News from Third Party Developers

All the latest news about software and hardware products from third party developers

The news is organised in chronological order, with the most recent stories at the top. Choose the month you require, then click on a topic heading to jump to the associated announcement.

2003 Dec Nov Oct Sep Aug Jul 2003
Jun May Apr Mar Feb Jan
2002 Dec Nov Oct Sep Aug Jul 2002
Jun May Apr Mar Feb Jan
2001 Dec Nov Oct Sep Aug Jul 2001
Jun May Apr Mar Feb Jan
2000 Dec Nov Oct Sep Aug Jul 2000
Jun May Apr Mar Feb Jan

April 2001


DrawWorks Third Millennium

30th April 2001

Aaron Timbrell

iSV Products is just preparing to ship the first copies of DrawWorks Third Millennium.

This new version of the award winning DrawWorks vector and bitmap graphics application offers even more features. DrawWorks is the best selling graphics application for RISC OS. DrawWorks works with normal RISC OS !Draw files, and the !Draw application to provide a professional level graphic design package, that is amazingly easy to use.

DrawWorks Third Millennium is an upgrade CD that will take existing versions of either DrawWorks Millennium or DrawWorks New Millennium and upgrade them to the latest version. DWTM is not a stand alone product and requires an existing DrawWorks CD in order to add the new features, these include:

Main New Features
Compatible with future versions of RISC OS.
Works on all versions of RISC OS from 3.1 onwards.
Faster than any previous Millennium version of DrawWorks.
Over 50% less processor load than any previous version.
Autoscroll or manual scroll toolbars.
Autoscroll toolbars now move much faster.
DrawWorks toolbar now stays on screen whenever a Draw window is open.
All features now work with !DrawDA.
New microbar with commonly used features.
Line width, colour, rotate and scale options always available.
Font and pt size menus always available.

New Tools
Export as SVG option.
Export as PDF option (using GhostScript).
Writeable options for start cap and end cap menus.
Nudge buttons for start and end cap triangle options.
Freehand drawing mode.
DWDistort tool to distort objects visually by dragging.
Extract the text from text objects automatically.
Export all text objects from a drawfile in one text file.
Text Area control tool including font and point size.
Change the number of columns in a text area easily and quickly.
Set margins, line spacing and paragraph spacing for text areas.

EPS Improvements
Double click an EPS file and it loads into Draw.
Unclosed objects render correctly in Adobe Illustrator

Improvements to existing features
Export GIF with NetSafe colour palette.
New moulds for the path moulder.
Path moulder can now handle grouped moulds.
Shadow tool auto groups all soft shadow layers.
Start cap and end cap menus tick to show current selection.
JPEG export tool improved.
Re-designed preferences window.
Nudge buttons no longer "Stick" in down position.

General
Tested on RISC OS 4 and !DrawDA.
A number of internal routines have been optimised for use on non SA machines.
Requires OS 3.1 or later, 4Mb RAM, CD-ROM and Hard Disk Drive.

The DrawWorks Third Millennium upgrade CD costs only 10ukp (plus carriage of 1.50ukp in the UK and 3.50ukp overseas).

More details are available from

http://www.isvproducts.co.uk/

Aaron Timbrell
(iSV Products)

GnuPG 1.0.5 for RISC OS released

30th April 2001

Stefan Bellon

I've just released GnuPG 1.0.5 for RISC OS. It's mainly a bug-fix release that has small additions here and there as well. If you are keen to know the exact changes, please refer to the NEWS file inside the distribution.

Overview
GnuPG is a complete and free replacement for PGP. Because it does not use the patented IDEA algorithm, it can be used without any restrictions. GnuPG is a RFC2440 (OpenPGP) compliant application.

GnuPG itself is a commandline tool without any graphical stuff. It is the real crypto engine which can be used directly from a command prompt, from obey scripts or by other programs. Therefore it can be considered as a backend for other applications.

Features

Messenger Pro 2.50 already supports GnuPG in a beta stage. Currently it is the only mail/news reader for RISC OS that has built-in support for GnuPG. I hope that other mail/news reader authors will support GnuPG in the future in a similar way like PGP 2.6.3ia is supported today.

Download
You can download it from my homepage at http://www.sbellon.de/. There are five different archives:

Have fun and a Pretty Good Privacy.

Stefan Bellon

Future of Easy C++

29th April 2001

David Bradforth

I've noticed through reading a few postings on c.s.a.programmer that some people have some issues with Easy C and Easy C++. I'd like to take this opportunity to explain what the current status is of this project and what the hopes/plans are for the future.

The recent Archive review of Easy C does contain several inaccuracies. Whilst I was sent a copy of the review before it was published, I did not have the time to read through and return the comments on the inaccuracies present within it. If it would be beneficial to do so, I will quite happily supply the updates to whomsoever requests them.

I don't usually read c.s.a.programmer - it's somewhat long and slow to step through. If you do have a query about the program, we would recommend that you contact us with it.

