Format (RTF) utilities
without a great deal of success but, to be honest, have not delved
deeply into the problems.
8.8
As far as exporting text is concerned, I believe that users of Acorn
machines have the advantage here in that, as far as I know, there is no
utility available for, say, IBM-compatible machines which is as
productive and convenient as Edit for removing the scribble − or as
cheap! Can anyone offer any ideas on this?
8.8
Perhaps, therefore, when we export a document to another user (including
Acorn owners who may not necessarily use the same WP/DTP package), we
should do the decent thing and make a point of making the document as
readable as possible to the person at the other end. Firstly, we can
separate the text from the illustrations which, in general, is very easy
to do. For example, in Ovation, instead of saving the full document to
disk as normal, we can save just the text by selecting − not
surprisingly − “Save as text”. The result is a simple stream of text, in
standard ASCII format, without printer codes or most formatting
commands. I say “most” because, although end-of-line formatting commands
are stripped out, single or multiple linefeeds representing paragraph
breaks are retained.
8.8
This is great because we can put the file onto a floppy disk, formatted
to MS-DOS, and it should then be perfectly readable by anyone with a
‘foreign’ computer or WP/DTP package, if the filetype has been changed
to DOS.
8.8
Exporting from, say, Impression Publisher is almost as straightforward.
In this case, the equivalent save command is “Save text story” (<ctrl-
f3>). In this case, before saving, it is necessary to deselect all the
radio box options (as applicable) to ensure linefeeds, carriage returns
and styles are not exported with the text. However, as with Ovation,
paragraph breaks are retained.
8.8
Exporting documents
8.8
Having exported readable text, it remains to export any illustrations in
‘PC’ formats, using facilities such as John Kortink’s !Creator or
Artworks’ Export options. Typically, this might be TIFF for bitmap files
and EPS for vector graphics.
8.8
A significant advantage here is that, having separated the document into
text and a number of graphics files, these can be exported via as many
floppy disks as are required; useful when − as so often happens − the
document is too big to fit onto a single floppy. In all cases, it helps
to send a hard-copy printout of your document, enabling the recipient to
reconstitute and reformat the document from the individual files.
8.8
As a corollary, I commonly find these procedures are a very convenient
way of taking a back-up copy of a document which is too large to fit on
a floppy. Saving illustrations as separate graphics files and then
regularly using “Save as text” ensures I can quickly reconstitute the
‘big job’ in the event that the hard disk falls over.
8.8
Please keep the interesting ideas and queries coming. If anyone still
wants a copy of the examples files used in the original Text Import
articles, !CharSel, !MultiChars or the updated !STDFinder utility,
please send me a formatted disk with return label and postage. Jim
Nottingham, 16 Westfield Close, Pocklington, York, YO4 2EY. u
8.8
Beebug have very kindly agreed to allow !CharSel to be distributed to
Archive readers via the monthly disk.
8.8
Programming Workshop
8.8
Matthew Hunter
8.8
Since the last programming workshop column, many of the questions I have
received have again been about changes to graphics handling on the Risc
PC. While several of them have been covered previously, some new
information has come to light.
8.8
Changing mode
8.8
The biggest problem still seems to be the way in which the MODE “Xx Yy
Cc” command works since it differs from the MODE m in several ways. The
palette is set to the Wimp palette appropriate for the number of
colours, and if text is displayed using PRINT, it appears in a standard
task window, rather than at the top left of the screen. Text size is
also affected − standard text is likely to generate a smaller font than
text printed at the graphics cursor.
8.8
The easiest way around this problem is to set the mode twice. If you
wish to use the older BBC palette, change by using the number the second
time, e.g.
8.8
MODE “X800 Y600 C16”
8.8
MODE MODE
8.8
When used as a variable, MODE contains the current mode number.
8.8
You will find that the text window is full screen as expected, and the
palette will be set correctly. Text will also be the same size printing
at either the text or graphics cursors.
8.8
If you wish to use the Wimp palette, but do not want to have the
taskwindow set up, simply ensure that you create some output before
changing mode, e.g. using
8.8
PRINT “”
8.8
MODE “X800 Y600 C16”
8.8
will set the mode as required with the Wimp palette, but a full screen
text window, and printing text at the graphics cursor, will scale the
text to be the same size as the system font appears on the desktop.
8.8
Sprites
8.8
Sprites have been covered in Archive previously, but we have had
enquiries regarding their use recently, so I will give a quick overview
here. In order to use sprites, they must be loaded into memory. For non-
desktop applications, this means creating a user sprite area and loading
a spritefile into it.
8.8
DEF PROCloadsprites(spritefile$)
8.8
DIM sprites% 32768
8.8
!(sprites%+0)=32768
8.8
!(sprites%+8)=16
8.8
SYS “OS_SpriteOp”, 9+256,sprites%
8.8
SYS “OS_SpriteOp”,10+256,sprites%,
8.8
 spritefile$
8.8
ENDPROC
8.8
Here a fixed amount of space is being allocated, although ideally you
would look at the size of the file and allocate enough space, otherwise
changes in the sprite file could require changes in your program. Before
the area can be initialised, the size of the area and the offset to the
first sprite must be filled in. The first SpriteOp (9) initialises the
area, and the second (10) loads the specified file. 256 is added, since
we wish to use a user sprite area rather than the system sprites.
8.8
A basic sprite plot can be achieved with SpriteOp 34:
8.8
DEF PROCplotsprite(sprite$,x%,y%,plot%)
8.8
SYS “OS_SpriteOp”,34+256,sprites%,
8.8
sprite$,x%,y%,plot%
8.8
ENDPROC
8.8
When using it, however, it is important to make sure that the mode you
are currently in has the same number of colours, the same pixel aspect
ratio and the same palette as the sprite being plotted. If you don’t,
the sprite may be stretched or squashed, and displayed in odd colours −
the simple plot used here assumes that no translations are necessary,
and is correspondingly faster. The plot code specifies how the sprite
will be placed on the screen. Any value between 0 and 7 is valid, the
most common being 0 (overwrite the current screen colours) and 3
(exclusive OR the current screen and the sprite). If you add 8 to the
code, only pixels which are not masked will be written.
8.8
Further speed can be obtained by using a pointer to the sprite rather
than the sprite name, which removes the need to search for a particular
sprite every time it is plotted. This makes the plot a two stage process
− first the location of the sprite in memory must be found, then the
sprite can be plotted.
8.8
DEF FNselectsprite(sprite$)
8.8
LOCAL ptr%
8.8
SYS “OS_SpriteOp”,24+256,sprite%,sprite$
8.8
 TO ,,ptr%
8.8
=ptr%
8.8
:
8.8
DEF PROCspritepointer(s%,x%,y%,plot%)
8.8
SYS “OS_SpriteOp,34+512,sprite%,s%,x%,
8.8
y%,plot%
8.8
ENDPROC
8.8
Initially, this appears to be wasteful, since there are now two
procedure calls. However, spritepointer can be called several times
after one call to selectsprite.
8.8
A couple of points that are worth noting. Spritepointer uses ‘+512’ in
this case, since the sprite is being accessed by pointer and not name.
The pointer returned by selectsprite is only valid until the sprite area
is changed, for example by merging a spritefile or deleting a sprite.
8.8
This should be enough to get you going. If you want to know something
more specific, please write in with your suggestions.
8.8
Basic animation
8.8
One question I have been asked involves moving sprites around the
screen. To move a sprite around a blank screen is quite simple.
8.8
FOR x%=100 TO 500 STEP 4
8.8
  CLS
8.8
  PROCplotsprite(“test”,x%,y%,0)
8.8
  WAIT
8.8
NEXT
8.8
The CLS ensures that the previous sprite is removed, and WAIT causes the
program to wait until the beginning of the next screen refresh before
redrawing, to reduce flicker. It is more complicated, however, if you
wish to move the sprite across a background, since CLS will remove that
too. If you have a lot of moving objects it is probably more efficient
replot everything, including the background, each time round. However,
with only a few objects, it is better to grab the part of the background
which will be hidden. That section can then be plotted next time round
to remove the foreground sprite. The following procedure grabs an area
of the screen as a sprite.
8.8
DEF PROCgrabsprite(s$,x0%,y0$,x1%,y1%)
8.8
SYS “OS_SpriteOp”,16+256,sprite%,s$,x0%,
8.8
y0%,x1%,y1%
8.8
ENDPROC
8.8
As long as the sprite “test” is less than 100 OS units in the x and y
directions, the animation loop can be written
8.8
FOR x%=100 TO 500 STEP 4
8.8
  PROCgrabsprite(“back”,x%,y%,x%+100,y%
8.8
 +100)
8.8
  PROCplotsprite(“test”,x%,y%,0)
8.8
  WAIT
8.8
  PROCplotsprite(“back”,x%,y%,0)
8.8
NEXT
8.8
You can experience speed problems with this technique, especially where
large sprites are used, and the movement occurs close to the top of the
screen. The reason for the first is obvious; the larger the moving
sprite, the larger the amount of background that needs to be grabbed and
replaced.
8.8
The second problem is far more evident on the Risc PC, although the
earlier machines can suffer from it. The WAIT command halts the program
until the computer starts the next screen refresh, the old background is
then plotted, the new background is grabbed and then the sprite being
animated is plotted. During this time, the computer’s video system is
reading the data from the screen memory, and sending it to the monitor.
The problem occurs because the two are happening simultaneously. If the
area you are changing is close to the top of the screen, it may already
have been displayed by the time the changes are complete, so the result
flickers.
8.8
This is worse on the Risc PC since the frame rate can be higher, and
therefore the screen is read from memory more quickly; therefore the
‘danger area’ (i.e. the area from the top of the screen to the position
of the scan when the update is complete) covers more of the screen. You
can reduce this by specifying a frame rate in your mode string, to slow
the scan down and reduce the danger area.
8.8
Dual screen banks
8.8
A common practice for animation is to use two screen banks, the first
visible while the second is updated, and vice versa. That way the screen
is not changing under the scan. This requires two procedures; the first
sets up the screen banking, and should be called once at the beginning
of your animation, the second swaps banks, and needs to be called
between each frame, usually the first command after the WAIT.
8.8
DEF PROCscreenbankinit
8.8
PROCsbasm
8.8
SB_bank%=1
8.8
SYS 6,113,SB_bank%
8.8
SB_bank%=3-SB_bank%
8.8
SYS 6,112,SB_bank%
8.8
!(bank)=SB_bank%
8.8
ENDPROC
8.8
:
8.8
DEF PROCswapscreens
8.8
SYS 6,113,SB_bank%
8.8
SB_bank%=3-SB_bank%
8.8
SYS 6,112,SB_bank%
8.8
ENDPROC
8.8
The monthly disk contains an application (!Smiley) which demonstrates
these effects. It is designed to be run in a 640×480, 16 colour mode
(Mode 27 for pre-Risc PC machines) but does not change mode itself, so
you will have to set it first. There are a couple of minor changes. The
first checks to see that there is enough screen memory to hold both
screen banks, and tries to allocate more if not. The second is that the
screen banking code has been rewritten in Assembler, since the Basic was
not fast enough in the high refresh modes on the Risc PC. You can see
the difference by un-REMing the PROCswapscreens line and REMing the CALL
screenswap.
8.8
That should be enough to be getting on with, so keep the ideas coming in
for next time. u
8.8
Lottery Software
8.8
Colin Singleton
8.8
PC software associated with the National Lottery started appearing
before the Lottery got under way, including, sadly, some charlatans
claiming to tilt the odds in your favour, or some such phrase. Acorn
software arrived more slowly, and the four packages currently on my icon
bar appear ethically clean, although the accompanying texts do betray
some misunderstandings of probability, and two of the packages declare
their purpose to be to win lots of money.
8.8
The first arrival on my doormat was !Otteryl, ©Cherisha Software
(Rebecca Shalfield), at £3.00, plus the same again for each new version.
The latest release of this package appears to have corrected the bugs in
the program, but not in the literature! The number of different possible
entries is designated mathematically as 49C6, which you can evaluate by
selecting this function in !SciCalc. It is (49×48×47×46×45×44) /
 (1×2×3×4×5×6) = 13983816, not 14003300 − the divisor is 720, not 719.
8.8
Then, priced at £1.50, came !Lottery ©Ben Ollivère, who seems so
determined not to receive any correspondence that he has omitted both
the post town and the county from his published address! No such bugs in
his program − it doesn’t do much, but it does it very prettily.
8.8
Next, !ApriLot, PD from Apricote Studios. Quentin Pain has offered this
for the Archive Monthly Disk, and asked me if I can suggest any really
constructive features for Lottery software. In the absence of any data
indicating punters’ most (and least) popular numbers and combinations, I
am rather at a loss. I have written to Camelot, and am keeping my
fingers crossed.
8.8
Finally (to date) !Lottery, Shareware ©Paul Vigay (aka Digital
Phenomena), Registration Fee £5.00, upgrades free in exchange for a
blank disk. The clash of unimaginative names produces two identical
icons on my bar, but no more significant problem. This package has the
best displays and the most interesting statistics.
8.8
Three of the packages (not Ollivère’s) require me to enter the results
of each week’s draw, but only ApriLot tells me the date of the next draw
(the others expect me to enter it, and allow me to get it wrong). Only
Vigay allows me to correct earlier errors − with the other two, it’s
just tough luck!
8.8
Then come the ‘statistics’. For Otteryl and ApriLot this is merely a
pretentious term for counting the number of times each number has been
drawn. Aprilot offers a choice of logical sequences for this list.
Otteryl offers only one, very strange, sequence, and also allows me to
save the list as a CSV file for export to a graphs package. Vigay’s
program is more informative − it displays the frequency data as a natty
bar chart, though I haven’t figured out the significance of the choice
of colours. It also tells me the split between odd and even numbers, top
and bottom halves of the ticket, and blocks of ten numbers (but don’t
forget that there are more odd numbers than even, etc). He also lists
every combination of two or more numbers which have occurred in the same
draw twice, but unfortunately does not explicitly identify those groups
which have occurred three times. At present only one sub-set of four
numbers has been drawn twice − 3, 5, 14 & 30 were drawn in Week 1 and
Week 5. I think the list of pairs could quickly become excessive, and
uninteresting.
8.8
All the packages offer ‘prediction’ facilities, indeed, this is the only
function of Ollivère’s program. At this point, can we please get one
thing straight? Previous winning numbers cannot in any way affect future
draws! All the packages except Ollivère’s offer an option to give
preference in their predictions to ‘hot’ or ‘cold’ numbers − those which
have been drawn more or less frequently than average. Vigay’s notes
clearly intimate that combinations which have been successful in the
past should have a better chance than others in the future. ApriLot’s
notes, less clearly, suggest the opposite!
8.8
Forget it! The next draw is just as likely to be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 as 13,
20, 28, 34, 42, 46 (unbiased random numbers) − or an exact repeat of
last week’s draw! For those who are interested in hot and cold numbers,
Otteryl gives precise yes/no definitions of hot (a number which has been
drawn three or more times in the last five weeks) and cold (not drawn in
the past nine weeks). The first is so restrictive as to be useless −
only one week in three will there be more than one hot number on this
definition, and one week in three there will be none. The other packages
refer vaguely to numbers drawn frequently or infrequently, and such
‘fuzzy logic’, if suitably programmed, is surely appropriate.
8.8
Ollivère, unlike the others, proceeds by generating thousands of random
numbers (how many is up to you) then offering as his prediction the six
which occurred most frequently. The program displays, and progressively
updates, a graph showing the frequency of each number, which can be
printed at the end. A bar chart would, I think, have been more
appropriate. That, basically, is all there is to it! May I suggest an
alternative? FOR I = 1 TO 6 : PRINT RND(49) : NEXT I. Try again if it
gives any number twice. Sorry, but I can see no effective difference
between six random numbers and the most frequent six of several
thousand.
8.8
ApriLot offers no parameters for its predictions. It always offers five
lines, one random, one ‘hot’, one ‘cold’, one mixed hot and cold, and a
fifth (questionably labelled ‘best’) combined from the first four. Vigay
offers single, optionally biased, lines and a ‘Block Guess’ facility.
This comprises several entry lines which, collectively, would have been
very successful in the draws to date − deliberately based on the fallacy
noted above!
8.8
Otteryl offers a choice of 1, 4, 7, 10 or 13 prediction lines. The
multi-line entries are obtained, Football Pools style, by selecting 8,
9, 10 or 11 numbers, then selecting the appropriate number of lines of
six from these, designed to ensure that if the overall selection
contains three correct, then these will appear together in at least one
line. This, according to the blurb, “... maximises your chances of
winning one or more £10 prizes”. Another goof, I’m afraid. Overlapping,
rather than independent, entries reduce your chance of winning one prize
or more (at any level except Jackpot). To put it another way, this
technique increases your chance of winning nothing!  By way of
compensation (and by the laws of probability there must be one) it
increases your chance of winning more than one prize in one week.
8.8
Otteryl is the only package of the four which allows me to enter my
proposed entry and read its comments. A sneak peek at the Messages file
reveals its repertoire of responses, and suggests that this feature is
rather less helpful than perhaps it might have been. About 99% of the
time it will reply “You have chosen your numbers well”. [P.S. What,
please, is the ‘fizz-buzz’ sequence? Is it good or bad?]
8.8
Vigay’s !Lottery offers an option to print its guesses directly onto the
Playslip [N.B. not Payslip!], but it doesn’t seem to be on speaking
terms with my LaserDirect. It apparently insists on changing my Direct
connection to File: Null, so nothing happens, except that my printer
goes dead!
8.8
Three of the packages, very sensibly, come with disclaimers repudiating
any suggestion that they might help you win the Lottery. Otteryl and
ApriLot, nevertheless, acknowledge in their notes that you can influence
your potential winnings by choosing unpopular numbers or combinations,
although there is little any program can do to help. Your chance of
winning a £10 prize is once in 56+ entries. Similarly, your chance of
winning a Match­4 prize is one in 1032, Match­5, one in 55491, Bonus
Prize, one in 2330636, and the Jackpot, one in 13893816. You cannot
change these odds, but you can, perhaps, reduce the number of others who
will share your prize if you do win (except for the £10 prize, which is
fixed).
8.8
An unpopular combination of numbers is just as likely to be drawn as a
popular one, but there will be fewer winners to share the Prize Pools.
The Match-4 prize, for example, has varied from £16 to £164, solely
because of the numbers of winning entries. The statistically expected
average is £62. The highest (but fewest) prizes were paid in the week
when all the numbers drawn were in the bottom half of the ticket, the
lowest when the numbers were 7, 17, 23, 32, 38, 42 − I am at a loss to
know why these should be so popular! In one week, the small prize
winners were more numerous than expected, but the higher ones less
numerous, caused by popular numbers in an unpopular combination. There
is more to this than meets the eye, and a very comprehensive analysis of
actual entries would be needed to offer any advice to punters.
8.8
The National Lottery is frustrating, and not just because of the
elusiveness of its prizes. It seems such an ‘obvious’ candidate for some
form of software but, on further investigation, it appears that your
computer can do little which cannot be done almost as easily with pencil
and paper. I kept asking myself “Why has anyone bothered to write this
program?” They are all WIMP compliant and multitasking, and represent a
lot of effort for, seemingly, little benefit. They would probably be
best distributed either as advertisements or disk-fillers.
8.8
Conclusion
8.8
Paul Vigay’s !Lottery has the edge over the others by a reasonable
margin. u
8.8
Previous winning numbers cannot in any way affect future draws!
8.8
TableMate 2
8.8
Dave Floyd
8.8
TableMate 2 is a package from Dalriada Data Technology which aims to
simplify the creation of tables for use in Impression or other DTP
packages. It costs £32.50 or £17.50 as an upgrade to TableMate for a
single user copy. A primary site licence costs £40, a secondary licence
is £70 and there is also the option, in addition to the licence, to pay
an extra £5 or £10 respectively which allows the teacher to use the
software at home and make copies of the manual. Discounts on the site
licence prices are also available for owners of the original TableMate.
8.8
Improvements
8.8
Those who own a copy of Impression will have found the original
TableMate bundled in as part of the package. As an occasional user of
tables within documents, I thought that this was a most useful idea,
until I actually came to use it. A couple of attempts later, TableMate
was unceremoniously deleted from my hard disk and I contented myself
with creating styles within Impression whenever I needed to present data
in tabular form. TableMate 2 is a vast improvement over its predecessor
and it is pleasing to see that, what was undeniably a good idea, has
also developed into a very useful utility.
8.8
Word wrap within columns has now been implemented with the rows
automatically expanding to accommodate the extra lines of text. This can
be very fiddly to do within Impression or with many spreadsheets and it
allows for large savings in time when creating tables. Tabs can be set
to allow the display in any column or individual cell to be left or
right justified, centred or, for numeric entries, a decimal tab is also
provided.
8.8
Drawfiles can now be placed inside a cell, if you need to add graphics
to your table. Sprites can also be used, although you first have to drag
them into a draw window and save the resultant drawfile. Full scaling
facilities are provided in TableMate 2 so you can adjust the size of the
image without having to keep going back to Draw. The graphics side of
TableMate 2 works very well indeed and I am sure that this will be of
much use to primary schools, especially.
8.8
The addition and deletion of multiple rows and columns has now been
implemented and full colour control is now available, allowing you to
adapt the colours of the cell background, text and separating lines
(rule-offs) within your table. The width of rule-offs can also be
adjusted and cross column headings can easily be added, to provide the
final polish to your table.
8.8
The cut and paste facilities will be familiar to any Acorn user who has
used Impression or Edit, amongst others, and conforms to the generally
accepted standards set by these packages, such as <ctrl-X>, <ctrl-C> and
<ctrl-V> as key combinations to cut, copy and paste respectively. Row
height and vertical positioning of text can, should you so wish, be
specified in absolute measurements, and the package now allows multiple
document editing, up to a limit of sixteen tables at any one time.
8.8
Data can be imported into TableMate 2 in the form of CSV, TSV or SID
files or entered directly as you would into a spreadsheet, for example.
The importing of data works perfectly, with both rows and columns being
automatically added by the software as required. Saving of completed
tables can be in Impression DDF format, Draw format or as a TableMate
file, essential if you may need to modify the table at a later date.
8.8
Criticism
8.8
There is very little to criticise about TableMate 2 as a package. The
only problem I had was with the manual. Forty pages long, it is not so
much a manual as a tutorial. Whilst this may be ideal for a beginner to
computing, it can become frustrating when trying to find out how to use
one specific function. The addition of a quick reference section at the
back and a detailed index would improve matters greatly in this respect.
Having said that, the software is reasonably intuitive and the only real
need I had to refer to the manual was due to the visual similarities
that TableMate 2 shared with Impression. It can be very easy to forget
that it is not Impression at times and that, in order to achieve a
desired effect, you have to approach the problem slightly differently.
8.8
Wish list
8.8
Following the great strides made by Dalriada Data between the releases
of version 1.10 and 2.0, I hope they do not now rest on their laurels
and stop upgrading TableMate. One extra function I would like to see in
version 3 would be fully justified text within columns. The addition of
simple spreadsheet functions, such as the ability to automatically total
columns as you enter the data, would also be very useful, especially if
this were expanded to include addition of time as well as decimal
values. Even a function that allowed you to select a range of cells and
total them all after entry could only enhance the usefulness of what is
already a very useful utility.
8.8
Conclusion
8.8
If you have any need to compile tables for use within a DTP environment,
TableMate 2 should prove to be an indispensable addition to your
software collection. Those who tried and could not get along with
version 1.10 should not allow themselves to be put off by the
inadequacies of the earlier release. TableMate 2 supplies almost
everything one could wish for and, with such ease of use, that even the
awkward manual does not hold back productivity for long, if indeed, you
need to refer to it at all. Possibly an essential purchase. u
8.8
Andrew Rawnsley
8.8
The release of Wolfenstein 3D represents the culmination of about a
year’s work porting the game from its PC roots. However, the company
behind this conversion isn’t one of the regulars − Krisalis, GamesWare
or VTi, but a newcomer − PowerSlave Software, headed up by Eddie
Edwards, a new talent in Acorn programming.
8.8
The PC origins
8.8
Wolfenstein 3D has been available on the PC since the middle of 1993. In
its day, it was thoroughly ground-breaking, being the first game to make
use of ray casting and texture-mapped graphics. For the first time,
players could have freedom of movement in 3D worlds. The first ten
levels were also released as shareware − a shrewd move on the part of
the publishers.
8.8
The game has now been superseded by the Doom series, from the same
company (ID Software) but it is still a classic game, and great fun to
play.
8.8
Acorn users have only been exposed to a small amount of this kind of 3D
environment. 4th Dimension’s The Dungeon achieved it quite well, but was
let down by the artwork.
8.8
The game
8.8
OK, so it’s technically ground-breaking and graphically impressive but
this doesn’t automatically make it a good game.
8.8
The plot has you taking the part of an American soldier locked away in
the dungeons of Castle Wolfenstein. However, one hapless guard made the
unfortunate mistake of opening your cell door to feed you. His early
demise equipped you with the cell keys and, rather more usefully, a
pistol.
8.8
Your objective, then, is to explore the castle and try to escape but, at
the same time, load your pockets with Nazi gold, and dispatch as many
enemy scum as possible. You might even get a crack at old Adolf himself.
8.8
This is an outline to the first scenario (the shareware 10 levels), and
is the main storyline. The five extra levels supplied in the full
version (the only version available on the Archimedes) have you going
back into different parts of the castle with the objective each time of
stopping yet another Nazi masterplan. Needless to say, the original had
a few problems in Germany.
8.8
For once, the background is fairly sensible, rather than being a load of
codswallop about saving the known universe.
8.8
Installation
8.8
Wolfenstein 3D comes on three disks (big for an Arc game!), which can be
installed onto a hard drive, but you’ll need the main program disk to
navigate the protection.
8.8
Running the game installs it on the icon bar (a good habit), so that the
options can be set up, and a further click takes over the full screen
and starts the introduction.
8.8
Once the game has loaded, you can set up the game’s options: keys, sound
and music levels and, for users of slower machines, the size of the view
window. The smaller the window, the faster the game runs on a lower spec
machine. An ARM 3 machine or Risc PC can easily cope with the maximum
window size.
8.8
Finally, you select which episode to play, and the degree of difficulty.
8.8
Gameplay
8.8
Needless to say, the main priority in the gameplay is to shoot the
guards and finish the levels. However, puzzles are introduced by the
need for keys to open locked doors and, for those not content just to
finish the level quickly, there are mazes leading to better weapons,
extra lives, food and treasure. Oh, and don’t forget the secret doors
and levels containing even more goodies.
8.8
Provided you have set the viewing window size to suit your machine, the
game runs very smoothly, and at a good pace, allowing you to get fully
immersed in the proceedings.
8.8
Sound and music
8.8
The music takes the form of Soundblaster tunes, so Eddie was forced to
write a Soundblaster emulator. Unfortunately, the music is pretty
unimpressive, but I think this is a flaw in the original. The sound
effects, however, are top notch and the samples of the Nazi guards are
very atmospheric.
8.8
Criticisms
8.8
I’ve tried to refrain from saying it up till now, but this game is
violent. Shooting a guard releases a fountain of blood (red pixels,
actually), and the corpse lies there until you finish the level. For
this reason, I find it difficult to recommend the game to young players,
as the graphics are quite realistic. Fortunately though, the levels of
realism and gore aren’t up there with Doom, so it’s unlikely that you’ll
confuse reality with fantasy.
8.8
Conclusions
8.8
Wolfenstein 3D is an excellent game, with plenty of life in it − when
you’ve finished the supplied levels, you can download extra ones from
bulletin boards or Internet ftp sites. The violence makes it unsuitable
for younger children, but for everyone else, the game is fun and
exciting. Only the price is a little off-putting − £29.95 + p&p (£29
inclusive through Archive) − at a time when lots of excellent titles are
appearing.
8.8
However, if you can afford the price tag, you’ll get a lot of fun from
this superb conversion. u
8.8
Wolfenstein 3D
8.8
CASA-II and CASA-III
8.8
Richard Fallas
8.8
CASA from W.C.Smith & Associates is a Structural Frame Analysis
application, which was first released some years ago. W.C.Smith and
Associates (formerly Vision 6) have now released CASA-II. They have also
provided for review a pre-release version of their new three-dimensional
package, CASA-III. These programs are currently marketed in two
versions: an entry level version of CASA-II, and a full version of CASA-
II packaged with the entry-level version of CASA-III which is a
completely new application for three-dimensional frames. Prices are £400
and £800 plus VAT respectively.
8.8
This review has been in gestation for some months: waiting first of all
for time on my part, then the latest documentation, followed by much
trying out and discussing foibles of the 3-D package, etc, etc. In the
middle of all this, I have agreed to go and work in New Zealand for a
few years... and of course there was Christmas! However, I now feel I
can comment on both packages, consistent with their current state of
development.
8.8
I reviewed CASA in Archive some years ago (Archive 4.8 p27) and later
briefly reported on various enhancements (Archive 6.9 p48), since which
time many new members of Archive will have arrived. CASA-II warrants
further mention as it has now been polished to a commendable degree.
Although clearly representing a minority interest, it adds to the RISC
OS platform’s armoury of quality software. Its main application will be
by engineers and students wishing to know what forces and displacements
will arise when a structural frame or grid is loaded. For anyone
requiring such a facility, a program such as CASA-II will be as
indispensable as a word processor.
8.8
I have used CASA in my professional practice for several years, and
frankly would be at a loss without it. It ranks second only to
PipeDream3 as the most used program on my machine (except perhaps
Keystroke!) and, to date, its output has never been faulted by either
Local Authorities or other checking Engineers. Obviously, therefore, it
works! The screen shot opposite of a typical portal frame is included,
in lieu of a thousand words! This shows the frame after analysis with
several relevant windows open, including the Member Forces output
window.
8.8
Two dimensions
8.8
CASA-II retains the split application approach to enable its use on 1Mb
machines; editing the frame, members and loads is done within the front-
end application, while the appropriate analysis application handles the
computation of either a 2-D frame (or truss), or a 2-D grid with loads
normal to the plane of the members. The front end has been visibly
enhanced in many ways, such that the options for adding and manipulating
nodes, members, and indeed sub-structures, are now more capable than my
needs require.
8.8
It is possible to create a simple portal frame, for example, using just
five nodes and four members. These members can then be split with ease
into shorter members by specifying either the fraction, distance, number
of sections, etc. Node geometry is thus sensibly handled by the
computer. Similarly, loads can be replicated by clicking on existing
entries. Nodal entry may be by coordinates, clicking on other nodes to
copy X or Y values, or by array. All of these apply to both frames and
grids.
8.8
Member type selection has always been assisted by data files of hot-
rolled steel sections. The user may now add to these using ASCII files,
in my case created using PipeDream. For example, timber or concrete
member sizes and modulii may be tabulated and stored in the appropriate
directory. They will be loaded automatically on startup. Several
loadcases may be created with differing load factors for each. These are
applied during analysis with output being available for each,
individually or in combination. Some care is required to plan loadcases
to simplify data entry, yet retain clarity of the final output for
checking.
8.8
CASA-II will carry out a second (or more) pass during analysis if
required in which the deflected shape from the previous pass is used as
the starting point for the next. Most structures converge quickly, i.e.
results do not differ greatly between say second and third passes, but
some may tend to diverge − a potentially disastrous condition which, as
far as I am aware, cannot be automatically checked by any other analysis
software.
8.8
Other enhancements include a new manual, which includes a full worked
example showing data input and results after analysis. More scaling and
redrawing options are available, and output to PlotMate and HPGL
plotters is now possible. Normal output is via RISC OS printer drivers.
Full renumbering, transformation/mirror, etc facilities are now
available and there is a bandwidth reducer to improve analysis speed.
8.8
A stability check can now be specified which applies a proportion
(usually 1.5%) of the applied vertical loads (including gravity loading,
if active), as a horizontal loading at the appropriate level, in
accordance with current practice. Applied loads and reactions are summed
and compared − essential for checking.
8.8
The analysis routines are now much faster (up to 500%). Detailed results
for points along each member are available so that intermediate nodes
are not required. Zooming of the display, as in Draw, is now possible.
Analysis can now occur in the background if required. Many, many more
detailed improvements are listed in a text file, which should be read in
conjunction with the manual, as there may be new, undocumented features
available.
8.8
And so to three dimensions
8.8
Why 3-D? This is a harder question to answer than it might seem.
Virtually all of my design requirements are for 3-D structures, so how
can a 2-D package have been adequate? The answer is that there is
generally a core ‘bit’ of the structure which is not easy to resolve
statically (i.e. with just a few equations, although wl2/8 gets you a
long way!). These bits are soluble using 2-D analysis, and the effect
of, and on, the other parts can be predicted with reasonable confidence.
The virtue of this is simplicity.
8.8
No one wants to pay a designer more than the absolute minimum to justify
their valuable structure − cheque book engineering is the name of the
game in Britain these days. Also, it is important to check that the
analysis reflects reality. Hence, it is vital that the analysis be kept
as simple as possible, even if simplification may involve a few extra
kilos of steel, timber or concrete, etc. Materials are reckoned by
clients to be cheap (often this is totally incorrect!) − whereas
engineering is seen as wasted expenditure. I wish it were not so, but
that’s the way things are heading.
8.8
A 2-D package used to analyse a simplified structure is quick and
repetitive. There are cases, however, where this is just not close
enough to the reality for confidence in the answers; or, alternatively,
the benefits from full consideration are likely to be worthwhile. It
would be nice, therefore, if one’s favourite analysis program also
covered the 3-D case, without being unduly laborious to use for the
simpler 2-D stuff. Enter CASA-III, to fanfare...
8.8
Booting the application installs a “wee-house” on the icon bar, and the
initial window contains X/Y/Z axes references on a white background.
Reference to the main menu reveals a simple but much needed change −
Save via F3 is implemented (although not on the latest CASA-II). Menu
item “View” permits control of viewpoints, scales, printing, etc. Entry
of title info, nodes, members, sections, loads, etc is made within
various windows accessed via the “Entry” menu item. The node-load-only
restriction of the entry version may seem a serious limitation.
I suspect, however, that much can be achieved perfectly well using this,
and I often simplify my analyses to just such an arrangement. For one
thing, it is easier to check that the correct loads have been entered
and that they tally with the reactions after analysis. (More of the
dreadfully named KISS syndrome!) The remaining two menu items lead to
Analysis and Results respectively. It is also worth noting here that the
full and entry versions both fitted onto a single 800Kb disk − this is
unheard of in PC-land!
8.8
I understand that CASA-II is more-or-less the end of the line in terms
of development of the 2-D application. The full 3-D package is currently
being finalised but, in its current form, it is usable. Although a
little rough in places, it shows great promise. As the advert in Archive
8.1 p22 indicates, the 3-D entry level application is provided free with
the full version of CASA-II. I wanted to see if it would be viable
within a busy office, on tight budgets, to use one program for all
situations, i.e. 2-D and 3-D frames. The answer is that the 3-D program
can be used for 2-D work, but I have yet to be convinced that it would
be cost-effective. Perhaps familiarity, and further work on the front-
end, will change this. Here I should say that engineering users of
RISC OS machines are in a fortunate position in so far as access to
software houses is concerned. W.C.Smith & Associates, like many others
in the Acorn orbit, are very responsive to suggestions, and you can be
sure that valid comment will be considered and, where possible, acted
on.
8.8
CASA-III is different from CASA-II in that it comes as a single
application. Much of the flavour of CASA-II is retained, but virtually
every aspect of the front end has been changed − not always for the
better in my view. The second partial screenshot shows some of the
different input windows. I think a little further thought is required as
to the best combination of menu structure, default window size, etc. I
also suspect that the Acorn official style guide is partly responsible
for some of the less convincing changes!
8.8
Be in no doubt: three dimensional analysis is no easy matter. Nor is the
discipline required for conceiving and entering the model by the user.
It becomes vital to be absolutely clear which axis must be referred to
for each part of the process. My first attempt at entering a skewed
bridge deck had it standing vertically in the air! What is more, it
wasn’t absolutely obvious that it was, and I even managed to get some
‘results’ from the analysis. To be fair, this was operator ignorance.
8.8
One of the extremely clever aspects of CASA-III is the perspective
transformations used for graphical output. Time has not permitted a full
bench-testing of the application against other packages (in the PC
world). This will happen in due course − I expect to be able to do this
in my new office in Auckland − and I will advise further when it is
done.
8.8
Summarising the contrasts between CASA-II and CASA-III (full version)
may be useful:
8.8
u  Combined editing and analysis in one application
8.8
u  Background printing has been implemented
8.8
u  Analysis results may all be seen together
8.8
u  Point to a member: the appropriate row in the results is highlighted
8.8
u  Restraints are now user defined: change the definition, they all
change
8.8
u  Virtual memory is used i.e. via hard disk: this has speed
implications but gives access to much bigger frames
8.8
u  <Shift-adjust> can be used to zoom into the structure
8.8
u  Display position settings can be edited
8.8
u  Data entries are carried over when the option box is NOT highlighted
− yuck!
8.8
u  <F3> now opens a file save dialogue box
8.8
Several features are of more general note and indicate the way forward
for RISC OS-based programs, although I understand that full Acorn
support cannot be taken for granted. In particular, the use of virtual
memory is a PC-type approach, which is new in my experience of RISC OS
machines. I have not, however, had much opportunity to test it out by
analysing a suitably large frame. Background printing also works well
and is a timely inclusion. Very few RISC OS programs have an UNDO
feature, and CASA-III also lacks this. I believe it is essential that
UNDO becomes a universally available feature to allow confident
experimentation with ever more complex applications. I wish Colton had
included it in FireWorkz! Minerva’s ProCAD is almost unique in having
the magic button to undo mistakes.
8.8
Conclusions
8.8
As I typed this review, a further update of CASA-III arrived, together
with some much needed extracts from the manual, giving tutorial
information. I have to stop somewhere in order to get this off to the
editor, but suffice it to say that I am convinced that CASA-III will
continue to be refined and improved, and potential users should be
encouraged by this.
8.8
I am not yet convinced that a 3-D package can be suitable for all 2-D
and 3-D frames, but it is certainly a good target. An intermediate step
might be to have a common file structure for both, i.e. 2-D files can be
recognised as such and read into CASA-III. I believe that W.C.Smith and
Associates are intending to accomplish this via a separate utility −
which would suffice.
8.8
As to availability, CASA-II is firmly a reality. CASA-III is usable but
not yet fully tested and polished, but with the latest version (2.12),
it is very close. Demonstration disks can be obtained from W.C.Smith &
Associates on 01665-510682.
8.8
Vital Statistics
8.8
Entry Level 2-D: will run in a 2Mb machine; limited to 32 nodes and
members;
8.8
Full Version 2-D: will run in a 2Mb machine but structure size limited
only by memory;
8.8
Entry Level 3-D: will work on a 2Mb machine (800Kb free Min); up to 50
nodes, 50 members, 50 node loads etc; 12 load and 12 settlement cases,
64 case combinations;
8.8
Full Version 3-D: 1Mb free memory + Hard disk absolute minimum, 2Mb free
memory is recommended; structure size is limited only by available
memory. u
8.8
CASA-II adds to the RISC OS platform’s armoury of quality software.
8.8
the spell checker is easy to use... ...and certainly worth the extra
money
8.8
Fully recommended for novice, enthusiast and pro, even if the price were
more than it is − £16.
8.8
Maybe Acorn will gain some serious respect in a world which normally
brushes them aside.
8.8
For new users, Fireworkz Pro is an excellent package
8.8

Products Available
8.9
Acorn price reductions − Acorn have dropped the prices of some of their
computers and peripherals as follows:
8.9
  A4 portable £1996 −−> £1521
8.9
  A3020 Floppy (2Mb) £843 −−> £703
8.9
  A3020 HD80 (2Mb) £1019 −−> £880
8.9
  Risc PC 2/210Mb + 17“ monitor £1938 −−> £1761
8.9
  Risc PC 5/210Mb + 17“ monitor £2114 −−> £1937
8.9
  Risc PC 9/420Mb + 17“ monitor £2466 −−> £2290
8.9
  OPL Editor £65 −−> £46
8.9
  Schedule £19 −−> £15
8.9
  Plotter £34 −−> £24
8.9
  Floating Point Accelerator £116 −−> £57
8.9
Acorn Replay Starter Kit − This includes a CD containing sample videos,
stills and examples of multimedia applications, plus AREncode which
allows you to compress your own films or add/change the accompanying
soundtracks. There are also two manuals: the user guide, which has
details of the software supplied, and ‘A Guide to Desktop Multimedia’,
with advice on creating your own multimedia applications, shooting
video, locating material, as well as tips on layout and style, etc. This
costs £41 inclusive through Archive. (Repeat entry because we forgot the
price last month!)
8.9
Almost Logo − The Advisory Unit have updated their popular turtle
graphics program. The suggestions for changes have come from teachers
throughout the UK who have been using the program in schools. New
features include easier creation of new procedures and teacher control
of step sizes to adjust the amount the turtle moves for a single unit.
The package will drive both Valiant and Jessop floor turtles, and all
commands can be supplied using a concept keyboard. Single user price is
£25 +VAT, site licence £75 +VAT, from the Advisory Unit.
8.9
Application compression − Partis Logistics offer a service for software
developers enabling approximately 100% more data to be stored on a
floppy for distribution. If required, copy protection systems can also
be added. Prices start from £250 per master disc.
8.9
ArcShare − ArcShare is an application for Microsoft Windows which allows
a PC to connect to an Acorn Access network, and requires only a standard
PC network card to operate. Fast Ethernet transfers are supported and it
offers automatic file-typing of data. Files of any size can be
transferred, and a simple FileManager style front end makes it easy to
understand. Arcshare can be called up from the file manager.
8.9
Files and directories can be created or deleted on the Acorn, from the
PC. Files can be copied from any position on the Acorn to any position
on the PC. CD-ROM, floppy drives, IDE and SCSI drives on the Acorn can
be accessed directly. The price is £79 +VAT from KCS Premier.
8.9
Brother laser printer − Following a good report from one of our
subscribers, Steve Godfrey, we have added a new laser printer to our
price list. The Brother HL660 is a 600×600 dpi printer with 2Mb RAM and
it runs at 6 pages per minute. Steve says that it works very well with
the Laserjet4 definition file on !Printers 1.28 and he is very pleased
with it. The Brother HL660 is available through Archive for £650 inc VAT
and carriage.
8.9
Budget games − If you enjoyed Space Invaders and Rocket Raid on the
Beeb, you’ll enjoy two budget games from Generation Design. RoboCatch is
Space Invaders with scenery. You don’t get 3D graphics or a CD’s worth
of sound, but this is a budget game... it only costs £7.99 (no VAT −
they’re not registered) and it comes on two discs! You get nine zones,
with five sub-levels, to complete. To gain points, you blow-up the
aliens, then catch their cargo. Along the way, you can get ‘power-ups’
which increase your score and status. Overall, this isn’t a game to last
you a lifetime, but the bombs do blow you up... and you do actually get
annoyed when you fail to beat your last high score.
8.9
In Caves of Confusion, you control a rocket flying horizontally through
a cave. In your path are obstacles which have to be avoided or blown up.
There are four increasingly harder levels. There’s lots of fun,
explosions and frustration, and all for £6.99 from Generation Design.
8.9
BurnOut − Oregan Developments have just released a new race game called
BurnOut − a racing game like no other. Driving on tracks that have more
in common with roller coaster rides than conventional race tracks, you
must pit your skill and reflexes against five other dune-buggy drivers.
You have twenty drivers to choose from, and ten different dune buggies.
Racing takes place on an island split into ten areas with different
scenery, such as woodland, beach, desert, canyon, town, mountains and
coastal port. Each area has a number of tracks, three on the first area,
rising to ten on the hardest. To qualify for the next race, you must
finish in either 1st, 2nd or 3rd place. Tracks are constructed not only
on the ground, but also on scaffold, logs, over or through canyons, and
through water. BurnOut features arcade-style intro sequences with stereo
music and sound effects playing simultaneously during gameplay. BurnOut
costs £24.95 inc VAT from Oregan Developments or £23 through Archive.
8.9
CineWorks CD − The new CineWorks video editing package from Oregan is
supplied with a sample CD. The CD is available separately, as a
demonstration of the product’s capabilities. The price is £19.95, which
is refundable against a purchase of CineWorks, when it is available.
8.9
Digital Symphony CD-ROM − Oregan have produced a CD-ROM containing 500Mb
of Digital Symphony tunes, as well as hundreds of samples for use in
creating your own music. The RRP is £29.95 from Oregan, or £28 through
Archive.
8.9
Digital Symphony upgrade − Oregan have upgraded Digital Symphony to
ensure compatibility with the Risc PC.
8.9
EasyFont 3 upgrade − Easy Font 3 from Fabis Computing has been upgraded
to accept fonts automatically from Zenta Multimedia’s new Font Emporium
CD and the new iSV font pack. Anyone wishing to upgrade should return
their original disc to Fabis with two first class stamps.
8.9
Ethernet Design and Installation Guide − This guide book from Acorn aims
to help you through the stages necessary to set up an Ethernet network
using Acorn equipment by giving you the information you need to discuss
your plans with network specialists so that they can design and build
the network you require. It is for network managers intending to install
an Ethernet network, either a new network, replacing a slower system, or
extending an existing network. It does not teach you how to design or
install the network yourself. The price is £20 through Archive.
8.9
Fast IDE Interface − RapIDE Risc PC, 32-bit DMA-based Interface for the
Risc PC. The Interface provides vastly increased throughput over the
Risc PC motherboard. Using alternative drives it is possible to achieve
reading speeds in excess of 8Mb per second using 32-bit direct memory
access. It provides two IDE ports, allowing up to four devices to be
connected, including IDE CD-ROMs. RapIDE Risc PC Interface costs £99
+VAT +£5 p&p, from Yellowstone Educational Solutions.
8.9
Faster Risc PC 486 cards − Aleph One have limited supplies of their
variants of the PC processor card for the Risc PC. Currently Cyrix
486DX2/66 or DX40 processors are available. The cards co-exist with
ARM610, 700 and 710 processors and, like the Acorn PC card, share the
Risc PC memory and peripherals. The DX2/66 costs £399 +VAT and the DX40
costs £349 +VAT from Aleph One.
8.9
Geordian protection systems − Geordian Systems have two products to
protect developers from computer piracy. Geordian Lock allows developers
to protect their own software using a keydisc system. Geordian Installer
offers the ability to protect software which has been installed to a
hard disc by ensuring that it will only run off the hard disc to which
it has been installed (although the software can be freely moved on that
hard disc). If the user needs to move the software to a different
medium, the software can be uninstalled and reinstalled to a different
drive. Contact Geordian Systems for details.
8.9
Insight 95 − Acorn are putting on a residential conference for head
teachers, department heads, IT coordinators and anyone involved in
planning or implementing educational IT strategies. The conference
includes two days of training; four 90 minute sessions on the first day,
and three on the second day. Topics include, planning and implementing
IT strategies, training in the use of Acorn RISC OS computers, software
and network systems, and use of popular RISC OS packages from third
parties. There are almost 100 sessions to choose from, covering a wide
range of packages at different levels.
8.9
The conference is being held at the Hinckley Island Hotel on Friday 14th
and Saturday 15th July. The cost is £499, but bookings received before
26th May 1995 qualify for a reduced price of £249 +VAT (£292.58
inclusive). The price includes all meals plus accommodation for the
night of the 14th July.
8.9
For those unable to attend, Acorn offer a range of courses at their
training centre in Cambridge.
8.9
Details can be obtained from The Insight 95 Administrator at Acorn.
8.9
MacroLife − Macrolife is a desktop version of the famous game of life,
invented by the British mathematician John Conway in 1970. It displays a
scrollable window onto a Life plane, or grid, onto which you can place
patterns of cells and watch how they evolve. ‘Life’ is a fascinating
game in which patterns of cells on a two-dimensional plane evolve,
according to a simple rule. Despite its simplicity, Life patterns can
behave like living organisms, moving, growing and even − theoretically,
at least − reproducing and evolving.
8.9
A copy of the full program can be obtained by sending a cheque for £8 to
Chris Taylor, 7 Prideaux Place, London WC1X 9PP. If you are on the net,
he can email you a copy (without the printed manual) for £7. Chris will
then donate four pounds to Motivation, a charity which designs
inexpensive wheelchairs and organises their production using local
materials in countries which cannot afford commercial models.
8.9
Money Manager − This is a new accounts package from Wynded Software,
designed for home or business use where there is the need to store all
financial transactions in an orderly way. Often only a simple mouse
selection is needed, although keyboard shortcuts are available as you
grow more accustomed to using the package. Capable of storing up to 500
transactions in each month (6,000 in a 12 month data file). Easy-to-use
reporting facilities are included, allowing the specification of which
accounts should be used. Reports can then be exported to almost any
wordprocessor or DTP package.
8.9
NetReader − NetReader, from Digital Phenomena, is an off-line reader for
Usenet messages downloaded from Internet Conferences. The package is
shareware (£10 registration fee). Private and newsgroup messages are
supported; message files should be in “#! rnews” format. Facilities
include auto expiry of messages, and automatic signatures.
8.9
NoticeBoard − A new version has just been released by The Really Good
Software Company. Notice Board is the electronic display system which
enables sequences of poster-like displays to be run on unattended
monitors. The advanced version of NoticeBoard has an improved front-end
for easier page setup, and an option to use fades between pages whilst
the program is running. Current users can obtain an upgrade by returning
their existing disc to RGSC. The new version is £35 inclusive.
8.9
NStore 4D − H.S. Software have updated their National Curriculum record-
keeping package. Automated report writing has been added, and the
package includes the latest (1995) level descriptions in all the
subjects, for both primary and secondary. NStore 4D costs £44.95
inclusive, and includes a manual and two program discs, sufficient for
six classes of 36 children. Additional program discs for use in the same
school are available for £3 each.
8.9
Upgrades are available for existing users (£4.70 from version 4.0,
£16.95 from version 3.0 − you need to return your program disc, or quote
your disc registration number when ordering).
8.9
Outline fonts from iSV − iSV aim to produce a new item each month. Among
some of their latest releases are two outline fonts packs (277 and 298).
The fonts are mostly PD versions from the USA. iSV have converted them,
added scaffold lines and kerning data, and packaged them for the Acorn
market. Many of the letters have been re-drawn and missing ones
included. In pack 298, there are 39 families, each with Regular,
Oblique, Condensed, Condensed Oblique, Extended, Extended Oblique (about
273 fonts). Pack 277 contains 14 families with about 120 fonts. The
packs cost £25 each, or £45 for the two, from iSV Products − p&p £1.50.
8.9
Plantwise − Those who have seen the quality of Sherston’s Bodywise
software will be pleased that their next offering, Plantwise, is now
available. “Plantwise allows pupils to explore all aspects of plant life
in highly intuitive and informative ways.” It covers the major part of
the National Curriculum requirements for green plants as organisms at
both KS2 and KS3, and can be tailored to present easier or harder text
as required. The pack includes search cards, experiment sheet, user’s
manual and a guide to using the software in the classroom. Plantwise
costs £44.95 +VAT from Sherston or £50 through Archive.
8.9
Rocket for your Pocket − ExpLAN have created a set of spreadsheet
datafiles for the Acorn Pocket Book and Psion 3/3a computers, for use in
Science, Maths and Technology. When used in conjunction with a Payloader
rocket, it enables pupils to track the rocket’s flight using a hand-held
protractor device, and calculate the height with the Pocket Book. The
datafiles contain formulae to calculate the average height from multiple
readings, filter out erroneous measurements, calculate the burn-time for
a given engine and calculate the thrust and acceleration. The payload
carried can be varied, and a graph of mass against height can then be
plotted. Further details from ExpLAN.
8.9
Spelling Book − Spelling Book, from Creative Curriculum Software, is
aimed at users from 4 years old and upwards, provided they need help
with their spelling! It integrates with any word processor on every
Acorn 32-bit computer and is easy to configure and use.
8.9
It is not a spell checker, but rather, a computerised spelling book.
When activated, dictionaries are instantly integrated in alphabetical
order. Dictionaries responding to curriculum needs can be simply and
quickly created, and a number of preset dictionaries are supplied with
Spelling Book. Also included on the disc are three spelling games:
Wordsearch, Fireworks and Art Gallery. Single user £39 +VAT; site
licence £89 +VAT.
8.9
Textease templates − PaperSoft Ltd have just produced a selection of
templates for use with Textease. The first two selections contain 100+
templates for Paper Direct Business Papers and 40+ templates for Paper
Direct Fun/Theme Papers (they cost £24.95 and £14.95 inclusive,
respectively). For label printing, there are templates for Avery laser,
and Avery b&w and colour inkjet labels (the laser label templates cost
£14.95, the inkjet labels cost £7.95). Finally, there are templates for
Avery’s indexing system. The template disc includes precision software
for each of the IndexMaker and ReadyIndex sheets, and for each number of
divisions (5, 6, 10 and 12). Label and Index discs also contain a small
clipart library of useful label and indexing icons.
8.9
Trip − This package from Creative Curriculum Software has been designed
to provide assistance with the organising of school visits at home and
abroad. It is a purpose-designed database application for the trip
organiser, which can also be used to illustrate, for educational
purposes, the practical use of a database. Trip handles all the accounts
relating to a school visit − deposits, staged payments, special prices,
payment for optional activities, etc. It also stores all personal
details required − emergency addresses, dates-of-birth − and records
items received, (passport, medical information, etc). It costs £14.95
+VAT from CCS.
8.9
VersaTile − VersaTile, from Dial Solutions, is a tiling program designed
to encourage students of any age to explore geometry. The aim of the
software is to allow investigation of 2D shapes with the minimum of
restrictions, yet to utilise the computer’s power to provide a dramatic
increase in accuracy and productivity over conventional paper, pencil
and scissor techniques. It is a flexible tool that allows tiles to be
drawn easily and manipulated in a similar way to moving shapes around on
a table. VersaTile comes on two discs, and includes Oak Solutions’
!DrawPlot and !DrawPrint, plus a disc of examples.
8.9
VersaTile costs £45 +VAT for a single user, £100 +VAT for a primary
school licence and £200 +VAT for a secondary licence from CCS.
8.9
VideoTrak − This new release from the Really Good Software Company
should be welcomed by video enthusiasts keen to get their video
collection organised. Once details have been entered into VideoTrak, you
can browse through the catalogues and easily locate any film by title,
actor, director, etc. With all categories fully cross-referenced, just
selecting, for example, an actor’s name will provide a list of all his
or her films, with instant access to detailed information on individual
films and which tape they are on. VideoTrak costs £15 inclusive from
RGSC.
8.9
Wing chair pricing − The kneeling chairs that we have been recommending
(see Archive 8.3 p4) are going up in price to £340. However, I have one
in stock (black base with grey upholstery) at £290. Give us a ring if
you are interested − first come, first served.
8.9
Review software received...
8.9
We have received review copies of the following: •CDFast (for Networks)
(u), •Macrolife (e), •Money Manager (u), •More Talking Stories (e),
•NoticeBoard (m), •Outline fonts from iSV (u), •Spelling Book (e), •Trip
(e), •Textease Templates (u), •VersaTile (e), •VideoTrak (u) •Vzap (u).
8.9
e=Education, b=Business, bk=Book, c=Comms, g=Game, h=Hardware,
l=Language, m=Multimedia, u=Utility, a=Art.
8.9
If you would like to review any of these products, please contact the
Archive office. Potential reviewers will need to show that they would
use the product in a professional capacity or that they have some
knowledge of the particular field. u
8.9

8.9
4th Dimension   1 Percy Street, Sheffield, S3 8AU. (0114­270­0661)
(0114­278­1091)
8.9
Abacus Training    29 Okus Grove, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wilts, SN2
6QA.
8.9
Acorn Direct   FREEPOST, 13 Dennington Road, Wellingborough, Northants,
NN8 2BR. (01933­279300)
8.9
Acorn Computers Ltd    Acorn House, Vision Park, Histon, Cambridge, CB4
4AE. (01223­254254) (01223­254262)
8.9
Aleph One Ltd   The Old Courthouse, Bottisham, Cambridge, CB5 9BA.
(01223­811679) (01223­812713)
8.9
APDL    39 Knighton Park Road, Sydenham, London, SE26 5RN.
8.9
Apricote Studios (p16)  2 Purls Bridge Farm, Manea, Cambridgeshire, PE15
0ND. (01354­680432)
8.9
Avie Electronics (p18)  7 Overbury Road, Norwich. (01603­416863)
(01603­788640)
8.9
Calligraph Ltd   53 Panton Street, Cambridge CB2 1HL. (01223­566642)
(01223­566643)
8.9
Clares Micro Supplies   98 Middlewich Road, Rudheath, Northwich,
Cheshire, CW9 7DA.
8.9
  (01606­48511) (01606­48512)
8.9
Colton Software   2 Signet Court, Swanns Road, Cambridge, CB5 8LA.
(01223­311881) (01223­312010)
8.9
Computer Concepts (pp8/12)   Gaddesden Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts,
HP2 6EX. (01442­63933) (01442­231632)
8.9
Creative Curriculum Software   5 Clover Hill Road, Savile Park, Halifax,
HX1 2YG. (01422­340524) (01422­346388)
8.9
Dalriada Data Technology   145 Albion Street, Kenilworth, Warkwickshire,
CV8 2FY. (01926­53901)
8.9
David Pilling   P.O.Box 22, Thornton Cleveleys, Blackpool, FY5 1LR.
8.9
Digital Phenomena   104 Manners Road, Southsea, Hants, PO4 0BG.
8.9
EESOX   5 Hillfield Road, Comberton, Cambridge, CB3 7DB. (01223­264242)
8.9
Evolution Computer (p7)  An den Klippen 23, 57462 OLPE, Germany. (00-49-
2761-3062)
8.9
ExpLAN   St Catherine’s House, 20 Plymouth Road, Tavistock, Devon, PL19
8AY. (01822­613868) (01822­610868)
8.9
Fabis Computing   Sarford House, Swadlincote, Derbyshire, DE11 9SL.
(01283­552761)
8.9
Generation Design   2 Whitecliff Gardens, Blandord Forum, Dorset DT11
7BU.
8.9
Geordian Systems   18 Megdova Str., 131 22 ILION, Athens, Greece.
(+30­271­24355) ([e-mail]­t.gr /
[e-mail]­t.gr)
8.9
HCCS Ltd   575­583 Durham Road, Gateshead, NE9 5JJ. (0191­487­0760)
(0191­491­0431)
8.9
Hodge Electronic Services    16 Mold Road, Mynydd Isa, Clwyd, CH7 6TD.
(01244­550803)
8.9
HS Software   56 Hendrefolian Avenue, Sketty, Swansea, SA2 7NB.
(01792­204519)
8.9
  (01792­298283)
8.9
Iota Software Ltd   Iota House, Wellington Court, Cambridge, CB1 1HZ.
(01223­566789)
8.9
  (01223­566788)
8.9
Irlam Instruments   133 London Road, Staines, Middlesex TW18 4HN.
(01895­811401)
8.9
iSV Products   86, Turnberry, Home Farm, Bracknell, Berks, RG12 8ZH.
(01344­55769)
8.9
KCS Premier   71­73 Chapel Street, Leigh, Lancashire, WN7 2DA.
(01942­677777)
8.9
  (01942­672300)
8.9
Krisalis Software   Teque House, Mason’s Yard, Downs Row, Moorgate,
Rotherham, S60 2HD. (01709­372290) (01709­368403)
8.9
Kudlian Soft   8 Barrow Road, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, CV8 1EH.
(01926­851147)
8.9
Lindis International   Wood Farm, Linstead Magna, Halesworth, Suffolk,
IP19 0DU. (0198­685­477) (0198­685­460)
8.9
Longman Logotron   124 Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge
CB4 4ZS.
8.9
  (01223­425558) (01223­425349)
8.9
Millipede Electronic Graphics   Cambridge House, Hargrave, Bury St
Edmunds, Suffolk, IP29 5HS. (01284­850594) (01284­850351)
8.9
Newman Software   c/o Computer Centre, Newman College, Genners Lane,
Bartley Green, Birmingham, B32 3NT.
8.9
Oak Solutions   Dial House, 12 Chapel Street, Halton, Leeds, LS15 7RN
(0113­232­6992)
8.9
  (0113­232­6993)
8.9
Octopus Systems   9 Randwell Close, Ipswich, IP4 5ES. (01473­728943)
(01473­270643)
8.9
Oregan Developments   36 Grosvenor Avenue, Streetly, Sutton Coldfield,
B74 3PE. (0121­353­6044)
8.9
Papersoft   10 Dunlin Road, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP2 6LU.
(01442­391967)
8.9
Partis Logistics   44 Alder Road, Hadrian Park, Wallsend, Tyne & Wear,
NE28 9UB. (0191­295­5988) (0191­295­5988)
8.9
Quantum Software   35 Pinewood Park, Deans, Livingston, EH54 8NN.
(01506­411162 after 6)
8.9
Sherston Software   Angel House, Sherston, Malmesbury, Wilts. SN16 0LH.
(01666­840433) (01666­840048)
8.9
Silicon Vision Ltd   Signal House, Lyon Road, Harrow, Middlesex, HA1
2AG. (0181­422­3556) (0181­248­3589)
8.9
Softease (p15)  The Old Courthouse, St Peters Churchyard, Derby, DE1
1NN. (01332­204911) or (01684­73173)
8.9
Soft Rock Software   FREEPOST (BS7978), Westbury­on­Trim, Bristol, BS10
7BR.
8.9
Superior Software   P.O. Box 6, Brigg, S Humberside, DN20 9NH.
(01652­658585) (01652­657807)
8.9
The Advisory Unit   Endymion Road, Hatfield Herts, AL10 8AU.
(017072­65443) (017072­73651)
8.9
The ARM Club   Freepost ND6573, London, N12 0BR. (0171­624­9918)
(0181­446­3020)
8.9
The Really Good Software Company   39 Carisbrooke Road, Harpenden,
Herts., AL5 5QS.
8.9
Topologika   Islington Wharf, Church Hill, Penryn, Falmouth, Cornwall,
TR10 8AT. (01326­377771) (01326­377771)
8.9
Yellowstone Educ. Solutions   Welbeck House, Welbeck Road, Luton, Beds.
LU2 0HD.
8.9
Zenta Multimedia   10 Ravenhurst Drive, Birmingham, B43 7RS.
(0121­358­3054) (0121­358­5969)
8.9

8.9
Archive Monthly Disc
8.9
u Arctic demo (Richard Proctor) from Ned Abell − see Comment
Column, page 27.
8.9
u Files from Keith Hodge’s Risc PC Column − page 53.
8.9
u PhoneDay-really(!)-ready STD application from Jim Nottingham − page
28.
8.9
u Educational jargon from Audrey Laski and Richard Rymarz − page 25.
8.9
u The winning font from our font competition − page 26.
8.9
u Files from Gerald Fitton’s Column − page 45.
8.9
u Sample module program from Nicholas Marriott’s Module Writing article
− page 63.
8.9

8.9
Norwich Computer Services     96a Vauxhall Street, Norwich, NR2 2SD.
(01603-766592) (764011)
8.9
                      email: [e-mail]
8.9

8.9
Fact-File
8.9
(The numbers in italic are fax numbers)
8.9
Government Health Warning − Reading this could seriously effect your
spiritual health
8.9
He thought his run of lottery ticket entries had another week to go, so
when his numbers came up, he thought he’d won two million pounds. Then
he discovered it was the previous week that his entries had finished,
not this week. So what did he do? He committed suicide.
8.9
“If only I had checked the ticket...” “If only my friend had reminded me
that we only had a limited run of entries...” “If only... ” “If only...
” “If only I hadn’t reacted so badly, my wife and two children wouldn’t
now be without husband and father.” “If only... ” “If only... ”
8.9
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8.9
“Well, I try to follow the Sermon on the Mount − do unto others, etc.”
Excuse me, when did you last actually read it? Have you ever read it?
(Matthew chapters 5 to 7.) Here are a couple of quotes to remind you...
8.9
But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject
to judgment... ...anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the
fire of hell.  (Matthew 5:22)
8.9
And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.
It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole
body to go into hell.  (Matthew 5:30)
8.9
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8.9
“But what IS hell?” Well, if what Jesus said is true (and I say “IF”),
then hell is realising that it IS true − but too late! Jesus spelt out
plainly the joys available to those who believe in him but he also
explained that if people reject (or choose to ignore) his claims then,
when they die, they will be given what they chose − a life without God −
and that is hell. Hell is realising too late that you will never know
the joy of God’s love.
8.9
“If only I had read the bible.” “If only I had paid more attention to
the burblings of that idiot Paul Beverley.” “If only... ” “If only... ”
“If only I hadn’t thought I knew better.” “If only... ” “If only... ”
8.9
For God’s sake, and for your own sake, check it out. Jesus might just
have been telling the truth.
8.9
P.B.
8.9
Paul Beverley
8.9
How do you like the new-look Archive?
8.9
Thanks for all the responses to the new-look Archive last month
(including the gentleman who thought it was so appalling it must have
been an April Fool!). By and large, you liked the new layout but felt
that the headings were a bit too bold. So, I have reduced the UltraBold
to ExtraBold − I hope that does the trick.
8.9
Archive is YOUR magazine
8.9
Let me make the statement, as I do periodically, that this is YOUR
magazine. You are the ones that make it happen, not me. If you write
lots of good articles, it will continue to be (what I believe is) a very
good magazine, but if you stop writing, Archive dies overnight. The
supply of articles has been getting a little thin of late and for the
last couple of months, it’s been touch and go whether I would have
enough articles. Please keep them coming! Thank you.
8.9
Please support NCS
8.9
At one time, we were able to make quite sizeable charitable donations
from NCS − it was earning more than I and my family needed to live on −
but those days are gone, I fear. As you may have guessed, these last two
years have not been easy and we aren’t out of the woods yet. I have to
confess that our account with Acorn wasn’t up-to-date when the first
batch of PC cards came through but when we realised it, they had all
been allocated to other dealers. I apologise for that over-sight which
has meant an even longer wait for many of you. The cards are now coming
through, so just listen to the ansaphone we’ve set up on 01603-766585
for the latest news.
8.9
Once again, thanks for all your support − I do appreciate it!
8.9
Bankrupt Stock
8.9
Last month we bought up some stock from a company that was closing down.
The following are still available − please ring 01603-766592 if you are
interested in any of them.
8.9
N.B. All items are brand new (12 month warranty) unless otherwise
marked.
8.9
(We have also added in one or two of our own bits which we want to sell
off!)
8.9
New Computers & monitors
8.9
ACB45 (9Mb) Risc PC with AKF85 − £2466 −−> £2200
8.9
ACB25 (5Mb) Risc PC with AKF85 − £2114 −−> £1900
8.9
A3010 (1Mb) with Action Pack software − £299 −−> £260
8.9
A3010 (1Mb) with Learning Curve software − £299 −−> £260
8.9
A3010 (2Mb) with Early Years software − £399 −−> £350
8.9
Old computers & monitors
8.9
A3000 (2Mb) RISC OS 3.1, RGB monitor, HCCS SCSI card − £250 (S/H − no
warranty)
8.9
Podules & add-ons
8.9
Midi interface for A3000/3010/4000 − £53 −−> £30 (S/H − no warranty)
8.9
HCCS User Port / Analogue − £46 −−> £23 (S/H − no warranty)
8.9
Dual 3½“ floppy drives in external box − £25 (S/H − no warranty)
8.9
CD drives
8.9
Morley dual speed SCSI drive, caddy loading, for Risc PC. £290 −−> £195
8.9
Ultimate dual speed (ex-demo) external drive +A5000 type interface. £263
−−> £170 (no warranty)
8.9
Mac SCSI CD-ROM − £50 (no warranty)
8.9
Removable drives
8.9
105Mb internal IDE drive (with 1 cartridge) − £370 −−> £240
8.9
Refurbished 105Mb external SCSI drive (with 1 cartridge) − £410 −−> £210
(6 month warranty)
8.9
105Mb cartridges (if bought with a drive) − £60 −−> £50
8.9
Software
8.9
TouchType − £49.35 −−> £30 (See last month’s offer − page 3)
8.9
Schema 1 − £125 −−> £40 (upgrade to Schema 2 is about £60)
8.9

8.9

8.9
Help!!!!
8.9
Acorn DTP − I want to print out an A5 booklet by printing onto both
sides of A4 sheets, folding and stapling. Simple. Can Acorn DTP do it?
8.9
Charles Morris, 30 Southcourt Road, Cardiff, CF3 7DB. (01222-490766)
8.9
Alternative Risc PC keyboards − After several attempts to learn to
touch-type using a keyboard tutor, I have given up in disgust. I find
that, after 20 minutes sitting in the ‘recommended position’, my wrists
and arms begin to ache and I rapidly revert to my two-fingered approach.
Since I seem to be incompatible with the PC type keyboard, the next best
option is to find an input device more suitable to me. Has any reader
had experience of / problems in using, one of the Microsoft Natural
keyboards on the Risc PC? Does anyone know of any other alternative
(ergonomic) keyboards? I recall that some years ago the Maltronic(?)
keyboard was going to revolutionise typing.
8.9
Ashoke Patel, Ilford
8.9
Basic Wimp Programming book − This Dabs Press book by Allan Senior is
now out of print. Does anyone have a copy that they would be willing to
donate? I have a customer who wants to buy one and if you donate the
book (and disc) to me, I’ll sell it to him and give the money to
charity. Any offers?
8.9
Ed.
8.9
Christian PD − I am going to be setting up a PD library for the
Christian Acorn Users Group. This will cover clipart, resources, etc. If
you have any material, please send it to me on 3½“ disc. Thank you.
8.9
Andrew Bower, 60 Barcheston Road, Knowle, Solihull, B93 9JT
8.9
Development software − I have recently started reading a book by Paul
Overaa, on program design techniques using Warnier diagrams. Does any
Archive reader know of some suitable software (one or several bits) that
will assist in producing these Warnier diagrams. The Warnier technique
relies on using sets of curly brackets that define a group of operations
and the order that they are to be performed.
8.9
Ashoke Patel, Ilford
8.9
Graphing software − In the past, a number of my graphing applications
have been distributed by Norwich Computer Services at various times on
several of the NCS Shareware or monthly discs. Since the Shareware discs
are no longer available, I have collected all these applications
together onto one disc. The disc can be obtained direct from myself at a
modest charge of £4. This registration fee entitles the user to upgrade
at any time to the latest version. The many users who are already
registered can, of course, upgrade to these latest versions in the usual
way.
8.9
The applications included on the current disc are !GraphDraw,
!MultiPlot, !ChartDraw, !FNPlotter, !Surface, !3DFnEdit, !Text>Draw.
GraphDraw allows data to be fit, for example, to a straight line, a
polynomial or spline curve. MultiPlot allows a number of curves to be
superimposed on the same graph. ChartDraw allows the production of bar
and pie charts. The 3D surface plotters are still under development, but
are functional. The package is available from:
8.9
Chris Johnson, 7 Lovedale Grove, Balerno, Edinburgh, EH14 7DR
8.9
Microwriter − I have used a device called a Microwriter since I was in
secondary school. I used it for taking notes in lessons or as an
alternative keyboard for generating text before transferring via
Commstar II, into View on the BBC Master for final polishing. I have now
bought an A3010 and want to continue using my Microwriter in a similar
fashion. I would be grateful if anyone could let me know if there is any
suitable software available.
8.9
John Rees, Swn-w-Nant, Stuart Street, Treherbert, Rhondda, CF42 5PR
8.9
More TurboDriver problems − My computer setup consists of an A3010 (2Mb
RAM, floppy only), AKF17 and Canon BJ200, usually running Impression
Publisher or Draw. Recently I started having problems with the
TurboDriver version 4. When I start printing anything more than a few Kb
in size, I get an error message, “LZW code too large (StreamSquash)”. I
have tried talking to CC but they say that there is nothing wrong with
the driver, and that my problem is unique! I would be very grateful for
any assistance.
8.9
Islam Uddin, London
8.9
Mouse operations − I am trying to help an arthritis sufferer to use a
mouse. Most difficult are click and drag operations. I am aware of
Warfarin that replaces the mouse with ALT+keys but what I am looking for
is the ability to move the mouse but assign keyboard keys (without
<shift> or <Alt> − perhaps the top three of the numeric keypad) as the
mouse buttons. Can anyone help?
8.9
John Thorn, Cardiff ([e-mail])
8.9
Printing drawfiles − How can I print a drawfile as a header from within
Basic at the top of the sheet, and not have a form feed, so that I can
then print my Bridge results (see H & T, p 50) all in one go? I can draw
it from Basic using the PDriver commands, but it insists on doing a full
page instead of the limited rectangle I require.
8.9
Also, does anyone know of a PD program that will edit the modern non-
squashed ‘PrinterDefn’ files as the original one did?
8.9
John Wallace, Crawley
8.9
Risc PC drives etc − We have had a request regarding several matters
which may be of general interest, so if anyone would like to answer them
for the magazine, we would be most grateful.
8.9
Can someone explain what the Enhanced IDE, Fast SCSI and Wide SCSI disc
formats are, and how they relate to future developments of new machines
from Acorn? Can any of these be used already on the Risc PC and, if so,
what is needed to use them? Will it be possible to add SCSI-3 to the
system when the specifications are finalised? Also, is there any news
regarding the PCI adaptor to allow PCI expansion cards to be added to
the Risc PC?
8.9
Chris Walker, Norfolk
8.9
Squashed lines on printouts − When printing, I find that, every so
often, my BJ300 printer will produce a squashed line of text, about one
per page. I was going to ask whether this was a known problem with the
printer, because a colleague has had similar problems and, since we have
the same printer, we assumed that it was that causing the problem. Then
I noticed the same effect very occasionally in Archive, so it looks as
if other printers may be vulnerable. Does anyone know what causes this
effect, and whether anything can be done about it?
8.9
Danny Lawrence, Nottingham
8.9
Squirrel 2 transfer − Does anyone know if it’s possible to unlock
Squirrel 2 from one machine and install it on another (I’m about to
upgrade to a Risc PC and Squirrel is locked onto my A5000‘s ID number)?
Digital Services, who used to produce Squirrel, seem to have
disappeared, and left users with this problem. Does anyone know if
Squirrel has been taken over by another company, as it would be a shame
to lose such a useful program?
8.9
Jon Aylwin, 4 St Margarets Close, Hemyock, Devon, EX15 3XJ. (01823-
680111)
8.9
Transport from Winchester − A pensioner from Winchester has offered some
BBC stuff for our charity-Beeb project. Is there anyone in the
Winchester area able to help get the bits up to Norwich? Is anyone
heading up to Norwich on business at some stage with an empty car who
could actually bring it? Beryl says she has all the packing materials
but it’s almost a car-full so it would cost a lot to send be carrier.
Any help offered would be much appreciated − please contact the NCS
office or RepairZone (01603-400477) who are administering the scheme.
8.9
Beryl Orchard, Winchester
8.9

8.9
Evolution Computer
8.9
(New)
8.9

8.9
CC
8.9
From 8.8 page 23
8.9

8.9
Non-Designer’s Design Book
8.9
(New)
8.9

8.9
CC
8.9
From 8.8 page 24
8.9

8.9
CD-ROM Column
8.9
Andrew Flowerdew
8.9
I was going to do a CD-ROM Column last month but those naughty people at
Acorn sent me a PC Card for my Risc PC and, well, I just had to play...
8.9
My first impressions of the way the PC Card handles CD-ROM software are
very favourable. Most of the software that I have tried has worked,
including movies, images, etc. However, since I have not received the
sound card yet, I can’t comment about sound. The only problems I have
encountered so far have been in some of the introductory software on
some magazine CD-ROMs discs. Also, some of the Dorling Kindersley
software has introductory screens where the colour looks decidedly
psychedelic. This seems to be cured when the software takes you to the
main body of information where everything returns to normal.
8.9
I think it would be a good idea to try to compile a database of CD-ROMs
which work, half work, or fail using the Risc PC PC Card and the PC
Podule but, before we start, I would like to hear from readers what
fields they think the database should contain, so please write or e-mail
me with suggestions.
8.9
Installing a CD-ROM in a Risc PC
8.9
A few of our staff took advantage of the Acorn offer, just before
Christmas, to buy a CD-ROM drive for £29 if you bought a Risc PC. The
Risc PCs arrived before Christmas, although the CD-ROM drives didn’t
arrive until the last week of February. I recalled the computers to the
computer room and opened the CD-ROM packaging. Great joy! There was a
clearly written manual and well laid out components, right the way down
to ribbon cables that were bent and laid out so that they would fit into
the Risc PC correctly. The whole pack was so easy that I managed to
install both CD-ROM drives into the two Risc PCs in less than 30
minutes. Well done, Cumana!
8.9
I spent a little while making sure the drives were set up and working
well for their users and found Cumana’s Speedy CD utility (supplied with
the drives) easy to set up and use. I must admit that I was pleasantly
surprised by the speed and easy of use of the system and look forward to
doing some raw tests on the drive in the future.
8.9
CD-ROM of the month
8.9
I hope that this section will develop into a way in which you, the
reader, can let others know about CD-ROMs that you use and why you like
them. I was going to mention the BitFolio Graphics CD-ROM but it was
reviewed last month. However, it is one of those CDs which is so popular
that I have had to put it onto a large hard disc on my network − it is
used by large numbers of both adults and pupils.
8.9
So CD-ROM of the month is Treasure Chest, from NorthWest SEMERC. This is
a CD-ROM of resources which is well laid out and has a clear and very
understandable user interface. The CD contains a large number of
graphics and sounds set out in topic areas, and the quality of the
artwork is generally superb. It is very easy to use and is designed to
allow access for special needs pupils. This CD-ROM sits on my network,
working quickly and easily, and is a very useful resource for both
teachers and pupils.
8.9
Grief from Scotland
8.9
I received a letter from Fred Grieve, a teacher in Scotland, who has had
a rather bad experience with an HCCS Ultimate SCSI podule. Fred bought
the podule partly to access PhotoCD drives, but found that he had
problems accessing PhotoCD images on discs containing more than 80
images. He also had a problem with various other CD-ROMs, where the
software would produce error messages when trying to access different
parts of the disc.
8.9
When Fred contacted HCCS, they explained that the errors were due to a
change in the firmware (the software held in the ROM chip inside the
drive) made by Mitsumi, the company who make the drive. They also said
that Armstrong Walker, the company who write their software, were
working on a fix.
8.9
Although HCCS have offered Fred an upgrade to a newer, more expensive
drive (for the difference in cost), he feels that their response has
been less than satisfactory, in that the errors that he has encountered
have still not been sorted out and he does not want to spend any more
money.
8.9
Fred finally gave up and ordered a Cumana SCSI II interface and CD-ROM
from his helpful local dealer, Moray Micro, which he finds ‘far
superior’ to the HCCS drive. However, the episode has left a very sour
taste and Armstrong Walker have still got Fred’s PhotoCD which he lent
to them for tests.
8.9
The rights and wrongs of this case can be argued until the cows come
home but it does highlight a few points about CD-ROM drives, interfaces
and software.
8.9
Manufacturers of CD-ROM drives are continually trying to improve the
performance of their drives and this often means a change in the
firmware in the drive. This can have repercussions for the developers of
interface software.
8.9
This is usually not a problem for companies who sell a specific drive/
interface package, since the package as a whole should have been tested
thoroughly before being sold. However, when purchasing a drive for SCSI
interface, it is worth checking whether the drive is supported by the
SCSI software which comes with the interface.
8.9
In general, if you are using SCSI, you should be using CDFS v2.20 or
above. You then need a driver for the particular drive you are
purchasing. So, for example, I use a Toshiba driver module from Morley
to drive my two Toshiba drives and this setup works with both my Cumana
interface and my creaking, old Oak interface.
8.9
The situation may become clearer with the advent of the Eesox SCSI II
CD-ROM driver. This piece of software claims to allow any SCSI II CD-ROM
drive to work with Acorn’s CDFS. I hope to test it soon.
8.9
Digital video support
8.9
The table above shows the current state of play, as provided by Acorn’s
multimedia guru, Stuart Palmer. I will aim to update the list as time
goes by and if anyone has any information which will help with this,
please contact me via Archive or the address below.
8.9
Green Book − White Book ?
8.9
The main standards for CDs are set out in various documents, known by
different colours. The original standard was for CD Digital Audio and
was known as the Red Book. This was followed by the Yellow Book, which
set out standards for CD-ROM. The Yellow Book specification was later
modified to cope with CD-ROM XA and multi-session Photo CD discs.
8.9
However, recently, two more standards were published, one by Philips
called the Green Book standard, which was designed to lay down standards
for CD-i players and another, the White Book standard, which covers the
new Video CD system of MPEG1 full-screen, full-motion video.
8.9
In practice, unless you have a large number of old Philips CDi video
CDs, the White Book standard is the most important of these two and you
should certainly ask if the drive you are going to buy is White Book
compliant.
8.9
As always, you can contact me via Archive or c/o DCPS, Cranbrook, Kent
TN17 3NP or via e-mail on [e-mail]. u
8.9

8.9

8.9
CD-ROM drives and MPEG support
8.9
                                                    GreenBook   WhiteBo
ok
8.9
Cumana
8.9
Panasonic CR562 IDE  No*  Yes
8.9
Panasonic CR562 Parallel  No*  Yes
8.9
Panasonic CL503 SCSI  Yes  Yes
8.9
Series 600 (Sony CDU561) SCSI  Yes  Yes
8.9
Morley
8.9
Toshiba 3401    Yes
8.9
Toshiba 3501    Yes
8.9
Toshiba 4101    Yes
8.9
Sony CDU31A
8.9
Sony CDU33A
8.9
Morley
8.9
MediaVision CDR-H93MV  Yes  Yes
8.9
Computer Concepts
8.9
Pioneer  Yes  Yes
8.9
 *These drives will support Green Book video, if provided with the most
recent revision of the Panasonic firmware. This revision is not shipped
by Acorn in the Multimedia Risc PC, but is available from Cumana as an
option.
8.9

8.9
Softease
8.9
From 8.8 page 11
8.9

8.9
u Archive Special Offers u
8.9
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8.9
Datapower Database
8.9
u After the good review which Datapower received (8.6. p43), we have
arranged a special offer price with Iota. The full price is £149 +VAT =
£175.08, the normal Archive price is £160, but it is
on special offer at £120 − an excellent saving! This was to be for
for one month, only but because the demand was so high, we have extended
the offer to two months. u
8.9
“My final choice is Datapower. Whilst I dislike the copy protection
method used (at least it is not as bad as Squirrel’s), and although it
is not a relational database, I found the lookup facility was adequate
for my needs. The design process, reporting facilities and general look
and feel of the program were such that I found myself turning more and
more to this package as the review period went by. You will not be
disappointed if you follow my example and purchase this program for your
computer. Simon Coulthurst.”
8.9
Textease
8.9
u We’ve also managed to arrange a special limited offer on Textease, the
budget DTP package. Once again, the review (see last month − page 43)
was very positive.
8.9
The full price is £39.50 but for two months, it is
on special offer at £35. u
8.9
Personal Accounts v3
8.9
u The full price of Personal Accounts is £49.95 and the special price
(for Archive subscribers only) is £35. The only difference with this
special version is that, to save costs, it will not come in a
presentation case. The offer was to be for one more month, but, again,
the demand is so high, we are extending the offer for one more month. To
take advantage of this offer, just send in your order for Personal
Accounts to NCS in the normal way but simply do so at £35 instead of
£49.95. u
8.9

8.9
Club News
8.9
The ARM Club is holding another Open Day. This takes place on Sunday,
June 11th at Belmont School, Mill Hill, London NW7. For more details,
contact Ralph Sillett on 0171-624-9918. u
8.9

8.9
Avie
8.9
From 8.8 page 17
8.9

8.9
Apricote
8.9
From 8.8 page 18
8.9

8.9
Making Movies
8.9
Mike Battersby
8.9
I work for the Kingston Schools’ IT Unit where we have recently been
involved in translating the Map Skills CD-ROM (Key Stages 2-3) from PC
to Acorn format. We have been working in conjunction with Pebbleshore
Ltd (who published the original PC version) and Cumana (well known for
their CD­ROM drives etc), who are publishing the Acorn version.
8.9
Although much of the objective was simply to translate the existing main
elements, there was also the aim to enhance the application in its Acorn
version in several ways. One of these was to add video shots of the
locations used on the CD, so that the maps used can be related to videos
(and still images) of the areas they represent, for the purpose of
developing the understanding of the maps.
8.9
Producing the videos
8.9
This then raised questions as to what equipment to use to produce the
videos. This article is not intended to be a full review of the two
alternatives tried, but is an account of our experience and choice,
based on what we were trying to achieve, and the constraints involved.
The main concerns we had were that the replay movies produced should be
of an “acceptable quality” and not require undue amounts of RAM memory
to decompress. What constitutes “acceptable” is, of course, subjective
but had to satisfy ourselves and the other two main parties involved.
Since the movies were to be silent, the audio capabilities were not an
issue.
8.9
Eagle + Eidoscope
8.9
The first system tried was the Eagle card from Computer Concepts, with
the Eidoscope software for editing. Since we were concerned with the
memory needed to decompress the movies, the only real option of formats
was the Eidos compressed format which requires just under 1Mb of RAM to
decompress. The uncompressed formats produced higher quality but require
around 2Mb of RAM free for playing via ARMovie, which was much too much.
Eidoscope is the only software available for editing the Eidos format
movies.
8.9
The results produced an acceptable quality for commercial use, but only
by a narrow margin. The pictures suffered from a narrow black strip
along the side and base of the picture, which was not too drastic but
annoying. It was desired to have a title “header” at the beginning of
each movie which, for Acorn Replay movies, is commonly referred to as
the “helpful sprite”. The Eagle card automatically puts in its own
sprite which advertises the Eagle card and Computer Concepts. Eidoscope
replaces this with its own logo! The only obvious way to put in your own
is to replace the sprite file inside either the application that
produces the movie (if it is not to be edited), or the one inside
Eidoscope. In either case the application must then be rerun each time
the sprite file is changed. The Eagle card also adds in header
information with a Computer Concepts copyright notice inside all your
own movies! This header cannot be edited in the Eidos compressed format,
though it can be edited in the uncompressed format, as alternative
editing or compression software can be used.
8.9
However, the Eagle card did produce acceptable picture quality, and
Eidoscope was quite user-friendly for editing pieces of video together,
with the particular advantage of allowing various forms of cross fades
etc, to join clips. Eidos, however, do not allow distribution of the
compression and decompression modules for commercial use without
agreement, though they can be distributed for non-commercial use. Since
the project already involved the three parties mentioned earlier, plus
Acorn (for ARMovie) and Oak Solutions (as it is a Genesis application
and required the Software Developer’s toolkit to allow commercial
distribution), we were reluctant to have yet another party involved.
8.9
Irlam 24i16 + Empire
8.9
At this time, the Irlam 24i16 digitiser card appeared on the market so
we decided to give it a try in comparison, using the Empire editing
software from Uniqueway. The card allows movies in a variety of formats
including a real time compressed format or various uncompressed ones.
The image quality was distinctly better on the majority (but not all) of
the recordings made using the same source equipment and tapes as with
the Eagle card. The uncompressed format required only marginally more
RAM to display than the Eidos compressed format, and the real time
compression format even less.
8.9
Further to this, the Irlam card allows hardware adjustment to take out
any black stripes around the edges − a considerable advantage. As
regards the helpful sprite, initially it is a copy of the first frame
but this can easily be changed by dragging an alternative sprite onto an
editing dialogue box. The written header information can also be set to
the user’s own wording from the save dialogue box.
8.9
The card can, incidentally, produce movies of varying sizes as against
the fixed Eagle size, which could be a considerable advantage, though
was not required for our purposes. It also provides more control over
colour, contrast etc, and no permission is needed to distribute the
ARMovie modules for the Irlam card.
8.9
Editing with Empire was as straightforward as with Eidoscope
(straightforward when you know how, but it takes time to suss out) and,
while the quality of each seemed about the same, my slight personal
preference is for Empire, for the way it displays strips of frames of
clips, allowing you to see a sequence of frames on screen at one time.
8.9
Conclusion
8.9
In the end, because of technical questions associated with the use of
Replay from CD-ROM, further compression/processing of the files is
likely to be necessary but the above account does at least bring to
light some of the important factors to be considered when looking at
alternatives for making Replay movies and may, hopefully, be useful to
others in a similar situation. u
8.9

8.9
Give us ’yer old Beebs & monitors
8.9
(and A310, A3000, A400, etc, etc.)
8.9
We have had an overwhelming response to our suggestion last month that
we might re-cycle old computers and peripherals for charitable purposes.
So PLEASE, if you have any old Beebs, Masters, printers, user ports,
concept keyboards (especially useful for special needs applications),
small hard drives, colour monitors, floppy drives, etc, etc just send
them in to us at NCS. Potential users include: Downs Syndrome
Associations, Mencap, Special Needs Departments in schools.
8.9
It won’t cost you much to stick them in a big box, take them along to
your local post office and send them by parcel post... we’ll get them
eventually!!! Alternatively, telephone Parcel Line, Target Express or
any other carrier who has a depot near you (see your local Yellow Pages)
and they will come and pick up the box from you for £10 or £15 or so
(especially if you say it’s for a charity scheme!).
8.9
If you are feeling really generous and have any old RISC OS computers of
any vintage that you don’t want, we can certainly find them a good home,
so just send them in to NCS.
8.9
N.B. If any of the things you send don’t work, please mark them as such
− and send them anyway because we can probably put together two duff
ones and make a working one.
8.9
Also, whether the items work or not, please mark the box “For Charity
Use” − or we might think they have come in for repair, fix them and send
them back to you with a bill for the repair costs!! u
8.9
The scheme is going well but we’ve got quite a few Beebs we can’t use
because there are no monitors... Any offers?
8.9
Catering for Crowds
8.9
(New)
8.9

8.9
Comment Column
8.9
Budget games − With so many £30+ games around which require thought, a
manual, and skill... it’s nice to be able to just load up a game and,
within seconds, be whizz-banging around the screen shooting everything
in sight. Okay, so you don’t always get the kind of graphics that come
in the big packages, but so long as it’s fun and − dare I say −
explosive, who cares? Well done to Generation Design for producing some
budget games.
8.9
My all-time favourite Beeb game was ‘Chucky Egg’ − even though my son is
still the holder of the highest score in our house! What’s your
favourite Beeb game, and does it exist for the Arc? Indeed, what’s your
favourite budget Arc game? If enough of you write in, we could set up a
fantasy league!
8.9
Gabriel Swords, Norwich
8.9
Calligraph Qume Laser Direct Interface − I took some time to get around
to buying a Risc PC for myself since I had a CC Qume Laser Direct, which
would not work on the Risc PC. I contacted CC on a couple of occasions,
but it appeared there would be no upgrade forthcoming. I finally
resigned myself to throwing the Laser Direct out, and bought a new Risc
PC from Paul.
8.9
The Qume sat in the corner of the room very neglected for a few weeks,
and I was relegated to doing all my printing at work. Then along came
Calligraph and announced a new interface that would work, not only with
their own early Laser Direct printers, but also with the CC version. It
is not cheap at £130 + VAT, but that is a lot less than buying a new
printer of comparable speed and quality.
8.9
I certainly have been pleased with the result. I can now make full use
of all the features of RISC OS 3.1+ with rotated fonts, etc. Although I
had upgraded the CC driver some time ago to what was claimed to be a
RISC OS 3.1 version, I had never managed to get it to work properly with
!Printers 1.22.
8.9
The new Calligraph driver is very fast and has a background print mode,
whereby it prints to disc first and then sends the data to the printer
in the background (it starts the actual printing very quickly; it’s just
that the data goes to disc much faster than the printer can make use of
it). Even in background mode, it still drives the printer at its rated 6
ppm, and control of the computer is regained very quickly.
8.9
The driver has a huge range of options, but I have not yet explored them
very fully, since the one thing lacking is a complete set of
instructions. I assume that the instructions come with the full printer
package. Some of the half-toning and screening options cause some very
strange effects, but it may be that these early printers cannot support
the more esoteric screen patterns. Using the standard proof settings, I
find the quality is very good, and would recommend anyone else
contemplating a similar move to go ahead. It is worth the extra
expenditure to have a fully functional laser printer again.
8.9
Chris Johnson, Edinburgh
8.9
Chess for promoting the Risc PC − In response to your request for ideas
in promoting Acorn products, there is a field in which Acorn could get a
great deal of positive publicity for a relatively small outlay. The
words Acorn and Risc PC could even be part of the average lay person’s
vocabulary. The field I am thinking of is chess! Before you stop reading
any further, hear me out!
8.9
The strength of chess programs is increasing all the time and although,
at normal match-play speed, they are not at Grand Master standard, at
speed chess they are very strong and are able to match and even beat the
best human chess players in the world. In August 1994, the unthinkable
happened; an £89 chess program called ‘Genius 3’, running on a Pentium
90 PC, beat Garry Kasparov, the human World Chess Champion, in the INTEL
Speed Chess Grand Prix! The names Intel and Pentium got massive
publicity in the next day’s press − a master-stroke by Intel! I was
asked by ‘non-computer literate’ friends what this ‘Pentium’ thing was
that had beaten the World Champion!
8.9
If a strong chess program, running on an Acorn RISC machine, did well in
chess competitions against human and Pentium opposition, people would
sit up and take notice. No need for software comparisons on different
platforms − we would beat them head on in direct competition!
8.9
As a keen club player, I have eagerly waited for a strong Acorn chess
program to appear and have conducted competitions between programs to
find the best. The results may surprise you. The best Acorn program
appears to be Colossus 4, running on my trusty old BBC B, which beat
Cyber Chess running on an A410/1! However, Colossus 4 is weak compared
to even the average chess program running on an IBM type PC.
8.9
“So where are we going to get a strong chess program from?” I hear you
say, but here too I have an answer! In the field of dedicated chess
computers (i.e. those that come complete with processor, board and
pieces) the most powerful in the world is the TASC R30 and, yes, you’ve
guessed it − it contains an ARM processor! (Incidently, three of the top
five dedicated chess computers use ARM processors.) Now it surely can’t
be too difficult to transport the code across to an Acorn RISC computer
and bingo − a world beater! Then let’s beat the opposition head on in
competition!
8.9
Rob Pollard, Guisborough
8.9
Chess II − Regarding the review of Chess II in the May edition of
Archive, although David Pilling has done an admirable job, at a
remarkable price, from my own and my son’s viewpoints (club player and
county player, respectively), we were disappointed with the review, for
two main reasons.
8.9
Firstly, a potential purchaser cannot tell how strong the program is
from the review. The statement “I think the game plays more strongly
than ever” is not good enough. As with any review, comparison tests
should have been carried out; Chess II should have been made to play
Chess, Cyber Chess and PC chess programs before its strength could be
truly assessed. I have played Chess against Fritz 2 (a strong PC
program, but by no means the strongest) several times and Fritz 2 beats
Chess easily. Chess II would have to be a lot stronger than Chess to
compete at the same level.
8.9
The world of computer chess is big business − there are magazines which
are devoted to assessing the strengths of the various programs and of
dedicated chess computers, containing league tables (which, needless to
say, don’t contain any Acorn programs), with programmers vying for the
number one spot. Even IBM has its own dedicated chess computer, aptly
named ‘Deep Blue’.
8.9
Secondly, to say the program is “fully recommended for novice,
enthusiast and pro” by Tord, who freely admits to being beaten by it on
novice and beginner level, is a rather sweeping statement. Enthusiasts
and pros expect a lot from their chess programs to help improve their
game. Strength aside, many other important features are usually standard
in PC chess programs, such as an extensive and editable opening book,
database of games sorted by player and opening type, move evaluation and
best line display, post game analysis, etc. Cyber Chess had some of
these features, but lacked the playing strength.
8.9
As I stated in my original letter (see above), the best dedicated chess
computers in the world use ARM processors, so transferring the code to
an Acorn machine would seem to be our best hope of producing a world
beater.
8.9
Rob Pollard, Guisborough
8.9
Tord replies...
8.9
I agree that it would be good to compare Chess II with PC or Mac
programs but (a) this is an Acorn magazine and (b) I only own an Acorn
computer. Being overseas and unemployed doesn’t help, so if anyone would
like to send me computers and chess programs to test, I’ll accept them
willingly!
8.9
I have done some testing against Chess, but Chess3D and Battle Chess are
not multitasking and so, with only one computer, I can’t pit them
against each other. For the earlier review, I set Chess against Colossus
4 on an Amstrad CP/M machine. This was a walk-over for Chess at almost
any level, so I am amazed to hear Rob’s conclusion that his ‘best’ chess
game is Colossus 4 on a Beeb.
8.9
I stand by my review of Chess II. Many better chess players than me
approved of Chess, and Chess II is a considerable improvement in many
ways, and it’s certainly well worth the money.
8.9
If Rob can afford a Risc PC plus a PC with Fritz 2 which, most likely,
costs more than two copies of Chess II, I am sure he can afford a copy
of Chess II as well. Rob, why not risk(!) a few quid and try out Chess
II for yourself?!
8.9
Tord Eriksson, Sweden
8.9
Clan Acorn Column − Would anyone be interested in editing a Clan Acorn
Column? The idea would be that, as editor, you could be in close contact
with Chris Cox, Acorn’s Enthusiasts Sales and Marketing Manager, and
keep Archive readers informed about what is happening in the way of
enthusiasts seminars, etc. You could also keep an eye on the
comp.sys.acorn group and feed things out of there into the Column.
8.9
Also, Chris gave a very good briefing to the press about his (Acorn’s)
vision for what could be achieved by Acorn enthusiasts in the way of
promoting Acorn’s products and guiding Acorn’s future development. It
would be good to share some of these ideas with the Archive readership,
but sadly, being so short-staffed, I only have time to edit the magazine
and not to write articles.
8.9
The diagram below is an illustration of how Chris sees the enthusiasts
at the leading edge of the market and how, by two-way communication,
they could influence the future development of Acorn’s technology − a
very bold concept which I very much doubt would ever be used by any
other computer company. Can you imagine IBM actually telling people some
of their development plans and asking them for their opinions of where
they should be going in the future?!
8.9
I believe that it IS worth sticking with Acorn, it IS extremely
interesting and exciting (albeit also very frustrating at times!) and I
for one won’t be deserting Acorn yet a while. Actually, editing Simon
Coulthurst’s RiscDOS Column this month made me extremely glad that I
don’t have to be “industry standard”! I couldn’t believe all the
technicalities he had to get into with Windows and networking.
8.9
Ed.
8.9
Database exchange scheme − There must be many Archive readers who have
databases of interesting facts and figures created with various database
applications. How about sharing your databases with other members? Paul
has suggested that I run the database exchange scheme, which I would be
willing to undertake.
8.9
If you have any databases that you would like to share with other
Archive members, please take the following action:
8.9
Send me your files as saved by your database application. Also send me
CSV files of the same data. Make sure that every disc you send me has
your name and address firmly attached and the name of the database
application that was used to create the files. Please send me, as well,
25 pence in coins and a return address label for the return of your
disc. If more than one disc is being sent, please add the extra postage.
(Please do not send me stamps for the return of your discs.)
8.9
After a pause of three or four weeks, while waiting for your database
material to arrive, your disc(s) will be returned to you with a list of
all of the database files received to date. You may then return the list
with your chosen databases marked on it, with blank, formatted disc(s).
8.9
It should be pointed out at this stage that one or two commercial
database applications available for the Archimedes computers (e.g.
Squirrel), allow the use of multi-line text fields. If your particular
database application does not have this type of field available, you
will not be able to import CSVfiles into your database without serious
loss of data. If you are sending databases with multi-line text fields,
please mark this fact on the disc. You may also send me any interesting
databases created with PC database software, as long as they are sent in
CSV format.
8.9
The databases will be distributed free of any charge, and the supplier
of each database will remain anonymous, if so desired. Any inquiries for
database material must always be accompanied by 25 pence in coins and a
return address label.
8.9
Roger King, Malgré-Tout, Ruette des Corneilles, Cobo, Guernsey, GY5 7HG
8.9
EasyFont3 − When using !EasyFont3, I am experiencing problems when
trying to import a font from my hard disc. I am getting error messages
relating to memory, both on disc and in the module area. The font
directories on my hard disc are archived using !ArcFS2 − version 2.52.
By copying the font folder(s) from the archived directory to a temporary
unarchived directory and then importing them into !EasyFont3, the
problem disappears. Fabis Computing have been told about this and I am
advising the programmer of !ArcFS2 of the details. There appears to be a
clash of memory requirements here − far beyond my capabilities to
understand.
8.9
Ted Lacey, Southampton
8.9
Educational jargon − Ed asked last month for something to help him with
educational jargon. Well, through the Home and School Council, I have
edited a booklet about educational jargon which will perhaps help. It is
entitled “What does it mean?”, is written by Barbara Bullivant and
Elizabeth Wallis, and costs £2 from the Home and School Council, 40
Sunningdale Mount, Ecclesall, Sheffield, S11 9HA.
8.9
Christopher Jarman, Winchester
8.9
Christopher, thanks for the copy of “What does it mean?”. It has
enlightened me about certain things, such as SATs (Standard Assessment
Tests) which are “national tests at 7, 11 and 14 to ascertain the level
of attainment reached by pupils at Key Stages (q.v.) of the National
Curriculum (q.v.)”. I now also know that “Sin Bin” is the “name
sometimes applied to a Unit for disruptive pupils”!  Thanks.
8.9
Audrey Laski and Richard Rymarz have also responded to the plea. They
sent text on disc of their own little glossaries of educational terms. I
have put these on the monthly program disc. Thanks to you, too. Ed.
8.9
The following letter was sent by Brian Kerslake to Computer Retail News
− well done Brian − and I thought you’d like to read what he has to say.
Ed.
8.9
Educational software is alive and well. It just doesn’t get the support
it deserves.
8.9
I read Jack Schofield’s ‘Edutainment goes by the bored’ (Computer Retail
News, 15 Feb 95) with some empathy and just as much disquiet.
8.9
He’s right when he says that ‘children have an amazing capacity to
learn’. As an ex-teacher, now running an award-winning educational
software house, I’d add ‘given good learning materials’ − which is what
the real edsoft industry in the UK (not the Big Publishers like
Microsoft) provides. Uniquely, it is still populated by educators who
are all responsible enough to push only an appropriate selection of
products towards parents. The trouble is, these aren’t the ones that the
trade wants to stock.
8.9
Jack says that the personal computer can overcome lack of motivation by
‘converting almost anything into a game’. Well, that might be what’s
supposed to happen, but I might disagree on the definition of a game. Is
that really the kind of software to lead us into the next century?
What’s in the shops right now reflects pretty well the sort of stuff
that was on sale back in the early eighties when those BP’s last moved
in. ‘Pick a skill, wrap it up in a game like space invaders, and it’ll
sell,’ thought the likes of Mirrorsoft. Well where are they now?
8.9
If we’re not careful, the wheel will go full circle. Will jittery
videoclips, tacked on animations and oodles of dull hypertext make CD a
winner? Probably. Discs will get bought (or bundled) but, as Jack says,
the important question is will parents come back for more? My guess is
they won’t. Too many titles suffer from poor design, and the platform
they run on: most PCs really are sluggish beasts.
8.9
In Jack’s article, there was precious little mention of the very real
success that British educational software houses are having worldwide.
Perhaps this is because many of us have deliberately restricted most of
our development activities to Acorn’s amazing machines. That’s right,
Acorn, a British company which has been selling, internationally,
powerful multitasking RISC-based machines since the late eighties and
long before Apple ever took the risk. If you think multimedia on a PC is
something special, try it on Acorn’s new Risc PC that you’ll find in a
growing number of British schools. Quietly matching their success are
the comparatively small UK edsoft houses who grow by mail order and
word-of-mouth repeat business. Repeat, business − which we’re still in,
despite poor retail support.
8.9
But things are changing. Some schools are now going the PC route,
because ‘these are the systems that kids will meet when they leave
school’. I beg to differ − by the time the present generation leave
school, the rest of the world might just have caught up. Unfortunately,
we can’t stand still and wait for Acorn to sell its superb machines into
homes and businesses in the manner they deserve. Most of us are porting
appropriate (that word again) software onto PC-‘compatibles’. Now we can
offer kids the chance to use successful school software at home.
8.9
So there will soon be a lot of proven high-quality educational PC
software around. Betsi (4Mation) − an interactive adventure set in Tudor
times − was enormously popular in its Acorn incarnation at the recent
Interactive Shakespeare Show at London’s Barbican Centre, and is now
available on the PC. The Acorn version of Music Box (Topologika) was
awarded Britain’s premier software award at BETT ’95; it too is now
available on the PC. And there’s plenty more coming ...
8.9
But will parents be able to find these educationally stimulating
programs in the shops, or will the trade instead go for the quick buck,
just like it did in the eighties? Its in your hands. I’m just sitting
here watching the wheels go round and round...
8.9
Brian Kerslake, Topologika
8.9
Font Competition − Unfortunately, there was only one entry in our font
competition and so the choice of prizes goes to Mrs. A.M.W. Demarteau-
v.d.Moosdijk in Best, Netherlands for her Nigra font which contains 153
characters. Congratulations Mrs Demarteau for a very stylish font.
8.9
Christopher Jarman, Winchester
8.9
Foreign characters − I’ve at last found a more satisfying solution,
quicker than using the default Alt keys, as described in the Acorn A4000
Welcome Guide, p.41 or the !Chars utility. You can use your <alt> and/or
<ctrl> keys together with the vowels which you wish accented, in
conjunction with two utilities called ‘!IntKey’ and ‘!Accents’.
8.9
Double click on the !IntKey application, which can be found on the RISC
OS 3 support disc. Load W.D.Hine’s !Accents utility (found on the tools,
‘Nice Disc’ from Evolution Computers). Choose the language on the menu
of !Accents from the iconbar menu. The keyboard will now obey the key
combinations as shown, if you click on Accents on the iconbar.
Unfortunately, you cannot restore the default <alt> key values by
choosing the default option in the menu of !Accents. You will need to do
a hard reset, or enter the following commands
8.9
RMKill InternationalKeyboard
8.9
RMReinit InternationalKeyboard
8.9
Valdo Richard, Switzerland
8.9
Iiyama’s good service − I recently bought a Risc PC and a 17“ Idek
Iiyama monitor from NCS (who helped me overcome initial teething
problems − thanks). Although the picture was beautifully sharp, there
seemed to be a degree of bending of vertical lines, particularly
noticeable on one side of the screen. No amount of fiddling the controls
would remove it so, at NCS’ suggestion, I rang Iiyama direct and was
given a very understandable explanation of why a certain amount of
distortion of vertical lines was inevitable, due to the attempt to
‘square’ the screen.
8.9
I was also offered the option of returning the monitor to Iiyama at any
time during the first 30 days for a replacement or a full refund (via
the supplier). I haven’t decided on my course of action yet but am going
to try to compare with a number of similar-sized monitors at work first.
Iiyama’s attitude is commendable and has certainly put my mind at rest.
8.9
Peter Smith, Whaley Bridge
8.9
Internet − After last month’s comments, can I also point out that
Compuserve offers a good connection to the ’net as I found out by
reading an old Archive review of !Arctic by Richard Proctor (7.2 p55).
(I’ve sent the demo version to Paul for the monthly disc.) The advantage
of the system is that the software is very good, is Risc PC tested, and
Richard is planning on expanding it as Compuserve expands its Internet
capability. (He is writing a Usenet application specifically for
Compuserve.)
8.9
For those of us remote from big towns, phone bills are minimised by log
on/grab/log off. It costs me about £7 a month and there is a very active
Acorn group on UK Computing Forum section 8. Whilst it is very American
in flavour, it has allowed me to send small articles to the Citroen Car
Club mag in Wellington via the Internet and Apple’s dealer system and
the cheap e-mail is invaluable! To join ring 0800-289378 (+44-272-
760681).
8.9
Ned Abell, Kidderminster. [e-mail]
8.9
Internet access − Following my comments last month, Nick Smith from ANT
Ltd pointed out a couple of errors in what I had written.
8.9
Firstly, the maximum serial port rate on pre-A5000 machines is
technically 19200 baud. That is true, but, when working through RISC OS,
connections may not be totally reliable, which is why I gave the 9600
figure. He does think that a 28800 modem is a good investment, although
14400 is perfectly good, for a few quid less.
8.9
A5000 or later machines can drive the serial port at 57600 baud,
although this can only be used by accessing the hardware directly. Risc
PCs can drive the serial port at 115200 baud, making a 28800 modem more
attractive.
8.9
Matthew Hunter, NCS
8.9
PC compatibility − I concur with Anthony Hilton’s comments (8.8 p50)
that software houses should concentrate on providing PC compatibility,
though I think a separate multifunction utility to convert between Acorn
and the desired PC software format would be more practical. The problem
with providing PC compatibility within an Acorn product is that PC
software manufacturers seem to revise the file formats each time they
‘upgrade’ (?) their software. Since their systems are revised every 12-
24 months, it would probably be more effective if the conversion were
handled by a separate utility which could be upgraded as frequently as
necessary.
8.9
To put my money where my mouth is, and reinforce a comment in Keith
Hodge’s column (8.6 p69), I would have preferred to invest £80-90 in
such a piece of conversion software rather than buy a PC card! Having
heard, from some of the privileged few who are owners of the first
Risc PC PC cards, that 12-16Mb of memory is the minimum needed to run
both Windows 3.1 and RISC OS simultaneously, I am even more convinced of
the efficacy of the software approach. I have a 10Mb (8+2) Risc PC and
the further investment of £145 for a memory upgrade makes the PC card
very expensive, i.e. £116 PC Card, £60 approx. for Windows 3.1, £145
memory upgrade, total £321, assuming you have an ABC 45 (even more if
you’re starting with a lower-memory Risc PC) and that’s before you buy a
copy of your chosen software.
8.9
I would be interested in comments from software houses as to why they
have not attempted to provide some sort of basic compatibility with PC
software. Having said this, I understand that the Eureka 3 spreadsheet
does import and export spreadsheets from various flavours of Lotus 123,
(almost a ‘standard’ spreadsheet interchange format), and Excel (though
only up to Version 4). If this supported Excel 5, I would be the first
in the queue for a copy. As an aside, on PC platforms, the DBase format
appears to be a ‘standard’ exchange format for databases,while Lotus 123
for spreadsheets, though lamentably ASCII, is still the only reliable
text exchange format, and as for graphics formats... !
8.9
Ashoke Patel, Ilford
8.9
Risc PC genlock − Millipede Electronic Graphics demonstrated an
AlphaLock genlock overlay adaptor for the Risc PC at the Acorn World
Show and soon will release the product in two versions, at a price of
around £750 +VAT. I mention this because this might be the first genlock
for the computer, and the demonstration I saw was to the highest
standard. The two versions will be ready in “about six weeks” (which
would be about the end of May) and the demonstration boards are being
sent to both Lindis and Clares for evaluation with their !CableNews2 and
!Titler software. I only wish Paul Reuvers and Rob Davidson would get
together to program a joint effort!!!
8.9
The two boards will be a PAL/NTSC composite and S-Video board with
linear keying mixer and a board that is component video without the
mixer.
8.9
I’ll review the product as soon as I’ve bought it!!
8.9
Ned Abell, Kidderminster. [e-mail]
8.9
STDFinder improved − In order to get v2.01 of !STDFinder onto the
monthly disc in time for PhoneDay (Archive 8.8 p67), it went out with a
known limitation. This has now been cleared in v2.02 which is included
on this month’s disc. In addition, thanks to the efforts of Mr Frank
Peddie, two extra files are added to the ‘Directorys’ folder. These are
the modified international codes and London sub-codes, including Mercury
numbers.
8.9
Once !STDFinder has been loaded, dragging a new data file to the icon
bar opens an option window, allowing the new data to replace or be
merged with the existing Newcodes data. If desired, the result may be
saved for future use. If all data files are merged, there are some 6,700
lines of data (!) but processing is still near-instantaneous.
8.9
As far as I know, and thanks to the work of Julyan Bristow, Ted Lacey
and Frank Peddie, !STDFinder is the only utility which not only has all
the post-PhoneDay codes, but also the majority of other recent BT
changes, typically brought about by the installation of digital
exchanges. If you don’t get the monthly disc but would like a copy of
!STDFinder, it is available from The Datafile PD library or,
alternatively, from me on receipt of a formatted disc and return
postage.
8.9
Jim Nottingham, 16 Westfield Close, Pocklington, York, YO4 2EY
8.9
TableMate 2 − As a regular user and big fan of TableMate 2, I entirely
endorse Dave Floyd’s very positive review in Archive 8.8 p73 and his
wish-list for justified text and simple spreadsheet functions. The
latter would be very useful as, presently, although it is easy to
prepare data in a spreadsheet or database and import it to TableMate,
were we to modify and reimport the data, it would then be necessary to
re-apply all the TableMate styles such as column widths, font names/
sizes, colours, etc.
8.9
In dealing with another problem recently, I fell upon an undocumented
workaround procedure which enables the majority of the basic style
information to be retained. Having got a complex table just as I wanted
it, I found that if all the cell data was highlighted and deleted, the
basic table layout was retained. This included parameters such as
rulers, tabs, column widths, joined columns, line widths, metrics and so
on. I was then able to save this ‘blank’ table for future use as a
template. This allows me to modify the original data within a
spreadsheet and re-import it directly into the TableMate template,
leaving me to re-apply only a limited amount of style data. Saving the
template takes only a few moments and can save much fiddling later on.
8.9
This unexpected bonus surfaced while helping to solve a problem for
Peter Bond. He had produced a complex table, and subsequently wanted to
apply major modifications. This proved to be near-impossible because,
although data can be typed in manually, or imported in CSV, TSV or SID
formats, it cannot then be exported in these same formats for major
modification in, say, a spreadsheet. However, between us, we discovered
it was feasible to export the data in DDF format, load the result into
!Edit, filter out all the TableMate ‘scribble’, massage the data type
into the desired format (e.g. CSV) and export it to a spreadsheet or
wherever. This was a one-off procedure as, having done it, Peter was
then able to modify the data, whenever required, and re-import it into a
blank table template as described above. It follows that, if there is
any likelihood you will need to modify tabulated data at any point, it
would be better to do this in a spreadsheet or database and export it to
TableMate, rather than entering the data directly.
8.9
If anyone has data ‘stuck’ inside a table and would like to export it
for modification, please send me a copy of the table on disc and a note
of which output format you require (CSV or TSV).
8.9
Jim Nottingham, 16 Westfield Close, Pocklington, York, YO4 2EY
8.9
Word processing on Acorn and PCs − This comment is prompted by John
Molyneux’s comment in the May edition of Archive (p46), but it is not
about his problem, which I would guess is fairly specialised. It is
rather that the whole tone of his remarks about, in this case,
WordPerfect (and his ‘amusing’ deformations of the name) is very common
among Acorn users, and it does us no good at all. Quite apart from
sounding like the whinging of an oppressed minority, it completely
overlooks the point that the relationship of WordPerfect or Word, to any
WP or even DTP program on Acorn is, in many respects, that of a Massey-
Fergusson tractor to a pedal-car.
8.9
I should say right away that I have been an Acorn enthusiast ever since
I got a BBC B − then an Archimedes 440 (still going strong with
PipeDream 4) and now the Risc PC, which beats any PC in all sorts of
ways, except for word-processing. Things which you take for granted in
WordPerfect simply don’t exist in, for example, Fireworkz or, from what
I read, the main Acorn DTP packages either. This does not mean to say
that Fireworkz may not be better than WordPerfect for many things (such
as variable-format tables or importing spreadsheet data or graphics,
though even these can be done in WordPerfect), if you need to use a
computer mainly for writing reports and other documents, and for editing
in a mix of French, German and English. So the lack of some essential
facilities means that I am stuck with the PC, even though I would much
rather use the Acorn side of the Risc PC.
8.9
What are these essentials for a report-writer? In the following list,
the top two are the real sine qua non, though the others can be very
useful.
8.9
1. Automatic paragraph numbering (as used here). In WordPerfect, I can
use one of four pre-defined styles down to eight levels each, or define
my own style. If you are constantly shifting, inserting and deleting
paras, you really can’t do without this.
8.9
2. Footnotes and/or Endnotes. I don’t use these so much, but in certain
documents they are essential. For example, in any sort of research, and
when I am preparing notes for a talk, I often use both.
8.9
3. Undo and Undelete (the latter to three levels) − very useful for
quick moving of text. (This is not the same as cut-and-paste.)
8.9
4. The ability to see what codes you are using and where precisely they
are located in the text, as in WordPerfect’s “Show codes”. I have tried
to correct a phrase in Fireworkz like “Archive amgazine” and kept ending
up with “Archive magazine” because Fireworkz wouldn’t let me place the
cursor between the end of the italic and the start of the second word.
WordPerfect does let you do this, but “Show codes” makes doubly sure.
8.9
5. Load from / Save to different WP formats. I know that, in Fireworkz,
you are meant to be able to use Rich Text Format, but this doesn’t seem
to work. From Fireworkz to WordPerfect, you get a blank screen, though
the text is definitely on the file, and from WordPerfect to Fireworkz,
you get the most peculiar results:− italic and bold not closed off, hard
returns and first words after them deleted, auto-para numbers translated
as underline, etc. I think that this is partly WordPerfect’s fault. RTF
is just not a very good translation but it lists nine other WP formats,
all in several versions, plus ANSI or ASCII text in various guises, and
these do work. When you’re dealing with a good number of authors, as I
am, this is essential if you are to read their discs.
8.9
6. User-definable F-keys and keyboard. This can be done in both
PipeDream 4 and (with greater ease) WordPerfect. In the latter, you can
have up to 72 commands, out of a vast number available on F-keys, with
one keystroke each (counting <shift-F1>, etc as one stroke), and you can
re-define the whole keyboard in as many versions as you want, as I have
for foreign characters. If you are a frequent user, keystrokes are much
quicker than using the mouse.
8.9
7. A much greater range of foreign, mathematical and other characters,
insertable straight into any text, without altering the font you are
working in, though you can easily do that also in WordPerfect without
having to use ‘styles’, which I find pretty cumbersome.
8.9
8. User-definable button-bars. This may be possible in Fireworkz − it is
very useful for common commands you don’t want on your F-keys.
8.9
9. Drag-and-drop a marked section for copy/move within the text − much
faster than cut-and-paste.
8.9
10. Indent or double-indent all lines of a para until the next hard
return. This is not the same as Tab, which only indents the first line.
I think this can be done in Fireworkz, but with one keystroke?
8.9
11. Add comments to the text which are visible on the screen but which
do not print out − very useful for reminders, for REMs à la Basic, etc.
8.9
There are, I suspect, a good number of other things which WordPerfect
can do which Acorn WPs cannot but these are the ones I use frequently. I
am sure that one day Fireworkz Pro et al. will include many of these
functions but, until they do, let us not slag off WPs which have them
already.
8.9
This comment was, of course, typed in WordPerfect and sent to Archive as
hard copy + an Acorn disc with a plain text version (losing all
highlighting and special characters) and an RTF version (see para 5
above!).
8.9
Christopher Wightwick, London
8.9
Here is a brief and hurried reply from John...
8.9
If Christopher has been offended by my mention of any particular
program, I apologise. I intended the ‘humorous’ names to be taken
lightly. However, he seems to have missed the point of my original
letter. The message was that file transfer on PCs is fraught with
incompatibility problems. If he thinks that this is the whinging of a
minority, he should hear some of the comments that fly around the office
when transferring graphics between IBMs.
8.9
I was amused at the thought of WordPerfect as a tractor − to my way of
thinking, it’s a slow lumbering tractor! My wife, her secretary and some
of my colleagues (all of whom don’t use anything other than IBMs) have
all abandoned version 6 of WordPerfect for the increased speed of 5.2.
8.9
I can’t comment about Fireworkz, but the two essential attributes for
Christopher’s type of report seem to be paragraph numbering and
footnotes. The first is a technique I wouldn’t personally use except in
a very rudimentary sense in my technical reports − can anyone really
need eight levels?  “For further details, see section
1.6.2.1.5.iv.a.ii”?
8.9
As to his second and subsequent points, Publisher, which I regularly use
for text work, can do most of what he intimates is missing. Why would
you want to edit style codes? With WYSIWYG, you can see where they
change. Publisher can also import many foreign file types with ease.
8.9
P.S. This was written on a Pocket Book whilst walking the dogs, because
Paul only gave me two days’ notice to compose and return a reply!
8.9
John  Molyneux, Runcorn
8.9

