The magazine for members of The ARM games scene present and promised Finding the key facts with qualitative data analysis DrawWorks Millennium on CD-ROM Creative Digital Imaging Issue 33 — Spring 2000 Cheer For 2000 verybody is fed up with the M welcome both (with some brief Eword now so I will use it very details, just received, on page 8). sparingly, particularly as the pedants among us point out that the true One of the magazines is the long- century and Millennium are still a awaited quarterly promised by the year away!Whether or not you accept RISC OS Foundation and it is a sign this, it is the start of a hundred years of how organisations, who in other beginning with 20 and, with the new fields could be seen as rivals, work year traditionally the time to look together in the RISC OS community forward, there is now even more that the first issue includes an article reason to look optimistically ahead. on The ARM Club. Eureka, in turn, is inviting the Editors of both new Last year was a time of great upheaval magazines to contribute articles on for Acorn users but, after a succession their plans. of losses, beginning with the company itself, there was the start of Happily, there is now less reason to what could be the great revival when leave the RISC OS scene for the RISC OS 4 appeared on the scene. aggravations of the Windows world and some who have done so are Now, the year 2000 is bringing new thankfully coming back. ARM-powered computers, an advanced motherboard to give new So, on behalf of The ARM Club life to existing machines and some Committee, we wish all our fellow blockbuster software. There are even members a happy new Millennium two new magazines being born as one (whenever you consider it starts), old favourite dies. Both of these will even if you are not planning to stay be on CD-ROM and are due out at for all of it. about the time you receive this issue of Eureka and we are happy to Peter Jennings All opinions expressed in Eureka are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Club or its Committee members and officers. CONTENTS 24 Site seeing 4 Around the Shows Take a look at Deja.com. You may Two successful events for the not have seen it all before. Club at RISC OS ’99 at Epsom and the Midlands Show in 27 Psions and similar Birmingham. Some of the new Palmtops coming onto the market and the 8 Two new magazines Web site for finding the programs Some late news on the two new to use with them. CD-ROM based magazines. 30 Feedback: Science Fair revisited 9 Number Works Does the view from the classroom A fun factory of machines which match how the reviewer saw it? turn sums into play. 32 Getting on the Internet: Part 2 16 Qualitative Data Analysis The conclusion of our two-part Doing research and want to sort series reveals how to register and out the key facts in a mass of what to expect from various free data? Here’s a program that could Service Providers. find them for you. 40 English Keywords 20 The Archive CD-ROM Words and pictures to explore the Articles, information and language associated with English programs from the popular grammar, punctuation and subscription magazine and its phonics. discs make interesting reading and a valuable reference. 44 Beginner’s guide to TeX: Part 3 Using LaTeX commands and the 22 Your questions answered predefined document styles. Our Technical Help team advise on scanners and sources for 51 Acorn SouthWest Show printer ink cartridges. Full details of the North Somerset event on 19th February. 2 Eureka 33 — Spring 2000 52 The ARM Club Crossword 3 The latest of our popular brain teasers. 53 DrawWorks Millennium A collection of graphics and print design packages on CD-ROM at a special price for Club members. Unit, from the Number Works 58 ARM Arena A look at the latest games and The Club address some new ones on the way in the first of a new regular column. Due to the continued problems with our “Freepost The ARM 70 Creative Digital Imaging Club” address, we are now A second tutorial CD-ROM from advising that mail should David Cowell leads on from his instead be sent to the Club Introduction to Digital Art. Secretary’s full address: 74 Gill’s Journal: Recognition at last The ARM Club But are spods really dull and how Merton Court will they cope with the new 38 Knoll Road century? Sidcup Kent 79 Crossword Solution DA14 4QU Fill in the last few blanks. Member’s ad — for sale The Freepost address will still A5000 computer with a large exist for a time but, for the cost selection of software. of a stamp, you can be sure your letter will be correctly delivered. 80 Club contacts Telephone and email contacts Where to get the services you remain as listed on page 80. need. Eureka 33 — Spring 2000 3 Around The Shows s you might be aware, it’s been a machine, priced to compete with Abusy year for the Club’s show Castle’s Acorn A7000+. Like the organisation activities. Not only did A7000+ it uses an ARM7500FE we organise the major two-day RISC processor with built in graphics, OS ’99 Show at Epsom at the end of sound and memory control functions October but also what has become our rather than a StrongARM chip. regular single day event at the RiscStation were also showing off the Organiser Mark Smith reports on the Club’s successful RISC OS ’99 Show at Epsom Downs and looks forward to the events and new products coming this year. Motorcycle Museum just outside Networx — basically an R7500 Lite Birmingham. without a hard disc for a hundred pounds (plus VAT) less. At the time of So, for the benefit of members who writing the first batch of R7500 Lites were unable to make it to either of has shipped to customers. these exhibitions, a brief run-down of what was on show... Castle Technology were selling their latest addition to the Acorn range: the New Hardware new A7000+ Odyssey which, like the RISC OS ’99 was perhaps most R7500 Lite, has a faster clock speed particularly notable for the range of of 56MHz. Managing Director Jack new hardware that was on display, if Lillingstone was also very pleased not quite available. RiscStation had with sales of the StrongARM 233T their new R7500 Lite on show. This Risc PCs, having had his best show boasts a range of features including ever. built in networking, midi, sound sampler, PC style game port and a Perhaps the most interesting new faster hard disc interface on a low end hardware on display was a prototype 4 Eureka 33 Ð Spring 2000 Digital camera photo by David Ruck Some of the dubious characters who could be seen on the Club Stand at RISC OS ’99. From left: Journal writer Gill Smith, the Club’s founders Maria and Rene Barreto, Treasurer Simon Burrows, Internet and Products Co-ordinator Tom Hughes and Discount Scheme Organiser Rob Brown Millipede Imago motherboard. alterations to the OS to enable it to Although it was barely doing more work on Imago, though Millipede than displaying random dots on a high boss Richard Jowzefowski was keen resolution monitor, it was doing so at to point out that the two 2048x1536 in 16 million colours — a programmable ‘FPGA’ chips that serious improvement over the replace the VIDC20 video controller graphics capabilities of the fated and Acorn’s proprietary IOMD chip Phoebe specification, let alone a Risc are programmed to be accessed in a PC! The design also enables the similar way to the OS, minimising the maximum performance to be amount of work required. Millipede is obtained from StrongARM for the currently deciding whether to sell first time as well as a much faster hard only complete computers based on disc interface. By the time of the Imago to the RISC OS ‘enthusiast’ Midlands Show, just three weeks market or to offer replacement later, it was displaying a mock RISC motherboards to existing Risc PC OS 4 desktop in various resolutions owners. Though prices of the full up to 2048x1536 in 16 million specification machine, aimed colours complete with a backdrop primarily at Millipede’s main showing off the full potential of the broadcast TV market, will not be display. RISC OS Ltd were reported cheap (possibly in the order of £1,500 to be working on the necessary without a monitor), Millipede are also Eureka 33 Ð Spring 2000 5 considering a cut-down version. This Although Cerilica did not make it to is likely to have slightly inferior the Epsom show, they were out in graphics capabilities that may `only' force at the Motorcycle Museum. As be able to display the highest well as showing off their latest pre- resolutions in 32 thousand colours. release version of Vantage which is now set to ship in final release form New Software during January 2000, they also had The R-Comp stand was very busy at their brand new MultiMedia RISC OS '99. They were doing a Keyboard (MMK) on sale. This has roaring trade in their Internet products additional keys as well as a rotary and sold out of all of them by the end control which Vantage will make use of the weekend.