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IXPRIE$ YOUOHEBS pase 51
ITIEWS
THIS WEEK
ft
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niscH**gs
s
. Setack
No luck for
ltlidrobr
AL I
But time IS runnlng out for computer snoops...
Computer hackers have been given awaited anti-hacking Bill has failed to make it through the House of
Commons. Tory MP Emma Nicholson has been
lobbying Parliament for months trying to outlaw the hackers via her special Pri-
served its purpose, if, as | :'oe --e -r-. ernment accepts its conced[ a-r: -ai,= a place for early legislaton-' Although the Government :FJ_, to take action it does not {ee :e:r-e s lFce right. Douglas Hurd and the will want to have all the fac= r. them this September befut :r=-3 -ane
hr : #il -a,
*rE
rr-e
Computer hacking has beby the influential CBI (Con1e:r-.:r d -'E Business and lndustry) as British Computer Society, the r:TrE C
s*.1
rrr:ec
rel -
a last
minute reprieve
Even
so, the
Government
has
the
long
endorsed the notion of criminalising computer hacking. Home secretary Douglas Hurd has said that the Government is
"The Law Commission are looking into the question of whether the law needs to
will
of
its
need to consider their report carefully but quickly in order to decide how best the law can be mobilised to deal with an
undoubted mischief." Even be{ore her Bill was to be presented to the Commons, Nicholson admitted that it stood little chance of survival. lt was placed eighth in order of debate on
July 7th.
vate Members
Bill
She wanted to
The Home Office is waiting for the Law Commission's report on hacking before it takes any further action. That should be ready in September. Hurd said: 'We welcome the valuable work which Emma Nicholson has done in researching this serious problem and bringing it to public attention.
aZ.E
it expcse eear
companies which have backec 's-oson's Bill and will surely bacx '-:-re
Government legislation.
The MP for West Devon and Tonidge and former ICL programmer said: "My
Nicholson and her supporters aEJe that hacking is not only costing Br'iar-. millions of pounds but could also ccst
lives.
Upstanding Citizen
-Citizen last week launched a low dost 24-pin printer which it hoPes will catch the imagination of home
and small business usersr' The Swift 24 is a followon to Citizen's 9rin budget offering, the 120D, which scored considerable success in the UK. This model weighs in at an impressive 1389. It boasts a printing speed of 192 cps and can be upgraded to colour capability for f.38. Also, the printer sports a neat LCD front panel controller. Citizen reckons more than 60,000 Europeans will be buying its printer within the next nine . Suift takes offt 2{-pin
cheapo
To boldly g0...
These impressive graphics are com-
personal characterisations
direcdy
months.
I 5 JULY 1989
It's not the first time we've tcad thd claim but judging by this (onty orc d ifp title screens) it might have a Star Irek V : The Final Frcxrtjer v) be out on the Amiga and Mac
pdt
*s
COiITEIITS
PORNO
BBS
16
GET ORGANISED
Two utilrties to help you organise your hard drive
I8
20
WIN AN
A special UK version of
Engine games console
NEC's
ARCHIE!
PC is being
A3000...
portable computing
A-Z
25
UK.
for
chine would be stm ar in all the facts belore they make that dect- that the appearance the .Japanese verson. Sion," said NEC's Jim lVclvven "And
new
to computing
we
workrngs
hard
to say
gamtng graphics
t sold nearly haif a millron withrn the frrst month rn.Japan '
C FOR YOURSELF 30
Program rn C with Dabs
Press
great bargains
JOBS
CICS
45
42,43
TECH TIPS
READERS'
"lt isn't based too strictly on the storyIrnes and a good adventurer could play rt without having read a word of Shakespeare," said boss Brran Kersiake "lt's
of Atari's Mind
Backgammon,
CLASSIFIED
PREVIEWS
f20
lVlore on
Bndge Master and Borodno Parkfield rs a leading drstributor in the Atari world but if your dealer does not carry the bundle cail the firm on 01 961
46 47
Hard Drivin', Dragon Spirit, Conflict Europe, lt Came From The Desert, Comman-
1616
'r
GAMES
48,50
50
to be any around
UPDATES
now " Many organrsed sysops have called for clampdown tn the past and this appears to be working lt is estrmated that there are less than haf a dozen boards sponsoring porn now, wh there were around 2a a year ago Express interviewed one the drehards Catch it on page,16 r
voucHERs
!
.
l040ST: New deal
51,52
54
lst
BACK
PAGE
of
been recognised as the way forward, although previous efforts have been badly flawed they farled to store data
after the power was switched off lntel's baby contains an amazing 64 processing elements, all connected to
intercon
cPc
Amiga ST PC Spectrum 64
ctton s
and is clarmed
to be 100 times
faster
As is often the case with new techno o gy rt's gorng to be used by the mtlltary frrst The US Navy wants to rmplement rt
64 data
pin
inout
Atari 8-bit
32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39
41
15 JUIY
1989.3
ous software and J34 on games This clearly proves that Express readers are
amongst the most committed
be getting an ST
clear division
The
PORN AGAIN?
Porn is on the way out of bulletin boards, it
in
the
Still, 12 per cent use their micros only for games and 5 exclusively for seri-
is
of
nonsense
l::
...,
ques-
seems. More and more system operators are closing those sections of their board because it's just too much trouble to keep them going: not enough interest from the
(6
hi):.:
\r:4.n,.?,
! q! 'r;:;"1
6;
O 86 per cent ol readers are over 16 the highest single age bracket is between 25 and 34 (30 per cent) but it's fairly even gradations up to
the over 60s
O Most readers spend between five and trventy hours a week on their computers (63 per cent) Frve per cent spend riore, fian thtrty
hours a r,ieek aornputrng O Two thrrds 3i :eade.s use computers at ,1a.i ritcabng a high levei .I -:rp::er l[eracy
UK ENGINEERIilG?
NEC is considering a UK version of the PC Engine, the games console cunendy avail.
priced 19
99
The firm
able only through firms which import it trom Japan. While many games players would welcome this, a console is not
assured of the success in the Britain that it's had in America or Japan, where it is as essential an item in the home as the video. There are several arguments against"it. First is that America and Japan have no
low
to an
;
increasing
to
alongwitraffisczr*rg
devicewih a
per irrch
two
Caled Daaasczr
Ptr I
cooBs
cheapo
unlike Britain,
(fi] ei a rzr
rcsdind&dob
peed of
games machine. Second is that America and Japan are more affluent economies where a higher proportion of income is
spent on electronic equipment.
certirEEs errf secud. h cosb f219 hr erdg usrs can p** it l+ tor t6
or in the
playground
that
uncopyable
cartridge games rflouldn't have a chance. 0f course, the fact that perhaps six small companies make a living importing Japanese PC Engines reveals a definite
cut down the noise pollution. No-Noise cuts down the speed of the fan until it matches the surrounding
COMPUTER
FA
Security's massive
bit ditficult
probably
i75.
8101.
comput- fn the depa.:-e-: :: leet the erisation program has cost costs. Tl,, x --, r;, crafted taxpayers fl billion more tn to pre!e-: :-: - - s3 hav.
Covet picture from House ol Commons Public lnformation 0tfice photographic collection
EDITOR
ing
NEWS EDITOR
only have cost 1713 million (Parlrameni soeak for comBut alleged mismanagement pletely appalirng) and called has meant bills totalling for a hghtening up of the
largest
Parliament
to of
I1,749
million
PRODUCT]ON
EDII0R
Rod Lawton
manual At one polnt, the ministry system dealing with 24 million admrtted it was paying a conpeople and comprises sultancy firm l5I2 a day tor 33,000 computers in 1,300 work which did not need to be
It
replaces
filing of
organrsatr0n
ADVERTISENlENT
Terry Turner
Greg lngham
Dsro,ied
. I\.4r0dr
4.
15 JULY I989
been forced
to
has
Of
|/l/RAIH
charting
the
PC.
Windows such as search and to replace. GEM - the program pro- The progra is convides a full library of flow trolted via a erres of
Microsoft's answer
diagrams
soft
Running under
Micro-
n in
of the
E EPJIY*I,;u
I
2
)ne,oareo
EH*g*l,ulile
E rss,#mH#xi#*, E **trg?v,i['t"E,*|}nlughos*'**o
I
6
'an amicable
although privately
agreement',
it
would not have been able to atford expensive legal shenanigans with a major power such as Mirrorsoft.
like matrix
windows so that full con trol is simple for even the novrce charter. MagnaCharler costs 11I/.J0 and is on 0743
Hgf,*1,;o
sooogr *c,*rcu
{
t3
flow
Effi*llgyrJJ**
237112
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EPm,ft:*l*
tr,?jl*ffi,1*ggr2uoo,c,w
I
RE
E#,llx,gggJli}'*-
lt
t{
12
German company Rainbow Arts has introduced a way of playing C64 games on your compact disk player.
ten games on a CD whrch can be
E
E
H#ug##tn'*
Hggtg
HJr
rELBouRiE
icusE
RE
E
[[l
tr E tr
l,',t#*sarcmonornm ln Crolyd
Strsrtn
t0
RE
Cpt
"*,
Renegade 3
Sffi;tlln
C64,CPC
***
u**
Ariga
t8
WEC Le Mans
SWINT,
C64 CPC,ST,
ffi
RE
Allet Burner**,*
SW,C64 PC,SlAnUa
Mission
as well as Fist
i/,
*y,ol*lrrqn1;;#*o*
Postman Pit
swrun ci4cN
**,
sion Elevator, MULE, Jinks, Loderunner and So/omon's Key fhe whole thing costs t29 95
Rainbow Arts is also hoping
to develop a similar system for the ST and Amiga The firm's Mark Ullrich told
Express:
g
. lst
Edition: Revolutionary
***,,,
***o
I
2
Enduto Racer
Spa C61,CN SI1keE
"lt
won't be out
s
ab
::16'
z: :9 !^ !;
; ::
!6. r"
::
-r'
Coders comp
Games budgeteer Code Masters is planning to release its biggest selling games on compilations.
and
techniques, "Soon they wlll be UNIX experts and l'm sure they new computer will ensure they go
when
prison
tr E tr E tr tr
Daley Thompson
W.C64
CPC.Otnes'
n'**
Saboteut
Slecfam
**u
ilE
4
C64. CPC
SI 0trre6
llliG 29 **,*,u,
Wtun 1942
CM CN
*""
Aiss
I
t1
Spwliln C64,CPt
*****
ltE
TE
Fast
Wtun
Food,r,*uu
APC
l2
as
NEWCOI/IPUTER EXPRESS
15 JULY
1989.
Amstrad has slashed between f50 and tl50 off the price of its 2086
machines.
The market leader in low cost
PCs
is
aiming
to
increase its
firm Romtec to be 48 8
will remain at J599 all higher models will be cheaper from August lst A PC 2086 single
display
A complete STOSser
Student Simon Cook has scooped a f5,000 prize lor lis etrort on he SI0S games writing competition. His entry Cartoon Capers incorporates martial arb agdrd a Iom and Jetry type scenario. The game u,as rvritten on Mardarhi garEs creator prtogram SI0S for the ST. CadoonCapers will be released laterhis year on tre ST ild fudga at
to 1799
to be
phony.
model will drop from !149 lo 1699, a dual drive with 14 inch display goes down from 1899
fl9.95.
.
PC2086: Cheap and cheerful
tor
Malcolm lViller
"Those
six
manceuvres have had only a marginal effect The time is right to offer people a tremendous incentive to buy our 2086 models He added: "We're giving
"
Amstrad walked all over the low end PC market nearly three years ago when it launched the cheap PCI512, lt has continued stomping on competitors with
lesser extent, the PC2000 range which were launched last September Meanwhile, bullish Amstrad is cutting between 150 and f100
off its range of printers. The entry level DMP 3160 goes
down to f 149 whilst the upmarket LQ 5O0O dips to 1399 ,e
support" for buyers of its PCs Anyone wantng to find out more about Samserve should call 01 935 0993
o
a
Erght c0mputer companres have been include
]8
Holes os to
own
What's in a name?
Newcastle computer dealer Brian Dixon has finally decided to change the name of his shop after months of protests from high steet giant Dixons. Dixon's Computer Centre will be called Micro-Tyne from the beginning of
Kick,
*'
.
}-^[players Each
the and
*, *ds
month's will Amiga
a
next month. Last February he rvas threatened with injunctions by Dixons because he was using their name (which aho happened to be his own) on
the shop front. Although he has stood his ground for months Oixon admits the name was a pain. "The sort of people I wanted in he shop were lust walking past,' he claimed. "They want an independent dealer t0 sort out fteir problems.' Dixon himsell is moving premises and has decided that the time is right to change his name. Newcastle boasts two Dixons stores both of which sell similar computing kit to Brian.
Commodore
will
be the
favourite charity.
ly
6
feature called
Commodore Computer
be gven an
15 JULY 1989
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*
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Plugs into any starrdard PC/XT/AT expansion slot. Compatible with ntost standard VCRs. Both Betamil and \TIS formats supported. Up to 42O megabytes of data may be backed up on a single VCR tape Provides safety from hours of ieinput of data
or irrecoverable data Ioss throlrgf,r keystroke error, disk crash, power surges etc Transfers data at the rate of 12.000 bytes per second, or 1 megablte per minute.
6 PROGRAMME x 14 DAyTIMER
ADVANCED "HS" FORMAT
* *
LIST FILES feature makes a directory of files on the VCR tape. RESTORtr feature copies the data on the VCR tape to the disk.
* More convenient thm floppv disk backup * Any disk device supported - hrd disk.
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rF
r:f,- o o o o o a a a a. r o
I^ uor-sxor rN ^ corcursrrt, A NAME A loonrss 1..... A ,VlXr OF COMPUTER YOU OWN . PTEASE MAKE CHEQUES/POSTAT ORDERS I rlvaotrro Hor-sHor ENTERTATNMENTs trD.