8.9
Writing Your Own Book
8.9
Philip Woodward
8.9
Preparing material for a proper book publisher may seem a far cry from
DIY desktop publishing, but the two activities have much in common,
because work is more acceptable when presented tidily, whether addressed
to a publisher or directly to the public. I have just finished a semi-
popular book entitled ‘My Own Right Time’, for publication by Oxford
University Press in July, and I thought Archive readers might be
interested to know how I set about all the writing and drawing with an
A5000 using TechWriter, Draw and Hatchback.
8.9
The text
8.9
After much thought, I chose to prepare the text using TechWriter, mainly
because it copes wonderfully with equations, printing minus signs as
proper minuses, not as hyphens, and spacing things in a thoroughly
professional manner. I had already bought Desktop Publishing on the
Archimedes by Bruce Goatly, an informative and sensible book which
enabled me to appreciate for the first time the real difference between
word processing and desktop publishing. Although only twelve pages of
this book are devoted to EasiWriter (upon which TechWriter is based),
those twelve pages were invaluable in overcoming the initial hurdles.
Bruce Goatly spoke to me in my own language rather than that of the
manuals.
8.9
I did all my numerous drawings with Draw, without which I could not have
written the book at all. For my own convenience, I decided to embed the
drawings in the text, in spite of the fact that all such placings would
eventually be discarded if the book were accepted for publication. The
publishing house would start again from the raw material and impose its
own house style. However, I happen to know that the way I had presented
the material did create a favourable impression (with a small ‘i’). The
combination of Draw and TechWriter proved a happy partnership, as
TechWriter has the facility named Object Linking and Embedding (OLE),
which enables one application to be called from within another. Double
click on a drawing in the text, and the uncropped original pops up with
the Draw toolbox alongside. Saving puts the revised drawing back into
the text.
8.9
Not being strictly a DTP package, TechWriter structures the text rather
than the page. A picture – along with its caption – cannot be set in a
fixed position on the page. It counts as a paragraph of the text.
Consequently, after a heavy edit, a blank can occur when a picture is
too big for the amount of space left on the page. This I am quite happy
to correct by drag-and-drop editing.
8.9
Although TechWriter will align the text at left and right-hand edges if
wished, I chose to have the right-hand edges ragged (as in Archive,
since the May issue), and to mark paragraphs by extra line spacing
rather than by indents (also as Archive). The payoff with TechWriter is
the possibility of inserting a picture within a paragraph, or appearing
to do so. You simply take a new paragraph at the end of a line in mid-
sentence, and there insert the diagram. The reader is unaware that a new
paragraph has been taken. This subterfuge does not work with fully
justified text because the line immediately before the picture cannot be
made to stretch to the margin. With care, it is possible to go further
and make text flow round the side of a diagram by writing it as a side-
caption, but except for the purpose of showing off, I have found this
much too troublesome. Wisely, TechWriter makes no claim to any such
facility.
8.9
Shading the illustrations
8.9
As may easily be imagined, some drawings of clockwork mechanisms can be
made clearer by shading, which is where Hatchback came in so useful.
Hatchback will replace any coloured area in a Draw picture with black-
and-white hatching suitable for monochrome printing. Many patterns are
possible, but all those in Hatchback are based on parallel lines, grids
of lines (cross hatching) or circular dots. At first, I thought I wanted
the dots, but at high density, their generation is extremely slow, so I
never use them. There is a simple answer, surprisingly never mentioned
in 4Mation’s otherwise excellent little manual. All you do is choose a
diagonal cross-hatching with black and white reversed. Hey presto, you
have an array of little square black dots, whose frequency and density
can be adjusted to give the appearance of any desired shade of grey.
Advice from the publisher is needed to ascertain a safe frequency for
this dot pattern to survive the printing process.
8.9
To the printers...
8.9
Once a book has been accepted by a publisher, and a quantity of
champagne drunk (not squirted into the computer), we have a problem. The
first book I ever wrote, more than forty years ago, was sent to the
printer in my very own handwriting, and the compositor was happy to work
straight from that. Nowadays, it is becoming the norm to submit material
on disc, which is where problems start. Would a TechWriter file be
acceptable? (This was TechWriter version 2.01, not the new TechWriter
Professional which offers output in a portable TeX format.) Guessing
not, I prepared a plain ASCII file for each chapter on a DOS-formatted
disc.
8.9
Then, helped by a friend with an IBM-compatible PC, I discovered that
characters in the range 128–159 are by no means standardized. All the
characters on the keyboard are safe, as are those needed for French
quotations, but not such simple essentials as inverted commas and
dashes. For instance, a single inverted comma is character 144 in Acorn
fonts, but 145 in Times New Roman for a PC/Deskjet combination. Taking a
leaf from Goatly’s book, I encoded all my single opening quotes as
double primes ( “ ) and all my single closing quotes as single primes (
‘ ). This enables the desired text to be reconstructed by editing,
apostrophes and all. Conversational dashes (en-rules) I encoded as a
pair of hyphens ( — ). All highlights were lost, as were mathematical
equations, so these would have to be edited in from the printed copy.
8.9
Confronted with this somewhat primitive disc, OUP requested the Acorn
disc I had actually used, but my original guess proved to be correct.
They went for the DOS disc with the ASCII text. There is no denying that
we in the Acorn world are out on a limb when it comes to communication.
Will the Risc PC solve such problems – other than by capitulation?
8.9
Presenting the drawings
8.9
As for drawings, I chose to provide all my artwork on paper, as printed
by my Bubblejet printer. At 2.5 times larger than final size, there was
little trace of moire patterns between the Hatchback dots and the pixels
of the BJ-10. The first thing OUP did was to scan these drawings into
their own computers, which left me wondering whether I should have
offered everything in PostScript. The Oxford University Press are so
courteous and adaptable that I did not feel like asking gratuitous
questions!
8.9
Not all the illustrations in my book are drawings. Some are computed
graphs captured as sprites. In mode 29, with a resolution of 800×600,
the lines are too spidery for good clear book illustrations, but a lower
resolution mode shows the pixels up too clearly and loses information.
To overcome this difficulty, my trick is to paint the screen four times
over, sometimes by choosing four different origins, e.g. ORIGIN 500,
500: PROCplot: ORIGIN 502,500: PROCplot: ORIGIN 500, 502: PROCplot:
ORIGIN 502, 502: PROCplot. Another method, using a single origin,
involves drawing each part of the graph four times over. My own graph-
plotting package includes this as an option. The resulting bold lines
with fine pixels is just what I want, but surely somebody has a labour-
saving program which will replace each pixel in a bitmap by a cluster of
four in a square? The software supplied by Computer Concepts with
Scanlight256 carries out similar manipulations, but I have not yet
succeeded in making it do just what I have described. Can anyone oblige?
8.9
I hope this has given a bit of an insight into what might be involved in
producing a book for a publisher using Acorn computers and software. If
anyone has any further experience, ideas, suggestions, etc, please write
in and let us know. u
8.9

8.9
My Own Right Time
8.9
An exploration of clockwork design by Philip Woodward, Silver Medallist
of the British Horological Institute, to be published in hardback this
July by Oxford University Press.
8.9
ISBN 0198-565-224
8.9
Describes in simple language the scientific problems of precision
timekeeping in the age of the pendulum, with a whole chapter on computer
simulation of clock performance.
8.9
This is ‘an important and scholarly work which will prove to be a
landmark in our horological literature’
8.9
Jonathan Betts, Curator of Horology at Greenwich.
8.9
The Talking Animated Alphabet
8.9
Richard Rymarz
8.9
The Talking Animated Alphabet adds significantly to the ever-growing
library of programs specifically designed for pre-school children and
early learners at Key Stage 1 (5-7 year olds). Written and produced by
Sherston Software, this program tackles the three basic skills of letter
recognition, visual letter discrimination and aural letter
discrimination. Presented on four 800Kb discs, the program is easily
loaded onto hard disc, with the usual key disc used as protection.
8.9
The programs
8.9
Clicking on !Alphabet installs the program on the icon bar, and a
further click fills the screen with the opening page, offering the
following:
8.9
u Visual letter discrimination
8.9
The aim of this activity is to ensure that the child can distinguish
between the shapes of the letters. It is suggested (mainly for the
parent rather than teacher) that the child first learns to recognise the
difference between simple shapes such as squares, triangles, circles,
etc. Knowing the names is not essential − just being able to match the
shapes is. Once this is mastered, the child can move on to Talking
Animated Alphabet.
8.9
The control screen (activated at any time by pressing <ctrl-T>) in very
comprehensive. There are three levels of difficulty since some letters
are more difficult to recognise that others. Further, the teacher/parent
can customise the letter groups to provide very individual programmes of
learning. Finally, the number of tries can be set. Click on OK and the
activity springs to life with a beautifully designed screen: a marbled
backdrop with decorated balloons in the corners and the appropriate
letter-shapes scattered around. The target letter is boxed and a huge
mouth appears in the right hand corner. A very clear voice tells the
children the task. The child then has to click on the appropriate
letter. If there is a delay, he/she is asked again; if wrong then a,
‘No! look again!’ is heard. Three wrong guesses and a polite, ‘No! Never
mind. Try this one.’ leads the child onto another letter. Once the
letter is correctly chosen, it zooms to a larger scale, the voice says,
‘Well done, that’s right.’, the other letters disappear and two circular
arrows invite the children to ‘morph’ the letter. Thus an ‘e’ turns into
an elephant, an ‘l’ into a lighthouse, and so on. The next letter is
then presented.
8.9
u Aural letter discrimination
8.9
The aim of this activity is to ensure that a child can distinguish
between the sounds of letters. This takes the form of an ‘I Spy’ game
where the children listen to the spoken sound and then click on the
appropriate picture. Clicking on the picture morphs it to a letter. Thus
an apple becomes an ‘a’, a jack-in-the-box becomes a ‘j’ and so on. The
control screen allows the level of difficulty, the number of tries, etc,
to be set.
8.9
u Letter recognition
8.9
The aim of this activity is to link the shape of each letter with its
phonetic sound. It is suggested that only a few letters are used at
first, gradually adding more as the child gains confidence. The picture
opens the activity, which is then morphed into the letter. A spoken
instruction asks the child to, “Find the letter that says ‘g’,” for
example. Clicking on the correct letter provokes the response, “Yes!
This letter says ‘g’.” Three mistakes and another letter is offered. A
simpler activity involves the morphing element only. All the expected
options are available from the control screen.
8.9
The package
8.9
The Talking Animated Alphabet comes in the usual Sherston plastic wallet
which now, thankfully, has a separate pocket for each disc. The
excellent user guide skilfully takes the teacher/parent through the
installation procedure, describes each activity in detail and, at the
back, provides a welcome list of follow-up activities. Also enclosed are
twenty six, coloured, A4 picture cards which can be mounted, and will
provide a very attractive wall chart. Finally, there are three record
sheets that can be used as a check-list for each of the three
activities. All in all, the support materials should be very useful, as
well as being impressively presented.
8.9
Conclusions
8.9
This program is great. Not only are the educational aims sound and
clearly stated, they are executed with considerable skill. The look of
the program with its ‘schoolkid’ font, backdrops and letter design, is
first rate. The digitised sounds are crystal clear and the intonation
natural. Gone are the days when robotic voices marred a good program. If
I were to be over critical, I would say that, whilst the morphing of
letter to picture is excellent, the animations are minimal and a touch
disappointing. However, this is a small point in the overall structure
of the program which is easy to understand, easy to use and, at today’s
prices, fairly easy on the pocket. Designed for both home and school
use, it costs £35.20 or £33 through Archive, with a CD version promised
for the future. Highly recommended. u
8.9

8.9
Small Ads
8.9
(Small ads for Acorn 32-bit computers (i.e. not BBC’s) and related
products are free for subscribers but we reserve the right to publish
all, part or none of the material you send, as we think fit. i.e. some
people don’t know what ‘small’ means and there are certain things, as
you can imagine, that we would not be prepared to advertise as a matter
of principle. Sending small ads (especially long ones!) on disc is
helpful but not essential. Ed)
8.9
12 station Nexus complete with cards, cables & server, £1500. Phone
0181-547-6847.
8.9
4Mb SIMM for Risc PC £90. 210Mb IDE drive (Conner ex Risc PC) £90.
Scanlight 256 £120. Phone [phone] after 6.
8.9
A3000 4Mb memory, RISC OS 3.1, 20Mb IDE HD, Taxan monitor, Ovation, PC
Emulator, Genesis, Almanac and lots of games £500. Phone/Fax 01732-
454707.
8.9
A3000 4Mb, 45Mb Oak HD, 45Mb Syquest removable HD + 3 × 45Mb cartridges,
Oak SCSI external interface, Acorn RGB monitor, Panasonic KXP1124 24pin
printer + support plinths for monitor and printer, assorted software,
manuals and books. Cannot split. All v.g.c. £950 o.v.n.o. Phone Neil
Berry (daytime) 0116-252-5060.
8.9
A310 1Mb twin 3.5in 800Kb floppies, RISC OS 2, Acorn black and white
monitor, manual £120. Epson LQ850 24pin dot matrix and sheet feeder £70,
120Mb SCSI disc £80, MS-DOS 6.2 and Windows 3.11, discs only, £50, MS-
DOS 6.2 and Windows 3.1, discs only, £45. ROM/RAM podule (64Kb +
battery), Phillips yellow/white monitor, Schema 1, Acorn 2 slot
backplane/fan, Acorn mouse, Electron Plus One £15 each. All excluding
delivery. Phone [phone] eves, w/e.
8.9
A4 portable 80Mb HD, Econet interface RISC OS 3.1 mains adaptor and case
£900. Phone [phone].
8.9
A4 portable 4Mb RAM, 80Mb hard disc, spare battery, carry case and
tracker ball £1100 o.n.o. Contact Adrian on 01603-748253.
8.9
A4000 4Mb RAM, 80Mb hard disc, hi-res multiscan monitor, boxed with
manuals. £650. Phone [phone] after 4pm.
8.9
A5000 4Mb RAM, 40Mb HD, RISC OS 3.1, Colour Card Gold, all vgc. £750.
Panasonic KXP 1124 £50. Pace Microlin fx Pocket fax modem £90. Phone
Pete 01663-733027.
8.9
A5000 4Mb RAM, 40Mb HD, AKF50 monitor, Learning Curve, some games,
manuals. £800 ono. Phone [phone] (eves).
8.9
A5000 8Mb RAM, 120Mb HD, internal IDE 105Mb SyQuest (no cartridge), Eizo
F550i 17“ multisync. A highly capable system − can be seen at NCS. £1300
complete, or £400 for monitor alone. Phone Iain Cameron on 01463-751251.
8.9
A5000 4Mb RAM, 120Mb HD, RISC OS 3.1, Acorn Multisync, £800 o.n.o.
ARCticulate £7, Enter the Realm £7, Sensible Soccer − International
Edition £10, Archive Mousemat £1.50. Magazine coverdiscs (1991 onwards,
ArcWorld, Acorn User and Acorn Computing) £1 each. Contact Jon Aylwin, 4
St Margarets Close, Hemyock, Devon, EX15 2XJ.
8.9
A5000 4Mb RAM, 40Mb HD, Econet interface, RISC OS 3.1, AKF18 multiscan
monitor, £600. Phone [phone].
8.9
A540, 8Mb RAM, RISC OS 3.10, 120Mb SCSI hard drive, Eizo 9060S multisync
£850. Software includes Easiwriter, PipeDream 4 and Interdictor. Cumana
5¼“ floppy drive plus interface £30. Phone [phone].
8.9
AKF17 Acorn monitor, boxed and unused £65 o.n.o. Keyboard for A4000
boxed and unused £65 o.n.o. Phone [phone].
8.9
Aleph One 486PC podule 4Mb/50MHz + floating point co-processor, !PC
v1.69 + Windows acceleration software. Fits A400 series, Risc PC etc.
£350. Phone James on 01954-210388.
8.9
Complete Acorn DTP System A410/1 4Mb RAM, 33MHz ARM3, 42Mb HD, Taxan 770
+ 14“ Multiscan monitor, RISC OS 3.1, Atomwide VIDC Enhancer, Qume
LaserDirect 300dpi printer with spare drum (unused), ScanLight Plus
greyscale scanner, Oak SCSI card, PC Emulator, Impression Publisher,
Artworks, Compression, TurboDriver for HP Laserjet and Deskjet, Acorn C,
clip art, extra fonts, all manuals, cables, some games, £1100. Phone
Steve on 0181-560-0427.
8.9
Expansion cards Acorn Midi c/w EMR Studio 24+ (v2) £80, Aleph One 486PC
(4Mb/50MHz) c/w latest software & Microsoft MS-DOS (v5) £400, GammaPlot
(v2) £15, System Delta+ (v2) £25, Genesis (v2) £20, Christmas Allsorts
£10, Prehistoric Animals £5, Bonjour de France − Ma Ville £20, Driving
Test £10, Droom £10, Giant Killer £5, Healthdata £5, Help! £3,
Telecommunications £8, Word Up Word Down £3, Genesis Script Language £5,
MS-DOS Quick reference £5, RISC OS 2 PRM’s £35. All original software
with documentation etc. Phone [phone] (eves + w/e).
8.9
FireWorkz Pro £100, ProArtisan 24 £100, complete boxed and manuals.
Phone [phone].
8.9
Games Saloon Cars Deluxe, Chopper Force, Black Angel and Lemmings. (All
except Black Angel incompatible with Risc PC!) £8 each. Phone 01674-
830895
8.9
Genesis 2 with script language handbook and manuals £59. Genesis
Developer’s Guide £25. Phone Roy on 01344-411252 (eves + w/e).
8.9
Impression Style inc latest TableMate 2, manuals and extra borders £70.
EasiWriter v3.05 £80. Phone [phone].
8.9
Psion LZ 64, 64Kb Datapack, two spell checkers and thesaurus, Commslink,
mains adapter. Good condition, boxed + instructions £85 o.n.o. Phone
01332-557751.
8.9
PostScript laser printer − Star 300 dpi, 8 ppm, 2Mb RAM. Boxed with
manuals, new fuser unit. Offers around £350. Phone [phone].
8.9
Qume Laser Direct 300 dpi printer, recent new drum and one toner
cartridge. Good condition £350. Phone Paul Cayton 01943-878133 (eves) or
0113-277-7711 (day).
8.9
Software: Artisan 1, Interdictor 1, Pandora’s Box, The Olympics, E-Type,
Repton 3, PipeDream 4, PipeLine discs Feb 92 to Aug 93, Flexifile, LC
DTP, LC Genesis Plus, Personal Accounts 2 and DeskTop Thesaurus. Any
offers. Phone David on 01752-781286 between 8 am and 8 pm. u
8.9

8.9
Spreadsheet Column
8.9
Chris Johnson
8.9
Eureka
8.9
I have had further confirmation from a number of users of the printing
bug, where the last part of the text in a cell can be cropped. Most
users who wrote treat this feature simply as a niggle, and generally
take care to ensure that cell widths are adjusted so that the contents
do not entirely fill the cell.
8.9
One correspondent has drawn my attention to what is a more serious
problem, concerned with the printing of embedded bar charts. The problem
appears to depend upon how the chart is selected for printing. When the
print is carried out by selecting all the cells around the embedded
chart and choosing Options > Set print area, followed by choosing Print,
the chart prints normally in portrait or landscape mode, whether or not
gridlines are printed, and so on.
8.9
The bad printouts occurred when the chart was selected by putting the
pointer over the chart and clicking <select> while <ctrl> is held down.
This selects the chart for editing. If the chart is then printed, the
bar fills do not correspond to the border outline of each bar. The
outline offsets further to the right with each bar going across the page
to the right. In some cases, there is a vertical offset as well. On
switching between landscape and portrait, the result is more disastrous,
since all components of the stacked bars on the chart are printed in
black. The effect can be created on a repeatable basis, although the two
forms of the effect appear to change over between landscape and portrait
on a random basis. The moral is that you do not print an embedded chart
while it is selected for editing.
8.9
Another feature which has come to light is associated with changing the
screen size while a sheet is open. Eureka appears to take no notice of
changes to the screen size on going to a smaller screen. For example, if
you are in a large mode (e.g. 1280×1024), and have the sheet covering a
large area of the screen, then on changing to say 800×600, the sheet
exceeds the screen size and spills over the edges. You may be able to
find a button to resize the sheet size, but if, like me, you arrange the
edit window at the top of the screen, you may still find that the edit
window is off-screen and cannot be recovered, unless you go back to the
large screen. This is rather odd, since the WIMP window manager normally
forces all windows on screen when a mode change occurs.
8.9
A further problem concerns the toggle icon at the far right of the edit
window button bar. When going to a smaller screen, the button bar is
truncated at the right hand end, so the toggle button is lost. This is
not recoverable because, on returning to the larger screen, the edit bar
is not resized to fit the new screen, so the toggle button is still
unavailable. Even closing and reopening the sheet, or opening a
different sheet, has no effect. Do users regularly change screen size,
or is this a feature that very few users would ever come across? I have
done this occasionally when going to a 32000 or 16 million colour mode
on my Risc PC, which requires going down to 800×600, when I normally use
a large screen mode with fewer colours.
8.9
The future
8.9
I feel that this column is tending to become a catalogue of relatively
minor problems with Eureka, and I would not like prospective new users
to get the wrong idea. I am very satisfied with Eureka in general, and
think it is a very good piece of software. It has done everything I have
asked it to do with very little problem, and is easy to use. I hope
readers will use the comments to get the best out of Eureka, and to
avoid such problems before they actually occur. Forewarned is forearmed.
8.9
I would prefer this column to be much more positive and constructive, so
I would welcome suggestions as to how I could best provide something for
everyone. Should the column become more of a tutorial on the use of
spreadsheets, for example, or has Gerald Fitton covered spreadsheets
sufficiently in his columns? In that event, it would be very helpful for
readers to outline ways in which they make use of spreadsheets,
particularly slightly unusual uses. Perhaps Paul has some ideas on the
way forward? (No, sorry! Isn’t it better for the readers to tell us what
they want to read? Ed.)
8.9
How to contact me
8.9
My postal address is Chris Johnson, 7, Lovedale Grove, Balerno,
Edinburgh, EH14 7DR; I can also be contacted by e-mail as
[e-mail] − please note the new e-mail address.
8.9
I am happy to receive anything in connection with spreadsheets, hints or
tips, macros, problems, solutions to problems, or just requests for
help. What would be of interest are examples of unusual uses of
spreadsheets. u
8.9

8.9
RiscDOS Column
8.9
Simon Coulthurst
8.9
I recently had to pay for the PC486 card that is installed in my Risc
PC. “Poor old you!”, you may well be thinking, “at least you’ve actually
got a PC486 card!” This is true. My reason for mentioning it, is that it
illustrates that the hardware side of the product is complete, and that
all that remains is to ensure that the software is finished.
8.9
!PC486 update
8.9
On the 17th of February, I received a new version of the PC card
software. This new version (1.72g) now provides full support for direct
parallel and serial port access. I was also informed that this was
likely to be the last ‘beta’ version of the software. This being the
case, with the hardware already being the ‘final’ version, it looks as
though Acorn’s proposed release date of early April 1995 will be kept
to.
8.9
(We’ve had a few through − but only enough to fulfil about 20% of our
back order list although the rate at which they are coming does seem to
be increasing. Ed.)
8.9
My Risc PC 486 card is now two months old. I have had it long enough now
for the initial euphoria, that comes with most new products (let alone
one as important as this), to wear off. It is a sign of how good the
product is that, after the initial setup and configuration period (the
first couple of weeks ironing out teething problems and getting
connected to our network), I have used it on a daily basis without
really thinking about it!
8.9
(If you think about it, that is actually a very significant (under-)
statement. Simon is transparently using a 486 processor, sharing memory
and peripherals with a RISC processor. OK, so it’s very overdue, but
don’t let that fact blind us to the technical signifance of what Acorn
and partners have achieved here. How many other computers do you know
that have this kind of dual processor arrangement working today? The
“best of both worlds” is here at last. Ed.)
8.9
I am connected
8.9
When I first received the card, it had already been installed and setup
on my Risc PC by Acorn. They had loaded PC DOS and Windows for
Workgroups as well as some Lotus software for me to try out. This setup
obviously worked well, and first time − as you would expect. It was not
long, however, before I started tinkering with this setup in order to
get it working the way I wanted it. This primarily meant gaining access
to our server, which runs Novell Netware 3.12 (by far the most common
networking software in general business use).
8.9
I had the standard Acorn Ethernet adaptor for the Risc PC already
installed in my machine. All that was required to get my PC486 card
connected to the network was a physical connection and the necessary
software. The first part was easy − an extra length of cable with a T-
piece connector. The second part was harder. Acorn, whilst providing
both a PC card and a Ethernet adaptor, do not provide any software that
would allow the two to work together. Rather, they have decided that
third party solutions will be the order of the day!
8.9
The third party solution in my case was provided by Aleph One. They have
a product, snappily entitled ‘!PC Network Drivers’ (OK, so the title may
not be all that original but at least you are left in no doubt as to
what it does). Basically, this product allows the Ethernet adaptor in
the Risc PC to emulate an NE2000 Ethernet adaptor when the PC486 card is
being used. You can then use any standard DOS or Windows software that
works with the NE2000 adaptor.
8.9
It works by using two relocatable modules, PCNE2 and ETHER3 (there are
several supplied, depending on the Ethernet card being used). These
modules are copied into the !PC directory on the Risc PC’s hard disc.
Then the !PC’s !Run file needs to be loaded into a text editor, and the
lines referring to the two modules (already present in the !Run file)
need to be enabled by removing the ‘|’ comment character at the start of
each line.
8.9
Once this has been done, the PC software will need to be loaded from
within the PC486 card environment. The commands needed on my own machine
are as shown opposite. These commands are in a batch file called from my
autoexec.bat file.
8.9
You will need a DOS NE2000 driver because one is not provided with the
Aleph One software (though this may change). A word of warning here. I
used, at first, what I thought was an NE2000 driver that had come with
one of our NE2000-compatible adaptor cards in another computer. I got
all sorts of problems trying to get my computer to connect to the
server. Unfortunately, it was not immediately obvious that it was the
driver at fault, and this resulted in a large amount of communication
between myself and Aleph One. Once we tried another driver, it did work,
and it was then obvious what the problem had been! So, be warned, make
sure your NE2000 driver is compatible.
8.9
The software that allows this NE2000 emulation is available from Aleph
One for £25 +VAT. I am sure that, if you ask nicely, they will also be
able to provide a suitable DOS NE2000 driver as well.
8.9
Compatibility problems
8.9
At one point, I decided to try out one of the other Windows screen
drivers, to see if the Acorn supplied armdrv.drv was responsible for a
problem I was having with a PC CD ROM (see below). I installed the other
driver using the Windows Setup program and this worked fine. However,
when I came to re-install armdrv.drv, I found it was not listed under
Windows Setup, and so could not be re-installed. The solution is to edit
the system.ini file located in the Windows directory and replace the
line that reads display.drv=vga.drv (or whatever driver you last used)
with the line display.drv=armdrv.drv. This line is in the first [boot]
section of system.ini. You should always use the armdrv.drv file as it
is responsible for a great deal of the speed that the PC486 card can
achieve − using the Risc PC as an accelerated driver for Windows, when
the DOS environment is in full screen mode.
8.9
After I had setup my PC486 card to run on our Novell network and then
run the Network Setup program in Windows, I found that, on exiting
Windows, I was left with no DOS prompt and just a flashing cursor on the
screen. No matter how long I waited, I still could not get the C:>
prompt back. The only way out was to re-boot by pressing <crtl-alt-del>
several times. The solution was to run Network Setup again, to remove
network support from Windows, and then run it once more to re-install
network support.
8.9
I was having problems with running a CD-ROM given away with the March
issue of PCW magazine. Every time I tried to run the setup file, from
within Windows, my whole machine would lock up. The solution was to
disable 32-bit file access under the Virtual Memory control panel in
Windows.
8.9
At first, I found that I was unable to run DOS programs, across the
network, from within Windows. All I would get was a blank screen.
Finally, I found the solution the problem which was to change to the
Windows-supplied VGA driver and then back again to the armdrv.drv driver
(see above). This forced Windows to install all the correct support
files for DOS in a window.
8.9
Future strategy
8.9
Acorn have already stated that they are working on further enhancements
to the Risc PC’s PC486 card. Some of these will be in software, and thus
will be available to all PC486 card owners as an upgrade. Others will be
in a second generation hardware product. The list of possible
enhancements is as follows (actual details when known)...
8.9
Software
8.9
u 24-bit colour drivers
8.9
u Sound blaster emulation
8.9
      16-bit sample sound playback
8.9
      Polyphonic Midi synthesizer
8.9
      8-channel 128 general Midi voices − R.A.M.
8.9
u Shared memory windows drivers
8.9
u Tighter Windows/RISC OS integration
8.9
u OS/2 Driver support
8.9
Hardware
8.9
u Committed to produce ASIC release 2
8.9
u Write back secondary cache controller
8.9
u Support for 512k SRAM
8.9
u Dirty cache buffer
8.9
u Deeper open bus write buffer
8.9
u Burst mode controller
8.9
u Ability to support many more varieties of 486 processors, e.g. AMD,
Intel, UMC
8.9
And finally...
8.9
Thank you for the comments received following the initial review of the
PC486 card (and my database review). I have tried to reply to them all.
If I have missed you, I apologise and will do my best to reply a.s.a.p.
8.9
If you want to see what the PC486 card looks like, and you are on the
Internet, point your WWW browser at the following page:
8.9
http://www.csv.warwick.ac.uk/~phudv/Htmls/pccard.html
8.9
Or for more information, try...
8.9
http://www.ant.co.uk/com/aleph-one/html
8.9
If, like me, you are waiting with bated breath for a commercial Internet
access suite on the Risc PC/Archimedes, you will be pleased to know that
ANT Ltd are hoping to launch their (promising looking) Internet Suite in
the 2nd quarter of 1995 − hopefully May. Let’s just hope that ANT’s
definition of a calendar quarter is more accurate than Acorn’s!
8.9
I may be contacted by email as: [e-mail]. co.uk or by snailmail
at Arnold Grimshaw Limited, 68a Armley Road, Leeds, LS12 2EJ. u
8.9

8.9
lh c:\netware\lsl.com
8.9
lh c:\netware\ne2000.com
8.9
lh c:\netware\ipxodi.com
8.9
lh c:\netware\netx.exe
8.9
@ECHO OFF
8.9
Q:
8.9
LOGIN SIMON
8.9
C: CD\
8.9

8.9
Speech II
8.9
Simon Weaver
8.9
Computer-produced speech has been around for many years in sci-fi films,
teasing many people about just what is really possible from machines.
Unfortunately, assuming it is even possible, we have many years to wait
until a computer will be able to read our favourite novels or the news
to us in the style to which we have become accustomed.
8.9
Superior Software have been working for many years in the speaking
computer field. Starting with the BBC Micro and moving up to the 32-bit
machines, its speech synthesizer, Speech, has received much praise.
Available now is a new version which features a much improved
dictionary, better quality of speech, a friendlier dictionary editor,
interactive help, accented characters and four new phonemes for foreign
language support.
8.9
How it works
8.9
For the uninitiated, a speech synthesizer simply attempts to read out
any text that you care to throw at it. It can be used in a
wordprocessor, Basic, ARM code etc, for just about any application where
human speech is required (although licensing would have to be pursued
for use in commercial products). The process converts English words to
phonemes, which are the most basic sounds, like A in apple, and ZH in
measure. The problems arise when you try to speak a word which doesn’t
sound as it is written, and that is where the improved ‘dictionary’
comes in handy. For instance, with the word ‘through’, there is a
dictionary entry ‘TH R UW’, so that Speech doesn’t pronounce it with a
‘g’ sound.
8.9
Speech II has some quite sophisticated rules to help the pronunciation
and, if you feel up to it, you can change them. Luckily, this is not
necessary for nearly all users, but the support is there if needed. As
an example, the rules allow Speech to correctly pronounce numbers up to
9999 and to choose the correct pronunciation of ‘the’, depending on the
following word.
8.9
(Try saying “the book” and “the end” and you’ll hear the difference.
Ed.)
8.9
Despite a dictionary of several thousand words, it can be almost
guaranteed that you will have problems pronouncing some words,
particularly names, foreign words and technical terms. For example,
Speech cannot pronounce “Risc PC” if it is typed as one word, and it is
necessary to add it to the dictionary. Despite what Superior Software
claims, changing the dictionary isn’t quite as friendly as it could be.
Adding a word involves dragging the dictionary file onto Speech,
changing the words, opening the application directory and then saving a
new speech module. There is no friendly menu option to edit words, but
if Speech is to be used in a classroom environment, this may not be a
bad thing if you don’t want your dictionary scrambled!
8.9
When editing words, a list of phonemes is shown and, by clicking on
them, you can build up the pronunciation. It is very important to use
lower-case letters when you type in the word itself, and upper-case when
changing the phonemes, but this isn’t a problem once you realise the
difference.
8.9
Speech quality
8.9
The quality of the speech is very good, and you can change many aspects
to affect the tone and speed of the voice. You can also alter the pitch
of individual phonemes to add intonation to words and even to sing!
Unfortunately, unlike the much older ARCticulate from The Fourth
Dimension, it is not really possible to have a voice which sounds
realistically like a female. In any case, ARCticulate has a much less
flexible dictionary and fewer phonemes, so I would now consider it out
of date. By comparison, Speech II actually resembles closely the voice
of the physicist Stephen Hawking and, though it may take a while to
start with, almost any child will be able to understand it. Hawking’s
voice is generated by expensive hardware and so Speech II is an absolute
bargain by comparison.
8.9
Other facilities
8.9
As well as the dictionary editor, Speech II also comes with spelling and
demonstration programs to show off some of its capabilities. The best
bit of the demonstration is to show the singing ability of Speech with a
rendition of ‘Daisy, Daisy’. This is impressive, and the manual shows
the pitches corresponding to musical notes so that you can have a go
yourself, though it is quite fiddly to get it right.
8.9
It is the spelling program which I feel lets Speech down somewhat. It
doesn’t appear to have changed much and a lot of the words are badly
pronounced, e.g. ‘sheep’ sounded like ‘jeep’. You can edit the words and
sentences yourself, and this is essential for serious use. There is a
full German version of Speech, and of SpeechSpell too, but all the
instructions and progress comments are in English! It’s true that my
German is hardly up to scratch, but the German spelling program seemed
far too unfair regarding initial capital letters, and the use of the
German letter ß was confusing. Apart from that, though the German speech
is very good, it is obviously not a replacement for a real German tutor.
I wouldn’t recommend it for people without a fair experience with ‘real’
German speech, in the same way as the English version isn’t suitable as
an English language tutor for two-year olds.
8.9
Conclusion
8.9
A speech synthesizer can have many uses and is suitable for just about
anyone. It will integrate seamlessly into some word-processors and speak
your work back to you, or it can be used in your own projects where
sampling full sentences is too impractical. You can just drop a text
file onto it and have it read to you. Thousands of primary school
children are now used to having their work read back to them to check
for those difficult-to-spot but easy-to-make mistakes, and it is equally
suitable for any computer user who needs their work proof-read by
someone/thing else. Apart from a couple of minor niggles which do not
get in the way of its purpose, Speech II is excellent and, at only £29
inclusive through Archive (or £33 for German Speech), it is very good
value.
8.9
An upgrade is available from Speech I by sending £10 to Superior
Software. u
8.9

8.9
PD Column
8.9
David Holden
8.9
You may have wondered what happened to the APDL competition. There has
been rather a long delay in making the final choices, at first because
there were a couple of late entries, and then because some of the
programs had bugs and I wanted to give the authors time to fix them.
8.9
If you are a PD/Shareware author and have missed out this time, don’t
despair. There will be another competition, and I will accept entries at
any time. If you are interested, don’t just send your program. First
send a blank, formatted disc with a self-addressed return label and a
stamp to the APDL address and I will return it with a copy of the rules,
plus a lot of useful information on how your program will be judged.
8.9
Now to the winners of the current competition.
8.9
ClicBack
8.9
This has been awarded the first prize of £100.
8.9
ClicBack is a superb hard disc backup utility from Steve Spry. It has
all the features you would expect of a commercial program. Full,
differential or incremental backup, compression; it can backup to
floppies or another hard disc, backup only selected directories or
files; it can exclude any directories or files, not compress some
filetypes to save time (e.g. ArcFS or CFS files); password protection,
etc. The restore can be to any drive and you can also retrieve
individual files or directories, so you don’t have to go through the
full restore procedure if you delete something by mistake. Because it
can backup and restore to and from any filing system, you can use a
Syquest drive as the storage media, and it should work with any third
party hi density interfaces.
8.9
There is a good manual but, in fact, ClicBack is very easy to use, and
you won’t have to re-read it every time you want to make a backup.
8.9
ClicBack is Shareware, with a registration fee of £10. This is extremely
good value for such a comprehensive program, only a fraction of the
price of equivalent commercial products, but there is another good
reason for using ClicBack. All of this money is given to the Cancer and
Leukaemia In Childhood Trust, which explains the name of the program. I
did not allow this to influence my decision as I felt that programs
should be judged entirely on their merits, but I hope that it will
encourage you to use it.
8.9
Tiger
8.9
This is the winner of the second prize of £40.
8.9
Some people find that the limit of ten characters for a filename or
directory is rather limiting. Tiger is a utility by Graham Crow which
helps to overcome this problem. It displays a window in which you can
enter a description up to 110 characters long − which should be enough
to identify any file.
8.9
In use, Tiger displays its own filer window which, as well as the file
icon and filename, shows the full description of each file. You can run
programs from this window and, in fact, it behaves in a similar manner
to a normal filer window. The data is held in a special file in each
directory and you can just double click on this from a ‘normal’ window
to see the descriptions, or you can traverse directory structures using
the Tiger windows, in which case the full descriptions are always shown.
8.9
Because of the way Tiger works, it is more ‘robust’ than some similar
programs I have seen. It also allows you to use it only where it is
advantageous. You are unlikely to need long descriptions of applications
and utility programs, but it is very useful for directories containing
correspondence and similar items. It works equally well with floppy or
hard discs, and you can use it as a ‘disc index’ for a floppy, as the
data file is kept on the actual disc.
8.9
I won’t bother to list all the features of Tiger, but there is one that
I will mention. You can save the descriptions as a text file which can
then be used as a record. This can be just a single directory or it can
operate recursively, so you could have a complete printed record of a
structure on your hard disc, if you needed it.
8.9
If you think you have seen Tiger before, you are probably right. An
early version was published in Risc User a long while ago, but it has
been very much improved and is now Shareware, with a registration fee of
£15. Although it is not crippled (or I wouldn’t have allowed it as an
entry), the ‘save text’ function is not included on the unregistered
version. However, almost everything else does work, so you can try it
properly before you register.
8.9
Oh, yes, I guess you’ll be wondering about the name? Well, Tiger = BIG
CATalogue!
8.9
Other prizes
8.9
There are three other prizes, each of £20. The lesser amount does not
necessarily indicate that the program is inferior. I gave considerable
weighting to the usefulness of a program when judging, and was careful
not to put too much emphasis on technical merit. I think you will agree
that the first two winners are almost universally useful, but the
following three will not interest everybody.
8.9
Seek
8.9
This is a utility from Mike Williams for looking up Bible references. It
contains the complete text of the King James Bible, and although this is
compressed, it does make it rather large.
8.9
Seek can be used to search for individual words or groups of words and
it will display each verse in which the word(s) appear. You can then
save the references as a text file.
8.9
The complete application takes over 2Mb of disc space. Don’t think that
this makes it impossible to use if you don’t have a hard disc. When
archived using ArcFS, it fits comfortably on a 1.6Mb floppy, and it will
run perfectly from the archive. It can be used directly from a floppy
disc in this form, although the search will obviously be much slower; an
obvious alternative is to run it from  RAM disc. I mention all of this
because you should be able to use Seek from either floppy, hard disc or
RAM disc on almost any machine except a 1Mb computer with an 800Kb
drive. Even then it won’t be impossible; you will just have to search in
two stages.
8.9
Seek won’t be of interest to everyone, but because of its ability to
search for combinations of words, it’s much more convenient than using
Zap or Edit on text files. Even if you are not interested in the Bible,
it is adaptable for other purposes. There is a full technical
description of the way it operates, and so it should be possible to
create your own data files from almost any text.
8.9
Ashkeva Alyedin
8.9
This is a text adventure from Andrew Fintham. You may recall that this
was included some time ago on a selection of text adventures that I
offered. I shall therefore not dwell upon it at length, but if you like
text adventures, this is a good example. It can be run either in a
desktop window or outside the desktop, so you don’t have any
distractions.
8.9
Verb Master
8.9
This is a new program from Nigel Caplan who wrote Lingo Master which won
a prize in the last competition. Unlike Lingo Master, this is a full
Wimp program. It displays the selected verb in a desktop window with its
conjugation, and you can easily select which tense you want to display.
There is a menu from which you can choose the verb you wish to examine.
There are, of course, many other features. (Coincidentally, we have a
review of this product in this month’s magazine on page 73. Ed.)
8.9
The program is Shareware and is supplied with a fairly small vocabulary
for the French language. However, it has been designed in a ‘modular’
form so that other languages can be added, and these are available. You
can, of course, add your own words. This program will probably be of use
to both students and anyone who needs to write letters in a foreign
language. It is often in the conjugation of a verb that a writer is most
likely to make a mistake, and that is the very thing that it is most
difficult to check quickly in a dictionary or textbook.
8.9
Special offer
8.9
It will not have escaped the notice of the observant reader that, as
with the last competition, most of the winners are Shareware. This is
not by chance, although I was careful to ensure that the nature of the
program didn’t influence me. If anything, I was biased towards programs
which did not have a registration fee because I felt that the author, if
not the program, was probably more deserving of the money. However,
there is no doubt that the professional approach required by Shareware,
and the need to include proper documentation, did have a significant
effect.
8.9
This month’s special offer is therefore a set of discs containing all of
these programs. There’s around 4Mb of material here, so the price will
be a bit more than usual, but it’s still very good value at only £3.
(stamps or cheque welcome). As with the previous competition, the
proceeds will go towards prizes for the next. For this reason, I am not
prepared to offer any of these programs individually, but they are, of
course, all available from APDL and most other libraries.
8.9
In view of the special nature of ClicBack, I have arranged to supply a
fully registered version, complete with laser-printed manual, as part of
this offer. The total price (including all the other programs) will then
be £13. There’s no price reduction because the extra money goes to CLIC.
This will save you the ‘trouble’ of registering, and I hope that it will
encourage you to use ClicBack. I’m sure you will not be disappointed.
8.9
As usual I can be contacted at the APDL address. u
8.9

8.9
Puzzle Corner
8.9
Colin Singleton
8.9
Paul’s new Bold Style highlighted the fact that the sections of last
month’s column were numbered 13, 14, 11, 12, 9, 10 − in that order! I
have decided to turn the column round, and present the puzzles in
numerical order − astute readers will now realise that the new puzzles
will be at the end! I have also retrospectively numbered the recent non-
prize puzzles.
8.9
(9) Egyptian Fractions
8.9
Dr W O Riha has disproved my conjecture that 1602 is the smallest
possible value of the largest denominator in the expansion of 50/89. He
found several solutions with six or more terms, including:
8.9
50/89 = 1/2 + 1/24 + 1/89 + 1/178 + 1/534 + 1/712
8.9
He and I have each developed (very different) techniques for generating
Egyptian expansions without trial and error.
8.9
(11) Prime Square
8.9
There are eight variations, by rotation and reflection, of the unique
fundamental solution, not two, as I inadvertently stated last month.
Readers who claimed more than one fundamental solution had failed to
ensure that the twenty numbers are all different. The prize goes to
Cornelia Rösch, of Essen, Germany.
8.9
(12) Anagram Dictionary
8.9
Prompted by readers’ entries, and my own further research, I have had to
re-think the answer to this puzzle. Modern dictionaries acknowledge an
increasing number of foreign words as having been accepted into English
usage. The first six entries in the Anagram Dictionary appear to be A AA
AAAAAALMRSTT (taramasalata) AAAAABBCDRR (abracadabra) AAAAABCCRS
(asarabacca − a medicinal plant) and AAAAACEHIMSTT (acatamathesia −
inability to comprehend data presented to the senses). The last six are
TTU (tut) TTUU (tutu − a ballet skirt) TUZZ (a tuft of hair) UWYZZ
(wuzzy) UY (yu − precious jade) and UZZ (zuz − an ancient Palestinian
coin). All these except wuzzy are in Chambers. The OED lists wuzzy, and
also the dubious tuz and tuzzy, which I have omitted. The prize for the
best answer goes, not for the first time, to John Greening of Edinburgh.
8.9
(13) Multiple Shifts
8.9
102564 × 4 = 410256. There can be no solutions for multiples >9, because
the two numbers would have different numbers of digits. The possible
solutions are formed by the digits of one cycle of the recurring decimal
representation of N/(10·M–1) where M is the required multiple and N is
any digit from M to 9. When 10·M–1 is prime, the first of these, M/
(10·M–1) gives the smallest solution. For M=2 this is given by 2/
19 = 0@Â10526315789473684Â2. However, if 10·M–1 is not prime, one of the
other values of N may give a smaller solution. In fact, this only
happens when M=5, in which case, N=7 gives a smaller solution than N=5.
The solutions are:
8.9
M=2   105263157894736842
8.9
M=3   1034482758620689655172413793
8.9
M=4   102564
8.9
M=5   142857
8.9
M=6
101694915254237288135593220338983            0508474576271186440677966
8.9
M=7   1014492753623188405797
8.9
M=8   1012658227848
8.9
M=9   10112359550561797752808988764044943            820224719
8.9
If we allow leading zeros on the numbers, solutions can be found for
multiples greater than nine, but the numbers above are not then the
smallest solutions for those multiples.
8.9
(14) Very Acute
8.9
To the best of my knowledge, a square can be dissected into a minimum of
eight acute-angled triangles, as shown in the diagram. The two internal
points must lie in one of the shaded areas, outside the semi-circles. I
look forward to seeing readers’ entries to this puzzle.
8.9
(15) Pangram Sentence
8.9
A number of 26-letter contributions have been received. The least
contrived, in my view, is Mr Jock, TV quiz PhD, bags few lynx (Guinness
Book of Records 1991). The shortest without proper names or
abbreviations is Jackdaws love my big sphinx of quartz, (31 letters)
submitted by A G Rimmer of Twickenham.
8.9
(16) Roots
8.9
The tenth root of ten is the 30th root of 1000. The cube root of two is
the 30th root of 1024, and is therefore larger.
8.9
(17) Knockout
8.9
The number of possible pairings of 32 players is ½ × 32 × 31 = 496, of
which Smith v Jones is one. The number of matches played in the
tournament is 31. The chance of Smith playing Jones is the ratio of
these, i.e. 1 in 16. (Originally published in the Indian Mathematical
Society Journal)
8.9
(18) No Progress
8.9
This month’s first Prize Puzzle is inspired by one in Computer Weekly.
The set of eight positive integers 1 2 4 5 10 11 13 14 contains no
subset of three numbers which are in arithmetic progression. 14 is the
smallest possible value for the largest member of such an eight-member
set. Can you find corresponding sets with 12 and 16 members?
8.9
The other prize will be awarded to the best trio of answers to the
following three quickies (19−21).
8.9
(19) Waterfall?
8.9
An Eskimo sits in his kayak on a calm lake. He takes a brick out of the
boat and drops it in the water. Does the water level rise, or fall, or
neither? Explain.
8.9
(20) Till Death Us Do Part
8.9
Smith and Jones contest a duel, shooting at each other alternately (not
simultaneously) until one is hit. Smith, who shoots first, has a one-in-
three chance of hitting his opponent with one shot, Jones has a 50−50
chance. Who has the better chance of winning the duel?
8.9
(21) Loony Post
8.9
According to a leaked document, the Unofficial Loony Party proposes to
change the prices of first and second class stamps. Even with an
unlimited supply of each, there will be 38 different values which you
cannot make exactly. What are the proposed postage rates?
8.9
Comments and solutions
8.9
Please send comments, contributions and solutions to me at 41 St Quentin
Drive, Sheffield, S17 4PN. Solutions by Friday 9th June, please. u
8.9

8.9
Gerald’s Column
8.9
Gerald Fitton
8.9
It has been hard for me to resist commenting on the !CCShared
contribution in last month’s Archive but, apart from an “I told you
so!”, I shall resist the temptation and concentrate on other matters.
8.9
This month, my major topic is recursive custom functions. Before you
turn to someone else’s column, let me say that I think you’ll understand
what I’ve written and, in order to motivate you to read what I have to
say, I shall use as my example something which seems to be highly
popular, a discussion of mathematical calculations relevant to the
National Lottery.
8.9
First of all though, here are three other small items.
8.9
Fireworkz Pro
8.9
By the time you read this, version 1.21 of Fireworkz Pro will be
available (I don’t have a copy yet – it’s in the post – but I have been
assured that the dateline of the new version is 27th April 1995). If you
want an upgrade, you must send both program and examples discs to Colton
Software, in a suitable padded envelope. It will help them if you
enclose a self-addressed sticky label. If you live in the UK, return
postage will be appreciated and help speed up their service to you.
8.9
When I get my copy, I’ll let you know what differences there are between
v1.21 and v1.20.
8.9
Viruses
8.9
I have received many interesting letters from people who have contracted
a virus. Almost without exception, they say that they thought it
wouldn’t happen to them – until it did. They echo my comment that it is
a traumatic experience and hope that it will never happen to them again.
Nearly all of these letters end with the request that I should warn
Archive readers to be careful, so that they don’t experience the same
trauma. Personally, I wish that some of these virus writers would stop
thinking how clever they are and think about the heartache they are
causing. They are abusing the talent they’ve been given.
8.9
PipeDream on the Risc PC
8.9
David Lenthall, amongst others, has written to me about the failure of
PipeDream to display row numbers correctly on the Risc PC. Perhaps, if
you have written to Colton Software about this problem, you would let me
know their reaction – after all, as many of you have pointed out to me,
Colton Software are still selling PipeDream. Is the problem going to be
fixed by Acorn in a future release of RISC OS or is it up to Colton
Software to fix it?
8.9
I have been struggling to find a ‘work around’. The best I can come up
with is to insert an additional column before the first column, so that
it becomes a new column A. The formula ‘row’ will return the row number
(eg 1234 in slot A1234). Enter ‘row’ in A1 and replicate it to the
bottom of the document. This process can be executed as a command file.
I include one on the Archive monthly disc.
8.9
The Lottery
8.9
This month many of the letters I have received ask me if I can provide a
spreadsheet application which will improve the user’s chances of winning
the lottery! Well, as a statistician, I have to believe that the numbers
which are selected by the lottery machine are random numbers. One of the
properties of random numbers is that all methods of prediction fail. To
put it as simply as I can; I can’t help you to win the lottery!
8.9
However, what I can do is to help you to understand how to calculate
your chances of winning, and I’ll comment on whether it is a worthwhile
gamble! On the way, I shall introduce you to the joys of using recursive
custom functions!
8.9
Some overseas subscribers to Archive may not know the details of our new
National Lottery, so I’ll give a brief description of how it works. To
participate, you select six numbers from the numbers 1 to 49 (i.e. there
are forty nine different numbers to choose from). You can use each
number only once in your selection of six. Unlike the typical office
sweepstake, many people may choose the same set of six numbers as you.
8.9
You pay £1 for each set of six numbers you choose. Each Saturday evening
at about 8 o’clock, six numbers are selected at random from the forty
nine using a glorified bingo machine full of numbered ping pong balls. A
seventh ball is selected and this is called the bonus ball (more of
which later). If your set of six balls is the same as those selected by
the machine, you’ve won the Jackpot. If more than one person wins the
Jackpot then it is shared out amongst the winners. There are also
consolation prizes; for example, if your set of six includes three of
the six winning numbers, you win a fixed prize of £10.
8.9
The binomial coefficients
8.9
The number of possible sets of six numbers drawn from forty nine
different numbers requires the evaluation of a well known mathematical
function which generates what are called the binomial coefficients.
Because the modern notation for this function is a little difficult (but
not impossible) to include many times in a word-processed document, I
shall call it by its old fashioned name, the nCr function. This function
has two parameters which are n, the number of numbers from which you can
make your selection (in this case 49) and r, the number of numbers
chosen (in this case 6). What we need to evaluate in this case is
nCr(n,r) where n = 49 and r = 6.
8.9
The value of nCr(49,6) is given by: (49*48*47*46 *45*44)/(6*5*4*3*2*1).
You will notice that there are r (i.e. 6) numbers on the top and r
numbers on the bottom of the fraction. The numbers on the top start at n
(i.e. 49) and work downwards; those on the bottom start at r (i.e. 6)
and work downwards.
8.9
Recurrence relationships
8.9
If you look at the expression for nCr(49,6), you will see that
nCr(49,6) = (49/6)*nCr(48,5). In other words, we can express the value
of nCr(49,6) in terms of nCr(48,5). In the same way we could express
nCr(48,5) as (48/5)*nCr(47,4) and so on – but not forever! In
mathematics (long before computers), this type of general statement is
an example of a recurrence relationship. It is:
8.9
 nCr(n,r) = (n/r)*nCr(n−1,r−1) for values of r>1.
8.9
When r = 1, we have a problem, because 1 − 1 = 0 and dividing by 0 is
one of those things that mathematicians (and computers) find difficult!
When r = 1 the value of nCr(n,1) = n. This leads us to a mathematical
statement which we can write in PipeDream or Fireworkz format as:
8.9
 if(r>1, nCr(n,r) = (n/r)*nCr(n−1,r−1), n)
8.9
Using recursion
8.9
There is a lot of snobbery about recursion. It is often portrayed as a
programming feature which can be used only by an expert. Don’t believe
it!
8.9
There are many useful mathematical functions (such as the nCr function
above) which are capable of simple expression as a recurrence
relationship but which, in explicit form, look overwhelmingly difficult
to understand! In these cases, using recursion makes the program easier
to write and easier to understand. When a program is easy to understand,
changing it (improving or expanding) is much easier. In those cases, I
recommend using recursion. Where the reasoning behind the use of
recursion is obscure, I would suggest that the writer is just showing
off!
8.9
There is a drawback to using recursion − it often takes longer to
evaluate than the explicit (but more complicated) version.
8.9
The recursive function
8.9
In the next paragraph, you will find the core of a PipeDream or
Fireworkz custom function which will calculate these binomial
coefficients. Usually, I add much more comment to my custom functions to
make them more readable. The version on the Archive monthly disc
includes the extra comment, as well as lines which demonstrate the
working of the custom function in detail.
8.9
...function(“binomial”,“n:number”,“r:number”)
8.9
Declare the ‘name’ of the one local variable, “answer”, and the slot it
uses
8.9
...set_name(“answer”,B5)               15 180
8.9
Initialise the local variable
8.9
...set_value(answer,0)
8.9
The next line contains the recursive call to the “binomial” function
8.9
...set_value(answer,
8.9
if(@r>1,@n/@r*binomial(@n−1,@r−1),@n))
8.9
Return the result
8.9
...result(answer)
8.9
The custom function is called “binomial”. The recursive call is made in
the line which starts “...set_value(answer,if . . . )”. This line
includes a call to the function “binomial” − that is to say the function
‘binomial’ calls itself! It is this feature of a function calling itself
which makes it recursive.
8.9
There is a difference in the arguments of the original function and the
arguments used in the recursive call. The original function calculates
nCr(n,r) whereas the recursive call calculates nCr(n−1,r−1). In fact,
after stripping out all the non-essential parts of the custom function
nCr, what you are left with is the recurrence relationship:
8.9
 nCr(n,r) = (n/r)*nCr(n−1,r−1).
8.9
What happens when the recursive function is executed is that the early
part of the function (down to the point of recursion) is executed
repeatedly, for reducing values of n and r. During this part of the
recursive procedure, the latter part of the recursive function is never
executed.
8.9
Naturally, we can’t keep going inwards for ever. When you set up a
recursive procedure then, like everything in life, it’s important to
know when to stop! In the case of nCr we have to stop the recursive
procedure when the value of r = 1 because the next incarnation would
lead us to try to divide by zero. We achieve this halt to the recursion
by using an if(,,) function. The innermost incarnation of “binomial”
does not call itself, because the if(r>1,,) ceases to be true.
8.9
What happens after the innermost incarnation of binomial has been
executed? If I haven’t lost you yet, you’ll probably realise that it is
the innermost incarnation of “binomial” which reaches the
‘...result(answer)’ line before any of the ‘outer’ incarnations. This
value is returned to the next incarnation (going outwards) which then
completes its execution down to ‘...result(answer)’.
8.9
Having ‘entered’ the recursive procedure r times, we must ‘unwind’ it by
running the ‘exit’ part of the custom function r times. One at a time,
the values of ‘...result(answer)’ are returned, until every incarnation
has been executed. Finally, the last value is returned to the main
spreadsheet.
8.9
Back to the Lottery
8.9
The value of nCr(49,6) is 13 986 816. This means that there are just
under 14 million different lines of six numbers available to you (and
others) when you choose your six numbers from forty nine. Your chance of
winning with just one line is about 14 million to 1 against!
8.9
The £10 prize
8.9
The number of ways of selecting three numbers from the winning six and a
further three numbers from the losing forty three is nCr(6,3)*nCr(43,3),
which is 246 820.
8.9
DeRef(slotref)
8.9
Let me use this calculation to explain something that has puzzled many
people using the same custom function twice within the same slot. What I
have to say applies to all custom functions and not only recursive
functions.
8.9
If you use the custom function as I’ve written it, you will find that,
instead of returning the value you want, the custom function will return
a much larger number. This larger number is nCr(43,3)*nCr(43,3). Somehow
or other, the spreadsheet has lost the value of nCr(6,3) and substituted
nCr(43,3). I would classify this as a bug but it is an obscure one with
an obscure work around. The work around is to change the last line of
the custom function from ‘...result(answer)’ to
‘...result(deref(answer))’. You will find some (very limited)
information about the deref() function in the PipeDream and Fireworkz
handbooks, but they won’t tell you that you should use deref() as a
matter of course when using custom functions that might be repeated
within the same slot.
8.9
I have included, on the Archive monthly disc, a much simpler example (a
custom function which adds together a couple of numbers) which gives the
incorrect answer when used twice within the same slot unless the deref()
construct is used.
8.9
Four of the six winning numbers
8.9
This is evaluated as nCr(6,4)*nCr(43,2). There are 13 545 of the
(approximately) 14 million lines which include four of the six winning
numbers.
8.9
Five of the six winning numbers
8.9
The formula this time is nCr(6,5)*nCr(42,1) and gives the answer 258.
8.9
Five plus bonus
8.9
There is one more combination which results in a prize, usually quite a
good one. To win this prize you must have five of the six winning
numbers and your sixth ball must be the seventh ball drawn by the
lottery machine; the last ball called the bonus ball. There are
nCr(6,5) = 6 lines (out of the 14 million) which can win this prize.
8.9
Gerald’s second rule of gambling
8.9
Now let me discuss whether it is worthwhile betting on the lottery.
8.9
For the purposes of teaching subjects such as Management Decision Making
(where the outcome of such management decisions is uncertain), I have
invented a few rules of gambling. My second rule is “Don’t gamble what
you can’t afford to lose”.
8.9
This rule is not intended to be a rule which relates to individual
morality – though there are moral overtones and, as a tutor and
counsellor of young students, I do come into contact with all too many
who are addicted to gambling. No! My second rule is one which should be
applied when the outcome of a decision is uncertain. I usually start my
lesson with a short discussion of gambling in general but quite quickly
get around to a discussion of buying insurance. You may think that
buying insurance has many things in common with betting on a horse in a
race! I take great pleasure in pointing out that if you don’t buy
insurance then you are also taking a gamble; you are gambling your house
against the possibility that it won’t burn down!
8.9
I go on to introduce the concept of a ‘fair bet’. A fair bet is one
where the amount you can win, multiplied by the probability of winning,
equals the stake. As an example, if you were to bet me 1 unit that a
single throw of a dice will result in a six then, for a fair bet, I
should offer you odds which will return 6 units to you if you win.
8.9
I continue my lecture by suggesting that there are situations where the
application of my second rule implies that it would be wrong to bet with
a ‘bookie’ who offers you a fair bet rather than one loaded in his
favour!
8.9
If you don’t insure your house, you are taking a gamble that most of you
can’t afford to lose! I point out that the application of my second rule
to such an insurance situation requires that, as the person insured, you
should place your ‘bet’ with an insurance company which doesn’t offer
you a fair bet – you should bet with one where the odds are loaded in
the insurance company’s favour (but not too much)! Why? I hesitate to
use the word “win” in this context, so I’ll say that it’s because you
want the company to be there and to pay out when your number comes up!
8.9
Applied to management decisions, the rule requires you to pass up on
some bets where the odds are in your favour because you can’t afford to
lose. I think that Nick Leeson’s recently publicised bet on the
Singapore derivatives market was of that type. The odds were in his
favour (he’d proved that in the past), but it was a bet he (or rather
his employers) couldn’t afford to lose.
8.9
A corollary of my second rule is that there are some occasions when you
may bet a small amount (which you can afford to lose), even though you
are not offered a fair bet, because the consequence of winning is to
change your life completely. The Lottery is not a fair bet because the
money returned in prizes is much less than the total stake money.
Nevertheless, you could convince yourself that it is OK to make the bet
(but only if you can afford to lose the £1 stake), because the
consequences of success would be to change your life.
8.9
To summarise, my second law of gambling will allow you to make an unfair
bet, but you should work out how unfair you think it is.
8.9
Marginal returns
8.9
In my decision-making course, I also discuss the concept of the marginal
return, as applied to big gambles. The following is my hypothetical
scenario. I am a multimillionaire. I suggest to you that you bet me one
penny against my million pounds on the toss of an unbiased coin. You
take the bet, because it is an unfair bet loaded in your favour. You
win. Your life will be different from here on! Now I suggest that we bet
again, but this time I bet ten million pounds and you must put up the
whole of your one million (you can’t put up only some of it). It is
still an unfair bet loaded in your favour but I ask you, would you take
the bet?
8.9
I have a rule about this situation too, but it is rather complicated, so
I won’t quote it. What I would ask you is “Would you prefer the lottery
to have more Jackpot winners of, say £1M, instead of the multi million
winners which the lottery currently creates?”
8.9
Finally
8.9
Although there is no way in which I (or anyone else) can predict the
numbers which will be generated by a random number generator, there is
something which might be useful to lottery punters; that is an
application which looks at the number of people who win with different
number combinations. There is no doubt that some numbers are more
popular than others and that, when these popular numbers come up, the
prizes are smaller than average. The converse of this is that if you bet
regularly on unpopular numbers then, when your numbers come up, even for
one of the minor prizes, you will receive more than that you expect if
you based your calculations on the odds for a fair bet.
8.9
If anyone has a database which includes both the list of winning numbers
and the number of people who have won the different minor prizes, I have
a lot of correspondents who would like a copy!
8.9
In conclusion
8.9
Although letters addressed to me via the Archive office will get here
eventually, it is usually much quicker to send them to me direct. My
address is that of Abacus Training. I prefer disc copies of
correspondence with a short hand-written note outlining what is on the
disc, a self-addressed sticky label and, if possible, return postage. u
8.9

8.9
The Engineer Speaks
8.9
Ray Maidstone
8.9
I thought this month it might be a good idea to give some tips on DIY
maintenance.
8.9
The computer
8.9
For the computer itself, there are a couple of things you can do. Once a
year, clean fan filters and fan blades using a 1cm (½“) paintbrush and a
vacuum cleaner. I mentioned in Archive 5.1 (in detail with diagrams!)
that it is better to fit the filter material outside the fan blades, so
that if the filter becomes blocked, there is still some airflow within
the machine.
8.9
Change batteries once a year in 310s, 410s and 440 series. You can check
the NiCads in 3000s, 540s and later machines − look carefully at the pcb
for signs of crystallization. If you find any, the batteries need to be
replaced by an Acorn Service Centre.
8.9
The keyboard
8.9
Try not to get any crumbs or cat fur inside, and no keyboard likes
coffee! There are full instructions for cleaning old style keyboards in
Archive 5.1, but newer ones are constructed using two foil membranes and
are a non-serviceable item. Do not be tempted at any time to use switch-
cleaner, as this is entirely unsuitable for Acorn keyboards.
8.9
Monitors?
8.9
There isn’t really anything you can do to service monitors, except maybe
clean the screen with anti-static wipes occasionally.
8.9
Mice
8.9
Mice can be given a wash and brush-up. Remove the ball and clean it with
detergent and water, then make sure it’s dry before replacing. Clean the
rollers gently, without scratching, using a scalpel or a miniature
screwdriver blade. Tip any bits of grime out, and make sure you don’t
have crumbs or dust on your mouse mat!
8.9
Printers
8.9
Dot matrix printers need to be serviced once a year, using the 1cm
paintbrush and vacuum cleaner again. After removing all dust and odd
bits of paper, you can lubricate the bar the print head travels along,
by placing a tiny drop of very light grade sewing machine oil next to
the print head and allowing it to spread the oil itself.
8.9
Bubble jets and ink jets are not really serviceable, as special
equipment is needed.
8.9
Try to use laser printers in as clean an environment as possible. There
is usually a felt rubbing bar for cleaning the diffuser, which you can
remove and clean as directed in your printer manual. These felt bars are
usually part of the equipment you get when you replace the toner
cartridge.
8.9
CDs & floppy drives
8.9
CD drives are another non-serviceable item, as CD drive cleaners do not
really have any effect.
8.9
Floppy drive cleaners can help if there is light soiling; otherwise they
are not much use.
8.9
Hard drives
8.9
These are not serviceable either, but you can extend their life by
keeping them cool and spinning them down as much as possible. It is a
good idea every couple of years to back up your drive, reformat it and
then re-install the information. This is because they tend to get a lot
of wear around the boot file and root directory area, and reformatting
helps distribute this more evenly.
8.9
For safety reasons, never take risks when handling electronic equipment
− if in doubt, always consult someone in the know! u
8.9

8.9
Hints and Tips
8.9
Canon BJ200 + CC TurboDriver − I have had a number of problems with this
combination, and thought my solutions may help others.
8.9
The first problem concerned the output of IBM ProPrinter strings. These
occur because the BJ-200 printer definition file supplied is an IBM
definition file, and should therefore be labelled as BJ10 since IBM
strings cannot be used in BJ200 mode. The converse also applies, i.e.
BJ-10 mode cannot handle Epson strings. I then used an Epson printer
definition file from the Acorn supplied discs, and all the problems
disappeared.
8.9
The second problem concerned printing from Basic. I have written a WIMP
application which writes out a series of results for the bridge club of
which I am a member. I need to write direct from Basic so that I can
alter the print style and line and row spacing to produce the best
layout, using the comprehensive spacing and styles provided in BJ200
mode. It makes no sense to write these strings to the screen so I use
*FX3,10 to start the printed output and *FX3,0 to stop it. Everything
prints perfectly, but a drawfile will not print afterwards. I eventually
discovered that the *FX3,10 caused a Turboqueue file to be created, but
the *FX3,0 command leaves the file open and thus hangs the printing
process. I finally received a letter from CC today and I quote:-
8.9
“Regarding the Basic printing ‘problem’. The operating system itself
will not close the printout file after a *FX3,0. Indeed, we have
reported this as a bug to Acorn. However, if you immediately follow the
*FX3,0 command with a VDU3, then the file will close correctly.”
8.9
I have tried it and it works!
8.9
John Wallace, Crawley
8.9
CD-ROMs − With the advent of magazine CD-ROMs, which usually come in a
soft plastic sleeve, the safe storage of these can be made using a 5¼“
disc box.
8.9
Ted Lacey, Southampton
8.9
Cursor movements in Publisher − There have been moans about one aspect
of Impression Publisher in various Acorn magazines: <shift-cursor> no
longer moves the cursor by one word, but is used for selecting text.
8.9
In the latest version (1.05) of Publisher, the Preferences dialogue box
contains the option “Shift Cursor Word Move”, so you can take your pick.
8.9
Jochen Konietzko, Köln, Germany
8.9
Debugging via the serial port − Why has no-one extolled the virtues of a
second machine connected via the serial port? Even on the old BBC B,
this can be very useful. A trivial Basic program on the second machine
will print out the incoming data stream. Debugging time can then be cut
by such simple things as
8.9
os_cli(echo Start of initialise() {serial: });
8.9
in a C file. Clearly this is rather basic; a variadic function like
printf() is much more flexible, but the general usefulness, especially
when working on desktop applications, is considerable. Besides, there
must be lots of old machines around gathering dust. I use an old mono
Kaga monitor I’ve had since soon after the BBC first came out, and an
old 310 with no disc drive.
8.9
John West, Surrey
8.9
Deskjet 540 problems − I recently bought an HP DeskJet 540, the
replacement for the DJ520 and then spent a frustrating weekend trying to
get it to work with my A5000. I got beautiful printouts but it took half
an hour to print an A4 page. I tried the latest Acorn DeskJet driver
sent to me by Gerald Fitton, but it was no better than previous
versions.
8.9
As soon as Monday came, I phoned Acorn and they had just heard from
their Australian office that other people had similar problems. Since
the DeskJet 540 is software controlled and the Centronics protocol has
been slightly modified, the 540 and A5000 were incompatible.
8.9
The earlier Deskjet 520 was perfectly suitable to work with the A5000
but it was now officially off the market. Fortunately, the shop where I
purchased the 540 gave me a full refund when I explained the dilemma,
and I knew that I had seen a 520 recently in another store. I was lucky
and purchased the last one in stock − its monochrome resolution 600 by
300 is the same as the 540 but it does not have the colour upgradability
of the 540.
8.9
Acorn say that the 540 should work satisfactorily with the Risc PC but
not with earlier computers, due to hardware differences in the
controller.
8.9
(I gather that, after further investigation, it seems that the problem
is only with certain A5000s, not with all of them. Ed.)
8.9
Michael Nurse, Cambridge
8.9
Gang Screen in RISC OS 3.5 − With reference to Hints & Tips (Archive
8.7), the list of names can be initiated by four clicks of the menu
button over any part of © Acorn Computers Ltd, 1994, although it
sometimes refuses to work again until after a reboot.
8.9
M R Buckland, Daventry
8.9
Impression printing − Now, I know you all know this, but... for months,
I have been cursing the fact that, with Acorn’s new printer drivers and
LaserDirect, printing one file too soon after another causes a “not
enough memory to print” error and you have to wait and try again. Well,
I discovered today that if you grab several files together and drop them
on the printer driver icon, they print off, one after the other, without
so much as a hesitation. I wish someone had told me before!!!!!!!
8.9
Ed.
8.9
More uses for the serial port − One of the pieces of software built into
the A-Link is the terminal software which could be used to receive the
debugging data, described by John West above, on a Pocket Book.
8.9
I find this combination useful for another task as well. There are at
least two PD applications which allow you to set up a task window (as
you get from ctrl-f12) which takes input from, and outputs to, the
serial port, which means I can run command line utilities without taking
up desktop space, and even if someone else is using the computer for
other tasks.
8.9
Matthew Hunter, NCS
8.9
Printing from text editors − Contrary to Matthew’s comments (Archive 8.8
pp28/29), in my experience, Edit does print in response to <print> but
Zap does not. Dragging the file-save icon to the printer icon does work
with both packages. I will stick well clear of <shift-print>, however.
Zap prints a black (NOT blank) page!
8.9
There remains one problem, however, which is common to Edit and Zap. If
the document contains a line of text which is too long to fit on one
line, it is truncated! This did not happen before I upgraded to RISC OS
3 Laser Direct and Printers 1.22. Previously, Edit inserted a CR/LF to
print the rest of the line (I did not have Zap then).
8.9
Colin Singleton, Sheffield
8.9
Risc PC Apps directory − As Keith Hodge has pointed out in his excellent
Risc PC column, the correct place to add applications into ‘Apps’ on the
iconbar is in !Boot.Choices.Boot.PreDeskTop, by adding lines such as:
8.9
AddApp adfs::HardDisc4.$.Utilities.!ArcFS
8.9
You may have noticed that the first line of this section reads:
8.9
AddApp Boot:^.Apps.!*
8.9
which displays any application, i.e. a directory whose filename begins
with a ‘!’. This means that any normal directory whose filename does not
begin with a ‘!’ will not be displayed inside Apps on the iconbar. So,
if there are any applications there which you never use, you could place
them in a directory (called ‘Not Needed’ say) and they will not be
displayed, although they are still accessible through Apps on the hard
disc.
8.9
The converse of this is that lines such as that given above for adding
applications into Apps need not, in fact, be placed in the file
PreDesktop − they can be anywhere. Therefore, you can have a small Obey
file which adds a selection of your favourite applications at any time.
This saves cluttering up the Apps directory display with everything you
might conceivably need until you actually need it, and it saves on
memory and time taken to Boot the machine, as the !boot files of your
chosen applications are not run, and their sprites are not loaded, until
you choose to add them to Apps by using your Obey file.
8.9
Matthew Hunter, NCS
8.9
Risc PC audio expansion − The audio header required by the audio mixer
for the Cumana Indigo CD-ROM drive, and the identical Acorn and ESP 16-
bit sound upgrades, is link 14 which was not fitted on some early
machines. The link is located at the top right corner of the motherboard
if you are looking at the machine from the front. It is a row of five
pins, with links connecting 1-2 and 2-4. Pin one is closest to the back
of the machine. If this link is not fitted, get in contact with Granada
who will replace your motherboard for one fitted with the correct
connector. Currently, the Cumana and 16-bit upgrades are mutually
exclusive, but ESP are working on an audio mixer to enable the 16-bit
sound and CD sound from any CD-ROM drive to be combined.
8.9
Matthew Hunter NCS
8.9
Risc PC font size − There was a request in Archive 8.8 p38 regarding the
font size for the outline font used in place of the system font. Full
details are given on pages 220 and 221 of Volume 5 of the RISC OS 3
PRM’s, but the following example Obey file will demonstrate the method.
It should be placed in the PreDesk directory of the !Boot sequence.
8.9
configure wimpfont 0
8.9
set wimp$font Trinity.Medium.Italic
8.9
set wimp$fontsize 192
8.9
set wimp$fontwidth 160
8.9
The last two lines allow you to alter the height and width of the font,
as desired.
8.9
It will only have an effect on text which an application regards as
system text − an application which uses its own fonts in icons will not
be affected.
8.9
David Springle, Cheshire
8.9
Window behaviour − I found that, when two windows containing a word
processor are open, it is possible to scroll one window and
simultaneously type into the other window. Further investigation has
shown that it is possible to do this with Zap (v. 1.20), Edit (v. 1.50),
Desk Edit (v. 3.00) and Publisher (v. 4.01). These are the only ‘word
processors’ (for want of a better collective name) I have access to. It
is also possible to mix the WPs in the windows, e.g. the scrolling
window could contain a Publisher document and the typing window could
contain a Zap page. This only breaks down with Edit as the scrolling
window. When the Edit window is scrolled, this becomes the active window
and typing is not possible in the other window. (Why? Can it be
changed?).
8.9
Dave Livsey, Devon
8.9
Window behaviour II − Usually, if you have clicked on a window titlebar
(using select), to move it, or bring it to the front of the window
stack, processing will continue in the background − this can be seen by
having !Alarm counting seconds on the iconbar. If the window you are
using has a pane attached, however, you will find that the processing
stops. This is because clicking on the titlebar brings the window to the
front of the window stack, and the application then brings the pane to
the front. The window holding the pane is then no longer at the front,
and the WIMP tries to bring it to the front again, and so on. Using
<adjust> does not have the same effect, since it does not try to alter
the order of the windows.
8.9
Matthew Hunter, NCS
8.9

8.9
Risc PC Column
8.9
Keith Hodge
8.9
Software information
8.9
You may remember that I commented in the April column, that my existing
version of Euclid did not work on the Risc PC. The good news is that Oak
Solutions will upgrade yours for you, free of charge, to version 2.19
(09-Apr-92), provided that you send the usual stamped and addressed
return label. The software now works well, with no problems encountered.
8.9
Euclid was a program ahead of its time when it was released back in
198x, and it still is a very versatile 3D composition tool, with the
ability to animate the resultant images, which greatly aids the
visualisation of objects. I even used it to produce the animated title
sequence for the Welsh Language S4C television programme “Triongle”, as
the £12,000 graphics system that was in use in the studio at that time
could not do this!
8.9
Software compatibility
8.9
There is a very pleasant reduction to zero this month in the number of
programs reported not to be working on the Risc PC. Software writers are
obviously getting to grips with the new machine and its operating
system.
8.9
Hardware and software news
8.9
Some time ago, I mentioned that I had found a problem with the serial
port, where data ceased to flow when <select> was held down on the title
bar of a window − as if you were about to move the window. A subscriber
(whose name I have lost − please drop me a line) rang to advise that the
problem is only present on windows which have a tool pane, and is caused
by the OS getting in a loop. The problem does not occur when <adjust> is
used, as the Window Manager does not try to change the depth of the
window on screen, and so the loop is not entered.
8.9
The effect can readily be seen by having the clock running on the icon
bar with the seconds hand (or seconds digits) displayed. The clock stops
when <select> is held down on the title bar. This, of course, means that
all multitasking has ceased and explains why the serial port locks. Does
this also explain the dropped characters I have experienced sometimes?
This is one for Acorn’s OS update list.
8.9
A further point of interest here is that Style stops the clock when
<select> is used on its title bar(!) and yet there is no obvious tool
pane as per Multistore. The fact is, of course, that the button bar of
Style must, in effect, be a permanently attached tool pane.
8.9
(If you want to see this effect, try it with Draw with the tools shown
or not shown, using <select> or <adjust>. This, apparently, is a known
‘feature’ of RISC OS. See “Window Behaviour II in H & T above. Ed.)
8.9
Those of you thinking of getting a CD-ROM drive might like to consider
the caddy question. This is an area which requires careful consideration
before a purchase is made. Drives which have a caddy can be mounted
horizontally or vertically, as the disc is retained in the caddy.
8.9
There is, however, a considerable cost penalty (at approximately £4 per
extra caddy) with these drives, in that you really need a caddy for each
of your frequently-used discs, because it is quite a performance getting
the discs into and out of the caddy. Non-caddy drives, however, can only
be mounted horizontally, but disc changing is very quick (just like an
audio CD player).
8.9
(Apparently, several CD drive manufacturers have stopped making caddy-
loading drives. However, I gather that they are working on a system
whereby the CD is held in place with a clip, so that the drive can be
vertically mounted. If anyone has any information, please let us know.
Ed.)
8.9
A number of subscribers have commented on the high cost of getting a
full Multimedia Windows setup operational on the Risc PC. It seems to me
that the problem is that of trying to add the PC bits to the Risc PC,
whereas we should be looking for Acorn to produce transparent loaders,
such as those supplied by Computer Concepts for graphics images in
Impression, etc.
8.9
For instance, when you click on a Wave file on a PC CD disc, the OS
should know about the .WAV extension, immediately load a utility and
convert the file to the appropriate Acorn filetype and pass it on via
wimp$scrap to the relevant application. The same should happen with
graphics files, films, etc. This would, of course, further increase the
outstanding flexibility already provided by the machine.
8.9
(I have to laugh at work, watching people trying to get a JPEG file on
screen. I took my machine into work one day to demonstrate what a true
multitasking/object-orientated filing system allows. There was a very
loud silence when I demonstrated how a file, when clicked upon, caused
the machine to load an application and display the graphics file, no
matter which format it was in. When I demonstrated OLE and <ctrl-C>
passing of graphics images / text files, I was told to take it home! I
may add at this point, that the telemetry manager has now stopped taking
the mickey out of “non standard” Acorn machines. You should try it
yourself some time.)
8.9
Comments of the month
8.9
(1) A big thank you to Dave Willington, Bob Ames and Derrick Porter for
all the very useful information on Family History which they were good
enough to send me. Dave Willington commented that there was no sign of
the program “Family” on the monthly disc, which I guess was so full that
Paul was unable to fit it in. I have submitted it again!
8.9
(2) I have read of all sorts of problems with dongles / special leads
(poor old CC!), but I must say I have never had a problem with my Turbo
Drivers on the Archimedes or on my new Risc PC. I also firmly believe in
them, as they are the only way that software can be made safe from
piracy. The only thing I feel should be provided is two dongles when you
purchase for your company, so that you can use it on your machine at
home in the evening.
8.9
Request of the month
8.9
From Tony: I would like to use the Slideshow application provided with
the Risc PC to display my own digitised images. Using ChangeFSI to
convert the images to 768×512, as required by Slideshow, would be much
easier if you had a screen mode of this size available on the desktop,
as you can then simply select “scale to fill xxxx yyyy”, where xxxx yyyy
is updated by ChangeFSI when you select a screen mode.
8.9
The problem? This is not provided by the AKF85 monitor script. Has
anybody produced a suitable definition? I seem to remember that Arthur
Taylor was very good at monitor scripts − any chance you could produce
this, please, Arthur?
8.9
Tailpiece
8.9
As usual, I can be contacted by letter at the HES address on the back
page, by telephone after 7p.m., or by Packet Radio from anywhere in the
world, as GW4NEI@GB7OAR.#16.GBR.EU. u
8.9

8.9
Cannon Fodder
8.9
Dave Wilcox
8.9
This is one of the latest games added to the impressive collection of
Krisalis Software. The game was first seen, to the best of my knowledge,
on the Amiga format, and has now been adapted for the Archimedes. The
conversion is excellent − nothing seems to have been lost in graphic or
sound quality − 10 out of 10!
8.9
The package
8.9
The game comes on three discs in a sparse cardboard box with a 16-page,
A5 manual. The manual is probably one of the best I have read to date,
being written in a very relaxed manner and covering every aspect of the
game. The game is started with the usual double click on the game icon
on disc one, and other discs are prompted as required. If you have the
space, you can install the game onto your hard disc with no trouble (2Mb
of space needed), and no key disc is required to run the game.
8.9
The game
8.9
Once run, the game goes through a collection of introduction screens,
with a good musical backing. This can be bypassed by a mouse click. The
first game screen is Boot Hill. You have 360 eager conscripts ready and
willing to do battle for you. Of these, you can only have 15 volunteers
per mission. The game has 24 missions which are split up into different
numbers of phases, the maximum being six.
8.9
Each phase begins with the set number of volunteers being admitted into
the war zone, the object being to kill the enemy and/or destroy their
buildings. To move around, you point the mouse to where you wish your
troops to move, and click the left mouse button. They will immediately
start to make their way to this point. The right hand mouse button is
the fire button − push this and the whole troop fires towards the
pointer, anything in the path of fire will obviously die. The enemy
troops are programmed intelligently and will move around and fire on
your troops, so life is not too easy for you.
8.9
As the game progresses, you will find boxes of grenades or bazookas.
Your troops will carry these away with them and can then use them to
destroy enemy buildings, vehicles or troops. Don’t be fooled into
thinking that you are given an advantage though, because the enemy also
has access to the same weapons, and they are normally a bit quicker in
their use.
8.9
Once the objective of a mission is achieved, you exit the war zone with
a little dance from the victorious troops. The next screen is in
commemoration for those lost in battle, with a scrolling list of names.
This is followed by the list of victor’s names and their subsequent
promotions. It is then back to Boot Hill, where a cross is erected for
every loss, and the next mission is ready to go. The victors go on,
accompanied by new recruits to make up the necessary numbers. Whilst at
Boot Hill, you can save your progress to a specially formatted disc or
straight to hard disc for easy return at a later date.
8.9
This is not just a simple shoot-em-up type game because you can
incorporate a fair degree of strategy by breaking your squad into
smaller teams with each one designated a different job. As an example,
you can set up crossfire, or have covering fire from a point of cover.
8.9
There are different terrains for the missions, ranging from Jungle to
Arctic scenarios. These are the ones I’ve come across so far but,
apparently, there are also Desert, Moors and Underground areas. As the
game progresses, you also come across various types of vehicles,
choppers, tanks, jeeps, skidoos, and artillery guns. Some of these are
equipped with armaments, while others are just for transport. All are at
your disposal if you’re good enough.
8.9
The verdict
8.9
I have no doubt at all that someone somewhere will find the topic of
this game offensive, but I think they will be missing one vital point −
it is a game − and, in my humble opinion, a good one. This game is now
installed on my hard disc and, I have to admit, is played in most spare
moments. The graphics are excellent, sound is good, game control is
excellent and some of the scenarios are very testing, and certainly keep
your attention and interest. A very good game, worth every penny.
8.9
Cannon Fodder costs £24 through Archive or £25.99 through other
outlets. u
8.9

8.9
Impressive
8.9
Gabriel Swords
8.9
Impressive is a neat little utility from the makers of Keystroke − that
much vaunted ‘macro maker’ used extensively by our very own editor.
Impressive is a read-only version of Keystroke, designed to take the
effort out of setting up the macros yourself. It works on Impression
Style, Publisher and Publisher Plus.
8.9
What is a macro?
8.9
A macro is made up of a series of actions, which are ‘recorded’ in a
particular order. They are then ‘played back’ automatically, in the
given order, to execute a desired process. For example, using menus to
set a border in Impression requires a number of actions. First, you must
click on <menu>; then you move down to ‘frame’; then across and down to
‘Alter Frame’. Once inside the dialogue box, you click on View; then you
choose the border frame you require. Press <return> or <OK> and the
frame is set. In Keystroke, you can set up and save a macro which
follows and records all those movements. So, in future, if you want to
set that particular border, you simply playback your saved macro. In
Impressive, all that recording is done for you.
8.9
Enter the button bar
8.9
When you load Impressive, you get a ‘button bar’ of pre-defined macros,
all ready for you to use. Among the preset macros is the ability to
change, automatically, the colour of text, borders and backgrounds; you
can rotate or change the attributes of graphic frames and their
contents; you can change borders; create new frames to preset sizes; you
can automatically turn off text repel or set a frame to transparent.
There are, in fact, 80 preset operations included on the button bar,
with some spare places so that you can add to the selection.
8.9
You can even drag an Application icon to an empty button. Impressive
remembers where the application is, and loads it for you when you click
the button. In this way, it saves you ferreting around in directories to
find the application you’re looking for. You can do the same with
sprites and drawfiles. This time you put a copy of the file you want
onto an empty button, and when clicked upon, it will load that image
into a selected frame.
8.9
And that’s not all; if the presets are not quite what you want, you can
change them. For example, if the preset frame is too small, you can make
it bigger. If you don’t like the cyan values of the colours that appear
on the bar, you can change them. If you don’t like the button bar
sitting horizontally across your screen, you can change it to hang
vertically. What you can’t do is set up a completely new macro − you
need Keystroke for that.
8.9
In operation
8.9
When you click on a button, you actually see the sequence of operations
on screen, so, for example, you see a frame dialogue window open and
boxes ticked or un-ticked, figures entered or erased. It’s exactly what
you would have to do, only it does it faster.
8.9
Niggles?
8.9
There aren’t any serious ones. I would have liked to have seen a bit
more information in the manual about changing the settings of the pre-
defined files. To change the setting, you actually have to find your way
inside the button bar application. The manual doesn’t tell you how to do
this − it assumes you already know. Now, most people probably do know,
but a mention of ‘shift-double-click’ might have helped. Once inside,
there are useful help files which tell you what to do, so it shouldn’t
be too difficult once you find your way in.
8.9
The other slightly annoying thing is that when you remove an icon from
the button bar, the rest don’t shunt up and fill the gap, it just stays
empty. This is fine if you only remove one or two, but if you remove a
lot, it leaves lots of gaps. The only way to avoid this is by completely
rearranging the bar from inside the button bar application window − not
difficult, and maybe for only £10 you shouldn’t expect anything else!
8.9
Conclusion
8.9
So, would I use it? I would − I do! I’ve cut my version down to my 20
most used operations; that way I don’t have another icon bar stretching
right across the screen. My feeling is, that once you’ve used the button
bar you’ll wonder how you got on without it − then you’ll want to go all
the way and buy Keystroke!
8.9
Impressive costs £9.95 inclusive from Quantum software or £10 through
Archive. u
8.9

8.9
HolyBible − Part 2
8.9
Gabriel Swords
8.9
Last month we had a look at some of the things HolyBible can do. This
month we’ll look at base resources (which I missed last time), some new
features, including more powerful search operations, the problems with
copyright and, finally, some hints and tips.
8.9
Base resources
8.9
Base resources are accessible from Open on the icon bar menu. When you
open resources you get another window on the screen, showing just which
resources are available to which verses. At the moment, there are only a
limited number of resources and they are really only there for
demonstration purposes, but when you see them, you begin to realise just
how useful they could be. For licensing reasons, most resources are
going to be ‘read only’ − so you can’t export the text to your favourite
word processor and use them as the basis for your very own Bible
dictionary!
8.9
Included with the base pack are study notes from the NRSV on Genesis 1.
There is also an index of verses to which various resources are
attached. For example, double-clicking on 1 Kings 6:1 brings up a
commentary on 1 Kings chapters 6 and 7, the building of the first temple
of Solomon. Clicking on Exodus 39:1 brings up some notes on the High
Priest’s clothes; there are a larger number of notes on the Ark of the
Covenant attached to a number of Old Testament verses.
8.9
As well as the written resources, there are a number of pictorial ones.
There is, for example, a drawfile showing what the Ark of the Covenant
might have looked like, plus some maps of Old and New Testament
Palestine (see overleaf). Attached to Romans 6:1 there’s a sprite of an
open air baptism in Tavistock. Although these files can’t be dragged
directly to other applications, they can be opened and then re-saved
elsewhere.
8.9
The style and complexity of written resources will vary according
ExpLAN’s target audience. With the schools pack, for example, there
could be three levels of information, depending on the course an
individual is following − the higher the course, the deeper the
information will go. But, because of the different approaches †SACREs
have to RE, they have no plans to supply school worksheets, etc. Rather,
they hope that, by providing the raw data, teachers will be able to
produce their own.
8.9
†SACRE = Standing Advisory Committee for RE!
8.9
Once the Resource Building Utility is released, you will be able to
create your own set of resources, with pictures, drawings and maybe even
video; and you’ll be able to create your own indices on any number of
subjects. ExpLAN have plans to release their own resource packs later in
the year and, of course, anyone else could produce their own set of
notes and references, worksheets or resource packs to sell or share.
8.9
Are there any drawbacks? Funnily enough, two criticisms I was about to
mention have already been fixed in version 1.2. The first was about the
index of references; in version 1.0 they were placed in the order in
which they were made. HolyBible now has an internal pre-sort routine
which will re-order the references in Canonical Book order. Secondly,
just as I was about to say how nice it would be have an icon on the tool
bar for resources, out comes a new version with a resources icon on the
tool bar − how’s that for service?
8.9
Good news on searching
8.9
I said last month that phrase-searching isn’t easy in HolyBible, and it
isn’t − at least not yet. But as part of the first upgrade (which they
plan to send out to registered users with the printed manual), phrase-
searching will be included. In the meantime, if you want to search for a
phrase, you will have to use the ‘AND’ criteria. In this way, you can
search for ‘in the beginning’ by asking for ‘in’ AND ‘the’ AND
‘beginning’. It isn’t very elegant and, of course, you will get a lot of
phrases you didn’t want, but you will at least get the ones you do want.
8.9
With the search options, you will get a new menu called Search Mode.
This allows you to choose a Word Search, Phrase Search or Proximity
Search. I can’t tell you exactly how the new search mode works in
practice, but from the manual, it seems that you will be able to specify
different ways of searching for a particular phrase. For example, ‘Son
of Man’ (entered: Son AND of AND Man) − in word search mode, it will
register every verse where the three words occur, no matter in what
order. In phrase-search, it will bring out only those verses where ‘Son
of Man’ occurs as a complete phrase. By inserting wild cards, you can
collect different occurrences of ‘son of man’. For example, son AND of
AND * AND * AND man − this time you get ‘son of a valiant man’. If you
don’t want to use wild cards you could specify how many intervening
words are allowed within a verse. For example, if your search criteria
was ‘Son’ AND ‘of’ AND ‘Man’ and you set Words in Between to 2, you
would get both ‘son of man’ and ‘son of a valiant man’. What you are
doing in this mode is allowing the search a certain latitude − so it
will find the exact phrase as well as those which approximate to the
phrase − in the present example, with up to two different words in
between.
8.9
Finally, by setting a Proximity Search, you could look for son of man
over a specified number of verses, with the words appearing in any
order. But even more useful is the ability to find words in ‘loose’
translations where the verses might have been combined, or, for locating
topics that span several verses, such as ‘baptism’ AND ‘sin’ OR
‘forgiveness’.
8.9
Two other new functions included with the next release are the abilities
to run paragraphs together when exporting, and to export single words.
8.9
Mutterings
8.9
There have been one or two unholy mutterings about HolyBible. For
example: 1. Some people don’t like the idea that you can’t select and
export a whole chapter or book in one go. 2. Instead of being able to
export parts of verses, you have export the whole verse and delete the
bits you don’t want. 3. Resources are, on the whole, ‘read only’ − you
can’t copy, add to or amend them. 4. When you export a verse, you only
get an abbreviated form of the book reference (version 1.2 will allow
full or abbreviated book names), etc.
8.9
There are always reasons for possible shortcomings in any program, and
not all of them are the fault of the programmer! In the case of
HolyBible, some of the problems are technical (as with partial verse
exporting), some are to do with licensing (copying chunks of resources,
or pages of a copyright translation), and some are just not worth
worrying about, at least not for the time being!
8.9
Of course, as we have already seen, some shortcomings are being dealt
with. ExpLAN seem to be very flexible and will respond positively to
suggestions for change − where they can.
8.9
BUT, there are some things they can’t alter. One of the problems that
the authors have come up against is the copyright of Bible translations.
Because some translations may have three claimants to any royalties, the
hedges that have to be built around the system to protect these claims,
can be high. They, too, are eager to comply fully with publishers’
wishes. In this way, by establishing a reputation for safeguarding the
rights of others, they hope to persuade other quality publishers to ‘get
on board’. In the short-term, this might make using some of the
HolyBible options frustrating but, in the long-term, by increasing the
availability of other material, it should reap benefits for everyone.
8.9
Another reason for the so-called shortcomings is the fact that HolyBible
is designed with the ‘computer illiterate’ very much in mind. You don’t
have to have a degree in C or C++ (whatever they are) to be able to
operate this piece of software. Inevitably, there has to be a trade off
between making the interface accessible to everyone, while making it
powerful enough to satisfy the ‘power-users’. For me, HolyBible strikes
a good balance between the two. Remember that this is the first version
of the software, and not everything has been released yet! The
philosophy ExpLAN have is to provide up-to-date, relevant material of a
high quality.
8.9
In the pipeline...
8.9
Coming up over the next few months are a number of Bible translations,
including a Hebrew Bible with correct right reading text. Also coming is
the NRSV Bible with study notes, Russian, German and Greek translations,
plus a Bible Dictionary. There are also some resources coming and a
schools’ pack. Other developments still at the early stage of licensing
can’t be mentioned yet − but we’ll keep you in touch as news filters
through...
8.9
Something to try
8.9
With a Hebrew Bible linked to an English Bible, it would be possible to
search for a particular Hebrew word, tracking it through the Hebrew
Bible, while at the same time seeing how it’s translated into English.
That could be quite useful for a Bible study! And with the ability to
export single words, quoting Hebrew in other documents will be much
simplified.
8.9
Hints & Tips
8.9
Exporting text − When exporting text from HolyBible into Impression, I
suggest that you use an intermediate ‘template’ document. There are two
reasons for this. First of all, you may not like the style definitions
that ExpLAN have provided. So, in this dummy document, you can edit the
definitions to taste. Then, as you export the DDF text into that
document, it will take on your own style definitions. The second reason
is that when you export some DDF text, it brings with it thirteen style
definitions. When I want to quote a single verse in the God-slot, I
don’t want the Archive magazine style-sheet clogged up with all of those
styles, so I drop the DDF text into the dummy document. I then mark the
text <ctrl-A>, copy it and paste it into the God-slot. That way, it only
brings with it the styles it actually uses.
8.9
HolyBible problem − Has HolyBible hung up on you? It has stiffed my
machine twice now and both times it occurred when I was marking some
text ready for export. Now I know that this isn’t a statistically
significant sample(!) but I wonder if anyone else has had similar
problems? I was working on a 10Mb Risc PC and (I think) the only other
applications I had running at the time were Impression, Edit and
Keystroke. If you get hang-ups too, please report them to Gabriel,
giving as much detail as possible: what machine? memory configuration?
other applications running? what you were doing at the time? etc.
8.9
Paul Beverley, NCS u
8.9

8.9
What the Ark of the Covenanent might have looked like
8.9
Floopy
8.9
Simon Weaver
8.9
Floopy is a smallish, greyish creature who has the task of clearing your
screen of apples, ice-creams and helmets (!). Yes, it is another classic
and “easy-to-understand, collect-the-goodies and avoid-the-nasties”
game. The nasties themselves come in different flavours too, including
bees and strange ghostly white penguins. There are 40 levels, and all
can be jumped to if you have the correct password. The music is quite
catchy, but it can be turned off if you get tired of it.
8.9
There’s nothing too new here, but Floopy brings together elements from
other similar games and mixes them up quite well. I did like the
interesting ‘hedgehog’ type rolling that you have, and the way you can
disappear off any side of the screen and reappear at the other − pacman
style. As you move through the levels, the author introduces new
elements to the game and soon you will be happily crushing penguins up
against the wall, and destroying ice blocks to help you get to the
‘goodies’.
8.9
Floopy can almost get quite addictive at times, but it is very easy to
forget to write down the password and have to go back to the last level
whose code you can remember. You also have to wait twenty seconds for
the introductory sequence before you can continue and this was usually
enough to put me off another go. I also found it immensely frustrating
that it is quite easy to get yourself stuck going round in circles
sometimes, and only losing all your lives can save you. I found the game
a bit slow on an ARM 2, and a bit too fast with ARM 3 − but then some
people are never satisfied. I can only guess that ARM 250 is about
right, the Risc PC being sufficiently incompatible to require an
upgrade. Floopy has been out for over a year now, and isn’t one to try
and impress your PC friends with, although its very low price (£3.49)
shows it wasn’t intended to fit this role anyway. Hopefully, a doubling
in price with the upgrade should give you some good improvements. You
can’t expect a massively exciting end sequence with Floopy, but you
could always reward yourself with another go...
8.9
I wouldn’t say Floopy is the best Soft Rock game ever, and it may be
worth checking out some of their later releases. Floopy is quite fun,
but that’s it with the current version. There isn’t anything very new or
impressive, but the puzzles are nice and easy and the ‘baddies’
sufficiently unpredictable for a couple of hours of mindless gratuitous
ice-cream collecting.
8.9
Floopy costs £3.49 from Soft Rock Software. u
8.9

8.9
Shareholder Professional
8.9
Dave Wilcox
8.9
Shareholder is produced by Silicon Vision Ltd and currently exists in
two versions, Releases 2 and 3. Release 2 is aimed at the small investor
and R3 at the larger investor. I have been looking at version 3.17 which
has the following additions over Release 2:
8.9
u Share Trends
8.9
u Retail Price Index
8.9
u General Market Prices
8.9
u Links to Ceefax, Teletext and Prestel via Teletext adaptor or Modem
for auto updates to current share prices.
8.9
Apart from these differences, the two programs are very much the same.
If, as your portfolio grows, you decide you require R3, Silicon Vision
will upgrade for the difference in cost. Current pricings from Silicon
Vision are R2 at £79.95 and R3 at £125, both prices including VAT.
8.9
So what is Shareholder? The claim is that this is a “sophisticated
relational database program for RISC OS. Its function is to store
information on stocks and shares as you wheel and deal. It is capable of
giving you a graphical display of past share prices, forecasts,
portfolio values and dividend lists”. Does it fulfil these claims? Let’s
see.
8.9
The package
8.9
This program is presented in a video-style box and consists of one 3½“
floppy disc and an A5, 36-page manual. On the disc is the Shareholder
program, System, demo files and a ReadMe file with any updates or
pertinent information available since the last printing of the manual.
The manual is clear and concise and covers all required points.
8.9
There is no copy protection other than a coded serial number within the
program, so back up or hard disc installation is trouble-free. For hard
disc use, you simply select and drag to the required destination
directory. All the files listed above take up 268Kb, so there is ample
space available on one floppy disc for most users, if this media is
preferred.
8.9
The program
8.9
To run the program, simply double click on the application to load it
onto the icon bar. Once it is loaded, you have the usual menu options
from the icon − info and quit are self-explanatory, and the other
option, ‘windows’, gives a submenu showing the names of any files
loaded, as this program is capable of working on multiple files. If you
wish, as you start to use this software, you can use the interactive
help system supplied with RISC OS to help you on your way.
8.9
Initially, you have only one file available, ‘Demo’. So to start, you
can load ‘Demo’ in any of the usual ways, double click or select and
drag. You can, of course, jump straight in and create your own
portfolio. To create a new file, simply click on the icon on the
iconbar.
8.9
If you load an existing file, you are presented with a summary of your
portfolio showing the Share/Company name, the amount invested, the
current value and any gain or loss made on these shares. At the bottom
of this window is a Portfolio Total giving you, at a glance, the Total
Value and Total Gain for your investments. If you are setting up a new
portfolio, you are presented with a company sheet, initially nominated
as page 1. This sheet is where you enter the details of the company
name, the quantity of shares purchased, the date of purchase and the
cost. You will need to create one of these pages for each company for
which you own shares.
8.9
Once your portfolio has been created, you update each company sheet with
all transaction details and dividend payout details as and when you make
them. As the data is entered, all other aspects relating to this
information are updated by the software, so portfolio maintenance is
very quick and easy, with the current status only a button push away at
all times. Whenever you subsequently load your portfolio file, you
obtain the summary sheet for your investments. It is from this summary
window that all the work is done to your portfolio. Pressing <menu> over
this window allows you access to the available tools, company pages and
facilities via the main menu.
8.9
Most of these options are obvious and do what they say. There are a
couple which go a little deeper. The first of these is ‘Misc’. This has
two sections, the first of which is concerned with the display order for
the summary sheet. The sort can be by name, by alias or by sheet number.
(The alias name is that used by the auto update system, e.g. Prestel).
The second section is relative to the gain calculation performed by the
program, with options to include R.P.I. and/or dividends. The gains
value is calculated to a more realistic level, taking into account
dividend income and price increases due to inflation.
8.9
The ‘Tools’ section has two tools, the first of which is a simple
calculator. To all intents and purposes, it is the same as !Calc, but
with one memory.
8.9
The second tool is the calendar. This shows one month at a time with the
tax week number shown down the lefthand side. It is this window where
the R.P.I. is entered. The R.P.I. is published each month and is used in
the calculation to estimate the gain for each transaction.
8.9
With the ‘Print’ option there are three output methods. You can output
to printer using the standard Acorn printer driver. You can send the
file as plain ASCII text or standard highlighted text. If plain ASCII is
selected, the option is available for the resultant text file to be
saved straight into another application by dragging the file icon. If
‘Print’ is selected over a graphic window, the output goes direct to
printer or is saved to disc as a printer output file.
8.9
The ‘Save’ option also has two options. You can save the whole file as a
shareholder datafile, or the whole file can be saved as a CSV file,
which provides a second way of importing your data into another package.
8.9
‘Display’ is the work-horse of this application, enabling you to move
quickly around the available displays. The menu is divided into two main
sections. The top part covers the selection of a page for various
actions: Show/Edit Page, Delete Page, Page History, and Page Forecast.
These four options bring up the same selection window, so that you can
scroll to the required selection. Clicking on this choice will open the
desired company window for you, or you can type the name into the
editable field at the top of the window. The bottom section opens
windows to various parts of the database for quick summaries like Total
Value, Price History, Portfolio History (displayed as a ribbon graph
showing share performance), Portfolio Forecast (an educated estimate of
possible performance − you must update share prices, etc, on a regular
basis for the estimate to be of any use), and a Dividend Listing,
showing all dividends received, the dates paid, tax credits and the
number of shares held.
8.9
If you have access to a teletext adaptor or modem, it is possible to
auto-update share prices on a regular basis. As mentioned above, if you
want to use this facility, the alias section of your Company page should
match the share name used on the information downloaded. It is possible
to use several alias names for each company if required, as this will
enable you to update prices from different sources. Updating your
database is a simple matter of dragging the update information file onto
any of the Shareholder windows.
8.9
Conclusion
8.9
This program is well-written, was easy to set up and use, and has worked
without any problem at all. Not one hang-up!!! The method of
presentation and layout is unusual at first sight. To my eye, some of
the tabulations are out and therefore make some of the tables unsightly.
However, you soon adjust to this, and the main thing is that all the
information required is there and logically displayed. I would recommend
this to all interested parties. u
8.9

8.9
Module Writing
8.9
Nicholas Marriott
8.9
RISC OS provides a simple method of extending the operating system,
using relocatable modules. These are loaded into the RMA and can provide
SWIs and star commands for other programs or the user. They can also
react to messages from the operating system and even run as WIMP tasks
or languages. This article aims to introduce the basic knowledge needed
to write simple modules. More complicated aspects can be covered in a
later article.
8.9
The module header
8.9
The core of a module is its header. This consists of eleven word-length
entries at the start of a module. RISC OS uses this header to call the
module when it is required such as when the user executes one of the
star commands belonging to that module. The header is detailed below:
8.9
  Offset  Type  Description
8.9
  0  offset to code  start code
8.9
  4  offset to code  initialisation code
8.9
  8  offset to code  finalisation code
8.9
  12  offset to code  service call handler
8.9
  16  offset to string  title string
8.9
  20  offset to string  help string
8.9
  24  offset to table  help and command keyword table
8.9
  28  number  SWI chunk number
8.9
  32  offset to code  SWI handler code
8.9
  36  offset to table  SWI decoding table
8.9
  40  offset to code  SWI decoding code
8.9
I will discuss each of these entries in turn.
8.9
Start code
8.9
The start code is used by both WIMP tasks and languages. It allows a
module to be run as an application, but it is, unfortunately, too
complicated to explain in this article.
8.9
Initialisation code
8.9
The initialisation code is called when the module is first started up.
It is typically used to claim workspace. When a module is loaded, it is
allocated a private word in the RMA which is usually used to store a
workspace pointer. The private word pointer is always passed in R12.
This extract shows how a typical initialisation entry might claim
workspace:
8.9
.Initialisation_Code
8.9
STMFD R13!,{r7-r11 ,R14}
8.9
:
8.9
MOV R0,#6    ; reason code 6 - claim RMA
8.9
MOV R3,#1024    ; 1k to be claimed
8.9
SWI “XOS_Module”    ; call OS_Module
8.9
ADRVS R0,bad_claim    ; V set?
8.9
LDMVSFD R13!,{r7-r11 ,R14}  ; if so, exit with an error
8.9
ORRVSS PC,R14,#1<<28
8.9
STR R2,[R12]    ; store workspace pointer in
8.9
:      ; private word
8.9
LDMFD R13!,{r7-r11 ,PC}
8.9
A piece of code within a module (except start code) should not call an
error handler. To produce an error, it is better to exit with V set and
R0 pointing to the error block (as above). SWIs in the module code must
always be the X form so they do not produce errors but and code should
exit with an error if they return V set.
8.9
Finalisation code
8.9
The finalisation entry in a module header is a pointer to the code which
is called when the module is being killed, probably by *RMKill but also
possibly by *RMTidy or OS_Modules 3, 4, 8 and 9. This code should be
used to tidy up ready for the module to be removed. If the private word
is a non-zero value, RISC OS attempts to release the workspace it points
to. When a module returns with V set after this code is called, it is
left in the RMA and the error pointed to by R0 is produced. This is
quite useful if other tasks are still using the module:
8.9
.Finalisation_Code
8.9
STMFD R13!,{r7-r11 ,R14}
8.9
:
8.9
LDR R12,[R12]    ; read workspace pointer
8.9
LDR R0,[R12,#4]    ; read tasks using count
8.9
CMP R0,#0    ; are there none?
8.9
ADRNE R0,inuse_error    ; if not, exit with error
8.9
LDMNEFD R13!,{r7-r11 ,R14}
8.9
ORRNES PC,R14,#1<<28
8.9
:
8.9
LDMFD R13!,{r7-r11 ,PC}
8.9
:
8.9
.inuse_error  EQUD   0
8.9
    EQUS   “Some applications are still using this module.”
8.9
    EQUB  0
8.9
Service calls
8.9
Service calls are messages passed around by the operating system or
other modules when a noticeable event occurs. The service call code is
called when a service call is received, with the number of the service
call in R1. Service calls can be claimed by a module, meaning that the
module is going to act on that service call and does not want it to be
passed on to other modules. There are far too many service calls to
describe them all here, but these are a few of the more useful ones:
8.9
Name                              Number  Function
8.9
Service_Error  &06  Called when an error has occurred, R0=pointer to
error block.
8.9
    MUST NOT BE CLAIMED
8.9
Service_NewApplication  &2A  Called when a new application has started,
set
8.9
    R1 to zero to prevent new application starting.
8.9
Service_ModeChange  &46  Called when there is a mode change.
8.9
    MUST NOT BE CLAIMED
8.9
You can also send your own service calls using SWI OS_ServiceCall, R1
must point to the service number and R2-R8 can point to any data
required. If the service call is claimed, R1 is returned as zero,
otherwise it is preserved.
8.9
Title string
8.9
The title string offset points to a null-terminated string for the
module title (used by *Modules).
8.9
Help string
8.9
The help string, used by *Help is a null-terminated string in this
format:
8.9
  Module name <Tab> v.vv (dd mmm yyyy)
8.9
for example:
8.9
  EQUS “TestMod”+CHR$(9)+“1.04 (”+MID$(TIME$,5,11)+“)”
8.9
Help and command keyword table
8.9
This is a list of star commands in the following format:
8.9
  Null-terminated command name, word-aligned
8.9
  Offset to command code
8.9
  Information word
8.9
  Offset to syntax message, null-terminated
8.9
  Offset to help text, null-terminated
8.9
The information word contains four bytes:
8.9
 Byte  Description
8.9
    0  Minimum number of parameters (0-255)
8.9
    1  OS_GSTrans map for first eight parameters
8.9
    2  Maximum number of parameters
8.9
    3  Flags:   bit 31 = command is a filing system command
8.9
    bit 30 = command is a *Configure command
8.9
    bit 29 = Help offset points to code not string
8.9
Of these only bytes 0 and 2 are really useful, which are the minimum and
maximum number of parameters respectively. The others should be left at
zero. When entering command code, R0 points to the command code and R1
to the number of parameters.
8.9
SWIs
8.9
Four entries in the module header are used for SWIs, but only three of
these are really needed. The SWI decoding code is quite complicated and
so it is omitted here − it is not usually needed anyway. The first entry
is quite simple; it is a number which is used as a base for the SWI
numbers to continue from. For example, the WIMP’s SWI chunk is &400C0,
thus Wimp_Initialise is SWI &400C0, Wimp_CreateWindow is SWI &400C1 and
so on.
8.9
SWI handler code
8.9
The SWI handler code is called whenever one of the module’s SWIs is
called. The recommended Acorn code for handling this is as follows:
8.9
  .SWI_Handler_Code
8.9
  LDR R12,[R12]    ; get workspace pointer
8.9
  CMP R11,#(SWIs_End-SWIs_Start)/4
8.9
  ADDCC PC,PC,R11,LSL#2    ; dispatch if in range
8.9
  B UnknownSWI
8.9
  .SWIs_Start
8.9
  B SWI_00
8.9
  B SWI_01
8.9
  ........
8.9
  B SWI_nn
8.9
  .SWIs_End
8.9
  :
8.9
  .UnknownSWI
8.9
  ADR R0,UnknownSWI_Error
8.9
  ORRS PC,R14,#1<<28
8.9
  :
8.9
  .UnknownSWI_Error
8.9
  EQUD &1E6
8.9
  EQUS “Unknown <module> operation”
8.9
  EQUB 0
8.9
This code simply checks to see if the SWI number is in range. If so, it
calls the SWI and, if not, it produces an error. When the SWI is
entered, R12 is the contents of the module’s private word and R0-R8
contain the data passed to the SWI.
8.9
SWI decoding table
8.9
This is simply a list of SWIs supported by the module. Note that, for
each one in this table, there must also be a branch instruction in the
same position in the SWI handler code. The table consists of the SWI
prefix followed by up to 64 SWI names, e.g.
8.9
  EQUS “Module”  ; SWI prefix
8.9
  EQUB 0
8.9
  EQUS “SWI00”  ; first SWI name
8.9
  EQUB 0
8.9
  ............
8.9
  EQUB 0  ; zero byte to finish table
8.9
So, calling SWI Module_SWI00 would call SWI handler code which would
jump to the required entry.
8.9
Example module
8.9
The very simple example module provided on the monthly disc does three
things:
8.9
− Provides a star command, *SetMode which will set or display the
current mode.
8.9
− Provides three SWIs, Mode_CurrentMode, Mode_Width and Mode_Height, all
of which return     information about the current mode in R0.
8.9
− Produces a beep every time the mode is changed.
8.9
If you have any comments or questions about module writing, please
contact me via the Archive office. u
8.9

