Two weeks from now, it’ll all be over. By this time on Sunday, 22nd March, I’ll probably be either home or possibly driving back towards the bunker, having enjoyed the previous day. But what about you? Will you have been there, or will you have missed it?
I am of course talking about the second RISC OS North event, which will take place on Saturday, 21st March, at the Village Hotel Warrington.
As ever for a RISC OS show, the main hall will be filled with a wide range of exhibitors, and it’s the place you’ll want to be to talk to the very people that develop some of the software you use, and the hardware you run it on – many of whom are beavering away even as you read this to ensure they have new and updated applications to show off, or that the latest kit is working and tested.
To make sure it’s ready for you to take away on the day – but you’ll only have that opportunity be being there.
If you want a little more detail here’s an alphabetical run down of all the exhibitors currently listed on the show website, along with some notes about the sort of thing they usually bring to shows – no specifics have been announced by anyone as yet:
- AMCOG Games
- Tony Bartram will have a wealth of games for you to play and purchase. He has a considerable back catalogue developed over the last decade or so, and will very likely have something new as well.
- Chris Hall
- Chris will have a range of items for you to look at on his stand, including both hardware and software – and if you’re an Impression user, it might be worth talking to him to see if he has any manuals left. They were disappearing fast last time I checked.
- Drag ‘n Drop
- Chris Dewhurst will have the latest issue of the on-off-on-off-under-new-management PDF magazine available, as back issues on USB memory sticks, and a range of books.
- Dynabyte Software
- Gareth Lock has a number of applications, such as a quiz engine called Quizzics, and has been working on a set of paddles for use in RISC OS games.
- Elesar Ltd
- Rob Sprowson’s company has a range of hardware products designed in-house, such as the Titanium Motherboard, as well as an ever growing selection of software, including Prophet and Font Directory Pro.
- Martin Eastwood
- A new exhibitor at RISC OS North, Martin Eastwood has developed a new theme for RISC OS, called Frosted. I believe he will have it available to take away on USB memory sticks on the day.
- Midlands User Group
- Recently having celebrated its 20th birthday, the Midlands User Group – aka MUG – will be talking to people about their group, and possibly showing off one or two members’ projects.
- Nemo20000
- Nemo was previously the face of Cerilica, and although he hasn’t exhibited at a RISC OS show in over two decades, he hasn’t stopped developing for the platform – and his work includes NemoBASIC and much more.
- Organizer
- North One Communications will be demonstrating the latest version of Organizer, your favourite digital filofax – and may even have to sell on USB memory stick.
- Orpheus Internet
- Richard Brown, who doubles up as one of the show’s organisers, will be able to tell you about the services he offers as the most RISC OS-friendly ISP there is.
- R-Comp
- Andrew Rawnsley, the second member of the dynamic duo who organises the event, will be there with his R-Comp team to show off a wide range of hardware, as well as an even wider range of software.
- RISC OS Developments
- I mentioned above that both Richard Brown and Andrew Rawnsley will be there to represent their own respective businesses, but both will also be on hand to talk about what RISC OS Developments has to offer. The company owns RISC OS itself, has a growing range of its own software, such as the web browser Iris, and a replacement for the standard Pinboard.
- RISC OS Open
- RISC OS Open – or ROOL (with a Ltd on the end) – is the company that hosts the main open source repository for RISC OS, and deals with code submissions and merges. They also look after things like the desktop development environment (DDE) and often have a range of software, books, and merch available at shows.
- The RISC OS User Group of London
- Hosting regular hybrid (in person and online) meetings, the RISC OS User Group of London will be represented by Bryan Hogan, who you can speak to if you want to find out more about the group, or if you want to talk about your own project at a meeting – though you’ll probably find something left on display on the stand, with Bryan wandering the hall.
- Sine Nomine Software
- Matthew and Hilary Phillips have a range of software available, from desktop puzzle games to full-blown – and quite powerful – applications. Find out from them about the latest versions of relation database Impact, for example, or their mapping application RiscOSM.
- Soft Rock Software
- Take a peek at my stand if you’re interested in grabbing a collection of Soft Rock Software’s budget games and other software, an updated version of Escape from Exeria, one of those old games, or the latest progress on Drop Rock: Powered Up, a sequel to another.
- Steve Fryatt
- Steve has a range of software available, including home accounts software, a desktop launcher, a search tool, and a range of desktop games – including a suite that he has ported to RISC OS. This range is available to download from his website, but you can usually pick it all on CD at shows for a very low price, with the proceeds going to a good cause.
- Wakefield RISC OS Computer Club
- Another user group, WROCC – as they are commonly known – are another user group that hosts regular online meetings, usually featuring an interesting speaker. Members of the group will be on hand to talk you into joining, or if you’re already a member continuing to be one. And if you have an interesting RISC OS or Acorn-related project, why not talk to them about having a guest slot at one of their meetings?
As well as all the above, there will also be the usual charity stand, where you may find a bargain to buy and in doing so contribute to a good cause.
That’s almost all of the exhibitors from last year’s RISC OS North event, and a couple of new ones, which means there will be plenty to see and do, and – hopefully – lots of updated applications, etc.
You can also expect to see a show theatre, with a selection of exhibitors stepping away from their stands to take the podium and talk about their latest developments and releases – although, like the floor-plan, details of this won’t be available until much closer to the day.
So, if you want to spend a day amongst like-minded folk, speaking to developers, and hearing the latest news, the place to be on Saturday, 21st March is:
Village Hotel Warrington,
110 Centre Park Square,
Warrington,
WA1 1QA.
The doors will be open to the public from 10:30am until 4:30pm, with a small entry fee – the amount hasn’t been confirmed, but last year it was £7 per person, with anyone under fourteen getting in for free.
