Acorn User Welcomes Submissions Irom Readers
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ACORN BBC MICRO- ELECTRON- ATOM DECEMBER 1984 £1 TOP SCORE We pick the 20 best games of '84 ORGAN PROJECT Build your own keyboard DATABASES File on six packages LIGHTPENS Which one shines? Program entry at a stroke ' MUSIC MICRO PLEASE!! Jj V L S ECHO I is a high quality 3 octave keyboard of 37 full sized keys operating electroni- cally through gold plated contacts. The keyboard which is directly connected to the user port of the computer does not require an independent power supply unit. The ECHOSOFT Programme "Organ Master" written for either the BBC Model B' or the Commodore 64 supplied with the keyboard allows these computers to be used as real time synth- esizers with full control of the sound envelopes. The pitch and duration of the sound envelope can be changed whilst playing, and the programme allows the user to create and allocate his own sounds to four pre-defined keys. Additional programmes in the ECHOSOFT Series are in the course of preparation and will be released shortly. Other products in the range available from your LVL Dealer are our: ECHOKIT (£4.95)" External Speaker Adaptor Kit, allows your Commodore or BBC Micro- computer to have an external sound output socket allowing the ECHOSOUND Speaker amplifier to be connected. (£49.95)' - ECHOSOUND A high quality speaker amplifier with a 6 dual cone speaker and a full 6 watt output will fill your room with sound. The sound frequency control allows the tone of the sound output to be changed. Both of the above have been specifically designed to operate with the ECHO Series keyboard. The ECHO PRODUCT FAMILY breaks both the SOUND and PRICE BARRIERS, representing outstanding quality and value for money. * Inclusive of VAT ECHO I KEYBOARD £99.95" ECHOSOUND AMPLIFIER £49.9S ECHOKIT £4.99- Scientific House, Bridge Street, Sandiacre Nottingham NC10 5BA Telephone (0602) 394000 mm POINTS THE W Faster intera 7lCT< Enhanced Programs ArtworX is a powerful graphics program allowing scope BC Micro joins a new league of powerful user- to produce amazingly vivid pictures and designs on iendly computers. Natural hand-eye co-ordination your screen and printer. Simply point to any of the Hows the MOUSE to position the cursor quickly and *OONS (small illustrations) and you select options of iccurately. Alternatively by moving the MOUSE you can atterns and implements. Other options are offered by input specially written new software such as ArtworX. ull-down menus. All features canin be activated using The AmX Mousjfpackage includes ARTwoR^lind an EPROM with software to enable you to use the MOUSE with existing programs and also lets you use the MOUSE'S versatility in your own software. Just-plug the MOUSE into the user port on a BBC Micro (model B) and the EPROW into a spare sideways socket. Now simply fill in the coupon and we will send you an AmX Mouse with ArtworX with our full no quibble money back guarantee. OR phone 0925 602690/62907 for instant Access or Visa orders. ArtworX graphics program r \- , FILE TEXT L THE abc Please send No_ AmX Mouse packages CLERK w ^ (including ArtworX and EPROM) at £89.95 inc. VAT and P&P. debit credit card. I enclose a cheque/PO for £ or my | T d Visa ' I % 1 I I I 1 I I 1 I I 1 I I I I a KSE5SE a 1 1 Access *K> ^V/rV Name >EP10L r -•, a Address TRPE CHNGEL 1 * Signature Date •iiiiiM fcrhiiij (Please tick choice of media for ArtworX) Cassette 3" Disc 5J" Disc To: Advanced Memory Systems Ltd., Woodslde Technology Centre.- Green Lane, Appleton, Warrington, WA4 5NG, England. T v THE ONE AND ONLY BBC, ELECTRON AND ATOM MAGAZINE Joe's Jottings 74 New Users While away those long winter nights with jiving Joe's Christmas project to First Byte 41 organise your Beeb with a low-cost Tessie Revivis opens text and keyboard graphics windows for you in her follow up to last month's drawing program Bumper dumper 86 'I found dumping games' screens Hints & Tips 45 impossible' says a frustrated reader Full control codes for Epsons, . until he discovered George Hill's improving your micro's memory, programs using the Command Line Interpreter, how to fit headphones and the use of Speeding up 119 STOP are the subjects up for Try Paul discussion by Martin Phillips Beverley's quick steps to a December 1984 No 29 faster micro Cover photograph by Simon Edwards Letters 58 Software piracy; is the quality of Business Editor Tony Quinn cassettes up to scratch?; the on/off Production editor Keith Parish DIY 143 debate is on again; and advice on database Sub-editor Julie Carman taping data are among the topics you Mike Fryer's comprehensive database Technical editor Bruce Smith put pen to paper about management program could Editorial assistant Kitty Milne revolutionise your business activities Art editor Nigel Wingrove Dear Kitty ... 