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As of the 1st September Photodesk Ltd will trade. Spacetech products will be supported and developed.
A new company, PHOTODESK LIMITED, will take over the premises of Spacetech Ltd and continue to supply and support Spacetech product. Contact details are below.
New or updated products will be announced at the RISC OS 2000 show.
Photodesk Ltd will continue to supply Olympus digital cameras and continue development on RISC OS drivers. Work will also continue on PhotoReal drivers, although continued support in this area has proved difficult.
OHP presentation software is still in development, and a new edition of Photodesk imaging software is expected for the RO2000 show.
Managing director Chris Hornby said: "Photodesk is a smaller outfit than Spacetech, in fact it is just me at the moment! I do, however, expect to expand along with the RISC OS market. If customers have any difficulty in contacting me I will try to respond quickly to messages sent by email, fax or left on the answering machine."
Photodesk is looking for programmers to develop new RO applications. Generous royalties on a partnership basis are paid for products marketed by Photodesk Ltd. Chris Hornby requests that anyone with a pet project they wish to discuss should contact him in the first instance.
For Further information, contact:
Chris HornbyTelephone: 01305 822753
Facsimile: 01305 860483
chris@spacetech.co.uk
www.spacetech.co.uk
Chris Hornby
Managing Director, Photodesk Ltd
The desktop is distributed under the GNU General Public License, which means that anyone can modify it, use bits of it in their own (GPL) programs, etc. Indeed, many of the improvements made to the filer were added by other ROX users and posted as patches to the mailing list.
There are now two mailing lists, rox-users and rox-devel. You can subscribe here, or look at the archives:
http://sourceforge.net/mail/?group_id=3D7023
The install script no longer overwrites the handlers for text/plain and application/postscript if they are already defined (spotted by Martin Ward)
When the filer is in 'target mode' (waiting for you to click on something to delete, copy, etc) a message is displayed in the toolbar to remind you.
There is a new option to set the default height for new filer windows (patch from James Kermode).
The timeout for the spring-open feature is now configurable (requested by Chris Garrett).
Now uses the short form of --version in install.sh and doesn't try to use unsetenv() if it isn't available (Mattias Engdeg=E5rd) - fixes problems with Solaris and some other systems.
New options to set the pinboard text foreground and background colours (suggested by James Kermode).
Your home directory is now displayed as '~' in the title bar, rather than as a full path.
iSV Products are delighted to announce that we are putting the finishing touches to a new version of EasyFont PRO. EasyFont is the premier font management application for RISC OS. it allows you to preview all your fonts in a WYSIWYG display as well as turn fonts on or off, plus it does lots lots more.
This new version is faster then earlier copies and is also a lot more stable since we have re-written quite large parts of the source code. The new version will be supplied on CD with a new installer that can upgrade your existing EasyFont and keep all your fonts. Also on the CD are over 2000 fonts, plus a full copy of Dr Fonty (our font editor).
Upgrade price is 11.50ukp for existing users who return their original EasyFont disk. New users can buy EasyFont Pro V5 for only 16.50 ukp.
Get it from the usual place which is:
For more details, and while you are there why not check out our special offers on other products such as DrawWorks Millennium on CD for only 11.50ukp.
Aaron Timbrell (iSV Products)
I've just released another version of !ClipMan. V0.65 includes some bugfixes and (another) overhaul of the keyboard control system.
For those who haven't come across it yet !ClipMan is an application that allows detailed management of the RISC OS Global Clipboard. Unlike the usual single Cut/Copy/Paste action, Clipman will allow the temporary or permanent storage and renaming of multiple items Cut/Copied to the Clipboard. Items permanently stored are filed inside the application and will remain available until removed by the user. These objects can, at any time, be selected from the Clipman main window and pasted or drag and dropped into suitable apps and locations, as and when required.
Get it from the usual place which is:
I've pretty much come to the end of my ideas for new !Clipman features, so if anyone has anything they'd like to see added or any bugs they haven't reported I'd be very pleased to hear from you.
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/ _ \________/ __(_) /____
/ _ / __/ __/\ \/ / __/ -_)
/_//_/_/ \__/___/_/\__/\__/
http://www.arcsite.de/
ArcArchie, the search engine for ftp servers with RISC OS related contents, was rebuilt. Now you can search more ftp server than ever before. ArcArchie searchs the following ftp servers:
(*) With a file description
English version: http://www.arcsite.de/arcarchie/eindex.html
German version: http://www.arcsite.de/arcarchie/index.html
If there is left an interesting ftp server, so please send me a message (http://www.arcsite.de/kontakt/ecms.html).
