VOLUMECmII NUMBER 3 MARCH 1985 $2.95
THE #1 MAGAZINE OF M COMPUTER APPLICATIONS rAND SOFTWARE *y*
IN-DffTH EVALUATIONS: Datavue 25 Portable 2nd Generation NEC Portable Disk Drive IBM Quietwriter Notebook Portables Percom Hard Disk Drive Micro Speed Read Trivia Games Tandy Model 200 Datasouth Personal
Printer I Health and Fitness • NEC 8407A Software
Computers In Stamp Collecting
New Developments In Handicapped Access
Who Needs A Robot? I '« « \a « w
New Products
Industry Insider »W Columns: Apple, IBM, Commodore Atari, Tandy
03
'U024"U044 Now makeyour PC paint.
it cut. it paste Make it draw. Shade. Color. Erase. Create of point sizes. Make Make With perfect circles. Ellipses. Rectangles. With the Make it all happen in one package. Master™ Board touch of a button. Print on screen ^—[""1^^ Tecmar's Graphics Paintbrush* Software. and off in a variety of type fonts. I I and PC for a Gothic. Roman. Old English. Script. Make a trip to your dealer Or, make a call Print in light. Medium. Bold. rf\^ demonstration. to Tecmar for the dealer nearest Italicize. Underline. Outline. Kern. I fa/^TTl Ck T* 349-0600. Make it print in a wide range you. (216) THE POWER BEHIND THE PC 'Registered trademark of the ZSoft Corp
CIRCLE 146 ON READER SERVICE CARD " " ind'sSMeKick 1984 ProductoftheYear
E: m , The CritiCS' Choice What more can we say? ^^^jPi^l1 »>PJt m "SideKick" stands in the shadows behind whatever program you are using, ready v.FS.1 to jump forward when you need it. The program's various functions use windows
Itatstic tales • • tiJ : 5 t ] j i that overlay the display you are working with and restore littniatiMaJ tales the screen when you are Total tiles I through. The program contains a respectable word processor for note taking, a C.O.C.I. it iJiL : LIB dialer that your smart modem can use with your phone list, a calculator for hexadecimal/binary/decimal
lenestic tales 1 arithmetic, an appointment calendar and an ASCII littrutieul tales 4M S.N U.SI for . . 1 Iit«l tales X11 3K.H tSi.it table programmers . SideKick is a time- co.c.:. S.H ».N CM saving, iMalties 1.51 34.H 41. « work-saving, frustration-saving bar- ru kiliiM a0.51 311. H 3H.77 gain. Having a programmer's calculator, an appointment calendar, and a notepad at your >' *lt fn ,..•• "a** -in MnU beck and call, no matter what program is Here's SideKick in action with Lotus* 1-2-3 running underneath. Data running, is the first big step to making the has been imported from Lotus to SideKick's notepad, shown in the paper pencil lower portion of the screen. The notepad is a full-screen editor that lets and obsolete." you import and export data; it utilizes WordStar commands to let you —Dan Robinson time- and date-stamp notes and save them to disk. The SideKick calculator, shown at the upper right, offers memory capability, nested oflnfoWorld parentheses, and the ability to convert decimal to hexadecimal or binary. It even lets you transfer resulting figures to your underlying And he's not the only one talking: application.
The telephone Charles Petzold, PC Magazine: "In Jerry Pournelle, BYTE: "If you use a autodialer/direc- a simple, beautiful implementation of PC get SideKick You'll soon become tory places calls WordStar"' s block copy commands, it. for you via your dependent on SideKick can transport all or any part Hayes"-compatible Garry Bay, PC Week: "SideKick modem and locates of the display screen (even an area deserves place in every numbers from one a PC overlaid by the notepad display) to of the program's the notepad." several directories.
Here the dialer is running on top of WordStar.
The calendar can record appoint- ments, records \zzzz.zzz and notes—yours *wB or those of the LfaTdBaBCEC- The ASCII refer- ence table, important enough to be in every manual, is now at your fingertips at ail times. Here the screen shows all windows, including an ASCII table running over Lotus. Sottwir&s MtNrvsf Direction BORIPHD 4:i3ScoitsVate. Scolts Valley. C&loma 95066 B INTERNATIONAL TELEX '72373 IBM is a registered trademark IntoWorM "Selected by as me most significant software product ol the year ol Internatcnal Business Machines CIRCLE 102 ON READER SERVICE CARD Cotp Lotus is a trademark o! Lotus Development Corp SideKick is a trademark of Borland international, Inc WordStar is a registered trademark ol MicroPro International Corp The Evelyn Wood Dynamic Readei Now, the world's most renowned master brings the techniques of Dynamic Reading to your computer. Learning to read faster isn't good enough. With the Evelyn Wood Dynamic Reader, you'll learn to read three to ten times faster-but with better comprehension and retention. OnlyTimeworks brings this highly successful reading program into your computer. It will guide you like a gifted teacher through the drills and exercises at your own comfortable pace, automatically record your progress, and let you graphically review your results ______on colorful bar charts. If it takes you more than Reading Dynamics is not a skimming or "key word" association 30 seconds to read this ad, technique. It is a totally different reading concept you need Evelyn Wood. that registers every word, every idea, every shade of meaning in the written material. You will use more of your mental capacity and learn to concentrate. Your mind won't wander while you read. Reading dynamically is more enjoyable than reading the old way Complete thought patterns and ideas emerge from the written material in a smoothly moving ____^^^b______. picture. Instead of perceiving individual bits and pieces of information and putting them together as best you can, you will see total concepts. Reading dynamically is like living in the material. The Evelyn Wood Dynamic Reader provides you with the exercises and tools you need to help you increase your reading comprehension and speed. Your own personal computer helps you develop your skills at your own pace. You learn the essential techniques of Dynamic Reading in your own home—at any time convenient for you. You can repeat exercises as often as you wish to assure that you maintain optimal reading efficiency. Each program contains 50 Skill-Builder exercises, 20 read- ing exercises and 40 quizzes. OnlyTimeworks offers the Evelyn Wood Dynamic Reader. Now at your favorite dealer. Or contact Timeworks, Inc., 405 Lake Cook Road, Deerfield, IL 60015. Phone: 312-948-9200. Available for Commodore 64? IBM: Apple,* Atari* Timeworks Programs: Data Manager 2 Word Writer Swiftax Money Manager Electronic Checkbook Business System Series Dungeons of Algebra Dragons p Spellbound Cave of the Word Wizard Computer Education Kits C 1964 Reading Dynamics. Inc. and Timeworks, Inc. A» rights reserved Ting—mart trademarks or Commodore Computer Systems. International Business Machines Corp. Apple Computer. Inc. Alan. Inc. IIRCLE 147 ON READER SERVICE CARD VOLUME 11 NUMBER 3 MARCH 1985 Creative Computing SPECIAL REPORT 101 Percom PHI)- 10 Hard Disk 135 What's New In Drive/Lock wood Software/Z-ocA: wood Increased speed and Graphics Choosing And Using Tax Software software and programs 30 convenience for IBM, Apple, Computer Assisted Tax for the Mac and Tandy computers Preparation/Zxjc&wooc/ 1 Software For Fitness And DEPARTMENTS Ta * Software in Brief/Crowe// ,V£mfip 37 Health/Davidson g Input/Output/M «ring Up Literate/S/a/>fe.v 59 standards, Anderson Micro SpeedRead and Snoopy 's and more Six new computers that could Skywriter Scrambler Book A: reshape the industry Ig Reviews/Lor woo 7Q NEC 8401 Portable FEATURES 22 Telecommunications Computer/,-}/?/ Talk IA nderson Notes Large-screen successor to the 1 0O Computers On from a surgeon watcher, the facts about fax, and 8201 Stamps/Schuessler c$ Schuessler MultiModem Combining two interests Of) Portable Disk Unit For NEC 1 Computers For ww 94 Editorial//* nderson S20VAM Communication/Aa/es 28 storage in a small Tools that make the Speedy New developments in difference— and indifference package handicapped access Computing/ /Inc/cr.vori QC Datavue 25/A hi 1 37 Notebook A true portable with a 25-line APPLICATION A few fixes and a new screen and built-in disk drive notebook 127 Who Needs A R«>bot?/S/anA Doing household chores with a QO IBM Quietwriter/Sandler computer 1 QQ Apple Cart/ Anderson Letter quality output: whisper New products for Mac owners quiet operation NEW PRODUCTS 144 IBM Images/ Fasr/e? Datasouth Personal What's New In Adventures in RAMIand Qg 1 33 Printer \/Linzmayer HardwareILoc k wood A capable little printer bursting Printers, more printers, and 1 47 Tandy Gram/Commander with features other peripherals C — a useful alternative to Basic Cover: Photograph by Jeff MacWright. Inset courtesy of Atari. 150 Commodore's Port/Alonso ( realm C <»»!/»«»«• (ISSN o 097-8140) is published monthly at 3460 WMshirc Blvd.. Los Angeles. DOS — up close and personal (A 911010 by Ahl Computing. Inc.. a subsidiary ot'Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. David Ahl. President: Kli/ahcth B. Staples. Vice President-. Sclwyn Taubman. Treasurer: Bertram A. Abrams. Sccretarv 39 Fast Hanover Ave . Moms Plains.NJ 07950 Second Class Postage paid al Los Angeles. CA 90053 and 1 52 Outpost: Atari/Anderson & additional mailing olhccs. Copyright*? 1985 by Ahl Computing. Inc. Allrtghlsrescrved. Editorial offices located at 39Easl Swirsky Hanover Ave.. Morris Plains. NJ 07950. Phone (3011 5404445. Domestic Subscriptions: 12 issues $24.97. 24 issues $4197: 1 The state of Atari and a musical 36 issues $57.97. COS I M \N 1 K send address changes to Creative Computing. PQ Bo< 5214. Boulder. CO 80321. Call 800- 631-8112 toll-rreelin New Jersey call 20l-544MM45)loorderasubscription. instrument to make VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 3/CREATIVE COMPUTING 3 STAFF ADVERTISING WHERE TO SALES SEND IT All editorial material, including article Founder/Editor-in-Chief: David H. AM Publisher Claude P. Sheer, Creative Computing submissions, press releases, and products Ziff-Davis Publishing Company for evaluation should be sent to: One Pork Ave. Oeative Computing Editor: Elizabeth B. Staples New York. NY 10016 39 E. Hanover Ave. (212)503-5011 Morris Plains, NJ 07950 Managing Editor: Peter Fee Advertising Coordinator Correspondence regarding other Creative Anderson Associate Editor: John J. Chris Tice, Creative Computing Computing products and publications should Ziff-Davis Publishing Company also be sent to the Morris Plains address. Assistant Editors: Owen Linzmayer One Park Ave. Correspondence related to advertising, Rust Lock wood New York, NY 10016 including ad copy, questions on billing, and (212)503-5012 requests for rates, should be sent to: Reviews Editor: Paul Grosjeon Advertising Department Western Advertising Manager Creative Computing Editor-ot-large: Kan Uston Jeff Miller, Ziff-Davis Publishing Company Ziff-Davis Publishing Co. 1 1 Davis Drive One Park Ave. Will Fastie Contributing Editors: Belmont, CA 94002 New York, NY 10016 Susan Glinart-Cola (415)598-2290 Danny Goodman Correspondence regarding subscriptions, Stephen B. 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Art Director: Patrick Calkins (617)848-9306 Assistant Art Director: Chris DeMilia Midwest Jeff Edman, William Biff Fairclough Artists: Eugene Bicknell The Pattis Group SUBSCRIPTIONS Peter Kelley 4761 W.Touhy Ave. All subscription orders and other correspon- Lincolnwood, IL 60646 dence related to subscriptions should be Typesetting: Dianna Mizell (312)679-1100 addressed to: Creative Computing Mid- Atlantic, Southeast P.O. Box 52 14 Larry Levine Boulder, Colorado 80321 COMPUTER PUBLICATIONS DIVISION Ziff-Davis Publishing Company One Park Ave. President Kenneth H. Koppel accompanied New York. NY 10016 Foreign subscriptions must be Senior Vice President Eileen G. Markowitz (212)503-5013 by payment in U .S. currency. Vice President, Editorial Jonathan D. Lazarus (201)972-9466 Vice President, Production Baird Davis Subscription prices: Vice President, Canada U.S. Canada Foreign 1 year $24.97 1 year 29.97 1 year 34.97 licensing & Special Projects Jerry Schneider The Pottis Group President, 2years 43.97 2years53.97 2years63.97 Vice 501 Eglinton Ave. E. 3years 57.97 3years72.97 3years87.97 Creative Services Herbert Stem Suite 202 Vice President, Circulation Alicia Marie Ivans Toronto. Ontario M4P IN4 Marketing Manager Ronnie Sonnenberg (416)482-6288 Airmail delivery on foreign subscriptions is Business Manager Gary A. Gustafson available for a one-year period only at $75.00 Australia, Editorial Director Ernest F. Baxter additional for mail to Asia ond and $50.00 additional for all other foreign. Subscribers in the United Kingdom may send payment in sterling to: ATTENTION: Hazel Gordon PERMISSIONS 10 Bishops Way AUTHORS Sutton Coldfield Material in this publication may not be West Midlands B74 4XU reproduced in any form without permission. Creative Computing will not be responsible for Requests lor permission should be directed for the return of unsolicited manuscripts, Please allow at least eight weeks as to Jean Lamensdorf, Ziff-Davis Publishing cassettes, floppy disks, program listings, etc. change of address. Include old address Company, One Park Avenue, New York, not submitted with a self-addressed, stamped well as new—enclosing if possible an New York 10016. envelope. address label from a recent issue. CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 New Qantex 7065. A fast printer at a slow price. No matter how heavy the traffic our printer, it's fast enough and quiet acter print head and industrial quality new Qantex 7065 multimode printer enough to leave the competition in construction are designed for long will keep your documents flowing the dust. You get high density, double hard use. smoothly. At a very affordable price. pass printing in your choice of some To find out how quickly the Use it for data processing and 20 fonts Qantex 7065 could bring your infor- the 7065 zips along at 300 cps bidirec- The 7065 is also a dot addressa- mation processing up to speed con- tionally. Both user-defined formats ble graphics printer with resolution to tact Qantex for details or a demo. and six-part forms capability are 144 x 144 dots per inch and a full com- Qantex, 60 Plant Avenue, Hauppauge, standard. plement of line drawing graphics MY 11788. Call toll-free 800-645-5292; in Switch to word processing and Besides being very fast, the 7065 is New York State 516-582-6060. the 7065 delivers near letter quality at very compatible - with IBM. Apple. 125 cps Plus features such as propor- Lotus 1-2-3 and just about any other tional spacing justification, auto-un- personal computer or software on the 4D north ntlnntic derline and bold market. It offers built-in bar code ca- And as a 65 cps letter quality pability. And its 500-million-plus char- Qantex CIRCLE 135 ON READER SERVICE CARD LETTERS TO THE EDITOR INPUT/ OUTPUT Women's Ware Addresses The "Women's Ware" product line The Gender Gap was built on the idea of a preformatted database. Because of this, all products in the line have real utility. For example, it Readers who read our review of would be silly to keep a checkbook on a Women's Ware in the September computerjust to provide an accurate bal- 1984 issue of Creative Computing will ance. However, with "Women's Ware" remember that our treatment of the Checkbook you can select information software line was somewhat unusual. about your spending at tax or budget Because we departed from our cus- time; the computer is doing a task which tomary format in the review, we have has real value and does it more efficiently made yet another departure from our than you can manually. Each of the normal practice in allowing Neon "Women's Ware" products has this kind Software an unusually large amount of power and utility, an important item of space in which to respond to the of information omitted from the review. review. In addition, Freefile is a database prod- We welcome the opportunity to uct which permits you to define your correct the many wrong impressions own uses, such as medical records or created by the article about "Women's hobby collections. Ware" products in the September issue People shouldn't have to become of your magazine. The position taken programmers in order to use computers. by your editor, Elizabeth Staples, was Elitists who insist that everyone should unfair, unprofessional, and a gross mis- build their personal applications from a representation of The Neon Software professional database product are ignor- Company, its products and employees. ucts; hence the name "Women's Ware." ing the real needs and interests of the First, the philosophy of the com- We even took the extra step of review- majority of our population. Represent- pany and its management was wrongly ing our packaging and promotional con- ing the world of computers as complex represented as anti-feminist, causing cepts with Gloria Steinem to insure that and mysterious may feed the egos of much embarrassment and harm. Sec- our approach was not sexist, and— even initiates, but it drives away many of ond, the article was misrepresented as an at some expense and difficulty— altered those who might otherwise learn to use "in-depth" review, which it was not. Its our package to insure that our approach and enjoy computers to enrich their ca- physical presentation as a letter was so was not sexist. reers and lives. We hope that the "Wom- different from your usual review format Anyone who does not recognize the en's Ware" line will provide a practical that a number of people mistakenly be- growing gender gap in computer literacy bridge to the world of computers for lieved it to be an advertisement, to our is ignoring the facts. A Better Homes & many new users. great detriment. Third, numerous facts Gardens Consumer Panel survey show- relating to the quality and performance ed that 75% of the women who had Dwight Norwood, President ofthe software were omitted, resulting in computers in their home were using or Marie Norwood, Vice President, a severely distorted picture of its power would like to use them; but USA Today Customer Relations and capability. recently conducted a poll which revealed The Neon Software Company, Inc. The Neon Software Company has that three times more men are using 55 High St. gone to great lengths to produce useful, computers in the home than women. We Middletown.CT 06457 ready-to- use software products for home believe that women are just as capable as and personal use. Our research revealed men when it comes to computer use, and Without belaboring thepointfurther, that women were interested in using there are no differences in their require- we wish to make it clear that our inten- computers in the home only if they were ments for impersonal things like busi- tion in the satirical review of Women s a labor-saving device; they were far too ness software. However, their interests Ware was to express our distaste for the busy to pursue computers as a hobby. and personal use for computers are dif- idea that women need special software. We spent over two years developing the ferent. The reason the gender gap exists As Lindsy Van Gelder has said. "There's maximum database utility consistent is that the computer industry has not rec- a thin line between affirmative action with push-button ease of use for the ognized that fundamental difference. By and patronization. " To the extent that applications women wanted. We fo- providing software of real value which is the review may have been misconstrued cused our marketing on women because easy to use we are addressing this as a personal attack on Marie Norwood, they were the likeliest users of our prod- problem. we apologize. —EBS 6 CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 %?4$& «r Oo HOW TO TEST DRIVE ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE. Suppose you want to keep a good set of Its unique recovery system goes to work to the strongest dealer and manufac- books on a computer. And you don't putting your books back in balance im- turer support in the industry and you want to get stuck with a lemon of a soft- mediately after a crash! have an unbeatable combination! ware package. Does it provide real-time updating? Big business accounting Then you're in the right ad. Especially You need your financial information to for small businesses. if you're buying accounting software for be current. CHAMPION'S fully integrated Ask your dealer for a CHAMPION the first time. system gives you the convenience of demonstration. Then see for yourself printing out financial statements im- how well CHAMPION performs. Feature mediately after changing or entering by feature, there is no comparison. So data. Very few accounting systems can go with the winner. With CHAMPION. do that! And get big business accounting for your small business. CALL 1-800-243-2626 FOR THE CHAMPION DEALER NEAREST YOU. When so many software companies are fighting for your dollar, it can be hard to know which way to go. Here are some shopping techniques to point you in the High Performance right direction: Take CHAMPION for a test drive, and Demand a demonstration. you'll be impressed. It's engineered for To make sure that the software you buy easy operation. Even for first-time users. won't take you for a ride, ask your dealer Built-in help functions displayed on the for a demonstration. See if the software screen put you in the driver's seat. meets these performance criteria: When, you have questions, you'll be Does the accounting software offer referred to the exact page in the owner's comprehensive help functions? When manual where you can find answers. you have a question, how will you find Then, when you're cruising along, you the answer? CHAMPION offers clear, can be certain that your books will never ©[TOMTOM useful of balance. Whenever enter concise on-screen help and book- get out you BUSINESS ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE keeping hints, throughout the program. a transaction, adjustments are made 17301 West Colfax Avenue -250 automatically to the entire system. Add Does it have a recovery program? Golden, CO 80401 handling characteristics systems will lose all data in the these excellent Some Now available on IBM-PC and CPM 86. surge or failure. But not event of a power CHAMPION is formatted to run on over CHAMPION. 70 microcomputers. CIRCLE 158 ON READER SERVICE CARD INPUT/OUTPUT More On Expert Choice tion on several points made by the author: Dear Editor: He says, "Therefore, sprites are I was delighted to see the review of found only in Logos for the Apple with Expert Choice in Creative Computing the add-on sprite board and the Coleco (January 1985, "Business Forecasting Adam and the TI 99/4A." Commodore Software in Brier'). There are few omis- Logo offers both sprite and music capa- sions and one factual error that your bility as standard features with the $200 audience should be made aware of. Commodore 64. Atari also offers sprites Since Expert Choice is a generalized as a standard feature. Sprites as an add- tool, it can be used by business as well as on feature for the Apple are not market- government and industry. One applica- ed by Terrapin (contradictory to what tion is forecasting; others include strate- is stated in the article). We have made gic planning, employee evaluation, site the decision that Sprite Logo (for the selection, and arbitration. Apple II family) is prohibitively expen- The program should be used for sive at $300 per microcomputer. complex decisions that involve many cri- On the Terrapin robot turtle: Ter- teria and alternatives. It is ideal for rapin has not offered a robot turtle for group decision making where the in- over two years, and it was never sold for equalities of the members come into $300. The article suggests that the Ter- play. rapin robot turtle "price tends to keep Finally, the article stated that "Ex- the turtle out of the hands of most pert Choice calculates the priorities and children" yet later suggests, under PC displays results along with an inconsis- Logo, the robot is "a peripheral that tency index which shows how consistent schools should consider buying." That your judgments between pairs" of cri- robot turtle is $300. teria and alternatives. The article did not No mention was made of networking. say that the judgments are then syn- This has become a critical issue with thesized or to reach overall many school systems because of the The HBJ Computer Test combined an result. The article stated that "if you re- savings that can be realized by using a Preparation Series ceive less than 1.00 the result is consid- single copy of a software package (albeit This proven study method has ered satisfactory." The result should be at a higher price) with an unlimited helped thousands of students 0. 10. Furthermore, the reason for an in- number of micros. Networked Logo is score higher on the SAT, GRE, and ACT. consistency index is to inform the de- available from Terrapin for the Corvus Each package contains: cision-maker that he may have incor- Omninet. It is also available for Pro- double-sided diskettes, a rectly entered a judgment. Real world Net. comprehensive review textbook, situations can be inconsistent and still be and a 50-page User's Manual. satisfactory. Robert A. Paolucci COMPUTER PREPARATION Director of Marketing for the SAT' $79.95 Mary Ann Selly Terrapin, Inc. Available for: Apple, Atari, President 222 Third St. Commodore, IBM-PC, IBM-PCjr, Decision Support Software, Inc. Cambridge, MA 02142 and TRS-80. 1300 Vincent PI. COMPUTER PREPARATION McLean, Va 22 101 for the GRE' $89.95 Artificial Logic? Available for Apple, IBM-PC, Dear Editor: and IBM-PCjr. More On Logo I would like to comment on "The COMPUTER PREPARATION Dear Editor: Intelligent Gamer," by David Levy, and for the ACT NEW! $89.95 As a representative of the second "Thinking about Thinking Machines," Available for Apple. largest supplier of Logo. I would like to by Tom Stonier in your November 1984 offer comments on the article "A Com- issue. ORDER NOW! parison of Logos: Today's Turtle is No There has long been a quaint—and Ask for these HBJ programs at Slowpoke" by Richard Roth which ap- erroneous—belief that studying mathe- your local computer store or peared in your December 1984 issue. matics enabled one to think more logi- bookstore or call The first point is a major omission. cally. A similar belief has also existed The only mention of Commodore Logo concerning chess, and more lately, 800-543-1918 was under "other." This product was computing. Mr. Levy's article should be for major credit card orders. introduced in mid 1983 for the Commo- of some help in exploding the latter two In CA call collect 619-699-6335. dore 64. Since that time, it has become myths, since he manages in his article to the most widely used Logo in general make no fewer than three elementary use in the home with over 100,000 copies logical errors in two sentences. HARCOURT BRACE JOVANOVICH sold. Commodore Logo was developed Mr. Levy's argument in defense of 1250 Sixth ^rT^^ Avenue by Terrapin as was the recently intro- the putative intelligence of chess pro- San Diego, CA 92101 UjJ duced Logo for the Commodore Plus 4. grams can be summarized as follows: \ CC285 _y 1) J^^ I would also like to offer clarifica- Human chess masters are intelligent; 2) a CIRCLE 117 ON READER SERVICE CARD CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 MANAGING YOUR MONEY alone Is enough reason for many many people to buy a computer" HENRY KISOR, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES. SEPTEMBER 9. 1984 "MANAGING flrlGCfl "What the YOUR MONEY y home computer is, simply, market needs the finest most is software personal good enough to financial make people use management MANAGING YOUR MONEY" the machines program on LFT ANDREW TOBIAS BECOME YOU* they buy. A new FMAMCUl AC. WHILE TOUR COMPUTER the market' HELM YOU MANAGE TOUR HONEY EFFECTIVELY program by PERSONAL SOFTWARE MAGAZINE. Andrew Tobias JULY 1984 may well be one for the money." first "The FORBES. fully-integrated APRIL 9. 1984 financial program that 'It'sajoytouse really makes and deserves to a computer be in every for the home household that worth the owns a personal money.' computer." SEYMOUR MERRIN COMPUTERS & ELECTRONICS. COMPUTER WORKS OF a _ NOVEMBER. 1984 OKk version for IBM PC XT ComcMqancJnowforPCjf *iBi?5*K CartnrJvYvenionMtfabieforr^ratlBMAjthorueddealer* The only financial software you'll ever need. The easiest financial software you'll ever use. It's seven programs in one. It prepares your budget and balances your checkbook. It calculates your net worth. It helps manage your stock portfolio. It calculates your taxes. It estimates your life insurance needs. It analyzes loans and helps you do retirement planning. It reminds you of important dates. No need for a big, bulky manual. With MANAGING YOUR MONEY™ all the help you need is constantly on-line, on the computer. And everything is integrated so you only need to enter data once. meca Software that makes your personal computer worth having.™ cl 1984. MICRO EDUCATION CORPORATION OF AMERICA. 285 RIVERSIDE AVENUE WESTPORT CT 06880-12051 222 WOO feMiHe where hne software n sow CIRCLE 224 ON READER SERVICE CARD — INPUT/OUTPUT program that can perform "an activity ing intelligence" must be performed by two). Certainly human chess masters are requiring intelligence" is itself an intelligence, by definition. But Mr. intelligent, but they may be so by virtue intelligent. Levy has not demonstrated that playing of their ability to play chess, or by virtue I have no quarrel with the first chess requires intelligence. of being human. If we restate 1) un- premise taken by itself. The second state- Simply, Mr. Levy has tricked him- ambiguously, and replace the tautology ment, however, is neither an argument self by using the term "human chess in 2) with a meaningful statement, what nor a conclusion: it is a tautology (logical masters" ambiguously in the context of is left of the argument can be expressed error number one). An "activity requir- his argument (logical error number by the following syllogism: 1) all beings which play chess and are human are intelligent; 2) computers play chess; therefore computers are intelligent. As we normally attribute intelli- gence to humans whether they play chess or not, the first premise establishes no What do you get when you cross relationship between intelligence and 1200 baud, free on-line time, chess playing whatever, and the conclu- sion does not follow. Not to put too fine a and extra features at a price Hayes point on it, this argument suffers from cant match? what is technically known as Quaternio Terminorum, or the "Fallacy of Four Terms" (logical error number three). The first rule governing the categorical syllogism—which is what Mr. Levy was Data Rate? striving toconstruct here—is that it must The MultiModem contain exactly three terms, used un- gives you a choice ambiguously throughout the argument. either 1 200 or 300 bits MultiModem. per second. So you can In all fairness, Mr. Levy is no worse go on-line with the a logician than many others of the con- information utilities. fraternity of AI enthusiasts. For exam- Check out bulletin boards. Dial into corpo- ple, Mr. Stonier's article makes much rate mainframes. Swap the same leaps of logic as Mr. Levy's in files with friends. But Better? assuming that if machines (including Yes. The Multi- electronic ones) are better at carrying On-Line Time? Modem gives you fea- out by their own means certain special- With the Multi- tures the Hayes Modem you get Smartmodem 1200" ized tasks which human beings can also CompuServe's can't match. Features carry out by means of thinking, then ma- DemoPak, free a two- like dial-tone and busy- chines must be thinking beings—and su- hour demonstration of signal detection for perior ones at that. If we are to believe their service, and up to more accurate dialing seven more free hours and redialing. Like a that comparable results necessarily im- if you subscribe. You battery-backed mem- ply identical processes, what conclusion also get a $50 credit ory for six phone num- should we draw from the observation towards NewsNet's bers. All at a retail price that humans and fire hoses both pass wa- business newsletter of just $549 — com- service. pared to $699 for the ter, and that the latter "out perform" the Smartmodem. former in this task? Features & Price? Of course, the What do you get? Normand E. Duern MultiModem gives you The new MultiModem. automatic dial, answer, from Multi-Tech Sys- 404 Elgin St., #7 and disconnect. Gives tems. Isn't this the Ottawa, ON you the Hayes- answer you've been K2P1N3 compatibility you need looking for? to support popular communications soft- ware programs like For the name of Crosstalk. Data Cap- your local distributor, ture, our own MultiCom write Multi-Tech Sys- PC, and dozens of tems, Inc., 82 Second others. Gives you a Avenue S.E.. New two-year warranty, Brighton. MN 55112. tops in the industry. Or call us at (612)631-3550. K Uu»JK» SrsMa «c -Conpu Multi an H & R Bkxk company - ftWwsMH Systems NewsNet, fine -CrouM* Mc/OSluf *k -OmCapfcm SouffiMsiem Soft ® The right answer every time. Ou*f Producr* Inc CIRCLE 209 ON READER SERVICE CARD K> CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 *b*2 <#- % .o%* d 3^_« 6^\\dte«'«A-W 'Y The <* Arithmetic Classroom CELEBRATING his 10th Anniversary "MICRO" acts as the teacher's instruc- as a leading publisher of educational tional assistant and the pupil's tutor. books and software. Sterling Swift MICRO: presents each lesson with special announces THE n«w ARITHMETIC graphics to clarify basic concepts • paces the pupil through each lesson • encourages CLASSROOM! This is the expanded and pupils to try problems on their own • re- enhanced 2nd Edition of one of the most wards good work with positive reinforce- popular and best-reviewed basic math skills ment • gives corrective feedback • tutors courseware packages in schools today. Mr. students after an incorrect answer. Swift works with educators at all grade levels to develop interesting, enjoyable, and effective teaching aids. He listens to teachers and knows their concerns about inequality of instructional software. That's why he insists that authors be teachers LEARNING first; that they test out their ideas before fThePACKAGES are: coming to him. That's why he teamed up with Courses by Computer. Inc. of State Whole Numbers College, Pa.— they are outstanding teachers, ' 1. Number Ideas 2. Addition curriculum designers & programmers. It's 3. Subtraction why Sterling Swift is considered a serious, 4. Multiplication committed educational publisher, respected 5. Division by leading educators, world-wide. *6. Problem Solving (with Word Problems) THE n«w ARITHMETIC CLASSROOM is Fractions, Decimals and Percent a library of 95 lessons, covering 162 objec- 7. Fraction and Mixed Number Concepts tives, grouped into 14 learning packages, 8. Addition and Subtraction of Fractions in 3 major categories (correlated with pop- 9. Multiplication & Division of Fractions 10. Decimal Concepts and Skills ular basal math texts), covering the basic "11. Problem Solving: Fractions & Decimals math skills taught K-8, PLUS an optional * 1 2. Percent Concepts and Skills management package. Geometry and Measurement THE new ARITHMETIC CLASSROOM •13. Geometric Concepts now includes LARGER numerals and * 14. Concepts of Measurement COLOR; the use of HIGHLIGHTING, I 'NEW material in the Second Edition) Each lesson has the same design: CUEING and "MICRO," a graphic char- -TUTORIALS acter, the pupil's attention to to draw All this AND MORE for only $99.95 per based on learning objectives new concepts and terminology. learning package! -PRACTICE EXERCISES with corrective feedback f -RE-PRESENTATION of the concept af- ter more than one incorrect response -DIAGNOSTIC/PRESCRIPTIVE & STU- DENT TESTS available for each lesson THE n«w ARITHMETIC CLASSROOM will operate on a color OR monochromatic monitor. Available for APPLE ll's (64K; 80 column card required for Management Disk), IBM PC and IBM PC//-. Join the thousands of teachers who already use one of the finest basic math skills instructional software packages available today. THE n«w ARITHMETIC CLASS- ROOM can be a part of YOUR dedication to excellence. Contact your local educa- tional computer dealer or write Mr. lO"^ Swift, TODAY Years ol B M ISTERL/NC Excellence. PUBLISHING COMPANY 7901 South IH-35 • Austin. TX 78744 (512) 282 6840 CIRCLE 145 ON READER SERVICE CARD Radio Shack's Commitment to Education It's More Than Just Computer Hardware and Software At Tandy Corporation/Radio Shack, we're com- \bu'll find more than 100 educational products in mitted to helping educators bring computers into the library, ranging from elementary school soft- the classroom, with the widest selection of educa- ware to a four-volume administrative program. Ex- tional software and hardware available. amine and try the programs you want at any of our Computer Centers. But our commitment to educational excellence goes much farther. We're a true partner in educa- National Conferences tion, sponsoring no-cost teacher training, a national In 1984, we joined with the University of Texas at grants program, educational conferences and more, Austin, College of Education, Continuing Education all designed to help you and your students prepare Program to sponsor a conference on computer use for the future. in education. The conference was a success, provid- ® Commitment to Software ing a forum to discuss applications, benefits and de- velopments in educational computer use. A second Radio Shack's Education Division has developed conference in the spring of 1985 provided another more than one hundred of its own classroom pack- opportunity for educators to keep abreast of educa- ages, working with curriculum development special- tional computer technology. ists and field test sites to bring you quality course- ware for your classroom. In addition, Radio Shack © Quality, Value and More has agreements with more than 70 educational pub- At Tandy Corporation/Radio Shack, we'll always lishers to assist them in developing support educators with outstanding service before courseware. and after the sale, with our assurance of leading- © No-Cost Teacher Training edge technology and with the special pricing and quality that have made us the leader in classroom More than 400,000 classes have been attended by computing. educators who have taken advantage of our no-cost teacher training seminars at the 450 Radio Shack To find out more about our educational Computer Centers across the country. Attend one support programs and for the name of the and you can learn BASIC or Pascal programming full-time Educational Coordinator in your or how to use our Author I courseware develop- area, call Radio Shack's Education Division ment system. Each seminar is designed by a leader at 800-433-5682, toll free. In Texas, call in computer education and, of course, there's no ob- 800-772-8538. ligation to you. ® National Grants Program Since April of 1982, Tandy Corporation has of- Radio /haek fered Tandy Educational Grants to help educators The Name in Classroom Computing™ innovative classroom applications for com- research A DIVISION OF TANDY CORPORATION puters. If you're interested in our grants program and would like more information, please write Tandy Educational Grants Program, 1400 One For more information on educational products Center, Fort Worth, Texas 76102. Tandy and services, mail to: Radio Shack. Dept. 85-A-6S0 Courseware Preview Library 300 One Tandy Center, Fort Worth, Texas 76102 We publish the most carefully selected and tested educational software available. But we understand that educators want first-hand experience with courseware before they decide to bring an educa- tional program into their classrooms. That's why we Ci.y -Zip , created the Courseware Preview Library, a collec- Telephone _ tion of our educational software and user manuals. CIRCLE 138 ON READER SERVICE CARD . INDUSTRY INSIDER David H. Ahl A Better Mac, PC ROMs even meet officially until May and prob- this year . . . After a $95 million loss in ably won't finish its work for at least the fourth quarter, Bally (Pac-Man) On the drawing board: an open ar- three years. Manufacturing is dropping out of the chitecture "Hacker's Mac." Felsen- Lee IBM has already endorsed the pro- coin-op and videogames businesses . . stein, designer of the Sol-20 and Osborne posed ANSI standard for the Virtual Apple's "Test drive a Mac" promotion is 01, feels that the Mac just doesn't live Display Interface (VDI) which specifies resulting in about 50% conversions to up to the open architecture tradition of interfacing between monitors and other sales. Dealers expected more, but some the Apple II and that a more open graphics devices. As a result, Microsoft candidly admit that all they asked for machine will move the locus of Mac is reported to be switching from its was a valid credit card for the loan in- hardware and software development out- Graphics Device Interface (GDI) ap- stead of properly qualifying prospects in side of Apple. At a recent Homebrew proach to VDI. This almost certainly as- advance . . . The IBM AT, in short sup- Club meeting, Lee proposed a machine, sures the success of VDI and suggests ply following its introduction, is still on sufficiently close to the Mac that soft- that perhaps the best strategy is to get allocation. IBM cites component short- ware could be ported over to it, but IBM involved in the new windowing ages as the reason but some observers with a design that would be in the public standard right at the outset. speculate that IBM is trying to improve domain. And— hang onto your hat— the reliability of the hard disk before he'd like to make it available as a kit! shipping too many systems. Lee's bread and butter activities at Regional Telcos Jump Televideo, experiencing compet- Golemics include a ROM chip set that itive problems with its PC line, has Into Computers emulates the functions of the IBM PC. closed several plants and cut back on its It's all perfectly legal and makes a clone Nynex Corp., the amalgam of the sales and marketing staff . . . After fail- manufacturer's job much easier. Com- New York and New England Telephone ing to line up distribution for its personal ing soon: a ROM chip set that emulates Companies, opened its first two retail computers, NCR announced it is closing the IBM PC AT. For information, computer stores in mid-December. The its U.S. plant and transferring produc- Golemics, Inc., 2600 St., Tenth Berke- chain, operating under the Datago tion back to Germany . . . Acorn, maker ley, CA 947 10. name, started with units in Albany, NY of the BBC microcomputer, cut its U.S. and Springfield, MA. The Datago debut workforce by 60% and reduced prices by had been blocked by the Justice Depart- up to 14% in an effort to bolster its sag- Windowing Standards? ment since March. ging U.S. sales . . . Hitachi and several Nynex plans to target small busi- other Japanese suppliers recently re- In an effort to prevent IBM's Top nesses, including lawyers, real estate duced the prices of 256K memories by 50 View from becoming the de facto agencies, and sales agencies. TV and to 60%. windowing standard, several companies print ads will carry the themes, "The In high demand in Silicon Valley: have met to begin the process of creating safety net for small business" and "The high-tech auctioneers to squeeze the last an ANSI (American National Standards store for people afraid to buy a computer pennies out of failed companies. One of Institute) standard for personal com- and afraid not to." Brands that will be the most successful, Ross Dove, recently puter windowing environments. The carried include IBM (!), Compaq, Wang, sold off every last chip at Gavilan in a companies involved so far are Microsoft, and Data General. three-day sale that netted $1.6 mil- Digital Research, Intel, Motorola, The approval by Justice of the new lion . . . Out of Chapter 1 1: Victor Tech- Apollo, Masscomp, Olivetti, Sun Micro Nynex operation is expected to clear the nologies with a workforce trimmed to Systems, and Nova Graphics. way for other regional telcos to start 250 today from a high of 3000 in 1983. John Butler of Microsoft feels it is their own retail computer operations. The firm will market the 25 lb. Vicki por- important to get software developers to- For example, Pacific Telesis plans to table, Victor 9000, and MS-DOS board gether to learn from each other as well as open a national chain of outlets this year for the 9000, mainly targeting vertical to standardize the way that applications while Bell Atlantic plans to acquire markets . . . Also shifting its focus to software will tie into a windowing sys- Sorbus Service, one of the nation's larg- vertical markets is Texas Instruments, a tem. Don McCord of Intel added that it est computer maintenance companies. move the firm hopes will revive sales of is "a losing proposition if software for Bell South and Ameritech are also said its slow-moving Pro . . . Formula for one windowing system is not nearly to be investigating the area of office success? An innovative product, frugal compatible with another." automation but have no immediate retail management, and a 60% profit margin. Nevertheless, some observers feel plans. Just ask David Allen, founder of that IBM already has the upper hand be- Tall grass Technologies in 1981. The cause Top View will have so much mar- company expects to do $60 million in ket momentum by the time the Random Bits business this year, but with competitors committee proposes a standard. The Commodore is seeking a second ad sprouting like dandelions, the margin lengthy standards process seems to sup- agency to handle a major expansion into just might shrink a bit. port this view: the new committee won't a new microcomputer product line later continued on page 77 14 CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 — — — 552 words per minute. Letter perfect Humanly impossible, yes. NEC impossible, no. In fact, in a head-to-head comparison with letter quality printers, the NEC PC-PR103A Letter-Perfect Printer not only prints three times faster (46 CPS ) , it gives you lettei—quality performance, with true decenders. It's nearly impossible to tell the difference between print-outs from the PC-PR103A and letter quality printers. • But that's not al 1 . Uith the innovative Impact Line-Dot type Printhead, the NEC PC-PR103A tri-mode underscores its advantages by offering two additional printing modes — graphics and draft quality. It even eliminates 'ghosting* uith single-pass printing, and includes tractor feed. Best of all it costs much less. Near Letter Quality: 46 CPS Draft-Quality: 110 CPS r and Graphics $499 — There really is no comparison after all. NEC NEC Home Electronics (U.S.A.) Inc. Personal Computer Division 1401 EstesAvenue Elk Grove Village, IL 60007 Other high-quality NEC printers include the NEC Corporation 8027 Transportable Printers and 8025 Wide-Carriage. Tokyo, Japan CIRCLE 137 ON READER SERVICE •-•..-:• BOOK REVIEWS Reference, TRS-80 Model 100, and history Russ Lockwood Professional Tax Planning Using Multi- vides into three parts: financial concept, Development for Tandy, starts by creat- plan by Mitchell H. Jacobs and Robert program development, and a complete ing graphics with set/reset/point G. Rice. Management Information program listing in Applesoft Basic. programming, moves into using print Source, 3543 NE Broadway, Portland, If you bought an Apple II to keep as a graphics instruction, and then exam- OR 97232. Softcover, 215 pages, $29.95 track of home finances, Personal Money ines poke graphics and video memory. without disk, $44.95 with disk Management with Your Micro is the He covers compressed graphics using no-nonsense This | book for you. variable pointer instructions, program book uses Micro- debugging under TRSDOS, and screen soft Multiplan tol dumps to a printer. Additional chapters Understanding the IBM PC: A Practical set up seven specific introduce assembly language graphics Approach edited by David Williams. templates for tax programming and discuss assembly lan- Mini Press, 167 Rafkin Rd., Blooming- planning. It provides guage file handling. | dale, NJ 07403. Softcover, 192 pages, step-by-step instruc- The book includes dozens of short $14.30 tions for construction I programs and numerous utilities to help as a ! of specialized work-| Written programmers understand graphics con- training sheets, including formulas and a detailed cepts and programming logic. manual for explanation why these formulas are By today's standards, TRS-80 corporate executives, placed in specific cells. Model I, III, and 4 graphics are some- this introductory The seven templates compute the what crude, but this book can help TRS- book examines all as- joint taxes of married individuals (Form 80 owners wring the best possible pects of the IBM PC, 1040), tax for a single individual (Form graphics from their computers. focusing on informa- i 1 040), capital gains tax (Schedule D ), tax tion to help the reader ! liability ofa fiduciary ofan estate, simple get the computer from box to application Sorcerers & Soldiers by Brian Murphy. trust, or complex trust (Form 1041 ), cor- quickly. Creative Computing Press, 39 E. Han- porate income tax (Form 1 1 20), tax pay- The first three chapters provide Morris able on a lump sum distribution from a a over Ave., Plains, NJ 07950. background on hardware, software, Softcover, 226 pages, retirement plan (Form 4972), and the and $9.95 maintenance. Subsequent chapters ex- change in tax from an investment or the Sorcerers & Sol- plain exercise of stock options. the disk operating system, includ- diers is a cornu- ing the most often-used commands, and copia of wisdom Jacobs, a lawyer, and Rice, a certi- provide a quick reference guide to Basic. for the fied public accountant, provide a prac- beginning The book ends with a quick tutorial on computer It tical approach for tax planning using gamer. running Multiplan. popular programs such as explores game con- WordStar, Lotus 1-2-3, and dBase II. cepts and provides Understanding the IBM PC is a strategic and tactical Personal Money Management with good choice for neophyte IBM PC own- tips for a variety of Your Micro by Wendy L. Milner. Tab ers who want to become computer lit- "mind games"—adventure games, fan- Books, Blue Ridge Summit, PA 17214. erate in a hurry. tasy/role playing games, and war games. Softcover, pages, 232 $13.50 Murphy explains the principles un- Wendy L. Mil- derlying selected games such as Ger- ner makes The TRS-80 Graphics Book by Dennis many 1985, North Atlantic '86. Fighter two as- F. Tanner. Van Nostrand Reinhold, Command, Wizardry, and Ultima, and sumptions: you are in- h 135 W. 50th St., New York, NY 10020. then suggests strategies, tactics, and terested in keeping Softcover, 235 pages, $16.45, Hardcover, mental habits to help players. He exam- track of home fi- $24.45 ines terrain, generalship, ship-to-ship nances on your Apple This excellent tu- fighting, aerial dogfights, party makeup, II computer and you torial on TRS-80 and general adventuring. are afraid to learn not Model I, III, and The games described in Sorcerers & a little about Basic programming. 4 graphics provides a Soldiers take a long time to complete, es- The topics include general budget- veritable goldmine of pecially using the trial and error method. ing, taxes, car records, checkbook bal- Basic and assembly Murphy's tips, which are more helpful ancing, loan amortization, and interest language program- than that other Murphy's law, can assist rate computation—in short, just about ming techniques. beginners in winning computer games all the applications you need to manage Dennis F. Tan- and teach you why certain strategies suc- your personal finances. Each topic di- ner, Director of Educational Product ceed and why others do not. 16 CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH U n't ^ ^tery° it** It »c APP •^ >\e IK lie >\e rter^nV- w- .\e ^Jsj\J ,M ^ p^N 2^ /f doesn't matter because Sensible Speller vV works •w Sensible Speller, now available in the ProDOS and original "IV" version, is compatible with the particular Apple hardware and software you already have*. And. more important, it is designed to meet your needsl You will not be embarrassed any longer by misspellings which can destroy the credibility of your documents, reports other and important papers. Sensible Speller catches your spelling mistakes with tireless efficiency. What's more, it displays misspelled words in context, suggests correct spelling, and allows immediate replacement of misspelled words with correct ones. Of course, a spelling checker is only its as good as vocabulary. And that's why Sensible Speller is so excellent; it comes with the 80.000 word vocabulary of the official Random House Dictionary and it provides for adding thousands of more words on disk. Shouldn't you have a Sensible Speller, the most popular of all spelling checkers? It is available at your dealer for S 125 in the ProDOS or original "IV"* version or order direct, enclosing S 1.25 for shipping. Visa/MasterCard/Check/COD welcome. Apple n MdemM i i •II works with all Ihe following processors, with word owners Word Handler (Silic on Valley Syslemsl. CP/W-Wordstar IDigital Apple Computer, fnc or" trademarks - indicated in parentheses DOS 3 24 DOS 3 3 Research Corp MKropro International!. PFS WRITE (Software AppleWorks S AppteWritet. all versions 'Apple Computer. Publishing. Inc J. and others All features are not available with Inc Street Writer ). Bank [Brodebundl. Format It (Kensington CP/M PFS WRITE & Word Handler Mictowarel. Screenwriter HomeWord & ISierra On-line Inc I. Sensible 210 S Woodward. Suite 229. Birmingham. Ml 48011 Software, Inc.® (313) 258-5566 CIRCLE 130 ON READER SERVICE CARD BOOK REVIEWS Interesting profile of Apple Com- This book contains 60 Basic pro- Reference puter examines the creation and growth grams to type into the Model 100. Appli- of the company and delves into the cations include business analysis ratios, How to Get Free Software by Alfred personalities and background of Jobs breakeven sales levels, depreciation, Glossbrenner. St. Martin's Press, 175 and Wozniak. amortization, and business graphics. Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010. Soft- Model 100 by cover, 436 pages, $ 1 4.95 Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolu- 25 Games for Your TRS-80 Ridge This book provides tips, techniques, tion by Steven Levy. Anchor Press/ David D. Busch. Tab Books, Blue 144 and practical advice on obtaining free Doubleday, Garden City, NY 11530. Summit, PA 17214. Softcover, software for most brands of computers. Hardcover, 458 pages, $17.95 pages, $10.25 Another excellent book by Glossbren- This book details the lifestyles of the Another book of Basic programs ner. programmers and engineers involved in features word games, arcade games, and creating the hardware and software. even a stock market game. The Free Software Handbook (CP/M Many of the big names are here, along Edition) by T. Gregory Piatt, Patricia L. with numerous not-so-big names. The TRS-80 Model 100 by Danny Good- Hatcher, and Blake H. Van Meter. Peo- man. Simon & Schuster, 1230Avenueof pleTalk Asso., P.O. Box 863652, Piano, Fire in the Valley by Paul Freiberger and the Americas, New York, NY 10020. pages, $9.95 TX 75086. Softcover, 342 pages, $ 1 7.95 Michael Swaine. Osborne/McGraw- Softcover, 221 A comprehensive guide to public Hill, 2600 Tenth Ave., Berkeley, CA This introductory guide explores domain software for CP/M users. 947 10. Softcover, 288 pages, $9.95 the hardware and software of the Model The book traces the development of 100. It offers tips on transferring files to The Free Software Catalog and Directory the personal computer, from the prim- desktop computers and includes a se- by Robert A. Froehlich. Crown Publish- itive efforts of Charles Babbage to the curity program to protect data. ers, One Park Ave., New York, NY Macintosh. 10016. Softcover, 475 pages, $9.95 User Guide and Applications for the TRS- This guide provides advice on se- Bit by Bit: An Illustrated History of 80 Model 100 Portable Computer by Ste- lecting, locating, and using free soft- Computers by Stan Augerton. Ticknor & ven A. Schwartz. Scott, Foresman and ware. Fields, 52 Vanderbilt Ave., New York, Co., 1900 E. Lake Ave., Glenview, IL NY 10017. Softcover, 304 pages, $17.95 60025. Softcover, 1 24 pages, $ 1 7.95 IBM Software Directory. R. R. Bowker (hardcover $29.95) This collection of 1 4 basic programs Co., 205 E. 42nd St., New York, NY This history of computers, from features database, graphics, statistics, 10017. Softcover, 934 pages, $24.95 mainframe to micro, is chock full of and music applications. This is an alphabetical and topical interesting photographs and re- listing of software for the IBM PC and productions. Financial Decision Making with Your compatibles. Each entry holds a brief TRS-80 Model 100 by Leslie Sparks. Tab description and the price of the program. Digital Deli edited by Steve Ditlea. Books, Blue Ridge Summit, PA 17214. An AppleSoftware Directory isalsoavail- Workman Publishing, 1 West 39th St., Softcover, 144 pages, $9.95 able. New York, NY 10018. Softcover, 382 Another book with type-in Basic pages, $12.95 programs features breakeven analysis, Business Software. Elsevier Science Pub- A potpourri of short articles covers ratio analysis, forecasting, and other lishing, 52 Vanderbilt Ave., New York, computer lore, culture, lifestyles, philos- financial applications. NY 10017. Softcover, 696 pages, $35 ophies, and other interesting events. This catalogue offers detailed de- Sometimes fascinating, sometimes Introducing the TRS-80 Model 100 by scriptions ofbusiness programs, indexed inane, the book nevertheless holds some- Diane Burns and S. Venit. according to computer, operating sys- thing for everyone. Mastering Basic on the TRS-80 Model 100 tem, programming language, and micro- by Bernd Enders. processor. The Computer Book of Lists and the First Hidden Powers of the TRS-80 Model 100 Computer Almanac by Edmund C. by Christopher L. Morgan. History Berkeley. Reston Publishing, Reston, Practical Finance on the TRS-80 Model VA22090.Softcover, 155 pages, $14.95 100 by S. Venit and Diane Burns. Zap! The Rise and Fall of Atari by Scott Lists, lists, and more lists populate Games A Utilities for the TRS-80 Model Cohen. McGraw-Hill, 1221 Avenue of this book. Subjects include people, com- 100 by Ron Karr. Steven Olsen, and the Americas, New York, NY 10020. panies, applications, Boolean algebra, Robert Lafore New American Library, Hardcover, 177 pages, $14.95 cryptology, science, and philosophy. 1633 Broadway, New York, NY 10019. $1 5.95 Fascinating profile of Atari dis- Softcover, 198 to 340 pages each, cusses the pre-Trameil era. The book to $19.95 each examines the people and events that TRS-80 Model 100 This series of five books examines describes fueled the growth ofthe videogame giant the Model 100 in detail. It software, provides a com- and contributed to its current crisis. 60 Business Applications Programs for the hardware and TRS-80 Model 100 Computer by Terry prehensive primer on Basic, investigates techniques, of- The Little Kingdom by Michael Moritz. Kepner and Mark Robinson. Scott, advanced programming William Morrow & Co., 105 Madison Foresman and Co., 1900 E. Lake Ave., fers financial programs, and includes a Ave., New York, NY 10016. Hardcover, Glenview, IL 60025. Softcover, 276 collection of entertainment and utility 336 pages, $16.95 pages, $17.95 programs. 18 CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 ^ ATLAST. . . A TEACHER WHO IS JUST YOUR TYPE! Turn your COMMODORE 64 into a personal typing tutor with Kl YS TO TYPING Over 30 easy lessons, all based on proven teaching techniques that typing teachers h. us '" \bined with the speed and flexibility of computerized instructio tin 1 fastest and easiest wax vet to learn tvDins ep-by-step lessons i al your own pace! I will explain the program and show you 'NCLuoeo to yet on-screen help '"SS22Z? i lesson has three parts: introduction of new keys. ovarcises, and reinforcement r 400 exercises, all hased on successful ty piny manuals yet immediate help or return to the main menu with a sinyle keystroke nmplex computer commands iser fricndlx and menu driven knowledge of computers needed, s / y hasic readiny skills < ct the lesson xou want ss , throuyh a simple menu control ly piny yamc included, to make learniny fun! SOFTUJPIR perfect l< ping skills but short on time. For people re-entering the workforce who need a educ I computer programmers workii er. KEYS TO TYPING n quickly, silx and effortlessly. After 32 lessons, you'll be typing at speeds you n< BATTERIES ^ INCLUDED 30 Mural St. 1 7875 Sky Park North, Richmond Hill, Ontario Suite P, Irvine, California L4B 1B5 Canada "The Energized Software Company!" USA 92714 (416) 596-1405 WRITE FOR A FULL COLOR BROCHURE t 1984 1- '.'MODOREBU Educational Software That Works: Spell It! Spell expertly 1000 of the most misspelled words. Learn the spelling rules, improve with 4 exciting activities, including a captivating arcade game! Add your own Spell. spelling words. ages 10 - adult / 2 disks $49 95 Math. Blaster! Master addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, decimals and percentages - by solving over 600 problems. Learn your math facts with 4 motivating activities, including a fast-action arcade game! Add Math.. your own problems. 6-12/2 disks $49.95 M ages Word Attack! Add 675 new words to your vocabulary - with precise definitions and sentences demonstrating usage. Build your skills with 4 fun-filled activities, including an arcade Word game! Add your own words. ages 8 - adult / 2 disks: $49.95 Speed Reader H increase your reading speed and improve comprehension! Six exercises designed by reading specialists vastly improve your reading skills. Chart your own progress with 35 reading selections and comprehension Read. quizzes. Add your own reading materials. high school, college & adult / 2 disks: $69.95 The Davidson Best Seller Tradition. For your Apple, IBM or Commodore 64. Ask your dealer today. For more information call: (800) 556-6141 in California calk (213) 373-9473 Davidson & Associates Davidson. 6069 Croveoak Place #12 % Rancho Palos verdes, ca 90274 NEA CIRCLE 123 ON READER SERVICE CARD and Business Machines, Inc. Apple. IBM and Commodore 64 are trademarks respectively of Apple Computers, Inc.. International Business Machines Corp . Commodore — , IN REAL TIME A look at how an Apple II handles takeout orders at Hunan—the first in a series of columns focussing on interesting applications Sherrie VanTyle lunch hour bustles at Hunan, a us, especially during the busy times. Be- it been written in Pascal rather than in TheMorris Plains, NJ restaurant that fore, when a customer asked how much Applesoft Basic, but Pascal required ex- offers southern Chinese specialties the takeout order would come to, we had tra disks. A printer buffer frees the com- with intriguing names—General Tsao's to stop and add it up by hand. Now we puter to process a second takeout order Chicken, River Shan Scallops, and can give a new total immediately, cancel while the first is being printed out. Seven Beauties Around the Moon. The and add items, and give another new to- Accuracy was important also. Wen thriving food-for-takeout business at tal," Wen explains. had considered a card reader system that Hunan has been streamlined by a unique The speed of the program was an is widely used in fast food establish- program for an Apple 1 1 equipped with a essential ingredient. Wen notes that the ments, but he prefers the light pen and light pen and a printer. program would have tripled in speed had screen set up because it allows the cash- The program comprises the entire ier to double check the order onscreen menu of 127 food items, the various before it is printed. sizes, prices, and special requests, Reducing errors and mechanizing including no salt and extra spicy. As an the order process have saved him money, order is phoned in, the host or cashier although he has invested about $3500 in the light touches pen to the monitor hardware and peripherals—Apple II -I- screen to enter the order category by Apple III monitor, expansion board, category—appetizers, soups, entrees. light pen, two disk drives, Epson printer, The order is totaled automatically, and Quadram Microfazer. The cost of printed out, and taken to the kitchen. the custom-written software, of course, Thechefworks from the print out, which would be extra. Wen explains that he eventually becomes the customer's re- could have spent more than the total ceipt as it is tucked between the white hardware and software cost to pay the food cartons when the order comes out salary of a takeout person to process or- of the kitchen. ders by hand. Onscreen are the food categories Does Wen use the Apple for other appetizers, soups, pork, beef, poultry, purposes, for example, restaurant in- seafood. A touch of the light pen sum- ventory? Taking the inventory of the mons the category listing. The quantity James Wen at Ms Apple. pantry is actually quite simple, and he and size are entered along with any spe- can check items quicker with a paper and cial instructions—no msg, sugar, or salt, pencil, he says. He and his son are think- a little spicy, or even pepper steak with ing about other ways to use the Apple in no beef—with the two-key combination the restaurant, however. CONTROL-I. Use of a light pen rather than the If a group discount applies, 10% is keyboard means that a new cashier needs deducted automatically when the bill is no special training to use the program. »•-* I *r MM totaled. The time of day and the cus- The cashier need touch only the space- tomer's name is printed on the order; at- bar to print an order or to return to the tached to the bottom of the printout are main screen menu. two receipts with the date, number of the U. 1 HI* !< MW'l *. *.