We are looking towards future developments of Easy C++, including the implementation of 32-bit compatability, but will not consider the 32-bit issues until a computer which is able to run a 32-bit RISC OS is available to the general public. At that time, we shall make a firm decision. Other possibilities include the implementing of an Easy C front end onto other compiler, again something we will look into.

Regards the issue of libraries, I'm not entirely sure what the status is. It seems that the program was designed primarily to work with the libraries supplied inside (C++, DeskLib and one other) as well as support for the likes of Vista (originally by the same author). Whilst we will consider other possibilities for the future, we need to know of what issues people have and with which libraries.

I would also be interested to know the source of the code with which problems are being found: e.g. was it from a magazine, own experiences or what? Once we have a list of issues to investigate, which can be tracked down to sources of code and such like, we will look towards updating Easy C++ to cater for those problems.

If you have any questions, do please ask.

David Bradforth

Cancellation of RISC OS SOUTHEAST

28th April 2001

Acorn Shows

CANCELLATION OF RISC OS SOUTHEAST
Unfortunately, the RISC OS SOUTHEAST SHOW, which should have been taking place on Saturday 21st July, has had to be cancelled.

This is due to the fact that the Putteridge Recreation Centre in Luton contacted me recently to say that the weekend booked for the show is now designated for renovation work.

My next show will be the RISC OS SOUTHWEST show, some time during February 2002. I look forward to seeing you there.

John Stonier

Acorn Publisher April Issue

27th April 2001

Akalat Publishing

The April issue of Acorn Publisher has just been published and marks a milestone for Akalat Publishing as this is the 40th issue of this bi-monthly magazine which was launched in October 1994.

This is a bumper issue with extra pages. It includes Part 2 of our new series on using Photodesk, dealing this time with selecting parts of an image for 'Copy and Paste' operations. There is also a special feature by cover artist Henk Huinen on how to create tesselations. Plus all our regular features on typography, desktop publishing, web page design, graphics and image processing together with our latest Case Study and Showcase pages.

Special offers on subscriptions are available to new subscribers. Email akalat@kbnet.co.uk or telephone 01582 881614 for further information.

Mike Williams
Akalat Publishing

"The Careers Workshop" now in the UK

27th April 2001

Dr J E Hurley

Learning Partners are pleased to announce that they have been appointed sole distributer in the UK for "The Careers Workshop" by Robert Werry Computer Services. This is a best selling package in schools and colleges in Australia and brings an informality to the area of careers advice which makes it suitable for a very wide range of students and young adults, including those who are possibly less academically inclined.

The package was authored on RISC PCs and is available in versions for RISC OS 3.1 to 4.xx and Windows 95 onwards and NT. An A7000 or later is recommended for the RISC OS version.

A stand alone copy costs just 85.00 ukp plus 14.98 VAT and includes a printed manual, postage and e-mail support from Robert Werry. Demonstration copies are available from Learning Partners.

E-mail your enquiries to lp.books@argonet.co.uk or order direct from Learning Partners, Marquis House, 2 North Street, Winchcombe, GL54 5LH. Please enclose a cheque or an official order form with your order.

John Hurley

MidiWays: Update to !Mixer

26th April 2001

Lenny

I've recently uploaded !Mixer 0.17 to my site:

http://www.argonet.co.uk/users/lenny/soft/index.html

!Mixer is a utility providing a centralised control of the volume levels of the internal sound system, CD drives and SharedSound handlers (eg PCSound, Synth, Player, etc).

The main change in this version is the ability to save settings. In the case of CD drives, these settings can be applied as part of your main boot sequence.

Lenny

TempDir V1.34 now available

26th April 2001

Stuart Halliday

The ever popular application - TempDir is now at version 1.34.

TempDir is an application that lives on your icon bar and presents a daily place to store your working files quickly and neatly in an organised way.

I've added a new option to force deletion of locked files after the set expiry period and tidied up the documentation.

As always it can be found at:

http://acorn.cybervillage.co.uk/qs/

Stuart Halliday

FTPc 1.33

25th April 2001

Colin Granville

I've just put FTPc 1.33 on my web site: http://www.ftpc.iconbar.com/. It has the following changes:

!FTPc is a freeware internet File Transfer Protocol Client. It enables you to transfer files/directories to and from your web space from the desktop using drag and drop.

Colin Granville

EasiHTML

22nd April 2001

Chris Bell

EasiHTML mends broken links within groups of HTML files and can add navigation buttons. It is particularly useful when saving HTML files from EasiWriter or TechWriter with the 'Split at break' option set.

Coordinated HTML and printed output can be produced and maintained from one set of EasiWriter documents, and anyone can then print off their own literature from the resulting website.

Several features have been added since version 1.08, the new version being available from our website (which will now be rebuilt using EasiWriter and EasiHTML).

Version 1.10 fixes a silly bug found by several users, which meant that they could not run version 1.09 at all. Thank you to everyone who reported back to me. Version 1.10 is available from our website:

www.highpath.co.uk

Many thanks to CJE Micros for their programmmer's initiative help.

