Media Sick of reading drobe.co.uk? Can't say we blame you. However, the dead tree RISC OS publications have been eagerly touting their bumper issues this month and so it's worth running an overview of what's on offer. Believe me, any fool with a text editor and a webserver can run a news site but magazines have that special professional edge, acting simultaneously as the spokespeople for the platform. And you can read them at lunchtimes, in bed or on the train.The ARM Club's magazine Eureka is boasting a "first full report" of the MicroDigital Omega - a claim that caused one or two drobe.co.uk staffers to splutter their de-caffeinated drinks over monitors and raise an eyebrow. It'll be interesting to see how Eureka's appraisal compares with ours.
In addition, it's welcoming to see another publication giving MicroDigital ink despite the hardware developer's contempt towards the very people who go out of their way to let everyone know aboout their kit. The vast majority of criticism aimed at MicroDigital over the years focused on the Omega's lateness and concern over the constantly 'evolving' Omega specifications and development problems. Now the Omega is available and shipping, if you picked the right dealer, the final hurdle for the Omega is the public reviewing rounds and maybe then we can all live happily ever after. Until of course someone slaps their forehead and remembers that the Omega is supposed to have USB and networking, oh and that XScale co-processor solution - but we didn't say anything, got it?
RiscWorld have also apparently run an Omega review, but Eureka have shown that they're comfortable with telling people how it is. After two months of brave Omega usage and a ten page write up, Eureka must be confident.
Everyone loves Acorn User, or rather, everyone loves telling Acorn User what to do. If you have any questions you want answering, email them and they'll try to answer your queries in a RISC OS market pep talk soon to be published online. The AU September issue begins its series on comparing and contrasting software running on the XScale Iyonix to a legacy StrongARM RiscPC - something tells us it's not a case of the hare and the tortoise. Acorn User are also looking at the Castle "takeover" of RISC OS, VoIP and digital video.
Acorn User is still (in places) the only shop shelf dwelling RISC OS publication although Acorn Publisher are said to be considering their options.
Finally, Archive magazine have a bumper issue this month with articles on the Castle buy out, the RISC OS 5 HAL, a MicroDigital Alpha review, a couple of articles shared with drobe.co.uk, and a hearty measure of regular articles. And don't forget that if you like Archive, you may like their sister publication Living with Technology.
Links
Acorn User, Archive, Eureka
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