HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: pdenize@waikato.ac.nz
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn
Subject: Font Cache Thrashing
Date: 28 Aug 92 11:32:53 +1200
Organization: University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand


I just discovered a font cache that looked like this

*fontlist
     Name                    Size               Dots/inch    Use  Memory
     ----                    ----               ---------    ---  ------
  1. AvantGarde.Demi         280 point           90x90         0      2 Kbytes
  2. AvantGarde.Demi         master outlines                   0      4 Kbytes
  3. Avant.Garde.Demi.Oblique 8 point            90x90         0      3 Kbytes
  4. Avant.Garde.Demi.Oblique master outlines                  0      2 Kbytes
  5. Avant.Garde.Demi.Oblique 8 point            90x90         0      3 Kbytes
  6. Avant.Garde.Demi.Oblique master outlines                  0      2 Kbytes
  ...
    many lines removed
  ...
245. Avant.Garde.Demi.Oblique 8 point            90x90         0      3 Kbytes
246. Avant.Garde.Demi.Oblique master outlines                  0      4 Kbytes
247. Avant.Garde.Demi.Oblique 8 point            90x90         0      3 Kbytes
248. Avant.Garde.Demi.Oblique master outlines                  0      4 Kbytes
249. Avant.Garde.Demi.Oblique 8 point            90x90         0      3 Kbytes
250. Avant.Garde.Demi.Oblique master outlines                  0      4 Kbytes

Cache size: 1024 Kbytes
      free:   3 Kbytes
*

And it occured to me that something was wrong.

The problem is that Avant-Garde was named differently inside the font.  Thus it
loaded it again and again and again and ...

If your font cache is swapping a lot then you may wish to check for this
problem yourself.


Paul Denize

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paul Denize                                Internet: PDenize@Waikato.ac.nz
Department of Computer Science
University of Waikato                         phone: ++64 7 8562-889
Hamilton                                                          Ext 8743
NEW ZEALAND                                   fax  : ++64 7 8560-135
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: mcg@waikato.ac.nz
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn
Subject: Re: Why isn't everything PD ?y
Date: 31 Aug 92 18:11:05 +1200
Followup-To: comp.sys.acorn
Organization: University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand

In article <bhotvedt-240892190425@usemac70.uio.no>, bhotvedt@gollum.uio.no (Tor Houghton) writes:
> In article <1992Aug17.094849.10128@waikato.ac.nz>, mcg@waikato.ac.nz wrote:
>  
>  
----[cut]------
> PackDir is public domain. Also I think the LZW algorithms are free for all.
> Besides, the originator is probably a millionaire himself, after all the PC
> companies have paid him.
   

Then if Packdir (latest version) is public domain, why isn't it on any 
PD server.... if it is, tell me which server so that I can check to see that 
you're not joshing.
From Martin Glanvill		(mcg@waikato.ac.nz)

Dept. Maths 							      @@@@@/|@
University of Waikato						      @@@@/ |@
Hamilton							      @@@/__|@
New Zealand							      @@/   |@
								      @@@@@@@@

----------------****=====| A quote to make your day |======****-----------------
At any level of traffic, any delay is intolerable.
                                        -- Barry Bruce-Briggs
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: duplain@rtf.bt.co.uk (Andy Duplain)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn
Subject: Re: OS differences and improvements (Was Re: new PC's, what's happening acorn?)
Date: 1 Sep 92 09:12:59 GMT
Organization: BT Customer Systems, Brighton, UK

In article <1992Aug30.055156.11162@microsoft.com> t-piersh@microsoft.com (Piers Haken) writes:

>My advice : wait for Compaq to release their P5 machine range, buy one,
>and run Linux on it. You'll get:

	No, no, no.  You should run 386BSD then you'll get:

>1) A f**k-off powerful machine.
>2) A free OS.
>3) Friendly support. 
	Nice way of putting it.
>4) Upgrades even before they're ready.
	Is that a feature ?
>5) X-windows.
>6) the ability to use gibberish at will.
							   
	Let's *not* start a Linux/386BSD war now :-)


	



-- 
Andy Duplain, BT Customer Systems, Brighton, UK.            duplain@rtf.bt.co.uk
#define	DISCLAIMER      My views and opinions are my own, and not my company's
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn
From: goodwin@edieng.enet.dec.com (Pete Goodwin)
Subject: Re: OS differences and improvements (Was Re: new PC's, what's happening acorn?)
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1992 07:53:55 GMT


In article <1992Aug27.083907.25862@rtf.bt.co.uk>, duplain@rtf.bt.co.uk (Andy Duplain) writes...