I hope other people will also find it useful.

Chris Bell

Chuckie Egg is back!

22nd April 2001

Michael Foot

Do you remember playing the game Chuckie Egg on your BBC Micro?

Now you can play it again under RISC OS!

Chuckie Egg has been converted to RISC OS directly from the BBC game of the same name. The conversion process takes the original BBC game code and converts each processor instruction to a comparable routine under RISC OS. This means that instead of having to rewrite the game from scratch and trying to get everything the same, I now have an exact conversion that looks, plays and feels the same as the original.

Please download the RISC OS version of Chuckie Egg from
http://www.voyager.co.nz/~mikef/ under RISC OS Software.

Enjoy.

Michael Foot

NeXTBar application launcher released

21st April 2001

Paul Vigay

I'm pleased to announce the availability of my latest desktop application:

NeXTBar

Purpose
A multi-purpose application launcher and desktop tidy-upper.

Status
NeXTBar is Shareware. If you find NeXTBar useful you can register by sending me ukp12.00ukp.

What is it?
NextBar places a NeXT style bar down the right-side of the screen, which contains a number of buttons which can be assigned different applications. To load an application simply, double-click on the relevant button. It also has some other features:

For more information, or to download NeXTBar, visit http://www.vigay.com/shareware.html

Paul Vigay

RISC OS Solo computer

21st April 2001

ExpLAN Computers Ltd

ExpLAN's RISC OS Solo was announced to the media in an email sent from the equator at the beginning of March, and has been highlighted in the press, including rumours of it being an April-fool. It really does exist and is a ruggedised transportable using ultra-low power and designed for use in Developing Countries.

You can now see the first pictures of this machine and read the specs for both the prototype and the likely final product range on http://www.explan.co.uk/hardware/solo.shtml.

Please note that the current plan is to set up new companies in Central Africa who will take on the manufacture and sales of Solo computers.

ExpLAN Computers Ltd is therefore unable to field questions from prospective end-users at this stage unless you are communicating on behalf of an organisation seeking complience with Agenda21 in advance of the Earth Summit in 2002, or other categories mentioned at the foot of the website page given above.

Other end-users can see the prototype unit at the Wakefield Computer Show, 19-20th May 2001.

Thank-you.

ExpLAN Computers Ltd

SHAREWARE: txt2pdf 4.5

20th April 2001

SANFACE Software

txt2pdf is a very flexible and powerful PERL5 program (5 penguins at LinuxBerg, 5 cows at TuCows Mac, BeOS and PSION). It's a converter from text files to PDF format files.

Why do you need txt2pdf?

Most of your documents are text files
Usually, your reports from legacy applications, DBs, ERP applications, datawarehouse are textual
txt2pdf is a PERL5 script, so you can use it in every operating systems supported by PERL5,
if you prefer we distribute also executables for these OS: Windows,Linux,Solaris,AIX,HP-UX,FreeBSD. Inside the Windows version a VB GUI (Visual txt2pdf)
txt2pdf is a native converter, you don't need to pass through PostScript format
txt2pdf is specific for text to PDF conversion, so you can mark coloured (using PERL regular expression) frases in the produced PDF files
you can mark bold, italic, bolditalic frases in the produced PDF files
you can add page number in every page
you can add text at the beginning and at the end of every file
you can add a border to every page
every word like http://... ftp://... mailto:... https://... file:... ldap:... news:... will become an URL
you can create a link to a specific page within a PDF document http://...pdfdocument#pdfmark
every word like mime:... will become a link that launch the correct application and opens the file
you can use background and foreground layers
every predefined encodings, supported by the PDF format, is supported + the Unix default
txt2pdf supports STDIN and STDOUT EPD 1.0 support. You can use EPD inside background layer.
the fee for every licence is $85
SANFACE Software is going to give you a free licence for every good idea or for every good modify

txt2pdf is shareware
The txt2pdf source code is our company core business.
We trust you.
You can test text2pdf and modify it.
You can't use a modify version of txt2pdf for production purpose. You can't resell txt2pdf or a modify version of it without SANFACE Software authorization.
You can't copy part of it to include in your source without SANFACE Software authorization.

What's new in this version

Euro compliance
Text to PDF generation using a standard SCO lp command by Gavin Jackson
Validated HTML 4 documentation
PAD files: perl txt2pdf and Windows txt2pdf
minor bugs

Test txt2pdf 4.5!
You can find it at http://www.sanface.com/txt2pdf.html
Don't forget txt2pdf 4.x PRO at http://www.sanface.com/txt2pdfPRO.html
and txt2pdf PRO + Japanese at http://www.sanface.com/txt2pdfPROj.html

Joern-Erik LEO Burkert has tested it on RISC OS and he has also developed !txt2pdf is a RISC OS frontend for txt2pdf [from Joern-Erik LEO Burkert]
Requires: JFShared-Library by Justin Fletcher, !Perl for RISC OS and txt2pdf http://www.burkert.org/leo/acorn/

SANFACE Software

R-Comp Interactive announce a combined Internet and Printer Sharing box

20th April 2001

R-Comp Interactive/RCI

R-Comp Interactive is pleased to announce an ideal solution for anyone running or thinking about a home or small business network - a combined Internet and Print Server box.