8.9
ProArtisan II on CD
8.9
Bob Ames
8.9
ProArtisan II on CD runs best on RISC OS 3.1 or later, but it will run
on RISC OS 2 with a small number of restrictions, such as the radio
buttons, are not being 3D. Clares suggest using a multiscan monitor to
achieve the best results but it is comforting to know that the images
are usually saved in high resolution, even when a low resolution monitor
is being used (say, in mode 15). This means that if the monitor is
upgraded later, the work can be displayed in mode 21 or 28 on a higher
resolution monitor.
8.9
The minimum machine RAM appears to be 2Mb, although some of the images
from the resource discs will not load, even with 2Mb of RAM available.
Usually, several images may be held in memory on a 4Mb machine.
8.9
Loading the application
8.9
The CD version of the program takes a considerable time to load,
compared with the disc version (I borrowed a friend’s copy for
comparison) but that will depend on the speed of your CD drive. However,
this is a small price to pay for the facility to load PhotoCD images
directly into the computer for further manipulation.
8.9
The CD version does not need initialising (the process of registering a
disc with personal details), as the floppy version does, and the program
can still be installed on hard disc as usual, thus avoiding the slowness
of access from CD. Thus the best of both worlds may be had − PhotoCD
working and hard disc speed.
8.9
Documentation
8.9
The manuals for many pieces of kit seem to have been written in
JapFranGlais, translated from the original software developers’ notes,
via American, by a German living in Bromley. However, probably because
Acorn computers are a British phenomenon, the companies writing software
normally have English speaking staff. Clares have produced a fine
example in this manual − it is divided into sections which are short
enough to read in one go, while containing sufficient information on all
features.
8.9
I like the idea (simple in the extreme) of starting each section on odd
numbered pages, so that each starts on the right side of the open book
as you read it. Sometimes this means a blank page on the left but this
is noted as a blank page.
8.9
Especially for people like myself (for whom the little self-adhesive
labels were printed “at the last resort read the manual”), there is a
tutorial early on in the manual − I discovered this because my train was
late, so I had time to read it!
8.9
Seriously, the manual should be read at least as far as the end of the
tutorial section because, although you might not want to make a cube
with a picture of a big cat on each of its faces, the action of doing so
helps the novice user to understand some of the facilities available.
8.9
Images available
8.9
The images on both Resource floppy discs (disc 2 is available free from
Clares on returning the guarantee form!) are stored in the Acorn
!Squashed format, and need unpacking before use. I am used to double-
clicking on the file name to load it, but any squashed file must be
dragged to the ProArtisan icon on the iconbar (or dropped onto an empty
ProArtisan window) to load it. This may seem a small point but it’s
surprising how set in your ways you become!
8.9
To unsquash a file, the application !Squash must first be ‘seen’ and
then the squashed file may be double-clicked. Provided there is enough
room on the disc, an unsquashed copy will be saved. There is a catch
awaiting inexperienced users (but it is documented in the manual). It is
not possible to add or merge images to squashed sprites in the sprite
pool. They must all be unpacked first or they will be replaced by the
new sprites.
8.9
Of course, sprites and drawfiles may be loaded into ProArtisanII. There
are particular procedures to be followed in these translations. There is
a clever converter application included in the package which will enable
ProArtisan, RenderBender and Illusionist files to be converted into
sprites.
8.9
I am used to the question “Do you want to save modified work?”, so I was
surprised not to be challenged when I closed the window on my first
artistic attempts! I went on loading and discarding the example files
from the resources discs and then got the message “insufficient memory”.
Eventually, I realised that the images were still in memory although not
visible on screen. The iconbar menu gives the option of showing each or
all of the files in memory, as well as options for clearing out old
images. Once I got used to this, it was all very logical, but the
differences from my old favourite, PipeDream, continue to disturb me.
8.9
Menu facilities
8.9
Via the !Options package, the menu can be arranged so that little-used
option choices can be “greyed-out” next time the program is run. This is
all well and good but I prefer the PipeDream method of long or short
menus, where the menus themselves are shorter and clutter up the screen
much less. Moreover, this facility is available immediately with
PipeDream.
8.9
Have you got a frisket?
8.9
The ‘frisket’ seems to be a quite complicated thing, especially where
the manual talks about the differences which take place using processes
while the frisket is in operation. So far, I don’t fully appreciate the
use of such facilities! I shall try to remember that the frisket is an
area which cannot be drawn/painted/coloured over − except in exceptions!
8.9
Using the package
8.9
The art package is simplicity itself − select the tool, size it, choose
a colour... and paint! The line drawing tools are quite different from
DrawPlus − but then they would be, wouldn’t they! − I always find it
difficult to use a new package when a previous example is well known.
8.9
It would appear that an additional colour card is essential for
professional working − these are available from CC or State Machine. You
will then have 16.7 million colours to choose from − my local trade
paint shop only has 3000 different colours! However, all the colours are
not available at once − 256 colours are chosen from the total available
and the machine always holds the full 24-bit values and works at the
highest resolution. This means that even without a card or high
resolution monitor, all the files are excellent quality. The only
exception is when the Save As option is used, when the file is saved to
the current settings − to save memory, for example.
8.9
Extra facilities on the CD version
8.9
The CD of pictures which comes with the CD version appears to be a
Cumana product (it’s called the Cumana Photo Album Volume 1), and has 82
pictures on it. These range from steam trains to hang gliders, castles
to freeways, shire horses to seagulls, and five views each from
Scotland and Sydney!
8.9
The neatest feature, which allows a browse through ten of the CD’s
pictures at a time, is called Show CD Album − it’s rather like looking
at a stamp album in which ten pictures are represented on each page.
8.9
Another clever feature, only found on the CD version, is CLIP. If this
is selected before loading a picture, the original appears with a set of
clip lines on it. These can be moved so that only part of the image is
actually loaded for further work, thus saving memory.
8.9
The cost of PhotoCD is unlikely to spoil the chances of this excellent
software doing well. Typically, it appears that 100 images can be stored
on each blank £5 disc. To store each image would cost up to a maximum of
60p a go in high street shops but this cost would be much lower if
batches were done at a time. It would appear best to avoid professional
bureaux with their much higher charges, although the two I contacted
would be prepared to negotiate price if an account were held with them.
This is a similar attitude to that held by conventional photo print/
processing facilities.
8.9
Printing facilities
8.9
I really liked the Printing dialogue by which it is possible to select
which part of the page area is to be printed. The position on the page,
the scale, the size of margins (taken from the current printer driver if
one is loaded) and more, may be altered before printing.
8.9
Any drawbacks?
8.9
The only real fault I could find was with the menu icons. They don’t
really convey function as well as they could. I find difficulty
remembering what some icons stand for, and whether I am expecting a
function or a sub-menu when each is clicked. In particular, the Process
submenu (an Eye for an icon), the Undo (an arrow pointing towards the
zoom scale) are not clear. The Input/Output icon (arrows left and right)
is OK but confusing, and the Zoom Scale bump buttons are not next to the
figures which indicate the current zoom scale, where they should be! The
icon for Sprite Tools (scissors) is fine when the function is
understood.
8.9
Conclusion?
8.9
All in all, this is a very worthwhile package, if a bit slow in loading
from the CD initially.
8.9
ProArtisan II CD costs £160 inc VAT from Clares or £150 through
Archive. u
8.9

8.9
The Time Machine
8.9
Gabriel Swords
8.9
This isn’t a ‘destroy everything in sight’ type of game − brute force
and ignorance are the very least of your worries. What you need is a
brain the size of a planet, the Times crossword mentality and a slightly
out of focus sense of logic... apart from that, the game’s a doddle!
8.9
Time Machine comes from 4th Dimension and is a sequel to the Haunted
House − though you don’t need to have played that game, and any link
between the two is very tenuous anyway. The game starts with the hero of
Haunted House going for a much needed walk; after only three miles of
walking, it appears that his bladder feels the call of the wild, and is
in need of some relief. The good news for said bladder is that our hero
notices a blue box in the distance; relief seems to be at hand! The bad
news is that the blue portaloo won’t open that easily. Normally, a penny
in the slot would do, but not this time; this time you need a simple
password, and the ability to work out a simple fraction. I say ‘simple’.
It’s simple once you’ve worked them out − in fact, once you’ve done
them, you wonder what all the fuss was about. While you’re getting there
though, the entrance exam seems like a nightmare.
8.9
Once inside, you’ll notice a distinct absence of any kind of loo, but
that doesn’t matter because what you do find is that you’ve entered a
time machine. All thoughts of bladder control disappear as you try to
work out how the thing works. And this is the essence of the game −
finding out how things work. There are buttons to push, levers to pull,
doors to open. All you have to do is push the right buttons at the right
times and put the right bits together in the right order. The trick to
this game is to try everything you come across. Touch it, press it, mix
it together with other things... and see what happens.
8.9
As you wander around, inside and outside of the machine, you find
objects of no apparent value − a can of fly spray, a bottle of water, a
potted plant, etc. You’re given written and oral clues, like: ‘this lamp
is like an ear to a blind man’!!! You’re set tasks, such as, “How do you
make a polished ruby using two aluminium cans and a bit of history?” −
easy, once you know how. Answer this, and the many other questions, and
you’re on your way to finding the meaning of life et al.
8.9
Ultimately, what you’re trying to do is rescue someone from a time
vortex. To do this, you must find the six missing pieces of the key of
time. Fair enough! To find the missing pieces, you travel about in time
and space solving the puzzles which lead you to the missing pieces. In
the process, you move through a bit of earth’s pre-history; on to Mars
where you enter an ancient pyramid (or do you?); then to Dune − where
you could easily get lost; on to Automatia where you’ll find some
sorting out to do; you even find yourself in Abbey Road playing around
with CDs.
8.9
As you go, a percentage figure on the icon bar tells you how well (or
not) you’re doing − what you’re aiming for is 100%. By the way, if you
happen to get killed, some smug sounding voice tells you ‘oh dear’ − I
hope this isn’t the voice of the programmer!
8.9
Suggestions for play
8.9
If you have the three necessary skills mentioned earlier, you’ll fly
through this game in about six days − working through the night,
skipping meals and taking time off work. If you don’t have those skills,
you may as well commit suicide now, because the frustration will drive
you to it eventually. Alternatively, you could do what I did, and get
some friends involved. This is not a game for hermits. I had help from a
friend who is a chemistry teacher; a mathematician; my thirteen year old
son; my ten year old daughter; someone else who was playing the game on
his computer (with his friends); and a host of encyclopaedias, ‘A
Thousand-Things-You-Didn’t-Know-About-Everything’-type books, and a
dictionary. The other thing to do is to save everything as you go along,
under different file names; that way, if you make a mistake and lose
something, you can at least go back to where you left off.
8.9
The Time Machine comes on five floppy discs, and you’ll need at least
2Mb of RAM to run it. There are over 2Mb of sampled sounds and 3.25Mb of
sprites, 95% of which are scanned graphics.
8.9
Is it a good game?
8.9
Yes, I suppose it is really − if you don’t mind the frustration, the
headaches, the waking up in the night with another idea that might work.
If you like games to be a challenge, don’t mind being patient, and like
working out problems, then this is a very good game. The sounds and
graphics are just right for the game, and the programmer’s sense of
humour comes through.
8.9
What happens at the very end? ERM!!! I’m not sure − I haven’t quite
finished − maybe in a year or two?
8.9
The Time Machine costs £25.95 from 4th Dimension or £24 through
Archive. u
8.9

8.9
Caxton Press
8.9
Dave Walsh
8.9
Caxton Press from Newman College Software is, first and foremost, a
simple DTP program which allows users to create a newspaper front page
layout on their computer system. As far as I know, it represents the
first conversion from Research Machines to Acorn. For schools who use
both the old RM machines and Acorn RISC OS, this represents a good move,
allowing the same software to be run on different platforms.
8.9
I have been looking at Caxton Press version 1.00a which has been
converted for the A3000 series. The program is not multitasking, and
requires a printer driver to be pre-loaded before it will operate.
Although it will load and run on newer machines, this copy is unable to
print on the new printer drivers, which means that printing must take
place on an A3000 using RISC OS 2.
8.9
The program itself is very simple to use, being based on a single word
menu system. This can either be keyboard or mouse operated. After
choosing whether you wish to work on an old or new piece of work, you
are into the program proper where the ‘layout’ choices are given. Here
you choose to work on the Masthead (newspaper title), Banner (the
headline), Stories, Print out or Saving options. Each of the areas
follow a similar menu structure, with each element reached from a set of
words along the bottom of the screen.
8.9
Twenty six different, bit-mapped fonts have been provided within the
program, with names ranging from Aladdin to Zebra. These are rather nice
for children’s work, allowing a significant visual selection of writing
styles. Small elements, such as the ability to add speech quotes and the
half sign have also been considered, along with rule off thickness and
styles.
8.9
Up to four stories can be written for the page, each with its own
heading. These are numbered on a ‘thumbnail’ of the finished product, so
that the user can decide which story to work on next. As there are two
stories per column, the room for one diminishes as the length of the
other increases. Any spare space is left as a picture frame for later
use. It should be noted, however, that these pictures are placed by the
low-tech method of scissors and glue, after print out! All the elements
of the page are optional so that, for instance, by leaving out the
banner and headline, you can create an inner page layout.
8.9
The documentation is extremely well written, being both thorough and
clear, with examples of newspapers produced. The program is so simple to
operate that most children who are capable of writing a story would be
able to produce a simple newsheet.
8.9
As a program, it would be most beneficial to schools wanting similar
software on their RM and Acorn equipment. It is designed to be simple,
and achieves this aim at the expense of the multitasking environment,
where pictures, text and fonts can be shared between applications.
Obviously, other newspaper creation methods are available on the Acorn
RISC OS machines, but this one successfully presents a simple approach
to the field, whilst removing the need to master RISC OS conventions.
8.9
Caxton Press costs £30 +VAT from Newman Software Ltd u
8.9

8.9
Cable News II
8.9
Ned Abell
8.9
In previous reviews − a good year ago − I’ve mentioned the existence of
Cable News and, indeed, many of you may have already used it. I had an
early review copy, found quite a lot wanting and, having spoken to
Lindis, decided to wait for Cable News II for review. This has been a
long time coming, is an improvement on the original, and has branched
away from being a straight presentation package, becoming more
interactive.
8.9
Originally, you created a series of presentation “Slides”, in an
application called !CableMake, linked them together with effects and
then saved the resultant story in your working directory. When you ran
the second application, !CableView, you were able to see the sequence.
8.9
The new package will now allow you, by clicking on a hot spot, to jump
between slides, forwards and backwards, and thus the sequence could
provide point-of-sale information, interactive town plans, etc, so it
now falls into the category of a multimedia program. Hot spots can also
run other tasks. There is a great improvement in the program here, and
one that will be of use to many who need to present information
publicly.
8.9
As a maker of videos, I’m primarily interested in a tool that will allow
me to caption and title − indeed, I have just used it for a video about
a British Study Centre in France. Previously, the old !CableMake and
!CableView would co-exist on my 4Mb A310; now they are bigger and need
more memory − a 4Mb machine is the minimum requirement for the new
package. I also ran them on a Risc PC, moving slides back to the A310 to
use the genlock.
8.9
The manual is very clear but has no index. The software is sensibly
protected by embedding your details. Example demonstration stories are
provided for both Risc PC and A series machines − on the Archive monthly
disc, if space permits.
8.9
!CableMake
8.9
Slide creation is simple and you can use a window or full screen. A
background is selected and filled with colour, sprite or motif, then a
frame, made into which you drag text (or type it) sprites, replay files
or drawfiles. Here’s one of the strengths of the program in that you use
styles for your text so it’s like any DTP program but, additionally, you
can set shadow and colour. The frames can be filled and bordered with
their own shadow. Thus, for my application, it’s simple to set up a
house style box and a text style, and then put the two together in the
right place on the video picture for captioning. Keeping the box in
place and changing the next slide’s text allows simple animated
captions.
8.9
The first problem was that Cable News does not accept Artworks files, or
JPEGed or GIFed images, so you have to convert everything to sprites or
drawfiles! Whilst !ChangeFSI will help a lot, I think that the lack of
Artworks support is a major omission and one of my complaints about the
earlier package. I’m told that it will be supported in a later release,
and  yet !CableNews is a package that first came on the market in early
1993, and the Artworks viewer is included with many other applications.
It is a de-facto standard. There is no support for Iota Animator files,
although these are fairly new and, again, will have to be catered for.
They can, however, be launched from slides using the hot spot to to run
a task or run a file. The Replay support is fine if you have the means
of making Replay files, but most people don’t. You can import from
PhotoCD because !PhotoView exports as sprites.
8.9
The package now supports OLE and I found this of major help and a good
upgrade from CableNews I. Because anti-aliased text with a lot of detail
can take a long time to redraw on an ARM2, OLE is vital. Any frame can
be edited in !Edit and then re-imported. More than once, I was grateful
when an é needed to be an è in a long bit of text. Caution here though
because memory constraints will cause problems − you can get !CableMake,
!Edit, !Draw and !Paint to work together in 4Mb, but only by having a
small font cache.
8.9
The results were excellent. I could make complex dissolving caption
sequences by working forwards and backwards using common frames to keep
registration. There is video support in the slides and stories to allow
transparency, and I can’t wait to have a Millipede genlock on the
Risc PC to try high quality graphics − special Modes are provided to
give the maximum TV resolution. You can also print the slides, and this
option is very useful for giving out notes to an audience. In future
releases, you will also be able to print to 35 and 70mm slides.
8.9
Stories
8.9
The method of linking the slides is crucial, and CableMake provides a
good selection of effects, such as unrolls and blinds, to make up a
story. The story can be auto-run or done manually, time delays are
preset and it beeps when slides are ready for display. A true roller
caption is not provided, but slides can be slid down into position one
after another. There is an editing system so that both a story and a
slide can be loaded into !CableMake.
8.9
!CableView
8.9
This application takes a story file and displays its slides. You can
distribute this software in non-commercial applications if you own
!CableNews, so it’s possible to give a disc to clients for viewing on
another computer or update point-of-sale information on several
computers. Commercial applications need a licence from Lindis.
8.9
The display method can be preset from the preferences options and, if
you stop the display, you can step between individual slides. It’s also
possible to put a large pointer on the screen.
8.9
When you quit the application, it infuriatingly asks if you want to do
so!
8.9
Conclusions
8.9
CableNews II is an improvement on version 1, and existing owners should
upgrade. If you are buying a titling or presentation package, there is
also the choice of !Titler from Clares.
8.9
CableNews is very intuitive to use and allows menuing over the full
frame slide − very useful to tweak colours and position over a video
frame. I’ve mentioned the drawbacks, but would recommend this as an very
good starting point for producing excellent presentations. I had a play
with 24-bit sprites on the system but soon ran into memory problems,
although this is because of my machine, not the package. A computer with
4Mb is fine for overhead projection notes etc and lower resolution 256
colour graphics. I think the XAT Video Utilities disc should be included
in this suite of programs, to provide VT clocks and test cards for
setting up equipment − call it !CableSet? I would also move the story-
making part of the program into a separate application so that, if
memory is tight, you can reset the story without loading the whole of
CableMake.
8.9
This application works well and does what it says. If you are involved
in any sort of presentation, you will need it. There are plans to expand
its capabilities and existing owners will be able to receive updates by
returning master discs. I’m now standardising on it and building up a
library of styles and slides.
8.9
My clients like what it provides, and that’s good for business.
8.9
CableNews II is priced at £149 +VAT from Lindis International or £165
through Archive, with low cost upgrades from Presenter Story and
CableNews I, obtainable through Lindis.
8.9
I’m happy to discuss video and audio uses on Acorn platforms either via
Paul or on [e-mail]. u
8.9

8.9
VerbMaster-French
8.9
Graham Campbell
8.9
I am looking here at VerbMaster-French by Nigel Caplan which is a
Shareware package.
8.9
Learning and practising verbs in a foreign language is a difficult job
which is fairly tedious at the best of times, since it involves much
repetitive learning and testing, so any way in which the trusty computer
can help with repetitive random tests is to be welcomed. It’s then just
a question of whether one likes, and can get on with, the design of the
program.
8.9
What you get
8.9
VerbMaster comes on a single 800Kb floppy and is a ‘modular’ verb
learning and testing package. Registration with the author costs £7.50
for a single user (£10 site licence) for the first verb ‘module’
(currently this is the French one), and £5 (site £10) for subsequent
ones. Potential users need RISC OS 3.11 or greater and, if you’re
working from floppy, the application needs to have ‘seen’ the !Scrap
directory.
8.9
I have run the program on my A440/1 with RISC OS3 and ARM3, on an A3000
1Mb machine with OS3 upgrade, each with no problems. I also ran it on a
Risc PC, since the author wondered whether there would be any problems.
There didn’t appear to be any major ones; the Homerton Medium font which
I had working for the Desktop didn’t upset the program’s window display,
except for one prompt in red in the Test Window − no illegibility
problems, though.
8.9
Having printed out the text_file containing the ten pages of (abridged)
User Guide, it was clear that the program is a comprehensive one. With
it, you can learn on-screen the verbs you want to grasp, get a
randomized test in all (or one, or all-but-one) tense(s), and you can
choose ‘regular’ or ‘irregular’ verbs only, or both. If you select the
test to be done on-screen, you state the number of questions to be fired
and click START.
8.9
There’s an option for a printed test (with answers printed at the end)
and then the randomised questions are sent to a text file, ready for
printing out. No obvious check is made to see whether the number of
questions asked for is greater than the number of verb-forms in memory,
so don’t select 500 as I did − (I was just bug-chasing!) − you get an
infinite look at the hourglass! Also, you can get a CSV file ‘print-out’
− for loading into PipeDream or a Word Processing package − of all, one,
or a group of tenses for off-screen learning.
8.9
The tenses available are the Present, Future, Imperfect, Perfect,
Pluperfect, Past Historic, Conditional (curiously called the ‘Future
Conditional’ within the program), Future Perfect and the Conditional
Perfect. The Present Subjunctive Mood will come later. New verbs can be
added from on-screen menus, verb-forms can be edited or deleted from a
module, and the edited module saved back again. Double clicking on any
module loads its contents which overwrite the previously-loaded module.
8.9
How it performs (pros and cons)
8.9
Double-clicking on !VerbMast loads a utility module and opens two filer
windows on screen. In one, there’s a !Help file available which conforms
to Acorn’s Interactive Help system and directories housing the text
files of the ‘manuals’, the modules you subscribe to or create, and the
printouts you may create. Double-clicking on !French in the other filer
window loads a ‘tricolore’ icon on the icon bar ready to start, having
claimed 512Kb of workspace.
8.9
Clicking <select> on this brings up two windows − a ‘learning’ window
showing the verb under study and a control window. There’s only room for
the je / tu / il / nous / vous / ils forms so, alas, one in the oeil for
les dames. Will they be consoled to read that il a is labelled “He
(She&It)”? Also, the extremely commonly used on doesn’t get an airing.
This is a shame, since in the compound tenses taking être, much is made
in the testing process of ‘agreements’ over plurality and gender and so
you never see printed out, or on screen, elle est allée or elles sont
parties, for example, or even the non-agreement of on est allé meaning
we went ... / people (in general) went ... .
8.9
Using the mouse and clicking in the Control-Panel’s windows changes the
verb and its tense displayed in the Display Window. Also on the Control
Panel are buttons for initiating a test, adding an irregular verb,
adding a regular verb, or for what is called ‘cyclic addition of an
irregular’. You are supposed to be able to add tense after tense to an
infinitive without having to re-enter the infinitive, but this feature
wasn’t working on my review copy. Clicking <menu> over the Display
Window gives access to a menu from which you can edit a verb, delete a
verb, and save back the edited module.
8.9
The verb test
8.9
Having learnt all these verb forms, it’s time for the test. Select ‘x’
questions (10 by default) and we’re off. Two windows open − the Test
Window and the Statistics Window. I must admit that I find the screen
now too cluttered. Icons show us, in the Test Window, which question
we’re on and ask:
8.9
  Please enter the [ils] form of the Future Conditional tense of the
verb [avoir]:
8.9
I got the first verb ‘wrong’ because my A440/1 wakes up with CAPS ON,
and a correct answer in upper case is marked wrong. A minor point, but a
*FX202,16 from within the program (or in the !Run file) would have
sorted that one. For ease of entering accents, there is a window with
the seven most-needed accented characters showing, which can be clicked
on to insert them into any of the input icons. You need to have a wide
screen mode selected and to put the accent window outside the test
windows, since whenever you click <enter> to enter your answer for
assessment, it goes to the back of the stack and you have to call it up
again each time from the menu. I have to confess I find it easier, if
I’m inputting from the keyboard, to use good old Alt+233 for é etc.
Reaching for the mouse for the sake of a final é after having typed my
way through vous vous seriez habill gets a bit of a pain, especially if
you’ve had to call up your accents window (again!) first.
8.9
One good thing and one bad thing together now become evident. Verbs
which have become reflexive in compound tenses often need an agreement,
as do the few verbs which always take être. Vous could be a lads’ night
out, or the W.I., or one lad, or one W.I. member. So the ‘correct’
answer for the computer is vous vous seriez habillé(e)(s), and you may
well think this a pain to have to enter. Well, it is, but a window to
the side of the answer-input-box can be called up and you can click on
one of a menu of endings: (e) / (e)s / (e)(s) / s . (I should have liked
to see a null selection here. If a plain s qualifies for being on the
menu then ‘nothing’ does too, since il s’est habillé in a sense ‘agrees’
with a non-ending, and a student must deliberately decide to add
nothing.) The down-side is that you always have to think in terms of
these wretched endings. It’s a pity the test can’t say:
8.9
  Using PARTIR, how do you say: “They would have left (m)”   (ils
seraient partis)
8.9
and, later ...
8.9
  Using PARTIR, how do you say: “They would have left (f)”  (elles
seraient parties)
8.9
I just found it a bit tiring on the eye and brain being asked the rather
grammatical question mentioned above (Please enter the ...) and then
have the statistics window telling me I’ve got ‘x’ correct / ‘x’ wrong /
‘x’ questions left out of a total of ‘n’ questions, and that:
8.9
The [ils] form of the [Future Conditional] tense of the verb
[s’habiller] is [ils se seraient habillés” ]. Your response is Correct
and your answer was [“ils se seraient habillés”].
8.9
You could argue pedagogically that this is reinforcement, I suppose!
8.9
Conclusions
8.9
The program very comprehensively tests full grammatical knowledge of all
tenses (no negatives or interrogatives). Note that there is no reference
to meanings − you are tested grammatically. The ability to print out
verb information and tests is very useful, and that all works fine.
There’s a minor bug in the scoring system in that your last response
doesn’t get logged.
8.9
A few of the verb forms are wrong in the supplied module:
8.9
se lever is missing its grave accent in all the Future and Conditional
forms.
8.9
vouloir in the plural conditional forms is incorrect − as my screen shot
shows!
8.9
faire gives vous faisez in the Present Tense
8.9
attendre gives ils attendient and descendre gives ils descendient in the
Imperfect.
8.9
lire gives ils lûrent, voir gives vous vâtes and vouloir gives tu
voulous, all in the Past Historic.
8.9
It’s just a question of loading the module into !Edit and chasing up the
errors but it’s a tad annoying to have to do so − and, of course,
presupposes that you know the stuff before learning it from the program!
Which of us, though, has not made any mistakes when entering data into
our programs?!
8.9
Let him who is without sin .... !
8.9
I hope this is useful to any prospective French students out there. In
the end, you takes your choice and − with Shareware − you pays your
money, I hope! u
8.9

8.9
CD-Fast
8.9
Fred Grieve
8.9
Those of you who have taken the plunge and installed a CD-ROM drive will
probably have already experienced some slight disappointment when you
first used the system. I refer to having hundreds of megabytes of data
on-line and having to patiently wait for the computer to access it as
CD-ROM does not have very fast access times. A CD-ROM drive is
noticeably slower than a hard drive.
8.9
As the title suggests, this utility from Eesox is designed to speed up
CD access times. It does this by using computer memory to cache CD
directory information. This is done transparently, so the user is not
aware of CD-Fast working in the background. Eesox claim that it will
work with all versions of CDFS, all CD drives, all Acorn computers and
will not interfere with the successful operation of any CD-ROM! Bold
claims indeed and, unfortunately, I can only verify some of them!
8.9
The supplied software can be used in two different modes of operation.
Minimum memory mode uses just 8Kb (for both code and cache), and
enhanced mode uses 36Kb. Enhanced mode gives the best performance, but
it does so at the expense of using more memory.
8.9
Installation is very simple, as CD-Fast is supplied as an application
which installs on the icon bar. Selecting the CD-Fast icon opens a
configuration window which allows the user to select either minimum
memory mode, enhanced memory mode, or switch off CD-Fast altogether.
Whichever mode is set can then be saved to become the default.
8.9
For the ‘techies’, CD-Fast is a relocatable module which is controlled
by a standard WIMP user interface. As this WIMP user interface also
occupies some memory, it is possible to install only the CD-Fast module.
If this is done as part of the boot sequence, the module opens a window
when the computer is booting which tells the user it has installed
successfully and which mode of operation it is using.
8.9
With 10Mb RAM fitted to my Risc PC 600, shortage of memory is not a
problem, so I configured CD-Fast to work in enhanced mode (which the
manufacturer recommends as the standard mode of use). In the best
scientific tradition, I then conducted some short tests on my system,
which consists of a Cumana double-speed SCSI CD-ROM drive and SCSI 2
interface. The results are shown in the left-hand half of the table
below.
8.9
I also tried out CD-Fast on a HCCS Ultimate double-speed IDE CD-ROM
drive. The results are published in the right-hand half of the table
below.
8.9
As can be seen, the increase in access speed for IDE is very
significant! They certainly confirm Eesox’s own claims that enhanced
mode can bring about a 31% − 44% increase in performance. Even a 21%
decrease in the time taken to open the root directory window of a photo
CD, using the SCSI drive, is quite impressive.
8.9
Indeed, the only fly in the ointment, in my IDE tests, was the Photo CD.
This is a ‘gold’ multi-session CD which contains 28 of my own
photographic images. The times it threw up were extremely inconsistent
whether CD-Fast was used or not. The 87% increase shown above in the IDE
table is therefore highly suspect. I also fully accept that one person
when using a stopwatch to clock times as short as 1 − 2 seconds must
produce times which are not very accurate. However, I do feel that these
times are representative of what can be achieved, and are very
significant, as they prove beyond any doubt that CD-Fast works.
8.9
Conclusion
8.9
Although beginning this review from a position of some cynicism, I must
now eat humble pie! Not only does CD-Fast work but it works extremely
effectively. It is now installed in my computer when the system boots
and I wouldn’t be without it.
8.9
A site licence for CD-Fast is also available, as is a multi-user version
for networks called NetCDFast. Contact Eesox for more information.
8.9
CD-Fast costs£25 +£2 p&p +VAT from Eesox, or £30 through Archive u
8.9

8.9
Electronic Books and PaperOut
8.9
Jochen Konietzko
8.9
The market for electronic books seems definitely about to take off − at
least that was the impression one could get at this year’s Frankfurter
Buchmesse (Frankfurt book show − the largest of its kind in the world),
where CDs were presented in Hall 1.
8.9
Electronic books differ from the well known Multimedia CDs, like
Compton’s Interactive Encyclopaedia, in two ways:
8.9
u Rather than on a “naked” 12 cm CD, they are issued on a smaller 8 cm
CD which is housed in a caddy similar to an MO disc or a floppy.
8.9
u The emphasis is definitely on text; pictures and sound are there, but
no animations.
8.9
To read such a book, it is not necessary to buy a Sony Data DiscMan for
which they were originally developed. Any computer with a CD-ROM drive −
and the right software − can process these discs.
8.9
Acorns, PCs and others
8.9
The Tools company in Bonn, Germany, has published a reader for
electronic books called PaperOut (distributed in Britain by Cumana).
There are versions for MacOS, NeXTSTEP, SunOS, Windows, and − last but
by no means least − RISC OS (2 or higher).
8.9
The price for the Acorn version is £49.95 +VAT (£57 from Archive).
8.9
PaperOut can access electronic books on any media, from CDs through
floppies to databases on the Internet.
8.9
The package
8.9
PaperOut comes in what looks like a VHS video cassette case, shrunk to
paperback size. Inside this is a DD floppy disc, accompanied by a small
slip of paper describing the basics − how to get the CD out of its caddy
and how to install the software. The disc contains PaperOut itself, some
drivers for Cumana’s CD-ROM drives, the contents of the leaflet as a
text file and a very extensive online help in the form of an EB, plus a
second EB with a list of  available electronic books (about 150).
8.9
Installation
8.9
You simply drag PaperOut to the desired place on your hard disc and then
a double click will put the usual icon onto the icon bar.
8.9
From this point onwards, things may well get a bit rough. The review
copy I received from Cumana (version 2.1b, 24-Aug-94) came together with
“The Hutchinson Guide to the World” (more about that later); I took out
the CD, put it into the adapter ring (£4 through Archive) for my CD-ROM
drive (Toshiba 3401TA with the cached Morley podule − software revision
1.17, CDFS 2.21) and had PaperOut mount the disc. The drive’s light
flashed for about four minutes, then I received a number of error
messages which basically told me that the disc’s format was not
understood.
8.9
Phone calls to Morley and Tools showed that Morley indeed have not
(yet?) incorporated support for electronic books in their software, and
that there is a newer version of PaperOut (2.1d, 14-Dec-94) which can
supplement the CD-ROM drive’s own drivers.
8.9
Tools promised to send the new version straight away.
8.9
This they did, and the new version works without a hitch. (I usually get
an error message like “Target area − check condition” when I mount the
CD, but this has no apparent consequences.)
8.9
Moving through a book
8.9
Once a text has been loaded, you can scroll through it in various ways;
with the mouse and the scroll bar, or with a number of keys − the cursor
keys and PageUp/PageDown, together with Shift and Ctrl, allow every
possible move. As an example, you can move up/down one page with PageUp/
Down or Cursor left/right or Shift-Cursor up/down.
8.9
Some words are highlighted (in the default setting in dark blue, but
this, like the fonts and font sizes used, can be changed at will). These
highlights mark cross references, either to other text passages, or to
pictures or sound samples. Once you have followed one of these
references far enough, the backspace key (or clicking on an icon) will
bring you safely back to your starting point.
8.9
The Acorn version makes use of adjust-clicking, the idea being that only
if you follow the various references with select-clicks, will every new
article appear in its own window.
8.9
Looking for information
8.9
The program offers several search methods:
8.9
u Menu Search − the table of contents of an EB is arranged in the form
of menus with various submenus for chapters, sub-chapters and
paragraphs.
8.9
u Word/end-word search − important expressions are printed in bold
typeface; word search and end-word searches allow you to look for them,
and for chapter headings, by typing in the first or the last few letters
of these words. The result is a list of the paragraphs containing those
words.
8.9
u Keyword search − this is a full text search where you can look for any
word contained in the text of a volume. This yields a list of paragraphs
containing this word.
8.9
u Consultation/graphic search − this is the rather grand name for the
fact that both text and graphics can contain hyperlinks, and clicking on
them will move you straight to the referenced subject.
8.9
u Multi-search − here you can enter up to four words which will be
searched for at the same time.
8.9
Most electronic books contain only some of those search options.
8.9
Data Export
8.9
Both words and pictures can easily be exported in Text / Sprite format
but there is no option for WYSIWYG printing of text passages.
8.9
The Hutchinson Guide to the World
8.9
This EB was supplied by Cumana for my review.
8.9
Mounting the disc opens this window:
8.9
First of all, I tried to find ‘Norwich’.
8.9
Looking for the keyword ‘Norwich’ brought up four articles: East Anglia,
England, Norfolk and Norwich.
8.9
This is the article on Norwich itself:
8.9
A menu search was not possible because my version of the CD has a bug −
clicking on the volume “Cities, Regions, ...” leads instead to the menu
for  “Travel quotes”.
8.9
The maps in this book are miserable little things (see above), allowing
no graphic search.
8.9
Contents of the disc:
8.9
u Volume 1 (Countries) contains a statistical section, similar to the
CIA fact book, (for the UK: 5752 bytes), background articles (UK: 20292
bytes) and small maps (UK: see above)
8.9
u Volume 2 (Cities) contains short articles like the one on Norwich
above; due to the bug mentioned above, getting an overview was rather
difficult, so I just did a few word searches. There are, for example,
339 entries starting with “A”. Large regions are covered in longer
articles; England was granted 7596 bytes.
8.9
u Volume 3 (Quotes) contains gems like “Oxford − one of the supreme
gratifications of travel, the perfect prose of Gothic.” Henry James,
English Hours 1905.
8.9
u Volume 4 (Earth data) is made up of tables − from the Beaufort and
Richter scales to Famous Gold Rushes.
8.9
Some other electronic books
8.9
To show the areas covered so far by electronic books, here are a few of
the titles listed by PaperOut (just a small excerpt from the first part
of the list, up to the letter C):
8.9
u 2020 Vision: Transform Your Business Today to Succeed in Tomorrow’s
Economy
8.9
u 4000 Questions de Culture Générale
8.9
u AA Hotels and Restaurants in Britain and Ireland
8.9
u American Heritage Electronic Dictionary & Roget’s II Electronic
Thesaurus (200,000 words / 40,000 words with 500,000 synonyms)
8.9
u Berlitz Business Traveller
8.9
u Bluffer’s Guide to High Society
8.9
u Call of the Wild by Jack London
8.9
u Chambers Science & Technology Library
8.9
u Chronik des 20. Jahrhunderts mit Personenlexikon
8.9
u Cronologia de los Descubrimientos (descubrimientos = discoveries)
8.9
u CIA World Fact Book
8.9
u Compton’s Concise Encyclopedia (contains the 26 volume encyclopaedia)
8.9
A number of electronic books are available through Archive at £43 each.
8.9
Electronic books vs. multimedia CDs
8.9
I had the opportunity to browse through the German “Bertelsmann
Universallexikon”, which is available in both formats. The comparison is
as follows:
8.9
The text items were identical, except that the EB contained slightly
more of them. (Possibly, the search routines are just organised
differently, but keyword searches on words like ‘England’ or ‘Germany’
always came up with a slightly higher number of finds in the EB.)
Pictures and sound samples were also identical; the quality of the
photos in the EB was bad, but this need not be so; another EB I have
seen (about the Solar System) contains spectacular colour photos of the
planets and their moons. Sound samples range from pieces of music,
through bird calls, to passages from important speeches.
8.9
The EB does not contain any animations; on the other hand, getting
started (from the moment you insert the CD to the moment the first text
you are looking for appears on the screen) is rather faster with the EB.
8.9
On the whole, I found the multimedia CD more fun, the EB more effective.
8.9
Niggle
8.9
There is just one thing I don’t like about PaperOut. Keywords (in full
text search) are usually hidden somewhere in an article. PaperOut does
not  highlight them in any way, and so they tend to be hard to find; in
contrast, on all multimedia CDs I have so far seen, words found are
shown inverted in the same way as in Edit or Impression.
8.9
Conclusion
8.9
For people serious about data retrieval, PaperOut is a useful product.
Electronic books are not as flashy as multimedia encyclopaedias, but −
if only because there are no disc-space-guzzling animations − facts are
quite easy to find. PaperOut is recommended.
8.9
The Hutchinson CD − without the bug mentioned − is an excellent source
for data concerning the various countries of the world. Do make certain,
though, that the disc you buy is an upgraded, bug-free version. u
8.9

8.9
Norwich
8.9
Cathedral city in Norfolk, E England; population (1991) 121,000.
8.9
Industries include shoes, clothing, chemicals, confectionery,
engineering, and printing. It has a Norman castle (with a collection of
paintings by the Norwich school; Cotman and Crome); 15th-century
Guildhall, medieval churches, Tudor houses, Georgian Assembly House. The
University of East Anglia 1963 has the Sainsbury Art Centre for Visual
Arts on its campus. The Sainsbury Laboratory 1987, in association with
the John Innes Institute, was founded to study the molecular causes of
disease.
8.9

Products Available
8.10
Acorn PC cards − Acorn say that they have now distributed all of the
first 10,000 Risc PC 486 PCcards and that there won’t be any more
available now until August. If you are still waiting for one, the only
option we can offer is to supply an Aleph One version at cost. The DX40
is £406 and the DX2-66 is £466 (i.e. £290 and £350 respectively if you
have already paid for your Acorn card), but this does NOT include a copy
of DOS. (N.B. We can only sell at this price to those already on the
waiting list.)
8.10
Ancestry II − Minerva have updated Ancestry, based on feedback from
users. Features of particular interest are import and export of GedCom
data, variable field lengths and linking of text files. Ancestry II is
also fully multitasking. The price is £99.95 inc VAT or £95 through
Archive. Registered users of Ancestry should have received details of a
special upgrade offer.
8.10
Bell-ringing simulator − John Harrison has developed a program called
Strike which is designed to help develop bell-ringing listening skills −
basically a self-teaching aid for bell ringers presented in the form of
a game. This costs £15 inclusive from John, and £10 of that goes to
restoration work. You’ve heard of shareware, freeware and careware,
well, this is belfryware! Send cheques to John at 2 Murdoch Road,
Wokingham, RG40 2DA.
8.10
CD-ROM Mastering − Eesox are continuing to offer a CD-ROM mastering
service, costing £60 +VAT. Data can be submitted on 650Mb
magneto-optical disc, or SCSI or IDE hard disc. Most jobs can be turned
around within 24 hours. As an added incentive, anyone purchasing an
Eesox CD-ROM drive will receive a voucher giving a 50% discount on the
production of a CD-ROM.
8.10
Celebration − A collection from Clares Micro Supplies of four
applications on the theme of celebrations. Banner can be used to create
both horizontal and vertical display banners using outline fonts, draw
and sprite files. Calendar is designed for monthly or yearly calendars −
a number of formats and languages can be used. Certify will produce
personalised certificates with the names being entered individually or
from a text file for multiple names. Giftwrap allows the creation of
wrapping paper, as well as other pattern creation and textile design.
A single user version costs £34.95 including VAT. A site-licence,
covering an unlimited number of machines within the named site is
available for £82.25 inclusive.
8.10
Cine Works − Oregan Developments have produced a sophisticated 32-track
video mixing and editing studio, combined with 16-track audio
capabilities. Video clips may be mixed together using a variety of
transitions which are typically found in professional video editing
environments. Transitions range from standard wipes and fades, to more
adventurous central zooms and mosaic cuts. Full vision correction
controls are provided so that Replay and MPEG clips may have their
brightness, colour and contrast adjusted at any time after they have
been captured, and even varied throughout the clip. The price from
Oregan Developments is £159.95 inclusive or £152 through Archive.
8.10
Composition − This is a new art package for the Risc PC which enables
object-based operations to be carried out on bit map images. Each image
is treated as an object and effects applied appropriately. Features
include image processing options, tints, shadowing, gamma and colour
curve correction, sprite trimming, mask editing, rescaling and
distortion, OLE of sprites to other applications, fully adaptive
anti-aliasing of text using outline fonts, import of sprites, clear,
JPEG, TIFF, TGA, PCX, PBM, BMP, PhotoCD, Draw and Artworks files, export
of Composition format (retaining effects and features) or sprite, JPEG,
Clear, TGA or PBM formats. The price from Clares is £169.95 including
VAT (or £158 through Archive) and special offers are available for users
of ProArt24, and other art packages − contact Clares for details.
8.10
Digital Darkroom − A new company, based in Kent, the Digital Darkroom
offers a conversion service for Acorn Computers. Colour slides or
negatives can be produced from sprites and drawfiles images − especially
useful for presentations. A single slide costs £7.50, but orders for
larger quantities will be considerably lower (20 or more will cost no
more than £3.50 per slide). Regular users will also be offered a
preferential rate. Documents, film and video taped images can also be
transferred to Acorn format files. Quality of such images will be
dependent upon the source quality.
8.10
Digital Symphony Masterpieces
8.10
Collection − We mentioned this CD-ROM last month but, unfortunately, got
the price wrong. It costs £24.95 inclusive from Oregan Developments or
£24 through Archive.
8.10
DTP book − Following the success of Robin Williams’ book on DTP design
(“The Non-Designer’s Design Book”) we got hold of a copy of “The Mac is
not a Typewriter” to which she refers several times in NDDB. Although,
as the title suggest, the book is aimed at the Mac market, there is very
little that is different on the Acorn machines, and I have prepared a
supplement sheet to go with it so that it can be used for those using
Acorn machines for DTP. Here’s what the official blurb about it says...
8.10
“The Mac is not a Typewriter” by Robin Williams is one of the most
popular Mac books ever sold (over 300,000 now in print). It covers the
top twenty things you need to know to make your documents look clean and
professional: em dashes, curly quotes, spaces and indents, white spaces,
etc. It’s a primer that novices can pick up quickly, and that pro’s can
keep going back to. It is the winner of the 1991 Benjamin Franklin
Award, Computer Book Category.
8.10
My view, for what it is worth, is that it’s another excellent book by
Robin Williams. I have to admit that it it can’t compare with NDDB in
terms of value for money (£10 including p&p through Archive cf £13 for
NDDB) but, to be fair, NDDB is exceptional. So I would still say that
The Mac is not a Typewriter is well worth the cost and, to support my
claim, I will again make the same offer of a complete money-back
guarantee if it is returned within 14 days. I know I’m on a winner there
because, out of the hundreds of copies of NDDB we have sold, we haven’t
had a single one returned.
8.10
Graphing and Charting − As mentioned in last month’s !Help column, Chris
Johnson has released his collection of graph and function plotting
applications. The applications are Graphdraw, ChartDraw, Multiplot,
FnPlotter, Surface, 3DFnEdit and Text>Draw. The price is £4 inclusive,
direct from Chris Johnson, 7 Lovedale Grove, Balerno, Edinburgh, EH14
7DR.
8.10
iSV Product Guide − iSV have produced issue 3 of their product guide,
containing details and samples of nearly 600 RISC OS 3 fonts, along with
information regarding their software products. The product guide is free
and a demo disc is available for £2, both direct from iSV.
8.10
NetMail − An extension to Archiboard, this package offers a consistent
WIMP front end to email and news groups within a school. It is designed
to operate over any AUN compliant network, allowing email and conference
articles to be retrieved from the Archiboard server. Due to the
consistent interface, information can be retrieved from Internet,
FidoNet or the local system in the same way, so staff and pupils do not
need to learn separate systems. MIME support is also included, which
allows files to be attached to messages for sending via any of the
networks, although the recipient will need MIME support to extract the
message. (MIME clients are available for most platforms including Mac,
PC and Unix workstations.) Prices start from £80 +VAT + p&p from Supreme
Software Solutions.
8.10
Network Cybernetics VR
8.10
CD-ROM − Lambda Publications can now supply this CD-ROM which holds a
collection of virtual reality, telepresence and computer simulation
development tools. Included are virtual reality development tools and
sources, VR hardware interfacing source code and documentation, VR &
simulation research papers and conference reports, simulation packages
for many different fields of science, simulation development tools and
sources, 3-D modelling utilities, development tools and sources, and a
collection of 3-D object data in several file formats. The CD costs £65
including p&p and is supplied on 30 days evaluation. Existing customers
and Archive readers can purchase it for £45.50.
8.10
Oxford Talking Infant Atlas − Sherston Software have released an updated
version of their Oxford Infant Atlas, aimed at Key Stage 1 Geography.
The software features optional labels for country, places and other
geographical features, quiz questions to ask children to identify
geographic features, sampled human speech for all sentences, place names
and labels, along with animations and sound effects. The price is £20
+VAT for a single user version (or £22 through Archive) and an
accompanying paperback atlas is available from Sherston for £2.80.
8.10
Patience Addict − Creative Curriculum Software have released a
collection of twenty patience games, including one and two pack games,
of varying levels of difficulty and complexity. The single user version
is £12.73 +VAT.
8.10
Plantwise − Sherston Software have produced an interactive graphical
database designed for 9−14 year olds, similar to their earlier database,
Bodywise, with the addition of an interactive experiment section.
Included in the pack are three discs, a set of experiment cards, a set
of question cards, a user guide, and a booklet showing how to use
Plantwise in the classroom. It costs £44.95 +VAT from Sherston Software
or £50 through Archive.
8.10
Purple Software − A range of products from Purple Software is available
now for the Psion series 3 and Acorn Pocket Book range. There are
currently five products: DataView (£59.95), an enhanced database with
table view, sorting, label printing and mail merge; File Manager
(£39.95), for extra control of files, directories and SSD’s; FloChart
(£49.95), a free-form flow chart designer; OrgChart (£49.95), a
free-form organisation chart designer; DrawIt (£49.95) an object-based
drawing package.
8.10
RecordZ − The database section of FireworkZ pro is now available as a
stand-alone database from Colton Software. The price is £99 +VAT or £110
through Archive.
8.10
Report − This is a program for hard-pressed, report-writing teachers. It
has been designed as a tool to speed up the process of writing reports,
by inserting often used phrases and comments into a sentence. The writer
reckons that the whole report-writing process can be speeded up by a
factor of 10. The price is £14.95 for a single user or £29.95 for a site
licence. Until August, there is a special launch price of £9.95 and
£19.95 respectively. A demo version is available for £1 (refundable on
ordering) or by sending a stamped addressed envelope and disc requesting
it. Report is available from: Robert Lytton, 7 Helmsley Drive, West
Park, Leeds, LS16 5HY. (The demo version is on this month’s program
disc.)
8.10
Sibelius showroom − Sibelius 7 now has a dedicated London high-street
showroom at Turnkey, 114-116 Charing Cross Road, WC2H 0DT
(0171-379-5148) (0171-379-0093). The new showroom gives customers the
opportunity to compare Sibelius on the Risc PC with a 486 PC running
Windows software so that they can judge for themselves which is best!
8.10
SOS − Save our Squirrels!! − Denis Bastaple, a former director of
Digital Services Ltd, bought out the rights to Squirrel and other
software when DSL went into voluntary liquidation. Squirrel, Armlock,
Netgain (Econet and Ethernet), Waiter, Digistore and Archway are now all
available from, and fully supported by, DSL Supplies.
8.10
Studio 24 has had some major updates and the new version will be
available very soon. The full price is £199, or £189 through Archive.
The upgrade for existing users will be FOC through Pineapple Software.
8.10
TableMate 3 − Dalriada Data Technology have raised their comprehensive
table-making application to version 3, which incorporates some
worthwhile improvements and is available from Dalriada for £32.50
inclusive. Anyone who bought TableMate 2 on or after 1 March 1995 may
upgrade to version 3 for £2.50, otherwise the upgrade from v2 costs £5.
Send your remittance and original disc to Dalriada. Upgrade from earlier
versions is currently £10-£20, depending on the variant (e.g. as bundled
with Impression). Contact Dalriada for an upgrade price.
8.10
New features include: button bar similar to Style or Publisher, use of
desktop interactive help with button bar, OLE to !Draw, Formulix etc,
simple spreadsheet, right & left justified and centred text, import &
export of CSV files, automatic addition of quotes for headers in CSV
files, vertical ruler, vertical tab (top, middle or bottom of cell),
vertical joining/splitting of cells, multiple rule-offs between columns
and/or rows, reorganised menus, currency character control, £ default,
colour picker RGB, HSV, CMYK, more Impression compatible keystrokes with
the option of using the old TableMate2 ones.
8.10
Technology and Design CD-ROM − NW SEMERC has set up this CD-ROM to make
pupils at Key Stages 2 and 3 think about technology and design in
everyday life. The CD isn’t just confined to the Design and Technology
department, but can be used in Maths, English, Geography and History.
Everything is based on the town of ‘Skegton’, with pupils seeking ways
of improving the daily life of its inhabitants. The Technology and
Design CD-ROM is available from Northwest SEMERC, price £49 +VAT.
8.10
Teletext+ − Octopus Systems, who purchased the remaining stock of Ground
Control Teletext adaptors, have announced a new version of the
controlling software, which incorporates a number of new features.
Frequently used pages are cached on disc, thereby improving response
times. Sub pages are also cached, so you no longer need to wait for the
page you just missed to come round again. Keywords can also be searched
for to find important information automatically; the search can take
place over all pages or just on likely pages, so you can search for a
particular television programme, for example. Pages can be exported as
teletext, sprite or plain text formats. The software upgrade for
existing Ground Control teletext cards is £39, including p&p and VAT. If
you would like the teletext hardware as well as the software, the
package is £165 inclusive, while stocks last.
8.10
TEX and LATEX for RISC OS − A new implementation of the powerful
typesetting language TEX, complete with the latest version of LATEX and
lots of other goodies is now available for RISC OS computers. It has
been ported from the world of Unix by Mark Sinke in Holland, and is
coordinated in this country by Robin Watts at Oxford University. It is
freely available by ftp from ftp.comlab.ox.ac.uk in the directory
/tmp/Robin.Watts/TeX, or from good PD libraries.
8.10
UK Habitats − This new resource CD-ROM from AVP Picturebase gives
details of a number of habitats in the UK. The aim is to give an
understanding of the variety of living things, and of the way they
survive and compete for resources. Habitats covered include Deciduous
Woodland, Urban, Farm Land, Sand Dune, Fresh Water, Salt Marsh, Sand and
Mud, Roadside and Hedgerow. The single user educational price is £99
+VAT or £150 +VAT including a site licence from AVP.
8.10
World Data for primary schools − The Centre for World Development
Education (CWDE) have now released the World Development Database for
use in primary Schools. This is the result of a collaboration with
Sheffield Hallam University who produced the Database Project book
included with the pack. The book includes ideas for data handling in
English, Geography, Mathematics and Science at Key Stage 2. The User
Handbook contains practical information about the datafiles and fields.
The large amount of data in the original version is retained, but a
SlimWorld file has been added with easy-to-understand field names. Acorn
and PC versions are available, with data in KeyPlus/KeyNote (Anglia),
CSV and Text formats for import into most databases. A single user pack
includes a User Handbook, a Database Project book, the World Bank’s
“Development Data Book”, supplemental 1991 Data Sheet and data disc, and
costs £25 +VAT. A class set containing all the above, reproducible data
disc and two extra Data Books, is available for £45 +VAT from CWDE.
8.10
World Habitats − This is another CD-ROM in the AVP Picturebase series,
containing pictures, written text and spoken word, covering the world’s
major habitats. Comparisons can be made by choosing elements from
different modules. Possible uses include covering impact of human
activities on environmental systems, the occurrence and effects of
natural hazards, and the need for management and conservation of fragile
habitats. Habitats included are Mountain, Alpine, Desert, Mediterranean,
Tropical Mountain, Savanna, Polar and Temperate Forest. The single user
educational price is £99 +VAT or £150 +VAT including a site licence from
AVP.
8.10
Review software received...
8.10
We have received review copies of the following: •CineWorks
(pre-release) (m), •Composition (a), •Graphs & Charts (eu), •Report (e),
•Strike (ge),•Textease Templates (u).
8.10
e=Education, b=Business, bk=Book, c=Comms, g=Game, h=Hardware,
l=Language, m=Multimedia, u=Utility, a=Art.
8.10
If you would like to review any of these products, please contact the
Archive office. Potential reviewers will need to show that they would
use the product in a professional capacity or that they have some
knowledge of the particular field. u
8.10
Hardware Jottings
8.10
Brian Cowan
8.10
One of the reasons for the disappearance of my Hardware Column has been
the fact that I am no longer in the forefront of computer technology.
I don’t have a Risc PC and, at present, I have no plans to buy one. I am
certainly very happy with my old Archimedes machines but all recent
purchases have been 486-type PC computers (ugh! I hear you utter). I was
tempted to buy a Risc PC but, with the delay in the appearance of the PC
card, and the still-nonexistent Acorn Internet software, my purchases of
PCs have been well-justified. Just think how embarrassed I would have
been trying to hold up the Acorn banner to my PC and Mac-user
colleagues.
8.10
Although I am happy with my second-generation Aleph One PC podule and
the PD version of Internet software, the latter is certainly no
substitute for the real thing. So I am afraid these jottings will be
concerned with hardware mainly for the old-style ARM computers.
8.10
270Mb SyQuest cartridges
8.10
About a year ago, I rather hesitantly decided to invest in one of the
new 3½" 270Mb SyQuest drives. The old 44Mb 5¼" drives are getting a bit
old and, in any case, 44Mb is rather small by today’s standards. I had a
further reason for trying these drives since I spent last summer abroad,
taking my A4 with me, and I reasoned that a SCSI SyQuest together with
an Atomwide Printer-SCSI dongle was the best answer to mass storage.
What I really wanted was access to all the software on the hard discs of
my computer at home and those at work.
8.10
Power requirements
8.10
I initially thought about powering the SyQuest from the A4. The drive
specification stated that it required a little over one amp from the 5
volt supply which I decided was too much for the poor A4’s battery. And
a little research showed that, in quiescent mode, the drive drew some
700mA. So I decided that for use with the A4, an external power supply
was called for. (I determined that the power could not be obtained from
the A4’s mains power supply.)
8.10
Disaster
8.10
This was all a great success. In particular, the printer-SCSI dongle
worked like a dream. For some two weeks, I used my A4 extensively for my
writing work, using the SyQuest, when required, powered from an external
5volt supply. However, all I had been doing was to read from the
SyQuest.
8.10
At the end of two weeks, I wisely(?) decided to back-up the A4’s meagre
40Mb hard disc to the SyQuest. Disaster!!! The SyQuest went berserk, its
access light flashing on and off, with the mechanism clicking wildly.
After resetting the machine, I discovered that I had trashed the disc,
although I could still read from the second cartridge I had brought with
me. I tried to back up to it and trashed that one as well.
8.10
As you can imagine, I was feeling pretty sick, although I had not lost
anything irreplaceable. So long as I did not need anything that had been
on the discs, I was OK. So I left the SyQuest alone until my return
home.
8.10
Problem solved
8.10
I had plenty of time to muse on my misfortune and eventually things fell
into place. The power supply was supposed to deliver a maximum of 1.2
amps. So when the head was moving, when maximum current is drawn, the
supply was operating at its limit. Maybe it could not cope with the
load. At home, I tried a more beefy power supply (actually, I pinched
the 5volts from the A540) and the drive spun up OK and I was able to
reformat the discs with no problem. After that, reading and writing them
was no problem. The moral of the story is that although the newer
SyQuests have relatively modest power requirements, you stint at your
peril.
8.10
Second problem...
8.10
The next problem was rather strange. The SyQuest was mounted in an old
3½" disc drive case which used to hold a drive for a BBC. There was a
SCSI connector to attach to the computer’s SCSI bus and a power lead
which plugged into a socket connected to the computer for the 5 volt
supply. I discovered that, after disconnecting and reconnecting the
drive, it would not work. It seemed completely dead! Once again, I was
feeling rather sick. So I left the drive and continued using the big
44Mb ones. A few days later, I decided to try the 270Mb drive and
I found it was functioning perfectly. The same problem occurred on a
number of subsequent occasions. I gather other people have also observed
this. The usual observation is “sometimes the SyQuest seems dead”.
8.10
...and explanation
8.10
Here again, eventually the penny dropped. The problem was some sort of
static paralysis (rather like what sometimes happens with dongles). No
permanent damage is done. I should add that with permanently installed
drives, as I now have, there are no such problems.
8.10
Permanent installation
8.10
On the A5000 machines, there is space for a second 3½" drive below the
existing one. It is possible to install a second 3½" drive in the older
machines, but only if you don’t have a second hard disc drive. As my
home A540 has two hard drives stacked to the left of the floppy, there
is certainly no room for the SyQuest to be mounted internally. Or is
there? On careful measuring I discovered that you could mount a 3½"
drive above or below the existing floppy if both are mounted
horizontally. In other words the floppy is no longer sloping at an
angle.
8.10
Plastic surgery
8.10
I removed the dark beige part of the front plastic housing and enlarged
the hole above and below the floppy drive. Then I removed the floppy
drive from its metal cradle and drilled new holes so that the SyQuest
sat below, and the floppy above, in the cradle. Everything was screwed
together and it has been functioning ever since − without the beige
front moulding. Well almost! Actually, when everything was assembled and
switched on, the SyQuest did not work. But this was just the static
paralysis after all the handling during mounting. After waiting a few
hours it did work and it has functioned perfectly ever since − some nine
months. My computer at work has the external SyQuest, powered from the
computer. Without interfering with the connections, that also has
functioned without difficulty.
8.10
Auto eject
8.10
Readers might recall that I am a devotee of the Oak SCSI interfaces.
Incidentally, these are now no longer sold by Oak, but they can be
purchased from IFEL. These interfaces provide an option, really for CD
ROMs, for automatic eject upon dismounting the disc. I discovered that
this also works with the 3½" SyQuests (not the 5¼" ones). When you
configure the interface’s CMOS RAM you simply reply “Yes” to the prompt
“Eject on dismount”. I find this a very convenient feature. (Nice one,
Brian! Thanks for that! Ed.)
8.10
High density floppies
8.10
Most PC software these days comes on 1.44Mb floppies. I originally
purchased an Arxe systems combined SCSI and high density floppy
controller. This was good because it provided two functions in a single
podule. Eventually, I returned this card because of problems with the
SCSI part. Also, the floppy implementation was a bit clumsy, with its
own high density filing system, although it did operate OK with the PC
card.
8.10
When I decided I had to have a high density floppy, I discovered that
the Arxe card was no longer available and I kicked myself for returning
the one I had. The alternative was the Beebug high density interface.
With my experience of the Arxe, I ordered the Beebug interface with
trepidation. It arrived and installation was painless. (I was able to
purchase a high density drive that was significantly cheaper than the
one Beebug had on offer.) Upon switching on, I observed nothing unusual
− no new drive icons or anything. This is as it should be. The high
density drive, which replaces the old one, is integrated into RISC OS
and it is just as if you had an A5000. Also, access from the PC card is
transparent. My only complaint is that the system uses up a valuable
podule slot.
8.10
Cheap(ish) scanner
8.10
Another hardware purchase of mine has been a scanner. I chose a Mustek
Paragon scanner which I found advertised quite cheaply in the PC press.
Actually, it is quite a bargain since it comes complete with a PC SCSI
interface and retouching and OCR software. Unfortunately, I could not
get it to work with the Oak SCSI interface.
8.10
I had purchased David Pilling’s ImageMaster and Twain interface software
to drive the scanner. Over email, David was most helpful and it was he
who suggested I try another SCSI interface. Thanks David. I discovered
that everything worked perfectly using an Acorn SCSI interface. So the
scanner is connected to a different machine. Not the same one as the
LaserDirect, so I can’t use the “photocopy” option. I am absolutely
delighted with the results. The ImageMaster program is a delight to use,
and it is a pleasant surprise to find software which automatically
configures its SCSI settings.
8.10
The scanner has been used for such unusual things as scanning printed
circuit boards and PCB masters, as well as the usual scanning of
pictures and text. With a scanned PCB, with tracks changed to a colour
such as orange, it is a rather quick process to trace over in Draw
locked to a 0.1" grid to produce new masters. We need to do this since
we have changed from a negative to a positive process, and it also
provides an opportunity to modify old circuits.
8.10
Optical Character Recognition
8.10
Scanned text has been converted to machine-readable-form with Sleuth
OCR. This also has been remarkably successful, as long as there are not
too many scientific symbols. As well as providing the text in ASCII
form, Sleuth has the facility to provide “style” information: bold,
italic, large text, etc. It does this by exporting in RTF (Rich Text
Format) − the document interchange format used by Microsoft’s Word for
Windows. However, the standard (such as it is) seems to be gaining
popularity, with more programs supporting it. Impression now has very
good RTF loaders and savers and the new version of Ovation will support
RTF. Colton’s Wordz and Fireworkz also claim to have RTF facilities.
I have used Sleuth RTF output to import into Impression and the results
are quite staggering.
8.10
Colour Card Gold
8.10
Having spent most of this article telling you that while remaining
firmly rooted in the past, I have endeavoured to bring some of my
machines up to date, I suppose I should finish by talking about graphics
display and Computer Concept’s Colour Card Gold. I don’t particularly
want millions or even thousands of colours. What I do want is good
screen resolution and no screen flicker. My colour card provides this on
my Eizo 9070 monitor to perfection. I think I have explained before that
there is software available to create your own colour card modes,
although it is rather complex to use (at least I found it so!). However,
with perseverance, I have created a 1024×768 square pixel mode with
sixteen colours. This has a non-flickering refresh rate of 65Hz. The
display is crystal clear and, as a bonus, there is no CPU speed
degradation. For this alone, the colour card is worth every penny.
However, for use with the PC card’s programmable display facilities,
I have created an 800×600 square pixel mode of 256 colours for a really
good Super VGA display in Windows. This also has the position adjusted
so that the picture stays centred on the screen when the mode is
changed. u
8.10
Acorn World 95
8.10
Beverley Adams
8.10
Beverley Adams from Acorn Computers lets us in on what’s in store at
Acorn World 95...
8.10
Great fun, entertaining and educational... is the only way to describe
this unique event!
8.10
All that’s best and new in home and educational computing from Acorn and
over 100 other exhibitors, plus the chance to explore the Information
Superhighway, the emerging technology set to revolutionise the way we
all communicate.
8.10
It’s hi-fun as much as hi-tech, and there’s something for everyone − all
under one roof at Wembley from 27 to 29 October.
8.10
Technology City is the hub of the show. It’s the place to preview the
latest Acorn technologies and products, get into cyberspace, and find
unrepeatable Acorn show offers.
8.10
But it’s not all for the experts: The Friendly Face of IT is a special
area of the event packed with advice and help for those just starting
out.
8.10
For parents
8.10
...with younger children − the free, colourful, toy-packed creche,
leaves you free to meet educational experts, and look at and try out
products specially developed for early learning.
8.10
...with computer whizz kids − Acorn World 95 is an ideal venue, they get
into cyberspace, while you broaden your knowledge and develop an
up-to-date understanding of the important role of IT in school, linked
with home and business.
8.10
For children
8.10
A games arcade running the latest tests of skill, the Cyber Cafe where
you can “Surf the Internet” and browse the Blue Peter World Wide Web
pages, competitions with prizes, face-painting, jugglers, magicians and
lots more.
8.10
For educationalists
8.10
Topical theatre discussion on issues of the day, the latest in
portability, multimedia techniques, and in educational hardware and
software, with many exhibitors timing the launch of new products for the
event.
8.10
For experts and enthusiasts
8.10
A chance to preview Acorn prototypes and the latest new products due for
launch during the final quarter of ’95, plus a special technology
seminar for Clan Acorn members.
8.10
And for everyone
8.10
See a demonstration of the Set-Top Box technology from Acorn’s Online
Media division which is leading the way in the rapidly developing global
marketplace for integrated home services − TV banking, shopping, video
and educational programs, news services and networked games, all from
your armchair at the press of a button!
8.10
Plus
8.10
u The Multimedia Gallery
8.10
u Special training sessions
8.10
u Topical theatre presentations − the Information Superhighway and a
variety of other topics
8.10
u Advice Centre − no question they can’t answer!
8.10
u Special Education Conference 27th October at Wembley − a must for
parents and teachers of children with special needs
8.10
So take a step on the highway to the future, book advance tickets now
and save £££’s, plus it entitles you to a special P&O cross-Channel
offer.
8.10
Take 10 children or more, and your ticket is free.
8.10
Advance ticket and information hotline: [phone].
8.10
Ticket type    on the day price    advance price    saving
8.10
adults    £6    £5    16%
8.10
children    £5    £4    20%
8.10
family    £20    £16    20%
8.10
   ‘Family’ = 2 adults + 2 children
8.10
Make cheques payable to Acorn Direct, and send them to Acorn Direct, 13
Dennington Road, Wellingborough, Northants NN8 2RL. u
8.10
Hints and Tips
8.10
Debugging via the Serial Port − (Unfortunately, we had problems
importing the text into Impression when we put this hint in last month’s
magazine. Sorry for any confusion that we caused − it was our fault and
not John West’s! The correct version is as follows...)
8.10
The os_cli line makes use of the system redirection to send the text to
the serial port, and so it should have read:
8.10
os_cli(“echo Start of initialise()
8.10
{ > serial: }”);
8.10
More details of redirection can be found on page 419 of the RISC OS 3
User Guide. The new Acorn C/C++ does not support os_cli, so you should
use _kernel_oscli instead.
8.10
From Basic, the OSCLI command is the direct equivalent.
8.10
OSCLI “echo Start of PROC_init
8.10
 { > serial: }”
8.10
John West, Surrey
8.10
Disc protection − Of the 100+ readers’ floppy discs I’ve processed over
the last few months, there was a fair smattering of broken cases,
mangled sliders and disc errors. In every case, the defective discs had
been sent in paper envelopes without further protection from the rough
and tumble of Her Majesty’s mails. This prompts me to repeat Ed’s
recommendation of many moons ago that it is well worthwhile giving your
discs adequate protection in the post. Jiffy bags or board-backed
envelopes cost only a few pence from stationers and, provided any
covering documentation is limited to a couple of pages, you are unlikely
to exceed the 60g limit for 19p/25p postage.
8.10
Jim Nottingham, Pocklington
8.10
Impression borders − The built-in borders in Impression provide ¼ point,
1 point and 4 point thick black borders (numbers 1, 2 & 3), but how do
you get a 5 point border? There is no way for the user to specify the
thickness and, also, the lines don’t join properly at the corners, as
you can see...
8.10

8.10
Here is a simple way to make your own line borders using Draw:
8.10
Create a new Draw document and set the zoom to 8:1. Show the grid and
lock to it. Set the grid spacing to 0.125 inches with 9 subdivisions −
since one point equals 1/72 inch, each subdivision is one point. For a 5
point line make a rectangle 5 squares wide and about 30 squares deep. To
make the corners square, you need to make a 5 by 5 square immediately
above the rectangle.
8.10
Finally, set the fill colour of both to black and the line colour to
none and save the file in your border directory.
8.10
You can also make curved or bevelled joins by changing the corner square
into a sector or a triangle.
8.10
To get half point thicknesses, you need to set the number of
subdivisions to 18.
8.10
Unfortunately, the 8:1 maximum zoom in Draw is too small to do quarter
point lines directly, so you need to construct them double size and then
“magnify” them by 0.5, or else use Artworks with a 4000% magnification.
On the monthly disc is a selection of plain rectangular borders from ¼
point to 6 point thickness.
8.10
The only remaining problem is that Impression puts the borders around
the outside of the frame so, with thick borders, you can’t use the “snap
to frames” feature to get your alignment right when the frames have
different borders, as you can see from the frame opposite.
8.10
Cain Hunt, Cambridge
8.10
Mouseballs − Logitech mice sometimes begin to slip when a glassy film of
material builds up around the periphery of the rollers which contact the
mouse ball. This can be as little as 0.5mm wide but is very tenacious.
Using a piece of metal or wood to dislodge the material can easily
damage the rollers. With a bit of patience it can be softened using
isopropyl alcohol on a cotton bud. Lint free cloth is even better. This
takes a few minutes of gentle rubbing to do the trick. One of the
rollers is spring loaded and is a little more difficult. A clean cotton
bud holding a little IPA can be used to rub around the mouse ball to
remove the stickiness. If an Archive type mat is used, a gentle wash
with warm water and detergent will delay the problem recurring.
Everything has to be completely dry before reassembly.
8.10
Les May, Rochdale u
8.10
Puzzle Corner
8.10
Colin Singleton
8.10
Interest seems to be picking up, so I will stick with this format for a
while. Contributions, particularly for Quickies, would be appreciated.
8.10
(13) Multiple Shifts
8.10
Several readers suggested variations on this puzzle. If leading zeros
are permitted, solutions can be found for multiples greater than nine.
The technique I outlined last month (among others) will work. The
problem can also be extended to involve shifts of more than a single
digit. Readers with long memories may recall that this was my
number-crunching competition in Archive 4.3.
8.10
Cornelia Rösch also investigated numbers which are multiples of their
reversals, and noted the near miss 12345679 × 8  = 98765432. She could
have added 123456789 × 8 = 987654312. Indeed, if you multiply 123456789
by each of the numbers 1−80, 33 of the products are pan-digital. There
is scope here for considerable time-wasting, for man and machine. The
prize goes to Richard Lyszkowski, of Bridge of Allan, Stirlingshire, one
of a number of readers who listed all non-repetitive solutions without
leading zeros.
8.10
(14) Very Acute
8.10
Several readers found solutions with ten triangles, but no-one matched
my eight-triangle solution. The most popular solution was the left-hand
one, below. The winner is Graham Jones of Durness, Sutherland, the only
reader who found any other solution. His dissections are shown, centre
and right.
8.10
(16, 17) Roots & Knockout
8.10
Several readers solved these non-prize puzzles. From now on, quickies
will earn small prizes − provided there are enough entries.
8.10
(18) No Progress
8.10
Lists of 4×N numbers appear to be the only ones with unique minimum
solutions, though I haven’t managed to prove this. In the table below,
the first three columns contain the number of numbers in the list, the
minimum value of the largest number, and the number of such solutions. A
specimen solution is given for each length of list.
8.10
(19)  Waterfall?
8.10
Yes, the water level does fall. Overboard, the brick displaces its own
volume of water. In the boat, it displaces its own weight of water − a
larger volume.
8.10
(20) Till Death Us Do Part
8.10
Let Smith’s chance of winning the duel be S. His chance of winning with
his first shot is 1/3. His chance of failing with that shot, and
surviving Jones’ first shot is 2/3×1/2. His chance of winning the duel
must then be the same as it was at the start. Hence S =
1/3 + 2/3×1/2×S. Hence S = ½, and the duel is an even match.
8.10
(21) Loony Post
8.10
If the stamp values are X and Y (which must have no common factor), then
the number of impossible postage values is ½(X−1)(Y−1). The only values
of X and Y which give exactly 38 impossible values are 2 and 77, so
these are the Loony stamp values.
8.10
(22) Differences
8.10
This month’s Prize Puzzle. Select four positive integers at random, e.g.
32  67  62  11. Now calculate the absolute differences between adjacent
numbers, in this case 35  5  51  21 (the last of these is the difference
between the last and first in the original list). Again − 30  46  30
14. And again − 16  16  16  16. And finally − 0  0  0  0. This example
produces all zeros in just four operation cycles. Try a few more random
selections − most produce zeros in four cycles, some six, rarely more.
The problem is to find four numbers each less than one million which
require the largest possible number of cycles to produce all zeros.
8.10
The second prize will be awarded to the best trio of solutions to the
following Quickies (23−25).
8.10
(23) Similarities
8.10
Two similar triangles with integral sides have two side-lengths in
common. Their third sides differ by 387. What are the lengths of the
sides?
8.10
(24) Rhymes
8.10
Many English words pronounced “~shun” end in ~tion. How many can you
find which are spelled ~shion? And how many English words rhyme with
month?
8.10
(25) Pythagorean Fractions
8.10
We are all acquainted with the Pythagorean equation X² + Y² = Z², for
which the simplest integer solution is 3² + 4² = 5². But what is the
simplest integer solution to 1/X² + 1/Y² = 1/Z² ?
8.10
Comments and Solutions
8.10
Please send comments, contributions and solutions to me at 41 St Quentin
Drive, Sheffield, S17 4PN. Solutions by Friday 7th July, please. u
8.10
Comment Column
8.10
BBC bits (where NOT to send them) − In a small ad in Archive 8.5, we
mentioned an organisation called “Family Missions” in Shipley as being a
suitable recipient of any spare BBC stuff. Unfortunately, it seems that
this may NOT, in fact, be terribly suitable. They have disappeared to
“somewhere down South”.
8.10
Please therefore only send BBC software and hardware to NCS marked “For
Charity”.
8.10
Ed.
8.10
BJ200 + Turbo Driver problems? − (8.9 p50) Computer Concepts have
produced a new version of the main disc with the ‘PrintDefns’ directory
dated 21 Mar 1995. In it is a new ‘BJ200’ printer definition file (dated
07 Mar 1995) which is now OK. The accompanying letter says the disc
‘contains the latest beta release of the software and will probably
become the next full release version’.
8.10
I haven’t investigated the full equivalences used but I do note that the
mapping for characters above &FF is different from the Acorn ‘standard’
Epson printer mappings. I assume that they are correct for the Canon
BJ200 when set up in the ‘Epson Italics Character Set’ mode. However,
I have not tested this.
8.10
John Wallace, Crawley
8.10
CD hell − My college uses both IBM compatibles and Acorn computers. The
library, which makes extensive use of CDs, has opted to be exclusively
IBM. You borrow your CD and put it in a drive local to the computer.
8.10
The arrival of a new CD is a time of distress for the computing
department. The director of computing and our technician (an IBM
specialist) have been known to hide from the librarian. I try to look
blank and to pretend I have no understanding of IBMs (it’s a bit
worrying that this deceit is so readily believed). The trouble with the
library’s CDs is that each one take ages to install, and each one
requires special machine configurations which conflict with the use of
other CDs. Some CDs seem to take weeks to get going.
8.10
Our technician, an IBM specialist who is rapidly becoming an Acorn
enthusiast, was taken aback when I first set up the application
accelerator software to export CDs on an Acorn system. It was so quick
and easy. Run the AA server software, drag a CD onto it, and instantly
any station running the application accelerator software can access it.
For native Acorn CDs, that was all I had to do.
8.10
A student even brought in an Amiga cover CD. Could he get JPEG files
from the CD on to a disc his Amiga could read? Easy − it took about five
seconds to set up, and a few seconds later, the first graphic was over
the network and there on the screen of a Risc PC.
8.10
If in college we costed the support for IBM compatibles and Acorn
computers separately, I think it would be obvious that IBMs cost much
more. Yet I still hear arguments about the relative costs of these
systems, only considering the base cost of the machine.
8.10
Robert Chrismas, Gosport
8.10
CD-ROM speeds − Fred Grieve’s interesting review of CD Fast (Archive 8.9
p76) raises a crucial point which I think may not have received enough
attention, and that is, the relative speeds of the two sets of
interfaces and drives which he used. The IDE system was 50–400% slower
than the SCSI one, although both were double-speed drives. If any
processor, printer or hard drive was four times the speed of another,
the benchmarks would be very well publicised. But for someone who is
contemplating a CD-ROM drive, how do I make sure that what I buy takes
0.58 secs, and not 2.22 secs, to open the root directory of the PDCD-1
CD? This seems to me to be a crucial area that needs some feedback from
users, and the simple tests that Fred used could be an effective
benchmark suite.
8.10
(If anyone has any information that they could pass on, please send it
to Andrew Flowerdew, 1 Crane House, Golford Road, Cranbrook, Kent, TN17
3NP, our CD-ROM Column Editor − or via the NCS office if you prefer.
Thanks, Ed.)
8.10
Stuart Bell, Horsham
8.10
ClicBack − Last month, David Holden was, in his PD column, quite
unrestrained in his praise for this Careware back-up utility. I write
simply to say “hear, hear”! It is brilliant. Having bought a SCSI 105Mb
SyQuest drive from NCS, about 160Mb of data compresses to 70Mb on the
SyQuest for a full back-up in about 2 hours – the time taken being
largely to compress the data. I simply leave it running when I don’t
need the computer for a while. Differential back-ups scan the whole
160Mb for changes, and take a couple of minutes. At £10, it’s the
bargain of the year, and all in a good cause.
8.10
Stuart Bell, Horsham
8.10
Drag & drop in ImageMaster − One of the niggles in all the reviews
I have read about David Pilling’s ImageMaster concerned the program’s
inability to load an image which was dropped onto its window.
8.10
If you try this in version 1.05, you will find that Mr. Pilling has once
again listened carefully to criticism and has integrated this feature
into his program!
8.10
Jochen Konietzko, Köln, Germany
8.10
EasyFont 3 − Further to the problem I reported in 8.9 p25 about using
archived fonts with !EasyFont3, I have now received a reply from Mark
Smith, the author of ArcFS.
8.10
He states: “ArcFS will not normally be able to compress font
directories, at least not by very much.
8.10
However, the real overhead in large font directories is the amount of
space occupied by large numbers of directories that only contain two or
three files each, and this is why archiving fonts can save significant
amounts of disc space. That said, ArcFS is not intended to archive font
directories, and I wouldn’t recommend that you do it − in particular,
you could find ArcFS using a lot of memory to store open font files if
you are using a wide selection of fonts in a document. I don’t have
!Easy Font, but I understand that version3 uses its own font archiving
system, which is dedicated to dealing with fonts and is therefore much
better suited to the task.”
8.10
I have reviewed my archived fonts, and I find that the average saving is
only around 15%. These remarks explain some errors that I have had in
the past relating to memory, and I shall not be archiving fonts in the
future. For the information of ArcFS users, the latest read/write
version is 2.55 and the read-only version is 0.73; they contain a few
bug fixes which relate particularly to the RiscPC.
8.10
Ted Lacey, Southampton
8.10
Floating point hardware − There is a certain amount of confusion
surrounding the use of floating point hardware. One reader states that
it is hard to choose between an ARM700+FPA running at 33MHz and an
ARM710 running in excess of 40MHz. The only programs which would run
faster with the FPA option would be those concerned primarily with
number crunching. This would really mean home-written single tasking
calculations − possibly fractal calculation programs. However, once you
are using the multitasking desktop, almost all commercial RISC OS
software will run faster with the FPA-less CPU running at the faster
speed. Remember that even programs such as Draw and Basic V make no use
of floating point operations. The only time you might do better in the
desktop with floating point hardware is when using some CAD programs.
8.10
Brian Cowan, Wembley
8.10
Importing and exporting text − Following Jim Nottingham’s series, which
I found very helpful, I thought readers might like to hear about my
experience. Briefly, I write (and edit) a house journal, and see it
through its editorial and pre-production stages. These are:
8.10
1. Writing − I have Impression Publisher and MS Word 5.5 (an advanced
non-Windows version) at my disposal, but for this particular job,
I prefer EasiWriter as being more fluent and practical. Each of the
40-odd stories, ranging from 30 to 800 words, gets a separate EasiWriter
file.
8.10
2. Approval − I present mss (hard copies) of the stories to my clients
for approval, and later make any amendments they ask for. The mss
(written on an EasiWriter ‘stationery’ form) are vital; the early, and
intermediate, versions serve as approval ‘manuscript’. The definitive
version is a guide for the typesetter/DTP operator. The header carries:
8.10
− RISC OS and DOS filenames to identify the story
8.10
− a provisional headline, written before the story, to keep my eye on
the ball as well as to help identify the story for the
non-computer-literate
8.10
− automatic dating to avoid confusion between versions. Before we
refined the procedure, this confusion happened several times and
resulted, embarrassingly, in unapproved copy being published.
8.10
− the folio number
8.10
− A footer contains a message asking recipients to confine themselves to
matters of fact and to keep their well-meaning paws off the prose!
8.10
3. Delivery etc − Using the Selection—Save—Text procedure in EasiWriter,
I make ASCII copies on my hard disc of the approved files, and copy them
to a DOS format floppy which I deliver to my client with the definitive
mss. At this stage, in theory, I have largely done my bit.
8.10
The Communication Dept import my text into Word for Windows for final
checking and last-minute alterations. The (absolutely!) definitive
versions are then handed, on a DOS format disc, to the Print & Design
section, who put them in a Mac and import them into a Quark ExPress file
(incidentally, just one file for the entire publication!). So all told,
my files undergo four metamorphoses between the original form and the
typesetting bureau: (RISC OS) EasiWriter—ASCII—(DOS) Word for
Windows—(Macintosh) Quark ExPress— PostScript!
8.10
It works. The only noticeable, and minor, problem compared with earlier
exercises when I used to start from MS Word 5.5 or IBM DisplayWrite 4,
has been that the ‘£’ sign, en-dash and em-dash (ASCII 151 and ASCII
152) translate incorrectly but, as Jim Nottingham has pointed out, such
things are easy meat for search & replace.
8.10
Peter Robertson, Tewkesbury
8.10
Microwriter Information − The company once known as Microwriter have
been through a number of changes. It brought out a wonderful machine
called the AgendA which I reviewed in Archive (3.11 p48). This machine
is a seven key, one hand, quick entry, portable wordprocessor which can
be linked to any computer with an RS232 type serial port. That means
that it can be used on anything from a BBC Micro up to a Risc PC. I know
− I still do it. It took one hour to learn to use, and I can’t type
properly either. It is almost entirely the same code as used on the
Microwriter.
8.10
Unfortunately the company went bust, but, as I was the writer of the
software for making Acorns talk to Microwriter/Agendas, I still have it.
If you would like the new Risc PC version, please send an SAE and blank
formatted disc to me and I will provide my software. It only allows
downloading from the AgendA/Microwriter to the Acorn, but if you want
full communication and have an IBM PC or PCcard, full facility software
is still available from the inventor of the QuinKey Chording Keyboard
which is at the heart of the machines.
8.10
I only use the downloading facility myself. It generates raw ASCII which
is good enough for anything. The inventor will charge a modest price, as
he is doing it in his spare time to support AgendA users who have been,
like him, badly let down by the company. If anyone has won the lottery
recently and wants a new AgendA Mk3, talk to him − he has great plans.
I can be contacted at 62 Rutland Road, West Bridgeford, Nottingham, NG2
5DG. The inventor is C. Rainey, Bellair Electronics, 4 Broadgate,
Pilton, Barnstaple, North Devon, EX31 1QZ.
8.10
Simon Anthony, Nottingham
8.10
Music printing − With the aid of my A3000, I have become a ‘hobby
composer’! I have used the five different music programs as they
appeared on the scene: Maestro, Notate, Rhapsody, PMS and Sibelius.
8.10
The Sibelius music program is marvellous. I like the radar scroller for
locating a note anywhere in the score in seconds... the automatic
calculation of the ‘rest values’ in the bar following note insertion and
the professional look of the printout. I can play a single note anywhere
anytime... a single bar... a single stave... the complete work... but
I have not found how to check the sound of two staves played together.
Is it possible, please? I would like to hear (say) the Soprano and Tenor
tunes sung together, free from the Alto and Bass parts.
8.10
Notate is more elementary but it has two features I like. (1) It has a
‘mixer’, allowing one or more parts to be played together (see above),
each part with its own ‘sliding’ volume control on the screen. (2) It
has a note input through a screen keyboard, in real or step time, as
well as ‘dragging’ notes onto the stave. I use it for working out simple
themes before transferring to either PMS (Philip’s Music Scribe by
Philip Hazel) or Sibelius for printing with the trickier parts!
8.10
PMS allows notes and expression marks etc to be typed in using text in
an Edit window. Sibelius, by contrast, uses the function keys for note
length and dragging to pitch on the stave with the mouse. Sibelius
thinks for you... but I think that PMS allows more control (if you are
prepared to take the time).
8.10
I use two important features from the PMS program... (1) I can arrange
for two staves to be printed on top of one another! This allows me to
reduce a four-staved choir piece into a two-staved piano accompaniment.
(2) If I type the @ symbol, the rest of the line becomes a ‘comment’ and
has no effect on the notation. So, by typing or deleting the @ in front
of the <linespacing> command, I can change from four to two staves and
back at the drop of a hat! (Or even at the drop of an ‘at’? Sorry! Ed.)
8.10
I save a lot of time by using a ‘Standard Layout’ for all the ‘headings’
and the information needed for key, time, line-spacing, systems-spacing,
brackets, etc, and the information needed for each stave. The ‘Standard
Layout’ is copied for each new piece. Included in my standard layout are
some lines starting with @ for all unusual or alternative ‘headings’.
Then I can call them up by just deleting the @.
8.10
Then I can get into the ‘music...’ with a minimum of typing!
8.10
PMS Specimen program
8.10
(The Standard Layout has been copied... Bold type has been used to pick
out the text needed only for entering the notes.)
8.10
heading “John Veg’s Tune ?”
8.10
heading “in four (two) parts”
8.10
breakbarlines
8.10
notespacing *1.1 (magnifies the note spacing by 1.1).
8.10
key G (the key with one sharp).
8.10
time 3/4 (three crochets in a bar).
8.10
@ stavespacing 1/0 2/48 3/0 4/48 (... stave spacing)
8.10
(The number after the slash gives the distance to the next stave. So
‘1/0’ has ‘0’-space, i.e. zero space, between stave 1 and stave 2. So
stave two will be printed on top of stave one. ‘3/0’ prints stave four
on the top of stave three.)
8.10
(The ‘@’symbol at the start of the line turns it into a ‘comment’. So
the default spacing for four staves will operate.)
8.10
[stave 1]
8.10
[treble 1 stems up]
8.10
g-;a-;b-;c`;d`-;e`- |
8.10
 (‘-’ key for a quaver, ‘`’ key for an octave up).
8.10
G’r|
8.10
(upper case for a minim)
8.10
[endstave]
8.10

8.10
[stave 2]
8.10
[treble 1 stems down]
8.10
g g b-a- |
8.10
 (lower case for two crochets... followed by two quavers.)
8.10
Br |
8.10
[endstave]
8.10

8.10
[stave 3]
8.10
[bass 0 stems up]
8.10
e’d’c‘ |
8.10
Gr |
8.10
(The ‘r’ is a crochet rest.)
8.10
[endstave]
8.10