«• The program has been in use at Hu- order, tax, and totals. The hours, ad- nan for over year with few problems. Ide- dress, and phone number of the res- ally the takeout order would go directly taurant appear on the order too. to the kitchen, but the smoke and grease James Wen, who owns Hunan along in the air would damage the computer with two partners, describes the pro- and printer. gram as the only one of its kind in the A cashier can easily answer the country. It was written by his son, Peter, phone with one hand and wield the light a senior pre-med student at Harvard, TI ^'"J*! n-ii pen with the other; as the phone rings, who has been teaching computer courses Wen demonstrates with a deft twist of I for several years. the wrist, noting with satisfaction, "This "He thought it would be good for Sample menu from Hun program is 99% perfect for our needs." JUMBER3/CREATIVE COMPUTING 21 TELECOMMUNICATIONS TALK Notes from a surgeon watcher, the facts about fax, and MultiModemocracy John J. Anderson thinking of writing a letter to the Where will it end? Macintosh contingent on the Compu- I'mSurgeon General. I feel he may be re- It won't. Having quit smoking at Serve Information Service. These minds, miss in his duties. How well I remem- least five times in the same number of which fairly represent a subset of the ber when he spoke out vehemently years, I can speak with some assurance cream of the Macintosh programming against video games. The act conjured on this topic. Telecommunicating is a crop, knew that the key to telecommuni- visions of youngsters in arcades across much less deadly habit, and one to be en- cating effectively on the Mac would in- the nation suddenly taking up smoking joyed so very much more. I have made volve more than the uploading and in response. But that is not my criticism many real and true friends who share downloading of mere text and program of the Surgeon General. many of my interests. I have learned files. A means had to be developed much and continue to learn. I am no whereby text files could be converted to Complaining Again longer engaged in a solitary pursuit binary form—and from there be con- My complaint is that he has ignored when seated at my computer. I am con- verted into assembly language pro- the dangers of modem abuse. nected. I am plugged into the commu- grams, as well as MacWrite and My suggestion to the dear man is a nity. Computer owners of the world, MacPaint documents. message to be emblazoned on the sides of unite. And use your modems to do so. The organic effort that resulted in a all modems sold in this country. Warn- workable system involved the input of ing: continued use ofthis product may be Mac Fax many people—people working with and hazardous to your bank card. The major conduit ofconnection for refining other people's code—and of I should know, for I am a junkie. It me lately has been the Macintosh com- course, a massive amount of debugging. has gotten to the point where the only puter. Having access to connection via While following the track of this devel- time I am truly comfortable is when I am the IBM, Apple II, Commodore, Atari, opment, I have learned more about logged on. I have bags under my eyes and and Tandy Model 100 computers, I have programming the Mac in a shorter time a crick in my neck. My sleep patterns are known of the power of the download for than would have been possible working erratic. And I can't get enough of that some time. This is the ability to capture from any magazine or book. The on-go- handshaking protocol. I started out at ing process of the Mac program develop- 300 baud, never dreaming it would lead ment lives in sections 3, 4, and 5 on to harder stuff. But once I got a taste of CompuServe MAUG. 1 200 baud, nothing else could get me off. In the beginning, there was Dennis US Robotics stopped by the lab a couple Brothers (70065,172). To his seminal of weeks ago and told us that 2400 baud MacTep terminal program (see the was now ours for the asking. They October 1984 issue of Creative Comput- loaned us a sample—it's easy to be gen- ing for more information on that pro- erous when you know you're going to gram), he added an overlay that would hook your customers for life. After convert a text file to binary. It did so with operating at 2400 baud for half an hour, some brute force from Basic, and its ma- 1200 baud seems like a snail on a slow jor problem was that it was terribly slow. boat. Then Overlaid MacTep met with Ron- Figure 1. Reproduced here (at reduced size) Then there are the network services ald Nicholson (71505,410) on Compu- is on MMiye erected with KoalaVision, themselves. Dow Jones, CompuServe, Serve and begat BinHex 1 or Thereabouts, downloaded via CompuServe, converted the Source, PlayNet, NewsNet, Delphi a stand-alone Basic program which con- with BinHex, and printed on on Imagewriter. —all of them know my credit card num- verted extant text files to binary It is most impressive. ber. No, I'm wrong—at least one siphons format—still very slow, and also rather money directly from my checking ac- buggy. BinHex 1 or Thereabouts met count. That "service" is called not only text files over the phone, but with William B. Davis (71505,410) and Checkfree, and I assume it takes its name files that convert to assembly, Basic, eventually became BinHex 3.0, which, from the fact that the provider feels free Logo, Pascal, and other high-level while still slow and slightly buggy, to write its own checks on behalf of the programming languages. The files then worked well enough of the time to be providee. All this evil sneaks past my run as programs in themselves. Of worthwhile. checkbook in athletic socks in the dead course the Macintosh also sports this An overlay added by Bob of night, along with those blank cassettes capability (see this month's Apple Cart). VanBurkleo (74435,1373) made Basic and all the other stuff I forgot I charged. But that was not enough for the BinHex more aggressive at finding file 22 CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 . Hayes sets the standard for personal computer communications. Again. Smartmodem 2400. M 2400 Hayes CD OH D 19 The new fast mover from With worldwide communications Hayes Microcomputer Hayes. The telecomputing in mind. Smartmodem 2400 was Products. Inc., 5923 Peachtree leader. When it comes to commu- designed to meet CCITT interna- Industrial Blvd.. Norcross. Georgia nications products for personal tional standards. It provides a fast, 30092. 404/441-1617. computers, we're the leader! Hayes cost-effective way to transmit data Smartmodem 1200" set the indus- between approved countries. Smartmodem 2400 try standards for quality, reliability • Direct connect • Asynchronous and performance. New version of Hayes and synchronous communications Smartcom II® communications • Accommodates Hayes-compat- software creates a complete tele- ible modems of slower speeds Now our new. faster Smartmodem computing system with Smart- • Meets CCITT worldwide stan- 2400 goes even further to lower modem 2400. Our new Smartcom dards • Keyboard control of all telephone line costs and improve communications parameters • High II. Version 2.1 . is available for the user productivity. So. at twice the IBM* PC and many popular com- speed indicator • Voice/data speed of a 1200bps modem, it capabilities • Call progress moni- patibles. Smartcom II makes the quickly pays for itself in any high- toring • Two-year limited warranty most of Smartmodem's exceptional volume communications operation. with optional four-year extended features, at the time it same makes warranty available. communicating easy for you. And. Smartmodem 2400 provides a quick Smartcom II if you're currently using an earlier • Hayes Verification and link to minis and mainframes. Both XMODEM version of Smartcom II. Hayes of- protocols • Emulates DEC* synchronous and asynchronous VT52 fers a $2 5 upgrade to Version 2.1 and VT100/I02 • Totally unat- transmissions are supported by an tended operation • Voice/data advanced version of the well-known So if you're looking for ways to capabilities. Hayes "AT" command set. You can streamline your communications, download from the IBM mainframe see your authorized Hayes dealer at the home office. Send data to right away. For a hands-on demon- the mini upstairs. And guarantee stration of Smartcom II and our new accurate transmission with infor- Smartmodem 2400. Guaranteed to mation services. get you moving fast! Hayes Smartcom II is a registered trademark and Smartmodem 2400 and Smartmodem 1200 are trademarks of Hayes Microcomp "Trademarks of their respective compantes ©1985 Hayes Microcomputer Prodm I CIRCLE 118 ON READER SERVICE CARD - BLAZING NEW The OKIMATE COLOR The first affordable "color screen print" program on diskette color printers! 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Lempereur (74016,1741) begat a compressor to improve the transfer rate The unit has a standard DB-2S RS- smooth, fast, and debugged assembly even at 1 200 bps. Keep it up, fellas. 232 connector on the rear, and wiring up version of BinHex. Ofcourse you have to cables for it was relatively simple. The convert it using previous versions of MultiModem documentation is quite strong, and BinHex, and the process is somewhat I have been using the MultiModem helped on this score. The internal evocative of putting on your socks after from MultiTech on a daily basis for over speaker lets you hear the phone line to you've laced up your sneakers. But Yves' three months now and have nothing but keep track of the proceedings; it cuts out version of BinHex is sitting in XA3 of praise for its operation, reliability, and automatically as the Hayes does when MAUG, waiting for you to bootstrap ease of use. The MultiModem is a carrier is detected. Configuration of the your way to it. 300/1200 baud machine, with autodial, DIP switches requires removing the Once you have done so, you can snap-lock case, but this procedure is upload and download assembly lan- quite simple, and since it is unlikely that guage programs, desk accessories, most users will be moving DIP switches Mac Write and MacPaint files with the regularly, as I do, I won't make this a same ease as you print out a text buffer. complaint. The latest version of BinHex makes use The only complaint I can make is ofpull-down menus and toolbox dialogs, that for SS49 list, MultiTech could have and is as professional a Mac program as supplied the unit with an on-off switch, you will encounter. And it is the result of which they seem to have ignored. I was an ad hoc effort, mounted in public, by a convinced that there must be one, and it group of dedicated programmers for was just cleverly concealed, but to this whom monetary gain was not, at least in day I have not found it. Other than that, I this case, a motivating factor. Dare I as- have not seen a better modem for the sert that all that is good about the hacker money. Its transmission is clean, error- ethic is alive and well and living on autoanswer, pulse or tone dialing, ver- free, and reliable. What more can be CompuServe? I won't. Rather, I'll sim- bose or terse result codes, automatic said? ply advise you that BinHex is available to hang-up on carrier loss, a built-in you for the price of your connect time. speaker, LED function readouts, and a VPI Phone Surge Protector The ramifications of transmission host of "smart" features. You may already have protected ofMacPaint documents are far-reaching Fully compatible with the Hayes your power lines against surges, but have and most dramatically underscored Smart Modem, the MultiModem config- you protected your phone line? Accord- when considered in conjunction with the ures and behavesjust as if it were a Hayes. ing to Video Peripherals, Inc., telecom- range of products which open MacPaint The result codes, command structure, munications lines are commonly subject to the input of a camera, such as and even DIP architecture, stick strictly to surges as well. They can be caused by KoalaVision, MicronEye, and other an- to the Hayes standard. All the Hayes- power system faults, dropped power nounced products. (See Figure 1.) compatible terminal software at the lab, lines, and lightning. The VPI 145 Tele- At the offices of Creative Comput- for the IBM, Apple II, and Macintosh, communications Line Protector acts as a ing, we rent a Rapicom fax (for facsim- ran without a hitch on the MultiModem. modular extension cord and in the pro- ile) machine to send documents to and Its makers have done a fine job of ensur- cess diverts surges through the line from Ziff-Davis headquarters in New ing the total compatibility of their whenever they occur. It is transparent in York. I must assume that there exists at product. use and is activated only in the event of least one machine on the New York end In addition, the MultiModem has a an abnormality. $39.95. of things in order to make the system few features that might qualify it as even worthwhile. Rental of such a system smarter than the Hayes. Three new Make Contact costs thousands of dollars a year. codes detect ring, dial tone, and busy sig- Want to get in touch to talk about With two Macs, two imaging systems, nal tone. This helps avoid the very com- telecommunications? Email me via BinHex, and a phone, you can create a mon pitfalls of carrier-detect timeout, CompuServe—my ID is 76703,654—or system for document transmission at a dialing without a dialtone, and sitting on better yet, stop by Creative Computing cost undreamed of a year ago, and still a busy signal. Online at PCS-22. Type to you later! largely undreamed of today. The resolu- As they say on late-night TV, "and tion of a system like the one described that's not all." In case your terminal Firms Mentioned in This Column above approaches that of dedicated fax package does not store phone numbers, machines. It is certainly good enough for the MultiModem can store six numbers Multi-Tech Systems, Inc. most of the purposes for which we use a onboard (each may include a maximum 82 Second Ave. S.E. fax machine in our own business. of 30 characters). These characters may New Brighton, MN 551 12 The major disadvantage: the cur- include digits, pauses, and even switch (612)631-3550 rent system is relatively slow. At 1200 codes to move from pulse to tone or tone baud, transmission of a single MacPaint to pulse in mid-dial. The phone number Video Peripherals Inc. page might take up to 8 minutes, depend- memory is backed-up by a built-in 1667 W. Ninth St. ing upon its complexity. At 2400 baud, battery. Long Beach, CA 908 1 ofcourse, efficiency is increased in an in- Stored numbers can be auto- (213)437-4883 verse ratio to connect time. And there is redialed or stacked to call each number VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 3/CREATIVE COMPUTING 27 a — EDITORIAL TookThat Make the Difference and Indifference An old saw and an especially tired one: Change is the only constant John J. Anderson the microcomputer industry forum in the pages of Creative Comput- As computers continue to get Ascontinues its larval meta- ing magazine. cheaper, easier to use, and accessible to morphosis through the stages of The perspective that has always more people, they have an increasing ef- growth and maturation, Creative separated us from competitors and fect on the fabric ofour minds. Just as the Computing is changing along with it. We pretenders, however, is our unabashed evolution of the opposable thumb and have not always been as you see us now. commitment to computers for comput- the interlock ofhand, eye, and brain have Some of you are glad for that fact; some ers' sake. That is what put us on the map shaped the development of our species, of you are not so glad. While we realize first, over ten years ago, and that is what the computer is already shaping the that is unavoidable, we continue to makes us what we are here in 1985— development of our minds. It is not as listen. At the same time we have never let magazine for those interested not only in specifically important that we use go of our original commitment, first set how computers can make our work eas- computers to create a spreadsheet or out in 1974. We have at all times at- ier, but how they can make our minds maintain a database as that we utilize it tempted to respond to the new facets and stronger and smarter. It can be put very as a personal extension of the mind new perspectives of this transmutational simply: yes, a computer is a tool, but it is strengthening the breadth, scope, and industry. emphatically not a tool in the same way clarity of that mind. A Nautilus ma- When Creative Computing began, that, say, a monkey wrench is a tool. A chine, if you will, for developing brain there were no microcomputers in busi- computer is a tool that is used to make musculature. ness—only the promise of microcom- tools. And making tools is what homo So what? Right? There are those of puting in business. The advent of the sapiens are all about. Our earliest readers us who are obsessed with computers for "personal" computer was viewed with knew that well — they desperately the reasons outlined above. And there excitement, because of its potential as a wanted computer technology at their are those of us who will continue to care tool— a productivity tool and a creativ- fingertips for the purpose of crafting about the technology simply in terms of ity tool. tools. And though by today's standards what is available off the shelf in the way Now micros are in business to stay, they were merely chipping a sharp edge of a good set of pliers to twist the lid off a as is Creative Computing. The business on a pointed stone, they were the first ofa specific, nasty problem. I bear no malice beat has always been of interest to our new breed of craftsmen. toward those who do not share my ob- readers—for many it is a pre-eminent in- It occasionally amazes me how session—in a way I rather envy them terest. As recent issue themes attest, many otherwise intelligent members of their peace of mind. But the point to be Creative Computing is serious about our industry have no idea how important stressed is that the microcomputer in- business hardware and software cover- a distinction is the one I am attempting dustry is very basically different from age. We know that you are interested in to describe here. They look at hardware any that has come before—whether or the computer as a productivity tool. You and software as respectively equivalent not you believe it to follow established are interested in using the micro as a toa phillips head and a sharp screw. Such rules of business. Ours is the industry means to complete a certain task or series a view is not incorrect; it is simply in- wherein the future ofour own minds lies oftasks. You are interested in finding the complete. It is blind to the most im- exposed. And it is up to us to keep that right combination of tools, both hard- portant truth concerning the nature of future on track—through imagination, ware and software, to solve a problem the computer—that while it represents a criticism, innovation, and discussion. most effectively and least expensively. powerful tool for the accomplishment of (Note please that these are wholly hu- You turn to us to read the truth about tasks, it also represents the modern task man elements.) To do otherwise is to ig- available products. Not to read a news of the accomplishment of tools. And as nore ourjob as human beings, which is to report or press release, or to hear why the any anthropologist will tell you, a hu- create, through our tools, the world that manufacturer himselfthinks he has a hot man culture is defined in terms of its we want to live in. The people who miss product, but to hear what an experi- tools. We are what we make, so to speak. that point will wait, as they have in the enced, responsible critic has to say about Art is about tools, too—but those tools past, for the rest of us to show them the it. We continue to strive to provide that are applied in a different way. way. 28 CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 Trusted by Accounting Professionals since 1978. vJ / 1 1 1 -) ^ Comes Home with the NEW PERSONAL PLANNER. CPAids accounting software has been used and trusted Easy to use, the Personal Planner requires only a fifteen by professionals since 1978. Now you can have much of page documentation. A complete set of input sheets is this same expertise at home with the new CPAids Per- also included. Available for the IBM PC, Sharp PC 5000 sonal Planner. Priced at only $49. the Personal Planner and other IBM compatibles. Also available on Apple II, will calculate your tax liabilities for the years 1983 thru the DEC Rainbow and other CP/M compatibles. 1986. Use it for retirement planning, investing, IRA ' CP M is a trademark of Digital Research. Inc , DEC Rainbow is a trademark ot Digital Equipment Corp , IBM is a trademark ot International contributions, home buying, two income planning and Business Machines Corp , Sharp PC 5000 is a registered trademark of Sharp Corporation. Apple II is a trademark of Apple even checking your federal tax return. Computers. Inc CPAids, Inc. 1061 Fraternity Circle The CPAids Personal Planner organizes your tax infor- Kent, Ohio 44240 (216)678-9015 readily available for in- mation, keeping your records Help me reduce my taxes— Enclosed is my $49. 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CIRCLE 112 ON READER SERVICE CARD SPECIAL REPORT Choosing and Using Russ Lockwood Tax Software Packages Computer Assisted Tax Preparation only a month and a half left is—a computerized tax package. More preparation is painful enough without Withbefore the day of reckoning, and more do-it-yourself tax preparers complicating matters with time consum- millions of taxpayers prepare are discovering that pairing their com- ing data entry and superfluous calcula- to undertake the dismal task of filling out puter with a tax program helps organize tions. Consequently, ask yourself if you their tax returns. Shoe boxes emerge receipts, examine alternative tax strat- really need a tax package. Slick market- from closets, scraps of paper smother egies, fill out forms, and sometimes, even ing notwithstanding, many people really dining room tables, and blood pressures pare their tax bills too. don't. inch upward. Calculating and re- Tax software should save you time First, to make good use ofa tax pro- calculating, taxpayers spend hours mud- or money or, preferably, both. Tax gram, you must have a reasonable under- dling through another year of receipts, standing ofour tax system. This includes law changes, and forms. There must be a knowing which expenses qualify as better way, right? deductions, which forms to use, and how You bet your refund check there 30 CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 proprietorship or small business re- certain tax strategies affect the tax you examine various tax scenarios and strat- explore quires certain specific schedules. Certain pay. A tax program does not provide ad- egies. These programs help you features, however, should be present in vice on income averaging, capital gains, the tax implications of different all types of tax programs. tax credits, or any other of the more in- combinations of income, investment, tax program, for example, volved aspects of tax preparation. If you and expense. For example, you can see Any should allow you to insert, delete, and re- are a total tax novice, a tax program is what happens to your return when you Individual Retire- place any number easily and then re- not likely to help you. place money in an calculate totals automatically. If a Second, your taxes should be com- ment Account, take a lump sum dis- program cannot do this simple substitu- plicated enough to require a program. tribution of pension money, or use tion and arithmetic function, steer clear For example, if you are single and file investment credits. of it. Every year the IRS receives thou- form 1040EZ (sometimes referred to as While a program cannot advise you sands of returns with arithmetic errors. the short form), you certainly do not what to do with your money, it can an- Any error, intentional or not, that re- need a tax program—unless you want to alyze your options and present you with sults in underpaying your taxes leaves explore the ramifications of filing a regu- the results. As always, the choice is up to you liable for interest and penalties. A lar Form 1040. you. If your tax return is sufficiently program that can cause such an error if On the other hand, if you intend to complex that speed ofnumberjuggling is consider tax you forget to press a key to update the to- file Form 1040 and any of the attached important, you should a saves schedules, a tax package may be just planning package. It may suggest a strat- tals you neither time nor money. forms, what you need. In general, the more egy you have never had time to consider. You should be able to call up complex your financial situation, the Tax preparation programs help you categories, and schedules from any- with greater your need for a tax package. fill out the multiplicity of forms released where within the program, along appropriate safeguards to save your But what if you take your return to a every year by the IRS. In most cases, the before erasing it the screen. certified public accountant? If you do forms are reproduced on screen and you work from not mind paying a professional to make plug in all the numbers you have. Obviously, some computers, like the sense out of whatever collection of re- Preparation programs can usually move Macintosh, can do a better job at this ceipts and cancelled checks you may numbers from the various schedules di- than others. However, the principle is have accumulated during the year, you rectly to Form 1040. the same: ease of movement within the probably do not want a tax program. Some preparation programs come program. However, most CPAs charge by the with IRS-approved forms that load into Also, a tax program should allow hour, and presenting organized informa- your printer. You can use the resulting you to print out anything typed into the computer, including subtotals, totals, tion decreases the time it will take one to printout as your return. With other soft- prepare your return. In many cases, the ware, you transfer the numbers by hand forms, and schedules. In many cases, amount you save on fees will exceed the from a printout to the actual forms and looking at a hard copy printout proves cost of the software. As a bonus, your schedules. easier than switching between screens. CPA can concentrate on creative tax Whether record keeping, planning, On a more nebulous note, the docu- strategies rather than laborious data or preparation, all tax programs are ei- mentation should explain the program per- collection. ther stand-alone packages or templates fully, with extensive examples and Tax programs divide into three to a spreadsheet. A stand-alone package haps even a sample run. We prefer man- categories: record keeping, tax planning, runs independently of other software. It uals that provide too much information and tax preparation. Of course, many may be part of a family of tax programs, to those that offer too little. word about speed: Obviously, the packages cover more than one category. but you can plug it into your computer A faster a program performs calculations, The trick is to choose the program that and run it by itself. the better. However, in cases offers the features you need. A template is a specialized applica- most speed Almost anyone can use a record tion that runs with another program. is a function of hardware. For example, keeping program. In essence, this cate- Several companies offer tax planning the same package will run faster in an gory combines the shoe box with a cal- templates for popular spreadsheet IBM PC AT version than in an Apple II culator. The program allows you to programs such as Lotus 1-2-3 and version. For most people, speed is not a divide expenses into several categories Multiplan. The labels and formulas are primary consideration; other features and attach a comment to each amount. already set up for you; all you do is enter should weigh far more heavily in the The program keeps a running total for numbers. selection of a tax program. each category and a grand total for all Our discussion involves primarily Ifyou are looking for a package, you categories. In the more complete tax federal tax programs. However, many may want to consider side by side packages, you can automatically move companies offer state tax programs too. comparisons of various tax strategies on these totals to the appropriate lines on The features to look for in a federal or the screen. If you are deciding between the tax form. state package are practically identical. two or more strategies, it is better to see If you have ever filled out a Sched- all of them on the same screen rather ule A or Schedule C, you will appreciate Financial Features than complete one strategy, print it out, a record keeping program. Ifyou aredili- The features you want determine complete another, and so on. gent and enter your expenses as they oc- the type of package you need. People Furthermore, tax planning pro- cur, an end-of-year printout provides a who want a record keeping program to grams should cover the more esoteric tax tidy listing. When tax time rolls around, organize and present data to an accoun- computation options, such as income you can concentrate on tax planning and tant or tax preparation service do not averaging and alternative minimum tax. preparation. need a full-featured package. Likewise, a Income averaging is a viable option Tax planning software lets you businessman filling out a return for a sole should you find that your income in this VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 3/CREATIVE COMPUTING 31 SPECIAL REPORT: TAX SOFTWARE year is substantially higher than in providing the the current rules, regulations, tricky. In some cases, you can deduct it four previous years. This means the pro- and equations necessary to prepare a as a one-time expense. In other cases, gram must be able to accept five correct years' return. you must deduct it over five years. This is worth of tax data. For an explanation of certainly a matter to discuss with your aspects of alternative minimum tax, see Man Versus Machine CPA, not your tax program. the sidebar below. Before you consider dumping your A business may also be able to The right tax preparation program CPA for a tax program, remember that a avoid certain taxes if it buys and receives for you must include all the forms and program does not provide advice on fil- software over a modem (see page 44). schedules you plan to use. Not every pro- ing your tax return. A tax package is only Incidentally, tax preparation can be gram incorporates the entire bingo card as good as the information that is put a business expense, and your costs can be of forms and alphabet soup of schedules. into it. And where the information is put deductible. This includes the price of a If you need Form 2441, Credit for Child into it can be important, too. tax package. Likewise, time spent using a and Dependent Care Expenses, and In general, CPAs know more about tax program may count as a business Schedules R and RP, Credit for Elderly, taxes than non-CPAs; after all, that is activity, which increases the percentage make sure the package has them before their profession. A qualified CPA can of business use of the computer. you buy. navigate the maze of tax laws, identify On the other hand, if you require deductions, and help you pay the least Return of the Tithe? only Form 1040 and Schedules A (Item- tax possible. The biggest variable in buying a tax ized Deductions). B (Interest and Divi- The expertise of a CPA extends be- program this year may be the tax reform dend Income). D (Capital Gains and yond tax preparation and into tax plan- proposal currently before Congress. The Losses), and E (Supplemental Income ning. The date and terms under which so-called flat tax would simplify tax Schedule), then buying a high-powered you obtain income, for example, from forms, requiring you to pay a set percent- and equally high-priced tax package the sale of stock or a house, can affect fu- age of your income. With very few represents overkill. To generalize, the ture taxes. Retirement and pension plans adjustments to the income, most tax more forms and schedules the better, further complicate matters. A CPA can packages would become superfluous. but, beware of paying for extra features aid you in this sort of tax planning. However, the proposal does not you will never use. Finally, if the IRS computer picks change 1984 taxes, and with opposition The information on each schedule your return to be audited, a CPA can de- from special interest groups, the future should be easy to add onto the main scribe how your taxes were prepared and of the flat tax remains uncertain. Tax Form 1040. You should never have to explain the options open to you. That is year 1984 remains firmly in the grasp of transfer subtotals from schedules by support no software company can offer. the progressive income tax. hand. Once again, make sure the pro- With microprocessor speed and gram automatically updates the totals. Line 1 2: Business Income or (Loss) precision, a computerized tax package Tax preparation packages must use Everybody thinks about deducting can help you organize receipts, plan tax the current tax tables. A program that the cost of his computer. That is all strategies, and fill out forms faster than gives you 1983 tables is useless for 1984 well and good, except certain changes by hand. Reducing mental and physical tax returns. The inevitable changes in tax in the law have tightened up require- wear and tear is important to many peo- law can cause you to overpay or under- ments for deducting computer costs (see ple. That in itself may be worth the price pay taxes. Overpaying certainly does not sidebar on page 39). of a tax program. And maybe, just save you money, and we all know the In the broadest terms, a computer is maybe, one of these tax programs can in- potential penalties for underpaying. like a car: you may deduct certain costs if crease the size of your refund so you can Many companies offer yearly up- it is used for business purposes. The same look forward to April 1 5 this year. dates to their package for a modest fee. is true of peripherals like printers and Short descriptions of tax software These prolong the life ofyour package by modems. Software, however, can be packages begin on page 37. (charitable donations and interest, ButDoesltDoAMT? but not state and local taxes or tax preparation fees or advice). The treat- Most tax preparation programs of certain tax shelters (or loopholes). ment of depreciation is especially focus on the "normal" method of There are no firm rules about who is complicated, and most investment calculating tax, and some have the subject to the A.M.T. A rule ofthumb tax credits go out the window provision to consider income aver- says that an individual whose tax altogether. aging. However, you may be in for a preference items come to at least 40% A CPA we talked to said you big surprise— and a hefty tax bill— if of gross income or who has capital really need a computer to consider you minimize your tax using certain gains in six figures would be a can- the "what if?" assumptions of the tax shelters and fall under the provi- didate for the A.M.T. A.M.T. Thus if you think you might sions of the Alternative Minimum Calculating the A.M.T. is a com- be subject to the A.M.T., be sure the Tax (A.M.T.). plicated exercise, particularly if you program you buy includes provisions The A.M.T. is a mechanism de- want to consider alternatives. There for considering it. In addition, you signed to insure that people do not are no tables, only a complicated se- should probably invest in some com- minimize their taxes—or avoid pay- ries of steps and formulas. Only some petent tax advice from a CPA who is ing them altogether—by making use itemized deductions can be claimed well versed in the A.M.T.—DHA 32 CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 READ-ONLY A review of the IBM Personal Computer Family. I ol. 2. No. I extend some of those capabilities to graphics to a 32Kx 32K addressable (lie IBM PC Monochrome I )is|>lav and point window and to combine graphics the IBM PC Color Display. and text capability on a variety of This growing array of hardware graphics devices. Tile device drivers products is unified by a strong IMM necessary for information exchange Personal Computergraphics software with existing IBM PCgraphicsdevices development strategy one that can are included in the toolkit, as are a dramatically improve your program- driver 6>r the IBM PCjr Video Sub- ming efficiency broaden and the ap- system and language interfaces for the plication potential of your graphics IBM BASH:. FORTRAN, C, and Pas- programs. cal compilers and for the IBM Macro Independence. Graphicssoftware Assembkr. has traditionally been written for a The right tools. Several products <.i{\i'mc.\MASi'i-:\kiv; specific graphics device and couldn't from tin- IBM PC Engineering/Scien- be run (hi a second device without tific Series also play an important K Pluribus I mini. IBM Personal complex and time-consuming re- part in the IBM PC graphics pro- Computergraphics hardware covers a programming. By using the IBM gramming strategy. All of them incor- lot of territory from graphics cards Personal Computer Oraphics De- porate the Virtual Device Interface and monitors to printers and plotters. velopment Toolkit, however, you can discussed above. Color are monitors alone available in now develop software that is com- The IBM Personal Computer bur models that can satisfy varying patible with all existing IBM PC Graphical kernel System — which is levels of color graphics requirements, graphics hardware products. consistent with Draft ISO and ANSI from home or office to the laboratory. This is possible because the (»kS Standards—gives you a common Two of t lie most recent, ior exam- Toolkit contains a constant inter- high-level graphics language that can ple -the \\\\\ Color PC Enhanced face—the Virtual Device Interface- Iw'lp further sini|)lify your program- Display and the IBM PC Professional to which all applications can be writ- ming tasks. It also liclps increase the Graphics Display —offer advanced ten. The result is device- independent portability of applications between business and technical graphics ca- software. computer systems. pabilities. The IBM PC Enhanced The Graphics Development 'tool- Ill addition, the IBM Personal Graphics Adapter can also be used to kit allows you to program bit-map Computer Hotting System provides a IHM Personal Computer IHM Personal Computer IHM Personal Computer Enhanced Color Display Graphics Development Toolkit Professional Graphics Display tlie 3270 Personal It's a Bide-attached option for subroutine library of functions thai XT/370, or IBM PCjr that |MTinits speech and sound t<> ;i wide Computer. help make it easy produce IBM unit is outfit- under control of software such as variety of ch;irts and graphs. Theres Once your system Option and Writing to Read.* The Speech \ttach- also a Metafile Interpreter available to ted with the Keylock nt contains I'Hi words and sounds it difficult for someone facilitate retrieving and manipulating locked, will be ke> to access tlie in its K( >M. < artridges manufactured graphics images. without Hm- proper software with prerecorded speech can Im- used This range of IBM graphics pro- hardfile and all tlie valuable with tlie Also, other users in a net- under program control. And gramming tools is designed to help it contains. accessor purchase of a microphone and the and sini|)lif> nearly ever) as- work won't easily be able to speed record stored on your sys- proper software, youcaneven |M-ct of your graphics programming tamper with data your own speech data on an IBM PCjr work. They can substantially reduce tem. In fact, when the Keylock Option be diskette. the time and tedium involved in pro- is installed, tin- system unit can powered only with the ke> and S» far. at least, tlie last word is gram development, and t Ik- device in- up ours. dependence the) provide can help can't l>c powered up through the CRT increase the flexibility of your pint; port. *Dewtop«t by Dr. J«hn Henry Martin. Option finished programs. Device indepen- And with the Keylock cover dence also helps extend the life— and locked in place, tlie system unit marketability— of your programs, he- can't he removed— short of forcible cause applications developed wjth the entry— by just anyone whomight want your Virtual Device Interface can interface to browse around inside IBM PC with future generations of graphics during off hours. devices. Small packages. If you need more memory hut don't have a full-size slot WHATS TT1K I'ROCKAW available in your system unit, tin- IBM Whether you work with Personal Computer 2.">(>kB Memory Retrieval. pen and paper or the latest word |hi»- Expansion < Option may he tin- answer. cessing software, writing documents It offers 256KB of additional memory is only half the battle. Try finding on a short card C» indies rather than HVRDXWKKNKWS£ them again a month later. II inches) with a comparably diminu- We d( Hit (lain I to have discovered Lock and key. Troubled by people tive price. a better system for paper filing. But a it acklinn who try to peer without permission at That makes ideal for new software package from IBM — sensitive business or personal data memory to the IBM Portable PC ( Retrieval Sys- Option is tffice Correspondence stored in your IBM IVrsonal Com- This Memory Expansion tem (OCRS)—does promise to make r also a compact way to l>cef up your puter? Y>u can ^<> a long way toward lot easier for lliose who store IBM Personal Computer or IBM Per- life a locking it up with Mm- IBM Personal work on a fixed disk or wlio sonal Computer XT (which has two written Computer Keylock ( Option. havea library of documents stored on Fifteen minutes and a screw- slots for short cards!. of film and diskettes. driver are all von need to install tlie Talkies. The combination OCRS can help in two ways. kevlockt )ptionon your IBM Personal sound revolutionized the movies. s|>cll an hirst, it makes document abstracts Computer, IBM IVrsonal Computer Speech capability may soon file for for computers. and stores them in a summary Expansion Unit, IBM Personal Com- equally hit: change future reference. OCBS automatically puter XT. IBM Personal Computer The IBM PC> Speech Attachment isa searches out keyword information step in that direction. such as date, subject, sender, or any other significant word. Yw can also add keywords other than tliose actu- ally contained in the document. Second, and most important, simple English language queries will prompt OCBS to locate the original document. \ document search re- quest can he entered as individual words or complete sentences. You don't need to learn a special query language. OCBS can abstract and retrieve any type of file containing \SCII te\t such as letters, charts, and computer programs. It can also directly ab- stract documents written with IBM Help /natal your soflirai-e and hard- ware with ///<• lll\l Persona/ Com- puter keylock Option ing environments. Second. See your authorized IKM Per- there's an IKM Personal sonal Computer dealer or IKM Prod- Computer XENIX li-xt For- uct Center about an economical rmatting System that can help trade-up from your 3.0 version of simplil'v t In- pi-i iilin-1 i< hi of techni- IKM DOS to version 3.1 or from cal reports, memoranda, formal Macro Assembler version IjO to 2.0. papers, and documentation— it's WordStar is registered trademark ' IKM Personal Computer \T. DOS .'CI incorporates further enhancements that support the IKM Personal Computer Network. There are also new versions of mi PCjr Speech Ittachment the IKM BASIC Interpreter and of the IKM Macro Assembler. BASK 3.0 contains several noteworthj new func- Writing Assistant. IKM I HAN liter, and tions that provide access to user- WordStar " and documents using tlic installed device drivers. The) are: ll!M Revisable Form Text Document SHELL, IOC I I. and IOCTI.S. Content Architecture (RFTDCAL ERDE\ and EKDEYS. and EN- IH DOING ISIKGKOl P> can be converted t<> Documents VIRON and ENVIRONS, RFTDCA data format bv li:\l Dis- Ceiling started. Ever considered The recent J.I) version of the I PCWHter forming a group to ideas pbyWrite and 2 and IKM Macro Assembler supports both exchange Witlii M IRS, missing reports maj about using your IKM Personal Com- the H((HH and H02Hh processors and In- a the past. puter, but never got around to sorting thing of the K0«7 and 80287 Math Co-pro- Evolution. Like their human language out all llie start-up details.-' Or. once cessors. ( fther additions include a new counterparts, computer languages past that first stage, does your group /-^^^^ more powerful Linker, a and Bystems change and find it difficult to come up with new operating £fj_^^ l.ibrarv evolve. Occasionally an entire!) new a information, presentation materials, dialeet crops up, such as the I IS\I Per- and connections with other groups? sonal Computer XENIX' Operating Help is at hand. System. Because of the growing inter- lltM Personal Computer XENIX est in PC user groups all across is derived from the I NIV Time tlic country, IKM has expanded Sharing System. Several enhance- its efforts to encourage new groups ments designed specificnllv for the and to support existing ones. ll!\l Personal Computer VI' al- There's no charge for this as- low sou to take full advantage of sistance, and all groups— whet her its power. IKM Personal (Com- Kiev have 1(1 or l.tHKI members— are puter XENIX supports I mlli eligible for the same basic level of single-user and multi-user support. sta iters, the I sir configurations. It also en- £ For IKM allies you to run several Group Support department will pro- programs at the same vide a package that introduces you to time— you can, for exam- some of the basics of organizing a ple, compile a program in the club. It includes a saui|>le constitution background while you edit one in an I )isk ( Operating System II H IS } operat- assembler language programs. Perhaps the most impressive form of support is a monthly newslet- The best news is the prices. ter on diskette, complete with color Programs listed in the Direc- est articles education to personal produc- from participating group newsletters, tivity and business applications. A so you can follow the activities of other TIPS AND TECHNIQI IS user groups around die country. Added color. Bored with tlie black Other sources of useful infcnna-j screen that appears on your IBM PC tion are the PC I ser Group Plione ( lolar Display when you boot up your Line and W. User Group Bulletin system? There are lots of other color Boanl System. Ymi can use tin- possibilities, and the brief program phone line to get answers to ques- below shows you how to set tlwm from tions about the and organization DOS. functions of a user group and to It will give you a display with a find out about other groups in black bonier around a rectangle 00 your area. columns wide and 2~> lines high. The The bulletin board, program can lie usi-d in an \l'T<>- which can be accessed F\F< '.. BAT file to produce a stalling through your IBM Personal color, and Dl. HI <> will maintain Hie Computer, carries new pro- color you set. duction information from All you have to do is substitute tlie day of announcement. number or letter values for tlie colors It also provides a means of you want where tlie '!'! appear in the communicating w ith otlier following program. For tlie first '.. It: clubs. substitute (Hie digit (0-7! lor the back- Finally, to provide top- ground color. For die second '!. sub- ics of interest for your regu- stitute either a digit or a letter for tlie lar!) scheduled meetings. IHM loreground color 11-7 for regular col- will send timely presentation and ors, ( >-F fiir intensified colors). For ex- demonstration materials. Better still, ample. 20 will give you grey ted on a group officers can use tlie phone line The Directory of I'crsonally green background. For a complete to request guest speakers from IHM Developed Software from MM listing of the color codes, see tlie ( lolor for special meetings.* Statement section of your IBM BASK! For more information about par- Each program in the Di- manual. ticipating in the IBM I Ber Group Sup- rectory has a full description To set your screen colors, do die port program, please write to: IBM that includes system require- following from (Im- I X IS prompt: I sei Group Support, IBM Corpora- ments and illustrations or color A>debug color.com tion 2900, P.O. Box .1022. Boca Baton. photos of representative File not found (ignore this message) FL 33432. screens. Programs may be or- -\c\ 'The availability and frequency ofguesl dered by mail or through an 01)0 :2() speakers depend <>" the me of thegroup telephone number. -e HH) 2b (<> lc .">(> I>0 03 oo cd 10 b» its location, and meeting iii^lil. Ii> subscribe to tlie Direr- IMIIK) h'HMMMI |>a tory call KOO-IBM-PCSW. -e 11(1 .">(> 20 b7 ft cd 10 bl 02 ba 00 (Ml Ii7 (Hied 10 cb -w writing 20 bytes • -<1 Thereafter, you need only type HAKDCOn "color'" at the initial IK)S prompt after booting your system to change Midden talent. Think of tin' many en- tlie display fmin black and white to tertaining and useful programming your preset colors. ideas that must exist out there but never find tlieir way to market. Kir imin' iiiI.m iiuiIi.ki about IHM The IBM Directory of Personally I Vrs I. ill It- IrHlllprtlurartrr ImviihmI b> lttiM>b-<> Iim-.. ft.a. SPECIAL REPORT Choosing and Using Carol A.Crowell Tax Software Packages Tax Software In Brief System: 64K IBM PC, MS-DOS endar year can be collected in one Record Keeping Price: $30 convenient, displayable file. Entries are Manufacturer: categorized in any of eight different Auto Tax Saver Superflight. Inc. classes and 32 different types. At income 752 La Para Ave. The first software program de- tax time, the program will print out the Palo Alto, 99306 signed to monitor the business use ofcars CA entire ledger, the ledger for any single (415)493-5050 under the Tax Reform Act of \9%4, Auto month, all ledger entries in any single Tax Saver documents business car usage MoneyTrack type, or all ledger entries in any single for salespeople and professionals who class with summary totals for each of the deduct expenses for investment tax Designed for the non-accountant 32 types. For example, in a class of credit. Adaptive Software says the mile- and novice computer user, MoneyTrack deductible expenses, one type could be is a record age log provides all necessary docu- keeper geared for people with medical with accumulative totals for small businesses using mentation required by the IRS. It an outside book- physicians' receipts, hosptial bills, den- keeping accumulates mileage, monitors percent- service, principals of a company tal statements, and prescription receipts. or firm that acts as ages, records trip purposes, and rec- a trustee for multiple Any entry to the program may be up- ognizes repeated patterns of places bank accounts, and people with a variety dated, changed, modified, or deleted of business activities. visited. In the case of multiple trips to the MoneyTrack from the file or to another file. The pro- records simple expense same location, data entry is accom- payments and gram can also establish personal, busi- plished by pointing to a destination and complex financial transactions, files ness, and landlord-type ledgers. these transactions throughout the year hitting the return key. System: IBM PC, with no month-end accumulated totals, MS-DOS Price: $22.50 Systems: 192K IBM PC, MS-DOS and produces a variety of reports for the Manufacturer: Price: $89.95 user and his accountant. Each trans- Robert L. Nicolai Manufacturer: action is related to a fund, business, ac- 4038 N. Ninth St. Adaptive Software count, or special ledger, with up to 99 St. Louis, MO 63 147 1868CavellAve. funds, 99 businesses, 900 accounts, and (314)621-7618 Highland Park. IL 60035 900 special ledgers provided. At the end (312)831-4420 ofthe year, MoneyTrack provides a sum- mary for each category and then for- Tax Planning wards balances and monthly BIN totals for month-by-month comparison ofthe new Beacon Designed to organize personal and year with the old. MoneyTrack also A tax planner that combines tax small business income tax data into sepa- interfaces with Lotus 1-2-3 for custom record keeping with personal financial rate categories, BIN is a record keeping reports. management. Beacon tracks both in- program for people who keep their re- System: 128K come and non-income producing assets ceipts, check stubs, W-2's, bank state- IBM PC, MS-DOS Price: $295 and keeps a running record of the net ments, credit card records, and medical Manufacturer: worth ofone owner or any group ofown- bills in shoeboxes. The category "bins" Pacific Data ers. The net worth of the entire family, appear at the top of the screen with tags Systems, Inc. the husband and wife only, the children such as Medical Expenses, Travel, 6090 Sepulveda Blvd. only, and family trust, or an IRA owner, Phone, and Taxes and are selected with a Culver City, CA 90230 is instantly available. All bookkeeping single keystroke. Data from receipts are (213)559-8713 (800)343-9194 adjustments for investment portfolios entered in the bin and then automati- and cash accounts are made automati- cally totaled and alphabetized. (800)421-4706 cally and produce tax information. The Superflight says records can be main- program prints a summary tax return tained on a periodic basis or compiled in Tax Record and can be modified to allow "what if one shot on April 14. The actual filling With Cheapware Tax Record, in- analysis. Tax tables and limits-percent- out of the return is left to the user. come and expense records for any cal- ages in the tax code can be edited to keep • CIRCLE 121 ON READER SERVICE CARD 1 VOLUME 1 NUMBER 3/CREATIVE COMPUTING 37 11 . . SPECIAL REPORT: TAX SOFTWARE them current. The program includes a reminder system for special events, such as dividend dates, stockholder meetings, Common Tax Forms maturity dates, option expiration dates, other mundane but important bits of and all know and love. Form 1 040 Standard income tax form we information such as a spouse's birthday Form 1040A Variation of standard form. or wedding anniversary. Forml040-ES Estimated tax. System: 48K Apple II and III Form 1040EZ Another variation of the standard form, sometimes re- Price: $90 ferred to as the short form. Rico. Manufacturer: Form 1 040PR Form for residents of Puerto The Cumberland Company Form 1040SS Form for residents of Guam, American Samoa, Virgin 4765 North Cumberland Blvd. Islands, and Northern Marianas Islands. Milwaukee, WI 53211 Form 1040X Amended income tax return. (414) 964-7877 Form 1 065 US partnership return of income. Form 1 1 20 Corporation income tax form. Form 1 1 20S S corporation income tax form Estate Tax Planner Form 2 106 Employee business expenses. Designed for CPAs and attorneys, Form 2119 Sale or exchange ofprincipal residence. Estate Tax Planner analyzes up to four Form 22 10 Underpayment of estimated taxes by individuals. alternative plans simultaneously to aid Form 244 Credit for child and dependent care expenses. decisions about asset distribution. Eight Form 3468 Investment credit different analyses can be made: estate tax Form 3903 Moving expenses adjustment. liability, gross estate, present value Form 41 37 Computation of Social Security tax on unreported tip analysis, deferred payment under IRC income. section 6166, section 6166 payment Form 4255 Recapture ofinvestment credit. schedule, liquidity analysis, IRS section Form 4562 Depreciation and amortization. 303 stock redemption, and marital Form 4684 Casualties and thefts. deduction funding. Estate Tax Planner Form 4797 Supplemental schedule of gains and losses. requires little computer expertise for Form 5695 Residential energy credit. operation. Form 5884 Targeted jobs credit. Form 625 Alternative minimum tax computation. System: IBM PC, MS-DOS, Apple II andIII,CP/M Form 6765 Research credit. $750 Price: Schedule A Itemized deductions. Manufacturer: Schedule B Interest and dividend income. Aardvark/McGraw-Hill Schedule C Business profit or (loss). 1020 North Broadway Schedule D Capital gains and losses. Milwaukee. WI 53202 Schedule E Supplemental income schedule. 225-7500 (414) Schedule G Income averaging. Schedule K Shareholders' share of income, credits, and deductions. Series Financier Tax Schedule L Balance sheets. This tax planning package operates Schedule R Credit for the elderly. like a spreadsheet, forming rows and col- Schedule RP Credit for the elderly. umns to create multiple tax cases and Schedule SE Social Security self-employment tax. calculate tax years 1984 and after. The Schedule W Deduction for a married couple when both work. program offers graphic analysis, on- screen help, a depreciation module, and CPI indexing. Information stored capital gains and losses, taxable social Price: IBM PC, $179.95; Macintosh, within can be downloaded to Financier security income, married couple deduc- $69.95; Apple II, $59.95 II, a full-featured business finance pro- tions, self-employment taxes, alternative Manufacturer: gram from the same company. minimum tax, tax credits, and income G&G Software, Inc. Blvd. averaging. It displays a worksheet with 610 Park System: IBM PC, MS-DOS an overview of the user's entire tax situa- Austin, TX 78751 Price: $175 tion with an estimate of year-end taxes. (512)458-5760 Manufacturer: Up to five different tax scenarios can be Financier Professional Tax Planner viewed simultaneously, and updates can 2000 West Park Dr. be made as changes occur. Based upon An updated, year-round tax plan- Westboro,MA01581 this year's tax information, Forecast also ning program, Professional Tax Planner, (617)366-0950 can project tax scenarios for the next version 4.0, has automatic calculation of four years. the two-earner deduction, an alternative Forecast minimum tax break-even point calcula- A tax estimating and "what if tax System: IBM PC, MS-DOS, 64K Apple tion, and the ability to save results to a planning program, Forecast automati- II with 80-column card, 128K DOS file to be used with a word process- cally calculates dividends and interest. Macintosh ing program. This enhanced version also 38 CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 allows users to enter and calculate state taxes. Professional Tax Planner details Can You Deduct Nbur Computer? tax items for adjustments to income and calculates investment expense limita- tions and 10-year averaging. According The Deficit Reduction Act of the "convenience of the employer" to a maintenance agreement, enhance- 1984 (DRA) limits the tax benefits of and is "required as a condition of ments and updates within 30 days every personal in the using a computer employment." time tax laws change cost $100 in addi- home. The new rules are generally These requirements that mean tion to the retail price for the first year. applicable only to property placed in there must be an excellent business The agreement may be extended for sub- service after June 18, 1984 and affect reason the why employee must work sequent years at variable costs, depend- only as they (e.g., "home" computers do at home insufficient office space ing upon the complexity of tax law not apply to equipment used exclu- at the regular place of employment) changes, with a $225 ceiling. Pro- sively at a regular business establish- and that the employer requires work fessional Tax Planner can be used by ment. Although many home uses of at home as a condition of employ- computer novices, although it is de- still provide a personal computer can ment. The taxpayer will need a writ- signed for CPAs and others already severely deductions, the new rules ten statement from the employer in familiar with tax planning. restrict tax benefits for most employ- support of the second condition (but System: ees who use their computers at home the statement by itself is not suf- 256K IBM PC, MS-DOS, in job-related activities. ficient). The intent ofCongress was to Apple II Accelerated depreciation under restrict deductions of home comput- Price: $395 Updates: Provided within 30 days of ACRS, Investment Tax Credits ers by employees, and it appears, in any (ITC), and the election to deduct the fact, that very few such users will now tax law change. $ 100 for first year first $5000 ofthe cost ofa computer in qualify. Manufacturer: the year of purchase (expensing) are New rules require records in- Aardvark/McGraw-Hill now available only for computers dicating business purpose, type of 1020 North Broadway used more than 50% in a trade or work, and the date and time of com- Milwaukee, WI 53202 business. Straight-line depreciation puter use. Absence of these records (414) 225-7500 over a 12-year period is the only will probably result in loss of the deduction available if business use is deductions. Tax Decisions 50% or less of the total computer use. A simple log or diary should be Tax Decisions, a 1040 based tax In addition, the deduction in the first used to record each use of the home planning package for professional tax year is limited to one-half of one- computer. It should be "contempora- planners and financial advisors, pro- twelfth of the cost. neous" (i.e., prepared at the time each vides for graphic reports, tabular re- In meeting the 50% test, invest- use occurs) and include all the ment-related computing will not information required to justify the ports, client filing, automatic count as business use even though deduction. calculations, and a permanent record of these activities are eligible for a The law changes noted here sug- up to five tax scenarios for each client. deduction. As under earlier law, gest that the most favorable tax bene- Related items may be recalculated with a single when usage is less than 100% busi- fits (including the ITC, ACRS new entry change, and related ness, an allocation of costs between depreciation, and the expensing elec- schedules will be considered automati- business and nonbusiness usage is re- tion) will usually be available only to cally through the "expert system" advis- quired in calculating the deduction. self-employed individuals who have a ing technique. In both report and graph The DRA requires reporting of primary or secondary business in forms, key lines of Form 1 040 can be dis- previous deductions as income if their home and to employees required played to demonstrate tax liability in a business use of the computer falls to use a home computer in their jobs single plan compared to other plans and below 50% in subsequent years. as a conditon ofemployment. In both options. In addition, the calc pad, which enables For example, if a computer is situations, business use must be more the user to calculate indepen- used only for business in the first year, than 50% of total use of the machine. dently of the program, can be displayed but in a later year is used mostly for The new law does not apply to through on-screen windowing along personal purposes, depreciation must computers used at a regular business with the appropriate form or schedule. be calculated using the 12-year establishment. For this purpose, a As a bonus. Tax Decisions includes a straight-line method. But the tax- "home office" (in the technical IRS subscription to CompuServe's IRS information payer is also required to include in sense) qualifies as a regular business database. current year's income the excess of establishment. Note, however, that System: PC, ACRS depreciation taken (and any the home office must be used exclu- IBM MS-DOS Price: $279 amounts expensed) in prior years sively for business purposes, and that Updates: Semi-annual; first year's over what he would have been al- the home computer must be used up- date free, with subsequent ones at annual lowed using straight-line in those exclusively in the home office. If this subscription rate of $99. years. The ITC is similarly subject to "regular business establishment" Manufacturer: a partial "recapture." exception is not met, the taxpayer Use of a home computer in an should try to ensure that business use Eagle Software Publishing, Inc. 993 Old Eagle employee's job qualifies for business is always greater than 50% of total School Rd. use only if the computer is used for Wayne, PA 19087 (215) 964-8660 VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 3/CREATIVE COMPUTING 39 1 SPECIAL REPORT: TAX SOFTWARE Tax Mini-Miser native minimum tax for extended peri- Income Tax Spreadsheet ods. The program also determines the Designed by financial planners and Income Tax Spreadsheet amount of tax shelter loss needed to The BNA investment counselors for professional is specifically designed for professional achieve particular tax reduction goal. tax planning and home use, Tax Mini- tax planners involved in tax planning Miser has its own run-time system, System: IBM PC, MS-DOS and tax compliance work, including which making it easy for first time com- Price: $295 CPAs, tax attorneys, financial planners, puter users to operate. The program Manufacturer: public accountants, commercial tax employs a spreadsheet-like format in Quadram Corporation preparers, and IRS agents. Using an which one screen is used for income en- 4355 International Blvd. electronic spreadsheet format, it auto- tries and another for deduction entries. Norcross, GA 30093 matically calculates tax liability over a Tax Mini-Miser can project tax scenar- (404) 923-6666 seven-year period for all categories of in- ios for up to six years, perform up to six dividuals and fiduciaries. It includes in- alternative scenarios simultaneously, Tax Planning come averaging, alternative minimum and calculate income averaging and tax, and automatic indexing. Multiple alternative minimum tax. The most re- and Preparation year or multiple projections can be per- cent federal tax laws are applied. A formed simultaneously. Help messages Bottomline Tax California version of Tax Mini-Miser is display reference to IRS codes. available with other state programs Devised as a management tool for System: 192K IBM PC, MS-DOS planned. lay people and professional preparers, Price: $495 Bottomline is System: Apple II and III, IBM PC Tax a planning and Manufacturer: Price: $295 BNA Software - Updates: Annual; $45 $75 1231 25th St. Manufacturer: Washington, DC 20037 Sunrise Software (202)452-4453 36 Palm Ct. he income tax Menlo Park, CA 94025 Ti has made J. K. Lasser's Your Income Tax (415)441-2351 more liars out of the American Ibis comprehensive tax planning supplements Tox Shelter/Investment Planner people than goK has. and preparation software the famous tax guides from the Lasser Tailored for CPAs and financial —Will Rogers Tax Institute. The program opens with a planners, Tax Shelter/Investment Plan- questionnaire to determine which forms ner analyzes the effects of shelters tax and schedules must be filled out and then and investments; figures net present replicates the appropriate forms on the value, rates of return, cumulative tax preparation program that can be used to screen. On-screen help is cross-ref- benefits, and effect upon cash flow; and train or update individuals in federal in- erenced to paragraphs in the tax guide. prints reports for clients. Three com- come tax requirements. Tax returns can Windowing techniques provide instant plete reports Investment are offered: Re- be prepared by correlating the informa- access between forms. Automatic saving port, Integrated Investment Report, and tion from various schedules or in a batch of information and a four-function cal- Tax Report. Calculations can be made mode in which the data are entered and culator are part of the program. A copy with post- 1975 investment interest the computer calculates the tax, prints of J. K. Lasser's Your Income Tax is limitations, alternative the minimum the tax return, and automatically posts included. tax, and general credit business the data to the correct schedules. Menu- A companion program, J. K. limitations. driven with 12 categories that prompt Lasser's Your Money Manager, is a tax System: 256K IBM PC the user for data entry, the program can record keeping program. Expenses and Price: $395 create a new tax record, copy an existing other financial information stored over Manufacturer: record for modification, or call up a the course of a year can be downloaded Aardvark/McGraw-Hill record for analysis of financial decisions. into the tax program forecasting capability allows the user 1020 N. Broadway A Forms: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, SE, W, R, Milwaukee, Wl 53202 to minimize future tax liability. A tu- 1040, 2106, 2119, 2210, 2441, 3468, (414) 225-7500 torial, which provides examples, specific 3903, 4562, 4625, 4684, 4797, 5695, 625 summaries, and tax planning sugges- System: IBM PC, MS-DOS Tax Strategist tions, is included. Price: Your Income Tax, $79.95; Your Money Manager, $89.95 An income tax planning program Forms: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, SE, W, R, Manufacturer: that projects tax liability for 10 years or R&P, 1040 Simon & Schuster considers different alternatives for a sin- System: IBM PC, MS-DOS, CP/M, Ap- 1230 Avenue of the Americas gle year, the Tax Strategist automati- ple He, Tandy Model 111,4 New York, NY 10020 cally selects the optimum tax method for Price: $295 (212)245-6400 the individual. A key feature is the plan- Manufacturer: ning program that calculates federal in- Venture Software come tax obligations and compares 16200 Ventura Blvd. PC/Taxcut regular tax as determined from standard Encino.CA 91436 Incorporating both tax planning tables with income averaging and alter- (818)986-4110 and preparation, PC/Taxcut tax planner 40 CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 The Wraps Are Coming Off What's NewAt... 7 di ^ i/y ¥° -^ \e>u'll Like What You See! New products — new features System enhancements for expanded efficiency More and more new databases Advanced laser videodisc technology New people — new facilities A whole new slant on information BRS • Rt. 7 • Latham • NY 121 10 K0 (800) 345^1BRS CIRCLE 159 ON READER SERVICE CARD 1 1 SPECIAL REPORT: TAX SOFTWARE compensation and Social Security calculates and prints 2 1 tax forms and Personal Tax Planner schedules, producing a complete tax re- received. A tax planning and preparation turn, ready to sign and file. It features the 1040, 4952, 4972, 625 template for Lotus 1-2-3 and Symphony, Forms: G, W, SE, ability to produce a variety of reports, the Personal Tax Planner includes fed- System: IBM PC automatic limitations on IRAs, han- $495 eral forms which are updated twice an- Price: dling of depreciation, separation of tax Manufacturer: nually, in September for latest law items, optional state sales tax table, and Management changes in year-end planning and in Control Systems support for PC-DOS pathnames. The January for conversion to new tax forms. 