) oruLY e+-s,
FroT srrlvtlvlER s(coRclrERs FOR TlrE S'T, A!.I(GA, P(C. (c/CA, SPECTRL'JVI, (cP(c PLL,S lUlLr(Cll I.ORE I
V
HOTSHOT EIUTEirAtrgf
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PnncY,
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Do you thrnk games reviewers could actually add to the problem of prracy? MegaSoft spend I50,000 on a game developrng tt, advertising and marketing tt etc, and tt takes a year to wrrte After they have finished it, they send it to a magazine to be reviewed, where tt gets a bad review The reviewer totally slags the game, the programmers and the company off, and generally extracts the urine Fine, but what rf the game was lust not his cup of tea and he just hates it? There may have been thousands of peopie out there who would have lrked the game and bought it but declded not to because of the revtew As a result, the game flops and l\4egaSoft lose a lot of m0ney Undeterred, Mega Soft release another game that again cost them a lot to develop, thrs tirne tt's a success and everyone loves it Trouble is, because they lost so much on the first game they have to charge t24 95 of {29 95 Ior this one So everyone copres it trom John up tl'e road So, Mega Soft go under and another company goes to that great liqurdator rn the sky However,
geat game when the copy you've got was given to you free (probably wih a tew fieebies like l-shirts tool. 9ut how many games can you really aflord to buy a year? A dozen at most probab,y. So any game you buy has to be a real corker this
incredibly addictive, groud-breaking, graphically stunning and so on. We lhink we can tell a good game lrcm a bad one withoul personal prejudice, which is why we only reconmend ilrc games we really think you'll be playing in No yearc and not rcgrefiing the outlay - and il a company gets upset because we slag ofl their atrocious game, well that's tough. lt they bring out a good one we'll give them the praise it deserves.
Revrcw
ro
KILL
Your correspordert Nerr Barnes (Express 33) exaggerates when he says You tend to read any review with a prnch of salt if software revtews were read with "a prnch of salt" then there are several magazrnes whrch would cl0se tomorrow and several more stuck on the shelves of
perhaps rf the reviewer had not slagged off the frrst game and lust presented the bare facts then the entire story could have been a lot happier Now, l'm not getting at Express because I thrnk your revrews on the whole are pretty factual and to the pornt, although I nolrced Fielding lVellrsh gettrng trappy rn the STAG revrew (Express 30) so perhaps you could tell hrm to shut up and lust grve us the bare facts Perhaps games revrewers should realise that they have a lot of power when they review a game and can derer.nrne a game s or even d conpdn) s
future
newsagents Some magazines are dedicated to games revtews - that's therr lob and that's why people buy them! OK. so advertisrng and packagrng may be hyped but we can usually see through that What better way of purchasing something than when it's recommended? Who better to recommend it than a revrewer who at least has tried the oroduct ard nas based his/ her opinron on a standard criterra of attarnment? for one wrll continue to read the rev ews especrally those rn Express as would hope that the same honesty and rntegrity rs used on the revrew of software as is usual throughout the magazine Keep up the good work KG Ashberry, Cheadle, Cheshke
I
Mark
Will
t doubt very much that a single good or bad review makes that much diftercnce to sales. Maybe if a gane gets slagged ofl by every magazine then it might llop, but tten its the softuare house'staultlor releasing such a nall game (as it alnost ceftainly is il
everyone junks it). ll anything, I think that reviewets on most magazines ma,|' games tat too highly ft's
closed rn such a poor manner, lnstanfly destroyrng the true purpose of hrs letter I have no rnterest in piracy debates, but I do have an interest rn martral arts Computer magaztnes already portray us as thugs (Express s certainly not the brggest culprrt) without people like Mr Partis contrrbuting to the rmages raised by "beat 'em up" games Although he should not have made such a comment, Express should not have prrnted t either Computer magazrnes already get bad pubiicity too because people belreve they glorfy sex and vrolence to young people Thrs hasn't put me off Express rt's strll the best general mag around P Boc1, Derby, Derbys
Soueauc oRorHER
There is a bug rn ST owners' brarns wh.cl- rrakPs lhem lhrnk tha( thetr computer s better than anyone else's Thrs also aflects Commodore, Spectrum and Amrga owners Anyway, my BBC +8086 co processor is better than all your computers Only lokrng - l've got a Dragon, Spectrum, Amrga Laurence Sheed. London
Maybe plated tn the bug in AMTGA owners' brains which makes them write the word AMIGA and the NAMES of any GAMES they own in CAPIIAT LETTERS.
Maantt ttw
Concernrng Mr Partrs'letter (Express 34) and hrs implred challenge to pirates to fight t out with hrm, I am an ex. programmer and rnartial arttst too l-lowever, I do not degenerale arguments rnto machismo breast-beattng contests To be fair, hrs letter was both ConvrnCrlS and artrC urate Hrs op niOn
He,s couptETEly
HITSTAIVD
i write to you rn a state of desperatron am a twelve year old puprl at the Henry
I
Well, we make no apotogy for printing the letter - the ,etters pages are tor people
lo give a game 90% when you know he company's adverlising the same game in he same issue, and easy to recommend buying
easy
to express their opinions, regardless ol how much you or I may disagree with then. Anything that's libellous, boring, rcdundant or just plain silly gets ignored, bul we try to include al least something fron as many letters as possible fhence the 'snippets'
sectionl. ln Gary's detence,l think his implied invitation to pilates to cone and fight it out was tongue-in-cheek, though like you l'm uneasy about people waving these sod ot qualitications around like a gun - it does tend to reinlorce the stereotype.
Ouetoprcu...
Lately we've had a few 'top tens' of people's indrvrdual drslrkes about computrng Here are our most unf avourrte things, as voted by the Express team - Andy Storer, Rrk Haynes, Colin Campbell, Jerry Glenwrrght, Rod Lawton and Rob Arnsley Programs rn whrch you can't count the words n a document wrthout usrng the spell
Gotch Schoo (Kettering)i and am totally mad on computers I am desperate to find someone lrke-mrnded to talk about any[h ng and everythrng to do with cornputtng I am drivrng my family nuts, rambling on about computers twenty four hours a day Are there any computer user groups in my area? Paul Sobey, Kettenng, Northants
3. 4.
IVS-DOS (AS)
boxes that say thrngs like 'About to erase hard drsk' and offer you the single
optron 'OK' (RL) 7. Cowboy frrms and rnflated hardware and
that s powerful enoLrgh for your needs, but do not be tempted to spend too much money on one that ollers porver you will not use'etc etc - not a prrce, model name, or any other hard fact rn
srght!) (RA)
>
l.
years
(RA)
2. People who say'stop this argument about whrch computer rs best' and then go on to say 'everyone knows the ST is best because '(JG)
software prrces (RH) lThat's two thngs - Ed ) 8. Products announced months or years before they're ever released SAM Coupe, the Parsec board, the Stacey (JG) 9. Freelance cornputer journos who write to length by padding rt out wrth utter waffle ('Make sure you buy a printer
What are your most hated things? Write to Top Ten, New Computer Express, 4 Queen St, Bath BAI
The ancient martial art of bruteJorce programming But using karate isn't the answer to
15 JULY 1989
.II
L
.N
*N
YOUB LETTERS
in touch with this poor specimen we'il pass you on (Spectrum owners, that is, not
Ouesrtor rtue
am very p eased to hear that .vour magazrne s free from artfrcra addtves and all that stuffl I a so thought that the snrppets b t r,^:as funny (Express 34) I When rs Shoot'Em Up Construct on Set comlng out on the Amrga? 2 When are pr ces of 1 6 brt games comrng down? 3 The Commodore 64 rs much better than the Spectrum +2 sn t rt? 4 | am th nkrng of gettrng a cheap Amrga sound drg trser s the Tr og c (stereo versron) that bad? would lrke Amrga nvaders from publrc
get rt f rom?
Irmo Ne,,rton'Syms,Chalfont St
Bucks
Gr/es,
Tnme w,rtDs
ln May I bought your magazrne and saw an advert I wrote to the company and pard I12 95 for therr book t wasn't what requrred so I returned rt to them
askrng tor a retund I have not recetved rep y from them Can you tel me wh ch tradtng
$n
d]|ings
right.
supp,ier, the first thing to do is tD keepWing to get in contact with them. Most probably it's a one-otl: they've justlost your order somewhere or someone's put the wrongthing in the wrong envelope or something, and
standards assocrat on I have to contact to take the matter further G Pendred, Barnsley, Yorks
Aaeuutxt l,aout
THE 8AS'CS
ng just read Zennan Green s letter n your letters page rssue 33, I would lrke to make a few comments on the BAS C rssue I get the mpressron that he has never used the Archrmedes BBC BAS C as t rs a very easy language to use He makes the comment that rn lVicrosoft BASIC he can use the C RCLE command Well, you can rn Archrmedes BASIC, as well as ec pse, rectangle etc, etc n fact you can adapt
l-1av
'not be able to
take
BASrC EBFoBS
The etter form Zennan
Green (Express 33) made some unf arr crrticrsms of BBC BAS C lt cla med that Microsoft BAS C rs superror to BBC BASIC and sa d that
lf they retuse to help ot ete never evet there, get the number ot your local Trading Standards ollice ftom direclory enquiries. Any companies frat people complain to us about more than once or l*ice get blacklisted, We only want to publish adverts from reputable companies. because they're more likely lo pay lor 6e ads hey take outr.
advantage of the power each machine has When I lvrote Arct st for the Arch medes that was totally n BASIC and rs fast enough due to the
mach ne's speed Why use
features as a complete built n assembler lt s also much eas er to use than for
rnstance, the Amrga version of M crosoft BAS C program on the Archrmedes can be
Microsoft BASIC s 'undoubtedly more fr end y (eg nrce little commands like
CiRCLE) and is fatrly standardrsed" Standardised on what? The Dragon, an ext nct 8 bit computer The PC wh ch has mosl other languages avarlabie for rt as well, ncludrng BBC BASIC, so that's not saying much The Am ga, whrch has an extreme y s ow and awkward versron And rf any Microsoft BAS C program uses the partrcu ar facilities of a certarn machrne. then rt will not run on another verston on a drfferent machine BBC BAS C, however has been comp ete y upward y compatrble - a program
made to rrn as fast as and often faster than, 8 bit machrne code, espec ally rf the BBC BASIC re ocatable module s transf erred to RAI\4 (Archie enthus asts like myself w 1l know what that
meansl) Coup e these faciirtres with the speed and power of Archimedes R SC 0S, whrch s easrly access ble form BBC BASIC vra star (') commands, and you have the ultrmate BASIC t rs easy to learn and program for begrnners, and s powerful and fast enough for professiona s to enjoy usrng All har Arch medes BBC
BAS CI
systems
Th s
provdes
the BAS C to use what ever words you want for functrons us ng the a as command so you cou d set up all sorts of commands lrke Dotted line
etc He seems to be pulling BAS C down OK, so we a
know t was christened begnners' all purpose symbolic nstruct on code but that was made many years ago with only crude bas c commands The modern day BASIC is a very powerful language and should be known more as somethrng lrke 'best' all purpose symbolic nstructlon
ode BBC BAS C on the Archrmedes rs mpress ve rf a the mach nes used Microsoft BASIC OK, you
c
setup that a ows more than one user at a time, dozens of programs n memory al one trme, and by ustng bas c we can qu ck y modify or add to the su t of programs a customer may have So let's hear less of this slagg ng off of BAS C by snobs who do not know the new powerlul BASICs weil (or maybe they have spent a ong t me learnrng another anguage and feel they must tustrfy thrs t me spent) Dorr't get me wrong All languages have therr values in the rtght p ace Jt's lust a case of frnd ng the rrght place and unashamed y using tt Nrge/ Stuart (Mrcrotech Computer Servrces EPOS Progr ammer ). W arrin gton,
Lancs
\,r'rtten for the BBC Model A compute runn ng BBC BASIC versions 1 wrll work perfectly
on ARIV BBC BASIC version 5 on the Archimedes As for
Gwynedd
O
th
IVicrosoft BASIC being more fr end y, I would like to potnt out that BBC BAS C 5, as supplied in R0tr4 on all Arch medes computers, also has n ce little commands like
an-y our 1 an gua ge debate, I' m very pleased to see 8AS,C becoming a legitinate
it
asks about odd uses of thrs "computer" Well, apart from the amazrng trme actually saw one be ng used, I did see one on Paul.Daniels' pathetic show Every Second Counts on 3Oth .lune, when they described it as a "top of the range computer" I thought rt was a repeat from several years ago but no, Paul was almost totally bald When wrll you cease to be "New"? Or does the "New" brt refer to the Computers, in which case why are you
I2
5 JULY 1989
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YOUB LETTERS
EXPHffiSS
A3000, Atari STE, Amiga 600, l\4GT SANI coupe, and that Atari handheld thtng you went wild about in issue 32? Jer emy Ben son, Bedf or d, Bedf or d shi e
&4fu
Fouptav
Quite a few months ago I bought the brilliant "Kick Off" for my ST. One thing that disappointed me was the
I savt
Our recent readers' questionnaire asked what you disliked about Express, and how you thought the magazine could be improved. Most of you were quite pleased with the way it is. We can't please all of the people all of the time, but we'll try our best. Here's a quick sample of some of your comments: . "There's no sex
and violence. You never mention Aston Villa." . "Everyone at my school reads it because it is so thing! Like PC Plus,
he computet rctail oudel in London called'Computet Express', who have no conrectiofl wi6 us loher fian trcir back
us fuom
representation of the goals - just a few white lines However, in Express 34, saw a screen shot on the "Kick Off Competition" page, of what looked like the ST version, complete with goal nets, and also clearer ptch markings. What's going on? Have you got a more recent version? Will Anco swap my old one with
I
humour and interesting articles. Why don't you go into partnership withYiz
Ah,'tftidnot.The picwasfromfrrc
Amiga uersion, which has proper goalnets and pitch surrounds. Maybe the C64 version, out soon, will just have coats tot goalposts?
. "Cut outthe cheap, juvenile humour." . "A lot of adverts and items seem biased to Atari and Amiga machines." . "Could be improved by concentrating on 76bit and 32-bit machines." . "l dislike the amount of space devoted to games reviews." . "Most games reviews I find too short and don't always say enough about a game."
"Very cheeky towards the PC. Get rid of Rik Haynes
comic?"
more interesting." . "The person who edits the letlers page - fire him!" . "Just add one extra page of readers' letlers!" . "'Si//y'ietters. Would like a bit more on 'serious' aspects. "
editor - soundest mind in the mag!" . "'A-Z of Computing' is really a waste of space (sorryl. You could replace tt with a series of in4epth
arttcles on all
Popular Computing
Weekly. "
:"i'
.
But could Paul Daniels turn the CPC into a state-of-the-art computer? That would be magic...
