U.S. Edition: $2.50 NO. 60 MAY 1983 International Edition: $3.00 A d v a n c i n g C om puter. K now ledge. New Wave of Computers ©ATARI 1200XL © APPLE lie @ C64... Color Computer Clock Graphics on the APPLE and PET -o =o5 0 In this month’s Learning Center: =o Sf^ "sf File Management for Commodore Computers ■N- Breakup: An Animation Game for APPLE and Commodore... pHUCXSALAZW sore m > nc 111 SPINE AVf PONEVIUE CA 91011 vereatile than <. This system dete inform ly, and trare ins in the bog MAGiC MEMOR* 1/S8S-57I ia Aveni Ca 918 The challenge was to create a Winchester plus 640K floppy right Western United States computer having room for a mega­ on up to a combination of four Sage Computer Technology, byte of RAM, a built-in Winchester fixed or removable Winchesters 35 North Edison Way, #4. Reno. with floppy backup, and the ability plus one or tw o floppies (200 mega­ NV 89502 (702) 322-6868. to perform 2,000.000 instructions bytes of disk capacity in all). per second. Because of the Sage™ IV's no­ Eastern United States Sage Computer Technology. A small miracle, in other words. compromise system design you can And small is exactly what it load a I6K program in 1/10 second 15 N ew England Executive Park turned out to be. In fact, the 16-bit from Wnchester disk. Suite 120. Burlington. MA 01803 (617) 229-6868 Sage™ IV including all of the above What's more, there are over 120 attributes, takes up less thanZ* sources for existing popular pro­ In UK cubic foot. grams for the Sage™ IV. The incredi­ TDI LTD. 29 Alma Vale Road, W hat makes such a break­ ble p-System operating system, Clifton, Bristol BS8-2HL through possible? System design. standard on every Sage™ IV con­ Tel: (0272) 742796. It took the latest 64K dynamic verts software that was originally Tx: 444 653 Advice G RAMs and the Motorola 68000 written for 8-bit computers in Pascal, In Germany processor technology, plus W in­ BASIC and Fortran. Optionally. MM Computer. GmbH, chester technology. And it took a CP/M-68K Modula. and Hyper- Hallwanger Str. 59,8210 Prien highly integrated, closely packed, Forth are also available. Tel: 08051/3074 low power high speed design Better yet. our small miracles Tx. 525 400 mmco-d incorporating a proprietary bus. come with prices to match. N ow the Sage™ IV is ready for So give us a call or write today for you. Actually, you can choose from more Sage™ IV information and the three different Sage™ IV models name of your nearest to meet your exact needs— dealer. configurations with a 5 megabyte irademaft of Saye Compuic? Tccnroiogy CP/M tr.«tmarttofOgnaifilMfarth MnfliA# (MOrmjfk r/V3»oan Syurtm Hvpet-Rxrfinuaeman ol FantvKjnc £ngmrrnrg p-Sy«em. tradernjft af UC Rpgmti* Circle No. 4 from assembly-language subroutines. He uses examples for the 6502, 6809, PRINTER I /M C ftO 68000, and 16032 microprocessors. See "Parameter Passing in Assembly Lan­ guage” (pg. 40]. John Steiner has writ­ OPTIMIZER H ighlights ten a subroutine that adds a real-time clock and date function to your pro­ The New Wave of Computers grams. Learn how to use TlME$/SUB in "Real-time Clock for the Color "Great waves looked over others com­ Com puter” (pg. 50). ing in...." Robert Frost was speaking of "& GET” by David Dice (pg. 52) is a the Pacific Ocean; we are speaking of machine-language program to allow the many new computer products that customized input routines; and "Modi­ Why buy a mere "spooler" when you are flooding the market. A few years can have THE PRINTER OPTIMIZER? fying and Using MAE” (pg. 56), by F. ago it was a simple matter to go out and Arthur Cochrane, describes how to * 64k to 256k spooling buffer buy a home computer — you didn't modify the MAE assembler to enable * adapts different brands - can have much selection. Today you must mix Serial and Parallel output to an ASCII printer and listing choose from computers that fit nearly * character conversion: 1 to 1, output to a disk file. Joe Hootman con­ 1 to many, many to 1, ignore any situation, any pocketbook, and any tinues his series with a discussion of * pushbutton automated access to kind of computerist — from novice to your printer's various type miscellaneous instructions imple­ styles and printing modes highly technical. mented by the 68000. See "68000 In­ * several ways to PAUSE printing Once you have decided which com­ * access any character, graphic structions" (pg. 58). And finally, Jim puter is right for you (taking into con­ design or printer "trick" from Strasma continues his series "It's All any program at any time sideration memory requirements, load Relative, Part 5: Printing Commodore * special features for use as and save