TECHNICAL QUERIES

PRINTING PROBLEMS AND SPRITE SIZES

Dear RISC User,
In response to your request for ideas for articles and programs, can I suggest that you cover configuring the RISC OS printer drivers. I have a Hewlett-Packard Deskjet, but I am restricted to using it in Epson emulation mode because Acorn do not offer a printer driver for the Deskjet.

Also, in the article 'Creating RISC OS Application Directories' in Volume 2 Issue 4, you state that the sprites used to represent files should be 68 by 68 graphics units. I have discovered that this is much too big, with a size of 42 by 17 pixels being the maximum.
Nobilangelo Ceramalus (New Zealand)

A RISC OS printer driver is an application which provides a unified view of the printer to other pieces of software. This means that any RISC OS application can print its output using just a single print routine. It is up to the printer driver to interface this output to the actual printer. RISC OS is supplied with two printer drivers, one for Epson compatibles, and the other for PostScript laser printers. Both of these can be found on Applications disc 1. Unfortunately, each printer driver is specially written for a particular printer, and it is not possible to re-configure them for other printers. However, it is possible that Acorn, or a third party, will bring out a driver for the HP DeskJet, and in the meantime, Acorn's new DTP package contains a driver for the HP LaserJet, and this may work with your printer.

On your second point, you seem to have confused the terminology. The article stated that the sprites should be defined to be 68 by 68 graphics units in mode 12. In this mode, there are two graphics units per pixel horizontally, and four vertically. Therefore, 68 by 68 graphics units corresponds to 34 by 17 pixels. Hence, the height is as you have discovered, and the width that you have suggested is in fact too wide.
David Spencer

CHOOSING AN ARCHIMEDES

Dear Sir,
I joined RISC User because I intended to purchase a 310. But just before I did, the new ranges were announced. Could you advise on the relative merits of the new machines in the middle of the price range.
K.R.Chester

It sounds as if you are thinking of buying a 410/1 or 420/1. Of these two, I consider the 410/1 to be the best buy. The beauty of this machine is that it is expandable right up to the spec of the 440. It contains 1Mbyte of RAM, and you can add a further 1Mbyte to take it towards the spec of the 420/1, and then a further 2Mbytes to upgrade it to a full 4Mbytes. You may not feel that you need more than 1Mbyte of RAM at the moment, but when multi-tasking with RISC OS, 1Mbyte is really a bare minimum, and will be insufficient for certain applications such as desktop publishing.

The 410 does not have a hard disc, but it has a full hard disc interface built in. This means that all you need is a bare drive, and these are very reasonably priced. With the 420/1 you get 2Mbytes of RAM and a 20Mbyte hard disc. But you can now purchase faster 40Mbyte drives for a similar price difference (taking the price of the RAM upgrade into account).

So if you were thinking of buying a 400 series machine, I would recommend the 410. And if you need more RAM, then note that the RAM is definitely a dealer-only upgrade. The new RAM chips in the 400 series are mounted vertically, and their pins are very very easily bent. A hard drive, though is much easier to fit (see the review elsewhere in this issue).
Lee Calcraft