8.10
[stave 4]
8.10
[bass 0 stems down]
8.10
e-e-;d-$d-;c-b`- |
8.10
(The ‘;’ key controls the beaming of notes).
8.10
G`r |
8.10
(The ‘$’ key ‘flattens’ the following note.)
8.10
[endstave]
8.10
John VEG Mitchell, Wishaw, Scotland
8.10
Printing from Basic programs − (8.9 pp10 & 50) I have found a completely
different way to solve my problem. In the Basic program, I create each
line of text that I wish to output and save it in an array ‘line$(N%)’.
While the lines are being created, I update a variable ‘L%’ to the
length of the longest line. I then create a drawfile using the routines
in the ‘CDraw’ library that was published in Risc User some time ago.
Since the output lines must be correctly spaced horizontally, I can only
use a monospaced font for the data. I use a nicer font for the header.
First the header is created and then the text point height is calculated
from the available height left (if there are not many lines, the point
height is set to 12), and then the point width is calculated from the
length of the longest string. Finally, for each line of text, a
‘text-object’ is created and then the drawfile is closed and saved.
8.10
This method has two advantages: (1) Because the font height and width
are adjustable in very small increments, full use is made of the
available space. (2) You can view the drawfile before printing to make
sure that there are no errors. The one disadvantage is that, as far as
I know, Corpus is the only monospaced font available.
8.10
Would these techniques be of interest to people? If so, I could provide
a skeleton program on disc which would supply the necessary PROC’s to
produce the drawfile. I would also be prepared to write an article for
the magazine, describing the method and use of the program. (Would
anyone find that of interest? If so, please let me or John know. Ed.)
8.10
The Bridge Scoring program is fairly robust now, so if anyone is
interested, do contact me.
8.10
John Wallace, 1 Evans Close, Maidenbower, Crawley, RH10 7WN.
8.10
Promoting Acorn − I’m nearing the end of an Electronic Engineering
degree, and would love to promote Acorn in this field (especially to
“The world is a PC” Electronics and Wireless World). However, there is a
slight problem − lack of engineering applications.
8.10
There are, I believe, three PCB design packages, one of which appears to
be a fairly professional piece of software (that is, CadMust). Apart
from this, there’s nothing! Yes, there’s Frank and Erik van de Pol’s
port of the simulation program Spice − and an excellent piece of
software it is (I know; the success of my Final Year design project
rested on it!). The problem here is that it’s not a commercial package,
and so the support is only as good as the authors have time for. This
isn’t acceptable for companies.
8.10
I believe that this could be another niche market for Acorn; every
Analogue (and quite a few Digital) Engineer needs to use Spice − for me,
it was at least ten hours every day. The options for running the package
at the moment are either a PC or a Unix Workstation. The PC option could
cost £2,000 to £3,000, whilst most of the Unix options start at about
£20,000; how about someone pitching a system in the middle? Acorn! Any
software companies care to take up the challenge?
8.10
Nick Chalk, Sheffield
8.10
Promoting Acorn 2 − I’ve just received the latest edition of Creative
Technology and in it is an excellent editorial and a review of an Acorn
system for use in design work. At last, some positive press for Acorn,
albeit in a heavily Mac-dominated area. More power to Acorn’s elbow!
8.10
Neil Fazakerley, London W2.
8.10
Rounding errors in balance sheets
8.10
− In Archive 8.4p33, Gerald Fitton identified a problem associated with
rounding errors in a spreadsheet, which he presented in the form of a
puzzle attributed to me. My version was in fact rather different, as
explained in my column in Archive 8.5p30. The solution described here
solves neither of these puzzles, so let’s start again...
8.10
Balance sheets − The trading account and the balance sheet are vital
financial documents in any business, and are scrutinised avidly by the
auditors. The trading account comprises a list of turnover figures for a
specified period of time. The balance sheet lists balances as at a
specified date. In each, the figures are pigeon-holed into a list of
nominal accounts, each normally identified by a numeric code and an
associated description to identify its accounting significance.
8.10
Accountants usually list the figures in two columns, debits and credits,
side by side. The grand totals of the two columns should be the same. To
a systems designer (or a mathematician) it is more logical to arrange
the figures, each with the correct sign, in a single list. The grand
total should be zero.
8.10
When designing accounting software, I have always adopted the latter
technique internally. The software can, nevertheless, be written to show
the figures in debit and credit columns, if required − this is
essentially a matter of presentation.
8.10
The rounding problem − Each figure on the accounts file is a sum of
money, held precisely to the penny. However, since the figures are
hundreds, thousands, or even millions of pounds, the odd 37p is
insignificant and the accounts are easier to comprehend if the figures
are printed as round £s (or £000s for a large company). Now, consider a
simple example of three figures and their total −
£31.97 + 87.80 + 42.56 = £162.33. Round each figure to the nearest
pound. £32 + 88 + 43 = £162. Help!! It doesn’t add up. The accountant
will launch an inquisition.  How can the computer adjust(!) the figures
so that they look right, and are right within a set of rules simple
enough for an accountant to understand? (Do accountants read Archive? If
so, sorry!)
8.10
‘Flexible rounding’ is a term I have just invented, though I invented
the process several years ago to solve this problem, and have recently
re­discovered my notes. Flexi­rounded figures are each rounded to an
adjacent integer (or thousand, etc), but not necessarily the nearer of
the two. Thus £42.56 may be rounded for printing to £42 or £43, as we
wish, but to no other figure. A figure which, by chance, is already an
integer must not be changed. The maximum rounding error is thus 99p,
rather than the usual 50p, though, in practice, errors approaching £1
will be rare. We can now present the above addition in flexi­rounded
form, £32 + 88 + 42 = £162, which is true!
8.10
DIM Exact(Num%), Round%(Num%)
8.10
Adjust = 0.5
8.10
FOR I% = 1 TO Num%
8.10
Adjust = Adjust + Exact(I%)
8.10
Round%(I%) = INT(Adjust)
8.10
Adjust = Adjust − Round%(I%)
8.10
NEXT I%
8.10
The above Basic code generates a flexi­rounded version of a list of
exact figures, each of which may be positive or negative. Programmers
should note that, for this purpose, when the INT function is applied to
a negative number it must round down, towards −fi. Acorn Basic, in common
with many other dialects, rounds INT towards zero, so this coding must
be modified to give the correct answers. Equivalent coding can be
devised for any other language.
8.10
Subtotals − If our balance sheet comprised only a list of values and a
grand total, there would be little problem, and this routine might be
viewed as the proverbial sledgehammer to crack a nut. In practice, a
typical set of accounts includes numerous nested subtotals corresponding
to accounting categories at various levels, The strength of the
flexi­rounding technique lies in its treatment of subtotals.
8.10
Having rounded the list of exact values using the above procedure, each
subtotal should be calculated by totalling the rounded values, not by
rounding the total of the exact values. Provided that each subtotal
represents a selection of consecutive values in the list, it will be
found that any total obtained in this way is always a flexi­rounded
version of the exact total, i.e. the error in the total never exceeds
99p. By comparison, the error in a total obtained by adding
conventionally-rounded values is theoretically unlimited. The rounded
values, as printed, always total correctly to the printed subtotals, and
these in turn total correctly to the next higher level subtotal, right
up to the grand total, which will, in fact, be conventionally rounded to
the nearest integer.
8.10
If you can persuade your accountant to accept flexi­rounding as a
slightly liberal alternative to nearest­rounding, you, and he, may never
again need to explain rounding errors to those who seem unable to
understand this simple problem!
8.10
Colin Singleton, Sheffield
8.10
RTF/savers and loaders from CC − I was involved in some of the beta
testing on these and I was very impressed with the ease with which
I could exchange data with my colleagues, most of whom use MS Word or
WordPerfect. Now that I have my PC486 card in my Risc PC at home, I’ve
installed Word for Windows on my DOS partition and I can convert between
different document formats much more easily. I don’t need to ask my
colleagues to give me RTF files but instead I export them from Word
myself.
8.10
I’m still disappointed with Fireworkz Pro though. The RTF features of
Fireworkz seem to be full of bugs and it’s almost impossible to exchange
data between Impression and Fireworkz using RTF. Sometimes it is
possible to filter the RTF files through Word and get some sensible
transfer between the two Acorn products.
8.10
As Gerald Fitton often points out, it’s the ability to port your data
easily which decides the best software in the long term. In this respect
I think that Colton ought to improve their Fireworkz package.
8.10
Mike Clark, Cambridge
8.10
SCSI-2 query − Regarding Chris Walker’s query, (Archive 8.9 p10) as
I understand it, there are several permutations of “Fast” and “Wide” in
the SCSI-2 standard...
8.10
Basic: 8 bit @ 5Mbytes/s
8.10
Fast: 8 bit @ 10Mb/s
8.10
Wide: 16 bit @ 10Mb/s or 32 bit @ 20Mb/s
8.10
Fast & Wide: 16 bit @ 20Mb/s or 32 bit @ 40Mb/s
8.10
From a review in the June issue of Acorn User, I believe that the Cumana
SCSI-2 card is 8 bit, Fast SCSI. However, to achieve anything like this
performance, you need a drive to match the interface. Usually, it is
only large, expensive drives that meet the Fast or Wide standards (e.g.
IBM or DEC). Acorn User quotes some transfer-rate measurements for the
Cumana card and an IBM 1Gb SCSI-2 drive...
8.10
With SCSI-1 i/f : ~1.0Mb/s
8.10
With SCSI-2 i/f : ~3.4Mb/s
8.10
Nick Chalk, Sheffield
8.10
VerbMaster-French review (8.9 p73) − Thanks very much for publishing the
review of VerbMaster-French. I felt it was, generally, a fair and
complimentary appraisal of the program, but may I be allowed to answer a
few points?
8.10
1. The bug in the ‘cyclic-add’ feature has been fixed in the latest
version (1.01), as have the typing errors in the VerbFile supplied −
sorry!
8.10
2. Genders. I only used the masculine version of nouns (the il form) due
to lack of space in the main window, and because VerbMaster aims to help
you learn the conjugations of verbs; as the forms for il/elle/on are
generally the same, there seemed little point in wasting space on
separate entries. Furthermore, the necessary agreements for verbs
conjugated with être are indicated in the main display window.
8.10
3. Testing of verbs. The decision to ask for verbs in the form: ‘Please
enter the vous form of the imperfect tense of the verb aller.’ was
deliberate. If it were to ask for the meaning of ‘you (pl) were going’
it would be necessary for me to program the conjugation of English verbs
(which is more difficult than French!) and for the user to enter English
translations in full for new verbs, which would be tiresome. The purpose
of VerbMaster is not to teach prose translation, but to help learning
verb forms; it is a grammatical approach, but I believe that this is the
only way to learn foreign verbs, and, as your reviewer concludes,
VerbMaster does do this comprehensively!
8.10
4. Sinners of the world unite! Mr Campbell quoted the phrase: Let him
who is without sin ..! and I am sure he is aware that there are few
Shareware writers who write perfect, bug-free programs − that‘s why
there are professionals! I would welcome enquiries from readers involved
in teaching/learning modern languages to try the program and suggest
advancements and improvements. The next version will have password
protection of certain features, the ability to turn tenses off and the
conjugations of the subjunctive mood (the Add Tense feature, which
Graham didn’t mention, allows you to enter it yourself, if you can’t
wait!). Upgrades will be free to registered users and will be sent to
APDL. It has to be said that I am not charging the earth for the program
(£7.50), and I hope users will find it good value for money.
8.10
Nigel Caplan, 33 Alwoodley Lane, Leeds, LS17 7PU.
8.10
WordPerfect? − I thought I really ought to weigh in on the WordPerfect /
Publisher argument. Christopher Wightwick (8.9 p29) might like to know
that the Journal of Physiology, the top academic journal in its field,
is prepared right up to CRC (Camera Ready Copy) using Impression
Publisher on Acorns. We handle the accents not only for French and
German, but also Spanish, Polish, Danish, Finnish etc, etc − frequently
quite a variety of languages in a single document. Greek and Russian are
no problem, nor even Hindi.
8.10
It’s all WYSIWYG on screen and can be typed straight from the keyboard,
with a minimum of keystrokes, and not arcane ones at that. We can
remember − and touch type − the ones we use a lot. All of them fit on an
A4 chart, in large type.
8.10
Greek, Russian, Hindi, etc, all use the correct typewriter keyboard
layout used in their home countries, making touch typing possible. Just
double-click on the Taj Mahal and away you go; Houses of Parliament and
you’re back. For an odd Greek character in the middle of English text −
common in scientific material − you don’t even need the Parthenon: hold
<alt> down and type the character.
8.10
Not that we type much − mostly just copy-editing corrections and
alterations. We accept authors’ papers on disc − almost any disc, any
word processor. We prefer 1.44Mb Mac discs, which we can read on the
Acorns, rather than the old variable-speed type that we have to convert
via our dusty Mac. We ask authors not to send 2.88Mb DOS discs; anyone
who uses them can produce a 1.44Mb disc for us. Obviously, we would be
very interested if anyone could produce a 2.88Mb drive for the Acorns.
About 94% of submissions are read straight into the Acorns, and it’s
over 99% if you include those that come via the Mac. This is
statistically significant: The Journal of Physiology has an average of
45 academic papers a month, totalling 600 A4 pages, from all over the
world. We do two other, smaller journals as well.
8.10
We often have to retype tables and the more complex mathematical
material, but Publisher makes a good job of them. I can tell how much
hassle the authors have had, often using WordPerfect, by the contents of
the files they submit.
8.10
Our import filter automatically recognizes and converts a total of 30
different file types. Some of these cover several versions of a word
processor, or even several different word processors with similar file
formats. In other cases, we need different modules for different
versions of the same package. WordPerfect 5.1 and WordPerfect 6.0 share
a second stage, but need different front ends, for example. The filter
also has switchable output stages according to which of our journals the
paper belongs to, so that it can format the output appropriately, and
use the right styles.
8.10
Finally − ‘amusing deformations’ − we can’t resist calling (guess what)
Windows for Playgroups whenever we watch people in a neighbouring office
‘using’ it, and compare it with what we can do in here, with much less
fuss.
8.10
Clive Semmens, Cambridge
8.10
Word Processing (8.9p29) − I don’t know about Fireworkz, but the error
“Archive amgazine” can be corrected in Publisher very simply by using
<ctrl-shift-Q> to switch the offending letters. (Can you do that in Word
Prefect (sic)? Ed.) Impression does have user-definable F-keys,
drag-and-drop and paragraph indent (Nos 6, 9 and 10 on Christopher’s
wish list), and it surely has a longer list of ‘Load from’ formats than
any other package! He should not judge “Acorn WPs” by just one example.
I back John Molyneux. I too have friends who use PC word processors
(though I do not do so myself), and they invariably breathe a sigh of
relief when they can use Publisher on my machine!
8.10
Colin Singleton, Sheffield u
8.10
Help!!!!
8.10
“Bad compression field” − Frequently (i.e. more often than not), when
printing long documents (using Impression II and a Canon LBP8
LaserDirect version 2.61), I get an error message along the lines of
“Bad compression field” and a page that is only partially printed. After
this, the printing (almost!?) always hangs, the rest of the computer
being fine. This seems to need a hard reset to cure, since neither
switching the printer off and on, nor quitting and restarting the
printer driver, cures the problem. Is there a less painful solution?
8.10
Torben Steeg, Manchester
8.10
I’m using Risc PC, LBP8 and 2.63 and I don’t have Torben’s problem but,
if I get a paper jam, any future attempts at printing produce zero
response at the printer. I have to do a complete switch off. Has anyone
else got this problem? Better still, has anyone got a solution?! Ed.
8.10
Bridge program − Does anyone know of a program, or has anyone written
one, running under RISC OS, that will calculate and print out the scores
for a Duplicate Bridge competition using either a Howell, Mitchell or
Swiss movement. (Bridge players will know what I mean.)
8.10
(I’ve no idea if this is the same thing, but look at John Wallace’s
offer on page 21. Ed.)
8.10
Graham Woolf, 4 Drake Close, Poulner, Ringwood, Hants, BH24 1UG.
(01425-471060)
8.10
Foreign Characters (8.9 p27). I assume this technique will only generate
those accented characters which are in the Latin1 character set. One
FFAQ [Fairly ...], especially among musicians, is “How do I print the
name ?” (Without cheating!) (It’s a drawfile embedded in the text, in
case you were wondering. Ed.) The character r-caron is defined in the
Latin2 character set and the outlines for Latin2 (and Latin3 Latin4,
Greek and Cyrillic) are hidden away somewhere in the ROM Fonts, Trinity
and Homerton, which come with RISC OS 3. Unfortunately, it seems to be
impossible for Impression (or anything else, except Edit) to get at
them. Can someone who knows how perhaps extract them from their hiding
place and store them under modified Font Names, so that we can all use
them on the rare occasions they are needed, alongside the Latin1
characters.
8.10
(Perhaps Clive Semmens, with all his experience − see Comment Column,
page 24 − would be able to help. How about an article on how you do it,
Clive? Ed.)
8.10
Colin Singleton, Sheffield
8.10
Printing Labels − Can anyone recommend a label printing program? I used
Quest very satisfactorily for some years but since changing from an
Epson dot-matrix to a Canon BJ200, I cannot get the labels to print
correctly. Perhaps someone could write an article on label production
and printing.
8.10
Several of my friends have PCs and have very good programs for making
and printing the draw for sports events. Is there anything similar
available for Acorn?
8.10
Roger Jackman, Slough
8.10
Ray Tracers − I wonder if there are any competent Illusionist/ray tracer
users out there in the Archive readership who would be willing to lend
assistance to a new PD/Shareware program that I am currently working on!
Work would basically involve drawing and rendering different room
scenes. I can’t offer a huge amount for your work, but I am willing to
share any shareware fees with you! If you’re interested, please contact
me for more details.
8.10
James Pullan, Neural Net Design, 23 Frayne Rd, Ashton Gate, Bristol BS3
1RU.
8.10
RS Components’ CD-ROM catalogue − I mentioned some time ago that I had a
surplus RS Components’ CD-ROM catalogue which I would pass on to anybody
who wanted it. In connection with this, Steve Williams rang to say that
he also has a few spare, so more are available if anybody else is
interested.
8.10
Keith Hodge, HES − see Factfile.
8.10
Statistical program? − Does anyone know of a statistical package with a
multiple correlation program in it? Commercial or PD − don’t mind.
8.10
Tony Cowley, Ipswich
8.10
Charity Sales
8.10
No charity bits this month as they are all going into the Charity Bring
and Buy which NCS is sponsoring at Acorn World ’95. If you have things
to contribute, please send them direct to NCS.
8.10
We ran a Charity Bring & Buy at the Acorn User Show in Harrogate and
raised over £1,300 (possibly £1,700 − see below) for the Henshaw’s
School for the Blind, Harrogate.
8.10
Many, many thanks to all those who helped by donating stuff and to all
those who worked so hard at the show. (I don’t even know the names of
all the helpers but thanks for your efforts!). Extra special thanks go
to David Holden who was there both days and organised the whole thing.
Well done David!
8.10
We are going to do the same thing at Acorn World 95 − but even better.
Please send us your unused software and hardware now − BBC or RISC OS.
8.10
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8.10
We were given an A310, RISC OS 3.1, ARM3, 4Mb with 1.6Mb floppy which we
reckon is worth £400 of anyone’s money − especially for charity. We only
got it late on the Sunday and didn’t find a buyer. Any offers? If you
want it with a hard drive as well, DH will put one in at cost − a
bargain!!!! u
8.10
PD Column
8.10
David Holden
8.10
Shareware for the Archimedes is becoming much more common and,
thankfully, standards are rising. However, I am often dismayed by the
unprofessional approach of some authors.
8.10
For many years, I have tried to get Shareware firmly established as a
viable means of distribution for Archimedes software. This is not easy.
I am often told that ‘Shareware doesn’t seem to work for Acorn
computers’ or ‘no-one sends registration fees for my programs’. The
people who make these comments are implying that the blame lies with
those using their programs. They appear to have forgotten the first rule
of selling any product. The customer is always right. This may not be
literally true, but you can’t tell a prospective customer they are wrong
and still hope to make a sale. You might think this has little or
nothing to do with collecting registration fees for Shareware, but it
really is the key, and any Shareware author who forgets it, is doomed to
repeat those two phrases and blame everyone but themself for their
failure.
8.10
I shall try to explain some of the lessons that I have learned (often
the hard way) in the hope that prospective Shareware authors will
benefit from my experience. If you want to know what my credentials for
writing this are, then all I can say is that I’m not one of the people
who think that Shareware doesn’t work. If I can make it work, I must be
doing something right.
8.10
Next month, I will cover the physical aspects, inducements to register,
crippling, etc, but I will begin by considering the ideology of
Shareware. It is not just a matter of writing a program and asking for
money. The ‘state of mind’ of the author is probably more important than
anything else. If you can’t see how significant this is, I doubt if you
will have any success and, perhaps even more importantly, you will
probably not enjoy the experience.
8.10
Some of what I am about to write may offend. I don’t set out with that
intention but it is a possibility. If you do disagree with something I
say, I emphasise that these are my own opinions and not necessarily
those of the Editor, so please write to me personally to take me to
task, not to the magazine.
8.10
What is Shareware?
8.10
We all know what Shareware is, don’t we? I’m sure that if you are
actually writing programs, you must understand it. However, seeing, as I
do, dozens of Shareware programs sent to APDL, I have become aware that,
although most authors understand the concept in theory, they haven’t
really thought through the implications and how it must affect the way
they write programs and, more importantly, the type of programs they
write.
8.10
Most of these people seem to regard Shareware as any program which is
freely distributed and for which they ask users to send them a
registration fee. Anyone who has this attitude is doomed to failure.
That is not what Shareware actually is. Shareware is commercial
software. There is no difference between Shareware and the programs you
buy in a computer shop or via mail order. It is not ‘cheap software’. It
normally is cheaper, but that’s because the overheads are lower, not
because less effort has gone into producing it or because it is
inferior.
8.10
A Shareware program is a product
8.10
If you are thinking of writing a Shareware program, or if you have
written one, or if you have written one and not been very successful,
please read this sub-heading and think very carefully about it.
Shareware is not a ‘type’ of software, it is a means of marketing and
distributing commercial software.
8.10
Consider the following statement: A program that would not be a success
if sold by other means will probably fail as Shareware.
8.10
Let me relate this to the section heading. Many Shareware authors simply
take a program that they have written, add a bit to the !Help file
asking for money, and think that people will send it to them. When no
money arrives, they join the “Shareware doesn’t work” brigade. As a
Shareware author you are selling a product. In order to sell something,
certain criteria need to be met. There must be a demand, and your
product must meet that demand at a competitive price. There is no point
in writing the most wonderful program in the world if no-one has a use
for it. There is no point in writing a program that does what lots of
people want, if what it does is something they are not prepared to pay
for. These are self-evident, but how many programmers stop to reflect
upon them before they start?
8.10
When a company considers a new product, they undertake ‘market testing’.
This involves trying to find out what potential customers want, how much
they are prepared to pay for it and how many they would be likely to
sell. If the survey indicates that they couldn’t sell enough items of
the required type at a price that would give them a satisfactory profit
margin, the product is never made.
8.10
A product without a market cannot succeed. I have to confess that many
of my own programs didn’t start with a carefully considered attempt to
fill a gap in the market. Normally, they were something that I had begun
for my own use and which I then thought might be useful to others.
However, the Archimedes program that I have written with more registered
users than any other did start in just that way. I wrote Architype
because people kept asking me if there was a typing tutor available.
8.10
My latest Shareware program, a link for the Amstrad NC 100, was also
written because people asked for it. It took a long time to write, not
because it was particularly difficult (although there were a few
unexpected problems) but because I found it rather boring and didn’t
really want to do it, so I kept putting it off. But that’s the way it
often is with Shareware; it’s not meant to be enjoyable, it’s work.
8.10
Writing Shareware is work!
8.10
Writing Shareware is paid employment. If you are lucky, you will be in
the fortunate position of doing something you enjoy and having hundreds
of employers, but never lose sight of the fact that it is work and that
the people who use your programs are paying. It’s up to you to keep them
happy, and if that means including features you don’t think necessary,
or developing it in ways that you never intended, remember ‘he who pays
the piper...’
8.10
The sensible Shareware author quickly realises that this feedback is one
his most valuable assets. Large corporations spend thousands (millions?)
of pounds on market research, trying to find out what their customers
want. The practical Shareware author simply asks his users, encourages
them to talk and, more importantly, listens to what they tell him. Quite
often they will make suggestions that you would never have thought of.
They will also complain and find bugs. Always listen. Even if you don’t
like what you’re told, take notice. Sometimes, people will write a
letter telling you why they haven’t registered. This can be more
valuable to the shrewd author than one from a satisfied user telling you
how wonderful your program is.
8.10
I once had a five page letter from someone telling me everything he
didn’t like about a program and why he wasn’t going to register. I
agreed with some things he said, there were good reasons why others were
not practical, and a few had already been implemented in a later version
than the one he had. I modified the program to include some of his
suggestions and wrote back with a copy. He immediately sent the
registration fee, gave copies to some of his friends, and I later had
some more registrations. If I had reacted unfavourably to his
criticisms, I would have lost not only those registrations but perhaps
others in the future.
8.10
If possible, make your phone number available. Users with difficulties
(or suggestions) often prefer to phone. Frequently, a problem that would
require several exchanges of letters can be sorted out with a bit of
‘hands on’ work over the phone. Reply to correspondence. Nothing annoys
a user more than being ignored. If they haven’t paid, it’s almost
certain to put them off registering. If they have paid, they have a
right to have their queries answered. Allow a margin for this in your
Registration Fee − it’s part of the service and, as such, is part of
your business overhead and must be included in your costs.
8.10
Failure to register
8.10
There are many reasons why people don’t register, and no sensible person
would claim to have the answer. There are also many methods of
encouraging registration which, although they might appear superficially
attractive, are counter-productive. I shall describe some of these next
month and propose some possible solutions but, in keeping with the
general tone of this month’s section, I shall try to suggest ways in
which the author should try to approach the problem.
8.10
The first thing that you must learn is there is absolutely nothing you
can do to make someone register. Unenlightened companies spend fortunes
on software protection, and most of it is wasted. As a Shareware author,
you must learn to distance yourself from this paranoia. Someone who is
using your software without registering has not robbed you of your fee.
Legally and morally, that may be the case, but in reality it just isn’t
so. You must resign yourself to this fact and realise that such a person
would never pay the registration fee whatever you do. If you cripple the
program, or time limit it, or put in banner screens that pop up every
minute or so and cause real annoyance, he’ll use something else instead.
How will that help you? You might feel better because he’s not getting
the use of your program for nothing, but it won’t put an extra penny in
your pocket.
8.10
Remember, you are in this for the money, so don’t cut off your nose to
spite your face. The greatest asset a Shareware author can have is a
satisfied customer. He will tell others about your program, even give
them a copy of the unregistered version and, in that way, you will get
more registrations. All this promotion won’t cost you a penny. But the
second greatest asset is a user who hasn’t registered, and for exactly
the same reasons. He, too, may give copies to his friends, and they
might be more honest. It is also possible that, at some future date, he
might register. It is not unusual for someone to use a Shareware program
for months, even years, and then decide they need to use it more
intensively, or they want an additional feature that registration
brings, or they suddenly have some spare money, or simply that their
conscience pricks them, and they decide to register. A user who hasn’t
registered is still a potential customer but someone who has discarded
your program in favour of something else, is a lost opportunity!
8.10
Copy protection and Shareware
8.10
This might seem a silly heading since it is obvious that, by its nature,
you want to encourage the widest possible distribution of a Shareware
program, and so copy protection is impossible. However, to conclude this
section about the mental approach you need, I want to emphasise its
difference from that adopted by the conventional software industry.
Anyone who believes that copy protection of software is sensible, is
ideologically unsuited to the Shareware principle.
8.10
The Shareware author depends upon two things. Firstly, you need a belief
in your own abilities. Remember, you are going to give your work away.
You must be confident that it is worthwhile and that others will
recognise its worth. Secondly, you must believe in others. You must have
confidence in them, and trust that they will pay. The important word
here is trust. You need to realise that they are people just like you!
This means they are honest, will recognise the validity of your claim on
their money, and will pay what is owed. You don’t have to force them.
After all, no-one would have to force you to pay your debts, would they?
8.10
If you want to write Shareware it is essential that you are prepared to
trust. If you don’t feel able to do this, then don’t write Shareware!
You will never be happy. You will worry about people using your program
without paying and will feel driven to try to make them pay. Soon, you
will become as obsessed about this as some of the conventional software
houses, and your attempts to ‘encourage’ registration will actually do
exactly the opposite. Think carefully about this before you start. If
you can’t be philosophical and say ‘well, he hasn’t registered yet, but
one day he might’, then stay away from Shareware.
8.10
Competition winners
8.10
Last month’s special offer was a set of discs containing the winning
programs in the APDL competition. I’m not going to list them all again
but if you didn’t send for this collection, this is your last chance.
The price is just £3 (which is a bargain for over 3Mb of material), or
£13 if you want the fully registered version of the hard disc backup
program !ClicBack. The additional £10 gets you a laser printed manual
and all the extra money goes to the Cancer and Leukaemia In Childhood
trust. Please send either stamps or a cheque to the APDL address and
specify whether you want 1.6Mb or 800Kb discs. u
8.10
Gerald’s Column
8.10
Gerald Fitton
8.10
Since writing my articles on monitors and back-up storage I have had
many interesting letters about those two subjects and suggestions for
many more subjects. Sifting through the requests, it would seem that
what you want me to deal with next is printers. Firstly, here are some
other points.
8.10
Squashed lines
8.10
In Publisher, but not in Style, you can get the strange effect of lines
being squashed vertically (on screen as well as the printed version).
8.10
Choose your base (normal) style and edit it with <ctrl-f6>. Click on the
Paragraph radio button and you’ll see that one of the options is to lock
to the line space grid (not available in Style). If you do lock to the
grid then you’ll find the occasional line is squashed vertically.
8.10
Danny Lawrence reported this in last month’s Archive (issue 8.9 p10) but
attributes the problem to his BJ300. He doesn’t say what software he’s
running, and he may have an unrelated problem, but he does say that he’s
noticed it in Archive – and I know that Archive is produced with
Publisher.
8.10
The option to lock to the line space grid does not exist in Style but,
if someone sends you a document with that attribute to a style built
into it then Style will accept the lock just as if you’d created it −
but you can’t get rid of it!
8.10
A difficulty you’ll have with Style is that, if you created such a
document in Impression II (where locking to the line space grid worked
rather better than it does in Publisher), then you can’t get rid of the
lock in Style!
8.10
(Our squashed lines aren’t the same as yours, Gerald. Ours are more like
a horizontal line of dots missing on the printout, but not on the
screen, and if you print it again, it’s usually OK. Ed.)
8.10
A TurboDriver problem
8.10
A couple of people who had 2Mb machines have reported to me that
printing anything but the smallest files with their Turbo Driver caused
the machine to hang, with a variety of error messages. The exact nature
of the error message depended on what was running at the time. They
fitted more RAM (4Mb) and the problem went away (almost).
8.10
It seems to me that this is another example of memory management
problems (by RISC OS?) which seems to affect those packages such as
Fireworkz and Style which dynamically vary the amount of memory they
claim during execution. The memory management problem seems to arise if
two packages want to change the amount of memory they are claiming
simultaneously − if that’s possible. So, if you have one package working
away hard in the background (e.g. the printer) wanting to claim, or
release, memory and you have another package which also wants to do the
same thing, then RISC OS gets mixed up and (if there isn’t enough memory
to go round) it loses its pointers.
8.10
A work around seems to be to avoid doing two things at once. For
example, don’t try to scroll the screen whilst printing is taking place
in the background. But that workaround rather negates the usefulness of
background printing.
8.10
Fireworkz Pro
8.10
The latest version of Fireworkz Pro is version 1.22.
8.10
Colton Software have a special offer running between 1st June and
31st July. If you buy Fireworkz Pro, or if you upgrade to Fireworkz Pro
from an earlier Colton Software package, they will send you, free of
charge, a copy of Fireworkz for Windows, if you ask for it. Fireworkz
for Windows is usually £99 (plus VAT and postage). At some future date,
for a fee, you will be able to upgrade your Fireworkz for Windows to
Fireworkz Pro for Windows.
8.10
How much have I won on the lottery?
8.10
It’s only a few days since I received my Archive but already I’ve been
asked this question (and other similar or related questions). Perhaps my
remark “my second law of gambling will allow you to make an unfair bet”
was taken by you to mean that I was justifying to myself that it is OK
for me to bet on the lottery.
8.10
I’ve won nothing on the lottery because I’ve never bet on it. Winning
the lottery is a wish which I don’t want to come true! I’m not sure why,
but Paul’s comment on the inside cover of issue 8.9 has helped. Perhaps
somebody can explain to me why I don’t feel the same way about premium
bonds. Maybe I’m just being inconsistent but somewhere deep down I feel
the National Lottery is immoral.
8.10
Let me answer another of your questions briefly. My first law of
gambling is “Never bet on certainties”. After I’ve received enough
comments (and if Paul allows me space) I might tell you why. By the way,
this law, like my second law, is not moralistic but pragmatic and (hint)
part of my Management Decision Making course.
8.10
Systems – Some general principles
8.10
If there is one piece of general advice which you should heed above all
others it is that you should think in terms of the whole system rather
than just the computer box. By this I mean that you should think of the
monitor, printer, back up storage and your software packages not as
isolated parts, but as elements which contribute to the efficient
functioning of your whole system.
8.10
Back in the days of the BBC (around 1980), the things you could do with
a computer were very limited compared with the range of things that you
can do now. Features which we almost take for granted now such as
multitasking, high screen resolution, millions of colours and high
resolution printouts were dreams of the distant future. With these new
features, you can do new things − but only if the rest of your system is
of a standard such that you can take advantage of them.
8.10
The cost of the average home computer system has increased but this is
not just because of the increase in the cost of the main box. Let me
explain by using the monitor as an example. The cost of a monitor
suitable for an Archimedes is much higher than the cost of the monitor
for my old BBC B. This increase is not because the price of a 50Hz 14"
Microvitec (suitable for a BBC) has increased but because such a
Microvitec would not be suitable for an Archimedes. Fitting a cheap old
fashioned (modes 0 to 7) monitor to an Archimedes would drag down the
performance of the overall system to an unacceptable level. To take full
advantage of the Archimedes you really need at least a 17" multisync
monitor.
8.10
To a slightly lesser extent the same thing applies to back up storage
(floppy discs, hard discs and the like). If you want to store large,
multi-coloured sprites then, if your only back up storage is floppies
and a 40Mb hard disc, this will unacceptably limit your creativity.
8.10
Now to printers. Perhaps you are one of the few but growing number of
Archimedes users whose main output is video or music; perhaps you use
your Archimedes to do sums and just want to see the answer; but, if not,
it is almost certain that you don’t generate documents or pretty
pictures just to be viewed on screen. You want to print them out and you
want to print them out to a standard which reflects the quality of the
rest of your system. It is false economy to hook up your Archimedes to a
low quality printer!
8.10
Early printers
8.10
At the College where I have my day job, we still have a golf ball
printer! We also have a few daisy wheel printers. Every character is
perfectly formed and, particularly if a carbon ribbon is used, the print
quality is excellent. Even though they use the serial rather than the
parallel port, printing is fast; this is because the printer receives
8-bit character codes rather than building up the letters dot by dot.
(Incidentally, the golf ball uses EBCDIC rather than ASCII coding so we
have an old BBC computer which acts as an ASCII to EBCDIC converter
between the word processor and the printer!)
8.10
One shortcoming of these early machines is that printing is usually
mono-spaced (like Corpus) and often at only one point size. Such a
printer is fine if you are happy to limit your output to mono spaced,
single size text (without graphics) − if you use one regularly, I expect
that you have a simple word processor as your major piece of software.
Perhaps you don’t really need a high powered Archimedes − probably you
aren’t reading this! But let me know if you are.
8.10
The dot matrix printer
8.10
In the early days of PCs (early 1980s), the definitive dot matrix
printer was the 9-pin Epson FX80. I still have one and I use it with my
Archimedes for tractor feed labels. I remember how pleased I used to be
with the graphics output but, when I open my dusty files (usually to
look up an old college assignment) I find that they don’t look as good
to me now as they did at the time! I’m a lot more critical now.
8.10
Under my high power laboratory microscope, some many years ago I
measured the dot diameter of my 9-pin printer and found it to be about
0.015" (which is about 0.35 mm). The FX80 has a graphics printing mode
which professes to produce 216 dots per inch vertically. To save you
doing the arithmetic, 1/216" is about 0.0046", one third of the dot
diameter! At this dot pitch, the 0.015" dots overlap. This overlap gives
the impression that the image is smudged − you don’t really get a
resolution of 1/216".
8.10
During the late 1980s, I received documents printed on 24-pin printers
and I subjected them to the same microscopic treatment. What I found was
that the dot diameter is about 0.005" and, at a nominal resolution of
1/216", the dots appear to just touch. A 24-pin printer does give a
better graphics output than a 9-pin at the same dot pitch because the
dots don’t overlap. It gives a resolution equivalent to about 200 dpi.
8.10
During the last five years, I have received many documents produced on
24-pin colour printers. The better ones have a ribbon containing four
colours. I will deal in more detail with printing in colour and in
shades of grey later in this article. For now let me say that it is
difficult to produce the right colour balance with a dot matrix printer
unless you use a new (or nearly new) ribbon.
8.10
You can still buy dot matrix printers. The prices vary from £150 to
£500; the usual difference is the number of internal fonts. If your
interest is mainly character printing in monochrome, dot matrix printers
are fast and economical. However, if you want to print graphics in
monochrome or colour, you may be disappointed.
8.10
The laser printer
8.10
Laser printers used to be much more expensive than they are now.
Generally, the price included a set of PostScript fonts held within the
printer. For home DTP use, PostScript printing on the Archimedes has
never been as popular as it is on other machines. However, if your
interests are in professional printed output (through a print bureau),
you will need PostScript so that you can test the output.
8.10
I think it was at the end of the 1980s or early 1990s that I noticed
laser printers (without PostScript fonts) being offered for the
Archimedes at £1500 upwards. I bought an Epson laser printer model
GQ 3500 (at about half price because they were just bringing out a new
model) which is capable of a resolution of 300 dots per inch. Under the
high power microscope, the dots showed a slight overlap and measured
just over 1/300". The black is always the same colour of black. Unlike
the ribbon of the dot matrix printer, the colour on the laser does not
go grey as the toner runs out.
8.10
I have much experience of using a wide range of paper types with this
laser printer and I have received documents from others who have 300 dpi
lasers and the quality is totally consistent. The only differences I
have found with different paper types is that some tend to curl more
easily than others; some are totally unsuitable for double-sided use;
some papers tend to leave a lot of fluffy residue inside the printer. As
far as I can determine, these differences never affect the quality of
the print.
8.10
Some time ago I ‘lent’ that printer to my son David. He services
computer systems for a living so I asked him about laser printers. He
says “For home use don’t get one of the types where the toner, collector
and drum are separate (they’re separate in the GQ 3500 he’s borrowed).
Although running costs on such machines are cheaper than the ones with
an all-in-one cartridge, they tend to go wrong more often and in a more
expensive way than the all-in-one types. When the all-in-one types go
wrong you can usually fix it by buying a new cartridge.” My son also
says, “Don’t buy a clone; buy a known brand such as an HP or Epson and
buy branded cartridges. Budget for £700 to £900” The reasons for buying
a known brand, even if it is more expensive, are: (a) you’re more likely
to still be able to buy cartridges in the future (b) branded cartridges
tend to have a more consistent toner quality (i.e. diameter of grain)
and (c) they tend to have photosensitive drums which last longer than
the toner (rather than failing before the toner runs out)!
8.10
Unless you want to spend a lot of money, laser printers are limited to
monochrome printing.
8.10
Finally, although I have yet to receive any documents produced on a
600 dpi or 1200 dpi laser, logic tells me that, provided the resolution
is real and not fictitious (cf the 1/216" line spacing on the 9-pin dot
matrix) then the only problem you’ll have in realising this resolution
is memory, speed of processing and higher cost toner cartridges!
8.10
The inkjet printer
8.10
Well, after ‘lending’ my laser printer to David, I had to fall back on a
printer which I had bought primarily to experiment with colour, an
Integrex ColourJet Series 2 printer. It is a Hewlett Packard 500C clone
with a nominal resolution of 300 dpi. You can load it with either an
HP51626A black cartridge or an HP51625A three-colour cartridge but you
can’t have both the black and the colour cartridge in at the same time −
that facility came with the 550C onwards.
8.10
Unlike the laser printer, the (effective) dot diameter does vary with
paper quality. When I use some of the cheaper papers, I find that the
ink runs along the fibre of the paper − not very much but, when I look
at the printed output under my microscope, I find that the dot isn’t
round but it has elongated, sometimes as much as threefold, along the
grain of the paper. Sometimes, the ink runs out from the dot along the
paper fibres so that, under the microscope, it looks a bit like a
spider!
8.10
The dots on paper designed for inkjet use are just over 1/300" whereas,
with poor quality paper, the dots can be up to three times that size. If
you want the best (monochrome) quality, you really need to buy inkjet
paper.
8.10
I have tried cartridges other than the HP brand. Some are OK, but some
are not. What goes wrong with the poorer quality cartridges is that,
after a while, the jets become partly blocked. This can either reduce
the quantity of ink squirted into the dot or it affects the direction of
the jet so that the ink is deposited slightly out of place on the paper.
I have had no problem with the branded HP cartridges but they are
slightly more expensive than some of the other brands.
8.10
Many of my correspondents refill their black cartridges. I have tried it
− often successfully, but occasionally not. By unsuccessful, I mean that
at least one (and often more than one) of the jets becomes blocked
before the ink runs out. If the cartridge doesn’t work, the recommended
cleaning process (essentially pressurising the cartridge to blow the
debris out of the blocked jets) provides only a temporary solution. I
don’t know why but the jets soon block again. My best guess is that the
ink is no good!
8.10
Over the last few years, I have studied, with my microscope, many
documents I have received from correspondents with both 300 dpi and
360 dpi inkjet printers. There is no doubt in my mind that the nature of
the paper used (its absorbency) is the single most important factor
which determines quality and not the subtle difference between the
300 dpi and 360 dpi printers. That is not to say that the difference is
immeasurable. Not only can the difference be measured with a suitable
microscope but, for the same quality of paper, it is also noticeable to
the naked eye; I would describe this characteristic as crispness.
8.10
Canon were one of the first companies to introduce inkjet printers. They
chose 360 dpi as their standard whereas, when HP came into the inkjet
market, they felt that it was important that the printer programming
language which they used on all their lasers should run with their new
inkjets. Consequently, HP (followed by Epson) chose to retain the
300 dpi standard for their new inkjets.
8.10
So far as prices are concerned, £300 to £500 will buy you a monochrome
inkjet printer; colour versions cost £50 to £100 more than the mono
equivalent. Generally, the price differences relate not so much to the
quality of the print (nor the ink usage) but to such things as the
capacity of the blank paper tray, whether there is a facility for
feeding single sheets (e.g. envelopes) and whether there is a straight
through path. This latter is important if you want to print labels since
if the sheet of labels wraps around a roller as it passes through the
machine, you may find the labels unpeeling around a roller.
8.10
In spite of many reports to the contrary in other magazines, it is my
experience (and that of others who have written to me) that, even
allowing for using slightly more expensive paper for the inkjet (than is
needed for the laser printer), the running cost of monochrome printing
using the inkjet are less than that of the laser printer.
8.10
Monochrome summary
8.10
Don’t buy a dot matrix printer unless your only interest is fast text
printing. If you are interested only in the best quality and definitely
don’t want colour, you should consider buying a laser printer rather
than an inkjet. Lasers are just under double the price of an inkjet, so
you will have to have a definite need for the slight improvement in
quality if you are to justify the extra initial and extra running cost.
8.10
If you decide that you want to print at least some of your pictures in
colour, it is almost certain that you’ll find colour laser printing too
expensive and I suggest that you buy a colour inkjet instead.  Read the
section below.
8.10
Colour and shades of grey
8.10
Colour is built up from mixtures of three colours. A painter can create
shades of grey (or colour) by diluting black (or the colour) with white.
You can’t do that with the inks from an inkjet. As far as I am aware (if
it’s working properly) the inkjet delivers the same volume of ink every
time it is activated. Shades of grey and shades of colour are achieved
by the optical illusion of leaving out some of the dots.
8.10
What this means in practice is that, although the resolution of your
printer might be 300 dpi, the printer driver uses blocks of four or more
dots at a time to create a shade. Taking the case of four dots per
block, this effectively reduces the resolution from 300 dpi to
150 blocks per inch; there are 150 of these four pixel blocks per inch.
To generate more shades, you need more dots per block. If the driver
uses sixteen dots per block, this reduces the resolution to 75 blocks
per inch.
8.10
I find it interesting that, to my eye, for pictures which are coloured
or consist of shades of grey, poor quality paper which smudges the
coloured dots gives a better overall impression than the best quality
paper (which allows me to see the individual, 75 bpi, blocks). Let me
put it another way; coloured pictures don’t have to be crisp! I have
discussed this effect with a professional artist who has explained to me
that the eye detects edges (in monochrome), but prefers blended changes
between the crisp edges. She tells me that artists know and use this
fact by emphasising edges, perhaps even lining them in with black, but
deliberately blurring all the rest of the painting.
8.10
Again, over the last few years, I have studied colour prints sent me
from a wide range of correspondents and I have no hesitation in saying
that those who use a four colour machine (three colours plus black all
in the machine at the same time) produce better pictures than my three
colour machine.
8.10
My experiments with colour at 300 dpi on my three colour machine (no
black when I’m running colour) is that drawings produced by drawing
packages such as Draw (with blocks of colour created by filling with the
same colour) look good, but prints taken from digitised colour
photographs (where the colour is graduated across the sprite) are
generally disappointing. I also have a copy of ProArtisan. With it I can
produce excellent pictures on the screen but, when I print them out, I
am disappointed.
8.10
My conclusion is that, for digitised colour photos or paintings produced
by ProArtisan (or similar packages), my 300 dpi colour printer does not
have sufficient resolution − but I’m willing to be told I’m wrong.
8.10
Colour summary
8.10
If you produce your pictures from Draw (or a similar package), there are
areas of constant colour which are large enough for the optical illusion
of mixing to work. A 300 dpi or 360 dpi colour printer will probably
suffice.
8.10
If you are going to do a lot of colour printing then, for reasons of
economy, it is definitely better to buy a machine which uses four
separate cartridges rather than all three colours in one cartridge. The
yellow in my three colour cartridge always seems to run out before the
other colours. Because the colour cartridges are separate, I recommend
the Canon rather than the HP or Epson machines. Yes! I know that the HP
DeskJet 1200C uses separate cartridges but it costs over £1400 (because
it can take PostScript?) − I think most other HP and Epson machines use
a three-colour cartridge.
8.10
The Canon BJC600 series costs about £450 and cartridges cost about £10 a
time (you’ll need four − black, cyan, magenta and yellow). Quite a few
of my correspondents have sent me documents produced on the BJC600, many
in colour. I have looked at the paper and it seems to me that the inks
used by the Canon must dry more quickly than the HP inks I use because,
for the same quality paper, the dots are much smaller than I would have
expected. That said, the documents I receive on quality inkjet paper are
noticeably better than those on standard photocopying or laser paper.
8.10
My recommendations
8.10
If you have no interest in graphics printing, try to get hold of an old
golf ball or daisywheel printer. If you can’t find one then maybe a
24-pin dot matrix printer will do all that you need. You can still buy
them and they’re cheap.
8.10
If your only interest is monochrome and if quality is essential, you
need a laser printer. Buy the highest resolution you can afford.
8.10
Most of you will want to get into colour printing; the extra cost of
colour is small compared with the benefit and pleasure. Printing
drawings created in ProArtisan (or a similar package) may disappoint you
unless you buy a 600 dpi or higher resolution; on theoretical grounds
I’m not convinced that 600 dpi is enough! Pictures produced in Draw,
where the same colour fills a large enough area, reproduce well at
360 dpi.
8.10
For all the reasons given above, for most of you, I recommend that you
buy the Canon BJC600 (four colour 360 dpi) at about £450.
8.10
Multiple copies
8.10
A comment I’ve received is “many users want to produce at least two
copies of many of their documents. If you want to produce multiple
(RISC OS printed) copies, you’ll find that most laser printers do this
more quickly than inkjets. The reason is that the laser stores the whole
page in its own memory and then prints the extra copies (after the first
one) from memory. The inkjet has to recreate the page anew for every
copy.” My response is that, with an inkjet, you should print to a file
as one copy (as I’ve described in a previous issue of Archive) and then
drag the Printout file to the Printer icon as many times as necessary
for the multiple copies. Even if you want only two copies, you’ll find
that this ‘print one copy to file’ method will halve the time that the
machine is tied up.
8.10
Correspondence
8.10
Please write to me direct at the Abacus Training address rather than via
Archive. Return postage and an address label help more than you might at
first think; my thanks to all of you who do send address labels and
stamps. u
8.10
Risc PC Column
8.10
Keith Hodge
8.10
Software information
8.10
Whilst at the Harrogate show (see comments below) I purchased Sleuth2,
as it was well received by Jim Nottingham. I can only agree with his
report − it seems to cope with almost impossible originals, i.e. dirty,
creased, etc. The only thing that seems to confuse it slightly, is if
there are vertical lines mixed in with the text, but by using the rubber
banding facilities, even this can be worked around.
8.10
One thing that I find very good about the reviews in this magazine, is
that people report the snags as well as the good points of the software
/ hardware that they are reviewing and I know that this has led to some
heated exchanges between some suppliers and Paul. In my opinion, this is
to the long-term good of us all, because diligent authors will work to
improve the product and the poor products will fall by the wayside. This
attitude is, I think, one reason why Risc PC software often out-performs
PC and Mac software.
8.10
Hardware and software news
8.10
Jim Nottingham has sent me a copy of a letter he has received from
Atomwide. It provides an update on the information Martyn Purdie
requested last month about the internal screening:
8.10
“There are two types of Risc PC slice currently available: open and
closed.
8.10
Open slices have holes cut in the rear for access to power supply
connectors, and in the front for a 3½" drive. None of the Open slices
that have been supplied to us by Acorn have been sprayed with the dark
grey RFI screening paint. There is nothing that we can do about this; we
do not expect to receive sprayed open slices for many months.
8.10
Closed slices have no holes cut in the moulding at all. However, they
have all been sprayed with RFI screening paint.”
8.10
From Rex Palmer − “I have an ACB45 Rise PC with 2Mb VRAM and the Acorn
17" monitor. I have fitted a Cumana SCSI 2 card (in the bottom slot) and
it is working with a SyQuest 270Mb removable internal drive and a NEC
3Xi CD-ROM drive. Interestingly, the SyQuest announces itself (under
*devices and the Cumana set-up program) as a 256Mb device and it formats
to 255Mb with 66Kb taken up for housekeeping. Also, the data block size
that Cumana use is obviously different from that used on my internal
420Mb IDE drive (which only has 406Mb under Free), as a set of files
(over 3,000) when backed up to the SyQuest take up 151Mb as against
145Mb.
8.10
Cumana’s interface seems very good. It has (or does it come from the
Rise PC?) a special icon for the removable drive which initially
announces itself as SCSI 4. When a disc is inserted and the icon clicked
on, the legend under the icon changes to the name of the inserted disc.
When the <shift-ctrl-fl2> shutdown routine is called, the drive is spun
down and the disc ejected before the switch off message appears on the
screen.”
8.10
Another interesting letter has come from Ted Lacey, who has been
upgrading the memory of his computer, and has experienced a few
difficulties, the solutions to which he has passed on − “Having
purchased and installed memory upgrades to my Risc PC, may I pass the
following tips to other members. I purchased a Simtec l6Mb (upgradable
to 32Mb) DRAM module from NCS and although I am not a novice at
electronics, I did experience some difficulty in fitting it. No
instructions were supplied with a piece of equipment costing over £500
and you can easily be misled as to correct way to fit the upgrade.
Unlike the SIMM module already fitted, it does not go in to the slot
with the chips uppermost − it is the empty sockets that appear at the
top when the board is fitted. Admittedly, there is a notch on the board
but this is not all that obvious and could be very confusing to any
inexperienced user fitting the upgrade. I have spoken to Simtec and they
have promised to do something about it.
8.10
Secondly, I upgraded my VRAM module to 2Mb at the same time. As this
necessitated removing the existing board and sending it to NCS, I
couldn’t remember which way round the board should be fitted when I got
it back. I couldn’t find anything in the Acorn user guides, so I had to
dig out a copy of a magazine issued at launch time last year. To save
others the trouble, the “nobs” or capacitors on the board are fitted
facing the rear of the computer.”
8.10
I myself have discovered an interesting ‘effect’ using the Cumana SCSI 2
interface with David Pilling’s Twain driver and a Canon IX-4015 flat bed
scanner. I normally use a 256 colour 1024×768 screen mode with no
problems. However, I have recently started to use 32K colours at the
same resolution and find that this seems to be the cause thin vertical
black lines appearing on the scanned image. These lines do not appear on
every scan but, once they do appear, you have to reload the application
before clean scans can be obtained. The big question is, what is causing
the problem − RISC OS? Twain driver? or the SCSI interface? When I
return from holiday, I will write to each of the suppliers and report
back. Have any readers noticed this effect?
8.10
Wish list for the next Risc PC / New issues of Basic
8.10
The number one addition I would like to see, is a built-in programmable
timer, so that the machine can be programmed to come on at various times
of the day to allow batchs of FAXs to be sent during cheap line times,
and CEEFAX information to be read, but without the machine having to be
left switched on all day. I have resorted to using a programmable timer
of the type which goes between the wall socket and the computer mains
plug.
8.10
Questions of the month
8.10
Of those who have received their 486 card and, having started to use
Microsoft Windows, how many have suddenly realised just how good the
Acorn windows system is?!
8.10
Harrogate show
8.10
I dropped in for a quick look at what was on offer, but have to admit
that I left with one hour, as I found the noise from the Acorn stand
unbearable. It was, I have no doubt, great fun for the younger members
of the Acorn set, but I feel that if Acorn wish to enlarge their small
business operations, they need to have one / half a day set aside for
business users to have a nice quite chat with people who can answer the
type of questions that small business men would like to ask.
8.10
Tailpiece
8.10
Well, my 486 card has arrived and I must say that, so far, I am very
pleased. It is definitely faster than my Toshiba 486 portable when used
in single tasking mode and about the same speed in multitasking mode.
Dragging windows does, however, seem a little slow in multitasking mode.
One thing that I feel should be pointed out, is that you will have to
allocate at least 5Mb of RAM to the card to get consistent error-free
operation. I feel that, realistically, you will need at least 8+1Mb of
RAM in your machine. I will have had a chance to play by next month and
will report back further.
8.10
For those who have written asking what a Pietenpol Aircraft looks like,
see below. These and other more modern aircraft are manufactured by
members (like myself) of the Popular Flying Association under the
guidance of the their local PFA inspector. The aircraft in the picture
was build in about two years by the proud owner Alan James.
8.10

8.10
The image, by the way, is reproduced from the cover picture of “Popular
Flying” (the PFA magazine), scanned at 600dpi on a Irlam Canon IX-4015
flatbed scanner and reduced to 90dpi with ChangeFSI.  For further
information, the PFA can be reached on 01273-461616.
8.10
As usual, I can be contacted by letter at the HES address on the back
page, by telephone after 7p.m., or by Packet Radio from anywhere in the
world, as GW4NEI@GB7OAR.#16.GBR.EU. u
8.10
Interfacing the NC100
8.10
Les May
8.10
When I wrote my original article about the NC100 (8.3 p47), I intended
to follow it with a second one describing a couple of programs which can
be used to transfer files between a RISC OS machine and the NC100. It
has taken me a little while to get round to writing it, and I know that
one or two readers have asked Paul about when it was going to appear.
Please accept my apologies for the delay.
8.10
The NC100 has built-in software to transfer via the serial port both
ASCII and ProText files to and from another machine. The host might be
used for further processing, manipulation or storage of files, or for
downloading data files or programs to the portable. To do this, the host
machine must be equipped with suitable software. A brief description of
two commercial programs available for RISC OS machines is the subject of
this article.
8.10
PLink
8.10
PLink, which costs £32 +VAT from MCP Computing, Hampshire
MicroTechnology Centre, is supplied as a single disc, together with an
A4 instruction booklet of eleven single-sided pages and a one metre lead
equipped with a rather ‘chunky’ female 9-pin D plug on each end. The
fairly large typeface makes the instructions easy to read. Setting up
the appropriate options on the NC100, and the steps in transferring
files in each direction between machines, are dealt with simply and
clearly.
8.10
Appropriate diagrams are given, so that the user knows what should
appear on the small screen of the portable. The location of the
communication ports on the Amstrad is illustrated and the possible
labelling of the serial port on different RISC OS machines is described.
There are also sections on creating and using textfiles with PenDown,
Impression and First Word Plus.
8.10
The PLink icon installs itself on the right hand side of the iconbar and
gives access to various menu choices in the usual RISC OS fashion. One
option allows saving of the various default options which will be used
when the application starts up.
8.10
File transfer to the host machine is initiated from the portable. As
soon as the first few bytes are received, a small window opens in the
middle of the desktop and the progress of the transfer can be monitored
by the rapidly changing count of bytes received.
8.10
When transmission is complete, a save window opens, complete with
default name. This can then be dragged to a suitable directory ‘as is’
or renamed. One bug that did appear was that, unless the whole of the
default name is deleted and retyped, attempts at calling files PLink1,
Plink2 etc, will fail, because the second file ends up being saved as
PLink1, overwriting the first.
8.10
One option which can be set up from the iconbar menu is autosave. Each
file is given a name set to the current time. The destination of
auto-saved files can be specified by setting the NC100$Received system
variable. Although the manual ‘holds your hand’ throughout the actual
process of setting up the options and transfer, it simply refers to
<filepath> here. An example or two would have been useful.
8.10
To send a file to the NC100, it is dragged to the PLink icon and dropped
onto it. The user is then prompted to ‘Set the Amstrad ready to
receive’. Once this is done, file transfer is started by pressing
<return> or clicking the OK button. You get this even if the NC100 has
already been put into receive mode. I found this a bit irritating.
8.10
ArcLink
8.10
The second program is Archimedes Link, (ArcLink), which costs £45 from S
& S Computer Advice. This comes with a 34-page A5 booklet and a suitable
lead. I asked for, and received, a two metre lead, which is about the
minimum useful length. The plugs are less ‘chunky’ and are equipped with
long knurled screws easy to tighten with the fingers.
8.10
The application icon appears on the left hand side of the iconbar. This
is a bit cheeky because it implies that the NC100 is treated as just
another RISC OS filing system where files are shifted by manipulating
the mouse. In fact, the basic procedure for transferring files in either
direction is very much as described earlier.
8.10
When the RISC OS machine is to receive a file, it has to be named and
given a destination at the outset and there is no autosave facility.
Below the main icon, a count of the number of lines is given, which
makes file transfer seem to be slower than when bytes are counted.
8.10
The NC100 has to be set to transmit ProText files, but by choosing the
correct option from the iconbar menu, received files can be converted to
ASCII or First Word Plus format. A backup option allows the user to
upload to the RISC OS machine unconverted ProText files containing text
produced by the NC100 wordprocessor and data files for saving the
address book.
8.10
Files are sent to the NC100 by the usual drag and drop method.
8.10
Although the ‘manual’ has 34 pages, only eight are directly applicable
to the NC100. The remainder describe other programs which are supplied
on the ArcLink disc and allow the transfer of programs between a RISC OS
machine and Tandy WP-2, WP-3 or Z88 machines. In addition, there are
several utilities for converting text files and WP-2 files to FWP
format, loader modules which convert WP-2 or ProText files, uploaded and
saved using the Backup option, so that they can be loaded direct into
Impression, and a program which ‘filters’ end of line codes of files to
be loaded into Ovation. As I only have an NC100 and FWP, I was not able
to test most of these.
8.10
Which to choose?
8.10
Both programs make the transfer of files to and from the NC100 a trivial
task. PLink has fewer ‘features’ but is less expensive than ArcLink. The
auto-save facility of PLink is useful if a lot of small files have to be
transferred.
8.10
ArcLink cannot do that, but the ability to convert ProText files direct
to FWP more than makes up for it. (I’m a regular FWP user!) This program
is also a little more ‘polished’ than PLink, but that is just cosmetic
and has no bearing on utility. Mr Shore at S & S was very helpful and
clarified my queries before I placed the order for the NC100 or for
ArcLink.
8.10
The programs were tested on an A5000 with 4Mb of memory and a hard
drive. Both quit the machine cleanly and appeared to be RISC OS
compliant.
8.10
If anyone is using an NC100 (or any similar machine) in conjunction with
a RISC OS machine or knows of any books or articles dealing with getting
the best from the NC100, I would be interested to hear from them. I’ll
try to put together a third article from any responses I receive. My
address is 20 Crescent Road, Rochdale, Lancs. OL11 3LF. (01706-32119) u
8.10
David Holden has sent us his NC100 communication program. We have put
this on the monthly program disc. It is Shareware with a registration
fee of £8. David will also supply a lead to registered users for £7 −
contact David through the APDL address in the Factfile. Ed.
8.10
PDCD 2 from Datafile
8.10
Bob Ames
8.10
This is an attempt at a review of PDCD 2, with reference to the first
disc, PDCD 1. I say “attempt” because I really don’t know how to review
such a large amount of software properly and still get published this
century!
8.10
Better than PDCD1?
8.10
There was a review of the first in the series (PDCD 1) in Archive 8.2
p65 and David Holden has already said a few words about discs 1 and 2 in
Archive 8.6 p12. I’m glad that Dave at the Datafile is offering an
upgrade from the first issue of PDCD 1 to issue 2 with its improved
front end but I wish PDCD 1 had been archived as PDCD 2. The difference
in speed of initial access is very marked. With PDCD 1, I had to wait
well over a minute for the first directory display to appear. This is
because all the pretty icons for the different sections needed to be
loaded from CD before the directory display was available.
8.10
With PDCD 2, all entries in the first directory are archived, (with
ArcFS) so it is the ArcFS icon that is used for all directories. This
means that there is a comparatively short wait, in the order of a few
seconds when opening the root directory. This may not seem important
but, with hard resets necessary to escape from most of the games and
demos (see later), the time taken to overview software increases
dramatically when minutes are wasted waiting for the directory to
display.
8.10
Risc PC or pre-Risc PC?
8.10
The majority of programs on PDCD 2 have been tested for Risc PC
compatibility. A floppy accompanies it which contains a RISC OS 3
version of ArcFS which I needed to read the entries, as the version
otherwise supplied is Risc PC only. So with pre-Risc PC machines,
instead of double clicking on the archived icon, the file has to be
dragged onto the ArcFS icon on the iconbar. If double clicking is
attempted, a polite message appears reminding you that you don’t have a
Risc PC!
8.10
Duplication
8.10
There are some minor repetitions from PDCD 1 to PDCD 2. Some of the
games, for example, occur on both, and I spotted half a dozen duplicate
sillies and a couple of duplicate utilities, too. However, there are a
couple of games with very similar names and that causes confusion!
8.10
Considering the vast number of files on these discs, I don’t think the
duplication rate at all bad. There are a couple of deliberate
duplications, such Translator and FYEO2, without which the picture files
are difficult to use.
8.10
Documentation
8.10
The manual shows (perhaps?) a slightly hurried preparation to get the
library published on CD − the games, demos and utilities are not listed
in alphabetical order, but in sections which refer (although you aren’t
told this) to the contents of the individual directories. This should
have been tidied up before printing. The manual still refers to (floppy)
discs and is not thoroughly debugged − there are some spelling mistakes,
some contact telephone numbers only partly printed, and some other
strange references.
8.10
Locating the software
8.10
When I got around to using the built-in database to look for various
applications etc, I did have a bit of trouble with the search engine. I
could not get it to find any references to programs which I knew (from
the manual) were on the CD. This fault was not repeated, however, but
the search still only finds some of the references contained within the
descriptive text.
8.10
So what is on the CD?
8.10
There is a huge selection of good games and utilities on this disc,
although some of the games and demos still require a hard break to quit.
Yet more do not have an option for displaying the instructions at
loading and even more omit the vital volume control.
8.10
Notes to Game Authors:  1) Try overviewing games software (or just
enjoying yourself!) while the kids are asleep, and then, when the game
music plays at full volume, try to get them back to sleep again without
tears!
8.10
2) Please tell us how to avoid your long “ego trip” at the start of each
game − I refer to the interminable introductory scroll-text which claims
responsibility for the code, then goes on (and on and on) to thank “all
at home for the continuous stream of coffee and the dog for not biting
through the mains cable” etc, etc, etc.
8.10
I have been put off a large number of PD games because of these two
faults! They were probably otherwise quite good, but I didn’t have the
patience to find out!
8.10
The full contents of fifteen books are available, mostly Mark Twain
texts, and I’m still not sure about value of complete books being stored
digitally − I would rather read the printed page. Apart from the
facility of searching for all the occurrences of a particular word in a
novel, it would seem far better to input reference books onto computer,
however important each fictional work may seem to be.
8.10
Other contents include:
8.10
a large selection of clipart including 85 Artworks files, 900 drawfiles,
260 sprite files
8.10
18 film type animations
8.10
15 commercial demos (restricted versions of programs, sometimes known as
crippleware)
8.10
more than 35 demos (the sort of thing which I sit watching while part of
me wonders how long it took to program, and how I get out without
destroying the CMOS ram settings forever!)
8.10
There are some Morphs, but they seem to me to be quite poor examples. −
the subject’s eyes don’t stay in the same place while the image changes.
These are poor adverts for the Acorn’s capabilities − I’ve seen some
brilliant displays on the Macintosh!
8.10
The sound samples are in utility format which releases memory after use
and allows use in other programs. (However, most of these samples seem
to be from Star Trek TNG!)
8.10
Other headings include educational software; fractals; 50 Maestro songs;
PC Emulator software; ray-traced pictures; sillies; sound-trackers; and
Symphony files.
8.10
Overall
8.10
These two discs, PDCD 1 and PDCD 2 together, contain about 80% of the
currently available PD software for the Acorn machines; to quote Dave
McCartney of the Datafile, “another 15% is not worth disc room and the
last 5% is being considered for the next in the series” (PDCD 3?) along
with newly minted offerings.
8.10
This is great value for those who don’t have much PD software; still
quite good if the stuff you do have is a couple of years old. (For
example, my copy of !Translator was giving trouble, but then I
discovered it was four versions old!)
8.10
PDCD 2 costs £30 inclusive from The Datafile or £29 through Archive. u
8.10
Running Basic in a Task Window
8.10
Brian Cowan + Martin Dann
8.10
In our laboratory, we often run relatively simple Basic programs to
perform various calculations. A trivial example of this might be the
conversion of a temperature from Fahrenheit to Celsius. If you click on
the program in a filer window, the program runs in a small window on the
desktop. The disadvantage is that all other tasks are frozen until the
Basic program is quit. The way round this problem is to run the program
in a task window. The task window is a convenient facility for running a
program in a window in the desktop without requiring the full complexity
of WIMP programming.
8.10
Opening a task window
8.10
In RISC OS 3.1, a task window is opened from the task manager acorn on
the iconbar. Clicking <menu> over the acorn opens a menu window, one of
whose entries is “Task window”. Selecting that option will open a window
displaying the command line prompt star. You will also see that
<ctrl-f12> is a short-cut to opening the task window. Once the window
has been opened, you can go into Basic by simply typing BASIC and
pressing <return>. After this, you have your own little Basic
environment from which you can run programs. Remember that Basic
commands must be typed in upper case characters.
8.10
From the Basic prompt, you can type programs, save and load them, as
well as performing star commands. So if you have a program saved, it can
be loaded and run in the usual Basic manner.
8.10
Automatic operation
8.10
What I wanted to do was to be able to click on a Basic program to get it
to run in a task window. I had a hint that this should be possible from
reading the RISC OS 3 manual which listed the new filetypes &FD7 and
&FD6 which are for Obey files and Exec files running in a Task window.
The reason these work in the way they do is because the run action for
these filetypes is defined in the system variables Alias$@RunType_XXX.
It would be a simple matter to redefine this system variable for the
Basic filetype &FFB. Unfortunately, this has the problem that all Basic
programs would then be run in task windows − even those which should run
in the conventional manner.
8.10
What we have to do is to define a new filetype for Basic programs that
we wish to run in a task window. For the purposes of this article, let
us adopt the filetype &0A0 which I shall give the textual equivalent
AutoBas. Then the system variable alias$@RunType_0A0 must be set for the
action required when clicking on files of filetype &0A0.
8.10
Building an application directory
8.10
The simplest way to implement the running of AutoBas programs in a task
window is by using an application directory. The diagram shows the
structure of the directory.
8.10
Start by creating a directory called !Auto. Then go into this directory
(by clicking on it with the shift key pressed). The !Help file can be
created using Edit. This just contains a few lines saying what the
application does, such as
8.10
Auto running Basic program in task window.
8.10
Set filetype of Basic program to &0A0.
8.10
This is saved with filename !Help in the !Auto directory. The file will
have the correct filetype, Text (&FFF). The !Run file is created
similarly using Edit. This contains
8.10
| !Run file for !Auto
8.10
set alias$@RunType_0A0 TASKWINDOW -quit |"
8.10
 BASIC -quit %%*0 |"
8.10
set File$Type_0A0 AutoBas
8.10
IconSprites <Obey$Dir>.!Sprites
8.10
In this case the file must be given the Obey (&FEB) filetype. Finally, a
!Sprites file must be created. This contains the sprite which will be
displayed as the application sprite in the filer window, named !auto and
the sprite which represents the new AutoBas filetype. This sprite is
named file_0a0. You can modify an existing sprite, but they must be
given the correct names, and the sprite file called !Sprites, when
saved.
8.10
Auto booting
8.10
As it stands, the application will be initialised by clicking on the
!Auto icon. After this, AutoBas programs will be run in a task window by
clicking on them. If you don’t want to have to click on the !Auto icon
to initialise things, you need to have an Obey file called !Boot with
the same contents as the !Run file. Then things are initialised
automatically, as soon as the !Auto icon is seen by the desktop.
8.10
Basic programs
8.10
The simplest way to create Basic programs to operate with !Auto is to
write them in Edit and to save them with filetype &0A0. When such
programs are run, the first line in the task window says “program
renumbered”. This does not happen if the program is in tokenised Basic
form. In that case, the program is run without the disconcerting
message. However, to create the program in tokenised form is a little
inconvenient. The program is still written in Edit, but it must then be
saved with the Basic filetype (&FFB). Then the filetype of the program
can be changed to &0A0. There is the further disadvantage that if such a
file is dragged to Edit for alteration, it will appear as garbage as it
is being displayed as Basic tokens. The filetype must be changed back to
Basic before editing.
8.10
This month’s disc contains the full !Auto application, complete with
sprite and an example program. Perhaps readers can come up with some
other uses for this small application. u
8.10
Pocket Book Column
8.10
Audrey Laski
8.10
Power pack blues
8.10
Dedicated readers of this column may remember that I had to get a faulty
socket in the Pocket Book fixed because of interruptions to the flow
through the Power Pack − I am a miser about batteries and so plug in
whenever possible. After its return, I had no problems for about three
months; then suddenly the little green light went out and stayed out.
This time it was the insulation of the lead at the APB plug which had
gone. Avie Electronics of Norwich could supply and fix a new lead for
£9.99, and they did so in stunning turn-round time. It was back in
excellent order on the second day after posting it to them. Since then
I’ve had one mysterious glitch when, for ten minutes or so, the light
was out though both ends were well plugged in; I’m at a loss to explain
this, but I’ll notify any developments.
8.10
A-Link speed
8.10
Julian Midgeley, a Psion 3A user, of Bovey Tracey, Devon, writes about
using the A-Link at 19200 baud to double the speed of data transfer. He
does this by loading !RUN from the !PocketFS directory into Edit and
changing the twelfth line from the top:
8.10
SetEval PocketFS$Baud 0
8.10
to read
8.10
SetEval PocketFS$Baud 8
8.10
and saving. He then changes the remote-link baud rate option on the
Psion 3A to 19,200 before turning it on. He says, ‘I don’t know why this
wasn’t mentioned in the manual as I have had no difficulties whatsoever
at the higher speed. I suspect that 19,200 baud wasn’t available on the
original Pocket Book or Series 3.’ Having tried in vain to emulate him,
I think this must be the case, and wonder whether Pocket Book II has
this capability. Perhaps a user will test this out and let me know.
8.10
Spreading the word
8.10
He mentions in his letter how useful the Psion 3A is ‘on board a 5000
tonne ship at sea’, supported by a Canon BJ-10sx. Similarly, John
Woodthorpe praises it as a travelling companion, enabling him to check
local times when he was in ‘a different time zone each day’, write
reports in airport departure lounges, keep track of expenses, and, with
a modem, ‘log on to CompuServe to keep up with my email!’ In “Any
Questions” on Radio 4 the other week, Ann Robinson, formerly of the
Institute of Directors, spoke warmly of her ‘tiny computer’, mentioning
Psion by name with a slight hesitation as to whether it was proper to do
so in a BBC broadcast, and a few weeks before that, the Guardian’s “Me
and my Gizmo” column featured a 3A. Psion’s new advertising campaign is
punching the message home, graphically demonstrating the advantage of a
palmtop, which increases its information without increasing its size and
getting stuffed with papers as file/diaries do. I’ve heard it suggested
that the best use of the Lottery Millenium Fund would be to put a
computer on every school pupil’s desk − perhaps we should campaign for
the more affordable aim of a Pocket Book II in every satchel.
8.10
Endnote
8.10
This is a very short column. Can it really be that all the enthusiastic
Pocket Book/Psion users out there have run out of problems, tips and
experiences, or is it something I’ve said?! u
8.10
Font Emporium CD-ROM
8.10
Ted Lacey
8.10
For those DTP buffs who like to have a lot of fonts but lack the storage
space, the new CD-ROM from Zenta Multimedia is the answer to your
prayers, always assuming that you have access to a CD-ROM drive on your
setup.
8.10
Basically, the CD-ROM contains the 500 PD fonts regularly advertised by
Skyfall, plus another 50 or so additional fonts. (Yes, there is a
business connection between Skyfall and Zenta.) This large amount of
fonts will surely meet the needs of those who, like me, wish to have
variety. Fonts are like clipart − you can have a lot of them taking up a
large amount of your hard disc space, but most of them are only used
occasionally. A CD-ROM gets round this problem.
8.10
The main program, !Emporium, is organised into 15 directories, such as
3D, Heavy Assortment, Script and Sans Serif. The names of the
directories generally describe the type of font. Broadly speaking, this
difficult job of placing the fonts into arbitrary directories has been
well done, but as this is a matter of individual taste, there are bound
to be a few cases where one is not in agreement with the programmer.
8.10
Loading the main program follows the usual pattern and one is presented
with the well known blue folder, with the letter ‘Z’ superimposed, on
the icon bar. Clicking on this brings up a screen selector, divided into
15 sections, one for each of the directories. They are marked with the
name of each directory. Click <select> on your choice and this menu is
replaced with another menu of the fonts directory you have chosen. On
the left hand side is a list of the fonts with a slider bar to enable
you to scroll through the list. Clicking on the name of a font shows
details of the available font characters, and how they actually look, in
a window on the right hand side of the display. If the chosen font has
more than one face or style, the facility is available to select the
different styles for viewing. Clicking <select> on the box to the left
of the font name will earmark that font for downloading.
8.10
The program offers four different ways of exporting the chosen font or
fonts from the CD-ROM.
8.10
− Raw directories can be exported by clicking on the appropriate button
and then dragging the down arrow to the directory of your choice. You
are warned to take care with this option in order to ensure that the
directories go to the right place.
8.10
− Selecting Directory of Fonts and choosing a suitable name will create
a directory containing your selected font folders.
8.10
− Selecting !Fonts Folder and again choosing a suitable name, prefixed
by ‘!’, will create an applications directory with the necessary extra
bits of program, so that clicking on this application, when saved, will
load the fonts into your computer.
8.10
− The exporting option only applies to those who are in possession of
the font manager program !EasyFont3 produced by Fabis Computing. Due to
a delay in production of the CD-ROM, Zenta issued the compact disc
without an instruction leaflet, as they felt that customers who had had
the item on order for some time had waited long enough. There is an
adequate !Help instruction on the CD-ROM and I understand that the
leaflet will be despatched to customers later in April. (See below. Ed.)
In the meantime, the !Help section provides sufficient information. It
states that users of EasyFont3 require version 3.11 or later.
8.10
Herewith the first problem, as I needed to upgrade my version but, after
a phone call to Fabis, this was achieved in less than 48 hours, with the
arrival of version 3.14. Then more problems as I was getting a lot of
error messages when trying to export selected fonts from the CD-ROM into
EasyFont3. I wrote a letter to Fabis Computing giving full details of
these error messages and, within 3 days, I received version 3.15, with
the explanation that there appeared to have been some inconsistencies
between the original specification and the release version of !Font
Emporium. I have checked this version out and everything now works fine.
8.10
So to anybody who is going to use Font Emporium in conjunction with
EasyFont3, make sure that you upgrade to at least version 3.15. Fabis
Computing will do this upgrade for you; simply return your original disc
with two first class stamps to them. These arrangements apply to all
versions of !EasyFont3 − anything earlier than this and you will need to
contact Fabis Computing first. If you haven’t got !EasyFont3 and are
considering the purchase, hold fire for the present. I have been told by
Fabis Computing that they are producing a special version of !EasyFont3
for use with !Font Emporium. It is in the final testing stages and, if
all goes well, it will be available at the Spring Acorn User Show. I
understand that this version will enable one to access fonts directly
from the CD-ROM. No decision has been made on the price at the moment.
My thanks to Sean of Fabis Computing for his prompt assistance with the
problems.
8.10
So back to FontEmporium. The Examples directory contains examples in
both Draw and Artworks format together with a list of all fonts and
their styles or faces in an !Edit program. The !Groups help application
contains a list and descriptions of the fifteen directories, with the
!Help application providing adequate program operating instructions.
8.10
On the subject of Public Domain fonts, one should bear in mind that some
of them are incomplete in that you will not always find upper and lower
case, and many do not support the additional characters, such as the
accented letters found in foreign alphabets. Apart from this, a lot of
them are useful additions to one’s collection of fonts.
8.10
This CD-ROM is a well-presented and economical package and is thoroughly
recommended to those who want a lot of fonts, but wish to conserve their
precious hard disc space. It would probably be useful in the educational
world in meeting the varied requirements of pupils and staff. The fonts
are copyright by Zenta and Skyfall and may be used without a site
licence, but not commercially.
8.10
The CD-ROM costs £29.95 inclusive from Zenta Multimedia. u
8.10
Font Emporium & EasyFont3CD
8.10
Ted Lacey
8.10
Since writing the review above, I have discovered a problem with the
Oxford font on the CD-ROM. When attempting to use it with Publisher, I
get a long message which, briefly, states that the area of memory
reserved for fonts is full or that a font error has occurred. I have
tried increasing the font cache to as much as 8Mb, but the error still
occurs. I have tried the font with Ovation, with similar results.
8.10
However, I am drawing the attention of Zenta Multimedia to this in the
hope that the problems may be corrected on a future production run.
Perhaps a corrected version could be put on a floppy disc and sent out
to existing purchasers of the CD-ROM. Incidentally, the promised
instruction leaflet has so far (mid-May) not yet arrived.
8.10
As regards EasyFont3, the latest version, mentioned in the June
magazine, is 3.17. There are only minor changes to version 3.15 quoted
in the review, but v3.16 or later is essential if you are using the new
CD version, in order to achieve interaction between the two
applications.
8.10
In the review, I mentioned that Fabis Computing were working on a
version of EasyFont especially for use with Font Emporium. I have now
received EasyFont3CD, have tested it with the CD-ROM and found that it
works very well indeed.
8.10
Installation is quite simple and clicking on the icon on the iconbar
brings up a lengthy list of the fonts on the CD-ROM, all 550 of them,
even if you have forgotten to put the CD in your drive! The list of
fonts is displayed using the selected font. I found that reading some of
them in this format is difficult, but clicking <menu> on the font list
gives you a small menu which is self-explanatory.
8.10
Accessing ‘Display’ gives you the option of changing to a normal display
which is readable. This sub-menu also allows you to get rid of the font
group names, and all the fonts are then displayed in alphabetical order.
It is possible to view a font and its styles from this menu, as well as
the iconbar menu. The sub-menu also displays key shortcuts, but care
must be taken to position the arrow over the font display when using
these, as the same control keys may be used by the text-producing
application that you are using.
8.10
One point that really impressed me was the fact that, when working on an
Impression Publisher document, you can change your mind and add or
delete fonts as you go along; if you don’t like the look of the font,
try another, all without leaving the document or having to find font
directories on your hard disc! Unfortunately, the same cannot be done
with an Ovation document, although this may be corrected when OvationPro
eventually appears.
8.10
When a ‘saved’ document is required again, dragging its file icon onto
the EasyFontCD icon before loading will install the fonts used in the
document. Clicking on the documment file will then load it with all the
necessary fonts displayed. This facility also applies to files saved
using EasyFont3, version 3.16 or later, and providing the fonts used are
those from Font Emporium or RISC OS3 ROM Fonts.
8.10
Fabis Computing are offering the following:
8.10
1. EasyFont3CD software and Font Emporium CD­ROM − £35
8.10
2. EasyFont3CD software only for registered users of EasyFont3 − £10
8.10
3. EasyFont3CD software and manual only for non-registered users − £15
8.10
4. EasyFont3, EasyFontCD and FontEmporium − £60
8.10
All prices include postage and packing, and items are available direct
from Fabis Computing.
8.10
All testing was done on a 26Mb RiscPC with a 410Mb hard drive. u
8.10
WYSIWYG for £-sign
8.10
Ray Favre
8.10
If you like to dabble with your own programs, you will surely have
sometimes deliberately produced printer output directly from your
program without using a Printer Driver − and have then run into the
problem of getting some characters (e.g. the £­sign) to be the same on
both the screen and paper.
8.10
With progress(!) the problem seems to have got worse rather than better,
because there are quite a number of keyboard presses/ASCII numbers which
show one thing on the screen and something different on paper. (Which is
why we should all use printer drivers, yes, I know! But it is sometimes
a lot of bother to arrange that with your own small programs.)
8.10
(Is there scope here for an article? − “How to use printer drivers from
your own programs.” Anyone prepared to write it for us? Ed.)
8.10
Overcoming the problem is not difficult in principle: “Just re-define
the appropriate printer character” they all say! But getting hold of the
information to do it in practice is not always easy − certainly the
standard printer user manual doesn’t cover it sufficiently well.
8.10
With the aid of the Epson ESC/P Reference Manual (which is, nonetheless,
still a little obscure on a few of the points), I’ve put together a
Basic routine that solves the problem for Epson ESC/P2 compatible
printers e.g. the Epson Stylus. The solution ought to be general (for
compatible printers), but I haven’t tried it out over all the
‘difficult’ characters. In doing so, several other areas of possible
interest arose concerning changing Epson character sets and typefaces by
ESC codes. The program comments cover these briefly.
8.10
(The listing is too long for the magazine but is on the monthly disc. If
you don’t want to buy the disc just for this one listing, send in a
blank formatted disc and we’ll give you a copy of the program. Ed.)
8.10
The listing
8.10
The listing comprises two PROC definitions: ‘PROCprepareprinter’ and
‘PROCrestoreprinter’ − the former having some DATA lines associated with
it. You need to include those two definitions and DATA lines in your
program and call ‘PROCprepareprinter’ just before activating the
printer; then call ‘PROCrestoreprinter’ when you’ve finished with it.
I’ve commented the procedures fairly well to help with your own
dabbling.
8.10
I’ve included a rudimentary demonstration in the listing. It prints and
puts on the screen the result of calling four ASCII numbers three times
in succession: before redefinition, after redefinition, then again after
restoration to the default state. The important thing is to compare your
hard-copy output with what is on the screen. You’ll find that, for ASCII
163, they are identical only on the second call, i.e. after
redefinition.
8.10
More detail
8.10
The following additional explanation may help:
8.10
(a)  Firstly you do need to know the ASCII value returned by your
keyboard when the £-sign is pressed (or whatever other character is
causing you a headache). On the A5000, it is 163. You then need to
subtract 128 from this and note the answer: 35 in this case. (You used
to get a list of keyboard ASCII codes in the User Manual − more
progress!)
8.10
(b)  The recommended sequence, assuming you have the default settings of
your printer as you like them, is then:
8.10
1.     Reset/Re-initialize printer to defaults.
8.10
2.     Cancel Italics, Super/Sub script etc (usually a “just-in-case”
action).
8.10
3.     Select required print quality, e.g. LQ/Draft.
8.10
4.     Copy the definitions of Characters 0 to 127 of selected ROM
Character Set (& typeface) to RAM.
8.10
5.     Redefine the required character(s), using the ASCII number 128
less than the character number to be changed. i.e. 35 rather than 163,
in this case.
8.10
6.     Copy the new RAM set up to ASCII Character numbers 128 to 255.
8.10
7.     Select User-Defined Characters for printing.
8.10
(c) All of these steps can be carried out by sending the right ESC codes
to the printer, and this is what ‘PROCprepareprinter’ does.
8.10
(d) Step 5 is the time consuming one. You have to design the dot pattern
of each replacement character and convert that to the right data values.
It’s not difficult once you’ve found out the format, but it is a bit
tedious. I used !Paint with a grid equal to the required character grid
(blown up to see each pixel easily) − then calculated the numbers ‘by
hand’ from that. It’s no real problem if you’ve only got one or two to
do.
8.10
For fixed-pitch, 24-pin, LQ at 10 cpi, the grid is 36 dots wide by 24
high.
8.10
Each 24-element vertical strip is split into three 8-element parts
(numbering them 1 to 3 from the top) and each of these is assigned an
8-bit number representing which dots/pixels are to be filled in. (You
mustn’t fill in horizontally adjacent dots for 24-pin printers.)
8.10
In each 8-element part, the bottom element represents the least
significant bit. After a simple 3-number header, you then send the
numbers for each vertical strip to the printer in the right sequence −
left to right, top to bottom within each strip. So you end up with the
3-number header plus 3×36 numbers for each character definition (111
numbers in all).
8.10
You need to watch the vertical position of the shape because those 24
vertical elements cater for descenders, subscript, superscript etc. (For
guidance, the top-most and bottom-most ‘filled-in dots’ I used for the
Pound sign in the example were in Row 4 and Row 20 respectively. Row 20
is the baseline for characters.)
8.10
(e) The Epson Reference Manual is a little obscure in describing Steps 6
and 7. It states clearly what will happen, but the manual’s separate
explanations of the two steps do not match their effect in combination.
I half expected both characters 163 and 35 to become Pound signs − but
they didn’t.
8.10
This explains why the example program also uses ASCII 148 and 193 − I
wanted to check the end-result at 35 and also at a value I had not
altered (arbitrarily 193). Including 148 showed that its lower
complement (20) is, as expected, not printable normally, and therefore
produces a blank when copied up to 148. You could, of course, redefine
this if you wished. u
8.10
NetCDFast
8.10
Robert Chrismas
8.10
NetCDFast is a module which is supposed to improve the performance of
CDs over networks.
8.10
There are many CD-ROMs which can be used in schools and colleges. If the
CDs are available over a network, lots of students can use the same CD
at once. However, CDs can hold very big files − a few students reading
Replay files can bring a network close to a standstill.
8.10
At my college, we started to experiment with CDs and networks a few
years ago. I remember how disappointed I was with our first attempts to
read Creepy Crawlies over an Econet. It was agonizingly slow even with
just one user and a quiet network. Since then, we have changed to
Ethernet and the software has improved, but I was still keen to find
ways to read CDs more quickly.
8.10
Cache memory
8.10
NetCDFast runs on the computer acting as a CD server, maintaining a
cache of CD data in memory. When a request to read the CD is received by
NetCDFast, it first checks whether the data is in the memory cache. If
the data is in the cache, it can be transmitted without reading the CD
at all. If the data is not in the cache, NetCDFast reads a block of data
from the CD into the cache. This block will include the required data
but it may, with luck, also include data which is required next. Thus,
even a single user browsing through a CD may experience some speed
improvement.
8.10
The most significant increase in speed should occur when one user, or a
number of users, repeat a request for data. Then NetCDFast does not have
to access the CD at all.
8.10
CDFast
8.10
CDFast, the version for a stand-alone CD system, was reviewed by Fred
Grieve in Archive (8.9 p76). Fred published detailed timings and
concluded that the stand-alone version of CDFast ‘works extremely
effectively’. NetCDFast is a version of the software which is optimised
for network use.
8.10
The package
8.10
NetCDFast has two parts, (1) a cacheing module and (2) the !NetCDFast
application. The application is used to configure the module and to
monitor its performance. If memory is tight, the module can be used
without the application.
8.10
The NetCDFast application has two windows. The configure window allows
you to set how much memory will be used for the cache. It will also
switch the cacheing off and on. The statistics window reports on how
many requests for CD data could be satisfied from the cache.
8.10
The manual is just ten pages. However, it contains all the information
you need to use NetCDFast. It also includes some tips to get the best
from your CD-ROM system.
8.10
Timings
8.10
I attempted some timings of NetCDFast. It wasn’t easy. The network I was
using is about 100m long. On it there are two Level 4 file servers as
well as the upgraded A300 which I was using as a CD server. The network
runs through four rooms, including the resources area, and students have
access to all these rooms unless they are already being used for
lessons. To perform a test, I first had to run through all four rooms
begging everyone present not to use the network for a few minutes. Then
I rushed back to do some tests. If the results seemed odd, I would visit
all the rooms again to see if new arrivals had been logging on.
8.10
To serve CDs, we normally use the ‘application accelerator’ software
which came with the Level 4 software. The application accelerator sends
data over Ethernet in much larger packets than Level 4, but it is
read-only. The Level 4 file server software can be used to serve CDs but
it is slower. I tested NetCDFast with both systems.
8.10
The test was to copy a directory containing twenty files, totalling
about 600Kb (the Granny’s Garden demo from the Acorn User CD, if you
must know) from the CD to a RAM disc on a Risc PC. I timed the whole
operation which including writing to the RAM.
8.10
The version of NetCDFast was 2.01. The CD server was an A300 with 2Mb
memory connected via a SCSI 1 interface to a Cumana 6 Tower CD drive.
8.10

8.10
These results show that NetCDFast can achieve significant speed
improvements. However, they can only be a rough guide to its
performance. There are so many variables, including the network
hardware, other activity on the network, the size of the CD cache and
the access pattern for the CDs. Repeated requests for the same part of a
CD are best for NetCDFast.
8.10
Quite small speed improvements can make major differences to the
performance of a network. If requests for data are received at one
second intervals by a server which can satisfy each request in
0.99 seconds everyone is happy, but if it takes 1.01 seconds to handle
each request then, before long, someone will be unhappy. Mr Micawber
said something like this.
8.10
In use
8.10
NetCDFast was simple to use. It was copied to a hard disc on the CD
server and run from there. On our system, we decided to increase the
cache from the default 256Kb to 1024Kb. You can save the configuration.
The manual suggests that you set up your computer so that NetCDFast is
run on start­up.
8.10
We have been running NetCDFast for two weeks without any problems. About
half of the requests for CD access have been satisfied from the 1024Kb
cache. When asked, students have said that CD access seems faster − but
then they would probably say that anyway to humour me!
8.10
The manual says ‘NetCDFast will run on any version of CDFS, all CD-ROM
applications, CD­ROM drives, any Acorn Archimedes or Risc PC and any
network system in any combination. NetCDFast has no restrictions on the
number of users, CD-ROM drives or the way CD-ROM applications are used
over the network.’
8.10
Before using any CDs on the network, you should check that this is
permitted by your licence.
8.10
Conclusion
8.10
NetCDFast does speed up CD access over a network. In ideal situations,
it can be as much as six times as fast. It seems reliable and it should
work with any combination of hardware/software. It is produced by Eesox
and is available from Archive at £148. u
8.10
Clan Acorn Column
8.10
Simon Ogilvie
8.10
In last month’s Archive, Paul appealed for someone to edit a column
dedicated to the Acorn Clan. He had several responses, and three of us
will be trying to put together information for a monthly column from now
on. That’s Roger Woodhouse, Sam Gardner and myself − email addresses
below, should you want to contact us.
8.10
As the main thrust of the Clan is dialogue, any of us would be happy to
receive email, and we will also be keeping in contact with Chris Cox,
the Acorn Clan Manager whose email address is also given below.
8.10
Clan history
8.10
To begin at the beginning (as they say), and for the sake of those who
are unsure what Clan Acorn is, here is a brief recap. Acorn realised
that there was a wealth of largely untapped resource in the form of
enthusiastic users whose ideas and reactions to the release of the
Risc PC might be useful in its future development. The idea of an
enthusiasts’ club was thus conceived and, after adding flesh to the
bones, Clan Acorn was announced and then launched at the October ’94
Acorn World exhibition.
8.10
For a one-off fee of £15, Acorn enthusiasts were given an information
pack, a high density disc of interesting software and information (to
the dismay of those without HD disc drives!), a Clan tee-shirt,
sweatshirt, lapel badge and mouse mat! We were also tempted with the
promise of discounts, pre-release information, competitions and
exclusive deals for Clan members.
8.10
One of these was the release of Acorn C/C++ which was offered to Clan
members at a 30% discount, and this was well received, with a large
number of members taking up the offer. Subsequent Clan information packs
were sent out to members in February and April, and the next pack should
be out by the end of June.
8.10
ARM700/710 imminent?
8.10
All of this has generated quite a bit of interesting discussion on the
Usenet newsgroups, which Acorn keeps a close eye on, and posts articles
to from time to time. A recent posting from Chris Cox announced that the
ARM700 series processor cards would shortly be released, and he
requested feedback on whether users felt a fixed point ARM710 card would
be more attractive than a slightly more expensive (and slower clocked)
ARM700/FPU combination. This prompted a lot of discussion, but a
majority thought the fixed point 710 card would be more useful, so that
is the card that will be made available first, hopefully in July and
running at 40MHz, with the 700/FPU card following on later.
8.10
Internet access
8.10
Acorn is obviously heavily committed to the Internet in all its forms.
The Acorn World Wide Web site, which was previewed at the recent
Harrogate show, will shortly be coming on line in its full form. Acorn
plans to make this the primary means of communication, and there will be
an area specifically for Clan members which will be password-protected
from everyone else! This area will contain much of the information in
the Clan mailshots, and you will also be able to download software, such
as that on the Clan discs and on the Acorn ftp site.
8.10
Acorn’s news and mail package “Intertalk” is soon to be released and
will allow Acorn machines to dial up to news and mail servers, and
download unattended. This means it can be done at night when the calls
are cheapest and the machines least heavily loaded, making downloads
faster.
8.10
New filecore?
8.10
Another development frequently talked about on the Usenet newsgroups is
the rumoured replacement to the filecore. With easy access to cheap
large hard disc drives, the main problem with the current filing system
is its limit of 512Mb per disc. This has been partially overcome in some
SCSI implementations which allow larger discs to be partitioned into two
or more parts, each of less than 512Mb, but the core limit still
remains.
8.10
A new version of the filecore has been under test at Acorn for some time
now, and Clan members will soon get the opportunity to be the first
users to try it out! Initially, this will take the form of a
soft-loadable module, but eventually it will be incorporated into future
operating system releases. Acorn is deliberately being very cautious
about the release of the new filecore, as any bug in the code could have
potentially disastrous consequences on users’ data.
8.10
Feedback
8.10
The primary driving force behind all areas of the Clan is for Acorn to
get feedback from its users. Clan members can take advantage of all the
special offers Acorn provides, but if they never give any feedback, they
and Acorn will fail to benefit from what is a pioneering project in the
computer industry. Acorn doesn’t have the advertising revenue of its
larger competitors, and so is dependent in part on word-of-mouth
advertising.
8.10
They are also keen to hear of any stories of Acorn computers being used
for interesting or unusual tasks, or where they make the job easier than
if a different computer had been used, which generates its own
“real-life” advertising.
8.10
Chris Cox’s diagram from last month’s Archive (p24) showed Acorn’s
development program being fuelled by feedback from Clan members based on
information supplied to them by Acorn. The cycle is dependent on a
constant dialogue between Acorn and Clan members, and it’s the Clan
members who stand to gain most from it in the end! Hopefully this column
can become part of that cycle. u
8.10
Roger Woodhouse: [e-mail]
8.10
Sam Gardner: un9l@rz,uni-karlsruhe.de
8.10
Simon Ogilvie: [e-mail]
8.10
Chris Cox: [e-mail]
8.10
To join Clan Acorn costs £15 (or £20 if you want a sweatshirt as well).
Either write to Acorn Direct in Wellingborough or phone [phone]
with your credit card details. u
8.10
NStore − Version 4
8.10
Richard Rymarz
8.10
As an (overworked?) headteacher with a full time teaching commitment, I
am always looking for ways of making my life that much easier. One area
of classroom planning that has proved to be particularly vexing is that
of recording children’s attainment across the National Curriculum and
issuing reports for parents. If any regular reader has noted my comments
in other reviews, they will be aware that I am not a fan of the National
Curriculum. However, I have learned to live with it and when I was given
the chance to review NStore, I hoped it would make my planning easier
and help organise my recording much more efficiently.
8.10
The program
8.10
NStore comes on an 800Kb disc (in fact, there are two discs and
registered users can order more for £1.95 each) which cannot be
installed onto hard disc. However, the data and ‘comment’ files can be
backed up, and this should be done regularly, in case the program disc
becomes corrupted. The master disc should be kept inside the drive at
all times.
8.10
Aims
8.10
NStore allows teachers to keep a record of up to 108 pupils and their
achievements on the Statements of Attainment in all National Curriculum
subjects, including RE. It can store basic information about each child,
record attendance levels, SAT results and exam and classwork percentages
for each subject. Information can be stored of up to 72 Topics and the
Statements of Attainment they cover. There are 800 teacher’s comments
which can be used for reporting and can be amended using !Edit. Reports
can be automatically generated by being placed into logical order taking
into account the child’s age and progress. Finally, all these records
can be exported to other packages for final presentation.
8.10
Getting started
8.10
What is immediately obvious upon loading the program and clicking of
!NStore is that it only works in modes 12 and 27. Furthermore, the
program does not run within the desktop. This is disconcerting at first
since we are all used to the luxury of a full RISC OS environment.
However, I soon adjusted to this and was presented with the Child Menu.
Basic information − name, age, sex, class name and teacher, etc, is then
entered. The general class level can be set and there are further
features which become useful when more information is added. The menu is
quite long and it takes some time to navigate around the various
options.
8.10
I entered the children in my class and moved on to the Topic Menu. Here
I typed in the topics I would cover for the Autumn term and set the
attainment targets covered by each of the topics. Reverting back to the
child menu, I then marked the children’s progress through a simple set
of mouse clicks. This process is fairly tedious especially since each
subject has to be accessed for each child. However, there are short cuts
that save some time but, basically, entering the data for the first time
is time consuming and a little daunting (I think that is the same with
any database). This screen also allows the teacher to enter general
comments on attitude, effort, attainment, presentation, a specific
subject, as well as SAT data.
8.10
Reporting
8.10
I eventually completed this for a number of children in the core
subjects and clicked on the ‘Report’ menu. Various options are offered,
including a direct print to any Epson-compatible printer. Those with
RISC OS printers will have to export files in ASCII or CSV format to
another package. Reports are quickly generated and I must say I was
quite impressed with the results. The format was well structured and in
acceptable English although there were too many sentences beginning with
the child’s name or the word ‘Her’. There is the option to export
reports as CSV files to Impression or Style using the mailmerge
facility. Presentations can then be prepared in Impression, and the
accompanying literature suggests that single or batch reports can then
be very quickly produced. I do not use either program, so I cannot
comment on how efficient this process is.
8.10
Other features
8.10
Other features include the ability to enter exam results, update old
data files from previous versions, obtain simple graphical data, move
data between groups (useful when children move between classes), sorting
and searching facilities and the ability to alter the teacher comment
file.
8.10
Conclusions
8.10
I was apprehensive about using a package such as this since I was uneasy
about its claims and its usefulness. However, having used it for some
time now, I feel it has real value, especially if the user is prepared
to spend time learning how to use it. Whether less committed teachers
can be persuaded to use it is dubious because of its complexity. I feel
that a better designed manual would be of great assistance. A
step-by-step guide is really needed to direct less confident users.
Perhaps a dummy file could be included to see the possible uses and
outcomes of the program. As it stands, the manual covers all there is to
know but it is not easy to follow. An index would also help. However, as
I discovered, NStore can save time in the end.
8.10
I have one or two other improvements that would help the user. I do feel
that there should be a better structured set of menus leading from the
three main areas: Child Menu, National Curriculum Menu and Topic Menu;
any new version should be fully RISC OS compliant; printing should
involve the standard RISC OS drivers; and the program should be able to
be installed on to hard disc. I also managed to crash the program on my
Risc PC − but this was very rare. I have spoken to the author who says
many of these suggestions are on his wish list to develop the program.
However, time is his greatest enemy but he hopes to include some of them
in due course.
8.10
Registered owners will receive a post-Dearing upgrade at nominal cost.
This should happen in Spring 1995 so that users can prepare for the new
curriculum that comes into force in September 1995. Another new feature
which may be ready is the facility to store individual records of work
for special needs under the new Code of Practice. My advice to
prospective purchasers is to wait until the new version arrives, and if
you need an aid to National Curriculum management and access to
impressive reporting, then at £44.95 inc VAT from HS Software (or £42
through Archive), NStore is well worth it. u
8.10
Rainbow
8.10
Richard Rymarz
8.10
This is another new program for younger children from Longman Logotron.
It is designed as a “simple multimedia program” that will “allow
teachers and parents to produce exciting activities on any subject,
quickly and easily”. So says the introductory passage in the
accompanying manual. Intended for use at Key Stage 1 (5-7 yr olds), it
is claimed that the program can be used for any age or ability, since
the content is created by the maker of the activity. Not only can words,
pictures and sound be used, but video pictures using Replay can also be
included. Grand aims and wonderful, if true. So I set about
familiarising myself with the programs.
8.10
!Rainplay
8.10
This application allows children to use the activities designed within
Rainbow. Three sample files are included which give a fair overview of
what can be achieved. Two are similar to My World, an excellent program
designed by SEMERC. Having used both, I have to say that at a simple
level, My World is easier to use and more flexible. However, if more
complex and full multimedia options are needed, then Rainbow uses
sprites as well as drawfiles; involves sound; links with other screens;
defines actions such as quitting, removing objects, scaling objects,
stopping sound and music; and uses movies. Altogether a more
comprehensive package.
8.10
!Rainbow
8.10
!Rainbow allows teachers to create activities for children to use. I
began by working my way through the tutorial, opening a window
containing three folders. I clicked on the Screens folder, and the
Tutorial Screen opened contained the words, “This is the tutorial
screen” and a tool box. I now clicked on the resources folder. I soon
had a ‘Type’ sprite and a ‘Delete’ sprite on my screen. All straight
forward so far.
8.10
Using the arrow icon on the tool bar allowed me to change the position
of the sprites. Now I doubled clicked on the ‘muncher’ (the delete
sprite), and a dialogue box opened, which actually did not quite
correspond with the manual. Undeterred, I continued and assigned the
command ‘Remove Object’ to this icon. I confirmed my choices and did the
same with the Text icon by allocating ‘Text Style’ to it. I also chose
the font I wanted to use. Deleting text is simply a matter of
highlighting the words and using the menu or <ctrl-X>. Now clicking on
the smiley face icon on the tool box allowed me to test my screen − all
worked well.
8.10
Another option on the toolbox is a text icon. Clicking on this opens a
now familiar dialogue box and an appropriate action can be assigned to
it. Other actions include rotating and scaling objects. Each is easy to
understand and follow. Sampled sounds and Maestro files can also be
consigned to any object. Animation results from the creation of a sprite
file containing a number of sprites, each of which is slightly
different. Replay files are also easily included and there is direct
support for Artworks files.
8.10
Quite soon I had a tessellation activity which allowed me to rotate
objects, ‘bong’ each time I used the red square and send a raft down
some rapids when I clicked on a Father Christmas. I did not try any
animation, because I did not have the patience to create my own sprite
files.
8.10
Conclusions
8.10
Well, after some work and a steady read through the manual, I managed to
create my own multimedia, interactive, all-singing, all-dancing activity
which was fun to use even if it was simple. The main thing is that it
all worked and without too much trouble. If you are an experienced user,
you will be able to set up your own activities very quickly. If you are
a beginner, be prepared to spend some time experimenting with the quite
comprehensive list of options. It is certainly easier to use than some
other multimedia authoring packages such as Genesis or Key Author (I
have not seen Optima) although, to be fair, these are designed for older
children.
8.10
Finally, I would have liked more example folders and some guidance on
using the program with children at home and at school. However, at £29
+VAT +p&p from Longman Logotron or £33 through Archive, this is
excellent value for money. u
8.10
EasiWriter Professional Upgrade
8.10
Andrew Berry
8.10
During the last three years, I have used EasiWriter versions 2 and 3
extensively, and was therefore interested to hear about EasiWriter
Professional, the latest release from Icon Technology. Although the
title Professional implies a completely new product, the program is in
fact just an update of version 3, albeit one with many improvements.
This article deals with the changes made since 3.01 up to the present
version 3.16.
8.10
Index generation
8.10
Previously, the only way to create an index for a document was to go
though the text, picking out the important words and typing them into
another page. EasiWriter Professional contains a very helpful feature
which takes most of the work out of index generation. Any word or phrase
in a document can be highlighted and inserted into the index. The index
entry can either be the same as the highlighted word or any other string
up to 59 characters, and the page number is entered automatically.
Further occurrences of the same word or phrase can be found and inserted
in the index, in which case, the entry will contain more than one page
reference.
8.10
Most indexes are more complex than just a list of subjects, and
EasiWriter Professional caters for this by using an optional qualifier.
For example, a main index entry might be Mouse, with qualifiers buttons,
cleaning and holding. This type of index is very easy to create with all
qualifiers being automatically indented and arranged alphabetically.
8.10
The final type of entry is ‘See...’ which is used to point to another
index entry. If this is selected, the page reference is replaced by a
pointer to another entry in the index, which must already have been
created.
8.10
A useful feature allows any words or phrases in the document which have
index entries to be highlighted by setting the background colour. This
way it is easy to see which words or phrases have already been added to
the index.
8.10
The index can only be saved as a text file, although this is probably
the most versatile method available. If you want to save the index
directly into the document then the icon can be dragged straight onto
the page − a nice touch.
8.10
Contents generation
8.10
This feature makes a list containing any chapter, section or sub-section
headings in the document. Providing your structures contain sensible
headings, this will create a contents page which can be inserted at the
start of the document with little alteration. The exact types of
structure to be included can be chosen, and the resulting file is saved
as a text file in the same way as an index.
8.10
Numbered lists
8.10
Numbering of items in a list is now supported, a great improvement on
earlier versions where only bullets were available. The options for this
are very comprehensive, and include Roman numerals, numbers, letters and
even Dingbats symbols which can begin at any character. Text can be
combined with any of the above; so, for example, combining letters with
a closed bracket would produce a), b), etc. Any font can be used for the
bullet or number, as with previous versions.
8.10
Bookmarks
8.10
Bookmarks can now be inserted into documents to enable specific
positions to be located quickly and easily. Each bookmark can be named
and a list of names appears on the Search menu. Moving to a particular
part of the document is achieved by clicking on the name in the menu.
Bookmarks are saved in the file so any that are set up will be available
each time the document is loaded.
8.10
Improved text saving
8.10
A new dialogue has been added to fine-tune text output. Options are now
available to specify the way ends of lines and paragraphs are saved
(e.g. CR, LF, etc) and an option is also available to expand tabs in the
output − very useful for those using Edit.
8.10
Other improvements
8.10
Many other improvements have been made to EasiWriter, including the
following new features:
8.10
    Improved search
8.10
    OLE support
8.10
    Crop marks
8.10
    Improved German hyphenation
8.10
    More flexible white space
8.10
    Output as PostScript
8.10
    Auto kerning
8.10
    Specify start number for footnotes
8.10
    Draft printing
8.10
According to the Fact Sheet sent to me by Icon Technology, we can also
expect the following in the future:
8.10
    Auto numbered Chapters and Sections
8.10
    Fancy borders
8.10
    RTF import and export
8.10
    Pamphlet printing
8.10
    Background colours
8.10
Conclusion
8.10
It’s good to see that EasiWriter is still being developed and improved,
and I am certainly looking forward to the new features. If you upgrade
to Professional now, then new versions incorporating the above features
will be sent free of charge when they are completed.
8.10
The cost of upgrading is £30 + £1 p&p +VAT for single licence users, or
£120 + £1 p&p +VAT for a site licence. If you are currently using
version 3, I strongly recommend that you upgrade to Professional.
8.10
EasiWriter itself is now £89 +£3 p&p +VAT from Icon Technology (£102
through Archive) and EasiWriter Professional is £119 +£3 p&p +VAT  (£136
through Archive). For the record, Techwriter is £149 +£3 p&p +VAT from
Icon Technology (£169 through Archive) and Techwriter Professional is
£199 +£3 p&p +VAT  (£225 through Archive). u
8.10
Shares from Apricote
8.10
Dave Wilcox
8.10
Shares, version 4.04, is a package aimed at the small investor, with the
intention of helping them keep track of their investment portfolio. It
is produced by Apricote Studios and currently sells for £39.95
inclusive, or £38 through Archive.
8.10
The software comes on one disc and is accompanied by a 37-page A5
manual, presented in a plastic fold-over type wallet. On the disc is the
program, two demo files to practice with, and a text file giving all the
recent upgrades. This takes up approximately 218Kb, leaving plenty of
room for data storage on your program floppy if you so desire. The
manual is well written, easy to follow and has been well proofed prior
to its release.
8.10
The program
8.10
Firstly, backup and/or install to hard disc − preferably both. The
normal disc filing system can achieve both of these options, as the disc
is not copy-protected. To run the program, double-click on the
application icon to load it onto the iconbar. The programming strays
slightly from the norm here because, to setup a new portfolio, you have
to use setup from the iconbar menu. This isn’t a problem, but a click on
the icon for setup would have been more usual. If your portfolio is
already constructed, a double click on the file icon or dragging the
file to the program icon will set the program in motion.
8.10
On starting the program you are greeted with the main menu as a window
(see diagram opposite). This is broken into three sections, Tools,
Shares, and Reports.
8.10
Tools − This area allows for the entering, editing or viewing of data.
Also in this section is a radio button for rights issue transactions,
which basically is where companies wishing to raise funds, issue new
shares and offer them to holders, dependent upon their present holdings.
Selection of the printer output option lets you select LowRes for dot
matrix or inkjet printers or similar, whilst HighRes caters for the
Laserjet owner. Also in this section is the selection of company or date
filters to be applied to your data. Clicking on the company icon, a
window opens listing all companies in which you have shares. All that is
required is for you to highlight by clicking the companies for which you
wish to see the output. The date filter works in a similar manner,
requiring you to enter the start and end dates for the period you want.
Both of these filters can be combined to achieve a desired result.
8.10
Shares − There are three options here which work in conjunction with the
selected tool. These are options for buying/selling, prices and
dividends. With the ‘Enter’ radio button selected, you can enter the
details of shares purchased or sold, i.e. company name, number of
shares, date of transaction, prices paid for these shares, expenses
incurred in dealing. ‘Enter’−‘Prices’ lets you update the current prices
of your shares and ‘Enter’−‘Dividend’ lets you enter any dividends
received, along with the date of receipt. The edit option lets you make
amendments to incorrect entries and works similarly to ‘Enter’. ‘View’
gives screen output summaries.
8.10
Reports − Again, these options work in conjunction with the options set
up in Tools, bearing in mind that this is for report output. The default
tool is ‘View’, and all text or tabular output and most graphs can be
printed using the appropriate radio button. If used with the company
filter or date filter, it is possible to obtain summaries for a single
Company or for the whole portfolio for a specific date range or the life
of the portfolio.
8.10
In use, it is possible to set up indexes like companies. This enables
you to enter values for the R.P.I. or the F.T.S.E., for example. You can
then use these when producing a ratio graph for comparison purposes, to
give a better illustration of share performance. The program also has
the facility to cater for the issue of free or bonus shares usually
associated with privatisation issues, and caters for part payments made
as part of these dealings.
8.10
As the file path for your data is established when you set up your
portfolio, or as you load it, changes made to your data are saved as
they are made. There is an option to output data as a CSV file for
import into other applications or to save a screen as a text file. CSV
files can also be imported into a current file by dragging to an open
window or to the iconbar icon. There is no mention of Teletext in the
manual, and I have to admit that I do not know the format of saved
teletext information pages. If this is CSV or can be converted to CSV, I
can see no problem importing the current share prices in this way. If
not, you will have to update the prices manually but, for the average
investor, I cannot foresee a problem.
8.10
Summary
8.10
The program is initially set at source to cater for a portfolio of 60
companies, which should be sufficient for the small investor. If not, a
quick letter to Apricote will have a modified version sent out for the
number of companies you request or, alternatively, you can store as many
portfolios as your disc system will hold, each obviously holding a
further 60 companies.
8.10
The presentation on screen is clean and tidy, and considerable thought
has been given to the layout. When displaying text output, the package
uses a similar look to the pages in a Genesis file, with next and
previous page buttons to move through the output.
8.10
From the ReadMe file attached to this program, it is quite apparent that
the author, Frank Clayton, is still making fine tuning amendments to
this package, as and when required. I have setup and run my copy for a
couple of weeks and have not had a crash... yet!
8.10
This package does the job for which it was designed, keeping track of
your investment and giving you a textual or visual display of
performance. It seems solidly programmed and reliable. If you like to
play the market as a small investor, this package is for you.
8.10
Comparison
8.10
There are two other shares packages available for RISC OS computers
dealing with the same job, Shareholder and Shareholder Professional from
Silicon Vision, priced £79.95 and £125 respectively, the latter having
been reviewed for Archive (8.9 p61). It is unfair to compare this
package directly with Shareholder Professional as the latter is aimed at
a different customer, i.e. the larger investor and, as can be seen from
the review, it has several other facilities programmed into it for the
extra outlay. Yer pays yer money... u
8.10
Hermes − The Desktop Messenger
8.10
Peter Jennings
8.10
Hermes is the first software I have seen whose manual has a paragraph on
Greek mythology to preface an explanation of what the program does:
8.10
“Hermes was the ever-ready, swift-winged messenger and interpreter of
the Gods of Ancient Greece, son of Zeus, God of Science, inventor of the
lute and discoverer of fire. The Romans called him Mercury.
8.10
!Hermes is a fully RISC OS compliant application that can control tasks
on the desktop with simple text files, examine many standard filetypes
including directories, monitor and record desktop events, and perform
measurements and timing. All aspects are under the complete control of
the user via easy-to-use but comprehensive option windows and menus.”
8.10
A few pages further on, the overview becomes more specific: “Have you
ever needed to put a text file already prepared by another package into
a Draw document or create a directory listing as a text file? Hermes can
do all that. Tried disassembling a transient utility file, then adding
your own comments to it later? Now you can. Have you ever wanted to load
a PC graphics file straight into your DTP without having to convert it
to a sprite first? Hermes is the answer!”
8.10
The program, which comes from Base5 Technical Graphics and costs £25 (no
VAT), is on a single disc, accompanied by a 65-page flat-opening manual
and a double-sided A4 quick-reference card of commands. Interactive help
is supported. The manual, which could be a little more detailed in
places, continues its Greek God theme, with sections entitled Hermes the
Messenger, Hermes the Interpreter and Hermes the Scientist.
8.10
The messenger
8.10
Programs which provide new commands for Acorn owners have been appearing
since BBC B days. Hermes, in its messenger role, offers more than 300 of
them, using words bracketed by a special character. By default this is
“¤”, which is easy to enter from an Archimedes keyboard, being on the
same key as the £ sign, but Risc PC owners, who do not have this key,
have to use the less convenient <shift-alt-3> combination. Fortunately,
any other character can be defined by the user.
8.10
The commands are not entered into the document where they are to appear.
They have to be written in an ordinary text “control file” and this is
dragged onto the Hermes iconbar icon to cause the commands to be
interpreted and entered into whichever document has input focus. Any
text not bracketed by the special character is copied as written. As an
example of how this works, here is a text file containing Hermes
commands as it appears when read in a text editor or word processor in
the normal way.
8.10
Demonstration 2
8.10
This transmission is timed at ¤TIME1¤ ¤ZONE¤ on the ¤DAYTH¤ day of the
month of ¤CMON¤ in the year ¤YEAR¤
8.10
¤NOSEND¤
8.10
This is a comment. Because it is between NOSEND and SEND commands, it is
not transmitted.
8.10
The following commands illustrate how OS variables can be included.
8.10
¤SEND¤
8.10
¤Obey$Dir¤ is the directory where the last Obey file was executed.
¤Edit$Detokenise¤ is a numeric OS variable while ¤Sys$Time¤ and
¤Serial$Path¤ are macro variables re-evaluated each time they are
encountered. ¤CTRLLEFTARROW¤¤CTRLF6¤
8.10
¤STOP¤
8.10
Note the two commands at the end of the last paragraph. They are
intended for Edit and cause it to format the paragraph without
word-wrap.
8.10
This is how the file is interpreted on a word processor page with input
focus when the file is dragged onto the Hermes iconbar icon.
8.10
Demonstration 2
8.10
This transmission is timed at 03:25 pm GMT on the 25th day of the month
of March in the year 1995
8.10

