JULY 1993
PENTIUM
SPECIAL REPOItr!
(SEE PAGE 56)
T*y.
WINDOWS APPS!
EXPERTS
PICK THEIR 10 i
FAVORITE
PROGRAMS
PLUS!
<a'. O Q
VISUAL C++ GREAT GOLF GAMES BIOS BASICS
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We've been groping for an appropriate description of our 4DX2-66V. Screaming. Yeah, this machine definitely screams, but the acljcciivc is worn. Drai;xiei: Good, but that's what PC World called it when the_\ s;iid it was "by far the fastest machine we've evertesicd." We didn't want a used word, Greyhound. Fast, but this system mosi certainly cannot be compared to a dog.
Then one of our Walter Mitty surfers said it: The Big Kahuna. in surfing vernacular, the Biii Kahuna is ihe ultimate surfer -a surfer whose performance is most awesome and whose reputation
L/ 4DX2-66V
■ 66MHz 4S6DX2 InteP Processor
■ 16MB RAM. I56K Cache
■ .3,5" Diskelte Drive AND CD-ROM Drive
■ 340MB 13ms IDE Hard Drive
■ Local Bu.s IDE Inierface B Inlel Pentium™ Technology Ready
■ ATI Ultra Pro with 1 MB VRAM on VL-BU!
■ 15" Color CtysialScdiV 15721-S
■ Desktop Case ITower Upgrade)
■ 7 16-Bii ISA Slots. 2 on VL-Bus M 124-Kcy.AiiyKey' Keyboard
■ MS-DOS ^6. Diagnostics. Windows'" & Mouse
■ Choice of Application Software
$2995
is truly magnificent. To PC dudes and dudettes, Gateway's 4DX2- 66V is the Big Kahuna of personal computers - the most awesome PC on the planet.
But you won't find this Big Kahuna flashing on just any beach. This totally tubular machine can only be found at Gateway 2000. Check out the price. It's radical, man.
If you're looking for the Big Kahuna, get a Gateway 2000 4DX2-66VI
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December 1992 BEST VALUE. March 1993
March 199:
cannpuTE
VOLUME 15, NO. 7, ISSUE 154
JULY 1993
FEATURES 6
TOP 10 WINDOWS TOOLS
By Kimberly Havlena
Power users name their top
Windows applications and
tell how they use them.
16
TEST LAB
Edited by Mike Hudnall We corral ten 66-MHz local- bus thoroughbreds and put them through their paces.
60
WHERE HARDWARE MEETS SOFTWARE
By Richard C. Leinecl^er
How does your hardware
communicate with your
software?
66
PRODUCTIVITY CHOICE
By George Campbell
Visual Basic 2.0 from
Microsoft.
COLUMNS 4
EDITORIAL LICENSE
By Clifton Karnes Windows 4 and DOS 7.
40
NEWS & NOTES
By Jill Champion Top computer news.
46
FEEDBACK
Answers to tough questions.
49
READERSHIP SURVEY
Tell us what you think!
50
WINDOWS WORKSHOP
By Clifton Karnes
Microsoft's Visual C++ sets
a new standard.
52
TIPS & TOOLS
Edited by Richard C. Leinecker Tips from our readers.
Cover photo by Mark Wagoner. Computer from Gateway 2000.
54
INTRODOS
By Tony Roberts DOS is alive and well.
56
HARDWARE CLINIC
By Mark Minasi
Special report on Intel's new
Pentium.
58
PROGRAMMING POWER
By Tom Campbeli PowerBASIC is back!
68
PERSONAL PRODUCTIVITY
By Rosalind Resnick
Leasing versus buying a
personal computer.
70
MULTIMEDIA PC
By David English Encarta is tops.
72
ART WORKS
By Robert Bixby Finding that special paper.
120
NEWS BITS
By Jill Champion Top stories at press time.
ENTERTAINMENT 74
DISCOVERY CHOICE
By David Sears The Animals!
76
GAME INSIDER
By Shay Addams
The hottest new
entertainment software.
78
ENTERTAINMENT CHOICE
By Peter Olafson
Alone in the Dark from
I • Motion/Interplay.
80
GAMEPLAY
By Paul C. Schuytema
A look at some game
programs that are off the
beaten path.
83
HITTING THE LINKS
By Paul C. Schuytema
When the masters tee up,
which ones can dhve a hole
in one?
REVIEWS 89
Sony Desktop Library,
Dashboard for Windows 1.0,
Smith Corona Coronajet 200j,
DEC 433DX LR
AutoCAD Release 12,
Gobliiins,
Quantum Hardcard EZ 240,
Wyse Decision 486si,
Pacific Islands,
Suncom FX 2000,
Insight,
Grandmaster Chess,
Air Force Commander,
Best Data Smart One 9624
FP Traveler Fax/Modem,
Mutanoid Math Challenge,
Space Ace l\: Borf's
Revenge,
Coffee Break Gambling,
The Operation: Fighting
Tiger,
Practical FaxMe,
and Mixed-Up Fairy Tales.
ADVERTISERS INDEX
See page 97.
COMPUTE (iSSfJ 0194-357X) Is published monthly in the United Slases and Canada by COMPUTE Publications internalional Ltd , 'S65 Braadivay New York NV 10023-5965 VoluiT.e 15 Number 7, Issue 154. Copyright E 1993 by COMPUTE Publications International Ud All rignls reserved COMPUTE is a rDQislcred trademark of COMPUTE Publications iniernaiionai Ltd Disiribuled waridwide (except Auslraiia and the UK) by Curtis Circulalion Company, PO Box 9102. Pennsaukcn, NJ 08109. Dislribuled in Australia by The Horv/ite Group RO Box 306 Cammeray NSW 2062 Australia and m the UK by Northern and Sholi Pic. RO Box 381 , Miliharbour. London E14 9TW. Second-class postage paid al New York NY and at addilional maiiing oirices POSTMASTER: Send address changes to COMPLTTE Magazine, PO Bon 3245. Harlan. lA 51537-30'! 1, Tol, (BOO) 727-6937 Entire conlenls copyrighted. Ail rights rcscn/od Nolhing may be reproduced in whole or m pan without wrinen permission from the publisher Subscriptions; US. AFO - SI 9 94 one year; Canada and elsowhoro -$25.94 one year Single copies $2 96 in US. The publisher disclaims all responsibility to return unsolicited matter, and all rights in portions published Ihereol remain the sole property of COMPUTE Pubiicalions Iniernaiionai Ud Letters sent to COMPUTE or its editors become Ihe property of the nuagazine. Editorial offi[:es are located at 324 W. Wendover Ave Ste 200 Greensboro NC 2740B Tel. (919) 275-9809, ' '
Printed in the USA by R. R. Donnelley & Sons Inc. 2 COMPUTE JULY 1993
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Not just a new Sound Blastet A new 16-bit audio standard.
Introducing the Sound Blaster" 16 Digital Audio Platform. A new concept in sound cards. And a new standard for 16-bit PC audio.
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But there's more. Included in the Sound Blaster 16 package is the biggest advancement in PC conh-ol since the in\'ention of the mouse: our exclusive VoiceAssist ' software. It's a sophisticated speech recognition interface that uses a 32;000-command library to control Windows applications lumds-frce!
THE ONLY SOUND CARD THAT GROWS WfTH YOU.
Urdike other 16-bit cards, Sound Blaster 16 comes with built- in interfaces for CD-ROM, MPU-40i MIDI and joystick control. And the unique modular, scalable architecture lets you add more ad\'anced features and technologies (75 you need them.
Like our Advanced Hands-free Signal Processing chip '*'' '^'"""''■ that delivers 4:1 real-time hard- ware data compression while reducing CPU time by up to 65%. Or professional-qualit}' sampled wave synthesis with our plug-in Wave Blaster " daughter board.
The new 16-bit PC audio standard: Includes programtmbk miwr, miaophone, VoiceAssist spmli recognition softicarc. plus nare than SlUW in so/hiurc appliaititms.
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And as if that weren't enough, we've completed the package with more than $1000 worth of leading software-not too shabby, considering the entire package retails for just $279*
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EDITORIAL LICENSE
Clifton Karnes
W I hat's ahead tor Win- fdows and DOS? That's a question we all ask ourselves, and those of us in the business of following the PC industry ask it more of- ten than anyone else. This past April, at the Windows De- velopers Conference in Bos- ton, we received an answer.
At the conference, Micro- soft made a presentation that focused on two things: OLE 2.0 and 32-bit Windows, How- ever, the talk ranged over top- ics that included NT, Win- dows for TVs, and Chicago (Microsoft's newest hush- hush project).
It's clear that
OLE is an
extremely important
technology to
Windows' future.
First off, Microsoft sees three Windows families. The first family is Modular Win- dows, which includes Tandy's VIS (the only shipping prod- uct built on Modular Windows to date), the as-yet-to-be-devel- oped WinPad operating sys- tem for PDAs (Personal Digi- tal Assistants), Windows for TVs (a joint venture with Intel and General Instruments), and Windows Telephony (an- other joint venture with Intel). You could call this family con- sumer Windows, because that's clearly the market Micro- soft is going after.
The next family is called per- sonal Windows, and this group includes Windows 3.1, Windows for Workgroups, and the yet-to-be-announced
Chicago project.
The last Windows family is Windows NT which most of us have heard a lot about in the last year. NT, which stands for New Technology, is the corporate branch of the Windows family tree.
One thing that's worried some of us is the future of Win- dows 3.1. Will it be replaced by NT? From the evidence at the conference, it doesn't look as if it will be. Microsoft said that 89 percent of its fu- ture business is planned to come from its personal Win- dows products— Windows 3.1 and its successors — with the rest divided between Modular Windows and Windows NT
So if personal Windows is so important, why the empha- sis on 32-blt Windows? Most of us think of NT as the 32-bit version of Windows. Although that's true now, NT won't be the only 32-bit Windows around by 1994. Windows 4, planned for release next year, will be a full 32-bit oper- ating system. Interestingly, DOS 7 will be part of Win- dows 4. And the Chicago pro- ject, mentioned above, con- sists of both Windows 4 and DOS 7. And what about Win- dows for Workgroups? Micro- soft plans to include all the net- working capability of WFWG in Windows 4, so WFWG will disappear as a separate prod- uct, just as Multimedia Win- dows did when 3.1 included multimedia support.
As you might expect, DOS 7 will be a full 32-bit operating system. It may even come close to the "DOS NT" colum- nist Mark Minasi talked about in his May "Hardware Clinic" column.
One thing's for sure: The dif- ference between personal Win- dows and Windows NT won't be the difference between 16- and 32-bit operating systems. It will be the difference be- tween an end-user version of
Windows and a high-perform- ance, security-intensive work- station version.
This is good news for all of us. it means that in order to move up to high-performance 32-bit computing, we can sim- ply upgrade to Windows 4.
And what will Windows 4 be like? It's certain to be more object-oriented than Its predecessors. And here, ob- ject-oriented means "easier to use." Drag and drop will be the primary vocabulary, and perhaps most important, the emphasis will switch from ap- plications to documents.
As documents become more integrated (containing text, graphics, sound, and vid- eo), each document will be created by a suite of applica- tions. The document, then, will become the focus of our at- tention, and the applications that create it will become more transparent.
This application transparen- cy is one of the goals of OLE 2.0, v/hich I discussed six months ago. With the new OLE, as you work In a com- pound document and as you move from application to ap- plication, your document stays the same, but the frame window changes (usually as lit- tle as possible) to reflect the proper editing environment for the current part of your doc- ument. This is a powerful tool, and something we can look forward to in the very near future.
Interestingly, this emphasis on OLE 2.0 doesn't come from some ivory tower philos- ophy cooked up at Micro- soft's Redmond headquar- ters, but from user surveys, According to figures present- ed by Microsoft, end users have told the company that what they really want from Win- dows applications is better in- tegration. And with Windows 4, DOS 7, and OLE 2.0, we'll all have it. □
COMPUTE JULY 1993
Mission
IBM Programming Systems introduces C Set++,™ the most complete application development package you can buy for 'OS/2® Its 32-bii C/C++ compiler lets you unleash all the pow-er of OS/2 — so you can create the most advanced, high- performance applications.
It has an extraordinary code optimizer with a full set of options. Even a switch to optimize for the new Pentium™ processor. Plus a full set of class libraries, including application frameworks for PM, container classes and classes for multitasking, streams and more.
There's also a full complement of other helpful features. Such as an mteractive source level debugger.
And the unique Execution Trace Analyzer traces the
execution of a program, then graphically displays ^^^^ diagrams of the
C^^^^^^^^ i^Li^a analysis. Plus a class ^^^^ ^^ T ^ library browser that shows class library relationships.
What's more, you get Workframe/2,™ a language- independent tool that lets you customize your own envi- ronment. It's adaptable and flexible — you can use any 16 and 32-bit DOS, Windows™ and OS/2 tools.
|
^ C Set -I-+ Technical Features |
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ANSICX3.159-19B9 |
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Standards |
NIST validated |
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ANSI C-H- X3J16 (Full ARM) |
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150 9899:1990 |
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1 |
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Global |
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Upgrade until August 31, 1993, from C Set/2 or Work Sel/2 for only 3149. CD ROM prices slightly lower.
To order C Set++, contact your nearest dealer or call 1-800-342-6672 (USA) or 1-800-465-7999 ext. 460 (Canada).
Qearly, there's only one place to start. C Set++ .
starts here
ManLfactLrer's suggested relail price is S595. IBM and OSS are regislBred Irademarks and C Set++ and Worlrframe/2 are tradamarta of IntemBtional Business Machines Corporation. Pentium is a trademark of Intel Corporation. Windows Is a trademark of Microsoft Corp. t 1993 IBM Corp.
ower users name the top Windows applications and ^ tell how they put them I to use. yivimberly Havlena
Looking for the Windows applications tliat offer the most in terms of tools, speed, and intuitiveness? Here are the experts' opinions to help you in your search for the programs that will best meet your needs. The experts whose opinions we solicited have reviewed hundreds of programs and identified the ones that they i!l<e best. Whatever sparks your interest — word processing, spread- Sheets, databases, or graphics— here are the Windows application programs that will provide the greatest ease, efficiency, and enjoyment.
Getting the Words on Paper
Word processing took a long time to come to Windows. Once it arrived, the word-processing arena suddenly filled
with contenders. There is hardly a
major word processor that doesn't have
a Windows version available. With all
that software to choose from, which
programs are the most popular among
users who spend hours a day making
their living by writing?
Leslie Eiser has been writing in
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COMPUTE and elsewhere about edu- cational computing for ten years. Eiser says Microsoft Word for Windows is her pick as thie best word processor. She likes it not only because it's pow- erful and easy to use, but also because it's helpful in a school envi- ronment. It has well-integrated tools, such as a style checker and the- saurus, that make it a great help to teachers. Another advantage is that it's a word processor equally power- ful—and popular— in its PC and Macintosh versions. And in compari- son to WordPerfect, Word for Windows is much easier to use, Eiser finds.
Tom Campbell owns and operates the South Bay Company, which devel- ops software; he writes the "Program- ming Power" column for COMPUTE. Campbell uses Word for Windows because it's the best word processor he can find for large documents. He uses It for creating everything from brochures to 800-page manuals.
Desktop publishing expert William Harrel has written five books about publishing and hundreds of articles for COMPUTE and other magazines. When it comes to word processing, Harrel prefers Ami Pro. "As a review- er, with my extensive knowledge of the three top Windows word proc- essors. Ami Pro is the most so- phisticated and the most useful," says Harrel. Ami Pro, a full-featured word processor, excels in its page layout features. While it can be used as a simple word processor for typing and creating documents, it can also han- dle "relatively sophisticated page lay- outs, such as newsletters," says Harrel. The advantage of using your word processor for layouts is that you don't have to do any extra work to transfer text between your word processor and your layout program.
George Campbell is a conthbuting editor for another computer magazine and a shareware author. Campbell is also a fan of Ami Pro; he thinks that it makes the best use of the Windows environment and offers outstanding tools for page design. Campbell feels that Ami Pro is easier to use than its competitors (specifically Word for Windows and WordPerfect for Windows). He uses Ami Pro for every- thing from basic correspondence to high-end desktop publishing.
Word processing is more than get- ting words down on paper, though. What kinds of word-processing add- ons do our experts rely on?
Regular COMPUTE contributor Richard Mann is a certified public accountant as well as a writer. Mann recommends Microsoft Bookshelf as
8 COMPUTE JULY 1993
an add-on for word processing. This electronic library comes with handy reference tools, including a dictionary and an encyclopedia, Bookshelf is a CD-ROM product. In fact, Microsoft Bookshelf now comes as a premium with Multimedia Word for Windows and Bookshelf. If you find a quotation in the dictionary or encyclopedia that you want to use in your text, you merely highlight it and, with the click of a button, it's inserted into your Word for Windows document. In ad- dition to this, an automatic footnote is inserted to tell which reference book the material came from.
Steven Anzovin spends most of his time writing books, but he's also a free- lance writer, an editor, a computer con- sultant, and a database programmer. Anzovin uses MacLinkPlus as his prin- cipal word-processing add-on. Mac- LinkPlus transfers files between the Macintosh and PC over a modem con- nection, automatically translating be- tween various PC and Mac file formats.
Tony Roberts operates a desktop publishing business and is a COM- PUTE contributing editor, To Roberts, helpfulness means OmniPage Direct. OmniPage Direct allows him to place a typewritten page on the scanner and read it into a word-processing file. With OmniPage Direct, you can do the scanning from within your own applications without having to exit to another program.
it's so easy to lose the cursor on your computer screen. ArrowSmith is a cursor enlargement program that will be sure to catch your eye and add some fun to computer input. Not only does it enlarge the cursor, but it allows you to choose what form you want the cursor to take. You could choose an ordinary arrow or opt for something with a little pizazz such as a syringe, a heart, a flag, or a magnifying glass. ArrowSmith also allows you to modify the wait symbol to a picture of a stop sign, a stoplight, a don't-walk sign, a snovi^lake, a smiley face, even a com- puter in jail. "I like ArrowSmith because it's the best cursor enlargement pro- gram I could find. Plus, it's lots of fun to use," says Tom Campbell.
trun<hing Numbers
Spreadsheets were an early port to Windows. First and foremost was Microsoft Excel. Recently, publishers have been creating and porting spread- sheets to Windows in increasing num- bers. Which are the cream of the crop?
Richard Mann says that Excel and Quattro Pro are both excellent spread- sheets for Windows. Because Quattro Pro has the newest version, it currently
does a few more things than Excel. But the features race wiil continue.
Quattro Pro gives you a three- dimensional spreadsheet which allows you to work not only in rows and columns but also in stacks of pages, The 3-D metaphor resembles a three-ring binder with tabs at the bottom of each page that you can click on to move back and forth between all the pages in your spread- sheet. Quattro Pro also has graphic tools for drawing and making slides that give a professional touch. "It's not only a spreadsheet, but it's a little pre- sentation-building package as well," says Mann.
George Campbell thinks that Excel is the best Windows application. With its intuitiveness. it simpiifies complica- tions, and the final output is easily made to look presentable.
The World of Publishing
Is ease of use your prime considera- tion when you're looking for a desktop publishing and layout program? William Harrel says that in his opinion, Aldus PageMaker is the easiest desk- top publishing software to use. It has a pasteboard metaphor that Harrel likens to working on a layout table. Anybody familiar with laying out pages on a drafting table or a paste- up table would be more comfortable with PageMaker than with some of the frame-based programs. If price Is more important than ease of use, Harrel recommends Microsoft Publisher or Express Publisher.
Tony Roberts uses PageMaker in his desktop publishing business to create newsletters, brochures, and books. He prefers it to other desktop publishing software because of its many options, Roberts says that he has never liked Aldus PageMaker's keenest competitor, Ventura Publish- er, in any other incarnation {Macin- tosh and DOS) and that he is going to stay away from it in Windows,
Ever the contrarian, Robert Bixby, features editor of COMPUTE and author of "Art Works," COMPUTE's desktop publishing column, prefers Ventura Publisher because it keeps the text closer to its original condition, eas- ily editable by a DOS or Windows word processor. He finds PageMaker unintu- itive and difficult to use.
Using Data
When it comes to managing data, the options for Windows users have multiplied over the past few months with the intro- duction of Microsoft Access and Microsoft FoxPro for Windows. How does our panel of experts rate these packages?
^ESSSSiSfusa**'*
Quiet.'
Quiet Tecliiwhgij lor near kier-quiel opcratim.
When you already have a best seller like the KX-P 1 1 23 Dot Matrix Printer that delivers outstanding print quality, speed and reliability for the money, what do you do for an encore? We asked people just like you and they told us to make it quieter.
WE ASKED PEOPlf HOW
TO IMPROVE OUR BEST SELUNG PRINTER.
THEYTDLDUSTO BE QUIET.
So, we added Panasonic's Quiet Technology and created the new KX-P2023 24-pin Dot Matrix printer. But, we didn't stop there. At the same time we made it easier on your ears, we made the KX-P2023 much easier to use with an all-new, user-friendlier control
panel. We also made it easier to load and even more reliable with a belt-drive tractor feed and a
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simplified paper path. Plus, like all Panasonic Dot Matrix Printers, the KX-P2023 is backed by a two-year limited warranty.' No wonder the 1 992 PC Magazine Service and Reliability Survey rated Panasonic "Excellent" on reliability, service and support.
Why would Panasonic take a proyen winner and improve it? Because the surest way to
create another best seller is by making things better.
For more information visit your Panasonic dealer or call 1-800-742-8086. POI0.COM Circle Header Service Number 134
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George Campbell uses Access to manage his data. In addition to being easy to use and having powerful out- put, "it uses a subset of the Visual Basic language for development, which . . , makes it easy to work with," Campbell says.
Tom Campbell uses Access for the databases to run his business. One reason he likes it is that it has a pro- gramming language similar to ones that he already knew. He warns, how- ever, that Microsoft tries to market Ac- cess as a product that is supposedly so easy that even a beginner could start working with it right away, "I think Access is a tremendous program — I'm even writing a book on it— but it is not for beginners," says Campbell. "FiieMal<er Pro 2.0 from Claris is much better for beginners than Access or FoxPro for Windows. Instant Database from Asymmetrix is another easy and inexpensive alternative. FoxPro is great if you're already familiar with FoxPro for DOS or dBASE, but it doesn't do things in an intuitive v/ay for a seasoned Windows user."
Why isn't Access Campbell's first
choice for beginners? "When dBASE It came out, it was a lot easier than any- thing else available, but it took a lot of work to learn to use it. It's the same in the case of Access. I simply don't think it's as easy to use as FileMaker Pro when you first start using it. If you're willing to work to learn Access, though, your efforts will be richly repaid. If your time is limited, stick to FileMaker Pro or Instant Database."
Making Contact
Windows has always been an excel- lent environment for telecommunica- tions. In these days of instant faxes and high-speed interchange of data, it makes even more sense to do your communicating in Windows, William Harrel stands by Procomm Plus for Windows because he's found it to be powerful and easy to use. He says that Procomm is the telecommunica- tions product that has something for everybody.
George Campbell joins in the praise for Procomm. He says that it's easy to script for logging on and other functions. It also has a good dialing
directory that's easy to set up and works well at high communication speeds.
Robert Bixby recommends WinFax Pro as the foremost product in the field of direct faxing. Sending a fax with Winfax is exactly iike printing to a local printer. When you select Winfax as your printing device under Windows, it pauses to get the sending information (recipient, fax number, and cover page), then formats the page as a fax. It dials the remote fax machine and sends the file automati- cally. Many similar programs are appearing, including programs that receive faxes and convert their graph- ic information into ASCII text for easy editing and compact storage. Among these is Caere's FaxlVlaster.
Keith Ferrell, editor of Omni maga- zine, says, "RapidFAX for Windows [from The Complete PC] handles my fax material more efficiently than any- thing else I've tried. It certainly beats printing it out, walking to the fax machine, and transmitting it manuaily. Seriously, the program is almost effortless to use, resides nicely in the
Fun and Windows don't seem to go together for most people. But the fact is that some of ihe most innova- tive educational and entertainment software is beginning to appear ready to run in the formerly all-busi- ness Windows environment,
Parents quickly learn the names of good children's stories and their authors. Brederbund's Just Grand- ma and Me and Arthur's Teacher Trouble are two computer programs based on the popular children's sto- ries of the same names. "These are well-known, well-respected chil- dren's stories, which makes them very appealing to the parents," says Lesiie Eiser.
Just Grandma and Me, by Mercer Mayer, is designed for chil- dren who are learning to read. A page of the storybook comes up on the screen, and the computer reads the story in beautiful, accented voic- es. Behind the pictures on the screen, animated sequences are hiding. Once you think you know what to expect, the animated sequences change.
The animation of Just Grandma and Me resembles the author's iilus- trations and style. "For children, one doesn't use the same graphics [as
Just for Fun
in adult productivity software]. Children are not little adults . , . they need to be . . . talked to differently," says Eiser. These programs ap- proach children in a completely dif- ferent way from a lot of other chil- dren's software.
Arthur's Teacher Trouble, written by Marc Brown, is for older children. It focuses on human relationships rather than reading skills. The plot that moves the program is that Arthur is having problems with his teacher at school and is contemplat- ing how to solve his dilemma without upsetting everyone.
THE ANIMALS!, developed by the San Diego Zoo, is another espe- cially appealing children's program. It's an encyclopedic view of animals. Its interface uses the multimedia extensions that come with Windows to provide a colorful picture of the zoo. When you click your mouse on a certain section of the zoo, you are given information on the animals liv- ing in that habitat. THE ANIMALS! is meant to be used in a classroom sit- uation with children who are either planning to visit the zoo or are putting together projects on animals, (THE ANIMALS! is reviewed else- where in this issue.)
Windows has always been aimed at productivity, but important Windows entertainment software for grownups has begun to appear, "A lot of [Windows] games are just rehashes of DOS games," says Paul Schuytema. But Microsoft Golf, a version of the Links golf games, uti- lizes the Windows format and comes complete with digitized sound and excellent graphics. Instead of cram- ming everything into one window, as a lot of the DOS games do, Microsoft Golf uses full windowing to show you such things as your power bar and information on how far your clubs can hit, (See "Hitting the Links" elsewhere in this issue.)
Maxis has recently released a Windows version of SimCity — The City Simulator, It's another game that follows the Windows format of opening and closing windows and being able to pile them on top of each other. By doing so, it gives a new perspective to SimCity. It's easy to switch back and forth between a world view and a city view, and graphs can also be brought up. "Once you've played SimCity on Windows, you can't go back to the DOS version because it's just so good," says Schuytema.
10 COMPUTE JULY 1993
FOR THE DISCRIMINATING MOVIE FAN.
<s:>
■'--■'i'^^ii^^h
|
Doiith Becomes Her |
*\o-- - |
|
A League Of Their Own |
1070UUb |
|
Passengers? |
* 1037709 |
|
Sneakers |
* 1071604 |
|
Top Gun |
0426908 |
|
Allen |
0000206 |
|
Aliens |
0360909 |
|
Allen 3 |
* 1042506 |
|
Boomerang |
* 1064005 |
|
Dune |
0211102 |
|
The Blues Brottiers |
0211706 |
|
Goodlellas |
*0969808 |
|
Hook |
•0854307 |
|
Back To The Future |
» 02 11409 |
|
Back To The Future Part 11 |
*0921304 |
|
Back To The Future Part III |
*0497008 |
|
Field 01 Dreams |
0920306 |
|
Fried Green TomatoeB |
1OO5404 |
|
The Prince Of Tides |
*0847103 |
|
Patlon |
0788703 |
|
The Empire Of The Sun |
*0633206 |
|
The Addams Family |
* 1000900 |
|
National Lampoons Animal House |
0211508 |
|
Bugs Bunny Clasaics |
0297705 |
|
Fatal Attraction |
0439307 |
|
*nq5iqn5 |
|
|
Bugsy |
•0853408 |
|
The Bible |
* 0074708 |
|
Casablanca |
0050708 |
|
It's A Wonderful Life (4&th Anniversary Ed.) |
0392306 |
|
New Jack City |
0971507 |
|
ThQ Man Who Would Be King |
*OOB5803 |
|
Far& Away |
* 1046507 |
|
Patriot Games |
* 1051 309 |
|
The Sound Ot Music |
♦00039O5 |
|
Backdralt |
•0559005 |
|
The Hunt For Red October |
♦0625000 |
|
The Silence Of The Lambs |
0805309 |
|
Robin Hood: Prince Ot Thieves |
*0976e03 |
|
Die Hard |
♦0367607 |
|
Die Hard 2 |
•0041806 |
LASER* DEO-
SEE DETAILS BELOW.
The Abyss
• 0881102
2001 : A Space Odyssey Edward Sclssorhands
C3r>
|
SlarTrok: The r.lotion Picture |
♦0203505 |
|
Star Trek II: TheWralhOIKhan |
•0201301 |
|
Star Trek 111: The Search For Spock |
♦0201608 |
|
Star Trek IV: Tho Voyage Home |
♦0430603 |
|
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier |
♦0446605 |
|
Star Trek Vi: The Undiscoyered Country |
♦1001007 |
|
Ghost |
♦0826008 |
|
E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial |
0681106 |
|
Scarlace(1983) |
0216804 |
|
Chinatown |
♦0202507 |
|
North By Northwest |
♦0844209 |
|
Beverly Hills Cop |
0205302 |
|
BsvcriyHliisCopii |
0431 90S |
|
Wayne's World Conan Tho Barbarian Forbidden Planet |
♦0853705 ♦0220509 •0844407 |
|
Jaws |
0100008 |
|
Kindergarten Cop |
0523407 |
|
Henry V (1990) |
0040303 |
|
The Commitments |
0691303 |
|
Caddyshack |
0602300 |
|
Black Bain |
♦0911701 |
|
The African Queen |
0061102 |
|
Hard To Kill |
0953505 |
|
Hamiel (19901 |
0970603 |
|
Msmphis Belle |
•0983502 |
|
Superman: The Movie |
• 0001305 |
|
Bectlejuice |
0633003 |
|
Dangerous Liaisons |
•0638700 |
|
Blue Velvet |
•051 6007 |
|
Road Warrior |
0602805 |
|
Ail Dogs Go To Heaven |
0289702 |
|
American Graffiti |
0211300 |
|
TheGodtather |
□000802 |
|
TheQodiather Part ill |
0842302 |
|
The Wizard 0( 02 |
0001404 |
|
Batman (1989) |
♦0642504 |
|
Batman Returns |
♦1029909 |
|
Home Alone |
♦0104208 |
|
The Last Boy Scout |
• 0779108 |
Lethal Weapon Lethal Weapon 2
♦0642702
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♦Letterbox © 1993, The Columbia House Company
background, and is something upon which I have grown quite dependent."
Out in Public
presentation software is one of the fastest-growing areas in Windows. What do our Windows pros like when it comes to taking information to the people?
For presentations, William Harrel prefers Microsoft PowerPoint because it's both feature rich and easy to use. Harrel says that the approximately 20 Windows presentation programs available right now all work with basi- cally the same idea. You create an outline, and from the outline the pro- gram automatically generates slides. PowerPoint, however, imports Word for Windows outlines. Linked to Excel and Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheets, Pow- erPoint creates graphs and charts. "It's just all-around versatile," says Harrel.
Aldus Persuasion is Tony Roberts's choice among presentation pro- grams. His desktop publishing busi- ness uses Persuasion extensively to create slides, overheads, and presen- tation material for speeches.
Every Picture Tells a Story
Creating graphics of all kinds was the earliest use of graphical environ- ments. Windows and the Macintosh operating system made it easy to cre- ate a standard interface and a stan- dard set of graphics tools, and the mouse— though not perfect— was still a very good drawing tool. While over the past couple of years Windows software has taken great strides beyond drawing and painting, and now includes virtually every kind of software, graphics remain the heart of the Windows experience and the prin- cipal attraction of the graphical user interface for many users. But which graphics programs are the best?
Steven Anzovin considers Adobe Illustrator the standard in the field of graphics: "It may not have every tool that you want, but it has the great ad- vantage of being a standard that many other artists are familiar with and use." Adobe Illustrator is geared to the professional artist, and so is Fractal Design Painter, which Anzovin says is an excellent paint program. It gives you tools that don't exist in other programs, such as watercolor, oil paint, and charcoal. For the best effects in painting, Anzovin says Painter is the only choice. Anzovin also admires the program Arts & Letters Graphic Editor for its extensive typeface and clip art libraries.
When asked for his choice of the
12 COMPUTE JULY 1993
best graphics program, William Harrel comes out strongly in favor of CorelDRAW!. "The reason I use it is [that] I'm not a graphics artist, and it has a lot of features that make me look like one," says Harrel. CorelDRAW! is a vector drawing program that excels for nonillustrators because it has a lot of automatic features for creating 3-D objects, for mirroring objects, and for wrapping text along a path; it can also give an object perspective to make it look more three-dimensional. Co- relDRAW! comes with about 250 type- faces and 14,000 pieces of clip art, along with a charting application, a bitmap application, a slide-show appli- cation, and other utilities. "So it's not only powerful — It's a great value," says Harrel.
Tom Campbell joins in the praise for CorelDRAW!, mostly for technical illustration. "I have to admit [that] it's kind of fun to play with, too," says Campbell. His reason for choosing CorelDRAW! is that it has the best combination of features and price.
Tony Roberts uses Aldus Free- hand and PhotoStyler In conjunction with PageMaker when he draws maps or diagrams or scans in photographs. The programs work hand in hand in production of Roberts's books and brochures,
You may have noticed that the pro- grams Roberts uses are generally Aldus products. He says that that has something to do with why he has cho- sen to use these applications. Page- Maker was the first Aldus application he owned, and he felt so comfortable with it that when he began to add drawing tools and tools for scanning and photo manipulation, he decided to go with the Aldus products as they came out. The programs are designed to work together. Roberts says, "I felt confident that If I was working in one program, I would be able to use the output of it in the other without too much trouble. And that's been fairly true."
"CorelDRAW! and Arts & Letters Graphic Editor are fine products," Robert Bixby says, "but if you're look- ing for a complete professional vector graphics package with a robust trac- ing program, Micrografx Designer is second to none. It has most of the tools of the other programs, plus that incredibly powerful trace that no one else can match. It suffers slightly from having an outdated interface, but those who use it swear by it."
Programming
COMPUTE was built on programming. When there were few commercial pro-
grams available, COMPUTE printed listings that would enable readers to create their own word processors, spreadsheets, databases, and graph- ics programs. Now that programming is largely the province of profession- als, what tools do the pros like to use?
George Campbell chooses Visual Basic 2.0 for programming. Accord- ing to Campbell, it's easy to use, pow- erful, and by far the best way to cre- ate Windows applications.
Tom Campbell uses Borland C++ to write programs. The reasoning behind his programming choice is that Borland C++ happens to be the only C compiler that currently has a Windows-integrated environment, which makes It easier and more pleasant to use. And when it comes time to test one of his Windows pro- grams, he's already in Windows, so he doesn't have to take the time to start up the environment,
Windows Productivity Suite
Windows has come a long way. The environment that once utilized only applications designed for graphics and spreadsheets now supports soft- ware of virtually every variety. In fact, there are so many applications avail- able today that it's sometimes difficult to decide which one to buy. That's why experts were called in to help narrow the selection.
The programs most recommended include Microsoft Word for Windows, Ami Pro, Microsoft Excel, Quattro Pro, Aldus PageMaker, Microsoft Access, Procomm Plus for Windows, Microsoft PowerPoint, Aldus Persuasion, and CorelDRAW!, with minority support for Microsoft Bookshelf, MacLinkPlus, OmniPage Direct, ArrowSmith, Ven- tura Publisher, Instant Database, File- Maker Pro, Microsoft FoxPro for Windows, Aldus FreeHand, Aldus PhotoStyler, FaxMaster, WinFax Pro, RapidFAX, Adobe Illustrator, Fractal Design Painter, Arts & Letters Graphic Editor, and Micrografx Designer. When it comes to programming lan- guages, our experts like Visual Basic and Borland C++.
How can you choose between such powerful programs as Word for Windows and Ami Pro or between Excel and Quattro Pro? If you have some specific application in mind, look for the program with the feature set that most closely matches your needs. Word for Windows is better for writing, while Ami Pro is better suited to publishing (though it's also very good for general writing). If you choose any one of the best products in a category, you can't go wrong. □
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Pas5pon Music'imE is i liademarti of ^sspori Designs. Ire A!i olhef piofluds and brands ate Irademarks or tegisteiedlradcmartis ol tiieir respective tioldsrs. Circle Reader Service Number 273
Adobe Illustrator for Windows 4.0 —
$695.00 ADOBE SYSTEMS 1585 Charleston Rd., Box 7900 Mountain View, CA 94039 (800) 833-6687 (408) 986-6555 (overseas) (415)961-4400
Aldus FreeHand 3.1^$595.00 Aldus PageMaker for Windows 5.0—
$895.00 Aldus Persuasion— $495.00 Aldus PhotoSty I er— $795.00 ALDUS
411 First Ave. S Seattle, WA 98104-2871 (206) 628-5739
Instant Database — $95.00
ASYMMETRIX
110 110th Ave. NE, Ste. 700
Bellevue, WA 98004
(800) 448-6543
(206)637-1500
Borland C++ 3.1— $495.00 Borland C++ 3.1 with Application
Frameworks— $749.00 Quattro Pro for Windows 1.0 —
$495.00 BORLAND INTERNATIONAL 1800 Green Hills Rd. Scotts Valley. CA 95067 (800)331-0877 (800) 461-3327 (Canada) (408) 438-8400
Arthur's Teacher Trouble— $59.95 Just Grandma and Me — $49.95 BR0DERBUND SOFTWARE 500 Redwood Blvd. Novate, CA 94948-6121 (800)521-6263 (415)382-4400
FaxMaster— $109.00
OmniPage Direct 1,0— $595.00
CAERE
100 Cooper Ct.
Los Gatos, CA 95030
(800)643-3915
(408) 395-7000
FileMaker Pro 2.0— $399.00
CLARIS
5201 Patrick Henry Dr., Box 58168
Santa Clara. CA 95052
(800) 544-8554
(408) 727-8227
Product List
RapldFAX for Windows— $49.00
THE COMPLETE PC
1983 Concourse Dr.
San Jose, CA 95131
(800)229-1753
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Arts & Letters Graphic Editor 3.12-
$695.00 COMPUTER SUPPORT 15926 Midway Rd. Dallas, TX 75244 (214)661-8960
CorelDRAW! 3.0—5595.00
COREL
1600 Carling Ave.
Ottawa, ON
Canada K1Z 8R7
(800) 836-7274
(613)728-8200
Procomm Plus for Windows 1 .01 —
$179.00 DATASTORM TECHNOLOGIES P.O. Box 1471 Columbia, MO 65205 (314) 443-3282
MacLinkPlus/PC 7.0— $199.00
DATAVI2
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WinFax Pro— $129.00 DELRINA TECHNOLOGY 6830 Via Del Oro, Ste. 240 San Jose, CA95119 (800) 268-6082 (408) 363-2345
Fractal Design Painter 2.0- FRACTAL DESIGN 335Spreckels Dr., Ste. F Aptos, CA 95003 (408) 688>8800
ArrowSmith— $17.00 CLIRON KARNES 2519 0verbrookDr. Greensboro, NC 27408 CompuSen/e 75300.2103
Ami Pro 3.0— $495.00 LOTUS DEVELOPMENT 55 Cambridge Pkwy. Cambridge, MA 02142 (800)343-5414 (617)577-8500
-$399.00
SimCity for Windows— $59.95 MAXIS SOFTWARE 2 Theatre Sq., Ste. 230 Orinda, CA 94563-3346 (800) 336-2447 (510)254-9700
Micrografx Designer— $695.00 MICROGRAFX 1303E. ArapahoRd. Richardson, TX 75081 (800) 733-3729 (214)234-1769
Microsoft Access 1.1— $495.00 Microsoft Bookshelf for Windows
1993 Edition— $195.00 Microsoft Excel for Windows 4.0—
$495.00 Microsoft Golf 1 .0— $64.95 Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows
3.0— $495.00 Microsoft Publisher for Windows
1.0— $199.00 Microsoft Word for Windows 2.0—
$495.00 Multimedia Word for Windows and
Bookshelf 2.0 Video and Sound
Edition— $595.00 Visual Basic for Windows 2.0 —
$199.00 Visual Basic for Windows
Professional Edition 2.0 — $495.00 MICROSOFT 1 Microsoft Way Redmond, WA 98052-6399 (800) 426-9400 (206) 882-8080
Express Publisher for Windows —
$79.95 POWER UP SOFTWARE 2929 Campus Dr. San Mateo, CA 94403 (800)851-2917 (415)345-5900
THE ANIMALS!— $119.95 THE SOFTWARE TOOLWORKS 60 Leveroni Ct. Novato, CA 94949 (800) 234-3088 (415) 883-3000
WordPerfect for Windows 5.1 —
$495.00 WORDPERFECT 1555 N. Technology Way Orem, UT 84057 (800)321-4566 (801)225-5000
14 COMPUTE JULY 1993
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TEST LAB
Edited by Mike Hudnall Reviews by Tom Benford
Combine the blazing speed and colossal computing pow- er of Intel's 486DX2/66 with the latest local-bus technolo- gy, and you've got a computer ready for the most demanding applications. Windows programs that seem sluggish on older com- puters are downright snappy on these systems, so you can spend less of your time waiting for the Windows hourglass and more of it taking care of business. Not inexpensive by any means, these systems nevertheless deliv- er lots of value, especially when you consider what you could get for the same price a year ago, how much time you can save, and how expandable they are.
You may be asking yourself whether you really need this much power and speed right now— a fair question. Here at COMPUTE, we see today's cut- ting-edge technologies as tomor-
«■
row's consumer technologies, and with the current dizzying pace of change in the computer industry, tomorrow will probably be here sooner than you think. Already Intel has announced its new Pentium chip, which by all ac- counts significantly outperforms the 486DX2/66 but is likely to cost significantly more, and I sus- pect that by the time this issue hits the stands, most computer companies will offer VESA local bus as a standard feature rather than as an option.
In setting up this month's lineup of systems, we asked for Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) because it's less expensive than Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) and because most of our readers won't need EI- SA's performance benefits. We asked for 8IVIB of RAM because many of the systems include 8MB as the standard complement and because some of the more demanding applications that would benefit from the extra horse- power of 4B6DX2/66 chips also require more than 4MB. We also asked the manufacturers to install whatever cache was part of the standard configuration, since many COMPUTE readers will opt for standard packages. Because these high-powered computers are likely to handle high-powered applications and mountains of data, we requested hard drives of at least 200MB, not at all an unusu-
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al size for these machines.
All ten of the systems in this month's Test Lab come with Win- dows 3.1 and DOS, and they're all, of course, 486DX2/66 sys- tems with local-bus video. Beyond those common elements, you'll find a variety of prices and features. While most of these com- puters, for example, use stan- dard VESA local bus, some com- panies use proprietary local-bus video. At least a few include a local-bus drive controller along with the local-bus video adapter. And in some cases the video card is accelerated for optimized Windows performance.
For the specifics of configura- tion, expandability, and other fea- tures, you should find the fea- tures grid helpful. Whether or not you understand the differences among local-bus video stan- dards, you'll appreciate the bench- mark graphs, which provide not only Norton index data but also real-world performance data — how long a particular computer re- quired to find and replace text in a word processor, index and sort a database, play back video, and so forth. These systems were so fast that our lab had to redesign the benchmark test suite to pro- duce more statistically significant data. In fact, we had to drop a planned spreadsheet benchmark because even a Windows spread- sheet proved too small a chal- lenge for these machines, Tom Benford's reviews home in on sig- nificant features of these comput- ers, whether it's their strategies for handling the heat given off by their microprocessors, their mem- ory expansion capabilities, their case designs, their use of cach- ing, or their ability to accept upgrade chips,
Whether you're ready to buy one of these systems now or just want to see the kind of system you couid be buying before long. Test Lab has information to help you understand the technology and make a more informed purchase.
MIKE HUDNALL
COMPUADD EXPRESS 466/DX2
The CompuAdd Express 466/DX2 is the current top-of-the-line mod- el in the company's series of "scal- able" computer systems designed with upgradability in mind.
Scalable is, for all intents and purposes, another word for mod- ular in that the Express lets you change the configuration by sim- ply replacing the CPU and chang- ing the jumper switch settings. The company offers six varieties of the machine, ranging from a 40- fvlHz 386DXL-based system to 486SX models and the 466/DX2 model reviewed here.
You'll find many of the essen- tial system functions integrated right into the motherboard itself: the IDE controller, the floppy drive controller, the parallel and serial ports, the keyboard connec- tion, and local-bus video for fast- er video performance.
The full-profile case occupies a baby-AT footprint and provides three bays accessible from the front: two half-height 5y4-inch bays and a vertical 3y2-inch bay. A hidden SVs-inch bay is also avail- able. To power any additional drives you might install, just use the three available connectors from the 200-watt power supply A Western Digital Caviar 2340 (333MB formatted) hard drive pro- vides the mass storage for the sys- tem, while a combination SVs- inch/5'/4-inch half-height unit occupies the uppermost bay and provides floppy disk I/O.
Because the Express inte- grates so much into the mother- board, all of its full-length 16-bit slots are available. A proprietary slot holds a proprietary video adapt- er card and is, apparently, the local-bus connection: Tseng Labs manufactures the video BIOS. I found no other local-bus slots.
The high-speed, high-pow- ered 66-MHz i486DX2 CPU gen- erates an enormous amount of heat, the archnemesis of electron-
DEU COMPUTER
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ic components. The CompuAdd folks, however, have taken some serious measures to ensure that heat won't be a problem with this system. A high-volume fan mount- ed at the front of the case less than six inches from the CPU pulls in outside air through the case vents. A deeply finned heat sink and a miniature fan mounted atop the CPU itself also help: under this arrangement, the heat sink dissipates the chip's heat and the fan keeps cool air circulating over the heat sink to further aid in keeping the interior case temper- ature "comfortable" for the compo- nents. The design apparently works well, as I didn't experience any problems or anomalies during the time I spent using this system for the review.
A three-button mouse supplied with the system has a switch that lets you select either a Microsoft (two-button) mode or a Mouse Sys- tems (three-button) mode. While the mouse itself resembles a Mi- crosoft mouse in style, feel, and shape, the clicking action could best be described as erratic: fre- quently, several rapid clicks were required to enter a Windows command or function.
I wasn't entirely satisfied with the keyboard (made by Lexmark here in the USA), either. I found the action quite stiff, there was no au- dible click, and it had a straight cable (which looked very similar to RJ-14 telephone cable) rather than the heavier, coiled cords usu- ally found on keyboards.
Aside from the mouse and key- board difficulties, the CompuAdd Express 466/DX2 local-bus sys- tem provides good performance, features, and expandability.
Circle Header Service Number 371
DELL SYSTEM 466/M
Dell has built its reputation on high-quality, dependable PC sys- tems that are popularly priced. Maintaining that reputation, the Dell System 466/M proves itself to be a sterling performer.
The baby-AT-sized desktop case provides a surprising amount of expansion room, thanks to large-scale integration of components on the system's motherboard. Components critical to the system, including the video adapter, input and output ports, and disk controllers, are all integrat- ed rather than requiring separate expansion cards. As a result, you have five full-length 16-bit expan- sion slots available for user- installed peripherals, in addition to a single three-quarter-length 16- bit slot for shorter boards.
Looking for room to add drives? The system has two avail- able exposed half-height bays and an internal 3'/s-inch bay. Dual floppy drives are provided as standard equipment on the sys- tem, but rather than being individ- ual units that require separate bays, the two floppy drives are integrated into one half-height combination drive — a nice touch that conserves space and improves expansion capabilities.
A 240-watt power supply pro- vides more than enough power for the system and sports three "pig- tail" connectors available for pow- ering any additional drive devices you might install in the system.
JULY 1993 COMPUTE 17
TEST LAB
An extra-large finned heat sink on the 66-MHz Intel 486DX2 CPU helps dissipate the heat this fast chip generates. To aid the heat sink in its cooling functions, a high- volume fan mounted almost direct- ly in front of the CPU provides excellent air flow inside the case.
Dell uses a proprietary local- bus standard w^htch is not VESA compliant, and there is no local- bus slot available for user-instal- lable cards, since the local-bus features are integrated into the motherboard's circuitry. Dell han- dles video through this local bus, using the popular S3 accelerated video chip set, which can gener- ate 1024 X 768 noninteriaced res- olution with a maximum color pal- ette of over 32,000 colors.
The integrated IDE interface fea- tures a 32K cache buffer, which helps to keep things moving at a brisk pace in the system, You can also get an optional 128K internal system cache.
Knowing that users naturally upgrade their systems as their needs for power and speed grow, Dell offers a motherboard with a 238-pin (low insertion force press-pin) socket that can accommodate future upgrades, such as higher-speed 486 chips or the P24T (Pentium Overdrive) when they become available. The flash memory Phoenix/Dell BIOS is disk upgradable, another fea- ture which ensures the system's longevity.
The review system contained 8MB of RAM, but you can up- grade the memory to a maximum of 64MB using 16MB SIMMs in the four sockets provided on the motherboard. Dell also included a Maxtor LXT-340A 320MB IDE hard drive and a Dell UltraScan 14C SVGA monitor as part of the standard equipment.
A Microsoft tvro-button mouse supplied with the system plugs into the built-in PS/2-style mouse port. MS-DOS 5.0, Windows 3,1, and an enhanced keyboard round out the system and ensure that it's ready to go to work as
18 COMPUTE JULY 1993
DIAMOND TECHNOLOGIES
171S5 Gillette Ave.
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(800) 989-7253
(714) 252-1008
Direct price: $2,695 (review
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Warranty: one year on monitor,
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months on ail other parts
soon as you plug it in.
Deli has an excellent system here in the 466/M, and it deserves your serious consider- ation if you're in the market for a 486DX2/66 local-bus system.
Circle Reader Service Number 372
DIAMOND 486DX2/66
Smart styling, good expansion potential, and snappy local-bus performance make the DT 486DX2/ 66 system from Diamond Technol- ogies a pleasing package.
A fud-height baby-AT case pro- vides expandability while maintain- ing a reasonably small footprint for the desktop. For adding drives, this system includes two half-height bays accessible from the front of the machine. No additional unexposed bays are available, but since the Diamond comes equipped with dual flop- pies, two bays should suffice for the vast majority of users. The 200-watt power supply is also adequate for such expansion, although it comes with only one extra "pigtail" connector for power- ing another drive.
The 14860X2/66 CPU, mount- ed in a standard press-pin sock- et, has a deeply finned heat sink to minimize heat buildup and the problems associated with it. Since the AT-sized case affords plenty of internal "breathing" room for air to circulate, this arrangement works well, keeping the CPU and other components cool and thus contributing to system reliability.
The motherboard, a fairly com- pact unit manufactured by S&A Labs, uses an American Megatrends, Inc. (AMI) BIOS. Eight SIMM sockets on the mother- board accept either 1MB or 4MB SIMMs, yielding a maximum configuration of 32MB on the moth- erboard itself.
The system came with two local-bus siots on the mother- board, both occupied; a Dia- mond Viper SVGA card is installed in one, while the (DE caching disk controller resides in the other. Five of the six full- length 16-bit slots are available for adding expansion boards (the sixth slot contains the multi I/O card, which provides the parallel and serial ports).
At the front of the case, above two flush-mounted push-button switches for changing to and from turbo mode and resetting the system, you'll find three LEDs for signaling power on, hard drive activity, and turbo status. The SVa- inch high-density drive is vertical- ly mounted next to the 1 .2MB 5 '/i- Inch drive which occupies the topmost bay in the case. Look for the power switch on the rear pan- el of the case at the right side.
A comfortable enhanced key- board (no audible click) comes as part of the standard package, along with a three-button Micro- soft-compatible serial mouse. While considerably larger and bulkier than a Microsoft unit, the mouse is still quite serviceable.
The system delivers excellent video performance, thanks to the combination of the Diamond Viper board equipped with 2MB of vid-
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CIrcte Reader Service Number 166
TEST LAB
eo RAM and the local-bus slot. If your eyes tire easily from staring at a screen, you'll appreciate ttie CTX CMS-1561 SVGA monitor tfiat came with this review system; the monitor can display 1024 x 768 noninterlaced resolution with 256 colors. This combination of a high-powered SVGA card, a local bus, and an excellent monitor is
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hard to beat if you do lots of graph- ics-intensive work.
Word processing, desktop pub- lishing, database operations, and spreadsheet work all benefit from the overall power of the DX2/ 66 CPU and the local-bus archi- tecture, resulting in overall per- formance that is above average in all respects.
MS-DOS 5,0 and Windows 3, 1
are supplied already loaded on the system, which enables you to get off to a productive start imme- diately, I found the system and software manuals thorough and well organized.
The Diamond DT 486DX2/66 puts lots of muscle into a baby- AT-sized case and certainly mehts your serious consideration when shopping for a 486DX2 local-bus system.
circle Reader Service Number 373
DECPC 466D2 LP
The design of Digital Equipment Corporation's DECpc 466d2 LP exemplifies how good expansion possibilities can be incorporated in a diminutive case.
The footprint of the PC approx- imates that of a baby AT, but the case has a much lower profile than that of a standard desktop.
THE NORTON OVERALL INDEX
The Norton Overall Index factors in microprocessor and disk performance, among other things, to indicate how well a computer performs when compared to a 4.77-MHz IBM XT. The greater the index value, the faster the computer.
150
120
Overall Index
Disk Speed CPU Speed
20 COMPUTE JULY 1993
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Girder Reader Service Number 164
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TEST LAB
measuring less than four inches from the top of the desl< to the top of the case. On the front of the ma- chine, you'll find recessed LEDs for power, hard drive activity, and turbo status. The reset button and power switches, similarly unobtru- sive, contribute to the streamlined appearance of the machine,
A single SV^-inch high-density drive comes installed as standard equipment on the DECpc 466d2 LP, but there's a front-accessible Sy^-inch half-height bay available underneath the drive for accepting another device of your choice. By virtue of its dual-sized plastic bay cover plate, this bay can also accommodate a 3y2-inch drive. DEC has provided a hidden 3'/?- Inch bay inside the machine, and two power connectors are availa- ble for powering any user- installed drives,
DEC has integrated the paral- lel, serial, mouse, and keyboard ports; the video adapter; and the floppy and hard drive controllers into the motherboard itself to keep the design compact and leave as many expansion slots free as possible. An extension card inserted vertically into the sys- tem board provides three full- length 16-bit expansion slots for any peripherals you choose to in-
stall. There are no 8-bit or local- bus slots provided in the system.
The 66-fv1Hz 486DX2 CPU and related performance components reside on a separate board (referred to as a CPU module in DEC'S manual) attached via an nterlocking connector to the main system board. This module permits quickly changing the sys- tem's configuration, presumably allowing upgrades. The module's vacant 238-pin socket certainly seems to support such a conclu- sion. The CPU itself resides in a press-pin socket on the module board.
I was somewhat surprised to find that the only means of dissi- pating heat generated by the CPU was a deeply finned heat sink attached to the top of the chip. There was no cooling fan to circulate air within the case inte- rior which, compared with the oth- er systems reviewed, was much less spacious. However, heat buildup didn't seem to be a prob- lem; the system performed as ex- pected during the review period.
The system's integrated local- bus video adapter, based on the popular S3 accelerated chip set, comes with 512K of video RAM in- stalled. Even though the review unit came with an additional
WINWORD 2.0 TEXT SEARCH & REPUCE
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22 COMPUTE JULY 1993
A NOTE ON PRICES
With computer products changing more rapidly than ever and with options more plentiful than ever, computer prices can be a tricl<y busi- ness, indeed.
It pays to keep the following points in mind:
Street and direct prices can be considerably lower than list prices. Shopping around helps you find the best price.
Because computer technology evolves rapidly, a product may have changed by the time our re- view sees print. A manufacturer may decide to change the video card or the hard drive, for example.
Because consumers are more sophisticated than ever about what they want in computer products and because manufacturers have responded with more options and configurations than ever, one com- puter model may be subject to doz- ens of variations, each with a slightly different price.
At COMPUTE, we make every ef- fort to verify prices and differentiate between the price tor a review con- figuration and the price for a stan- dard configuration. It's still a good Idea, however, to call the manufac- turer or vendor to make sure that the configuration you want matches the price you have in mind.
—MIKE HUONALL
51 2K of video RAM installed (yield- ing 1 MB total), i was unable to in- itiate or use Windows in 1024 x 768 256-color mode. Since run- ning in 800 X 640 256-color mode wasn't a problem, that's the mode I used. DEC provided a Dig- ital PC7XV-DE monitor with the re- view unit, and I suspect that the monitor, and not the video card, prevented accessing the 1024 x 768 mode successfully.
DOS 5.0 and Windows 3.1 come supplied with the system, as does a copy of Diagsoft's QAPlus software.
If your expansion requirements aren't too demanding and you like the idea of a slimline case, this DEC machine may be worth a closer look.
Circle Reader Service Number 374
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TEST LAB
EPSON
PROGRESSION 486DX2/66 PC
Epson has taken a modular ap- proach wilh its Progression series of computers, and the Progression 486DX2/66 PC model is represen- tative of this design trend.
The Progression's full-height baby-AT case provides room for expansion without requiring lots of desktop real estate. The review unit came with a single one-third- height high-density S'^-inch drive, leaving three front-accessi- ble bays (one one-third-height and two half-height bays) available for additional devices. Two half- height internal bays are also avail- able for upgrading the system.
There's lots of room for expand- ing RAM beyond the system's standard complement of 4MB. With four SIMIvl sockets, you can expand up to a maximum of 128fvlB using 16MB SIMfVls. The review unit came equipped with 12MB of RAM: the lab removed one 4MB SIMM so that this sys- tem could meet the 8MB config- uration requirement for the bench- mark testing. During the review, however, I used the full 12MB con- figuration and found performance to be respectable for ail types of general computing work.
The 14860X2/66 CPU resides on a separate card which plugs into a special slot on the mother- board. Under this modular arrangement, someone with a Pro- gression 486SX/25 or 486DX/33 machine could upgrade to a 486DX2/66 simply by replacing the CPU card rather than chang- ing the chip itself. Future upgrades to more powerfui CPUs as they become available will also be easy to perform under this design scheme.
The review system's CPU, installed in a low-force press-pin socket, has a deeply finned heat sink. A vacant ZIF (Zero insertion Force) socket is located adjacent
24 COMPUTE JULY 1993
EPSON AMERICA
P.O. Box 2842
Torrance, CA 90509-2842
(800) 922-8911
(310! 782-0770
Suggested retail orice: $3,976 lor
review configuration with monitor
and 12MB RAM ($3,353 esllinateil
street price); $3,398 tar standard
configuration with monitor and 4IVIB
RAM ($2,862 estimated street
price)
Warranty: one year, including on- .
site service witiiin 75 miles ol
auUiorized service center
to the i486 chip on the CPU card itself, presumably for future upgrade options. The proprietary slot that accepts the CPU card looks like a local-bus slot, but it is not one; it is a slot designed to accept the modular Epson CPU cards only.
You1l find all of the I/O ports (parallel, single serial, mouse, vid- eo, keyboard) integrated into the motherboard. This leaves six fuli- length 16-bit slots open and avail- able for use. A 200-watt power sup- ply provides the essential operating voltages for the system.
Instead of the local-bus archi- tecture found in other systems cov- ered in this issue, the Progression uses its own Wingine Graphics Acceleration Technology for improved video performance. The heart of the Wingine is a CHIPS and Technologies display controller equipped with 1MB of video RAM (upgradable to 2MB) and a BrookTree RAMDAC. Rath- er than using an expansion card, Epson's Wingine integrates the vid- eo controller into the mother- board itself.
Another unusual aspect of Epson's Wingine technology is that the total amount of system RAM can also affect the video performance. For example, with only 8MB of RAM instaiied, the sys- tem could not support 1024 x 768 256-color noninterlaced resolu- tion in Windows; 800 x 640 was the highest video mode that
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would operate with the monitor sup- plied for review, a 14-inch Epson T1183A extended VGA model. Curiously, Epson lists the 17-inch Professional Series monitor as the standard unit for this system.
A two-button mouse and a com- fortable enhanced keyboard pro- vide the means for inputting data and controlling system and appli- cation functions.
The Progression provides a workable alternative to the local- bus technology of this month's oth- er systems, and it provides some appealing features that make it worthy of consideration.
circle Reader Service Number 37S
GATEWAY 4DX2-66V
Gateway 2000's 4DX2-66V is a local-bus PC in an attractive, stan- dard-sized AT desktop case with reasonable expansion options. A vacant front-accessible half- height bay beneath the dual flop- py drives is ready to accept a CD- ROM drive or tape backup unit, and two additional half-height bays are available at the front of the case adjacent to the drives, if you want to mount additional in- ternal devices. (Editor's note: A CD- ROM drive now comes standard.) In this system. Gateway uses a standard-sized, highly integrat- ed motherboard that incorpo- rates the floppy dhve controller and a local-bus IDE hard disk interface. The motherboard can support up to 64MB of RAM direct-
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Voice annotation software included brings your Windows 3.1 word processor to life by adding your own recorded messages to your documents.
The COVOX E/Q module and headset provided with VOICE BLASTER will improve your sound card's recording capability while giving you the best voice recognition possible. VOICE BLASTER will change the way yon use your computer!
VOICE BLASTER is available at CompUSA, Electronics Boutique, Egghead Sofhvare,
Software Etc. and other fine computer retail outlets. Suggested retail price $119.95.
To order call Covo.x at (800) 432-S970. Dealer inquiries (818) 446-9932.
Copyright lEHJJ C-OVOX, rXC. All produtlh name^ ^re irAd'einarka and TKfii^irTcd trjdfi
ii:tb .iiul <t>rp'.i<'Atu iiJckt of Ihelr r*sp*ctivp i>wri«T5. A]1 flftJiits'rflFicrvt.-d. COVUX, |MC. eT-i Conner Si. Eugcnt. OR *>7iQi I503> J42-127]
Circle Reader Service Number 205
TEST LAB
ly using 16MB modules in its four SIMM sockets.
The 66-MHz Intel 486DX2 CPU resides in a standard press-pin socket and is lilted with a heat sink with crosshatched fins to dis- sipate its heat. An upgrade sock- et next to the CPU lets you add an upgrade chip, such as the Intel Overdrive accelerator. How- ever, since the 486DX2/66 is the fastest CPU currently available,
GATEWAY 2000
610 Gateway Dr.
N. Sioux City, SO 57049
(8001 846-2000
Direct price: $2,985
Warranty: one year, parts and iabor
there is no advantage or benefit to be derived by adding an Over- drive chip at this point in time,
The system includes two local- bus expansion slots, one holding the ATI Graphics Ultra Pro video card. Of the five 16-bit expansion slots available, four can accom- modate full-length cards; the oth- er 1 6-btt slot can only accept a half- length card. Of course, you can use the remaining local-bus slot as a 16-bit slot for non-local-bus expansion cards if you need to.
The reset and turbo selector switcHes, flush mounted on the front of the case, reside next to the key lock, just above the illu- minated power, hard drive activi- ty, and turbo LEDs. The power switch is located at the right rear corner of the machine.
The machine comes with a spe- cial 124-key keyboard, but you can order a traditional AT-stan- dard 101 -key keyboard if you pre- fer. The 124-key keyboard has an enhanced cursor-control station with extra keys, which I found con- fusing, I found that both key- boards, made for Gateway by MaxiSwitch, feel great.
Gateway's 1572 FS 15-inch CrystalScan SVGA monitor accom- panied the system unit and pro- vided an excellent display for the high-speed graphics processed through the ATI video card and the local bus.
Overall, the performance of this machine was excellent, especially
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26 COMPUTE JULY 1993
We created our new line of laser printers under very strict guidelines.
Introducing Star's LS-5 series of laser printers.
when we set out to create our new laser printers, we were bound by the same standards that enabled our dot-matrix and ink-jet printers to garner so many industry awards.
Our mission was to produce a line of lasers that pos- sessed the very same attributes: superb print quality unsur- passed compatibility and excellent paper handling.
The result is a family of laser printers of uncompromis- ing quality, yet outstanding value.
Introducing the Star LS-5, LS-5EX and LS-5TT. The LS-5 series has all the features youd expect from a high-end printer: dual-bin printing, which allows you to use two types of paper; a maintenance-free, high-definition one-piece
IhieTypt is a trademark of Apple Compuler, Inc. Windows is a Iradtmark of Microsofi Corporaliun.
toner/drum cartridge for blacker blacks and more striking detail; and 15 scalable TrueType™ fonts for Windows™ 3.1. Plus, the added assurance of Star's ^^A'o Year Warranty With so many features at such an affordable price, you're sure to be hearing a lot about the LS-5. And judging by our past successes, reading about it, too. For a brochure or your nearest Star dealer, call 1-800-447-4700. To have additional product information sent to you by fax, call 908- 572-4004.
Clrcls Reader Service Number 203
THE LASER PRINTERS
TEST LAB
when running Windows. Even with a screen resolution of 1024 x 768 with 256 colors, Windows was fast and snappy. And the Mach32 con- troi panel, which is a dedicated front end that manages the ATI local-bus controller, makes it very easy to change resolutions, colors, and system fonts.
All in all, the Gateway 4DX2- 66V is a first-rate local-bus system in a well-designed package. It's def- initely worth considering.
circle Reader Service Number 376
INSIGHT 4a6DX2-66 VL
Need a 486DX2/66 local-bus system with plenty of expansion possibilities as your needs grow? Well, then, you'll want to take a closer look at this tower configu- ration from Insight,
The full-size tower case has a base that pulls out lateratly, from both sides, to provide stability. The full vertical configuration affords lots of room for adding drives or tape backup units, with three half-height front-accessible bays still available even with the system's dual floppies and 210MB Western Digital hard
INSIGHT OlSmiBUTION NETWORK
1912 W. Fourth St.
Tempe, AZ 85281
(800) 927-7848
(602) 902-1176
Direct price: S2,779 for review
configuration; S2,199 lor standard
configuration
drive installed. If you need addi- tional mounting room, there's also a concealed full-height bay.
A beefy 250-watt power supply should adequately power any drives or expansion boards you add to the'system.
The motherboard, manufac- tured by ASUS, IS one of the small- est 486 motherboards I've seen to date, and it looks out of place in the gargantuan cavity of this tower configuration. Small size not- withstanding, the motherboard still provides five available full- length 16-bit expansion slots, which should prove to be more than adequate for most users. The motherboard also contains two full-length local-bus slots, which are already occupied; the video controller occupies one local-bus slot, and the combina- tion multi l/0-drive controller card resides in the other.
VIDEO FOR WINDOWS VIDEO PLAYBACK
WORSE
BETTER f>
u
% "^ % \
^4 \
2B COMPUTE JULY 1993
The Intel 80486DX2 CPU is mounted in a ZIP socket for easy removal or upgrading. I found no heat sink on the chip (to help dis- sipate heat); however, owing to the spacious area of the tower case, heat buildup doesn't seem to be a problem. The large front- mounted cooling fan does a good job of circulating the air with- in the case to keep things cool, and I didn't experience any prob- lems usually associated with over- heating during my review.
The manufacturer integrates the drive controller and I/O ports all on a single board, which occupies one of the VESA local- bus siots. In addition to the par- allel, game, and dual serial ports, this card aiso provides an IDE interface for the hard drive as well as control for the dual floppies.
A comfortable enhanced key- board (no audible click) comes with the system, along with a Microsoft-compatible Insight three- button serial mouse. Software sup- plied with and installed on the sys- tem consists of fvlS-DOS 5.0, Win- dows 3.1, Dr. Solomon's Anti- Virus, and Stacker 2.0.
The Insight machine had a qual- ity assurance slicker plainly affixed to the rear of the case, yet I was greeted with a HDD control- ler failure message when I first turned the machine on, I decid- ed to remove the system cover to look for any obvious problems be- fore calling Insight's tech support number, and as soon as the cov-
Who cares how
they can sell it for $18,995. Just get one before they change
W
their minds.
M-
■■ — '■■. ■'^S^jf j^-^^!^
.J
('it
i-r
Eight}/ Eight Siuviat Eililioii
*■*' All for just $18J995. How do we do it? We'll be happif to tell you. Call 1-800-24
IOLDSMOBILE
'$afchf belh, rjTrr with an air tii^f.
TEST LAB
er was removed I found the cul- prit: Thie ribbon cable coming from the hard drive had become disconnected from the pin connec- tor on the I/O card. I reattached it and reinstalled the cover, and the system booted and per- formed perfectly, without inci- dent, from that point on.
The machine proved to be quite a snappy performer for all types of applications — from word processing to spreadsheets and charting to 3-D modeling and other graphics-intensive tasks. The system came supplied with a 15-inch Viewsonic 6FS mon- itor which provided excellent view- ing and enabled the STB Power- graph video card (S3-based) with 1 MB of RAM to show its stuff (aid- ed in the express department by the system's 32-bit local bus).
Performance for today with room for expansion is what the In- sight 486DX2-66 VL delivers.