Features

The idea of the box to provide a single solution to sharing printers and internet connections between a number of networked machines, regardless of platform. Thus, via one box, your RISC OS machines, Windows machines, Macs and Linux systems all gain internet access and printing facilities. The unit is a 10/100 Mbit network device, so copes just fine with normal and fast ethernet networks.

Internet
Taking each capability in turn, the Internet access is primarily designed for modem and ISDN connections up to 460kbps (Cable/ADSL users see below, it's OK for you too!). You simply attach your existing modem/ISDN TA to the high speed serial port. The box includes DHCP facilities for working with PC networks if required, but can be easily set up and configured from RISC OS machines, by following the simple instructions we supply. The box includes firewall facilities for security.

Additionally, it can be used with Cable and ADSL modems (which normally plug into a PC's ethernet port and use DHCP) to provide secure network access to the cable/ADSL modem which can then be attached directly to a hub. In this manner, the box provides a straightforward path from modem/ISDN connections now, to ADSL and cable broadband connections in the future.

It is designed to work with all standard Internet providers, and even supports scripting for non-standard ones. RCI's simple instructions make setup quick and easy.

Printing
On the printing front, the box provides the ability to connect your printer and share it around the network using standard protocols. This means that you can make fast printing facilities available to every machine, quickly and elegantly.

Software

RCI provide the box with a site licence for its RISC OS Network Printer driver software, as well as NetFetch, which is like R-Comp's DialUp, only without the dialling!!! It's designed to provide DialUp's simplicity and ease of use for people accessing the internet via a network. Easily configured in much the same way as its sibling, NetFetch provides an easy-to-use centre point for Web access, mail/news, FTP etc.

Pricing

Pricing is 199ukp inc VAT and delivery - that's about 169 exc VAT. This includes the network printer drivers site licence and NetFetch, as well as the box and RISC OS specific instructions. Additional bundles with browser and email client site licences are also available if required.

Who's this Targetted At?

This section should really be retitled "Who should be interested, and who should be reading this". The answer is anyone with more than one machine in a home or small business environment. That's the "SOHO" marketin marketing-speak!!

If you're only interested in printer sharing, or only interested in modem sharing, there are may be options. However, the beauty of this unit is that it provides a solution to the two main requirements of a modern network - printing and internet access - in a single box. The unit itself is about A5 in size, and can easily be tucked away.

By including firewall facilities, your machines are protected from outside intrusion, and there's no dependance on another machine being turned on (OK, provided that the internet/print box is turned on!) so you can access the internet or print from whichever machine you are using.

More Information

It is likely that you will have some more questions. Feel free to contact us on 01925 755043 to discuss your requirements, both for this and other RISC OS and mixed networking queries.

R-Comp Interactive/RCI

Locate v0.30 released

20th April 2001

Steve Fryatt

Locate version 0.30 is now available. The main improvements over version 0.20 are:

In addition, there are many bug fixes (including making date searches work as intended) and several other, more cosmetic, changes.

Since I didn't bother to announce it separately, the main improvements in version 0.20 (over 0.10) were:

The program is Freeware, and can be downloaded from my website at

http://www.tardis.ed.ac.uk/~stevef/software/locate/

If you do download it, I would appreciate your comments and feedback on any bugs or features that could be added/improved: many of the suggestions I have received so far are in the latest version. Although it should work on any version of RISC OS from 3.1 onwards, it has only been tested on RISC OS 4 so far; I would welcome feedback on this.

Locate is a Desktop utility to search for files, directories and applications meeting a given set of criteria. It will match filenames using wildcards and will also compare size, age and type; the idea is based very loosely on the 'Find files' utility in Windows and the equivalent on the Mac.

Steve Fryatt

!DiskBase version 0.83 released

19th April 2001

Jan Ganzevles

I've just released version 0.83 of !DiskBase.

If you are not familiar with !DiskBase, it is a disk cataloguing program with possibilities to Show, Search and find Duplicates on all the catalogued disks. Also printing of diskette labels is included.

The most important change in this release is that I do no longer make use of OS_HeapSort to sort entry records when searching for Duplicates or when having the option 'Sort on date/time' set during a Search. I have seen intermittent problems causing an abort on data transfer in UtilityModule.

You can download this release from

http://home.wanadoo.nl/jan.ganzevles/

Jan Ganzevles

SVG 2 beta testers

18th April 2001

Justin Fletcher

Because I've a little time on my hands at the moment (sigh), I'm doing some more work on the SVG plugin. What I'd like to do is set up a small group of people who would be interested in testing the converter/plugin and provide feedback.

If you have bought the first version of the SVG plugin, and would like to beta-test the next version, drop me an email at svg@movspclr.co.uk and I'll add you to the list.