8.10
ADFS::HardDisc4.$.Apps.!Edit is the directory where the last Obey file
was executed. 59604772 is a numeric OS variable while 15:25:39 and
devices#:$.Serial. are macro variables re-evaluated each time they are
encountered.
8.10
It will be noted that there are commands which work in a similar way to
the control codes often used to enter the current date or time into word
processor and DTP documents, but Hermes provides different commands to
enter them in different formats. Other commands substitute names for
less easily remembered ASCII codes, such as ¤copyright¤  instead of
<alt-169> for a © sign. OS variables can also be called by name so, for
example, ¤File$Type_FF5¤ is interpreted as PoScript. Another very useful
group of commands provide automatic paragraph numbering with renumbering
if paragraphs are inserted or removed.
8.10
However, the commands do not all immediately work with every
application, as Hermes has to be programmed with those codes which are
not the same in all applications, such as for end of line, delimiter and
font styles. A selection of programmed-in applications is provided and
others can be added if you know the code numbers they use. Also, the
need to put the commands into a separate control file, rather than being
able to type them directly into the document you are working on, rather
limits their usefulness. Many characters can already be entered from
Acorn’s !Chars utility, and lists of their ASCII codes, which can be
entered by typing <alt> and the appropriate keypad numbers, are given in
computer user guides. The addition of a !Chars-like window for Hermes is
being considered for a future upgrade.
8.10
The interpreter
8.10
If anything other than a text file is dragged onto the icon, Hermes will
interpret the contents according to the filetype. Text will usually be
copied into the receiver document, but certain filetypes will trigger
off other actions and show details of their contents. So, for example, a
template file will list the windows defined in it with, optionally, the
size of the indirected data. Relocatable files are disassembled but the
build-up on screen is very much slower than using a normal disassembly
program. The recognised filetypes which can be interpreted are:
absolute, applications, code, directory, draw, palette, relocatable
module, squashed file, sprite, template and transient utility. Hermes
offers a range of options as to which of the available fields of
information are to be shown (too many to be detailed here) and there is
also a choice of units, such as metric or imperial measurements, and
standards such as RGB, CMYK, HSV or CIE for palette files.
8.10
The scientist
8.10
In its scientific role, Hermes undertakes an interesting variety of
tasks. It offers a desktop log which will record and time-tag desktop
activities in a special file. These include: filer systems starting and
ending, tasks starting and ending, slot size changes, remote alarms,
printer drivers changing, system device claims, palette and screen mode
changes, application specific messages and directory windows closing.
There is an event timer which can be started and stopped manually or
triggered by mouse clicks or desktop events. A desktop monitor will
display any one of the following: current or elapsed time, the
co-ordinates of the mouse pointer, the window handle, icon handle or
icon button type under the pointer, the task owning the input focus, the
value of the last keypress broadcast by the Task Manager or any message
in hexadecimal broadcast by it or an application.
8.10
There is a very useful facility to move the mouse pointer in steps of 1,
4, 16 or 256 screen units at a time by using an arrow key either on its
own or with <shift>, <control> or <shift-control> respectively. Window
capture, a versatile snapshot feature, allows individual windows, the
icon bar or the whole of the desktop above the icon bar to be captured
as a sprite without need to define the required area, and this
complements rather than duplicates the snapshot facility in Paint.
Non-Acorn graphics files are recognised, and Hermes uses ChangeFSI to
convert them to sprites or AIM images before loading them into your
document. I could not get the graphics conversion to work (using Hermes
version 1.20) on my Risc PC and this is being looked into by the
program’s author, who developed and tested it on an Archimedes.
8.10
The target
8.10
Hermes is an unusual utility with some interesting features for those
who can make use of them. Some, such as automatic paragraph numbering,
keyboard control of the mouse pointer and window capture, are useful
facilities for any Acorn user but most of Hermes’s features are clearly
aimed at the more serious computer enthusiasts who will get the best use
from them. u
8.10
Garden Wildlife CD-ROM
8.10
Peter Jennings
8.10
Anglia Multimedia’s Garden Wildlife (version 1.00) comes on a CD-ROM in
a new range which can be used on an Acorn, PC or Apple computer. It is
designed to help children of primary school age to become familiar with
the wildlife found in their own garden or local park and has information
on more than 130 creatures. The text is illustrated with photographs,
videos, animations and sound, and students are allowed to save out text
and graphics to use in their own work. The price is £40 +VAT, or £45
from Archive.
8.10
On an Archimedes or Risc PC, it needs a minimum of 4Mb of RAM and,
despite its multi-platform use, it works in a completely normal way.
There is a recognisably Acorn type icon, called !Garden, which puts its
ladybird illustration onto the iconbar and clicking on this leads to a
menu window (see on the previous page). This is a picture of one corner
of a town, complete with a garden, a park, a library, a cinema and the
home of an animal expert called Mike. All can be visited and there are
little “i” icons outside each which, when clicked on, explain what you
can see and do there. Everything can be viewed either full screen or in
a desktop window. A toolbox provides a search facility and a notebook
whose contents can be saved before leaving the program.
8.10
Day and night
8.10
Visiting the garden or park produces a picture of it, with an invitation
to find the animals, and this is done by clicking on any of a number of
named areas, such as lawn, hedge, tree, shed and even compost heap.
There is also an option to hear the general sounds, which turn out to be
exactly the same in both park and garden! Both scenes can be toggled
between day and night, by clicking on the sun or moon, to see the
different creatures active at each time. Each area has captioned
pictures of the animals and insects which can be found there and
clicking on a picture leads to a larger version of it, accompanied by
information and icons which lead in turn to other photos, videos and
sounds.
8.10
The cinema offers a choice of 40 short video clips but the low
definition of Acorn’s Replay system makes it difficult to see the detail
in many of the smaller creatures. Sound quality was generally poor and
bird and animal calls difficult to recognise on my Risc PC, which does
not have any hifi enhancements.
8.10
The animal expert, Mike, is introduced with a photograph and an offer to
identify any unknown specimens you have seen. This is done with a series
of questions on the lines of whether it has fur or scales and how many
legs, and then a suggestion of possible identities.
8.10
In the library, you can refer to a wildlife database with more than 100
entries, learn how to classify animals into  groups, read a short book
list and attempt a quiz with two sets of questions.
8.10
Snail racing
8.10
Finally, there is a directory of activity sheets in Draw format with
suggestions for some enjoyable ways of learning about wildlife, ranging
from bird watching to snail racing.
8.10
Being intended for children of primary school age, the information in
Garden Wildlife is brief enough to be easily absorbed by them, rather
than encyclopedic. It is all attractively designed and very
professionally presented and nature lovers of all ages will find it
enjoyable browsing, although its appeal to older users will be more as a
picture book with interesting notes. Even so, any adults who do trespass
in the garden may still learn some fascinating facts, such as that the
champion breeder, the rabbit, can produce more than 20 young in a year
but is well beaten for the productivity title by the common house mouse,
which can have five to ten litters with about six young in each. u
8.10
Two PAL Encoders
8.10
Stuart Bell
8.10
First of all, what is meant by a PAL encoder? “PAL” is the acronym for
the way in which, in the UK, the TV is encoded in the signal broadcast
by the TV transmitters and received in our homes. The technicalities
need not concern us, save to note that other countries use different
systems; France has SECAM, and USA has NTSC (commonly misinterpreted as
“never twice the same colour”!). However, the video signals which are
produced by our computers use separate connectors for each of the main
colours in our displays (Red, Green and Blue), and also extra lines for
timing signals. Thus, no ‘coding’ is necessary, with the consequence
that few TVs can directly display the output of a computer. (Some
machines, including the A3010, do include the necessary encoding
hardware to do this.)
8.10
My current project – which may well feature in a later Archive article –
is to produce a fairly complex ‘slideshow’ display on my A310, and
record it to a video recorder for easy repeated viewing. Hence, I needed
a PAL encoder to take the signal from the video output of the computer
and add the necessary PAL signals so that it could be recorded by the
VCR. One further point: PAL encoders produce a video signal, not a UHF
TV signal. That is, they can connect to a VCR or TV via their SCART or
phono ‘video i/p’ sockets, not via the aerial socket. (The A3010 adds a
modulator to its internal encoder to allow a TV aerial socket to be
used.)
8.10
I bought one PAL encoder, and then Paul sent me another one for review.
Hence, I was able to compare the two devices for this article.
8.10
Pineapple PAL Coder PLC/3
8.10
As the name suggests, this is the third incarnation of an encoder
designed specifically for Acorn machines. It comes in a standard beige
plastic box 5" × 3" × 1", with inputs for the 15-pin video signal from
your computer (a suitable lead is supplied – users of older machines
will need a 9-15 pin adapter), and also a 7.5–12v DC power supply, for
which a plug-in mains adaptor is supplied. Outputs are for the 15-pin
video lead to your monitor, PAL coded output via a BNC socket, and Y/C
high quality output for use with S-VHS and similar equipment. I was not
able to test the Y/C output. Switches are provided for selecting
interlace on/off and standard/multisync monitors. Setting up the encoder
is no problem. The two A4 pages of documentation are adequate and should
enable all users of Acorn machines to get it working.
8.10
Rombo VGA Buster (Pro)
8.10
This is nominally a PC-specific device, and I am grateful to the Archive
reader who advised that it works OK with Acorn machines. Not
surprisingly, it is very similar to the Pineapple unit, with similar
inputs and outputs, but without the switches. The input signal lead is
captive and, at 9" long, inconveniently short. The standard output
socket is of the phono type – more practical for most users than
Pineapple’s BNC – and a phono-phono lead is supplied. The plug-in power
supply is of fixed voltage and with a captive lead, which minimises the
potential for silly mistakes in comparison with the one supplied by
Pineapple. A disc of PC-specific software is supplied, but could not, of
course, be used on my A310.
8.10
The encoders in use
8.10
Both worked pretty well. Because they are simply encoding ‘TV standard’
video signals, they will only work with video modes that can be
displayed on ‘ordinary’ (type 0) monitors. The obvious ones are 12 and
15 and their wider equivalents, 35 and 36. If your monitor is a
multisync, VGA or SVGA that displays these modes in letter-box format,
you will not be able to use your monitor at the same time as an encoder.
(My old Phillips green screen monitor came out of the loft!)
8.10
The second thing to remember is that the inherent quality of TV images
is not a patch on what we expect from even the cheapest colour monitor.
For TV pictures, with images that lack the detail of, say, the RISC OS
desktop, and are viewed from 8 feet away, that doesn’t matter. When you
compare the prices of 21" TVs and 21" high resolution monitors, it’s
hardly surprising. So, don’t expect a wonderful, crisp 21" display on
the family TV. The lack of sharpness inherent in the TV tubes will show
up, as will the loss of quality inherent in the PAL encoding process
which intentionally sacrifices signal quality to enable the signal to be
broadcast at all. I seem to recall that the bandwidth of a PAL signal is
8MHz: the effective bandwidth of an RGB ‘TV standard’ signal is roughly
3 × 16MHz = 48MHz. Six pints are squeezed into each pint pot, and the
cost of the encoding is the loss of quality.
8.10
In testing, I found that two issues are of importance when evaluating
the encoders. The less obvious one is that of picture position. Picture
position controls are becoming less common on TVs, and you cannot assume
that the encoded output from the encoders will centre the image on the
screen. With the Rombo unit came a disc full of PC-specific software to
fine-tune image position, but I couldn’t use that. The default position
wasn’t bad but it wasn’t quite centred. The Pineapple instructions
explain how to tweak the horizontal picture position by turning an
internal coil in the encoder. This worked well. For both units, I used
the mode definition and tweaking software supplied with the Watford
Electronics SVGA VIDC enhancer to produce tailor-made modes that put the
images exactly where I wanted them on the TV screens. Similar software
is obtainable from PD libraries, and makes using the encoders much
simpler. Particularly if you want to avoid black margins, which we don’t
normally expect on TVs, a way of centering the wide mode 36 is highly
desirable.
8.10
Finally, there is the question of image quality. With both my 10" Matsui
portable TV and my Sony VCR, the Pineapple PLC/3 produced visibly better
results. The picture was sharper and had less colour bleed. It is not
inconceivable that, with other equipment, the Rombo device would produce
better images but that wasn’t my experience. Given the Acorn-targeted
nature of the Pineapple product and its documentation, I conclude that
if you need a PAL encoder for use with your Acorn computer, then that’s
the one to go for. A disc with simple mode-tweaking software would
enhance the product further, as would supplying a BNC-phono adaptor for
the output socket.
8.10
The Pineapple PAL Encoder PLC/3 is available from Archive, price £104
inclusive. u
8.10
Merlin Ray Tracer
8.11
Alex Card
8.11
Tracing its history
8.11
Way back in 1991, Arxe Systems demonstrated some fabulous pictures
produced on ‘Powershade’, but, sadly, the company folded and
‘Powershade’ disappeared without a trace. Nothing more was heard and it
seemed as if the ray-tracer had been lost forever. That was until last
year’s Acorn World Show at Wembley, where it was resurrected in the
guise of ‘Merlin’.
8.11
German programmer, Stefan Fröhling, spurred on by the lack of a quality
ray-tracing package for Acorn computers, used the Internet to track down
Roger Atrill, the tracer’s programmer and, after agreeing a contract,
Roger recommenced work on the trace routines after a two year absence.
Stefan is currently writing the 3D editor and Frank Föhl (of Magnetoids
fame) is helping with the display routines.
8.11
The package is approximately 1 month from completion, so this review is
based on an early version which, as yet, doesn’t contain all the planned
features and still has a few gremlins to be ironed out. Even at this
stage, Merlin is looking superb, and is set to fill the gap in the
market.
8.11
A little light relief
8.11
The basic idea behind ray-tracing is to produce photo-realistic images
by creating a 3-D scene, applying one or more light sources, and
specifying the types of material used. Intensive processing power and
heavyweight mathematical formulae are used to calculate the resultant
colour of each and every pixel, accounting for shadows, reflections,
refraction, transparency ... the list is almost endless. The emphasis is
on ‘intensive’ − this is a slow process by any standards, and many
factors affect the rate at which an image is created. The effort is
worth it though because, especially with 24-bit colour, the results can
be nothing short of stunning.
8.11
There have been a few ray-tracers released prior to Merlin, notably
Render Bender and Persistence Of Vision, but both are extremely
difficult to use, since they require a textual description of a scene to
be written in a kind of programming language. This has undoubtedly put
many people off the idea, which is a real shame. Merlin does away with
this drawback by having a 3D Editor that creates the script for you.
8.11
Go on, edit, my son
8.11
A wireframe scene is created within MerlinEd from a variety of
primitives. These are the building blocks such as spheres, cubes,
cylinders and cones. Since these are 3D objects, they can be displayed
from one of four viewpoints; front, right and top plans, plus full 3D.
Similarly, each primitive can be edited on a single plan so that, for
example, you can select a sphere shape and transform it into a disc,
ellipse or even a sausage, by adjusting width, length and breadth. Other
primitives are also available, including stars, decahedrons and
user-defined polygons. Any number of primitives can be combined to
produce more complex objects.
8.11
Having created an object, you may wish to introduce one or more planes
to the scene in order to simulate sky, sea, land or walls, floors and
ceilings. Planes are clicked into place and, by careful positioning of
objects, you can create the illusion of floating in air or sitting on
the surface.
8.11
Various tools are available from the well-set-out menu bar beneath the
editing window and via a parameter box which enable primitives to be
quickly modified. The Selection pointer allows single or groups of
primitives to be highlighted. Good use is made of the adjust button too,
with clicks, double-clicks and drags all having individual effects, such
as selection of all objects underneath a rectangular drag, or moving a
group to a new position.
8.11
Multicopy (unsurprisingly) allows object copying in a number of
pre-defined ways. Linear copies are performed by specifying the number
of copies required, the distance between them and the axis on which the
operation is to be performed. Similarly, trapezoidal, circular and
globular copies are available with adjustable angular and rotational
settings. To assist with positioning, there is a measuring facility
whereby you drag the required distance between copies on the edit window
and have it written into the multicopy menu, thus avoiding fiddling
about with coordinate values which could be wrong. The measure facility
can prove invaluable, since there’s unfortunately no ‘last operation
undo’ function and you’ll have to delete spurious objects manually. This
would not prove too much of a chore, however, because objects can either
be group-selected or picked via the very friendly List tool and a simple
press of ‘Delete’ will remove them. List also gives dimension
information and, on selecting a more complex primitive within List, a
submenu appears with its component parts.
8.11
Lines on a 3D object can be thickened. This is particularly effective
when used in conjunction with the ‘polygon to line’ attribute. What this
does is to remove the centres from facets, effectively turning a box
into a shell of its edges. By thickening each line, it is possible to
get some very pleasing effects. Remember when you used to make models
out of connected straws or pipe-cleaners as a child? No?... well, never
mind, here’s your chance!
8.11
Objects can also be mirrored, rotated and scaled, plus a number of other
interesting tools yet to be implemented, such as sweep, which will
rotate a line about an axis so it appears as a 3D bottle or glass, for
instance. I would have preferred a more ‘real-time’ rotate function. As
it is, a box outline appears and you drag the pointer, but the primitive
is not updated until <select> is released. The easiest way around this
is to start a rotation on a significant part of the object, e.g. the tip
of a cone rather than somewhere in the middle. There’s a neat zoom
facility too which has some preset values and includes a ‘view all’
option, whereby the program picks the optimum magnification to see all
the defined objects.
8.11
I found the editor extremely easy to use, even after only a short time.
It’s very well laid out and perhaps my only gripe is that there isn’t an
icon on the menu bar for the attribute settings, which include phong and
Gouraud shading, hidden lines and polygons into lines.
8.11
Living in a material world
8.11
One of the most powerful parts of MerlinEd is its use and design of
surface materials. An insignificant looking icon belies the importance
of this section. You can have the most amazing wireframe scene but,
unless you select or create materials and their properties carefully, it
can all end up as a disastrous mess.
8.11
A set of materials is supplied which can either be directly applied to
surfaces or edited and merged with others to produce further variants.
Materials are classified into textures such as wood, marble
and checkered, and each in turn can be modified in terms of spectral
range, scale and rotation of pattern. Two textures can be hybridised
into a new strain, possibly mimicking the appearance of slate or brick.
In order to get that authentic look, you’ll also need to choose suitable
values for transparency, reflection and refraction.
8.11
Once this process is complete, it’s time to render the material to see
if it meets your requirement. If it does, it can be added to the list
for future use. Materials are rendered as a standard sphere on a plane
of the same material, so you quickly get an idea of whether it’s going
to fit the bill or not, and can abort the operation if it doesn’t.
Alternatively, bitmap images can be applied to surfaces for some strange
effects. I particularly like the way that materials can be added and
deleted from the menu. Many programs would have left the user to hunt
through directories in order to find the ideal material for the job, but
MerlinEd lets you flick through a gallery of them at the click of a
button.
8.11
Ray − a drop of golden sun
8.11
Scenes must have at least one light source − they’d look pretty bleak
without it anyway − there are three to choose from: Point, Extended and
Directional. Point lights emit rays in all directions and produce
sharp-edged shadows, extended light covers an area in the same way as
floodlights do with fuzzy shadows, and directional could be a spotlight
or torch. White is the default colour for light, but you can choose
whatever you like, although black should be avoided, for obvious
reasons! Up to 256 light sources can be specified, but be warned that
the more you have, the greater the time to render. Mist and fog can be
added to the scene for that touch of haze or to turn it into a
pea-souper of a day.
8.11
A shot in the dark?
8.11
The final part of MerlinEd is the camera. The scene can be rendered from
any position or angle, so this must be set on the three planes by
dragging and rotating the camera icon. Field of vision and focal range
can be adjusted to suit too − it’s worth taking your time at this point
to ensure that you get the best out of your scene. What might look great
from one position could look as flat as a pancake from another.
8.11
Import(ant) info
8.11
OK, so you’re thinking that all this sounds very well, but I’m never
going to be able to create the image I really want, a nice dinosaur or a
realistic looking left foot for my Monty Python scene. All is not lost,
however, as MerlinEd accepts the import of not only drawfiles but also
DXF wireframe files, as used in over fifty art/CAD packages on many
systems. These are available from Viewpoint Datalabs on 01784-451815,
although they are really for professional artists, scientists, film
makers and advertisers, and so don’t come cheap − it’s a case of pay by
the polygon! Handling of DXF files is slow, due to the sheer amount of
detail − many of those on offer have polygons by the tens of thousands.
8.11
The magic of Merlin
8.11
The hard part’s over by now, and we have a wireframe world and a script
file. It’s the tracer’s turn to cast its spell and render the scene in
all its glory. The Merlin Environment sets up final adjustments; how it
is to be traced, its resolution, special effects, save format and
various other options such as screen blanking, multi- or single-tasking,
report output and inclusion/omission of shadows, reflection, etc.
8.11
As with other ray-tracers, it is strongly recommended that a small
preview is first performed in order to ensure that all is well. This can
be done in multipass mode so that an impression of the whole scene is
given more quickly than the superior scanline mode, which works from the
top downwards but may not provide much information as to the final
appearance until well into the process. If all is satisfactory, larger
resolutions can be attempted with confidence.
8.11
Complex images are likely to take many hours (even days) to complete,
but there are a number of factors that will improve the speed. Of
course, the faster the processor the better − ARM3 is probably the
minimum requirement unless you’re very patient, and a StrongARM would be
more than welcome! Memory is another factor and an FPA unit will help
dramatically. Support for this will be included, either in the full
release version or shortly afterwards to those who register. If
possible, switch to single-tasking mode, avoid displaying the image, and
be sure to blank the screen for final rendering, then go away from your
computer and have a nice cup of tea. When Merlin has finished, you’ll
find a fantastic sprite and/or RGB file, a report on what has been
achieved and how long the render took − ample reward for your patience.
8.11
The Merlin icon itself is brilliant and contains a small, informative
window of what Merlin is currently doing; an hourglass when checking a
script file, Zed’s when a render has been suspended and, more commonly,
a figure representing percentage of the trace completed. Great stuff.
8.11
Merlin − on reflection
8.11
Merlin is by far the most powerful ray-tracing package available for
Acorn computers. There are so many features within the program that I
haven’t even touched upon phong and Gouraud shading, jittered and
adaptive anti-aliasing. This I hope to do in an update article, along
with any other new enhancements to the full release.
8.11
The 3D editor is excellent when compared to writing your own script. It
can be viewed and modified in !Edit if you wish, and you’ll soon realise
how much time you’ve saved by creating the scene graphically rather than
in text form. The results speak for themselves and even if your computer
cannot display 24-bit colour, it can still produce 24­bit files which
can be printed on a suitable printer or stored until later, when you may
decide to upgrade.
8.11
One significant omission is an animation option, but this is pencilled
in for Merlin 2. Whether this is ever forthcoming is wholly dependent on
how well release 1 sells! A great deal of effort has gone into both the
editor and the tracer and, even after a few days, I feel right at home
with it.
8.11
For professional graphic artists and keen amateurs, Merlin is an
absolute must. At £100 + VAT it’s far cheaper than similar packages on
other formats. Occasional dabblers and complete newcomers may be
deterred by the price, so I’d recommend you get hold of Persistence Of
Vision (the PD ray-tracer), try out some of the example files and see if
you get hooked. Write your own script file, then forget it and rush out
and buy Merlin!
8.11
The Engineer Coughs!
8.11
Ray Maidstone
8.11
Dust
8.11
The most frequently used piece of equipment in our workshop these days
is the vacuum cleaner! There are many computer owners seemingly unaware
of one of their biggest enemies... dust. It is possible to overcome some
of the problem merely by placing the computer in a good human
environment − if you wouldn’t like to live in it, neither would the
computer! However, it’s not just dust that causes a problem. We have had
to remove contaminants such as spray furniture polish, talcum powder and
nicotine. All of these can fill up filters and clog drive heads, render
connectors unconnected and stop switches from switching!
8.11
Heat
8.11
In these days of bigger upgrades and higher clock speeds, another
problem rearing its ugly head is that of heat. (This is especially
relevant now that so many Risc PC owners are thinking of adding a 4P8C6
central heating system! Ed.) Always have a schedule for cleaning
filters, especially if they’re made of the black material which is
easily blocked. Keep your computer away from sunny windows if possible.
This also applies to monitors, as they are already warm enough inside
without having the problem compounded by baking under the sun. Whoops...
there goes another line output transformer!
8.11
In the good old days, when A310s were young, I did extensive research
into heat, airflow and design inside the computer. Some problems were
solved by slowing the fan down slightly, because filters became rapidly
dust clogged when air was rammed through them too quickly.
8.11
The A5000 and A4000 have been out in the field long enough now to be
showing signs of similar problems. Firstly, the fan is pushing air the
wrong way! Secondly, the fan has no filter. Thirdly, it’s all going too
fast!
8.11
Perhaps I should simply keep quiet about this, because our workshops
always have a steady supply of dust-afflicted machines. (Yes! Ray does
sell a gadget for slowing down fan speed to make it work more
effectively, and also a much better grade of filter material, but he
makes more money out of doing repairs! Ed.) The setup should be: filter
on the outside... fan sucking air in from outside... fan speed not too
high... no excessive metalwork shrouding hard drives... keep machines
away from heat. All this being considered... “Have a nice day!”
8.11
IDE fun
8.11
A frequently heard comment is, “My IDE SyQuest doesn’t run with my other
drive.” Unfortunately, there isn’t one nice clean, clear IDE standard.
In the same way that no computer manufacturers seem to use similar
connectors (hence the vast number of people buying adaptors from one
make to another), IDE interconnection is equally diverse. Drives send
different signals down the line causing odd reflections, they have
different timing characteristics and different windows to sense
master/slave information. No, there isn’t a book on this, as far as I
know, but by now, I might well be able to write one! Suffice it to say
that, having helped a number of people out, I would say that the
important things to get right are length of cable, the link settings and
the positioning of devices along the cable. u
8.11
RepairZone (alias Ray Maidstone) sells a ‘universal fan quietner’ for
£21 inclusive, which will fit any Acorn RISC OS computer. They also sell
a ‘luxury’ fan filter − high quality, washable − for £3 inclusive (or
less for bulk purchases). Phone [phone] for details. Ed.
8.11
Programming Workshop
8.11
Colin Singleton
8.11
Last month, I explained how to eliminate, or rather disguise, the
rounding errors in a list of numbers, so that rounded subtotals
reconcile to the individual rounded figures (Archive 8.10 p22). This
month, I offer a simple, but very efficient, routine for one of the most
fundamental of programming operations − sorting. The sample coding is
given in BBC Basic V but, with care, it can be translated into any other
language.
8.11
The quicksort
8.11
This procedure for sorting a list of items was originally called the
Hoare Quicksort, after its inventor, CAR Hoare, from whom I learned the
technique in the late sixties. At a time when RAM was measured in Kb
rather than Mb, the Quicksort was remarkable not only for its speed, but
also for the fact that it requires no more memory than is needed to hold
the data. Most fast sorting procedures required batches of data to moved
back-and-forth between blocks of memory.
8.11
In the first cycle of the Quicksort, one arbitrarily-chosen item is
fixed in its correct place in the eventual sorted list. The procedure
ensures that all items which are less than this chosen item are moved to
positions before it, and those greater to positions after it in the
list. These two blocks of data remain in jumbled sequence, so the
procedure is repeated for each of the two unsorted blocks separated by
the fixed item, and so on. This technique lends itself to a recursive
procedure − before this technique was available, rather tedious coding
was required to keep track of all the unsorted blocks of data.
8.11
The code
DEFPROCQuickSort(L$(),S%,N%)
LOCAL H%,L%,M%,F%,Z$
IF N%<2 THEN ENDPROC
F%=S%+N%ASC1
L%=S%ASC1
H%=F%
M%=S%+(F%ASCS%)DIV2
Z$=L$(M%)
L$(M%)=L$(H%)
REPEAT
  REPEAT
    L%+=1
  UNTIL L%=H% OR Z$<L$(L%)
  L$(H%)=L$(L%)
  WHILE L%<H% AND Z$<=L$(H%)
    H%ASC=1
  ENDWHILE
  L$(L%)=L$(H%)
UNTIL L%=H%
L$(L%)=Z$
IF L%>(S%+1) THEN PROCQuickSort(L$(),S%,L%ASCS%)
IF H%<(F%ASC1) THEN PROCQuickSort(L$(),H%+1,F%ASCH%)
ENDPROC
8.11
Notes
8.11
L$() is the list containing the alpha strings to be sorted. The routine
sorts ‘in place’ N% consecutive elements starting with L$(S%). Any other
elements in L$() are not affected. S% will usually be 0 or 1 on entry,
but takes other values on the recursive calls. The number of internal
recursive calls to the procedure is approximately 2/3N, but the depth of
recursion is approximately Log2N, and is therefore unlikely to fill the
stack memory.
8.11
The time taken is approximately proportional to N × LogN × LogL, where N
is the number of items and L is the average length of each. On my A540,
this interpretive Basic routine takes 37 seconds to sort 10,000 strings
of 100 bytes.
8.11
Simpler sorting techniques often require a time proportional to N²
rather than N × LogN, and are horrendously slow for more than a few
dozen items. The Quicksort is noticeably quicker if the list is
initially nearly sorted (or reverse sorted) than if it is random.
8.11
A programming detail − any version of this technique which extracts the
first or last element, rather than the middle element, Z$=L$(M%) in my
coding, will be very slow sorting a list which is already nearly sorted!
8.11
Please send comments, questions and suggestions to me at 41 St Quentin
Drive, Sheffield, S17 4PN. u
8.11
Understanding Disc Formats
8.11
Sergio Monesi
8.11
This article is aimed at all the people who want to understand more
about disc maps without going deeply into technical speak. If you just
have some questions, try reading the FAQ section and ignore the rest.
(FAQ = Frequently Asked Questions!)
8.11
I will only deal with new format maps (E-format), since the old ones
(D-format) are out-of-date really.
8.11
(I gave a copy of the FAQ to Adrian Look, of Disc Rescue fame, who very
kindly gave us some more technical comments. These appear in italics at
the end of each of Sergio’s answers. Adrian has been repairing Acorn
discs since 1991 and has a considerable amount of expertise in this
area. Anyone can ring Adrian for free advice on 01603-748253. Ed.)
8.11
FAQ
8.11
1) Is *Compact useful or it is dangerous?
8.11
On E-format discs, *Compact isn’t really useful but it can be used
safely if the map is good. If the map is inconsistent, I can’t assure
you of its behaviour, i.e. I can’t exclude the possibility that it could
cause worse corruptions. Note that RISC OS can automatically run a
‘subset’ of Compact when it has to save a file (especially if the file
is large and the free space is limited and fragmented).
8.11
Using *Compact (or subset) can corrupt the entire disc if the map is
already corrupt. This does not always happen but it is a real
possibility. The safest thing to do is to backup the disc and reformat
it, i.e. copy the contents of the floppy to RAMdisc (or, preferably,
hard disc if you have one) and then reformat the disc and copy the data
back onto it − better still throw that disc away and use a fresh one!
8.11
2) Can I trust *CheckMap?
8.11
I have to admit that CheckMap isn’t a very well written command but if
it says that the map is good, the map IS good and you have no lost space
on your disc. If it crashes the computer or if it says “Map inconsistent
with directory tree”, your map or directory structure IS damaged and the
damage can worsen if not cured soon.
8.11
Disc Rescue cannot help with this problem. The safest course of action
is to backup and reformat.
8.11
3) What can I do with a broken directory or an undeletable file?
8.11
A broken directory cannot be deleted using standard OS commands and it
can just be considered as a ‘normal’ undeletable file. To remove it, you
must use some directory manipulation program (like Disc Rescue?) or the
shareware programs ‘Eliminate’ (distributed with ‘fsck’) or ‘FSCKb’.
8.11
Attempting to repair a directory should be undertaken with great care.
The contents have to be reconstructed/repaired exactly, otherwise you
could run the risk of further (and potentially more damaging)
corruption.
8.11
4) What can I do if *CheckMap doesn’t work or tells me that the map is
inconsistent?
8.11
Apparently, the only thing you can do is to try the shareware program
‘fsck’ (or the new ‘FSCKb’) that performs the same task as *CheckMap but
also tries to fix the damage.
8.11
I have not seen this utility, but fixing the map to this extent is a
very complicated task and your safest bet is to backup and reformat.
8.11
5) Are there some dangerous actions that can lead to a map corruption?
8.11
I am not the only person who thinks that having a nearly full HD (say,
less than 1Mb free) can be dangerous, especially if you handle very
large files. Using bugged programs that can sometimes crash the computer
while it is writing to the HD is really dangerous but, fortunately,
there are very few programs of this kind around...
8.11
Judging by the number of calls we get from people complaining that their
computer says, ‘Disc not understood. Has it been formatted?’, I would
say there is some basis for this comment. However, if you do encounter
this problem, it does not mean that your data is lost. If customers have
a copy of Disc Rescue, we can often talk them through the repair process
on the telephone. Our success rate is about 70% for hard discs.
8.11
6) Does a map corruption imply that some data on the disc has been
corrupted too?
8.11
Generally, no. For example, if the corruption was caused by a delete
operation that was interrupted after it removed the file from the
directory but before the removal from the map, the map will be
inconsistent, but no data has been lost/overwritten.
8.11
On the other hand, a ‘Broken Directory’ can be the evident sign that
something actually has been corrupted on the disc, so you can find that
some other files are damaged. In fact, RISC OS can easily notice the
wrong directory header/checksum but it cannot really understand if a
text file has been corrupted!
8.11
7) How can I find if my disc is E-format?
8.11
You can use the command *Map. If it says “new map”, you have an E-format
disc, otherwise you have an old D-format disc. When you use *Map, be
sure to be in the correct file system or, alternatively, use the command
“XXXXX:Map” where XXXXX is the name of the file system (e.g. IDEFS,
ADFS, SCSI, etc). If the *Map command doesn’t exist, your file system
isn’t FileCore based (like MemFS, ArcFS, SparkFS), so what is described
in this file can’t be applied to it. (You can also find out in the
desktop with <menu> on the floppy icon on the iconbar by selecting
Format−Current format. Ed.)
8.11
8) Is there a program to unfragment the disc?
8.11
No. However, such a program will not be completely useful since RISC OS
already tries to keep files unfragmented. The *Compact command can be
useful to unfragment the free space (and sometimes the files too) inside
a zone. A similar program (but more useful) should be able to move the
most used files (but only the ones that are not continually updated)
near the middle of the disc (i.e. near the root directory) but this will
require a lot of time, is generally dangerous and will not provide
(probably) a great improvement in disc access time.
8.11
E-format map − technical info
8.11
Before starting with the map itself, we have to look at files and disc
structure.
8.11
Each file on a disc (including directories) can be identified from a SIN
(System Internal Number) that is stored together with all the other file
information (name, filetype, size, etc) in the directory that contains
the file. The SIN is made up of two parts, the file number (or file ID)
and the sector offset (more on this later).
8.11
The disc (HD or floppy) is physically made up of a number of heads (two
for floppies), tracks and sectors per track. RISC OS will generally
ignore this and will consider the disc as a consecutive sequence of
sectors.
8.11
The map of an E-format disc is divided into zones where each zone
represents a number of consecutive sectors and can be considered as a
stand-alone entity. So, unless specified, the map format can be applied
in the same way to both single-zone discs (like 800Kb floppies) and
multi-zone ones. Note that there is no relationship between the physical
disc structure (i.e. number of heads, tracks, etc) and the subdivision
into zones.
8.11
On each disc there are two copies of the map (one is taken as a backup).
Since RISC OS ensures that the two maps are always identical, if the
first is corrupted, the second is of no use either! The second map can
be useful, however, if the first one has been physically damaged,
although (apparently) RISC OS always reads the first and ignores the
other.
8.11
Each zone consists of a list of blocks of variable length, each one
representing an occupied or a free part of the disc; the former contains
the file numbers (i.e. the first part of a SIN) and the latter contains
a link to the next free-space block. If you know the SIN of a file, you
can easily find out where it is located in the zone, and so you can know
the exact position of the file on the disc (i.e. the disc address). If a
file is fragmented in small chunks, the same file number can appear in
more than one block, in the same or in different zones. In this way, you
can also have files that straddle across two or more zones.
8.11
Sometimes, two or more files have the same file number but different
sector offset, i.e. the second part of a SIN. This means that, in the
map, they appear to be a single file (occupying only one block) but,
knowing the SIN, it is possible to find out the right address of each
one. This trick is useful to avoid wasting a lot of disc space. Because
of the organization of the map, each block must occupy a minimum fixed
length (that generally depends on the size of the HD) and so, even if
the file is really short, it has to use up some extra disc space. Thanks
to the sector offsets, a lot of small files can share the same block
(thus the same file number) but each one could only use the size of a
physical sector.
8.11
I have tried to explain the map structure in a simplified way, without
going deeply into the real data structure (bit streams, checksums, etc),
but I think I have said enough to allow you to understand...
8.11
What can go wrong?
8.11
Obviously, the above structure is really rigid and there is no room for
errors! Unfortunately, errors often occur because of unexpected power
down, system crashes, physical damage (errors in FileCore module
itself?), etc. Here is a list of possible problems:
8.11
•    different file lengths in map and directory: if the allocated
length in the map is more than the one in the directory, you can ignore
this (but you have lost some space), but in the opposite case, RISC OS
generally crashes if you try to load the file.
8.11
•    a file number is allocated in the map but not in the directory
structure − you have some space occupied in the map by a non-existent
file.
8.11
•    a file has a file number that isn’t allocated in the map −
generally, RISC OS hangs the computer if you try to load the file.
8.11
•    the free space linked list is broken − there is some free space
that isn’t linked with the others, thus it is lost (it is no longer
free).
8.11
In these cases (except in the ones that make RISC OS crash), *CheckMap
reports an inconsistency.
8.11
Unfortunately, there is a worse case:
8.11
•    the checksum of one or more zones is wrong: in this case
(apparently easy to fix), RISC OS isn’t able to recognise the disc
properly. Using a Disc Doctor tool, it should be possible to fix the
problem manually.
8.11
Another quite common error (not directly related to the map) is:
8.11
•    broken directory − this error is issued when RISC OS finds a
directory that has some ‘strange’ data in it (no directory identifier,
wrong checksum, etc). The only way to cure this is to remove the
directory from its parent but, unfortunately, this is impossible using
standard commands (wipe, delete, remove). Broken directories usually
lead to inconsistent maps because all the files contained in them
disappear from the directory structure, but not from the map (see
above).
8.11
What can be wasted?
8.11
Because of the disc structure and the map organization, some space can
be ‘naturally’ wasted.
8.11
First of all, the sector bounds are a physical limit, and so all the
files must be ‘sector aligned’. So, on a 512 bytes sector sized HD, a 1
byte file always uses (at least) 512 bytes, while a 513 byte file uses
1024 bytes.
8.11
But the real waste of space is caused by the map organization. As I have
already said, there is a minimum length for each map block (for now I
will consider it to be 4Kb, but note that this is only an example).
8.11
This is not so bad because more than one file can share it, hence four
1Kb files can fill up the same block, wasting no space. The bad point is
that only files in the same directory can share blocks, so four 1Kb
files in four different directories will use 16Kb.
8.11
A directory always needs 2Kb of disc space to keep its data. Since a
directory, from the map point of view, is just a file, it will still use
4Kb. Fortunately, it can share the remaining 2Kb with files contained in
it (not with files from its parent). If a directory contains a 2Kb file
or 2 × 1Kb files, all the space is used, but if it contains only files
longer than 2Kb, the space will be wasted.
8.11
Wasted space isn’t lost space. If you have an empty directory, you will
waste 2Kb. But when you delete it, you will regain the whole 4Kb, so
there is no loss. If you save a 1Kb file in it, the free space on your
disc will remain the same, and the wasted space will be just 1Kb.
8.11
During normal operations, there is no way to avoid wasting space: RISC
OS does all the work and you don’t have to worry about the file
allocation strategy. However, you can sometimes recover some wasted
space by simply copying a file, deleting the original one and renaming
the new one as the old one (usually it is better to copy the whole
content of a directory to another and then rename the whole directory
back) but don’t expect too much gain.
8.11
*CheckMap and *Compact
8.11
CheckMap performs quite a simple task − it just scans the directory tree
and checks that all the file numbers in the map are actually contained
in a directory. Considering that CheckMap should be used when something
goes wrong, it seems to be a very poorly written piece of code.
Sometimes, it hangs the whole computer, sometimes it just prints the
cryptic message “Map inconsistent with directory tree”, and the only
action that it should do to fix the situation is the swapping between
the two copies of the map (but see above to understand why nobody has
ever been able to use this facility...).
8.11
Compact was a very useful command with the older D-format but with
E-format discs, it is almost useless. Its function is to collect
together fragmented files or fragmented free space inside zones (but not
from one zone to another). With E-format discs, this operation is
performed automatically when a new file is saved in that zone but, in
any case, you can use it ‘manually’ to speed up future savings (although
the speed gain is almost negligible). With D-format discs, the
‘auto-compaction’ doesn’t exist and files cannot be fragmented: if there
is enough space on the disc for the file to be saved, but this free
space is fragmented in small chunks, the error “Compaction required” is
issued.
8.11
Finally
8.11
If you have any other questions related to HD maps, structure,
directories, etc, you can contact me directly on email as
[e-mail] or post the question(s) to comp.sys.acorn or
send them by post to the Archive office.
8.11
I’d like to thank all the people who provided information to help me
write this article. Please note that I could be wrong, inexact and vague
about certain things. If so, any corrections would be welcome − please
contact me with any amendments/corrections. Thanks.  u
8.11
(Disc Rescue is a useful tool for disc recovery but, please, buy it now
as an insurance − £33 through Archive − rather than ringing us up in a
panic when your hard disc goes down! LOOKsystems offers a free disc
repair advice service and also a ‘no fix, no fee’ data recovery service
− see Products Available for details. Ed.)
8.11
Acorn Networking Preview
8.11
Matthew Hunter
8.11
Although the products I shall refer to here are not yet available, since
they support Acorn’s position as a leading supplier of computer
equipment to schools, we thought you would like to have a preview. The
new products I shall be describing are Acorn SchoolServer, OmniClient,
InterTalk and updates to Acorn Access.
8.11
Acorn are saying that they will be available during this summer −
probably late summer/early autumn, hopefully in time for the new school
year. When they are released, we will put them in the Products Available
section although, for obvious reasons, we will not be stocking some of
the larger items!
8.11
Acorn SchoolServer
8.11
Most of Acorn’s networking options to date have been limited to Acorn
machines. Although Acorn, PC and Mac could all reside on the same
Ethernet network, the Acorn machines would only be able to talk to other
Acorn machines. Acorn SchoolServer has been developed in conjunction
with Microsoft Ltd, IBM and ANT to address this problem. The product is
based on IBM’s Power PC technology, pre-installed with the Microsoft
SchoolServer architecture (in turn based on Microsoft Windows NT), and
Acorn OmniClient software is installed on RISC OS client machines.
Acorn, Apple and PC users can all store and retrieve files from the
Acorn SchoolServer allowing connectivity not previously possible.
8.11
The package will be available in two variants. For medium sized networks
(up to 500 users), the AS500 features 100MHz Power PC (RISC) processor,
24Mb main memory, 1Gb IDE drive, CD­ROM drive and Ethernet interface.
For larger networks, capable of supporting over 1000 users, the AS1000
has 100MHz Power PC processor, 256Kb L2 cache, 32Mb memory, 2Gb SCSI
drive CD­ROM drive, 2Gb SCSI DAT tape device and Ethernet interface. The
software has support for network protocols utilised by RISC OS, DOS,
Windows-based and Apple Macintosh platforms. By using the SchoolServer,
all platforms’ networks can be maintained in a consistent manner.
Resources can be shared across the different platforms, via standard
formats such as JPEG, MPEG and ASCII text. Not only files can be shared
− printers and other resources can also be used.
8.11
OmniClient
8.11
As well as being supplied as part of the Acorn SchoolServer package,
OmniClient will also be available as a separate product for use where it
is wanted to connect Acorn equipment to existing industry-standard
network servers. It offers connectivity to NTServer, LanManager, Windows
for Workgroups and NFS solutions, and can act as a client for Level 4
and Acorn Access use. It is a software only solution, no additional
hardware or software being needed for the server, and all server
security aspects are maintained. This allows simultaneous sharing with
Acorn, PC and Apple Macintosh platforms, and all fileservers are visible
through a common hardware and software interface. It requires RISC OS
3.1 and at least 2Mb of memory. It does not require a local hard disc,
and will happily co-exist with all current and planned Acorn Networking
products.
8.11
Information is stored in the native format for the server being used,
and translation is done for the client so that any files can be
interpreted correctly. Thus, PC, Unix or Mac files can be accessed with
the ease of use offered by RISC OS. The initial set of supported
protocols can be supplemented at a later date to enable other networking
systems to be accessed in the future.
8.11
InterTalk
8.11
This is Acorn’s Internet Access software which allows access to
electronic mail, internally and via the Internet. It is accessible from
any machine on your Acorn Ethernet network, and is easy to install,
configure, use and maintain, using a range of supported Internet access
hardware, via any established Internet provider. You can also create
internal bulletin boards, and access external ones. Local access options
allows RISC OS users to send internal electronic mail messages between
users within a local area network encompassing an entire school or
campus, and beyond the local area can use the Internet to find out
information from other institutions, countries or continents. The
administrator can allow or disallow access to particular sites, for
groups or individuals, over the Internet and locally, limiting access to
those deemed suitable for specific subjects. While access can be gained
via any machine on the network, information specific to users is
protected by a password key, so information can be sent and received
without being seen by unauthorised eyes. InterTalk uses established
standards for email to enable a high level of compatibility with
solutions for other platforms.
8.11
Access+
8.11
Building on the simple and reliable Acorn Access networking system,
Access+ retains the easy-to-use network management of its predecessor
for hard disc and printer sharing, but has increased functionality to
support CD-ROM sharing, both peer to peer and site-wide information
sharing with selected individuals or groups. The system uses standard
Ethernet technology as a basis and will happily coexist with other Acorn
networking solutions on the same network.
8.11
Hard discs can be shared using simple menus − all or just a part of the
disc can be shared with all users on the network − or by using password
protection, Access+ allows the user to choose who can or cannot see and
use the information. The plug and play philosophy means that
installation is simple and, unlike many other systems, no file server is
required − only an Access+ pack for each machine, and suitable
connecting cables. The cards are now available as 10Base2 cards for the
A3020/A4000, and 10BaseT / 10Base2 combination cards for the Risc PC,
A5000 and A3000. Unlike with Access, cables are not supplied as part of
the pack, but for simple 10Base2 networks, a separate cabling pack is
available.
8.11
Access CD Share
8.11
Access CD Share is a piece of server software which uses a cacheing
system to reduce the lag inherent in CD-ROM, particularly when it is
being used by several clients. Data is cached in memory on the server or
on the hard disc, if necessary. It is not a stand-alone product, but
should be used as a complementary product for use with Access+ and Level
4 Release 3 Ethernet networks.
8.11
(Any similarity between the text of this article and any Acorn press
releases is not entirely surprising!) u
8.11
I think it’s time to try and get a ‘Networking Column’ going again.
There’s more here than Adrian Bool can cover in his Internet Column. Any
offers of help with this, and/or to actually be the editor of such a
column, would be gratefully received. Ed.
8.11
Help!!!!
8.11
Articles wanted − Following Paul’s request for articles in last month’s
magazine, there are several items I would like to see:
8.11
1) How can I get a reasonable print from a frame captured with Vision 24
(The HCCS digitiser). The sprites look all right when they are captured,
but when I transfer them to a frame in Ovation and attempt to print
them, they look really awful. (Is this a problem specific to the Vision
24, or would a general article on printing sprites be helpful to more
people? Ed.)
8.11
2) How can I use my HP550C to print addresses on envelopes?
8.11
3) I have a CD-ROM drive fitted to my A5000, the upgraded Morley SCSI
interface provides drivers for a large number of CD drives. Do they all
use up memory space in the computer and, if so, is it possible to reduce
the load on memory by “killing” the unwanted drivers.
8.11
Aneurin Griffiths, Pembrokeshire.
8.11
Charity BBCs − We have been offered two BBC computers, plus bits, for
our charity exchange, by someone in Henley-on-Thames. Unfortunately,
they cannot send them to us, so if anyone is coming to Norwich, and is
willing to collect these items for us, could you please contact us to
arrange it? Thanks.
8.11
Ed.
8.11
Converting WFN fonts to RISC OS − There are two relatively old
applications for converting WFN fonts to RISC OS. I have FontConv
version 1.44 (8th March 1991) and WFNBoss, with no discernible version
number or date. Neither of these programs seem to cope with some newer
WFN fonts I have, so does anyone know of updates to these or other
programs which might work?
8.11
Brian Cowan, Wembley
8.11
Impression Junior wanted − Has anyone got a copy of Impression Junior
that they could let us have if we make a £10(ish!) donation to your
favourite charity, please?
8.11
Ed
8.11
Missing footers − I use a Brother HL630 laser printer. Although the
resolution is obviously not as sharp as that of the HL660 mentioned in
last month’s magazine, it is still a good entry-level laser printer and
excellent value for money. The printer’s manual states that the printer
will emulate a HP Laserjet 3 series printer. This seems to work
reasonably well, but when I try to print from within Impression Style
using the default page setup, it cuts off the footers completely. Is
there a work-around which might overcome this problem?
8.11
Joe Gallagher, Hackney
8.11
Printer drivers − In ‘the good old days’ when every application needed
its own printer driver, the Archive monthly program disc often featured
drivers for recent printers of the day. Fortunately, Acorn’s !Printers
has greatly reduced the problem so that we now only need one driver for
each printer. However, there are some printers which are not supported,
in particular, the newer variants. For example, we have had several
enquiries recently about the Hewlett Packard DJ560C, because neither
Acorns driver nor the CC TurboDriver support the printer at 600×300 dpi.
If anyone out there has written their own definition files to support
this (and any other currently unsupported printer), would you be willing
to allow us to distribute the driver on the program disc to save
everyone having to do their own?
8.11
NCS
8.11
Re-defining of filetype sprites − Sprites corresponding to the same
filetype are often found in different applications; sometimes they are
different sprites. The sprite used by the desktop is the most recent one
seen and it can be annoying when a newly-seen application redefines an
existing sprite. Is there a simple way of fixing filetype sprites? The
converse is true with the sprites representing an application directory;
in RISC OS 3, the first sprite seen is always used.
8.11
Brian Cowan, Wembley
8.11
SCSI tapestreamer software − I am looking for some good tape backup
software which will work on a SCSI tapestreamer. At the moment, I am
using some freeware software − TapeFS from Brian Brunswick, and Tar from
David Pilling (well, not exactly free, but almost). The only problem is
that the data is not compressed. I tried a different version of Tar,
which did compression, but it got upset with image files, and left them
uncopied... I am willing to pay good money if the software is good and
works with my SCSI tape streamer, as my data is valuable! Thanks.
8.11
Michael Ben-Gershon, Israel ([e-mail])
8.11
Statistical program − Regarding Tony Cowley’s query about stats packages
(Archive 8.10, p26), !1st can do multiple correlation stats. If it
doesn’t do exactly what he wants, he could ask for it to be added.
Serious Statistical Software (0151-327-4268) do free demo discs.
8.11
A.M.Corey, Bucks u
8.11

8.11
Risc PC − The Differences
8.11
Eddie Lord
8.11
I have just joined the ranks of the Risc PC owners and so, for anybody
already familiar with the original Archimedes, and who only read the
manual when all else fails, the following comments may be of interest.
8.11
Using a non-Acorn monitor
8.11
The user guide gives very little help if you have a non-standard
monitor. Switching on for the first time may give you an unusable screen
display. The Welcome Guide chapter ‘If things go wrong’ on p67, points
you to ‘Monitor Configuration’ on p109. This tells you to set the
monitor type to Auto, but as the screen is unusable, this is less than
helpful advice!
8.11
Under the section on non-Acorn monitors, it tells you to see page 9
(which describes how you switch a monitor on), or to contact your
supplier. However, under the section on Acorn monitors, it tells you to
try a Delete power on which resets all the CMOS bytes, as well as
changing the Monitor type, Colours and Resolution to Auto. This will
give you a 640×680 VGA standard picture which should be usable by most
monitors.
8.11
The !Mon application is a utility that will get round this problem
(Archive 8.4.28) but, of course, you need to have a copy to hand when
you unpack the new Risc PC.
8.11
Initial impressions
8.11
Having achieved a usable picture, my initial impression was that there
seemed to be no immediate difference to the desktop. This says a lot
about the Acorn desktop environment which had certainly stood the test
of time, but I do hope Acorn are not going to rest on their laurels.
8.11
Underneath, there are some fairly major changes. Open up the hard drive
filer window and note that the Boot application has a new icon. Opening
the Boot Application up in the normal manner will reveal some of those
major changes.
8.11
Next, click on the Apps icon, and all the usual items you would expect
to appear are there, along with some new applications, such as ARPlayer,
Maestro, Squash and CloseUp. More to the point, at this stage, is what
is missing − Configure.
8.11
!Configure is now accessed by double-clicking the Boot application. On
earlier machines, this would have rebooted the machine, but this is one
of the nice changes made to the Risc PC.
8.11
Note also, some new directories, such as Apps, Images and Video.
8.11
Open up the Images and Video and try the applications inside, sit back
and be amazed at the stunning quality of the slide show and marvel at
the video clips. Now can you see the difference?!
8.11
Backup, backup and backup
8.11
Having had a little play, now is the time to do some house-keeping
before there is an accident. Unlike some computer manufacturers, Acorn
have preloaded all the software. The downside is that it is not
available on floppy disc. At the very least, therefore, I would make a
backup of the following directories: !Boot, Apps, Printing and
Utilities. This will take several discs, and backing up all the files,
including the Video clips, will take approximately twenty-four 1.6Mb
discs.
8.11
Make a separate directory, such as zBootBkUp, and copy the Boot
application into this, to give a more convenient backup, actually on the
hard disc, should things go wrong. The use of the letter “z” just forces
the directory to the bottom of the screen out of the way, assuming that
the filer is sorting by name.
8.11
The configure screen
8.11
As has already been well documented in Archive, the Boot application is
a major change in the structure of the computer desktop environment.
However, the user is insulated from these changes in a number of ways.
The configure screen has several additions that do just this. Taking
each option in turn, the differences can be highlighted.
8.11
Hard discs − the ST506 is not shown as an option, but does work
nonetheless. On the screen, only IDE and SCSI hard drives options are
included. The SCSI drive would, of course, need a SCSI podule.
8.11
Screen option − the most noticeable change is that the NewLook
backgrounds are included here. There are now individual pick lists for
monitor, colours and resolution. You no longer set modes by number. This
is where the monitor can be set to Auto.
8.11
The Mouse, Keyboard, Memory and Sound options have not been noticeably
changed.
8.11
A new addition to the configure screen is the System option. Clicking on
the System folder will bring up a screen which allows you to drop a new
system folder into it and thereby update the computer’s system
directory. Using this method, rather than dropping modules directly into
the System.Modules directory, has the advantage of giving some error
handling.
8.11
The fonts option also has a merge facility built in, for merging all
your latest font creations. At last I have been able to use the super
Font Designer’s Toolkit from iSV, which previously would not work with
my LOOKsystems’ Font Directory. The font option also controls the
default screen font, which had been set to Homerton. Initially, this
gave me an extremely slow screen dragging and updating, so I changed the
default to the system font, speeding things up considerably for the time
being. This was subsequently cured by setting the Font Cache to a
sensible number like 256 in the Memory Configuration icon. Dragging and
updating are now back to normal.
8.11
The Windows option has changed only slightly, and the Applications
option has now gone, to be replaced by a Lock option, for password
protection.
8.11
Apps directory
8.11
Another new departure is the Apps directory. In RISC OS 3.1, the
applications in the Apps directory were held within ROM. These
applications are now held in the Apps directory which is why it is
essential to make a backup of these applications. However, the major
advantage of this arrangement is that the Apps directory can be tailored
to suit the individual needs of the user. Placing your most used and/or
favourite applications in the Apps directory, will mean that they will
be available via the Apps icon on the iconbar. For instance, I have
replaced the Squash application with the SparkFS application.
(Incidentally, an updated SparkFS module is included in the
Utilities.Patches directory.)
8.11
Saving the system configuration
8.11
Setting up the Boot file is simplicity itself. After setting up the
!Boot/Configuration file, reboot the computer and set up the screen and
any applications you usually use, plus the Ramdisc if required. Select
the Task Icon (the Acorn icon on the iconbar) and select desktop boot.
This will save the current setup, ready for the next time the computer
is switched on or rebooted. Note, however, that this file will override
any settings in the configure file that had been set up previously. See
the User Guide, page 127 and 139, for more details.
8.11
Make modes
8.11
Having established the screen configuration in Auto (giving a 640×480
screen), a few more screen definitions are in order. For this, you will
need MakeModes from Acorn, or some other equivalent program. MakeModes
is available on Archive NCS Utilities Disc Nº1 or the Archive magazine
disc for October ’94 (8.1). An article describing how to make new modes
can be found in Archive 8.1 p41. Can I suggest that this is very
carefully read, alongside the documentation within MakeModes. See also
Archive 8.5 p69 for a description of Makemodes and CustomRPC. For the
Eizo 9060, a 720×540 mode running at 67MHz is absolutely ideal. What the
documentation does not make clear is that the new screen modes or MDF
(Monitor Definition File) should be saved to
!Boot.Resources.Configure.Monitors. Create a new directory, next to the
Acorn ones already there, and place the MDF in the new directory. After
a reset, this definition file will be presented on the configure option
for monitors.
8.11
You may find that your new definition does not appear in the menu list,
and you will need to edit the MDF to ensure it does. This is simple
enough. Just load the MDF into Edit, or equivalent, and check the line
in the MDF that corresponds to your newly created screen definition.
Ensure that the title line has the # removed, which will ensure that the
definition will be available in the screen configuration.
8.11
Aleph One boards
8.11
I have an older style Aleph One 486 SLC board, which I fitted. This must
be fitted in the upper slot of the slice to prevent shorting of the
circuit board by the conducting film that has been sprayed on the inside
of the slice. A suitable strip of insulating tape may also be used. This
only applies to older style boards meant to fit the A5000 and earlier.
8.11
Loading the software was simplicity itself, and DOS 6 and Windows for
Workgroups also installed without any discernible problems. This was
followed by the Aleph One window driver, loaded via DOS. The only
problem was that the driver kept asking for Window 3.1 disc 1, and did
not recognise that Windows for Workgroups had been loaded. The
appropriate file was found on disc 2.
8.11
I also tried MS Access, which loaded without problems, but it now keeps
on failing when a database is loaded. Windows seems reasonably smooth,
the screen display is surprisingly good and, as far as I can tell, both
Word v2 and Excel v4 work fine.
8.11
Problems encountered
8.11
I have a spare Morley SCSI board which I fitted. This did not work
immediately, as an updated EPROM was required. This was duly upgraded to
version 1.18 with some new utility software, which arrived on two discs.
(Upgrade cost was £35 from Morley.) Unfortunately, it has taken a couple
of phone calls to get the upgrade sent to me, plus one disc that arrived
totally blank! One irritation is that the Morley software does not seem
to support removable media very well. This means that the external drive
(such as a floptical or SyQuest) must be switched on before the computer
is booted up, or the computer will hang, as it does not recognise the
external drive. Not very user-friendly and, for that reason, not to be
recommended.
8.11
Computer Concepts’ Turbo Driver was the next problem. Version 4.01 kept
on giving me an error “This version of !Printers is too old”. This is a
known problem and Archive 8.7 p13 refers. Version 4.01 was upgraded, by
return, to version 4.02, which cured the problem. Version 4.03 is now
current.
8.11
However, I still had a number of problems with this driver:
8.11
With the printer switched off, the printer icon cycles between the
hazard warning and the standard printer icon at regular intervals and,
each time, accesses the hard drive. This did not happen with the earlier
version, and has only appeared with version 4.
8.11
A further problem occurs when the printer is out of paper, after the
print job has started. Normally, the load/eject button could be pressed,
a new sheet would feed into the printer and printing would continue.
Now, however, the printer prints some random characters at the top of
the page, and spews out the paper, spoiling the print run.
8.11
I also find that Impression occasionally gives me the message “Hardware
key not found”, and quits. (See Archive 8.6 p62 for a discussion on
dongles.) After a couple of months and several letters, I managed to get
some answers, and an upgrade to Impression v4.05.
8.11
The major problem was that I have been using an old dongle, from the
days when Impression was first published. Printer status signals are not
passed through these old dongles, this being only available for dongles
issued after the Acorn A5000 was introduced. CC have exchanged my
dongle, and all the previous problems seem to have disappeared.
8.11
Note also that Impression has to be reinstalled from the original discs,
as this is part of the software protection. A version which I backed up
onto the new hard drive refused to run.
8.11
Pet hate
8.11
Naturally, I went through every program I could find to see if they
would work. Many of the games and PD software would not work. Some of
these programs crashed the machine so that the ONLY way to recover the
situation was to use the reset button. Why then have Acorn put the reset
button at the back of the computer, which is almost impossible to
access? Why do designers make crass mistakes of this kind? (It’s because
many of them cannot afford to buy a Risc PC just to test their
software’s compatibility. Ed.)
8.11
Conclusion
8.11
I had hoped that upgrading to the Risc PC would be a smooth and painless
transition, but it was not so. I had very little problem changing from a
386 to a 486 portable, and I find it strange that there seems to be
limited backwards compatibility with the last version of RISC OS.
8.11
I still wonder if a Pentium 100 would have been a better choice,
especially for multimedia. There is a vast choice of CDs available in
the PC world that require sound blaster equivalents, and these are not
yet available to the Risc PC owner. Whilst the introduction of a 486
card is to be welcomed, at 33MHz it is already outdated, since the entry
level PC is the 486DX 66MHz, with the latest Pentiums not far behind. Is
Acorn too little too late again?
8.11
There is no doubt at all that the Risc PC is ahead of its time, but it
does need some really serious software to do justice to its performance
and to compete in the market place. u
8.11

8.11
Comment Column
8.11
Acorn Campaign − More positive crits this month... (many thanks to those
who sent in the cuttings).
8.11
Electronic Imaging carried a three-page review of a 40Mb Risc PC with
PhotoDesk. They gave it a thumbs up in many areas, mainly comparing it
with Macs. One strong message was the ease of interchange of data, which
the Acorn made possible, between different platforms. It ended with a
very telling conclusion... “At around £2,000 plus the RAM plus VAT, this
is a machine that those with open minds should at least try.” (My
italics!)
8.11
The Telegraph (Tues June 20th) had an excellent piece about how a
composer (Adam Gorb) was making good use of Sibelius. It even mentions
that it uses an Acorn computer. It does put it in terms of “The only
criticism... is that it uses an Acorn computer” (my italics) but at
least it then goes on to mention that it can run PC programs by using a
486 card.
8.11
Ed.
8.11
Apollonius PDT − I had hoped to report more favourably on the latest
upgrade to Apollonius (from version 0.95 to 1.09). I upgraded originally
from WorraCad and consequently require to transfer these files to
Apollonius. The only way at present is to transfer them as drawfiles.
Apollonius won’t print drawfiles correctly, because it leaves a lot of
information missing on the printed page, although the information is on
screen. So I tried to think how else I could get a printout. I added the
missing information I wanted on the drawing and then saved from
Apollonius as a drawfile. Draw would not accept the file and gave the
error “Object size is not a multiple of 4 at location 16_7F98”.
8.11
I am most disappointed with the program as Oak Solutions (Dial
Solutions) advertise this as an upgrade to WorraCad, and I have had to
go back to using WorraCad or Vector for my drawings.
8.11
Brian Cocksedge, Midhurst, W Sussex
8.11
Articles for Archive − Many thanks to all those who offered to write
articles and especially to those who sent things in straight away. The
summer time is always bad for getting enough articles as no-one wants to
be indoors slaving over a hot computer during the lazy, sunny(?!) days
of a British summer! As you see, we had enough articles for this issue,
but only just, so keep the articles coming, please.
8.11
If you don’t feel you have the expertise to write articles, ideas of
what you would like to read about are equally helpful. We have people
offering to write but who don’t know what subjects to write about.
8.11
One constant request is for more ‘beginners type’ articles. I think many
of us assume that everybody else knows the basics of operating commonly
used applications like Paint but, actually, we don’t − and I can say
‘we’ because I rarely use Paint and haven’t really got a clue as to how
to use it!
8.11
Once again, thanks for all your support. I really do enjoy editing the
magazine and that’s mainly because it brings me into contact with
enthusiastic people, and enthusiasm is catching.
8.11
Ed.
8.11
Books on ‘C’ − There are two ‘C’ books which I have found really
helpful. (1) A Book on C − R.E. Berry, B.A.E. Meekings and M.D. Soren −
second edition, published by Macmillan Education, ISBN 0-333-46529-6. (I
have two spare copies of this for charity, £5 each − ring 01962-774352
if interested.) (2) Going from C to C++ − Robert J. Traister, published
by Academic Press Professional, ISBN 0-12-697412-8.
8.11
John Evans, Mijas Software
8.11
Budget games − Although I am not a great games player, my favourite game
on the old Beeb was something called Bug Blaster produced by Alligata
Software.
8.11
Of the few budget 32-bit games I have encountered, my favourite is
Digital Psychosis’ Asylum, costing £8.95. Although, on the surface, this
game seems little different from many other ‘platformers’, so much is
happening, and amid such well-drawn scenery, that it really does have me
hooked. Asylum is amazing in terms of what you get for your money. The
graphics are very well drawn, the levels − although there are only three
of them − are enormous, each having eight associated ‘cell shut-down’
areas. It never crashes, and the whole game has a real feel to it along
with its own atmosphere. The only thing lacking is a facility to save
the game, and it does take a long time to tackle even the simplest level
completely, so a save option would be useful. My only frustration is
that I am still unable to discover how to operate the teleports... if
anyone out there knows the answer...
8.11
Other favourites are: Tower of Babel, Small, Super-Pool and the PD game
Shanghai.
8.11
John Ward, Morden, Surrey
8.11
Font Emporium CD with EasyFont3 − Since writing my review last month
(Archive 8.10 p45) I have discovered a problem with the Oxford font on
the CD-ROM. When attempting to use it with Impression Publisher, I get a
long message which, briefly, states that the area of memory reserved for
fonts is full or that a font error has occurred. I have tried increasing
the font cache to as much as 8Mb but the error still occurs. I have
tried the font with Ovation with similar results.
8.11
However, I am drawing the attention of Zenta Multimedia to this in the
hope that the problems may be corrected on a future production run.
Perhaps a corrected version could be put on a floppy disc and sent out
to existing purchasers of the CD-ROM. Incidentally, the promised
instruction leaflet has not yet arrived.
8.11
As regards EasyFont3, the latest version mentioned in the June magazine
is 3.17. There are only minor changes to version 3.15 quoted in the
review but v3.16 or later is essential if you are using the new CD
version, in order to achieve interaction between the two applications.
8.11
In the review, I mentioned that Fabis Computing were working on a
version of EasyFont especially for use with Font Emporium. I have now
received EasyFont3CD and have tested it with the CD-ROM and it works
very well indeed.
8.11
Installation is quite simple and clicking on the icon on the iconbar
brings up a long list of the fonts on the CD-ROM − all 550 of them, even
if you have forgotten to put the CD in your drive! The list of fonts is
displayed using the currently selected font. I found that reading some
of them in this format is difficult, but clicking <menu> on the font
list gives you a small menu which is self explanatory.
8.11
Accessing ‘Display’ gives you the option of changing to a normal display
which is readable. This sub-menu also allows you to get rid of the font
group names and all the fonts are then displayed in alphabetical order.
It is possible to view a font and its styles from this menu as well as
the iconbar menu. The sub-menu also displays key shortcuts, but care
must be taken to position the arrow over the font display when using
these, as the same control keys may be used by other applications.
8.11
One thing that really impressed me was the fact that, when working on an
Impression Publisher document, you can change your mind and add or
delete fonts as you go along. If you don’t like the look of the font,
try another, all without leaving the document or having to find the font
directories on your hard disc! Unfortunately, this doesn’t work with
Ovation, although it may be corrected when Ovation Pro eventually
appears.
8.11
When a ‘saved’ document is required again, dragging its file icon onto
the EasyFontCD icon before loading will install the fonts used in the
document. Clicking on the document file will then load it with all the
necessary fonts displayed. This facility also applies to files saved
using EasyFont3, version 3.16 or later, providing the fonts used are
those from Font Emporium or RISC OS 3 ROM fonts.
8.11
Fabis Computing are offering the following packages:
8.11
1. EasyFont3CD software and Font Emporium CD­ROM − £35
8.11
2. EasyFont3CD software only for registered users of EasyFont3 − £10
8.11
3. EasyFont3CD software and manual only for non­registered users − £15
8.11
4. EasyFont3, EasyFont3CD and Font Emporium CD­ROM − £60
8.11
All prices include postage and packing and items are available direct
from Fabis Computing.
8.11
Ted Lacey, Southampton
8.11
Overhead display with a Sony 29" TV − In many schools or other
situations where demonstrations are made to a medium-sized audience,
there is a need for a larger display than a standard or even 17"
monitor. Large screen monitors are usually very expensive, so a TV is an
alternative. Although a TV cannot display the higher resolution modes,
it can display the standard modes such as modes 12, 15, 24 and 36.
8.11
The Sony Trinitron 29" television with model number KV-X2982U is
available in the educational market for under £600 +VAT and it has a
very high quality picture output. What is needed is a splitter cable so
that both the normal monitor and TV can be used, or a direct lead if the
normal monitor is not required. The TV must have a SCART socket, as the
Sony does.
8.11
The lead is plugged in and the TV turned on first, and then the
computer. The computer should be configured to a MonitorType of Auto
which can be done using !Configure in the Apps folder or double-clicking
on !Boot for a Risc PC.
8.11
Appropriate leads with instructions can be obtained from Eastmond
Publishing. Splitter leads are about £18, including a stereo audio link,
or TV connection leads are about £14, again including audio lead.
8.11
Although the display is only of standard modes, the picture quality and
overall usability is, in my opinion, very good and clear enough for a
class of, say, 25 pupils up to about 15ft away. These are approximate
sizes just to give an idea of usability. Hence, it represents a very
good solution for overhead display if mounted on a wall bracket or tall
stand, particularly considering the price compared to a monitor. It can
also, of course, be used in daylight, unlike a video projector.
8.11
It should be noted that you cannot have an AKF60 or AKF85 (monitors
supplied with the Risc PC) on a splitter with the TV, as these monitors’
lowest scan rate is too high for a TV. However, if such a monitor is
swapped for an AKF50, both monitor and TV will display satisfactorily.
In modes 12, 15 and 24, the screen display uses part of the TV screen
with a smallish border around the edge, whilst in mode 36 (wide screen)
the display loses a narrow strip on the left, bottom and top, but would
still probably be my choice as the most suitable mode for display.
8.11
Mike Battersby, IT Curriculum Advisor, Kingston-upon-Thames
8.11
Problem with DOSMap command − The DOSMap command is very useful for
coping with the file extensions of DOS files. Thus, for instance, the
command DOSMap CSV &DFE will ensure that DOS files with extension CSV
are treated by RISC OS as if they had filetype &DFE. If a file icon has
been defined for this filetype, the files will appear with that icon
instead of the usual DOSfile icon. Unfortunately, there is a bug in the
RISC OS 3.10 DOSFS module which prevent the use of numbers in file
extensions. This is fixed in the DOSFS 0.49 (03 Aug 1994) and later
versions. This allows the mapping of the 123 extension to DB0 and many
others.
8.11
Brian Cowan, Wembley
8.11
Promoting Acorn (Why do we bother?) − Reading Keith Hodge’s comments
in Archive 8.10 p39 about the Harrogate show, I wondered if he’d been
reading my mail?! Keith’s view about the racket exactly mirrored my own
impression of the ’94 show. The organisers, Safesell, did say they were
planning to stick all the ‘ghetto-blasters’ in the naughty corner in
’95. But, if Acorn were the culprits this time, why do we bother?
8.11
Keith also raised the point about there being no Friday ‘business day’
this year and I support his view very strongly. When the Sat/Sun-only
dates were first announced, I wrote Safesell to suggest the error of
their ways − no reply. So I wrote the sponsors, Acorn User − no reply.
Why do we bother??
8.11
I couldn’t get to the show myself but persuaded the boss of a sister
firm to go on the Saturday. Their offices are equipped with
IBM-compatibles but, being used to the quality and price of stuff I’d
done for them, he was actively considering getting at least one Risc PC
with potentially more to follow. To quote his (partly censored) words:
“I had to queue for [beep] ages to get in and left after an hour. The
racket was dreadful and the place was crawling with [beep] kids. Why
didn’t you tell me the show was for games and education?”. Bang went my
credibility and, a week later, he bought two more IBM-compatibles. Why
do we [beep-beep] bother???
8.11
Jim Nottingham, York
8.11
Publisher bleeds − I wonder how many people have come across the
following ‘problem’ in Impression Publisher and, if so, does anyone know
a way around it? Publisher is ideal for printing pages ‘imposed’ and
ready to send to our printer, until you want to put bleed on pages.
Bleed is not required in the spine of a magazine, only at the head, foot
and fore-edge. Publisher adds bleeds to all 4 edges of a page, this
means that pages have to be printed out singly and then pasted into the
correct imposition.
8.11
I think Computer Concepts are aware of the problem, which cannot help
sales of this product in the professional printing marketplace. Most
printing companies would not want to start cutting artwork or films if
they were presented to them as Publisher does. (Incidentally, do other
Archive readers spend hours listening to classical music and recorded
messages whilst waiting for a human at CC to answer the telephone −
which they never seem to do?!)
8.11
Paul Cayton, West Yorkshire
8.11
Slowing down the Risc PC − On the Risc PC, programs with a large
wimpslot run slowly, and slow down the wimp. This is due to the time
taken to reprogram the IOMD to page in the application. The smaller page
size of the Risc PC and the larger possible size of applications means
that many more pages need to be reprogrammed. An 800Kb program requires
25 pages on a 4Mb A5000, or 200 pages on a Risc PC.
8.11
You can see this in action if you open two task windows, one small, say
640Kb and one large 8Mb if you can free that much. If you hold down a
key while the cursor is first in one window, and then in the other, you
will see an obvious slow down in the auto-repeat rate in the larger task
window. This is a particular problem when using the GCC compiler which
requires a large wimpslot.
8.11
Applications can get round that by using dynamic areas to store their
data − dynamic areas are not paged in and out − so, hopefully, all
future programs will use this method. It also reinforces the need for
programs to mask out wimp events that they are not interested in, to
prevent unnecessary task swaps.
8.11
Sergio Monesi, Italy
8.11
Squashed lines on Laser Direct (8.10 p32) − Computer Concepts told me
that they had found a way to solve Paul’s problem (but not Gerald’s) of
squashed lines on the Laser Direct. Unfortunately, I gather that this
new version will not be available until the autumn. In the meantime, the
effect can be almost entirely eliminated by turning half-toning for text
off, although if you do this, you will find that grey text will appear
either as solid black or white.
8.11
Jim Nottingham, York
8.11
TEX − The TEX typesetting language has been mentioned in Archive from
time to time. The PD RISC OS implementation of this, built by Robin
Watts, is very good. There are also a number of utilities which make
life easier for the Acorn user. Both DaTeX and SemTex are desktop
managers for the TEX system. SemTeX includes a definition file for a TEX
mode for StrongEd. Best of all is Paul Field’s DVIview which provided a
desktop viewer for documents, printing through RISC OS printer drivers,
and the saving of document pages as drawfiles − absolutely superb! The
package also includes a comprehensive set of Computer Modern fonts in
RISC OS format. TEX and the other programs are all available from HENSA
or from APDL, but I am not sure if these are the latest versions. I
obtained mine from the Oxford University FTP site.
8.11
Brian Cowan, Wembley
8.11

8.11
Hints and Tips
8.11
LaserDirect double flush − I asked for help last month (8.10 p25) with
what to do when I get a paper jam on my LaserDirect LBP8. (This turns
out to be one of those everybody-knows-about-it-except-me problems.)
Apparently, all I have to do is click on the LaserDirect icon on the
iconbar while holding <alt> down. This brings up a LaserDirect Status
window telling me the paper is jammed and offering me a way of escape
which I accept gratefully.
8.11
Many thanks to all those who wrote or phoned to tell me what a gumby I
am. I had been using the ‘Flush printer’ menu option from the ‘Printer
Queue’ window (adjust-click on the iconbar icon) instead of
LaserDirect’s own flush system − you stupid boy!
8.11
(Mind you, from some of the suggestions people made, like “hit
<f12><return>”, I suspect that I may not be the only person to have had
this problem and not realised how simple the solution was!)
8.11
Ed.
8.11
Printing from Basic programs (e.g. 8.10 pp21/47) − Here are a couple of
short points which may help. Firstly, ‘Page printing’ via a printer
driver.
8.11
The key SYS calls recommended for ‘proper’ printing via the desktop
still work in non-Wimp mode, so it is fairly straightforward to produce
hard copy of text output directly from Basic programs − albeit in
‘graphic/page printing’ style.
8.11
A sequence which certainly works is:-
8.11
DEF PROCprint
SYS “PDriver_PageSize” TO width%,height%,left%,bottom%,right%,top%
pf%=OPENOUT(“printer:”)
SYS “PDriver_SelectJob”,pf%,“Printer Test”
LOCAL ERROR
ON ERROR LOCAL:SYS “PDriver_AbortJob”,pf%:CLOSE#pf%
:ENDPROC
rect%!0=0
rect%!4=0
rect%!8=(right%-left%)/400
rect%!12=(top%-bottom%)/400
trans%!0=1<<16
trans%!4=0
trans%!8=0
trans%!12=1<<16
plotat%!0=left%
plotat%!4=bottom%
SYS “PDriver_GiveRectangle”,0,rect%,trans%,plotat%,&FFFFFF00
SYS “PDriver_DrawPage”,1,block%,0,0 TO more%
WHILE more%
  SYS “ColourTrans_SetGCOL”,0
  MOVE 0,(top%-bottom%)/400
  ............
  (BASIC print commands − see text)
  ............
  SYS “PDriver_GetRectangle”,,block% TO more%
ENDWHILE
SYS “PDriver_EndJob”,pf%
RESTORE ERROR
CLOSE# pf%
ENDPROC
8.11
The above assumes that you have a global error call in operation, and
you will need to add to the ON ERROR LOCAL line to restore to that call.
Also, you need to have declared certain variables earlier in the
program, such as...
8.11
DIM rect% 16
DIM trans% 16
DIM plotat% 8
DIM block% 16
8.11
All the normal Basic printing commands seem to work OK, i.e. PRINT,
PRINT TAB(), VDU8, 9, 10 and 11, but be careful of VDU28 and 31 (and,
of course, VDU1).
8.11
With care, you can therefore merely insert (at Basic’s print commands
above) the call to whatever routine puts your required text onto the
screen.
8.11
Secondly, what about using of text files? Although it isn’t printing
directly from Basic, there are some advantages in using text files, as
others have noted − not least being that your printer driver is likely
to use ‘character printing’, and you can view and edit via Edit, if you
want.
8.11
Extending the thoughts offered by others (and assuming you want to get a
hard copy of something you’ve put on the screen) then the following
PROCs can be used to put text line by line on the screen in the way you
want it and, at the same time, construct a corresponding text file for
subsequent dragging to your Printer Driver or into !Edit.
8.11
 10 MODE27
 20 file%=OPENOUT(“textfile”)
 30 CLOSE#file%
 32 *SetType textfile Text
 40 PROCfile_and_centreprint(“Text File Test”)
 50 PROCfile_and_blankline
 60 PROCfile_and_printtab(10,“First Line at TAB 10”,TRUE)
 70 PROCfile_and_printtab(10,“Second Line at TAB 10, but held ”,FALSE)
 80 PROCfile_and_printtab(50,“to await this at TAB 50”,TRUE)
 90 END
10000
10010 DEF PROCtextfile(textline$,return%)
10020 REM return% is TRUE/FALSE flag
10030 REM to tell BPUT# to make <RETURN> action after text or not
10040 file%=OPENUP(“textfile”)
10050
10060 REM Put pointer to end of file ready for more text.
10070 PTR#file%=EXT#file%
10080
10090 IF return% THEN
10100  BPUT#file%,textline$
10110 ELSE
10120  BPUT#file%,textline$;
10130 ENDIF
10140 CLOSE#file%
10150 ENDPROC
10160
10190 DEF PROCfile_and_centreprint(string$)
10200 REM Prints a string centred on screen,
10210 REM and puts a corresponding string into a text file.
10220
10230 LOCAL tab%,screenwidth%
10240 REM First find screenwidth in Mode being used,
10250 SYS “OS_ReadModeVariable”,-1,1 TO ,,screenwidth%
10260
10270 tab%=((screenwidth%+1)-LEN(string$)) DIV 2
10280 PRINT TAB(tab%)string$:REM To screen
10290
10300 line$=STRING$(tab%,“ ”)+string$
10310 PROCtextfile(line$,TRUE):REM Corresponding string to text file
10320 ENDPROC
10330
10360 DEF PROCfile_and_blankline
10370 REM Prints an empty line on screen,
10380 REM and puts a corresponding string into a text file.
10400 PRINT:REM To screen
10420 line$=“”
10430 PROCtextfile(line$,TRUE):REM Corresponding string to text file
10440 ENDPROC
10450
10480 DEF PROCfile_and_printtab(tab%,string$,crlf%)
10490 REM Prints a string on screen at the designated tab position,
10500 REM and returns a corresponding string for a text file.
10510 REM ‘crlf%’ is TRUE/FALSE flag to determine if screen printing
10520 REM** is to end with <Return> or not (i.e. semi-colon or not).
10530
10540 gap%=tab%-POS
10550 REM ‘gap%’ needs to be calculated before printing to screen.
10560
10570 IF crlf% THEN
10580  PRINT TAB(tab%)string$
10590 ELSE
10600  PRINT TAB(tab%)string$;
10610 ENDIF
10620
10630 line$=STRING$(gap%,“ ”)+string$
10640 PROCtextfile(line$,crlf%):REM Corresponding string to text file
10650 ENDPROC
8.11
I am still trying to get ‘character printing’ via a Printer Driver
direct from Basic!
8.11
(We have one that we have used at NCS for years. I’ll put it on the
monthly disc. Is that what you want? Ed.)
8.11
Ray Favre, West Drayton
8.11
Runny letters − Some people don’t realise that the ink used by inkjet
printers is water-based and is therefore not waterproof. This isn’t
normally a problem but it can become one when addressing envelopes! In
rainy weather, my postman often delivers letters where the address is
all but illegible, and if the ink had run in this way before it had
reached my local sorting office, I would probably never have received
it.
8.11
The solution is very simple. Most stationers sell a ‘fixer’ for use with
rub down lettering (Letraset etc.). This is actually a very fine, clear,
varnish in aerosol form. It’s quite expensive, around £3, but a can will
last many years. Just lightly spray it on the address or label (it dries
in a few seconds) and your letter will arrive safely even in a monsoon.
8.11
David Holden, APDL
8.11
Transferring text files using Hermes − There is an increasing interest
these days in exchanging text files between Acorn RISC computers and
PCs. There are two major differences − PC text files end with a ctrl-Z
(ASCII 26) character and have CR LF (ASCII 13 + ASCII 10) characters at
the end of each line. Acorn text files have only an LF character at the
end of a line and have no special end character. Hermes (v1.22 onwards)
is able to handle most of the conversion in either direction.
8.11
To convert an Acorn file to PC, open the Hermes application window and
display the Pipe parameters. Change the Line End to CRLF and click on
“OK”. Drag the text file to Edit, use <ctrl-down> to move the cursor to
the end of the file and add ¤CTRLZ¤, then resave. Ensuring that no
application has the input caret, drag the text file onto the Hermes
iconbar icon. After a few moments, the converted file will be piped to
Edit where it can be saved to the DOS disc.
8.11
To convert a PC file to Acorn, change the DOS file to Text (&FFF) and
open an Edit document, making sure it has the input focus. Drag the DOS
file onto the Hermes iconbar icon and the converted file will be sent
direct to the edit document with all the CR characters stripped out. The
ctrl-Z character at the end can be deleted manually.
8.11
Hermes raison d’etre is to facilitate transfer between packages and this
cross-platform interchange is an extension of that philosophy.
8.11
Mike Logan, Base 5 Technical Graphics
8.11
Underlining Impression’s bugs − If you are editing a style, and adding
‘Underlines 2’ to it in Publisher (4.05), make sure that any existing
text in that style does not have underlines set as an effect. If the
effect is set, strange things happen, and the window goes black!
8.11
Brian Cocksedge, Midhurst, W Sussex u
8.11

8.11
RISC OS 3.5 versus Windows 3.1
8.11
Keith Parker
8.11
Spurred on by Paul’s comments about needing copy for OUR magazine and by
Keith Hodge’s comments about Windows (8.10 p39), I am placing on record
my comments about these operating systems and some observations about
DTP and graphics software on the PC.
8.11
Speed
8.11
Booting up my Risc PC from cold is much quicker than Windows. This is
not just my Risc PC compared to the 486SXL card but sitting in TJ
Reproductions and watching Tony Tolver’s Risc PC booting up and
comparing it with his 486DX4. However, there is one area where I believe
Windows is faster than RISC OS, and that is in loading, accessing and
reading CD-ROMs. CorelDraw 3CD runs much more quickly than any Acorn
format CD I have via my NEC 2xi SCSI drive. Now, why is that?
8.11
Visualisation
8.11
Without doubt, the look of RISC OS is much nicer in 256 colours than
Windows, even taking into account the ability to change how Windows
looks. I also think that the icons are much easier to understand in our
environment than the alien form. (This was confirmed to me by the
Granada engineer who was replacing my dead power supply − this was his
first ever Acorn job, apart from seeing a Risc PC in their workshop −
yet he immediately knew which icon was which on the initial startup
screen.)
8.11
Features
8.11
Windows undoubtedly has a larger number of features than RISC OS, but
many are “gimmicky”. Admittedly, some are very useful, such as <alt-tab>
which brings to the front the bottom window (usually the Program
Manager) or the small buttons to maximise or minimise the current
window. However, I must say that, as an unfortunate regular Windows
user, the RISC OS desktop is far more productive and easier to use.
8.11
For example, I bought CorelDraw3 (only £41 +VAT from PC World on CD-ROM)
and if I double click on a .CDR file, it loads and runs CorelDraw3.
Then, if I want to load another picture after ending the first picture,
I have to watch the loading banner of CorelDraw3 again! The only way to
avoid this is to go through the file menu and choose OPEN and then
select. Once you’ve seen the loading banner a few times, you really
appreciate RISC OS 3! (The same Granada engineer sat at my Risc PC for
an hour after repairing my machine, having never used one before, and
couldn’t believe how easy it was to use.)
8.11
Hard disc space
8.11
The system (!Boot) file on my Risc PC takes only 25Mb, which includes a
14Mb FontDir partition, whereas PC DOS6.3 and Windows3.1 (neither of
which is fully loaded with all their features) takes 27Mb. If I had
fully loaded everything available, it would have been over 32Mb. (It
would be interesting to know about the space taken up by applications
like DTP packages. I suspect you would get similarly disparate figures.
Perhaps you could quote some sizes, Keith, when you do your DTP
comparisons. Ed.)
8.11
Shelf space − Manuals
8.11
An indication as to which is the most intuitive OS is the shelf space
taken up by the manuals. The Windows manual runs to some 300 pages on
top of PC DOS 6.3’s 563 pages. The RISC OS 3 User Guide for the Risc PC
is 570 pages, and that includes descriptions of how to use Draw, Edit,
Paint, Alarm, ARPlayer, Maestro, etc!
8.11
(My view is that Archive should not allow itself to be clogged up with
Windows matters. It should concentrate on RISC OS and only discuss
Windows and its applications when there is a specific requirement (such
as Xara Studio or PC CD-ROMs) or a request from a reader. After all, do
we all have to bore each other with Config.Sys and Autoexec.Bat’s?
Furthermore, I would have thought there were enough publications
covering the limitations of PC/MS DOS and Windows − not forgetting
OS/2.)
8.11
Virus security
8.11
I know from experience that it is relatively easy for your system files
on a PC to become screwed up with a virus whereas most of the important
parts of RISC OS are protected by being in ROM. Like other users, I find
this situation most reassuring, even if upgrading (if and when it
happens!) is not as easy as a simple disc-based upgrade. If you have
never had your computer screwed up by a virus, be very, very grateful −
it can take up a great deal of time and energy! Furthermore, the best
virus protection scheme I know of for any platform is that offered by
Pineapple which costs a mere £24 +VAT − PC and Mac schemes cost much
more!!
8.11
Could RISC OS learn from Windows?
8.11
Whilst I firmly believe that RISC OS 3.5 is a much nicer and easier
operating system to use, I believe that Acorn could learn quite a few
things from Microsoft. (After all, if you’ve seen Windows95, you will
see they’ve learnt from Acorn − iconbar et al.)
8.11
(At Acorn World last year, a Microsoft executive came past the Archive
stand and we “engaged him in conversation”, i.e. told him how much
better RISC OS was than Windows. “You ought to look at RISC OS”, we
said, “to see what a decent desktop environment ought to be like.” −
tactful as ever − and his reply was that they most certainly had been
looking at RISC OS − for quite some time! Ed.)
8.11
Here are some features (some ‘borrowed’ from Windows, some not) that
should be built into RISC OS 4:
8.11
a) Virtual memory. I know that programs like DA Picture, PhotoDesk and
Studio24 all have VM in place, but the OS should provide its own − all
programs would benefit and development costs could be reduced.
8.11
b) Pinboard to front. Many of us use Pinboard and whilst <shift-f12>
brings the iconbar to the front, it would be better if this could bring
forward the iconbar and pinboard together.
8.11
c) Better editor. Instead of developing its own, why not buy Zap and
replace Edit.
8.11
d) Better drawing package. Vector should be bundled in.
8.11
e) Better paint package. I don’t know which one, but it must handle
32-bit colour sprites.
8.11
f) New filecore. We need one that allows more storage − 512Mb is
pathetic − it needs to be 8 or, preferably, 16Gb.
8.11
g) New font manager. We have a fairly good system already but if
FontDir2 (when it’s released) were to be built in, it would make the
other systems (including Macintosh) look third rate.
8.11
h) Pantone files. This is expensive and the Acorn developers have not
got the money, so Acorn should buy the rights to bundle the Pantone
Colour Files within its colour picker!
8.11
I’m sure that there are many other items on other people’s wish lists.
Perhaps our new Clan Acorn columnists could compile our RISC OS 4 wish
list and let Chris Cox (and vitally Acorn) know what we want and need.
8.11
Now, a few DTP related items:
8.11
Publisher Plus v PageMaker5
8.11
Tony Tolver of TJ Reproductions uses Acorns, Macs and PCs all the time.
The Acorns run Publisher Plus, the Macs run QuarkXPress and the PC runs
Aldus PageMaker5. Whilst there are many things lacking in Publisher Plus
(£299), the poor speed and difficulties of using QuarkXPress (£799) and
PageMaker (£599) are laughable for programs costing 2-3 times more. The
worst thing is the speed − you would not believe how slow they are if
all you’ve used are the DTP programs from Computer Concepts. (Are CC
forgetting their Acorn DTP customer base or are there developments in
the pipeline for us Impression users? If not, there is always Ovation
Professional which looks good even in alpha and beta test versions!)
8.11
Tony has a customer (a school in Hong Kong) who used to do all its DTP
on its Acorn machines in Impression. Recently, it got a PC of some
description and decided that it should use a so-called “industry
standard package” − PageMaker5. They sent the discs containing the
layout and some photographs (50) to be scanned and dropped into place.
Tony reckoned it would take some 4 hours in Impression. After 8 hours on
a 486DX4, he still had 20 photos to do, and the 486DX4 is not exactly a
slow machine. Guess what? Tony is asking his customer to go back to
Impression, otherwise he will have to charge more to cope with an
inferior setup!
8.11
TJ’s file setup charges
8.11
Tony now charges a setup fee of £5 for all files prior to imagesetting.
Sorry, £5 for all files from Macs and PCs − there is NO setup charge for
files from Acorn packages − there is, generally, so little to do. This
charge would even apply to Xara Studio files, because of the platform
it’s created on!
8.11
CorelDraw3 CD
8.11
I mentioned above that I had purchased CorelDraw3. What an awful
program, but what a great package! I bought it for the clipart − 14,000
items of excellent quality. All you need to do is load them into
CorelDraw, select export as an CorelDraw EPS or Illustrator 3 file and
load the files into ArtWorks. There you have it, a ready-made clipart
collection for little or no cost but a little bit of time! The package
even includes a book with thumbnail pictures of all 14,000 items! Then
there are fonts in both TrueType and Adobe Type Manager formats. The
combination of ATM format and !T1toFont is interesting!
8.11
Acorn DTP versus PC/Mac DTP
8.11
Finally, Mark Howe asked me to do a comparison between Impression
Publisher (and Plus) and PageMaker 5 and QuarkXPress 3.3. This was some
8 months ago but, due to family illness, this has only continued very
slowly. He also asked me to keep it to about 600 words − which is
proving to be impossible. I am working on a list of the features of each
program which will appear in a future issue of Archive (hopefully this
side of Christmas 1995!) and lead to people asking about dealing with
Impression’s omissions. Rest assured, there is usually a work-around;
witness the superb quality of LandMobile, a monthly full colour glossy
magazine produced entirely on Acorns!
8.11
I hope this article has been of interest and that it will generate some
debate. Please contact me at: 33 Fieldend, Twickenham, Middlesex TW1 4TG
or on 0860-919216, so we can give Paul some more pages to set! u
8.11

8.11
Puzzle Corner
8.11
Colin Singleton
8.11
Many thanks to all the readers who sent solutions and comments −
including those who were barking up the wrong tree! These give me an
insight into the way people set about solving these problems, and
indicate the likely pitfalls. One puzzle which proved rather difficult
was ...
8.11
(14) Very Acute
8.11
Nick Craig-Wood, of Leatherhead, did eventually find my eight-triangle
solution independently, but too late for submission. Apparently the
inspiration came to him in the shower − I am not sure whether this
indicates a recommended approach.
8.11
(18) No Progress
8.11
This, too, caused some problems. Several readers apparently assumed that
the best solution (the one with the smallest value for the highest
number) for a given length of series will be found by adding another
number to the previous series. This is not always true, as the solutions
published last month show. Several readers solved the order-16 problem,
but the order-12 solution proved elusive, perhaps because it does not
include the number two. Only Nick Craig-Wood found this solution − by C
programming, rather than by shower-power − so he wins the prize.
8.11
(19−21) Waterfall? − Till Death Us Do Part − Loony Post
8.11
Everyone who tried the first two got them right, but the third proved
slightly more difficult. Several entrants found the correct stamp
values, but most probably did not prove to themselves that the solution
is unique. The prize goes to Mrs A R Miskin of Loughborough. She was the
only entrant who gave credit to Archimedes by name − the principle, not
the computer!
8.11
(22) Differences
8.11
If, as in this case, the number of integers is a power of two, the
difference process always produces a line of zeros; if not, it never
does. If four non-integer numbers are allowed, it is then possible, but
still not easy, to find a set which never produces all zeros. The four
numbers must be a+b, a.x+b, a.x²+b, a.x³+b where a and b are any
constants, and x is the real root of the equation x³ = x² + x + 1
(approx. 1.83929).
8.11
No set of integers can satisfy this relationship precisely, but any
which comes close to doing so will require a large number of
applications of the difference process to produce all zeros. The best
approximations for this process are obtained by using four consecutive
terms of the series 1 1 2 4 7 13 24 ... , in which each term is the sum
of the previous three, and the ratio of consecutive terms tends towards
1.83929... .
8.11
The last four numbers in this series which are less than 1,000,000 are
121,415 223,317 410,744 755,476. This set of numbers, and others simply
derived from it, are (I think!) the only ones <1,000,000 which require
36 difference operations to produce four zeros. That is the theory,
which is probably not common knowledge among Archive readers! It will be
interesting to see what results are achieved in practice, by
trial-and-error, or whatever.
8.11
(23) Similarities
8.11
The sides of the first triangle must be p.m³, p.m².n, p.m.n², and the
sides of the second p.m².n, p.m.n², p.n³, for any integers p, m, n. The
difference between the non-common sides is therefore p.(m³ − n³), which,
in this case, = 387. The only solution is p=1, m=8, n=5, giving sides of
lengths 512, 320, 200 and 320, 200, 125.
8.11
(24) Rhymes
8.11
I wonder how many readers will be brave enough to declare that the only
English words ending ~shion are fashion and cushion, and that there is
no word which rhymes with month? Edward Lear ‘solved’ the second problem
with the word one-hundred-and-one-th (101th)!
8.11
(25) Pythagorean Fractions
8.11
The general solution (which you didn’t need to know) is x = m4 − n4
y = 2.m.n.(m² + n²) z = 2.m.n.(m² − n²), for any different integers m,
n. Setting m = 2, n = 1 gives the simplest solution x = 15, y = 20,
z = 12.
8.11
This month’s prize puzzle ...
8.11
(26) Race Tracks
8.11
The diagram shows a circular racetrack with a circumference of 3100
metres. Six posts have been erected as shown, at distances 0, 100, 300,
1000, 1400 and 2600 metres from a given fixed point. By judicious use of
these posts as start and finish points, it is possible to run a race of
any multiple of 100m from 100m to 3100m (one lap). Furthermore, astute
readers will observe that there is only one ‘choice’ of start and finish
points for each distance.
8.11
To meet these conditions, the circuit-length using P posts must be
P.(P-1)+1 units. Try as you might, however, you will not be able to
place seven posts on a 4300m track to offer this facility. But you can
place eight posts around a 5700m track to allow any race-distance from
100 − 5700m. Three of them are shown in the diagram on the right, at 0,
100 and 300m. Can you find the positions of the other five?
8.11
This month’s prize quickies (27−29)...
8.11
(27) Overlapping Squares
8.11
The diagram shows a 4×4 square and a 5×5 square, overlapping. One corner
of the large square coincides with the centre of the small square, and
the large square has been rotated to divide one side of the small square
1:3. What is the area of the shaded overlap region?
8.11
(28) Harems
8.11
Wishing to augment their harems, the Sheiks of Licentia enacted that the
mother of a son must bear no more children, but so long as she bore
daughters, she must continue childbearing until she produced a son.
Thus, every family would include just one boy, but any number of girls −
available for the harems! Assuming that each birth has a 50−50 chance of
being male or female, and if it were physically possible to obey this
law, what would be the overall female/male ratio, and what would be the
average family size?
8.11
(29) Back to Basics
8.11
What are the next two numbers in this series? (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15,
16, 17, 20, 22, 24, 31, 100, ?, ?)
8.11
Comments and Solutions
8.11
Please send comments, contributions and solutions to me at 41 St Quentin
Drive, Sheffield, S17 4PN. Solutions by Friday 11th August, please. u
8.11

8.11
Multimedia Column
8.11
Paul Hooper
8.11
More multimedia
8.11
When I first started writing this column a couple of years ago, it was
known as the Genesis/Magpie Column as these were the only two multimedia
authoring programs available at the time. Since then, Key Author,
Optima, CableNews 2 and Ultima have come onto the market. Now, each of
these programs has had a dedicated following, but none has knocked the
top two off their perch. But this could change with the announcement
that the top selling HyperStudio is to be converted from the Apple to
both the PC and Acorn platforms.
8.11
For those that have not seen this package, it is extremely easy to use
and construct an application. It won this year’s Silver Award from
Educational Computing and Technology, in the secondary sector. From what
I have been able to gather, you will be able to start creating an
application on an Apple and then finish it on an Acorn. Quite how the
problems of different formats of discs can be overcome isn’t made clear.
The provisional release date is August this year and, if the programmers
can overcome the problems that Oak and Anglia have had, HyperStudio
could become the first package to be available for all three platforms.
8.11
Anglia CD-ROMs
8.11
Following on from the above, take a look at the new Anglia TV CD-ROM’s
that have just come out. These are written using Key Author, and are now
available for not only Acorn, but also PC and Mac. Titles include Garden
Wildlife, Castles (Version 2) and Animals in Art. What makes these stand
out from the run-of-the-mill CD-ROM, is that the same disc can be used
on all three different machines! Looking at the structure of the
CD-ROMs, it becomes apparent that many of the resources are shared
across all three different formats. Many of the movies are also in MPEG
format, as well as Replay and QuickTime. As an experiment, I ran the
Garden Wildlife using the Risc PC in PC mode. The stunning thing was
that there was little difference between that and the RISC OS version.
8.11
‘New literacy’
8.11
The phrase ‘New Literacy’ has been bandied around a lot in the past few
months. It refers to teaching children the skills they will need to make
sense of their new multimedia world. The analogy of literature seems
particularly appropriate since, at the moment, we teach our children to
both read and write. Yet all the hype that is surrounding multimedia at
the moment seems to centre on the children being passive readers of
CD-based multimedia applications. Any teaching of the ‘new literacy’
must include writing multimedia, as well as reading! If there are any
teachers out there who are unsure how to write an application and would
like some help, maybe we can get a group together in a local school for
a day and run a multimedia training course. Let me know what you think.
8.11
Databases and multimedia
8.11
Long term users of Genesis will remember GenTools, which allowed you to
create a database within Genesis II. It came as part of the package and
was easy to use. Yet Genesis Professional no longer contains this
application, and it appears from the manual (p.42) that Genesis can no
longer display CSV files. Indeed, if you use GenTools to create a
database, Genesis Professional will not display it.
8.11
I must admit that I gave up on this problem some months ago, but a
chance remark to Tony Holdstock at Oak resulted in him sending me an
application which included a database.
8.11
Having analysed the page, I have now been able to create a database
within the Man in Space application. If you want a new copy of this
application, send a HD disc to the address at the end of the column.
8.11
Key Author can use a Key Plus file to create a database within an
application, although I have yet to explore how to do this. I aim to
convert the Man in Space application to this format in the next few
months, so I will report back then.
8.11
Magpie goes CD
8.11
A new CD-based version of Magpie has appeared, which not only contains a
full version of Magpie (1A.50b), but also a number of example binders.
These are of mixed quality, but do give some good ideas of what can be
achieved with this program. Also on the disc are a lot of resources
which can be used in your applications. These include sound samples,
clipart, backgrounds, graphics and even Maestro tunes. Also included are
some pictures from ‘The Decades’ series, which gives beginners enough
resources to start making their own applications straightaway.
8.11
There are also a few enhancements in this new version. You no longer get
stuck with the tool you were using outside the Magpie window. The
compaction seems to have been increased, and you now get the ability to
play an audio CD track while a binder is displaying.
8.11
Genesis for Windows
8.11
Having just obtained my PC Card and the Windows version of Genesis, I
have now started to try and convert some of the applications to PC
format. I took a very simple application and transferred it from RISC OS
to my PC Drive and re-filetyped the pages to DOS. Needless to say, it
didn’t come up in Windows. At the moment, I am a bit stuck, but I
will experiment and report back in the next few columns.
8.11
The Swap Shop
8.11
I have updated the Catalogue to include the new applications that have
come in over the past few months. If you want a copy, then either
download it from Arcade BBS, or send me a disc to the address at the end
of this article. Many thanks to all those who have sent examples in over
the last couple of months. After recent talks with both Oak and Longman,
both companies are interested in putting together a CD-ROM of all the
applications in the Swap Shop, plus some of their own. If any
contributor does not want their binder to appear on the CD, please do
let me know. I’m afraid that I have lost track of some of the authors
that I have credited in the column.
8.11
The number of different applications now stands at over seventy, and
many are available in at least two formats, so it is no longer possible
to put a catalogue with examples on the monthly disc. What I have done
is to create a small Magpie binder with a list of all applications, but
with no description.
8.11
The end bit
8.11
Having invested in a modem at AW last year, and got to grips with the
manual, I have now placed a copy of the latest swap shop catalogue on
Arcade BBS. You can leave me a message requesting Swap Shop items on the
board but, to avoid filling up the boards with applications, you will
still have to send me the discs.
8.11
If you have any hints and tips or questions on multimedia, or if you
require a swap shop catalogue, please write to: Paul Hooper, 11 Rochford
Road, Martham, Great Yarmouth NR29 4RL. (01493-748474) u
8.11

8.11
Pocket Book Column
8.11
Audrey Laski
8.11
Power pack blues revisited
8.11
Last month, I mentioned that my Power Pack had stopped working for a few
hours and then resumed; alas, just after the column came out, it stopped
again, dead. I sent it back to Avie Electronics who explored beyond the
lead replacement I had asked for on the previous occasion, and
discovered that there was damage in the plug itself. It became clear
that old age and hard use had caught up with it, and I’m having to get a
new one. I now have to think seriously − in trying to be economical with
batteries, have I been extravagant on the life of the Power Pack? I
certainly did work it hard, because I was using it so much at home
(usually in bed) or in a college office where I could easily plug in. I
must do some sums, using Calc of course, to decide where true economy
lies.
8.11
All thumbs!
8.11
John Molyneux of Runcorn, writes enthusiasticly about the Psion. He has
had one for about two years and now his wife also has a Pocket Book
which she pops “in her white coat when round her hospital wards”. What
particularly impresses him is the total portability, which he
illustrates by explaining how he manages to use his machine for writing
while walking his dogs across country in the early morning.
8.11
His system is to type, not with the customary two fingers, but with the
thumbs. “The Psion 3a is held by both hands, the display supported on
extended index fingers with the rest of the fingers curled under the
keyboard. This leaves the thumbs hovering over the keyboard at the right
angle. Each is able to reach more than half way across the keyboard.
Anyone used to two finger typing will now be perfectly at home stabbing
at keys. As a small bonus, I find that the side of the thumb is in fact
narrower than the flat of the index finger and so is less likely to hit
more than one key at a time.”
8.11
When I tried this I found that it must be valid only for people with
fairly big hands or long thumbs; mine didn’t meet in the middle. John of
the other side of the bed, who has remarkably small hands and feet, had
the same difficulty. However, the idea seemed too good to lose over a
little physical disproportion, so we started experimenting with other
holds. What works for John is to support the Pocket Book on the little
finger and the side of the palm of each hand, and for me to use the full
length of the edge of my palms; this gives short thumbs a good enough
starting position, though we haven’t been practising for long enough to
become skilled yet. As we do it, a little care is needed to keep the
other fingers out of the way of the screen. One problem I may find is
that incipient arthritis sometimes gives me gyp at the base of the
thumbs, and the “’ammer, ’ammer ’ammer” on the keyboard might make this
worse − time will tell.
8.11
John Molyneux also cautions against trying to use this technique when
walking in new places or in traffic, for obvious reasons. He also has to
beware of letting it absorb him too deeply, even on a familiar walk:
“Three seconds is plenty of time for my four legged charges to roll in
something that’s been dead for weeks...Pooh!”
8.11
Endnote
8.11
There still isn’t the quantity or range of material there used to be in
the column. Please write! u
8.11

8.11
ARM Programmer’s Guide
8.11
Neil Hutchinson
8.11
The following is intended not as a full ‘book review’, but merely as a
pointer to a book that I stumbled across which will surely be of
interest to many Archive readers. The book is The ARM RISC Chip: A
Programmer’s Guide by Alex van Someren and Carol Atack (ISBN
0-201-62410-9), published by Addison-Wesley at £24.95 (£25 inc p&p
through Archive).
8.11
The cover of the book is flashed with the words “as used in the Apple®
Newton™” but, as we well know, Acorn have found a far better use for
“the chip”! The authors are respectively an ARM-specialist and a
technical author (Carol Atack’s name will be familiar to Fireworkz
users, as she co-wrote the manuals) and the book has been produced in
collaboration with ARM Ltd.
8.11
The book is aimed at “a programmer or systems software engineer looking
for the definitive programmer’s guide and reference to the ARM
architecture”. I have to confess that I am not an expert programmer
(least of all in Assembler!), yet I found the book extremely stimulating
and useful. Anyone who has dabbled in assembly language programming, on
any platform, will find its clear explanation of the ARM instruction set
and syntax very interesting indeed. For those who are regular ARM
assemblers, this book would seem to be a must!
8.11
I have to state now that the book is not, nor is it meant to be, a
beginner’s guide to programming in assembler. However, its style is such
that anyone with an interest in the topic would gain by having an
extended perusal of its contents.
8.11
The book is divided into chapters as follows:
8.11
•    The history of the ARM CPU: a brief history of Acorn Computers,
ARM Ltd and the development of the ARM chips now familiar to us
8.11
•    The ARM6 CPU core architecture: an explanation of the CPU’s
modes and registers
8.11
•    The ARM development environment: the relationship between the
CPU and the ARM Software Development Toolkit (including compilers)
8.11
•    The ARM6 integer instruction set: a summary of the ARM
instruction set, with examples that demonstrate its flexibility
8.11
•    Aborts, exceptions and interrupts: the use of exception handlers
8.11
•    ARM architecture extensions: the extensions to the ARM6 series
chip (including the ARM600 and ARM610)
8.11
•    ARM CPU hardware and interfacing: the various interface
techniques of the ARM6 family
8.11
•    ARM CPUs, derivatives and support ICs: the history of the
various ARM chips in detail (with a look forward to future
developments), plus a detailed description of the ARM floating point
accelerator and video/audio controller chips
8.11
•    The ARM floating point instruction set: the ARM implementation
of floating point arithmetic.
8.11
The rest of the book is made up of well over 100 pages of Appendices
detailing the ARM instruction set and assembler directives. Throughout
the book, there are examples of ARM code to illustrate the main
points. u
8.11

8.11
The Mac is Not a Typewriter
8.11
Adrian Look
8.11
A book review of ‘The Mac is Not a Typewriter’ in an Acorn magazine
might seem a little incongruous, if not bordering on heresy. However,
this book is written by Robin Williams, the author of the excellent
‘Non-Designer’s Design Book’ and, on this merit alone, deserves a closer
look.
8.11
‘The Mac is Not a Typewriter’ is the predecessor of ‘The Non-Designer’s
Design Book’ and is billed as ‘a style manual for creating
professional-level type on your Macintosh’. Its aim is to highlight and
explain some of the essential differences between traditional typing
skills and typesetting. Robin Williams offers some truly elementary
conventions which everyone should know about − but many of them seem to
have passed us by. As a result, although the book is aimed squarely at
the absolute beginner, it should help almost everyone to improve the
overall impact of their documents.
8.11
There are twenty chapters (seventy-two pages), each of which can be
digested in a couple of minutes and applied almost immediately. This
means that you don’t have to read the book from cover to cover and you
can skip the hints and tips that you already employ. These include
topics such as: understanding proportional type, quotation marks,
apostrophes, dashes, special characters, accent marks, underlining,
capitals, kerning, fonts, tabs & indents, widows & orphans, hyphenations
& line breaks, leading, justification, hanging punctuation, serifs,
using typefaces, and a whole lot more.
8.11
The problem with this book is that it is written for the Apple Mac. What
would be a superb beginner’s guide to typesetting is marred by the fact
that not all of the keypresses and examples are relevant to Acorn users.
As an integral part of the text, this could be very confusing for the
uninitiated. If a separate sheet showing all of the Acorn keypresses and
examples were produced, much of this confusion could be dispelled. (I’ve
done one for it − no extra charge! Ed.) However, even with this
addendum, there are parts of the book that might still mislead − most
especially the references to ‘city named fonts’. (This is explained on
my sheet. Ed.)
8.11
This is not to say that this book is useless to all Acorn users − far
from it. It offers some very practical advice that, if heeded, can
significantly improve the feel of your documents and quite clearly
demonstrates the differences between ‘professional’ and home-grown
desktop publishing. All of the principles covered are relevant to Acorn
users, but I suspect that many beginners will find the integration of
the Mac examples too confusing. If, however, you feel more confident
with your computer and are simply looking to improve your DTP skills, I
can whole-heartedly recommend this book as essential reading. u
8.11

8.11
Face to Face − Flight Simulator
8.11
Christopher Jarman
8.11
This is, I believe, the most recent flight simulator to be launched on
the Acorn market and it is a worthy addition to the list. It comes from
the ‘Flight Sim Toolkit’ stable but is generally smoother in
operation than any of the others that I have seen, and the landscape is
much more complex and well drawn. It is also remarkable in that the
graphics were designed and constructed by Adam Garbutt who started it
two years ago when he was only 13 years old. He must surely have a good
future ahead of him in games!
8.11
Face to Face comes on two HD discs and installs easily in the usual way.
It will run on any Acorn machine including the Risc PC, and needs 2Mb of
RAM. It opens with a pilot’s desk in, presumably, a World War II
officer’s hut. You choose the kind of weather you want, the name of the
pilot, how detailed you need the landscape and your mission. Before
taking part in the Battle of Britain (for that is where we are in this
game) the trainee airman has a chance to fly from the snow-covered
airfield on training flights just to get the feel of the thing. Then you
have to pass a short but simple exam to get your wings.
8.11
On arrival at the first-line squadron, a rather supercilious CO in
leather flying gear asks you a number of questions and you can get
involved in this, or type GO and get straight on with the flying.
8.11
The flying is good fun and I liked the fact that a certain amount of
navigation is also required. There are plenty of places on the ground to
look at and to provide reference points. Clearly, someone with real
aircrew experience advised on this, and the little touches such as
target towing practice and air/sea rescue operations have a ring of
authenticity about them. Dogfighting is difficult, and I will need a lot
more practice before I can become an ace or win any medals. What I
admire about this game, however, is the way it is possible to have a lot
of enjoyment just swanning around and exploring, without necessarily
having to do battle.
8.11
The accompanying instruction manual is clear and concise. There are 30
missions in all to work through, and the first five are just to
familiarise yourself with the airfield and surrounding countryside.
8.11
The landscape is the southern Kent coast in 1940 with the French coast
in view. You patrol along the beaches and the white cliffs of Dover,
happily looking for enemy aircraft to intercept. There are ground
targets to practise on and a towed target too. Also, when you look
behind you there is usually a chum doing victory rolls and generally
being supportive in his Spitfire or Hurricane.
8.11
I would not like to be considered too niggly over what is essentially a
clever and entertaining flight simulator, but three things worried me
slightly. Firstly, the overall colouring is a bit dark and would look so
much better if brightened up a lot. Secondly, I found that all the
missions I attempted, resulted in telling me “Mission Completed” even
when I had merely crashed on take-off. Surely there needs to be some
discrimination between missions attempted and missions successfully
fulfilled?
8.11
The last gripe? Well it is not confined to this program by any means,
but all products should be thoroughly checked for spelling mistakes by
an independent person before launching. There are too many in this one
for a serious commercial game.
8.11
Face to Face is supplied by SYRASoft at £18.99, but there is no VAT as
SYRASoft are not registered for VAT.
8.11

8.11
Publish Art − The Ultimate?
8.11
Gabriel Swords
8.11
Smart DTP, the publishers of Publish Art, say it’s ‘the ultimate DTP
resource − a massive collection of over 1,500 designs − more than 13Mb
of original artwork, compressed onto 8 discs’. At £35, they could be
right!
8.11
Smart DTP are also the publishers of Smart Borders and Smart Resources,
reviewed in Archive 7.11 p72 and Publish Art brings together those older
collections, plus a load of new designs, into a single DTP resource
pack. This isn’t a pack of cartoons, animals and trees, rather, it’s a
collection of devices which are meant to liven up your posters, flyers,
mailshots, etc. For those of you who already have some of their earlier
collections, there is a special price for upgrades.
8.11
According to Smart DTP’s own publicity, ‘Whether you’re telling the
public about the summer carnival or telling your customers about your
latest special offer, Publish Art will turbo-charge your DTP software,
allowing you to translate your wildest ideas into print. The resources
have unlimited uses in DTP, multimedia and graphics work’. Well, they
seem pretty confident, so does it measure up to their claims?
8.11
The first thing I’ve got to say is that there are some designs I would
not be seen dead using. In fact, if you buried me in one of the tartan
backdrops, I’d come back and haunt you − there are some amazingly gaudy
designs. These are in the minority and as tartan caps are a big seller
in certain parts of the world, I could be wrong! There are a lot of very
good and very useful designs and devices, and as the collections come in
either Artworks or drawfile format, they can easily be altered and
adapted to suit your particular needs. Indeed, the guide supplied with
the collection encourages the user to adapt and alter the designs.
8.11
Twelve topics
8.11
To make life simple, the collection has been divided into 12 topics, as
follows:
8.11
1. Backdrops: This section contains 89 A4 backdrops, ranging from a
background of bubbles to the hideous tartan already mentioned.
Backgrounds can be very useful if used carefully. Although the
backgrounds are A4 size, they don’t have to be used at that size. They
can easily be re-scaled, so you don’t have to use them to cover the
whole page of your document − you could just use them to highlight a
particular area.
8.11
2. Borders: 150 in all. Unlike the section devoted to Impression users,
these are complete border sets which can be dropped into your DTP
software or used in a drawing package.
8.11
3. Corners: 120 corners − there are zappy ones, traditional, ornate and
simple ones, and even a Union Jack one!
8.11
4. Designs: These are made up of highlighting devices, combined with
words, e.g. ‘Wham’ inside a flash-graphic, or ‘Merry Christmas’ with a
Christmas scene underneath, or ‘Special Offer’ inside some other design
− that kind of thing. If you don’t like the words in the particular
graphic, you can always separate them and put them into something else.
8.11
5. Drop Caps: You get 24 different designs applied to every letter of
the alphabet, making a collection of some 624 letters in all!
8.11
6. Highlights: As the name suggests these are meant to highlight certain
aspects of your document − they include arrows, speech and think
bubbles, flashes, tags, underlines, scrolls, circles, signs and marks.
8.11
7. Impression Borders:  These are like the borders section − but with
200 Impression borders − and are made up of single lines rather than
complete borders. If you use Publisher, you will also be able to use the
collection of irregularly shaped frames included in this section.
8.11
8. Page Layout: A collection of headers, footers, margins, titles and
rules. The idea is to use, say, a header design to brighten up the top
of your page or a fancy rule to divide up sections within a document.
8.11
9. Patterns: There are over 140 colourful designs. Each is a 2cm square
combining a different design. They can be used to design your own
backgrounds, or combined with stencils or other shapes to produce some
quite interesting looking textures.
8.11
10. Quickpaper: These are page templates with certain design elements
already included. Templates include things like Congratulations,
Warnings, Remember, Wanted Poster etc.
8.11
11. Stencils: These are white masks meant for overlaying onto pictures,
etc, so that they only allow a portion of the picture to show through.
There are flashes, clouds and various other shapes.
8.11
12. Symbols: Over 330 items including general symbols, bullets, shapes
and silhouettes.
8.11
A word of warning about the colourful designs. Some of the designs are
made up of four-colour separations. While this is fine for normal
printing, it could cause you problems if you incorporate a design into a
document which will later be separated to produce film for professional
printing. If you are not careful, you could end up with four pieces of
film instead of two for a simple spot colour.
8.11
Conclusions
8.11
They say, ‘...Publish Art features resources that will allow you to
transform boring documents and produce your own eye-catching posters and
notices in no time at all. The collection offers a unique and versatile
approach to DTP and is designed to complement your DTP and drawing
software perfectly’.
8.11
Publish Art is aimed at education, business and the serious home user.
As long as you are selective in your use of the Publish Art resources, I
am sure that you really could come up with some very eye-catching
designs. The great benefit of this collection is that you don’t have to
wear yourself out trying to think up original designs. The temptation,
of course, is to throw everything at the page in the vain hope of
attracting people’s attention − no doubt you will attract their
attention, but for all the wrong reasons. A simple design, with just a
few eye-catching details is probably better than a page covered in
flashes, stars and arrows.
8.11
Negatives? None really. There are, inevitably, a lot of designs you
won’t ever need − and there are, as already mentioned, some quite
hideous ones. I wouldn’t call it the ‘ultimate DTP resource’ (because
there’s bound to be an ‘Ultimate II’ sometime) and I wouldn’t say the
manual was ‘comprehensive’, but it is a very useful collection and, at a
launch price of only £35, you can’t really go too far wrong. I would
certainly recommend it.
8.11
Publish Art costs £35 from Smart DTP. For upgrades from earlier
collections, contact Smart DTP at 36 Park Road, Duffield, Belper,
Derbyshire, DE56 4GR. u
8.11
Following our usual policy of finding products that come out well in
reviews, we have arranged a special deal with Smart DTP. For a two-month
period, Publish Art is available to Archive subscribers at a special
offer price of £30. Please specify whether you want Artworks or Draw
format.
8.11
Footnote: One of our subscribers expressed the view that ‘Gabriel
Swords’ had to be a nom de plume. He then asked whether it was really me
doing the writing under that name. I admit that I used to use nom de
plumes (Timothy Edwards, Chris Searle, etc) in the days when I wrote for
Acorn User, Micro User, etc but if I do get time to write anything
myself for Archive, I put my own name on it.
8.11
Gabriel is, in fact, a very good personal friend of mine − he assures me
that ‘Gabriel Swords’ is the name on his birth certificate. Until two or
three years ago, Gabriel was an ardent Mac user. He kept looking over my
shoulder at the Acorn machines and one day he asked if he could have a
go with Impression − and was hooked! He now uses Acorn machines in the
DTP business he has set up under the imaginative title of AngelWords. So
if you need any DTP work doing why not give AngelWords a ring on
01603-452807? (Well, he deserves a free plug for his business − he’s
written about twenty articles and reviews for Archive over the last
couple of years.) Ed.
8.11

8.11
PD Column
8.11
David Holden
8.11
Last month, I wrote about some of the things an author should consider
before writing Shareware. That was intended to try to help a prospective
author understand how his approach needs to be rather different from
that adopted when a program is to be distributed by conventional means.
This month, I shall deal with some of the physical aspects of writing
the program and describe some practical steps that can be taken to
encourage registration.
8.11
It’s got to be better
8.11
Shareware, as I have already remarked, is not cheap software, neither is
it inferior to an equivalent commercial program. In fact, it has to be
better than its conventionally distributed competitors. Some people
might find this surprising but, in fact, it’s perfectly logical.
8.11
When you buy a ‘normal’ program, you pay first. Then, when you’ve
discovered that the program isn’t quite the answer to all your prayers,
it’s too late. No program is perfect. They all have quirks, bugs and
minor glitches. They never do exactly what you want. By the time you
find out that the reviews ‘forgot’ to mention some of these ‘minor’
problems, it’s too late and, unless the program was seriously
misrepresented in some way, you are not going to get your money back.
Usually, this means that you will have to learn to use what you have,
find ways around its shortcomings, and hope that the bugs will be fixed
in an update − for which you will probably have to pay yet more money!
8.11
Having a large number of programs from which to choose (a rare luxury
with the Archimedes) doesn’t improve things. Even if you devour the
reviews and bombard those more knowledgeable with questions, you will
probably not be able to discover whether the program really suits your
purpose until after you’ve paid. If there are alternatives, it could
become very expensive if you have to buy a copy of each to find out how
good it is and, in reality, that’s the only way. Trying it in a showroom
for a few minutes with a ‘helpful’ salesman busily demonstrating the
good points while glossing over the shortcomings, isn’t really good
enough.
8.11
With a Shareware program, the exact opposite is true. You can try the
program at your leisure on your own computer, in your own time, in your
own way and without anyone looking over your shoulder. If it doesn’t
suit you, you don’t pay. If there are problems, the chances are you will
discover them before you have parted with any cash.
8.11
This is, of course, of immense benefit to the purchaser, but it is
something that the author must keep firmly in mind. Once someone has
parted with their money they are committed, and this normally means that
they will have to persevere and learn to use what they have bought. If a
Shareware program is difficult to master, the user will probably give
up. It is absolutely vital that if you want your program to succeed, the
user must be able to get to grips with it quickly, easily, and without
aggravation.
8.11
This requires the author to adopt a slightly different approach.
Feature-packed programs which do everything you could possibly need (and
more besides) don’t often appear as Shareware. Those lists of impressive
features make good editorial and advertising copy for magazines but, for
the average user, they don’t mean much. The Shareware author needs to
present his customer with a program that sells itself, and this means
that the user must be able to install it quickly and put it to work.
8.11
With a conventional program, if the manual is cryptic and not very
helpful, he will be forced to try to decipher it, or seek further help,
no matter how time-consuming. With a Shareware program, there is not
this financial incentive to make the program work. If the user can’t get
it to do what he wants, he will give up.
8.11
So, Shareware must be easier to use and have better documentation than a
conventional equivalent. Very few of the programs distributed by normal
means would survive for long if they were sold as Shareware!
8.11
Documentation
8.11
I have written at length about this before, but it is one of the most
significant aspects of a successful program. An adequate program with
good documentation will outsell a good program with poor documentation.
If your manual is poorly organised, not very helpful, or is badly laid
out, your prospective customer won’t be able to use the program
properly, so he won’t register! It’s as simple as that. You aren’t
toiling over the keyboard writing a superbly informative manual because
you want to impress the user − you are doing it because you want his
money!
8.11
Obviously, not every program will be complex enough to need a large
manual, but if it is necessary, it should be in the form of a straight
ASCII text file. That is the only universal means of distributing a
document. A nicely laid out Impression file might seem like a good idea,
and you may choose to include one with your program, but what if your
customer uses Ovation, or EasiWord, or only has a dot matrix printer and
doesn’t want to wait for hours while forty pages are printed?
8.11
Assume that the text is going to be printed on a DM printer and it can
then be printed on anything. Most experienced Shareware addicts keep an
old printer and some cheap paper for exactly that purpose − I certainly
wouldn’t want to waste my expensive paper and toner when I might discard
the program after I had tried it.
8.11
For the same reason, avoid all ‘special’ characters − stick to the
standard ASCII 32-126, otherwise some very peculiar things could appear
when it is printed. Don’t forget that if you save a textfile from
Impression you will get ‘smart quotes’, and most printers will print
something completely different from what you intended. It’s worth a few
minutes of your time to replace these with the standard double and
single quote characters.
8.11
There are lots of other things you should be aware of in writing your
manual, and I shan’t enlarge upon them at this time, but do take the
trouble to make it properly formatted and easily printed. Remember it’s
a major part of your ‘shop window’ when someone first sees your program.
Your aim is to convince this person that you are competent, and that
your program will do what he wants. If it is badly written, poorly
punctuated and misspelt, he will not be impressed.
8.11
Acorn’s Help utility is very useful, but it is no subsitute for good
documentation. It is useless at informing the user how to carry out a
series of operations. Its purpose is to describe the use of individual
items. Imagine that you had just got into a car for the first time and
there were informative labels on every control. They would tell you
exactly what each did, and would be useful in identifying the various
knobs and levers described in the instructions, but they wouldn’t help
you to find out how to operate them in concert to make the vehicle move.
8.11
Shareware information
8.11
Don’t forget to tell the user that your program is Shareware (more on
this later) and, just as important, explain what Shareware is. Many
people still don’t know, or think it’s just another name for PD. Explain
how Shareware works, that this is a commercial program and that they are
legally obliged to register if they use it. Don’t say ‘please send some
money if you find this program useful’ because that’s not Shareware. As
a Shareware author, you don’t have to beg for payment, it’s rightfully
yours, legally and morally. Say so. Don’t be impolite, but be firm.
8.11
Many authors put this information in a separate text file. This is OK,
but you should also include it all in your manual. It is up to you to
ensure that the user can’t fail to notice that the program is Shareware,
and up to you to explain what this is and what his obligations are.
Don’t assume that he will already know, and don’t allow your message to
be overlooked.
8.11
Crippling
8.11
I mentioned this last month and pointed out that I consider it so
counter-productive that it should never be used. As a member of the
Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP), I am bound by their rules
which forbid crippling of any type. In fact, the only inducement to
register that I am permitted to use is a simple banner screen, although
there is a debate within the ASP at present which might relax this rule
slightly.
8.11
Crippling doesn’t work! It just stops the honest person from trying the
program properly. The only purpose of crippling is to stop a dishonest
person from using it without registering. You might feel better knowing
that people who haven’t paid can’t obtain much benefit from your work,
but if you think that is important, you should avoid writing Shareware.
8.11
Incentives
8.11
There is a big difference between trying to force someone to register
(crippling) and using incentives. These may take the form of additional
tools or data available with the registered version, a printed manual,
or some other extras. However, the program must be properly documented
and fully functional without any of these. If it doesn’t work properly
without material available only to registered users, it isn’t Shareware,
it’s just another crippled program.
8.11
For example, the well known PC wordprocessor Galaxy has only a 22,000
word spelling checker with the ‘distributable’ program, but around
150,000 words with the registered version. This doesn’t stop the user
from trying the spelling checker, and it has the secondary advantage of
reducing the disc space required for distribution. Less enlightened
authors remove the spelling checker entirely from their programs but, if
this is an important feature to the user, he will be unable to evaluate
it and so less likely to register.
8.11
Experience shows that the type of program and, perhaps, the type of
person likely to use it, has an important bearing on the incentives that
need to be offered. Games will probably require major inducements, while
a wordprocessor or spreadsheet is likely to be used by a more serious
person who will need them less. It is common practice, for example, to
include only about three levels with a multi-level shoot-’em-up game,
while the full version could have fifty or more, and a screen editor as
well.
8.11
Some types of program do not lend themselves to this approach. One of
the most difficult is adventure games because, by their nature, they may
only be played once.
8.11
There are two possible solutions, both of which seem to work. The first
is to distribute a cut down version of the full game. Leave out a lot of
the ‘rooms’ and puzzles, and change the end game. This gives the user a
complete game which has the ‘feel’ of the full product, but he will know
that when he registers, he will still have a lot of new puzzles to
solve. Often, the early part of the game is identical in both versions,
and the user can apply a saved position from the cut down version to the
full version, so he isn’t obliged to repeat it.
8.11
The second solution, widely adopted, is applicable mainly to
role-playing games. By restricting many of the options, the user is
forced to play the game (and once again, this may not be complete) from
a limited choice of characters. The main inducement here is to let
him/her play it again, after registration, in different roles. As games
of this type often have alternative solutions depending upon the
character adopted by the player, this again gives an entirely fresh
game.
8.11
One inducement, applicable to either solution, is to offer ‘hints’ or
‘cheats’ only with the registered program. A problem with this is that
the player may get stuck early on in the game, and so not get
sufficiently involved to want to register.
8.11
Banners
8.11
In my experience, a banner is the best way of inducing registration,
whether used on its own or with one or more of the suggestions made
previously. A banner also announces that the program is Shareware, and
the user is reminded of this each time he uses it, so he can’t ‘forget’
to register.
8.11
It should not be intrusive, and should only appear when the program is
first started and, possibly, when you Quit as well. Don’t be tempted to
make it pop up at frequent intervals − it will just be annoying and if
you annoy your customer, he will not be in the right frame of mind to
send you money!
8.11
A banner should inform the user that the program is Shareware, and
explain where to look for instructions to register. It is best to make
it stay on screen for a fixed period, not less than about three seconds,
long enough to make its presence felt, but not more than about six, or
it will become annoying. This is the system adopted by almost all the
best selling PC Shareware programs.
8.11
Registration files
8.11
I invented this system for my own programs, although I suspect that it
may not be an original idea, and it has been adopted by other Shareware
authors with considerable success. It lends itself particularly well to
the Archimedes.
8.11
The method uses a conventional banner, but this is disabled by a special
file placed in the application directory. This file contains, among
other things, the encrypted name of the registered user. The name is
decoded by the program and displayed in the ‘Info’ window.
8.11
There are major advantages with this system. In most cases, there is
absolutely no difference between the registered and unregistered
versions of the actual program. The banner is disabled, and any extra
features ‘unlocked’, by the presence of a valid registration file. This
means that the user can get later versions from any source and his
personal registration file will ‘transform’ it into the registered
version. He can also pass on copies of your program to his friends, as
long as he removes the registration file first.
8.11
Obviously, this system won’t suit all types of program, but it can be
used with any desktop application and, with a bit of ingenuity, with
most non-desktop games.
8.11
There needs to be some sort of security to stop unauthorised tampering
with either the registration file or that part of the program which
decodes it. No doubt, the more paranoid authors will adopt highly
complex solutions, but you really don’t need to do anything elaborate.
8.11
I have included a short demonstration of this method which will,
hopefully, find its way onto the magazine disc. This is written in Basic
and is, therefore, easily tampered with, but it does illustrate the
principles, and I will leave it to you to devise your own security.
8.11
Special offer
8.11
A few issues ago, I offered a disc of programmers’ utilities, including
Zap and TemplEd. This was very popular, and so I shall offer a similar
disc. This time it will contain the well known text editor StrongEd and
a new Shareware template editor WinEd, plus various other useful items.
8.11
My main reason for including StrongEd is that it is a superb example of
a very good program that was not very successful as Shareware, was sold
for a while by Stallion Software in the ‘normal’ way, and has now
returned to Shareware. It’s actually a good editor, but has never
attracted a large number of registrations. Bearing in mind all that I
have said in this article, see if you can work out why.
8.11
As usual, for a copy of this disc send £1 (cheque or stamps) to me at
the APDL address and please tell me if you can use HD discs. u
8.11

