A port of Firefox 2 for Castle Technology's IYONIX PC has been released by Peter Naulls. This release comes after users contributed the 1000 GBP that Peter had asked for to fund the development.
 
Peter would like to thank all those who contributed, but he is still after another 4000 GBP to release a further update with integration to RISC OS, and fixing some other issues. This release is targeted for Christmas day if the contributions meet the target.
 
A port for Advantage Six's A9home computer has not been ruled out subject to financial interest, and Peter is asking people interested in a port for any RISC OS platform to email him.
 
Update: Rob Kendrick has released a patch that allows the IYONIX Firefox port to run on the A9home by providing emulation for the XScale-specific instructions to a fudged copy of the Firefox executable.
 
Link:
RISC OS Firefox
 

Icon Bar regular Chris reviews the recently-released A9home from Advantage Six.
 

RISCOS Ltd have today announced RISC OS Six on the Glasgow leg of their northern road show.
 
RISC OS Six is built from a completely 26 bit / 32 bit neutral source, and the move away from the RISC OS 4 brand is because "RISC OS 4 has always been linked with 26 bit computers". The name RISC OS Six is also said to have been chosen due to links with Advantage Six. ROL "hope that everyone will soon see the advantages of RISC OS 6."
 
A preview version will soon be available for as a softload for existing Select subscribers, and also for those who last subscribed to the Select scheme after May 31st 2004.
 
Link: RISC OS Six
 

Once again it's time for the Wakefield show, the 11th one to be exact. Just for you lucky punters, roughly 30 exhibitors will be attending the show this year, and as usual the theatre has a packed programme throughout the day. In addition to this, there's also a "RISC OS in action" section, manned by Ian Chamberlain and sponsored by Qercus, which will have a number of demonstrations of RISC OS in use on A9 and Iyonix computers doing various tasks.

Exhibitors this year include Castle Technology, Genesys Developments, MW Software and the NetSurf development team, who will be demonstrating the latest developments on the open source browser.

VirtualAcorn will also be present, demonstrating their latest addition to their product family, VirtualRPC-SA, which provides emulation of the StrongARM processor in addition to the Arm710 processor it previously supported.

The theatre programme for this year's show is as follows:

Parking at Thornes Park Athletics Stadium is free, and entry to the show costs £6, with under 5 year olds getting in free (I'd imagine that's physical age, not mental age!) The show is open from 10am until 5pm on Saturday 13th of May.

If you're going to the show this year and would like to share your thoughts of the show with us, please get in touch!

Source: Wakefield Show
 

Advantage Six have been in touch with news about the long awaited A9 computer that will run a 32bit version of RISC OS Adjust. The team at Advantage6 are now focusing on connectivity, and will be demonstrating a integrated bluetooth proof-of-concept at this years Wakefield Show.

A spokesman for A6 told us "Traditionally the Wakefield Show is where we take the opportunity to demonstrate the potential cross-overs between our OEM and the retail market. Although the body of the work has been done to meet specific OEM requirements, the core design is based on the same components as the A9home - and Advantage6 have retained the rights to this, meaning that - given sufficient demand - broader support could be developed and offered as an upgrade to existing A9home owners."
Link:Press Release
 

In a previous posting I ventured the opinion that Stu didn't love you very much because the UniPod deal ended on February 13th. Well, he's extended the offer for another month due to popular demand, and in a press release entitled U'n'I Forever! (U'n'I - it's you and I, and Uni - geddit?) publicly restates his love for y'all, no doubt in a manly, non-Brokeback-Mountain sort of way.

Anyway, this means that the offer - a fully enabled UniPod for £125, saving £14 on the usual price - is on for the South West Show this coming Saturday. Be there, or... order over the 'phone or something.

Links:
Press Release
South West Show
 

RISCOS Ltd have been in touch detailing their achievements over the 8 years they have been trading, and have announced that a 50,000 ordinary share issue will take place soon.

In summary:

• 6400 copies of RISC OS 4.02 sold with upgrade copies alone generating £370,000 (exc VAT) sales over the last 6 years.
  
• Over 1900 copies of RISC OS 4 supplied in new computers from Castle Technology, MicroDigital, RiscStation and Advantage 6.
  
• RISC OS 4.39 recently sold its 500th copy.
  
• Sales of Virtual Acorn add "several thousand more copies to the total number of current RISC OS users"

Paul Middleton, MD of RISCOS Ltd also told us that "the personalised special offer for RISC OS 3.X and RISC OS 4.0X users who want to upgrade to RISC OS 4.39 is still available" although "It is NOT suitable for MicroDigital Mico users as those computers do not have the required ROM sockets."

At the 2004 RISCOS Ltd AGM it was agreed to issue 50,000 ordinary shares. ROL will be shortly issuing these, and ask anyone who is interested in investing to contact them. (details in the Press Release) Previously, ROL shares have been sold for around £1.25 each with 50 new investors allowed each year, so this share issue has the potential to raise more than £50,000.

Money raised from the share issue will be "used to fund further development of RISC OS 4 beyond the limits of the cashflow generated by sales of RISC OS "Select" subscriptions and RISC OS "Adjust" ROMs. It will also be used to fund the development and acquisition of complimentary technologies for RISC OS."

Paul Middleton also detailed that "The full launch of the A9 computer, and then Select 4, are currently targetted for around May this year", perhaps at the Wakefield show, "and once completed attention can be focussed on the Iyonix". However, despite meeting the 100 user pledge target for Iyonix Select Paul said that "the current level of pledges is insufficient to cover the full amount of work needed. It is likely therefore that the first stage will be a limited release of features to users who have continued with their Select subscriptions and who pay a supplement."

Link:
Press Release
RISCOS Ltd
 

Earlier today Chris Hughes from WROCC informed us that a Wakefield show will be taking place this year.

There are a few changes from previous years however, which is "primarily down to real world economics". It's only on the one day (Saturday 13th) for starters; there will be reduced signage (near the venue rather than from the Motorways) and no shuttle bus from the railway station; the theatre will be smaller due to work in the building; even the caterers are different. But one thing that won't change is the price, despite increased operating costs.

Tickets will cost:

Advance: 5 pounds

On the Day: 6 pounds

Under 6's FREE

Advanced tickets will be available from April, and advance credit card tickets will be available.

Exhibitors at the show will include:

• Advantage 6 / Stuart Tyrrell Developments
• APDL
• 3QD (Virtual Acorn)
• M W Software
• R-Comp / RCI
• Spellings Computer Services
• WROCC
• Charity Stall

Oh, and absolutely, positively no bulky items like computers and monitors on the charity stall this year - despite a similar rule last year, the organisers were left will a clean up bill when 40 PCs were dumped on them. Your thoughts on a meeting place where, for instance, people can swap such items amongst themselves are welcomed.

The event will be held on Saturday 13th May at the now familiar venue of Thornes Park Athletics Stadium and will be open to the public between 10 am and 5 pm. Full details and a theatre timetable will be announced nearer the show date.

Links:
Press Release
Wakefield Show Website
Coverage of the 2005 show
Wakefield 2006 show page