230 Peachtree St., NW program calculates the alternative mini- Atlanta, Also available are state tax forms by GA 30042 mum tax, rents and royalties, business 522-2383 region—states are grouped into Eastern, (404) expenses, energy credit, rollover of gain Central, and Western. To explore vari- on the sale of residence, capital loss ous tax possibilities, the program auto- ToxCalc Tax Planner carry-forward, dual-earner deduction, matically recalculates data to perform a and all-savers certificate interest exclu- A tax planning template for a vari- running series of "what ifs." Macros and sion. Newly updated for 1984/ ety of popular spreadsheets, including help are included on the disk, and func- 1985, it is suitable for year-round tax Lotus 1-2-3, Symphony, Framework, tions have been subdivided into six sepa- planning. VisiCalc. SuperCalc, Multiplan and Re- rate menus. port Manager, the TaxCalc Tax Planner Forms: W, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, SE, 1040, Forms: A, B, C, D, E, G, SE, W, 1040, works out local and national returns 2106, 2119, 2210, 2441, 3468, 3903, simultaneously. Using the on-screen 4562, 4797, 4952, 5695, 625 information form, the program cal- System: 128K IBM PC, MS-DOS culates data by line number for Form Price: $195 1040, Schedules D and G, Form 4972 Manufacturer: with 10-year averaging provision, and Best Programs, Inc. E mployees moke the best alternative minimum tax. Local tem- 5 1 34 Leesbury Pike plates, which follow appropriate state or dates. You don't have to pick Alexandria, VA 22302 city forms, are available for Arizona, (703)931-1300 them up and they're always tax California, Illinois, Ohio, Oregon, (800)368-2405 Minnesota, New York, and New York deductible. City. TaxCalc Tax Planner features the ability to scroll the screen and review an Personal Planner Warhol —Andy addition to the input without searching Designed to calculate personal tax for categories, the use of a spreadsheet liabilities for 1983 through 1986, Per- window to watch the effect of "what ifs," sonal Planner by CPAids combines and graphic capabilities with Lotus 1-2- calculation of income tax liabilities with 2106,2441,3468,4562,6251 3, SuperCalc 3 and VisiCalc IV. investment and financial planning. To System: Lotus 1-2-3 (256K ), Lotus Sym- help consumers minimize income tax phony (5 \2K) Forms: D,G, 1040,4972 liability, the program projects income Price: $75 System: 128K IBM PC, MS-DOS, Ap- into the future and shows the long-term Updates: With September version, the ple, Tandy, CP/M, CP/M-86 implications of current financial de- January version is at "reproduction and Price: $ 1 50; state templates $50 each, ex- cisions. Storing up to four different sets distribution cost." Annual updates at cept CA, NY, and NYC, $ 100 of assumptions about an individual's 60% of retail Manufacturer: financial status, the program prints out Manufacturer: TaxCalc Software, Inc. two reports: one showing the compari- Permar & Associates 4200 South Hulen son between years and one showing the U25SunnyhillsRd. Fort Worth, TX 76109 comparison between the different op- Oakland, CA 94610 (817)732-7307 tions. Forms include 1040 cross- (800)443-0100 referencing, itemized deductions, Tax Command Planner interest/dividends, capital gains, in- Quick-Look Tox Planner Designed for end-of-year tax plan- come averaging, self-employment, joint accountants, Planner filing status, 4972, special 10-year For this recently up- ning, Tax Command simulta- dated planning program project explores six different strategies averaging, and 6251 alternative mini- can neously 1 1 985 tax liabilities and print re- for periods of up to five years to compare mum tax. 984 and ports for investment interest expense taxes from year to year. The program Forms: A, B, C, D, G, SE, W, 1040, 4972, deduction, special 10-year averaging shows methods of depreciating equip- 6251 method, income averaging, and alter- ment, whether to sell stock, and how to System: Apple II, IBM PC, DEC Rain- native minimum tax. In addition, it ap- make contributions at the lowest cost. bow, CP/M plies an index of 1 .0425 per code section Any input number can be changed and Price: $49 1(0 to the 1985 tax rates, tax tables, recalculations are automatic. The user Manufacturer: exemptions, and zero bracket amount. can enter data manually or use a return CPAids, Inc. Quick-Look also provides mandatory prepared by Tax Command, a sister pro- 1061 Fraternity Circle itemizers, a limit for general business gram for tax preparation. Tax Com- Kent, OH 44240 credit, and an automatic computation of mand is a simple computation program (216) 678-9015 taxable amounts of unemployment geared for casual and novice computer 42 CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 ! What made over 100,000 Apple II owners fall in love with System Saver? It's the most versatile, most convenient, most System Saver lets your Apple keep its cool. useful peripheral ever made for the Apple.' Today's advanced peripheral cards generate heat In addition, the cards block any natural air flow through System Saver' filters out damaging AC line the Apple noise and power surges. He creating high temperature conditions that shorten the life of the Apple and peripheral cards. 70-90% of all microcomputer malfunctions can be System Saver's efficient, quiet traced to power line problems* Problems your fan draws fresh air across System Saver guards against the mother board, over Power line noise can often be interpreted as data. the power supply and This confuses your computer and produces system out the side ventilation errors. Power surges and spikes can cause severe slots. It leaves your Apple cool, calm and running damage to your Apple's delicate circuitry and lead to costly servicing at top speed. System Saver clips surges and spikes at a 130 Volts RMS/175 Volts dc level. A PI type filter attenuates common and transverse mode noise by a minimum of 30 dB from 600 kHz to 20 mHz with a max- imum attenuation of 50 dB You end up with an Apple that's more accurate, more efficient and more reliable SYSTEM SAVER So if you want to keep damaging heat, line noise and power surges out of *y\I|7v your system for good, pick up the only peripheral that's in use every second your computer is in use. The System Saver You'll soon come to think of it as System Saver makes your Apple more the piece Apple forgot convenient to use. No more reaching around to the back of your Apple Compatible with to turn it on. No more fumbling for outlets and cords Apple stand to plug in your monitor and printer. System Saver organizes all your power needs. "~1 Please send. -SYSTEM SAVER(S). $89 96 each Total Include $2 50 for shipping and handling New York State residents add applicable sales tax D Check enclosed Visa Master Card Card No Expires Name on Card Name Address (UPS delivery) It functions as a multi-outlet power strip with two City State Zip Phone switched outlets Plus System Saver offers the 251 Park Avenue South New York. NY 10010 mm KENSINGTON ultimate convenience; a front mounted power switch (212) 475-5200 Tlx 467383 KMl. NY l-fe9MK:ROWARK for fingertip control of your entire system. I •PC Magazine March 1983 System Saver is UL Listed System Saver s surge suppression circuitry conforms System Saver is a registered trademark of Kensington Microware Ltd to IEEE specification 507 1980. Category Available in Volts. A 220/240 50/60 Hz C 1984 Kensington Microware Ltd System Saver is patent pending CIRCLE 134 ON READER SERVICE CARD SPECIAL REPORT: TAX SOFTWARE users to be used at home or pro- The program calculates federal personal Software Loophole fessionally. In addition, Practical Pro- income taxes and allows for income grams offers Tax Command Professional averaging, working couple deductions, Certified Public Accountant with the added ability to print on forms capital gains, Social Security taxes, item- Robert W. McGee of Dumont. NJ using overlays. Both preparation pro- ized deductions, alternative minimum recently won the Golden Loophole grams perform income averaging, cal- tax, and tax credits. Although Schedule Award from CPA Digest Newsletter culate capital gains, and use current tax C form for income and expenses from a for discovering a way for companies tables. sole proprietorship is not included, to save money on taxes when buying TaxMode does provide a category for Forms: A, D,G, 1040 software. business income and investment credit. System: Tax Command Planner and It seems most states consider The program also has an inflation index, Tax Command Professional, IBM PC, computer software on tape or disk to a Scratch Pad Calculator, and a user's MS-DOS, Apple II, and C64; Tax Com- be tangible personal property, subject manual with clear and thorough mand C64, Atari, and TRS-80 Color to state sales or use tax. If the same Computer instructions. software is delivered through a Price: Tax Command, $24.95; Tax Forms: A, D, E, G, SE, W, 1040, 1951, modem connected to a computer, Command Planner and Tax Command 1972,6251 some states consider it intangible Professional: IBM PC, $99.95; Apple II, System: 128K IBM PC, MS-DOS, 48K property, which is not subject to $79.95; C64, $49.95. Apple II; 64K. systems taxation. CP/M Manufacturer: The dollar savings can be Price: $295 Practical Programs, Inc. Manufacturer: substantial for mainframe and mini- computer software, and micro- P.O. Box 93 104 Sawhney Software Milwaukee, WI 53203 888 Ave. computer owners can benefit too. 7th (414)278-0829 New York, NY 10106 However, CPA Digest cautions you to (212)541-8020 check state law carefully in advance. This loophole may not apply in your Tax Computation Tax Planner state. Developed by a professional CPA Digest, 1109 N. Mayfair accountant, Tax Computation is a tax A comprehensive, stand-alone pro- Rd., Milwaukee. WI 53226. (414) preparation program that simulates an gram Tax Planner provides "what if" 259-9300. interview with a tax accountant. Thus, tax planning applications and allows the users do not have to know in advance interfacing of tax planning with actual which deductions they want and are tax preparation. Designed for pro- On-Line Tax News qualified for. For example, the program fessional tax preparers, the program can NewsNet, a telecommunication may determine that a user is eligible for compare alternate years or multiple service featuring on-line versions of deductions for moving, earned income assumptions per year. Tax tables are de- over 200 special interest newsletters, credit, babysitting, employee expenses, fined for four years, and four different offers several electronic newsletters or self-employment earnings not taxed assumptions can be compared on a dealing with taxes. by Social Security. The $29.95 version yearly basis. Featuring a built-in cal- Commerce Clearing House Tax includes nine forms in detail, while the culator, the planner computes Schedule Day provides daily developments on professional version has 16 forms. Both G, 4972 and 6251, with supplemental Federal tax subjects. A sister news- versions have built-in calculators and calculations for Schedule 2119, invest- letter, State Tax Week, covers state will print IRS acceptable forms on a ment interest computation, and char- tax news. Commodore printer. The forms also ap- itable contribution limits. A partnership Charitable Giving covers gifts to pear on the screen so users can copy data input module is provided for developing charities. to the appropriate forms. effective tax strategies and financial Corporate Acquisitions and Dis- forecasting. Professional printouts pro- Forms: A, B, C, G, R, SE, W, 1040, 22 10; positions reports on the tax aspects of vide summary analysis and columnar Pro version adds D, 2106, 2119, 2441, buying and selling businesses. comparisons. 3903,4562,6251 Employee Retirement Plans ex- System: C64; disk drive; printer. System: IBM PC, and plains the tax laws surrounding MS-DOS, CP/M Price: $29.95; Pro version, $95 Price: $300 retirement and pension plans. Updates: Annual; $ 1 pro version, $75 Manufacturer: IRS Practices and Procedures 5; Manufacturer: CPAids, Inc. looks at the latest policy develop- K. R. Rullman Company 1061 Fraternity Circle ments ofour tax collection agency. 4550 SW Murray, #81 Kent, 44240 The Small Business Tax Review OH Beaverton, OR 97005 (216)678-9015 covers tax news affecting small (503)641-4610 businesses. Tax-Prep Tax Notes Today provides daily TaxMode coverage of Federal tax A personal income tax template for developments. An easy to use tax planning pro- both Lotus 1-2-3 and Multiplan spread- NewsNet, 945 Haverford Rd., gram, TaxMode is tailored for people sheets, Tax-Prep is a combination tax Bryn Mawr, PA 19010. (215) 527- who earn a diversified and changing in- planning and preparation program that 8030,(800)345-1301. come and want to project and analyze offers professional tax consultants and the effects of investments on their taxes. CPAs a wide range of options, including 44 CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 Reasons Why Your Business Needs Consolink's MicroSpooler. MicroSpooJer from Consolink MicroSpooler Has its Own Saves Time. 6 1 Power Supply, is Easy to Operate. Time is money When your computer is printing, It's "system-independent", and easily transferred plotting or communicating, you're waiting because from one peripheral device to the next with no your printer prints at a much slower rate than the waiting. Your CPU is free to access seconds after computer thinks giving the print, plot or communicate comm Controls are simple — MicroSpooler Eliminates the a "Copy/Pause' button iliows you to interrupt and resume operations at a < touch A "Reset" ' 2 Waiting. button lets you iffer memory. Accepts data quickly from your computer, stores it until the printer, plotter or modem is ready, and MicroSpooler is Easy relays to then it at the fastest pace those devices will 7 accept Your computer is back on the job in Understand. seconds — not minutes or hours — computing. The easy-to-read digital display continually updates MicroSpooler the amount of memory in use. |or the number of Means remaining copies to print) And you can print or 3 Communications Economy. transmit up to 99 duplicate copies on the 64K MicroSpooler — 256 copies on the I28K model — Accepts data from your modem at high with one initial command. transmission rates for later viewing and printing. Gets you on and off tht quickly MicroSpooler Won't Take Up MicroSpooler Fits Every Business 8 Your Space or Your Time. Effort. Models are book size, uncomplicated units that can be placed out of the way on shelves or CPU Two MicroSpooler models. (64K and I28K) ate cabinets. Two cables connect it to your computer available to supply the of needs correspondence and your peripheral device level or high-volume information processing MicroSpooler Quality it's MicroSpooler Installs Easily Means 5 Between Computer and 9 Cost-efficient. Peripherals. Consolink builds the MicroSpooler to last and to sell inexpensively That spells computing efficiency. Stan < 'tween your computer and your peripherals Installs quickly with two simple (• Consolink Makes the Difference. connections — Centronics-compatible parallel or Professional thinking, timely distribution, RS-232C serial 10 dependability and on-the-spot technical and advertising support gives you the MicroSpooler edge. Gets you back to computing up to 160 times faster. CONSOLINK® CORPORATION 1275 Sherman Drive. Longmont. CO 80501 (303) 651-2014/1-800-525-6705 TWX 910-320-0786 You saw us at Comdex. Now call us for the distributor In your area. It's your move. Mri< •bOl.r- :LE 160 ON READER SERVICE CARD 1 1 1 SPECIAL REPORT: TAX SOFTWARE signed to organize the data necessary to multiple form selection, client letter Manufacturer: file broad spectrum tax returns. templates, transparent overlay forms, HowardSoft and automatic data transfer among 22 8008 Girard Ave., Suite 310 Forms: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, SE, W, 1040 IRS schedules and forms. The program LaJolla.CA 92037 System: IBM PC, MS-DOS also can be linked to other spreadsheet (619)454^)121 Price: Multi Pak, $395; Personal In- templates such as checkbook, ledger, come Tax Module purchased individ- Tax Preparer, Tax Planner and expense records, and includes cross- ually, $99.95 pro- check analysis to verify consistency be- Created for the accountant and Updates: Annual Tax Pre- tween forms and records. It calculates fessional tax practitioner, the Manufacturer: income averaging and alternative mini- parer package offers a federal program, OptionWare Incorporated and a pro- mum tax, and automatically selects the an integrated state program, Corporate Place programs mode for lowest tax liability. As a tax forma application system. The Four Barnard Lane alternatives planning aid, the program evaluates the offer several printing Bloomfield, CT 06002 with overlays, effects ofa tax shelter compared to a cap- including plain paper (203) 243-2355 preprinted ital gain or loss, and allows the substitu- batch processing using tion of data to provide "what if" continuous forms, and computer gen- Tax Relief I, Tax Relief II strategies. With fully accessible erated forms when applicable. The com- offers Tax Relief I programming, the software can be cus- pany also provides customized interview Micro Vision preparation tomized by the user for particular sheets for clients to supply tax informa- for personal planning and II, with extended capa- applications. tion. Tax Planner interacts with state tax and Tax Relief calculations for one-year projections bilities, for professionals. Both programs D, E, F, G, R, SE, W, Forms: A, B, C, and for developing tax strategy. State are menu-driven and automatically cal- 2441, 3468, 1040, 2106, 2119, 2210, programs are available for New York, culate alternative minimum tax, income 3903, 4562, 4684, 4797, 5695, 625 New Jersey, Massachusetts, and averaging, self-employment tax, and System: IBM PC. MS-DOS. TRS-DOS. Connecticut, with the company offering deduction for married couples. Both in- Apple II, and Macintosh CP/M, to write other state programs upon clude a depreciation module, line for line Price: $129.95 order. explanations of data entry sheets for Manufacturer: year-round record keeping, and auto- Forms: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, R&RP, SE, EZ Ware Corporation matic re-calculations of the net effects of W, 1040,2106,2119,2210,2440,2441, 17BrynMawr Ave. last -minute data changes. In addition to 3468, 3903, 4136, 4255, 4562, 4797, BalaCynwyd, PA 19004 the computer generated substitute forms 4952, 4972, 5695, 5884, 625 1, 6252, 6765 (215)667-4064 in IRS approved format that is printed System: MS-DOS and CP/M by Tax Relief I. Tax Relief II also has Price: Preparer, $750; State, $ 1 50; Plan- Tax Preparer batch printing and transparent overlays. ner, $200 is tax prepara- The Tax Preparer a Updates: Annual Forms: A, B, C, D, E, G, R, W, SE, 1040, tion and planning program that stores Manufacturer: 2 106, 244 1 , 3468, 4562, 5965, 625 deductions and records of expenses, Pencil Pushers United, Inc. System: IBM PC, MS-DOS throughout the year, plans for memos 25 S. Greeley Ave. Price: Tax Relief I, $149; Tax Relief II, next year with built-in projections to Chappaqua. NY 10514 $399 calculates current tax, and prints 1990, (914) 238-9600 Updates: Annual for both at 40% of re- Menu-driven with on- completed forms. tail price. screen forms and a visible calculator, the Tax Projection and Manufacturer: program is designed to catch most com- Preparation Multi Pak Micro Vision mon errors with automatic corrections 145 Wicks Rd. tries A collection of five applications and will sound a warning if the user Commack, NY 11725 programs that run with Lotus 1-2-3, the to fill out a form for which he does not (516)499-4010 qualify. For the professional tax pre- Tax Projection and Preparation Multi Pak is a comprehensive financial plan- parer, the program offers highspeed data Tax Vision entry, batch processing, batch printing, ning program combined with tax assis- a spreadsheet and tax disk client catalogs, client pro-forma or- tance and preparation. The five Combining planning program, ganizers, and automatic billing letters. applications are personal income tax, preparation and features an integrated set of In addition to instructions on how to run personal budgeting, investment manage- Tax Vision forms and schedules the software, the manual provides line by ment, employee business expense, and templates of IRS runs with Multiplan. Taxvision line detail for each IRS form and sched- credit card report. Presenting an on- that automatically transfers data entered to ule, explains the newest tax law changes, screen facsimile of the tax form, the per- recalculates tax and acts as a concise course in tax sonal income tax module organizes tax appropriate forms, last-minute modifications, preparation. preparation, performs all calculations, based upon and automatically completes the 1040 explores "what if" scenarios, and dis- results. Users can Forms: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, R, SE, W, form. The program features a quick tax plays calculations and for check reg- 1040, 2106, 2119, 2210, 2441, 3468, and a full tax option, which allows either create their own templates record 3903, 4562, 4797, 5695, 625 an immediate tax profile or an in-depth ister, family budget, or ledger to can manually pre- System: IBM PC, MS-DOS, Apple II tax status to be generated based upon op- data year round and forms or schedules not pro- Price: Apple II, $250; IBM, $295 tions built into the program. The other pare any Updates: Annual; approximately $ 100 four applications in the collection are de- vided. Each template can be printed in 46 CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 — All Airlines Depart From TheTerminal. Presenting Travelshopper Besides Travelshopper, CompuServe and health requirements for most offers an ever-growing list . . . new from CompuServe of other travel- foreign countries. oriented on-line services. and TWA. 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To receive our gains and order tickets... on your own prices, hours and features on all of informative brochure, or to order personal computer... at home or in the Central Florida's attractions and direct, call or write: office. accommodations. You also receive automatic member- " West Coast Travel offers travel infor- CompuServe ship in TWAs Frequent Right Bonus mation for the western states. PO Bo« program. And you can build bonus points 20212. 5000 Arlington Centre Blvd.. Cotumbur,, Ohio 43220 by staying at Marriott and Hilton hotels Pan Am's Travel Guide contains 1-800-848-8199 and by using Hertz Rent-A-Car. up-to-date information on immigration In Ohio. Can 1-614-4S7-0M2 an- SrrvKT of I Bonus man* TWA CIRCLE 1 1 1 ON READER ! . *ZS Simulator n d m Put yourself in the pilot's seat of a Piper 181 Cherokee Archer for an awe-inspiring flight over realistic scener from New York to Los Angeles. High speed color-filled 3D graphics will give you a beautiful panoramic vie as you practice takeoffs. landings, and aerobatics. Complete documentation will get you airborne quickly I aerial battle even if you've never flown before. When you think you're ready, you can play the World War Ace night flying game. Flight Simulator II features include animated color 3D graphics day, dusk, and modes over 80 airports in four scenery areas: New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, with additional scenery areas available user-variable weather, from clear blue skies to grey cloudy conditions complete flight instrumentation VOR, ILS. ADF, and DME radio equipped navigation facilities and course plotting World War I Ace aerial battle game complete information manual and flight handbook. See your dealer . . or write or call lor more information. For direct orders enclose $49 95 plus $2.00 qMJOGIC (or shipping and specify UPS or first class marl delivery. American Express, Corporation Diner's Club, MasterCard, and Visa accepted. 713 Edgebrook Drive Champaign IL 61820 Order Line: 800 / 637-4983 (217) 359-8482 Telex: CIRCLE 173 ON READER SERVICE CARC 1 . SPECIAL REPORT: TAX SOFTWARE IRS acceptable format, with Form 1040 per client can be calculated and com- Updates: Annual printed directly on an official IRS form. pared. Three different packages are of- Manufacturer: fered: Volts I, Individual Package: Volts Professional Software Forms: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, R, SE, W, Technology II, Professional Package; and Volts III, P.O. Box 269 1040, 2106, 2119, 2210, 2441, 3903, Partnership/Corporate. Rockport. MA 01966 3468, 4562, 4684, 4797, 5695, 625 1 , 6252 Volts can print returns on continu- (617) 546-3494 System: IBM PC, MS-DOS, Apple II, C64.CP/M ous IRS forms, plain paper for use with transparent overlays, and IRS-approved Corp/84, Tax 84/CPA Price: $89 substitute forms. Forms can be prepared Updates: Annual; S36 A variety of programs has been individually or in batch mode. Manufacturer: Califor- combined into professional and cor- nia state form is available, with other porate packages to cover a Vision Information Products, Inc. wide range of state packages planned. federal and state income tax applica- 5500 Atherton St. tions. The Tax/84 segment is a set ofpro- Long Beach. CA 90815 Forms: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, R, SE, W, K, grams for the preparation of individual (213)431-5284 K-l, 1040, 1040A, 1040ES, 1065, 1120, tax returns for Form 1040 and support- 1120S, 1116, 2106, 2119, 2210, 2220, ing schedules. Individual programs col- Tax Wizard 2441, 3468, 3903, 4136, 4137, 4255, lect information on interest and 4562, 4626, 4684, 4797, 4835, 4952, A menu-driven, tax planning and dividends, personal business, capital 4972, 5329, 5695, 625 1, 6252 preparation program geared for individ- gains and losses, and rents, royalties and System: 128K IBM PC, MS-DOS uals and small business owners, Tax supplemental income. The Professional Price: Volts I, $500; Volts II, $1500; Wizard simulates IRS forms on a mon- Package is designed for CPAs, individ- Volts III, $1000; California, $750 itor line by line and calculates and or- ual tax preparers, and service bureaus, Updates: Annual at a "reasonable price." adding batch ganizes tax data. No tax advice is offered, Manufacturer: processing capability on all linked, for continuous forms. Corp/84 is but forms are showing, Hanover Software Systems the basis example, the effects ofselling one's for the Corporate Package that home 1344 East Katella Ave. supplies base. the preparation and additional or stocks upon a tax Altering an en- Anaheim, CA 92805 forms for try recalculates all related items. Tax corporate and small business applica- (714) 385-1556 information can be transferred to tions. Taxstrat is a single program that (800) 223-8385 facsimiles ofgovernment forms. can be used alone or in combination with (800) 874-9806 in CA the professional and corporate packages Forms: A, B, C, D, E, G, W, SE, 1040, to calculate three options for a given 1040A, 1040EZ, 4562, 2106, 21 19,2441, set of conditions. Available states are 3903, 3468, 41 37, 4255, 5695, 625 New Preparation York, New York City, New Jersey, System: IBM PC and PCjr, MS-DOS, Tax Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Mary- Apple II, Macintosh, CP/M, C64 Easier 1 -2-3 land and Illinois. Price: $64.95 Than Tax Preparer Updates: Annual at 50% of retail cost A macro-command application for Forms: Tax/84 CPA: A, B, C, D, E, F. Manufacturer: Lotus 1-2-3, the Easier Than 1-2-3 Tax G, SE, R & RP. W, 1040. 1040A. 2106, Gamma Productions, Inc. Preparer is visually oriented with 2210, 2219, 2440, 2441, 3468, 3903, 817 Tenth St. #102 calculations and totals changing on- 4562, 4684, 4797, 4835, 5695, and 625 1 in Santa Monica. CA 90403 screen response to entered data. The Corp/84: A, C, D, E, F, J, K- 1 , K, L, M, (213)451-9507 tax preparation program continuously L 1 , L2, D 1 1 20, 3468, 4562, 4797 calculates a tentative tax using either the System: IBM PC, MS-DOS, CP/M Volts ~^^~_ standard or the X.Y.Z tax tables, and Price: Tax 84/CPA: $1000; Corp/84, automatically links all data entered on a $500; Taxstrat, $ 1 50; States, $20O-$5O0 Especially for tax professionals federal form or schedule with other Updates: Annual with micros, Volts is a tax preparation forms without re-entry. Command Manufacturer: and planning program featuring menu- selection is based upon three letter keys Computer Technical Servicesof N.J. driven screen selection in which data are and two menus, one listing the various 825 North Broad St. entered on screens that can be chosen forms and the second showing the re- Elizabeth, NJ 07208 randomly during the client interview; quired order of completion. Files are or- (201)353-5283 full-screen data entry that permits ganized by client with the only limita- changes anywhere on the screen; and tions being the filenames and the G&G1040 database structure that allows variable ^^ necessity of keeping all records for a file length and applies data entered to ev- Offered in a Professional Series that particular client on the same disk to al- ery relevant screen. In addition, Volts processes 33 IRS schedules and a Starter low linkage, "what if scenarios, and in- provides diagnostic messages during the Series with 1 5 schedules, G&G 1040 is a come averaging. The program provides calculation phase that validate data tax preparation program that inputs to working copies of the 1040 and sub- when, for example, a deduction limit on screens which match the selected IRS stitute copies of other forms, and prints an IRA is exceeded. This feature also form. It makes all calculations and directly on government forms. prevents entering data for logically choices for the least tax consequences, contradictory data fields. For instance, if Forms: A, B, C, D, E, G, SE, W, 1040, offers 10-year averaging ofall retirement a client has specified an individual re- 2106,2106-2,5695 distributions versus capital gains on turn, joint return data fields are locked System: IBM PC, MS-DOS part, plus alternative minimum tax, and out. Up to nine different tax scenarios Price: $175 includes optional state sales tax, excess VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 3/CREATIVE COMPUTING 49 SPECIAL REPORT: TAX SOFTWARE FICA, earned income credit, income Price:$2250 System: IBM PC, MS-DOS, CP/M-80, averaging, and underestimated pen- Manufacturer: and DEC Rainbow alties. Unlike the Starter Series, the Pro- Lacerte Microcomputer Corp. Price: $ 1 795; laser print option, $500 fessional Series includes a batch 3447 Atlantic Ave. Manufacturer: compute/print mode and a depreciation Long Beach, CA 90807 CPAids, Inc. Circle module. The Professional Series also (213)595-0901 1061 Fraternity integrates with the following state in- Kent, OH 44240 come modules: New York, California, Master Tax, Standard Tax (216)678-9015 Kansas, Missouri, Wisconsin, North For professional accountants, tax South Carolina, Oklahoma, Illinois, PC-Tax and practitioners, and financial advisors, Minnesota, Arkansas, and Colorado. If Master Tax is a tax preparation program Developed for professional tax your state is not available, will G & G that offers amortization and depreci- preparers, PC-Tax presents a base sys- write the for when you pur- program you ation programs, overflow schedules, tem, Module A, with three separate chase the Professional Series. word processing, client instruction let- modules that can be purchased individ- Forms: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, R, RP, SE, ter, fee schedules, and K-l input screen. ually. Module A prepares taxes for the W, 1040, 1 1 16, 2106, 21 19, 2210, 2440, Data files transfer from year to year to 1040, A, and B, and stores returns with 2441, 3468, 3903, 4136, 4137, 4255, provide a database that can be recalled its Quik Tax Computation. It makes all 4562, 4625, 4684, 4797, 4835, 4952, annually, generate a pro-forma or tax or- secondary calculations required on re- 4972, 5695, 5884, 5251, 6252 turns, presents results on screen for System: IBM PC, MS-DOS, CP/M-80, inspection, and prints the complete re- CP/M-86 turn on plain computer paper with over- Price: Professional, $600; Starter, $250; lays or on pre-printed paper in an state modules, $250 to $500 IRS-approved format. A type-bill func- certainties, Updates: Annual; Professional, $300; o,'f life's two tion allows billing of clients. Additional forms and schedules are contained in Starter, $150 taxes are the only one for which Manufacturer: Modules B, C, and D. One state form is G & G Software, Inc. you can get an automatic available, California, with others 6 10 Park Blvd. planned. Austin, TX 78751 extension. Forms: Module A— 1040, A, and B; (512)458-5760 Module B—C, D, E, SE, and W; Module —Jim Fisk and Robert Barron C—R, 2441, 3468, 3903, 4797, 5695; Module D—F, G, 2119, 4136, 6251, Lacerte Tax System 2106,2210 Aimed at CPAs and tax accounting ganizer, and automatically choose the System: IBM PC, MS-DOS, all major professionals, the Lacerte Tax System most advantageous tax method. A laser Tandy models package can produce six complete IRS print option interfaces with micro- Price: Module A, $349; Module B, $ 1 89; returns an hour or will batch process computers and laser printers without the Module C, $ 1 89; Module D, $239; entire more than 100 returns per day and will need for hard disk storage. Preprinted, system, $940; California. $395 have all forms generated for both federal continuous forms, blank paper with Updates: Occur when IRS schedule and state on plain white paper and in cli- overlays, and computer generated forms changes. ent order. While geared to the 1040 are standard features. TheStandard Tax Manufacturer: form, the 1120 corporation and 1065 program is designed to meet the less Contract Services Associates partnership programs are available for sophisticated needs of the professional 706 S. Euclid federal returns as separate modules. In tax preparer, providing a comprehensive Anaheim, CA 92802 addition to federal returns, the company tax preparation process that includes (714) 635-4055 offers programs for 21 states, Alaska, some of the features of the Master Tax Arizona, California, Connecticut, Geor- program. Standard Tax users who up- Professional Tax System gia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, grade to Master Tax will have compat- Automated, rapid in-house Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, ible data files for immediate expansion of preparation of client tax returns is the Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, client and form processing capability. purpose of the Professional Tax System, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Ten- State programs with overflow designed for CPAs, accounting firms, nessee, and Utah. All forms are gen- schedules, editing functions, and batch and tax preparation bureaus. Built-in erated on the Hewlett-Packard LaserJet printing are available for Arizona, reconciliation automatically reconciles printer which the company markets California, Colorado, Illinois, Michi- taxpayer information to taxable income separately for $3495. gan, New Jersey, New York, North and maintains an audit trail to record Carolina, and Pennsylvania. Prices Forms: A, B. C. D, E, F, G, R. SE, W, changes to the return. The program range from $200 to $500. 1040, 1040ES, 1040X, 2106, 2119, 2210, tracks the status ofa client's return while 2441, 3468, 3903, 4255, 4562, 4797, Forms: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, R&RP, SE, it is being processed, plans subsequent 4972, 5695, 6251, 6252, most state W, ES, 1040, 1116, 2106, 2119, 2210, returns for clients, and offers three meth- equivalents. 2441, 2555, 3468, 3903, 3903F, 4136, ods for printing tax forms. The manufac- System: IBM PC, MS-DOS, Tandy 4137, 4255, 4562, 4684, 4797, 4835, turer provides step-by-step documenta- Models II and 2000, HP/50, DEC Rain- 4952, 4972, 5695, 5884, 625 1 , 6252, Sales tion and a toll-free telephone support bow 100 and 100+ Tax Tables for Schedule A. line for questions. Two state programs (O CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 , . ome STbhere thel We're famous for our educational soft- ware — sparkling programs that help children build important skills. We're just as famous for award-winning family games you'll find in thousands funis! of fun-loving homes across the country. in Beach Landing , a Like Chivalry", a de- spine-tingling strat- lightful combination egy game. No matter of software and a which games you board game. Softalk choose for your says it's "as much home, you'll get Weekly Reader Family fun for grown-ups as for kids." And Software's acclaimed graphics, payabil- " Old Ironsides; a rollick- ity and color. Plus, all sorts of extras — ing sea battle that posters, binders, stickers, user's guides, inCider ranks among and more. Ask for Weekly Reader games the best games ever at your local computer store, or call created for the Apple 1-800-852-5000, Dept. AM-21. Weekly II. You can help ORBIT the Robot es- Reader Family Software games are avail- cape from the bad able for the Apple, Commodore 64, guys in Run For It a nd Ata ri " compu ters with its amazing 3-D effect. Or lead Developed by Optimum Resource. Inc. our troops to victory Reader Eamiry Apple, At.in and i ommodor A division of Xerox Education Publications tend trademarks ol Apple Computer, In* iddletown. CT 06457 Atari t uinpuivr. Im . .intl Commodi mums. I (d , rcspcttiudy.. ^ SfOSfcEAC AMOJ Hm\- i wi M ; •4ss -M yourself, Today, there are more Apples in legitimate offspring of the He, it can which you might be interested in schools than any other computer. access the world's largest library of educa- For example, 3-in-l integrated Unfortunately, there are still more tional software. Everything from Sticky- business software. Home accounting and kids in schools than Apples. bear Shapes™ for preschoolers to SAT test tax programs. Diet and fitness programs. So innocent youngsters (like your own) may have to fend off packs of bully nerds to get some time on a computer. Which is why it makes good sense to buy them an Apple* He Personal Com- puter of their very own. Hie He is just like the leading ;'. 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Their Apple He. to teach you how— when your kids get adding accesso- To learn more tired of your questions. ries like a print- about it, visit any As well as a long list of built-in er, a modem, authorized Apple deal- features that would add about SHOO to an AppleMouse er. Or talk to your the cost of a smaller-minded computer. or an extra disk own computer experts. 128K of internal memory— twice drive when the As soon g the power of the average office computer. time comes. as they get A built-in half-high 140K disk drive So while your children's shoe sizes WcTiool. © I9SS A))ple Omilniler In. .{/file ami lite Ajple latfi are nxeteml trademarks tj/Afpk Computer hie StUkrlxtir .Shapis is a trademark iifOptimum Resource hr an authmzitl .1/iple dealer nearest™ call (800) 538-96%. in Canada, call(800) 268-7796 or (800) 268 7637. maxell FUOPPYOSK MF1-DD Maxell Gold The floppy disk that makes Commodore more commanding, Apples crisper and gives IBM PC a higher IQ. Smart move, buying a computer. To be sure your computer doesn't under- achieve, put it on the Gold Standard. Maxell. An industry leader in error-free performance. There's a Maxell Gold Standard floppy disk for virtually every computer made. Each comes backed by a lifetime warranty. Maxell. To keep your computing at the top of the class. maxell ITS WORTH IX xoll Corporation of America, 60 Oxford Drive, Moonachie, N.J CIRCLE 125 ON READER SERVICE CARD SPECIAL REPORT: TAX SOFTWARE are available, Illinois and Florida, with SofTax for the current year. All state forms are other states promised. The So/Tax package provides three available, except Hawaii, which will be included by next tax season. Returns are Forms: A, B, C, D, E, F, G. R, SE, W, K- versions for federal income tax prepara- produced through IP.K-1B.K-1S, 1040,2106,2119,2210, tion. The Individual version, containing batch processing and preprinted forms. For professional 2441, 3468, 3468B, 3800, 3903, 4136, 20 1040 forms, is for people who prepare and individual tax planning, 1040 Software, 4255, 4562, 4684, 4797, 4835, 4952, their own returns. The Preparer's ver- Inc. also offers Plan 1040, 4972, 5695, 5884, 6249, 6251, 6252, sion, containing 30 1040 forms and which can be used as a stand-alone 1040ES schedules, is for professionals who pre- package or inte- System: IBM PC, MS-DOS pare forms and schedules for multiple grated with Software 1040. clients. This version also offers batch Price: $ 1 500 for 1 984 version. Forms: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, 1040, 1 1 16, Updates: Annual; $500 printing, client bill/cover letters, and an 2106, 2119, 2210, 2441, 3468, 3903, Manufacturer: organization form. The Professional ver- 4136, 4255, 4562, 4684, 4797, 4798, BPI Systems sion includes everything in the Prepar- 4835, 4868, 4952, 4972, 5695, 6249, 3423 Guadalupe er's version and adds corporate, 6251,6252,1065 Austin, TX 78705 partnership, and trust returns. System: IBM PC, MS-DOS (512)454-4677 In addition, So/Tax now offers state Price: Federal, $1800; states, $400; Plan packages which prepare individual and 1040, $150 Series 1040 corporate returns. The following state Manufacturer: For professional tax preparers, Se- programs are available, with the remain- 1040 Software, Inc. ries 1040 displays IRS schedules on- ing states to be offered eventually: 10 Nevada Dr. screen, allows input of data, and then California, New York, New Jersey, Mis- P.O. Box 1010 souri, and Virginia. state calculates and shows the results immedi- The packages New Hyde Park, NY 1 1042 ately. The program comes with the integrate with the federal forms. (516)775-5566 following automatic features: earned in- Forms: Individual, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, come credit calculation, taxable amount Swiftax R, SE, W, 1040, 1040A, 1116, 2106, ofunemployment and Social Security in- 2119, 2210, 2441, 4562, 4797, 5695, Swiftax is a federal income prepara- come, tax method comparison, excess 6251. Preparer, all of the above plus tion program with full prompting that Social Security tax withheld, client 2555, 3468, 3800, 3903, 3903F, 4255, guides the user with explanations of tax directory and telephone listing, cover 4684, 4972, 6252, ES. Professional, all of laws and instructions about which forms letter, and a provision for mailing labels. the above plus K-l and corporate, to file and which items need to be re- Additionally, Series 1040 has a re-com- partnership, and trust returns. ported. A special backup feature pro- pute feature that chooses the desired System: IBM PC, Apple II duces extra copies of information, which screen and allows new information to be Price: Individual, $199; Preparer's, can be printed on tax forms provided by entered and automatically calculated. $499; Professional, $850 the manufacturer. Swiftax also features An abort feature permits interruption of Updates: Annual; Individual, $70; an automatic check of tax alternatives, a current job to switch to another client's Preparer's, $150; Professional, $225 computation of the lowest amount of in- data. Manufacturer: come tax that can be paid, and a Tax- State forms are available for New Design Trends Ltd. payer File that allows changes to be York, including New York City, New 525 So. Washington St. made later. Amortization schedules Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Naperville, IL 60540 with yearly principal and interest pay- Vermont, with other state programs (312)357-2664 ments are included. planned. (800)243-4358 Printing options include preprinted Forms: A, B, C, D, G, W, SE, forms, overlays, batch printing, and 1040, 1040A, 1040EZ computer generated, IRS-approved Software 1040, Plan 1040 System: C64, Atari 800, Apple II, IBM forms, and schedules printed in IRS Designed by CPAs for CPAs, Soft- PC, PCjr, MS-DOS mailing order. ware 1040 is an award-winning tax Price: C64 and Atari 800, $49.95; Apple Forms: All lettered forms, 1040, 3468, preparation program that accom- II, IBM PC, PCjr, MS-DOS, $69.95 4562, 1040ES, 2106, 2119, 2210, 2440, modates computer novices with strong Updates: Annual 2441, 3468, 3903, 4136, 4137, 4255, after sales support. A videotaped train- Manufacturer: 4562, 4684, 4797, 4972, 5695, 5884, ing program is available along with a Timeworks 3800,4835 staff of CPAs, lawyers, and 444 Lake Cook Rd. System: IBM PC, MS-DOS dataprocessors to answer questions by Deerfield,IL60015 Price: Federal $1001.50; States $395 to phone. First time users can key in data (312)948-9200 $795 throughout the year and add updated (800)323-9755 Updates: Annual; 50% of the then-cur- information during the tax season. By rent cost. Updates within a year included applying current tax regulations to the Taxaid with basic package. previous year's income tax data, a pro- Manufacturer: forma is generated that both creates an Specializing in Commodore com- Calcu-Tec Computer Software audit trail for accountants and provides puter tax programs, Taxaid Software has 110 Hillside Ave. a "what if scenario for future tax situa- updated its Taxaid for the new Plus/4. Springfield, NJ 07081 tions. Forms are enclosed to show prior Designed for home use, Taxaid is menu (201)467-3757 year data with blanks for clients to fill in driven, has editing features for making VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 3/CREATIVE COMPUTING 31 1 SPECIAL REPORT: TAX SOFTWARE program. The revisions at any time when entering data, tax situations. Printing can be done trate the mechanics of the of the and has a manual that leads the user step through continuous feed on IRS-ap- video tape shows the installation sched- by step through the data entry process. proved forms. program, selection of forms and handling, and All tax tables, including income averag- ules, data entry and screen Forms: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, SE, W, R, calculations are auto- the printing of tax returns on federal ing, are built in; 1040, 1040EZ, 1040ES, 2106, 2119, matic; and any IRS form 1040 can be forms. The partial package purchase 22 10, 2441 , 3468, 3903, 4797, 5695, 625 to prepared with the results displayed on program allows small service bureaus System: Atari, C64, Apple II, Mac- monitor or printer. tailor applications to specific client intosh, IBM PC and PCjr needs in personal income tax prepara- A, B, W, 1040, 2441 Price: Atari and C64, $75; Apple II and Forms: C, G, tion. The program also features multiple System: C64, Plus/4 Macintosh, $180; IBM PC and PCjr, schedule operations with the accu- $250 Price: $29.95 mulated totals automatically entered on Updates: Annual Updates: Annual; $30 the 1040. A state form is available for Manufacturer: Manufacturer: Arizona with other states planned. Taxaid Software, Inc. MicroLab 606 Second Ave., SW 2699 Skokie Valley Rd. Forms: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, R, & RP, SE, Two Harbors, MN 55616 Highland Park, IL 60035 W, 1040, 1040A, 1040X, 1040ES, 2106, (218)834-5012 (312)433-7550 2119, 2210, 2441, 3468, 3903, 4562, (218)834-3600 4797, 4972, 5695, 625 1 , 6252 System: IBM PC and compatibles, MS- Taxexec DOS, and CP/M Price: Short Set, 1040, A, B, $75; Other preparation pro- A complete tax schedules and forms, $25. Complete fed- . taxpayer that's gram for individuals and professionals, Ihe — eral: $550. Arizona: $50. Taxexec features single question and an- someone who works for the Updates: Annual. 60%-75% of retail swer messages, audit trails, and an auto- price. matic data verification and limit test that federal government but doesn't Manufacturer: insures accuracy by producing an error 1040 Plus civil if, deduction limit is ex- have to take a service for example, a 6730 E. McDowell Rd. #103 ceeded. State returns that integrate with examination. Scottsdale, AZ 85257 the federal form are available for Penn- (602)941-3407 sylvania, Ohio, Maryland, New Jersey, —Ronald Reagan and California, with the remaining state Tax Advantage returns planned. The A tax preparation program, The Forms: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, R, RP, SE, Tax Return Helper Tax Advantage is designed to be easy to W, 1040, 2106, 2119, 2210, 2441, 3468, A tax preparation program, Tax use. It displays the necessary keystrokes 3903, 4136, 4255, 4562, 4684,4797, Return requires no prior knowledge of for entering data at the bottom of the 4835,5695,6251 programming or tax preparation to use, screen and offers explanations of all System: CP/M, IBM PC, MS-DOS according to the manufacturer. The pro- questions on the forms and schedules at Price: Federal program, $995; state pro- gram allows data to be entered and modi- the Help key command. The program in- grams, $500 fied on a screen copy of a form or cludes income averaging; itemizing of Updates: Annual; federal, $250; state, schedule, updates all lines affected by a wages, deductions, and assets; and $150 single change, correlates Form 1040 and computing of alternative minimum tax. Manufacturer: Schedule A, and displays tax tables and With the exception of the 1040, informa- Micro Information Systems, Inc. rate schedules for every filing status. A tion can be printed directly onto the IRS Richardson, Rt. 309 Richardson Rd. database is included in the disk version forms. By interfacing the program with Montgomery ville, PA 1 8936 to build files of tax related records that The HomeAccountant,adatabasealsoby (215)855-2700 can be used year round. Arrays. Inc. /Continental Software, a user can transfer and automatically enter fin- Forms: A, B, C, D, E, G, W, 1040, 2441 Tox Manager ancial data in applicable forms and System: C64 For individuals and small business schedules. Price: Cassette, $23; disk, $33 operators, Tax Manager is a tax prepara- Manufacturer: tion that determines which Forms: A, B, C, D, E, G, SE, W, 1040, program KSoft Co. 6251,2106,2441,4562 forms to file and which deductions to 845WellnerRd. make by posing a series of questions to System: IBM PC, MS-DOS, Apple II, Naperville, IL 60540 user. used C64, Atari the Hence, the program can be (312)961-1250 by novices in both tax preparation and Price: $69.95 computer use. Tax Manager checks Updates: Annual 1040 Plus addition and subtraction calculations, Manufacturer: ensures that data are entered in the cor- A federal tax preparation program Arrays, Inc./Continental Software rect lines, and catches inconsistencies for the professional preparer, 1040 Plus 1 1223 South Hindry Ave. and deduction errors. A change in one offers a modular approach to building a Los Angeles, CA 90045 figure automatically changes related fig- professional service package as well as a (213)410-3977 ures, enabling inspection of alternative VHS video demonstration tape to illus- 56 CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 Ayear% worth ofreports, plans, schedules, charts, graphs, files, facts and figures and it could all be lost in the blinkofan eye. The most important part of your computer may be the part you've considered least— the floppy disk. After all, there doesn't seem to be much difference between one disk and another. But now Fuji introduces a floppy disk that's worth a second look. We designed our disk with the under- standing that one microscopic imperfection can erase pages of crucial data. That's why every Fuji Film Floppy Disk is rigidly inspected after each production process. And that's why each one is backed with a lifetime warranty. We've even considered how carefully a disk has to be handled, so we designed user- friendly packaging that makes it easier to get the disk out of the box. And we provided plenty of labeling space, so you won't have any trouble telling which disk is which. So think twice before buying a floppy disk. And then buy the one you won't have any second thoughts about. Fuji Film Floppy Disks. FUJI. Nobody gives you better performance 1984 Fu|i Photo Film Inc . S.A. . Magnetic Products u . Oiv . 350 Fifth Avenue. NY. NY 101 18 CIRCLE 116 ON READER SERVICE CARD . Hayes Compatible • More Features • Only $495 The best price/performance ratio of any 21 2A modem on the market today for under $500! That puts ProModem 212A Modem Comparison Chart * 1 200 on top of the stack. Compare the 26 features. You'll see why. Only ProModem offers all 26. 1 5 are exclusive. STANDARD FEATURES PRO They're important features. The Real Time Clock/Calen- 300/1200 Baud (212A) ^ l^ ^ ^ dar for example. Used with Applications Programs, or »* the OPTIONS PROCESSOR, gives you pre-set timed Intelligent Microprocessor K* ^ I* ^ operation of the modem. Also, time and duration records Tone and Pulse Dialing i* i* \* i* of all calls. The convenient HELP command makes ProModem easy to use. It promptly displays the In- Hayes Command Compatible - structions Menu whenever there's a question about (Works with Smartcom what to do next. With Call Progress Detection, you can Additional telephone jack with exclusion switching "tell" ProModem to do things like automatically "Redial When Busy." Analog loop back sell test \^ \^ Its the only modem that lets you expand into a full Self Test at Power Up \S> 1^ telecommunications center with add-ons. The OPTIONS PROCESSOR gives you Data Store and Time Base Con- Call Progress Detection (Busy, Dial ^ tinuity with battery backup, Personal/Business Tele- Tones, Trunk Busy, etc.) phone Directory, and Automatic Receipt/Transfer Buffer, Speaker and Eitemal Volume Control V* ^ V* expandable to 64K. The OPTIONS PROCESSOR also enables ProModem to operate unattended, with or Full Complement of Status Lights i-" J-" without your computer. 8 Switch Selectable power-up defaults iS> 1^ The optional 12-character ALPHANUMERIC DISPLAY in- dicates modem operating status, system diagnostics, Adaptive Dialing message status, phone numbers, and real time clock Auto Redial on Busy data. . . to name just a few. Together, these standard and optional features give you Economically designed easy to a sophisticated electronic mail and communications read Iront display panel capability unmatched by any other modem in this class. Internal Stand-Alone Power Supply And, there's more. See your local dealer for additional information and a demonstration. He'll show you why Built in Real Time Clock/Calendar ProModem 1200 is tops. Help Command 300 baud connect while maintaining ProModem 1 200 from . . 1200 baud RS 232 link EXPANDABLE OPTIONS Automatic Receiver Butler Products, Inc., Blvd. Prometheus 45277 Fremont Automatic Transmit Buffer Fremont CA 94538, (415) 490-2370 NOW AVAILABLE Onboard Personal/Business Directory • ProModem plug-in cards for Buffer. Expandable to 64K IBM PC and Apple II • ProCom Software Auto Logon Macros Auto message transmission to groups ol numbers Records call duration 12-character Alphanumeric Display CIRCLE 195 ON READER SERVICE CARD PERSONAL PRODUCT PREVIEW Atari Strikes Back with six promising new computers that could re-shape the industry Tim Onosko and John J. Anderson secrecy of a military project has Theshrouded Atari Corporation since last summer when it was taken over by former Commodore head Jack Tramiel, sons Sam (reportedly running the company on a day-to-day basis) and Leonard, and trusted colleagues re- cruited from their posts at Commodore (or "C-Company" as it is now referred to inside Atari). The reason for the secrecy—as well as for the uniformed security guards which replaced the company's front desk receptionists—is an entirely new line of Atari products designed to trans- form the company's image from one of a free-spending video game shop to that of Atari 65XE a lean aggressive, leading-edge computer maker. If—and this is a big if—the Atari software. This redesign of the 800 10.75 octaves, from 4.8 Hz to 7.8 KHz, Tramiel family can pull off its remark- XL was termed "engineering optimiza- which encompasses the dynamic range able plan. Atari will fire a salvo that is al- tion" by Kerr, who stated that the ma- of an 88-key piano. most certain to signal an all-out war that chine has at once been made more In contrast to more conventional could spread to almost every area within cost-effective and more reliable through sound synthesis devices like Com- the personal computer industry. the use of fewer parts. modore's SID chip, AMY is based on Briefly, this calls for Atari to in- The 65XE supports the existing digital sampling. This approach troduce repackaged ultra low-end ver- model 1050 5.25" floppy disk drive, and "recreates" a waveform rather than sions of the existing Atari computers Kerr promises Atari will continue to attempting to imitate it. AMY has a along with very high performance new manufacturea5.25" drive in 1985. How- 30K Hz digital sampling rate and a 60 dB machines, and a line of new peripherals ever, "in recognition of where the tech- dynamic range, and runs off the internal and other products designed for use with nology is going," Kerr further states that clock of the XEM at 7MHz. other microcomputers. a 3.5" microfloppy drive will also be of- Those who have heard AMY con- These details, obtained as this issue fered for the XE series. The price of such firm that it can realistically portray a of Creative Computing went to press, a unit would be comparable to that of a wide range of musical sounds. Listeners outline Atari's new strategy. Informa- 1050 (around $200), and "we certainly report, for example, that AMY simu- tion was obtained from sources within wouldn't come out with a higher priced lates the highly distinctive "bow attack" the company, including Brian Kerr, drive," said Kerr. of the cello sound with almost discom- Atari's new marketing manager. All Priced at approximately $30-50 fiting accuracy. Kerr sees the 65XEM products mentioned in this story were above the 65XE isthe65XEM, which is as both a music learning tool and a scheduled for introductions at the Win- a standard model XE with one very im- performance instrument. ter Consumer Electronics Show in Las portant addition — the AMY VLSI chip. The XE micros represent the "red Vegas in January. Calling it an "advanced music synthe- series" Atari machines, marked distinc- sizer on a chip," Kerr tagged the advent tively with a red Atari logo which in- The 65XE, 65XEM, 1 30XE and XEP of AMY as a "breakthrough," and said dicates their membership in the 8-bit The footsoldierofthe new Atari line that the custom processor is capable of Atari line. is the 6SXE, which at pro-January 800 "symphonic quality sound." It features Unpriced at press time is a 128K XL prices ($100-5120), will replace the up to eight fully independent multi- version of the 65XE dubbed the I30XE. current computers. Based on the 65XX timbre voices comprised of 64 separate (It seems Atari has finally broken the 8-bit family of processors, the 65XE will and software-configurable oscillators, parochial tradition of systematically sport 64K of RAM and, according to which can easily change sonic underestimating RAM in multiples of Kerr, will be compatible with all current characteristics on the fly. AMY handles 16.) Also to ship is a portable version of VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 3/CREATIVE COMPUTING 59 PERSONAL PRODUCT PREVIEW other manufacturers, as the XE currently labeled the XEP. It In monochrome mode, resolution is 640 computers from sports a built-in microfloppy drive and a x 400 (higher than that of the Mac- well as Atari's. 5" monochrome CRT with two available intosh). In RGB medium-res, resolution Will It? character sizes. The price will be is 640 x 200 in four colors and eight What Will Happen, and "around $500," says Kerr. luminance levels per color. In so-called As for our own observations, we lo-res, resolution is 320 x 200 in 16 col- find Atari's new strategy very interest- Thel30STand520ST ors. Five hundred twelve colors are ing. It includes something to aggravate Perhaps the biggest news among available on the 130ST on an individ- almost everyone currently in the micro- Atari's planned introductions is its "blue ually addressable 32K bit-mapped computer business. line" of computers, called the ST (for screen. For Commodore, it means com- Sam Tramiel?) series. Characterized by a The 130ST does not come with a petition in the consumer priced 8-bit blue logo, they constitute nothing less built-in drive, so the addition of a 3.5" computer market and probably a re- price than Atari's "Manhattan Project." It disk drive will pose an additional ex- alignment of their own low-end of the may be fair to posit that if the Macintosh pense. This is not a great hardship, how- structure. The introduction was the A-Bomb of microcomputing, ever, as the 130ST will retail for powerful ST series could also pre-empt the Tramiels intend to unleash with the approximately $400. As already stated, Commodore's own high performance ST series the fury of the H-Bomb. And microfloppy drives will cost in the home computer, the fabled Amiga. the fallout will undoubtedly drift over to neighborhood of $200. If this is so, Ken- For Apple, the news is even worse. nearby Cupertino. Atari could demon- Like the Macin- strate that the fea- so tosh, the 130ST is a tures that drew 12HK micro based on much attention to the the MP 68000 proces- Macintosh are not sor. It features NTSC, unique among con- RGB. and hi-res mono- sumer computers. At crome video output: Apple's current pri- numeric keypad;HELP ces and the (current) and UNDO keys;a built- inability of the Mac in disk controller and to deliver color video, hard disk interface; the new Atari Ma- RS-232C serial and l J chines could divert Centronics parallel much of the Mac ports; a MIDI (for audience. Musical Instrument And, although Digital Interface) I/O there has been no for music synthesizer talk of an Atari com- Atari 130ST interlock: a cartridge puter with IBM PC port capable of handling 128K ROM can rightly claim that an entire system, compatibility (yet), even the value of the carts; and two joystick ports. One consisting of computer, drive, and mon- PC could eventually be called into ques- of the ports is designed for mouse input, itor, will come in at approximately half tion by the Tramiels' new computers. If, and yes, you'll And a two-button mouse the price ofa Macintosh. for instance, the price and performance in the box with the ST series machines. The 520ST is a 5 12K version of the of the so-called business standard You'll want to use that mouse, too, 1 30ST, and is slated to arrive in the $600 machines—PCs and clones— is sud- because packed alongside the other rou- range. denly eclipsed by a line of cheap home tines in the 192K of onboard ROM in- As Atari patriarch Jack Tramiel has machines, what will happen to those cur- side the ST is the GEM (Graphics said, "Business is war." rent darlings of the industry? Environment Manager) operating sys- Naturally, dramatic introductions tem developed by Digital Research. Monitors and Printers like these will be greeted with skep- Kerr states that GEM "uses the desktop In addition to a new line of printers, ticism. Commodore under Jack Tramiel metaphor that Xerox established" (ital- modems, and peripherals, Atari is initi- was notorious for announcing products ics ours): Windows, icons, pull-down ating its own series of monitors for 1985. that never made it to retailers' shelves, menus, and point-and-click—in short, These include a 14" NTSC composite but Atari's Kerr claimed the 65XE was the easy way to use computers. GEM color model, 12" RGB medium-res in production as this was written (mid- also features a built-in clock/calendar model, and 12" monochrome hi-res December, 1984) and that the 130 ST and up to six desk accessories. model. A monochrome monitor aimed would be in production by the time you at the 800XL/65 XE line takes the 40- read this. He further stated that the Sacking the Mac column output of an XE and, according remainder of drives, monitors, and The two major differences between to Kerr, whips it into an 80-column printers announced at Winter CES 1985 the Mac and GEM on the ST are speed display. would be delivered during first quarter and color. "This machine has the fastest Printers, all of which are being of 1985. If all (or, indeed, most) of this is response of any machine of this type," sourced from Asian vendors, will run the true, the Tramiels will have once again says Kerr. "And it's got the fastest file- gamut from non-impact models to wrested the destiny of consumer load I've ever seen off a floppy disk." daisywheels. Like the monitors, the microcomputing and molded it for many Then there is the difference ofcolor. printers are meant to work with micro- months to come. 60 CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 198i HOW TO MAKE YOUR FIUS GO MILES. " Telpac is the complete telecom- Best of all, the host computer will And these time-sharing systems can munications software system that receive information exactly the way it be programmed into Telpac's unlimited allows one computer to communicate was sent. There's no chance of error phone directory. with another. Working in conjunction because Telpac features XMODEM, What's more, you can run application with a modem, your computer now has XON/XOFF and user-defined protocols programs that were meant for termi- the ability to upload and download for error-free transmission. nals other than the one you're using, important information. Telpac also allows you to log on to because Telpac provides Terminal You can transfer files at speeds information services such as The Emulation. of up to 9600 baud at any time of the Source, Dun & Bradstreet, NewsNet Compare the features. Compare the day or night. And Telpac doesn't even and other popular on-line data bases. price. You'll discover that Telpac has require your presence because it's all the other data communications smart enough to perform unattended. software packages beat—by miles. So you can send or receive large amounts of data after business hours by programming your computer to ///, ///// automatically make connections with virtually any other computer during the night—when phone rates are low. by U.S. Robotics, Inc. 8100 McCormick Blvd. Skokie, IL 60076 For more information send lor a free Phone: (312) 7330497 Telpac brochure. Telex: 650-186-3130 For a poster size reprint ol this ad. send Outside Illinois: 1-800-Dial-USR S3 00 to US Robotics. Inc RCLE 211 ON READER SERVICE CARD ALL OF THESE... gssssasHH HHHHUHHHH ARE BETTER WITH THIS. Meet DESQ, The Multi-Window how you see them. Software Integrator. That's Software DESQ also has MARK AND Integrator not Integrated Software TRANSFER, the ability to transfer data Package. The difference between them between programs and Position the infor- makes all the difference in the world mation exactly; and NOTEPAD, the because an Integrator allows you to keep feature that lets you take notes and save using all the applications you know ana ideas while you're working on another love instead of limiting you to a single program. Then there's LEARN, DESQ's manufacturer's programs. ability to remember keystrokes and com- Now you can go ahead and integrate mands. FILE AND PRINT is another all your software without any of your terrific feature that lets you get at DOS current applications becoming obsolete. while working on something else. Including the custom programs you've Best of all, DESQ is open-ended. already invested substantial time and It has the intelligence and flexibility to money in. grow with you and your workload. You In fact, DESQ will make your stand- can add any number of applications or alone applications work as a morepower- custom programs as long as they'll run ful, more effective whole. It actually on an IBM PC" or compatibles. You'll adds capabilities to your programs. need 256K for DESQ plus memory for Thats because DESQ nas an incred- your largest program and a Winchester ible number of special features. First, of Disk running DOS 2.0, minimum. If course, are WINDOWS, multiple spaces you want to know where to get DESQ created by DESQ on your screen tnat just call 800 845-6621 (outside Califor- show you several different programs. nia) for the nearest DESQ dealer. Not only does DESQ let you use up to With DESQ, you and your software 9 programs at once, it lets you decide are going to be a lot better together. DESQ The possibilities are endless. Quarterdeck Office Systems 1918 Main Street, Santa Monica, California 90405 • Telephone: 213-392-9851 CIRCLE 136 ON READER SERVICE CARD BUSINESS/PERSONAL PRODUCT REVIEW The successor to the Model 1 00 offers more memory, a larger screen, better cursor key layout, and Multiplan in ROM TandyModel 200 Owen Linzmayer Tandy Model 200 portable com- Theputer is a surprising machine. Surprising for what it's not, more than for what it's got. Ever since word leaked out that a successor for the phenomenally successful Model 100 was in the works, people have been waiting eagerly for its release. Journalists had speculated that it would be a 64K. ma- chine with 80-column display—possibly even an IBM compatible. They were wrong. Herein we take a close look at the real Model 200. Family History To fully appreciate the Model 200, a layman's understanding of the Model 1 00 is in order. Briefly, the Model 1 00 is a notebook-sized portable computer with a 40-column by 8-line liquid crystal dis- play (LCD) and a built-in 300 baud modem. The computer can be equipped with 8 to 32K of RAM and has several useful programs residing in ROM. One of the most appealing points of the Model 100 is that there is effectively no operating system, thus making it a very friendly machine for even a novice to op- Hardware Profile erate. All of these features combine to l: Tandy Model 200 Type: Notebook portable CPU: 8-bit CMOS Z80 RAM: 24K make the Tandy Model 100 the most 72K) 72K Keyboard: 59 full-stroke keys, 1 2 function keys Dis- successful portable lap-sized computer (expandable to ROM: play: LCD, 1 6 lines x 40 characters Ports: RS-232, parallel, cassette, bar code reader to date—admittedly a tough act to fol- .8" 8.5* 2.2* Documentation: low. Enter the Model 200. Modem: Built-in 300 baud Dimensions: 1 1 x x , 4.5 lbs. As the name implies, the Model User's Guide, 3 applications manuals Swwrtfy: Compact AC or battery operated 200 is an enhanced version of its pred- portable with Basic, spreadsheet, telecommunications, and rudimentary text editing ecessor. Major differences include a software built in Price: $999 40-column by 16-line flip-up display, 24K r: Tandy Radio Shack to 72K of RAM, 72K to 104K of ROM, One Tandy Center improved cursor key cluster, and the Ft. Worth, TX 76107 Multiplan spreadsheet in ROM. (817)338-2394 Bigger, but Better? umns is considerably more legible than and non-glare coating assure excellent Because of the flip-up display, the 80. This, of course, was true during the legibility under almost any lighting con- Model 200 is slightly larger than the design stages ofthe Model 200, but today ditions. When closed, the display pro- Model 100, measuring 2.2* x 11.8* x several 80-column LCD displays are tects the 56-key, full-stroke keyboard. In 8.5* and weighing 4.5 lbs. In addition to available with excellent legibility. How- fact, the 200 keyboard is identical to that 1 6 lines of40 characters, graphics can be ever, I can't blame the folks in Ft. Worth of the 100, so if you are accustomed to displayed on a 240 x 1 28 pixel matrix. for not wanting to count on such the latter, you will have no qualms with My immediate reaction to the dis- improvements. its implementation on its successor. play was, "why not 80 columns?" The Although the display flips open to The four cursor keys are arranged reason offered by Tandy is that 40 col- only one position, a contrast adjustment in a logical diamond pattern, a major 64 CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 BEFORE YOU BUY A PRINTERJAKE THIS SIMPLE EYE TEST. rhis is from «. leading This is from the new GE TXP-1000. computer Printer. LETTER-QUALITY PRINTING. GREAT-LOOKING GRAPHICS. As you can see, the General the sharpest and most-detailed your home computer ever made. Electric Printer is easy on the In eyes. graphics you've ever seen. Look, a full two-yea r warranty tact, you'll have to look high and low Watch. It's fast, flexible and quiet. and toll-free number. to find a printer that gives you better Ifs easy to see the versatility in the GE gives you a two-year warranty quality printing clearer and graphics GE Printer. You'll get high-quality print- on its printer, and should you have for the It money. has two speeds outs at two speeds on virtually any any questions, you can always call and uppercase and lowercase char- paper. And it's quiet, too So it's a silent the GE Answer Center," 1-800-626- acters It prints US., scientific and partner for any computer. 