Circle Reader Service Number 377
KEYDATA INTERNATIONAL
111 Corporate Blvd.
S. Plalnfleld, NJ 07080
[800] 486-7010
[908] 755-0350
Direct price: $2,675 (standard
conliguratlon)
Warranty: one year, parts and labor;
on-site service; 30-day money-back
guarantee
KEYDATA 486DX2-66 VL
If you're looking for 66 MHz of local- bus speed and power but prefer full-size tower computers, you'll be interested in Keydata's 486DX2- 66 VL Bus WindowStation.
t^ike the Insight tower also covered here, the Keydata uses the Taiwan-manufactured ASUS local-bus motherboard. This com- pact motherboard provides two VESA-compliant local-bus slots.
■-'>--^-i;^SPTB^
In the first of the local-bus slots I found a Genoa Systems Windows VGA 24 video card {model 8500VL) with 1MB of RAM and a Cirrus Logic chip set. Keep in mind, however, that Key- data may furnish a different vid- eo adapter.
The second local-bus slot pro- vides a home for the IDE disk controller card, which also includes the parallel port, two seri- al ports, and a game port. By
CAD TESTS
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40
30
20
10
SETTiR
|
■ |
|
_ ::; — — .^ — |
|
1 LL L L rrii 1 |
I Drafix Windows CAD 130 Rotation
AutoCad 3-D
I Concepts Files
\
%
H
%
\
30 COMPUTE JULY 1993
Take Contrd Of Your Future Wi^ A College Degree k ConputerScmce
Now you can get the opportunity and earning power a college degree confers— wittiout leaving home and without spending thousands of dollars.
TKe AlCS home study program:
• B.S. and M.S. college degree programs
• in-depth courses in Programming Languages, Pascal, C, Artificial Intelligence, Software Engineering, Com- piler Design, and much more.
• Approved Ada course available
• All courses through ■; home study
Proven acceptance in business, industry, and government.
Many leading corporations have approved the AlCS program for their employees. More than 75 employers have paid the tuition for their employees, including a number of Fortune 500 companies and government agencies.
AlCS lowers the cost of a college degree without lowering the standards.
The academic program includes comprehen- sive courses using the same textbooks used in major universities. Qualified instructors are available on telephone help lines.
Join students from leading computer companies.
Thousands of men and women working in the Computer Science field throughout the U.S. and around the world are earning their degrees through the AlCS non- traditional program. You can be one of them.
For a free catalogue call: 1-800-767-AICS
Outside U.S.: 1-205-323-6191 Fax 1-205-328-2229 2101-CCF Magnolia Avenue Suite 200 Birmingham, AL 35205
AMERICAN INSTITUTE
COMPUTER SCIENCES
The leading edge ofletinimg
TEST LAB
using these two local-bus slots for the video, disk functions, and I/O, the manufacturer leaves five full- lengtti 16-bit expansion slots free for adding expansion cards of your choice.
Four front-accessible half- height drive bays are available, as well as an additional hidden half-height bay. All of these avail- able bays are located above the SYs-inch and 5y4-inch floppy drives and the 250MB Conner 30254 IDE hard drive, A particu- larly nice feature of the Keydata case is its use of a hinged door that conceals all of the drives and drive bays, giving the case an extra-clean, streamlined look.
The flush-mounted power, tur- bo, and reset switches, as well as their related LEDs and the three- place speed LED, are all mounted at the top of the case at an angle, which makes them easily accessi- ble. I consider the Keydata case one of the best-looking tower units I've seen, with lots of eye appeal in addition to its functionality,
The i486DX2/66 CPU mounted in a ZIP socket is directly in the line of air flow coming from the front-mounted cooling fan. The manufacturer doesn't use a heat sink on the massive chip, and the chip apparently doesn't need one, thanks to the excellent circu- lation provided by the fan and the large open area of the case. I didn't experience any heat-relat- ed problems while using the ma- chine for extended periods.
The CTX Model 1560 ProScan SVGA monitor I used with this system provided excellent color and definition. Other standard equipment includes an enhanced Chicony 5181KT key- board with audible click and a three-button serial mouse. Keyda- ta preinstalls MS-DOS 5,0 and Win- dows 3.1 on the system and sup- plies floppy backup copies.
If you expect to expand your system's capabilities as your requirements grow — perhaps add- ing a CD-ROM drive, a tape back- up unit, a sound card, a digitizer,
32 COMPUTE JULY 1993
MICRO EXPRESS
1801 Carnegie Ave.
Santa Ana, CA 92705
(800) 989-0900
(714) 852-1400
Suggested retail price: $2,375
(standard contlguration)
Warranty: two years, parts and
labon 30-dav money-bach
guarantee; optional on-site ^rvice
and so forth — it's comforting to know that the Keydata's 250-watt power supply has plenty of mus- cle and three available power con- nectors to service these addition- al devices. Clearly, this system delivers plenty of performance for today while affording great poten- tial for tomorrow's expansion.
Circle Reader Service Mumber 37B
MICRO EXPRESS 486-VL/DX2/66
Building upon the success of its 486-Local Bus, which used a pro- prietary local-bus implementation for high-speed graphics process- ing, Micro Express now offers the 486-VL/DX2/66 for your purchas- ing consideration. This model fea- tures two VESA-compliant local- bus slots for accommodating a graphics processor and another local-bus expansion card, such as a disk controller.
The minitower configuration of the Micro Express case provides a nice compromise between stan- dard desktop cases, which eat up lots of desktop space, and a full tower case, which sits on the floor. The minitower should work equally well either on a desktop or next to it.
You'll find flush-mounted pow- er, turbo, and reset switches aligned vertically on the front of the case, just above the key lock. LEDs indicate power on, hard drive activity, and turbo status, and another LED display indi- cates the current CPU speed.
An ATI Graphics Ultra local- bus SVGA video card equipped
with 2MB of video RAM ensures speedy graphics processing. The card resides in one of the 486-VL's two local-bus slots, leav- ing one vacant and available for a user-installable local-bus expan- sion card. This slot can also be pressed into service as a stan- dard 16-bit slot if needed.
Of the six 16-bit expansion slots built into the motherboard, on- ly four are available for accepting expansion cards. Of the available slots, two are full-length and the oth- er two are three-quarter-length. One 16-bit slot has the IDE cach- ing hard and floppy controller board inserted in it, and another 16- bit slot holds the I/O board with par- allel, game, and serial ports.
The system includes dual flop- py drives (a 3y2-inch and a 5Va- inch), leaving two 5'/4-inch bays and one 3'/?-inch bay available for adding drives. For mass stor- age, the system uses a Western Digital Caviar 2200 (210MB) hard drive. Micro Express installs Windows 3.1 and MS-DOS 5.0 on the drive for you, and you get flop- py copies along with manuals.
The system comes with 8MB of RAM as the standard comple- ment, but you can expand the memory up to a maximum of 32MB by replacing the 1MB
Benchmark/performance testing was conducted by Computer Prod- uct Testing Services Inc. CPTS is an indepencfent testing and evaluation laboratory based in Manasquan, NJ Every effort has been made to en- sure the accuracy and complete- ness of this data as of the date of test- ing. Performance may vary among samples.
CompuServe does Windows.
SL "m
irrrnaL"/r.~TtrT
Introducing a whole new way to look at CompuServe: CompuServe Information Manager for Windows {WinCIM"). It's a fully- integrated Windows application, and lets you take advantage of Windows when you're on CompuSen'e. It'll make your session faster, more efficient, easier, and a lot more fun.
With the help of icons and pull-do\'sTi menus, you'll find ^•our CompuSer\'e time is almost effortless. Cruise the forums, browse through your messages, download files — it's all about as simple as clicking a mouse button.
Visit us ai PC Expo, Javiis Center, New York.
\S'iitdowi ii i iiadtmark of Microsoft CorporiUon.
r-
i»H i.
Urn 9
And with WinCIM you can do more offline, too. That means everything from writing letters to reading the answers to your hardware and software questions can be done much more economically.
So take a look for yourself. If you're already a CompuServe member, just type GO WINCIM. If you aren't, call us for more information at 1 800 848-8199. Either way, you'll soon see why the best view is the one from CompuServe Information Manager for Windows.
Ct]
CompuServe*
The information service you won't outgrow.'
June 28 through July 1, Booth 430.1
circle Reader Service Number 108
TEST LAB
SIMMs with 4MB units in the eight SIMM slots. The review unit came with 512K of cache memo- ry, and this, too, can be upgrad- ed to a full megabyte.
The manufacturer uses two methods of dissipating heat from the i486DX2/66 CPU: a deeply finned heat sink mounted atop the CPU chip and a miniature fan attached to the top of the heat sink. The fan serves two func- tions: It dissipates the heat which is transmitted through the heat sink's fins, and it also pulls cool- er air through the fins to keep the chip's operating temperature with- in reasonable limits. Since heat buildup is the major cause of CPU and component failure, it's reassuring to see that the Micro Express folks have taken the bull by the horns, so to speak, with these preemptive measures.
I liked everything about this sys- tem except for the mouse. A three- button serial mouse from XOA, ! found it to be a bit too bulky and stiff for my liking, but this is a minor point and purely one of taste. The enhanced keyboard sup- plied with the system is available in either audibfe-click or silent ver- sions (a silent model came with the review machine), and it has a nice slope and comfortable action.
The minitower configuration pro- vides lots of installation flexibility, and the 486-VL should prove to be adequate for the needs of most users. It certainly merits a closer look if you're interested in moving your data on the local bus,
circle Reader Service Number 379
ZEOS 4860X2-66
When you unpack and set up as many computer systems as I do, you really appreciate it when the manufacturer has done a good job of preparing and testing the machine before it leaves the fac- tory. The folks at ZEOS deserve some kind words in recognition of the exemplary job they do in mak- ing sure everything's right with a system before they ship it.
34
COMPUTE JULY 1993
ZEOS INTERNATIONAL
1301 Industrial Blvd.
Minneapolis, MN 55413
{800] 423-5891
Direct price: $2,893 (review
conllguration)
Warranty: one year, parts and labor;
ao-day money-ttach guarantee
In addition to a detailed pack- ing slip with a complete invento- ry of the system components (both internal and external} and their associated part numbers, ZEOS also included a quality assurance checklist with the sys- tem. This checklist confirms that all aspects of system preparation and component quality assur- ance checking have been per- formed— not just once but twice — and that everything passed.
There's even a parts check sec- lion that ensures all required cables, manuals, power cords, and other required elements are also present and accounted for pri- or to sealing the box and ship- ping the system. Kudos to ZEOS for going the extra mile here.
Every computer system is the sum total of all its component parts, and ZEOS has supplied a shining example of what a good system is made of. The 200-watt power supply with built-in surge pro- tection provides the operating volt- age to power the system's dual flop- py drives, its 245MB Seagate ST- 3283AT hard drive, and the sys- tem board.
The spacious case provides lots of expansion room. Flush- mounted push-button reset, pow- er, and turbo switches have LED status indicators, and a system key lock is also mounted at the front of the case. A snap-off plas- tic cover conceals the screws securingthecase cover to the chas- sis and gives the rear of the ma- chine a smooth and uncluttered appearance. As far as vacant bays go, you'll find a 5'/:-inch bay and a vertical 3'/?-inch bay, both accessible from the front of the ma- chine; inside the case there's
t~J ucu Usi£j^
room to add two additional 5Va- inch half-height drives.
ZEOS uses its own mother- board, which provides a total of sev- en full-length 16-bit expansion slots and a single three-quarter- length 8-bit slot. Two of the 16-bit slots have local-bus extensions on them as well. In the review unit, one of the local-bus slots was oc- cupied by the Diamond Viper SVGA card, while all of the other slots were vacant and available. To dissipate the excess heat gen- erated by the CPU, ZEOS installed a large heat sink about an inch longer than the 80486 chip it- self. A ZIF socket makes removing the CPU for future upgrades an ef- fortless procedure that consists of lifting the socket's locking lever. replacing the chip, and pushing the locking lever back down again.
I found the system's perform- ance beyond reproach, handling both text- and graphics-based applications quickly and without a whimper. A comfortable enhanced keyboard with audible click and a Microsoft serial mouse make using the system a pleasure, and Lotus Organizer software, DOS 5.0, and Windows 3.1 all come standard. And if that's not enough, you can choose either Lotus 1-2-3 for Win- dows, Ami Pro, or Lotus Freelance as an additional includ- ed software package.
ZEOS builds a solid machine that should deliver excellent, trou- ble-free performance for many years to come. If you're thinking of purchasing a 486DX2/;66 local- bus system, this one should be high on your list of potential candidates.
circle Reader Service Number 3B0
x^^
Fly higher.
Higher. Faster. Farther. CH Products is defining new standards of design and performance for computer pilots. We'll empower you to effortlessly relay commands with a feel of absolute control.. .to swoop, loop and soar like never before.
Get your hands on the
red-hot precision
FLIGHTSTICK™ series joysticks. Or
our lightning-fast GAMECARD 3
AUTOMATIC". And VIRTUAL
PILOT"-', a yoke that will defy your
concept of reality. And there's
more on the horizon. d__-.|- farther From drawing board "ts***-" icirwi«sr-
to your fingertips, ours is a relent- less pursuit of new and better products. CH Products began with a dream 25 years ago, and we've never looked back. Today, we give you the wings to fly. Higher. Faster. Farther.
970 Park Center Drive Vista, CA 92083 Phone:619.S9a.2518 Fax; 619,598.2524
TM 1993 CH Producta, H Joystick Toclinologjea inc. Co.
Circle Reader Service Numtsr t56
SYSTEM FEATURES
Hard drive Make
Western Digital
Maxtor
Maxtor
Diaital
Quanium
Model
Caviar 2340
LXT 340A
Da213A
Digital
ProDrive LPS
Formatted capacity
333MB
320MB
213MB
239MB
24QM8
Conlfolter
IDE
inlegrated IDE
IDE
integrated IDE
IDE
Conlroller caclte
32K
32K
4K
NA
Ottier drives 1.2MB
NA
1.44MB
|
MOTHERBOARD |
^^^^Mi |
; , '^^^M |
|||
|
Manufacturer |
BCM AOvancefl Research |
Deli |
S&A Labs |
Digital |
Epson Portiand |
|
Standard RAM |
4MB |
BMB |
8MB |
4MB |
4MB |
|
Max RAM |
32MB |
64MB |
32MB |
64MB |
12BMB |
|
No. of 8-bit slots |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
No. of 16-bit slots |
6 |
6 |
6 |
3 |
6 |
|
No. of VESA focal-bus slots |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
|
BIOS |
AM! |
Ptioenix/Deli |
AMI |
Phoenix |
Epson |
|
External cache |
128K |
128K (optionai) |
256K |
128K |
yes' |
|
Max cache |
256K |
128K |
256K |
256K |
variable- |
|
CPU socket |
press-pin |
pfess-pin |
press-pin |
press-pin |
press- pir, |
|
Upgrade socket |
yes |
yes |
no |
yes |
yes |
|
Power supply |
200 W |
240 W |
200 W |
NA |
200 W |
|
INPUT OUTPUT |
Parallel ports
Serial ports
PS,^ mouse port
Game port
Mouse supplied
SUPPLIED SOFTV/ARE
DOS
yes
yes
yes
yes
yes
yes
yes
Windows 3.1
yes
yes
yes
yes
Floppy backups
yes
yes
yes
OJher software
Close-up 4.0 and choice of
one: Lotus Organizer. Lotus 1-
2-3 lor Home, Lotus Write,
Lolus Works
NA
NA
QAPius
NA=not applicable or information about ttiis feature not available
'noninterlaced
^Epson uses wfiat it calis VirtualCache. a proprietary cache that can let you use all of your system memory as a virtual cache pool.
yes
t^A
36 COMPUTE JULY 1993
Meet One Of Our Wildest Titles
"Eye-popping, ear-tingling, mind- blowing" - Software Toolworks' products like The San Diego Zoo"* Presents The Animals!'" read more like hit movie reviews. Even Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates called The Animals! "...a must get!" at the 1993 CD Expo.
.-jC
The Animals! is the latest in our multi-media edutainment series and just one of the dozens of titles from the world's largest supplier of CD-ROM Software. In fact, every four seconds of every business day, someone buys a Software Toolworks CD-ROM.
i<9h
Look for The Animals!, Mario Is Missing!'", Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing! *, The Chessmaster-, World Atlas, and many mind-expanding titles from the world's leader in CD-ROM - The Software Toolworks.
^_-^^^^H^H Fcr [he dealer nearest you
^F- ' '^^^B or to order, call loll-free
Biiykial 1-800-234-3088
■
"he San Diego Zoo™ Presents The Animals!'" was designed by Arnowitz. Inc. Programmed and produced by Amowitz, Inc., and The Software Toolworks. Inc.
-cTofliworis I Wfved
TEST LAB
|
^^^H |
SYSTEM FEATURES |
^H |
||||
|
Gsleway |
Insight |
Keydata |
Micro Express |
ZEOS |
||
|
1 DIMENSIONS (in Inches) |
^^ |
|||||
|
bsngth |
16.00 |
17 50 |
^ { Q-j |
16.50 |
18,25 |
|
|
Width |
16.25 |
7.75 |
7 20 |
8,00 |
18,75 |
|
|
Height |
4,25 |
25.25 |
24,&0 |
24.80 |
6.25 |
|
|
1 VIDEO "^^^^^BT 1 |
||||||
|
Monitor |
CrysialScan 1572 PS |
ViewSonic 6PS |
CTX 1560 |
ME PM 360 |
ZEOS 14-inch SVGA |
|
|
Video adapter |
ATI Graphics Ultra Pro Local Bus |
STB Power Graph |
Geno |
a Windows VGA 24 |
ATI Graphics Ultra Local Bus |
Diamond Viper VLB |
|
Adapter max Nf resfcoiors 1024 x 768/256 |
1024 X 768/16,7 million |
1024 |
X 768/16.7 million |
600 X 600/32.768 |
1024 X 768/16.7 million |
|
|
DRIVES |
||||||
|
Hard drive Make |
Western Digital |
Western Digital |
Conr.e.' |
Western Digital |
Seagate |
|
|
Mode! |
Caviar |
Caviar 2200 |
30254 |
Caviar 2200 |
ST 3283AT |
|
|
Formalted capacity |
333MB |
2tOMB |
250MB |
210MB |
245MB |
|
|
Controller |
integrated IDE |
VL-bus IDE |
VL-bus IDE |
IDE |
VL-bus iDE |
|
|
Cantfoller cache |
128K |
no |
no |
2S6K |
no |
|
|
Other drives 1.2MB 11111 |
||||||
|
1.«MB |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
|
MOTHERBOARD |
||||||
|
Manuladurer |
Galeway |
ASUS |
ASUS |
Micro ExQfess |
ZEOS Imemational |
|
|
Standard RAM |
8HB |
8MB |
8MB |
8MB |
4MB |
|
|
Max RAM |
64M3 |
32MB |
32MB |
32MB |
64MB |
|
|
No. of 8-bit slots |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
|
to. of 16-bii slots |
6 |
5 |
5 |
6 |
5 |
|
|
No. of VESA local-bus slots 2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
||
|
BIOS |
Phoenix |
AMI |
AMI |
AMI |
Phoenix |
|
|
External cacite |
2S6K |
256K |
256K |
512K |
128K |
|
|
Max cache |
256K |
256K |
256K |
1MB |
256K |
|
|
CPU socket |
press-pin |
ZIP |
ZIP |
press-pin |
21F |
|
|
Upgrade socl^el |
yes |
yes |
yes |
no |
yes |
|
|
Power supply |
200 W |
250 W |
250 W/ |
200 VV |
200W |
|
|
iNRjTiOUTPirr ' |
^^m: ^■■B^^ 1 |
|||||
|
Parailel ports |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
|
Serial ports |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
|
|
PS,'2 mouse port |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
Game port |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
G |
|
|
Mouse supplied |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
||
|
SUPPLIED SOFTWARE J |
• 1 |
|||||
|
DOS |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
|
|
Windows 3.1 |
yes |
yes |
yss |
yes |
yes |
|
|
Floppy backups |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
|
|
Other software |
Cooi Tools. PC Tools, QAPIus |
Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus. Slacker |
Choice of one, Morton Desktop for WinOows. OOjecl Vision, Sidekick, Turbo 0++. Paradox dBASE IV |
m |
Lotus Organizer and one: Ami Pro or Freelance |
|
|
l>iA=not applicable or intonr ■noninterlaced |
ation about this featLire not available |
38 COMPUTE JULY 1993
|
RETURN |
|
|
m |
PHANTOM |
TheFIjiure
OfAdveniure
Ganung Begins
m When The m
Phantom Returns!
PticroProse pushes adventure gaming to its limits with the most significant innovations in graphics and animation to date!
•KaatyassHcmeDWiUfliiTiRi
i
Tragedy awaits you and the audience inside the famed Paris Opera Housel
Explore the opera's labyrinth of catacombsl
Confront the ^SP Phantom face- to-face!
'is--'
|
tal |
^^Sf^^ml |
|
E |
BQII |
|
mi'"--'^ |
'i^WW |
|
i^HIE |
1 |
|
l^^fo^ |
|
|
I^PJ^Sl " ii'..0---^^^^-<"" " ""fefe |
|
|
t:^ |
^^^^-^ |
Search for clues along the catwalks, through the wings, and into the many backstage rooms of the opera house!
Try Rex IHebular And The Cosmic Gender Bender^*^' for more mind-blowing adventures!
^<W
II
li Piante
|l Address . City
To get our free catalog, call 1 -800-87 9-PLAY. (Mon.- Fri., &30 am-5:00 pm EST.) Or nil out this coupon and mail it to: MicroProse Software, Inc. _ . . , 180 Lahefront Drive • Dept. D-10 ■ Hunt Valley, HD 21030-2245 GAM
_ State .
-HP-
J i u
Seriously Fun Software
© 1993 MicroFrose Software, Inc. ALL KIGHTS RESERVED
Circle Reader Senlce Numbef 174
NEWS & NOTES
Jill Champion
PLANMaker
helps you
put together
a winning
business plan.
For Capital Seekers
There's nothing like gridlock. While small businesses hold the greatest potential for cre- ating new jobs, they also have the hardest time obtain- ing venture capital. Add to that bleak picture, according to one study (by Coopers and Lybrand), the fact that only 1 in 100 business plans ever shows promise of being seri- ously considered because it is concise and well written, and you can see that hope-
fuls with poorly constructed plans are working against a huge disadvantage.
A new software package called PLANMaker, not your or- dinary fill-in-the-blanks busi- ness program, is designed to help overcome such odds. It #»mbines all the ingredients necessary to formulate and publish a sophisticated busi- ness plan — one that conforms to the standards now demand- ed by bankers and investors. Its suggested retail price is $129. For more information, contact PowerSolutions for Business, 1920 South Broad- way, St. Louis. Missouri 63104: (314) 421^0670. (314) 421-0668 (fax).
Future Teleconferencing
We all remember the classic line from "Star Trek": "Lieuten- ant, can you put that on-
screen for me?" Even three decades ago, remote commu- nications in sci-fi programs and flicks involved visual as well as audio contact.
Now, NCR is bringing to market NCR Telefvledia Con- nection. It's a combination of hardware and software that lets PC users communicate with each other through tele- conferencing while they collab- orate on files and documents in realtime.
"NCR TeleMedia Connec- tion will change the way we work," says Neil Whittington, assistant vice president of NCR's Multimedia Products business unit.
The product consists of two 16-bit ISA bus plug-in cards to support video and graphics on 386- and 486- based PCs, as well as soft- ware that allows users lo col- laborate on Windows-based files. It also supports an option- al video camera and audio unit. As a result of all this tech- nology, a widely dispersed group of people can work to- gether as if they were in the same room.
NCR plans to introduce products utilizing TeleMedia Connection technology later this year. For more informa- tion, contact NCR, 1700 South Patterson Boulevard, Dayton. Ohio 45479: (800) 225-5627 or (513) 445-5000.
Beatles Tour — 30 Years Later
The Beatles have begun an ambitious worldwide tour on CD-ROM. Voyager is launch- ing a new CD-ROM edition of A Hard Day's Night, an inter- active program that includes the complete uncut movie, the entire script, a book's worth of text about the Beatles and the rise of rock 'n' roll, a Beatles photo gal- lery, and profiles of the songs and the film cast.
The suggested retail price is $39.95 for the Mac version.
40 COMPUTE JULY 1993
A PC version of the program is scheduled for release later this year. For more informa- tion, contact Voyager. 1351 Pacific Coast Highway, Santa Monica. California 94041: (310) 451-1383, (310) 394- 2156 (fax).
Decrypting the Code
The Computer Museum in Bos- ton opened From Words to Code: How People Make Com- puters Work this April, the first exhibit to reveal in a light- hearted, interactive way the mysterious world of program- ming and how it affects daily lives.
Using video, computer sta- tions, and 3-D objects, the ex- hibit takes visitors on a jour- ney into a "land of languag- es" to discover how pro- grams, or sets of instructions, are all around — from recipes to lock combinations — and how these sets of instructions are turned into code using pro- gramming languages. Visitors are even able to build their own programs. The grand fina- le, a nine-foot-high 3-D tower, graphically illustrates the vari- ety of programming languag- es that have evolved since the early 1950s. The exhibit is on display through Septem- ber 6. 1993. For more informa- tion, contact The Computer Museum, 300 Congress Street, Boston. Massachu- setts 02210: (617) 426-2800, (617) 426-2943 (fax).
Don't Dump That Old Laptop!
Why spend more money on a new laptop when you can have your current one upgrad- ed? Laptop Solutions of Hous- ton replaces the current hard drive with a brand-new, high- er-speed, higher-capacity drive. "We have a rigorous quality-control program," says Ken Duckman, presi- dent of Laptop Solutions. "We pride ourselves on our 0-per- cent defect policy — every ma-
The best sound is not in the cards.
Perk up your presentations. Make training more eflective. And, put some guts into your gaming pastimes, Anytime. Anywtiere, Intact, if you are not a card carrying
member ot the computer set, you liave to hear
PORT-ABLE Sound Plus from Digispeech. You
know, those real smart people who make simple
sound solutions.
PORT-ABLE Sound Plus is She first portable
external sound peripheral to deliver 16 Bit CD
quality music with stereo audio capabilities.
And. since you just plug into your IBM PC or
compatible, desktop or laptop parallel port, you
do not need an engineering degree or even a
screwdriver.
When you compare
PORT-ABLE Sound PUs to
any other external sound
peripherals, you will see
why anything else is just
noise. PORT-ABLE Sound
Plus is based on advanced
Digital Signal Processing
technology, so you
will enjoy the greatest
compression capability with the highest quality sounds. Here is something else that will be music to your ears. PORT-ABLE Sound Plus comes complete with everything you need including a high fidelity speaker and builtnn microphone. There is an "Audio-in" for a CD or tape player and a "Line-out" for external powered stereo speakers. Even a built-in smart parallel port pass through so you can keep printing.
Whether you take your work across the hall or across the country, with PORT-ABLE Sound Plus, you have all the cards you need to play right in your hip pocket. The hinged design lets you flip up the unit if you are short on desk space Of lap space. And, the power will always be with your whether you use rechargeable or non- rechargeable AA batteries. PORT-ABLE Sound Plus also comes equipped with an AC/DC power converter.
As a bonus, you will get allthesottwareyou need to communicate. Like Lotus Sound'" an OLE server for Windows 3.1. WinReader for Windows 3.1, a handy text- to-speech utility, Digispeech's DOSTalkandDOSReader text-to-speech applications. Show & Tell For Kids' for
POBT- ABLE Souno Plus is a trademark al Digtspeecti. Inc. All olher produU names are irademarks or registered trademarks of llieir lesoecliw owners
Circle Reader Service Number 168
Windows - an easy to use MultlMedia Authoring program. It is also Sound Blaster and AdLib compatible.
Why compromise on quality, portability, compatibility or affordability? When all the cards are on the table, PORT-ABLE Sound Pius from Digispeech, Inc. is your ace in the hole. Suggested retail is only $198.95.
To order or obtain more information about PORT-ABLE Sound Plus, write or call Digispeech, or, contact your local dealer.
Sales Office: 550 IVlain Street, Suite J, Placerville, Califomia95667. Telephone: (916) 621-1787. Fax (916) 621-2093.
^^
.rtNIXJAS..
m
I
NEWS & NOTES
chine must go back to the cli- ent in better condition than when we received it."
The entire process takes 48 hours. During the sec- ond 24 hours, after compo- nents have been upgraded, the machine is put through an intense "burn-in and test" period in which the hard disl< is exercised through a variety of software applications and environ- ments. The new drive must perform perfectly before the company will release the ma- chine. Such meticulousness has helped Laptop Solu- tions win licensing agree- ments with Toshiba and Com- paq, but the company is al- so skilled in upgrades of many other manufacturers' designs, including Sanyo
ZEOS, Tl, Tandy, Compu- Add, and AT&T
For more information, con- tact Laptop Solutions, 10700 Richmond Avenue, Suite 114. Houston. Texas 77042; (800) 683-6839.
Finding Silicon
Do-it-yourselfers take note: JDR Microdevices has a new catalog designed specif- ically for engineers, techni- cians, hobbyists, and hack- ers that offers the compa- ny's largest selection ever of electronic components, pro- totyping products, and devel- oper's tools. Featured are components for today's ad- vanced designs. Readers will also find Hitachi oscillo- scopes, solder accessories, and even hard-to-find refer-
ence books from National Semiconductor, Intel, Motor- ola, and other chip makers. The catalog also features insightful information to make the buyer more produc- tive. Derrick Moore, director of engineering at JDR, shares his development strat- egies in "Derrick's High- Tech Corner" columns, and numerous "Tech Tip" col- umns offer insightful tips. To order a free catalog, contact JDR Microdevices, 2233 Sa- maritan Drive, San Jose, Cal- ifornia 95124; (408) 559- 1200, (408)559-0250 (fax).
Floppy Jukebox
Once you've tried the Disk Dispatcher, a "point-and- click floppy jukebox. ' you might never go back to con-
ventional disk storage meth- ods again. The Disk Dis- patcher, from Select Prod- ucts, organizes, indexes, and dispenses SV's-inch flop- py disks or Flopticals.
Simply list up to 20 of your most-used disks or Fiopticals on the reversible index and punch in your selection, and the patented selector-action mechanism on the box instant- ly hands you your disk.
The Disk Dispatcher also has the smallest operating footprint of any 20-disk hold- er currently on the market, so it will save desk space. Its suggested retail price is $21.95. For more informa- tion, contact Select Products, 520 First Street, Fillmore. Cal- ifornia 93015; (805) 524- 1747, (805) 524-1767 (fax).
UNKS 386 PRO
"PC Game of the year"
— Game Player Magazine
"READER'S CHOICE AWARD"
— Multimedia World
"Golden Triad Award"
-Computer Game Review
"Compute's Choice Award"
— Compute
"Best Graphics Award"
— Video Games and Computer Entertainment
IF YOU DOrn- HAVE UNKS 386 PRO YET, YOU OWE IT TO YOURSEUF TO PUT THIS MAGAZINE DOWN RIGHT NOW AND GO OUT AND BUY IT AT YOUR IjOCAL SOFTWARE RETAILER!
Can't Buy It? Charge It!
Businesses strapped for cap- ital needed to purchase of- fice computer equipment migfit want to try shopping with the LeaseCard— a cred- it card from Trans Leasing International that lets you fi- nance purchases in the $1,000-550.000 range. Rates are lower than with conventional credit cards, and applications are proc- essed in one day. Trans Leasing's close reiationship with major equipment manu- facturers offers cardholders value pricing, eliminating the need for hours of compar- ison shopping. Says compa- ny founder Richard Gross- man, "This is a service-driv- en business. The idea is to have credit available to cus-
tomers immediately." And commenting on the success of his credit-card business, he says. "It pays off when satisfied customers pur- chase second and third piec- es of equipment." For more information, contact Trans Leasing International, 3000 Dundee Road, Northbrook, Il- linois 60062; (708) 272- 1000, (708) 272-2174 (fax).
Companies or public rela- tions firms with Items suitable for "News & Notes" sliould send information along witti a color slide or transparency to News & Notes. Attn: Jill Cfiam- plon. COMPUTE, 324 West Wendover Avenue, Suite 200, Greensboro. North Caroli- na 27408. O
The Disk Dispatctier makes selecting a 3'/2-inch floppy disk or Floptical as easy as operating a jukebox
SOUD GOUDI!
"SPA Award"
Best Sports Program 1993
— SOFTWARE PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
'The best golf game
ON THE planet!"
— PC Home Journal
''#1 SELLING ENTERTAINMENT
PRODUCT IN America."
— PC RESEARCH (OCT.'92)
IF YOU CAN'T FIND LINKS 386 PRO NEAR YOU, CALL 1 -80OQ0O-4880 FOR QUESTIONS OR ORDERING .
, 1 r-J, ^J
SSSZJ^- SOFTWARE INCORPORATED
4910 IV. Amelia Earhart Dr., SLC, UT 84116
Circle Reader Service Number 169
FLIGHT ASSIGNMENT: A TP
A geeat flying Simula tion tor a
frustra tion- free a via tion
experience!
For fifteen years our flight simulations have won acclaim for their dazzling displays of techni- cal wizardry. Now we're using the computer medium to provide a satisfying introduction to the world of aviation. You might say that Flight Assignment: ATP revision D represents the current state of the art with a user- friendly twist.
Six months of intensive real- world flying helped our engineer^ ing staff refine ATP's flight characteristics and joystick interface, making the simulation both easier and more realistic to fly. ATP combines exceptional responsiveness with an easy to
read flight manual to give you a great flying experience.
While you're getting comfortable at the controls, let ATP's auto- flight mode give you a relaxed introduction to commercial aircraft flight and navigation. Sit back and follow the maps while "Jack" the autopilot and "Roger" the Air Traffic Controller (spoken ATC messages with optional SoundBlaster card) fly and guide the aircraft frocputakeoff to touchdown.
ATP contains visual scenery, over 350 airports and the radio naviga- tion aids you need to fly jet routes between all major U.S. cities. Fly predefined flight assignments or
select your own departure and destination airports. ATP provides inflight Air Traffic Control guidance and a postflight performance evaluation.
SCENERY COLLECTIONS
Constant flowing scenery for easy visual navigation
Essential for a truly gratifying ^^ flight experience is the ability to navigate successfully "from point A to point B." Our new Scenery Collections provide a continuous flow of super-detailed scenery that's ideal for visual navigation, and include comprehensive color maps and plotter.
Maps and Plotter for Realistic Navigation
Great Britain and California Scenery CoHections make it easy for you to plot a course from Glasgow to London, or take a quick flight from Eureka to Lake Tahoe. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned pro, even simple visual flights help develop your aircraft control and naviga- tion skills. (While we emphasize visual navigation to encourage new pilots, Scenery Collections also offer excellent coverage of enroute and approach radio navigation aids for those wishing to advance to instrument naviga- tion.)
USA SCENERY
For the first time ever!
Complete, comprehensive
USA scenery coverage
Now the revolution continues with USA Scenery & Flight Assig- nment System, a nationwide scenery database and worldwide automatic flight dispatcher. While you can switch between USA and ultra-detailed Scenery Collections at the touch of a key, only USA gives you comprehen- sive coverage of the entire United
States; cities, roads, railroads, mountains, lakes, rivers, plus every public access paved- runway airport and radio naviga- tion aid (including ILS approaches). USA provides a fantastic new level of default scenery for Flight Assignment: ATP and Microsoft Flight Simulator, giving you a smooth flowing, nationwide visual and instrument navigation platform.
USA's revolutionary new flight assignment system lets you take structured flights of any duration and difficulty, anywhere in the USA database or any Scenery Collection (even Great Britain). Just select a time length and diffi- culty level, and let the program take care of the rest. Or spell out your choice of aircraft, weather conditions, time of day, etc. Then press a key to print a copy of your flight log. At the destination airport you'll be greeted by special visual cues designed to
eliminate frustration, ease trafflc pattern entry and guide you down to a safe landing.
Join the computer flight revolu- tion! A totally new and wondrous flight experience is waiting for you with the next generation of flight simulation software from SubLOGIC.
Flight Assignment: ATP and Scenei*y Collections for IBM and compatibles are available for the suggested retail price of $59.95 each. USA East and USA West for IBM/compatibles are $69.95 each. See your dealer or feel free to call our friendly sales/customer service people at 800-637-4983 for additional product information.
Fliglil Assignment, Scenery Disk and Scenery Collection are trademarks of SubLOGIC. All other product!! and brands are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
the Computer Flight poople
LOGIC
TELEPHONE; {217)359-8482
FAX (217)352-1472
ORDER LINE; (800)637-4983
Circle RcadBf Serulce Number 179
Liveipool Airport and Map View
Lw.. Scenerj' - Select Highlighted Navigation Aids uiui Floating Traffic Patterns for Frustration-Free Arrival
FEEDBACK
Key depression, specialty viruses, virtual air traffic, liigh-llying memoiv, colorful forms, easy virus de- tection, and more.
Keyed Up
Some time ago, you showed how to set or reset the Caps Lock key and other control keys. But what about ordinary keys? Is there a way to tell which key has been pressed?
JOHN JACKSON DETROIT, Ml
This program might work for you. It's written in OBASIC.
CLS
DEF SEG = 0
top:
LOCATE 1, 1
FOR i = 1G49T0 1088
PRINT (PEEK(i));
aS = INKEY$
NEXT
GOTO top
This program displays the key- board buffer (bytes 1053 through 1085), a pointer that keeps track of the current char- acter in the buffer (byte 1052). and a pointer that keeps track of the most re- cent character read (1050). When increasing the value of 1050 will make it equal to the value in 1052. your computer beeps to alert you that your keyboard buffer Is full. To print onscreen the ASCII val- ue of the most recent keypress, use this program. (The line that reads aS=IN- KEYS keeps the beginning and end pointers in the same position.)
CLS
DEF SEG = 0
top:
q = tPEEK(1052)-3ZJ
IF q = -2 THEN q = 30
LOCATE 1,1: PRINT PEEK{1054 +
q)
a$ = INKEYS NEXT GOTO top
Viral Spiral
The article on viruses in your February 1993 issue an-
swered quite a few questions for me, but can you answer these?
Is it theoretically possible for a compiler, if infected with any of the viruses the article described, to generate an in- fected EXE file?
Is it theoretically possible to vy/hte a virus that would in- fect a compiler and cause it to generate an infected EXE file?
If the answer is no to both questions, can a newly com- piled and not yet executed EXE file be considered virus free, assuming the source code contains no viruses?
RICHARD M. SANDERS BURNSVILLE, MN
Anything is possible. Some of the viruses described in the ar- ticle Install themselves as TSR files which constantly scan the hard disk for uninfected files. A new EXE file (one that was just created) would be vul- nerable to the Dark Avenger, for example. As far as we have been able to determine, no virus currently in circula- tion specializes in infecting compilers In such a way that they would generate dis- eased EXE files (although novj that you've raised the question, someone some- where will probably try circu- lating one). Such a virus would be too specialized to spread and would quickly be isolated and destroyed. The answer to your final question is that no file can be assumed to be virus free.
Rights and Wrongs
In response to the "News Bits" item called Controlling the Infectious (December 1992), I believe that there should be controls both on weapons and virus construc- tion kits. Nobody sets a load- ed and cocked gun in a room and then says, "Be careful." Vi- rus construction kits are load-
ed guns. They're all too easi- ly put to use. Viruses, like guns, will not disappear un- der stricter controls, but by re- stricting their availability, few- er people will suffer.
JOSEPH LEWIS LOUTZENHISER ASHLAND. OR
Taking Control
I wish to point out a miscon- ception regarding virtual real- ity and aviation. In "Virtual Re- ality" (February 1993), Jeffrey Hsu suggests that "air-traffic controllers may one day take direct control of the planes on their radar scope through VR." In fact, it's more likely that pilots will one day re- place the ground controllers. Technology currently exists (GPS navigation and data link transponders) which would allow pilots to provide their own separation and se- quencing. It should be noted that these are the sen/ices cur- rently offered by ground con- trollers.
C. SEBERG MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA
Infection Control
I would like to take issue with one of Philip Chien's com- ments in "The Great Virus Scare" (February 1993). He states, "In all cases, viruses are programs that were writ- ten by an outlaw — a hacker who specifically sets out to damage other people's com- puters." In all deference to fvlr. Chien, this is simply not true. Paul Mungo and Brian Clough, discussing Teodor Prevalsky, a Bulgarian engi- neer who was an early virus writer, state, ". . . for Teodor, destruction of data or pro- grams was never the point. He wrote viruses as an intellec- tual challenge. None of his viruses had ever been inten- tionally damaging . . ." (from Approaching Zero, 1992). scorr MOSER
DANVILLE, IN
45 COMPUTE JULY 1993
TICHNOLOGY UPDATE
New device lets you get twice as much done, inlialfthetime!
Breaktluvugli affordable touch screen computer saves you money by organizing and accelerating everyday tasks
hy Charles Antoii
On'air awicch
o you ever get fnis- 1 trated tryiiig taloCiTte
the phone number or name of a client? Forget \vh ich piece of papt-r you wrote it down on? Well if you are like most people, your business depends on quick access to important phone numbers, appointment schedules or other messages that could make a difference in getting that "big job." With Axxess, the contact ninnagement so- lution from Oregon Scientific, you can immediately put an end to all these problems.
Touch screen. Just by touching a word or letter on the screen, Axxess displays or speed scrolls to find the right company or message. Help yourself remember the nameof a person or company that plays a key role in your
business. Si nee a 11
theinformationis
^loss-refercnced,
)'ou can type in
one or two key
facts to retrieve
the desired infor- mation. Print out any mes- sage you want by connecting Axxess to vour I'C printer (withadditionalcable). Down- load data from }'our Mac or IBM compatible computer to give your Axxess an instant database .This working data- base can later be up-loaded to vourcomputerto updateyour files (with optional soft^va re /cable package).
Unmatched capabilities. No other legal pad or black book can match Axxess' capabili- ties. With just one touch, you can search through hundreds of notes and reminders. Brief yourself onclients,thdrcompaniesandvvhatyou thought about them. Axxess will even speed dial up to four different phone numbers from every record.
No thick manuals. With Axxess, there are no thick manuals to read. It's completely menu- driven. Operation is easy and self-explanator)'. Just touch the screen to indicate what type of information you're looking for, and that data is in-stantly n\'ailable. There are no complicated connections. Just plug Axxess into an outlet or use the built-in rechargeable Mead battery pack.
Na^rD»/pro^^ta° easy portabUcly
Co^niKiion PrtrMerycompulfit
Features:
• Toiidi fcrtvii keypad
• FJcctnmk directonf
• /\i(fo,sc(Trc/!
• lUgh-spced fetnch
• Onc-hmch diulinii si/sfcuj
• Time log &■ lOO-i/enr cnkndtir
• Continuojis time/date displuy
• Appointment reminder
• Prtss code sccurihj
• Links to desktop coitipiitcr
• Links to printer
The affordable alternative. Per- sonal computers are ttxiexpensivetousejust for storing business records. But that's what most compa- nies are using them for. The Axxess system fromOregon Scientific can store o\'er 1,000 business records, including names, companies, phone and fax numbers, addresses and two-line memos. Just touch a number and it's di- aled for vou. It's great for small business oivners who can't afford a secretar\' but still need an extra hand. I^lus, with an optional cable, two or more Axxess units can share information!
Just a touch away. Sim- plv touch the screen to access information... Keep accurate records of time spent on spe- cific tasks... Speed search through the listings you want... Print this information directly to vour printer... Schedule appointments- days, weeks or months in ad- vance and let your alarm re- mind you... Mender forget n phone mnnber or be late for an appointment again.
Speed dialing. Axxess can be used ivith most phones for speed dialing. Just select your contact and touch the number on screen— it's nuto- maticallv dialed for you ... in seconds. Axxess can also be used as a tone d ialer for pliones that you cannot directly link to, like pay phones. Simply touch the number on the screen and then hoki the phone's handset over Axxess' speaker, Axxess emits a series of electronic tones which dial the number for you.
Appointment scheduling. The Axxess per- sonal organi/eralsohasa llXl-year calendar, its built-iii alarm remindsyou of every appoiiitment. There is a continuous time/date display to help you keep on schedule as you work, increasing your productivity.
Time log. The time log feature helps keep an accurate record of time spent on each project. Axxess tracks your hours as you go, so you
0
Four ways you can start saving time and money every day with Axxess.--
&rva20iTwnutea
don't waste time calcu- lating them later. It helps you bill clients more accurately and get full compen- sation for vour time.
Electronic protection. Another great fea- ture- Axxess allows you to set a security code. This keeps everything confidential, limiting Axxess to only the pc^^ple you choose.
k On the go? Axxess goes where
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FEEDBACK
Good point. There 's a bit of inteliectual chailenge in writing a virus virulent enougii to plant itself unl<nown in tieav- ily defended computers. If that were all that viruses did. no one would care about them. Unfortunately, most virus writers go that extra mile to mal<e their creations destructive, or at least trouble- some. Recall that some say Nero 's pur- pose in torching Rome was to receive the inspiration for a poem. Should we forget the damage that resulted from his flight of fancy simply because he was seeking an intellectual challenge? In retrospect, we probably should have changed the word all to most in Mr. Chien's article. !\Aany people be- lieve in She doctrine 'All absolute state- ments are false. "
Flying High
I have DOS 5,0. How can I load my TSRs into high memory?
JOSHUA NEWMAN COOPER, TX
We get a lot of letters about this. DOS programs (particularly games) have be- come so memory hungry that you need every byte of conventional mem- ory you can get your hands on.
You can save significant amounts of conventional memory by loading your TSRs high. You do this with Loadhigh. If you have a TSR called Nicholas, in- stead of simply putting its name on a line by Itself in your AUTOEXEC.BAT put Loadhigh Nicholas.
A couple of other ways to save mem- ory are to use DOS=HIGH and to use Devicehigh for ttie drivers in your CON- FIG.SYS file (as in DEVICEHIGH=SET- VER.EXE). Make sure DE- VICE=Hlf^Elvl.SYS comes first in your CONFIG.SYS file. You can't load HllvlEM.SYS high.
Color Forms
Are there any form programs that can use PCX graphics and make color forms?
STEVEN KILIAN APO. AP
FormWorx (Power Up Software, 2929 Campus Drive, San Ivlateo, California 94403) can import uncompressed black- and-white PCX files up to 64K and print text and fills in color PerFORM Pro Plus 48 COMPUTE JULY 1993
(Delrlna Technology 6830 V/a Del Oro, Suite 240, San Jose, California 95119) will import and print grayscale PCX files and print text and fills in color
Drafted into Service
I'm a deputy sheriff and editor of a small journal for an organization of traf- fic crash reconstructionists. We've found that MacDraft is a great program, But because most sheriffs' departments have PCs rather than Ivlacintoshes, I'm looking for a PC product that's as good as MacDraft on the Mac for drawing crash sites for courtroom presentations.
WILT rslELSON HOWELL. Ml
MacDraft is now available in a Win- dows version called f^acDraft for Win- dows. Contact Innovative Data Design, 2280-A Bates Avenue, Concord, Cali- fornia 94520: (510) 680-6818.
Looking for Trouble
I wanted to alert your readers to the fact that you can often detect viruses that infect EXE and COM files because they change the size of the infected files. Also, there's a simpfe test for cer- tain viruses, particularly Stoned and fvlichelangelo, These viruses decrease the amount of base memory DOS thinks it has. If you run Chkdsk, you should see 655360 total bytes of mem- ory, If you see a value less than that, your computer may have an infection. Al- so, if you think you have an infection, you should turn your computer off imme- diately and seek professional help. There's a chance that the virus can be stopped before it does serious harm to your computer.
MARK ANDERSON DEL NORTE, CA
Readers whose letters appear in "Feed- baci<" will receive a free COMPUTE's PC clock radio while supplies last. Do you have a question about hardware or software? Or have you discovered something that could help other PC us- ers? If so, we want to hear from you. Write to COMPUTE'S Feedback. 324 West Wendover Avenue, Suite 200, Greensboro, North Carolina 27408. We regret that we cannot provide person- al replies to technical questions. 3
Editor
Art Director
Managing Editor
Features Editor
Reviews Editor
Editor, Gazette
Editor, Amiga nesource
Senior Copy Editor
Copy Editor
Edttarial Assistant
Contributing Editors
Intern
Giilton l^rnes
l^bin C Case
David Englisn
Robert Bixbv
Mike Hudnali
To-Ti Meisei
Denny Atkin
K^ren Huffman
Margarel I^msey
Poliy Cilfparr
Sylvia G?aiiam. Edde Hultman.
Tony Roberts, Karen Si&oak
Kfm Havlena
ART Assistanl Art Director Kenneth A Hardy Designer Katie Murdock Copy Produelion Manager leny Cash PRODUCTION Produelion Manager De Potter
Traflic Manager Barbara A Williams
PROGRAMMING & ONLINE SERVICES
Manager Troy Tuci-eT Programmers Bri^ce M Bowden Sieve Dfaper Bradley M Small
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Executive Vice President,
Operations
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Otrice Monagar
5r. Administrative Assistant
Administrative Assistant
Receptionist
\V,:liam lynan
Keilli Ferreil David HensJey Jr Sybil Agee Julia Fleming Lisa G Casrnger LeWanOa Fox
ADVERDSiNG
Vice President, Peter t Jctinsmeye' Associale Pul)1islier (212)196.6100
ADVERTISING SALES OFFICES EasiCoas! P. i , ;■ ■ i ■■■iif- li; : .■■.■ :,iiTjonris- meyef. Chris Cul': 1 fu.. CiM'-uri^i ..L ,i;,;:..i:i !:,-,u-::.jlianal Lid , 1965 Broadway. Neiv York, NY t0023; (212) -196-6100 Soulh- east— Harriet Rogers, 603 A St.. SE, Washington, DC 20003; (202) Siie-SgaS. Florida — I, M, fiemer Assnciales, 3300 NE 192nd St,. SuiiB 192, Aventura, FL 33180: (305) 933-1.167, (305) 933-8302 (FAX), Midwest— Full- Page and Standard Display Ads— Starr Lane. IsJalioral Accounis Manager; in East Wack- er Dr., Suile 608, Chicago. IL 60601: (312) 819-0900, (312) 619- (}6'3 (FAX) Nor|h^\esi— Jerry Thompson, Jules E Tivompson Co , 1290 Hov/ard Ave,, Suite 303, Burlngame. CA 9J010. ii}S) 3i&-ai22 Li/CiMe Dennis, (707)451-8209 SOLlflwesl— Ian Ling- wood, 6723 Elon Ave . Canoga Park, CA 91303; (818) 992- 4777 Product Marl Ads— LuciJie Dennis. JUes E, Thompson Co , 1290 Howard Ave. Suite 303. Buflinsame, CA 94010: (707) 45--32tB U,K a Europe— Beverly Wardale. Fiat 2. 10 StaJford Tenace. London W87 SH. England; 011-4711-937-1517, Ja- pan—fniergroun Communications. Ltd,; Jiro Samba. President. 3F Tiger BIdg 5-22 Shiba-koon, 3-Chom9, Minalo ku, Tokyo 105, Japan: 03-43J-2607 Classified Ads—Karia lulanasen, 1 Woods Ct,. HunttrlQton, MY 11743; (TEL/FAK) (516) 757-9562,
THE CORPORATION
Bob Guccione (chairman ano CEO)
Kathy Keeton (vice-chairman)
David J Myerson (president and CEO)
\Vi' iam F Marlieb (presidani, marketing, saies and circulation)
Patrick J Gavin (senior vice president and CFO)
Ricnaro (^ien (executive vice president and treasurer)
Jeri Winston (executive vice president, corporate services)
Haf Haipnet (vice president, director o( rnanutactuFing)
William Tynan (vice president, technology and inlorTnaiion
services)
ADVERTISING AND MARKETING
Sr, VP/Cprp D,r tie^t Bi.sin(>ss Devsiopmen!, Beverly Wardale, VP/Dir Group Advertising Sales; Nancy Kesienbaum: Sr VP/Southern and Midwest Advertising Dir, Peter Golasmitfi, Off ces: New York 1965 Broadway. New Ywk. NY 10023-5965, Tel (212) 496-6100, Telex 237128 Midwest: til East Wacker Dr„ Suite 508, Cfiicago IL 606D1; (312) 819-0900, (3)2) 819- 0813 (FAX) South; 1725 K St Mi Suite 903. Washington. DC 20006. Tel (202) 728-0320, West Coast; 6723 Eton Ave,. Can- oga Park. CA 91303, Tel, (BIS) 992-4777, UK and Europe Flat 2. lOSiatford Terrace. London WB7 BH, England: Tel, 011-4711- 937-1517 Japan intergroup Jiro Semba, Telex JZ5469IGLTY0, Fax 434-S970 Korea Kaya Atlvtsng . Inc. flm 402Kunsnin Annex BT "' ' ' n:-,-, "■;■,■; ,,-Ku, Seoul. Korea(121), Tel 719. ■ '
ADMINISTRATION Sr VP. CFO- PalricK J Gavin, EVPiCorporale Sarv.ces Jeri Win- ston; EVPy'Grapnics Director Frank Devi no; EVP/Clrcuiation: James, B, Martise: VP Director Sales Promotions: Beverly Grei- per; Dir. Nev/ssland Circulation; Paul Roinick, Dir,. Newsstand Operations- Joe Gallo: Dir Subscription Circulation; Diane Mor* genthalef: VP Director ol Research Robert Ratlner: Advertising Production Director: Charlene Smilli; Advertising F^oduclion Trat- fic fvtgr; Pam Rizk; Traffic Dir William Harbutt: Dir. Budget and Finance; Tom Maley. Production Mgr Tom Slinson; Asst F^oduc- lion Mgr.: Nancy Rice. Mgr,. International Div,: George Rotas: Exec. Asst, to Bob Quccione: Diane O'Connall: Exec. Asst to David J, Myerson: Ten Pisani: Special Asst, 'D (job Guccione Jane Homlisti
READERSHIP SURVEY
V\le want COMPUTE to be as useful and interesting as possible and to provide you with the coverage you want. Please iielp us by taking a moment to fill out and send us this questionnaire. You can mail the completed questionnaire to us (photocopies are fine) or fax it.
Mail:
COMPUTE Readership Survey 324 W. Wendover Ave., Ste. 200 Greensboro, NC 27408
Fax: (919) 275-9837
What computer(s) do you own or plan to buy?
Plan Own to Buy
n n 8088/8086, brand
D 80286, brand
n 80386, brand
D 80486, brand
n Pentium, brand
n Notebool</laptop, brand.
D Macintosh, model
D Game system, brand
a Other
Which video display system(s) do you use?
D Monochrome
D Hercules
n CGA
n EGA
D VGA
D Super VGA
Which peripheral(s) do you own or plan to buy?
Plan Own to Buy
D n Sy^-inch disk drive
n n SVs-inch disl< drive
a n CD-ROM drive
D D Dot-matrix printer
D n Fax modem
n D Hard disk
D D Laser printer
D n MIDI device
n D Modem
n n Mouse
D n PostScript printer
□ □ Sound card
D n Speakers
D D Tape bacl<;up system
How much memory does your computer have?
D 640K or less n 1MB a 2MB D 4MB n 8MB D 16MB
Which operating system(s)/environment(s) do you use?
D DR DOS version
D Microsoft Windows version
O MS-DOS version
n OS/2 version
a Other
Which parts of the magazine do you iike the
most?
D Art Worlds
D COMPUTE'S Getting Started With
D Editorial License
n Features
D Feedback
n Game Insider
n GamePlay
n Hardware Clinic
D IntroDOS
D Multimedia PC
D News & Notes
n News Bits
D Pathways
n Personal Productivity
D Programming Power
n Reviews
D Test Lab
D Tips & Tools
n Windows Workshop
Which of the following computer-related top- ics do you like to read about? n Databases D Desktop publishing n Disk management and MS-DOS
□ Education
n Games and entertainment D Graphics (paint, draw, or CAD) D How to upgrade your PC
□ Integrated software
n Local area networks (LANs) a Money management
□ Multimedia
a New computer technologies
n New hardware
D Pen computing
D Programming
n Spreadsheets
D Telecommunications
D Windows
n Word processing
n Other
Where do you use your PC?
O Home
n Work
a School
n Other
Where did you get this copy of
COMPUTE?
D Subscription
n Newsstand
D Other
How long have you been reading COMPUTE?
D Less than tvro years n Two years or more
If you have a modem, which online service(s)
do you use?
D America Online
D BIX
D CompuServe
n DELPHI
D GEnie
D Internet
D Prodigy
n Other
Comments -
JULY 1993 COMPUTE 49
WINDOWS WORKSHOP
Clifton Karnes
Visual C++ is a
superb development
environment
that has just about
everything.
COMPILER WARS
Back in January, I talked about Borland's C++ 3.1 and what a great Windows devel- opment environment it was. The quality of Borland's new en- try in the compiler market wasn't loston anyone, especial- ly Microsoft. Now Microsoft has countered Borland's C++ 3.1 with Visual C++, a superb development environment that has just about everything.
There are lots of modules to Visual C++, and they all work together. The heart of the sys- tem is Visual Workbench, which is the Windows-based integrated environment. It boasts an interface much like QuickC for Windows but with many added features. There's a toolbar for quick access to common commands; a syntax highlighting editor; and a Tool menu, to which you can add your own commands.
The editor is not configura- ble (you can't remap the key- board), but it's fairly powerful and has lots of useful com- mands such as one that lets you change the case of text and another that indents and unindents blocks.
Next on the list is App Stu- dio, which you can use to edit all your resources, including di- alog boxes, icons, cursors, menus, and bitmaps. You can also edit resources in EXEs, DRVs, and DLLs. App Studio is like Borland's pioneering Re- source Workshop, but it's eas- ier to use and more powerful. App Studio is written entirely in Visual C++, too, which brings us to this product's cen- tral theme: C++.
One of the reasons that M\- crosoft created Visual C+ + was to make it easier for C pro- grammers to move to C++, and two of Visual C++'s mod- ules— AppWizard and Class- Wizard— focus on that task.
If you've misspent your youth starting each new Win-
so COMPUTE JULY 1993
dows' project by copying the canonical Generic, you'll real- ly appreciate AppWizard. It's an application generator that lets you create a program's source files based on a series of options. You can create pro- grams with an fvlDI interface, a toolbar, printing and print pre- view functions, custom VBX controls, context-sensitive help, and OLE client support. AppWizard can also create external makefiles, and it will generate source comments.
What language does AppWizard use? C++ and Vis- ual C++'s new rvlicrosoft Foun- dation Class 2.0 library. It's worth noting that you use AppWizard only once — when you create your program. It's not a CASE tool, like Windows- MAKER or Caseworks, that you can return to in the devel- opment process.
After creating your program skeleton, ClassWizard lets you make connections between us- er-interface elements, messag- es, and code by pointing and clicking.
When it comes to debug- ging. Visual C++ really packs the Raid. It boasts a Windows- hosted debugger that's inte- grated with the Visual Work- bench editor. Just press F8 or click on the step button on the toolbar, and you're debug- ging. Find an error? Just start typing to correct it. This is the way Windows debugging ought to work!
The integrated debugger features normal and condition- al breakpoints, watches, and register display. If you need more powerful debugging, there's CodeView for Win- dows, which, using technolo- gy from Nu-Mega, runs as a nonmovable Windows app in one corner of your screen. It's not as convenient as the inte- grated debugger, but it's a heck of a lot easier to use than Borland's full-screen de- bugger that makes you flip
back and forth between the de- bugger and Windows.
Other debugging aids in- clude HeapWalker, DDESpy, Spy, Stress, Zoomin, and Hotspot Editor.
In addition to all this, N/licro- soft's online help, which has al- ways been good, is even bet- ter now. The entire API refer- ence is online, and you'll find tons of TechNotes — articles on programming problems.
The documentation is excel- lent, but all the 3.1 SDK docs aren't included. You can get the missing ones for an extra $99. 1 consider them a neces- sity, and they're a steal at $99.
Other useful features in- clude a first-rate Browser and precompiled headers that are finally easy to use.
Visual C++ comes in two ver- sions: a Standard Edition for $199 and a Professional Edi- tion for $495. The Standard Edi- tion has everything in the Pro- fessional Edition except for the Windows debugging appli- cations, DOS program gener- ation, and the optimizing com- piler.
The Standard Edition replac- es QuickC for Windows, and the Professional Edition replac- es C 7.0 and the SDK.
The bottom line with a devel- opment environment is how fast it compiles and how small the executables are. With a few informal tests on medium- sized programs with 1000- 4000 lines, t found Visual C++ to be slower at compiling than Borland C++, but the EXEs were considerably smaller (the in-memory images were the same as those generated by Borland's compiler).
One thing that has won me over to Visual C++ is the small- er executables. Another thing is the integrated debugger. This feature alone saves hours and hours with every pro- ject. Visual C++ is hard to beat, but I'm sure Borland's go- ing to try. □
ALL-NEW!
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All programs on this disk are the highest quality shareware and freeware and have been tested and virus-scanned by COMPUTE'S editors. And for a limited time, the disk is yours free.* Order now!
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TIPS & TOOLS
Edited by Richard C. Leinecker
Checking COM files
with a new
Checksum, finding
files from any
directory, and using
ttie extended
power of Xcopy
and M.BAT
Checksum Redux
Here is a new Checksum De- bug script. The original Check- sum was published in the Ju- ly 1992 "Tips & Tools" column in COMPUTE. In this column and in future columns, this is the Checksum program that will be used to verify the accu- racy of COM files.
Make sure the DOS pro- gram called Debug is in your path or the current directory. In these examples, the italic text represents what the com- puter prints; the reman text represents what you should type. One way to be sure you get these programs exactly right is to have someone read the numbers to you as you type them in. Another way suggested by one of our readers is to read the num- bers into a tape recorder and then play them back as you enter the program code.
|
debug checksum.com |
|
File not lound |
|
-e100 M 70 01 be SO 00 ac Oa |
|
-elOB c(] 74 61 ac 3c M 74 5c |
|
-BlIO 3c 20 74 (7 8b (16 4a ac |
|
-ellB 3c Dd 74 04 3c 20 75 f7 |
|
-e120 c6 44 ft 00 2b If 8b 15 |
|
•e128 b8 00 3d cd 21 72 3d 8b |
|
-e130 d8 b4 31 b1 01 8b d5 cd |
|
-e 138 21 Oa cO 74 06 8a 04 03 |
|
-e 140 f8 eb ee b4 3e cd 21 8b |
|
-e148 c7 bb 10 27 8b fd 2b d2 |
|
-e150 f7 13 04 30 aa 52 2h d2 |
|
-e158 8b c3 bb Oa 00 f7 fS 8b |
|
-e160 d8 53 Ob db 75 eS 8b dS |
|
-e1B8 b4 09 cd 21 b4 4c cd 21 |
|
-e 170 00 00 00 00 00 Od Oa 24 |
|
■RCX |
|
CX 0000 |
|
:78 |
|
•W |
|
Writing 0078 bytes -Q |
To use Checksum, type check- sum filename.com. If you run Checksum on Checksum, you will see the number 13907 on your screen.
RICHARD C. LEINECKER MIAMI, FL
No Scroll
In your December 1992 is- sue, you had a batch file called M.BAT that lists sever- al different file specs in a di- rectory, It also lists the vol- ume name and free disk space after each file spec, and this can make the listings scroll off the top of the screen. I added the /b switch to Dir to eliminate these super- fluous items. Here's my ver- sion, called DIRR.BAT
ECHO OFF IF"%1"==""GOTON0PARAIVI
:L0OP
01 R %1 /b
SHIR
IF"%1"="" GOTO END
GOTO LOOP
:NOPARAM
ECHO Parameter missing ECHO Usage: DIRR filejpecj llle_spec_2. . . file_spec_9 :END
I also wrote a batch file that will find a file anywhere on a disk from any directory. You can add the /b switch to the di- rectory to get rid of everything except the found files and their paths. I call it FF.BAT
ECHO OFF
IF '■%1"=="" GOTO NOPARAM
DIR \%1 /s
GOTO END
:NOPARAM
ECHO Parameter missing
ECHO Usage: FF filename
:END
JIM KROON WALLINGFORD. CT
Even Easier Backups
In your December issue, you showed how to do easy back- ups. There's an easier way with Xcopy and the right switches. The following batch file backs up the current
directory, but only files from the given date forward. The batch file is called X.BAT. For it to work, you must give it the date from which to start backups in the form mm/dd/yy.
ECHO OFF
IF"%1"=="" GOTO NOPARAIVI XCOPY *.' A:/M/V/D:%1 GOTO END
:NOPARAIVI
ECHO Usage: X mm/dd/yy
ECHO Files from the given date
ECHO lorward will be tiacked up to
ECHO the destination drive.
:END
You can modify this batch file to include subdirectories by adding a Is switch to the Xcopy line. Here's X.BAT re- worked slightly to include subdirectories.
ECHO OFF
IF"%1"="" GOTO NOPARAIVI XCOPY *.* A:/IV1/V/S/D:%1 GOTO END
: NOPARAIVI
ECHO Usage: X mm/dd/yy
ECHO Files Irom the given date
ECHO forward will be backed up to
ECHO the destination drive.
:END
You can also do a selective backup and get prompted for each file by adding the /p switch. Here's X.BAT with the /p switch so that you're prompt- ed for each file.
ECHO OFF
IF "%1 "=='"' GOTO NOPARAM XCOPY •.' A:/[VI/V/P/D;%1 GOTO END
:NOPARAIVI
ECHO Usage: X mm/dd/yy
ECHO Files from the given date
ECHO forward will be backed up to
ECHO the destination drive.
:END
BARRY L. REHEARD SR. LANCASTER, PA
52 COMPUTE JULY 1993
Clearing Keys
I've used GETKEY.COM from the October 1991 issue many times in my batch files. Once in a while, users press keys be- fore my screens are dis- played. This can lead to the wrong input. The way I solved this problem was to write a short file called CLKEY.COM that clears the keyboard. Then, GETKEY- .COfvl can wait for a key when the display appears.
You can type in Clkey us- ing the DOS Debug com- mand. You will type in the text in roman. The italic text is provided by Debug.
debug clkey.com
File not found
-e100 b4 01 cd 16 74 06 2a e4
-e 103 cd ie eb f4 b4 4c cd 21
■RCX
CX 0000
:10
-W
Writing 0010 bytes
-Q
If you run the new Checksum on this file, you will see the number 02000 appear on your screen.
In case you missed the Oc- tober 1991 issue, here's GETKEY.COM. It returns the keypress as an errorlevel code; this code is the ASCII value of the l<ey. If A was pressed, it would return 65. If you want it to capitalize all re- turn values, pass it any com- mand line parameter,
debug getkey.com
File not found
-e100 be 80 DO 2a e4 cd 16 80
-e 108 3c 00 74 Oa 3c 61 7c 06
-ellO 3c 7a 7f 02 24 df b4 4c
■e118 cd 21
-RCX
CX 0000
:1a
-W
Writing 001a bytes
-Q
If you run Checksum on this file, you will see the number 02480 on your screen.
You might want to clear the keyboard buffer and then wait for a key, all in one step. Here's a program that does just that. It returns the same values as GETKEYCOM,
debug clgetkey.com
File not found
-e100 b4 01 cd 16 74 06 2a e4
-e1D8 cd 16 eb 14 be 80 00 2a
-ellO e4 cd 16 8D 3c 00 74 Oa
-e 118 3c 61 7c 06 3c 7a 7f 02
-e 120 24 df b4 4c cd 21
-RCX
CX 0000
:26
-W
Writing 0026 bytes
■Q
If you run Checksum on this
file, you will see the number
03986 on your screen.
Vir^CENT D O'CONNOR BABBITT, MN
Safer File Moves
I've read a number of batch files that move files from one directory to another. Ultimate- ly, the file is copied to the des- tination and then removed from the source.
Unfortunately, a few mis- takes can cause a user to lose the file. That's why I wrote a batch file called COP- YMOVE.BAT that makes sev- eral checks and tries to pre- vent accidents.
ECHO OFF
IF "%1"="" GOTO NOPARAM IF "%2"=""G0T0 NOPARAM IF EXIST CHECK.DIR DEL
CHECK.DIR
IF NOT EXIST %1 GOTO NOFILES IF NOT EXIST %2\NUL GOTO
NODIR
IF EXIST %2\CHECK.DIR DEL
%2\CHECK.DIR ECHO TESTING > CHECK.DIR IF EXIST %2\CHECK.01R GOTO
SAMEDIR GOTO COPYMOVE
:NOFILES
ECHO %1 file(s) not found IF EXIST CHECK.DIR DEL CHECK.DIR GOTO END
:NODIR
ECHO Directory of %2 not found IF EXIST CHECK.DIR DEL CHECK.DIR GOTO END
:SAMED1R
ECHO Files cannot be ECHO COPYMOVED into the ECHO current directory. ECHO Change to ECHO any other directory ECHO and try again. IF EXIST CHECK.DIR DEL CHECK.DIR GOTO END
:NOPARAM
ECHO Missing parameter
ECHO Usage:
ECHO COPYIVIOVE
ECHO filespec
ECHO destinationjath
GOTO END
iCOPYMOVE
IF EXIST CHECK.DIR DEL CHECK.DIR COPY %1 %2
FOR %%F IN (%1) DO DEL %%F ECHO 7o1 file(s) COPYMOVED ECHO to the %2 ECHO directory
:END
DENNIS T MILLER DALLAS, TX
// you have an interesting tip that you itiinl< would help oth- er PC users, send it along with your name, address, and Social Security number to COMPUTE'S Tips & Tools. 324 West Wendover Avenue, Suite 200, Greensboro. North Carolina 27408. For each tip we publish, we 11 pay you $25- $50. All tips submitted be- come the property of General Media international. n
Three batch-file- enhancing COM files and a saier tile moving pragram
JULY 1993 COMPUTE 53
INTRODOS
Tony Roberts
Overcoming fear of
the DOS prompt
just takes a little
understanding.