>	Simpler than the bourne/korn/C shell ?  Don't you think it's quite
>	straight-forward ?  Why I say it is expert friendly, is because the
>	utility names and the way they are used is alien to most new users
>	(who have been tainted with MS-DOS utility names); once you are
>	used to it, you find it was worth the effort to get there.

I'm sorry but DIR suggests DIRECTORY, TYPE suggests TYPE a file, PRINT suggests
PRINT a file, SEARCH suggests search.

Now does ls suggest directory, or cat sugggest type or lpr suggest print or
grep suggest search??? The one command I took from UNIX was cd, which I equate
to SET DEF in VMS.

Admittedly I'm comparing UNIX with VMS, but the barrier here is the utility
names are cryptic. They DON'T need to be!!!

Now on RISC OS TYPE is TYPE, LIST is, er, TYPE, PRINT is, er TYPE (why the
three variations I wonder!), DIR is set directory (nothing like a departure
eh?), CAT is Catalog (logical I suppose). At least COPY is copy, RENAME is
rename rather than UNIX: cp or mv.

Whenever I read UNIX shell scripts they read like gibberish. Full of strange
characters like ~ ` ' # or $. You need to be a real expert to see what's going
on.

>	The backspace/delete cock-up effects you when using an editor,
>	regardless of whether the editor was invoked from CLI or DeskTop.

Only if you've been tainted by MSDOS (using you're description 8) I've never
used backspace as delete, I've always used DELETE.

Pete Goodwin
goodwin@system.enet.dec.com
From: pdenize@waikato.ac.nz
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn
Subject: VIRUS (Authorities ?)
Date: 24 Aug 92 09:19:20 +1200
Organization: University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand

Some details as to the author of this virus is available. I would like to hear
from any authority that can take legal action.  Or any authority that wishes to
keep a record of this disgusting individual.


Paul Denize

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paul Denize                                Internet: PDenize@Waikato.ac.nz
Department of Computer Science
University of Waikato                         phone: ++64 7 8562-889
Hamilton                                                          Ext 8743
NEW ZEALAND                                   fax  : ++64 7 8560-135
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: bwc@waikato.ac.nz (Ug!)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn
Subject: Re: Internationalisation
Date: 2 Sep 92 09:23:57 +1200
Organization: Vooniersity fo Kaiwato

TMOTA writes:
>Merlin Hughes writes:
> 
>>If we are to have support for multiple languages in a certain
>>forthcoming product, what should we use to determine the country?
>>Then, what languages should we support? Due to limited resources
>>we will only be able to support a subset of the global languages.
> 
> Well, a good trick would be to use MsgTrans just like desktop app.s
> so that you simply have a directory full of the text needed for various
> languages... then a user who speaks swahili and English can translate
> for themselves if no other translation is available...

Perhaps you'd like to post some pointers on using MsgTrans: how do we use
it, what SWI calls are available, etc?  Maybe to comp.sys.acorn.tech?

This would be very useful (I'm goinf through the same process myself).

							Ug!
From: aglover@acorn.co.uk (Alan Glover)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.announce
Subject: Acorn Press Release 7 of 8 (A4000 range)
Date: 27 Aug 92 10:28:03 GMT
Followup-To: comp.sys.acorn
Organization: Acorn Computers Ltd, Cambridge, England

Acorn launches new A4000 

Acorn Computers is launching a new mid-range computer which
bridges the gap between the newly expanded A3000 and A5000
ranges (see separate news releases). 

Driven by the new ARM250 chip, purpose designed for Acorn by
Advanced Risc Machines Ltd, and running at 12MHz, the new
A4000 delivers 6 MIPS performance - which is 1.4 times
faster than a 33MHz 386DX.

The A4000 has 2MB of RAM expandable to 4MB on the circuit
board; VGA graphic support comes as standard, as do the wide
range of Acorn screen modes. There is a 2MB floppy disc
drive which, with RISC OS 3,  can automatically detect and
use Acorn and PC discs. Another major feature of this three
box solution is the newly restyled keyboard.

The A4000, with its industry standard 80 MB IDE hard disc,
is housed in a slimline case which complements the A5000's
styling. It has internal support for both Econet and
Ethernet without compromising the main expansion slot.

Although the A4000 can be bought on its own, it is also
available as part of a new "Home Office" system.  This pack
is targeted at the sophisticated professional user who wants
more than just a PC. It contains an A4000 system including a
monitor, an advanced wordprocessor (EasiWriter II) and
Desktop Database (together with a disc of templates).  For
those new to the Acorn RISC OS desktop interface, there is
an audio training tape; there are also blank discs included,
together with a full product directory of applications
written to run on Acorn's range of 32-bit RISC computers. 