2COO toll-free and get help right international characters in three See, It's compatible with away. And all our peripherals are - widths, it'll too And give you some of Commodore, Apple, IBM, Atari. backed by General Electric's relia- The GE Printer is fully compatible bility and service The GE Computer with most home computer systems. Printer. A beautiful sight. So it's easy to Hve with. A full line of peripherals worth We bring good things to life. more than a glance. Whether ifs a GE Modem with direct or acoustic operation, a GE Computer Monitor/TV with resolu- tion that offers superior text and Graphics or even the GE rogram Recorder, it'll be one of the best connections •Atari. BM, Commodore, arid Apple ore rt tiodemarta of Atari, he. International Bushaa Machines Conxxallon, Commodore Electroncs, Ltd . ond Apple' CIRCLE 115 ON READER SERVICE CARD BUSINESS/PERSONAL PRODUCT REVIEW improvement over the Model 100. puter automatically shuts off if the key- featured. Packed with the Model 200 are The 200 offers four special and eight board has not been touched for a pre- supplementary manuals: Tandy function keys labeled paste, label, determined length of time. three Multiplan, Telcom Reference, and print, pause/break and Fl through Using the NOTE.DO file in the 200 Basic Reference. In addition to these, the F8. These are located in a single row Model 200, you can program up to 255 200 Technical Reference Manual above the main keyboard and provide alarms and short messages. If you need Tandy as an option. one-key command entry, with the soft- to be reminded of an appointment on is available ware-selectable commands displayed on April 20, you can have the computer re- Model 100 Criticisms R.I.P. the bottom line of the LCD screen. The mind you several hours, days, or even Associate Editor John top line contains a continuously-up- weeks in advance. When the time speci- When reviewed the Model 100 dated status report, with the remainder fied in your note matches that of the in- Anderson first in August of 1983, he was very im- of the menu screen filled with the names ternal clock, the Model 200 beeps and a pressed, though the review was not with- of programs and files stored in memory. message flashes across the bottom of the that screen. The alarm function also has the out criticism. Almost everything John has been corrected on Like Memory in the Bank disappointed the Tandy Model 200. You now have a As I mentioned earlier, the Model compared to a 200 can be loaded with up to 72K of ceiling of 72K of RAM of 32K with the Model 100. RAM, in three banks of 24K each. You maximum of the modem now can switch from bank to bank using the The auto-dial feature touch-tone and pulse appropriate function key. The Model encompasses both dialing. The cursor cluster has been 200 also has the ability to copy files from M,iodel 100 software formatting ofout- one bank to another, though you cannot greatly improved, and with is possible. access more than one bank at a time. The written entirely in Bask no put for TEXT files with of RAM is in this manner The Model 200 24K partitioning of memory machine PEEKs, POKEs, or as the Model 1 00 when it allows you to make efficient use of each priced the same was introduced, $999. Each additional bank. For instance, you can use bank one language subroutines will run on (user installable) re- as a workplace to run a program copied 24K RAM module $249.95. some extent, pricing from bank two that requires a data file the Model 200. tails for To competitors; also at the originally stored in bank three. Each defines your price point are the Epson PX-8 bank has its own menu, and neither $1000 switching banks nor pressing Reset dis- ability to "wake" the machine if the Geneva and NEC 8401. turbs the contents of memory. By the power is off! Right for way, to add more memory, be it RAM or Just about every piece of hardware Whom? notebook com- ROM, chips are inserted into the empty designed for the Model 100 will function Although several different features sockets found under a removable cover properly with the Model 200, provided puters—all with rather the $1000 price point I have on the bottom of the Model 200. that it doesn't require accompanying —exist at machine language software. For in- some difficulty trying to determine who Compatibility Confusion stance, you can use the Tandy the customers are. People who were with the idea of a truly port- The Model 200 is almost identical to Disk/Video Interface (reviewed Decem- infatuated who needed the Model 100 with regard to hardware ber 1984) which gives you external 80- able machine and people 5-1/4" jobs, mainly journalists, specifications and abilities. Inside you column capability and a 170K one for their one. Those have a 80C85 running the entire show at disk drive. have already purchased desktop power a clock rate equal to that of the Model Model lOOsoftware written entirely looking for compatible units like 100. On the back panel of both machines in Basic with no PEEKS, POKES, or ma- in a portable are looking at Pivot. So you find a Reset button, RS-232C female chine language subroutines will run on the DG/One and the Morrow DB-25 connector, system bus connector, the Model 200. This may not be as limit- who needs a Model 200? that manufacturers parallel printer connector, and phone ing as it sounds as much of the commer- Frankly, I think vertical and cassette DIN sockets. The RS-232C cial software and most user-written will have to look to developing connector can be used to interface to an programs do not use machine language markets—alone or by cooperating with built-in functions. VARs—to find significant new business. external 1 200 baud modem if the been part of Tandy's 300 baud unit is too slow for your tastes. So far, this hasn't the In addition to this, you can use this serial Hidden Treasures game plan, but maybe it will be in port in conjunction with Telcom, the The beauty ofboth Tandy portables future. wrong: I like the ROM -based telecommunications pack- is that very nearly all of the software you Please don't get me dis- age, to interface the Model 200 to any need is provided in ROM inside the ma- Model 200, although I was a bit conservative ma- other computer with a serial port. Lo- chine. The built-in software consists of a appointed to see such a on the trail of the block- cated on the left side of the Model 200 is text editor, telecommunications pack- chine so hot a the bar code reader port and a sliding age, address and schedule organizers, buster 1000 and 1200. If you need getting one, switch that selects between direct-con- Multiplan (63 columns by 99 rows) portable and have resisted the scales nect (modular) or acoustic modem use. spreadsheet, and Microsoft Basic. None perhaps the Model 200 will tip The Model 200 can be powered by of these programs can hold a candle to for you. But I question how many scales new either an AC adapter or four AA bat- similar desktop versions, but then they will be tipped before some major to. programs were markets are tapped. teries ( 10 to 16-hour life from alkaline weren't meant These cells). To extend battery life, the com- designed to be functional, not full- CIRCLE 401 ON READER SERVO CARD 66 CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 6AW0RKS WITH APPLEWORKS: You already know AppleWorks'" is MegaWorks simple to use. Mail Megaworks completes AppleWorks. the powerful program that combines merge lets you print personalized See the complete works for your the three most popular applications form letters from a single master Apple lit and lie Uxlay at a dealer for your Apple //e and He Its only letter and list. The spelling checker near you. Or send for our free, no drawback is the absence of two corrects misspelled words in docu- obligation brochure. key functions. ments and "word wrap" retains its That's why Megaworks with original format, a function unavail- AppleWorks. able in many popular programs. Megaworks is the mail merge and The dictionary allows you to person- DuLBsMnSHS spelling correction program alize your work with the addition Wt MAKf ^JCOMPurfBS WORK HAjffJf " designed exclusively to complete the of 10,000 words to its 40,000 5703 Obcrl in Dr. <£&**" AppleWorks package. Your knowl- word library. San Diego. CA 92121 edge of AppleWorks makes 619-450-030 CIRCLE 126 ON READER SERVICE CARD AppleWorks and Apple e Hid *. ait registered trademarks of Apple Computer. Inc. Now the can do some Apple's Macintosh, "the computer for the rest of us," is probably the most advanced and easiest to use computer on earth. But until now, Mac couldn't be taken seriously for word processing. Enter Micro- soft Word for the Macintosh. Mac's professional word processing program. Word runs the most popular letter quality printers. It doesn't limit your manuscripts to 10 pages or even 50 pages. Because one Word document can hold as many pages as you can fit on a disk. And Word not only sets up footnotes, columns and special formats in a flash, it has a whole disk full of other features to make your writing go faster. Word does windows . Unique to Word is its ability to "window" up to four pieces of work on the screen at once. So while you're typing one document, you can have pages from three others on the screen for refer- ence. Or to cut and paste between documents quickly. Which can save a lot of the time you'd spend opening and closing files. Key phrases at a keystroke . If you have a lot of stock paragraphs you use in your writing, Word's glossary feature puts them at the tip of your typing fingers. Just store the pieces of text you need and you can recall them instantly. And if you want an alternative to mouse work, you can run your Mac the old fashioned way. Because Word gives you the option to execute commands from the keyboard. By the way, you don't have to write off your MacWrite documents to convert to Word. It'll run them all right off the bat. rest of us serious writing* Reader-friendly form letters* With Microsoft® Word, you also get a sophisticated "conditional" text merging feature that lets you make customized form letters and documents. So instead of sending out 800 "Dear Client, we've h moved" notices, you can mail a letter that will read like personal correspondence. ^41 Get the max out of Mac ^ Microsoft Word has scores of features m that have all been designed to take full advantage of Mac's easy operating style. ^So you don't have to be a professional _ ^SK ^^to use it. Word is just one of a whole family of programs we've written for Apple's® Macintosh™ Which means it can exchange data with Microsoft Multiplanf Microsoft Chart, and Microsoft File. And because our programs work alike, if you learn one, you're well on your way to learning the rest. MICROSOFT So as of now, you have everything you need to put The High iwormance Softwai^ Mac to work. Just give it the Word. For the name of your nearest Microsoft dealer, call (800) 426-9400. In Washington State, Alaska, Hawaii and Canada, call (206) 828-8088. Microsoft and MultipLan are registered trademarks and The High Performance Software ts a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Apple is a registered trademark and Macintosh is a trademark licensed to Apple Computer. Inc. CIRCLE 127 ON READER SERVICE CARD A BUSINESS/PERSONAL PRODUCT REVIEW The big four in software—word processing, spreadsheet, database, and communications—for under $ 1 000 NEC 8401 Portable Computer David H.Ahl NEC 840 1 A is the second genera- Thetion NEC notebook portable com- puter. It is significantly different from the 8201, and we expect it will ap- peal to a different type of customer. Briefly, the 8401 has a 16-line by 80-col- umn fold-up LCD screen, 64K of RAM, and a built-in 300 baud modem, and can be operated using batteries or an AC adapter. It uses the CP/M operating sys- tem and has four built-in software pack- ages including Wordstar-To-Go, Calc-To-Go, Telcom (telecommunica- tions utility), and Filer (personal card fil- ing program). The basic package includes the computer, phone cable, cassette recorder cable, four manuals, quick reference guide, information about on-line ser- vices, and license and warranty cards. The package does not include either an AC adapter or batteries. Optional pe- ripherals include a CRT/disk adapter, micro floppy disk unit, 1200 baud modem, external 32K RAM cartridge, and a wide assortment of cables. Hardware Profile Compact Package 1 Notebook portable computer CPU: 8-bit CMOS Z80 Somewhat larger and heavier than Nam*: NEC PC-840 A Type: full-stroke keys the 8201, the 8401 measures 11.8" x 8.4" RAM: 64K (optional 32K external cartridge) ROM: 96K Keyboard: 68 sound: Ports: RS 232, par- x2.8" and weighs 4.7 lbs. ItusesaCMOS Display: LCD, 1 6 lines x 80 characters Graphics and None .8" 8.4" version ofthe 8-bit Z80 mpu operating at allel, cassette, system bus Modem: Built-in 300 baud Dimensions: 1 1 x x manuals, 72- 4 MHz. Built in are three 32K ROMs 2.8" , 4.7 lbs. Documentation: User's Guide, 3 applications software (96K total) which include the BIOS and page quick reference guide Opticas: Add-on memory cartridge, micro floppy disk applications software. The 64K of RAM drive, CRT adapter, 1 200 baud modem Summary: Compact AC or battery-operated is segmented into two 32K. blocks, one portable with CP/M, word processing, spreadsheet, telecommunications, and card for storing user programs (called an in- filer software built in Prite: $999 ternal disk) the other for file RAM and : NEC Home Electronics (USA) creation and manipulation. With an op- 1401 Estes Ave. it is tional floppy disk drive attached, Elk Grove Village, IL 60007 possible to allocate all 64K of the com- (312)228-5900 puter to program execution. A compartment in the top of the case, we find a power switch, screen con- the machine "wakes up" it simply dis- computer accepts four C-cells; alkaline trast adjustment, reset switch, telephone plays the menu and cannot be instructed batteries are said to have a life of eight and modem connectors, 300/1200 baud to execute a program automatically hours or longer. There is an automatic switch, and RS-232, parallel, cassette, (such as sending a file late at night to an- power shutoff if no key has been pressed and bus connectors. LED indicators on other computer). for ten minutes; this time period may be the top indicate low battery condition The keyboard has 59 regular keys, reset by the user to 1 to 25 minutes. and sleep mode. Franky, we couldn't see five function keys (which double to ten Going around the outside of the much use for the sleep feature since when with the Shift key), and four directional 70 CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 . You've provided a safe, warm home for your computer. . Shouldn't do the^ same for you? SMARTHOME I™—HOME CONTROL AND SECURITY THAT DOESN'T TIE UP YOUR COMPUTER Instead of your Apple or IBM Computer sitting around all day, resting on it's software, it could be keeping you—and your home— secure, cozy, and entertained 24 hours a day. SMARTHOME can be programmed by your com- puter to automatically control lights and appliances, and provide a fully wireless security system. Now you can come home to a warm, secure, well-lit house, with soft music playing, and the smell of dinner awaiting you. If you've ever debated installing a home security system, or wondered how you could control the lights and appli- ances in your home, now is the chance to get some answers. Try our free demo package in your home for a week. You'll learn how easy it is to design a basic or comprehensive security system, and discover the many uses of home control — in your home. To learn why SMARTHOME makes sense for you, simply use the toll-free number listed below to order your free home-demo package (we'll need your VISA or MasterCard number in case you decide to keep the package, or you can return it at no obligation). All you need is an Apple or CyberlYNX Computer Products, Inc. IBM personal computer—and a little imagination. 4828 Sterling Drive, Boulder, CO 80301 (303) 444-7733 Call: 1-800-SECURE 9 CIRCLE 113 ON READER SERVICE CARD — BUSINESS/PERSONAL PRODUCT REVIEW cursor keys (arranged in a convenient di- max, min, sum, avg, and count. Lim- Telcom program is completely menu- partially amond pattern). A numeric keypad can ited logic functions, including if, and, driven and allows manual, be toggled on and off with the num key, or, not, true, and false are im- automatic, or completely automatic op- voice op- while the alt key toggles on an alter- plemented, lookup will search a range eration. Telcom can be used for native keyboard which includes 28 for a value, and choose will return the eration as well as data transmission. Greek letters, 17 math symbols, and 38 value of the nth cell in a range. Rows and graphics symbols. While it's nice to columns can be inserted and deleted, but Optional Extras cartridge, which plugs know that they're there, it is not at all not moved. Formats can be applied glob- A 32K. RAM clear how these symbols can be used. Al- ally or to individual rows, columns, or into the left side ofthe computer, is avail- for though a bit noisy, the keyboard has an cells. Column widths can be set globally able. This is similar to the one offered , oz. is the most portable excellent feel and a sensible layout. or individually—a feature lacking in the 820 1 and at 7 We are less enthusiastic about the many larger spreadsheet programs. type of add-on memory. provides display, however. It measures 7.5* x A Calc-To-Go spreadsheet can The micro floppy drive 2.4", the same width and only 0.4" theoretically contain as many as 16,384 more memory (328K per 3 t/2" disk) higher than the one on the 8201 (and cells (64 columns x 256 rows) although but requires the drive (7.7 lbs.) and the Tandy Model 100). This means that with only 32K of working memory, it is CRT/Disk adapter (1.1 lbs.). On nearly four times as many letters are other hand, this latter component pro- packed into the same screen size as the vides monochrome or RGB color output previous machine. Characters are to a monitor. Moreover, the computer formed in a 6 x 8 dot matrix; to enhance provides true VT 100 terminal emulation legibility, vertical strokes are wider than should you need it. horizontal ones. Nevertheless, one pixel f you want the big four in Although a 300 baud direct connect vertical and horizontal spacing coupled modem is built in, a 1200 baud external software word processing, — is also available. with one pixel descenders occasionally unit makes for difficult reading. Far worse is spreadhseet, database, and the fact that the screen tilts back only 30 The Notebook Computer of Choice? note- degrees from the vertical. While this is commundations—in a portable So is the NEC PC-8401 A the plenty for a CRT screen, an LCD screen book computer of choice? As we have machine you can have them all at requires reflected light. Thus if you are said so many times in the past, it depends overhead illumination upon your needs and expectations. Our depending upon a surprisingly modest price. you will be disappointed with the results main criticisms are the limited screen an- and may want to consider a table or desk gle (can be remedied with a lamp), less lamp positioned to illuminate the screen. unlikely that a spreadsheet with more than friendly Wordstar-To-Go, and than 4000 cells could be constructed one thing we haven't mentioned—the The Big Four In Software (which should be plenty large for most lack of a programming language. Per- Wordstar-To-Go by MicroPro problems). haps we are just old-fashioned in think- International is a scaled down version of Filer is a card filing program that ing that a computer ought to be the full-blown Wordstar. The main fea- lets you design your own form for a file programable. tures which have been left out include: card and then use it to store and retrieve "But," you're thinking, "the com- help menus, file directory (you use the data. A file card can consist of up to 13 puter uses a Z80-type mpu and runs 8401 menu), paragraph tab, hyphen lines with a maximum of 80 characters CP/M; surely Basic is available as an op- help, soft hyphen entry, column mode, per line. The maximum size of a card file tion." No it isn't. At least not yet. decimal tab, and print control display is 23K; this would be filled by 55 cards Presumably if there is sufficient hue and toggle. Beyond that, the 8401 runs stan- with 10 lines of 40 characters per line. cry, NEC could release it in the future. dard Wordstar with all its facilities and Thus, it is important to design your card Nevertheless, ifyou are looking fora ma- foibles. Because it automatically stores judiciously. chine on which to write Basic programs both a working copy and a backup of ev- Once you have created a file, you right now, look elsewhere. ery document created, it gobbles up can add data or cards; retrieve a card On the other hand, if you want the memory faster than you can imagine. (based on any rules you specify); delete, big four in software—word processing, Like its big brother, Wordstar-To- view, sort, or print cards; and even have spreadsheet, database, and communica- Go is not particularly easy to learn or the computer dial a telephone number tions—in a portable machine, you can easy to use but it has nearly every imag- from a card. (As mentioned earlier, in have them all at a surprisingly modest inable word processing feature, allows addition to an external modem, a price. Moreover, with the options, the embedded printer control instructions, connector is provided for a standard 8401 offersclose to real desktop comput- takes advantage of the 8401 function voice telephone.) ing power and, for some, may meet the keys, and comes with MicroPro's 200- The Telcom program has two main need for a true dual purpose computer page manual. Thus, it gets our reluctant functions: connecting to an on-line data (desktop and portable). endorsement. service (CompuServe, The Source, Dow For the 8401 to be a big success for Calc-To-Go is a first class spread- Jones, OAG, etc.) and connecting to an- NEC, we think the company will have to sheet program that includes the most fre- other computer. The manual provides face up to two major issues: improving quently used features from spreadsheet specific instructions for communicating distribution and developing vertical programs for larger computers. Ex- with an NEC 8800, IBM PC, or Apple markets, but that's a story for another pressions can use all the standard II, although the 8401 can easily be con- place and time. arithmetic and logic operations as well as nected to other computers as well. The CIRCLE 402 ON READER SERVICE CARD 72 CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 %. x A WORD PROCESSING PROGRAM ! AN INFORMA TION MA NA GEMENT PROGRA M ! A TELECOMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM] ALL THREE PROGRAMS, ON ONE DISKETTE!, FOR ONLY $49.95*1 "Quite simply the best! The highest rating possible. . . thepackage should be part ofevery (computer) library."— \nalog computing "Ru\s Wetmore has done an EXCELLENT job! The program is flexible, powerful and very easy to use. $49.95 buys a heck of a lot ofprogram."— review b\ xrthuru yesberger "Performance: it • • + (Excellent iValue:* • • it (Excellent) " This three-in-one package is a bargain . . . one of the finest values on the market. HOIMETEXT word processor. HOMEFIND INFORMATION MANAGI R. 'ncluoeeo HOMETERM ti u communications Together they are HomePak: the three most important and most useful home computer applica- ^Breakth,^,,,,. . tions in one integrated system on one diskette! S°'«vvareCer ,ed I he reviewers are unanimous: any one of "^"ETHoue these programs alone is well worth the price. So you're getting three times the computing power, with this exceptionally easy to use package: 3 ml all commands in simple Fnt>lish: no complex computer {argon, no obscure instructions .jjomefext • all key commands are immediately available on the screen menu: additional commands can be called up for the more experienced user i to help miu. system status is displayed riyht HofT|eE»rm • on the screen And it's easy to use the three programs together, lor example, in the "Merge" mode, you can take data stored in HOMEFIND and print letters and labels using HOME 1 1 \ I I >r, use HOME 1 1 \ I to write reports based on information you've called up via HOMETERM. BATTERIES & INCLUDED JO Mural Street 17875 Sky Park North Richmond Hill, Ontario Suite P, Irvine, California lab IBS Canada "The Energized Software Company!" USA 92714 (4I6/S96-J405 Telex: 509-139 Tfe/ex. 06-21-8290 WRITE FOR A FULL COLOR BROCHURE -MANUFACTURERS SUC TIM MAY REQUIRE ACCESSORY DfVtCES SUCH AS MODEMS PRINTERS OR CARDS Ti i .R DEALER FOR DETAILS '. 984 BATTERIES INCLUDED ATARI APPLE COMMODORE AND IBM A -.'ARKS OF ATARI CORP APPl I "To become a highly respected Qtizen, it takes outstanding performance and faithful public service. — Introducing the two newest Qtizen™ dot matrix printers. Engineered with the same care and precision we've built into Qtizen watches for over 50 years. Past? The MSP-20 and MSP-25 both print an inaedible 200 cps, or 50 cps corre- spondence-quality at the flick of a switch. Quiet? Youll hardly know they're on And both feature proportional spacing hard copy so clean, you'd swear it didn't come from a dot matrix. Plus, all Qtizen printers are IBM®- or Epsorf-compatible. All feature our easy-to-use push-feed paper loading system And all come with the industry's longst warranty—18 months on parts and labor. Which can only mean one thing Qtjzens of the year are built to be Qtizens of the years, for more information, call 1-800-556-1234, Ext. 34. In California, 1-800- ^^ r1 ITT7 1? 1ST ^l l ILMLrH 441-2345, Ext. 34. Or write W Qtizen America Corporation, 2425 Colorado Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90404. © 19&4 Citizen Amenta Corporation >n IBM is a registered trademark of Intern * CIRCLE 104 ON READER SERVICE CARD " * » CCJMPUlhH 1^# 13 f PRODUC UPPLE SWITCH-A-SLOT Paddle-Adspple GAME I/O ADAPTER AND EXTENDER 1^ j J'm 1~ ***** A*wk ! The SWITCH-A-SLOT is an expansion chassis which allows the user to plug in up to four peripheral cards at one The Paddle- Adapple has two 16 pm sockets time One of these cards is selected for use. and only that Works with all Apple compatible |oysticks paddles and card draws power other I/O devices The Paddle Adapple 'D" works with the submimatureD connectors This product is especially useful where the software Select one of two devices or requires the printer to be in a particular slot, and the user The Paddle- Adapple Combo has one 1 6 pm socket and Use 4 paddles simultaneously wishes to choose between two or more printers one subminiature D connector Unique Jumpers socket allows you to configure to • Allows up to four peripheral cards to be plugged into one meet your needs peripheral slot BPi'" users can have BPl" device and paddles plugged m 9-16 Adapter • User selects desired card by front panel rotary switch simultaneously (Paddle- Adapple and Paddle -A dap pie j^ Combo only) • Only selected card draws power For Apple / /• and / /c Gives you four push-button inputs This product permits the use of most 16-pm I/O devices • Plugs into any peripheral slot with the APPLE //cor //e plugging this adapter into the Supports shift key modification By • Saves wear and tear on delicate connectors sub-miniature D connector, you can plug in a 16-pin Exchange XtV joystick axis • 18" cable connects Switch-a-slot to computer device, such as the Paddle -Adapple. paddles, joystick. Small and compact — adheres to computer with KOALA PAD**, etc The New— resistive terminations for better response supplied foam tape only limitations are those devices that use the All Strobes, annunciators and power available on all 16 annunciators or the C040 pin connectors «>#*** *\ A SLOT work strobe, such as the SWITCH-A-SLOT and EXTEND Supplied with 18 cable $29.95 POWER PAD" Please well with all slow to medium speed cards, note that the //c does not such as Modems, Printers, Clock, 80 Column, upport four joystick Music, etc. They are not recommended for nputs high speed data transfer devices such as disk quikLoadef* $14.95 drive controllers, alternate processor, and memory cards. These products may be incom- We start your library o( programs with the most popular utilities patible with some alternate processor cards. on the card. FlDandCOPYA Now. it you have to copy a disk, you don t have to search tor the master disk You can start copying within 3 seconds after turning on the computer We are currently licensed to sell several very popular programs on EPROM DOUBLE-TAKE by BEAGLE BROS . and COPY ]( PLUS by CENTRAL POINT SOFTWARE The introductory price tor DOUBLE-TAKE is $45 00 This includes the program exactly the same as you would buy it at your dealer tor $34 95 (including disk EXTEND-A-SLOT and documentation), and a programmed 27126 EPROM (worth about $25 00) COPY || PLUS cost $65 00 This includes the original program (worth $39 95) and two programmed 27126s Other programs available directly from us or the publishers are. BARKOVITCH I/O TRACER AMD SINGLE STEP TRACE. CONVENIENT FAST AND MICRO TYPOGRAPHER from TIDBIT SOFTWARE. ECHO Speech The quikLoader is the fastest way to load programs BAR NONEl synthesiser software trom STREET ELECTRONICS, and MERLIN can loaded infractions otasecond More importantly Programs be assembler from ROGER WAGNER PUBLISHING. More is instantly loaded every time the computer is turned on DOS commercial programs are now in the works card This process takes less Integer SIX MONTH WARRANTY PROmGRAMER Available at your local dealer or direct trom: The PROmGRAMER will read or program any of the standard So. Calif Research Group TEN DAY RETURN PRIVILEGE single-volt EPROMS trom me 2708 to the 27512 Features P.O. Box 2231 -C TOLL-FREE ORDER LINES include: 118 • Slot independent operation tor the APPLE // family of (tw??^^ in CA (800) 821 -0774 computers. • Zero insertion force sockets accepts 24 or 28 pin TELEX 658340 ATTN: SCfiG ADD S2.50 SHIPPING (800)635-8310 devices. • Disk based software allows easy customization of software. Amwer Back INTERTEL SNC all other stales (Including AK. HI. VI & PR) • Complete instructions lor loading software into quikLoader VISA, MASTERCARD accepted Information a technical questions (80S) 685-1931 . imsfi , . . . INDUSTRY INSIDER continued from page 14 FREE famous Hackers Get Together It was a weekend to remember. Of 500 well known hackers invited by Stew- high tech catalog art Brand to a "conference," 1 SO or so showed up at a former Army base north More than just a catalog, ofSan Francisco the weekend of Novem- a trustworthy guide to ber 9-11, 1984. The weather was chilly and rainy, but the camaraderie was what's new in computers warm, and the intellectual dexterity was and electronics. dazzling. The conference got off to an eerie Metal For many years, the Heathkit cata- start on Friday night when the power Detector log has been a guide to new, excit- failed throughout the camp. The open- ing kit products for people like you to build. To enjoy. ing "mapping" session Learn from. And when each at- save money. tendee Triple-Trace stood up to give his name and Oscilloscope What sets this catalog apart is interests was lit by lantern and flashlight. Computerized its range of high quality prod- Weather Station As one person said, "It looked like an ucts and accurate informa- EverReady commercial." tion on every product. On the other hand, it sounded like a Over 450 interesting highly-charged science fair punctuated items - Computer hardware with offbeat humor, cackling laughter, and soft- ware • Robots • Preci- intellectual commentary, and fanatic sion test instru- commitment to the cause of computers Microprocessor ments • Computer- and pure hacking. Trainer & Course ized weather The second day was given to fooling instruments • around with dozens of computers and Solar hot water • Automotive passionate discussions about computer and home energy design, programming, and broadening With Heathkit, you'll dis- products • access to computers for youngsters. Bob cover a special pride of ac- Security de- Albrecht recalled the days of People's complishment by creating vices • Color Computer Company, an open-to-the- hand-built quality that is Accurate TVs* Video re- public center in Menlo Park in the Early uniquely yours. Clock corders, cameras and acces- 1970's while Brian Harvey proposed You'll build your kit 40-Channel sories • Stereo with confidence too, know- starting a string of similar centers today Scanner components ing you're backed by our that youngsters could join "like the • simple promise, "We won't Amateur radio gear YMCA." • Electronics courses let you fail." The final session of the conference, leading from basic If you don't have the latest held in an old wooden army chapel, was electronics to high tech. Heathkit Catalog, the whole where the hackers were most successful family is missing some- in explaining the meaning of the gather- thing great. ing. Steve Wozniak said he thought the hacker drive "represents the children in us." However, the words used over and over again were "a sense ofcommunity." Ted Nelson, author ofthe 1974 clas- sic, Computer Lib/Dream Machines and HERO" former editor of Creative Computing Robot perhaps summed it up best. He said the gathering reminded him of the 1969 Woodstock Rock Festival. "The great Heath Company, Dept. 355-272 thing about Woodstock," he said, "was Send NOW Benton Harbor, Michigan 49022 that you and 500,000 other people were for your where it was at, and nobody else FREE Please send me the latest Heathkit Catalog Free. was . . . This has been the mellowest, pleasantest computer gathering I've ever Heathkit Name been at, because we were all so glad to be Catalog here." Hacker after hacker followed to Address speak of the need to keep the spirit of the City conference alive. With the hackers' . State eclectic mixture of strangeness, wit, Heathkit Zip- intellect, contentiousness, and camara- A subsidiary ot Zenith Electronics derie, it seems to me the spirit will be Corporation CL-777C I alive and well for many moons to come. CIRCLE 120 ON READER SERVICE CARD VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 3/CREATIVE COMPUTING 77 FANTASTIC COMPUTER PRINTER SALE!!! COM-STAR T/F s>:< -.'<.'; •° it &&.*'„: & '!<' ~ : '^:y> Tractor Friction Printer • * only tnmmtmnMpiiBlil COMSTAR E I SSI • Lowest Priced, Besl Quality, Tractor-Friction Printers in the USA Fast 80-120-160 Characters Per Second • 40, 46, 66, 80, 96, 132 Characters Per Line Spacing • Word Processing • Print Labels. Letters, Graphs and Tables • List Your Programs Print Out Data (rom Modem Services • "The Most Important Accessory tor Your Computer" •• DELUXE COMSTAR T/F Premium Quality 120-140 CPS Superior Quality 80 CPS Printer — $169.00 15%X COM STAR PLUS+ 15W COMSTAR PLUS+ H.S. Printer This COMSTAR T/F (Tractor Friction) Business $339.00 High Speed 160 • 180 CPS all the features of the 10" COM STAR PRINTER is exceptionally versatile It Has Business Printer $459.00 8'; +PRINTER plus 1514" carriage and prints " x 11" standardise single sheet PLUS 15Vi" Carriage and more powerful components to stationary or continuous feed computer more powerful electronics electronic components to handle larger forms' paper Bi-directional, impact dot matrix. handle large ledger business ledger business forms! (Serial Centronics 80 CPS. 224 characters (Centi (Better than Epson FX 100) List $599 Parallel Interface) List $799 SALE $459 Parellel Interface). $339.00 SALE 13" DAISY WHEEL PRINTER $249.00 Premium Quality 120-140 CPS 10X COMSTAR PLUS+ "JUKI" Superb letter quality daisy wheel Superior Quality printer. 13" extra large carriage, up to Printer $234.00 10" H.S. 12CPS bi-directional printing, drop-in The COM STAR PLUS+ gives you all the COM-STAR+ cassette ribbon, (90 day warranty) features of the COMSTAR T/F PRINTER HIGH SPEED 160-180 CPS Centronics parallel or RS232 serial port 10" x dot plus a carriage. 1 20 1 40 CPS. 9 9 Business Printer $359.00 bujlt in! (Specify) for 1 x matrix with double strike capability 8 This Super High Speed Com Star • Business List $399.00 SALE $234.00 18 dot matrix (near letter quality), high Printer has all the features of the 10" COM Printer/Typewriter Combination $299.00 resolution bit image (120 x 144 dot STAR* PRINTER with HIGH SPEED spacing, left matrix), underlining, back BUSINESS PRINTING 160 180 CPS. 100% "JUKI" Superb letter quality, daisy wheel lower and right margin settings, true duty cycle. 8K Buffer, diverse character printer/typewriter combination. Two subscripts, decenders with super and fonts, special symbols and true decenders. machines in one-just a flick or the switch. prints standard, italic, block graphics and vertical and horizontal tabs. A RED HOT 13" extra large carriage, typewriter special characters It gives you print BUSINESS PRINTER at an unbelievable low keyboard, automatic margin control and printers quality. and features found on price (Serial or Centronics Parallel relocate key drop in cassette ribbon! (90 costing twice as much!! (Centronics Interface) List $699.00 Sale 8359.0O day warranty) Centronics parallel and than Parallel Interface) (Better Epson RS232 serial port built in (Specify) FX80) List $499 00 SALE $249.00 List $$499.00 SALE $299.00 • 15 Day Free Trial - 1 Year Immediate Replacement Warranty PARALLEL INTERFACES For VIC 20 and COM 64 - $49 00 For Apple computers — $79 00 Atari Interface— $79 00 Add $14 50 for shipping, handling ond inturonco Illinois rondonit plootwpdd 6% io« Add S29 OOlor CANADA PUt«TO «ICO HAWAII ALASKA APO FPO ordort Conodian ordort mutt bo in U S dollar* •—"«•«««• W[ CO NOT EXP «.«! TO OTMf• COUNTRIIS ENTERPRIZES Monoy Ofdor or •artonol Chock. Allow 14 fncloM Cothiort Chock BARBINOTON, ILLINOIS $0010 dayt lor doli vary J lo 7 dayt lor phono ordort 1 day aaprati moil! OX 550. VISA-MASTER CARD-We Ship COD 10 U S Addresses Only Phone 312V3M-5244 to order COMSTAR PLUS+ ilOPQRBTUVMXYZ Print Example. «BCDEFSHIJKIJ*NOPQR8TLIVWXYZ 123- ! ! NEW 128K -MEGA BYTE DUAL DISK DRIVE-80 COLUMN COMPUTER SYSTEM SALE! HOME • BUSINESS • WORD PROCESSING LOOK AT ALL YOU GET FOR ONLY £ J95. UST p R | C E ® Bl 28 COMMODORE 128K 80 COLUMN COMPUTER $ 995.00 © 4023 - lOO CPS - 80 COLUMN BIDIRECTIONAL PRINTER 499.00 (3) 8050 DUAL DISK DRIVE (over 1 million bytes) 1795.00 ® 12" HI RESOLUTION 80 COLUMN MONITOR 249.00 • BOX OF 10 LORAN LIFETIME GUARANTEED DISKS 49.95 • 1 lOO SHEETS FANFOLD PAPER 19.95 • ALL CABLES NEEDED FOR INTERFACING 102.05 TOTAL LIST PRICE $3717.95 PLUS YOU CAN ORDER THESE BUSINESS PROGRAMS AT SALE PRICES Programmers LIST SALE SYSTEM LIST SALf Reference Professional 80 Column PRICE Payroll $149.95 (99.00 Guide Word Processor $149.95 S99.00 *49.00 Inventory $149.95 (99.00 Professional Data Base $149.95 S99.00 S49.00 General Ledger $149.95 S99.00 List $29.95 Accounts Receivable $149.95 (99.00 Sale (24.95 Financial Spread Sheet $149.95 (99.00 Accounts Payable $149.95 (99.00 Order Entry $149.95 (99.00 LIST SALl Olympia Executive PRINTER REPLACEMENT Letter Quality Printer $699.00 $379.00 OPTIONS Comstar Hi-Speed 160 CPS 15Vi" Business Printer $779.00 (409.00 (replace the 4023 with the following at these sale prices) Telecommunications Deluxe Modem Package $199.00 (139.00 IEEE to Centronics Parallel Printer Interface $179.00 (139.00 15 DAY FREE TRIAL. We give 15 to try out this you days SUPER ! SYSTEM PACKAGE! If it doesn't meet your expectations, just send it back to us prepaid and we will refund your purchase price! 90 DAY IMMEDIATE If REPLACEMENT WARRANTY. ony of the SUPER SYSTEM PACKAGE equipment or programs fail due to faulty workmanship or material we will replace it IMMEDIATELY at no charge! Add ($0.00 for shipping and handling!! WE DO NOT EXPORT TO OTHER COUNTRIES Enclose Cashiers Check, Money Order or Personal Check. Allow 14 days for -*«>*' °w<:wwt, delivery. 2 to 7 days for phone orders. 1 day express mail! We accept Visa ENTER PRIZES ond MasterCard. We ship C.O.D. to continental U.S. addresses only. BOX 550. BARHIN0T0N. ILLINOIS 60010 Phono 3127382 5244 to order CIRCLE 132 ON READER SERVICE CARD BUSINESS/PERSONAL PRODUCT REVIEW Portable Disk Unit for NEC 8201 David H.Ahl NEC PC-8231A is a portable programs are essential to system opera- Thesingle or dual 3 %" disk drive unit tion. In fact, I judge them somewhat fortheNECPC-8201 notebook por- dangerous since they use many pokes, table computer. The unit can be powered and at least two of them hung my com- by either a rechargeable battery or AC puter so thoroughly that I needed to cold adapter and provides true portability, start the machine. assuming you don't mind its arm- A formatted data disk has 158 free stretching weight of 7.8 lbs. blocks of 2K each to give it a total stor- 1" 3" The unit measures 1 x 10.5" x age capacity of 323K. A system disk has and sports a collapsible carrying handle a capacity of 307K. These figures are a on the right side. The battery (or AC bit misleading since the system assigns adapter) fits in a slot on the left side. At disk space in 2K. increments. For exam- 7" over long and with a weight of 1 . 5 lbs., ple, a 4200-byte program (106 bytes the 12-volt, l.S-ampere hour battery is a larger than two 2K blocks) requires bit of a monster. Depending on disk ac- three blocks (or 6144 bytes) of storage 1 capacity of a cesses, it should have a life ofabout 1 to Hardware Profile space. Thus, the realistic 1/2 hours, while recharge time is two to disk is probably more like 250K (which three hours. Using the included connec- Nam*: PC-823 1 A Portable Disk Drive still is a great deal of space compared to tor block, the AC adapter doubles as a Description: Add-on disk drive (or NEC the internal memory of the machine). battery charger. 8201 computer Typo: One or two 3 1/2" Using the disk from Basic is quite In operation, the protective front of drives Capacity: 250K plus per disk (see simple; disk file names are simply pre- the disk unit folds down and elevates the text) Power: Rechargeable battery or AC ceded by 1 :. Other commands that can be 1 is 1" used are dskf(1) (gives free space on drive by about %". On the front a adapter Dimensions: 1 x 10.5" x3", 7.8 disk), (writes data on disk), and power switch, green LED power in- lbs. Summary: Speedy storage for Text or dsko$ dicator, drive red drive dskiS (reads data from disk). These lat- door, and LED files in unit Price: , Basic a compact $799 access indicator. Once the drive has been ter commands are used in conjunction accessed, it continues to spin for several with the file commands open, close, NEC Home Electronics (USA) minutes to speed subsequent accesses. and FIELD. 1401 EstesAve. Elk Grove Village, IL 60007 Getting More Storage Worth the Price? (312)228-5900 At the outset I should point out that My only complaints with the 8231 we were at a bit of a disadvantage in test- are its arm-stretching weight and its in- ing this product, as we had a prototype File. DO as" you would respond, ability to print a file directory. Func- unit from Japan with no documentation "l:File.DO" and the file would be writ- tionally, it behaved perfectly, and my whatsoever. ten to disk. The load and kill com- ability to use it sans instructions is tes- The disk unit is connected to the mands are also usable from the main timony to its ease of use. computer with an eight -conductor cable menu. If the 8201 is your only computer with modular telephone-type jacks. Af- It took me a good deal of time to and you find yourself running out of ter powering up the first time, pressing determine how to get a disk directory; it memory space for long text files or con- the reset button on the computer auto- turns out the command is files ( 1 ). Un- stantly saving programs on cassette tape, matically loads the Disk Basic overlays. fortunately, it appears that there is no the 823 1 disk drive will be a most worth- Once loaded, they are retained in mem- way to print a directory; hence, if you while addition to your system. Also, if ory unless you turn off the battery back- have more than 12 files (the number of most of your travel is by car or if you stay up power. These routines occupy 3035 names that fit on the screen), you must in one spot for a while when traveling, bytes; thus a 32K machine (which ac- read fast as the first ones scroll by. the weight ofthe drive will not be a major tually has 287S8 free bytes) will end up The system disk contains three pro- factor and you will want to consider get- with 25723 free bytes. grams- Format (formats a blank disk), ting one. On the other hand, if you use Disk operations are available from Backup (creates a backup disk), and your 8201 primarily in conjunction with Basic or the main menu (for text files). Xfies (transfers files from one disk to a larger desktop machine, you may find To save a text file from the main menu, another). I also had a demo disk with that the $799 price tag on the 823 1 means for example, you would press function seven additional programs for checking "not worth it for me." key 2. In response to the prompt "Save the system and the like; none of these CIRCLE 403 ON READER SERVICE CARD IO CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 BOOK OF THE MONTH CLUB "*•>*': BEST COMPUTER BOOKS & SOFTWARE n-¥ ¥ 'X^g.'V P. m J^V E*£flD i^^l* f >t KEEP YOUR COMPUTER UP AND RUNNING WORD-PROCESSING PACKAGES FOR UNDER $75 EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE THAT KIDS WILL USE MORE THAN ONCE HOW TO TAP 1000 SOURCES OF VALUABLE INFORMATION CIRCLE 101 ON READER SERVICE CARD i ) ) ; : I t71rt;iat»s«.-izirta5«>w.'.iaMia;«.-,rnwj;i»j. UaM 9. 0. JOLL FREE (800) 547-1289 telex gioasoagso all mail c«»«»-LiPitaii.i»t..izo60swB«*nPiie..p*itomi. or 97223 FOR YOUR APPLE COMPUTERS OTHER HARDWARE BUSINESS SOFTWARE UTILITIES SOFTWARE LIST LIST OUfl LIST Teaen, Accetoetor lie S319 ALS, vajrdorlrsiHanraar ea S 80 S 39 aetata. GPIE or Alpha Plot each $ 35 Spell I FuT ana IN STOCK CALL 12SKMMCMIIKI $ 599 rlandkePak (Wort/ 1 si. I S 130 85 T/Do Pascal SYSTEMS IN STOCK CALL Other BAM Cants* Software IN STOCK App4.cHc4IT.c4t, VersaForm I 399 1 249 Borland. " umib mmmtr— turn nm » urn at so cays 6y us TnckhOHMk NumencKeyPad ktuiKia, Jane w/Mouse()U'llel S 295 195 CeaaM Ptjant. Copy II Ptx < m coper) TO, Tracbal or SaHctA-Port Jane »/o Mouse (IK) S 179 119 Fear Utatty 4 Ape* DOS Compear DISK DRIVES Joystick Of Game Paorees Ailed. Mage Wncow ll 1150 100 tlnalaln/ajaarm, UHaTomiiotl Aenkon-TaleL oBaselllReoCP'MSOl S 495 299 Epeon, (Raphes Olstp LIST OUR VideoTermeOcol cart(«fel 9PL JobCosI S595 375 Funk. Sdeerays MCRO-SCI. A2 l43K0*0n«t !» $195 PSIOI/FCjnl AR AP.PR or INV each t 395 249 Hafraeii Tantanai Prog to Snaamodan "' A2 Contioeer Cant (100 II 7S ockrtund, Pmt Shop $ 50 34 roac4LfJI Learn Stock Han Hi Onvelorlle S 269 : 195 Prert Shop Graphics Lrjrary ( 25 18 OmaejA Locksmrtfi Hall HI Dmttolk $299 209 Cornr*le Graphcs System II BankSi Wnler a SpeAer, ealspec "e'ci S 70 , 45 Paavguln. T40 Halt HI . Onct. 163K 5 249 TCAC. 169 I Graptacs Magoan Bar* St Corrto I iVmer 4 SpeHar I S 140 ConMkrCMbyCamX nio : 49 caaaaaatai GL AR.AP or PR each S 250 195 Phoonas. Zoom Gratm 180 Ha* Ht Dour* 326K S449 329 COCX.ta Vrstatc MUtptai Apr* Ik aa S 60 I 40 OsaaBa.BagolTncks Coon*! Cart by Teac S «5 59 Dote Jonaa. Market Manager S MO 199 UmWdSWI. ASCII Eapaaas The Pro MMA,EMtl.l63K.«0Tna t 379 : < Essennal Duplicator III 199 Market Anaiy7er « aacnaatopa. aa S 350 ; 219 USScaX Data II Tack EMe 326K 60 $649 399 ayejen. P« Writer Iv 2 2) $150 :i 99 EHeComrUea t 145 II 99 HoateetH oAT. Tan Preparer lor 84 taaes «€» S 250 195 HOME & EDUCATIONAL VBCOTECH.HMHI Omt im $149 Human EeVpae. Sake Edoe S250 195 B aerate Brcta- EJkne IN STOCK UtraQBRWIt EdQt S 250 165 BraeaarbuneL Pratt Shop LhaaoVWaaaaaaL Tranktank S ISO II 99 HARD DISKS katHa Home Accouaant •e*cex Managing Vour Money $200 125 CoU L Quark. Kioto ik/ikr in 'MAC OowJooaak Home riudgel Mekjajtauej, Mag ann ua $ ioo i 99 Fua ane IN STOCK CALL Megworks $ 125 i 75 Typng Tutor II OTHER HARDWARE MlCPO aPPOa WOTOStaV s 3bo i : Harden. Sargon III iDcaaraSaanaaaSAM aa CCS. 7711 Serial Menace ( ISO 9 95 WordStar ar/Surard $495 299 Human Cdtje. Sates or Mgmi Edge aa Scaatjeacaaaiv Mastolype 495 . CFS/rialaliH, WikJCartlkconei "e| $140 II 99 S 265 Pak Skarta/Orvllrw. Homaanrt (lie) Marll.ga SpaiStar or Startnoaai aa $ 99 N 54 CcnsX.eOca -64K RAM Card t 199 I 99 Stages Simon 4 ScnsaataA Typng Tutor III i Into Slar and StarCard Combo S 595 : : 295 16K RAM Card (II* I. 1yr ltd orty 1179 39 LMng VTcVecAaed, TTank Tank DtaMWaaaaiiA CBMGoMCara. 64«. S 350 250 MkeoajcaXMuarParlApDosorCFtMl $195 $129 PLUS: Barren*. CBS. Davkaton. Edu Ware. la*aa,Jas i4Klo12<«K&oklCardE«par»wi S 295 215 Oe4sorno/ConiX. I Disk and Book KStats BusiMami Harcourt. Lear rung Co Tamaptn Main StneoL Nar or Writer at Some Common Race Pfocjrarna|75ea $ 100 49 Hayaa, MachllJoyshck|./e) I 49 II 29 ~ $ 3V Djakarta* 10 pak KanaHplon, System Saw fan J 90 65 PradcaJ EJaac Prog/ams|40 aa $ too II 49 . Mageki RECREATIONAL lebeafc Karaites/board $298 1199 PaeiKaa, Sanaa 40 3 Pak IGl AR t AP) S 395 : 239 Mr aVuatt Koala, Muppet Keys S 80 49 Ouark. Wort Jugglar t Leaschack le or cl $ 189 : 129 SOFTWARE Wort F4e or MJlrjlan each Touch Teblel w'Miao hVetrator S 125 75 TlaaaaMJa. Sanaibla Saaaaf $125 Maaonarra or Squae aa aaavae, 9>mlt*«. MacmeKnae Ikaiaaworo I. Joystick (ll'll-) S 65 ! 49 SkHTa/On-Llnah $ SO QaaaaloB, AjMc or Zaxacn. each Mutiuytattv Ooaars 4 aenae (^roPacUar,|ll'll 90day taoha System Saver Fan I Ape* I OUAORAM. Amberchrome I? Amber $250 195 PLOTTERS: outlei 100 ea 35 Track (Apple Alan) I 99 HrnwORX. Wneraa 4 arW 4 mi Ouadchrame 12 RGBColoi $695 495 250 ea 35 Track [Apr* Alan 1199 rtll 6 pan 10 a 14 (1099 PERFECT DATA Head Catering Kd (>aai»eomell 14- RGB Color $660 $490 1000 OB 35 Track (Apr* Alan) 1750 PROOTCCHB4TL. Ur«*m»uc* Po tkiadacraan 17 968^12 «(cat* Mi Res $1995 $1696 lOOea 48Tock|IBM H/P) I 95 200 Walts PC200 lor IBM PC 7VM122 ir Amber ZENITH. $159 I 95 250 ea 48 Track (IBM H'Pl 1229 300 Watts XT300 lor IBM XT 7A7M123 12 Green ( 149 II 99 PRINTER SUPPLIES: H/P) AT. lOOOea AITockllBM 1929 17' Papaa, Rabbona, Daley WliaaN 600 Wans AT800 to IBM 72 Be ZVM124 Amber (200 I I 149 7VM135 irCoto $ 599 I 499 rtjH i>«fM. m mn — Incbdvyour coniRor- "" All items usually in stock ORDERING INFO & TERMS: VT£K}urM 1(K Shtppint] nturaVKa and Handling (SIN) otrsv LAPOINTE I ComotuttMyCc«p*.tf>>ity s amtmaticuiMtrsK's rtsponubtiityr9»p()nvt>iiiy M CM- Cmtmt ctneks mom vOmortftrs FonumFonunt 1000 0»cMdntOtsi jndand pMnwvjnt duck*ctaocks fionofodt atiaTrwtaM'y Parsonal and CREDIT CARD B tor VISA UmmC*eai*imKmt*H* Add CMMU U S Uariand 3% (S5 mmium) lo. slandwd UPS round UPS Btur 6% (S10 mmtvim). lor US P»t]Postal AP0 or FPO, 12% (It5 tmmm) Sand me a Coney LaPot* M h»»i - LtPS Bkw Fa 4\l*s*u 9 Canada— UPS « sonw _ only aRottwrsttttmn PotW-tallPostal—ta« ora m.«m.tt or spsoty 9vMPost! Fort-jn orm l|\|S»nmiiumi Crcda aaatcaBen torn ~~~ w m yvh Caal MomtortMonitors by PoatHPostal or tolo k>*gnton^gn cou*tn«.MuMn« 30% (ISO nwwnurn) Orders itx*.*ed with imiittiCianl SIM charges *mN be n»\*«M Al anoH. a LOW PRICES TO PROFESSIONALS WHO KNOW WHAT THEY WANTAND KNOW HOW TO USE IV FOR YOUR IBM-PC, XT, AT or JR COMPUTER DISK DRIVES OTHER HARDWARE UST OUR SYSTEMS CDC L«n4ad30*yMnmy. CallortMnMypnoM MAVNARO, SANO STAR SERIES FulHl 120/360* OS/OD $ 529 I* MaM>cMn(6ICard $ » ; 7« — Call tor n*mils — Han Hi J20/360K. OS/DO t 316 149 Memory Cart no RAM $199 169 HI 0.1* Kit H* Onve txahMi $ 30 ; 16 Memory Card 256* $495 399 256K I1M - PC MAVNARO. Com*. Cart .para pot S 300 185 Floppy Com Cart|»VSlKlo/3modl S26S 209 CoanK Can) ami port (310 195 HardOa* l/F Mod* $499 399 360K SanrttsrComCartlacca|>B3moia4eti 1266 20$ HaroOtskCabkj $ 30 27 PERFECT DATA. Haarl Ckanrg Kn Sanal Port Disk Drives s 16 12 Mod* $ 95 79 Para or Clock CH Modus aa S 59 49 by CDC Game Adaptar Mod* S 4) 43 90Day OTHER HARDWARE Memory Module OK $122 99 Memory Module 256K $422 397 ' AST, S.rf>akPrjs,64K S/P(CC«S/W S396 1245 By II', lOmagHardOokKitiCoraCart $1595 1150 SorPakPSA 256K S/P/TX«S/W S 686 395 MICROSOFT. MeuaetorPC $ 195 139 SrxPakPkSL 3S4K S/F>CC«S/W 1W5 4SS System Card. 64* S «• 275 Garne Port tor SetPak I 60 39 System Cart 256K $625 490 Pnjsneer Graphs* Card .wpera 64K S3H MOUSE SYSTEMS. PC Mouse 4 Pant $ 295 199 Artrenlagt- MuM BdfcfAT ISM PARAOME. MorUarGraprtcsCard $395 1296 i/0Pk*,n. s/p/cc 215 J ISO Partial or Sana! Port aa $ 95 1 « 1/0 "UN S/PTCC/G $265 iter PLANTRONrCS. 1/OPIuslT 2S/PrCC SOFTWAaRE FOR YOUR I ^M-PC, )CT, ATorJR BUSINESS BUSINESS BUSINESS UTILITIES APPUEO SOFTWARE. VarsaForm $369 249 LIVmO VIDEOTEX!. Trarat Tatar J 195 PUSL.. PFS Report 1109 SOFTWARE S 125 79 MICROSOFT. Macro AsaarrtrM J ICO : 99 ASHTONTATE. Ftarnearork $696 LOTUS. I-*-] 349 $495 1309 FSFee $140 • 89 BASIC Compear S < 259 OBdsell $696 3*9 Syrrtpriony $895 465 PFSWnle 5 140 99 Business BASIC Compear $600 300 dBase IT (rag PC0OS812SK) $496 2*9 MOM. Ki...k»Ju»iaai $500 300 PfS Graph $140 99 CCompeer $395 299 dBase II to III upgrade 1200 119 MECA. Managing Your Money $195 125 PFSPlan $140 9* COfXXComp* $ 700 499 ATI, Trarrartg Programs— Large etvenwry $ 75 90 MICROPRO. WordStar- (PCI $350 189 PFS Prod or PFS AccaB. each $ 95 59 FORTRAN Compaor $350 229 Jofc Low AtxourrnnB WordStar- (Jr| 9W. 1795 495 1$ 195 119 SORCtM. SicarCak III $385 249 PASCAL Compeer $300 1*9 GanlAcckj AR APorPRaadi 375 WordStar 2000 $596 $485 2*5 STONEWARE AArarcad D8 Man. $585 395 MOUSE SYSTEMS. PC Part $ 99 W SROOERSUNO. Barer SI WntertPCor Jrl WordStar 2000 Plus Traders Forecast S 50 8595 329 SUMMA. $250 159 NORTON. ItTratras 2 1 1 4 programs) $ 80 54 Traoarrg PtograntB— Larga Imejnlor 70 WordStar Prokassronal Plus COEX, $ 45 889S 395 Traders Data Manager 8200 129 OPEN SYSTEMS. BASIC Interpreter t v; 145 CONTMCNTAL. UKraHalPC) $195 1129 WordStar FYolessonal 4 Pak Trader's Accountant $495 295 Ptokey . $360 219 ROSESOFT. $ 130 ! 7* SpeHSlar or Starlnde. Ta«Advanuga(PCorJr) S 70 45 MarWerge ea ( 99 1 ; 94 Cun|Aele System $700 449 WESTERN UMON. Easy Lrt Mae Mngr 65 iFrkng FCM CaMognp, MarangKPCl $125 75 PtoOptronsPaklMMiSS/SII $195 : 105 THORN/EM. Parian Wnar (PC) $349 179 rVopcrry UaraQavnini (rC( InloSlarPlusl.Slarburstl Perfect $495 295 $585 315 Combo 1 Wnlar 8 Sps>ar| IPC) $399 199 tnvaslmertt Evaruatn OOWJONC*. CortactSlar ! Perfect Jr) I 8139 99 $145 77 Combo 1 Wrne/Spen/Thesaus $139 89 ATIOr Market Manager 199 269 VISlCORP.VefakM $250 159 HOME & EDUC Maakataaaajaar Fjrkmdad Report Writer ARMONK. Eaaortrve Surte 40 ! ; : $ $350 219 siso 99 WARNER. Desk O.garu.1 PC or Jrl $ 195 I 125 27 Accountant I $350 219 $ 195 129 CONTINENTAL. Home (Jr) S 75 1 5* .^Xmssiw Accountant Plus FOX4t>ELLER,dUiaiL»S or CFYMKI 1 99 99 $ 50 32 UTILITIES Home (PC) $150 ! ; 90 Qudcode or dGtiph. aaott (295 ! 199 Mulbpttn|PCor>l $ 195 1125 BORLANO. SantkrcklPCoiJr) $ 55 1 Ootars $arae 39 MONOGRAM. 8 ar/loracast 1 HARVARO. Total Ptqacl Manager $495 ! 319 $250 ! 1159 $165 1110 Sidekick iCdpaJ*)) (PC or Jr) 1 Master $ 85 55 SCARBOROUGH. Type! PC or ! ; $395 239 Wort $375 ! 239 » $ SO 32 Turbo Pascal I PC r»>| 1 arth 8 55 35 SIMON 1 SCHUSTER. Typing Tuloril ; H^YOEN.PreWmer $200 125 Wort Mouse $475 1 289 $ SO 33 TooCoalPC) , it PwSpelar so t MONOORAM.OcaanltnewFaecatl 180 ! $ 30 $ 110 •Y.US. BPI. CBS. Contfj.ohe.ash.ai Davtdaon. II Ta> Preparer lor CENTRAL POINT. Copy PC $ 40 ; 30 MJtanale 1 HOWAR04MFT. 64 $296 199 MULTYMATE. $495 295 Ootr. Jonaa. Harcowrl Corp. COMX. Fasnak- RAM'DriemUalor > pmttr spnoter P*L Real Earn Aitaieaar $250 1 I 170 OPEN SYS. GL AR AP PR INV or PO aa $695 1 I 42* Prober or Back to HUMANEOOE. Mrt IPC Jr) $ SO 32 PEACHTREE. Baaa Gl $295 1 I 175 vers or Ctlijt any PC/DOS RAM Card Menu Oman $100 l 59 Cwwu*%aiM>B {PC 1 $395 123* PC/XT CPiM 1 ; Saks Edge $250 1199 Peach Tard 5000 $395 239 ONKTAL RES, M- I $ SO 39 RECREATIONAL CBASC66-ICP/MB6I $200 1135 $250 ! 159 OUAONAM, TarSmatv $395 1 1299 BLUECMP, Mlaonaeu. Baron Tycoon aa $ 60 * 39 CSASC CompaertCP/M or PCOOS ea $600 i 395 ! (nvestmant M Sarrjon III Nego*raoon Edge $250 199 Smagy $385 ! 299 HAVDEN. (Choasl $ 50 $ 34 $835 EasyYardar II System : Mi Fkght Senulalor US. $350 250 OUE.Us»»;l 2 3 $ 15 ! 12 MeCPrOSOFT IPC or Jr) $ so * 33 499 EasySpeaarll 1 1 2-3 In Buaesaae Umma III (PC or Jr) $ 85 125 $ 15 1 12 ORIGIN. $ 60 9 3* $200 I 139 Gl. AR AF> OE or INV aaon $595 ! 375 Usetg Sytrghorry $ 20 : 15 PROFESSfOHAL. Ttrna Faaar (PC or Jr) S 41! i 25 OR LOGO »6 ICFYM-M) $ 100 > 1 Plus 99 Busness System GL»AR*AP $1495 9*9 SAMNA. Word $295 ! 199 FUNK SOFTWARE. Srdewars $ 60 40 PLUS: Atari BrocVetbund EMrontc Arte, Epyt. ; KENSFNGTON.Easy La* Man Manager S 95 59 SATELLITE. WordPerfect IPC) $495 I 239 Spannakar. II Cortarr Mlocom. knaoH SubLogK: HAYES. Smancom (Data I $ 149 1 ! WordPerfect 99 UFETREE. Voksaanar Oaajat $395 159 (Jr) $ 69 1 49 lattice LIFEBOAT, C $500 1 295 Vt4rsienear ! ScAert spool 8 195 105 SOFTW ARTS, TK DOS) $389 : 2*9 MICROSTUF. Croaaak XVI (PC Jr) $ 195 j 1 129 SOFTWARE INTT_ Open Access $695 i 395 a CASH-tvCARRY INC. COMPUTER STORES. Fcesrgn Over the counrer sales only Open Monday through Saturday 10 00 to 6 00 OUR REFERENCES: &RUTOLL FREE VV« have twen in 8 SAN FRANCISCO - NEW STOREI 550 Washington Street computers and electronics since Portland (al Montgomery opposite the Pyramid) Interstate 80 to Highway 480 1956. a computer dealer since 1978 and in (800) 547-1289 IIBlaM 8871 lake Washington Street cut CALL (418) 982-6212. computer marl order since 1980 Banks 1st Inter- OREGON ONLY (BOO) 451-5151 PORTLAND. OREGON — At Park 217 T.gard at intersection ol state Bank, (503) 643-4678 We belong to the Highsrays 217 and 99W CALL (8011 420 5515 Chamber ol Commerce 1503) 228941 1. and Direct HOT UNE OftD€« DESK HOURS , r :l-T,f«l I ,-.| e.M SEATTLE. WASHINGTON — 3540 128th Aye SE Bellevue WA Marketing Assoc. ation or call Dunn and Brad- ee Irt IUJ ira ejl 98006 In loahmanns Plaza near Factona Square South East ol street il you are a subscriber NO SALES TAX 15031670 9*78 aYMIaj l6AN»4P«rTT Higttaray 405 1 90 and al Soutt East 361h and Rchatds CALL 841-4788. 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Power can be supplied from either a rechargeable battery or AC outlet. This Japanese-made machine has serial and parallel interfaces, and a lengthy list of options including add-on memory, disk drives, modems, printer, and various ca- bles. At a price of under $2200, the ma- chine represents a most interesting entry in the portable market. How Compatible? Back in the old days (before the IBM PC), we recommended that a com- puter system be selected based on functionality, reliability, and support. In other words, does it do thejob you had in mind, will it continue to do it, and when it doesn't, is there a place to turn for help? Come to think of it, we still think this is the way to select a computer system. Unfortunately, as we read reviews in other magazines and talk to computer purchasers, computer store managers, and even manufacturers, the feeling we get is that the only thing that matters to- day is IBM compatibility. PC Hence, we Compaq software would run, while thought we would dispense with Hardware Profile the packages for the PC, TI Pro, and other question ofhow compatible the Datavue Noma: Datavue 25 Type: Portable PC compatibles wouldn't. Frankly, we can't 25 is and move on to the more interesting compatible computer CPU: 80C88 at 4.8 recall seeing a machine with a more un- aspects of the machine. So how compat- MHz ROM: 1 6K (BIOS and diagnostics) usual mixture of software packages that ible is this machine with the PC? IBM RAM: 1 28K (expandable to 640K) would and would not run. Which evokes Not very. At least the early version we Disk Drive: 5 1 /A" 360K single sided our usual caveat: make sure the machine had wasn't. understand the is We BIOS Keyboard: 83 full-stroke keys, infrared runs what you want to use before you undergoing further revisions, so things coupled Display: LCD, 25 line x 80 buy. may well improve. characters (8.8" x 3.8") Ports: One par- That being said, let us also reiterate We found a curious mixed bag of 3" allel and one serial Dimensions: 1 x our opinion that a computer ought to be software that would run on the Datavue 1 0.4" x 6" , 1 5.2 lbs. (with battery pack) judged on its own merits, rather than its 25. Either DOS (1.1 or 2.0) loads, but Documentation: Operations, MS-DOS degree of IBM compatibility. And the neither IBM Basic loads; Compaq Basic and Basic manuals Summary: Interesting Datavue 25 has a great many merits does, however. One of the "acid test" indeed. portable computer with 25 lines LCD packages, Lotus 1-2-3, runs fine, except screen and 5 1 /A" disk drive Prko: $2 1 95 for the graphics which do nothing. On Compact Package for 1 28K version, $2795 for 640K the other hand, Ms. PacMan and other Buttoned Manufacturer: Datavue/Quadram up, the Datavue 25 mea- programs using graphics load and run sures 13" x 10.4" x 6". The spec sheet 225 Technology flawlessly. Electric Pencil, no problems; Park c says it weighs 12. 