GRASPING P(MER
Windows may get all the atten- tion these days, but DOS- based computing is still alive and well. Just because a com- puter doesn't have the horse- power to run Windows applica- tions doesn't mean it's a can- didate for the landfill. Jay At- las, a reader who is a profes- sor of philosophy at Pomona College in Claremont, Califor- nia, made this point to me re- cently during an exchange we had over Internet.
Atlas contends that most homeowners, small business- es, and students in particular can get by just fine without get- ting all wrapped up in Win- dows. I have to agree. Al- though the potnt-and-click en- vironment makes a computer a little easier to use, there's a great deal of overhead (fast processor, fast hard disk, lots of RAM) involved in attaining that ease of use.
If you're into desktop pub- lishing, multimedia, CAD, or graphics design, then you probably need Windows and Windows software. But if your computing needs are less lofty and you're willing to es- chew the glitz and glamour that the latest machines offer, you'll discover that even an 80286 with 1MB of memory can be a powerful workhorse.
Let's look at what a DOS ma- chine can do.
Word processing. Most peo- ple I know use their computers for writing, and as far as I'm concerned, no graphical appli- cation compares with DOS when it comes to word process- ing. I'm not talking about type styles and headlines; I'm talk- ing about content. A student writing a term paper should be more concerned with what words say than how they look, The same can be said for a businessperson preparing a business plan. Parents will ap- preciate a plain and simple let-
ter just as much as one gussied up with fancy fonts and dingbats.
Telecommunications. Even if you have the fastest comput- er on earth, your telecommu- nications progress is meas- ured by the speed of your mo- dem—1200, 2400, or 9600 ops. A modem and telecommu- nications software provide a gateway to vast quantities of information. Sign up for GEnie or CompuServe and tap into whatever field of data interests you there. For exampie, own- ers of small businesses can learn to avoid numerous stum- bling bloci<:s and pitfalls with in- formation found on GEnie's Home Office/Small Business RoundTable. DOS computers telecommunicate so well that several Windows users I know have set up their older, slower computers as telecommunica- tions stations.
Database applications. To- day's newest database soft- ware has gone graphical, allow- ing you to include a digitized photo with each employee re- cord, but most of us have da- tabase needs that are far less demanding. Mainly we want to manage an address and phone list for a few friends, as- sociates, and customers. There are numerous DOS ap- plications that do this well — and fast.
So there's still plenty that can be done at the DOS prompt, but therein lies the problem; the DOS prompt, the C;\ with the bad reputation.
I won't deny that DOS can be cumbersome and difficult to use, but the same can be said for a sewing machine or a power saw. Using any tool properly requires an under- standing of the process and the expected outcome. For ex- ample, a seamstress under- stands how to use a sewing ma- chine to assemble a garment. The sewing machine is a great tool, but it can't be put
on autopilot. The operator is re- quired to use judgment, make decisions, and decide what steps will be completed in what order.
Computer users get in troub- le with the DOS prompt when they try to engage the autopi- lot— they try to memorize com- mands rather than to under- stand processes. For exam- ple, I'm continually amazed at how troublesome the DOS sub- directory structure is for most computer users. Let's look at a simple example. On our disk, we have the root directo- ry, C:\, and two subdirecto- ries, DIR-1 and DIR-2.
Assume you're working in DIR-1 and you want to get to DiR-2. If you enter cd dir-2. all you'll get is the message Inva- lid Directory because there's no subdirectory named DIR-2 that branches off the current subdirectory {DIR-1 ). To avoid this frustration, you've learned that when changing directo- ries, you must first go back to the root directory and then change to the target directory. So you type cd \ to get to the root directory and then cd dlr- 2 to change to DIR-2.
Mission accomplished, but without full understanding of what's happening, What you re- ally need to know is that the full name for DIR-2 is C:\DIR- 2. The backslash is important; it represents your disk's root di- rectory. When you know that DIR-2 is a branch of the root directory, you can easily switch to it from any subdirec- tory by typing cd \dir-2. In this case, the CD command uses the root directory (\) instead of the current directory as the starting point in looking for the DIR-2 subdirectory.
If you're computing at the DOS prompt and feeling blue, it's time to snap out of It. Com- mit yourself to understanding the processes, and you'll dis- cover you have a most helpful tool at hand. □
54 COMPUTE JULY 1993
connpuTEs
ULTIMATE POWER DISK
Don't miss the dazzling, ready-to-run DOS and Windows programs on this issue's disk!
Hold Anything
Hold Anything
gives you a flexible
free-form
database with no
setup
hassles.
|
^ |
||
|
BnSM''V^ <M'^ ^"^ HWW - Vlttl ' far IS ^' ■ t-rptn buT^**l -*fif:» rr«»» *» ami'*, 'w»<t — |
^ |
|
System Check
Ever want to know what's going on in your system? SYSCHK is a system checkout utility that has the answers.
Sleek
Sleek is a file- reformatting utility that's sure to make life easier for anyone who
works with text files.
uiuKto Cf>wa°w3i>ui:flD3.FiCC
rn£j^r«»ft Oral Inn
? ■» ffl I
Recorder Run
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Subscribe to COMPUTE'S PC Disk, and every other month— six times
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HARDWARE CLINIC
Mark Minasi
Why is a Pentium
faster ttian
a 486, and how
fast is It?
PENTIUM POWER
By now, you've heard a lot about Intel's new microproces- sor, the Pentium, Wondering how much of the stuff that you're hearing is actually true? Well, the Pentium is a good chip in many ways, although not the amazing world-beater that some of the {ahem} compet- ing computer magazines claim it to be. This month, let's take a very quick look at what's fact and what's not concerning In- tel's newest engine.
I said you'd probably heard a lot about the Pentium; actu- ally, hearing is about all you'll be doing about the Pentium for a while, as Intel will be lucky to be able to produce 200,000 of them by the end of the year. While 200,000 may sound like a lot of chips, it's on- ly about 1 percent of Intel's pro- duction run for this year's 386 and 486 chips, and an even smaller percentage when you add in the folks like Cyrix, AMD, and IBIVI who make clones of those CPtJs.
There are lots of things to like about the Pentium, and not a lot of space to describe them. Here's a whirlwind tour.
Greater raw speed. The Pen- tium comes in 60-MHz and 66- MHz flavors. If offering two speeds that are so close togeth- er seems odd, it is — usually. The Pentium is such a difficult chip to make, however that the percentage of manufactured chips that can operate at the goal rate of 66 percent — the yield, in chip talk — is much low- er than it is for, say, 386 or 486 chips. Lowering the bar of ac- ceptability to 60 MHz allows In- tel to sell the chips that almost made it. That means that the 60- MHz Pentiums failed the 66- MHz test but passed the 60- MHz test, whereas the 66-MHz Pentiums passed both tests. Per- sonally, I'd look closely at a re- turn and service policy before buying a PC based on a 60-
MHz Pentium,
Why is the Pentium so diffi- cult to make? For one thing, it's much bigger than the 486, The 486 contains 1 ,2 million transis- tors; the Pentium contains 3.1 million — over two-and-a-half times as many (That's not the biggest jump we've seen, how- ever. The 386 is only a quarter million transistors,) The Pentium is also a hot chip in the literal sense. The Pentium overview document from Intel says that the chip should be expected to run at up to 85 degrees Centi- grade— that's 185 degrees Fahr- enheit— prompting the inevita- ble observation that it'll not only crunch your numbers, but it'll al- so cook your dinner. Look for makers of Pentium-based com- puters to tout their unique cool- ing facilities.
The greater raw speed re- fers to the fact that the 66-MHz clock rate is a pure clock rate, unlike the 486DX2/66 chip, which runs at 66 MHz internal- ly but interacts with the out- side world at only 33 MHz. A 486DX2/66 is a relatively sim- ple chip to design a PC around; that it communicates at 33 MHz externally means that all a designer needs to do is to mate a DX2/66 GPU chip with a run-of-the-mill 33-MHz motherboard, and it's an in- stant 66-MHz computer.
With a Pentium-66, on the oth- er hand, both internal and ex- ternal communication is at 66 MHz, requiring a motherboard that runs at 66 MHz. While it may seem that building a 66- MHz motherboard would be a small incremental change from the currently available 33-MHz and 50-MHz motherboards, it's not — the task gets harder as the speed gets greater. It turns out that 66 MHz is around the frequency of TV channel 4, so a Pentium-equipped PC has a serious potential noise prob- lem. Run one without the prop- er shielding (with the cover off or with an inadequate cover).
and you're, well, on the air. Cur- rently, anyone can design a motherboard with a few chips and a processor. That won't be true with Pentium-based sys- tems. Don't be surprised if the early 66-MHz Pentium-based PCs vary in usable speed by as much as 50 percent.
Smarter cache. Since the 20- MHz 80386DX's introduction, PC designers have been faced with a difficult choice — what kind of memory to use in their machines. The majority of PC RAM is called dynamic RAM (DRAM): It's relatively cheap, but it's not available in the kind of speeds needed to keep up with systems of 20-i- MHz. You can't get DRAMs in 40, 25, 20, or 15 nanosecond access times, the times re- quired by those systems. There's a different kind of RAM called static RAM (SRAM) that's available in those higher speeds, but SRAM is much more expensive than DRAM.
How do manufacturers build high-speed machines and still find RAM that won't drive the price of the PCs out of sight? By using a lot of DRAM and a little SRAM. The DRAM serves as main memory, and most sys- tems have megabytes of it. But many motherboards have be- tween 64K and 512K of SRAM called cache RAM. When the CPU needs the next item of da- ta from the system RAM, it looks first in the fast SRAM cache to see if it's there. If the data is in the SRAM cache, then the CPU gets it from the SRAM without delay.
If, on the other hand, the re- quired data isn't in the SRAM, the CPU must go to DRAM for the data, which slows the sys- tem down considerably. The whole idea of a cache is that some smart hardware called a cache controller {it's built into the 486, and it's an optional chip with the 386) must essen- tially look into the future, guess which data the CPU will
56 COMPUTE JULY 1993
soon need, and go get that da- ta before the CPU asks for it.
While many 386 mother- boards incorporate some kind of cache memory and cache controller, the 486 actually builds a cache and cache con- trolling into the CPU. The 486 chip contains 8K of cache, and most 486 systems have addition- al cache on the motherboard.
The Pentium's cache system is better than the 486's in four ways. First, the Pentium has twice as much cache, with two 8K caches — one for data, one for program code, Second, the cache's method of organizing its cached data is more effi- cient, employing a write-back ai- gorithm. The opposite of a write- back algorithnn, a write-through algorithm, forces data written to the SRAM cache memory to be immediately written to the slow- er DRAM memory. That means that memory reads can come out of the cache quickly, but memory writes must always oc- cur at the slower DRAM time. Be- cause not every piece of infor- mation written to memory stays in memory very long, the Penti- um's cache algorithm puts off writing data from SRAM to DRAM for as long as possible, unlike the 486, which uses a write-through cache.
Third, there's the time wast- ed by the cache controller in searching to see if an item is in the cache. The Pentium re- duces that time by dividing the cache into smaller caches, each of which can be searched more quickly; that technique is called a two-way set associative cache.
To explain the fourth v/ay in which the Pentium's cache is better than the 486's, I have to first make an important point about what a cache must do. Recall that a cache has to guess which data and pro- gram code the CPU will need soon, and then go get that da- ta before the CPU asks for it.
Guessing what the CPU will
need isn't a straightforward task, particularly when there are decisions to be made. Sup- pose the cache sees that the GPU is currently executing some instructions that mean: "Compare value A with value B. If A is greater than B. then set the value MAXIMUM to A; oth- erwise, set the value MAXI- MUM to B." That simple state- ment boils down to a bunch of instructions that had better be in the cache if the Pentium is go- ing to continue to run without de- lays. But since the cache con- troller can't know whether the CPU will take the "A is greater than B" or "B is greater than A" fork in the road, it doesn't know which result's code to go grab and put in the cache. For years, mainframe cache control- lers have used a technique called branch prediction to guess which way the CPU will go, and now a PC chip — the Pentium — has a cache control- ler builtinto it with branch predic- tion capabilities.
Two processors in one. There are essentially two CPUs in this chip. The first one is a sim- ple 386-like CPU; It does inte- ger operations, not floating- point operations. The second is like the 486— a 386 with floating- point capabilities built right into it. That means that the Pentium is essentially a parallel-process- ing CPU, with the ability to do two things at once. Those two CPUs-within-a-GPU are called the U and V pipelines, and the fact that the Pentium has more than one pipeline makes it a su- perscalar CPU. Without special programming, only the 486 pipe (the U pipe) is active. New programs and operating sys- tems, such as Windows NT and OS/2 3.0, will be required to make use of these multiple processors.
Fault tolerance. The Penti- um is designed to be linked with another Pentium on the motherboard that's dedicated to fault tolerance. The second
Pentium constantly monitors the first. If the main Pentium malfunctions, the other one jumps right in and takes up without skipping a beat.
Benchmarking the Pentium
How much faster is a Penti- um, really? As I said, the ac- tual speed of a Pentium- based PC will depend heavily on motherboard design, as the Pentium relies upon the motherboard to access both its DRAM and its external SRAM cache, if those re- spond slowly, the Pentium can only run slowly.
Simple small benchmarks, on the other hand, will run like greased lightning because they'll fit entirely into the Penti- um's 16K cache. They'll return some great numbers, but those numbers will be of very little real-world value in judging system effectiveness. After all, how many applications do you run that will fit in 16K?
I should also mention that modern benchmarks don't ex- ploit multiprocessor capabili- ties, so any benchmark values on the Pentium are values de- termined while it works with one hand tied behind its back — that is, while the V pipe- line isn't doing anything. Using a common set of benchmarks, the Pentium-based PC built by Intel (who should, after all, know how to make a Pentium- based PC) turns in a perform- ance 76 percent faster than a DX2/66 on basic processor op- erations, with memory through- put almost exactly the same as the fastest current DX2/66s.
This underscores my previ- ous point: The CPU performs amazingly well in a vacuum, but hook it up to peripherals on a motherboard — such as RAM chips — and you'll see that while the Pentium is a very special chip, it will need some very special hardware surround- ing it before it can soar to com- puting heaven. n
JULY 1993 COMPUTE 57
PROGRAMMING POWER
Tom Campbell
There's a sparkling
"new" BASIC
on the scene, one
that might be
familiar to old hands.
POWERBASIC 3.0
There's a sparkling "new" BA- SIC on the scene, one that might be familiar to old hands. PowerBASlC 3.0 from Spectra Publishing {1030-D East Duane Avenue. Sun- nyvale, California 94086, 408- 730-9616) has just been re- leased, and it's very hot. If the name doesn't ring a bell, it used to be Borland's Turbo Ba- sic two versions ago. PowerBA- SlC 2.0 was the first release from Spectra, and I loved it.
Uppermost in many peo- ple's minds is: How compati- ble is PowerBASlC with Micro- soft's QuIcl^BASIC? The an- swer is that they're fairly close. But any large program will prob- ably require major rewriting.
PowerBASlC is a lightning- fast native code compiler, just like QuickBASIC's Make EXE file option. But this one always compiles, and it compiles in- sanely fast. For large projects, you can break programs up in- to precompiled versions called units, just like Turbo Pas- cal's. You can also use OBJ files, but they aren't as good as units.
PowerBASlC has a ton of new features. My favorite by a landslide is its ability to create any kind of TSR imaginable. TSRs can be triggered by hot keys, by interrupts, by timer ticks, and by a few less obvi- ous methods. You can swap them out to EMS memory or a disk file, so that the executa- ble can be 200K yet still con- sume only 4,5K of convention- al memory. The TSRs are quite stable, working well under my rather strenuous test condi- tions. In all. this feature alone is worth buying the product if you need to develop TSRs. It's cheaper than many C libraries that offer the same feature, yet it offers the convenience of BA- SIC. Related to that is the new ASM statement (with the alias .' for brevity), which allows you
to embed assembly language statements right into the BA- SIC code.
A less sexy feature (but per- haps a more important one) is the ability to create huge ar- rays, which may contain more than 64K of data. Unlike "the other BASIC," PowerBASlC lets you create these huge ar- rays in any size, not just a space-wasting power-of-two di- mension. Hand in hand with huge arrays is the ability to cre- ate compound data types — not only the TYPE variety, but the UNION variety as well, which lets you overlap similar data structures, like the variant records of Pascal or the union of C. And anyone who writes directly to the screen or reads from the BIOS frequently will ap- preciate the ability to deciare arrays at an absolute memory location. Ever since Turbo Pas- cal added this one, I've been champing at the bit for a bet- ter DEE SEG.
Last on the list of my favor- ite new features is the addition of a deceptively simple option that requires you to declare variables before using them. Although this seems like a cruel trick on BASIC program- mers, I have found it absolute- ly essential on large projects. Until now I haven't been able to use BASIC for programs over a thousand lines or so be- cause BASIC will simply initial- ize to zero any new variable it finds. Too many times, my de- velopment has ground to a halt at 2:00 in the morning while I read and reread my code, missing every time that an array called SymTable has quietly transmogrified into SymbolTable. That C and Pas- cal require variable declara- tions went from an onerous bur- den to a basic requirement. Now I can look forward to us- ing PowerBASlC even in seri- ous development.
Besides these major new ad- ditions that hit home with me.
there are scores of other fea- tures you'll find it hard to resist, such as byte, word, and dou- ble-word types (all unsigned, at last!): ON ERROR LOCAL for intraroutine error trapping; an editor that can handle huge files and. finally, mice; reasonably good hypertext help; and a stand-alone debug- ger. But call for a brochure — there are even more.
This month's program is writ- ten in PowerBASlC and is avail- able on CompuServe in the IBMPRO forum under the file- name DBFDIR.BAS. If you have any trouble finding it, you can send me E-mail at 75530,3607. It both highlights and improves one of Power- BASIC's most useful features, the DIRS function. DIR$ is meant to be called once with a file specification, such as "C:\DBFV.DBF", and after that in a loop without the file specification. The first time it's called, it returns the first file matching the specification; the second time, and on sub- sequent invocations without a parameter, it returns the re- maining matches. The prob- lem is that it only returns a filename and extension, not the drive and path. So, in the example of ■*C:\DBR*.DBF", it might return "TODO.DBF", "ACCTS.DBF", and so on, but not '■C:\DBRTODO.DBF", and so forth. DBFDIR.BAS, the PowerBASlC program I wrote, acts like dBASE's Dir com- mand and lists database char- acteristics (last update and re- cord size) of all the dBASE data files in the specified direc- tory. I ported SplitPilenameS from an earlier column with no effort at ail; it's used to recon- struct the matching filenames so they can be opened and the DBF header data read in. As usual, this is modular code, so you can easily hollow out the dBASE-specific por- tion and just use the frame- work for your own files. □
58 COf^PUTE JULY 1993
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Scorched Earth is one of the most addictive games you'll ever play Take com- mand of a lank or artillery position and chalienge up to nine human or comput- er opponents in a fight to the death. This 256-cQlor VGA artillery game fea- tures tons of configurable options, including weapons, defense mechanisms, weather, economics, terrain, and much more. Requires VGA.
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COMMUNICATE WITH
YOUR SOFTWARE? THE SOFTWARE
HARD-WIRED INTO
YOUR COMPUTER'S BIOS IS LIKE A
BRAIN WITHIN A BRAIN.
i
By Richard C. Leinecker
Illustration by Bill Bruning
Today's computers think faster than mere mortals can comprehend. But without software — the instruc- tions the processor performs — a com- puter is just a pile of scrap iron, wire, and silicon.
Application software has to run on virtually an infinite variety of hardware configurations. That's why each IBM- compatible computer has a liaison layer that acts as a compatibility- assurance arbitrator between the application software and the hard- ware. This layer is called the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System}. It usually resides in two ROM chips on a com- puter's motherboard.
Imagine the difficulty software developers would face if they had to worry about whether their products were saving data to a 20MB or a 200MB hard drive. They'd need to treat each variation as a different case. Or worse yet, what if they had the additional difficulty of providing separate routines to deal with each drive type, whether it was an IDE, MFM, SCSI, or RLL drive? If not for the BIOS, applications would be many times larger than they are. The BIOS shields developers from these headaches by providing a standard way of talking to hard drives and other hardware.
There's a standard way of dealing with all peripherals, including floppy and hard drives, modems and serial ports, printers, video systems, and keyboards. DOS (the Disl^ Operating System) builds its own routines around the BIOS routines. That's why different versions of DOS run on all IBM-compatible systems.
Some peripherals, like video cards, have their own embedded BIOS. In most cases the specialty BIOSs add functions that extend the original BIOS. A good example is a VESA- compatible (Video Electronics Standards Association) Super VGA card. At runtime the video card patch- es the base BIOS so that new routines are available to application software. This is necessary because video stan- dards change rapidly and many peo- ple upgrade their video systems many times before replacing their comput- ers. The motherboard manufacturer couldn't possibly anticipate which of the hundreds of types of video boards users will install.
In addition to allowing the operating system to communicate with the hard- ware, the system BIOS also contains diagnostic programs that check out the computer each time it's turned on. This series of diagnostic tests is called the POST, or Power-On Self Test, and
62 COMPUTE JULY 1993
Power*On Self Test
Here's the sequence of tasks your computer performs when it starts up.
1. The microprocessor begins execution at address FFFF;0OOO, an area almost at the end of the ROM BIOS area.
2. The microprocessor is tested, usually with a self-test mode that's built into the microprocessor. The system board, the system buses, and the system memory containing the POST code are tested, too.
3. The system timers are tested.
4. The video display system is tested, usually the video memory and the signals that drive the dis- play.
5. All memory is tested.
6. The keyboard is tested.
7. The disk drives are tested for their status.
it involves checking the microproces- sor, memory, video system, and other internals. Not ail installed options are tested. For example, printers and modems are not tested.
The more comprehensive the POST, the better your computer can diagnose itself and alert you to prob- lems. And the more memory you have installed, the longer the tests take to verify it all.
BIOSs Aren't Created Equal
IBM was the creator of the first BIOS used in a PC, but it was the develop- ment of third-party BIOSs that made it
Support Reference
AMi
Distributed by Washburn &
Company
3800 Monroe Ave.
Pittsford, NY 14534
(716)248-3627
(404) 246-5825 (BBS)
Award Software IBOKnowles Dr. Los Gatos, CA 95030 (408) 370-7979 (408) 370-3139 (BBS)
Phoenix Technologies Distributed by Micro Firmware 1430W. LindseySt. Norman, OK 73069 (405)321-8333
(405) 321-3553 (BBS)
possible for virtually anyone to build a PC. The three major companies that specialize in development and sales of compatible BIOS products are AMI (American Megatrends, Incorporated), Award Software, and Phoenix Technologies. Each one licenses its BIOS to hardware manufacturers. Selecting a BIOS for motherboards isn't easy. A list of questions has to be addressed in order to choose a BIOS that's already been designed or to custom-develop a BIOS.
The AMI BIOS has a built-in setup program activated by pressing the Delete l<ey in the first few seconds after the boot procedure begins. In addition to the setup program, the AMI BIOS features a built-in, menu- driven diagnostics package.
The Award BIOS has a built-in setup program activated by pressing Ctrl-Att-Esc. Award is unique among BIOS manufacturers in that it provides its code to hardware manufacturers and allows them to customize the BIOS themselves. Because of this customization, the hardware compa- nies can fine-tune the BIOS to work best with their computers.
The Phoenix BIOS has been the standard by which others are judged. It was the first third-party BIOS on the market. One area of particular strength for the Phoenix is its POST. The BIOS outputs an extensive set of beep codes that help diagnose prob- lems on the motherboard. It can even isolate a memory failure to an individ- ual chip. This simplifies identifying system problems for the owner or the repairperson.
If you have a modem, you can get support from these BIOS manufactur- ers (or their distributors) or from their BBSs (see the "Support Reference" sidebar). All of these BIOSs have been on the market for years. Although they offer different kinds of diagnostics, alf are extremely reliable and have proved themselves over time. But since they have to be updat- ed every time a new piece of hard- ware is introduced, a few bugs have cropped up from time to time.
BIOS Bugs
Like all software, the ROM BIOS is not Immune to bugs. If your BIOS is from one of the major manufacturers, you're probably safe. But even then, don't forget that BIOS manufacturers have had some minor problems.
How can you protect yourself from problems when you're buying new and used equipment? If you're consid- ering the purchase of used equip- ment, you should install the applica-
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tions you'll be using and make sure they perform the way you expect before laying your money down. For new equipment, you should Install your applications and put them through their paces as soon as you can. If you find a problem, contact the source that sold you the computer.
BIOS Upgrading
You'll rarely be In the position of need- ing a BIOS upgrade. Here's a list of reasons why you might want to con- sider it.
• Adding support for 720K 3Va- Inch, 1.2MB 5V4-lnch, and 1.44MB 3V2-lnch drives.
• Allowing a user-definable hard drive type that matches an MFM. RLL, IDE. or ESDI drive.
• Adding support for 101-key enhanced keyboards.
• Correcting known conflicts or bugs. It's best if you contact the hard- ware or software vendor's technical support to verify that there is a prob- lem with your particular BIOS.
• Adding features and perfor- mance found in newer BIOS versions.
Before you go shopping, you'll need some Information.
• Make and model of the system. For many popular systems this is all that's needed to find the right BIOS. For less common clones you'll need more information.
• The CPU type (286, 386SX, 386, 486SX, 486).
• The make and version of the existing BIOS. This is necessary because some revisions will require that the keyboard controller be replaced, too.
• The type and number of the
Flash BIOS
You've probably heard the term Flash BIOS al some point and won- dered what It meant. It doesn't mean an ultrafast BIOS. It's just an alternate way of placing informa- tion in the BIOS. A BIOS is simply an EPROM (Erasable Program- mable Read Only Memory). Flash BIOS is a special l<lnd of EPROM that can be erased and rewritten while it's still on the motherboard. That allows manufacturers to make minor changes in the BIOS to con- form to new computer designs. Don't think you can simpiy go into your Flash BIOS and start chang- ing things, though. Altering the BIOS requires specialized equip- nfient. The Award spokesperson told me that eventually the BIOS could be available in CMOS, which would allow you to upgrade your BIOS in place with a manufacturer- supplied utility.
—ROBERT BIXBY
existing BIOS ROMs. Locate the part number on one of the ROM chips. You may have to peel back a label. The part number will usually start with 27.
• Check for an integrated chip set. This will consist of square, flat, large- scale integration chips with pins around all four sides. They'll usually have a manufacturer's name or logo. Some examples are CHIPS. SUNTAC, VLSI, and OPTI. An integrated chip set performs the functions of hun- dreds of smaller chips. Even IBM uses third-party Integrated chip sets on some models.
To get this information, open your computer's case and start taking notes. It only takes a few minutes. With this information you can accu- rately order BIOS upgrades.
There are some alternatives to upgrading your BIOS. Some compa- nies (Washburn & Company, for example) supply accessory ROMs to augment the existing BIOS. They can fit in the two empty sockets that are found on most AT motherboards, or they can go on a card that fits in any 8- or 16-bit slot.
If you've identified a specific prob- lem, some technicians are well versed at patching BIOSs, But it may be risky if the person doing it doesn't possess the skills. (I don't think I've ever heard a technician admit he or she couldn't do something until it was too late.) Unless you have complete confidence in a technician, leave this option out.
Don't Be Fooled by Imitations
Just because your computer boots and shows you the copyright of a major BIOS manufacturer doesn't mean you're home free. If you bought your system used, bought it from a cut-rate source, or have had it ser- viced by cut-rate technicians, there's a small chance you have an illegal BIOS copy. I've heard of more than one per- son who, having experienced system- level bugs and incompatibilities, inspected the motherboard and found a BIOS copy — not the real thing.
This is illegal and dilutes the BIOS manufacturer's ability to provide the best possible product for paying cus- tomers. Besides that, those BIOS copies may not be the best fit for the systems.
Compaq actually created the first BIOS clone, but It was only interested in providing BIOSs for its own machines. Only when Phoenix intro- duced its version of the PC BIOS did the clones and compatibles war really begin. Since then, many other makers have entered the market, notably the makers mentioned in the article, One additional BIOS maker, Quadtel, was recently purchased by Phoenix.
I called various BIOS makers and asked them about their products. I was surprised by their responses. The question Why is your product better than the competition? usually Invites a fusillade of marketing squibs, but this time, most of the people I spoke with echoed the statement, "A BIOS is a BIOS." The
Ending BIOS Fear
principal differences among BIOS makers are their market niches and small utilities and improvements that are quickly incorporated by the com- petition.
For example, a spokesperson for Award stated that the Award BIOS is outfitted with a boot-sector virus detector which is expected to appear soon in new BIOSs from other manu- facturers.
AMI sells primarily to motherboard makers while Phoenix sells primahly to OEMs (Original Equipment Man- ufacturers— companies that make the whole computer and some peripherals).
One irony of the modern BIOS has resulted from IBM's decision to mar- ket its BIOS to compatibles manufac-
turers (in the industry, this is called opening the kimono), which would allow non-IBM computer makers to advertise an even higher level of IBM compatibility, Since a system's design is such an integral factor in BIOS design (virtually all BIOSs are customized at least a little to match the system they serve) and since no OEM wants to provide detailed sys- tem design information to IBM, an avid competitor, IBM has decided to market its BIOS through Phoenix, the first company to release an IBM- compatible BIOS. This will allow Phoenix, a disinterested third party, to make the tweaks necessary to allow the IBM BIOS to work with an individual system.
—ROBERT BIXBY
64 COMPUTE JULY 1993
|
Beep Beep |
|||
|
1 Here's the scenario. Your computer won't boot, but you |
Phoenix |
||
|
hear beeps, Interpreting those beeps nnight mean the |
The Phoenix |
BIOS beep codes are three groups of beep |
|
|
difference between rectifying the situation yourself and |
counts. |
||
|
calling a technician. Here's a list of the error beep codes |
1-1-3 |
CMOS write/read failure |
|
|
for AMI, Award, |
IBM, and Phoenix BIOSs. |
1-1-4 |
ROM BIOS checksum failure |
|
1-2-1 |
Programmable interval timer failure |
||
|
AMI |
1-2-2 |
DMA initialization failure |
|
|
1 short |
DRAM refresh failure |
1-2-3 |
DMA page register write/read failure |
|
2 short |
Parity circuit failure |
1-3-1 |
RAM refresh verification failure |
|
3 short |
Base 64K RAM failure |
1-3-3 |
First 64K RAM chip or data line failure. |
|
4 short |
System timer failure |
multibi! |
|
|
5 short |
Processor failure |
1-4-2 |
Parity failure first 64K RAM |
|
6 short |
Keyboard controller gate A20 error |
1-4-3 |
Fail-safe timer feature (only EISA |
|
7 short |
Virtual mode exception error |
BIOS) |
|
|
8 short |
Display memory read/write test failure |
1.4.4 |
Software NMI port failure {only EISA |
|
9 short |
ROM BIOS checksum failure |
BIOS) |
|
|
1 long, 3 short |
Conventional/extended memory failure |
2-1-1, 2-1-2, |
First 64K RAM chip or data line failure |
|
1 long, 8 short |
Display/retrace test failed |
2-1-3,2-1-4, 2-2-1,2-2-2, |
on bit 0-F |
|
Award |
2-2-3. 2-2-4, |
||
|
AH Processors |
2-3-1 , 2-3-2, |
||
|
1 long, 2 short |
Video error |
2-3-3, 2-3-4, |
|
|
2 short |
Any nonfatal error |
2-4-1,2-4-2, |
|
|
1 short |
No error during POST |
2-4-3, 2-4-4 |
|
|
3-1-1 |
Slave DMA register test failure |
||
|
80286/80386/80486 Processors |
3-1-2 |
Master DMA register test failure |
|
|
1 long, 3 short |
Keyboard controller error |
3-1-3 |
Master interrupt mask register failure |
|
3-1-4 |
Slave interrupt mask register failure |
||
|
IBM |
3-2-4 |
Keyboard controller failure |
|
|
1 short |
Normal POST system OK |
3-3-4 |
Screen memory failure |
|
2 short |
POST error — error code displayed on |
3-4-2 |
Screen retrace failure |
|
CRT |
4-2-1 |
Timer tick failure |
|
|
No beep |
Power supply, system board |
4-2-2 |
Shutdown failure |
|
Continuous |
Power supply, system board |
4-2-3 |
Gate A20 failure |
|
Repeating short |
Power supply, system board |
4-2-4 |
Unexpected interrupt in protected |
|
1 long, 1 short |
System board |
mode |
|
|
1 long, 2 short |
Display adapter (mono/CGA) |
4-3-1 |
RAM test of memory above 64K failed |
|
1 long, 3 short |
Enhanced graphics adapter (EGA) |
4-3-2 |
Programmable interval timer channel 2 |
|
3 long |
3270 keyboard card |
test failed |
|
|
4-3-4 |
Realtime clock test failed |
||
|
4-4-1 |
Serial port test failed |
||
|
4-4-2 |
Parallel port test failed |
||
|
4-4-3 |
Math coprocessor test failed |
It's pretty easy to distinguish the real McCoy from a fake. Take a look at the ROM BIOS chips on the moth- erboard, '/ou should clearly see the name of the manufacturer, along with a serial number, usually on a label. If you buy a new system with a fake, report the supplier to the manufactur- er of the BIOS cloned on the fake chips, and return the system for a full refund, If you're looking at a used sys- tem with a copied BIOS, tell the seller you're not interested. Even if you buy it at a bargain price, you're in for trou- ble in the future.
Into the Sunset
Most people never consider the BIOS version and manufacturer when pur- chasing a computer. We take it for granted that such an integral compo-
nent is carefully checked by the sys- tem manufacturer for correct opera- tion, and it almost always is. But as a system ages and newer peripherals become available, you need to be thinking about a BIOS upgrade to support newer hardware. Generally, a BIOS upgrade is a step involved in some other kind of major equipment upgrade. If you install the hardware correctly and it still won't work, your BIOS automaticaily becomes the prime suspect.
The guidelines I've presented should help you make your purchase and upgrade decisions now and in the future. If you have any questions, though, a reputable technician will help you out. And if you're adventurous and want to upgrade, order the chips yourself and have at it, J
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JULY 1993 COMPUTE 65
PRODUCTIVITY CHOICE
The improvements to this development system
keep it the preferred choice for Windows programmers
who vaiue ease of use and extendible power
George Campbell
VISUAL BASIC 2.0
Microsoft brought about a rev- olution wlien it introduced Vis- ual Basic 1.0, malting Win- dows programming accessi- ble to just about anyone with some BASIC programming ex- perience. With the introduc- tion of version 2.0, program- mers get even more of a good thing.
Like version 1.0, VB 2.0 gives you a quick way to de- sign the interface for your Win- dows programming project. Since interface design has al- ways been the most difficult part of programming for Win- dows, using VB lets you get down to the business of the working part of your program with very little delay You sim- ply draw your interface on the screen, much [ike using an ob- ject-oriented paint program, and then whte code to tell the program what to do when something happens. For exam- ple, if a user clicks on a com- mand button in your program, you need only write the code for that button click. List box- es, text-editing windows, and all other interface objects work in the same way.
This event- oriented program- ming style is the key to VB's ease of use, Since you write less code to make your pro- gram work, you can concen- trate on the important code, rather than on code that sim- ply displays your program. Us- ing language syntax familiar to all BASIC programmers, VB makes writing simple pro- grams fast and easy. While Windows programming was once the province of dedicat- ed C or C++ experts, anyone willing to learn some new rules can use VB 2,0 to cre- ate professional-quality Win- dows applications and utili-
ties. Since you can also ac- cess most of the commands embedded in the Windows API, you can even extend VB far beyond its own internal statements.
There are two VB packag- es: Standard and Profession- al. The Standard Edition, de- signed for casual or personal use, lists for $199. The Profes- sional Edition, listed at $495, includes enhancements more advanced programs need. You can begin with the Stan- dard Edition and upgrade if you want. Both packages have good documentation and extensive online help. An online tutorial and plenty of sample code and applica- tions also ease the transition from DOS programming.
Both editions offer im- proved performance over the original VB. Programs general- ly run about 20 percent fast- er. A program's EXE file is now smaller, although the VBRUN200.DLL runtime li- brary needed for all programs has grown. The program de- sign environment is also im- proved; you now get a sepa- rate window for setting the properties, like color, fonts.
and size of objects (such as command buttons, list box- es). Since this window can al- ways be onscreen, setting an object's properties is fast. An icon-based toolbar also makes programming easier^ you click on an icon to carry out most functions in the devel- opment environment.
New graphics controls let you insert bitmapped images in your program or draw lines, boxes, and circles with- out using as much precious Windows memory as needed with version 1,0. The program also offers support for Win- dows OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) plus a spreadsheetlike grid control from the earlier Professional Toolkit, You also get support for the fvlultiple Document in- terface (MDI), a huge array li- brary for arrays larger than 64K, and tools to create auto- mated installation systems for your applications.
Other programming tasks, too, get a boost, with im- proved debugging features like watch and break expres- sions. You can also select mul- tiple controls and set com- mon properties for all of them
66 COMPUTE JULY 1993
in a single step. A new varia- ble type, called Variant, can substitute for any variable type, such as Integer or String; and you can shift be- tween variable types automat- ically when needed. Using Var- iant, you don't have to con- vert a numerical variable to a string variable to display it in a text area onscreen.
With the Professional Edi- tion, you get additional tools, such as a communications module, a help compiler for creating full-scale hypertext help systems, support for the MAPI E-mail system, ODBC database libraries, and more. Custom controls available on- ly in the Professional Edition in- clude a group of 3-D controls like command buttons and check boxes, an animated command button, access to the Windows Common Dialog w/indows, multimedia controls, controls specific to pen- based computers, plus a hand- ful of other useful additions. For programming profession- als, the additional features are well worth the cost.
Overall, the additional fea- tures and improvements in both VB 2.0 editions are very welcome and help keep VB well ahead of competitors like GEA Basic and Turbo Pas- cal for Windows. It's still by far the easiest development system you can find for Win- dows, and it's a pleasure to work with
That said, however, VB is not the be-all and end-all for Windows programming. A number of limitations keep it from becoming the only lan- guage Windows program- mers need. Eirst, its inability to use Windows API functions that require callbacks keeps VB programmers from access- ing some important Windows
tools, such as setting printer options without user input. Elir- ther technical limitations in- clude an inability to use point- ers to memory locations and a requirement that a runtime li- brary be included with each program. While VB can use Dy- namic Link Libraries (DLL) to extend the language, it can- not create them— a particular- ly annoying limitation for ad- vanced programmers, who must turn to other languages to create modular extensions to VB.
Then, too, while fvlicrosoft fixed some bugs that plagued VB 1.0, it introduced some new problems in 2.0. Es- pecially irritating is a bug which sometimes causes pro- grams that run perfectly in the development environment to crash after being compiled. There's an easy way to work around this bug, but it's a both- er. A bug in the Professional Edition's Common Dialog tools makes the Printer dialog difficult to use, requiring addi- tional code to change the de- fault printer from within a VB program. Microsoft acknowl- edges these problems and of- fers work-around solutions, but the company apparently has no plans to issue an Inter- im version of the language.
A final limitation can cause problems for some users. While you can effortlessly dis- play bitmapped graphics on- screen, it's very difficult to send them to the printer. In- deed, there's no direct meth- od in VB itself to print graph- ics and text on the same page. Printing bitmaps means using a complicated set of Windows API com- mands and, even then, it's al- most impossible to print graph- ics on a PostScript printer with- out purchasing an add-on li-
brary from another source.
Fortunately, an entire indus- try has already grown up around VB. Vendors like Cres- cent Software and MicroHelp offer extensive add-on librar- ies. These libraries, which be- come part of the VB develop- ment environment, extend the language and fill in the gaps fylicrosoft left. VB's popularity also means that support on fo- rums such as fvSSBASIC on CompuServe is excellent, with many advanced users offering
IBM PC or coniDalibie (SOZSS comiiatjtile); IMB RAM; Hercuies, EGA, VGA, or better graphics; one liigti- density floppy drive and one hard drive with 18MB free; Winitows 3.0 or higher; mouse
solutions for VB problems and even free add-on libraries, f^i- crosoft, too, is active on the CompuServe support forum, of- fering solutions for many prob- lems and answers to tough technical questions.
All in all. Visual Basic 2.0 is the ideal way to get started in Windows programming. Its ease of use and extendible power may make it the per- fect platform for most program- mers, especially for creating uncomplicated appiications and utilities. If you have any desire to create personal or professional applications for Windows, definitely look into this development system. 0
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JULY f993 COMPUTE 67
PERSONAL PRODUCTIVITY
Rosalind Resnick
When it comes to
financing your lieast
take tfie time to
crunch the numbers.
Vbu miglit be
surprised at the
hidden costs.
LEASING VERSUS BUYING
Flip through just about any newspaper or magazine these days, and you're sure to find ads for cut-rate comput- ers. With computer prices in a virtual free fall, millions of com- puter users are finding it diffi- cult to justify not upgrading to an 80386 or 80486 with the lat- est features. And no matter what computer you buy or where you make your pur- chase, it's hard to overpay.
Even so. there's more to shopping for computers than simply deciding how much RAM you want and how big a hard drive to get. To entice shoppers to part with their mon- ey, computer dealers nation- wide are offering not only low prices but seductive lease deals, too. Let's face it: If you're just starting a business, you may not have enough mon- ey to buy a new computer with cash, but you might easi- ly be able to afford a monthly payment that costs little more than a business lunch with a new ciient.
The troubfe is that some computer leases are far more costly than they first appear. Recently, one national comput- er chain ran a newspaper ad offering a brand-new 25-MHz 386SX IBM-compatible com- puter for $1,150. It also of- fered buyers the option of fi- nancing their purchase with a three-year, $42.55-a-month lease — and buying the comput- er for $1.00 when the lease term was up.
The beauty of the lease, of course, is that you don't have to tie up that SI, 150 right now (assuming that you have the money in the first place). And you don't have to tie up your credit cards, either, leaving you free to spend on other things.
So is leasing the better
deal'' Not really.
In preparing this story, I asked my accountant. Art Berkowitz of Mission Viejo. Cal- ifornia, to crunch the numbers and compare the two options. What he found out amazed me. Leasing the computer for three years would cost $1 ,532.80 (including the SI .00 you'd pay at the end of the lease to buy it) — only $0.08 less than you'd pay to finance it with a credit card at the stan- dard 21-percent interest rate! (In fact, Berkowitz says, what the chain bills as a lease is ac- tually more like a financing ar- rangement than a true lease, in which you pay only for the use of the computer and not the retail cost.)
That's why, Berkowitz says, the most economical way to buy a new computer is with cash, unless your business is so hot that you can invest the money in your company and reap double-digit returns.
"For the person who has the funds available, cash is the best way to buy almost all of the time," Berkowitz says, "Only if you're making more from your business than you'd payout in interest, [or] if you're squeezed for cash, does it make sense to finance your computer purchase."
Even if you don't have the money, Berkowitz says, there are some other options to con- sider. Your credit card, for one. Though many credit cards charge interest as high as 21 percent, some cards of- fer lower rates, occasionally as low as 10 to 15 percent, to customers who have good credit ratings. Many newspa- pers publish a list of low-rate credit cards in their business sections.
By charging the computer on your credit card, you can pay off your purchase as fast or as slowly as you like. If your business kicks into high gear sooner than you expected, for
example, you can pay off the computer more quickly. If sales are sluggish for a while, you have the option of making only the minimum monthly pay- mients until things get rolling. Under the terms of most leas- es, Berkowitz says, you're stuck making the same month- ly payments until the lease term is up, forcing you to con- tinue financing your purchase at high interest rates even when you can afford to pay it off completely
Another option is a home eq- uity line of credit. Because a home equity credit line is se- cured {that is, the equity in your house acts as collateral for the loan), banks are willing to lend you money at lower rates than you'd get with a cred- it card. In fact, many banks are so eager to lend you mon- ey that they'll waive all the fees and costs involved in do- ing the papenA/ork and assess- ing your home's value. While it doesn't make sense to mort- gage your house just to buy a computer, a home equity cred- it line might make sense if you're starting a business and need, say, $10,000 in working capital.
"A home equity loan makes sense as long as you remem- ber the biggest caveat of all, which is that you could lose your home," Berkowitz says. "And frankly, that scares me to death."
The bottom line: When shop- ping for a computer, it's just as important to check out the fine print on the financing con- tract as it is to read the reviews in the computer magazines. And if you're not so handy with a calculator, there are plen- ty of software programs (and accountants) that can crunch the numbers for you.
Remember: The old adage "Let the buyer beware" ap- plies not just to shopping for computers but also to paying for them. □
68 COMPUTE JULY 1993
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ETA, Autumn 1993.
1^800- WEB-FEET
Circle Reader Service Number 280
MULTIMEDIA PC
David English
Encarta is so good you no longer
have an excuse for not owning a
CD-ROIVI drive and sound card.
THE WORLD ON A PLATTER
Until recently, you could sum up the major CD-ROM encyclo- pedias like this: One has bet- ter multimedia, while the other has better text. The better mul- timedia encyclopedia has been Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia (Compton's New- Media, 2320 Camino Vida Roble, Carlsbad, California 92009; 619-929-2500; $395). Formerly called Compton's Multifvledia Encyclopedia, it has introduced several innova-
tive techniques for gathehng up electronic inforrTiation.
The better text encyclope- dia has been The New Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia (Gro- lier Electronic Publishing, Sher- man Turnpike, Danbury, Con- necticut 06816; 800-356- 5590; $395). Its text is written on a higher grade level than Compton's, with many of its ar- ticles penned by experts in their respective fields.
Duhng the last nine months, Grolier has worked hard to close the interface gap by final- ly introducing a Windows ver- sion of its encyclopedia. It's much easier to use than the ear- lier DOS version. Compton's has responded with its new Vir- tual Workspace technology that more closely approximates how we collect information in the real world (sort of a books- open-and-scattered-in-a-logi-
cal-order approach).
Just when things had settled into a predictable two-way com- petition, along comes Microsoft to shake everything up. Micro- soft's entry in the world-on-a- platter sweepstakes is called Microsoft Encarta Multimedia Encyclopedia (Microsoft, One Microsoft Way Redmond, Wash- ington 98052; 800-426-9400; $395). Ouite simply it's one of the best nnultimedia applica- tions I've seen. While the 25,000 articles that Microsoft has taken from the Funk & Wag- nails' Encyclopedia may not be as strong as the 33,000 articles contained in Gro- lier, Microsoft has added so much additional information and organized the material so well that Encarta is easily the most browsable and usable of the three products. Like Comp- ton's and Groli- er, Encarta of- fers a time line for a chronologi- cal view of events, an atlas for a geographical view of events, and a knowledge tree for a con- ceptual view of events. All three CD-ROM encyclopedias let you get at their vast bodies of knowledge by letting you choose the most appropriate path. This multiple-path ap- proach lets you follow from one fact to another until you've ex- plored a series of connections guided by your own interests. Encarta improves on the mul- tiple-path approach by offering a more logical structure and building up the components that are best suited to multime- dia. The overriding structure for Encarta is its 93 categories, which include 9 primary catego- ries (Physical Science and Tech- nology; Life Science; Geogra- phy; History; Social Science; Religion and Philosophy; Art,
70 COMPUTE JULY 1993
Language, and Literature; Per- forming Arts; and Sports, Games, Hobbies, and Pets) and 84 subcategories. For in- stance, the primary category of Performing Arts includes the subcategories of Music; Musi- cal Instruments; Musicians and Composers; Dance; Theater; and Cinema, Television, and Broadcasting. Once in a subcat- egory it's easy to view a list of each entry in that subcategory, browse each entry in alphabet- ical order, or switch to a new cat- egory or subcategory By stress- ing a categorical organization, Microsoft has recognized how we learn best: by exploring a group of associated ideas and then jumping to a related group of associated ideas.
Wherever possible, Micro- soft has added material to Funk & Wagnalls' Encyclope- dia to exploit the new medium of multimedia. Fully half the CD- ROM is made up of images and audio, with another 10 per- cent devoted to animations and videos.
For example, the Gallery sec- tion, where you can quickly browse Encarta's 7000 photo- graphs and seven hours of au- dio, includes a Special Lists but- ton. Included among the spe- cial lists is a Foreign Language Samples list, which, when com- bined with the automatic slide show, lets you sample common words and phrases (spoken by native speakers) from 46 na- tions and cultures, A slide show of World and Folk Music offers a similar tour with a gen- erous helping of musical exam- ples and stunning pictures.
I could go on and on about the gems of wisdom you'll dis- cover as you explore Encarta. Suffice it to say. if you're the tyfDe who can spend hours in a library moving from one refer- ence book to another, this is the one product that will make it worth your while to buy a CD- ROM dhve and sound card. It's that good. a
Role Playing Then
You push a button. You open a door. Leave the life of paperwork and laundry, of squalling kids and car trouble.
Enter new worlds. Of adventure. Horror. Magic. Love. Death. Solve a mystery. Save a kingdom. Live by your wits, tap
the reserves. Find out who you are, the sruff you're made of With the power of 1300 floppies on a single disc,
CD-ROM LETS YOU ESCAPE INTO THE DEPTHS OF YOUR OWN IMAGINATION.
Role Playing Now
Video clips from David Lynch's cult film of Frank Herbert's famed sci-fi epic heighten ilve reality of DUNE"; as you battle to control production of the consciousness-expanding spice Melange,
THE 7TH GUEST"; assembles a cast of 23 actors I 24, including you| in the world's first true Interactive Drama'", set inside the haunted hilltop mansion of twisted loymaker Henry Stauf.
In FABLES AND FIENDS'": THE LEGEND OF KYRANDIA", you are
the rightful prince of Kyrandia who must tecover the precious Kyragem, the source of all the magic in the land.
Circle Reader Service Number 122
IHE 7IH tXtST <«J Inwcta Dk™ .™ i™d.r«Ai d Vi^ Go~M. I« ond t.k*^. In,, e i Mi . .g- G=™. i^ ^ Tr.ob,*, kK. Al .^» .«,^ FAfllES 4 FINDS »d ™ lEOEW Of KySAMM
ART WORKS
Robert Bixby
A specialty paper
supplier will make
any desktop
publishing project
easier and
more attractive.
WHO ARE YOU?
As the hit song by The Who says, "I really want to know." I'd be interested to know what software you're using and what you're using it for. If you have a moment to spare, drop me a letter or postcard to tip me off. Desktop publishing has become so widespread, and desktop publishers are en- gaged in such a broad array of activities, I feel the need to focus on the things that are of most benefit to you. I want to provide information that will directly assist you in the kinds of projects you are pursuing. If you have tips or ideas that make publishing easier or more rewarding, I'm interested in hearing those, too. If I use your tip in the column, I'll give you full credit (and maybe something extra besides).
Here's what I've been up to. Recently I've been involved in making my bocks more visual- ly interesting by using different kinds of paper. In the begin- ning, I simply used a card- stock cover, usually in buff or
gray because those were the most attractive cardslocks available from my printer.
What finally drove me to search for alternative sources of paper was a book I was put- ting together for a poet who used very long lines. I decid- ed the easiest way to present her material Vtias by using sad- dle-stitched legal-size paper to yield a 7- X 8'/?-inch page (as opposed to my standard 5V?- X 8'/2-inch page, I could find iegahsize paper in many different colors and textures, but I also needed cardstock in a precut 8M'- x 14-inch size to make the cover I couldn't find anyone who stocked it, and no one would provide it in the quantity needed (75 sheets).
Finally, serendipity took a hand in my quest when I re- ceived, unsolicited, the Paper Direct catalog (Paper Direct, 205 Chubb Avenue, Lynd- hurst, New Jersey 0707 1 ; 800- 272-7377). If you haven't seen this little collection of spe- cialty papers, you're in for a treat. All you need to do is call to get a free catalog.
About half of the catalog is filled with specially printed pa- per for letterhead, invitations, presentations, and pam- phlets. If you think you can't af- ford to print up a four-color pamphlet, buy a box of beau- tifully colored pamphlets from Paper Direct and fill them in with your information.
The other half of the catalog is a desktop publisher's dream. I won't say that every weight and color of paper is available (only three colors of cardstock were available in the size I wanted, for exam- ple— white, pale gray, and pale blue), but a wide enough variety is available to meet virtually any need. Paper Di- rect has many different kinds of recycled paper, textured pa- per, and even translucent vel- lum in many different styles.
Because its primary custom-
ers are desktop publishers, Pa- per Direct also provides tips on using its papers, mainte- nance supplies for Hewlett- Packard laser printers, and in- teresting, hard-to-find items like foil, a pamphlet folder, and a paper recycler you can use to make your own paper out of scrap, A minimum order is $30 (plus $6 for UPS shipping; the charge is slightly more for over- night delivery). With your first order, you can request a sampler containing a sheet of each type of paper offered by the company and a fan of pa- per strips to simplify ordering,
A couple of months ago, I mentioned the nVIEW line of video projectors. Since then a couple of other very interest- ing product announcements have crossed my desk. The Eiki (pronounced "achy" as in "achy, breaky wallet") LC-300 provides up to a 300-inch pro- jection picture (diagonal meas- ure) of any composite video im- age for $4,395, To use this with a computer, you would al- so need a VGA-to-composite converter, The LC-200 pro- vides a 200-inch picture for $3,995. Expensive, yes. But a video display 15 x 20 feet in size (10 X 13-3 feet for the LC- 200) is bound to impress. To find out more, write or call Eiki International at 26794 Vista Ter- race Drive, Lake Forest, Cali- fornia 92630: (714) 457-0200,
Another product that will in- terest people making traveling presentations is the Cruiser notebook computer. This com- puter features a detachable translucent LCD screen that can be used with an overhead projector. It has a 25-MHz 386SL chip, built-in trackball, fax/data modem, removable hard disk, and an optional ex- ternal 16-bit expansion bus. To learn more, contact Rever Computer at 8F, Number 2, Al- ley 6, Lane 235, Pao Chiao Road, Hsin Tien, Taipei, Tai- wan, Republic of China, n
72
COMPUTE JULY 1993
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NRI training gives you a practical understantUng of today's PCs...how Oiey work, what can go wrong, and why. Best of all, you master state-of-the-art troubleshooting skills through hands-on training with a powerftil AT-compatible computer, 40 meg IDE hard drive, and professional diagnostic hardware and software — PC Tools, RA.C.E.R., and Quicktech
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NRl's step-by-step lessons and unique hands-on Discovery Learning projects prepare you completely for the real-world challenges of PC troubleshooting, Backed by the full support of your personal NRI instructor, you begin by covering important computer fundamentals
— hardware and software essentials, system configurations, plus methods and procedures that show you how to localize PC problems to specific circuit boards or replaceable parts.
Then you move on to master wtal PC system commands, using the MS-DOS software included in your course. You learn to resolve user error messages that commonly occur when working with spreadsheets, databases, word processors, and otiier PC applications. TTien you lake your skills further, discovering how to use DEBUG and assembly language programming to troubieshoot problems in PC operating systems and hardware. But tital's not all...
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Get hands-on troubleshooting experience with in-demand diagnostic hardware and software from Ultra-X
^--^ ^ With NRI, as with ■br no other school, you | P^i, get even more f JS' professional *• troubleshooting experience as you work witli 1 tlie Ultra-X R.A.C.E.R. plug-in diagnostic card and QuickTech menu- driven software. Tlirough hands-on training with these state-of-the-art diagnostic tools, you actually discover for yourself how to test the system RAM and resolve problems that can occiu- with PC motherboards, parallel ports, video adapters, floppy disk drives, and more. By the tune you complete your course, you have every basic skill you need to diagnose PC system problems fast, elBcientiy, and
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WCheck one FREE catalog only
3 PC Troubleshooter
n PrograJiiniing in C++ with
VVimiows D PC Applications Specialist n Computer E'rogramming
n Desktop Pubhshing &
Design D Word Processing Home
Buisiness n Boo [(keeping & Accounting
Hi
Name
(please print]
Age
Address
City
State
Zip
J At;crediled Member. National Home Study Council
4537-0793^
DISCOVERY CHOICE
See strange and exotic creatures
from around the world when you visit the San
Diego Zoo — in your own living room.
David Sears
THE ANIMALS!
See lions and tigers and bears and more wlien you vis- it the world-famous San Die- go Zoo. Don't think you can af- ford the plane fare and hotel accomodations (not to men- tion the time off from work)? If you own a CD-ROfvl drive, you can send your favorite youngsters all the way to San Diego without their having to leave your home — for a very reasonable fee. The Animals!, a true multimedia tour de force featuring the San Diego Zoo, makes this thp possible, and it's more than worth its price of admission.
The Software Toolworks took advantage of the vast world available on a CD-ROM drive and made The Animals! almost as much fun and as easy to explore as the real zoo. After loading the pro- gram but before you even reach the fvlain menu, you have the option to browse through exfiibits by looking up animals by name. You sim- ply click on the appropriate icon on the title screen, and a windowful of animal names, all alphabetically listed, ap- pears. Click on the name of any animal, and you'll see the animal beautifully and very sharply digitized before you. The Animals! creators did a fantastic job both collecting and transferring the visual da- ta to disk. From the title screen, you can also click on the Sky Tram icon for an over- view of the zoo's exhibits, or you can click on the tvlain fvlenu icon, which opens the fvlain fvlenu map, On to the zoo!
The Main IvSenu is essential- ly a large map divided into sections. These sections in- clude Tropical Rain Forest,
Montane, Tundra, Desert, Is- land, Grassland, Savanna, Temperate Forest, Taiga — all the earth's biomes. The Ani- mals', like the San Diego Zoo, displays its animals in sur- roundings that approximate their natural habitats. The map also includes the Center for the Reproduction of Endan- gered Species (CRES). a Kids section, a Storybook The- ater, a Nursery, and a Tours booth, among other things. At the CRES, you can learn what the zoo does to repopu- late dwindling species. At the Storybook Theater, you can watch films about the zoo and its inhabitants. The Kids sec- tion even contains a few quiz- zes. There are hours of fun and learning to be spent here.
Navigating The Animals! does not consume much of your time — it's faster than walk- ing to exhibits at the actual San Diego Zoo. At the top of the Main Menu, you'll find the Navigation Palette, which holds a band of command but- tons that allow you to travel quickly to any point in the zoo. These are simple enough to operate, and you can move forward or back- v/ard one exhibit, jump to any exhibit within the biome that
you selected, and summon ex- tensive online help related to your situation. A Copy to Disk option allows you to fill the Win- dows Clipboard with text or graphics data from The Ani- mals!. If you ever seem lost, it's very easy to retrace your footsteps: You simply click on the Go Back icon (which dis- plays a list of all the places you've visited so far).
You may also locate ani- mals by searching for key- words such as bird or tiger. Clicking on the Media Library icon presents you with a list of all the pictures, video clips, and sounds found on the disc,
When you discover an inter- esting animal, you may read about it in the text window or view the snapshots and vide- os of it in the picture window. Just click on the necessary icons, and in a second or (wo, the show begins. Other icons include the Information Profile, which offers a summa- ry of the exhibit; a Kid's Plan- et, which features a simplified overview for younger zoogo- ers; an Endangered Species section; and more.
Before any of this matters, though, you have to choose a section of the zoo to visit. To
74
COMPUTE JULY 1993
do this, examine the Main IVIenu map, clioose a biome, and clicl< on it. Tine Animals! transports you to the first ex- hibit in that particular section. Now, the fun really begins. The San Diego Zoo is home to more than just lions and el- ephants, and finding these more unusual creatures can prove enlightening as well as entertaining as you use the Text and Audio/Visual options to explore links between one animal and another.
For instance, while I was vis- iting the grasslands, I came across the greater prairie chicken exhibit. This less pop- ular animal had only a single color snapshot and a single sound on disc. The text win- dow did little to liven up the display with its brief summary, but it did mention that the prai- rie chicken and the blue pea- cock are related. So, I ex- plored the text-media link by first clicking on the A/V Links icon; this led me to the Califor- nia quail. I went to the top of the screen to click on the Next Exhibit icon, passed by a number of exhibits that wer- en't particularly interesting to me — all still in the grasslands, of course — and stopped to stare at a peculiar bunch of an- imals, the meerkats.
Cute and ferretlike, they war- ranted a few minutes study and observation time. I click- ed on the Facts and Figures icon to quickly read up on the little creatures. It turns out that they're related to the slen- der-tailed mongoose: are na- tive to Angola, Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa; and love to eat eggs.
The Animals! let me down a bit at this point, however. The meerkats' "chitchat," which is mentioned in the text, wasn't used as a sam-
pled sound in the A/V Links menu. The meerkats did get to star in their own short vid- eo, however, and their exhibit sported four additional snap- shots besides.
The playback panel for the video clips appears after you click on a video clip's icon. It offers Play, Pause, Frame Ad- vance, Frame Rewind, Re- wind, and Fast Forward but- tons— and all work exactly as you'd expect, though the Frame Forward and Frame Re- wind do cause the otherwise smooth playback to jar and display some disorganized pix- els for a moment.
Also, the playback can be viewed in any of three modes: 160 x 120, 320 x 240, or full screen. The larger the display area, the blockier the images become. If you want the finest resolution, you should select the smallest dis- play area option on the Cus- tomization menu. But if you want to view a reasonably sized movie, you should go with the 320 x 240 display mode. The fantastic, high-qual- ity sounds remain synchro- nized with the images, no mat- ter what image size you've selected.
The meerkat exhibit also contains a Kid's World icon la- beled Crazy Ways. I clicked on this and read some of the more amusing and peculiar de- tails of meerkat life. The text seems considerate of young readers and contains as much information as kids prob- ably could retain from a visit to the zoo. This is, alas, also the major weakness of The An- imals!: It provides as much in- formation as a trip to the zoo and can show you pictures of the animals there, but it often doesn't include an overwhelm- ing amount of factual detail.
Certainly the extensive on- line bibliography will aid any- one who is interested in re- searching meerkats or other of the less-famous zoo ani- mals, but much more informa- tion could've gone onto this CD-ROfvl program than the amount that goes onto the ex- hibit placards at the actual zoo in San Diego.
Don't think The Animals! is run-of-the-mill, would-be mul- timedia PC (MFC) fare, though: The Software Toolworks did an outstanding
Windows version; IBM PC or compatible (803B6 compatible), 2MB RAM. SVGA, Windows 3.1, CD-ROM drive. MFC- compatible sound card, mouse~$1 19.95 DOS version: IBM PC or compatible (16- MHz 802S6 or taster), 1MB RAM or higher wttti extended
job of packaging more than 82 short films on a single CD- ROfVI, along with 1300 256- color pictures, 2500 pages of text, and 2'/? hours of sound data. The DOS (non-CD) ver- sion offers fewer options but re- tains all the educational val- ue. But the real deal is the CD- ROfvl version. Its incredible im- ages, animation, and sound will motivate you to learn about all the animals in the San Diego Zoo.
If The Animals! is any indi- cation of the next wave of fvlPC products, an upgrade to CD-ROfvl would make a most worthy investment. □
Circle Reader Service Number 392
-.am a drive wiii) 2iVlB iree, CD- ROM drive wilb 135- Kl)5 transfer rate, Microsoft Extensions tor CD-ROM 2.1 or tiigher— 8119.95
THE SOFTWARE TOOLWORKS 60 Leveroni CL NovatD. CA 94949 (3Q0) 234-3088
JULY 1993 COMPUTE 75
GAME INSIDER
Shay Addams
•«• ■fT>, * :
EVERYTHING'S COMING UP ACES
Following up on last year's hit, Aces of the Pacific, ace design- er Damon Slye has turned in his latest tour de force with Aces over Europe. The P-51 Mustang, the Me 109 and Me 262 fighters, and many other g war birds seen in World War II i| games are incfuded. One nov- el addition is the German Ara- do, a light jet bomber. Surpris- ingly missing, though, is the Ju- 87 Stuka, Nazi Germany's main dive bomber
Aces incorporates
more ground action
as it moves
from t)ie Pacific to
the European
llieater, but you'll
still see plenty
of stomach-ctiurning
dogflgtits.
The action, spanning events from D-day to the end of the war in Europe, unfolds across your screen in much the same manner as in Aces of the Pacific. You choose a side and the branch of service- and then begin a series of mis- sions based on the historical research of Dynamix's in- house war historian, John Brun- ing. Another part of the pro- gram allows you to practice specific mission types or dog- fights on either side.
Aces over Europe employs new flight models and an en- hanced version of Slye's 3- Space graphics system, Major differences in the new game are that it incorporates a great- er and more detailed empha- sis on ground attacks, reflect-
ing the nature of the war in Europe, and that the dogfights are even more stomach churn- ing than in the ohginal Aces. Improved polygon graphics now show legible insignia on the planes, so you'll know which enemy squadron you're fighting. And each enemy plane in an engagement is now numbered, enabling you to know which pilot you're chas- ing— or which is about to shoot you out of the sky
While most games released for CD-ROM have been mini- mally enhanced versions of the programs available first on floppy disks. Spectrum Holo- Byte's new Iron Helix was de- signed specifically for CD- ROM by CJrew Pictures. It's an action adventure with a sci- ence-fiction scenario reminis- cent of Suspended, Infocom's classic all-text adventure.
The goal in Iron Helix is to track down certain DNA sam- ples on an abandoned space- ship. To explore the six-level ship, you must direct the ac- tions of a remote-control probe as it travels throughout the corridors and rooms. The obstacle is the ship's security probe, The security probe de- tects your probe's every move and tries to blow it away. Graphics and animation look sharp on a screen divided in- to four quadrants. One quad- rant depicts a television view of the probe's vicinity the oth- er quadrants show icon- based commands and other el- ements of the interface. Iron Helix is available for Macin- tosh as well as the PC.
With the recent release of a MiG-29 mission disk. Spec- trum HoioByte has added yet more life to what remains the v/orid's top jet flight sim. The new missions are set in the same theaters that appear in the original game. This time, however, you can fly one of the other side's craft — the MiG- 29 Fulcrum, one of the few
light fighters to employ Be- yond Visual Range capability, a capability which the F-16 doesn't possess. What may prove even more fun than the new missions is the opportuni- ty to choose either the F-16 or MiG-29 in a head-to-head game played via modem.
A pair of new mission disks for X-Wing offers more chal- lenges for veterans who have already completed the first two Tours of Duty. LucasArts is calling the new mission disks Space Combat Tours. The first of these, which pro- vides another series of mis- sions set in the Star Wars uni- verse, should be out by the time you read this. By early fall, look for another mission disk that will include a new craft^the B-Wing— in addi- tion to a new Tour of Duty, And if they prove popular with the public. LucasArts will turn out at least one more X-Wing mis- sion disk. (There is, however, no truth to the rumor that X- Wing designer Lawrence Hol- land and Wing Commander de- signer Chris Roberts are team- ing up for a joint production called X-Wing Commander.)
For X-Wing and the super- realistic air combat sims of the 1990s, a new breed of joystick has emerged with lots more buttons for all the sophisticat- ed flight commands. The lat- est entry is the Gravis Pro. dis- tinguished by adjustable ten- sion and a pair of extra but- tons. The buttons correspond to the buttons on a second joys- tick (which many major flight Sims support for various fea- tures). The tightest of the ad- justable-tension settings makes it far easier to fly jets that require a light touch (like the Harrier in Domark's AV-8B Harrier Assault), especially if you tend to overcontrol and wind up like me: out of control. When set at one of the four loos- er positions, the Gravis Pro is at home in action games. O
76
COtVlPUTE JULY 1993
^ INTRODUCING
THE EXPERIENCE OF REAL PINBALL
Distributed Bf
Broderbund
f mmsBB\
AMTEX. the maker of the award-winning and critically acclaimed Tristan™, is proud to announce the release of Eight Ball Deluxe, the world's most popu- lar traditional pinball gome. It's the first of many pinball favorites to be released in the "AMTEX Pinball Classics"
•v--
¥faooo
Eight Ball Deluxe Is all
the fun and excitement of the original game, captured in an awesome simulation. Amazing high resolution graphics, authentic speech, digital sound effects, plus all the mechanics of real pinbafi!
