The Select 3 Timeline
25th June 2004 - Select 3 Issue 4 (3i4) available for Download
RISCOS Ltd is pleased to announce that the latest update of the RISC OS Select scheme - Select 3i4 is now available for download by subscribers from the Select web site. In keeping with our policy of allowing subscribers to see what is available before committing to a new subscription, anyone whose membership was valid up until March 2004 will be able to download this latest update even if they haven't renewed yet. We hope of course that having downloaded this latest update that subscribers will want to renew their subscriptions!
Select 4 development has been underway since before the completion of the Adjust ROM project back in May and the first fruits of Select 4 are expected before Christmas. Full details are as usual under constant review but one item we can announce will be the completion of the full set of Postscript compatible fonts to match those originally planned by Acorn way back in RISC OS 2 days.
23rd Feb 2004 - RISC OS 4.39 ROM availability announced
RISCOS Ltd is pleased to announce that a new version of RISC OS 4 ROM - version 4.39 will shortly be available to purchase. Orders are being taken now and initial shipments of ROMs will be available at the RISC OS South West Show on Saturday 28th February.
The Select scheme has enabled us to take RISC OS development forward and we have worked hard to fit the features of the 6 MB RISC OS Select softload ROM into a standard 4 MB physical ROM. The Select scheme has added many new features to the RISC OS experience and we are now making the latest features from the Select scheme available in the new batch of ROMs.
The ROMs will be available as an upgrade for Risc PC, Kinetic and A7000/+ computers.
If you want the features of the RISC OS Select scheme without the need to softload the new ROM image, or you want the advantage of inbuilt support of DHCP networking, or the ability to boot directly from CD-ROM then the new ROMs are ideal for you.Full details of the features of RISC OS 4.39 will be available on the RISC OS Web site over the next week.
19th May 2003 - Select 3 Issue 1 (3i1) available for Download
A Beta version of Select 3 is now available for Download. This version contains RISC OS 4.36 plus many updates of RISC OS Tools and Applications including a major overhaul of !Paint.
19th April 2003 - Select 3 Outline details
We know that everyone is eagerly awaiting details of the features of Select 3. The following list gives the features that were intended as of the start of April. We also have a number of major new features planned which we hope to be able to include in Select 3. Details of these will be released as soon as we are sure that they will make it into this release.
19th November 2002 - Select 2 Issue 3
A release version of Select 2 is now available for Download. This version contains RISC OS 4.33 plus many updates of RISC OS Tools and Applications.
14th October 2002 - Select 2 Issue 1
A Beta version of Select 2 is now available for Download. This version contains RISC OS 4.32 plus many updates of RISC OS Tools and Applications. The CD version of Select 2i3 is now in production subject to the usual bug reports on this initial Beta release.
5th October 2002 - RiscStation now fully supported.
The RiscStation R7500 is now fully supported by Select. The forthcoming RISC OS 4.32 Release of Select will for the first time support all three current RISC OS platforms.
!Printers+ Frontend to be released via SourceForge.
We will be releasing the Source Code to the Frontend of !Printers+ as a publicly accessible collaborative project via the SourceForge Web Site.
We would like to point out that this does not signify that RISC OS is to become an Open Source Operating System, but in order to allow greater development of certain components we are making this release of !Printers+ source for non-chargeable use by Developers. The actual availability of the code on the SourceForge site will be announced at a later date. Please note that this release will not include the back-end PrinterDumpers. We will endeavour to support developers who need help in gaining information from Printer Manufacturers about their current Printer ranges, or who require detailed information of the back-end functions of !Printers+. Any Company or Individual who would be interested in administering the SourceForge site should contact developer@riscos.com
23rd September 2002 - RISC OS PNG Developers Kit available.
We are pleased to announce the availability of the first release of the RISC OS Select PNG Developers Kit.
Nearly 850 subscribers
We have just signed up the 845th RISC OS Select subscriber. If you are still waiting to subscribe then please don't delay any further as the rate for new subscribers who join the scheme after 31st December 2002 will be £150 per year.
4th July 2002 - Select Installer for MicroDigital Mico available for download
A new version of the RISC OS Select Installer which supports the MicroDigital Mico is now available.
3rd May 2002 - ISO image of 1st Select CD available for download
For anyone who can't wait for their CD to arrive an ISO image of the first Select CD is available for download.
NB It is 141MB so you will need a good Internet connection to download it.
1st May 2002 - Web version of 1st Select CD components available for download
This is the final issue of Select Release 1.The items to be downloaded are the new Select Installer, the RISC OS 4.29 ROM image and the latest versions of the hard disc components. All Select users should download and install all these items as they contain numerous updates from previous Select releases. CDs have started shipping and should reach everyone sometime in the next week.
