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OVER 2 YOU, 043 (16/08/01)
ARCHERS
ADDICTS
We
are moving to the USA in the near future but want to keep up with the Archers. I know it is broadcast over the Internet, but is there a program that
will save this broadcast to my hard drive. Could I then use task manager to
dial up and start this program at the right time?
Richard Hazelwood, via email
Annoyingly, The Archers isn't included in Radio 4's
"Listen Again" selection of programmes; http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/progs/
listenagain.shtml
However, you should be able to record
the Archers using Cool Edit 2000. Produced by Syntrillium software (www.syntrillium.com), it is an excellent
(and easy to use) audio recording and editing package. It
has a "Timed Record" function, which can be set to record audio at a
time of your specification. Obviously though, you would need to configure
getting your Archers played from the R4 website at a certain time. This
probably means leaving the Radio 4 Live audio applet (found at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/) running,
and setting CoolEdit to record at the required time.
At Christmas, a colleague managed to set it to
automatically record the massive Harry Potter marathon broadcast on radio 4,
whilst he got on with peeling sprouts and stuffing turkeys! It's not a free
program (some $69), but I for one could never be without it, it's a worthwhile
investment.
Anthony Thompson,
A
company called Applian have just released a program that does this. It's called Replay Radio and can be found at:
http://www.applian.com/pc/ReplayRadio/index.htm.
They're calling it 'like TiVo for the Radio'. I haven't tried it, but the fact that you can then
turn the programmes into MP3s and listen to them on a portable device sounds
quite useful.
Christian Malcolm,
Cybercorder 2000 from Skyhawk Technologies (http://skyhawktech.com/) will do the job. It
is shareware and allows timed recordings from Internet radio.
Bill Erlam,
PAVING STONES
I
have about forty rectangular paving stones in random sizes ranging from quite
small to about 40" x 30". I would like to assemble as many as
possible of these to form a paved area which is roughly rectangular but without
cutting any of them, if at all possible. Can anyone suggest a software package,
which would enable me to enter the dimensions of all the stone slabs and would
then calculate the arrangement for a best fit?
Dave Hanson, Talley, Carmarthenshire
Allowing
for the fact that some slabs MAY be an irregular shape, measure them as though they WERE regular (i.e., right-angled) and schedule them: 38" x 19" - 2 off, 18" x
22" - 5 off" , and so on. The largest Glass Supplier in your area
will certainly have a Computerised Cutting Table and if you have a friend in
the Trade that you can ask, so much the better! Otherwise, take your
schedule along as though you were enquiring the cost of cut panes of glass. The
various sizes are fed into a PC, which then 'Optimises' the information. It
sorts out all the various sizes into a cutting pattern so as to reduce waste to
a minimum - waste glass is the bane of any glass merchants business! The
cutting print out will show not only how the pieces are assembled but will also
print the individual sizes.
Dennis Chesters,
Dave
Hanson's problem is exactly one I had 36 years ago except that I had 96 paving stones and even that was quite easy without a computer. Measure each
stone and chalk a serial number on it. Take a piece of graph paper with the
edges marked out in dimensions and plot each stone.
Thus, if stone number 15 is 25inches by 30 inches, you go to the point 25up and 30across and write in 6.When all are plotted, sit back and look at it. The
sizes will prove to be less random than appears at first sight, there will be
lines and columns of stones the same width which can be assembled in strips. By
simple inspection, you can select the few that are as near as possible to the
length required.
When you have got as far as you can with this, cut out pieces of cardboard to a
scale size of the remaining slabs and treat it as a jigsaw puzzle. This method
is quicker and much more fun than forcing the computer to do it. My slabs came
from the pavement outside the cells of Rochester Row Police Station!
Unfortunately we live in a culture where people think they must use the computer
for everything, whether it is suitable or not…
Rex
Boys,
CRYSTAL
RADIOS
I
recall as a child seeing plans in one of those 'Boys Book of Knowledge' type
books for a 'Crystal Radio' set that didn't need any batteries and used a piece
of coal for the crystal. Does anyone know where I could find that book, or the
plans, perhaps via a specialist Internet bookshop or web site? Would a crystal
radio work on today's radio transmissions?
Chris
Sutton, via email
Your correspondent would be interested in: http://www.greenweld.co.uk
Greenweld stocks a lot of stuff of interest to hobbyists and electronic
tinkerers -- a great deal of it surplus. They have a line of educational
electronics kits, one of which is a build-it-yourself crystal radio. They
also have kits to build
valve radios.
Roberta Davies, Bolton
MAC IN THE GARDEN
Can
anyone recommend Garden Design software, suitable to run on a Mac PC? I am a
professional Graphic Designer proficient in Photoshop, but also a keen amateur
gardener and allotment holder. What do professional gardeners use? Some time
ago I tried '3D Landscape' but it is pretty feeble- only operating with 256
colours.
