NEWS

A3000 SUCCESS AT SHOW

The new Acorn A3000 proved a major success at the recent BBC Acorn User Show. It was the first opportunity for members of the public to purchase the new machine, and to cope with the expected demand, Acorn provided a large lorry full of A3000s. In the event, the demand outstripped even Acorn's most optimistic predictions, and after the three days of the show only a handful of machines remained. This success was probably partly due to the special arrangement with Mercantile Credit, by which purchasers could buy the system with 0% finance over 12 months, this being arranged on the spot. As a further incentive, Acorn was giving away a free carrying case and monitor stand with each A3000, and BEEBUG was supplementing this with an additional package of free items worth nearly £100.

ARMADEUS

Armadeus is a new package from Clares, which despite the corny name isn't in fact a music program. Rather, it is a sound sampler system which is designed to work with either Clares' new sound sampler podule, or with a number of existing podules such as those from Armadillo and Wild Vision. Armadeus allows sampled images to be edited, and pseudo-stereo and echo added. The sampled waveform can be displayed on screen as a graph, and can be edited to make changes to the sound. It is also possible to connect a keyboard via a MIDI podule to allow playback of the sampled sounds, and to read tunes from Atari format discs. Armadeus costs £79.95 (inc. VAT), and includes two discs of sampled sound.

To complement Armadeus, Clares have produced a sound sampler podule. This features line and microphone inputs, and has software selectable gain to ensure the correct level is chosen while sampling. Also provided on the podule is a sound output offering superior quality compared to the Archimedes' headphone socket. The Clares' sound sampler costs £149.95 (inc. VAT). More details are available from Clares Micro Supplies, 98 Middlewich Road, Northwich, Cheshire, tel. (0606) 48511.

COLOUR DIGITISING

Wild Vision, a company known for its graphics hardware, has announced a real time colour video digitiser for the Archimedes. Unlike other such products, the Hawk V9, as the new system is called, can capture an image in the space of a single frame. This means that moving images can be taken directly from a video camera without the need for a video recorder with a high quality freeze frame facility. The image is read directly into the Archimedes memory, at a resolution of 256 by 512. The supplied software subsequently allows this to be displayed in any 256-colour mode, and sections of the image can be saved as sprites for incorporating into other packages. The Hawk V9 should be available by the autumn, and will sell for under £500. For more details, contact Wild Vision, 6 Jesmond Road, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE2 4PQ, tel. 091-281 8481.

LET ME TELL YOU A STORY

Presenter-Story is a new Desktop Presentation system from Lingenuity. For those who are unfamiliar with the term, Desktop presentation is the name given to the process of producing fancy text and graphics screens to form a display sequence. A typical example would be a rolling demo running in a shop window. The presentation sequence is built up from a number of pre-created frames, and these can consist of either text or graphics. Text can be in any fancy font, and in a number of styles and colours. Graphics can consist of displays such as histograms and barcharts, as well as logos which can be designed using a built-in editor. The display sequence is specified using a script language, and the method of moving from one frame to another is programmable. User input can alter the flow of the sequence, and hard copy of frames can be obtained via the RISC OS printer drivers. Presenter-Story costs £229.94 (inc. VAT).

Also new from Lingenuity is Presenter II, a revised version of the company's existing package. Despite the similar names, this package performs a different function to Presenter-Story, and allows imported data to be displayed in various graph formats, including three dimensional forms. The numeric data can be imported from a number of sources, including standard comma separated value format. Presenter II is fully multi-tasking under the RISC OS Desktop, and completed graphs can be printed out using the RISC OS printer drivers. Presenter II costs £57.44 (inc. VAT). For more details of both products, contact Lingenuity, Wood Farm, Linstead Magna, Halesworth, Suffolk IP19 0DU, tel. (0986) 85477.

SCSI SYSTEMS

The latest craze in Archimedes hardware appears to be SCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface) hard disc drives. Two companies, Oak Computers and Lingenuity, both launched packages at the BBC Acorn User Show. While SCSI is a general purpose interface for connecting peripherals and storage devices, both companies were using the system to connect high-capacity hard discs to the Archimedes.

The Lingenuity system consists of a half width SCSI interface podule which costs £228.85 (inc. VAT), or £573.85 (inc. VAT) with a 45Mbyte internal hard disc drive. Lingenuity also do a version for the A3000, costing £171.35 (inc. VAT) for the internal expansion board, or £516.35 (inc. VAT) with a 20Mbyte external drive. The Oak system uses a similar interface card, but they offer a wider choice of drives, from a 20Mbyte internal unit at £431.25 (inc. VAT) to a 330Mbyte external device for £2760 (inc. VAT). Both systems include an ADFS-like filing system which will control not only hard discs, but also other SCSI devices such as tape streamers.

More details can be obtained from Lingenuity at the address given below, and from Oak Computers, Cross Park House, Low Green, Rawdon, Leeds LS19 6HA, tel. (0532) 502615.

MEWSOFT PRODUCTS

Mewsoft has upgraded its product line to include full Archimedes versions of its products. The three titles, the Fax*File Manager, the Forms Manager and the Fancy Labeller were previously available in versions that worked on both the model B and the Archimedes. The first of these programs is designed to generate printed pages suitable for incorporating into personal organisers, and includes a 480 entry address book and diary. The other two packages allow forms and labels to be designed to your particular requirements. Mewsoft claim that the new versions make full use of the power of the Archimedes. The packages cost £27.90 (inc. VAT) each, and are available from Mewsoft, 11 Cressy Road, London NW3 2NB, tel. 01-267 2642.

STUDYING 1ST WORD PLUS

Norfolk Educational Press has produced a study guide for the 1st Word Plus word processor, as part of the government's TVEI program. The fourteen page guide is split into thirteen separate exercises, each covering a different feature of 1st Word Plus. The guide is presented in a style which is designed to let relative newcomers to word processing pick up details of all the available features very quickly. The cost of the guide is £15.00, which includes a disc featuring the sample text used throughout the book. For educational users, a considerable discount is available on multiple copies. For more details, contact The TVEI Unit, The County INSET Centre, Witard Road, Norwich, Norfolk NR7 9XD, tel. (0603) 33276.

MICRONET TAKEOVER

The Telemap Group, who run the Micronet computer magazine on Prestel has been bought out by British Telecom, who previously owned a 40% stake in the company. Commenting on the takeover, John Tomany, managing director of the Telemap Group, said that it was a logical move. He added that business is as usual, but that the closer integration with British Telecom itself will allow future improvements in the services provided by Micronet.

Meanwhile, the Telemap Group has moved from their London office to new premises at Dialcom House, Brindley Way, Hemel Hempstead, Herts HP3 9RR, tel. (0442) 237788. All Micronet correspondence should be sent to this new address.