capabilities, editing functions, a MODEM b u ffe r File Data" (pg. 62] with a discussion on etc.], then you should become knowl­ formatting and printing data from edgeable about add-on boards, m o \ Commodore relative disk files. WM I eti Ovctronic Typewrite *Tyali m I modems, printers, hardware, and soft­ ware that is available. The May issue of Graphics and Printers MICRO is designed to provide you with The graphics section includes • L 1 ~~l information about the tide of new prod­ several informative articles regarding ucts flowing into the market today and The cost effective alternative. printers. You can learn how to print Converts IBM, Adler/Royal, Olympia what you can expect in the near future. Apple II's hi-res graphics screens on and other Electronic Typewriters Paul Swanson opens our feature sec­ Okidata Microline 80's printer, use an into letter quality printers. tion with a comparison of the Atari assembly-language program for the * 2K memory b u ffe r 1200XL, 400, and 800 in "The Atari Apple II that automatically produces * access alt typewriter characters 1200XL” (pg. 20). In "Microprocessors top and bottom margins on each page of and automated features * Serial or Parallel versions for Your Apple II" (pg. 26), Phil Daley printer output, address a second PET as * Many proprietary features and and John Hedderman compare add-on an IEEE device 4. Also leam to print commands insure compatibility boards for the Apple II that increase AIM listings the full width of your with your system and software * Typesetting capability! capabilities, provide new features, and printer with a machine-language teach new languages. "New Commo­ printer driver, and to interface an OSI dores” (pg. 30) by Loren Wright is a Superboard II to a Radio Shack Quick PETI discussion of Commodore's new prod­ Printer II. S uper low cost adaptor fo r new uct line, including the VIC-20, Com­ The Learning Center inexpensive portable Electronic modore 64, and a computer soon to ap­ Typewriters can yield typewriter pear on the market — the C 128/80. In the Learning Center this month and le tte r q u ality p rin te r com­ you will study PEEKs and POKEs in bination for around $500 total! Keith Roberson asks "Is 16 Bits the Solution?" (pg. 32). The 16-bit micro­ "Breakup” (pg. 71) by Loren Wright * perfect for "personal use" and Phil Daley. "Breakup” is a simple * easy "plug-in" Parallel processor has made a significant impact connection to most computers on the imagination of microprocessor animation display game that includes a * compatible with popular word ball and brick wall and tests for colli­ processing programs users. However, Keith believes 8-bit technology can be expected to have a sions. Brian Zupke's "Addressfile” (pg. long and active life in the small com­ 76) is an easy tape-based file- puter marketplace. management system for the VIC-20 and APPLIED other Commodore computers. You can CREATIVE Programming Aids store names, addresses, phone num­ This month we provide you with bers, and memos in a cassette file. TECHNOLOGY seven programming aids. Wemer Kolbe We continue to provide you with a INC. shows you how to write up to four wealth of information in our on-going times more numerical data on a CBM columns. Be sure to read PET Vet, 2723 Avenue E East, Suite 717 Arlington, Texas 76011 disk using the computer's internal From Here to Atari, Coco Bits, and In­ [8171-261-6905 binary format instead of ASCII strings. terface Clinic, as well as our regular [800J-433-5373 Read "Get More Data on Your CBM departments. MICRO keeps you on the D isk” (pg. 38). Randall Hyde discusses crest of the wave of new computers. several methods for passing data to and JMCftO Circle No. 3 MICRO No. 60 - May 1983 EMI-RFI FILTERED AC SURGE PROTECTOR Advancing Computer Knowledge MICRO P.O. Box 6502 Amherst, NH 03031 (603) 889-4330 ® New Wave of Compilers Managing Editor Marjorie Morse Technical Editors Phil Daley o n The ATARI 1200XL ........Paul S. Swanson Loren Wright A comparison of the ATARI 1200XL, 800, and 400 computers Programming John Hedderman Editorial Microprocessors for Emmalyn H. Bentley Z 4 Your APPLE II ........Phil Daley/John Hedderman Maureen Dube A comparison of add-on boards for the APPLE II Contributing Editore Cornells Bongers on COMMODORE New Wave ...... Loren Wright Dave Malmberg A discussion of COMMODORE’S new product line John Steiner Jim Strasma Paul Swanson o p Is 16 Bits the Solution? ...... Keith Roberson Richard Vile Can 8-bit technology survive in the small computer market? Production Helen Bergeron Advertising Sales Manager—Bob Mackintosh Paula Kramer PROGRAMMING AIDS Admin.