RISC OS is so intuitive to use its User Guide is how big? A new version of the User Guide has been published by RISC OS Open Ltd – the first printed edition since Acorn’s last one in 1996, and one that is bang up to date with the latest stable release of RISC OS, version 5.24 released in April. The new tome is a mighty one, with a total of sixty two chapters and eight appendices, all of which span a total of 616 pages, and it features over…
Read MoreMiniTime makes you see red
Well, actually, it’s optional – and other colours are available. The latest version of MiniTime has just been released by Fred Graute. The application, designed from the outset to be small and unobtrusive, displays the date and time in a small icon or window, which can be in a fixed position on screen and configured to appear above all other windows, to disappear briefly so as not to get in the way, and more besides. Version 1.09 of the software adds a number of choices relating to colours:
Read MoreZombie apocalypse unleashed by AMCOG Games
They’re coming to get you Barbara <um… insert name here>! “You have been unable to contact air-traffic control, and after running out of fuel crash landed on an abandoned military base. Strange beings that reek of dead and rotting flesh attacked you and you became separated from your plane.” Well, that can’t be good, but that’s how the blurb for AMCOG Games‘ latest release begins. That release is Island of the Undead, a brand new game from Tony Bartram that puts you in a fight for your life – against…
Read MoreUndead to invade Wakefield on June 6th
Luckily, though, only in the form of a video game! AMCOG Games‘ Tony Bartram will be the guest speaker at the next meeting of the Wakefield RISC OS Computer Club, which takes place on Wednesday, 6th June, at 7:45pm. Tony will be talking about games development on RISC OS, along with creating audio-visual effects. Under the AMCOG Games brand, Tony has released eight games so far, including a brand new first person shooter, Island of the Undead, in which you have made an emergency landing on a military base, only…
Read MoreRISC OS Awards 2017 results
The latest RISC OS Awards poll, covering 2017, came to a close a on Saturday, 26th May – and the results are now known. The Awards website has been updated to show the results, and the winners (for whom I have contact details) will be notified by email later today, with direct links to the results so that they can be referred to on the their own websites. The results have already been announced on the RISCOSitory Twitter feed, but for anyone not using Twitter they are below.
Read MoreAdjust the action of a right click on the Switcher icon
And then say “Ta, Fred!” for Tamarc! Astute observers of how our beloved RISC OS user interface works will have noticed that clicking with Select on the Switcher icon – aka the Task Manager, at the far right of the icon bar – does one thing, while an Adjust click on it does… the very same thing. In both cases, by default, they open the Tasks window, which shows you how memory is allocated, which applications are running and so on.
Read MoreDude, where’s your Privacy Policy?
Having just published an item concerning GDPR, this may be a good opportunity to pre-empt an obvious question and explain why RISCOSitory currently has no Privacy Policy published on the website. The simple answer is that the site does not collect any personally identifiable information (with the exception of IP addresses in site logs, handled by the site’s hosting company). There are no user logins, so no visitor email addresses or other details stored, and the site does not store cookies on your computer. It does not need any of…
Read MoreR-Comp’s GDPR notification
Many RISC OS users will have noticed an email or two arriving lately from RISC OS companies about personal data, privacy, and communications. Those emails almost certainly mention something called GDPR – the General Data Protection Regulation – which comes into force on Friday, 25th May, 2018 – the day after tomorrow. Without going into any depth, the GDPR sets a new standard for protecting personal data, and giving control of that data to the people who actually own it – the people the data is about, such as you,…
Read MoreFinal call for votes in the 2017 Awards poll
The annual RISC OS Awards poll is coming to an end. The voting form will be taken down at some point on Saturday, 26th May, which is just three days from now. The RISC OS Awards provides you with a way to thank those companies and developers who have provided a good service, or developed something – hardware or software – that you feel is worthy of note. If enough people feel the same way as you, those you vote for effectively receive some recognition for their efforts, with that…
Read MoreHow to: Draw a glass button in eight steps
The following is a step-by-step guide to producing a glass-topped button, where a glassy surface covers the underlying button and any image depicted thereon. The steps are geared towards ArtWorks2, the premier vector editing package for RISC OS, and there is a supporting file on my website showing the full eight steps in ArtWorks format. The basic steps should be generally applicable to other vector graphics packages on other platforms, so there is also PDF version of the file.
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