R-Comp / RCI at SW show (UniPrint 4, RISCubes, RISCBooks, Mpro)
A Rawnsley
With the SW show just a few days hence, we thought we'd drop a line
and let people know what to expect. We'd also urge anyone in the area
to get to the show, because all shows need visitors!
Latest RISCube and RISCBook advances
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2010 has already seen a number of advancements on planet RISCube! At
the show, you'll be able to see a RISCube driving multiple screens
digitally for best picture quality, a "first" on RISC OS, as far as
we're aware. We'll also be demonstrating how modern monitors can
offer "portrait" mode, for more productive working on standard A4
documents.
But that's not all. 2010 has seen us break the traditional 8Mb VRAM
barrier, and support mouse scroll wheels, so you'll be able to try all
that too!
We'll also have laptops at the show, so you can take RISC OS on the
road. Even with features like mobile broadband!
UniPrint 4
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The SW show should (finally!) see the release of UniPrint 4 (aka
UniServer), a massive new release of our popular product. UniPrint 4
represents the culmination of about 12-18 months work, so you can
imagine it is quite a different product than that which went before!
The obvious change in UniPrint 4 is the inclusion of a whole new
application called UniControl from which all the functions of the
software can be driven - UniPrint, UniScan, UniLaunch, UniClip and
UniCom. Each component can be accessed through a friendly screen,
with RISC OS windows allowing control over each. For example,
clicking on the UniPrint button will allow you to select a PC, and see
a list of printers, and bring up a window seeing their capabalities.
You can then make your choice, and bob's your uncle!
This introduces new functionality across the board, with each area of
the software being massively improved. We've mentioned printing,
above, but scanning also uses this new, integrated UI, and includes
many new features - scanner resolutions/capabilities are now
autodetected, for much smoother operation (eg. much more robust
preview facilities), a direct "photocopy" mode is available, and the
software now deals with mutliple scanners on multiple machines.
UniLaunch, again part of the new, revamped interface, allows files to
be double clicked, or dragged in, to launch them into a suitable
Windows application. It also allows web URLs to be launched into
Windows-based web browsers, for sites that don't work in RISC OS
browsers. VirtualAcorn users will benefit from "in place" launching,
which allows the same file to be worked on in Windows as in RISC OS,
so (for example), you can receive a Word document into RISC OS via
email (many people prefer to use RISC OS for email), then double click
it to launch it into MS Word. Having made changes, just drag the same
file back into to Messenger (on RISC OS) to send it on to whomever.
UniClip, a major introduction, allows copy/paste operations between
any combination of RISC OS machines - real or virtual. For example,
you can press Ctrl-C in an email in Messenger Pro on a RiscPC, and
paste it (Ctrl-V) into an Ovation Pro document on a VirtualRPC system
elsewhere. Or, you could paste it straight into Microsoft Word!
Similarly, you could highlight a section of a web page in Internet
Explorer, and copy it into Impression. The software also allows
"drag'n'drop" operations if you don't normally use ctrl-C/ctrl-V.
UniCom, the 5th piece of the puzzle, allows commands to be sent and
executed to either RISC OS or Windows machines. The system provides a
"command line" allowing you to issue commands to the other machine,
launching files, controlling settings and so on.
All features work with RISC OS hardware (over network) or VirtualAcorn
(on the same machine), and we support Windows XP, Vista and 7. RISC
OS 4, Adjust, 5, and 6 are supported (although some versions of 6 had
a printing bug in !Draw).
The new software makes it easy to work with multiple machines, so you
can easily take advantage of the facilities of a laptop and a desktop,
for example. Many features also work RISC OS to RISC OS (eg. UniClip
and UniCom).
Messenger Pro Win/Lin/Mac
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Just in time for the show, the latest edition of MPro Win/Lin/Mac is
available, with a number of enhancements. 2.62 is the result of user
feedback, and improves the operation and feel of the software for all
users.
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R-Comp
22 Robert Moffat, High Legh, Knutsford, Cheshire WA16 6PS
Tel: 01925 755043 Fax: 01925 757377 http://www.rcomp.co.uk
_______________________________________________________________
a.m.c...@argonet.co.uk, Moderator of comp.sys.acorn.announce.
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