The WROCC Newsletter
WROCC members receive a copy of our monthly newsletter, The WROCC. Produced in A5 format, it contains articles on RISC OS and its software, hints and tips, information about the subjects covered in our meetings, and much more.
Copies are produced in PDF format: members can download them from the this page, or have copies emailed to their inbox as soon as they are published. In addition to a ‘one page per A5 sheet’ version, a ‘two-up on A4’ version of each issue is available to help those who prefer to print their copies out for reading.
If you’re not a member but would like to see what you’re missing, a selection of older issues are free to download further down the page.
In the June 2021 issue, we look back at our April meeting where a member talked about simulating a PDP-11 using a Raspberry Pi, our video editor revealed the tools of her trade and we investigated a number of vector graphics conundrums. The meeting also included a look at installing YTPlay to watch YouTube videos on RISC OS, and there’s a full article on the subject to accompany this. Finally, in the first of a two-part series, we look at the subject of e-books, e-readers and why you might want to use them.
In May 2021 we look back to the 2021 Wakefield Acorn & RISC OS Computer Show, with two in-depth reports of the presentations made on the day. One of our members describes how they created a set of animated engineering drawings as drawfiles using BASIC, and we investigate the options for converting and re-scaling video signals.
Our 39th volume starts with the April 2021 issue, where we look forward to the Wakefield Acorn & RISC OS Computer Show taking place later in the month. We revisit our previous review of MPData+ with a look at the changes in version 2, and investigate what is required to create a good application icon for RISC OS. There’s a report on our March meeting, which saw Phil Pemberton talking about the work of the Acorn Preservation Team and Andy Marks from RISCOSbits showing some of his new products. One of our members considers the rise of modern technology, and we take a brief look at Chris Hall’s disc cataloguing application, Cat.
The March 2021 issue brings our 38th volume to a close with a look ahead to the 2021 Wakefield Acorn & RISC OS Computer Show, to be organised by the Club in April, and a look back to our 2021 Annual General Meeting from February. We take a look at using TextEase to create tickets for events, provide a handy summary of the mailing lists available for RISC OS users, and round up some of the platform’s latest software news.
In the February 2021 issue, we report on the virtual visit to the Club by Hilary and Matthew Phillips from Sine Nomine Software, and look at the software that they demonstrated. One of members considers why he still uses a RiscPC for some things, and there’s a look at an internet archive of electronic music magazines which feature pieces about the creative roles played by a range of old hardware including the BBC Micro. We continue our irregular series on BASIC graphics with a look at how to work with screen modes, and there’s also space to reveal the first details of April’s Wakefield Acorn & RISC OS Computer Show.
Indexes
An index of the articles found between issues 6.1 and 37.12 of the newsletter has been produced by John Arthur, and can be downloaded here as a PDF document. Volume 6 coincided with the release of RISC OS, and prior to that the newsletter was mainly short hints and tips.
The Wakefield Back Catalogue
Relaunched following the completion of Volume 37 of The WROCC in April 2020, the tenth edition of The Wakefield Back Catalogue contains PDF copies of the Club’s monthly newsletters going from The WROCC and Awake right back to the very first “hints & tips” sheet handed out at the April 1983 meeting.
Originally intended for release at the 2020 Wakefield Show, the new compilation contains around 408 issues and is available as a download in these more ‘virtual’ times. It costs £7.50 for non-members, whilst members can buy it for the discounted price of £5.00. To order your copies, complete the Order Form and send it back to us. Contact us if you have any questions.
The WROCC Guide to Networking
Starting in late 2009, the Club has been publishing a series of articles on networking in the newsletter. Two years on, we’ve turned them into a stand-alone guide to the subject of networking RISC OS systems.
Each part of the guide is available in a 20 page A5 printed booklet for £3.00 including P&P, or in PDF form for £1.50. To order your copies, complete the Order Form and send it back to us. Contact us if you have any questions.
By April 2010 there had been enough articles published to create the first 20 page A5 booklet; launched at the 2010 Wakefield Show, this covers the basics of setting up a network that contains RISC OS machines and is available for purchase to members and non-members alike.
The guide introduces us to networking and how to configure IP addresses on a home network, as well as how to make sure that DNS is working correctly. We look at sharing an internet connection, configuring ShareFS and using Samba to view RISC OS files on Windows.
Launched in April 2011 at the Wakefield Show, Part 2 of the WROCC Guide to Networking continues where Part 1 left off and looks at file transfer and the RISC OS firewall.
We cover the use of File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and LanManFS to access files stored on Windows, using Sunfish to read files from Linux over NFS and Moonfish to view RISC OS files on Linux. There’s consideration of how filetype mappings work on network filing systems, and details of how to configure the RISC OS Six firewall.
Free samples
Here are some old back-issues of The WROCC, which can be downloaded in PDF format to give an idea of what the newsletter is about. More recent issues are available to members at the top of the page.
The files can be viewed on RISC OS using PDF, which is maintained by Chris Gransden: recent versions (3.00.1.21 or later is required to view the newsletter correctly) can be downloaded for free from www.riscos.info/index.php/PDF.
In the June 2014 issue, the newsletter carried a report of the 2014 Wakefield Show and details of what RISC OS Open had to say at the event. There was a report of the May meeting, where several members looked at interfacing things to a Raspberry Pi, a review of Sine Nomine Software’s RiscOSM mapping software and a guide to changing the iconbar icons used by Uniprint.
Alongside a report on the new risc/pi website, the August 2013 issue of the newsletter reported on the July Meeting’s talks including the options for printing from RISC OS and Peter Richmond’s experiences using RISC OS on the Raspberry Pi. There was also a guide to getting RISC OS up and running on a Pandaboard.
The January 2013 issue of the newsletter contained a report of the December meeting and included the Christmas Quiz questions for readers to try out for themselves. We looked at the inside story of creating the Back Catalogue CDs, and had a preview of the 2013 Wakefield Show. Some of our members looked at using David Pilling’s SyncDiscs for scripting automatic backups and Snapper for taking screenshots. There was also a quick look at NetSurf’s early Javascript progress.
In December 2012 the newsletter reported on the previous month’s visit from Mike Cook, where he had demonstrated his RFID-based music sequencer, some Raspberry Pi-based hardware projects and the ‘Spoonduino’. In his final article, the late Colin Sutton described the Super Hi-Vision equipment used to bring the London Olympics to the big screen in Bradford, we took a look at an early version of RISC OS on the Raspberry Pi, and discussed what was required to connect a modern LCD monitor to a RiscPC.