If you've not bought the first version, then buy a copy and then drop me an email :-)

This updated version will be available at Wakefield.

Amongst the improvements already added:

There's quite a lot I'd like to do, but it's much more useful to have people who want to test :-)

SVG stands for 'Scalable Vector Graphics'. Imagine drawfiles, but designed for the internet in text format. Using vectors instead of bitmaps provides greater scalability - scalability of use, as well as of dimensions. For more information, bounce over to http://www.w3.org/ which has the specification and details of renderers for other platforms.

The RISC OS browser plugin takes SVG files and converts them to Drawfiles. The limitations of the Drawfile format restrict what can be rendered, but the beauty of SVG is that they should always degrade to a useful output. The plugin can also be used to view files.

Justin Fletcher

DiscKnight release 1.22

17th April 2001

David J. Ruck

Registered DiscKnight users should already know that version 1.22 has been released. However if you have bought a copy and this is the first you've heard of it, then I probably dont have your correct email address. Please email me at the address below, quoting your serial number so I can add you to the support mailing list.

Version 1.22 has a new backup facility that can copy files off a faulty disc even if physical defects prevent the operation system accessing it. The previous version 1.20 has greatly improved detection and correction facilities, as well as a deleted file recovery feature. So you are strongly encouraged to upgrade (at no extra charge), if you have not already done so.

DiscKnight is the only disc repair program to handle standard and RISC OS 4 format discs. Full details and a free check only version is available on our website: http://www.discknight.riscos.org.uk/.

David J. Ruck

NTLWorld signup with RISC OS

17th April 2001

Theo Markettos

I've written some basic instructions about signing up with NTLWorld (a UK ISP that gives free calls if you're an NTL customer, and a flat monthly rate otherwise) with RISC OS.

You need:

You don't need:

The instructions can be found at
http://www.markettos.org.uk/riscos/ntlworld.html<

Theo Markettos

Serial Networking Website Update

17th April 2001

Matthew C Lee

I have added a new page to my website which covers another low cost network solution, namely networking via parallel ports. You can find a link to this new page in the Serial Networking: Pros and Cons section or use the following link: http://www.serial-networking.fsnet.co.uk/zerilink.htm.

As ever, any comments or suggestions regarding the website are welcome.

Matthew C Lee

NurseW

17th April 2001

Graeme Wall

I have just released !NurseW, a helper application for the Dr Wimp programming library. It is a macro inserter enabling the user to enter Functions and Procedures at the click of the mouse, saving time, effort and spelling mistakes.

Available from: <http://www.greywall.demon.co.uk/riscos/soft.html>, 22k zipfile.

Alos available is my text to html converter, !SimpWeb.

Graeme Wall

## Posting Problems ##

17th April 2001

Andrew Conroy

Having been unable to connect for a few days longer than expected over Easter, I've now come back to find a possible problem with submissions being bounced back to the sender. This would appear to be an Argonet problem with the auto acknowledgement and I am looking into it. However, it would appear that everyone's submissions have made it through to me as well as being bounced back ;-) so I've uploaded a bulk selection of 16 articles tonight.

In the meantime, please continue to submit as normal and just ignore any strange replies you get :-)

Andrew Conroy
[Backup Moderator]

Beta Release: !EnBank - Multi-currency home accounts software

17th April 2001

EnVision Software Support

A beta release of !EnBank V1.02-000 is now available from the EnVision Software web site: http://www.envision-software.co.uk/.

Please note that !EnBank requires RISC OS V3.5 or later.

!EnBank is a home/personal accounts package with multi-currency support available as an optional extra - see web site for details.

Base Unit Features include:

Key Features of Multi-Currency extension:

Basic home use of the base unit, that's a maximum of 5 Accounts, 10 Standing Orders and 500 Transactions, is free.

A licence is required to remove the base unit restrictions and/or to add multi-currency capabilities. Details and prices will be published on the web site in due course, in the meantime you can check out !EnBank's full capabilities by requesting a free 60 day trial licence.

EnVision Software Support

RISC OS Projects Initiative

17th April 2001

Peter Naulls

I'm happy to announce the RISC OS Projects Initiative.

To paraphrase the text on the site:

"The basic idea is to highlight programs or projects which RISC OS really could do with, or those that might need a helping hand.

The projects span a broad range of effort and ability required - from a few hours to many months. Some are even non-programming, so perhaps there's something for everyone. All these projects I believe are possible, and if you need help getting started I can suggest solutions."

Of course, the site says it all in more detail:

http://chocky.mine.nu/initiative/

Peter Naulls

My exciting website...

17th April 2001

Alex Macfarlane Smith

My new exciting website should now be finished so you can actually find things on it.

New-ish things are:

The StrongARM patches page has been updated to hopefully include all known StrongARM game/demo/application patches. If I've missed some, please let me know. I've also put a StrongARM compatible version of BASS's demo The New Triad.

New beta versions of my replacement DesktopTracker module. The QTM version should be good enough to play 4 channel songs within the DesktopTracker program now, although it may still be unstable. The DigitalSymphony version is currently unlikely to work.

