Practical-Computing
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85pMay 1984 Reviews Grid Compass, Sharp PC -5000 Olivetti M-24, Touch Screen HP 150 BBC Graphics ROM and telesoftware add-on Logo for Atari, Commodore 64, Spectrum Denmark DKr34.50, Greece Dra 245. Holland DFL8 50. Italy L4100, Spain Pts 360. Switzerland SFr7 40, Germany DM8 50. France Fr32.60, Canada C$4.50, Australia A$3.00, Singapore M$6.35. USA $3.95(D72162) Authorised Dealer Service Centre System Consultancy COMPUTECH FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING PACKAGES Payroll £375 Invoicing and Stock Recording £295 Sales, Purchases and General Ledgers each £295 Also costing and group consolidation COMPUTECH UTILITIES DISK for reliable error checking copying, diskette scan, interpret and patch, etc VisiCalc, Applewriter and other Apple software (Prices onrequest) COMPUTECH CHAIN MAIL A mailing merging document processor which may be used with text files, including random files and Applewriter 1.1 binary files COMPUTECH GRAPHICS DISK for printing Apple pictures and graphs on Epson and Microline (free with printers purchased from Computech)£30 COMPUTECH TERMINAL UTILITIES Apple to Apple and Apple to mainframe from £130 switches and jumpers provide hardware options without soldering OM 4:2).Got_ovavav_ DIPLOMAT VIDEO DIGITISER store a frame from video camera in etof a second, process and print - for Apple II £195 for APPLE //e, including 64K Extended 80 Column Card£345 DIPLOMAT PARALLEL Interface £80 DIPLOMAT SERIAL COMMUNICATIONS Interface £85 DIPLOMAT RAM 16 Memory Expansion £95 DIPLOMAT CLOCKICALENDAR £80 LOWER CASE Character Generator with Applewriter 1,1. enhancements £50 MICROMUX Data Exchange (Max 16 Ports) from £850 MATRIX PRINTERS, Microline and Epson with graphics and up to 200 cps from £222 MICROLINE Optional Character Generator £15 DAISY WHEEL PRINTERS, Olympia, Qume, Ricoh from £798 Prices exclude VAT, Carriage and Packing For full details phone for data sheets and a FREE demonstration CLIMPUTIECIrel SYS1 168 Finchley Road, London NW3 6HP. Tel: 01-794 0202 Circle No. 101 The Apple logo is a trade mark of Apple Compu`er Inc. VisiCalc is a trade mark of VisiCorp. Bsp 11 u soft_T PRACTICAL COMPUTING Wel'1984] LOGO - GROUP ARE 100REVIEW '102PROGRAMSil'141NN ON TV >NEWS Boris Allen surveys versions of Logo An introduction to BBC TV's HARDWARE NEWS for popular micros - including the Ceefax-based service and the 13Camputers' 128K Lynx Atari, Commodore 64 and Sinclair Acorn/BBC Teletext system. with CP/M, and a second processor Spectrum. OA LINEAR for the BBC Micro - but still no FA, OM RA N G GAMESSPECTRUM 61° PROGRAMMING Z-80. 146 THEZI The Simplex algorithm and its use in SOFTWARE NEWS Spectrum games keep improving, as planning production, with a program 21Foreign -language learning Jack Schofield discovers. in Microsoft Basic by Adrian Hill. takes off, while Microsoft gives Basic BBC BOOKS COMMODORE 64 programmers multiple windows. 171Simon Beesley's selection 107GRAPHICS - PART 3 4C IBM PC NEWS of recent books for the Acorn/BBC Boris Allan completes his selection of aIBM makes more profits, machine. routines for graphics on the aims to stop pirates, and announces Commodore 64. its own portable version of the PC. >INTEGRATED HOME-INTO-BUSINESS 111MICROMI SURVEY SOFTWARE Can a home micro really have >REV I EWS business uses? We look at six popular AN THE SALES EDGE 12c machines to see how useful they are, INTEGRATION and how to upgrade them. 47Can a software package help What is really meant by "integrated" a sales team? We report on the first software. CLEAN UP YOUR of a new range of American packages 116POWER SUPPLIES that give you the edge. SOFTWARE Chris Naylor on how to ensure glitch - 126IN SUITES free computing pleasure. NEW OLIVETTI Chris Bidmead surveys some well 78M-24 MICRO known software families. FICTION A special review of a new IBM PC 122Take time out with L S look -alike in prototype from 120SINCLAIR QL Murray's Starfiend. Europe's leading computer The QL's integrated manufacturer. software is one of its major attractions. Glyn Moody tries it out. IN TOUCH WITH >REGULARS 84THE HP 150 ALL -IN -ONE C EDITORIAL - Hewlett-Packard's innovative desk- 130PROGRAMS aCOMING SOON ... top micro with touch screen From Lotus 1-2-3 and The Incredible Why complain about delays to the operation, examined by Glyn Moody.Jack to Open Access and Symphony QL when everything is late? - Jack Schofield surveys the 80BBC GRAPHICS booming all -in -one market. 7FEEDBACK UP. ON A ROM CHIP Piracy and back-up copying, Neville Maude tries the new correspondence and advice from Computer Concepts ROM which 132ENVIRONMENTS readers. adds extra graphics commands. For true integration, software meets hardware, as in the Xerox Star, CHIP -CHAT Apple Macintosh and other state-of- 29DEC fights back with the-art micros. the Micro Vax. 13cINTEGRATED SOFTWARE WORKSHOP 1J1 ACCOUNTS 35HASHED TABLES Integration is all-important in the Mike Lewis with more invaluable down-to-earth field of accounts advice for programmers - this packages, as Mike Lewis explains. month, hash coding. 