I've recently encountered some problems with my ISP rejecting e-mails to my announcement list because they have to many recipients. So I knocked together a piece of software to get around that restriction. Just in case anyone else might find it useful I've uploaded it to my website.
As promised, Paradise are happy to announce that updated driver and application software is available to all owners of our joypad interface.
The new software provides compatibility with more joypads (notably older digital pads) and support for the newer analogue API interface standard (as introduced at RISC OS 3.6).
We've also added a new !JoyKeys application, allowing the joypad to emulate key and mouse operations so that it can be used with a much greater number of games, and even the desktop.
Customers can receive this software by contacting us directly.
For more details of our Joypad interface, take a look at the joypad page online: http://www.paradise-uk.net/joypad/
Freeze has been improved a lot, extra care has been taken on safety and speed, it is now more compatible with other software and hardware.
Freeze can save the state of a machine and restore it back at any time. Using Freeze, a long boot sequence can take less than 5 seconds. Any user can save time and work more efficiently with several applications and documents, not only portable owners, and not only at power-on.
It supports any combination of many states, users and machines.
It has been tested extensively from RO3.11 to RO4.02 with many hardware configurations.
Freeze (c) 1996-2000 Arm's Tech, is Shareware; the registration fee is 10 UKP. The full version can be downloaded from:
http://www.multimania.com/gusuki/freeze.html
The official launch of our POSsum EPOS terminal and Image Software's EBMS takes place at Interact 2000 tomorrow, the 29th of August.
RiscStation's services will be reduced this week as all available staff will be attending this important event.
Today's topics:
After almost two years of suspended development, I am glad to announce that MW Software is back offering new high-quality software products for the RISC OS market.
Phone: +49-(0)631-3608205
Fax: +49-(0)7034-928915 (slow response!)
* Prices are for e-mail delivery only. Add 5 Pounds for snail-mail delivery (includes printed HatchPro manual). Do not add VAT as I am not registered.
Offer on the Web: http://www.mw-software.com/software/awmodules/sale.html
I have uploaded an udated version of !PS2PDF to my site at:
Which includes the option to set some of the image processing paramters now available in Ghostscript, including image compression, colour depth, and Acrobat 3/4 compatibility.
My thanks to Graham Jones for prompting me on this one, and testing the results.
!PS2PDF is a front end for Ghostscript to ease the production of PDF files from Postscript files, by providing a drag and drop interface. The new version now adds the functionality of a pop up configuration window to allow image compression and compatibiltiy options to be set and passed to Ghostscript, so allowing greater flexibilty in the quality of the output.
I hope the additions prove useful, as ever if anyone finds any problems then drop me a line.
The RISC OS 2000 show will be held at The Queen's Stand, Epsom Downs Racecourse, Surrey, on Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd October. The show repeats the highly successful RISC OS '99 Show which was held at the same venue last year.
Even at this relatively early stage in the planning, a whole host of RISC OS companies and organisations, both large and small, have expressed an interest in exhibiting, or have already booked stands.
The popular RiscStation Village will once again give visitors a chance to meet the RISC OS market's numerous highly respected small developers, and see, try and buy their products. Visitors will also notice a striking change in the format of the RiscStation Village this year!
In addition, there will, as usual, be a substantial Charity Stand; and there will be presentations from the key players in the RISC OS market, taking place in the venue's purpose-built theatre.
RiscStation, as sponsors of the Village and a major exhibitor in their own right, have already announced their intention of releasing the long-awaited RISC OS portable at the show. The last 24 hours have *also* seen the first official release of photographs of the portable, to see them visit the RiscStation website at http://www.riscstation.co.uk/ Of course, RiscStation will also have their existing desktop RiscStation models, as well as more news on the highly successful POSsum project.
Castle Technology have also sponsored the show, providing a large internet cafe for everyone to try out! This will be your chance to surf the web using Kinetic Risc PC systems, the fastest RISC OS systems available; and Castle's Oregano web browser, which was released earlier this year, and has since seen substantial development to enhance its already considerable performance. Check out Castle's website at http://www.castle.org.uk/ - and do remember that Castle are masters at concealing forthcoming releases until the last minute - so there may be something unexpected too!