The A4000 Home Office pack, which includes a CGA monitor,
costs #999 ex VAT. Educational institutions can also buy the
A4000 without a monitor for #899. 


Ends 

_______________________________________________________________________________

aglover@acorn.co.uk, moderator of comp.sys.acorn.announce. Submissions to
announce-request@acorn.co.uk, other related mail to announcer@acorn.co.uk.
From: aglover@acorn.co.uk (Alan Glover)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.announce
Subject: Acorn Press Release 3 of 8 (Acorn Pocketbook)
Date: 27 Aug 92 10:23:00 GMT
Followup-To: comp.sys.acorn
Organization: Acorn Computers Ltd, Cambridge, England

Acorn Launches Pocket Book

Acorn Computers is launching its first Pocket Book computer.  
The idea behind the Pocket Book is to provide a small
portable computer that offers functionality aimed at serving
the basic computing needs of every child and that is cheap
enough for parents to purchase for their school children. 

The applications suite provided with the Pocket Book
comprises a word processor, a database, a spreadsheet, a
calculator and an alarm. There is also the option of adding
further applications - such as a diary program via a solid
state disc.  Choices are made from menus of options and each
of the applications provided is self contained in its own
window on the screen. 

The Pocket Book has an optional Archimedes link especially
designed for easy transfer of information between it and
Acorn's 32-bit RISC computers. The link software has been
written in such a way as to make the Pocket Book appear on
the desktop as just another directory viewer. 

In addition to the Archimedes link, there is also a fast
serial port which allows access at 1.54Mbits/sec to other
computers, modems and printers, and there is also a parallel
printer link. On average, the two AA batteries -  which are
readily available - give the Pocket Book some 80 hours of
continuous use. 

Acorn's Pocket Book costs #249.95 inc VAT  (#212.72 ex VAT)

Ends







_______________________________________________________________________________

aglover@acorn.co.uk, moderator of comp.sys.acorn.announce. Submissions to
announce-request@acorn.co.uk, other related mail to announcer@acorn.co.uk.
From: aglover@acorn.co.uk (Alan Glover)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.announce
Subject: Acorn Press Release 8 of 8 (A5000 range)
Date: 27 Aug 92 10:28:07 GMT
Followup-To: comp.sys.acorn
Organization: Acorn Computers Ltd, Cambridge, England

Acorn Broadens its A5000 Range 

Acorn is expanding its high-power range of computers with
the introduction of a number of new models of the popular
A5000. The range has been augmented by the introduction of
two new hard disc variants as well as two floppy-disc-only
networking models. 

A new 2MB A5000 with 80MB hard disc capacity has been
introduced to re-inforce the earlier 40MB version's success
in Acorn's traditional education marketplace, concentrating
on secondary education and teacher training.

Aimed at the more demanding user, there is also now a 4MB
A5000 which comes with a 120MB hard disc. This version is
likely to have particular appeal for those involved with
desk top publishing, multi-media, software development,
image processing and other applications which demand large
memory or disc space. 

The new discless network models offer ideal client stations
for addition to either Acorn's proprietary Econet network -
allowing work in mixed environments of Acorn's 8 and 32-bit
machines - or access to industry standard Open Systems
networks via Ethernet.

All A5000 models are driven by an ARM 3 processor delivering
performance in excess of 20,000 Dhrystones - equivalent to a
486 PC processor. They have four interface sockets which
enable specialist expansion cards to be added where
necessary. The optional Acorn PC Soft software enables DOS
applications to be run concurrently with RISC OS
applications, allowing easy transfer of text and graphics
between the two operating systems.

Commenting on the new expanded series of A5000s, Acorn's
Marketing Manager, Mike O'Riordan said "With the
introduction of these new models, the A5000 range offers a
complete, coherent family of products capable of addressing
a wide range of requirements. The additional performance
provided by the ARM3 processor can be utilised across the
wide range of RISC OS applications available from Acorn and
its many partners. 

"The A5000 is the ultimate personal computer from Acorn" he
added. "Discerning computer users now have a real choice
when it comes to the provision of a range of powerful
solutions."

The new A5000 range of products, which come with a multiscan
monitor, will be available from early September 1992 and
will cost:

A5000 2MB HD80 (80 MB hard disc): #1399; 
A5000 4MB HD120 (120 MB hard disc): #1599; 
A5000 ES (Econet): #1299 
A5000; NS (Ethernet): #1399 
(All prices are quoted ex-VAT and include the cost of the 
multiscan monitor.)