15cOPEN FILE GRID COMPASS aSee the separate contents 90The transportable that went >FEATURES page for details of this month's free on the Space Shuttle - the slickest, HOW TO HANDLE software for the Apple, BBC, sleekest model yet. 48DATA FILES Commodore and other micros. 9A SHARP PC -5000 Paul Myerscough explains the LAST WORD ffmli Chris Bidmead reports on the essentials of efficient data handling, 811EDUCATION stylish 16 -bit bubble -memory portablewith Microsoft program listings for Sixth -form student Jon Lansdell - is its beauty more than skin deep? the IBM PC. presents a user's -eye view. PRACTICAL COMPUTING May 1984 3 ASHTON TAI E dBASEii database microevenmore. leadinggive. you Theworld'snow can 11 package fordBASE dGRAPHTmpartner graphics Introducing a owerful databasegraphics Thep sYstem that enables you to produce high quality bar, line and pie bar charts withoutanyuniquespecific programming knowledge. Everyone can now producegraphsinminutes with dGRAPH: managers, staff and secretaries. The AUTOGRAPH feature The Fox & Geller dGRAPH system couldn't be simpler- just select the graph you require, and choose the dBASE data, let AUTOGRAPH do the rest. Whether you want to automatically load your dBASE data, compute scales, draw grid lines or you need more advanced features such as `zoom -in' capability,or combination bar charts,AUTOGRAPH can cope ... all at the push of a button. The flexible time saver The scope for plotting data is limitless with dGRAPH. Use dGRAPH to extract data from dBASE II so that you can produce high quality charts.You can even graph the difference between two fields, and create graphs showing averages and percentages. And, in addition, there's a calendar feature to allow you to 'build' data by day, month or year. Think about how much time you spend drawing sales graphs and comparison charts- think how easy it could be from now on. Talk to your local dealer now and feel confident about presentations in the future. Circle No. 102 details 6811 &Gellermore (077382) Fox for 01-8331173 Contact Midlectron 871211 5 - distributors Ltd (0703) DEALE these 2040 Software 6271800 of 01-844 orone 5602,7 Xitan 011-75157g1 ( \Winds° 1 Tradesoft Softsel 01-769 W5)6 65 Ferrari & Pam 01-591 FOX&GELLER Pete 860171 (0476) 7000 Fox & Geller (UK) Ltd,17 Wigmore Street, London W1. Tel 01-580 5816 MPI 091-455 SoftOption dGRAPH is a trademark of Fox & GellerdBASE]] is a trademark of Ashton-Tate ACT(Pulsar) Editorial Readysoon EDITORIAL 01-661 3609 Editor AN INCREDIBLE NUMBERof people have phoned on the BBC Microcomputer System Infor- Jack Schofield to ask if we would like a review of the Sinclair mation Sheet G2, a leaflet which nowhere Assistant Editors QL. Most of them people who really ought to mentions the manufacturer, Acorn. Ian Stobie knowbetter.The conversationcontinues, In October 1982 we were promised a Z-80 Glyn Moody "Have you actually got a machine, then?" And add-on for the Commodore 64 which, we were Art Editor the answer comes back, "No, but I'm expecting told, would provide CP/M. Now, some 18 Stephen Miller it by the end of * * * * *." Fill in February, months later, we are told "there are some in the Production Editor March, April, May, etc. according to taste. warehouse", and we expect ours to arrive soon. John Liebmann Like most magazines we reserved a QL Also at the end of 1982 we were playing with Sub -editor immediately after its launch, but with no real the new Camputers Lynx micro, and we were Carol Hammond expectation of seeing a machine in less than promised CP/M for that. Again, the press Editorial Secretary launch took place in March 1984. When real Sue Jordan three months.It never occurred to us that people will get real systems is still a matter for Consultants anyone involved with the micro industry would Chris Bidmead take seriously the idea that any product, not just speculation. Peter Laurie the QL, would be delivered in "28 days". It is also a fact of computing life that when Itisobservably the case that the micro products arrive they often fail to live up to the ADVERTISING 01-661 3612 industry as a whole has a different concept of promotional hoop -la. For example, the BBC Advertisement Manager time from everyone else. "The product is in Model B is a wonderful machine, but it would Ian Carter 01-661 3021 have been even nicer if it had been delivered Assistant Advertisement stock" means you can get one in about a Manager fortnight to six weeks. "It is being delivered from the start with OS 1.2 and Basic 2, not to Paul Braybrooke 01-661 8626 now" means you might get one within 28 days. mention a really good DFS or DOS.