Anco would be pleased to upgrade your ofl disk to give you better graphics but the Amiga disk wouldn't work in your ST
Kick
be improved, except the price could go back to 48p." . "Athoroughly interesting magazine - worth tvtrice the cover price!" . "Costs too much should be 10p." . "Don't change a
. .
beller."
editor."
"The PC column is absolutely boring the QL column is far
fop rcx
Another version of the Ten Worst Things About Computing The Amiga W modulator which fits like a pick in a bucket and whose design means that you need a 3' wide
7 The controller for the iaser pr nter which plugs into the hard disk port on the ST but must be drsconnected when not in use or else it corrupts the appearance of files on the iesk top (even when it is off), makrng ihem
unreadable. 8 The ST diskcopy message "destination is not the same type as source" which means that you have to use the far more tedious frle copy routine, after all there should be no reason for being unable to copy single sided disks to double srded - or vice versa as long as the dest nation disk has enough room 9 Advertisers who don't nc ude VAT andlor delivery in their prices and those who promise speedy (courier)
bench/ shelf/ desk to use it on? 2 The Atari ST,zMega ST monitor system: why - if you need two different monitors to view all the resolutions have not Atari provided two monitor
sockets?
resets to the desk top) when it plainly is not a copy (ST) 4 Atari UK Ltd for not even bothering to contact me in the Iour months since I returned my copy of Arkanoid (which was bundled with the machine) because it came up with the message in 3
above
delivery and then take several days to clear your cheque l0 The lengthy hyping of games many months (years?) belore therr release (often due to lenglhy delays ,n their release - tryrng to generate interest?) only to find that the game is a complete Turkey (F0FT/T|mes ol Snore
etc)
the four weeks since I purchased mine it has spent hvo weeks on the floor looking pretty but refusing to work and the last two weeks being repaired
ten worst things about computng? We'll give a prize lor the best ones.
I4.
15 JULY 1989
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PIUS
PORNOGRAPHY
he great pom bu.lleti.D board scandal had our dear natrona.l newspapers and TV stations ia a right old lizz. Something, they
postured, has to b done ln exposing a few of the seedy boards they've com-EeDdably prompted the majority of computer ponrsters to scuttle back to whatever stones they crawled from But there are a few diehards sti]I dabbling in what can only be described as childish smut. Much of the material is adolescent and laughable. Tbartru]]y, disEurbing material is a rarity. Express spnt many man-hours tryi[g to coax pom operators to talk- Messages were left on certain boatds which, strangely, went off Iine immediately afterwards. Despite being met with nearly a dozen blarl wa]Is we ended up talking to the head of a board based in the South London area. He absolutely refused to ta.lk if we named him or his board. This then, is the pornster's argument...
The recent media palaver might make you believe bulletin board porn is dead easy to access. But if you're looking yoa'll ftnd an introverted and closed off world suspicious of strangers and attention. Even so, the persistent will Iind a seedy den of schoolboy fantasies and squalid sexual references. Colin Campbell talked to the head of one bulletin board whichfeatures porn and asked him - why?
It should rea]ly only be about five or six of us in
theory, but in practice, well, you is out of order
I'11
It's just part of the board. Just another service really. I have it for the same reason as I have
everything else on it.
Such as?
bY
make any money out of it if that's what you're trying to say. For some sort of sexual kick then? No, absolutely not. I don't do it for kicks or cheap tfuills or anything Iike tbat. It's iust like having a laugh down the pub with your mates. Where do you get the materid? I don't want to say that From here and there... Some the material on your board has beetr less thatr savoury. Do you ever draw the liae? I don't lf,row who told you that. It's not perverted at all. I occasionally have a look and if something
I don't
illegal, I won't have it. It's iust at the level of pub talk with your mates. Iirhat about all the youtrgslers who use cornrns and are likely to come aeoss this stu.ff? That's a complete myth. No way The only people who have access to tiat secrion of my board are my friends. I lnow their first Dames ald their telephone numbers No-one could get in without the password. It's impossible. I guarantee it What do you think of operators who don't take
such measures?
I don't lmow if it's all that bad. I've seen stuff that could ma]<e your hair cuIl but most youngsters come across that in school pl,aygnoulds.
Why dou't you iust close it dowtr? Because there's nothing to be ashamed of. You
l6 .
15 JULY 1989
newsagent.
a.bout.
could buy this sort of pom in a high street I don't know what all the fuss is
you're not ashamed why the secrecy about your name? "You know what the media is like. If someone got the wrong idea they'd be plastering headlines all over like "Porn King Exposed" like they normally do. But it's iust a laugh Nothing more. people just believe everything they read jn the papers and they wind up with the wrong idea. Do you log onto other pom boards? "Not often. I only know of half a dozen or so Do you speak to the people who run them? "We're not running some nationwide porn network if that's what you're trying to say. I don,t meet up with them or anything. Does your board run graphics, or text, or both? Some graphics but mostly text Are you a pervert?
If
No, definitely not I don't practice kinky sex, that's disgrusting You're obviously just going to make me look as if I'm sick in the head or
something You've got the wrong idea
$y- hrt
computer
BEVIEWS
The first thing to notice is that using the Magellan interface you can type the name of a
have a small collection of Wordstar files By typing the name of one of them, WordStar will
fire up and load the file you selected Apple Mac users are very blas6 about abilities such as this,
but for the PC, it's nothing short of miraculous
You can split the screen into halves, view a list
of files in the left half and the contents of a particular file in the right The complete DOS
directory structure can be displayed on-screen in
Got a hard disk? Finding the right file can be impossible among those 64,000 applications and data files. But there are utilities to help you keep organised. Jerry Glenwright r.eports...
MAGELLAN . IBM.PC AND COMPATIBLES . 895 . LOTUS (0494 8r6667)
computer users who ve managed to ll "", gu."", rne rrnanclal muscle necessary ror l[l lll rne purcnase or a naro orrve are qurcl.y drsmayed when their files become a sprawling, unintelligible mass Even the smaller 20Mb hard drive can become a
some
sophisticated version of Grep in which you can select all files or a subset of them, then search them for a word or pfuase or even a sl'mllar string of text Data can be snipped from one file and
appended
available so that you can automate tedious tasks (macros are several commands roUed into one) All DOS operations such as naming/ renaming,
trlugellarr
deleting and copyrng files are available, and when you've finished with file manipulation you can dump any single or g[oup of files or screen
display to the printer at the touch of a button
DOGUMENTATIOI
comprehensive manua]
written in a clear and lucid text complete with a ring binder in which to store it The manual, although occasionally a little techle should be easily understood by even the most hardened computer illiterate and there ale plenty of hints
and tips to get you going
VERDICT An excellent product whlch is making its appearance at just the right time - the first time that hard drives have been widely affordable to the person in the street A little pricey perhaps, but Magellan will provide you with complete control over your files and data
easier to negotiate when trying to locate a program or piece of data, the hard drive is relatively massive and small files can be 'lost'
very easily
****
FEATURES
ensures Mageilan will be up and running very quickly with the minimum of fuss You can decide
A simple installation
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as 1-2-3 and Agenda - has come up with a remarkable new utility which takes all the hard
work out of organising your hard drive
facllitates its easy management
and
Lotus
to store the program and whether you'd like to have all the files on your
where you'd like
hard drive indexed.
The opposition
a Atthough more than just a hard
disk organiser, the Norton
Commander suite of programs provides many of the features ot Magellan and is a viable atternative to the ,atter.
Within the Norton Commander shell (the shell is an intertace belween you and PC-DOS) you can
And il you're tired ot continually typing long command strings ovet and over again you can recall the last 75 command lines entered into the machine, select one and
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Ashton
renaming etc., as wetl display a graphical representation of the directory structure. You can automate the running ol applications by assigning staftup procedures to a single keypress, view several directories at once and move lites bewteen them. File searches are simple and the whole
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15 JULY 1989
QQcqream
ATTENTION
NECCorpora'ion,NECJ:::":::,".f:#ffi
recently. become aware that the PC ENGINE is being offered for sale in the United Kingdom. NEC believe that it is important that UK consumers should be aware of the following information. The P( ENGINE is a product manufactured by NEC Home Electronics Ltd for use with the NTSC transmission system. It is not compatible with the UK PAt transmission system
fl ',:#:1NEC'hereinaf
,er)have
reason, NEC Corporation does not market the pC ENGINE in the UK or in any other EEC countries.
2. There
only to the use of the unmodified PC ENGINE in Japan and therefore NEC cannot assist you if you purchase a modified PC ENGINE in the UK. Any other guarantee provided with a PC ENGINE in the UK is not an NEC guarantee.
Finally, any modified PC ENGINE's sent to NEC (UK) ttd for servicing will be returned to the sender.
permission
NEC
Corporation.
NEC
NEC
ADYERT
vou?
tAST cllAilc
to
t49,90 (incl. DISK ORGANIZER) plus g[1: UK 1l, Europe 82, Overseas f3
I enclose a
Ho
ARCHIMEDES
Study the list of five characters at the Acom User Show Each of them has had their wallet handed in at the Lost Property desk They should be contacted so they can pick up their stuff, but the show is so noisy
gets
drowned out. They must be found personally. So, look at the five
Last week tte gave you the tirst half of our competition. Now you're just ftve more questions away from winning a brand-new Archimedes A3000 plus monitor, total value {1000.
he lucky winner dralvn from the E)rpress hat after first post on Thursday, July 20th will be presented with their system at a VIP lunch at the Acorn User Show at Alexandra Palace, London, on July 22nd. I/Yhile most of the other showgoers are drooling over the new Archie - undoubtedly the state of the art in home computing at the moment - you could be working out where yours will look best in your
bedroom.
Iikely to be. Match the locations to the characters, add the answers to Iast week's and away you go. And please add a feature that you'd like to see in Er<pres8 in the future!
research fellow at University College, Iondon Ken Molehusband, 43, Boss of small software firm Ichiro Yamagmchigumi, 62,
Japatrese
tourist
week and send them with your name and address to Archie
Computer Express, 4 Oueen St, Bath BAI lEJ. Remember that the deadline is next Thuisday, so get moving!
LOGATIONS
cpmpetition, New
t 2 3 4 5
The bar Souvenir shop outside 'Micro Discounts' st3nd (softrarare wholesalers) 'Pocket ProducLs' stand (seuing
portable phon+modems,
personal orga.uisers etc. ) 'Stat Ciry'stand (sellers of
scientific software)
Escroe plc
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FUTURES
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(Lett) The Atari Folio: The future of business computing? The smart-card technology it relies on is a definite pointer to the shape of computing in the nineties
future machines After all, the power of an Amiga would have needed a fair sized room jam-packed with electronic gadgetry back in the 50s, so what
2019?
launched
the as yet unnamed games hand-held, unveiled at last months Consumer Electronics Show in
Chicago (Express 31 and 32) The Folio brlngs the power of a PC to your pocket, while the world's first colour games hand-held is the tueam machine for any gamester, giving you the chance to play Ou, Run on the Tube, in the park or in the bathroom If Atari delivers these decks at the right time, and for the right price, it'll make a
at this years Birmingham based Which? Comprter Show lExpress 16 and 17), and
Desktop death
Meanwhile, at the cutting edge of power portable
display system called Pnvate Eye being developed in the States) and input device (constant neural computer voice and sight
Just how much power will portable micros yield in 2000? Is the end of the desktop micro in sight? Will the notion of hand-helds,. laptops und portables even exist? Rik Haynes holds out for hands-on 21st century
experiences...
recognition miniaturisation) technologies mean portable computers will make desktop micros redundant by the end of the century Or more Iikely, the perception of portable and desl(op micro as totally separate machmes will vanish into obscurity as you transport and use your portable deck in the home on the road, and back in the office - with no fuss and no hassle It's already starting to happen - iake a look at the Compaq SLT/286 PC portable for example
I
I I I
the or. Lhe 70s the birth oI the integrated circuit and the Bos the rlse of the micro - will the 90s see the dominance of the poftable computer? There's no doubting the ever increasing popularity of the portable micro, especially in the field of battery-powered Pc-compatible machines Once the development of quality backlit LCD displays had been mastered with the release of the zenith 2-787 PC portable in 1986, PC manufactures quickly forged a new market out of the likes of the salesperson who needed to use PC when miles away from head office The notion of the business executive pushing PC keys while travelling on the London to New York night-flight certainly has purchase appeal, if not desrrable functionality Which probably explains why everybody's getting in on the portable action, from good old Sir C5 Clive with his journalists' dream machine - the 288 laptop -
rne
conceivable
With Atari's as yet unnamed baby, to solution t0 your every gaming need is at hand
Iocation from restaurant to train carriage, would negate the benefits of carrying such cumbersome equipment as a portable computer around wlth you The ever-expanding financially-inspired world network of inter-linked card cash machines is already paving the way for the introduction of such a system In operation, all you'd need to carry with you would be your personal Smart Card which would act as your liJeline to the real world, able to store your every transaction, and a dumb terminal to act as display and input device Needless to say, faced \.rith such a concept, many people will ask the question of whether this networking techno-culture offers true
luggable version of its ST workhorse Unfortunately, the price paid for today's flexible computing portability is overpricing and under-performance when compared
to Atari, with a
personal freedom
or a Big
Brother's Seventh
see
micros,
manufactures also brandish computers that fit snugly in the hand Undeservedly perceived as mere executive toys or yuppie upgrades for the
ailing Filofax, hand-helds such as the Psion Organlser oi the Sharp IO could be pointers for
NEW COMPUTER EXPRESS
A tongue.in-cheek view of computing in the ,uture: the matchbox PC. But will a cyberpunk tuture make personal
computers redundant anyway?
22.
15 JULY 1989
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lt;'t: RR EXPRESS
through the head magnetising a small portion of the medium.
A.Z
Available in many guises for fue years, new copyright laws ftreaten sales of Mulliface
assessrng program "How much money can I claim?" and it would reply with questrons like 'How many children do you have?' and "Do you do any work?"
a bow
ROM (T): ReaGOnly Memory. The ROM is composed of a matrix of diodes which
represent binary digits. By destroying selected diodes in the matrix (applying a large cunent in the 'wrong'direction) the ROM is made to store a 'program' which can be read and acted upon a computer. The blowing of the diodes is performed at the time of manufacture and cannot be done whilst the device is in situ rnside a computer (hence'readonly memory').
