18th May 2004 CASTLE REVEALS FUTURE PLANS FOR RISC OS Castle today publishes details for the continuing development of RISC OS (codename Merlin). Castle's plans include a 6 week period of open consultation with the RISC OS community to assist Castle's management in allocating development resources through its internal Green Paper. Castle states that it is committed to the development of core RISC OS and desktop extensions. Developments to RISC OS have been allocated under the following headings: 1. TOOL CHAIN Development tools for all operating systems are of key importance and Castle realises that keeping the RISC OS C/C++ development suite up-to-date is essential. Castle has recently announced major improvements to its C/C++ development suite for RISC OS, which will include support for new features such as "inline assembler" and "packed structure support". In the future, further new features such as "instruction scheduling" are also planned. 2. CORE RISC OS DEVELOPMENTS Castle will continue with core RISC OS software developments to ensure that RISC OS is as up-to-date as possible. Recent development work has focussed on paid-for development work for RISC OS licensees, this includes support for further ARM cores and specific product development. This commercially rewarding work has the highest priority. 3. DESKTOP EXTENSIONS (codename Merlin) Castle will also continue to extend the RISC OS desktop with features under the broad headings that include: Filer Enhancements Extended Configuration Extended Graphics/Display Capabilities Extended Network Services USB Performance and Connectivity Audio Input WIMP Enhancements ROM Applications Enhancements Bug Fixes This list is non exclusive and other appropriate headings may be added as required. Merlin will be implemented by creating new or developing existing 32-bit modules. To help ensure complete coverage, Castle will trigger a 6 week consultation procedure with RISC OS users. Following this consultation period Castle will consider the results. The conclusion will be a commitment to a Phased release of enhanced Desktop Extensions. This work will have a high priority within Castle and it is intended that IYONIX pc users will see the continuation of developments with the regular release of Desktop Packs. Many of the upgrades will be FREE to IYONIX pc users, but Castle reserves the right to implement a charging structure for some features. Full details are available at: http://www.iyonix.com/merlin/ Castle manufactures the IYONIX and X100 pc range of RISC OS computers. They feature XScale processor technology with ultra fast 200MHz DDR RAM, PCI expansion, UDMA100 hard drives, Gigabit networking, PC style graphics card, USB connectivity, full software suite etc. The IYONIX pc is able to display a wide range of screen resolutions, up to 2048 x 1536 pixels and benefits from virtually silent operation due to the low power XScale processor. The top-of-the-range IYONIX pc features a massive 512MB of RAM, 120GB hard drive and a 52 speed CD re-writer. Both of these RISC OS computers are available from just £1249 plus delivery. The IYONIX pc, was the world's first XScale desktop computer, and is available now for immediate delivery. Castle Technology Ltd Ore Trading Estate Woodbridge Road Framlingham Suffolk IP13 9LL Tel 01728 723200 Fax 01728 727427 web http://www.iyonix.com email sales@iyonix.com -- http://www.iyonix.com Castle Technology Ltd, Ore Trading Estate, Woodbridge Road Framlingham, Suffolk UK IP13 9LL 01728 723200 fax: 727427