8.11

8.11
PIMS
8.11
Mike Tomkinson
8.11
The problems of administering a School, even a small school, have not
been well addressed by writers of software in the Acorn world. Even
those of us teaching in Acorn schools are often forced to use PC
packages. At last this situation has a remedy, even if only for
Primary/Junior Schools.
8.11
PIMS or Primary Information Management System from Longman Logotron is
the first management system available for the Acorn range of computers
for use in schools.
8.11
PIMS is actually a difficult package to review in the normal sense. One
usually gains a good impression of a package at an early stage of using
it − often by comparison with another package. In this case, there is no
other similar package on the Acorn platform. Comparisons with
DOS/Windows packages are fruitless − if you are using them you are
probably stuck with them.
8.11
Any administration package has a steep curve of usability. This is only
partially related to its ease of use. Any changeover will tend to be
gradual, and there will be certain aspects of any package, for example
Inventory, that you may decide not to use immediately, if at all.
8.11
One area by which any administration software will tend to stand or
fall, will be in relation to pupil and staff records. Other aspects,
such as accounts, are more problematic.
8.11
Data input
8.11
As you would expect, the pupil/staff aspects are dealt with via a
database-like function. This is written in Longman Logotron’s S-Base.
Pupil and staff records are at the heart of PRIME (PIMS Rapid
Information Management Environment).
8.11
The pupil data contains all that one would expect and require in a
Primary/Junior school. This is entered into a card for each pupil and a
number of fields have the fast entry method, whereby a menu appears and
the user makes an appropriate choice.
8.11
An example is the Doctor field − most pupils would live locally and have
a Doctor from a Group Practice. You simply enter the names of the
doctors and, by using <menu>, their names appear. One single click and
their names are entered on the individual’s card.
8.11
Data output
8.11
This certainly eases data entry, but it is data output, not entry, which
is critical in any such software. After all, you may initially only be
using the software to produce better looking lists. Anything else you
can do may be a nice spin-off, but is not as crucial as a well
presented, up-to-date class list.
8.11
Here PIMS really comes into its own. There are four pre-defined methods
of displaying the data on screen and these, combined with careful
searching and sorting, give access to a wide variety of paper outputs.
As with any such software, the ability to customise is useful − but you
probably won’t need to change it immediately. Only when you realise the
true potential of the package as it stands, does this ability become
useful. The Report Designer enables a whole range of different reports
to be designed, and should certainly assist on Form 7 Day.
8.11
One PIMS trainer I spoke to said that, depending on the school, this
level of true functionality only becomes apparent to some schools a year
after installation of the software.
8.11
Documentation and support
8.11
This brings us to another very important point about PIMS. The software
is well supported by a very good manual − but a manual is often a last
resort. After all, the whole point of PIMS is that it is being presented
on a RISC OS desktop − it should therefore be naturally easy to use.
8.11
In the case of PIMS, however, the manual is not the last resort. PIMS is
not sold as software, but as part of a bundle, which includes training
and support. Without these it is useless. The training and support exist
not because PIMS is difficult to use − it is not − but because, without
these, productivity will not increase. If productivity did not increase,
you would have to ask questions as to why you were computerising the
administration in the first place. In fact, productivity would plummet,
simply because you were running two systems in parallel.
8.11
Some might consider that talk of productivity was out of place in a
primary school context. If so, they are probably well out of touch with
modern educational developments. Resource management becomes more
critical in smaller organisations, not less.
8.11
Accounts
8.11
The accounting part of PIMS consists of an Accounts module, a Budgeting
module, a Purchasing module, an Inventory module and a Petty Cash
module.
8.11
The copy of PIMS I was reviewing was the PIMS Evaluation Pack consisting
of the full manual and disks which only contain a subset of the full
package. None of the accounting modules were available, and I am always
reluctant to pass comment or judgment on any software based only on what
the manual says it should do.
8.11
Perhaps, to be fair to PIMS, it would be best to say that if the
accounting software performs only half as well as the pupil/staff
modules, it is an excellent overall package.
8.11
Try before you buy?
8.11
As PIMS does consist of a total solution to Primary/Junior school
management, Longman provide alternative methods of ‘Try before you buy’.
I have already mentioned the PIMS Evaluation Package, and another
solution is the Dealer Demonstration Package. Obviously, this involves
an Acorn Dealer who is accredited by Longman who will demonstrate the
entire package before a school commits itself.
8.11
In fact, I would advise against the Evaluation Pack − its scope is too
limited to give a fair idea of what the total package is likely to be
capable of achieving.
8.11
Equipment
8.11
PIMS will run on any RISC OS computer equipped with a hard disc, but I
would always recommend using the most powerful machine available. For
most primary schools, an A5000 or A4000 would suffice, if it has at
least 4Mb of RAM, but a Risc PC would be a more sensible option for new
users.
8.11
Overall
8.11
I have very few reservations about this major package. One slight gripe
is that, although the manual is excellent and the package relatively
straightforward, I like on-line help. Perhaps I have been spoilt by the
excellent on-line help which accompanies most Windows programs, but I
really prefer it to manuals.
8.11
The purchase of PIMS should not be considered as a one-time purchase.
Indeed, there would be major disadvantages if this were the case. To be
of any use, an administration package must be able to respond to change
− both from the user, and changes caused by external agencies, such as
the Department for Education or the Local Education Authority.
8.11
Longman are constantly updating PIMS in response to both factors for
change. Any school which had particular requirements could probably be
accommodated, owing to the inherent flexibility of PIMS and the S-Base
language in which it is written.
8.11
Indeed, there are already major changes underway. For this reason, any
purchaser would wish to always have the latest version and, for this
reason, is really purchasing a rolling licence which entitles them to
this level of user support.
8.11
Conclusion
8.11
Any Primary/Junior School even considering the introduction of computers
into its administration should consider this package. This advice
applies whatever other systems are currently in use − it costs nothing
to look and evaluate. Data can be imported and exported, and the data is
not locked into one platform.
8.11
Talk to your local Acorn Education Dealer before committing yourself to
any other administration system − PIMS will offer you an Acorn
alternative. u
8.11

8.11
Gerald’s Column
8.11
Gerald Fitton
8.11
The main topic this month is printing labels. I don’t know how it
happens, but it seems to me that many people ask for the same thing at
the same time, and this month it’s labels. Perhaps it was the article on
Printers in last month’s Archive which triggered the requirement in your
minds − maybe it’s just coincidence! But first of all, a few other short
points.
8.11
The lottery
8.11
I have received over a dozen letters pointing out a couple of errors
which appeared in my article about recursion in the Archive 8.9 p45. It
is not one of those occasions when I have made a deliberate error or
made an outrageous remark in the hope of provoking a response; nor is it
one of those many occasions when I don’t know what I’m talking about! I
did know the right answers and simply typed the wrong values.
8.11
The first mistake is in the section where I calculate the number of
possible different selections of six numbers from forty-nine. The
formula which I gave as nCr(49,6) is correct but the value is 13 983 816
and not 13 986 816. The consequence is that the chance of winning the
lottery is slightly better than I quoted − but I don’t think you’ll find
that the difference is significant.
8.11
The second mistake occurred in the paragraph dealing with selecting five
of the six winning numbers but without the bonus ball number. Many of
you wrote saying that the value I quoted, 258, was right but that I
wrote down the formula as nCr(49,5)*nCr(42,1) and should have written
nCr(49,5)*nCr(43,1). This was not the mistake! The formula,
nCr(49,5)*nCr(42,1), is correct but its value is 252 and not 258 as I
quoted. The difference, 258 − 252, is the 6 which qualify for the ‘Five
plus the Bonus Ball’ prize. We must exclude those 6 winning lines where
the sixth ball is the bonus ball because you don’t just get the prize
for five winning numbers but the prize for ‘Five plus the Bonus Ball’!
8.11
Printers
8.11
As a result of my article about choosing a printer in last month’s
Archive, I have already had many letters. Although I have replied to
each of you personally, I would have liked to give you all a mention in
Archive. Space doesn’t allow that! Your comments to me are most
appreciated and they help me to extend and consolidate my knowledge.
That in turn makes my advice to you more accurate and hence more
valuable to others.
8.11
I have chosen only one letter. It is from John Evans of Mijas Software
and I shall publish only part of his long and most interesting letter.
For colour printing, John uses an Epson Stylus. He is delighted with the
results and has sent me many samples. I am sure that the three points I
have selected from the many will be of general interest.
8.11
The first is that version 1.28c of Printers has pleased him
“especially”. John, like many of my correspondents, echoes my own view
that it is definitely worth upgrading to v1.28c. (Now available through
Archive as Utilities Disc Nº9 which is £5 to include the cost of printed
instructions and p&p. Ed.)
8.11
John’s second point, backed up by samples, is that 360 dpi colour
pictures look “washed out” but pictures printed at 720 dpi are
“fantastic”. By the way, as well as printing on paper, he can print onto
Schwan Stabilo overhead projector film. My comment in last month’s
Archive was that I thought 360 dpi was insufficient. John’s samples
reassure me about the value of going to a higher resolution for colour
printing.
8.11
John’s third point does not refer to the Epson. For monochrome printing,
he uses a Hewlett Packard IIISi laser printer to produce 300 copies (per
month?) of his parish magazine, The Dever. John states that running
costs would be higher on an offset lithograph. He praises the HP machine
for its reliability, consistency and low running costs. In addition, he
echoes the view I expressed last month which is that laser printers
produce higher quality than what he calls ‘copy’ printers.
8.11
(I have just heard from a subscriber, whose name escapes me, that the
Risograph copy printers can be linked directly to an Acorn computer.
This means you don’t have to print out on paper first and then scan it
to produce the stencil. The computer output cuts the stencil directly.
We hope to publish details in Archive in due course. Ed.)
8.11
Printing labels from a database
8.11
This is my topic for this month’s article. As my example, I shall
describe how to print labels on an Avery L7161 sheet of labels. The
L7161 holds 18 labels per sheet in 6 rows and 3 columns. It is a most
useful size because the labels, being 63.5 mm by 46.6 mm, can be used as
disc labels as well as address labels. The method I describe can be
extended to other sizes of labels.
8.11
What package shall I use for my exposition? I have no doubt that many of
my regular readers will be horrified and others intensely pleased that
my choice is a rather well worn package, PipeDream 4. I have many
reasons for choosing PipeDream 4, some sentimental and others pragmatic.
One of my correspondents from New Zealand lists PipeDream amongst the
many packages from which he might print his labels. After trying several
other packages, like me, he is now using PipeDream. His final comment is
that producing labels from PipeDream is faster than anything else that
he’s tried even though it took him longer than any other package to get
it to work successfully.
8.11
Two other reasons are that (a) many of my readers still have PipeDream
and use it regularly, (b) those of you with Fireworkz should be able to
modify the PipeDream method for your package.
8.11
Perhaps my main reason for choosing PipeDream is because it allows me to
repeat a maxim I first included in Archive many years ago. Although it
is difficult to set up a label printing application in PipeDream, once
set up, it is easy to use. The quote about PipeDream from long ago,
“Hard to learn − easy to use”, was intended to persuade you that, when
you get to know PipeDream, there are ways of doing many things which are
more difficult to achieve or even impossible with other packages.
8.11
Although this article relates specifically to using PipeDream, I shall
describe the general principles so that you can work out how to apply
those principles in your favourite package.
8.11
If you have Fireworkz or Impression Publisher, here is your opportunity
to write to me explaining your method so that I can write it up for
Archive.
8.11
All the files to which I refer are on the Archive monthly disc in a
directory called Labels.
8.11
The database
8.11
The screenshot below shows part of a typical database file [Addresses]
in PipeDream format:
8.11
I use columns B to F for the address label. I use Column A only as a key
field. In the case of private individuals, it holds the surname of the
addressee. Row 6 best shows the way in which I use column A in the case
of a company.
8.11
You may have seen my occasional advertisement in Archive for the user
groups I run. Other columns from G onwards hold details of the discs
which subscribers have had or which they want at some time in the
future. When I need a run of labels, I sort the database on the column
containing the disc we’re about to send out. This collects together at
the top of the database all those people for whom I need a label.
8.11
The TSV file
8.11
The acronym TSV stands for Tab Separated Value. Using PipeDream, you
need the label database in TSV format; other packages may require Comma
Separated Value, CSV, format.
8.11
In PipeDream, mark the block of addresses you want and save in ASCII
format. I use the file name [Addr] for this purpose. The screenshot
opposite shows the Save options you should select to save in TSV format.
8.11
The filetype of [Addr] is Text and it will load into Acorn’s Edit
utility.
8.11
The screenshot below the first one shows part of the [Addr] file after
it has been loaded into Edit.
8.11
The [09] is Edit’s way of representing the tab character. Each row is
one record and each field is separated from the next by [09].
8.11
The [Default] PipeDream printer driver
8.11
We shall be using a PipeDream printer driver rather than a RISC OS
driver and we shall print to a file (rather than to the printer) as an
intermediate step.
8.11
The PipeDream printer driver we need must contain nothing which will
introduce extra characters through, for example, the PON string. The
[Default] printer driver supplied by Colton Software with PipeDream is
such a printer driver.
8.11
You can change the PipeDream printer driver through the command
<ctrl-PD> or through the Print – Printer configuration submenu. If you
save the file after changing the printer driver, the driver you’ve
chosen will be saved with the file.
8.11
The text below is the total content of the [Default] printer driver
supplied by Colton Software with PipeDream:
8.11
PipeDream printer drivers
8.11
This driver is an empty printer driver in order to enable the PipeDream
defaults to be restored.
8.11
Created 15-Oct-91.
8.11
End of PipeDream printer driver
8.11
If you are using a package other than PipeDream, and want to create such
a file, you need to create a RISC OS text printer driver which
introduces no extra characters through page start and line start strings
etc, and use that printer driver.
8.11
The [OneLabel] file
8.11
The mail merge facility supplied as part of PipeDream allows you to
extract values from a TSV file (held on disc) into the output which is
‘printed’ to a disc file.
8.11
The screenshot below shows the [OneLabel] file:
8.11
[OneLabel] represents a single label (remember there are 18 to a sheet)
with rows 4 to 8 containing the contents of columns B to F of the
original [Addresses] database.
8.11
The values @1 to @5 in rows 4 to 8 have a special significance. They
ensure that, when printed, each of the many labels produced contain data
extracted from the [Addr] TSV format file. The first of the @ values
which could be used is @0 but you will remember that column A of
[Addresses] does not form part of the address which we want to print. @1
loads the contents of column B and @5 the contents of column F. Note
that it does so from the file [Addr] (the TSV file held on disc, not in
memory) and not from [Addresses].
8.11
If you are using a package other than PipeDream, you may need the [Addr]
file in CSV format and not TSV format.
8.11
The mail merge operation
8.11
This is executed quite simply by loading the file [OneLabel] and tapping
<print>.
8.11
Looking at the screenshot below you will see that the printer driver
chosen is the one called [Default].
8.11
Using PipeDream 4, but not PipeDream 3, the printing options are saved
with the PipeDream file. If you have the files from the Archive monthly
disc, you will find that the [OneLabel] file has been set up to use the
[Default] printer, to print to the file [PrintList] and to use the
database file [Addr]. If you are making up your own set of files,
remember to save the blank [OneLabel] after you have set up the print
options.
8.11
Also, instead of printing to Printer, i.e. on paper, you will see that
PipeDream has been set to print to File, the file called [PrintList].
[PrintList] will be created in the same directory as that from which
[OneLabel] was loaded.
8.11
The mail merge operation fills the slots of [OneLabel] containing @1 to
@5 (slots A4 to A8) with data from the database contained in the TSV
format file called [Addr] and ‘prints’ the result, in plain ASCII
format, to the file [PrintList].
8.11
The [PageBlank] file
8.11
The labels are printed from this file. When it is loaded it looks like
the screenshot below:
8.11
Column A is used to set the left margin. Columns B, C and D are for the
address labels and so the width must be adjusted to match the width of
the label. For the Avery L7161 labels this is a <ctrl­W> width of 29
characters.
8.11
I use 10 rows per label, so I need to choose the line height so that 10
times the line height equals the label height.
8.11
The line height is adjusted through the <ctrl-PFG> command or the
Print – Font submenu. From the screenshot above, you will see that I
have used a line height of 13.25 points. Different printers seem to have
slightly different slippage as the paper is dragged through the rollers
− my correspondents have had to adjust this value slightly to suit their
printer. You will see that I use Homerton, a sans serif typeface, for
address labels. The Post Office have told me that they prefer such a
typeface.
8.11
If you are creating the file [PageBlank], save it after you have
adjusted the line height.
8.11
Three columns of labels
8.11
Drag the file [PrintList] into slot B1 of [PageBlank] and you will find
that you have one column of addresses in column B. Columns C and D are
blank.
8.11
Go to the end of the file and note the row number. In the case of my
example on the Archive monthly disc, this is 180. Divide the row number
by 3. 180/3 = 60. Every label uses 10 rows, so you need to round up to
the nearest 10 and then add 1. Use <ctrl-CGS>, Cursor Goto Slot, to
place the caret in slot B61. Mark the block B61 (in the example this is
the first row of the 7th label) to the end. Place the cursor in slot C1
and execute <ctrl-BM>, Block Move. Labels 7 to 18 will fill column C. In
the same way, mark a block from C61 to the end of column C and move it
to slot D1. You will now have three columns of labels which you can
print out using the RISC OS drivers.
8.11
Although the example has only 18 labels and uses only one page of
labels, I’m sure you’ll see that you should move two thirds of the the
addresses from column B to C and then a third from C to D if you are to
use the pages of labels most efficiently.
8.11
Automation
8.11
I use an Obey file which calls up and runs several PipeDream command
files to execute the whole of this label printing operation
automatically.
8.11
I have decided, albeit with some reluctance, not to give details in this
article since the space I would use and the possibilities for making
mistakes are too great. Forgive me but I don’t want to receive mountains
of mail from you telling me how you’ve tried unsuccessfully to get the
obey file to work with your system! If you understand Obey files, and if
you understand PipeDream command files, I’m sure you’ll be able to
automate your label printing. If not then, even manually, the operation
is a fairly slick one and definitely fast.
8.11
Other label sheets
8.11
I know that many of you use a label sheet other than L7161 for your
address labels. If you use PipeDream and have created a set of files
similar to [OneLabel] and [PageBlank], please let me have them for
distribution to others. If you have problems setting up PipeDream and
need help in creating [OneLabel] and [PageBlank] for your labels and
database, please send me the files that you have tried, on a disc
please, and I’ll do my best to find out what’s going wrong for you.
8.11
Other packages
8.11
At this stage, please don’t ask me for details of how to do the same
thing with packages other than PipeDream because I will find it
difficult to provide you with a ready-made solution.
8.11
If you have already created such an application for use with Fireworkz,
Fireworkz Pro or Publisher’s mail merge, please send me the example with
the templates on a disc. When these arrive here, I’ll let you know and
I’ll announce that I (or rather you) can help those who want to use the
other package.
8.11
In conclusion
8.11
I have decided to release my telephone number. You will find it on the
inside back cover of Archive under the heading of Abacus Training in
future months. However, I must warn you that I have a ‘day job’ and
that, most of the time, all you’ll get is a combined answerphone and fax
machine.
8.11
The number is [phone] from outside the UK and 01793-723347 from
within the UK. I would prefer a fax to a verbal message.
8.11
What I prefer most of all is for you to send me a disc containing your
attempt to solve your problem. Please include example files, if
appropriate.
8.11
Thanks again for all your letters. I really do enjoy receiving them even
if there is sometimes a delay between receiving them and replying. u
8.11

8.11
Reader for Pocket Book II
8.11
John Woodthorpe
8.11
Earlier this year, Archive published my review of Arctic and CompuServe,
and one of the things I mentioned then was the lively Psion sections in
the Palmtop Forum. Since then, I’ve become even more impressed with the
helpful forum members and the software available. Most of it can be
obtained from other PD and Shareware sources, such as Datafile, but you
can ‘talk’ to a lot of the authors on CompuServe. They are always
willing to offer support and help, no matter how simple or complex the
question, and they will often consider producing modified versions to
suit specific requirements. To illustrate this, I’m going to talk about
a program that has dramatically changed the way I use my Psion Series 3a
(equally applicable to the Pocket Book II).
8.11
The need
8.11
The wordprocessor in the Psion3a is an excellent piece of software. I’m
writing this review on it at the moment, complete with on-screen font
effects, predefined template, and spell-checker. Its biggest failing is
that it is limited to a maximum file size of around 40Kb. I can’t
imagine wanting to write more than that on the little keyboard, but
reading files is another matter. You might want to browse the Archive
text files, or even read a novel. NCS will sell you the former, but
where would you find someone willing to type a novel out for you to
read?
8.11
The answer is Project Gutenburg, which produces text files by scanning
books. In Archive 8.10, the reviewer of Datafile’s PDCD 2 wondered about
‘the value of complete books being stored digitally’. Project Gutenburg
is providing ASCII files out of copyright material, such as the Bible,
the works of Jane Austen, Henry James, William Shakespeare and many
more. You can get them via the Internet or PD libraries far more cheaply
than buying the books, and several can fit into the Psion3a (depending
on memory). So how do you read them?
8.11
The program
8.11
One answer is Reader, a Shareware application written by Barry Childress
in the USA. He distributes it via CompuServe, and now that it is in a
greatly improved form, it is starting to be made available via PD
libraries and bulletin boards. There are two forms of the current
version (2.2): a demo version with a gentle ‘nag’ screen displayed every
now and then, and the full registered version. This has no ‘nag’ screen,
and is personalized with your own name in it. For $20 (or a sterling
cheque for around £13) you also get the chance to influence the
development of the program. So what’s special about it, and why is it
causing such a stir on the Palmtop Forum?
8.11
Features
8.11
The simple operation of reading a large text file is accomplished by
loading a small portion of it into memory, rather than the whole thing.
Loading the next screenful, or turning the ‘page’, is done by pressing
almost any key, apart from <delete> or <escape> which go to the previous
page. While you read one page, the next one is loaded into memory so
that you don’t have to wait for the screen to redraw when moving on.
8.11
A useful option is the ability to change the font from Times to
Helvetica, select one of four sizes, or even rotate everything through
90° to the left or right. This gives more text on the screen at a time
(see screenshot). It also gives what I feel is a more convenient setup,
holding the Psion3a with thumb along the central keystrip, the screen on
one side and the keyboard on the other.
8.11
All these personal preferences can be saved as defaults, to be applied
to every file subsequently opened. When a file is closed, Reader saves
your place, and reloads to the same place the next time, so you can
continue reading from where you left off. The convenience of being able
to carry a couple of novels around in your Psion3a, ready to read them
in any spare moments during the day is wonderful, especially if you’re
like me and keep your Psion with you at all times.
8.11
Files can be searched, sections saved, and bookmarks inserted, all of
which help in finding your way around a book when you can’t physically
flick through the pages. Originally, Reader was developed for off-line
reading of CompuServe mail, and it still does this, including some
support for thread following introduced in the current version. Of
course, this aspect is not especially interesting unless you access CIS
with a Psion.
8.11
Compression
8.11
The best bit is that recent versions now also work with compressed
files, saving precious SSD space. This happens without compromising the
access speed, enabling a typical 400Kb novel to be compressed to around
half that − great for extended business trips away from home. The only
real disadvantage is that the compression technique is non-standard,
having being developed for Reader. The text file is compressed by a
small DOS program supplied by Barry (along with a DOS decompressor in
case you forget what the file was before transferring it to the Psion).
At the moment, Acorn owners will have to use the PC emulator or a PC
card to do this, but a native Acorn application should hopefully appear
soon.
8.11
Conclusion
8.11
By the time you read this, the demo version should be available from
Arcade, Datafile, and on the Archive monthly disc. Have look at it and
see if you agree with me that it has the potential to become an
essential application for people who would like to read more but don’t
feel they have the time. u
8.11

8.11
C++ Column
8.11
Tony Houghton
8.11
In this column, I intend to provide C programmers with a good working
knowledge of C++; it will tend to concentrate on the actual language,
rather than RISC OS specific issues. Although I am a relative newcomer
to C++, I am a reasonably experienced C programmer, and I thought that
writing a series of articles, using Bjarne Stroustrup as a reference,
would be a good way to get a firm grasp of the concepts myself.
8.11
This first article will introduce the concepts of C++ and detail the
minor, but useful, changes from ANSI C that can be applied to procedural
(non-object-oriented) programming. Subsequent articles will deal in more
detail with entities such as classes and, hopefully, how to use them
effectively.
8.11
An overview of C++
8.11
The main facilities C++ adds to ANSI C can be summed up as:
8.11
•    Enhancements to C, which I shall describe this month.
8.11
•    Classes, forming the basis of object-oriented programming. At
their simplest, classes can be thought of as a type of structure with
associated functions.
8.11
•    Overloading, whereby functions and operators with the same name
can perform different tasks, depending on the types of their arguments
or operands.
8.11
•    Templates: type-independent families of functions and classes.
Note that this means that ‘template’ is now a keyword and cannot be used
to refer to RISC OS templates.
8.11
•    Exceptions: a form of error handling which are, unfortunately,
not supported by the current Acorn C++ package.
8.11
•    The streams libraries, providing buffered i/o.
8.11
A “better” C
8.11
C++ can be used to write C-style procedural programs using the
enhancements below, but to do this would be grossly under-using the
language. Therefore, these sections are intended for introduction and
reference only. You should expand your ideas to embrace object-oriented
programming as soon as possible.
8.11
Comments
8.11
C++ adds a new type of comment, beginning with  // and ending at the end
of a line. This is now the preferred way of using comments except where
commenting out a block of code (where the comment needs to span several
lines and it is inconvenient to prefix every line with //) and where
code is desired after a comment, in the middle of a line (the latter
would best be avoided). Comments using // can be nested within /* */
comments, and vice-versa.
8.11
Type checking
8.11
C++ is stricter than ANSI C about type checking. Functions must be
defined with their arguments or declared before they can be called
(Acorn ANSI C gives a warning, C++ gives an error). int’s cannot be
assigned to enum’s, or void *’s to other pointers without explicit
casting, but the reverse is permitted:
8.11
enum acorn {electron, bbc, master, archimedes, risc_pc};
enum acorn computer;
int machine;
void *vptr;
int *iptr;

int main()
{
  computer = archimedes;// OK, enum
 = enum
  machine = archimedes; // OK, int = enum
  computer = 3;         // Error:
enum = int

  vptr = &computer;   // OK, void *
 = &variable
  iptr = &computer;   // OK, int *
 = &enum
  vptr = iptr;        // OK, void *
 = int *
  iptr = vptr;        // Error: int *
 = void *
}
8.11
Streams
8.11
Streams can only be very briefly introduced at this stage, but it is
useful to know how to use cout and cin. These are sometimes incorrectly
referred to as functions, whereas they are actually objects (analogous
to a variable with a struct type).
8.11
Streams are more sophisticated than the functions provided by <stdio.h>,
so they are in most ways superior, but they can be harder to set up and
use (as you’re about to see). As you would expect, there are streams
specialised for use with files, strings and the screen and keyboard.
8.11
cout is the default output stream (c.f. printf()) and cin is the default
input stream (c.f. scanf()). They are used thus:
8.11
#include <iostream.h>  // Contains declarations of cin & cout
#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
  int number;
  cout << “Hello, here is a number: ”
 << 4 << “.\n”;
  printf(“Enter another number.\n”);
  cin >> number;
  cout << “\nYou entered ” << number
 << “.\n”;
}
8.11
Incidentally, if you try compiling and running this, the results may be
a little unexpected, to say the least. I’ll explain this shortly. The
lines beginning with cout and cin look a little strange if you do not
know about classes and overloaded operators. To see how the syntax fits
(ignoring functionality), it may help you to imagine cout and cin as int
variables, the operators << and >> as having int results (imagining + in
place of them may be easier), and the strings as integers. It then
becomes clear that the above are (chained) expressions whose values are
ignored.
8.11
Depending on your implementation, you may have found that the second
message, output by printf(), appeared before the first cout message, and
you had to enter loads of numbers (or give up and press escape), before
the last message appeared. This is because streams are buffered; the
buffers are allowed to fill before any characters are passed to the
screen or the program. The easiest general purpose ‘cure’ is to add the
lines:
8.11
  cout.sync_with_stdio();
  cin.sync_with_stdio();
8.11
before using the streams (e.g. at the start of main()).
8.11
Variable declaration
8.11
C++ allows automatic (local) variables to be declared anywhere within a
function, not only at the start of the block. Variables can also be
declared in the first sub-statement of a for; they then have scope to
the end of the block enclosing the for. A variable declaration cannot
follow if except in braces {}. Variables can be declared, but not
initialised in the middle of switch statements.
8.11
int g(int z)    {return (z + 1)};
int h(int y)    {return (y − 1)};

int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
  int a, b = argc;        // As in C
  int c;
  a = g(argc);        // Call another
 function
  int d = h(a);        // Declaration
 mid-block (OK)
  if (argc) int e;        // Error: conditional declaration
  for (int index = 0;    // Declaration with for (OK)
       index < argc;
       index++)
  {
    printf(argv[index]);
  }
  switch (argc)
  {
    case 0:
      c = h(−1);
      break;
    case 1:
      int e;        // Declaration mid-block (OK)
      e = h(argc);
      break;
    case 2:
      e = h(argc);        // OK: e still in
 scope from above
      int x = e;        // Error: initialisation within switch
      break;
  }
  return index;        // OK: index still in scope from for
}
8.11
Hidden global variables
8.11
If an automatic variable or argument in a function has the same name as
a global variable, the global variable is hidden by the temporary
variable within the scope of the function, i.e. it cannot be accessed by
the function because all references to its name refer to the temporary
variable instead. C++ allows access to hidden global variables (but not
other hidden temporary variables) by prefixing their name with :: .
8.11
int x;

int main()
{
  int x;
  x = 10;      // Refers to automatic variable
  ::x = x;     // Assigns the value of automatic x to global x
}
8.11
References
8.11
A reference to another variable or constant can be defined with int &ref
= var;
8.11
Wherever ref is mentioned in its scope, it actually refers to var. This
means that references must be initialised (with the variable they refer
to), except if declared extern. Initialisation is totally different from
assignment. The former creates an alternative name for a variable,
whereas subsequent assignment assigns to the original variable. A
reference can only refer to a constant if the reference is const. const
references can be assigned with non-lvalues, and even with a value of
differing arithmetic type (e.g. int to float). In such cases, the
reference actually becomes an automatic const variable (?!) with its own
distinct storage.
8.11
References are only really useful when used with functions. Their main
use is as arguments (called by reference arguments). If a function needs
to be passed a struct and you prefer to use the . notation rather than
->, a reference can be used to avoid the inefficiency of temporarily
duplicating the struct.
8.11
void rect_to_workarea(const
WimpGetRectangleBlock
&cvtstr, BBox &rect)
// cvtstr is const because function
// doesn’t alter it; no temporary is
// needed, because original block
// would have been an lvalue of the
// same type. Lack of const in front
// of BBox &rect implicitly declares
// intention of function to alter it

{
  rect.xmin −= cvtstr.visible_area.xmin − cvtstr.xscroll;
  // ... etc ...
}

void redraw_window(int wh)
{
  WimpGetRectangleBlock redraw_block;
  BBox wkarea_clip;
  // ...
  rect_to_workarea(redraw_block,
 wkarea_clip); // Alters wkarea_clip
  // ...
}

In fact, it is usually clearer to use a pointer in place of modifiable
reference arguments (such as wkarea_clip/rect).
8.11
Functions can also return references e.g. int &f(void);. This means that
you can modify or take the address of a function result. As above, this
is really only an alternative to returning a pointer for notational
convenience.
8.11
One thing for which I find references useful, but which is not usually
documented, is to provide a way of efficiently converting the ‘handle’
of an event handler to a useful reference to an object (not a pointer to
it, as you will see) without the overheads of creating a new object at
run-time, e.g.
8.11
int load_handler(WimpMessage *message, void *handle)
{
  file_data *data_ptr1 = (file_data *) handle;
    // Wasteful, creates a new variable with a duplicated value
  file_data *&data_ptr2 = (file_data *) handle;
    // Gives ‘anachronism’ warning: cast is not a lvalue
  const file_data *&data_ptr3 = handle;

    // Wrong! Defines non-const reference to pointer to const
  file_data *const &data_ptr4 = (file_data *) handle;

    // OK, but likely to create a temporary,
    // defeating aim at efficiency
  file_data &data_ref = *((file_data *) handle); // (now a lvalue)
    // Does the job, if perhaps inelegantly; const optional
    // Now use data_ref.<member>, not data_ref-><member>
  // ... rest of function ...
}

Memory management
8.11
C++ provides two extra operators (not functions) for memory management.
They allocate and deallocate memory from the free store like malloc()
and free(). new allocates enough memory for an object of the type
specified, creates the object (important for classes with constructors),
and returns a pointer to it. delete frees the memory used by the object
pointed to by its operand, calling any destructors first. Deleting a
zero pointer is guaranteed to do nothing. Arrays can be created by
specifying the number of members in square brackets after the type name.
Any constructors are called for each element. Arrays can be deleted by
putting empty square brackets immediately after delete (the size of a
dynamic array is stored alongside it in an implementation-dependent
way). Deleting a single object with array delete or vice versa has
unspecified results (i.e. probably a crash), but the compiler cannot
always detect this.
8.11
int *iptr = new int;      // Create an int on the free store
// ... some code ...
delete iptr;              // Delete the int

int *iptr = new int[100]; // Create an array of 100 ints
// ... some code ...
delete[] iptr;            // Delete the whole array
8.11
new and delete should, if possible, be used in preference to malloc()
and free(). There is no replacement for realloc(), but it is easy to use
new then delete the original. If new fails, it returns a null pointer.
In addition, you can register another function (with no arguments or
return value) using set_new_handler() defined in <new.h>.
8.11
Functions
8.11
Function declarations can be preceded by the keyword inline, so that,
where possible, function calls are replaced by the code in the body of
the function. This is a replacement for macros, where it is desirable to
avoid the time overheads of calling a short function. The advantage of
inline functions over macros is that they can be strictly type checked.
Acorn’s C++ translator is limited in that there can be no statements
following a return statement in an inline function.
8.11
Functions can also be declared with default arguments by giving them
initialisers (in the first declaration only). The arguments can then
optionally be omitted when calling the function:
8.11
inline int f(int a = 0) { return a +
 1; }

int main()
{
  int b = f(2);     // a = 2, b = 3
  int c = f();      // a = 0, c = 1
}
8.11
Any arguments following the first default argument in the declaration
must also be default.
8.11
If you do not intend to use an argument in a function, but it has to be
included for type equivalency (often the case with RISC OS event
handlers), it need not be named in the function’s definition. This
avoids having to use wasteful statements such as handle = handle; to
suppress annoying compiler warnings (although Acorn’s example C code
uses handle = handle; style statements, ANSI C does not warn of unused
arguments, but C++ does).
8.11
int my_message_handler(WimpMessage*msg, void *)
// void * argument can be ignored
// without generating warning

Non-simple types
8.11
By non-simple types, I mean struct, union, enum and class. In C, you
would generally use:
8.11
struct quad_word { int a[4]; };
8.11
    /* Must always be referred to as struct quad_word. Can be
referred to before definition provided no
       access to members is attempted */
8.11
or
8.11
typedef struct { int a[4]; } quad_word;
8.11
    /* Referred to as quad_word, but
8.11
    only after definition. Can also
8.11
       be referred to as struct
8.11
    quad_word.                        */
8.11
In the second case, the struct is given the same name as the attached
typedef name, so this is the more flexible method in C. In C++, the
class key (struct, union, enum, class) can be omitted in subsequent
references to the type, even if a typedef is not used:
8.11
struct quad_word { int a[4]; };
quad_word.a[0] = 1;     // OK in C++, error in C
8.11
Anonymous unions
8.11
When nested within a structure, unions need not have a name in C++:
8.11
struct mc_result
{
  int tag;
  union {
    int words[4];
    char bytes[16];
  };             // No name necessary
 in C++
} res_holder;
8.11
The words member of res_holder can then be accessed by res_holder.words
without an intervening union name, e.g. res_holder.words[0].
8.11
Linking C++ and C programs
8.11
You will often want to link C object files with C++ object files, e.g.
to use <stdio.h> etc in C++. However, C++’s extra features mean that
function and variable names have to be expanded into more complicated
forms in object files. To allow C++ programs to access C, all C
declarations must be preceded by extern “C”. This tells the compiler to
create a reference to the simpler C-style name. Whole blocks can be made
extern “C” by enclosing them in braces {} preceded by extern “C”.
Libraries for use with both languages can use the directive
conditionally, by testing for the predefined macro __cplusplus. (See one
of the new clib header files for details of how this works.) Note the
matching conditionally compiled closing brace } at the end of each file.
Note, too, that __cplusplus is not automatically predefined by Acorn’s
c++ tool (use the Define entry from its menu), but it is predefined by
Make.
8.11
Similarly, C functions can access C-compatible parts (simple functions,
non-class variables) of C++ functions by declaring them extern “C++”,
provided the C compiler is new enough to recognise the directive and
know how to expand C++ names.
8.11
Programming style
8.11
To program effectively in C++, you will have to make a considerable
effort to think in terms of objects rather than procedures. However,
there are some simple guidelines for improving reliability that are
relevant to all types of programming:
8.11
•    Make full use of the const qualifier in function arguments etc.
If you know a function is not going to change an argument or what a
pointer argument points to, make it const. Unfortunately, Acorn have
(very negligently) not used const even in their latest RISC OS
libraries, so you will have to do some casting from const to non-const
equivalents, but it is worth it for the added security and clarity that
const will add to your own interfaces.
8.11
•    Avoid global variables (except C++ objects). Where they are
necessary, it is preferable to ‘hide’ them and provide mini functions to
access them. This is an example of reliability at the expense of
efficiency but, in C++, efficiency often need not be sacrificed (e.g.
inline functions). Group the related variables in a class/struct.
8.11
•    Avoid macros (#define). For constants, use const’s or enum’s.
For small, frequently used routines in C++, use inline functions, using
templates if different argument types are necessary.
8.11
•    Try to avoid unions and arrays except within classes, and void
*, pointer arithmetic and casts (type conversion), except at the lower
levels of your implementation. Most things that are slightly ‘messy’ in
C can be achieved more elegantly by using classes in C++. u
8.11

8.11
‘Font_Paint’ Demonstration
8.11
Ray Favre
8.11
(This article is best used with reference to the program listing but it
is too long to print (~6 pages) and so is on the monthly program disc.
If you begrudge paying £2 for the program disc just to get the one
listing, send a blank formatted disc and we’ll send you a copy. Ed.)
8.11
SYS “Font_Paint” provides a means of writing text in an anti-aliased
font directly to the screen.
8.11
The call can use as many as eight registers, R0 to R7, the key one being
R2, in which bits 0 to 10 have defined meanings, varying the ‘plot’
type. This article will mainly explore the differing uses of R2, and it
will be seen that it permits a wide range of effects, including
justification, scaling, rotation, colour changing and kerning.
8.11
The SYS call operates on a complete string, which needs to be included
at (or pointed to by) R1. Since a string is used, certain control codes
− rather like VDU call sequences − can also be included in the string to
further modify ‘plot’ actions.
8.11
Although it is not necessary to use the desktop to demonstrate the
features on-screen, colour manipulation and compatible hard-copy are so
much easier in Desktop mode. So the demonstration program multitasks and
opens a window into which all the ‘Font Painting’ actions are directed.
8.11
At the risk of stating the obvious, it’s worth noting that the font
background and foreground colours are defined separately and
independently of the window colours.
8.11
The listing
8.11
For simplicity, the program opens its one and only window directly,
without using an iconbar icon. Double-clicking on the application icon
will get you right there − with the complete demonstration output on
screen in one go.
8.11
Because the text output is written directly to the window, the display
needs the task’s help in updating the window. Hence the window flags
need to reflect this, and ‘PROCredraw’ and reason code 1 become the main
action items. ‘PROCredraw’ is the standard redraw routine which, in this
case, invokes ‘PROCdisplay’.
8.11
‘PROCdisplay’ simply steps through a series of example ‘SYS
"Font_Paint"’ calls, each performing a different ‘plot’ action. To make
it easier to follow, “Line1” is written on the screen as a result of the
action associated with “test$=FNstring(1)” in the listing, and so on;
running from top to bottom of the screen. The listing is fairly well
commented and, in particular, there is a brief explanation for each
‘plot’ type.
8.11
‘FNstring()’ parallels ‘PROCdisplay’ by providing an appropriate string
for each SYS "Font_Paint" call. Cases 1 to 8 are fairly straightforward
(but the leading/lagging spaces are important in “Line 4”). Cases 9 to
11 use strings with embedded control codes − see later.
8.11
The SYS call
8.11
The SYS call takes the general form:
8.11
SYS “Font_Paint”,R0,R1,R2,R3,R4,R5,R6
8.11
,R7
8.11
where:
8.11
R0    Font handle (0 for current handle)
8.11
R1    String to be written, or pointer to it
8.11
R2    Plot type (see below)
8.11
R3    Starting x coordinate
8.11
R4    Starting y coordinate
8.11
R5    Pointer to coordinate block, if R2 calls for it
8.11
R6    Pointer to transformation block, if R2 calls for it
8.11
R7    Length of string, if R2 calls for it.
8.11
R0    For this example, only one font is used and is set at the start
of ‘PROCdisplay’. Thus, R0 will always be zero and hence usually just
replaced by an extra comma. (However, if bit 8 of R2 is set, R0 can be
used to call a specific font handle in the range 1 to 255, which must be
‘opened’ prior to the call.)
8.11
R1    Can be the actual string (in quotes) or a pointer to it. In this
example, the pointer ‘test$’ is used throughout, modifying its contents
as necessary for each demonstration point.
8.11
R2    bit 0    If set, justify string between R3, R4 (start position)
and last x-value visited by graphics cursor. This last cursor position
can conveniently be defined, if required, by a VDU25, 4 call, just prior
to the SYS call − see the “Line4” routine in the listing.
8.11
        If not set, use R5 to justify (if bit 5 is set) or don’t
justify.
8.11
    bit 1    If set, plot a ‘rubout’ box (in the font background
colour) using either the graphics cursor to define the box corners (if
bit 5 of R2 is not set) or the coordinate parameter block pointed to in
R5 (if bit 5 of R2 is set).
8.11
        If the graphics cursor is going to be used, two cursor
positions need to be defined − one for each corner of the box. Again,
VDU25, 4 calls are a convenient way to do this − see the “Line2” routine
in the listing.
8.11
        (If both justification and a rubout box are to be
defined by the graphics cursor in the same SYS call, three VDU25, 4
calls will be needed, the last one being the justification coordinates.)
8.11
    bit 2    Reserved, must be zero.
8.11
    bit 3    Reserved, must be zero.
8.11
    bit 4    If set, coordinates are in OS units. If not set,
coordinates are in millipoints.
8.11
        As bit 4 must be clear when bits 5 and/or 6 are set, it
is less taxing on the memory to keep to millipoints throughout and
‘forget’ bit 4. In the listing, the PROCs etc take familiar units for
their parameters and do the conversion to millipoints.
8.11
    bit 5    If set, use R5 as below. (Bits 0 and 4 must be zero)
8.11
    bit 6    If set, use R6 as below. (Bit 4 must be zero)
8.11
    bit 7    If set, use R7 as below.
8.11
    bit 8    If set, use R0 as above.
8.11
    bit 9    If set, perform kerning on the string.
8.11
    bit 10    If set, write string from right to left.
8.11
R3    Starting x-coordinate of plot (in OS Units or millipoints,
depending on bit 4 of R2)
8.11
R4    Starting y-coordinate of plot (in OS Units or millipoints,
depending on bit 4 of R2)
8.11
R5    Pointer to justification coordinate parameter block, if bit 5 of
R2 is set.
8.11
    The block characteristics are:-
8.11
    Eight 4-byte words, i.e. block size needs to be 32 bytes.
8.11
    Offset+0   additional x offset (+ or −) added to each space
8.11
    +4    additional y offset (+ or −) added to each space
8.11
    +8    additional x offset (+ or −) between each letter
8.11
    +12    additional y offset (+ or −) between each letter
8.11
    +16    x-coordinate of bottom left corner of rubout box
8.11
    +20    y-coordinate of bottom left corner of rubout box
8.11
    +24    x-coordinate of top right corner of rubout box
8.11
    +28    y-coordinate of top right corner of rubout box
8.11
R6    Pointer to transformation parameter block, if bit 6 of R2 is
set.
8.11
    The block characteristics are:-
8.11
    Six 4-byte words i.e. block size needs to be 24 bytes.
8.11
    Offset+0, +4, +8 and +12 contain the four transformation factors
m1, m2, m3, m4 in the transform matrix:
8.11
        m1 m3
8.11
        m2 m4
8.11
        which allows scaling, rotation and shear − but not
translation. (See later for more details.)
8.11
    Offset+16 and +20 contain the x and y translation factors in
millipoints (as bit 4 of R2 needs to be zero)
8.11
R7    Length of string (sub-string usually), if bit 7 of R2 is set.
This permits the written string to be restricted to only a (leading)
part of the string. Useful for revealing/deleting part of a text.
8.11
Some examples of R2 values might help:-
8.11
R2=0 − Straightforward writing of the string, starting at R3, R4. (If
the string itself contains control codes they will affect the result in
their own right, of course. See “Lines” 9, 10 and 11 on screen.)
8.11
R2=&1 − Justify the string between R3, R4 and the last graphics cursor
x-coordinate. The string needs to contain spaces to see the effects of
this action. For instance, a single word surrounded by a space at each
end will appear neatly centred between R3, R4 and the graphics cursor
point. (Try it with a string longer than the normal space to fit it in.)
8.11
R2=&2 − Straightforward writing of the string, starting at R3, R4 − plus
a rubout box plotted in the font background colour with corners defined
by the graphics cursor.
8.11
R2=&20 − Write the string, starting at R3, R4, but use the coordinate
parameter block pointed to by R5 to adjust letter spacing and/or extra
space between words.
8.11
R2=&22 − As above, but also plot rubout box (in font background colour)
using values from the same coordinate block.
8.11
R2=&40 − Write string, starting at R3, R4, but using transform
characteristics carried in parameter block pointed to by R6.
8.11
R2=&400 − Write the string, starting at R3, R4, but write it from right
to left. (The first letter of the string is written immediately to the
right of the R3 x­value, with subsequent letters in turn going further
to the right.)
8.11
With SYS "Font_Paint", the x, y coordinates of the writing start point
(carried in R3, R4) refer to the bottom left corner of the axes-aligned
rectangle which just contains the font letter (the ‘bounding box’). This
differs from the use of “VDU5 text printing” where letters are
referenced to the top left corner of the letter-defining rectangle. This
difference is very evident when transformation actions take place − see
later.
8.11
More details
8.11
Going through some of the example program screen output lines will be
helpful in bringing out some other points.
8.11
“Line1” − R2=0: Straightforward writing to the screen at a chosen x, y
point. Note that y-coord (of 50 OS units) is subtracted from the y% (top
of window) value. The 400 converts OS units to millipoints.
8.11
“Line2” − R2=&2: Straightforward writing to the screen at a chosen x, y
point − with the addition of a rubout box in the font background colour
(white here, from line 890). The two VDU25, 4 calls (at lines 1160 and
1170) set the bottom left and top right corners, in that order. Note
that they too need to be referenced to x% and y%, the window position.
8.11
“3eniL” − R2=&400: Simple backward writing. The vertical reference mark
in “Line4” also shows the start position for this line.
8.11
“Line4” − R2=&1: Text is justified between the starting point at R3, R4
and the last graphics cursor x-position − here defined by a VDU25,4
call. For convenience, a vertical reference mark has been put on the
screen at this graphics cursor position, to make the justification
action clear. Note what happens if the string does not contain a space
at each end.
8.11
“Line5” − R2=&20: Fancy effect by using the coordinate block at R5. Here
a positive x-shift plus negative y-shift is added between each letter of
the string. The starting x-point for the writing is zero (wrt window LH
edge).
8.11
“Line6” − R2=&22: As above, but a rubout box is also drawn − as defined
by the last four parameters of the block at R5. Note also that the Font
background colour is changed temporarily for this “Line”, by SYS
"Wimp_SetFontColours". The colour number was chosen from the Wimp
Desktop palette, ensuring that it had enough contrast to show on
hardcopy also.
8.11
“7” and “Line8” − R2=&40: “Line7” shows three examples of using
transformation on a single letter, all with the same starting point at
R3, R4. The letter is firstly scaled by 2 (equally in x and y axes) and
then by 4, both without rotation − and then is rotated by 45 degrees at
scaling factor 2, without shear i.e. no distortion of the shape. “Line8”
shows three examples on a longer string, mainly to demonstrate that the
SYS call action applies to the whole string as a single entity. Note
also here that R3, R4 defines the bottom left corner of the window, with
the transformation block supplying the offsets to place the result where
it appears.
8.11
The screen clearly shows that the scaling and rotation origin points are
at the bottom left corner of the ‘bounding box’ of the letter/string,
i.e. that corner stays put throughout.
8.11
Some further explanation of the transformation block is needed:-
8.11
Matrix Units − The SYS call requires the first four parameters (m1, m2,
m3, m4) to be in a 32-bit real-number format where bits 16-31 represent
the integer part and bits 0-15 represent the fractional part, i.e. the
‘bicimal point’ always sits between bits 15 and 16.
8.11
Real numbers are necessary because scaling and rotation options would be
extremely limited if only integer values were used.
8.11
The simplest way to put the values into the right format is just to
multiply them by 65536 (&10000), as in the listing. This effectively
moves everything 16 bits to the left. (You can use <<16 for integer
numbers, but not for shifting real numbers − multiplying by &10000 does
the equivalent thing for reals or integers.)
8.11
The last two parameters (m5, m6) need to be in millipoints and are
simply the x, y translation shifts to be applied w.r.t. the starting
position in R3, R4. As R3, R4 are referenced to the window edges, m5 and
m6 need not be.
8.11
Scaling − If parameters m2 and m3 are kept at zero, then m1 and m4
control the x and y scaling respectively. In the listing,
‘PROCsettransform()’ takes normal values for scaling. i.e. 1 means ‘no
change’, values less than 1 mean smaller and values greater than 1 mean
bigger. m1 and m4 can be different but need to be the same if you want
to scale whilst preserving the original shape.
8.11
Rotation − All the first four parameters are used to rotate the string.
If ‘theta’ is the required rotation angle (anticlockwise being positive)
then both m1 and m2 must be set to cosine(theta), with m2 set to
sine(theta) and m3 set to −sine(theta). (Reversing the signs of m2 and
m3 makes the rotation clockwise.)
8.11
In the listing ‘PROCsettransform()’ takes a single rotation parameter in
degrees.
8.11
From the listing, you will see that combined scaling and rotation,
without any distortion of the original shapes, simply requires each of
the ‘rotational-only’ values of m1, m2, m3, m4 to be multiplied by the
scaling factor. If x and y scaling factors are not the same then, as the
listing shows, m1, m2 are multiplied by the x-scale value and m3, m4 are
multiplied by the y-scale value − in order to introduce no further
distortion.
8.11
(“Line8” shows this on screen clearly − the string is scaled by 2 in the
x direction and by 4 in the y direction.)
8.11
Shear − If the symmetry conditions described above for scaling and/or
rotation are not preserved, then some form of shear distortion will
result. However, at its simplest level, if m1, m4 are kept identical,
then m2, m3 values other than zero will give y-shear and x-shear
respectively.
8.11
‘Suck-it-and-see’ is the best way to explore the transform matrix, and
the listing PROCs etc provide a useful vehicle for that.
8.11
“Line9”, “Line10”, “Line11” − R2=0: In all these cases, the plot type is
straightforward, but the string definitions include control codes within
them.
8.11
The PRM gives details of control codes 9, 11, 17, 18, 19, 21, 25 and 26,
which have parallels with the VDU codes of the same number. Some are
‘not preferred’ by Acorn. In this example, codes 9, 11 and 19 are used.
8.11
“Line9” uses control codes 9 and 11, which effectively move the text
cursor left/right and up/down respectively. Each is activated by
including appropriate CHR$() expressions within the string to be
written. The action affects the string items appearing after the
expression, as the example shows.
8.11
Both codes 9 and 11 require three parameters to accompany them and this
is achieved by sending three CHR$() in sequence after them. The format
is to split the 3-byte number representing the required cursor shift (in
millipoints) into three 1-byte numbers representing the low, middle and
high bytes of the original number respectively − the high-byte
preserving the sign. The routine in the listing removes the pain and,
helpfully, was provided in the PRM.
8.11
In the example, the control code 9 sequence, to shift the following
string 196 OS units to the right, is:-
8.11
CHR$(9)+CHR$(64)+CHR$(50)+CHR$(1)
8.11
and the last three numbers derive from:-
8.11
1*&10000+50*&100+64=78400 (=196*400
8.11
 millipoints)
8.11
“Line10” and “Line11” show colour changes and are much simpler. Control
code 19 requires seven CHR$() after it: the first three being the r, g,
b palette entries for the required font background colour, followed by
similar for the foreground colour. The call picks the nearest colours on
the existing palette for use. The seventh is the maximum foreground
colour offset for anti-aliasing (0 to 14).
8.11
(I have kept to palette entries in the form rr, gg, bb, i.e. both
nibbles the same.)
8.11
“Line11” has only been included to show that a colour changed by this
method persists after the call until a further change.
8.11
Both “Line10” and “Line11” show how a change affects everything in the
string after the embedded control code(s).
8.11
“Line12” − Finally, “Line12” is written twice with just a vertical shift
to separate them − firstly with R2=0 and then with R2=&200. The effect
of kerning is clearly visible from the small difference in the overall
length of the line. (The string letter sequence has been deliberately
chosen to show large kerning movements.)
8.11
Rubout boxes
8.11
I’m not familiar with practical uses of ‘rubout boxes’, but as there are
several SYS “Font_” calls enabling you to find out the physical size of
characters and strings before and after they have been written to the
screen − e.g. bounding box size, caret position, string width − it is
clear that these would be useful to help define the corners of rubout
boxes in practical applications. u
8.11

8.11
TableCalc
8.11
Colin Singleton
8.11
TableCalc (£31.50 from iSV) is not a budget spreadsheet package but, as
its name implies, it is a table-drawing utility with calculation
facilities.
8.11
The package arrives on a single disc, with no printed documentation.
There is, however, a 2,400 word text file which seems quite adequate.
There is also a facility to print a quick reference card, which lists
keystrokes and default print styles, and explains the button bar.
8.11
Clicking in the normal way loads the program via the iconbar. The window
starts with a ‘table’ consisting of a single cell which may be expanded
as desired, and data may be entered or calculated using the facilities
provided. Alternatively, a table may be initiated by dragging a CSV
(Comma separated variables) file onto the TableCalc icon. Note, however,
that if you create your data in a text file using Edit, you must change
the filetype to CSV before loading into TableCalc. In my simple example,
the list values 48.19  16.04 ...  6.67 was generated in this way, and
the rest of the table built using TableCalc. Most of the features of
TableCalc can be described by explaining how this table was created.
8.11
A worked example
8.11
My objective was to print a list of ten values, and calculate their mean
and standard deviation, a routine statistical exercise. Starting with
the list of ten values, I created extra, empty, columns to the left and
right of the list − easily done using menu selections. The line numbers
are generated using an Initialise function, by which the user can
specify the first value and the step.
8.11
I have specified a Headings style for the line numbers. A number of
default styles are provided, which can be allocated to cells at will.
The font, text size and justification of each can be changed by the
user, as can the text and background colours. The widths of the columns
can be changed, but the depth cannot. Nor (apart from specifying left,
centre or right justification) can the position of the text within each
box. It is apparent from this example that Homerton text is positioned
lower in the box than Trinity of the same size. Line thicknesses cannot
be varied, though lines can be made invisible.
8.11
Mathematically, the square of the standard deviation of a list of
numbers is called the variance, and is equal to the mean of the squares
of the numbers minus the square of their mean. In this example,
Ú(3377.03 − 49.97²) = 29.67. To calculate the standard deviation using
TableCalc, therefore, I need to create a column containing the squares
of the given numbers. This is done, spreadsheet-style, by specifying the
single cell alongside the first value to contain the square of that
value. The right-hand column is then selected and a Copy Down function
invoked, which generates the corresponding calculation on each line.
8.11
The standard arithmetic operations can be used in equations to calculate
cell values, as can a number of built-in functions. Surprisingly,
although the function ln(X) is available, its converse exp(X) can only
by specified by the rather cumbersome expression const_e()^X. The sum or
the mean of a block of cell values can be specified in a cell
calculation, as demonstrated by the two mean values in my example. My
calculation is completed by specifying the equation for standard
deviation in terms of the two means. Two extra rows must first be
generated to contain these values.
8.11
The various text items are entered in the usual way, extra rows having
been inserted by menu selection for the headings. The cells in the top
row have been joined to create one long cell − but cells cannot be
linked vertically in this way. Styles can be specified more or less at
will for the text cells.
8.11
Restrictions
8.11
That, in a nutshell, is it. The above is only a simple example, but it
illustrates the essential features. Had these features been incorporated
in Dalriada’s TableMate II, they might have satisfied the wish list
requests of Dave Floyd (Archive 8.8 p73) and Jim Nottingham (Archive 8.9
p28). Unfortunately, the grid-drawing facilities of TableCalc are so
restrictive that this package alone does not meet these requirements. It
is possible to dump the cell contents from TableCalc to a CSV file, and
drop this into TableMate, but this seems a laborious way of achieving a
fairly simple objective. Perhaps iSV could put these thoughts on their
list for a future upgrade.
8.11
TableCalc has its own filetype for its output, which is OLE-compatible
with Impression etc, so I can, and undoubtedly will, use this package
for the type of calculation described above. There are shortcomings,
however. Supposing I now wish to perform the same calculation on a new
list of numbers?
8.11
At its simplest, if one of the values is wrong, I can correct it, though
this is not quite the simple cursor-delete-enter you might expect.
TableCalc will then re-calculate the consequential values as necessary.
If I wish to add another value to the list, I can insert a new row and
enter the value. I must also enter the line number and define the
calculation for the right-hand cell − these are not done automatically.
If the new line is inserted after the current last data line, I must
redefine the mean cells, but if the new line is inserted within the
list, these will be redefined automatically. Deleting a line is somewhat
simpler. The means are redefined correctly, but the line numbers (if the
deleted line is not the last) are not.
8.11
In real life, I do not need to see the squares of the values
individually listed in my example − they are only the means to the end
of calculating the standard deviation. Having completed the operation, I
can now delete the third column before printing. However, I cannot then
amend or add a value, because TableCalc will then be unable to perform
the required re-calculation. It is not possible to define a column for
calculation only, or to reduce its print width to zero. If I wish to
repeat the calculation for a completely new list of values, I cannot
simply drag a CSV file containing the new values into the appropriate
block of cells. I can only start again with the new list, and repeat the
entire table-building process, including all the cell definitions and
styles, step-by-step.
8.11
“iSV aim to produce a new item each month” (Archive 8.9 p6), and this
appears to be the offering for February 1995. I fear that quality many
suffer for the sake of quantity, and that TableCalc is perhaps a case in
point. At £31.50 from iSV, TableCalc will hardly break the bank, but you
need to ask whether it will serve a useful purpose. u
8.11

8.11
Burn ’Out
8.11
Alex Card
8.11
Billed as a buggy-race game on roller-coaster tracks, Oregan’s latest
offering finally gets the green light after delays that were bordering
on ‘Simon The Sorcerer’ proportions. Problems arose in the two-player
serial link-up options, and so it was decided to postpone this feature
and offer it as an add-on at a later date.
8.11
The programmers have thoughtfully included an automatic configuration
system whereby RAM, RISC OS version and ARM number are detected and used
to the full. It tells the user that they’re using an ARM 610 with loads
of memory, or an ARM 3, etc. The only prerequisite is that 2Mb of RAM is
the minimum. This information is used to choose optimum settings on such
as parallax scrolling backgrounds, texture mapped tracks and graphic
detail level. Preferences can be selected by the user too but, in most
cases, the program knows best and it would be wise to stick with what
you’re given at first, rather than risk the speed of the game suffering
by trying to have texture mapped tracks with an ARM 2!
8.11
Presentation
8.11
Presentation is slick, and an intro sequence more familiar to Amiga
owners is shown, though naturally this can be skipped. A vast array of
options is available to allow joystick, mouse or keyboard definitions to
be set, then it’s off to pick your driver and buggy.
8.11
Each of the ten drivers is introduced with a ‘mug-shot’ and a personal
profile, but whether you choose Victor the Count or Sam the Blonde Babe
has little bearing on the game other than their characteristic
appearance behind the wheel and various whoops of joy as you pass a
competitor. The artist seems to have been influenced by Japanese comics,
where big eyes and button noses proliferate. There are five buggies to
choose from, ranging from light and fragile to built like a tank − make
your selection and it’s off to the track.
8.11
Getting started
8.11
You can start on easy, moderate or hard levels but you’ll soon find that
it’s nearly impossible to progress far unless you start on easy. A
preview of the track is displayed showing where the turns and jumps are,
then you sit on the grid in your grey buggy, waiting for the off.
Control is so simple, even a child of 30, like myself, can manage it!
Basically, stay on the track and try to avoid crashing into others cars
and obstacles as much as possible. There are only two gear settings,
high and low, so once you’ve shifted up to top, you hopefully won’t need
to alter them too much, unless you come to a grinding halt.
8.11
The graphics
8.11
Graphically, the game is impressive, with excellent use of colour and
all objects clearly visible, so you can’t claim to have hit something
because you didn’t see it. I especially like the texture map track
effects − almost like wallpapering in 3D. The track fades into the
distance and appears to be coated with logs, sand and tile effects.
There are numerous objects at the sides of the road to be avoided,
including trees, cacti, houses and notice boards, plus the usual
on-course hazards like water, sand and girders.
8.11
There’s a ‘cutesy’ feel about the whole affair but, if I have a
complaint, it’s just that everything’s a little too geometric for my
liking, rather than a more natural look. The parallax backgrounds are
neat, and there are plenty of them, with lots of variety, including
woodland, desert and seaside. The programmers have certainly put a lot
of effort into Burn ’Out, and it shows.
8.11
And sound
8.11
Sound, too, is used to good effect, with masses of tunes during the game
and on the menu screens. Fortunately, these can all be toggled on or off
for those late night sessions. I often find that sound is a bit of an
afterthought in many Acorn games but, with Oregan being the producers of
the excellent Digital Symphony, they’ve made good use of the package
within Burn ’Out.
8.11
The game
8.11
The aim of Burn ’Out is to complete a given number of laps in the
allotted time and also finish in the top three places. In practice, time
will be your worst enemy − you’re far more likely to be in first place
and run out of time than be in fourth and complete it. Buggies appear to
have a noticeable ‘wobble’ which causes them to drift off the track even
when sat on the grid. It’s less noticeable during the race, but a
strange oversight nonetheless.
8.11
Despite the descriptions of the five buggies, I could find no real
difference between their performances or reliability. I deliberately
tried using a so-called light and fragile Twin Turbo, smashing it
relentlessly in an attempt to destroy it, but failed miserably. There
were no breakdowns of the E­Type ilk, just the usual out-of-time, ‘game
over’ scenario. I would have hoped for some artificial intelligence from
opposing vehicles, but they have very little and bump into obstacles
with alarming regularity and cause roadblocks by sheer weight of numbers
getting stuck and not being able to get out of it. They do drift towards
your buggy if you’re travelling at similar speeds but this appears to be
more by accident than design.
8.11
Another anomaly that struck me was how many of the same car and driver
appeared to be racing against me at one time. When you start seeing four
of the same in front of you, it makes you wonder about your sanity.
Fortunately, if a car you need to pass is in front of you, a number will
appear above it indicating its position in the race.
8.11
Getting better
8.11
Early levels are very easy but need to be completed each time if you are
to progress further. After each rostrum placing, you gain money with
which to improve your buggy; grippier tyres, a more powerful engine and
a better gearbox are on offer for the right price. If you’re feeling
frivolous, 50 credits will pay for a paint job to rid yourself once and
for all of that sad, grey exterior ... anyone for a nice orange lustre?
8.11
Going straight onto difficult or even moderate levels is virtually a
non-starter; without having a souped-up buggy, you’re doomed to
ignominious defeat. There’s no point in saving money for a rainy day
either; if you’ve got it, spend it and, personally, I’d recommend
boosting your engine power every time. One particularly irksome quirk is
that once the clock hits zero, that’s it − there’s no chance of momentum
carrying you over the line, as in Lotus Turbo, to give you a fighting
chance. The number of times I’ve come to an abrupt halt on the chevrons
in front of the finishing line is unbelievable. Once I even crossed the
line on the stroke of zero, was given the ‘Congratulations’ message but
had this over-written with ‘Game Over’. Come on guys, this should not
happen. Fortunately, you can have up to five credits so can restart from
the same level until they run out − this eases the frustration slightly.
8.11
Just in time?
8.11
Just when you think you’ve got it sussed, in come the time bonus gates.
These must be driven through cleanly in order to boost your time
sufficiently; miss one and you might sneak through but miss two and it’s
curtains. The gates are very narrow and, with other buggies bumping you
around, coupled with the inherent wobble factor, negotiating them is
very tricky. As they first appear on the last of the easy levels, this
can become a source of annoyance, as your race can be over in just 5
seconds! Certainly, this level is far harder than many of the moderate
ones and I think the programmers should have placed it accordingly.
8.11
Overall
8.11
Gripes aside, Burn ’Out is a fun game that will appeal primarily to
younger players, due to its cartoon graphics and ease of getting
started. However, I’m not sure where it fits into an Acorn market which,
for once, is well catered for in car racing games. For me, Saloon Cars
Deluxe wins the simulation stakes, Lotus Turbo has speed and a brilliant
two-player mode on its side, Stunt Racer 2000 has all the thrill of the
spill and FTT cleans up on pure originality. Burn ’Out certainly isn’t a
bad game at all, but the numerous niggles would, I’m afraid, put me off
coming back to it for that ‘one more go’. On the plus side, it’s one of
the few racing games that works directly on the Risc PC (though most of
the others do via Game On!). There are plenty of tracks, and maybe the
two-player link up will change how it fares but, for me, the game could
have been much better. u
8.11

8.11
CC Graphics Loaders
8.11
David Thornton
8.11
“Graphics Loaders”, from Computer Concepts, consists of a pack of four
loaders which allow a number of additional bitmap file formats, besides
sprites, to be imported into Impression and ArtWorks. The loaders
require RISC OS 3.1 or later and a hard disc. The cost is £39 + VAT or
£43 through Archive.
8.11
Installation
8.11
The Graphics Loaders are provided in a CD style disc box containing a
small, twelve page manual and a single disc. The disc contains the
familiar CC !Installer program and two directories. One directory
contains example JPEG pictures for use with the JPEG loader and the
other, named Docs, provides information in two text files (Protocol and
Spec) about how to write your own loaders. Both these documents make
interesting reading, even to the non-programmer like myself. I will
explain these documents later.
8.11
A number of dialogue boxes in the installation program, similar to the
ones for the Impression and ArtWorks installer, allow you to select
which of the loaders you wish to install. Installation is very quick.
The loaders are installed inside the !CCShared directory (inside
!System) and are completely transparent to the user. There is no need to
load anything onto the iconbar or to set up any configuration options.
Re-boot your machine and you do not need to worry about the loaders
again.
8.11
The loaders in use
8.11
The four loaders provided in the pack are for Clear, JPEG, PhotoCD and
TIFF bitmap files. The TIFF loader is a much enhanced version of the
TIFF loader supplied with ArtWorks 1.5 and Impression. The JPEG and
PhotoCD loaders are unique to the Graphics Loaders pack because they are
not supported by ImageFS, the other main commercially available graphic
loader (reviewed in Archive 8.6 p71). The loaders currently only work
with the Impression range and ArtWorks 1.5. This is a disadvantage but,
at the same time, many applications like Photodesk provide their own
import options.
8.11
Importing one of the four supported bitmaps is very easy. Just drop the
bitmap file onto an Impression frame or onto an ArtWorks page and the
relevant loader is used.
8.11
The Clear loader is the simplest of the four loaders. It is also used as
the basis of an example of how to write your own loader. Dropping a
Clear file onto either application simply loads the bitmap as if it were
a sprite or drawfile without any windows popping up. The other three
loaders are slightly more complicated.
8.11

8.11
Dropping a JPEG file into either application produces a window entitled
JPEG/JFIF Translator v1.05. The JPEG window displays information about
the JPEG type, its resolution and the output size. The latter changes,
depending on which of the various options are selected. The JPEG loader
also allows you to specify whether you require the JPEG to appear as an
8-bit greyscale, as an 8-bit colour file, or as a 24-bit colour file.
You can also set whether you require simple, Floyd/Steinberg or no
dithering. The two sets of options are selectable via two sets of three
radio buttons. Finally, selecting ‘process’ imports the JPEG and the
window then disappears.
8.11

8.11
The PhotoCD loader functions in the same way as the JPEG loader,
although the options are different. The loader allows the import
resolution to be selected, and all of the six PhotoCD base resolutions
are available although I have always found Base/64 to be greyed out. I
wonder if CC have not implemented this yet? The image appearance (8-bit
greyscale, 8-bit colour and 24-bit colour) can also be specified as with
the JPEG loader.
8.11

8.11
The TIFF loader allows Grey, RGB and CMYK TIFF files to be imported, the
latter containing true 32-bit colour (4000 million colours). The loader
can cope with many different TIFF filetypes including compressed ones.
The output bpp can be specified and so can the dithering options, as
with the JPEG loader.
8.11
Programming
8.11
The loaders do not have as wide a range of import facilities as ImageFS
but their programming potential makes up for it. The Spec and Protocol
files on the disc describe in detail how to create your own loaders. A
new loader does not have to import a graphic − it could be used for
exporting graphics just as easily.
8.11
It is also possible to write import and export loaders for other types
of file − i.e. files which are not bitmaps. The potential of the
programming environment behind the loaders is enormous. Computer
Concepts have effectively devised a way for a program to manipulate any
bitmap graphic without having to know anything about it. Their system is
a bit like the modular upgrade feature of ArtWorks where additional
tools can be added with ease. The separate loader for each bitmap
approach allows a new loader to be devised without a rewrite of a whole
program or of any other loader. Any application should, in theory, be
able to recognise any new loader immediately.
8.11
Dislikes
8.11
The loaders are not as fast as other alternatives such as ImageFS.
Computer Concepts have assured me that this will be addressed in the
future.
8.11
Another thing that annoys me is that when a loader imports a bitmap into
Impression, it always converts it to a drawfile which is the internal
file format of Impression. ArtWorks uses its own internal file format.
The disadvantage of this is that it is impossible to OLE a file directly
to be edited, for example in Photodesk. You have to export the graphics
as a drawfile and then save it out from Draw as a sprite. I would prefer
that the loaders imported the graphic as it was, keeping it as the same
filetype (e.g. JPEG), or converted it to a sprite. Both these options
should be possible. The fact that the bitmaps are converted to drawfiles
is the fault of Impression and not the loaders. It also happens with
sprites, although sprite files are tagged as sprites so that OLE to a
bitmap editor does work.
8.11
One of the reasons for the use of the drawfile might be because
drawfiles keep more of the dimensional information of a bitmap (users of
the ScanLight scanner software will know that the same principles apply
when saving a scan. The scan can be saved as a drawfile or as a sprite,
the former retaining dimensions and resolution information.) I am
wondering whether ImageFS actually does keep the extra dimensional (and
resolution) information provided in foreign bitmaps, especially TIFF’s,
as it converts all bitmaps to sprites and not drawfiles. The new RISC OS
sprite format does allow for dimensional (and resolution) information
etc, but RISC OS 3.50 does not implement this. Does anyone know whether
ImageFS keeps this information during import?
8.11
The loaders contain the old filetype icons for PhotoCD and JPEG files.
Having more than one icon representing the same filetype is both
annoying and confusing. I have designed some new graphics loader icons
and included the correct filetype icons with them. They are only
suitable for a high resolution monitor. They are included on this
month’s disc (space permitting) and a number of other new icons are also
provided, including a nice new !CCShared directory icon and a new
Impression flat-file icon which resembles the style of the original.
Please read the ReadMe file accompanying the sprites for more
information.
8.11
Future
8.11
I believe that the graphics loaders, with a revised appearance and
compatibility with all other applications which support sprites, have
excellent potential. When RISC OS finally decides to recognise the
resolution and other information provided in the new sprite format, the
loaders should also function better. Some enhancements could include:
8.11
• Additional loaders for MacPICT2 and GIF files.
8.11
• Conversion of the bitmap to sprite or keeping it as the original
bitmap, for Impression.
8.11
• Compatibility with other applications.
8.11
Conclusions
8.11
The Graphics Loaders are an excellent package. I believe the separate
loaders idea and the “program your own loader approach” makes it a
winner over ImageFS in this respect. Unfortunately, they are only
supported by ArtWorks 1.5 and Impression. There is no reason why the
loaders should not be designed to work with all applications. At the
moment, developers have to include a piece of code in their own
application which allows them to use the loaders. I believe that it
should be the other way around, as with ImageFS. The loaders should be
able to function with any application without the application having to
have any code telling it how to use them.
8.11
Example: Dropping a TIFF file onto Eureka (which Eureka cannot
recognise) should invoke the TIFF loader automatically. The user would
then be given the option to import the TIFF into Eureka as a sprite. If
Eureka could understand TIFF files, but did not contain the code to
import them, the loader would also allow the user to import the TIFF as
a TIFF.
8.11
With the addition of the GIF and MacPICT2 loaders, and the other
changes, the package is set to be a winner. I doubt whether many people
would require other loaders, such as IMG or Targa, but they could be
written with ease if required. ImageFS does not yet support two major
formats (JPEG and PhotoCD), which makes it useless for me, and many
other users. For more information about the loaders, users of Impression
can load the online help program and type “Graphics Converters” and
“Graphics Converters technical details.” A line in the latter page
states, “If you develop any interesting converters please keep Computer
Concepts informed since we may be interested in purchasing or
publicising the program.”
8.11
I prefer the Graphics Loaders to ImageFS, despite not being able to use
them with programs other than Impression and ArtWorks. In all my DTP and
graphics work, using ArtWorks, Publisher and Photodesk, I have hardly
ever needed to use any file formats other than the ones supported by the
Graphics Loaders. As software companies merge, I would not be surprised
if most of the smaller file formats die off and a few main formats are
left.
8.11
Graphics Loaders versus ImageFS
8.11
Pluses and minuses for Graphics Loaders are:
8.11
+ Separate loader/filter for each file format (easier to update separate
loaders).
8.11
+ Detailed and well-documented programming development environment for
use by anyone. Loaders can be written which import or export bitmaps or
other files.
8.11
− Fewer formats supported than ImageFS.
8.11
− Slower than ImageFS.
8.11
− GIF and MacPICT2 not supported (but could be if loaders were written).
8.11
− Only work with ArtWorks 1.5 and Impression (at the moment).
8.11
Pluses and minuses for ImageFS are:
8.11
+ More formats supported than with GL (especially GIF and MacPICT2).
8.11
+ Faster than the Graphics Loaders.
8.11
+ Can be used by any program, and not just two as with GL.
8.11
− Non programmable by the user.
8.11
− It is a self-contained program, so more memory is required and it is
more difficult to add further formats.
8.11
− JPEG and PhotoCD not yet supported.
8.11
What I really would like is a combination of the two to get the best of
both worlds!
8.11
I would appreciate any feedback from other users of the Graphics
Loaders, as well as any other comments about the Acorn platform. If you
would like a reply then please include a stamp. My address is: David
Thornton, 1 Castle Court, Lower Burraton, Saltash, Cornwall PL12 4SE. u
8.11

8.11
Turbo Driver Network Spooler
8.11
Mike Battersby
8.11
Many users of Acorn machines will be familiar with the TurboDriver
printer drivers from Computer Concepts. (“Love the speed, hate the
lead”?) Now available is a network spooler which will allow TurboDrivers
to print to remote printers over the network.
8.11
The purchase of it also acts as a site licence for TurboDrivers so, at a
price of £149 +VAT (£166 through Archive), it would represent excellent
value for a secondary school or other substantial site, yet would still
be affordable for a smaller school such as a local special school where
I installed one recently for their Ethernet network of seven A5000s.
8.11
The package includes installation discs for all the printers supported,
Canon, HP and Epson for the TurboDrivers, plus the LaserDirect series.
One TurboDriver lead is included but further leads may be purchased at
£10 per lead. One lead is needed for each printer server.
8.11
The software is installed by virtue of installation applications, with
the choice of installing as a ‘Spooler’ machine (i.e. printer server) or
a client. (My tip here is always to install to a previously unused copy
of !Printers.)
8.11
One little oddity is that if you are installing more than one type of
printer, e.g. a Canon inkjet and an HP laser, and if you set up a
printer definition file before installing the second one, the printer
definition is wiped clear. To avoid this, simply install the TurboDriver
for each machine required and then add the printer definition files
afterwards.
8.11
The spooler machine (printer server) has an additional application,
!CCSpool, installed which deals with the spooled output from the client
station.
8.11
It is quite straightforward to have more than one ‘spooler’ machine.
!CCSpool allows itself to be given a name to identify it so that
different spoolers can be given different names, e.g. ‘Laser’ for a
Laserjet and ‘Colour’ for a colour inkjet. !Printers allows the
‘Connection’ option for the definition files to be set to network
(‘Econet’), and the appropriate printer server can be named in
accordance with the names given to !CCSpool. I couldn’t actually find
instructions on this in the documentation, but perhaps it is buried in
there somewhere.
8.11
Once set up, with the printer files set as ‘Active’ in !Printers,
choosing a printer server is just a matter of clicking on the relevant
!Printers icon on the iconbar. So I set up one called ‘Laser’ for a
laserjet, one called ‘Colour’ for a BJ600 and all the pupils need to do
is choose whether they want to print to the laser or in colour and click
on the relevant printer driver icon before printing.
8.11
Whilst I have not made any comparative timings, the speed seemed very
impressive, with control being returned very quickly to the client
station (about 5 seconds for printing this article over Ethernet) and
overall printing time is little more than printing to a standalone!
8.11
One thing to beware of is that the TurboDrivers are very sensitive to
which !System they use, because installation sets up various items in
the !CCShared directory in !System. Thus, if !Printers is to be served
over a network, an appropriate !System must also be served (or at least
be available). Failure to find the items it wants tends to cause the
TurboDriver to report strange errors related to a BackEnd$File, which
could be taken to insinuate that the driver is trying to turbo in ever
decreasing circles!! Care must therefore be taken to export a suitably
set up !System.
8.11
It would be helpful here to be able to select the !System folder to
which the TurboDriver is installed, because a file server may have
different ones for its own use and for export. I’m sure an earlier
Computer Concepts installation program for one of their pieces of
software had this option. Otherwise, double-click on the appropriate
!System folder before installation and, as a safeguard, use *Show
System* to check that the system path points to the one you want.
8.11
There are a couple of other slight quirks, such as the error symbol
appearing on the iconbar icon for no apparent reason, though it still
prints quite happily. Version 4.2 produced a black stripe on HP prints
from non-CC applications, but version 4.3 seems to have sorted this out.
Incidentally to install to a standalone machine, install as a ‘Spooler’
machine and then delete !CCSpool. It is also advisable to have 4Mb or
more memory on each station.
8.11
Conclusion
8.11
A very useful and powerful high speed network driver/spooler. u
8.11

8.11
The Commotion Control Box
8.11
Mike Battersby
8.11
According to the OFSTED (Office for Standards in Education) review of
inspection findings in 1993/4, out of the IT requirements that schools
were expected to deliver, the control element was often missing.
8.11
At secondary level, the National Curriculum broadly expects pupils to
construct sets of instructions to control devices in varying degrees of
sophistication and to relate control commands to information from
inputs. Although much of this can be achieved using screen only
simulations, such as Logo, much of the point is lost unless pupils
experience control of devices external to the computer itself.
8.11
One set of equipment that could be used is the new Control Box from
Commotion. It can be bought by itself or, more economically, in a set,
comprising the box, connecting lead to a RISC OS computer (PC and BBC
versions also available), a model chosen from a choice of three (more
about these later), and the controlling software called !CoCo. You also
need a user port for control and an analogue port if you want to use
optional additional analogue sensors. Commotion supply an HCCS
user/analogue port that will do both, or there are others around on the
market. I tried it with a Morley one and that worked OK. The box has
switchable voltage, 6v or 9v output.
8.11
The control box can be used with any appropriate inputs or outputs up to
a total of eight inputs, eight outputs, plus four motors. However, this
article will focus on its use as part of the all-in economical ‘bundle’
pack. The models available to choose from are a traffic light set, a
‘house’ or a clown face. Here, though, I will only consider the traffic
lights and the house, as they are the ones I tried out and are more
suitable than the clown for secondary schools. Both models are made from
‘Corriflute’, a sort of plastic cardboard which looks quite flimsy, but
is actually very tough. Both models are quite fiddly to assemble.
8.11
The traffic lights consist of a red, amber and green light, an
illuminated ‘wait’ sign and a push button. Thus it fulfils the need for
relating output to inputs, e.g. so that pressing the button sets a
sequence of light changes in motion à la pelican crossing.
8.11
The house consists of a house facade with four windows and a door and an
outside street light. There is also a buzzer, set in the wall, in the
style of a house alarm. The inputs consist of a magnetic switch,
normally situated at the door, a light sensor at the base of the street
lamp and a push button by the door. This also provides scope for
relating inputs to output control and, in fact, offers more scope than
the traffic lights for variety in the problems set, a number of which
are suggested in the accompanying booklet.
8.11
Both models’ sets of inputs and outputs are supplied attached to a
ribbon cable with colour coded banana plugs to plug into the control
box; green and black for inputs, and red and black for outputs, which
helps make sure pupils don’t plug them in the wrong ones.
8.11
The screen display of CoCo is clearly laid out with separate, but
aligned, windows for each of the sets of inputs, outputs and motors, and
the ‘panel’ through which the instructions are input. The panel includes
help on the commands available and a ‘panic’ button to reset everything
in one go.
8.11
The control language can be entered through a dialogue window, where it
can also be edited. Procedures can be constructed, saved and re-loaded
at another time. A window of a list of the commands is available and,
when a command is clicked on, it is entered in the dialogue of
instructions. This is very useful to avoid spelling mistakes or
mis-types. Instructions can be very simple or built up into complex
procedures. A simple instruction for the light sensor (connected to
INPUT 1) to turn on a street light (OUTPUT 2) when it gets dark, on the
basis that the sensor goes OFF when it gets dark, would be:
8.11
WAIT UNTIL INPUT 1 OFF
8.11
SWITCH OUTPUT 2 ON
8.11
There are a variety of such boxes on the market, but at £190 (+VAT) for
the all-in pack (£230 including user/analogue port), it is competitively
priced. Inevitably, though, with control equipment, this starts to add
up if you want enough for class sets, but taking into account what is
included, it is well worth considering.
8.11