RAINBIRD (CO.):
QL lGl:
computer endeavours, the QL featured state of the art architecture in the form of the 68008 CPU (a 32-bit processor with an 8-bit data bus) and a groundbreaking price of 399 Unfortunately, the machine suffered severe setbacks in availability and by the time supplies were plentiful the punters were looking elsewhere. Today the QL enjoys a hard core band of dedicated supporters but mainstream interest has moved on
QUME (CO.lr Printer manufacturer which enjoys internattonal status for its range of daisy wheel printers, currently the industry standard OWERTY (MtSC.l: The standard layout of computer keyboard keys. The QWERTY arrangement takes its name from the frrst six keys (left to right in the first row) QWERTY was originally devised to slow the actions of fast nineteenth century typists who constantly jammed the levers of their rnachines Several alternatives to the QWERTY keyboard have been marketed - notably Dvorak - but have remained obscure, With many millions of QWERTYtrained typists in the world, no.one is prepared to change. OUICKSILVA lCO.):
Originally
RAM {Tl: Random Access Memory. Siilcon scratch pad for computers. RAM chips are used by the computer as a temporary storage area for programs
OUATTRO (SS!: Popular spreadsheet from wellknown software house Borland lnternational lnc. See Eorland. QUERY LANGUAGE (L):
H.igh-tevet
language similar to English which allows unsophisticated computer users to interrogate computer systems. An interface program acts as an interpreter between the user and the machine translating the query language instructions and responding wrth the desired action. You ntight ask a benefits
owned by Activision boss Rod Cousens The company was sold to Argus Press Software for an enormous sum The company had many successes in the ZK81 software market. . Just eight 0f 6ese lMbit chips will give you
and data. lnformation stored in RAM is lost when power to the chips is
ll[b
of RAil
removed. After a significant fall in the price of home and small business computers in the mid 80s, a sharp rise in the cost of RAM chips has instigated large price increases for the machines they inhabit. See also ROM
The
process of reading and writing data from backing storage in a manner independent of the order of storage. As a result, any piece of data can be accessed as quickly as any other piece of data. Contrast with sequentia,
access.
American alias of computer manufacturer and general electronic components supplier Tandy Corporation.
The company has been resident in the UK for a number of years selling
it l0r
word
15 JULY 1989
. 25
EXPRESS A-Z
ER
the 8-bit machines and is currently enjoying notoriety with the Multiface ST, a piece of hardware which stops ST software running then allows you to examine the code and make back-up
c0pres
example
the a the c
pictures.
al graphics workstations y thousands of pounds (notably Sun's baby) are used to create displays such the Channel 4 logo.
will perlorm that task immediately 0 master of the Universe". Today, robots are all around us doing everything from building cars to cleaning up nuclear power stations in a meltdown
RGB (Tl:
Colour computer monitors and televisions have three 'guns' (red, green and blue hence 'RGB') used to fire electrons at the phosphor coating of the inside surface of the screen The phosphor is made to glow and the result is a picture To achieve a colour picture, different combinations and intensities of the red, green and blue guns are used Although all computers contain a 'clock'(usually a quartz crystal oscillatrng at several thousands of times per second) which drives the system at a defined rate, the time emanating from the clock does
RESOURCE (Tf:
All
peripherals attached to a computer, i e the bits that constitute the'system' part of any computer system, are known as resources Software and even computer personnel are also labelled thus.
ROUTINE (Ll:
Any module of code designed to perform a specific task, usually independent of the objectrve of the main program, is referred to as a routine.
Generation
not normally pertain to the 'outside wodd' ln order that a computer can ttmestamo files, and time control applications etc, it must be provided with the realworld time every time the machine is switched on, To overcome this, many peripheral manufacturers market add-on boards which contain a digital clock and the means of relaying the time to the computer Otherwise, when they're switched on, machines such as the PCW and PC think that time always starts again at midnight on December 15th 1982 or some such date,
'
is a high-level, fourth-generation language (4GL) used as a sophisticated business oriented programming and query language, which allows users to learn a relatively simple series of commands and perform complex tasks with them
r5000
calcufates
cost
lGO.l: I for
RS232 (T): The 'techiest' phrase of them all, Shouted out loud by computer gurus wishing to impress. The term even inspired the television program Spitting
image to write a song in the mould of an 'A' blues scale obsessed band who shall remain nameless (Status Quo) sending up the device Basically, it's a protocol to allow serial communrcatrons between two devices,
REscuE oN FRAcraLUs
relational database is one in which the information from one type of record refers to some of the rnformation in a.t entirely diflerent type of record For example a relational database may consist of a stock inventory and customers who have made purchases from that inventory, The relational database allows complex relationships between data to be defined allowing questions of the 'what if?' type to be answered and a greater Ilexibility of data
retrieval
When
programming in assembly language it is necessary to specify the exact memory addresses lor loops, subroutines, jumps etc, within the program For example, a program may be directed thus: JMP #CFF9 dtrecting program execution to a line of code stored at the memory address CFF9
(hexadecimal) Obviously, if the code is relocated and the line to be executed no longer resides at address CFF9 there's going to be a spectacularcrash Relocatablecode makes provision for the movement of code modules by using variables to represent specific address ('JMP DUCK_PIC', where DUCK_PIC stores the relevant address) and employing relative addressing techniques ('jump forward six hundred bytes' and so on) When writing programs it is seldom obvious what a particular section of the listing is doing, making it difficult to find the [nes causing problems when the program runs Many languages such as BASIC allow 'remark' lines which are ignored when
lnnovative 3-D flrght simulation and shoottechnology quicklyiecame a big seller em-up from Lucasfilm ;,,^;: .-':.-.:; ,:, due to its rehabilitv. 'i '" " graphics and a depth breathtaking fractal t: *t- :'" of ptay rarety encountered in un suggests - a ring of cable with computer game terminals 'hanging off' at various stages around the ring A variant is the'Token RESOLUTIOI{ (T}: Term used Ring', A signal (the token) is passed to describe the amount of which can be displayed on a computer each machine to co-ordinate monitor or transmissions See also LAN, novel The smallest addressable screen poinl is known as the pixel (a combination ROBOT (Tl: A computer-conkolled the words Plcture and ELement). device fitted with sensing equipment, home computers had a very orosrammed to oerlorm one or more resolution ability; for example, the ir#;. '"n.it", selling Sinclair ZX81 had a '"" . t... romantic than their sci-fi ":' resolutron ol 64 x 64 prxels. imace of foflowtng brylllbthilltoT: improvements in processing power mentally unhinged professor wiih balding custom graphics chips, machinei aie able to display complex temples and a goatee beard, sayrng "l
il--o,i-''
iI
l:i:
such as computers and printers - a system to ensure that data can be transferred from one to another without ambiguity
Horrzontally scrolling shoot-em-up Electric Dreams hoped for a Christmas number one with this game - but was disappointed
I to information i ] television,
R-TYPE (G):
he
best
REM (Ll:
26
15 JULY 1989
PUBLIC APOLOGY
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INTERVIEW
LES CRANE
hy would a man
who's , hosted an American TV chat show, won a Grammy
on
answers that question The last three quarters have seen his company's revenue surging by 104 per cent, 257 per cent and 211 per cent. Softwdre Toolworks expects to sell $20 million worth of software this year Despite Crane's multi-coloured and impressive media career he's now happiest dreaming up software programs to knock your socks off
changing Crane's off the wall ideas into top-selling programs This rs no idle puffery; in its four year history, Toolworks has put together a portfolio of eclectic programs which have consistently shot to the top of the pile
t
Plumped beneath the sickening smog of Los Angeles is one Software Toolworks. It purports to be the first of the new generation of software houses and is run by the excessively Californian (and totally rich) Les Crane. Colin Campbell dropped in to find out what this strange man thinks he's playing at...
pretender steamed in with a controversial style
He descnbes hrs TV nattering days as "excltmg
affairs
and business packages. You name it, Toolworks has picked, chosen, fussed and come up smelling of dollars Golden boy Crane has yet to screw up "We won't release anything until we feel it has pushed the technology that bit further If we can't be on the cutting edge of technology then what's the point? We're just not interested " There are few companies tn the world which won't claim to be 'state of the art' or 'at the
accounts,
Toolworks does have the edge It has featured in countless American newspapers and computer mags, partly because of crane's background but mostly because of his line-up of unusual and
and terrifyng" but he's happier now prodding programmers and keeping up with his cosy line
up of computer programs
interviewed the llkes of Spike Milligan, Bertrand Russell, Bob Dylan, Malcolm X, Peter Cook, Sir John Betjeman and "just about everyone else" He even coaxed Lee Harvey Oswald's mum onto the show who was interviewed with a mike shaped like a shotgun
Crane
Life and Death, a new 3D game based on Afuanoid, the best selling chess game
Back Up Prc
Chessmastil 2000 and a cribbage/ gin game PC owners get a hard disk back up program called
o Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing PC, ST' Amiga, C64, Mac 29.99
f29.99.
a Secretary Bird
PC f.39.99
Ttf
lfti':hrosran
LES GRANE
There's also a sideways printing program for
tutorial and America's top selling integrated business pack The Secretary Blrd In the US,
Crane's shelves.
Toolworks is responsible for The Hunt For Red October. You won't find any Defender clones on
"We've always wanted to differentiate ourselves from every other publisher of our size. We don't want to be entertainment or educational or personal productivity We're all of that. "
Sitting with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth and dressed in entirely unconventional business attire Crane is very comfortable talking about himseU, his company, his products, and how wonderful they all are. "Wherever we go in the world we conquer," he boasts Testament to this is Chessmaster 2000 arLdthe follow-up 2100. That is claimed to be the biggest selling chess program in the US. It's certainly a smart number, consistently winning the US Open Chess Championship. "It's the strongest and has the best algorithm and the most powerful chess playing brain," he drawls Now comes "the world's first 3D game" along with tacky glasses Crane admits it's not realiy the first but pours scorn on previous efforts (which weren't much cop anWvay) He works on the premise that if something is successful in other areas of the media then why not with computers Take .Life and Deatll- "It's an interactive medical movie. It's a game but it's absolutely accurate I've always felt that such a program would be a success because medical entertainment has always been popular "Doctor Ktldare, Ben Casey atd General Haspital were all successful on television so I felt
But why has this media junkie turned his attentions to computers? "I bought a computer
and booted it up and said: 'This is really exciting' This is the new wave of interactive communication which is what interests me It
exercises the mind in an appealing way. Soon the
computers at
personal productivity. Prices are coming downWe're moving toward a standardisation of PCs or its variants The future is limitless "
on computer " Life and Deattr has sold 60,000 copies in its flrst few months and has just landed in the UK Indeed, most of Toolworks programs are available here via Mindscape IIK
"I've been in software all my life " (Crane is 50) "When I did the TV program for ABC that was software for the television Desiderata was actually software for the stereo system We didn't in fact call it software but that's what it is. Video tapes are software "I haven't changed businesses at all The only thing that's changed is the hardware Now it's computers as opposed to stereos or videos." Toolworks is also one of the only software companies in the world which does everything in-house The software is written there, the packaging designed and printed, the disk
dupiicated. Everything "It saves money and males life easier It's al] done at home and so we
have complete control." not one of Crane's strong points a . Enquiries to Mindscape tIK on 044486 545
Grammy award for his rock version of the old poem Desiderata He ciaims to have invented the Top 40 format for pop charts and to have started
o Chessmaster 2100
PC, C64 llater this month 24.99 and f14.99
o Back-up f24.99
JulylAugustl
yet available)
PC
t49.99
C PROGRAMMING
BOOK REVIEW covered. Style notes, compiler variations and a
reference
easier to use
C is arguably the most popular language of the eighties after you can always browse through it in bookshelves before forking out the readies BASIC, and the mainstay of the Unix operating system. Andy ****
Storer turns over 500 new leaves to investigate...
C: A DABHAND GUIDE. MARK
BURGESS. DABS PRESS (061-766
84231
tutorial to teach C to the beginner with perhaps only a rudimentary knowledge of BASIC or Pascal But if you've conjured with code to any
rI U
A lnce \
great degrree
it isn't
necessary
to
rigorously
thing, partlcularly if you want to benefit from a language lauded for its speed and portability
across a raDge of machines C is a high-level compiler language desigmed to give access right down to raw machine code
C source code is iargely to most people - and often to its own authors - this is no bad
incomprehensible
Iollow the order of the chapters But rather than get heavily bogged down in dense theory, the guide's littered with practical example programs ranging from one-line functions to multi-page
Amiga, ST, Archimedes, PC and BBC Master and utilising WIMP environments
This makes it perhaps the most flexible of all languages and, when combined with its
compactness,
powerful.
Ianguages, the guide dives lnto the nitty gfltty of functions, types and declarations, parameters,
efficiency and readability. However, as anyone who has ever done any programming will know, it's down to the programmer to ensure a program is neat, logical and well-organised No language can overcome the vagaries of method And that's what A Dabhand Guide sets out to do. Tighten
up your method
pointers, and input/output But that's only the first 100 pages. From then on it's into the tricky
waters of Ioops and decisrons, arrays and strings,
hldden operators, structures and unions This isn't as daunting as you might think, since the whole guide is full of illustrations, diagrams and
program listings In addition, each chapter concludes with a series of questions desigmed to test your knowledge of the subject area just
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30
15 JULY 1989
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who do you get yours from?
funiga sound hardware According to Mandarin, there iS ndhing that can be
achieved tfuough either assembler or C that cannot handle (humm?)
* *
.
* *
AMIGA
Games written using packages such as AMoS can't be any good, right? Wrong!
i'*"
six asd ask for
Mandarin claims that several corEnercial games (not necessarily from Malduin,
utingpD&
world.
Festival of Animation
of
Well, that time of the year is almost upon us agarn I refer of course to that magical tme of the year when people (or artists, as they prefer to be knom) from all around the world, converge on Edin-burgh a varn attempt to appear even mildly talented Thanldully, between the tedium of havlng to
without anyone knowing of their origin - f I told you which ones they are, you probably
wouldn't believe mel
*FREE 30 page catalogue, S.A.E (22p stamp) and state MAKE computer CLEARLY and we'll rush one to you by return.
