RISCOSBits are pleased to be attending the Wakefield RISC OS Computer Show
in Bradford this year, with many of our old favourites and a few new
products too.

RISC OS SYSTEMS
We will be bringing our best-selling FOURtress machines to Bradford. These small, rugged aluminium systems come in a variety of configurations, and are available with or without our EDOS Linux dual operating systems, which
allows you to boot into Linux direct from a RISC OS app. We will have some bargain Lite versions on sale too, which allow easy expansion to the full FOURtress system at a later date, by simply unscrewing four screws! With
prices from just £99, this is a real RISC OS bargain!

The new PiRO Noir is a lightweight but robust sleek matte black case
containing a Raspberry Pi 4, and incorporating a 64GB uSD card, crammed with
a specially-curated "distro" of over 2GB of RISC OS software, and the
latest stable RISC OS version. As well as exposing the standard Raspberry
Pi USB and Ethernet ports, the PiRO Noir uses a unique adaptor board within
the moulded plastic case to divert the HDMI, audio and power ports to the
rear of the case, to reduce visible cables, converting the micro HDMI ports
to full sized ones for good measure. GPIO is diverted to the side, but is hidden from general view by a subtle cover and can be exposed by the user as needed. In addition, the adaptor brings out two extra USB 2.0 ports to the front of the case, making the PiRO Noir ideal for a clutter-free desk based system. The PiRO Noir includes simple RISC OS fan control software and power control, again with an illuminated power button added to the front of the
case for ease of operation. All in all, a small, subtle, sleek and yet
powerful RISC OS addition to anyone's desk. Or TV stand. Or pocket - this is
an easily transportable system! PiRO Noir starts at £129, and, for the
show, we will be offering these systems with a free PSU - at these prices, you'll be wondering how we do it!

After many months of development (we started working on it at the time the
case was originally released in late 2020, but were unhappy with some
aspects of the case prior to a recent quality update), we're introducing
our new flagship Pi Harder system at the Show. Due to a pandemic-induced shortage of transparent acrylic sheets (remember all those screens in
Greggs?), we had to move away from the design of the Pi Hard 4.0 to
something easier to source and, well, harder! Our new aluminium NUC-style Pi Harder is a "rugged" version of the PiRo Noir, but with the added advantage
of having a built in SSD for storage. Based around a minimum of a 4GB Pi 4,
our base system boasts all the usual ports and connectivity options, but
with some added extras:

* 5x USB ports (including two on the front)
* Gigabit ethernet
* 2x full sized HDMI (capable of driving 4k monitors) with audio capability
* 2.1Ghz ARM processor
* 4GB LPDDR4 RAM (8GB available as an option, useful for Linux and EDOS)
* 120GB high speed SSD (larger SSDs are available)
* 32GB micro SD with easy access
* Audio Jack
* Illuminated power button
* Custom fan and power control software
* Custom PSU
* Special "link cable" so that you can access the Pi Harder SSD on a different machine
* Remote Support via custom application

All for only £199 and we'll throw in our SimplEDOS fail-safe dual operating system for FREE, as originally introduced at London 2021. Whilst we don't include unnecessary commercial software that you probably already own, we do supply a standard 2GB bundle of specially curated freeware, and offer an optional productivity software pack with almost everything you could ever
need, at 90% off RRP!

We can customise the Pi Harder to your exact specifications and, if you
already own a Pi 4, and want to build it into your own Pi Harder, we're resurrecting our Ruggedizer programme from the early days of our original
BURP cases - send us your Pi 4, we'll build your system around it, and give
you a huge discount too!

We called the PiHard 4.0 "a beast on a budget" but the Pi Harder is a
"bigger beast on a tighter budget" - ideal for when wallets and pockets are being squeezed!

And finally, if all goes well with customs (it didn't at London!), we'll be able to show off our latest prototype MiniITX board for the Raspberry Pi
CM4 module. If nothing else, we may have an early working prototype
available to look at.

WISPY
Another new product for this year is the new Wispy X. Put simply, it's a wireless bridging device for RISC OS systems where the WiFi HAT isn't an option. Working more than twice as fast as the Wispy V, it brings faster wireless networking to the RISC OS world. At £45, it's a bit more expensive than the Wispy V, but ideal for those wanting that extra bit of oomph... For those that don't, or are on that tighter budget, we'll have the Wispy V available for £25. Both come with printed manual to aid set up under RISC
OS, or with a suitable smartphone.

BUTTs
For the first time at a show, we will be showing visitors our BUTTs! An
acronym for Built Under The Top, we will have three BUTTs available on the
day, to add extra facilities to our current systems.

We'll have the USB BUTT for the FOURtress, to add three USB ports to the
front, and the BIG BUTT for the FOURtress, which adds the USB ports AND a
Wispy V device for wireless networking. We'll also have the ED BUTT, which
is an External Drive BUTT for the PiRO Noir, complete with a USB to SATA adaptor. The advantage of the ED BUTT over a simple external drive case is
that it has the same footprint as the PiRO Noir, so sits tidily beneath it.