13th January 2002 - RISC OS 4 PRM now online
For those of you wishing greater detail of the new features of RISC OS 4 the RISC OS 4 Programmers Reference Manual is now online at http://web.archive.org/web/20030601074608/http://select.riscos.com/Private/Documents/index.html Please note that the documentation is subject to change and amendment and is not complete. All rights in the documentation are reserved, and no portion of it may be copied or reproduced elsewhere without the written permission of RISCOS Ltd. Documentation is provided in XML and HTML formats. The XML source can be obtained by substituting .xml for the .html extension on documented files. Anyone wishing to update documentation, or use the documentation format for their own projects, should contact Justin Fletcher, justin.fletcher@ntlworld.com who has been developing the XML project, for more details.
Is the CD a complete release version?
The Select Scheme is a rolling program of upgrades and so some items on the CD are still subject to change or development in future versions. CDs will only be released periodically. If you want the latest versions of Select, these will always be available first from the web site. You do not need to wait for the CD to get the official release version. The web site is the release version. The CD is provided for archival purposes and for those that don't have Internet Access.
I am a RISC OS developer can I start using RISC OS Select features?
If you are a RISC OS developer then there is no reason not to take advantage of the new features being offered in Select. Documentation for the new features in RISC OS 4 is however only available on the Web Site to Select subscribers. You must join the Select Scheme in order to gain access to that information.
If there are currently any problems with any of your applications not running under RISC OS Select, now is the time to join the Scheme and get the information you need to make your applications compatible. There are also opportunities for new applications to be developed using the new messages and protocols that are being added to Select.
Can I use Select if I have a Kinetic StrongARM card, a RiscStation, a Mico or A5000?
- * If you have a standard Risc PC, A7000 or A7000+ then you can start using all the new features of the RISC OS Select Scheme immediately.
- * If you own a Kinetic card upgrade or a Risc PC pre-installed with a Kinetic card or a MicroDigital Mico or a RiscStation then Select is now compatible with those cards .
- * RISC OS Select is not compatible with any computer unless it has RISC OS 4 installed in ROM.
- * We have not been able to test this Release of Select with the MicroDigital Omega or the RiscStation Portable as neither have been supplied to us yet.
International Versions of RISC OS Select
A German translation for RISC OS Select Release 1 will shortly be available from A4 Computers. Please check out their website for further details and pricing.
How much memory do I need to install Select?
The RISC OS Select ROM image uses up to 6MB of memory. Along with other memory requirements this means you will need a minimum of 16MB memory in order to install a RISC OS Select ROM image.
The new switcher icon
Once again we have a new Switcher icon logo for this release of RISC OS. Richard Hallas talks about The new RISC OS Select switcher icon was created.
Contents of the first CD
The contents of the first CD are as follows:-
- 1. A full backup copy of the RISC OS 4.02 Disc contents
- 2. A full copy of the RISC OS 3 Manuals CD along with HTML corrections.
- 3. A copy of the RISC OS 4 PRM from the Select Web Site.
- 4. A full copy of the RISC OS Internet Suite.
- 5. A copy of ImageFS from the RISC OS 4 bundled applications.
- 6. A copy of the RISC OS 4.29 Disc Image for clean installation onto new hard drives.
- 7. The new Installer and ROM image for RISC OS 4.29 to install new RISC OS Select Boot sequence and to upgrade from earlier versions of Select. This Installer copes with applications which load or include older versions of the Toolbox modules which prevents the current Installer from running correctly
- 8. DHCP support with new Internet configuration tool.
- 9. Multi-User Logon.
- This is a frontend to the new Multiple Users features of RISC OS Select.
- 10. A preview of the new !Printers+ with some new PDF's.
- !Printers+ is a preview version which will support network printers, multiple output bins, printer bundles, automatic printer recognition and can co-exist alongside existing !Printers 1.64a
- 11. A preview of the new OmniClient with Appletalk support.
Contents of the second CD
The contents of the secondCD are as follows:-
- 1. A full backup copy of the RISC OS 4.02 Disc contents
- 2. A full copy of the RISC OS 3 Manuals CD along with HTML corrections.
- 3. A copy of the RISC OS 4 PRM from the Select Web Site.
- 4. A full copy of the RISC OS Internet Suite.
- 5. A copy of ImageFS from the RISC OS 4 bundled applications.
- 6. A copy of the RISC OS 4.33 Disc Image for clean installation onto new hard drives.
- 7. The new Installer and ROM image for RISC OS 4.33 to install new RISC OS Select Boot sequence and to upgrade from earlier versions of Select.