Linda Sherwood-Page, via email
Here's
a tool shed full of Mac garden programs:
Terrace Software's Mums the Word Plus ($95): Integrates the best features of
drawing programs, information management systems, and symbol libraries to help
you create beautiful gardens and graceful landscapes.
http://www.terracesw.com/mums.html
Terrace Software's Bel Terre Pro ($295+): Advanced landscape design system with
extendible plant database, cost estimation and symbol library.
http://www.terracesw.com/bTp.html
Abracadata's Design Your Own Home - Landscape ($39.99). Design package creates
plans, which can be viewed from any direction.
http://www.abracadata.com/
Abracadata's
Sprout! ($19.99) Specialised program plans vegetable plots with correct row and
plant spacing. http://www.abracadata.com/
Voudette's
FlowerScape ($32.95) Enables flower beds to be planned and shows month-by-month
changes. http://www.fscape.com/
John
Spicer's Make It Grow ($25, shareware) Plans gardens using many common
vegetables, herbs, fruits, flowers, water lilies and grasses.
http://www.alberts.com/authorpages/
00013285/prod_135.htm
All
except FlowerScape are available as free downloadable demos. Maybe this is what
Apple had in mind when they introduced the Flower Power patterned iMacs?
Jeff
Ross, Stockport.
WRINKLIES
Forty
of us 'wrinklies' are in a Lottery Syndicate. We have each selected an unvaried
line of 6 numbers. Is there a program which would enable lines that come
up with 3 (or more) winning numbers to be identified on input of the weekly
draw results?
Richard
Hind, via e-mail
This
method relies on checking each of the six winning lottery numbers against each
of the six numbers selected by the "Wrinklies". Assuming that six
winning lottery numbers are in cells A3 to F3 and that the numbers
selected by the first wrinkly are in A4 to F4, the second wrinkly in A5 to
F5 and so on.
In
cell G4 insert the formula:
=(($A$3=$A4)+($A$3=$B4)+($A$3=$C4)+
($A$3=$D4)+($A$3=$E4)+($A$3=$F4))
This formula checks how many of the first Wrinkly's numbers are the same
as the first winning lottery number. Each of the bracketed equalities in the
formula is a Boolean expression which will be equal to one if the equality is
true and zero if false. As no lottery numbers are repeated the result of the
formula must either be 0 or 1. The dollar signs are to help when the
formula is copied later.
In
cell H4 insert the formula:
=(($B$3=$A4)+($B$3=$B4)+($B$3=$C4)+
($B$3=$D4)+($B$3=$E4)+($B$3=$F4))
This checks how many of the Wrinkly's numbers are the same as the second
winning lottery number.
The
formulae in cells I4 to L4 are similar:
In cell I4 replace all the $B$3 by $C$3, by $D$3 in J4, by $E$3 in K4
and $F$3 in L4.
In cell G4 insert =SUM(G4:L4). This counts the number of winning values
for the wrinkly.
To highlight those who have 3 or more winning numbers. Go to Format/Conditional
Formatting. and modify the table to give Cell Value Is/Greater Than Or Equal
To/3. Select the Format. tab then Patterns. Click on the colour
in which you would like the winning cell to be displayed then OK the pattern
and OK the conditional formatting.
Finally, highlight cells G4 to M4. EDIT/COPY the cells then PASTE them
downwards to as many rows as there are Wrinklies to be checked.
Bob Herbert,
PARISH RECORDS
All of our early Parish Council records were compiled on an Amstrad 9512
plus and saved to 5¼-inch floppies. Being a very small council, we cannot
afford the cost of having the hundreds of disks transcribed professionally but
could do this ourselves if we could get hold of the appropriate software.
We are fortunate in that the Amstrad disks are 5¼ inch and will thus fit into
the floppy drive on our PC
John Stevenson, via e-mail
Ailink
(http://www.ansible.demon.co.uk/ai/ailink.html)
have a piece of software, which will do everything John requires. It is
reasonably priced at about £20.
Chris Cock,
I
have an old Amstrad 1512 that I use occasionally. Many years ago I had
fitted a 3.5" floppy drive to the Amstrad, which has proved very useful.
My current computer is fitted with a 120LS floppy drive and I have discovered
that it will read and load 3.5" discs from the old Amstrad. Whether
this will work with the Amstrad 9512 I don't know, but it is worth looking
into.
Brian Allanson, Ceredigion
CAN YOU HELP?
I
work a lot in miniatures and dolls-houses (1/12th scale), and need a
printer with the capability to reduce photographic detail, etc. without
"pixilating", or leaving lines on the print. I have a limited budget
and so far have been unable to track down such a device, preferably costing in
the region of £100-£175, does anyone have any suggestions?
Olivia
Randell, via email
A friend of mine is a writer and journalist but unfortunately he has
quite advanced Multiple Sclerosis, and is unable to write longhand, and is
finding using a keyboard harder and harder. He finds voice recognition software
unsuitable (background noise problems) and unreliable. He can however still
write in Teeline Shorthand at reasonable speed. Are there any software packages
that will recognise Teeline shorthand that is entered via a pen & tablet?
John
Coleyshaw, via email
I have started to organise an event to be held in
June next year to celebrate the Queen's Golden Jubilee
and I now want to prepare a flyer which has the Union Jack as a background or
as a border. Can anyone suggest a method or DTP program that would all me to do
this?
Ron Taylor, via mouse
I read a few random verses from
the Bible three times a day, using three different commentaries. I need a program that
both lets me record the verses I have read and, having recorded them, builds up
a picture/chart/ table etc so that I can see what percentage of the Bible I
have read so far. I'm investigating Visual Basic but may have
bitten off more than I can chew. Does such a programme exist or should I
approach it with something other than VB?
Charles Carmichael,
via email
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