WACCI 139 Index - Home Page www.wacci.org.uk
| 01 - Thanx & Stuff | 02 - A to Z of the CPC | 03 - Programmers' Patch | 04 - Meet the Relatives |
Before we begin the issue, I am extremely sorry to report that WACCI chairman Frank Neatherway passed away recently.
Frank was a great supporter of WACCI, as Fair Comment typist and then in a succession of committee posts. A fundamentally decent and honest man, he was generous in spirit and, though not hesitant to say what he thought was best, always managed to do so in an understated, friendly and helpful way. He will be sadly missed.
Many of you knew Frank much better than I did, and we would be pleased to print your memories of him in the next issue.
Yes, it is a (very much delayed) WACCI. Yes, it is smaller than you'd expect. Are you sitting comfortably? Then we'll begin...
It�s become increasingly apparent over the past few years that WACCI is finding it difficult to survive in its historic form: a regular 32-page, A4 magazine about all things CPC, drawing on a regular pool of contributors. Membership levels have dropped as the CPC becomes purely the preserve of enthusiasts; contributors have become few and far between; editors have found it more difficult to spare the (huge) amount of time needed to put a magazine together. And there have been fewer takers for the essential jobs required to run the magazine and club, from editing Fair Comment to dealing with the membership admin.
Essentially, if we were to stick with the traditional format, there�d never be another WACCI. There wouldn�t be enough articles to fill an issue, I wouldn�t have the time to edit it, and no-one else has volunteered to help.
But in the fervent belief that a realistic (read: small) WACCI is better than none, we have a plan. WACCI will continue � but more like a newsletter than a magazine. Each issue will look like this one: A5 size, and around 16 pages long.
It�s not fair to expect you to pay �2 for something this size, so we won�t. WACCI is now formally run on a volunteer-only basis, so we only ask that you make a donation to cover the costs of photocopying. Brian explains more in the letter you will have received with this issue.
You�re also free to photocopy this issue for your friends, or, of course, to download it for free on the Internet. We hope to continue uploading the articles to the WACCI website, www.wacci.org.uk but we�ll also be making the magazine available as a downloadable PDF file. For those blissfully unaware of the intricacies of PC and Mac filetypes (good for you), this means you�ll have one file on your hard disc, called WACCI139.PDF, which you can double-click � and WACCI opens up.
(I think this is a great thing, but it does mean that WACCI has taken a big leap backwards in presentation this time round � lots of text, not many pictures. It�s now produced on AppleWorks under Mac OS X, because it can output PDFs; but I don�t really know my way around it yet, and so have produced a fairly basic layout. It�ll get better in the months ahead, I hope.)
WACCI will continue to be bi-monthly, and will hopefully stick to the timetable a bit more successfully than it has recently!
To which end, you�ll be pleased to know that there are already a couple of articles ready for WACCI 140, including a hardware piece from Jonty, James Hoskisson�s guide to fixing corrupt discs (thank you both), and a look back at those CPC programs that were much hyped but were never actually released. There�ll be the answers to last issue�s CPC Mastermind quiz, and maybe even another set of questions to answer.
As ever, your articles are very welcome, and so are your letters � hopefully, Fair Comment will make a return next time. Please send them to the usual Charlbury address.
For those with access to the Internet, John Kavanagh�s web-based CPC fanzine, CPC Oxygen, continues to prosper. John has recently embarked on the massive task of scanning and uploading all 119 issues of Amstrad Action, with the permission of Future Publishing. If you have web access, take a look at www.cpcoxygen.net. (And there�ll be more on the CPC web browser in future issues of WACCI.)
Enjoy the issue.
Richard Fairhurst
Editorial: 5 Nine Acres Close, Charlbury, Oxfordshire OX7 3RD : [email protected]
Administration: 'Number Six�, Windmill Walk, Sutton, Ely CB6 2HN : 01353 777006
| 01 - Thanx & Stuff | 02 - A to Z of the CPC | 03 - Programmers' Patch | 04 - Meet the Relatives |
WACCI 139 Index - Home Page www.wacci.org.uk