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High vector builds of Aemulor now available

Nov 152017
 

A couple of years ago, RISC OS Open Ltd started building versions of RISC OS with “zero page relocation” – with the memory map changed such that the kernel’s workspace that started at the bottom of the addressable memory was moved to a higher location. This was an important step for security and stability, and for the future of the operating system.

However, it wasn’t ever going to happen without some casualties along the way; software that in some way tried to use or access certain information held in that workspace and which therefore found it no longer available. Aemulor, the 26-bit emulator that allows applications that are not yet fully 32-bit run on newer hardware, was one such casualty – and an important one at that. Continue reading »

Aemulor arrives on BeagleBoard and PandaBoard

Sep 082012
 

Make your 32-bit computer do an Impression (ho-ho) of a 26-bit one!

When Castle Technology Ltd launched the IYONIX pc, back in 2002, there was a significant question users needed an answer to before upgrading to the new computer: Would their old software run on the new hardware?

The problem was that for all the previous RISC OS computers, the ARM CPUs worked in (or supported in the case of StrongARM) an addressing mode we refer to as ’26-bit’, in which the program counter and processor status flags are contained in a single register; six bits are used for the status flags, and 26 bits for the program counter – the pointer to where in memory instructions are read for execution. With instructions always being word-aligned, rather than byte-aligned, the 26-bit program counter actually provides a 28-bit address range, representing bits 2 to 27 in the actual address – the lower two bits pointing to the instruction to be read are always zero. Continue reading »

News nybble: Wolf3D and Doom Trilogy updates

Apr 172018
 

A new version of the Doom Trilogy is available from R-Comp through !Store – priced at £14.99, or available in ‘My Software’ as a free update if you have already purchased. If you have an aversion to purchasing through !Store, ‘over the counter’ at Wakefield is also an option.

There  have been some small improvements to Doom, the main game in the pack, but the headline feature is the inclusion of an updated and enhanced copy of Wolfenstein 3D, thanks to work done by Jon Abbott and internal RCI staff. The game now works natively on modern hardware without any need for Aemulor, and enhancements include new sound effects, a ‘damage indicator’ (whereby the screen flashes red when you take any damage), and a default higher resolution screen mode (subject to monitor compatibility).

New edition of Doom Trilogy, with some added Wolfenstein 3D

Oct 202017
 

No mention of eye of newt or toe of frog.

Doom TrilogyFans of first person shooters should have a soft spot for Doom from id Software. While it wasn’t the first game of this type, it’s certainly one of the pioneer titles that helped popularise the genre, and led to a number of follow-ups and expansions. The game  featured texture-mapped surfaces and varying room and level heights – a step up from the simpler Wolfenstein 3D, the previous game from the same company – as well as mood-setting MIDI music, and the ability to swap out the internal data files (WAD, which stands for “Where’s All the Data?”) with alternatives, featuring new levels.

The game engine was ported a number of platforms, including RISC OS, and a fully licensed commercial version was released and sold by R-Comp Interactive in 1998 – and last year the company released a new version of Final Doom, updated to work on modern RISC OS hardware, and benefiting from the option to use an MP3-based soundtrack rather than the original MIDI music. Continue reading »

RISC OS Awards 2016 results

Mar 202017
 

The RISC OS Awards poll for 2016 was brought to a close on 29th February. As before, the results were processed and counted on a RISC OS computer (using a home-brewed program to turn the votes into a file for each category, ready to be loaded into Fireworkz), and initially announced on the @RISCOSitory Twitter feed. Those results are now online on the RISC OS Awards website and the various winners have been notified – where possible – by email. Continue reading »

RISC OS Awards 2016: Alternative options revisited

Feb 052017
 

If you have yet to vote, here are even more options for you – so why not get voting NOW?

RISC OS Awards logoThe RISC OS Awards 2016 voting form was put online on 18th December, and while the number of votes looked promising compared to last year the first time the alternative options were published, this is no longer the case.

When the second round of alternative options were posted last year, approximately seven weeks after the polls were opened, the voting form had been completed approximately 140 times. Today – also about seven weeks in – the tally stands at around 120.

So if you have yet to vote, why not do so now? Continue reading »

MiniTime gains access to bigger units of time

Dec 032016
 

Micro moment monitor manages massive months!

MiniTimeOnce upon a time there was an application called SmallTime, which sprouted from the programming hands of James Freeman. That application, however, has never been updated to run on 32-bit hardware such as the Iyonix, let alone modern ARMv7-based platforms. Aemulor can save the day, but that’s hardly ideal, and the licence under which SmallTime was released meant newer versions updated by third parties couldn’t be distributed.

Fred Graute therefore took SmallTime as his inspiration, and developed a completely new application that achieved the same goal, but which would work on newer hardware – and in February 2015, version 1.00 of MiniTime was released under the three clause BSD licence. Continue reading »

Show report: London 2016

Nov 302016
 

Didn’t we have a lovely time the day we went to Bangor London?

Looking down the main hall at London 2016

Looking down the main hall at London 2016

This year’s RISC OS London Show took place on 29th October, and while it wasn’t as large as last year’s event (which I’ll discuss near the end of this report) it was still an enjoyable and worthwhile one. So, without any further preamble, here is a run down of what visitors could have seen, working clockwise from the entrance.

Continue reading »

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