ST owners
cal
to
an
owr 800 disks in our crtslogE, including Frcd Flsh, APDQ AMICLJS, PsonmA rtc Our own SOF ollcction is p good other t'bnrics stock thcm now ud of ourc we are cxclusiw distribdm of thc fsbulou UGA disk5. All aE auto-bod, mcnu driwn md rc very uy to w, prcbably th! best ollectim availabbl We drc run an
Cwntly
ATARI ST
Wr curEntly 6t@k owr t00 distr full ol PD/
rl
update to their SI0S language which will be caled ST0S hofessiona] Accordrng to Mandarin, this upgade is designed merely to bring S?OS up to the same standard as
AMOS!
theatrica.l
rery
works, you'll ftnd the Amiga dorng its bit After the success of Iast year's Edinbugh
special
IBM PC
(and compatibles)
Thousnds of the most pcpulu Public domain md Sharcwre prcgram in curEnt catalogE, all svailable on either 3.5" or 5.25' fmat, if ordering (oposite) state which. Whatwr typc of plogrm y@ may require, we've trcbabty gd it.
MEGA PACK - f,19:50 (14:50) 5 PD disks + 5 blank disks plus a Library case
(&lection of curent peular tilles),
International festival, the Amiga Centre Scotland will once again be rufffng its anunation competition Prizes for this year's competitron are yet to be decided upon, but rumour has it that there is aa Amiga 2000 up fol grabs for the overall winner, plus mary
smaller prizes for the runners up Last year's competition was won by Mark Wirt, with his Eeen alien head animation, ald tt is believed that Mark intends entering again this year
of George Thomson's PD Star Trek game, it seems more than obvious that Star ltel is fal from beurg 'old hat' material where computer games are
corcemed, Amiga Trekkers will therefore be pleased to hear that that Mindscape in the States is working on the official computer game of the next Srar lle.lr movie, wluch is due for cinema release at the end of the year.
or
etutztdira
4tud
The competition
restdction
a-bsolutely anyone,
24Honr orderline
on
SOFTViLLE
*.,.1'"fi,,?[:'filjJ?B?,,,
07 0 5 - 26 6 5 0 9
EI!
animation must have been created on al Amiga UnJortunately, time is rather short, so if you wish to enter, you should submit your animated marvel on either disk or PA-L VHS vrdeotape by 24th August 1989 For further details, contact the Amiga Centre Scotland on 031
557 3260
Ey up AMOS!
AJter almost
Amrga owners screaming their heads off
Klingons on
be slarboard
year
of
bow, captain!
game
oeation system S?0S, the good news is that we haven't Iong to wait AMOS, as it wil be called, is a complete Amiga-ised BASIC prograrDrning toolkit that desigmed specifica.lly for the creation of games, and is
is
best Star Trek game yet The Amiga version will feature almost photographic quality graphics and sampled sound from the movie, and will be available sometime in January of
next year.
wrll provide a
complete
Yet again, unJortunately, 512k users are going to be left out in the mld, as you're
going to need at Ieast a megabyte to play the
game
rewdtten
capabilities
it
advantage
oI the Amiga's
upto 48 software sprites and 32 hardwue sprites on sfieen at the same time (32 hardware sprites? - The copper is going to be working overtimel), as well as allowhg full access to the blitter, the copper and the
Iong for an hternal MIDI intedace for tf,re 2000 to arrive?). The units feature the
standard MIDI n, two MIDIOUT's and a MIDI TI{RU as well as an extn SYNC output whrch allow precise control over drum machines and seguencers
All Disks are certified and guaranteed. Orders fulfilled on First Come, First Served Basis. Offer ends 31.08.89. VAT included - Post FREE
Please minimum order value e8 00
Extras include
LEDS that show incoming/ ouwoing MIDI activity. The unit is one of tlle best-manufactured pieces of kit I've seen for the Amiga, ald shonld be your number one choice iI you're the market for a MIDI urterface For further inJo, Third Coast cal be
two status
15 JULY 1989
CLIJBCLUBCLUBCLUBCLUBCLUBCLUB
CLU CLU CLU CLU CLU CLU CLU CLU CLU CLU CLU CLU
keyboard, which
is
designed
for
serious
wordprocessilg use
The blitter
operations
is
aimed
at
$aplxcs
use,
Atari's UK head, Bob GIeadoW ufolmed me that the Mega t has been desigmed to meet the increasjng business demands made
Pirate Power
0h no, get down, get down, get down Powel Computing has bombarded the pirate scene wilh its latest device A dodgry disk-copier appropiately named B.irtz after the German war eflort or at least I presume that's where it got its name - it's capable of just as
is
promoted pr.nalily as a business machine, a fate sealed by the release of Calamus By splitting the 1040 into a main computer unit with a separate keyboard a:rd renam[rg it, Atari believes is providng a low-cost serious machine Either that or it's a sneaky
it
much damage
It was beng distributed by Power at the recent Atari show, and amidst all the hype there was one thing which the mouthy Power men were quick to point out: "lt'l] probably be banned within a month, so buy now' Along wrth rhe wealth of disk copying software such as Prccopy and the recent spate in Multilaces from Romantrc Robot, B]ifz is the latest to wandel down that bumpy road towards Government legislation With the perfect selling line, queues were quick to purchase this suspicious f20 lead
backup system for the Atari ST that will backup virtually any known Atari ST disk
(single ordouble, protected or Llnprotected)
it out The Iead compises three connections one goes into the prnter port, one goes lnto the pofi for the ST's second drrve and the third goes to an external floppy drsk drive Unfortunately, you need the Atari second drive ior this to work since it's the only drive to have an external
without bothering to try
rnput port
Any single sided disk 35 seconds Anv double sided disk 68 seconds
Don'ttake ourword for it!Atthe recentAtari show 100's of this incredible product* were sold to amazed customers, including competitive copier producers and software prOfgssionalS! t Blitz not required to run backups
A simple piece of software comes bundled with the lead, and this allows you to copy disks from drive A to drive B The whoie
setup sounds decidedly suspicious but whej
alc
',';al cf Eabbng more dosh fiom people who cii: i see that they're ber,lg conned Either '.','ai I lr.ked the machine so much that I Doight one I d have bought the company as ','re: bul Bob couldn't remember what he'd
icie
!.iz
;;:-::
=',:s
Com:u-g
=:
rdrxg
a game to beat Dungeon Master was about as li.kely as catchng a member of the 'v'egetarian society on a hunting safari but it
Mega Intercsting
Recently there's been a barrage oi
iooks as
it
again
l:or;:s
ln
ad
campargns and hype for months now so it ysas something of a miracle that I managed to calch sight ol an almost completed copy Iast
rnonth
t25
e20 e18 e90
2-5
10+
perhaps? One new machine whlc|- :os :=49 a recent appearance on the ST sca:e -s
Mega 1 Basically its a 1040 ST sho;ec j::l the casing of the standard Megas It ccnes priced at [589 (including software b,;-ndie; which is [90 more than the curreni price ol rhe 1040
:e
iales the whole adventure scene a stage i,rther A rwo-player optiol rn the game allows you to play with a fliend, which
means that you can comline skills or work
it's
crystals
and wlth a
good
communication system between characters and the obligatory spells, it quickly excites
Do notbe disappointedl New laws concerning the sale of backup programs may mean that Blitz will not be available in this country after August 1st! Order your copy today by sending your cheque to the address below or calling our free phone and quoting your credit card number (Access or Visa)
he
0800-581-742
Power Computing Ltd (Dept NCE) 44A Stanley Street, Bedford MK417RW
. The 1040
ST
machine
but the is
serious
So what do you get rr return for aI this extra dosh? The Mega keyboard is a
wondedul improvement on the standard 520 machine Even 520s with those extra-special springloaded keys cannot match the mega
programmers all hate the Amiga great for however, programming Couldn't agree with you more Catch the full exclusive review in the next issue of sister mag ST Fomat Kim Harmagh
OS The ST
"
'
NEWC0IIPUTER EXPRESS
15 JULY
1989 .
33
IT'S TRUEI*
LC-10 colouR
MACHINE-SPECIF!C COLUMNS
WffiE#ffi Fffiffiffi
LC-l0 E1 59.95
D
Programming at random
There are many occasjons when you need to
wide selection of component parts, and can also supply r,rdividual boards, cases, monitors and similar bric-a,brac
I went for a 25MHz 386 machine wrth 2Mb of 60ns RAM, a 70Mb, 28ms hard disk, ,hre e floppres (more of whrch next week), excellent
E20g.95
INCLUDING VAT & FREE LEAD
ALL BRAND NEW 1 YEAR WARRANTY (rBM/ST/AMtcA)
ORIGINAL STAR ACCESSORIES LOW PRICES
(lf purchased with Printer)
J:i
click{eeI AT keyboard and mono display card/monitor Thls system which could have set me back well over [3,000 even from other Taiwanese importers, cost around f1,000 Iess Needless to say, I'm very happy and have lar fewer of the compalibility worrjes
than before
produce
random selection
withn
compurer program The mosr obvious use is in a game, but there are also educational
tests and quizzes Introducing a random element ensures that the player or student
can't learn the order of play or the required answers, but has to ktow the sublect instead It's irdtating to play a quiz which by chance comes up wtth the same questions time and again, and it can cause a child to ]ose interest
in a computerised test that does the same Using BASIC as an example lmagine you want lo pick the letters of the alphabet in
$ir I
Ys
t59.99
BLACK RIBBON
codurg
t3.99
COLOUR RIBBON
HURRY LIMITED STOCK
t5.99
NEX] COT'NT8 This assumes RND is a BASIC function which returns a random integer between 1 and its parameter (26 in this case) The problem with thrs way of wrrting it is that any ietter can be printed more than once, and some of the others won't then get a look in with lust a little more effort you can guarantee that each Ietter is picked once, and only once in a
random order: DrM r,ETlER$ (26)
FOR COITNT$=1 TO 25 r,ETrER$ (CoUNTt)
A friend indeed
One of the nice Ieatures about the DSL 386 machine is that [he motherboard comes with an AMI BI0S BIOSes are funny things; they IBM of compatjlility What one BI0S will run quite happrly, another wlll not The big names have always been Pheonx ar:d Award with AMI a compalative newcomer on the scene I have to admit I a]ways thought the AMI BIOS came out of a sweatshop ra Taiwan and stood for somethrng like Ahso Miamichi Industries But it turns ou[ the mitials refer to American Megatrends hc (yes, reallyl) The BI0S is very sophtsticated and Ior most purposes can be left to lts own devices (sic) It wrll automatlcally deted the size and t)?e of ddves connected to the machine, the standard,
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rEMP$=IErrER$ (Pos1t)
IETTER$ (POS1t) =I,ETTER$ (POS2*)
IAITER$ (Pos2 t ) =TEI,[I $ MXr COlnITt EoR COtNTt=1 T0 25 PRrNT r,EflER$ (COtnlTt)
I'IEXT Cot NTt
WordWizard
PUZ
Word\Yiza spellin io si di ly a a e i
DDICTS.
lt[Itr.*r.
ords plus rruttipJe place names, ways, ere.
Although the new proglam segment involves an array and three counting loops it does provide a solution, as all the letters are stored just once and it's only their order which is randomised
number and tlpe of ports and the screen display. You can set these tfuough a full
screen sel.up display but it's rather unnerving
selected
Coming clean
While writing about Datamation I have to let the cat out of the bag and say that the
We set
WordWizard the task of solvins some complex anagrams (lumbJed wordi) See what happened
Watford tuies 386 has gone back Nice machine, but had some problems with compatibility. This could well be due to the
SOLUTION TIMETAKEN*
0 50 secs 0 33 secs 0 38 secs 0 55 secs 0 33 secs
odd things I've been asked t0 review recently, which many peopLe would probably not come
across Anyway, Watford was very good about it and offered a full refund, so full
marks there
Costumiet Alphaberically
oried/Triodcs
One of the setup displays (the simplestll from the AMI Bl0S
from
Datamation, which is a small company, but one which deserves to grow fast if only for its
and depth
of
More than thN, though, ls the facrlity withir the BI0S to prowam all kinds of things within the hardware The NEAT chlpset ol
most current 286 and 386 machines (NEAT
stands for New Extended AT, by the way) has options for a lot of fancy extras, nearly all of which can be programmed from within the BI0S setup, thanks to AMI You can, for instaace, speciJy that the BI0S ROM images be copied into a section of faster RAM and where that section should be n the memory map All in all, I'm only just beginring to scrape the surface of what it can do Simon Williams
PC
instance you \iere stuck on a g-letter word, but knew that the second ietter was O. the lourlh uas D rnd lhe ninth wa. L, you uould pul lhul data inlo Worrl\\ izard and receive the [ollou ing Lwo possible solulron,;
Sav for
knowledge It imports Taiwanese-made PCs, but with a diflerence Rather than L,nking with a far-Eastern manufacturer and taking
thet
]'OADSTOOL Ir is
WONDERFUL
to buy in the best versions of the hardware it needs It deals a lot in the CAD/CAM market, where raw computing power is at a premium, and has a number of 286 and 386 spec machines on
shopping around
of
to your own
specijication from a
34
5 JULY I
98q
10 DATA 21,09,b,22,4t,30 20 DAIA c3, 00, 30, af ,32,bc 30 DATA 65,c3,80,4e 40 Mm{ORY [2000:y=0 50 EoR F&BEo0 To 6BE0E 60 READ a$ :a=vAl, ("["+a$) 70 ]r=y+a:PoKE x, a:NE)NI 80 IE y<>[608 THB{ 110 90 LOAD'RGB"
CAIL IBEOO 110 PRIM"data er!o!!" Come on all you hackers, prove youl worth and share your lorowledge Send us your latest poke Lhe shorter the poke and the better known the game the better - to: CPC Pokes, EXPXXSS, 4 Oueen St, Bath BA1 lEJ
1OO
'
no-one
other software houses should copy immediately So ii you want the price of a
game, irllormation on how to pick up Slimer :l fleal G,hosrlusters or what the Activision
Christmas releases are phone Joanne Byford, the grandly l:'ied 'Consumer Relations Coordina[or ' on L.734 310003 If it's an]thing [o
seems very clear about the effects of the law chalmrng Sacha
Goldscheider of Romantic Robot, which markets the Multiface, has taken legal oprnion on the subject - which amounted to lrttle more than: "Er, don't know to be honest, gmv. My bill's in the post " It seems we may have to wait fol a test case before
we can be sure where we stand The hfuliating thrng about this situation of course, is that the Muitrface has a number of perfectly legitmate purposes - namely to transfer tape games to disk and to make a back-up copy of software you've jusl spent
youre
of Wizzywaagers, the ]ast thing you want is to Iose your last ]ife and have to g0 through the
t[ee
whole bally game agaia With the MultiJace you car save the game at the point you ve got to, and start from there when the 38tt sheet of aliens finally get you Furthermore, the Multiface is little use as a piracy tool since you need to have Jhe dei']ce plugged ia before you can use backed-rp
copies It looks as if, frankiy, ths Aci i throwng the baby out with the balh'r,'a:e:
The law is an ass
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When you join you receive a full colour catalogue every quarter containing a review and picture of each item
.. r:
begnnrng type in the poke hst[]g "jrr :r:. t)?e RIJN and press the Enter key. (Don t .rse the key marked CTRL or Control 0r the pcke won't work ) Press the PIay key on tbe cassette deck, then any key on the nar keyboard - the spacebar's as good as ar1
The tape will now play through as normal but you won't run out of livesl
You need only agree to purchase 3 catalogue titles in your fi.rst year, (Min I year membership) which can be as little as flI5 (as prices range lrom 35 to S5O)
Oh brcther i{i b:cther Joe decided it was time he r'.'es:ed il this sjlicon future everyone
especialy hrs brother Steve was always go,xg cl] about But what to buy? His needs were qrobably smilar to the majoity of home users a bit of everythrlg He and his wfe Ame both wanted to word process, and he also iroped to do some small business Their accouniing and record-keeping on two chi]dren, aged frve ard seven, naturally also wanted to be involved, so [hat meanl games playrng ability : ry6r going to be
35
After your first year you need only tell us and we will cancel your membeiship immediately. Alternatively we will contact you if we don't heu from you in any 6 month period. REMEMBER though that the longer you are a member the more valuable your membership becomes through special offers and purchase bonus points.
it
."i
We
will not send you mything you have not expressly ordered
lexcept for a free gift ofcourse!), and you see the goods, belore you actually pay lor them!