Nettle, my funky telnet client should work better now. More things are implemented, and it does support Zap fonts properly now, although currently there is no configuration option to change it.

And you can also find my funky skin for DigitalCD, which initially I created for XMMS, but then converted it for DigitalCD. The XMMS/WinAmp/Amp etc. skin is also available.

You can find all this at http://www.toth.org.uk/~aardvark/ in the Software section.

Enjoy...

Alex Macfarlane Smith

Account2 - some changes

17th April 2001

Kevin Edwards

Regarding Account2 which I made available recently -

I have discovered that the compression utility I was using in the version on my website was corrupting the program's ability to calculate pence correctly (The version I use is uncompressed so I had not noticed this). There is a new version (1.06c) available from -

http://www.ksedwards.ukgateway.net/riscos/

This uses a different compression utility and is now reliable.

Apologies to anyone who has already begun to use a version before this one.

Kevin Edwards

New version of Surftec DigiFlash available!

17th April 2001

Neil Farnham-Smith

Surftec is pleased to announce a new upgrade to DigiFlash CompactFlash which fixes all reported problems.

The major bug fix gives reliable mounting, dismounting and remounting of media which previously could crash the host machine.

This update is free of charge and is available to all DigiFlash owners.

To benefit from this update please e-mail neil@surftec.com with 'Request Update' as the subject.

The e-mail also needs to include:

Equally to help us develop the support site to help others the following information would be useful:

For instance:

In the future updates will usually be sent via e-mail, the archives will not be any larger than 120k (typically 70k) and it isn't expected that new versions will be required very frequently.

Finally, anyone waiting for SmartMedia version of the product, you will be pleased to hear that its development is now in the final stages.

Neil Farnham-Smith

AcornICQ source available from sourceforge

17th April 2001

Angelo Melis

After my last message people told me about sourceforge for storing my AcornICQ sources. I made an account and uploaded the sources last night. People can now check out the sources and play with it. Please do so :).

And please add yourself as a developer to the AcornICQ project. You can do so, by making an account with sourceforge and email me so that I can add you. So that we can use the mailinglists for coordinating the project.

To access the sources (by anonumous CVS):

This willl ask for a password, you can fill in your email address here if you want.

This will check out the sources (c, h and s directory). I didn't import the resource, obey and other files. Shall I do so ? And if so, in what format ? Can I import data files ? I personally think it is a good idea, because people can also change the other files (like the res file).

What you'll need to compile the source is norcroft C (maybe gcc works, but I never tried), objasm (or another assembler for the s files), OSLib and Netlib (for the TCP libraries).

Please help me on this project (thats why I made available the sources) and start contributing on AcornICQ.

Thanks and bye,
Angelo

AcornICQ is the ICQ client for RISC OS.

Angelo Melis

ADSL and RISC OS

12th April 2001

Julian Levens

Its your favourite RISC OS friendly ISP here!

As part of our ongoing investment into RISC OS based internet services, we are pleased to be able to offer ADSL connection to the internet, in addition to modem and ISDN connection.

We have in fact been able to offer this facility for the last few months, but until our own line was installed and tested by our team, we didn't wish to promote it prematurely.

Our experience of the service currently is that it is pretty damned amazing, and we are able to support mixed networks (RISC OS and PCs) running under this environment. Our internal network has a multitude of RISC OS and PC systems, who all talk happily for both Internet, and File and Print sharing.

For further information on this service please ring 08000 191 243, and ask for Benji. Installation costs 270UKP, and monthly costs range from 115UKP (512kbps) to 210UKP (2000kbps)

Julian Levens

R-Comp announce Messenger Pro 2

12th April 2001

R-Comp

R-Comp is pleased to announce the release of Messenger Pro version 2 (actually version 2.5!).

The original Messenger Pro has been widely praised both within and outside the RISC OS marketplace. Indeed, it has been described as "arguably the best email/news reader system for any platform".

Messenger Pro 2 builds on the original version, and adds many new features and improvements, which will be appreciated by both novice and experienced users:

In addition, a new 48 page, spiral bound manual has been produced to go alongside Messenger Pro 2. Whilst largely based on the 40 page edition (Feb'01) it includes a few extra topics so as to cover all the commonly used sections of the software in printed form.

There is also a release note covering the new feaures of Messenger Pro 2, and installation etc for existing users who are upgrading.

Further Information
Further information about Messenger Pro can be found at http://www.rcomp.co.uk/

Upgrades
Existing users have been contacted via email with upgrade information. If you have not received this, please contact R-Comp via email rcomp@rcomp.co.uk or by phoning 01925 755043

Pricing
The full price of a copy of Messenger Pro 2 is 33ukp. Messenger Pro 2 Online Version remains at 40ukp. The price of the full Internet Suite including Messenger Pro 2 is now 63ukp.

R-Comp

Superior CD documentation

11th April 2001

David Bradforth

I've been a bit of a dumbass and forgot to include a letter in the CD mailout for the Superior Collection update.

