Logo
------
Home
------
Archive
------
Search
------
Subscribe
------
Submit News Item
------
Statistics
------


[Filler Image]
Title Logo
Home > Archive > Issue 169 Current Issue: No. 260 (28 March 2010)
Text-onlyPrevious Issue | Year Index | Next Issue

Acorn News Service Newsletter

Issue: 169 (17 October 2004)

Featured site this issue: http://www.fillin.co.uk/seshow/

General News

RISC OS South East Show

The RISC OS South East Show 2004 is taking place on Saturday 23rd October at Guildford College. Doors are open from 10am to 4pm.

Exhibitors include APDL, Archive, ARM Club, Aemulor, Castle, CJE Micro's, EFF, Fortran Friends, Icon Technology, ITC-UK Ltd, MW Software, MatheMagical, Peter Naulls, Qercus, R-Comp, RISCOS Ltd, Serious Statistical Software, SOLD OUT, Virtual Acorn and Oregano UK.

<http://www.fillin.co.uk/seshow/>

Charity stand at RISC OS South East

Proceeds from this year's charity stand at the Guilford show will again be donated to CHASE. Over the last two years the charity stall has raised over GBP1000 for this worthy cause.

Donations to the stall from exhibitors and visitors are more than welcome, but this year the scope of what can be accepted is much reduced due to new recycling legislation.

The charity stall can thus only accept software, magazines, books, and sub-assemblies (such as ROM, RAM, Podules, Backplanes, and disc drives). Under no circumstances will computers, monitors, printers or scanners be accepted.

However, CJE/4D are accepting certain computers and monitors (A7000, Risc PC & A5000 but only if 8MB, AKF11, AKF12, AKF32, AKF30, AKF40, AKF60 & AKF85 and Philips 8833 series, all have to be in working order). But not A310, A440, A3000, A4000 etc. CJE/4D will make a donation to the Charity stand.

Commercial News

RISC OS 4 and RISC OS 5 to be merged

Castle Technology Ltd and RISCOS Ltd have announced that late on Friday 15th October they concluded negotiations on a new Licence Agreement that ensures a bright future for all areas of RISC OS development.

The new licence ensures that RISC OS 4 and RISC OS 5 will be merged together, as soon as practically possible, and that clear areas of responsibility have been established ensuring that duplication of effort is minimised.

Paul Middleton, Managing Director of RISC OS Ltd, said, "I'm sure that all the RISC OS users who have waited for the availability of the Select Desktop experience will be delighted to know that they can expect to enjoy it on many more platforms, such as the IYONIX pc, next year."

Jack Lillingston, Managing Director of Castle, said, "This is fantastic news for all parties concerned and I know that this sets sound foundations for a bright new future of RISC OS. Castle will continue with the IYONIX pc and other desktop products, whilst Tematic (a trading division of Castle) will focus its activities on the embedded sector. This means that more and more devices using RISC OS will become available around the world."

All RISC OS users are warmly invited to attend the Guildford RISC OS Show on Saturday 23rd October in order to talk to everyone concerned.

<http://www.riscos.com/news/news_items/PR151004.htm> <http://www.drobe.co.uk/riscos/artifact1192.html>

Advantage Six announce the A9 series of RISC OS computers

Building on the A75 range, the new A9 series from Advantage Six offers increased functionality and speed, at reduced power consumption, whilst retaining the diminutive dimensions of the other industrial controllers.

The A9 series feature a range of ARM9 processors, with a choice of OEM options available. The A9 is the first machine to demonstrate the latest version of RISC OS from RISCOS Ltd. Embedded Adjust-32 enables custom applications to run in a RISC OS environment on ARM processors which have a 32-bit program counter (eg ARM9, ARM10). When available, the full retail Select-32 operating system will be compatible with the A9. A9 variants suitable for running Linux applications are also available.

The A9 may be supplied to OEM customers in a number of configurations, eg:

  • A9RM - Half-width 1U rack mountable ruggedised case
  • A9LOC - Wall/Bulkhead-mountable unit with integral 8.4" TFT touchscreen, GPS and GSM/GPRS.

Pricing is dependant on configuration, options, and quantity. The A9 is available to qualified OEM customers direct from Advantage Six. A retail version of the A9 will be available in due course and an announcement will be made when the third party distributor has them in stock.

<http://www.thea9.info/> <http://www.advantagesix.com/>

Alligata Software presents Desktop Repton

Alligata Software are relaunching Desktop Repton, including an updated Repton 1 featuring both sounds and graphics from the PC version; at GBP14.99 including UK postage & packing. Upgrades will be set at GBP10.