1 lbs.; sorry, guys, but WordStar Norcross, GA 30092 S (IBM PC version), no way. our "USPS certified" digital scale says For the part, (404)449-5961 e? most we found that 13.68 lbs. The battery weighs another VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 3/CREATIVE COMPUTING 85 — BUSINESS/PERSONAL most is 5 1/4" floppy disk sition (about 30 degrees) was 1 1/2 lbs for a total arm-stretching weight the right side a button satisfactory. Coupled with the contrast of 15.2 lbs. It has a comfortable fold- drive. A positive action latching control (actually tilts the liquid crystal up/down handle forcarry ing which makes clamps the disk into the drive thus flimsy fold-down elements), the screen tilt allows excellent it seem lighter than four Model 100's obviating the need for a vulnerable rotating handle (any- visibility in a wide range of room lighting even if it isn't. door or The detached keyboard pops put of thing on the outside of the case of a por- conditions. All 25-line by 80-character LCD the front of the case and has two small table computer is vulnerable). displays are not created equal. The Data folding legs which prop it up at a com- Also on the right side is a recessed uses a display with the fortable typing angle. The keyboard reset button and contrast adjustment for General/One screen. Un- communicates to the computer by the LCD screen. Proceeding around to same proportions as a CRT with a screen of that height, means of an infrared beam powered by the rear of the unit, we find a rooker fortunately, adjust the viewing angle two akaline AA batteries. Each key- it is difficult to screen is equally visible. stroke produces a flash of a red LED on so the entire Datavue 25 uses a screen the top right of the keyboard. Since one However, the different proportions than a would clearly not be watching this while with quite 3.8" it measures 8.8" wide by only typing or entering data, we presume it is CRT; the height of a there for occasionally checking the high (about two-thirds screen). As a result, the batteries. normal CRT offers much better Just as real men don't eat quiche, we Datavue screen that of the DG/One. suspect that real men prefer to use real visibility than there are always design wires to connect their computer compo- Naturally, display. In this case, the de- nents. For those who do so prefer, an op- tradeoffs in a have opted for one pixel of space tional cable is available. Since it wasn't signers text and one pixel de- available to us, we used the infrared between lines of nasties and link—with surprisingly excellent re- scenders on the five (g, j, q, p, most part, text is quite read- sults. In fact, we found the keyboard y). For the occasionally, you have to look could be at nearly right angles to the sys- able, but certain blocks of text where one tem unit and tilted 60 degrees toward the Right side of mochine houses 5 1/4 disk twice at line seems to melt into the next. floor, and still pass a signal. About the drive. Numeric keypad doubles as cursor only "natural" working posture that control ktys. Heart of the Matter would trip it up is leaning way back in a The 25 is a 16- chair with the keyboard on your lap. The heart of the Datavue is equipped The keyboard has 83 full-stroke bit 80C88 (a CMOS 8088). It the BIOS keys including ten function keys shaded with 16K of ROM containing The basic machine dark gray. It has a reasonably good feel, and diagnostics. although the keys seem to want to comes with 128K of RAM, expandable chips) and single bounce back to their rest position. That to 640K (using 256K disk drive with 360K capacity. is not to say that there is any keybounce floppy Clock rate of the mpu is 4.8 MHz —there isn't—but it is as though you are being constantly reminded that the key the same as most PC compatibles. It ran 1 sec- wants to return home as soon as possible. our standard Basic benchmark in 6 as the Compaq, TI Because of its compact size, the onds, about the same and faster arrangement of keys is somewhat dif- power switch, serial and parallel ports Pro, and Sharp PC-5000, 20% ferent than a desktop computer or type- (both using DB-25, RS-232 connectors), than the DG/One. writer. A numeric keypad (which and two covered connectors, one for an When the machine is fired up, a in use the ar- doubles as cursor control keys) is at the external floppy disk and the other to the screen appears which you top right of the keyboard; ins, del, and system bus. row keys to set the amount of memory, if disk. This prt sc are at the bottom right; and vari- On the left side is a covered opening any, to be devoted to a RAM formatted to ous other keys are in odd places. On the (4.7* x 3.3* x 1.4") which will accept an RAM disk is automatically but may be re- other hand, the enter key is triple size optional modem while another cover al- meet DOS 2.0 standards, a (hard to miss), F and J have raised dots to lows access to the memory board. A formatted if you wish. If you set up aid hand positioning (the 5 on the key- third opening accepts either a battery or RAM disk, it can be used like an or- programs pad does not!), and most of the special an AC adapter. The battery is said to dinary floppy drive for saving function keys have reasonably complete have all/2 hour life (depending upon and data. However, if you save some- • must keytop labels. disk activity), although the manufac- thing vital to RAM disk, you disk Unfortunately, the cheap look of turer is working to extend this time. The remember to transfer it to a regular as the of the keyboard belies its excellent behav- AC adapter doubles as a battery charger before powering down memory this ior. Perhaps this is because of the dark with the assistance of a 3" wire clip. A the machine is volatile. Following background that can be seen between the full recharge takes about three hours. RAM disk memory allocation opera- keys or the irregular gap between the tion, the normal MS-DOS prompts spacebar and edge of the casing, but it Here's Looking At You appear. just does not project an image of quality. The LCD screen may be tilted for- At startup—or any other time dur- other The system unit, on the other hand, ward to six detent postions ranging from ing a session—you may set several appears to be rugged and well made. On 5 to 57 degrees; we found the third po- functions. These include audio feedback a* rPFATIVFfOMPUTING/MARCH 1985 PRODUCT REVIEW for key presses (annoying re- to some, (dynamic RAM). has proved to be softer than most an- assuring to others), screen reverse, and Coming down the pike later this alysts and manufacturers forecast. Even changing the default drive. You can also spring will be an add-on floppy disk the low end hasn't done as well as many check the battery level at any time. drive which clamps to the rear of the people expected. So here is a new mid- The Datavue 25 also has a built-in unit, totally external disk drives, 300 and range computer. Yawn. real-time clock with an internal battery 1 200 baud modems, a lightweight por- But we think there is a better sce- backup. Thus, once the date and time are nario. The Datavue 25 is not a break- set, it should be unnecessary set to them through or wildly exciting, but maybe upon power up, although for some rea- that is its strength. Here is a good, solid son this function didn't work on our test ust as real don't value from some good, ol' boys in Geor- machine. J men eat gia (aided by their friends at Sotec in Ja- quiche, we suspect that real pan). Quadram and their parent, the No Frills Intercolor Group, have been around a prefer We had an early Datavue 25 for men to use real wires to while. They have weathered a few evaluation; thus there are likely to be storms. In York, their New one might say some updates and connect computer minor changes on the they're street smart. They have a good in machines that will appear on dealer components. with retailers—far better than many shelves in the early spring. We are told other computer makers—and theirs just that the machine will come with DOS 2.0 may be the system that retailers will (or possibly a later version), GW Basic table printer, an automobile battery push. (probably), an operations manual, and adapter, and an assortment of cables. There is no question about it; many the standard Microsoft DOS and Basic Quadram tells us that the machine things must come together for this—or manuals. The basic hardware package will be available through retail computer any other computer—to be a success to- will include an AC adapter, battery stores (those handling other Quadram day. In this case, we think the raw pack, and charger cable. list The price of products) and through VARs, OEMs, ingredients are there; now it's a matter of a 128K system is $2195, and a 640K and system houses. making them into a cake. As for me, I'd model goes for $2795. If that sounds So where does the Datavue 25 fit in be happy to find a Datavue 25 on my cheap for CMOS memory, it is because it the market? Frankly, we are not sure. desk. isn't CMOS, it is garden variety DRAM The upper end of the portable market CIRCLE 404 ON READER SERVICE CARD Professional cpfl£> DataTech Handicapping Jj l[\ DISKETTES Systems ty <&ofasor faux WARRANTED INTEGRITY ( INCREDIBLE VALUE GIO Tkorovghbrod "Gate)" Edit**™ A M te*nd moroupered *i»rM oeapcd to me pntaamf m MraiA "*"• •LIFETIME WARRANTY . 100% CERTIFIED ERROR FREE S1MU cant** •SATISFACTION GUARANTEED EGLO. Enhanced "Gold" Edrotn™ IBM™ GoM Eaton iMftcoirtMMMBWMIirtMfntnnugftttd „*, me same ask rtaamrMpoaimMninsferaMnesOTltconnmMantfiw APPLE™ «*i single keystroke VALUE PRICED iu««, BertorTM nluMI S1N.H commit tt t t TRS-80™ 61TD. Limtttd "Gold"™ 5'/4" Diskettes with Hub Rings ™ lacees mey teel are important *Per Diskette — Quantities of 50 or More Boxed. 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Commata-teg/ateo'ieA analysis arimeaieemtonDeteoeia ttaa program comas TERMS FREE SHIPPING comcMtt «ar Factor Vacation systems to prtwje untmaed mamal •gmng ALL SOFTWARE Add Precision Data Products , systems S6 00 UPS Blue/C P O Box 8367. Grand Rapids. Ml 495080332 $79.95 complete Add $6 00/ Add 3 weeks personal checks/ Add (616)452-3457 • Michigan 1 800-632 2468 4 5% ID residents/Add Outside Michigan 1 800 258-0028 BROCHURE AVAILABLE S6 00 outside USA/ L Prices subtect to change CIRCLE 131 ON READER SERVICE CARD CIRCLE 144 ON READER SERVICE CARD TECHNOLOGY PRODUCT REVIEW Letter quality output; whisper quiet operation IBM Quietwriter Printer Corey Sandler With an intriguing state-of-the- art electronic technology, the IBM Quietwriter Printer lives up to its name: It is quiet beyond expecta- tion, and it is a printer, producing type that requires a second or third glance to distinguish it from the output of a fine carbon ribbon typewriter. The Quietwriter is a speedy elec- tronic paintbrush for the office, com- bining handsome user-changeable text characters with the full IBM PC graphics set. The printer is based on a new thermal transfer technology that uses a 40-electrode printhead and a single-use four-layer resistive ribbon. IBM claims a burst speed of 40 to 60 cps, depending Printer lives to its upon selected character pitch: in tests The IBM Quietwriter up nome. for this review, the printer turned in speeds of 23 to 26 cps at 10 pitch for a typical page of business correspondence. Hardware Profile designed to work with the Although Nome: IBM Quietwriter Printer Type: Printer Ports: Requires parallel interface IBM PC family of computers (the PC. Documentation: IBM Guide to Operations Summary: It is a quiet, impressive new printing PC XT, Portable PC, 3270-PC, PCjr, technology that gives yet another meaning to letter quality matrix printing and PC AT) the printer should work Price: Base price $ 1 295 quite well with any computer that has a Manufacturer: IBM Information Systems Group standard Centronics parallel interface. 900 King St. The unit is priced at $ 1 395 at I BM Prod- Rye Brook, NY 10573 uct Centers and is also available through (914)934-4488 dealers. The noise of the printer is barely noticeable as it tracks from left to right; ied-length text lines) to 26 characters per The printer includes two cartridge the return of the unidirectional head to second (for 10 fixed-length 80-character slots for plug-in font modules. The the left margin sounds like the whispered text lines). The average over several tests printer can switch back and forth from call of an asthmatic duck. According to of differing types was 23 cps. The tests either set while printing, and can also IBM, the sound output of the unit is S3 were conducted using the standard 10 pause for manual change of cartridges. dBA; by comparison, the Qume Sprint pitch Courier font; using a more-dense (A companion device, the $1295 11/55 Plus Daisywheel printer is 10 12 pitch font should increase speeds by Quietwriter 7 typewriter, can also be times louder, at 63 dBA; the NEC about 20%. linked toa computer, although it will not Spinwriter 3550 roughly five times as Those speeds, of course, do not produce the extended graphics set.) loud at 60 dBA. compare to the fabulous ratings turned Using a Shannon Text printing in by some of the latest dot matrix print- New Technology speed test developed by Tom Badgett of ers; however, if print quality is the pri- The resistive ribbon technology dif- Computers & Electronics magazine, I mary concern, the IBM unit offers a fers significantly from other thermal found output in the range from 21 tremendous price/efficiency combina- transfer printers now on the market in characters per second (for 25 short, var- tion for letter quality output. that the heat is generated in the ribbon 18 CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 — SO YOU THINK YOU GOT THE BEST OF FROGGER AND ZAXXON? SORRY. See, while you've been master- ing them, we've been advancing them. Making them even more Tun than before. So now we have two , new mindblasters. Frogger II Threee- P Deep, a three-screen nightmare. Starting with an undersea battle against deadly creatures and the cruel undercurrent. If you do make it to the surface, f^w it just gets worse. The only hope #JJ_> %—~4£j is to leap into the sky where even more frog-eating monsters lurk. And Super Zaxxon, taking you beyond the outer limits in your space fighter. Tunneling through enemy attack, firing «* ^ PR at Zaxxon's forces, - ^ [S dodging mine layers. And beyond the last electron barrier, the ultimate test. Zaxxon is now a killer dragon hurtling heat-seekine fireballs. Hope we naven't scared you. But if Sega doesn't keep you ahead of the game, who will ? Sega | Enterprises. Inc. 8 Si H--* n h y • Parker Brothers 9 EQ c y S Mi-Win- < < (33 34 < s **'*! WW tew 1 FROGGFRII WW WW . , SUPER ZAXXON rli of Srga F-nfcrpri<«-v Int. > itadcmark Parker Brothers i% ir.. THMUMV d ZAXXON j di-m.uk d Vyj I nt.tpnv«v kk Game nwrn ire iltuMutnl III iING FROGGER II THREEEDEEPAND SUPER ZAXXON. CIRCLE 154 ON READER SERVICE CARD | : TECHNOLOGY PRODUCT REVIEW rather than in the printhead. The head only; if it were to print in the other direc- fiberboard protectors on the Quick- typical passes a small amount of current to a tion, the head would be going against the writer than I have seen in any two all the way polymer layer through any or all of 40 direction of the moving ribbon. Hamil- printers that have journeyed tiny electrodes mounted one above the ton hinted, though, that greater speeds from Japan. Operations in- other. The polymer is electrically resis- may be realized in future devices using The IBM Guide to useful, tive and in conjunction with an alu- the technology. struction manual was clear and minum conductive layer generates heat. Taking the covers off the printer re- including a troubleshooting section. That heat migrates to the third element, veals a spare and simple design with two called a "release" layer. The heat causes small circuit boards—one mounted flat at Options and Accessories carbon ink on the fourth layer to be the front, and the second mounted verti- IBM has released four electronic painted onto the paper. cally at the rear alongside the power sup- fonts for the printer, with more ex- The density of the carbon ribbon pected. The matchbook-sized cartridges Courier printing is said by IBM to be equivalent sell for $50. Available styles are to that of its standard impact printers. 10 (included with the printer); Prestige The 40-electrode head can produce Elite 1 2, Prestige 1 5, and Boldface. IBM character sets or graphics as fine as 240 has released 19 fonts for the typewriter points per inch in the vertical measure version. Cartridges for the typewriter and 360 points per inch horizontally. will work in the printer, although they Since the printer is not dependent will not produce the graphics characters; upon heating and cooling of the cartridges for the printer cannot be used printhead to generate characters, the in the typewriter. Quiet writer can run at a faster speed The special ribbon for the printer is than that of many other thermal print- estimated to be able to produce about ers. (In the typewriter version of the 160,000 characters (approximately printer, the same technology can be used 30,000 words), depending upon pitch. to erase errors. A smaller amount of cur- Replacements sell for $12 at IBM Prod- rent is generated, making the ink layer uct Centers. The printhead itself is rated sticky and lifting off the offending letter at about 4 million characters, and is de- or letters. And since the printing process signed to be easily replaced by the user at does not require pins in a printhead to The IBM Quiet Electronic Printhead contains a cost of about $20. great lengths to strike the ribbon physically, there is no 40 tiny electrodes that meet at the edge of IBM has gone to the printer as electronic as pos- physical impression made on the paper. fne pnntheoa, right. When a key is make including the disappearance of the Corrections are nearly impossible to depressed on the typewriter keyboard, an sible, discern.) platen knob. Single sheets are merely electronic signal is sent to a predetermined The printhead is mounted inside the rested in a holding position and the number of electrodes to form the character. printer at about a 45-degree angle to the Form Feed button is used to load a sheet The printhead presses against the ribbon paper. According to Frank Hamilton, into position automatically. The five flat and the electrodes control the release of ink IBM senior product planner for the panel buttons on the face of the printer to the paper. Quietwriter, the angle was chosen to have a total of eight functions when used compensate for the expected normal in conjunction with a "Code" key. Paper wear on the electrodes. In a standard im- ply. There is no fan, with the heat from can be moved up or down in the printer pact dot matrix printer, he explained, the power board conducted away by continuously or in increments as fine as wear on the pins is dealt with by the ham- convection. The entire shell of the unit is 1 /96th of an inch. mer action that drives the pin into the constructed out of high-quality plastics A set of five switches on a DIP just ribbon. With the stationary head used in and finished in traditional IBM type- inside the cover allows the user to set the IBM machine, the pins wear evenly writer gray/beige. form and line length, choose linefeed and and the angle serves to allow the elec- The packaging of the unit is a tes- skip perforation protocols, and select trodes to "paint" characters onto the pa- tament to traditional I BM conservatism one of two code tables. There is also a per. It is because of the angle of the head there were more rubber rods, foam pads, three-position switch to select low, me- that the printer works from left to right cardboard collars, temporary bolts, and dium, or high contrast printing. Accord- Quietwntec print sompfe. +-»«-•-«*** = ©•* «D0(|tf 9 J»j3*»«$!!1IS_$t !"#$%&' ( )*+,-./ 01234 56789: ;< >? "_" }~ <3ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\] abcdef ghi jklmnopqrstuvwxyz { | i r- -, ± ; « -| d, Cueaaaageeei iiXAEaefliooduuyOU* £¥?«/ aiounNaQc »il|||| | -||-n^ i\ \\^^ t 2 l-J-,. = »! =tiUp ii - | (. |(-^ :|j==j} t PaprnEcniT*en6<»cpens±> 90 CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 What every Apple owner WORDshould know about juggler: 1^. \ If you own an Apple lie or lie — or you're planning to buy one — here are a few things you should know about Quark's Word Juggler word processor. First of all. Word Juggler is the only word processor that gives you a powerful spelling checker ami a built-in telecom- munications feature. So you can create a document — check it for spelling errors—and then send it via electronic mail. All with just one program. Plus. Word Juggler is the most easy-to-use. professional A word processor you can buy for your Apple. Virtually every d function —even complicated "cut-and-pastc" tasks— can be accomplished with a single keystroke. There's nothing to memorize, cither. Because Word Juggler comes with replacement keycaps—and a special keyboard template —which identify principal editing and formatting commands. So you can focus your efforts on using the program, not learning it. Fact is. no other word processor lor your Apple lie or He gives you this unique combination of power, functionality and ease of use. And if all these advantages aren't compelling enough, check the price. Suggested retail is only SI 89. 2523 West Ivan-. Suite 220 Quark 1 'i Denver COW 12 So visit your favorite dealer today. Ask for a complete demonstration—and for a copy of our brochure. "What Quark and Word Juggler are trademark- of Quark Incorporated Apple i- a Every Owner Should Know About Word Juggler." If Apple registered trademark ol Apple Computer. Inc you don't have a favorite dealer, but would like one. just call I (800) 543-7711. We'll fix you up. Ask about our specially-priced educational version . apjusfor your apple. . Are you depending A+ will teach you how to A+ISTHE more on your maximize the functions of BUSINESS GUIDE FOR your Apple. It brings to life APPLE COMPUTING! Apple? Are you new and innovative program Get the reviews and evalua- already using applications for the Apple II an tions of the newest releases series and the new Macintosh Apple in your for business and finance... microcomputers . . . features which of the three leading business or home, you won't find anywhere else! Dow Jones Market analyzers but want to get You'll find reviews of new is right for you... how to use software packages and in- more out of it? the Apple as a crystal ball to depth evaluations of new predict the future of your When upgrading hardware and peripherals for company . . . financial forecast- your system, do the Apple. ing and analysis programs to A+ is a useful tool to help you rely entirely meet your needs... inventory you get the most out of your on the retailer's control programs that aren t Apple in both the office and losers... patient- and client- claims? Do you the home! profile packages that tell a find that other A+ is not written for com- story... and ways to increase puter technicians, nor is it a magazines dont the efficiency of your word simple magazine written for processor, in the office or at go beyond new users... A+ is written for home! simplistic pro- you, covering... the programs gramming ideas? you can adapt for your office and home... the products you LOOK NO FURTHER! can purchase to expand your Apple II series or Macintosh Af- IS HERE! microcomputer. . . the applica- tions you can implement to increase your productivity ...the topics you want and need, month after month! SUBSCRIBE TODAY Tablets for lit— new relief ft AND SAVE UP TO 26%! creative professional and stud* IS THE CONSUMER'S GUIDE TO NEW SOFTWARE! Each issue of A+ gives you unbiased evaluations of the THE INDEPENDENT GUIDE FOR apple COMPUTING Mr. /Mrs. /Ms- please print name in full CC 8H641 YES! Company I don't have to look any further, A+ is here! Please Address_ enter my subscription to A+ for: City_ n 8 issues for only $13.97 - SAVE 16%l State. _Zip_ Payment enclosed Bill me later pi One year (12 Issues) for Check one: only $19.97 - SAVE 20% Charge my: American Express Visa MasterCard r~| Two years for only B n $36.97 - SAVE 26%! Card No Exp. Date. Savings based on full one-year subscription price Add $1 an issue in Canada and all other foreign countries. Please of $24.97. allow 30 to 60 days for delivery of first issue. NO POSTAGE NECESSARY IF MAILED IN THE UNITED STATES BUSINESS REPLY MAIL FIRST CLASS PERMIT NO. 66 BOULDER, COLORADO POSTAGE WILL BE PAID BY ADDRESSEE A* P.O. Box 2964 Boulder, Colorado 80321 THE INDEPENDENT GUIDE FOR apple COMPUTING latest software releases for hardware you'll need to ac- home and office... programs complish the jobs in your that teach you how to use business and home! video games to help children You'll get this and so much learn... which modems will more in each monthly issue of make your Apple a great com- A+! Regular columns and municator... the software so- features covering Graphics, lution to combine graphics, Programming, Education, animation and text... problem Games and Entertainment solving with artificial intu- make A+ the source for new ition... software that gives you applications Modem Magic— Reach out and access and ideas... and all of your money's worth an information service. Rescue Squad, Thoughtware ...and games that challenge and Product News round out access a your mental faculties and not wider variety of pe- all the facts you need for your your good nature! ripherals with greater ease Apple! ...what debugging aids really A+ is the IS complete guide A+ YOUR MONTHLY work... how to expand your "FACT SHEET" for Apple computing, the RAM... ink-jet printers or magazine you can't do with- ON NEW HARDWARE dot-matrix printers... and the out! AND PERIPHERALS! A+ covers what you need to r~™~--^~"7™"—™; 1 expand your Macintosh or THE INDEPENDENT GUIDE Apple II series... current ad- FOR apple COMPUTING vances in telecommunications A* P.O Box 2964 . Boulder. Colorado 80322 and networking... new ways to augment memory... how to I don't have to look any further. A+ is here! Please enter my YES! subscription to A+ for: 8 issues for only One year for only r~| Two years for only S13.97-SAVE 16%! S19.97-SAVE 20%! $36.97 -SAVE 26%! Savings based on full one-year subscription price of $24.97. 00*2144 Mr. / Mrs. / Ms please print name m Ml Company- Address City . State -Zip_ Check one: Payment enclosed Bill me later Dictionary Disk— It's new, it's hot and Charge my: American Express Visa MasterCard makes word processing a snap. Card No -Exp. Date- Add $1 per issue in Canada and all other foreign countries Please allow 30 to 60 days for delivery of first issue TECHNOLOGY ing to IBM, the quality of printing can vary slightly with the type of paper or ribbon used and the office climate. The company recommends smooth paper for best results. A full set of built-in diagnostic tests is engaged each time the printer is powered up. In addition, a full print sam- ple test can be called for. The first line of the print test includes a listing of the DIP switch settings and the contrast selec- urchasers of the Quietwriter 7 typewriter can convert it to use as a standard parallel interface printer by purchasing a $60 adapter box and a $150 printer interface cord. tion, as well as a report for use by an I BM technician in servicing the device. IBM will offer an electronic single sheet feeder, priced at $350, in the sec- ond quarter of 1985. Unlike many sheet feeders that are mechanically driven by friction or gearing from the printer, the new device will have its own motor and microprocessor for control. A pinfeed for continuous forms is available now for $75. Purchasers of the Quietwriter 7 typewriter can convert it to use as a stan- dard parallel interface printer by purchasing a $60 adapter box and a $ 1 50 printer interface card. The typewriter can also accept a $ 1 50 card that provides an on-line 50,000-word dictionary that beeps as soon as a possible misspelling is entered from the keyboard. The printer is clearly derived from IBM's thriving typewriter division, a product line that according to analysts holds a first-place tie with Xerox, each with about 17 percent of the American market. The new products, together with advanced models of the hugely successful Select ric typewriter and a newly introduced Wheelprinter line, are expected to increase IBM's penetration in the typewriter market. The Quietwriter modes are made by IBM at its new automated factory in Lexington, KY. Most of the components of the devices are made on site, and the production line uses IBM robotic sys- tems for manufacturing and assembly. CIRCLE 405 ON READER SERVO CARD CIRCLE 143 ON READER SERVICE CARD /-dcatiwc/tmkidi niKin/kA^oru 1O0« Harness the full POTENTIAL OF YOUR ME COMPUTER ou can increase your knowledge and harness all the power your home computer system has to offer with CREATIVE COMPUTING PRESS' IDEABOOKS. If you're an owner of an Epson HX-20, TS 1000, TRS-80 Model 100, Commodore 64. Texas Instruments or work with Microsoft Basic, you'll find an IDEABOOK written for you! Each IDEABOOK helps you discover your computer's hidden strengths and overcome its weaknesses! As soon as you open to chap- ter one, you'll begin to get more out of your system with: • 50 tested, ready-to-run programs that will help you solve everyday problems in math, science and business. • Problem solving formulas with repetitive trials, con- vergence, recursion, compounding, probability, simulations, geometry, science and drill and practice. • Ways to identify any shortcomings and targeted applica- tions that are best suited for your system. Supplement your user manual with the IDEABOOK that's just right for you! Gam the knowledge and confidence you need to make the most of your system—ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY! For faster delivery, PHONE TOLL FREE 9 am-5 pm E.S.T.: 1-800-63 1-81 12 (In NJ only: 201-540-0445) Also available at your local bookstore or computer store. CREATIVE COMPUTING PRESS Dept. MG9F . 39 East Hanover Avenue, Morns Plains. NJ 07950 Please send me the following books: Book Pnce $2.00 Postage Total Title No Qty. Each & Handing Each Pnce Epson HX-20 Ed 3S $895 Texas Instruments Home Computer Ed. 3R $895 Timex-Sndair 1000 Ed. 3P $8.95 TRS 80 Model 100 Ed. 4A $895 Microsoft Basic Ed. 67-4 $895 ONLY Commodore 64 Ed. 68-2 $895 CA NJ and NY State residents add applicable sales tax $8.95 Total Amount CXie Payment Enclosed $ Outside USA add $3.00 per order Purchase orders $50 minimum. EACH Charge My: Q American Express DVsa Mastercard rarHN^ Fvn Ptatf Mr/Nfc/Mrc (prv* M name) ArlHnpcc r,t Y/<;t«p/7ip n send me a Free Creative Computing Press Catalog. BUSINESS/PERSONAL PRODUCT REVIEW A capable little printer simply bursting with features Datasouth Personal Printer 1 Owen Linzmayer experi- lied to me! Contrary to what I its cover off, which allows you to They until you find the was told by my editors when I ini- ment with the switches tially took this job, writing printer correct settings for your system. The parallel reviews is not a ticket into the glamorous DSPP-1 ships as a Centronics se- world of investigative journalism. I do, printer, though an optional RS-232C however, occasionally get my hands on a rial interface is available. print formats new piece of equipment that is such a As if the variety of is graphics pleasure to use that returning it to the isn't enough, the DSPP-1 manufacturer causes me great anguish. compatible with the bestselling Epson printer, thus insuring that it will The Datasouth Personal Printer 1 is FX-80 such a device. work with most software packages. I with Before I go any further, I must blow tested the DSPP-1 on an Apple He the cover of the Datasouth Personal an Epson APL parallel interface card in- problem obtaining Printer 1 (DSPP-1) and reveal that it is stalled and had no really the Canon PW-1080A in a flimsy Hardware Profile screen printouts from packages such as disguise. With the exception of the Koala's Graphics Exhibitor and Name: Personal Printer 1 Type: Dot matrix respective company nameplates, the Broderbund's Dazzle Draw. The DSPP- Feed: Friction, pin, roll Speed: 1 60 cps printers are identical both functionally 1 has three graphic image modes: single, Interface: Parallel, serial (optional) and physically. The DSPP-1 measures double, and quadruple-density. These Density: 11x9 standard, 23 x 1 8 NLQ 15-3/4" wide, 12-5/8" long, and stands correspond to how tightly the dots are Graphics: 240 dots / inch Character Sots: 1 tall at 4-3/8" high. The attractive two- packed horizontally per inch of paper. Buffer: 2K Logic Soak: Bidirectional nine tone case is fashioned out of textured The printhead itself is composed of versatile printer 8- high-impact plastic, and the entire unit Summary: A sturdy, pins aligned vertically and has seven with features Price: weighs 17.6 pounds. If you think it looks loaded $695 dot, two 9-dot, and one 16-dot (two pas- good sitting idle next to the computer, Manufacturer. Datasouth Computer Corp. ses) graphic modes. wait till you throw the power switch and 42 1 6 Stuart Andrew Blvd. The DSPP-1 manual that was sup- put it through its paces. Charlotte, NC 282 10 plied for our evaluation was actually the The DSPP-1 is an 80-column im- (704)523-8500 Canon DW-1080A printer manual. I as- pact dot-matrix printer capable of 132- sume that Datasouth will ship a slightly version of this 198-page book. column condensed text output and Standard M Dde modified dots per inch. Though it Although the documentation provides a graphics at 240 Mode is not an exceptionally fast printer (160 Emphasized wealth of technical information, it is cps, standard print), the Datasouth Per- Double-Str ike Mode heavily illustrated and written in such a that it should present no prob- sonal Printer 1 more than makes up for Elite Mode manner by offering exceptional lems for the average user. any lack of speed Condensed Mode At the time of this writing, the print quality in a variety of pitches (3) Near Letter Quality and modes (9), most of which can be Datasouth Personal Printer 1 carries a mixed to provide a virtual smorgasbord Enl ar* sed suggested retail price of $695. A wide of type styles. What's more, you can de- N L.Gi Mod e carriage version (156 columns) sells for fine your own character set or purchase E vi X ^t i~- ge -=l $895. I expect these prices to drop in optional font ROMs from Datasouth. light of the fact that the Canon DW- S "fc hS».V "i d at r- d In standard mode, a character is 1080A sells for $595, and the Epson FX- printed on a 1 1 x 9 dot matrix in a single Datasouth Personal Printer 1 sample output. 80 is now discounted far below that. The pass. Near Letter Quality (NLQ) mode Datasouth Personal Printer 1 is a ca- offers beautifully formed characters on a which drains into a 2K print buffer. pable little printer simply bursting with (J 23 x 18 matrix. Instead of printing The type of print you desire can be features. If the price were a little more i bidirectionally, in NLQ mode the print- selected via escape codes in software or competitive I would have no reserva- head makes two left to right passes, the the internal DIP switch settings. In- tions about recommending the DSPP-1. second slightly offset by the first. This re- cidentally, gaining access to the three Now if I can only think of a way to hold sults in a slow 27 cps NLQ print speed. DIP switches requires dismantling ofthe onto my review unit just a little To make the burden of waiting less pain- unit, as they are located in the belly of the longer ... B 8 ful, the DSPP-1 has a 3K input buffer beast. Luckily the printer operates with CIRCLE 406 ON READER SERVICE CARD C 96 CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 They said it couldn't be Borland Did tt.Turbo Pascal 3j0 The industry standard MS TURBO TURBO The best just got better: With more than 250,000 users worldwide Turbo PASCAL 2.0 3.0 Introducing Turbo Pascal 3.0 Pascal is the industry's de facto standard. Turbo We just added a whole range of exciting new Pascal is praised by more engineers, hobbyists, 8 sec. features to Turbo Pascal: students and professional programmers than any 16 sec. other development environment in the history of 206 sec • First, the world's fastest Pascal compiler just got microcomputing. And yet, Turbo Pascal is faster. Turbo Pascal 3.0 compiles twice as fast as simple and fun to use! Turbo Pascal 20' No kidding. • Then, we totally rewrote the file I/O system, and we also now support I/O redirection. • For the IBM PC versions, we've even added COMPILATION SPEED "turtle graphics'' and full tree directory support.. • For all 16 Bit versions, we now offer two addi- EXECUTION SPEED tional options: 8067 math coprocessor support for intensive calculations and Binary Coded CODE SIZE Decimals (BCD) for business applications. • And much much more. BUILT-IN INTERACTIVE EDITOR The Critics' Choice ONE STEP COMPILE (NO LINKING NECESSARY) Jeff Ountemsnn, PCMagazim: language deal the ot century, hrbo Pascal': It introduces a new COMPILER SIZE programming environment and mns like mage" Dave Garland, Popular Computing: Most TURTLE GRAPHICS Pascal compilers barely tit on a disk, but tjrbo Pascal packs an editor, compiler, Imket and rvn-ime library into just BCD OPTION 29K bytes ot random-access memory" Jerry PoumeUe, BYTE: I think $295.00 mat the computer PRICE industry is headed lor well documented, standard, plenty ot good features, arid a reasonable price." Portability D Ini lmil run on an IBM PC using MS Pascal wfswn 3 2 and the OOS linker version 2.6. The 179 line program used is the "Gauss- Turbo Pascal is available today tor most computers Semer program out of Alan R Miller's book: Pascal programs lor running PC DOS. MS DOS. CP/M 80 or CfVM 86 A soentars indengmers (Sybtx. page 128) w*h a 3 dimensional XENIX version or Turbo Pascal win soon be announced non-singular matm and a relaxation coefficient of 10 and before the end of the year Turbo Pascal wi be funning on most 68000 based microcomputers. An OHer you Can't Refuse Until June 1st. 1965. you can get Turbo Pascal 30 tor only S69S5. Turbo Pascal 3.0, equipped with either the deal8 ' BCD or 8087 options, is available tor an additional $3995 or Turbo Pascal 30 with both opbons tor only $12495 As a matter of fact, it you own a 16 Bit t computer and are serious about programming, you nwjtrt as well get botti options right away and save almost $25. \ t Update policy = As always, our first commitment is to our customers. C *£n> 19B \rbu buitt Borland and we wit! always honor your . \ Btxl _ MS-0 2« m BORIAHD 41 13 Scots ViXgyOie Scons Malay CaUoma 35066 I INTERNATIONAL TELEX 172373 l»an rarjf i feaxwr miIwiim iW fU ami mukiihh *k CIRCLE 103 ON READER SERVICE CARD When it comes to printers, we have the two best names in the business. The Xerox line Color Ink Jet Printers of Diablo printers. Full color graphics and text capabilities make these versatile some of the most , in the world. There are a lot of printers to choose from. But there's only one Diablo line. And its part of Xerox. To begin with, there are our Diablo daisywheel printers which have been voted number one for print clarity and quality in a brand preference study* But that should come as no surprise since we had a headstart on the rest of the industry, inventing the daisywheel back in 1972. There are also our Diablo dot matrix printers, known for their speed and endurance, they deliver perfect letter definition under the Daisywheel Printers heaviest use. We invented the technology. For producing just about any visual pre- and now it's the accepted sentation from graphics to text, our high quality standard among letter- quality printers. Diablo color ink jet printers generate seven vibrant colors to create over 4,000 variations. Every Diablo printer is unusually \2 , quiet, reliable and compatible vetwfee* with most computers on the tfO market including the I BM AK [TeamXerox nartnl Team Xerox, a wide array of c* anV . « uaU» co»P products, people and services to **" cons^* teet meet all your information needs. At st The Xerox line of Diablo st rf6 53Ao ^°* is * ^ printers serviced by the ite *e« national Xerox service force and Diablo service centers across the country. oeat s So if youYe in the market for a Z *<£$&£2fr > " I J printer, go with two of the best names <> fc ° ta*e . in the business. For the location of . t*e x ine nC ^uaWVave f the Xerox office, authorized Diablo or Xerox dealer nearest you, call £toro 1-800-833-2323, ext. 802. •Source Datamation Magazine 1983 Hraiul Preference Study .*%»• i>( primer preference h\ end laen and ( >l Mi £&at in .9 t^ racte* A? 1 6t^oP' a 200 , cna* tect ?v eeis. ^eC XEROX® and Diablo ire trademarks of Xenx Corporation. IBM' i-.a trademark of International Business Machines Corporation, CIRCLE ISO ON READER SERVICE CARD « i?„ \ «cr.r —a- «.1 ;erox Dot Matrix Printers At draft speed, characters Come out crisp and clear, at upto4(X)cps. At correspondence quality speed, characters are so readable they make the term "computer prima almost obsolete. :??*io >o t •*£:*•'. of •'*•* ">t [ ^ea *a.;".^. c# ^oJf.-U Ov *£T 'wr » <'£* U *Mi £ 6y - r^i# /H^* ">e U/ 'oj 7^f, ».. v *-* ^ooucr •"J 50 *** "o* "*'l t *.vp4 »»*, T °o* coj [98 4 Or. s °ft. 4TH "e * l * or J? r «/>Aj uXd **-, - '* r^V\e "Sco, , aana G**S ^y^ve^ut s *ece -va No matter which computer you use... WE CO AND THEIR NEEDS. Every month CREATIVE COMPUTING thorough reviews on software and new inno- brings you the information you need to vations—with hands-on tips you can apply! expand the functions of your system—any And if you need more information on system—without any bias. color monitors or printers, you can depend CREATIVE COMPUTING goes on CREATIVE COMPUTING for a complete beyond machine specific magazines, provid- comparison—for all systems! ing you with a vital exchange of ideas and No matter which computer you use — insights from all the world's leading computer Apple, IBM, Atari, TRS-80, or any other manufacturers, as well as the technological system—we can tell you what's new and innovators entering the marketplace. available for you to expand your system Whether you're expand- —any system! ing your system with new Stay in the know and make hardware, software, or the most out ofyour com puter! add-ons, you need all the —Get CREATIVE COMPUTING information available—and with savings up to 50%! we deliver just that! • 9 issues for only #997! If you're upgrading ^" SAVE 47%! with memory boards, " CREATIVE COMPUTING • 12 issues for only #12.97! SAVE 48%! will help you choose the • 24 issues for only #24.97! ones that meet your needs SAVE 50%! and budget! When you're using word For faster service call toll free, processors, we provide you with 1-800-852-5200 CC4Z080 XX X XXXX XXXXX X X XX XXXXX X XXXXXXX X X XXXXX X X XXX XXX AT UP TO 50% OFF! SEND PIE: q ISSUES FOR $ q.R7 — 15 ISSUES FOR $15.9? — 54 ISSUES FOR $54.97 — 50% OFF! SAVINGS BASED ON FULL ONE-YEAR (15 ISSUE) SUBSCRIPTION PRICE OF $54.97. mr./mrs./ms.. CC 4S432 COMPANY .TITLE. ADDRESS. CITY .STATE. .ZIP- CHECK ONE: PAYMENT ENCLOSED. BILL ME. PLEASE CHARGE: AMERICAN EXPRESS VISA MASTERCARD CARD NO EXP. DATE ADD 40# AN ISSUE IN CANADA; ALL OTHER FOREIGN COUNTRIES ADD 60* AN ISSUE. PLEASE ALLOW 30 TO bO DAYS FOR DELIVERY OF FIRST ISSUE. NO POSTAGE NECESSARY IF MAILED IN THE UNITED STATES BUSINESS REPLY MAIL FIRST CLASS PERMIT NO. 66 BOULDER, COLORADO POSTAGE WILL BE PAID BY ADDRESSEE Creative Computing PO. Box 5214 Boulder Colorado 80321 BUSINESS/PERSONAL PRODUCT REVIEW Increased speed and convenience for IBM, Apple, and Tandy machines Percom PHD-10 Hard Disk Russ Lockwood you frequently get lost in the floppy Ifshuffle, that frustrating game of switching floppy disks to find the data you want, you have probably considered buying a hard disk drive. Percom Data offers one of several solutions to the floppy shuffle— at an attractive price—with its PHD line of hard disk drives. We tested the PHD-10, an external 5.25' 10Mb unitthat works with an IBM PC, Apple He, or TRS-80 Model III. Percom sells computer-specific kits to hook up the drive to a particular com- puter. Each kit comes with a disk controller board (called a Personality The Percom PHD-10 attaches to IBM. Apple, and T«K»y computers Card), a flat ribbon cable to link the board to the drive, appropriate docu- proves as cantankerous as the He, a mentation, and a set of utility programs Hardware Profile quick call to customer support will solve to format, section, and boot the drive. any problems. Nome: PHD- 1 Type: 1 0Mb external hard Practically every hard disk drive on disk drive Systems: IBM PC, Apple He, the market works as advertised. The Documentation TRS-80 Model III Dimensions: 12.3* x main feature for in disk we look a hard Ifthere are any nits to pick, it is with 1 1 .8* x 5.4" Documentation: Loose-leaf drive, therefore, is ease of set-up and op- the documentation. While we had no manuals Summary: Excellent drive with eration, with secondary emphasis on trouble with the IBM manuals, the Ap- excellent customer support. scores well support Price: Drive $ 1 1 00; IBM Percom ple versions could use a little work. We PC kit, $ 1 20; Apple He kit, $ 1 00; TRS-80 on both counts. wish they were as clear as the instruc- Model III kit, $80 We tried the drive on the IBM PC tions from the customer support staff. first. The entire set-up procedure, from Manufacturer: Percom Data In time, you may find 1 0Mb to be in- box to operation, took us less than 30 11220PagemillRd. adequate for your storage needs. Percom minutes. No kidding: board in, cable at- Dollas, TX 75243 anticipated the ever increasing storage tached, formatted, sectioned, and avail- (214)340-5800 needs of micro users and designed the able in under 30 minutes. We transferred PHD to be expandable. You do not even several files, ran some programs, and think of nothing else that might be inter- have to relinquish your original drive to created files on the hard disk without fering with communication. So we de- upgrade. Up to three additional PHD problem. We also appreciated the dif- cided to test Percom's customer support drives can be tacked on to the original ference in speed and noise between the team. drive, creating a system large enough for PHD and a floppy drive; waiting time In short, the customer support team those with even the most voracious stor- and distraction were reduced sub- passed with flying colors. They provided age appetites. stantially. step-by-step instructions on installing All in all, we were impressed with the PHD. The trick was to switch the the Percom Data PHD drive. It proved Customer Support floppy drive controller board from slot to be fairly easy to install, versatile Our test with an Apple He proved to six to slot four and pay close attention to enough for three computer systems, be more difficult. At first the computer the sequence of utility programs and expandable, backed by excellent cus- refused to believe that the hard disk drive selection ofoptions within the utilities. tomer support, and attractively priced was attached. Several attempts later, we We did not test the drive with the for an external hard disk drive. Ifyou are found that the two pieces of hardware TRS-80 Model III. However, based on considering buying a hard disk drive, were still not speaking to each other. We our experience with the IBM PC and take a look at a PHD drive; it could re- had emptied the lie of all expansion Apple He, we are sure that the drive lease you from the floppy shuffle boards except the Percom board and the worksjust as well on the Tandy machine. forever. floppy drive controller board and could We are also sure that if the Model III CIRCLE 407 ON READER SERVO CARD 1 /OLUME 1 NUMBER 3/CREATIVE COMPUTING lOl PERSONAL Software for Health and Fitness Michael S. Davidson Recent medical evidence suggests -SELECTIUE VIEWING MENU- swers to these questions, the chances of that many of the diseases from IMMUNIZATIONS your buying a useful and significant soft- which we Americans suffer are di- BLOOO TYPE 'PRESSURE CHEMISTRY ware package are greatly enhanced. rectly related to improper diet and lack Following are short reviews of sev- PROBLEMS of exercise. This has led to an almost in- eral programs for health records and ad- satiable desire in Americans for prod- vice, medical diagnostics, diet analysis, ucts that will improve their health. It is weight loss, and physical fitness. If tra- ditional methods have failed you or you not surprising, then, that health related LABORATORY n computer software, with its mystique Ml H.MT HE IGHT arejust interested in a new way ofattack- and implicit promise of health nirvana, RN TO MEDICAL RECORDS MENU ing some old problems, read on; I hope is on its way to the market in volume. you will discover a program that will IS THE TEMPERATURE DEGREES OR MORE There is software for health records, make you a healthier person. health advice, diet analysis, physical fit- HAS THE FEUER REACHED 105 DEGREES OR MORE » N ness, and much more. Some of these uti- An Apple A Day HAS THE FEUER OCCURRED IN AH 1HFANT lize the computer in powerful ways that FOUR MONTHS OR YOUNGER ' H An Apple A Day from the health pro- MAS THE FEUER BEEN ACCOMPANIED BY A Publishing is truly hold open the possibility of health STIFF NECK. UOMITING. HEADACHE. OR fessionals at Avant-Garde SCOHF^RT IN JHE PRESENCE OF BRIGHT improvement. Others are interesting as a three-part program for giving health adventures in technology but fail to offer 00CT0R IMMEOIH advice, maintaining medical records, YOU MAY HAUE MEHNINGITIS BUT THIS IS a health telephone substantial advantages over traditional UERY RARE and developing books and classes. They may be fun, directory. Twoktmiis from An Apple A Day however, and this is important too. Health Advice offers help on 46 dif- As a health educator, I see enor- ferent medical categories ranging from mous potential for health improvement acne to venereal disease. The program 1 'ii i n through the use of computers. It is im- fatigue takes the role of a physician asking a se- weakness-general portant, however, that health related irritabuity ries of diagnostic questions and includes decrease!) mehtal acuity computer software be chosen with ut- pain-chest suggestions for health promotion and appetite loss most care. Therefore, it is essential that ABQOKlNAL PAlN disease prevention. By the time I got to DISCOMFORT -LOUER ABDONIN. you consider the following questions be- DISCOMFORT-UPPER ABDOMlH the end of an illness section, I knew CONSTIPATION fore deciding which package(s) to buy. DIFFICULTY BREATHING whether to rush to an emergency room, SHORTNESS OF BREATH First, who developed the program? CRAMPS-CALF MUSCLE make an appointment with my doctor, or ABNORMAL SENSATIONS Check the credentials of the authors or BURNING SENSATION IN just wait until my symptoms went away. PAIN-LEG-CRAMPLIKE consultants. One of them should be a I felt no chances were being taken with medical doctor, nurse, community my health. health specialist, dietician, health The Medical Records section of An educator, or other recognized health absolute disclaimer, there is still the ten- Apple A Day is structured to ask for the professional. If not, try to find out what dency to treat the suggestions of a com- most basic information about nine areas qualifies the author(s) to write a pro- puter as though they came from some of health care such as immunizations gram for you. authority higher than a human being. and hospitalizations. Once you have en- Second, are the database and other When using a health program, talk to tered data to the records section, you can information credible? Do they come other users about their experience, and retrieve information in either a single from the U.S. Government, voluntary look for clarity ofinstructions. Check for category such as Lab Tests or by all nine health organizations, or other known accuracy of calculations, advice, or medical categories. In addition, it is pos- health agencies or academic institu- information. Make periodic checks sible to print out the entire medical tions? You must be able to check sources against some objective measure. record. Medical Records makes it pos- if you encounter doubtful suggestions. Finally, does the program offer sible to maintain an orderly array of A third important, although almost more than just a useful way to do some- medical information that can be used for unanswerable, question is, can the soft- thing? Does it educate about the causes, tax or insurance purposes. Having long ware do any harm? There is little room prevention, and treatment of health re- term health records could prove invalu- for error in a health program. Although lated problems? able in future diagnoses or if original every program I reviewed came with an If you take the time to find the an- records are lost. 102 CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 198i PRODUCT REVIEW Overall, this is a good, useful, easy- Weight Diary, Numeric Analysis, ask questions designed to determine how to-use program for those who don't Graphic Analysis, Diet Scorecard, Ex- well you have followed the total program mind keeping their medical records in a ercise Scorecard, and Health Quiz. each week. The last section of the pro- place and form accessible to anyone who The highly individualized program gram is a Health Quiz which asks a series can boot a disk. helps you set a weight goal. It calculates of questions about the educational ma- the number of daily calories needed to terial found in the Guidebook. Internist achieve the goal over a period oftime you The accompanying Guidebook has The Internist from N-Squared specify based on age, sex, height, and some significant drawbacks. Although it Computing assists health professionals weight. A diet Prescription of food and contains excellent guides to analyzing and health conscious individuals in mak- exercise is then provided. your weight and exercise behavior, its ing differential medical diagnoses. The Diet Diary is the heart of the poor line justification makes it visually Starting from a main menu of 34 program; into it you make entries by difficult to follow. More important, body parts and functions, you select, for name or number from a list of 3000 ge- however, is that the authors write with example, Abdominal/Eating, Female neric, brand name, and fast foods. You few headings, listings, or indices, so Genitourinary, or Speech. The locating specific information is program then lists symptoms asso- difficult. ciated with the selected medical Overall, this program is as area. You choose those that apply much an educational experience to the patient, hypothetical or as it is an entertaining program to otherwise, and the offers program use. It meets the criteria for an a Pooled or Exclusive Diagnostic excellent health program, and I Analysis. Pooled The Analysis recommend it highly. lists all diseases that have at least one of the indicated symptoms, NSL Analyzer while the Exclusive Analysis indi- The NSL Diet Analyzer, for cates only those diseases that pre- use on IBM compatible computers sent all the symptoms entered. from Natural Software Limited, is The database contains 331 dis- designed to make it easy to review eases, which can be displayed and improve upon your eating individually to all show the symp- habits. It has five Moster Control System Building toms associated with each. Blocks including Goal Profiles, The program is designed to Work Sheet, Diet History, Food run on an Apple with only 64K, Dictionary, and Help. but it has a built-in high speed The first step in using the operating system called Diversi- program is to establish your Goal ons which significantly increases Profile. It is recommended by the its of operation. It is speed quite authors that a physician or diet- easy to use, comes with a short ician be consulted before entering but readable Instruction Manual, this profile. You indicate the num- offers printed and as well as ber of calories in the goal and screen output. then what proportions of such Should this program be used things as fats, protein, and choles- by non-health professionals— and terol you want to include in the it is being offered to the general diet. public it create in — may anxiety The second step is to fill in some. I do think, however, that the computerized Work Sheet, the most people would benefit greatly NSl Diet Analyzer central feature of the program. by this inside look at how a phy- You enter the name of a food, sician might arrive at a diagnosis. It may also enter the date, time, activity, meal, and the program then displays 24 differ- also serve to give individuals a greater item, quantity, and unit of the food. The ent nutritional values for the food, keeps awareness of the need to get health activity entered can be for breakfast, a running total for each, and compares attention. lunch, dinner, snack, or exercise. The these totals with the Goal Profile. number ofcalories is instantly calculated The foods you enter can be stored as Master Control both for the food eaten and the exercise the Diet History along with body weight "You were not born to be Fat," says completed. and the number of calories expended in Master Control—A Diet and Exercise The Diet History lets you see what exercise. Program. This well crafted program of- and when you have eaten and offers the A very significant feature of this fers the habitual dieting failure a proven opportunity to study eating patterns for program is the Food Dictionary. This behavioral modification approach that I up to one week. The program can print database has nutritional information on know works well. hard copy so you can keep permanent 500 foods and, depending on your hard- Written by physicians for the IBM records. The program also provides a nu- ware, is expandable to 1900 foods. You personal computer, it utilizes a nine- meric and graphical analysis ofyour eat- can add, change, or delete items. You facet main menu consisting of Personal ing habits. can also enter any combination of foods Profile, Diet Prescription, Diet Diary, The Diet and Exercise Scorecards including home recipes, processed VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 3/CREATIVE COMPUTING K>3 PERSONAL foods, and entire meals into the Dietary Allowances found in each. cost-effective—a truly superior product. dictionary. These RDAs are calculated based on the Best The program has fully integrated individual's age, sex, and other variables. Running Your Race Set of instructions in Help. Using Help Everything is done automatically. Running Your Best Race from Wm. will answer any questions about the The program is so flexible that it is C. Brown Publishers is a software pro- college working of the program and is a highly unlikely to become obsolete. For exam- gram designed to accompany the expanded version of the User's Guide. ple, the food database has unlimited textbook of the same name by Joe Overall, this superior program Henderson. It is written for both of is extremely easy to use. The data- the Apple family computers NUTRITIONIST II S base is taken from a series of U.S. and the IBM/PC. The purpose of 51 VEARS 14 FEMALE-23 TO the program is to make you a government sources, and although V. OF RDA VITAMIN ft better runner by providing quick the accompanying manual does VITAMIN D not indicate the credentials of the VITAMIN E analysis of your training, testing, VITAMIN C results. It also writers, the program is profession- THIAMIN and racing provides RIBOFLAVIN a record keeping segment that ally conceptualized and appears HIACIN ^nzz VITAMIN B6 serves as a computerized diary. to have been developed by health FOLACIN professionals. It provides the seri- VITAMIN B12 The computer program and PANTO- ACID ous diet analyzer with sufficient CALCIUM __ book are clearly for the very seri- PHOSPHORUS information to determine his own ous runners who want to improve It is course of dietary action. I can their racing performance. recommend this program most necessary to keep precise records "l36 443 299 i "sSI highly. of all running activities to derive although it would be of great value to families with special nutritional James F. Fixx: needs. The Running Program The package comes with a The Running Program, the > Stand 3 feet fro» a nail op program disk, a database disk, a feet flat on the floor. legacy of Jim Fixx, noted running you i toward Mall until the authority, remains a credit to his USDA database source, a quick 1 Moderate strain. excellence, for it is a superior reference numbered index of all O Relax. foods in the database, and a Com- o Repeat 3-6 tines. health program. Fixx included prehensive User's Manual. Press F1-F6 or any key to continue. specialists in medicine, exercise, Making full use of menus, the and nutrition in his writing group. program analyzes food for 38 nu- The information/database is based James F. Fixx: The Running Program trients including amino acids. It on sound medical research. The indicates diet deficiencies and program is filled with educational excesses and can identify their information about exercise, car- sources. It can create food lists diovascular health, lifestyle, nutri- for special requirement diets, and tion, and much more. automatically determines food All health related computer exchanges and substitutes. It has programs have strongly worded an exercise program that calcu- disclaimers, and they usually sug- lates calorie expenditures of dif- gest that no computer program is ferent activities and produces a a substitute for a physician. The set of physical activities to help Aerobics Running Program goes well be- implement a calorie reduction yond these caveats. It does not plan. It even calculates the cost of a parti expandability and the activity database permit users to take any chances with cular food or menu. can be increased to include up to 99 their health. When I attempted to set up Nutritionist II is extraordinary not activities. The RDA editor permits you a training program for a 10K race, the only in its comprehensiveness but in its to add or change the RDA data files. program would not let me because I had ease-of-use and flexibility. It is extremely Any part of the analysis can be printed not yet reached an average run of three easy to move from the main menu to the out. miles per day. submenus without error. It is quite fast Nutritionist II comes with a well The Running Program is divided in its operation, and there is virtually no written and indexed manual. Although into seven basic chapters. The core of the waiting time for calculations of values. It expensive ($299) when compared to program is Keeping Track . . . The Run- is possible to determine not only specific other similar programs. Nutritionist II is ners Record. It records your progress, values of foods but to determine the so comprehensive, so well thought out, evaluates your diet for weight control percentage of various Recommended and so easy to use, that it becomes highly and selected nutritional content, and lets CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 ssssssssssB PRODUCT REVIEW you see how closely daily exercise and how to do warm up/cool down ex- ning, intermediate, and advanced aero- matches your goals. It can determine the ercises. bic exercise routines. The program number of calories burned after exercise Overall, James F. Fixx: The Running displays a graphical female figure that and provide a basic nutritional break- Program is an outstandingly orchestra- does the various exercise routines much down of the food you eat. ted computer program. It is individ- as Jane Fonda does. The program is enhanced by chap- ualized and quite easy to use. Runner/ The program is easy to use and well ters entitled What Shape Are You In?, computer buffs—both men and women constructed but quite slow in loading. It Set a Goal and Reach It, How Do You —shall enjoy it and appreciate the way it comes with a brief but detailed manual Measure Up?, Nuts and Bolts, and a can help them get more out of their ex- that describes clearly how to do the ex- comprehensive Index. It has a full Help ercise programs. ercises. The same information is also segment, and for those with a color mon- shown on the screen. You can focus on itor, offers a choice of screen color Aerobics selected areas of the body such as waist, combinations which help make for ex- Aerobics, The Computer Fitness hips, or buttocks, and both warm up and tremely pleasant viewing. Program from Spinnaker Software runs cool down exercises are suggested. Of particular note is the educational on Commodore 64 and Atari computers. Because Aerobics is fun to use and adventure in Nuts and Bolts. It gives nu- Its purpose is to provide you with a total based on sound physical fitness prin- tritional advice, tells you how fast to run fitness program of 18 different begin- ciples, I recommend it highly. James F. Fixx: Running An Apple The Running Master NSLDiet Your Beit Program Name A Day Aerobics Internist Program Control Analyzer Nutritionist II Race Health Physical Medical Running/ Diet and Nutritional Nutrition/ Running/ Type records/advice fitness diagnosis training exercise analysis exercise training Health Health/ Health Author's pro- running pro- pro- Credentials fessional Unknown Unknown fessional fessional Unknown Unknown Runner Database Not Credibility Superior Excellent Excellent Superior Excellent Excellent Superior applicable Educational Excellent Superior Quality Good Superior Superior Good Superior Good Ease of Use Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent Superior Superior Good Good Good Manual Quality Excellent Excellent (being revised) Good (lacks index) Excellent Superior Good Rating Excellent Excellent Excellent Superior Excellent Excellent Superior Good Apple II; Apple II; IBM PC, PCjr; Atari; 64K Apple II; IBM PC; IBM PC; Systemisl MS-DOS, C64 C64 IBM PC IBM PC, PCjr IBM PC, PCjr MS-DOS MS-DOS;CP/M Apple II $39.95 to $18.95 Price $59.95 $34.95 $95 $79.95 $39.95 $49.95 $299 ($9.95 book) Manufacturers Internist Master Control Nutritionist II N-Squared Computing Healthware N-Squared Computing An Apple A Day 53 18 Forest Ridge Rd. Physicians' Plaza 53 18 Forest Ridge Rd. Avant-Garde Silverton, OR 97381 2300 Round Rock Ave. Silverton, OR 97381 P.O. Box 30160 (503)873-5906 Suite 2009 (503)873-5906 Eugene, OR 97403 Round Rock, TX 78664 (503)345-3043 James F. Fixx: (512)863-6910 Running Your Best Race The Running Program Wm. C. Brown Publishers Aerobics MECA NSLDiet Analyzer 2460 Kerper Blvd. Spinnaker Software 285 Riverside Ave. Natural Software Ltd. Dubuque, I A 52001 21 5 First St. Westport,CT 06880 7 Lake St. Suite 7E (319)588-1451 Cambridge, MA 02 1 42 (800) 631 -MECA White Plains, NY 10603 (617)494-1200 (203)222-9087 (800)626-2511 (914)761-9329 VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 3/CREATIVE COMPUTING K>3 . 1 IT UP... IBM SYSTEMSALL ADDS Starting as low as $1899 SANYO 886K, 1-DS/DD DRIVE KEYBOARD MULTIFUNCTION SOFTWARE CARDS um PC COMPATIBLES IDEA Symphony $449.00 ^ SANYO 12-3 $30900 880 $699.00 IDEAmax ZPR. 64K. C. S. P$229 00 MBC MBC 880-8 $740.00 IDEAmlnl YPR. C. 8. 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Canada L6L1T1 Order Status Number: (717) 327-9676 Customer Service Number: (717) 327-1460 Open purchase orders accepted with net 30 days terms, subject to credit approval. Next day shipping on all stock Items. No risk, no deposit T> orders and no waiting period for certified checks or money orders. Add 3% (minimum $5") shipping and handling on all orders. Larger shipments may require additional charges. NV and PA residents add sales tax. All Items subject to availability and price change. Call today for our catalog. CIRCLE 106 ON READER SERVICE CARD HCHeHeHeBBBH . ..THE BEST PRICES HOME COMPUTERS CALL WHILE SUPPLIES LAST PRINTERS ATARI 600XL * 800XL AXIOM SEC AT 100 Atari Interface Printer$189 00 2010/18/30 $719.00 880 Interface $10900 CX30Paddles $11 99 AT-860 Atari Bidirectional. $289 00 2060 IBM. $839.00 1010 Recorder $49 99 CX40 Joystick $7 99 OP 100 Parallel Interface $189 00 3810/18/30 $129900 1020 Color Printer $79 99 4011 Star R.i! !••:-. 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Printer/Cassette $128 99 VBBBATIM DISK HOLDERS Card Reader $143 99 CE 180 Color Printer Cassette$171 99 SVi" 88/DD $21 99 INNOVATIVE CONCEPTS Extended Function Module $63.99 CE 151 4K RAM $29.99 5'V DS/DD $29 99 Flip-In File 10 $3 99 Time Module $63 99 CE 155 6K RAM $49 99 Flip In File 50 $17 99 We stock the full line of CE 161 16K RAM $134 99 Disk Head 01 $1499 Flip in File 80 w/lock $24 99 Hi' calculator product: ROM Llbri Sy9.99 (400 800 KOM) $17.9£ , ohS; S-> 1-800-233-8950 ^ CANADIAN ORDERS "nM" In PA Call: (717) 327-9576 Ontario/Quebec: 1-800-268-3974 WEST EAST Other Provinces: 1-800-268-4559 P.O. Box 6669. Dapt. A303 477 £. 3rd St., Dept. A303 In Toronto: (416) 828-0866 Telex: 08-218960 Stateline. NV 89449 Wllllamsport. PA 17701 2S06 Dunwln Drive. Unit 3 Order Status Number: (717) 327-9676 Customer Service Number: (717( 327-1460 Mlsslssauga. Ontario. Canada L6L1T1 CANADIAN ORDERS: All prices are subject to shipping, tax and currency fluctuations. Call for exact pricing In Canada. INTERNATIONAL ORDERS: All orders placed with U.S. offices for delivery outside the Continental United States must be pre-paid by certified check only. Include 3% (minimum $6) shipping and handling. EDUCATIONAL DISCOUNTS: Additional discounts are available to qualified Educa- tional Institutions. APO Ic FPO: Add 3% (minimum $5) shipping and handling. — EDUCATION PRODUCT REVIEW Speedreading and Skywriting Growing Up Literate Betsy Staples month we return the emphasis of much or as little time as you have This any uo*»n whov. Growing Up Literate to things ver- I don't knou available. a paintbrush bal as we consider Micro SpeedRead havan't pickad up Of course, the long-term effective- from CBS Software and Snoopy's Sky- radacora** tha kitchan rafurbish an ness of the package is dependent entirely writer Scrambler from Random House. old chail of drautrs or spark up tha on your willingness to hone the skills it fadad picnic tablt N. introduces. Increasing your reading Micro SpeedRead hou t growing .linnaapol i< J speed from 200 wpm to 800 wpm in a Speedreading is a controversial businass/'concarp fays uocian can taka week may be rewarding, but it won't skill. We know people who claim to that sad* paintbrush thty ira wialdins make any difference in your life unless until speedread everything and who become for frt« and color thtir futur^ you practice the techniques become second nature to you. downright tiresome on the subject. We graan Tia outfit. :allad Laii know others who, having completed Micro SpeedRead can be used expensive speedreading courses, have re- Micro SpeedRead equally effectively in the home and in the verted to their old habits and refuse even classroom. And since the only limit to its to discuss the matter. usefulness is the ability to comprehend We think that speedreading is use- Software Profile the reading selections, it can be used in ful and appropriate for certain types of almost any grade and by all but the youn- : Micro SpeedRead Authors: Gail material, inefficient or even unpleasant gest members of the family. If speed- Benchener, Rose Wassman, Jim Lucas for others. We frequently find ourselves reading is your goal, we recommend System: Apple II, IBM PC, PCjr Format:Disk skimming newspaper articles, for exam- Micro SpeedRead without qualification. Summary: An efficient, effective approach ple. On the other hand, we think that CIRCLE 408 ON READER SERVICE CARD to speedreading Price: $ 1 25. curling up in bed with a good book is a Manufacturer: Software Skywriter Scrambler pleasure not to be tampered with by Z- CBS Snoopy's patterns, S-patterns, or comprehensive One Fawcett PI. "Not another word scramble quizzes. Greenwich, CT 06836 game," you say? That's what we said. If you have a desire to read faster (203)622-2525 But first impressions can be deceiving. whether for profit or pleasure—CBS has Its title notwithstanding, Snoopy's Sky- provided an excellent way to train your- the techniques using articles in the book writer Scrambler is not a word scramble/ self to do so. The Micro SpeedRead pack- as the computer times you and tests your unscramble game. It is an entertaining age is a satisfactory amalgam of comprehension. how-many-words-can-you-make-from- computer technology and old fashioned Throughout the course, you are en- this-word? game featuring Charles ink on paper print technology, which is, couraged to keep track of your progress; Schulz's popular canine aviator. after all, the form in which most of what skeletons of rate charts are included in The game begins as Snoopy flies we read appears. the Appendix. across the screen in his Sopwith Camel The 210-page user's manual begins The user's manual is very well done. trailing a banner on which appears a with an introduction to speedreading It is comprehensive and thorough and, word. He then reports the number of and an opportunity to evaluate your cur- although devoid of illustrations, visually words he can make from that word and rent reading speed and comprehension. appealing. The reading selections are asks for your estimate ofthe number you You read an article in the book as the varied in length and subject matter and can make. You type in a number, and the computer times you. When you finish, surprisingly interesting. game begins. the computer calculates your speed. The package includes four disks, The three difficulty levels—High Next, you take the comprehension test, but you change disks only between les- Flier, Daredevil, and Ace—affect only and the computer calculates your score sons, so there is no distracting swapping the minimum number ofwords you must again. in the middle of a task or test. make in a round to win points and the After several of these preliminary number of points you can score with tests, your attention is focused on the Summary each word. A high flier must make only computer screen again as the program Micro SpeedRead is an efficient, five words in a given round, while an Ace demonstrates several techniques that effective course in speedreading. At $ 1 25 must make 10. can improve your reading speed: idea it is cheaper than most speedreading To enter a word, you have only to clustering, line pacing, double line pac- courses, and it has the added advantage type it and press Return. The longer the ing, and hand pacing. You then practice of being self-paced; you can spend as word you make, the more points you 108 CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 .. «"«•«/«& . DIABLO CITOH *#cippkz VlTl^ ^^ to score. If the word you type is correct, it know. These we could have added JR i can imAw mi M.