Call 0495 292169 or Mite in for details of special offers for new members and receive a copy of our latest catalogue! Free gift with your first order!
c0unesy
15JULY 1989
.35
Wri[.
MGT stresses that the manual will be ,,a dynamic document, continua.lly updated during the IiIe of the compute( reflecting the
ONLY
t149.95
come
PACKA
20 Came Software Pack, First BASIC, First Music, Business Organiser, Joystick
mcxn
ONI,Y
f569.95
of Miles Gordon
Technology,s
apparent user-friendl:less,
complete contrast
to
ONLY
f359.95
l'lus.FR_tiE with
Philips CM88
SAM tasters
Prepare yoursell for another huge dose of
FrhrwurdunrJp .or.sprrad.rr
Datchase.Ncoch
rn,r
e abovc
Atari
r superb
DrawrrrsPue
un.p-nlr..rr.SFlrrhc,^.,
[,]"8r,
So,.Ludre
\rnrruvnrrrrorFnur-ror.'
Anyway, the marn upshot oI my having a look at the manual is that I now want a Coupe more thar ever before If you thiak similarly, pawn the fanily silver and reserve
excitement
SAM Coupe
as I
divulge some
more
PACK C
Commodore Amiga A500, Mouse. Owners Handbook,Workbench. BAS lC Programing Cuide, Workbench I 3. Extras Disk. Tutorial Disk, TV Modularor, Sprjrz Paint Package. Nebulus. Sranay, Roger habbit
ONLY
f359.95
commlssioned ace Swedish programmer Bo Jangeborg to wite an art package for the machine and, best of all, the proEam wrll be bundled with the Coupe when it's unleashed on an impatient public in the Autumn This is obviously good news for everybody who's planning t0 buy the Coupe, as they'll be able to experiment with the computer,s graphical capabilities the moment it's left the
box Perhaps more importantly, the package wrll make the dfficult job facitg software houses
Circuitous rcply
The c[cuit diagram saga contrnues with loads more of those not quite so rare items flooding in
FwlffiIWiffit
''OFFICIAL'' MICRO-MEDIA MODELS oNLY f224.95
INCLUDING PAL TY MODLLATOR
PC ENGTNES NOW IN STOCK
Brian and Ron Cavers the brotherly partners behtnd Outlet magazine (SAE to 605 Loughborough Road, Birstall, Leicester, LE4 4NJ for details) sent their version along with another source of CDs They found it in
il
The Spectrum Hailwarc Manual, which was wntten by Adian Dickens, published by
number of 0-86161.115-2
Seriously now
to see a brand new software company s[ep brave]y into the breech with clutch of spectrum tttles, particularly when said company isn,t just another Code Masters clone, but
Good
in
Spectrum Garner
The
company's
called
Designs, and has already got tfuee releases out now They arc Desktop, wluch provides a professional MMp env[onment on your +3, winpy, a utility which lets you snazz up your own
programs with a TVIMP Easy Load, supposed to out of +3 disk loading And if that wasn t plenty more h,red up for
Like display and take the hassles
enough, there,s Iater in fhe year and nol a Slmulator amongst them These include Disk Copier, Hamony "an rrtegrated buslness program suite ', and Viewbase, H!?ertext-style data-base Th,row away your Macl For prices, versions and more detai]s ring carner Designs on 10582) 472067 Wi[h any luck I'l] be having a closer look at them in the near future and telhng you my verdict
If anyone out there is not familiar with Mr Jangeborg I need only point you r,1 the d[ection of one of the nicest ]ookng Speccy games in lxstory Failight and, more appropriately, what m my opnion is the best Spectrum art package bar nolle - I]le Artist ]l With a track record like that, hopes must be high Ior a spec-stretching and altogether
co]umn-writlng
sessions, the thing which always seems to be loaded on my Speccy is Graldslam's excellent
Manual labour
I've got some more dlvulging to do which is sure to whip you up into a frenzy 0f excited
expectatlon Those nice people at MGT have lust sent me a delightful Llttle coffee [able book which made for a ripping bedtme read It's the first draft of the SAM Coupe technical manual, and practically bursttng at the seams with circuit diagrams, memory maps, screen mode layouts and generally all other related information which is usually kept away fiom the Iowly public
arcade-adventure Thundebi ds I'm a brt surprised at the hold thls has over me at the amount of gameplay lurking inside the mild-mannered cassette with four separate rescue missions that include some really devious puzzles Naturally I haven't got anywhere yet but I blame it on the Tiunderblds soundtrack tape
racluded
deliberate ploy by the publishers to nlake sure no-one completes the game - Iistening to rt at full volume is not an aid to concentration I can tell you AI in a.U I lke it Grandslam has managed to capture the spiit of the Iicense perfectly. Truly FAB Now who's going to do the
honours with a solution? Robin Alway
36.
15 JULY 1989
Maybe they're only rnterested in games, but il it goes the same way over here, then what a sad state of aJfairc
Computers
Pokes
Many readers wanted a split which could do text to bitmap or colodr to coloul oI even multi-colour to hires, which could be used for scrollng the top half of the screen in pr,tels while having the bottom still for the score or whatever. To cater for all the readers' S0S calls, we have collected together a few
pokes
you
POKE12322,773
wanted. These pokes must only be enteled while the program is not ruming, otherwise it will crash Runstop restore before poking These first pokes are for multi-colour to hires sgeen:
POXE 24599,24:POXX 24611,08
zaBzara
Black Camp
Cobra Dragon's Lair Dragon's Lair
Po[x
4069,165
Po[X
POfr4227,773
Our best pal
44416,0
29034,189
II
Bitmap to screen:
POXX 24599,59:P0XE 24611,27 POXX 24601,17:PO[E 24613,17:SYS 24576
Zytux
Robocop
Typhoon
One more
co-ordlnates
Have you noticed when you're watching an American proEam over here that it look aI misty? This is because of the differenc between television transmission standards ours is called PAL, and the Americans' is
NTSC
on both rasters: POXX 24594,Y:POXX 24607,Y (second y must always be greater that the first y)
Now I bet you're wondering why I'm talking a-bout dilferent TV standards lt's
because these differences hit the C64 in a big
way, Vfhen prograrnmers write software for the European market they have no womes about what they put into it, usually including accurate timing to achieve the best results for speed, and clever tricks ljke opening borders aad raster splittlng But one of the biggest problems for most prog'ra.mmers E fixing the program for the American market because, believe it or not, they have 56 ra.s'ter Iines less That's lrke throwing the bottom border away, ald this is an awfu.l amouni of speed gone So if you used aly of ths your program would just die, bcause with all ttre timing out etc, your ruce garoe lust iums uto
a slow,
flickering mess
Thanks to Commodore, [he AE]ga mJ work on both NTSC and PA-L perfrtly. as it
has a built-in converter
Coming soon
a
Street Cred Football: Coming very soon now from Players/ Premier lt's written by WoW! software, so it's got to be worth a look
at [2 99
saw the film the other day - it's ful of humour ald adventure We just hope it's oDe of those games that totally mrresponds mth the fiJm, Do you remember Tie Goonie.9 An
addictlve game that used to be our favourite hdrana Jones should be out at the end of
Jnly.
***************************** *** * * ATART ST * I YAMAHA SHS.IO * * * * Atari ST Explorer Pack FM Digital Midi Keyboard I * I * * * 44 Different lnstruments * * * Yamaha SHS-I0 FM Digital * * Midi Keyboard 44 Different Rhythms I * I * * * Pro midi Software * * Single Finger Operation * * I * * f349.99 Built ln Speaker I * * * * * * Built ln Chord Sequencer * : With Games to the Value * * of 1450.00 * * * 16 Midi Channels * * * * f399.00 * * * * * 4 Voices * ************ * * * * Pitch Bend Control * * * COMMODORE * Auto Accompaniment * * * * * AMrcA Asoo * * * * OTHER FEATURES * * * INCLUDED * * Commodore Amiga A500 * * * * Transposing / Sustain t * * * Modulator * * Portamento / Vibrato * * * * * Yamaha SHS-I0 FM Digital * Auto Bass,z Auto Chord t * * * Midi Keyboard * Full Documentation * * * * Midi tnterface * I * ************ * * * * YAMAHA SHS.IO * * Pro Midi Software * * Keyboard + Software : * Tenstar Games Pack lnterface (Amiga) * I * * * Amiga S99.99 * * * * f499.99 Atari f79.99 * * * *****************************
Console
There have been rumours that in America the
it big over herc, but the only recognised ones nowadays are the Sega and Nintendo Is this because the Americans are very naive when it comes to computers? The thiag is with a console machine that it is only useful for games You can't go out and buy a word prccessor or a CAD prog[am, cal you? So why do people buy them when you have machines like the C64 and Amiga, which also have a wide range of software
have made
support?
And...
0n the subjeo of
gTeat
5 JULY
1989 .
37
MACHINE-SPECIFIC COLUMNS
YOUR FORMAT
Up the Poll
,PID\,
Glasgow notes with evident glee the recently reported virus implanted in the poll Tax computers in Scotland (it reputedly removes legitimate names from the list and replaces them with
children or dead people) But, he asks, could a virus be written for the PCW and iI it could, is his company,s data, wiuch N all stored in his hard disk, at
risk?
Cameron Taylor
of
Summing
up,
Lightnjng produces
substantial increase in performance, and is good value at [29 95 Digital precision are on
,/
01-527-5493
out This
I've seen demonstration viruses at work on the PCW but have never heard of one in real
Lightning strike
When Sinclair developed the OL, it had a lot
life
of
and
or parish magazine Creative's Don Taylor says they,re shrft]rrg ,,a hundred a week - all hell has broken loose!,,. We're expectlng a review copy any momenti
mearwhile details on 0889 567160 The Plogram costs f59 95, or fgg 95 with a
mouse
company newsletter,
2) PCWs are rarely networked or connected to a modem, mealhg a virus planter must 3) PD software, that notorious breeding Eound for viruses, is virtually non-existent
for the PCW.
So
SuperBASlC into the ROMS, and went for compact code, rather than code optimised for speed. Lrgirning wntten by Steve Sutton (he subsequently wrote Dp,s DOS emulator,
fie
Quanta Doings
Ouanta is holding a w Cambildge on Augxst Tebby of OJump wili be doubt conduct one of his popular question ard answer sessions Tony tells me he might have a major new piece of software to demonstrate - I can't release any details at
you're sale from viruses, I reckon l4trat shame the Poll Tax records are not on
PCWs
ne is
You can win a free copy of Locoqile, the add-on database for Locosuipt, in the pCW
added
to
Patclr competition A.ll you have to do is arswer the question: John Cleese recently featured m a TV advert for a database service involving buying a diamond nag
What is the service adverttsed?
Stick
the version
address on a postcard and send it to pCW Patch, 4 oueen St, Bath BA1 lEJ Atso put
dBplayed on
of scr
controls the matls preclsion and speed new character fonts are a.lso available Strce have an internal RAM expansion, whtch ls somewhat slower than externa.l RAM. I couldn't get the maximum
the screen text enhancements (this is the default when the system boots), _lngOFF disables them, _lngGMF controls the graphics enhalcements, and _lngpRXC
it soun
phr.l
very
excltrng.
rman on (047i)
The Preston workshop heid a couple oJ weeks ago was very successful, according to organiser Denils Bnggs. Dennis has Iots of low-cost OL spares, by the way, inciuding things lilre ULAs whlch ue like gold-dusi.
Give him a ring on (09522) 55895 if you need new keyboard mern-brare, or any other bits and pieces
a
Several
benefit from Lightmng. However, the claimed speedng-up of text display, $aphics and mathematical calculations was achieved
Johl Torofex
ouR
'
PRTCE
Postage f6.05
f 179.9s
monito.rs in either RGB or Mono. Send for further details. prices from f49.95.
Pin Dol Matrix printer that prints at 30cps Epson compatible, and works from batteries or mains (adaptor supplied) Prints on plain
g.PIN DOT
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OUEIRICE f59.gg
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most Manual
postase 13 o5
Standard Centronics interface 200 cps Several Fonts inc NLQ 2k Buffer, Hiresolution Bit lmage Graphics Friction &
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tasking, twin fast-access Microdrives, twin :serial ports, twin user ports, TV and monitor outputs as slandard. Package includes four business programs, i.e. Wordprocessor, Database, Spreadsheet and G-raphics package.
Fast 68008 CPU combined with l28kb RAM makes this a very special bargain. Features include multi-
typewriter that has a builtin centronics interface. As a print int at 10 and is nal. lt has a 2k print buffer. Varying pitch ot 10, 12 & 15.wide. Now have the benefit of both a typewriter & a Centronics
Printer Handles paper up to 12" cps
in
ity mode,
ouR
PRTCE
f 169.95
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f4.05
otice. All transactions t. personal callers rders with order.