The important points are:

  1. There are TWO DISCS following, to cater for the titles I cannot place on the CD
  2. I've decided now to produce a MANUAL with ALL THE INSTRUCTIONS for everything.
  3. There are some titles which still need more work, but the CD contains more in the way of software, and stuff which didn't work before works now.

Something I didn't mention - everybody who has bought the Superior CD upto today has been entered into a draw. At Wakefield, we'll place the names into a hat and one winner will get the entire ProAction catalogue... and indeed a few more goodies.

If you do have any problems with any of the titles on the CD, do let me know and I'll offer advice as a matter of priority. I am taking Good Friday to Easter Monday off, and will not be answering any emails between those days. Other than that, it's a seven day a week primarily evening reply service with occasional morning and afternoons too. Who am I kidding? I'm on the Internet all day and night...

I'd like to know of any specific problems: one has already been reported, but machine configurations do seem to affect which work and which don't.

David Bradforth

Powerbase Version 8 now available

10th April 2001

Joyce Haslam

Version 8 of Derek Haslam's award winning shareware database Powerbase is now available from APDL and from my website.
http://www.pendle.ukgateway.net/

Powerbase can be used to create databases of information of almost any kind and provides powerful facilities for maintaining such databases and for selectively retrieving and printing information from them. Using Powerbase at an elementary level is particularly easy - you can, for example, set up a simple address-book database in a matter of minutes - yet the needs of more advanced users have not been neglected. Descriptions of Powerbase from various sources have sometimes implied that it is a relational database. It isn't, but it can provide you with some of the facilities which fall outside the sphere of a simple flat-file (card index) type of database and for which a relational database program might otherwise be necessary.

It is best described as a flat-file database with table-validation. This means that text fields within the database can be linked to a list of items in such a way that the field will not accept items unless they are on the list. That list (called a validation table) can have many additional columns providing extra information which may be included in printed reports from the database if required.

Joyce Haslam

HardCash 4.01 and 3.15

9th April 2001

Graham Waterworth

Raspsoft have now released version 4.01 (year 2001/02) of HardCash, we strongly advise all version 4.00 users to visit our web site to download this update.

Please note this upgrade is of no use to those not registered for version 4.00.

Also on the site is version 3.15 (year 2000/01) this allows anybody using version 3.xx to printout the new P14/P60 forms, any version before 3.15 may not produce the correct format.

Graham Waterworth

Future of AcornICQ

9th April 2001

Angelo Melis

Because development of AcornICQ is on a stand still for the last few months, I started to think about ways to speed up development again. Because of changes in my personal life, spare time to work on AcornICQ is very, very little. I hoped it would get better in time, but it doesn't. And because of all the users and all the time I spend on it, I don't want it to die. So to get development speedup, I want to ask for your help.

I want to make AcornICQ an open source project. Sadly the source was not written with the idea of open source in mind, so there is something "wrong" with the code. The main problem is the lack of comments in the code (I know ... not smart, but it is how it is at the moment). So it is not that easy to get into the code. I could comment the code before making it available, but that would take such a long time (because lack of time) that I don't want to go that way. I hope that people who want to participate on the project will start to fill in comments and over time, the code will be easier and easier to understand. And I will be available for help and information (I will be involved with the project as much as I can, also as a coder).

Another small problem is the structure of the code. Because there is only one main header file, that changes in that will result in a complete recompile of all sources. This is something I meant to change, but never came around to do it. This is not a major problem, but should also be fixed.

To make this project a success I need help. What I want to do is make the sources available and people can play with it. This way, people don't need to ask for the code, but can download it and start looking at it. But this must be structured, so that changes are incorporate in the code and accesseble for everyone. So I would like the source in CVS, so that people can work on it and check in changes. For this I need a CVS server which is accessble for everyone. Is there someone who as a CVS server available for the project.

Secondly, to coordinate it, I would like to have a mailinglist where people can participate and ask questions/report progress on the development of AcornICQ. This list will not be used for questions about the use of AcornICQ, but only for the development of AcornICQ. Is there someone who can host this mailinglist?

Do people think this is a good idea? Or do they have better/other ideas? Please let me know ... And if you want to help with the CVS server/mailing list, please send me an email. If you want to participate, please let me know and I will get back to you when the source is available. Please don't ask for the sources yet. I don't want to mail it out, because it will become very difficult to maintain changes than in the code.

Thanks for your time,
Angelo

AcornICQ is the RISC OS ICQ (i see you) client.

Angelo Melis

SMSTrans 1.18 released

6th April 2001

Alex Macfarlane Smith

Just to announce that SMSTrans, my program for sending SMS messages to digital mobile phones has been updated to v1.18. This basically just fixes some of the hideous bugs that crept into 1.17b, so it should work OK now.

You can find it at http://www.toth.org.uk/~aardvark/archifishal/programs/

Apologies that the Information pages aren't there yet - hopefully I'll have had time to write these in the next couple of weeks.