The third sponsor is Acorn User - visit their stand to check out *the* RISC OS news-stand magazine. The June issue of Acorn User sold out completely, so the show will be a good chance to pick up any other back issues you're missing, including the August issue which has seen a great deal of attention on these newsgroups. Acorn User are also now making magazines available in bulk to user groups, so expect more on this front soon. Finally, Acorn User are aiming to provide a new, totally revamped version of their website to coincide with the show. You can find the current version at http://www.acornuser.com/
Last but certainly not least, Chris Hornby of Spacetech was also kind enough to act as one of the show sponsors. We are delighted that, despite the closure of Spacetech, Chris will be attending the show as Photodesk Ltd., providing the well-known and highly respected range of graphics and presentation software, camera and printer drivers, and more. I'm sure a great many of you will be keen to take the opportunity to visit the Photodesk Ltd stand and show your support, as well as checking out the new developments. Details of Spacetech's existing products can still be found at http://www.spacetech.co.uk/
These are just the show sponsors (although we're also very grateful to a wide range of others for their help with the show so far) - the complete list of exhibitors continues to grow! The website will continue to reflect these changes - it's at http://www.armclub.org.uk/riscos2000/ and also contains information on other attractions in the local area, as well as a variety of nearby accommodation (book soon to avoid disappointment, all the hotels and guest houses we listed filled up very quickly last year).
The venue is extremely well-connected by road and rail. It is mere minutes' drive from junction 8 of the M25, a route which will be well signposted over the weekend of the show. (See the show website for a graphical map and detailed directions, or let us know if you would like a copy by email).
This year the recommended station for the show is Epsom Station (*not* Epsom Downs or Tattenham Corner), from which a free minibus service will be available to the show. It is less than half an hour by public transport from Waterloo Station's Mainline, International, Underground and Bus services, thus also being only just over an hour and a half by rail from the closest parts of continental Europe.
For overseas visitors who prefer to fly to the show, Gatwick and Heathrow are the nearest airports. Some visitors from the other side of the world have already booked their flights to reach the show, so if you are that many thousand miles away, you don't have much time left!
Entrance to the show is four pounds for advance ticket purchases, or five pounds at the door - children under ten can get in free. Tickets are valid for both days, so you don't have to pay twice if you want to spend more than a day looking around (as many will!) Members of The ARM Club, SASAUG or ROUGOL have free admittance on the Sunday, on production of a valid membership card.
For advance tickets, send a cheque to:
This year's show is organised by The ARM Club, the Surrey and Sussex Acorn User Group (SASAUG), and the RISC OS User Group of London (ROUGOL), supported by the Association of Acorn User Groups. Of course, you'll be able to meet representatives from a whole host of user groups on the substantial AAUG stand at the show - or indeed ask for advice on forming your own.
The ARM Club - http://www.armclub.org.uk/
SASAUG - http://www.poppyfields.net/sasaug/
ROUGOL - http://www.jellybaby.net/rougol/
The main show website (again) - http://www.armclub.org.uk/riscos2000/
R-Comp is pleased to announce that for some time now we have been developing our own DialUp Networking system to simplify Internet connectivity for RISC OS users.
The software makes it as EASY to connect your RISC OS machine to the internet as it is for Windows users (maybe even more so?), and works with exactly the same configuration files that Internet Providers supply to get Windows users off the ground (namely .ins scripts).
Not only does !DialUp auto-configure itself from .ins scripts, but it will also set up email/news etc. and is a self contained solution.
Key features:
At present, !DialUp has been (is being) sent out to WebsterXL customers who have signed up to our "Priority Support Scheme", as we have always supplied internet connectivity software as part of the WebsterXL package.
!DialUp will also be available to those who sign up with us for our "Get Online" packs which include a 56k external modem, WXL, Messenger Pro, a FreeUK account and connection software for 113ukp all in. We will continue to supply software for users with older machines as necessary.
For more information, feel free to contact us by replying to this message, or writing/phoning the details shown below.
R-Comp,Tel: (+44) 01925 755043
Fax: (+44) 01925 757377
Anyone who has already purchased the full Textease Studio package will have been patiently waiting for the database functions. This is now expected to be released on September 1st, at which time the Softease web site should also be carrying a new range of National Curriculum Resources, FREE to all textease users will also be downloadable.