8.11
Reptile
8.11
Richard Rymarz
8.11
One area of the school curriculum where maths, technology and art
overlap is pattern creation. Designing, editing and producing patterns
of every kind is a laudable aim, giving children the opportunity to use
their creative and aesthetic skills. I first heard of the word
‘tessellate’ when I was at college many years ago − it involves the
repetition of shapes that match tightly to produce a mosaic. I have used
the concept on many occasions at all levels in school.
8.11
Tiles and mosaics
8.11
Computers have always been an excellent tool to create patterns of every
sort. One of the earliest programs for the Acorn range of computers was
Mosaic, published by 4Mation − which is still available, I believe. The
latest tool to reach the market is Reptile from Kudlian Soft. This
purports to be an “application that allows the user to create and
manipulate tiles based on either a square, triangle or hexagon.” The
sides of the tile can be changed by dragging out straight or curved
lines and, in order to ensure accurate tessellation, any side can be
copied to the other side of the shape. These tiles are then placed on a
grid. Furthermore, tiles can be of any size, can be rotated through any
angle and can be reflected through any plane.
8.11
Reptile − the program
8.11
Reptile loads onto the iconbar in the form of a green lizard. Clicking
<select> opens two windows, the first being the tile editing window and
the second a grid upon which the tiles are placed.
8.11
The edit window
8.11
By default, this shows a square, although it is easy to change the shape
to a triangle or a hexagon. The basic shape can be manipulated using the
Alter tool. This allows extra round shaped points to be inserted into
any line of the basic shape. These can be pulled around in any fashion
thus creating new shapes. However, the four square basic points of the
shape cannot be changed. In practice, this means that some quite complex
shapes can be drawn. There is full colour control over line and fill
colours, but not line width. The whole process has a familiar feel about
it, reminding me of Draw or Artworks.
8.11
Other tools are concerned with manipulating the sides of the shape: Half
Side which is needed when the triangle is used as the basic shape, since
it ensures that each alternate triangle is rotated through 180° for
tessellation purposes; Copy Side which does the same thing for the
square and hexagon basic shapes; Cycle Side which allows each side in
turn to be cycled through horizontal and vertical planes; Clear Side
which restores the side to the basic shape; and, finally, Cancel which
restores the shape into editing mode.
8.11
There is also a drawing tool that allows shapes to be constructed within
the edited shape, although this is limited to four drawings of five
points each. This may seem limiting and is a result of memory
restraints. Drawn objects are also fully editable, with control over
line and fill colours.
8.11
All this may sound complicated, but it is easy to pick up as familiarity
grows.
8.11
The grid window
8.11
The finished tile is now ready to be stamped onto the grid. As the
pointer moves over the grid, it changes into the shape of a stamp. It is
simply a matter of stamping the tile onto the grid. The tiles are still
editable and can be coloured, rotated and reflected singly or in any
size groups that the user wishes. The background colour is also fully
controllable. While in ‘select’ mode, the pointer reverts to its usual
shape with the <select> and <adjust> buttons toggling the grid on and
off.
8.11
Using Reptile
8.11
My children (a fairly computer-literate bunch of 10 and 11 year olds)
thought this program was great. They used some of the enclosed examples
and soon had lovely coloured shapes filling up the grids. They have
access to a colour printer and were very pleased with the printed
results.
8.11
However, whilst using the prepared shapes was valuable enough, the real
test was when they tried to create their own. This took some time to get
to grips with, but with perseverance and plenty of encouragement from
the teacher, they soon became familiar with the program and were last
seen happily experimenting away.
8.11
Conclusions
8.11
At first, I felt that this program was not flexible, but a telephone
call to the author set my mind at rest. There are only three basic
shapes but, apparently, most patterns can be reproduced using these
three shapes; there is no facility to alter the line widths or patterns
and the drawing tool is limited in the number of points, but changes
could well be implemented in future versions; and, for some reason,
<delete> would not delete, although <ctrl­x> did − apparently the author
did not error­trap the delete key. However, this will be resolved in the
release version, as will the fact that I managed to make the program
crash in drawing mode.
8.11
Another feature in the full release version should be a gridlock on the
tile window. There are no plans to include text, and it would be nice if
the link between tile and grid was dynamic i.e. any changes to the tile
was reflected in the grid. Maybe these can be added in the future.
8.11
Grids can be saved as drawfiles and exported to other programs − tiles
can be saved in Reptile format and used again. Twenty-four pre-drawn
grids are available and could be used by younger and less able children
to colour by computer or to print out and colour manually. Twenty-seven
pre­drawn tiles are also available to be used as the teacher/parent
wishes. The manual is easy to read and understand and contains a number
of ideas on using Reptile.
8.11
All in all, this program is great, with lots of possibilities for
developing it. The author assures me that further development is in the
pipeline. Even though I have used the program with older primary school
children, it could find a home in any secondary school where complex
mixing of shape and size would produce exciting and worthwhile results.
Highly recommended.
8.11
Outside the educational environment, I would recommend it to anyone
interested in mosaics or tessellation. Reptile costs £30 +VAT (primary)
or £60 +VAT (secondary) from KudlianSoft (or £33 and £66 respectively
through Archive) and this includes a site licence. u
8.11
Acorn − The New Generation
8.12
Paul Beverley
8.12
Having sold around 25,000 Risc PC 600s, Acorn has now launched the
follow-up − yes, you’ve guessed it, the ‘Risc PC 700’. Also, there’s the
new ‘A7000’ aimed to bridge the gap between the A4000 and the Risc PC.
8.12
Top-of-the-range improvement
8.12
If you look at the top-of-the-range Risc PC 700, the ACB75, and compare
it with the top-of-the-range Risc PC 600, the ACB45, you will see that
it is good news (for those who haven’t recently bought an ACB45).
Despite the price staying almost the same (£1989 instead of £1996 inc
VAT), as well as getting the ARM710 instead of the 610, the hard drive
size has doubled to 850Mb, the VRAM has doubled to 2Mb (although that is
still the maximum capability) and the sound is now 16­bit. The ROM size
has doubled to 4Mb so that it can contain all the apps (Draw, Paint,
Edit, etc) as well as !Printers, JPEG facilities and Access and TCP/IP
networking software.
8.12
The rest of the range
8.12
If you only want one slice, you can choose the ACB70 at £1599 (inc VAT).
This is the same memory size as the ACB25 (5Mb) but has double the hard
disc size (425Mb).
8.12
Going down the price scale, the next new computer is a new Risc PC 600,
called the ACB60. For £1349 inc VAT, this gives you a computer the
same as the ACB70 except that it has an ARM610 and no VRAM and no
backplane, but it is completely upgradable to the top-of-range and
beyond − all except the Risc PC 600 logo which is not upgradable. Acorn
have no plans to do a “drive­door-trade-in”, sorry!
8.12
Cheaper still...
8.12
We still haven’t finished because Acorn have provided a further range of
ARM7 computers that have an even lower price entry point. The A7000
series is a new small-footprint computer based on the ARM7500 processor,
a composite chip like the ARM250 (as used in the A4000/3020/3010) which
combines the processor core plus VIDC20 plus IOMD in one chip, reducing
the chip count to a very low level and thereby reducing the cost.
8.12
The price starts at £1049 inclusive for the AMC01 − a 2Mb computer with
no hard disc suitable (only) for use as part of a network system − it
has an Ethernet card fitted as standard. And don’t laugh at the fact
that it only has 2Mb RAM. Yes, the ACB15 with 2Mb of RAM was a non-
starter for anything serious but, with so much held in ROM, including
network software and !Printers, you can have a networked, printing ARM7
computer with about 1.2Mb available for applications. (Try THAT on a PC
or a Mac!!!)
8.12
For an extra £50 (£1099) the AMC02 is available with a 425Mb hard drive
but without the Ethernet card. The next model up, the AMC03 at £1199,
has 4Mb of RAM instead of the 2Mb of the AMC02.
8.12
The trade-off with the A7000 is that it doesn’t allow you to add any
video RAM and it doesn’t have the amazing upgradability of the Risc PC
600 and 700 computers. Like the ACB60 and 70, it has one empty 5¼“ bay
but it’s a fixed size box, so you cannot add extra slices for more
space. Also, it has only one expansion card slot and this is an
alternative to, say, putting a CD­ROM in the 5¼” bay. i.e. you cannot
have a populated 5¼“ bay and an expansion card. In terms of memory
upgradability, the 2Mb or 4Mb it comes with as standard is soldered onto
the pcb but it has a single SIMM slot which could have up to a 128Mb
RAM, taking it to a maximum of 132Mb (compared to 258Mb for the 600/700
computers).
8.12
Other add-ons
8.12
If you prefer a 17“ monitor to the 14” AKF60, you can have an AKF85 with
any of these computers for an extra £326. (The AKF85 isn’t listed by
Acorn as an option with the A7000s because it has no video RAM and may
not warrant using a 17“ monitor, but I’m sure most dealers would allow
you to mix and match if you wanted to do so.)
8.12
For CD-ROM, Acorn provide an Atapi dual speed drive which, if bought
with the computer, costs just £130 inclusive.
8.12
Even better prices?!
8.12
As explained below, Acorn have brought in a direct-selling policy for
education which means that all these computers are available to schools
and colleges at even lower prices. The following table gives the RRP and
the REP (Recommended Education Price) rounded to the nearest pound.
8.12
  RRP  REP
8.12
ACB75  £1989  £1761
8.12
ACB70  £1599  £1409
8.12
ACB60  £1349  £1174
8.12
AMC01  £1049  £880
8.12
AMC02  £1099  £939
8.12
AMC03  £1199  £1028
8.12
Acorn’s new education policy
8.12
For years now, Acorn education dealers have been waging war − on each
other! Let me explain... An Acorn dealer goes into his local school and
convinces them that Acorn provide the best option, whether it’s for
curriculum software or networking or one-per-child computing. The school
decides what it wants and then, because finance is tight these days,
they shop around to find which dealer will give the best quote for the
system(s) they want.
8.12
Often, the local dealer loses out to a box-shifting company that can
afford to sell for 2 or 3% margin − a crazy situation because it
mitigates against the well-qualified, keen, local dealers for a small
overall saving for the schools.
8.12
Acorn’s radical solution is to sell direct to schools − well, sort of!
They have appointed about 25 Acorn Agents − mostly ex-Education Dealers
who are each given a “slice” of the country including, hopefully, some
reasonably Acorn-friendly areas as well as some Acorn-opportunity areas
where there is great potential for winning schools (back) to Acorn. The
Agents make the sales (with help from the big boys at Acorn for big
contracts) and Acorn supply the computers direct to the schools at the
prices mentioned above (actually, ‘REP’ is a misnomer as they are not
“recommended”, but fixed prices). The Agents then get a commission for
every Acorn computer sold into their area, regardless of whether they
were involved in winning the sale.
8.12
Mix and match
8.12
“What if the school wants various non-Acorn bits adding into their
systems?” This isn’t a problem. All that happens is that the school
simply elects to have the computers delivered to the Agent (or a dealer
of their choice) rather than the school. The Agent then adds the
upgrades, peripherals, software, etc, and delivers them to the school.
8.12
Winners and losers
8.12
In the short term, there are going to be winners and losers in all of
this. There are a number of keen dealers (such as NCS, dare I say) who
have been selling computers into education. If they are not offered an
agency, their days of selling into education are numbered as the schools
gradually realise that they can buy more cheaply direct from Acorn (at a
price less than the dealers can buy from Acorn). I fear that this could
put some dealers out of business or, at the very least, force them to
sell PCs as well/instead in order to make a living. (NCS is NOT going to
sell anything other than Acorn − we’d rather go bust!)
8.12
The Acorn Agents, of course, will be very happy because they will get a
fair margin on what they do sell and they won’t have to be watching
their backs all the time for other dealers under-cutting them. Where
schools in their area are already convinced that Acorn is the best, the
Agent simply supplies their needs as required − which shouldn’t take too
much time and effort − and they can then concentrate on winning over new
schools or winning back those who have gone over to PCs only to find
what a pain (and a cost) they are to maintain and upgrade compared to
Acorn machines.
8.12
Price drops
8.12
The remainder of the Acorn computer range has been reduced in price as
shown below. (The two monitors, as before, are the AKF52 ‘medium grain’
monitor with dot pitch 0.42mm and the AKF50 ‘fine grain’ monitor with a
dot pitch 0.28mm. These are shown as /52 and /50 in the table.)
8.12
  RRP  REP
8.12
A4000/52 HD210  £849  £704
8.12
A4000/50  £896  £751
8.12
A3020/52 floppy  £599  £528
8.12
A3020/50  £646  £575
8.12
A3020/52 HD80  £749  £645
8.12
A3020/50  £796  £692
8.12
A3010 no monitor  † £399  † £399
8.12
A3010/52  † £599  † £599
8.12
† These prices include either the Learning Curve software or the Early
Years software.
8.12
Software packs
8.12
As previously, Acorn offers some good value software packs for purchase
with the computers. The Learning Curve is unchanged (Advance + PC Soft +
demos) as is the Home Office pack (EasiWriter + Datapower + PipeDream 4
+ demos) but the Early Years pack has been revamped.
8.12
The Early Years pack now contains Betsi (interactive adventure, reviewed
8.6 p78), Music Box (music exploration package, reviewed 7.10 p78), Spex
(2D/3D planner, reviewed 7.2 p75) and Dazzle from SEMERC, a new art
package which is simple enough for Key Stage 1 and yet can be expanded
for use up to Key Stage 3.
8.12
The Early Years and Learning Curve packs add £53 to the price of the
computer (except A3010, with which it is included as standard) and the
Home Office adds £88 to the price.
8.12
Just to confuse matters, the Home Office pack is only available with the
ACB60 and the A4000, the Learning Curve is only available with the
ACB60, the A4000 and the A3010 whereas the Early Years pack is available
with the A7000 as well as the ACB60, the A4000 and the A3010! (Spot the
logic!)
8.12
The future
8.12
Quite frankly, I had begun to think that it was the beginning of the end
for Acorn with Acorn dealers waging war on one another and PC dealers
coming in and taking over. However, with the new Acorn Agency scheme and
this new range of computers, I have renewed hope for Acorn. I know it
won’t be a walk-over, but Acorn does now have something to shout about
again and does have a future in the education market. u
8.12
4Mation    14 Castle Park Road, Whiddon Valley, Barnstaple, Devon, EX32
8PA. (01271­25353) (01271­22974)
8.12
Abacus Training    29 Okus Grove, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wilts, SN2
6QA. (01793 723347) (01793-723347)
8.12
Acorn Direct   FREEPOST, 13 Dennington Road, Wellingborough, Northants,
NN8 2BR. (01933­279300)
8.12
Acorn Computers Ltd    Acorn House, Vision Park, Histon, Cambridge, CB4
4AE. (01223­254254) (01223­254262)
8.12
Akalat Publishing   P.O. Box 231, Barton, Bedford, MK45 4HQ,
(01582­881614) (01582­881614)
8.12
Aleph One Ltd   The Old Courthouse, Bottisham, Cambridge, CB5 9BA.
(01223­811679) (01223­812713)
8.12
APDL    39 Knighton Park Road, Sydenham, London, SE26 5RN.
8.12
Atomwide Ltd   7 The Metro Centre, Bridge Road, Orpington, Kent, BR5
2BE. (01689­814500) (01689­814501)
8.12
Avie Electronics (p5)  7 Overbury Road, Norwich. (01603­416863)
(01603­788640)
8.12
Beebug Ltd    117 Hatfield Road, St Albans, Herts, AL1 4JS.
(01727­840303) (01727­860263)
8.12
CD Circle   Desktop Laminations, P.O.Box 332, Bristol, BS99 7XL.
(0117­979-9979)
8.12
Clares Micro Supplies   98 Middlewich Road, Rudheath, Northwich,
Cheshire, CW9 7DA. (01606­48511) (01606­48512)
8.12
Colton Software   2 Signet Court, Swanns Road, Cambridge, CB5 8LA.
(01223­311881) (01223­312010)
8.12
Computer Concepts   Gaddesden Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP2 6EX.
(01442­63933) (01442­231632)
8.12
Cumana Ltd   Pines Trading Estate, Broad Street, Guildford, GU3 3BH.
(01483­503121) (01483­503326)
8.12
Desktop Laminations    P.O.Box 332, Bristol, BS99 7XL. (0117­979-9979)
8.12
Hodge Electronic Services    16 Mold Road, Mynydd Isa, Clwyd, CH7 6TD.
(01244­550803)
8.12
Hugh Eagle   48 Smithbarn, Horsham, Sussex, RH13 6DX.
8.12
iSV Products   86, Turnberry, Home Farm, Bracknell, Berks, RG12 8ZH.
(01344­55769)
8.12
Kudlian Soft   8 Barrow Road, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, CV8 1EH.
(01926­851147)
8.12
Longman Logotron   124 Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge
CB4 4ZS. (01223­425558) (01223­425349)
8.12
LOOKsystems   47 Goodhale Road, Bowthorpe, Norwich, NR5 9AY.
(01603­748253) (01603­740203)
8.12
Millipede Electronic Graphics   Cambridge House, Hargrave, Bury St
Edmunds, Suffolk, IP29 5HS. (01284­850594) (01284­850351)
8.12
Minerva Systems   Minerva House, Baring Crescent, Exeter, EX1 1TL.
(01392­437756) (01392­421762)
8.12
Northwest SEMERC   1 Broadbent Road, Watersheddings, Oldham, OL1 4LB.
(0161­627­4469)
8.12
Oak Solutions   Dial House, 12 Chapel Street, Halton, Leeds, LS15 7RN
(0113­232­6992) (0113­232­6993) [e-mail]
8.12
Quantum Software   35 Pinewood Park, Deans, Livingston, EH54 8NN.
(01506­411162)
8.12
Renegade Software   C1, Metropolitan Wharf, Wapping Wall, London, E1 9SS
8.12
Repair Zone   421 Sprowston Road, Norwich, NR3 4EH. (01603­400477)
(01603­417447)
8.12
Swift Software   347 London Road, Hazel Grove, Stockport, SK7 6AA.
(0161­477­8405)
8.12
The ARM Club   Freepost ND6573, London, N12 0BR. (0171­624­9918)
(0181­446­3020)
8.12
US Gold Ltd   Units 2/3, Holford Way, Holford, Birmingham, B6 7AX.
(0121­625­3366) (0121­606­1822)
8.12
Warm Silence Software   St Catherine’s College, Manor Road, Oxford, OX1
3UJ. (01865­54382)
8.12
WECC   Manor Hall, Sandy Lane, Leamington Spa, CV32 6RD. (01926­413741)
(01926­413748)
8.12
Norwich Computer Services     96a Vauxhall Street, Norwich, NR2 2SD.
(01603-766592) (764011)
8.12
       email: [e-mail]
8.12
Fact-File
8.12
(The numbers in italic are fax numbers)
8.12
Government Health Warning − Reading this could seriously effect your
spiritual health
8.12
I’m beginning to realise that I might have upset a few people (moi?!) by
some comments I made concerning the way God ‘rescued NCS’ by the fact
that the Risc PCs came out at the time they did. I think I gave you the
impression that God was saying to people, “You will buy a Risc PC from
Paul Beverley, now!” Oops!!
8.12
The facts are that if the Risc PC had not come out when it did, and if
lots of people had not bought their Risc PCs from NCS, I would have gone
bankrupt. Now, I have very little control over people’s choice to buy
from NCS, apart from trying to give you a good service and tell you
about new machines a.s.a.p., and I have even less control over when
Acorn will launch new machines and how good they will be. So what I do
is pray to God − about everything − big and little, and my experience is
that God seems to look after me. So all I can do is say thank you for
rescuing me and continue to try to trust him each time another big wave
comes.
8.12
So, will we survive this latest crisis (see above)? I don’t know but I
do know that nothing that can happen to me is as important as knowing
the love of God in my life − nothing!!
8.12
P.B.
8.12
Paul Beverley
8.12
Comings and Goings
8.12
Goodbye − After over two years with NCS, Matthew Hunter is moving on to
pastures new. Thanks for all your hard work, Matthew − good luck in the
future! Hello to James Taylor who joined NCS just in time to help mail
out the last issue of Archive. We took him on when we realised Matthew
was leaving and he’s certainly keen to promote Acorns which is just as
well because...
8.12
Bad news for (some) Acorn dealers
8.12
Acorn’s new policy of selling direct to schools and using about twenty-
five ‘Acorn Agents’ is good news for them but rather dire news for the
rest of us. Since Acorn’s education price is less than the dealer price,
it means that all Acorn dealers, except the 25, have had all their
education sales taken away over night.
8.12
The other bit of bad news for Acorn dealers is that Acorn have slashed
the dealer margin by a third, i.e. to make the same profit, we will have
to sell half as many machines again as we were doing.
8.12
Is there any future for Acorn now?
8.12
Strange as it may seem, I’m more optimistic than I have been for a while
about Acorn’s future (though not too sure about our future!) As painful
as it is to many of us, Acorn had to do it. They had to make it so that
the Acorn dealers were not under-cutting one another and then being
undercut again by box-shifters. I won’t win friends amongst the other
dealers by saying this, but many dealers were migrating to PCs anyway.
Because of all the inter-Acorn undercutting, there is often more to be
made by selling PCs than Acorns − and there is no sentiment in business.
I know of one large (so-called) Acorn dealer who sold a huge network of
PCs into a school against a local dealer who was trying to get them to
buy Acorns.
8.12
Acorn knew that, to survive, they would have to help those dealers who
were genuinely helping them, i.e. selling Acorn kit above PCs. Now that
the Acorn Agents are fighting the PC dealers rather than other Acorn
dealers/box-shifters, they can make some inroads into the PC market −
and they are doing so. There have been quite a few cases recently where
Acorns have won contracts in schools which have not previously been
Acorn schools. And with the new A7000 and Risc PC 700 machines, we’ve
got more to fight with, so yes, there is still a future for Acorn.
8.12
That’s it for now. Happy reading!
8.12
P.S. Special thanks to all who got articles in to me extra fast − I
couldn’t fit them all in after all that! Sorry!!
8.12
The New Acorn A7000
8.12
Use whichever of the two photos
8.12
you think will come out better
8.12
in black and white
8.12
ACB75 vs ACB45
8.12
Twice the HD size
8.12
Twice the VRAM
8.12
Improved OS
8.12
Improved sound
8.12
Faster processor
8.12
Slightly cheaper
8.12
!
8.12
Products Available
8.12
Archive CD − Jumping unashamedly on the bandwagon, NCS has now released
an Archive CD­ROM! The contents are as follows...
8.12
− Archive Impression Files − all of the Archive magazines from 4.5 (the
first one to be done on Acorn machines rather than Macs) up to and
including this one (8.12).
8.12
− Archive Words discs, again from 4.5 to 8.12 − these are text files of
all the articles in those magazines so you can search through for that
elusive article (or was it just a hint?) that you remember reading in
Archive... somewhere!
8.12
− Archive Products Available file − the text of all the Products
Available columns in all the Archive magazines right back to Volume 1,
Issue 1! (“Did anyone ever produce a program for Acorn machines to count
hen’s teeth?”)
8.12
− Archive Monthly Program Discs right from Volume 1 to the present
issue. It’s quite fun looking back at some of the ‘amazing programs’ we
published nearly eight years ago!
8.12
− Archive Utility Discs all eight discs as detailed in section 28 of the
Price List.
8.12
− Archive Hints & Tips Discs − the text of all the hints and tips ever
published in Archive, right back to the days of good old Arthur (the OS
before RISC OS).
8.12
− Archive Glossary − a glossary of almost 300 technical Acorn-related
words, with over 9,000 words of explanation as to what they all mean.
8.12
− Archive PD Discs − Lots of the old ‘Careware’ and ‘Shareware’ discs
that we used to distribute.
8.12
− Archive Multimedia Swap Shop − Paul Hooper has sent us all the best
multimedia applications/binders that he has collected.
8.12
− PLUS a special guest appearance of the oldest-established Archive
author, who has written articles in every single Archive magazine
(barring about two in the first volume) for eight solid years.
8.12
Our very own Gerald Fitton has sent us sample discs for his three disc
subscriptions: Z-Line for users of Fireworkz, PipeLine for users of
PipeDream and I­Line for users of Style, Publisher and P-Plus.
8.12
The Archive CD-ROM costs £15 inc VAT to non-subscribers or £12 to
subscribers.
8.12
As a special launch offer, we will make it available for £8 if purchased
at the same time as renewing your subscription. This is a special offer
strictly until Friday 15th September only. (You may take advantage of
this offer by renewing your subscription now, even if it is not due
until later in the year. You may even avoid an increase in the
subscription rate by doing so!)
8.12
AudioManager − CD Circle have produced an 8-bit mono sound card which
plugs into the parallel port of the Risc PC to offer sound facilities to
the PC card. The kit includes the dongle with through-printer facilities
(which supports all known dongles), combined speaker and microphone with
battery holder input/output/9v power socket and touch button high/low
volume control. Also included is a Windows Voice and Icon enhancement
feature and the Microsoft Home CD Sampler, with previews of over 55
programs and 8 Windows games. Windows and 8Mb of memory allocated to the
PC card, are required to use the package. The price is £85 inclusive, or
£70 to CD Circle members.
8.12
Big Ben Club Open Day − The Dutch Acorn Computer User Society, the Big
Ben Club, will be holding their 13th annual open day on Saturday
September 23rd. The event will be held at the Community Centre, “De
Kiekmure”, Tesselschadelaan 1, at Harderwijk between 10 and 4. Admission
is free to club members, Hfl. 7,50 to non-members. More information can
be obtained by contacting Big Ben Club, P.O.Box 1189, 6801 BD Arnhem,
The Netherlands. A bulletin board is also available on (31) (0)20-
6631849, and a fax machine on (31) (0)70-3663194.
8.12
Canon printers − Canon have changed their range of bubblejet printers by
revising earlier printers and adding of some entirely new products.
8.12
BJC70 − Portable colour and mono printer, 360 dpi in colour, 720 dpi
with smoothing in mono − £310.
8.12
BJ-200ex − Mono, 360 dpi (720 dpi with smoothing) − £260.
8.12
BJC-4000 − Colour and mono, 360 dpi colour, 720 dpi mono with smoothing
− £320.
8.12
BJ-600e − Colour and mono, four separate colour ink wells, 360 dpi in
colour, 720 dpi in mono, with smoothing − £445.
8.12
These printers will work with Acorn !Printers 1.28c, although some
resolutions may not be available (the BJC600 driver does not support the
720×360 dpi mode, for example). For additional speed, the Canon
Turbodriver also supports all the above printers, although again some
resolutions may not be available. Add £45 to the above prices if you
would like a Turbo Driver as well as the printer, which includes a
special printer cable. If you plan to use the Acorn drivers, and do not
have a printer cable, we can supply a standard cable for £10.
8.12
Cross Stitch − iSV Products’ cross-stitch design package allows sprites
to be used as input, to produce a full cross-stitch pattern, using up to
64 colours from 512 named industry-standard thread colours. The design
can be saved as a drawfile for importing into DTP packages, as a colour
or black and white design. It gives support for a wide variety of
materials, and provides automatic conversion of sprite colours to named
colours, automatic calculation of finished design size, definable
background colour and over 10,000 stitches per pattern. The price is
£21.50 including p&p from iSV or £20 through Archive.
8.12
DEC_dATA on WWW − DEC_dATA now have their brochure on the World Wide
Web, including product information and prices of Acorn Clipart and
multimedia products. The URL is ‘http://www.zynet.co.uk/decdata/’. The
DEC_dATA e-mail address is at [e-mail].
8.12
Digital Darkroom 2 − This is a TransGraphic viewer from Desktop
Laminations, supplied with a version of TransPCD which will read Kodak
and all Corel Professional PhotoCD-ROMs. Facilities include variable
size thumbnails and slideshow. It will recognise other Transloaders,
such as TransTiff supplied with Impression. DL also produce a set of
loaders to use with this application − see below. The price is £45
inclusive, or £35 for members of the CD Circle.
8.12
Fire & Ice is a game which has already received good reviews from other
platforms, notably Atari and Amiga. Now it’s been converted for the
Archimedes by Paul Chapman and is available from Renegade at £25.99 (£24
through Archive). For more details, see the review on page 40.
8.12
Font Trix PRO − This package from iSV is an enhanced version of the Font
Trix application supplied with their Font Designer’s Toolkit. It will
load RISC OS 2, 3 and Base0 outline fonts, make real outline fonts
(rather than transformed versions), will auto-adjust kern-pairs, make
new styles, load and save transformations, has automatic shifting of
scaffold lines and can repair faulty scaffolding, and can adjust
skeletons and bounding boxes, etc. The price is £25 (+£1.50 p&p) from
iSV (or £24 through Archive), or £15 (+£1.50 p&p) for owners of the Font
Designer’s Toolkit.
8.12
Game On! Release 2 − The ARM Club have released a new version of their
Game On! software, which allows many non-Risc PC compatible programs,
particularly games, to work on the Risc PC. The new version has a
redesigned front end and database for improved speed and ease of use.
New features include support for both RISC OS 3 and 3.1 mode extension
modules, and a method for preventing games reducing the font cache to
zero. Support is included for more games than the earlier releases, as
well as other applications such as 65Host, Satcom, and some music module
players (such as trackers) are also supported. The database has been
updated, with all games tested for compatibility with and without Game
On installed. The price is £15 inclusive from the ARM Club, or £5 to
upgrade from the earlier release.
8.12
Indigo CD-ROM drives − Cumana have dropped the prices on their Dual-
Speed Indigo CD-ROM drives for the Risc PC, the CAA300i is £125 +VAT
+p&p or £150 through Archive, the CAA300iA (with audio mixer) is £175
+VAT +p&p or £205 through Archive. The range has been extended with two
quad-speed variants, the CAA340i (£199 +VAT +p&p − £235 through Archive)
and the CAA340iA (£249 +VAT +p&p − £290 through Archive), which make use
of the IDE/ATAPI interface and do not need an additional controller
card. Alternatively, the CXX441(£199 +VAT +p&p − £235 through Archive)
is a quad-speed SCSI drive − if you do not already have one, you will
also need a SCSI card to use it.
8.12
Loaders/Savers for Impression − This is a set of extensions to Style
(3.06 or later), Publisher (4.04 or later) and Publisher Plus (5.04 and
later). When installed, they give extended facilities for importing and
exporting Rich Text Format (RTF) files (as used by Microsoft Word and
the Acorn PocketBook) and WordPerfect 5.1 files, which will be of great
help to people who regularly need to exchange files with other
platforms. It is important to note that it will only transfer the text,
and most style/effect information, but not graphics or some text
formatting information (such as multiple columns and page size details,
which are handled differently on Impression). Two other utilities are
also included which set up translation tables for fonts and characters,
so you can configure the way in which transferred documents appear. The
RTF Loader/Savers cost £29 +VAT +p&p from CC or £34 through Archive.
8.12
MacroLife − This is an excellent multitasking version of Conway’s Game
of Life that allows for huge life planes which can be viewed at any
scale and scrolled around in a window while it’s running. MacroLife has
now reached version 1.8 and is now RISC OS 2 compatible, faster to load
and even uses a little less memory. The full program can be obtained by
sending a cheque for £8 to Chris Taylor at his new address, 32 Burghley
Court, Great Holm, Milton Keynes, MK8 9EL (01908-569556). Four pounds of
that will be donated to the charity, Motivation. (See the review on page
35.)
8.12
Magpie CD-ROM − Longman Logotron have released a new ‘value added’
version of Magpie, their multimedia application. It is supplied with
ready-to-run projects created by existing users, and a wide range of
samples, clipart, and sound samples. Magpie allows pupils to create
multimedia projects by combining a variety of resources, including
words, pictures, video and sound on the same ‘page’ of an electronic
book, using simple drag and drop techniques. The single user version
costs £59, a primary site licence £190 and a secondary licence £330.
Registered Magpie users can upgrade to this latest version for half
price. All prices are exclusive of VAT and postage. (£69, £215 and £370
respectively through Archive)
8.12
Movie FS − Warm Silence Software have updated and renamed their
extensions to Replay, allowing it to playback films and samples not
normally supported. File formats include Video for Windows (.AVI),
QuickTime (.MOV), Animator Pro (.FLI), and WaveForms (.WAV). The price
is £26.42 (no VAT, including p&p).
8.12
Online Magazine − This is yet another Acorn magazine that is produced
“by enthusiasts for enthusiasts” to refute our claim in the advertising
blurb we have been sending out lately. Online Magazine has been going
for four years now as “a publication for (hopefully) light, humorous and
basically easy reading about Acorn related products. It is a decidedly
‘supplemental’, non-technical publication (as much as is possible with
the subject matter) aimed at teachers and school technicians.” says John
Hughes, Co-Editor. John is co-editing because John Hammell, the Founding
Editor is in and out of hospital for horrific-sounding operations to his
legs following a terrible road accident some years ago. Hope things are
soon improved, John!
8.12
The issues of Online Magazine that John sent to me are all 50 − 60 pages
A5, mostly filled with articles although there are a few adverts. It
seems quite good value at £17 for 12 issues. Send cheques, made out to
‘Online Magazine’ to John Hughes, 74 Kilbagie Street, Kincardine, Fife,
FK10 4QX.
8.12
PickAPic − Hugh Eagle now has an updated version of his PickAPic clipart
viewer and organiser available. It should be available from PD
libraries, including APDL. Textual descriptions can now be included, and
pictures can be displayed much more quickly, by storing thumbnails of
the images in a special directory.
8.12
Portfolio − A new presentation package from Warwickshire Educational
Computing Centre (WECC). The package will produce a slideshow from a
directory of images (including Sprite and Draw, in normal and Squashed
formats) and a number of foreign formats, including Windows BMP and
JPEG. Display is full screen, in whatever screen mode is selected at the
time, and control can be automatic, manual or by script file. To start a
display, simply drag a directory of images to the PortFolio icon on the
iconbar. Sounds can also be associated with screens. A companion
program, Gallery, allows multiple images to be printed eight to a page,
including the full filename if desired. The prices are £25 (Single user
and primary Site Licence) and £29 (secondary Site Licence) for
Portfolio, and £15 (S/U and primary S/L) and £25 (Secondary S/L) for
Gallery.
8.12
Printers 1.28c − We are now able to supply the latest version of Acorn’s
printer manager !Printers. It is supplied with two discs, and paper
documentation, so the price is £5 to cover duplication and p&p.
8.12
Proteus − Cumana have released a combination drive, which integrates a
quad speed CD-ROM drive, and a 650Mb rewritable disc, which can be
formatted and partitioned in the same way as any SCSI hard disc. The
removable discs are housed in a permanent plastic case, like a floppy
disc. The access time is 165ms, and the average transfer rates are
between 518 and 1141 Kb/s. The drive needs a SCSI interface to operate,
and is available in internal (£549 +VAT +p&p, or £635 through Archive)
and external (£699 +VAT +p&p, or £805 through Archive) versions.
8.12
Risc PC 486 cards − At the time of writing, projected availability of
the PC cards for the Risc PC is still set at the end of August. The
special price of £99+VAT will end after 31st August, unless the card is
purchased with a Risc PC. After that time, anybody who is not purchasing
a Risc PC will have to pay the full price of £199+VAT. If you have been
holding off placing an order until the cards are more freely available,
then you need to order as soon as possible, and certainly before 31st
August. (We gather that the new batch of PC cards are the same as
existing cards, i.e. they do not yet have any enhanced capabilities.)
8.12
Technology & Design (NW SEMERC) − This package allows pupils to carry
out a design brief for something within a fictional town, covering the
community, the environment, at home, at play, at school and recreation,
using a large number of Acorn Replay and photographic images. The price
is £59 +VAT +p&p, and the package requires My World 2.
8.12
Three Little Pigs (Tempest Publishing) − For children just starting to
read, this package aims to develop numeracy skills, as well as literacy,
and an awareness of their environment. It comprises an interactive
talking story and the characters and themes appear in a set of related
activities. The price is £25.49 +VAT +p&p, or £31 through Archive.
8.12
Trans-Graphic Loaders − A new set of graphics loaders for use with
Artworks, Style and Publisher, Ovation Pro and Digital Darkroom 2 (see
above). The Trans loaders are produced in conjunction with Computer
Concepts. The pack includes translators for BMP/DIB files, GIF
(including conversion of attached text), Windows ICO files, PCX and WPG
files. The price is £45 inclusive from Desktop Laminations (£35 to
members of the CD Circle).
8.12
Review software received...
8.12
We have received review copies of the following: •extASM assembler and
AOF utility (lu), •Strike (e), •Portfolio (e).
8.12
e=Education, l=Language, u=Utility. u
8.12
Archive Monthly Disc
8.12
u Addsprites utility from Andrew Clover, Doggysoft − page 21.
8.12
u Beginner’s Basic program from Ray Favre − page 56.
8.12
u C++ sample program from Tony Houghton − page 65.
8.12
u Files from Gerald Fitton’s Column − page 23.
8.12
u Sample Keystroke definitions from Stuart Halliday − page 72.
8.12
u Application/binder catalogue from Paul Hooper’s Multimedia
Column − page 15.
8.12
u Files from Keith Hodge’s Risc PC Column − page 22.
8.12
u An article from Simon Anthony − it’s fun, but it’s too general for
inclusion in the magazine.
8.12
u Two articles about installing Windows ’95 from Dave Harris and Mike
Clarkson.
8.12
Avie
8.12
New artwork
8.12
The Engineer Speaks!
8.12
Ray Maidstone
8.12
Dirty CDs!
8.12
Following on from last month’s whinge about dust, I ought to point out
that CD-ROM drives are just beginning to show similar signs of
contamination. Fans that use unfiltered air, fill up the drive’s optical
heads, scanning mechanisms and disc trays. Whilst I don’t mind being
paid to clean these, I’d rather help people to help themselves than
repair things! If you have a CD-ROM drive in your computer, fans and
filters should be fitted as described last month. CD drive cleaning kits
are in the same league as video and floppy cleaning kits, i.e. only
suitable for superficial use. Nothing replaces cleaning by a competent
engineer. CDs should be cleaned from the centre to the outside using
optical grade lint or some other soft, non-abrasive material.
8.12
IDE drives
8.12
To clarify last month’s comment about IDE drive communication, the
general rule is that cables should be no longer than 15“ (about 40cm).
The positioning of drives along the cable can lead to problems with
hardware items recognising each other. Experimentation is needed − I
have found that some set-ups like to have the motherboard in the middle
of the cable with a drive at either end, whereas others like to have the
main pcb at one end of the chain. Some 3½” removables will only operate
as the master drive, and some combinations simply refuse to work at all!
8.12
Screen savers
8.12
− the truth behind the myth! There are several screen savers on offer,
but many of these only address part of the problem. Whilst it is nice to
get maximum life from the phosphor dots of your tube, it is also very
advantageous to look after the unseen workers, namely the line output
stage and the power supply. For various technical reasons, the screen
savers that simply blank the screen do no favours to the power supply,
and certain kinds can even damage the line output stage. Some display a
variety of pretty pictures, which may draw the attention of passers-by
and prevent burn-in but, as these are usually bright enough to view
under normal conditions, they are not very effective in helping the
whole monitor. From an engineering point of view, I have not seen a
screen saver that fits all the requirements, and so I designed my own a
while back that did. If you would like to write your own, the ideal
criteria are: no phosphors brighter than 20%, between 20% and 50% of the
screen covered, and no static pixels. This looks after everything!
Basically, the display should look like an ever-shifting night sky, not
the Star Trek radial starfield type of screen saver so often seen.
8.12
Well, strike me!
8.12
Finally, on a seasonal note, we’ve been very grateful for the recent
heavy storms − repairs have flooded in! Seriously though, when there is
thunder and lightning around, please disconnect your equipment, if at
all possible. It does not take a direct strike to cause unnecessary
expense and heartache − fluctuations in power from the mains can do
quite serious damage. I have also been sent some call-logging equipment
and several modems which have been damaged irreparably by the phone
system being taken out by the storms, so don’t forget to unplug hardware
from phone sockets as well! u
8.12
New Machines − A Technical Look
8.12
Matthew, James & Paul
8.12
RISC OS 3.6
8.12
(Matthew Hunter’s article in Archive 7.8 p13, detailed the differences
between RISC OS 3.1 and 3.5. All we will do here is to cover the
advances made to reach RISC OS 3.6, as supplied in the new computers.)
8.12
Once again, the upgrade consists of an updated version rather than a
completely new system, and, at first sight, very little seems to have
changed since RISC OS 3.5, certainly not in the user interface, although
there are some subtle changes.
8.12
Apps
8.12
The Apps system has changed again. The major applications have been
moved into ROM, while some of the less frequently used applications
remain in the Apps directory on the hard disc, and are added to the
iconbar Apps folder during the boot sequence. This has the advantage
that the major applications are in ROM, and immediately accessible,
while retaining the versatility of adding applications simply by copying
them into Apps on the hard disc. The directory display shows the list of
standard applications available through Apps, of which Alarm, Chars,
Draw, Edit, Help, Paint, and Printers are stored in ROM.
8.12
With many of the applications in ROM, the memory requirements are in
some cases substantially less than in RISC OS 3.5. The table below shows
the usage on a Risc PC 700, and the old Risc PC 600. If you run all the
applications that are in ROM, they take up 280Kb compared to 1208Kb when
run from disc on RISC OS 3.5.
8.12
The applications have gone through what are, for the most part, minor
changes, although now both Paint and Draw can load JPEG images directly
(i.e. no need to use ChangeFSI). In the case of Draw, the image is
retained within the drawfile as a JPEG image and is decompressed
directly to the screen. Draw creates a “JPEG Workspace” − a resizable
dynamic area the size of which is dependent on the width, in pixels, of
the image. There is a noticeable slowing down in rendering the image in
this way over a sprite, but decompression is considerably faster than
ChangeFSI, and it benefits from the much smaller file size of JPEG
images. The only restriction is that JPEGs cannot be rotated within a
drawfile. Draw also has additional export options, as shown on the menu
below, including saving as a PostScript file. (To make use of this
option, you will need a PostScript printer driver loaded.)
8.12
CDFS and audio
8.12
For compact disc users to take advantage of the audio mixing capability,
there is a new ‘Volume’ menu item on the CDFS icon on the iconbar. This
allows you to set the volume of music CDs which are being mixed with the
computer’s sound system.
8.12
There is also an option within Configure to select whether or not to use
16-bit sound, since it could clash with software which does not access
the sound system through official ‘channels’.
8.12
System changes
8.12
In increasing the ROM size from 2Mb to 4Mb, Acorn has given itself room
to expand the facilities.
8.12
Device drivers − Device drivers are now included for PS2 type mice,
although only the A7000 hardware currently supports them, and CDFS is
now included as standard (v2.28) along with several softloadable drivers
for specific CD-ROM drives (ATAPI and the EESOX drivers for Chinon,
Hitachi, Philips, Sony and Toshiba). DOSFS has also been updated to
0.62.
8.12
Networking − There have been substantial additions to the networking
available as standard. All the Access and Ethernet modules are included,
as well as the TCP/IP modules for Internet connection (although you will
need additional software to access the Internet). All that is required
to create a working network is two or more RISC OS 3.6 computers with
Ethernet cards, and cables to connect them. Access Plus software
(allowing password protection of directories on your hard disc) and
Access CD Share are provided on hard disc.
8.12
Toolbox − All the Toolbox modules, as supplied with the Acorn C/C++
package, are included in the ROM, reducing the overhead involved in
using Toolbox applications. Unfortunately, some of the modules are
earlier versions than those supplied with the recent update to C/C++.
Even so, the improvements offered by the Toolbox outweigh the memory
overheads − and remember that, as with the shared C-Library, only one
set of modules is needed, no matter how many applications are using
them.
8.12
System resources − These have changed very little. Some of the small
utilities which were stored on disc in RISC OS 3.5 have moved into ROM,
such as addapp and repeat, and there is a new directory within Choices
which contains the options for Printers. Previously, they were stored
within the !Printers directory but, of course, that is not possible with
!Printers in ROM.
8.12
Configuration − Configure is still run by double-clicking !Boot from the
desktop. It now contains options to set the number of CD-ROM drives
available, whether to use 16-bit sound, and also a mouse type which now
includes PS2 mouse support.
8.12
How fast is the ARM700?
8.12
Following on from the JPEG decompression speed tests in the last
article, Matthew repeated them on the new machines to give some
comparisons. If you check back with the original, you will see that
there appears to have been a slight degradation in performance. This is
because these tests were carried out with the latest version of
ChangeFSI, which offers more facilities but does seem slower overall.
The MHz column gives the clock speeds of the different machines, and
therefore the maximum theoretical speed improvement.
8.12
All the tests were carried out using the sa01 image from the images
directory, and ChangeFSI v1.12. First in 480×352 resolution (remember
the A7000 does not have VRAM):
8.12
and then at 800×600:
8.12
As expected, the A7000 fails to keep up with the Risc PC 600 due to the
lack of VRAM, as shown by the large drop in performance as the
resolution and number of colours increase. The Risc PC 700 performs
better than the 600, the increase being around half of the increase in
clock speed which is not unusual since other components in the system
will not be operating any faster.
8.12
The machines used for the tests were:
8.12
(a) an original Risc PC 600 with 2Mb VRAM and      12Mb DRAM,
8.12
(b) an A7000 with no VRAM and 8Mb DRAM,
8.12
(c) a new Risc PC 700 with 2Mb VRAM + 8Mb      DRAM.
8.12
A second floating point intensive test was also carried out, which will
hopefully be of more use when the ARM700/FPA11 is released. The test was
raytracing an image 250×200 pixels using POVray 2.2. The Risc PC 700
took 12m 43s, the Risc PC 600 took 15m 45s whereas a 25MHz A5000 with
FPA10 took only 2m 52s. For interest, I have also run the test on a
number of PC cards and real PCs. The standard Acorn PC card takes around
26 minutes, the DX2/66 took 38 seconds (as did a true DX2/66), the DX2/
80 takes 32 seconds, and a Pentium 90 reduced the time to 11 seconds, so
there is still some work for Acorn to do!
8.12
RISC OS 3.6 for all?
8.12
Owners of current Risc PCs will be pleased to hear that a “RISC OS 3.6½”
upgrade will be made available, although not until the New Year. This
is, presumably, because they had to concentrate on getting a version
working with the new machines and it can take months to get ROMs blown.
Also, there are potential problems in handling hard drives which have
already been formatted with the old version of filecore, so the upgrade
is not a task to be undertaken lightly.
8.12
Hardware changes
8.12
The changes in the underlying hardware of the Risc PC have been mostly
minor ones, although the motherboard has been changed. All the main
components are in the same places, but it is obvious that some of the
sound hardware has been altered to support 16-bit sound and the audio
mixing facilities, including a new link which takes the CD-audio
directly off the CD-ROM drive to the motherboard.
8.12
The A7000 uses a completely new board, on which the ARM7500 (clocked at
32MHz) is surface mounted, as is the ARM250 on the A3010/20 and A4000.
It is housed in a metal case (to keep the cost down) but with a plastic
shroud to make it tone in better with the 600/700 machines. Service
engineers will be pleased to hear that the metalwork is more user-
friendly than the sharp edges of the A5000 case and drive shelf!
8.12
The speed of the ARM610 supplied in the Risc PC 600 has been increased
from 30 to 33MHz, while the ARM710 is clocked at 40MHz (Acorn say this
will deliver 32MIPs). All Risc PCs are now shipped with at least 4Mb of
RAM, and Conner hard drives are still used.
8.12
The ATAPI CD-ROM drive is manufactured by Sony, and is a tray-loading
drive. However, it has a mechanism to enable the drive to operate in
tower mode. There are four rubber ‘feet’, which can be swung into place
over the CD to stop it falling off. The idea is not to turn them in and
out every time you put in a CD but to use the two ‘lower’ feet,
depending on which side the machine is tipped. The A7000 does not come
with feet, so we feel it is best kept horizontally mounted or you will
block the ventilation holes. Also, since it is a single fixed-size box,
there is little point in using it in tower mode.
8.12
Wot?! No VRAM?
8.12
You may well be wondering why the A7000 has been made with no VRAM
facility at all − that sounds rather limiting in terms of the graphics.
Well, compared to the Risc PC 600/700, it is.
8.12
The first thing to note is that the ARM7500 is a monster chip with
almost 300 pins! If it had to have all the connections for VRAM as well,
it would push the cost way up again.
8.12
Why then did Acorn bother to develop a computer that had no VRAM? Well,
I’m not sure that they did! I think they developed a pcb for a set-top
box and decided that it wasn’t much extra work to put it in a computer
box and sell it as an A7000 − another example of the kind of spin-off
that ARM Ltd and Online Media can produce for Acorn Computers.
8.12
Wot?! Only 2Mb VRAM?
8.12
Yes, I’m afraid that we have not yet got the 4Mb of VRAM that some of us
were hoping for. The technical issues involved with processor speeds,
I/O speeds and operating system software were just too much for Acorn to
justify the development work needed for a relatively esoteric gain. How
many of us can afford the kind of 21“ monitor needed to do justice to a
machine with 4Mb of VRAM? One day... u
8.12
Small Ads
8.12
(Small ads for Acorn 32­bit computers and related products are free for
subscribers but we reserve the right to publish all, part or none of the
material you send. Sending small ads on disc is helpful but not
essential. Ed)
8.12
210Mb IDE HD £60. 110Mb IDE HD £40. Both have been used in a Risc PC.
Wearnes IDE CD­ROM drive (need to buy driver software at £19 +VAT) £40.
RISC OS 2 PRMs (still useful) £25. All plus £5 p&p unless collected.
John on 01328­864177.
8.12
8Mb SIMM, £200. Dave on 0181­992­1720.
8.12
A3000 2Mb computer, Philips colour monitor, LX400 printer £450 o.n.o.
Similar system but with Acorn colour monitor £450 o.n.o. Phone
01773­872927.
8.12
A3000 1­4Mb u/g IFEL £50. Hazel or Pat on 01375­375514.
8.12
A3010, 2Mb RAM, 14 months old, RISC OS 3.1, Philips colour monitor,
games inc. Flashback, Stunt Racer 2000, Lemmings, Speedball, Chocks
Away, E­Type 2, excellent condition, £425. Phone 01732­454707.
8.12
A4000, 2Mb RAM, 80Mb HD, and AKF18 monitor. Includes Advance software.
Hardly used £575. 300Mb SCSI drive, £125. CC scanner interface (card
only) £50. Phone 01736­63918.
8.12
A4000, multisync monitor, 4Mb RAM, 80Mb HD, lots of quality software,
wordprocessing, graphics, games, music, educational, etc. £550 o.n.o.
After sale help/advice available. Phone 01403­266728.
8.12
A5000, 4Mb RAM, 100Mb HD, RISC OS 3.1, Eizo 9060S multiscan monitor,
Acorn I/O+Midi podule £850 o.n.o. HP 500C colour printer £200. John
Savage on 01525­237625.
8.12
A5000, 4Mb RAM, 120Mb HD, RISC OS 3.1, with Taxan 775 monitor. Excellent
condition. £650 for quick sale. Mike on 01903­815976 after 6.
8.12
A5000, 4Mb RAM 80Mb HD, AKF50 monitor £700. Phone 0131­447­8624.
8.12
A5000, 4Mb RAM, 100Mb HD, RISC OS 3.1, Eizo 9060S Multisync monitor,
Serial Port High Speed Dual Serial Card, PC Emulator, £800 o.n.o. Paul
Moore on 01928­511060 (day) or 01606­871872 (eves/w/e).
8.12
A5000, 33MHz 80Mb HD, 4Mb memory, AKF50 monitor, PC Emulator (DR DOS 6),
EasiWriter, Datapower − all for £750. Also Ovation £30, Resultz £30.
Phone 01462­682961 (eves).
8.12
A5000LC, 4Mb RAM, 40Mb HD, original monitor & manuals, some software &
games £550. Phone 01903­893211 (not a.m.).
8.12
A540, 8Mb RAM, RISC OS 3.1, 120Mb SCSI HD, Acorn SCSI, Eizo 9060S
multisync monitor £690. Software includes EasiWriter, PipeDream 4 and
Interdictor. Phone 01342­714905.
8.12
A540, 8Mb RAM, 120Mb SCSI HD, RISC OS 3.11, no monitor. Error messages
almost unheard of. Best offer, exceeding a reserve, within two weeks of
this advert. Phone Jim on 01366­385824.
8.12
Aleph One 486SLC PC podule, 50 MHz, 4Mb RAM !PC Software v1.59, Windows
drivers, DR DOS and manual. Fits A400’s, Risc PC etc, £290. Phone
01342­714905.
8.12
Canon BJ330, A3 BubbleJet printer, as new, still boxed, with printer
cable and cartridge, £200 o.n.o. Genesis Professional, unused,
unregistered, £90. Gordon on 01899­308562 after 6.
8.12
CD­ROM offers − ProArtisan 2CD £50 (inc upgrade voucher to ProArt24),
Revelation 2CD £50, CC ScanLight 256 with latest drivers £100,
Illustrated Works of Shakespeare £10, Holy Bible £10, Sherlock Holmes
£10, Space Encyclopedia (PC only) £20. Postage extra, or collect. David
on 01752­840027, after 6 or w/e.
8.12
Epson GT6500 − A4 Colour scanner, parallel with Irlam ProI­mage
Software. £400. Phone 0114­261­9444.
8.12
Oak SCSI, external 45Mb HD & PSU cased with SCSI podule 1.16, all leads
£60 inc p&p. Risc Developments’ Hard Disc Companion, v2.52, £25. Ernie
Cobbold on 01493­740557 (eves).
8.12
Syquest 105Mb removable drive, 3½“, internal IDE with cartridge and
cable, £180. Phone 0114­261­9444.
8.12
Wanted urgently at a reasonable price, the old version of Notate (i.e.
not Notate 2) and Poster. Any good value offers: Phone 01734­666184
(don’t be put off by the ansaphone).
8.12
Wanted − Removable IDE hard drive (cheap as it is only to be used for
experimental purposes). Micro Librarian Systems on 0161­449­9357.
8.12
Watford MkII Hand Scanner, (4“) £75. Toner Set for Qume CrystalPrint inc
3 toner cartridges. £60. Steve on 0181­530­7104 (eves). u
8.12
Multimedia Column
8.12
Paul Hooper
8.12
Swap Shop − The future
8.12
The Swap Shop has undergone a major transition in the last few months. I
was aware that there were a lot more people in the Acorn world who were
producing good multimedia applications than read Archive. To publicise
the Swap Shop further, I contacted a couple of the other magazines and,
as a result, we have added over twenty new applications to the Swap
Shop, bringing the total to just under 100 different applications! It
has also lead to a large increase in the amount of post that I have to
reply to. Couple this with an increase in my personal work load, and I’m
afraid I have fallen a little behind with the letters! If you are still
waiting for a reply, please bear with me! Just to give you an update on
the applications in the Swap Shop, I have included a small Magpie binder
on the monthly disc which lists them all.
8.12
I hope in the not too distant future, to make a CD­ROM of all the
applications/binders within the Swap Shop available to all readers for a
modest cover charge. This will include all the readers for the
applications but with so many applications being created every day and
landing on my desk, I’m afraid it will never be entirely up-to-date.
8.12
(I have just suggested to Paul that they go on the Archive CD − and he
seems agreeable − so if you have contributed, we’ll see if we can
arrange some sort of special discount price. Ed.)
8.12
Ultima − The next generation?
8.12
I have always liked NW SEMERC’s Optima as a basic multimedia program. It
is simple and effective but can produce some quite stunning results. Now
the guys from Oldham have produced an improved and more advanced
version, called Ultima. I received my review copy the same day as an
urgent plea from Paul to do an article for an early release of Archive,
so I have had little time to play with it yet. But some of the example
programs provided with the package are excellent. I shall do a full
review for the next issue.
8.12
One of the most obvious changes is that Ultima has a toolbar down the
side of the window, similar to Draw, which brings me on to my next
subject....
8.12
Toolbars?
8.12
I know this is not really the place to sound off about this subject, but
if you can’t complain in your own column, well where can you complain? I
use my personal computer every day, along with all sorts of other Acorn
computers at work. During an average day, I will use Impression,
Fireworkz, Photodesk, Draw, Paint, CableNews II, Magpie, Genesis and
many other programs. The one thing I used to value about Acorn machines
was that it didn’t really matter which program you were using because
the way you interacted with the program was fairly consistent. You used
the menu button to play around with what was underneath it.
8.12
Many software houses now seemed to have abandoned the idea of using the
menu button and have, instead, implemented ‘toolbars’. I think toolbars
are a good idea, but I wish there were some sort of consistency about
them. Just taking my list above, look at the variations:
8.12
− Impression: Attached along the top of the window
8.12
− Fireworkz: Attached along the top of the window
8.12
− Photodesk: Attached along the bottom of window
8.12
− Draw: Attached down the side of the window
8.12
− Paint: Detached toolbar
8.12
− Edit: No toolbar
8.12
− CableNews II: Attached along the top of window
8.12
− Magpie: Detached toolbar
8.12
− Genesis: No toolbar
8.12
− Ultima: Attached down the side of the window
8.12
If Acorn themselves can’t be consistent (Paint, Draw and Edit) then it
is hardly surprising that other software houses don’t know which
standard to follow. If anyone at Acorn does read this, can I ask for a
definitive ruling on toolbars, please?
8.12
Acorn multimedia in action
8.12
Following the editor’s policy of trumpeting Acorn hardware and software
in action, I thought readers might like to know about a project that I
was recently involved in. Anglia TV produce a CD­ROM written by Gareth
Davies, all about Castles. The company I work for (Lindis) was
commissioned to produce three touch-screen booths for English Heritage
to be placed on some of their sites and to be used by the general
public.
8.12
These are based on Risc PCs with custom-built booths. The computers have
duplicate hard drives with a back up copy of the software on the second
drive and automatic failure detection to boot in the second drive if the
first fails. The software was authored using Key Author. With much
cooperation between Anglia TV, Gareth, English Heritage and many others,
these booths are now up and running. Two booths are in operation in
Dover Castle and one is about to be placed in Orford Castle. So if you
live near either of these locations, go along and see Acorn multimedia
in action.
8.12
There is also a Genesis application about Beatrix Potter in the Lake
District, but I haven’t any more details − if anyone does, please let me
know. Are there any other examples that I may have missed? If you have
authored, or know of, an application, please write and let me know
because I am trying to build up a portfolio of examples.
8.12
Genesis for Windows again
8.12
Having now had time to experiment with Genesis for Windows, I can at
last report some success. The first thing to realise is that the Windows
version is the equivalent of Genesis Plus or Genesis II. This means that
anything written by Genesis Professional is not going to work in the
Windows version without a lot of modification. For a Professional or
Project to run, you must not use subdirectories for storing resources,
and the ON OPEN event does not appear to work. In fact, the second page
has opened but remains hidden behind the first. One quick solution is to
use AFTER 1 SECOND rather than ON OPEN.
8.12
The other problem is the way a PC renders fonts. It will not recognise
the keyword ‘FONT’ in a TEXT frame, so this needs to be replaced with
STYLE, as shown below. First the RISC OS version:
8.12
DEF FRAME “Thu,15 Jul 1993.14:16:55;2”
8.12
TEXT “text01”
8.12
FONT “Jotter”
8.12
SIZE 480
8.12
HCENTRED
8.12
FGCOL 14
8.12
BGCOL 7
8.12
AT 832 −224 1184 −32
8.12
The PC version should read:
8.12
DEF FRAME “Thu,15 Jul 1993.14:16:55;2”
8.12
TEXT “text01”
8.12
STYLE “Jotter”
8.12
SIZE 480
8.12
HCENTRED
8.12
FGCOL 14
8.12
BGCOL 7
8.12
AT 832 −224 1184 −32
8.12
In WORD frames, you must delete the line beginning FONT completely.
8.12
To place your Genesis application into the Gen Apps directory on PC
disc, you can drag it over using RISC OS, restart Windows and your
application should be there − you don’t need to convert file types at
all. Having tried this a few times, it seems to work most of the time,
but I still have trouble making the PC recognise the new application.
Any thoughts, anyone?
8.12
The end bit
8.12
If you have any hints and tips or questions on multimedia or, if you
require a swap shop catalogue, please write to: Paul Hooper, 11 Rochford
Road, Martham, Great Yarmouth, NR29 4RL. (01493­748474) u
8.12
Networking Column
8.12
Chris Johnson
8.12
In a mad moment, shortly after reading the August (8.11) issue of
Archive, I contacted Paul and volunteered to act as editor of a new
column devoted to networking. Paul seized the offer of help with great
alacrity, and here I am. This first appearance of the column is simply
to draw readers’ attention to the fact that the column now exists, and
to seek contributions for inclusion in later issues. I see this column
covering all aspects of networking Acorn computers, i.e. when two or
more machines are linked together, with some sort of file or application
server. Most such networks will presumably be running part or all of the
Acorn AUN software.
8.12
Networking experience
8.12
Let me outline my own experience of networking Acorn computers in the
Chemistry Department of Heriot-Watt University, to set the ball rolling.
In later issues, I may amplify some of the issues, if I think them to be
of general interest.
8.12
We started with an isolated thin Ethernet system, using Acorn’s original
Level 4 Fileserver software. This proved to be very slow, little faster
than the old Econet system, and was very disappointing. We had purchased
Oak Solutions’ ClassNet cards, and when they announced their ClassShare
application server, we immediately upgraded the onboard ROMs. The
ClassShare application server was a great improvement for loading
applications − about an order of magnitude faster than Level 4 − and
this was used successfully for two years or more. The Level 4 Fileserver
was run in parallel (from the same server machine) to allow those that
wished to have their own private disc space on the network.
8.12
In recent months, the Internet and the Information Superhighway have
rarely been out of the news. It was time to get connected! This would
require us to use full IP addressing protocols on our network. The Oak
Solutions cards are easily reconfigured to be fully TCP/IP/AUN
compatible. Unfortunately, in the process, you lose the ClassShare
capability. However, all was not lost. Upgrading the Level 4 AUN
software to Release 3 brought us the Acorn Application Accelerator as
part of the suite. This does everything that the ClassShare software
did, is very fast and, as a bonus, allows more than one application
accelerator on the same network. This software was duly installed and
worked well.
8.12
Now it was really the time to get connected. We had two choices − either
use one of the Acorn computers as a gateway station, or use dedicated
hardware. In the event, the latter option appeared the more attractive.
We purchased from Atomwide a learning bridge, and a two-port repeater.
The Department’s thick Ethernet spine, linked via fibre optic cabling to
the campus LAN and thence to SuperJANET, was connected (via a
transceiver and AUI drop cable) to the bridge, the bridge was plugged
into the repeater, the second port of the repeater was connected to the
thin Ethernet segment, the repeater (which also powers the bridge) was
switched on, and bingo − we were on the Internet. (Plug and play? − Eat
your heart out!)
8.12
Acorn’s TCP/IP provides telnet and ftp capability. Downloading files
from, for example, the software archive at Lancaster University (Hensa)
is almost as fast as loading from a local hard disc and is very
impressive. Stewart Brodie’s ArcWeb gives us full access to the World
Wide Web − a fascinating way of browsing information, but also a huge
time waster as one wanders the world aimlessly from one link to another!
The amount of network traffic generated by graphics files is enormous.
Since the bridge is not hardware specific, we shall also be able to put
‘real’ PCs on the same segment of thin Ethernet (if absolutely
necessary), and Risc PC’s with PC cards should be able to talk to our
Novell servers (courtesy of Aleph One).
8.12
6 year-old server?
8.12
It might interest readers to learn that the fileserver machine is one of
our first A310s. It now has an ARM3, 4Mb RAM and an IDE hard disc. It is
running the Application Accelerator, the Level 4 Fileserver and the
!Spooler printer spooler to a PostScript laser printer, and copes very
well with all the loadings we have ever put on it. That’s not bad for a
six+ year old computer which has run essentially 24 hours a day, 7 days
a week, 52 weeks a year for the last four years!
8.12
Problems?
8.12
But wait − it’s not all sunshine and roses. When using full IP
addressing protocols, the Ethernet card cannot be booted from the
onboard software. Instead, the !Internet (from TCP/IP) and !Bootnet
(from AUN) software must be booted from hard disc before the Application
Accelerator is launched. This applies to all current AUN Ethernet cards,
whatever their source of manufacture. We still have several A3000s
without hard discs, for which a Catch22 situation exists. They need to
access the network to load the IP software, but cannot access the
network without the software. If anyone out there knows how to
circumvent this (other than booting from floppy disc), I should be very
pleased to hear about it. Otherwise, we have some A3000s, complete with
internal Ethernet card, going cheap − make me an offer someone!
8.12
How wide should we go?
8.12
Since my own networking horizons are now worldwide, I am not sure
whether any restrictions should be placed on the coverage in this
column. Should we be dealing only with local Acorn networks, or should
IP connection qualify as well? In the first instance, I am ready to
accept anything remotely connected with networks (no pun intended) −
comments, hints, tips, queries, problems (if solutions are provided to
the problems then so much the better). It will then be a case of seeing
how the column develops, based upon your feedback. (Chris, you will have
to negotiate with Adrian Bool, our Internet Column Editor, to see who
does what! He is [e-mail]. Ed.)
8.12
How to contact me
8.12
My address is Chris Johnson, 7 Lovedale Grove, Balerno, Edinburgh, EH14
7DR; I can also be contacted by e-mail as [e-mail]. u
8.12
Spreadsheet Column
8.12
Chris Johnson
8.12
I thought I would jog readers’ memories about this column. It does still
exist, just, but I need feedback and submissions to make it viable.
8.12
Eureka
8.12
The problem with the cropping of the toolbox on screen mode change,
which I mentioned in the last column, can be worked around. It requires
that you open the !Eureka application directory (by double-clicking with
<shift> held down). In it you will find a directory named Resources.
Open this directory. Load the file Settings into Edit or another text
editor (make a copy before making any changes). A few lines into the
file, you should find the lines
8.12
FullWidthControlPanel   = 1
8.12
MinimumWidthControlPanel= 0
8.12
Change the lines to read
8.12
FullWidthControlPanel   = 0
8.12
MinimumWidthControlPanel= 1
8.12
Save the new version of the file.
8.12
When Eureka is subsequently run, the tool bar produced corresponds to a
width of 640 pixels (e.g. mode 27). Thus the tool bar can never be
cropped on a mode change. It also has the advantage that, in larger
screen modes, you do not have to move the pointer all the way to the
right hand edge of the screen to toggle the tool bar.
8.12
So much for the good news. Now for a new problem. When font styles are
selected using the main menu option Format > Font... there is no
problem. Any installed font can be selected. Having been a regular user
of Eureka before the introduction of the button bar, this is the way I
normally make font style changes. However, there is also a button bar
option to change font style, but this works unpredictably. If the font
is a “standard” one, such as one of the RISC OS 3 fonts, the selection
works normally, but if you have a non-standard font, in many cases, the
selection of the font as a style does not work, and is ignored. Has
anyone found the answer? There is a file in the above-mentioned
resources directory named FontMap, which contains some font listings and
settings, but it is not clear how this file is used by Eureka, and I
have been loath to tinker with it. I would welcome comments on this
feature of Eureka.
8.12
How to contact me
8.12
My postal address is Chris Johnson, 7 Lovedale Grove, Balerno,
Edinburgh, EH14 7DR; I can also be contacted by e-mail as
[e-mail].
8.12
I am happy to receive anything in connection with spreadsheets, hints or
tips, macros, problems, solutions to problems, or just requests for
help. u
8.12
Help!!!!
8.12
Ancestry II − There seem to be problems with this new version, or am I
alone in having difficulty?
8.12
Roger Woolford, 3 Park Works Cottages, Nutfield, Surrey, RH1 4HG.
(01737-823519)
8.12
Bug reports − Dave Pantling has volunteered to be the Archive Roving Bug
Reporter! In other words, he thinks it would be a good idea to collate
known bugs and, if possible, work-arounds. I think it will involve him
in a lot of work but he seems keen to give it a go. So, if you know of
bugs or ‘features’ of any Acorn-related hardware and/or software, send
details to Dave, preferably on disc (800Kb, not 1.6Mb) to save him
retyping and, if you want a reply or your disc returned, please send him
an SAE. You will need to give clear details of what circumstances cause
the condition, how it manifests itself, complete details of your
hardware configuration, software title and version, supplier and other
software running at the time.
8.12
So, if you have ideas about this project (whether a private individual
or a software house!) send them to Dave along with your bug reports.
8.12
Dave Pantling, 31 Cornwall Grove, Bletchley, MK3 7HX.
8.12
Computer desk − Can anyone recommend a computer desk which looks smart
enough to blend in with (modern) living room furniture? Also, are there
any covers which fit the Risc PC 17“ monitor and keyboard and are made
of something better looking than the usual “plastic mac” material?
8.12
Peter Jennings, St Albans. (01727-861835)
8.12
DDE − I am having problems with an application downloaded from the
Internet. This is a program to sort sprites in a sprite file, and was
collected from Hensa. My son downloaded it using a PC and so it is on a
DOS 720Kb disc. If you click on the icon on that disc, the application,
which uses the Front End module from DDE, runs quite happily and does
the job for which it was intended. However, if I copy it to a RISC OS
disc, either hard, floppy or RAM, clicking on it produces an error
message saying that the wimpslot is not big enough to load the templates
and the program refuses to load. I have tried putting the wimpslot up to
1024Kb, but it still doesn’t make any difference.
8.12
David Wild, Hemel Hempstead.
8.12
Impression borders − I was fascinated by Cain Hunt’s tip about
‘Impression Borders’ in Archive 8.10 p14. I was thrilled to learn how
easy it is to produce borders of varying type and thickness. However, I
discovered that it is not possible to obtain curved or bevelled corners
at 3pt thickness and below. Has anyone else noticed this? There does not
seem to be an easy way around this problem. Does anyone have any ideas?
8.12
Noel Williams, Fort William.
8.12
Impression Junior wanted − Has anyone got a copy of Impression Junior
that they could let us have if we make a £10(ish!) donation to your
favourite charity, please? (We asked for this before but what we got was
one that had already been upgraded to a later version of Impression, and
so, legally, the original version should not have been sold. Oops!
Sorry, CC! Has anyone got a copy that has not been upgraded, please?
For, say, a £20 donation?)
8.12
Ed.
8.12
Laser Direct (again!) − Recently, I needed to use the ‘ŷ’ character (ALT
134). It appeared on the screen OK, but would not print on an LBP8 using
Laser Direct 2.61! However, it prints fine on the other printers I have
tried. Does anyone know why this happens, or what I can do to get around
the problem?
8.12
(I use 2.63 on an LBP8 and I managed to print out the ‘ŷ’ character, but
I had to cheat because Plantin, which I use for the body text in the
magazine, doesn’t have that character, so I have had to use Trinity for
that one character. Ed.)
8.12
Also, while printing multiple copies, or sometimes single copies, if I
ask the computer to do some intensive activity, such as opening a
directory on a floppy disc, the lower half of the page is not printed!
Is this due to some actions not being interruptible by Laser Direct when
more information needs to be sent?
8.12
(I think the two of us ought really to upgrade to the latest version,
4.03, which will cost us each £10 +VAT, but which will solve all sorts
of problems including, as pointed out by Jim Nottingham, the “squashed
line syndrome”. Ed.)
8.12
Robert Lytton, Leeds.
8.12
Pinboard problem − In order to have some of my regular programs
available whenever they are wanted, without using up the memory needed
to have them on the iconbar all the time, I have put them on the
pinboard, and then incorporated this into my !Boot file. One of these
programs is Impression Publisher, and I have found that, at first, it
takes on a slightly distorted form of the icon of the program
immediately before it in the list − and this persists until I move it on
the backdrop. It then picks up its proper icon. If Publisher is the
first item in the list, there is an error message during booting and the
tail end of the list doesn’t get done. Has anyone else come across this
problem and, if so, have you managed to solve it?
8.12
David Wild, Hemel Hempstead.
8.12
Printer character definitions − In the July Archive (8.10 p47), there
was an article, WYSIWYG for £-sign, concerned with the defining of
characters for the Epson LQ/SQ range of 24 pin printers. This jogged my
memory about an application I produced several years ago when I used an
LQ800. It allowed you to define characters for use in either draft or
NLQ mode for the printer, using a magnified Paint-like grid to set or
clear pixels. The program took care of all the calculations, checked for
adjacent pixels being set, etc. The definitions could be downloaded to
the printer immediately, saved to disc, or saved to a spool file that
could be downloaded to the printer at boot time. After a dig around, I
found the program on an old disc, and it runs on my Risc PC, so is fully
RISC OS 3.1+ compatible. Since it was written in about 1989, it does not
comply with the latest style guide but, if there is sufficient interest,
I could soon fix that! If anyone is interested in a copy of this
multitasking program, send me a disc and return postage. All disclaimers
apply, program is supplied as is. If I am flooded out with requests
(into double figures!), I may revise it and bring it up to full
standard.
8.12
Chris Johnson, 7 Lovedale Grove, Balerno, Edinburgh, EH14 7DR.
8.12
Risc-DOS Column − Simon Coulthurst has had to call it a day with editing
the Risc DOS Column and he’s even had to sell his computer −
commiserations, Simon, and thanks for all you have contributed to
Archive. Good luck for the future!
8.12
So, if that side of things is to continue, we need a new Editor. Any
offers? If so, your first query is from Charles Barraball, who wants a
Windows for Playgroups article − a sort of non-PCers survival guide. He
says that, “Those throw-away comments such as ‘running a DOS shell
within Windows’ are just so unintelligible to, presumably, many of your
readers − or is it just me?”
8.12
Mind you, I’m not keen to clog up Archive with info about PC things.
Surely, all this sort of thing is covered in the PC magazines, isn’t it?
(Thankfully, I don’t have to read them!) How about sending in
suggestions for books and articles that those who need to use PC stuff
can read? We need to confine Archive to those areas not covered
elsewhere, i.e. things relating specifically to using the PC cards and
emulators on the Acorn machines. Can anyone help, please?
8.12
Ed.
8.12
ProCAD − I am willing to swap ProCad files. At the moment, I can supply
kitchen units. Send me a formatted disc and an SAE.
8.12
Charles Barraball, 287 West Lane, New Malden, Surrey, KT3 6JE.
8.12
WIMP sprites − In last month’s Help column, Brian Cowan asked about
methods for ensuring only the first copy of a sprite is seen for
filetypes. The AddSprites utility on this month’s program disc does
this, and can also prevent the small icons loading if you never use the
full info, or small icon directory displays. Full details of its use are
on the disc.
8.12
Andrew Clover, Doggysoft. u
8.12
Programming Workshop
8.12
Colin Singleton
8.12
This column got off to an inauspicious start last month, because a
gremlin crept into my transfer of text to Paul. Every minus sign in the
Quicksort coding was mysteriously replaced by the letters ASC. The code
should have read:
8.12
Quicksort code
8.12
DEFPROCQuickSort(L$(),S%,N%)
8.12
LOCAL H%,L%,M%,F%,Z$
8.12
IF N%<2 THEN ENDPROC
8.12
F%=S%+N%−1
8.12
L%=S%−1
8.12
H%=F%
8.12
M%=S%+(F%−S%)DIV2
8.12
Z$=L$(M%)
8.12
L$(M%)=L$(H%)
8.12
REPEAT
8.12
  REPEAT
8.12
    L%+=1
8.12
  UNTIL L%=H% OR Z$<L$(L%)
8.12
  L$(H%)=L$(L%)
8.12
  WHILE L%<H% AND Z$<=L$(H%)
8.12
    H%−=1
8.12
  ENDWHILE
8.12
  L$(L%)=L$(H%)
8.12
UNTIL L%=H%
8.12
L$(L%)=Z$
8.12
IF L%>(S%+1) THEN PROCQuickSort(L$(),
8.12
 S%,L%−S%)
8.12
IF H%<(F%−1) THEN PROCQuickSort(L$(),
8.12
 H%+1,F%−H%)
8.12
ENDPROC
8.12
Date calculations
8.12
A frequent problem, particularly in commercial programming, involves
determining the day of the week of a given date, or producing a list of
dates at N-day intervals. This introduces the concept of Julian Date
which, contrary to popular opinion, has no connection with the old
Julian Calendar. The Julian date was named after Julius Scaliger, whose
son Joseph devised it in 1582.
8.12
Like all the best ideas, it is very simple. Instead of naming dates by
reference to a complex calendar, we number them continuously from an
arbitrary start date. Astronomers found it useful for cyclic phenomena,
and adopted a start date in 4713 BC. So, for them, October 25, 1995,
will be Julian Date 2,450,000.
8.12
To use the idea in software, we need to be able convert dates by program
between the Gregorian Calendar and the Julian Date, so that the latter
can be used for internal data processing. The coding given below uses
the base Julian Date 1 = 1st January 1 AD. A calendar date Day-Month-
Year (on the Gregorian Calendar) can be converted to Julian Date by the
following Basic function, or its equivalent in any other language. All
the variables are integers, but I have dropped the % symbols for clarity
− I hope!
8.12
Julian date
8.12
DEFFNJulian(D,M,Y)
8.12
IF M<3 THEN = D+((153*M+1379)DIV5)
8.12
+(1461*(Y−1)DIV4)−(3*(1+((Y−1)
8.12
DIV100))DIV4)−306
8.12
   :ELSE = D+((153*M−457)DIV5)+
8.12
(1461*Y DIV4)−(3*(1+(Y DIV100))DIV4)−306
8.12
In Acorn Basic, but not necessarily in other languages, we can combine
these two lines into a single function without an ‘IF’, by using (M<3)
as an arithmetic operation. If M is <3, this evaluates to −1, if not, it
evaluates to zero. The combined function is −
8.12
DEFFNJulian(D,M,Y)
8.12
=D+((M+9)MOD12*153+2)DIV5+(Y+(M<3))
8.12
*1461 DIV4−((Y+(M<3))
8.12
DIV100+1)*3 DIV4−306
8.12
Calculating the day of the week is now trivial. If J is the Julian Date,
J MOD 7 is the weekday (0 = Sunday ... 6 = Saturday). We also need to be
able to convert a Julian Date (J) back to the conventional Gregorian
Calendar date. This is most easily done using the following four lines
of Basic coding −
8.12
N = ((4*((4*J+1223)MOD146097 DIV4)+3)
8.12
MOD1461 DIV4)
8.12
D = 1+((5*N+2)MOD153 DIV5)
8.12
M = 1+((5*N+308)DIV153)MOD12
8.12
Y = 100*((4*J+1223)DIV146097)+
8.12
(4*(((4*J+1223)MOD146097 DIV4)+240)DIV1461)
8.12
The value N is an internal variable (it is in fact the number of days
since the last March 1st).
8.12
Easter
8.12
This month’s special offer! You won’t need this very often, but if you
do need to know the date of Easter in a given year it can be very
difficult to find out. The function given below works for the Gregorian
(present day) Calendar. Given the year, it returns the date in March of
Easter Day − if Easter is in fact in April, it returns a value greater
than 31. For example, FNEaster(1995) = 47. March 47th is April 16th.
8.12
DEFFNEaster(Y)
8.12
LOCAL G,C,E,A,W
8.12
G=Y MOD19
8.12
C=Y DIV100
8.12
Y=Y MOD100
8.12
E=(G*19+C−C DIV4−(C*8+13)DIV25+15)
8.12
MOD30
8.12
A=(G+E*11)DIV319
8.12
W=(C MOD4*2+Y DIV4*2−Y MOD4−E+A+32)
8.12
MOD7
8.12
=E−A+W+22
8.12
Comments please
8.12
I hope we have got rid of the bugs this month! Please send comments,
questions and suggestions to me at 41 St Quentin Drive, Sheffield, S17
4PN. u
8.12
Risc PC Column
8.12
Keith Hodge
8.12
A rather short column this month, I’m afraid, as I’m going off on
holiday and so my workload has gone through the roof!
8.12
Software information
8.12
Arthur Taylor has come up trumps again with a suitable 768×512 monitor
definition file for the AKF85, as requested last month. I have sent a
copy to Paul for inclusion on the monthly disc. Arthur also mentions
that he is currently working his way through the intricacies of MS-DOS
“CONFIG.SYS” and “AUTOEXEC.BAT” files and I am sure that there will be a
large amount of discussion about the configuration side of DOS / Windows
in the coming months.
8.12
Martyn Purdie has been having problems with his PC486. The bug is rather
obscure and only occurs if you place PC486 in the Tasks directory of
!Boot so that it is run when your machine starts up and is configured
with a setup such that DOS/Windows boots to single task mode when PC486
is run.
8.12
The problem which then manifests itself is that the hourglass turns on
during the boot sequence and stays on . This then leaves you with the
rather unusual phenomenon of a fully working Windows mouse pointer on
screen, which is closely followed at every move by an Acorn hourglass!
8.12
The solution is to add a line to the PC486 Run file. N.B. it must be
placed, as shown, in the run file, otherwise some strange errors occur −
as Martyn found to his frustration!
8.12
RUN ADFS::4.$.!BOOT.UTILS.HOFF.HOFF
8.12
WimpSlot -min 448k -max 640k
8.12
IconSprites <Diva$Dir>.!Sprites
8.12
|
8.12
|Run <Diva$Dir>.!RunImage > <Diva$Dir>.TraceFile
8.12
Run <Diva$Dir>.!RunImage
8.12
Software compatibility
8.12
If there is one thing that I would like to see introduced on the
Risc PC, it is a common database lookup feature which all software had
common access to. I now have three different database managers and files
on my machine! One is in ArcFax, one in Prophet and one Multistore. All
of these have almost common contents. Is it not possible for Acorn to
establish a system similar to that provided by Twain for scanners, so
that any application can have access to phone / fax number / address /
name, all from a common compliant database manager provided by the OS?
8.12
I have received a helpful letter from David Pilling, in which he says
that he has not come across the problem of the intermittent appearance
of black vertical lines on scanned images. Have any of my readers come
across this problem? I use a Canon I­4015 with Cumana SCSI 2 interface.
8.12
Hardware and software news
8.12
I have just been asked by Martyn Purdie if I have had any problems with
printing from DOS applications. My reply was that I do not use my 486
card to print − all I do is transfer files from the PC format file I
receive, across to FireWorkz for Windows, and then send the file to
FireWorkz on the Acorn platform, and then to printer via the Acorn
Printer Manager.
8.12
I have now tried to print direct from Write, the text editor provided
with Windows, but there is no printed output. Have any of you had
success and, if so, what settings are you using?
8.12
Tailpiece
8.12
As usual, I can be contacted by letter at the HES address on the back
page, by telephone after 7p.m., or by Packet Radio from anywhere in the
world, as GW4NEI@GB7OAR.#16.GBR.EU. u
8.12
Gerald’s Column
8.12
Gerald Fitton
8.12
My column is shorter than usual this month since our editor decided to
publish early! Although this month’s column has a statistical flavour, I
think that even those of you who are not statisticians will find parts
of it interesting.
8.12
Turbo Drivers etc
8.12
Let me tell you about the experience of Eddie Lord.
8.12
He wrote to Computer Concepts on 26th Feb 1995 complaining about his CC
Turbo Driver. He was having a series of problems with both his A540 and
a new Risc PC. The problems with the Risc PC were much worse than those
of the A540. His 26th Feb 1995 letter to CC finishes “I have written
about this before but not received a reply . . .”
8.12
The good news is that Eddie eventually received a reply in April
offering upgrades to Impression and the Turbo Driver. The bad news is
that these did not completely solve his problem. Eventually, he asked
for and obtained a free of charge replacement for his “old original”
dongle. In his letter to me dated 6th July 1995, he says “Apparently my
old original dongle was not bidirectional and could not cope with Turbo
Driver version 4... My version of Publisher is now v4.05 and the Turbo
Driver is 4.03”. The new dongle, together with the upgrades, has solved
his problems.
8.12
Now to Peter Boxall and his problems – they were similar to those of
Eddie.
8.12
After some correspondence with me he got in touch with CC and his last
letter to me includes the following: “I have to purchase v 4.03 of Turbo
Drivers (£10 +VAT)... As regards the bidirectional dongle... ...the
advice (is) that the one I have should be OK”. Peter concludes this part
of his letter to me with “Once I have installed the new Turbo Driver, I
will experiment”.
8.12
Printers v1.28c
8.12
I referred to these new Acorn printer drivers in last month’s column.
Since recommending them, I have had correspondence stating that things
go wrong with v 1.28c. Upon pressing my unhappy correspondents to
describe their problems in more detail, they have often been similar to
those reported by Eddie and Peter. My suggestion to these people was to
upgrade their copy of Publisher, to upgrade their Turbo Driver and to
try to get a replacement dongle from CC.
8.12
All those who have upgraded and obtained a replacement dongle are now
happy people!
8.12
If you are having difficulty with Printers v1.28c, use Publisher and use
Turbo Drivers, please don’t write to me for help until you’ve done the
same as Eddie! I am tempted to suggest that you write to Colin
Singleton, since he keeps asking me what I have against CC and pointing
out that their products give him no problems.
8.12
Let me say publicly to Colin that I have nothing against Impression,
indeed I am on record as saying that, for DTP, both Style and Publisher
are very good, I recommend them to you and Impression is my DTP of
choice. Some of you will know that I run a user group called ILine for
users of Style and Publisher. It is the fact that the package has so
many good features which leads to the viability of ILine. If nobody
bought Impression then ILine wouldn’t exist! My only complaint is that
interaction between some of CC’s products and other people’s products
does cause problems – and then people write to me (and not to Colin)!
8.12
Weighted averages
8.12
As far as I am aware, there is no spreadsheet in which there is a
formula for the calculation of weighted averages with the added feature
of ignoring blank slots.
8.12
I have to acknowledge that the inspiration for this next section of my
column is due to James Ducat who writes: “Help! I am an English teacher
trying to produce a mark sheet for my classes which is based around the
idea of a weighted average for each unit of work”.
8.12
James sent me a demonstration of what he has done towards solving this
problem. With slight modification, the file he sent me is shown in the
screenshot.
8.12
I guess that you’ll have noticed that James is using PipeDream. If you
have Fireworkz and not PipeDream, indeed if you have any spreadsheet
other than PipeDream, I’m sure that you’ll be able to make the
appropriate adjustments to the formulae I quote so that it suits your
spreadsheet.
8.12
Before taking the screenshot, I placed the cursor in slot F7 so that you
can see the formula used by James. Taking out the $ signs, used only
during the replication process, the formula reads:
8.12
((C4*C7)+(D4*D7)+(E4*E7))/sum(C$4E$4)
8.12
This is the classic definition of a weighted average.
8.12
Blank slots
8.12
A further quote from James is: “ ...when a child has been absent or not
handed in work... ...PipeDream is treating this as a zero mark, whereas
I really want it to ignore the blank cell”. In the screenshot, you will
see that the slot D7 is blank. What James wants is for the result in F7
to be 7.00 and not the 5.17 given by the formula.
8.12
If you have used PipeDream or Fireworkz for calculating ordinary (non-
weighted) averages of a range of slots, some of which are blank, you
will have discovered that the function avg(range) does not treat the
blank slots as zero but ignores them completely. Let me give you an
example using the spreadsheet shown in the screenshot. The average of
the range C7E7 calculated by avg(C7E7) will be 7.00; this is 14 divided
by 2 and not 14 divided by 3.
8.12
What we want is a function which ignores blank slots in the way that
avg() does, but which calculates the weighted average instead of the
non-weighted average.
8.12
Weighted average with blank slots
8.12
Have a look at the screenshot opposite.
8.12
Again I have placed the cursor in one of the crucial slots, I7, before
taking the screenshot, so that the formula is visible. It is:
8.12
if(D7=“”,“”,(D4*D7))
8.12
In the ‘Application of Number’ skill courses I teach at College, a
distinction is made between a formula expressed in symbols (as above)
and the same formula expressed in words. Using symbols is a higher level
skill. Indulge me whilst I practice converting the above formula into
words as: “If D7 is a blank slot then make I7 a blank slot, otherwise
make I7 = D4*D7”.
8.12
Understanding the formula in K7 is important to following why this
application works. It is:
8.12
if(C7=“”,0,C4)+if(D7=“”,0,D4)+if(E7=
8.12
“”,0,E4)
8.12
and gives the value 17. This 17 is made up of the 7 in C4 and the 10 in
E4. The 6 in D4 is replaced with the value 0 because D7 is blank.
8.12
The average calculated in slot L7 ignores the blank slots. The formula
it contains is:
8.12
sum(H7J7)/K7
8.12
and gives the value (49+0+70)/17 = 7.00.
8.12
This is the weighted average ignoring blank slots which James requires.
8.12
What is a ‘median’?
8.12
James also wants a formula for the median of each of the columns of
data.
8.12
When dealing with highly skewed (lopsided) distributions such as the
distribution of wages, you can easily be misled if you concentrate only
on the mean. One way of avoiding being misled is to think of the median
instead. The median wage is a wage such that half the wage earners earn
more and half earn less than the median wage. I notice that the media
now refer to the median wage (much lower than the mean) and Labour
politicians talk in terms of a proposed minimum wage which is some
proportion not of the mean but of the median wage.
8.12
So that you can appreciate the advantage of using the median instead of
the mean, let me relate (in much shortened form) one of the many
anecdotes I tell my statistics students and which, like all my best
stories, is almost true!
8.12
Some years ago, when much younger, my son, David, talked his way into a
salesman’s job. He was taken on a three month trial under the following
conditions. “Start at £3,000 a year and, if you do well, I’ll raise your
salary to at least the same as the other sales staff.” David asked what
the average salary was and was told it was £10,000 p.a. (This was a long
time ago when £10,000 was a lot of money.)
8.12
He did well and ‘won’ a set of (cheap) cuff links as ‘Salesman of the
Month’ in his third month. He was looking forward to at least the
monthly equivalent of £10,000 p.a. and was amazed to receive only half
the amount he expected.
8.12
After an argument, he was told that the £10,000 ‘average’ for the
company consisted of nine salesmen (including David) on £5,000 p.a. and
the ‘boss’ on £55,000 p.a.! So much for arithmetic means! The median
wage for that company was £5,000. David should have asked not about the
mean salary, £10,000, but about the median salary, £5,000.
8.12
A second, even shorter example: About ten years ago when inflation was
in double figures, nurses had a pay rise which averaged 18% (true) but
80% of nurses received less than an 8% rise (also true)! The median wage
rise was around 6%. A few on high wages received wage rises of 25% or
so, pulling up the mean to 18%!
8.12
Finding the median
8.12
PipeDream does not have a built-in function to calculate the median of a
set of data. No problem! Just write a custom function called ‘median’!
One of the lovely things about well-written custom functions is that you
don’t have to understand their inner workings to use them. Over the
years, I have accumulated a wide range of custom functions provided by
correspondents. I haven’t looked at the inner workings of some of those,
like ‘median’, which I use the most!
8.12
Back in early 1992, a contributor who shall remain anonymous (at least
so far as this column is concerned) sent me a custom function which I
have used on many occasions to calculate the median of a range of
values. Inspired by James, I studied its inner workings for the first
time last week – now I’ve improved it so that it ignores blank slots.
8.12
The modified function is on the Archive monthly disc. It is:
8.12
....function(“median”,“list:array”)
8.12
\ return the median value from an
8.12
 unsorted list
8.12
\ sort the list
8.12
...[c_sort]sort(@list)
8.12
\ define and initialise ‘local’
8.12
 variables
8.12
...set_name(“arow”,B9)
8.12
...set_value(arow,rows(A6))
8.12
\ delete blank slots
8.12
...repeat
8.12
...if(index(A6,1,arow)=“”,set_value
8.12
(arow,arow−1),)
8.12
...until(index(A6,1,arow)>“”)
8.12
\ if odd number of items, find the
8.12
 middle one
8.12
...if(mod(arow,2)=1,result(index(A6
8.12
,1,(arow+1)/2)),)
8.12
\ if even number of items, find
8.12
 middle two and split the difference
8.12
...index(A6,1,arow/2)
8.12
...index(A6,1,arow/2+1)
8.12
...result((A20+A21)/2)
8.12
The word ‘median’ on the first row is the name of the function. The
‘list:array’ is a parameter passed to the custom function and is the
unsorted array.
8.12
In the custom function the slot A6 is the slot containing
....[c_sort]sort(@list). After ‘sort’ has done its work, the slot A6
contains the sorted version of the array. I am not going to include a
textual version of ‘sort’ in this column; it is on the monthly disc and
consists of a simple sort routine containing a couple of nested
for – next loops.
8.12
At the bottom of the sorted array, you will find all the blank slots –
if there are any. I have defined a local variable ‘arow’. Initially, the
value of ‘arow’ is the number of rows in the sorted array. The
repeat – until loop which follows the heading ‘\ delete blank slots’
reduces the value of ‘arow’ until ‘arow’ is the number of items in the
sorted array which are not blank.
8.12
The median of a sorted list is the middle one. The remaining rows of the
custom function find the value of the middle item. If the number of
items in the list is even then the median is considered to lie half way
between the two middle values.
8.12
James would also like a custom function which calculates the two
quartiles. The upper quartile is a value such that 25% of the set of
data is larger than the upper quartile. The lower quartile is defined in
a similar way. Those of you in teaching contemporary uses of statistics
will know that there is a great deal of interest at the moment in the
10% of households that are either at the top or bottom of the sorted
list! Perhaps you’ll be able to modify the custom function so that it
calculates these percentiles. Anyway, if you do improve the custom
function, please let me know and send me a disc copy so that I can make
it more easily available to others such as James.
8.12
The Lottery
8.12
I knew that this item would generate much interest. I have had many
letters about the statistics, philosophy and morality of gambling,
together with many amusing and some distressing anecdotes. One piece of
philosophy which is repeated in many of my letters is “Be careful what
you wish for – it may come true!” I’m sorry but most will have to wait
for another day – but please keep writing. I’ve selected just one piece
of correspondence; files relating to it are on the Archive monthly disc.
8.12
Donald Bindon has sent me 32 weeks of lottery results, together with an
analysis of frequencies using the Poisson distribution. I reckon that
the true distribution must be Binomial (with n = 32) but a Poisson
distribution is a good approximation; the approximation improves as the
weeks go by and n gets larger. His submission includes an interesting
custom function which, almost as a throw away item, includes an
insertion sort routine which I would like to include in my ‘median’
calculations! His custom function also uses the deref() function in
conjunction with index(,,) in a way which I find most interesting. I’m
sorry I don’t have time to go into detail, perhaps another day – anyway
you’ll find it on the monthly disc.
8.12
Donald reports that: “An article in The Times newspaper of Saturday
28th Jan 1995, reported that a chi-square analysis of 12 years of the
results of the Australian National Lotto had concluded that they were
far from truly random. Anyone wanting to improve their chances of
winning could do so by following the trends”.
8.12
I can’t believe it! I would prefer to believe that something has gone
wrong with the statistical analysis. Over the years, I have had many
contributors who have sent me chi-square custom functions both for
PipeDream and for Fireworkz. I am always interested in receiving
alternative versions. If you have one which analyses Donald’s data (or,
if you’re one of my many antipodean correspondents, the Australian
National Lotto results) then let’s have it!
8.12
Finally
8.12
Thanks for your many letters. Please continue to send them to the Abacus
Training address (not to Archive) which you’ll find at the back of
Archive. u
8.12
Video Matters
8.12
Ned Abell
8.12
With the run-up to the Autumn show and with the introduction of a new
generation of Risc PCs, software and hardware manufacturers are starting
to create a queue of interesting video-related products. I have a few
details for you, but first a review of a product that is available
now...
8.12
AlphaLock
8.12
I’ve been waiting for some months now for the latest Millipede offering,
having drooled over the prototype of their new genlock card at an Acorn
World show a couple of years ago. That was to work on the Archimedes,
but then along came the Risc PC and Millipede realised that if they were
going to produce a flagship product, they would have to conform to the
new computer.
8.12
My AlphaLock arrived in a small box, beautifully packed and as soon as I
opened the lid I could see the quality. It consists of two complete
expansion cards in one, so it’s going to populate a whole slice of a
Risc PC. You need 2Mb of VRAM to run it too, so this is not a cheap
addition to a video suite. Mind you, it is built to PAL broadcast spec −
and it looks it.
8.12
You will also probably need to upgrade the RAM, depending on software,
so this whole exercise needs deep pockets, especially if you need a
second slice of case. Along with the boards come a well printed manual
and a disc of software to calibrate and demonstrate aspects of the
board.
8.12
It does...
8.12
A genlock allows you to mix computer graphics with incoming video and
output this to a video device. The genlock can be used in two ways. In
the upstream mode, it works as a source of computer generated graphics
which are then mixed with other sources through a downstream video mixer
to caption, etc. In the downstream mode, the video source from recorder
or camcorder or vision mixer is fed into the AlphaLock which is used as
an additional video mixer to overlay the computer graphics onto the
video.
8.12
The AlphaLock is software reprogrammable and, indeed, a few days after
receiving it, along came a newer manual and a disc which overwrote the
operating software on the board. It’s possible this software upgrade
service will be offered to certain customers at a later date by e­mail!
The board will accept input and output from composite (ordinary) video
as well as Y/C, that’s S-VHS to you and me.
8.12
Soon, another board called AlphaLock Studio will be on offer that offers
Y/R-Y/B-Y component for those lucky Betacam suite operators. An NTSC/PAL
version is also promised. There is also a Genlock input to lock the
board upstream in a studio and software is provided to lock to this
source as well as configuring to more jittery sources such as a tape
player. A Key output can be used to control a downstream mixer and the
software can be programmed to provide a delay. You can also route the
computer monitor via the board.
8.12
Popping in the slice...
8.12
The installation should have been straightforward, but it was installing
the second slice that was my problem as the computer power supply had to
be changed. In doing this, I disturbed the hard disc controller and the
machine didn’t boot. The AlphaLock itself went in easily, only needing a
small lead attached to a plug (PL5 by the VIDC20) on the motherboard.
8.12
Once my computer’s boots were straightened, I went on to explore the
software. This is very simple at the moment as applications are still
being developed for the board. Current software will allow the AlphaLock
to be configured in upstream or downstream mode, to generate colour bars
and to generate a simple caption sequence. The first decision is
where in the video suite will it go and I decided for downstream
operation as I want primarily to caption over video. The AlignUS and
AlignDS programs take care of this and are run as soon as the video
cables are connected up. With a colour source running into the genlock,
I was able very accurately to software-control the video phase and
timing using a mouse button and key presses. This is very impressive.
8.12
Once set − forget! It’s remembered for you because all the parameters
are stored, with the software, in the flash memory. Then the calibrate
program was set up and this automatically sets the video output to be
correct because the incoming RGB signals from the Risc PC can vary
between computers. Again, these values are stored in the flash memory
and can be reset if you move the board to another computer.
8.12
Display
8.12
Having got the system up and running, I then moved on to trying some
sequences and used the supplied demos to show overlay, fade and pixel
contrast reduction over a video source. What’s so good about the
AlphaLock is that it lets you vary the intensity of the computer pixel
compared with the incoming video, so you can fade in and out of captions
in software on the AlphaLock itself, and also reduce the intensity of a
block, so that you can make those captions where you can see what’s
going on behind the caption block. It’s ideal for subtitling.
8.12
Alpha channel
8.12
This intensity control is called Alpha channel and so it’s possible to
define the colour coming off the computer as red, green, blue and alpha
and this alpha gives sixteen different intensities for the computer
image, background image and key level. Using a lookup table in the
software, the intensity can be made to become 256 levels so the
different effects that are capable of being generated are huge. But is
the software there to support the AlphaLock?
8.12
Well, development boards have gone to a number of software houses and,
for example, CableNews2 is being expanded to provide this alpha channel
control. The software on the board, of course, can be reprogrammed to
take into account third party software development, so this is extremely
future­proof.
8.12
Modes
8.12
Because AlphaLock is providing a video signal, it has to have special
modes and can only show these modes so, in many cases, they won’t appear
on the standard Risc PC monitor − but, of course, the output will be on
the video monitor. Provisional modes supported are:
8.12
Mode  bits/pixel  resolution  interlace
8.12
Double height pixels
8.12
100  1  768×288  repeat
8.12
101  2  “  ”
8.12
102  4  “  ”
8.12
103  8  “  ”
8.12
104  16  “  ”
8.12
105  32  “  ”
8.12
Square pixels
8.12
106  1  768×576  fully
8.12
107  2  “  ”
8.12
108  4  “  ”
8.12
109  8  “  ”
8.12
110  16  “  ”
8.12
111  32  “  ”
8.12
You can see why this beastie needs 2Mb of VRAM! Indeed, in fully
interlaced modes, this is all used up. The manual does make the point
that some applications may not work properly in fully interlaced modes
and Millipede will supply details to authors of applications who wish to
modify them. Note the double height and square pixels used.
8.12
Acorn haven’t fully explained how alpha channels will work, so as
Millipede are interpreting and implementing, my advice to software
writers is to get in touch with them to provide a uniform standard. The
manual details many of the ways in which to use the alpha channel and
provides tips, such as how anti-aliased fonts should always be anti-
aliased over a black background, as the AlphaLock will then use that
information to provide a degree of transparency when the video is added.
If you are a programmer, note that all of the * calls and SWIs are
included in the manual.
8.12
Conclusion
8.12
The wait was well worthwhile and, although expensive, this product will
last and is upgradable. If you have anything to do with professional
video captions or video graphics on a Risc PC, you shouldn’t buy
anything else. Millipede’s support is also first class − I received an
unsolicited phone call checking the board had arrived and whether it
installed OK. They are also a company that’s been around a long time −
they used to make genlocks for the BBC Model B − so they have a good
track record. The Millipede board is a great leap forward in that it
provides a significant resource for the computer, provides a vision of
how to use software to cope with the adaptability of the platform, and
also has the ability to change as operating systems change by ‘re-
flashing’ the board.
8.12
Using the AlphaLock
8.12
CableNews2 will soon be providing Millipede support and the Video
Utilities also written by Paul Reuvers, are also now almost ready for
the Risc PC. The video timeclock and leader caption program are being
worked on.
8.12
Clares have received a board and are considering support with “Titler”.
Oregan Developments are also beavering away and CineWorks will support
Millipede, too. I’m told that Oregan will also be making a hardware add-
on to CineWorks to accept timecode so that video, captions and sound,
etc, within the application, can ‘Rock’n Roll’ with external pictures.
So, with a combination of packages, things are really looking up. Now
all we need is AudioWorks Professional or a similar audio editing
package, along the lines of SADiE, plus, of course, ISDN support, so the
resultant files can be whizzed around the world!
8.12
Video mutterings
8.12
Now back to other matters concerning video... One area that’s generated
some correspondence is multimedia boards like the CC’s Eagle M2 and
Irlam’s 24i16. It seems that a lot of people don’t realise that you
can’t digitise to obtain VHS standard video out of them. Well you can,
almost, but your pictures are very much dependent on compression
techniques, computer memory processor and hard disc speed.
8.12
What they do very well is to grab a whole frame to 24-bit standard as a
sprite, as well as digitise audio. They also digitise moving video to
Replay file standards, but this isn’t always full frame or 25 frames per
second. This won’t always be the case because the compression algorithms
are getting better and hardware is evolving to cope with the speed
required to shuffle all this data.
8.12
With a Risc PC 600, you can’t affordably grab your favourite camcorder
moments, edit them, add captions and sound effects, and replay to
another tape at full frame with little or no picture degradation − not
yet − but the introduction of Risc PC 700s does bring the possibility a
little closer.
8.12
There is another element in the equation that’s creeping up on us and
that is standards. VHS is in most homes worldwide and S-VHS hasn’t
really taken off because of cost, but there is a new contender available
soon − digital VHS, or D-VHS. Broadcast camera manufacturers are
starting to offer digital cameras for news, where you shoot the pictures
and sound onto a camera with removable hard disc, pull out the disc and
digitally edit in a van on your way back to base and transmit the story.
It won’t be too long before your home camcorder will be able to do a
similar job.
8.12
Panasonic have seen the light and will be offering the next generation
of VHS machine at the end of the year that stores information on a
digital VHS tape and plays back S-VHS and VHS and records as well. It
therefore shouldn’t be too much of a leap to provide in-camera D-VHS.
Also, it will have an interface enabling it to accept all sorts of
digital data in different formats, so you could probably copy a CD,
archive PhotoCD etc, or store downloaded internet pages or an MPEG
movie. The exact way in which it will do this is unclear but it will
certainly have implications for archiving computer data from hard disc.
8.12
The AlphaLock is £775 +VAT from Millipede Electronic Graphics. I can be
contacted via Archive or on 100341,[e-mail]. u
8.12
Language Column
8.12
David Wild
8.12
Because I try to keep up to date, I have been having a look at C++, in
both Acorn and Beebug versions. Many of the criticisms that I have made
of C in the past have been answered, and it would seem that quite a
number of useful features of Pascal have been brought in. I particularly
like the stream method of input and output, as this gets rid of the need
to think of the actual variable type at the time you are writing the
output statements.
8.12
It often seemed to me that, as in a number of places, some of the
compiler’s work had been delegated to the programmer, with a
corresponding increase in the risk of silly errors. In the PC field,
some of the compiler writers had compounded the problem by generating
different code for statements which should have had the same effect
according to the rules of C. (One review of a compiler in an American
magazine mentioned that you must use var+=1 rather than var=var+1 if you
wanted the most efficient code. To my mind, the abbreviated forms should
be redundant, which is not the same as saying that they should be
abolished, just as e.g. and i.e. are in written English.)
8.12
The Beebug version of C++ is not documented but seems to work correctly
in general. There were a few errors in the first release, notably with
the instream method of input for floats, but they were corrected in
later releases. The documentation for the Acorn version is much more
substantial, but there are no worked examples or real example programs.
All you get is two versions of “Hello World”, one of them with a fairly
obvious bug. A silly problem with the original release was that instream
input needed <ctrl-D> to terminate it instead of just <return>. There
was no mention of this in the documentation, but it has been corrected
with the update which is available from Internet or can be bought, for
£5, from Vector Marketing.
8.12
Because I didn’t know the language, I thought that I had better read
something about it so I looked on the shelves in the bookshops. In spite
of the title, “C++ for Dummies” seems to be an excellent book which
explains how the various features work and why they are there. The
author is prepared to admit that some of the features are not
particularly vital, while being enthusiastic about the ones that are.
8.12
I also bought “Teach yourself C++ programming in 21 days” from Sams
Publishing. It is an absolutely fascinating book, because it has not
been proof read at all. There are programs from which you are asked to
remove the bugs, when there are none, and others which are supposed to
work but contain bugs. All the listings have line numbers against them,
but in some cases comments have been added to the listing since the
explanations were written − so the explanation doesn’t tie up with what
you see. There are numerous other mistakes, the worst one being that the
software which generated the text has replaced two consecutive minus
signs by an en-dash. This is especially unfortunate in a book devoted to
a C-derived language and makes a big hurdle for a beginner. The silly
thing is that, if you know enough about the language to recognise the
mistakes, the author has had some very good ideas and gives some
excellent explanations of what is going on. The book, though, is
supposed to be for the absolute beginner and must confuse someone who
has never programmed before. If a program doesn’t work, it will be
difficult to work out whether you have made a mistake or the book itself
is wrong. It is a great shame that such a potentially good book should
have been spoiled by lack of care. u
8.12
Mice
8.12
Richard Torrens
8.12
This is a tale of rodents and Risc PCs as well as mice and older
Archies, for I now have a new Risc PC. As supplied, the Risc PC mouse is
completely interchangeable with the older creatures, so if you are
thinking of getting a new pet, read on.
8.12
My trusty old Archimedes 410/1 has been upgraded and used heavily. It
eats rodents − it is now on its third mouse. Also, I use the mouse so
heavily at times that the older Acorn mice were a pain − quite
literally, for I developed a sore spot at the base of one finger where
it rested on the old mouse.
8.12
Also, I had other troubles with mice. They are dirty creatures − mine
kept on getting a dirty ball, causing the wheels to stick. Also, the
ball tended to slip. I had effected a partial solution by dismantling
the mouse and packing it so that the ball retaining spring applied more
downward pressure but this was only a partial cure. What I wanted was a
nice new mouse with a nice comfortable feel and, if you will pardon me
saying so, some lead in its ball, for a weighty mouse ball is the secret
of a good, slip-free existence.
8.12
Alternative mice?
8.12
I looked at all the Archimedes mice I could find. I was unimpressed. Too
angular, too light in the spherical component. So I started looking at
IBM mice. Mostly, these are serial mice, quite unsuitable for Acorn use
(except, of course, with the Risc PC). But there are so called ‘Bus’
mice available with the correct 9-pin connectors and these can be
modified for Acorn use. But I was wary at first, as no one seemed to be
able to tell me the IBM connections. In the end, I found this out from a
local dealer.
8.12
So I duly purchased a Logitech Mouseman deluxe Bus mouse. This is
ergonomicly shaped and has a weighty sphere. Gone are the old sore
spots! The mouse is very light to use on the buttons: it has taken me
quite a time to avoid accidental button presses because the buttons
respond to the slightest pressure − they are, in fact, over-sensitive.
The ball doesn’t retain rubbish either. Unfortunately, it does still
pick up rubbish which it duly deposits on the pressure rollers inside
so, after some time of use, it develops a distinctly ‘gritty’ feel. Time
to clean out the mouse, a task all keepers of small rodents seem to have
to put up with. However, the ball has never seized up or slipped from
being dirty.
8.12
The instructions which follow refer to this Logitech mouse, but should
apply to other similar mice with a 9-pin mini DIN plug.
8.12
Mouse physiology
8.12
How do they work? Inside the mouse are two wheels, each one similar to
the drawing overleaf. The wheel is usually made of black plastic with
rectangular slots punched in it. I have shown slots at 60° spacing but
they are usually closer. Shining through the slots are two LEDs (Light
Emitting Diodes). Each LED shines onto a light sensitive transistor. The
two emitters are spaced so that, when one transistor can ‘see’ its LED
through the centre of its window, the other LED is looking at an edge
and is therefore switching on or off.
8.12
In my illustration, the LEDs are spaced at 105° (60° × 1.75). The output
voltage from the transistor is processed to switch rapidly from high to
low as the LED’s light is transmitted or occluded so that the voltage is
low when the transistor is lit and high when it is in darkness. In the
diagram, LED 1 is fully illuminated and LED 2 is switching. Note that
LED 2 may be switching from light to dark or from dark to light − this
depends on the rotation direction.
8.12
Now consider the second drawing. Here the wheel is shown in four
different states, each rotated 15° from the previous one. Diagram E is
equivalent to diagram A, being 60° rotated. For clockwise rotation, the
states follow each other in order A-B-C-D-E from left to right but if
you read the states from right to left, E-D-C-B-A, then these correspond
to anticlockwise rotation.
8.12
Notice that LED 2 is changing state from light to dark in diagram A for
clockwise rotation and in diagram C for anticlockwise rotation. So if we
measure LED 1 every time LED 2 goes from light to dark, if LED 1 is
light then we are rotating clockwise but if LED 1 is dark, then we have
anticlockwise rotation. The computer uses this fact to monitor
direction: each time LED 2 goes from light to dark it samples LED 1 to
determine the direction. It uses the number of transitions to measure
the distance.
8.12
In practice, the system is a little bit more clever, since there are
problems if the wheel stops on an edge. Of course, the two LEDs are
interchangeable, and it doesn’t matter which one is used as the step and
which as the direction. If, in re-wiring, you get the two signals
interchanged, the mouse will simply work upside down or left to right
instead of right to left. The diagram below shows the corresponding
electrical signals switching at 15° intervals.
8.12
There are two such wheels, one rotates for vertical movement and the
other rotates for horizontal movement of the mouse ball. If you take
your mouse to pieces, you can easily see these two ‘encoders’ as they
are called. The actual wheels have a lot more slots than I have shown.
8.12
The Logitech mouse
8.12
The diagram below shows the inside of the logitech mouse with the
connections as supplied for IBM use and as required by Acorn.
8.12
The Mouse’s tail terminates in a crimp connector which mates with pins
on the circuit board. It is necessary to disengage each crimp from the
plastic housing.The engaging mechanism varies with different makes of
connector. Sometimes, there is a tine on the metal contact, sometimes a
tine on the housing which locks onto the contact. With a pin, you can
usually depress the locking tine and gently pull the terminal out. Don’t
use too much pressure or you will bend the tine. If your mouse has a
different colour scheme or pin order to the Logitech, you will have to
get out an ohmmeter and check the continuity of each wire through to its
pin. Make a ‘before and after’ chart as above so you know what the wire
connections are, and which pin they connect to, so you can rearrange
them in the correct order. If your mouse has the correct 9-pin mini DIN
connector and three buttons, you should be able to convert it quite
simply.
8.12
And finally...
8.12
As a complete change of subject, this article, plus all the drawings,
was going to be sent to Paul via ArcFax (some few moons ago) which he
also uses. But he thought there were too many complications, so I did
not send it and it lay dormouse (sorry, dormant) until I received a
request for an article. A shame that − because it really is very quick
and easy to send files by ArcFax. Perhaps he’ll awake now and make the
facility available to everyone (hint).
8.12
OK, I can take a hint! Next article you send, Richard − you let me know
and we’ll see if we can make history! Or we could just try it anyway,
see if it works, and then you could write an article about how it was
done. OK? (To be fair, the reason it was complicated was that I use the
bulletin board line as an out-going fax line. When the BBS was
operative, it would contend with ArcFax for the privilege of answering
the phone. But now that the BBS is no more...) Ed. u
8.12
RISC OS and Windows − Part 2
8.12
Keith Parker
8.12
New machines and OS
8.12
I was pleased to learn that Acorn has launched some new machines −
namely the Risc PC 700 and the A7000 − at competitive prices! I also
found out that a new (updated) version of our favourite operating system
is onboard − RISC OS 3.6. I am not claiming that my wish list had any
bearing on Acorn’s move but it is good to see that some of my wish list
is being incorporated, namely:
8.12
New Filecore: This will allow us to address up to 4Gb of hard disc
storage. (16Gb on SCSI.)
8.12
New Paint: This will allow 24bit files to be created and edited.
8.12
Additionally, the new prices look very attractive, especially compared
to the new lower priced Apple PowerMacs − Well done, Acorn!
8.12
RISC OS 4 − More ideas
8.12
Since my last article, I have received some more ideas for RISC OS 4 −
now I do not want to put our Clan Acorn columnists out of business, so
may I suggest all further comments or ideas go to them (via Paul, if
needs be!). Having said that, these ideas are so good and apply to my
main sphere of interest, DTP. So I will detail them here:
8.12
i) LongFileNames: This is not new but something that needs to be
addressed with a major degree of urgency. I know there are some PD
programs that allow this feature but surely the Acorn programmers can
match Apple and MicroSoft − after all, they have led them so far!
8.12
ii) CMYK: The implementation of CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and black)
in Draw leaves a lot to be desired. Perhaps Acorn can look at this at
the same time as acquiring the rights to the Pantone library.
8.12
iii) Colour Balance for Monitors: Most monitors and computers used in
the professional markets have the ability to balance the colours and
calibrate the displays more accurately. This is, I suggest, a major job
so it may need to wait for RISC OS 5 (?).
8.12
iv) Save into directories: We need the ability to drop and save a file
into an unopened directory.
8.12
v) Alt-tab (Windows) shortcut (pt 2): I mentioned this last month, but
have since found that it allows the user to rotate through applications
without needing to keep going back to the directory display or the
iconbar.
8.12
vi) Save from within an application: When pressing <f3> in Windows, you
get a dialogue box that allows you to specify exactly where you want to
save your work. This is especially important where you have a screen
full of open windows.
8.12
CorelDraw3 CD
8.12
I received a call from a reader who was having problems converting .cdr
files (CorelDraw’s native format) to ArtWorks. For anybody else who is
experiencing these problems, or who is considering buying CorelDraw for
the clipart, here is the process involved.
8.12
1) Fire up Windows and insert CD in drive.
8.12
2) Double click on Main Folder then File Manager and select drive D (or
whatever letter you have allocated to your CD drive).
8.12
3) Open up the clipart directory and double-click on the *.cdr file you
want.
8.12
4) After waking up and seeing the CorelDraw loading banner for the
umpteenth time, click on FILE, and halfway down is the option EXPORT.
8.12
5) Click on EXPORT − this opens a dialogue box.
8.12
6) Select Illustrator 88, 1.1 and 3.0, as these seem to be the versions
that are most widely understood and stable. Also ensure that the drive
window shows c: (if your CD is drive D and the box shows d:, change it
or you get an error message).
8.12
When you have done all that, click on OK! A new box opens up:
8.12
7) I suggest that you save as v3.0 and ensure that, if your chosen file
contains text, Text as Curves is on. Illustrator EPS files with strange
font information can do strange things to ArtWorks.
8.12
8) Another box entitled ‘CorelDraw is Exporting’ opens up with a dial
telling you how much has been done.
8.12
9) When complete, quit the PC card and double-click on your drive C (in
the RISC OS “PC” directory).
8.12
10) Double-click on the Corel30 directory and you should find a file
entitled */AI. (As Windows allows longer names than RISC OS, if any part
of /AI is missing, ArtWorks will NOT load it.)
8.12
DTP packages − Is size important?
8.12
I was offered the Serif Publishing Suite on CD­ROM at the ridiculous
price of £9.95 +VAT (manuals extra) so I bought it. Quite a nice package
but the size of disc space required is awesome. Serif PagePlus v3.0
needs 10,072,991 bytes against Impression Publisher’s 3,511,820 bytes
(including WordWorks and Equasor). Tony Tolver (of T-J fame) supports
PagePlus and wrote an article for the PagePlus User Group’s magazine −
not in PagePlus but in Impression Publisher Plus!
8.12
Excellent quality publications produced on Acorns
8.12
I was asked by another reader if there were any other magazines (of
“professional” standard) that are produced using Acorns apart from Land
Mobile. The one that immediately sprang to my mind was Acorn Publisher.
8.12
This magazine is coming to the end of its first year of publication and
should be considered essential reading by anyone who aspires to using
their Acorn for DTP. It was created by that stalwart of the Acorn world,
Mike Williams − best known as editor of Risc User and as a contributor
to many different Acorn publications. This ambitious project uses Acorns
(from start to finish) to create a magazine that aims (and succeeds) to
appeal to beginners and experts alike. It contains news, reviews, hints
and tips, master classes and case studies of Acorns in the publishing
world. Articles are written by people who, in many cases, use Acorns for
their living, like Walter Briggs, past CC ArtWorks winner, Richard
Lambley, editor of Land Mobile and our own Mark Howe, editor of the DTP
column. If you want to get more out of your Acorn in dtp then get your
hands on Acorn Publisher − it is nearly as good value as the Non-
Designer’s Design Book! (We have now sold over 300 copies of NDDB,
offering complete money-back guarantee − and only one has come back!
Ed.)
8.12
Sample copies are available from Akalat Publishing, as well as a twelve
month subscription (six issues). Sample copies cost £4.50 (UK), £5.00
(Europe) and £6.00 (rest of the world), post paid to your home.
Subscriptions cost £24.95 (UK) and £34.95 (overseas).
8.12
Printers 1.28c
8.12
Following the last issue of Archive, I decided to upgrade to Acorn
Printers v1.28c. This is available from Archive for £5. Before you
complain, as previous upgrades only cost £2, if you purchase it direct
from Acorn it is £10! It seems to be much more stable and to provide
much better colour results and some new PDF’s.
8.12
One problem I have discovered occurs if you load Printers first and then
load Publisher − the Publisher loading banner goes transparent, apart
from the text that states “Licensed to …  ” and the outline border to
the banner. This does not occur if you load Publisher before Printers.
What is interesting is that it does not affect Publisher Plus! Any
ideas?
8.12
DTP Comparisons
8.12
My plans are for the following articles:
8.12
Article One: Impression Publisher Plus and OvationPro compared with
QuarkXpress (Mac).
8.12
Article Two: Impression Publisher Plus compared with QuarkXpress (PC),
PageMaker5, Corel Ventura and PagePlus3.
8.12
Article Three: OvationPro compared with QuarkXpress (PC), PageMaker5,
Corel Ventura and PagePlus3.
8.12
Article Four: “The Showdown” − Impression Publisher Plus versus
OvationPro.
8.12
Obviously, the timescale for Articles One, Three and Four depend on
Beebug, i.e. when OvationPro is launched. We all know that this vast
project is late (as was Impression Publisher) but neither of these
projects are, or will be, as late as that programming saga, Windows4,
Windows95, or whatever it is now called.
8.12
If anybody has any comments or ideas on what they would specifically
like to see in these comparisons, please do not hesitate to contact me.
8.12
Keith Parker, 33 Fieldend, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 4TG. (0860-919-
216) u
8.12
MacroLife
8.12
Chris Whitworth
8.12
MacroLife is a desktop version of the ‘Game of Life’. No, were not
talking about that silly board game with the annoying clicky wheel in
the middle. We’re talking Cellular Automata − well, we couldn’t call it
anything simple, could we? People might think they understood it, and
that would put scientists out of a job. For those who’ve never heard of
it before, the ‘game’ goes something like this: You have a big grid −
the life plane − within which there are a load of cells, some ‘alive’,
some ‘dead’. A rule is then applied to every location on the grid, and
the next generation calculated using the rule. The rule is then re-
applied, and so on.
8.12
The standard game follows the rules laid out by John Conway in 1970.
These dictate that a cell will be alive (ie. it will exist) in the next
generation if it has three living neighbours in the current generation.
If it has two neighbours, it stays as it is. If it has any other number,
it will be dead. Each cell has eight neighbours (up, down, left, right
and four diagonal).
8.12
What do you get?
8.12
MacroLife itself is available in two versions − the Freeware ‘demo’
version (which I believe appeared on the July Acorn User cover disc),
and the Careware ‘full’ version. This basically means that if you buy
the full program from the author, he’ll donate some money to Motivation
− a charity who provide wheelchairs for people in developing countries.
The demo is identical in almost every respect to the full version,
except when you first run the demo version, a window pops up encouraging
you to register.
8.12
What you get for your money is a single disc and a well-written manual,
covered with what looks suspiciously like cling-film. The software is
not copy-protected, and can be installed on a hard disc. However, each
copy has a licence name and number encoded within it, so any pirate
copies can be tracked down to the original source.
8.12
In use
8.12
Double-clicking on the application results in it installing itself on
your iconbar, and clicking on this icon presents you with a blank life
plane (as shown overleaf), with a toolbar along the top. It is now you
begin to realise what an amazing piece of coding this actually is − the
life plane itself is 65536 by 65536 cells in size − a quick calculation
tells us that this is over 4 billion cells. Now, even only using 1 bit
per cell, this would theoretically take up 512Mb(!) of memory, which my
A3000 hasn’t got. There’s obviously some clever coding going on
somewhere...
8.12
There are several ways of investigating life from here − you can either
insert one of the predefined patterns into the plane, and watch this
develop, or design your own. The supplied patterns are very impressive −
particularly the Microchip (see below). However, it is much more fun
designing your own patterns, and letting them grow. You can either draw
them freehand, cell by cell, or by using the ‘drawing tools’ − which
consist of filled rectangles, move and copy options, rotation and
flipping options, and a random pattern generator.
8.12
Once you’ve drawn your pattern, you can set it generating. There are
several options for this, too. You can run it in ‘real time’, step by
step, to a specific generation, at several speeds, or any combination of
the above. The generation is fully multitasking (although a faster
single tasking option is available), and it is fast − even on my ARM2
A3000. On a Risc PC at full speed, it is often impossible to make out
exactly what is going on, it runs so fast!
8.12
Options
8.12
So far, what I have described just sounds like every other Life program
available in the public domain (apart from the speed). However, what
really sets it apart from the rest of the crowd are its customisation
options: besides the ‘standard’ game of life − known as Conway’s life −
there are also several other versions implemented, and even a feature
which allows you to create your own rules. By adjusting the rules
slightly, you can create some amazing and intricate patterns.
8.12
Other options include: the ability to zoom the life plane to a variety
of (oddly chosen) sizes; to save the whole plane, or just single
objects; local, regional and global overview windows; to centre the view
on the origin of the plane; to change the cell colours; to wrap around
at the edge; to turn auto-scrolling on and off; to turn toolbar help on
and off; to have a wide or narrow toolbar; and to turn the grid on or
off.
8.12
The program is very easy to use and, in case you are in doubt as to what
the tool icons do, you can turn the help text on, which gives details of
the button the mouse pointer is over. The only criticism I have here is
that, to access the grid clear/reset functions, you have to double click
on another, completely unrelated, icon. However, once you’ve got used to
it, it actually works very well.
8.12
Conclusion
8.12
I have only really scratched the surface of this incredible program in
this review − there is so much more to it than can possibly be explained
in a single article. The only way you can get to know is to try it for
yourself. I would have no hesitation in recommending this to anyone who
is remotely interested in cellular automata − it’s fast, it’s big, it’s
incredibly user friendly, it’s got more options than a Ford Escort, and
the profits go to charity. What more could you ask for?
8.12
Sending a cheque for £8 to Chris Taylor at 32 Burghley Court, Great
Holm, Milton Keynes, MK8 9EL. (01908-569556) u
8.12
I tried it out too, and I have to say that it is a quite amazing piece
of software. I only wish I had time to play with it! I also happen to
know that Motivation is a good cause, so go for it. Ed.
8.12
JPEG in Action
8.12
Stuart Bell
8.12
For well over a year, I edited the Archive JPEG column, comparing
various JPEG applications, and providing a commentary on the increasing
use of JPEG techniques on RISC OS machines, to the point at which they
were so well established that I felt that a regular JPEG column was no
longer necessary. (JPEG stands for Joint Photographic Experts’ Group,
and is a machine-independent technique for reducing the disc space
needed to store large bit-map images. See Archive 6.9 – “First Steps
with JPEG” – and subsequent issues with the JPEG Columns, for more
information.)
8.12
However, during that period, I never needed to use JPEG for a large-
scale project! The aim of this article is to pass on the lessons learned
in a major application of JPEG compression.
8.12
Slide-tape or disc-tape?
8.12
The project started as a slide-tape programme, with an audio commentary
and soundtrack accompanying perhaps three hundred 35mm slides. Very
soon, I realised that using computer-based images (albeit with the sound
sourced from audio tape) would give greater flexibility in the use of
images, and make far simpler the production of captions, multiple images
and special effects. Anyway, it would be much more fun! Final video
output would be to a VCR, via a PAL encoder, and the audio would be
added later, dubbed onto the video tape. (I know that the sound could
also be done on the computer, but I wasn’t confident in my ability to
locate and use a package which would allow for 20 minutes of continuous
audio, whilst images are changing every few seconds.)
8.12
The next problem was to identify the software to assemble and sequence
the images. I tried Quickshow from Desktop Projects, which at £10 was
brilliant value, but rather limited. I modified it to run in mode 21
(rather than just mode 15) but was still left with images that would not
fill the full width of the screen. To modify the package to run in the
wide mode 35 (or similar wide versions of mode 21) would have needed a
major re-write, which I hadn’t the time (or the inclination) to attempt.
Jim Nottingham kindly sent me a demo version of CableNews, but – as he
warned me to expect – it had an unnerving propensity to crash, not just
itself, but the whole machine. Later versions are probably more robust,
but they’re not cheap. Hence, I used Genesis Project. It works quite
well, but I have felt that, on occasions, I was fighting its ‘stripped-
down-ness’ when compared with Genesis Professional, and it isn’t as
robust as, say, Impression Publisher. Its use as an automatic ‘slide-
show’ sequencer could take a whole article in itself – and probably
will, when the project is complete.
8.12
Scanning services
8.12
Unless you use a digital camera – increasingly available, but still
expensive, especially at decent resolutions – then the first stage in
producing such an A/V project is to get the images onto disc. As I’d
already purchased the slide film, my photographs would be on that
medium, while to them I would add photos from magazines and guides
(copyright permitting). This is where JPEG comes in.
8.12
I first approached Birdtech (33 Blackbird Close, Bradwell, Gt. Yarmouth,
Norfolk, NR31 8RT), who is an Acorn dealer, but also offers a scanning
service. There, Roy Robinson was very helpful. The trial slides I sent
for scanning weren’t wonderful, but the demo print scans he sent back
were very good. I used Birdtech for all my non-slide scans, and received
a very prompt and economical service. Some of the very large scans of A4
pictures were superb, and simply couldn’t have fitted on a 800Kb disc
without the use of JPEG.
8.12
For slides, I turned to Bluebell Software (PO Box 2923, Witham, Essex,
CM8 2SQ) who offer a very comprehensive scanning service, and also stock
related software, aimed mainly at PC users. Hence, they supply images on
PC-format discs, but that’s no problem to Acorn machines. Bluebell send
a 60­page catalogue to prospective customers with lots of sensible
advice about image scanning, and it was this that confirmed JPEG as the
ideal file format for my images. They use a Nikon film scanner, not a
transparency attachment to a flat-bed scanner, and the superb results
show the quality possible with a device that goes up to 2700dpi!
8.12
Lesson 1: Use a scanning service with a proper film scanner for best
results with slides.
8.12
Bluebell also gave me excellent service, with their “Rapidscan Level II”
640×420 pixel images at 75p a time. That may not sound very high
resolution, but it’s quite adequate for screen displays. Bluebell are
very keen advocates of JPEG image compression, and the booklet stresses
its advantages. Certainly, despite it being clear from a ‘phone
conversation that Bluebell would hardly know an Acorn from a hazelnut, I
had no problem at all with the JPEG images they produced from the slide
which I sent to them.
8.12
Lesson 2: JPEG cross-platform portability is a reality.
8.12
It was soon after I started planning the project that the Risc PC was
announced. Its 24-bit colour capability would have been nice (although
you’d be surprised how good 256 colour images can look) but I knew that
I simply couldn’t afford one before the project is due for completion.
However, what of the future? Might I want to re-master the project with
16M colours in the future? Quite possibly. One thing that I under-
stressed in the JPEG Column, perhaps because it wasn’t so relevant at
the time, was that JPEG images are 24-bit images (provided, of course,
that the scans are made at 24 bits per pixel!) At the moment, I can’t
access all those lovely colours on my A310, but as long as I keep those
images safe, some day I will. . .
8.12
Lesson 3: JPEG images are future-proof.
8.12
For safety’s sake
8.12
And so, as the photographs were taken, processed, and despatched to
Birdtech and Bluebell, the discs of images started to arrive. The 197
slide images currently run to 19Mb, and those from 42 photographs amount
to a further 11Mb. The sprites produced from them total 46Mb (which
would be 132Mb with true-colour images). Whilst it could be argued that
the JPEG images which arrived on floppy discs don’t need backing up, no
such arguments could be made for the sprite files, which have not simply
been converted from the files, but cropped and, in many cases, edited to
clean-up the images. And these are ‘mode 35’ images – true colour high-
resolution sprites would run to 264Mb. (250 24-bit images at 800×600
would total 360Mb!)
8.12
It soon became clear that backing-up to floppy disc – which is possible,
if laborious, for text, Impression files, and a few images – becomes
quite impracticable for serious image-intensive projects. I bought a
105Mb Syquest drive from NCS and, especially with ClicBack, it’s
excellent. When the project is complete, all the files will reside on
one Syquest cartridge (or two with a back-up) and will not need to
clutter up my hard disc. The 270Mb units are even nicer, but whilst
their nominal cost per Mb is lower, if you want to store less than 100Mb
for one particular project on a cartridge, the cost per Mb of data
stored becomes greater. But, whatever system you use, you can’t sensibly
use floppies to back up such huge amounts of data.
8.12
Lesson 4: A hard disc back-up device is essential for protecting the
work in a major A/V project.
8.12
Image processing
8.12
The images arrived at my A310 as JPEG files; 640×420 for the slides, and
up to 772×1114 for the photographs. I eventually decided upon a 768×256
display for the image sequence, the former giving a full-width
‘overscan’ image and the latter giving small black margins top and
bottom, whilst the aspect ratio (3:2) is the same as for 35mm slides.
What software should I use for the conversion and editing? Towards the
end of writing the JPEG column, I’d found that recent versions (I use
0.95) of the ChangeFSI utility supplied by Acorn are as quick as any
other “de-JPEGing” software I’ve encountered, and further tests showed
that the quality of the images produced is as good as any others, as
well. It also has a wide range of processing and scaling facilities. So,
ChangeFSI was used for the JPEG-sprite conversion, slightly sharpening
and scaling the images in the process.
8.12
As far as editing the sprites was concerned, colour consistency between
slide-originated images was very good, and most of the photos were of
paintings, so I didn’t need to alter the colours. Cropping and touching-
up (eg to remove telephone wires from images) were all that was
required. I ransacked a PD library for possible software, ploughed
through endless badly-written (or quite inadequate) manuals, fiddled
interminably to accommodate astronomic memory requirements, went mad
watching the hour-glass tick away as images were laboriously processed
(and this with an ARM3!), and ended up using Paint!
8.12
With Paint, cropping is trivial, once you learn to use ‘Flip’ and
‘adjust size’ rather than ‘delete’ rows and columns, and the ‘use sprite
as brush’ made the eradication of cables from skies quite simple.
Paint’s simple air-brush and ‘set/clear pixels’ proved quite adequate to
complete the required tasks. I wished I’d tried Paint in the first
place, although I recognise that for 24-bit images something more
powerful – and expensive – may well be needed.
8.12
Lesson 5: Free software like ChangeFSI and Paint is adequate for most
simple image work.
8.12
Conclusion
8.12
As I write this, the project nears completion. It’s still in Genesis
format, but I may upgrade to Genesis Professional in order to produce a
more polished final result. Similarly, the latest PAL encoders with a
800×600 display facility – like that from Pineapple – may, in the long
term, allow a move to higher resolution images. And it might just be
that I’ll wait for a Risc PC before completing the project, to get 24-
bit images. In the long-term, it might be more economic to use print
film and buy my own flat-bed scanner, but that’s another story.
8.12
Whatever happens, my investment in JPEG images, sourced from non-Acorn
scanners, and backed up, if only for peace of mind, is safe. My
experiences have proved the importance and value of the JPEG image
compression and storage system for the continually developing
relationship of computers and still photographic images. u
8.12
Pocket Book Column
8.12
Audrey Laski
8.12
Power Pack Blues forever?
8.12
I still haven’t resolved the Power Pack problems I have been muttering
about for the last three columns, and the Pocket Book itself is now
under investigation. I am again in that state of frustrated deprivation
that comes from being without one’s treasured memory amplifier.
8.12
Pocket Book pouch
8.12
Richard Derby, of Welwyn, Herts. writes about a leather pouch designed
for the Psion 3a but, of course, equally useful for the Pocket Book. He
had suffered from the tendency of palmtops to treat trouser pockets as a
form of Colditz and try to escape whenever sitting down made it
possible, and he needed his Pocket Book II with him all the time because
of its phone power.
8.12
The only case that seemed available initially cost £25 and didn’t really
fill the need, but then a friend recommended the S3 Sleeve Case, from
Systemslink Two Ltd, Incon House, 10 Stilebrook Road, Olney, Bucks. MK46
5LL (01234-711220). This is “a padded leather pouch with a belt loop”,
costing £13.95. He says, “I have been using this pouch for four months
now and find it ideal. With such ready accessibility, I am beginning to
use more Pocket Book facilities.” He has noted that a similar pouch,
from Network Solutions, was described in Products Available, Archive
8.8, but observes that it is slightly cheaper from Systemslink Two,
which may be the manufacturer. I’m thinking of getting one myself, but
not, of course, till my hospitalised Pocket Book returns.
8.12
Still more about the A-Link
8.12
Richard also takes up some issues from earlier columns about the A-Link.
He notes that “there is no difference between the PC-Link except in the
wiring of the cable from the plastic sausage to the serial port of the
computer... The consequence of this is that PC-Links will only work with
IBM compatibles whereas A-Links will work with both Acorns and IBMs − at
least mine does!” He further confirms that Pocket Book II will, as
Julian Midgely surmised, transfer data at 19200, though he warns that
this option is only recommended for use with the A5000 or later
machines, because of the nature of the serial port of the earlier
Archimedes.
8.12
Endnote
8.12
Only one correspondent this month. Perhaps a flood of letters will come
in just after I have posted this to Paul. Perhaps I shall recover from
the Power Pack blues. Perhaps a computer manufacturer will put out a new
product at the deadline originally specified. Perhaps a herd of Old
Norfolk Spotted pigs will be seen flying in perfect formation over
Norwich...  u
8.12
Fire & Ice
8.12
Chris Coe
8.12
When I first played Fire & Ice, I felt there was a certain 16-bit
flavour about it. That’s not to say that it isn’t any good. It’s a
platform game − which is good news, because it’s quite a while since a
good platform game was released for Acorn machines.
8.12
The story so far...
8.12
Suten, having used his powers over the elemental forces (fire, water
etc.) destroys an entire solar system, and is condemned, by ‘the powers
that be’, to a life in prison. Not content with this new way of life, he
escapes and travels 12 lights years to Earth. So taken is he by the
place, that he decides he’ll stay, and take it over. Meanwhile... Glemm,
a kind of intergalactic Mounty, has picked up his trail and is
determined to take him back. Unfortunately, Glemm can’t materialise on
Earth, because that would alert Suten to his presence, causing another
stellar catastrophe. Instead, he uses an agent − not a human, of course,
they’re too stupid! Instead he chooses one ‘Cool Coyote’, the hero of
the piece. CC doesn’t know that he’s an agent for justice, so sets out
on this adventure unaware that he is a pawn in a deadly game of pursuit.
8.12
Playing the game
8.12
The concept is simple − hop, skip and jump around lots of levels,
blasting baddies and collecting parts of a key which will enable you to
escape... to another level! The game is split into countries, each