At the
09.95
VIS
lcome. prices subiect to ndard conditions of sale ment. All prices include
E;fi,
L'K
IEffi
YOUR FORMAT
HAC!{tNE.SPECIFtC COLUltl{S
Ttus allowed me to get further into the game
one odginal feature is the use oI bubbles to carry you up the screen You camot die by falling off a height, somethrng I always hated
about games like ManrcMrner
Superior again
,r
fr
,::
particularly
wilch
is a fme game
again Sarn 10 \PI/^S 10) plonked onto my doormat recently, so here is a whNtlestop Play
it
Strategic punchase
It/irite Magic on the 4th Dimension label is an unusual strategy cum action adventure The game has you controlling a team oI four adventurers who smply have to try and sunive Th[ty two levels ful] of deadly dangers have to be endured before victory is possible The four chilacters are Kaldor the Leprechaun, Moriana and Warrior, Cheysul the Titan and Mandjake the Enchanter. As the names suggest they all have dilfering ab[ities You control only one character at a
tour of
Superior's latest The usual four games are included Re-released arc Zalaga, 3D Dotty, Repton TIru ?rme aad a new game called owak! The best game m the set has to be owakl Designed and coded by Jamie Woodhouse it rs very addictive arld Eeat fun The object of the game is to jump around a screen, collect keys and leave via a door An old ldea maybe, but the implementation rs perfect The graphics are smoothly animated and the controls are responsive Good use of colour makes for "cute"charactels I found the Electron version more playable than the BBC because it is slightly slower
transformation will tum the present character into another one This is quite a
complex game, nlth the accent on strategry rather than action, although there is a lot of the latter
magical
Now how about some of you softwarestarved MSXers parting with some cash ald actually purchasing some of these games If VirgwMastertronic sees that demand for these games is great enough, maybe they will release many more titles on our format
MSX2latest (againl
- one week you hear the MSX 2+ is now in doubt, the next week you hear that the opposite's true and the new
Stmnge, isn't it
Serious stuff
Good news
machines will definitely be launched n Europe this autumn The latter news comes
from a reliable source in Germaly and seems true, as I now see many titles labelled as compatr.ble with the MSx 2 and 2+ II anyone wishes to see an MSX 2 rn action before they commit themselves, by the time this edition of Express is printed Abbysoft, of The MaIl, Abbey Passage, Spalding, should have some MSX 2s on display. It also hopes to be the first retailer in the Ui( to take orders for the MSX 2+s, and will hopefully have one on demo later this year I have heard that the games for the MSX 2+ are superior to ST and Amiga offerings, so I can't wait to see one of
these machines myselJ
for
Selle/s malket
Semnd-hard Beebs are always populal,
largely because of
though
magazines
thet
chajge Trade rates for an ordinary small advertisement just because I gave my office
address
hun[ers I have just received a circular from a Dutch company called Activideo Although I can't read Dutch, it appears that many of the utilities come with English instructions A few of the trtles on offer are as follows Borland Turbo Pascal for the MSX 2, AshtonTate dBase for all MSX machines, MSX DOS Utiiities, Version (1 03), ald lemf, the colour character editor for the MSX 1 and 2 The above titles are supplied on 3 5 inch disk, and are sold by what appears to be subsidiary Activideo, called New Dimensron Software, and all enquuies should
of
Keith Neal
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HRP 00 99 35 85 99 .[49999 !299 00 1297 85 8281 75 1228 85 f18 28 18 06 811 90 1 1 50 e11 50 eB 95 e259 99 8499 99 . f1495 . E29 95 g5 99
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DISK BOXES WITH DISKS Lid Lockable with 25 DS/DD 48TPl e 11.95 Lid Lockable with 25 DS/OD 96TPl . 112.75 Lid Lockable with 50 DS/DD 48TPl e20.95 Lid Lockable with 50 DS/QD 96TPl 12250
Lid Lid Lid Lid
AmstradAmscaseLibraryCaseHoldsl0S" ..,....e7,95. Amsott 3" Discs DS/All 3" Drives Box 10 C29 90 Maxell 3" Discs DS/All 3" Drives Box 10 t29 90 JVC 3 5' DS/DD 135TPl Bulk Discs Pkt 25 C62 50 Verbatim 5 25" DS/DD 40/80T Bulk Discs Pkt 25 t27 27 YU/DD100LDB LockableStorageBoxHoldsl00525" E2377
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is,
(Eid;-
VAT
subiect to availability.
#
-
15 JULY 1989
. 39
CUSTOMERS PLEASE NOTE! When comparing prices remember ours include fast delivery by courier.
lnc.
VAT
f,359.OO
Power Pack includes: 520 STFM 5l2K Keyboard with Built-in 1 Megabyte disk drive and TV
Modulator
g.am rrier, ss S
System 1 includes:
auntlel 2,
Games CESSOR,
* Amiga A500 512K Keyboard with Built-in 1 Megabyte disk drive. * Free TV modulator worth 24.99 allowing you to use the Amiga with * *
a normal TV. Amiga BASIC, Amiga EXTRAS 1.3, Workbench 1.3 PLUS the Amiga Step by Step Tutorial. All leads, manuals PLUS MOUSE and mains plug!
:ffi
t449.OO
* * *
and First BASIC and First Music Utility Software FREE JOYSTICK All leads. manuals PLUS MOUSE and free mains plug! BEMEMBER! Many ST's do n ,t come with BASIC - ours come with ST BASIC REV D by Metacomco.
Amisa A500,sd;tem z
*
Amiga A500 System 1 PLUS over t280.00 worth of software comprising 10 games, PLUS either SPRITZ or PHOTON PAINT GRAPHICS PACKAGE
329.oo
lncludes everything in the 520STFM Power Pack, but with 8450 worth of Games and includes Metacomco Basic
439.OO
lncludes everything in the Atari 520 STFM Super Pack but with the memory 1040 STFM Keyboard
megabyte
1040STFM Business
Business Pack includes:
e439.OO
i
meg memory and 1 meg built- in disk drive
includes everything in our Amiga System 1 package PLUS SPRITZ Graphics Package, disk storage wallet for 25 disks, Who Framed Roger Babbit, Nebulus, Starray. PLUS l0 r ther FREE games worth t230 00 PLUS 500 FREE AIR MILES, enough for a return trip to PARIS, AIVISTERDAM OR BBUSSELS!
)k e3S5wortholBusinessSoftwareincludingM|CBOSOFTWR|TEword
processor(e150), SUPERBASE PERSONAL Database (e60) and VIP PROFESSIONAL Lotus 123 (e150) lvletacomco Basic (e25 00) Spreadsheet clone
* * *
Features:
t529.OO
Separate Keyboard and System Unit .1040 All the Software included with STFM Business Pack.
Blitter chip installed for faster graphics lnc SM124 Mono Monitor..... e628.00
AMIGA 1 MEG +
851g.OO
Our Amiga 1 meg + also includes the 8230 worth of games software normally given with our 4500 System 2 Games Pack.
ACCESSORIES
Plain blue Mouse Mat....................t5.45 Quickshot ll Turbo Joystick. competirion Pro 5000 Competition Pro with Konix Speedking Bed Mouse Mat with
"
isk Box
'f
3 95
isks
"
t8 95
EXTERNAL DISK DRIVES ...t139.00 Atari SF314 1 Megabyte..... .....139.00 Amiga A1010 1 Megabyte ...899.95 Cumana 1 Megabyte Atari or Amiga............ NEC 1 Megabyte Amiga....... ... . .E89.95 ... . .. t459.00 Atari Megafile 30 Hard Disk.... ........... . ..t369.00 New! Commodore A5 90 20 meg hard disk.........
..........t339.00 Star LC24-10 24 pin incl. lead Star LC10 including intedace lead for ST/Amiga.......................t1 99.00 Star LC10 colour including interface lead for ST/Amiga...... .. ..e249.00 Citizen 120D including interface lead for ST/Amiga. .... ...........81 59 00 SEIKOSHA 80 COLUMN PRINTERS - AMAZING PRICES Seikosha 9 pin NLQ including interface lead ior ST/Amiga.......El 39.00 Seikosha 24 pin LQ including interface lead for ST/Amiga .......1279 00
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ll r.u
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Io order either call the orderline above with your Crcdit Card details OR make a cheque or P.O. payable to Digicom Computer Services and send it with your oder to the address below Gallers arc also most welcome at the addEss below
fy.u
DIGICOM
Unit 36, Wharfside, Fenny Stratford, MILTON KEYNES MKz 2AZ All prices include VAI and delivery by courier
il,ffi'#l
E vtsa
t-
Y&&#ffi FffiffiM
MACHI]iIE-SPECIFIC COLUMNS
classics
Rememler I said that it might be a good idea
to review some oi the classics of Atari 8-bit computing? fuguably the best combned flight sim/ shoot-em'up is flescue on Fractalus from LucasFrlm one game that
mentary about
my Atari show
report
origiral, Eaphically excellent - ald, fun! Your Vallryrie fighter flies smoothly and the
own Its
Frontiel, as it says rn its letter, had some stateside silicon imports, but with the exceptjon of the Iatest version of spartaDos (which was reviewed Express several
issues ago) there was nothing new Good products I'm sure, but I'm sticking to
vajious lasel and other sound effects are incredjble Buy this game - it's one of the best pieces of entertainment software you can get for the Atari 8-bit It's available fiom
my
story
the Atari 8-bit owner, and the whole show was, jn my opimon, ljttie more than an exelcise in flogging off dusty old software
Computer shows should surgly be more than a get-together for mail order companies?
Members privileges ilclude FREE Newsletter F;:-:i l-:::an Library, Second-hand Bargarns, Telephone Advice Hotline ald Exclu::-;: S:--,'.'aie unavallable in shops Send lor the Catalogue or ioin today by purchasing one of the Special Offers detailed below:
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',Yar Copter, Space Lobster
Send for the Callisto Catalogrue v.'rtt :undreds of Atari Software Titles, most at DL>3ij]-I: Prices
Your
Valkyrie
Top tips
r To increase the speed of your machme by up to 30%, poke the locatton 559,0 to turn the Antic chip off Don't do thrs while g'raphics
are being handled though, as the Antic chip
fighter is
well equipped to deal
wih any
number of those ghasdy Jaggies
lt's really
for
speeding up complex calculations Are you a BASIC program-rner worried about copying of your work? BASIC programs
::.- -,.:
: ? A s to:
CALLISTO, Dept NCE 2, Gwelfor, Nebo, Amwlch. Gwynedd, LL68 gNE Tel:0407 830704
a Iitfle uncompli
are pariicularly vulnerable because they can be stopped and Iisted To disable t\e fueak key (and stop the listing of your work) poke the location 16,112 and location 53774 112 Edmund Blaj<e
15 JULY 1989
4I
Problems with yout computet? Express's Agony column has the answeh Write in strictest conlidence to Uncle Techtip. Best lrlps win a trcebie - so don't lorget to tell us yow address and machine
.1.N0
Monitoring quality
As a reader of your magazine since December 88, I wonder if you could help me. I am about to upgrade my C64 to an Amiga so I went along to
lnstead,
design. Other than the obvious pin differences, could this lC be used in the Amiga and if so, what are the pin-outs? Also, would any games be noticeably speeded up? Thank you for any help you may offer.
David (little Tommy) Atkins, Poole,
Double drive
I read in your magazine about one of your readers who wanted to buy an additional disk drive for his PC200. He
had dilficulty in finding a supplier. I am sure there are a number PC200 owners who may have the same trouble. I wrote to quite a few firms to find out if they could supply one at a reasonable prtce. One lirm quoted 1200 for one. Three firms told me that it was not possible to fit a 3 5 inch external drive to the
demo with the transformer program for running MS-DOS programs. lt seemed to do the job I had in mind for transferring WordStar text files from my work's PC computer so I can work on various text files and
Dorset What do you mean apart from the obvious pin differences. "? The pin
"
differences are everything. Are you thinking of building your own mother board? 0K, I know it's possible, but if you
The
salesman said to get the best out of an Amiga, I would need to buy the monitor as well - a Philips 8833 - | said I had got a Ferguson TX with RGB and composite inputs which the C64 uses. The salesman said that I
it you'd be writing these answers. Bung an ad in Express classifreds, offload onto some unsuspecting reader and use the
could do
it
PC200
Fast archie
lf you want the Archimedes to go faster (l just want it to go cheaper - Uncle Iechtip) with BASIC just use RMFASTER EASIC with RISC 0S and BASIC will be put into a relocatable module. lt is not as
Pi
{,::' i,i-,i.i=
Schooldaze
I
own an Olivetti PCl with twin 3.5
They can supply either 3.5 or 5.25 inch external drives for the PC200. At 595 complete with metal case and leads
using 0S_UpdateMEMC,64,64 as you said, the ROMs become hot with that command Kev Urquhart, Bath, Avon
The Ferguson TX televrsion will work perfectly with the Amiga and although there may be a slight degradaiion in picture quality when compared with the
valuable hands-on
primary schools to assist me with records etc. and to give the children
experience.
use
in
local
for the Philips a dedicated monitor purposes you suggest it will be fine
service
by Access and it arrived on the following Friday - it works well Neil Hirst, Tupsley, Hereford
children's matching program and drawing board. The bundled software works well and the children have been very keen to use these programs, but as the age range of the children is from 5 to 7 years old the novelty wears quite quickly. The ideal of
off
Mffifu
course, is to have lots of primary age educational programs (...and more than one book between lour
to ask you
$rir*
1. Are Mandarin planning to make a version of SfOS for the PC? 2. Has Coktel made its add-on
'm'-611 .ss- J* S
sound
42.
15 JULY 1989
ww w wffiffiffi
HELP
returned
minutes.
to
access
to many school
programs
1. Every now and then and for some strange reason most often
when using a word processor, the
mouse directions become reversed (up becomes down etc.l ls there a fault in the machine? lf not, how do I stop it as it is very awkward when
written for the BBC B (usually written in BASIC). lf I had any method of accessing these programs on my PC it would be an enormous advantage to the children and of course to my
purse!
the precise
Alternatively, you can rid your disks of infection by purchasing a proprietary virus killer such as Atari ST Vius Killer from CRL. Call them on 0l 985 2391 2. Spel/ ltlA spelling checker from GST the software house responsible for J st Word is cheap (approxirnately 120) and works perfectly with the PD version of lstWord Call GST on 0954 61258.
for the PC or is there any commercial service available that may be able to help with the
problem?