These resources are sectioned into Key Stages for all ages and can be used in conjunction with any of the Textease Studio programs.
It should be appreciated that since Textease is also available for Apple Mac & Windows machines it is possible for mixed platform schools to standardise on the one program suite and have fully transferable files. This flexibility coupled with the exceptional features and ease of use that the software is so well known for means that Textease Studio is fast becoming the toolbox of choice for schools.
For further details or a demo disc, please contact 1st Impressions:
Email: dave@1st-impressions.uk.com
Telephone: 01775 750535
Post:
I'm pleased to announce FresUtils 1.03 is now available to download from my RISC OS Shareware site at http://www.vigay.com/shareware.html
This is a cut down version of AntUtils for Voyager users, or for people who use Fresco but don't require all of the advanced features of AntUtils.
New in this version (due to popular demand) is the RMA monitoring facility of AntUtils, which will constantly top up the RMA space if it drops too low, which can cause problems with Fresco.
I've also added an extra 'Fresco' option to toggle 'Background font blending' on or off. This is handy if you suddenly discover that Voyager Fresco displays a blank page with no text. You no longer have to fiddle around editing config files by hand.
Registration is only a fiver and registered users can join my AntUtils mailing list, feel warm inside knowing that they are supporting the RISC OS shareware scene and also remove the 'nag screen' which gently reminds you to register.
Registered users should email me privately for a new registration code in order to register this version.
New !Help and StrongHelp manuals are provided, with full instructions and as always, comments and ideas are welcome.
A new image filing system for RISC OS, CPMFS, has just been released and is available for download at:
http://users.ox.ac.uk/~chri0264/software/
CP/M was the "industry standard" operating system twenty years ago, and CPMFS provides access to certain types of CP/M discs. The first release of CPMFS concentrates on disc formats common in the UK - those used by the Amstrad PCW and Spectrum +3 machines, and some formats supported by ROMDOS and ParaDOS on the Amstrad CPC computers. CPMFS also allows access to DSK and EDSK image files as used by various emulators.
I would appreciate feedback on this software, as I am keen to add further disc formats if these would be useful, and perhaps develop a data conversion tool for the more popular types of CP/M files.
CPMFS is free, but cheques for five pounds are welcome if you feel the software is useful enough to you.
Just to let you know that the Comp.{binaries/sources}.Acorn website has now been updated with a new mouse configure app (RISC OS 4 and above only) and the newly released version of VProtect from Pineapple software.
Take a look......
http://www.acornusers.org/cbsa/index.html
ftp://ftp.acornusers.org/pub/cbsa/
PulaWebsite keeper
A new version of Riscster (1.12) is available for download from the new website at http://riscster.iconbar.com/.
Riscster is a client for the Napster online music community for RISC OS. Riscster allows the downloading of Audio MPEG files from the thousands of Napster users.
New features for 1.12 include:
Ability to browse the collection of a user.
Private messaging ability.
Ability to connect to servers other than those owned by Napster Inc.
(the OpenNap servers).
There are also a number of improvements and bug fixes.
Riscster is distributed with source code under the terms of the GNU general public licence.
Version 3.00 of the !Rename smart file renamer is now avilable.
!Rename uses !Edit-like wildcard patterns to spply sophisticated renaming rules to many files at the same time; for example, an entire directory of files can have DOS or unix filetype extensions to be added or removed.
Version 3 adds a "Preview" window so that the user can check the effect of a pattern before applying it.
!Rename is available from
http://www.argonet.co.uk/users/tigger/
and follow the "Programs" and "Desktop Utilities" links.
I'm not sure if this is quite the right group for this but I recently released a new freeware Archimedes emulator called RedSquirrel, available at
http://www.redsquirrel.fsnet.co.uk/
It runs under Win98 with Direct X and has the following features:
It's not quite finished but appears to run most of the old games I have. Comments so far have been very positive.
FSI_Batch allows you to batch process graphic files using ChangeFSI.
This version is slightly tidied up and offers the option to display the last processed file. This is useful if you use the program to process single files, rather than batches. Why would you want to do this? The front-end of FSI_Batch is much easier to use than ChangeFSI. Everything is done via buttons.
However, use this option with care. It simply loads the current file into the default program, usually !Paint. If you process 20 images with this option, it will load them all into Paint and you soon run out of memory.