« .1 t it*. ... tally Snoopy's Word Bank if we had wanted is for the . • . quickly added to your 1 ( round. If your word is one Snoopy f\*^^^^B him to accept them in future rounds. n i.Amn i s each containing as doesn't recognize, there is a short pause < New game words, before Snoopy chides you gently and many as 199 words, can be added to the disallows your guess. You continue to disk as well. enter words until your time runs out. 1 Ifyou get stuck and find that you are i Documentation unable to find any more words, you can The small 16-page booklet is typeset familiar Peanuts press the right arrow key and the letters i I and illustrated with the 4170 of the object word will be rearranged, | characters. It tells you all you need to about loading the disk and playing offering you a different perspective and, Snoopy' s Skywriter Scrambler know frequently, an opportunity to find more the game. No educational objectives are of- words. Profile Software feel safe in If you better your estimate for two fered with the game, but we >: Skywriter Scrambler will benefit from the rounds in a row, you earn bonus time in Snoopy's saying that players which you can continue to make words Type: Educational game System: Apple II, spelling practice offered by Snoopy's en- and augment your score. Commodore 64. Format: Disk Skywriter Scrambler. If they are A two-player option on side 2 of the Summery: Entertaining spelling practice couraged to link meanings with the disk allows two players to take alternate with a WWI flying ace Prke: $39.95 words they spell, they will probably im- at 30-second turns making words from the Manufacturer: Random House Inc. prove their vocabularies the same same game word. Using side 1, players 201 East 50th St. time. Snoopy's Skywriter Scrambler com- can alternate rounds for a total of five New York, NY 10022 right amount of whimsy rounds. We found the latter option (212)751-2600 bines just the cre- somewhat less equitable than the former; with a serious spelling challenge to provide some words were simply more difficult was merrily racking up high scores and ate an enjoyable game that will to dissect than others, and several times bonus time. hours of entertainment in home or classroom. it seemed as though one player got all the In several hours of play, we found troublesome words while her opponent only a few words that Snoopy did not CIRCLE 409 ON READER SERVICE CARD SURGES! SPIKES! Power RH/EM! UPS! 4^f SAGS! Quit BLACKOUTS! •^ ' Nwme<5 Problems? BROWNOUTS! BetterBASIC has AEGIS™ Power Conditioning Equipment THE SOLUTION Protects From Damaging Voltage Surges. Lost Data. & Costly Down Time a. Windows b. Speed: FAST c. The ease of BASIC fl| .... i SPIKE-SPIKER d. Support for 640K e. Procedures and functions \M Transient Voltage Suppressors & Noise Filters Eleven Models — All Models Rated 120V, 15A f. 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DC connectors tor mobil use and extended holdup INTERACTIVE STRUCTURED COMPILED time, many more exclusive features Call or write lor tree literature INSTANT ORDER LINE Dealer inquires invited /m*m 800-524-0400 TWX 501-651-2101 ~ IN PENNA 215-837-0700 Summit Software Technology, Inc."' PA Res add 6% sales tax. tor COD add S3 00 HBO® shipping & handling All pre-paid SPIKE SPIKER P.O. BOX 99, BABSON PARK, WELLESLEY, MA 02157 orders freight allowed All LINE-SAVER orders add 6584 Ruch Rd . Dept E $10 00 shipping & handling Bethlehem. PA 18017 CIRCLE 153 ON READER SERVICE CARD HO CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 CIRCLE 122 ON READER SERVICE CARD —1 ENTERTAINMENT PRODUCT REVIEW A look at the latest craze in computer entertainment—trivia games Trivia Mania Russ Lockwood Trivial Pursuit, the original trivia cial. An unnecessary graphics rou- board game, excites a diverse array tine—guiding a " + " through a maze of passions at Creative Computing. ends the game. From trivia fiend to trivia foe, it is a game we love to hate, and our editorial meet- Factactics ings sooner or later degenerate into trivia This interesting two-player game slinging matches. We cheer the home from Daystar contains more than 2000 team, heckle the opponents, and emit questions in seven categories— Movies, gasps of amazement and groans of Music Potpourri, Rock and Roll, Sports, incredulity. Television, Americana, and The Big usual, As when a manufacturer in- Mix. The game is played on a game board troduces a good product, a pack ofclones with 58 squares, and you race the clock follow, sometimes improving on the to come up with the answers. The more idea, sometimes not. Trivial Pursuit has time you take, the fewer points you host spawned a of imitators, and they score. The more times you circle the have spilled over into the computer board, the more points you score per marketplace. question. Computer trivia games represent a Both players use the keyboard. The real upscale side ofthe trivia market, and first to press a key when a question ap- many manufacturers are trying to grab a pears on the screen gets to answer the share of that market. One manufacturer question. An incorrect response gives swears trivia is a $1 billion a year indus- the other player a chance to answer the try—if correct, certainly not a trivial question. If time expires before either sum. player tries to answer, Factactics pro- However, we worry less about mar- 1* vides a clue fin i ! 1 by scrambling the letters of keting and more about quality. We do the answer. not want to see a rerun of the maze game board or the fire button on a joystick. Although some of the questions are craze, when manufacturers rushed out CompuTrivia picks a category for you multiple choice and true and false, most program after program—all modeled on randomly or lets you choose your favor- are fill-in-the-blanks, and the game pro- the popular Pac-Man. Some were enter- ite from a menu. The game displays the vides the number ofcharacters in the an- taining and imaginative adaptations; question on the screen, and you answer swer. According to the manual, "minor others were not. the question aloud. You press the space- typos may be forgiven." Indeed, occa- Fortunately, most manufacturers bar or fire button to see the correct an- sional major typos were forgiven during are delivering quality computer trivia swer, and again to add points to your our testing. games. The typographical errors are few score if your answer is correct. An error The graphics and sound routines of and far between, and the facts seem cor- menu allows you to rectify mistakes. the game are a cut above average. The rect. The following reviews will help you So far, CompuTrivia sounds like board features three special squares: bo- choose the trivia game that is right for computerized Trivial Pursuit. Well, the nus, which allows you to increase your you. similarities end quickly. You must alter- score; flip-flop, which lets you exchange nate answering questions with the other places with another player and increases CompuTrivia players or teams. We cutthroat trivia your points in doing so; and freeze, CompuTrivia, from Extek, contains fans want to continue answering ques- which halts the advance of a computer- more than 1300 questions divided into tions. It is a reward for our mental tra- controlled character called the Wise eight categories—Arts, Odds and Ends, vail. Alas, no reward in CompuTrivia. Guy. Business and Politics, Sports, Entertain- Correct answers elicit "witty" Playing Factactics is fast, fun, com- ment, Geography, Science and Nature, rhymes and sayings which range from petitive, and exciting. The board on the and History. From two to six players or mediocre to awful. Mercifully, a menu screen offers a visual thrill lacking in text teams can play at once. option allows you to shut this feature off. only games. Just about everything is All functions of the game are con- The graphics and sound routines of adjustable— the timer, the special trolled with the spacebar on the key- the game are adequate but nothing spe- squares, the Wise Guy—and the game VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 3/CREATIVE COMPUTING 1 1 ENTERTAINMENT have four large but- contains the right mix of easy, medium, tries, Cultural Geography, Olympic The controllers to answer questions, check scores, and difficult questions. High scores are Terms, Olympic History, and Freestyle. tons otherwise control the game. All four saved to disk, which is a nice touch for It also holds 6820 Summer Olympic and into interface box via modular trivia egos. records from 1 896 to 1 980. plug an OlymPicks displays multiple choice telephone jacks. A cable from the box Fax questions, although the number of plugs into the two joystick ports on the Fax, from Epyx, contains more choices depends on your score. You start computer. modification of pad- than 3700 questions divided into four off with three per question, but as your In short, this is stroke ofgenius. Up to four play- categories—Entertainment, History, score increases, you pick from four, and dles a ers two with the Apple He) can Sports, and Grab Bag. For one or two finally five choices. (only gather around the computer, each with players, it has three skill levels which The game consists of ten rounds, automatically change as you answer each of which consists of three questions his own controller. It makes playing the easier and gives you a feeling more and more questions. from one category. game much destiny. Fax uses two timers. The first gives A timer starts at 50 and counts ofcontrolling your own that we have you a set amount of Now • sports • time to answer the raved about the hard- question. The faster k FV. ware, what about the you do so, the more software? We are Who »• tlM NFL rook* of lh. score. pleased to say that PQ points you How- ymr In 1960? ever, the time zooms is an exciting game, by with amazing speed. with or without the The second timer clever controllers. poses multi- is called the game PQ ple choice questions. clock. When it reaches zero, the game 2359 A timer ticks off the ends. You earn bonus seconds. Two differ- PQ The Party Quiz time by reaching a ent games are avail- certain score. How- able: competitive and ever, as your point GOLD social. In the competi- total increases, so tive game, the first player to choose the does the skill level. novice-level oooooo correct answer stops Thus cm « uato •ccimiac UIIH -B- the timer and receives questions appear first, MXKM WADS » FCKCE M OCSTtUCTIM *00 equal to the then expert-level ques- 00 points remaining on the tions, and then genius- time 00 timer. In the social level questions. All questions are game, all players can 000 00 question presented in multiple- answer the format. With and each one who choice Oiympicks two players, the game answers correctly re- awards points to the first player to answer down to zero (about 20 seconds or so). ceives points equal to the time remaining the question correctly. Your score depends on the amount of on the timer. Nice touch, Suncom. With that quick timer, Fax really time remaining and how often you have A game lasts from five to 20 rounds, ten ques- piles on the pressure. However, one trick chosen questions from a given category. with each round containing are called Light- to boost your score is to answer the ques- The more times you pick a category, the tions. Certain rounds tion immediately, picking any choice lower your possible score per round. ning Bonus Rounds, in which each play- to just to stop the timer. Fax does not sub- OlymPicks also has an extensive er has approximately 20 seconds tract points for wrong answers, and you database containing statistics on event answer up to ten questions. These save valuable time on the game clock. medalists. Edupro is updating the data- rounds are fast and furious, and the pro- time to display We like Fax, but caution that it is an base with 1984 statistics. gram does not take the intense trivia game. Total concentration Olympic buffs cannot go wrong the correct answers as it normally does. in abbre- is required, and you must be fast—very with OlymPicks. It is not only a game, The questions PQ are fast—to answer the questions. A sweaty but a reference tool too. OlymPicks gets viated, rarely exceeding four or five brow is definitely not optional. the gold for Olympic trivia. words—much shorter than the other trivia games. We learned to appreciate OlymPicks PQ The Party Quiz Game this. You can read and comprehend The 1984 Olympics are but a fond Suncom knew that other computer questions quickly, and the game really memory, but the spirit of athletic ac- trivia games used joysticks to free play- zips along. PQ saves high scores to disk. complishment lives on in OlymPicks, a ers from crowding around the keyboard. combination trivia game and database But passing around a joystick can turn Quizagon by Edupro. The one- or two-player game out to be just as inconvenient. Suncom Quizagon, by Counterpoint Soft- contains 800 questions in ten categor- solves the problem by including four ware, is probably the most esoteric of all ies— 1980 Gold, 1976 Gold, Olympic "quick response controllers" with its the trivia games we evaluated. With Records, Events, Famous People, Coun- trivia game PQ The Party Quiz Game. more than 6000 questions in four cate- 112 CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 — \ —1 PRODUCT REVIEW gories—Science and Geology, Enter- Roll Call USA will certainly help a the center of the Earth? Volcanoes, liq- tainment and Arts, Sports and Games, child learn a few facts about the United uid rock, steam, or gerbils? The least and Potpourri—it certainly seems like States and prepare for those quizzes that they could have done was substitute your basic trivia game, but the playing history teachers enjoy giving. Adults tribbles for gerbils. Fortunately, such board and sound effects make it quite will find the game interesting for the first oddball choices are few and far between. different. few playings, if only to refresh their Science Trivia Challenge is an ex- oval The playing board contains 26 memories. All in all, Roll Call USA is a cellent program. We only wish it in- hexagons, each of which holds a dif- worthwhile package from Creative cluded more questions. ferent category. Four of these blink and Software. are called quizards. Answering a ques- 3K Trivia tion while on a quizard is akin to receiv- Science Trivia Challenge 3K Trivia is part of the Personally ing a wedge in Trivial Pursuit. Only Spectrum Software is well known to Developed Software series marketed by trouble is, the quizards keep moving us at Creative Computing. Their "micro- IBM and is available either as a stand- across the screen. Trying to land on one courses" in elementary science earned a alone program or as part of the Family is like trying to catch a will-o'-the-wisp. Games Package. By the way, 3K Trivia Ifyou succeed in landing on the four does not load into 3K RAM. Its name quizards and answering the questions, derives from the fact that it contains you travel through what looks like a 3000 questions. space warp to the Grand Quizard (a big The game reminds us of a television hexagon). game show called The Joker's Wild. Like From one to four players or teams a slot machine, the six categories can play Quizagon at a time. The game Science and Nature, Sports, History and displays the questions in the middle of Geography, Show Business, True i he oval board. You say the answer aloud Trivia, and General—whirl within three and press the spacebar to see the correct windows. Once the whirling stops, one answer. category appears in each window. Quizagon is actually one ofthe older Your score depends on how many computer trivia games around. The times the same category appears at once. Cr-lS«vd«*f ^* — copyright says 1983, which means it pre- For example, if three different categories dates the current trivia craze by about a /\»0CKS tfKCty\ appear in the windows, you can score year. It just shows that quality never goes only 50 points. However, if the same / L0MCHN. /hicho \ out of style. category appears in all three windows, / ANIHALt^V / ANIIMLt 1 The only disconcerting aspect of you can score 1000 points. The game in- HUMAN 1 Quizagon is changing the disk. The 6000 \ / \CHM1»T»Y cludesjokers, which function as a "wild" \ «00r / questions are stored on four disk sides. \^ category. If you are truly lucky, jokers Whenever questions seem to be repeat- J appear in all three windows, giving you a ^^ PLANTS [HUCY N' ing, you must change the disk. However, P shot at 2000 points. 5>S?t»A«> Vs. this is a small price to pay for such a large to inn yh««l ^-*^_ Of course, there is a small obstacle assortment ofquestions. Science Trivia of answering the question correctly. The game displays the number of characters Roll Call USA bronze medal in our Software Olympics in the answer, and you type in the Roll Call USA, from Creative Soft- (1984 Software Buyer's Guide). We have characters. Hints cost you 50 points, and ware, combines United States history come to expect excellent programs from the program will give you partial credit if and geography in an educational trivia Spectrum, and Science Trivia Challenge 60 percent of the characters in your an- game for children. It contains 200 ques- is no exception. swer match the real answer. tions divided into five categories The game caters to students in The game includes a timer, which Capitals, Major Industry, Largest Non- grades three through eight, although we can be set from 1 5 seconds to three min- capital City, Statehood Date, and Pot- think the questions might be too easy for utes. The game ends after 25 questions. pourri. From one to four players may children at the upper end of that range. 3K Trivia accommodates up to six participate. There are 200 multiple choice questions players. The game uses graphics effectively. divided into eight categories—Rocks, 3K Trivia allows you to add up to A colorful map of the United States is Lower Animals, Higher Animals, En- 100 questions to each category. Each displayed on the screen and one of the ergy, Plants, Space, Human Body, and question consists of up to three lines of2 states begins to blink. The screen clears, Chemistry. characters each. Each answer can be one and the program asks you to name the The object of the game is to answer line of 21 characters. blinking state. It then poses a question one question from each category. The The graphics add a pleasant touch from the category you chose. After an- program selects the categories ran- to the game. Seeing the categories spin by swering, the program returns you to the domly, and each question has four induces a sense of anticipation, and, if map of the United States, except that choices. You are allowed two guesses per you manage to see the True Trivia skulls, state has changed color. question. a sense of doom. Our second favorite Roll Call USA requires you to type Overall, we think the questions are graphic is the shadowy actor from Show in your answers. Thus, spelling counts. rather thought provoking for the age Business; an eerie contrast in black and The game gives you three tries to spell group, although the choices can be white. answer correctly — an a nice touch. somewhat silly. For example, What is in We enjoy 3K Trivia. We wish it in VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 3/CREATIVE COMPUTING 113 — — r . ENTERTAINMENT answer. As you move, you uncover the eluded some documentation. As it is, the Trivia Arcade instructions are stored on disk. Trivia Arcade, from Screenplay, is a letters T, R, I, V, and A. As you might first class trivia game for one to four have guessed, you must spell "trivia" four special Trivia players. It is also a better arcade game and then enter one of the Trivia is the only game of the group than half of the alleged arcade games hexes. hex, designed specifically for the Apple Mac- that pass through our disk drives. Once you enter the special you from each intosh. And we can honestly say that of It contains more than 3500 ques- must answer one question category. The first player to do so wins. all the programs, it is the easiest to use tions divided into five categories thanks to the mouse. Sports, Television, Science, Music, and Trivia Arcade is a marvelous pro- Trivia contains more than 5000 General Knowledge. Question Pack I gram, as both trivia and arcade game. questions divided into five categories adds 4000 more questions. Action is con- We recommend this one highly. Entertainment, Sports, Geography, His- trolled by the keyboard or a joystick. tory, and Literature. Each category has At first, you see icons bouncing off Trivia Compute three levels of difficulty, novice, stan- walls within a shooting arcade. Each The best aspect about Trivia Com- dard, and expert, pute is the price per- isi' if- f- •: f- r. : - It gives which are worth 10, formance. you ques- 20. and 30 points re- a whopping 6000 P^RttNT Of THE tions divided into six spectively. A special £15FIRTHCRINKfl'S MPTgRg^-? Genius section for categories — Science History. true trivia fanatics, is Literature, Geography, Sports, worth 60 points. — From one to six and Entertainment attractive players can crowd a- at a very round the Macintosh price. Additional disks sports, at once. You use the containing mouse to pick a cate- youth, and children's also carry gory and level of dif- JKinVM Trivia Anode questions competitive price tags. ficulty and answer the !*> t^MH*** lo-i.pl question aloud before Up to four players or the onscreen timer teams can play. ',! AMOAITD MAM)AH) '.iiMULinH The version we reaches zero. Move r iii'in nniM tlt*l»T unit iiriti J J tested runs on the IBM the mouse pointer to 1 MM, »Mfl vtsn MKiul .IN MOW (0»«l(l < the section of the PC without a graphics screen marked an- adapter— good news (..,.,. IMIWk1ll| S | thousands of swer to find out if you for PC are right. You keep owners. It is also the «... adaptation of answering questions 79 closest Hit Al POINTS MIMD 10 WW MM until you miss. The Trivial Pursuit we en- first player to reach a countered in our ex- Trivia TnvKi Compute predetermined point tensive evaluation. total wins and receives a certificate. icon represents a category; baseball for The board is roughly circular, and Trivia prevents you from constantly Sports, television set for Television, etc. the wedgie squares are evenly spaced choosing the same category. The last two You must maneuver crosshairs over along the outer track. However, only categories you picked are always un- moving icons and press the fire button on four spaces separate the wedgie squares. available, thus forcing you to choose one the joystick or the spacebar on the key- The computer rolls a die for you and off of the other three categories or the spe- board—before the timer runs out. you move, answering questions aloud, cial Genius section. Of course, nothing This may sound as easy as shooting checking to see if your answers are cor- prevents you from choosing the novice fish in a barrel, but it is not so. The icons rect, and obtaining wedgies. You con- level of difficulty. move frantically all over the screen ac- tinue answering questions until you However, we question the difficulty companied by equally frenetic music. miss. levels. Sometimes, the expert level ques- You can hit an icon, and hence, a cate- If you own an IBM PC without a tions are easier than the novice level gory, just about every time, but hitting graphics board. Trivia Compute is for questions. We suspect that keeps you the one you want is much harder. Several you. Otherwise, try one of the other honest about always choosing the novice times we could not hit one at all. games first. level ofdifficulty. The program displays a question There is no question about the Ge- from the category you hit. At the begin- Trivia Fever nius section, however. Those questions ning of the game, you can choose either Give Professional Software credit are tough. Our first question was multiple choice questions or questions for a superb marketing job. The name "Where was the choke on the Model T?" requiring you to type in the answer via Trivia Fever has a nice ring to it and the Egads, it is hard enough to find the choke the keyboard. packaging is attractive. The questions on a Datsun, much less a Model T. Once you answer a question cor- are divided into seven categories—His- Enter- Trivia is a real winner. If you own a rectly, the program displays a game- tory, Famous People, Films and Macintosh and want a computer trivia board of 30 hexagons and four special tainment, Sports, Nature and Animals, and game, this is it. hexagons. You move one hex per correct Science and Technology, 114 CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 — : PRODUCT REVIEW Geography—although only five, chosen mon Knowledge. The game is a real this answer is correct or incorrect. If you randomly or by the player, are in play at namedropper, with moviestars, royalty, think it is incorrect, the game replaces once. musicians, posh restaurants, and far- the first potential answer with another, From one to eight players alternate away lands. With such a popular and and you decide again. The program gives answering questions as a tinier ticks off certainly interesting subject, how could you four potential answers per question. the seconds. Questions are divided into the Trivial Compute Company go Sounds like multiple choice, right? three levels of difficulty. The harder the wrong? Not quite. You see only one potential an- question, the more points you score. errors. The Typographical The game is swer at a time. Once you decline it, you game ends after you obtain a predeter- riddled with typos. The Statue of cannot go back to it. If you accept an an- mined number of points in each category Liberity, Billy Joal, Jacki O, a 530 carot swer as the real answer to the question, and answer a "category completion diamond, Conrad HitlOn (hotel), you do not see the answers that follow. question." O'Haire Airport, a fictious (fictitious) Furthermore—and this is the real kick- Overall, we think Trivia Fever is an megalopolis, and many others. We can er—if you choose the wrong answer, the interesting trivia game. The questions understand a few, even a handful, but program does not display the correct are intriguing, and the answer. varying levels of dif- f aweition or Player eU : SUK Without a doubt. ficulty, while not an Qu*st Cateoorw 1 s Uptown Trivia has the exclusive idea, are just best graphics of the 8*1 eoted the solution to even D tti owlty Level Is: 2 group we reviewed, the game for players TIM* Kernel n In*/: 3 leoonde edging out Trivia Ar- of varying ability. cade and .IK Trivia. mpemu, >nAde ' Ke I i ret coimerc i » 1 As an added bo- Each of the six cate- nus. Professional Soft- gories—Sports. His- ware includes a bt>ok Q. you m*.y choose to: 1 ) display the correct eniwer tory, Arts and Litera- di *<*usl f y the quest i on, or listing the questions, 3 > retiart the clock ture, Entertainment PI esse i elect a* i option' < 1-3 > three place markers and Revue, Geogra- Trivia Fever color-coded to the dif- phy, and Science — ficulty levels, a cate- sports a colorful, dis- gory selector spinner, tinctive, screen-filling and a score sheet. In drawing. We espe- effect. Trivia Fever cially like the Parthe- becomes a computer non I History*, micro- trivia game that does scope (Science), and not need the compu- the comedy and trage- that is ter. Now a clever dy masks (Arts). idea. The game in- On the negative cludes .Mil) questions, side, we wish it were and from one to ten possible to continue people can play. You Tnvio I Compute Uptown Trivia question screen answering questions keep answering ques- until you miss. We realize unscrupulous such a deluge is simply inexcusable. tions until you miss. Three correct an- players might choose the easiest level of Next, some of the answers seem in- swers clear a category. Scoring is based difficulty every time, but even a trivia ex- correct. For example, who was the first on the percentage of questions you an- pert gets stumped occasionally. U.S. President graduated from West swered correctly. The game ends when However, all things considered, we Point? U.S. Grant, Rutherford B. all players have cleared all theircategories. like Trivia Feverand look forward tosee- Hayes, Robert Lee, or T. Roosevelt? Did We are upbeat about Uptown Trivia. ing additional question disks as well as you pick U.S. Grant? We did. We were We cannot recommend it for children, the special sports, entertainment, and wrong, too. The answer, according to the but we can give it a wholehearted en- word-oriented editions. game, is Robert Lee, who never became dorsement for adults. the Confederate President, much less Trivial Compute U.S. President. In Pursuit of Trivia The only reason we mention this Is there any reason to buy this The multitude of computer trivia game is to make our evaluation of com- game? We think not. games on the market indicates the popu- puter trivia games as complete as possi- larity of Trivial Pursuit. The low ble. Uptown Trivia productivity and high traffic in our edi- For the record, we evaluated the Uptown Trivia is the toughest trivia torial offices indicate the popularity of World Class Edition, which poses thou- game of the entire group, in part because these computer trivia games. We have sands of multiple choice questions about ofthe quality of the questions, but reviewed as many computer trivia games the rich, the famous, and thechic. Trivial mostly because of the method of present- as we could lay our hands on. We know also comes in Compute Americana, New ing them. Other games require you to you can find the one that is right for York, Texas, and West Coast editions. pick from multiple choices, type in the you. True to its intent. Trivial Compute characters, or say the answer aloud. Up- A complete listing oft fie trivia games questions divide into three categories town Trivia displays a question and one reviewed and their manufacturers is pre- World Travel, Chic Sports, and Com- potential answer. You decide whether sented an pagW I It). 1 VOLUME 1 NUMBER 3/CREATIVE COMPUTING 1 13 . . COMPUTERBANC ENTERTAINMENT Trivia Games Name, System, and Price Manufacturer CompuTrivia Exiek CET SERIOUS. STOP PAYINC HICH PRICES NOW! Apple II. CM. IBM PC P.O. Box 305 and PCjr Oakville, Ontario, THOUSANDS OF AVAILABLE ITEMS. CALL FOR COMPLETE PRICING. $34.95 Canada L6J1 NO SYSTEMS PRINTERS DOT MATRIX Factactics Duystar Learning MR Gemini 10X .. 2S6K. Two 360KB DBk Drives. Coloc Gemou 15X Apple II. C64. IBM PC 525 University Ave. rotaoF/r. Graphics/Monochrome Graphics board. and PCjr. Atari H00 Palo Alto, CA 94301 Parakl Printer Port. Monochrome Display nc-eo (Amber/Green). DOS 2.1 FX100. $29.95 (4)5)323-3567 LOT LQ1900. I XT 10 Meg Upgrade ... 5279600 OKO>AIA92A . Epyx BUS UK 93A Fax 84A Apple II, CM. IBM PC 1043 Kiel Ct. IBM SOFTWARE 1091. and PCjr Sunnyvale. CA 94809 1350-P. LOTTO 123 $29.95 (408)745-0700 LOTUS Symphony .. MONITORS MKaonO Wordstar 300. OlymPicks Edupro 300A . IBM PC 445 Charleston Rd. 310A . Color I* . $59.95 (with 1984 Palo Alto. CA 94306 Gofer B. 1415)494-2790 nXUI Composile Amber UM0 records $69.95) 121/122 .. 420 (RGB). PQ The Party Quiz Game Suncom 415 (RGB). Atari N00. 260 Holbrook Dr. HX12. CM SR12. V69.9.S Wheeling, I L 60090 MMC-12. IBM and Apple (312)459-8000 2VM122 Amber . $74.95 SVolkswrner 11940 ZVM 123 Green Vohswrtler Deluxe HBC 1201 Hi Res Green .. 1205 Hi Res Amber Quizagon Springboard Software POX » CWH Qutcfccode 139 00 1206 Green 4005 West 65th St. dlM JC1215 Composite Color w/audk> 215.00 Apple II dGraph JC12 16 Color RGB . $44.95 Minneapolis, MN 55435 I Rbase 4000 . (612)944-3912 11200 1200B Roll Call USA Creative Software 300 CM 230 East Caribbean Dr. Mkromodem //e AaKBOKMarkX $14.95 Sunnyvale, CA 94089 MarkXfl (408)745-1655 VoaVj mootm NOVATION Smart Cat Plus QUI Access 1-2-3 Science Trivia Challenge Spectrum Software Apple CatD AST Soc Pack Plus 64K. Apple II 75 Todd Pond Rd. .. J-Cat L ..^... MegaPKisn . U.S. 0B0TICS PC Modem $16 Lincoln, MA 01773 PC Net 1 Starter Nt. Passwocd (617)332-4576 OUADIAM Ouadboard 0-K 21000 PROMETHEUS Promodem 1200. Ouadcolor I or Mkrofaier 64K .. .209.00 APPLE PRODUCTS 3K Trivia IBM QuadUnk . 479.00 MICIO SCI AZ drives 179.00 IBM PC and PCjr P.O. Box 1328 790.00 aamaeutei $19.95 Boca Raton. 33429 I Mono Graphics 129.00 IMCdrtve FL Color Card 199.00 ATM Compatible dnve ... (305)998-2000 KAMTKOMICS Colorphis 399.00 Ilnterface ST» Rk) plus 64K 249.00 >16K Trivia Mirage Concepts Super Rio 259.00 Kffll Fan Graphrx » II NEW MICROSOFT Premium //t 279.00 Macintosh 4055 West Shaw 1MCS5B Solcard CP/M 55F $49.95 Fresno, CA 93711 ITM100-2 179.00 MAC Muhiplan (Macintosh) (209)227-8369 I Floppy 12 Meg .. Basic (Macintosh) TAUC*At$12MBW/Tape1 1 W/ 2799.00 MASS 2MB APMCOBI Serial Card .... Trivia Arcade Screenplay RAM 64K upgrade 15.00 2-tOCard RAM 256K upgrade 26.00 Apple II. Macintosh. 500 Eastowne Dr. ASCII Express Professional . CM, MOUSB SYSTE Opbcal use . . 199 MS Mo MAZBLLS/S ... IBM PC and PCjr. Atari Chapel Hill, NC 275 14 ALSO • ITOtaT. PMttTSl. OBCHTJ). D/S 27 00 111AM AMD OTHnS KOALA Touch Tablet $34.95 (919)493-8596 HATOMachuDoySbck ... PRINTERS LETTER QUALITY Trivia Compute DEC Computing MOCKIMGBOAED CALL JOIaTBIHRlS 37540 Dr. ID 129.00 IBM PC 5307 Lynnwood HR-25 629.00 [Ukraterm 179.00 Layfayelte, 47906 HR 35 959.00 $24.95 West IN 90 COUHOI/64K Interface //e only 9940 JOB 6100 42940 (317)583-2230 COLUMN Card • only MBC2030 65940 •9 2050 79940 Trivia Fever Professional Software 3630 122940 3550 Apple II. Macintosh. CM, 51 Fremont St. IBMPCandPCjr.TRS-80 Needham,MA02l94 TELEX #550757/ANSWER BACK—COMPUTERBANK UD $34.95 (617)444-5224 S Orders Only Trivial Compute Trivial Compute Co. 800/332-BANC Apple II. Macintosh CM. 3527 Oak Lawn Ave. W IBM PC Dallas, TX 75219 •a* for operator CC35 outside California $34.95 (214)559-4233 B-COMPUTERBANC Uptown Trivia Uptown Software 16783 Beach Blvd.. HantJngton Beach. CA 92647 Apple II. CM. IBM PC 268 Summer St. 714/841-6160 and PCjr Boston, MA 022 10 « leal l iaafr nai mani *n— — law mum b» $49.95 (617)423-2304 :iRCLE 155 ON READER SERVICE CARD COMMUNICATE WITH EXPERTS Subscribe to PC TECH JOURNAL, the magazine written for sophisticated IBM PC users that talks to you expert-to-expert I want to communicate with other experts and professionals about IBM PC's and compatible machines! Please enter my YES, subscription to PC TECH JOURNAL for: 1 2 issues for 24 issues for | ] S24.97-SAVE 17%! S43.97-SAVE 27%! Mr./Mrs./Ms please prim name in full CC 8H591 Company Address City State Zip Savings based on full one-year (12 issues) subscription price of $29.97. Check one: Payment enclosed Q Bill me later Charge my: ] American Express | Visa ] MasterCard Card No Exp. 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Bill me later Subscribe today and save up to 27% off the full Charge my: American Express Visa MasterCard suhscription price, and have PC TECH JOURNAL delivered to your home or office every month! Card No Exp. Date Please jdd SI per Issue in Canada and all other foreign countries I'lcasc allow From One Expert to Another: Subscribe Today! M) to AO days for delivery of first issue 1 PERSONAL KeedngTrack StampCj_otof Youribur Collection William F. Sharpe TheEdSy \Afciy personal computer is an ideal tool forms which allow the collector to check The second approach is to use an Thefor a stamp collector who wants to off his holdings as simple a method as existing spreadsheet, file management, keep track of his or her collection. checking off entries in a catalog or price or database management program to Consider the variety of items collected. list to show ownership. handle your lists. A spreadsheet can be Several hundred countries issue stamps. Collectors who want to keep track easily adapted to a stamp inventory and Of these, most offer a bewildering array of the value of their stamps have an offers the additional advantage of being of stamps—standard issue, commemo- added problem in that prices fluctuate. able to calculate the number of stamps rative, airmail, semi-postal, parcel post, Values as published in annual catalogs held and their value. It is also easy to use postage due, official, hunting, special go up or down—often on an annual the "what -if" features ofa spreadsheet to delivery, and certified mail. There are basis. estimate, for example, what the value of mint stamps, used stamps, blocks of A computer won't eliminate the a collection would be if, say, mint stamps four, plate blocks, zip code blocks, coils, drudgery of creating an initial inventory appreciated 10% a year and used stamps and booklet panes. There are se-tenant list, but it will permit quick updates and went up 5% annually. stamps (two adjacent stamps ofdifferent changes and manipulation of existing A simple file management program designs, even sheets of 50 stamps, all information in a variety of formats. or a complete database can also be set up with different designs). There are subtle Essentially, there are three ap- to handle a collection to whatever depth variations in color and design, perfora- proaches a collector can take in setting of detail the collector desires. Using tion differences, gum varieties, water- up a computerized inventory program. dBase III to keep track ofstamps may be marked and unwatermarked stamps. The first offers the greatest flexibility, considered overkill, but if you are using Many collectors don't segregate but is at the same time open to the fewest such a program for some other purpose, their stamps by country but rather by collectors: you can write your own pro- there is no reason you couldn't set up a topic. Specialized collection topics in- gram. The advantage of this method is stamp inventory with it. clude space, dogs, cats, flags, maps, that the program can be tailored exactly Finally, there are specialized pro- computers and even "stamps on to your needs, but before you can even grams designed especially for collectors. stamps." consider this approach, you must be In most cases, the setup is vastly sim- Most serious collectors have devel- familiar with Basic or some other pro- plified so that you can begin entering oped their own systems to keep track of gramming language. Even then, you will your inventory information with a mini- their holdings, duplicates, and want spend a great deal of time debugging and mum of preparation. Programs of this lists. These methods range from com- refining the program so it does exactly sort range in price from $14.95 to plete loose-leaf albums with pre-printed what you want. $299.95. Specialized programs for deal- I /> First day cover of U.S. 1 i Progress in Electronics stamp with First day cover of U.S. Science & Industry stamp. seven other stamps related to electronics and technology. 118 CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 PRODUCT REVIEW ers and auction houses are also avail- • The catalog list file contains a list quantity for a stamp listing. The pro- able^—some at even higher prices. of all the catalogs and price lists you use. gram doesn't sort, but additions to the It is similar to the album list file in that it catalog list can be placed in their correct Philatelic Management System contains one record for each catalog or numerical locations. The inventory is SoftStyle provides the most com- price list you use. maintained in up to 91 allocated files plete inventory program I have come • The catalog contents files hold which you can activate/deactivate as across. Their Philatelic Management your price lists. You can enter the latest necessary. The initial menu display al- System (PMS) is available for Apple and catalog values in one ofthese files and the lows you to enter values in any one of the IBM PC-compatible machines. The system will, with one command, auto- following classes: general issues, rev- package includes more than 40 pro- matically place the current catalog val- enues, stationery, postage dues, official, grams with many listing and reporting ues into the various album contents files and confederate. capabilities. that contain those stamps. Screen prompts guide you in enter- PMS is versatile because of the in- • The address file is a master name ing the correct information for each tegration of the individual programs. As and address list of all the companies and stamp, such as Scott catalog number, in any inventory system you must enter people with whom you deal. classification, quantity, condition code, information about your stamps, but the • The transaction file keeps track of price paid, and retail price. Help is avail- system makes entry very easy—as sim- all additions to and dispositions from able by pressing the H key—a fairly ple as filling out an on-screen form. The your collection. You can analyze this file sophisticated aid for such an inexpensive form permits entry of the following in a variety of useful ways. program. information about any catalog item or It isn't necessary to know much The manual that comes with the set: quantity, unit value, total value, about files or disk formatting to use PMS program is an all uppercase printout on pricing date, lot number, acquisition as the program provides special menus 8 1/2 by 11 sheets, but it is quite readable, information including purchase price, with options in plain English. complete, and easy to follow. Setting up sales information, condition, type of the activation of files initially is a little stamp, description, and up to four lines U.S. Stamp Inventory tricky, but you really have to do it only of remarks. You may skip any of these Management System once, with perhaps a few modifications entry items but they are available as Crockett Software provides a rea- later on. The program allows printouts needed. sonably complete and inexpensive pro- which can be complete reproductions of Normally stamps are sequenced by gram for the Radio Shack line of all the information put in, total cost and catalog number, it is possible but to sort computers, including the Color Com- retail value summaries, or selected list- them by year of issue, topic, denomina- puter 2. The price is $39.95 for the cas- ings, such as plate blocks only. tion, or any other way that is useful to sette version and $44.95 for a disk you. version. Stamp Inventory The system includes six key files: Crockett's program includes three Another straightforward inventory • The album list file is the master in- modules: MODIFY, which creates an program, this time for the Commodore dex of all the albums or holders for your inventory file and permits additions, 64 computer, is provided by Robert B. philatelic items. The file contains one deletions, and changes; INVENTORY, Gear. It is not quite as versatile as the record for each album in your collection. which lists, updates, computes total or Crockett program, but it is available for • The album contents files hold the partial values, and allows results to be $25 in either tape or disk format. inventories of all the items you have in a displayed either on the screen or by Gear's program allows 750 catalog specific album. For each album you set printout; and RETUP, which provides a items to be stored in each of eight avail- up a file to hold the records for each quick and easy way to update retail able file categories. The main menu pro- stamp, set, series, or other grouping in prices. vides eight options, including adding, that particular album. The number of Entries are made by catalog num- deleting, or changing inventory; listing items you can record is unlimited, as you ber. You can include a want list within inventory by stamp type or catalog num- can add more disks at will. the program by entering zero as the ber; reading or saving data from or to *£%*. iwOttOJitlg Electrical Engineers First day cover of four stamps honoring noted electrical engineers. Cacheted cover produced by the Kokomo (Indiana) Stamp Club in honor of "The Computer Age." VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 3/CREATIVE COMPUTING 1 19 PERSONAL tape or disk; print options; and a dollar grouped by countries, grades, types, or tity, condition code, and price. There is total of your investment. other category. The program is available no option to print out more detail or se- The eight file categories include on disk for $29.95. lected portions of your stamp inventory. four for regular issues; one for airmail and back of book; one for envelopes, Custom Business Series Philasoft postal cards, and revenue; one for U. S. Custom Business Systems has in- Boca Raton Stamps has issued a set Administration and United Nations troduced a collection of computer sys- of Philasoft programs for the Commo- stamps; and one as a stock book cate- tems designed primarily for dealers but dore 64. Boca Raton provides a most gory. Instructions with the program ex- also of interest to advanced collectors. helpful feature: a set of sample files to plain how to set your own file categories The system is designed to use a database manipulate so that you can gain experi- for other countries or specialized collec- reflecting industry-accepted catalogs. ence before creating your own files. tions. A want list program is also in- The most novel feature is the use of Philasoft-V is the main inventory cluded with the package. It has the same coded catalog disks available for major program. It allows you to create a new features as the inventory program and countries of interest. The stamp data- file or access an already created file, add can hold up to 1000 catalog items. base is maintained on floppy disks, a new catalog number, change any field storing up to 1800 stamp numbers per in a category, change the quantity of The Stamp Program disk side. Data consist ofthe stamp num- each stamp or set, delete any catalog William E. Rudd has developed a ber, the latest catalog price, the number number, and provide a screen display of program for the Texas Instruments 99/ of stamps in the inventory, the dealer any valid catalog number. 4A computer, which requires TI's Ex- purchase price, and the total number of Philasoft-I V offers searching by tended Basic, a 32K memory expansion, sales for the particular stamp. description or condition and can pro- a single disk drive system, and an op- All stamp numbers, including ex- duce a full 80-column output to your tional printer. The Stamp Program lets tensions, are contained in the database printer. Philasoft-II is the main report you name the country and catalog you regardless ofwhether there are any in the generator, which allows printing of full wish to use. inventory. This arrangement provides a or annotated reports. The program lets you add stamps to truly automated complete catalog of your list, search for a particular stamp, existing stamp numbers independent of Stamp Collector display all the stamps in a file from first the dealer's inventory. The progams are MicroClear provides the Stamp to last, showing catalog number, quan- available in three levels at prices ranging Collector program for the Commodore tity, condition, and price, three stamps at from$199.50to$499.50fortheTRS-80, Vic 20 and C64 computers, on tape or a time. Entries can be set up in proper or- Atari, Apple, IBM PC, and CP/M disk for $29.95. There are three modules der. If you get rid of a stamp, it is easy to systems. on the disk: EDIT, REPORT and delete the record from your file. BACKUP. Rudd is a stamp collector and Ben Franklin Stamp Collector The EDIT program controls the claims that the program is completely The Ben Franklin Stamp Collector type of information to be stored about user-friendly. You don't have to know series for the IBM Personal Computer is each stamp issue. In this mode you can how to program, he says, all you have to available for $59.95 from IStep Soft- enter up to two catalog numbers for each be able to do is read. The program sells ware, Inc. The program requires at least issue, the face denomination of the for $39.95. one disk drive, 64K of memory, an 80- stamp, color, physical conditon, mint or column display, and a printer. The in- used, catalog value, perforation, water- The Collector ventory information for each stamp en- mark, physical size, gum information, The Collector inventory program is try includes the catalog number, quanti- year ofissue, and remarks. There is also a available from CNC Galleries for Apple ty, condition of stamp, price paid, and provision to indicate whether or not a II computers. The program requires one date purchased. The program will store particular issue is actually in your disk drive, Applesoft Basic, and an op- up to 4500 entries on a single-sided disk, collection. tional printer. 9000 on a double-sided disk, and 300,000 The REPORT program generates Collector allows you to enter new on a 10 Mb hard disk. an 80-column hard copy report of your information about your stamps, print The command menu, which is dis- collection. It will print out the entered this information on the screen or the played on the screen after loading the categories and also report the total num- printer, modify an entry, and delete program disk, permits adding stamps to ber ofstamps, used or mint, total number information from your files. Sorting by your collection, correcting information of issues, and total dollar value for each Scott (or whatever catalog numbering about your stamps, deleting stamps, and category. system you care to use) is automatic. listing the collection. An instruction The BACKUP program is an un- Collector requires no computer ex- screen is available for each of these menu usual module that permits you to make perience, but if you are familiar with Ba- selections. For example, if you want to additional copies of your files to be sic you can modify the program to suit add stamps, the instruction screen tells stored somewhere other than where your special needs. At least 344 items you what information must be entered, your stamps are located or where your can be placed in any single file designa- the permissible range of values for that primary files are kept. Note that the Vic tion, and five or more files can be stored information, and the condition code 20 version of this program requires an on one disk. An unlimited inventory can numbers (1-9). 8K expansion memory cartridge. be accumulated by using multiple disks Although this program permits a for storage. good control of records, the printing op- Stamps Individual files can be printed as tion is limited to a columnar listing of Gordon T. Trotter has developed want lists, auction lists, etc. or can be record number, catalog number, quan- Stamps, the Stamp Collector's Inven- 120 CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 PRODUCT REVIEW tory and Want List program, on disk for alog number or by price. Furthermore, sort on any field, total the values, and the Apple II 4- computer. The program you can search records on any number of print reports. allows storing information about each fields to get, for example, all imper- stamp, block, set or other item, including forates prior to 1 930 with a catalog value StampMasstore catalog numbers, mint or used, value, over $10. Numeric fields can be totaled StampMasstore from SoftShoe En- notes, and number of copies in the to get a total value for the collection or terprises is a menu-driven program for collection. total cost to fill in the holes. This is a very an Apple II disk system with a printer. It is easy to change catalog values versatile program at a surprisingly mod- From the menu, you can browse through listed for stamps when new catalogs are est price ($2 1 .95 postpaid). the data file; create want, inventory, and issued. You can also produce an in- price lists; add or delete items; and open ventory list or want list, tailored as de- Stamps and close files. A sample data file is in- sired with maximum or minimum A second program called Stamps is cluded on the disk. values. Stamps prompts you in clear, in the Home Organizer series from Bat- The file format is partially fixed and concise English, so it is simple to "put teries Included. The program runs on a partially open. Each entry (stamp, your stamp collection on the computer." Commodore 64 disk system. block, cover, etc.) must be described in The price is $50. The format of a record is fixed and 40 characters or less. Since this field is includes country, denomination, num- used for sorting, it should start out with a Collector's Database ber in set, size, shape, condition, color, four-digit Scott number; leading zeroes Collector's Database from Munroe and value. To some collectors this fixed must be filled in on numbers below 999. Software is a general-purpose program format may be somewhat restrictive as it The fixed part of the format is the 14 (!) for keeping track of almost any type of does not easily allow for plate blocks or grades (or conditions). You enter the collectible. It runs on a 32K. Atari 400/ FDCs, nor, astoundingly, does it include number ofstamps you have in each grade 800 disk system. Each data disk can hold a catalog number or issue date in the and the value of each. up to 700 records, each of which can be record! The list is always kept on the disk in up to 120 characters long. Additional Data are easily entered and edited. Scott number order. You can, however, disks data can be used to extend the file Searching is done by entering a character request three different types of lists to be capacity. string(say,"F-VF'in the condition field) printed: total inventory, inventory by Data records are entered and edited or characters) plus question marks for a dollar value, and want list (those with interactively; moreover, the order of wild card search. Search variables can be quantity in the database). There is no fields and field sorting can be changed. logically combined to search for, say, all provision for specifying several For example, you could scan a list by cat- U.S. red 3-cent stamps. The program can conditionals. Philatelic Software Program, Computer, Price Manufacturer Program, Computer, Price Manufacturer Bon Franklin 1 Step Software Stamp Inventory Robert B. Gear Stamp Collector Charlotte Plaza, Suite 1 300 Commodore 64 830 S. Munroe St. IBM PC, Apple II Charlotte. NC 28244 $25.00 Hinsdale, IL 60521 $59.95 Stamp Masstore SoftShoe Enterprises Collector's Database Munroe Software Apple II 10959 Kane Ave. Atari 400/800 P.O. Box 2 $49.00 Whittier,CA90604 $21.95 Allen Park, MI 48 101 The Stamp Program William ERudd The Collector CNC Galleries TI 99/4A 242HaddonRd. Apple II Two Majestic Lane $39.95 Rochester, NY 14626 $29.95 S. Merrimack, NH 03054 Stamps Batteries Included Custom Business Series Custom Business Systems Commodore 64 17875 Sky Park North IBM PC, Apple, TRS-80, Atari 1293 La vail Dr. $29.95 Suite P $199. 50 to $499. 50 Gambrills,MD21054 Irvine, CA 92714 Philosoft V Boca Raton Stamps Stamps Gordon T. Trotter Commodore 64 P.O. Box 7077 Apple II 10626 Fable Row $20.00 Boca Raton, FL 33431 $50.00 Columbia, MD 21044 Philatelic Management SoftStylelnc. U.S. Stamp Inventory Crockett Software Systems 7 192 Kalanianaole Hwy. Management System P.O. Box 1221 IBM PC, Apple II Suite 205 Color Computer St. Ann, MD 63074 $295.00 Honolulu, HI 96825 $39.95 Stamp Collector MicroClear For the latest information on new software for stamp Commodore 64, Vic 20 P.O. Box 9368 collectors, check the Computers and Stamps column by $29.95 Raytown, MD64133 William F. Sharpe every week in Linn i Stamp News. VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 3/CREATIVE COMPUTING 121 " PERSONAL Computers on A United States stamp honors transistors and Raymond and Erik Schuessler "Progress in Electronics." he first sl;imp depicting ;i computet combine several interests Many even Sources of Information i 20 years ago by Israel; use their computers to help m the acqui- I he Mathematical Study Unit of iwu years later last Germany is- sition and cataloging of their collections Philately has released a checklist of more sued the second Since then, computer Recently, the American Philatelic than 200 computer stamps Their jour- stamps have proliferated all over the Society (AI'S) sanctioned a new group nal. Philomath, covers the computer world at a rate almost equal to that at for those interested in using computers topic regularly To obtain the checklist, which computers themselves have come in philately. Thegoalsaretoset and pub- write to Larry Dodaon, 3624 W. Frier into our lives lish standards regarding storage of phila- Dr., Phoenix, AZ 85021. In a recent article, Gibbons Stamp telic data, and to provide a forum for the Another source is an eight-page list Monthly noted, "With the computer interchange of ideas regarding the use of ofcomputer stamps compiled by Robert revolution seemingly destined to has can computers in philately- An initial survey V BOOS, 34 Santa Barbara Dr., Plain- even greater impact on our lives than the showed that many collectors were in- view. NY 11803 ($0.54 postage in the industrial revolution had on earlier terested in such a group; interests ranged U.S.; $2.40 for ov erseas airmail ). generations, a thematic collection of from serious philatelists doing research The Scott Catalog of Stamps (avail- computer stamps seems to have a in postal history to novice collectors who able at most libraries) lists and/or illus- " promising future simply wanted an easy method to main- trates all the stamps ever issued along As the number of computer stamps tain a want list. with their official numbers and current issued increases, computet enthusiasts 1 i more information, contact the values I he most up-to-date information are taking up the hobby and finding that APS Computer Group chairman, Mar- on pricing and availability can be found collecting stamps that feat u re their tin D Richardson, 7130Claybeck Dr., in stamp newspapers like Linn's Stamp favorite machines is a satisfying way to Dayton, OH 45424. Weekly. Inventors Communications J. M. Jocquord appears on this stamp honoring him for me introduction of the use of "i *• **F punched cards Czechoslovakian stamp from 1 966 features a for controlling the operation of This German stomp honors DA N M A R Kl satellite, lazer beam and binary code. weaving looms in 1804. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, This Danish stamp originator of binary numbers. notes the first century The Romanian stamp of international of 1967-68 features telecommunications. a map and teletape. SHQIPERIA :ne ausnla OTOMATlK TELEKS SEBEKES •• • 1 ?rrilBliej^r»rNC»n.SE/rosTrf rd«' n 1 • •• r^LaVd • A French stamp honors Pascal, ^^aiaW ^1 • 1 who produced the first operable calculating machine in 1642. • RepuDllh Usteneicii ^^^£**Jai A 1969 Albanian stamp in this commemorates the 450fh Punched tape was used This 1 975 Turkish stomp anniversary of the death 1976 stamp commemorating depicts me Automatic of the "Great Engineer. the 30th anniversary of the Telex Network using Leonardo Da Vinci. Austrian Press Agency. graphic symbols. 122 CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 OATfNV|IA«lf ITLINftlYIUOf taiOTlGM DEUTSCHE BUNDESPOST » 1 * W '. • vld! . LKIIY-KiEKFHriUAF !'>,1, \j\Wj\ This 1 966 East German stamp In 1974, East Germany produced 1973 German stomp honors A computerized threshing and siloge displays a computer in honor this stamp featuring the Robotron an early calculator built by producing machine was the basis for of the Leipzig Fair. Ec 2040 data processor. Wil helm Schick ord in 1623. this 1973 East German stamp. Science and Education ' PRODUTIVDM3E austAiJa ^^ 1 969 United Arab Republic stamp for the Inaugural Conference of the Scientific Computational Center. II csibo ]f I maa lerfl r A 1973 stamp from Portugal, issued \ mm 1976 stamp notes the use of for a productivity conference, shows rPORTUGAL computers in soil testing. computer graphs and sequence counts. A student, a computer, and a book were chosen to represent continuing education on this 1977 stamp. "'ft A 1 969 stamp from the Netherlands This Australian stamp was issued features on isometric projection from in honor of the 1 0th International circle to square. Congress of Accountants. Census Taking :j stete Thailand odvocates world communication in these 1983 stamps. 100 years of census taking are commemorated in this 1971 Canadian stamp. f POSTCHEQUE- EN GIRODIENST 50 i AH If I MII8AU8TIIA i I '••• Jorv L • \C\J NEDERLAW ft ^--J This 1 968 Netherlands stamp displays coins and punched card in honor of the Postal fc*BS£W-t-/\IScBB J Checking Service. The Republic of China Austrian stamp of a Telex Household and Population Statistics for notes its postal service machine was issued on the the 1 970 census are the subject of this anniversary with this 50th anniversary of Radio 1970 stamp from Thailand. mail sorting illustration. Austria in 1974. VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 3. CREATIVE COMPUTING PERSONAL Computers for communication New Developments in Handicapped Access Peter Bates Da It on Trumbo's 1970 film "Johnny InGot His Gun," a seriously injured World War I vet, paralyzed, blind, and dumb, spends his life shut up in a room so the worid can't see him. All attempts to communicate fail because his superiors refuse to take him seriously. The film is tragic, not because of his wounds, but be- cause he is both frozen in his plight and deeply frustrated. If Johnny were real and living to- day, he could probably communicate Tony BonnojHO with custom keyboard The original TIC Tufts Interactive Computer. with an Apple He personal computer. designed of Boston LnNdron s "If you can twitch a muscle," says passes by the group containing the de- Dr. Howard Shane of Children's Hos- sired letter, the user presses the switch. pital in Boston, "you can probably use a with a "sip and puff' switch. Blowing ac- The scanning mode then shifts to in- computer." New developments in soft- tivates one function, like scanning a dividual letters within the group. With ware, hardware, and access devices menu; sucking enlists another, like in- another touch of the switch the user se- make it possible for even pre-school age creasing the scanning rate. Others in- lects the letter, which then appears on handicapped children to use computers clude a "lever switch" for head motion; a the top line. In this way words are con- faster, easier, and yes, cheaper than ever. flat "leafswitch" to use inside the elbow, structed laboriously, like a puzzle, one Before we talk about some of the under the chin, or in the mouth; and a piece at a time. Commercially, the device new devices on the market, we should "brow-wrinkle" switch attached to the never caught on; Tufts distributed only mention the access devices, or switches. head via a sweat band. According to Dr. 200. But for someone who couldn't The most sophisticated communication Bruce Gans of Tufts New England Med- speak, the TIC was a revolutionary ad- device incorporating the latest in infra- ical Center, an electro-magnetic switch vance over eye-gaze boards. These te- red technology and voice synthesis can detect electrical activity in a dious tools require a tutor to monitor would be useless if a person with cerebral twitched muscle and transform it into a which symbols or words the handi- palsy couldn't access it. To accomplish switching signal. Gans also considers capped person is looking at. this goal, computer companies which voice input modules as switches for pa- specialize in products for the handi- tients who can make clicking sounds Adaptive Firmware Card capped like Zygo and Prenke Romich of- with their tongues. Today, the row/column scanner fer a complete line ofswitches. The Zygo The key to most computer opera- has reached a high level of functional catalog features no fewer than 25 vari- tions for the disabled is row/column sophistication with the Adaptive Firm- eties. They range in complexity from a scanning, invented in 1972 by a young ware Card from Adaptive Peripherals, simple "tread switch" (similar to a sew- Tufts University engineer named Rick ofSeattle, Washington, a small company ing machine pedal), to a five-part multi- Foulds. Called the Tufts Interactive run by Paul Schwade, the inventor of the switch. Communicator (TIC), the device uses a card. A person who can do little more double line LED display that scans the For $400, the Adaptive Firmware than breathe can operate a computer alphabet in groups offive letters. When it Card turns an Apple II or He into a spe- 124 CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 cial communication computer that tions to control the system; graphics and The Portability Problem handicapped users can access from any games options; and even operations to As affordable and versatile as these single switch device. According to run household appliances. The Living systems are, they lack one important Schwade, a non-technical person can Center can be interfaced with off-the- thing: portability. For a person in a easily install the flat cable into slot 7 and shelf items, like printers and voice syn- wheelchair who can't talk, a system that attach the card itself to the side of the thesizers. Whole families can use it, not could accompany him as he travelled Apple keyboard with velcro. just the disabled individual. would greatly improve his quality of life. What can it do? When activated, it Like the Adaptive Firmware Card, Researchers are working on this prob- is a keyboard emulator, creating letter, the Living Center is also a scanning de- lem. So far they have come up with two numeric, or punctuation displays on line vice. Unlike the card, it has a larger solutions. 