P A Capewell, Heanor, Derbyshie
'/.\
v)
machine from scratch, which often cures the problem. 2. Do you know of a decent word
processor
lt'd be so easy to get really cross and launch into a stinging denunciation of the education funding cuts, but what the hell? I know of no Beeb emulator Ior the PC (if
with a
#&s v;
be
you have
rummage
in the
public
thesaurus, selectable tonts and graphics facilities would be very useful. Or perhaps you know of an
accessory program to use with the PD version of Ist l/yord that would do
the job.
P Bocij, Derby
fairly
an
2.
Can early software be made compatible wlth disk systems? 3. How can I get tape software onto
disk?
You can of course convert to ST BASiC but as the one is as bad as the other, there's not
Sinclair BASIC much point.
. I
No
relinquished all rights to the software in effect, anyone who wants a copy can have one. Libraries abound which stock this kind of software One of the best rs Public Domain Sofhvare Library call hen
explarn
y:;'
1. l'm afraid you've developed the latest in ST viruses the 'ghost/ mouse' virus Don't worry, it's annoying rather than dangerous. After a specific amount of disks accesses the virus bursts into life and reverses the operation of the
mouse pointer, Rebooting will sometimes
(and 3). Yes Break the copy protection and copy the resultant liles to disk. Unfortunately, it's not quite as simple as that. Copy protection is devised so that you can't break it, but
fortunately,
2.
there are
commercially
which
Pkyers in Emlyn Hughes dont wait to be sflt otl - hey disappear of heir own accord
automate the process. Try Kobrahsoft on 078 130 5244 which markets a range of copying utilities.
ArARr
.Jffi
t*
HOMESOFT (UK)
Software and Hardwarei
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15 JULY 1989
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I I \
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I I I
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ATARI STFM plus 40+ games Lots of mags and Sega with games gun and glasses. t400 ono Phone l0l) 472 ATARI 520STFM plus Multiface, over i600 worth of software and joystick. 1400 ono Tel (0793) 88198. Ask for Dave.
WANTED, QL DISC l,/F. Call the Express office on 0225 446034 SCHNEIDER EURO PC, mono monitor + works, 1350 ono, Sakken 2000 daisywheel printer,1175. Both six months old.
ATARI 130XE, 1029 printer, 1050 disk drive, 1010 cassette, plus lots of extras. SpartaDOS, Touch Tablet etc. f200.
9t42.
COMMODORE 64, cassette, printer, disk drive, modem, plus wordpros, music, I120 games, joysticks, manuals etc. Worth 1,200, sell 1380 Phone
0268 284074
0536 710168
AMIGA CAMERON 16 grey scale scanner + sofhvare. lncs OCR, paint program New, bargain, f270 Suits any Amiga. Phone (07714) 378 after 6:30pm VIC 20 SOFIWARE WANTED, ROMS,
0635 67882.
ARCHIMEDES 310 COLOUR, RISC-OS, PC-emulator, 2nd disk drive, books, software. Cost over i,500, sell for 1,000 ono. Tel Harpenden 60615.
Sawyer (01) 361 0920, COMMODORE 64 MPS-801 1541 disk drive, Ferguson TX MCO1 colour W monitor and lots of SW ,35n Phone 0908
cassette All considered Educational preferred. Peripherals considered Clear your cupboards for ts. 0602 209182
evenrngs.
310418 C64 DATASETTE, disk drive fitted with Dolphin DOS, printer, 150+ games (originals, tape and disk), manuals etc, 250 Terry 01-541 074I.
BARGAIN! ATARI ST only 2 months old with 500+ of software, Sell for 1300.
Phone Tony 01 952 0659 weekends.
ATARI 520STFM. Disks, mouse, joystick etc. 12 months old. V good condition i260 or offers to Nick, Sheffield (0742) 441 608. SINCI-AlR MODEM, printer interface, MlDl,/ keyboard, microdrive cartridges, books, magazines, tape magazines. Limited space here, For details phone (0298) 26800
IBM PC-COMPATIBLE, 360K drive, CGA, 384K expandable to 640K With useful software, ideal for first PC. 5350. 0372 276477
ATARI 800XL, tape deck, plus 110 games and joystick, mags, etc, Phone
PCW 8512 with LocoMail, I ocoSpell, covers f300. AMX lVlouse + software, 135. SCA parlser interface I35, l/ore soltware Phone 01-422 0044. ELECTRON double d,/d, 5 25'f418 of original games, t/rec and loads more, Selling to highest bidder Phone Michael at 01 471 9430, ARCHIMEDES 310, colour monitor, printer, RISC 0S, software f750 ovno Buyer collects, Ask for Mark, Bristol 652759 I/UST SELL
il
g
I
$
t Name
fl
Please note:
Sorry, NO trade ads! All classifieds must be from private individuals All entries should be accompanied by 5 payment New Computer Express will not accept responsibility tor any minor typographical errors which do not materially affect the meaning of the adverts. 4 We cannot vouch tor tfia quality of goods andlor seruices advertised in this section. All ads are accepted in good taith. 5 We reserue the right to amend or even refuse ads at our discretion. 6 No pirated software may be sold thrcugh these columns. Any readers being ottered non-originals should contact us. 7 We cannot guarantee that adverts will appear in a specific issue ol New Computer Express. 8 The following declaration must be signed: I have read and underctood the tems tor the inclusion of my ad. Signed ..........,..... Send ads to NEW COMPUTER EXPRESS, 4 QUEEN STREET, BATH BAI lEJ. Make cheques and postal orders payable to FUfURE PUBLISHING LTD. lf paying by credit card, please enter details:
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fe!
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E E
s
3 f, fl
il
il t
L
46
20 words or less.
il
15 JULY 1989
PREVIEWS
ffi&
/t
the cult horror "B" movies of the Came from the Desert is the latest "computer movie" from US software developers, Cinemaware, the team responsible for Defender of the Crown, King of Chicago and Rocket Ranger Out shortly on Amiga, with ST and PC
1950s,
i'.':-,i-: :=
-. .,-.;:i * i2 f
rr :. !-_ :-, tt !
I,
$
,:8,
JE
iatr 's
versions to follow
Domark is hawking this Atari coin-op conversion as its Christmas Number 0ne contender, due for release in November on Spectrum, C64, CPC, ST, Amiga and PC This early pre-production ST screen shot looks as though Domark may just be successful in converting the brilliant racing sim to the humble home micro
vertically-scrolling shoot''em'up, Commando is here on the ST and Amiga well almost, as it's due for release later in the summer. Originally a Capcom coinop, Commando did particularly well when it was released on the C64 back in Christmas '85 - but is it past its sell-by date in 1989?
SPIRIT
. -,;-.:: ' :::' spitttrg' : r,:': :-: '-- ::: volcano - hT: -:- - . :'. :.''-
i'.'a' :
::
.,
or then again maybe not, as German software company, EAS, has yet to produce anything out o{ the ordinary Perhaps Roll )ut an arcade action game featuring "little computer men and 50 different levels" will do something to enhance the firm's drab reputation when its released on C64, ST and Amiga?
fun
PSS/Mirrorsott
The 16-bit sequel to the popular 8-bit strategy wargame, Theatre Europe, this game throws you into the pre-holocaust world of East vs West confrontation, with the choice of playing either the Nato or
Warsaw Pact forces fheatre Europe is already out on Spectrum, C64 and CPC Conflict Europe is out soon on ST, Amiga and PC
15 JULY 1989
. 47
PREVIEW
ffiYffiffi
ffiffiffi#ffiffiY
O Okay Mugsy, there's this punk on the Ulest Side (see), and he needs sorting out lseel, take Hefty, Handy and Horatio and give him a seeing to (seef. Right boss, no problem boss, anything you say boss. But, er, sorry boss, why do we have to rub this guy out?'Gause someone's got to stop Cinemaware releasing King oJ
Chicago A.
wffi
lmpressions
fie
he
Roller
Cinemawarel
lilirrorsolt
ST (1 Meg babies
caMEPl-AY As 1930s gangster Pinky Malone, you'll have to use all your cunning
andl or brute force to become the top dog
on the West Side of the Windy City,
Gamewise, you control your actions via "thought" bubbles. Usually you have three options at each stage. Each option will aflect the other characters differently, and the
to
you
OTIIER VERSIOilS Out first on the Amiga, and better too, mainly due to superior audio quality. We never saw the PC excursion. EXPRESS VERPICT While Amiga King of Chicago certainly wasn't perfect, at least it offered something new and was good fun for a couple of plays the ST version lacks all
atmosphere
of
its
an
Occasionally, an action sequence will pop up, like gunning some mug down or blasting a rival's speak-easy.
of
Chicago remains
Rik Hrvnes
L Y You progress through several your mission, each from various genres: a Ievel, then a shootrern-up level, then a platform
and so on. Continuity? Er, well, you zoom round in ship from level to level there's your continuity.
&
rules apply like picking up shields, energy and firepower pods. All cosy iamiliar stuff, if nothing
catch the eye.
approprrate and perfectly adequate backdrops. Again, well done and fun to play but nothing to write home
about. verston.
& l* &
Spot effects
where
new ground, nor does it repackage existing ideas in a stunning way. As a sort of one-game compilation of genres ifs well put together and pleasant to play, but it's not the sort of thing that will amaze your friends.
f E
***
48
Raj Chatterjee
gets
fie
low-down
15 JULY 1989
X*'Y
j,r#-
SPz
,6,
4c& NWMWVz
ENTERTAIl{II
!s
g
lmageworkslMirrorcoft
hell though ST Phobia just adds colour and (marginally) better parallax scrolling... EXPBESS VEnnlGY When we see a new C64 horizontally-scrolling shoot-'em-up, we want to play a
time again, thanks to the latest release from Tony "Son ot Blagger, Suicide
Express, Black Thunder, Gryphon, Fernandez
Must Die" Crowther.
Bob's your knocked opportunity, you've summed up Phobia's visuals No surprises in the sound FX
department, either.
game that's superior in some way to previous horiz high+ankers like Deita, Armalyte and Denaris. We certainly didn't get this with Phobia; it's out of daie in terms of both gameplay and audio-visuals, frustrating to play, and would sit more comfortably as a budget
release.
STid
VEmSTSH$
**
Rik Haynes
. lt iust
goes to show you can get a natf game on the C64, Amiga and ST... don't toiget
hat
Rik Haynes gets up.to.date with new versaons of games previously reviewed in Express
MILLEI{IUM 2.2
ELECIN'C DPEII'S
sDt
FC. C24.99DK.
AillGA VEBSION
BEVIEWED
EXPRESS
cPc, sT
Was it really worth the six month delay, when the only difference from the ST version is the marginally superior sound quality? Amiga SDI is good for a few games, but it's perhaps a little too easy
IlI
3l . ALSO
***
oit sT
A Star taken off for not including an EGA or VGA
option, PC Millenium 2.2
still has that workable blend
****
NAVY
MOVES
DTNAMiC
F'NEB,NDN,/CAOPROSE ATIGA . EI9.99DK . GPC VERSIO}I REVIEWED II{ EXPRESS . ALSO O}I
SAVAGE
. c64
ST. ft9.95Dt(
SPECTRUil, 064
A great motion soundtrack
VERSTON
interlaced with crisp samples mixes superbly with bright and colourful visuals. lts a pity the gameplay's so tired. Savage isn't that bad, its just not that brilliant either.
soundtrack and colourful visuals fail to hide the fact thai lVavy Moves is repetitive, and not all that original. We probably over. rated the C64 version (Yes! We do sometimes make mistakes...
all,
**
50.
NEW C0MPUTER EXPRESS
. i5 JtiLY
1989
Heul
uouch ucheme
.! :- I
:.,
I I I I
".
I I
a
_:.
en y0
":L t
... t
nnagaz
L
E2O
in
[20 from a participating advertiser in New Computer Express. You simply filt
the details below and send it ofi with your order.
VOUCHERS
i6lephone (if possible) tem (s) purchased Only one voucher per order is allowed. This voucher and its accompanying order must be received by the advertiser before 9am July 31, 1989.
7
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This voucher may be used as
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tem (s) purchased Only one voucher per order is allowed. This voucher and its accompanying order must be received by the advertiser before 9am July 31, 1989.
O The Express voucher is a special scheme to encourage you to buy New Computer Express regularly.
86O
This voucher may be used as t3.00 part payment on any order totalling over t60 from a participating advertiser in New Conputer Express. You simply fill in
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'elephone (if possible) tem (s) purchased Only one voucher per order is allowed. This voucher and its accompanying order must be received by the advertiser before 9am July 31, 1989.
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O Remember. The use of just one voucher could morg than recoup the price of the magazine.
THE FIVE SIMPLE RULES
1 . Express vouchers can be used to obtain discounts on purchases of goods advertised in this issue of New Computer Express, provided that they are bought directly from an advertiser taking part in the for those advertisements which say "We Accept Express Vouchers". 2. Each voucher entitles you to a discount at the voucher's face value, provided that your overall order level is higher than the figure indicated
scheme. The vouchers are valid only on the back of the voucher.
from a participating advertiser in New Computer Express. You simply fill in the oetails below and send it off with your order.
four name
[ddress
3. To use a voucher, simply enclose it with your discounted payment when you order. You may use only one voucher in any one order. 4, The order including the voucher must be received by the adveftiser
before the closing date printed on the voucher.
5.
We olfer a wide cholce ot Amstrad PCs with many upgrado options, including the very latest PC2086 range. For the hard disk <iption-, chec( our iEveshari Upgraded Models'. Only the best will do - so we normally upgrade by means ol a Westem Digital Filecard, which includes XTree and SpeeilRead sottware; however on single drive 1512y1640 models we can otfer internal lnstallations at the same price.(leaving a 2nd floppy drivs). On-s model for only e39.00 in
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Buy an Amstrad DMP3160 10" carriage pin printer with any PC1 51 2 model for only 120.00 extra I
sottware.
price! only
Some
8319.00 5.25" (360K) sxtemal drivo ....,...,. 8100.00 ..............899.00 Joystick & Controllr Card ...........t199.00 s6ltcentoringanalogtypo..............e34.95
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...................8599.00
prices-in brackets are excludiig VAT PPC5125 ........ (C373.04) e429.00 PPC640S ........ (E477.39) 8s49.00 PPC512D ........ (errc3.91) 8499.00 PPC640D ........ (ts46.96) e629.00
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