The program is shareware. All proceeds go into the computer kitty of Limavady College.
http://www.argonet.co.uk/users/tudor/
Updated software at:
http://www.melhuishs.freeserve.co.uk/simon/projects/
csv2png and csv2jpeg use the GD library to plot time series data from a CSV file to either a PNG or a JPEG graphic. The program is deliberately simple, and is targeted at CGI applications. Originally written for RISC OS as csv2gif (see Acorn User, issue 215) the latest distribution builds on Linux as well.
Source code and binaries available for download. Also RISC OS binaries of the necessary libraries, including GD 1.8.3
The upgrade is available from:
email: GoldLine@abacusline.demon.co.uk
web site: http://www.abacusline.demon.co.uk/
Fax - Phone: +44 (0) 1793 723347
The contact at Abacus Training is Gerald L Fitton.
The charge to non members who have version 4.50/00 or later is ukp10.00 if you live in the European Union. It is ukp12.00 if you live elsewhere in the world. If you live outside the European Union and choose to receive the upgrade by email then the charge is ukp10.00.
If you have PipeDream 4 rather than PipeDream 4.50/00 then the cost of the upgrade is ukp20 to non members of GoldLine who live in the European Union. It is free of charge to members of GoldLine.
If you have PipeDream 4 rather than PipeDream 4.5 then you must return your original discs. You will be sent new discs with a new registration number.
If you have PipeDream 3 then please contanct us, Abacus Training for a quote.
Please make cheques payable to Abacus Training.
PipeDream is fast and versatile, it can use system font, there are no confusing page boundaries. It continues to be developed as a fast combined spreadsheet and word processor which is not page based.
Fireworkz is page based so that you can see the page and printer boundaries. Fireworkz facilities include font Styles, coloured text, coloured boxes around cells, multiple rows within the same cell, variable width cells within the same column and multiple row and multi Style headers.
Both PipeDream and Fireworkz have a strong dedicated following. New users can find plenty of support through Abacus Training from experts who wish to share their knowledge and experience.
Abacus Training has run user support groups for Colton Software products since 1990 and we were appointed managers of Colton Software products in 1998. GoldLine is our newest user group. New members receive a GoldLine compact disc containing all the User Group articles right back to 1990. The GoldLine disc contains articles suitable for beginners and articles written by experts. It also contains upgrading utilities for PipeDream and Fireworkz Pro. Members paying the annual subscription can return their GoldLine disc regularly for upgrades.
The cost of joining the GoldLine User Group is ukp25.00.
The annual membership fee is ukp20.00.
Thanks to Richard Goodwin at the Iconbar, there's now a central web page for StrongEd at
http://www.stronged.iconbar.com/
Take a look there for the new version 4.62 of StrongEd as well as details of mailing lists and support.
The first series of ViewFinder cards sold out quickly (sorry ...). A new batch of cards will become available very soon now, which warrants a re-announcement.
ViewFinder is a graphics card for RISC PCs that offers higher desktop resolutions and refresh rates than ever before available, giving a new lease of life to your RISC PC. If you have ever been frustrated by the lack of decent resolutions and frame rates on your RISC PC, ViewFinder is for you.
For full details, surf to:
http://web.inter.NL.net/users/J.Kortink/viewfinder.htm
I've just done some fixes to !RiscSearch
For all of you, who don't know about !RiscSearch: !RiscSearch is meant to be a meta-search engine, and AFAIK it is the only one available for RISC OS anywhere. It helps you finding web-pages about a certain topic by asking different search-engines about that topic. It collects results from (at the moment) 10 different engines, sorts out duplicate matches and then presents all matches in a window of your web-browser.
This will be the last release for about 4 weeks, because I'm going into vacation now!
A new page is available in my ThermIIC projects section:
http://www.melhuishs.freeserve.co.uk/simon/projects/thermiic/sidebar.html
Playing around with Netscape 6 / Mozilla, I thought it would be useful to adapt a CGI program to give a small 'thumbnail' plot, suitable for addition as a 'My Sidebar' tab. This way I can keep an eye on temperatures whilst browsing elsewhere. A click on a thumbnail brings up the full-sized version in the main part of the Netscape window.
'My Sidebar' tabs are just very small web pages, so they can be viewed with an Acorn browser too.
Compiled code suitable for Alphanet, and the C source, are linked from the above page. Note that the latest version of ThermIIC is required. It should be simple to adapt it to other Acorn http servers, or for other purposes. Temperature data are read from a system variable. Plots are made with thermpng - this could be replaced by csv2gif, for example, or your favourite plotting program.