After chalking up, you'll bank shots, rack up bonus points, then shoot for the exciting and elusive Deluxe, All with three, fast moving flippers that allow for ball trapping and
.»A^^
f strategic shot making -
a must for pinball aficionadosl
y.M... • Imagine all this explo-
' '' sive action, without
waiting for a
mochine or the
need for a
pocket full of
qoarlers. And
you can play
with up to four
players. So relive
the exciting thrills of the arcade today with friends. Over and over again!
Watch for more of the classic games you grew up with... "you big sausage!"
For product information, send your name and address to: AMTEX Software Corporation, P.O. Box 572, BeHevllle, Ontario K8N 5B2 or coll 1-613-967-7900 FOX: 1-613-967-7902. Suggested retail price $59.95
\hn
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irks ore Ihc properly or Ih^li res BAiLYi, pinball gamos). Usod un
mponms. copytigw ■'..■ 1992 AMTEX soitt>ai« corpoiaiion '■ ■ 1981 tiSHI BAtl DEIUXE" It o liodsmotk ol MWwoy Monuloeluilng Componii . Mldxpy Manulactuilng Cprnpany li a subsldraiy of WMS INDUSTitlES, MJC. All ilgnit I0»1««I, Circle ReKtor Service Number 157
ENTERTAINMENT CHOICE
You'll want to sleep with a night-light on after playing this scary action-adventure game.
Peter Olafson
ALONE IN THE DARK
I sense that some line has been crossed; I can't leave now — even if I wish to. Even the most innocent volume on the bookshelf fills me with dis- quiet, A rocking horse seems to move on its own, and I don't like the look of that trapdoor.
I finally spot the piano in a distant, shadowed corner of the attic and am on my way to- ward it when I notice a sugges- tion of movement outside the window; something tattered and ungainly fluttering in the air. A wrecked flag, perhaps, I imagine, though I recall no flagpole. I look more closely, it's not a flag. The fluttering form looks back at me. It has teeth— many teeth. It's almost at the window. Help! The stairs! The stairs!
I wish a thousand bless- ings upon anyone trapped in the wonderful, terrifying place that is Alone in the Dark. This three-dimensional adventure game from the French company I ' fvlotion is the first computer game I've seen that has fear running through it like an electric cur- rent. Raw emotion is a rare enough quality in real life, and its appearance in this virtual world definitely defines Alone as a breakthrough product.
A line has indeed been crossed: Alone is the first of a raft of fright bytes that were to hit the market in the first half of 1993. But it isn't the first of the breed, of course. We have Accolade's now-niter-en- crusted role-playing game Don't Go Alone, and Horror- soft's two Elviras and the qua- si Elvira, Waxworks. But there's a delicate line be-
tween horror and terror: One is as easy as turning your eye- lids inside out: the other is the art of setting you on pins and needles. The Elvira games may make you recoil at their carnage, but they aren't gen- uinely scary.
Alone is genuinely frighten- ing without ever being grisly, When you run from its horrible creatures, you'il do so in shud- dering terror. The first time you open a door and find something unspeakable wait- ing for you on the other side, something which proceeds to advance on you with arms out- stretched, you'll feel a genu- ine shock.
The game blurs the line be- tween actuaily being there and being at home, safely in front of a computer. Play it in the dark for maximum effect. Even writing about it two weeks after playing gives me the creeps. It's that good.
The adventure is based on the works of the author H, P, Lovecraft, who penned won- derful horror and fantasy sto- ries back in the early part of the century. They aren't the best stories ever written, but they are responsible for cre- ating the foundation for a won- derful cosmology called
Cthulhu f\/lythos, which postu- lates an ancient monstrous race of creatures lying in wait, creatures who can be gated into this world, invaria- bly with disastrous conse- quences for the gate opener.
As Alone opens, the gate is wide open and swinging. You're cast as either Edward Carnby, who is a private detec- tive, or Emily Hartwood, who is the niece of the last ten- ant— who killed himself. You'll quickly find that the vague agendas found in the docu- mentation have little bearing on the task at hand. In no time you'll be exploring, fight- ing for your life, solving puz- zles, reading books, and enjoy- ing a good deal of stimulating action-adventuring
You get to explore the three-story house and its un- derpinnings, and they are a delightful hybrid of filled poly- gons and bitmaps. They're as solid and real a place as we've visited this side of Ulti- ma Underworld. Actually, it is not all that dark in this world, and you're hardly alone. The house comes fully equipped with a staff of splendid terrors ranging from the mundane (like spiders and rats) to the completely outrageous (such
78 COMPUTE JULY 1993
as a rabbit with a ferocious Tyrannosaurus rex head).
When you begin your adven- ture, you're armed with noth- ing more than your wits and a passing knowledge of karate. But if you're nosy enough, you'll eventually come across more conventional weapons. Combat is fun even when your weapon of choice doesn't quite do what you had hoped. The aiming is fun, and the enemy's recoil and the fine mist of blood are nice rewards when you do make contact. And your op- ponent's collapse and disinte- gration into a hail of polygon circles — to the distant crackle of thunder — are truly satisfy- ing. (I prefer to play the game with the theme nnusic turned off, but the sound ef- fects and spot musical effects are quite superb.)
Quite different from that of any other game, the perspec- tive in Alone is as if you're watching your character from a trapdoor just above and to the side. What's especially nice is that the view shifts, sometimes a number of times, depending on where you're standing. Finding the different views is fun and lends a sense of the house as an environment rather than as a series of snapshots. This haunted house really seems to occupy space, inside and out: Fights started in one room can spill through a door- way into another, and the pro- gram takes up over 5.5MB of hard disk space.
Alone is very easy to con- trol. The keyboard interface is almost as transparent as the game's ethereal critters. Char- acters move around smoothly and realistically on a 33-MHz 80486. You simply hold the space bar to invoke your cur-
rent mode (Fight, Open/ Search, Close, or Push), and hit Enter to change it or in- spect your inventory The com- mands available are keyed to the designated object, and it's easy to change gears on the fly.
You'll quickly acquire a thor- ough sense of being a real character inhabiting a real place. It's a quality that seeps into the opening copy protection (picking the game's 3-D objects from a book) and is sustained into the save-game mechanism (each save is accompanied by miniature screen cap- tures).
Alone is very much of a piece; it even possesses a properly apocalyptic, roof-com- ing-down Lovecraftian end- ing. And when the game's over, delightfully, it's not quite over You'll still need to make your way back up to more civilized surroundings and out the front door. Since all the unearthly critters have been pacified, this is a per- fect opportunity for unbridled exploration. As you play, you'll discover lots of books and documents that are use- ful but not exactly essential in the solution. It's easy to over- look them when you're run- ning for your life. (Save your game anyway: a couple of books have decidedly nasty properties.) Now's your time to enjoy them.
At the same time, Alone's very consistency of tone makes doubly disconcerting the occasional hiccup in the program engine. For in- stance, while your character may be standing immediately in front of a cabinet, both of his arms extend to the left of it when you move to open it. Likewise, toward the end of
the adventure, when you have to explore a decent- sized maze, the game sudden- ly abandons its multiple cam- era angles and adopts an over- head perspective similar to that used in games like Lu- casArts' Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. It's a bit jar- ring, and it's unnecessary; the designers at I ' Motion might have had a bit more respect for the purity of their other- wise impeccable creation. But these complaints are a
IBM PC or compatible (80Z86 compatible, 80386 recommended), 640K RAM, MCGA or 25G-color VGA, hard disk with SifiB free; supports Sound Blaster, Covox Sound
small exception rather than the rule.
! truly had a fantastic time playing this game — so fantas- tic, in fact, that 1 not only fin- ished the adventure but also went back a second time to see if I had missed anything. And the morning after I fin- ished playing it, after a rest- less night of dark and unre- membered dreams, I thought twice every time I had to open a door.
Alone in the Dark has been described as "a poor man's 7th Guest." We should all be so poor! This game is a tri- umph of the spirit — in more ways than one. □
Circle Reader Service Number 393
Master 2+, Ad Lib, and Disney Sound Source— $59.95
I * MOTION Distributed by interplay Productions 17922 Fitch Ave. Irvine, CA 92710 (8001 9G9-GAME
JULY 1993 COMPUTE 79
GAMEPLAY
Paul C. Schuytema
PANT YOUR WAY TO VICTORY
When I think of the Olympics, the sports that excite me are the individual ones like pole vaulting and the javelin throw. On my PC, I have the oppor- tunity to play superathlete, trained in a variety of Olympic sports and honed to take on the best. Summer Challenge (Accolade; 800-245-7744; $54.95) gives me the chance to be the track-and-field ath- lete I've always wanted to be. It encompasses a wide array
Experience the
rush of victory as
you s!real<
past the finish line
or oulshoot,
outski, and autjunip
ttie best
Olympic atliietes.
of sports, including pole vault- ing, throwing the javelin, kay- aking, cycling, and hurdling, You can even try your abilities in archery, the high jump, and an equestrian jumping event. Control is simple — you use the joystick, mouse, or keyboard or a combination of the three. !n cycling, for example, you can use your fingers to tap the Enter key for pedaling while
steering with the joystick. For a high-speed sprint, you'll want to switch hands midped- al, since bashing the Enter key is remarkably exhausting.
In the kayaking event, you paddle by pushing the joy- stick fonward and turn by mov- ing the stick left and right. The graphics are smoothly scroll- ing 3-D polygons.
The Carl Lewis Challenge (Psygnosis; 617-731-3553; $49.99) is another take on the Summer Olympic events. In it, you control not only the ac- tions of the athlete but also the rigorous prematch training. You play coach to a team of athletes, and training can vary from isomethcs and circuit train- ing to several methods of stretching. The individual train- ing activities aren't controlled; instead, you assign workouts with varying levels of intensity and time spent on each meth- od of training. The goal is to produce a team of perfectly trained athletes, either ail gen- eral ists or specialists trained in specific events.
Once trained, the athletes compete in sprints, hurdles, javelin, high jump, and long jump. Performance depends not only on how well you con- trol the athletes but also on how well you've trained them.
The graphics consist of a scrolling side view and feature fluidly animated competitors. As a departure from the typi- cal stab-the-keys-as-fast-as- you-can approach, Psygnosis offers three control options. One is the typical key-bashing (which is nice since it simu- lates exhaustion so well); the others are rhythm control and gearing control. Rhythm con- trol challenges you to tap the Ctrl key as a pendulum pass- es the center of its path. The more accurate your control, the faster the athiete. In gear- ing control, you tap the Ctrl key as the athlete reaches cer- tain strides; hitting the strides
right increases the speed.
When I long for the snows of winter, I dive into Winter Chal- lenge (Accolade; $54.95), which is easily the most addic- tive of all the Olympic games I've played. Players compete in the luge, the downhill, cross- country giant slalom, two-man bobsled, and the biathlon. You can also compete at speed skating and ski jump- ing. The wide array of wildly different sports makes play exciting, and there are so many different types of con- trols that my hands don't cramp up on me.
The downhill, with its breath- taking background and fast polygon graphics, conveys the illusion of superspeed. As I whip down the course, I have visions of Franz K!am- mer's brilliant, out-of-control gold-medal run in the 1976 Innsbruck games. Fortunately, Accolade's games feature a VCR which allows you to relive your brilliant runs.
Probably my favorite Winter Challenge event is the expert- ly modeled biathlon, that curi- ous marriage of cross-country skiing and marksmanship. Smooth graphics give the illu- sion of skiing through the Eu- ropean countryside, and as you control every stroke, you must watch the stamina meter, which shows a combination of breath and heart rate. When your skier reaches the shoot- ing range, the steadiness of the aim is determined by how exhausted your skier is; if your skier is frazzled, the aiming reti- cle bounces up and down with every labored breath.
These games are great for parties. Four players can com- pete in The Carl Lewis Chal- lenge, while ten can go head- to-head in Accolade's games.
Sports games aren't limited to baseball, football, and golf. Go beyond the standard fare and see if you have what it takes to be an Olympian. □
BD
COMPUTE JULY 1993
CHIPS & BITS inc.
IBM MAC & AMIGA GAMES FOR LESS
Shipping to US,Pn,AK,Hl,APO » l=PO S4 per order. Air Mall lo Canaefa S6 per order. Handling SI per shipment
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umbef 261
If golfers and caddies be not better neighbours Than abbots and soldiers, with crosses and sabres, Let such fancies remain with the fool who so thinks, While we toast old St. Andrews, its Golfers, and Links.
—Andrew Carnegie, from a toast delivered in Chicago in 1874
BY PAUL C. SCHUYTEMA
Golf is a game with a long, rich heritage. Golf enjoys such popularity as to have become a staple of our popular cuLture and iconography. It's no wonder, then, that golf simulators have been chipping around computer screens as long as there have been CRTs.
!n the early days, aspiring comiput- er golfers had to work with blocky, unrealistic graphics and limited play options. As computer technology evolved, so did golf simulations. Now, players enjoy stunningly realistic scenes, compensate for wind and the slope of the green, and choose from a variety of options. They can play against PGA pros in a tournament, play against other computer golfers over the phone, piay a skins game for a million-dollar purse, shoot for par in Hawaii, or even design a golf course. Indeed, the modern computer golfer can play under the blustery, overcast skies of Scotland without even leaving home.
In addition, golf simulators have reached the level where they can actually assist players in their real- world golf games. Players who had never before picked up a real club are now hitting the links after discov- ering the fun of golf via a computer simulator, and computer users who don't play ordinary computer games discover that computer golf offers something different from the run of the mill and become hooked on the virtual country club on their hard disk.
Different Strokes
There are a wide variety of golf simu- lations, each with a different spin on the game. Links 386 Pro strives for the ultimate in visual realism, while PGA Tour Golf lets players play in a PGA tournament and go head to head against the tour's best players. The Jack Nicklaus Signature Edition allows players to design a fantasy course and share it with people around the world. David Leadbetter's Greens IS an expert-level tutorial that features dynamic camera tracking, which makes the experience seem more like televised coverage than a computer game.
Most of the games employ some type of power meter to judge the shot and generally require three actions from the player. In a drive, you might tap the space bar once to begin the swing. Tfie power meter then moves to reflect your backswing. Then, you tap again at the power point — the top of the stroke — and the power meter begins to recede. You must time your third tap to fall at a precise moment to strike the ball straight on; any vari-
84 COMPUTE JULY 1993
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Links 386 Pro: many views
David Leadbetter's Greens: dynamic
ance can lead to a hook or a slice.
You may enjoy having such control over your strokes. Or you may prefer spending your time designing the per- fect course or playing against the masters. Whatever simulation you choose, the addiction level is bound to be high. Each of the games dis- cussed here will lead you to many late-night piaying sessions and to true bragging rights for that one-in-a-miU lion shot.
PGA Tour Golf
Electronic Arts' entry in the golfing competition, PGA Tour Golf for Windows, satisfies that deep need to go up against really expert competi- tors— the best the sport has to offer — and to beat them at their own game. In this simulation, the only PGA- licensed product, the pros are the real fvlcCoy; Their abilities are modeled on PGA players' actual performances.
PGA Tour Golf uses stylized ren- derings of the players, courses, and
objects, but the level of realism is quite acceptable. The natural scenery surrounding the course is a little on the sparse side, but there are enough trees to get in the way of nearly every golfer. The game features four cours- es: PGA West, Sterling Shores, the Tournament Player's Club at Avenel, and the Tournament Player's Club at Sawgrass.
This game's hallmarks are its speed, its challenge, and its playabili- ty. The courses may look easier than those in games with more visually complicated graphics, but the play is extremely demanding. One thing lack- ing, though, is the sense of rolling ter- rain: The fairways are flat and expan- sive, without either visual or play- affecting slope.
This changes when you reach the green, however. A window appears that models the green in 3-D with an imposed grid. You can rotate the pic- ture to judge the break and adjust your aim accordingly. The view then shifts back to the playing screen to allow you to attempt the putt.
Far and away the most notable fea- ture of PGA Tour Golf is the PGA tour- nament. The game proceeds in tele- vised fashion, with an announcer com- menting on each shot and giving reports from other holes. It's very tough to beat the pros, but it's extremely sat- isfying when you start to win.
Electronic Arts also sells a DOS version of PGA Tour Golf, which dif- fers from the Windows version only in that it doesn't require Windows. PGA Tour Golf Limited Edition is a special packaging of the DOS version of PGA Tour Golf that includes the tournament course disk (normally sold separate- ly), plus a VHS tape containing a doc- umentary history of PGA tour golf, including interviews with players.
Links 386 Pro
The Links simulation has been with us for a while, but only recently has 386 Pro, the flagship of the Access Software line, made an appearance. A visually stunning achievement, 386 Pro requires Super VGA, at least an 80386 processor, and a whole lot of RAfvl (Access suggests 8MB, but 4MB seems to work just fine). With all of that computing power behind the game, the results are incredible.
The play window, a view from behind the goifer, approaches photo- realism, with varying textures in the grass, subtly rolling hills, and gently shaded sand bunkers. Access allows you to set up many viewing options, from a full-screen window of the course to a split screen featuring a
front view and a view from the pin. Otfier windows include a top view, a slope window, a stance window, and a scorecard.
To aim your shot, you use a unique "barber pole" ttiat you move around thie course with the mouse. When the shot is set, you use the mouse to con- trol your swing. As in the other two Links products, the power bar is curved to simulate the arc of the golf swing, and there's a realistic time-lag from the moment you attempt to stop the swing until the club reacts. This takes getting used to, but it accurately reflects an actual swing.
There are no tournaments in 386 Pro, but you can play against several friends or a recorded player shot for shot for some heated competition.
If there are any weaknesses in 386 Pro, the foremost would be its speed. The game really needs an 80486 to play as fast as the other games. With an 80386SX, the redraw tirhe can take quite a while. The other weaknesses are poor-quality sounds and no golfer animation when the shot is viewed from the green in reverse angle. It's a little odd to just see the ball leap from the fairway with no golfer in sight.
There's no course-design feature in 386 Pro. but Access is providing an ever-increasing array of co'urses, and original Links courses can be convert- ed for play with 386 Pro (the resolu- tion isn't as good as that of the 386 Pro courses, but the quality is still high). I had the opportunity to play golf in Hawaii (via the computer, of course) using the Mauna Kea course disk. The Championship disk contains files to play this course with Links 386 Pro, Links, or Microsoft Golf for Windows 1 .0 — and it's a gorgeous course. Playing the third hole in 386 Pro, a par-three iron shot over a vol- canic Pacific inlet, is arguably reason enough to go out and buy a PC.
David Leadbetter's Greens
Greens takes two different approach- es to simulating golf: it strives for real- world instruction, and it uses dynamic views of play.
The game is endorsed and heavily influenced by David Leadbetter, arguably the preeminent professional golfing instructor. The manual includ- ed with Greens consists of a richly detailed instructional course, featunng everything from club selection to stance and play strategies. Micro- Prose sets up the game as a vehicle for players to learn more and improve their regular game of golf, as well as for entertainment.
The second unique aspect of
Greens is the view. There are a number of different camera angles, and if you select the intelligent camera, a shot is visualized more like television footage than a static view: The camera cuts, pans, and follows the ball in 12-frame- per-second animation. As a result, the quality of the graphics is a far cry from that of those in Links 386 Pro, but the way IvlicroProse executes the cuts makes up for the lack of resolution.
Greens also features an amazing amount of player control over the shots. Golfers can experiment with
Jack Nicklaus Signature Edition: solid
stance and tee placement beyond the usual club selection. The power meter in Greens is also different: As you twist into a backswing, the "sweet spot" where you must hit the ball shrinks, which corresponds with the increasing difficulty of hitting a power shot accurately.
On the green. Greens allows a golfer-to-hole view, a hole-to-ball view, and a perpendicular view. Using these different angles gives you a wealth of information about the lay of the green.
Greens features tournament and skins game options as well as modem or direct-connect play, allowing two players to battle against each other in realtime via phone.
Microsoft Golf for Windows 1.0
Microsoft, in an arrangement with Access, ported the original Links game to the Windows environment. More than just a quick fit, Microsoft
Golf for Windows 1.0 is a true Windows program and takes full advantage of the operating system. Windows can be dragged and resized, and the game can wait in the background while you switch to a spreadsheet when your supervisor walks in.
Microsoft Golf also borrowed the golfer animation from Links 386 Pro, giving the swing animation greater depth than that of Links. All original Links courses are fully compatible with Microsoft Golf. The game can handle eight players simultaneously, but there are no options for tourna- ment play or any of the other varia- tions (such as a skins game, a record- ed player, or an Al opponent),
As in the original Links and Links 386 Pro, you have complete control over your golfer's stance, swing plane, and ball position. As in Links 386 Pro, you have the option to step back from the ball and swing the club a few times before addressing the ball for a solid hit.
The game plays very smoothly, but aiming the ball is a little awkward, since your golfer disappears when the barber pole appears. Occasionally, the windows seem to get in the way of each other, and you have to make sure that the swing window is active before attempting a swing: otherwise, the delay as the window pops to the forefront will play havoc with any attempts at timing.
Microsoft Golf, like Links and Links 386 Pro, enables you to print out a scorecard (which must be signed and attested to be valid, of course).
Linlcs
The most venerable of all the versions mentioned, the original Links is still a solid game that can be played ade- quately on an 80286, and up until the recent explosion of quality golf games, it was the king of the heap.
Links and Microsoft Golf have a library of over eight courses to choose from, including Troon North, set in the deserts of Arizona, and the Dorado Beach East Course in the heart of the Cahbbean.
Jack Nicklaus Signature Edition
The Signature Edition is a significant rewrite of Accolade's Jack Nicklaus Ultimate Goif and is a youthful descendent of the old Mean 18 golf simulation.
Signature Edition is an extremely solid program and features 256-color graphics: while the resolution doesn't approach that of 386 Pro. the sense of
JULY 1993 COMPUTE 85
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AN INSPIRED FANTASY
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Eye of the Beholder I and 11 are trademarks of TSR, Inc.
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rolling terrain is amazing. Also, Accolade chose to use a deep, rich palette of colors that seem to drip right off the screen.
The gameplay is solid, with most of the features you'd expect from a top- of-the-line golf simulator. One item it lacks, however, is player control of the golfer's stance or ball position.
You can choose stroke play, tour- nament mode, or a skins game, with a number of players competing at once. Signature Edition possesses a solid arsenal of AI golfers to battle against, and you can create computer players of matching ability (or inferior ability when you need a victory for psycho- logical reasons). You can even com- pete against the Golden Bear himself. But if you do, it's a serious challenge: Nicklaus just doesn't seem to miss any shots.
The most striking feature of the Signature Edition simulation is its course-design program. 'With it, you can get your hands dirty and tackle the tedious, frustrating, and amazing task of terraforming a course. After you've designed a hole, you can piay it through to examine its subtleties. The design program and the golf sim- ulation do a credible job simulating the rolls and dips of terrain.
Course designers have control of the scrolling background, the pixel- by-pixel construction of the various objects that populate the course (such as trees, flowers, and the occa- sional caddie shack), and the type of terrain, from green to cart path. Utilizing a paint program type of inter- face, you draw terrain, select areas, and impose hills, dips, cliffs, and even railroad-tie shoring for a raised green.
Hundreds of user-designed cours- es, from Mark Willett's beautiful and fictional Alhambra course to Links set entirely on the surface of the moon, can be found on CompuServe and many other online services and BBSs. You can also join a tournament on Prodigy, download a course, and bat- tle for position on the leader board, posting scores each week.
Wilson ProStaff Golf
Konami enters the world of computer golf with Wilson ProStaff Golf, a game that prides itseif on the speed of its play. In a field of games battling for visual supremacy, Konami's entry takes a different approach. Instead of offering photorealistic graphics, Konami chose instead to make the screen redraws lightning fast.
In that area ProStaff Golf succeeds completely. The panoramic screens pop up almost instantly, and each
88 COMPUTE JULY 1993
shot is followed by a televisionlike gallery replay, focusing on where the ball lands. The graphics are well ren- dered and have something of the same flavor as the graphics in PGA Tour Golf and Greens.
ProStaff Golf features a very nice overhead view of each hole, showing where the ball will probably land if hit correctly. The overhead view breaks
Pro Shop
Links
$59.95
Links 386 Pro
$69.95
ACCESS SOFTWARE
4910 W. Amelia Earhart Dr.
Salt Lake City, UT 841 16
(800) 800-4880
(801)359-2900
Jack Nicklaus Signature Edition
$69.95
ACCOLADE
5300 Stevens Greek Blvd.
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PGA Tour Golf for Windows
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PGA Tour Golf Limited Edition
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ELECTRONIC ARTS 1450 Fashion Island Blvd. San Mateo, CA 94404 (800) 245-4525 (415)513-7555
Wilson ProStaff Golf
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KONAMI
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MICROPROSE
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(800) 879-7529
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Microsoft Golf for Windows 1 .0
$64.95 MICROSOFT One Microsoft Way Redmond, WA 98052 (BOO) 426-9400
the shot distances into 25-percent intervals, making it easy to gauge how much force to put on a pitch or a choke shot. Konami has also rethought the basic power-bar approach to hitting the ball. The game features a circular bar for the power stroke, similar to the power bar in the Links games. But when a player selects the power for the stroke, the action then moves to the face of a stylized golf ball, where a red dot cir- cles around the dimpled surface. To actually make the shot, the player must tap the selector key when the dot IS exactly in the center of the ball. This approach accomplishes the same thing as the traditional power bar, with the added ability to purpose- ly hit the ball either low or high, there- by controlling the spin.
ProStaff Golf features an impres- sive array of games, from stroke play to several skins games to a game called bingo-bango-bongo, in which points are awarded for being first on the green, closest to the hole, and first in the hole. The game also features an entire array of team games.
ProStaff Golf, for all of its features and fast gameplay, is somewhat limit- ed. It only provides one course, which can get old fairly quickly. There are no facilities for playing against recorded players or connputer players, so the game can get lonely during the early hours of the morning. Finally, putting is more difficult here than in any of the other games I've played. Some greens are so sloped that they appear to be located on the side of a moun- tain, and the aiming reticle is located at the top of the screen, a long way from the hole and the player's best line of sight.
Still, the play is fast and engaging, and the ease of the game, the short learning curve, and the ability to play teams makes it a great choice for a computer golf party after the links have been rained out.
Grab Your Clubs
Golf is a rich and compelling game, and computer golf simulation has finally become nearly as challenging and enjoyable as the real thing. Whether you prefer head-to-head competition with a friend on a BBS, tournament play with the pros, creat- ing a challenging course, or working on your golf game on a rainy day, you're sure to find a golf simulation that matches your style. And when you do, prepare to lose track of time. You won't want to quit until you've mastered your game — and then you'll want to challenge the world. □
64/128 VIEW
Gazette celebrates Its tenth
birthday with this issue — and launches a
new column to help celebrate.
Tom Netsel
Fhat were you doing 'ten years ago this month? If you hap- pened to visit a news- stand, you may have picked up a new magazine called COIVIPUTE!'s Gazette.
I was working at the Uni- versity of Central Fiorida in Orlando, and I had just bought a 64. I was wonder- ing what to do with it when I spotted a Gazette at my lo- cal grocery store. I'll have to confess that I missed the first issue. I didn't see Ga- zette until the second issue hit the newsstand, but I've been hooked ever since.
Gazette was billed original- ly as being "for owners and users of Commodore VIC-20 and 64 personal comput- ers." As time passed and Commodore introduced the Plus/4, the 16, and the 128, Gazette's coverage expand- ed to those machines. But when the smoke finally set- tled over the personal com- puter battlefield, the 64 and 128 emerged as the survi- vors, and Gazette narrowed its editorial focus to those Commodore veterans.
Speaking of veterans, as I browse through the mast- head of that first issue, i see the names of four people who are still associated with the magazine. Regular read- ers will recognize colum- nists Jim Butterfield and Fred D'Ignazio, but two oth- er veterans may not be as familiar. Terry Cash is now copy production manager, and De Potter is production manager. Without their val- ued assistance, there wouldn't be any magazine,
Editorial's staff has changed frequently, but Ga- zette's goal of providing its readers with the best of Com-
modore-related information and entertainment has not changed. In large measure, each Gazette editor has re- lied on 64 and 128 owners who are willing to share their knowledge with our readers. From that first issue through the one you read to- day, we've encouraged you to submit articles and pro- grams for publication, that need is just as strong today as it was a decade ago. Some things don't change.
Change is inevitable, how- ever, and you'll see it in this issue with the addition of a new column. Over the years we've published original pro- grams and reviewed com- mercial software, but we've seidom covered public do- main programs and share- ware— until now. GEOS coi- umnist Steve Vander Ark ex- amines this vast source of programs in his new col- umn, "PD Picks."
The programs Steve will re- view and recommend can be found on bulletin boards, commerciai online services, user group librar- ies, and elsewhere. If you can't locate a convenient source for these programs, look for them on our month- ly Gazette Disks. These pro- grams— unlil<e the Gazette type-ins— are not copyright- ed, and you may distribute them freely. All we ask is that you honor the fee re- quests of shareware authors if you use their programs.
In closing, I'd like to thank all of you devoted Commodore users for your support over the past ten years. Without your help, Ga- zette would have folded years ago. But with it, look for Gazette each month for years to come. □
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GAZETTE 64/128 VIEW G-1 Gazette marks a milestone with this issue — ten years of serving the 8-bit Commodore market. By Tom Netsel. |
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11 YEARS IN 8-BiT HEAVEN G-3 In 1982, dozens of home computers were struggling to pull ahead of the pack — then, along came the Commodore 64. By Larry Cotton, |
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REVIEWS Jara-Tava, Mathbooster, and Flyer. |
G-8 |
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FEEDBACK Questions, answers, and comments. |
G-14 |
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PD PICKS G-1 6 This new column focuses on the best of public domain and shareware programs. By Steve Vander Ark. |
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MACHINE UNGUAGE G-1 8 To read a file successfully, you must know how it ends. By Jim Butterfield. |
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PROGRAWMER'S PAGE More great programming tips from readers. By Randy Thompson. |
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BEGINNER BASIC Here's how to activate your user port. By Larry Cotton. |
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DIVERSIONS The 64 can be a toddler's ideal first computer By Fred D'Ignazio. |
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PROGRAMS Ultimate ML Monitor (64) Rascals (64) Scud (64) Cryptarithm Solver (64) Flasher 64 Type-Sim (64/128) |
G-25 G-31 G-33 G-36 G-37 G-39 |
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Subtotal
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YEARS IN 8^BIT HEAVEN
BY LARRY COTTON
THE YEAR WAS 1982.
The Vietnam War Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C.
England and Argentina fought over the Falkland Islands.
The Equal Rights Amendment lapsed without ratification.
The St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series.
Barney Clark became the first person to receive an artificial heart,
the Jarvik-7.
And in the autumn of that year, the Commodore 64 personal ~~t computer was born.
Commodore International, a dar- ling of Wall Street investors at that time, was known primarily for its calculators; the PET series of computers; and a successful, albeit memory-deficient older sibling of the 64, the VIC-20. The company was run by the inimitable Jack Tramiel and sons, a team famous for squeezing the most bang from a buck,
The personal computer market was in a frenzy at the time, and Tramiel brazenly introduced a new computer called the Commodore 64. This new machine was priced at $595, a ridicu- lously low price for that time. A disk drive or a monitor were extra.
The Field
The 64's major competitors were the Apple \\+ ($1,530), Atari 800 ($899), IBM PC ($1,565), and TRS-80 Model III ($999). The 64 was exactly the machine the world had been holding its breath for, with a third more built-in memory than the Apple ll-f- — four times more than the Atari 800 — yet priced at two to three times less than the Apple and a third less than the Atari.
The 64 featured (as it does today) a breathtaking 16 colors: 40 charac- ters per screen row; eight Movable Object Blocks (sprites); and, best of all, an unbelievable 64K of random access memory, 39K of which was available for BASiC programs. Even without a drive and color monitor, the 64 was still far and away the feature leader with outstanding color, graph- ics, and an integral three-voice music synthesizer. Its musical talents alone rivaled those of many dedicated key- board synthesizers at the time.
I must confess that I was not one of the original personal computer enthu- siasts. I hadn't assembled an Altair in my basement back in the 1970s. My computer-related background consist- ed of occasionally perusing Byte mag- azine and assembling a few Circuit Cellar projects. Later, my interest expanded into creating some original, but primitive, rats-nest circuits around various Radio Shack chips. One such device featured four toggle switches to input data to a tone-generating chip. It could play tunes stored in its minuscule 1K of memory! I began to see the need for a real computer.
Full List Price
After extensive comparative research, I decided to invest in a 64. I bought the shiny little machine (serial number 10917, with no colored bars in the logo) from a nearby dealer for full list price. I sold my prized 1959 Mer-
G-4 COMPUTE JULY 1993
TUNNELS
Larry Cotton is the author of Gazette's popular and long-running "Beginner BASIC" column. The fol- lowing program is the first one that he wrote for the 64 and was among the first that he sold to Gazette.
10 PRINT POKE 53280,0: POKE
53281,0; PRINTCHR$(147) 20 A=1 : B=-1 : C=40: D=-40: N^l :
P=54272: V=1984 30 F0RZ=1T012: GOSUB 110 40 V=V-39: N=N+1 50 NEXT
60 V=V+42: N=N-1 70 FOR2=1T012: GOSUB 110 80 V=V+42: N=N-1 90 NEXT 100 END
110 Q=INT(15*RND(1))+1 120 FORX=1TON:POKEV+A,67:
POKE V+A+P,Q: V=V+A; NEXT 130 POKEV,75: POKEV+P,Q 140 FORX=1TON: POKEV+D,66:
POKEV+D+P,Q: V=V+D; NEXT 150 POKEV,73: POKEV+P,Q 160 FORX=1T0N: POKEV+B,67:
POKEV+B+P,Q: V=V+B: NEXT 170 POKEV.aS: POKEV+P.Q 180 FORX=1TON: POKEV+C,66:
POKEV+C+P,Q: V=V+C: NEXT 190 POKEV,74: POKEV+P.Q 200 RETURN
cedes to raise the cash to finance it. In addition to the computer, I proudly took home a disk drive (instead of the more common Datassette tape drive), a printer, and a 13-inch color televi- sion to use as a monitor. My sons, David and Michael (then 13 and 10), and I cleared some working space and unpacked each component with loving care. With great anticipation and excitement, we connected the parts with cables, plugged them into the wall, and gingerly threw the power switches. Everything worked beautiful- ly! We were thrilled!
As we tentatively put our new toy through its paces, we marveled at its wondrous capabilities. The only demonstration program our Com- modore dealer supplied with the 64 (in anticipation of a wildly successful Christmas selling season) showed Santa Claus sailing around a chimney and surrounded by flurrying snow, all the while accompanied by back- ground music playing "Jingle Bells."
Software Shortage
Our giddiness soon diminished with the slow dawning that, however won- derful the computer itself was.
Commodore had introduced the 64 with virtually no available software. The company's first ads had vaguely promised a word processor; a data- base; a spreadsheet; and several games, including Gorf, Visible Solar Systenn, Radar Rat Race, Mole Attack, Avenger, Ace of Aces, and Jupiter Lander.
With a dearth of software, we duti- fully turned to the user's guide and began teaching ourselves to program in BASIC. My first program (beyond the sophisticated 10 PRINT "HELLO") was one I called Tunnels. This gem printed multicolored rectangles to the screen that overlapped in increasing and decreasing sizes. It was eventual- ly published in a series of demos called "Baker's Dozen" that were pub- lished in the January and February 1985 issues of COMPUTE! 's Gazette. (That was back when COMPUTE had an exclamation point.)
Magazine Scene
After tiring of driving 45 miles every month to my dealer, I started a sub- scription to COMPUTE! in February 1983 and voraciously read every word written about the 64, That was when COMPUTE carried articles and type-in programs for all of the popular PCs of the day. Charles Brannon, Jim Butterfield, and Richard Mansfield became my gurus of the 64, educat- ing me on every aspect and minutiae of video, inputs, outputs, machine lan- guage, and math. I snipped hundreds of articles from that magazine and from Gazette after it premiered in July 1983.
Articles in that first Gazette includ- ed a review of the strange Exatron Stringy Floppy, a mass storage device that's sort of halfway between a cas- sette recorder and a disk drive. There was a column by Fred D'lgnazio called "Computing for Kids," and tuto- rials on sound, reading paddles in BASIC, accelerated IF statements, and joysticks, I still have my volume 1, number 1 safely stashed away with other prized memorabilia.
Many other Commodore-specific magazines have appeared — and dis- appeared— during the past 11 years, among them Ahoy!, Commander, Transactor, Midnight Gazette, Commodore Magazine, Power Play, and RUN. Today, only the Gazette section of COMPtJTE remains.
Software at Last
Commercial software soon started to catch up with 64 sales, and I could finally put my 64 to work. Among the first programs I bought for the 64 were
Since the Commodore 64's debut in 1982. worldwide saies of it and tli9 64C, siiown liere, liave topped 10 million.
the Commodore Macro Assembler Development System, Editor Pak, Word Machine, f^ame Machine and, TotI Time Manager 2.6. Although it has long been excelled by other assem- blers, I still use MADS for my feeble attempts at machine language pro- gramming. The first BASIC program I ever typed in was a sprite editor by Donald A. Pitts. It appeared in an arti- cle called "A Shape Generator for the Commodore 64" that was published in COMPUTE (November 1982} .
SpeedScript
Perhaps the most famous type-in pro- gram ever published in any computer magazine is SpeedScript, the pro- gram that I'm using to write this article. It was written by Charles Brannon and first appeared for the VIC-20 and 64 in the January 1984 Gazette. Updated several times over the years, its latest version, SpeedScript 3,2, was pub- lished in May 1987. The program has been enhanced many times, allowing users to customize the program to their liking. Among these programs are SpeedScript-80. an 80-column version: SpeedCheck, a spelling checker; SpeedSearch, a fast utility for finding any phrase within a SpeedScript file on disk; SpeedCount, a word-counting enhancement; ScriptRead, a fast SpeedScript file reader; and Instant 80, a true WYSI- WYG preview for SpeedScnpt. Some of these enhancements were pub- lished in Gazette and others appeared in COMPUTE when it still published type-in programs. (All of these pro- grams are still available on the SpeedScript disk.)When I considered myself proficient in BASIC (I wasn't), i wrote a 92-block program called Muzic! which I attempted to package and sell, I think I sold a grand total of
four disks— and these probably went to my 64-owning friends.
Meanwhile, back on the hardware front, finding the television hookup inadequate, I bought my one and only upgrade for the 64 — a 1702 monitor. I'm staring at it still. What a wonderful improvement! No more zigzag lines and blurry characters.
Rabbits and Snails
Although it represented a quantum leap in data transfer speeds over the interminably slow tape cassette, the 1541 disk drive soon earned a reputa- tion of its own for snail-like loading and saving (90 blocks — 23K — in about a minute) and an easy-to-mis- align read-write head.
To alleviate the first problem, I bought an Epyx Fastload cartridge. If there ever was a 64 accessory that's deserved to become a classic, it's this cartridge. Soon thereafter. I read an article on how to add an on-off switch to avoid plugging and unplugging the cartridge to accommodate programs which did or didn't use it. My Fastload's been sticking out of its port ever since.
The head alignment problem was much more frustrating. I read many articles, sent the 1541 to several repair shops, and drilled holes in the bottom housing to access the stepper motor's adjustment screws. Finally, someone managed to fix it, and it's been fine ever since.
Prke Wars
As the years flew by, the 64's price plummeted. By June 1983, the 64's mail-order price was $395; a year later, it had slipped to $199; in May 1987, $169.95. Today you can buy one for about $150.
Part of the reason for its decreas-
ing price was the onslaught of other low-priced competitive machines which vied for the computerphile's attention: APF Imagination Machine, the Apple-compatible Franklin Ace 1000 and 1200. Timex/Sinclair 1000 and 2000, Apple lie, more Tandy machines, Texas Instruments 99/4A, Coleco Adam, Atari 520ST, and IBM PCjr (born November 1983 and died March 1985). When used 64s began to hit the want ads at rock-bottom phces, I bought a spare.
Meanwhile, Commodore wasn't resting on its laurels. While simultane- ously boosting production and cutting the price of the 64, Commodore was trotting out the portable SX-64; the anomalous Plus/4 and 16; the 128 and 128D: the breakthrough Amiga family; and the IBM compatibles, variants of which became especially popular in Europe. None of those computers approached the sales of the 64, which is still being built and sold internation- ally today as the cosmetically enhanced 64C.
Software Bonanza
Within 18 months after its splashy introduction, more and more software companies had climbed aboard the lucrative 64 bandwagon. Ads for pro- grams like EasyCalc, Sprite-Magic, Mail Mate, Choplifter, Sargon II, General Ledger, Busiwriter 64, Monopoly, Centropod, Software Automatic Mouth (an amazing voice- synthesis program known as SAM), Script 64, Typing Tutor, SuperTerm, and WordPro Pius/64 proliferated in Commodore-specific magazines.
Programmers who knew the 64 were in demand. Even Braderbund Software was advertising for software authors in December 1983.
A New Operating System
In March 1986, Berkeley Softworks — now GeoWorks — introduced GEOS, the Graphic Environment Operating System, Although I'm not a GEOS fan (without an REU and extra drives, molasses is fast in comparison), I seem to be in the minority. Com- modore quickly adopted GEOS as its "official operating system" for the 64, and many apparently excellent soft- ware products have greatly helped the 64 stay alive and kicking. Gazette's GEOS column first ap- peared in September 1987.
Applications
By November 1988, 64's were being pressed into service for almost every- thing but cleaning the kitchen sink. A radio station in Phoenix used one to
JULY 1993 COMPUTE G-5
report activities on a call-in talk slnow. Many people, such as one avid user in Niceville, Florida, used their 64's to tracl< stock market investnnents. One commercial application used 128s to monitor and control furnace settings in a large apartment complex.
Teachers calculated students' grades with them in Richmond, Virginia. A fireman in Tulare Country, California, used his for eliminating some of the paperwork involved in running a fire department. A preacher in Asheville, North Carolina, tracked the recreational activities of his church with his 64. A Union, Iowa, farmer used a spreadsheet running on a 64 to keep an eye on his farm's financial condition. At Bosch Power Toois, where f work, we used a 64 for years to calculate and generate graphs of motor-performance curves.
Hardware
While millions of owners were putting their 64s to creative uses, hardware manufacturers were busy as well. Here's a short list of peripherals that have made life easier and more interesting.
• Card? printer interface (Cardco)
• VIC-1520 plotter/printer (Commodore)
• Fastload cartridge (Epyx)
• Command Control Trackball (Wico)
• The Voice Box voice synthesizer {The Alien Group)
• Hearsay 1000 voice synthesizer/recognizer (Hearsay)
• fvlinimodem-C (Aprotek)
• Super Graphix printer interface (Xetec)
• SWL shortwave listener cartridge (fvlicrolog)
• Flexidraw 170-C light pen (Inkwell Systems)
• Stringy Floppy storage device (Exatron)
• Ultimate Interface (Schnedler System)
• Lt. Kernel hard drive (Xetec)
• ComputerEyes video digitizer (Digital Vision)
• MW-302 printer interface (Micro World Electronix)
• Home Control Interface (X-10)
• interpod interface between comput- er and various peripherals (Limbic Systems)
• VIC 1650 modem (300 bps, original ly $150) (Commodore)
• 1750 RAM expander (Commodore)
• Sonus MIDI interface (SOFTpacific)
• Video Byte II video digitizer (The Soft Group)
• 1351 mouse (Commodore)
• Ten Key Pad (Quality Computer)
• Super Expander 64 cartridge
G-6 COMPUTE JULY 1993
(Commodore)
• 1581 3v2-inch drive (Commodore)
• Bodylink fitness system (Bodylog)
Perhaps the most bizarre peripher- al of all was the heavily advertised Spartan adapter for interfacing the 64 to Apple 11/11+ peripherals (Mimic Systems). I'm not sure it ever attained volume production.
Soltware
Here are some of my favorite pro- grams and applications for the 64. Chances are you probably have some of these, too.
SpeedScript 3.2 word processor
(COMPUTE Publications)
Instant 80 80-column preview
(COMPUTE Publications)
Print Shop card/sign maker
(Braderbund)
Doodle drawing program (City
Software)
Flexidraw (Inkwell Systems)
Generic Librarian MIDI software
(The Music Software Exchange)
Simon's BASIC cartridge
(Commodore)
PractiCalc spreadsheet (Computer
Software Associates)
CADPAK-64 drawing program
(Abacus)
Screen Graphics-64 graphics
enhancement to BASIC (Abacus)
Tax Master (Master Software)
Datafile (RUN magazine)
How about a few games?
Space Taxi (Muse)
Summer Games II (Epyx)
Impossible Mission ("Stay awhile;
stay forever!") (Epyx)
Raid on BungeiingBay
(Braderbund)
Tetris (Spectrum HoloByte)
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons
(Strategic Simulations)
Bard's Tale (Electronic Arts)
Pinball Construction Set
(Eiectronic Arts)
Zork series (Infocom)
Dragonworld (Trillium)
Flight Simulator II (subLOGIC)
Choplifter (Brederbund)^ Where in
the World Is Carmen Sandiego?
(Broderbund)
In a Babbage's one day, I ran across Light and Temperature Labs, scientific experiments from Hayden Softv^are. They were on sale for $10 each. In case you missed these sadly underpromoted products, each one is a series of scientific experiments on disk, supported by great documenta-
tion, along with an interface box which connects to a joystick port. The box accepts either a photocell or an accu- rate temperature probe — also fur- nished! What a find!
Gadgets
Over the last decade-plus, I've whiled away quite a few hours building and writing supporting software for my own collection of miscellaneous gad- gets that connect to the user, car- tridge, or joystick ports. Some of these include the following.
• A numeric keypad
• A plotter (although plodder would be a better name), which could draw with four felt pens whatever appeared on the monitor screen
• A fvllDI interface (I still use it almost daily with my spare 64)
• A relay interface which controls small electrical devices
• A room measurer which uses an old Wico trackball mechanism to roll around the periphery of a room, tak- ing the room's measurements
• A model "drummer boy" which uses relay-switched solenoids to control drumsticks
• A device to synchronize taped music and kaleidoscopic images (works with a four-track tape deck)
• A talker, based on a Radio Shack voice synthesis chip
In Retrospect
I've spent literally thousands of pleas- ant hours with my 64 over the past 1 1 years. The computer is still perfect for the vast majority of my purposes. Back in May 1988, Rich Mclntyre, then Commodore's senior vice president of sales and marketing said, "Eight-bit? Who cares? You're buying a machine for a specific reason. If it satisfies that need, it's never obsolete. Only your requirements become obsolete. ... If the need continues to exist until the year 2000, that machine is still satis- factory."
Maybe Jim Hilty said it best in last December's issue of Gazette. "The 64 has always been kind of a barnstorm- ing computer . , , just plug it in and fly by the seat of your pants. It's a fun computer, a truly personal computer, a computer that an individual can enjoy programming, a welcome friend."
Thank you, Commodore. Thanks also to everyone who builds the hard- ware, writes the software, and publish- es information about this marvelous machine that is the Commodore 64. Here's to 11 more happy, productive, profitable, educational, and entertain- ing years in 8-bit heaven. □
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REVIEWS
MATHBOOSTER
I don't think there's a kid left in the universe who doesn't respond to failing images on a computer screen with a de- sire to stop them, to be the good guy, the hero. Witness the fact that even kids who own videogames and whose parents won't give them quarters can't resist checking out the games in malls and stores.
What does this have to do with an arithmetic drill- and-practice program for the 64? Boosting falling sat- ellites back into space is the premise behind fvlathboos- ter, a program imported from Australia.
To prevent these satel- lites from tumbling down and crashing into the earth, students must quickly and correctly solve math equa- tions. This program provides a drill with positive reinforce- ment that's fun.
Mathbooster is not a teach- ing program. It's designed to reinforce through practice the math skills that the stu- dents have learned in class.
When the game starts, sat- ellites are strung across the sky, and a booster rocket waits atop its launch pad. Be- low each satellite is an equa- tion. This first wave of satel- lites begins to fall. Using the appropriate keys, you place the launch pad beneath a satellite and type in an an- swer to the equation. Press- ing Return or the space bar launches the booster rock- et— only if the answer is cor- rect. If so, the booster rock- et then pushes the satellite back into space. If the an- swer is incorrect, the satel- lite continues its fall toward earth. Once you've success- fully propelled the first wave back into orbit, a second wave begins to fall — at a fast- er rate than the first! G-B COMPUTE JULY 1993
The third wave consists not of satellites but the space shuttle! It's a very large space shuttle that needs a very large booster rocket to restore it to orbit. Points are accumulated for boosting satellites and the shuttle back into space. If a satellite or the shuttle reach-
current problem type, change it, change the speed settings, load and save the problem type and settings, or return to the game. When you view a problem, the screen lists the type of operation that's be- ing displayed; addition, sub- traction, addition and sub-
Boost falling satellites back into space with Mathbooster. a program that combines arcade action with math drill.
es the ground, the game ends. As in arcade games, the program keeps track of current high scores.
fvlathbOQSter comes with ten sample games already prepared. However, its pow- er comes in the variations you can create by altering the type of problems. The main menu lists three op- tions: Start the game. Load different problems, and Change problems. The first one is self-explanatory. The second option lets you load other files of problems al- ready created and saved on disk. The third option lets your create these other math files.
The first menu under op- tion 3 allows you to view the
traction, multiplication, divi- sion, or multiplication and division,
Next, it tells you what form the equation will take, such as A -I- B = C, Then, for each A, B, C, or other var- iable, the program sets the parameters. For example, if you're practicing addition where the sum, C, never ex- ceeds 12, then A's parame- ters would be 1-6, and B's would be 1-6 also.
The next option is to change the problem type. The Operations List lets you do this. For each operation there's a screen that guides you through the steps of choosing the parameters for the variables. This requires care and thought, but it isn't
difficult. The screen instruc- tions and the manual enable you to create the exact drill you want for your student.
Speed Settings govern the actual game, controlling how fast the satellites and shuttle fall, how quickly that speed increases, when the first shuttle appears, how many times per wave it ap- pears, and whether or not the sound effects are turned on. With these you can customize a game to best challenge students with- out overwhelming them.
The manual is thorough. Aside from a couple of ty- pos, it provides helpful in- sight and guidance in devis- ing games that will provide the kind of drill that will most benefit your children or students. Included are some appendices describ- ing the ten sample games al- ready on the disk and provid- ing some examples of how to set up game formats, Mathbooster also carhes its own copying program to al- low you to make backups.
fvlathbooster is the sec- ond Free Spirit import from Australia that we've re- viewed. These two pro- grams by Satchel Software are copynghted by the Min- ister of Education and are used by the school systems in South Australia, (fvlathboos- ter's manual even makes ref- erence to the South Austra- lian curriculum modules.) As with the first program. Dr. Spellingstein, we are im- pressed by the solid pro- gramming that provides the actual computer game yet al- lows you to create and mod- ify within the program to make it fit your needs. It's powerful, flexible, and easy to operate.
Kids love computers and computer games. f\/lost kids also love learning, although they'd deny it if you'd ask
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Circle Reader Service Numh«r 197
ATTENTION
ALL COMMODORE 64/640, AND COMMODORE 1 28/ 128D OWNERS
A complete self-lutoring BASIC programming course is available that starts witli turning your computer on, to programming just about anything you want! This course is currently used in both High School and Adult Evening Education classes and has also formed the basis of teacher literacy programs. Written by a computer Studies teacher, this programming course is one of the finest available today. This complete course of over 220 pages is available for the COMMODORE 64/64C, and for the COMMODORE 128/1280 computers. This course (Volume 1) will take you step by step through a discovery approach to programming and you can do It all in your leisure time! The lessons are lilled with examples and easy to understand explanations as well as many programs lor you to make up. At the end of each lesson is a test of the information presented. Furthermore, ALL answers are supplied to all the questions, programs and tests. Follow this course step by step, lesson by lesson, and turn yourself into a real programmer! You won't be disappointed' FOLLOW-UP COURSE (Volume 2) - A 200 page self-learning course for each of the above named computers dealing exclusively with sequential and relative files. Our teacher uses a unique approach to file handling that was designed especially for students with absolutely no prior file handling experience. Yet by the end of the course you will be able to make up many of your own personal and business file programs. All our courses involve active participation by the learner. You do the specially designed examples, read the complete explanations, follow the instructions, answer the many questions, do the tests, and check your answers.
Each course is only $21.95 plus $3.00 for ship- ping and handling. We have been developing and selling Commodore courses for over 7 years now and if you do not think thai we have the best self- lutoring course you have yet come across, then just send the course back to us within 10 days of receipt for the FULL $24.95 refund.
STATE/PROV:
CODE:
I desire the BASIC programming course (Volume 1) [ZI
FOLLOW-UP course on file handling (Volume 2) D
The computer that the course is needed lor:
_ COtviMODORE 64/64Cn COMMODORE 128/12800
' For U.S. and Can. customers, send $24.95 per course j in the currency of your country. Can. orders add 7% GST. Overseas orders, send $29.95 U.S.
Brantford Educational Services
222 Portage Road 6 Pioneer Place
P.O. Box 1327 or Brantford, Ontario
Lewiston, New York 14092 N3R 7G7
5 Fax: (519) 756-6534
C64/128 PUBLIC DOMAIN SOFTWARE
REQUEST FREE CATALOG or send S2 for sample disk ond catolog (RE- FUNDABLE). Categories Include education, utilities, games, business, PRINT SHOP graphics, pre-tested programs and more. Rent tot 75« or buy as low as SI. CO per disk side or Tor SO* tor 70 or more. S20 order gets 4 tree dteks of your choice.
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REVIEWS
them. Computers and learning games can be an irresistible combination wtien blended properly. Mattibooster provides the perfect recipe for turning math practice into a real treat.
DAVID and ROBIN HIMNICK
Satchel Software
Distributed by Free Spirit Software
720 Sycamore St.
Columbus. IN 47201
(812) 376-9964
$39-95
Circle Reader Service Number 414
JARA-TAYA
G-tO COfilPUTE JULY 1993
Want to take a trip to an exotic loca- tion; hunt for buried treasure; and fight crocodiles, sharks, and hungry snakes? Then Satchel Software's latest text adventure, Jara-Tava, is your tick- et to adventure.
Jara-Tava begins, like many good ad- ventures, with the inheritance of an an- cient treasure map. A letter from your dear, departed Uncle Bartholomew sug- gests that Captain Kidd's treasure might be found on the island of Jara- Mau. It also warns of danger should you go to neighboring Jara-Tava, the Isle of Fire.
With no further urging, you're on your way Of course, you learn early in the game that the treasure isn't on peaceful Jara-fvlau but across the shark-invested strait on Jara-Tava.
Satchel Software designed this inter- active text adventure with junior high stu- dents in mind. It has colorful graphics, easy-to-use text commands, and a challenging plot. Familiar elements from classic literature, si<illfully woven into the game, are sure to please teach- er, student, and parents alike. In addi- tion to Kidd's treasure, you'll find Robin- son Crusoe's tree house and Captain Nemo's submarine. Nautilus. Also, straight from an Indiana Jones adven- ture, there's a golden idol that's pro- tected by a large boulder.
Teachers in Southern Australia have been using this text game in their classrooms since 1988. However, the game has only recently been li- censed for distribution in the U.S. by Free Spirit Software. The package comes complete with three disks and a 134-page combination instruction and resource manual.
Teachers who decide to use this game as part of their classroom curric- ulum will be delighted with the hidden teacher's controls built into the pro- gram. Accessed by pressing Shift-T at the beginning of the game, teachers or parents can set options like help com-
mands, maps, and multiple moves. They can also encode messages on statues to increase the difficulty of the game and teach students about deci- phering codes. But don't get the idea that the game is only useful in scholas- tic situations. It's a package that will pro- vide hours of computer fun at home as well.
In fact, the game's design is perfect for the solitary player or for young play- ers who want to do it themselves. Most popular text games require verb- and-noun commands such as Climb Tree in order to move through the game paths. This can be confusing to a young player. Jara-Tava's designers simplified the process by creating a pro- gram that analyzes individual words, not two-v/ord sequences. Game play- ers can type in whole sentences be- cause the program searches for key- words and strips out unknown ones. This lets players use more natural lan- guage in the game.
Since the game was designed with the junior high player in mind, older, more experienced players may not find it challenging enough. However, it succeeds quite well v/ith the targeted age group.
Maps are important in solving this and any text game. The Jara-Tava man- ual gives students and first-time text game players a brief lesson on how to keep a map. Teachers can build on this for other map-making exercises for their students. The section gives lei- sure-time players new ideas for ways to use their maps, too. All can benefit from it.
The game itself offers several choic- es at every point of play. Since most people learn more by their mistakes than their successes, expehment with the game. Try all the options — build a glider, ride the sub, feed the croco- diles. You can save your game on disk and go back to correct any mis- takes you make. You'll learn something new with everything you do. At the con- clusion of the game, the screen will dis- play how many steps it took for you to solve the game. You can play it over and over again, trying to beat your pre- vious best score.
But there's more to it than just the game. Like other software packages from Satchel, there's a resource disl< in- cluded with this one. This disk has a simple database, an easy-to-use word processor, a disk copying program, and the Tree of Knowledge guessing game.
The word processing program is de- signed for the junior high student who is beginning to do research papers and reports that need to be typed. It's a program that students can continue
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GALACTIC CONQUEST
GALACTIC CONQUESTh the t>est conquest game for tlie C64! Command hundreds of siar ships as you conquer other worlds and extend your empire. Watch out for blact holes, pholon storms, stars that go nova and General Badguy. 1-6 players. Comes with Mario's Sister Giana, Saiudon, Kiary-Kar and 5 other arcade quality games. Send your return address and S12, which includes shipping, to:
pOUierdi/k, 6S13 Lotus Way, West Jordan, UT 840S4
|
Research works. |
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Id begnnine and odvsued jtostamoMt of t» Commoder* 64 and MC p<ctctic] ooccputsn,
ZOUHlTVttattiif.-.-
MAPPING
THE
Commodore
64&64C
The classic best-selling Commodore 64 reference guide. Mapping the Com- modore 64 and 64C is a comprehensive memory guide for beginning and advanced programmers.
To order your copy send $18.95 pius S2.50 for shipping and handling {U.S.. 54 to Canada and S6 other) to COMPUTE Books, c/o CCC. 2500 McClelian Ave. Pennsauken, NJ 08109. (Residents of NC, NJ. and NY please add appropriate tax: Canadian orders add 79c Goods and Servic- es Tax.) All orders must be ptiid in U.S. litiids drawn on a U.S. bank. Orders will bo shipped via UPS Ground Service. Offer good while supplies last.
JULY 1993 COMPUTE G-11
COMMODORE 64/128
PUBLIC DOMAIN SHAREWARE PROGRAMS
CALL OR WRITE FOR FREE DESCRIPTIVE CATALOG OF COMMODORE 64/t2B PUBLIC DOMAIN & SHAREWARE SOFT- WARE OR SEND $2.00 FOR DE- SCRIPTIVE CATALOG AND SAMPLE DISK. ADULT SOFT- WARE LISTING AVAILABLE TO THOSE OF LEGAL ADULT AGE.
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circle Reader Service Number 253
Original Print Shop Graphics Borders and Fonts.
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Circle Reader Service Number 159
No Wild, No Wildlife.
Polar bears, musk-ox, grizzlies, caribou — more animals than you'd find in Yellowstone — can be found on the magnificent coastal plain of the Arc- tic Refuge in Alaska. Unfortunately, this por- tion of our last arctic wilderness has caught the eye of the oil in- dustry. Right now Con- gress is considering proposals that would allow the oil companies to drill there, even though reports indicate there's less than a one-in-five chance oil would be found.
If we allowed drilling in the
G-12 COMPUTE JULY 1993
region, we would jeopardize the culture of the native Alaskans and untold wildlite, Including a herd of 180,000 caribou. Our last arctic wilderness would be despoiled. The Sierra Club works to save wildlife by sav- ing the wilderness. We have a history of vic- tories. And we believe, with your help, this arctic wilderness will remain an invaluable refuge. For information on how you can help: Sierra Club, Dept. AR 730 Polk Street San Francisco, CA 94109 (415) 776-2211
eiEWS
to use for simple reports as they enter high scliool. It's also useful for people who have never used w/ord processing progranns or have been intimidated by them in the past. Called Tell-a-Tale, the Jara-Tava word processor is a very sim- ple-to-learn program that lets you write and then save your work to a disk. You can also center titles, change cases of words and letters, work with existing files, and print out re- ports. The program will not do more elaborate functions like footnotes and headers, but it's sufficient for most word processing needs.
The database is useful for storing word lists and simple groups of informa- tion. The word lists can then be import- ed into the word processor to make spelling lists or to use in essays. Satch- el has already begun five databases for the user. The names are Pirates, Is- lands, Volcanoes, Whales, and Sharks. You can build on this basic base by adding additional files. Each file may be up to 29 characters. Files may be deleted; however, the erase function has been restricted so no more than one file can be erased at a time. This safeguard keeps you from ac- cidentally wiping out your entire data- base.
The Tree of Knowledge game pits the player against the computer's abil- ity to guess. There are five trees on the disi< that you can select: Animals, Pi- rates, Whales, Sharks, and Snakes. New information can be added to the existing trees to make a more complex guessing game. These can be saved and replayed again and again.
The resource disk takes the Jara- Tava package far beyond mere game software. In my opinion, this one disk is worth the modest price of the package all by itself.
And there's still more. Take a look at the extensive, spiral-bound instruction manual. Tucked in the center of the manual is a 68-page section that is filled with activities related to the themes found in the Jara-Tava game. There are word games, crossword puz- zles, word searches, drawing activities, and group games. There are ideas for crafts, too. You can build your own mod- el volcano, make beanbags shaped like whales, or do any of a variety of activities. All the instructions are includ- ed. As an added bonus. Satchel has given permission for teachers to copy any or all of the manual for use in their own classrooms.
All in all, Jara-Tava is an outstanding package that does more than merely entertain players. It stimulates and ed-
Keep our efforts from
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circle Reader Service Number 260
ucates them. That's not a bad return for such a modest investmerit.
MARTI PAULIN
Satchel Software
Distributed by Free Spirit Software
720 Sycamore St-
Columbus, IN 47201
(812) 376-9964
S39.95
Circle Reader Service Number 415
FLYER
Flyer is a deceptively simple but mad- dening little arcade game for the 64. The idea is to guide a paper airplane through the rooms of a house, avoiding furniture and other obstacles.
Helping you in your fight against grav- ity and wind resistance are a number of air vents that provide lift and a series of rollers that give your glider extra speed and maneuverability. As your glider passes over a vent, push up on a joystick to gain altitude. Maintain a light touch, though. If you climb too high, you'll smack into the ceiling and crash.
As your plane glides from left to right across the screen, aim for the dia- mond-shaped rollers in the middle of the room. When you fly through one, push your stick hard to the right to
pick up speed. Control is rather limited with this flyer, but you can lose altitude quickly by pulling back on the stick.
As in any house, furniture is a major obstacle for paper airplanes. Beds, lamps, stereos, and bookcases seem to suck the planes into thenn. When you crash, you start again in the first room which is filled with nothing but air vents and rollers. Since I crash so fre- quently I'm glad that author Cameron Kaiser lets me keep the action moving. To restart, simply press the fire button.
The music playing in the back- ground is a great rendition of "The Blue Danube." It puts the 64's SID chip to good use, but that tune just about drives me crazy! The volume con- trol takes care of that, however.
That melodic but cursed back- ground music is Flyer's only sound ef- fect, but it's really not that bad. I just get annoyed when I can't nnaster a game.
It took me quite some time to devel- op just the right touch with Flyer, guid- ing the plane through the house. Get- ting through the first room filled with rollers and vents was a breeze— par- don the pun — but I thought I'd never make it past that bed in the next room. I'd gain a little altitude, pick up some speed, fly over a vent, pull back to
clear the bed, and then swish! Back to the beginning.
Flyer's graphics are pretty simple: Everything's in black, wtiite, and gray. The rooms fill only a narrow portion of the 64's monitor, (Each one is only about two inches high. That's why you have to be careful about not flying into the ceiling. I think a little more creativi- ty could have been shown here to ex- pand the playing screen, and the gray rooms could use a bit of color to give the game more visual appeal.
The documentation is clear and con- cise. It consists of a two-sided sheet of instructions and hints that's well written and easy to understand.
All in all. Flyer is a simple game, and that could be its biggest drawback. If you're the type who gets discouraged easily, you'll probably get bored with Flyer rather quickly. On the other hand, if you're the type who refuses to let a computer beat you, you'll proba- bly get addicted to fiying this little elec- tronic paper airplane.
CHRISTIAN FLEMING
Computer Workshops 3612 Birdie Dr. La Mesa. CA 91941 S9.95
Circle Reader Service Number 416 □
JULY 1993 COMPUTE 6-13
FEEDBACK
Where to find chips
and whether
excessive poldng can
he hazardous
to their health.
Character ROM Chip
Can you possibly tell me where I can get the 9011225- 01 chip for my 64? I have been looking since 1991 but haven't been able to locate one in my country.
DAVID SANIEL SUAREZ LOPEZ
VERACRUZ, VER.
MEXICO
The chip you want Is the Char- acter ROM chip, and you can order it from The Grapevine Group. 3 Chestnut Street, Suffern, New York 10901. The latest price Is $9.50 plus $8.50 shipping costs to Mexi- co. Ask for part number CI 225. You can order the chip by mall or by calling (914) 357-2424. Readers In the U.S. can order by calling (800) 292-7445. Ask for the free catalogue of Commodore and Amiga chips, too.
Poked to Death?
Question: After about a year of sustained use, the SID (Sound Interface Device) chip in my Commodore 64 has stopped functioning. Can this be caused by misusing the chip? For instance, is there such a thing as exces- sive poking?
DONALD DRAPER RICHMOND. VA
The SID chip Is designed to be poked. Such activity is con- sidered normal use and will not damage it. In general, noth- ing any program does will ever damage any of a com- puter's internal hardware. Like all other electronic com- ponents, SID chips occasion- ally fail. The only cure is to replace the chip. Replacing the chip can be either simple or difficult, depending on whether the one In your com- puter Is socketed or soldered. The SID chip, which has the numerical designation 6581, is located near the center of the circuit board In
both the 64 and 128. Math Errors
When using my 64 for math homevifork, I keep running in- to some problems. If I raise a variable containing a negative number to a fractional expo- nent, the computer returns an ILLEGAL QUANTITY ERROR. It doesn't happen with con- stants. For example, if I have the computer print -8 to the power of .5, it viforks fine. But if [ make X equa! -8 and then try to print X to the power of .5, it doesn't. Why is this?
TARQ WILLIAMS LAKE GENEVA, Wl
Computers follow a rule called order of operations or operator precedence, which tells them which functions or operations to perform before others. For example, PRINT 3 + 2 ' 7 will give you a result of 17, not 35. because multiplica- tion has a higher precedence than addition. The result of 2 ' 7 Is calculated before the 3 is added in.
The up-arrow (power) func- tion has a higher precedence than the negation (-) function, as you'll see if you PRINT -4 1 2. The 64 prints - 16 as the an- swer But squaring -4 should result in a positive 16, not a neg- ative one. V/hat happens Is that the result of 4 to the pow- er of 2 Is calculated; then the minus sign is appended.
Although PRINT ~8 t ,5 seems to work, you'll get an er- ror message if you try PRINT (-8) T .5. So it's not a matter of variables versus constants; it's strictly a problem with rais- ing a negative number to a fractional power
Raising to the .5 power Is the same as finding the square root of a number The square root of -8 would have to be a number that multiplied by itself yielded -8. But when- ever you square a real num- ber, the result is positive, so
there's no such thing as a square root of a negative num- ber, at least among the real numbers. Mathematicians use Imaginary numbers to handle square roots of negative num- bers, but your 64 isn't built to handle imaginary numbers.
A Teacher's Thanks
I would like to thank Gazette for providing me with a source of programs that I have incorporated into an in- tegrated computer-use pack- age for the teachers of my school board. Our education- al system, like many, is facing financial cutbacks, with little or no money available for com- puters or software. Your pro- grams filled that need. We have numerous 64s in our sys- tem, and now we are able to make much greater use of them.
I selected programs from Gazette that provided word processing, spreadsheet, da- tabase, graphics, and key- boarding skills. Other pro- grams supplied language arts, programming sugges- tions, science, social studies, and telecommunications re- sources.
With the current wave of up- grading, many educators felt that the 64 had nothing to of- fer. In fact, it has much to of- fer if it is utilized to the fullest possible extent. The comput- ers are already in the system, and the Gazette and well-writ- ten public domain programs of- fer a viable way to provide for integrated programming for our students. Thank you.
CAROL A NAUSS CHESTER, NS CANADA
Send your questions and com- ments to Gazette Feedback, COMPUTE Publications, 324 West Wendover Avenue, Suite 200, Greensboro. North Carolina 27408. D
G-14 COMPUTE JULY 1993
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New on the Gazette Disk! In addition to the programs that appear in the magazine, you'll also get outstanding bonus programs. These programs, which are often too large to offer as type-ins, are available only on disk— they appear nowhere else.
