Version 2.5 of web browser NetSurf is set to be unveiled at this year's Wakefield show - but its developers warn this could be the last release for the platform. The new version has a rewritten CSS engine to improve its ability to display web pages correctly, should be faster at processing web pages, and boasts big improvements to the way the freely available software caches pages and uses the computer's memory.
 
But as the developers of the open source browser no longer have the time to maintain the RISC OS port of NetSurf, it's likely that future improvements to the program will not make it into the RISC OS port - and automatically generated builds of the software are expected to stop if these new enhancements break the RISC OS-specific source enough to stop it compiling.
 

For the past several years Drobe have run their yearly Drobe awards, in which members of the public nominate and vote for the RISC OS products and people who they believe have best served the platform over the course of the year. After a quick check with Drobe foreman Chris Williams to make sure he wasn't planning on running the awards this year, the staff at TIB decided it would be a good idea if we picked up the metaphorical torch and ran the awards ourselves. So, ladies and gentlemen, prepare for the first annual Icon Bar awards!
 
This year there will be four categories open for nomination. Once a suitable number of nominations have been collected, the voting booths will be opened. Then at the end of the year the votes will be tallied and the winner and runner-up for each category will be revealed. The categories for this year are:

• Best commercial product
• Best non-commercial product
• Best new development
• Best RISC OS show/event

Of course, if you want to nominate something that doesn't fit into any of the above categories, feel free to send it in and we'll see what we can do!
 
Update: Thanks for all your suggestions. Voting is now open until the end of the year.
 

The ROOL team recently announced that they're no longer registered for VAT, which means the Norcroft C compiler and associated tools are a bit cheaper at GBP50 (plus P&P). ROOL took over the distribution of the suite from Castle last year, who took them over in turn from Acorn.
 
The Norcroft compiler has long been the default option for C programmers on RISC OS. It's only relatively recently that the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) has provided a genuine alternative. The latter has many advantages, including development drawn from a wider pool of developers and the ability to compile RISC OS programs on fast PC-based hardware. However, at the time of writing, the RISC OS sources are only compilable using Norcroft. It's possible this may change in the future, but for the time being, if you fancy getting involved in the porting efforts, obtaining a copy of the necessary tools just got a bit easier.
 
The ROOL announcement is here. The announcement was publicised on RISC OS Info a couple of days ago.
 

Seemingly out of the blue, a new data analysis application has been released for RISC OS. Called Luafox, the program offers a range of features, including import of CSV and ODS (Open Office) files, easy table manipulation, project management and graph creation. It's rare for commercial software to make an appearance on RISC OS these days, so it's a brave move of Dr Michael Gerbracht to produce and market the app.
 
 

MW Software has released new PostScript 3 drivers. These had their debut at the recent London RISC OS show, and are now available for download and purchase. Alongside previous advances, such as PDF import/export in ArtWorks and the Gutenprint drivers, this marks a major update to RISC OS machines' printing and imaging capability.
 
It's interesting to see ongoing development in this important area, and the Iconbar spoke to Martin Wuerthner about this and other topics.
 
 

Parmesan is a new client for the popular MSN Messenger network, developed by Christian Ludlam. Released as freeware, the software brings new features to instant messaging on RISC OS. Chief among these are display pictures and nudges. The software also doubles as a versatile viewer for arbitrary XML files.

RISC OS has seen the release of several MSN Messenger clients over the years; two free clients (Natter and Messenger) and R-Comp's commercial product, Grapevine. A few years ago all of these clients fell foul of an upgrade to the MSN protocol which stopped RISC OS users from being able to connect to the chat network. To many users' dismay, RISC OS was left without a free MSN Messenger client, as only Grapevine was upgraded to support the new protocol.

Happily, this distressing situation has, at last, been rectified with the release of Parmesan. In this article I'll take a look at Parmesan describe my experience of it. Finally, as a Grapevine owner, I will compare Parmesan with the commercial Grapevine application.

 

Paul Middleton just emailed to let us know that RISC OS Select 4 Issue 2 is now available to download to any RISC OS Select subscriber who renewed their subscription on or after January 1st 2006.
 
In the PR, Paul Middleton says: "Select 4 and its underlying RISC OS Six technology represents over 10 man years of development which has taken RISC OS 4 from its 26 bit version to its new fully 32 bit neutral source version."
 
CDs are being sent to subscribers within the next week or so, and those of you impatient enough to not want to wait can download it from the RISCOS Ltd RISC OS SIX website now.
 
Links:
- Press Release - RISCOS Ltd.
- RISC OS SIX and Downloads - RISCOS Ltd.
 

In this article we look at some of the programs and projects - some obvious, others less so - that influenced the history of the RISC OS platform and its users. These are our suggestions, not a top ten and certainly not in any particular order. What other applications would you add to the list?