RCI is pleased to announce the release of a new version of the Quake game for StrongArm/Kinetic RiscPC machines.
The new version is based on the newer 1.09 Quake engine, rather than the older 1.01 version used previously. This fixes one or two problems, and also improves compatibility with add-ons, mods, and other version-dependant services.
The new version is also a little faster, and benefits from improved network code, for those of you interested in multi-player Quake.
We have also included a version for machines with hardware floating point (FP), such as the RiscStation machines, and whilst this is significantly faster than the non-FP version ON THOSE MACHINES, it is still more of a curiosity than a playable game. However, it may yield some fun for users who have networked their RiscStation and RiscPC machines together.....
For those without Quake, it is available for just 23ukp inc VAT and UK carriage from R-Comp Interactive. Check out our web site at http://www.rcomp.co.uk/, or give us a call for more information!
V1.19 of the stock portfolio program !Stocks is now available for download from http://www.magrathea.freeuk.com/softwr.html.
For those of you who don't know, !Stocks allows you to keep an eye on your stocks through a simple user interface.
Features
There is also a shareware version which should now be available from http://www.uksharereg.com/stocks.html for a one off registration fee of 15ukp which gives you the followin extra features-
More features will follow if there is a demand. Currently there is no support for historical or graphing features, but that may change in the future.
I've compiled a quick port of the archiver bzip2 for RISC OS, which compresses to and decompresses from .bz2 files.
If anyone has been plagued by not being able to open bzip2 archives, the program can be downloaded from:
http://www.harris.ukgateway.net/software.html
The Exile tribute site has been updated to include more information on the whereabouts of solutions and hints, the conversions, contact details for anybody wishing to discuss updating the game, an updated FAQ and the start of a 'Did you know?' section.
As I add more information to the site, it is possible that further additions will be relatively minor and thus unannounced.
So, if interested, please visit the site occasionally to see what has changed. I will also therefore be adding an updates page to indicate major or minor changes to the site.
Another free update for Compo is now available for users with version 1.15 and later.
1.18l fixes a number of non-fatal bugs and adds a few new features.
Users can wander on over to http://compo.iconbar.com/compo/update.htm to see a complete list of the changes made and decide if it is worth the download.
As usual I'm happy (well, reasonably happy) to hear from anyone with suggestions, bug reports or comments.
I've been unable to test the download yet due to a dodgy internet connection (one of the joys of living in the middle of nowhere).
So tell me nicely if the archive is broken.
The upgrade is available from:
email: GoldLine@abacusline.demon.co.uk
web site: http://www.abacusline.demon.co.uk/
Fax - Phone: +44 (0) 1793 723347
The contact at Abacus Training is Gerald L Fitton.
The charge to non members who have version 1.30/00 or later is ukp10.00. If you have a version earlier than 1.30/00 or if you want to upgrade from Wordz, Resultz, Record or Fireworkz to Fireworkz Pro then contact Abacus Training for a quote - the price depends on what you have.
PipeDream is fast and versatile, it can use system font, there are no confusing page boundaries. It continues to be developed as a fast combined spreadsheet and word processor which is not page based.
Fireworkz is page based so that you can see the page and printer boundaries. Fireworkz facilities include font Styles, coloured text, coloured boxes around cells, multiple rows within the same cell, variable width cells within the same column and multiple row and multi Style headers.
Many people are combining the versatility of PipeDream with the improved layout facilities of Fireworkz. They use PipeDream for data manipulation and Fireworkz for the final presentation of the printed document. Version 1.31/05 of Fireworkz and Resultz makes this process much easier.
The revolutionary new feature can be described as as a PipeDream to Fireworkz 'HotLink'. If you have a PipeDream document called [OtherFile] and, in a Fireworkz document, you have a cell reference such as [OtherFile]B6 then the value of [OtherFile]B6 will appear in the Fireworkz document even though the [OtherFile] is a PipeDream file.
Many people prefer PipeDream to Fireworkz because data manipulation is much more versatile and it is considerably faster than Fireworkz in recalculation particularly when used with the system font. PipeDream files are considerably smaller with all that this implies for loading, saving and processing. However it is difficult to produce final documents with a professional look in PipeDream.