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PD PICKS
Steve Vander Ark
Explore the exciting
world of public
domain and shareware
programming
in this new Gazette
column.
A NEW COLUMN, VERSION 2
Yep, version 2. This is the sec- ond time I've written this col- umn. If you feel as though you've just walked into the mid- die of a movie, let me explain. This is a new column that deals with public domain pro- grams and shareware. I wrote the first version a few weeks ago, but when I reread the intro- duction, I just shook my head. It was boring.
Oh, it was OK. I might use it as part of an article some- where along the line. It defines shareware and a few other re- lated terms, chatters about how nice it is to be writing this new column, and warns everyone — in no uncertain terms — to pay their shareware fees. It ends with a flourish about how shareware is on the cutting edge of Commodore programming today.
I'm talking bold, new, and ex- citing programs that push the limits of Commodore's 8-bit wonder! I've got to be spitting a little flame. I don't want you to read this column once and then next time decide to save it until you've read the part again about how to type in the programs. I want you to turn to this column first!
I'll be covering programs that 1 hope will provide some of the old spark that made the 64 so exciting — and made its owners so gung-ho, so (let's face it) nuts about their ma- chines. That spark is what keeps me coming back to this great little machine.
I've been rummaging in some of the stranger corners of QuantumUnk's libraries, tracking down programs to throw at you, Feel free to down- load them, I've provided file- names and uploader names for easy downloading. If you're not on 0-Link and you can't find these files on local
bulletin boards or at your user group, you'll find the programs mentioned here on the Gazette Disi<. Now, let's take a look at this month's programs — a cou- ple of fast and furious, arcade- style shoot-'em-ups.
Astra
By Chris Batchelor QuantumLink filename: AS- TRA3.SDA, uploaded by Chris- EMM.
OK, for you 128 users out there, here's an 80-column pro- gram that will cost you hours of sleep. The way I see it, Chris Batchelor, the sadist who created this arcade tor- ture, must lie awake nights him- self, chortling like the Wicked Witch of the Vi/est as he imag- ines poor joystick jockeys like me with chppled thumbs and glazed eyes, trying desperate- ly to fight off these endless waves of death. After playing this fast-paced shoot-'em-up, I know I need a continuous fire button on my joystick, an- ything to save my left hand from being twisted into a per- manent claw.
Astra starts innocently enough. It seems so easy to pour merciless fire into those little bugs that swoop into those little chutes. But then there are more and more of them. Before long, bugs are hurtling down in droves, piling up like spilled gummy bears. There just aren't enough blasts per second to clear them all out. Before long, they get you. And then you play it again, and again, and again.
You'll love this game, espe- cially if you get a rush out of annihilating all those little bugs like I do. It works its hor- rors in 80 columns, which means that you won't be able to complain at all about the graphics. As far as speed goes, well, just try to keep up with it. I can't honestly say how great it is a higher levels
(I never survive that long).
This is the third incarnation of this game. The fine-tuning has made it a real corker. So flex that thumb a bit, slam back Mountain Dews until your eyes bug out. and face the endless hordes in Astra.
Odiir
By Frank Lindsey QuantumLink filename: ODIN, uploaded by Mondain.
OK, all of you 64 users who've been reading this and growling nasty things about those 128 users and their fan- cy graphics, here's a game that will make a red-eyed, thumb-happy zombie out of you, too.
Odin is one of those games that put you in a space- ship at the bottom of the screen, armed with an end- less supply of energy bolts or whatever. As usual, the de- tails are unimportant. What is important is that all those crazed blobs plummeting to- ward you will turn your space- ship into pixel dust if you don't keep pounding that fire button. There's no continual fire here (the one major flaw in an otherwise outstanding game), so plan on some actu- al finger or thumb pain as you try to clear a path in the weav- ing mess.
Odin does Astra one better by hurling a nifty variety of nasties down the screen. They're all animated with blink- ing lights and flapping wings, making them nice to look at for that split second before you obliterate them or vice ver- sa. Once you get past the first level, they fire back, lob- bing little bombs your way.
Once again, I have to ad- mit that I can't vouch for the higher levels. I count myself lucky to live past level 2.
Launch yourself into either of these games. Have fun and let me know how you make out! □
G-16 COMPUTE JULY 1993
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MACHINE LANGUAGE
Jim Butterfield
In order to read a tile
successrully, you
have to l(now what's
at its end.
FILE END CHECK
BASfC's INPUT.# statement has limitations that can cause a program crasli during a file read. The problem surfaces when two conditions are met. First, the program wants to read the whole file, using tN- PUT# to get the data and test the system variable ST (status) to detect the end of the file. The second condition occurs when the file ends with more than one Return character.
A quick pair of programs will show this effect. First, write a file as follows.
1D0 OPEN 1,8,2,"0:BADFILE,S,W" 11D PRINT#1, "JINGLE" 120 PR!NT#1, "JANGLE" 130 PRINT#1 140 CLOSE 1
Line 130 creates the prob- lenn by writing a blank line at the end of the file. In other words, there will be more than one Return character at the end. Now for the doomed reading program.
100 OPEN 1,8,2,"0:BADFILE"
110 INPUT#1,A$
120 PRINT A$
13D IF ST=0 GOTO 110
140 CLOSE 1
The program will read "reg- ular" files without trouble. But on our bad file, the program will read JINGLE and JAN- GLE anti then lock up.
Why does this happen? It's a conflict of two system rules. Rule 1: The INPUT# com- mand always reads to the next Return character. If it finds a blank line, it immediate- y goes back for another read. Rule 2: If the file han- dler is asked to deliver data beyond the end of the file, it will supply a Return charac- ter. Combine these rules, and you'll see that if the last line of a file is blank, the INPUT* statement will continue to
read blank lines — and it'll do so forever!
Our first project is to write a program that will scan a file quickly and find out what's at the end — a single Return, the normal condition; no Return, unusual but not fatal; or more than one Return, possibly a crash. So our program de- tects the danger. Another time, we'll add to the program so that it will fix the problem.
The BASIC part of our pro- gram will ask for the name of the data file and open it as log- ical file number 1. Then it calls the following machine lan- guage program at address 8704. hexadecimal 2200.
First, connect the input stream to logical file 1.
22Q0 LDX #$01 JSR $FFCB
Our plan is to store the last character of the file at ad- dress S2101 and the previous character in $2100. As a pre- caution, we'll prepare to store 0 in this last address.
LDA #$00
As we go around our loop, the A register will contain the last character received from the file. Store this, and read an- other character.
2207 STA $2100
To read a character from a file, we may use a subroutine call to either SFFCF (INPUT) or $FFE4 (GET). The result Is the same either way.
JSR $FFE4
The received character is in A. We may test for end-of-file by looking at our system stat- us variable ST That variable is located at hex address 90. In Commodore machines pri- or to the VlC-20. it's located at address $96.
LDY $90
If ST has a value of 0, the file read is proceeding normally, and we have not reached the file's end. In this instance, BEQ takes us back around the loop.
BEQ S2Z07
If we didn't take the BEQ branch, we may assume that we're at the end of the file. The final character, still in the A register, is stored at $2101 .
STA $2101
The last instruction in our pro- gram jumps to $FFCC, CLRCHN, which restores the input stream to its default path (screen/keyboard).
JMP SFFCC
It's a small program, a fast pro- gram— and it will leave the last two bytes of the file in addresses $2100 and $2101 and 8448 and 8449 respective- ly. BASIC should now close the file and test these bytes. Here's the program in the for- mat of a BASIC loader.
CJ IBB PRINT"F!LE END CHECKER
(SPACE)- JIM aUTTBRFIEL
D" XR HB DATA 162,1,32,198,255,1
69, B,H1, 8, 33, 32, 228, 25
5 GS 120 DATA 164,144,240,246,14
1,1,33,76,204,255 PC 160 DATA 72,32,204,255,162,
2, 32,201,255,174,3,33 JF 20O FOR J«8704 TO 8726 EJ 210 READ X:T"T+X BP 220 POKE J,X AE 230 NEXT J
XS 240 IF T<>30ia THEN STOP XF 300 INPUT "NAME OF FILE";FS JQ 310 OPEtl 15,3,15 FJ 120 OPEN l,a,2,F'S GB 330 INPUTJ15,B,ES:IF EOfl T
HEN PRINT ES:STOP Q!l 340 SYS 9704 SB 350 CLOSE 1 SD 360 CLOSE 15 GC 370 IF PEEK(8449)<>13 THEN
(SPACE)PHtNT"FILE DOES
{SPACeJnQT end WITH <RE
TyRN>,": END SE 380 IF PEE!i;(8448)<>13 THEN
(5PACE)PRINT"FILB ENDS
{SPACE )WITH A SINGLE <R
ETURN>.": END XS 390 PBtNT'FILE ENDS WITH HU
LTIPLE <RETURN> CHARS."
G-18 COMPUTE JULY 1993
The Gazette
Productivity
Manager
Harness the productivity power of your 64 or 128!
Turn your Commodore into a powerful workhorse, keep track of finances, generate reports in a snap, manage your money in minutes- all with the Gazette ProductioUy Manager! Look at all your 64/128 Productivity Manager disk contains.
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Memo Card — Unleashes the power of a full-blown database without the fuss! Nothing's easier — it's a truly simple computerized address file. Just type in your data on any one of the index cards. Need to edit? Just use the standard Commodore editing keys. Finished? Just save the data to floppy. What could be easier?
Financial Planner — Answers all of those questions concerning interest, investments, and money manage- ment that financial analysts charge big bucks for! You can plan for your children's education and know exactly how much it will cost and how much you need to save every month to reach your goal. Or, decide whether to buy or lease a new car. Use the compound interest and savings function to arrive at accurate estimates of how your money will work for you. Compute the answer at the click of a key!
DON'T MISS OUT ON THIS POWERFUL WORKHORSE!
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PROGRAMMER'S PAGE
Randy Thompson
Use these
readers' tips to
read your
64's memory,
remove REM
statements, and
more.
SNOOPERS AND REMOVERS
Readers have come through again with some great tips. Let's get right to them.
Memory Snooper
Here's a simple BASIC pro- gram that searches an area of memory for text messages.
SD 18 S=4111S:E-41365
PF 20 FOR I-=S TO B
HS 39 C=PEEK(Il ; If 031 AND C<
123 THEN PRINT CH8S(C); EX 48 GET K5:IF KS=CHR$(13} TH
EN PRINT MP 59 IF KS<>"-<" THEN NEXT I
As listed, this program scans the area of ROM that contains BASIC keywords and error messages. You might try searching the area of memo- ry that contains BASIC pro- grams: 2049-40959. To do this, in line 10 make S equal to 2049 and E equal to 40959. I find this program use- ful in searching for and read- ing E-mail that I have neglect- ed to read completely before logging off QuantumLink.
You can make the text eas- ier to read as it prints to the screen by pressing Return. This forces the program to print a carriage return. To stop the program before it fin- ishes searching memory, press the back arrow key.
BRIAr^ KISSINGER EVANSVILLE, IN
Function Keys 128
When programming in BASIC on the 128, the GET state- ment doesn't return the Com- modore 64 character codes for function keys (133-140) un- less you execute a POKE 828,183 first, thus disabling the keys' preprogrammed def- initions, (POKE 828,173 re- turns the 12B's function keys to normal.)
Rather than disabling the 128's function key definitions, you can use them to simulate a string of keypresses that
your program recognizes. For example, I recently wrote a game that lets me press G at any time to access a game- oontroi menu. From that menu, I can press L to load a game or S to save a game, af- ter which the program dis- plays the prompt Are you sure (V/A/;? before continuing. To simplify the selection of the game-save option, I pro- grammed the f1 key to simu- late pressing the G. S, and Y keys with this command:
KEY1,"GSY"
Now when I press the fl key while the game is run- ning, the character codes for the G, S, and Y keys are put into the keyboard buffer and read by the game's GET state- ment. This calls up the game- control menu, selects the save-game option, and an- swers Y in response to the Are you sure (Y/N)? prompt. This gives me three keypress- es in one!
RICHARD R. HARVEL FORT WORTH. TX
REMover
The following program re- moves all REM statements from 64 BASIC programs. To use this handy utility, load and run the program shown below. Then load the BASIC program containing the un- wanted REf^ statements, and type SYS 49152.
5H laa
AJ IIB
JF 120
C\ 1311 JP HO MK 150
XK 16a
FX 178 GS 189
GD 198
REMOVER
FOR 1=49152 TO 49
AO D:POKE I,n;C=C
T 1
IF C033534 THEW
(SPACEf'EHROR IN
TATEMENTS"
DATA 24,165,43,10
3,253, 155,44,105,
DATA 254,32,294,1
,60, 24, 165, 253, in
DATS 133,253,165,
5,0,133,254,168,8
40,192,177,253
DATA 240,a,2tll,14
37,200,76,33,192
DATA 152,24,1(15,3
9,192,32,204,192,
DATA 24,165,253,1
33,253,165,254,10
3
DATA 254,160,3,76
392:RE +D:MEX
PRINT DATA S
5,2,13
0,133
92,176
S,2
254,10
,140,2
3,240,
, 32,21 176,1!) 05,2,1 5,0,13
33,19
PP 200
KK 210
BK 220
GB 230
PX 240
GH 250
PA 260
AH 270
GR 280
BB 290
MQ 30S
DC 319
GF 329
2,76,51,
DATA 1,1
92,160,0
DATA 2BB
141,239,
,201
DATA 0,2
9,192,10
DATA 56,
33,253,1
DATA 13 3
,72,109
,165,254
DATA 73,
60,0,177
DATA 191
,176,3,7
DATA 133
3, 56,165
,133,45
DATA 233
,76,48, L
DATA 251
230,253
6
DATA 24
206,7,16
DATA 208
9, 192,24
9,192
DATA 133
5,0,133,
165,192,0,240 36,152,32,219,1 ,177,253,249,4 ,76,92, 192,152, 192,173,240,192
08,22,24 ,173,23 5,5,141,239,192 163,253,233,5,1 65,254,233,0
254,24,165,353 239,192,133,251
105,0,133,252,1
,251,145,253,32
,192,32,204,192
6,151,192,104
,254,104, 133,25
,45,237,239, 193
165,46
0,133,46,160,0 93,239
208,2,230,252, 209,2,230,254,9
165,254,197,46,
5,253,197,45
,1,56,96,141,23
,165,253,109,23
,253,165,254,10 254,096,0,9,0,0
Besides making a program smaller, removing REM state- ments can make a program run faster because the comput- er no longer has to skip over those descriptive but nonfunc- tional lines of code.
At first glance, line 100 may appear to be missing a REM statement before the pro- gram's name. Of course, when the program runs, BA- SIC will interpret the first three letters of the word as REM and pass on to the next line. This means you can test the program on itself.
Be careful not to run this util- ity on programs that have GOTO or GOSUB commands that jump to lines that begin with a remark. Those tines wiil also be deleted.
VINCE TAGLE GRANADA HILLS. CA
"Programmer's Page" is inter- ested in your programming tips and triciis. Send all sub- missions to Programmer's Page. COMPUTE's Gazette. 324 West Wendover Avenue, Suite 200. Greensboro. North Carolina 27408. We pay $25- $50 for each tip we use. D
G-20 COMPUTE JULY 1993
Gazette Index
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G-21
BEGINNER BASIC
Larry Cotton
Here's how to
activate your 64's
user port at
any time of day.
USER PORT CLOCK (PART 2)
The 64 is blessed with four ports to connect with the out- side world. Two of them are quite well known: joystick ports 1 and 2, which are locat- ed on the right Side of the com- puter next to the power switch. As we learned some time back, those ports can be used for output as well as for normal joystick input.
The other two ports may not be quite as familiar to you. Fac- ing the computer as you nor-
so have a basic knowledge of digital electronics or know someone who does.
Please remember two things: that all ports are con- nected to the innards of your computer and that their out- puts are rather feeble and sen- sitive to abuse. Avoid static electric charges like the plague, and always connect ports to low-voltage circuits by means of properly matched op- to-isolators, transistors, and/ or relays.
The figure below shows the user port as you face the rear of the computer. The pins
USER PORTS LOOKING AT REAR OF COMPUTER (GROUNDS AT PINS 1, 12, A, N)
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
ABCDEFHJ KLMN
POKE:
2 4 8 16 32 64 128
mally do, the port at the ex- treme right rear is the car- tridge port. It normally accepts game and other types of car- tridges, such as the common fastload cartridge. The port on the extreme left rear is the us- er port, to which I referred last month. When you want to make a connection to the out- side world, that's the one to think of first. This port is easy to program in BASIC. I'll show you how to turn on and off each of its pins.
In fact, the programming is easier than wiring the hard- ware. As I warned you last month, 1 won't go into a lot of detail about user-port connec- tions. If you decide on a pro- ject, you'll need a card-edge connector with .156-inch termi- nal-to-terminal spacings, avail- able at Radio Shack or Mous- er Electronics. You should al-
which we can control easily are those on the bottom row let- tered C through L (skipping G and I).
Here's a very simple pro- gram that looks at the key- board to see if C, D, E, or F is pressed.
10 P=5B577; REM USER PORT 20 POKEP+2,255: REM ALL PINS
OUTPUT 30 POKEP.O: REM ALL PINS OFF 40GETAS: iFA$='" "THEN40 50 tFAS="C"THEN POKEP.I 60 IFAS="D"THEN P0KEP,2 70 IFAS="E"THEN P0KEP,4 80 IFA$="F"THEN POKEP,a 90 GOT040
Line 20 sets up the user port so that all subsequent POKEs are interpreted as out- puts, line 30 turns all pins off, and line 40 waits for a key to be pressed.
When you run this, press- ing C, for instance, turns pin C on. (In the jargon of electron- ics, the voltage on pin C goes high or jumps from 0 to +5 volts DC.) This voltage is enough to power a Light Emit- ting Diode (LED) or trigger a sensitive transistor or relay, which must be connected be- tween the controlled pin and a ground (pin 1, 12. A, or N).
Now let's finish last month's program. Add lines 10-30 from the above pro- gram, change line 420, and add lines 430-470.
420 PRINT"lCLR][DOWN]USER
PORT PIN C ON. 430 PRINT"[DOWN]PRESS ANY
KEY TO TURN OFF. 440 P0KEP,1
450 GETA$:IFAS=""THEN450 460 POKEP.D 470 PRINT'1D0WN]USER PORT
PIN C OFF.
Now when you run the pro- gram, enter the times as you did last month. When the "alarm" goes off, pin C in the user port is turned on. Poking other values to P in line 440 ac- tivates other pins as follows.
|
Poking |
Turns On |
|
1 |
C |
|
2 |
D |
|
4 |
E |
|
8 |
F |
|
16 |
H |
|
32 |
J |
|
64 |
K i |
|
128 |
L |
Combinations of pins can be activated by adding the val- ues in the left column corre- sponding to the pins you want to turn on. For instance, to turn on pins C and H, poke 17 (1 -1- 16) to P (56577). To turn on pins J, K, and L, poke 224.
I've just about run out of space for this month, but I'll mention some of the pro- gram's highlights.
G-22 COMPUTE JULY 1993
The subroutine in lines 290- 410 gathers user input in hours, minutes, and seconds to set the clock and the alarm. Line 90 pokes values based on this user-supplied information to three clock regis- ters 56329-56331. Line 130 forms a variable B which is calculated from these values. B is the number of seconds from midnight to when the clock's alarm is set— when the user port is to be activat- ed. For example, B would have a value of 25,200 for 7;00 a.m. Line 160 starts the clock by poking a 0 to the tenths-of-seconds register 56328.
The clock is updated and printed to the screen in a loop in lines 170-280. The same registers we poked are continually peeked in line 170, from which printable val- ues are derived in lines 180- 220. A in line 230 is the actu- al time of day in seconds from midnight. Line 240 con- tinually compares A to B. When they're equal, the alarm goes off; control zips to line 420 which turns on pin C in the user port. Here's the en- tire listing in case you missed last month's column. Remem- ber, always set the user port to activate within 24 hours of starting the clock,
BM 10 P=56577:REM USER P
OHT BF 20 POKEP+2,255:REM AL
L PINS OUTPUT CC 30 POKEP,a:REH ALL PI
NS LOW DS 40 PRINTCHRS (147) :POK
E53281,14:POKE646,
6 KR 50 PRINT"SET CLOCK AT
-.{DOWN)" PK 60 R=3:GOSUB290:K=432
00:REH 43200 SECON
DS IN 12 HOURS GX 70 IFIS="PM"THENX=K EB 80 F0RI = 1T03:H = INT (T ( I)/10) :L=T(I)-10*H :T (I>=16*H+L:NEXT MC 90 C=56331:POKEC,T(l) :P0KEC-1,T (2) :POKE
C-2,T(3) Fft 100 PRINT" (DOWN] ACTIV
|
FD |
IIH |
|
HS |
120 |
|
JB |
130 |
|
SK |
140 |
|
RE |
153 |
|
SB |
163 |
|
PH |
170 |
XG 180
XH 190 GJ 200
HD 210
FD 22(
HA 230
SG 240 BJ 250
XX 260 MD 270
HG 280 DE 290
KE 300
KA 310 HP 320
PG 330 CE 340
GG 350
DC 360
ATE USER PORT AT:
(DOWN)"
R=18:GOSUB290
IFI$="PM"THENV=K
B=Y+T(1)*3600+T (2
)*60+T(3)
PRINT" (DOWN)PRESS
ANY KEY TO START
CLOCK, {DOWN} GETA5:IFAS=""THEN
150
POKEC-3,0
H=PEEK(C) :M=PEEK(
C-1) :S=PEEK(C-2) :
T=PEEK(C-3)
C1S=CHR5( (16ANDH)
/16 + 48)+CHRS C (ISA
NDH)+48)
H«VAL(C1S)*36O0
IFC1S="09"THENC1S
= "12"
C2$=CHRS( (240ANDM
)/16+48)+CHR$ { (15
ANDM)+48) :M=VAL(C
2S)*60
C35=CHR$( (240ANDS
)/16+48)+CHRS( (15
ANDS)+48) :S=VAL(C
33)
A=X+H+M+S:IFA=2*K
THENPOKEC,0:POKEC
-3,0:X=0
IFA=BTHEN420
IFA<KTHENJ$="AM":
GOTO270
J$="PM"
PRINT"(WHT}TIME I
S "ClS+":"+C2S+":
"+C3S+":"T;J$+"
{UP}"
GOTO170
HS="";INPUT"HOURS
";HS:IFHS<"0"ORHS
>"9"THENPRINT"
{2 UP)":GOTO290
T(1)=VAL{H5) tIFT (
1><0ORT(1)>12THEN
PRINT"(2 UP}":GOT
0290
IFT(1)=12THENT (1)
= 0
MS=""; INPUT"
(down}mikutes";mS :ifhs<"0"orms>"9" thenprint"(3 up}"
:GOTO320
T (2)=VAL(MS) :IFT (
2)<0ORT (2)>59THEN
PRINT"{3 UP}":GDT
0320
S$="" :INPUT"
{DOWN}SECONDS";S$
:IFS5<"0"ORS9>"9"
THENPRINT"(3 UP)" :GOTO340
T (3)=VAL(S$) :IFT( 3X0ORT (3)>59THEN PRINT"!3 UP}":GOT
0340
PRINT"{DOWM)AM OR PH (PRESS A OR P
[ID 370
EE 330
FH 390 JD 400
EX 410 AQ 420
XK 430
|
GS |
440 |
|
HO |
450 |
|
HF |
460 |
|
HB |
470 |
)"
GETIS:IFI$<>
ENIFI$<>"P"T
0
IFIS="A"THEN
M": GOTO 4 00
I5="PM"
POKE214,R:PR
0KE211,24:PR
RETURN
PRINT" {CLR}{
USER PORT PI
N."
PRINT" {DOWN} ANY KEY TO
{SPACE}OFF.
P0KEP,1:REH ON PIN C
GETAS:IFA$»"
450
POKEP,0
PRINT" (DOWN)
{SPACE)PORT OFF."
"A"TH HEK37
IS»"A
INT:P INTIS
DOWN) N C 0
PRESS TURN
TURNS
"THEN
USER PIN C
□
ATTENTION
WRITERS,
PROGRAMMERS
Gazette is looking for utili- ties, applications, games, educational programs, and tutorial articles. If you've cre- ated a program that you think other readers might en- joy or find useful, send it and the documentation on disk to
Gazette Submissions
Reviewer
COMPUTE Publications
324 W. Wendover,
Ste. 200
Greensboro, NC 27408
Please enclose an SASE if you want your materials re- turned.
Send New Product
Announcements
and/or Press ReSeases
on your
Commodore 64/128
products to:
Tom Netsel c/o
COMPUTE
JULY 1993 COMPUTE G-23
DIVERSIONS
Fred D'Ignazio
A 64 can be an ideal first commiter
for toddlers— as well
as a great
teaching tool.
TODDLER'S CHOICE
For a recent Public Broadcast- ing Service show, "Learning Matters," we videotaped my segment, Technoiogy Corner, in my family's study. We re- viewed ttie newest multimedia CD-ROM titles for toddlers, in- cluding Just Grandma and Me {Br0derbund); Mottier Goose (Sierra On-Line); Silly Noisy House (Voyager); and Millie's Math House (Edmark). Our re- viewers were my three-year- old daugtiter Laura and her one-year-old buddy Alex.
At the end of the segment, the show's producer, John Mer- row, noted that the equipment and software we used was "expensive and possibly out of reach" for many families. He wanted to know if there was an- other toddler we could inter- view who had a more down-to- earth computer setup.
I thought of Tommy Kurek, Laura's next-door neighbor, and we called Tommy's par- ents and scheduled a visit.
Tommy's computer, it turned out, was a perfect tod- dler configuration: a second- hand Commodore 64. Most of the software titles and extra equipment were purchased at yard sales or flea markets. The price of Tommy's entire setup was well under $400— the price of a single CD-ROM drive.
The computer station was on a small table in the corner of the family living room sur- rounded by books, Tommy's toys, and two or three loung- ing cats. When the family did their computing, Tommy sat in his chair, and his mom and dad sat on each side of him on the floor. This made them all about the same size.
To begin the interview, we asked Tommy's daddy, Keith, if Tommy had suffered from not having the latest multime- dia computer equipment. "I don't think so," said
Keith. "Tommy just turned three. While he was still two, us- ing the Commodore 64, he learned how to write his own name, his friend Laura's name, my name, his mommy's name (Leanne), and the names of all four family cats. "Also, while he was two. Tommy used the computer to learn how to count to 39, count objects on the comput- er screen and press the cor- rect number on the keyboard, and recognize and find every number from 0 to 9 and every letter in the alphabet."
"Do you have any advice for fellow parents who have tod- dlers?" we asked Keith.
"Tell them to find or buy a Commodore 64," said Keith. "If the parents buy an expen- sive computer, they'd be so wor- ried about its safety they'll nev- er be relaxed around it with their two-year-old, and they'll be afraid to turn their child loose on the computer. The great thing about this comput- er is it's 100 percent Tommy's computer He can do anything he wants, and the Commo- dore can take it.
"The other good thing about the 64," Keith contin- ued, "is that lots of Tommy's ed- ucational programs come on cartridges. When we go visit Grandma on weekends, we just throw the computer into the car along with a couple of Tommy's favorite cartridges. At Grandma's we plug into her television set, and Tommy is busy for hours working on his number, shape, and letter games. When it comes time to go home, it takes about ten sec- onds to unplug the computer and toss it back into the car" We asked Tommy to pick out his favorite 64 programs to recommend to other toddlers who are just starting to com- putey. Here's his list:
• KinderComp (Spinnaker Software). A set of shape-, num-
24 COMPUTE JULY 1993
ber-, and letter-recognition pro- grams perfectly suited for your toddler computer whiz.
• Astro G rover (CTW-Sesa- me Street). Same as above, featuring the lovable Sesame Street muppet Grover.
• Ernie's Magic Shapes {CTW-Sesame Street). Shape- recognition program featuring Ernie.
• Big Bird's Special Deliv- ery (CTW-Sesame Street). More early learning programs featuring Big Bird. AH three pro- grams (Grover, Ernie, and Big Bird) can be found in a single package entitled The Sesame Street Learning Library.
• Kids on Keys (Spinnaker Software). Helps with key- board recognition.
• Alphabet Zoo (Spinnaker Software). Letter recognition.
• Learning with Leeper (Si- erra On-Line}. Fun, education- al games hosted by cute little onscreen characters such as Leeper.
• Design-a-Saurus (Britan- nica Software). Dinosaur rec- ognition and naming program. (Tommy is a dinosaur nut. He carries a Tyrannosaurus Rex doll to bed with him instead of a blanket.)
• Dinosaurs Are Forever (Polarware). More reptiles for young dinosaur enthusiasts.
• Kermit's Electronic Story Maker (Simon & Schuster). You and your children can cook up your own online pic- ture books.
The cost of these programs? "At worst, under a hundred dol- lars," Keith says. "The impor- tant thing is to watch for yard sales where you can pick up children's software for just a cou- ple of dollars. Also, sign onto lo- cal bulletin boards where you can pick up lots of freeware edu- cational programs. Join a 64 us- er group, and you're sure to run into other young parents who are eager to share with you and your kids." n
PROGRAMS
ULTIMATE ML MONITOR
By Ted Green and Ed Balchick Examining and debugging troublesome machine language (ML) routines or trying to see how well machine code actually works is usually a struggle, ML programs run so quickly that it's difficult to determine exactly what happens and when it happens without altering the pro- gram. A standard monitor's breakpoint re- turns are not much help because the dis- play is corrupted and the program halts. Now, with the Ultimate ML Monitor, you can execute any piece of ML code in slow motion or single step through it one command at a time! A special user inter- face lets you interact directly with the ML program. You can view and control the ac- tual operation of the program in text or hi- res mode as it runs; examine and modify the program, data, or register values; and allow the Kernal serial bus to access rou- tines while in the single-step mode. These and many other features, such as full implementation of 6502 quasi-op- codes, make the Ultimate ML Monitor a powerful programming utility that you'll wonder how you did without.
Getting Started
Ultimate ML Monitor consists of three programs: two small programs that make up the loader system and the main program. These three files must all be saved to the same disk, but the program that you wish to monitor can be on any disk, even another drive.
The setup portion of the loader sys- tem is written in BASIC. To avoid typ- ing errors, use The Automatic Proofread- er to enter the program, See "Typing Aids" elsewhere in this section. When you finish typing this portion in. save it to disk with the filename ULTIMON.B.
Next, the smart portion of the loader system is written in machine language, and you will need MLX, our machine lan- guage entry program. Again, see "Typ- ing Aids." When MLX prompts, re- spond with the following values.
Starting address: CC13 Ending address: CFFE
After you type in the loader program, be sure to save a copy to disk with the filename ULTIMON.L The monitor portion of the program
is written entirely in machine language for speed and compactness. You must enter this program with MLX. When MLX prompts you, respond with the following values.
Starting address: SOOO Ending address: 8EBF
Be sure to save a copy to disk with the filename ULTIMON.O,
Looding the Program
Ultimate is very easy to use. Load and run Ultimon.B as you would any BASIC program. Before you run it, however, you should have the program available that contains the ML code that you wish to examine. This program should be copied onto the same disk as the Ul- timate system if you are using a single drive. If you are using Ultimate with a two-drive system, have each disk in a drive before running Ultimate.
As for what kind of program to look at, the possibilities are almost limitless. You aren't limited to looking at a pure ML program, the kind you load with the ,8,1 extension and start with a SYS com- mand that you often forget. Ultimate will examine an ML program that loads like BASIC or even a BASIC pro- gram that reads the ML from data state- ments and pokes them to memory and then calls them with a SYS command.
In the latter two cases. Ultimate can catch the ML portion just as BASIC tries to execute it (if you start in single step}. This means that for BASIC pro- grams in general, all of the BASIC is ac- tually run by the interpreter. However, once you are in the ML routine, you can- not go back to the BASIC program.
When you have selected the pro- gram that you wish to examine, load the drive(s) and run Ultimon.B. The screen will clear and display the follow- ing prompt.
ADDRESS TO LOAD MONITOR:
The address must be entered as a dec- imal value. The Ultimate program can be put at any unused area from 2048 ($0800) up to and including 36864 ($9000), It can also be put at 49152 ($C000), If you try to place it above 49152, you will get an error message. Placing the monitor in the RAM under
ROM (BASIC or Kernal) is possible, but not recommended, except for ad- vanced users. The most important fac- tor in choosing the load address is de- termining where there will be 4K of memory that won't be used by the pro- gram to be monitored.
Don't forget about BASIC variables. If they are a problem, protect 4K for Ulti- mate first. Ultimate will protect itself from any memory access commands while in any mode except full speed. This protective feature will cause the monitored program not to execute those commands, possibly causing an infinite loop in the monitored program. If this happens, it's best to start over and choose a new load address.
You'll then be prompted for a pro- gram to monitor and a drive number from which to load. If you enter the same drive as the current drive, you must copy your program to the disk with the Ultimate system on it because there is no time to switch disks.
You'll then be asked whether you want to run the program in single-step mode or at full speed. Enter Sfor sin- gle step or Ffor full speed. You'll usu- ally want to start in single-step mode for most small programs or anytime you want complete control over the whole monitored program. Full-speed mode is a good choice when you want to monitor a large program, and the piece of code that you're interest- ed in is executed sometime after the program begins.
If you select full speed, hitting the Re- store key at anytime will break into the program in the single-step mode (un- less the program changes the NMI vec- tor at $0318 while in full speed). When the single-step mode is activated, the status line will be displayed at the bot- tom of the screen.
Using the Program
Once you enter the single-step mode of Ultimate, the main program interface is the interactive status line. Note that all numbers on the status line are shown in hex. The main features of the status line are the foliowing: PC (which shows the contents of the emu- lated program counter of the program you are examining) and A, X, Y, and SR (which are the current contents of the emulated accumulator and the X,
JULY 1993 COMPUTE G-25
PROGRAMS
Y, and status [flag] registers).
To the left of PC is the space for the full-speed Kernal routine indicator, an asterisk (*). More about that later.
The most important feature of the stat- us line is the command display field. This contains the opcode mnemonic of the current instruction and the operand field. The operand field can be toggled between two different types of displays for some commands. The secondary mode is like a standard disassembler listing of the command.
The main display mode is what gives Ultimate its powerful debugging features. It has the ability to convert the addressing mode into the actual mem- ory location used by the CPU and to dis- play it on the status line. For example, if locations OE = 75, OF = 10, and Y = AF, then the command above would display as LDA $1124. You can toggle between these two modes at an- ytime with the asterisk key, even view the two modes of the same command without stepping. There are some com- mands that will show an address (branches, RTS, JSR, and so on) that look identical. The command field also indicates the address of the destina- tion if a branch is taken. An RTS will dis- play the actual address of the com- mand after the JSR, not the address 1 that it pulls off the stack. There are some other features used in the status display, but these will be discussed in the appropriate key description below.
Key Functions
A single keystroke activates many of Ul- timate's key features.
F7
Pressing f7 executes the next program instruction and displays the results on the status line.
Press S to enter slow motion program emulation from single-step mode. The approximate execution speed of this mode varies greatly, but generally takes about 150 times longer than real execution speed. If there are a lot of Kernal routines, the Kernal mode can speed up the program considerably.
The back arrow exits the monitor and
G-26 COMPUTE JULY 1993
runs the monitored program in full speed {real execution). Ultimate may be corrupted if set at a bad address. This key is good for running through a large piece of code to get to a particu- lar point. It also sets up the Restore key to go to single-step nnode.
Restore
Restore triggers Ultimate from ful!- speed mode, breaks into the program, and enters single-step mode at the cur- rent command.
The asterisk toggles the operand field display between disassembly mode and address-calculation mode.
f1
This function key toggles the status line on and off without running the pro- gram. It's used to view the current vid- eo display area under the status line. Single step (f7) and slow motion (S) are the only valid keys while the status line is off.
H
Hunt allows you to enter an address that is the actual computed address op- erand of a command. The program runs in slow motion until it finds a com- mand that uses that address. This is useful for seeing when a particular mem- ory location is accessed in a program. If the hunt is successful and the status line displays the command iine and PC, you can toggle the display mode (*) or look at the source code iisting. Hunt can also be exited at anytime with the @ (At) key.
R
The R key will let the program run until an address is reached. Enter the PC of any command in the code and then the program will run in slow motion un- til the command is ready to be execut- ed. This means that when the single- step mode display comes on, the com- mand before the one you selected will be on the display line. That is because when a command is shown, it has al- ready been executed and the new PC has been calculated. This is useful to get the program to the beginning of a specific subroutine or section of code that you are interested in without hav-
ing to try to stop it by hand at the right spot. This mode can be canceled at an- ytime by pressing the @ (At) key.
Use the J key to run through a subrou- tine in slow motion until the correspond- ing RTS is encountered. This means that all nested subroutines will be exe- cuted and normally the program wiil dis- play the RTS command when it returns to single-step mode. Since this com- mand triggers off the emulated stack level, the program could also drop back into single-step mode if two val- ues are pulled from the stack or the stack pointer is incremented by 2 be- fore an RTS is encountered. This is use- ful in allowing you to see if the routine pulls its return address off the stack so it can jump somewhere else. It's safe to enter J-mode anytime after a JSR. If it's used outside of a subroutine, it may never drop back into single-step mode on its own, but you can exit at an- ytime with the @ (At) key.
P sets the emulated PC to a new ad- dress; the beginning of a program; or the end of a loop, subroutine, or wher- ever. The new address is entered in the PC space on the status line. After the address has been entered, the val- ue will reverse to show that you have to make a decision. You must either press Return or f3. Return resets the em- ulated stack pointer to the top of the stack, $FF. This is useful when restart- ing the monitored program so that stack doesn't wrap around. Pressing f3 will not change the current stack point- er. This is useful for going to the begin- ning of a loop or jumping over some code where you may need the values that are on the program's stack. Noth- ing changes but the location of where the monitor reads the next command.
Dump has the same usage as Hunt ex- cept that all occurrences of the desired address usage (PC) are sent to the printer. This will not stop until the @ (At) key is pressed to cancel the mode.
K
This key toggles Kernal mode, the de- sired execution mode of calls to Kernai
subroutines listed in the Kernal jump ta- ble (SFF81-$FFF3}. The default mode is step-by-step emulation (in single- step or slow mode). The special mode is full-speed execution, which is desig- nated by an asterisk to the left of PC on the status line.
This mode is useful for speeding up programs with heavy Kernal usage where you are only concerned with the routine's net effect on the program. It al- so allows serial bus I/O routines such as disk access even in single-step mode. Most Kernal routines that use the serial bus cannot be successfully single stepped. Note that if the Kernal LOAD is used, the monitor program could be corrupted because the self- protection feature is temporarily disa- bled.
If the Kernal mode is off, single- step mode will still let you choose how to execute each Kernal call. When you get to a Kernal call, the address of the routine will reverse. Return will execute the routine in full speed, and f3 will take it out of reverse mode and allow you to continue to single step through the routine.
If you press Return, the routine will ex- ecute, and the next command shown will be the RTS of the routine. Also, the PC will show the address of the routine itself and will be reversed to show that you just executed that Kernal routine. The RTS shows where the program is returning to. If Kernal mode is on, then all Kernal routines will be executed in full speed with results as mentioned above.
Fill lets you change the contents of any memory location. Note that the monitor will not protect itself, so use caution when altering any monitor parameters given in the article.
M
Memory will let you examine the con- tents of a memory location. For areas that have layers of memory such as $D000 (character ROM and I/O device RAM), the memory configuration used by the monitored program determines where the value comes from. To view a different area, alter the offset value, START + $0055, with the Fill com- mand. START is equal to the address
you loaded the monitor to at the begin- ning of the session. If you do this, you must change it back before you contin- ue, or the monitored program may crash.
A, X, or Y
Enter a new value into a CPU register. After a value is entered, it will reverse to show that you have to make a deci- sion. Return will modify the emulated status register like an LDA command, while f3 will leave the flags unchanged. These features may be useful for alter- ing loop indexes or putting a keycode into A to be checked when letting the program go to the routine that handles the key.
W
W redisplays the status line in the cur- rent screen configuration. This is use- ful in single-step mode when stepping through code that alters VIC parame- ters and the screen changes so you can't see the status line anymore. Press- ing W will recover it without stepping.
C cycles the color of the status line text for text mode and hi-res mode stat- us line displays independently. All 16 colors are available. A separate color can be locked in for each mode and will stay the same even if you toggle be- tween monitor and full-speed modes. You won't have to change it after switch- ing modes.
In hi-res mode, the foreground and background colors are changed. Since the background color changes only after all 16 foreground colors have changed, it may take a while to get the desired color combination. !f you know the color codes that you want for the foreground and back- ground, you can put the proper value into START + $052D. (See F key above.) The value should be in the fol- lowing format: High nybble equals back- ground; low nybble equals foreground. See any 64 reference book for more de- tails. To actually implement the color af- ter changing the memory value, hit f1 twice.
V toggles multicolor mode. This key will have effects in both text and hi-res
modes. You may find it useful to turn off multicolor mode to read the status line clearly and then turn it back on.
G toggles hi-res display between text mode and hi-res mode. This is for see- ing the status line should the display mode change while single stepping (like W key). Note that the proper mode will be selected automatically when changing between single-step, slow, and full-speed modes.
Del
The Delete key has two functions. It re- prints the current status line with the command after using M or F keys, and cancels data-entry modes of any keys requiring hex input, such as H or P.
@
The @ (At) key cancels any slow-mo- tion mode {from S, J, R, H, or D) back to single-step mode.
Operotionat Notes
Not only are the regular 56 commands of the 6502 interpreted, but also the 14 quasi-opcodes as defined by Raeto Col- lin West in "Programming the 64" by COMPUTE books. Most of these op- codes have reproducible results, al- though many don't seem to lend thenn- selves to most programming tasks.
The new mnemonics that you may en- counter while experimenting are ASO, RLA, LSE, RRA, AXS, LAX, DCM, INS, ALR. ARR, OAL, SAX, SKB, and SKW. While there isn't enough space to dis- cuss quast-ops at length, most of them essentially decode in a way that is similar to the LDA-type commands. SKB branches over (skips) one byte, and SKW skips two.
These codes are included here when most other monitors ignore them because some software may use them to hide codes.
Another debugging feature is that Ul- timate stops automatically at a BRK or any invalid commands. BRK com- mands can be continued normally, but invalid opcodes will display three back arrows (♦-<-<-) and the hex value of the invalid opcode that has been en- countered. At this point, reset the PC to a new piece of code to continue.
Ultimate executes quasi-ops like it ex-
JULY1993 COMPUTE G-27
PROGRAMS
Bcutes all other commands. They are ex- ecuted by the 6502 after any address- es are decoded.
The program works by emulating ma- jor features of the 6502 and 64. The re- al stack and CPU registers are copied to a protected area of memory within tine monitor, and all memory activity is monitored in protected mode so that the monitored program behaves as if it were running in real mode. Also, win- dow space is maintained and protect- ed for the text screen line, color mem- ory line, and one hi-res line so that the status line may be displayed while any program access to the real memory ar- ea is sent to the window. All of this win- dowing Is generally transparent to the user and the monitored program.
For example, an access to the first lo- cation of the status line LDA $07C0, in default area, is shown as such, al- though the real load comes from the screen window maintained by the mon- itor. If a command tries to access the monitor's protected memory, the com- mand will not be executed. In single- step mode the operand field will be re- versed to alert you of this condition.
Advanced Uses
The Uitimon.O program is a stand- alone program, it contains the routine that actually performs the absolute ad- dress conversions necessary to relo- cate the program to the new address. This makes it very useful to load and run after another program has already been loaded.
During the first call, Uitimon.O mod- ifies itself so that later calls to the start address enter the monitor mode. This feature may be useful when a program that you wish to monitor is so large that it would overwrite Ultimate. Usual- ly programs using some hi-res graph- ics are like this. The solution would be to load the monitor over a 4K section of a bitmap that may not be needed while you are trying to figure out some portion of the program. The loading could be performed by replacing a small piece of code with a JSR to the following routine (WEDGE). Then, the wedge routine would have to be piggy- backed onto another piece of the mon- itored program.
SETLFS = SFFBA
G-2e COMPUTE JULY 1993
SETNAM =$FFBD LOAD = SFFDS DEVICE = $BA
WEDGE LDA #1
LDX #<NAME+1 ;lo byte LDY #>NAME+1 ;hi bytsi JSR SET- NAM
NAME LDA #69 jElecimai LDX DEVICE LDY #0 ;relocate JSR SETLFS
LDA #0 ;loail
TAX
LDY #>BEGINI JSR LOAD
JMP BEGIN
This loader wiil load, relocate, and kick start into single-step mode any ML pro- gram as long as Uitimon.O is saved as filename E, BEGIN = safe area (bitmap). Just find free memory for WEDGE and insert JSR WEDGE into code. Another technique is to load Ul- timate ML Monitor with a standard mon- itor that can perform a relocatable load to any address. Then run Ultimate so that it initializes itself to the new ad- dress. The initialization routine ends with an RTS. Now Ultimate is ready to use or can be resaved from the new ad- dress with a length of 4K. To call it, just use JSR or SYS to go to the new ad- dress.
ULTIMON.B
HG 5 REM COPYRIGHT 1993 - COMP QTE PUBLICATIONS - ALL RI GHT.S RESERVED
MP 10 IFATHENSyS52243
KD 20 D = PEEKa86) ;A = -1:L0AD"UL TIM0N,L",D,1
8 0 CB 8D BD A2 34 AS E6 ED hi A8 A2 FF 2 2 FA FF 90 DB D0 9F F0 BD D2 F4 3E E7
06 se
18 97 3E 94
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CC93 CC9B CCA3 CCA6 CCB3 CCBB CCC3 CCCB CCD3 CCDB CCE3 CCEB CCF3 CCFB CD03 CD0B CD13 CDIB CD23 CD2B CD33 CD3B CD43 CD4B CD53 CD5B CD63 CD6B CD73 CD7B CD83 CD8B CD93 CD9B CDA3 CDAB CDB3 CDBB CDC3 CDCB CDD3 CDDB CDE3 CDEB CDF3 CDFQ CE03 CEOS CE13 CElB CE23 CE2B CE33 CE3B CE43 CE4B CE53 CE5B CE63 CE6B CE73 CE7B CE83 CE88 CE93 CE9B CEA3 CEAB CEB3 CEBS
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A9 |
01 |
8D |
87 |
|
86 |
02 |
A9 |
00 |
A0 |
02 |
20 |
IE |
AS |
|
AB |
A5 |
02 |
C9 |
30 |
D0 |
0F |
A2 |
EA |
|
45 |
20 |
C6 |
FF |
20 |
CF |
FF |
85 |
9A |
|
FB |
20 |
CF |
FF |
85 |
FC |
A9 |
45 |
12 |
CEC3 CECB CED3 CEDB CEE3 CEEB CEF3 CEFB CF03 CF0B CF13 CFIB CF23 CF2B CF33 CF3B CF43 CF4B CF53 CF5B CF63 CF6B CF73 CF7B CF83 CF8B GF93 CF9B CFhi CFftB CPB3 CFBB CFC3 CFCB CFD3 CFDB CFE3 CFEB CFF3 CFFB
20 C3 20 CC 03 4C AB he
FF AA C9 46 B9 34 F7 A9 BD FF 00 20 03 8A 4C 34 A0 45 A2 0B 00 00 FC E9 08 03 57 CF
03 3D 00 20 AS FB A5 FC 2C A0 Bl FB A3 AS C9 9E A5 7B 00 02 A5 14 90 IS 15 E9 08 03 C5 CF 20 79 3D 08 20 73 BC A5 FB 4 6 A5 FC
4 8 6C
FF A9 FF A5 29 CE CD 20 F0 FA D0 F2 CF 99 09 A2 A9 45 BA FF 20 D5 03 A9 20 BA A0 01 38 A5 03 B0 A9 CF A9 87 09 03 D5 FF F0 04 C9 08
02 Bl 35 15 4C AE F3 42 48 A5 E6 7B E9 87 38 AS
03 B0 A9 CF 68 85 00 4C 03 A9 00 20 64 85 02 B0 48 A5 18 03
0F 20
02 C9 20 53 IE AB C9 53
35 02 33 03 58 A0 AE 3 3 A2 00 FF 20 45 AE FF AD 4C BD FB E9 0D A9 3D 09 8D 08, 20 IE
36 2D C9 01 D0 7B FB 85 20 60 A7 20 C9 97 7A 4 8 23 EB A5 15 14 E9 0D A9 8D 09 7A 6 8 E7 A7 A7 8D 8A AD FC A5
03 6C FB 48
C3 FF 30 F0 CD A9 20 E4 FO 04 R0 CA 88 D0 CD 20 CF A0 AC 19 44 FE 32 CF 34 CF FF 00 FE A5 88 8D 03 4C 03 A9 CF A9
84 2E F0 09 A0 03 14 C8 R6 20 73 00 D0 38 E6 7A B7 38 E9 03 FE A5 83 8D 03 4C
85 7B A9 E4 09 03 20 9B 65 85 FB 00 A9 20
00 00 00
ULTIM0N.0
8000 8008 8010 8018 8020 8028 8030 8038 8040 8048 8050 8058 3060 8068 8070 8078 8B88 8038 8090 8098 80A0 80Aa 80B0 30B8 80C0 80C8 80D0 80D8
EA EA E3 BA 69 0D 2F 83 8E B2 8D 18 A9 81
00 01 8E 73 E0 83 20 CI A0 00 8C 96 82 8C BE ED 3B B9 C9 8C 20 3E 10 08 B0 25
01 DC F0 25 55 83 0D 20 CI 82 20 36 3D C9 49 01
EA A5 CR 9R
48 A9 29 EF 82 20 0 3 A9 8D 71 9D 4A
86 CA 20 34
82 78 8C 61
83 8C
49 84 8A 8E C8 8C 8D 87 83 A9 AD B2 A9 DF C9 BF CE A7 FB 0B A8 FF 20 CE
87 F0 04 D0 80 86
03 43 63 85 43 43 8D 49 3E 83
82 8D 86 A2 8D E8 9A A9 8A 20 A9 00 3
84 8C BE 83 20 D0 E0 83 8D 86 80 20 00 FB 8 2 CD 80 00 F0 11 80 F0 4C 53 23 AE
83 20 F5 C9 13 AD
85 F0
20 89 03 18 63 20 8D BA A9 C0 19 93 00 BD D0 F7 7B 8D 13 83 5 01 03 86 aC D9
32 A8 BC EF 80 B9 FF FF
33 58 DC 3 2 DC AD A9 00 05 20 30 A9 FF 20
85 85 03 F0
86 85 E0 20
7D 8F AB F7 7B 89 96 4C 8D 91 40 02 03 5C 5F EC BC 74 EB DD 70 8F 93 E4 38 80 35 11 29 E6 71 35 9B B4 BF 51 FE 28 7D 0E
IC 24 C8 ID 7B 70 AB 7B E2 60 03 34 65 31 05 DO 38 B6 04 42 AD A9 66 39 61 35 52 AA
80E0 80E8 80F0 80F8 8100 8108 8110 8118 8120 8128 8133 8138 8140 8148 8150 8158 8160 8168 8170 8178 8180 8188 8190 8198 8iA0 81A8 81B0 81B8 81C0 81C8 81D0 81D3 81E0 81E3 81F0 81F8 8200 8203 8210 8218 8220 8228 8230 8238 8240 8248 8250 8258 8260 8268 8270 8278 8280 8288 8290 8298 32A0 32A8 82B0 82B8 8 2C0 82C8 8200 8208 32E0 82E8 82F0 32F8 8300 8308
:92 86 30
:C9 00 00
:AS 86 85
:18 AC B2
:82 A9 80
:85 00 0 3
:80 C9 11
:D9 86 68
:C9 29 D0
:84 A2 04
:82 8D Dl
:D2 82 A2
:48 83 D0
:82 20 06
:1F D0 0B
:8D 16 D0
:D0 0B AD
:ai 84 4C
:09 20 92
:C5 80 C9
:86 A9 40
:80 C9 15
:A9 80 80
:21 87 20
:4C C8 80
:D9 86 A9
:3D 20 21
:01 20 OB
:43 83 D0
:A2 16 20
:48 CA CA
:33 D0 00
:68 08 68
:68 4C C2
:A2 IB 20
:4C 00 81
:20 20 EB
:D0 81 C9
:O0 49 20
:81 C9 14
:D0 09 EE
:4C 31 82
:84 80 62
:C8 80 C9
:89 49 01
:03 A9 2A
iSR 4C C2
:20 09 86
;A9 04 20
:A0 00 20
:20 BE 84
:84 C8 28
:20 A8 FF
:F7 60 C9
135 AD 55
:BD 4A 8D
;F7 A9 17
:03 A9 80
:03 A2 00
:AD Dl 82
:43 20 E9
:80 80 86
:BD FF FF
;EA EA 60
:40 8D 61
:08 A9 03
:01 80 F9
(69 00 80
:69 00 80
:82 80 09
E4 54 47 04 A9 40 D0 D3 C9
82 C8 C8 80 8C 80 20 92 86
00 0B 8A AA A9 01 23 A2 04 20 OE 86 8 2 AD DD
04 20 A3
05 A9 FF
83 4C 53 AD 16 00 4C C8 30
01 84 49 C2 30 C9 36 20 E9 ID 00 OB 80 67 83 D0 16 20 DB 82 A9 EB 86 20 C9 24 D0 AD 8D DB 87 AD
55
20 BE
0A
DO 43
82
B3 C9 EB 86 80 20 A6 83 AD 49 80 80 49 8D 80 C9 17 EB 86 8D C9 19 86 80 lA D0 0B 8D 11 00 D0 10 AD 2D 85 AD EF 84 63 16
8D EE 89 2C A9 20 80 C9 12 A9 30 80 Bl FF 20 84 32 AD AD DC 8 2 84 82 4C C8 B9 C7 00 A9 85 01
EE 85 20 25 00
39
9D 8D 80
00 01
18 03
19 03 9A AD 02 48 20 20
84 A9 00
85 80 67 99 07 82 EA EA EA
84
20 CI 02
2C A9 82 18 20
01 82 AD
02 82 60 82 AD Dl
|
45 |
42 |
AO |
|
D0 |
13 |
6F |
|
22 |
D0 |
83 |
|
8C |
DC |
0F |
|
AD |
36 |
DF |
|
4C |
53 |
FE |
|
48 |
20 |
28 |
|
00 |
E3 |
38 |
|
20 |
90 |
15 |
|
AD |
DC |
El |
|
82 |
8D |
Bl |
|
83 |
20 |
90 |
|
80 |
B2 |
CD |
|
30 |
C9 |
08 |
|
49 |
10 |
E9 |
|
C9 |
31 |
93 |
|
01 |
8D |
20 |
|
09 |
00 |
D0 |
|
84 |
4C |
B3 |
|
20 |
09 |
56 |
|
4C |
EC |
E0 |
|
D9 |
86 |
59 |
|
30 |
20 |
90 |
|
DB |
32 |
BF |
|
10 |
20 |
67 |
|
82 |
A9 |
04 |
|
80 |
85 |
40 |
|
84 |
20 |
00 |
|
DO |
24 |
D7 |
|
46 |
80 |
E9 |
|
20 |
48 |
01 |
|
48 |
28 |
87 |
|
00 |
01 |
23 |
|
00 |
OB |
EA |
|
47 |
8D |
55 |
|
OB |
A2 |
E7 |
|
80 |
4C |
F7 |
|
AD |
11 |
CF |
|
4C |
71 |
82 |
|
E8 |
8C |
DD |
|
20 |
85 |
43 |
|
AD |
EF |
BB |
|
85 |
4C |
65 |
|
AD |
EE |
76 |
|
4A |
90 |
18 |
|
80 |
9F |
C9 |
|
00 |
32 |
78 |
|
67 |
83 |
DB |
|
BE |
ED |
46 |
|
DD |
82 |
13 |
|
20 |
BE |
93 |
|
EC |
80 |
DD |
|
8A |
10 |
5E |
|
20 |
92 |
6E |
|
A2 |
00 |
6C |
|
E8 |
D0 |
41 |
|
80 |
16 |
C5 |
|
8D |
17 |
89 |
|
82 |
48 |
8F |
|
83 |
08 |
6B |
|
8D |
8C |
58 |
|
83 |
60 |
0C |
|
60 |
EA |
C0 |
|
60 |
A9 |
35 |
|
82 |
FO |
OB |
|
2C |
A9 |
06 |
|
13 |
83 |
2C |
|
02 |
82 |
74 |
|
AD |
02 |
5E |
|
82 |
80 |
5E |
8310 8318 8320 8328 8330 8338 8340 8348 Q353 8358 8363 8368 8370 8378 8380 8388 8390 8398 83A0 83A8 83B0 83B8 83C0 33C8 83D0 8 3D8 83E1? 83E8 83F0 83F8 8400 8408 8410 8418 8420 8428 8430 8438 3440 8448 8450 8458 8460 3468 8470 8478 3480 3483 3490 3493 84A0 84A3 84B0 84B3 34C0 34C8 8400 84D8 34E0 84ES 84F0 84F3 8500 8508 8510 8518 8520 8528 8530 8538
D8 82 8D AD AD 49 :47 80 :8D 46 :30 68 :8D 55 120 36 :05 00 ;8C 80 ;61 84 ;F0 26 ;D1 32 :D2 82 :44 80 ; 20 BE :E8 60 ;04 20 ;4C BC ;83 BD ;87 20 ;BA 83 ;21 87 ;C8 EO ;B9 44 :84 88 ;00 BD ;EE 8B ;03 0E ;90 F7 1A9 00 lOE 4C ;EF 8B ;87 DO :02 FO ;B9 36 ;A9 10 ;05 A9 ;20 BE ;A9 00 ;20 99 ;A2 0E ;A9 00 ;0B 4A :07 82 ;AD 3F ;34 A9 ;A2 09 ;20 99 ;84 A9 ;84 AO ;01 82 ;81 84 ;AD 08 ;4A 4A ;0F 7 8 ;83 30 :69 40 103 4C ;6a A9 :8D 62 ; 80 E9 ;F0 3C ;29 C0 ;29 08 :1E 80 ;E8 8E :8C 80 :eS fl9 :8D D4
60 AD 02 Dl 82 3D 80 4 8 AC AO 46 8D 80 8E 47 80 49 8D 80 A9 36 87 C9 01 F5 4A 60 4A B0 0E C9 30 00 24 A8 AO 00 ID AD 00 IS E8 20 BE 84 84 A9 20 A9 00 60 9C 83 20
83 20 A6 9F Bh 49 B7 83 20 A9 00 ID B9 08 8A 13 00 F5 8D BE 3E 10 F4 20 ED SB SO SO 00 82 DD 82 2E 9D AB 8 9 00 08 23 B4 83 AC E0 03 B0
04 E0 02 El A2 0C 8D AS 20 ED F9 82 00 20 BE
84 A2 00 C9 6C 00 84 A0 00 00 DD A2 30 4B F0 B0 32 20 00 07 88 8 4 2 0 BE 20 20 21 20 90 84
84 20 99 20 4C 21 D2 82 20 20 BE 84 AD D9 82 8 2 4C AA 4A 20 C9 F3 18 69
05 90 03 08 58 2C A8 FF 9D DB 80 67
85 A9 FF BC AD 11 20 6C 85 BD S9 3C 0A 0A 0D E9 8C 8D EB aC A9 00 86 A9 9A 80 D3
86 20 C2
32 80 45 3D 48 80 28 63 8D 8C 60 A5 85 01 F0 04 A2 00 A0 07 2A A2 DC 82 DD 82 10 13 AD 45 20 A8 AO 00 9F 83
83 20 80 4C B7 83 9F BA 20 21 60 AO
80 20 95 B3 DC 82 A2 FD DC 82 E8 00 5C 34 E0 83 3 2 AC F0 E5 20 99 C2 83 AA 4A
84 A9 4C Bl B6 A2 20 C2
0C A0 27 4A
81 84 23 81 84 4C 87 00 20 93 84 20 87 20 BE 84 00 EA 20 BE 84 48
84 68 90 2C 69 00 67 83 9F 8A
85 A9 80 EB
00 29 80 67 AD IS E9 8C
01 86 00 SO 10 80 36 A9
86 20
4 4 0B 60 BO AE 06
08 26
4 8 FB 01 A0 60 38 C9 18 AD AC AD C8 00 EE
09 40
09 B0 AO 50
80 EF FF 40 A2 81
98 94 A9 9C 21 83 20 B9 4C FB 87 90
05 53 BE 8A A2 96 BO 70 A9 IE 2A 77 EF 36 A2 96 BE AS 95 7D C0 08 84 65 38 23 90 53
00 8B 83 44 ac DS
83 F3 24 08 B0 62 AD 80
84 DC 93 EE 13 18 84 82
99 5B
81 FF AD BC 20 88
84 85 4A 26 29 27 67 65 2C 3B
10 50 E8 FC
01 86 8C 39 20 EO
85 14 00 44 09 C5 AA 07 EB OA 62 eA 8E 2F 6C SE
JULY 1993 COMPUTE G-29
PROGRAMS
8540:85 8548:95
8550:A0 8558:B9 8560:F1 8563:8^ 8570:F0 8578:AD B5S0:49 8588:10 8590:B9 8598;F7 85A0:D9 3SAa:78 85B0:1A 85B8:85 85CB:85 85C8:aA 85D0:2E 85D8:9D 85E0:85 85E8:EE 85F0:A5 85F8:Afl 3600:03 8608:84 8610:06 8618:20 8620:C9 8e28:0A 8630:E0 8638:48 8640:AD 8648:82 865ffl:D9 8658:82 8660:8D 8668:86 8670:A9 8678:1A 8680:AD 8688:F9 8690:8C 8e98:9A 86A0:86 86A8:E9 3eB0:A0 86B3:B9 86C0:F1 86C8:D1 36n0:FF 8608:60 36e:0:86 86E8:DC 86F3:F6
8D El 85 8D 27 B9 C0 DB A9 00 10 FA 4A 4A
00 DD C0 09 AD EB 9F SA 60 8A
85 AD AD 18 8D BD
01 A0 B9 9F 2E D7 D7 8 5 FF FF 69 08 DA 85 01 09 60 A0
86 A9 86 B0 90 EC 84 86 04 F0 AA 38 8C 8D FD El D8 82 AD D9 82 20 68 8D SB 83 AD 49 00 A0 D0 AD 0D DC E0 BC 60 AD 8D D0 AD E8 8C 8D 27 B9 72 8E 60 A0 86 EE FF 99 20 88 80 00 82 60 86 20
86F8
8700
870B:2A
R7ia:F0
8718:05
8720:80
8728:85
8730:68
8738:48
8740:CA
8748:80
8750:20
3758:05
3760:87
8768:C6
07 87 0A 87 20 07
23 21 IB A0 88 10 9D 9F 68 AS 68 68 A5 C6 D0 FD 02 DC 9F FF 8D 6C F0 D9 68 AA
ac 8D 54 85 C0 07 99 72 A0 27 60 AD 09 03 SA eA 00 60 80 F0 99 C0 43 AD E9 8C D0 4A 85 A5 00 A9 8A 0A
85 0A A2 07 CA 10 8D 09 C8 C0 04 85 FF 8C 00 0A 0A AD 4C EF B0 EF 3A B0 AD D8 D8 82 8C 8D 79 00 82 79 SF 37 D8 82 4C F4 8D 29 00 80
19 D0 60 38 AD D9 E8 8C
86 A9 8C 8D D4 86 4A 8E 99 C0 00 20 D4 86 FF FF 84 A2 82 20
20 EF 96 84 0A 0A
87 09
87 CA 0F D9 F8 30 8A 98 E8 60 4C C2 48 A0
88 00 A9 00 A5 C5 87 F0 8D 6C A9 40
E3 ac
8D B7 99 4A BE 88 99 C0 18 Da 8D 83 6A 29 A9 00 0C A0 07 88 E8 8C SD DA 29 01 01 29
00 BD 2E D7 80 06 BD FF F7 AD
85 90 28 D0
01 58 03 86 0A AS
03 86
87 C8 AD 03 40 0A 82 48 AD D9 D9 82 8D 8D 01 8D 63 8D 60 A9 82 20
04 D0 0D DC 8D 19 AD D8
82 P-9 D0 19 8E 8D D3 86 20 C2 99 C0 DB 88 CF 86 A0 3F
88 D0 09 20 P7 86
86 60 A2 00 0A 8D 00 60 20 36 0E 8D EF B9 48 20 68 68
83 78 flA A2 F8 A9 BD 03 C9 40 DE CD 37 68 58 60
|
8D |
19 |
|
86 |
CE |
|
SE |
7A |
|
10 |
74 |
|
DB |
D5 |
|
29 |
B9 |
|
35 |
3B |
|
C0 |
CC |
|
D0 |
FB |
|
27 |
0D |
|
10 |
SE |
|
8D |
45 |
|
85 |
24 |
|
09 |
6D |
|
FB |
BB |
|
07 |
IB |
|
85 |
D7 |
|
85 |
71 |
|
FF |
F2 |
|
09 |
F4 |
|
33 |
EB |
|
CC |
74 |
|
63 |
B9 |
|
EE |
Fl |
|
20 |
4F |
|
C9 |
FF |
|
C3 |
9E |
|
86 |
F4 |
|
A3 |
IB |
|
FD |
26 |
|
82 |
11 |
|
13 |
DE |
|
08 |
GC |
|
8D |
DD |
|
D9 |
C0 |
|
80 |
69 |
|
26 |
70 |
|
13 |
34 |
|
8C |
4D |
|
D0 |
CD |
|
82 |
F5 |
|
El |
E5 |
|
A9 |
C3 |
|
Dl |
4D |
|
AD |
B8 |
|
86 |
80 |
|
07 |
17 |
|
10 |
41 |
|
EE |
2F |
|
B9 |
7A |
|
F7 |
CC |
|
F7 |
EB |
|
8D |
F3 |
|
8E |
FB |
|
23 |
57 |
|
05 |
ES |
|
A9 |
E6 |
|
87 |
9B |
|
F0 |
76 |
|
IE |
30 |
|
85 |
A5 |
|
68 |
95 |
|
SA |
F2 |
|
FF |
A4 |
|
FF |
EE |
|
DC |
ED |
|
D0 |
58 |
|
6C |
5E |
|
35 |
5B |
|
AD |
B6 |
8770; 8773; 8780; 8788; 8790; 8793; 87A0; 87Aa; 87B0; 87B8: 87C0; 87C8: 37D0: 3708: 87E0: 87EB: 87F0: 87F8; 8800; 8808; 3310: 8818: 8820: 8828: 8830: 8838: 8840: 8848: 8850: 8858: 3860: 3868: 8870: 3878: 3880: 8888: 8890: 8898: 88A0: 8SA8: 88B0: BBB8: 8aC0: 38CB: 8800: 3803: 88E0: BBEB: 83F0: 88F8: 3900: 3903: 8910: 8918: 8920: 8928: 8930: 8938: 8940: 8948: 8950: B958i 8960: 8968: 8970: 8978: 8983: 3988: 8990: 8998:
D7 29
82
07
;8D 8D ;0C 8D :32 BD ;95 37 ;06 20 ;BA 87 :D9 82 :D0 05 :6D DB :3D 60 B5 00 .F7 60 , IC A0 :O0 82 :20 20 :83 28 :1D A0 :84 20
34 AD
35 A0 0A 4A 4C 0C 90 0B Al 87 20 CA F0 97 82 08 87 4A AD 07 AF D0 D0 8F 29 DE 37 4C
55 A0
03
88 00 23
82 D0 88 A0
IB DB
20 32
D9 82 69 01 83 ED D2 82 AD 08 90 03
61 03
84 4C
Dl 82 60 20 4 9 3D 0E E0 99 4A 0E C8 30 46 B9 4A 32 60 09 AD EF 82 B2 32 49 80 C9 54 18 AD BD C8 4A 8D 13 83 CB 20 3F 84
48 8D 3D 95 F9 82
D7 82 3F 84
C9 03 B3 87 AD 09
60 AD AD 4 7
B2 8D
CB BC
99 DB
20 6F
01 BC A9 EA 83 20 4C F4
02 20 97 87 8C 83 02 4C 4a 43 8 8 AC A2 00 4C 0C 87 30 C9 02 20 20 4A 90 82 C9 96 A9 4A 90 C9 BE 0C 88 C9 78 23 74 70 86 AE AD 01 20 13 83 AD 02 4C DF 8D DB D8 82 E9 00 82 69 EE D9 AD 49 EC 82 AD 09 EF 32 AE E0 6C F0 8D CE 48 28 8D 68 8D 8D AD ES 47 8D AD 49 08 8E 4C EF D0 IB Dl 82 AD D2 SB 33 A0 01 D0 82 80 D2
55 88 87 A8
68 29 A0 01 A9 00 F0 14 4C AA 82 69
48 SD 8D A0 DB 82 Dl 87 82 CA
87 C9 61 84 8D 09 D7 82
82 eA
D0 82 A9 80 DO 03 FC 85 E7 20' DS 82 20 CA
88 AE C7 20 00 0B
83 EA 15 4A AE F0
06 8D 97 AD D0 A7 AD 07 00 07 86 C9 A9 01
07 82 00 82 6D DB B2 69 as 49 82 38 SD DS 80 09
32 SD 82 A9 SD 48 AO 08
82 30 AC B2
33 E0 03 AO B2 32 B9 4A 4C 3B
49 8D
83 C9 8D B2 8D 43 47 8D 82 AD AC B2
69 02 82 69 8C B2 20 D0 BE Dl 82 BD
4A 4A 99
B9 2E 69 E3 09 D9 20 D0 3E 63 AD 30 4 A B0 DA
87 20 E5 00 8D 91 AO 07 F4 OF 18 C0 8C 3B 0B AO 01 87
88 10 DB 02 D0 2F 83 20 SD 82 08 CS 20 2F C2 6A 90 CF 8D 3A EF BD 61 9A 4C FA 8E 2A 90 FB BA 37 D7 4A 4A ED 87 20 FB 47 8D 61 6F 37 2D CE F9 5B 4C F6 02 90 Al A6
04 C9 36 95 87 0C D7 82 C5 20 B3 11 32 8D Dl A9 7F 9C 58 D0 lA BD F9 10 BD F7 B3 30 15 4E 82 BD Dl 00 BD 01 FF 18 68 23 13 56 82 AD E4 82 18 22
05 82 60
81 8D C9 2 3 F0 EC
82 8D C7 D2 82 62 82 AD 5C 6F B0 3E 46 80 EF 60 DO 62 BD 08 lA 39 C8 FE 8C B2 91 9C Fa DD 82 4C 95 23 AE D2 68 8D IE E0 33 14 82 88 FE 99 4A 2E 00 99 BA 82 20 0A 82 AA IE 82 8E Al 3A 84 8E
B9A0 B9A8 89B0 8 9B3 89C0 89C8 89D0 8908 B9E0 89E8 89F0 89F8 8A00 3A03 aA10: eA13 BA20 SA28 BA30 8A3S BA40 eA48 BA50 8A58 SASS 8A63 8A70 8A7S eAB0 SABS 8A90 8A98 3AA0 BAA8 8AB0 BAB8 8AC0 BAC8 8AD0 3A03: 8AE0; 8AE8 3AF0 3AF8 BB00 8B38 8B13 SB18 SB23 3B23 BB30 8B38 8B40 8B4B 3B50 8B58 8B60 8Be3 BB7a 8B73 8330 SBB8 8B90 3B98 3BA0 3BA8 3BB0 3BB8 8BCa 3BCe
AC D7 49 84 3E B9 AD FF 89 88 30 80 86 90 B0 0A
CI 10
lA AD EB A9 83 A9 33 D0 35 D0 83 20 8C 80 E9 84 80 BD B2 32 07 C3 Ca D9 B9 4A 32 E0 00 03 A9 02 82 20 4A 80 80 B8 4A BD FF 80 D2 82 10 03 20 20 20 20
18 20
:55 4E : 4F 52 :23 20 :20 29 :20 20 :B1 AE :B1 A8 :Bl AE :Bl AS :B4 12 :B4 12 :B4 RE :B4 AB :B7 AE :C9 51 :B7 AE :B7 A8 :BA AE ;CC 51 :BA AE :BA A8 :BD 93 :AB 93 :AB 93 :AB AB :C0 5D :CF 50 :C3 5D :AB 5D :C3 39 :D2 39 :C3 AE :C3 A8
32 C0 6C R0 4C 3C 89 3D BA FF 99 Dl
10 F4 20 61 84 A0
11 C8 C8 20 55 83 F0 09 60 EE A7 80 BC 30 0D B0 8D BB 00 80 BB 09 AD 8C 03 20 92 D7 82 20 00 B6 85 A9 7E 8D 96 83 20 AE E0 83 B9 4A 3D 4A 3D 80 80 8D 02 7E D0 08 EE 02 82 80 61 84 13 83 20
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G-30 COMPUTE JULY 1993
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EA 39 37 DB
Ed Balchick is an electrical engineer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, wtio en- joys programming in maciiine lan- guage and in C. Ted Green is an un- employed painter from Cleveland, Ohio, who also enjoys programming. They both enjoy modifying other peo- ple's games so they (Ed and Ted) can win them.