23 of the monitor. The user can choose vocabulary. Users can scan and select Dr. Shane worked on a project to the order of the letters (e.g., by frequency from 1 200 available words or build up to modify a special wheelchair for Tony of use), the speed of the scan, and which 100 new ones. Bonfiglio, a 16-year-old with cerebral 40 words to store in palsy who cannot memory for easy ac- speak. First, he instal- cess. There is even a led an Apple lie com- paddle simulation puter behind the mode for games. wheelchair, beside the Lee Trocki of three motorcycle bat- Norwell, MA, has teries that power both Dushane's Muscular wheelchair and com- Dystrophy, a degener- puter. Next, he instal- ative condition that led a speech synthe- leaves him nearly par- sizer and mounted a alyzed. Henry St. small monitor in front James, his rehabilita- of Tony. The true tion counselor, jury- genius of the system, rigged a pad switch however, is the cus- for him to use with his tom keyboard and Adaptive Firmware software. Card. Training him- Shane decided self to program, Lee that although a single now knows Basic. switch/row column Fortran, Pascal, Co- scanner would work bol, and assembly lan- in Tony's situation, it guage. was too slow. Tony When St. James Clockwise from top left: Lee Trocki using the adaptive Firmware cord for his Apple; A had enough motor gave him Multiplan, student of Howard Shane on his father's lop using the adoptive Firmware card at control to access a he designed a grade- Boston Children's Hospital; Jerry, a victim of Reyes Syndrome, accesses CompuServe modified keyboard, so book template for the via a C64 and wrinkle switch; An Epson HX-20 hooked up to a Houston Instrument designers increased local school in a few Digitizing Tablet. the size of the keys days. Using Quickfile, and placed the he built an overdue notice data- We all know how literal computers important control functions (up ar- base for the local library and printed are. What happens if the operator wants row, space, control) in the center, his them out on 3 x 5 cards. With Apple- to enter the word "exercising"? He could best motor area. So that he would not ac- writer, he types more than 30 characters create it by selecting the first word "ex- cidentally erase anything, they put the a minute and could do more if the screen ercise" then the suffix "ing," since the delete key in a hard-to-reach spot. didn't reform after he typed each charac- system stores endings in its vocabulary In designing the software, engineers ter, a peculiar trait of the software. The too. It is programmed to drop the final e incorporated direct selection and a scan- Florida state school system has even or, for contractions, add an apostrophe. ning cursor. For example, to find the contracted with Lee to adapt the British The Words + Living Center can word Katherine, Tony pushes esc to en- Acorn Computer for handicapped ac- also check spelling, add and delete ter the phrase file. Many handicapped cess. He will convert their brand of Basic words, phrases, and sentences perma- users move across keyboards and un- to the U.S. operating system. nently or for one-time use, and sound an intentionally activate the wrong keys. To alarm that shrieks for help should the counteract this, the engineers provided a The Living Center user press a switch for longer than seven delay function. To access all the K Apple isn't the only personal com- seconds. words, Tony touches the key for at least a puter that can be adapted for handi- The minimum system, consisting of second. According to his instructor capped use. Words + , Inc. ofSunnyvale, computer, software, switch adapter, and Kathy Dawson of the Boston College CA, puts out The Living Center, a sys- switch costs $2200. Words-!-, Inc. states Campus School, he has figured out on his tem which interfaces with a Radio Shack in their brochure that customers can buy own that pressing K then A will list all TRS-80. It first creates a menu of items the computer separately and obtain the the Ka words. He can then find Kath- the user can select, such as letters, words, rest of the system from Words + at a re- erine faster. or sentences for communication; opera- duced rate. At this point in his education, Tony VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 3/CREATIVE COMPUTING 125 PERSONAL can't read. A Votrax speech synthesizer of that word or phrase. Call it an elec- announces each word as it scans. When tronic Thesaurus if you like, but it is not asked if he may become too dependent difficult to learn. The disadvantage: it is on the synthesizer and never learn to not yet portable. The digitizing tablet is read, Dawson replied that Tony dislikes still too large for wheelchairs. the sluggishness of voice scanning and Demasco is also working on the -$$&$%**" has already learned to recognize certain line-of-gaze method, the most exciting TOO''- words before they are spoken, and even development yet in handicapped access. UutO© spell certain small words himself. Aided by a head motion tracker devel- FOR THE APPLE As Tony learns, his designers and oped by McDonnell Douglas Electronic Business PFS Write $80 00 instructors upgrade his system. Right Corporation (and popularized in the PFS File 80 00 FOR THE IBM now they are working on a spring-load- film "Blue Thunder"), a miniature video Business PFS Graph 80 00 PFS Report 80 00 ing plexiglass rod he can use to place his camera mounted on a pair of special Think Tank 105 00 Sensible Speller hands closer to the bottom keys, his most glasses "looks" at the operator's eye Word Perfect 280 00 8100 Multiplan 13500 Super Calc III 265 00 difficult access area. Soon they will turn making a selection on the video display Multiplan 135 00 Dollars & Sense 69 00 Microsoft Word 250 00 Home Acct 50 00 the delay function down to a half- screen. By tracking its location relative with Mouse 32000 Utilities second. to the head position, the camera sends R Base 4000 330 00 Fontrik $45 00 T K Solver 210 00 Fonl Pack 19 12 00 the information back to the computer, Knowledge Man 330 00 Copy II + 22 00 Framework 460 00 Ess Data Dup 48 95 which presents the selection. Friday I 190 00 Pnnl Shop 36 00 This technology is attractive be- PFS File 90 00 G P L E 33 00 PFS Graph 90 00 Beagle Graphics 35 00 cause it does away with the slower row/ PFS 'emasco is working on the Report 80 00 Triple Dump 25 00 D. in- PFS Write 90 00 D Code 20 00 column scanning— the eye scans Desk Organiser 195 00 Sideways . 3800 stead. It does, however, require those Harvard PrO| Mgr 270 00 Apple Mechanic 20 00 line-of-gaze method, the most special glasses. Demasco is currently Systems/Utilities Hardware/Mite ays $38 00 Mockingboard $80 00 exciting development yet in working on the "corneal reflection pupil ....« 7900 System Saver 65 00 Crosstalk 16 130 00 Microsott A 2 center" technique that tracks eye motion 220 00 handicapped access. Fortran Compiler 239 00 Koala Pad 80 00 without glasses. So far the greatest limi- Copy P C 25 00 Muppet Key Pad 50 00 Energraphics 240 00 Mach III Joysticks 35 00 tation is random head movement, which Chart Master 265 00 Flip File 70 15 00 Sign Master 285 00 Rehab engineer Patrick Demasco at can confound the sensitive video camera. Education Norton Utilities 56 00 Typing Tulor III Tufts England Medical Center for Pro Key 90 00 $36 00 New Master Type 2900 Rehabilitation Engineering Center takes Looking Ahead Hardware Early Games 22 00 Koala Pad $100 00 Barron S A T 63 00 a different tack as he adapts lap comput- More developments are taking Mouse 145 00 Word Attack 36 00 in handicapped access than we Sm Modenv2W8 410 00 Robot Odyssey 1 36 00 ers for wheelchair use. Today special place 8K Mem Chips ea. 85 00 Reader Rabbit 29 00 like the have space to mention. Line Associates, Quad Boards CALL 1 Story Tree 29 00 computers for the handicapped AST Boards CALL' Word Invasion 25 00 Zygo scanWriter can cost more than Inc. puts out The Special/Ware Direc- Masterpiece 105 00 Game Show 29 00 to Sources Spe- Mach III Joystick 35 00 Sticky Bear ABC 28 00 $4000. Demasco and his colleagues tory, A Guide Software for Kids on Keys 22 00 Recreation would like to bring down the price with cial Education. This reference guide in- Kid Writer 25 00 Flight Sim $36 00 pages of providers of hardware Lode Runner 25 00 portable computers. Also, portables are cludes 61 Wizardry 42 00 inherently flexible. While a Zygo has a and software for special education, along One On One 36 00 Hitch Hiker Guide 28 00 Millionaire 43 00 Suspect 28 00 changeable vocabulary, it has a fixed with descriptions. Encyclopaedia Pinball Construct 30 00 Enchanter 28 00 program. In contrast, it is possible to cre- Britannica Educational Corporation, Music Construct 30 00 Zork I 28 00 Kings Quest 36 00 Seven Cities ol ate custom programs for TRS-80 Model for example, sells CARIS, an "Anima- Hitch Hiker Guide 28 00 Gold 30 00 for deaf Suspect 28 00 Flight Simulator II 36 00 1 00 because the system is software based. tion and Exploration" program Cul Throats 28 00 Beyond Castle Woll 24 00 Demasco has compiled programs and learning disabled children. The Spe- Zork I 28 00 One on One 30 00 Enchanter 28 00 Spy Hunter 32 00 on cassette for the Model 100 and the cial/Ware Directory is the most com- Sargon III 36 00 Impenum Galact 28 00 Standing Stones 30 00 Summer Games 30 00 Epson HX-20 that incorporate row/ prehensive I have seen. ($ 1 3.95, Line, 46 Champ Lode techniques. Using a display sim- Arden Rd., Columbus, OH 432 14). Runner 25 00 column Quest 25 00 ilar to the Adaptive Firmware Card, Like most computer fields, handi- Transylvania 25 00 his character display capped access is growing fast. The op- I O Silver 20 00 Demasco bases on Transylvania Music Const 30 00 frequency ofuse rather than alphabetical portunities it will open to people like Lee Back Gammon Kings Quest 36 00 order. Page commands activate discrete Trocki are limitless. Already handi- M ^l»iCoio ooo A series of seven sentences, which the user capped users groups abound on data- LrHOOxie 01 can then scan and select with a single bases like CompuServe. At this point it is -.-.&HO io mono* • switch. important to convince government rep- Demasco has hooked the Epson up resentatives of the necessity for handi- to a Houston Instrument digitizing tab- capped access. Then the scarce funding let that relies on an external cross hairs will grow. cursor, sometimes mounted on a head Today there is more money avail- pointer. The patient makes a direct selec- able for motorized wheelchairs than for COMPUTER PRODUCTS tion, similar to Tony Bonfiglio's setup, special computers. "This is very short- but with an important difference. Each sighted," says Patrick Demasco. "If I 5360 N. High Street Columbus, OH 43214 of 132 squares has two levels, the initial were disabled and had a choice, I would (614)436-1124 object word or phrase and another level prefer communication to mobility." But 01 T0U «lt 0UTWH 0MK) that may, for example, offer the opposite that choice should not have to be made. 1-800-272-1600 CIRCLE 183 ON READER SERVICE CARD ^^^MMM - — : PERSONAL PROGRAMMING Doing your household chores with a computer Who Needs a Robot? George Blank homes today are already NOVEMBER 1 2 3 7 8 9 11 11 12 13 11 IS 16 17 18 19 21 21 22 23 21 25 24 27 28 29 31 Manyequipped with peripherals that MALK DOC BR CHOI ED AL BR CHOI ED AL BRCH DI ED AL BR CH DI ED AL BR CHOI ED AL BR CH DI ED AL will walk the dog, wash and dry HUH DISKS 01 ED AL BR CHOI ED AL BRCH DIED AL BR CH 01 ED AL BR CH DIED AL BR CH DI ED AL BR CH MY the dishes, clean the bedrooms and bath- DISKS AL BRCH 01 ED AL BR CHOI ED AL BR CHOI ED AL BR CH DI ED AL BRCH DI ED AL BR CH DI ED CLEAN BEDROOM - AL AL AL AL AL AL rooms, take out the trash, and wash the AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL - &EAM BEDROOM BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR car. If you have these devices, all you CLEAN BATHROOM CHCHCH CHCHCH CH CHCHCH CHCH CHCHCH CHCH CHCHCH CHCHCH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH need to do is interface them to your com- PRACTICE TRUMPET 01 01 01 01 01 . DI DI 01 01 DI0I . 01 DI 01 01 01 01 . 01 01 DI 01 DI 01 . DI DI DI CLEAN YARD . ED . AL . . BR . . . puter system. If you have a computer CH 01 . ED . AL . BR . . CH . 01 .ED . . AL .BR TAKEOUT TRASH CH . 01 . ED . AL . . BR . CH . . . . DI . ED . . . . and a printer, the interface can be done AL . HASH CAR . . ED . . . . . ED ED ED ED . ED . . . ED . . ED . entirely in software, with no wiring, VACUUM CAR DI DI . . 01 . . . . soldering, or additional parts required. Drw Line Through Your (tone Hhtn Job Is Done My own home is equipped with two t L--* _J»tui 1— 4A. such computer peripherals: my sons Bill AiiiiiulI.ilswnpie cnorT pnnTeo oy nt© and Rob. I call them computer peripher- als because, without the computer, they if Child > 5 then Child := 1 string correspond to the seven days ofthe do not function properly. They forget in the Printlnitials procedure. Change week, starting with Sunday. If the pro- their chores, argue over whose turn it is the five to any appropriate smaller num- gram finds a period in any position in to do each job, and are hard to supervise. ber. Leave the extra lines in the program that string, it will skip that chore on the However, with a version ofthe computer in case you ever expand your supply of corresponding day. I use the first letter of program presented here, they always household chore peripherals. You will the remaining days of the week to iden- know what they are supposed to do and also want to change the initials in the tify days when the chore needs to be whose turn it is to do each chore. same routine to the appropriate initials done, but any character other than a pe- Supervising their chores used to be a for your own children. (If you do not riod will do. hopeless task; now it only takes five min- want to change the program, you can go The program uses a separate proce- utes a month with the computer and an down to your county courthouse and dure for each chore. I have provided occasional glance at the chart prepared have the children's names changed to enough examples so that it should be by this program. Alice, Brian, Chuck, etc.) easy to add new chores. The program prepares a chart, The program provides for four The program is written entirely in determining which tasks are to be done types ofchores: Standard Pascal and will run in most that day and whose turn it is to do them. • Daily chores that are rotated versions of Pascal on most computers. I The chart is posted in our kitchen. As among all the children. used New Classics Pascal 80 on a Radio each task is done, the boys draw a line • Daily chores that are the Shack TRS-80 Model 4. The following through their initials on the chart under responsibility ofone child. changes may have to be made for other that task. Every time I pass the chart, I • Chores for selected days that are versions of Pascal can see exactly which chores have been rotated. • If your compiler does not allow done and which need to be done. Most • Chores for selected days that are curly braces, you can use (• and *) or important, from my viewpoint, I don't not rotated. leave out the comments. have to listen to stereo renditions of "It's If a chore is to be rotated, you need • Some compilers will not allow his turn; I did it yesterday!" to set the variable Rotate to TRUE and lowercase or mixed case in variable For the published version of the initialize the variable Child to the num- names. Use all uppercase instead. program, I have arbitrarily assumed five ber of the child who has the job first this • Some compilers do not allow vari- children: Alice, Brian, Chuck, Diane, month. If the chore is not to be rotated, able or procedure names longer than six and Edith. Five should meet the needs of you need to set Rotate to FALSE and or eight characters. most households, and it is easy to add initialize the variable Child to the num- • Pascal 80 does not crash if a more by changing only the first two ber ofthe child who is to do that chore. character variable is read into a numeric procedures. Get Key and Print Initials. If The string Days tells the program variable. It simply asks Redo? and waits you have fewer children, all you need to on which day of the week each task must for another input. If you have a lesser change is the line that says: be done. The seven characters in the version ofPascal, you will want to write a VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 3/CREATIVE COMPUTING 127 HOME DOC PERSONAL Written J* The Computerized Practicing Family Family Doctor And Fellow 01 The American Health Care Academy 01 Family Guide -VfcSlT Physicians routine to process the month as charac- ters in the TopLine procedure. The Program That Even Mom Will Enjoy Using! • The program was prepared for a printer having at least 110 print col- umns. If you have an 80-column printer, HOME DOC IS: Based on many IN ONE change Printlnitials to print only the of the Most Common Medical Illnesses TWO PROGRAMS child's and and Questions that patients bring to the I. Educational and "What To Do first character of the name typical family doctor's office on a daily Information" one space, eliminate the first space in basis Designed to allow the program • Section, on: 'XZrZZZSr"" the write statement in NotToday and user to become an ACTIVE participant in 1 MtAlTM MSAi A*0 STATISTIC* their Health Care A Guideline to I FtVtK change the Count :3 near the end of 3 UIPWH RfSMUTOflV pMFICTIO*. • CAWCS* tAJfcY OCTtCTlO-1 improving the Health and Knowledge of COLDS COUON PlU fTC TopLine to Count:2. 4 SATtTV ANDACCKXNI ff LtffSTVLE trDCtt AMUCTV You and Your Family Inclusive of • 80 uses the built in file LP medical information for all age groups - I OaUTMMTfSTmAi, «MOESTTVt Pascal Babies thru Seniors Easy to Use to print the current line to the Line HOME DOC CONTAINS 3 diskettes and U.DsU Entry and Medical Record Keeping Printer. Other versions of Pascal use dif- System That Allows You To Keep A requires a 48K Apple II. II +, He or lie with 1 or ferent conventions for writing to a The Results ol Tests and 2 disk drives and printer (optional) Available Record Of: Examinations irnrnunizalions Medications Health printer. soon for IBM-PC and PCJR Care Related Expenses Office Visits and Advice From other features Your Doctor Your Personal and Family Medical History I originally had many Emergency and Hearth Care Related Names in the program including automatic For VISA or Mastercard Order* Addresses and Phone ts All these can be printed out Call Toll Free on your printer lor more ready access calculation of the day of the week and keeping track of whose turn it was for See your Local ( 1-800-824-2197 Enclose Your Check or Money Order to each chore from month to month in a SPECIAL COMP DOC. INC. (S3* S. Juogfi.u disk file. Before you write in with such MONDAY THRU SATURDAY 9»> - 6:00 MST INTRODUCTORY EverQreen. Colorado •0*139 IN COLORADO CALL (303) 674-3726 CREDIT CARD ORDERS SHIRKED "improvements," let me say that I found UPS OR URST CLASS MONEY BACK GUARANTEE REGULARLY I7t t» IMMEDIATELY whistles to inappro- WARRANTY AND SUPPORT POLICY INCLUDED MAIL (PLEASE SPEClfYl WITHOUT the bells and be DEALER INOUIRES INVITED NOW SHIPPING CHARGES IN THE CONTINENTAL US priate; the present version of the pro- HOME DOC COPYRIGHT 1M4 IV COMP DOC. INC $49« Ceteritft residents *d 4% Sates Tas gram is easy to modify when vacations, Apptc is a ivgoiwM HAd««n*rl> ol Apple Computer Iik sickness, and other problems change the CIRCLE 105 ON READER SERVICE CARD schedule, which happens often. The most frequent modification is to change the starting date, which can be done by NEW! EMERGENCY POWER SYSTEM changing the counting loops in the procedures TopLine and PrintChores, and answering the question "What is the Full back-up first day of the month?" with the day of the week for the first day of the computer protection printout. as low as FRANCISCO'S • Completely self contained with enclosed JftDsilirSpTWBREi gel eel battery. • 4 Receptacles. • 200 Watt, 425 Watt and 1000 Walt models allow 10 to 30 minutes for • In-line spike protection. comfortable, safe shutdown. • Sounds audible alarm during power • Switchover time: within 10 milliseconds! failure. Tested and Presently Being Sold With. . . AMTELCO: NORTH STAR: HD5I8 APPLE: Apple II Plus, Apple III. KAYPRO: Model 10 Lisa Systems QUANTEL: System 23 ARCHIEVES MICROS: COMMODORE: 80% DIGITAL: 11-2. 11-23 SYSTEMS GROUP: HEWLETT PACKARD: 3990-A VICTOR: 9000 IBM: PC, 51-10. 51-20, 51-80 DEALERS AND DISTRIBUTORSHIPS AVAILABLE AMPAX: D8I MORROW: Ml)-.'. MD-I SYSTEM-2: EST TRIPP LITE 1922 EAGLE: IV RADIO SHACK: TRS 80. Systems 3-16 MODECULAR: Super Micro 8 Call 1-312-329-1777 Series XEROX: 800 b00 North Orleans St Chicago. IL 60610 CIRCLE 148 ON READER SERVICE CARD 128 CRFATIVF COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 ! ! 1 1 I < EVERY DAY CHORES - DIFFERENT CHILD EACH DAY > Listing 1. Chore Calendar. procadura HalkDogl proqraw ChoreCalendar ( input , output ) begin < by Ceorge Blank. 9/6/83 Rotata I- true! prepared on a Radio Shack TRS-80 nodal 4 using uriteCMhlch child (1-3) walka dog first')! Pascal 80 fron Nau Classic* Software CetKeyi 23? Fox Hill Road, Danville, NJ 07834 < 123436789 123436789 - 19 spaces total > This program is hereby put in tha public dona In i writaCLP, 'WALK DOC •>! Days !- 'SHTMTFS'I var Child, Count , Day, FirstOey.LastDay, Month 1 integer! PrintChoraa Rotate S boolaanl and! Key : chart Days I irrwtlij] of char) procadura MashDishaat DoChora 1 arrayC 1 . . 7] of boolaani bagln Rotata ! truat procadura CetKeyl wrlteCMhich child (1-3) washes dishes first')! bagln CatKey! rapaat < 123436789 123436789 - 19 spaces total > reed(Key) until Key in C'l'..'5'J! writaCLP, 'NASH DISHES ')! C changa 3 to nunber of chlldran > Days !• 'SHTMTFS'I child 1- ord(Key) - ord('O) Pr intChoras andl end! - procadura Pr intlnit lal : < EVERY DAY CHORES SAHE CHILD EACH DAY ) bagln < CHANCE "AL.BR.CH.OI.ED" TO CHILDREN'S INITIALS 3 procadura CleenBathroont case Child of bat in 1 1 writaCLP, 'AL ')! < "Alice" > Rotata I- falaal 2 1 writaCLP, 'BR ->t < "Brian" > Child t- 31 3 I writaCLP, 'CH ')( C "Chuck" > Days I- 'SHTMTFS't 4 1 unta(LP,'DI ')! < "Diana" > writaCLP, 'CLEAN BATHROOM ')| S I writaCLP, 'ED '> < "Edith" } Pr intChoras end! andt if Rotata than Child 1- Child * It if Child > S than Child t- 1 procedure PrecticeTrunaatl < CHANCE 9 IF FEWER CHILDREN > bagln and! Rotata I- falsat Child t- 41 procadura Not Today! Days t- '.HTHTFS'i C NO PRACTICE ON SUNDAYS' > bavin writaCLP, 'PRACTICE TRUMPET ')» writaCLP,' ') Pr intChoras andl andl procadura EndLlnat < CHORES DONE ON CERTAIN DAYS BY DIFFERENT CHILDREN > baa. in writelnCLP) procadura CleanYardl andt bagln procedure TopLlnat Rotata 1- truat begin writaC'Mhich child (1-3) cleans yard first' )| CetKas! writelnC'Hhat nonth is this (1-12)')! writaCLP, 'CLEAN YARD »)| re ad < Month >t Days 1- '.M.H.F.'I < wrltalnC 1-Sunday 2-Monday 3-Tuesday 4-Hadneaday' DO ON MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, FRIDAY > ) Pr intChoras wntalnC S-Thursday 6-Fnday 7-Saturday ' > andt writalnC'What is tha first day of this nonth <1 - 7)')t rapaat Reed (Key) until key in t'l'..'7'lt procadura TakaOutTrasht FirstDay I- ord(key) - ord('O'); bagln wrltalnCLP)! Rotata I- truat < CHANCE NEXT LINE IF NOT USING CENTRONICS 737 or 739 > writaC 'Which child (1-3) takes out trash first' >l urit* VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 3/CREATIVE COMPUTING 129 Lyco Computer Marketing & Consultants TOLL FREE 800-233-8760 oppkz rw^i ICOMMOPOREl MOD-1 Modern (new) . . 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FPO. and International orders add $5 00 plus tor 3% priority mail service Advertised prices show 4% discount for 800-233-8760 p^Z*? cash, add 4% for Master Card or Visa Personal checks require 4 weeks clearance before shipping All items subject to change without notice Customer Service 1-717-327-1825 Jersey Shore PA 1 7 740 For your protection, we check for stolen credit cards. 6 You alreadyown a computer that can talk. Now let it. Now you can upgrade almost any personal computer and make it more powerful than ever, by giving it the power of speech. The Votrax Personal Speech System is the least There's also the Type 'N Talk. expensive sophisticated voice synthesizer available today. If you want a less sophisticated unit and want to spend a The PSS's text-to-speech vocabulary is virtually unlimited, little less, consider the Votrax Type 'N Talk (TNT). Its vocab- and you can define an exception word table and custom- ulary is also limited only by what you can type. It doesn't ize your translations. So the PSS can say just about anything! use any computer memory, it's compatible with most computers, and it's only $249* Just plug it in to your own It's specialist. a speech and sound speaker and go! The PSS can also mix speech and sound effects or speech For more information about the Personal Speech and music. It contains its own speaker a programmable System or the Type 'N Talk, see your local computer master clock, 256 programmable frequencies, a program- retailer call toll-free or write: mable speech rate for a more natural rhythm, and 1 programmable amplitude levels for incredible control of 394 Rankin word emphasis. You an control the volume. Plus, it Troy. Michigan 48083 doesn't use any of your computers valuable memory. 800-521-1350 (In Michigan, call collect It's computer friendly. 313-588-0341) The PSS is unbelievably easy to use. It doesn't need an interface card for most computers. It comes with standard serial and parallel ports. Speech, music, and sound effects are as simple as printing out a document What do you do with a talking computer? There are countless practical applications. Businesses may want the PSS for spoken transmission of information, narration of displays, and product demonstrations. It makes verification of data input possible for the blind. It can be part of a burglar alarm system. Children can use the PSS as a study aid. And it helps games come alive, speaking while you play. Whatever your computer can do, the PSS can help it do it better at a cost that makes it all worthwhile: actual voice only $395* Call (3 1 3) 583-9884 to hear an demonstration of the PSS. •Suggested retail pnce CIRCLE 179 ON READER SERVICE CARD What*, New In Hardware Russ Lockwood Multifunction Board for Printers, Drives, and PC AT LCDs from Citizen Tecmar has introduced the Mae- Citizen America has introduced stro, a multifunction expansion board two 160 cps bidirectional dot matrix for the IBM PC AT. It uses two memory printers with graphics capabilities, the blocks for RAM upgrades and includes MSP- 10 (80 column) and the MSP- 15 both parallel and serial ports. grammable Array Logic (PAL) chip is (136 column). Both include a parallel first block The memory upgrades available as a security feature to protect port and a 1 K buffer expandable to 8K. the PC AT to 640K RAM, the maxi- restricted software. The MSP- 10 retails for $499; the MSP- mum amount addressable by DOS 3.0. The Maestro with OK carries a base 15 for $749. The second block, which accepts either price of $529. 64K or 256K RAM chips, upgrades the AT to 2Mb RAM. Ttcnrar Tecmar bundles its Treasure Chest 6225 Cochran Rd. of Software, a set of 24 utility programs, Solon, OH 44 139 410ON with the Maestro. An optional Pro- (216)349-0600 RIADFR SERVO ( ARD Modem, Hard Disk, and drive with a 60Mb 1/4" streaming-tape cartridge backup. It provides 5Mb per Monochrome Board minute backup and restore and uses QIC-36 and QIC-24 tape interface and for PCs format standards. It retails for $7499. AST Research has introduced three Preview!, a monochrome display products, Reach!, Colossus, and Pre- adapter, features 720 x 348 pixel resolu- view!, for the IBM PC family of tion and includes a parallel port. It sup- computers. ports the graphics capabilities of Lotus Reach! is a half-card, 1200/300 1-2-3, Symphony, and Framework, the baud internal modem for use in the short bit-mapped text of Word, and the Citizen has also introduced two 200 cps bidirectional dot matrix printers with graphics capabilities, the MSP-20 (80 columns) and the MSP-25 (136 col- umns). Both include a parallel port and come with 8K. buffer expandable to 64K. The MSP-20 sells for $699; the MSP-25 for $949. An optional RS-232 serial port is available for $60. All four printers are backed by an 1 8-month warranty. Citizen has also announced a half- expansion slot ofthe PC portable and PC windowing applications of Windows. It height 3.5" double sided, double density XT. It features call progress monitoring, comes bundled with RAM disk and floppy disk drive with a storage capacity an onboard speaker, and loopback print spooling software. Preview sells for of 1Mb and a line of liquid crystal diagnostics. It is bundled with Crosstalk $399. displays. XVI communications software and sup- ports a superset of the Hayes AST Research Citizen America Smart modem commands. Reach! retails 2121 Alton Ave. 2425 Colorado Ave. for $549. Irvine, CA 92714 CJRC1E4110N Santa Monica, CA 90404 aRaE4i20N Colossus is a 67Mb Winchester (714)863-1333 READER SERVICE CARD (213)453-0614 reader servo card VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 3/CREATIVE COMPUTING 133 WHAT'S NEW IN HARDWARE Printers from C. Itoh 40 cps Daisywheel C. Itoh has introduced two new Printer printers. Juki has released the 6300, a 40 cps The ProWriter 7500E is a 105 cps daisywheel printer retailing for $995. It bidirectional dot matrix printer with uses a 96-character print wheel; includes dot-addressable graphics capability. It a 3K buffer expandable to 15K; offers 10, features friction and tractor feed, 2K 1 2, and 1 5 pitch and proportional spac- buffer, character and 80/132 column ing; and is capable of super- and sub- width and comes with either an RS-232C scripts, shadow printing, underlining, serial, a Centronics-type parallel, or an parallel interface. The Y 10-20 retails for and boldface. IBM PC-compatible parallel interface. $595. The 6300 includes either a The 7500E retails for $395. Centronics parallel port or a RS-232C 10-20 Itoh Digital The StarWriter Y is a 22 cps C. Products serial port. bidirectional daisywheel printer 19750S. Vermont Ave. compatible with IBM, Apple, Com- Suite 220 Juki Industries modore, and Atari computers. It fea- Torrance, CA 90502 299 Market St. tures a 138-column width, 2K buffer, (617)769-8770 4130N Saddle Brook, NJ 07662 ORn| 4)40N and RS-232C serial or Centronics-type (800)423-0300 READER SERVICE CARD (201)368-3666 reader servk f PCjr Products 700 cps Dot Matrix dots per inch in low-resolution, high Quadrant has introduced the speed mode and 100 x 69 dots per inch in Quadjr Expansion Chassis, which pro- Printer high-resolution mode. A Centronics a disk drive, vides 360K floppy Output Technology has introduced parallel port is standard, with an RS- clock/calendar, and Centronics the OT-700, a 700 cps dot matrix printer 232C serial port optional. compatible parallel port. It snaps on top retailing for $1595. At 700 cps, the of the PCjr and sells for $695. printer uses a 9 x 7 matrix. In correspon- Output Technology Quad ram has also introduced the dence mode, it prints 350 cps using a 9 x 606 110th Ave. NE #205 Quadjr Memory Board, which fits inside 14 matrix. Bellevue.WA 98004 the Quadjr Expansion Chassis. The The OT-700 is also capable of print- (206)453-9794 ckcu4ISOn expand- board comes with 128K RAM ing dot-addressable graphics at 50 x 69 (800)468-8788 reader servi able to 384K RAM and the Quad Master II RAM disk and print spooling utility programs. It retails for $275. Keyboard Templates 45 Monitor for Sanyo MB-555 Panasonic has nnnH^i^ released the BT- and HP- 150 P45O0D. a 45" di- Creative Computer Products has agonal color dis- Quadram also released announced keyboard templates for the play that offers a QuadMEMjr, a memory expansion unit Sanyo MB-555 and the HP- 150. The graphics resolution that snaps onto the side of the PCjr. It of 640 x 240 pixels ( - interlaced comes with 128K RAM expandable to non ) 512K and includes the QuadMaster II and is compatible utilities. It sells for $275. with most person- al computers. It Quadram provides a 16-color 4355 International Blvd. display on the Norcross, GA30093 ciRat4i60N IBM PC and Apple III and offers a (404) 923-6666 reader service card MB-555 template summarizes larger range of colors when used with a WordStar and Lotus 1-2-3 commands, computer capable of linear RGB output. Mouse Systems has announced the and the HP- ISO template summarizes The BT-P4500D operates in mono- PCjr Mouse, an optical mouse for use WordStar and CalcStar commands. chrome mode using a text resolution of with Color Paint on the enhanced PCjr. Templates for Symphony, Framework. 25 lines of 80 characters. It also func- Mouse Systems packages Designer Pop- dBase III, and other popular programs tions as a full-color display for tuners up menus with the mouse. The mouse are under development. The templates and video cassette recorders. The BT- carries a suggested retail price of $195. retail for $19.95. P4500D retails for $4995. Mouse Systems Creative Computer Products Panasonic 2336 H Walsh Ave. P.O. Box 85 152 One Panasonic Way Santa Clara, CA 95051 CJRCU4170N San Diego, CA 92 138 ORCU4180N Secaucus, NJ 07094 aRClE4190N (408)988-0211 READER SERVO CARD (619)458-1965 reader service card (201)348-7000 READER SERVICE CARD 134 CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 What* New In Software Russ Lockwood Graphics Software for the Home Four Star Software has introduced Coco Paint, a graphics software package Activision has released The De- Broderbund Software has released for the 64K Radio Shack Color Com- signer's Pencil, a graphics package for Dazzle Draw, a graphics package for the puter. It supports a joystick, graphics Commodore 64, Atari, Apple II, and Apple He and 128K Apple He with 80- tablet, or mouse and features 64 textures IBM PC and PCjr computers. Users column card. It supports a mouse, and several methods of image move- ment, manipulation of circles and h Hi] njn rnan rran nfssum rrarj and character generation. Coco Paint re- tails for $42.45. 1 "' F_^_i^_l ^--3^=5^ Four Star Software ifTTTII'in'BBH V P.O. Box 730 Streetsville.ON 422 ON Canada L5M 2C2 Conversion Service '"• Pivar Computing Services has ex- i" ttti" i:.. 1 panded its magtape to disk, disk to tape, and disk to disk data conversion control an on-screen electronic pencil graphics tablet, drawing pad, or joystick service to include word processors. using 75 graphics and musical com- and features icons, pull-down menus, 10 mands. The Designer's Pencil retails for different shapes and sizes of brush $24.95 for Atari, $3 1 .95 for Commodore strokes, 1 6 colors, and 30 patterns. It re- 64, and $39.95 for IBM and Apple. tails for $59.95. Activision Broderbund Software 2350 Bayshore Frontage Rd. 17 Paul Dr. Mountain View, CA 94043 San Rafael, CA 94903 clRClf420ON 421 ON (415)479-1170 (415)960-0410 READER SERVICE CARD READER Sf RVICf ( ARD Turbo Graphix Toolbox Borland International has in- window management capability de- troduced Turbo Graphix Toolbox, a signed for use with Turbo Pascal. It al- high-resolution graphics system with lows storage of screen images to RAM for real-time animation of up to 500 im- ages per second. The program supports business Formats available include Wang. Xerox 860, 8000, Displaywriter. graphics such as pie and bar charts and CPT Lanier No Problem II, scientific graphics such as histograms LTE 3, Decmate DEC WPS8. NBI. and IBM OS/6. All con- and spline functions. It comes with com- trol codes transfer to WordStar, Multi- mented source code on disk and carries a mate, and DWII word processing suggested retail price of $49.95. pack- 1 Z9m\ ages. Borland International Pivar Computing Services Ic^rrl 4113ScottsValleyDr. 47 W. Dundee Scotts Valley, 95066 03 CA Wheeling, II 60090 (408)438-8400 kakrsS&'oSd (312)459-6010 mam VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 3/CREATIVE COMPUTING 135 . WHAT'S NEW IN SOFTWARE Database Software for Macintosh Eqtron has released MacBase, a relational database program for the Desktop Software has announced Forethought has introduced Macintosh. MacBase is not report ori- 1st Base, a relational database package Factfinder, a free-form filing system for ented; instead, it places all calculated for the Macintosh. It features multiple the Macintosh. Information is stored in a and reporting fields on the screen exactly file handling, nested sorts, stored report factsheet window and several factsheets as they appear on a print out . It retails for programs, and mouse control. It runs on can be grouped together. Factfinder sells $195. the 1 28K and 5 1 2 K Macintosh and sells for $150. Eqtron for $195. Forethought 330 Bay St. Suite 1115 Desktop Software 1973 Landings Dr. Toronto, ON CN 5287 Mountain View, CA 94043 Canada M5H 2S8 CIRC1E429 0N READER SERVICE CARD Princeton, NJ 08540 (800) MAC-WARE orcie4270n (416)361-5002 (609)924-7111 reader'servicec'ard (415)961-4720 reader service card Stoneware has introduced DB Mas- Computer Software Design has un- Quadram Software ter Macintosh, a database management veiled MacLion, a relational database Quadram, long a manufacturer of system that features multiple disk files, management system for the Macintosh. hardware, has entered the software text fields up to 3000 characters long, It features a report writer, screen gen- arena with Quadsoft, a library of 12 varied font styles and sizes, and mouse erator, and mouse control and sells for business programs for the IBM PC and control. It retails for $195. $379. compatibles. The programs are The Executive Stoneware Computer Software Design Organizer; The Deadline Manager; The 50 Belvedere St. 1911 Wright Circle San Rafael, 94901 Anaheim, CA 92806 CA 426 ON CI«aE428 0n (415)454-6500 READER SERVICE CARD (714)634-9012 READER servo card Accounting Software for Macintosh receivable, accounts payable, general ledger, cash disbursement journal with optional payroll, and balance sheet/ profit and loss statements. Finance re- Investment Strategist; The Tax Strat- tails for $795. egist; The Data Base Manager; Select Additional Gallery modules under Write: Word Processing 101; Free- development include Payroll/Personnel, style, The Outline-Based Word Proces- Job Costing/Project Control, and Fixed sor; The Guide to Writing a Business Assets and Corporate Taxes. Plan; Bi-lingual Spanish/English Word Processor; 4-1-1 The Retrieval System, Great Plains Software has in- Micromax Systems Key II Data Management for Lotus I- troduced the Harddisk Accounting Se- 6868 Nancy Ridge Dr. 2-3, and The Starter Kit for Symphony ries, a six-module package for the San Diego, CA 92 121 circie4310n Retail prices range from $50 to $395. Macintosh. The modules are General (619)457-3131 reader service card Ledger with Financial Reporting and Quadram Budgeting, Accounts Receivable, Ac- 4355 International Blvd. counts Payable, Payroll, Inventory Peachtree Software has introduced Norcross, GA 30093 q,,^ 433 q^ Management with Point of Sale Invoic- Back to Basics Accounting System for the (404)564-1975 reader service card ing, and Job Cost with Estimating, Cost- Macintosh. The entry-level package ing, and Pre- Billing. consists of three modules, General Led- The modules sell for $695 each and ger, Accounts Payable, and Accounts Basic Programming run on the 128K or 512K Macintosh Receivable. It features full mouse con- with a Tecmar hard disk. trol, pull down menus, windows, icons, fromMECA Micro Education Corporation of and on-line help. America has introduced Basic Building Great Plains Software The Back to Basics Accounting System Blocks, a Basic programming tutorial 1701 SW 38th St. runs on the 128K or 512K Macintosh. and program debugger for the IBM Fargo, ND 58103 qrcie430On The retail price for the package has not PC family. It is already available for (701)281-0550 reader service card been set. Atari and Apple II computers and retails for $79.95. Peachtree Software Micromax Systems has released 3445 Peachtree Rd. NE MECA Gallery, a series of business accounting Atlanta, GA 30326 285 Riverside Ave. software for the Macintosh. The initial (800) 554-8900 aRCU4320N Westport.CT 06880 c«rii4340N module, Finance, consists of accounts (404)239-3000 READER SERVICE CARD (203)222-1000 reader service card 136 CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 ^^^^^^^^^B . NOTEBOOK COMPUTING Password Protect fix, gate crashers, and an amazing new entry from Japan John J. Anderson until you hear about the Waitnotebook computer we have for you this month. It has pop- ped from out of the woodwork, and if given half a chance, may just clobber all the known quantities. It may just be innovative enough to change the topo- graphy of the portable industry. Then again, it may be too good to succeed. But before we get to the main event, I have a few bixvboos to redress. Dumbware Why is it, you may ask, that the print-out of the December Password Protection program managed to pack not one but two typos in it? Well (gulp), I'm not sure. One thing I am sure about, though, is that lots of you caught it. I am also reasonably satisfied that most ofyou were able to get the program running without waiting to see the fixes in this is- sue. To those of you who haven't, and to all, I apologize. Wasn't it a valuable was running at the TRY AGAIN One look at it will intrigue you; it learning experience, though? The fixes prompt, I punched the dedicated print looks as if it had been carved out of the appear in Figure 1 key, unshifted. Two seconds later I hit cross section of a small Fiberglas airfoil Other than that all is well. Those of the dedicated break key and that's all (see photos). The case was designed by "? 40" you who downloaded the program from she wrote . .. I/O ERROR in re- Kumeo Tamura, who among other CompuServe got it right the first time. sults. Typing MENU return (not F8) distinguished credits, designed the orig- I wish I could close the case right from there puts you back into Mama's inal Datsun 280Z coupe. there, but that's the least of it. Mark arms. The flip-top reveals a full-size 80 x Cridland stopped over at Creative Much to my horror, I was able to re- 25 character LCD, which like the Computing Online with the following produce Mark's results in my own Datavue 25, and unlike the Data Gen- message: experiments. Curses! Back to the draw- eral/One, is extremely easy to read, even "John, I'm writing in regard to the ing board. Ah well . . . in less than optimal lighting conditions. Password Protection program, Decem- It sports 64K RAM expandable in- ber issue, p. 1 90. I've crashed your locks! Ampere APL Portable ternally to 256K, a 70-key full-stroke Nyah-ha! Ofcourse, I had to . . . it seems I got a call from friend and fellow keyboard, built-in parallel and serial that when inserting my own password Model lOOer Bob Covington the other ports, 300 baud autodial modem, clock/ into the program, I had forgotten to day, and first heard about the Ampere calendar, and three cartridge slots. An change the dummy string in line 30. I portable. The more he told me, the lower accessory bus slot allows the addition of hadn't saved my ADRS.DO or my jaw dropped, and as result I decided floppy disk, hard disk, and memory DESK.DO (miscellany) files in a good to mount my own investigation of this expansion to 512K. In addition, a built- long time, and was not willing to lose magic machine. My thanks to you, Bob, in 300K microcassette unit can be used them without a fight. While the program for putting me onto it. to store data or to record and playback audio. It includes a built-in microphone and speaker, and can be used as a tele- 40 A=INKEY$ should be A$=INKEY$ phone answering machine, as well as a telephone call recorder. 70 PRINT PRINT NEGATIVE should be PRINT: PR I NT "NEGATIVE. But the real news is the fact that in- VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 3/CREATIVE COMPUTING 137 . 5 NOTEBOOK COMPUTING full-screen editing capabilities. It sup- side its 1 28K of system ROM is a lan- ther is chess. It is for bright children, multi- guage that can make real use of the 8 mathematicians, and companies that ports foreground and background MHz 32-bit 68000 CPU that forms the want to build interactive systems tasking and windowing. integrated software package will Ampere's advanced brain—APL. APL . . . APL is a language of arrays, with a An as a standard fea- . into is a high level programming language fascinating notation . . Let's just say be packed ROM originally designed for IBM mainframes the language works on things modified ture of the Ampere. It will include a tele- back in the late 1960's. In his book Com- successively by operators. Their order word processor, spreadsheet, puter Lib, Creative Computing contrib- and result is based upon those fiendish communications package, and database uting editor Ted Nelson said the chicken scratches, Iverson notation." program. The three cartridge slots can or following of the APL language: APL has some rather bizarre sym- be used to stow up to 1 Meg of ROM each. Ampere "Some people call it a 'scientific' bols, many of which are missing in com- 64K of CMOS RAM $500 I Meg 3.5" language. Some people call it a mon ASCII notation, and they largely states that a 'mathematical' language. Some people replace the English-like command sets microfloppy drive will be offered to com- portable. are most struck by its use for interactive we have all grown to know and love in plement the Ampere the unit was first announced, systems, so to them it's an 'interactive' Basic, Pascal, and Logo. Nelson calls When startling price of $ 1 500 was based on a language. But most of us just think of it APL "stark and clever," but goes on to its to a full- as 'the language with all the funny note that the language is undeniably 16-line display. With the jump screen display, the retail price will prob- symbols' . . . Enthusiasts see it as a lan- dense, and hard to debug. In Iverson guage of inconceivable power, with notation the same symbol can mean two ably move to the vicinity of $2000. This still extremely reasonable for a 6. extraodinary uses. Cynics remark that it different things, dependent upon its seems measuring 12" x 12" x 3" has all kinds ofextraordinary powers for context. lb. machine and packing the punch of a 68000-based inconceivable uses—that is, a weird ele- The Ampere runs Big. APL, a sub- system. hope to provide a full gance, much of which has no use at all, set ofAPL 68000, which itself is an adap- APL We as and some of which gets in the way. tion of IBM APL.SV, under an review of this remarkable machine available to us. "This is probably wrong. APL is a operating system dubbed Big. DOS. This soon as it becomes 5-20, terrific and beautiful triumph of the implementation has been enhanced to Ampere Inc.. 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CALL TOLL FREE 1-800-524-8130 Classified Advertising 455 4488 ZIFF-DAVIS PUBLISHING COMPANY IL. CALL COLLECT 312 Consumer Computers & Family Electronics Magazine q Disk Jockey Roots Division ^P PO BOX 35146 CHICAGO IL • 60635-0146 QUINSEPT, INC. P.O. Box 216, Lexington, MA 02173 (617) 862-0404 CIRCLE 1 10 ON READER SERVICE CARD CIRCLE 152 ON READER SERVICE CARD APPLE CART A MacCart: Getting rid of Puzzle, multiple files in MacWrite, FatMac RAMdisk, slide shows, and external video John J. Anderson have so much MacStuft to tell you ing out (Option-8, to save you a trip to means to create and edit text files from about this time around that my col- Key Caps). I called up the Puzzle once within a terminal program, as opposed I league Owen Linzmayer isn't going to during a demo of the Mac to my Mom to having to exit the application, load get lie a word in edgewise. That will and Dad. They said they thought it was Mac Write, prepare a file, exit Mac Write, come as good news to Mac owners this cute. and then reload the terminal application. month and as bad news to owners of the In the backs of our minds, we have It also allows a form of multiple file win- II series. Next month, however, Owen always hoped that someday we could re- dows from within Mac Write itself. Right will devote the entire column to the Ap- place a few of the sillier accessories with now I can keep a running "Firms Men- ple II series—that is the deal we've something really useful —something tioned" file on Mock Write, while the Ap- struck for equal time. C'mon, Apple with which we could customize our sys- ple Cart itself resides in Mac Write. owners: write and/or telecommunicate tem disks. Well that day has arrived. The Mock Write looks just like a mini- to us the need for separate columns for product is called Desk Accessory Mover, Mac Write, and the editing functions the Macintosh and Apple II series. No and four brand new accessories are al- work identically, though as a subset. promises, but we'd like to see what the ready available for it. Using the pro- Next there is MockPrint, which can response is. gram, you can load these new modules print a file from within any other into the Apple logo menu while deleting application. It works as a subset of the Modified Desk Accessories any of the standard desk accessories that Toolbox print dialog box, and you can I'm sure that by now you Mac own- ers have had your fill of most of the desk . Desk Accessories accessories to be pulled down from the Installed Accessories Accessories in Holding Apple logo on the menu bar. Certainly u- the Scrapbook is the most important of Alarm Clock Compact 6 these; we'd all be sunk without it. When I Calculator Control Panel can remind myself of how handy it is, I sometimes pull out the Note Pad to jot Compact MockPrinter down a phone number or an address. MockTerminal But how often do you access the other entries on this menu? Surely the MockPrinter Mock Write Control Panel is very important at least Mock Write Puzzle once in the life ofevery Mac owner. But I haven't used it for months. I always Delete Rename n«ieie thought the calculator was a great idea, ] [ ] ( Rename because it seemed ludicrous to keep a $7 machine nestled near my $5000 wonder. Copy to Holding fireo » « Copy 1(t Inttulleu' sec (ion But in practice, I never seem to use it. Perhaps it is because I lack a numeric keypad, but I doubt that I would use the calculator even if I had one. Besides, my you find superfluous. You can save un- choose the desired format and print credit card calculator takes up much less used accessories in a storage area and quality of the output. space and costs much less than the bring them out as needed, or you can If you own a Skinny Mac and a keypad itself. customize system folders to sport only Tecmar hard disk you'll want to install As far as the Alarm Clock, Key the accessories you choose. The pro- Compact, a desk accessory submitted by Caps, and Puzzle go, forget about it. gram, by Donald Brown, takes full unnamed MAUGer 72436,3374, which Once in a blue moon I pull down the advantage of the Macintosh Toolbox, clears as much memory as possible for clock, to check it against my watch. I am and requires no documentation to those times when you try to eject a floppy pleased with the accuracy of this func- manipulate successfully. and the Mac spits back at you with a "not tion. But I do not make use of it. If it I'll describe the custom accessories enough memory" message. Using Com- could be used to power up to an applica- that are now available, in order of their pact, you can eject the Tecmar boot disk tion or MacWrite document, that might importance to me. First is Mock Write a right off the bat and get its image off the make a difference. The only time I ever text editor desk accessory, which allows desktop. This is a real boon to Skinny used Key Caps was to find out where on modification of text files on the fly. This Mac/Tecmar owners who lack an ex- the keyboard the bullet symbol was hid- has proved an invaluable asset to me as a ternal drive. VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 3/CREATIVE COMPUTING 139 — . APPLECART Finally there is Mock Term, which is check is in the mail. ing to and from the Finder and actual a bare-bones but fully-functional termi- If you are a member of MAUG, applications. Add the most needed nal program which can be pulled down you can download Desk Accessory Mov- applications to the RAMdisk, and your as a desk accessory. I use both MacTep er and all four accessories outlined Macintosh will retract its landing gear and MacTerminal to communicate above right after you finish reading this for the first time. A demo of Fat Mac through the Mac, depending upon the column. They reside on XA4. with RAMdisk will give you a strong tasks I intend to complete and have no idea of how the Mac user interface really real desire to utilize yet a third program. should feel—and what the Xerox Star But I tried it, and it works, and it seems to and Lisa were designed to do—namely, work well. fly. The idea assuredly is that the cre- Wondering where to get a ith a merel Meg of w, RAMdisk for your Fat Mac? Well, at the ation of new desk accessories will be an ongoing process. Using the Desk Acces- RAM, we could bad the entire risk of sounding like a broken record, sory Mover, you will always be able to you can download it from CompuServe if keep your favorites on tap. Goodbye system folder, MacWrite, you are a member of MAUG. More Puzzle, hello full-featured text editor likely by now the question may be, why MacPaint, MacTerm, and Lotus accessory. Goodbye Key Caps, hello aren't you a member of MAUG? The RAMdisk offered on XA4 of printer utility. I have already thought of Jazz into a RAMdisk and still a couple of other accessories I'd like to MAUG is offered by Paul Emerson see. How about a pull-down reset acces- have room for the overhead (72355,171) with thanks to John Peter- sory, which would eject all disks, then son and Mark Harley. It partitions a lit- to run them all. reboot from a cold start? That would needed tle over 300K into RAMdisk space. I save some wear and tear on all our tired have managed to bomb this program a power switches. What about a Panic Mac RAMDisk couple of times, but it does work most of Button accessory to protect the Mac If you are lucky enough to be the the time, and if booting Mac Write in two from unauthorized access while remain- owner of a Fat Mac, another desk acces- shakes ofa lamb's tail is the type of thing ing in the middle of any application? It sory that may already be on your list is a that excites you, you should download it. might turn off the screen and keyboard RAMdisk. I fit isn't, it should be, and I'll You'll need to install it using another upon pull-down, then prompt for a pass- tell you why. One of the most serious program, available in XA5, called word when the mouse is quadruple- problems of the Mac is its slowness and RMOVER (short for Resource Mover). clicked. Then after the boss has left, you for most things, the Fat Mac is as slow as We'll have to wait a little longer to see a can return to right where you left off in the Skinny Mac. But what if you could pull-down RAMdisk desk accessory. Lode Runner. cache some of that 512K away, and get Bear in mind that in the process of Let us know what ideas you have for the Fat Mac to treat that chunk of RAM grafting on a RAMdisk, you will reduce desk accessories, and we'll make the best as a phantom floppy? That is exactly directly addressable RAM back into the of them known to all—online and in the task of a RAMDisk. When this regions of the Skinny Mac. This fact print. "phloppy" is read from, files load as fast underscores the shortsightedness of How can you get hold of Desk as they can be poured across the par- designing the current Macintosh to ac- Accessory Mover and the new accessories tition slammed into RAM—that is to cept a maximum of 5 1 2K . (Perhaps this for it? Well you're in for a bit ofa shock say, really, really fast. How fast? is a good time to remind ourselves that it is unprotected, and CE Software, Imagine moving between MacPaint and 68000 processor, brain of our little beige distributor of the package, actually en- Mac Write in less than four seconds. friend, can address only a measly 16 courages you not only to copy it, but to The real trick is to copy the system Meg). With a mere 1 Meg of RAM, we give it to all the Mac owners you know. folder, or at least a relevant portion of the could load the entire system folder, CE calls the approach the "MacHonor system folder, to the RAMdisk. Reading MacWrite, MacPaint, MacTerm, and System." We have called it freeware in system files wastes the most time in mov- Lotus Jazz into a RAMdisk and still previous columns. The idea is that you have room for the overhead needed to can check out the actual program for run them all. But (tsk, tsk) we'll just have yourself in your own time. If you don't to wait for the next generation Mac to do care for it, you just erase it, and that is that. Or will we, third party manufac- that. Ifyou decide to use it, however, you turers? Are you listening? are encouraged to send SIS to CE Soft- The major "gotcha" in running a ware, to receive a "user's license and RAMdisk: creating a datafile, saving it registration." Their motto is, "They may to "phloppy" instead of floppy, then laugh at us, but we trust you!" exiting the application or accidentally Does it really work? Well, CE, as "ejecting" the RAMdisk. In the latter well as other freeware distributors, claim case, Emerson shows you a way to "re- it does. I would love to believe that it insert" the RAMdisk and recover the does, but tend to be skeptical. I did man- files. But it is always best to be careful to age to get MockWrite to crash mysteri- save datafiles to actual disks. ously a couple of times, and generally Emerson is another one ofthat dedi- believe that freeware is somewhat bug- cated breed of programmers who offers gier than the real thing. But Desk Acces- the fruits of his labors gratis to all, to use, sory Mover is worth at least $ 1 5, and my Kontdtsk icon, designed by R. W. Zenr share, and improve upon (see Tele- 10 CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 INFORMATION SBRVIGB INFORMATION! QUESTIONS ANSWERED! LATEST DATA! Here's your chance to learn more about any number of products and services de- scribed or advertised in this month's Creative Computing. FREE OF CHARGE! Directions on reverse side. ) INFORMATION SERVICE Creative \. Computing m TOP 12 COMPUTERS OF1985sEr« Free! Quick! No Obligation! 