ACCESSORIES
We'll have a number of accessories available to buy, including our bargain
Pi 400 WiFi HAT Carrier board, our EDOS USB dual operating system kit, plus
a range of our own cases, such as the PiAno, Delta Compact, and Thorin
"pocket money" cases.

Whether an old customer or a new one, pop along to see what we've got, or
have a chat about some of the very exciting things we have in progress!





_______________________________________________________________ a.m.conroy@argonet.co.uk, Moderator of comp.sys.acorn.announce.
Submissions to csaa@owlart.net
Related mail to csaa-request@owlart.net

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RISCOSbits will be attending the Wakefield 2023 Show with a varied set
of offerings for the RISC OS connoisseur.

First out of the blocks is a selection of RISC OS FAST products,
designed to speed up your use of RISC OS through safely-overclocked
processor speeds and FAST Access to Storage via a custom SATA driver for specific hardware. We will have several full FAST LITE systems available
to buy on the day, plus CORE packs, containing our custom ROM on an SD
card, and the hardware needed to make use of it. LITE systems, with 2GB
RAM and a very FAST 250GB SSD drive in a stylish aluminium case, are a
mere £349 to take away, while the CORE packs are just £99. Both of the systems give access to updates of the ROM and the FAST features that are planned for the future.

Hopefully, the first new features for FAST will appear at the Show and
will make it into the FAST ROMs in the very near future. First up is
support for SATA DVD and CD drives, bringing FAST in line with other
systems. Secondly, and more importantly, we will be demonstrating
support for 4Kn/512e (Native 4096 byte sector with 512byte sector
emulation) drives. Don't worry if this means nothing to you,
rest-assured it just opens up RISC OS to cheaper but larger SSDs, and
we'll hopefully have a FAST system on show with a 1TB Filecore SSD.
Whilst 4Kn drives have been available for RISC OS for a while, access to cheaper 4Kn/512e could open up the OS to many of the cheaper SSDs on the market. Come and talk to us about our "Big Disc" support, and other
plans and future developments for RISC OS FAST too - exciting times!

We will also be demonstrating and selling limited stock of our sub-£50
Desktop Dock for RISC OS laptops - the original docking system for RISC
OS. This clever hardware device turns your RISC OS laptop into a desktop computer with a single connection cable, so not only can use your laptop
on a full HD external monitor, you can attach your favourite keyboard
and mouse, and any external USB drives and peripherals normally
associated with desktop machines, such as printers and scanners. In
addition, it enables ethernet support on your laptop, even if it's not
built in. USB audio in and out (for recording and playback) is also
supported. It can even slows the discharge rate of your Pinebook Pro
battery when in use, and will fully charge it when the Pinebook Pro is
turned off. With ongoing development of the software for the dock, it
offers higher powered laptops the ability to become desktop replacement
devices as well as portable devices. These will be available for £45 on
the day, including a RISC OS manual, and one will even be available as a
prize in the Show raffle, so well worth buying a ticket!

We'll also have our relatively new FHANTom software-controllable Fan HAT
for RISC OS. Utilising our fan control technology from the FOURtress,
this cheap and cheerful HAT has three speed operation to keep your Pi as
cool as a cucumber!

In addition to our newer developments, we will have stock of our other
systems, including the Pi Harder Lite, FOURtress Lite and PiRO Noir, all
at special show prices. We know the availability of Pi 4s is low but
we've still managed to make some price cuts so those attending the show
can take advantage of our usual special offers. Budgets are tight for
everyone so we've done what we can to reduce the costs as much as
possible. So grab yourself a Pi-based bargain - our most expensive Pi
4-based system will be LESS THAN £160 to take away, and our cheapest a
mere £99. That's right, ONLY £99 for a fully operational RISC OS system.
Even with Pi 4 boards at the prices they are.

We'll also have a selection of cases for you to buy, including, but not
limited to, glass-effect cases for the Pi, wooden multimedia system
cases with front USB ports, and black and white frosted cases with a
glow that wouldn't look out of place in the Manchester Hacienda!

Other items for sale on the day will include our EDOS USB and EDO/SD
dual boot RISC OS/Linux systems for the Raspberry Pi 4. Both allow quick
and easy transition between RISC OS and Linux at the click of an app,
and utilise clever partitioning of the drives to allow files to be
shared easily between the two. Again, at specially reduced show prices.

In our usual style, our show prices continue while our show stocks last,
so even if you can't make it on the day, give us a shout and we may
still have the odd bargain left.

If you do come along, pop over, have a chat, pick up a bargain, and be surprised by just how FAST things can be!


_______________________________________________________________ a.m.conroy@argonet.co.uk, Moderator of comp.sys.acorn.announce.
Submissions to csaa@owlart.net
Related mail to csaa-request@owlart.net

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