Alex Macfarlane Smith

New cameras, new prices from Photodesk

6th April 2001

Chris Hornby

NEW OLYMPUS CAMERA PRICES
High street price war has forced Photodesk Ltd to reduce the prices of the most popular cameras.

The entry level Olympus C-860L digital camera has been reduced to only 225.00 including VAT and Photodesk PhotoLink software. The most popular model, the C960 Zoom, is now only 320.00 The C990Zoom has been reduced to 450.00

Two new Olympus models join the line-up. The C2020Z replacement, the C2040 is now available but unfortunately with USB support only. It is 25.00 cheaper than the 2020 at 525.00 Photodesk hope to provide this camera with a card reader shortly. The C3040Z with its new bright lens replaces the C3030 at the same price of 800.00 including VAT and PhotoLink support. Other cameras include the C2100Z at 900.00, The E100RS at 1350.00 and the E10 at 1550.00

Managing director Chris Hornby said: "Photodesk, being a small outfit, has had problems competing with high street chains on camera prices, but these new deals which include RISC OS driver software should encourage purchasers to come back to us. Bearing in mind that Photodesk Olympic is only 69.00 if purchased with a camera, this must be a real bargain."

Chris Hornby
Managing Director, Photodesk Ltd

Account2

6th April 2001

Kevin Edwards

Account2 is a Freeware home accounts program. The new version 1.06 is now available from:

http://www.ksedwards.ukgateway.net/riscos/

The program is very intuitive to use and is ideal for maintaining a record of debits and credits to a single account. It includes the following features:

There are other RISC OS freeware items by myself at this site.

Kevin Edwards

HP Printer driver update

4th April 2001

Jonathan Briggs

This is an up to date list of the RISC OS drivers I have produced for Hewlett Packard Printers and Multi-Function devices.

Full colour at 300 and 600dpi drivers are now available for the following devices: DeskJet 930C, DeskJet 950C, DeskJet 959C, DeskJet 970Cxi, DeskJet 990Cxi, PhotoSmart 1215, PhotoSmart 1218, OfficeJet G85.

Settings are provided for EconoFast, Normal and Best qualities plus Plain paper, Coated paper, Glossy paper and Transparencies as media choices.

For those of you unfamiliar with the PhotoSmart devices they are printers which include slots for digital camera memory cards. This allows direct printing from the memory card, your computer is not required for this process.

Full colour at 300 and greyscale at 600dpi drivers are now available for the following devices:

DeskJet 690C, DeskJet 870Cxi, DeskJet 890C, DeskJet 895Cxi, OfficeJet 1150C.

Settings are provided for EconoFast, Normal and Best qualities plus Plain paper, Coated paper, Glossy paper and Transparencies as media choices.

An appropriate icon bar symbol is provided with all the above drivers ie. the symbol looks like the actual device.

Please note Photo-realistic and Duplex printing support is NOT provided.

RISC OS 4 and !Printers 1.64 are recommended as also is an IEEE 1284 standard printer cable.

A ukp5 or ukp2.50 (depending on the driver required) is appreciated in return for the driver.

For more information please email me, Jonathan Briggs at jbcb@globalnet.co.uk

Jonathan Briggs

ARM assembler

4th April 2001

Richard Murray

The ARM assembler site is your place for learning how to write code in assembler under RISC OS. While there are examples for C/APCS, to get started you need absolutely NOTHING. Both !Edit and BASIC are built into your machine already, that's all you need to learn assembler. Broken into sections, descriptions, and examples.

What's new:

You'll find the ARM assembler area at:

http://www.heyrick.co.uk/assembler/

Richard Murray

QuickVoy

3rd April 2001

Richard Murray

QuickVoy is a program for Argo Voyager users. It is a replacement dialler/front end that is memory efficient; useful for machines with restricted memory.

Look to http://www.heyrick.co.uk/voyager/quickvoy/ to find out more and to download.

What's new?

Richard Murray

New version of MP32WAV

2nd April 2001

David Chapman

Version 0.10 of MP32WAV is now available from my website... http://mp32wav.riscos.org.uk/. Please be aware that this is a StrongArm only application.

New in this version:

First up, a bugfix where an error box came up stating that the file 'report' could not be found... this was due to a debugging line being left in the code... hangs head in shame :-(

Now the improvements,

For those that don't yet know about MP32WAV, it is a small utility which converts so-called MP3 files to WAV format.

Why would I want to do this? I hear you say, well when they are converted and if you have a CD writer you can use your favourite CD burning software to make your own music CDs and listen to them on your Hi-Fi system or in the car or wherever.

It is very simple to use, just drag an MP3 file to the main window and hit 'OK' and sit back and wait for the WAV to appear. Batches of MP3s can be converted by putting them into a directory and then dragging that directory to MP32WAV. The WAV files can be saved anywhere by dragging the wav icon from the main window to a drive or directory of your choice or you can simply use the default setting which is inside the MP32WAV application.

The program is freeware so go and download it now and see just how useful it is...

David Chapman


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