The submission period for the CodeCraft #4 demo coding competition has now closed, which means now comes the part that every one can get involved with: Voting!
 
9 entries were received in total, but because voting is on a per-category basis, only 7 of the entries are eligible for voting (the other two are in categories that only received one entry). There are five entries in the 256 byte intro category, and two entries in the 1KB intro category.
 
Download links and YouTube videos of all the applicable demos are available here on pouët.net, and information about the voting process (and an all-in-one download archive for the submissions) is available here. At the time of writing, there is an issue which is preventing the CodeCraft website from being updated with this information.
 
The deadline for voting is Sunday the 17th of October.

After a 20 year hiatus, the CodeCraft RISC OS demo coding competition is back, with CodeCraft #4. Like the previous instalments, the competition focuses on small programs, fitting into one of the following categories:

• 256 byte intro or game
• 1KB intro or game
• 2KB tool
• 4KB intro or game

The deadline for submissions is October 3rd, so there's plenty of time to get in your entry (or entries). Questions and submissions should be sent to Kuemmel via the email found in the "A Call to the ARMs" intro ReadMe.
 
If you're new to CodeCraft, make sure to check out the CodeCraft #3, #2 and #1 websites to see the entries from the previous instalments.

A bit later than I was hoping, but nevertheless it's now time for Building the Dream 2. This time I'll be looking at the RISC OS sound system - everything from the terminology used, to what makes a sound, how the RISC OS sound system works, and how you can write your own sample player.
 

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?

Back in the days when I owned an Acorn Electron, Acornsoft View and a dot matrix printer I often believed, during lengthy and hypnotic printing sessions, that my clunky old printer could - with a little ingenious programming - be used as a drum machine. Perhaps it could even make beautiful music. I was wrong.
 
Nearly twenty years later (last summer, actually), Epistaxis Time tried it for real in a Resonance FM broadcast by building an "instrument of punishment" called the Dot Matrix Guitar. Host Dan Wilson said "It's a raspy, nasty noise. I hope it agitates you." It does.
 
You can listen to it online here, download the MP3, or subscribe to the podcast.
 
Resonance FM is ace. One recent show was 8-Bit Adventures - 30 minutes of bleeps from the world's best 8-bit musicians. The radio station is based in London but you can listen to it in streaming MP3 format from anywhere in the world by the power of Greyskullthe Internet. Unfortunately they're fairly strapped for cash, so join in the fundraising if you can. Even if the shows I've mentioned aren't your fancy, it's brilliant to find a radio station with the freedom to commission and broadcast stuff like this.

Gaming musician and soundsmith Richard Joseph died yesterday aged 53. He was diagnosed with lung cancer earlier this year. The BAFTA award winner worked on the music and sound effects for many games which were later ported to the Archimedes, including Cannon Fodder, Sensible Soccer, The Chaos Engine, Magic Pockets, and Gods.
 
Joseph was one of the pioneers of games audio, with his compositions noted for featuring contemporary pop artists (such as Betty Boo in Magic Pockets) and using interactive music (The Chaos Engine) that adapted according to the gameplay.
 
Source: gamesindustry.biz
Wikipedia article

Whatever Your Favourite Platform™ is, it might be an idea to listen to Boing Boing and take part in this questionnaire about the future of the BBC's on-demand services.
 
When one of the questions is "How important is it that the proposed seven-day catch-up service over the internet is available to consumers who are not using Microsoft software?", I think it's important to let them know "very". Even if you personally use Windows, the BBC shouldn't lock down its services to one vendor.