Without exception, the programming I do for fun is for the Acorn platform, running under the RISC OS operating system. Before the advent of RISC OS, I was still an Acorn user, having possessed Master 128/512, BBC model B and Acorn Atom computers (and a brief foray with the commodore-64 which should be quickly forgotten!).
FreeNews is part of the large "Freenet" project. It is basically an NNTP news fetcher for any standard TCP/IP stack (such as Freenet, Acorn TCP/IP or ANT's InetSuite).
It interfaces indirectly with NewsBase by Graham Allen, but should be easily mixed in with any other news reading software.
FreeNews 1.13, is the current publically-available version, replacing the one on Acorn User CD-ROM 2, and can be found by selecting the link below.
Download FreeNews now.
Drugtime is a Microsoft Windows™ application that will alert you when you need to take your medication.
It was written by a friend of mine when I had a corneal transplant, and will sound a piercing whistle and colour the screen to alert you to take your drugs (in my case, steroid eye drops, antibiotics and beta-blockers). It will if required keep a "safe period" between alarms so that one eye drop doesn't wash out the previous one!
It supports up to seven different drugs, each of which can be set to be taken at different times of the day. It will work out the optimum spacing between alarms so that you can take your drugs at regular intervals throughout your waking day.
Download DrugTime for Windows™ now.
Clapperboard is written using S-Base, and it was designed initially to replace a Paradox system running under !PCEm (which was far too slow), that in turn replaced a system running under Team-UP on the Master 512 co-pro board.
Clapperboard is a database that is designed to handle your videotape collection. It holds details of tapes, and programmes on the tapes. It will handle recordings intelligently, allowing multiple tape owners and coping with such requests as "Find me some space on a tape owned by me that already contains some science fiction so I can record a 45 minute programme".
The other main feature of Clapperboard is that of handling a number of specific collections. Rather than just log the episode names and tape numbers, Clapperboard will also log the original transmission date and cast and crew details. Data for "Doctor Who", "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "Minder", amongst others is also available. The "Minder" pages on this site were generated by Clapperboard.
Since Clapperboard is shareware, there is also a demo version available. (An earlier version of this is on the Acorn User CD-ROM 1.) The demo version restricts the volume of data you may add, but in all other respects it is fully functional.
Watch this space for a downloadable demo of Clapperboard. Current version is 2.81.
Ok, I wrote it. I admit to it. Sorry. It doesn't even use the Wimp, but it does work.
If you are still using First Word Plus and need a new printer driver, then mail me and I'll send you a copy.