RASCALS
By Bob Broderick
Just before dozing off during another bor- ing tiaul of galactic space animals in your freighter, you notice a red light on the control panel. Uh-oh! That warning light means there's been a power failure in the cargo hold, and all of the animals have escaped from their electric holding cells. They are a wild and dangerous bunch, but you've got to get them cor- ralled. Without a moment's hesitation, you suit up and set out to recapture those in- tergalactic rascals!
Rascals combines arcade action with strategy in a fast-paced game for the 64 that is written entirely in machine lan- guage. To enter it, you'll have to use MLX, our machine language entry pro- gram. See "Typing Aids" elsewhere in this section. When MLX prompts for start- ing and ending addresses, respond with the following.
Starting address: 0801 Ending address: 10B8
Be sure to save a copy of the program before you exit MLX. Although Rascals is written in machine language, it loads and runs tike a BASIC program.
Playing the Game
As the brave freighter captain, you con- trol the figure in the lower right-hand cor- ner of the screen. Use keys I, J, L, and K to move it up, left, right, and down, respectively. The object is to trap afl the moving creatures on the screen. To do this, you must push crates that are scattered around the screen to form a corral, surrounding a rascal. The rascal mustn't be able to move in any direc- tion, including diagonally, or it will es- cape. You can move as many crates at one time as you like.
Warning! This is a serious game. You have one life and can lose it by coming in contact with a rascal. If all the rascals have been boxed in, you've won the game. After each game, type Vto play again or Wto end.
A Few Questions
However, before you can begin play, you must answer the questions on the opening screen. The first question will ask you how many rascals you want loose in the hold. Enter a number from 1 to 7. Remember, the fewer rascals there are, the faster they'll go!
The next question regards the num- ber of crates available to you. A high- er number will give you more boxes, making the game easier. A setting of 1 will give you the least amount of crates.
The third question regulates the speed at which the rascals move. A set- ting of 1 is the lastest, while 9 is the slowest. Finally, you will need to con- firm your answers to begin play.
A timer at the top of the screen counts the number of moves the ras- cals have made, so you can compete against your best efforts. Enjoy — and get those rascals!
RASCALS
0301:3C 03 0A 00 9E 20 32 30 64
0809:36 34 00 00 00 00 FF A2 E3
0811:00 BD 49 03 9D EB IF E3 FD
0319:D0 F7 EE 14 03 EE 17 08 E0
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0829:38 A2 31 A0 39 8D 07 03 44
0831:8E 08 08 8C 09 03 E3 SE ID
0839:0A 08 4C 00 20 00 00 00 DA
JULY 1993 COMPUTE G-31
PROGRAMS
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G-32 COMPUTE JULY 1993
/^N r-
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79 |
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0F31 |
:01 |
13 |
03 |
01 |
OC |
13 |
20 |
53 |
45 |
|
0F39 |
:10 |
05 |
05 |
04 |
3F |
20 |
35 |
20 |
36 |
|
0F41 |
:20 |
28 |
31 |
2D |
39 |
29 |
20 |
20 |
41 |
|
aF49 |
20 |
20 |
20 |
20 |
20 |
20 |
20 |
20 |
67 |
|
0F51 |
:20 |
20 |
20 |
20 |
20 |
20 |
20 |
41 |
90 |
|
0F59 |
02 |
0F |
16 |
05 |
20 |
43 |
0F |
12 |
8D |
|
0F61 |
12 |
05 |
03 |
14 |
3F |
20 |
20 |
23 |
46 |
|
0F69 |
20 |
28 |
59 |
2F |
4E |
29 |
20 |
20 |
37 |
|
0F71 |
20 |
20 |
20 |
20 |
20 |
20 |
20 |
20 |
8F |
|
0F79 |
43 |
05 |
19 |
13 |
3A |
20 |
49 |
2D |
E4 |
|
0F81 |
55 |
10 |
20 |
20 |
20 |
4A |
2D |
52 |
2D |
|
0P89 |
09 |
07 |
08 |
14 |
20 |
20 |
20 |
4B |
3D |
|
0F91 |
2D |
44 |
0F |
17 |
BE |
20 |
20 |
20 |
FB |
|
0F99 |
4C |
2D |
4C |
05 |
06 |
14 |
89 |
89 |
20 |
|
0FA1 |
89 |
89 |
89 |
89 |
89 |
89 |
89 |
89 |
BF |
|
0FA9 |
89 |
89 |
89 |
89 |
89 |
89 |
89 |
89 |
C7 |
|
flFBl |
89 |
89 |
89 |
89 |
89 |
89 |
89 |
89 |
CF |
|
0FB9 |
89 |
89 |
89 |
89 |
89 |
89 |
89 |
89 |
D7 |
|
0FC1 |
89 |
89 |
89 |
89 |
89 |
89 |
89 |
20 |
76 |
|
0FC9 |
70 |
40 |
6E |
70 |
40 |
6E |
78 |
40 |
El |
|
0FD1 |
40 |
72 |
40 |
eE |
70 |
40 |
6E |
6E |
SB |
|
0FD9- |
20 |
70 |
40 |
40 |
40 |
40 |
40 |
40 |
F3 |
|
0FE1 |
40 |
40 |
40 |
40 |
40 |
40 |
40 |
40 |
FF |
|
0FE9- |
40 |
40 |
40 |
40 |
40 |
39 |
89 |
20 |
9F |
|
0FF1! |
68 |
72 |
7D |
6B |
40 |
73 |
6D |
40 |
B3 |
|
0FF9. |
eE |
5D |
20 |
20 |
6B |
40 |
73 |
5D |
4D |
|
1001 |
20 |
6D |
40 |
6E |
20 |
02 |
19 |
20 |
D6 |
|
1009: |
42 |
0F |
02 |
20 |
42 |
12 |
0F |
04 |
CC |
|
1011: |
05 |
12 |
09 |
03 |
08 |
89 |
89 |
20 |
3B |
|
1019: |
7D |
6D |
40 |
7D |
20 |
6D |
40 |
40 |
AA |
|
1021: |
7D |
SD |
40 |
71 |
7D |
20 |
6D |
71 |
33 |
|
1029: |
40 |
40 |
40 |
7D |
20 |
54 |
09 |
0D |
CA |
|
1031: |
05 |
3A |
20 |
30 |
30 |
3 3 |
20 |
20 |
0C |
|
1039: |
20 |
20 |
20 |
20 |
20 |
00 |
18 |
3C |
E4 |
|
1041: |
5A |
66 |
3C |
66 |
3C |
18 |
18 |
3C |
C4 |
|
1949: |
7E |
5A |
7E |
56 |
6A |
7E |
66 |
7E |
0D |
|
1051: |
5h |
7E |
66 |
7E |
3C |
18 |
18 |
3C |
Al |
|
1059: |
76 |
D5 |
F7 |
66 |
3C |
18 |
18 |
3C |
3E |
|
1061: |
24 |
3C |
18 |
OC |
18 |
OC |
0E |
4A |
BD |
|
1069: |
4E |
7E |
7C |
7C |
24 |
24 |
3E |
3A |
10 |
|
1071; |
3E |
18 |
18 |
3C |
64 |
46 |
3C |
24 |
56 |
|
1079: |
3C |
3C |
5A |
3C |
66 |
66 |
IF |
23 |
04 |
|
1081: |
7D |
7D |
7D |
7E |
7C |
00 |
IF |
23 |
9C |
|
1089: |
7D |
7D |
70 |
7E |
7C |
00 |
D9 |
CF |
C6 |
|
1091: |
D5 |
A0 |
C4 |
C9 |
C5 |
C4 |
AE |
AO |
39 |
|
1099: |
D0 |
CC |
CI |
D9 |
A0 |
CI |
C7 |
CI |
88 |
|
10A1: |
C9 |
CE |
BF |
A0 |
D9 |
AF |
CE |
00 |
87 |
|
10A9: |
D9 |
CF |
D5 |
A0 |
D7 |
CF |
CE |
Al |
AC |
|
10B1: |
Al |
00 |
00 |
00 |
00 |
00 |
00 |
00 |
A2 |
Sob Broderick is a student at California High School and has been program- ming for about five years. He wrote Ras- cals because he wanted a small ar- cade-style game that he could play with relative ease and few rules. He lives in San Ramon, California.
SCUD
By William F. Snow There has been a lot of discussion over the past few years about how little peo- ple know about world geography. For ex- ample, do you know the names of all of the countries in the Americas? Can you at least venture a guess as to how many there are in North, Central, and South America? Give up? There are 35! Despite its military-sounding name. Scud will help you learn the names and capitals of these 35 countries.
Enterlig the Program
Scud is an entertaining and fun way to learn something about the countries of the Americas. It's written entirely in BA- SIC. To help avoid typing errors, enter it with The Automatic Proofreader. See "Typing Aids" elsewhere in this sec- tion, Be sure to save a copy of the pro- gram before you try to run it.
Playing Scud isn't difficult. Plug a joystick into port 2 and then load and run Scud. The opening screen will give brief instructions for playing the game. After a short pause, you will be presented with the name of a country and asked to choose the capital from a list of three. If you choose incorrect- ly, you are given the correct answer in a special bulletin.
Defend the Gty
If you choose correctly, the city will be displayed, sirens will wail, and missiles will be launched at the city. It will then be your responsibility to use your Scud missiles to try to shoot down any enemy rockets before they reach the city. Use the joystick to aim your Scud. A total of three missiles will be launched from different positions dur- ing each attack. If you shoot down all three, you will have saved the city.
Modifications
Scud was written to help teach the names and capitals of the countries of the Americas. Since Scud is written en- tirely in BASIC, it should be very easy to modify the game so that the capitals of any other group of countries or states could be taught. The names of the countries, followed by their capi- tals, are in data statements in lines 1200-1300.
In order to modify the game, change this data to whatever group you wish to work with. Then, the foltow- ing code should be changed to reflect the number of countries or states you have entered into the data statements: the dimension statements in line 40; the FOR in line 80; the number of coun- tries in tines 150, 160, 170 (the scram- ble routine); and the end-of-game rou- tine in line 200.
Scud is fun to play and wilt quickly teach the names and capitals of the countries of the Americas to anyone who wants to learn them.
SCUD
BH 10 REM COPYRIGHT 1993 - COM PUTE PUBLICATIONS - ALL {SPACElRIGHTS RESERVED OD 20 REM BY WM. F. SNOW GG 30 GOSUB1020
XJ 40 CLR:DIM QS(35) ,AS(35) ,C0
$(35) ,CA$(35) ,Y(35) :V=53
24 8:StJ = 5 4272:POKESN+24,l
5
GS 50 POKE53280,7;POKE53281,7:
POKEV+31,0 QD 60 POKESN+4,0:PRINT"{CLR}
{8 D0WbJ}"SPC(14)"{BLU}PL EASE WAIT":PRINT" {3 DOWN) (3 SPACESlOUR SP lES ARE"; CD 70 PRINT" CHECKING ON THE E
NEMY" DE 80 FOR QA=1T035:READQS(QA) ,
A$ (QA) ;NEXT BE 90 FOR S=12288 TO 12351;REA
DSP:P0KES,SP:NEXT AB 100 FORS=12352TO 12415:READ
SP;POKES,SP:NEXT QD 110 FORS=12416 TO 12479:REA
D SP:POKES,SP:NEXT BM 120 FORS=12480TO12543:READS
P:POKES,SP:NEXT AK 130 FORS=12544 TO 12607:REA
D SP:P0KES,SP:NEXT JE 140 FORS=12e08 TO 12671:REA
DSP:POKES,SP:HEXT FH 150 FOR 1=1 TO 35 KG 160 X=INT (RND (. ) *35)+l FC 170 FOR CK=1 T035:IF X=Y (CK
)THEN160 SM 180 NEXTCK:Y{I)=X BD 190 CO$(X)=Q$ (I) :CA${X)=AS(
I) :NEXTI GS 200 SC=0:FORI=1TO4:POKEV+I, 0 : NEXT : POKEV+ 21 , 0 : P=P+1 :IF p>35THENP»35:GOT011 40 AS 210 POKE53280,13:POKE53281,
1 MD 220 JR=INT (RND(.)*10)+2 RC 230 PRINT" {CLR}{ 10 DOWN}
{4 SPACES} SCUDS HAVE BE
JULY 1993 COMPUTE G-33
PROGRAMS
|
PB |
240 |
|
SF |
250 |
|
BK |
26a |
|
GJ |
27a |
|
RF |
280 |
|
MP |
290 |
|
JD |
300 |
OF
TO" : IF Q
:IF R
HD 310
MX 320
SB GC
330 340
HG 353
XP 360
SG FG
370 330
KG 390
QE 490
PE AK
410 420
JG 430
n (^Me)440
CR 450
HX 460
AB HC
470 480
EN LAUNCHED AT THE PRINTSPCO) "CAPITAL [SPACE} CBLK)"C0$ (P) PRINT:PRINTSPC(12) " (BLU) SHOULD YOU GO Q=INT (RND(.) *10)+1 =P THEN260 R=INT (RND(.) *10)+1 =P OR R=Q THEN270 POKE2040,192:POKEV+2 9,1 :POKEV+4 0,1
S = IOT (RND(. )*3}+l:0N S {SPACE}GOTO300,34 0,383 PRINT:PRINTSPC (9) "{BLK} A) {BLU}"CAS(P) :PRINT:PR INTSPC(9) "lBLK)B) (BLU]" CA$(Q)
PRINT:PRINTSPC(9) "{BLK} C) {BLU}"CAS (R) :PRINTSPC (9) "{3 DOWN) {CYN}HIT Q CSPACE)TO END GAME" G0SUB6aQ:IF BS="A"THEN4 20
GOSUB820:GOTO200 PRINT:PRINTSPC(9) "{BLK} A) {BLU)"CA$ (Q) :PRINT:PR INTSPC(9)"{BLK}B) {BLU}" CAS{P)
PRINT: PRINTS PC (9) "{BLK} C) {BLU)"CA$(R) SPRINTS PC (9)"{3 DOWN} {CYH}HIT Q [ SPACE }T0 END GAME" GOSUB6a0:IF B$="B"THEN4 20
GOSUB820:GOTO200 PRINT:PRINTSPC(9) "{BLK} A) {BLU}"CA$(R) :PRINT:PR INTSPCO) "fBLK}B) {BLU}" CA$(Q)
PRINT: PRINTSPC{9) "{BLK} C) {BLU}"CA$ (P) :PRINTSPC (9) "{3 DOWN}{CYN}HIT Q {SPACE}TO END GAME" GOSUB6a0:IF BS="C"THEN4 20
GOSUB820:GOTO200 PRINT" {CLR}": POKES 3 280, 13:P0KE532S1,13 PRINT" {HOME} (18 DOWB}"S PC (8) "{BLK}B": PRINTS PC ( 7)"{PUR}NPE2 SPACES} {RVS} {OFF}" PRINT"{3 SPACES}{BLK} {H}{A}rOP* OP": PRINT" {4 SPACES) {PUR}OP^T} {RVS} {OFF)<{N>BP{@}NP" PRINT" {3 SPACEST{BLKTo {SPACE){N> {RVS} (off! {N>B{PUR}M M{N>";GOS0Bl 120
POKEV+21,3:XA=7 5:YA=200 : POKE 204 1 , 1 94 ; POKEV+39 , 11:POKEV+40,6 SC=SC+1:IFSC>3 THEN GOS UB970:GOTO200 PS=INT(RND(.)*3)+1:0N P S GOTO490,720,77a
SQ 490 POKE2040,192:POKEV+39,1
1;X=60:XX=255:FORA=1TO2
5 : XX=XX-3 : POKEV, XX XX 500 POKEV+1,X:GOSUB570 QA 510 POKEV+2,XA:POKEV+3,YA:N
EXT EH 520 POKEV+3a,0 SX 530 POKE204a,l93:FORA=lTO50
:XX=XX-3:X=X+3: POKEV, XX
:POKEV+1,X:GOSUB570 KE 540 IFFB=0ANDPEEK(V+30) AND2
=2THEN GOSUB630:GOTO470 BF 550 POKEV+2,XA;POKEV+3,YA:I
F(P'JEK(V+31) AND1)=1THEN
910 RR 560 NEXT;GOTO200 MP 570 JY=PEEK(56320) AND15:FB=
PEEK(56320)AND16:REM RE
AD STICK AND BUTTON FA 580 IFJY=7THENXA=XA+JR: IF X
A>255THEN XA=255 Bfl 590 IFJY=11THENXA=XA-JR: IFX
A<1 THEN XA=1 JD 600 IFJY=13THENYA=YA+JR: IF
{SPACE}YA>250 THEN YA=2
50 SS 610 IFJY=14THENYA=YA-JR: IF
{SPACE}yA<l THEN YA=1 XR 620 RETURN HQ 630 POKE2040,195:POKEV+39,2
:GOSUB1100:POKEV,+ 23,1:P
OKEV+29,1 DM 640 F0REC=1T03:P0KEV+39,EC:
FORDE=1TO70 : NEXT : NEXT : P
OKEV,0:POKEV+1,0 MS 650 POKEV+3l,0:POKEV+23,0:R
ETURN GS 660 GET B$:IF BS="" THEN66a QB 670 RETURN
MM 680 GET B$: IFBS=""THEN6a3 KB 693 IF BS="A"0RB5="C"0RB$="
B"THENRETURN SA 700 IF BS="Q"THEN1140 XC 710 GOTO 6 80 XF 720 POKE2a40,196:POKEV+39,l
1 : POKEV, 60 :FORVS=3T0 203
STEP5:GOSUB570 EG 730 POKEV+1,VS:POKEV+30,0:P
0KEV+2,XA EG 740 P0KEV+3,YA:IFFB=3ANDPEE
K (V+30) AND2=2THENGOSUB6
30:GOTO473 JR 753 IF (PEEK{V+31)AND1) =1 T
HEN910 GS 760 NEXT:GOTO200 DG 770 POKE2040,197:POKEV+39,1
1:POKEV,255:POKEV+1,220 DC 780 FORX=25STO0STEP-3:GOSUB
570 : POKEV,X: POKE V+30, 0 HJ 790 POKEV+2,XA:POKEV+3, YA:I FFB=0ANDPEEK (V+30) AND2= 2THENGOSUB630:GOTO470 BM 800 IF (PEEK(V+31)AND1)=1 T
HEN910 BR 810 NEXT:GOTO200 AP 820 PRINT"{CLR}{4 DOWN}
{6 RIGHT}{RED}OM <H>
{N}{2 SPACES}<H} {2 SPACES}{HH2 SPACES} 0{Y> {Y}H2 Y} B -(N}M T2 SPACES}{HJ-"
DB 830 PRINT"{6 RIGHT5LN <H} {NJ{2 SPACES }{H} {2 SPACES}{HH2 SPACES} L-fP}{2 SPACES}<N> 13 SPACES}B {NJ M {H}"
KR 840 PRINT"{6 RIGHT}<H}M <H} ■tN>{2 SPACES}<H}
{2 spaces}{h}{2 spaces} <hH3 spacesHn}
{3 SPACES}B <N> {2 SPACES}H{H>"
FB S5^ PRINT"{6 RIGHT}LN M{P>N {2 SPACES}L{P> L-fP} L <P}{2 SPACES}{N> {3 SPACES}B {N} (3 SPACES HH}"
MA 360 PRINT "(3 DOWN} {BLK} "SP C{4)CA5 (P) : PRINT "{BLU} {SPACE}THE CAPITAL OF {BLK}":PRINTSPC(4)C0$ (P )
CQ B70 PRINT"{BLU}{2 SPACES }HA S BEEN DESTROYED " ;
RP 880 PRINT"BY SCUD MISSLES. {3 SPACES}THE PERSON WH 0 COULD HAVE SAVED THE {SPACE}CITYDID";
BA 890 PRINT" NOT HAVE ENOUGH {SPACE}lNF0RMATI0N TO G ET{2 SPACES}TO THE RICH T CITY IN TIME."
XS 900 PRINT"{3 DOWN) {a RIGHT) ■C6JHIT ANY KEY TO CONTI NUECBLU}":GOSUB660:RETU RN
MP 910 POKEV+21,0:PRINT"{HOME} (20 DOWN)"SPC (4) "{RED}M •tF>{5 SPACES)N N":GOSU B1100
AR 920 PRINTSPC(4)"N M
{4 SPACES }N NNM N"
QP 930 PRINTSPC(3) "TM MfQ^IBBN { + JP{2 £j-Q":POKESN + 4,0
MC 940 FORDE'l TO500: NEXT : FORC L=1704TO190 3:POKECL,32: NEXT
FJ 950 PRINTSPC(3) "{UP}{BLK) {D}{0} <K}{£}{2 IJR{R} L{£>@-C + ><7}":F0RDE = 1T Oia00;NEXT
QF 960 POKEV, 0:POKEV+1,0:POKEV +31,a:GOTO230
PC 970 POKEV+21,0
RH 980 PRINT"{CLR} {5 DOWN)
(4 RIGHT} {BLK}THANK YOU ! !":PRINT:PRINT"{BLU}YO UR KNOWLEDGE AND MARKSM ANSHIP";
AM 990 PRINT" HAVE {4 SPACES )SA VED{BLK)": PRINT :PRINTCA S (P) :PRINT;PRINT"{BLU}T HE CAPITAL OF{BLK}"
HR 1000 PRINTlPRINT COS(P):PRI
G-34 COMPUTE JULY 1993
NT"iBLU)" DB 1010 PRItJT"(5 DOWN} (WHT)HIT ANY KEY TO CONTINUE
[BLU)":GOSUB660:SS=SS+
1:RETURN JA 1020 POKE532a0,10:POKE53281
,10
PG 1030 PRINT"[CLR) {3 DOWN} [BLK)"SPC{12) "N{2 T} [2 SPACES)H<(2 T> {2 SPACES XGJ {M} {2 SPACES )OM":PRINTSPC (12)"Ht@>{3 SPACES}-tGJ {4 SPACEsitG} (M} {2 SPACES}{G}{H}"
qa 1040 printspc{14) "h {2 spaces j-cg j {4 spacesHg> <M> {2 spacesHghm}":prin
TSPC{12) "{2 @>N {2 SPACES }M{2 @> {2 SPACES}Mi@>N {2 SPACES }LN" JD 1050 PRINT" {3 DOWN}{BLU}
{3 SPACES }THE enemy IS
LAUNCHING SCUD HISSIL
ES at national CAPITAL
S";
KM 1060 PRINT" in the AMERICAS . {3 SPACES}YOUR JOB IS TO GET TO THE CAPITAL UNDER ATTACK";
KG 1070 PRINT" AND DESTROY THE MISSILES. USE A (2 SPACES}JOYSTICK IN {SPACE) PORT TWO,";
RP 1080 PRIST" BUT BE CAREFUL, [2 SPACES}EOUIPMENT IN DIFFERENT CITIES DOES NOT ";
DF 1090 PRINT" ALWAYS RESPOND {SPACElWITH THE SAME S PEED. ":GOSUB900: RETURN
KG 1100 POKESN+4,129:POKESN+5, 92:POKESN+l, 1:P0KESN,1 00:FORF=1TO9 99:NEXT:PO KESN+4,0
CE 1110 RETURN
PD 1120 p6kRSN+14,5:P0KESN+13, 16:POKESN+3,l:POKESN+6 ,240:POKESN+4,65
CJ 1130 POKESN,240:POKESN+1,20 :POKEV+30,0:RETURN
QD 1140 PRINT"{CLR} { 5 DOWN}
{7 RIGHT} YOU SAVED "SS " OUT OF THE "P
SG 1150 PRINT:PRINT"{8 RIGHT}C ITIES THAT WERE ATTACK ED"
AA 1160 PRINT"{5 DOWN}
{5 RIGHT }W01ILD YOU LIK E TO TRY AGAIN (Y/N) ": GOSUB660
FA 1170 IF B$="N"THEN END
AX 1180 IFB$="Y"THEN RUN 40
CR 1190 GOTO1140
SJ 1200 DATAANTIGUA & BARBUDA,
ST. JOHNS, BAHAMAS, NASS
AU, BELIZE, BELMOPAN EK 1210 DAT ACANADA, OTTAWA, COST
A RICA, SAN JOSE, CUBA, H
AVANA, DOMINICA, ROSEAU PB 1220 DATADOMINICAN REPUBLIC
, SANTO DOMINGO, EL SALV
ADOR,SAN SALVADOR, GREN
ADA FS 1230 DATAST. GEORGE ' S,GUATE
MALA, GUATEMALA, HAITI, P
ORT-AU-PRINCE, HONDURAS
XC 1240 DATATEGUCIGALPA.JAMAIC
. A, KINGSTON, MEXICO, MEXI
CO CITY, NICARAGUA, MANA
GUA KG 1250 DATA PANAMA, PANAMA CITY
, SAINT LUCIA, CASTRIES,
SAINT VINCENT & THE GR
ENADINES HJ 1260 DATAKINGSTOWN, TRINIDAD & TOBAGO, PORT OF SPAI
N, UNITED STATES, WASHIN
GTON D.C. BP 1270 DAT AARGENT I NA, BUENOS A
IRES, BOLIVIA, LA PAZ, BR
AZrL,BRASILIA,CHILE,SA
NT I AGO MX 1280 DATACOLOMBIA, BOGOTA, EC
UAD0R,QUITO,GUYANA,GEO
RGETOWN , PARAGUAY , ASUNC
ION KE 1290 DATAPERU,LIMA,SURINAME
, PARAMARI BO , URUGU AY ,M0
NT I VI DEO, VENEZUELA, CAR
ACAS FS 1300 DATABARBADOS,BRIDGETOW
N,ST. KITTS 4 NEVIS, BA
SSETERRS FE 1310 DATA00a,000,000,000,00
0,000,00 0,000,000,000,
00 0,000,000,000,000,00
0,000 GG 1320 DATA001,00a,000,003,00
0,000,007,000,024,015,
000,104,127,000,143,25
5,000 EB 1330 DATA143,255,000,104,12
7,000,024,015,000,000,
007,000,000,003,000,00
0,001 SG 1340 DATA000,000,000,000,00
0,000, 000, 000, 000, 000,
000,000,000,000,000,00
0,000 CJ 1350 DATA000,000,000,000,00
0,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,004,00
0,000 FR 13-60 DATA006,000,000,007,00
0,000,007,12 8,00 0,00 7,
192,000,007,224,000,00
7,240 PX 1370 DATA003,007,248,000,00
7,252,000,015,254,000,
028,000,000,120,000,00
0,144
RF 1380 DATA0g0,000,144,000,00 0, 224, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000,000,000,000,000,00 0,000
KK 1390 DATA000,000,000,000,00 0,000,000,000,000,000, 000, 008, 000, 000, 008, 00 0,000
GK 1400 DATA008,000,000,008,00 0,000,255,128,000,008, 00 0,000,00 8,0 00,0 00,00 8,000
AC 1410 DATA000,008,000,000,00 0,000,000,000,000,000, 00 0,000,00 0,000,000,00 0,000
MA 1420 DATA00a,000,000,0OO,00 0,000,032,000,008,03 2, 032,004,032,000,000,03 2,000
KF 1430 DATA001,002,000,000,13 2,000,000,072,000,128, 048,000,064,120,002,09 2,252
FH 1440 DATA248,128,120,002,00 0 ,048,000,003,072,000, 00 0,13 2,0 00,001,002,00 0,000
CS 1450 DATA016,000,000,016,O0 0,008,016,032,016,016, 032,000,000,000,000,00 0,000
BK 1460 DATA000,003,255,128,00 1,215,000,000,214,000, 00 0,12 4,000,000,056,00 0,000
RR 1470 DATA040,000,000,040,00 0,000,040,000,003,040, 000,000,040,000,000,04 0,000
EC 1480 DATA000,340,000,000,04 0,000,000,040,000,000, 056,000,000,016,000,00 0,016
QP 1490 DATA000, 000, 016,000,00 0,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000,00 0,000
BA 1500 DATA000,000,000,000,00 0,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000,00 0,000
FK 1510 DATA003,000,000,007,00 0,000,025,015,255,241, 000,00 0,0 2 5,000,000,00 7,000
JE 1520 DATA000,003,000,000,00 0,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000,00 0,000
PD 1530 DATA800,000,000,00O,00 0,000,000,000,000,000
William Snow, a teacher for more than 27 years, is vice president of the McHenry County Commodore Comput- er Club in fvicHenry, tllinois.
JULY 1993 COMPUTE G-35
PROGRAMS
CRYPTARITHM SOLVER
By David Pankhurst When I first bought my Commodore, i used it often to solve math problems. I liked the brute-force approach the com- puter allowed. I'd just have a series of FOR-NEXT loops go through the possible answers until a solution would appear,
That was fine most of the time, but even- tually I came across a type of math prob- lem the computer couldn't help me with, the cryptarithm. You've no doubt seen this type of problem before.
HELP
+ THE
YOUNG
Each letter represents a different digit, 0-9. In this example, there are ten dif- ferent letters, so all ten digits are used. The words HELP and THE each make numbers that, when added to- gether, match the result in YOUNG. There are no restrictions, except that 0 can't be the first digit in any number.
Clearly, this isn't a simple loop prob- lem. Let's say the H above was as- signed 1; the E, 2; the L, 3; and so on throughout the puzzle. A sample addi- tion could then be tried, and the result checked.
So how many times does this need to be done? To completely check the puzzle, H has to be tried out for each of the 9 digits (leaving out 0), Eby each of the remaining 9, the L by the remaining 8, and so on. This gives ap- proximately 9x9x8x7x6x5x 4x3x2x1 choices, or 3,265,920 dif- ferent combinations. That's a lot of loops in BASIC! If the 64 managed one calculation per second, it would take more than 35 days to complete.
To the Rescue
Enter machine language. Cryptarithm Solver brings ML brute force to these puzzles. In a matter of hours, it can solve most cryptarithms. A puzzle is first broken up into combinations, and the computer tries different substitu- tions for each letter.
If the result is correct (totals on both sides of the equal sign match) the puz- zle is solved. The program then goes on to see if there are other solutions.
G-36 COMPUTE JULY 1993
Typing It In
Cryptarithm Solver is written in BASIC, but it pokes machine language rou- tines into memory to speed calcula- tions. To help avoid typing errors, en- ter the program with The Automatic Proofreader; see "Typing Aids" else- where in this section. Be sure to save a copy of the program before you try to run it.
Solving Equations
When you run Cryptarithm Solver, the program will prompt you for a puzzle. To solve the above problem, enter it in the following format, ('y'ou may use low- ercase letters.)
HELP+TH£=YOUNG
After you press Return, the program displays a constantly changing sum in the bottom of the screen. This is a win- dow into the processing of the pro- gram. The display is the test result pro- duced by each combination. Usually, the result is wrong, and the next com- bination is then tried. However, when the result is true, the solution is dis- played, along with the time it took to find. Processing then continues with the next combination.
No Key Words
You need to watch out for one thing when you're preparing input for Cryp- tarithm Solver. If you typed SEND + MORE = MONEY, the program would display an error message informing you that the words contained an em- bedded BASIC function or command, This is because the BASIC commands END, OR, and ON are embedded in the formula, and the computer tries to encode these as commands. To avoid this problem, insert spaces between the letters. SEND + MORE=MO N E y would work fine,
Cryptarithm Solver works well with all sorts of mathematical operations, not just addition. One example is the follow- ing multiplication.
ABCDE*9=FGHIJ
Entering it this way fixes the 9; only let- ters are changed in the puzzle. By the way there are two solutions to this puz- zle. As with other computer math opera-
tions, be sure to enter an asterisk for multiplication.
Cryptarithm Solver works at ML speeds, but even that isn't fast enough for instantaneous results. Depending on the formula, the program can per- form as many as 60 tests a second, so it would still take half a day to solve some puzzles.
Even Faster
One way to shorten the time is to put the result first on the line. As an exam- ple, look at MONEY=SEND+MORE. Cryptarithm Solver starts by assigning 1 to M: usually, that is the correct digit for the first place in the sum. So, you can save testing for the other eight dig- its, and this can mean solving most puz- zles in less than an hour. The exam- ples here ranged from 40 seconds to three hours, using these tips.
Other Longuages
Cryptarithm Solver is not restricted to English. It also works in French.
ELEVE+LECON=DEVOIR
This translates loosely to become STU- DENT+LESSONS=HOMEWORK. If we entered the words into Cryptarithm Solver as ELEVE+LECON=DEVOIR. the D (which logically is 1), would be as- signed 7, and it would have to go through the whole cycle to solve. By re- versing the order, D is assigned 1 im- mediately, and the solution is that much quicker. It took me 64 minutes. (Ill give you this one. The answer is 69656 + 96078 = 165734.)
When the program finds a solution, leave it running to search for other an- swers. When all reasonable solutions have been tried, however, you'll want to stop it. To quit, hold down the Q key. You'll be asked if you wish to con- tinue. Press Y to continue or N to stop. To slow the action, hold down the Ctrl key. But be warned; the solutions take much longer.
I hope you enjoy Cryptarithm Solver, yet one more way the brute- force methods of computing can yield practical results and eliminate all that difficult thinking for us humans. To end, here are two more puzzles:
PETER+PETER+PETER+PETER=REP£AT
IVIARS+VENUS+SATURN-i-URANUS=NEPTUNE
CRYPTARITHM SOLVER
PH 100 REM COPYRIGHT 1993 - CO MPUTE PUBLICATIONS INTL LTD - ALL BIGHTS RESER VED
RH 105 POKE 53280, 0:POKE 53281 ,0:PRINT"{CLR} CYELKH}
W"
XK 110 PRINT" {8 SPACES }CRYPTAR
ITHHS[2 SPACES}^OLVBR AQ 120 PRINT" {11 SPACES }BY D.P
ANKHURST BX 130 PRINT
RE 140 INPUT "CODE STRING";XS XB 150 DIM L(2fi) :L=0:GOSUB350:
PP=P:YS="10234567a9" EM 160 FOR 1=1 TO LEN(YS);POKE C-l+I ,ASC(MIDS (YS,I ,1)
):NEXT:POKE CH,LEN(Y5)-
1 AR 170 FOR 1=1 TO LEH(X$):P0KE 511 + 1 ,ASC(MID5 (XS,I,1)
) :NEXT:POKE I,0;SYS 491
55 SD 174 FOR J=l TO I-1:IF PEEK(
SH+J)THEN 178 AM 176 PRINT"{RVS} EMBEDDED BA
SIC FUNCTION OR COMMAND {OFF}":END GE 178 NEXT;Y=1 JX 180 IF PEEK(511+Y) <>0 THEN
{SPACE)Y=Y+1:G0T0 180 QQ 190 FOR K=l TO Y-1:C=PEEK(5
11 + K) :CS=CHR$ (C) :IF CS<
"A" OR C$>"Z" THEN250 PX 200 IF L=0 THEM230 CR 210 Y=-1:F0R 1=0 TO L-1:IF
{SPACE)L(I)=C THEN Y=I CG 220 NEXT: IF YO-l THEN240 PA 230 L(L)=C: Y=L:L=L+1 SA 240 POKE PP,K:POKE PP+1,Y:P
P=PP+2 HC 250 NEXT: POKE PC,PP-P:FOR I
=0 TO L-1:P0KE X+I,I:NE
XT: POKE MX,L-1 DC 260 PRINT"{CLR)" ; :F=0 CS 270 PRINT"{HOMEl {24 DOWN] "
XS;:SYS 49152 MS 280 POKE 198,0:Y=PEEK(78i) EB 290 IF y=255 AND F=0 THEN P
RINT:PRINT"{UP} {RVS| SO
RRY-KO MATCH {OFr)":GOT
0340 SO 300 IF Y=255 THEN PRINT: PRI
NT"{UP}{RVS} END OF LIS
TS {OFF)":GOTO340 PP 310 IF YOl THEN330 DK 320 F=F+1:PRINT"{2 SPACES}"
INT (T 1/6 )/10 "SECONDS"; :
PRINT: PRINT" "X$;:SYS 4
9158:GOTO280 QH 330 IF Y=0 THEN PRINT"
{2 SPACES3C0NTINUB?"; :W
AIT 198,255:GET Y$:IF Y
S="Y"THEN270 EF 343 PRINT:PRINT" FINISHED A
T"INT (TI/6)/10 "SECONDS
":END DD 350 TIS="000a00":DS=1984 :IF PEEK(44)<>18 THEN GOSU
B 400 RC 360 DX=50432:NX=DX+1:MX=NX+
l:X=MX+l:T=X+30:CM=T+8fl
:C=CM+1:PC=C+30:P=PC+1:
R=P+a0 DR 370 RETURN RS 400 RESTORE:FOR 1=0 TO-1 ST
EP-l:REAn y$:I=VAL (YS) =
-1:NEXT:X= 49152; data -
1 HQ 410 READ Y:IF YO-2 THEN PO
KE X,Y:X=X+1:G0T0 410 KA 420 RETURN HP 430 DATA{2 SPACBS)24,144, 3
0, 76, {2 SPACES)9,192,
{SPACE}56 AQ 440 DATA 176, 24,165,122, 7
2,165,123 FC 450 D&T&{2 SPACES)72,169,
{2 SPACES}2,133,123,169
,{2 SPACES }0 SH 460 DATA 133,122, 32,124,16
5,104,133 SE 470 DATA 123,104,133,122, 9
6,173, {2 SPACES} 2 FK 480 DATA 197,141, {2 SPACES}
0,197,165,122, 72 XH 490 DATA 165,123, 72,176,
C2 SPACES}6, 32, 63 KR 500 DATA 192, 76, 56,192, 3
2,137,192 ER 510 DATA 104,133,123,104,13
3,122, 96 FB 520 DATA 174,244,197,142, 6
9,198,206 JD 530 DATA{2 SPACES)69,198,17
4, 69,198,188,245 KM 540 DATA 197,190,(2 SPACES}
3,197,189,164,197 JE 550 DATA 206, 69,198,174, 6
9,198, 48 PA 560 DATA{2 SPACES)15,188,24
5,197,153,192,
(2 SPACES}7 HF 570 DATA 153,255, {2 SPACES}
1,174, 69,198, 76 SC 580 DATA{2 SPACES } 69 , 192 , 16
9,255,162,(2 SPACES}1,1
33 HB 590 DATA 122,134,123, 32,11
5,(2 SPACES}0, 32 RS 600 DATA 158,173,165, 97,24
0,{2 SPACES}3,162 HQ 610 DATA{3 SPACES}!, 96,165
,197,201, 62,208 JJ 620 DATA{3 SPACES}3,162,
(2 SPACES}0, 96,173,141
,(2 SPACES}2 HD 630 DATA 201,(2 SPACES}4,20
8, 17,169, [2 SPACES}5,1
60
DS 640 DATA 255,162,255,202,20
8,253,136 KC 650 DATA 208,248,170,202,13
8,208,241 XH 660 DATA 174, {2 SPACES}0,19
7,188,(2 SPACES}3,197,2
00 HQ 670 DATA 140,(2 SPACES} 1,19
7,174,163,197,169 AD 680 DATA(3 SPACES } 0, 157 , 83
,197,202, 16,250 JS 690 DATA 174,(2 SPACES}0,19
7,169,255,202, 48 AX 700 DATA(3 SPACES } 9, 188 ,
(2 SPACES}3,197,153, 83
,197 JM 710 DATA 202, 16,247,173,
(2 SPACES}1,197,205 HB 720 DATA 163,197,240,
(2 SPACES}2,176, 48,172 KQ 730 0ATA(3 SPACES } 1, 197 , 185
, 83,197,208, 12 RP 740 DATA 174,(2 SPACES}0,19
7,173, (2 SPACES}1, 197,1
57 QQ 750 DATA(3 SPACES } 3 , 197 , 76
,235,192,238,(2 SPACES}
1 RX 760 DATA 197, 76,199,192,17
3, (2 SPACES}0,197 QF 770 DATA 205,(2 SPACES} 2, 19
7,208,(2 SPACES}3, 76,
(SPACE} 63 RF 780 DATA 192,238,(2 SPACES)
0,197,169,(2 SPACES}0,1
41 HM 790 DATA(3 SPACES } 1 , 197 , 76
,171,192,206,(2 SPACES}
0 EM 800 DATA 197, 16,155,162,25
5, 96 XK 810 DATA -2
David Pankhurst, the author of the Calc II spreadsheet, lives in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
FLASHER 64
By Henry Sopko
Focus attention to where you want it on- screen with Flasher 64. You can make words or graphic characters flash, scroll the screen while they flash, and have as many characters flashing as you want. Flasher 64 is a short machine lan- guage program. To enter it, use MLX, our machine language entry program. See "Typing Aids" elsewhere in this section. When MIX prompts, respond with the fol- lowing addresses.
Starting address: CCOQ Ending address: CDF7
JULY 1993
COMPUTE G-37
PROGRAMS
Be sure to save a copy of the program before you exit MLX.
With just two commands, you can mal<e a word or a graphic character flash anywhere on the screen. As with the 128 in 80 columns, you can use the command CHR$(15) to turn on the flashing and use CHR$(143) to turn it off. All characters can be made to flash with the exception of characters 254 and 255. These two characters are used in a special way in the program. However, they can be used in the non- flashing mode.
You can also use your own custom characters as long as the screen mem- ory stays at $0400 (default). Flasher 64 commands can be entered in both di- rect and program modes. Since Flash- er runs in the background using the IRQ routine, your BASIC or machine lan- guage programs will continue to exe- cute as normal without slowing down.
How It Works
A second screen was necessary to ac- complish this flashing technique. The second screen, located at $C800, is filled with the byte value of $FR Then, when the command CHR$(15) is used, the character{s) are redirected to the second screen. The command CHR$(143) or a carriage return will can- cel the printing of the character(s) to the second screen and resume print- ing them to the main screen. While this is happening, the IRQ routine is scanning for characters on the second screen. Any character other than 255 will be printed to the main screen locat- ed at $0400 (1024).
Two phases are required to make characters flash. The first phase puts the characters on the screen, while the second fills them with blank spaces giv- ing the effect of flashing characters.
Also, it was necessary to copy the BASIC ROM and the Kernal ROM to the underlying RAM to support the scrolling of the flashing characters. A few changes were made to the Kernal so that the two screens would be in sync with each other when the screen is scrolled.
To use Flasher 64 in your program, you must first execute the program with SYS 52224. Do this only at the be- ginning of your program. After you have issued this SYS command, use
G-38 COMPUTE JULY 1993
the commands CHR$(15) and CHR$(143) to turn on and off the flash- ing sequence.
For example, after you've entered the SYS command, enter the following line in immediate mode.
PRINTCHR$(15)"FLASH 0N"CHRS(143) " FLASH OFF"
It's also possible to turn off all or just part of a flashing word. Simply send the character 255 to the second screen in the area that you wish to have the flashing stopped. In order to send the character 255, you must first use the PRiNTCHR$(15) and then in quotes press the Ctrl-Rvs keys simulta- neously. While you're still in quote mode, hold down the Commodore logo key along with the B key. This produc- es a character value of 255.
A Demonstration
For a demonstration of how these com- mands are used, enter the demo pro- gram and study its commands. The demo is written in BASIC. To help you avoid typing errors, enter it with The Au- tomatic Proofreader. Again, see "Typ- ing Aids." Since the demo loads and runs Flasher 64, make sure both pro- grams are on the same disk. After you've studied the demo, you should easily be able to use Flasher 64 in your own programs.
Some cartridges may interfere with Flasher 64. To use the program with Su- per Snapshot v5, use the cartridge's >Q command to quit the wedge since Flasher 64 changes the IBSOUT vec- tors to point to its own routine. This prob- lem occurs only in the direct mode,
|
FUSHER 64 |
||||||||
|
CCO0:20 |
B6 |
CD |
A2 |
75 |
86 |
SI |
20 |
23 |
|
CC08:96 |
CC |
A9 |
20 |
78 |
A2 |
C6 |
A0 |
D3 |
|
CC10:CC |
8E |
14 |
03 |
8C |
15 |
03 |
58 |
7D |
|
CCie:A2 |
00 |
86 |
92 |
A2 |
26 |
A0 |
CC |
B8 |
|
CC23:8E |
26 |
03 |
8C |
27 |
03 |
8E |
94 |
AA |
|
CC2 8:CC |
AE |
95 |
CC |
F0 |
06 |
20 |
7B |
AE |
|
CC30:CC |
20 |
60 |
CC |
C9 |
93 |
F0 |
22 |
Bl |
|
CC38;C9 |
0F |
D0 |
03 |
20 |
60 |
CC |
C9 |
AA |
|
CC40:aF |
D0 |
03 |
20 |
7B |
CC |
C9 |
0D |
E7 |
|
CC48:Da |
0A |
AE |
88 |
02 |
E0 |
0B |
90 |
5F |
|
CC50:03 |
20 |
7B |
CC |
AE |
94 |
CC |
4C |
5D |
|
CC58:C\ |
Fl |
23 |
96 |
CC |
4C |
38 |
CC |
16 |
|
CC60:8D |
91 |
CC |
A5 |
02 |
8D |
92 |
CC |
D7 |
|
CC68:18 |
69 |
C4 |
85 |
D2 |
A9 |
CB |
8D |
B5 |
|
CC70:88 |
S2 |
A9 |
01 |
8D |
95 |
CC |
AD |
IE |
|
CC78:91 |
CC |
60 |
8D |
91 |
CC |
AD |
92 |
A0 |
|
CC80 |
CC |
85 |
D2 |
A9 |
04 |
8D |
88 |
02 |
40 |
|
CC88 |
A9 |
00 |
80 |
95 |
CC |
AD |
91 |
CC |
0F |
|
CC90 |
60 |
80 |
00 |
00 |
00 |
00 |
BE |
91 |
09 |
|
CC98 |
CC |
8C |
92 |
CC |
A2 |
00 |
A9 |
FF |
43 |
|
CCA0 |
A2 |
00 |
A0 |
C8 |
86 |
FS |
84 |
FC |
56 |
|
CCA8 |
A0 |
00 |
91 |
FB |
C8 |
C0 |
00 |
D0 |
9E |
|
CCB0 |
F9 |
E8 |
E0 |
04 |
F0 |
05 |
E6 |
FC |
44 |
|
CCB8 |
4C |
AA |
CC |
A9 |
FE |
80 |
E8 |
CB |
23 |
|
CCCO |
A 9 |
93 |
AE |
91 |
CC |
60 |
08 |
48 |
43 |
|
CCC8 |
8A |
48 |
98 |
48 |
E6 |
02 |
A6 |
02 |
DF |
|
CCD0 |
E0 |
14 |
F0 |
03 |
4C |
21 |
CD |
A2 |
53 |
|
CCD8 |
00 |
86 |
02 |
A2 |
00 |
A0 |
C8 |
86 |
19 |
|
CCE0 |
FB |
84 |
FC |
A2 |
00 |
A0 |
04 |
86 |
74 |
|
CCE8 |
FD |
84 |
FE |
AB |
00 |
Bl |
FB |
C9 |
15 |
|
CCF9 |
FE |
F0 |
28 |
C9 |
FF |
D0 |
08 |
ca |
04 |
|
CCF8 |
C0 |
00 |
F0 |
18 |
4C |
ED |
CC |
A6 |
EC |
|
coaB |
92 |
E0 |
01 |
F0 |
aA |
91 |
FD |
C8 |
A7 |
|
CD0B |
C0 |
00 |
F0 |
08 |
4C |
ED |
CC |
A9 |
FF |
|
CD10 |
20 |
4C |
35 |
CD |
E6 |
FC |
E6 |
FE |
44 |
|
CD18 |
4C |
ED |
CC |
A5 |
92 |
49 |
01 |
85 |
8A |
|
CD20 |
92 |
68 |
A8 |
68 |
AA |
68 |
28 |
4C |
4E |
|
CD28 |
31 |
EA |
A9 |
C8 |
A0 |
28 |
8D |
46 |
DF |
|
CD30 |
CD |
OC |
45 |
CD |
A9 |
CB |
A0 |
00 |
0D |
|
CD38 |
8D |
4D |
CD |
BC |
4C |
CD |
A2 |
00 |
4F |
|
CD40 |
A0 |
00 |
84 |
FE |
B9 |
00 |
00 |
C9 |
44 |
|
CD4 8 |
FE |
F0 |
28 |
99 |
00 |
00 |
C8 |
C0 |
90 |
|
CD50 |
28 |
D0 |
Fl |
18 |
AD |
45 |
CD |
69 |
7B |
|
CD58 |
28 |
B0 |
25 |
SD |
45 |
CD |
18 |
AD |
F0 |
|
CD60 |
4C |
CD |
69 |
28 |
B0 |
27 |
80 |
4C |
CE |
|
CD68 |
CD |
A0 |
03 |
A6 |
FE |
E6 |
FE |
E0 |
EF |
|
CD70 |
lA |
D0 |
Dl |
A0 |
00 |
A9 |
FF |
99 |
Dl |
|
CD78 |
C0 |
CB |
C8 |
C0 |
28 |
D0 |
F8 |
60 |
63 |
|
CD80 |
8D |
45 |
CD |
EE |
46 |
CD |
E6 |
FE |
13 |
|
CD88 |
A0 |
00 |
4C |
5E |
CD |
8D |
4C |
CD |
EE |
|
CD90 |
EE |
4D |
CD |
E6 |
FE |
A0 |
00 |
4C |
E5 |
|
CD98 |
44 |
CD |
78 |
BE |
91 |
CC |
A2 |
04 |
CA |
|
CDAO |
8E |
88 |
02 |
AE |
91 |
CC |
4C |
C8 |
Fl |
|
CDA8 |
E9 |
8E |
91 |
CC |
20 |
2A |
CD |
AE |
CF |
|
CDB0 |
91 |
CC |
58 |
4C |
FF |
E9 |
A0 |
30 |
01 |
|
CDB8 |
34 |
02 |
A2 |
AS |
84 |
FB |
86 |
FC |
93 |
|
CDC0 |
A2 |
00 |
Bl |
FB |
91 |
FB |
C8 |
D0 |
82 |
|
CDC8 |
F9 |
EB |
E0 |
20 |
F0 |
35 |
Ee |
FC |
20 |
|
CDD0 |
4C |
C2 |
CD |
E6 |
02 |
A5 |
02 |
C9 |
DF |
|
CDD8 |
02 |
F0 |
07 |
A2 |
E0 |
86 |
FC |
4C |
24 |
|
CDE0 |
CB |
CD |
A2 |
9A |
A0 |
CD |
8E |
0F |
B6 |
|
CDE8 |
E9 |
ec |
10 |
E9 |
A2 |
A9 |
A0 |
CD |
08 |
|
CDF0 |
8E |
14 |
E9 |
8C |
IS |
E9 |
60 |
00 |
EF |
FLASHER DEMO
HG 5 REM COPYRIGHT 1993 - COHP UTE PUBLICATIONS - ALL RI GHTS RESERVED DR 10 REM FLASHER 64 DE^10 KG 20 POKE53280,0:POKE53281,0 KQ 30 IFL=aTHENL=l:LOAD"FLASHE
R 64. ML", 8,1 DE 40 SYS52224:REM TURN ON FLA
SHER 64 EH 50 : CD 60 PRINTCHR$(147) ; :REM CLBA
RS SCREENS AH 73 PRINT"{11 SPACES} (RVS)
{YELjDEMO OF FLASHER 64" FM 80 PRINT KC 90 PRINT" {WHT}USE THE COMMA
ND: {RED)PRINTCHR5(15)
(2 SPACES }T0 TURN ON FLA
SHING" KR 100 PRINT"{RVS}{CYN)EG:
PR IK
KE 120 QA 130
DH 143
|
BS |
150 |
|
EF |
160 |
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KS |
170 |
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KB |
180 |
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AP |
190 |
|
CP |
200 |
|
RB |
210 |
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CS |
220 |
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CM |
230 |
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KJ |
240 |
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CE |
250 |
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EK |
260 |
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EK |
270 |
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BD |
280 |
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CG |
290 |
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BE |
300 |
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MH |
310 |
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MK |
320 |
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QX |
330 |
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CG |
340 |
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HK |
350 |
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GF |
360 |
(OFF) {2 SPACBS}PRINTCHR $(15) "CHRS(34) "FLASHER {SPACE}NOW ON"CHRS(34) PRINTCHR$ (IS) "FLASHER N OW ON": REM COMMAHO TO T URN ON FLASHING FORD=lTO6000:NEXT PRINT: PRINT"{WHT)USE TH E COMMAND: (RED}PRINTCH RS(143){2 SPACEG3T0 TUR N OFF FLASHING." PRiNT"{RVS}{CYNlEG: {OFF} [2 SPACES }PRINTCHR S{15)"CHR$(34) "FLASH ON "CHR$ (34) "CHRS (143) "CHR S(34);
PRINT" FLASH OFF"CHR5(3 4} "
PRINTCHR? (15) "FLASH ON" CHR$ (143) " FLASH OFF" FORD=1TO6000:NEXT:REH D ELAY LOOP
PRINT;PRINT"(WHT}USE TH E COMMAND: {RED}PRINTCH RS(15) "CHR$(34) "{RVS} {7 B}"CHR5(34) ; PRINT"TO TURN OFF A FLA SHING WORD." PRINT:PRINT"{RV33 {CYN}E G:{0FF}{2 SPACES}PRINTC HRS(15) "CHR$ (34) "FLASH { SPACE }OH"CHR$ (34) :PRIN T
PRINTCHR$ (15) "FLASH ON" FORD=1TO3000;NEXT:REM D ELAY LOOP
PRI NT : PRINT "{CYN}{ RVS }E G:{0FF}{2 SPACES}PRINTC HR$(15)"CHR$(34)"CRVS} ■f7 B}"CHRS(34) ; PRINT "TO TORN OFF A FLA SHING WORD." REM IFPEEK(146) OlTHENX 40: PEEK THIS LOCATION F OR ON OR OFF CYCLE REM IF PEEK(146)=1 THEN CHARACTERS ARE ON SCRE EK
REM IF PEEK(146)=0 THEN CHARACTERS ARE OFF SCR EEN
IFPEEK(146)<>1THEN250:R
EM ]
PRINT" {4 UP}"; :REH MOVE
UP TO WORD PRINTCHRS (15) "{RVS} {8 B}"
FORD=1TO6000:NEXT:REM D ELAY LOOP PRINT:PRINT:PRINT PRINT"SCROLL FLASHING C HARACTER5 OFF SCREEN" FORX=1T024:FORD=1T025;N EXTD;PRINT:NEXTX PRINT" {WHT }***********" CHRS (15)" {PUR}tRVS}THA
TS ALL FOLKS! {OFF} "CHR $ (14 3) " [WHT }****** *,^*** {CYN}"
Henry Sopko lives in Hamilton, Ontar- io. Canada.
TYPE-SIM
By Donald G. Klich
This program was designed to let you use your 64 or 128 as a typewriter for fill- ing in the blanks on preprinted forms, ad- dressing envelopes, typing labels, and other such tasks. Preprinted forms are usually designed with vertical spacing of six lines to the inch, the same as most printers. Therefore Type-Sim allows you to set your printer on the first entry line and move down the form as necessary. With Type-Sim you can set a left or right margin to orient your entries.
Typing It In
The program is written in BASIC 2.0 and will run on either the 64 or 128. Use The Automatic Proofreader to avoid typing errors. See "Typing Aids" elsewhere in this section. Be sure to save your program before using it. To take advantage of Type-Sim's upper- and lowercase printing, be sure your printer is in the ASCII conversion mode or an equivalent mode.
Operation Menu
When you run Type-Sim, you'll see a menu that offers four data-entry oper- ations (options) and an exit option. Op- tion 1 allows you to set up a form in the printer so that your text will print in the desired location. You must first supply a column position, perhaps along the edge of the form, where you can test- print an X. When the Xprints, the com- puter sends a backspace and a re- verse linefeed. You should adjust the form to make sure the printing is in the desired location. You can repeat the op- tion by pressing the space bar. When the form is correctly positioned, press Return to go back to the menu.
Option 2 allows you to select wheth- er the following entries will be left (L) or right (R) justified. For instance, a busi- ness address would be left oriented while entries on an income tax form would be right oriented. See the next option for setting margin settings.
Option 3 is where you enter your text. Before you start, however, you must indicate the left or right margin set- ting from which your entries will print. The program will pack data to the right of a left margin or immediately to the left of a right margin.
After you've entered the margin set- ting for this particular entry and pressed Return, you'll be prompted to enter the phrase or line of text to be printed. Press Return to print. If you need linefeeds to move the print head, you'll have that option after you print each entry. To return to the menu, press the up-arrow (t) key.
Option 4 permits you to select any additional linefeeds you may require to move down the form.
Option 5 exits the program.
nPE-SIM
HH 10 REM COPYRIGHT 1993 COMPU TE PUBLICATIONS IHTL LTD - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED GS 20 REM TYPEWRITER SIMULATOR GB 30 POKE53281,0:POKE53283,0: 0PEN1,4:PRINT"{CLR}"SPC( 8) "(2 DOWN) (BLU}UCCCCCCC CCCCCCCCCCCCCI" XH 40 PRINT"{BLU} {8 SPACES}B {IJTYPEWRITER SIMULATOR {BLU)B";PRINTSPC(8)"JCCC CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCK" AK 50 PRINT" {DOWN} {CYN}
{10 SPACES}MENU OF OPERA TIONS:" AF 60 PRINT"{D0WN} {7 SPACES}
(RVS) {YEL}1{0FF) {WHT} SE T UP FORM IN PRINTER" RB 70 PRINT"{7 SPACES) {RVS}
{YEL}2{0FF}{WHT} SET OP {SPACE}L-R POINTER" DA 80 PRINT"{7 SPACES) {RVS)
{YEL}3{0FF} {WHT} INPUT T YPING ROUTINE" RR 90 PRINT"{7 SPACES) {RVS}
{YEL}4{0FF}{WHT) EXTRA L INE FEEDS" JH 100 PRINT"{7 SPACES}{RVS}
{ YEL35{0FF} {WHT} QUIT P ROGRAM" FP 110 GOSOB440:ONVAL (AS)GOTOl 2 0,190, 2 5 0,4 10, 430: GOTO 110 SA 120 PRINT"{3 DOWN}{GRN}TO A LIGN THE FORM, ENTER TH E HORIZONTAL" BX 130 PRINT"COLUMN WHERE A RE PEATED <1}X{GRN) CAN BE PRINTED" SC 140 PRINT" {DOWN}USE SPACE T 0 REPEAT THE <1JX{GRN} {SPACE]AND RETURN TO EX
JULY 1993 COMPUTE G-39
PROGRAMS
|
FD |
150 |
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PR |
160 |
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EH |
170 |
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CX |
180 |
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FG |
190 |
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QK |
200 |
|
HK |
210 |
|
FG |
220 |
CQ 230
GD 240 PA 250 GP 260
FR 270
GK 280 SA 290
DS 300 QG 310 PH 320
HQ 330 XK 340
DM 350
PR 3S0
IT";
PRINT". {2 SPACES}ENTER
(SPACE) COLUMN NUMBER:";
IINPUTN
PRINT#1,SPC(N) "X":PRINT
#1,CHR$(27) ;CHR5(106) ;C
HRS(0) : PRINT #1,CHR5 (27)
;"«"; GOSUB440;IFAS=CHRS C32)T
HEH1S0
IFAS=CHRS (13)THEN50 PRINT"{2 DOWN} {GRN)ENTE R AN {YEL)L{GRN} IF YOU
ARE PLANNING TO" PRINT"ORIENT YOUR ENTRI ES TO THE LEFT":PRINT PRINT"ENTER AN {VEL)R {GRN) IF YOU ARE PLANill NG TO"
PniNT"ORIENT YPUR ENTRI ES TO THE RIGHT":PRINT" L/R?{2 SPACES}"; :G0SUB4 40:M$=AS
PRINTMS:IFM$<>"L"ANDH$< >"R"THEN190 GOTO50
PRINTCHR$ (14) IFMS<>"L"ANDM$<>"B"THEN PRINT" (2 DOWN)n} {4 S PACES }L OR R LOCATO R ?":PRINTCHR${142) :GOT 0190
PRINT"{CLR} (GRN) (2 DOWN) (5 SPACES}ENTER
AN UP ARROW ( [YELlf {GRN}) TO QUIT" L0$="LEFT":IFf1$ = "R"THEN L0$=" RIGHT" A$="":PRINT"{GRN) ENTER
THE PRINT POSITION FOR
YOUR ";L0$; : INPUT" MAR GIN";A$
IFAS=CHR$(94)THENPRINT" {CLR)"CHRS(142) :GOTO50 IFVAL (A$) >80ORA$=""THEN 250
P=VAL(A$) :AS="": PRINT" {5 SPACFS}ENTER PHRASE {SPACE}TO BE PRINTED {WHT}":INPUTA$ IFRS=CHR$(94)THENPRINT" {CLR5"CHR$(142) :GOTO50 IFM$="L"THENN=P: IFN+LEN (A$)>80THENPRINT"NO (SHIFT-SPACE} ROOM (SHIFT-SPACF,]T0 (SHIFT-SPACE) PRINT": GOT I 0290
IFHS="R"THENN=P-LEN (A$) +1:IFN<0THENPRINT"NO {5HIFT-SPftCE}R00M (SHIFT-SPACE)TO { SH I FT -S PACE ] PRI NT " : GOT 0290
PRINT#1,SPC(N) ;A$:PRINT #1,CHRS(27) ;CHR$(106) ;C HRS (0) :PRIOT#1,CHR$(27)
HX 373
DJ 380
DF 390
HQ 400
PD 410
PRINT"{GRN}{5 SPACES}LI
NE FEED? y/N{3 SPACEST"
; ;GOSUB440;PRINTA$
IFA$=CHR$(94)THENPRINT"
{CLR}"CHRS (142) :GOTO50
IFA$="Y"THENPRINT#1,"":
GOTO250
GOTO 250
PRINT"{GRN}(2 DOWN)
(5 SPACES3ENTER NUMBER
{SPACE}OF LINE FEEDS";:
INPUTA$: IFVAL (A$) =0THEN
50
F0RI=1T0VAL{A$) tPRINTll
:NEXT:GOTO50
CL0SE1:END
A$="";GETA$:IFA$=""THEN
440
RETURN
Donald Klich is a frequent contributor. His most recent program, CrossRef 128, appeared in tlie May 1993 issue. He lives in Mount Prospect, Illinois. O
|
FC |
420 |
|
SM |
430 |
|
RJ |
440 |
|
FC |
450 |
TYPING AIDS
MLX, our machine language entry program for the 64 and 128, and The Automatic Proofreader are util- ities that help you type in Gazette programs without making mis- takes. To make room for more pro- grams, we no longer include these iabor-saving utilities in eve- ry issue, but they can be found on each Gazette Disk and are printed in all issues of Gazette through June 1990.
If you don't have access to a back issue or to one of our disks, write to us, and we'll send you free printed copies of both of these handy programs for you to type in. We'll also include instruc- tions on how to type in Gazette pro- grams. Please enclose a self-ad- dressed, stamped envelope. Send a self-addressed disk mailer with appropriate postage to receive these programs on disk.
Write to Typing Aids, COM- PUTE'S Gazette, 324 West Wen- dover Avenue, Suite 200, Greens- boro, North Carolina 27408.
ONLY
ON
DISK
In addition to the type-in programs found in each issue of the magazine, Gazette Disk offers bonus programs. Here's a special program that you'll find only on this month's disk.
Mergee
By Robert Quinn Kooringall, Waga Waga NSW, Australia
This month's bonus program is a tough, thinking-person's game for the 64 that can be played from the keyboard or joystick. The game be- gins with a playing field that's filled with single-digit numbers, random boxes, squares, and open spaces. The object of Mergee is to move the numbers around so that they merge with other numbers and disap- pear from play Only like digits can merge, however, and when all of the numbers are gone, the game is over. The rules are simple, but there are a few surprises waiting for you that'll make Mergee almost as frus- trating to play as it is entertaining.
Public Domain Programs
Don't forget that Gazette Disk now contains the best of public domain programs and shareware. For a com- plete rundown of the programs on this disk, see Steve Vender Ark's "Share This" column, which makes its debut in this issue of Gazette.
You can have these programs and all of the type-in programs found in this issue — ready to load and run — by ordering the July Gazette Disk. The price is $9.95 plus $2.00 ship- ping and handling. Send your order to Gazette Disk, COMPUTE Publica- tions, 324 West Wendover Avenue, Suite 200, Greensboro, North Caro- lina 27408. You can order by credit card by calling (919) 275-9809, ex- tension 283.
G-40 COMPUTE JULY 1993
REVIEWS
SONY DESKTOP LIBRARY
Here's your chance to enter the world of multimedia. With the Sony Desktop Li- brary, you get everything you need: a CD-ROM drive, a sound card, and a collec- tion of real multimedia soft- ware. This next-generation product goes beyond early CD-ROM products, giving consumers more of what they want and need: plenty of software and an easy-to- use front end to the CD- ROM titles and hardware.
My evaluation package had an external drive. Two other packages are availa- ble (at a reduced price, too) with internal drives. The da- ta-retrieval speed of 150K per second was right in line with multimedia standards.