63 Art assistant Tacye Davis Database comparison 151 Publishing director Michael Potter Kitty finds space to fill in a reader Vincent Fojut puts six commercial Editorial director Christopher Ward about the 'No room' message and packages through their paces to help suggests how to order your priorities you decide which is the best for your Editorial when purchasing peripherals Redwood Publishing, needs 68 Long Acre, London Features WC2E9JH. Tel: 01-836 2441 Education Advertising Domesday 1986 28 Computer Marketplace Ltd, 20 News round-up 167 Orange St, London WC2H 7ED. To mark the 900th anniversary of the Videos, Quinkeys, computer 'junkies' Tel: 01-930 1612 Domesday Book the BBC is launching and 'authoring' software are under a massive project to produce a Subscriptions discussion this month modern day equivalent on video disc - Jan Potter, Subscriptions manager. with the help of BBC micros in Tel: Nuffield Ridge (073782) 2957. schools Science quiz 167 Correspondence: Redwood Pub- Fifteen Science Topics software packs lishing, 68 Long Acre, London to be won WC2E 9JH. Barcode Breakout 65 Annual You could be up for parole on the subscription rates: Exploratory programs 171 UK £15 sentence of typing in listings as Europe £25 barcodes escape from the confines of Nick Evans maps out his views on supermarkets Middle East £30 and libraries into home Dudley Program's suite of software on usage The Americas and Africa £30 the exploration theme Rest of the World £35 Prices include p&p for 12 issues Yellow listing pages Acorn User welcomes submissions Irom readers. Articles should be typed, double-spaced text, with dia- grams on separate sheets. Please enclose programs on You'll find all the main listings of this disc or cassette, with a listing if possible Photos should be 35mm, or larger, transparencies, or 5in by 7in black issue in the yellow pages and white prints. Ensure your name is on everything. Please include a suitable stamped, addressed envelope tor return. Articles are acknowledged on receipt. Barcode listing 97 Listings from Hints and Tips Typeset and printed in Great Britain by Watmoughs Ltd, Bradford. Print production by First byte 99 Aquarius Print and Design, London. Distributed Picture designer program to the news trade by Comag, Tavistock Rd, West Drayton, Middlesex UB7 7QE. Tel: (0895) 44405. Hints & tips 101 Using the Command Line Interpreter © Redwood Publishing 1984 All rights reserved. No part of this publication Joe's Jottings 103 may be reproduced without prior written per- mission of the publisher. The publisher cannot Give your Beeb an organ option accept any responsibility for claims or errors in articles, programs or advertisements pub- Dumping secrets 105 lished. The opinions expressed on the pages of Machine-code dump for dot matrix this magazine are those of the authors and do printers not necessarily represent those of the pub- lisher. Acorn Computers Ltd. or Acornsoft Ltd Database management Acorn, Acornsoft, and the Acorn symbol are the 109 registered trademarks of Acorn Computers Ltd Mike Fryer's DIY database program and Acornsoft Ltd. ACORN USER DECEMBER 1984 CONTENTS Atom IN THIS Build a ROM pager 125 Alan Knowles shows you how to ISSUE... construct a ROM pager for your Atom Atom Forum 127 Bar codes 65 Hill gives you a More Atomic topics from Barry Pickles George step-by-step guide to Competition 129 what bar codes can do Atoms only! Write a winning graphics and how they can be demonstration and choose your prize used to replace program listings Reviews Logo for the Beeb 175 74 Nick Evans reports on Acornsoft's Build an organ implementation of the language Joe Telford's musical keyboard to Acornsoft's Pascal 176 connect to your micro The first major compiled language for general use is reviewed by Simon Williams Games of the year 188 '84 Jonathan Griffiths rates the 18 arcade Hit list 188 games that scored a hit in 1984 and The 20 best games and adventures Peter Killworth picks the best of this year picked by Jonathan adventures Griffiths and Peter Killworth Games 194 Game dumps 86 Abyss by Case Computer Simulations; lucky people with Birdie Barrage by Computersolve; For those printers, here's George Battle Planet from ISP Marketing; One Last Game and Mayday horn Clemoes Hill's routine to dump Software; Micro Power's Blockbuster screens from computer and Rubble Trouble; UBIK Software's games Paranoid Pete; and Brainstorm by Lightpens reviewed 201 Virgin Four offerings come under Chris Lightpens illuminated 201 Drage's scrutiny in a Chris Drage opens his two-part review comparative review. Next month by casting some light on four models he looks at the software New books 213 available for them Regulars The News 7 PLUS REVIEWS OF Micronet's 'almighty row', interactive Acornsoft's Logo -an exclusive 175 video, music synthesiser, 32016 ISO Pascal 176 second processor release all make the headlines - plus Chris Curry's Six databases 151 involvement in the Brighton bombing Noticeboard 18 Events which affect readers on TV, NEXT MONTH .