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CITY STATE ZIP (Zip code must be included to insure delivery CC3851 4 Q Please send me one year (12 issues) of Creative Computing for 19.97 and bIH me. (Full ono-yoar subscription price 24.97.) PUT STAMP HERE THE POST OFFICE WILL NOT DELIVER MAIL WITHOUT POSTAGE Creative Computing P.O. Box 13010 PHILADELPHIA, PA 19101 PUT STAMP HERE THE POST OFFICE WILL NOT DELIVER MAIL WITHOUT POSTAGE Creative Computing P.O. Box 13010 PHILADELPHIA, PA 19101 PUT STAMP HERE THE POST OFFICE WILL NOT DELIVER MAIL WITHOUT POSTAGE Creative Computing P.O. Box 13010 PHILADELPHIA, PA 19101 APPLE CART communications Talk for more on this have not We yet seen the actual back of the Mac. All hardware is in- score). He and those like him embody production package, and so will with- ternal, and no black boxes are necessary. the principles of unprotected code, hold comment on its ease of use for a fol- All you need is a video monitor with a shared insight, and the freeware ethic low-up in an upcoming column. But it horizontal scan rate of22 Khz or higher. that has characterized many Macintosh can be said based on the demo only that Compatible monitors with screens from developers and developments. More Slide Show Magician is a very powerful 12* to 19" and even compatible video power to all of you. projection systems are available through It is also likely that retail RAMdisk Cinemac. packages will appear alongside other Fat Mac software in the very near future. Micro-lmager Add another video digitizer to the Slide Show Magician sfide Show Magician is a very Macfray: the Micro-lmager from Servi- We received a demo disk in the mail powerful package and that dyne Systems. The hardware/software the other day that stopped my workday one package allows you to capture an image cold (not to say that's too tough to do). capitalizes effectively on the from an NTSC video source such as your The disk consisted of "projector" and home video camera, and transfer that "show" icons developed on a power of the package Madntosh as a tool image into the Mac. You can edit the called the Slide Show Magician from image using MacPaint or for graphic representations. by internal Magnum Software. It allows you to edit commands, and then store, recall, make "slide show" presentations to run and print it whenever you wish. the on Macintosh. package and one that capitalizes effec- Digitized image resolution is 51 1 x Using input from MacPaint, tively on the power ofthe Macintosh as a 322 pixels—virtually the entire Mac- Mac Write, Multiplan, or any compatible tool for graphic presentations. $59.95. intosh screen minus the menu bar. There binary source, you can compile graphics are two capture modes: two-shade (best displays, and use any ofa halfdozen spe- CineMac for high contrast line drawings and di- cial effects to move between them. The emergence of a powerful soft- agrams) and six-shade (best for pictures Wipes, dissolves, special effects, and ani- ware presentation tool for the Mac natu- and portraits). Contrast and brightness mated effects are all available from point rally segues back to a problem I raised in adjustments are easily made via front and click development "maps" which, my initial review the — of Macintosh, way panel controls. A video output is sup- according to the manufacturer, allow back in July 1984: the sore lack ofan ex- plied for an external monitor, allowing you to compose shows quite easily You ternal video output jack. Question: How one to view the digitized image in real can interrupt and branch on any frame, many people 9" can you huddle around a time prior to capture. Connection is using buttons right from the Toolbox, screen and expect them to comprehend through the Mac modem port. without any need for programming what flashes across it? Answer: No more The price of the Micro-lmager was skills. You can superimpose text, either than three. not finalized at press time; but Servidyne all at once or word by word at a selectable In that original review I put forth estimates a list price of $350. rate—even insert subliminal messages the fond hope that a third party company That's about the size ofit; I'm talked (all's fair in love and slide presentations). would remedy the problem, and I'm out. Next month, Mr. Linzmayer brings Projectors and shows can be copied to happy to report that MicroGraphic Im- you further teles of the II—then I'll be disk at will, and will auto run from their ages Corp. has donejust that. They sell a back with more on the Mac. Catch you Finder icons. SI 95 kit that puts a video plug on the then. Firms Mentioned in This Column CE Software 80173rdSt,Dept.M Des Moines, I A 503 12 (515)224-1995 Magnum Software 21115 Devonshire St. Ste. 337 Chatsworth,CA91311 (818)700-0510 MicroGraphic Images Corp. 19612 Kingsbury St. Chatsworth,CA 91311 (818)368-3482 Servidyne Systems Inc. 1735DeFoorPl. P.O. Box 93846 Atlanta, GA 30377 (404)352-2050 VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 3/CREATIVE COMPUTING 143 IBM IMAGES Adventures in RAMIand Will Fastie a first 128K, then the power unit, the original PC was in- problems that made building expansion add 128K. sidecars for a When it been and then three more troduced, it seemed to be of- memory more difficult than had configuration of 640K. fered with many memory for the PC. The less severe of these in- total memory Experiments have verified this and also options appropriate for the times; 16K in cluded the housings for the sidecars (the demonstrated that a PCjr can get very, a base machine, 64 K in a "standard" ver- plastic box that matches the finish of very wide: five sidecars add 5 5/8". sion, and expansion to 256K via 64K your PCjr) and the strange bolts used to memory costs $325, and the add-in boards sounded quite reasonable. fasten sidecars to the PCjr and one an- IBM's were power module costs $ 1 50. Wrong. I think the add-in memory other. The more difficult problems has a more rational ap- board business may have been the most availability ofpower to drive the sidecars Tecmar base module, called explosive opportunity for the after mar- and the peculiar arrangement of the bot- proach. The jrCaptain, includes 128K, a parallel ket, and third party vendors lost no time tom 128K of PCjr memory. port, and the ubiquitous clock/calendar filling IBM's vacuum. And just to make The less severe problems may have of the PCjr and is priced at $395. it interesting, they also threw in serial kept quite a few vendors out Included is Tecmar's Treasure ports, clocks, software, and other good- expansion business. The real problem is Chest of Software, 24 programs that per- ies that gave them an advantage over the that PCjr sidecars require greater manu- variety of tasks. For more mem- competing IBM parts. AST Research facturing skills and precision than add- form a living in ory expansion, thejrCadet sidecar can be didn't get where it is today by building in boards for the PC. Tecmar, expand memory all the way to ho-hum products. tool-and-die-rich Cleveland, was able to used to another Tecmar product, Okay. So you figure IBM watches ramp up faster than anyone else and is 640K. Yet jrWave, can be used instead ofjrCaptain; closely and won't make the same mistake have the parallel port or the again. it does not but can expand memory up to Wrong. Well, to be fair, IBM an- calendar itself (and with the help of nounced PCjr with at least 64K and 640K all by today more commonly 128K, a whopping software developers 256K bit chips). eight more than the original PC times do not have the resources (time had and at a considerably lower price. Catch 128... So you thought things were sound- Trouble was, by that time most PCs were or money) to build products that good. The power problem is solved. in the more than 256K. category, and ing What's many software products were requiring fit in smaller memory sizes. The memory problem is solved. that much memory. Worse, IBM may left? have underestimated the number of A biggie. PCjr includes one very pe- allows the video buffer users taking advantage ofelectronic disk now in the driver's seat. I know of only culiar feature: it used to hold the software on the PC. Suddenly, 128K two other vendors of PCjr add-on prod- (that is, the memory on the screen) to be didn't sound quite so terrific. ucts: IBM and Microsoft. data to be displayed solved by assigned to different places in memory. Now 1 28K is actually a fair amount The power problem was the this memory was an integral of memory. What makes it marginal is IBM and Tecmar in different ways. IBM On PC, adapter and was as- that software developers today do not now offers a sidecar which does nothing part of the display outside the 640K have the resources (time or money) to more than deliver 20 watts to up to three signed to locations used for program execution. On build products that fit in smaller mem- other outboard sidecars. Tecmar chose space it is in normal and can be ory sizes. They tend to trade your ma- to power each add-on, and although this PCjr, RAM chine's memory for their time; the result tends to create a little extra wire clutter, anywhere. Ah, but not quite. The original PCjr is a product out their door and into your it is also more cost-effective. the video buffer was hands faster than would otherwise be The memory problem has also been was only 128K and at the top of RAM. To possible. addressed differently by each vendor. expected to reside matters worse, PCjr was designed The PCjr was rather hobbled by its IBM offers only one product: 128K in a make video memory memory limitation. Many important sidecar. IBM says that up to three such in a way that requires the of mem- software programs were not available on sidecars can be added, for a total of to reside within the first 128K creates a problem the machine, and those that were ran a 512K. One IBM expansion unit can be ory. This restriction more memory is added: the video little slower. Moreover, the add-in ven- added to PCjr without the need for extra when middle of memory, with dors were confronted with a new set of power, and this seems to imply you could buffer is in the 144 CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 , chunks of below program memory and bies." It includes special support for above. Programs written for the PC or 24K DOS 2.1 Tall Tree's memory board product. PCjr require their program memory to JRAM-2, and the combination 24 of board be "contiguous," is, all that in one piece. (VMMMVStoM and software provides memory expan- //////// //////// Both IBM and Tecmar provide soft- 32K aligned) sion for 32 the PC well beyond the 1Mb ware to solve the problem. The solution limit. A more important difference is is to move the video buffer lower in mem- its trap for the Ctrl-Alt-Del "warm start" ory load " " and programs for execution just wiBWw fw^^mwtQfj sequence. after it. That strategy leaves a memory Before the XT came along, most Sue varies organization as shown in Figure 1 with froml6to96K RAM disk software required that the DOS at the bottom, the video buffer system board switches be set to mark the next, and free memory last. boundary between program memory — * — The two software solutions are dif- and disk memory. Because the PC used ferent, and here, for a change, IBM the switches to size memory, RAM disk shines. System Unit Their program allows the cre- could be protected from a warm start ation of varying sizes of video buffers as and thus could be preserved across a well as electronic disks. So does 12S reboot. The XT, however, has no such Tecmar's. Where IBM departs is in the switches, and reboots thus clobber RAM sizing of the video buffer. Both IBM and disks. Tall Tree Systems has provided Tecmar create 1 can a buffer of 6 or 32K. their own trap for the reboot key se- Mvananm rrvoram IBM takes the additional, creative step Memory in Expansion quence and JetDrive is thus able to pre- of allowing a 96K buffer, which can be serve electronic disks regardless of used for multiple pages ofdata. PCjr can switch settings. This facility also lets you switch these between pages rapidly, have all of memory if desired, or config- providing animation orjust fast text dis- TOP ure different RAM disks to suit different play swapping. A more significant tasks. Figure 1 . PCjr Memory Organ*zatton otter advantage is an improvement in the moving vimo buffer. performance of programs. JET Because the lower of PCjr 128K and comes with adequate software and The JET program is worth the en- memory includes the video buffer, mem- the Treasure Chest. You pick. tire purchase price of the JetDrive pack- ory cycles must be shared between the age. Period. It is also hard to describe and the video display logic. CPU The Electronic Disk briefly because it is so rich in function 8088 does not get as cycles CPU many as I'm probably like a lot of folks: I use and capability. It has so many features it does in a standard PC, and the perfor- some of my 576K of main memory as an that I will not be able to describe them all mance of programs is thus less by about electronic disk drive. On my home sys- here. Add-on memory, 40%. however, does tem, all the software I use runs in 256K First and foremost, JET is a replace- not suffer this fate deliver and can every leaving 320Kb for disk. Having this ment for the DOS command copy. Its cycle to the CPU. If programs could be third hand is, well, handy. Using it effec- most important feature is speed: it runs loaded entirely in outboard memory, tively takes some thought. at least three times faster than copy. It is performance similar to that of the PC I use it differently for different even faster than diskcopy, and has the could be achieved. things. When I use the word processor, added advantage of being able to copy all Defining a video buffer of 96K RAM disk holds the WP program, and the files from a disk of one format to a pushes the combined size of DOS and the data files are written directly to a floppy. disk of another, something diskcopy buffer to exactly 128K (the video buffer When I'm programming in C, the RAM cannot do. has to start on a 32K boundary) and al- disk has the source and object files, and JET is an update manager. Unless lows all loaded programs to reside in the compiler is executed from floppy. overridden, it copies only files whose expansion memory and, therefore, run For Turbo Pascal, everything is on date and time are more recent than the faster. It is a nice touch, IBM, and one we RAM drive. Other examples follow the file on the target disk, and files that do would have ordinarily expected from same pattern. not exist on the target disk. outside sources. Managing the electronic disk is not The other major feature of Jet is And now the rub. IBM software to something that can be taken casually, es- backup: it can split the files it copies onto perform these tricks is available only in pecially if it contains data. I stopped us- multiple disks and can recover files in the the box with IBM 128K sidecars. Ditto ing vendor software for RAM disks and same way. Again, its virtue over the DOS for Tecmar. Well, I guess I'm going to started using JetDrive, from Tall Tree backup command is one of speed. have to write a program to perform the Systems, because the product includes a Understanding how to use JET IBM-style memory trick and publish it utility, called J FT, that makes managing effectively is important. I use it for three here. Tecmar is probably alert to this, electronic disk painless. The most cur- things: copying disks, setting up RAM and I would expect them to make their rent version includes features and op- disks, and updating data disks. For copy- software do the same. tions that make it the electronic disk ing, JET is used just like the DOS COPY Summary: IBM 128K expansion is software of choice, even if it doesn't command. less expensive for the first 128K and come for free with your expansion mem- RAM disk is a little different. Once comes with the clever software. Tecmar ory board. a RAM disk has been created, the pro- is more expensive, more cost-effective, The electronic disk software is a grams or data files you wish to use must less expensive at higher memory sizes, little different from most of the "free- be copied into it. I am somewhat or- ^MM VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 3/CREATIVE COMPUTING 143 i l : i 2 s IBM IMAGES ganized; my disks are organized func- listing 1.AUT0EXK.BAT for outomotk RAM disk loading. tionally, usually one function per disk. echo off For example, I have only one program- •stclock ming language on my Turbo Pascal disk. els ver Setting the disk is just a matter up RAM tlmemark of copying flies, but JET makes the pro- echo cess so much faster that it is the preferred path c:\iai\ prompt [$p]$g method. However, I have automated the ci process a little further. Because I always If exist LOADED goto :end fdexlst bi want to use disk, I like to get it RAM If error level 99 goto tend automatically set to go when I turn on rem If here, attempt to setup Ci bt my system. My AUTOEXEC.BAT file If exist scbegln.msg type scbegln.msg (Listing 1) thus looks to see if there is a If exist fl lei 1st Jet b: ci bifllellst/f disk in drive B: using the program If not exist fl lei 1st Jet bi ci ci FDEXIST (see Listing 2) and if so, in- copy a 1 1 oaded c > vokes JET to copy the files from B: to the tend echo --- - disk. If the file named FILELIST RAM echo Condition of Electronic Disk: is on B:, a special option ofJET is used to chkdsk copy only those files specifically listed in echo sat FILELIST. echo on If I have performed one task with the system and then wish to do some- Listing 2. FDEXIST.ASM thing else, I use the batch file SETUP- ; FDEXIST — Program to determine If drive has media Inserted C.BAT (Listing 3) to erase C: and FDEXIST.ASM (Executable! F0EXIST.COM) perform a load similar to the one in ; Source) I Author Will Fast I e 04 Nov 84 at AUTOEXEC.BAT. This can be done s Last Edlti 11/04/84 17:30 any time, regardless of the state of the ; Requires: DOS 2.0 or above RAM disk. I t I nvocat I on F0EXIST [di] otherwise bi If the RAM disk is being used to i If dt Is specified, that drlvei I hold data files, it is a wise practice peri- 1 Macros and Declarations odically to copy any files that have changed back to the master disk. I usu- DOS macro fcn_code mov ah , fcn_code ally put the master disk into drive B: and Int 2IH issue the command endm JETCB: OKAY equ I error I eva I which copies those files which have FAILED equ 99H I changed, or any new files, back to disk. I Setup for .COM program The only drawback to this scheme is de- leted files; those files remain on disk be- CSEG segment para public 'CODE' assume csiCSEG, ds:CSEG cause once they are deleted on the RAM disk, JET does not see them. This org 5CH DRIVE db ? I this Is where the drive designator Is method is safe because it forces you to de- lete files directly from the floppy. JET is org I00H probably the most important utility I START mov al, DRIVE 1 get the drive designator own. It is a very technical piece of soft- emp 1,0 1 Is It the default? ware with many options and flexibility Jnz FDSET 1 ...no. drive was specified mov DRIVE, 1 ...yes, change to bi but some complexity. I think it is one of FDSET: dec DRIVE 1 convert drive number the better values in software and well mov dx.O 1 read a sector worth the price. call READI Jnc FOUND 1 error? mov al. FAILED I . . .yes, no media Jmp DONE Listing 3. SETUP -C1AT FOUND: mov. al .OKAY i . . . no • med 1 a was found DONE I DOS 4CH : terminate echo off del c: w ." i YfoKeW^byo uw hwwirtwwowditusadH TAIL: nop 1 Hare's where we'll let the read — -e#aie—] 4m fle r aelli aaaa^asusa^bav OOBuBb e^CI a>a^ssBeas^xaaas^a1'a> uu win i Koiiy answer tin i/el cwnwnana s CSEG ends query Are you sure? start 146 CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 TANDYGRAM C—a useful alternative to Basic Jake Commander For the last few months, I've been at heart, I enjoyed looking through a list- sibleonly for a robot. (I'll barefacedly ac- slaving away on the keyboard of my ing to see how the compiler had turned cuse APL and Lisp of being in that Model III. The intended fruit of this each line of code into assembler source category.) If the Basic statement XX = self-enforced hard labor is the deliv- lines. I had discovered the power ofa low 99 feels familiar enough, then the C erance of myself from the Basic lan- level language. Unhappily, shortly after statement XX = 99, shouldn't represent guage. Not that I have anything against these discoveries, the company I worked too large a leap of the intuitive processes. Basic: for the last 14 years it has served for bought a Honeywell 6000 so I said The best, though, is that XX = 99 in C is me like a faithful slave, obeying my every goodbye to Intercode and hello to Basic. compiled into something like: wish, command—and mistake. When- Since that time, 95% of my pro- LD HL.99 ever it has been too slow, I have resorted gramming efforts have been divided be- LD (XX),HL to the good old, low level assembly lan- tween machine code and Basic: two —pure assembly language source code, guage with which I also feel most extremes—black and white—night and but still close enough to the original C comfortable. day. That is why I have been so hard at my line to retain some meaning even to No, don't knock it. Basic hasn't be- keyboard; I have rediscovered another someone not familiar with assembler. come the celebrity it has for nothing. It is extremely powerful ally, the C program- That is how it is with the C lan- easy to learn, looks fairly readable (es- ming language. Don't buy a Basic com- guage. Everything is compiled into a set pecially with a liberal sprinkling of re- of assembly language statements which marks), and does the job. So why do I perform the equivalent task. You end up want to deliver myself from it? with a bona fide machine code program Well maybe I'm overstating the sit- which the computer pieces together in- uation a little. What I want to do is pro- stead of the set ofactions which the com- ith ony kick, I can vide w. myself with an alternative to the puter would piece together under an choice of either slow but easily devel- persuade you that there are interpreter. oped programs in Basic, or fast but In an attempt to convince Basic pro- harder to write programs in machine alternatives to the either/or grammers that they would have an easy code. When I first started programming time learning C, I'll give a quick run- approach of Basic versus professionally in 1968, I learned a lan- down of some of the features of the lan- guage called Cleo which was similar in machine code. guage. For those of you who want the many ways to Cobol. This language was whole works, there is a book called compiled into assembly language in a (appropriately enough) The C Program- two-step process. The first step was to piler, buy a C compiler. Basic was always ming Language by Brian Kernighan and translate the Cleo source code into what meant to be interpreted anyway. Come to Denis Ritchie, the designer of C. It is was called Intercode. Intercode was a grips with a language that is as easy to published by Prentice-Hall and is consi- language in its own right and was much learn as Basic and promotes a more disci- dered the bible of the language. I highly lower level than Cleo. The second step plined approach to programming. recommend it along with another book was to compile the Intercode into assem- from Byte Books (more for beginners) bly language source code. So, starting Be Not Afraid of C called The C Primer by Les Hancock and with a high level language, you ended up Those ofyou who are already into C Morris Krieger. with an assembly language program. probably knew all along what was com- The Intercode was the fascinating ing. But for those ofyou who didn't, read Assignment and Arithmetic part. It was still a language in its own on. With any luck, I can persuade you Operators right but you could really get a feel for that there are alternatives to the ei- If I asked you what the assignment how its structure lent it to being com- ther/or approach of Basic versus ma- operator was in Basic, you might have to piled into pure assembly language. It was chine code. Deliverance from (or at least think a bit before you answered "the a simple task to learn the ins and outs of an alternative to) Basic can be yours if equal sign." That is because you don't this language, and I soon abandoned you keep an open mind. think of the term "assignment operator" dear Cleo in favor of my more powerful For a start, C is not one of those when you write XX = 99. You're more ally. weird languages that are so far removed likely to think (or at least I do) "XX Being a machine code programmer from English that comprehension is pos- equals 99" than "99 is assigned to XX." VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 3/CREATIVE COMPUTING 147 . . . TANDY GRAM Basic: IF (XX = 99)AND(YY < > ll)GOSUB 100 = 10)|print(X);X = X+ I; while(Z< | C: if((XX = = 99)&(YY!= ll))doit(); 1. Rgure 2. for:NEXT loop, except that there The point I'm making here is, don't be pie I've assumed the function "doit" from a or step size expres- put off by menacing terms like assign- does the same as the subroutine at line is no initialization ment operators; you use operators such 100 in Basic. (Subroutines in C are re- sion in the parentheses. break out of any loop in C as these all the time in Basic without hav- ferred to as "functions.") You can "while," a "do while," or a ing to know their generic names. The and is replaced by &. The = (including a "for") by using a break statement. A In fact there are many things you becomes = = and the < > becomes ! = of mine in is the come to take for granted about the syn- Apart from the parentheses to enclose favorite statement C This is a little like the tax of Basic. When you are learning or the "if" expression, that's it. The state- switch statement. Imagine reading about another language, terse ment written in C will produce a Z80 Basic on. ..goto construction. contains a descriptive terms look more menacing routine on a Model 4 or a 6809 version on you have a variable CH which Basic you than the simple objects they describe. a Color Computer which will perform number between 2 and 4. In So, in plain terms, the assignment exactly the same task in machine code on would say: 100,200,300 operator in Basic and C is the same—the either machine. ON CH-1 GOTO is 5? or 100? equal sign. Theconditional operators are What happens if CH l?Or statement like just about the same too; expressions like Useful Functions C is ready with the switch XX < = 99 are the same in C as in Basic. The por:NEXT loop in Basic has al- this: One difference here is that the Basic < > ways been one of its most useful features. switch (CH) is ! = (the it is even better. Imagine if in Basic for "not equal to" in C In C, I exclamation point reads as "not"). In C, you could say: case 2: = Z+2 { one break; XX = ITRUE reads "XX equals not FORX=1TOY=10 STEPZ (); ) case 3: true." Sure, sure, I could have said XX What you would be saying here is "start to ; the loop | two (); break; = FALSE but I'm illustrating a point, the loop with X equal 1 end | OK? case 4: 1 three( ); break; Another difference in this area is | that you don't use a single equal sign in a default: equality. you use a double gotcha( ); test for In C, 'ne aspect of the language equal sign as in: Q executes if(XX = = 1) that has been jealously guarded This statement simply case is appropriate according (read it as "if XX is-equal-to 1"). This whichever shows another thing you take for grant- by its writers since its inception to the switch variable (in this instance, terminated by a break ed in Basic. That equal sign has a dif- CH). Each case is has been its portability statement once ferent meaning in XX = 99 and IF XX to drop out of the switch only that but = 99 but you don't think twice about it. the action is complete. Not an errant number 1 In C, they are kept separate. I'll confess when Y is 10; and add 2 to Z every time now we would catch that default case. Very that I still forget and occasionally use a around the loop. This is exactly what you or 5 or 100 with single equal sign because of habits can do in C and it is an order of mag- easy and very watertight. learned from Basic. nitude more powerful than the Basic ver- That is as far as I aim to go in tempt- Arithmetic operators are the same sion. The statement would look like: ing you with a description of its syntax. as Basic, the usual signs for plus, minus, for(X=l;Y= = 10;Z=Z + 2). I've made a noise about some of the times, and divide with a percent sign for Whereas a more typical Basic for:next similarities to Basic in order to convince in the modulus operator. There is no expo- loop counting 1 to 10 would be: Basic aficionados that programming that you nentiation operator in C—that is consid- for(X=l;X= = 10;X = X+l). C isn't the gigantic mental leap ered a high level function, and C is a low This is still close enough to Basic to might think. There are, of course, some level language. make the learning experience easy. things that are different. But not that The Basic Boolean operators (those That's my point. If you know Basic, you many. A look at the C statement words menacing terms again) are and, or, and are already halfway to C. Moreover, if alone shows how much you know al- switch, case, xor. In C, they are all single charac- you know Pascal, you are 80% on the ready: if, else, while, do, for, return, and ters—an ampersand, a vertical bar, and a way. Like Pascal, C contains a "while" default, break, continue, caret. Armed with what we know so far, statement (which is even incorporated goto. that has let's look at the Basic line and equivalent into some dialects of Basic these days). One aspect of the language been jealously guarded by its writers C statement in Figure 1 For those unfamiliar with the "while" portabil- The two lines are similar enough to statement, Figure 2 offers an example. since its inception has been its keep me smiling, but here are the dif- This assumes a function called print ity. A properly written C program is al- ferences for anybody with a frown. A C which presumably not only prints the most certain to run on a different statement always ends in a semicolon. value of X, but changes the value of Z so machine (mainframe, mini, or micro) of There are no line numbers in C so you the loop can terminate at some point. without a single alteration. A library C name the routines instead; in this exam- This example is not all that different programs is, therefore, more valuable 148 CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 than a Basic library due to myriad ver- sions of polluted Basic floating about. I hope I have convinced somebody. I convinced myselfa while ago, and I am enthusiastic enough about the language to pass some of it on. I'm writing a com- piler using C—a task which would be an absolute bear in assembly language but is nearly ajoy in C. Available Compilers There aren't many C compilers around for the TRS-80, but choices do exist. If I can get my hands on any, I'll re- view them here. For the Color Computer The Power To Learn there is the Radio Shack OS-9 version of ...is in their hands with educational courseware from C at $100 which is a fully implemented Opportunities for learning. Only the best software meets our exacting standards, compiler. (It is possible to buy cheaper ensuring you of quality materials for your classroom or computer center. compilers which implement only the Write today for your free copy of the Selected Microcomputer Software catalog! most commonly used parts of the lan- guage.) Dugger's Growing Systems of- fers C for 05-9, Flex, and Color ELEMENTARY EDITION SECONDARY EDITION Computer DOS at prices between $50 and $75. opportunities for LEARNINO. INC. Name For the Model 4, there is PROLC 20417 Nordhoff St., DeptLlOe School _ from Misosys at $124.95 including an Chataworth, CA 91311 AddressAHrfrpsu editor and macro assembler. Manx Soft- (818) 341-2538 ware Systems also produces C for the Models II, III. 4, 12 and 16 with prices CIRCLE 140 ON READER SERVICE CARD ranging from $75 to $2000. Good grief. I didn't leave any room to say thanks for the letters. Some of them I'll answer in the column if I can Help Make Your Dreams stop myself from getting on such a roll in Come True! the future. Also, I meant to review ADOS from Spectrosystems and Spec- trum DOS from Spectrum Projects. Get Rich: Financial Strategies™ Next month, guys. Honest. That's if I Get Rich: Real Estate Planning™ don't get into Fortran. I Get Rich: Insurance Planning™* Firms Mentioned In This Column Now Available at your software dealer Tandy Radio Shack Suggested Retail 1 700 One Tandy Center Fort Worth, TX 76102 $59.95 each (817)390-3011 Apple I l/l I +/lle/llc • IBM PC/PCjr •Commodore 64 Dugger's Growing Systems Atari 800/800XL" P.O. Box 305 Solana Beach, CA 92075 Or call Arrays, Inc./Continental Software (619)755-4373 Inside California (213) 410-3977 Outside California 1-800-421-3931 Misosys P.O. Box 239 Sterling. VA 22170 (703) 450-4181 Manx Software Systems Box 55 Shrewsbury, NJ 07701 (201)780-4004 CIRCLE 108 ON READER SERVICE CARD VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 3/CREATIVE COMPUTING 149 1 E'S PORT Getting acquainted with DOS Robert Alonso and John J. Anderson may have spent some time same technique can be used to open any Lines 615 through 630 of Listing 1 Youexploring your C64, familiarizing file from machine language. Once the take care of the housekeeping chores. re- yourself with some of the things it directory is opened, you define the file The input and output channels are can do. But have you ever explored your number, in this instance file number 2, as stored to their default conditions. File disk drive? I've done some snooping the input channel. This means that every number 2 is closed. And program con- around in mine and learned quite a bit time the GETIN routine of the kernal is trol is returned to the calling routine. If about directories, sequential files, and called a byte will be input from file num- you SYS to the routine from Basic, con- the error channel. In the next couple of ber 2 and placed in the accumulator. The trol is returned to you on the screen, and columns, we will take a look around the following Basic code does the same the READY prompt is printed. all for now. I'll see you next 1 54 1 drive, and see how it allocates, then thing: That's uses, disk space. 10 OPEN 2,8,2."$" month with some more all machine lan- 20 GET#2,A$ guage routines. —RA DOS The GETIN routine is first called in This month's application program lines 400 and 405 where it is used to dis- Amiga Will Run Turbo Pascal is designed to count the free blocks on pose ofthe first two bytes ofthe directory Borland International, developer of any disk. Listings 1 and 2 both produce file. These two bytes are an ASCII letter the very popular language Turbo Pascal, the same object code. Ifyou like to see re- A, which indicates that the disk has been has announced that Turbo Pascal has sults, type in Listing 2 and run it. It will formatted on a 1541 or 4040 disk drive, been chosen by Commodore as the exclu- poke a machine language program into and an unused byte. sive Pascal language for the Amiga com- memory starting at 49 1 52. When you see The next 140 bytes, all part of the puter. Turbo Pascal has already sold over the READY prompt on the screen type BAM, are arranged in a peculiar, but in- 200,000copiesin its I BM, Apple, TI, HP, SYS 49152, and the program will count genious, way. Each track takes up four DEC, Wangand NCR implementations. the free blocks directly from the Block bytes of the BAM. The first byte always Borland president Philippe Kahn Allocation Map (BAM) on the disk. holds the total bytes free for that particu- told Creative Computing he expects that If, however, you want to learn a lit- lar track, and the other three bytes are "The Amiga, with its sophisticated user tle more machine language or under- coded so that each individual bit stands interface, will provide strong com- stand how the BAM is organized on a for a sector. petition for Apple Computer's Mac- disk, then read on. If the bit is set (binary 1), then the intosh and Apple II microcomputers. The BAM is a mystery to most 1 54 track is free; if it is clear (binary 0), it is We are committed to deliver Turbo Pas- users because most of us never have to allocated. It is very easy to count the cal, fully implemented, on Com- bother with it. When you load a direc- number offree blocks by adding together modore's long-awaited Amiga." tory, the 1541 DOS automatically all the first bytes. This is exactly what David Morse, head of the Amiga counts the free blocks and tells you the Listing 1 does. project, stated, "We evaluated Turbo results at the end of the directory listing. Take a look at lines 415 through Pascal closely, and found that it com- However, it can be useful to know how 435. The first byte is added to a tem- plements in software some of the best the BAM works and to have a utility pro- porary memory location BLOCK, and features the Amiga can provide in gram that will give you just the blocks the subsequent three bytes are discarded. hardware— including speed and free count. You may, for example, need a The process continues in a loop until functionality." disk on which to save a very long pro- track 18 is reached. Because track 18 As an added bonus, Amiga users gram. Obviously, it would not be wise to contains the BAM and the directory, all who purchase Turbo Pascal will have the load the directory to find out if the pro- the free blocks on track 18 are off limits power to transfer programs developed gram fit on a given disk. With the pro- and should not be counted. Listing 1 on the Amiga to an IBM PC, XT, AT, or grams presented here, this problem is takes care of this in lines 450 through PCjr, with the Turbo cross-assembler. eliminated. Just keep the machine code 460. Industry analysts predict that the at 49152 where it will not be disturbed The loop then continues until it new Amiga, Commodore's first true and whenever you need it, just SYS to it. reaches the end of track 35. The total is high-performance computer, will po- It will not corrupt your Basic program at then printed on the screen, and the sition Commodore as a serious con- all. BLOCKS AVAILABLE message tender in the small business market, One way to access the BAM is to printed after it. Lines 545 through 595 where such heavyweights as IBM and Hewlett-Packard are already firmly open the directory like a file. This is done print out a decimal number and a mes- — in Listing 1 in lines 265 through 315. The sage string. entrenched. JJA 150 CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 Save up i© /© Save op to 50% on Creative Creative Computing Computing subscribe to I want to subscribe to »• Creative Computing. I want to • Creative Computing. $9.97-47%.off! Yes! 9 issues only /» ott. $9.97-47% issues) only ^97-48 9 issues only One year (12 *".97—48 $24.97—50% off! One year (12 issues) only ^ Two years only $24.97-50/o off! 8 Two years only § CHECK ONE: Bill me later. CHECK ONE: Payment enclosed. Q Bill me later. card: Payment enclosed. Q Please charge my credit ^^ Mastert_aro |_j credit card: American Express Please charge my .-. Master<_ara v|sa American Express |_j Exp. Date- Q Card No.. State foreign countries. ,w i$jue ji other x^tt&xsx^"*-* ^JZTJ?&£&« ot «r, _ Listing 1. Pol Sourte file. 100 SYS 700:. OPT 00:I=4C000 370 ; 640 COUNTER .BYTE 400 103 ; Ittlti tun 375 LDA 4400 {INITIALIZE 645 BLOCK .BYTE 400,400 110 380 STA BLOCK+1 {LOCATIONS USED 650 NAME .ASC '4' US CREATIVE COMPUTING 385 LDA 4402 {IN BAH COUNT 655 HESSA6E .ASC 'BLOCKS AVAILABLE.' 120 HL BLOCKS FREE COUNT 390 STA COUNTER {ROUTINE. 660 .BYTE 400 123 ROBERT ALONSO 395 { Listing 2. Bosk Loader. 130 400 JSR 6ETIN {BET RID OF TNO 133 ; tiimmtmtmtmmmu 405 JSR 6ETIN {BYTES. ioo REH tttimmmttittitimtittt 140 410 ; 105 REM 1 t 143 ; EQUATES 415 JSR 6ETIN {GET FIRST NUMBER 110 REH I CREATIVE COMPUTING LOADER 4 ISO 420 STA BLOCK {STORE IT. 115 REH t ML BLOCKS FREE COUNT 4 133 ; BASIC RON 425 MORE JSR 6ETIN ;6ET RID OF 120 REH 4 ROBERT ALONSO 4 160 430 JSR 6ETIN {THREE BYTES 125 REH t t 163 STROUT 4AB1E 435 JSR 6ETIN ; IN BETWEEN. 130 REH 44144444444444444444444444444 170 LINPRT tBDCD 440 ; 135 REH 173 I 445 JSR 6ETIN {GET ANOTHER NUMBER 140 PRINT CHR4(147):P0KE53281,0 180 ; 0PERATIN6 SYSTEM 450 LDX COUNTER {CHECK FOR TRACK 18 145 PRINT 'THIS PR06RAH POKES A' 185 455 CPX 4412 {AND SKIP IT. NEVER 150 PRINT 'HL PR06RAH FILE' 190 CLEAR 4E544 460 BEQ SKIP {COUNT THESE. 155 PRINT 'INTO HEHORY." 195 465 ; 160 FOR X =49 152 TO 49307: READ A: B=B+A 200 JUHP ; KERNAL TABLE 470 CLC {CLEAR THE CARRY 165 NEXT: IF BO20724 THEN 215 • 203 475 ADC BLOCK {ADD THE NUMBER TO 170 RESTORE 210 SETLFS tFFBA 480 STA BLOCK ;LOH BYTE. 175 FOR XM9152 TO 49307:READ A 213 SETNAH 4FFBD 485 LDA BLOCK+1 ;IF LOH BYTE >255 180 POKE X,A: NEXT: PRINT = 220 OPEN 4FFC0 490 ADC 4400 {THEN INCREASE 185 PRINT 'THE PR06RAM CAN BE CALLED' 223 CLOSE 4FFC3 495 STA BLOCKS ;HI6H BYTE. 190 PRINT 'BY TYPING SYS 49152 AND' 230 CHKIN 4FFC6 500 ; 195 PRINT 'PRESSING RETURN. IT HILL* 233 CLRCHN tFFCC 505 LDX COUNTER {CHECK COUNTER 200 PRINT 'COUNT THE NUMBER OF FREE' 240 CHROUT 4FFD2 510 SKIP INX {FOR TRACK 36. IF < 205 PRINT 'BLOCKS ON YOUR DISKETTE.' 4FFE4 24S GETIN 515 STX COUNTER {36 CONTINUE, OTHER- 210 PRINT 'THE DRIVE MUST BE ON.': END 230 i 520 CPX 8424 WISE END. 215 PRINT CHR4(28) NUMBER 233 ; OPEN CHANNEL 2, DIRECTORY 525 BNE MORE ;IF NOT END, GET MORE 220 PRINT 'THERE IS AN ERROR IN THE' 260 530 ; 225 PRINT 'DATA STATEMENTS. CHECK' 263 LDA M02 {LOGICAL FILE 12 535 ; BLOCKS AVAILABLE MESSAGE 230 PRINT 'THEM FOR ACCURACY.': END 270 LDX 1408 {DEVICE 88 540 ; 235 DATA 169,2,162,8,160,2,32,186,255 275 LDY 1402 ; COMMAND 12 545 LDA 448D {SHIFTED RETURN 240 DATA 169,1,162,137,160,192,32,189 280 JSR SETLFS ;SET L06ICAL FILE. 550 JSR CHROUT {PRINT IT TNICE AS 245 DATA 255,32,192,255,32,68,229,162 283 555 JSR CHROUT {LINEFEEDS. 250 DATA 2,32,198,255,169,0,141,136 290 LDA 4101 {LENGTH OF NAME 560 LDX BLOCK {GET LOH BYTE 255 DATA 192,169,2,141,134,192,32,228 295 LBX KNANE ;LW BYTE 565 LDA BLOCK +1 {AND HI6H AND 260 DATA 255,32,228,255,32,228,255,141 300 LDY 4>NAHE {HIGH BYTE 570 JSR LINPRT {OUTPUT DECIMAL 265 DATA 135,192,32,228,255,32,228,255 303 JSR SETNAH ;NAHE THE FILE. 575 LDA 4420 {PRINT A SPACE 270 DATA 32,228,255,32,228,255,174,134 310 580 JSR CHROUT 275 DATA 192,224,18,240,18,24,109,135 "4' 315 JSR OPEN {OPEN 2, 8, 2, 585 LDA 4 335 JSR CLEAR {CLEAR SCREEN 605 ; ENDING STEPS 300 DATA 174,135,192,173,136,192,32,205 340 LDX 4102 {CHANNEL NUMBER 2 610 ; 305 DATA 189,169,32,32,210,235,169,138 345 JSR CHKIN {DEFINE AS INPUT. 615 JSR CLRCHN {CLEAR CHANNELS 310 DATA 160,192,32,30,171,32,204,255 350 620 LDA 8402 {CHANNEL 82 315 DATA 169,2,32,195,255,96,0,0 333 ; MAIN PROGRAM 625 JSR CLOSE {CLOSE IT. 320 DATA 0,36,66,76,79,67,75,83 360 630 RTS {RETURN 325 DATA 32,65,86,65,73,76,65,66 COUNT THE BAH ON 363 ; 18,0 635 ; 330 DATA 76,69,46,0 VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 3/CREATIVE COMPUTING 1S1 OUTPOST: ATARI The state of Atari and a musical instrument to make John J. Anderson and Robert Swirsky state-of-the-art Amiga hello again, Atarians. It least one will ship with 1 28K standard. the benefit of the Well, been promised to may not look like it at first Atari will also introduce a 300/ chipset, which had glance, but this is a very special 1200 baud modem, which connects Atari, and subsequently "unpromised," he on board. column, and it is a special pleasure to without need for 850 interface, and a right about the time came man the Outpost once again this month. low-cost full-size color printer. Atari continues to fight for rights to the the Amiga For this is the column that might never chipset in litigation. Loss of have been. chipset was a serious blow to Atari, but At the mere whisper on the Creative apparently has not stopped Jack from Computing SIG on CompuServe that the pursuit of his goal. column might be dropped, we received 16- 32- more than 200 pleas to save the Out- A.II and bit machines The Prognosis its way back into post—an impressive response, indeed. It Can Atari battle will utilize VLSI custom chips assured the continuing existence of the the consumer fray? Absolutely yes, if what they have to offer is better than column—for at least the time being. alongside their main processors costs Here is a smidge of hard evidence what the competition has to offer, that we listen to our readers—and that and run a proprietary DOS. Most less, and can be manufactured reliably in our online forum truly works both ways. quantity. Jack must count on each of significantly, will ran Thanks to our SIG members not only for they GEM, these points to succeed. Atari will never gain a reputation as their continuing support, but for their Graphics Environment Manager, solidarity on the issue. a serious maker of business machines, from Digital Research. and in the past the business market has Out of Intensive Care had a make or break effect on more than Resulting from aggressive price one microcomputer. If, in fact, a propri- cutsand a new multimil lion dollar media According to Tramiel brother Sam, etary operating system implies that MS- campaign, the Atari 800XL was sold out at least one of a new line of 16-bit Atari DOS compatibility is out, Atari is taking through the Christmas season. At $1 19, machines will also surface at Winter a big gamble indeed. the 800XL, which was the only micro CES, and the first of a line of 32-bit "su- I n the meantime, it is good merely to Atari had left, proved that the home con- per-machines" will be previewed at the hear from the small group of powerful sumer is still interested in low-end com- Hannover Fair in Germany this April. men that now command Atari Corpora- puting. The Atari 10S0 disk drive was Sam Tramiel told Antic that the new 32- tion—to hear them talk about 1985 in discounted to under $200, with the goal bit machine would be built around a Na- terms ofbillion dollar sales, and so forth. of pricing an entire system, including tional Semiconductor 32032 processor, It shows that the confidence of a single 1027 letter quality printer and word and would be in fact a "VAX in a box." man can still influence the industry. And processing cartridge, at under $600. All the 16- and 32-bit machines will from that perspective, we can only hope utilize VLSI custom chips alongside for the best. But Still Critical their main processors and run a propri- Realistically, however, how long etary DOS. Most significantly, they will Magical Music can that boost last? Atari has needed to run GEM, Graphics Environment Man- It has been ages since we have run an take a giant step into the next generation ager, from Digital Research. This OS Atari hardware application—and here's of hardware—and at a news conference shell features pull-down menus, sizable one that is so offbeat it just had to get its in late November, finally announced its windows, icons, and pointer input device moment of glory. Thanks to Robert plans. At CES they will debut three new support for mice, et al. Sound familiar? Swirsky for sending this one in. 8-bit machines, compatible with the cur- Jack Tramiel has publicly stated that it is rent 800X1.. and including a new equiva- his intention to produce a machine ca- When Lee DeForest perfected lent to the 800XL. This new entry will pable of outdoing the Macintosh in the first electronic oscillator in look almost exactly like the older ma- graphics power and ease ofuse, and to do 1915, he had no idea that he chine, but will incorporate a number of it in color for less than the price ofa stan- would provoke a revolution in musical design improvements. Another 8-bit dard Mac. production. It was his oscillator—a de- machine will be a transportable, and at He has had to attempt this without vice that could produce audio 152 CREATIVE COMPUTING/MARCH 1985 MAC/APPLE /IBM APPLE r— tones— that was incorporated in the municate with other worlds. If you have N- early electronic musical O instruments. Of ever seen an old SF movie, you have Your CM CL course, in modern electronic instru- probably heard one. Retail Price CD CBS °9 ments, the tones are produced by a Il is a shame to see S a musical in- Mastering the SAT 150 00 120 00 co n microprocessor that essentially serves as strument die. Therefore, I had decided to KM a clock to pulse a speaker at varying resurrect the instrument in a modern SAT 300 00 240 00 800-22 intervals HBJ -2058 and amplitudes. form more appropriate for todays' era: Computer SAT 79 AM-6 At the beginning of the twentieth the 95 64 95 computerized Theremin. This Howard Soft century, however, digital computers turned out to be much simpler than I Tax Preparer 1985 3~* had 250 00 199 95 were certainly not available. Analog imagined, allowing for one major change Mecca CO k_ Managing Your Money methods were used to produce electronic in the original design. In place of the an- 200 00 160 00 © O => Broderbund [.VIMS music. One common device was a tenna I substituted a cadmium sulfide Karateka 34 95 27 95 CO "slider" i I control arranged to vary the (CdS) photoelectric cell. The CdS cell is Print Shop 49 95 39 95 Graphics Library 24 95 19 95 pitch of the oscillator; another was an a device that changes its electrical resis- Monogram analog keyboard. tance according to the amount of light Dollars a Sense lie 100 00 79 95 falling on it. By using your hands to cre- Dollars 6 Sense lie 125 00 100 00 Forecast Computerized Theremin ate shadows on the photocell, the pitch lie 59 95 47 95 Not satisfied with these methods of of the Theremin can be changed. IBM controlling an audio oscillator, the Rus- Your sian scientist Leon Theremin devised his The Details Retail Price a The interface circuit is very simple. Mecca CM Managing Your Money 199 95 159 95 r-. "1 M I used two CdS cells (available from elec- Infocoffl LO CdScell CdScefl tronic parts suppliers) connected in se- Hitch Hikers Guide to ^" — ries. Using dual cells provides a greater Galaxy 39 95 3195 a> £ Human range of resistances and more control of Edge Mind Prober 49 95 39 95 the instrument. cells The are mounted Simon t Schuster on a board Typing Tutor III -@)v@i an inch apart and connected 49 95 .39 95 X ° " to the Atari Player 1 controllerjack with SEI ae»e»C*lE^"4e»efn Spanish 39 95 3195 i*H>^H)rJ Connect in series a nine pin D connector. (See Figure 1 ). French 39 95 31 95 Software for the Theremin couldn't Broderbund T* Atari To Atari be simpler. It consists Ancient Art of War 49 of two program 95 39 95 a.' Lu 6 port#l, port#l. statements: CBS oO Mastering the SAT 150 00 120 00 1**7 pin#9 J 10 SOUND 0,PADDLE(0),10,10 KreK n n SAT 20 GOTO 10 300 00 24000 •**•» - b) ( Howard Soft Gl i Of course, the Tax Preparer 1965 295 00 236 00 12 3 4 5 software could be changed to provide a number of special effects, §° m Vo o o o 0/ but these would make the instrument MACINTOSH eie^Ji perform differently, it so could not 1 • • be Your esJ* x- \ / classified as a Theremin. I'm sure Leon Retail Price & *- Creative 6 7 8 9 Theremin wouldn't want to see his con- Solutions p*» MacForth Level II 249 95 19995 5 cept distorted and his name besmirched. VMM UL. "" figure 1. (a) How the CdS photocells are Incidentally, there are uses C.Hlenrl.ir other for 59 95 4795 1 #Jt Mac Vegas connected. (b)Pinout of the Atari a photocell controller. With the control- 59 95 4795 1 Assimilation player port. Use a type 'DE9 plocj. ler, your Atari has the ability to detect it Mac Spell Right 89 00 7200 1 tts light, and can be used, for instance, in se- Mac Memory Disk 29 95 23 95 •_ Turbo Touch 129 95 103 •JiMW. ]^^H own instrument which he called, with- curity applications. Perhaps it would 95 Soft-Tech out any modesty whatsoever, the make an interesting controller: game MacAdvantage UCSD d Her Theremin. there are no moving parts to wear out. Pascal 299 95 239 95 c B^^J original The Theremin consisted of While this controller acts as paddle(0) Consulalr $ Iflfca Mac C with Tool Kit an oscillator connected to a radio an- from Basic, other CdS cells (up to seven 42S00 340 00 CD C3 Central Point O ^» tenna. By varying the distance of your more) can be hooked up and accessed Copy II Mac 39 95 31 95 CO efjff hands from the antenna, you could con- with Atari Basic commands PADDLE(l) State of the Art 00 fxwft trol the pitch of the oscillator. Moving through paddle(8). Electric Checkbook 79 95 64 95 o ™8I *Vbij your hands above the antenna would The computerized Theremin is Monogram a> 3oHars & Sense a> ^OK raise the pitch and bringing them closer 150 00 120.00 probably one of the easiest musical de- Forecast 69 95 55 95 would lower it. vices to simulate on a computer. It is also The Theremin is all but dead today. simple to play—just move your hands to There was a time, however, when the de- allow varying amounts of light to reach In Bay Area Visit vices were frequently used: during the the photocell. I used mine as one of the SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS era of the early science fiction movies. voices in a composition "Fugue for 11185 San Pablo Ave. The Theremin was the device used to Three Ataris" which was performed be- El Cerrito, CA 94530 create the "tuning the radio" noises that fore an enthusiastic audience at Hofstra Hours; 10 AM-6 PM the mad scientist inevitably used to com- University. CIRCLE 128 ON READER SERVICE CARD CREATIVE COMPUTING MARKETPLACE set in all bold type at 20% P^ium. Ads CLASSIFIED RATES: Per Word. 15 Word Minimum. REGULAR: $3.50. EXPAND-AD-: $5.25. Ads Prepayment discounts available. Payment must accompany set with background screen @ 25% premium. GENERAL INFORMATION: insertions. Copy sublet to Publisher s order except credit card-Am. Ex.. Diners. MC. VISA (include exp. date)— or accredited ad agency supply an a*,res an le approval; must be typewritten or printed. First word set in caps. Advertisers using P.O. Boxes MUST P^ * ^" ; C»osmgda^ 5th ^tl^^dm<^th^, preced- phone number. Orders not acknowledged. They will appear In next available issue after receipt. Advertising, CREATIVE COMPUTING Magazine. 1 ing cover date (e.g.. April issue closes Jan. 5th). Send order & remittance to: Classified 503-5115. For Customer Service, call Park Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10016. To charge your ad to a major credit card, call Lois Price at (212) (212)503-4506. MAIL ORDER OPPORTUNITY! Start profitable home business without experience or capital. Information HARDWARE SOFTWARE free. Mail Order Associates. Inc.. Dept. 568. Mont- vale. NJ 07645. $3000 00 per month spare time income with your IBM. COMPAQ KAYPRO. APPLE IIC. Panasonic Se- FOR Ac- HORSE & DOG HANDICAPPING PROGRAMS computer! Free details. Dlgatek Corporation. 2723 nior Partner. Free Catalog. Discount Computer 445 North Pine. Reedsburgh. Wl 53959. MOST PERSONAL COMPUTERS. Free Catalog: We at Butler Drive, Suite B. Phoenix. AZ 85021. cessories. (608) 524-2429. Gambler's Edge Computing, Dept B4, 250 Rich WE BUY AND PUBLISH SOFTWARE PROGRAMS. Na- tional financial firm seeks program submissions for ards Rd., Stt. 254, Kansas City, M0 64116. investment. 70% Commodore, 10% Atari, 10% IBM, COMMODORE 64/VIC 20 Games//educatlonal soft- 10% Apple. Games, education, etc. $1,000 to $20,000 MISCELLANEOUS 1 war*. Over 4000 titles 1 Writ* for FREE catalog Amer- up front. 1% to 20% royalties. International marketing ican Peripherals. 122 Bangor St., Lmdenhurst. NY through 52,000 retail accounts. Empire Financial 4 In- 11757. vestment Corp., 10920 Ambassador Drive. Kansas City. WEIGHT CONSCIOUS MICROCOMPUTER USERS. Track calorie intake end projected weight loss with DISCOUNT priced software and accessories for ma- MO 64153. CALORIE TRACKER V7.V. Provides daily and sum- jor micros. Friendly, prompt service Free catalog, marized atatistica. Aasiats in calculation of ideal seasonal specials. Ascus Micro. 680C Northland Blvd.. weight. Printer optional. Disk $19.95 $2.00 Shipping Cincinnati. OH 45240. 1-(800) 543-1114 or 1(513) 825- COMMODORE 64 and Handling. For: IBM/PC. PCjr w/BASIC CART. AP- 5803. PLE ll*/lle/llc. 48K ATARI w/BASIC CART. PROFES- TI-994A SOFTWARE/HARDWARE bargains. Hard to INC.. PO Box THE CAR MAINTENANCE EXPENSE PROGRAM— SIONAL COMPUTER ASSOCIATES. find Items. Huge selection. Fast service. Free catalog. 1535. Oek Park, IL 60304. Keep track of oil changes, etc. Add. Read and Print by DYNAMO. Box 690. Hickaville, NY 11801. category and/or year. Supports up to 4 vehicles. On GRAPHICS. KEYBOARD, TIME, date subroutines for all free Enter- USED SOFTWARE! Buy or sell computers, disk for Commodore 64. Send $15.95 to MIG Microsoft Fortren 77. Reuse license included. $25. PO Hales catalog. Software Exchange Inc.. Boa 485. prise. PO Box 267, Old Chelsea Station. New York. NY Box 368. Cedar Park, TX 78613. Corner. Wl 83130. 10113. ORAPHETI Flexible hires grephlcs editor for Com- PROGRAMS. DISK FSP PAYS $$$ FOR EDUCATIONAL TIMEX/SINCLAIR modore 64 Disk. $29.95. Mess, add 5% ARIES. POB SAMPLE BRINGS CONFIDENTIAL EVAL/OFFER. 71 3006, Andover. MA 01810. Hilltop. Randolf. NJ 07869. LOCATOR SER- WORLD'S LARGEST SOFTWARE COMMODORE 64 SOFTWARE. Free price Mat. WMJ SPEECH ayntheaizer. Timex: TS2068/1500/1000. ML- listings. Let SOFSEARCH find that VICE— with 39.000+ Data Syatems. Dept. 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Disc/Tape: fer Sofllat Co., 1513 No. Wilcox. Suite 547. LOS Ange- $19.96. SASE FOR DETAILS. FTW. Box 31017, Dayton. YOUR l*s. CA 90028. OHIO 45431. TRY BEFORE YOU BUY!!! Tl-Users save money by ranting software from the SOFTWARE USERS EX- CHANGE. Dept E, P.O. Box 49. Cumberland. PA 17070. TRS-80 Free Brochure! OF creative comparing COMPUTER EQUIPMENT/SUPPLIES Co-Co-Nut Software. Over 500 TRS-80 programs. Add to your CREATIVE COMPUTING collec- Write/Call for price Hat. Site 9, Box 1. R.R. 2 Tofield. tion today Make your personal library com- Alberta. Canada TOB 4J0. (403) 662-2415. plete and authoritative with any issues you DISK for TRS models 11.12, 16. TRS DOS DON'T NOTCH THAT DISK! Modify your read/write HARD SORT may be missing. 2.0 UP. Fixed length records only. FAST! Floppies too! protect switch Complete instructions, all necessary available 5486 Riv- Copies are for issues published parts included. Send $6.50 to MicroScot. P.O. Box 768. $119.95. GOOD-LYDDON DATA SYSTEMS. 91710. 980-4563. during the last twelve months— be sure to Rocklln. CA 95677 (916) 624-5636 evenings. erside Dr.. Chino. CA (714) specify the issues you want. If a particular issue is out of stock, your payment will be COMPUTER PUBLICATIONS GAMES refunded promptly. Back issues of CREATIVE COMPUTING are priced at $6.00 each, postpaid. Outside USA, Alignment, Ad- "DISK DRIVE MANUAL"-Dr.ve TRIVIA MANIA. Pursue trivia on your computer. Re- $7.00 each. justments, Preventive Maintenance, Diagnos- quires 48K and 1 disk drive. TRS-80 Mod HI/4, Co tics, Troubleshooting, Repairs—Without Special, CREATIVE COMPUTING MCBI Co II, Commodore 64, Apple ll+/lle/llc. Specify CN 1914 Morrrjtown, NJ 07960 Expensive Software, Equipment. Comprehensive. computer. Send for AFM, Box 154, $19.95 PO Please send issues of CREATIVE COMPUTING listed $19.90. Brochure $1. WILLIAMS, M.S.E.E., 2011 Sayreville, NJ 08872. below: Crescent, Alamogordo, 88310. NM Qty. Unit Price Totol Price LASERWORKS Videodisc Newsletter. $12/yr. Write for INSTRUCTION FREE sample. P.O. BOX 250031A, Loa Angeles, CA 90025 MUSIC THEORY. SOFTWARE and Keyboard for Apple BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES lie. Commodore 64. Atari. Includes chords, scales, in- tervals, others. Musictron. 11918 Vance Jackson. San Payment Enclosed Antonio. Texes 78230. (512) 696-1973. RUN YOUR OWN SOFTWARE BUSINESS. Become one distributors for a new direct personal- of the first key Mr./Mr$./Ms.. ized computer software marketing business. Unre- PROGRAMS IprMMii stricted income potential and territory. Job Address independence. Low overheed. Good profit margina. Low investment. Write today for information packet. ICity / Stole / Zip _| VIC PROGRAMS FOR JUST $6.95!! Free catalog. RVG Inc.. 2001 Killabrew Drive. Minneapolis, MN SO 360-A. Pomona. NY 10970. 55420. Knockout Software. POB bWE COMPUTING RFTAII POSTFP ARIZONA INDIANA HEATHKIT ELECTRONIC CENTERS- Heath/Zenith NORTH CAROLINA Computers. Software. Peripherals HEATHKIT ELECTRONIC CENTERS-Heath/Zenlth HEATHKIT ELECTRONIC CENTERS-Heath/Zenith Computers. Software. Peripherals INDIANAPOLIS—2112 Computers. Software. Peripherals. GREENSBORO—4820 E. 82nd CALIFORNIA St.. (317) 257-4321. W Market St .(919)299-5390 HEATHKIT ELECTRONIC CENTERS— Heath/Zenith KANSAS OHIO Computers. Software. Peripherals ANAHEIM—330 E Ball Rd.. (714) 776-9420. CAMPBELL—2350 S. Bascom Ave.. HEATHKIT ELECTRONIC CENTERS-Heath/Zenith NORTH COAST COMPUTERS. 650 Dover Center Bay (408) 377-8920 EL CERRITO—6000 Potrero Aye.. Village 44140. (415) Computers. Software. Peripherals. MISSION—5960 La- 216-835-4345. 100 N. Main. Chagrin Falls 236-8870. LA MESA—8363 Center Drive. (714) 461-0110. mar Ave. (913) 362-4466. Apple. Lisa. Vector Graphics. Hewlett-Packard (216)247- LOS ANGELES—2309 S. Flower St.. (213) 749-0261. PO- 2202 MONA— 1555 N. Orange Grove Ave.. (714) 623-3543. KENTUCKY REDWOOD CITY— HEATHKIT ELECTRONIC CENTERS-Heath/Zenith 2001 Mlddlefield Rd , (415)365-8155 Computers. Software. SACRAMENTO — 1860 Fulton Ave.. (916) 486-1575 HEATHKIT Peripherals. CINCINNATI— 10133 ELECTRONIC CENTERS-Heath/Zenlth Springfield Pike. WOODLAND HILLS—22504 venture Blvd Woodlawn, (513) 771-8850. CLEVE- . (213) 883-0531 Computers. Software. Peripherals Louisville— 12401 LAND—28100 Chagrin Blvd.. (216) 292-7553 COLUM- Shelbyville Road. (502)245-7811. BUS— COLORADO 2500 MORSE ROAO. (614) 475-7200 TOLEDO—48 S Byrne Road. (419) 537-1887. HEATHKIT ELECTRONIC CENTERS— Heath/Zenith LOUISIANA Computers. Software, Peripherals. DENVER—5940 W OKLAHOMA 38th Ave.. (303) 422-3408. HEATHKIT ELECTRONIC CENTERS-Heath/Zenith Computers, Software. Peripherals KENNER— 1900 vet- HEATHKIT ELECTRONIC CENTERS-Heath/Zenith CONNECTICUT erans. Memorial Hwy., (504)467-6321. Computers. Software. Peripherals OKLAHOMA CITY— 2727 Northwest Expressway. (405) 848-7593 EXECUTIVE SOFTWARE-Stamford-(203) 359-2604 MARYLAND Dedicated to excellence in microcomputers 1 Authorized PENNSYLVANIA dealer for KAYPRO 6 ALTOS. HEATHKIT ELECTRONIC CENTERS-Heath/Zenith HEATHKIT ELECTRONIC HEATHKIT ELECTRONIC CENTERS— Heeth/Zenith Computers Software. Peripherals BALTIMORE— 1713 E CENTERS-Heath/Zenith Joppa Rd.. Computers Software. Peripherals PHILADELPHIA— Computers. Software. Peripherals. AVON—395 W Main (301) 661-4446 ROCKVILLE—5542 Nichol- 6318 son Roosevelt Ave.. (215) 288-0180. FRAZER— St. (Rt. 44). (203) 678-0323 Lane. (301 ) 881 -5420. 630 Lancas- ter Pike. (Rt. 30). (215) 647-5555 PITTSBURGH—3482 Wm Penn. FLORIDA MASSACHUSETTS Hwy. (412) 824-3564. HEATHKIT ELECTRONIC CENTERS— Heath/Zenith SCIENCE FANTASY BOOKSTORE 18 Eliot, Harvard RHODE ISLAND Computers. Software. Peripherals. HIALEAH—4705 W. Square. Cambridge. 02138. (617) 547-5917. Open 11-6 HEATHKIT ELECTRONIC CENTERS-Heath/Zenith 16th Ave.. (305) 823-2280. JACKSONVILLE—8262 Ar- Apple. Atari. IBM. Commodore 64. Computers. Software. Peripherals. WARWICK — 558 lington Expressway. (904) 725-4554. PLANTATION—7173 Greenwich Ave ) HEATHKIT . (401 738-5150. W. Broward Blvd.. (305) 791-7300. TAMPA—4109 Hills- ELECTRONIC CENTERS-Heath/Zenith borough Ave 886-2541 Computers. Software, Peripherals. . PEABODY—242 (813) . FT LAUDERDALE— 7173 W. An- TEXAS Broward Blvd. (305) 791-7300 dover St.; (617) 531-9330. WELLESLEY— 165 Worchester Ave. (617) 237-1510. HEATHKIT ELECTRONIC CENTERS-Heath/Zenlth GEORGIA Computers. Software. Peripherals. DALLAS— 2715 Ross MICHIGAN Ave.. (214) 826-4053 FORT WORTH—6825 A Green Oaks HEATHKIT ELECTRONIC CENTERS—Heath/Zenith Road (817) 737-8822 HOUSTON— 1704 W. Loop N Computers. Software. Peripherals. ATLANTA— HEATHKIT (713) 5285 ELECTRONIC CENTERS-Heath/Zenith 869-5263 NORTH HOUSTON—5050 FM 1960 Roswell West (713) Rd . (404)252-4341. Computers Software. Peripherels E. DETROIT— 18149 563-1163 SAN ANTONIO— 7111 Blanco Road. (512) 341- E Eight Mile Road. (313) 772-0416. FARMINGTON HILLS— 8876 HAWAII 29433 Orchard Lake Road. (313) 555-4171. HEATHKIT ELECTRONIC CENTERS-Heath/Zenith UTAH Computers, Software. Peripherals. HONOLULU—96-1254 MINNESOTA HEATHKIT ELECTRONIC CENTERS — Heath/Zenith Kaahumanu St.. Pearl City. (808) 487-0029. HEATHKIT ELECTRONIC CENTERS-Heath/Zenith Computers. Software. Peripherals. MIDVALE—58 East 7200 South. ) 566-4626 ILLINOIS Computers Software. Peripherals. HOPKINS— 101 Shady (801 Oak Road (612) 938-6371. St. PAUL— 1645 White Bear Ave HEATHKIT ELECTRONIC CENTERS-Heath/Zenith (612)778-1211. VIRGINIA Computers. Software, Peripherals. Chicago—3462-66 W HEATHKIT ELECTRONIC CENTERS-Heath/Zenith Devon Ave., 583-3920. (312) DOWNERS GROVE—224 MISSOURI Computers. Software. Peripherals ALEXANDRIA—6201 Ogden Ave . (31 852-1304. 2) Richmond Hwy.. (703) 765-5515. VIRGINIA BEACH— 1055 HEATHKIT ELECTRONIC CENTERS-Heath/Zenith NEW Independence Blvd. .(604) 460-0997. YORK Computers. Software. Peripherals. ST. LOUIS—3794 McKelvey Road (314) 291-1850. HEATHKIT ELECTRONIC CENTERS— Heath/Zenith WASHINGTON Computer*. Software. Peripherels. AMHERST— 3476 NEBRASKA HEATHKIT ELECTRONIC CENTERS-Heath/Zenith Sheridan Dr.. (716) 835-3090. ROCHESTER—937 Jeffer- Computers Software. Peripherals SEATTLE—505 8th son Rd.. (718) 424-2560. N. WHITE PLAINS— 7 Reservoir HEATHKIT ELECTRONIC CtNTERS— Heath/Zenith Ave.. North, Rd.. (206) 682-2172. TUKWILA— 15439 53rd Ave.. (914) 761-7690 Jericho. L.I.— 15 Jericho Turnpike Computers Software. Peripherals. OMAHA—9207 Ma- South. (206) 246-5358. VANCOUVER— 516 S E. Chaklov (516)334-8181. ple St.. (402)391-2071 Dr.. (206) 254-4441. CREATIVE COMPUTING DIRECTORY Publications Software/Business Software/Utilities Tape To Disk Catalogs Opportunities Conversion COLOR COMPUTER USERS PC BUYERS GUIDE Zapcomp— disk sector editor single & dou- THE INDEPENDENT GUOE TO PRODUCTS AND ATTENTION CONVERSION SOFTWARE ble density 51X24 screen $29 95 Distribu- SERVICES SERV1CES FOR IBM Personal Computers This DEVELOPERS Convert any 9 track magnetic tape to or tor & dealer inquiries invited Send lor free from master directory lists, describes, rates lor ease over We are interested in receiving your com- catalog 200 formats including 3V,-. 5%-. 8" disk of use. and tells you about the latest in software, pleted package and business plan Hammer RUFF SOFTWARE formats & word processors Disk lo disk hardware, accessories, supples, books, ser- Computer Systems Inc is in the software conversions also avail Call for more info 506 Cromwell Ct . Dept 1001 vices, et al Everything lor you and your IBM PC PIVAR publishing business Please send inguines Be"on. M0 64012 COMPUTING SERVICES. INC It even Includes ?n Index of Computer Camps 47 and complete portfolio to: (816)331-7118 W Dundee Rd for both adults and children From the publish- Thomas A Horvath. Vice President of Sales Wheeling. IL 60090 ers of PC An ideal gift only at $7.95 ( $1 55 and Marketing (312)459-6010 shippmg/harvjing) to US destinations; and $11 00 elsewhere Residents ot CA. CO. CT. DC. FL. I. MA. MD.NJ.andNYadd applicable sales SHAMMER tax Checks or MasterCard or VISA acceptable Hammer Computer Systems. Inc. (with number, expiration date and signature) US 700 Larkspur Landing Circle. Suite 285 funds only Mail lo Larkspur. CA 94939 PC BUYERS GUIDE (415)461-7633 CN1914 Momstown. 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ELEPHANT •JV Dwfc Or** Anertyfe* VERBATIM App^VpM>V«*»»on 3300 sheets 9*11 r SM.tBjM 1 5VSS00 l.M IBM*• V«-Ve-vo-- - C,M MT SSOO 17»7» Diskettes Ml DSOO 2 4S 5VDS0D M» 24 Hour Order Desk Diskettes. SSDD. Generic. 10 Disks ja.SaVCta* in Library Case. WE WILL BEAT ANY PRICE BY 3% shipping/handling 1-800-634-2248 Include $2 50 mm lor Sold in 10 Packs. Shipping 3.75 any size order. NY State residents add sales tax Pre-paid, COD. or credit card. COD add 1.65 Send check or money order to All ORDERS SHIPPED WITHIN 41 HOURS. AMPOC ENTERPRISES INC. Alto. TDK and Maxell audio and video cassettes 5 UEKMAN ST SUITE 720. NT V (212) 233 1710 220 SPRING ST. BOX 361 BUTLER. 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Dysan diskehes ICS SAME DAY SHIPPING (USUALLY) maxell u ££.;* LIFETIME WARRANTY PfRSOIAl COMPUTER P«X«JCTS 8087-3 Co-Processors $149.97 1 Bon ot ten 5* sort or hard sectored Dysan dnkmes DYNAMIC RAM with envelopes laoeis and mntorced hub nngs The floppy disks thai meet or 256K»i 150 ns $2197 SS/OD DS/0D exceed every stondard ot quaMty. 256K SiQOS8 SOQ85$ . 64K 64K«i 120 ns 3 77 19 29 S-J69 64K 64K»t 150 ns 3.57 ss/oo S3495 OS/OD s w MD1-D 5V." 64K 64K«i 200 ns 3 56 42 EPROM — SALE MD2-D 5V4" $229 27256 32Kx8 300 ns $45.97 EPSON PRINTERS 27128 i6KxB 250 ns 13 67 Dot Matrix. Bidirectional with Logic Seeking. Ot » Paper Feed and Tractor Feed: • BOXES TEN ONl 27C64 8K»s 200 ns 22 50 rx 100 cps 8KxB 250 ns 6.50 n 22SS2 tremendous selection of software 2764 RX SO F/T 100 CPS *l»S-00 and supplies 4K«8 250 ns 6.37 books, accessories 2732 rx 100 100 cps JS-22 2*U8 450 ns 3 50 CPS, 2 K Butter '395.00 ui> to 50% o"' 2716 FX M 160 STATIC RAM Se»wriOAM«iriol^t3 00lixmsu«on»illil«Mni» M 00 «e/|Mrf /or IBM PC . BKxe 150 ns $23 67 toi pnntarc COD onws «w J' « we aeon atai art Uultimalt*Mult.rr.Ate> 6264P dBase III 349 269 M0 antra diarae "Mion ivsidanei ottaaa aod 7% uan Mb Frsrnejworh 349 Symphony 429 6116P 2K«e 150n Horn* Accl Plus 0S Word*.** 2000 299 w/Ullialil* 169 Wofd»l*( Pro P«c 259 Ma-i.kC.vu VISA a UPS CASH COO I MIH) «*4^ SAW Factory Mew. Prime Perl* jil'o^ M Its* MICROPROCESSORS UNLIMITED (918)267-4961 data products sarinT riflifi inc. ABC PiM shown above «• lor November 10. It* SSI. ADAMS AVE SAM Oil GO CA U1H 619 283-5486 £J 600-854-1555 ^COMPUTER&S^TT^E^" ^PROTECTION from PENGUIN* COHPUTER T'SHIRTS K COVER . t%FOR CHRISTMAS Ptwj /• h»Mi-H • S7.SSaa PteaM * ..-.in-.. . i9.Km. T Hf. SofTa-a** lUTWATt ( Of mOtt mil IO-.MTI|lulH Lifetime Warranty- 1 00% Certified •^ - dNJST to»He ornput**1 tow \< .•vtKWMd* M "." » 14H" '.Hi 'PsUKH. IBMPC 4 mo )MHt B"«OHl f Nil CO i If TTfRS *— \f .»12. FREE »» —* CUSTOM fJLKSCKCNEO ON W40 KMT DELIVERY ~ HtGH TECH Of SIGN' - "*»«.m. m. ( , mt„,h a Appi« n. - 610.K * BULK *• popular afy«a to cnooae < lirtiV* *an GUARANHf A< , AlNM IWt ***(.! 5V»" $105 SSSD —i Ofd»r Today* Onty $895 ppd w£i 5m*-. .-... -i Made inUSA ^^ ^^, stwM m c^,, ^^ i* '* iff* Ml* t «'«i •< «*.*• < r.,, t ; bk*»*. "»» * •»'* Ol't O* Mf •?, 5V4" Gwn G*e, ^ %mx $125 SSDO« $107 Ma *.rh EMI Sh.t>id M a. Ota*. t»—. 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ASK FOR FRf f CATALOG PACIFIC EXCHANGES PUU Of ajfw ITtffJS 100 Foothill Blvd San Luis San Luis Obispo CA 'M4(il -•••• In Ol call (8001 592-5935 or be 18051543- mAOO $2 10 MMOUNC 1037 f Kl CAM Can the Captain 1-800-327-1013 L (305) 491-2300 CIRCLE J 323 ON HEADER SERVICE CARD RCLE 3I« ON REAPER SERVICE CARP MARIST COLLEGE COMPUTER CAMP Monitor Mover Gives Back the Desk © Dysan Co-ed: ages 9-17* . 1 to 1 •/corporation ratio computers to camp- ers • Use of IBM 4341 mainframe and micro- Uw eili mn Al «wan watapwi >«*» was*, m imm* oi wa i computers • Small lecture 137 ha prkaa awl ».iiii.i.n groups • Live in private dorm • Complete recrea- tional program • In- structors are computer • Models to III most CRT* • Rotates 360° science professors • on bat • Adjustable height PACIFIC Since 1970 • Call or Write: • Support tray swivels and Hits EXCHANGES Dr. Lawrence Menapace, • Holds up to 50 Rw UK) Foothill Blvd • Clamp, screw San Luis Obispo CA Marist College, and wall mountings 93401 (In Cal call Poughkeepsie, NY 12601 UrUfekWiii (805) 543-1037) (914) 471-3240 ext.: 345 P.O. Box 8056 Grand Rapids, Ml 49506 (616) 241-4040 CIRCLE 322 ON READER SERVICE CARD INDEX TOADVERTISERS Reader Reader Reader Service No. Advertiser Page Service No. Advertiser Page Service No. Advertiser Page Products 58 Apple 52. 53 183 Fastrack 126 195 Prometheus 5 108 Arrays, Inc/ Continental Software 149 116 Fuji 57 135 Qantex 156 Quark 91 Batteries Included 19 1 15 General Electric 65 Quarterdeck Desq 62,63 Batteries Included 73 118 Hayes 23 136 138 101 Book of the Month 81 117 HBJ 8 152 Ouinsept 138 Radio Shack 12, 13 102 Borland 1 120 Heath 77 26 103 Borland 97 121 IBM 33-36 178 Screenplay 89 159 BRS 41 122 Kalglo Electronics 110 154 Sega 17 158 Champion 7 134 Kensington 43 139 Sensible Software 151 Leading Edge Cover 4 104 Citizen America 74 , 75 Commodore 95 124 Lyco 130, 131 142 Southern California • 76 105 Compdoc 128 125 Maxell 54 Research Group (SCRG) 143 Spectrum Holobyte 94 1 1 1 CompuServe 47 224 Meca 9 155 Computer Banc 116 126 Megahaus Corporation 67 145 Sterling Swift 11 173 Sublogic 48 1 14 Computer Discount Products 84 127 Microsoft 68. 69 110 106 Computer Mail Order 106, 107 209 Multi-tech 10 153 Summit Software Cover 2 109 Conroy La-Pointe 83 137 NEC 15 146 Tecmar 160 Consolink 45 128 Nonagon 153 147 Timeworks 2 Triplite 128 1 10 Core Dist 138 129 Okidata 24,25 148 119 Cosmic 109 140 Opportunities for Learning 149 211 U.S. Robotics 61 112 Cpaids 29 131 Precision Data Products 87 179 Votrax 132 113 Cyberlynx 71 144 Professional Handi. 87 149 Xerox 51 123 Davidson & Assoc 20 132 Protecto 78, 79 150 Xerox 98, 99 MORE POWER TO YOU! WITH THESE TWO GREAT BOOKS... THE WORKING TRS-80 COLOR COMPUTER by David Lawrence An informative and easy to follow learning tool for all TRS 80 Color Computer owners. You'll be in directed line by line to write your own programs, using numerous general purpose subroutines data storage, graphics and music to enhance your BASIC programs. This book is a library of practical programs and subroutines that every Color Computer owner will want to have. For a complete introduction to the art and science of programming your TRS-80 Color Computer, order THE WORKING TRS 80 COLOR COMPUTER today! (Note: Requires Extended BASIC.) THE TRS-80 MODEL 100 IDEABOOK by David H. AM The perfect companion for all TRS 80 Model 100 owners, you'll find over 50 ready to run practice programs in problem-solving, probability, mathematics, business and science. Drill and routines for yourself, and tests of your notebook computer's overall strengths and limitations are also included (Note: The programs in this book can be run on the NEC PC8201 notebook computer.) Add the power you want-order your copies today. For faster delivery, PHONE TOLL FREE. 9 am-5 pm EST: 1 800 631 8112 (In N J Only, 201-540-0445) Also available at your local bookstore and computer store. CREATIVE COMPUTING PRE8S~ Dept NR5H39 East Hanover Avenue. Morris Plains NJ 07950 Send me copies ot THE WORKING TRS 80COLOR COMPUTER at $9 95* plus $1 50 postage and handling ($4 50 outside US A) each «65 8 Send me copies of TRS 80 MODEL 100 IDEABOOK at $895* plus $1.50 postage and handling ($4 50 outside USA) each «4A Payment Enclosed $ •Residents of CA. NJ and NY State add applicable sales tax. Charge My: AmEx Q Visa D Mc Card No Exp Date Mr. /Mrs. /Ms. _,-_--_ print fun name Address — — City/State/Zip Please send free catalog. LOOK WHAT'S ON TELEVISION TONIGHT. 6:00 7:30 9:00 THE HULK SOLAR MACK The first comic attract™ POX DESKI in the OUES TPROBE It's erase or be The scene opens on an Adventure Series You erased as you navigate office desk, complete become a super hero spaceship over a grid of colorful with digital clock type- A foint (ad)venture of pulsating entities, armed writer wastebasket and Scott Adams. Inc and with laser Unlimited file cabinet Select Marvel Comics Group levels A BALLY MIDWAY original functions /typing tiling (Diskette) (Cartridge) editing) by pointing animated finger (Cartridge) 6:30 8:00 9:30 MATH EASY INTER- • II II » B II fiAOS SCRIPT NATIONAL Our best wordprocessor (Ages 5 to 10) (Micro SOCCER Displays 764 lines by 40 Schooll Educational TV characters Prints over (Gold Medallion Game) Practice in basic math 130columns Global/local Sports highlight With tacts Several levels searchlreplacelhuntltind passing, kicking, diving (Easy to hard) (Diskette) Super/subscripts Insert/ goalies, even trophies' delete characters, lines, Great color. 3-D realism sentences, paragraphs No locker room interviews (Diskette) (Cartridge) 7:00 10:00 FRENZY/ 8:30 FLIP FLOP SIMONS' THE #**, (Ages 6 to 14) (Milhken BASK Edutun) FRENZY (subtrac- MANAGER Rated PC Expands SIMONS tion and division) The A powerful database Commodore BASIC by hungry gator arrives BASIC management system For an additional 114 save the fish play the business, educational or commands Convenient BONUS game FLIP FLOP personal tiles Not tor programming com- (transformed geometry) Rocklords tiles With four mands such as RE- look at the two figures built-in applications Or NUMBER and TRACE do they need to flip turn design your own (Diskette) plus graphics plotting or slide 7 (Diskette) command (Cartridge) i Announcing the most exciting With a real high fidelity sound variety show on television. that covers a 9-octave range. Featuring many of the stars of And a supporting cast of low- arcade games, education and the price, high capacity disk drives, business world. printers, monitors (a better way Produced by (and for) Commo- to watch Commodore 64) and dore, the people who bring you the modems. Commodore 64™ a 64 K computer So, if you're not pleased with that would be a value at three times what's on your tv set tonight, simply its price. In fact, many of its compet- turn on your Commodore 64. itors are three times its price. Produced in living high resolu- COMMODORE 64: tion graphics with 16 available colors IT'S NOT HOW UTTLE IT COSTS, and with eight 3-dimensional sprites. IT'S HOW MUCH YOU GET. . WORD PROCESSORS AT THE LEADING EDGE computer. indelible marks on all who read most sophisticated personal Ah, the great ones . . made (Like the IBM ' PC and the even faster They organized their ideas, their intui- them. more powerful Leading Edge " & tions, their idioms. They set them down, The amazing thing is that these mon- and AT&T.) sorted them out, arranged them and umental processors of words, did it 51/4" monumental help. The heart and soul of it is a re-arranged them till they came out right. without the benefit of floppy disk, elegantly logical instruction They used small scraps of paper to Like Leading Edge Word Processing: manual and documentation . . . every- recorcl huge hunks of Truth; primitive the easiest to use, yet most potent thing. And what you end up with is tools to produce profound prose. But piece of software ever created to take inherent, word processing at the leading edge. when the words finally went forth, they full advantage 'of all the power but until now un-tapped, in today's LEADING EDGE WORD PROCESSING FROM $100 CORPORATION IBM IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES LEADING EDGE IS A TRADEMARK OF LEADING EDGE PRODUCTS. INCORPORATED