Right now these multime- dia products ship with a Spectrum 16 sound card, It's Ad Lib, Sound Blaster, and Real Sound compati- ble. Software that supports the card in native mode sounds superb, even better than Sound Blaster emula- tion. A nice set of desktop speakers provides an alterna- tive to running wires to your stereo.
Six full-blown multimedia software titles will get you started. There's so much ma- terial, it'll take several weeks before you'll have enough time for more than a brief sampling.
In addition to solid, relia- ble hardware, the Sony Desk- top Library includes the GeoWorks CD-ROM Manag- er as part of the package. It's a front end to all of the CD-ROM software that's in- cluded. All you do to run a program is click on its icon. The package includes even more than front-end soft- ware, though — it's a graph!-
SONY
Desktop Library.
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With the Sony Desktop Library you get all sorts of stuff, including a CD-ROM drive. CD-ROM titles, and speakers.
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With Dashboard lor Windows 1.0. a new Windows utility from Hewlett- Packard, you can drive your computer more effectively.
cal environmenL Many of the GeoWorks niceties that make DOS easier are there as a bonus.
You can create icons for other CD-ROM titles as your library grows. That way, you'll always have the same easy interface when you ac- cess your CD-ROM titles.
I wasn't sure I could run CD-ROM programs from DOS until I called Sony, i didn't find any mention of run- ning from DOS in the Sony lit- erature, but I'm not a good manual reader, so I could have missed it. After talking to the company, I was able to install an icon and a group in Windows. I ended up spending more time run- ning GeoWorks from Win- dows than DOS and had no problems.
The bundled software var- ied in quality, but my two fa- vorites were Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? and The New G roller Multime- dia Encyclopedia. My kids loved them, too. If you have
children, the accompanying software will provide enter- tainment and edification for them as well.
Some of the programs did the unthinkable and cop- ied a large portion of them- selves to my hard drive. Thinking I had plenty of avail- able space, I tried installing an application and was tak- en aback when I discovered the intrusion.
The GeoWorks installation was a two-stage process re- quiring a Ctrl-Alt-Delete boot between stages. I wish it had done what many oth- er installations do and reboot- ed itself, followed by auto- matic spawning of thie sec- ond half of the procedure.
In spite of several small complaints, I think highly of the package. If you're seri- ously thinking about getting a CD-ROM drive, take a good look at this package. It may be just what you need. And Sony, one of the leaders in CD-ROM technol- ogy, will probably be in the
busiriess for a long time.
RICHARD C LEINECKER
Sony
(800) 352-7669
$1,069.95 (external package)
Cfrcte Reader Service Number 434
DASHBOARD FOR WINDOWS 1.0
It's compact, neat, conven- ient, and fast. In fact, I like Dashboard so well that I reg- ularly use it in place of Win- dows' own standard Pro- gram Manager.
Like the dashboard in to- day's high-tech cars, this Windows utility presents an impressive collection of high- ly visible gauges and easily accessible controls. The re- source gauge, for example, resembles an analog fuel gauge and allows you to monitor your Windows sys- tem resources. The memory meter below it looks like an odometer and lets you mon- itor available system memo- ry. If you run too low on re- sources or memory, a gas- pump icon blinks to alert you.
In Dashboard's printer manager, you choose from available printers by clicking on a printer's icon button; a light at the bottom of the but- ton shows the default printer or, if you have a fax board, the fax software to which you "print." To print or fax a file with ease, just drag and drop it from Windows' File Manager to the appropriate icon.
Forget double-clicking when you use the Quick Launch buttons. A single click launches your most- used apps, identified by icons and, with enough room, the names of the pro- grams, To launch less-used apps, click on one of the group buttons in the Pro-
JULY 1993 COMPUTE 89
The screen saver for high-powered PCs.
F:
"inally, there's a screen saver that shows off ihe blazing speed, stunning graphics -^ and spectacular
sound* in your PC. ORIGIN FX delivers 256-color, high- res images** running under Windows - with 27 entertaining modules cre- ated by ORIGIN'S award-winning computer artists.
Special Bonus:
If you own Strike Commander, Wing Commander II or Serpent Isle, ORIGIN FX wtil play their cinematic sequences as separate modules when the games are installed on your hard drive. And that's just the beginning- many future ORIGIN games will support this feature as well!
Available ot a software retailer near
you or calf 1-800-245-4525 for
MC/Visa/Discover orders.
ei9n CflCM Sr^n. K. FX. Svpv^ Ut tnj Sri« Ommt^ {I* Irdmaii d SydBi^ bi^ Bm^v^ Arti 4 o ngmnA ttifanart c/ Qkxvk An. W«da»t a a mTf4lA nqtfTBcf b* iniK. "Aeivb lii Vhhgbns be mr^^nd in 2S^<eiw ii«dvwiii
Cbcle Reader Service Number 163
90 COMPUTE JULY 1993
REVIEWS
gram menu bar; when the group win- dow pops up, click on the app you want.
You also have buttons for the Sys- tem menu (like the one in Windows), the Task menu (to switch, run, and close programs), and the Layout menu (to create, edit, or load Dashboard lay- outs). The Dashboard panel also has a help button, a customize button, a min- imize button, a maximize button, and a button that lets you hide or show the Program menu.
The Dashboard clock (digital or an- alog and available in several versions) lets you set the date, the time, and alarms. And Dashboard's mini program windows visually represent what you have on a particular screen. If you dis- like the clutter on a screen with a pro- gram running, an uncluttered screen to the left or the right can be just a click away
Don't let its compactness fool you: Dashboard is highly customizable and offers much more depth of utility than meets the eye. If you enjoy using wall- paper to add variety to Windows computing, you'll love the way Dash- board takes no more room than nec- essary Most important, however. Dash- board steers you through Windows with minimal clutter and maximum speed and efficiency.
MIKE HUDNALL
HewlBtt-Packard
(800) 554-1305
$99
Circle Reader Service Number 435
SMITH CORONA CORONAJET 200J
With laser-quality output, 20 resident fonts, and a compact form factor only slightly larger than a loaf of bread, the Smith Corona Coronajet 200j ink-jet printer is going to be as popular as . . . well, sliced bread.
If you add its optional automatic sheet feeder, the 200j takes up only about as much desktop space as a loaf of bread spread cros sways on an average-sized manila folder. This should be welcome news to people who would want to use it at home or in a small business {the target market for this printer), who often need all the ex- tra space they can get.
You can make each of the 20 resi- dent fonts bold, italic, or underlined, including Courier, Times Nordic, and Letter Gothic. For even more variety, you can use the 14 optional font
cards. The 200j prints in portrait and landscape modes, and its easily in- stalled ink-jet cartridge is replaceable. Smith Corona claims laser-resolution- quality printing — 300 x 300 dpi for text and graphics — and my experi- ence confirms the claim. Everything I printed was crisp and dark — I just had to be careful not to smear freshly print- ed pages by touching them before
The Coronajet 200j packs laser-quality printing power into a little package.
they were dry The printer proved equal- ly adept at printing spreadsheets, docu- ments in XyWrite and fvlicrosoft Word, OnTime calendar sheets, and BMP files in black-and-white from Windows' Paintbrush program. It handled multi- ple fonts and a variety of files with no hesitation.
The 200j owner's manual proved es- sentially adequate, with clear setup in- structions and a helpful troubleshoot- ing section but, unfortunately, no in- dex. The automatic sheet feeder comes with its own skimpy booklet, which is helpful but confusingly organ- ized, with entries in multiple languages for each section.
To be honest, after I inserted the 200j's print cartridge, 1 barely glanced at the manuals unless it was to consult the troubleshooting section. It's easy enough simply to open the box, con- nect the printer to your computer, set your software to the common HP DeskJet Plus emulation, and go to work. To install the 70-sheet-capacity feeder, you simply push the 200j on top of it until it locks into place.
The 200j doesn't present you with a host of LEDs and switches to set, though its front panel does conceal more than 50 easily accessible switch- es to make adjustments for different fonts, manual or automatic paper load- ing, and other commands. The graphs that show how to set the switches proved somewhat confusing, so I was relieved that the only change I needed to make came when I added the au- tomatic sheet feeder, The 200j's pow-
er switch is on the back of the printer, a location I found mildly inconvenient.
Besides its size, printing quality, and ease of use, the 200j also impressed me with its quiet operation. If my dot- matrix printer provides no smearing problems, it does provide plenty of noise pollution. Compared to it, the 200]— rated at less than 45 dB — was vir- tually inaudible, even in my cramped 10- X 10-foot home office. 1 can't imag- ine anyone being bothered by its noise level.
The only real problems 1 encoun- tered using the 200j involved loading paper. It wouldn't accept envelopes loaded longways, a necessity for the HP DeskJet Plus emulation in Nvelope Plus. It also gave trouble when 1 tried loading it with recycled office paper — the backs of old press releases, errant printouts, and the like — sometimes feed- ing two sheets at once at odd intervals. Using fresh paper, though, I had no trouble using the 200j.
At worst, the problems I had using the Smith Corona Coronajet 200j were minor quirks. Anything this small that prints this well without making any ap- preciable noise deserves an unre- served recommendation.
EDDE HUFFK/AN
Smith Corona (800) 448-1018 (203) 972-1471 Coronajet 200j— S499 Optional sheet feeder— $89 Circle Reader Service Number 43G
DEC 43aDX LP
Deciding which computer system to buy can be difficult. In most cases, once a business commits itself to a spe- cific product, it must stick with it. That's one reason DEC (Digital Equip- ment Corporation) has targeted business- es for its new family of PCs. The upgrada- ble DEC 433DX LP based on Intel's 33- MHz 486DX processor, can be used for demanding desktop business as well as for technical applications.
How difficult is it to set up the DEC 433DX? The system comes with DOS 5.0 and Windows installed. First, 1 checked the user's guide for anything unusual. Then, I plugged in the appro- priate cables and power cord and turned on the system.
The easy-to-understand Getting Start- ed handbook provides all the neces- sary information, as well as helpful illus- trations for inexperienced users. You also get the DEC 300/400 LP Series Us- er's Guide, the MS-DOS 5.0 User's Guide and Reference, and an opera- tions manual for QAPIus, an advanced system diagnostics software package.
1 ran a variety of applications to check the system's compatibility, includ- ing Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint for Windows, Picture Wizard, the Win- dows and DOS versions of Express Pub- lisher, a couple of DOS shareware pro- grams, and several other commercial programs. 1 found no incompatibilities.
To remove the system cover, 1 had to unlock the safety lock on the back of the unit with the key provided. The cov- er is easy to remove. I found it hard to reach the system battery, but it seldom needs replacement, fortunately
This 33-MHz system includes a DEC two-button mouse, one parallel and two serial ports, two floppy and two hard drive controllers, a Super VGA vid- eo adapter integrated with the system board, and three open expansion slots.
Vents along one side of the unit should be adequate to keep the sys- tem's power supply from overheating. You'll probably find the fan noise bare- ly noticeable.
Easy access to reset and on/off but- tons is essential. You can find both of these buttons on the front of the DEC 433DX.
You can get a 66-MHz upgrade for the DEC 433DX, and it's easily in- stalled thanks to DEC'S ZIP (Zero In- sertion Force) slot, The 486DX includes a coprocessor in the CPU chip, but DEC accommodates a separate coprocessor to aid the computer in CAD-CAM operations.
It's easy to access the unit's 4MB of SIMM RAM chips. The standard amount of DRAM can be increased to 64MB using the four SIMM sockets. The DEC 433DX requires SIMMs with an access time of 70 ns or faster.
The price of the DEC 433DX doesn't include a monitor. Several are available, including monochrome or col- or VGA ranging from the basic 640 x 480 to a multisync 1024 x 768 nonin- terlaced model.
No surprises come with the DEC 433DX keyboard. It features a stan- dard layout with soft-click keys and func- tion keys along the top.
The one-year on-site warranty is com- parable to those found with a lot of oth- er systems and is better than some, The company offers a toll-free custom- er and technical support hot line and a consulting center.
1 found the DEC 433DX to be a sol- id, dependable, easy-to-use system, Businesses looking for an upgradable, modular (80 percent of the compo- nents are common to the other DEC PC family members), and net- work-ready system would be advised to check this one out.
JOYCE SIDES
Lookii^ForFun Recreation?
Play your old favorites UkeBvidgv and Chess plus, exciting news ones like BoogeisV
Like to Draw? WeR, we've got a game called Graffiti" that you're gonna love!
Alone or with friends, MiniGolp" is a whimsical collection of traps and greens.
Have We Got APlaceForYou!
See Our Ad On The Back Cover.
if
|^«mM.«»iM»<miii»>«'ii»J
TM defies J trxl«n«i:o! The Sena tMvofk 01993 Ttie Sierra fJetwodt Offer SJIO
Need a network at home? See page 91
Want to speed up Windows? See page 55
Don't like mice? See page 251
What do you do when your
computer won't boot?
See page I
Need help organizing
your hard drive?
See page 35
What is TrueType and what
does it mean for you?
See page 104
COMPUTE MAGAZINE'S POWER TIPS
has the answers to
these and
hundreds of other tips.
nnpuTE
Magozine's,^^
SfwerTips
Ihe Editors and Reodeis of COIUIPUTE
tOQ's ol hints end tips you con use immediately,
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To order your copy send $16.95 plus $2.50 for shipping and handling (U.S., $4 Canada and $6 other) to COMPUTE Books, c/o CCC, 2500 McCtellan Ave, Pennsauken, NJ 08109. (Residents of NC, NJ, and NY please add appropriate' tax; Canadian orders add 7% GST.) All orders must be paid in U.S. funds drawn on a U.S. bank. VISA and ft/lasler- Card orders accepted: be sure to in- clude your card number, expiration date, and signature. Offer good while supplies last.
REVIEWS
DEC
(800) DIG-ITAL
S2,t99
circle Reader Service Number 437
AUTOCAD RELEASE 12
AutoCAD Release 12 is an upgrade wish list for casual users, as well as for hardcore progran"iming hackers and third-party developers. While more pow- erful and advanced than any other CAD program, previous versions of this premier drawing program foun- dered in the aspects of speed and ease of use. They required regenera- tions for all but the slightest size chang- es, and operators had to memorize and enter archaic commands for even the simplest tasks. As a teacher with more than 20 students, I had to pro- gram a command sequence in the ear- ly evening and let it run overnight be- cause the equipment and software were so antiquated.
With Release 12, the program's new speed and flexibility take full advan- tage of 32-bit computing capability, evolving networks, and advanced plot- ting technology. The difference from previous versions is immediately appar- ent. AutoCAD has emerged from dweebware into the trendy — and time- saving — arena of graphical user inter- faces, with pull-down cascading men- us, cursor menus, programmable dia- log boxes, TIFF and EPSI raster image inputs and outputs, and internal render- ing capability.
Eminently user-friendly, Release 12's pull-down menus also remember your last input choice. Expert users who type commands at the prompt line will find all suboptions of the commands on the side menu, which can be turned off to provide a wider screen. The 3-D capabilities of cameras and lighting angles that distinguish CAD from paper-and-pencil drawings now appear within AutoCAD inside the pull- down Render menu, so you no longer need to enter AutoShade.
The 25 new dialog boxes replace cumbersome line commands in start- ing and opening drawings (no more hunting around the hard drive), plotting {with a brand-new paper-saving pre- view option), and customizing.-
You can enter the command and quickly change any of the settings with- out having to scroll through needless text questions. And you can correct mis- takes if you catch them before press- ing the OK button, or you can simply cancel and start again.
Programmable dialog boxes consti- tute a veritable revolution for AutoCAD users, allowing a new dialog box to be defined by the programmer rather than by the limitations of the program. The Dialog Control Language (DCL) is incorporated with LISP.
Release 12 brings plotting into the nineties. The plot dialog box allows multiple plotter configurations for both
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AutoCAD Release 12 boasts 174 enhancements over the previous version.
plotters and printers. The plot preview function displays the plot image in par- tial or full format, superimposing the pa- per extent over the image. Zoom and Pan ensure that your plot is correct pri- or to sending it to your output device, I found one error in which a plot set to Vs inch = 1 foot 0 inches did not plot to the correct scale and had to be re- set to 1 = 96, but Autodesk has appar- ently compiled a new plotter driver to counteract this oversight.
With the program's ability to output raster files from EPS, FITS, TIFF, GIF, and TGA formats; image resolution as high as 1024 x 768; up to 256 colors; and programmable layers, linetypes, and line widths, perhaps Autodesk should be targeting the desktop publish- ing crowd. RASTERIN.EXP a Release 12 AutoLISP Xload function, pulls in the faster image similar to a block.
Even network users have a produc- tivity feature, with the ACAD-P option al- lowing them to plot from outside Au- toCAD without requiring an additional license.
Taking a cue from the fvlacintosh, Re- lease 12 now lets you alter the verb/ noun technique in up to 14 commands using the Pickfirst variable. No more choosing commands and selecting ob- jects— you simply click and drag! And a new Grips feature, the Dgrips dialog box, lets you stretch, move, copy ro- tate, and mirror entities as edit func- tions without going into a command. Entities can be arcs, lines, circles, blocks, plines, or text. The grip, basi- cally an attachment, is a small colored square that appears at definition points of an entity changing color as it becomes hot (activated). The grips also let the operator grab the end-
92 COMPUTE JULY 1993
point, center, midpoint, and quadrant of an entity without using OSNAP (Ob- ject Snap.)
Long, slow regen or hide com- mands are a thing of the past with the introduction of algorithims that accel- erate graphics from 50 percent to 500 percent. In fact, a performance en- hancement practically eliminates re- generations -for zooms and pans!
Graphics acceleration for Zoom with the old 16-bit display space is fi- nally gone, and in its place a 32-bit vec- tor space now provides an extremely ef- ficient Zoom. I did a Zoom Extent fol- lowed by a Zoom Vmax to force a draw- ing out as far as possible without a drawing regen, and even a Zoom 5000000X (yes, six Os) did not entail a regen — undreamt of in previous re- leases. The dynamic range of the Zoom command is increased from 50 : 1 up to 5,000,000 : 1 before a re- gen is issued.
Advanced users and third-party de- velopers will appreciate Release 12's new organizing tools. A means of cre- ating a "tree structure," oct-tree spatial index divides drawing entities into log- ical groups or sort order.
Release 12 achieves graphic accel- eration for faster entity selection and re- draws (spatial index) through the new variables of Treedepth and Treestat. Treedepth fine-tunes the oct-tree in- dex. Treestat files report values in both the model and paper space branches of the spatial index.
The AutoCAD Sequel Extension (ASE) enables operators to pass infor- mation directly from AutoCAD to a da- tabase system without requiring shells. Since nongraphical information can be stored outside the drawing and linked with entities inside a drawing, you can reduce a drawing's size with- out losing useful data.
New conversion functions convert text strings into decimal values, and a geometry calculator allows you to cal- culate geometry using command line ex- pression and interaction with existing AutoCAD entities, (For instant insider ac- cess to undocumented advantages, you may want to check out the new Re- lease 12 edition of 1.000 AutoCAD Tips and Tricks, a book I edited pub- lished by Ventana Press,)
I don't have enough space to in- clude all 174 enhancements in the new AutoCAD Release 12, but you obvious- ly get your money's worth when you upgrade to this version.
BRIAN MATTHEWS
Autodesk (800) 964-6432 $37.50
Circle Reader Service Number 438
GOBLIIINS
Imagine the Three Stooges cast in a graphic adventure, and you've got Gobliiins, a puzzle quest with a delight- fully twisted sense of humor.
Developed by European publisher Coktel Vision, the game is typical of those by the new wave of innovative French designers, including Delphine
Pair your brain with tiie tiiree Gobliiins' halt a brain for a successful quest.
(Out of This World) and Sensible Soft- ware (Mega Lo Mania). Graphic artist Pierre Gilhodes created the game's dis- tinctive look, from the lush 256-color backdrops to the title characters' often hilanous animation.
The game consists of 22 full- screen, interactive puzzles strung to- gether in storybook fashion. The tale in- volves a king who's suddenly gone stark, raving mad — the victim of an evil wizard's voodoo doll. To the rescue come Hooter, Dwayne, and BoBo, three well-meaning goblins with only half a brain among them. You provide the missing link, directing the goblins on their pehlous lourney to find a cure for the ailing king.
Because each goblin performs only one special task, they must work togeth- er to solve puzzles. Hooter, the magi- cian, casts spells on objects, often with unpredictable results. Dwayne is the technician, able to pick up and use one object at a time. BoBo is the war- rior, whose only talents are the abilities to climb and punch things. Use the key- board or mouse to select the goblin you wish to control.
Game mechanics are kept simple, fo- cusing attention on your powers of observation and deductive reasoning. To advance through a screen, you must find and manipulate a series of items, often in a specific sequence, util- izing each of the goblins. The ultimate goal of one puzzle might be to secure an object to be used in the next, more difficult screen. Experimenting is an es- sentia! and entertaining aspect of the game, yet you should be careful not to dally with the wrong items. Negative ac- tions such as falls, frights, or losing im- portant items result in the loss of en- ergy Although no time limits are im-
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circle Reader Servtee Numbsr 103
94 COMPUTE JULY 1993
posed, when all energy has been de- pleted, the game ends. Energy power- ups are available midvi^ay through your quest: passwords are also awarded up- on completion of each screen
The game's few faults are only minor quibbles. Although many puzzle solu- tions require multiple-character input, only one goblin can be active at once. A multitasking feature for assignments would speed up many tedious chores and lend the game a welcome sense of urgency. Another possibility might be puzzles solved only through simulta- neous character actions. [Harsh, sporad- ic sound effects belie the game's warm and fuzzy demeanor. f\/lore ex- pressive voice samples and back- ground effects are needed to fully con- vey goblin gibberish, Finally, unlike the clever introductory screen, the game's victory screen is quite anticlimactic.
Ivlost puzzles are surprisingly intri- cate and might prove too difficult for younger players. Unlike the ones in Si- erra's similar Castle of Dr. Brain, the puzzles here rely less on logic than on arbitrary cause and effect. A multitude of red herrings ensures plenty of wrong guesses, often with hilarious, game-ending outcomes. The trick is to think with slightly bent logic, placing yourself in the goofy shoes of these three little knuckleheads.
Brainteasing fun with a sly comic flare, Gobliiins could be one of the year's sleeper hits.
SCOTT A, MAY
Sierra On-Line
(8Q0) 326-6654
S39.95
circle Reader Service Number 439
QUANTUM HARDCARD EZ240
Need more hard drive space? Got an extra slot in your PC? Don't want to get involved in major PC surgery? If you an- swered yes to all these questions, you're in luck.
Quantum offers a quick and easy way to add 42MB, 85MB, 127MB, or even 240MB to your PC, All you nQ%<i is a Hardcard EZ 42, Hardcard EZ 85, Hardcard EZ 127, or Hardcard EZ 240. Each Is essentially a hard drive on a PC card, so installation should take ten minutes or less. And Quantum guaran- tees that any Hardcard E2 will work with your 286, 386, or 486 system, or you'll receive a full refund.
These days, you don't have to pay a performance penalty for the conven-
ience of a hard drive on a card. Av- erage seek time is rated at 19 ms for the EZ 42, 17 ms for the EZ 85 and EZ 127, and 16 ms for the EZ 240, That's in line with the faster internal hard drives. The Hardcard prices are also in line with those of standard hard drives: S269 for the EZ 42, $319 for the EZ 85, $419 for the EZ 127, and $689 for the EZ 240,
\{'s easier to install the Quantum Hardcard EZ 240 than a conventional hard drive.
Unfortunately I wasn't able to use the EZ 240 with an older ZEOS 386 computer. The manual explains that the Hardcard E2 drives may not work in systems with older SCSI adapter boards (in many cases, you can re- solve the problem by changing the SCSI adapter's memory address), some 16-bit VGA adapters (you may have to switch from 16-bit to 8-bit trans- fers), and NEC's version of DOS 3.3 (Quantum includes a work-around). The ZEOS's early SCSI adapter, it turns out, is incompatible with the EZ 240 (that's where Quantum's money- back guarantee would have come in handy), but the Hardcard worked fine in the two other systems I tried.
The Hardcard EZs from Quantum are fast, inexpensive, easy to install, and guaranteed to work. With their field-tested life of 250,000 hours be- fore failure, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better hard drive.
DAViD E^^JGLISH
Quanlum (800) 624-5545 S689
circle Reader Service Number 440
WYSE DECISION 486SI
Wyse Technology knows hov/ to make a quality product. The company's de- signers take the lime, and spare little ex- pense, to add conveniences and fea- tures not often found on other systems. But these extras and conveniences come with a price— namely, a higher price tag for Wyse computers.
I tried a Wyse Decision 486si, which includes an Intel 486DX/33 CPU with 4MB of RAM, a 200MB IDE hard drive, and a VGA color monitor. The sys-
tem I tried, which costs about S2,159, also came withi two floppy drives and 256K of external cache and a local- bus video w\[h 1MB RAM. Wyse de- scribes this unit as a high-performance graphics workstation, since its video Is much faster than standard VGA and It's easily upgradable.
Using its own local-bus video, Hyper 16 VGA, Wyse can boast the fastest high-resolution graphics performance available, with more than 300-percent Improvement over conventional VGA sys- tems. And Indeed, I did find the graph- ics to be fast and of high quality.
The CPU In this system Is Intel's lat- est 80486, the easily upgradable 486si. In addition, the memory Is ex- pandable to 64fvlB. And since many of the system's features are integrated on the motherboard, all six ISA bus slots are available. The system Includes up to five mass-storage bays that support both 5Va- and 3 '/2-Inch floppy drives.
Other conveniences include the placement of the on-off switch on the front of the system, as well as a front- panel door that covers all the floppy disk drive bays. This door helps keep dust out of the drives, as well as giving a sleeker appearance to the unit. The keyboard is a 102-key enhanced PC- style keyboard, and Its quality is high- er than that of nnany keyboards I've seen.
Setup of the system Is simple and fast. Everything you need Is included, and all the ports are clearly marked. The setup manual is one of the best I've seen. Its illustrations and explana- tions are easy to follow. The only DOS manual Included is The fvlS-DOS Ver- sion 5.0 User's Guide and Reference, Concise Edition. And, although it gives an excellent introduction to com- puters and fvlS-DOS, it's not a com- plete DOS manual. It would've been bet- ter for Wyse to have included the full MS-DOS manual, too. The system also comes with Windows 3.1 and a mouse.
I put the system through its paces us- ing Windows 3.1 and running Word for Windows, Quattro Pro for Windows, and PageMaker 4 employing the stan- dard VGA display. In addition, I tried some graphic-adventure games and flight simulation programs. I was satis- fied with the Decision 486si's perform- ance and was especially impressed with the general quality of the system.
But. as mentioned above, this quali- ty comes with a higher price tag. If you're willing to pay for it, you'll probably be quite happy with this system. If you need a high-performance, top-of-the- llne graphics workstation, I can certainly recommend the Wyse Decision 486si,
STEPHEN LEVY
Wyse Technology
(800) 433-9973
S2.159
Circle Reader Service Number 441
PACIFIC ISUNDS
War gamers who like to get their hands dirty on the front line rather than view a battlefield as icons scat-
In Pacific Islands, the mal<ers of Team Yankee offer more excitement.
tered around a strategic map will get a real bang out of Pacific Islands. It's a tactical level tank simulation from the makers of the popular Team Yankee. In Pacific Islands, you control up to 16 tanks as you try to retake the islands of the Yama Yama atoll. The action is hot, realistic, and as addictive as a war game can get.
You start your campaign by buying the tanks and equipment you need for your mission. Four types of tanks are available: the Ml Abrams, the Ml 13, the M2 Bradley, and the ITV. To arm these iron-clad vehicles, you can choose from heat shells, SABOT shells, TOW missiles, and smoke shells. If you like to get into the action fast, though, you can skip over ail of the purchasing screens, and choose the default setup, which instantly sup- plies you with vehicles and equipment, subtracting the cost from your cash.
Once equipped, it's off to the brief- ing room, where a map of the battle ar- ea and an accompanying notebook ap- praise you of your mission's details. The notebook outlines your objectives, while their approximate locations are marked on the map. Occasionally, mil- itary intelligence has helpful clues about what surprises might greet you in the pending confrontation. In addi- tion, before entering the fray, you can request artillery support and smoke bombing for specific locations at given times.
When the battle commences, you control four platoons of four tanks each. ReadySoft recommends using a mouse to play. Although you have 16 vehicles under your control, each pla- toon receives commands as a group, so you don't have to command each tank Individually. Plus, you can select several screen views for each platoon,
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REVIEWS
the most important of wtiich are the 3-D view, which of- fers a first-person perspec- tive from the tank, and the map view, which shows an overhead shot of ttie area. You can zoom in and out in either view, which is especial- ly helpful on the map screen. Using the zoom, you can look at the entire map, focus on individual ve- hicles, or view the area at several different intermedi- ate magnifications.
You also can have all four platoon views onscreen simultaneously, each pla- toon showing a different map or area of the battle- field. Or if you'd like, a sin- gle platoon's screen quad- rant can be magnified to full- screen size, a view from which tank controls are more accessible. These con- trols include a weapons fir- ing panel, turret-rotation com- pass, laser range finder, in- frared view, zoom, and more.
On the map screen, you can access even more tank and screen controls. You can set a platoon's forma- tion, speed, and direction; and you can zoom in or out on the map display. Target- ing enemy units on this map is a breeze: You just mark the unit with the map cross hairs and then return to the 3- D view, where the compass icon will swivel your turret to- ward the marked target. You also use the map cursor to set your platoon's next desti- nation by clicking on the map. You can set your tar- gets and mark your destina- tions at any zoom setting.
All in all, with its well-ren- dered 3-D graphics, realis- tic battle scenarios, easy-to- master controls, and blister- ing hot action, Pacific Is- lands is a delight. I highly recommend it.
CLAYTON WALNUM
96 COMPUTE JULY 1993
ReadySofl
(416) 731-4175
$49.95
Circle Reader Service Number 442
SUNCOM FX 2000
Ergonomics and aesthetics can make strange bedfel- lows, especially when ap-
lows identical handling and performance capabilities for both left- and right-handed players. Twin fire controls — front trigger finger and top- mounted thumb button — can be manually switched between A and B settings, as designated by the soft- ware. The V-shaped top but-
You'll want the solid Suncom FX 2000 handy when you're playing games, though you may want it hidden otherwise.
plied to joysticks. What's pleasing to the touch is of- ten peculiar to the eye, and vice versa. Suncom's FX 2000 is one such duck, a flight control stick resem- bling an errant prop from a Roger Gorman sci-fi flick, First impressions, however, can be deceiving. Despite its odd, anamorphic shape, Suncom's latest offering is a marvel of user-friendly, func- tional design.
The pistol-grip controller is 8 inches high and 4y2 inch- es wide at the base, with a cord that's 5 feet, 9 inches long. Symmetrical design ai-
ton is particularly well suit- ed for ambidextrous play. Both buttons can be set to autofire by controls con- cealed in the base or to fire on demand with a top-mount- ed switch. Sliding x- and y- axis trimmers are located on the bottom, recessed to prevent accidental adjust- ments. Finally, a throttle wheel is located .at the front of the unit — a handy option utilized by a growing num- ber of flight simulators.
The stick performs best when firmly anchored, via built-in suction cups, to a ta- ble or desktop. The stability
of this arrangement de- pends on surface texture, cup moisture, and how vigor- ously the device is handled. If the seal is too dry, the rub- ber cups will not maintain the suction. The little-known fvlurphy's Law of Joystick Suction dictates that if a seal can break, it wili, and at the worst possible moment. Few things are more frustrat- ing than having the front end of the stick pop off the desk in the midst of an in- tense aerial battle. Try using a small, damp sponge to lightly moisten the cups be- fore securing them to the ta- ble, and pause the simula- tion and reapply pressure to the base before the action heats up.
If you prefer to hold the stick, you're in for a pleas- ant surprise. Unlike square- based controllers, the FX 2000 features smooth, round- ed curves, molded on the top and bottom to fit your ghp. Another unique feature is the ability to lift and lock the joystick handle at a 45- degree angle to the left or right. In theory, this dramat- ic shift creates a more natu- ral line between your wrist and forearm. The results are less fatigue and poten- tial pain, allowing you to play longer and, hopefully, score higher. Although awk- ward at first, prolonged tests in both positions fa- vored this new twist on an old technology
The controller tested well in such diverse and demand- ing environments as Aces of the Pacific, Chuck Yeager's Air Combat, 'Wing Command- er, and Falcon 3.0. The pistol grip's short-throw and stiff, tac- tile feel account for its quick and steady response — a pleasant change from com- monly loose and sloppy ana- log sticks. Primarily intended for flight simulations, the
Advertisers Index
Reader Service Number/Adverliser
259 162 1B9
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120 288 173 218
304
181 156 149 166 139
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ISO 108
254
206 205 125 123 113 226 161 131 188 180 187 167 253 20S
182
285 115
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. 42,43 Hope Career Center 112
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. . 117 207 IBM 5
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, - 77 231 Jactison Ivlarking Products Co., Inc 1 12
. G-21 140 JemmaSolt 115
. A-23 JP PBM Production G-11
. A-23 170 Keystone Sollwate G-10
. G-10 197 KF-PD Software G-9
. 113 Kid Secure o( America 112
. A-11 178 LACE 117
. , 23 117 Legacy Software 112
. 114 13B Legendary Design Tech, A-19
, 109 137 Legendary Design Tech A-28
. G-9 14B Living Proof. Ltd G-19
. 117 260 Mad Um Software G-13
. G-10 280 Mallard Software 69
. , 35 194 MegageM A-19
, . B1 200 Microl^agic Productions 116
. . 19 174 MicroProse 39
. G-17 289 MicroStorm Soltware G-19
. . 11 249 MSI/Micro Systems International A-7
, 109 191 Needham's Electronics, Inc 110
. 114 124 Neuralink A-19
. . 33 135 New Horizions Software G-21
. 112 NRI/McGraw Hill 73
. 116 141 Odyssey OnLine 114
. A-11 Oldsniohile 29
. - 82 163 OriQin 90
. . 25 134 Panasonic 9
. . . 3 1B4 Parsons Technology 21
. A-11 106 Parth Galen A-2a
, G-10 273 Passport Designs 13
, 114 186 Patch Panel Software 116
. . 15 250 PC Enterprises 116
. 113 Pendragon Software 109
. . 41 103 Penthouse OnLine 94
. Ill 107 Penthouse Modem 110
. A-19 153 Performance Peripherals G-21
. A-19 185 Po]r Person Software A-19
. G-12 168 Powr Shareware , A-28
. 103 PowerDisk G-11
. 113 119 Professor Jones Ill
A-9 256 Profit Group. The 111
. G-9 Pure Entertainment 101
- A-9 198 Puzzle Factory, The - A-23
. . 99 Z57 Ratico Computer Supplies 109
, IFCI Safe Computers 116
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Page
212 112 116 171 261 148 189 196 121 126 194 297 190 210
118 203 130 179 147 202 242 301 122 132 155 172
SaleSoft Systems Inc 116
School of Computer Training 112
SeXXy Software 114
Shareware Central 116
Sierra OnLine 47
Sierra OnLine 91,93,95,BC
Smart Luck Software 116
SMC Software Publishers A-19
SMC Software Publisheis 114
SoftShoppe 114
Software Studio, The A-19
Software Support International A-29
Softrvare Support International G-7
Software Support International 116
Software Toolworks 37
SOGWAP Software A-9
SOGWAP Software G-15
Star Graphics 101
Star Micronlcs 27
Stariivare Publishing Corp 115
SubLogIc , 44,45
Thrustmasler 115
TEAS A-23
Tycom G-ID
US Robotics IBC
Virgin 71
Virgin 36,87
Virtual Realily Labs 107
Wedgwood Computer 109
Windows 9O0 110
Classfieds 118,119
Product Mart 109,110,111,112,113,114,115,116,117
104 COMPUTE Books 92,A-15,A-23,G-11
COMPUTE Editor 900 Line 100
COMPUTE Free Windows Offer 51
COMPUTE Library Cases 101
COMPUTE Ultima Power Disk 55
Gazette Disk Subscription G-15
Gazette Index G-21
Gazette Productivity Manager G-19
Gazette Single Disk Order G-40
Gazette Specialty Disks G-2
Gazette SpeedScrlpt G-17
SliarePak Disk Subscription . . . 59
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CRED TS Cover: photo by Mark Wagoner, computer from Gateway 2000; page 4: Juan Alvarez/ Image Bank; page 8: John Mattos; page 18: Mark Wagoner; page 20: Mark Wagon- er; page 28: Mark Wagoner; page 30: Mark Wagoner; page 32: Mark Wagoner; page 34: Mark Wagoner; page 60: Bill Brun- ing; pages 66-67: Mark Wagoner; page 72: courtesy of Paper Direct; pages 74-75: Mark Wagoner; pages 78-79; Mark Wagon- er; page 83: Uniphoto/Pictor. |
IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR COMPUTE DISK SUBSCRIBERS COMPUTE offers two different disk products for PC readers; the SharePak disk and PC Disk. SharePak is monthly and has a subscription price of $59,95 for SV'i-inch disks and $64,96 for 3V2Hnch disks. A subscription to SharePak does not include a subscription to the maga- zine, PC Disk appears in odd-numbered months and has a subscription price of $49,95, which includes a subscription to the PC edition of COMPUTE. You can subscribe to either disk or to both, but a subscription to one does not include a subscription to the other. |
JULY 1993 COMPUTE 97
REVIEWS
stick also performs reasona- bly well with driving, sports, and arcade games, its only drawback is its size, which may prove too bulky for small- er hands.
Though not the ultimate flight control stick, as tout- ed by Suncom, the FX 2000 succeeds on three key points: response, comfort, and price. That's enough to send most armchair pilots soaring with delight.
SCOTT A. MAY
Suncom Technologies
(708) 647-4040
S39.99
Circle Reader Service Number 443
INSIGHT
A blue-tinted closeup of a hu- man eye shows through a jagged tear on the white cov- er of the Insight box, just above the full program title: Insight to Greater Personal and Professional Success — A Kahler Process Model. What have we here? New Age software? Palm reading by your PC? Something mys- tical ... yet practical?
None of the above, actu- ally, though you'd be forgiv- en for making any of those guesses after a casuai glance at Insight's packag- ing. Unless you're already fa- miliar with the Kahler Proc- ess Model, it's hard to tell that Insight is actually a de- tailed personality inventory, or psychological profile, pre- sented in software form.
Using Insight means an- swering a series of ques- tions that allows the pro- gram to issue reports with details on topics such as Your Personality Structure, Your Success Factors, and Your Distress Warning Sig- nals. It's based on the Kahler Process Mo6e\ (KPfvl), developed by Dr. 98 COMPUTE JULY 1993
Taibi Kahler in the mid 1970s. The package and documentation include en- dorsements from busi- nesspeople from around the country as well as from Dr. Terence fvlcGuire, a long- time psychiatric consultant for NASA who has used the KPfyi in selecting astronauts.
According to Insight's doc- umentation— which focuses on background information and details of the profiles, since Insight is about as easy to use as computer pro- grams get— Kahler's model classifies you as one of six personality types, none good or bad. The program goes out of its way to estab- lish itself as a tool for seif- discovery and self-improve- ment, not something that will "teach you to manipulate oth- ers or use this information in harmful ways." Scoundrels needn't apply.
If you're looking for a psy- chological quick fix, In- sight's not for you, either. Al- though you can copy it onto your hard drive in a few min- utes via a standard batch file, once you start Insight, you have a lot of reading to do, You move through the program using nothing but your cursor keys, with a long, colorful series of intro- ductory screens offering background on the KPM, pro- files of Kahler and other KPM developers, and ama- teurish graphic portraits of those people. The picture of the KPfvl that emerges from Insight's long introductory screens is one that spices basic psychological models with a pinch of humanistic philosophy: "We believe that people are OK, al- though their behavior is sometimes negative."
When you finally make it to the inventory, you're asked a series of 22 ques- tions with six possible an-
swers each. You can choose up to five answers that fit you, ranking them in order of importance. A short example is "I prefer: people, ideas, values, fun things, ex- citement, privacy." it takes 15-30 minutes to complete the inventory, after which the program issues a copy of Your Personal Insight Sum- mary. It's presented on- screen with detailed descrip- tions of each basic person- ality type — Reactor, Worka- holic, Persister, Dreamer, Re- bel, or Promoter— along with other information to accom- pany suggestions of how you can maximize your suc- cess and contentment and minimize your stress. You can also get a printout of your inventory results with a couple of simple keystrokes.
As the bit about "profes- sional success" in Insight's full title tells you, it's de- signed with businesspeople in mind. Though some of the blurbs on the box come from people who used In- sight to help them communi- cate better with family mem- bers, many of the questions and subsequent sugges- tions relate to business situ- ations. (I work alone at home, so I had some difficul- ty answering the questions about my colleagues.}
Whatever you do. don't rush through the Insight in- ventory with plans to answer more thoroughly another time: The Insight package comes with a Profiles disk that limits you to two person- ality profiles. Additional Pro- files disks have to be or- dered at a cost of $69,95 apiece. (You ai^e given a chance to back out before' the program completes a profile.)
I won't reveal the results of my profile, though I will say it seemed reasonably ac- curate, with information that
looks helpful but not really surprising. If you'd like more, well, insight into your own personality, however, or if you're looking for sugges- tions on improving your life at home or at work. Insight wouldn't be a bad place to start. It comes with good cre- dentials, it thoroughly ex- plains every conclusion and recommendation, and it's an easy-to-use program.
EDDIE HUFFMAN
Three-Sixty Pacific
(408) 879-9144
S99-95
Circle Reader Service Number 444
GRANDMASTER CHESS
Capstone makes big claims for Grandmaster Chess, call- ing it the most powerful chess program in the world. It backs up that claim by in- viting comparison to other programs, including a unique guarantee on the front of the box: If another chess program defeats Grandmaster Chess using identical computers under tournament conditions, you get your money back.
It takes approximately ten minutes to install the pro- gram, and installation in- cludes options to support ad- vanced video and sound fea- tures. You can choose from three chess sets: standard, human, or monster, The board can be viewed in ei- ther a two- or a three-dimen- sional position. The entire dis- play fits on one screen and includes the board, move lists, options buttons, and menu buttons while in two- dimensional mode. You can choose to play with black or white pieces, and the board can be rotated accordingly.
New chess players will find the program less than
I
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NEW[C\yssnut CD-ROM Titles EncyotopeOia of Sound • Over 250 soud files by the Muse Facto:y in WAV format World Travelor ■ Pnotos loy Michael McGralh & Paul Bmendorf in PCX & GIF format
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Creallve Labs |
8611 Inl t6bil Int |
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Discovery Kit |
429.00 490.00 |
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Edjtainrrenl Kit |
499.00 S79.QQ |
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Business MM Upgrade Kit |
S79.00 639-00 |
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MediaVision Fusion CDie |
499.00 (Internal) |
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tAtaceltan&ius |
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3,5-1 a4MBF0O |
49 M |
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S 25-1 2MB FDD |
49 00 |
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Caddies |
5.00 |
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CD Clean&r |
12 00 |
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CD Lens Cleaner |
IB 00 |
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SCSI Gmlrollers |
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Futurs Domain 16 bttkil |
159.00 |
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Future Domain B C^tkit |
G9.00 |
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Trantor 8 btt |
65.00 |
Sound Boards Diamond SonlcSound Pro Diamond ScnicSoiind Pro WoviQ Spectrum 16 Souro Blaster Deiu«e Sound Blaster Pro Deluxe Soundblaster 16 asp
SoeakBrs Labtec Amplilied Speatfers Altac Lansing ACS 100 Altec Lansing ACS 150
Dtimond Steallti 24
Diamond Viper 1 MB
Diamond Viper 2MB
ProWovr© StMCtTum
Video Blaster
VGA Card, Truecolor: 640x4601
BOOxSOOireSK. 1S80«10a4xl6
339.00 239 00 179.00 99.00 129.00 219.00
25-00 149.00 119.00
1 79.00 349.00 443.00 299.00 3S9-00 t6.7M, 119.00
CD
ROM
Multimedia
for the CD enthusiast
PC Compatible
CD-ROM Hardware &
Information on latest
CD-ROf\^ sotlware
releases
sample issue:
3.00
eomOM software
Prccn he on 1993 39 00
'r I ■. : ., J . 1 3 CD ROMs equals
o&:ii.y lO.CCQ DaokE ^-ipproji. 'C-Q !rees), arid contatris: Residential Istings, East; Residential hstmgs West, arid. Business iisimgs, National Look up by Name, Business Headsng, or Standard Industrial Classification {SIC CodeJ The powerful P-oPhone solrwate will a low you lo i.mi; you' search tjy address, dty, state, area code, or zip code. Oiitpijt selected Ii5tin.gs to a pnnter. or disk Me.
ProCD, Inc. ProPhone, Natl Edition, 1999 129-00 The 1993 version, adds several significant new features: enlwing a iDleF^ona number to obtain a name and address, entering an address to see every List- ing on tliat particular street; entering a ?ip code 10 identity every lislmg, enter- ing a name, or. a narr:e in comb-nat'on with any other tiel-d; or. selecting a directory caiegory, hy business heading^, or, SIC codes. ProPhonew.ll allow users to: pnr.t an unlimited number ol rna ling labels, at no additional charge: output an jnlimrted niffnter o! Iis:ings to a disk file, ai no additional charge: limit seardies io t^usiness. rpsider^lial, ■or both categories.; alomalic^iiy
|
Buslr}cs^ |
World View |
35.00 Game Masler |
19.00 Peter Rabbit |
39,00 Encyc Win 1,0, S.T. |
49.00 |
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American Business Pn Bk |
Goter^vinkle's Adventures |
45,00 Putt Putt Parade |
59.00 Food Analyst |
45.00 |
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Di;sine3s Backgrounds |
35.00 A Plus Grade Builder |
39.00 Guy Spy |
39.00 Readers Library |
25.00 Guiness 1 992 |
19-00 |
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Business Master |
1 9-00 About Cows |
29.00 House ol Games |
19.00 Shakespeare |
19.00 Guiness 1993 |
59.00 |
|
North American Fax Book |
45-00 Amanca Stories |
49.00 Iron Helix |
69.00 Sherlock Literary |
19.00 KGB-CIA Faclbook |
33.00 |
|
Q£ A |
59.00 Amazing Universe |
69,00 Jones in Fast Lane |
25.00 Sleeping Beauty |
25,00 Langs of World |
39.00 |
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Amerit^an Indians |
39.00 Jutland |
69.00 Slorytime VI |
35,00 Lesko Information USA |
69,00 |
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Animals in Motion |
39.00 Animals. The |
29.00 King's Ouesl 5 |
25 00 Slorytime V2 |
35,00 U S Bookshelf |
69.00 |
|
Apotto (Space Series:) |
39.00 Annabels Dream |
69.00 Klosski |
26,00 Slorytime V3 |
35,00 Masterpiece Library |
35.00 |
|
Audubon Birds |
29.00 Arthur Teacher Trouble |
27.00 Laura Bow II |
49,00 Tale ol Peter Rabbit |
29,00 Mayo Clinic |
29.00 |
|
Audubon Mammals |
29.00 Barney Bear School |
33.00 Loom |
25,00 Thomas" Snow Suit |
29,00 McMillan Diclnry for Children |
49,00 |
|
Clipan Galore |
35.00 Barney Bear Space |
35.00 Manhole |
45,00 World Greatest Books |
45,00 Mega Movie Guide |
49,00 |
|
Cliparl Goliath |
15-00 Bible Lands S Stories |
49.00 Mantis |
59,00 Miscellaneous |
Microsoft Encana |
299.00 |
|
Chpan Heaven |
29.00 Career Opponunilies |
35-00 Mud Puddle |
29,00 CD Caddies |
5,00 Middle East Diary |
39,00 |
|
Clipmaster Pro |
30.00 Carmen San Diego |
29.00 Pacilic Islands |
35,00 Classic Colleclion |
69 00 Monarch Notes |
69.00 |
|
Complete Audubon |
59.00 Civil War |
39.00 PC Sig Games |
15,00 JeMct Cases |
1 00 Ollicer Bookcase |
39.00 |
|
Empire Clip Art |
29 00 Dinosaur Adventures |
49.00 Rodney Fun House |
49,00 WPC Wizard |
15,00 Oxford English Diet |
119.00 |
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Encvclopedia of Clip Arl |
25.00 Distant Suns |
99-00 Rolor |
19 00 Nautilus Mini SubscrtJtion |
25 00 Global Explorer |
99-00 |
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Fontmaster VI |
15.00 Ecoquest |
49,00 Secret \ Lutlwalte |
29 00 PC Medic |
29,00 Plant Doctor |
39 00 |
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Fontmaster V2 |
19.00 Education Master |
19,00 Secret Monkey Island |
29,00 Musk i Sound |
Prescnpt Drugs |
39,00 |
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Fonts tor the Pro Publisher |
29.00 Eurofffian Monarchs |
35.00 Seventh Guest |
59-00 Composer Quest |
69 00 Pro Phone 1 992 |
39,00 |
|
Fresh Arte |
35.00 Learn Speak Spanish |
79.00 Sherlock Cons 1 |
25, OG Encyclopedia ot Sound |
1 5,00 Pro Phone 1 993 |
129 00 |
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Full BIcom |
35-00 Une & Shape Eater |
35-00 Shertock Cons 2 |
49-OC Grammys . |
69,00 Heierence Lib, ST |
25,00 |
|
GIFs Galore |
15.00 Lyric Language French |
49.00 Sherlock Cons Del III |
59-OC M.WBeethcjven |
69.00 Roger Eben |
39 00 |
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HotSlutf 1 |
19.00 Lyric Language Spanish |
49.00 Software Jukebox |
35,00 M,M Jazz |
69.00 Terrorist Group Pro |
39,00 |
|
Hot StutI 2 |
25.00 Mavis Teach Typing |
25.00 Space Adventure |
69.00 Mozan |
35.00 Time Almanac |
2900 |
|
ImpressiOhJsm |
35-00 Nat Geog Mammals |
29,00 Space Quest IV |
25.0C Sound Sensations |
1 5.00 Time Oeserl Storm |
2900 |
|
Inpnni Litxary |
59.00 Our Hcuse |
49 00 Spint ot Excakbur |
33 OC SounaWav |
29,00 Time Table Hislory |
29 00 |
|
Island Designs |
35.00 Our Sdar System |
15,00 Sprite |
30.00 Sounds lor Windows |
25 00 Total Baseball |
55-00 |
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J0I5& Props |
49.00 SLS English |
69.00 Star Child |
3S.0G Soundworks |
19.00 USA Slate Factbook |
39.00 |
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Just Fonls |
25.00 SLS French |
69.00 Stellar 7 |
25.00 VivaWi |
29.00 Vietnam Vets |
39-00 |
|
Kodak Pnoto CD |
29.00 SLS German |
69.00 Whate of a Tale |
69,00 programming |
Vital Signs |
69-00 |
|
Lovely Ladies II |
33.00 SLS Japanese |
69.00 Who Killed Sam Rupert |
39.D0 C Source Users Lib |
25.00 World Atlas |
2500 |
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Majestic Places |
35.00 SLS Spanish |
69-00 Willy Beamish |
25.0C CICA Microsoft Win |
15.00 World Fadbooli |
29.00 |
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Money, Money. Money |
35.00 Stickybcar Preschool |
37.00 Wing CMDR £ OPS |
55.00 Garbo |
15.00 ShartwlK |
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Mother Eanli II |
33.00 Twelve Roads To Gettysburg |
59.00 Wmg CMDR 2,UI1 Undrgrnd |
55.00 0S2 Hobbes |
15 00 Alt American MM |
33,00 |
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Mother ol All Clip An |
15 00 USCmcs |
39 00 Wolfpack |
49.00 Programmers ROM |
39.00 Amsolt World of Ham Radio |
39,00 |
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Pi.el Garden |
33 00 US Hislory |
30 00 Wrath ol Demon |
19,00 Sim1el20 |
15.00 Bakers Dozen |
15,00 |
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Pop S Polrlics |
59 00 US Presidents |
39,00 uisalms |
Source ceo |
19.00 California Collection |
16-00 |
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PubiiQue Ane |
39-00 US Wars Korea |
39.00 Aesops Fables |
35,00 Technotools |
15.00 Daytime Express |
20,00 |
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Publishers Dream Disk |
39.00 USWafS:WWJI |
39.00 Beauty S Beasi |
25.00 X11R5GNU |
25.00 Gigabyle Goki |
33-00 |
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Publishers Paradise |
29.00 Vocabuleatn French |
49,00 Complete Bookshop |
15.00 Relerence |
Ham Oill |
49-00 |
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Publish it 2.0 (DOS) |
29-00 vocabuiearn Spanish |
49-00 Creation Stories |
39.00 Aircratt Encydopedia |
39.00 Ham Radio |
15.00 |
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Publish it 3 0 (Win) |
59-00 gnierfarnment |
Desktop Bookshelt |
15.00 Bible Library |
29.00 Libris Sntannica |
45.00 |
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Seals of Government |
45.00 Aegis Guardian Fleei |
69.00 Don Quixote |
39.00 Bibles S Religion |
15 00 Lion Share |
33.00 |
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So Much Screeniivare |
29.00 Air Warrior |
57.00 Elec Home Lib |
29 00 Cinemania |
69.00 Monster Disc |
45-00 |
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Swimwear & More |
29.00 Arcade |
39.00 Ooldilocl<5 & 3 Bears |
39.00 Colossal Cookbook |
15.00 NiQhtOwtS |
29.00 |
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Swimwear 1 993 |
25.00 Battle Chess |
25-00 Srandma 8 Me |
49 00 Book ot Lists |
49.00 Ong Shwe '92 |
15.00 |
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Ternpra Access |
25-00 Beyond Wall Stars |
39.00 Great Lilerature |
79.00 Bus.'Econ Atlas mil |
29.00 PCS1G12 |
29.00 |
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Too Many Typelonis |
1 5.00 CD Game Pacti II |
29.00 Heather Hits Home Run |
29,00 Compton Upgrade S Switch |
119.00 Phoenix 3.0 |
19-00 |
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VGA Spectrum 1 |
tS.OO Chessmasler 30O0 |
25.00 Library of Future |
59-00 Consumer Information |
39.00 Power Pak Gold |
19.00 |
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VGA Spectrum 2 |
25.00 Conan |
29.00 Magazine Raclt |
29-00 Crossword Cracker |
19,00 Premier Shmvre |
29.00 |
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Vision ol Saturn |
19,00 ConcEuesI ot Lrjngtjow |
49-00 t/asterpiece Library |
35,00 Desert Storm Col Cmm |
39,05 f BBS in a Box |
39.00 |
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Wild Places |
35-00 Deadzone Jr |
69.00 l/liied Up M Goose |
25,00 Diet S. Lang |
15.00 Shareware 'gS |
25.00 |
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Women of Venus |
33.00 Deathstar Arcade |
15.00 Moving G Me Stomach Ache |
29-00 Diet Living World |
119.00 Shareware Galore , |
19-00 |
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World ot Flight |
39,00 Fantasy Fieldom |
69,00 Murmurs ol Eahh |
49,00 Eleo Cookbooll H3 |
59.00 Shareware Online |
25.00 |
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World of Trains |
39-00 Future Wars |
49.00 Peters Wolt |
25,00 Encyc MiM 5 0, S,T |
49.00 Shareware Tiger |
30.00 |
DeLam» GlotuI Exploref 99,00
Ttw Twst detaJM world atlasi ever. Amazing detail as yoL zoom in and out. indajied relarences
to more than 120,QDD places. Fascmaiing descnoTions ot 20,000 tiistoncai. iCultural. and g.eo-
graphjcai features Counjry proliies wilh up-to-date soaai. economic & cultural statistics
Monster Disc Inc. Monster Disc [2 CO Set) 45 00
All programs were wniien updated tjeiween January l , 1 992 • Feb 1 , 1;993 1 300M& on 2 CDs
Nd Duplicates or multip'e versions Compressed wi]h PKZfP v2.04g Files. BBS lormat mduCed
lor PCBoard ■ QBBS .' RA .' flOBS/ SBBS ; TAG / TELEGARD ' Wlt,DCATi Adwanoed tile viewer
TAG 'VIEW .' E>[TnACT Archives, 140 page booklet containing all tiles and descriptions.
Shrwre Overload 15.00
Shwre Extravaganza 49.00
Shwre Studio 33.00
So Much ShA-re 1 19 00
So Much Shwre 2 25.00
Softwa/e Vault 33.00
Top 2000+ Shwre 30.00
Ullimaie Shwre Coll 30.00
Win Shwre Gold 33.00
Window Masler 19.00 Windoware • 15.00
Windows 1993 25.00
World Vision 45.00
Travpt
Calt Golf Guode •15.00
California Travel 45 00
Great Cities VI 35.00
Great Cities V2 35.00
National Paj-ks 33.00
Street Atlas USA 89.00
US Atlas wAulomap 29.00
World Traveler 15.00
Adu}ts/over2lOULYi
Adut! Ref Library 25.00
Animation Fantasies 1 33.00
Animation Fantasies 2 33.00
Asian Ladies 33.00
Busiy Babes 29 00
CD Movies 33 C'Q
Digttal Dreams 25.00
Dirty Talk 40,00
Ecstasy 29.00 Ency ot Exotc Animations 25.C-0
Erotic Encounters 30.00
Giffy Gold 33.00
Hot PiK 2 33,C0
Hot Pix 3 33.C0
Hot Pi« 4 33 CO
Moving Fantasies 29.C0
PC Ptx 1 33.C0
PC PiK 2 33.C0
PC Pi* 3 33.C0
Physical Therap/ 19, CO
Pnv Pict J 30.C0
Private CoHbc 1 33.C0
Private Coiiec 2 33 CO
Rimlire PadHc 59, CO
Seventh Heaven 33 CO
Smutware 25.00
Siarflware 29 CO
Storm I 30.C0
Storm II 30.00
Storm III 30 CO
Visual Faniasjes 29.00
Volcano 30 CO
Proof ot age required
Order with Check. Money Order. viSA. Mas.!erCard. American Eipress, or COD Ordei Dypnone, mal Of tax Note there is na surcharge tor credil card oroers Fof tne contiguous U S , CD-HOM software shipping 15 55 00 per order (nottitie*. Of S9. 50 it COD. Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Canada addSQOO per CD-flOM software cfde: far stiippiog Costs tor stiippirsg hardware or, orders lo foreign courii;ies not mentioned, are quoted ai time of order, ^ndla^a resiOenis please add 5% sales lat. Not responsiole (or typographical errors. Please researcn your product purchases as ail saies are final. All products are covered b^- manulacturet's warranty Pnces and availability are subject to ctiange witiiout notice
Free Spirit Software, Inc. - 720 Sycamore Street - Columbus, IN 47201 - Questions? Phone (812) 376-9457
Circle Reader Service Number 115
SPMKtP!
\A/E at COMPUTE
strive to provide you with the latest
and most useful home, business
and entertainment computer news
and information. Now we're
opening the GOMPUTE EDITOR
LINE-a direct link to our editorial
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in the shaping of COMPUTE
Magazine.
Using this program, you can
comment on articles and features in
COMPUTE. After hearing the
introduction, you'll be asked to
leave a message for the editor. Your
message will be reviewed and may
be published in a future issue.
REVIEWS
Here's how it works:
1. Call the COMPUTE EDITOR LINE: 1-900-884-8681 The
charge is only $0.95 per min.
2. Select the month of the issue you want to talk about.
3. Enter the extension number printed at the end ol the feature or pictorial spread you want to discuss. If you don't have the extension number, just listen to the menu selections, and they will lead you to the proper extension for each item.
4. Listen to the comment or information corresponding to the feature or pictorial you selected.
5. Then, at the tone, leave your desired message!
6. If you would like to make another selection, press " "k' to return to the main menu.
PET INC, Box 166, Hllywd., CA 90078. Must be 18 or older. Touch Tone phones only.
adequate for teaching the game. Includ- ed with the documentation is a brief fli- er, published by the United States Chess Federation (USCF), that ex- plains the rules of chess. But nothing within the program teaches the begin- ner about piece movement.
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■■ ^^H |
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Granomasitii Ciiess wilt sun experienced players better than novices.
The chess player with some experi- ence will find the program both enter- taining and helpful. When you push the hint button, the computer displays its analysis, which includes point values for each possible move and its contin- ued line of play, and then animates the best possible move. You may also turn on or off the computer's opening library of moves, which includes ap- proximately 12.000 positions in 4500 standard openings. When you press the book button, all legal moves are list- ed, and those in the opening book are rated and ranked.
The intermediate club player will al- so find the program a solid chess part- ner. You can choose from a variety of playing strengths and styles for the com- puter, and you can select time con- trols. Irom 5-minute speed chess match- es (best played with the computer's opening library turned off) to 120-min- ute tournament matches. The program includes a rating estimate that approxi- mates your USCF ranking, and games can be saved, imported, or printed. It's easy to edit the board and to set the computer to quickly solve puzzle posi- tions. When set at Grandmaster tourna- ment level, the program is quite formi- dable. If you defeat the Grandmaster, the program prints a certificate.
While Grandmaster Chess is power- ful and entertaining, it does have flaws. It wouldn't run as a DOS appli- cation under Windows, crashing every time I attempted it. In fact, the program crashed on one occasion while run- ning under DOS, The hand cursor also tended to stamp itself on various parts of the screen regularly. Although the program includes synthesized
speech, it's limited to a few trite ex- pressions such as "Gotcha" and "Bad move." I found the speech feature lit- tle more than annoying.
The program does have several strong, unique features. Its options but- tons make play fast and easy It's very nice to be able to turn the computer's opening book on or off, as well as to change its strength and play variability. The program plays chess well at a vari- ety of levels, and it's particularly nice for the player with limited experience.
Grandmaster Chess would make a good addition to any software library, but I'd advise waiting until a Windows version becomes available.
JIM SMITH
IniraCcrp
(SOC) 463-7226
S59.95
Circle Reader Service Number 445
AIR FORCE COMMANDER
As Coalition forces demonstrated dur- ing the Persian Gulf War, achieving air superiority can be an important first step toward reaching your military ob- jectives. With Air Force Commander, you'll get the chance to direct the op- erations of your own air force with the ultimate objective of doing just that — achieving air superiority in several sim- ulated military conflicts.
Air Force Commander is a strategic game of modern air warfare set in the Middle East. The game features 14 sce- narios of varying difficulty and complex- ity involving the United States and sever- al N/liddle Eastern countries, including Iran, Iraq, Syria. Jordan. Israef. Saudi Arabia, Sudan. Kuwait, Qatar, Leba- non, Egypt, and the United Arab Emir- ates. Some of these scenarios are loose- ly based on histohcal conflicts such as the Iran-Iraq War of 1973, the Yom Kip- pur War, and the Persian Gulf War, while others are based solely on hypo- thetical situations.
As the name implies, Air Force Com- mander puts you in control of an entire air force, not just a single fighter plane or bomber. Thus, your view of the ac- tion is from a radar map in a war room rather than from the sky. Here, all air- craft are represented by vertical dotted tines that travel across the map in ac- celerated realtime. The length of each line indicates the altitude of the plane it represents — the longer the line, the higher the plane.
Although you can direct your fighter squadrons to intercept specific enemy aircraft, your fighters are used more ef- ficiently if you simply set up patrols
100
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around the areas you wish to protect. In addition, bombers are available for high-altitude bombing and ground strike missions against specific targets in enemy territory. To extend your ra- dar coverage, it's important to provide air cover for your bombers as v/ell as for AWACs planes performing circular sweeps,
Squadrons can be placed on auto- launch so tfiat after a mission they'll au- tomatically return to base, refuel, and head back out. It's important, however, to monitor the efficiency of your squad- rons and rest and repair them as nec- essary to make sure they perform at peak efficiency.
While the real objective of Air Force Commander is to achieve air superiori- ty, the game can also be won by turn- ing public opinion in the opposing coun- try against the war. You do this by attacking its power stations and sourc- es of food and water.
As for Air Force Commander's sound capabilities, the digitized voice (with a Sound Blaster) is a nice touch, but the loud explosions that accompa- ny air combat and bombing raids are more of a distraction than an enhance- ment to the action.
The various maps are nicely drawn and seem to be fairly accurate, but in general the graphics remind you that you're playing a computer game rath- er than participating in a realistic simula- tion. Air Force Commander is an enjoy- able game, but not one that's likely to win any awards.
BOB GUERRA
Impressions Software
(203) 676-9002
$59.95
Circle Reader Service Number 446
BEST DATA SMART ONE 9624 FP TRAVELER FAX/MODEM
Even though you could phone in your lunch order just as easily as you could fax it, advancing technology creates heightened expectations. You want a fax machine.
The thing is that you already have a printer and you're not really looking for a similar-sized plastic box to take up more space in your crowded office. Or maybe you and your laptop do quite a bit of traveling, and you're in the mar- ket for a fax machine that allows you to send and receive pages from air- port lobbies and hotel rooms. In either case, the Best Data Smart One 9624 FP Traveler Fax/Modem could get that kebab cooking by noon without your
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COMPUTE UBRARY CASES
store your issues of COMPUTE in our new Custom Bound Library Cases made o( blue simulated leather embossed with
a white COMPUTE logo on the spine. It's built to last, and it will keep 12 issues in mint condition indefinitely. Each case has a gold transfer for recording the date. Send your check or money order (S8.95
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JULY 1993 COMPUTE 101
REVIEWS
ever having to pick up the receiver.
Tine 9624 FP tal<es up on- ly about as mucin space as a walkabout cassette player trailing a cord or ttiree. You tiook it up to your computer directly througti a 25-pin port or via cable through a 9- pin port and then plug in a phone line and a pov^er cord (or, if you prefer, you can power up the 9624 FP with a nine-volt battery). Red indicator lights tell you wheth- er the battery's low, if the mo- dem's operating at 2400 bps or faster, whether a con- nection has been estab- lished, and if the modem is ready for communications to begin. tJnIike some porta- ble fax/data modems, the 9624 FP connects directly to the phone line rather than strapping onto the receiver, so don't buy it expecting to use it easily from public phones or in office buildings with odd-sized plugs for their phone systems. Also, the modem has a slightly clunky feel because of loose nuts and a power- cord receptacle that gives slightly when you plug the cord in. those are essential- ly cosmetic concerns, howev- er, and they have no bear- ing on the performance of the 9624 FP.
Anyone who has ever re- moved a desktop PC's cov- er to install a fax/data mo- dem board will appreciate the convenience of the 9624 FP's external connections. Best Data has even adapt- ed for use by the genera! public a Velcro strip used by the company's employ- ees to attach the 9624 FP di- rectly to a monitor, out of the way. I had the modem hooked up and its accompa- nying software installed with- in about ten minutes of open- ing the box. The user's man- ual provided relatively clear
102 COMPUTE JULY 1993
instructions, though without illustrations, an index, or the kind of literary spark that can make phrases like re- tractable locking screws come alive.
The software accompany- ing the 9624 FP— WinFax Li- te and Quick Link II — makes communications an
and when you're viewing a fax that you're sending or you've received, it offers no helpful onscreen guidelines telling you how to move around the page or pages. I used both programs for suc- cessful fax communications, however, and their inclusion with a portable modem that
The Best Data Smart One 9624 FP Traveler Fax/Modem is even smaller than its name, making faxing easy and convenient.
intuitive breeze. Both pro- grams allow you to send and receive faxes, as well as view them onscreen or print them on your printer. If you run Windows, I'd advise sticking with WinFax Lite, though. Quick Link II gets the job done, but it has an in- terface on a level with an av- erage shareware program,
can transmit at 9600 bps makes the 9624 FP a bar- gain at $199 suggested re- tail. (WinFax Lite .isn't availa- ble as a stand-alone prod- uct, but WinFax Pro retails at $119.)
The bargain looks even better when you consider the error correction and da- ta compression technolo-
gies built into the 9624 FP. It incorporates V.42bis and MNP 2-5 technologies, which are imposing-looking monikers for the intelligence that makes the modem fast and its transmissions clean. Using data compression, V.42bis allows for a transmis- sion throughput up to four times the bps rate of the mo- dem itself, which allows the 2400-bps 9624 FP to send in your lunch order at 9600 bps. (V.42 covers the error correction, while bis covers the data compression.) MNP 2-5 is a subset of V.42, and, in a nutshell, it means the 9624 FP can com- municate with other fvlNP mo- dems, a standard protocol. If you're simply looking for a way to get that memo you needed yesterday here today, at least, don't let all those weird letter and num- ber combinations confuse you. The Best Data Smart One 9624 FP Traveler Fax/ Modem packs a lot of pow- er into a small package, ful- filling your fax needs without crowding you a! all.
