Here are my notes from the talks. All mistakes and omissions are mine...
RISC OS Developments
Richard gave us an update on the last 12 months. Still finding bugs in TCP/IP stack as it gets used in the 'real world'. Progress on wifi.
PinBoard 2.0 is now released on RISC OS Developments website and you can also download the source code. The developer was on the stand to answer questions. This is a first public release and development continues, so feedback welcome. 55 page manual covers the software.
Richard treated us to a demo of PinBoard 2.0 on a PineBook Pro. All of the features are very configurable in the standard Configure application. Files can be saved to the desktop (a personal request from Richard). Ctrl key will do a copy as the default behaviour is to add shortcut (which works from shared drives as well).
Desktop JPEGs used for background can be cached for speed. Image fits the whole screen and the option to make the IconBar transparent is really cool!
The pinboard icons have a huge number of configuration options to control appearance and operation. Stickies allows easy text notes on the desktop.
For the moment, PinBoard 2.0 will be an external option for the moment, not a part of the ROOL source code.
RISC OS Open ltd
Steve Revill was here to talk about Bounties and new release. Currently 6 bounties under way and 5 collecting.
Full version of SparkFS (read and write) is now part of RISC OS and ideas for new features.
Release of RISC OS 5.30 is moving forward. 55 bug tickets closed. Still work to do. RISC OS 5.30 highlights include enhancements to Window Manager, FIler and the Draw, Paint and ChangeFSI applications. There are lots of fixes and some long-standing bugs fixed (Paint no longer crashes if you use a Sprite as brush). Future releases could be just a package update for systems. There is an option to hide !Boot in the Filer. Overall it looks like a really exciting release.
ROOL can still sponsor new Developers with free copies of the DDE. So get in touch if cost is an issue and you want to be involved.
R-Comp
Andrew used the new PineBook Pro for his talk. This is a very fast RISC OS machine which is also a laptop with a great battery life. This is now available on general release and considerably more powerful than the previous PineBook. There is an external connector for monitors which also works with the original PineBook.
The new version of PhotoDesk includes a new 200 page manual. This includes lots of tutorials and worked examples.
4te2 is a nice RaspberryPi 4 based system with fan, SSD hard drives, dual booting into Linux and lots of extra software. Show modules included the realtime clock module as a freebie.
Messenger Pro launched last summer
Chris Hall
Covered recent developments and updates using a PineBook Pro. This had a GPS plugged into it talking to his SatNav software. This used RiscOSM to show our current location. Combination works really well.
There was a nice comparison of all the different hardware now available. This will be in next edition of Archive. There is also a comparison on Chris' website
Special show prices on the printed Impression manuals.
Drag'n'Drop
A quarterly magazine for RISC OS in PDF format. There is a free cutdown version on the website if you want to get a flavour of the magazine.
The magazine is there to encourage all RISC OS users and hopefully entice new ones. There is always a starter page in the magazine. The magazine is a mix of news, reviews, applications and tutorials. We were given a nice tour of the latest release (The Icon Bar will be reviewing the latest edition soon).
There is a USB which contains all the past issues of the magazine.
Drag'n'Drop also publish a series of books including one on how to develop Applications in BASIC. It has lots of simple examples to learn from.