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Email: chris@cjemicros.co.uk ICQ: AOL: Yahoo:	Username: CJE Realname: Chris Evans About me: Homepage: Face/Logo: Comments posted: 66 (show all)

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On In brief: Acorn World show this weekend:

Errr "Sold Out" I've never heard of a show Selling Out before, One Acorn World show at the Novotel Hammersmith had to stop anyone entering until other people left. Is the 'Emley Suite' seriously small or maybe someone has missinterpreted the rules? Either way it sounds like it is going to be a success, well done. CJE on 11/9/09 11:02AM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On Dual-head DVI ViewFinder graphics card announced:

I thing we at CJE may have sold to end users more than 50% of all viewfinders sold. We have also supplied quite a few AGP cards as upgrades. Fewer than 10% were the 128MB version and 90% of the the upgrades have been 8 to 32MB so I'm confident that not much more than 10% of ViewFinder users are using 128MB [1]. AIUI JK software is almost pure magic! Well its patching of the OS had to be quite hairy Then came along select, this complicated things significantly, it was explained to me by one of the Select programmers that it lets the VF software patch the OS and then went back and repatched the OS to suit, very messy. WIth RO6 abstracting the video driver patching patches became impractable so they had to build in support for specific cards. JK obviously has a lot of experience of differences necessary for different cards, ROL much less so. I suspect it would be quite a lot of work for JK to change to using the official RO6 video abstraction. On the other hand I'm not sure if the relevant ROL programmers are able to divert the necessary time and finance [2] to add support. [1] Continental users In our experience tend to go for the top of the range in our experience so I can believe that many/most of the users Steffen knows about are 128MB. [2] ROL would have to try and obtain/be loaned most variants of Radeon 128MB that have been used and given the variation in output options there must be at least 3 and possible quite a few more! CJE on 25/8/09 12:32PM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On First screenshot: Beagleboard runs RISC OS 5 desktop:

Very interesting work, I'd always wondered what would have happened if RON (RISC OS on netBook) Psion's unit had come off! I may have got this all wrong! Am I correct in saying that in addition to all the work necessary to work on a new 'platform' (Different memory controller and I/0: Video, keyboard, Mouse etc) the build of RISC OS has to be different to cope with difference within the CPU itself? Is it also true that all non interpreted programs (e.g. not BASIC but compiled C & machine code etc) will need to be recompiled with setting for a Cortex A8? Which compiler is being used? Acorn C/C++ or GCC I thought the RISC OS sources required Acorn C/C++ I didn't think it had been updated for Cortex-A8 support! CJE on 12/5/09 11:31AM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On Bitmap graphics package Photodesk updated:

Thanks are also due to Detlef Thielsch who has been working on the program with Niklaus and to Chris Terran who is doing the manual. CJE on 5/5/09 11:39AM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On CJE seeks programmer to resurrect data entry package:

Dalrida say that for contractral reasons this is not possible. CJE on 1/5/09 4:30PM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On ROL flogs RISC OS 4 for all emulators:

re nijinsky: 20x £5 vs £99 You are forgetting initial sale and ongoing support costs! It makes a big difference. CJE on 9/12/08 11:47AM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On Click right on with RISC OS:

re: Ctrl-Alt click on the close icon of any window and it'll close all windows This was introduced in 4.02 i.e. it is not in 3.70 I do remember discovering the "Shift-double click with the Select button on a directory icon, closes al sub dirs' but then couldn't remember the keyboard/icon/button required, thanks for the reminder. Interestingly the directory being clicked on must be open but lower directories do not need to be open for all even lower ones to be closed! CJE on 25/3/08 12:56PM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On Using shared source to brighten up the desktop:

Jim if you have a duff or suspect drive get all the data off a.s.a.p. and then remove it. You are playing russian roulet leaving it in! CJE on 29/2/08 11:06AM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On Big Ben Club organises mini-Expo:

Ohps, the posting from OwlArt should say it is from CJE Micro's (Andrew must have logged into Drobe last on this computer!) CJE on 21/9/07 5:01PM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On Robot pet hamsters arrive for RISC OS:

They are instock at you know who Not yet on our website yet. Give us a call for this must have accessory! Chris (CJE) CJE on 6/8/07 4:47PM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On Programming tools set for price slash:

rjek: I agree that should be true but unfortunatly most of the time isn't. I know that many charities now will not give things away for nothing to needy recipients, they either have to work for it or pay something. Their sense of ownership and value that put on the item goes up considerably if they do. I have seen expensive 'gifts' trashed within months. If anyone can't even afford the 65% OFF Price I've realised we can do the last version of Norcroft C/C++ that Acorn did for a mere 25 GBP (You don't get the printed manuals though) Pricing updates will appear at www.cjemicros.co.uk shortly CJE on 25/1/07 4:14PM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On Programming tools set for price slash:

rjek: That which costs us little we do not esteem! CJE on 25/1/07 11:40AM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On Select 4 delayed after Middleton family death:

In the circumstances, griping about an administritive cockup does seem rather uncharitable! CJE on 18/1/07 11:13AM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On AmigaOS woes show ROS is not alone:

from [link] "Now scheduled for commercial release in early 2005, AmigaOS 4.0 moves the�Amiga Operating System to the modern Power PC chips�enabling the easy use of off-the-shelf components from third party vendors" To my mind the graphics on the original desktop used to look very chunky and dated compared to the contemporary version of RISC OS! CJE on 8/1/07 3:02PM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On Gimp-Print sequel port planned for March:

I reply to Martin: I registered as a Canon developer some years ago and the only problem I've evr had with getting documentation was that it lagged i.e. I've just checked and can get all the documentation for the iP4200 but none for the iP4300 which recently replaced it! Having said that almost anything written for the iP4000 I'd expect to work on the 4100, 4200 & 4300! CJE on 22/12/06 11:29AM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On PostScript 3 driver mulled:

Re: Unicode does it come with some decent unicode fonts, I gather they are difficult to source. also IIRC no printer driver has support for the desired Unicode fonts, has that situation changed? CJE on 11/12/06 2:49PM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On ROL calls for Select coders and testers:

In reply to hEgelia: "What a curious question" well as one of the most vocal and vociferous critics of Select and ROL I thought were upset that you hadn't got value for money. It seems strange to me that you feel so strongly on other peoples behalf! n.b. I have twice had a meal with Paul Middleton, but I have also done so with many other regular RISC OS exhibitors. In reply to VinceH: My choice of words was wrong I meant ROL were opening up work on RISC OS. As to Castle and ROL merging the sources it would be a lot more difficult technically than most people seem to appreciate, though I could see certain comparatively stand alone parts being merged like Toolbox etc. Even that would though be difficult as the parties have lost trust in the other. CJE on 16/11/06 5:40PM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On ROL calls for Select coders and testers:

In reply to hEgelia: Your deduction can't be correct unless a time machine is involved! RISC OS Six was demonstrated in a very near complete state at the recent shows, to involve new programmers would slow down completion, they may possibly want beta testers for specific bits but I doubt it. n.b. How many years of Select subscription did you make? In reply to bluenose: "Why has this been done now" previously Castle were very against open sources, remember they took ROL to task over Printers+ so now that Castle have opened the door to some Open Sourcing, ROL can do likewise! p.s. Is the 'preview a comment' broken in all browsers I tried posting twice yesterday but selecting preview lost all my text twice (I'm using Fresco) CJE on 15/11/06 11:57AM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On Companies flock to Christmas road show:

Ah, but you don't need to stay London, Paul Middleton and I are staying in Birmingham for the Thursday and Friday nights and plan on being at home for the Saturday night CJE on 30/11/05 11:32AM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On RISC OS Christmas roadshow details finalised:

I think you are jumping the gun a bit! I suspect they may want more confirmation of details like who is going to be there etc. To my mind the one mistake so far is sending the info to drobe! It was premature. CJE on 17/11/05 4:01PM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On RISC OS Christmas roadshow details finalised:

I have over the years advertised in PCW, The Daily Mail and on the Radio all unsuccesfully (except early on with PCW) We did a mail shot to 6,000 previous but inactive RISC OS users a couple of years ago, the turnover of the business generated did not cover the postage of the mail shot Throwing money at marketing is often non fruitful, other ways are needed! CJE on 17/11/05 3:41PM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On RISC OS Christmas roadshow details finalised:

I think the invites may have got lost in the post, as I haven't had one either! I'm not sure about the local advertising, when was the last time one of the big RISC OS shows got local/general promotion? CJE on 17/11/05 2:40PM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On History of Viewfinder revealed:

But only a small part of the cost was in AGP card! CJE on 15/11/05 11:46AM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On PC card software released under GPL:

correction: thanks.. for *their* work CJE on 3/11/05 1:06PM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On PC card software released under GPL:

SparkFS 1.39 which I believe is the latest, won't decompress it. When downloading, it was automatically saved with a filetype of tar, and tar is ticked in SparkFSs module list under choices. Double clicking on it gives 'Unidentified header type found', dropping it on the iconbar gives 12 seconds of disc access and then nothing! Also does it contain a compiled copy of the software, I suspect there are many people who don't have a copy of the compilers who would like a copy of the program. Thanks to wookey, lawrie and peter for his work in getting this released. CJE on 3/11/05 1:03PM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On South East show 2005 preview:

DS1/Drobe Webmaster: How do you put the 'in reply to' bit in? I've searched the page for a comment help link and the site FAQs! n.b. Using Fresco, JS off. CJE on 24/10/05 11:43AM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On Should RISC OS be open sourced?:

In reply to mrchocky: You are quotes with: "Peter Naulls argued that "certain parts" of the OS could be released under an open source licence." Even if it was only 'certain parts' it would still need Pace to agree, and I have now realised that it would also most likely need Broadcom and MSDW holdings to as well, that will never[1] happen, so it is only an academic argument! [1]I rarely use the word 'never' but I unfortunatly believe that this is a certainty CJE on 20/10/05 12:06PM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On Children's BBC: The Acorn years:

Earlier this month we supplied the BBC with some replacement RiscPC parts which they said they needed urgently for use on the Childrens Chanels, they mentioned that they wouldn't be able to fit them during the day as they are in use whilst 'live'. IIRC they didn't need any PSUs as they are in racks, AVS/Millepede units? CJE on 20/10/05 11:57AM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On A9home compatibility list open for all:

First attempt RiscPC WITH FRESCO: Active Server Pages error 'ASP 0224' Cannot load TypeLib /a9home/compatibility.asp, line 2 Cannot load Type Library specified in the METADATA tag. Tried again in a new window 10 seconds later at it worked fine! CJE on 18/10/05 11:54AM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On Should RISC OS be open sourced?:

To be honest this discussion is a waste of everyones time, even if both Castle and RISC OS Ltd agreed to it, it would need Pace to agree to it. Castle have said that whilst they now own the RISC OS IPR, Pace included a requirement in the sale that the OS Sources would never be released. This was good business practice on Pace's part as they wanted to keep thier customers coming back to them. I know there was quite a lot of problems making sure that the sources for Printers+ did not include anything that had to be kept private! CJE on 17/10/05 12:06PM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On ARM plays hand, reveals 1GHz plans:

Whats a DMIP? CJE on 5/10/05 11:39AM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On Euro mag to list active RISC OS developers:

Nice idea but... with much of current development being done in 'spare time' etc I doubt many developers will have the time to send details, if a web form could be pointed to which was quick and easy to fill in, then it would have a better chance of being done, even then I suspect only a minority of developers would have enough spare time to do so CJE on 3/10/05 12:13PM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On Iyonix Select demand barely double digits, says ROL:

Various mentions have been made re why did ROL "make a special effort for Omega users" I am confident that the work necessary was comparitively trivial, I suspect a recompile with 'Omega hardware' option ticked! It seems very strange for people to critise ROL for helping some RISC OS users. If people found out that they could easily have done this and didn't they would get critised for not doing it! They can't win! CJE on 27/9/05 11:50AM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On ROL cuts deal with Omega users:

I am very saddened that many posters are AGAIN jumping to unfounded conclusions I know that ROL would love to produce Select for the Iyonix now! There are reasons why thay can't do so, now or in the near future. One reason in the past was the need to 32bit thier sources, which was a large step on the way The other significant problem is that with the two source trees so widly diverged it would require very very significant resources and will on both parties to fully merge them. AIUI ROL hope in time to be able to graft Select onto the Iyonix kernal but this is easier said than done, and whilst it would be lovely if the following were possible "It would not take much to keep Iyonix users onboard (some addins giving some Select functions with gradual releases)." But AIUI with all the changes to the kernal and the significant interdependances between different 'select' modules it makes the work necessary very significant. i.e. to release say just one 'select' module either every extra feature relied on in other modules would need that module also released, with the same knock on effect for other features relied on in those modules and so on or you have to write significant extra code in the one released module so that it didn't rely on other modules being updated, and then there are the kernal changes to consider... With the largest 'actively buying' user base being Iyonix owners I'm sure ROL will be aiming to provide them with select on Iyonix as soon as practicle possible, which unfortunatly doesn't seem to be imminent given current resources. n.b. I'm not just talking about money! CJE on 23/9/05 12:16PM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On Patch released to solve Oregano 2 socket puzzle:

Cynic: I think the instructions assume you are using an Iyonix and I suspect you aren't! I also expect it will only work on the latest version of O2 2.2.18 rev.3 Oct 13 2003 CJE on 7/9/05 11:27AM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On Survey: Iyonix use leads VirtualRPC:

Interesting results, yes many factors will distort, I suspect the A9 has done well as those 'developers' with A9's are more likely to enter the poll than average. What would be even more interesting is the comparison from previous years, was there previous similair surveys? Also I have forgotten the exact question, could it be reposted? In particular I am wondering, was it just a single selection or the option to select multiple computers? CJE on 30/8/05 12:08PM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On Intel in performance-per-watt turnaround:

I can't find mention of Vista running on the new processors on any of the links given. If they are talking about full blown Windows and not Windows CE (new name I forget) then that would be very interesting for us as it should be then possible to build a desktop machine (i.e. hi-res graphics) runing RISC OS CJE on 24/8/05 11:55AM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On VirtualAcorn boasts 3000 users:

Even if not a single sale of native hardware has been lost due to VirtualA5000/VirtualRPC, there is the unfortunate fact that it has been percieved by some to be have an adverse impact on native hardware by some Software Publishers, peripheral Hardware manufactures and I expect native computer manufacturers. It is impossible to quantify the negative effect We here at CJE/4D have only ever supplied Laptop Computers with VirtualRPC because we want to encourage native hardware: Iyonix and A9home. CJE on 22/08/05 12:14AM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On PC card software to be open sourced:

Fuzzy: What is your name? Your web site has pictures of you and the name (and pictures) of many of your friends! Are you shy? CJE on 12/8/05 12:01PM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On 'Community' newsgroup proposed for RISC OS users:

Further to postings above and private emails alt.riscos.community does not fall within the guidelines It appears alt.comp.sys is the correct hierarchy My first thought was should it be alt.comp.sys.riscos.community alt.comp.sys.riscos-community But no, reading the guidlines recommends no group name more than 14 characters or creating extra levels, so any suggestions? My first ideas: alt.comp.sys.ro-community alt.comp.sys.acorncommunity alt.comp.sys.riscosclub alt.comp.sys.zfc The CJE on 8/8/05 5:55PM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On 'Community' newsgroup proposed for RISC OS users:

In reply to datawave: It wouldn't be allowed for the reasons given in the article. CJE on 5/8/05 4:27PM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On ROL tells Select users: A9 takes priority:

"Pointless stalling" You are assuming you have all the information, neither you nor I have all the information, if ROL could make an imminenent release then why woudn't they? Many factors may be involved and some/all of them may not be appropriate to make public. And for you conspiracy theorists out there, I am not thinking of legal disputes. Re PB he was reknown for being over optomistic, in this case fortunatly he was wrong in over estimating. CJE on 03/08/05 5:03PM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On ROL tells Select users: A9 takes priority:

In reply to em2ac. No not Castle, Pace did it on thier divergent version of RIS OS which then Tematic took over, then Castle took charge, in the meantime ROL produced Select which was based on a different version of the sources, it had had no 32bit conversion work done on it (newer bits were written 32/26bit neutral). It was the other parts that it was estimated would take 25 man years todo. CJE on 03/08/05 1:30PM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On ROL tells Select users: A9 takes priority:

ROL have changed tack a couple of times, this is normal in business as you have to adapt to changing situations, priorities and resources some of which may not be publicly known about. I am surprised Peter Naulls on the select mailing list implied (I can't check as I seem to have deleted the posting) that ROL could relatively easily and quickly release Select for the Iyonix, as I would have thought he would have known that combining the select features into the Divergent OS without access to the hardware specific code would be significant work. p.s. Peter Bondar estimated that to 32bit the OS would take 25 man years, So Pace and ROL are to be congratulated! CJE on 3/8/05 12:53PM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On The RISC OS File Repository opens:

I can see how this could be very effective. I went to 'RISC OS search' the other day and typed in PDF it gave me a direct link to a zip of PDF112 (three versions out of date) If only there where standards of how web sites should be organised. Are there any proposed? CJE on 3/8/05 12:40PM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

On News in brief:

Robin and I have been looking into DVB cards, most seem to ask for 1.6GHz P4 or higher which suggests they are relying on Software MPEG decoding, which wouldn't be very practicle even on the Iyonix. A DVB card with onboard hardware MPEG2 decoding we think is the only solution. I would not expect hardware decoding on sub 100 GBP DVB cards Does the Hauppage Nexus have hardware decoding? CJE on 1/8/05 12:19PM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

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