<http://www.alligatagroup.co.uk/>

RISCBook pre-show deal

R-Comp Interactive are running a promotion on RISCBook machines, with a GBP100 discount on the machines pre-show.

RISCBooks are Microsoft Windows laptops that run VirtualAcorn to provide a RISC OS environment on the same machine. More information can be found at <http://www.rcomp.co.uk/>. The machines will continue to ship with UniPrintVA and the usual standard bundles.

RCI Special - High Spec 19" LCD for 17" price

RCI are pleased to announce a very special promotion bringing high specification 19" LCDs (flat screen monitors) to users at the same price as a good 17" unit.

The monitors in question are brand new, with full warranty from their top-tier manufacturer - 19" LCD monitors with dual inputs - analogue and DVI. Speakers are included in the bezel of the monitor, removing the need for separate speakers for general use.

By connecting a computer to each input (eg RISCube on the DVI and Iyonix or Risc PC on the analogue) you can drive the monitor from either machine, pressing a single button on the front to switch between.

In common with all 19" LCD monitors the resolution is 1280x1024, although lower resolutions are supported if necessary.

The price is the same as for RCI's DVI-equipped 17" units - GBP360 inclusive of VAT. Stocks are rather limited, so first-come, first served.

<http://www.rcomp.co.uk/>

Acorn Publisher - back issues at Guildford

Qercus will only be carrying limited stocks of Acorn Publisher prior to volume 9, so if you are hoping to purchase back copies please order in advance of the show. The majority of issues are still available back to volume 1 - but prior to volume 6 there are only very limited numbers.

As a very special offer you can purchase a copy of every issue of Acorn Publisher still available up to the end of volume 9, plus three Qercus 'graphics & design' binders to put them in, for GBP100. This is for visitors to Guildford only as postage would increase the cost of this offer considerably. Please contact Qercus in advance to be sure of getting the most from this offer.

For new subscribers Qercus are offering the last 6 issues of Acorn Publisher and the first 6 issues of Qercus (incorporating Acorn Publisher & Acorn User) together for GBP40, with a free binder.

<http://www.qercus.com/>

4D show offers: DigiFlash Smart Media / High resolution 15" LCD

4D have managed to obtain a few Parallel Port DigiFlash SmartMedia readers and are offering them at a special price of GBP40, less than half their previous selling price of GBP99. Delivery if required GBP5.50.

Specifications for CTX VL500 LCD:

  • Tube: 15" (viewable 13.8"), FST, 0.28mm dot pitch
  • Scan frequency: 30-70kHz Horizontal, 50-130Hz Vertical
  • Max Resolution: 1280x1024 @ 65Hz
  • Dimensions: 359 x 355.5 x 391.2mm (WxHxD)
  • Weight: 11.7kg
  • Manufacturers Warranty: 3 year
  • Cost: GBP110 (delivery if required GBP10)

4D will have a small number of each in stock this coming Saturday at the SASUG (RISC OS) South East Show. To avoid disappointment, if you wish to buy one and collect it from the show please contact 4D before the show.

<http://www.cjemicros.co.uk/4d/>

PD/Shareware News

Updated software summary

  • GCC v3.4.1 Release 1
    GCC is a free collection of compilers that provide the user with a powerful tool for translating C, C++ and Fortran source into fast ARM assembler that is suitable for execution on RISC OS. GCCSDK is a portable build environment for creating ARM executables to be run natively on RISC OS. The build environment is designed to be hosted on a Unix-like system, such as GNU/Linux, FreeBSD or Microsoft Windows (under Cygwin). This release includes substantial improvements over previous versions both in the compiler and bundled Unixlib.
    <http://gccsdk.riscos.info/>

Club News

Upcoming meetings

ANS Information

Contact ANS

How to send in news

To send in your news items simply e-mail <ans@acornusers.org>, or use the form on the ANS website <http://www.ans.org.uk/newsdesk>. Also if you have an Acorn related announcements mailing list, feel free to subscribe <ans@acornusers.org>.

How to subscribe to ANS

If you are reading this on the ANS web site, or have received a forwarded copy of ANS and would like to subscribe to the mailing list, simply send any e-mail to <ans-subscribe@ans.acornusers.org>. Alternatively use the form on the ANS web site at <http://www.ans.org.uk/subscribe>.

For details of other commands e-mail <ans-help@ans.acornusers.org>.


Copyright © 2006 ANS. Not associated with Castle Technology, RISCOS Ltd, or any other company
Webmaster: Stephen Courtney. ANS is hosted by acornusers.org