country being split into a maximum of five lands. To progress from one
place to another, you’ll need to accumulate six key sections.
Unfortunately, there does not appear to be any way of skipping lands
that you’ve already completed, forcing you to play through the whole
game every time.
8.12
Actual gameplay is good. To eliminate a baddy, you have to put it in the
deep freeze, with a liberal sprinkling of ice pellets. At this point,
jumping onto it will cause it to shatter, perhaps releasing a bonus, or
one of those vital key segments. You can get additional help from any
‘puppies’ that might be hanging around in the vicinity, who will follow
you around and shoot when you do. They won’t leap across great chasms
though, so their use is limited. Another great feature is that the
levels are all literally oozing with secret blocks, platforms, rooms and
bonuses, where you can pick up extra weapons, lives and so on.
8.12
The graphics are reasonably good, although the title screen and ‘Game
Over’ sequences could have been spiced up a bit. Sound effects and music
are sufficient and, thankfully, you can switch them off.
8.12
There are a few annoying omissions. There are no in-game pause or quit
buttons, although returning to the desktop is no problem. The omission
of a level skip or password system is rather frustrating, especially
since each level is fairly large. Overall, an above average platform
game that’s definitely worth a look at £24 through Archive. u
8.12
Comment Column
8.12
Acorn’s low depreciation − I have come to understand an important aspect
of buying computer hardware: depreciation. I have a six year old A410/1
worth £400. If it were a PC, it would be scrap by now. Why?
8.12
Firstly, ARM processor based machines seem to have a longer shelf life.
They are, generally, more easily upgradeable − this is nothing unique.
They are also very compatible but you won’t understand the real
significance of that unless you’ve tried to run Windows on an 80286 or
earlier. So what is the result of this future-proofing?
8.12
Acorn machines lose value more slowly than any other machines that I
have come across. An average machine loses about 20% of its value per
year, the machines still have a market and people still want to buy five
year old machines. (Who would want a five year old DOS machine?!)
8.12
(Or how about the ten year old BBC Bs that Ray Maidstone is refurbishing
for charity? We can’t get enough to fulfil the demand! Ed.)
8.12
If you want to buy a new machine every time one is released, every two
or three years, you only need to find a few hundred pounds on top of
what your previous machine would fetch. If we all did this, it would
increase the availability of secondhand machines, reducing their prices
slightly, but it would also increase Acorn’s sales, maybe reducing their
prices too.
8.12
If you have a PC-owning friend who comes to visit and is impressed by
your A5000, why not sell it to them and buy a Risc PC? This way, we
expand the user base, i.e. Acorn’s customer base, and ensure Acorn’s
survival.
8.12
Dave Pantling, Bletchley
8.12
C++ books − I can recommend very strongly an absolutely excellent book
on C++: ‘Developing C++ Software’, Second Edition (maybe it is in its
third edition by now...), by Russell Winder, 1993. It is published by
Wiley, ISBN 0 471 93610 3. It takes a very rigorous, but gentle,
approach and introduces the fundamental principles as required. It is
definitely not a ‘hacker-style’ book, but would make a first rate
introduction for anyone interested in C++.
8.12
A good second book would be Stroustrup (The C++ Programming Language),
or Coplien (Advanced C++) for those interested in complex programming
techniques. (Coplien is NOT for the faint-hearted!)
8.12
Michael Ben-Gershon, [e-mail].
8.12
Creepy Crawlies/Living World − The Archive price list mentions that
Creepy Crawlies and Dictionary of the Living World will not work on the
Risc PC. New driver s/w is available on the Acorn ftp server, and I can
attest that it works well!
8.12
Michael Ben-Gershon, [e-mail].
8.12
Escom − Remember Amigas? Well, it looks like they’re coming back and,
from what I’ve heard, it could be very bad news for Acorn. The ‘low end’
machine comes with a 33MHz 68030 processor, either 2Mb or 4Mb of RAM, a
hard disc of indeterminate size, and the capability of running three
operating systems − Amiga DOS, Mac OS and DOS. Apparently it’s going to
be less than £300. Now, the operating systems will probably be software
emulated, and the sub-£300 model will probably only have a small hard
disc and 2Mb RAM, but with the hype surrounding it, and with the Amiga’s
established reputation within the home, Acorn stands no chance against
this new foe. Sub-£300 Risc PC anyone? I think not, somehow.
8.12
Chris Whitworth, Wreningham, Norfolk.
8.12
PCs versus Acorns − In order to show why Acorns are preferable to PCs,
we need to explain the difference between the price of a product and the
cost of a product. The price of the product is the amount you paid for
the particular system and software needed to do a specific job.
8.12
The cost of the product is the overall monies you have to pay out to
keep it capable and up-to-date over a period of time.
8.12
Let me illustrate this by looking at two systems, one an Acorn Risc PC
and the other an IBM compatible, both for DTP users.
8.12
(Keith’s figures were for a 9Mb/420Mb ACB45 but I have updated his
figures in the light of the new machines and, not surprisingly, the
comparison is even better for Acorn − more capable for less money. Ed.)
8.12
The Acorn:
8.12
Risc PC700 10Mb/850Mb − 17“  £1943
8.12
Impression Publisher  £299
8.12
Studio24  £169
8.12
Scanner  £550
8.12
3 year on-site maintenance  £116
8.12
TOTAL  £3077
8.12
(Actually, you could use a 5Mb/420Mb ACB70 upgraded to 9Mb at £1728 −
i.e. £214 better still. Ed)
8.12
The PC:
8.12
486DX4, 8Mb/420Mb  £999
8.12
17“ Monitor  250
8.12
PageMaker v5  495
8.12
PhotoShop v3  385
8.12
Scanner  400
8.12
3 year on-site maintenance  125
8.12
TOTAL   £2654
8.12
So, at first sight, the PC is cheaper by about £423. However, to keep
the PC up-to-date you can expect two upgrades to PageMaker at about £150
each and two upgrades to PhotoShop again, £150 each. Windows eats memory
so it will need an upgrade, say £300, and the programs are huge, so
another hard disc, say £120. So even though the price was £2654, its
cost would become £3674 without taking into account the cost of paying
for support to run the software.
8.12
What about the cost of the Acorn system? Well, we know that upgrades
cost much less − remember that CC charged only £29 to upgrade to
Publisher from Impression2 − so (I hope I’m right) assume two upgrades
from CC at, say, £50 each. Pineapple say upgrades for Studio24 will be
free! So the software upgrades cost £100. (Even if CC abandon the Acorn
market, we move to Ovation Pro at £169 with two upgrades at £50 − the
cost will only be £269). These programs will run on 8Mb, so no
additional memory there, and the programs and files are much smaller, so
no additional hard disc. So, after a price of £3077, the cost becomes
(at most) £3346.
8.12
The PC advantage in price of £423 has become a cost disadvantage of
£328. Makes one think!!!
8.12
(Using an ACB70, that would have read... price advantage £209 and cost
disadvantage £542. Ed.)
8.12
Keith Parker, London
8.12
PC service? − Some time ago, Paul asked how Acorn dealers compare with
PC dealers as regards after-sales service. He may be interested to know
that, in the PCW awards, a couple of months ago, Watford Electronics won
second prize in one of the awards for best PC dealer. That may give some
indication of the relative merits.
8.12
Dave Floyd, London NW10.
8.12
PCs = games − I am a loyal Acorn user and have argued until I am blue in
the face with my workmates about how archaic and steam-driven Windows in
all its forms is. But the public sees IBM as a standard and what the
public sees, the public gets. They associate IBM, PC and Windows all in
one big WordPerfect-using-Doom-playing mass. And that is the crux of the
matter. People don’t want the ease of use of Acorn machines for serious
use. They want lots of games so that when they get bored after a couple
of weeks, there is a new game to buy. Most people profess to be buying a
machine for word processing and home accounts but all end up playing
games. I can say with certainty that ALL of my workmates have gone for
IBM-compatibles, mostly because they use WordPerfect at work and can
thus take work home but, more importantly, because all the others at
work have so many games that they can ‘borrow’ before buying their own.
8.12
What am I trying to say here? Microsoft in all its forms will rule the
world until the end of silicon as we know it. Every new leap or step
that computing takes will still keep it sufficiently close to the
previous level that Microsoft will be able to ‘cuff’ its current suite
of software to be able to hook people on to its new wares in whatever
new area computing has reached. All that Apple and Acorn can hope to do
is go with it. Once a user has committed to a system, they will not
change − they will constantly bodge on more and more bits to keep up
with changes.
8.12
How can we keep up with this? We live in a fantasy world if we think
Acorn will not get swallowed up into the ‘PC’ milieu. The 486 co-
processor on the Risc PC is the first step of the rot. The next will be
a main processor, based on a Pentium, or something similar. We will see
an increase in articles on using ‘PC’ suites on Risc PCs and a decrease
in Acorn-specific software; that is where the battle has been lost. I
boast about my A310 still being as powerful as a 486 but all my friends
need to say is “Can you play Doom? Does it have Civilisation or
Transport Tycoon?” 90% of users are entertainment-driven and want the
latest shiny thing now, not in 18 months to 2 years.
8.12
I hate being this negative, especially as my job teaches me always to
finish with constructive criticism. Luckily, I think that there is a
solution. Acorn must bring out a hardware upgrade for the Risc PC that
suckers people into buying it, thinking they are getting a Super-
Pentium. It must run ‘PC’ software with more ease than current ‘PC’s.
Then when people are busy playing Doom and Civilisation straight from
the Desktop and not having to re-rig their Soundblaster cards for every
different game, they can be shown how much better an Acorn machine is
for grown-up use. The battleground for market-share is not serious
computing − it is quite simply games. Games get people hooked.
8.12
Gavin Dobson, RAF Aldergrove
8.12
Sibelius playback problems − Further to John VEG Mitchell’s request for
being able to play two staves together, it is possible in a roundabout
sort of way. The two (or more) parts can be extracted together and then
played. The parts are extracted by selecting the appropriate instruments
by using <adjust> and then the ‘Edit->Extract part’ option. Don’t forget
to save the score before extracting the parts, which must be reloaded
after the extracted parts have been played.
8.12
Ian Beswick, Manchester
8.12
Strategy games − I am a big fan of strategy games and am disappointed
that there are not more of these for Acorn machines. The Acorn games
market seems to be dominated by driving games and shoot-’em-ups or
platform games for kids. A few that seem to have taken the PC world by
storm are Civilisation (easily the best strategy game ever), Railway
Tycoon, Transport Tycoon, The Perfect General and Fields of Glory. Are
there any signs of these coming out for Acorns?
8.12
Gavin Dobson, RAF Aldergrove.
8.12
StrongARM news − No, sorry, this isn’t the latest news about these
amazing new chips, it’s a plea for someone to go out there
(electronically speaking) and get some info about them and write it up
for Archive. There was an article in Acorn User but some people felt
that it was, at best, pessimistic. Would anyone like to try talking
nicely to the PR people at ARM Ltd to see if you can get something worth
publishing? (Ask me first though − we don’t want twenty Archive
subscribers all asking ARM Ltd the same questions!)
8.12
Ed.
8.12
TRUK − Talk Radio UK − Every Monday night on Talk Radio UK, between 10
and 11pm, Caesar the Geezer presents his ‘CaesarTECH’ programme, where
he gives details of all the latest technology, and ‘advises’ people on
what computers to buy for what needs. Or so he claims. What this
actually seems to be is an attempt to push every other computer
manufacturer apart from PC manufacturers out of the market.
8.12
If it were normal PC advocacy, it would be bad enough, but a few weeks
ago, a woman called up asking about what machine she should buy for her
six year old son, who wanted one he could use for his school work, and
also for educational applications. She just managed to mention that he
used ‘something called a BBC/Arc or something at school’ when Caesar
jumped in saying ‘Oh, it’ll be a PC compatible. Buy him a 286 and then
upgrade it to a 486 at a later date.’
8.12
How can we promote Acorn as a credible computer manufacturer when there
are ignorant (or simply completely biased) people in a position of such
power, telling people not to even consider anything other than a PC?
(His is the most listened to evening show, and the most popular phone-in
show in the country, with an audience of about 12 million!)
8.12
Chris Whitworth, Wreningham, Norfolk.
8.12
Twain in parallel − I have just bought an Epson 8500 flat bed scanner
for use on my A5000. David Pilling has recently adapted the Twain Driver
to work via the parallel port. Unfortunately, it will not work with
Computer Concepts dongles and Turbo Driver cable, so you will need to
unplug cables whenever you need to swap between scanning and printing.
8.12
Stephen Wright, Stanmore.
8.12
Word Imperfect − I too have to use WordPerfect (version 5.1 for DOS) at
work, and as a regular Impression Publisher user, I find it very
frustrating. However, I must confess that I could not do my work in
Publisher, because of the lack of certain facilities for technical
writing. I recently wrote a 97 page design specification in WordPerfect,
which used a 5-level, automatically numbered paragraph structure and
made extensive use of cross-references.
8.12
Just for the record, the only way I could complete the document was to
run WP on my Risc PC, under the Software Emulator (no 486 cards left!)
because my aging PC at work ran too slowly with such a large document.
Even on my Risc PC it took about 20 minutes to ‘Generate’ the document,
which included compiling the contents pages and working out the cross-
references. (I simply didn’t have the time to wait for an index!)
8.12
I too have purchased the Impression loader/saver, but wasn’t
particularly impressed with what it made of the files I exported to it.
There were so many embedded codes in the document that WP crashed at
regular intervals. Come on CC, give us the proper facilities in
Impression, rather than forcing us to resort to using the ‘industry
standard’ WP!
8.12
Ian Beswick, Manchester
8.12
Hints and Tips
8.12
‘Bad compression field’ − We have had a number of comments on the
subject of the Bad compression field error produced by Laser Direct and
the TurboDrivers, so many thanks to everyone who wrote in − too many to
mention you all.
8.12
The main causes seem to be either a lack of memory, or a lack of disc
space. The usual memory saving techniques apply, quitting unused
applications, reducing the screen resolution or number of colours and so
on. Lack of disc space is most frequent on floppy-only machines for
obvious reasons. During printing, a file is placed in the !Scrap
directory, so to ensure that you have as much space as possible, create
a scrap disc (preferably 1.6Mb if your computer will support it),
containing only the !Scrap application, and make sure that you double
click on that version before attempting to print. This will require
additional disc swapping, but should allow printing to continue
successfully.
8.12
NCS.
8.12
Booting problems − When exchanging the 80Mb hard drives in our two
A5000s for 430Mb drives, I reset the machine to auto boot, and had the
desktop auto boot option set, but do you think it would boot? The
solution was to issue a *OPT 4,2 command, from which point everything
behaved as anticipated. There were no discernible differences on
*STATUS.
8.12
This is a known bug in RISC OS 3. When you tick the auto boot option,
this should be set, but unfortunately it is not. The reason it makes no
difference to the status is that it is not a configuration option, but,
in fact, it writes the option to the disc. (If you do a *CAT then the
top line should read something like  Dir. SCSI:: Words.$ Option 00
(Off); the option given will be the second number in the *OPT command.)
MH.
8.12
Alan Jackson, Oamaru, NZ.
8.12
‘Formatting’ hard discs − This has been covered several times in the
past but, unfortunately, we have had a number of people recently who
have experienced difficulty in preparing hard discs for use. While we
cannot provide a step-by-step description, since all the controller
cards are supplied with different software, many of the operations which
need to be completed are similar.
8.12
Remember that, for your particular system, you will need to read the
manual supplied with your hard disc controller card, or the HFORM
section of the manual if you are using a native drive (for example an
IDE drive on the Risc PC).
8.12
The most important point is that you MUST NOT actually format the drive.
If you do, you are more likely to damage the drive than make it usable!
All modern drives have the low level formatting laid down during the
manufacturing process, and trying to reformat the drive is likely to
damage the original formatting, but not completely replace it, rendering
the drive unusable.
8.12
Instead you need to initialise the drive. The precise wording will
depend on your controller card − Morley SCSI and HForm give you an
option to “Format or just Initialise the drive”, and the Cumana SCSI 2
card requires that you set up ‘partitions’ on the drive. The
initialisation process involves writing out RISC OS information about
the position of files on the drives, contents of the root directory and
so on, but does not do the potentially dangerous low level formatting.
8.12
NCS.
8.12
Quicksort − An error crept into Colin Singleton’s Programming Workshop
last month − at some point, the Basic program detokenised incorrectly.
All the ASC commands should be replaced with a minus sign to make the
program work. Thank you to all those who rang or wrote to point out the
error.
8.12
NCS.
8.12
Screenbanks − Following on from Matthew Hunter’s Programming Workshop
article on screen banking (Archive 8.8 p69), errors may not be displayed
because the error is written to the screen bank being updated, and not
the screen bank being viewed. By using the following procedure, you can
link both screens back together.
8.12
DEF PROCresetscreens
8.12
SYS 6,113,SB_bank%
8.12
SYS 6,112,SB_bank%
8.12
ENDPROC
8.12
The procedure could be called via the ON ERROR mechanism, or at the end
of the program.
8.12
Peter Prewett, Stirling, South Australia.
8.12
Snippet − Snippet is still a useful utility for screen grabs etc, but
refused to perform with my Risc PC. I queried 4Mation and obtained the
latest upgrade (in very short order and at no cost, which prompts me to
raise my hat to them), but still found the same problem of freezing the
machine when I tried to save a screen. The solution to this seems to be
to select a screen mode of no more than 256 colours, upon which, Snippet
behaves like the old friend it has always been.
8.12
Alan Jackson, Oamaru NZ.
8.12
Upgrading Video RAM − When upgrading the VRAM in your Risc PC from 1 to
2Mb, it is necessary to remove the 1Mb board and return it to be
upgraded. You should make sure that you reconfigure your computer to use
a screen resolution/number of colours which is possible even with no
VRAM, before removing the 1Mb board. If you do not do this, you will
find that you will need to reconfigure the computer ‘blind’, as the high
resolution modes are not available if there is no VRAM present, and no
picture will be displayed.
8.12
Fred Williams, Staffordshire.
8.12
Wimp bug (RISC OS 3.10) − If you are a Wimp programmer and have
experienced apparently inexplicable ‘Abort on data transfer’ and
‘Address exception’ errors ‘at’ addresses in the Window Manager module,
especially just after your program has quit, you may be interested (or,
like me, relieved!) to know that the problem may lie in a bug in the
Wimp.
8.12
According to a letter from Acorn, “there was a bug with ‘slabbed’ icons
(those with the R option in the validation flags). If you click on a
slabbed icon, and the program deletes the window it is on, or quits
before the wimp has a chance to redraw it, problems can arise.”
8.12
Hugh Eagle, Horsham.
8.12
Windows on the Risc PC − I would like to warn CD-ROM users that, due to
the fixed palette on the PC card, many CD programs will not work
properly − giving psychedelic colours which can lock up the computer. We
have found by pressing <f1> (in Windows) that the Windows help will be
opened, from which you can return to Windows. This prevents having to
reset the computer. Acorn/Aleph One are working on a fix for this
problem.
8.12
Peter Hughes, Desktop Laminations.
8.12
PD Column
8.12
David Holden
8.12
Many more Acorn computers are now fitted with CDs, and this means that
more software is being distributed on this medium. Increased sales also
means that prices are coming down to more realistic levels.
8.12
The ARM club will soon be producing a CD of PD programs at just under
£20. I don’t know exactly when it will appear, but it should be
available for Acorn World ’95 at Wembley in October.
8.12
APDL will also be producing at least two new CDs. The second Clip Art CD
is nearing completion and this looks even better than the first. No
price has yet been decided, but it should be under £25.
8.12
The second APDL CD will be PD programs. The main reason for this is that
I am fed up with people asking for it! Like the ARM Club CD, this should
be priced around £20. No release date yet but it should be available
before Acorn World.
8.12
New version of Zap
8.12
Version 1.3 of the text editor Zap has now been released. There are lots
of minor improvements and bug fixes, but the main enhancements are
concerned with making it ‘properly’ Risc PC compatible. This means that
redrawing 32 thousand and 64 million colour modes is faster, and the
dynamic memory management of the Risc PC is used, which speeds up some
operations and overcomes earlier problems which could (very rarely)
cause Zap to crash with very large files.
8.12
Instead of the System font, Zap now uses its own bitmap fonts. Dozens of
these are provided, but tools are supplied for you to make your own. (I
have already designed some for myself.) Not only does this mean that you
can have much more detailed characters in high resolution screen modes,
but the size is also variable. The Zap redraw routines are optimised for
8×8 or 8×16 pixel characters, but other sizes can be used. For example,
I am using 8×14. This gives me nicely shaped, easily read, characters,
and also puts more lines on the screen. On a Risc PC, the fact that this
is not an optimum size for speed has little effect.
8.12
This will be of particular interest to people with poor eyesight. By
choosing (or designing) a bigger font, you get larger text. For example,
using the supplied 12×24 bitmap font produces text about the same size
as 24 point anti-aliased. The advantage of using bitmapped fonts is that
they are faster, much easier to customise, and fixed pitch, which is
essential for programming.
8.12
Another nice feature is that Zap can now ‘hide’ the mouse pointer while
text is being entered. As soon as you start to type, the pointer
vanishes, but when you touch the mouse it reappears. You no longer need
to move it out of the way.
8.12
There are also lots of new ‘third party’ modes, and Zap can now load new
modes ‘on the fly’, so you don’t need to load them all when it is
started, but can select them from a menu if you need them later. In
particular, there are email modes, ‘MailMode’ for SMTP/NNTP and ‘Email’
for !TTFN and QEdit files, a LaTeX mode, and I was pleased to see a mode
for SAsm.
8.12
Of course, there are lots of other changes but, unfortunately, the
manual is still not too good. Everything is there, but sometimes it’s
difficult to find. Dominic is aware of this but he only has a limited
amount of time to spend on Zap, and rewriting the various sections of
the manual would now be a major task, so I suppose we shall have to wait
a while for that.
8.12
With all the extra ‘goodies’, Zap now fills an 800Kb disc, even when
compressed. However, a large part of this is not required just to run
it, so don’t worry if you don’t have a hard disc − it can still be used
from an 800Kb floppy.
8.12
This month’s special offer is therefore Zap 1.30. For a copy, send £1 or
four 1st class stamps to me at the APDL address and please tell me if
you can use 1.6Mb discs. u
8.12
Scrabble
8.12
Dave Floyd
8.12
At long last, the Acorn series of computers have a version of Scrabble
that is worthy of the name. There can surely be nobody reading this who
has never played the board game or at least have an idea of how it is
played. Scrabble is probably the most popular board game ever devised
and its popularity never seems to wane.
8.12
The one problem with the board game is that you need to have somebody to
play against. Not only that, but if they are not of roughly the same
skill level as yourself, the game can get boring for everyone concerned,
either being no real challenge or an exercise in masochism. The last
person I played regularly has refused to play me for months, since I
cleared my rack three times in four turns. He claimed I was lucky! The
computer is blessed with infinite patience of course, although I must
admit that after playing against it for two weeks now, I have an inkling
of how my friend felt.
8.12
The package
8.12
Scrabble comes in a printed cardboard box which contains the program
disc, a registration card and a fairly small A5 manual. Some of my
friends who have seen the manual have complained about the small type
used but I found the typeface to be clear and had no problems reading
it. (I did − but I’m older than Dave! Ed.) The manual is an important
part of the package as it is part of the protection method used for the
game. When you load the software, it will prompt you to enter a word
from the manual. This is a most sensible approach as it means that you
can back up your master disc or transfer it to your hard disc without
any problems. As an exercise, I tried to guess which word the protection
wanted without referring to the manual. After two hours I gave up. The
choice is far too wide even though the first letter is already filled in
for you. After you have typed in the word from the manual, Scrabble
loads itself onto the iconbar.
8.12
Options
8.12
By clicking <menu> over the TSP (The Scrabble Player) icon, tastefully
created from scrabble tiles, you are presented with the ubiquitous Info
and Quit, along with Options − these allow you to customise the game to
your requirements and save the settings. One option gives you the
opportunity to peek at the opposing players’ racks in practice mode − a
must for those who always sneak around the table when other human
players go to the kitchen. ‘Confirm moves’ causes TSP to delay its moves
instead of the default where the computer will place its tiles the
moment you have picked up. ‘Advice after moves’ is an option which, once
you have placed your tiles, will show you the best score you could have
attained − it can be very frustrating to see what wonderful moves you
could have done! Next, there is ‘Random choice of first player’ − which
should be obvious and then ‘Highlight last move’ which is almost
essential to see where the computer last went. Finally, you can select
‘Board markings for mono monitors’ and choose to have ‘Sound effects’
which do add to the game and are neither over-loud nor intrusive.
8.12
It is also possible to set the default skill level of the computer to
one that matches your standard of play. Available levels range from A
(‘pathetic’), with a 2422 word vocabulary, an average score of 8 and no
strategical play, to L (‘impossible’), with a mind-boggling 134855 word
vocabulary and playing strategically. The description of impossible is
not an unfair portrayal of the highest level, unless you happen to know
the entire Scrabble dictionary by heart, although I felt that US Gold
should perhaps not have used a description such as ‘pathetic’ for the
lowest level. Its main use will surely be to encourage young children to
improve their vocabulary and it could be disheartening to lose against a
level described as such.
8.12
The game
8.12
Once the options are set up to your liking, one mouse click on the
iconbar will bring up the main game screen and a new game window. The
new game window allows you to select 2, 3 or 4 players and how many are
human or computer-controlled. You can change the computer skill levels
from your default and even give each computer player a different skill
level. The default time limit of 25 minutes will be adequate for most, I
suspect, but you can make it faster if you wish. Although the timer will
always be visible during the game, it is only of importance if you
select Competition level rather than Practice, which allows you to go as
far into minus time as you like. You can also choose which level of
advice you will receive; a good way of improving your play in future
games.
8.12
You can name each human player, but not the computer-controlled ones.
This I found to be a strange omission, as other computer versions of
Scrabble I have seen, such as the BBC version, allowed you to name the
computer players too, thus giving the impression that you were in fact
playing your friends. Even us sad, pasty computer hermits like to at
least believe we are sociable.
8.12
Click on ‘Start new game’ and you are away. The game itself is
completely multitasking so allowing you to get on with other things
while you are thinking. (I cheat and use Impression’s spell-check to
help me find suitable words but beware because it sometimes crashes TSP!
Ed.) The main game window takes up less than quarter of the screen at a
resolution of 1280×1024, yet is very clear and the resemblance to a real
Scrabble board is excellent. Most of the gameplay is carried out by
selecting and dragging tiles or through the button icons at the top of
the window which can be seen on the screenshot on the previous page.
8.12
Other options are available, either through clicking <menu> over the
window or by control key combinations, the most useful being <ctrl-S> to
display an automatically updating score sheet − see opposite. Another
option, also useful for other applications such as crosswords, is <f4>,
which allows you to search through the dictionary for anagrams from a
set of letters. If you are stuck and tempted to ask the program for a
hint, this is the more sporting option as you still have to find a
position to place the word on the board. Clicking on the hint button
finds your best choice and shows you where it can be placed. Both are
really cheating though and, as such, will not be of interest to all the
fine upstanding Archive subscribers reading this. (e.g. to find out who
has the ‘Q’! Ed.)
8.12
One nice touch is that when you are playing a game with more than one
human player, you have to click an icon to display your tiles before
your go, thereby giving your opponent time to look away from the screen.
This avoids spoiling tactics being used, as can happen when you all know
exactly what the other person holds in their hand.
8.12
The flexibility with which the tiles can be manipulated is also
admirable. As well as the random shuffle option, you can drag your tiles
into whatever order you like with the mouse, just as in real Scrabble.
There is also enough room above your tile display to play around with
possible combinations of letters before selecting them all and dragging
them to the board itself. If you select a word and drag it together
rather than letter by letter, you can make them go across or down either
by clicking the icons before dragging or, while dragging, merely by
pressing <ctrl-A> or <ctrl-D>. If you are laying your letters across a
word already on the board, your selection of letters automatically
splits to include those already played.
8.12
There are two rather strange deviations from the rules which I notice.
Firstly, it is possible to pass your go while there are tiles still in
the bag. I have always thought that you could only pass when the bag was
empty and that you should exchange tiles where possible, but the
computer allows you to wait for an opening to attach your seven letter
word to without risking losing it.
8.12
Secondly, it will not allow you to exchange tiles when there are only a
few left in the bag. Mind you, this stops the cynical tactic of leaving
your opponent with Q, J and Z as the last three to pick out, which is
allowed by the rules. Neither of these detracts from the game itself,
however.
8.12
Conclusion
8.12
When starting with an idea as tried and tested as Scrabble it is very
difficult to go far wrong. The care and thought that US Gold have put
into the RISC OS implementation, however, surpasses my expectations. The
inclusion of the whole of the Scrabble dictionary avoids the computer
asking ‘Are you sure?’ whenever it does not recognise a word. I have
also not noticed any spelling errors in the dictionary, such as ‘GPLT’,
a favourite choice of the computer on the old BBC version.
8.12
My only quibbles with the game are very minor and are mentioned above.
They do not detract from the game itself or its addictiveness, although
it would have been nice to have had the option to turn off help
completely, as the temptation to use it does become great at times. It
would also have improved its scope as an educational resource. Nothing
is perfect, however, and 99.9% is not a bad strike rate.
8.12
US Gold deserve to sell many copies of this game and I hope that
interest is strong enough to make them develop further games for the
Acorn market. Other Acorn developers would do well to study their output
and the professionalism that exudes from it. The coding is so good that
the speed is blinding, even at higher skill levels. If you pit the
computer against itself with all levels set to L, the game will be
completed in about 10 seconds. I would certainly like to see what US
Gold could do with board games such as Risk and Campaign, both
notoriously difficult to find human opponents for. A brilliant
implementation of a brilliant game. I cannot praise it highly enough.
Buy it!
8.12
Scrabble is available through Archive for £27. u
8.12
I like Scrabble a great deal and so does Dave, obviously. So, on the
principle I have been applying recently, I tried to do a special deal
for subscribers. Unfortunately, US Gold are not as flexible as some of
the smaller Acorn companies − still, even at £27, it’s very good value
for money. Ed.
8.12
Windows 95 on the Risc PC
8.12
Michael Clarkson
8.12
To make Windows 95: take roughly equal measures of RISC OS and Apple’s
System 7, combine onto a rough base of DOS and (half?) bake for several
years.
8.12
August 24th sees the launch, finally, of Microsoft’s Windows 95; various
beta versions have been made available for some time and, having access
to the final one of these, I spent a weekend getting it running on a
Risc PC. (For those who also have access to a beta, Archive have a sheet
on how I got mine to run – it’s too complicated and of too narrow
interest to include here.)
8.12
(We have put this info, plus a similar article about installation sent
in by Dave Harris, on the monthly disc. Ed.)
8.12
Most important – connectivity
8.12
There are large numbers of PC magazines around which will tell you just
what Windows 95 feels like, and I will give something of a RISC OS
user’s view later, but I make no apologies for beginning with what I see
as the most important aspects of Win95 for Acorn users – how does it
affect (enhance?) Acorn/PC connectivity? This has been the subject of
much discussion in Archive recently, e.g. the text transfer series.
8.12
The very good news is that it enhances it considerably. For me, the
single most exciting package bundled with Win95 (and I trust it will be
bundled with the release version) is a package called WordPad which, for
those who’ve used Windows 3.1, is an enhanced version of Write, a basic
wordprocessor. The good news is that WordPad has the ability to load and
save both RTF (Rich Text Format) and Word for Windows files, and it can
convert between them. Thus I can take a document produced in Word for
Windows, pass it through WordPad, saving it as RTF, and load it into
Impression, Fireworkz, Ovation etc. – indeed any Acorn application which
will load RTF files, which is (slowly) becoming the standard for text
file transfer on all platforms.
8.12
WordPad doesn’t support all the features of Word for Windows (Microsoft
still want you to buy it!), but with the documents I have used, all
word-processing features have transferred correctly (as opposed to DTP
features, like embedded pictures, which do not transfer yet). The
process is reasonably quick and quite painless – I can transfer almost
any document in less than 5 minutes, and have it all correctly
formatted.
8.12
As well as being able to load Word files, WordPad can also save them, so
if you can save in RTF format from your Acorn application, you can now
create a Word6 file. Computer Concepts have recently released an RTF
saver (£33 through Archive) which makes transfer from Impression
possible, and this works just as well and just as quickly as going the
other way, and I think that Fireworkz and Ovation can also save RTF
files. As many will know, PC users would much rather have a Word6
document than some strange RTF file, even though Word can happily load
such files; passing the RTF file through WordPad enables you to produce
the Word6 file without having to spend several hundred pounds on buying
Word for Windows yourself – definitely good news.
8.12
Windows 95 therefore brings to Acorn users the closest thing we shall
get to file compatibility with what must surely be the most used word
processing filetype in the world – and it’s free (though Win95 itself
won’t be – but then you don’t get a version of Windows with the 486
card, so you’ve probably got to buy one anyway). I say this is the
closest thing to file compatibility, because Microsoft will not release
the file format of Word, and therefore a Word loader/saver for Acorn
applications is most unlikely.
8.12
The second piece of good news, as far as connectivity goes, is that
Win95 incorporates an excellent feature called QuickView. This enables
you to view a document created by an application even if you don’t
actually own the application. Thus even though I don’t own Excel, I can
view (on screen) files produced by it. This is clearly very useful to PC
users as well as Acorn users, but it is particularly so for us since we
already have perfectly good spreadsheets, wordprocessors etc. and don’t
want to spend money on buying PC versions just to run on the PC card.
8.12
However, QuickView only allows files to be viewed – not saved or even
printed, though when Win95 runs in a RISC OS window (at present, it only
single-tasks), it should be possible to grab a sprite using the Paint
screenshot facility and print it out (the appearance will be poor, but
readable), and possibly the file could be saved as text, which would be
more useful. QuickView seems to be able to cope with the following
filetypes: AmiPro, BMP, Word6, RTF, Lotus 1-2-3 (WKS and WK4),
WordPerfect 5 and 6, Excel 5 and a few others I was unable to identify.
8.12
I’ve only been able to test the Word6 (DOC) and Lotus 1-2-3 (WK1)
viewers. (WK1 is not a file directly supported, but it presumably
treated it as WKS or WK4.) Both these did what they said they would,
though the Word viewer didn’t give as good a view as WordPad, which even
showed graphics embedded in a Word document; QuickView was unable to.
However, the range included covers most of the major PC file types and
should prove most useful, if only for reading a document before deciding
to ask its author for a version in a format you can use. For comparison,
the closest application in the Acorn environment must be the Artworks
viewer, which displays files produced by Artworks but won’t alter, save
or print them.
8.12
Bad news – system requirements
8.12
All of the above is good news for Acorn users. There is, however, bound
to be bad news. First, Windows 95 eats up memory – RAM is just about
manageable, since it needs 4Mb minimum (which means having 6 or maybe 7
on your system as a whole), although it will run rather better and much
faster with more (I can only give it 5Mb at most, but am told it runs
quicker with 8 or more); hard disc space will be more of a problem for
many people, I think, since installing Win95 requires around 90Mb – and
that’s without adding any applications, each of which could well be 40Mb
or more. Of course, at present, Win95 is only in its final beta form,
and the release version may have slightly different requirements –
probably a little more hard disc space, even for the average
installation, and for a “full” installation, considerably more may be
needed. Because it is only at the beta stage, Acorn and Aleph One are
not yet supporting Win95 (the official line is that it doesn’t run), but
they will do so soon after it is launched; my version would only run in
16 colours and only in single-tasking mode, but that was better than
nothing.
8.12
Windows 95 – RISC OS user’s view
8.12
So what does Windows 95 actually look like? Time and space only permit a
brief overview, but I hope I may, in further articles, be able to
explore more deeply − comments from other readers, maybe those using
Win95 on “real PCs” would also be very welcome.
8.12
My first comment in this article does, in many ways, sum up the look of
Win95. Like RISC OS, it has an icon bar (known as a taskbar), and
context-sensitive pop-up menus, produced by using the right mouse button
(poor PC users don’t have a middle one). At startup, the taskbar only
has one item on it, imaginatively called “Start” and, from here,
applications can be launched, files opened and system settings changed –
each of these has its own submenu and corresponds closely to the Apps
and disc icons and !Boot/Configure application on the Risc PC.
8.12
When an application is launched, it is placed on the taskbar, and a
window opened automatically. As in RISC OS, the current window has its
title bar highlighted, and windows can be dragged and re­sized (though
still only in outline) and closed using icons at the top of the window;
there is still no “send-to-back” icon, the absence of which I find
annoying, both in Windows and on the Mac. There is, however, also an
icon at the top of the window which quits the application, removing it
from the taskbar.
8.12
The taskbar pop-up menu is less useful than under RISC OS, being
concerned (as far as I can see) only with the position and appearance of
the window – duplicating, in effect, the icons at the top of the window,
though it may be open to wider use by third-party applications. The
icons on the taskbar are rather wider than under RISC OS with the
application name next to the icon, not beneath it, which has the benefit
that the taskbar is less high, but fewer applications can be fitted onto
it. When its width is exceeded, rather than scrolling as RISC OS does,
each of the application names gradually gets squeezed, becoming “Media
P..” instead of “Media Player” etc., which could become something of a
problem, and is certainly quite ugly, when used on a machine with lots
of RAM running a number of applications.
8.12
Switching between applications is done as in RISC OS, i.e. by clicking
in their window or on their icon on the bar to bring their window to the
front. A rather nice feature is that the taskbar can be made to stay on
top, so that windows which are moved to cover it in fact disappear
behind in (the RISC OS iconbar can be brought to the front using <shift-
f12>, but I’m not aware of a utility to keep it at the front all the
time.) Alternatively, the taskbar can be made to disappear and pop up
only when the cursor is placed at the bottom of the screen – nice in
theory, but since the icons on it seem to be loaded from disc each time,
it takes several seconds for it to pop up (again, maybe more RAM would
counter this).
8.12
When it comes to multitasking, Win95 nearly keeps up with RISC OS, and
with a faster processor and more memory, I guess it comes very close;
background printing is certainly more effective. However, Microsoft has
not only been looking to Acorn. Win95’s icons have more of a Mac look to
them, and the way things are placed on the desktop is more akin to the
Mac than to the RISC OS pinboard, though the differences are not great.
Again, the Recycle Bin is very much like the Dustbin on the Mac and is
used for deleting programs, which are kept in a buffer until you ask for
the bin to be emptied. So if you decide you do need that file after all,
it’s still there – there are PD programs available for RISC OS which
provide a similar function.
8.12
To sum up, Win95 is certainly easier to use than Windows 3.1,
particularly for those of us who are used to a decent graphical
interface – a friend installed Win95 on his 486DX66 at the same time as
I installed mine on the Risc PC and, initially, he didn’t like it – it
was a foreign interface (it is quite different from Windows 3.1),
whereas I found it really quite natural, and ended up teaching him how
to use it – Microsoft have unashamedly been learning from Acorn, and it
shows, so if you are about to buy a version of Windows for use on a 486
card, or indeed on a standard PC, I would strongly suggest you go for
Win95 – it will be more familiar, offers more connectivity, and is also
almost bound to become the new standard, eventually.
8.12
However, although Win95 is a much more friendly operating system than
3.1, and is much closer to RISC OS, its heritage is not entirely hidden,
and the first thing RISC OS users will notice is the frequency of hard
disc accesses which take place for no apparent reason – if you want to
give your hard disc a real workout, run Win95 on it! This is because,
like DOS and 3.1, Win95 is a disc-based operating system, parts of which
are loaded from disc during startup, and parts of which are loaded as
they are needed, a bit like RISC OS modules are loaded by an application
if necessary, except that Win95 loads rather more, and takes much, much
longer. Some of this would probably be reduced by increasing the RAM
available, but the problem certainly doesn’t go away altogether.
8.12
Win95 uses a swap file, a little like the RISC OS scrap file, except
that RISC OS doesn’t use the scrap file all that often, and you hardly
notice when it does. Win95 needs a swap file of around 5Mb which is one
of the reasons so much hard disc space is needed, and you certainly
notice it chugging that amount of information on and off your hard disc
every couple of minutes.
8.12
(To get some idea of how the disc access slows the whole thing down, put
thirty applications into a directory, restart your machine and open the
directory – the machine waits while all the application sprites are
loaded – a similar effect to most operations under Win95. Alternatively,
try using the Fonts section of the Configure application to reduce
“Cache bitmaps up to” to 0 point – the system runs but looks ugly and
every action is delayed, e.g. try dragging a couple of windows past each
other. However, the delay is still not as great as when Win95 is
accessing the hard disc.)
8.12
Despite these criticisms, Win95 is much easier to use than 3.1, and may,
in fact, be a little quicker. It does run reasonably on a medium spec.
Risc PC – I have this article loaded into Impression and have Win95
running at the same time, and can swap to Win95 by clicking the PC icon
on the iconbar, and back again by clicking the middle button – try
asking a Mac user with Apple’s PC card to do that! (My PC card currently
has 4Mb of memory allocated to it, I have a (6+2)Mb ACB15 and am now in
a 256 colour 1024×768 mode running Impression while the 486 card sits
“frozen” in the background – really quite usable.)
8.12
Finally, while Microsoft have been learning from Acorn, there are things
in Win95 which Acorn would do well to consider closely. (a) The Internet
support, which I’ve been unable to test, is said to be reasonable,
though not as good as IBM’s OS/2 Warp, (b) the QuickView facility
(described above), (c) the amount of system configuration possible
(almost everything about the desktop can be changed – colours, sizes,
fonts etc.), and (d) relatively small but useful ideas, like being able
to keep the tool (icon) bar at the front. Oh, and Windows 95 supports
filenames of up to 256 characters. (DOS extensions are no longer shown
– a file called “Letter to the bank January 15th 1995.DOC” looks a bit
silly. But then, so does “Bank950115”, which is the best RISC OS can
manage.)
8.12
If you have views on this issue, write to me at Rigg’s Hall, The
Schools, Shrewsbury, SY3 7AZ. u
8.12
School Admin with Acorns
8.12
Chris Wragg
8.12
Are there any other schools out there who use their Acorns for
administration?
8.12
I guess there are a number of primary schools that do so, particularly
if PIMS is as good as Mike Tomkinson claims, but secondary schools must
be few and far between. Certainly in Norfolk, I am the only head with a
Risc PC on my desk, and I am regarded by most of my colleagues either as
a freak, or as a rare computer buff who only uses Acorns because I am an
enthusiast. For them, PCs or Macs are the only machines they know and
understand. It is curious, isn’t it, that in the education world where
Acorn have such a major slice of the market, they have generally failed
to provide for the managers!
8.12
Go for compatibility
8.12
No, my school is not 100% Acorn, but it is probably closer to 100% than
most. When I started as head in 1983, there were no computers in the
school at all − a golden opportunity to develop a coherent system, not
on Pets or Apple IIs, but based on BBCs. In spite of occasional
pressures to digress from this standard, we have stayed with Acorn to
the present day. My main argument has always been one of compatibility −
pupils and staff all know and use the same type of machines. This has
proved a much stronger argument than simply telling people they are the
best, and works well on governors too! This has had particular relevance
in two areas.
8.12
Firstly, I have always encouraged my staff to use the machines for their
own work. This means that when they are teaching IT components of the
National Curriculum, they are already familiar with the system used in
the classroom. The problems of IT literacy among staff is still a real
one, but greatly eased by using the same system in every part of the
school, and we have now even reached the stage where most staff prefer
to sit down personally at the computer to write their reports (on Cogent
Software) rather than fill in the OMR sheets.
8.12
Secondly, when we introduced Records of Achievement a few years ago, we
used a combination of Acorn software. Pupils originally prepared their
own profiles on Interword; now they do so in Style; staff prepare their
sections in the same way. When they are all collated on the network,
they are printed out using Style on the standard forms. Everyone
involved at every stage used the same system.
8.12
Non-Acorn machines?
8.12
Macs and PCs have usually been ‘given’ to us! We had a Mac given to us
as part of TVEI which was supposed to have been used for TVEI budget
administration. It was my introduction to Filemaker, and to Pagemaker. I
was impressed by the software, but I hated the poky screen and the
prices! We bought a second machine on the principle that we could not
afford to use it seriously without a second being available, and they
gave good service for a couple of years until RISC OS was born. The Mac
experience was a valuable one from which to compare RISC OS with Macs,
and there was no doubt at all which was preferable! Even now, a few
years later, whenever I have to use a Mac (they are used in all Norfolk
Primary Schools for administration) I shudder to see how little they
have moved on in terms of the operating system.
8.12
And then there were the PCs. I tried hard to persuade my Business
Studies teacher to use Acorns, and she genuinely tried for a few months.
Unfortunately, they were too good at their job, because word processing
examinations still insisted on equally spaced fonts, and although she
used Ovation for DTP, a ‘free gift’ of 12 PCs from a nearby centre that
was closing down swung the argument irreversibly towards Microsoft
Works! More recently, I have succumbed and agreed to an order for a PC
to run the ECTIS CD-ROM in the Sixth Form Library. Most Careers and
Higher Education information now comes on PC CD­ROMs and, cost for cost,
the PC is the cheapest solution for such a dedicated task.
8.12
And then there is the finance system, purchased and installed by County,
and run on the PICK operating system on a Compaq 386. (Has anyone else
heard of PICK?) The software was written in-county, and does an
excellent job, but the machine is useless for any other purpose. Like
the PC for CD-ROMs, it has become a one-task dedicated machine.
8.12
Staff issues
8.12
Being an Acorn school in all other respects does provide some
interesting opportunities for observation. For example, when new office
staff have to learn how to use RISC OS, how do they adapt? It is not
readily understood by many Acorn enthusiasts that the system is NOT so
easily picked up by your average secretary! Most clerical staff are not
interested in computers. All they want to know is sufficient to do their
work and no more. Drag and drop, and multitasking, are totally foreign
experiences that they would rather not know. The enthusiast knows that
these are key features of RISC OS that they could never be without, but
the average office worker could not care less.
8.12
In general, staff learn quickly to do the basic things. Our office uses
Ovation, Eureka, and an in-house database called Maxifile (available as
Freeware through APDL if you are interested). However, they are still
very dependent on me and other IT specialists on the staff when they
want to do anything slightly out of the ordinary.
8.12
The four other senior staff also have Acorns on their desks − one Risc
PC, two A5000s and one with an A3000. Two new deputies have had
differing reactions. One who is an experienced user of PCs has adapted
quickly and loves working in the desktop as opposed to Windows; the
other who also has strong PC experience has struggled with a particular
software package (that I will not name!) that developed numerous strange
bugs, and has been put off Acorns for life! Hopefully, we will yet
convince her!
8.12
Why use Acorns?
8.12
I sometimes wonder if I am doing my school a disservice by sticking with
Acorn. Why are all the others so happy with their PCs and Macintoshes?
Should I really be using Simms? Of commercial software, we use Eureka,
Ovation, MicroLibrarian and Cogent Software, but we also use a number of
programs I have developed myself − Maxifile, TimeDesk (a timetabling
package), Week95 (an OMR registration program), and Options (yes, for
sorting options!). Am I wrong to stick with my Risc PC? Should I start
using my PC card, which is fitted, but only used to run the (awful) SCAA
SATs program?
8.12
I would genuinely like to know if there are any other ‘freak’ secondary
heads like me who run their schools on Acorns!
8.12
(Those who had an early version of Maxifile that used to be available on
an Archive Shareware disc may like to know that it is now in version 4,
runs in the desktop, and has many enhancements since those early days.
It is available as freeware through APDL. If anyone is interested, I am
considering putting out the other programs noted in this article as
Shareware − if there is anyone out there, that is!)
8.12
If you have any ideas, comments, questions, etc, please contact me at
Charles Burrell HS, Staniforth Road, Thetford, IP24 3LH. (01842-
763981). u
8.12
Clan Acorn Column
8.12
Simon Ogilvie
8.12
Acorn’s web site online at last!
8.12
Acorn’s long-awaited World Wide Web pages finally went online on Monday
19th June and I can say it was worth the wait! Initial access to the
site is from the URL http://www.acorn.co.uk/ which brings up a
‘signpost’ page pointing to the four parts of the Acorn group (Olivetti
Telemedia, ARM, Online Media and Acorn Computers). The Acorn Computer
pages are organised as a ‘virtual village’ with a large clickable image
on the home page containing pictures of various ‘buildings’, including a
‘library’, for online documentation and past press releases, an
‘airport’, for links to international Acorn-relevant homepages and, most
importantly a Clan Acorn stand, which can be clicked on for more
information.
8.12
As mentioned in my last column, the Clan section includes some password-
protected pages, accessible only to Clan members. Currently (3/7/95)
these pages only contain copies of software and information already in
the Clan packs. The public-accessible Clan pages include forms to email
‘The Chieftain’, alias Chris Cox, information on how to join and details
of Clan events.
8.12
For those without access to graphical browsers, the pages can be
accessed using the text equivalents of the clickable images but, of
course, the feeling of a ‘virtual village’ will be lost.
8.12
The ARM pages are currently under development, but there is a link to
the ARM US pages which contains some useful information.
8.12
The Olivetti Telemedia page gives some interesting information on the
relationship between Olivetti and the various Acorn Group companies,
including who owns what proportion of each of the companies. Other than
that there is very little about Olivetti Telemedia, but there are some
links to the main Olivetti Web sites in Italy and the US.
8.12
The Online Media pages are also under development so there is only a
‘front-sheet’ with a small amount of information on it.
8.12
All the front-sheet pages are designed in the same style, which gives a
good uniform feel, and there are copious links to other parts of the
site making it easy to navigate. There has been some criticism of the
decision to use white as the background colour (which is not entirely in
line with the Acorn Style Guide recommendations!) but they certainly
make the text a lot easier to read than it would be on a textured
background.
8.12
The Acorn Computers pages are by far the furthest developed of the group
and are certainly well put together. They show every sign of developing
into an informative and useful Web site.
8.12
RISC OS version 4?
8.12
Other developments which may be of interest to Clan members include the
announcement in the Usenet newsgroups of a project called Tornado. This
is designed to be a replacement for RISC OS which the development team
aim to release in late August! The design apparently already includes:
8.12
  * Virtual memory
8.12
  * Relocatable auto-extending heaps
8.12
  * OLE and hotlinked files
8.12
  * TAOS style subtasks
8.12
  * Preemption
8.12
  * A tornado shell
8.12
  * Crash-protection
8.12
Suggestions for other inclusions are invited by the team, who can be
contacted via Niall Douglas’ email account −
[e-mail].
8.12
For those who remember the original ‘Arthur’ OS which came with the
first Archimedes machines, this project may sound familiar, as Computer
Concepts started developing an Arthur replacement before Acorn released
RISC OS 2. Acorn’s release obviously killed off CC’s project completely,
and it would seem likely that the Tornado project would also become
untenable if Acorn were to release a new version of RISC OS that
contained some or all of these features. However, with such an
aggressive timescale for planned release, the Tornado team seem likely
to beat Acorn to it and will therefore stand a better chance of
survival. We’ll just have to wait and see....
8.12
New Publisher version
8.12
One other interesting snippet of information gleaned from the Newsgroups
is that CC are apparently planning to release a new version of
Impression Publisher in time for the Acorn World show. This is in direct
contradiction to their previous stance which was that all development on
Impression had now stopped, in favour of their new PC work. The change
in position may well have been prompted by the imminent release of
Beebug’s Ovation Pro which clearly challenges Publisher for the title of
best DTP package on the Acorn platform.
8.12
Stop Press
8.12
I’m probably too late (again...) but Acorn have just put some info on
the Clan Web page about the new FileCore module. They are inviting Clan
members to apply to join a beta-test trial of a soft-loadable version of
the module. The Web page explains that they have successfully tested it
with 1Gb IDE drives and 9Gb SCSI drives, and that it should be capable
of supporting discs up to 128Gb. As this is only a beta-test, Acorn
cannot guarantee that the code is completely bug free (can they ever?!),
so Clan members wanting to enter the trial have to be aware that using
the new filecore could corrupt their hard drive. If this is seen as an
acceptable risk, then a form can be filled in on the Web page, to
register. Clan members without Web access will be sent news of the trial
with the next Clan pack.  u
8.12
Starting Basic
8.12
Ray Favre
8.12
A dozen years ago, if you wanted to learn how to program in BBC Basic on
an Acorn machine, there were at least twenty books available − including
several for beginners.
8.12
Today, there are only a handful of corresponding books for RISC OS
machines; most concentrate on Wimp programming and (necessarily) assume
that the reader is already proficient in BBC Basic.
8.12
This series will attempt to fill the gap a little. It will be aimed at
those who are new or fairly new to Basic programming and will help them
to build the skills and confidence to go on to tackle Wimp programming.
(So the series will keep the relevance to Wimp programming in mind, even
though that might not always be evident.)
8.12
The draft Contents List for the series is shown below, and my main
assumptions at the start are:
8.12
• You have a RISC OS Acorn computer with BBC Basic V available.
8.12
• You have copies of the Welcome Guide (WG) & User Guide (UG) for your
computer (and you’ve read them!). There will be frequent references to
these documents, in the form “UG (or WG) Chapter/Subject heading)”. Page
numbers wouldn’t work, as different versions exist.
8.12
• You can carry out the commonly-used operations in the Desktop mode;
such as closing/opening directories, starting applications, dragging &
dropping, etc.
8.12
If you think the Contents List needs changing, or if my assumptions are
wrong, or you’ve got specific queries, then please let me know. Things
can easily be modified to please the customer!
8.12
The only other points worth mentioning in this introduction are:
8.12
a) There’s only one way to progress − sit at the keyboard and ‘play’.
You won’t damage the computer − although you will probably ‘freeze’ it
up sometimes and lose some data occasionally − but you’ll learn faster
through your mistakes. The series will be ‘hands on’ as much as
possible.
8.12
b) There is rarely only one way of achieving an aim in BBC Basic. So,
these articles will not be ‘tablets of stone’. Let us all know when you
find a different (or perhaps better) way to achieve the same end. It
makes for a better column.
8.12
Intended series contents
8.12
1  What is a Basic program?
8.12
2  Variables (Types, Naming them), simple input and output
8.12
3  Basic keywords and tokens
8.12
4  Program structure (Wimp and non-Wimp), libraries, PROCs/FNs
8.12
5  Calculations (precedent order, standard functions)
8.12
6  Direct data storage/retrieval (READ/DATA, indirection operators)
8.12
7  Branches and conditionals (All the ‘loops’ and ‘branches’)
8.12
8  Input
8.12
9  Output
8.12
10  Files
8.12
11  Simple graphics (PLOT codes)
8.12
12  ..........
8.12
What is a Basic Program?
8.12
Any computer program is a set of instructions telling the computer to
carry out certain tasks. The particular instructions used depend on the
language the programmer is using; and this series will be using the
Basic language. More specifically, and we need to be specific as there
are many ‘dialects’, we will be using BBC Basic V (with some mentions of
BBC Basic VI).
8.12
In BBC Basic V − referred to as ‘Basic’ from now on − the available
instructions are usually single words (keywords), in more or less plain
English. They are always strictly in capital letters. Thus, PRINT, INPUT
and CIRCLE are all Basic keywords, each telling the computer to take
some action (closely matching what the word says, which makes Basic
programs reasonably easy to understand in print.) There are about 150
Basic keywords which is really a very small number for learning
purposes.
8.12
A Basic program is constructed by writing the instructions line by line,
each line starting with a number, and ending with a press of the return
key (see WG “Keyboard”). A typical line might be:
8.12
110 PRINT“Press any Key”
8.12
This line has one instruction on it, but you can put more than one by
separating them with a colon. Thus:
8.12
120 MOVE 0,0:DRAW 100,100:DRAW 512,512
8.12
contains three instructions. The only limit to this is that one line
must not exceed about 240 characters (three 80-character lines is a good
guide − an explanation of the precise limit needs to wait a while).
8.12
However, it is not good practice to use multi-instruction lines when
developing a program, so we will normally use single statement lines in
this series.
8.12
The computer deals with these lines of instructions in line number
order. However, some keywords deliberately require the computer to leave
the strict numerical sequence completely or temporarily − and thus the
programmer controls the structure and flow of the program.
8.12
Basic lines can be numbered using whole numbers (‘integers’) from 0 to
65279, which is more than adequate for all normal purposes. In fact, it
is conventional to start at 10 and go up in steps of 10 − and even that
usually copes.
8.12
First steps
8.12
To get started, switch your computer on. (If it’s not configured to
start up in Desktop mode, type “Desktop” when the Command Line prompt
appears.) At the bottom righthand corner will be the green Acorn ‘Task
Manager’ symbol (or one of its earlier equivalents perhaps) (WG ‘RISC OS
Desktop’). Click with <menu> on this symbol and then click with <select>
on ‘Task Window’. A small window with a white background will open and
it will have a ‘*’ symbol (a ‘prompt’) in its top lefthand corner, with
a thin red ‘caret’ next to it. This latter is the text cursor which
tells you where your keyboard input will next appear (WG ‘Keyboard’).
You are now in command line mode within a desktop window, usually much
more convenient than ‘true’ command line because the desktop continues
as normal in the background.
8.12
(Try things out − type some nonsense like “zzz” then press <return>.
You’ll get an error message “File ‘zzz’ not found” and the next line
will be set up with the ‘*’ again, waiting for you to type something
else. It doesn’t sigh and roll its eyes upwards!)
8.12
This time, type:
8.12
BASIC <return>
8.12
(The <return> bit means, “press the return key”.) You’ll get a short
message confirming that you are now in Basic and giving the Version
Number (worth noting, by the way) and how many bytes of RAM (WG
‘Glossary’) you have available for Basic. Also, the prompt has changed
to a ‘>’ symbol − which is the normal Basic prompt.
8.12
Now type the following, not forgetting to press <return> at the end of
each line:
8.12
10 REM>Test
8.12
20 :
8.12
30 :
8.12
40 string$=“Second Try”
8.12
50 PRINTstring$
8.12
60 :
8.12
70 PRINT60+(2*9)
8.12
80 :
8.12
90 integer%=8
8.12
100 real=12.5
8.12
110 PRINTinteger%*real
8.12
120 :
8.12
130 END
8.12
Provided you use the same line number as I have, it does not matter in
which order you type the lines. The computer would still execute them in
number order, and there is a command to list the program in the proper
order, called LIST. To show this in action now type:
8.12
20 PRINT“First Try”
8.12
(Don’t forget the <return>)
8.12
then:
8.12
LIST
8.12
(Again, don’t forget the <return>)
8.12
You will see a listing with the revised line 20 in its right place. You
have now entered and amended a Basic program. The program resides in
your computer RAM memory awaiting your next action.
8.12
Before going any further, ‘Get into the Saving habit’: in this case
simply type:
8.12
SAVE
8.12
(Definitely the last reminder about <return>)
8.12
and you will find a new file called ‘Test’ in the display of your
Current Directory (UG ‘Star Commands’), with the reassuring white-on-
blue Basic file icon. The name ‘Test’ is taken automatically from the
first line of the program if you use the preceding REM> format.
8.12
You now have the program safely tucked away in case problems occur.
“Always save it before you RUN it.” (I won’t sermonise further about the
need to save your work frequently − every five minutes if you’re typing
a long listing. None of us takes any notice until we each learn the hard
way!)
8.12
To reassure you that the program does exist, type:
8.12
RUN
8.12
Is the result what you expected? (Not to tempt fate, you should see
“First Try”, “Second Try”, “78”, “100” printed on separate lines − then
the Basic prompt again.)
8.12
Although it is only a small program, it contains some important items
which we will start exploring next time. It uses some direct values
(lines 20 & 70) and introduces ‘variables’ (string$, integer% & real)
and shows how they can be substituted for direct values in an
instruction. And, not least, it shows how empty lines can help to make
the listing more understandable by splitting it up into logical
groupings.
8.12
Using Edit
8.12
It’s important to know how to use Basic from the command line, but there
is a much easier way to enter, edit and run Basic programs. You can use
Edit which came with your computer, and we’ll normally be using this in
future.
8.12
So, close the Task Window, clicking <select> on ‘Discard’ when asked.
Now click <select> on your ‘Apps’ iconbar icon and double-click on the
!Edit icon. When the Edit icon appears on the righthand side of the
iconbar, click <menu> over it and select ‘Basic’. Now a fairly normal
desktop window opens (an Edit window in this case) into which you can
type or drag a Basic program. Note that now you do not have to use line
numbers  − Edit will automatically insert them for you when you save a
listing. (The price of this convenience is that now you must ensure the
lines are in the correct order before you Run the program). You can also
drag a Basic program to the Edit iconbar icon − in which case, it will
detect it as a Basic program and open a new window with the program
listed.
8.12
Purely to get used to using Edit for Basic, type in the above short
listing again, this time without the line numbers. Also, change the
first line to:
8.12
REM>Test2
8.12
Then press <menu> over the window to reach the SAVE option. Enter
“Test2” in the Save Box as the title of the program and drag it to the
same directory as ‘Test’. They will probably appear side by side.
8.12
If you then double-click on either file icon, the program will run
without further ado − producing its results in a small window like the
previous task window and ending with a message for you to “Press SPACE
or click Mouse to continue”. When you comply, the screen will clear and
then reappear as it was before you double-clicked to run it.
8.12
(There’s plenty to ‘play’ with to keep you going until next time! Try
adding line numbers to just some of the lines in the Edit window and see
how ‘user friendly’ Edit is when you save it. Also read the Edit section
of the User Guide to find how to show or remove line numbers in the Edit
window.)
8.12
Any ideas, questions, suggestions etc? You can contact me at: 26 West
Drayton Park Avenue, West Drayton, Middx. UB7 7QA. u
8.12
Choosing a Printer
8.12
Dave Floyd
8.12
For all the rhetoric of the early eighties, the paperless office has not
emerged and it can safely be assumed that we will not see its coming in
the foreseeable future. Hardcopy is more portable and it can be
distributed amongst people who do not own computers, to name but two
reasons why this will remain true for the foreseeable future.
Personally, I find hardcopy far easier to proof-read too. So, there are
many reasons why a printer soon finds its way to the top of any computer
owner’s want list.
8.12
This article is intended to be a supplement to the feature on printers
in Gerald’s Column which can be found in Archive 8.10 pp33-37 and, as
such, should be read in conjunction with it. I am, of course, writing
with the benefit of hindsight and where our opinions differ, will
attempt to explain my reasons. This should not be taken as an inference
that I consider my views to be more valid than those expressed by
Gerald, merely different. You pays your money and you takes your choice.
8.12
Daisywheel printers
8.12
I can only think of two real reasons for buying a daisywheel (or golf
ball) printer. The first would be that you are involved in a branch of
business where your customers like to think that all correspondence has
been individually typed and not produced on a computer. The output from
a daisywheel is no better, and no worse, than that produced by a
typewriter and the finished item is indistinguishable.
8.12
The second would be for those who have friends who visit and outstay
their welcome. Start printing out a four page document in the corner of
the room and they are certain to be clamouring for the door by the end
of page two.
8.12
Daisywheels are fairly slow when compared to other printers and produce
an immense amount of noise due to their design. While I am sure that
there are many out there doing sterling service as second printers, I
would suggest that to buy one as your Acorn’s only means of
communication with the outside world, is to nullify many of the
advantages of a computer as opposed to a typewriter.
8.12
Dot matrix printers
8.12
The outright winner of the ‘printer war’ in the early 1980s was the
humble dot matrix printer. Its success was due to a combination of
flexibility, cheap running costs and reliability in comparison to the
other types of printer available at the time. Development on the format
carried on apace until the mid ’80s, when printer companies finally ran
out of ideas to improve on the output quality. The dot matrix design has
its limitations, but it has to be said that, if you are on a very tight
budget, there is no real alternative even now. As many of the reasons
for buying one nowadays will stem from financial considerations, I feel
it may be of use to briefly highlight the five types of dot matrix
printer that you are likely to encounter in the secondhand market.
8.12
8-pin dot matrix printers were the first to appear and should be avoided
if at all possible. Due to the logistics of fitting the alphabet into an
eight dot high grid, they had no true descenders (tails on letters such
as ‘y’ for instance) and were only capable of producing very dotty
images.
8.12
Epson’s dominance within the dot matrix field was secured by their
inspired idea of adding an extra-pin to the printhead to create a 9-pin
printer. This enabled letters with tails to have some semblance of
normality to the reader. The problem of quality was still predominant,
however, until the emergence of near letter quality or NLQ printers.
These provided an improvement by printing a line of text then returning
the printhead to the beginning of the line and printing it again at a
slight offset, in order to fill in the gaps between the dots. Although
this did provide an advance, it should be borne in mind that the
description ‘near letter quality’, when attached to 9-pin technology, is
a marketing euphemism as bold as that of Windows software, which claims
to be intuitive and user-friendly.
8.12
The next step for dot matrix printers remains Canon’s only real
initiative in this arena before they moved onward to the development and
production of inkjets. By doubling the number of pins to create an 18-
pin head, they theoretically made it possible to produce NLQ type
quality with one pass of the printhead, cutting printing time by half.
You are unlikely to come across many of these printers, as what must
have appeared to be a pioneering move on the designer’s board, proved to
be a classic example of too little, too late.
8.12
Almost simultaneously came the launch of the 24­pin printer which,
combined with a price war between the printer manufacturers, effectively
swept away everything that had preceded it relatively quickly. Most of
the newer models that I have come across feature three different
qualities of output. Draft, which provides a quick yet dotty texture;
LQ, which prints each line in two passes of the printhead at an offset;
and NLQ, which prints each line three times, effectively giving the
ultimate quality possible from dot matrix technology. At NLQ setting,
the quality is surprisingly good and can be used for most classes of
business correspondence, although the downside to this is the volume of
noise created and the speed of printing.
8.12
For completeness, I will briefly mention the fifth member of the dot
matrix family, the 48-pin. Launched as a last ditch attempt to reverse
falling market share for dot matrix printers at the high end of the
market, the difference in quality produced in comparison to a 24-pin at
NLQ setting was effectively nil. The extra pins enabled its printing
speeds to be raised due to cutting down the number of passes made by the
printhead. However, dot matrix had had its day and the price overhead
commanded for 48-pin technology ensured its rapid disappearance in the
face of inkjet and affordable laser printers which had recently become
available.
8.12
Dot matrix round up
8.12
Although I mentioned the secondhand market earlier in this section, I
would advise against taking that route in regard to dot matrix printers,
unless you have a good knowledge of the pedigree of the printer and can
carry out extensive testing before buying. There are two moving parts on
a dot matrix printer, the transport and the pins in the printhead.
Should either of these prove to be faulty, the cost of repairing them
will often prove to be more expensive when added to the secondhand price
than a cheap new 24-pin printer would have been.
8.12
Colour options are also little more than gimmicks. They may appear at
first sight to be cheap add-ons to the basic system, but the relatively
high price of multi-coloured ribbons will mean that most are unlikely to
make use of the option once the novelty has worn off. That was certainly
my experience and that of others whom I have known who succumbed to the
temptation. The poor quality of dot matrix colour printing makes it far
more effective to stick with simple monochrome line art to embellish
your creations.
8.12
As Gerald pointed out in his article, graphics are generally poor when
printed on a dot matrix printer. One answer to this is to play to the
technology you are dealing with and keep it simple. Simple, unfilled
drawfiles will usually produce acceptable results, especially if your
ribbon is fairly new. Sprites will often end up looking a mess and
detract from the rest of your document.
8.12
I have also found it to be a false economy to re-ink ribbons. The
savings are not that great and the quality of a re-inked ribbon will
never be as good as that attainable from a brand new one, due to the
wear on the fabric.
8.12
To conclude, if your finances dictate that you can only afford a dot
matrix printer, I would suggest you go for the 24-pin variety. The main
point to ensure is that it is Epson LQ compatible. Having said that, the
obvious choice regarding buying advice along this line would be the
Epson LQ range. Epson have built a good reputation for reliability over
the years and, although the cheaper models are obviously not built to
the ‘tank-like’ standards of the more expensive models, they provide a
dependable choice for the home user.
8.12
Inkjet printers
8.12
If it were possible to extend emotions towards inanimate objects, then
one of the main recipients of sympathy would be the inkjet printer.
Twice, the technology has been launched upon the computer world and on
both occasions it has ended up as the proverbial bridesmaid instead of
the bride. The exception to this is in colour printing which I will deal
with separately.
8.12
The original inkjet printers in the early 80s boasted slightly better
quality than the dot matrix printers of the day, although the dots were
still clearly discernible. The main advantage they held was that they
operated in almost complete silence. Acorn’s first printer in the early
days of the BBC B was a rebadged Olivetti inkjet. The main problems with
these predecessors of the modern day inkjet were twofold. As is still
the case, paper absorbency caused problems with quality, but the main
downfall of the genre was their unreliability. The jets which squirted
the ink were prone to blockage and because of this, they quietly
disappeared from the marketplace to make way for the all conquering dot
matrix.
8.12
The reliability problem has been rectified and the new breed of inkjets
is far superior machines to their early cousins. Gerald has provided a
wealth of technical detail in his article and I will not waste time or
space in repeating that information, not least because I am not equipped
with a high powered microscope. There are a couple of points in his
article however, with which I would take issue.
8.12
Gerald says that Epson inkjets are 300 dpi machines but actually, they
are 360 dpi. The reason for this, I suspect, is similar to why Canon
chose 360 dpi as a standard.
8.12
Hewlett Packard went for 300 dpi because they entered the inkjet arena
from the direction of laser technology which is largely based around 300
dpi and multiples thereof. Having developed the controlling language for
the vast majority of lasers, it made sound commercial sense, when
developing software for an inkjet, to base it around the same
resolution. The savings in programming time alone would have been huge,
as minimal changes would have been required to adapt their existing
software to control inkjet printers.
8.12
Canon, however, entered the inkjet market from the direction of dot
matrix printers which were dominated by the Epson control language,
loosely based around multiples of 120 dpi. They would, therefore, have
already had many of the logic routines written, which could easily be
adapted to 360 dpi. Epson, I am sure, took much the same decision,
although as the third of these three giants to enter the fray, it would
also have occurred to them that being able to boast a higher resolution
than HP was no bad thing from a marketing point of view.
8.12
The second point is that of running costs in comparison with laser
printers. Even ignoring claims made by manufacturers (they all produce
lasers too and have a vested interest in you spending more) and
journalists (who on the whole do not have the time to check
manufacturers claims too closely), it is contrary to my experience and
that of independent groups who have conducted research into printer
costs to claim that inkjets are cheaper to run.
8.12
Three years ago when I decided that the time had come to upgrade from
dot matrix output, I was unsure whether I could afford a laser printer
so looked into the possibility of an inkjet. A couple of people that I
knew were only too happy to demonstrate their machines and provide me
with samples of print quality. Had it not been for the cost of
consumables, I would almost certainly have gone down that road. Far too
much time has passed for me to be able to recall the figures, but those
most surprised at the outcome of a rough price per page calculation
against that of laser printers were the owners of the inkjet printers.
8.12
The main reason for this, I think, is that ink cartridges are affordable
and, although they have to be replaced at relatively frequent intervals,
their price makes this reasonably painless, thereby creating a ‘feel-
good factor’ for the user. Once you budget for their purchase, the
expense quickly becomes accepted. Laser consumables last far longer, yet
their higher price can make them a major purchase in their own right,
depending on which printer you happen to own.
8.12
It is also possible that, due to the frequency of replacing ink
cartridges, the fact that there is a cost per page is more prominent in
the user’s mind, thus making them less likely to print out draft copies
at every stage of development rather than just near the end. I myself am
guilty of printing copious quantities of draft copies to check layout
and graphic positioning, yet have only done so since starting to use a
laser printer. Lasers may encourage bad habits, then, but if used in a
similar way to inkjets, will work out cheaper in the long term.
8.12
(Has anyone actually done any quantitative costing? If so, do let us
know. Ed.)
8.12
Inkjet round up
8.12
Inkjets do not produce such good quality output as laser printers. They
are also less convenient for multiple copies and, to obtain the best
results, you need specially coated paper which adds to the cost of using
them. My personal opinion is that buying an inkjet for monochrome
printing is false economy. Although initial outlay is less, a printer
should be viewed as a long term purchase and as such, a monochrome
inkjet printer will prove to cost more over a couple of years, say, than
would a laser printer. My advice in this area therefore, would be that
anyone considering an inkjet for monochrome printing would do far better
to put the money towards a laser printer. Even those with an occasional
need (or yearning) for colour would, if they can afford it, be better
served by a laser printer coupled with a colour inkjet to add a touch of
colour when required.
8.12
Laser printers
8.12
Although lasers were at one time out of the range of most home users,
this has changed dramatically over the last couple of years. What were
once vague objects of desire are fast becoming almost commonplace in the
home and small office environment.
8.12
Probably the cheapest you will come across are GDI printers. These are
not suitable for Acorn machines and are the PC equivalent of direct
drive printers, requiring Microsoft Windows™ to work. If you own a Risc
PC with PC card, it should be feasible to print your output to file then
copy it to the printer stream through a DOS window within Windows, but
the process of doing this each time would be as convoluted as it sounds
and so does not bear serious consideration. I also stress that I have
not actually tried such a setup, so I cannot guarantee that it would
work at all.
8.12
The entry level is realistically the HP-compatible 300 dpi machine. For
the last three years, I have happily used a Panasonic KX-P4420. While
this particular model has since been superseded, I have never had any
problems with it at all and have found it economical, due to its
internal workings being composed of separates, i.e. drum and toner being
bought as separate items. A friend of mine also owns a KX-P4420 which he
uses as the only printer for an entertainment agency. His output is far
higher than mine and he has also experienced no problems at all.
8.12
I think that although, “more moving parts = more chance of breakdown” is
a valid statement, it is no less true to say that the lower volume of
use that a laser is likely to encounter in the home makes breakdown less
likely than when used for high volume business applications. I take the
view, therefore,  that the home user is better off taking advantage of
the more economical option, at least until such a time as printer
companies put enough toner into the all-in-one cartridges to outlast the
drum. The toner is, after all, the cheapest part of the equation.
8.12
One thing to bear in mind when deciding on a laser printer is the paper
path. With machines that force the paper to first bend one way then the
other en route to the output tray, you are more likely to experience
jams, especially with thicker paper, such as Conqueror. With standard
paper, if you are planning to print double-sided copies, you are also
more likely to have problems with ‘S-path’ printers. In general, the
simpler the paper path, the less curl your documents will display when
printed. If you intend to print envelopes, labels or thin card, it is
also worth checking whether the printer has a straight through path.
8.12
While on this line of thought, I have found that, although printing
envelopes directly sounds like a great idea, it is far quicker and
easier to print address labels and stick them on the envelope. It is
also very much a false economy to use labels other than those made
specifically for laser printers. These may, at first, appear to be
expensive but, in comparison to having a label stuck to the inside of
your printer, they work out very cheap indeed!
8.12
Moving upwards from 300 dpi, the prices of 600 and even 1200 dpi
printers are becoming affordable. I have read good reports of the
Brother HL660 and, although it is a GDI printer, it also comes with HP
emulation, thus allowing its use without Windows. While this contributes
to its higher than normal price for a GDI, it also makes it usable by
Acorn owners. Considering that it is a 600 dpi machine at roughly the
same price level as most 300 dpi printers, and comes fitted with 2Mb of
RAM (expandable to 10Mb), you cannot really go far wrong, even though I
have not yet seen examples of its output first hand. As I have not seen
the printer in action, I am assuming that enough control is available
through the front panel (or !Printers), without having to resort to the
DOS-based software that comes with the printer, to switch between 300
and 600 dpi and select which toner saving mode to use, etc. If so, it
may be worth noting that, in controlled independent tests that simulated
five years use at both 15 and 45 pages per day, this printer’s
predecessor was judged to be amongst the cheapest lasers to own.
8.12
However, I have seen the quality of a 600 dpi HP Laserjet 4+, and it is
noticeably better than that from a standard laser printer. This is most
discernible on close study of curved letters such as ‘o’ and on-line
drawings where the smaller dot size allows for greater smoothing of
jagged edges.
8.12
For much the same price, however, Acorn users can go one step further by
buying Calligraph’s A4 1200 dpi direct drive printer. Having once seen
an example of the quality available from this printer, I was very
impressed, although you would need at least 4Mb of memory to use it at
its highest resolution. More and more Acorn users are falling into this
category though and, with the speed advantages associated with direct
drive printers on the Acorn, I think that this is probably the best
laser printer you are likely to find within its price range.
8.12
Until now, affordable laser printers have largely been based around an
A4 page size. The reason for this is that all the market research for
lasers was conducted in the US. In America, cheap print shops are ten a
penny and, consequently, research appeared to show that there was no
demand for A3 as the extra cost could not be justified. Only recently
did it occur to the printer companies that things might be different in
Europe and, on investigation, they discovered that not only was there an
interest, but also a potentially huge market at the right price. Hewlett
Packard are soon to launch a budget A3 laser printer and will be closely
followed into this market by their competitors. Whether HP’s definition
of the word ‘budget’ coincides with mine remains to be seen. However, if
you are thinking of buying a laser printer, it may be worth keeping an
eye open for developments.
8.12
There are more advantages to A3 than the obvious one of being able to
produce fold-around A4 booklets or A3 posters directly. If you produce
final copy to give to a printer with an A3 facility, it would be
possible to create an A4 image with crop marks that avoided the annoying
all round margin that nearly all current lasers insist on. It also gives
scope for better finishing quality. Currently, when supplying originals
for an A5 booklet, I will print them out at 300 dpi in a large font size
to A4. This means that when the printer has reduced the page to fit an
A5 sheet, the finished article has an effective resolution closer to 600
dpi. If I could do the same except to A3, the end product would have a
resolution close to 1200 dpi. Bearing in mind that the HP A3 printer
will almost certainly have a 600 or 1200 dpi engine, the quality
possible by using this method becomes proportionately higher.
8.12
Calligraph also produce two A3 versions of their 1200 dpi direct drive
printer. Although these are competitively priced in relation to current
competition, they fall under the heading ‘objects of desire’ rather than
being a realistic addition to my want list due to their cost.
8.12
Colour laser printers are available from about £5000 upwards, and while
their quality is generally very good, I am sure not many readers would
be able to justify the initial outlay, let alone the cost of
consumables. Acorn, not surprisingly, do not supply colour laser drivers
with !Printers either, so even if money were no problem, writing your
own printer driver may well prove to be a stumbling block.
8.12
Laser round up
8.12
Given the price of new laser printers, it may be tempting to look
through the small ads. While you can find some remarkable bargains via
this route, it is also true to say that there can be some very expensive
mistakes made if you are not careful. If you intend to follow this path,
do try to buy from someone who lives close enough to you so that you can
see the machine plugged in and working, before parting with your money.
This will also enable you to collect the printer yourself, thus
hopefully avoiding any damage in transit.
8.12
Most will probably choose the security that comes with buying new. I
have had no problems with my Panasonic KX-P4420, so the cheaper of the
two machines which replaced it, the KX-P4410 should prove a good budget
purchase. Panasonic are one of the largest suppliers of laser printers
and their consumables are widely available. The Brother HL660 will allow
you to print using 600 dpi at a small extra cost. For those aiming
slightly higher than the entry level machines, the Calligraph series is
certainly worth closer examination, if you have enough computer memory
to run a direct drive printer.
8.12
Following a brief glance through the Archive price list, I notice that
all of these printers are stocked by NCS. Firstly, I would like to
eliminate any thoughts of bias or ‘advertorial’. I wrote the article
before referring to the list. Secondly, however, knowing Paul’s long-
standing policy of only stocking products that have either been tested
out satisfactorily by NCS or that have been given good reports, I feel
that their inclusion in the price list supports my judgement to some
degree.
8.12
Colour printing
8.12
This area has been covered earlier with relation to dot matrix and laser
colour printing. Spacetech have recently released a dye sublimation
colour printer for £1,000, with Photodesk and a special printer driver.
While the quality from this is better than anything else currently
available for the Acorn range, before beating a track to their door, it
should be considered that copies will cost you £2.50 per page, which
makes debate over the respective running costs of inkjets versus lasers
seem almost petty.
8.12
For the time being, the only serious option for most users who require
colour printing is the inkjet. Gerald covered this area in far greater
depth than I could ever hope to do and I admit to not having much
experience with colour inkjets. Purely on a theoretical level, however,
it would seem that the machine that should be the best is the Epson
Stylus Color, if only because it is capable of a resolution of 720 dpi.
Whether or not there is an Acorn driver to achieve this I do not know,
but if so, it would make logical sense. It is also possible to buy both
black and the three coloured cartridges separately.
8.12
Summary
8.12
For dot matrix printing, I would suggest the Epson LQ series. There is
nothing as compatible as the machine they all strive to copy, and
Epson’s reputation for reliability has not been maintained through luck.
Expect a street price of about £120 for the cheapest, rising to around
£450 for the top of the range model.
8.12
For monochrome inkjet printing, I suggest that you put the money towards
a laser printer, for the reasons explained above.
8.12
For laser printing at the 300 dpi entry level I would go for the
Panasonic KX-P4410. This is available from NCS for £570 inc VAT,
although you may need to upgrade the memory in order to print full pages
of graphics. I believe the price also includes a two year on-site
warranty from Panasonic.
8.12
For laser printing at 600 dpi, it is difficult to beat the Brother
HL660. This is available from NCS for £650 inclusive although, once
again, you will probably find that more memory is necessary for graphics
work, especially at the higher resolution, for which the maximum 10Mb
allowed would not seem unreasonable for an A4-sized sprite.
8.12
For the current ultimate in Acorn A4 laser quality, the Calligraph A4
1200 dpi printer is possibly what you are looking for. This is available
from NCS at £1150 or £1290 for the single and double tray versions,
respectively. As it is a direct drive printer, you will need to check
that your computer has enough memory, before buying.
8.12
For colour printing, Gerald suggested the Canon BJC600ex at £445 through
NCS. The Epson Stylus Color is capable of 720 dpi (using Acorn’s
Printers 1.28 − £5 through Archive) and costs £470 from NCS. u
8.12
C++ Column
8.12
Tony Houghton
8.12
Last month, I introduced the features of C++ which can be used for
improved C programming. This month will start my look at Object Oriented
Programming with C++’s classes.
8.12
Encapsulation
8.12
All programs need data as well as procedures, and some of that data has
to be global as opposed to local. Consider the various ways C allows us
to store, globally, some information about the current screen mode and
the consequences when we need to change the way that data is stored.
Looking at some simplified example header files, the simplest way would
be:
8.12
/* modeinfo.h */
8.12
extern int screen_mode;
8.12
extern int screen_width;
8.12
extern int screen_height;
8.12
/* Read mode and calculate dimensions
8.12
 from VDU variables */
8.12
extern void read_mode_info(void);
8.12
With a bit of experience, you would probably be inclined to tidy this
slightly with a struct. (When declaring a single object of a certain
type, I find it convenient to use capital initials in the class/struct
definition and lower case for the variable itself.)
8.12
/* modeinfo.h */
8.12
struct ModeInfo {{ Style “Main Heading” Off}  int mode;
8.12
  int width;
8.12
  int height;
8.12
};
8.12
extern struct ModeInfo mode_info;
8.12
/* Read mode and calculate dimensions
8.12
 from VDU variables */
8.12
extern void read_mode_info(void);
8.12
In both these cases, you would call read_mode_info() at every mode
change, and every time you wanted to know the mode number, you would
access the variable directly with statements such as x=screen_mode; or
x=mode_info.mode;
8.12
What happens when you want your program to work on a Risc PC? For its
exciting new modes, it uses pointers to mode selector blocks in place of
mode numbers and the data these point to are not guaranteed to remain
valid. This could cause your program to crash, so you would then have to
read the mode number from the operating system every time you needed it.
Rather than calling read_mode_info() every time, you would add a
function int get_mode(void);. In a very long program with many files, it
would be quite a nuisance replacing every screen_mode or mode_info.mode
with read_mode().
8.12
To avoid having to change hundreds of lines of code every time a trivial
implementation detail changes, large projects are developed with small
functions to access global variables instead of accessing the variables
directly. You may have noticed this in Acorn’s C libraries. It also aids
debugging if you know that something can only be accessed by a small
group of related functions. Obviously C++’s inline functions make the
technique far more efficient but there are further advantages in C++. By
using classes, the data can be encapsulated with their associated
functions, and there is greater control over what parts of a program can
access members of a class. A class for modeinfo would look like:
8.12
// modeinfo.h
8.12
class ModeInfo {width ;
8.12
  int height;
8.12
public:
8.12
  void read_info(void);
8.12
  int get_mode(void);
8.12
  int get_width(void)   {width ;}
8.12
  int get_height(void)  {height ;}
8.12
};
8.12
The most obvious change is that the functions are now part of the class
definition, and there is also a new keyword, public. Incidentally, it
seems to be conventional to call functions that read a member
get_<member name>(), and functions that write a member set_<member
name>(). Before explaining classes in more detail, I need to define some
of the terminology.
8.12
Terminology
8.12
A class, analogous to a struct, defines the way an object is
represented. The term class can also be used to cover struct’s and even
union’s. In fact, a struct is now a class in C++, and you can add
functions to struct’s. The only difference is that the members of a
struct are, by default, public and those of a class are private (see
Access control). An object is a variable created from a class (such as
mode_info above). A member is the term for anything which belongs to a
class or object (e.g. mode, read_info()), and a member function is also
known as a method. To call a member function is sometimes referred to as
sending a message to the object.
8.12
There is also the term translation unit. This means a single .c++ or .c
file plus all its headers.
8.12
Reference to members
8.12
Member functions of a class can refer to other members of the class with
just their member name, as width and height are referred to above.
Outside the class, its members must be qualified with the . operator, as
for struct’s − this goes for member functions as well as variables.
8.12
Defining member functions
8.12
Member functions can be defined in two main ways. get_width() and
get_height() are inline functions. By including their definitions with
their declarations, it is unnecessary to use the keyword inline. To
define the functions elsewhere, you use the same syntax for ordinary
functions except that the name is qualified with the class name and the
:: qualifier:
8.12
void ModeInfo::read_info(void)
8.12
{os_readvduvariables or
8.12
  // OS_ReadModeVariable to calculate
8.12
  // dimensions. Actual code is not
8.12
  // needed to make the point.
8.12
}
8.12
int ModeInfo::get_mode(void)
8.12
{r ;
8.12
  r.r[0] = 135;
8.12
  _kernel_swi(6, &r, &r);   // OS_Byte
8.12
 135 reads mode
8.12
  return r.r[0];
8.12
}
8.12
As an alternative to including a method definition in the class
definition (which may make it look cluttered), you can use the ordinary
declaration/definition syntax, but prefix the method definition with
inline. Unlike ordinary inline functions, inline methods do not have
static linkage − all class members must have global linkage.
8.12
Member functions, or methods, behave exactly like ordinary functions in
the way they can take arguments and return values.
8.12
Access control
8.12
There are three types of access that can be applied to members: private,
public and protected. These are the actual keywords that C++ uses.
private members can only be accessed by other members of the same class.
protected members are similar, but they can also be read by any class
which is derived from the base class. I will discuss derived classes
(inheritance) in a future article. public members can be accessed by any
part of the program that has ‘seen’ the class definition.
8.12
One of these keywords followed by a colon specifies that all the
following members have that particular access restriction. You can use
the keywords over again in the same class in any order. For instance,
you may want to start off with some public members, then define some
private inline methods which refer to the first members, then switch
back to some public methods.
8.12
Members in a class start off as private by default, and members in a
struct, default to public. It is common for all member variables to be
private and all member functions to be public. There is usually no
reason for using public member variables − that justifies the lack of
the protection that encapsulation offers − but private methods can be
useful to perform functions that are needed by several public methods,
but not by any other parts of the program.
8.12
As a quick example of how to access class members:
8.12
#include “modeinfo.h”
8.12
ModeInfo mode_info;
8.12
int main()
8.12
{  mode_info.read_info() ;
8.12
          // same syntax for class
8.12
          // methods as for struct
8.12
          // variable members
8.12
  int x = mode_info.width;
8.12
           // error, width is private
8.12
  int y = mode_info.get_height();
8.12
          // OK
8.12
}
8.12
Initialisation
8.12
C++ introduces a new way of initialising objects. Where you would have
written:
8.12
int a = 4;
8.12
you can now write:
8.12
int a(4);
8.12
The new parameter notation is important for initialisation of classes,
but I prefer to stick to the old way (=) where possible. Whilst it is
usually quite easy to distinguish between assignment = and
initialisation =, it is possible, in some cases, for initialisation by
parameter notation to be confused with an actual function call.
8.12
Constructors and destructors
8.12
Sometimes, using an object before it has been initialised can be
disastrous. C++ classes can be provided with constructors which are
guaranteed to be called for each object as it is created. If the object
is a permanent variable, it will be constructed before main() is
executed. Overloading (covered in a later article) allows a class to
have more than one constructor.
8.12
Conversely, you can provide destructors to deallocate memory used by
objects, etc, when they are no longer in use. For a local object, the
destructor is called when it goes out of scope (at the end of a function
or block); for a permanent object it is called during the program’s exit
handler (after executing main() or calling exit(), but not if abort() is
called); for an object created by new, its destructor is called by
delete. When a group of objects goes out of scope simultaneously (e.g.
all global variables), the objects are destructed in the reverse order
from which they were created. Constructors can take arguments, but
destructors can not, and neither return a value. The class listed
overleaf, to implement a ‘safe’ array, will illustrate the above and
more:
8.12
Working from the top, the first new thing is the const member, size. The
only time this can be written to is at the start of construction. Member
array will be used to point to the actual array during construction.
check_subscript() is an example of when a private method is useful. It
checks whether a subscript is within the range of the array.
get_element() and set_element() use this to make sure you cannot cause a
crash by trying to access a part of the array which does not exist.
Actually, as this method has no possible harmful effects, it would be
more useful public, you never know if another part of the program might
want to check subscripts before attempting access. Note the word const
after its declaration. This tells the compiler that it will not alter
anything in the object. This allows you to define whole objects that are
const e.g.
8.12
const Array carray(10);
8.12
Only const methods (apart from constructors and destructors) can be
called for const objects. Similar restrictions apply to volatile − the
compiler needs to know that a method is volatile to avoid applying
optimisations. Constructors and destructors may not be const or
volatile. Constructors are allowed to write members of const objects.
8.12
A method with the same name as its class is its constructor, but if
preceded by a ~, it is its destructor. Note the lack of a type before
the constructor and destructor, both in their declarations and
definitions.
8.12
Now look at the definition of Array’s constructor. After its argument
list (int size), there is a colon followed by an initialisation list
before the body of the function. The initialisation list is where you
initialise const members, and base classes in the case of derived
classes. In fact, any members can be initialised at this point, but
methods cannot be called. If there is a list of initialisers, they must
be separated by commas, not further colons. The order in which members
are initialised depends on the order in which they are originally
declared, not their order in the initialisation list − this allows C++
to ensure they are destructed in the correct order.
8.12
Qualification of the size member by Array:: would not normally be
necessary, but it is needed here to specify the member while its name is
hidden by the argument of the same name. :: is C++’s way of resolving
ambiguities with duplicated variable names. Also, a class name followed
by :: explicitly associates a member with a class − this is the class
qualifier notation.
8.12
A constructor can be used explicitly to create a temporary object e.g.:
8.12
Array a = Array(100);
8.12
return Array(100);
8.12
These statements could cause dangerous side effects, see Caveat below.
8.12
A destructor can be called explicitly as if it were any other method,
but this is rarely useful.
8.12
Classes with constructors taking arguments, but no constructors without
arguments, cannot be included in an array:
8.12
Array array_of_Arrays[10];
8.12
         // Error: Array constructors
8.12
         // need arguments
8.12
A class with any constructor at all cannot be part of a union.
8.12
Caveat
8.12
Consider the following dangerous program:
8.12
// Definition of Array or include etc
8.12
int main()
8.12
{array1(100) ;
8.12
  Array array2 = array1;
8.12
  // ...
8.12
}
8.12
The assignment of array1 to array2 is perfectly valid; instead of
calling array2’s constructor, each member of array1 is copied to the
corresponding member of array2 (memberwise copy), as for a C struct. The
problem occurs when array1 and array2 are destructed. The destructor
will call delete[] for array2’s array member, then do the same for
array1. The trouble is, both objects are sharing the same pointer, so
deleting it twice may cause a crash. This would be resolved by
overloading either the constructor, the operator =, or both.
Furthermore, if array2 had been defined separately before copying from
array1, its data would be left floating around on the free store −
harmless in itself, but inefficient.
8.12
Self reference
8.12
Sometimes it is necessary for an object to be able to pass on some sort
of reference to itself. This is done by the keyword this. In the scope
of a class X, including the scope of its members, this is predefined as:
8.12
X *const this;
8.12
i.e. a const pointer to a non-const object. For const objects this is:
8.12
const X *const this;
8.12
     // const pointer to const object
8.12
Casting this can be allowed to cheat on const. Sometimes, you may have
objects which you want to appear const from the outside, but its members
need to write to some hidden internal data. This can be done by casting
away the const:
8.12
X *non_const_this = (X*) this;
8.12
non_const_this->member = ...
8.12
or by reference (see Archive 8.11):
8.12
X &non_const_this = *((X*) this);
8.12
non_const_this.member = ...
8.12
Static members
8.12
Class members can be declared static. This means that there will only be
one member of that name shared between all objects. Member functions, as
well as variables, can be static. static methods can only access static
members − there is no this pointer for static methods. Do not confuse
static as applied to members with static applied to plain functions and
variables. The latter is for restricting scope to a single translation
unit. All class members have global linkage, so static can only be used
in the definition, not the declaration.
8.12
static member variables are not implicitly created when an object is
created, so they must be defined exactly once. This is done, in the same
way as for methods, by defining the member as if it were an ordinary
variable but prefixing its name with the class name and :: (i.e. the
class qualifier).
8.12
Friends
8.12
A friend of a class is a function, or another class, which can access
the private members of the class that declares it a friend. A friend of
a class is declared by declaring it within the class definition prefixed
by friend. Suppose we needed a function to multiply a vector class with
a matrix class. It cannot be a member of both classes, but it can be a
friend of both. In both class declarations, you would include the line:
8.12
friend vector multiply(const matrix &,
8.12
 const vector &);
8.12
depending on the actual definition of multiply(). The argument types
have to be included, in case of overloading.
8.12
Methods of one class can be friends of another. This is done in the same
way as functions, but with the full method name (qualified by its
class). A class X can be a friend of class Y by including:
8.12
friend class X;
8.12
in Y’s definition. A friend class behaves simply as if all its members
are friends. The keyword class allows classes to be made friends when
they have not yet been defined.
8.12
Friend functions are very useful for RISC OS event handlers. You will
often declare an event handler as a friend of a class and register it
with an object’s pointer as its handle. Within the handler function, its
handle can be cast back to a pointer to class, and operations performed
on the object’s data.
8.12
Nested classes
8.12
Class definitions can be nested within other classes:
8.12
class Array {{ 8.12
    // Implementation of a linked list
8.12
  };
8.12
  LinkedList linked_list;
8.12
  // rest of Array definition
8.12
};
8.12
It is almost always better to define non-trivial classes separately:  a
LinkedList is highly likely to be useful in other parts of the program;
in the example, its definition is only available within Array.  If you
did keep the definition local, you would be more likely to reduce the
two LinkedList expressions to class {... } linked_list;.
8.12
As far as access restrictions are concerned (public, private, etc), the
same rules apply to nested classes as for other members.
8.12
One sort of type that can usefully be defined in a class is an enum.
Suppose the LinkedList can be one of several different types of linked
list and we need a way to differentiate between them:
8.12
class LinkedList {heading Off}
8.12
  enum linkage {single , double};
8.12
// ...
8.12
};
8.12
Outside LinkedList’s scope linkage values can only be referred to by
qualifying them i.e. LinkedList::single or LinkedList::double.
Furthermore, this is only possible if the enum is public, so you will
usually see enum’s in the public part of a class. Nested enum’s are used
frequently in the streams libraries for flag values.
8.12
In fact, any type can be defined within a class and, if it is public,
referred to outside the class by qualifying it with the class name.
8.12
Pointers to members
8.12
Suppose we had a class representing a real life object, holding two
sound samples, an effect for the noise that the object makes and the
spoken name of the object:
8.12
class LifeObject {public: 8.12
  enum sample_type {effect , spoken};
8.12
  void *effect_data;
8.12
  void *spoken_data;
8.12
  void play(void *effect, /* Other data e.g. volume */);
8.12
  // ...
8.12
};
8.12
This is actually a poorly designed class being used in a silly way. The
pointers should be private and the following carried out within the
class. This is just to demonstrate the syntax for pointers to members.
8.12
A pointer to one of the void * members would have the type (called
lo_dt_ptr):
8.12
typedef LifeObject::void *lo_dt_ptr;
8.12
A pointer to the play method would have the type:
8.12
typedef void (LifeObject::*lo_fn_ptr)(void *, /* Other args */);
8.12
and be used as follows:
8.12
void play_a_sample(LifeObject *obj, LifeObject::sample_type which)
8.12
{sample_ptr ;
8.12
  lo_fn_ptr func_ptr = &LifeObject::play;
8.12
  switch (which)
8.12
  {lifeobject::effect: 8.12
      sample_ptr = &LifeObject::effect_data;
8.12
      break;
8.12
    case LifeObject::spoken:
8.12
      sample_ptr = &LifeObject::spoken_data;
8.12
      break;
8.12
  }
8.12
  (obj->*func_ptr)(obj->*sample_ptr, /* ... */);
8.12
  // Parentheses necessary to avoid interpretation as (obj-
>*)(func_ptr(...));
8.12
}
8.12
Note that when assigning to pointer to member the syntax is:
8.12
<pointer> = &<class name>::<member name>;
8.12
The pointer is not bound to any particular object. To use it with an
object, the syntax is:
8.12
<object>.*<pointer to member> or <pointer to object>->*<pointer to
member>
8.12
The member pointed to by a pointer to member can only be used by
specifically attaching the pointer to an object. Casting a pointer to
member to a pointer to a real object or function and then attempting to
use it would probably cause a run-time crash. u
8.12
class Array {size ;
8.12
  int *array;
8.12
  int check_subscript(int subscript) const
8.12
    {&& subscript<size);}
8.12
public:
8.12
  Array(int size);                                 // Constructor
8.12
  ~Array(void)    {delete[] array;}       // Destructor
8.12
  int get_size(void)  {size ;}
8.12
  void set_element(int subscript, int value);
8.12
  int get_element(int subscript) const;
8.12
};
8.12
Array::Array(int size) : Array::size(size)
8.12
{|| (array = new int[size], !array))
8.12
  {raise error
8.12
  }
8.12
}
8.12
void Array::set_element(int subscript, int value)
8.12
{  {// raise error
8.12
  }
8.12
  else array[subscript] = value;
8.12
}
8.12
int Array::get_element(int subscript)
8.12
{  {// raise error
8.12
  }
8.12
  else return array[subscript];
8.12
}
8.12
Array array1;       // Error: no parameter for constructor
8.12
Array array2(100);  // An array of 100 int’s
8.12
void f(void)
8.12
{temp_array(10) ;  // This is constructed every time f() is called
8.12
  // Do something with temp_array
8.12
}
8.12
// temp_array is destructed at the end of f()
8.12
int main()
8.12
{= new Array(200); // Note similar notation for new
8.12
  f();
8.12
  // Do something with new_array and array2
8.12
  delete new_array; // Destructor is called
8.12
}
8.12
// After executing main() array2 is destructed
8.12
Keystroke Column
8.12
Stuart Halliday
8.12
In this, the first of a (hopefully) regular column, I hope to show users
of Keystroke some of the things that can be done with this remarkably
flexible and versatile program.
8.12
For this article, I intend to show how you can make Keystroke choose, at
random, a graphic bitmapped image from a directory and place it onto the
Pinboard as a backdrop every thirty minutes. I’ve chosen to do this for
the Risc PC as it comes supplied, as standard, with directories full of
high quality images, but any Acorn machine running at least RISC OS 3.1
will be able to do this as well.
8.12
You’ll need Keystroke loaded, of course, and the filer must have seen
Keystroke’s associated library !KeysLib as well as the program
!ChangeFSI.
8.12
First choose a blank key combination from the Keystroke main window. I
like to use <alt-Q>, but any will do. This example will take seven
Keystroke actions to complete.
8.12
As I said earlier, the Risc PC comes supplied with lots of images as
JPEG files, so unless you’ve changed its location on your hard disc,
you’ll find them at ‘ADFS::HardDisc4.$.Images.00-49’.
8.12
To get Keystroke to choose from one of the many images in this
directory, it is necessary to use one of the functions called ‘FileList’
from the Keystroke Library.
8.12
So, select the *Command option from Keystroke’s window and type in (as a
single line):
8.12
Run <Keystroke$Lib>.FileList
8.12
 ADFS::HardDisc4.$.Images.00-49
8.12
This will produce a lot of ‘KS$Dir’ variables, starting with ‘KS$Dir1’
to ‘KS$DirXX’ and each variable contains the pathname of the file held
within the ‘00-49’ directory. (Remember to amend the pathname if your
setup is different, and if you’ve not got a Risc PC, just alter the
pathname of this action to point to a directory containing images of
your choice.)
8.12
(Read the ‘List’ file that is within the !KeysLib for more details on
how this and the other functions work.)
8.12
Next, we need to choose one of these variables at random and we do this
by using another !KeyLib function. Click on the ‘New=>’ icon in
Keystroke’s main window, select ‘*Command’, and type in:
8.12
Run <Keystroke$Lib>.Random <KSno>
8.12
This will produce a number from 1 to the value of the FileList variable
‘KSno’, which contains the number of files within the directory pointed
at by FileList.
8.12
So, if there were 52 files in the ‘00-49’ directory, it would set the
variable ‘KS$Rand’ with a value between 1 and 52.
8.12
Now we need to take this random number and select one of the KS$Dir
variables. Click on the ‘New=>’ Keystroke icon, select ‘*Command’, and
type in:
8.12
Set FSIimage KS$Dir<KS$Rand>
8.12
This takes the contents of ‘KS$Rand’, a number from 1 to 52, and places
it next to KS$Dir so it will be of the form KS$Dir1, KS$Dir50, etc, then
places this into the variable FSIimage.
8.12
Click on ‘New=>’ icon, select ‘*Command’, and type in:
8.12
Seteval FSIimage <FSIimage>
8.12
This line takes the contents of ‘FSIimage’, for example ‘KS$Dir23’, and
then the ‘Seteval’ command evaluates this ‘KS$Dir23’ and so extracts the
contents of this variable, which is ‘ADFS::HardDisc4.$.Images.00-
49.sa20’ and stores it back into FSIimage. So we now have the pathname
of the image we want to display on the Pinboard.
8.12
But the Pinboard can’t read JPEG files directly, so we need to use
!ChangeFSI to transform them into sprites first. Luckily, all owners of
Acorn machines get a copy of this very useful graphic translator.
8.12
I’ve decided to place the converted JPEG file into the !Scrap directory
and this is easily done by using another Keystroke action and using the
Wimp$ScrapDir variable.
8.12
So click on the ‘New=>’ icon, select ‘*Command’, and type in:
8.12
Set Pinimage <Wimp$ScrapDir>.Pin
8.12
This sets a pathname within the !Scrap directory and calls the file to
be created ‘Pin’.
8.12
Now we need another action to call !ChangeFSI to convert the JPEG file
for us. !ChangeFSI is one of those rare programs that can be used
without having it on the iconbar. If you want more details on this, read
the ‘FSIinfo’ text file that is held within the !ChangeFSI directory.
8.12
Click on the ‘New=>’ icon, select ‘*Command’, and type in  (as a single
line):
8.12
Run <ChangeFSI$Dir>.ChangeFSI
8.12
 <FSIimage> <Pinimage> 28
8.12
 -noinfo -nomode
8.12
This line runs the ChangeFSI program with a source pathname of
‘FSIimage’ and stores the converted mode 28 sprite, which is 256
colours, in the location of ‘Pinimage’. I’ve chosen mode 28 as everyone,
RiscPC or not, can display this type of sprite. However, if you normally
use a higher number of colours for your screen mode in your Risc PC,
then changing the ‘28’ to ‘S16,90,90’ in the line above will create a
32,000 colour sprite, and the sprite quality will look pretty stunning!
8.12
To place this sprite on your pinboard, you need a last Keystroke action.
So click on the ‘New=>’ icon, select ‘*Command’, and type in:
8.12
Backdrop -scale <Pinimage>
8.12
This places the sprite, which is held at the pathname pointed at by
‘Pinimage’, on the pinboard and scales it up to fill the screen.
8.12
Now move back through each action you’ve defined by clicking on the
‘<=Previous’ icon and highlight the ‘Link’ option in each of the actions
so that they will all act as one big series of actions.
8.12
If you now press the key combination, you should see the backdrop
change!
8.12
As a final touch, if you want the action to be performed every couple of
mintues, go back to the first Keystroke action and highlight the
‘Autoexec’ option in the main window. Then at the Keystroke icon on the
iconbar, bring up the ‘Prefs/Autoexec/minutes’ menu line and type in a
suitable time delay of, say, 1 minute. Don’t forget to click on the menu
line ‘Prefs/Autoexec’ so that it appears ticked. This turns the Autoexec
on; wait a minute and see the backdrop change! Amazing!
8.12
You’ll find a copy of this Keystroke definition on the this month’s
Archive disc and an enhanced one which also randomly chooses between the
directories ‘00-49’ and ‘50-99’ for even more images.
8.12
If you have any queries, or suggestions for subjects on future Keystroke
columns, please write to me at the Quantum Software address (with a
S.A.E. please) or even send some email!
8.12
Stuart Halliday, 35 Pinwood Park, Livingston, EH54 8NN.
([e-mail]) u
8.12
Gerry Dickson
8.12
From the outset, I should make it clear that this article is intended
not so much as a review, as an account of my introduction to the Pocket
Book and some of my experiences with it thereafter. Due to the constant
pressure of work, it has taken almost seven months to complete. The
extended timescale does, however, add another dimension.
8.12
Being the sort of person who likes to be organised, but suffers the
double affliction of innumeracy and absent-mindedness, I have to develop
systems to compensate. I evolved a very efficient paper-based organiser,
the contents of which were tailored to my specific requirements by means
of pages designed on my A420/1 (Risc PCs are a long way off, I’m
afraid). Also, I had misgivings about ‘electronic organisers’. My
reservations centred around (a) the ability to tailor to my requirements
and (b) the ability to access information quickly.
8.12
My interest was roused whilst Christmas shopping (I did say that this
article was a long time in the making!) The Psion 3 caught my attention,
so I read through some of the sales literature then looked up references
to the Pocket Book in Archive. The concept of a pocket-sized computer
(as opposed to an electronic organiser) grabbed me. A concerted effort
from Santa’s helpers enabled me to purchase a 256Kb Pocket Book II from
NCS. My decision to opt for the Pocket Book II was determined by my wish
to support both Acorn and NCS.
8.12
Initial impressions
8.12
NCS delivered the Pocket Book promptly in mid-December; the mains
adapter from Acorn took longer. I negotiated with Santa to allow me
controlled access to my new toy on the grounds that it needed a lot of
keying in − a reasonable argument, I thought. Santa wasn’t convinced but
eventually conceded the point.
8.12
From the start, I was impressed by the power of this little box. It
reminded me of my first encounter, as a complete novice, with my
Archimedes. I was amazed at all of this capacity contained in something
so compact. The screen display is very clear, though I still find it
difficult to find the caret at times. Having relatively small hands, I
find the keyboard is manageable though, in the beginning, I often mis-
typed as a result of being too light on the keys. The key click sound is
useful in this respect. Now, I just mis-type in my usual fashion. Whilst
the Pocket Book fits a jacket pocket nicely, I do think it’s on the
heavy side. The manual is helpful and, being one of these people who
read manuals, is thus far fairly easy to follow. I found the Pocket Book
help-line very useful initially.
8.12
Starting up
8.12
The keying in of information, whilst laborious, was tempered by the
novelty element.
8.12
I began by transferring addresses from my Organiser into Cards. This was
quite straight forward and, in practice, it is very efficient as an
address book. The advantage of ‘electronic’ over ‘paper’ shows itself in
Cards’ ability to update without corrections, search for information and
provide space for additional notes. I did not find DTMF dialling
reliable. This is annoying because, when it works, it is a real boon.
I haven’t had time to investigate this problem.
8.12
PipeDream 4 is the only spreadsheet/database with which I am familiar.
As a result, however, I found that I was able to recognise much of what
Abacus was about. I use it in the main as another form of database for
things like timetables, administrative information etc. I was rather
surprised to discover that there is no provision for password
protection. I believe that a password protection option is available on
the Psion. Password protection remains on one of the menus − perhaps
some kind person might tell me how it can be implemented again. I found
the ‘zoom’ facility very useful in Abacus in allowing one to view a full
week’s timetable on screen. If you haven’t geloused by now, I am a
teacher − a Scottish teacher!
8.12
A frustration with Abacus which I came upon more recently was in
transferring extracts from my PipeDream 4 database into Abacus. A 17Kb
PD4 file results in a 38Kb Abacus file. This may not seem a problem in
these days of megabytes, but, on a 256Kb machine, this can quickly
become problematic. Eventually, I tried a comparison of a small PD4 file
and typing the equivalent information straight into Abacus. I was
surprised to find that the Abacus file was still double in size.
8.12
I found Write to be a surprisingly useful word processor. I use
Publisher extensively but I found Write enjoyable in use. Including this
article, I have used Write to create three documents thus far (all quite
different in character). The spell checker and thesaurus work extremely
well using the keyboard shortcuts; Evaluate’s ability to incorporate
sums is marvellous. However, it is the Outliner which I find
particularly useful in practice. Transferring text to Publisher via the
A-link, for further editing or printing, is simple.
8.12
The ability to incorporate notes, in Write format, into Schedule is,
again, extremely useful, e.g. enabling me to attach notes on a meeting
to its slot in Schedule; the search facility making it relatively easy
to home in on the required note.
8.12
By this stage, the advantage of ‘electronic’ over ‘paper’ is unarguable
− and this is before considering the central application for my
purposes.
8.12
Schedule was, for me, the litmus test. This was the application which
had to equal, or better, my trusty organiser. It is such a feature-
filled package that you really have to plough through the manual in
conjunction with the program.
8.12
I had designed an organiser page which consisted of forty minute slots
(the length of a period in my school). Into this I had incorporated my
timetable of fixed commitments − classes, regular meetings etc. This
enabled me to quickly identify ‘free’ slots which could be used for
interviews, ad hoc meetings, administration etc. This system worked
well, enabling a relatively effective use of my time. The main drawback
consisted of having to print out, cut, punch and date pages a month at a
time. Paper-based organisers have a limited capacity.
8.12
I was delighted to find that Schedule could do all of this and more,
e.g. the To Do facility allows the entire session’s fixed events to be
keyed in all at once, thereafter appearing on the relevant Schedule
pages. Superb! Again, searching for items, or a sequence of items, e.g.
term dates or exam dates, is relatively easy. I could go on, but won’t.
8.12
The main irritant in Schedule, for which I have not yet found a work
around, is a means of switching back and forth from term days
(containing repeat entries of my timetabled commitments) and holidays.
Yes, I can hear all the ‘teacher’s holidays’ quips! At present, I am
keying in my days for one full week, thereafter using the Repeat
facility to block in the remainder of the session. I then go through the
holiday periods deleting the work schedules. Is there a better way?
Please tell me.
8.12
One alarming experience I had with Schedule quite early on was suddenly
being presented with a lack of internal memory. A desperate scan of the
manual revealed the need to regularly compact the Schedule file.
Subsequent to this, I keep the memory usage bar permanently displayed on
screen!
8.12
In use
8.12
The embarrassment of producing this new toy took some getting used to.
For some reason, I found this more difficult than my ‘yuppy’ organiser.
Some colleagues still have palpitations at the sight of a pocket
computer. Clearly ours is not a school in which Pocket Books are a
common sight! This aside, my Pocket Book is now as indispensable as my
old organiser − probably more so.
8.12
Problems
8.12
Problems which have arisen have largely concerned memory. I backup my
Pocket Book files onto PC formatted floppies via the A-link. This works
perfectly well − though I note with interest Julian Midgely’s method of
speeding up data transfer (Archive 8.10 p44). Essentially, the problem
is that 256Kb gets used up surprisingly quickly. Therefore, anyone
considering buying a Pocket Book should opt for the 512Kb version (or
the 1Mb version), if funds allow. On a limited budget, I have thus far
added a 128Kb RAM SSD and a 256Kb Flash SSD. With judicious distribution
of files between the three storage areas on my Pocket Book, and the use
of floppies (providing a fourth form of storage), this has solved my
memory problems for the time being (in more ways than one, if my memory
serves me right). I debated at some length between RAM and Flash SSDs,
capacity, usage and combinations thereof. No doubt this could be the
subject of some debate. I would be interested to hear other views on
this. In the end, as in most things, it comes down to a compromise
between needs, wants and what one is prepared to pay.
8.12
Other concerns which have been noted previously in the Pocket Book
column, and with which I concur, include the flimsy battery cover (I now
tape up the battery cover and the SSD doors), and the keyboard
imprinting on the screen. More serious, however, is a Pocket Book with a
broken neck! I have to report that Pocket Book is off to the Pocket Book
Infirmary suffering a dislocated application bar hinge − take it from
me, this is painful!
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Have Pocket Book will travel
8.12
In April, my Pocket Book accompanied me on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to
Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland. I was able to record my experiences
virtually as I went along − travelling by train, channel ferry and coach
presented no problems to this little machine. As an idea or an event
presented itself, I could record it there and then. I can now look
forward to developing my notes into an account of my journey. If I dare
say this in Archive, this a God-send to an absent-minded innumerate! u
8.12
CD­ROM Column
8.12
Andrew Flowerdew
8.12
Acorn’s new CD­ROM drives
8.12
The new Acorn A7000 machines have been specifically designed to make
them useful with CD­ROM drives − indeed, you can add one for just £130
inc VAT. These are meant to be truly ‘Plug and Play’ systems − plug in
the drive and RISC OS 3.60 will allow you to use the CD­ROM drive
without any extra software.
8.12
The standard drives are Sony double speed ATAPI drives and I spent some
time playing with an A7000/CD­ROM drive combination. It is a very nice,
compact system and seems quite sprightly in use, although I was in no
position to do any accurate testing. The only problem is that, with a
CD­ROM drive present, you cannot use an expansion card, as the drive
takes up most of the space in the box.
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“What is an ATAPI CD­ROM drive?” I hear you ask. Well, Acorn see ATAPI
as an ‘emerging standard’ − in other words, a standard which, like most
standards in the computer industry, is not really a standard but may be
getting there. ATAPI stands for AT Attachment Packet Interface and was
proposed by drive maker Western Digital. It is a system designed to
allow cheap peripherals to be fitted onto existing IDE or EIDE
interfaces, without the need for extra hardware.
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Although the first Acorn drives are double speed drives, there are
already drives on the PC market which are quad speed and sold for
between £140 and £220 inc VAT. This follows the trend with SCSI CD­ROM
drives, where most manufacturers are now beginning to standardise on
quad speed. So, with any luck and with a little bit of programming from
Acorn and its third party developers, we may well see a new crop of
‘cheap’ ATAPI drives appearing on the Acorn market. However, a word of
warning, don’t rush out and buy any old ATAPI drive − take heed of the
Acorn phrase, ‘an emerging standard’. Not all ATAPI devices will work
with Acorn’s version of the ATAPI standard and, at the moment, only RISC
OS 3.60 is designed to accept ATAPI drives.
8.12
More fun with the PC card
8.12
There has been a fair bit of correspondence about the PC card since I
wrote the last column. In general, most comments can be summed up by the
phrase ‘It’s good but it could be better’.
8.12
This is where I nail my colours firmly to the fence! Yes, the PC card
could be better, but look at its price, and then think that it has to
cope with an operating system like Windows. Put the added complication
of users who are used to a really nice operating system like RISC OS,
and you have a recipe for confusion amongst the average user.
8.12
What are Acorn to do? Most of my problems with Windows CD­ROMs have been
down to software problems and most of these will be solved as more
people report bugs. So, with any luck, within six months, we should have
software drivers which solve most of the problems.
8.12
The other criticism is that, to run most multimedia CD­ROMs, you need a
better specification than the basic 5Mb Risc PC. True, you are better
off with a 9Mb machine and a larger hard drive, but this is also true of
a PC clone. Yes, companies advertise ‘Multimedia PCs’ for silly prices,
but if you look at the specs, and buy from a half-way reputable company,
you will certainly have to upgrade some part of the system to make it
run multimedia CD­ROMs easily. However, it is still true that a Risc PC
set up to run Windows CD­ROMs is going to cost several hundred pounds
more than a comparable PC. Quality costs, and if you buy the Acorn, you
get quality and ease of use − that’s why I buy Mazda cars − they cost a
little more, but they are reliable and I like the way they let me drive.
8.12
New CD­ROM formats
8.12
There have been several bits of news filtering through about proposed
new CD­ROM formats, and I know there is always more than a little
concern about our kit becoming obsolete. However, we should always
remember that software developers have a vested interest in selling to
the market where the vast majority of drives are found. Those drives are
the double and quad speed drives that we are buying now and these drives
will remain the dominant force in the market for several more years to
come, by which time you should be ready to upgrade anyway.
8.12
The new formats are designed to allow producers to put much more data on
a single CD­ROM. To be precise, they allow the whole of a feature film
to be stored on a single disc. The formats, one supported by Philips and
Sony, and one supported by Hitachi, Pioneer, Toshiba and several others,
look as if they will start an all-out war between the major hardware
manufacturers − a little like the VHS, Betamax war.
8.12
The Philips/Sony standard is single-sided, with 3.7Gb per layer, with up
to 8 layers being theoretically possible. The Hitachi/Toshiba standard
is double-sided with 5Gb per side. As with the VHS/Betamax war, it will
be the availability of software which will decide the winner. That is,
if it gets that far − the major players in the IT world nowadays seem to
be moving towards cooperation rather than confrontation, and it may be
that we will end up with a compromise format with some of each standard
included.
8.12
So, should you hang on before buying your next (first) CD­ROM drive, in
the hope that you will get one of the new high capacity formats? No! It
will be several years before these formats come to the market and, even
then, it may be several more before a clear standard, and the software
to support it, will be established.
8.12
As always, you can contact me via Archive or c/o DCPS, Cranbrook, Kent,
TN17 3NP or via e-mail on [e-mail]. u
8.12
Puzzle Corner
8.12
Colin Singleton
8.12
It is an occupational hazard for a puzzle-setter that someone may find a
better solution than mine! For example...
8.12
(22) Differences
8.12
Last month, I allowed myself a note of caution in declaring the best
solution to be one requiring 36 cycles of the difference operation. The
day after I posted my copy to Paul, Nick Craig-Wood’s entry arrived,
with an order-37 solution − closely followed by two more from Dr Riha.
These are (0, 121415, 344732, 755476) (1, 121416, 344733, 755477) and
(1, 410745, 634062, 755477). It is, I think, no coincidence that each of
these lead to my ‘solution’ (121415, 223317, 410744, 755476) after one
operation. I now declare these to be the ‘best’ solutions − unless, of
course, you know better ... ! Nick Craig-Wood wins the prize.
8.12
(23−25) Similarities − Rhymes − Pythagorean fractions
8.12
No major problems here, although one reader submitted x = 60, y = 45,
z = 36 for the Fractions puzzle, without realising that these can each
be divided by three to give a ‘simpler’ solution. Some variations on the
root words fashion and cushion are allowed for the Rhymes puzzle, though
dictionaries seem to disagree. Pin-cushion is not allowed, because it is
hyphenated. Readers were agreed that, as one put it, “There’s nonth that
rhymes with month”! The prize goes to Clive Semmens, of Ely.
8.12
(26) Race tracks
8.12
T H O’Beirne, in his book Puzzles and Paradoxes, gives a solution
technique which works when the number of posts is one more than a prime
number, which is true of our puzzle. Unfortunately, it only works easily
when the circuit-length is prime, which is true of the example I gave,
but not of the puzzle I asked you to solve! Computerised trial and error
is probably as good a technique as any in this case − it could be a good
number-crunching exercise to try out your new ARM7 machine! Given three
of the posts in positions 0, 1 & 3, there is only one solution, shown in
the diagram.
8.12
Solutions can always be found if the number of posts is one more than a
prime, or one more than any power of a prime, but probably not in any
other cases. There is one fundamental solution for 3 posts, two for 4,
one for 5, five for 6, six for 8, four for 9, and six for 10 posts.
There are no solutions for 7 or 11 posts.
8.12
(27) Overlapping squares
8.12
Extend the sides of the large square, as shown. This dissects the small
square into four identical pieces. The shaded region is ¼ of the small
square, i.e. 4 square units.
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(28) Harems
8.12
Choosing whether or not to have a child, even if the ‘choice’ is
dictated by law, does not change the balance of the sexes − it is one-
to-one. Since every family includes just one boy, the average family
size is two. You can prove this by calculating the probabilities of
families of different sizes. It is now possible (but highly immoral!) to
change the population sex ratio by deciding on an abortion after
determining the sex of an unborn child − but that was not the question.
8.12
(29) Back to basics
8.12
The next two numbers in the series 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20,
22, 24, 31, 100 are 121 & 10000. The clue is in the question − the
number sixteen has been written in bases 16, 15, 14 ... 2.
8.12
This month’s prize puzzle...
8.12
(30) Rectangles
8.12
For this geometrical puzzle, you are required to dissect a rectangle
into a number of smaller rectangles. The side-lengths of the rectangles
are all integers, and no two rectangles have a common side-length. No
rectangle is square. What is the smallest possible area for the outer
rectangle? The diagram shows a rather silly first attempt − the lengths
1, 3, 4 & 7 each occur in two different rectangles.
8.12
This month’s prize quickies...
8.12
(31) Tennis balls
8.12
How many tennis balls are required to build a square-based pyramid, if
the total number of balls is a perfect square?
8.12
(32) 27 digits
8.12
A 27-digit number includes the digits 1 to 9 three times each. There is
just one digit between the first two 1s, and one digit between the last
two 1s. There are just two digits between the first two 2s, and two
digits between the last two 2s. And so on ... . What is the number?
8.12
(33) Loony PAYE
8.12
The Unofficial Loony Party propose that income should be taxed at a
percentage equal to the gross pay in pounds per day. What is the optimum
income?
8.12
Comments and solutions
8.12
Please send comments, contributions and solutions to me at 41 St Quentin
Drive, Sheffield, S17 4PN. Solutions by Friday 8th September, please. u
8.12
Why Use a Pocket Book?
8.12
Up-Slicing a Risc PC
8.12
Eric Ayers
8.12
(Well, what would you call “adding more slices to a Risc PC”?) I offer
some comments, based on my experiences, in the hope that they may be of
use to others contemplating similar action. However, do not expect the
operation to improve your cash flow!
8.12
My ACB 45 already had two slices with four podule slots, and options
available were to expand to three slices with six slots or four slices
with eight slots − I chose the latter. Apart from the extra case slices
themselves, together with special long fixing bolts, you get an
additional power unit and a new backplane with eight podule slots to
replace the existing 4-slot backplane. If you go for the 6­slot option,
you get one slice and the same new backplane, with the top two slots
literally chopped off. For single-slice machines, there is also an
option to upgrade to two slices, but I have no detailed information on
it. I ordered the bits from NCS, and they arrived in the usual very
generous packages with Atomwide written all over them, and included very
clear fitting instructions with explicit diagrams.
8.12
Slices come in two forms − ‘open’ and ‘closed’. The former have a cutout
for a floppy drive in the front, whether you want it or not, and also
extra clearance internally for the additional power pack. The latter
sits on top of the existing power pack, so it is important to assemble
the open and closed slices in the right order, as instructed. Once the
top of the computer has been removed, it is very simple to pile on the
new slices, and to insert the new long bolts. The new power pack is fed
by a supplied cable from the socket originally intended for the monitor,
and its own switch is set permanently on, so that both power units are
controlled from the mains switch on the front of the computer. A new
cable is supplied to feed the monitor independently from an external
13­Amp socket.
8.12
Before replacing the lid, the old backplane must be removed and the new
one inserted. All podules must, of course, be withdrawn first. The top
four slots on the new backplane are to be supplied from the second power
unit, so you have to fish out the right lead from the latter and plug it
into a socket in the upper half of the backplane. This involves some
juggling with the slices to gain access, unless you have double-jointed
fingers. The backplane then has to be pushed home firmly, but not
forcefully, into the connector on the computer motherboard. I was none
too sure what constituted ‘forcefully’, but I could not get the
backplane to go home. I eventually discovered that the power socket
mentioned above was fouling part of the case slice. I saw no way of
avoiding this, and had to cut away a small, and I hope inessential, part
of the internal web of the slice. (We’re not quite sure what happened,
but there shouldn’t really be a problem here. If anyone else finds a
difficulty, just ring Atomwide. Ed.)
8.12
I was not adding any further devices so had a mass of extra power
connecting cables to stow safely before replacing the lid. With some
trepidation, I switched on, and breathed a sigh of relief when I got a
normal desktop. *Podules revealed eight (empty) podule slots, so the
next job was to start filling these again. I had installed a CD-ROM
drive and a Cumana SCSI 2 card, so the latter was the first to go in, to
the bottom slot (0) to get the advantage of DMA. Being impatient, I then
plugged in most of my other podules. A repeat of *Podules revealed them
all as present and recognised. Then the troubles started.
8.12
I had put a couple of podules in the upper set of slots (i.e. the new,
expanded ones). Though recognised, these podules refused to run,
returning an error message “Module ... could not be found”. Transferred
to the lower (original) set of slots, they performed normally. After
much gnashing of teeth and a ‘phone call to Matthew Hunter at NCS, the
reason was explained. Apparently, Acorn’s guidelines for writing podule
ROMs have not caught up with the possibility of eight slots, and most
podules will need a ROM update.
8.12
One podule I had was Computer Concepts’ Scanlight Plus. They recognised
the problem and offered an update for £11.75 inclusive, so I bit the
bullet and sent off my cheque. Back came an update disc − not a solution
to the problem. Another ‘phone call resulted in profuse apologies and
the new ROM by first class post. This did the trick and the podule
functioned perfectly in slot 7. The next move would obviously be to
chase up the suppliers of the other podules, but another snag reared its
ugly head.
8.12
I tried to access the CD-ROM drive and a hard disc on the SCSI card.
They appeared to respond, but produced masses of errors, with the hard
disc eventually reporting “broken directory” and the loss of all the
files on it. Fortunately, I had fully backed it up to an IDE hard disc,
but the net result was to make both devices unusable. In despair, I
ripped out all the podules except SCSI2, and the latter then functioned
perfectly. Restoring podules one at a time, even into the lower slots,
re-introduced the errors − only the CC Scanlight podule was accepted
without error. I have to confess that this behaviour is still not
accounted for, and any helpful suggestions would be gratefully received.
I did ring the changes on terminator resistors on the SCSI bus, but to
no avail.
8.12
Another of my podules is for Irlam’s hand colour scanner − this will not
run in upper slots, and also upsets SCSI. I have been in touch with them
and they have promised to look into the ROM specification, and also the
SCSI 2 incompatibility. Hopefully, a solution will eventually be found
but, at present, I am getting no benefit from my ‘Up­Slicing’ apart from
a larger box which blocks out more of the light from the window and a
second hefty power pack which is running just one podule!
8.12
Going to eight podule slots is certainly revealing problems that were
not obvious when four was the maximum. It’s one of these situations
where, potentially, everyone could blame everyone else... “It’s not my
podule that’s at fault.” The majority of podules around at the moment
were designed and tested on A5000s and not Risc PCs, let alone 8-slot
Risc PCs, so it’s not surprising there are problems with interaction.
What Atomwide are, very helpfully, doing is to create a database of
known problems in terms of ‘podule A conflicts with podule B unless
podule B has its ROM upgraded to such-and-such’. So if you are having
similar problems, and especially if you are willing to help by trying
out various permutations and combinations, give Atomwide a ring. (One
suggestion for Eric, and others with a SCSI 2 card, is to switch the
block-mode off and also, possibly, the synchronous mode.) Ed. u
8.12