For printed output Fireworkz has the following advantages:
Text Styles are more easily applied in Fireworkz than in PipeDream. This simplifies the use of multiple fonts, varying font sizes, multiple rulers with tab stops, and colour.
Tables can be Boxed with coloured lines of varying thickness. As an example of the use the HotLink, a 'live' PipeDream table can be 'pulled' into a Fireworkz document and boxed with coloured lines of varying thickness.
Fireworkz supports multi line repeating headers and footers with their own set of Styles and Rulers. PipeDream has limited header and footer facilities.
Fireworkz supports multi row lines within single cells and cells of variable width. I know of no other spreadsheet for RISC OS or Windows machines with this most useful feature.
Using the PipeDream to Fireworkz HotLink the versatility of PipeDream can be exploited for all data entry and processing. The versatility of Fireworkz Styles, coloured boxes, etc, allows you to create much more professional output documents.
The new Resultz is available only by purchasing a Castle Technology machine. Resultz can be upgraded to Fireworkz Pro and all documents created using the Castle Technology version of Resultz will load into the new Fireworkz Pro.
Both PipeDream and Fireworkz have a strong dedicated following. New users can find plenty of support through Abacus Training from experts who wish to share their knowledge and experience.
Abacus Training has run user support groups for Colton Software products since 1990 and were appointed managers of Colton Software products in 1998. GoldLine is their newest user group. New members receive a GoldLine compact disc containing all the User Group articles right back to 1990. The GoldLine disc contains articles suitable for beginners and articles written by experts. It also contains upgrading utilities for PipeDream and Fireworkz Pro. Members paying the annual subscription can return their GoldLine disc regularly for upgrades.
The cost of joining the GoldLine User Group is ukp25.00. The annual membership fee is ukp20.00.
TNP Software is pleased to announce two new RISC OS Clipart CDs.
10000 Photos and 10000 Photos Volume 2 each contain professionally taken pictures on a variety of subjects. They are ideal for use in brochures, posters etc and can be used in any RISC OS application e.g DTP, Word processing, graphics etc.
The CDs come with comprehensive RISC OS reader software and all the images are royalty free.
In line with our policy on PC conversions, the RISC OS software is being included free - you just pay the normal RRP.
Each CD is 9.99UKP including postage and packing or just 18.99UKP for both together.
Full details including quarter size samples of the photos from both CDs can be found on our website at http://www.tnpsoft.co.uk/.
TNP Software expect to be making further RISC OS software titles available this summer.
John Whitington
TNP Software
I've just done some fixes to !RiscSearch:
It's now in version 0.2ß - a !!
Some people have reported that !RiscSearch crashes with an 'Abort on data transfer' error. Here on my machine, this error has never occured, so I need your help to fix it. If you got this error, please send me a short desription of how it happened and what software you're using (RiscOS 3 or 4, ANT internet suite, !Acornet, !Socketeer and so on!), as much detailed as possible!
I still need people who would like to write decoders for !RiscSearch, at the moment it has 10 decoders, but it could theoretically have a unlimited number. You could write decoders for nearly every search engine existing, and it's quite easy, as it is mostly cut'n'paste work.
For all of you, who don't know what !RiscSearch is: !RiscSearch is meant to be a meta-search engine, and AFAIK it is the only one available for RISC OS anywhere. It helps you finding web-pages about a certain topic by asking different search-engines about that topic. It collects results from (at the moment) 10 different engines, sorts out duplicate matches and then presents all matches in a window of your web-browser.
Please don't hesitate to write me an Email! I need every help, suggestions, critics and bug reports I can get! :-)
This is a reasonable attempt at a RISC OS port of GNU Make 3.79.
You can download it from http://www.toth.org.uk/~aardvark/programs/make.shtml
As far as I know it should work fine, the only problem I know of is that GNU Make doesn't understand RISC OS commands, so I've put a small hack into it so that it does work (or it seems to anyway).
I don't have any plans to actively support this port, I just thought it would be useful for people. The archive contains the Make executable and the files I altered in the port. If you want to re-compile it, you'll need to get the original source code from GNU's website (http://www.gnu.org/)
I have just uploaded a major update to my website including;
All at the usual place;
http://www.madsoft.cjb.net/
(Note: the freeserve site has now closed down)
This is to inform you about an upgrade of WimpDebug to version 1.12.
What it does
Supports debugging of BBC BASIC Wimp applications:
What's new for version 1.12:
WimpDebug seems to be the only debugger which supports breakpoints so far.
