Free “VirtualRPC in Use” e-books

Ee be free, ee be. Well known to readers of Archive Magazine, the group known as T.O.M.S. – who first appeared in the magazine in volume 13, issue 11 (August 2000) with a review of the Epson Stylus Photo 1200 – had a semi-regular series of articles published in the A5 periodical from volume 17, issue 3 (December 2003) until volume 19, issue 4 (January 2006) . That series was centered around using VirtualRPC, an emulator for Windows and Mac OS X computers that allows those people who need to…

German magazine GAG-News CD 5 available

 It’s GAG-News, not bad news! Back in September, when reporting that Drag ‘n Drop had ceased publication (again), I said: This leaves RISC OS with only one remaining magazine, Archive. Already the platform’s only remaining printed magazine… This was incorrect, a fact pointed out to me in the comments on that post. Not only is there another magazine still being published as well as Archive (and Drag ‘n Drop, which was subsequently resurrected by Christopher Dewhurst), but it’s a printed magazine to boot.

SyncDiscs 1.25 released

Sync it to me, baby! Described on its website (mirror) as “A versatile disc backup program”, SyncDiscs is an application that will ensure the contents of two discs or directories are kept the same. Example uses of the software include keeping backup copies of a disc or directory – unsurprisingly, given that tagline – or keeping one computer’s disc synchronised with the another. Chris Johnson, also known for applications such as UnitConv, has taken over the maintenance and development of SyncDiscs with the full agreement and encouragement of its original…

PackMan 0.7-3 beta available

 Moving instead of stubbing? Maybe it’s time to stop snubbing! The end of November saw the release of a new version of PackMan, an alternative package manager to RiscPkg for downloading and installing software for RISC OS computer systems that has been packaged and distributed using the RISC OS Packaging Project. Packaging on RISC OS has been a contentious issue since it was first introduced, with valid arguments for its use being presented by its proponents, and equally valid arguments, frequently about the implementation above all else, being presented by…

RISC OS South West 2013: show report (updated)

At last! This year’s RISC OS South West show took place yesterday a couple of weeks ago, on 23rd February, 2013 – its customary late February Saturday. And I’m pleased to say that this year, I managed to find my way to the Webbington Hotel easily, without taking any wrong turns and without getting lost. I still managed to turn up late, though, and arrived after the show had already opened to the public. That is, however, fully in keeping with tradition – getting lost last year caused me to…

RISC OS South West to go ahead again in 2013

Da-na na-na na-na na-na na – Showtime! After last year’s ‘near miss’ in the South West, when it began to look as though the usual RISC OS Show for the area wasn’t going to go ahead until new organisers stepped up at the last minute to save the day, it’s good to have a date announced in plenty of time for the 2013 show. The 2012 show’s last minute saviours were Andrew Rawnsley of R-Comp and Richard Brown of Orpheus Internet, and the dynamic duo* have once again teamed up…

What a show – London 2012

Pinch me, I must be dreaming! First of all, I must apologise for the very long delay in producing this show report and keeping up with RISC OS news in general. The reason for this has been a combination of the usual workload (with the period after this show normally being one of my busy ones) with some health issues thrown in for good measure, including a short but unexpected – and very unwelcome – stay in hospital. The most recent significant event in the RISC OS Calendar took place…

ConvText 3.00 released

Gentlemen, we can rebuild him it. We have the technology… A new version of ConvText – version 3.00 – is now available. The software, which was often praised by Paul Beverley in Archive Magazine, carries out a list of search and replace jobs in one go, and on any type of file. It does this by way of easily created scripts, which can of course be used again and again, if you so need.

Drag ‘n Drop ceases publication

For real this time, apparently – no word of a lie. Long-time RISC OS fan and editor of Drag ‘n Drop magazine, Paul Stewart has announced the closure of the PDF-based magazine with immediate effect. Paul launched Drag ‘n Drop in 2009, and published four issues per year/volume, costing £3.00 each. In October 2011, shortly before the London Show, after two years and eight issues, he decided that it was time to cease publication. However, barely a week later, Paul turned up at the show with the first issue of…