In addition the A5000 Learning Curve costs #1699 inc VAT

Ends



_______________________________________________________________________________

aglover@acorn.co.uk, moderator of comp.sys.acorn.announce. Submissions to
announce-request@acorn.co.uk, other related mail to announcer@acorn.co.uk.
From: aglover@acorn.co.uk (Alan Glover)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.announce
Subject: Acorn Press Release 2 of 8 (RISC OS)
Date: 27 Aug 92 10:22:22 GMT
Followup-To: comp.sys.acorn.tech
Organization: Acorn Computers Ltd, Cambridge, England

Acorn's RISC OS 3 Now Available for All

Acorn Computers is releasing the latest version of its RISC
operating system - RISC OS 3 - as an upgrade for existing
users.

First installed in Acorn's A5000 computer, RISC OS 3
provides some 300 key enhancements evolved from its
predecessor, RISC OS 2.  Because RISC OS 3 builds upon many
of the key features of its predecessor  it ensures ease of
use and continuity for those switching over to the new
version of the operating system. It offers complete
compatibility with RISC OS 2 and allows the use of the
2,000-plus titles already available for Acorn's range of
Archimedes computers.

Some of these new advantages include multi-tasking filing
and formatting operations, improvements in the use of the
desktop environment and in the use of iconized windows,
improved printer support, the ability to read DOS-format
discs, support for high density floppy discs, new hot key
support, and the ability to run up to 128 tasks
concurrently.

Twelve fonts are now provided in the 2MB of ROM together
with many of the key applications provided with Acorn's
range of RISC machines including Draw, Paint and Edit. These
applications themselves have been further refined and
improved to increase their versatility.

RISC OS 3 can be fitted to all of Acorn's family of RISC
computers including the Archimedes range and UNIX
workstations. However, the original A305, A310 and A440 (but
not the A440/1) need a simple modification in order to fit
the larger ROMS. This dealer-only upgrade will be available
at the same time as the software upgrade kit.

Acorn's Marketing Director Mike O'Riordan said of the new
upgrade "In line with our policy of offering our customers
the choice of moving up to new technology in a timescale
that suits them, we have ensured that RISC OS 3 is fully
backwards compatible with existing applications designed for
RISC OS 2. 

"However", he added, "I am convinced that there are so many
advantages to be gained for existing users to upgrade that
many will choose the early upgrade option."

The new RISC OS upgrade kit will be available in quantity
from September 1992 at the following prices:

RISC OS Upgrade kit                      #89 
        Special price until mid-1993     #49 
Existing A5000 owner special upgrade 
         (but no manuals)                #19 
Hardware upgrade for 305/310/440 users   #30


Ends




_______________________________________________________________________________

aglover@acorn.co.uk, moderator of comp.sys.acorn.announce. Submissions to
announce-request@acorn.co.uk, other related mail to announcer@acorn.co.uk.
From: aglover@acorn.co.uk (Alan Glover)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.announce
Subject: Newcastle Info Server update
Date: 27 Aug 92 10:34:45 GMT
Followup-To: comp.sys.acorn
Organization: Acorn Computers Ltd, Cambridge, England


New software:

quickc - a frontend for Acorn's Ansi C compilers. By Richard Panton.




 
To retrieve a file from the archive, send a message to 
info-server@newcastle.ac.uk with the following content:

line-limit 1000
request: sources
topic: archimedes filename
request: end

where filename is replaced by the name of the file that you want.
A filename of 'index' will send you the latest index file.
A filename of 'tail_index' will send you the list of the last 50 files added
to the archive.

PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR SOFTWARE IS VIRUS FREE BEFORE SENDING IT TO ME


--

E-mail address:  Albert.Koelmans@newcastle.ac.uk
Computing Science Department, University of Newcastle upon Tyne,
Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK (telephone +44 091-2228155,fax 2228232) 

_______________________________________________________________________________

aglover@acorn.co.uk, moderator of comp.sys.acorn.announce. Submissions to
announce-request@acorn.co.uk, other related mail to announcer@acorn.co.uk.
From: osmith@acorn.co.uk (Owen Smith)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn
Subject: Re: VIDCClock module
Date: 2 Sep 92 18:00:29 GMT
Organization: Acorn Computers Ltd, Cambridge, England

In article <18272@acorn.co.uk> osmith@acorn.co.uk (Owen Smith) writes:

>Received: by oak.acorn.co.uk (4.1/Ai1.6)
>	id AA29177; Wed, 2 Sep 92 17:11:12 BST
>Received: by acorn.co.uk (4.1/Am32)
>	id AA03543; Wed, 2 Sep 92 17:09:41 BST
>Date: Wed, 02 Sep 92 17:07:48 BST
>From: pdunn (Peter Dunn)
>If you have a software switched VIDC Enhancer... etc.