EDDIE HUFFMAW
Best Dala Products (800) 632-2378 (81B) 773-9600 SI 49
Circle Reader Service Number 447
MUTANOID MATH CHALLENGE
Legacy's Mutanoid Math Challenge brings the charm and nonsense of a Saturday morning cartoon to acade- mia's most abstract subject and packages it with enough weird and wacky characters to keep the kids calculating until dinnertime. Although the game is rat- ed for kids 7-adult, it has on- ly three skill levels: grades 2- 3, 4-5, and 6-8. Its 60 quirky animations, fast-
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Capitalist Pig 38" Car and Driver 37*= Carrier Strike 39
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Family Tree Maker 42
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Global Conquest 35
Gobblins 1 or 2' 22
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Super Ships 20"
Greens 35
Gunship 2000 36
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Guy Spy 29
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Harpoon Signature 49"
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Adv. Mission Disk 1 9
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Jump Jet 3S"
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King's Quest 6 45
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Scienca Adventure 42 Scooter Magk: Castle32 Scrabble Deluxe 30 Sea Rogue 19
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Siece 3B
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Snap Dragon 32
Snoopy Game Dub 29 Solitaire Window 29" Solitaires Journey 35 Spaca Acs 2:Bort 36 Space Adventure 42 Space Hulk 37"
Space Quest 4 37 Spaca Quest 5 39" Spaceward Ho 35" Spear ol Destiny 39" Special Forces 29 Spectre 35"
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Spellcasling 301 35 Spell Craft 35
Spslirt Plus 30
SpelUammer 37*' Sports Adventure 33 Sproutl 39
Sfar Control 2 35" Star Legkms 37*'
Star Trek 258i Aniv. 37 StarTrek AudioClip34"
Next Generation 38" Star Trei( Screen Sav37 Slickybr Math Tutor 30 Stidiybr Pra-SchooJ 30 Stickybr Read Tutof 30 Sti*ybr Spell Tutor 30 Sionn Across Europe38 Storybook Weaver 29" Strike Commander 47"
Studyware Bk>lqgy, Calc.,Chem..Econ Physics, Statistic 25 Studyware LSAT 37 Stunf Island 37
Summer Cfiallenge 34 Super Tetris 31
Take a break X-Word29 Pinball • 26"
Task Force 1942 37*' T.M.N.Turtle Arcade 25 T.M.N.TurtiB Advntr 32 Tengens Arcade Hit 25 Tenninator 2029 39*' Tnnnlr 2 Cybrchass 35 Tetris Classic 31
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The Legacy 33"
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Time Quest 37
Tom Landry Football 30 Tony ijRussa Base. 17 Tony LaRussa II 37" Expansion Disk 15 Top ijlass Sieries 9al6 Traders 19"
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Ultima 7 47"
Forge ol Virtue 1 7 UltimaT Part 2 47" Ultima Trilogy 1 37" Ultima Tritogy 2 47" Ultima Underwork) 47" Part 2 47"
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Uninvited Windows 31" U.S. Atlas DOS 31 Utopia 29"
V lor Victofy 1/2 ea42" Veoas Games Win 19" Val of Darkness 37" Virtual Realty St 2 59" Wacky Funster 19" Waxworks 35"
Wayne Gretzky 3 35 Western Front 22" When2Worids War 35" What's My Angle 30 Wheel Fortune Vana 25 Where Camn SanDiego America's Past 34" Europe 30
Time 30
USA 30
USA Deluxe 44" World Deluxe 44" Wild Science Arc3d35" Wilson ProStallgolf25" Waen:Tha Prtcy 34" Willy Beamish 25
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Bible Library 49
Bibles i Reiigon 30 Bookshalf 129
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Game Master 32
Game Pack 2 39
GettysburgMM Hist 43 Gofer Winkles Adv 33 Golden Immortal 28 Graat Citias Vol 1 49 Guinness Book Rec 59 Guy Spy 32
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Inspector Gadget 37" Interactive ad Test 52 Interactive StorytimB45 InO Bus 1 Econ Atlas39 Inuo Games Fr/Sp 79 Jazz:Multimedia Hist 69 Jets i Props 55
Jones in Fas! Lane 37 Just Grandma & Me 36 Jutland 54"
Kings Quest 5 42
Land 01 Lore 34"
Languages of Worid 99 Laam to Speak Span59 Leisure Suit Lanv 42 LiOry of ArtiRenaiSfl 65 Ubry of Art:OvBrv>ew65 Library ol Future 99 Loom 39
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Magazine flack 45 Mantis 45"
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Ultimata Shareware 59 U S Atlas 42
US Atlas w/Automap49 US History 39
US Presidents 49
USA State Fact Bk 45 USA Wars:Civil War 49 USA WarsiKoraa 49 USA WarsiVielnam 49 USA Wars: WW II 49 Voyage Planet l-3aa-69 White HorsB Child 33 Who Killed Sam Rup26 Willy Beamish 37
Win CD 32
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Visual Fantasy 65
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Cadenza 129
Cakewalk 95
Cakewalk Pro 169
Cakewalk Window 240
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REVIEWS
paced action, and out-of- this-world cast will keep new- comers to matin engrossed in the computative environ- mental chiallenge the game presents.
After loading the pro- gram, kids enter the year 2020, when Earth has ex- hausted its landfills and be- gun to send its solid waste in- to outer space. Smart- mouthed aliens who don't want the useless junk threat- en revenge by dumping glop on the planet. Prime minister Monitron, a kind of futuristic fvlonty Hall, per- suades the aliens to settle their dispute in a contest of math abilities. The games take place in the Cubix Can- tina, which Legacy calls "the restaurant of choice for solar slimeballs."
The program features a single-page quick-start guide that lets kids or teach- ers get into the game imme- diately. The 58-page play- er's guide is imaginatively illustrated, and notes on in- stallation, instruction, game tips, and troubleshooting are presented in a story- telling fashion that sticks with the theme of the game and won't turn off those kids who take the tinne to read them. Legacy recently add- ed support for sound boards, and the new musi- cal accompaniment greatly enhances the PC speaker sound found in the previous version.
The game is copy-protect- ed by documentation. To get past Vectra. the securi- ty guard, players must match a number Vectra gives them to a planet name printed on the corre- sponding page in the man- ual. Up to 40 players can play, and multiplayer com- petitions make it ideal for classroom activities as welf as group play at home.
104 COMPUTE JULY 1993
Parents, teachers, or kids themselves can customize levels of difficulty to make the game easier, eliminating multiplication tables, divi- sion, or cube equations. Kids select their Mutanoid challengers from a cast of ooky-looking characters with appropriately juvenile
mouse support.
Legacy's arcade-game ap- proach to instruction, com- plete with sound and anima- tion, brings routine drill-and- practice exercises alive. Mu- tanoid Math Challenge will entertain any kid who plays it individually, but its contest approach to teaching
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Mutanoid Math Challenge makes learning math concepts fun, and it's ideal for use either at home or in the classroom.
names like Barbie Q., I.M. Tall, and Lotta B. Hinds, The game board presents prob- lems in crossword-style grids, where players fill in el- ements of the equations, and as word problems. Kids enter the answers by select- ing numbers on an on- screen calculator pad. From time to time, green mu- tant "gelatotd" creatures zip across the screen, and a player who can direct them to diamond squares earns ex- tra points. Scores are kept in a Hall of Fame, so kids can check to see how their scores compare with those of the Mutanoid (the comput- er) or other players.
The game employs some- what unconventional key as- signments: To quit, you hit F8 instead of Esc, for exam- ple. But kids don't seem to mind. The game does have
maKes it perfect for groups. Kids love competition, and this game's support for mul- tiple players makes it one of tfiose educational games that can turn a computer in- to an activity center in a classroom or family den.
CAROL ELLISON
Legacy Software
(800) LEARN-92
S49,95
Circle Reader Service Number 446
SPACE ACE II: BORE'S REVENGE
step into the world of Satur- day-morning superheroes with Space Ace II: Borf's Re- venge, a nonstop arcade bat- tle of good versus evil.
In the previous episode, the villainous Borf un- leashed the terrible Infanto Ray— a weapon capable of
turning anyone into a help- less infant with a single blast. The big, blue fiend had hoped to turn the Earth into one big day care cen- ter. But Space Ace turned the tables and saved the day, zapping Borf into a harmless peewee.
As the new game begins, Borf's tenacious Goon squad has restored its pint- sized leader to his larger- than-life evilness. An en- raged Borf then kidnaps Ace's girlfriend, Kimberly, and attempts a getaway. You must race to her de- fense, battling a relentless se- ries of monsters, robots, and other deadly threats.
The game's look and feel is Inspired by Don Bluth, a former Disney animator who pioneered the first laser disc coin-op game, Drag- on's Lair. The theater-quality cartoon graphics and digit- ized sound are nearly seam- less on a hard drive. This type of game begs for a CD- f^Of\/l treatment.
Though beautifully drawn and smoothly animated, the design suffers from serious structural flaws. Simply put, the story doesn't flow, it lung- es forward at breakneck speed. Transitions between scenes are usually clipped, and often missing entirely. The results are disjointed and confusing, with no sense of plot progression.
Another problem is a com- plete lack of strategy Player input is limited to simple knee-jerk reactions — press- ing one of five keys in re- sponse to the onscreen ac- tion. The game's linear story line allows absolutely no di- gression from the pre- scribed course of action. False moves are rewarded not with an alternate direc- tion, but with instant death. Even the fastest, cruelest ar- cade games offer more
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REVIEWS
than one path to success or failure, This game is a bullet train with no stops and only one destination. Fail to switch tracks at the precise moment and the whole thing derails.
Average games last under a minute for experienced players and mere sec- onds for arcade rookies. Having only three tries to complete the adventure adds to your frustration; luckily, a save option lets you start the game at the be- ginning of the last unfinished scene. Un- fortunately, once invoked, this save fea- ture is automatic: If you fail once or twice and then succeed, the game over- writes your last position, leaving you stranded with severely limited resourc- es. Contrary to the old maxim, if at first you don't succeed, give up before try- ing again. As if admitting to this unfor- giving difficulty, the manual offers fair- ly explicit hints for each of the game's 27 scenes.
More satisfying examples of this gen- re include Interplay's Out of This World, Dynamix's Adventures of Willie Beamish, and even ReadySoft's own Guy Spy series. In addition to a solid mix of arcade action and logic puzzles, each of those games takes time to tell a viable story, using such "camera" techniques as panning, noninteractive segues, and long tracking shots.
Technically brilliant, Space Ace II: Borf's Revenge successfully emulates a studio-quality animated adventure, As an interactive game, however, most of the fun seems to have been left on the Gutting room floor.
SCOTT A. MAY
$59.95 READYSOFT
(416) 731-4175
Circle Reader Service Number 449
COFFEE BREAK GAMBLING
As new game designs begin to stretch the limits of time and space — your time and hard drive space, that is — Villa Crespo heads in the opposite di- rection with its Coffee Break Series. These compact, budget-priced games deliver instantly accessible qual- ity entertainment that's playable from floppy or hard disk.
Villa Crespo is best known for casino- style gambling simulations, so it's not surprising that the top picks in this bur- geoning series are games of strategy and chance. Dr. Wong's Jacks & Vid- eo Poker is an abridged version of one of the company's biggest-selling titles. Where the original offers five variations
106 COMPUTE JULY 1993
of video poker, the condensed version contains only Jacks or Better, by far the most popular style.
Features include an adjustable bank- roll, online tutorial and advice, hand analysis, and calculated returns. The on- ly feature sorely missing from the orig- inal is simultaneous two-player tourna- ment mode. Bells and whistles include somewhat garish — albeit realistic — low- resolution graphics and digitized sound effects.
Dr. Thorp's fvlini Blackjack is the ab- breviated version of another full- fledged simulation. Up to six players can compete against the dealer, utiliz- ing such standard casino options as double down, split, surrender, push, and insurance. Advanced features in- clude two levels of house rules, each ful- ly adjustable and surprisingly detailed. In addition to online strategy tables and a basic blackjack tutorial, the game also teaches three methods of card counting.
Casino Craps is a delightful re-crea- tion of the fast-paced dice game. High- resolution graphics and much-im- proved mouse controls embellish this dynamic one-player simulation. Exten- sive onscreen help thoroughly explains the nuances of odds and wagers, field bets, hard numbers, and center-table bets. Highlights include three levels of statistical analysis and player histories. Animated onscreen characters and dig- itized sound samples give this game a distinctive personality. Casino Craps is easily one of the best in the series.
Last, but far from least, is Amarillo Slim's 7 Card Stud, a condensed ver- sion of Villa Crespo's outstanding pok- er simulation. Better than a heated match in a smoke-filled back room, the game pits one player against 2-1 com- puter opponents. Online help screens and tutorial advice guide greenhorns through the rules and strategies of build- ing a winning hand. Choose from the 15 available players, each with a digit- ized voice and unique style of play, who are divided among the game's three skill levels. You can also custom- ize the house rules — maximum bets, raise limits, blind bets, and so on — to make every session unique. More than any game in the series, this one beck- ons players to seek out the full-blown version. Dealer's Choice, featuring 28 poker variations.
Short and sweet, the Coffee Break Series from Villa Crespo proves that big- ger isn't necessarily better.
SCOTT A. MAY
Villa Crespo Software
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SI 2-95 each
Circle Reader Service Number 450
THE OPERATION: FIGHTING TIGER
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, as they say, and The Operation: Fighting Tiger expansion kit for Falcon 3.0 from Spectrum HoloByte is an en- hancement of its rich, dense parent game. Falcon plus OFT equals fighter- plane heaven. This is the only way to fly.
Disk 1 of OFT patches the parent pro- gram all the way up to the current ver- sion (3.01); this should make happy all those who expected Falcon 3.0 to fly in full trim right out of the box and weren't prepared for the open-house gamma test — with a consequent stream of fix- es and tweaks — that was the sad real- ity. OFT adds three huge and varied (and alliterative) new theaters of opera- tions— Korea, Kashmir, and the Kurile Is- lands— which should please pilots who found that the game's scope didn't match its size.
And OFT improves the game engine with a wide variety of pleasant new wrin- kles: new commands to issue to wing men, the ability to set difficulty levels for campaigns, an overcast sky (which looks great), more night flying, and too many lesser refinements to mention. It's also more stable and reli- able, and hence more satisfying — and not just in the new theaters. The origi- nal theaters, which are not overwritten by OFT, enjoy ail the benefits of the new features. And, of course, all the best features of the original game — from the masterful terrain to the in- volving campaigns — are in full force here. (Indeed, the campaigns here seem tougher, if anything.)
OFT is a bit more demanding of mem- ory— now requiring a touch over 616,000 bytes (and another 3MB on your hard drive, for a total of 14MB) — and even that extra 2K RAM meant I had to jigger my four-meg system a bit in order to load a mouse driver ancf get the digitized voice in radio broadcasts.
And, unfortunately, OFT also in- herited a touch of the original Sim's . . . shall we say, unfinished qual- ity? The installation program in the initial release couldn't find the cor- rectly named FALCONS directory on my C drive and, once I identified the directory for it, wouldn't install the files. (That's about the worst possible place for a bug to appear. Imagine buying a toaster oven and finding the power cord cut in half.) Mercifully, Spectrum has been quick off the line with a fix, and a new installation pro- gram— followed by a full-blown up- grade of the upgrade (to 3.01.1) — was issued in October.
However, my criticism isn't of OFT so much as of Falcon 3.0. I do wish it'd been closer to tliis condition when it was originally released. In a sense, this set of data disks isn't so much an add-on as the final upgrade. I suppose that in a competitive market exploiting new technology, the phenomenon of games like Falcon and Darklands grow- ing up in public sfiouldn't be such a sur- prise. But we wouldn't settle for it in any other type of consumer product, and i don't see why we should here, (Other developers — notably Sir-Tech with Cru- saders of the Dark Savant — have opted to keep long-awaited games under wraps until they were ready.)
I don't mean to minimize the achieve- ment here, however. This is a brilliant piece of work, and I can't imagine any devoted Falcon 3.0 fiyer not loving it, Some things are worth waiting for. This is one of them.
PETER OLAFSON
Spectrum HoloByle (800) 695-GAME S39-95
Circle Reader Service Number 451
PRACTICAL FAXME
First, there was Long Distance Xerog- raphy; then came the first desktop fax, the Telecopier I. Soon after, improve- nrtents in fax technology developed to the point where today we have auto- matic, plain-paper fax machines and computer software and hardware that can turn your system into a fax ma- chine. Recently, Practical Peripherals in- troduced the new Practical FaxMe car- tridge. This device turns any Hewlett- Packard LaserJet series II or III printer with at least 1MB of expansion memory into a plain-paper fax machine for re- ceiving faxes.
Unlike adding a fax board to a com- puter, the Faxfvle is easy to install. You simply insert the cartndge into the slot of the LaserJet and attach the phone connector — and you're all set. If you do nothing else, as long as your print- er is on and the phone line is connect- ed, the FaxMe changes your LaserJet printer into a plain-paper fax receiver.
f^ost people, though, won't want to simply turn their printer into a fax ma- chine; they'll also want to use the Las- erJet for its original purpose. Don't wor- ry, you still can. The FaxMe cartridge is designed with a full range of settings and options, the most important being the three operations modes: fax receiv- ing only, printer only, and automatic switching. You can also set the FaxMe with the date, day of the week, time, speed, and other usual settings you'd expect to set on a fax machine. As
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when you make changes to the set- tings on the LaserJet, setting or chang- ing the settings of the FaxMe involves pushing a series of buttons on the print- er's control panel in the correct order. I tested the FaxMe on the LaserJet II and IIP by sending faxes that varied in length and density of type and graph- ics. All faxes were received in accept- able quality on plain paper. I also sent the same faxes to my office's regular fax machine, which uses standard rolled fax paper. As you'd expect, plain- paper faxes are much easier to han- dle, not to mention more convenient.
There wasn't much difference in the quality of the graphics on the LaserJet/ FaxMe combo compared to the regu- lar fax machine with rolled paper. The text, though — including the entire Tru- eType Wingdings font — printed more clearly with the FaxMe.
Who needs the FaxMe? It doesn't re- place a regular fax machine or a fax board in a computer, since it doesn't ■ send faxes. The FaxMe is priced lower than most plain-paper fax machines, though. Therefore, if you have a Laser- Jet with enough memory and only need a fax-receiving device, this may
JULY 1993 COMPUTE 107
REVIEWS
be just what you need. You also might find the built-in battery an important option to consider, Once you've set the cartridge, you don't tiave to keep resetting it.
The FaxMe operates as advertised and comes with a lifetime limited warranty. But it's not for everyone. Those who need to both re- ceive and send faxes might want to consider another op- tion. But if you only intend to receive faxes or if you're con- sidering replacing your fax machine because you're tired of rolled-up faxes, you might consider the Practical FaxMe cartridge as an effec- tive alternative.
STEPHEN LEVY
Praclica! Peripherals
(800) 442-4774
$259
Circle Reader Service Number 452
MIXED-UP FAIRY TALES
Have you seen this child? Not if the child's been play- ing Mixed-Up Fairy Tales, a new educational adventure game from Sierra On-Line. It teaches children to disap- pear with threatening-look- ing strangers.
Of course, in fvlixed-Up Fairy Tales the stranger is a benign, bespectacled drag- on called Bookwyrm who ap- pears to the child in a li- brary, materializing from a book. Bool<wyrm encourag- es the child to follow him to a magical land where water tastes like grape soda and every action plays against a synthesized soundtrack pro- vided by Bach and Mozart. And while Bookwyrm may be a stranger in the begin- ning, his land has charac- ters as familiar as Snow White and the seven dwar- ves. Jack (of beanstalk
108 COMPUTE JULY 1993
fame), and Cinderella.
All is not well in Book- wyrm's fairy tale sphere, though. An aptly named lit- tle hairball called Bookend has— you guessed it- mixed up all the fairy tales. It's the child's job to put them together again. Thanks to the well-de- signed, mouse-oriented inter- face of Mixed-Up Fairy Tales, doing so becomes an entertaining, educational challenge loaded with enough difficulties to be inter- esting but not enough to be- come frustrating.
The package comes with a concise, helpful manual; a book with bowdlerized ver- sions of the real fairy tales; and a fvlixed-Up Fairy Tales coloring book complete with crayons. The disks come with a self-explanato- ry installation program, which takes even novice computer users by the hand and walks them pain- lessly through the process. My biggest problem was find- ing enough memory to run the program — you need about 535K RAM free to load fvlixed-Up Fairy Tales.
Another problem I encoun- tered was a virus Norton An- tivirus discovered in the sound drivers for Mixed-Up Fairy Tales. Repeated at- tempts to call Sierra's tech- nical-support iine yielded on- ly busy signals. Later, Norton Antivirus reported the same vi- rus in a sound driver for an un- related program, making me wonder whether the virus re- port was accurate. I still don't know, since I never was able to get through to Sierra and find out.
f\/lixed-Up Fairy Tales is in- tended for children ages 7 and up. There's a fair amount of reading required, but no typing. Every action comes as the resutt of a sim- ple mouse click (or a much
less intuitive keyboard com- mand: you really need a mouse). Whether you're look- ing at an object, moving to a new screen, or talking to a fairy-tale character, manipu- lating your character quick- ly becomes second nature.
If the classical music nev- er sounds quite as good as in the concert hall — at best it's a synthesized approxima- tion, at worst a bad imitation of funeral-home organ mu- sic— Mixed-Up Fairy Tales comes with a better-than-av- erage soundtrack and a good mix of sound effects. You can hear water stream- ing down a waterfall and lis- ten to Cinderella disappear in her pumpkin coach in a dizzying flourish, afthough a frog's hops sound more like a series of barely audible vi- olin squawks. The better your sound capabilities, the better the sound, of course.
After a brief introduction from each character you en- counter, you must guess which of five fairy tales the character belongs to. It takes two or three actions to help each character com- plete his or her story, all of which end with a reassuring "And they lived happily ever after." The fairy tale territory
looks like a pleasant enough place to run out the clock, al- though visually it leaves a few things to be desired. I played the 256-color VGA version, which features a nice array of backdrops but rather choppy characters. The land bears an unsurpris- ing resemblance to Sierra's companion game, Mixed- Up (vlother Goose.
As with Mixed-Up Mother Goose, most of the action in fvlixed-Up Fairy Tales takes place at a gentle pace, but there are a couple of mo- ments of high drama. At one point you get to chase Book- end cross-country to re- trieve an object, and anoth- er time you get to watch the giant crash to the ground from Jack's beanstalk, leav- ing a giant-shaped hole in the ground.
Don't worry about a child disappearing into the game, though: It's actually a nice place to get lost in, and an educational way for mod- ern technology to bring to life some vintage stories.
EDDIE HUFFMAN
Sierra On-Ltne (800) 326-6654 S49.95
Circle Reader Service Number 453 O
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Floppy & CD-ROM Pixxiucte
Doaiulclli (ilamoiir ^ I'nririilios CD-ttOM
(h'crinO«>l(>r«B&W |>lioti» featuring iiutli' & [Kiitlally iiudc wiiini'ii,
*3. ill.f $'t<).')5
, \ La Fciiinic
Venus CD-ROM
Over 75 images
portrajfliiB woman's natural I nude iK-auty.
""' ' *.vi7S7y.y?
DLSK.Sin-S ► .#5-10 Sampler. ■sii.>kb.$3'>.">=i
Eavli set ,,j.,3 ^^^^r^ color .....S39.')i
mdudc^ >5 „ . J
idlor iiurliin,'!!, ' '
pldurc vicm-r "'•''■' '''™'" ^'"'''^'^ ....$,VJ.9S
ITti-fi w/firsi °*.'- 1 5 Prom Ikhiiid S.^J.')?
order, use #88» »«-l6 Big Ones S,19.9')
ShlppuJ im L,i nic^ lk^p]iyd(^k
FREE color uncensoreil catalog w/purctiase or
senil SZ.Oa to: BoilyCello P.O, Boi 9iaS31,
Sorienlo Valley CA 92191
Order: 1-800-922-3556 Info: 619-578-6969
FAX: 619-536-2397 Include $4.75 tor s/ll
^ foreign add SIS s/h CA. residents add sales tax
Dealer Inqdrc^ Wclcamf-
1-8QQ-922-3556
MUSTBEDVEItlaiaDilDEII
Circle Reader Service Number 216
SHAREWARE
for IBM COMPATIBLE ALL single Items $1.25
Same Price for 3.5" or 5.25"
Shipping & Handling: $2/order
VISA / MASTERCARD
REGULAR ITEMS $1.25
FP_207 SUPERB Virui acanning/clMnino,
SCAN 102 McAMm's Latest Virus scannef.
We will ship most racant vorsion availablal W0LF3D Super 3D view aame. The bes^ IVGAI GALACTIX Real Arcade Space-waj Action (VGAI KEENDRMS He's back in KEEN DREAfVIS (EGA) MAZEWARS Virtual Reality maje. (VGA+MOUSEl IVIAHJONGG New Versionl 6 differnt setupsi (EGA) ANCIENTS Dealhwatch 3-0 D&D. Create your
piertv of tour. Fantastic! VGA+MOUSE Het|. MEGATRON 1 12 person FObot battles VGA, hrd drv
BARGAIN BUNDLES !
BASm NEW! MonstciBash 1 .0 by Apageel S2
The greatest, most animated, largest Ever! EGA & 80286 of belter, req'd.
CATABS13 Catacombs Abyss - Like W0LF-3D
Great Effects. IEGA,Faat PCI 32
APOGEEZ KEENl, AGENT, DARKAKGES S3
E0UKID2 Sch.Mom, Funnels, StateCap, more S3
IfHEE CATAtOG I
ComPro Software
P.O. BOX 4426
Star City, WV 26504
1-800-PC-DISCS
Circle Reader Service Number 128
File Edit Search Dial 1-90CMJ54-4370 690 per minute
WIN[?OWS 900
The #1 Shareware Source For . . . o Business a Programming d Utilities a Fonts
CI Games
^
a Graphics
LARGE m ADULT AREA!
Must be 1b or over to call...
Use Your High Speed Modem & Call
900-454-4370
2400bps -- 9600bps V.32/biS V.42/bis 8,N,1
NO CREDIT CARDS
NO MEMBERSHIP
NO LONG DISTANCE CHARGES
FAST, EASY ACCESS
Callors undar 19 yein of agt UUST htvt ptrent') permission
' Easy to use software, on-line help full sceen editor
• Made in USA
• 1 & 2 Year Warranty
• Technical Support by phone
• 30 day Money Back Guarantee " FREE software upgrades available via BBS
• Demo SWvia BBS (EIVI20DEM0.EXE| (PB10DEMO.EXE)
• E(E)proms 2716 -8 megabit, 16 bit 27210-272'I0, 27C400 & 27C800,
• Flash 28F256-28F020, (29C256-29CO10 (EMP-20 only))
• Miliros 8741 A, 42A, 42AH, 43, 49,43H,49H. 55, 87C51, 87C51FX. 870751,752
• GAL, PLD from NS. Lattice, AMD-16V8, 20V8, 22V10 (EMP-20 only)
..i=,>.t,.=.=...M=i..=i..,r..
NEEDHAM'S ELECTRONICS, INC.
4539 Orange Grove Ave. Sacramento, CA 95841 (Moncfay-Friday, 8 am-S pm PST)
C.O.D.
(916)924-8037
BBS (916) 972-8042 FAX (916) 972-9960
circle Reader Service Number 191
EXCLUSIVE MODB^ OFFER
ORDER YOUR LIMITED-EDITION PENTHOUSE ONLINE 9600 DATA/FAX MODEM TODAY AND SAVE!
Penthouse magazine Inas teamed up with U.S. Robotics to offer a top-grade 9600-bps data/fax modem for only $279 (internal board) or $299 (external). These high-speed V.32- compattble modems feature V.42/MNP 2-4 error control, V.42bis/MNP 5 data compression, and throughput of up to 38.4. The external model (shown) has a custom, limited- edition black case with the famous Penthouse Key symbol.
Features include autodial and -answer, frequently called number storage, nonvolatile RAfvl (stores all modem settings), summary of current modem setting display, speaker with volume control, onscreen call progress reporting, five-year parts and service warranty, an extensive owner's manual, and a quick-reference card. The internal modem comes on a 10-inch board that fits all IBM PC bus- compatible computers, and can be addressed on COM ports 1-4.
Plus, you will also receive the BLAST® FAX PC™ fax software, which lets you send or receive faxes from your computer. Compatible with all G3 machines, BLAST®
FAX PC™ allows transmission scheduling, hot-key faxing from within applications, background operation, and much, much more.
circle Reader Service Number 107
D-ROli I
□
Volumes 1 , 2, and 3
For Adults Only
"Wife Proof Labels"
256 color SVGA GIf's,
Plus Animated
Ri's, Gl's, & Dl's,
Includes Games, &
ASCII Fantasy Text,
3 Disc Set 1.892 Megs
With Over 16,180 Files!
Retail Price
all/3 5199.00
How, tot a LlmHed Time Bnlr! lull set all 3 lot onW
$69.00 set
4^wmw 4^\mi2'
/l(0*^em<i and Test contains 350 megs of PC Shareware & PD software, Including Special CD-ROM Benchmark & Test USSties written by our programming slafi, and NOT available on any other C[>ROM Discs, Our Special Test Utilities measure throughput as well as access times in a reliable and consistent manner for a meaningfull real-world benchmark for CD drives. The Disc and Interface Softv.are are (ulty functional (even for BBS use) and not crippled in any way. When purchased seperalely Mega Demo & Test is S14,00 plus S6,00 tor S&H - However for a Limrled Time Only this Demo and Test CD-ROM Disc is Free with any CD Disc purchase.
Theseare the Only Shareware & PDCD-ROM Discs with both a DOS, anda WindowsS. 1 "Hypertext' Retrieval Intefiace. PlusAII CD Discs are BBS Ready, and Include files, bbs plus our BBS Door with a 'Remote User" Mouseable Pull-Down Menu Interface.
Best of the Best
For Adults Only "Gold"
"Wife Proof Latiels" Over 600 l^egaBytes IVIanyNotOnFA0123 256 color SVGA Gifs
With No BBS Logos!
Plus Animated
Fli's, Gl's, & Dl's.
Includes Games, &
ASCII Fantasy Text Retail Price S79.00 ea.
ATow, tor a LJmlteil TItno Oalyl The Best of tie Best!
$39.00 ea.
PC Shareware Spectacular
650 Megs
7,000 Virus Free Files
65% different or newer
files than Mega CD-ROM 1
PC Audjo/ Visual
Over 600 l^legabytes
of PC Graphics & Sounds
256 Color ,Gifs, Animated .Fli's, plus
.fulod, .Rol, ,Wav, & ,Voc Sound Files
Our Newest Release!
Windows and OS/2 Sharew^are
600 Pius Megs of Windows & OS/2
Shareware With Over 4,860 Files!
Plus MegaWin Windows 3,1 Interface
Retail Price S79,00 for Each Disc
Now, for a limited time only!
$29.00 each
or get all 3 of these fantastic MEGA CD-ROM Discs for only!
$69.00
PROFIT PRESS, 2956 N. Campbell Ave., Tucson, AZ 85719
Information (602) 577-9696 FAX (602) 577-9624 Profit Press BBS (602) 299-0693 FAO BBS (602) 577-6969
SONY Caddies S4.75 with any Non Demo CD purchase!
The prices listed above do riot iriolude shipping and haridling. Special shipping and shipping lo foreign countnes is available.
For More Information or Questions Call (602) 577-9696
ORDERS ONLY! Call Toll Free
1-800-843-7990
!UaticiCsdj
Circle Reader Service Number 256
BASEBALL
fSKETBALL • LOTTERY
TBALL
Artificial Intelligence Now Available
Grid Master Pro Series Bookie Buster Collegiate Bulletin Board
S 99.95 199.95 149.95
199.95 150.00
Football Special 499.95
(Includes all items) Shipping 450
This year Prof Jones has added a sophisticated Neu- ral Network to the Football software that produces a higher win percentage than ever before. Get it now!!
Call to Order, or for a FREE Catalog
1-800-553-2256
PROF. JONES. INC. • 1940 W. State St., Boise, Idaho 83702
THOROUGHBRED- GREYHOUND •STANDARDBRED
circle Reader Service Numlier 119
Brand CD-ROM's
The best quality, best software, best price.
Locate lost family, friends and sweethearts. Find new suppliers. Begin a job search. Plan a trip. Verify credit applications. Locate debtors. Plan sales routes. Check for trademarl<s. And much morel
PhoneDIsc USA
Search residences by name. Search businesses by name, SIC code, business type, address or phone number. Narrow business or residence searches by state, city, street or ZIP.
PhoneDIsc' USA Business Only $99
9.5 million U.S. Business listings. Just one disc
PhoneDisc USA Residential Only $99
75 million U.S. residential listings. Just two discs
Buy both and save
Only $159
PhoneDisc Reverse
Extend your search powerl Same powerful search software as above plus telephone and address searching of residences too. 85 million businesses and residences. Just 5 discs Only $499
Buy just your geographic region Only $1 29
Winner: IIA Best CD-ROM. OPA Achievement in Business. Accurate listings from Database America. Cali To Order; Digital Directory Assistance
1QAA 'iQA Q1C1 51S1 River RdBldS
-Ol/U-Zo4-OjJJ Belhesda, MD 20816
Circle Reader Service Number 180
Build A Lifetime Income
From Your Home
With A Computer!
Quit spending money on your computer and let it earn money -, for you. This is a proven turnkey business an individual or couple can run. If you purchase our soft- ware and business program, we will give you the computer and printer. If you already own a com- puter, you may receive a discount. Begin part-time and still retain
the security of your present position. We will provide free, home
office training. Financing available.
Learn how other couples, and individuals like yourself,
are building a lifetime income!
To receive free cassettes and color literature, call toll-free:
l-800-'343-8014, ext. 303
(in Indiana: 317-758-4415) Or Write:
Computer Business Services, Inc., CBSI Plaza, Ste. 303,
Sheridan, Indiana 46069
Here's What You Receive
MAJOR HOME BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY OFFERING
' Home • OHicB • Part Time • Fu!l Time • Spare Time
The Hope Career Centers, Helping Others Pur- sue Education, is more than a scholarship search company. No other company offers a state-of-the-arl unique business and career opporiunity that provides educalion scholarships, financial assistance, career planning, information to college bound students, cor- porate reimbursement programs, displaced workers, undergraduates, veterans, disadvantaged citizens, and individuals wanting career change.
Interested bu/ers are offered a lurn-key inspira- tional program lor sen/ing their community with unique benefits to include manuals, detailed marketing plans, guides, instructions, art-wotli, and tree unlimited con- sultations for an easy-to-follow program that's not expensive.
'A career planning business that includes so many services," says the company's president, Manning Mann.
For over seven years the Hope Center has been admired lor integrity and having a more acceptabie and superior program. Guaranteed not to be medio- cre.
$495.™ PERIOD!!!
MAKING IT BIG STAYING SMALL
FREE
Inronnjtion
& Details CALL:
HOPE
CAREER
CENTER
2735 Snulh Ncwtun Strcel, Denver, CO 80236
This extraordinary program provides a sense of "seturrty"
by providing a complete
identimation of a child should on
emergency occur.
• A Business You Can Be Proud Of
• full Of Port Time
• Continued Dealer Support
• Turnkey Package - Compuler, printer, software, ID system supplies and training just S6995.00
CALL TODAY for rNFORMATION
2T4-248-9100
3216 Commander Dr. Suite 101 • DepI 21 tarrolllon, TX 75006
303-934-1018
Hope
Uale K H\m
Kitki
t2/15/M Sro Bro «aiil «lb
Oe/M/92
JiBSiltoii Mln laiUnltrttt
tuiB, htss KiflM-iaz
Hoc
A
- SIGNS RI\1D ,- ^v^ RU666R STRMPS
l^o'*''' for your oujti use or Q profitable sideline business
Self-Inking and traditional
knob handle stafnps can
be made for less tnan '$1,
Retail prices will start in
the $10+ range,
Informational signs, nameplates,
control panels, name badges,
and hundreds of olfier signage
items can be made for pennies
per square inch.
JdCKSON MORKING nowm CO. INC
Brownsville Rd., D-KOO, Mt. Vemon. IL 62864 Phone: 800-851-4945 Fax; 61 8-841-773 B
Circle Readsr Ssrvics Number 231
"^^ Learn Computers!
Home study. Learn the per- sonal compu- ter for a better career and an easier home life. Exciting, easy to follow. Free booklet.
Call 800-223-4542
The School OF Computer Training
6065 Rosevvell Road - Depi. KHfiSta. Atlanta. GA 30328 .
Circle Reader Service Number 112
Have FUN vihWe learning with...
ySoff
I
wcire. s
MUTANOID MATH CHALLENGE
7\fitkmi;Jic-. pi'cictice
Ove.1' 200 woi'd pi'oblejms
tr^fi+ical tl^l^l<il1g skills
MUTANOID lA^ORD CHALLENGE
Speiling/vocabHiai'y pi'QC+ice
65^000 worcl on-i;lisl< dictionafy
(Ct'ific.al flAinkint:) skills
MS-DOS or Macintosh
Ages 7 and up • 449.95 each Call for FREE demo disk 1-800-532-7692
112
Circle Reader Service Number 117
Make Money With \biir Computer
Imagine owning a lifetime license for a patented product that will please adults, delight and educate children, and return high profits on a minimal investment. That's the surefire success formula that Best Personalized Books offers to distributors who are building strong, easy to run, highly profitable businesses.
Charmingly illustrated by top artists, Best Personalized Books become instant favorites because the child is the star of each story and friends and relatives join in on every adventure. An extensive array of titles appeals to a wide range of ages and tastes, and includes well- written stories on religious and ethnic themes that reinforce family
With a small investment, you can build a highly profitable btisiness at home. Create personalized children 's books with your computer.
values. There's never a renewal fee, and new titles are available for just S5 per software update.
Because no computer experience is necessary, creating Best Personalized Books is a snap. A comprehensive training manual shows you how to personalize a
book in just minutes. And with Best's strong marketing program, you'll find seUing options are limitless. You can work at home, on location at malls, wholesale clubs, craft fairs, flea markets, or home parties, or in conjunction with local business or fundraising groups.
Strong dealer support is a Best priority, as is the commitment to helping you make even bigger profits with other popular personalized items including audio cassettes, party invitations, holiday letters, birth announcements, calendars, and stationery for teens and adults.
FOR A FREE KIT, CONTACT:
/(I'.v; PersonaUzeil Books Inc.
475 Hal Persomlizcd Plaza
4350 Sinma Drive. Dallas. TX 75244
(214) 385 -.miO
'Ven^ ^0^ T^^v^it
• With our process and a computer you can instantly produce ttie tiighest quality personalized ctiildren's books and stationery on the market today.
• All books are liardbound witfi full color illustrations and laser quality printing. Ideally suited for tiome based business, malls, department stores, fairs or mail order.
• Very simple to operate and tiigtily profitable.
• Only a limited number of dealersfiips available.
For a tomplete information packel tall today.
D&K ENIERPRISES, INC. • 3216 COMMANDER DRIVE SUITE 101 * DEPT 27 • CARROILfON, TEXAS 75006
oice Mail Cash Machine
^ . S. -^.^ ■ ^ ^- S- S ■ % • % f S« SV V< S* %• V'SW*
Press 1 for
soles, 2 for
service, 3 for
live operator
mm
JVLake thousands of dollars effortles^iy by installing a BigmOuth voice package in your286/3 86. Use it to answer your home-office phone, rent pocket-pagers, advertise products, or operate a pay-per-call service using major credit cards, passwords or a nationwide 900 #.
Xo get started, order our '25 PC Opportunily Toolkit It contains all the information you need & its cost is applied to all future purchases.
A Few Home-Based ventures Featured In Our '25 Toolkit!
BIgmOuth
voicc/l"ax/pager
rentals
. »295. (Dorrx) *25) ^ -J
''KinderChek
lalchlkey cblkj
momt^
. *2250. (Demo *25)
QuIckUne
wrtic programs In QDaac
n745. (DemQ^25)
XlientCaller
opibound
pros pec lof
01450. (Demo *25)
Rise'n'Shlne
wakc-up &
remiDdcT jKTvice
nWS, (Demo '25)
< TollBridge dj5 lance tiiDe =1995. (I3emo!25>
DemoSource""
"nM Voice AppUcadon Sup • •••••••
aMSf^m«i<iSi.staa]2
Nonhridgg, CA 61324 USA
tfL»brl.n,) to Ijictr iniblL.hW*
TRY
our ciemolinel 816 718-9560
-®-
To order, call 24 hours: 800.283.4759
m
Circle Reader Service Number 131
SeXXy Softwrare
SeXXv DtSKS
SeXXcapades . . . The GAME
The First Adult Game with TRUE SOUND
and 256 Color VGA Graphics
^
tSeXXy Saftwrare SeXXy CD-ROMS
The g^irrto sveryone has been wa^Iincj tor. Foi Thai svening ycu wQnl loicjet wlh Q 10\sd onB or group at verv dosQ Itierd^. Fulfill fDut seiual des;rB5. Find our hew your psmer wcu!d really lika 10 nnakB [ova. I Ower fiO Cofof VGA Scenes * Real Voicas Guide Bia Ac;iOfl • Fu*ep^y Op::on ■ Play wilh 2-3 Close Fr lerxjs
S79- Special Dftef S69 wilh purchj^e C.I arivCG disk. /VGA and h3fd tii5l< required - shipped on high density disks.
CONNOISSEUR COLLECTION ALL NEW! In 256 Color VGA.'!
SelXy Disk ICCI • -t TDU BE TXE STAR *T1K H RST CUSTOMIZABLE mom allows you 10 urnle the dialog and Uie mle, ONLY AVAIL- ABLE FROM US!
SeXXy Disk tCCZ • TtHE FIRST SOUND NOUIEI The liij; comculer movie with EOUriD Sec ttx incndibic 256 color VEA graphics while hoinni) Ite 3CIUJ1 ilij!™ OUS 5 EXCLUSIVELY!
SeVXy Diik'CD3"THEBESTMQVIE!Thi;bi;^l convulcr movie salable. Only lor Itie senaiis collect or 256 stunning VGA coiois.
SeXXy Diik *Ct4 • VOLUPEUOUS MOVIEwilh Sound! See and heat 3 syrtipliony ol e«tepTionsliy prcportjoncd women
SeKXy Disk fCCS*QODIEIES MOVIE Willi SDund! SiH: men olmcrediblcpropcrtiDns and women with pnicue abilities -UNBELIEVABLE!
Prices: ? Mo^is S29. 3 Movies SS5, 5 Movies S94
NEW!! Exclusively imported from Europe!! 256 Color VGA Games
SG4 PORNTRIS - Adult version ol the popular gome. Vou reveal a hidden ittowie whae ootit/olling blocks tailing down yauf stieen Multiple levels, MUST SEE!
SG5 PORNPIPE - Ad jit version ol Pipe tor Windows (Windows not required) - Mult pie n^ovies revealed as the gaine pro- gresses HOURS OF FUN!
SG6 MOZAIK • Adult jigsaw puzzles with over d5 celebrity pictures - you re.tssemble the most exciting women on eaith Price: $35 each or all 3 lor $89
ORIGINAL SeXXy DISKS - 6 disk set wilh movies, pictures, games $32
ADD S3 SH ■ 3.5" Or FOREIGN ORDERS ADD S2DISK ■ W PA ADD TAX • MUST STATE AGE OVER 21 YEARS.
VISA/MC Orders Only: 800-243-1515 Ext. 600FG 1 24HRS I 7 DAYS
Or CICMO to: SeXXy Software. P.O. Box 220. Dept. BOOFG. Hatfielti, PA 19ii0
SeXXcapades .
. The MOVIE
First eoOMB MovlB far the FC
Tb« nasi inci«djbl4 MEW COROTil PnxJuci' The FIRST compltTe 600 MB MOVIt wiEh SOUND lor me IBM PC Tlw movie fejlziies i g/wp oJ Iriefids plvfinj our ScXXcsMiJes Qumt. Tlw jc'ton is liol and inciediBle! Vou will m« unbf hevjtie uhs ot i msuse 4n<J joystick. This beaublul 256 mIoi VGA mi?M filK 2/4 ol !l}i« "^ittn Yqu wtd csMd it ku£t i 2a€SX tomiMjli:r. you tin piust & Sun u on i \ltK OURS EXCLUSIVELY. Price: t129 or jW v.U ans' ot^sr CD-RO'.^ cu'chase. SeXXmmdeg g:ame5D% DFf wttfi rmwte purctuse
S&XXy CD-ROMS
ScXXy CO #1 th« ^rcmsTE ac^i x:o:oi> ■x:*n- 6S0 M3 ot aa^Oi wm; 52667(3* pCJufBv 87 movies.5Ti so
rOT.gjmBDAfi£T(}COMPAft£S SoXXy CO #2 jr. wclus.v« Golletl on Mfiiaintng cve( 900 Svper VGA |>iciufKO0?i)( 763 » ?S61 anj (p(er
400 VGA p cljrK (540 x 480 1 2:!*) These vt pet j/m Itiil UIWI be found atiywtiwe bJsb! TIw womai
andlhflcuiJ'ivaresljfT'.tng ScXXy CO <o af^oiNe; co'ettioi cf over6W H3 of \t\i fwirw prciures JOilable, O/er5.0O0 VGA^ciufes.
mvK a-d L*li!« tnatwiiJ h?/5^tj'j ^pe-Cr^ dT/s j-j^t trying IQ see ilafi!
MENU DRIVEN VIEWING - NO DUPLICATION / PRICE: SH eich {SSd ^tti ^ny CCdi^ u SeXKcaj^fle^S /SLi^ER CD BUHDIE -TAKE ALL 3 XXX CD-RQ^JS FOR SIM
MtX & MATCH CD-ROMS
First 3; $99 oach or 3 for $ 199;
Thert: $69 &ach or 3 far $ J 49
ADULT TITLES
MY PRIVATE COLLECTION I & i1
PCPIXI.IISIII
EROKCEHCOUNTERS
DUSTV BABES
ANIUATIOM FANTASIES I 4 II
STORM III • ECSTASY- ADULT PALETTE
350ms inierna! Drive Kit - S249 [whti 3 CO purchase).
COMMERCIAL TITLES
^JiJEoul Cta^ri^cUi/tiTit^tii Mirrn-.u AJ:niV)Ri4A1is
Pri<i4i^Ei SJiar^ifb-t^DO- pi^g^ar^i ■ ir-inij «jfii«n
5hv1cd[h^4iiMC^nii/i>^gCitfM3vi' V^^rxj^n Sg!4 «h] SournJ- Hjiriii. pdjiM. ubbtai
So U'jcn Scrs«rwar»- S^Q Mb dI br^tonl picns. irmvt
5i> \J'jth Sriiftmni* -O^i 1 CB ^ ri,-^n*u pafi-.^s. ^a^nn
i««tw5 C3 - t5Cfl Pi*4. tens. iMifi •:&
Circle Reader Service Number 1T6
WhereAdults Come To Play!
I Local NLDribas Qmrtag 700 U.& Cities!
■ CB-ayle Group and Private Chatl
■ 1000'3 Of Sharewarn: Programs! I Business and Pereona] Scrviccsl
■ Travel & Flight Scheduling with QAGI I Giant Message Foroins & Ctassifledsl I Live Multlplayer Gaincsl
■ Matchmaker Dating Database!
■ Designed For Adult Uacrsl
For Signup, Mosf. !\ro«.»ATton, Or A Local Nvmber Near You Call
818-358S968
By Modem, e/N/i-3/is/24oo Baud
Circle Reader Service Number 14t
For IBM/MS-DOS:
MICHOPHOSE »18.50 EACH
GUNSHIP PUNISHER, SWORD OF THE SAMURAI
FLAMES OF FREEDOM,
X-MEN 2, COVERT ACTION.
AMAZING SPIDERMAN,
TlAdLIGKT 2000. LIGHTSPEED
SIERRA DEALS »0 EACH
l!WC'SaUESTl,H£ARTOP CHIMA, RISE OF THE DRAGON. KINGS QUESH OR LARRY 1.
SIERRA DEALS jHEACH iMNHUNTgS 1 OR 2. MIXTD UP MOTHER GOOSE. FIREHAWK.
HOYLES aOOK OF GAMES 2.
LAND, SEAtAIRBUNDLEII
ONLY tH.50
Includes: PiratesI, Airbonae
Ranger 4 Gtinship. 5.2S' only.
MARVEL TRILOGY
ONLY>ia.50
rcludcii: Dr. Doom's Revenge
Amaring Spiderman 4 X-Men.
ADULTS ONLY FUN
Sex Vixens Irom Space Si* 50
Sex Olymplizs 516.50
^ESURE SUIT LARRY BUNDLE
ONLYS25
Includes; Larry 1 . 2 & 3!II
CREDIT CARD ORDERS US MINIMUM
1-800-676-6B16
QnJera Only, piease'
^ CHEAP DEALS t5 EACH Outrun, tipacjf Hamer. blarquatie,
Wy Grand Piano. Sail G»ine, C^-ilcudarB & Slallortary, Tra::kcri Street Fightina Mar. Crossbow,
hAafjic Jodirson BasJtelbaK. Gambler, Humrin Biology, Mind
Dance -or U.S Geography.
BATTLECHESS 2 S19.50
WIZARDRY 5 S14.5G
COMPSULT
PO. BOX 5160 SAN LUIS OBISPO. CA 93403
VUE AISD CARRY APPLE, MAC, CE4/12B. AMIGA, ATARI ft MDUE Tooider, serd :heck QrmarEV order (a lite AbauG address. Calilorj^ia cidsrs must incltrdE 7.2SK^ale3it3i. Afl orders mu^i incluiJc-shiapingchBrge<idl iS lor U.S.A., SB lor Canada, or $15 for IrlErnalionflL for ojr compEeie cataioflSDitl S2 inU.S, poslag&stampsorcash, Acaiftlcgis sent FREE with any crdei. Be sure lo s pe^: if yyojr computer lype & disksize Alien ord^riicj. F{ir allinquirias & adriitional inrormjiien, call (8D5)S44-EEI5.
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DEALERS WANTED
CROSLEY SOFTWARE BOX 276, ALBURG, VT 05440
Fax: (51 4) 345-8303 Tel : (51 4) 739-9328
Circle Rearlr^r Service Number 226
Circle R^der Service Number 150
Choose from
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Receive either 3/3.5" or 5/5.25" disks-
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per collection, Credit card only.
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619-931-8111 Ext 511
Circle Reader Service Number 121
IBM & MAC SOFTWARE
CATALOG
32 Pages! ASP Member
SOFTSHOPPE, INC
P.O. Box 247 ARTESIA, CA 90701 Tel: (310)802-1333 FAX: (310) 802-1494
Toll-Free— 24 Hrs. 1-800-851-8089
Circle Reader Service Number 126
2^^^^^
,'3l-;^^-a%.-^^
¥
, experiences
THE MAGIC MIRROR - . . a toolbox for your mind. E. Kinnle, PhD., Clinical Psychologist. $39,95.
MAGIC MIRROR II
for your mind. S39.95.
MERLIN ... an apprenticeship. S29.95.
I CUING , , , ancient Chinese wisdom and prophecy. S29-95.
THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN , . . a journey into another reality. Not for children- Male and female versions, S39.95.
SCREEN SAVER . . . math art and fractals, lively and colorful. S19-95- Blue Valley, 29 ShcpaKi St, Walton. Nl' 13856 MaslcrCardA'uw l-80O«J>6172 loftcr 5 p,m.) Call or write for free catalog-
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circle Reader Service Number 173
We've Outdone Our
Only Competition.^ Ourselves^
INTRODUCING THE MARK II WCS™
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ThruslMasterlnc. 101 50 SW Nimbus Ave. Suite E-7Tiaord OR 97223 PHONEI503)639-3200 FAX(503)620-8094
Circle Reader Service Number 147
Vaar Nossogc ficross
CreatiDg posters, memos and flyers with cartoon graphics has never been easier. Caitoon Mania is an amazing new software that lets you create unique cartoons using hundreds of built-in clip arts. You start by choosing a background and then adding characters and objects to it. ITie clip arts of characters can change posture and facial expressions. They can jump, sit, run, cry, laugh and do dozens of other things. Change the size of characters and objects to create the proper perspective. Write the captions you want and then print it Create posters, story books, birthday greetings, jokes and even memos. Order now and enjoy the benefits of Cartoon Mania immediately.
List Price $49.95
Introductory Price $34.95 Buy now and save $15.00 FL resident add 6% Sales tax Add $3.50 for shipping & handling
Call (904) 483-2934 or send check/money order to:
JemmaSoft
12505 Pine Glen Drive, Leesburg, FL. 34788
30 DAY MONEY BACK GUARANTEE
Circle Reader Service Number 140
Purchaser must state
inteiw CD-ROMs- taut w lo choose from, how do^ which CDs are right for yoj?
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Starwate PuDlishing Corp. POBD11418B. Dept. 68 Dcerfield Beach, FL 33442
, Always Ihe Latest Titles
24 Hr. Hotline 800 354-5353
55:' fAX 305 Ji'OSMI tlBS305.l2B-00r2
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ST" 2-day
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Florida residents add 6'!b sales tax
Circle Reader Service Number 130
BEATtheLOTTERY
Gail Howard's ALL WfWSmart Luck® ADVANTAGE PLUS "
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Dept.C-ll.P.O Box 'i51?''.Vhite Plains. rJY 10602 E:r3 800-876-GAIL (4245) or 914-761-2333
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201 - 1 1 11 Munroe Ave. FAX(204)66S-3566
Winnipee. Mb. Canada R2K 3Z5
Circle Reader Service Number 109
Circle Reader Service Number 212
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P.O. Box 897, Wtieatley, Ontario NOP 2P0 (Canada) 1-800-563-6647
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Circle Reader Service Number 171
Circle Reader Service Number 210
XT, AT, &
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Not everyone needs the fastest computer money can buy Run Lotus 1-2-3. WordPerfect, dBase, and most ottier software without buying a new computer! We specialize in hardware products that allow older computers to run the latest software.
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2400 Belmar Blvd. PO Box 292 Belmar. NJ 07719
CftnipfflL-r (Ipfimtfc .S/iL't/d/zv/.^ .V//kv I'M
KBllSSS
Circle Read&r SeivJce Number 250
Save BIG $$ in printing costs
Re-iiik vour ribbon ^^tfltL cartridges for less ^$^^^SB] i^h'iri 5c with the ^ft^K^^f famous Maclnker^^' ^^^ Over 2 1 5,000 sold
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C^mputeiFrleitds Inc.
14250 NW Science Park t>ive - Portland, OR 97229 Gill 1-800-547-3303 Eix 1303) 643-3379
Clri:le Reader Service Number 2S4
Magic Tricks on your PC.'.'.'
Ttie only program in ttie world that can perform Magic/.'.'
For the first time ever, your PC will amaze your friends with 5 stunning tricks: mind- reading, ESP, predictions, X-ray vision, and more. Easy to learn. Comes with in- struction manual and props.
$22 + 3 s/h
Send check or money order to
MicroMagic Productions
175 51h Avenue Suite 2625
New York, NY 10010
|212)Se9-0J20 Requires IBM PC or compalible wilh VGA. EC3A or CGA, Ateo lO-tnck Professional version (S4fi * 5 SJh) and 1'lrick Demo disk (S3 * S3 s/h)
Circle Reader Service Number 200
ARE YOU PRACTICING ''SAFE" COMPUTING?
Protect your computer froni viruses witlt Uie origiiinl Computer Cottdom. One size fits oil monitors. Protect the one you love. A Must For Every Ofllce! Novelty hem Only.
Send Clieqiie/Moiiey Order;
55.99 for 1 or S9.99 for 2 to Incl. Shipping & Handling
SAFE COMPUTERS
m - 1480GuirRond
PL Roberts, WA 98281 /U.S. A
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Fla'y music all day while you work.
Use vour sound hoard. You paid for it.
Klo music experience required.
Patch Panel Software
11590 Seminole Blvd.
Largo, FL 34648
VISA 813-397-3530 MC
circle Reader Service Number MS
116
CALIFORNIA ADULT SOFTWARE
EROTiC COMPUTER GRAPHICS FOfl VOCIR
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ADULT CD ROM TITLES : J9B EACH. 3 FOH S2G0 BUSTY BABES : 076 MB OF HEALTHY BHEAaTS I GIFFY GOLD 1.000' CALIFOHWA QIRL QIFS
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CAL AD SOFTWARE P.O, BOX S0204 LONG BEACH CA. 90816
Circle Reader Service Number 304
OMNI TIME CAPSULES
Now the magazine of 1he future can be
kept for the future. Store your issues of
OfiflNI in a new Custom Bound Library Case
made of black simulated leather, it's built to
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there is a gold transfer for
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Send your check or money order
($8.95 eoch; 3 for $24.95, 6 for $45.95)
postpoid USA orders only. Foreign
orders add $1.50Qddilional for
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To: OMNI MAGAZINE
Jesse Jones Industries, 499 E. Erie Ave
Phila., PA 19134
CREDIT CARD HOLDERS (Orders Over S15)
CALL TOLL FREE 1-800-825-6690
Or moil your order, clearly showing your
account number and signature.
Pa. residents odd 7% soles tax.
SATISFACTION GUARANTEED
FREE ^ §si Ifear Update
NOW! A Directory
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for yonr Gunpuier Modem
OurDiilln^DlKciorr
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VISA / MASl-EBCARD / CUD.
riease .VpecUy Disk Slza
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Adult Oriented ''. VfbranAddltianali519.95
Circle Reader Service Number 142
E E !
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Circle Reader Sen/ice Number 17B
She ^^isR Qutfflw
shareware Company
37lt.S Richmond Ave. SI NT 10312 Ttfl:(7 18)31 7-0198 Fa.\:(7 1 8)966-4766
10 Most Wanted
1. Solar Winds -a uaique cumtiination ot fasr pateil artade action and an outer-spate role playing yame. with 256 color VGA animated grapliies. (JOYSTiCK.)(VGA) m- (.Sciund Ulasler)
2. Major Strylcer - an e.xeellent sliool'em up game faim Apogte. Major Siryker's mission is to destroy Ihe evil aliens and return borne to ttie beauiiftil Yosliira. (VGA) (joystick optinnal) (SB)
3. Zone ^() - an ultra high tech 32-bit arcade jjame tor 386 4t4S6 PC's. You pilot your lighter jet through a 360 degree scruliing ctjmbal zone that's jam packed with enemies &. lerrain. (VGA) (SB) (Joysticic) (HD) (2 Meg [i/\M)
4. Overkill - an excellent shootVm up game in which you destroy planet atier plane! gaining power as you progress through Ihe game."; V( iAX JOYSTICK)
5. Jill of the Jungle - guide jill through !6 stunning 256 color graphic levels of ftin and adventure. (CCiA-VGA) (SB) (JOY^STICK) (). Wolfenstien 3D - Tlie slanilard by which all 31) games are judged. Voted game of Ihe year in '92 hy compute inaga7.ine,(VOAX!'B)
7, Ancients • graphic inlensive IJ&D style game. Guide your band of warriors through a fantastic me<iieval worlil orilangeramt adventure. CV'i lA) (mouse a'quired)
8. Red Hooks Revenge - Shiver me
timbers, lliis game tests your knowledge of pirates and the Caribbean as you sail and fighl your way tlirough the Caribbean on your very own pirate ship as you race against 2 other pirates. (1- 3 playersKEGA-VGAXSB) (MOrsli)
'). MegatTon • enter the labyrinlh combat zone and hunt down the adversary, (2 can play by modem) (VGAKHI))(M()l ■SE)(2 disks)
1 0. Catacombs of the Abyss - Your a powerfitl wizard trying lo destroy the I'llimate evil sorcerer, Battle mages skeleton warriors and zombies as you explore the catacombs. (I-.CiA-VCiA) (SB) (HD) (5K8k fee RAM)
S3.IKI per disk lor 1-9 disks, S2.50 per disk for
il) or more disks. 3,5" & 5,25" .^ime price.
Add S3.I10 for Shipping & handling
Call for FREE catalog 1-800-947-4346
Circlie Reader Service Number 266
CLASSIFIEDS
ACCESSORIES
CABLE TV
CABLE TV
USED COMPUTERS
IBM, COMPAQ, & MAJOR BRANDS
Also IBM PCjr & CONVERTIBLE ACCESSORIES & SERVICE
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- KEYBOARDS - PARTS
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MANY MORE SPECIALTY ITEMS
FREE CATALOG
214-276- 8072
(COMPUTE'S I RESET
1
PO.
Box 461782 Oept C ^— ^Garland, TX 75046-1782 FAX & BBS 214 -272 - 7920
Circle Reader Service Number 370
BOOKS/PUBLICATIONS
ECO-friirndly Djsl-^ Maj;ji/.ine for PC. Inicresriiiu ;ini- cles. humcir* piciurcs. opinions. Easy lo use. KequirL-s VGA. DOS. ANSI, hard drive. Specify disk size. %^[ E-Mag. PO Rox 236, SneUville, Ga 30278
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Circle Reader Service Number 367
CABLE TV
WHY KENT WHEN YOL" CAN OWN
Convenirrs iind De^^icrattilcrx. Ouk, Jerrold
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Circle Reader Service Number 358
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Circle Reader Senrice Number 359
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7325'.; Reseda. Depl nil Reseda. CA 9i 335
For catalog, ordeis S inlornaiipn 1-800 3i5'a9g7
Circle Reader Service Number 368
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federal laws legarairig prtvale ownership or ciDir
'V eajDment C^nsull lacal cable operator
L&L ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING 1430 Miner Street. Suile 522 DesP!aines,iL 60016
Free Catalog 1-3m542.9425 Inlormation 1-708-540-U06
Circle Reader Service Number 3&e
POSITION WANTED
HOME TYPISTS,
PC users needed. $35,1)00 potential. Details.
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' 1-800-234-0726
Circle Fleader Service Number 360
COMPUTER KITS
PC-BfILD rnMPITF.R KITS. THt; RlECOCMZF.Ii l.i;AI5F;R in huildii-yoursclf PC's. Rec'd by PC-Upgradi; and Ptip. Science. Used in schi.x>ls and [raining; progrjms nationwide. Free catalog l-800-7yK-6,Vi.1
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.■M-TIIORIZED COMI'UTF.R REPAIRS: CM/I2S, f.'i-)l/l.'i7l. SX64. l2St) & Amiga. Selling DTK-comp mnipulers. Quiek scrviee.3() day warranty MOM & POP's Compuier Shop. 114 N. !6ih. Bellitmy, MO 64424 (8l(i> 425-4400
EDUCATION
In Computei' Sciences
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NEWS BITS
Jill Champion
Bringing ethics
to Justice, sending
mice into
space, pacl<aging
TSN for the
masses, winning big
money witti
software, ami more
Tlie Riglit Stuff
Product design gave Micro- soft's Ballpoint mouse the edge when it was chosen for NASA's shuttle mission last April. The BallPoint mouse was launched with the Discov- ery crew, attached to the Pay- load and General Support Computer that ran the shut- tle's primary scientific project, the Atmospheric Laboratory for Science and Applications (ATLAS 2).
Historically, NASA has en- countered problems working with computer mice in space, as zero gravity tends to send the user floating in the oppo- site direction of the mouse.
Microsoft's Ballpoint
mouse design, particularly its breakaway mounting, made it acceptable to the crew and safe for other equipment. "However," said Patrick 0. Wilson, project engineer at Johnson Space Center, "the main advantage was that we didn't need to nnodify the mouse to keep the trackball from floating in zero-g."
Score Your Own Video
Binary Zoo, a Broderbund af- filiate, is sponsoring a Rock and Bach Studio Best Video Contest, in which contestants create their own music videos using Binary Zoo's new Rock and Bach Studio software pro- gram. Entries must be submit- ted on PC disks, and all en- tries must be created using Rock and Bach Studio tools.
The Best Video Production winner will receive $100 in Brederbund software, the Best fvlusic winner will receive $200 in software, and the Best Overall Video winner will receive $300 in products. Each winner will also receive his or her choice of a Binary Zoo product.
The deadline for entries is September 30, 1993. If you would like to have further infor- mation about the contest, con-
tact Binary Zoo, P.O. Box 3210, Champlain, New York 12919; (514)846-4059.
Game Modem
Best Data Products and The Sierra Networl< (TSN) recently announced a new bundled product. Game Modem, that in- cludes TSN's multiplayer game software and Best Data Products' internal 2400-bps modem.
"Our goal is to work with TSN to position the modem as a standard game-playing peripheral, just like a joystick or sound card," says Tony Esfandiari, Best Data Prod- ucts' executive vice president of strategic alliance. "At less than $50 for the modem and more than seven megabytes of game software in the pack- age. Game Modem is already competitive with other prod- ucts on the computer game shelf priced $10 to $15 more." Plus, the TSN Member- ship Kit that's included gives members three free hours of evening or weekend access to the entire interactive net- work and a $30 credit toward TSN membership and usage.
The Sierra Network is al- ready low-priced at its flat- rate fee of $12.95 per month.
Look for Game Modem in the games software section of your favorite retailer.
Inoculate Your PC
Avoid virai infection for less, Virex for the PC, the popular antivirus software, is now avail- able in a newly released ver- sion and at a newly suggest- ed retail price that's been cut in half. Version 2.7 will retail for around $49.95; previous versions sold for $99.95.
"The price reduction re- flects Datawatch's commit- ment to be the industry lead- er in antiviral solutions," says Andrew W. Mathews, general manager of Datawatch's Trian- gle Software Division, (3700-
B Lyckan Parkway, Durham, North Carolina 27707; 919- 490-1277, 919-490-6672 fax). Along with the price slash, Da- tawatch also offers free up- grades via BBS.
Display Your Best
Dust off that screen saver you've been working on. Berkeley Systems announced its After Dark Display Contest for 1993. This year's contest in- cludes categories for both Win- dows and Macintosh environ- ments and a category for com- puter artists.
A $10,000 grand prize will be awarded for Best Entry Overall. Other prizes include a Fujitsu 2.0 GB M2652SA hard drive, a Compaq Centu- ra 3/25C Model 84 PC, and an Epson ES800C color scan- ner with interface kit,
Winning displays may be in- cluded in future releases of Af- ter Dark products, and all win- ners will receive an engraved Flying Toaster trophy.
The deadline for submis- sions is midnight, July 15, 1993. To obtain entry forms, contact Berkeley Systems at (510) 540-5535, (510) 540- 5115 (fax).
You Can't Cheat on This One
Legend Entertainment, known for its sci-fi and adventure games, has a contract to de- velop an interactive ethics- training program for Justice Department employees.
In the game. Justice Depart- ment employees will learn to do well by doing good. They will choose career goals and then make choices that will bring them "career, happi- ness, and ethics points — or land them in trouble," accord- ing to Legend's president. Bob Bates.
The worst that can happen to employees who mess up? Jail time or (most reformative of all) having their unethical be- havior exposed on TV. □
120
COMPUTE JULY 1993
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For Your FREE Invitation To ImagiNation, Including 3 Hours Of On-Line Time Call: 1 ^SOO^SIERRA' 1, Or Fill Out And Return The Coupon Below.
Nmv there's a wluik new vv.iy to have fiin with your personal computer, k's called ImxigiNuIitm; The CyberSjKirc Theme Park"" an J it's only iinThe Sierra Network.'
Tlie Siemi Network is on-line piines and more, includini; praiucts for e\-cn- i.btc and skill level. ( james range from the inutti-player version of the award-winn in^j Red Baron ' and the eritically aeclaiineii I'antaiy i;.m\c The Shadow o( Yserhius," to tnore relaxini; fare like Bridije and Che.ss. Tiiere s e\eti iinilti-pLiver .t,-ame> tor children like Graffiti'" and Boogers"' More tkm 20 ijx'at sfimes so far ~ ;ind mote tocomc!
Bnt what rL'J)- makes The Sierra Nenvork special is the sense of cominuniry that you get \ehen you \'isit ImaKiNatifin'." Etch night, thousands ot ftiendly people jiadier there to play fjames, tneet new friends, and generally have a gmxl time liif;ether.
If you'd like to try Tile Sierra Network, all \\ iii need is a 586 or Ivtter eoinptiter, a VGA monitor,a 2400 baud iinxiem, and a v.ilid major credit card. Just send in the coupon, or give us a call, We'll give you every^thing yrai need to enter the land of ImagiNation, iind yotir first 3 hours - FREE.'*
ImagiNatiiin on The Sierra Network. Tliere's no place you've ever k'en that can compare to the fun and friendship of the world'sfirst CyherSpaceTlieme Park,
Valuable Coupon
For your FREE Trial Mem bership Kit and 3 FREE hours of on-line time, j ust cal i:
1-800-SIERRA-1, or fill out this coupon, place it in an envelope, and send it to:
The Sierra Network, Offer #320, P.O. BOX 11, Oakhurst, Ok 93644
□ Yes, I have at least a 386 computer, a tnodetn, and a va I id major credit card If I decide to use The Sierra Network after my 3 free trial hours are up, I wi I become a full member and be bi I led as 1 ittle as S 12.95 per month.*
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I Credit Card: DVisa D MasterCard □ American Express DOiscover
' Subject to current rates, terms and conditions. See rate card in membership kit for details. I Offergood through December 3 1,1993 ©t993The5ierraNetwork Offer#310 I
Circle Reader Service Number 148
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