You can read about all details and get WimpDebug at:
http://members.aon.at/asl/RISCOS4/index.htm
WimpDebug is shareware. Now with online registration!
An upgrade to the latest Teletext+ is now available, which overcomes the data logging problems with the new transmission systems (in particular ITV no longer broadcast CRC checks on their pages).
A TeleButler modulator can be added to the CC Teletext card to provide a useful information display on TV sets. TeleButler shows the details of your favourite TV and radio programmes on your TV set, as well as on your computer (note that it shows an independent custom display - not just a copy of the desktop display).
By adding a Caller Display system too, you can see details of incoming and outgoing telephone calls on your TV set. Prices are:
These prices include VAT and UK postage. Please send a cheque payable to Octopus Systems (sorry no credit cards).
Full details are available on our web site:
Three upgrade options are available to existing users:
Upgrades are free to users who bought Teletext+ within the last 12 months. Users who pay for the upgrade will also receive any further updates, free of charge, for the rest of the year.
All cheques should be made payable to Octopus Systems (sorry no credit cards).
More details are available on our Teletext+ support site:
http://www.octosys.co.uk/ttxsp.html
Octopus Systems,Tel: 01473 728943
Fax: 01473 270643
The desktop is distributed under the GNU General Public License, which means that anyone can modify it, use bits of it in their own (GPL) programs, etc. Indeed, many of the improvements made to the filer were added by other ROX users and posted as patches to the mailing list.
There are now two mailing lists, rox-users and rox-devel. Subscribe here:
http://sourceforge.net/mail/?group_id=7023
Added a popup menu of commonly used chmod strings to the Permissions box.
Bug fix: Mount points on the pinboard didn't always redraw when the mounted/unmounted state changed.
Renaming now uses the action windows. This means that you can now rename something onto another filesystem by dragging it from the Rename box.
The menu key bindings are now only saved if they actually changed.
Tab and Shift-Tab move to next and previous selected item.
The new display styles can now be saved as the defaults (bug spotted by Vladimir Klebanov).
The toolbar Up and Home buttons can act as drop targets (and spring open too!).
Options to set the pinboard text background style (suggested by James Kermode).
Added tooltips to some of the options.
Dragging near the edge of a window scrolls. Improved the lasso box drag to use the same system (so it scrolls without you having to move the mouse).
In the path entry minibuffer, an exact match is favoured over any other match. So, if you enter '.xsession' and press Return you'll get it, not '.xsession-errors' or whatever!
I've uploaded Liquidise 1.01 to the Downloads page of our web site:
http://www.liquid-silicon.com/.
Liquidise is a multitasking 'loading banner' which can display a sprite and several lines of overlaid text for a short period, ideal for displaying a program logo and information whilst starting up an application. It is completely self-contained and returns all memory back to the computer when finished, e.g. the logo will not be left behind in the wimp sprite pool, taking up memory.
Features include:
No memory is taken away from your application.
It can use Squashed sprites.
It can display anywhere on screen for any length of time you want.
It can be turned off if users don't like banners!
As part of my development of HTTP related applications I am releasing a beta version of HTTP Sharer. It is capable of serving files to the local machine and also assembling directory listings. It is available from
http://john.duffell.net/ or http://members.tripod.co.uk/~john_duffell/ (64KB)
Questions, comments and suggestions should be sent to me at john@duffellb.freeserve.co.uk
Just to clear up a few misconceptions:
Spacetech is closing down, but Spacetech products will continue.
PhotoReal printers and drivers will continue to be available and existing and future customers will be supported.
Digital cameras will continue to be available with RO drivers and existing and future customers will be supported.
A new CDROM edition of PHOTODESK will be released shortly.
All spacetech product will continue to be supported. It would be best over the next few weeks if I could be contacted mainly via Email, I am not sure whether I will be able to retain the Spacetech phone numbers.
The reason why Spacetech went under was not because of the state of the RO market, we have been the victims of circumstances outside our control which resulted from us being the victims of a large credit card fraud originating in Thailand.
Version 1.5 of Vice, the Versatile Commodore Emulator, has been released (see announcement on comp.emulators.cbm). You can download the RISC OS version from the official Vice homepage at
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dsladic/vice/vice.html
Or from my Software page:http://www.forwiss.tu-muenchen.de/~dehmel.
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