Er, sorry about the mail header at the top of this, it's garbage. The
posting is mine, as is the module. The whole thing has nothing to do with
Peter Dunn (honest :-)).

Owen.
From: arcturus@spuddy.uucp (Geoff Riley)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn
Subject: Re: WimpPoly part 3
Date: 27 Aug 92 19:37:09 GMT
Organization: Spuddy's Public Usenet Domain

In article <2dn80lj017n@khantazi.welly.gen.nz> banks_p@kosmos.wcc.govt.nz writes:
>   Has anyone got this part of the WimpPoly posting that is being done in
>c.b.a lying around somewhere? It never made it to my site so I'd be
>appreciative if someone could email it to me... (I have all the other bits
>thus far posted...)

I've got that one, but I'm missing part 2... has something disrupted the
flow for this one?
-- 
Cheerio,
        |~~~      (uucp address: arcturus@spuddy.uucp)
        |__|eoff  (Fidonet address: 2:250/208)

 * Meeeow ! Call Spuddy on (0203) 638780/638693 for FREE mail & Usenet access *
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn
From: burke@vxdesy.desy.de
Subject: Re: OS differences and improvements (Was Re: new PC's, what's happening acorn?)
Organization: (DESY, Hamburg, Germany)
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1992 13:56:25 GMT

In article <ETNRWI.92Aug28115012@raptus.etn.ericsson.se>, etnrwi@raptus.etn.ericsson.se (Raymond A. Wiker (9482)) writes:
> 	The same sort of thing has been said about Emacs and vi, but
> these editors are INCREDIBLY powerful compared with just about
> anything else. Their "weakness" is that they are difficult to use for
> casual users. In fact, it seems that the most common criticism of

It is possible to have systems which are powerful for experts but easy to get
into, but it requires a lot of thought in the design. I think Acorn have
generally been rather good at this, and the RISC OS philosophy encourages it.
Likewise with VMS; you can learn (e.g.) the VAX debugger or editor at a simple
level in half an hour, but there's a lot of power there if you need it. Unix
seems to have been deliberately designed to be cryptic. This isn't necessarily
a criticism; my VAX LOGIN.COM defines loads of commands with 1 or 2 character
synonyms, and I don't personally find it hard to remember that ls==DIR.
However, I'm not too surprised that non-hackers get put off by Unix, and I get
the feeling that it may not be entirely accidental. :-)

e----><----p | Stephen Burke           | Internet: burke@vxdesy.desy.de
 H   H   1   | Gruppe FH1T (Liverpool) | DECnet:   vxdesy::burke (13313::burke)
 H   H  11   | DESY, Notkestrasse 85   | BITNET:   BURKE@DESYVAX or SB2@UKACRL
 HHHHH   1   | 2000 Hamburg 52         | JANET:    sb2@uk.ac.rl.ib
 H   H   1   | Germany                 | Phone:    + 49 40 8998 2282
 H   H 11111 | HERA, the world's largest electron microscope!
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn
Subject: Re: ACORN'S NEW BABIES
From: Gavin.Flower@comp.vuw.ac.nz (Gavin Flower)
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1992 00:51:15 GMT
Organization: Dept. of Comp. Sci., Victoria Uni. of Wellington, New Zealand.

In article <2aa4fdec.8cc135.4@BEIZ.mediatex.ch> Ikki@BEIZ.mediatex.ch (0642210101: Fernmeldedirektion Olten) writes:
>Acorn should use instead their confusing
>numbers names. (How about Acorn "Proton"
>or "Neutron" or Acorn "Popcorn" or what
>ever?? GRIN!!

Well the "Proton" was what the Beeb prototype was called.

The "Neutron", I used as the name of a portable Acorn computer, in an
article for the April edition of Beeblet, our national user group
magazine, several years ago. 

Don't know if anyone has used "Popcorn", as a name of a computer.


Gavin
-- 
Tomorrow's Society                              | flower_g@kosmos.wcc.govt.nz
    Depends on                                   ----------------------------
Today's Children  - help us raise them properly! 
*******  These comments have no known correlation with dept. policy!  *******
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn
From: Steve@klaatu.demon.co.uk (Steve Loft)